S6E07 - Dr. Linus

Ok... let me just start by saying that episodes like this are what makes LOST LOST. It's all about characters. Forget the smoke monster. Forget the island. This is a show about people.

OK.... maybe you should forget I said that. True, this show is about people, but if it weren't for the mythology, not as many people would be as hooked as they are. And, frankly, none of you would even be reading this blog. But this show really wouldn't be what it is without a foundation of great characters... characters like...

Dr Benjamin Linus

When it comes to characters on the show, none is more complex than Ben Linus. He's the man we all love to hate, but in this episode, we can't help but feel sympathy for the poor guy... even though he's just as scheming off-island as he is on-island. Hey, speaking of the island...

What the hell?! Ben's dad talked about joining the Dharma Initiative and leaving the island. Clearly, the h-bomb isn't what reset the timeline. I keep going back to what I posted last week.... that the crash of Flight 815 was a part of a deal made with the Losties, and that this sideways world was actually the original timeline. Off-island, we're seeing Ben taking care of his dad, and his dad reminices on what would've been if they hadn't left the island. Imagine Ben gets approached and an offer is made-- Ben can go back in time and gets to experience life as if he never left the island. And just as the deal that Dogen made with Jacob, there must've been something that Ben (or his dad) gave in return.

Roger Gasman

It was so ironic to see Ben taking care of his dad. Here Ben is changing out his dad's oxygen tank in this off-island reality, while in the on-island life, Ben killed his dad by opening up a poison gas canister. Life given. Life Taken.

Miles the Rat

It's clear that Ilana was brought to the island to protect Jacob; and now that Jacob is dead, then it is her sole responsibility to protect the 6 candidates. She also comments about Jacob being the closest thing to a father that she's ever had. So I wasn't too surprised that when Miles revealed that Ben is the one that killed Jacob, Ilana swore to kill Ben. And it did feel a little good to watch Ben begging for his life. The best part, though, was when Ben offerred Miles $3.2 Million, but Miles refused, stating that Nikki and Paulo's bodies were buried with $8 Million in diamonds. And even better, we see Miles staring into a diamond later, suggesting that he actually dug up their bodies. And for that kind of cash, I can't say that I blame him.

Prinicipal / Island Leader

I'm noticing a strange (yet, surely intentional) similarity between (not)Locke and off-island Locke. In this episode, we saw (not)Locke inticing Ben with the idea of becoming the leader of the island. And off-island, substitute teacher Locke convinced Ben that he should try to take over as principal of the school. And while Ben did sacrifice Alex on the island, but not off-island, he appears to have chosen the "good" team in both timelines. Could this be foreshadowing of the finale, suggesting that, while the two timelines are very different, they will "merge" in the end?

Everyone in LA?

I thought it was a little strange that EVERYONE is in LA. Ben was born in Oregon (just outside of Portland), while Rousseau (and Alex) are from Europe. Sayid's from Iraq, while Jin & Sun are from Korea. Sawyer was from the south. And yet, everyone seems to STILL be in LA. I guess this is the island's way of getting everyone together.

Dy-no-mite!

The return of Richard couldn't have been better. I take that back.... it'll surely be better in a week when Richard gets his own episode! FINALLY! But in this episode, not only did we get confirmation that Richard came to the island on the Black Rock, but we also got one of LOST all-time best scenes with Jack and Richard talking about destiny, all while the fuse on a stick of dynamite quickly burns, just inches away. And when the fuse suddenly burned out, Jack proved to Richard that he was brought to the island for a reason, and that they still have a purpose, and Jack delivered a classic Jack line... "wanna try another stick?"

I'm telling you, if LOST doesn't sweep the emmies this year, there are going to be riots.

Not Penny's Submarine

...or is it? The episode ended in traditional LOST fashion, with the big shocker that Widmore made it back to the island on a sub. What?! What is he doing there?! Is he on Jacob's side, or (not)Locke's side? Maybe he wants to take over for one of them. Maybe he's trying to destroy the island. Producers have hinted that it won't take long for us to find out. (Maybe tonight?)

And I've got a strange feeling that Widmore is not alone on this sub. I've spent a lot of time thinking about Widmore's role in the big picture, and I keep going back to him and Eloise working together. And we've seen Eloise guiding Desmond in the past, making sure that he makes it to the island. Perhaps Widmore was mean to Desmond, only because he knew that it would push him to the island. But now that he's back, maybe Desmond and Widmore are working together. I'm going to go out on a line here and make a prediction that Desmond is on the sub.

