As Long As It Takes - 5x08: "LaFleur" Recap

Hey everyone!

It's been a while! I hope you don't mind - I took a little break along with the show. Actually, my original intention was to post this "LaFleur" in the days after it originally aired, and then to do some sort of special post last week during the mini-hiatus, but obviously that didn't happen. So, here's the recap!
Before I get into it, I have a bit of personal news that may or may not affect the blog. (I’m thinking “may,” since it already sort of has, but we’ll see.) I seem to have gone out and gotten myself a second job at an old haunt of mine, the Inn at Newtown. I’ll be taking tables and trying to stay on my feet for as long as I can, so come by and visit! My first night back to “train” (I worked there for about 4 years several years ago, so the training is closer to getting reacquainted with the ol’ girl) will be this Thursday (tomorrow). We’ll see how it goes. Also, you may be interested to know that it’s haunted, which is nice. (That's for you, Kim, when you actually read this in about a year because you actually got caught up with the show!)
The point is, if you thought I was bad at keeping up to date with the blog already, well then, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet (b-b-b-baby)! I don’t know what my schedule will be, or if I’ll even be working right away, but expect a pretty random posting schedule from here on in. I’ll do it whenever I can, and I promise to try to post something, in some way, shape, or form, for each episode. I’m thinking that I’ll most likely post my reactions to the show rather than the entire episode recap.
Oh, and on top of that, I definitely will not be posting after the show next week. I will be away at Nature’s Classroom from Tuesday through Friday, so any LOSTBlogging will have to be done when I get back. The hits just keep on coming! (What's Nature's Classroom? That's a whole blog in itself! Basically I live in a cabin with 250 kids for 4 days, but don't even get me started...)
Okay, now that you are thoroughly disappointed…let’s talk about LaFleur!


In the opening scene, we see Sawyer, Juliet, and Miles with the rope, after John has gone down in the wheel chamber. Juliet convinces him to stop pulling on the rope, that it’s no use, and that wherever or whenever John is, they can’t do anything about it. Miles then points out that they must be waaaay in the past. They all look up, and in the distance is a giant statue.

There’s been a lot of talk about the statue, of course. I won’t repeat every theory out there – you can check Lostpedia for all of them – but basically, since we didn’t see much of the statue, there are many possible models for it. We do know that if you look closely, it is holding two ankhs in its hands. The ankh is the same symbol that Paul had on his necklace. So naturally, the most popular theories seem to be that the statue represents one of the many Egyptian gods. One is the keeper of the gate to the underworld; another is a goddess of childbirth and a protector of mothers and children. Other theories propose that it is the pharaoh Ramses, or even that it will have the face of John Locke or Richard Alpert. Speaking of, there is also a lot of talk about what an Egyptian influence on the island might mean in terms of Richard. He looks like he is wearing eyeliner, much like the depictions of pharaohs show. (For the record, Nestor Carbonell, the actor that plays Alpert, has said in interviews that he doesn’t actually wear eyeliner; he just has dark eyelashes.) His initials are also R.A., which spells Ra, the famous Egyptian sun god.

Just as we get a look at the statue, we then see Locke in the chamber turning the wheel, and they flash again – but this time, it’s different. They think it was more like an earthquake, and Juliet feels that “it’s over.” They have stopped jumping. “I think John did it,” she says. Sawyer says the next thing for them to do is wait for the others to come back – as long as it takes.
We then see the now-familiar “Three Years Later” title card, and we are in a Dharma station. A man in a Dharma jumpsuit, named Jerry, puts on a reel-to-reel tape of a definitely 70’s-era jam, and he is dancing with a girl named Rosie, who is wearing a Geronimo Jackson long-sleeved t-shirt. Suddenly, another jumpsuit-wearing guy, named Phil, bursts in and chides them for having a “hootenanny” on the clock. “Don’t be such a bummer, man. Rosie was just dropping off some brownies…what’s gonna happen? The polar bears are gonna figure out a way out of their cages?” he asks sarcastically. While the two men argue, Rosie notices a man appear on one of the screens of a bank of TVs. He is lighting sticks of dynamite in his mouth and throwing them at trees out by the sonic fence. They realize who it is – Horace Goodspeed.
They panic – who is going to wake up LaFleur at three in the morning to tell him? It sounds like LaFleur is an important person in the Dharma Initiative. They run to LaFleur’s house to tell him about the situation at the pylons with Horace. We see the back of LaFleur’s head, and as they tell him the bad news, he turns toward us to reveal that LaFleur is actually Sawyer. “Son of a bitch,” he says as he puts on his Dharma jumpsuit emblazoned with the title “Head of Security” and walks out with them. The LOST logo swirls across the screen.

