Any lost fans in here? Are you excited about tomorrow? 4th season!!! woooo....

I can't wait!!!

Lost is the biggest thing in my office. We all sit around at lunch and talk about it. Cant wait!!

Shit's on like Voltron! I got a gig but I think I might be late. Can't wait!!!!!

What a waste....big fan, just not on re-runs. Hope next week is better.

I tried to get into Lost it just didn't pull me in. I watched the first 8 episodes and had no desire to watch it anymore.

last night was ust a recap of the finalle of last season with some extra hints thrown in the the writers.

actual episode is tonight. 2 hur season premiere. i think they have 8 or 9 new episodes in a row

show is phenomenol.

I was watching the re-cap with the girly last night, she has never seen the show, but instantly got into it just from the recaps. She is making it a point to watch it tonight.

Yep, I sent it to tape on my DVR since last week since I have class tonight.

I actually got DVR for the sole purpose of taping lost.

I didn't see any of the first season until the final episode. When they were on the raft and the "others" come up on the boat. Then the "others" started talking shit to Michael about taking Walt. Then when they snatched Walt off the raft and fire bombed that shit. I knew then and there that this show was on another level. Had I watched the first few episodes before seeing the final, I don't think I would have gotten into it at all. Smoke Monsters and Polar Bears? But seeing the final end the way it did made my an instant fan.



+1 on that. It's the reason I got cable.

what were the extra hints?

I'm so ammped!

never even seen the show

i'm a fan.. what you guys think of last nights episode?

I thought it was really good.

I think Ben by far is one of the best actors ever. He is awesome (no homo).
We had an hour long discussion on lost at lunch today, way to much info to type.

So what do you think the lost people (the ones home, Jack and Hurley) are hiding???

I bet John Locke was the one in the casket.

I thought it was a 2 hour show. fuckers.

also, I missed the part in the gym when hurley and jack were playing bball. What did Hurley say that made Jack all wierded out??

Who's the other 3? Hurley kept yelling he was part of the 6.

Whatever they are hiding I think it's to do with Lock. Hurley said he was sorry for going with Lock and not staying with Jack. I think maybe it was Locks Funeral at the end of season 3. Does anyone know where Lock is supposed to be from?

And why does Jack keep referring to his father in the present tense as if he is alive? We know Jacks father died before the crash? I thought maybe Jack stole his fathers prescription pad and was writing his own scripts on it (the scene from season 3 final after the funeral, he's in the drug store and the pharmacists calls him out) but then when the Chief of Medicine calls him out for being on the bridge Jack refers to his father in the present tense again ("get my father down here and we'll see who's drunker" or whatever he says.) and the Chief of Medicine doesn't say anything about it.

Hurley said the island wants them back.

I read something on msnbc.com that said the figure in the cabin "jacob" looked like jacks father

It was good. Hurley was saying that It or He wants us back. Meaning they should still be in the island and Jack was all pissed saying, no, thats not true, Im never going back..something like that.

But if you remember at the season finale last year its Jack saying that he wants to go back. So something happend to jack between those two times (the flash forwards were actually after then before) that now Jack wants to go back to the island.

But what is weird is why Hurley is off the island. He went with Locke at the end of the episode. So he was one of the ones that wanted to stay. So thats something strange that happend there too.

I don't think Hurley wanted to stay. He didn't trust whoever was coming from the boat because of Charlie. The whole "not pennys boat" written on his hand.

I dont understand why they didnt emphasis the fact that Desmonds wife said that wasnt her boat. All that was said was Hurley said Charlie said it wasnt and that was it.

Well that has always been an issue with me on this show is that they just don't talk to each other. When locke came back why wasnt he like. Ben shot me and left me for dead, but now I am healed. I heard that fool Jacob. Bla bla.

No one talks to each other which is my biggest gripe of the show..but I still love it. (no homo)

Damn flash foward crap sucks!

Gets my ass even more LOST!

Three episodes deep, any thoughts?

its getting kind of boring cause you watch an hour, you see what has happened, is happening, and will happen... and by the end you (i) feel like i got almost no where because almost nothing really happened

It's been my understanding (based on the seasons 2 & 3) that it takes 4 or 5 episodes until the story really starts moving. If this season isn't any different, it's gonna suck because of the short season. I wouldn't go so far to say I've gotten bored with it but I do understand your point. Overall, I feel it's still the best thing on TV.

yeah the thing with lost is............


that ive totally lost interest!

i just watched last week's episode, Sayid is a bad mofo.

+1. I always liked Sayid (no homo)

yeah Sayid is #1 haha... what a trip seeing Ben at the end of the episode...

apparently the Oceanic 6 is down to:

Hurley, Jack, Kate, and Sayid.

There's 2 more spots, who do you guess gets saved with them?



also you guys didn't think it was weird the experiment the new guy from the boat did (can't remember his name) you know when he ordered to send some kind of rocket from the boat to the coordinates at the island? there was a difference of 30 minutes (or seconds was it?) from the time the rocket supposedly arrived at the island according to the person on the walkie, versus the time it actually got to the island...

and also why is there supposedly another Oceanic 815 plane at the bottom of the ocean with all the bodies?

tonight is gonna be good, and yes I agree that usually it takes a few episodes for the action to rise.

oh by the way, about my point of the rocket experiment and the 30 minute difference, the dude said something like "THIS IS NOT GOOD AT ALL!" and was kind of freaked out.. why dammit????

what did you guys think of Last nights episode? I thought it was great. The previews for next week look like it will be the best episode by far.

awesome

ehhhh... ok

I'm addicted, love it.

good episode last night! loved the ending.... Kate has Claire's baby (Aaron) !?!? What could of happenned to make them take him ? Also Jack doesn't want to see the baby, why? did they steal him or something? they also lied that were only 8 survivors? covering up for the rest of survivors who chose to stay on the island? i know the next episode is going to be awesome, with more action!

Does anyone know where to get a copy of the Drive Shaft single? I would love to work that into a mixtape.

I didn't catch that the baby wasn't hers! I just thought wtf when I saw blond hair

"You Are Everybody!"

last night was pretty good. Ben is a tricky mofo

They haven't said whether it's hers or Claires. All you know is that she now has a baby called Aaron and she's desperate to protect it. We don't get this weeks till Sunday but I REALLY hope it's in the same vain as the Desmond time shift episode. That was EPIC.

oh they dont show it till sunday in the UK? You cAn go on abc.com and watch the new one from last ngiht.

You can't watch anything on the ABC website if you live (or if your ISP is based) outside of the USA...;D I already tried it when series 3 was on. The new episode is on the internet already but my whole family watches it so I generally wait. It's more fun.

Saaid used to be my dawg. But now he is workin for Ben? Funk Dat!
I think he is the man Ben has on the Boat. WOTCH. I figured out the whole lost concept, numbers, alladat!

How could Sayid be Ben's man on the boat when he's been on the island? It's been shown that people can't physically be at two places at 1 time. Ben's plant on the boat had to be their when they left port to find the island. It's most proberly Micheal as he let him and Walt leave the island, but now Walt is safe and off the island, Micheal owes Ben big time.

Anyway Ben is one of the best people in Lost, I'd pick his side any day.

Wow!!! who watched the finale? ca raaa zeeee! whats next? when will the next season be on?

2010

Crazy how Ben just went and shanked Jacob like it wasn't no thang.
And what the fuck is going on with the two John Locks?
I think we are gonna go back, back into time.

good but long article www.ew.com

smoke monster runnin thangs

Can't wait for season 6 to start.

Oh, the other Lock (my theory here) is he is the other dude from early on in season 5 when Jacob is on the beach eating breakfast by the statue with the 4 toes and watching a boat sail by the island. Another (unnamed) guy comes from the bushes and talks about how he's pissed that Jacob keeps bringing people to island because it's the same cycle over and over. He goes on to say that he wants to kill Jacob and he's gonna find a "loop hole" so he can do just that. Flash forward (Season 5 closer) to when Lock #2 (Lock #1 being dead outside the statue in the coffin), Jacob and Ben are all inside the statue. Jacob says to Lock #2 "it looks like you found your loop hole". And we all know what happened next.

Almost there... February 2! :)

i'm either going to be glued to it, or i'm going to be fed up and say screw it...

ive never seen an episode, im going to wait till the whole things run its course then watch all the box sets so i dont have to keep waiting

ehhhh... i'd watch the first of them, then skip a few years

thats what i did with prison break!!! was awesome!!!!

psssh i dare you...i missed one season and now i'm confused as shit

i just finished watching season 1 on netflix. Damn this show gets you addicted. I just want to know what the hell is going on already!!!! They leave you hanging for like 3 episodes then when you finally find out what happened, it's nothing even worth waiting for. Damn!!!!

^^ trust me...we still dont' know WTF is going on and the show ends this year!! lol

Having the whole time thing come into play, i dont think it will ever "end"

Seriously???? So i have to watch 4 more seasons, alll for nothing? WOW

hahhah

The writers better have some good shit up their sleeve for this last season or a lot of people are going to be pissed!!!

how do you figure?

Because people have very high hopes for this show and how everything will tie in together. If they do some stupid ending and leave all big questions unanswered then I know I will be upset.

I think that anyone that has watched it for any length of time will see the episode that ends it and have one thought

"WTF" seriously, They have gone in so many directions that i dont see how it can tie together. and they will try to tie some things together just to end the show, and it will turn out retarded to some degree.

Probably.

From what I heard and read about the show is that the writers have had the entire show planned out from day one so all of these weird twists, turns, subplots, ect has all been predetermined and not just "go with the flow".
Whether or not this is true, I have no idea but they say they have had direction the whole time. Still looking forward to this season and seeing what happens.

Clocks ticking, tomorrow is the beginning of the end.

yeah i can't wait, i just finished the 5th season. Already have my DVR set to record! Is the show only on once a week?

I gotta set my DVR tonight.

I have bowling on Tuesday nights so I'm gonna have to tape it..3 hrs I think and watch it all on Wed.

I will make sure NOT to look at this thread until after i watch.

Wait, is this going to be the last episode? Or is it going to be a series again?

First episode of the last season.

www.hulu.com

Glad to see there were no posts in this thread today! lol. Couldn't watch last night but have all 3 hrs on my DVR and will watch them tonight. I would have been too tempted to look to see if there were any posts about it.

was about to type something about last night until i saw your post. i'll refrain from posting. hurry up and watch it.

the first hour is a recap.

Haha.

I saw a new post in here and I was hoping people took the hint to not post anything yet!!
I still like to watch the recaps as it jogs my memory of certain things.

I can't watch until like 8pm tonight after I get home from work / gym. Then it's 3 hrs of lost!! I will be sure to post tomorrow.

i watched it. It's only more questions!

That is what someone in my office said.

why is the fat guy still fat if they were stuck on that island for that long? im just sayin' lol

because he was sneaking snacks in the woods. DUH

lmfao

Ok, I thought the episode was awesome. lots to talk about. Here is a recap from this guy I find on a messageboard. He posts it after every episode.

VERY VERY LONG!!!

Damn, that was a long hiatus. From now until May, we've got one last incredible ride to take... and then the roller coaster finally gets torn down for good.

Some of us will walk away, always remembering how great it was being a LOST fan during these last six years. Others will hang around to drink a few beers in the footprints of where the coaster once stood. We'll get nostalgic about these times, about the show, and about what it meant to every one of us - the diehard fans - the ones who not only loved watching LOST but also enjoyed the camaraderie of being a hardcore fan. There's not likely to be another show like this, not anytime soon at least, and in a way that's probably the hardest part.

Still, now's not the time to reflect. We've got the FINAL season of LOST ahead of us... the one we've all been waiting for. The show is going out at the top of its game, and the story's being wrapped up exactly the way it was always intended. As far as series finales go, LOST's will be legendary. We've waited half a decade for these answers, and the biggest ones are finally coming. So sit back, grab the lap bar, and really concentrate on remembering this one last ride. For now, our post-LOST lives can wait.

As for me, my hiatus was a busy one. I finally built a website, Things I Noticed, where I could centralize a lot of my thoughts, theories, and ideas on LOST. I'm doing some scene analysis over there, but some of it is also geared toward making you laugh your ass off, so be sure to check it out.

For those of you returning back here for the first time, I also wrote a book this summer: Things You Never Noticed About LOST. 100% new material, it grabs the past five seasons of LOST by the ankles, turns them upside down, and shakes out a whole ton of answers. If you've liked my recaps you're going to love the book, and you can check out the reviews posted on my website as well as on amazon.com. You can also read a 16-page sample chapter of the book right here.

Alright, let's get started on LA X. Things I Noticed:


The Captain Has Turned on the No Paradox Sign, and Please Return Your ALT-Universe Seat Backs To Their Upright Positions

Okay, so they did it. The bomb went off, fade to white, and suddenly we're sitting next to Jack Shephard on Oceanic Flight 815 again. Here comes Cindy the flight attendant, here comes the turbulence, here comes... Bernard back from the bathroom?

When we last left The Incident, many viewers believed that destiny could be changed. Nearly as many viewers also believed that predetermination wouldn't allow it. Leave it to LOST to split the difference straight down the middle, giving us an alternate universe in which the bomb did go off, but at the same time, a Flight 815 that now exists with an entirely different set of circumstances.

There was no hiding the changes. In fact, the writers went out of their way to wave them in our faces. Jack is still sporting his Enzo haircut instead of the high and tight buzz he had back in the Pilot episode. Cindy hands him one bottle of vodka instead of two. Maybe she knows Jack won't be needing the other one to disinfect his wound this time around, or maybe she knows nothing at all. Either way, we're shown many subtle differences throughout the second half of this plane ride, and we get lots of hints and allusions to past events that, at least in this universe, will no longer come to fruition.

So yes, something did change. Maybe it's not the 100% pure virgin reset Faraday sold everyone before eating a bullet last season, but it's a reset nonetheless. Jack, Sawyer, Kate, Hugo... even the Marshall this time - everyone gets to land at LA_X. The title of the episode pretty much tells the whole story, minus whatever contract dispute kept Shannon's legs from making my hi-definition LOST experience complete.

Let's do a character-by-character rundown of our new flight roster, and see what's different and what's still the same:

Jack - The scene starts with him, and right off the bat that's important. From the beginning, you can see that Jack remembers stuff. Although he may be back in seat 23, his mind obviously hasn't fully let go of the island. Jack's initial confusion and deja vu over the turbulence is similar to when Desmond woke up flat on his back during Flashes Before Your Eyes, with only vague recollections of where he'd just been. In time, Desmond's memories began coming back to him - jogged by the beeping of his microwave, meeting Charlie on the streets of London, and his impromptu meeting with Ms. Hawking in the ring shop. Perhaps this will be true of Jack also, as the alternate timeline plays itself out.

Rose & Bernard - Of everyone on this second iteration Flight 815, Rose's dialogue seemed the most important; her words were eerily relevant to our past storyline. This makes a lot of sense, especially when you consider all the inside information Rose and Bernard seemed to be holding back during The Incident. Telling Jack to 'let go' once again echoed his father's words to him, both on the island and off. And when Jack sheepishly tells her that it looks like they made it, Rose affirms "Yeah, we sure did" with a sly hint of knowing something Jack does not.

Also go back and watch Rose's reaction when Jack asks her about Desmond, too. Her "we were sleeping" line didn't convince me one bit. Immediately afterward, Rose makes a frowning sympathy face as Jack sits down... almost as if she feels bad for having to lie to him.

Desmond - Is he really here? Probably not. We learned a lot this episode about who can be seen and not seen, and Desmond's visit seemed very similar to Charlie's visit to Hurley during The Beginning of the End. His use of "brotha!" was meant to jog Jack's memory, and we can see that it did. Ghost 815 Desmond sat down to drop some hints, because at this point hints are the best he can do. Giving Jack too much info too soon would've blown his mind, and as we already know, our characters need to make their own choices anyway.

Kate & The Marshal - This arrangement looks pretty status quo, with Kate still in shackles and the Marshal still not trusting her with anything as dangerous as silverware. I thought it was funny how Cindy couldn't come up with anything sharp to help Charlie, but everyone's apparently eating with metal knives and forks. It's also important to note that the Marshal can't get through any season premiere without a knockout head wound.

Hugo Reyes - Lots of things have changed as far as Hurley is concerned. He now owns Mr. Cluck's chicken, and is suddenly famous for doing commercials - not really his style. Even more strange however, is Hugo's new attitude toward his fortune. Original Recipe Hurley thought himself to be cursed; he'd traveled to Australia seeking the origin of the numbers and was looking to change his bad luck. New Hurley is in a totally opposite place - he's convinced that nothing bad can happen to him because he's "the luckiest guy alive". How this plays out remains to be seen, but for now we're seeing a backward version of Hugo.

Jin & Sun - I have to say, I forgot how much of a dick Jin was back at the beginning of the show. If the characters in this alternate timeline somehow begin regaining memories of their on-island experiences, it's going to be interesting to see how Sun handles her husband. But hey, could there already be a little evidence that Sun remembers? The casual way in which she didn't try to hide her understanding of English jives with the fact that she hasn't had to pretend for a long time now. Original S1E1 Sun would've been a lot more careful to hide her secret around Jin.

Sawyer - Sawyer's the same super-observant opportunist he was back in season one, without so much as a single change so far. I could totally see him helping cover for Kate as she escaped: one con artist helping a fellow con artist out of a tight spot, like Kate did for Cassidy. The way he sized Hugo up after finding out about his lottery winnings, I wouldn't be surprised to see Sawyer setting him up for a mark. He seemed to take Hurley's "nothing bad ever happens to me" line almost as a challenge.

Locke & Boone - It was just plain awesome to see Boone again. Watching him talk to Locke brought back a ton of great season one nostalgia, and their conversation was filled with echoes of their on-island relationship. It's hard to believe it's been five whole years since he's been gone, and I really missed him.

So was John Locke telling the truth about finally getting to take his walkabout? Nah. Season one Locke lived in a fantasy world - he only dreamt of doing great things. Getting turned away in Australia was embarrassing for him, and rather than admit that failure he began making stuff up when he told Boone all about his trip. These were only the things he wished he'd done. It was safe for Locke to lie his ass off here, because he knew Boone would be long gone by the time his wheelchair was brought up to help him de-boarded the plane.

The coolest thing about the Locke/Boone reunion was their handshake at the end. Although neither of these characters might remember each other right now, Locke seemed to be making amends... and Boone seemed to be forgiving him. Awesome moment.

Sayid - Haven't seen much of Sayid just yet, but his ability to kick things seemed intact. Not sure whether we'll see a Nadia reunion, but after twice showing us her photo I guess that might be where we're heading.

Charlie - We have to remember that Charlie was a miserable wreck on Flight 815... he's hooked on drugs, and his brother Liam just refused to put the band back together. While he didn't intend to kill himself in that bathroom, Charlie's words to Jack were a little too close to home for him not to know something. Is he totally in on things? I don't think so. But for some reason, Charlie inherently knows his fate.


For Those Seated on the Left Side of The Aircraft, Please Enjoy a Spectacular View of the Shattered Remains of Seasons One Through Five...

Seeing the submerged wreckage of the island was dramatic and cool, and seemed geared toward showing us that - in the ALT timeline anyway - the bomb really did go off. Could a nuclear blast really cause a whole island to sink? Who the hell knows? I think maybe the CGI guys were just looking for an excuse to work that Dharma shark in there one more time.


Jack & Sayid... Kicking Down Doors and Saving Lives Since 2004

In another direct reflection of season one, Jack saves Charlie's life - again. This isn't the second, third, or even fourth time Charlie's life has been saved, and he seems more destined to die than ever before. This time around, Charlie even knows it. As he venomously drops the hint that he's "supposed to die", Charlie's words solidify yet another of Jack's ethereal ties to the island. When this happens enough times, I think Jack will start to remember.

This is also a good time to point out a strange line of dialogue from season one, during All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues. After Ethan drags Charlie off and Jack is chasing after him, he tells Kate "I'm not letting him do this. Not again." Is Jack referring to Ethan taking Claire earlier in the season? Maybe. At the same time though, it also seems as if Jack knows what's happened before, and this time around he's looking to change the outcome. If you ask me, Charlie was supposed to die at that tree. Jack brought him back through sheer force of will... call it faith, belief, or whatever. From that moment on, death always surrounded Charlie. As Desmond proved over and over in season three, there was just no saving him. Even now, in this alternate timeline, Jack is still trying to prevent his friend from dying. It might not be long before destiny course corrects by killing Charlie in some other way.

Examine Charlie's many deaths a little more closely, and they all have one thing in common: not breathing. Desmond saw him drown (once in a dream, once in reality), Ethan hangs him to asphyxiation, and we see a vision in which he gets shot in the throat with an arrow. Now, in this episode, Charlie's choking on a big bag of heroin. Whatever happened to kill Charlie must apparently happen again and again, in the same basic way, no matter where, when or what universe he happens to be in.


Jack's New Hickey Doesn't Mean He Joined The 5-Mile High Club

Jammed up in that little bathroom, Jack doesn't remember how he got that mark any more than we do. Yet there's a pretty good reason we see a mirrored view of the wound on Jack's neck, and that's because it's exactly where that wound exists... in the mirror only.

Traditionally, mirrors have played a huge part all throughout LOST. In almost every case, they've reflected back the raw truth. Maybe they've even given us a glimpse into the elusive 'other side'. Whatever happened to cause the wound on Jack's neck, perhaps it only happened in the one "true" universe. It's possible the mirror is reflecting back something that happens to Jack later on, or maybe even at the end of the show. It's important to realize that we never see this wound directly, but only in the mirror.


One Big Round of Time-Travel Hangovers For Everyone

And so here we are again, this time in a universe in which Jughead apparently did not go off. Moving our heroes from 1977 to 2007 finally synchs up our two separate island timelines, paving the way for the long overdue Sun/Jin reunion. And an even more convenient event? The fact that their van came with them.

Kate waking up in that tree was a fairly big clue - another prime example of a character suddenly appearing at a specific 'respawn' point. We've seen it with Jack when he returned via Ajira 316, and we've seen it when both Ben and Locke ended up in the same little corner of the Tunisian desert. So if Kate's tree seems familiar, maybe it reminds you of the tree the smoke monster dropped 815's pilot, Seth Norris into. Or perhaps you remember Bernard's first appearance on the island, strapped into his seat and stuck high up in a very similar position. This isn't simple coincidence... Kate wasn't stuck up in that tree just so we could check out her ass (although I'd accept that line of thinking). There's a definite reason our characters seem to wake up or enter certain scenes in a strangely limited number of places, just as they seem destined to repeat the same events and experiences over and over again.


Think Sawyer Was Angry When He Choked Out His Dad? That Was Nothing.

I have to admit, the Sawyer scenes were hard to watch. After what just happened, he had every right to be brutally enraged. We tend to forget that Sawyer and Juliet had three whole years to form their bond, but from the moment Jack & company showed back up on the island, it only took a few days for them to crash the whole Dharma party. The broken wreckage of the Swan hatch - and not the construction site - directly reflected the failure of Jack's reset plan, and Sawyer wholly blames him for Juliet's death.

To be a little more fair to Jack, the reset plan was Faraday's to begin with. Jack did all of the convincing however, and for that he's got even more blood on his hands. The leadership role is always a tough one, and Jack has seized the reins more than anyone else on LOST. He's also failed more times than he's succeeded, and admittedly doesn't know where they are, or what to do next. Unless he can somehow bring Juliet back, Jack's relationship with Sawyer is irrevocably broken. But then again, "nothing is irreversible".


You're Going To Want To Be Asleep For The Trip Dr. Burke. It's a Hell of a Ride...

Like most big LOST deaths, Juliet's final scene was touching and awesome. Her character had come a long way, and her story was made more complete by getting to die in Sawyer's arms. For all the answers she held back from us in seasons three and four, Juliet's parting gift to us on her deathbed (and just beyond) was extremely significant: we now know that she 'went' somewhere when she died. An hour later, John Locke would talk about this very thing in his placid conversation with Jack.

"We should get coffee sometime. We could go dutch." As she gets closer to death, Juliet's consciousness begins flashing backward through her past life, much the way Charlotte's did during Dead is Dead. When she comes back to Sawyer for her final moments, she needs to tell him something important. Like many people, I thought she'd reveal to him that she was pregnant. But then I thought more about that, and it just seemed a shitty thing to do. Juliet already knows Sawyer's going to have a hard enough time letting go of her when she dies - there's little need to add more of a burden to his already heavy shoulders.