The Battle

Since the beginning of LOST, there has been a lot of focus on the idea of Good vs Evil. Science vs Faith. Dark vs Light. And it wasn't until the final season that we realize that this isn't a battle between 2 entities. It's a battle within a single entity. Every man has a good side AND a bad side. Jack is BOTH a man of science AND a man of faith. Hurley is both lucky AND unlucky. And perhaps that's all this flash-sideways is demonstrating. It's the good side AND the bad side that make us who we are. I honestly have no idea where I'm going with this. I just love how they can easily do something that completely changes the way I see things. Well done, writers!

S6E06 - Sundown

I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that this episode wasn't a Sun & Jin episode, but rather a Sayid episode. And the minute Sayid and Dogen started fighting, I had a flashback to my "Alias" days, where every episode was action-packed and the fights were so intense! I really miss hand-to-hand combat on TV. Though I wouldn't expect any less from "season 6" Sayid.

Keamy's Bling

In the sideways world of this episode, we have another character-crossover. Sayid's brother is in a little bit of trouble, and we find out that the man behind it is none other than Martin Keamy (leader of the freighter mercenaries). The other catch here is that after shooting Keamy, Sayid finds Jin being held captive. So does this mean that Keamy is the man whom Jin was delivering the watch to? Back in season one, Jin and Sun were travelling to the US to deliver a watch for Sun's father. Or perhaps was this who all that money was intended for (from Jin's luggage at LAX)? Maybe the folks over at LAX confiscated the cash, and that's why Jin is being held prisoner (because he couldn't deliver the goods).

Welcome to the Dark Side

I think it's safe to say that Sayid is officially evil. And on this whole "is (not)Locke good or bad" issue, I'm still going to have to vote for "bad". By popular demand (one friend of mine), I'm reinstating the poll. Do you think (not)Locke is good or bad? Respond in the sidebar.

Dogen's Ninth Inning

Poor Dogen, spilling his heart out to Sayid, and then he's killed. The good news here is that we finally understand the significance behind his baseball. His son was killed in a drunk-driving accident, and Jacob promised to bring him back to life under the agreement that Dogen would move to the island, never to see his son again. Ouch.... catch 22. This has me thinking, though...

What if that's what is happening with the Losties? And I'm not talking about this "LA" alternate timeline. I'm talking about Flight 815 crashing on the island. Think about Locke. He was thrown out of a building by his father, and crashed on the ground 8 stories below. He appeared to be dead until Jacob touched him. So, he was given back his life, but everything guided him straight to the island. Could this be the case with everyone on Jacob's lighthouse compass?

Smoke Doesn't Bleed

When Sayid stabbed (not)Locke and saw that there was no blood, nor did (not)Locke seem to be phased by what had just happened, I was sure he was going to turn that dagger around and lunge it right into Sayid's chest. But he didn't. Why? Surely, (not)Locke has no problem killing people. Could it be that he can't kill certain people (candidates, perhaps)? This could explain why Eko was not killed during their initial confrontation. Maybe Eko was still considered a candidate; however, by the time they "met" again, Eko was already proven as a non-candidate, so smokey was free to kill him. If that's the case, then we've got to ask ourselves, "What did Eko do to un-candidate himself?" Dammit.... Does this mean I'll have to re-watch season 2 again? I think I'll just wait until the end of this season to re-watch the entire series, as I'm sure most of us will.

Ben's Sixth Sense

Ben knew. I don't know how he knew, but he knew that Sayid had been taken over. Perhaps this is just the con-man in him. Sawyer knew that (not)Locke wasn't really Locke within seconds of seeing him. Maybe Ben's con man instinct kicked in and he realized that (not)Sayid wasn't really Sayid?

Note: I'm just going to call him "Sayid" unless we see his body laying somewhere on the beach while another version of him still appears to be walking around. That's when he earns the "(not)" prefix. Same thing goes for Claire.

Cerberus

One the subject of (not)Sayid (sorry, I had to do it just one more time), what was it that brought him back to life? Miles told him that it wasn't the water... that he was dead for 2 hours before he "woke up". So if it wasn't the water, then what was it? I'm weary to say that Jacob's soul took over, since Jacob has been visiting Hurley, and because I don't think Jacob is that evil. I'm starting to think that there are 3 iterations of Smokey. The blast door map referred to Smokey as Cerberus, the mythological 3-headed creature who guards the gates of hell (to make sure no one escapes). So perhaps smokey is "3-headed".... Locke, Sayid, and Claire? Maybe they are the trio of evil, and the necessity of balance would suggest that we could expect a trio of good-- perhaps Jack, Kate, and Sawyer? Sort of a love triangle vs a hate triangle?

Smokey's Revenge

I could watch this scene over-and-over again. After Dogen's death (and yes, I think he's dead for good), Smokey was free to cross the line of ash. And he did NOT hold back. He plowed through the temple, taking many lives and destroying the temple. Enter: Season Six, Act Two.

