5x06: 316

I usually like to post my episode thoughts immediately after an episode, but more than any episode of the show since “Through the Looking Glass”, I felt the need to ponder “316” just a little while longer. I still am not quite sure what to make of it. I think a case could be made that it is one of the ten or fifteen best episodes of all-time and I would also see why someone might think it was one of the ten worst.

1. I never expected that the Oceanic Six would get back to the island so early, and it all seemed a little rushed. On the other hand, the show is better when the main focus is on-island (and on that tack, this episode had to have less island time than any ever; the only one I can think of that was even close was “Flashes Before Your Eyes”) and so I understand why they would want to get everyone back on the island. I also appreciated the misdirection on the episode name--with the implications of John 3:16, I fully expected the Bentham flashback episode (although the religious implications were certainly not on the sidelines here).

2. At first, I thought the opening scene was a dream or vision, but of course it turned out to be a flashforward. And I’m sure the time loopers loved it.

3. The vile vortex theorists also had to be thrilled as their theory was basically confirmed, and this explains the reoccurrence of Tunisia, Isaac of Ulluru, and how a Nigerian plane could end up on an island in the South Pacific. Hawking also confirms that the island is constantly moving through time. Interesting that she said the window was 36 hours, but the flashforward was marked as 46 hours in the future…I wonder if there will be any repercussions of that.

4. I wish we could have seen a longer confrontation between Desmond and Hawking (it was all very matter-of-fact), but I was happy to see that Desmond voiced the idea that our heroes are just pawns in a long-standing game between various parties.

5. If they need to create the same conditions on Ajira 316 as on Oceanic 815, as close as possible, why not bring Walt along? While I realize it may not be feasible to make Walt a permanent part of the show, it would have been nice had his name been mentioned at least.

6. Jack’s grandpa Ray looks awfully young; I liked the reveal that the infamous white tennis shoes were Jack’s and that he didn’t want to waste an expensive pair of shoes on his father’s corpse.

7. Jack putting the aforementioned shoes on John reminded me of the scene from “Pilot” in which Locke creepily watches Kate pull the shoes off a corpse. And since I consider myself a man of science much more than a man of faith, I was glad that Jack was still thinking like a skeptic even if he was acting like a believer. “This is even crazier than you are” was a perfect line to sum up the Jack/Locke relationship and the odd place they now are in.

8. When they arrived at the airport, I wondered “Who are these other poor saps on the plane?”, so I was touched to see that Hurley, ever the nice guy, bought all the extra seats to prevent too many innocents from being brought along. This was of course balanced by Ben’s “Who cares?” response to innocent bloodshed, similar to his reaction re: the Kahana in “There’s No Place Like Home”.

9. Finally, questions that arose from this episode, which I will break into three categories. First, questions about the events leading up to the apparent crash:

What happened to Aaron?--this is one of the biggest questions on the show now in my opinion, along with “what happened to his mother?”

How did Hurley and Sayid know about the Flight 316, and why did they change their minds? An easier question is why Lapidus was there: I assume that Hawking et. al. knew he was flying for Ajira and picked the flight accordingly.

Who was the woman with Sayid, and why is he under arrest and being transported to Guam?

Questions about the crash:

What the heck happened? We say the beginning stages of a crash remarkably similar to Oceanic 815, but it ended with a flash, and none of Hurley, Kate, and Jack claim to have known what happened afterwards.

What happened to Sayid, Sun, Ben, Lapidus, and the others on the plane?

Questions going forward:

Jin in the DHARMA suit--did the island stabilize in the Dharma era after Locke put the wheel back on track? Did our lostaways infiltrate the DI, and if so, that would explain Faraday in the Orchid in the first scene of the season as a flashforward.

What happened between Ben, Desmond, and Penny? I assume that killing Penny is the promise that Ben had to keep, but he didn’t look like he was in good shape when he called Jack from the marina. Here’s hoping he failed and that Desmond, Penny, and Charlie are alright. Assuming they are, how will they play into the story as the season unfolds?

At the Lamppost, Hawking speaks of Dharma using the station to find the island, and mentions “this fellow” whose idea the station was. “This fellow” has jumped to join “the Economist” as the great unnamed figures in Lost lore. Of people we know or know of, Widmore is obviously a top candidate, as is “the Economist”, Alvar Hanso, and DeGroot. I am going to bet, with no evidence to justify my supposition, that this fellow and the Economist are one in the same, that we have not met them, and that they are the true employers of Abaddon.

10. “316” featured some of the best lines in a while, all based on Ben’s compulsive lying and downright deviousness.

When Jack asked Hawking if Ben was telling the truth when he claimed he was ignorant of the Lamppost, Hawking replied “Probably not.”

Ben told Jack he was off because he had “made a promise to an old friend.” Said so matter of factly and so benignly even though I think every serious LOST fan must believe he was going to try to make good on his promise to Widmore re: Penny.

As Jack broods on Ajira 316, he asks Ben how he can read. Ben, deflecting the real meaning of the question, says “My mother taught me.” An outright lie (which Jack of course has no way of knowing), but a plausible and humorous lie nonetheless.