The geek in me wants to start with Smokey, the frozen donkey wheel, and the significance of a Magical Jin. The gentleman in me wants to start by apologizing to Sun for impugning her mothering skills (my theory last week was debunked in the first scene: Ji Yeon is alive, well, and skinny) and congratulate her on renewing her wedding vows. But really, we should begin this recap of the ominously entitled ''This Place Is Death'' by paying our respects to the dead. So let's swipe one of Ms. Hawking's votive candles and light one for Charlotte Staples Lewis, whose bloody passing was charged with mythic buzz. The time travel sickness munched up more and more of her brain, then swallowed it whole. In her final wild-eyed, pale-faced moments, her mind became unmoored and began to toggle between past and present. ''Oh turn it up, I love Geronimo Jackson,'' she cooed, referring to Lost's faux hippy-era folk group. (I get a Three Dog Night/''Road To Shambala'' vibe off the name.) And she gave up some secrets. Yes, she had been born on the Island. Her mom and dad were members of The Dharma Initiative. But Dad went loco and Mom got spooked. She packed up Charlotte (''Why isn't Daddy coming with us?'' Charlotte murmured during her throes, perhaps flashing on the moment) and took her to London and told her that Island was just a childhood fantasy — a land of make-believe, like the Narnia concocted by Charlotte's literary namesake. And then this bombshell: ''Leave the Island and never come back,'' said a scary man from her Island youth — a bogeyman with more than a passing resemblance to her would-be boyfriend, Daniel Faraday. ''I'm not supposed to have chocolate before dinner,'' she blurted, her mind suddenly elsewhere. And then she was gone for good.
The temptation of chocolate takes us somewhere, too — namely, straight to hell. In C.S. Lewis' first Chronicles of Narnia novel, The White Witch — a stand-in for Satan; the incarnation of death — seduced Edmund into betraying his siblings with an English delicacy made of chocolate known as Turkish Delight. For Charlotte, the Island was her Turkish Delight — her forbidden fruit — and chasing after it led to her doom. ''This place is death!'' she bellowed, and I couldn't tell in that moment if her mind was in the present, speaking of her killer environs, or if it was in the past, passing along something she had been told.
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Episode 5.05 - This Place is Death Recap by Jeff Jensen
(Comments: 16)
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16 Comments:
great post- I love the detail and the tie-in to mythology and time-travel literature. The producers are so good about tying in names and have mentioned that people aren't named by accident. Where did we find out that Charlotte's father was named David Lewis?
Have fun translating the Hieroglyphics... http://www.quizland.com/hiero.htm
and then have fun storming the castle.
turkish delight is a delicious snack made of starch, sugar and natural flavorings.
NOT CHOCOLATE
Back in season 1 there was an episode called "Solitary" that mentioned the scene we saw w/ Robert getting shot by Rousseau.
Sayid and Rousseau cross paths as Sayid is trying to escape. They point their guns at each other, and Sayid pulls the trigger. To his surprise, however, he finds that the firing pin has been removed. Danielle says that Robert never noticed it either, before she shot and killed him. Sayid can't believe that she would shoot someone she loved, but Rousseau claims, "he was sick", just like the rest of her group.
http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Solitary
"Where did we find out that Charlotte's father was named David Lewis?"
Ben told Locke and gang all about her back in season 4 for while he was their prisoner and she had just arrived.
I find it unrealistic that the guys arm ripped off. The three guys holding on to him would have been pulled into the hole (or lost their grasp) before his arm would have separated from his body.
Re. the arm, If you look at the scene again you can see the smoke curling around the top of the arm, it is possible that the smoke monster severed it, and it was not simply the result of a tug of war.
Do we know FOR CERTAIN that Eloise Hawking is Daniel's mom?
...Do we know for certain that Daniel's feelings for Charlotte were romantic and not familial? (Sorry for not having time to check back, but did he say he was 'IN love' with her?)
I had always assumed that Jacob wasn't a person at all, but perhaps a super-computer's hologrammed interface. However, speculation that Jacob is Daniel is looking quite compelling, especially re his "Help me" comment...and the fact that Ben seems to have managed to imprison Jacob with his 'magic dust' ('monster dust'?)
I've seen several people mention that Hurley's voice was heard reciting the numbers on the radio at the beginning of this episode. Does anyone have an audio clip of this??
Rachel, the audio is in the Mysteries section
Jerry said...
"turkish delight is a delicious snack made of starch, sugar and natural flavorings. NOT CHOCOLATE"
I grew up in the UK and Turkish Delight was a candy bar of turkish delight as you describe surrounded in chocolate. That's what most Brits would think of when you say Turkish Delight.
Erm, regarding Turkish Delight, J is thinking of the specific Fry's brand which had chocolate surrounding, or the Cadbury's bar equivalent. Turkish Delight does NOT have a chocolate coating outside of these or other cheaper knock-off alternatives, it is purely the sugary cubes, scented with rose/lemon etc. Speaking as a 29 year old Brit who has devoured Fry's superior bars, turned his nose up at the bare original and read C.S. Lewis to the point of saturation!
Thanks, Dark! Doc Jensen almost never misses Easter Eggs like that, so I had to hear it myself.
Anyone else think it was a tad hilarious when jacks dad was talking to locke...it was a christian sheppard (shepherd) asking for sacrifice - lol @ the biblical irony!
Just wanted to note that Turkish Delight is not made of chocolate, it is quite famously a rose and lemon confection.
Turkish Delight is not made of chocolate