LOST: Candidacy

Austen. Littleton. Hume. Straume. Lapidus. Linus. Kwon. I'll get to what these names mean soon. Needless to say, "The Substitute" does what LOST does best, answering questions with more questions, and these names have to do with said answer. However, the episode was great, and although we have more questions, the answers we were given have been hinted at and alluded to throughout the series, so they made sense and do not open up brand new areas to explore (unlike learning that the Others are stealing kids because women die during pregnancy).

The flash-sideways this week focus on Locke, who, despite being in a wheelchair, is living a rather good life, all things considered. Locke in the alternaverse is much better off than the real Locke: He and Helen are engaged, neither of them are angry at the world, Locke and his dad have a good relationship (which means that he ended up in a wheelchair some other way), and he has made peace with his condition. But, Locke being Locke, he just can't seem to avoid screwing things up. He gets himself fired from his job at the box company because he tried to go on his walkabout when he was supposed to be at a conference (what do box companies have conferences about?). But in this reality, he ends up on his feet (not literally). Helen understands why she lied and Hurley, the owner of the company, comes along and hooks him up with a substitute teacher job... at the same school where alterna-Ben teaches.

On the Island, Sun, Lapidus, Illana, and Ben bury Locke's body and begin their trek to the Temple. Meanwhile, Titus-Locke, after thoroughly scaring the crap out of Richard (it was interesting to see Richard showing fear), tried to recruit Sawyer to join his quest to get off the Island. Sawyer followed Titus (reluctantly and as snarky as ever) to a cliffside cave that Titus claimed to hold the answer to why everyone was on the Island: It was one of Jacob's old hang-outs where he scrawled the names of various people on the walls and ceiling (all of which were accompanied by one of the numbers). Many names were crossed out, but those that weren't included Sheppard, Ford, Reyes, Kwon, and Jarrah. The are the names of the candidates for the position of Island protector (i.e., the new Jacob).

The show reminded us that in last year's finale, Jacob visited most of the major characters, including Kate and both Kwons. However, Kate's name is not on the wall, and there is only one Kwon (Titus mentions that Jacob didn't know if Jin or Sun was the special one). Other people not on the wall are Desmond, Frank, Miles, Illana, or Ben (though the bigger surprise would have been if his name had been on the wall). So now we know why they are there. The question becomes, what was Jacob looking for in a replacement? In a substitute?

Up next: Empty promises...