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.

S5E16 / S5E17 - The Incident

HAVE NO FEAR! I'M STILL ALIVE!

I know it's been far too long since my last post, and I'm about 2 months late with this recap, but things have calmed down in my life a little bit (aka I recently took a week off work), so I've managed to squeeze in an extra couple hours to do this post. So, without further ado, let's examine the finale.

What an episode! We finally got to meet Jacob, who appears to have played an important role in the lives of our Losties... but I'm getting ahead of myself here. Let's go in order.

Q: What lies in the shadow of the statue?

We finally got the answer (in Latin), which translates to "He who will save us all." Is this a reference to Jacob? He's been living in the foot of the statue for (presumably) hundreds of years. Could this also be a reference to Locke (the real Locke), whose body is now laying on the beach, next to the foot? I'm actually re-watching all 5 seasons (surprise, surprise), and I'm half-way through season 1, and Charlie told Jack that if he had to put all of his faith into one person saving them all, it'd be John Locke. Then again, how can he save everyone if he's dead? Unless, of course, he isn't...

Is Locke Dead?

I mean, technically, yeah... he's dead. But... I think we're asking the wrong question here. The right question is....

Did the detonation of the bomb work?

For those that can't remember back to May, here's a quick recap of the plan-- The Losties were stuck in 1977, at the time of the "incident". The incident is what led to the pushing of the button, which led to Desmond pushing the button, which led to the crash of Flight 815, which led to seasons 1-5 of LOST. Essentially, they planned to detonate the Jughead bomb in order to "fix" things so that their plane never crashed on the island. The problem with this plan, of course, is that Jack and Kate never would've met; Kate would've gone to jail; Sawyer would've likely been arrested for killing the guy in Sydney; Hurley would've continued to be cursed; Aaron would've been given up for adoption; the list goes on.

So how does this tie into the "Is Locke dead" thing? If the plane never crashed, Locke would still be in the wheelchair, and would not be dead. So, if the bomb really reset things, then the Locke / Jacob events don't really matter.

I know I'm going in circles here, but you've got to see the issue that they face, which (to me) only seems like there is one solution. If the timeline is reset, then the Locke/Jacob storyline (and everything we've seen so far) is meaningless. If they don't end up on the island, then how would we learn the history of the island next season? But if the bomb didn't work, then the second half of season 5 was pointless. They've essentially got to make it so that the bomb goes off, but that everything that's happened so far counts. Is it possible that, as a result of the bomb being detonated, the Losties were blasted ahead in time to 2008, meeting up with the Locke/Jacob timeline? Could that be what Jacob meant when he spoke his dying words, "They're coming"?

Jacob's Nemesis (Esau)

Ok, so who is Jacob's nemesis? He is given no name in the episode, but the online LOST communities have been referring to him as "Esau" (pronounced "ee-saw"). Biblically, Esau is Jacob's twin brother, who vows to kill him. This appears to be the origins of the black vs white theme. Jacob is dressed in all white, while Esau is dressed in all black. And while it seems obvious to assume that Jacob is the good guy and Esau is bad, I want to make sure to mention that it's possible we're being misled.

Also, the Locke we've been watching all season is actually Esau in disguise. He is unable to kill Jacob himself (same reason Ben is unable to kill Widmore?), so instead he gets Ben to kill Jacob for him. But that was no easy task. (Buckle up.... it's gonna get rough.)

Esau (as Locke) took Ben to the temple so that Ben could confront the smoke monster and be forgiven. After Ben and "Locke" separate, the smoke monster appears. The smoke monster here is likely also another manifestation of Esau. The smoke monster lets Ben go, and he is soon confronted by the ghost of Alex (who is ALSO Esau), who tells Ben that he has to do everything that Locke (Esau) tells him. ... If you need to read that again, please do so now.... I'll wait for you..... ok.... got it? Good. Let's move ahead.

If we've seen Esau manifest himself as Locke, Alex, and the smoke monster, can we assume that this isn't the first time we've seen this guy? Is he the smoke monster all the time? Can Jacob also manifest himself as someone else? This just flipped our LOST world upside-down. I'm ok with the idea that Esau is the smoke monster, as long as Jacob also manifests himself as a white light (the one that Locke saw back in season one). Since the first season, we've seen A LOT of creepy ghosts and things on the island, and it seems reasonable now to consider that they may all be either Esau or Jacob. The question we face now is... who's who?

