LOST: Last Minute Predictions

Just a few thoughts of things we might see during tonights finale.

DEAD ( or forgotten) PEOPLE
Of course we're going to see old friends tonight here's some I think will be popping up.
Walt
Shannon
Boone
Rose
Bernard
Juliet
Charlie
Mr. Eko (?)
Vincent the dog
Frank
Charlotte
Daniel
Mrs. Hawking
and probably a lot of other secondary characters.

VOLCANO
The main reason I mention this is becaue of them mention it's importance inthe podcasts.
I'm thinking the ultimate demise of the MIB may have to be by shoving him into the volcano (a la LOTR).
It would make sense due to the vocalic  ash they used to place in circles to protect them. Plus, he was created by being shoved down a hole full of light.. why not destroy him by shoving him down a hole of fire?

Either that, or he may try to shove Desmond into the light (or the volcano) in order to destroy the island.
Either way I'd like to see them be true to their word and bring back the volcano.

JACK'S (FS) EX-WIFE
She's going to be at the concert (also where I think the Losties will coincedentally all be at, at the same time)
I'm betting on it being Juliet. JUst saying, it would make sense.

FRANK?
No one has yet to mention that Frank never escaped form the sub or is dead. I liked Frank. Can we please show a little respect.  I'm guessing that'll be address finally in some way. Either he surprises us by being alive (!) or someone realizes they miss him.  Either way I kinda hope we see him in the Flash Sideways.


ENDING?
I can't decide if I think that they'll kill the MIB and they can go about their merry way (as it were) or if there wil be a NEW MIB; in which case Jack and New MIB (Sawyer?) are left to carry on the ways of the island.

FLASH SIDEWAYS
It has to resolve somehow. I think they're goign to merge in some unified universe somehow. I'm not sure how that makes sense. That or the characters have to choose to give up this "better" life for the one they lived on the island. Which shows them all having to make a scarifice.

DESMOND
He's going to be playing a big role. Will he live? I hope so.

Anyway. that's all I really got just wanted to make a last minute stab at the finale.
Sit back and enjoy. It'll all be over soon. :)

LOST: The Package; Happily Ever After; Everybody Loves Hugo

Ok. so I've got some catching up to do. But really There are only a few things to talk about so let's get into it.

Sun and Jin

I have to admit that these are never my favorite episodes. I like the characters enough, especially Jin, but Their FS doesn't leave much to talk about. YES, things Happened...things, like in earlier episodes of this season, that will mean more when we see the two timelines reconcile. So the fact that Jin and Sun weren't married, she was pregnant, and so on, will all be very interesting when there is a reason to care about it.

How Convenient.

My one issue with “the package” is basically Sun. I admitted that she's not my favorite but she really annoyed me in this episode. Granted, I'm glad that it didn't end up playing out in the “Jin-is-escaping-to-find-Sun-and-Sun-is-leaving-to-find-Jin-so-we-are-a-split-second-away-from-being-in-the-same-place-at-the-same-time-in-a-horrible-tragic-turn-of-fate” type story line. Cuz it was starting to set it up to be that way. So thanks for not taking the easy way out. But THEN Sun came the most inconvenient character ever. I hope her not talking has a justified pay off, because otherwise I think it was a bad plot device to use just to give her a reason to be all frustrated. Just when everyone was starting to come together she's all “I'm not listening” and “I wish you could understand how I feel, but I don't have a voice any more”.

It's the only misstep that I think they've taken this season, but I'm still holding on to the fact that they'll have a good reason for it.

Kate is Important.

The most IMPORTANT thing I think that came out of this episode is Locke's conversation with Claire.

In it, he reveals that those with their names (candidates) still on the cave wall (not crossed out) are needed to help him get off the island. Locke reveals Claire's name is not among them, but she is still very useful to him. He also reveals that Kate's name is crossed out and therefore is not needed (other than to perhaps convince the others to join his side). Therefore once Locke has what he wants, Claire can do whatever she wants with Kate. (See: CLAIRE IS EF-ing CRAZY in my previous post)

HOWEVER!!!! what Locke says is not true (in my belief)!

It has been noted by the producers that there was a bit of editing error.

In the scene in in the cave where we see people's names ….the audience was supposed to see Kate's name on the wall AND crossed out. But it was “regrettably” edited out of the show. So we never saw Kate's name. In the later episode “the Lighthouse” we see Kate's name on the dial NOT crossed out.

An inconsistency with the cave wall that we SHOULD have seen. The producers say that this inconsistency of her name not being crossed out in the lighthouse was intentional. It is believed, then, that the cave is a red herring to the MIB. And with this most recent exchange between him and Claire, I think Locke is going to make a fatal flaw that will be the undoing of his plan. At some point he's going to have the means to get off the island. He'll have the people all together (as we've just recently seen) and he'll be clear to get on the plane (or whatever). He'll be all cocky and say “okay Claire, ATTACK” and Claire goes and does her crazy thing. But then he realizes that his plan isn't working and figures out that he does need Kate, but it's too late. She's off fighting with Claire and he can't get her back. Meanwhile that gives the other people enough time to concoct their own plan and throw Locke off guard and stop him. (or something like that).

Desmond is the Constant

Des's episode was kind of self explanatory. I LOVED it, but I'm not sure what else I can say about it.

Much like in “the Constant' he was aware of both timelines and was able to make some connections between the two. By the end he revealed he's going to visit the other passengers of 815 and show them the truth. So in a way he will be their “constant”. Now granted I don't think they need a constant as Des did when traveling through time, but HIS understanding is going to be the thread that ties them together. Is this what Charles Widmore had planned for Desmond to do? I don't know.

Faraday's Theory:

Basically he said he believe that the FS they're living in is manifestation of an incredible amount of energy that was released to avoid a catastrophic event. The energy that was released was SOOOOO great it created an “alternate” timeline. SO does that mean it's in another plane of existence or is it somehow still existent in the current “world” that the island exists?

Hurley is a big fat liar

He's kind of acting as the temporary leader.. even if he lies about seeing Jacob.

His FS, again, was kind of an exercise in his character finding out about the other timeline. A pattern we will see with the remaining characters. There were a lot of overlapping elements in the FS that were obvious clues to the other timeline.. I won't bother to mention them all.

Sayid is bad.

Umm. Yeeeeaaaaaaaaahh..... I don't think he's coming back from this one. I'm guessing he will die right before the final face off between the MIB and our good guys. Unless the reconciliation of the timelines somehow make him a nice guy. But he was still killing people in the FS sooo, I'm thinking no.

SSSHHHHHHH...use your indoor voice

Well, they pretty much told us exactly what the whispers were. They were from those that can't move on.. like Micheal. Now I know they said it isn't purgatory.. and technically it still wouldn't be..BUT for whatever reason this is has some purgatory elements to it for these whispering people. They can't move on...forever? Or until they resolve this issue with the MIB? Is it because they went against Jacob?

SO exactly are those who can't move on? Christian? Boone? Or were those just manifestations of the smoke monster? Tough to say. I'm expecting a little more clarification soon.

Little Boy Blue

Okay he's not exactly wearing blue, but he keeps popping up in the jungle to antagonize Locke. My guess is he, like Micheal, is left there and can't move on. SO who is it. Is it Jacob as a youth. Is it the MIB as a youth. I think either one of those are likely. Remember that the MIB talked about having a mother (and possibly even another body) and a life before he is what he is now. IS this the tangible evidence of his lost innocence. An innocence he doesn't want to be reminded of. This may perhaps be a bit too literal translation of the metaphor, but I feel we will see this answer when we see the episode of Jacob and the MIB in a couple weeks. It is curious that Des could see him (and Locke wasn't surprised by that).

