S6E13 - The Last Recruit

Another One Bites the Sand

The biggest question coming out of this episode: Is Jack dead? There was a pretty big explosion on the beach (courtesy of Charles Widmore) that sent Dr. Jack flying in the air, landing face-first on the beach. (not)Locke picked him up and carried him to safety, comforting him with, "it's gonna be ok... you're with me now". If Jack died in the explosion and (not)Locke brought him back, that makes him evil, right? It's very similar to Claire's situation. Back in season 4, Claire's house was blown up by the mercenaries and her body was pulled out of the rubble. It has been long-theorized that she died in the explosion. And I guess the same thing could probably be said for Sayid too.

The Remember-ers

While being wheeled into the hospital on the stretcher, Sun looked over and saw Locke next to her. She began to cry, "No! No! It's him!" It appears that she has joined Desmond's team of "rememberers". So far, that brings the total to 6: Desmond, Charlie, Hurley, Libby, Sun, and Faraday. And coming soon, Locke. Here's my prediction: Jack will fix Locke. Completely, 100% fix him. And Locke will be in the hospital bed, look down, and see his foot wiggle. It'll be shot-for-shot the same as when he first woke up on the island to find that he was healed. In that instant, he will flash and remember EVERYTHING.

The Reunion

Finally Jin and Sun are reunited! Relationship crap.... let's get back to the island stuff. (Oh yeah, she can speak English again now)

Tipping the Scale Back

Since the beginning of this season, there has been no balance of good and evil... only evil (yes, I'm saying it.... (not)Locke is officially evil). But now that Desmond is back, I'm seeing changes. Sayid claimed to have killed Desmond just as (not)Locke had instructed him to do. But we all know that's not true. So was Desmond able to bring Sayid back from the dark side? The thing that confuses me about Desmond is that he is NOT a candidate, so he can't take over for Jacob... yet he has a purpose. So what is that? Is he the "loop-hole" that can kill (not)Locke?

Permission Granted

Before following (not)Locke off into the jungle, Jack asked Hurley if it was ok. And I get that Jack feels like every time he leads, someone ends up getting hurt (or killed). But why is he asking for Hurley's permission. Rather than stepping out of his leadership role, it seems like he's pushing Hurley to become the leader. Could Hurley be the new Jacob?

The White Rabbit

No, this isn't about the Dharma rabbit with the number painted on the side. It's about Jack's vision of his father (from the season one episode, "White Rabbit"), in which Jack follows his (dead) father into the jungle. We got confirmation this week that the man Jack was following was Smokey. It's interesting because when (not)Locke admits to it, he says to Jack, "All I've ever been interested in, is helping you." Is (not)Locke just pulling his leg here? Or could he actually be good? No! Wait! I already decided that he's evil! ...or is he? (probably, yes)

(how's that for indecisive?)

Destiny

It seems like Desmond isn't the only thing trying to get the Losties all together. The universe seems to be pulling them all together even more. When Desmond brings Clarie up to meet Ilana (a lawyer in the sideways world), it seems that Destiny was already working at getting them together. Their father's will mentioned Claire, and Ilana's firm was looking for her.

We also saw this with Sawyer and Kate, who were (on multiple occasions) brought together by the forces of the universe. First on the plane. Then in the elevator. And then in the streets. And pretty soon, in the bedroom. Guaranteed!

Elizabeth

The boat that Sawyer & Co. were on was, in fact, the Elizabeth. For those that don't remember, (here we go...) this is the boat that Desmond arrived to the island on. Kelvin (from the hatch) spent years secretly fixing it, all a part of his plot to leave Desmond back on the island pushing the button... then Desmond killed Kelvin. Then about a month-and-a-half later, when the Losties took over the hatch, Desmond tried to leave on the boat. About 3 weeks after that, his boat ended up back on shore. Then Sayid took the boat (with Jin and Sun) to the Others' camp (which was just a decoy camp), at which point the Others ambushed the boat, Sun shot Colleen. That's when Mr. Friendly (you remember... Tom) and the rest of the Others took the boat back to Hydra island to try and save Colleen. And now, three years later, they suddenly know where the boat is? They've been in the 1970's for the past three years. How could they know where the boat is? Not to mention the boat was in great condition for having been sitting steady in the water for 3 years.

ok.... my rant is over. I guess the whole point of that is.... it was great to see the boat one last time.