Touching Flashbacks

In all flashbacks in the finale, we saw how the Losties encountered Jacob in their pasts, and the important role that he played. More importantly, you should all note that he touched all of them during the flashback. Here's a quick rundown of each:

Jack: After Jack's infamous "angel hair pasta" surgery, he was trying to get an Apollo bar from the vending machine, but it was stuck. It was Jacob who eventually got it it down for him.

Hurley: After being released from jail, he and Jacob shared a cab ride. Jacob left Hurley with the guitar case that he was carrying on the plane.

Kate: When Kate was a child, she and Tom (her best friend) were trying to steal a New Kids on the Block lunchbox, when they got caught by the store clerk. Jacob paid for the lunchbox, and Kate was free to go. Note: This is also the same lunchbox that Kate and Tom used to bury their time capsule, which Tom kept his plastic plane in until they dug it up years later. (That's the plane that the marshall had in his case on Flight 815).

Locke: After his father pushed him from an 8-story window, Locke smacked the ground, and Jacob appeared to revive him with a simple touch of the hand. Whether he really brought Locke back to life or if it was just good timing, we don't know. I'm guessing he was brought back to life.

Sawyer: While writing the infamous "Dear Mr. Sawyer" letter, his pen dried up. Jacob was there to provide him with a fresh ballpoint, to ensure that Sawyer finished writing the letter.

Sayid: After he and Nadia stepped off of a curb, Jacob grabbed Sayid to "ask for help", ensuring that Sayid wasn't hit by the same truck that killed Nadia.

Jin and Sun: Jacob made a cameo at their wedding, wishing them good luck and telling them never to take each other for granted.


Now, I don't know the significance of Jacob's touch, but you should note that all of those people are still alive on the island. Is it possible that they needed his touch in order to come to the island?

Lord of the Ring

Sun found Charlie's DriveShaft ring that he left behind. Is this a sign that we'll soon be seeing Claire again? I can't imagine that they'd bring up the ring without having Claire back to get it. I know she's supposed to be back next season... I just don't know how soon (first episode? 15th episode?). I'm voting for episode 1.

ROSE AND BERNARD!

I'm so happy to see Rose and Bernard back! They've been living with Vincent in the jungle for the past 3 years, saying that they didn't want to work for the Dharma Initiative because they're retired. This caused a lot of buzz in the LOST fan community that Rose and Bernard are likely the Adam and Eve from season 1. To me, it seems a little too obvious. I know this is supposed to be one of the bigger LOST mysteries, so I can't see them putting it out there so soon.

Is Jacob dead?

I can't imagine you could be stabbed and thrown onto a campfire and live to tell about it. Then again, if you have some form of island-magic, I think there might be an exception for you. I've been having suspicions lately that Jack's reason for being on the island is to save Jacob. The problem here is that Jack's still in 1977... or is he?

Four-Toed Statue Confirmed!

The LOST crew has confirmed the identity of the 4-toed Statue as Taweret, the Egyptian Goddess of childbirth and fertility. This ties in well with the fertility issues on the island. I'm a little confused, though, as this statue is considerably old (at least a few hundred years), but the fertility issues on the island didn't always exist. They weren't there in the 1970's (when Amy gave birth to Ethan on the island), but women couldn't carry to term on the island in the early 2000's. The big question here-- what changed? Is it possible that Ethan could be born on the island because of research by the Dharma Initiative? Maybe they found a way to fix it?

The Big Question

The MOST IMPORTANT thing in the finale was the opening sequence. As Jacob and his nemesis are sitting on the beach watching the Black Rock in the distance, they have the following conversation (courtesy of lostpedia):

Jacob: I take it you're here 'cause of the ship.
Nemesis: I am. How did they find the island?
Jacob: You'll have to ask 'em when they get here.
Nemesis: I don't have to ask. You brought them here. Still trying to prove me wrong, aren't you?
Jacob: You are wrong.
Nemesis: Am I? They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same.
Jacob: It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.

Go ahead.... read that a couple more times. It's clear that Jacob is trying to prove his nemesis wrong on something. And he keeps bringing people back to the island to help, but it never works. Jacob won't give up though... he's determined. And while it's easy to assume that Jacob is good and Esau is bad (as discussed above), I keep reading that conversation thinking, "This sounds an awful lot like Jack and Locke talking." Jacob is the man of faith, while his nemesis is the man of science.

