LOST S6: E17 & E18 FINALE- 'The End'

...For a moment the unearthly stillness of the desert enveloped us...
Then Newman said, "My father once told me a story I always think of, when the going gets rough and things look hopeless. It's about Destiny….
Destiny came down to an island, centuries ago, and summoned three of the inhabitants before him. 'What would you do,' asked Destiny, 'if I told you that tomorrow this island will be completely inundated by an immense tidal wave?'' The first man, who was a cynic, said, 'Why, I would eat, drink, carouse and make love all night long!' The second man, who was a mystic, said, 'I would go to the sacred grove with my loved ones and make sacrifices to the gods and pray without ceasing.' And the third man, who loved reason, thought for a while, confused and troubled, and said, 'Why, I would assemble our wisest men and begin at once to study how to live under water.' "
I, too, never forgot that story. When our cause seems doomed and the future LOST, when despair becomes unbearable and the heart is on the edge of breaking, let men summon hope and honor and high resolve in yet one more stubborn affirmation: Come, let us assemble our wisest men and begin at once to think, to study, to try to learn – even to learn, if we must, how to live under water."
-Leo Rosten, Captain Newman, M.D.

Legen... wait for it... dary. From the music to the aerial shots to the battle in the rain to everything coming full circle with Jack lying down and closing his eyes in the same spot he woke up and opened his eyes in the very first scene of the very first episode... loved it. I suppose I will have to find something new to obsess over and blog about now. Sigh. Or get a life.

Little satisfying acknowledgments and reveals:

-LockeNess referring to Jack as the obvious choice, because that is what we were all thinking
-Kate snickering at the name Christian Shephard-Island Claire saying she is crazy
-Juliet is Jack's baby mama as hoped/confirmed (though I guess the little guy doesn't actually exist, sad.)
-The whole story has been a combination of elements from different mythologies and religions, and I love that it remained generic to the end- like Christian standing in front of a stained glass window with icons from several theologies

Things that choked me up:

Okay, so I pretty much started getting emotional from the moment the show began and the music played, but here are some specific times:

-Every time someone had a flashback sequence and finally remembered
-Charlie's face watching Claire from the stage-Kate helping Claire give birth to Aaron, again
-Sawyer whispering, I've got you, to Juliet

-Jack saying to Desmond I'll see you in another life, brother
-Jack's conversation with Christian in the end

Things that made me smile like a fool:

-All the people who remember smiling like idiots at the people who don't remember yet (Hurley at Charlie, the Kwons at Sawyer, Kate with Jack...)

-The joyous reunions that came with two people remembering at once (Sayid & Shannon, Sun & Jin, Sawyer & Juliet, Kate & Claire...)
-Boone already being in the know and he and Hurley giving Shannon & Sayid a little more time
-Ben's face to Hurley when he finally got to be the chosen one
-Jack & Kate's epic kiss on the cliff
-The symbolism of them protecting the Light on the island and then walking into the Light in the end

Favorite lines:

-Sawyer asking Jack what the Burning Bush had to say for itself (te he)
-Kate to Jack- you didn't ruin anything, nothing is irreversible... Hurley, this would be so sweet if we weren't all about to die
-When Desmond was going down the hole and said he would go where the light was brightest, all I could think was, second star to the right and straight on til morning! (From Peter Pan)
-Miles- I don't believe in a lot of things, but I do believe in duct tape

-Charlie- I was shot by a fat man

From the very first season, fans clamored around the theory that the island was Purgatory, and the writers/producers promptly shot that down. It was very clever that the twist is that its actually the Flash-Sideways world that is, maybe not Purgatory, per se, more like Limbo, or a literal passage to the light, for the dead to move on. It's a very nice idea that you create a perfect world to find those that matter most to you so that you can remember and let go and then move on together. The ending, with them all hugging it out in the church, which Kirsten aptly named, The Titanic Moment (as in the final scene of Titanic when Rose walks up the stairs and everyone (especially Jack- what a great name!) is there) was also wonderful. Everyone there but those who weren't quite ready to move on yet- Ben, Miles, Charlotte, Daniel... (and those spirits who are apparently trapped forever on the island like Michael?)

