Apr

25

Lost Episode “The Shape of Things to Come” Review and Comment

Posted by lostfan

April 25, 2008 |

I didn’t know what to anticipate from this episode.  This television season has been turbulent for all shows because of the writer’s strike, long breaks, and filming delays.  I am pleased to report that episode 4.09, “The Shape of Things to Come” did not disappoint.

It was action packed, it actually propelled the story along, and it pealed back enough of the deep layers to make things very interesting.  I believe episode 4.09 is enough to hook new viewers and light the fire under long-time fans.

There are spoilers herein, so if you haven’t seen the show, don’t follow along.

There is lots (too much) to talk about this episode so lets get started:

First, there is the title.  As Carrey pointed out in the comment section of the episode poll, the title of the episode is taken from an H.G. Wells novel published in 1933.  In his novel, Wells predicts what the future will look like, and how time will unfold between 1933 and 2106.  The book is centered around the idea of a “world state” that can be instated to solve all of the world’s ills including war, famine, and a worldwide plague.  Well’s novel details the workings of the “Dictatorship of the Air” which solves all issues through science, encourages enemies of the state to commit suicide, and eliminates religion.  The dictatorship is finally overthrown by an equally powerful sect in a coup.  The world finally is allowed to become a utopia after the coup is resolved.

The idea of a plague destroying the population and a world super-power having to pick up the pieces is definitely something that might be coming for Lost. If Widmore represents that superpower, and the plague is coming, then there is bound to be a battle raging. Or, the title could have nothing to do with the overall arc of the story, and was simply a metaphor for this episode.  Either way, the parallels are strong.

You have changed the rules.  Add this Ben quote to the mysterious and mythical quotes from the story. There is, “you have work to do,” “the island won’t let you,” “Jacob will tell us,” and now “you have changed the rules.”  All of these quotes smack of some cosmic or large scale game being played.  The conversation between Ben and Widmore was not normal or mortal.  People do not play by rules, we are too infallible.  Ben was speaking about some BIG, cosmic, spiritual or sacred rule set.  Ben was honestly shocked of the betrayal.

Does this mean that both Ben and Widmore are super-natural beings?  Is one a demon and one an angel?  Is one the devil and one his son?  Do they represent to factions in some ancient society such as the illuminati that knows the deepest secrets of history?  What ever the outcome, things turned a heck of a lot more serious and spiritual with this conversation.

Widmore had a painting of the Blackrock on his wall.  The guy is older than dirt.  He might have even been on the Blackrock. 


Killing Penny - Just a quick observation here.  When Ben pops out in Tunisia (I’ll talk about that next), he is wearing a parka and has a knife wound on his arm.  Penny has been in Antartica, or at least her team has.  Ben would not have needed the parka on the island.  I do not think Ben was saying “When I find Penny, she is dead.”  I think he was saying “I have Penny, and when I get back to her, she is dead.”

Speaking of time Tunisia - Time travel is official.  It would appear that it is not just time travel, but time and space travel.  How and when does Ben make his trip? I have two theories.

One, Ben tells Sayid that he took Desmond’s boat off of the island.  I do not think he is lying. I think Ben (and others) can calculate the coordinates when leaving the island necessary to travel in time and space.  Therefore, Ben took Desmond’s boat at the specific heading necessary to land him where he wanted to be.  Ben also did not invent the science, but rather he stumbled upon it, which is why he asks when and where he is.

Two, when Ben goes into the secret room downstairs, he does his time travel gig, starts a war, then comes back to release the smoke monster to finish the battle.  Personally, I like the boat theory more.

The doctor is in (the water). Also with time travel, the doctor’s body drifted onto the island through time at a weird coordinate therefore it got to the beach before he actually died on the freighter.  OR, in the future, Jack is on the freighter, so when Faraday inquires about the doctor in morse code, the freighter crew thinks they are talking about Jack.

Did Ben kill Sayid’s wife (Nadia) to start the war and hook Sayid? 

Well, that is enough for me right now, I am going to re-watch the episode this weekend and see what else I can dig out of it.  Let me know what you think in the comments below.  I could be very wrong on some of this stuff and would love to know your perceptions.


Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. carrey on April 25, 2008 10:58 pm

    lostfan, I think you may be right on the money with some of these observations/predictions. Especially in how you pointed out that “the game” which Ben is referring to is something deeper, more cosmic/spiritual than we realize. That didn’t really occur to me at the time. I think this is going to be really important. And yes,time travel is most certainly official now!

    As far as the title of the episode, it could be intentionally alluding us to what is down the road, or like you said, it may simply be a metaphor. Knowing the writers, I have a hunch it could be something more. I don’t know…I hope next week will bring about some answers. I just can’t wrap my head around this show, but I suppose that is what the writer’s want!

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