After passing over to the other side - probably quite literally at this point - Miles is forced to commune with Juliet. You can tell from the look in his eyes that he won't be able to do it. "It doesn't work that way", he tells Sawyer. Aside from not wanting to talk to his recently-dead friend, it also appeared Miles genuinely knew he wouldn't be able to make a connection. When Sawyer pushed him down on her grave, Miles made up his mind to play along. As he'd done before for some of his other clients, Miles intended to tell Sawyer whatever would've made him feel better or ease his grief.

But then suddenly, Juliet did speak to him. You can tell how completely surprised Miles was that the connection was made. Juliet's message to Sawyer wasn't a simple "It worked", either... it was an exuberant, animated "It WORKED!" in exactly the way Miles delivered it to him. This wasn't just Miles being shocked, it was a direct and excited message from Juliet to Sawyer. In his grief, Sawyer missed the point of her words, but to us? Wherever Juliet now "is", she's totally aware of the reset. And not only is she aware of it, but she seems extremely psyched that it happened. As far as I'm concerned, this helps lend some level of importance to the alternate timeline. It also makes us question whether dead really is dead, or if everyone who's passed on from LOST is enjoying a great big party on the other side, waiting for everyone else to show up.


If You Strike Me Down, I Will Become More Powerful...

Jacob looks good for someone who just died an hour ago. In his second meeting with Hurley there are no riddles... no hidden messages or untold secrets. Jacob tells Hugo his name, where he needs to go in order to save Sayid, and what he needs to bring with him. When Hurley mentions that Jin will be back, Jacob nonchalantly lets him know that his friend won't be able see him. Hell, Jacob even flat out tells him why. It's season six, and it looks like answers will be a lot easier to come by.

We've seen many instances throughout LOST where characters have seen ghosts, visions, and people who may or may not be there. It started with Jack's father Christian, and from there it snowballed in every direction. Ben seeing his mother... Hugo seeing Charlie at Santa Rosa... even minor characters like Goodwin's wife Harper have miraculously shown up, handed out important advice, and then seemingly disappeared into thin air. This is the first time however, that an apparition makes reference to knowingly being unseen. Wherever Jacob now "is", he's somehow still able to reveal himself to Hugo in a very Ben Kenobi-like way.

As far as Hugo goes, most of you already know how I feel about him. Hurley is blessed by the ability to see things exactly as they are, and this includes seeing things that other people don't. He's been visited by more dead characters than anyone in the show; he's seen both Charlie and Ana Lucia after they died, and even played chess with the ghost of Mr. Eko. Hugo was also somehow able to see Jacob's cabin, despite how hard it was to find that thing.

Hurley's guitar case seems to be Jacob's plan B. Maybe it was his plan A, for that matter. Either way, Jacob had scouted out a contingency for Sayid's death and made Hurley carry it all the way to the island. His nemesis may think he's won the game, but Jacob is still playing.


C'mon Bram... You Gotta Do Better Than That

You know, I really thought Bram had his $#!% together. After Miles' quick abduction and that little conversation in the van, it seemed like Bram and Illana were part of a pretty tight operation. Yet here he comes with nothing more than a gun, an attitude, and a little bag of ash. If this is a reflection of the rest of Bram's team, the shadow statue people should be about as effective as The Others.

In this scene we finally learn what many of us had already suspected: this new version of Locke actually is the smoke monster. Since Dead is Dead his mannerisms, echo-like voice changes, and the way he passed judgment on Ben pretty much gave that away. We even get one last vocal clue in the deep, reverberating way Locke asks Ben "Where's Richard?" As Ben enters the chamber, it's as if we catch the entity switching back to use Locke's own voice.

It was extremely significant that Locke gave Bram's team a choice before killing them. He explained that Jacob was dead, and presented their situation in a straightforward, logical way. They were basically free to go, at least up until Bram fired his gun. Once that happened, judgment could be passed. This is also why Richard is so adamant that no one on the beach shoot Locke, screaming for them to hold their fire when he finally emerges from the statue.

Going a bit further, this also explains why the smoke monster doesn't just kill anyone and everyone it comes across. We already know that the dark man disapproves of Jacob bringing people to the island. In keeping with the rules however, he seems unable to touch anyone unless he's judged them first, or unless they've wronged him in some way. Not sure how or why it killed Seth Norris or Nadine... but both of those characters had just arrived on the island so maybe there was a exception clause. Or maybe the smoke monster hadn't eaten in a while, and he was just plain hungry.

Bram's circle of ash is something the monster apparently can't cross. Perhaps this solves the mystery of Jacob's cabin: it wasn't Jacob's at all. If the cabin served as a type of prison, then the circle of ash there was used to keep the entity or monster in and not out. This may by why Illana's team burned the cabin to the ground upon reaching the island - possibly on Jacob's orders. In any case, Bram's plan A sucked, and his plan B was non-existant.


The Barefoot, Rocket-Shooting, Gun-Happy, Temple-Dwelling Other Others

As we finally get to see inside the temple, more huge answers are finally revealed. One of the bigger long-standing mysteries? Just what happened to Cindy, Zach, and Emma.

The people living inside these temple walls are a more serious, hardcore version of Ben's barracks-dwelling Others. Like Oldham, they've decried modern invention and everyday convenience. They've even kicked off their shoes, allowing their bare feet to constantly touch the earth. This puts them more in tuned with the island than anyone sipping tea at Juliet's air-conditioned book club, because these Others are taking things back to the oldskool.

This is the way Widmore led his people, before Ben moved everyone into the barracks. As a result, these Others seem a lot more educated as to what's going on. They know of Jacob, and of the dangers of his enemy. They also know how to keep the dark man from crashing their party: with a giant circle of ash. They don't seem worried about this however, until Hurley reveals that Jacob is dead. Once that slips out, everyone becomes very, very on edge. Break out the fireworks and karate.

It's also kinda cool to think this isn't the first time we saw these Others. As Jin and Mr. Eko lay crouched in those bushes back in season two, they watched the dirty bare feet of these others, as well as the children, drag themselves through the jungle. Later on, we'd assume this was part of Mr. Friendly's posse - especially after the fake beard. But in reality, what we probably saw here was this group of more radical island dwellers, lead by this trigger-happy Japanese dude who hates English.

Ah... but what's the deal with Cindy? Here she is, dressed as if she just raided Yoko Ono's closet. In Stranger in a Strange Land however, we saw a very different Cindy, Zach, and Emma. That time around, when Jack saw them for the first time, they wore completely normal clothes. They looked washed up and ready for church. So which is it? Where does Cindy fit in, and how did she get there? Were the kids (and other members of the tail section) originally taken by the temple-dwellers, and if so, how did they end up in Ben's group of Others? Many pieces of this puzzle just don't fit, and at this point I'm not sure there's even a right way to put them together. Hopefully someone will shake Cindy down for some hard answers, because it's LONG past that time.


The Egyptian Homegoods Store Called... They Want Their Tacky 2-Foot Wooden Ankh Back

God I was happy when the temple leader smashed that thing over his knee. It looked absolutely ridiculous, and if it was going to take some reverent place in LOST lore I was fully prepared to go berserk. "Behold!!! The sacred wooden ankh of Jacob!!!" Please.

Leave it to Jacob to slide his note into something he knew Hurley wouldn't mess with. It was funny how he knew Hugo would open and look inside the case, too. If he'd seen a piece of paper, Jacob knew Hugo would've certainly read it. This is why Hurley couldn't carry that note in his wallet, and instead had to drag Charlie's guitar case on board Ajira 316. The case probably served double-duty as a proxy, too.


Excuse Me... I Carried That Case Across The Ocean, and Like, Though Time? I Wanna Know What That Paper Says

There were many great lines this episode, and this was one of the best. Seems like the only thing that saved everyone from getting ventilated was another one of Jacob's "lists". This one contained the names of everyone present, and apparently, every single one of them is highly important to the overall master plan.

Jacob's lists have always been critical to LOST's story. He's not very big on communication, so these lists are all his followers really have to go on. I've long theorized that the people listed by Jacob are the ones integral to the end game - without every single one of them, Jacob's final ending cannot be realized. This could be why the hippy with the wire-rimmed glasses tells us that Sayid had better pull through, or there's going to be BIG trouble. As they called out their names, I also realized that we were cycling through every single one of the characters that Jacob had already touched during The Incident. Sawyer shows up later on, and he's been touched too. But Miles? Uh oh.


Where Did They Get That Brown Water... From the Old MXC Set?

In the inner sanctum, we finally get a glimpse of what might have happened to Ben on the day Richard brought him to the temple. Hopefully the water was a lot clearer that day, and the results were a little better. I also have to admit, when the Japanese dude flipped that giant sand-timer over I had to chuckle. They held Sayid underwater like they were trying to boil up the perfect egg, and then walked away defeated when they overcooked him.

The water was probably brown due to Jacob's death. This may be why the leader believed Hurley without further question. It's probably also why his hand wasn't healed... I guess cutting your hand and dipping it into the water was a ritual meant to demonstrate the water's healing properties. When the leader's cut remained the same, we kinda already knew Sayid was screwed.

If the water is tied to Jacob, then maybe Jacob himself has been responsible for the island's mythical healing properties. Now that he's gone, maybe things will be different. They mentioned it was a spring, which means it probably runs beneath the entire island. Personally, I didn't need a physical reference point for why or how the island can heal - at first glance, I was afraid the resurrection pool was going to be a bit much. In the end it wasn't too bad, but I definitely could've done without the giant egg timer.

As Sayid is pronounced dead, Jack once again refuses to believe it. His futile attempts at reviving him exactly mirror the already-mentioned S1 scene in which Charlie dies after being hanged by Ethan. Kate was in that scene too, trying to call Jack off and tell him it's over. The only difference here was that Jack didn't make a second effort - he didn't beat Sayid on the chest until he gasped for breath. Even so, Sayid miraculously does come back from the land of the dead - just like Charlie - fulfilling the end of the scene anyway. Another loop closed.

So what happens now? Is Sayid still Sayid, or is he now a 'candidate' for Jacob? As much as I hate to say it, we've probably seen the end of the asskicking Iraqi we all know and love. Hopefully I'm wrong, but it would make more sense for Jacob to somehow inhabit Sayid's body here, especially since he was the one who sent that body to the temple. Go back and look at Jacob's face while he's talking to Hurley and examining Sayid's wounds. Even he knows the guy is too far gone. It's unfortunate, and he looks a little sorry to even do it, but I'm pretty sure Jacob's going to somehow live through this new version of Sayid. I'm still holding out hope for continued asskickings, however.


Was It Possible To Out-Creep The Season Two Face Ben Made Back In The Hatch? YUP.

In my favorite scene of this episode, we finally learn something about the dark-shirted man's true motivations. We also get an intimate glimpse of someone we thought we might never see again: the real John Locke. As Ben stands broken and unable to grasp what just happened, the smoke monster all but tells him to man up. Ben's complaint of being 'used' falls on deaf ears, and in many ways it's pretty comical when you consider just how many people Ben himself has used over the course of the show.

"Want to know what we going through his mind as you killed him? I don't understand...." This was awesome, incredible acting by Terry O' Quinn. He jumps seamlessly from the monster's persona right back into our old confused and beloved John Locke. The fact that he was inhabiting John's body made it all the more accurate, and it brought back overwhelming feelings of sympathy for the man John Locke was. He was a guy who wanted nothing more than to be loved and accepted, yet just about everyone he trusted ended up taking advantage of him. I thought it was cool how the dark man admired him for his purity, and for John's one redeeming quality: realizing how much better life on the island could be rather than worrying about how to get back to his shattered life... like everyone else.

Then Ben asks the question we've all been dying to know: "What do you want?" And as Jacob's long-time enemy explains in the simplest of terms, he just wants OUT. He's been playing the game for way too long, and he finally wants to pack it in. More importantly, he's not just looking to get off the island, he's looking to go home.

Dogma springs instantly to mind here. Although the movie itself was fairly cheesy, the premise of Loki and Bartleby, two angels cast out of heaven, totally fits. They're even looking for a loophole, too. While I'm not sure Jacob and his nemesis are a pair of fallen angels, there's certainly a higher power above them. Maybe they've been placed on the island for a specific purpose: to serve a penance all their own. Perhaps their game isn't a game at all, but a lesson that needs to be learned before they can move on. If this is the case, the island becomes their own personal Purgatory.... and yes, I said Purgatory.

The face Terry O'Quinn makes at the end of this scene absolutely scared the balls off me. It was totally unexpected and radically different than anything he's done before. We've seen Locke angry, hurt, mad, happy, and smiling with an orange peel in his mouth. But we've never, ever, EVER seen a face like the one made here. It slammed home the point that we're looking at someone who's NOT John Locke, and it was chilling to watch. I totally loved it.


Oceanic Luggage Gets Really, Really LOST

In the alternate timeline, Jack's father's coffin somehow doesn't make the plane. Ditto for Locke's case of razor-sharp knives. What does this mean to the storyline? I'm not sure just yet. But let's imagine for a moment that neither of those things were on the original Oceanic Flight 815. Let's go off on a real quick theory...

After the crash, Jack has no way of knowing that his dad's coffin wasn't on the plane. As far as he's concerned, it was. So when he starts chasing ghost-Christian through the jungle and "finds" the coffin, is Jack only seeing what he expects to see? Did he bring his father's coffin - and even his Christian himself - to the island via the magic box, much like Sawyer unknowingly brought The Man From Tallahassee? Kooky idea, but we're in season six. Ghosts, time travel, alternate timelines... the whole magic box thing goes down a lot easier these days.

Similarly, Locke's case of knives was found amongst the beach wreckage early in season one. I've long speculated that those knives were there simply because Locke wanted them to be there, but now we find out that he really did pack them. Yet if they never made the plane and they somehow still showed up on the beach... magic box? Could be. Early on we saw a lot of things brought into being by requirement, usually whenever a character needed them most.

Admittedly, Locke losing his knives could've been nothing more than a vehicle to put Jack and Locke together in their last LAX scene. But his father's coffin now missing... that certainly means something.


Science, I'd Like You To Meet Faith. Faith? Science.

As Jack and Locke meet up again at Oceanic's lost luggage counter, we get to see what could've been. These are two of LOST's biggest, most powerful characters - all throughout the show, we've seen them pitted against each other. Their opposing views and general disdain for each other has been evident since season one... even through wide-swinging role reversals, Jack Shephard and John Locke have faced off over just about everything. To see them not only getting along here but actually trying to help each other out? It was pretty damned wild.

Locke's words about Jack's missing father were meant to comfort a guy who had just lost his dad. At the same time, they're also the third direct reference this episode as to where people go when they die. Sayid asked Hurley where he thought he'd end up, and Juliet passes over to some other realm where she can consciously communicate through Miles. The well-mentioned "other side" is getting closer and closer, and I've got a feeling that pretty soon we're going to be able to see through to it.

John Locke is still a man of faith here, and Jack is still a man of science. But something is changed up a bit, as Jack begins asking Locke about how he got into that wheelchair. "Nothing's irreversible" just isn't Jack's mantra, and it stood out like a sore thumb. Giving Locke his business card means we'll probably see a Jack/Locke story later on, just as Kate getting into Claire's cab will tie those two characters together. Sawyer & Hurley? Maybe. We'll see what happens. In any event, with Jack's never-ending need to fix people, it will be interesting to see whether or not he can help John Locke walk out of the alternate universe on his own two feet.


Frank's Shirt... Still Unbuttoned All The Way Down To The Naval? Ah, Continuity!

As two full hours of LOST drew to a close, one thing became quickly obvious: John Locke is going to rock this season whether he be real, fake, or otherwise. We haven't seen this level of badassedness since Keamy went down, and the way he handled Richard was nothing but pure awesome. You? Me. Two words was all it took (plus maybe a throat-strike), and suddenly we knew a lot about the long history these characters had together.

Richard being in chains was an obvious reference to the Black Rock. This is exciting, because the slave ship and Richard's backstory are two big mysteries that absolutely need to be solved. Tying them together means we could get them both in the same episode, and hopefully soon. With a little luck, it also means we'll be seeing the dark-shirted man in his original form again. As much as I love Terry O'Quinn's version, it should be equally awesome to get a more personal glimpse of the man who finally killed Jacob.

After beating Richard like a prison inmate trying to make a statement, the monster stands up to address everyone surrounding him. "I'm very disappointed in all of you!", he shouts. Not sure what he means by this, but it struck me that maybe he's going to pretend to be Jacob. It was probably that half-smirk he made at the end. The only conscious person who'd know that he's lying would be Ben... and the last time we saw Ben he was looking for a second pair of shorts. Whatever the dark man's next move is, you can be sure it involves an asskicking.


Thoughts On The Premiere, and Season Six

Dunno about you guys, but this premiere blew me away. I expected it to, and it lived up to my expectations. Answers are coming quickly, and craziness is the norm. We're long past the point of subtle hints and slow-rolling mysteries now. As we accelerate toward the finish, the drawstrings of LOST's story are steadily and deliberately being pulled closed.

I'm looking forward to this season, to this story, and to a great series finale. We're in the home stretch, and one step closer to the zombie-season!

thats what she said.

good post, Im going to have to catch the Hulu version here at work.

Damn! thats crazy long... it would take less time to just watch the show lol

on the real lost is the most confusing show on tv

EVER...

ya idk y i bother watchin it

lol

Very confusing but thats part of the whole "element" of lost.

I hope Farraday comes back and Desmond is in a bunch of episodes, they are my favorite characters.

ya they were pretty good... only worthwhile part of lost is the fact tht each character is "lost" within their own lives based on past personal experiences... like each is fuked n lik it is all bc of how they grew up or how life took turns for worst in each of their lives

Thanks for sharing that post CQE!

One of the reason I enjoy watching LOST is b/c its so confusing. Any show that makes you think, theorize and debate on what's going on is good in my book.

Theres too much fucking commercials!!!!!!!

I never got into lost , mostly because it aired on nights Im never home. But now that they have been archiving episodes on Hulu i might be able to watch it.

oh ya def just dislike the fact tht it went "supernatural" they could of on story lines <n like six degree of seperation> had a nice 4 season show tht didnt need movig islands time traveling n all this other hatch shit lol

AT BEST THEY COULD HAVE
said reason for plane crash/ n reson off course/ cant be found is the electro magnetic energy or watnot given off by the island... the could have even left the french woman... but chill with secret societies submarines n all this other shit

the electromagnetic energy of the island kept the fat man fat.

haaa

no he was really sneaking snacks in the woods. There was a whole episode explaining his tactics, etc.

ya man...he had all that candy and big jar of dharma ranch sauce.

Hahahhahaah LOL

The funny shit is i just watched it with my buddy for the first time the other night. Hes seen every show. We both understand the same amount about the show. lol

lol

i believe that... lol

ok wait, so they are stuck in the 70's now? haha Im "Lost"

Im LOST! where is CQE's recap?

werd lost sucks it is gettin to complicated

Im super lost, so John Locke isn't really John Locke, it's a "smoke monster" that took the form of John Locke? and the Fat Man is still fat.

yeah pretty much, I don't understand the deal with sayid, Wtf? he's infected? with what? and they are giving him poison to kill him now? Super confused!!!!!!!!

oh, but we did find out why the stone foot only has 4 toes....

diabetes

Sayid seemed like a real pussy when he was being tortured...which I think was an intentional deviation from his normal character...maybe he's possessed by the smoke monster or something else?

They alluded to russo being dead, and she was walking around all crazy with a gun, then they alluded to the same thing happening to jack's sister (which we know to be claire) and then you see claire acting like Russo at the end of the episode.

wat the fuck cant they just make the show normal...

Because nobody would watch.

Hey guys. I just thought the episode was so so, nothing "great" happend. I think next week will be better. In any rate...here is the writeup from that guy.

Enjoy!!

A Kate-centric episode? GASP! The horror.

When it comes to any episode that's centered around Kate, there are some LOST fans that will never be pleased. If Kate is selfish and self-centered, she's villainized. If she pulls a few selfless acts (as in tonight's case), the episode is declared boring or slow-paced. Action-packed writing is great, but character-driven writing is what has always made LOST stand out from other TV shows. The recipe for LOST's success has been an equal amount of both, which is why we can't always jump on the 'lame, boring, filler' bandwagon whenever it rolls into town.

Last night's episode was good but not great, but even a good episode of LOST is better than 95% of everything else on television these days. The other day I was trapped in a waiting room while they made vibrator jokes on The View (no joke). Ugh. Kate-haters and action-junkies aside, What Kate Does was pretty solid. Things I Noticed:


Kate-Centric Episodes v6.0 . . . Now With 50% More Gunplay!

If there's one thing Kate knows, it's the value of a good hostage. Her departure from LAX may have seemed rather cold, but that's because getting away from the marshal requires some serious effort. Kate wasn't too good at noticing that Claire was pregnant, but she sure as hell recognized Jack as the taxi driver stopped so Arzt could pick up his, uh, excessive baggage.

"But Vozzek, Kate's gaze lingered on Jack only because she recognized him from the airplane!" Yeah, okay. And Claire blurted out Aaron's name this episode because it happened to be rattling around in her head after reading a baby name book. C'mon, really. It's season six. We threw coincidence out the window years ago, and it cartwheeled through the jungle like the fuselage of Flight 815. At this point, the looks and sudden flashes of recognition we're seeing are our main characters channeling their experiences from another timeline. Kate and Jack didn't lock eyes simply because she remembered stealing his pen as he left the can... her look was a lot more telling than that.

But hey, I'm not here to convince anyone. If you want to believe the alternate timeline has nothing to do with the previous events we've seen for the last five years, go crazy.


No More Whoooosh

For five years, we've heard the same familiar sound byte used as a changeover effect, signifying on-island events transitioning to off-island memories or flashbacks. Yet these new flashes sound different now; broken or disjointed... maybe even from the other side of a mirror. It reminded me of the lead-in from the backward episode of Seinfeld.


Miles, Get Us Some Water... And None of that Brown Stuff They Drowned Sayid In

Sayid seemed more than a little confused after his apparent resurrection. He was totally blanked out - his mind resetting to the moment he got shot. Jack makes no bones about the fact that he died, and the temple-dwellers seem to understand this too. If Sayid had been healed by the water, he would've been fine, but that's not what happened. Somehow Sayid has returned from the dead, and in the eyes of Dogen's people, that presents a very big problem.

Did Sayid spend some time at the "in-between" place mentioned in the Eko-centric episode entitled ? Totally. Just as Charlotte Malkin drowned and later came back to life, it seems Sayid might've dipped into this realm for a few minutes himself. It should be interesting if he regains memories of being in that place, and can somehow talk about it the way Charlotte told Eko of seeing his brother, Yemi. Sayid's mention of the last thing he remembered also seemed similar to Locke's words when he woke up on the beach after the Ajira flight: "I remember dying".

Sawyer's line about Sayid coming back because he was a torturer and child-killer was him channeling his anger at what happened to Juliet. Yet in a very 'only the good die young moment', it reminded us of some Purgatory-like rules: the greater the sin, the more the suffering. Perhaps Sawyer has it all backward. Maybe Juliet was allowed to pass on because she'd reconciled herself and made peace with her past. Sayid on the other hand, had drifted into unconsciousness knowing and believing he'd end up in a very terrible place. That place? The island, all over again. If it does turn out to be a place of suffering, it would make sense that the island isn't done with him yet - the same way it wasn't done with Michael.


After We Torture Sayid For a While, We'll Be Happy To Do Some Q&A

It's funny how much less patience our main characters have with the Others nowadays. Their captivity somehow feels different this time around, and it's like they all know it. Jack doesn't believe for a single minute that they'll get any form of answers from Dogen or his people, and Sawyer's willing to back out of the temple behind the business end of a heavy pistol. Nobody does much to stop him, and I think that's for a variety of reasons.

His loaded gun aside, the temple-dwellers simply can't force Sawyer to stay. They could bring him there, bully him, and even claim they were protecting him. But the moment Sawyer decided to leave on his own volition? I got the definite feeling they had to let him go. I think this had to do more with the concept of free will, and allowing individual choices. It also seems critical that the people on Jacob's list stay safe, because if they were to be killed off it would apparently ruin everything.

For these two reasons Dogen steps forward, and using English, very nicely asks Sawyer to stay. When he refuses, he allows Kate and Jin to go after him because, as Kate puts it, she intends to 'convince him' to come back. Although they might've dragged Sawyer there the first time around, I think Dogen knows it's important that he come back to the temple on his own, like the rest of Jack's group did. Maybe this is even why Sawyer leaves in the first place.