Undercover Kate

In the final shot of the episode, we saw the temple survivors all following behind (not)Locke, with Kate trailing in the back. There was a very uneasiness about her though. She did NOT fit in this group. But here's what I think we might expect: Kate will go "undercover" with Locke, but will be convinced by Sawyer that she needs to stay with him. This will create a big divide between Jack and Kate, leaving Jack (and Hurley) as the odd-balls. And Jack will officially become "season one" Locke. What a nice turn of events that'd be.

Until next week!

S6E05 - Lighthouse

Before I start, I wanted to give a quick shout-out to my son, Dawson, who made it onto Jacob's wheel of names (#124) ! Ok... I admit... it's Michael's last name, and that's why it's really on the wheel. It's still cool though.

Claire's Friend

Yes, Claire has been trekking through the jungle for the past 3 years. No, she is not alone. She refers to her "friend", but it isn't until the end that we realize she's referring to (not)Locke. So now, he has "recruited" Claire and Sawyer, and (perhaps through this "infection") Sayid? And if he promises Jin to take him to Sun, I'm sure he too can be recruited. And I'm pretty sure they're headed straight for the temple, so when they get there, I think it'll be easy for them to convince Miles (the only "Lostie" at the temple) to join as well. Looks like (not)Locke is quickly building his team.

On a side note, I haven't really been "feeling" Claire this season... up until the moment when she said, "This isn't John... this is my friend." At that moment, I became a Claire-fan again.

Mirror Mirror

No, I'm not referring to the lighthouse mirror. I referring to the one at the beginning, when Jack first noticed his appendectomy scar. Remember, back in season 4 when they were trying to leave the island, Juliet performed an emergency appendectomy on Jack. But now, in this "alternate timeline", Jack has the scar, apparently from when he was a child. Strangely, though, he doesn't seem to remember. I'm positive this is connected to the weird "DejaVu" feeling that he had on the plane. 13 more hours left to explain what all of this means!

The Will

Ah, so THAT's how Jack is going to meet Claire in the "LA" timeline. She's in his dad's will! Wow.... bad week for Jack's mom. Her husband runs away to Sydney, then dies, then she find out that he was cheating on her. Ouch!

Translated Threat

When Hurley told Dogen that he was a candidate and could do whatever he wanted, Dogen said something in Japanese(?), which Jacob refused to translate. Luckily, the online community was able to help out with this one. Roughly translated, he said, "You're lucky I have to protect you. Otherwise, I'd cut your head off."

A little harsh, don't 'cha think? Kidding aside, this is good confirmation that the people of the temple are there to protect the candidates. It's just too bad they all left. :)

Whose Funeral is it Anyway?

Jack's mom mentioned to him that David (Jack's son) was "really upset at the funeral". But wait... earlier in the episode, Jack's mom called Jack and asked him if the airport found the body yet. So, she's not referring to Christian's funeral. Whose funeral was it then? It wasn't David's mom (as she was mentioned as being "out of town").

Baby Mama

Speaking of David's mom, the writers intentionally did not put her in this episode for a reason (most likely to tease us). My first thought was, "Of course, they're not going to show her... she's on Modern Family now" (referring to Jack's wife in the original timeline, Sarah). But the fact that they didn't even use her name has me a little suspicious. What if it's not Sarah? Dare I say.... Juliet? Libby, perhaps? Maybe a more obscure character, like Cassidy (Sawyer's old girlfriend)?

Off-Island Samurai

After David's piano performance, Jack was approached by a young boy who turned out to be Dogen's son. So not only are the Losties' paths crossing off-island, but ALL islanders lives are intertwining. I look forward to seeing Richard and Mr. Friendly off-island now.

Coming Soon

Warning! Someone is coming to the island! Maybe! I'm split 50/50 on this... Jacob told Hurley that he needed to take Jack to the lighthouse to help someone find the island. While the first assumption is that someone is trying to get to the island, I don't know that that's entirely true. Could he have been referring to Jack needing to find out the truth about the island? Needing to realize his destiny?

What about Gromit?

At the lighthouse, Hurley was told to turn the dial to 108. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to do that before Jack destroyed the mirror. Fortunately, though, we all got to see the name next to "108"-- Wallace. So who is Wallace? We haven't yet met a character with that last name. Wait... I take that back. We haven't yet been told that a character's last name is Wallace. So it could be ANYONE whose last name we have yet to learn. That crosses out all the Losties.... could it be (not)Locke? Or what about Jacob himself? I mean, it's not unreasonable to think that Jacob was a candidate at one point for the "boss" before he took over.

