The Little Prince

The Lie Before “The Lie”

The episode starts back on “The Searcher” before Jack’s “lie” is formulated. From Kate’s clues in the conversation the 06 have been on “The Searcher” for two nights. “It’s gonna take more than two nights for me to get used to sleeping in a normal bed.” So “The Lie” (which I am really getting tired of capitalizing and putting in quotes, by the way) took Jack a few days to figure out and present to the rest of the group. It took Kate less time to come up with her own lie about Aaron. Before she even asks Jack “What are we gonna do about him?”, she knows what she is going to do. She even goes as far as picking now as a good time to tell Jack that Claire was going to put Aaron up for adoption when she got to L.A. At first Jack doesn’t want to go along with Kate's story. He already knows how high the shits going to get and he doesn’t want Kate to climb on top and add a little princely crap to the pile. Kate tells Jack that after everyone they have lost, Michael, Jin, and Sawyer, she doesn’t want to loose Aaron as well. Jack points out that Sawyer is not dead but to her he might as well be. “No, but he’s gone.”, but only for so long. That is if the O6 make it back to the island in time. Jack asks for one more assurance that Kate has his back on the lie. When Kate told Jack, “I’ve always been with you.”, I almost yelled “Bullshit!”. For a moment it looked like Jack thought about saying it as well.

Momma Always Said Life Was Like A Box Of Chocolate

Flash Forward to Kate three years in the future (or to the present, damn this time travel shit is a bitch) and she is looking rather hot, I must say. Sun lends Kate one of the patented Sun power skirt suits in the obligatory color black. For all of Aaron’s “special-ness” he can’t manage to open his “princely” sized bottle of ketchup. Kate leaves to go deal with the lawyers and Sun gets a special delivery. In the package is a surveillance report and some pictures of Ben and Jack. The pictures seem to be from right after Jeremy Bentham’s funeral. So she’s either spying on Ben, Jack, or Ben and Jack. Apparently death is also like a box of chocolates. Especially when the second layer is a gun! Sun looks at the gun with her recently acquired icy stare. Looks like she was expecting it to be in there. It also she looks like she knows exactly what to do with it.

Back on the island, Charlotte is still out, Sawyer is antsy, and Juliette fills in as best she can for Kate as she tries to calm Sawyer down and shoo him away. Sawyer walks off in a huff to be with his new best friend Johnny Locke. Juliette gently interrogates Daniel about what is wrong with Charlotte. In what is quite possibly the worst medical diagnosis ever, Daniel says Charlotte has a really bad case of jet lag. Thankfully he’s a physicist not a doctor.

Let’s Make A Deal

Kate meets with Norton the lawyer and offers him a deal and he quickly shuts her down. He then goes on to mention “the exchange of custody” and instantly I thought his client has to be Claire’s mom. Especially since she was shown in the “previously on Lost” bit. In order for it to be a “custody exchange” it would seem it would have to be a blood relative. So who do we have? Claire’s mom, Claire’s aunt, Jack, Claire’s half brother, and the father of Aaron (Tom, I think his name was?) but he took off when Claire told him she was pregnant. To me Claire’s mom was the best choice. Kate’s nightmare comes true when Norton says; “You are going to loose the boy.”. Exactly what Kate needs to hear to get those running shoes out and dusted off.

S.N.A.F.U.

Locke tells Sawyer (he sure is getting called James a lot now a days, isn’t he?) that they need to go to the Orchid Station. He also tells him that Kate and the rest of the O6 made it off of the island. Sawyer really wants to believe him. When Charlotte wakes up and asks Daniel; “Who are you?” I asked my TV “What the hell?” But then she was OK. “Hooray, everything’s back to normal!”, Miles gets better every week. Sawyer agrees with Locke’s idea and gathers everyone up to go to the Orchid Station.