I'm still not sure how Dogen's diagnosis of Sayid was supposed to work. Either he electrocuted Sayid because he'd watched a little too much Rambo II, or he felt the need to perpetuate the season one parallel of Rousseau zapping Sayid with a car battery. After sprinkling him with some volcanic ash, Dogen wordlessly seared Sayid's wound with a hot poker, all the while looking into his eyes for his reaction. I watched this scene several times, and I'm not sure at which point Dogen determines that Sayid is somehow infected. The first scream he lets out seems a bit inhuman and unlike Sayid, but I guess that's to be expected. Ash or no ash, you could've covered Sayid with cherry Fun Dip and he was still going to scream like that.

Cool Star Wars reference when Sayid was returned, post-torture, to see the rest of his friends. "They didn't even ask me any questions." Excellent job channeling the Han Solo.


Not Too Worried About Hurley's Red Shirt

I'm thinking they've dressed Hugo in a red shirt this season in complete defiance of the red=dead policy. If you believe like I do, Hurley is and has always been completely untouchable by all island forces. The color of his shirt might be the writers handing us a 4XL clue: no matter what the hell happens, Hugo just can't be affected. Red shirt or not, we'll dress him however we like.


Are You A Zombie Dude?

Well, not yet, anyway. The LOST zombie season (or at least zombie-episode) is foreshadowed here, and I think it's all a matter of destiny. Break out the makeup, and check your S6 DVD for easter eggs.


Please Don't Go? Dogen's Making Tea, and Later On We're Picking Sides For Baseball...

Dogen was good this episode - I liked him much better than last time. He demonstrated some qualities that seemed to humanize his character, from contemplatively spinning the baseball to pounding out his letter to Santa on that old typewriter. Although still cryptic and demanding, the Other Others chilled out a lot more this episode, and started recognizing our 815 characters as both equals and allies. With the exception of Aldo (who thanks to Claire I don't have to worry about anymore) the temple-dwellers are actually starting to grow on me.

The scenes in which Dogen spoke to Jack were also pretty telling. As he explained his arrival on the island, I got the impression he'd been there for quite a long while. You could also tell that he missed home. Speaking Japanese in lieu of English might've been Dogen's way of protesting the island's captivity, and this was something he and Jack both shared. At this point, everyone is showing a weary bitterness at having been dragged to the island and not permitted to leave.

For a fleeting moment, I also got the impression of even greater age - as if Dogen's history extended back way beyond modern times, back to when having such a territorial disdain for the English language might be a lot more common. While I'm not saying he's as old as Richard Alpert - not even close - I will go out on a limb and say perhaps he's from another era, or time. Maybe even during WWII, an already common theme throughout LOST.

How Dogen got to the island isn't as important as his role as temple leader. He has a sense of duty and an air of resentful detachment. He's still very secretive, but in S6 style he also relents and eventually reveals some big information (although it takes Jack almost killing himself to do it). The coolest part about watching these temple scenes is that, at any moment, huge answers could suddenly be revealed.


Claire's Back! And This Time Around, She's Taking The Bus

Taxi-jacked at gunpoint... all of your belongings stolen... dropped off in the middle of nowhere with a bootprint on your ass. Do you call the police? Dial 911? Nah. Instead you find the nearest bus stop, sit down, and wait for your assailant to return with a free ride. Hey, what can you do? It's all necessary to advance the plot.

While it wasn't the most believable storyline, Kate returning to bring Claire her stuff was a major deviation from her past character. In prior seasons, Kate would've been flying down some highway with the occasional glance in her rear-view mirror. Instead, Kate not only risks returning to the very scene of her escape, but she offers Claire a ride and even accompanies her to the doorstep of her adoptive parents' home.

This time around however, as in many other places, something has changed. This time Claire might have to raise the baby - an idea that was a pretty hot topic back in season one. Even Kate suggests that she keep her son, as if she inwardly knows it's the right thing to do. If this alternate timeline is indeed the corrected one, then Claire staying with Aaron is an important positive change. Claire forging a friendship with Kate might be another. The fact that they bonded over some very intense experiences here may mean that Kate later becomes a big part of Claire's life, playing a mother-like role to Aaron after all.

The big evolution here is that Kate's suddenly a sucker for some baby washcloths and a big stuffed orca. Whatever Kate did, this is now what she does. These important character developments in the LAX timeline signify core changes in Kate's fugitive-like behavior. Apparently, Kate's now a fugitive with heart. Bringing Claire to the hospital was another big risk for her, and it almost got her caught. Still, people probably won't give Kate nearly enough credit here. Despite the fact that she's no more a murderer than Sayid, Locke, Eko, or Sawyer, Kate has traditionally received far less fan forgiveness for the things she's done. Kate-hating will still run rampant, due not so much to her characterization but to the fact that she's bounced back and forth between Jack and Sawyer, and this seems to piss people off to no end.

It's true that Kate has pulled some real wishy-washy romantic $#!% that has made us want to wring our own necks. But lately? The love triangle has been shoved aside in light of the sheer number of overwhelming experiences these characters have gone through. The writers want us to forget about love for a while, and this is good. The time for sweaty naked writhing on the jungle floor is over, just as our heroes sitting around waiting for The Others to always make the first move seems to be over too.


Ethan - Still Badass, Even In A Long White Lab Coat

Seeing Ethan in the alternate timeline was cool, but not all that surprising. As with everything else that's destiny-related, this seems to be a case of always having to do something over and over again. Just as Charlie is always supposed to die, Ethan is always supposed to be involved in Claire's pregnancy. This is apparently an unchangeable, uncorrectable event - like him not wanting to put needles into her belly. As cool as William Mapother's character is, I have to say I still miss psychotic, Terminator Ethan. That guy was badass. Would've loved to have seen a fight between him and Keamy.

Notice how the baby's heartbeat disappears the moment Claire says "I'm not ready". Not until Claire gets distressed enough to cry out Aaron's name does the heartbeat come back into view on the monitor. Once again, here's a case where wanting or believing in something seems to make it more concrete and tangible. The further Claire seems to get from her baby, the more disconnected she and Aaron become.


Damn, Justin Was Just About To Tell Us Cool Stuff!

Aldo's character was about as interesting and effective as Pryce. He quickly made us hate him this episode, not just because of his disdain for our main characters but also for trying to keep us eternally in the dark. Justin on the other hand, was about to reveal some cool and important $#!%. We were going to find out a little about jungle-commando Claire, and maybe even what happened to the forgotten Ajira people. Aldo shutting him up was similar to Widmore shutting up Cunningham during Jughead, although not as violently or permanently.

After Kate chumped Aldo for the 2nd straight time, it was cool to see Jin take on an agenda of his own. Following Kate on her never-ending Sawyer quest would've been outright lame. All too often Jin gets relegated to the back seat of LOST's big ride, but here he finally steps up to form his own plan. I was glad to see Jin taking steps to find Sun, especially after realizing they were probably in the same timeline. It's exactly what he should, and would do.

Justin's cryptic last words to Aldo regarding Jin also seemed important: "He might be one of them." We already know Jin is on Jacob's list, and both Aldo and Justin should know it too. So what else does "one of them" mean? Is there an ultimate purpose these people need to stay alive in order to accomplish? I'm thinking yes. What that purpose is however, will probably be one of our last mysteries.


What Part Of "Don't Come After Me" Did You Not Understand???

Josh Holloway was great in this episode. Sawyer's emotional struggle on the dock no longer included anger for Jack, but only self-loathing and blame at causing Juliet's death. This was similar to Ben's slow realization that he himself was responsible for the death of Alex, and not Martin Keamy or Charles Widmore. Sawyer saw himself as selfish for keeping Juliet on the island, just as Ben saw himself as selfish for trying to raise Alex as his own daughter when he really should've known better. And Sawyer throwing his engagement ring into the water mirrored Desmond's past actions in a very touching scene. These types of parallels are always cool, and this one was done exceptionally well.

In my opinion? This much selflessness completes Sawyer's journey. His character has come full circle. At this point we should be worried about losing him, as characters on LOST who have such deep revelations almost always end up leaving the realm of the island. Who knows where Sawyer might've ended up if Kate hadn't chased after him? Perhaps he would've completed his journey of self-discovery, like Boone... Shannon... Ana Lucia... Michael. Not all characters who reach enlightenment have happy endings on LOST, as Rose & Bernard seem to have. We need to recognize that.


Jack Shephard, Free Will, And The Importance Of Cleaning Up One's Own Mess

In what was the most crucial part of the episode, Jack storms into Dogen's study for some hard answers. Watch as he tells the armed guards to "step aside"... they glance at each other for a moment, then move to let him through as if they didn't have a choice. This seemed to make Jack important, even if he doesn't yet know it. Lennon's next words to him? "We were hoping you'd come on your own". They didn't send for him - possibly because they couldn't - but they needed him nonetheless.

Throughout LOST, one of the bigger recurring themes has always been choice. Dogen and Lennon needed Jack to show up here because he's the one who must deliver Sayid's 'medicine'. When Jack asks why they don't just give it to him themselves, he's told "Because it won't work unless he takes it freely. And he won't take it freely unless you give it to him".

Think back to season two for a minute, where Ms. Klugh was asking Michael to lure four of his friends to The Others' encampment. "Why don't you just get them yourselves?" Michael had asked her, to which Klugh replied "It doesn't work that way, Michael". The Others could've taken these people by force any time that they wanted, but for some reason they didn't. They even had three out of four of them at gunpoint, on the day Mr. Friendly drew a line in the sand. Yet somehow, for some reason, they needed these people to come on their own. Just like Jack did, here and now.

Now think back to season three, where Benjamin Linus was trying to convince Jack to do his spinal surgery. "You want me to save your life?" Jack had asked him incredulously. "No", Ben responded. "I want you to want to save my life". Although there were any number of ways Ben could've forced Jack to operate, he never did. He used Kate and Sawyer (and a live video feed of their heated cage-sex romp) to soften Jack up, and then sweetened the pot with an offer of freedom. Once this happened, Jack was willing to do the operation of his own free will... and I got the impression back then this was the only way it could've been done.

Here, Dogen wants to poison Sayid. He's already had him pinned down, strapped to a table, and could've killed him any time he wanted. We know now however, that this is not how things work. Maybe it's because Sayid is on Jacob's list, or maybe it's for another reason... whatever the case, there are some definite rules involved that prevent the temple-dwellers from just outright killing Sayid. Dogen and his crew need him to accept the pill willingly, yet one more direct parallel to the way Neo took his own pill during The Matrix.

Ah, but here's where things get even more interesting.

Not only do the temple-dwellers need Sayid to effectively kill himself, but they need Jack to act as the accomplice. You could argue that Dogen used Jack because Sayid inherently trusts him, but that's not the sole reason. Jack, and Jack alone, must be the person who gets Sayid to take the poison. And the reason for this is simple: Jack must clean up his own mess.

Go back to last episode. Right before they dipped Sayid in the spring, Dogen says "Who did this to him?" Jack steps up and claims responsibility. "My fault. I didn't shoot him, but it's my fault." This seemed pretty out of place back then, but Dogen puts the same question to Jack right now. He asks again how Sayid got shot, and Jack tells him what happened. "So, he was helping you?", Dogen asks, very specifically. "Yes", Jack says again. And from here, two things become brutally obvious.

First, Jack has to be the one to give Sayid the pill. It can't be Hurley, it can't be Miles... because Jack was the person directly responsible, he must also be the one to clean up his own mess. This very line is used more than once in past seasons, and we've already seen the theory in action:

During season three, Ben tried to make Locke kill Anthony Cooper. He even made it seem as if it were some strange test he had to pass. The truth of the matter however, is that Ben couldn't kill Cooper for a much different reason: Ben wasn't the person who brought the man from Tallahassee to the island in the first place. He thought it was Locke, and therefore needed Locke to commit the murder. But Ben turned out to be wrong here, because it was actually Sawyer who had brought Cooper to the island - a manifestation of his intense desire to find the man responsible for the death of his parents. Even Locke realized this, when he somehow couldn't even bring himself to kill the man who had caused his paralysis. Instead, Locke lured Sawyer to the Black Rock, where he strangled Cooper Jabba-the-Hutt style.

Confused? Don't be. Sawyer had to deal with Cooper because he was the one who brought him to the island, just as Jack had to deal with Christian and Hurley had to deal with Dave. In that respect, the island is much like that evil cave on Dagobah. What's in there? Only what you bring with you.

The second fact that becomes obvious here is how slick and manipulative Dogen can be. Knowing that Jack is the only person who can give Sayid the ill-pill, he uses Jack's guilty conscience against him. "Have there been others who have been hurt, or who have died helping you?" As Jack nods his head, Dogen offers him a chance at false redemption. He tries playing upon Jack's need to constantly save people, threatening the fact that his friend will die without taking the medicine.

Jack is smart enough not to go for it, and for that I give him credit. Dogen actually had me convinced the pill was a good idea. I thought it might've contained the volcanic ash, and that it would somehow exorcise the demons (or 'growing darkness') about to possess Sayid. Instead, it was meant to kill him - something Jack selflessly figured out on his own in much the same way he power-played Ben and Mr. Friendly to facilitate Sawyer & Kate's escape from zoo-island.

Jack's need to look out for Sayid overrode his own safety here. He was already feeling responsible for too many deaths. Although I don't think Jack has always given himself a fair shake, this was just another one of those times where he put other people above himself. When they live, he's a hero doctor. When they die, he gets slapped by others with the responsibility of their demise. In the grand scheme of things, Jack has a lot of messes that still need to be cleaned up. Fortunately for him, he also seems to hold some hidden power we don't yet know about.


The Closest Translation Would Be... Annoying

Sayid's soon-to-be metamorphosis seems almost moth-like, and raises some very big questions. Is the dark man the one who will be claiming Sayid, or will Jacob himself do it? I vote for Jacob - if only because it might mean Sayid's continued safety. I also think it's important that Sayid was dipped in the temple pool - whatever was left of Jacob's physical spirit may have entered him through that nasty water. The dark-shirted man also seems busy at the moment, and perhaps the Other Others don't know about him already claiming Locke. But if Claire was claimed in the same way... then whatever is about to happen to Sayid might be independent of both Jacob and his nemesis. Maybe.


Jungle Commando Claire Has A Bad Case Of The Frizzies

The sickness is back... and this time it's real? That one threw me. Even more important, why has Claire jumped into Danielle Rousseau's exact role... filth-smeared complexion, rifle, lost baby and all?

Did Claire skip through time with the island's movements last season? Did she spend three years on the island during 70's Dharma, or did she remain in the island present from 2004 through 2007? There are lots of immediate questions we need answers too, the least of which is what happened when she hooked up with ghost Christian Shephard.

Claire's existence as Danielle Rousseau should be more than a little troubling here. It's as if her body has jumped into a whole new role, adapting a whole new set of rules. Remember that Claire's mind was once "reset to the crash", way back in season one. What if this happened to her again? Or what if Claire's mind was reset so many times she went berserk with the sickness, with only vague recollections of her previous times through the island's historic loop?

Maybe she won't recognize Jin at all, but my guess is that some flash of vague recognition has given her pause right now. Just as Claire slowly began remembering things after returning from Ethan's captivity, perhaps her season one through four memories are being suppressed much the same way. If two weeks of her life went missing during Homecoming, why not three whole years? Yet none of this explains how closely she can be channeling Danielle Rousseau. It's not like making coconut net traps is a skill she could've picked up from one of Locke's survival magazines.

We need more. A quick glance and a squint isn't much to go on, so hopefully next week will provide some answers.

So... How does everyone like this last season?

so far so gay

+1

I thought the last episode was pretty good.

what about the ones before that??? I use to watch every episode, but havent really felt like it this season...

anyone been watching that undercover boss show? Pretty good stuff.

Jungle Commando Claire Has A Bad Case Of The Frizzies

LOL

Still boring?

I watched lost for the first time this week and I got a bit

......

"lost"

starting to pick up but Im still lost lol

Lost too. What happened to sawyer???

we need CQE's recap

agreeed

yee

this show rocks.

Sorry guys...been super busy...here is the latest one from this week.

Things I Noticed – Dr. Linus - by Vozzek69

In past seasons, an episode like Dr. Linus would be considered "filler". Although it succeeded in advancing the storyline, it didn't deliver the raw action of Sundown or provide the startling answers associated with The Substitute and Lighthouse. Still, neither of those things mattered much. This week's episode was stolen away by the amazing acting of Michael Emerson, in both the ALT and on-island timelines. Things I Noticed:


Lo There Do I See The Line of My People... Back to the Beginning... Back to the Beach Camp!

Maybe Miles was right last season - walking back to the beach is the only real plan anyone in LOST every really has. The place where LOST began is also the place we've spent most of our time, and it's fast becoming the epicenter of the entire show - the wellspring from which everything and everyone has seemingly flowed. When all else fails, the 815'ers beach always becomes a convenient START point from which to regroup and re-plan, and season six is no exception.


Everbody Wants To Rule The World - Especially Napoleon

The first glimpse we got of Dr. Linus turned me off a few weeks ago. After a more thorough view, maybe I prejudged him. LAX_Linus is a likeable enough guy, with honest interests and genuine passion for all good things. Unfortunately for him, nice guys usually finish last.

Principal Reynolds is the same kickass 80's nemesis he portrayed as professor Hathaway in Real Genius (and if I remember, he was carrying on inappropriate school-based sexual relations in that movie too), and also as the annoying face-punched journalist in Die Hard. They could've also gotten the principal from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but I think that guy touched some children recently. Then again, so did Jacob.

Arzt is back, and it was good to see him with a semi-significant role here. He's got formaldehyde on his shirt , and I took this as a backhanded reference to the fact that island-Arzt is already dead. He's stuck in the same familiar role as always: sitting alone during lunch, far removed from the cool kids' table.

As Ben and Arzt discuss the decaying state of school affairs, Ben utters a prophetic line: "I know you've given up, but I refuse to." Later on in the episode, this ties in neatly to island-Ben's salvation. Broken, beaten, and finally ready to give up, Illana breathes new life into Benjamin Linus by forgiving his sins and accepting him into Jacob's army. In that aspect, Ben's refusal to give up here in the LAX timeline is paralleled on the island.

The most interesting part of the school scene occurs when John Locke interacts with Ben. Here in the bizarro world Locke is good, not bad. He's also ready to follow and listen to Ben, instead of asking Ben to follow him. These are more examples of role-reversals; all through the show we've seen Ben 'push' people in Jacob-like fashion to get them to do all sorts of things. Here, LAX_Locke is returning the favor.


You're Forgetting One Thing. What If?

In the land of bizarro daddy issues, Ben is caring for his father by gassing him with oxygen rather than lethal poison gas. I'd point out that this was ironic, but last week the irony police slapped me with some violations that I'm still trying to clear up.

But hey, we get our first real reference to the island here - and that's big. Roger Linus confirms what bad CGI has already told us this season: Dharma does exist (or at least did exist) in the alternate timeline. Not only that, but both Ben and his father have spent some time on the island. What made them leave is unclear, but Roger goes extra-crazy-special out of his way to pointedly wonder (aloud and for our benefit) just what life would've been like if they'd "stayed on the island".

I felt as if we, the viewers, were getting a direct message here. This type of "what if" theorizing was almost a little too pronounced, especially when it got echoed later on during Ben's brief conversation with Lapidus. Frank wonders aloud how different his life would've been if his alarm clock had gone off, and if he had actually piloted Flight 815. Ben slaps him in the face with a dose of fate, reminding him that it doesn't really matter because "the island got you anyway".

I've always had the feeling that we'd see Flight 815 crash again, and that Lapidus would be at the control wheel. This would be the corrected version of the crash, with the correct people involved. Not saying this will definitely happen, but it's been in the back of my mind for three seasons now. And Jack's line about "going back to where we started" - although yes he was also referring to the beach camp - seemed to gel nicely with the idea.


Maybe We Could Build A Fire... Sing a Few Songs!

Miles is the king of sarcasm. Lapidus is the king of zinging one-liners. Together the two of them would make a great sitcom, especially with the pad Miles can now afford after digging up Nikki and Paulo's diamonds. It was funny how fast he figured this out, and how quickly he snubbed Ben's lame offer to finally pay out on the 3.2 million dollars. Good for him.

When Miles approaches Ben with bananas and beanpods, the subject of Jacob comes up again. Here, Ben echoes what many of us have already thought: that Jacob didn't really care about being killed at all. Miles immediately corrects him however, telling Ben: "No, he cared. He was hoping he was wrong about you."

This is highly interesting, because it seems to go against the original theory of Jacob knowingly accepting his own demise. If what Miles says is true, Jacob's last words to Ben about 'having a choice' now carry a lot more weight. At the same time however, I find it difficult to believe Jacob's not still pushing Ben from beyond the grave. Through the use of Miles, maybe Jacob is allowing Ben to know his disappointment for a very specific reason. Perhaps Jacob is trying to appeal to the good within Benjamin Linus, because bringing that good back to the surface again is the only way to successfully recruit him.

Say it... Say it...

Sun again fulfills her obligatory 10-second dialogue, this time talking to Illana. We get a fairly big answer here, as Illana tells us that a candidate's role is to replace Jacob. "What does that mean?" Sun asks. "Sorry, not this episode", Illana tells her.

Illana is as confused about 'Kwon' as we are. Whether the name of the candidate 42 refers to Sun or Jin, Illana explains she plans to protect them both. How she'll do this with a single rifle is beyond me, but maybe she's got a sick dagger buried somewhere that we don't know about.

I also found it interesting that Illana said there were "six candidates left". She already knows John Locke is dead AND occupied by the man in black, which would leave five at most. It left me wondering if Illana knew of a sixth candidate, and whether or not that candidate was Kate.

From our standpoint, replacing Jacob's role seems to be a piss-poor job. Maybe Illana doesn't see it that way, which is why she talks about it so openly. Later on this episode, we see the MIB talking about enlisting a replacement as well. So does the island need two replacements? A ying and a yang? Or are Jacob and the MIB really just two halves of the same entity, waging an internal, Tyler Durden-like war of fate vs. free will? Great question. But sorry, not this episode.


There Are Two Types of People In This World. Those Who Have Guns... And Those Who Dig

Illana's insistence that Ben dig his own grave was very Clint Eastwood. Ben's compliance was an unmistakable indication that he's utterly broken. No longer do I think that Ben 'still has a plan' - I guess I've been wrong about that. Right now the only thing up Ben's sleeve is a sweaty, dirt-covered arm.

Ben's only redemption at this point lies in the fact that he himself was pushed and manipulated into the very role he's played. Benjamin Linus never chose to be leader, and unlike Napoleon maybe he never really wanted it. The metamorphosis he underwent at the temple came while he was an unconscious child, with no choice given to him whatsoever. He usurped power from Charles Widmore out of necessity, in an effort to raise a daughter who Widmore admittedly would rather see dead. Unknowingly, Ben's upbringing as a Dharma-brat also influenced his decision to move everyone to the barracks... a decision, in hindsight, that would disconnect him from the island at the most fundamental of levels.

String all of these things together, and the sum total of Ben's existance has been engineered since childhood. He's been given very few choices, other than the one he himself later points out: the death of Alex. Ben confesses to choosing the island over the life of his daughter, and honestly admits to his mistake. His pain and sorrow are genuine, and so is his regret.


You Wanna Walk Your Baby Nuts Around The Block, You Won't Make It To The Corner!

In the alternate/sideways/simultaneous universe, Dr. Linus is thinking of making a power-play much, much bigger than himself. He's about to bite off a lot more than he can chew, yet he still has the balls to go through with it. The 'big nuts' portion of Ben's personality seems to be bred straight into him, regardless of whether he stayed on the island or left.

The thing is, Ben had principal Reynolds by the balls and we all know it. I couldn't buy into the whole "If you blackmail me I'll crush Alex's college dreams" storyline, because Dr. Linus could've included him not doing that as a stipulation of the blackmail (hey, isnt that what blackmail's all about!?) It was a weak counter-ploy that shouldn't have held any weight, especially since Ben could've written Alex his own letter of recommendation once he assumed Reynold's position.

Although It didn't make any sense, the principal's counter-move was obviously there to further the motif of Ben making the correct choices in both the ALT and on-island storylines. He's destined to look out for Alex's best interests in a fatherly way no matter what universe he's in, but once again he's still not her true father. LAX_Ben selflessly chooses Alex over himself, correcting his one big on-island mistake. It also seemed as if he recognized her at one point, in the same deja-vu way we've seen in past episodes.

