Episode 17LockdownAt lot happened in last night’s episode, didn’t it? Where to begin! You know, now
that is the kind of episode we should be treated to each week – something that makes our heads (ok, maybe only my head) reel with information overload. Just when I started thinking that maybe Henry Gale is not so bad after all, we find out that he is that bad!! But I’m getting ahead of myself here.
Let’s get that flashback business over with and done with, so we can progress to much juicier stuff. Lock remembers a time when he was still with Helen and going to propose to her. But the death of his father – Cooper – waylays that plan for a bit. Lock and Helen go to the funeral where they notice two suspicious looking guys in the sidelines.
Locke’s a home assessor, and he checks out a house for a woman. I know I should know who she is…. She looks so familiar but I just can’t place her. Some help here would be appreciated. Anyway, turns out that Daddy Cooper is very much alive and has staged his death to get away from the two goons. He’s conned them out of $700000 and wants Locke to retrieve it for him.
He agrees, and gets the cash. When he gets home, the two goons are in his home. They question him and he denies everything. He assures Helen he wasn’t lying after the thugs have left. Later, Locke goes to return the cash to his father, but Helen follows him and confronts Cooper. She leaves Locke, telling him that he chose his father’s love over her love.
Back on the island, Charlie, Sayid and Ana-Lucia find the balloon and grave exactly where Henry Gale said it would be.
And on the other side of the island, where it isn’t raining, Henry Gale tries to convince Jack and Locke that he was just joking. Jack’s all worked up and for once he has every right to be. He orders Locke to put Henry Gale back in the armory. Henry Gale asks Locke why he allows Jack to talk to him that way. Locke gets worked up too and roughly throws Henry Gale into the armory.
Some time later, while Henry Gale is reading like the good little prisoner that he is, and Locke is working out his frustrations on an exercise bike, he hears something. He figures it’s coming from a loudspeaker up in a corner. So he does what anyone with logic does – he fiddles with it. As soon as he starts tightening whatever it was he decided needed tightening, there's a loud whine that startles him. Startles him? He practically falls off the chair.
But now we can hear what sounds like a woman's voice, but what she's saying is inaudible. Henry Gale is meanwhile shouting from the armory. Shut up already, Henry Gale. Henry Gale suggests that Locke should get Jack, which isn't going to win him any points with Locke.
We clearly hear the woman go “5…4…3…2…1”… and the blast doors discovered by Michael (oh, before I forget to say this – Am I the only person who seems to be concerned that there’s not been a peep out of Michael for a while…and no-one on the island seems to be too bothered??)… now… where was I? Oh, yes, the blast doors start shutting fairly quickly.
Thinking fast, Locke inserts the thinnest object he could possibly find between the blast doors and the floor. Locke is now trapped in the living area with Henry Gale. Henry Gale actually seems to be a bit startled. Locke is unable to move the blast doors on his own, so after selling his soul to the devil (i.e. Henry Gale), Locke and Henry Gale are able to lift up the blast door with a makeshift lever.
They prop it up with a toolbox. In what I suppose is the stupidest move on Lost yet (even bypassing Charlie’s “kidnapping” of Sun) Locke decides to slide under the doors… Helloooo!!! Locke, have you learnt nothing???
On this island, if something can go wrong, it will!!!! And sure enough, the toolbox isn't enough to hold the door, which edges down enough to pin Locke at his thighs. Henry stacks up some of the unused bar-bells beneath the blast doors to stop it sliding further…. something they ought to have done first.
The alarm goes off, and now Locke has to place his life in the devil again. He explains to Henry Gale about the numbers and tells Henry to go via the air ducts. Way to go Locke, not only was there another way out of the living area, but now Henry Gale is just a step away from freedom.
So Henry Gale goes off to the pantry, but while trying to get to the duct, he slips and falls and passes out. So the alarms going off, Henry Gale’s out and Locke’s shouting for all he’s worth. Henry wakes up and asks how long he was out of it. Eventually, he gets into the air duct.
By now, the alarm is going ballistic. Locke's yelling for Henry Gale, but there's still no answer. Then the alarm stops, and we hear what sounds like the timer numbers resetting. Suddenly, the lights go out. "Please say something," says Locke, in the dark. Nothing. And on come these ultra-violet lights … and right in front of Locke, on the blast door currently pinning him to the floor, is what looks like a hand-drawn map of the island's hatches in glowing ink.
The lights come back on and the blast doors open. Henry Gale tells Locke that he’s done exactly like Locke told him too.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, Jack and Sawyer play a bit of poker… using mangoes instead of cash. Jack cleans out Sawyer’s fruit stash, but Sawyer wants it back. Jack takes the opportunity to win the medicine back.
When he’s cleaned Sawyer out, he heads back to the hatch. Kate tries to follow him, claiming she hasn't had a shower in days. Ewwww! Jack quickly makes up a story about a busted water pipe, but quickly recovers by promising to let her know as soon as it is fixed. They exchange flirty glances before Kate sees a flashing light over Jack's shoulder.
The go out to investigate and discover an enormous package of food (with the DHARMA logo) attached to a parachute. Either Hurley's secret stash is bigger than anyone of us has suspected, or someone or something has dropped off some supplies. Out of the jungle walk Sayid, Ana-Lucia and Charlie.
Back in the hatch, Henry Gale is helping Locke and is being all nice towards him, when in bursts Jack and co. Jack orders Henry Gale away from Locke... Locke says that Henry Gale helped him. Henry Gale asks about his balloon, and Sayid confirms that they found the balloon and the grave and they were exactly where Henry had said they were.
Sayid wasn’t happy so he dug up the grave..and in it was a man’s body… a man named Henry Gale. And further more, it’s a
black man! So, unless Henry Gale has pulled a Michael Jackson on us, he’s got a lot of explaining to do!
Oh wow, so much to discuss, so little time.
Henry Gale first. Well, we all knew he was an Other. I don’t for a minute believe that he expected Sayid to dig up the grave. I also don’t believe that it was the first time he heard of the numbers. I’ve been watching this show for, like ages, and I still don’t know them all. Also, I don’t believe that “he did as Locke asked him to”. He did something else.
I’m also thinking that he knew what the countdown (from the blast door affair) was all about. I think that it was Dharma’s way of ensuring that those in the hatch had no way out when food was to be delivered. And just how was the food delivered anyway? A plane would have been heard, a balloon is way too large to go by un-noticed. Fair enough, there are these noiseless, stealth planes.
My theory is that Henry didn’t expect to get found out, which is why he didn’t make a run for it. His mission wasn’t at risk according to him.
The map!!! Unlike us, Locke doesn’t have access to the web to download a picture of it. I hope his memories good.. The
map looks like something Desmond could have either drawn up or at least written on. I can just make out words “Possible CV II, Inactive since accident” and “I am Here”.
My head is spinning with this info. I need a cup of tea.
What are your thoughts?