Grandfather Paradox

I was reading the WikiPedia page for the Grandfather Paradox, which basically says that if I were to travel back in time and kill my grandfather, then I would never be born... but if I were never born, I'd never be able to kill my grandfather, so then I would be born.... and so forth. The part of this that relates to LOST is the theory that goes along with the Grandfather Paradox, which explains that if time travel (into the past) is possible, then alternate universes would also exist.... one in which I did kill my grandfather, and one as if I didn't. It appears that this is what is also going on, though I'm sure we'll be proven wrong in the final 13 hours.

My Crazy Theory

Ok... I wasn't going to post this, because I know it's too crazy to actually happen, but.... Here goes nothing.

Jack's son, David, was referred to as "gifted" in this episode. Several other characters on LOST have been identified as special. What if David (and all of these other "special" characters like Desmond and Walt) can break the rules of time travel. They're the "fixers". When someone tries to change the future, these are the people who can fix it. So, Jack's son, David will go back in time, and marry Libby (note: we do know that Libby's husband was named David), intentionally leaving her with his boat, knowing that she will give it to Desmond, and it will take him to the island, setting in motion all of the events of LOST.

...again, I'm sure this is wrong.... but I had to post it.

S6E04 - The Substitute

What a great episode! Answers, Answers, and (oh yeah) More Questions!

The Cave of Names

Let's start off with the biggest reveal in the episode. (not)Locke took Sawyer to his cave, where he revealed a list of names on the wall.... all possible candidates to take over Jacob's role of Island Protector. We were shown the obvious ones (all that Jacob touched): Locke, Hurley, Jack, Sayid, Sawyer, and either Jin or Sun. The obvious question... why no Kate? My theory-- she's on another part of the cave. That simple. What would've been a better reveal is if they would've panned around the walls of the cave to show the other names a little better. Here are some of the names that other viewers spotted on the walls (courtesy of LostPedia):

Lacombe (one of Rousseau's team members)
Mattingly (one of the Army guys from the 50's)
Rousseau (Alex or Danielle?)
Brennan (from Rousseau's team)
Rutherford (Shannon)
Martin (Karl, Alex's boyfriend)
Burke (Juliet)
Troup (Gary, another Flight 815 survivor)
Linus (Ben or Roger?)
Lewis (Charlotte)
Straume (Miles)
Pace (Charlie)
Carlyle (Boone)
Jones (Army guy from 50's)
Jenkins (Steve, from Flight 815)
Mars (Edward, the US Marshall from Flight 815)
Littleton (Claire or Aaron?)
Cunningham (Army guy)
Fernandez (Nikki, of Nikki & Paulo)
Henderson (Rose's maiden name)
Faraday (Daniel)
Chang (Pierre.... Miles' dad)
Goodspeed (Ethan, Amy, or Horace?)
Pickett (Danny or Colleen.... both Others)
Sullivan (another Flight 815 survivor)

Seeing this list of names is HUGE. And we see that the ones that are NOT crossed off (the ones associated with our favorite Losties) each have corresponding numbers. Actually, every name on the wall has a number... but THESE numbers are special. 4-8-15-16-23-42. Yes, you guessed it... the infamous LOST numbers!

So, who is the candidate going to be? The obvious choice, I think, is Jack. It'd be great to see Jack and Locke in these polar-opposite roles. If REAL-Locke convinced Jack about the island's power and Jack takes over as protector of the island, that would be a great way for REAL-Locke to get his redemption... even though he's dead.

And my final prediction (of course, only until they prove me otherwise, which is probably in tonight's episode) is that Jack will take over Jacob's role, (not)Locke remaining in Locke-form, and Sawyer taking on the role of Richard (the mediator).

Professor Linus

Ok... how the hell is Ben alive? If the bomb went off in 1977, present-time Ben was still on the island, so how is this possible? Sit back while I theorize...

The timeline that we're experiencing right now is NOT a "what would happen if the bomb worked" situation. This timeline is how their stories end. They all got to the island and had nothing to live for. They had no reason to go back to their real lives. This "new" timeline is everyone living happily ever after. I know what you're gonna say... What about Kate? She's still on the run! True... but do we know what she's on the run for? Maybe she's innocent? I'm starting to think that maybe (not)Locke is the (not)Bad guy. Maybe his goal is to help all of the Losties get back to lives that were not "affected" by Jacob. Perhaps all of the things we saw happen (Hurley having bad luck, etc.) were the effects of Jacob "pushing" them toward the island. If (not)Locke can reset it, then this is the outcome.

Boy... that sure is a lot of rambling, just to figure out why Ben is alive, when the real answer could be as simple as, "Ben is special". It wouldn't be the first time someone was able to break the rules on this show.

**COUGH**Desmond**COUGH**

The Inside Joke

My favorite part of this episode was when (not)Locke took the white stone from the scale and threw it into the ocean. The symbolism of there no longer being a balance of good and evil was great! I feel like at that moment, I got on a freight train headed straight to answer-ville. We shall see if tonight's episode delivers.

