In sideways time we see a Locke who never gets stuck on the island, but who returns to Los Angeles from Australia not having gone on his walkabout. He wasn't allowed to go, he tells his supportive wife (yes, Helen), because he's confined to a wheelchair.
This Locke also gets fired from his box factory job because his boss, the irksome Randy, learns he also didn't attend a business conference while in Australia, the reason he got his ticket to the Land Down Under in the first place.
Dejected, Locke heads to the parking lot to head home, where he encounters Hurley, the Hummer-driving owner of the box outfit. Hurley expresses sympathy and gives Locke a business card for a temp agency that he runs. There, Locke meets Rose, manager of the agency, who helps him get a job as a substitute teacher. One day, on the job, Locke strikes up a conversation with another educator in a high school teachers' lounge--none other than Benjamin Linus.
In island time: Smokey, in the guise of Locke, has been holding Richard prisoner in hopes of getting Richard to join his cause. Richard won't go for it, and Smokey lets him go.
Later, Smokey finds Sawyer in the Dharma barracks. For some reason, as yet unrevealed, Smokey needs help to attain his goal--leaving the island. He tries to recruit Sawyer to the cause.
Although drunk out of his gourd (he's still mourning Juliette and the overall suckiness of his time-shifted life), Sawyer somehow recognizes that this Locke isn't Locke. He says "what are you?"
Smokey tells Sawyer that if he follows him, Sawyer will learn why he ended up on the island in the first place. Sawyer agrees and follows Smokey down a perilous cliff face to a hidden sea cave. The roof of the cave is inscribed with many names, most of them crossed out. But among those not crossed off are those of the still-living Oceanic crash survivors, including Sawyer.
This is evidently Jacob's list. And we see in flashbacks how Jacob had encountered most (not all, see the section below) of the Oceanic survivors back in civilization. Smokey says each of those named was selected by Jacob to come to the island and protect it.
"Protect it from what?," asks Sawyer. "From nothing," says Smokey. He says the island is safe, it doesn't need protecting and that what he wants most is what Sawyer wants, to get the hell off. Sawyer says he'll help.
Questions/observations/speculation:
- Once with Richard and another time with Sawyer, Smokey glimpses a vision of a young boy. The second time, this boy tells Smokey he can't kill Sawyer, it's "against the rules." This makes Smokey angry and he says, as the real Locke often did, "Don't tell me what I can't do!"
- Richard can't see the boy, but Sawyer can. How come?
- Is the boy a younger version of Jacob? Sure looks like it.
- Smokey describes Locke to Richard as a "candidate," which mystifies Richard. A candidate for what, he asks. Later, Smokey tells Sawyer that all the people on Jacob's list are candidates for Jacob's job of protecting the island.
- Why are the candidates candidates? Why did Jacob select these particular people?
- Is Smokey telling the truth when he says there is no threat against the island? Probably not. But what is a threat to the island? Smokey himself, or some outside source?
- Again, why is Smokey trapped on the island?
- At one point on island time, Ilana tells Ben that Smokey is trapped in the form of Locke. Why?
- Smokey tells Sawyer that "Of Mice and Men" was written a little "after" his time. This indicates that he's been on the island for many years. Of course, we've already been shown that in the flashback to Jacob and Smokey (in his original form) talking at the foot of the statue last season.
- We don't see Kate's name amongst those scrawled on the cave ceiling. Is she not a candidate? And we only see the name Kwon. Does this refer to Jin or Sun or both?
Also, each of the "candidates" has a number that corresponds with the show's much-pondered mystery digits:
4: Locke
8: Hurley
15: Sawyer
16: Sayid
23: Jack (or maybe Jack's dad, Christian? The cave writing just says "Shepherd")
42: Kwon (Sun, Jin or both?)
Read what happened on last week's episode!
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