For several weeks now I have been suspicious of the to-good-to-be-true nature of the sideways world, feeling like it was some kind of Matrix. Then last week Desmond had me confused when he said that he was there to help them, let go. I was so caught up in it all that the realization of what was really happening didn't hit completely hit me until Jack walked into the Church and looked at the casket and I knew Christian wouldn't be in there because they were all dead. I had an eye-popping, jaw-dropping, make-my-friends-pause-so-I-could-get-a-grip-and-explain moment.

At first when it ended, feeling extremely overwhelmed, I felt like there was a lack of continuity with them all being dead since there were a few in the Island time, aka, Real Time, that were still alive. The more I think about it the more perfect it is though. They really did go through all of that and successfully saved the island and fulfilled their destiny. Those that died seem to have sort of, waited for those who lived so they could all move on together. Hurley and Ben had their moment of -you were a good second...you were a good first, so they really must have cared for the island together for a time. For how long? It hardly matters, because as Christian said, this place they created has no place and no time- they created what was familiar and contemporary to them so that they could all find each other and be together. Though they didn't confirm it, and that's okay, its nice to wistfully think that Desmond got back to his Penny, that Kate and Claire stayed friends and lived a full life loving Aaron, and that maybe Sawyer and Miles did become cop partners! So when Kate said to Jack, I've missed you so much, it really must have been a while for her since she lived years longer than him. (And who knows about Richard.) Its also fun to think of Hurley finding his groove as the new Jacob. He would be a friendly face to meet, with Ben-as-the-new-Richard being the intimidating one. What a pair. I wonder who Hurley chose as his replacement...

Genius. Fulfilling yet lingering. I'll miss it and I want more, but I agree that it was time for it to end. The whole episode answered enough, but was still beautifully ambiguous, which is fitting, because all of LOST has been one exquisitely mysterious journey. C'est la vie.

LOST S6: E16- 'What They Died For'

At the innermost core of all loneliness is a deep and powerful yearning for union with one's LOST self. 
-Brendan Francis

Flash-Sideways:

Desmond has certainly found his stride in knocking the truth back into everybody. It has certainly been some quick and confident thinking on his part to be pulling off all of this. But, like he said to LockeNess on the island, he isn't afraid of anything. So I guess, why hesitate and second guess yourself and your purpose if you have no fear? The whole time I was thinking, 'the gangs all here!' It was so fun to see so many favorites/originals together and I love Desmond for making it happen. He made that call to Jack about the coffin arriving soon, so is his goal to get everyone to the airport? If they fly a plane out over the island will they mesh with their Island entities? Also, though I never really doubted him, it was nice to have it verified that he did in fact hit John to help him let go, and not to actually harm him. That phrase, 'help him let go,' is curious. I have been assuming he just needs to make them all remember, but as we have said before, this Sideways seems to be, for the most part, sort of a dream world idea of closure and being okay with that they have, yada, yada, yada. Maybe the reality, even if its darker, is better, because its the truth, and Desmond has to knock that into them. More than just remembering, but accepting as well, and being who they were before. The way that John is now, once again, a Man of Faith.


Side Note 1- I secretly always thought that Kate and Sayid would have been an awesome, Mr. & Mrs. Smith kinda team. Too bad that never happened. I always liked their chemistry and their mutual respect.
Side Note 2- Anna Lucia! It was nice to see you dear, but unlike all of the other old characters who felt like they were guest stars, she really just felt like a brief cameo, so it felt a little off. But alas, as Desmond said, she's not ready.
Side Note 3- I am still really hopeful that we will see Juliet in the finale, because I know we are going to be seeing some other familiar faces.

Island:

I was loving the whole Three Amigos feel of Richard, Ben and Miles. That is, until Richard got clobbered and Ben started acting like, well, Ben. He realized that Smokey was always the one in control. That conversation with Ben and Smokey on the porch was crazy. I was amused and horrified all at once. Nobody can deliver a line like Michael Emerson (Ben). At first I thought he was bluffing and it was going to be some kind of an attempt at a trap, but nope. Gave Charles up, shot him himself, then asked who else there was to kill. He was practically drooling. Not that I will really miss Charles, but I sort of wanted a little more time for some Charles/Ben frenemy banter. Charles said Jacob visited him after the freighter. Between that (since Ben is still bitter that Jacob never chose him) and Charles potentially getting to save his daughter (while Ben lost Alex) there was no way he was going to let him live.  