Jerry? Phil? Rosie? I know some of you (Chris T.) will recognize those first two names, and the third is a symbolic name related to them. Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh were two of the most influential members of the Grateful Dead, and it is thought that Rosie is indicative of the band’s penchant for putting roses on many of their album covers. It’s good to know there are some Deadheads in the LOST writers’ room.

After the first commercial break, Sawyer is in a Dharma van beeping for Miles, who comes out in his own Dharma jumpsuit. He gets in and Sawyer apprises him of the situation: Horace is loaded and is blowing up trees. Miles notes that Horace doesn’t drink, and Sawyer agrees, so they need to keep this all on the down-low. They drive over to find Horace passed out on the ground. They are nervous about telling Amy what has happened.
They knock on Amy’s door – Amy is his wife, and she is pregnant. As Sawyer plops Horace down on the couch, he asks her why Horace was in this state. She doesn’t want to say why, but Sawyer tells her that the news will make the “coconut telegraph” by breakfast anyway. She begins by telling him that “it was about Paul,” but then starts having labor pains.

“Three Years Earlier”… Sawyer, Juliet, Jin, and Miles are walking through the jungle and come across Dan mumbling to himself, “I won’t tell her. I’m not gonna do it.” Sawyer wonders where “Red” is, and Dan tells them that Charlotte is gone – she’s dead, and her body didn’t flash with them. A very moving scene. Dan confirms to them that the flashes are now over. “Wherever we are now, whenever we are now, we’re here for good.”

Dan says something interesting in this scene. He tells the others that “Charlotte moved, but we didn’t.” Wouldn’t it be the other way around? Wouldn’t they have moved through time on the island, while whatever was on the island stayed where it was, including Charlotte’s body? I’m wondering if that’s a clue to something else, but I don’t know what it could be.

Sawyer suggests that they go back to the beach, but Miles objects – why should they when they have no camp there? He also makes a classic Miles comment about how all they ever do is go to the beach or the Orchid, the Orchid or the beach. Juliet backs Sawyer up, but when he thanks her privately, she tells him it was a stupid idea. “But any plan is a good plan…I just hope you think of something better before we get there.” Suddenly, gunshots ring out, and Juliet and Sawyer draw their rifles. A woman is crying in the distance, and as they run to her, they see two men with the woman – one is holding a gun to her head while the other puts a sack over her head and kneels her down. It appears as if they are about to execute her. Miles says to Dan, “We shouldn’t get involved, right?” Dan replies, “It doesn’t matter what we do. Whatever happened, happened.” But Sawyer and Juliet save the day and shoot the two men. They take the sack off the woman’s head, and we see that it’s Amy. There is a man lying dead next to her, and it looks like they were having a picnic before the two men showed up. “Who are you?” she asks Sawyer.

It seems that Amy and the dead man, whose name is Paul, were there together having a picnic, but they must have crossed into hostile territory – literally. People went back and listened to the beginning of the scene and claim they heard Amy saying something about how they didn’t know they were that far over or something to that effect. But if that’s the situation, those hostiles are pretty jerky – they were only having a picnic. What’s wrong with telling them to move along? Also, people have also pointed out that there is a history of picnics going wrong on the show, most notably the picnic on the beach Hurley and Libby were in the middle of when Libby was shot and killed by Michael. Very random.

After the next commercial, Amy is mourning Paul, while Dan looks on knowingly. Juliet determines that they are in the 70’s or 80’s based on the Dharma jumpsuit Paul is wearing. They guess that the men who killed him were Others. Jin finds a walkie talkie on one of the men, and Juliet knows that they need to leave because someone will be looking for the men soon enough. Sawyer tells Amy that they need to leave. She asks who they are, and he tells her that they were on the way to Tahiti, but that’s not important. She tells him that they need to bury the bodies because of “the truce.” And they have to bring Paul back with them. She reveals that Paul was her husband.
As they walk towards the camp, Sawyer tells them that he’ll do the talking – he used to lie for a living. Juliet then tells them to stop – they have arrived at the fence. Juliet tells Amy to turn it off because “it looks like some sort of sonic fence,” and this too-specific comment makes Amy suspicious. “Where did you say you came here from again?” she asks. Juliet realizes that she said too much, and Sawyer tells Amy that she should be thankful they are helping her. Amy agrees to turn the fence off, but we see her open the panel and take something out as she does so. They walk through, with Amy going first at Sawyer’s insistence. But when they go through, they get zapped, and fall to the ground unconscious. Amy was wearing earplugs.
It’s “Three Years Later.” Amy is in labor, and the Dharma doctor there says that this one’s out of his league – they usually send the pregnant women off the island to give birth, but this baby is two weeks early, is breach, and Amy needs a Caesarian. Sawyer knows there’s only one thing to do: get Juliet out of retirement. He finds her in her Dharma Motor Pool jumpsuit, complete with a wrench Dharma logo patch, working under a car. He tells her the situation, and she panics. “We had an agreement,” she tells him. Every time she’s tried to help a woman give birth, it hasn’t worked. Sawyer says that maybe whatever made that happen hasn’t happened yet. Sawyer tells her that she’s the only one that can help Amy. Juliet takes charge in the delivery room with a supportive “you’re going to do great” from Sawyer.
Sawyer is pacing outside and Jin comes over. Sawyer tells him what’s happening with the baby. Sawyer asks Jin if he had any luck. Jin says that they “finished grid one through three today. No sign of our people.” Jin asks how long they should look, and he says, “as long as it takes.” Juliet then comes out – it worked! She delivered a boy, and everyone is okay. Juliet and Sawyer share a moment.