Jacob's Ashes

Ben interrupted a clearly disturbed Ilana, still grieving over the deaths of her team. When she asked what happened to Jacob, Ben told her that he burned up in the fire. She proceeded to pick up the ash and pour it into a pouch. What for, though? Is this the same ash that is used to block smokey? (I warned you that there were new questions)

Off-Island Connections

Simple and sweet... Locke worked at a box company. His boss was Randy, who was Hurley's boss at Mr. Clucks (chicken shack). After Hurley won the lottery, he bought a box company and hired Randy to work there after the chicken shack was hit by a meteorite.

That stuff, we already knew.

But after Locke was fired, he ran into Hurley (who, as far as we know, goes by "Hugo" in this timeline). He referred Locke to the temp agency that he also owes. The first person Locke encounters (who asks him what kind of animal he would be) was the psychic who Hurley's dad took him to in order to rid him of the "curse" of the numbers (though, that was the old timeline, so who knows). Her boss was Rose! And we got confirmation that she still has cancer. DAMN IT!

Jungle Boy

A young boy with blond hair and (oh yeah) blood-covered arms appeared to (not)Locke and Sawyer in the jungle. When (not)Locke chased him down, he reminded him that he wasn't allowed to "kill him". Who's "him"? Sawyer? Jacob? Richard? And who is this boy? A lot of online speculation has this being young Jacob, or maybe Aaron... though this seems like too easy of an answer. I'd be willing to bet against both of those. Instead, I'm thinking maybe this boy is his son, who died hundreds of years ago because of something that (not)Locke did. No, we don't know for a fact that he had any kids, but he did make it a point to tell Sawyer that he does know what it's like to lose a loved one. Not a great theory, but a theory nonetheless.

Helen

It was great to see Helen again, and I loved thinking that Locke was finally being dealt a good hand. But I heard something on The Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack that gave me chills, so I've got to share it. Remember in "The Constant" when Desmond kept bouncing back-and-forth between times, carrying over memories between the two? Well, when Locke fell out of his van and onto the lawn, Helen came running out of the house to help him. Back in season one, Locke was attacked by a boar, and spun to the ground, standing up saying, "I'm okay, Helen. I'm fine." Could these flash-sideways be the same thing that was happening to Desmond? Was this "confusion" from season one a result of jumping between time lines? OOOOooooooOOOOOOO (to be read as a spooky sound)

No Such Thing

The new off-island Locke is not the same man that we knew in past seasons. When Helen brings up the idea of miracles and he said that there was no such thing. And when she mentioned destiny, his reaction made it seem like he was just humoring her. So what happened to Locke? Was it surviving the fall out of the window and Jacob saving him that gave him the faith? And who knows how he got paralyzed this time, but there's no denying that he is a different man.

So if there is always supposed to be a balance in life, does this mean that Jack is now the "man of faith"? He did say to Locke in the airport that nothing was irreversible. I'd really love to see Jack's story soon so that we can see what has changed in his life. Maybe he is still married to Sarah. We do know that his dad is dead still... though we don't know how he died.

Man... the producers weren't kidding when they said that this season would feel a lot like season one. I really hope that the show doesn't end with Jack and Locke looking into another hatch (maybe one with actual stairs). :)

S6E03 - What Kate Does

Ok, so the episode wasn't rich in mythology, and some may consider it a "filler", since we've only got 15 hours of LOST left. But there were certainly some things worth thinking about... primarily, Sayid's "condition".

The Infection

I think we can all agree that SOMETHING is in Sayid. According to Dogen (the temple master), he didn't pass the test, meaning that he has been "infected", or "claimed". But what does that mean? Our biggest clue was given at the end of the episode when Dogen told Jack that Claire too had been "claimed". Could this explain why she only seemed to grieve over Charlie's death for a half-an-episode? Maybe when Keamy and the other mercenaries from the freighter blew up Claire's house, she was killed? She did seem spacey and very much out-of-it afterwards.

And is this the same "sickness" that Rousseau spoke about? We saw that Rousseau's team was taken by smokey, and after they returned, she killed them all, claiming that they were "sick". We were all convinced that she was right when we saw her husband try to shoot her.... BUT, it is possible that SHE was the sick one? That SHE was claimed and her husband was trying to kill her because of that?

On a side note, don't the commercials for LOST keep saying something like, "The time for questions is over"? So far, that's false advertising.

Note: I'm not complaining... I just think it's funny. Though if they don't start answering things soon, it's not gonna be so funny.

Dr. Goodspeed

My favorite thing about this episode was the return of Ethan! I didn't even think about this before, but if all the women and children left the island, then a 3-year-old Ethan and his mother (Amy) made it off the island and to safety. This got me thinking about all of the other people that are off the island. Other than the Losties, I'd like to think we could look forward to seeing an off-island (and hopefully less messy) Rousseau, and perhaps Tom (Mr. Friendly). Fingers crossed!