Hurley And The Giant Orange Jumpsuit

Jack gets reprimanded by some woman who just can’t mind her own business. Wonder how long it is going to be before Ben, Sayid, or Jack stop dealing with these people and just start knocking them the hell out to shut them up? So Jack is officially suspended from the hospital. Kind of figured that one out but now we have verbal proof. Hurley calls Jack from prison and holy crap that was a huge jumpsuit! I hope after he gets sprung from the join the gets his shi-zhu shirt back. As Ben meets up with Jack at the hospital, Sayid is going all Kato on the fake orderly with his secret ninja moves. Chalk up one more tranquilizer dart toting bad guy for Sayid as he discovers it’s hard to get answers from a guy you are choking with an IV tube. The guy manages to tell Sayid that there is an address in his pocket. 42 (number) Panorama Crest (anagram for Romances Apart, that was the best one I could come up with, sorry) is Kate’s address. Now let’s think about that one for a minute; no way did Kate hire this guy. I don’t think Jack and Sayid thought that either but it did make them think she was next on the list. Which is why I think Ben hired the guy and gave him Kate’s address just to put a little fuel on the fire. There’s a reason they are using tranquilizer darts. They want them alive! Jack goes off to meet with Kate as Ben and Sayid decide to put their “dirty laundry” away for now and go after Hurley. We’ll get the “dirty laundry” story soon, that’s twice they have referenced it so there’s definitely a flashback in there somewhere. Wonder if it involves Sayid finding out Ben actually hired the guy who killed Nadia? Ben tells Jack to meet back at the marina at slip 23. Those numbers are still around.

I Heard My Momma Cry, I Heard Her Pray The Night Boone Carlyle Died

On the island we have flashed to the night Boone died, Aaron was born, and Locke was banging on the hatch door. John knows some of the rules of time travel, he can’t see himself. That would probably be bad as we know from the video of the two rabbits being in the same room. Some sort of weird paradox would probably make things go a little loopy. Or maybe even kill him. Miles gets a nosebleed and off in the distance we hear Claire screaming as she goes into labor. This was of one of the most heart wrenching scenes in the show that Sawyer has been in. And he didn’t say a word. He didn’t need to. The look on his face said it all.

Who’s Your Daddy? Who’s Your Mommy? Who’s Your Client?

Kate approves of the beardless Jack as she quickly fills him in on the lawyer and the paternity test. The two go off after the lawyer and follow him to the same hotel that Locke was at when he proposed to Helen. Jack and Kate watch the lawyer meet his client who is … Claire’s Mom! I was right! Jack gets out of the car and goes to talk to her and for one moment I thought Jack was going to go into the room with Claire’s mom and we would find out Jack was in on it. Jack tells Kate he is going to “fix it”. He was wrong and so was I. Claire’s mom wasn’t the client. She didn’t even know about Aaron. Then the client has got to be Ben. This is easily spotted since right after Kate asks Jack “Then who is it?”, they go right to Ben in the carpet van. Or is it a misdirection?

How Long Have You Been Here This Time?

Miles tells Daniel that he got a nosebleed and Daniel tells him it is from the amount of time he has spent on the island. Miles says that doesn’t make sense because he has been there less time than “those yahoos”. Miles goes on to say he has only been there for two weeks. Faraday asks him if he is sure about that. More support that he is Pierre Chang/Marvin Candle’s son? They get back to the camp and it’s empty. No beer, no food, no Rose, no Bernard, no Vincent, and no Zodiac raft. But there are two outrigger canoes. Sort of like the ones the others had over on the other island. I’m going to say we saw the left behinders flash to the future for the first time here. I’m putting my money on that those two boats belong to the O6 after they come back to the island and if we see them using Ajira Airlines to get back to the island, then that's exactly what it was. As Sawyer begins to tell Juliette what he saw in the jungle the other boat pulls up behind them and they open fire. First I asked myself why they were shooting at them if they were the O6, then I thought maybe they weren’t shooting at them to hit them but to get their attention and give them a message. Look close at the next picture,