Poor Arzt is the same little player caught in a much bigger game, not allowed to sit at the cool kids' table. And all the guy wanted was a parking spot and some aprons. Damn.


Like I've Always Told You, You Put Your Mind to it, You Can Accomplish Anything

Cyborg... vampire... when it comes to Richard Alpert, Hurley is hilariously covering all the bases. In the last few weeks Richard has been stripped of all semblance of power or control. He's been reduced to a man with a great many answers and very little reason to continue on, and that makes him highly interesting to us... and to Jack, too.

Not sure about the rest of you, but every time I see the Black Rock I pee in my pants a little bit. Just sayin. As Richard reflects thoughtfully on that one set of leg irons, it's becoming more and more obvious that his backstory involves the slave ship in some way... and that getting a more in-depth glimpse of his past history is not far off.

Richard looked a little surprised at seeing the dynamite. Maybe he just wasn't expecting it to still be there. He flipped around and juggled it to show us that he couldn't be responsible for his own demise, which means one of two things: either Richard is a sick maniac, or he knows the gifts associated with Jacob's touch extend even beyond Jacob's own apparent demise.

"I can't kill myself", Richard tells us. It doesn't explain his agelessness, but it does explain a lot of other things we've seen these past years. Namely, it tells us why Jack couldn't kill himself on the sixth street bridge. It tells us why Locke couldn't hang himself in that hotel room, and ended up needing some help from Ben. Maybe it even suggests that Michael was touched by Jacob at one point too, because his repeated attempts at suicide in season four were all thwarted.

In any case, the real story here is the new badass Jack. Unlike Richard, post-lighthouse Jack IS a sick maniac. His little sit-down over a stick of lit dynamite even had indestructible Hurley running for the hills, but in this poker game Jack was 100% certain he was holding the nuts. As far as Jack was concerned, the whole scenario wasn't even a gamble. When Richard asks "What if you're wrong?", Jack replies cooly and uncaringly with the simple phrase: "I'm not."

Go back and listen to the way Jack says those two words. He's so unfailingly confident, it's kinda scary. We've never seen Jack like this before. New Jack is way past maybe's or what if's. He's completely and unequivocally sure of his indestructibility, even though he doesn't know what his role is just yet. That's what he wants from Richard right now: the ultimate answer. Jack is no longer fighting the reasons why he was brought to the island, he finally wants to know what it is that he's supposed to do.


Your Overconfidence Is Your Weakness

Flocke has played the last few episodes pretty flawlessly. Aside from tripping over that root and throwing his little Johnny Locke tantrum, everything he's set out to accomplish has fallen snugly into place. Yet here, as he approaches a miserable Benjamin Linus (at a time in his life when he's weak and helpless, might I add...), smokey goes about things all wrong. It's right here, right now, that the dark man makes a pretty big mistake.

After using the Force to pop his leg irons like a Jedi, Flocke totally had Ben with "We're all gonna blow this taco stand". He completely lost him however, with "But hey, someone's gotta stay behind. You're cool with that, right?"

Perhaps it's because Ben was so far disconnected from the island's roots (again, the barracks), or maybe it's because the MIB just assumes every leader of The Others is as inherently power-hungry as Charles Widmore... but it turns out the dark man doesn't really know Benjamin Linus. Because of this, he mistakenly assumes Ben's greatest wish is to rule the island. Just as Sawyer's biggest desire was to leave, and Sayid's only wish was to be with Nadia again, the dark man approached Ben offering the one thing he figured a deposed leader would certainly want most: to regain his power.

Ben however, never truly relished his rule. He was a great leader and master manipulator, but his real motivations were never grounded in obtaining and keeping his power. Although he obedientlyfollowed what he thought were Jacob's orders, Ben was constantly distracted by his own inclinations. His fruitless attempt to solve the fertility problem was (according to Richard) never in line with the island's interests, and the raising of Alex as his daughter was for Ben's own personal reasons.

The dark man releases Ben, gives him access to a weapon, and then presents him with what he believes to be an easy choice. Ultimately however, Ben resists. He chooses to come clean and admit his sins, even if it means being shot or banned from the good guys' group. By laying down his rifle and "explaining" to Illana, he ends up being surprisingly absolved by her. In what becomes a fantastic, awesome scene, both Illana and Ben tearfully come to the realization that they have an awful lot in common.

The dark-shirted man loses Ben here, and that's important. Ben becomes the first person to resist the MIB's siren-like call, and Illana's forgiveness places him squarely on team Jacob. There's a definite momentum shift here, and the impact is probably felt a little harder when contrasted against the dark gloom of last week's episode. Ben's future role may still be uncertain, but if I had to choose up sides for an island game of kickball, I'd say Benjamin Linus would probably be one of my top five picks.

Anything That We Want to Know, From Just a Beginner to a Pro, You Need a Montage... Montage!

The beach camp is a sacred place for us, and with very good reason. It represents the origins of the show we love so much, and memories of a more mysterious yet simpler time. It makes sense that LOST would begin and end in the same place, especially with all the circle and loop references scattered throughout the show. So when everyone ended up back here, including Jack and Hurley (and even Richard?) - it wasn't all that shocking. Cue dramatic montage, and bring on the hugging.

Standing just outside the circle of trust, Richard and Ben are the newcomers. They're fallen defenders of the island who've finally come to the realization that everyone's been pretty much on the same team all along. The sides are being chosen up very quickly, and they'd better be... because here comes the periscope of Widmore's sneaky sub. What havoc will he wreak? What shenanigans will he be up to? Not really sure, but having been off-island for so long he'd better be damned good at playing catch up.

Okay, here's a guess: Widmore will unknowingly end up following the wrong side. As leader of The Others, let's assume he'd been doing Jacob's will (or thought he was) for the entire time he was on the island. But what if he was actually listening to the MIB, without even realizing it? What if he were taking baby-killing direction not from Jacob, but from his nemesis instead?

Knowing what we know now, Widmore's words to John Locke about the upcoming war now contain a more sinister connotation: "If you're not back there, the wrong side will win". It's as if he knew (or was coached) that John Locke's body was necessary to the dark man's ultimate plan. In a way, Widmore participated in the MIB's long con, whether he knew it or not.

My section titles were all movie quotes this week, so I'll leave you with two more. These are from Memento, and in the world of LOST I think they very much apply:

Memory can change the shape of a room; it can change the color of a car. And memories can be distorted. They're just an interpretation, they're not a record, and they're irrelevant if you have the facts.

We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are.

thanks CQE

sawyer is the shit newest episode was best of the season

that one sucked

which 1?

sawyer is crazy.

i tripped out when sawyer said lafleur as his code word to bring in the other cops.

^^ Yea that was dope...didn't expect that at all. Next week i thnk is going to be the best episode of the year. They have never done a Richard centric episode so I think its going to be awesome and answer a lot of questions.

Anyway..here is the recap of this week!

Things I Noticed – Recon - by Vozzek69


Sawyer-centric episodes never really disappoint, but Recon was not my favorite episode of season six. Although James Ford's off-island scenario directly opposes what we've seen of his pre-Jughead life, his motivations and basic personality remains constant. There were mirrors and reflections, but no Earth-shattering life changes for him - at least not yet. The on-island stuff was a lot more interesting, but even that seemed a little flat this week. Things I Noticed:

Man, I'm Gonna KILL My Guidance Counselor!

Can someone tell me where you sign up for James Ford's job? If sleeping with a suspect's hot wife in order to plant a trace seemed a little over the top for you guys, that's because it WAS over the top. There was very little realism in this week's opening scene, and a whole lot of (intentionally?) bad acting. The entire Ava/con storyline had an overly rehearsed feel to it, right down to James calling "LaFleur" to shatter the illusion and bring in reality.

It would be easy to chalk this scene up as a simple introduction to James Ford the LA cop, but that's not even the half of it. Instead, we're whisked away to a world of awful detective cliches: a wondrous land of cool badges hanging from long chains, of Laker tickets and blind dates with fast, fiery red-headed women who despite being ridiculously hot can't seem to get a guy on their own.

James tells Ava "I don't need saving", using the same line Claire gave Kate during Sundown. We know that on-island, Sawyer and Claire are in the same boat, having thrown in with the MIB version of John Locke. Off-island James Ford doesn't feel he needs saving either, despite still being emotionally tortured by the murder/suicide of his parents.

The most symbolic part of the scene however, comes as James is convincing his mark that she's busted. As far as Ava is concerned she knows where she is, what's going on, and what to do next. All of this is an illusion however, perpetuated by her own version of events. It falls away the moment James says his 'magic word', and the door busts open. In the blink of an eye, she realizes that nothing is not what it seems to be. Quite suddenly, everything changes.

Look at the background as Miles' team breaks into the room. We see a mirror image of the word HOTEL, as if the doorway represents peering through the looking glass to the other side. Yes, I know we're seeing the back side of the hotel's sign that probably faces the road. But at the same time, we're being shown all these mirror-image references for a definite reason. Time and time again, they shouldn't be ignored.

An even bigger clue comes back at the station as Miles serves coffee, taking the black mug while giving his partner the white one. James' mug has the word HOLLYWOOD written across it, as if to emphasize the acting, set-building, and trumped up feel to Sawyer's version of his sideways reality. Just as his encounter with Ava was all a set up, perhaps so is Sawyer's ALT. In that case it becomes a place of magic, mirrors, and special effects... in a single word, it's Hollywood.



Date a Redhead / Die Alone

Just as they were partners in the Dharma version of law-enforcement, Miles remains Sawyer's partner in the alternate reality as well. The two of them are the Ponch and Jon of LOST... those guys were always setting each other up on blind dates with overly-attractive (by 70's standards) women too. Those dates never ended in sex though. They were more likely to end in roller-skating, sharing sodas at the malt shop, and cheesy freeze-frame smiles just as the credits rolled.


We also learn here that Miles' father, presumably still Dr. Chang, got off the island as well - if he ever was on the island in the first place. His own watered-down version of the ALT-reality involves working for a museum.



Claire's Squirrel-Baby Looks LIke Jar-Jar Binks

At least we learned this week that Claire didn't think her baby was Aaron. Instead, she used it to replace the son she lost in order to maintain her maternal sanity. This didn't stop Kate from going "Ewwww" though.


Isn't It About Time For Zach To Ditch The Teddy Bear?

As Flocke tells his people that he'll be available for Q&A, Cindy chimes in by asking what happened to everyone else at the temple. The dark man tells the truth here - that the dark smoke killed them - but not the whole truth; something we've seen throughout LOST. Still, he also seems concerned with keeping everyone safely non-mutinous and reassured.

Every five minutes, Locke keeps promising to take care of everyone. It's as if the MIB has figured out what we've known all along: you get more flies with honey than with a shotgun... more compliance with explanation and answers than mysteries and silence. This is the opposite of Jacob's previous approach, leading to more mirror imagery and direct dichotomy between these two characters.

At the mention of smokey, Claire grips Kate's hand protectively. I thought she did this this to make it known that Kate's 'one of them', and to visually mark her as a loyal member of Flocke's crew. Despite Claire still being infected, this seemed to be a moment of clarity. Later in the episode however, I adopted a different opinion: Claire was scared. More on that later in the recap.


In A Kill Or Be Killed World, It's Good To Be A Smoke Monster

After calling Sawyer over to the new cool kids table, Flocke comes clean about being the smoke monster. Thinking back to what a huge mystery this once was, I thoroughly enjoyed this moment. Although not a revelation for us, this was a pretty big reveal as far as Sawyer was concerned. Still, it didn't even phase him. Sawyer's one true motivation remains the same: getting off the island for good. But by the end of the episode, as he bargains for his friends' safe passage as well? I think we start to see signs of old Sawyer shining through.

Again, it would've been easy for the dark man to lie here. Telling Sawyer the straight-up truth seems to be a refreshing change from all the secrecy and lies we've associated with LOST for so long. Even so, the smoke monster's admission has a deceitfully underlying purpose: he follows that truth by fibbing to Sawyer about why he's sending him to Hydra island, tricking him into going for made-up reasons. "Do whatever you can to gain their trust, find out what you can about them, and then get back here." Now where have we heard that before?

It's kind of interesting that the dark man doesn't do his own recon here. He's already told his army that they'll be sitting around camp for three days, so it's not like he has any pressing engagements. Maybe this has to do with him crossing the water. During dead is dead, Locke took his shoes off during the canoe ride over to the main island, and put them back on when he reached the dock. Yet if the water bothers him, why did we see a resurrected John Locke standing ankle-deep in the ocean right after the crash of Ajira 316? I'm not sure what the deal is with him and water, but something definitely seems up.

In the last part of their conversation, the dark man mentions taking the Ajira plane as a way off the island. I'm calling bullshit on this one, as he mentioned it only to keep Sawyer going. He may want to leave, but I don't think the plane (or the sub for that matter) has anything to do with the MIB's escape. I mean, where would he go? It's not like he's gonna just fly off to LA and take up a 9 to 5 job or something.


I Got To A Point In My Life Where I Was Either Going To Be A Criminal Or A Cop... So I Chose Cop. Because Hey, This Is The Alternate Reality, And That's How We ROLL, Son!

Gag me with a candy apple... Sawyer's whole date with Charlotte - from the ice-breaking banter to the cute little jokes - was over the top sugary and sticky-sweet. It was way too Days of Our Lives, and way too "take me to bed or lose me forever". Like Indiana Jones and his whip, it was also far too Hollywood... too "set me up with a beautiful blind date who wants to have sex an hour after meeting me" perfect.

In fact, everything's going amazingly well until James Ford asks Charlotte if she wants some water. Again, water acts as a catalyst for change. It's here that Charlotte stumbles across the Sawyer corner, replete with Watership Down, Anthony Cooper folders, newspaper clippings, and family photos of a much happier time. Sawyer's even got an 80's style boom-box and a container of petroleum jelly within easy reach - the staples of any good bachelor pad. Smooth, bro.

I guess my point here is that Sawyer's life is a little bit too stereotypically contrived. It's all too neat... as if Charlotte herself were a set up (not saying she is, not saying she isn't...) designed on cue to bring about a change of heart in this version of James Ford. It's like everything we've seen here was written for an episode of [insert crime drama], cheesy dialogue, unlikely situations and all.



Hydra Island... Now With 800% More Death, Carnage, and Flies!

Sawyer's trip down memory lane, much like Jack and Hurley's, was designed to instill ghost-town imagery wherever he walked. The deserted Ajira plane, the beating zoo... it felt a lot like that last episode of Survivor, where the final contestants walk past the burned-out torches of their eliminated comarades.

Revisiting this scenery from seasons past feels a lot like going back to your old childhood haunts and digging up some bittersweet memories. Kate's sundress is conveniently left where Sawyer can ponder their past together, helped out by sappy piano arrangement and some heavy sighing.

If Sawyer somehow ends up with Kate again, a good many people will go absolutely berserk... and probably rightfully so. Although it would be nice to have some closure within the original love triangle, Saywer's relationship with Juliet would be severely cheapened if he starts falling for Kate again within hours of her death. Not to mention that cup of coffee they're still supposed to go for, in this life or the next.

Eventually Sawyer meets up with Zoe, a girl who wins LOST's "suckiest at lying" award for all six seasons. "How many people are you? How many guns do you have?" It doesn't take a con man to know what was up here, and it didn't take long to see we were being introduced to a whole new crowd of people with guns and hidden agendas... again. Sawyer's "Take me to your leader" line was delivered with resigned sarcasm, reflecting exactly what we all felt at the moment, minus ten million eyerolls.


Mirrors, Fists, and Shattered Bromances

I'm not sure why Miles was so up-in-his-partner's-face about going out to Australia. "Trust" didn't seem a good enough reason to pull your friend's credit card info and throw him up against a row of lockers, at least not without some deep-seeded, unrequited man-feelings.

Then again, go back to earlier in the episode where Miles tells Sawyer "You know you can tell me the truth" (cue creepy music) "...about anything". Reflecting back, it's a little bit like Miles is watching over Sawyer in a suspiciously knowing way.

And like everyone else on the show, seeing himself in the mirror reflects back the truth to James Ford. Despite every attempt to be the Ponch to Miles' Jon, he's still obsessed with finding and killing the man responsible for the death of his parents. He can't be James Ford the happy and successful (and set up with a great girl, too) detective until he resolves his Anthony Cooper issues. And these aren't issues you can just shove aside... or lock away in your underwear drawer.


This Is Completely Inappropria- Wait! CATFIGHT!

"Sayid are you alright?" Hell no he's not alright. Claire's not alright either, and if Kate had brought her A-game she wouldn't be ass-down at knifepoint struggling to keep from getting an unwanted tracheotomy. Flocke steps in and tosses Claire off like a sack of potatoes, but not before reprimanding her like he's scolding a little girl.

And so this got me thinking... what if Claire is a little girl? Not in the physical sense of course, but in a mental sense maybe her mind got reset to when she was a kid. Think about that. She's prone to quick bouts of anger, then shows remorse later on by hugging Kate and crying. She holds Kate's hand... she plays with dolls... in essence, she's acting a lot like a scared, angry little girl.

Is this what the sickness reduces you to? Does it strip away the logical inhibitions an adult would have, leaving you with radically childlike tendencies? Did Vozzek just solve the sickness??? I vote 'hell yes' to all three.

Later on, Claire does seem legitimately sorry, as a child would after throwing a tantrum. Either the sickness itself isn't constant - allowing for moments of clarity and remembrance - or it's a twisted version of childhood. I'm leaning toward the latter, as it would make the sickness far more interesting and a lot less 'evil'.

If this is the case, the MIB is gonna have his hands full when Sayid decides he wants to play on the swingset... and delivers an unholy asskicking to anyone that tells him he can't.


I'm Sorry I Keep Stealing Jacob's Lines...

After the catfight, Flocke apologizes twice to Kate. He still seems overly concerned about keeping everyone happy, which makes sense because he knows that most people have been kept in the dark for too long. In trying to make amends, he accepts full responsibility for Claire's attack on Kate, and then uses Jacob's own line: "I'm sorry this happened" - yet another in a long line of direct connections between these two characters.


I've discussed the possibility that Jacob and the MIB are two halves of the same entity, and we see two types of evidence that point to this. The first are the mirrored and reversed traits: white and black, chaos and order, secrecy and full disclosure. Other evidence however, comes in the form of direct parallels between these characters: shared ideology, symbolism, and even identical dialogue. As these last few episodes fly by, keep this in mind and try to look for these things. More and more I get the feeling we're barking up the right tree.


When Kate asks where Sawyer went, Flocke offers to take her hand and show her. She refuses to accept his gesture of help, and gets up to follow him on her own accord. This keeps Kate markedly separate from everyone else on the MIB's crew who has made some type of deal with him. So far, Kate's done nothing of the sort.


All The Biggest Cowboys Have Mommy Issues

Flocke and Kate's conversation as he showed her Hydra island gave us more critical insight into the dark man's past. Once again he claims to be nothing but a man, something that has seemed very important to him these last few episodes. Whatever happened to the MIB, I'm starting to think he somehow lost his original form - the one we saw on the beach with Jacob during The Incident - for good.

Could it be that his physical body was destroyed, but his essence remained on the island in the form of the dark smoke? We already know he can take the form of those who've died, but over time even this seems to be wearing on him. Unlike Jacob, the MIB has no physical persona he can call his own, and it will be interesting to find out what exactly happened to his original body.

Even more mysterious: his mother. The dark man talks of once having a mother just like everyone else, but unlike everyone else his mom was crazy. Maybe she had the sickness when the MIB was just a boy, resulting in what happened to him. The way he spoke of his growing pains seemed like he was downplaying something a lot more horrific. His concerns about Aaron having a crazy mother may be a genuine reflection of him not wanting a child to go through the same thing he had to, and at times like this the MIB garners a lot of sympathy points. His character gets greatly humanized in this scene. Lots to process here, and I think it should make us go back and examine just who was talking to Claire in her season one visions and dreams.


Thanks Michael Landon!


"That's what life's all about - laughing and loving each other - and ***knowing that people aren't really gone when they die***

Yup, that's right... there's an "other side". There always has been, from the very beginning, yet so many people refuse to accept it. This is the proverbial curtain on the stage - the looking glass that separates everything we've seen so far from the real answers we've been salivating over since the show first started. I know it, lots of others know it, and Michael Landon definitely knows it.

If you've listened to the ODI Podcast, you already know my opinion on this. Everyone who's ever died on LOST has reached the other side. What's over there? An open bar, live music, and a lot of drunk "dead" people. Boone, Shannon, Charlie, Eko, Ana Lucia, Rose, Bernard, even Arzt, although they're serving him virgin drinks and still making fun of him whenever his back is turned.

What's that, Michael Landon? "We have all the good memories to sustain us ***until we see them again***. HUGE hints here. Just my opinion of course, but Mike's handing out big clues as to what we should expect at the end of the show.

Want less theorizing and more matter-of-fact reporting on this scene? I aim to please both sides here. With a little help from Michael Landon, Sawyer recognizes that hating on Cooper his whole life is preventing him from actually living a happy existence. He stops off at the Sunflower & Brew store and tries to make amends with Charlotte, but in her words "he blew it". Maybe it's too late for James Ford to turn over a new leaf, even in the ALT timeline.

As always with him, Sawyer sits on the fence between right and wrong, good and bad, convict and cop. The title's clever play on words seems to demonstrate the constant battle between the side of Sawyer that wants to do good, and the side that keeps falling back into more criminal activity. Ponch and Jon never plotted vengeance and murder, unless I missed that episode.


Awwww... What An Adorable Little Sonic Fence!

For about the 800th time, Saywer is marched somewhere at gunpoint. Widmore's sub has all the dark corridors and sinister locked rooms you'd think it should have, while above deck his crew begins setting up a low-budget version of a sonic perimeter. Someone should probably tell them there's only a half-season left.

In Widmore's quarters, Sawyer does almost all of the talking. He refuses to take Widmore's hand, then blames him for the death of the Ajira people. Pushing aside Widmore's denials, Sawyer cuts right to the chase: both of them know Locke is dead, yet he's still walking around and plotting new craziness. Sawywer however, makes the quick and possibly inaccurate assumption that Charles Widmore is here to do battle with the man in black.

"I'll bring the old man right to your doorstep... then you can kill him." Widmore smirks here, probably because he doesn't WANT to kill Flocke. It's hard to say what Widmore's motives are at this point, but he definitely knew Locke had to go back to the island. It also stands to reason he knew Locke would have to die to accomplish that goal. Therefore, if Widmore had wanted Jacob safe, he wouldn't have encouraged Locke to go back at all.

The only deal Sawyer's willing to shake on involves the safety of his friends. He's playing both sides of the fence to get what he wants, and doesn't seem to trust either side. He's a smart enough con to hedge his bets.


Puppy-Dog Eyes And An Ultra Lame Ending

Unfortunately, the ending of Recon was pretty lackluster. After giving Miles his best puppy-dog eyes, James Ford hands over the folder containing all his info on Anthony Cooper. It's unsure whether or not he plans to keep tracking the con man down, using the present tense as he tells Miles "When I find him, I'm gonna kill him".

As a good partner, Miles is obligated to talk Sawyer down off this ledge for a few days before ultimately helping find Cooper and bring him to justice. Sawyer's redemption comes the moment he catches Coop and refuses to kill him, which at this point would be pretty damned predictable. Cue fugitive Kate, a car crash, and yet another "son of a b*tch!"

On-island, the ending is even worse. Sawyer and Kate could be playing 'I never', but instead they're discussing how to escape... not by plane, mind you... but BY SUB! Dun-Dun-DUUUUUNNNNN!!!! Sorry, but that just totally sucked.


So What Saves A Shitty Ending?

An incredible, jaw-dropping promo for next week's episode. If you refuse to watch it for fear of being spoiled, you're probably a Communist

All I can say is I wish CQE watched heroes!!!!!

I watch heroes... but I am too lazy to write a full episode review/recap LOL

lol heroes is my shit!

another show that im waiting until its run its course to watch all at once lol

bezzle seriously you will be into heroes start watching it dude its totally awesome!

LOL

Just to be clear I don't write those reviews! I wish I had that much time, energy and writing ability to write something like that. I take no credit for them other than just copying and pasting from a Lost forum to here! haha

They are great reviews though so I figure just post it here being that we have a topic about lost.