Leap of Faith

In the beginning of season 2 (the episode, "Man of Science. Man of Faith"), Jack was asked by Locke to take a leap of faith (referring to the pushing of the button). And that was the beginning of this real battle within Jack to essentially pick a side. He was at times BOTH a man of science, AND a man of faith). It's a real struggle. And in this episode, Jack takes it upon himself to take his leap of faith, right into the water, where he began his return to the island. He even remarks that leaving the island "doesn't feel right". He explains that if (not)Locke wants them to leave with him, maybe he's afraid of what will happen if they all stay. Woah. Step aside man of science. The man of faith has arrived. And could it be any more obvious that Jack will take over as the new Jacob? ...and yes, I know what you're thinking.... "too obvious" on LOST often means that we're wrong. In that case, maybe Sayid is the candidate.

The Poll

According to the poll last week, the soon-to-die people are Miles, Claire, and Frank (with Miles slightly ahead of everyone). And now (because this is what I do), I'm going to argue against each one of those:

Miles: He talks to the dead. Having him around will come in very handy in the future. I still feel like he's going to be the one to discover the identities of the real Adam & Eve (from the caves). And since he's been on the island for several years, who's to say that he doesn't already know? I think that he'll be around for at least a couple more episodes. After all, they kept him on the show for a reason, right?

Claire: Back in season 3 when Desmond kept flashing images of Charlie's demise, he finally convinced him that he'd have to die because he saw a flash of Claire and Aaron getting in a helicopter. And while I'm a huge Desmond fan, I think my perception of him would change if I found out that Charlie died for nothing. He would go from A-list to A-hole. And they just can't do that to Desmond.

Frank: He's the pilot. He needs to stay alive right until the end because (not)Locke needs to believe that he has a way off the island. If Frank dies, then (not)Locke would have to find someone else to fly the Ajira plane of the island. And apparently, Smokey doesn't really plan well for the future, since he's actually the one that killed the pilot of Flight 815. Jerk.

This Week's Poll

It's simple.... who is the candidate? Remember, LOST isn't on this week, but next week's episode is titled "The Candidate". So something tells me we're gonna find out very soon! (Only 4 episodes left!)

S6E12 - Everyone Loves Hugo

Blast from the Past

I knew going into season 6 that our favorite characters (Boone, Faraday, etc.) would all get a curtain call. I was surprised to find that they were curtain calling all of the locations (the caves, the statue, etc.). What I didn't expect was a curtain call for specific causes of death. But as soon as Ilana started shoving her water bottles on top of the dynamite, we all knew she was going to be Arzt'ed. Note to self: When handling dynamite, be sure to.... um.... you know what..... actually, just don't handle dynamite.

More Explosions Please!

Ok... it was cool to see Ilana blow up, but it was way cooler when the Black Rock exploded, specifically with Hurley running away, yelling "RUN!" It was very reminiscent of when the Hatch exploded. Explosion curtain call #2.

Libby! Libby! Libby!

I don't know why, but Libby's curtain call was one of the ones I was looking forward to most. And what a cool twist that she ended up in the mental hospital because she "remembered" the other timeline and admitted herself, in fear that she was crazy. It's worth noting too, that Hurley was never in the mental hospital. And there was also ZERO mention of a lottery... so how did he get all that money to buy Mr Cluck's Chicken Shack? Was he born into the money?

