Season 5, Episode 13: "Some Like it Hoth"


"Well......here we go."

If I could sum this episode up in one line, it would be this statement that Juliet made to Kate after Ben was discovered missing in the infirmary by Roger Linus. In a sense, I believe that this episode is the beginning of not only the end of Season 5, but the beginning of the end game of the whole series in general. Our time in Dharmaville is limited, and shit is about to go down...but more on that later.

Up first, more daddy issues! We are all familiar with the parental conflicts that run rampant in this show: Jack's got his issues with Christian, Sawyer's parents were murdered, Sun's Dad doesn't respect her, Roger takes joy in degrading boy Ben whenever he has the chance (well, before he was shot at least)....and the list goes on. And now the newest patient with daddy issues is our friend Miles. It is finally revealed that Dr. Pierre Chang is in fact Miles' father, and while that detail was anticipated, there was some other info in this episode that answered some nagging questions that we've had all season. Most importantly, we see Dr. Chang (somewhat lovingly) read a story to baby Miles....right in front of grown up Miles. This confirms that two versions of one entity can exist in the same time (in Lost anyway). While that fact is confirmed, the question of what happens when those two entities collide is an entirely different story.


If you recall, I while back I posted an Orientation video for the Orchid which showed Dr. Chang discussing the properties that the station held. As you can see from the video below, in his arms he had a cute little bunny with the number "15" stenciled on its side. About half way through the video, something unexpected occurs. The cute little bunny - number "15" - suddenly shows up in the background, seemingly out of nowhere, while the same bunny number "15" still resides in Dr. Chang's arms. Obviously some sort of time jump happened involving the rabbit and now two versions of the same entity exist in the same time. But the important thing to note is that Dr. Chang immediately yells out, "don't let them near each other!" and protectively cradles his version of the bunny from the other before the video cuts out. So the question remains: what happens if they touch?



Grown up Miles and baby Miles are physically able to exist in the same time, but if mustachioed Miles takes Hurley's advice and tries to "hold the baby you," some crazy shit could go down. Could it be crazy enough to cause an "incident," the same incident that Dr. Chang refers to in the Swan Orientation video (which is assumed to be the same incident that cost him his arm)? I'm not sure about that, but it's something to keep in mind. The more likely scenario is that Dr. Chang soon figures out that "Circle of Trust" Miles is the same Miles that poops with his pants on and leads him to send his wife and child off the Island - specifically to avoid any interaction between the two. Meaning, that Chang was really protecting his wife and child versus abandoning them. Furthermore, Miles' appearance in 1977 is likely related to the "credible source" that he notes in the below video proving that time travel is indeed possible. I posted this one earlier this year (it is from ComicCon 2008), and if you recall, a familiar voice sounds off towards the end. (Even if you've seen it before, it's worth watching again as it fits nicely in the time line of the story at this point in the show).



Anyways, all of that aside, Miles never quite resolved his issues with his father, and we know that left him feeling empty. (The line towards the end when Miles hurriedly walks from his father's window as Chang leaves the house is classic. Chang sees him and calls out, "Miles, I need you." And with a sniffle, Miles turns back and beams, "you do?" only to learn that Chang needed a ride to the dock. BURN!) And while Miles does a decent job covering up that hole, he can't hide it from the weirdos in the kidnapper's van that abduct him in one of the flashbacks. Many folks didn't seem to realize this, but the dude sitting shotgun and lecturing Miles about filling that void in his soul was Bram, an accomplice of Ilana who is currently on the Island in 2007 time. Bram also asks Miles the code/riddle "What lies in the shadow of the statue," which obviously is the same question Ilana asks Lapidus before knocking him out cold.


Now, last week I posed (as have others) that this "new" group was either working for Widmore, or was a new version of Dharma. Based on what we learned this episode, I'm thinking that neither suggestions are correct. The Widmore option clearly seems out of the picture, since we know that Miles was soon to be on Widmore's freighter, a decision that Bram was trying to talk Miles out of ("your playing for the wrong team.") And while the "new Dharma" theory is technically alive, another hypothesis that I've heard is even more intriguing: which is that Ilana, Bram and company are descendants of the ancient culture that once lived on the Island. You know, the same ones that built the statue of Anubis, carved hieroglyphics in the wall, and bowed down to god Smokey. It's certainly plausible, and would tie in to the (yet unexplained) Egyptian mythology that has been a part of the show ever since Season 1. And as vlogger Carmel puts it, this would truly be a case of the "Empire Strikes Back" - as inferred from this week's Star Wars themed title, "Some Like it Hoth." The Egyptians are back, and they're pissed. Brendon Fraser - consider yourself on duty.



Regardless, a war is coming, which brings me back to Juliet's "here we go" mantra that started the post. Simply put, their life in Dharmaville is starting to fall apart. Ben has been shot and kidnapped, Roger is suspicious of Kate, Sawyer's been made by Jimmy from Mad Men, Miles is getting chummy with his Dad, and Faraday just returned from a three year stint at Dharma headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan - this time looking especially bad-ass and confident in his newly issued BLACK Dharma jumpsuit (ahem...Return of the Jedi anyone? ). And let's not forget that dudes are getting fillings sucked out through their brains out at the Swan construction site (which is more likely the location of the upcoming "incident" that I mentioned above...don't forget that the Swan sits on a huge amount of electromagnetic energy, which is likely compounded by the chance that the "Jughead" bomb also resides there).

My guess is that over the final episodes of Season 5, we will see the unraveling of the Lostie's world in 1977 and that Faraday/Luke Skywalker will somehow lead our characters to the Orchid and get them back to 2007, where they belong. What remains to be seen is if they change (or have already changed) something in the past. Maybe Ilana's group only exists because of something that they did in1977? Regardless, once returned, the task at hand will be to fight the inevitable war that looms...but the question that remains is, who's side will they be on? (Hopefully not the Ewoks).


Tidbits:

So I know I didn't mention Naomi's welcome return in this recap, but that scene with Miles and the dead guy all but confirms that Widmore staged the Oceanic 815 flight wreckage after all. Also, we can pretty much assume that the dead guy ("Felix") was intercepted and killed by Tom Friendly since he was the one that showed Michael those sensitive documents in "Meet Kevin Johnson."

But the most important tidbit in this scene revolved around what Naomi said to Miles. She mentions that she is "leading an expedition to an Island to find a man that will be very difficult to find." When pressed as to why Miles is needed on the trip, Naomi responds, "this Island has a number of deceased individuals...residing on it, and as this man is responsible for them being deceased, we feel that they can supply invaluable information as to his whereabouts."

Now at first glance, you'd think that she is referring to all of the people that are dead and buried on the Island because of Ben's doing....and there are plenty...but most obviously the Purge victims come to mind first. But she specifically says that there are a number of deceased individuals "residing" on the Island. Do you think it's possible that she's referring to the "ghosts" that live on the Island - like Christian? And if these "residents" are dead because of Ben...is it sensible for us to deduce that Ben killed Christian?


I'll let you chew on that for a bit, cause instead of getting excited for a new Lost tonight, we are being treated with a repeat/clip show, and then coming back new next week for the final few episodes of Season 5. But let me know what you think below, and I'll see you next week!