Can't wait for next week episode though!!

oh right!!! I totally thought it was u writing those!!!!

same, I was drunk lol

cqe u totally had me believin u wrote them

haahaha see now i dont feel so stupid lol

damn yo that be one detailed review

Hahha...i would feel very guilty if i took credit for them so I just couldn't.

They are great reviews, I don't know if he does any other shows, I just know he is a Lost fanatic.

yo lost is gettin goin between tht sawyer episode n this richard 1 its lookin like its all coming together

That episode was freakin awesome!! I think Alpert sould win an oscar for his role in that episode. I think one of the best performances by a lost character so far. Awesome episode...can't wait for more.

Here is the recap.

Wow, just #&@^ing WOW. Things I Noticed: "Ab Aeterno" by Vozzek69
Posted by DarkUFO at 3/24/2010 04:52:00 PM View Comments
Labels: Ab Aeterno, Recaps, Vozzek69

Illana Cleans Up Pretty Damned Good

There's one small problem with Jacob healing Illana in that hospital, and it involves him not touching her. From what we've seen so far, Jacob's touch has been required to manipulate or bring about change, and by the end of this episode we even watched him physically bestow his gift upon Richard. In the Illana scene however, we've known since The Incident that Jacob wore gloves. This seemed an obvious precaution against him touching her, even by accident.

So how did Illana get healed? We don't see it, but I don't think the healing is the important part. Maybe Jacob left Illana untouched because he needed her unmanipulated. Maybe he needed her pure and unbiased so that - in his own words - she could decide for herself what was right and wrong. Perhaps the very act of marking his playing pieces has invalidated their decision-making process, voiding them out as examples for Jacob's argument that people can change? If so, it would make the characters he hasn't touched yet a lot more important in the future.


Did You Rewatch Richard's Laugh About Twelve Times? Me Too.

Back "where it all began", everyone's playing a rousing, firelight game of What Do We Do Next? Illana steps up to the plate, quoting Jacob and pointing to Richard as somehow being the key. Here we have a character who, especially recently, seemed to be completely in the dark about what's been going on. Richard's been clueless since Jacob got stabbed... yet once again, we see someone who has some sort of hidden knowledge or purpose that not even they themselves know about. Just as it would seem that Richard is indeed "he who will save us all", he laughs mockingly and walks off into the jungle night.

We can't really blame Richard here. By now he's in the same boat as Ben: a guy who's played by Jacob's rulebook all his life (and then some), only to find out there never was a plan. Jacob's communication skills have traditionally sucked, and perhaps later in this episode we find out why. After his brief conversation with Richard on the beach, it seemed like Jacob learned something important: that the very act of illumination or explanation might be influencing the decisions his subjects make. Direct interference has been inadvertently corrupting the point he's been trying to make, marking the whole experiment null and void. This may be why everyone else is dead, and nothing has so far has worked to prove the dark man wrong.

Want to go a step further? Richard's own conversation with him is what exactly made Jacob realize the need for an impartial go-between. Jacob creates Richard's job because, after realizing Richard's point, he recognizes the necessity of giving orders without handing out answers. Alpert essentially creates his own position. In that respect, Richard becomes the cause of his own suffering. He wanders the island for the next 150 years as an ancient adviser with very little real knowledge to share, he himself nothing more than a middle man kept in the dark about most things.


As Long As We're Going Back To The Beginning, We May As Well Mention Death/Hell/Purgatory Again

Before Richard stomps off, we get a reveal so big it can't possibly be true: yes, everyone IS dead. Yes, everyone IS in hell... or Purgatory... or wherever it is that souls need to go to reconcile their past lives before moving on. Our main characters receive this news with the same impassivity as the rest of us, knowing it's too far fetched to be the one big answer. As snugly as that puzzle piece would fit right into LOST, after five and a half seasons it's just not something we can accept at this point.

So no, I don't think everyone is dead. I don't think everyone's in hell. I will however, say this: the way Richard looked specifically at Jack when he said "You're dead"? I happen to think that was tremendously important. If anyone did die during the plane crash, maybe it was Jack. Maybe that's why he woke up so far removed from 815's wreckage. Maybe that's also why his tattoo says "He walks among us (i.e. 'the living'), but is not one of us". Maybe that's what Achara saw in him back in Thailand that scared the shit out of her. So maybe, just maybe, when Richard said that Jack is dead, he hit the nail right on the head... without even really knowing it.

Where's Ji... Er, Oh, I Mean 'He Meant Locke'

Looks like Sun got a new line this episode. Together she and Ben catch Jack up to speed on John Locke's resurrection and newfound badassedness, but Jack doesn't seem all that surprised. The typical S6 reaction to this level of news is about the same as finding a polar bear in the jungle during season one. "Really? Whoa. That's strange." Not sure anything would phase new Jack at this point anyway.


Same Rain, Different Island

We've been waiting a long, long time for Richard's backstory, and I'm thrilled to say it didn't disappoint. What made it all the better though, was an absolutely incredible performance by Nestor Carbonell. Galloping through thunderstorms, the humble way Ricardo bowed his head as he tried to buy medicine for his sick wife instantly opened our hearts to him. If there were Easter eggs or hidden meaning during these Canary Island scenes, I totally and happily missed out on them.

Turns out there's a lot more to Richard than immortality and guyliner - there's a hardworking, loving husband. Desperate to save Isabella, Richard is willing to do anything and everything... and this is unfortunately where LOST has taken advantage of many of our best characters. As viewers, we know Ricardo never meant to kill the town doctor in the puffy shirt and mutton-chop sideburns. But in terms of the island? That one hasty act requires seemingly endless penance.

Again, I can't say enough about how amazing Nestor Carbonell was in this episode. Watching Richard's life spiral to the ground in such a short time span was heartbreaking. The writers made us watch angrily as the doctor threw Isabella's pendant to the floor, followed immediately by the overly righteous priest clipping his dead wife's bible. The symbolism in that scene was a little more obvious: Richard in white, the priest in black, along with the offer of food... right away it reminded me of the opening of The Incident. The priest tells Richard he can't be absolved for murder because he hasn't done proper penance, and unfortunately for him, there's just not enough time. Later on Richard would ask Jacob for that time, driven mostly out of the fear of dying and going to hell.
Strong hands and English lessons end up saving Ricardo's life, but they're also responsible for placing him on the island. Magnus Hanso ends up physically owning Richard, and it was interesting that the writers went out of their way to tell us that. Seeing Hanso himself would've been cool, but keeping him a mystery was equally so. I guess they needed Whitfield as the evil throwaway character - the proverbial pilot who gets sucked through the cockpit upon arrival on the island.


I Hope Those Waves Didn't Ruin Jacob's Tapestry

At long last, we finally got to see the Black Rock's ultra-dramatic arrival on the island. Waves cresting as high as the 4-toed statue's head plunge it deep into the jungle, crashing it through the statue in the process. This takes place, as is so often the case throughout LOST, during a spectacular thunderstorm. More important than that though, it also takes place at night.

For this reason, maybe the ship we saw during The Incident wasn't the Black Rock at all, but some other ship containing another crew of poor random souls. The weather isn't the only thing that points to this fact - Jacob and the Dark man both wear shorter, cleaner-cropped hair than they did when they were first introduced last season. It's like they were powdery-fresh from the nearest barber shop, shaved necks and everything.

And if Jacob brought the Black Rock to the island, maybe the dark man caused the wreck. Perhaps he's even responsible for the storm, too. We already know the MIB protests new people being brought to the island, so it would make sense that he'd try to sink or destroy the ship. In a vengeful way, it even makes sense that he'd ram the prow of the Black Rock right into Jacob's statue... almost as if saying "You want it? HERE!" and shoving the vessel down Jacob's throat. These two characters definitely revel in sending messages to each other, as indicated later on when Richard brings the dark man a white rock on Jacob's behalf.


People In The 19th Century Sure Were Sword-Happy Dicks

"They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt..." Damn, Whitfield proved every one of these things within 15 minutes of arriving on the island. Maybe this is why the smoke monster showed up so quickly, dropping the hammer right down on the Black's Rock's crew. None of the officers here were Jacob-type material, or at least none of them contained qualities that could prove his point. This allowed fast, hard judgment on the part of the dark man.

If it seemed the middle part of this episode dragged a bit, that's because it did. Yet in hindsight, it was necessary for us to see Richard get broken down to his absolute lowest point. This was a slow process, starting with the rainwater being just of reach as Richard is dying of thirst. Still determined to live, he pries a nail from the floorboard to chip away at his bonds.

That's where the man in black comes in again. The first time he scanned Richard as the smoke monster, to draw from his memories. This time he arrives in the form of a boar, to knock the nail from Richard's hand. As Richard realizes he's lost any real chance for escape, his despair runs even deeper. Again, the dark man leaves him to wallow in that desperation for a while longer, bringing him to a weaker and weaker state.

Then, in one of the dirtiest of all known tricks, the MIB shows up as Isabella. After giving him false hope, she runs from Richard's clinging grasp only to be crushed by the smoke monster. This destroys any last trace of fight, or even will to live, within Ricardo. And as he lays there utterly and completely broken, that's when the man in black finally moves to recruit him - first touching him on the shoulder.

He goes on letting Richard think they're in hell, mainly because it serves his purpose but also because the MIB is indeed trapped in his own personal hell. He also doesn't waste any time in getting to his point, convincing Richard he'll need to "kill the devil". The way the dark man gets Richard to agree to do anything he asks is almost like cheating; although still giving him a choice, he's been closely and directly influencing Richard's environment for several days now.

One cool thing we get confirmation on: the dark man can manifest himself based upon other people's memories. We've seen hints that this was possible during The Cost of Living, when he appeared as ghosts of the drug dealers Mr. Eko had killed with his machete. Up until that point we'd only seen the dark man use physical bodies he'd accessed while on the island: Christian Shephard, Yemi, and later on Alex. But just as he plucked those ghosts from Eko's past after scanning him, the dark man was able to take Isabella's form after scanning Richard. His abilities to take the shape of people are limited only to what he knows and sees.

Are You Done Eating? Cool, Because I Need You To Stab Someone For Me

For the second straight episode, the dark man fully admits to being the smoke monster. This blunt truth is actually detrimental to the story he's cooking up - believing it was the monster who killed his wife, Richard nearly balks at hearing the news. The MIB quickly backtracks, letting Richard know it was the devil that swiped Isabella and not him, hastily correcting what was almost too revealing a mistake.

The fact is, the MIB really can't help himself here. We learn that he holds Jacob responsible for stealing his form, and therefore his humanity. He can't even mask his anger long enough to lie. It's also obvious by now that the character being played by Titus Welliver probably isn't the original incarnation of the man who became the smoke monster, but likely just another human form he's taken for the time being.

Sometime, long ago, something happened between him and Jacob that ended with the dark man losing his physical form. The black smoke is all that's really left of the man he once was, and this is why he refuses to deny or lie about being the monster. To betray that one true image would be to deny all that's left of him, and the dark man is too proud to do so... even when lying his ass off and creating a story where Jacob is the devil who took Richard's wife.

It was also cool to see Dogen's dagger again. Apparently it works the same on Jacob as it does on the MIB, which is yet another nod toward the theory that these characters are nothing but two halves of one whole being. Jacob got the name, identity, and original human form... the dark man got the kickass smoke powers and ability to manifest himself as other people. They're as opposite as black and white can get, yet still cut from the same mold.

Technically, the MIB isn't really lying when he tells Richard he has the ability to let him "see his wife" again. What Richard doesn't realize is that the MIB's promise doesn't truly involve giving Isabella back to him. Again, the dark man has stuck around long enough to offer the one thing Richard wants more than anything else. His recruitment process involves promises that, so far, it seems he'll be unable to keep.

Jacob - Gentle Pacifist, But Not Afraid To Open The Occasional Can of Whoop-Ass

Opposite the MIB's approach, Jacob's beatdown of Richard was more physical than mental. It's not until he drags him into the churning surf that Richard finally realizes he's not dead or in hell at all. This baptism marks the beginning of Jacob's recruitment (and the beginning of Ricardo's new life), as he sits Richard down to explain who and what the dark man is. He also gives us an all-important glimpse into the island's exact purpose.

In every sense we're looking at Pandora's box. Jacob is the lock that keeps it closed, and the man in black represents the malevolence and evil trapped inside. Jacob describes the island as a cork, keeping that evil from spreading into the world. As long as Jacob lives, the man in black can't escape the island. The game these two characters play is an internal struggle for control: the dark man seeks release, and Jacob wants to keep things exactly where they are.

This would seem to go against Jacob's assertion that progress is being made. On the contrary however, Jacob is actively seeking to prove his point. He flat out explains LOST's most basic principal as his own philosophy: people need to do good or bad by their own choice. If he has to interfere or influence them in any way, his point is disproved and therefore meaningless. Over and over he's tried, and over and over he's failed, ending in the deaths of all those people he's brought to the island.

It's here that Richard points out the flaw in Jacob's logic: just because he's not influencing the people who come to the island, it doesn't mean the dark man isn't corrupting them himself. If you watch as Jacob first encounters Richard he actually seems frustrated that he's already been reached, or even touched, by the man in black. At this point Jacob realizes the need to protect his subjects from such outside influence, and that's where Richard's job as adviser comes in. Through the use of obscure lists and direction, Jacob's people can help those who arrive on the island's shores make their own choices without directly interfering in those choices themselves. That, in essence, is the crux of LOST.

One other thing about Pandora's box: although it contained a whole host of really bad stuff, it also contained something else: hope. Lessons of hope and faith have been drilled hard all throughout LOST, amongst the rest of the island's chaos.

Unlike the dark man, Jacob doesn't promise Richard his wife back, telling him simply "I can't do that". This seems out of place; according to Dogen, Jacob promised to restore his son's life in return for service on the island. Did Dogen really encounter Jacob, or did he unknowingly meet with the man in black? We'll probably never know, but it does seem an inconsistency. We also know that the MIB is willing to lie - especially about Jacob - to get people to follow him and do what he wants.

On The Spanish Speaking Side of That Coin...

By the same token, we can't completely absolve Jacob of outside interference either. Throughout the show, we've seen ghostly appearances by people who we know to be dead. Here, Richard's wife Isabella shows up to speak to him for the first time in a century and a half... using Hurley as an otherworldly, Spanish-speaking go-between.

Make no mistake about it: Richard was seconds away from joining team Flocke. Hugo arrived in the nick of time to turn Richard around, preventing the dark man from gaining a valuable recruit. The biggest question however, becomes this: did we really see Isabella speaking to her husband? Or did we see Jacob's own version of Isabella, strategically placed there to sway Richard back to his own team?

Manipulation goes both ways. It wouldn't be all too surprising to find out that Jacob is interfering here, in a much more direct manner. Then again, why wouldn't Jacob appear to Richard as Isabella himself? Why would he take a silent and invisible form of Richard's wife, and then use Hurley to speak to him? Either Jacob is playing that same middle-man game again, or we really are seeing Isabella here. The way she spoke to him it certainly sounded like Richard's wife, and she even knew to tell him to close his eyes.

I half expected Richard to open his eyes and see his wife here, which would've been really cool. Watching it again, I think maybe he actually did feel her. Overall, the whole thing seemed pretty real to me. I don't think Jacob was bullshitting or manipulating... I tend to think what we saw was genuine. There's certainly evidence for both sides of this argument, but that's my gut feeling.

Leave The Dagger, Take The Rock

Back in 1867, Jacob sends Ricardo back to the dark man with a message - sans dagger, of course. Yet instead of demonstrating anger, the man in black is understanding and even apologetic towards Richard. He obviously does this in order to leave the door open for future recruitment. He's already invested some time and energy into winning this playing piece, and he knows he's promised Richard something that Jacob never will: the ability to be reunited with his wife again.

In time, after much more frustration, the dark man realizes Richard will eventually arrive at another low point in his life. When that time happens, he wants Richard to remember his offer. He gives Richard back his wife's golden pendant and crucifix as a physical reminder of that promise, enabling him to change his mind at any time.

The Man In Black... Not That Big a Drinker

In a mirror image of The Incident's beach scene, Jacob approaches the man in black for a sit-down meeting. Everything we've learned about these two characters is solidified here, including their roles. There's no deception, no reason to lie, and no one else around to impress. In short, we can accept the very frank discussion they have here as a straight-up, real-deal representation of exactly what's going on.

Jacob can apparently be killed, and he knows it. His presence is the only thing keeping the man in black from leaving the island. This puts Jacob in the position of eternal guardian, a role he seems content enough with. It's also a role that can be transferred to or inherited by someone else, should the man in black succeed in killing his arch-nemesis. Jacob reminds him of this, as if to point out the futility of killing him.

We also see that Jacob's mention of candidates predates the crash of Flight 815. This means he knows in advance that he's going to die, and has been busy planning ahead by preparing a successor. The dark man has been equally busy destroying Jacob's potential candidates - if not physically, by at least corrupting them enough that they're no longer suitable to inherit Jacob's job. As The Others would put it, they're no longer one of the "good" ones.

It's unclear whether the dark man can actually be killed, or if he himself represents the evil and maleovelence Jacob spoke of to Richard. The mission Sayid sent Dogen on seemed to infer that he could actually be destroyed, but I'm not entirely sold on that. I tend to think the man in black isn't evil himself, but that instead he represents a dereliction of duty. Maybe he and Jacob are both required to keep the cork sealed - black and white together - and the dark man is finally sick of babysitting the island.

Just as the Swan hatch acted as a cork for unlimited magnetic energies, the island acts as a cork to keep corruption and wickedness at bay. This explains why Ms. Hawking (and probably Charles Widmore) understand the gloomy ramifications should the island fail to contain this wellspring of darkness. In fact, it might even explain Widmore's return to the island: he's always fancied himself as Jacob's replacement. I could totally see Widmore's fanatical devotion lending him a sense of entitlement to Jacob's position, with the very desire for that power corrupting him and disqualifying him from assuming the role. All other explanations for Widmore's motives don't seem to make any sense, at least not right now.

The Shape of Things To Come

Ab Aeterno not only lived up to the hype, I think it surpassed expectations. Richard's story was beautifully told, almost straight through, without the constant distraction of flashing back to island events. We got very big answers to long-standing mysteries, and we learned tons of new information regarding the rivalry between Jacob and the man in black. We also learned what the island is, metaphorically speaking.

Shit is winding down, and answers are finally here. Drink them in, and let's wait for the next inevitable step: Jacob and MIB's backstory. LOST can't end until we've seen that beginning

I missed the episode on tuesday but I was able to catch it on hulu. thanks cqe for the recap again. Looks like the story is starting to make a lot more sense now.

^^ agree! i'm sure when the writers had to plan out the final season they were probably like "FUCK"!! How we going to te this thing together! lol they are doing a great job so far though.

That made me start thinking about watching it,... so far i was like no thanks

still reviewing my set from last night, haha I dropped One Way - Cutie Pie on these youngins. (nm)

... school's out, it's spring break but the school of music does not end! (nm)

hmmm why am I posting in the wrong thread LOL ... sorry Im still drunk from last night

^^ LOL

I'm like...I wonder it that has anything to do with Lost?? lol

lol I was reading this thread and then I had another thread open on the other monitor and I thought I was typing in it LOL. Yea dont drink too much when you're DJing... the next day will suck haha.

hahah note to self!

I gotta admit I was always like "fuck lost that shit is stupid" Then they posted it up on Netflix stream and I'm not caught up and I just started watching from season 1 about 2 months ago if that. Great show

Also I agree shit is starting to come together now but I'm sure they will throw a couple more surprises in.

I'm now caught up*

I gotta admit I was always like "fuck lost that shit is stupid" Then they posted it up on Netflix stream and I'm not caught up and I just started watching from season 1 about 2 months ago if that. Great show

Also I agree shit is starting to come together now but I'm sure they will throw a couple more surprises in.

www.youtube.com view

werd

another dope explaining episode shits coming together

yup

Like whoa.

Spoiler Alert!

Sort of....

Last nights episode,

Side Flash + Near Death Experience = Mind F*ck

My wife watched last night with me... she was like WTF this is confusing... I said yeah, thats what it was like the whole time... even people who have seen every episode still dont know whats going on...

yea, this is nutz.

Last nights episode was the best of the season, hands down! I felt like it was a classic LOST episode where some questions were answered and a lot of new questions arose.

CQE...post that recap as soon as that guy writes it!

can you just summarize last night so it makes a little more sense? What was going on while he was unconcious? why was everyone related? What are they going to try to use him to do?

Last nights episode was amazing!! Desmond has been one of my favorite characters from the day he got on the show and last nights episode was top notch. I think this one rates up there with Alperts episode 2 weeks ago. I haven't found my guys write up yet. I'm going to be slow at work tomorrow so Ill make sure to read it there and post it up tomorrow!!

Recap time!!

Discuss!

THINGS I NOTICED - Happily Ever After

Like most fans, I've always looked forward to Desmond-centric episodes. He's given us action, sorrow, loss, laughter, heartbreak, triumph, and probably the most popular love story in all of LOST. But in retrospect, Desmond's episodes have repeatedly given us something even more important: startling, game-changing revelations about the show.

Flashes Before Your Eyes, The Constant, Jughead - these episodes changed the very way we viewed things, and each of them sent our story spiraling in all new directions. And now, with Happily Ever After, Desmond's last episode does a lot more than just answer a few questions. It maps out a detailed blueprint as to what's going to happen in LOST's home stretch, as well as stopping to hint at subtle things that might've been staring us right in the face all along.

For six years we've wanted answers. Ready or not, here they come. Things I Noticed:

LOST Island... Headwound Capital of the Universe
As cool as Widmore's been these last few days, it was good to see Desmond deliver a nice, old-fashioned skull-crushing beating. He deserves no less for dragging Des back to the island, even if it was to save the known universe from imploding. He took his lumps, but he also reminded us of his own sacrifice, which looking back now seems fairly substantial. The only difference is that Charles Widmore chose to sacrifice these things for the good of the island, whereas Desmond did not. Not yet, anyway.

Widmore's overall attitude has definitely changed since he arrived on the island. In the past we've seen him manipulating anyone and everyone in order to make his way back. Now that he's here, Widmore seems to have adopted an open and honest approach to solving the last few pieces of the puzzle. Even if he's not giving Desmond or Jin all the answers at once, it doesn't seem as if he's hiding very much either. It also doesn't seem that he's lying - and after watching nearly six seasons of LOST, we can all pretty much consider ourselves experts on that subject.


Someone Get Me a MidiChlorian Count, STAT!

With the introduction of Zoe and Seamus, things have taken a markedly scientific turn on LOST. Monsters and mystical daggers have given way to laptops, gauges, dials, generators, and a giant pair of solenoids that must've been strapped to the sub's roofrack. Charles Widmore is cranking up more than his timetable as he jacks the gauss controls from his reluctant henchman. Seamus' hestitation to throttle up the generator was pretty funny when compared to the switch-happy co-worker who fried poor Simmons.

Electromagnetism has always been a part of LOST, and that's okay. I just hope it gets used sparingly, and not as an excuse to strip away the awesome mythology and mystique they've taken six whole seasons to build. I have no problem with introducing some science to counteract all of the recent faith... but if they start going all Lamp Post calculation and Valenzetti Equation on us, I for one will be sorely disappointed.

Although Widmore used Simmons' death-chamber as a test for Desmond, it's not too big of a stretch to say he's looking for a way to kill or stop the smoke monster. Whether he'll try to lure him in there like General Zod or just blast some giant electromagnetic pulse across the island, I guess the end result is still the same. Superman or Matrix, choose your poison.


Let Me Offer You My Driver, Mother!

The Desmond/Claire scene established a few things, the first of them being that I was wrong in my assumption about LA X. Turns out Desmond was on Oceanic Flight 815, and apparently he didn't know Jack at all. Here we see him vaguely begin remembering something as he stares at the arrival/departure board, but as always he's pulled back to reality before anything substantial can happen - this time by Hurley.

If Desmond's offer to Claire seemed overly friendly, maybe it's because he vaguely remembered her too. Being around each other seems to serve as a catalyst for remembering things when it comes to characters who've shared time on the island. Jack remembered Desmond on the plane, Ben cocked his head in recognition at Alex, Kate stared pointedly at Jack... all through season six these little flashes of acknowledgment have been happening. Later on this episode Charlie would cause Desmond to not only remember, but even to flash back temporarily to his pre-LAX life. This would eventually prompt Desmond to ask Minkowski for the flight manifest , as he somehow realizes getting everyone together for a Flight 815 reunion will help to further enlighten them all - Desmond included.