I can almost make out the silhouettes of Sayid, Jack, and Kate. Can you? Look for this scene to be revisited in a future episode and if it is, we can see if Juliette actually managed to shoot someone on the other canoe. If she did, my money is on Sayid taking a bullet. A well timed flash comes to save them and Sawyer greets it with a hearty “Thank you Lord!” and then quickly takes it back when they jump to…

There’s Always A Loophole

Sayid and Ben pull into a parking garage for a quickie … err … I mean to meet with Norton who tells them they will be able to get Hurley out of jail in the morning. Ben answers; “That’s my lawyer.” when Sayid asks him who Norton was. I think we got our proof as to who the client really is.

You Got A Little Nosebleed On You There

Sawyer finishes telling Juliette about seeing Kate in the jungle and then he tells her she has a nosebleed. The nosebleeds coincide with how long you have been on the island. So what we know is Juliette has been on the island for more than 3 years but less than 4. The powers of deduction tell me that Miles, therefore, has been on the island before for at least 4 years. That leads me to believe that Charlotte, who had her nosebleed first, has been there, on the island before for the longest period of time. I’m guessing at least 5 or 6 years. Remember this just a little theorizing, don’t hold me to this to tightly. “Oy!”, Charlotte finds French stuff. So as I was saying - Sawyer takes back his thanks to the Lord for jumping them to… the night Danielle and her team crash on the island! Would’ja believe it?

I’m King Of The World!

The French crew find Leonardo DiCaprio floating in the ocean on a piece of wreckage. No, it’s not Leo, it’s Jin! What a surprise! OK, maybe not so much of a surprise, his name was in the opening credits for the first time this season. C’mon people, you didn’t notice that? In another instance of a cruel twist of irony on LOST, Jin once again finds himself among a group of people whose language he cannot speak nor understand.

Hail, Hail, The Gangs All Here (almost)

Over on Pier 23 Jack tells Kate about the piece of paper with her address on it. Kate freaks a little but not as much as I expected her to when she first sees Ben. Jack tells her it’s OK, he’s there to help them. Ben even sounds sincere as he greets Kate, well as sincere as he can get, I guess. Notice the “Yeah this is weird!” look Sayid shoots Kate when she looks at him. Kate guesses that it was Ben who hired the lawyers to come after her and Aaron. For someone who has made a career of lying, and sometimes doing it pretty well, Ben sure does come clean with the truth fairly quick. Maybe this is an attempt to show he has turned over a new leaf and could have lied but chose not to. The cold Ben makes a quick reappearance when he says; “Because he’s not your son, Kate.”. All of this is being watched by Sun. Who has a gun. In the back seat is Claire’s sleeping former oven bun. Sun gets ready to have some fun. That was just to show you what it would be like if Dr. Seuss was writing these commentaries.

I Knew A Man With One Arm Named Montand. What Was The Name Of His Other Arm?

Jin is sun burnt like a Mo’ Fugger! The French crew hear the broadcast of the numbers on their radio for the first time and we were there to hear it with them! Told you it was going to get cool! One thing I have noticed is that with all of the French and Latin we have heard spoken the past few episodes there is a word in both languages that sounds suspiciously like the “F” word to me in both languages. So we see Montand with two arms. When are we gonna see him with only one? Danielle’s baby bump looks a lot like Claire’s did when she first got to the island. Prop department only had one baby bump prosthetic I guess. A classic LOST "WTF?" Look is on Jin’s face when he meets Danielle Rousseau for the first(?) time. Well, the first time for her anyway. Seems there is a little confusion as to when and where Jin has been during all of the flashes since the wheel was turned. Well, in truth, it doesn’t really matter but I’m guessing he’s been right along with Sawyer, Locke, and the rest of them. The only difference is he’s been floating unconscious on a piece of freighter wreckage. This is the first flash we have seen of Jin so this would be the first flash Jin is actually aware of. The look on his face shows that he has a lot of catching up to do.

