Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: B+ | 1070 USERS: A- YOU GRADE IT The Mirror of Erised
By Cindy McLennan | Season 6 | Episode 5 | Aired on 2010.02.23
Lighthouse: Hurley and Jack reach the top. As they catch their breath, Hurley babbles about the workings of the lighthouse, including a fire pit (which is full of only ash, no embers, despite the fact that the beacon was shining when Jack and Hurley first arrived). Around the fire pit there is a huge dial. Above the dial there are 4 mirrors. "I guess they used a mirror because electricity hadn't been invented yet." Where's Sawyer to snark, "Gee Captain Obvious, ya think?" We know why Miles isn't there. He's dying of starvation back in the Court of the Gentiles. Whatever. Jack's not looking for them. He's looking for Jacob. Hurley obfuscates and insists they begin their task.
Reviewing his arm, Hugo leaves Jack by the side of the dial as he goes off to yank Jack's a shiny, metal chain. "Tell me when it gets to 108 degrees." As Hurley pulls the chain, the gears start moving, but Jack is transfixed by the mirror. He sees a pagoda (where Sun and Jin wed!!!), then a church (maybe where they met Eloise Hawking; or maybe the site of the Ford parents' funeral). When he spots something else, his eyes nearly bug out of his head, and he barks at Hurley to stop. He explains he saw something in the mirror, but when Hurley checks, there's nothing there but ocean, so he returns to the chain.
Jack inspects the dial more closely and realizes there are names corresponding to all the degrees. He sees familiar ones like Ford, Jarrah, and Kwon. "Shephard" appears particularly bold, as if it's just been written in. It's all in caps, right next to number 23 (nb: Lostpedia has a list of the names/numbers -- there are some differences between those on the dial and those in Faucke's cave; notably, Austen appears at 51 degrees at the lighthouse; and a previously unreferenced Wallace appears at 108). Jack tells Hurley to turn the dial to 23 degrees. Hurley tries to argue that's not what Jacob wants, so Jack takes charge of the chains and makes the adjustment, himself. Once he reaches 23 degrees he stops. Stately Shephard Manor is reflected in the mirror. Are we Through the Looking Glass, or is this the Mirror of Erised? In the episode thread, Chyromaniac jokes that the inscription above the mirror reads: seus siyd dadru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. Ha!