It was cool to see Minkowski again, too. Initially he seems overeager to help, but in a sleazy limo-driver-who-gets-kickbacks kind of way. By the end of the episode however, my opinion of him totally changed. George Minkowski, like Abaddon, is more than just Driving Ms. Daisy here. Minkowski is in the loop. Minkowski is like Charlie, like Keamy, like Charlotte... like many of LOST's other characters who've died in the island's timeline, and who are now a more 'knowledgeable' part of the LAX universe. His offer to help Desmond "with anything he might need" seemed a little loaded to me.

The Scales of Justice... Balanced with Backgammon Chips

Here, in an overly-gushing scene where I thought they might actually give each other a handy, Charles Widmore is singing Desmond's praises to a shot of 60-year old MacCutcheon's whisky. This isn't just a clap on the back for a job well-done... it's pure, unadulterated, unfiltered appeasement, designed to keep Desmond pacified and questionless in the LAX timeline. Yet whoever manufactured or created this reality to keep Desmond happy doesn't know him very well, because when it comes to what makes Des tick they forgot one all-important thing: LOVE.

As much as original Desmond desired Charles Widmore's blessing, the purpose for wanting such approval was always Penny. That purpose is absent here, in the LAX timeline. Desmond's new gig keeps him happy only up until Charlie points out how purposeless and meaningless his existence really is. It's Charlie who shows Desmond what he's really missing - a life with Penny and his newborn son - and it's Charlie who oversteps cosmic boundaries to get this message across. That "violation" Ms. Hawking mentions later on? It's all on Charlie, and it's probably going on his permanent record.

Look at the way Widmore speaks to Desmond in this scene. He talks about being blessed to "have him in his employ" (almost as if he has him in his pocket), and speaks about how "indispensable" Desmond is. He even goes above and beyond normal praise, making sure to reinforce how happy Desmond should be to be free from commitments and attachments.

Widmore is pulling the wool over LAX_Desmond's eyes, here. He needs him to not question things, and to not dig too deeply into any emotions that might remind him of his prior life with Penny. This gets reiterated by Ms. Hawking later on during their own conversation together, but in this scene it's important to note how adamant Charles gets about Desmond flying solo - and staying that way. LAX Widmore and Hawking remain on the team that wants to keep things status quo. They want things to happen they way they're "supposed to", possibly just to keep the loop going.


School's In... and Charlie's Teaching the First Lesson Underwater

Desmond's arrival at the police station cues up the requisite mirror scene, in which he sees a reflection of himself. From this point forward things change, and truths resurface. More specifically, Charlie brings about these changes in Desmond... from the moment he walks untouched through busy traffic - without a care in the world - to the second he jerks the wheel of Des's car into the depths of that marina.

At the bar, the first thing Charlie does is ask Desmond if he's happy. It's like he's testing the extent to which Charles Widmore and the new timeline has brainwashed him. Charlie corrects Desmond by telling him he doesn't even remotely know what happiness is, and then goes on to tell of the life-altering experience he had while slipping into unconsciousness. He also tells Desmond he's seen "something real", and goes on to tell him exactly what it is: the TRUTH.

All of these are elements we've talked about - in both my recaps and your comments - over the past several weeks. The mirrors reflecting back the truth... the water acting as a catalyst... the flashes of remembrance between the LAX and island timelines, brought about whenever these people run into each other. Charlie solidifies it all here, finally laying it out as undeniable fact. He calls Desmond out as a glorified babysitter, laughs at his 'perks', and hints toward his entire LAX 'life' being nothing but a pipe dream.

In talking about Claire, Charlie gets taken away to another place. "I know her. We're together. It's like we've always been, and always will be". Charlie's being totally candid here, and we all know it. Desmond however, still needs more convincing. This is where Charlie offers Desmond a choice, while driving along to DriveShaft. But it's also where Charlie violates the rules... taking that choice away from Desmond only seconds after giving it to him.

The underwater car scene, with Desmond's chilling revelation, was absolutely incredible. I think what made it a hundred times better was the absolute cessation of sound or music as Desmond saw NOT PENNY'S BOAT scrawled on Charlie's hand. Desmond's face was worth a thousand words, and I felt like a huge piece of the puzzle just locked into place, for both him and for us.

Charlie knew. He stepped beyond the scope of the rules to show Desmond. He didn't allow Des the choice to see things for himself, he flat out took control of the situation and gave him the answer.

This is a FIRST. It's also huge moment for LOST. It verifies that people outside of the 'game' - people who've died or gone over to the other side - are somehow in the know about things. Up until now, we've only seen these people permitted to push or nudge things in the right direction, the way Charlie did to Hurley during The Shape of Things To Come. Here however, Charlie wipes his ass with the rulebook. His flagrant foul gets called later on by Hawking, but at this point I'm not so sure Charlie even cares. He sits back in his seat, satisfied that he conveyed his message, expecting to die as he knows he's supposed to. And for one last time, Desmond saves him.


Get Me Out Of Here Before I Smother, Brotha!

As much as water acted as a catalyst for Desmond's cross-universe visions, so does electromagnetism. The MRI he receives at the hospital triggers even further memories of his life with Penny. LAX_Desmond is almost fully converted... he's gone from a non-believer to someone desperate to hook up with the woman he somehow knows he loves, all in the span of just a few hours.

After cornering Charlie for more answers, Desmond gets clued in a bit further. "This doesn't matter", Charlie tells him, gesturing to the new, foreign life that's been thrust upon them both. "None of this matters. All that matters is that we felt it."

Does this mean the LAX timeline doesn't matter? Not at all. Charlie's telling Desmond that he's barking up the wrong tree. He advises Desmond to stop worrying about rock concerts, Widmore's errands, and inconsequential bullshit. This is exactly the same as when Rose and Bernard told Sawyer, Kate, and Juliet to stop worrying about bombs, guns, and time travel. Penny is what matters. Love is what matters. Realizing that you have everything that you ever really wanted right there in front of you? That's what matters.


Let Me Course-Correct This Butter Knife's Place in the Universe, and I'll Be Right With You...

Desmond's latest encounter with Ms. Hawking is immediately dripping with hint-laden dialogue, and her initial face betrays how shocked and totally unhappy she is to see him. Like Widmore, she's doing everything to keep Desmond from remembering stuff. She jams "It's a travesty we haven't met before" down his throat rather quickly, in hopes he doesn't recall their meeting at the ring shop.

Truth be told, Hawking could care less whether Drive Shaft rocks her charity ball. What she's most concerned about is keeping Desmond away from Penny, and possibly away from her son Daniel as well. She's relieved to hear Desmond's only crisis involves not signing Charlie up for the gig, and she dismisses quickly him with a nice "What happened, happened". Unfortunately for her though (and thanks to Charlie) Desmond now recognizes Penny's name when he hears it.

Hawking's entire demeanor changes as she pulls Desmond aside, knowing that the jig is up. She tells him to 'stop' but remains obscure; she can't even tell him exactly what it is he must stop doing. Hawking is beyond pissed, and not at Des. She makes it known that someone's "changed the way" Desmond sees things, and that doing so was a violation. We know Charlie is the responsible party here, and that by helping Des remember he just tossed a huge wrench into Hawking's works.

Eloise continues with something even more revealing: that Desmond should be happy because he has a "perfect life", and the one thing he always wanted: her husband's approval. The idea that she would know this seems to span both timelines, because it's within the island-based universe that Desmond sought Charles Widmore's blessing. It also shows a serious error in judgement in thinking this was the one thing Desmond wanted "most of all". That honor goes to Penny, but these chumps haven't figured that out yet.

So let's deconstruct this for a moment. The fact that Desmond's pre-LAX needs have been taken into consideration seems to indicate we're seeing a manufactured reality. Someone or something has constructed the LAX universe based upon what it thought Desmond - and possibly every other character - would want.

Just take a look at Daniel, now a musician. Certainly his mother would remember her young son's only desire was to play the piano, and now we see him placated by having grown into a talented pianist. The only problem is that Daniel is not happy or placated, because running into Charlotte has reminded him of his past life. This causes him to go physics-happy all over a perfectly good notebook, prompting an investigation of his own.

So who created this new universe? We've always assumed it was Juliet, setting off Jughead with that rock. Yet someone has definitely stacked the deck here. Someone with intimate knowledge (or scanning?) of our main characters has tried, in a very Matrix-like way, to create the perfect utopia for each and every one of our heroes.

In a careful, calculated manner, someone has been trying to give our LAX characters exactly what it thinks they want, but at the same time, keep them completely in the dark about what happened in their previous, island-based lives. They're using happiness to suppress past memories, but love is the one thing that wasn't counted on. Is is so often the case, Love overrides everything else, spoiling the plan.


Daniel (Widmore) Faraday... Because Someone Still Needs to Represent the Skinny Tie
As if two mega-important conversations weren't enough for Desmond this episode, he goes and has a third with Daniel. Here's where our minds get even more blown away, because Dan starts talking about nuclear bombs and alternate timelines without ever having knowledge of such things. Being a musician and not a physicst hasn't slowed him down a single bit.

Many people have speculated that the LAX timeline is the correct one - the timeline that should've always been. Faraday squashes this theory, telling Desmond that the LAX timeline is actually the aberration. Much as the Oceanic Six timeline was described to be, their current timeline is still NOT right.

In Dan's opinion, they once had another life... but something happened to change things. He describes something catastrophic in the original timeline that needed to be avoided, with the avoidance of this event spinning off a whole new universe. Dan and Desmond now exist in a timeline that shouldn't really be, yet a timeline that was created out of necessity. Somehow, Daniel even knows that he's already set off the bomb.

Now, this isn't to say the LAX timeline still won't end up as the final timeline of the show. In fact, Desmond moving to correct not knowing Penny seems to indicate that it certainly might. Our LAX characters have fixed a hell of a lot of major problems in each of their centric episodes, and they may already be off the island to boot. Sticking around and finishing out their lives here might not be such a bad thing... if only they can slip out from under the thumb of those forces still manipulating them.


It's About Time Sayid Snapped Someone's Neck Again... That Hiatus Has Been Way Too Long

Not much else to say. It was interesting that he spared Zoe, but I guess someone needs to let Widmore know what happened.


Are The Stadiums Open 24/7 In Los Angeles? Because in NY They'd Toss You Out On Your Ass

The number of cool, touching scenes between Desmond and Penny are unfairly balancing the rest of the show's love interests. Watching his future-wife run her Tour De Stad, LAX_Desmond is fully and wholly converted, finishing the job that Charlie started.

Desmond faints, and his mind transitions unconsciously into the island timeline. Hopefully by now this shouldn't surprise anyone. What is surprising however, is that Desmond takes his memories with him.

Maybe it's his exposure to electromagnetic radiation - in both timelines - that allows this to happen. Maybe it's because he and Daniel act as each other's constants. Maybe it's just a plot point necessary to the last few episodes of the show. In the end, none of that matters. The only thing that's important is that island Desmond now seems to retain some or all of LAX_Desmond's knowledge. He's doing Widmore's bidding because he believes his assertion that everyone and everything will cease to exist should they fail. Yet at the same time, Desmond's smile betrays a whole lot of hope. The way he was grinning, it was almost as if he knew everything would be alright - whether it be in this life or the next.

Happily ever after, right? Sure. Except there's one thing that should still bother us: the sacrifice Widmore mentions Desmond must make. I've got a sinking feeling that sacrifice might just be his son, Charlie. If Des and Penny walk off into the LAX sunset, baby Charlie doesn't exist. Just like Widmore and Hawking, Desmond and Penny would have sacrificed a child to the island. Let's hope the writers and producers love Des as much as we do, so this doesn't have to happen.

thanks CQE I'll read this later at my lunch break

Last week episode crazy.

Death comes ripping.

Wrap up is in full swing mode.

You sure they aren't going to make a new season??

lol

We need a CQE wrap up!

here you go guys...sorry, been busy!!

THINGS I NOTICED - The Candidate

In case it hadn't occurred to you yet, The Candidate was a slap-in-the-face reminder of one sure thing: the end is drawing near. It had thrills, chills, chaos and death, but it also had a pace that worked really well for how quickly it advanced the storyline. Also, for the first time in a while, there was a solid balance between on and off island... maybe because the alternate timeline scenes were totally excellent this week. Things I Noticed:

I'll See You That Mortar Strike, and Raise You a Hit-and-Run Accident
Maybe it's because the timelines seem to be merging, or pehaps it's because we now have six seasons of the show for comparison. Either way, the parallels and mirror image scenes on LOST have been increasing geometrically. Jack saving Locke's life off-island is reflected by Locke saving Jack's back at the beach, and that's without even going into the constant repetition of dialogue this episode.

Locke's guilt over his accident is holding him back, keeping him from believing he deserves a second chance. Later on Jack would hand him some sincere and poignant reasons for wiping the Tabula Rasa, but for right now Locke is content to keep things the way they are. That's when we see that maybe Jack hasn't changed at all. Although he's fixed the David situation, he still can't stop trying to save everyone. Locke's problem? He still hasn't learned to put himself first.

As we see later on, both of these characters need to let go. By still clinging to their old ideologies, they're still unable to 'see' the truth. For Desmond, it took a stark visual reminder in the form of Charlie underwater. But for Jack and Locke... throughout duplicated scenarios and repeat dialogue, these characters still don't get it. They're still blinded by the inability to break out of their old bad habits. They simple can't see the forest for the trees... despite Bernard handing Jack a chainsaw and practically pull-starting it for him this episode.

This Just In: Kate Austen is Officially Superfluous
Six years later, it's disappointing to see that Sawyer still hasn't learned. Every single time you hand the rifle back to someone after disarming (and humiliating) them, they're going to nail you right in the balls with it. In complying with "put the gun down", just for once I'd like to see Sawyer chuck it into the jungle, making the poor asshole have to go pick it up and saving his balls in the process. Nice disarm on doughboy though.

In all honesty, when Widmore first got to the island I thought he was going to be a refreshing change when it came to getting some direct answers. The way he spoke so frankly to Jin after capturing him seemed pretty legit, and I was hoping for some oldschool enlightenment. Turns out I was wrong. Charles Widmore is the same cryptic, dickish ringleader as everyone else, locking our heroes in a cage at gunpoint without even a hint of explanation other than the old standby: "It's for your own good."

His only real contribution so far? Bringing Desmond to the island. That, and letting us know that Kate never had any true purpose on the island at all. Either this makes her character totally redundant, or she's still somehow flying under everyone's radar. The jury's still out on that one, but I really want to know why Jacob touched her nose.

Bernard's Face: Full of Smug, Knowing Answers or Just Bonelessly Creepy?
The answer is BOTH. Not only are Bernard's facial expressions creepy in a horrified Gumby sort of way, but the man is also totally in on things. The dialogue he shares with Jack lends assloads of credence to my original theory that both Rose and Bernard know what's going on... both on the island during The Incident and off the island in the flash-sideways timeline.

"You mind if I ask you why you're so interested in Mr. Locke... Jack?" Listen to Bernard casually add Jack's name to the end of that sentence, as if they're old island buddies. Also watch the knowing smile that crosses Bernard's face immediately afterward, as Jack searches for the answer to his question. "Oceanic 815. Pretty weird huh? Maybe you're onto something, here."

It's more than obvious that Bernard knows. Just as he couldn't stop Juliet from marching off to her death by giving her direct answers, he can't tell Jack exactly what he needs to know. "I can't break patient confidentiality and tell you something I shouldn't. This is a punch-to-the-gut metaphor for "I can't pull back the curtain Jack, you need to do that yourself." Bernard does skirt the line however, sending Jack in the right direction by writing him a quick prescription for the truth.

In many ways, the whole situation is reminiscent of Locke's words to Charlie, all the way back during The Moth. Bernard could take his knife, gently widen the opening, and allow Jack to go free. If he did this however, Jack might be too weak to survive. The struggle - in this case, the struggle for personal growth - is the very thing that strengthens the person in question. It prepares him for the world outside the cocoon... or in this case, outside the realm of the island.

There's also one recurring thread woven throughout the alternate timeline, and it gets mentioned again here by Bernard: 3 years. Everything important that happened in our character's lives seemed to have occurred three years ago. Since the flash-sideways timeline presumably takes place in 2004, that puts Locke's accident somewhere in 2001, and this means little to us. Yet if we believe this person to be our Bernard - the lovable dentist who remembers spending three years on the island with Rose, Vincent, and a shitload of canned goods - then to him it's actually 2007 right now.

This may solve the single biggest problem most people have with assuming the real and sideways universe can't be running concurrently: the fact that they're separated by three years. Yet when you start viewing things from the perspective of someone like Rose or Bernard, it actually synchs up the two timelines nicely. These people have already lived those years, and even characters who've died (Charlie, Libby, Keamy, etc..) may have also experienced that same amount of time go by. Perhaps it somehow is 2007, and the rest of our characters have yet to realize it.

That whole theory's pretty kooky, and it admittedly still needs lots of work. I'm open to anything that supports it or tears it down, but either way, the repeated reference to 3 years is definitely something we should explore further.

Welcome... To HYDRA ISLAND!
That seemed kinda off, didn't it? I guess with all the canoe-trips and flip-flopping between storylines (and timelines), the writers felt the need to explain exactly where we are these days. And while we're on the subject of flip-flopping, let's talk briefly about the difference between night and day.

Continuity errors aside, there has to be something up with the passing of time on the island. Over the past several weeks we've watched night turn to day in a just matter of hours, and vice versa. This week's episode was no different, and these huge gaps in time are getting to the point where they're actually pretty distracting.

As Sawyer tells Kate, it feels like we're running in circles. Timewise, those circles now seem to be getting smaller and smaller. If this is intentional, perhaps the island is shifting or moving through time, as we saw way back in season four with Daniel's rocket. Also remember how night turned to day when Frank flew the chopper to the freighter, and how the same thing happened when Frank flew Ajira 316 back to the island. Day and night mean very little when it comes to the time storm surrounding the island, and if that storm is moving (or the circle of the island's influence slowly closing) it could explain many of these changes.

Back on the beach, the dark man flat out lies to Jack's face - and Jack almost seems to know it. Unfortunately he doesn't fully piece everything together until later on, when he sees the bomb. "I could kill you Jack, right here, right now", the dark man tells him. "And I could kill every single one of your friends, and there's not a thing that you can do to stop me."

Examine Terry O'Quinn's mannerisms and you'll see a lot of suppressed frustration here. As viewers, we already know his words aren't true. The MIB can't touch the candidates directly, as the boy in the jungle has so laughingly reminded him. Flocke has had to play follow the leader for most of this season, and at this point his patience is wearing very thin. Just as he thought the game was over, he's had to come up with yet another loophole - this time one to kill off the candidates - and now on top of this, Jack suddenly doesn't want to leave the island. We already know the man in black is way past the point of wanting to still play games, and yet countermoves are somehow still being executed against him.

One more thing about this scene: the top half of Locke's scar is gone. Maybe it's nothing, or maybe it's something... but it was very, very noticeable. Going out on a limb, maybe it somehow represents the merging of timelines - the transition of scar-free LAX_Locke back to the island. Or maybe (if you're still on board with the whole Jacob/MIB being two halves of a whole idea), Jacob's essence is slowly healing that scar. Kind of far fetched, but it did stick out in my mind.

Two Dozen Sonic Fence Posts? Check. Pair of Giant Donut Magnets? Check. GPS-guided Mortar? Check. Backup Generator? Uh oh...
And so, in the end, Charles Widmore's master plan is foiled by a complete lack of foresight. In the blink of an eye, his once sharp-looking crew of monster-hunting veterans are reduced to a bunch of panic-stricken freshmen, shooting rifles into the jungle that may just as well have been water pistols.

So I'm watching this scene thinking: "Wait... are Widmore's people really shooting at the smoke monster? Really???" Yup. And again, this kinda sucks. While the monster scenes are always cool to watch, I was expecting a hell of a lot more out of Widmore. Unlike Bram or Illana, Charles spent a lot of time on the island. You'd think he should know better. At the very least though, smokie's infiltration of Widmore's encampment paves the way for a rather predictible and joyous upcoming event: the death of Zoe (let's hope).

It All Comes Back Around... Especially If You're Anthony Cooper
Jack's tireless efforts to fix things, tempered by Bernard's gentle elbow to the ribcage, puts him at the nursing home of Anthony Cooper. Helen tries talking Jack out of continuing his investigation with: "You saved John. Why can't that be enough?" And Jack, speaking for all of us, answers back quite simply: "Because it's not."

Damn straight, Jack. At this point, nothing is enough. With only a few hours of LOST left, I expect each week to be a whole avalanche of answers. And if you're going to introduce yet another strange mystery (i.e. how Locke and his dad got hurt), you'd better answer that mystery within the same damned episode, just like you did right here.

Anyway, as Helen wheeled a catatonic Anthony Cooper into view I was reminded sharply of two things. One was Captain Pike of the original Star Trek. The second? The guy sitting in the old chair back at Jacob's cabin, the one who eerily called out "Help me..."

There are a lot of ways to explain Cooper's vegetative state, but none of them are definitive. It's entirely possible his condition is purely physiological; the result of Locke's bad pilotage. Still, I can't help but think of George Minkowski, or Daniel's girlfriend Theresa. The Anthony Cooper we see here has a strangely haunted look to him, as if a large part of him were missing. With so little time left we might never really know, but in the back of my own mind I keep hearing that guy in the cabin calling for help. And if anyone on LOST deserves to be time-stuck in some kind of jaunt-like limbo hell, we can all agree that it's Coop.

Somebody Set Us Up The Bomb. Still Not Sure Who It Was
The Ajira plane has always been a bone of contention with me. It's never sat well that LOST could end with our main characters just flying off into the sunset, and if Frank were at the helm the whole thing would be even more campy. At times I could even picture him pulling back on the control wheel just as he ran out of runway, open shirt flapping wildly, landing gear skimming the tree-tops as Frank wiped sweat from his brow and made wisecracks about things being "too close for comfort". Ugh.

So yeah, I for one was happy to see the plane wired to explode. But who exactly did it? Widmore's people would be the most logical answer of course, but it seems pretty silly for Charles to think he could just blow up the smoke monster. And since I never once believed the man in black would escape the island by airplane, I can only assume Widmore would be thinking along those lines too.

So did Flocke wire the plane to go off? Makes sense, if you think about it. He wants all the candidates dead in one fell swoop, and by wiring the explosives to the electrical system he's allowing them to kill themselves by powering the airplane up. Maybe once Jack announced he wasn't leaving the island, Flocke decided on a whole different plan - the submarine. He does take the dead guy's wristwatch before 'discovering' the explosives, and on the fly, quickly improvises a bomb.

Could've also been the Ben/Richard/Miles triple-threat, but I'd imagine they would've set the bomb off right away rather than rig it to go off later on. Who the hell knows. One thing's for sure though: when Locke talks about Widmore "gathering everyone in one spot" and the trying to kill them? He's actually talking about his own plan. Coming out of the airplane and immediately showing off those bricks of C-4 was a great way to gain the trust and credibility Flocke would later use to manipulate everyone onto the sub.

In the Alt-Universe, That Vending Machine Works Just Fine
In the LAX timeline we're shown a tremendous array of parallels and mirror images, including a shot of Jack and Claire even looking into a mirror together. Jack's Apollo bar falls this time, no push needed. Catch a Rising Star plays on a Claire's new music box. The two of them have a "Wow we took the exact same flight from Sydney!" moment, which in my opinion is getting pretty stale by now. Jack even offers Claire a family-friendly invitation to stay with him, in an effort to make up for lost time.

The most interesting things we get however, are the semi-conscious rantings of John Locke. His island experiences are crossing over to the LAX timeline, including memories of pushing the button. Locke even utters the phrase "I wish you had believed me", directly from his suicide note.

Things are moving faster and faster in the alt. Almost every single scene contains a parallel to some prior event or line of dialogue. Just as things on the island are accelerating, the same is happening in the off-island world. I think that's what they're trying to show us with all of this recycled imagery.

Sayid Can Snap the Most Necks, but Jack's Got the Meanest Rifle-Face, Hands Down
"John Locke told me I needed to stay." It was an awesome line, made ten times more awesome by Jack following it up by shoving the MIB into the water. I was pretty sure all hell was going to break loose after that, and of course it did. But after the many references to his aversion to water, I also expected the dark man to be a lot more affected than he seemed to be. Instead, he just got wet.

