Lost: Ji Yeon

(S04E07) Well, that episode was a real tearjerker. This week on Lost, we met a few more members of the freighter crew, Sun had second thoughts about joining Team Jack, and Bernard got a little screen time. We finally got a look at Ben's inside man on the freighter, too. Things are starting to get weird on the freighter, and I'm beginning to wonder if Sayid and Desmond were safer back on the island.
The Freighter
Frank Lapidus brought food to Sayid and Desmond, who were being held prisoner after their trip to the radio room. Regina was standing guard, and looked very agitated when Frank pointed out that she was holding her book upside down. Sayid demanded to speak to the ship's captain, but Frank assured him that he didn't. Later, someone slid a note under the door, which read: "Don't trust the captain."
Desmond complained about a repetitive tapping sound coming from the pipes, but Sayid realized that someone was tapping on them on purpose. Before they could figure out if the tapping was Morse code or a message from their "friend" on the boat, they were summoned by the captain. When they reached the ship's deck, Sayid noticed that the helicopter was gone; Frank had gone "on an errand." As Sayid was arguing with the doctor about the whereabouts of the chopper, Desmond saw something strange. Regina walked to one side of the ship wrapped in chains and jumped into the ocean. Sayid and Desmond were the only ones who reacted to this; everyone else did nothing. Captain Gault told them that she was already gone, and instructed his men to return to their work.
Captain Gault explained that the ship's crew members were suffering from an intense form of cabin fever, possibly due to their proximity to the island. He had orders to distance the ship from the island for the crew's safety, but someone had damaged the engine. When Sayid asked who was giving the orders, the captain informed him that Charles Widmore was calling the shots. The captain knew about Desmond's connection to Widmore, but barely said another word about it. He did, however, let Sayid and Desmond know about the staged plane wreckage and showed them what was supposed to be the black box from the plane. Finally, he implied that someone with a great deal of resources and power staged the crash--someone named Ben Linus.
After this sudden burst of sharing, the doctor took Sayid and Desmond to their new accommodations. Unfortunately, the room's previous occupant left a giant blood stain behind. The doctor called over to the janitor and ordered him to clean the stain. The man came out of the shadows and, to no one's surprise, turned out to be Michael. Instead of calling him out, Sayid played it cool and extended his hand to Kevin Johnson.
Team Jack
Back at the beach, Sun was concerned that their rescue wasn't as definite as they thought. She was superstitious about discussing baby names at this stage in her pregnancy, but Jin was too excited to stop. He wanted a girl named Ji Yeon. Sun told Jin that they could pick a name when they got off the island. When the Tempest group returned, Kate's remarks about Juliet and the Freighties made Sun worry even more. Sun suspected that Juliet was lying about her condition and that the Freighties had an agenda apart from rescuing the 815ers.
At last, Sun took matters into her own hands and asked Daniel point blank if they were getting rescued. Daniel's mumbling, evasive response was the last straw. She decided that she, Jin, and their baby were better off at the barracks with Locke. They tried to pack without bringing attention to themselves, but Sun got caught searching Juliet's tent for pre-natal vitamins. Juliet did her best to convince Sun that she was telling the truth about the dangers of her pregnancy, but Sun no longer trusted her. When it was clear that Sun was determined to leave, Juliet betrayed her trust and told Jin about Sun's affair. The couple's trip was cancelled.
Jin's anger about his wife's infidelity drove him into the arms of...Bernard. The two married men went fishing together and talked about the difficulties of marriage. Bernard told Jin the truth about Rose's illness and explained Rose's reasons for going with Jack. Rose and Bernard believe in karma, so they naturally resisted going with a murderer. Bernard told Jin that if you make bad choices, bad things will happen to you. In the meantime, Juliet tried to patch things up with Sun. She reminded her of what her future would be if she stayed on the island, and told Sun that she was her patient. Both women needed to get off the island, and the freighter was their only option at the moment.
Jin returned to the tent with dinner and made up with his wife. He admitted that he wasn't an ideal husband in the past, and he understood why she cheated on him. He forgave her, and they agreed to stay on the beach and try to get rescued.