The conversation that Jacob had with the Final Four at the fire was amazing. I guess his ashes in the fire allow them to see and hear him? The most 'aaaaaahh' moment of the entire episode for me was finding out that Jacob only crossed Kate off of the list because she became a Mother and that was a more important role. 

I'll tell you what they died for, why I chose them and why I chose you, then I'll tell you all you need to know to protect the island because as soon as that flame goes out one of you will have to do it. Gah! I liked Jacob taking responsibility for his mistake. And then describing why he chose them... I didn't pluck any of you out of a happy existence... you were all flawed... like me... alone... all looking for something... you needed the island as much as it needs you. What is interesting is that he chose people who were more like his brother was, than like he was/is.

Jack volunteered! The minute he did, the first thought in my head was that he was going to get killed and one of the others would have to step up, but now that he's drunk Jacob's blessed water (interesting that its the incantation that counts and not what the liquid itself is- water, wine...) So since he is now like Jacob and Jacob's Crazy Mama before them, he should prove pretty hard to kill. Hopefully Richard isn't really dead from that little scuffle with Smokey and he and Jack can start a beautiful bromance. My friend Adam screeched so long and loud when Smokey came out and whacked Richard. Ha! 

Desmond is a Fail Safe. That's what Charles whispered to Smokey. (Charles was little too quick to give that information up, if you ask me. I know he was trying to save Penny, but he should have stuck with his original, and far more accurate, you'll kill her either way, mentality.) How can Smokey use this information and use Desmond to help destroy the island? Use him as some kind of electromagnetic conductor? Since Island Des and Sideways Des are so in sync, if one died would the other know? Would the other also die?

Striking lines of the night:

In the beginning when Kate was heartbreakingly talking about Sun & Jin and told Jack that they need to kill LockeNess and Jack simply replied, I know. Ooooh, good chills.

Miles to Ben in his old house before Smokey arrived: What's that? A secreter room? Haha!

Smokey to Ben when asked why he doesn't stay in smoke form all of the time: I like the feel of my feet on the ground. Makes me remember I was human. Ooooh, creeper chills.

Jacob to Hurley: You should get your friends Hugo. We're almost at the end. Yeah we are. (Sniffle)

LOST S6: E15- 'Across the Sea'

And then, something happened. I let go. LOST in oblivion. Dark and silent and complete. I found freedom. Losing all hope was freedom.

–Narrator in Fight Club

Ummmm, wow. This post is very quote-heavy because, well, the episode was so chock-full of captivating insights!

Crazy Mama & Her Spouts of Wisdom: Played by the always wonderful and entertaining Allison Janney, an actress that I was certainly not expecting to see in LOST. How long had she been there? Who passed the torch to her? She tells the birth mother that she got to the island the same way as them, "by accident." Then later, she tells the boys, "They're not like us, they don't belong here, we're here for a reason." Seems a little contradictory to me. Was she somehow watching the outside like Jacob later did and knew that the child of that woman would be her heir? She also says that she has "made it so you can never hurt each other." Okay, witch woman, but they can still be killed by others. Is the fact that MIB can't kill the Candidates because they are sort of protected by proxy of her little spell-casting since they are potential new Jacob's?

The Favored: Though there were a lot of eye-popping moments and comments in this episode, the most interesting thing to me is the fact that Jacob wasn't actually the desired Candidate himself. From the very beginning with the birth there was a lot of symbolism. Hair color and complexions aside, Jacob was the firstborn, wrapped in white and not crying, while No-Name is wrapped in black and bawling. From the beginning it appears that Jacob was the one that was innately good, while MIB is prone to deceit and can see the dead. (Though we know from Hurley that seeing the dead doesn't mean one is evil. Ha! That would be the biggest twist of all if Hurley ended up the evil spawn of MIB and a criminal mastermind!) she still states this in a positive way: "Jacob doesn't know how to lie, he's not like you, you're special." Yet she later tells Jacob, "I couldn't let you become one of them, I needed you to stay good." So she knew that Jacob was the 'good' one but favored MIB anyway, despite him being the one who leans towards deceit? Or perhaps because of this? Perhaps because he was more like the rest of humanity than Jacob she thought he would be the one to understand? Because she saw herself in him? MIB asks her at one point, "what's dead?" She tells him its "something you will never have to worry about." I suppose this conversation verifies that she was indeed going to choose him as her predecessor and was planning on giving him the Cup of Life.