The big LOST mystery here is, "What is Jacob trying to prove?" I think this isn't going to be answered until the final episode, as I think it'll reveal A LOT about why they were brought to the island, which is (of course) one of the biggest mysteries on the show (now that we got the answer of where Rose and Bernard are).

***********************

Ok, so I finally finished the recap of the finale. And just in time for Comic Con this weekend. I'll be posting some brief things after Comic Con to let you all know what went down. Plus (fingers crossed), I'm re-watching the series (from season 1 all the way through) and formulating a "Big Theory". I've got it laid out in my head and I'm trying to work in all the details, while hopefully not being proved wrong. If any of you have theories or questions, send 'em to me and I'll try to address them in the blog. That way, it won't be completely dead for the next 7 months.

Thanks again for reading! And thanks also for your patience!

-drew.

S5E15 - Follow the Leader

Captain Richard

If you're a consistent reader of this blog, you know about my "Richard is from the future" theory, but I'm starting to consider otherwise. This week, we saw Richard building a ship in a bottle. The ship bore a striking resemblance to the Black Rock (as seen in the painting purchased by Charles Widmore). I'm frustrated because I think they're trying to tell us something here about Richard's origins, but I'm a firm believer that he is an island-native. Aren't we due for a Richard flashback?

Guess Who's Back

It's Sayid! I'm glad to see him back, just in time for the finale. Now where the hell are Rose and Bernard?

The Jealous Submarine

Just as Sawyer and Juliet are about to be handed a "Happily Ever After" card, in comes Kate. So, what happens now? Will Sawyer, Juliet, and Kate be the members of an off-island love triangle? I wouldn't place my bets on it. I would guess that they make it no further than the other "Alcatraz" island. And as much as I'd like to see Juliet happy, I think Kate and Sawyer are going to be together in the end. Then again, what do I know?

Radzinski's Map

The various LOST communities around the internet have been buzzing about the map that Radzinski asked Sawyer to draw for him. It's a popular theory that Sawyer's drawing becomes the basis for Radzinski's infamous Blast Door map, as seen in the hatch (under the black light). I don't personally subscribe to the theory, but I wanted to post this to get your thoughts on it. Please leave me a comment below, or e-mail me with your thoughts.

Not Under the Swan?

I always thought that the Jughead (bomb) was buried beneath the swan station, where all that concrete was poured, but they seemed to have suggested that it was buried beneath the barracks. Isn't that where Ben went to summon smokey? Richard did make a comment about getting the bomb out "the same way we got it down here". Could smokey have done that? It'd be a GREAT turn of events to find out that while Ben can summon smokey, it's actually Richard who can control it. Wouldn't that be cool?

Death to Jacob

The big kicker at the end of this episode was when Locke told Ben that he was looking for Jacob so that he could kill him. Would this even be possible though? Does the island not want Jacob to live? Is Jacob a bad guy? If so, does that mean that Richard is also a bad guy (as he's been following Jacob)? Or does Jacob simply not exist? I really really really hope we get answers on this in the finale. I don't feel like waiting another 8 months to get this answer.

But why would Locke want to kill Jacob? He hasn't really done anything to Locke. Did the island tell Locke to kill Jacob? Is Locke just out to prove that Jacob doesn't really exist? Or...

Remember back last season, when Ben took Locke to Jacob's cabin? And Locke heard Jacob say "Help me." Is it possible that killing Jacob will help him in some way? After all, killing Locke helped him get back to the island. Could Jacob be trapped in-between worlds right now? Maybe he's in a coma somewhere, and the only way he can be saved is if Locke pulls the cord, allowing the island to resurrect him?

It's a stretch, I know. I've really got my fingers crossed that we find out this week.

The Incident

Jack's plan (originally Faraday's plan) is to detonate the jughead, as to prevent the "incident", which (for those who don't remember) happens during the construction of the Swan. Apparently, the DHARMA crew drills into a pocket of electromagnetism, which causes them to create this button that needs to be pushed every 108 minutes (in order to discharge the electromagnetism before it becomes to strong). It's because of this, that Flight 815 crashed on the island. So, by detonating the bomb, it changes the future, ensuring that Flight 815 never lands on the island.

And while Jack is fine with this, Kate refuses to help him because (DUH) if Flight 815 never crashes, she'll end up in jail, never having met Jack, Sawyer, or any of the other passengers on Flight 815.

Let's face it, though. Would they really build this storyline up if they weren't able to change it? Probably not. So, buckle your seat belt and get ready for tomorrow's episode. I have a feeling we're in for a game-changer, involving Flight 815 having never crashed on the island.