Apparently Jack's not a man who believes in cover. As we saw from his A-Team days in Dharma, Jack's reaction to being shot at is pretty standard: march toward your enemy with a sneer and an outstretched arm, firing the whole time. It's almost as if Jack knows he's invincible, or doesn't really care. All that matters to him at this point is getting his friends off the island.

The ensuing shootout took place exactly the way Flocke wanted it, all the way down to the very last detail: Sawyer locking him out of the submarine. It stands to reason that the MIB knew of Sawyer's distrust the whole time, even after he'd thanked him outside of that airplane. Understand that the dark man's been playing these types of games for centuries, unwillingly or not. Over hundreds of years and with an advesary like Jacob? He's gotten very, very good at manipulation.

His last move is a good one: planting a bomb that can only be triggered by the person who is holding it. This is where the MIB finally puts Sawyer in checkmate... as much as Sawyer mistrusts the smoke monster, his distrust of Jack is equally great. After what happened to Juliet, Sawyer's not one for letting things just 'play out'. This is why he can't watch the bomb's timer count harmlessly down to zero, and this is why he triggers the real bomb by yanking out the fake battery leads.

It's Jack who figures things out, and he actually does it in time to save everyone. Logically, the whole thing is pretty simple: if the MIB wanted them all dead, he would've killed them if he could. Why go through the trouble of a hastily rigged bomb when he could just smoke anyone at any time? "What if he hasn't killed us because he's not allowed to?" Jack asks his captive audience. "What if he's trying to get us to kill each other?"

Bingo, yet Sawyer just can't see it. Jack's words of "nothing's going to happen" are echoed in season two, where he tells Locke the same thing about pushing the button. These words are repeated again that season by Locke when he loses faith in the button and tells Eko the same exact thing. In both those cases the button gets pushed anyway, just as Sawyer pushes another type of button right here, right now. And upon doing so, Sawyer inadvertently sends a few more people to the other side.

Pushing the proverbial button is and always has been LOST's ultimate test of faith. It defines what's real and what's not real. It separates the idea of unalterable fate from the power to actually write your own destiny. When you boil everything else down far enough, it's the essence of the entire show.

Because It's Going To Be You, Jack
I took Sayid's last words as pretty inarguable evidence that Jack is indeed the candidate. I'm sure someone will argue it of course, but definitely not with me.

It always sucks to see our main characters die, knowing we'll never see them in action again. Even on LOST, where the dead can show up at any time, losing someone we've known and loved for so long can really sting... even on a TV show. Sayid was certainly one of LOST's best characters. And although we probably lost him a half dozen or so episodes ago, it was good to see him go out doing something both redeeming and important. Martyring himself here, just as he and Essam had planned to do way back in season one, was certainly something Sayid did for The Greater Good.

It's also comforting to recognize that Sayid made it as far as he did. Knowing LOST will end in three weeks takes a lot of the sting out of losing even the oldest and most kickass of characters. Every time you get the urge to dust off your LOST disc set, it'll be nice to remember that no matter what happens you've got nearly six full seasons of Sayid. And in each one of them, he's snapping a bunch of necks.

Frank! You Could've Been a Contender...
Just as Lapidus almost kicked open the cage door this episode, his character almost mattered. Don't get me wrong, because I love Frank. He had lots of potential. The problem is, he was never really allowed to live up to it. As the story progressed and new people kept coming, they allowed Frank Lapidus to fall by the wayside. His once cool character degenerated into a syrupy mess of comedic one-liners, and along with it, any importance he might've once had.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I got the feeling the writers never really had a solid ending for Frank. At some point they just started using him to take the edge off the more serious happenings on the show. What sucks most is that Frank isn't even acknowledged at the end of this episode, when everyone washes up on the beach. Even Nikki and Paulo got a eulogy, but all Frank got was a "Where's Sun and Jin?"

RIP Frank. If you are on the other side, I hope you're drinking from a hollowed-out pineapple and wearing a Hawaiian shirt unbuttoned down to your navel.

Sun and Jin...
Of all the main character deaths we've seen, I have to say I'm most satisfied with what happened to Sun and Jin. The actors did a fantastic job, and the scene was exceptionally well done. Most important of all, the whole thing just felt right to me. Much like the ring Sun puts back on Jin's finger earlier in the episode, their story had truly come full circle.

On-island, Sun and Jin's time was up. They existed only for each other, and once reunited they had completed their journey. Through marital troubles, infidelity, infertility and just about the worst father-in-law imaginable, the two of them eventually recognized that the most important thing was just being together. They stopped taking their love for granted, as Jacob mentioned at their wedding.

I also got the distinct feeling that because their transformation was complete, Sun and Jin were being taken "out" of the island's playing field. In short, Sun wasn't pinned to that wall by accident. There was simply nothing left for either of them to learn.

The final scene of Sun and Jin holding hands could've been a great way to end their story, but we were purposefully shown an image of their hands letting go. To me, this was representative of them not letting go of each other, but of the island timeline itself. It's comforting to know that Sun and Jin still exist on the other side, and that they're happy, content, and ready to start their new life with a baby on the way.

Maybe Everyone Should Just Stay Away From Planes For a While
As if the whole sub debacle wasn't enough, the last scene between LAX Jack and Locke just totally kicked ass. Jack is recognizing the need for both of them to let go of certain things: for Locke it's his guilt, and for Jack it's his constant need for control. The words they exchange are incredibly sincere, and Locke's story involving that plane crash was so well acted I almost believed it actually happened. It was another great scene, much like the one they shared at LAX.

"You go first." Right now, I'd like to predict that these are Jack's words to Locke in one of the final scenes of LOST. If Jack becomes the new Jacob and Locke becomes the new monster, the game begins all over again. Two players, two sides, and of course one of them has to make the first move.

Jack's parting words of "I wish you'd believed me" seemed to trigger even more memories for John, and it gave him a significant amount of pause. Locke also recognized and did a double-take upon seeing Jin in the hallway. I'm hoping these small flashes of recollection evolve into full-blown memories of island events, because in doing so it would bring our real characters full circle.

On island, Jack marching purposefully into the ocean and crying up at the sky seemed to say one thing: "Okay, I accept my position. But please, no more sacrifice."

I just started watching this show, still on season 3

i hope that you're not reading these recaps.

Haha I'm not. Although I accidently watched some of the newer eiposdes (new for me) on tv, and I didnt know wtf was going on. I saw 2 kids and a mom and there was like a tunnel with a light. Maybe it was someones flashback, but I guess I'll just find out later haha. O and I found a picture in my english book with kate and souyer and I was like wtf. kind of random lol

Update time...pretty funny this recap! Enjoy. One more monster episode left. I can't wait!

Ever since the beginning of LOST, I'd hoped we'd get some sort of an island flashback. Something that would tell us how it all began... something to show us how things got so impossibly strange.

Across The Sea didn't answers all of LOST's questions, but it took a huge bite out of our list of mysteries. In writing my recap, I'm going to point out the many ways that 'mother' laid the groundwork for our entire show. I'm also going to rag on the glowing cave of molten doom a bit, but that's totally okay. THINGS I NOTICED:





Two Babies, Two Diapers... One is Black, and Well, I Think You Probably Get the Idea By Now...

Even going back two thousand years, the island is still bringing people to its shores. From an entire shipwreck of people a single woman is plucked, and it should be no surprise to learn that there's a reason she washes up on the beach alone. Immediately we learn that this is Claudia, birth-mom to LOST's two most important players: Jacob and the man in black.

Cue spooky music change, and enter our oldest LOST character to date - 'mother'. Right away, we should know who this really is. We're given a tremendous clue as Claudia stops to drink from a stream: the overhead reflection that startles her is nearly identical to a scene in The Cost of Living. In that episode, Mr. Eko is drinking from a similar stream when he sees the reflection of the smoke monster looming over him.

Yes, mother is the monster. As we later find out, she's also the keeper of the island, and protector of the holy heat lamp.

Watching Claudia give birth on the island was more than a little Claire-esque, but by now we should be getting numb to these parallels. The important thing here is mother's reaction after Jacob is born: she scoops him up and turns him strangely away from Claudia, cradling him as if he were her own.

Mother obviously expected these events, as she's the one who brought Claudia to the island. She even seems to have anticipated the sex of the baby, gratefully acknowledging "It's a boy!" In short, her prayers have been answered. Her successor has arrived. Seconds later however, something else happens that mother was definitely not counting on: the birth of Jacob's nameless brother, the baby in black.

While she rolls with it, you can tell this is not what mother signed up for. She expected a son, but the island has given her two. Nevertheless, these are the successors the island has chosen to take her place. Her candidates finally selected, she brains poor Claudia with a rock.



Yeah What The Hell... Sure. I'll Play.

The boy in black kicks off our eternal game of black vs. white by finding an Egyptian senet board washed up on the beach. Inherently, he somehow already knows how to play. This is of course reminiscent of the test Richard Alpert gives to a young John Locke, asking him which items already belong to him. Jacob's brother already knows the rules of this game because historically, a past version of himself has probably already played it. Jacob however has no such prior knowledge, and the writers make it a point to show us this.

Does this mean that the MIB was truly meant to succeed his mother in guarding that cave of plutonium? Hell yeah it does. She even sits him down to tell him he's special, taking the opportunity to drill more "there's nothing else but the island" propaganda into his skull. Yet even as she does this, mother knows there's one very big problem: unlike Jacob, her more gifted son likes to stare out at the ocean. He likes to wonder what's across the sea.

"Jacob doesn't know how to lie. He's not like you." Seems like lying would be a pretty good skill to have, especially if you need to go lights-out on someone with a heavy rock. You can't protect the island with blunt honesty and a charming smile, and this is why the boy in black is such a great choice.

We also learn in this scene that the guardian of the island must be immortal as well as resourceful. The MIB's mother tells him that when it comes to death, he has nothing to worry about. She's already marked him as the one to take her place, but she hasn't yet given him the Kool-aid of agelessness. That comes later.


Which One of These Instincts Belongs To You Already?

In the centuries it took for senet to become backgammon, one constant appears on the island throughout its entire long history: boar hunting. I'm betting that both Jacob and his brother spent a lot of time chasing boar through the jungles of LOST island, and that this instinctual knowledge got passed along to John Locke right after arriving at its shores.

Think about that. Just as the boy in black already knew how to play his newly-discovered game, John Locke already knew how to hunt boar. In fact, he makes his first kill at the end of Tabula Rasa, shortly after encountering the smoke monster for the very first time. Seems like Richard was right in that John was always meant to be a successor, his only mistake being that perhaps he gave him the test a little too early.

"They come, they fight, they corrupt, they destroy..." Mother's words would fall from the MIB's own lips, hundreds of years later. As successor, it stands to reason that he'd automatically acquire many of her ideologies. In similar fashion, as the smoke monster we've also learned that the man in black borrows things from those he would mimic or duplicate, perhaps even unknowingly. We've certainly seen him inherit the mannerisms, habits, and dialogue of John Locke. Apparently, the role of island guardian comes with certain baggage in the form of those who went before you - a definite reincarnation, of sorts.


Every One of us Was Brought Here For a Reason... and I Can Sum Up That Reason in a Single Word: GLOWSTICKS.

For the better part of thirteen years, mother is able to raise her sons within the confines of her own personal snowglobe. They believe what she tells them to believe; they obey her because they don't even know what it is to be defiant. That all changes at the discovery of other people on the island - or at least, at the boys' discovery that they are not alone.

"They're not like us", mother tells her boys. "They don't belong here." As if the death of Claudia wasn't enough, this is our first real taste of mother's fiercesome possessiveness. An almost purge-like atmosphere is created here, as mother tries to get her sons on board with the whole us vs. them mentality; a culture that would carry on for the next two centuries and pervade all six seasons of the show.

Yet the boys need something more here, and mother already knows it. They need a purpose or goal... a reason to swallow natural curiosity and steer clear of everyone else. Although she deems them not yet ready - mirroring Richard's words to a young Benjamin Linus - she's prepared to show her boys exactly why staying put is so cataclysmically important: to guard the inflamed yellow asshole of the island.

Okay, let's be honest here. At first glance, that piss-warm cave of infinite golden light looked totally out of place. Mother's explanation didn't help much either: "a little bit of this very same light is inside of every man." What? No nanobots? The whole scene reeked of midichlorians. Somewhere in the back of my mind, George Lucas was laughing at me. This was one Star Wars reference I really wasn't into, and I was struggling.

Then I watched the scene again, and again, and a fourth and fifth time. I have to say that softened the blow. In retrospect, we already knew there was something at the core of the island causing most of the magic to happen. Here, we were finally getting a direct visual. This isn't even the first time we've seen the light: we saw it after Locke fell into the well, and both times the donkey wheel was turned. It's not like we're getting introduced to something ridiculous and totally unbelievable - something the writers would never do - like alternate universes, or time travel. :)

Fact is, if they never showed us this thing we'd probably bitch. Here they take the time to show it to us, so I'm gonna cut the effects department some slack. Especially in light of the improvement in sub graphics last episode.

Alright, so the light needs to be protected. Man will always try to take it, because the light feels as good as waking up on the beach that third day of spring break with a beautiful girl lying next to you and no trace of a hangover. Mother's been guarding this place for a long time, but for some reason, she can't protect it forever. Despite apparent immortality, each guardian's job has a beginning and an end... the end usually coming at the tip of something sharp and pointed, like a knife.

As the boy in black asks his mother who'll stand next watch, she says something pretty important: "It'll have to be one of you." While it would've made perfect sense to task both brothers with guarding the glowcave, mother makes a point of stating that it's simply a one-man job.

At this point, it's obvious who the hands-down favorite to inherit that job is, and mother is leaning heavily in the direction of her special pick. While Jacob is a tapestry-weaving momma's boy, the kid in black has proven to be a more independent, resourceful, and adaptative individual. Lying, deceiving, killing, purging... these are all prerequisites necessary for taking up the gauntlet. Just ask Benjamin Linus.

For these reasons, Jacob the unlying is a terrible candidate for the role of island guardian. Moreover, his mother already knows it. Hundreds of years later Jacob is still naive; we see it during Ab Aeterno as Richard schools him in the arts of manipulation only days after reaching the island. While she loves him in her own special way, mother also knows that MIB is next in line for the throne.


Oh and by the Way... No Killing Your Brother While I'm Gone

Perhaps it's because she loves him that mother also puts a safeguard into place to protect Jacob. Knowing the true nature of her darker son, she tells the boys "I've made it so that you can never hurt each other." Immediately, I rationalized this to mean that whomever is guarding the island can also set the rules. Somehow, this person holding power over the island can extend that power even beyond his or her lifetime, creating a new set of laws and guidelines that need to be followed... or else.

A minute later however, another thought occurred to me: maybe there aren't any rules at all. Maybe Jacob and his brother just think there are rules, and they've been ritualistically following them out of two thousand-year habit. Remember, these are the same children who once believed nothing else existed except for the island. For most of their childhood, their mother's every word was indisputable law.

Thus begins what I like to call my sonic fence debate. Was the sonic fence really on when Mikhail manipulated Locke into throwing him into it? Or did main characters like Sayid just believe it was on, simply because Mikhail was allowing them to do so?

On the island, the likelihood of something happening has always seemed directly related to faith. Rose believed Bernard was alive. Eko believed he'd find his brother's plane. Hurley believed that 20+ year old Dharma van would start... and so it did, as ridiculously impossible as that scenario should've been. Even Locke's suicide note contained a very important phrase "I wish you had believed me."

So could the very act of believing in something make it true? And more specifically, could the firm belief in a set of rules actually bring those rules into existence? Jacob's brother even alludes to this, over a game of senet: "One day you can make up your own game, and then everyone will have to follow your rules." Is this what we've been seeing all these years? A game being played that's nothing more than a byproduct of Jacob's own design, with the MIB fighting for two thousand years to find a loophole in his rulebook? No wonder he's so pissed.


Everybody Knows That You Need The Glow - You Need To Glow, The Glow To Grow!

The glowing ghost of his mother Claudia, visible only him, reveals yet another level of the MIB being 'chosen' to take over the role of guardian. She leads her son to the settlement on the other side of the island, a place where her shipwrecked comrades are still looking for a way to escape the island's shores. She informs him there are many other places to go across the sea, and also explains that she is in fact his real mother.

These actions align Claudia directly against whatever protective agenda mother might have for the island. She provides unsolicited knowledge that will turn the boy in black against his adoptive mom, as well as motives for leaving both her and the island for good. It's almost as if she senses that the MIB will take over as the island's guardian, and is somehow trying to prevent this from happening.

By now, it's safe to see Claudia and Isabella as the same type of entity. These ghosts seem somehow different from the non-glowing whisperers we've seen appearing throughout the show. The aura surrounding Claudia draws obvious associations with whatever lies at the heart of the island, beneath the cave of a thousand fireflies.

Claudia also tells the boy in black that he can see her "because she's dead". As a potential candidate, he's allowed this ability - much the way Hurley could see Jacob and Isabella, or Sayid and Sawyer could see the younger boy-version of Jacob. Come to think of it, Jin could not see Jacob during LAX, and maybe this answers the question as to which Kwon was an actual candidate. Not that it matters...


For Someone Who Supposedly Can't Harm His Brother, Jacob's Got a Good Right Hook

This week a long-standing theory I adhered to finally got popped: the idea that Jacob and the MIB were two halves of the same entity. Although we learned this physically wasn't the truth, spiritually and emotionally they really are indeed two halves of a whole. I also found the boy in black's phrase "they're our things" pretty interesting.

Nevertheless, it's even more interesting that mother allows the boy in black to leave. After catching them fighting in the jungle, Jacob's brother gives him his only really big choice: come with me or stay here. Jacob chooses to stay with the only mother he knows. His brother decides to move in with the original Others, and 'mother' does nothing to stop him.

Choices. LOST is, and always has been, about choices. Mother seemed pretty defeated to learn where her son had gained his sudden enlightenment, but she also seemed powerless to stop him from making his own decision. It's as if she knew where glow-Claudia came from: the other side. And apparently, the other side is NOT to be messed with.

Mother and Jacob's following conversation on the beach further defines the roles of 'good' and 'bad'. Looking back, this little talk would be greatly influential in helping Jacob draw up all the lists he'd make later on. Yet despite being told that he's good, Jacob senses - as only a child can - that his mother has more love for his dark-shirted brother than for him. He's not entirely correct in this assumption, however.

"I love you in different ways", mother tells him, and I think she's being totally sincere here. She loves Jacob in pure ways, as a good son, without wanting or needing anything from him. But she loves the boy in black mostly as a successor - someone to finally take her place - someone to relieve her after a long, dutiful stay on the island.


Everything Dies... But Black and White Shirts Never Go Out of Style

Thirty years later, Jacob and his brother are still playing senet. No one's invented chess yet, and Mousetrap is still a long way off.

Turns out that the MIB can't get that golden honeyhole out of his mind. For thirty years he's been searching and digging for it, and with some magnetic help his people have finally found the subterranean source of its power. Since he can't stand his own people he's ready to blow LOST island, with or without Jacob.

Since we know what happens to the MIB at the end of this episode, it's important to stop here and note how jaded he's become. For three decades he's lived in a society that's "greedy, manipulative, untrustworthy, and selfish." This would be the only mankind he really knows - the only people he'd ever get the chance to have any real-life experience with. Once he becomes the smoke monster, the man in black would base all future dealings with the island's inhabitants upon this one small, corrupted subset of society.

Jacob however, is not looking to leave the island. He runs home dejected, where mommy makes him tell about his brother's plans. Mother is not very excited at the prospect of losing her potential successor. Maybe she'd hoped he would eventually come around, but now it looks as if the MIB is staring out over the ocean again... and then some.

This is where mother makes one last play - one final bid to bring her son back to fulfill what she deems are his true responsibilities. She confronts him in the well, hoping to turn things around. Yet instead of agreeing to guard the leprechaun's pot of gold, the man in black is actually breaking down walls to reach it from beneath. He's hooking a donkey wheel up to the golden fleece, and he's spinning himself off this rock at first opportunity... or at least he would be, if he didn't underestimate his mother's ability to deliver brutal headwounds.

Again, it's incredibly interesting how the donkey wheel gets built totally on faith (because I sure didn't see any science there). As silly as the theory behind it sounds, the MIB fully believes he can somehow "channel the water and the light." His only goal is to leave the island, and he's been building the wheel with that single purpose in mind. So even though he never gets to finish it? It should be no surprise to learn that several hundred years later, the wheel does exactly what the man in black always believed it would do.


I Didn't Have a Choice. It's What he Wants.

Once it became obvious that she couldn't sway her first draft pick, Jacob becomes mother's unfortunate plan B. She leads him to the radioactive gash in the forest, and that's where she swears him in. But first she explains what we've always wanted to know: exactly what lies at the heart of the island.

Life, death, rebirth... all of these themes have been strong throughout LOST. Therefore it stands to perfect reason that they'd all flow right beneath the very feet of our main characters, healing them when they were sick, killing them off when they weren't needed. Mother makes Jacob solemnly promise to never go down into the light, telling him it would be "much worse" than dying. And she's speaking from experience here, because in my opinion this is exactly what she did at one point.

The ceremonial chanting and sharing of wine seemed largely symbolic to me. It was as if mother needed to convince Jacob that once he did this, his path was forever bound to the island. Jacob's still gullible at this point. He drinks up, and he believes her. Whether or not this truly does etch his destiny in stone remains to be seen, but this is where mother does something really, really slick: she recruits both Jacob and his brother to guard the island.

Jacob is 100% right. His brother was always first choice. But what he doesn't know: mother is shrewd enough to recognize that as 'good' as he is, Jacob can't guard the island alone. Jacob's honesty and commitment needs to be tempered by his brother's willingness to lie, be deceitful, and do anything needed to get the job done. Alone, each of them is only half a candidate. But together, they make an ideal guardian for the island's shores.


Uncle Owen? Aunt Beru?

This is where mother's plan gets totally insidious. She knocks the MIB out, and drags him to his village. By the time he wakes up, she's decimated the settlement and killed all his comrades. Even worse, she's filled in his well, eliminating any hope he might've had at getting off the island. THIS is what infuriates the man in black most of all. He couldn't care less about the people he lived with... but messing with his escape plan was the one thing sure to drive him completely berserk.

So how did mother accomplish all this stuff? As the smoke monster, of course. When she warned Jacob not to go into Yoda's cave, she was speaking as someone who'd done it herself. Sometime over the course of her tenure on the island, she'd put her own body through the island's paper shredder... and emerged with the power to commit the carnage we saw here by the time she got to the other side.

Also, consider the wall glyphs we saw during Dead is Dead, involving the worship of the smoke monster. Egyptian hieroglyphics would predate Jacob or the MIB's arrival on the island, indicative of the monster being around for much, much longer. At least that's my take on it.

The next thing mother does is plant the senet board at the scene of the crime. This makes the dark man think Jacob was also responsible for the destruction. Mother knows the MIB will seek them out, and in his rage, finally put an end to her life. She might even have needed him to kill her. Her time was up anyway, and Jacob had already taken her place. Hell, she'd even physically handed him a torch.

After conveniently sending Jacob away to 'get firewood', mother willingly meets her destiny at the end of the now infamous knife. She even thanks the man in black for her release. Predictably, this is when Jacob approaches. He sees his murderous brother holding a bloody knife standing over the body of their mother, and delivers another great flying tackle. A half-dozen punches later, and the final piece of mom's puzzle falls into place: Jacob drags the MIB to the secret stream, knocks him out, and sends him through the island's giant QUIZNOS oven.

In the end, this solves mother's every dilemma. Jacob gets spared the cost associated with going into the cave, and the man in black can no longer leave the island. When she first hatched her plan, mother knew full well this would be the end result - even if she wouldn't be around to see it. Her own long con involved serving out the rest of her time, and getting the best of both worlds when it came to a replacement for guarding the heart of the island.

Meanwhile... Back When Kate Still Had Lipstick...

I really didn't mind rewatching the skeleton scene at the cave. Learning the origins of Adam and Eve would've been cool with or without the Jack/Kate/Locke flashback (forward?), but they way they did it was pretty tasteful. It lent a definite sense of coming full circle, to both the overall story and the image of the black and white stones.

Across The Sea was an excellent example of how satisfying it can be to finally get answers. More importantly though, I think it put the smoke monster / MIB character into a whole new light. I feel like I really understand the MIB now, and his motives for wanting to go home. As terrible as they might be, at this point I don't even blame him for the things that he's done. In many ways he's been cheated out of making a choice: something that seems to be granted in rule-like fashion when it comes to a good many other characters on the show.

