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Lost 6.01/6.02 - LA X - Wed, 03 Feb 2010
Lost returned last night with LA X, the first episode of its final season and, as we have become used to with Lost, it raised more questions than it answered.
It appears that this season instead of having flashbacks and flash forwards we are going to be having "flash-sideways". There are apparently now two timelines; one in which the plane crashed and one in which it didn't. The two timelines are at different points in time however; the "land safely" timeline is taking place in September 2004 while the "crashed" timeline is presumably sometime in 2007 or 2008. The episode cuts back and forth between the timelines (and in the "crashed" timeline it cuts between scenes at the foot of the statue and with the rest of the survivors). In this recap/review I'm going to simply follow one timeline at a time.
Land Safely Timeline
The episode opens with a recap of the ending from last season and the standoff at the Swan Station construction site. Jack drops the bomb into the shaft, the magnetic anomaly is released and Juliette is pulled in. Everyone runs for safety as Juliette pounds on the bomb with a rock and it explodes.
We fade to white as at the end of last season but the white resolves into the view of clouds outside a plane. We are back on Oceanic 815, minutes before the crash. The plane hits turbulence as before but this time the turbulence subsides and the plane continues on its way safely. Jack seems confused for a moment but no one else seems to notice that anything unusual has happened.
A quick camera pan shows that the plane is flying over the Island. We see the Other's village and the foot of the four-toed statue, but with a major difference. They, and apparently the entire Island, are now underwater.
The plane lands in Los Angeles and the passengers disembark. Charlie is arrested for possession and taken away. Kate convinces the Marshall that she needs to go to the bathroom and, while there, attempts to pick the lock on her handcuffs with a pen. She fails but knocks the Marshall unconscious and steals his gun and jacket (which she drapes over her hands to hide the handcuffs).
Kate flees and gets on an elevator with Sawyer. He notices the handcuffs but says nothing and covers for her when two security guards get on the elevator as well, helping her escape.
She winds up outside in the taxi line but is unable to find one before the Marshal spots her. She jumps into a cab and orders the driver to leave at gunpoint before noticing that Claire is in the cab as well.
Back in the airport, Jin is having trouble with customs because of the watch he is delivering for Mr. Paik. The customs agent then discovers a large quantity of money in Jin's luggage. (Sun is surprised at the money too.) Jin is taken away for questioning. Another agent asks Sun if she speaks English but she denies it.
Elsewhere, Jack has been informed that the coffin carrying his father is missing. He runs into Locke who's case of knives is also missing. They talk briefly and Locke strangely seems to be more of the assured, Island Locke than the insecure, pre-Island Locke. Jack gives Locke his card and offers him a free consultation on his spine.
Crashed Timeline - The Temple
The "crashed" timeline story starts with Kate regaining consciousness in a tree. She is having trouble hearing (presumably from the blast) but climbs down and runs into Miles (who is also having trouble hearing). She sees the side entrance to the Swan station and realizes that the explosion didn't change the timeline but instead has somehow blown them back to the "present". She and Miles go to the site of the Hatch and see it is as it was after Desmond turned the fail-safe and blew it up.
Jack and Sawyer are both near the crater and they manage to revive both. Sawyer attacks Jack, blaming him for Juliette's death and saying that Jack's plan didn't work; they are still on the Island. Jack is shocked and stunned.
At the van, Hurley and Jin also notice that they have moved in time but are more concerned with Sayid. Jin goes looking for Jack. While he is gone, Jacob appears to Hurley. He tells Hurley that in order to save Sayid they need to go to the Temple, saying it is where Jin went with the French people. He also tells Hurley that he died an hour ago.
At the Hatch crater Sawyer and Jack are still arguing when Kate hears Juliette calling for help. Everyone attempts to clear the debris from over the shaft but they cannot move a large beam until Jin brings the van, allowing them to drag it off.