Love Triangle No More?

Could it be? Is Sawyer officially out of the love triangle? It's gone from a triangle, to a quadrangle, to a couple happy couples, to a couple triangles, and now appears to be a series of one-directional arrows... Jack loves Kate; Kate loves Sawyer; Sawyer loves Juliet; Juliet is dead.

On the subject of the original love triangle of Jack-Kate-Sawyer, I have a new theory that a lot of people aren't gonna like.... Kate will end up with Jack in the Island timeline, but with Sawyer in the "LA" timeline. So far, so good. She appears to not have a choice with island-Sawyer anymore; and her only LA interaction with Jack was when she stole his pen on the plane.

Ooh.... typing that just gave me another theory. If Jack ever finds his dad's body, he will have the funeral in LA. There, he'll meet Claire's mom, who will introduce him to Claire (who will still be in LA). And because Kate is now friends with Claire, that's how they could meet. Though, I don't know if Jack is ok with dating one of his sister's friends. Then again, she's only his HALF-sister.

LA Criminals

Before I get into this, why the hell would Claire feel safe at all around Kate, who just carjacked her taxi and stole her purse? Just because she gave it back? Strange... Anyway, I've been trying to think about how they can get all of the Losties together in the LA timeline, and I have a feeling that a good number of them may be headed for the slammer.

Charlie was arrested for heroin possession.
Jin and Sun may be be in trouble for travelling with large quantities of unclaimed cash.
Sawyer killed a man the night before Flight 815 (assuming that this hasn't changed in the new timeline).
Kate is on the run for murder.
Claire lied to police and is harboring a fugitive.

....Seinfeld ending, anyone? God, I hope not!

The Remedy

Most people didn't like this episode, again, because they called it a "filler". I think the real reason that they didn't like it was that it didn't show everyone's favorite character, Locke. Ok... so he's just MY favorite character. Anyway, have no fear... he'll be back in tonight's episode! It's supposed to be Locke-centric... but since Locke isn't Locke, can we expect it to be smoke monster-centric? I get chills just thinking about it!

"LA X" Revisited

After posting my recap yesterday, I realized that I forgot to mention 2 of the biggest things in the episode...

Born Again

With bullet wounds still not healed from last year, Sayid was nearing Death when Jacob told him to take him to the temple. There, they dipped his body in water and drowned him. After lying lifeless on the temple floor for quite some time, he was suddenly resurrected. I've heard a lot of speculation that Sayid's body has been taken over by Jacob, but I don't know that it'd be that obvious. I mean, if Jacob's soul can take over another body, then there aren't any ramifications of him dying. Remember, Jacob's nemesis did not take over Locke's body (as it is still lying in the beach, spilling out of that steel crate). He simply took on Locke's form. But there's no denying that SOMETHING is in Sayid. I keep going back to when Ben was a kid, and Richard took him to the temple to save him, but warning that he would never be the same, and all his innocence would be lost. I hate to say it... but I think we're about to see a dark side to Sayid.

Smokey's Home

(not)Locke, also known as "Smokey", told Ben that he wants the one thing that John Locke never wanted-- to go home. But where is home? That's the million-dollar question right now. The easy assumption is that his home is the temple. But is that too easy? What if his home is not on the island? My wife's going to be disappointed that I'm writing this because she thinks I'm looking into it too much, but... In the pilot episode, just after seeing the "monster" knocking down the trees in the jungle, we hear Rose in the background having a conversation with another one of the survivors, and she says, "The sound that it made... There's something so familiar about it," to which the other castaway says, "Really? Where are you from?" She replies, "The Bronx." Could Smokey be from New York? Really?

Here's my theory:

The smoke monster is the soul of Jacob's nemesis. It was separated from its body, and currently exists in 2 forms. Its naked form is the smoke monster, but it has the ability to assume the forms of other dead bodies on the island (Jack's dad, Ben's daughter, Eko's brother, and now Locke). His real body (perhaps the one we saw him "wearing" in last year's finale) is being guarded in the temple. And the whole purpose of the island is to keep this smoke monster at bay.

He was banished to the island, and Jacob was sent as his guard. But now that Jacob is dead, Richard is free from his "chains", and the smoke monster can now resume his original shape and leave the island. It just needs its body first. This is why everyone was putting the ash around the temple... to prevent him from getting his body back.

This man is truly evil. And letting him get his body back is the only way he can leave the island. And him leaving the island is NOT good.