Des is a bad driver (or a really good one).

Well, his insurance rates will definitely go up after hitting a guy in a wheelchair, but I'm sure he had his reasons. It was mentioned to me that it was possible he was trying to kill Locke since he is now bad back on the island. Although I could see the producers wanting to maybe make people think that, it personally didn't cross my mind and I don't think that was the intention. I think Des was doing exactly what he said he was going to do.. Show the other passengers something. I think he wanted to give Locke a near death experience in order for him to “flash back” to memories of the island. The shot of Locke on the ground was reminiscent of when he first crashed on the island. And much like Charlie tried to drown Des, Locke was going through a near-death experience. It's been obvious that there is a link being death and deeper knowledge of the island. So, this is a logical approach to reveal the truth to Locke. Also remember, that in the FS it is still the original Locke.. the man of faith. I don't think he has the connection to the MIB now. I think if anything, the reconciliation of the two timelines will force the MIB to be tormented by the faithful nature of the True Locke.... perhaps forcing him out of his body. OR a face-off of the original Good Locke with the now Evil Locke. That may be far fetched, but I really don't think Des wanted to kill Locke. If he did there are far more subtle ways of doing so. Besides it's not that hard to chase down a dude in a wheel chair.

Desmond go down the hooooole.

Well, he's in a well. I'm a little surprised Locke just left him there. And in the previews they suggest that Sayid is going to go try to shot him (like fish in a barrel), But I suspect Desmond will find his way out of it. Remember that the well is on top of a pocket of electromagnetic energy (although a different one from the donkey wheel). And electromagnetism is like Des's secret ingredient to super powers...so maybe it'll be all Matrixy and he'll just stop bullets. We'll see.

No Hurley bird?

I was hoping to see the Hurley bird in this last episode. Wtf?

For those that don't remember. This was a bird that was seen twice in the show. Each time it screeched Hurley's name. We've never really heard anything else about the bird, but Darlton refuses to elaborate on it.. hinting that it has some yet to be told significance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgjreYvrAWM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcHaa6PbKsw

Outrigger Crossover.

AT some point we're going to see someone in the little paddle canoe get shot. At this point, I am predicting Frank. In Season 5 finale they are flashing through time and at some point while in the Canoe, they flash to a time where unidentified people are in another outrigger. Are time traveling losties shoot at them. They hit one and he falls out of the water. Our Losties then flash to another time period. We've yet to learn who these mysterious people are.. but I'm guessing it's all people we know. So next time someone gets in one of those outriggers, look for someone to get shot out of it. Although, tin the flashing, we never learned if that shot person lived or died.

LOST: Ab Aeterno & Recon

Let's take a look at the past two weeks before we get hit with more info tonight.
(if you only have time to read one section I suggest you scroll down to “THE ISLAND IS (NOT) THE CORK”) But seriously this is a good post this time. worth the full read.

SAWYER IS A COP
Although I'm trying to adopt this new format to bullet point revelations... I really didn't see a whole lot in “Recon”. The biggest thing is that Sawyer is a cop in the FS. Once again showing an “alternate” decision than the one in the Original timeline. This will obviously play into how the two timelines reconcile, but as of right now it's very similar to the first few episodes of the season....they are set-ups for later payoffs. In the LOST podcast, however, they did confirm that we will see more of Cop sawyer and his story... presumably regarding the capture of Kate.

THEY GREW UP THE SAME
Despite the fact that the bomb detonated in the FS and changed the course of “history” for our LOSTies, major life events still happened. Sawyer's parents are both dead by the same means (conned by Locke's Dad.. Anthony Copper) and Charlotte is still an archeologist. Does that mean she is still looking for the island that she was born on? Or does she know that it is at the bottom of the ocean?
Can Miles still talk to dead people?

CLAIRE IS EF-ing CRAZY
Yep.

CROSS-OVERS
We are seeing more and more characters cross over into each-others FS story. Now we're even seeing minor characters and long-forgotten characters show up. Charlotte was obviously in the FS of Sawyer.. but so was Liam, Charlies brother. Remember in the FS Jack saved Charlie from choking on his stash of drugs and Charlie ended up being taken away in custody. Liam, I guess, is trying to locate him. Does that mean Charlie is missing/ has escaped?

THE SMOKE MONSTER HATES HIS MOMMY
My favorite scene of the whole episode is when Locke was talking to Kate.
Personally, I believe what he said to Kate about his past..about him having some crazy mother and that having great impact on how he got where he is. I'm guessing that we will probably get to see his flashback before the end of the series to shed some further light on the subject. I also like the parallel drawn about Aaron and Claire. There was an early theory that the whole show came down to the fact that the island wanted Aaron to be it's new leader and that he was very special and he was to be the key to all the mysteries. I think that was debunked by the writers...but even if they didn't deny it directly, he's really not a part of the show so I'd hate to see him somehow magically flown back to the island at the last minute to be the answer. None-the-less, the scene does paint a very cautious warning for the future of Aaron and Claire (See: CLAIRE IS EF-ing CRAZY)

SAWYER THINKS HE'S SOOOOOO SMART
Sawyer is pretty clever. By the end of this episode he's made a deal with Locke and Widmore. Told them both the truth and just waiting for them to be distracted enough to escape. BUT, he's made deals with them so if either of them “win” he figures he'll get his reward of getting off the island either way.
Really? Do you think it'll be that simple? You're just gonna run off in a submarine while everyone's back is turned...or these chronic liars will hold up their end of the deal? I don't think so. So, it'll be interesting to see how this plays out and who will catch Sawyer's hand in the proverbial cookie jar...and what will those consequences be. Is he going to drag Kate down with him and then ultimately choose to sacrifice himself for her freedom (again)? Probably.

ASSUMPTIONS MAKE A “U KNOW WHAT” OUTTA “U KNOW WHO”
Truthfully, this is probably nothing.. but when a character makes an assumption, it always throws up a red flag for me. Mainly because that is the same time the audience will make the same assumption.. and that's the time the writers throw in a curve ball to surprise us. What I'm speaking of is the deal that Sawyer made with Widmore. Sawyer basically marches down to the sub and says “I know you want to kill Locke”. Widmore never actually confirms that. He just agrees to get sawyer off the island if he brings Locke to the hydra station. Once there, Widmore's purpose for the smoke monster could be any number of things. To me that is a red flag for a plot twist.
That being said, I don't think that Widmore and Locke are on the same side. I think the theory of Ben and Widmore both being on Jacob's side has a lot more evidence and weight to it. But I guess that too doesn't mean that Widmore is on Jacob's side for the same reasons Ben is. Perhaps Widmore is conning Jacob and wants to try to Harness the smoke monster's power somehow. Maybe that's why Ben and Widmore fought so much. Because they had different views on what to do with the evil that was on the island. Kill it, or use it for their own means? There is definitely a complex relationship between these 4 people that has yet to be unfolded.

WHAT'S BEHIND DOOR #2?
There's a securely locked door on the sub holding something secret. Is this like the “magic box” that brought Anthony Copper to the island? If Widmore is not (108) Wallace, then is Wallace being held captive by Widmore? Maybe it's Desmond.. for some reason. Or MAYBE it's the Smoke monsters mom, brought back as a bargaining chip or hostage used for whatever plans Widmore has for Smokey.


