The Light meta: The Lost Boy
I have the impression that The Light may not come up on many people’s top ten episode lists. It's not on my top ten list either, but it is an episode that I enjoy. One of the things that I find interesting about it is Loran and the way Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c relate to him. (Sam has very little interaction with Loran so she doesn’t really factor into this specific discussion.)
[But first, a tangent. (I’m fond of tangents.) There’s a kid’s book called Ramona the Pest. In the book, on Ramona’s first day of kindergarten, the teacher reads Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel to the class. Ramona seizes the opportunity of now being in school to ask the question she’s always wondered about: Where did Mike Mulligan go to the bathroom? (This leads to a class debate and Miss Binney trying to explain that where Mike Mulligan went to the bathroom isn’t an important part of the story. The class is puzzled by by this.) I often think of that when I watch The Light or Torment of Tantalus because while I’m not really curious about where Ernest or Loran went to the bathroom, I do wonder where they got their food. Did they bring endless supplies with them? Did they do lots and lots of fishing? Neither of them was in an environment that seemed particularly bountiful--at least at first glance. Where did their provisions come from? Okay, digression over. *ahem*]
What a sad, lonely situation for Loran. We don't know what his life was like before he came to this planet. Had he and his parents lived an adventurous, nomadic life, jumping from planet to planet? Had he been living a happy, relatively uneventful life on his home planet when his parents decided to take him away for interplanetary exploration? Were they on the run from something and forced to flee their home? We can’t really say with any certainty. What is certain is that whatever led them there, Loran's life took a drastic and irrevocable turn once they stepped through the gate.
They arrived on a pleasant little planet, with nice ocean front property and a large, hi-tech lava lamp. Then Loran watched his parents waste away in front of the pretty lights. No matter what he did, they continued to eschew everything else in favor of staying in the light room. His final attempt to remedy the situation led to his parents walking out and never returning. We don’t know how long Loran was alone, but it was at least long enough to bury his parents and for them to decompose. What remained was an adolescent who believed he killed his parents, was himself addicted to the Goa’uld device, and had no trusted adults to step in and provide guidance or support. I also wonder if his parents taught him to be distrustful of strangers, if he was clinging to an illusion that his parents would return, and/or if he was afraid of anybody finding out what had happened to his parents. It occurs to me that the longer he was alone in such a situation, the harder it may have been for him to think clearly and reach out when other expeditions arrived.
It is with this background that Loran and SG-1 finally meet. Both sides show a degree of curiosity and wariness. In some ways, Loran seems like a child who has been schooled by his parents not to let strangers in when he’s home alone or to let strangers even know that he is home alone. I wonder if that--in addition to feelings of guilt--is a part of Loran’s dissembling in saying that his parents are “away” rather than deceased. In addition, as the situation continues there may also be a fear in his mind that he’s going to witness the same scenario all over again. On the other side we have SG-1 knowing that there’s more to it, but not able to penetrate Loran’s evasions. With this in mind, the men on SG-1 individually relate to Loran in ways that I think are interesting and true to the characters and environment.
Teal’c and Loran are alien to each other. On top of that, they are both alien to the others from the SGC who are from Earth. I like the way that Teal’c relates to Loran as he is. He’s not pushy. He’s not overly nice. He’s not dismissive. He’s very straightforward and genuine. When Loran becomes evasive about giving information about himself and his parents, Teal’c allows the conversation to drift in a different direction that also reveals a bit about both of them.
When Loran deflects by pulling out his toy weapon, we see Teal’c immediately reach for his own zat. Clearly he remains on guard. Something is off, and even though the situation seems benign Teal’c has remained vigilant. And then we see Teal’c’s benevolent amusement once Loran explains that the gun in his hand is nothing more than a toy. There’s something almost forlorn about the way that Loran gives the toy to Teal’c as an early birthday present. “In forty-seven days you’ll be gone, right? Keep it.” On the other side, Teal’c’s pleasure in the toy is fun to see--perhaps because it’s a side that we don’t see all that often. There’s something about the whole exchange that I find touching.
We see Daniel and Loran relate to each other in a different, yet equally friendly way. Again Loran is willing to show Daniel glimpses from his past, showing a photograph of himself with his parents. But as soon as Daniel tries to dig a little deeper, Loran turns the subject back to Daniel, asking to take his picture. Daniel goes a little farther than Teal’c does in trying to draw Loran out. He gently raises the issue that Loran might have a reason not to be entirely honest about the device that creates the light, pointing out that if SG-1 can’t leave, Loran will continue to have company. We see some nice rapport developing as Daniel begins to delve into what Loran’s motivations may be. Loran continues to evade, but while I can’t pinpoint anything specific in the dialog, it seems to me like there is an underlying feeling the Loran is beginning build a little bit of trust.