Sawyer descends into the shaft and finds Juliette. Sawyer tries to free her but she seems to realize that it is too late. They declare their love for each other and she asks him to kiss her. She then says she has to tell him something important but dies before she can say anything more.
Meanwhile, Jack has said he can do nothing for Sayid. Hurley convinces them to take Sayid to the Temple.
Sawyer exits with Juliette's body, telling Kate that he plans to kill Jack.
They take the van as close to the Temple as they can then most of the group leaves with Sayid. Sawyer stays behind to bury Juliette and asks Miles to help him. They do, then Sawyer asks Miles to contact Juliette and find out what she wanted to tell him. Miles balks at first but Sawyer throws him face first on the grave and demands that he does. Miles goes into his trance and tells Sawyer that her final words are "It worked." (Presumably she is talking about the alternate time line.)
The rest of the group reaches the hole under the wall around the Temple and enters it. There, they find the body of the member of Rousseau's crew who was pulled in by Smokey after losing his arm. Kate examines a book beside the body and Hurley wonders aloud why someone would bring a book into the hole.
The party passes the hole into which Ben fell (where he encountered Smokey disguised as Alex) but almost immediately afterward are captured by the Others. (The last time we saw any group of the Others it was said that all of them were going to the Temple, apparently they got there.)
The Others are now being led by a Japanese man who speaks no English. Cindy (the flight attendant) is still with the Others and recognizes Hurley, Kate and the others but the Other's leader orders them to be shot. Hurley stops him by saying that they were sent by Jacob and gives him the guitar case (previously given to him by Jacob back in Los Angeles).
The man opens the case and finds a large, wooden ankh inside. To everyone's surprise he breaks it in half and extracts a piece of paper from inside. He reads the paper then asks everyone who their names are. They answer and, apparently satisfied, he orders the Others to take Sayid inside. Hurley asks what was on the paper and is told that it said if Sayid dies then they are all doomed.
They take Sayid to an inner room where there is a muddy fountain and pool. One of the Others expresses surprise that the pool is not clear but the leader cuts his hand and dips it in the water. He removes it after a few seconds seemingly unchanged but he orders the Others to take Sayid into the pool anyway.
The Others hold Sayid face-down in the water while the leader turns an hourglass over, holding Sayid there until the sand runs out. Sayid is removed, his wound apparently healed, but he is dead.
While the pool itself is new we have had hints of its existence before. The Temple is where Richard took Ben after he had been shot (by Sayid, ironically). Then Richard told Jack and the others that saving Ben would "change" him and make him "one of them" forever. Will putting Sayid in the pool "change" him too?
And here's an odd thought. Richard seems to be unaging. Is this pool the "Fountain of Youth"? Is that why everyone wants to find the Island?
Sawyer and Miles are brought in by the Others. Miles says that they were captured shortly after burying Juliette.
The Other's leader talks to Hurley and admits that he understands English but that he won't speak it because he "doesn't like it's taste in his mouth". He asks when Jacob will be joining them and is stunned when Hurley tells them he is dead. This leads to a sudden burst of activity around the Temple. The gates are sealed and braced and several people pour a line of ash around the Temple. They also set up a frame and launch a firework into the sky.
The line of ash is interesting. Previously, "Jacob's" cabin had been surrounded by a circle of ash. Apparently it is protection from something (presumably Smokey).
The Japanese leader of the Others is a new character but we can speculate on him. He seems contemptuous of Hurley and the others and dislikes speaking English. Is it possible that he is a Japanese soldier from World War II, still on the Island and perhaps staying young for the same reason Richard is staying young? The Fountain of Youth again?
The Other's second-in-command shows up at the Temple and wants to speak with Jack in private. Jack refuses and they are about to drag him off when Hurley suddenly points. Sayid is alive, sitting up and asking what has happened.
Crashed Timeline - The Beach
In the room under the foot of the statue, Ben is continuing to stare at the fire while "Locke" cuts off a piece of tapestry to clean his knife. Ben asks why Jacob didn't fight back and "Locke" says it is because he knew he was beaten. He tells Ben to go outside and tell Richard to come in.