Three For The Road

I'm going to make a prediction.... Some of our favorite characters are about to meet their demise. Sun asked Frank if they made the wrong decision, but I think they actually made the right decision. The ones who made the wrong decision-- Ben, Richard, and Miles. Separating themselves from the candidates was not a smart move. The island is officially done with them. (we'll see)

Jungle Boy

This is the second time this season that we've seen this little boy staring at (not)Locke from the within the jungle. It was the same boy, but he did appear older. So, who is this boy? Why does he look older? I heard a cool theory that this was Jacob as a child, and he is progressively "recharging" (getting older and older), and (not)Locke has until Jacob reaches "full-power" to get off the island. If he doesn't get off the island in time, he'll be stuck there again.

The Whispers

Yes, we all want answers. But wasn't this kinda out-of-the-blue? Let's set up the scene:

Hurley & co. are walking through the jungle. They hear whispers.

Hurley: "Don't worry, everyone.... I know what these are."

Michael shows up.

Michael: "Hey, Hurley."
Hurley: "Hey, Dude. Are these whispers just the voices of dead people?"
Michael: "Yep, we can't leave the island."
Hurley: "ok."

Hurley & Co. continue their mission

I had an 11th grade Creative Writing class, and the teacher would always write "SDT!" on our papers; it stands for "show. don't tell." And I never really got WHY until now. I wanted them to SHOW me what the whispers were, rather than just say it. I get it though... they don't really have a lot of time left.... And it's possible for them to redeem themselves by having this pay-off. Is this end-game stuff? If (not)Locke leaves the island, will the other souls be freed as well? How does this play into the big picture? And most importantly, why do they whisper?

Well, Well, Well

Here's a free piece of advice. When an enemy is standing behind you, don't lean over the edge of a well. He will likely push you in! I'm confused, though, at why (not)Locke didn't just turn into the smoke monster and crush Desmond to death. Can he not kill Desmond?

Payback

The episode ended on a GREAT note, with Desmond (in the sideways world) slamming into Mr. Locke (the substitute teacher) with his car. This, of course, will lead to Locke being taken to the hospital with everyone else...

Claire: Aaron's birth
Sun: Shot in stomach
Jin: With Sun
Ethan: Doctor
Jack: Doctor
Kate: Maybe visiting Claire?
Locke: Hit by Desmond
Sawyer: Maybe assigned to Locke's case?
Ben: Maybe visiting Locke?
Sayid: Last seen w/ Jin & Sun???

The Poll
Congratulations to Love at First Sight, which most of the voters believe in. This week's poll is all about prediction. Who's next to die? Vote at the top.

S6E11 - Happily Ever After

Woah.

7 hours of LOST left now. Tonight.... Then next week.... Then a week break (sorry).... Then episodes the first 3 weeks in May.... and then.... gulp.... the Finale. ABC recently announced that LOST's Sunday May 23rd finale will be a 5 hour event! (Yes, you read that right) 2 hours of LOST-recap, 2 hours of LOST finale, and an hour-long LOST tribute with Jimmy Kimmel. And if last week's episode was a sign of what's to come, we are all in for a hell of a ride!

You All Everybody

Charlie's band was known to be a one-hit wonder, with their single, "You All Everybody", but in this episode, we see that Charles Widmore (one of the most powerful people) is trying to get them to play at his charity event. So does this mean that Driveshaft was more that just a one-hit-wonder? Too bad Charlie died in the island timeline, so we probably won't get this full story. I guess this little glimmer of hope is all we really need.

The Coil

According to Widmore, the island is not yet done with Desmond. And because Desmond is the only person that Widmore knows has survived a "catastrophic electromagnetic event", Widmore says he won't be harmed by the giant electromagnetic coil, despite the fact that he just watched as another man was killed (fried, in fact) during a test run.

Desmond Episodes

In the episode "Flashes Before Your Eyes", after the implosion of the hatch (the aforementioned "catastrophic electromagnetic event"), Desmond was blasted back in time to his life with Penny. During this time, he had recollection of his island days, and when he tried to change his path, Eloise guided him, telling him that it was his destiny to go to the island.

In the episode "The Constant", because of his overexposure to electromagnetism, while trying to leave the island, flying through a storm, Desmond's consciousness was split in two... one on the helicopter/freighter, and the other in the past. In order to survive, he had to find his constant-- the one person that he cares about, and that exists in both time lines.

