Initial Reaction to "The Substitute"

This was a great episode. It had great story. It had mythology. It had John Locke! This was far better than last week's episode. Again, I still don't think last week's episode was bad by any means, though a whole lot slower, with a lot less dense mythology. It appears as though they're following the format of the episode-centrics from Season One, which is very interesting. Overall, I'm really enjoyed this episode a lot, and would so as far to say that it's my favorite this season so far, although, obviously, there's not much to choose from. I took A LOT of notes on this episode, so let's get into it.

From Lostpedia

Here are some of my thoughts, questions, and theories on "The Substitute" (Some of which were written while viewing the episode.):

Questions:

• What information does the Man in Black want from Richard?
• Did John Locke and Anthony Cooper have a good relationship, and if so, how did Locke end up in a wheelchair?
• What happened to Locke's mother then?
• Did Locke lie to Helen about the walkabout?
• How does Richard not know about the candidates? 
• What is the Man in Black recruiting for?
• Who is the kid? Why does he have blood in his hands?
• What exactly are the rules?
• Why does Ilana take Jacob's ashes?
• Is "John Locke" good or evil? Or somewhere in between?
• Is the Man in Black going to tell Sawyer anything?
• How does Ilana know about Jin?
• Why does Sawyer see the kid too?
• Who is the kid talking about killing? Sawyer?
• Is Richard correct about the Man in Black? Does he want to kill Sawyer and everyone else?
• How does Ilana know that the Man in Black can't change now?
• Why is he stuck now? What happened to make him stay in the form of John Locke?
• What is the significance of the names inside the cave?
• Why does Jacob think that the island needs protecting?
• When did Jacob and the Man in Black come to the island?
• How long has the Man in Black been trapped?
• Who are all the candidates and how are they chosen?
• Why are some of the names crossed out?
• Why do the numbers correspond to those who are left?
• Which Kwon is on the wall of names?
• Why isn't Kate's name on the wall?

From Lostpedia

Notes:

• I know that it's rude to laugh at people with disabilities, but Locke falling out of the wheelchair and the sprinklers going off was hilarious.
• So, Helen is still with John Locke. Interesting.
• I loved seeing Helen again.
• Helen mentions getting her parents and Locke's dad together and eloping, which indicates that Locke has a relationship with his father, which also indicates that Anthony Cooper did not push John Locke out of a window.
• The Smoke Monster POV was pretty damn awesome.
• Richard Alpert looks more terrified than ever. We've never seen him like this.
• It's been confirmed that the date on Claire's sonogram is not the current date, as Helen and Randy both mention that the wedding is in October. It can be assumed that Claire's sonogram had the date of her expected delivery on it.
• Randy Nations! Still a dick! Even in alternate timelines!
• The Man in Black is making his case more and more in my opinion. I'm starting to really think that Jacob is the douche in this twosome. We've found out more from the Man in black than this all-knowing Jacob that we've heard about since Season 3.
• Ben says that the Smoke Monster killed Jacob.
• Of course Ben lies. What else is new.
• Sawyer listens to Iggy Pop and the Stooges "Search and Destroy."
• Sawyer knows that he's not John Locke right away. He says that Locke was cared even when he was pretending he wasn't. People are so much smarter when they're drunk.
• "Why are you on this island?" Man in Black
• "I'm on this island because my plane crashed; because my raft blew up; because the helicopter I was on was riding one too heavy." Sawyer
• Terry O'Quinn and Josh Holloway play really well off of eachother.
• "Well, I guess I better put some pants on." Sawyer
• Umm, has Sawyer really let himself go? He seems to have soiled himself.
• I know it was Hurley's Hummer right away, and I love how Locke was trying to scratch it.
• Eww. That crab crawling on Locke's corpsey face was gross.
• "He's getting pretty ripe!" Frank
• That kid is totally Aaron. I don't know what makes me think that, but it was my first instinct.
• "You know the rules. You can't kill him." Kid
• "Don't tell me what I can't do." Hilarious.
• John Locke running into Hugo Reyes at the box company is pretty awesome. Randy is "kind of a douche." Kind of?
• "What kind of animal would you describe yourself as?" Interviewer
• I totally thought that Locke was going to say a boar, or at least, a polar bear.
• The woman who interviews Locke is the same woman that was the Psychic that Hurley went to with his dad.
• How do John Locke and Rose Nadler not recognize eachother? Locke was sitting right behind Rose on the plane. Also, I thought Rose was from New York.
• Rose still has cancer. Sadface.
• "Of Mice and Men. You know that one?" Sawyer "Nope. Before my time." Man in Black
• Dammit, you could've give us any sort of indication of WHEN his time is? Damn you, writers!
• "What I am is trapped. And I've been trapped for so long, I don't even remember what it feels like to be free. But, before I was trapped, I was a man, just like you." Man in Black
• Ilana says that the Man in Black can't change his face anymore, that he's stuck this way.
• Considering the the Smoke Monster took the form of Alex when she approached and threatened Ben in the cave under The Temple, we can assume that he could change before Jacob was killed. Perhaps it was Jacob's death that made him get stuck as one embodiment now.
• The ladder and the whole in the cliff scene was pretty cool. Although, I was kind of hoping for a Jacob's Ladder reference from Sawyer.
• I really like the camera angels this episode.
• Two rocks on a scale, which was an inside joke, I think, not only between Jacob and the Man in Black, but also between the writers and the fans, and also another appearance of the black and white theme.
• I'm kind of disappointed that Locke isn't going to see Jack for a consult. I was really hoping that Jack would end up fixing Locke.
• "John Locke was a believer. He was a man of faith. He was a much better man than I'll ever be, and I'm sorry that I murdered him." Ben
• "This is the weirdest damn funeral I've ever been to." Frank
• John Locke's funeral totally got me choked up. I think that's the first time that I actually felt the gravity of the death of John Locke completely and fully.
• Uh, Locke, you might want to mention the knives and why you have them before you tell her to open the case. You think that might help?
• How many damn houses does Jacob have? The cabin, the four-toed foot suite, and the cave condo.
• 16 - Jarrah 8 - Reyes
• So, Locke is a volleyball coach? And a Biology teacher?
• Where's WALT?! Come on! I was so hoping we'd see him in the school.
• "How many times do I have to go over this? If you have the last cup of coffee, you remove the filter and throw it away." Ben
• "Tea. Now there's a gentleman's drink." Ben
• Ben is a European History teacher. I would be terrified.
• I love how Ben is the same bitchy little smartass, without the evil, kind of. I get the idea that his co-workers don't like him very much. Maybe he and Locke will be best buds.
• 42 - Kwon, but which one?
• 23 - Shephard "That'd be Jack Shephard."
• Shephard wasn't even on Jacob's list! I still don't understand why Jack would be on that wall, for practical and personal reasons.
• "Jacob had a thing for numbers."
• 4 - Locke 15 - Ford
• "He was pushing you to the island." Man in Black
• Candidate=nominated to take over the job of Jacob.
• The Man in Black crosses off Locke's name.
• "It's just a damn island." Man in Black
• "Are you ready to go home?" Man in Black "Hell yes." Sawyer
• "Has he ever appeared somewhere that he's not supposed to be?" I immediately thought about this line, that was posed to Michael, by Ms. Klugh, in reference to Walt. Going along with my "the kid is Aaron" theory, perhaps he is future-Aaron and somehow is appearing somewhere where he's not supposed to be. If not, then the kid could obviously be Jacob.
• There have been about eight million commercials during this episode. So annoying.
• Frank Lapidus always has the best lines.
• Again, where's Josh Holloway's Emmy?
  

Did that make up for last week, people? I think it did. No one can complain now. We got a lot of answers, and of course, as always, more questions. I thought the acting this week was phenomenal. Josh Holloway has really stepped it up this season. I also really enjoyed seeing all the people that Locke ran into in his flash sideways. Seeing Helen again was great (Even though I got spoiled on that MONTHS ago, thanks Twitter.). This season is really starting to kick into gear, and I cannot wait for next week. Let's see how many times I can watch this episode again before then... 4? 8? 15? 16? 23? 42?