Outside, Richard is arguing with Illyana, Bram and the rest of their team. Frank and Sun are watching and say that they don't trust them.
Ben emerges and tells Richard that Locke wants to see him. Richard grabs Ben and drags him to where Locke's body is lying on the beach, throwing him down beside him. Ben is shocked but is grabbed by Bram who says they are going into the base of the statue and that Ben is coming with them.
Inside, "Locke" is casually waiting when Ben, Bram and his men arrive. "Locke" identifies them as Jacob's "bodyguards" and tells them that since Jacob is dead they may as well go home. Bram and his men open fire on "Locke" but "Locke" disappears and the bullets seem to either pass through him or bounce off of him.
Suddenly, Smokey the Monster appears and starts killing Bram's men; grabbing them and smashing them against the walls and ceiling. Bram, in a panic, pulls out a pouch of ash and pours it in a circle around him. Smokey moves towards him and stops, seemingly blocked by the ash, then breaks a rock off the roof and throws it at Bram. Bram is knocked clear of the circle and Smokey stabs him with the rock.
Smokey disappears again and Ben, who has been cowering in the corner, stands up. "Locke" returns to the room and says "Sorry you had to see me like that."
OK, major reveal here! We now know for certain that Smokey the Monster is also the mysterious "Man in Black". It also seems clear at this point that the various dead people the Losties have been encountering over the years (Christian Shepherd most prominently) have also been Smokey aka The Man in Black.
It is also now clear that the circle of ash was designed to keep Smokey away from Jacob's cabin. Some might argue that the circle was keeping Smokey in, but Smokey has been running around the Island since the very first episode so it obviously wasn't a prisoner.
It is also possible that the ash circles can keep both Smokey and Jacob prisoner and that Jacob had been trapped in the cabin. That would explain why Jacob asked Locke for help, but then why did Illyana and her people burn the cabin? We've been given a big piece of the puzzle here, but not a complete one.
"Locke" sits down with Ben and tells him that when Ben killed Locke the last thought in Locke's mind was "I don't understand". He also says that Locke was a pathetic man living a pathetic life but that he was the only one of the Losties who realized that his life on the Island was better than the one he had left behind. He says this is where he and Locke differ; Locke wanted to remain on the Island while "Locke" wants nothing more than to leave the Island and "go home".
And here we have the other major reveal. We never really knew about the "Man in Black" until the end of last season and, even then, all we knew is that he was somehow opposed to Jacob and that he wanted to kill him. Of course, we didn't know that much about Jacob either except that the Others kept referring to him as some sort of leader and that he wanted Locke's help.
Jacob and the "Man in Black" (I'm going to call him Esau just to keep a biblical theme going and to make my life easier) appear to be in opposition to each other. Jacob wears white while Esau wears black. (Smokey is black too.) The black/white dichotomy has long been around in Lost, going back to the first episode where Locke shows Walt how to play backgammon, saying "Two sides. One is white, one is black." There are also the black and white stones found on the bodies of "Adam" and "Eve".
Conflict between two sides has been a constant on Lost. Jack vs Sawyer. Jack vs Locke. The Losties vs The Others. The Others vs The DHARMA Initiative. Ben vs Widmore. And so on. The fact that the other side is so often referred to as "The Others" makes it clear that this conflict is long-running and almost always a case of "Us" vs "Them".
Now, most of us have been culturally conditioned to think "White = Good guys, Black = Bad guys". Everything in Lost so far has been pushing us to think that Jacob is the good guy (and, by extension, that Esau is the bad guy). But is this correct?
I predict that, at some point this season, we are going to find out that Jacob is the big baddie, that the Others are his (possibly unwitting) servants and that Esau really is the good guy. We'll see.
The other observation that needs to be made from "Locke"'s talk with Ben is that "Locke"/Esau wants to go home. Where is home? What is home? What are Jacob and Esau anyway? Time Travellers? Aliens? Egyptian Gods? Goa'uld? Figuring this out is probably the key to figuring out what is going on.
