Lost Rewatch, S01Ep02, “Pilot, Part 2”

WARNING: The content of this blog is based entirely on Seasons 1-5 of ABC’s LOST. If you have not watched all 103 episodes and don’t want your fun spoiled,then please do not read this blog until you’ve caught up!

We’re introduced to a lot of interesting stuff in this episode that will stick with us for many episodes to come: Kate is a fugitive, Charlie is a drug addict, Sayiid was in the Republican Guard, Walt and Michael don’t get along (and neither do Sun and Jin for that matter(oh – or Boone or Shannon – yeesh!)).  Sawyer reads his infamous letter on the beach and later shoots a polar bear in the steamy jungle.  And of course they discover Rousseau’s 16-year looping distress call.  Priceless!  But for me the most important scene is the following between Locke and Walt (Transcript from Lostpedia):

[Shot of Locke with the Backgammon pieces. Walt approaches, curious.]

Walt approaches Locke while he plays backgammon on the beach

WALT: What is it, like checkers?

LOCKE: Not really, it’s a better game than … checkers. You play checkers with your Pop?

WALT: No. I live in Australia with my mom.

LOCKE: You have no accent.

WALT: Yeah, I know. We move a lot. She got sick. She died a couple of weeks ago.

LOCKE: You’re having a bad month.

WALT: I guess.

LOCKE: Backgammon is the oldest game in the world. Archeologists found sets when they excavated the ruins of ancient Mesopotamia. Five thousand years old. That’s older than Jesus Christ.

WALT: Did they have dice and stuff?

LOCKE: [nods] Mhhm. But theirs weren’t made of plastic. Their dice were made of bones.

WALT: Cool.

LOCKE: Two players. Two sides. One is light … one is dark. Walt, do you want to know a secret? [we don’t find out the secret this episode]

Two players . . . Jacob and his Nemesis?

That gave me chills when I saw it this time around.  I could picture Jacob and his Nemesis sitting not to far away on another beach in their light and dark shirts.  Two players.  Two sides.  But the question is: what is the game?  (And who’s peices are whose?)  And is John Locke being moved around the board at this stage in the game?

This post written while listening to:

Star Wars – The Battle of Good and Evil by John Williams, and Our Endless Numbered Days by Iron & Wine

While drinking a frosty: Iced Almond coffee (ground, brewed, flavored, and chilled in my own kitchen)