From Man to Monster: Thirteen year old No-Name looked a lot like a mini Zac Efron. They did a good job showing us his humanity so that we could semi-relate. With who he was though, and not who he now is, since what he is now is merely a monstrous phantom version of his dead self. Curious that it ended up being Jacob who was the cause of the Man in Black's death and him turning into a monster. MIB has the innate ability to see the dead, but Jacob does not. You really can't blame the man fro feeling betrayed and for wanting to see his homeland and see what is out there in the world. Why should he respect the Light when he hasn't been told why he should, and when he can harness it's power? When he stabbed Crazy Mama and she was dying, he asked, "why wouldn't you let me leave mother?" She replied, "because i love you," and then she added "thank you..." Why the thanks? Because she has been in this position for so long and couldn't die and now she is finally being released?

The Back-Up Chosen One: Despite his seeming very innocent and Adam-like, Jacob was more than what he seemed. Despite choosing to stay with Crazy, he still came to see his brother and watched the people sometimes, to see if Mama was wrong about humanity. He disagreed, and it ended up being MIB who agreed with her on that stance- "You want to know if they're bad. The woman is mad but she is right about that... they're greedy, manipulative, selfish..." yet he wants to be one of them. Also paralleling a conversation we have seen before is when Crazy Mama is describing the warring of Mankind and says, "it always ends the same," which is is the same phrasing that Man in Black said to Jacob the very first time we saw them in the show. Interesting that, though Jacob is the one who stayed with Crazy Mama while No-Name left, it is No-Name who had more in common with her. Jacob never loses his faith and hope in people. It wasn't something instilled in him by his upbringing, so where does it come from? And Jacob knew. He knew that Crazy Mama loved MIB more and was going to choose him. "Why do you love him more than me?" Then later at the Light telling her that he knows that she wanted it to be MIB but she's giving it to him because he's all she now has. A man of duty though, he still accepted the responsibility. Was it all in Crazy Mama's (or something far beyond her) master plan? Did Jacob need to be humble?

The Light: When she first took them to the Light it felt very Garden of Eden-like, and young Jacob felt very much like Adam, innocent and childlike. Crazy Mama told them they had to make sure that no one finds the light- a little bit of the light is in every man but they always want more. Apparently they can't actually take it, but if they try it may go out and if it goes out here, it will go out everywhere. "What's down there?" "Light, death, rebirth... its the source, the heart of the island. If you go down there you will be worse than dead." MIB's new people are clever and innovative and have discovered pockets of magnetism around the island and have built the wheel to harness the Light and water. The bottle Mama used to give Jacob eternal life or to make him the keeper of the Light, or what you will, seemed to be the same bottle that he later used to describe to Richard that the island is like a cork keeping evil from spreading into the world. I used to think that the evil he meant was the literal entity of Smokey himself, but now we understand that it's Jacob's fault that that is the case- when he tossed little brother into the Light, he seemed to suck it all into himself. So I guess now they need to find a way to get it out of him and back into the island? The same thing in essence, but different than I first understood it. After he drank, she said, "now you and I are the same." They aren't though. Maybe in immortality and responsibility, but I don't know how much similarity I see beyond that. He is very much his own person.

Adam & Eve: So the cave our Losties went to in Season One is the home of Jacob's youth, and the skeletons they found are Crazy Mama and Man in Black. Why leave them there like that? It seems that it has been centuries at least, so one thing for humanity is apparently a shared respect of the dead since the bones haven't been disturbed with all the stragglers coming and going over the years. They seem to have kept nicely. Island thing, I guess.

Ooh, and here is a good recap to check out.

LOST S6: E14- 'The Candidate'

Nothing is LOST yet, nothing broken,
and yet the cold blue word is spoken:
say goodbye now to the Sun,
the days of love and leaves are done. 

-R.P.T. Coffin

The Fallen: And then there were four (plus Claire). I found it difficult to feel too emotional when Sayid died for several reasons: 1- I've been suspecting all season that he would die as a martyr, it was a very abrupt scene and he didn't get much of a sendoff, he has been a Claimed bum for a while now, and I know we will see him alive still in the other timeline. That being said, it still stung  to hear Jack yell to Hurley, 'There is no Sayid!'  As for Sun and Jin, that definitely left me weepy. It was a fitting end for them though, finally together and finding a sense of peace about it all, and it was beautifully filmed. Nice to catch a glimpse of Jin taking flowers to Sun in the Sideways right after though. Also, too bad about Lapidus (at least I am presuming he died after getting slammed by that door and probably drowning if that didn't kill him.)

