Upon being betrayed and heart-broken what does a man like Jin do? He fishes..
naturally - after all this is a the root of the man, this is what he is, what he was before life programmed and then re-programmed him into hitman and a husband who forgot to show the affection that he has for his wife.
Fishing seems to be the natural thing to do, almost as if it symbolises the natural urge to go back into ones trueself.
But the symbolism which i found really interesting in this scene was the one of balance - the idea that the Universe gives out what you put in. Some call it 'paying it forward', others refer to it as "
KARMA".
Could the Universe..this great big unseen mechanism that cushions our realities be that concerned about 'good' and 'bad', the choices we make and the paths we take..? If life is pre-determined and course-correction is on high alert, then does it 'really' matter what we..or characters like
Sun,
Jin and
Jae Lee do with their lives..after all, aren't they gonna do what they're "
supposed" to do anyway,
or have some sentient force correct the
glitches known as
freewill?
I guess it's all a matter of perspective - if you believe in Karma, then Karma will attach itself to you - just like 'luck' and Hugo. he now believes that he's "lucky", and go figure, he's winning every island game going. This could also relate to Ben's idea of the "magic box": -
whatever you believe to be in the box..will be in the box..
But even as a 'believer', this idea troubles me - we've seen many of our characters 'believe' in all sortd. Indeed, John Locke once told claire that he belives in "many things", yet currently John Locke is lost (literally). Is this all part of it, part of the trials and tribulations that each individual at some point finds themselves in? Perhaps even with the best intentions a man can become a "murderer" with the view of protecting an something he loves..but he's still a murderer, instructions or not. So perhaps Karma is not just about what an individual puts in and takes out, but how others influence and effect the paths of those..those who like John Locke had blood-free hands but are forced to do what they are 'supposed' to do due to circumstance..
Maybe we're all just pawns -
"puppets on strings" is how Locke once described it, yet not every master is as well intentioned as
Geppetto and not all consciences are as helpful as Jimminy Cricket.
The idea of "good guys" and "bad guys" has now become so skewed - but it's not just a case of right or wrong, as Bernard suggested, it's about perspective..it always has been and always will be. The way we see the world as individuals is the very thing which underpins our ability to interpret and to act according to those impressions of right and wrong. If you're Bernard then perhaps circumstance doesn't matter, because he's rarely been in a position where he's had to make decisions which push the moral boundaries - and even when he has, he was prepared to let his wife die - don't tell me about right and wrong Bernie! There are just some things that you can't let happen, there are somethings that one has to do in order to protect the ones we love. Bernard, I respect the fact that you want to honour your wife's wish and leave the island, but to base this choice on the idea that Locke is a "murderer", well, I have a pair of John's shoes that you need to walk a mile in..
I do believe in some of Berne's argument - doing good is always the right thing to do, but sometimes it's about circumstance and sometimes good stuff can only come after a bit of rain.
A man of God was recently obliterated by the islands Smokey Guardian - why? because he didn't explicitly say "sorry" for the life he had led. I'm not one to open up a can of lima beans, but who is Smokey to judge what is right and what is wrong? Is Smokey a 'good guy'? Yet he killed a man..so that makes Smokey a bad guy, right?
Maybe there are no 'good guys' as good people suffer..Rose, Locke, Hurley..I bet they've paid it forward and yet cancer, paralysis and mental illness have struck them down. where is the 'good' in that? Yet they've all been healed - Rose free from cancer, Locke able to walk and Hugo now feeling "lucky".
I guess good things come to those who wait, even if it takes a lifetime..
or several lifetimes..
But those who sin, they're not forgotten..because there is nothing better, than a sinner who redeems himself, or than a man who is able to forgive even when his heart is broken..
The good guys? power, politics, islands, love, war, peace aside..we all have the ability to be the good guys.
I love the notion that Jin's life was written - he was going to be born in 1974 and die in 2004. But that choices he made along they way ultimately dictated what kind of man he would come to be remebered as.
Dead or alive, I think it's safe to say that Jin has become a very good guy. But ultimately it's a matter of perspective.