Flash-Forward/Flashback: Sun and Jin
In the future, a very pregnant Sun began to experience severe pain. She called an ambulance and was rushed to the hospital, where some nurses' whispers confirmed that Sun is one of the Oceanic Six. She made a fuss when one of the nurses tried to remove her wedding ring and cried out for her husband. Before Sun could have an emergency C-section, she went into labor and gave birth to a healthy baby girl.
Meanwhile, a frantic Jin searched a toy store for a stuffed panda. He kept getting calls on his cell phone, and he assured someone that he was on his way to the hospital. He bought the panda, but lost it minutes later when someone stole his cab. Jin displayed a surprising amount of anger when met with this setback. There was another panda at the toy store, but it was on hold for another customer. Jin insisted that the clerk sell him the toy, and threw down a large sum of money.
Jin reached the hospital with the stuffed animal in tow and presented it to an ambassador on behalf of Paik Automotive. The panda was for for the ambassador's new grandson, not Jin's new daughter. At the time of this scene, Jin and Sun had only been married two months. He was not a part of Sun's post-island future.
At home with her new baby, Sun put her wedding ring back on and prepared for an important visitor. She answered the door and greeted Hurley, all dressed up in a suit. Hurley held the baby girl and said that she looked like Jin. The three of them went to visit Jin's grave at the cemetery. Jin is dead in the near future, or at least presumed dead. The date of death on his headstone was September 22, 2004. Sun sat in front of her husband's headstone and showed Jin their baby. She named her Ji Yeon, just like Jin wanted.
Final remarks/questions:
Sure, the big "Michael is Ben's spy" twist would have been more thrilling had I not known about it, but it's still exciting. Lost doesn't need another big reveal at the close of a episode. It was smart of the writers to place the twist ten minutes before the end and focus more on Jin's fate. Sun's flash-forward was so moving that having an unrelated shocking ending would have stolen the spotlight from her storyline.
Frank doesn't seem to be one of the freighter gang in the same way that Charlotte, Miles, and Daniel are. He doesn't appear to trust Captain Gault, and has shown sympathy for the 815ers. I hope we can learn more about Frank before he succumbs to the cabin fever that's going around. I don't trust Captain Gault either. Why was he suddenly so forthcoming about their mission? There's no way he would let Sayid and Desmond in on the ship's mission like that.
The writers are doing an amazing job with the established couples this season. The Desmond-Penny scenes and the Sun-Jin scenes were both extremely touching, and I find that I care more about their relationships than the potential for romance elsewhere. Why have romantic tension when you can have true love?
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When Sun turned off the TV in the first scene, she was watching Exposé, Nikki's TV show.
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There was a significant hint that Jin's scenes weren't part of the flash-forward. The shopkeeper told Jin that it was the Year of the Dragon. The soonest post-island Year of the Dragon would be 2012, way too late for Sun to be having her baby. Jin's scene must have been set sometime between February 2000 and January 2001.
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Is Michael/Kevin Johnson immune to the intense "cabin fever" that is affecting the other freighter passengers? I'm guessing that's why he's sabotaging the engine--maybe he's waiting for the island's side effects to pick off the crew members one by one.
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Was Bernard's mention of karma a hint about Jin's fate? Does Jin pay for a bad decision that he made?
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The headstone listed Jin's death date as September 22, 2004, which is the day of the crash. When does Jin really die? Is he still alive on the island? Part of me thinks that Jin is alive on the island--Sun was still wearing her wedding ring, after all (there are other ways to interpret that, though).
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Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse promised that the identities of the Oceanic Six would be revealed by the end of the seventh episode. Does this mean that Aaron is the final member of the Oceanic Six? Is Michael still in the running? So many questions.
Next week--Michael has some 'splainin to do. In the meantime, check out additional Lost coverage at AOL.
| He dies shortly after being rescued. | |
|---|---|
| He dies on the island before being rescued. | |
| He's still alive on the island. | |
| Other (elaborate in comments). |

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