Season 3 Episode 3: "Further Instructions"

Ok, then...did everyone wear down the buttons on their Tivo's last night? Well, no worries, because that's what I'm here for. Locke episodes rarely disappoint, and last night was no exception. Let's get to it...

The episode opens (as 4 others have) with an opening eye. Locke survives the implosion, sees Desmond flapping in the breeze, and finds that he can't speak a word. After quick assessment of the situation, he realizes that - what else - he needs to build a good ole fashion "sweat tent," cook up some drugs, and enjoy a trip for the ages. The hallucination, while seemingly nonsensical, actually taught us quite a bit last night.

First of all, the vision should not be interpreted as what actually happened in the past. We know that Hurley (behind the counter), Desmond (airline pilot), and Ben/Henry (security guard) did NOT fill those roles prior to the flight taking off. This is obvious, but it should be mentioned so that we're all on the same page. More interestingly, it can be interpreted as what is occurring on the island in the present. Boone represents "the island" (Locke tells Charlie he needs to talk to the island), and the terminal represents the geographical island. Boone gives Locke some clues as to who needs help currently. Take a look at the pic below and follow along...



We see Sun and Jin fighting, but Boone notes that "Sayid can take care of it." We saw in last week's episode that Sun is having some problems being truthful with Jin, and we know that Sayid will be the one that leads them home. He's a known badass, and those two are lost without him in the jungle, for the most part.

Charlie and Claire are seen happy as clams with Claire's baby Aaron. This pretty much denotes what's happening with them currently on the island. They have resolved their differences and are happily raising Aaron. However, Boone predicts that "they are alright for now." Keep that in mind for future episodes, as they may encounter some issues.

And the now the most interesting group: Ben, Jack, Kate, and Sawyer. We see Ben playing security guard on Jack, with Sawyer and Kate flirting behind in line. The theory here is that Ben is acting as "gatekeeper" to the outside world. We know that he has already starting working on Jack - that he'll need to "cooperate" in order to gain his freedom. That same cooperation is most likely in store for Kate and Sawyer, but not yet, more likely in "two weeks" time (hence, they are in line). And we already know that he rewarded Michael and Walt with freedom for doing what they were told. Ben clearly is the key to this supposed freedom. Seeing Kate and Sawyer flirt notes the obvious attraction that is currently blooming between the two as well. Finally, the entire group is behind a plane of glass, which might tell Locke that none can be helped and/or reached for the time being.

The wild cards here are Hurley and Desmond. Boone states that Desmond is "taking care of himself," which pretty much rings true of his story on the island. He is neither a lostie nor an other, and tries - most of the time - to not have anything to do with them. Hurley is seen checking in passengers, and punching (the numbers?) info into the airline computer. Boone explains curtly, "not Hurley," and yes, that rhymes. It's interesting that he's not a passenger like the rest of the losties. I don't have much of an interpretation for this, but it's an interesting symbol. Feel free to speak up with your own ideas.

Finally we see Mr. Eko's bloody stick, but no Mr. Eko. Boone leaves Locke to follow the stick on his own, a message to him that he is the one to save. This is followed by his vision of the polar bear as he leaves the tent. Locke has found his purpose, and can say with confidence - "I have to save Mr. Eko."

Moving on, another interesting nugget from last night was the fact that Desmond can apparently now see the future. He mentions Locke's "speech" to Hurley, but quickly backs off once Hurley questions him about it. I think though that it's not only Desmond that has this new ability. Instead I believe that the three survivors from the implosion - Locke, Eko, and Desmond - share some sort of subconscious connection between them. First Locke "sees" that he needs to save Eko from the polar bear; then Eko abruptly wakes up to tell Locke that he will go and save Jack and co.; and then of course Desmond predicts Locke's speech. Something happened to them during the electro-magnetic implosion. We'll see if this connection continues.

Other theories on this topic are that Desmond is simply psychic ("see you in the next life, brother")...or that (and this is far fetched but interesting) Desmond is actually dead. No one spoke to him other than Hurley, and no one seems to notice him skipping rocks towards the end. However we know that Locke saw him running in the beginning of the episode. The only reason this theory holds any water is that Hurley has "seen" people in the past that didn't exist (Dave).

And finally, during that last scene we see two extras get thrown some lines! Extra's right? No! Apparently these are two new cast members; Paulo and Nikki. Not sure if we need any more characters at this point, but who am I to say.

I didn't spend any time on Locke's flashback, but I think it's pretty safe to say that he's a chump and for some reason everybody exploits him for it. Pretty standard character development (and he likes the "herbal" enhancers, but we knew that, right)?

Some "easter eggs" to leave you with:

Eko's "Jesus Stick" - note the psalms and, of course, the numbers towards the bottom.

"Mike's" Geronimo Jackson T-shirt...this is the same band CD that Hurley and Charlie found in the Hatch previously.

Locke's gun permit and license. Note that the date of births don't match up (most likely a prop error...or is it?)

Mike's ID card...the only clue/joke here is that he's a Humbolt County Sheriff.

Dharma logo in the bear cave.

The Tonka truck Locke found in the cave...maybe from the 80's or so? Is the bear eating all those lost kids?

I think that's it for this week, folks. As usual, let me know how wrong I am in the comments section if you wish. I believe we head back to Jack and the crew next week, with a Sawyer flashback. Till then...

*info from the 4815162342.com forums was used in this post