And, finally, we have Jack who relates to Loran in a much different way than the others do. The first time I saw The Light, I thought Jack’s They’re not coming back… …Somebody buried those bodies!... was harsh. With subsequent viewings and additional thought, I still think it’s a harsh, but also a necessity. Of all of them, Jack is the one who most relates to Loran as an adult to an adolescent. And I think that’s important, because at the particular moment Jack’s outburst, Loran didn’t need a friend. He needed a parent. Barring that possibility, he needed someone to be parent-like. Jack, I think, does that on two levels.
On one level, Jack stops permitting Loran to evade. The time had come to stop beating around the bush. They needed answers and they needed them sooner rather than later--for Loran’s well-being as well as SG-1’s. Loran needed to face and present the truth. Jack speaks with enough authority to pin Loran down, forcing him to be more forthcoming with information whether he wants to be or not.
On a second level, we see Jack interact with Loran in a much softer way immediately after his brusqueness. I like that Jack is the one to go to Loran rather than having one of the others offer commiseration. Just as I believe that Jack had an intangible parental quality in the uncompromising way that he forced Loran to reveal the power source for the device, I think he also demonstrated an intangible parental quality when Loran finally revealed how and why his parents died. At that time, I feel like Loran still didn’t precisely need a friend as much as he needed an authority figure to reassure him that what had happened was not his fault, and that he had been doing his best to do the right thing. Jack, I think, was informed by a parent’s sensibility in that conversation. Plus it all leads to an offer of ice cream at the end.
The episode concludes upon the resolution to the crisis, so what happens later is open to speculation. I like to imagine that the days that followed were something of a respite for all. I picture Loran and Daniel having many conversations revolving around their similar backgrounds of being orphaned. Perhaps there were a few fishing expeditions with Jack. Collectively they probably all had conversations about what would be next for Loran. Would he go back to his home planet? Did they find a place for him on Earth? We don’t really know what happened next (I guess that’s what fan fiction is for), but whatever the case, I do think that the different ways that Teal’c, Daniel, and Jack related to him provided a start for Loran’s healing process.
Note: Due to a work assignment, I may be internet-less for a day or so when this posts. So if it seems like I’m ignoring responses at first, it’s not because I’m not interested in discussion or take issue with differing opinions. I just might be MIA for a bit. (Of course, it’s also entirely possible that no one will have anything to say at all! That’s cool too.)
[But first, a tangent. (I’m fond of tangents.) There’s a kid’s book called Ramona the Pest. In the book, on Ramona’s first day of kindergarten, the teacher reads Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel to the class. Ramona seizes the opportunity of now being in school to ask the question she’s always wondered about: Where did Mike Mulligan go to the bathroom? (This leads to a class debate and Miss Binney trying to explain that where Mike Mulligan went to the bathroom isn’t an important part of the story. The class is puzzled by by this.) I often think of that when I watch The Light or Torment of Tantalus because while I’m not really curious about where Ernest or Loran went to the bathroom, I do wonder where they got their food. Did they bring endless supplies with them? Did they do lots and lots of fishing? Neither of them was in an environment that seemed particularly bountiful--at least at first glance. Where did their provisions come from? Okay, digression over. *ahem*]
What a sad, lonely situation for Loran. We don't know what his life was like before he came to this planet. Had he and his parents lived an adventurous, nomadic life, jumping from planet to planet? Had he been living a happy, relatively uneventful life on his home planet when his parents decided to take him away for interplanetary exploration? Were they on the run from something and forced to flee their home? We can’t really say with any certainty. What is certain is that whatever led them there, Loran's life took a drastic and irrevocable turn once they stepped through the gate.
They arrived on a pleasant little planet, with nice ocean front property and a large, hi-tech lava lamp. Then Loran watched his parents waste away in front of the pretty lights. No matter what he did, they continued to eschew everything else in favor of staying in the light room. His final attempt to remedy the situation led to his parents walking out and never returning. We don’t know how long Loran was alone, but it was at least long enough to bury his parents and for them to decompose. What remained was an adolescent who believed he killed his parents, was himself addicted to the Goa’uld device, and had no trusted adults to step in and provide guidance or support. I also wonder if his parents taught him to be distrustful of strangers, if he was clinging to an illusion that his parents would return, and/or if he was afraid of anybody finding out what had happened to his parents. It occurs to me that the longer he was alone in such a situation, the harder it may have been for him to think clearly and reach out when other expeditions arrived.