SAYID IS A MURDEROUS VEGETABLE
If he's not killing people, he's just sitting there watching other people getting attacked (See: CLAIRE IS EF-ing CRAZY)

RICHARD IS OLD
I'm not really going to say too much about Richards flash back as it pertains to Richard. I think it was pretty self explanatory. It showed us where he came from and how he go to the island. The MIB tried to manipulate him into joining his cause (of killing Jacob) but ultimately joined with Jacob. It confirmed my theories then that Richard was indeed a slave on the black rock and was basically given a choice as to which side he would be on. There were obvious symbols used through out the episode as in Richards baptism and communion. So basically, we now know who Richard is. Great.

THE ARGUMENT
Since last season's finale we've known that this MIB and Jacob have been having an argument and that Jacob has been trying to prove him wrong. I theorized that it had something to do with that nature of man... in this episode we see that is more or less the case. The MIB “believes everyone can be corrupted because it is in their nature to be bad and that (Jacob) brings people here to prove the Man in Black wrong. Great! That kind of answers why the Losties are there. It doesn't answer WHY Jacob thinks they have the ability to prove the MIB wrong, but it shows us why they are there (or at least one reason why). So we know that, for a long time, Jacob's motivation is to prove the MIB wrong and that the MIB's motivation is to kill Jacob/ get off the island.

“IT ONLY ENDS ONCE”
Speaking of proving the MIB wrong. In the season 5 finale the MIB is frustrated by Jacobs continued bringing of people to the island. He says, “they come, they fight, they corrupt. It's always ends the same”. Jacob replies “it only ends once. Everything else before that is just progress”
OK. So I'm assuming the “it” is the fight that they're having. Well, now we know what the fight is. It is the belief that everyone can be corrupted. So, from the MIB perspective, it is easy to discern how it can end just once..if he manages to kill Jacob and gets off the island.. then he's free. It's over. The end. But what about from Jacob's perspective? Say he proves that a man, ONE man, is not corruptible. Then what? How does that end the argument? Is it over when the MIB agrees with Jacob and they become best friends as the MIB turns over a new leaf and all is good in the world? I don't think the MIB would be so easily convinced. Have we not seen some good people stand true and not be corrupted? Hell, Richard chose to be with Jacob rather than kill him. Or is that negated because Jacob interacted with him rather than Richard having to merely believe in him blindly. Perhaps. So then we're waiting for somehow to have blind, incorruptible faith. John Locke fit that bill. Too bad he got conned by the MIB into dying. So perhaps the MIB saw that Locke proved Jacob right and rather than accepting it, used it to gain access to Jacob and kill him. So apparently ONE uncorrupted man wasn't enough. Does that mean the MIB would never be convinced. That would mean the protection of the island over the MIB would have to go on forever. Unless the MIB can be “killed” and that's how Jacob intended to end it.


THE ISLAND IS (NOT) THE CORK
I love the metaphor of the bottle. In it the MIB, the evil, is the wine...held captive in the bottle by the cork(the island). Although I'm SURE the writers were very deliberate in this metaphor and the words they chose to describe it's relationship to the people involved, I think I would phrase it different.
Let's say the wine is still the MIB, but instead Jacob is the cork and BOTTLE, itself, is the island. To me it is much more a one-to-one comparison. The wine is IN the bottle, trapped by the cork. The MIB is ON the island trapped there by Jacob. Aside from that, it also makes for a revealing tell at the end of the episode.
At the end we see Jacob pass the corked bottle of wine to the MIB as he says “here. Something for you to pass the time.” I don't think Jacob was thinking the MIB should get drunk and pass out. Jacob meant it more as a logic puzzle. Have you ever had one of those wooden or metal twisting puzzles where you have to get the ring out of the knot of stings or get the ball into the top of the glass..or something of the sort. Well that's what this is.. how do you get the wine out, around the cork? You don't. You do what the MIB did and break the bottle. He didn't break the bottle because he was upset because he wanted white wine. He was being poetic, or symbolic.. he's going to “break” the friggin' island. Hence, why I think my metaphor is a little bit better. Notice he didn't break the bottle at the top where the cork (Jacob) is...he broke it at the bottom. In essence if he can't get around Jacob (even if he is dead) he's going to escape via the “back door”. That back door will open once he has destroyed the island..what do you think he's creating a war for? He has to destroy the island!. or at least anything that would retain it's captive powers.

Quick PODCASTS REVEALS
Here's some things they've mentioned in the podcasts, but I really don't want to speculate on
-The volcano is still relevant and it's involvement is still “size-mic”. (perhaps a hint at an eruption)
-Jacob may or may not have the ability to change appearance like Smokey.
-Libby will be in the mix again at some point
-Desmond episode is coming (next week)
-MIB is still potentially the good guy (although I seriously doubt it)
-Smokey's ability to shape shift (on and off the island) vs. Hurley's ability to see dead people. When was which one which will be addressed. (Namely... Hurley's invisible friend, Dave)
-How the package was dropped on the island will be addressed in some fashion (although I thought it was already answered)
-Annie was just Annie
-MIB plays on the idea that if you THINK the island isn't real, then you can be manipulated to do evil. (hence telling everyone they're already dead and in hell)


BEFORE THEY WERE JACOB AND THE MIB
I'm not going to spend time elaborating on this because I don't know if it hold any water.. but I'm going to just throw out the idea that Jacob and the MIB were not the FIRST Jacob and MIB. Or at the very least they weren't always in that form or in those bodies. The MIB mentioned to Kate that Jacob took his body and he also had a life before he was on the island.. a mother. So was this whole “body taking” metaphoric or is he being literal. Did Jacob take the MIB's ACTUAL body and thus MIB is reduced to being smoke and taking the form of other people... is this why the killing of Jacob locked the MIB into LOCKE's form. Was Jacob formally a MIB himself? Did they both arrive on the island to take the place of other people in the same roles? Some, or all, of this might be possible.


BLACK AND WHITE ROCKS
We're starting to see the black and white rocks pop up. Mainly between Jacob and the MIB as part of their “inside joke” These are similar to the rocks found with Adam and Eve (yes.. my favorite mystery). Is it possible that Adam and Eve were the former Jacob and MIB. If my above theory is at all true it might be feasible. Perhaps the former good and evil persons had this thing with rocks representing equating to the balance of power. And when Jacob and the MIB arrived on the island to take their places they learned of this. Then, for whatever reason, their predecessors died, leaving Jacob and MIB to take on their new roles. Adam and Eve were buried in the caves with their rocks. Later on as a “joke” Jacob taunted the MIB with the white rock to show that he was in power (as seen in the last episode). And the MIB hates jokes.

