Last week's riveting Lost premiere brought the Jack-Locke conflict to an entirely new level. This time, all of the survivors (including some of the Others) were forced to choose sides. It wasn't an easy decision, and there were some surprising choices. Each side has its benefits and its drawbacks. Let's take a closer look at these new teams!
Team Jack
Pros
- Possibility of rescue: We know that at least Jack and Kate make it back to civilization. Anyone who went with Team Jack has a decent chance of being one of the remaining members of the Oceanic Six. This faction is definitely the best choice for someone looking to get off the island. Sure, Hurley leaves the island, but he might be a special case.
- Contact with the outside world: Naomi brought news from the outside world as well as a satellite phone. At the end of season three, the 815 survivors learned that the plane wreckage had been found (supposedly) and that they were all declared dead. The freighties can catch them up on what else they've missed since the crash.
- An all-star lineup: Most of the island's A-Team stayed with Jack--Sayid, Kate, Desmond, etc. Juliet is also on hand to provide insider information about the island. These are people that know how to get things done. Fortunately, they're also as smart as they are cautious. Team Jack will be sizing up the freighties every step of the way.
Cons
- What happens to the rest of the team?: Sadly, there isn't room for everyone back on the mainland. As far as we know, only six of the 815 survivors make it off the island. What happens to the Team Jack members who don't get rescued? Are they harmed by the freighties? Stuck on the island? Contact with the freighties isn't a guarantee of rescue. Somehow the herd will be thinned.
- The freighties are not what they seem: Naomi was carrying a photo of Desmond, but Penny did not send her to the island. Since the world believed the 815ers were dead, the freighties aren't here for them. Why did they come to the island? Do the survivors fit in to their plans, or are they in the freighties' way? At this point, all we know about the freighties is that they are liars. Not a good start.
- Rescue does not equal happiness: The flash-forwards have painted a bleak picture of the survivors' future. Hurley's regrets about leaving the island drove him crazy, and Jack's life deteriorated some time after that. The Oceanic Six are bound by a dark secret, so maybe getting rescued isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Team Locke
Pros
- Safety: If Ben's fears come true, Team Locke is right to hide from the freighties. The island's newest visitors could end up killing anyone that they encounter, including some of the members of Team Jack. Locke is a little out there, but his instincts are fairly good (on the island, at least). Team Locke is the perfect place for those who want to remain on the island and those who are suspicious of the freighties.
- Island answers: Locke is all about uncovering the island's secrets. Ben appears to know more about the island than anyone else. Team Locke is the survivors' best chance to learn about a whole mess of island mysteries.
- Better accommodations: While Team Jack stayed on the beach, Team Locke set out for the Barracks. The Others' former home is full of modern conveniences. Even the opportunity to live indoors is an improvement on the beach tents. Life with Locke will be much more comfortable.
Cons
- Ben can't be trusted: Ben is still technically a prisoner, so you know he's going to manipulate the 815ers and try to escape. He willingly joined Team Locke, but he could make another attempt on John's life (and hurt others in the process). If there's a weak link the group, Ben is sure to exploit it. The survivors will have to be careful around him.
- Locke has his own agenda: Unlike Jack, Locke doesn't act out of concern for others. He's motivated by his own mystical relationship with the island. Remember when he described Boone's death as "the sacrifice that the island demanded"? Would you follow a man who sees you as a means to an end?
- Hurley regretted going with Locke: In his flash-forward, Hurley told Jack that going with Locke was a mistake. That statement doesn't bode well for the members of Team Locke. Will John betray his fellow survivors or leave them to fend for themselves? Will Ben gain the advantage and take control of the group? Both men are dangerous in moments of desperation.
Which team do you think will have the best fate?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-06-2008 @ 1:20PM
mj said...
I'm with team Locke, and always have been. Jack sucks as a leader. I have never liked or trusted him. Locke is a little off, but can survive. I'm surprised that Sayid is following Jack. Personally, I would want to stay on the island.
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2-06-2008 @ 1:37PM
Akbar Fazil said...
I am not surprised at all about Sayid still wanting to get off the island. Regardless of who the new-comers actually are, Sayid wants out. He probably sees them as a means to get off.
1. He has lost all faith in Locke after he blew up the sub.
2. His life was at a point of moving forward before the crash. He was on his way to reunite with Nadia.
2-07-2008 @ 2:34AM
Patrick said...
What exactly don't you trust about Jack? Is it all that saving peoples lives stuff?? Yeah what's he planning? I could see how you'd go with Locke that whole doesn't have a problem stabbing you in the back....OH YEAH!!! He actually stabbed someone in the back!!!
2-06-2008 @ 1:26PM
Scott said...
Interesting results--pretty balanced between the 2 teams. I voted for Locke, expecting it to skew heavily toward Jack. Locke may be half-deranged and totally selfish and willing to sacrifice the others, but Jack is just a horrible leader, and we KNOW the freighter people are up to no good. Why Sayid hung around with Jack, when he's usually the smartest one on the island, I have no idea.