Kate: Widmore has a list with four names on it- Ford, Reyes, Kwon and he didn't say, but I presume the fourth is Shephard. (How did he receive this list? From Jacob before he died?) Kate is not on the list and her name was crossed off in the cave, but I swear 'Austen' was on the wheel in the Lighthouse and was not crossed off. Maybe that doesn't mean anything, maybe the lighthouse names just reflect who Jacob has been watching and not who he has discarded as Candidates, but I still feel like there is some kind of loophole that will be revealed as far as Kate is concerned. Poor thing, thinking she is unneeded and then getting shot my Widmore's folks, almost drowning and losing her friends... she seemed far more concerned for Jack than for Sawyer on the beach in the end. Sawyer was the one lying unconscious and yet it was Jack she fell into, crying 'I couldn't find you... I couldn't find you...'

Jack: Nice parallel that he referred to Locke a Candidate in the Sideways timeline though he no longer is in the Island time. Needing to find the answers and take care of everyone, as always, and discovering a lot of connections with the Oceanic flight in the process. A sweet offer to Claire in the end with the declaration that they are family. Also, in all of the Sideways flashes there has been a shot of someone looking in a mirror, but it was a little different this time because it was both Jack and Claire in the mirror of the music box at the same time. An interesting reaction from John when Jack was trying to convince him to do the surgery. I think he is saying no for more reasons than just guilt over his fathers circumstances, and when Jack said 'I can help you John, I wish you believed me,' he seemed to hesitate, not in a reconsidering way, but maybe in a deja vu way. On the Island, Jack keeps wanting people to trust him and thinks they can't get hurt, but keeps being wrong. First Juliet and now they have lost three more. Best line to put Jack in a nutshell, when John's fiancee asks him, 'why can't that be enough' and Jack responds, 'because its not.' Plain and simple. 

Different Circumstances, Same Outcome: It is interesting what we are discovering about the backgrounds of our Losties in the Sideways world. When we first saw them all in the premiere episode, once again on the Oceanic flight, it seemed that things were much the same with them except that they landed this time. As we are learning, their pasts are NOT the same, though they were still ed (by Fate?) to that same flight again. Sayid was an honest business man this time around, Sun and Jin were together though not married, Locke still ended up in a wheelchair but for different reasons, Jack was still going to pick up his father's body but he has a teenage son now... Kate is still on the run, but I think we will discover that she may be innocent of what she is accused of and it will be something different from blowing up her father. 

Who to Trust?: For one thing, I am confused about the Claimed, Claire and Sayid. Do they just have a difficult time thinking clearly unless a strong and personal emotion is brought out to knock some sense into them? For Claire, talking to Kate about going home to Aaron and for Sayid talking to Desmond about the kind of man Nadia would want him to be? With LockeNess, I think Jack is right that he 'needs them' to get off the island but he has simply been unclear about what he needs of them, that he needs them dead and as I've suspected, he can't kill them himself for some reason. If this is true though, then I am wrong in my theory that he can't straight out lie, since he was threatening Jack about killing him if he wanted to. Widmore- I am very confused about him. He has the list of remaining Candidates that he seems to want to protect, locked them up saying it was for their own good, he shoots at them at the boat, though granted, the only one that gets hit is Kate who he thinks is expendable... he isn't exactly great about making himself clear if he IS a good guy, and it does seem likely that LockeNess lied about Widmore setting up the bomb on the plane, but if LockeNess wanted to blow them up on the sub, why didn't he just do it on the plane and save some time? 

Those Absent from the Episode: Desmond- so he is still in the well, and Sayid acknowledged that 'Locke wants him dead, which means your going to need him." Then he tells Jack that he is telling him these things "because its going to be you Jack." It being the final Candidate? the new Jacob? Does Sayid know this for certain or is he just basing it, like I am, on the fact that Jack seems like likely one at this point. Maybe Desmond can answer that. And, I forget, what were Richard and Ben off doing again?

LOST in a Flash: Top 10 from 'The Last Recruit'

Whitney Matheson who writes the Pop Candy column on the USA Today has a LOST discussion thread after each new episode and each Friday she posts the ten most intriguing comments. I seriously cannot believe some of the little Easter Eggs people catch. Here are the ones for the 4/20/10 episode, The Last Recruit. (Click the title to link to the article.) There are some really good ones this week:

1. okgirl_ok: What I love in this episode?