THIS IS A SHOW ABOUT CHARACTERS
So you may be disappointed by “The End”.
I think a lot of the fans are wrapped up in the mysteries and the “answers”. I'm confident that the show is going to wrap up nicely. However even Darlton says that there will be smaller (inconsequential) mysteries left partially open. The key word of all that is “inconsequential”....meaning it doesn't really matter. They're telling this story about characters...and although I fear many will feel cheapened out of the results of the show.. when rewatching the series, I hope we can all see the build up of the characters is what made the pay off so great. I can already hear people yammering about “what was the meaning of Geronimo Jackson? Was that really Emilia Earhart? What was the significance of BLANK?”
And it doesn't matter. We now (mostly) know why they're here (See: THE ARGUMENT). What's great is, really, that this is the same question we, as the audience, have been asking ourselves for 6 seasons. Not so much “is everyone corruptible”, but more specifically.. IS Sawyer a good guy, despite being a con man? Is Jack non-redeemable despite being a life saving doctor? Has Kate really done wrong in only trying to protect who she loves? We've already seen some amazing flip-flopping among characters. Jack is now a Man of faith despite being a complete skeptic.. but will his faith hold? Innocent little Claire has been driven to obsession (See: CLAIRE IS EF-ing CRAZY), the original John Locke... who was 100% faith and had belief in his destiny, got duped by the MIB (“the devil”) into killing himself for the benefit of “evil”. So in this world, even that strong, blind faith led him astray. So who is redeemed for their sins. Who chooses to go to which side? I know I am rooting for certain characters to be good and potentially to even be “heroes” (but not like the show HEROES, cuz that show sucks). I don't believe Jacob is a god. So HE is waiting for these answers and rooting for people just as much as we are. Remember that Miles said Jacob's last thought about Ben was “ I hope I was wrong about you”. THAT'S THE SAME THOUGHT I'M HAVING AS AN AUDIENCE MEMBER. We want to love certain characters.. we even want to hate certain characters, but because of there complicated lives and backstories.. we don't know what to think. Everyone is a little bit good and little bit bad (hey, just like real life) and that's why we connect to these characters and that's why we want certain ones to succeed..because we see ourselves in them. Not that the following would REALLY happen but imagine that you're an average Joe (in real life) and your faced with an issue. Normally you may be selfish and underhanded with the decision (much like sawyer the con man), but you think back and say “hey, if after all sawyer did, he is still redeemable as a person, then maybe I am too.” And maybe your good side starts to shine a little more in hopes of forgiveness like we (as an audience) have seen Sawyer for the sacrifices he's made for others. That may be a cheesy, ideal example.. but I don't think it's impossible.
In today's society (filled with corruption, lies, betrayal, and uncertainty by many of our political and social leaders) we lack heroes or roles models. If you look at the film business, no longer are people flocking to see movies starring WHATS-HIS-NAME, they're flocking to see stories about CHARACTERS!. Batman, Robin Hood, Iron Man, even Twilight. They're all about complex characters with both a light side and a dark side. We've realized that the actors playing them are no better than us (the average Joe) as people, so we instead idolize the characters themselves. And as always (as I believe) movies help dictate the zeitgeist of generations and if we're watching these complex CHARACTERS make difficult decisions (hopefully the right decisions as well), then we as people who relate to them, are empowered to make those same decisions... and we do so because the characters have gone through as much “crap” as we have in life and we LIKE them in ways we want others to like us..
So Ultimately, in LOST...in the battle of good and evil, it's not about what the island IS, it's about the characters and the decisions they make that lead to their redemption (forgiveness) or lack thereof. Their path to redemption is our path to redemption. Their success is our success. I may be blowing this up a bit, but you'd be surprised how much simple TV characters can influence a person's behavior. If you don't believe me look back at fashion, hair styles, and common vernacular over the past 20 years and see how much of it was directly influenced over a popular character.
So all I'm saying is.. enjoy the rest of the series for the changes the characters are going through, not just for the mysteries that are revealed. (This is why the Ben episodes are usually the best.. they have been very character heavy....and well performed).


TONIGHT
It's a Sun/Jin episode tonight. So look for Sun having to make her decision about being corrupted. Will she give in to the temptation to join Jin and take sides with Locke, or will she be strong in her faith of Jacob and work to get Jin back to her side?

Dr. Linus (and other stuff)

>Ok. So it's been several episodes since my last post. But have no fear, I'm back with some thoughts.

The previous episodes (The Substitute, Lighthouse, Sundown) were good but I thought that they all shared a similar dilemma. They were all setups to bigger solutions.

Now I know that you're going to say that has been the case for every episode in the past 5 seasons. You'd mostly be right. BUT, when then comparing those episode to the most recent Dr. Linus, I think you can see the narrative difference.

Before I elaborate on that , let's catch up on the previous 3 episodes and talk briefly about what we learned. The FS of these 3 episodes (like all episodes this season) showed us an “alternate” (although I've previously talked about how Darlton says it's not really an alternate timeline, but let's use that word anyway) life of our Losties sans island. I think the main thing we see out of these is that our Losties continue to cross paths despite no longer having the connection of the Island to tie them together. What does this mean? That's the BIG question. So these interactions merely alert us to the fact that there IS a bigger question yet to be answered. I'm glad that there are these interactions. Imagine if we didn't see that. Then we would just watch these characters go about their normal life believing that strange things were no longer happening to them. But coincidences are still happening. So there is still meaning to them.

Darlton said that they wanted this season to mimic and feel like the first season a lot. I think this is a complete success. Now were are looking at new stories that we have no idea how they fill into a bigger picture.

In the first season it was the same thing. Not only were the FB giving us insight into the characters, they began to fill up with overlapped stories of other people and other coincidences of the island. Of course, back in Season 1, it would have been impossible to predict all the stuff that happened or what the meaning of all this is, but we knew it mattered. Again, the same goes for the FS this season.

Aside from knowing that these FS have significance, there are only a few things stick out to me as interesting factors.

1. Jack has a son. Again, how big of a deal is this? I really don't know. It's simply showing a different side of Jack. However, the producers have said that the mother of the child is someone we already know and is NOT his ex-wife from the original timeline. My bet is on Juliet.

2. Locke is still talking to his father and is still paralyzed. Considering that his father cause his condition originally, you'd thing that something else would have happened to put Locke in a wheelchair. So what was it?

3. Sayid still kills people.

There are other things that are note worthy. Helen is still with Locke (remember that she dies of cancer in 2006 in the original timeline. It is currently 2004 in the FS). Nadia marries Sayids brother despite her feelings for Sayid. Jack has apparently recovered from alcoholism (or at least the threat of it).

These are all details that we will only learn the significance of once we learn how the two timelines reconcile..much like in season 1.

OK...let's get to the island. The stuff on island was the most interesting to me. In the substitute Locke begins recruiting. He starts with Sawyer as predicted. Other things happen like seeing a boy in the woods. Young Jacob? Of course the biggest part of this is the reveal of the numbers in the Cave at the end.

HEY! We learn that the numbers correspond to Losties. 4-Lock 8-Hurley 15- Sawyer 16 –Sayid 23- Jack 42 – Jin and/or Sun 51- Kate. Of course 51 is not apart of the original sequence and with Locke being crossed out now, does that change the importance of different numbers in terms of the Island as well as Dharma's Valenzetti equation?

The MIB is defiantly manipulating sawyer to get to his side and it works. He claims he doesn't believe the island needs to be protected form anything (but then later tells Ben hat he needs someone to replace Jacob to protect the island)

....................................................

(So as I was writing this I realized it's going to take forever to type out the reasoning and connective tissue between all these things. So I'm calling an audible and adopting a new format. I'm going to speak of significant points and revelations that I have during these episodes, rather than try to point out all the parallels of storytelling that the writers make. Because, really, if you investigate and can remember older episodes....they are everywhere!! Which is why I love this show so much. But I don't have time to write all that and you don't have time to read it.)

Piecing things together from SUNDOWN.