Outside, the others on the beach see the skyrocket the Others at the Temple have fired off, which seems to frighten Richard. "Locke" leaves the room under the statue with Ben trailing along behind. Illyana pulls a rifle but Richard orders her not to shoot. "Locke" looks around at the group and shouts that he is "very disappointed" in them, then turns to Richard. He comments that Richard isn't in chains then knocks him out. He picks up Richard's unconscious body and walks away.
End of episode.
The comment about Richard being not in chains is interesting because it implies that Richard may have been one of the slaves on the Black Rock. "Locke"'s comment about being "very disappointed" is also interesting; what exactly did he mean by that?
And overall this was a great episode and a great start to the final season. We got some (unexpected) answers to some questions, some closure on some plot lines and a whole lot of new ones. The "flash-sideways" is yet another change on the Lost formula and it will be interesting to see how the alternate timeline plays out. (Though if Olivia Dunham and the Fringe team show up, I'm leaving.)
Looking forward to seeing what more surprises this season will bring.
1 comment on Lost 6.01/6.02 - LA X:
Good recap. Now some questions:
#1 - As Ben stares into the fire, Flocke (FakeLocke/Esau) tells him that Jacob is gone. Did Jacob's body simply vanish in the fire? In white smoke, perhaps?
#2 - Sayid was baptized in the temple pool in the most literal sense: death, burial (water grave), and resurrection. So, has Sayid become immortal?
#3 - The temple people mention that if Sayid died, they would all be in trouble. Can only the 'chosen' ones be sacrificed in the pool? Jacob sent him there to be healed, along with his name on the list hidden inside the ankh, that Hugo has been carrying around in a guitar case ever since he first met Jacob in the taxi back in the USA.
#4 - The temple people didn't seem to expect a change in the water color, yet the leader knew to 'test' the water with his cut hand. Was Jacob's death the cause and affect? Didn't Sayid wake up after the ash was spread around the temple, protecting Jacob and himself?
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Stuck in Traffic... - Mon, 25 Jan 2010
Hey asshole!
You. Yes, you. Up there in your Audi, chatting on your cell phone as you cut into traffic in front of me. What's the matter? In a rush to get home so you can molest the babysitter before your wife gets there?
Yeah, we've got six lanes here and the three on the right are moving slow. Guess what? It does this every day. You know that of course. That's why you came racing up in the left lanes then slammed on your brakes and cut over to the right at the last moment. The rest of us knew we needed the right lanes; that's why we're sitting here. But you couldn't wait that long, could you? In too much of a hurry to get home to screw your illicit rendezvous that you had to screw the rest of us over first.
You see, the traffic on the left was moving. I say was, because when you slammed on your brakes and cut over the car behind you had to slam on theirs as well. Fortunately they were actually paying attention and managed to avoid you.
Unfortunately the person in the car behind them wasn't; they were on their cell phone too and so rammed into the car that had just successfully avoided hitting your inconsiderate ass. And the car behind them slammed into them as well.
The next guy tried to avoid the crash by swerving to the left. Unfortunately, there was a car there too. (There do tend to be cars in every lane during rush hour; a fact you and several other drivers seem to be unaware of.) So they crashed into another car as well.
So now, instead of six lanes of traffic with three slow lanes, we have six lanes of traffic with three even slower lanes, two completely stopped lanes and one lane still moving but having to dodge more idiots getting out of their cars and wandering around in traffic with their cell phones still pressed to their ears.
Listen idiots. There are cars over there. Still moving. And those drivers aren't paying any more attention than you were. Hey, you yourself just missed seeing a car stopping in front of you. Remember? You just had a fucking accident yourself! Now you're wandering around the middle of the interstate on foot and expecting people paying no more attention than you were to avoid you?
Maybe we'll be lucky and some other cell phone addicted driver will hit you. At least that Darwinian act will remove a few more idiot genes from the pool.