Good luck.

S5E14 - The Variable

Congratulations to LOST on airing their 100th episode, "Variable". And as the first Faraday-centric episode, it certainly did not disappoint (except, of course, for when he was killed.... but I'm getting ahead of myself).

Yet More Daddy Issues

One of the big reveals in this episode was Charles Widmore claiming that he is Faraday's dad. It's strange, though, that when he mentioned it, Eloise slapped him. I got the impression that he hasn't earned the "father" status with Faraday. The sad thing is that he could've been around for Faraday's entire life, and he wouldn't have known because of his little memory problem.

LOST with Whom?

We got a little more insight this week into Faraday's memory problem. He has to live with a caretaker because he has major memory-loss issues... likely as a side effect of all his crazy experiments. His mother persuaded him to work for Widmore and go back to the island, where he'll be healed (and apparently shot as well).

Beating Around the Bush

Ok. I'll stop beating around the bush here. Faraday was shot. By his mother. In 1977. WHAT? Does this mean he's dead? I certainly hope not. However, I'm definitely not gonna hold my breath on that. I just can't fully commit one way or the other yet, because he's still supposed to film that video with Pierre Chang from last summer's comic con video.

Need a reminder?



So did she know that he was gonna get shot? Probably. So why did she send him back to the island? It's simple-- she's just making sure that things happen the way that they're supposed to. If that's the case, she's gonna be really pissed with Jack & Co. because they're going to spend the rest of the season trying to prevent Flight 815 from crashing on the island.

Faraday May Be Dead, But...

PENNY AND DESMOND ARE ALIVE!

That's it.... nothing else here. Just celebrating. Move on to the next line item.

In Trouble

The Dharma folks found Phil tucked away in Sawyer's closet, and now Sawyer and the rest of the Losties are in BIG TROUBLE. After a big shoot-out, Radzinski was shot in the arm by (if I remember correctly) Sawyer (or was it Jack?). Regardless of who it was, they've got no choice now but to run. And while Sawyer's option of starting over in the jungle sounds interesting, I think we (as an audience) would benefit much more if they just joined up with Richard's team. Maybe then we'll get to see what the hell Rose and Bernard have been up to for the past 3 years.

Chocolate Before Dinner

I was glad to see Charlotte back in this episode (granted, she was just a child). And there are 2 things that we should take away from this scene.

1) She told Daniel that she wasn't supposed to have any chocolate before dinner. This is also what she told him before she died. So, it established that this is, in fact, the same memory she was reliving before taking her last breath.

2) HE DID IT! He told her not to come back to the island. WHY?! He said that he wanted to try to change things.... but if he DIDN'T tell her, then THAT WOULD'VE BEEN CHANGING THINGS!!! You would think that, for a PHYSICIST, he'd be a little bit smarter. Sheesh!

Son of a Dharma Scientist!

Let's face it-- the "Miles is Pierre's son" thing wasn't going to stay buried for long. But leave it up to Faraday to spill the beans and make for an awkward moment between father and son. Faraday told him that he needed to evacuate the island in order to save everyone from the electromagnetic pulse that is destined to happen in a matter of hours. But again, if Faraday is big on changing things, then why tell Dr. Chang? If he didn't know about it, then baby Miles would've stayed on the island, thus changing things.

Hello! McFly! Anybody home?! Think, Faraday! Think!

(He's very "George McFly", isn't he?)

Half Lab Assistant, Half Girlfriend

We also got a little more insight this episode into the relationship between Faraday and Theresa. She started out as his lab assistant, but they soon became romantic. And after performing experiments on himself, she offered to be the guinea pig, and things went sour. The question here is-- why did it hurt her, but not him? Is he special? Or was he just able to find his constant? I'd like to wrap this up with a "Time will tell" like I normally do, but if he's dead, then I don't know if we'll ever find out.

************************

Well, that about does it for me. I'm glad that I was able to get this done before tonight's new episode, titled "Follow the Leader". I'm really looking forward to Season Five's penultimate episode. Normally, the episodes before the finale normally serve as a big set-up for the finale, so I'm not expecting a lot of big reveals. Then again, last year's pre-finale episode was "Greatest Hits", where Charlie died. GREAT episode! Let's hope tonight's is just as good, if not better!

After tonight's episode, I'd love to hear from you guys! Leave me a comment or send me an email with your theories, comments, or questions!

Until next time!

-drew.