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?