Things I Noticed - Further Instructions by Vozzek69

I absolutely loved last night’s episode – from start to finish. They jammed a hell of a lot of characters and storylines into it, they introduced the two new characters (although rather lamely), they added two very creepy ‘vision’ sequences (Boone and Eko), and still managed to get in a full-blown flashback. Awesome job.

Here are the things I’d consider to be important about Further Instructions:

Hurley – Not Supposed to Be There

The more I see Hurley, the more I realize that he may be pivotal to the entire show simply because everything that happens goes on around him. Hurley is eternally the calm eye of the hurricane. People run naked around him, chasing polar bears with cans of hairspray…and Hurley watches as a spectator almost every time. And why is this?

Because Hurley is the one person on the island who is not supposed to be there.

In some way, the island has changed just about every other character. Some changes are subtle (Charlie, Sawyer) – others are much more dramatic (Locke, Michael). Hurley however, is the same humble yet loveable wisecracking fool he always was – even after Libby’s death. Everything seems to happen around him, but never TO him.

“Everyone was brought here for a reason”, Locke would say, but I don’t think this applies to Hurley. Boone’s words this episode: “Not Hurley”. During Locke’s vision Boone offered short, cryptic explanations for all the characters in the airport – all except for Hurley. But most of all, I think the most important clue came during Exodus:

TICKET AGENT: It appears that your flight is already boarding in the Oceanic international terminal. Well, this is the domestic terminal. I don't think you're meant to make this flight, dear.

The Airport Vision

The whole thing with Boone was nothing short of awesome, and was chock full of information. Most of it was obvious, but there were some subtle things too. On a side note, Ian Somerhalder totally rocked the scene.

Charlie & Claire: “They’ll be fine, for a while” – A reference to their relationship? Probably. In any case, the point is we’ll find out later.

Sayid, Sun, & Jin: “Sayid’s got it”. I’ve read a post where someone took this to mean a reference to the sickness – as in Sayid’s ‘got’ it. Interesting, but I don’t think so. I took it to mean Sayid was in control of the situation (even though his plan last episode didn’t exactly pan out).

Hurley: “Not Hurley” – See my point above.

Jack, Sawyer, Kate: “You can’t help them, not yet”. Obviously ‘yet’ is the operative word here. I think we’re all pretty psyched to see Hunter Locke back, and I can safely say we’re all looking forward to finally seeing the Others on the receiving end of an ass-whooping (especially a Locke / Eko ass-whooping).

Ben: Although Ben didn’t speak, I think his presence at the airport wasn’t as important as his duty at the airport: security. Ben was passing Jack through security, just as he’s doing in the underwater hatch. He’s checking him out, making sure he’s okay, making sure he’s “safe” before allowing him on board. I think that’s the metaphor we were supposed to take away from this.

Hatch Implosion and the Island’s Will

We saw what was left of the hatch this episode, and the producers did that for one reason alone: to show us that no one could’ve lived. Look at that scene again. At the very least – Desmond should’ve been crushed into oblivion. Instead, all three characters were placed into the jungle very much alive. And I use the word ‘placed’ for a reason.

In fact, I thought the opening scene where Locke woke up was so similar to when Jack first woke up from the plane crash that it totally had to be intentional. I’ve been thinking a lot about the plane crash, how high it was when it broke apart, how fast it was moving… it seems to me that the survivors lives may have been spared by one thing: the island’s will. Is this theory very far out there? You bet. But for a long time, many people have always been bothered by how many people survived such a vicious crash.

Perhaps the island ‘saved’ whom it needed, placing them out of harm’s way. Perhaps this is what happened to Eko, Locke, and Desmond. The hatch imploded, but the island didn’t yet demand their sacrifice. And speaking of Desmond…

Desmond version 2.0

Despite this being a Locke-centric episode, I think the most important thing that happened was the reappearance of Desmond. The way he showed up, his attitude, his words… these things are much more important than the polar bear hunt.

First off, he’s naked. This symbolizes rebirth. Desmond’s been reborn – given a ‘fresh start’ – as if the island hit the reset button on him. He looks and acts different. He seems indifferent, as if he doesn’t care. Watching him throw rocks into the water reminded me sharply of Lord of the Rings – of Gandolf’s “rebirth” after his fight with the Balrog. He came back the same, but different.

Of course once Hurley gave him the T-shirt, he became Jesus. This symbolism wasn’t subtle either – they bludgeoned us right in the face with it. He looked exactly like Jesus, head to toe – walking around calmly, calling everyone ‘brother’… it couldn’t get any more obvious. I’m not going to get all religious here, because I don’t think he’s going to start walking on water or healing people, but the point is made.

But most important of all… and much to the dismay of all the “there’s a rational explanation for everything” fans out there… Desmond predicted the future. Or did he?

He knew about Locke’s speech before it happened. But does that mean he can see into the future? Or does that mean maybe Desmond was a part of that future, even briefly, during the hatch implosion?

Now remember his catch phrase: “See ya in another life!” Is this another life for him? Hmmm. More timeline questions…


Kate’s a Hippy

There’s little doubt in my mind that the girl Locke/Eddie passed at the hippy compound was Kate. If not, it was one of those ‘clone’ moments we always seem to encounter – like when the hippy leader stood up and looked (to me, anyway) a hell of a lot like Mr. Friendly. Sounded like him too. Jack and the arctic dude, Ben and the guy changing the light bulb in the mental hospital… maybe the producers are just messing with us, or maybe there’s something behind all this duplicity.

Maybe.


Altered Consciousness = Communication

It seems the key to communicating with the island is to somehow alter your consciousness. To talk to the island last night, Locke ingested his homebrewed trip-paste - just as he fed it to Boone in season one. Eko’s Yemi-visions came while sleeping at night, and Charlie’s visions occurred during dreams (I think). So I guess the closer you get to semi-consciousness, the more you’re tuned into the island’s frequency.


Hunter Locke is Back

In the real world, Locke’s a farmer through and through. He’s a trusting little pushover sweetheart. Yet on the island we all know him as the bear-tracking, knife-throwing, boar-skinning badass he always wanted to be. Note: Wanted to be.

It’s awesome to see Locke ‘back’, but this episode more than any other one shows us it’s the island that’s responsible for the transformation. There will always be people who still think Locke acquired his ‘skills’ shooting quail, picking peaches, and studying for his walkabout - but hopefully after this episode there are a lot less of those non-believers. Locke questioned his faith all through season two and we got to watch him lean over a branch and cry. But in just this one episode his faith is renewed, his powers restored, and the knives come back out.

In the end, as he’s remembering his flashback, the island speaks through Eko (again – see the semi-consciousness ideas above) as if to remind him: “You’re a hunter”. Almost as if the island was saying “Don’t lose sight of this again”.