S6E09 - Ab Aeterno

The Balance of Good vs Evil. Which is which? I've always thought that this is one of those bigger questions that will be up for debate long after LOST is over.... but this episode really changed my mind.

Cork Island

Big reveal #2: The purpose of the island is to keep evil at bay. That being said, I don't think they can continue the story without saying definitively that (not)Locke is officially evil. According to the producers, the analogy of the wine bottle has been used in the writers room for a VERY long time to describe the island. And what a great analogy! Well done, writers! Keep up the good work!

Rock the Boat

Confirmation! Richard came to the island as a slave on the Black Rock. And how cool was it to see the Black Rock smash into the statue. But there was one thing worth noting that I'm sure not a lot of people caught onto.... At the season 5 finale, Jacob and (not)Locke(yet) were sitting on the beach, watching the Black Rock in the distance... but the weather was beautiful! So why was it now storming? This goes back to one of the season one mysteries of why the weather changes so drastically on the island. I wouldn't be surprised if after that sunny beach scene, (not)Locke(yet) created some massive storm in an attempt to kill the passengers. For those skeptical, I believe the producers have confirmed that the boat was, in fact, the Black Rock.

Also a fun reminder, the captain of the Black Rock was Magnus Hanso, who was an ancestor of Alvar Hanso, founder of the Hanso Foundation, who funded the Dharma Initiative.

Hell Island

This is the second time a character on LOST has referred to the island as Hell. The first time was back in season 3 when Sawyer killed Locke's dad (also on the Black Rock), and Locke's dad told Sawyer that they were in Hell. I believe his exact phrasing was, "It's a little hot for Heaven, don't ya think?". And remind me... have I ever mentioned the idea of good vs evil on this show? Heaven vs Hell?

Immortal Ricky

Another answer! Why doesn't Richard age? Because Jacob made him that way. Why did Jacob make him that way? Because Richard is afraid that when he dies, he's going to go to Hell. Are we sure this isn't purgatory?

Scanned by a Monster

Chained up against the wall of the Black Rock, Richard appeared to be the only one that Smokey didn't kill. But it did come by and scan him (the same way that we've seen it scan Juliet and Eko in the past). Later, Richard saw an apparition of his dead wife, and I truly believe these were connected. Smokey likely scanned Richard to learn as much about him as possible so that he could use that information to manipulate him. Remember, right before Eko was killed, smokey presented himself as Yemi and some of the other people that Eko killed.

Corruptible or Not?

There is a battle between Jacob and (not)Locke(yet). Jacob is trying to prove that mankind is truly good, while (not)Locke(yet) believes that mankind is always corruptible. You know the drill... vote at the top of the page.

Hired!

One of Jacob's rules in proving that mankind is good, is that he cannot intervene. Of course, that doesn't mean that Richard can't. So Jacob hired Richard to be the "in-between" man. But maybe Richard is the one being tested. After Jacob dies, the question is whether or not Richard will stay good or cross over to the dark side.

The White Rock

After Jacob convinced Richard to help him, he sent Richard back to (not)Locke(yet) with a white rock. Remember.... it's an inside joke. I think we can assume that the white and black rocks were sitting on that scale in the cave since then. But now that Jacob is dead, the white rock is gone.... or is it?

And by the way, how cool is it that the slave ship is called "The Black Rock" and they're using this black vs white rock analogy.

Elina's Theory

Thanks to Elina, who provided this great theory, definitely worth posting...

Desmond is coming back to the island (maybe on Widmore's sub), and will be the one to take over Jacob's role. Jacob told Ilana that there were 6 candidates left; but wasn't that after Locke died? Maybe the spot that we assumed was reserved for Locke was actually for Desmond. And when Desmond takes over as Jacob, he makes it his first priority to give the losties their lives back (treating it as if Jacob had never lured them to the island). And THAT is what the flash-sideways is.

As for why the island is underwater? With Desmond taking over as the new Jacob, the "cork" was moved to a new location. I couldn't say where, but since so many people already seem to know about the island, the only way to protect the world from the evil getting out is to move to a new place.

Poll Results

I just wanted to say "Thanks" to everyone who voted last week....and congratulate Destiny for winning over Free Will.... and "Free Willy 2", which beat out "Free Willy" by just one vote. Don't forget to vote this week!