Despite being settled into Dharma life, they are still waiting for Locke to return. Or, to be more accurate, Sawyer is waiting for Kate to return. Regardless, they are very loyal to still be looking for their return after three years.

We see Sawyer asleep on a couch after the next commercial break, and he wakes up to see Horace standing over him. Though they don’t feel the need to tell us this time, it’s three years earlier. Horace asks how Sawyer’s head is (it hurts) and Sawyer asks about his people. Horace tells him they are fine, and that he appreciates everything Sawyer did for Amy, but there is a security protocol that they follow because there are indigenous people on the island that they don’t get along with. “So why don’t you tell me who the hell you are,” he says in his most firm folksy voice. Sawyer puts his con man hat back on and tells Horace that his name is James LaFleur – “You can call me Jim” – and that he and his crew were on their way to Tahiti in a salvage ship when a storm came, they crashed on the reef, and washed up on shore. They were searching for a famous lost wreck called the Black Rock. Horace claims he’s never heard of it. Then Horace says that if the crew that Sawyer claims they were in the jungle looking for shows up, he’ll send them along with Sawyer, Juliet, Miles, and Dan, and Sawyer questions what he means. He tells Sawyer that there’s a submarine that will take them to Tahiti the next morning, and when Sawyer asks him why they can’t have at least a week to search a little more for the rest of their crew, Horace tells him that the only people that can stay on the compound are members of the Dharma Initiative, and Sawyer and his people “are not Dharma material.”
Outside, the remaining Remainders are sitting at a table talking as the camera circles around them. Juliet looks contemplative and is looking off at a house. She tells Miles that she used to live in that house. He is shocked and asks if she was in Dharma, but she says no – the Others took over the barracks and then brought her over on the sub. Jin asks Daniel, “No more flash?” Dan says no; “The record is spinning again – we’re just not on the song we want to be on.” Then they hear a little girl with her mom. Or should I say, “mum” – they have English accents. The girl is in a red dress. Daniel sees her as she turns and seems to wave to him. We think we know who she is, and Dan confirms it: “Charlotte.” Then Horace comes over to tell them they have a room for the night and walks away. Sawyer starts to tell them the situation, but is interrupted by an alarm sounding. The Dharma people are running around in a panic, trying to get into the houses and buildings. Phil comes over to tell the Remainders to get inside – now. They are put into a house with a woman named Heather, who has a gun and is standing by the window. Juliet and Sawyer watch out another window as a man with a flaming torch walks out of the jungle and sticks the torch in the ground. It’s Richard Alpert. Sawyer looks at Juliet and says, “Uh oh.”

Another commercial, and then Horace walks out to talk to Richard. Horace tells him that he should’ve told him he was coming so he could’ve turned the fence off for him, but Richard says that “the fence may keep other things out, but not us.” It’s about the two men that were killed. Richard says that Horace has broken the truce – where are the two men? Horace bursts into the house where the Remainders are holed up and asks Sawyer how well he buried the bodies. “Depends on how well he looks,” he replies. Horace tells Phil to call the Arrow, take the heavy ordinance, tell them they are at Condition 1, and to turn the fence up to maximum. Then Sawyer insists that he talk to Richard, “the guy with the eyeliner.” He’s the one who killed the men, and it’s a good thing he’s not asking for Horace’s permission to go out there. As he begins to charge out, Juliet asks him if he knows what he’s doing. “Not yet,” he says. Sawyer walks out to Richard, who is sitting on a park bench.
“Hello, Richard,” he casually says. He begins to tell Richard the truth about what he saw in the jungle, and why he killed Richard’s men. “Your people know that you’re telling me this?” Richard asks. Sawyer says no – they aren’t his people, and so no truce has been broken. So, Richard asks, if Sawyer isn’t Dharma, what is he? Sawyer sits down next to him and demonstrates his sheer kick-assitude. “Did you bury the bomb? The hydrogen bomb that had Jughead written on the side of it – did you bury it?” Richard is taken aback. “I also know that 20 years ago, some bald guy limped into your camp and fed you some mumbo-jumbo about being your leader, and then poof, he disappeared right in front of you. Is this ringing a bell?” Richard is incredulous. Sawyer continues, “That man’s name was John Locke, and I’m waiting for him to come back.” Richard is confused. “So, do you think I’m still a member of the damn Dharma Initiative?” Sawyer asks. No, Richard says, “I guess I don’t.” But there are still two of his men dead, and his people want justice. “What are we going to do about that?”

