Namaste doesn't have any strong parallels, metaphors, or themes. In fact it's not even a centric episode for any particular character. So what's left?
It's true, Namaste is a very linear story by LOST standards but Paul Zbyszewski and Brian K. Vaughan still gave us an entertaining episode. The most complicated part of the storyline is that it's split between 1977 and 2007.
I'll start with the 2007 events since they're slightly less interesting to me. Lapidus successfully lands Ajira 316 on Hydra Island, leaving him, Sun, Ben, and Ilana's group scrambling to set up camp. Ben convinces Sun to follow him over to the main island but not before Lapidus catches up and joins them. They reach the processing center near the dock (where Sun officially kicks off her "Have You Seen My Husband?" tour) and encounter Christian/MiB. He shows them a photo which depicts — gasp! — the other Losties as members of the DHARMA Initiative in 1977.
Cue the 1977 storyline where Sawyer/LaFleur preps Jack, Kate, and Hurley for processing into the DI. This is where things get really interesting, for Jack is now relegated to a non-leadership position and he's clearly a fish out of water. After learning that Sayid has been taken prisoner by the DI, Jack visits Sawyer's house and questions him on his sense of urgency:
SAWYER: For now Sayid is safe, which is all that matters.
JACK: So where do we go from here?
SAWYER: I'm working on it.
JACK: Really? Because it looked to me like you were reading a book.
I'm a big Jack fan but for the first time ever I had to side with Sawyer. After running security ops for three years I certainly wouldn't appreciate Jack questioning me within a few hours of his return.
But the other side of that the important part: Jack was rebuffed by Sawyer and — for perhaps the first time on the island — was able to let go.
The focus was almost evenly distributed across all the characters (minus Locke, who wasn't in the episode), and everyone predictably did a fine job. But I have to give a slight edge to Elizabeth Mitchell for two scenes in particular: 1) her somber response to Sawyer's news of the Losties returning, and 2) her reaction to Amy naming her baby Ethan. Could she have unloaded that baby any faster?
Bonus points to Eric Lange for his portrayal of Stuart Radzinsky, even though the character irritates me to no end. It can be argued that he's written to be overly hostile (no pun intended), but that's obviously not Lange's fault. His job is to be a royal pain in the ass and to that end he succeeds with flying colors.
If I had to guess I'd say the visual effects teams wishes they could have another shot at the Ajira landing. The external shots aren't too shabby but the ones inside the cockpit were practically a big neon sign reading, "We bit off more than we can chew this time!"
I don't want to be overly critical of the scene though because I understand they're dealing with the budget and time restrictions of a TV series. I think they would've been better off using footage from the first-person view of an actual aircraft's descent and then cut back after they'd slammed into the trees. As it was, it looked and felt like a souped-up session of Flight Simulator.
There was a couple interesting tidbits that I thought were uncharacteristic of Jack Bender:
1) In the 2007 storyline he goes with an establishing shot that slowly pans from one island to the other. Not only was it unnecessary, it was awkward and something rarely done in LOST (for good reason).
2) The fake baby can clearly be seen when Juliet passes it off to Amy. If this sounds like nitpicking it isn't — the baby is the obvious focal point of that moment, so it's impossible to expect the audience NOT to look at it. Bender surely knows this, so the only thing I can think of is that they'd run out of available baby time for that scene (they had very limited time with each live baby used).
Namaste gets a boost in replay value for the simple fact that its structure is so different from your typical LOST episode. Plus let's face it, it's interesting to see the Losties in a late 70s milieu.
The most significant part lies in the dynamics of leadership. It's so odd to see Jack reduced to janitorial work and having very little say in matters, which is precisely the idea.
Emotional impact? No. Not even when Sun asked for the whereabouts of her husband, Jin.
Atmosphere? Yes, in both the 1977 timeline (Ride, Captain, Ride!) and the 2007 timeline (did you see the smoke pour into the recruitment center?).
Laugh-out-loud lines? Yes. Hurley dreading the idea of being quizzed on time-sensitive topics was funny enough, but Sawyer's response of "It's not a damn game show, Hugo" always catches me off guard and cracks me up.