S6E08 - Recon

"Recon" - verb - to con again.

Detective Ford

Wow... right out of the gate, we found out that Sawyer-- I mean Jim, is a detective. He talked about why he decided to become a detective, and his response was, "I was at a point in life where I was either going to become a criminal or a cop... so I chose cop". They're really driving this idea of the balance of good and evil within each one of us, and are introducing the theory that we can all choose which path we take. Destiny or free-will? Vote in the poll.

So if James is a cop, why didn't he stop Kate at the airport when he saw that she was on the run? In fact, he helped her escape! Sometimes, I wish I looked good enough to get away with crimes! ...not that I would... but you get the point.

Anyway, I guess we'll see what happens to Kate now that he's arrested her. I mean, he can't exactly let her go now that Miles is there too.... unless Miles has a thing for pretty ladies too.

Don't Touch Smokey!

After being nearly killed by Claire while Sayid just sat back and watched, Kate was rescued by (not)Locke. But after (not)Locke sat with Kate and explained the state of mind that Claire is in, we started to get some insight into who (not)Locke really is.... and he doesn't seem totally bad. Though, Kate didn't fall for his sob-story because when he reached out to help her up, she stood up on her own. And the fact that she didn't touch him (or rather, that he didn't touch her), I think, is significant. It goes back to when Jacob touches people, they are given a gift. Perhaps when (not)Locke touches people, something else happens. Then again, if this were the case, you think he'd just run around tagging everyone in sight.

The Search for Anthony Cooper

Even in this sideways-world, James/Sawyer is looking for the man who is responsible for the death of his parents. Reminder: The man he is looking for is Locke's dad! I completely forgot about this connection until this episode, and that's when I realized that this is how they were going to cross paths. Maybe he'll learn that Anthony Cooper has a son, and James will try to connect with Locke to learn more about his dad.

The Dharma Initiative

We got confirmation last week from Ben's dad that the island and the Dharma Initiative both co-existed; however, in the sideways world, they both left the island before it was sunk. And now in "Recon", we got a very quick mention of Pierre Chang (aka the guy from the "Orientation" videos, aka Miles' dad). When Miles was setting James up with Charlotte, he mentioned that Charlotte works with his dad at the museum. So this is yet another confirmation that the island did not sink as a result of the H-Bomb, as Pierre was also on the island at that time. The 2 big questions I have are (1) what happened to the island, and (2) why did they all leave?

Sonic the FenceHog

After Sawyer's recon mission went sour and Zoe took him back to Widmore's sub, we get a quick glimpse of Widmore's crew setting up a sonic fence... you know, the one used to keep smokey out. I was always under the assumption that smokey couldn't travel to the Hydra island, but it looks like Widmore is preparing for such an occurrence. I guess that's what I get for assuming ANYTHING on this show.

The Hatch (part 2)

We spent half of season one, and the summer before season 2 wondering what was in the hatch. And now, we're given a second "what's in it?" scenario. Widmore is keeping something locked up in his submarine and I heard a really good theory about what is in there. What if Desmond was killed off-island, and Widmore is bringing his body back so that Jacob's soul can take it over? Then, it'd be Desmond vs Locke? I'd be cool with that.

Mommy Issues

Ok, so the characters on LOST are basically known for having "daddy issues", but now (not)Locke tells Kate about his "crazy" mom, and tells Kate about how Claire is crazy now. I've received several e-mails and instant messages asking me if I think that (not)Locke is actually Aaron. And while I'm hesitant to jump to that conclusion for a number of reasons, I'm still sticking to my guns that there is a definite reason that they have not yet said his name. I mean, at this point, they can't just call him "Fred".... he's GOT to be someone! And right now, Aaron is starting to make sense. Though, I'm not fully committing.

This Blog is Dying

I realized today, on the 23rd of March, that the season finale of LOST airs exactly 2 months from today. It hurts to write that. And while part of me is ready for the end, there is another part of me that will never be ready. I guess we have no choice but to sit back and enjoy it while it lasts.... unless, of course, they have a Sawyer and Miles "cop-show" spin-off.

Until next time!

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.