LOST: Dissecting "Lighthouse" (6x05)

Hurley and, to a lesser extent, Jack have often virtually played the role of the audience on "Lost," expressing the same frustrations that we sometimes have while watching our favorite show. The main arc in "Lighthouse" put those two characters together, then tested their (and our) patience with an adventure whose objective was unclear, even though Jacob could have simply told Hugo what he was up to.

But such is the nature of "Lost," always striving to show, not tell, even when telling would seem to be the easy way out. Unfortunately, as those of us who suffered through the first half of Season 3 can attest, not telling can sometimes precipitate some really awkward writing, and some screaming at the television.

The writers, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, seem to directly address the audience through Jacob at the end of the episode: "Jack is here because he has to do something. He can't be told what that is, he's gotta find it himself. Sometimes you can just hop in the back of someone's cab and tell them what they're supposed to do. Other times, you gotta let them look out at the ocean for a while."

Some things can simply be told to us. Some things we have to figure out on our own. Have faith that it will all work out in the end.

Of course, it might be hard for some of us to have complete faith in Darlton this week, when our characters suddenly discover a gigantic lighthouse on the coast, right near the caves they used to live in. At least they gave Jack the question we all had: "I don't understand, how is it we've never seen it before?"

But while "Lighthouse" -- the 108th episode of "Lost," by the way -- is not going to win any awards for its screenplay, it does provide us with further explanation of the numbers, as well as the method by which Jacob monitored his candidates from the island.

Though we know the six numbers correspond to the six candidates mentioned by Smokey in "The Substitute," two new, very nagging questions related to them remain: Why isn't Kate one of the six candidates, and who is No. 108?

The second close-up of the device in the lighthouse reveals that "Austen" is No. 51 -- and her name is not crossed out. Among the candidates' names Smokey pointed out last week, we see "FORD," "JARRAH," "SHEPHARD" and "KWON," all written in capital letters, none crossed out. What is Jacob up to here? Could the proliferation of the numbers be some kind of long con he's playing on Smokey, a way to insist that these six people are the important ones, when really it's Kate who's important?

Hopefully name No. 108 is important. Jacob tells Hurley to spin the dial to 108 degrees, and the first close-up of the device reveals "Wallace," a name we've never heard before, is written at that position -- and that name is crossed out. There are a few important characters whose last names we do not know: Jacob, Ilana, Caesar, Dogen, and of course Smokey. A Scottish last name doesn't seem to fit most of those characters, does it? I suppose "Wallace" could refer to whoever Penny Widmore's mother is, but that would be quite a stretch.

The other huge question posed by "Lighthouse" comes courtesy of Jacob: Who is coming to the island, and who needs help finding it? My knee-jerk reaction was Charles Widmore, who, good or bad, must be vital to the island's endgame. Another possible answer is Desmond, who must be important despite the fact we've only seen him in the alternate reality so far this season. But Jacob may have casually dropped a big clue in his final conversation with Hurley: "I'm sure they'll find some other way." Is Jacob trying to bring the alternate versions of the candidates to the island?

In that alternate timeline, Jack wakes up and sees the scar from his appendectomy, something he apparently has no memory of. His mother tells him it happened when he was young, but in the original timeline it happened in Season 4 ("Something Nice Back Home," 4x10), shortly after Keamy killed Ben's daughter.

Of course the most important difference is that Jack has a teenage son with a woman he is apparently divorced from. This storyline gives Jack a chance to learn from the mistakes his own father made, and seemingly puts ALT-Jack on a redemptive path. These scenes seem to give Jack some kind of emotional payoff, but will they really matter in the end?

One thing that will certainly matter in the end is Smokey's corruption of Claire. He has fed her lies about the Others, and she seems to have completely abandoned reason. (And cleanliness, by the looks of it.) Sooner or later, Claire will meet Smokey's latest "recruit," Sawyer, who will definitely spill the beans about Kate and Aaron -- which will make Jin as much of a target as Kate.

This drastic shift in character must be the greatest gift to actress Emilie de Ravin, who seemed to be a neglected cast member for most of the first four seasons. For instance, she never got to properly mourn Charlie's death -- that duty fell to Jorge Garcia. ("The Beginning of the End," 4x01) But even now I find it hard to be interested in Claire's story, especially now that we've seen her name crossed out on the cave wall.

Next week we'll go back to the temple, presumably, in a Sayid-centric episode called "Sundown." Will the "infection" take hold?
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This week's easter eggs

• Believe it or not, some fans are still wondering what happened to Shannon's inhaler that went missing way back in Season 1 ("Confidence Man, 1x08). This week, Hurley finally found it on the ground, just outside the caves.

• The skeletons found in the caves in "House of the Rising Sun" (1x06) are still there, and Hurley asks the question the audience has been wondering for some time now. This must mean we're going to get an answer, right, Darlton?!?

• "Alice in Wonderland" references galore: David, ALT-Jack's son, is reading a collection of Alice stories. The key to Jack's ex-wife's house is hidden under a ceramic rabbit on the porch. Jack gets a glimpse of the candidates' homes in the lighthouse mirror -- a looking glass, if you will. (Remember also that the underwater DHARMA station where Charlie died was called the Looking Glass.)

• Hurley tells Jack that he "has what it takes," a reference to the crushing speech Jack's father gives him in "White Rabbit" (1x05) -- which is another "Alice" connection.

• Glimpsed in the lighthouse mirror: The site of Jin and Sun's wedding, the church where Jacob gave young Sawyer a pen ("The Incident," 5x16) and, of course, Jack's boyhood home.

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Best scene: My vote goes to Jacob's conversation with Hurley outside the lighthouse. It points the show in a clear direction to the endgame, and let Darlton address the audience, in a way.

Best performance: Mark Pellegrino, who manages to be a calming yet quietly sinister presence as Jacob.

Best line: "It doesn't work that way. He just sort of appears when he wants to, like Obi-Wan Kenobi." (Hurley)