So now in this episode, another electromagnetic event has occurred, and again, Desmond is thrown into another time, and he again has recollection of the other world. It isn't until Charlie "shows him" that he sees it too. He sees the name "Penny" on Charlie's hand. He sees them kissing. He sees the birth of their son. Note: He does NOT see the island.

All he sees is love.

And he's not the only one. Charlie realized it when he was dying on the plane (after choking on his stash), and he had a vision of Claire. Faraday realized it when he saw Charlotte working at the museum. Is it possible that in order to exist, they need to find their constants? We know that Desmond (off-island) is now on a mission to find all of the passengers of Flight 815 so that he can show them too. But what I hadn't thought about until my wife pointed it out during our weekend re-watch, is that ON-island Desmond ALSO remembers the off-island world. So could this be what Juliet saw too? After detonating the nuclear bomb, and while nearing death, she started talking to Sawyer about going out to get coffee. And just before she died, her last thought to Sawyer was "it worked" (referring to the bomb).

Daniel Widmore

The return of Faraday revealed a little more on the subject of the bomb. He approached Desmond in the limo and told him that, although he is a musician, after "seeing" Charlotte, he wrote some equations in his notebook that could've only been written by someone who'd been studying physics their entire life. The equations (as explained to Faraday by his "math whiz" friend) document the idea that with the detonation of a nuclear bomb, he could prevent something catastrophic from happening. And he theorizes that he may have already set off a nuclear bomb and is currently living a life that he should not be living.

The Violation

Similar to her role in "Flashes Before Your Eyes", Eloise appears to know what is going on, and is guiding Desmond into the "right" direction. When she realizes that he is trying to find Penny, that he may have recollection of this other life, she refuses to help him, telling him that he's "not ready yet". She goes on to say, "Someone has changed the way you see things. This is a problem. It is, in fact, a violation." A violation of what, though? I'm definitely intrigued by this, as it appears that she is trying to stop him from finding Penny, but why? It's not like they're going to find the island again (remember, it's underwater). I get the feeling that she is afraid that they're going to reverse things and try to get back to the other life. If this is the case, then that would mean that it's actually possible to go back to the island-life. Woah.

Super Desmond

After waking up in the electromagnetic coil box, Desmond is more than willing to go with Widmore. I can't explain why, but it certainly appears that he has recollection of this off-island life. So why he wouldn't want to go back to Penny is a big mystery. But now, he's headed back to (not)Locke's camp with the neck-snapping Sayid. Is this all part of the plan, though? Since Desmond has survived something like this, does Widmore need him to defeat smokey? Will he act as some sort of human-version of the sonic fence? And was this the whole point of the Dharma Initiative? To create this super-human to "save the world" from the evilness that is (not)Locke?

The Poll

Congratulations to Kate for winning this week's "Who would Jack save?" poll. My sympathies to Claire, who received only half as many votes as her skull baby. This week's poll is a more serious question proposed by Faraday... Do you believe in love at first sight?

S6E10 - The Package

Color me surprised... this was probably one of the best Jin/Sun episodes. I'm not usually a huge fan of Jin/Sun episodes, but this one was great! I think my favorites are Locke and Desmond centric stories. And what do you know... tonight is Desmond's episode! But we'll save that conversation for the next post. Let's look at "The Package".

Baby Paik/Kwon

We learned that the difference in the Sun/Jin timeline is that they aren't married. In fact, they're sneaking around behind her father's back... and that $25K that Jin had in his luggage was payment to Keamy for killing him, as he should know better than to date his boss's daughter. This brings up an interesting question, though... if Jin and Sun aren't knowingly together, then why is Jin working for Mr. Paik in the first place? Originally, he worked for Paik in exchange for his daughter's hand in marriage.

The other difference here is that Jin apparently has no fertilization problems, as Sun (who, at the end of the episode, was shot in the gut) is pregnant! They'd better head to the hospital. I'm going to go ahead and put money down that they're headed to Jack's hospital.