A classic LOST scene! I hope there will be more scenes with Richard and Sawyer from here on in.

We then see Amy next to Paul’s body. She asks if Alpert is gone, and Horace tells her no, and that they told him where the bodies were to maintain the truce. He tells Amy that they are going to need to give Alpert and his people Paul’s body. Amy is distraught. He caringly and sincerely tells her that if she doesn’t want to give up Paul’s body, they will suffer the consequences. She decides to let him go. “He would want to keep us safe.” She asks for a minute alone with Paul, takes an ankh necklace from around his neck, and walks out. Sawyer asks Horace if he needs help, and he says no, but tells Sawyer that he and the other Remainders can stay for another two weeks and look for the rest of his crew, until the next sub run.
Sawyer walks out to Juliet, who is sitting by the dock near the sub. He tells her that they have two more weeks, and she says, “Then what?” She points out that they are already saved – Locke turned the wheel, there are no more jumps, no more bloody noses. The sub is their way, her way, off the island. This is her chance to leave. But Sawyer convinces her to stay. It’s 1974, and whatever she’s going back to doesn’t exist yet. “That’s not a reason not to go,” she says. “What about me?” Sawyer says. “Who’s gonna get my back? Just give me two weeks.” She agrees – two weeks.

And of course… “Three Years Later.” Sawyer is walking through New Otherton, er, the Dharma compound, picks a big ‘ol flower, and walks into a house, where we find Juliet cooking dinner. He gives her the flower, and tells her, “You were amazing today.” She says, “Thank you for believing in me.” They kiss and exchange “I love you”s.

When we come back from the final commercial break, Sawyer is reading a book with no cover as Horace begins to awaken from his bender. He tells Horace there’s good news and bad news: the good news is that Amy had a boy; the bad news is that he missed it. Sawyer asked him what made him go get wasted and miss the birth of his son. Horace explains that he was looking for a clean pair of socks in Amy’s drawer and found the ankh she took from Paul. “Is three years long enough to get over someone?” he asks Sawyer. Sawyer then tells Horace that he once knew a girl who he had a chance with, but now she’s gone, “she ain’t ever coming back,” and he can’t even remember what she looks like. We all know who he is talking about. So is it long enough? “Absolutely,” Sawyer answers.

We see Sawyer and Juliet sleeping when the phone rings. Sawyer answers gruffly, “What?” But his face changes as he listens to the person on the other end, and he tells the person not to bring “them” in, but to meet him in the North Valley. Juliet asks what’s wrong, and he tells her nothing, but he has to go.

Sawyer drives into the valley in a Dharma jeep, where a Dharma van is parked. He gets out as Jin gets out of the van, and Sawyer watches as Hurley gets out. Then as Jack gets out. And then, finally, as he takes off his glasses, Kate gets out. They look at each other, and as the camera zooms in on his face…

LOST

Stupid Kate! She’s gonna ruin it!

I really liked this episode. A great mix of mythology and character, which are the two things that make LOST so incredible. And despite what I said in my first post about the statue reveal being my favorite part, I think I liked the conversation between Sawyer and Richard even better.

A couple last things about this one: there has been a lot of discussion about whether or not the little girl in the red dress is really Charlotte. There are some timeline problems, because, well, she shouldn’t even be there. Ben said after he shot her last season that she was born in 1979, but here she is on the island in 1974? Unless time travel is involved, which of course is possible, this just doesn’t add up. Some are saying it’s Annie, Ben’s classmate from Dharma Elementary as seen in his flashback episode. I don’t believe it for a second – I think people have this bizarre need to figure out who Annie is/was, and any girl that it could possibly be, they insist it’s her. This girl clearly has red hair, and Annie had dark brown or black hair, so unless she dyes it as a ‘tween, it just doesn’t make any sense. Any thoughts on this?
Also, who is Amy’s baby boy going to grow up to be? Timeline wise, there are only a few possibilities, and though I think he looks too old to be in his 30’s, many are claiming it will be Ethan. Possibly, but I think that’s pretty boring. Others have said Jacob, which would be slightly more interesting, but kind of a let down. What do you think?

So that’s that for this episode. Our next episode is intriguingly called “Namaste,” and I can’t wait for it!

Until I post again, Namaste, and Good Luck!