So is the smoke monster solely Jacob's brother, or was he merged with an even older entity on the island? How much of him could be attributed to mother at this point, or even John Locke? Is the circle we saw Bram use to protect himself made from the ashes of the MIB's old village? These answers might be hard to come by, but so far, I'm extremely satisfied with how this storyline has played out.

Last regular episode tonight.

Then the final and it's all over.

can't wait!

wow.... just wow.

I'm glad they're answering a ton of our questions, but the manner they're answering them is lame.

That scene where Jack stepped up to replace Jacob was weak. The sudden death of Widmore and others was terrible. I thought he had more to the island.

I understand that they're wrapping the show up and because of that, they're rushing all the various events.

The best part of last night's episode was when Desmond paid off Anna Lucia to get Sayid and Kate. I'm really anxious to learn what's going to happen at the concert.

the smoke monster is going to appear at the concert to DJ

this show went down the shitter.

Recap time!

THINGS I NOTICED - WHAT THEY DIED FOR

If there's one thing to be said for the writers of LOST, it's that they learn from their mistakes. In past seasons, the pre-finale episodes contained an over-abundance of setup. There were a lot of stories to be wrapped up, a lot of characters to touch on, and a whole lot of traipsing through the beautiful jungles of the island.

Not here though. Not this time.

Maybe it's because they've been putting the pieces together for a while now, but What They Died For was a fantastic non-transitional episode of LOST. With a huge monster of a series finale looming just ahead of us, our gameboard is all set to go. The last pieces are in place, and that's left are the final moves that need to be made. Things I Noticed:


Claire's Here Now? Good Thing They Picked Up the Family-Sized Box of Super Bran

The timelines are merging for our characters. Realities are coming together. In our opening scene, the wound on Jack's neck is getting bigger and redder and much more prominent. What's even scarier, is that it now exists in the off-island universe... and not just in the mirror.

During LA X, I theorized that Jack's mark existed solely in the other timeline. We saw it reflected back in the mirror of Flight 815's bathroom, but we never saw it directly. "Whatever happened to cause the wound on Jack's neck, perhaps it only happened in the one 'true' universe. It's possible the mirror is reflecting back something that happens to Jack later on, or maybe even at the end of the show."

It now looks a lot like this might happen. As Jack chows down on the gigantic spread David put out for breakfast, we see there's a definite horizontal cut on his throat. After seeing what happened to Zoe this episode, this might be really bad news for Jack. It could easily be an omen of bad (island) things to come.

After dropping mention of the upcoming concert, the writers once again tease us with the last big LAX reveal they have left: David's birth mother. At this point, the identity of this woman is almost a running joke. It would be both funny and anticlimactic if it turned out to be Sarah, but I'm rooting along with the fan who wrote me in hoping that it's Nikki. After a half season of Zoe, it would actually be good to see Nikki again.


There's Perfect Harmony - In the Rising and the Falling of the Sea

In a parallel that reaches all the way back to the pilot episode, Jack is now the one stitching Kate up. Although the wound might be different the thread is still black. Sawyer watches zombie-like as a bunch of (very red) life vests wash up on the beach. The emptiness of these vests reflect not only the loss of Sun, Jin, and Sayid, but of the many friends and loved ones our characters have lost over the past six seasons.

Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley stand there looking out over the ocean - finally together, finally united and with a common goal: the destruction of John Locke. For me, this was an awesome image. It took a lot of struggle and a lot of death to get all of their interests aligned, but for once in a long while it seems that everyone is finally on the same page.

Even cooler than that, these characters finally stop blaming each other - and themselves. On their walk through the jungle, we can see the deep conflict going on behind Sawyer's eyes. He faults himself for getting their friends killed, knowing inwardly that Jack was probably right about the bomb. This is where - despite being raked over the coals for the death of Juliet - Jack lets his friend completely off the hook. "He killed them", Jack tells Sawyer in reference to Locke. Jack already knows the guilt associated with being responsible for the deaths of others, and it's noble of him to try and spare Sawyer that same type of pain.


I'm Gonna Pound You Into The Next World, Brotha!

Desmond's on a mission this episode: first he prank-calls Jack, then he sets himself up to burn another set of treadmarks into Locke's back. When Ben shows up again Desmond almost kills two birds with one stone, beating the snot of of Dr. Linus in front of what seems to be a pretty resilient student body. A violent madman stalks the parking lot twice in one week, but somehow school still goes on? I wonder if they get off for snow days.

At any rate, Desmond is serving up way more than the FDA-daily recommended allowance of reality. As we later find out, he's also got plenty to go around. I'm not sure he intended to cause Ben's flash here, but he did it anyway; Ben suddenly remembers getting beaten up by Desmond back on the docks. It seems to me that although Desmond is helping things along, unknown forces are still at work trying to get these characters to remember each other. Not sure if that's an island thing or a Jacob thing.

"You want to know who I am?" - This is another often-repeated phrase within LOST, and this time it's Desmond who drops these words like the hammer of his fist on Ben's face. In the overall big picture, I've always thought this dialogue had a much deeper meaning. Now it looks almost like a metaphor for dual-identity; the characters we see in the alternate timeline aren't exactly the characters we see on the island. Not yet, anyway.

Desmond's beating puts Ben in the nurse's office rather than the police station, where he reflects upon his experience in a full-length mirror. His left arm is back in a sling, just like last time. Locke conveniently shows up so the two of them can bounce cross-timeline clues off one another, and this one last coincidence is the straw that breaks the camel's back for Locke. Time to see Jack again.


'Secreter Room'? C'mon, You Just Can't Beat That

"I lived in these houses 30 years before you did... otherwise known as last week." If anyone is wondering why the writers are still keeping Miles around, you're out of your mind. He's the one voice of reason we can count on when everyone else is accepting the most ridiculous of circumstances, and besides that, he's also funny as shit.

I thought it was cool that Richard had taken the time to bury Alex. It seemed he'd done it out of respect for Ben rather than out of necessity. As colleagues - if not friends - for so many years, it seemed something vital and necessary to the Ben/Richard relationship.

For a long time we've also wondered why burying or burning people seemed so important throughout the history of the island, as if the smoke monster couldn't take the form of those who were buried and gone. This leaves the question: did the monster appear as Alex during Dead is Dead before or after she was buried by Richard? Hard to say, but at this point it's probably not all that important.

This is very likely the last time we'll see the barracks, too. It's pretty far removed from the first time we saw it - an immaculately-groomed community where people watered their lawns. Now the swingsets are broken and the landscaping has gone all to hell. These images of desolation are shadowy echoes of what once was: people used to live and thrive here. Our island was once lushly populated with people, monsters, and mysteries. Now, in stark contrast, there are only a few souls left. The writers are slamming these images home for a reason: to let us know the end is near.

"That's where I was told I could summon the monster. That's before I realized it that was the one summoning me." Pretty cryptic, even for Ben. We'll probably never know who told Ben how to call the smoke monster, but it might've actually been the MIB himself. After Dead is Dead, Ben was smart enough to realize this little mud-toilet was put into place as a mechanism to keep tabs on him. Moving the Others to the barracks and behind the safety of the sonic fence defied the very rules of the island. The monster, constantly passing judgement, could count on Ben to call it in the case of intruders or interlopers. Maybe it even needed to be invited, in order to show up.


If You Need Miles, He'll be Running Through The Jungle. Again.

Okay, so it finally looks like Widmore's going to give us some answers. By breaking into Ben's house in broad daylight he allows their story to come full circle, mirroring Ben's midnight intrusion during The Shape of Things To Come. He brings Zoe with him presumably so she can get killed, because it's not like she's doing much of anything else. The real story here is why Charles came back to the island.

Ben seems genuinely surprised to see his old nemesis, thinking he'd banished him from the island for good. Widmore happily informs him that he was invited back by Jacob, and this may be why he was able to find the island again. They have a little pissing contest, mostly over who's the better chess player and who gets to blow up the Ajira plane first. Widmore sends Zoe out to pick up some more of the high-tech equipment that seems to have been working out so well for them lately, and that's when Flocke shows up.

Once again, I believe the dark man underestimates one of LOST's biggest characters. Here, after unceremoniously launching Richard into the jungle, he offers Ben the one thing he believes he wants more than anything else: dominion over the island. "When I'm gone you can have it all to yourself" - Locke's offer is pretty straightforward and very simple. So is Ben's answer: "Alright."

Here's where Ben betrays Widmore, and not out of his lust for power OR service to the man in black. His hatred for Charles stems back to the belief his enemy was directly responsible for the death of his daughter, Alex. Ben sells Widmore to Flocke out of pure spiteful revenge, wanting to both see and hear Widmore's screams as the monster tears him to pieces. And when it appears this might not happen? Ben takes matters directly into his own hands.

As for Zoe's death, well, I'm sure it was widely embraced. The problems with her character were similar to the problems stemming from Nikki and Paulo: she was introduced abruptly and in a very "know-it-all" type of way. She was combative and secretive, insistent and annoying. You don't get island-cred by acting like you're hot shit, or by trying to convince everyone that you're somehow important. You get it the same way Miles, Faraday, and Lapidus got it: by jumping onto the roller coaster and taking the ride along with us.

Widmore's storyline has been weak so far, and I was really expecting it to strengthen up. Instead, this once-great character is reduced to hiding like a coward in a closet. Less than one minute after being found, he's willing to sell out his whole operation on the off chance that the MIB will allow his daughter to live. The guy spends his whole life trying to get back to the island... just so he can whisper the darkest secrets of his master plan right into Flocke's ear?

And what about the end of the world? "If he gets off the island, everyone you know and love will cease to exist!" It's like all that stuff just flew right out the window the second Penny was mentioned. Ben shooting Widmore to prevent him from saving his daughter was a pretty cool scene, and I loved the line he delivers immediately afterward. But Charles Widmore? Unless there's an underlying storyline we don't know about, he went out like a total chump. His only apparent purpose - both times so far - was to get Desmond to the island.

Ever the scheming opportunist, Ben ensures his longevity by asking the monster "Did you say there were some other people to kill?" With Widmore gone and his plan revealed, Ben knows that the dark man has very little need for allies at this point. There are still some candidates Flocke can't touch directly, however, and I like to think that Ben somehow knows this. Maybe he's playing up to the monster to keep himself alive.

Ben's a character that's already seen some level of redemption. If Illana accomplished nothing else, bringing Ben back from the brink of the dark side seemed to be kind of important. I'm pretty sure he's playing the monster here, and that he'll betray it in the end. Ben's good at really playing people, and it would be great to watch him play the man in black into a very bad situation.

And no matter what, I hope that Richard is still alive! After all the trouble Hugo went through during Ab Aeterno to bring him back, I'd like to think he has some sort of ultimate purpose. It's "He who would save us all", not "He who gets his throat collapsed and flung into the jungle". Hopefully.


Oh But We Insist! Even if We Have to Kidnap You!

In the alternate timeline, Ben's place in Alex's life parallels a good many aspects of the on-island world. The one thing always missing on the island however, was a sense of family. Here, twisted and genius writing puts Ben at the very same dinner table with the woman who's child he once snatched away.

In stark contrast to her mentally-wrecked counterpart, LAX_Danielle is a well-adjusted mom who's happy to host her daughter's favorite teacher and father figure, Dr. Linus. The irony here is overwhelming. Ben is genuinely touched by the love felt for him in this household - the same household he once so violently broke apart. If and when his on-island memories come crashing home, I can see him feeling even more emotionally connected to both of these people.

You also have to remember this: Ben took Alex away to save both her and her mother's lives from Charles Widmore. After seeing his own beginnings on the island, we learned that Ben was never given the choice, or chance, for a normal life. Despite all the crazy things he's done, I find myself rooting for Ben to have a happy ending. If he ended up with both Danielle and Alex, it would fitting and cool.


There Should be a Jack / Locke Scene in Every Episode

Although the parallels are coming so fast we're getting a little numb to them by now, one thing that never gets old is watching Jack and Locke interact with each other. Here, once again in the LAX timeline, they're put together to speak about faith, hope and destiny.

It took a lot of violence and long hours in the makeup chair, but Locke is finally coming around. His mind is open to the possibility that he's being brought back to Jack, again and again, for a very specific reason. Jack tells Locke not to mistake coincidence for fate. These are Mr. Eko's words, and in my opinion, one of the best lines of the show.

I got chills when Locke said "I think I'm ready to get out of this chair." If and when this happens, it's going to bring his story full circle. Locke's paralysis was an integral part of the show's origins. If he were to finally get up and walk away on his own two feet, it would signify the end of a very long and awesome journey for both him, and for us.


C'mon Let's Face It - Your Lives All Sucked To Begin With

I've never waited six years for the answer to a question, much less one from a TV show. Yet here's the dream-scene we've all been waiting for: Jacob sitting calmly down with our characters, pushing all of the bullshit aside, and giving us solid answers to the most fundamental questions in all of LOST.

Everyone was brought to the island for a reason, and that reason was to help Jacob undo a two-thousand year old mistake. No one questions him. No one disbelieves him. There's still anger and resentment however, especially in light of all the surrounding death and destruction our heroes have been forced to endure. Sawyer even demands to know why they should help Jacob in the first place, and this is an excellent question. As we've been taught, a huge part of LOST's overall lore involves people cleaning up their own mess. Why should Jacob be any different?

We also get the answer to another long-standing mystery: why each of these characters all come from the same miserable background. Turns out Jacob plucked them from their shitty circumstances and placed them here not only because the island needed them, but because they needed the island. Hey, what can you say? The guy's all heart. He even crossed off Kate's name when she became a mother, telling her: "It's just a line of chalk in a cave, Kate. The job's yours if you want it."

This line seemed tremendously important to me. Beyond all of these apparent rules and regulations, it turns out the only thing that really matters is choice, or free will. Jacob never had it. Ben never had it either. And although it looks like all of our characters were brought here without really choosing this path, Jacob won't select any single one of them to take his place. The person who takes the job has to want to do it of their own accord. And if no one does? Well, it's still kinda obscure, but apparently everyone is screwed.

This will go down as a legendary scene, culminating in Jack volunteering with "I'll do it". On every level, Jack's made peace with the fact that this is his destiny. All his life he's done nothing but make sacrifices to help people. He's given up on a lot of things: happiness, his marriage, even a life of his own, all to help everyone else get fixed. Here, he's got the opportunity to save not only his remaining friends, but to possibly spare the entire world from destruction. For a self-sacrificing maniac like Jack? It's the mother of all possible job offers.

Before the last of his ash is consumed in the fire Jacob, symbolically passes the torch to Jack - just as his mother did to him. He also tells Jack where the heart of the island is. Turns out it's on the other side of the bamboo field, right near where Jack fell from the sky. This is a big clue for many reasons. For starters, it seems to indicate that Jack was the chosen one all along. He was the one who fell closest to the heart of the island, and the one most suited to be its next guardian.

More importantly, don't forget we saw someone else in that bamboo field: Christian Shephard. In the mobisode that takes place before Jack even opens his eye in the pilot, Christian tells Vincent: "Go wake up my son. He has work to do." As far as I'm concerned, this solidifies the idea that every iteration of Christian Shephard was NOT the man in black. In this case, it's a pretty good guess we were looking at Jacob here.

In what could possibly be Jack's last moments as a mortal man, Jacob washes his hands of the island. He asks for a cup, fills it, and chants the same ceremonial bullshit his mother did. What words does he use? Nonsense words, of course. Jacob could be reciting a complete list of the stuff he plans to do once he gets off this rock - it makes no difference, really. The only thing that matters is that Jack believes in this ceremony. It's faith and belief that will allow him to guard the island. These are also the same things Jack will need to do battle with the man in black, and ultimately defeat him.


It Sure Ain't the Bon Jovi Concert

Of all the incredible scenes this week, my favorite one was the prison break. Desmond's knowing smile while turning himself in at the police station could've easily been taken for mild insanity. By the time Ana Lucia opened the doors and set everyone free however, I had a big shit-eating grin of my own. Desmond didn't just 'know' anymore... he knew.

The Hugo and Desmond we see here are fully-aware, fully-informed, full-fledged versions of their island counterparts. The casual way they address each other and Hurley's immediate recognition of Ana Lucia paints a vivid portrait of just how much these characters are in the know. Desmond's assertion of "She's not ready yet" also gives us hope that eventually, all of our heroes will make the same transformation as them.

As many of us have speculated for weeks now, these people now exist in the LAX timeline with full knowledge of their island lives. They've become aware of both universes. This is awesome news, because if the majority of LOST's ending takes place in the LAX timeline, at least we'll get back all of the characters we've known and loved for so long. The show can end with the original characters being thrust into a different setting, without really losing anything. It can also allow additional closure and endings for even those characters who've died. In short, this IS the other side.

I also loved the music in this scene. It was playful, cool, and it gave an accelerated sense of a rapidly progressing storyline. Somewhere along the line, Desmond came up with a plan. And judging from the fact that everyone's all headed to what's probably Widmore and Hawking's concert, I'll bet Daniel Faraday is involved in that plan too.


You Can Have The Island. . . Right After I Destroy It

Alongside the mystery of who let Desmond out of the well (my vote is for Sayid or Miles), we have to ask ourselves this: isn't telling Ben he plans to destroy the island in direct conflict with Flocke's promise to leave it for him?

If you're not sure exactly how Desmond acts as a failsafe for the island, neither am I. Maybe it has something to do with the cases of electromagnetic crap Zoe and Widmore brought with them in their canoe. Maybe he's supercharged with some of the island's inner glow. Whatever it is, we have to remember that the writers went out of their way to show us how immune Desmond was to gigantic magnetic fields. Not sure I want to see the island go out in a blast of energy, or even see the island go out at all.

Whew. We're almost done. It's crazy to think that in less than a week, I'll know exactly how LOST ends.

I want to wish everyone a happy series finale! See you on that other side...

Vozz

CQE, thanks for all the recaps! They have been most enjoyable.

Tonight it ends.

Looking forward to it.

Not looking forward to it.

Peace.

...Holy shit. The ending was ....

They were all already dead!
I figured that shit out like three years ago!
meh...

They weren't already dead!
That was the twist. The Flash Sideways was their "afterlife".
Everything that happend on the island was real and they were alive during that. Christian said that some died before some died after. They all met up "now" being dead.

I actually thought it was a great episode and great ending.

I thought it was fantastic.

Sure, there are several loose ends and mysteries (A big bathtub-drain at the Heart of the Island?) that will never be explained, but, c'mon, it wouldn't be Lost if EVERYTHING was spoon-fed to us and we were given a more "Hollywood" ending. I liked that the writers were able to give most everyone's stories closure, yet were smart enough to leave a lot up to viewer interpretation. It'll definitely keep people (including me) re-watching the show again and again for many years to come.

Overall, a very fitting end to one of my favorite shows of all time.

And regardless of how people feel about this epic finale, no viewer can deny that that last minute, just before the screen blacks-out for the final time, is one of the best moments in television history.

Farewell, Lost, "See you in another life, brawtha."

^^ +100

wait... so they were dead? what about the people who died while they were there... that makes sense out of a lot of stuff... but not when it comes to the people dieing. makes more sense if it was just a retarded dream.

This show pisses me off.

Let me get this straight......They were all dead to begin with or died later after the plane crash, correct? If they died later, how does that explain wtf that smoke monster was and how was it released when jacobs brother got flushed down the hole? Where did it come from and WHY? Better yet, why the fuck was that giant light in the middle of the island there in the first place and what the hell was causing it to light up? And who decided it needed to be protected? And if it was supposed to be protected or else everyone is "gone", where the fuck did it originate from? And where did all these rules come from? Who managed to plug it with a big ass stone in the first place? WTF

I guess if they all died right when the plane crashed it explains a lot, if they did, the whole island was a figment of jack's imagination the instant he died on the plane.

Stupid ass show....

i was planning on getting all the seasons and watching them all since ive never even seen 1 episode, but from what ive been hearing im going to pass on it.

it's get's you hooked, but you never get the answers that make sense. The first couple of seasons were good, but then it starts getting into time travel and supernatural bullshit that it becomes fucking retarded.

If you sought an ending that explained every single detail of the island, then you were probably upset with the final episode.

If LOST captivated you b/c of the stories behind each character's life, then the ending was sufficient.

I was looking for a happy medium between the two and although LOST provided answers on the latter, I'm still curious to know about all the questions most people have with the island.

Skiggz - they didn't die on the plane crash. All the character's lived on the island and experienced everything that we saw. The alternate timeline was a place where they agreed to meet once they all died. Christian mentions this when Jack finds him in the church.

All the characters in the Church passed on, some before others. Jack died on the Island when he plugged the light. Hurley took over Jack's role and lived on the island with Ben as his assistant.

The people that took off on the plane with Lepedus probably made it back to LA and lived their lives until they passed.

Anyhow, I'm waiting for CQE's post to clarify a few things.

So basically we're still lost when it comes to wtf the island is. I was sticking around to find out what the island was all about, i didn't care about where they meet in the afterlife lol. Damn

what about moving the island? were they all alive till that point? I find so many things odd

^yep, that was all when they were alive. The only stuff on the show that took place after they died was in Season 6 the "flash sideways" that they had. Otherwise they experienced everything else.

By the way, I am still looking for that guys recap that I post. I havent found it yet. As soon as I find it I will post it up.

So the smoke monster exists!!!

isnt that a generic ending though, cant you take any TV show on TV and add that ending and it still works, and dosent it completley ignore everything previous to the last 2 episodes??

Yeah! Imagine if everyone on Friends, Seinfield or the Simpspns really was dead after the 3rd season... It all makes so much more sense now...

you can easily take friends Seinfeld or the simpsopns and make a final episode where the characters were all dead and the show was them remembering their life. It works in almost any situation and explains nothing, also another critisim ive been hearing is with this expalnation "If LOST captivated you b/c of the stories behind each character's life, then the ending was sufficient.", thats what the writers were quoted as saying too, that the show wasnt about the island and its secrets its about the relationships these characters had.......so forget the polar bear and the smoke monster and the big drain plug those things arent important because these guys were good friends and thats all that matters. Forget that this island mysteriously moves through space and time what matters is the time these people shared together and thats all that matters...ect ect ect

^^^Fuck THAT!!!! I want answers about the polar bears!!

So, NOTHING about Walt, or the statue, the others, the dharma people, or about anything. A FUCKING CORK?? Really?? I would have been happier if they just said that Locke and MIB were magical wizards and Jack was a Jedi who defeated the wizard with a coconut light saber. I could have also shit a better ending into my toilet.

It went from MIB needing everyone to go with him to leave…to him needing everyone dead to leave…to then just needing someone to pull the island’s butt plug.

Why is that when MIB enters the glory cave that he turns into the smoke monster and his body ends up dead…but, if Jack or Desmond go through the glory hole, then they are perfectly fine.

The secret to the island was a fucking cork in a hole after 6 years of Lost.

The Polar bears were there because the Darma people brought them there. Why or how they did? Is anyones guess. But that's how they got there. That was covered way back in season 3. You know, when Sawyer and Kate were locked up in the cells on Hydro island. The cells were the former home of the Polar bears.

Were the polar bears dead before or after they were brought to the island?

what about the numbers!!!!!

The one polar bear I remember seeing was dead after Sawyer shot him dead.

the numbers were the reason the darmah people were there, they had a genius make a mathamatical equation that predicted the end of the world and the darmah people were there to find variables that would offset the final number

I dont get it.

this would have been better

www.youtube.com view

The numbers were also the candidates - Jack, Hurley, Sawyer, Kate...etc all had numbers assigned to them.

some answers:

www.youtube.com view

;)

I actually liked the ending... it was obvious they were never going to explain every last little detail, the show IS called LOST, but I must watch it all again some time as some things will make more sense...

on a side note...jersey shore and the real world suck hard this season

I thought it was called Lost because the people who were on the show were lost... not cauce the viewers were all lost trying to figure the show out...

I thought it was called lost because thats what happened to my interest! lol

lol

I have to admit... I got lost...

^lolol... dude took a plane yesterday n i have to admit was a little nervous the whole flight bc of tht stupid show

you may be dead now.. make a tv show about it... you could make millions

hahaa bro stop ur makin me wonder now is this like a dream

maybe we'll find out in 5 years or so lol... maybe 8

no we wont lol

fuck Lost. I wasted like 6 months of my life watching that peice of shit.

+1

Ha Ha, you lost 6 months of your life while watching that show...