Final Destination

I just wanted to point out that the actor playing the hotel worker was in the movie "Final Destination". This movie dealt with the idea that if you were to try to change your destiny, it would only get delayed, but you can't escape it for good. This is an issue that LOST has dealt with heavily in the past, and I'm sure will deal with for the remaining 8 hours. ...just an interesting choice in actors. Coincidence? I think not.

The Seasons

Season one was the season of the Losties. Season two was the season of the Dharma Initiative. Season three was the season of the Others. Season four was the season of the Freighter-folks. Season five was the season of the Oceanic 6, and time travel. Season six is the season of the Candidates.

When it comes to the candidates, it appears that BOTH (team)Jacob and (not)Locke want to protect them. But why? What if the final candidate is not chosen, but instead is the last one standing? If (not)Locke protects them, then he may be able to leave the island before all-but-one dies. If that's the case, though, he should just kill them all at once. Maybe he can blow up the plane.... I think that's the one thing on the island that Locke has yet to blow up. Though if Richard can make it there in time, he's already planning on blowing it up.

No Speak English

Ok... let me get this straight.... Sun is running from (not)Locke and hits her head on the tree.... then God only knows what happened.... but by the time she is found, she can no longer speak English. And I keep thinking that this is somehow tied to her flash-sideways where she also doesn't speak English. Remember how when Jack was on the plane in the premiere and he looked in the mirror and found a scratch on his neck. Could this be a small connection to what he was experiencing on the island? Could these two "paths" already be closing in on one another?

Speaking of Mirrors

It's worth noting that reflections have appeared in EVERY flash-sideways so far. Jack looking into the mirror on the plane, Sawyer looking into the broken mirror in the locker room, etc. Another call-out to these flash-sideways? 8 hours left to explain!

Pockets

After capturing Jin, Zoe began to question him about some maps that he'd made back in his Dharma days. She's looking for the island's pockets of electromagnetism. And I'm willing to bet that these have something to do with the "package", which (in case I haven't mentioned) was DESMOND! We know that working in the hatch (around all that electromagnetic energy) has had effects on Desmond in previous episodes. And we know that he's also "special". Could they be looking to use Desmond's "special abilities" to somehow harvest that energy? I know we've got 8 hours left.... but I'm expecting some answers tonight!

Limited Days

I hate to say it.... but..... dare I? Of course, I will. Kate's days are limited. Claire made it pretty clear that she still intends on killing her. And if that's not bad enough, (not)Locke made it even more clear that he's going to let her do that as soon as he's got all the candidates. I can see it right now.... Claire and Kate are in a huge fight and both of them are nearing death, when Jack has to make the decision-- Save the woman he loves, or his sister? Vote in the poll.

The Return of Patchy

I was excited to see Mikhail again, and relieved that he had both of his eyes. But rest assured that as soon as Jin picked up the gun, I leaned forward and shouted at the TV, "Shoot him in the eye!" Wish granted!

One more thing to mention when it comes to Mikhail... Keamy referred to him as "Danny's friend". I wonder if this is Danny Pickett (the "other" who tried to kill Sawyer back in season 3). I'm looking forward to his curtain call (assuming he gets one).

What Happens if Smokey Leaves

The big mystery in this episode is something that Widmore mentions to Jin. On the topic of what happens if (not)Locke leaves the island, "Everything you know and love would simply cease to be." He's not simply saying "Everyone would die". The words "cease to be" are used intentionally. This suggest to me that going "home" also involves going back in time, and severly altering the future. Think to "Back in the Future"... if (not)Locke went back in time and made it so that Lorraine and George never went to the dance together, Marty and his siblings would all disappear from the picture.

My wife's probably laughing while reading this, as I spent an entire season telling her that she can't compare LOST time travel to "Back to the Future"... that they have different rules.

Enjoy tonight's episode, titled "Happily Ever After", which I doubt is how it'll actually end.