Dogen says that every man has a scale (Sayid's tipped the wrong way). I believe that the MIB and Jacob are opposite sides of the same scale that represents the scale of man as a whole. If not MAN (as in the whole world) then maybe the scale of the island...and depending on which way the island is tipped, it gives way to either peace or destruction throughout the rest of the world.

Ben is good.

'Dr. Linus' was his redemption story. I believe he was always working for Jacob (or thought he was working for Jacob) even when he was doing bad things. It was all in the name of the Island. But in the FS we see, although he is manipulative, that he is still good and can choose to put others ahead of him. Also we see that he chooses to go back with Ilana after he is invited rather than still fleeing to Locke because it was his only choice.(basically choosing good over evil)

Widmore is also good. Maybe.

Darlton said in their last podcast that it wouldn't be impossible to think that Widmore and Ben were on the same side. I have suggested this in the past, but with little evidence, However, after seeing Ben's redemption (and I believe true colors) I think it more likely then ever. Widmore could still be bad, but, like Ben, I think he was trying to do everything in the name of the island. It's like to kids fighting over their parent's affection. They both just wanted to be loved by Jacob more. And they both wanted to be in charge. They just fought over it all the time. But if they were both giving a gift by Jacob (like Richard Alpert and our Losties) then it would explain why they can't kill each other. They may still have it out for eachother, but ultimately I think they are fighting on the same side.

Jack is now a man of faith.

It's a great turn of events. Locke (as the MIB) doesn't believe the island needs to be protected because it's all malarkey. Jack, who went from thinking this was all crap, now sees that he was called to the island for a purpose. A purpose he's always wanted to have. And out of his faith of that belief, he risked blowing himself up. He seems hell bent on achieving his purpose now... a motivation the island has been trying to get him to realize since day one.

Richard Alpert was originally a slave on the Black Rock.

Who was he a slave to? I'm not sure. Maybe an ancestor of Widmore. I'll be curious to see his story unfold when he gets an episode next week. It seems like he has met with Jacob and the MIB upon his arrival. Almost as if he was given a choice between the two.

Is Sawyer really bad or is he conning the MIB?

His episode is this week, so we'll see. I predicted that he would end up on the MIB's side but not sure for what reason. There's going to be great implications of the relationships on the past.

Locke as a non-believer will be fighting Jack as a man of faith, now. Kate is trapped on Lockes side right now, a place she doesn't want to be. Jack had a child with Juliet, (the woman sawyer truly loved) in the FS, which will somehow reconcile with the Island timeline. Kate is torn between Jack who she loved off the island and Sawyer who she still has deep, unfulfilled feelings for.I don't know. If Sawyer's calmer side doesn't prevail, I could see him having it out for Jack.

Between the two timelines Jack will have been with the two women Sawyer loved. Kate and Juliet. Once those timelines “merge” (or whatever they're going to do) he is going to be jealous and pissed off.

Hurley is the interim leader.

He's the only one that is talking to Jacob. I believe he has always been there because he is faithful and good. But really he lacks some of those core skills to oversee the island. Also he's sequentially next in line after Locke...according to the numbers.

Wallace is 108.

According to the dial in the Lighthouse we see a glimpse of the name Wallace (crossed out) on the dial. This is the person that Jacob said was coming to the island. It would appear that Jacob wants him to come there (seeing as how he wanted to use the lighthouse to draw him in). Is this Wallace person actuality Widmore? I think that's likely. Perhaps Wallace was a old family name that he changed or Widmore is a fake name he gave everyone else (like Sawyer). This further supports the theory that Widmore is on Jacob's side. It would make sense that the name is crossed out, too, because Widmore was the leader and then was banished. Much like on the dial and on the cave walls, we see familiar names crossed out of people that are no longer on the island.

Volcano still important

Darlton confirmed that the volcano that was mentioned briefly in the past (as well as the volcanic-like ash that is around) will have more importance, or at least be brought up again in this final season.

That's all that I can think of for now. I'm sure I forgot something.

But look for more next week.. likely in this new simplified format.

I hope you like Dr. Linus as much as I did. If not I wish I had time to tell you why it was a very successful episode. Looking forward to more Sawyer this week.

LOST: What Kate Does

Welcome friends,

Probably a short post today. I've been putting this off in hopes that ABC would put up a podcast this week. It looks like that will not happen so I'm moving on with my own thoughts.

The episode is called “What Kate Does” which is a play of off an episode in Season 2 called “What Kate Did”. In the FS we see what happens as Kate escapes form the airport with Claire being forced along with her. To me there are really only a few things that are of blinding curiosity to me.

In general there are more occurrences of things in this timeline that appeared in the original timeline. For example, the toy whale that Kate finds in Claire's bag is the same toy that Aaron held in the Flash Forwards. Ethan is there just as he was on the island, although this time he is not trying to steal the baby (yet). Kate helps get Claire to the hospital where she will be able to give birth to Aaron. In the original timeline Kate was the one that helped Aaron be born in the jungle. It's curious that Claire was given the choice to have the baby now or wait awhile. She chose to wait. This was an option she didn't have back on the island. I wonder if we will see any significant effects of that different decision.

There are of course slight differences that are appearing in the FS. AS I mentioned Ethan is there but obviously not all crazy for abducting Claire. However, instead of being Ethan Rom, his name is Ethan Goodspeed. We already know that Ethan was the child of Horace Goodspeed and his wife Amy.

Presumably that is still true and hence why they have the same last name. But that begs the question why his name was Ethan Rom back on the island.

In my last post I theorized that perhaps Flight 815 of the FS timeline and the current events on the island are on the same timeline. Although I can't recall hearing the exact year the current on-island events are happening, I think it's okay to assume it's 2007 (or 2008) not 2004. So Iwas thinking that Flight 815 in the FS was actually happening in 2007. But in this episode on Claire's sonogram we are able to see the date 10-22-04. This raises questions in two ways. First off, the original flight 815 was on 9-22-04. So at least my theory of the flight not happening on the same, original day may be correct.....or perhaps not. You see, Gregg Nations, who is a co-producer and script coordinator for LOST, answered a fan question posted on famous LOST website, The Fuselage. Regarding this inconsistency.

(click for larger version)

The fan asked “The date on the top right corner is 10-22-04. Prop error or hidden clue?”

Gregg responded “Ah, it's a little combination of both. Two numbers are correct, and one number is a mistake. Can you guess which is which?”

He went on to say that it is NOT “10 as the clue and 04 as the mistake”.

So where does that leave us. I really don't know. But I I'm finding comfort that my theory may not have been completely wrong. I figured Darlton wanted us to assume that everything in the FS was happening at the same time...and whenever you assume something with LOST is when they usually throw you a curve ball.

Back on the island we're pretty much left to deal with the question “What the EF is going on with Sayid?” We see Jack make a huge scene about giving him the pill..blah blah blah. Jack being Jack. What was really interesting to me is not so much that the pill was poison...I mean really, I don't think anyone expected it to be homemade NyQuil for Sayid. It was either some SUPER magical potion (which would have been cool) or it was Poison. Well, it was poison. I'm not surprised or offended by the Other's (specifically Dogen's) attempt to poison Sayid. I mean they say he's infected and presumably evil and dangerous now. At first I wondered if the poison would have outright killed Sayid or if would just vanquish what ever it is that is claiming him. Taking poison and only have it kill part of you is something out of the end of Fight Club, and kind of a cheap way to keep a character on a show (*coughHEROEScough*). So I think assuming Sayid would die is okay.. although I'm only about 90% sure of that.

