One final thought about Thomas, a thought that I think MIGHT actually have something — if not everything — to do with tonight's Locke-centric episode. So call it a maybe tease. The episode comes to us with the vibe of an apocryphal text — a mysterious piece of lost lore, relevant to the mythology of Lost but falling slightly outside of the season's central narrative. As it turns out, Lost didn't tell you the whole story about Thomas the Apostle. Those who know their Bible — or just know The Da Vinci Code — know that there are bunches of other ''books'' which the Powers That Be chose not include in the Bible. One of these apocryphal texts, called Acts of Thomas, is a hardcore Gnostic tract. (Gnosticism is an unorthodox form of Christianity that says we are souls trapped in prisons of matter who require liberation.) The story follows the apostle Thomas to India (Hey, isn't Ajira Airlines based in India?) and ends with his martyrdom. A demon named Abaddon makes an appearance. And in the middle of it all, you will find a yarn within a yarn — a proverbial island of parable — called ''The Hymn of the Pearl.'' It tells the tale of a boy (the son of a king, so consider him...the Little Prince) sent on a mission to faraway Egypt to fetch a pearl from the mouth of a snake. Alas, he gets sidetracked, and eventually completely forgets his identity and his mission. Fortunately, the boy is saved when he receives a letter from his king, reminding him of his true nature and purpose. His memory restored, the prince snags the pearl and returns home. As Wikipedia notes: ''The hymn is commonly interpreted as a Gnostic view of the human condition, that we are spirits lost in a world of matter and forgetful of our true origin. This state of affairs may be ameliorated by a revelatory message delivered by a messenger.''
Generally speaking, ''The Hymn of the Pearl'' is John Locke's recurring arc, boiled down into a fairy tale. He's always going on adventures, always getting sidetracked (sometimes misled, sometimes its his own darn fault) and always needing to be brought back on point. But some specific connections can be made to more recent events. A letter filled with transforming revelation? Sounds like Jack and that suicide note from last week's episode. A messenger tasked with convincing lost spirits that they have fallen off the path of destiny? Sounds a lot like tonight's episode, chronicling the off-Island quest of John Locke.... Or should I say, Jeremy Bentham?
NEXT PAGE: The Curious Case of Jeremy Bentham