Possession Is 9/10th Of The Law

There’s one other point I have seen people wondering about and that is why didn’t the boat they were in disappear when they flashed. I think it’s been established that if the flashers, (ha ha, I like that) are in possession of a certain item (like the bullet in John’s leg, the guns they get from Widmore/Jones and the guy who’s neck he breaks, I think his name was Cunningham) or even just in contact with the item, it will flash with them. It could be interesting to see what would happen if, as the flash was coming, someone was able to grab a hold of someone not flashing with them to see if they did indeed move with them during the flash. Or - What if when a flash is about to come, Jin grabs Montand by the arm, and just the arm and when Jin disappears so does Montand’s arm, and just his arm? Wouldn’t that be messed up!

Who Is The Little Prince?

The episode's title refers to the novel of the same name by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a French writer and aviator. Mostly a children’s book, The Little Prince makes several points about life and human nature. Exupery was French, like Rousseau's science expedition, and met with disaster while traveling by air and disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Additionally, "Besixdouze" ("B612"), the apparent name of the expedition's lost boat (as per the wreckage on the beach), is a reference to the asteroid on which The Little Prince lives in the book. In the book, a young prince meets a fox which the essence of the book is contained in the famous lines uttered by the fox to the Little Prince: One cannot see well except with the heart, the essential is invisible to the eyes. Other key thematic messages are articulated by the fox, such as: "You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed" and "It is the time you have spent with your rose that makes your rose so important. " The story goes on to tell the tale of how the Prince goes exploring to asteroids that he numbers 325 to 330 (almost like the compass bearing people are told to follow). On each asteroid he meets one interesting person. See if any of these descriptions remind you of anybody:

The King - who can "control" the stars by ordering them to do what they would anyway. He then relates this to human subjects; it is the citizen's duty to obey. (Ben?)

The Conceited Man - who wants to be admired by everyone, but lives alone on his planet. He cannot hear anything that is not a compliment. (Shorten Conceited to just Con and who do you have?)

The Drunkard - who drinks to forget that he is ashamed of drinking. (Jack does this after he leaves the island)

The Businessman - who is constantly busy counting the stars he thinks he owns. He wishes to use them to buy more stars. The Prince then goes on to define property. The Prince owns the flower and volcanoes on his planet because he cares for them and they care for him. Because one cannot maintain the stars, he argues, the Businessman cannot own them. (Could be either Widmore or maybe even Locke)

The Lamplighter - lives on an asteroid which rotates once a minute. Long ago, he was charged with the task of lighting the lamp at night and extinguishing it in the morning. At that point, the asteroid revolved at a reasonable rate, and he had time to rest. As time went on, the rotation sped up. Refusing to turn his back on his work, he now lights and extinguishes the lamp once a minute, getting no rest. The Prince actually empathizes with the Lamplighter, who is the only adult to care about something other than himself. (This has got to be Desmond.)

The Geographer - spends all of his time making maps, but never leaves his desk to explore (even his own planet), going on the pretext that it is the job of an explorer to do so. Even if an explorer were to visit the Geographer, the Geographer is very doubting of any explorer's character and would most likely disregard the report. He does not trust things he has not seen with his own eyes, yet will not leave his desk. Out of professional interest, the geographer asks the Prince to describe his asteroid. The Prince describes the volcanoes and the rose. "We don't record flowers", says the geographer, because they are only ephemeral. The Prince is shocked and hurt to learn that his flower will someday be gone. The geographer then recommends that he visit the Earth. (this may be a better choice for Locke)

It is in Chapter 16 that the Little Prince goes to Earth. You can find the numbers everywhere if you look hard enough.

In the spring of 2007, The New Adventures of the Little Prince was written by Katherine Pardue and Elisabeth Mitchell. How odd and somehow appropriate.