Of Course Jack did not give Sayid the pill so maybe we'll never know...and that's okay.

I like this because I think we're going to see what happens throughout the process of being infected. This is what happened to Rousseau's team and what has happened to Claire (according to Dogen). I think Sayid will eventually escape and join forces with Locke.

This is a great way to shed light on the events of the past in a non-flashback. The process of becoming infected, I think, is in-effect the idea of turning to the dark-side. It may not be voluntary but it still happens. I love if this starts to happen because we will now see our characters take sides for the “battle of good and evil” Those infected will be on the dark side, and those not will be on the good side (allegedly Jacob's side at this point).

If we take a look at the sides now, we have as the possiblyInfected: Locke, Claire, Sayid, and Christian (although he may somehow have represented both sides at one point) as well as Ben and Sun who may now be enslaved to the Fake Locke. Sawyer will be tempted by Locke to join him in this next episode (but will Sawyer do it?????) and if Jin is captured by Claire he may have no choice but to join them. On the good side we have faithful Hurley, Jack, and Miles as well as Ilana and Richard (if they, too, can avoid being enslaved by Locke).

So It'll be a good fight. Pitting friends vs friends. Remember that Kate only came back for Claire..what will happen when she's forced to fight her in some way..Or Jin has to oppose Sun..or any other relationship that can be strained. Should be good.

The last question then is, more specifically, WHAT is infecting Sayid? Is it the smoke monster? Would that even be possible since he (as Locke) was no where near the temple. I don't think it's the Smoke monster that “claimed” him, but perhaps it's more of the essence of the moster. The non-tangible evil that the monster is apparently a part of and has the ability to claim people.. in more of a spiritual sense. I'm not entirely sure and I don't think we'll get the answer to that all at once. I think that'll be something we see develop as we see how the infection takes over Sayid.

Anyway, that's about all I got this week. I think tonight's episode will be rally good and am hoping for another podcast to shed some light on these discussions. Stayed tuned for another post coming later this week.

Thanks for reading.

LOST: LA X

Welcome Friends,

The wait is finally over. The final season of LOST has started and there is a lot to speculate on. I'm probably not going to talk too much about the episode itself but I'm going to focus on some things that have been discussed outside the episode (podcasts, interviews etc...) and what that may mean for the outcome of this amazing series.
Let's dive in..

Damon and Carlton (Collectively known as “Darlton”) mentioned in an interview before the premiere that they were doing away with the flashbacks and flash forwards and were introducing a whole new narrative style. I don't remember if I talked about this in my other posts but I, and many others, speculated the idea of a flash sideways. This has proven to be the case. So the narrative switches between being on the island, (1)where the bomb did not work and (2) where the Losties are back on flight 815 where the bomb worked so plane did not crash. It is important to note that in the LOST podcast Darlton explicitly says that they are NOT “alternate” timelines. Meaning, this is not Sliding Doors, where we are looking at two possible outcomes based on a single event. Rather. BOTH of these “timelines” are equally real and will reconcile at some point. I'm now even daring to say that they may in fact be the same timeline. How that is, I'm not sure yet, but I will speculate in a moment.
Darlton goes on to say that it's the relationship between these two timelines that is perhaps the larger secret of the island.

In the FlashSideways (FS) we learn that the island has sunk. This is most likely because of the bomb going off and, well.... causing it to sink. Damon mentions that this is something we may see addressed in an episode soon, although its true reason for sinking may have more to it.
While on the plane in the FS we see that there are things that are different than what we know of the original flight. For instance, Jack is a little nervous about the turbulence while Rose is calming him (instead of he other way around), Hurley considers himself lucky, Jack gets one extra bottle of booze rather than two as well as spilling some as he pours it (which Darlton claims was intentional on their part and has significance)..but the most obvious difference is that Desmond is on the plane.
Darlton says that in this timeline just about anything goes. Just as Faraday predicted, since the bomb didn't go off, their plane wouldn't crash...but he failed to think about smaller changes that would occur. Remember, that the bomb went off in 1977 so that undoubtedly had a ripple effect that altered many other things other than just the fate of flight 815. IE..What happened to Charles Widmore? Would Desmond have met Jack at the stadium while he was training for a race if there never was a race? If not then why does Jack think he knows Desmond. By the island not existing after 1977 the path that the LOSTies took to get there never happened.....they never even started to happen. So this has set everyone on, at least, a slightly different course of action leading them to this FS timeline. However, you have to believe that fate is bringing them back together again anyway. As I mentioned above I'm pondering the thought that what if theses are the same timeline. We are meant to assume that the FS is happening in 2004 the same time the original Flight 815 took off. But what if it's not? What if for whatever reasons that it is now 2007, when the events of the Island are now taking place. So these timelines are one in the same. Are there then two “versions” of the survivors in the same plane of existence? That is to assume that the island is even considered to be a part of actual existence.

Darlton mentions several times that this is ultimately about good and evil. Hence the Black and White color motif that they use a lot. This can be traced back to my favorite unanswered question: Adam and Eve. These were the two skeletons that they discovered when trying to move into the caves. They were found with a black and white rock. I'm still thinking that this may be some kind of identification marker for our survivors. It could identify either which side of the war they're on (good or evil) or it could signify which timeline they are coming from. The one from the island or the one from the FS. This leads to the idea that perhaps the Kate form the island is Eve and the nervous Jack form the FS is Adam (or some combination of the like). This means that the two “versions” of our characters may be intermingling at some point. Which is why I think all these events are happening at the same time. Again, they say that the answer to this is significant to the answer about the whole island.

Although we knew that “The Enemy” (or “Jacob's Nemesis”, as Darlton calls him) has taken on the image of John Locke, they confirmed that he is indeed the Smoke Monster. I think that is huge because now we can go back to earlier seasons and see what the monster was doing and know who that really is. An interesting point about Jacobs' Nemesis is that Darlton never really says that he's on the evil side. There is no doubt a lot of ambiguity as to what the motives of people like Ben and Widmore are and whose side they are on. There has been some flipping back and forth. Darlton even mentions that we really don't know that, between Jacob and his Nemesis, which one is the good one. They are so obviously painting the Nemesis in the light of evil that it would almost seem certain that they will try to pull a 180 on us. After all, we don't even know what they're fighting over. So perhaps all this heinous stuff the Monster is doing is really for the greater good. Although if he does come out as the bad guy, even then the persona of John lock went form the man that was going to save the island to the one that is seizing control of and perhaps destroying it. Either way we are definitely seeing some role reversals.

Although Sayid spends most of the episode speechless and dying, in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy points out that Sayid seemed weird. I don't if he meant in the FS or in the brief moment he woke up at the end. Either way Darlton did confirm that something unusual is going on with Sayid. That SOMETHING has taken control of him (implying it was not the smoke monster). I wonder, does Jacob have similar powers as the monster. Can HE take the form of dead people for his own benefit? They mention they we will see some more of this Sayid mystery play out in the next episode.
They never mention much about Hurley's new role. Is he the new leader? I mean...Jacob is appearing and talking to him. That's got to mean something.

Anyway there are lots more questions I'm sure. So please post comments of questions if there is something you want me to address or research for you. Frankly the show is so large now I'll never get to it all on just my own so I'll gladly accept topics to focus on if you like.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more.