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2-06-2008 @ 1:57PM
willy the impeached said...
"Would you follow a man who sees you as a means to an end? "
It happens all the time in real life, lots of people ... think Blumenthul, McDougals, Hubbell, Espy, Kennedy, Livingstone, Nussbaum, Foster, Ickes sold their souls to the Clintons in the 90s. People love easy answers and loads of BS!
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2-06-2008 @ 3:44PM
MarcDom7 said...
Just because there is an Oceanic 6 doesn't mean that those six are the only ones to make it off the island. All it technically means is that the media story was of the six. Who knows if others made it off out of the spotlight?
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2-07-2008 @ 1:12AM
summer Flood said...
That's that I was thinking! Because of last week's episode, I have a little thought that maybe Charlie is alive. I could see him being "seen" by just Hurley, but to be seen by someone else at the institution is too much of a coincidence. I'm betting that others get off the island, too, but are flying under the 'radar' for whatever reason.
2-06-2008 @ 3:58PM
jordancda said...
I believe only six get off the island because the rest of the group chooses to stay there. Things at some point get better and they don't want to return to their old lives. This is the only thing that makes sense to me because I don't think the Lost writers would kill of SOOOO many characters by the end of the series.
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2-06-2008 @ 4:55PM
karen said...
team jack all the way. i trust locke about as much as i do ben, which is to say not at all!
this is somewhat unrelated but...i'm SO surprised the first few episodes didn't leak online before the season premiere!! are they out there and i'm just not searching correctly?
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2-06-2008 @ 5:07PM
Nathan said...
I'm going to have to do with team Jack, simple because Hurley had much regret with is decision about going with Locke.
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2-06-2008 @ 5:11PM
joe said...
I think that when Hurley said he was sorry he went with Locke, that he should have stayed with Jack, that he may have meant that it was Team Jack that winds up catching the brunt of whatever the boaties are going to do and that he felt guilty for abandoning his friend. It's just like the writers to try and lead us to one assumption with ambiguous wording and then do a 180. I can't wait for tomorrow night's episode!
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2-06-2008 @ 5:57PM
lostfanatic said...
Jack is awesome...Everything he has done since he has been on the island is selfless. He always takes care of his fellow castaways regardless of the consequences to himself. John is a nut. He is selfish and consumed with that island. The only reason he probably wanted people to join him is because he needs witnesses when he marries the island and then he will sacrifice them all. He is a lunatic...and fyi, if you don't think the creators of Lost are above killing off everybody except six people....What have you been watching because the Lost wouldn't hesitate to kill off everybody lol...noone is safe on this show.
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2-06-2008 @ 6:54PM
Justin said...
I think in the end, some people choose to stay on the Island --and I don't believe as a corpse.
I'm still under the impression that Ben was the person in the casket during Jack's flash forward in last season's finale leading me to believe Locke ends up becoming the island's caretaker and those that leave wind up realizing that they were too destined to be caretakers for the island.
Of course, I'd be naive to think that everyone makes it off the island alive. That just won't happen. I think Hurley's flash forward is a good indicator: He regretted leaving jack for Locke--probably because he felt more in control w/ Jack, but in the end he states that they should have never left the island which leads me to believe that in the end, Locke stands tall no matter what happens.
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2-06-2008 @ 7:48PM
LC said...
I disagree that Locke looks as someone as a means to an end. He did not put Boone in danger. Boone was as much in it as Locke in keeping the hatch secret and finding out what was in the plane. Locke, in his own zen way, was able to put meaning into Boone's death.
Remember that Locke was helping people get over their personal demons in the first season. He led a team to search for Mr Echo after the hatch blew and went back to warn everyone about Juliet, even though it turned out she wasn't bad after all.
Sure he has his own agenda, but I don't believe he would ever sacrifice anyone of the oceanic survivors to get what he wants.
I like Jack but he has made mistake after mistake, despite good intentions. Hell, I don't even know why so many are voting to go with team Jack anyway, since we already have the hindsight that he admits he was wrong to leave and that only 6 of them made it out and are supposedly sworn to some oath of secrecy.
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2-06-2008 @ 7:51PM
Michael Brennan-White said...
Remember what happened to Arst? Be a cool kid or you end up like a red shirt on Star Trek
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2-06-2008 @ 8:39PM
Smacksmackums said...
I heart Jack.
Bad for Jack and Hurley doesn't necessarily mean bad for everyone. Kate seemed content with her role off the island, although it did seem kind of secretive.
I'd want off the island. Too many people are dying. Why would you want to stay on an island if your chance of survival seems to be about 50/50?
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2-07-2008 @ 1:16AM
summer Flood said...
I'm on Team Jack. At least they get answers that way. Locke never seems to explain himself and I would rather see for myself rather than hide away in the barracks and wonder what was going on.
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2-07-2008 @ 11:07AM
LEM said...
SOME QUESTIONS--
WHERE'S WALT?
IS MICHAEL GONE FOREVER?
WHO WAS IN THE COFFIN?
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