OK... I get it.... some of the ideas here are flawed, but still worth keeping in the back of our heads. All I know is that when (not)Locke shows up at the temple, the doo-doo is gonna hit the fan! Remember, Jack & Co still believe that Locke is dead, so when they see him walking around, they're going to be in shock. Will he be able to trick them into letting him into the temple? Maybe Jacob will visit Hurley again and warn him that this man is NOT Locke.

And Now, a Treat...

Here is a side-by-side comparison that someone did of the pilot episode and the opening scene of this year's premiere.

S6E01 - LA X

Well, folks, the sixth and final season of LOST is officially underway. And I couldn't be happier with the premiere episode (especially since my theory from last week was pretty darn close)! The losties have found themselves living two alternate time lines-- both serving as a "what if" scenario. In scenario #1, we see what happens if the bomb didn't work as planned. Jack & Co are blasted back to 2007 and the survivors find themselves mingling with the island natives back at the Temple. The second scenario shows Flight 815 flying safely over the island (which is now underwater) and landing in Los Angeles. But this Flight 815 wasn't totally the same as the original one.

Flight 815B

The differences between the original flight and this one are very important to note. And I think the best way to do this is to look at each character.

Jack: Rather than consoling Rose and easing her nerves when the turbulence hits, the roles are reversed, and it is Jack that is the nervous one. Something else that is worth noting is that the stewardess (Cindy) gave Jack only one bottle of liquor this flight (instead of 2).

Locke: He mentioned to Boone that he went on a walkabout in Australia. In the first season, we saw that Locke went to Australia for the walkabout, but was rejected due to his paralysis. And apparently, my TV wasn't listening to me when I was yelling at it, "Stand up, Locke!" as I hoped that John had some better luck in this alternate world. So when we saw him getting wheeled off the plane at LAX, we found ourselves wondering whether or not he was telling the truth.

Hurley: No more bad luck... though he still won the lottery. Does this mean that he didn't use the numbers? I guess that if the island blew up in 1977, then Sam and Lenny never heard the numbers. And Lenny never ended up in the mental institution. And Hurley never heard the numbers. Though something tells me that they still managed to come into his life. They do seem to have a power of their own.

Kate: Her plane ride didn't seem all that different; though a video released at Comic Con suggested that she didn't really kill her father, but instead killed one of her father's work buddies. Hopefully, we'll get more insight into this in the next episode.

Sawyer: I have to admit... I'm at a crossroads when it comes to Sawyer. On one hand, he offered to help out with Charlie. But on the other hand, he seemed a little too interested in Hurley's money. Is he a con-man in this new world, or not? I really hope not.

Charlie: Everyone's favorite one-hit-wonder wasn't living it up in this world... though he was still living... for now. After being saved by Jack (again), he wasn't very appreciative, but instead told Jack that he should've died.

Jin & Sun: Some things never change. Jin was a jerk in season one. He's a jerk now. Maybe if he had someone to build a raft with, he could work out some of that aggression. Though they tip-toed around whether or not Sun spoke English. The mystery remains.

Boone: I was really excited to see Boone in the premiere. And even better, Shannon wasn't there. Don't get me wrong... I like Shannon... I just didn't like how much she complained in the first half of the season. Maybe by the time they bring her back, she'll be past that "annoying" phase. Note: I really loved how Boone told Locke that if the plane went down, he would stick with him. Unfortunately, it's his trust in Locke that ended up killing him in season one.

Desmond: In the original Flight 815, Desmond.... wait.... what the hell was Desmond doing on the plane? I guess if the island has been under water for the past 27 years, Desmond wouldn't be pushing that button. Though, his appearance on the flight really suggests that it is all about fate. He was destined to connect with the losties. And while I loved seeing Desmond again, I don't think we're going to get to see him and Penny together. I mean, if Widmore was on the island in 1977, then he was likely killed in the explosion. This means that Penny was never born. ... it actually hurt to write that.

Smokey's Apology

Speaking of things that are painful to write, YES... this is the last season of LOST. That being said, they certainly set the pace for the season by answering something BIG in the fist 15 minutes. (not)Locke was being shot at by Bram's team after killing Jacob, and after he disappeared around the corner, down came Smokey! Tossing around Bram's team and killing them 3-at-a-time, Smokey was stopped (only briefly) when Bram surrounded himself with a circle of ash. It quickly outsmarted Bram, and after Bram was killed, the smoke retreated, and (not)Locke reappeared. His apology to Ben made my top 10 LOST quotes ever... "Sorry you had to see me like that." Confirmation, (not)Locke is the smoke monster. And also confirmation, the ash around Jacob's cabin was for the smoke monster. The question... was it keeping him locked in the cabin, or was it keeping him out?