As for the rest of you slowing down and looking; it's an auto wreck! You live in a fucking city! You see them every fucking day! This one looks exactly like every other one you have seen! You don't need to slow down, look at it and take pictures of it on your cell phone camera so you can tell everyone else about the latest fucking wreck you've seen. Just drive!
So now I'm stuck in traffic with all these idiots and it's your fault. I hope the fucking babysitter was worth it. Asshole.
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Patterns - Fri, 22 Jan 2010
I awaken on the floor, cold linoleum against my flesh, surrounded by the smudged inkmarks that mark my latest attempts at understanding.
For a long time I lie there, patterns running through my mind, until the needs of my body are able to intrude upon the ever closer to perfect arrangements I am making within my mind. I am hungry, and the physical need exceeds the mental. I regret losing the pattern I have created, but I let it fade back into my mind and stand up.
I stumble to the kitchen but am unable to find the nourishment I need. Empty packages and unwashed eating implements are scattered about, their surfaces mottled with the odd, semi-random patterns of mold and decay. I ignore them; I have examined these patterns long ago and find them lacking. I briefly consider the trails of the ants streaming across the counter, watching as they morph and wander in predictable but still random motion but they too I have previously considered and found them unable to produce the true patterning I need.
I realize that I must leave my place of safety and venture again into the world of others. Into that realm where man has forced existence into plain, orderly patterns that inhibit the growth of true beauty. I stumble into my long-ignored bedroom in search of appropriate clothing.
I ponder long over my choice in what to wear, searching for those items which will exist in the necessarily exquisite harmony with one another. Of course I fail; the dyes and fabrics of mere reality cannot produce the patterns I need, but I come as close as I can. I grab some money from the box beside the bed and stuff it into my pocket without examining it; I know that the numbers on the bills holds no meaningful pattern but I would examine it again and again for something which does not exist if I allowed myself and the needs of my body are great enough that they override what would normally consume the better part of my day.
I walk to the store. I had a vehicle once but it's patterns displeased me and I abandoned it; I no longer even remember where. I keep my eyes lowered to the path as I walk, not wanting to see the offensive order which has been imposed on the streets through which I walk. Likewise I keep my eyes on the floor as I make the familiar rounds through the store. The arrangement of items on the shelves, the patterns of shape and color, call to me and I cannot let myself hear their call. Once before I did; I glimpsed within the patterns on the shelf a brief hint of the beauty of truth. I attempted to arrange the items on the shelves, to bring out the truth that was within them, but the owners of the store did not understand the pattern I was creating and they threw me out. I protested and fought them as they pulled me from the shelf and returned the items to their orderly, uninteresting places but I was forced to leave. I have not returned there since.
I grabbed the items that I knew would sustain me and carried them to the checkout, throwing them onto the belt and not looking at them lest I see truth or offense in the pattern they had made. Likewise I did not look upon the bills I gave to the cashier nor did I look at the bills he gave back to me. There would be time enough to examine the new patterns contained within the numbers on them later.
A woman behind me made some comment, some rebuke about my behavior. I looked up, seeing her for the first time. Most would have considered her attractive, I suppose, but only those who had not gazed upon the true beauty hidden among the numbers and patterns as I had. I saw her as offensive and so I took my provisions and left that place, eyes cast downward as I returned to my home.
Once there I took my time placing my groceries upon their shelves and in the refrigerator. I moved them around until their pattern revealed the beauty within them. Seeing it, I closed the door to the refrigerator and, taking the rag and pen that are always nearby, scrubbed the old equations off of its surface and began to draw them anew, seeking the beauty within that only I have ever seen and which I have never been able to find again.
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This fragment is a dream I had recently. It stuck with me, partially because it was the first really "Lovecraftian" dream I have ever had and partially because it was such a vivid dream. I don't know what it may have meant, but felt compelled to write it down.
