Lost: This Place Is Death
By fred | February 12, 2009
(S05E05) Last week things slowed down a little, we mostly got people in place for bigger things to come. This week was pretty much the opposite, as so many things happened in just one episode it probably makes things even harder to follow it. You literally don’t have much time to process what’s happening, because before you know it comes another flash and you’re at some other place in time, with new things happening.
Not that it’s any complaint, absolutely not. But it’s not just the flashes through time that made this episode so good, it’s also what happened and all the answers we got. Obviously, as we’re getting closer and closer to the end, more and more answers will be given and not as many new questions will rise. This episode brought lots of answers, many of which we already suspected…
So let’s start with Jin and Rousseau. Since Jin spent a little time (though it was very brief) with the French crew, we got to find out a little more about what happened. First of all, I have questions about that radio tower. For instance, what’s the deal with the numbers being broadcasted in loop (in English), much like what Rousseau would eventually do later with her own message (in French) ? Who put that up, and why??
And how could Jin know where that radio tower was ? Not really because he was one of those who stayed behind, with Bernard and Sayid, at the camp, and probably didn’t get the instructions on how to go to that tower (though I’m not sure he ever went there? Did they?) but also because if he ever did, and remembered how to get there, if certainly was from the camp ! If he’s got no idea where on the Island he is, and how to get to his camp, then how the Hell is he supposed to know which way the radio tower is ??
Then we got to see everyone heading “there” only to make an unexpected encounter, with our good old friend Smokey. Now there’s lots to be said about that. First of all, I wasn’t sure it was “him/it” at first, because there was again this mechanic sound that could be heard, the same kind of sound we heard when Jock was chased and saw something “beautiful” and but was clearly lacking whenever we later saw Smokey, who usually sneaks him without moving a leaf, and without making any sound.
I guess this was a way to reinforce the idea that it’s always really been smokey, the one and same thing, only sometimes he’s very discreet and sometimes he makes lots of noise and trees fall along the way, God knows why. Anyways, this time Smokey didn’t seem to “scan” people to find out whether they were good or bad, at least from what we got to see, but he didn’t just killed them either.
They could die, or be “brainwashed” or something. Seems the sickness Rousseau has always been talking about might come from Smokey, somehow. I can only assume she was right, her fiancé was sick when he told her he loved her and wouldn’t arm her, or their baby she was carrying, only to have him try to shot her without hesitation the next second. It’s certainly something we haven’t seen before.