Link to Podcast:
LA X Podcast

LOST: The crash of Flight 815

Saw this on YouTube the other day. It's the Crash of Flight 815 in real time set against the other things happening at the same time. It's edited a la "24" style. It's really neat to see all this at the same time. well done.

On another note. For those that don't know me, when it comes to LOST (and most shows) I am a purist. I don't read spoilers or have any desire to talk about things that have been leaked. So you won't see any of that on this blog. HOWEVER, I do listen to official podcasts from ABC (with Damon and Carlton) as well as other sanctioned press releases and interviews. In those, new insight is often given, but I find that Damon and Carlton are precise and deliberate with their words; offering clues rather than spoilers. So keep that in mind when following this blog and posting comments and look for my new posts commenting on the new episodes this week.
Happy watching.

LOST in tranlsation (2)

[I wrote this a few weeks back but never posted. I hope to try to get one more post vefore the season starts next week. Then we'll have all NEW stuff to talk about.]


welcome back friends.
My mind has been twisting and turning trying to grab a hold of the ideas floating around in my head. The more i try to piece together what is happening the more I realize I have forgotten a lot of details from the show. None-the-less I finished rewatching the Incident and will try to recap some of the interesting elements.

In my last post I focused on The Enemy. I will do so again, here. There really aren't many scenes in the Incident with John Locke. The final one, I think, being the most revealing. In that final scene we learn that the John Locke we've been watching since his return to the island is actually The Enemy "in disguise"! wwWWWHHHHAAAAAAaaaa!!!!? I know, right? I haven't gone back to watch the whole rest of the season to really find out the earlier implications of that, but looking at THIS episode with that info in mind is interesting. Locke(as I still refer to him even though it's now NOT him) spends time talking to Ben. He works his way into Ben's mind and convinces him to kill Jacob. We know this is because, as The Enemy, he can't do it himself. In the final scene Jacob knows he is talking to The Enemy and admits that he must have found his "loophole". Indeed he did. The Enemy says that he's been through a lot to get to this point. This has great impact on previous things we thought we knew. I will discuss that in a minute. First, Here are some other things we learn in this episode:
-Ben has never seen Jacob before. Ben was only pretending to talk to him in the Cabin.
-Richard would bring lists and instructions to Ben, from Jacob.
-There can only be one leader on the Island at a time.
-Richard has never met Ilana before.
-Jacob went to visit Ilana off the island, asking for her help. (as if she already knew him)
-Ilana goes to the cabin to find Jacob. There, she claims he hasn't used it for a long time and someone else has been there in his place.

so what does all that mean. Although we are definitely missing some details it basically means that The Enemy has been running a very elaborate and deceptive scheme (or con) on the Losties. He's been manipulating them into position in order to seize physical control of the Leader (Locke) without raising suspicion from those around him. It was the true Locke that left the Island and the True Locke that thought he had to die in order to get everyone back to the island. But remember that it was Impostor Locke who told True Locke he had to die (through communication with Richard Alpert) as he was jumping thru time. Phew! this is confusing. So questions this raises...
-Does Richard even know of The Enemies existence? or power?
After all, Richard questions the ability for someone to come back from the dead, but had he
known fully of the enemy you think he would have called "shenanigans".
-Is Ilana (and Bram) a former Islander who was brought there by Jacob and that was sent back to the "real world" by Jacob, unknown to Richard. Are they returning to fight for their master Jacob?

So here's a possible breakdown of the history of the island.

-Jacob and The Enemy are on the island. (as well as a possible indigenous people that worship them as gods)
-They are caught in some unknown dilemma where they can't kill each other and are fighting over control of the island (let's say)
- Starting a long long long time ago, Jacob constantly brings people to the island (The Black Rock) in hopes of proving The Enemy wrong.
-It never goes right. the people are incapable of doing whatever it is Jacob is trying to prove and they fight and die (or the enemy kills them)
-This happens over and over again throughout time.
-In the mean time The Enemy is trying to find a loophole to this problem as well as working on his recruiting ability.
-The Enemy creates (or recruits) the Smoke monster and uses it as his minion. Capturing souls and taking their form.
-Jacob lives in the cabin.
-One day Jacob manages to trap The Enemy in his own cabin.
-Jacob secures The Enemy in there with a ring of volcanic ash. ( I believe The Enemy is somehow linked to the briefly mentioned volcanic eruption that happened on the Island a long time ago. Perhaps that was his release from a previous capture)
-Jacob moves out of the cabin and takes residence at the bottom of the four-toed statue.
-Richard Alpert shows up and is put in charge of Jacobs people and they act as the forces of good. Richard is a liaison between Jacob and each new leader. As a "tribe" they are working towards Jacobs goal.-Former leaders Charles Widmore and Eliose Hawking are both, in turn, forced to give up their command as Leader.
-There is no immediate leader to replace them.
-The DHARMA people manage to find the island on their own accord.
-Jacob is not happy with this, but they manage to negotiate a truce.
-Ben is appointed acting leader after the hostile attack on the DHARMA camp.
-Ben only pretends to be able to know what Jacob wants. He is likely being manipulated by The Enemy.
-Jacob begins to recruit the Losties to the Island.
-due to the time travel The Enemy knows what the future holds and sees his opportunity to manipulate the Losties as they first come onto the island the first time.
-The Enemy weaves an elaborate scheme to convince those Jacob wanted on the Island, to leave the island...and then to return with John Locke's then dead body.
-This allows the enemy to take over Locke's identity without the suspicion of others.
-This allows the Enemy direct access to Jacob so he can finally kill him.

this isn't a completely accurate timeline. there are still many questions. Like if Jacob lives under the statue then why does Ben ever go to the cabin? Did he just find it and coincidentally and thought it would be a good place to stage his lies. Did the Enemy lead him there so he could manipulate him to bring potential Leaders there.?
I think there may be something like that happening. But time will tell.


I'm not going to say much else here, except that at the end of the episode when Jacob is stabbed he says. "they're coming". The Enemy gets kind of a worried look on his face and kicks Jacob into the fire. Whoever THEY are, I don't think it's something The Enemy necessarily wanted to happen.
THEY may mean the outside world at large, or perhaps someone else seeking control of the island. In either case I think the Enemy probably just wanted control of the Island himself and thought killing Jacob would do the trick and that would be the end of it. So now we could possibly see a three way way between Richard Alpert and his crew fighting The Enemy as well as the new threat that is "coming". Intense.

Next time I want to try to take a brief look at the flashbacks where Jacob visited our Losties and see if there is a stronger connection to those people's destiny other than just ending up on the Island

LOST in translation.

Welcome, my friends.

If you are like me then the forthcoming sixth and final season of LOST has you as giddy as a school girl on Christmas who just got a pony that lays golden eggs. For those of you that don't know, I use to do a lot of dissection of episodes after they aired. This was mostly shared with my friends and coworkers in a very closed circuit conversation. Last season I had uprooted my life right at the start of Season 5 and I never got fully adjusted back into my episodic commentary (despite the efforts of friends pushing me to do so). So last season played out sans evaluation by yours truly, but I hope to change that this year. Since this will be our last chance to experience new LOST episodes I think it would be fun to speculate and dissect the events of the show much like the seasons before.