Return to the Sea - Fri, 15 Jan 2010
I had come down to the sea. Why I no longer remember. What I do remember is that I swam out away from the shore, far enough out that the sea stretched to the horizon and the swells blocked the shore from my sight so that I was alone in the blue-green waters.
I dove beneath the surface and saw that there was the surface of another sea beneath me, waves crashing on the rocks of an underwater shoreline. I somehow perceived that this was the surface of an ancient sea from long ago and that I was above its ancient shoreline. I was swimming through the air above that ancient sea and this air was different from the air above me. It was newer air, air that had not been breathed by countless generations of creatures and so still retained all of its vitality. Though I was beneath my own sea I could breath the air of this ancient time and so swam out to explore this ancient sea.
For a long time I swam along this shoreline, watching the waves break against the rocks of a strangely barren land. Then, I reached a point where I could see objects far out to sea and I, desiring a change from the endless rocks, breaking waves and empty beach, swam towards them to see what they were. I discovered the towers of a city, rising from the ancient sea which broke with increasing ferocity about them. The towers were of dark stone but festooned with vines and flowers which were growing over them. There were windows of dark glass but I could see no inhabitants beyond them or beyond the tightly shut doors on the many balconies and platforms or on the many walkways which connected the towers.
I swam among the towers of this city for some time before I noticed that the sea beneath me was rising, as if some ancient tide was coming in. The sea disturbed me and I swam upwards away from it as it broke with increased ferocity against the towers that were now slowly sinking beneath it.
I was above the towers when through hundreds of hidden doors a crowd of beings burst out onto the tops of all of the towers, crowding together and filling the formerly empty, flat surfaces. I perceived that I should have found the beings repellent, but to me they seemed normal and I even felt a curious connection to them.
The beings saw me and they moved in my direction, reaching their arms towards me as I swam above them. I started to swim downwards but the surface of the sea moved upwards even faster. I was afraid of the sea in the same inexplicable way that I was not afraid of the beings and I hesitated then swam back upwards again.
The ancient sea surged upwards and broke over the tops of the towers, washing away the beings who could not swim upwards and away through what was but air to them. The waves broke and they struggled and disappeared but the sea continued to rise. I swam upwards but the sea was faster than I and it soon overwhelmed me. I found myself crushed beneath the weight of two seas, unable to breath, and I struggled upwards. My vision was starting to go black when I burst through the surface of my own sea and took a deep, unsatisfying breath of the old, worn-out air above it.
The next I was aware of was lying on the beach while surrounded by a curious crowd of onlookers. They told me that I was pulled from the sea after nearly drowning, having swam outwards too far and too deeply. I asked about the beings I had seen and about the city but they told me that there was no such thing, that the lack of air to my brain must have caused me to see things. I sensed that my protests would not gain me anything and so I fell silent.
I still travel to the sea but I no longer swim out as far or as deeply. And, as I look at its silent, blue-green surface, I wonder if it too will someday rise upwards, overwhelming the towers of our cities in final silence. And I wonder what the beings of that city may have told me if I had swam towards them instead of fleeing that ancient sea in fear.
This is a rewrite. I had written this fragment down but then my editor crashed while doing a final spell-check and I lost everything. I was much happier with the first version but couldn't quite seem to capture the same feel with the second. Oh well.
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Good vs. (Incompetent) Evil - Mon, 04 Jan 2010
The struggle between good and evil is one of the classic staples of storytelling. The protagonist (usually representing good) goes up against the (usually overwhelming) forces of evil and, after great struggle and sacrifice, manages to defeat them and save the day. Admittedly the trend of late has been to blur the lines between "good" and "evil" a bit and make the protagonist and their opponents a bit more grey, but it is still obvious to us who the "good guys" and the "bad guys" are.
Unfortunately, the trend of late also seems to be to make the bad guys less and less competent. We want to see good triumph over evil, but when it seems that evil really isn't trying that hard then good's victory seems a bit hollow.
As an example, let's look at the latest struggle between good and evil to hit the screen, James Cameron's Dances with Aliens Avatar.
