I’ve been pondering last week’s episode almost non-stop since it aired. An excellent episode if only because it makes you think! Before Lost comes on again tonight, I have a few comments about last week’s episode. I have avoided reading Lostpedia or any other Lost related media, because I want my thoughts on that most unusual episode to be mine alone.
First, typical of Lost the episode answered some major questions (What were the origins of Jacob and MIB? Who were Adam and Eve? How did the donkey wheel get there?) while posing some more (Is Jacob’s brother really dead? If so, who is MIB/smokey? What is the origin of the goddess figure? [Did anybody else have trouble buying CJ in that role?] Why was the dark brother “special”? Were the other ship survivors the original Others?) Not typical of Lost, the episode had no flashback/forward/sideways parts at all, save a couple of very brief replays of events from the first season. Furthermore, it features NONE of the major characters, again excepting those brief replays. The episode focuses on three characters, two we’ve seen briefly in earlier episodes, and one we’ve never seen before, nor had any clue even existed. And she turns out to be perhaps the most important character of all!
Second, the episode was highly mystical, with clear references to Genesis of the Old Testament. I recommend a careful reread of Genesis, it can be quite enlightening. Jacob and his brother display aspects of Jacob and Esau, of Caine and Able, of Isaac and Ishmael, and even Aaron and Moses. The Island Woman seems quite Jehovah-like, and the light under the waterfall seems like heaven. I will focus on the similarities between the ancient Lost characters and the sons of Isaac, ie. Jacob and Esau. Like Jacob and his brother, the Old Testament men were fraternal twins; one was a stay-at-home mama’s boy while the other went off and did his own thing; one was favored by his mother. In Genesis, Jacob had 12 sons, one named Benjamin (the candidates?). One (Joseph) was sent to a distant land before carrying on the family traditions (Aaron?) Unlike the Lost characters, the OT Jacob was born second but claimed the birthright from Esau by trickery. Or perhaps that’s not a difference. Did Jacob claim the role of Island Protector by trickery?
Sidenote: Probably coincidental, but in Genesis 26:15 Jacob’s father’s (Isaac) wells were clogged up by the Philistines. Sound familiar?
I have lots more thoughts but now it’s time for this week’s episode, the penultimate. We’ll see if any of these thoughts have anything to do with the plot. And now, on with the story…….
Yes, the Biblical references are clear and many. But one could also make that reading in inverse. By the birth mother, Jacob appears to be the favored son--indeed the only one she even named. But the "adoptive" mother appeared to favor the MIB. Is the true birthright the protectorship of the Island, or the ability to live the human lives which were originally theirs? One might argue that Jacob took the birthright of the MIB by preventing him from going "across the sea" to the real world.
ReplyDeleteFurther, is the "source" light heaven, or is it hell/Pandora's Box/evil? CJ described it as "life, death, rebirth" or, the essence of being human. After acquiring great knowledge of calamity, by being pushed into the source by Jacob, the MIB reemerged as the smoke monster, set to get off the island and spread it throughout the world. After all, we all have a little bit of the light inside us, as CJ said. Perhaps the MIB’s mission is to strengthen that and lead the world into chaos.
Just another possible spin on it by writers who have been known to spring the unexpected on us.