LOST 'Substitutes' many story points in this week's episode

The island's cave of names.  Source: ABC's LOST

Not gonna provide a synopsis this late in the week. If you’re reading this, you’ve already watched The Substitute at least once, so here’s my Arsenio Hall approach – or things that make you say “Hmmmmm” to this week’s episode of LOST.

First, John Locke must contend with yet another button. A substitute button, if you will. Every time he presses that red controller switch on his wheelchair, he has issues. Then he falls out of the van into his yard and the sprinklers come on – did anyone else immediately think of the mysterious way he could predict rain on the island?  But Helen is there – what? – Helen is there as she and John are engaged to be married. Haven’t fallen off your couch yet, then what did you think when they began talking about inviting Locke’s dad to the ceremony?  Obviously, Locke’s biological pop did not cause his paralysis in this reality. Locke is a happy man, confident, and in love … which of course makes me immediately fear that this will be ripped out from under him as the sideways timeline and island timeline cannot co-exist forever.

Locke falls from his wheelchair.  Source: ABC

Cue the creepy music that signifies a move back to island-time. The Man-in-Black (MIB) wants Richard to follow him, but when the guy-lined-one turns him down, MIB must select a substitute – Sawyer.  Why was Sawyer able to see the boy in the jungle when Richard could not? Did Richard turn too slowly, was Sawyer so inebriated that he would say he saw just about anything at that point, or is there something else going on here? And who was that boy? My bet is that it’s a young Jacob … and his age gives a clue as to just how long the MIB has been on the island and trying to escape. 

Screencap from Room 23.  Source: ABC

At the statue, Ben tells Ilana about Smokey and (lies) about who killed Jacob. Ilana goes to the fire pit where Jacob burned and collects the ash in a small bag. The background music goes all Raiders of the Lost Ark from when Indy assembles the Staff of Ra, and you wonder why the ash is important and if perhaps Jacob has died before.  Ilana looks to be in her most desperate hour and tells Ben that the MIB is "recruiting." Uh oh, this cannot be good.

>>Insert hilarious Old Spice commercial here (“Ladies, look at me, look at your man, look back at me. I’m on a horse.”). Makes me wish that only great commercials aired during great programming, softening the blow of having to break for commercial at all.<<

Dirty Sawyer is just the way MIB likes him – desperate.  MIB calls him James and even yells, “Don’t tell me what I can’t do!”  Seems there’s a little of Locke left in Smokey after all.  Jungle boy reminds MIB of the rules, and Richard warns Sawyer not to trust Smokey.  MIB reveals that he’s “trapped” and “was a man” who was betrayed and lost someone he loves before becoming trapped. How many of you believe this was the truth, and how many believe he was just pushing Sawyer’s buttons?

Best quote of the night, “You’re so close, James, it would be such a shame to turn back now.”

The Ajira survivors bury John Locke, and Ilana plans to take them to the safety of the Temple to find Jin. Ilana reveals that MIB can no longer change his appearance – so after becoming Christian, Yemi, Claire, Alex, and Locke, the MIB is now truly trapped. Then Ben surprisingly agrees to give Locke’s eulogy – and in front of everyone drops the bombshell that he’s sorry for murdering him. Gotta love Michael Emerson for Ben’s always dry delivery!

Cut to the sound of the button needing to be pushed – oh wait, it’s just Locke’s alarm going off in the sideways timeline. Locke decides to take Jack up on his offer for a consult, then changes his mind. Locke has yet another opportunity to be dumped by Helen, but in her 'Peace & Karma' t-shirt, she kisses him and stands by her man. In this scene, she also tears up Jack’s business card, but you’ve got to know that’s coming back into play later. LAX-Locke runs into Hurley, Rose, and Ben in the sideways timeline, all in conjunction with his new job as – you guessed it – the Substitute.  Looking forward to more of this story!

MIB promises to tell Sawyer why he is on the island and leads him to a cliffside Jacob’s ladder (pun intended). Here, the MIB saves Sawyer from certain death as he falls toward the rocky cliffs below. But why are there two ladders, and does the MIB “claim” Sawyer when he saves his hide?  Inside the cave, we see “candidates” names and numbers scrawled on the walls and ceiling.

Remaining names not already crossed out include Oceanic survivors touched by Jacob in Season 5:
4 – Locke
8 – Reyes
15 – Ford
16 – Jarrah
23 – Shephard
42 – Kwon (Sun or Jin?)

Are these the same names that appeared on Jacob’s list inside the ankh?  And as she was also touched by Jacob, where does Kate fall in this scheme of things?  Why was her name omitted from the cave wall?

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As an aside, am I the only one who’s noticed that the Oceanic passengers seem to be so much better off in the sideways timeline? Locke is engaged, Hurley (who now goes by Hugo) no longer feels cursed by the numbers, Rose has come to terms with her illness, Claire is likely keeping her baby, and even Jack seems a bit more mellow and is no longer brooding over Sarah … heck, we may even see him going home to her in the next episode … wouldn’t that be a kicker?  This also plays into my theory that Sawyer will at some point reunite with Juliet.  If the island didn’t exist, Juliet would never have been brought there -- and so like Ethan, she could be alive and well in the sideways timeline.  If Sawyer does indeed get off the island with the MIB, he could easily run into her. But what will happen when island-Sawyer meets LAX-Jack? Sawyer is the missing piece to tying the timelines together as Juliet told him (via Miles) that detonating Jughead “worked.” Of course he had no idea what she meant (any theories as to how she knew?), but if Sawyer gets off the island, the pieces will begin to come together.

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Click HERE for source & interactive blast door map.

And giving further credence to the thought that the story may be cyclical and events occur a bit differently each time:  the blast door map painted by Radzinsky and later discovered by John Locke says that “the incident” occurred because of a catastrophic system failure … and in a station other than the Swan. “It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”

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Your opinion counts:  Who do you think will end up being Jacob’s ultimate candidate? Is Sawyer falling for the MIB’s story, will he outsmart him, or does he not care either way because his death would reunite him with Juliet?

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