It is with this background that Loran and SG-1 finally meet. Both sides show a degree of curiosity and wariness. In some ways, Loran seems like a child who has been schooled by his parents not to let strangers in when he’s home alone or to let strangers even know that he is home alone. I wonder if that--in addition to feelings of guilt--is a part of Loran’s dissembling in saying that his parents are “away” rather than deceased. In addition, as the situation continues there may also be a fear in his mind that he’s going to witness the same scenario all over again. On the other side we have SG-1 knowing that there’s more to it, but not able to penetrate Loran’s evasions. With this in mind, the men on SG-1 individually relate to Loran in ways that I think are interesting and true to the characters and environment.
Teal’c and Loran are alien to each other. On top of that, they are both alien to the others from the SGC who are from Earth. I like the way that Teal’c relates to Loran as he is. He’s not pushy. He’s not overly nice. He’s not dismissive. He’s very straightforward and genuine. When Loran becomes evasive about giving information about himself and his parents, Teal’c allows the conversation to drift in a different direction that also reveals a bit about both of them.
When Loran deflects by pulling out his toy weapon, we see Teal’c immediately reach for his own zat. Clearly he remains on guard. Something is off, and even though the situation seems benign Teal’c has remained vigilant. And then we see Teal’c’s benevolent amusement once Loran explains that the gun in his hand is nothing more than a toy. There’s something almost forlorn about the way that Loran gives the toy to Teal’c as an early birthday present. “In forty-seven days you’ll be gone, right? Keep it.” On the other side, Teal’c’s pleasure in the toy is fun to see--perhaps because it’s a side that we don’t see all that often. There’s something about the whole exchange that I find touching.
We see Daniel and Loran relate to each other in a different, yet equally friendly way. Again Loran is willing to show Daniel glimpses from his past, showing a photograph of himself with his parents. But as soon as Daniel tries to dig a little deeper, Loran turns the subject back to Daniel, asking to take his picture. Daniel goes a little farther than Teal’c does in trying to draw Loran out. He gently raises the issue that Loran might have a reason not to be entirely honest about the device that creates the light, pointing out that if SG-1 can’t leave, Loran will continue to have company. We see some nice rapport developing as Daniel begins to delve into what Loran’s motivations may be. Loran continues to evade, but while I can’t pinpoint anything specific in the dialog, it seems to me like there is an underlying feeling the Loran is beginning build a little bit of trust.
And, finally, we have Jack who relates to Loran in a much different way than the others do. The first time I saw The Light, I thought Jack’s They’re not coming back… …Somebody buried those bodies!... was harsh. With subsequent viewings and additional thought, I still think it’s a harsh, but also a necessity. Of all of them, Jack is the one who most relates to Loran as an adult to an adolescent. And I think that’s important, because at the particular moment Jack’s outburst, Loran didn’t need a friend. He needed a parent. Barring that possibility, he needed someone to be parent-like. Jack, I think, does that on two levels.
On one level, Jack stops permitting Loran to evade. The time had come to stop beating around the bush. They needed answers and they needed them sooner rather than later--for Loran’s well-being as well as SG-1’s. Loran needed to face and present the truth. Jack speaks with enough authority to pin Loran down, forcing him to be more forthcoming with information whether he wants to be or not.
On a second level, we see Jack interact with Loran in a much softer way immediately after his brusqueness. I like that Jack is the one to go to Loran rather than having one of the others offer commiseration. Just as I believe that Jack had an intangible parental quality in the uncompromising way that he forced Loran to reveal the power source for the device, I think he also demonstrated an intangible parental quality when Loran finally revealed how and why his parents died. At that time, I feel like Loran still didn’t precisely need a friend as much as he needed an authority figure to reassure him that what had happened was not his fault, and that he had been doing his best to do the right thing. Jack, I think, was informed by a parent’s sensibility in that conversation. Plus it all leads to an offer of ice cream at the end.
The episode concludes upon the resolution to the crisis, so what happens later is open to speculation. I like to imagine that the days that followed were something of a respite for all. I picture Loran and Daniel having many conversations revolving around their similar backgrounds of being orphaned. Perhaps there were a few fishing expeditions with Jack. Collectively they probably all had conversations about what would be next for Loran. Would he go back to his home planet? Did they find a place for him on Earth? We don’t really know what happened next (I guess that’s what fan fiction is for), but whatever the case, I do think that the different ways that Teal’c, Daniel, and Jack related to him provided a start for Loran’s healing process.
Note: Due to a work assignment, I may be internet-less for a day or so when this posts. So if it seems like I’m ignoring responses at first, it’s not because I’m not interested in discussion or take issue with differing opinions. I just might be MIA for a bit. (Of course, it’s also entirely possible that no one will have anything to say at all! That’s cool too.)