Jacob's List

A ghost-Jacob came to visit Hurley and told him to take a dying Sayid to the Temple, making sure to bring the guitar case that he gave to Hurley last season. When they got there, the temple master opened it up to find the Ankh from the four-toed statue. He cracked it open over his leg and pulled out a piece of paper (kinda like a giant Egyptian fortune cookie). And we can only assume (after his response) that the paper had their names on the list. Was this something that Jacob recently put together, or has it been inside the statue for hundreds of years? I hope we find out soon. I mean, they've only got 16 hours of the show left.

Connections

By the end of the "LA" timeline, we see that connections are already being made. Kate and Sawyer shared a little moment in the elevator. Jack & Sayid saved Charlie, though I think Charlie may come back, seeking a little revenge on Jack. Locke and Boone became single-serving friends (a "Fight Club" reference). But most importantly, Jack and Locke met and ended their conversation with Jack giving Locke his business card. "Nothing is irreversible," offered Jack, about Locke's paralysis. They're all coming together, and I think it's a safe assumption that this time line's story over the entire season will be about them all continuing to make these connections. I wouldn't be surprised if we found ourselves in an alternate version of the Jack/Kate/Sawyer love triangle in the coming episodes.

Richard in Chains

After (not)Locke came out of the foot-statue, he said to Richard, "It's good to see you out of those chains." This comment brings up 2 popular theories-- Was Richard one of the slaves on the Black Rock? Or are these metaphoric chains, in that now that Jacob is dead, perhaps Richard is free from the age-defying spell that Jacob put on him?

It Worked

These 2 timelines (which the producers are trying to refrain from using the term "alternate") raise some great questions about the direction of the show. And something very important to note is that Juliet (in the "it didn't work" timeline) told Miles that it did work. So the question is.... do these two time lines co-exist? Maybe this is tied into the consciousness travelling that we've come to love in episodes like "The Constant". Are the characters jumping between time lines? I'm hesitating to say that Jack seemed like he had some weird sort of a deja-vu feeling in the opening scene because I think it might just be something I'm looking for, rather than something that's actually there.

I hope you all enjoyed the premiere! We've only got 16 hours (in 15 episodes) left!

Until next time!

Ready for Season Six!

Guess who's back! And I'm totally ready for season six... I think. I honestly couldn't be more excited, but it's certainly bittersweet, thinking that tomorrow, I'll be watching the last ever LOST season premiere. And in just a few months, we will all gather around our television sets and watch the final episode in LOST history. Sure, someone will try to remake it in 30 years (probably in a major motion picture)... but it'll never be LOST.

I wanted my "return of LOST" post to be about the surprise LOST-themed birthday party that my wife threw me this summer, but (as always) I got a little side-tracked when my daughter was born, just a couple weeks after the party. I'll be doing a post full of pictures in the near future. But for now, I wanted to do a quick post on some possible theories for the final season.

As you remember, LOST season 5 ended with one big question-- can you change the past? Back in 1977, Juliet was pulled deep into the hatch shaft where she detonated a hydrogen-bomb, hoping to destroy the island, or at least the pocket of electromagnetic energy that lead to the pushing of the button, which lead to the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. Faraday's theory is that if they can detonate the bomb at the source of this electromagnetic anomoly (the "incident"), their plane will never crash on the island in 2004.

So, did it work? It had to. I mean, if it didn't, wouldn't that mean that all of the characters back in 1977 are dead? We did hear an explosion.... and I doubt that after waiting nearly 9 months, they'd go back and say that it was just a minor explosion (enough to kill Juliet, and that's it). Then again, they did do a switch-a-roo with where Sayid shot Young Ben (moving his bullet wound from heart-side to the other side of his chest).

I also have a hard time believing that the premiere is going to start with Flight 815 landing in LAX. It's a cop-out to undo everything over the past 5 seasons.

The best option that I can think of is a combination of both... the half-"it worked" and half-"it didn't" theory.... here's my prediction for season 6.

Seasons 1, 2, and 3 had flashbacks. Season 4 had flash-forwards. Season 5 had time jumps (between 1977 and 2007). I'm predicting that the storytelling will change in season 6 to a flashing between alternate paths.

Along one path, Jack & Co are blasted back to 2007 where they meet up with "Locke" and friends, and try to figure out their purpose on the island.

Along the second path, the Losties are blasted back to September 22, 2004 on Flight 815, where they land safely in LAX. Off the island, we'll watch as destiny brings the losties together. We'll see Boone die, then Shannon, etc. And at the end of the series, they'll all end up back on the island, exactly where they are in the first timeline. It'll be a season-long course-correction.

I'm sure that my theory is wrong... and I'm sure I'll be proved wrong as soon as the season starts. But in the off-chance that I'm right, I had to post it. :)

Thanks again to eveyone that reads. I'm really looking forward to this season and being able to share my theories with you all!

Namaste!
-drew.