One other reason (or excuse) I give for not keeping up on season 5 is that, to me, it was pretty self explanatory. That is until the very end. Not to say the season wasn't filled to the brim with unanswered questions, but if you kept up with the writers interviews you kind of always knew where it was generally heading. You knew they would get back to the island. And once there (in 1977) you knew they would all have to meet up again in the same time (which is where I believe they land at the start, or near start, of season 6)

***SIDE-NOTE*** The opening episodes of season 6 have been revealed to be entitled LA X (parts 1 and 2) this is obviously a play on words open to interpretation. Is it simply referring to LAX; the airport in which flight 815 departed from and where the Losties would find themselves if Faraday's theory about the bomb detonation is to believed. OR is LA X referring to some, or all, of the Losties being back in LA at a undisclosed point in time or parallel time and universe( where X is representative of a variable as in math) Note the deliberate spacing between the A and the X. My guess is that is what we are meant to believe going into the episode. But I believe (as I said above) that even if that happens, the Losties will quickly find themselves back on the island in “present” time with those that didn't travel back to 1977 and this will all build up to the battle with the bad guy...(who ever that may really be). I'm pretty confident in my feelings, mainly because the writers are not stupid..nor are they cheap. At Comic-Con in San Diego last year, LOST had it's usual well attended panel discussion where fans we able to ask questions. In an amusing planned event Jorge Garcia (Hurley) appeared in the audience and basically said to the writers that if Faraday's theory was right and the bomb goes off and prevents the crash of flight 815 then the past will have changed and the Losties will never find the island and basically the past 5 season would have never have happened and all past events would be negated. He went on to say that that would be “bullshit”. This is obviously voicing many of the fans thoughts and concerns found on the forums (which the writers are clever to include in many episodes as well). They were smart to set themselves up for the opportunity to address the fan base at large about this during the long lull between seasons. They pretty much said, “Yes. that would kinda be bullshit. So just trust us.” That obviously doesn't give anything away other then the fact that they're not idiots and they know where they're going with it. Which is why I could see them toying with the alternate time possibility just to tease us with the notion. But I think this will play out as a device to progress the story back to where it was always going to end up... on the island in a war. *****

Since going through all of Season 5 would take a LOOOONG time, I'm just going to try to get back in the groove by recapping the last episodes (The Incident Parts 1 & 2). I'll do this over the course of the remaining 29 days until LOST comes back. So I don't know how many entries it will take or how often I'll be doing it, but I'm going to try to get through all my thoughts before February 2^nd.

Since I'm only talking about the last episode, let's concede that all previous episodes we're mainly about getting our characters into the positions they find themselves at the start of “The Incident”. Sure, new information was revealed and some holes were filled in but all of it was to support old facts or to set up much bigger ideas that came out in the season finale. The biggest underline questions, for me, was “what the motives of characters in Season 5?” Mainly speaking of people like Eloise, Widmore, Ben, and Richard Alpert. Those truths will not be revealed until we get into Season 6, so I don't want to pretend we can know anything for sure just yet. I will however focus on new information and new characters and the events that will finally connect our Losties to their destiny.

Since I've already been long-winded enough, I just want to look at the first scene of “The Incident”. The one where Jacob is on the beach with...ooohhhh let's call him......The Enemy.

I think this is the most coded scene of the season. I bet there will be much to look back on once we know all, and we can see how they hinted at a lot of it in this scene. On first viewing this scene is very mysterious since we don't learn that that man in white is Jacob until the end. Also at the start we are lead to believe these men might be friends. It's not until almost the end we learn The Enemy wants to kill Jacob. I think this info is vital to understand what was going on in the scene prior to this information being revealed. So we'll move forward with that knowledge already known (as well as what else we already know about the Island).

There is definite tension when The Enemy enters the scene. Jacob is casually eating the fish he just cooked and politely offered to share. The Enemy says no thanks, “I just ate”. I think this could be our first hint. Nothing major, but I think it has bigger implications. It seems like such a throw away line..so why even include it? We know that this person is indeed Jacob's enemy and he is the “thing” that has been impersonating Locke since his return to the Island. I think it's safe to say that he (as well as Jacob) has powers. Super powers, magical powers, god-like powers....who knows exactly which one. Since Jacob is eating fish like a normal person we assume that whatever The Enemy “just ate” was an equivalent normal meal. But what if it wasn't. I mean, he says the line with a kind of smirk or sarcasm to it. I'm not saying he's eating people (although that would be a nice set up to the teased 7^th “Zombie” Season of Lost). But Since we now know he has the ability to inhabit the bodies of others...does that nourish him somehow? Or is there another similar process where he collects souls. I don't think he IS the smoke monster, but are the souls the monster collects delivered to the Enemy (unknown to Ben or anyone else who ever “controlled” it) for consumption? Watch him deliver that line again and tell me if you see any other meaning behind it.

The two men then proceed to discuss the arrival of a ship (the Black Rock) they're watching at sea. Since we already know the ship sailed a long time ago this gives us a rough idea of when this conversation is taking place. It is also made clear that Jacob summoned them and that The Enemy does not want them on the island. Jacob brought them to the island because he is “still trying to prove [The Enemy] wrong”. What exactly he is trying to prove I think is the answer to why the Losties ever showed up in the first place. Perhaps this is the ultimate answer we will learn at the end of Season 6. For now we are just left to guess. Based on the Good vs. Evil nature of this whole show as well as the two characters in the scene, I would venture to say they are discussing the true nature of man. The Enemy argues that “every time it's the same thing. They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt.” This not only shows his side of the argument, but also that this is not the first (or last) time Jacob has done what he can to find truly good-natured people. It's a deep debate, for sure. But why bother to have it? Are they just arguing or is Jacob looking for good people for a reason? I would assume there is a reason. Perhaps to take the place of himself and The Enemy as overseers of the Island. If that is the case maybe The Enemy is convinced it's useless and wants to kill Jacob and seize control of the Island for his own uses. They can't kill each other (as implied by The Enemy). Could it be that they represent the balance of good and evil on the island (or the entire world) and one cannot have influence over the other. Which is why The Enemy must get Ben to kill Jacob. It begs the question why then can't Ben and Widmore kill each other? Where they already given similar powers or rules of balance to the island? Was that they roles Locke and Jack were originally meant to fill?

When The Enemy says “it always ends the same” Jacob retorts that it “only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress”. This statement surely shows Jacobs intentions of bringing SOMETHING to an end. Again, is it their rule of the island? The island itself? The end of evil?

Speaking of progress only reiterates the idea that Jacob has done this time and time again, trying to make it work. The Enemy then admits his desire to kill Jacob as well as his need to find a loop-hole to do so. This would indicate that there is some set of rules in place. Were the rules put on them by the Island? A god? - were they sent there as in some tale of Greek mythology were they are bound to each other and the island until their differences are solved? The four toed statue that they show in full at the end of this scene has been revealed (outside of the show) to be Taweret- the Egyptian goddess of birth, rebirth, and the northern sky (also sometimes stated as the goddess of fertility). The ankh that the statue holds is an Egyptian symbol for “eternal life” that is often depicted with the gods. So there is a definite theme of life and death going on here...as well as the struggle to keep it. But who's life are they all fighting for? Their own? The Islands? Mankind? That bigger picture will be revealed in time, I'm sure.

So there you have it for now. Sorry for the length but I was trying to catch up some.I hope to post again soon. In which I think I'll try to cover more thoughts on The Enemy and how (now in hind sight) we can see his influence in the past...and how he's been manipulating the situation to find his loophole. Thanks for reading this far. If you have any questions or elements you would like to hear my take on, feel free to ask.. otherwise just wait for my next lengthy installment of my LOST posts.

-C