Quick recap: Jake Sully arrives on the moon Pandora where the evil Colonel Quaritch is trying to mine Unobtainium. Unfortunately, the local natives have inconveniently placed their Tree of Souls on top of the richest vein of Unobtainium on the moon and Quaritch wants Sully to disguise himself as a local, infiltrate their tribe and convince them to move.
Sully decides he likes the natives better than he likes Quaritch and tells him to shove it. Quaritch then launches an attack on the natives, blowing up the Tree of Souls and killing untold numbers of the natives before the circle-of-life connected life forms of Pandora are able to defeat him with a combination of bows and arrows and flying dragons.
Yes, good has triumphed over evil again and the forces of life and nature have defeated those of violence and greed. But if you stop and think about it, how hard was evil really trying to be evil anyway?
Consider this... Quaritch has already demonstrated himself willing to kill any number of natives and destroy their Tree of Souls in order to get to the Unobtanium. He also has a starship and at least one shuttle at his disposal.
Instead of launching a fleet of helicopters that can't even protect their occupants against bows and arrows, suppose he had simply taken the shuttle out, found a conveniently-sized asteroid and given it a nudge. A few weeks or months later he could have sent the natives a message telling them to say hello to the dinosaurs for him as the asteroid smashed into Pandora, wiping out most of its biosphere. He could then send any mining team out anywhere that he wanted since there wouldn't be much above the level of a lichen left on the planet to bother them.
He could even almost maintain a level of deniability back on Earth. "Oops. Didn't see that asteroid until it was too late." He could deny knowledge of that better than his all-out attack on the natives anyway.
For that matter, he could simply tell Sully the plan and tell him he would implement it unless the natives cooperated. There wouldn't be much they could do to stop him.
(Alternatively, given how much they must know about the native's DNA in order to create the avatars in the first place, they could simply have genetically engineered a fatal disease and passed it on to the natives. They could even have infected Sully's avatar with it. Of course Dr. Augustine probably wouldn't have had anything to do with it, but infecting the locals isn't exactly something that we humans have shied away from in the past either.)
Of course, this would make a much more unsatisfying movie. In real life it seems that we see greed, corruption and evil winning all the time so in movies we want to see the good guys win. That's one of the things escapism is for. But the good guy's victory just doesn't seem the same when it feels that the only reason for their success is because the author deliberately handicapped the other side just to allow the victory. Willing suspension of disbelief fails when we have to accept that the bad guys are just so stupid that the good guys can't help but win. A better story would be one where evil lives up to its full reputation and good is still able to win.
Or, maybe the thought that good can really win over evil is the level of disbelief that most are unwilling to suspend. In that case, maybe we let good win in fiction because that is the only place we feel that it can. And that is really a sad thought.
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Though the plane is safe several things seem to be different here as well. The first, a minor thing perhaps, is that flight attendant Cindy only gives Jack a single liquor bottle instead of the two bottles she gave him in the original time line. Desmond also appears on the plane and sits next to Jack briefly (though later he seems to have mysteriously disappeared).
Boone is on the flight but this time Shannon is not with him. He talks to Locke who says he did go on his walkabout (though of course that could be a lie). Doc Arzt talks to Hurley who in this timeline claims to be the luckiest man alive.
Some things are the same though. Kate is still a prisoner of the Marshall, Rose and Bernard are together and Jin and Sun are still having their marital problems.
Charlie goes to the bathroom as before but instead of flushing his stash he attempts to swallow it, choking himself, but Jack (with Sayid's aid) manages to save his life. There are some interesting parallels here to the first episode. There, Jack saved Rose's life after the crash. Also, when attempting to get Charlie breathing again, Jack asks if anyone has a pen. In the first episode, Boone was attempting to find a pen to help Jack with Rose.
Conspicuously missing are Michael and Walt.
The one other odd thing in this sequence is that Jack has an odd blood mark on his neck that seems to be unexplained.