Jack's mirror moment reveals not self-reflection but ... LOCKE!

What a beautiful juxtaposition.

2. Sister Carrie: It looks like the same ancient story was played out in two different ways tonight.

The first is when Locke is in the ambulance and says, "My name is John." I knew this sounded familiar. It reminded me of the story of the birth of JOHN the Baptist. His father Zachariah didn't believe the angel Gabriel when he told Zachariah that his barren wife Elizabeth, a daughter of AARON (and also the name of Libby's sailboat!), would conceive in old age. Because of his UNBELIEF he was struck mute. It wasn't until after the baby was born and relatives were arguing over what his name should be that his father wrote on a TABLET: "His name is John" (the name the angel gave him). At that moment his BELIEF restored him, caused his physical restoration and he was able to speak. I had a feeling tonight that Locke's pronouncement of the words "my name is John" was significant in some way, some declaration of belief that would also lead to his physical RESTORATION (which of course will be at the hands of Jack, who also showed evidence of his BELIEF on the Island tonight).

This same scene was played out in a different way with Sun. She also used a TABLET to communicate because she could no longer speak English. But once she was reunited with Jin, she was able to say "I love you." And Frank rightly said, "Looks like someone got their voice back." Two different kinds of restoration, playing off the same ancient story.

3. jwildstar: It was revealed that Ilana's last name is Verdansky. Is that a play on the name Vernadsky as in Vladimir Vernadsdky, a Russian mineralogist and geochemist who is considered one of the founders of radiogeology?

Interesting that Sideways Ilana has no accent. And on the door to the law office: Sweetzer & Verdansky. That's the second shout out to Sweetzer this season. Penny and Desmond are having coffee at the corner of Sweetzer and Melrose.

4. Ashleysailvt:

guyf wrote: 

Just an observation that what we're being told from some of the characters is inconsistent. If Flocke was appearing as Jack's dad, how did Jack see him in LA in the lobby of the hospital after he got off the island?

Also, Michael said the whispers were heard when dead people appear or are around. We heard whispers before Goodwin's wife told Juliet to stop Faraday and Charlotte from doing their work at the Tempest, and we also heard whispers when Walt would appear. Neither of them were dead. Like always, I wonder if there's more to the story...

----------------

I agree completely with you...I was really disappointed when Flocke told Jack that he was pretending to be Christian. It doesn't make any sense at all. Christians body was missing from the coffin, unlike Locke's body who was still in his coffin. This has already been discussed but MIB doesn't take over someone's actual body, he takes over their likeness. So where is Christian's body??? I always thought that Christian had been brought back to life due to the island's healing powers (or Jacob's touch). Remember at the beginning of season 5 when Sun and Lapidus went to the dharma camp looking for Jin. It was Christian who they found in the dharma camp waiting for them. He told Sun that if she wanted to see Jin again, that she would have to be "patient"; the same thing that Richard told Ben when he was a child (when Ben asked to join the others). This seemed like a very Jacob-y thing to say. Also, at the same time Sun and Lapidus were talking to Christian at the dharma camp, Flocke was already walking around back at the beach with Richard/Illana...remember??? Flocke and Christian can't BOTH be MIB. Flocke is lying to Jack and Claire. He is manipulating them so that they trust him. I don't think we've seen the last of Christian.

And your point about Jack seeing Christian in the hospital off the island...we NEVER see MIB off the island but Jacob on the other hand..he's been seen quite frequently.

5. Ashleysailvt: To piggyback on my whole Flocke is lying about being Christian thing...When Jack asked if he was pretending to be Christian and FLocke said yes, Jack asked why. FLocke's reason: "You were looking for water". Jack JUST told Hurley this story a few episodes back while they were in the caves on their way to the lighthouse. He said when he was out looking for water, he saw his father in the jungle. He said he chased his father until that pursuit led him right to the water he was seeking. MIB could've totally overheard that story...or Hurley could've repeated it to him?

6. kraz: Looking like Desmond going through the magnetism box has somehow put Jacob into his body. He has all the knowledge that Jacob does and is performing all the same tasks in the alt timeline.

7. KerryAnn: When Jack dives from the bomb and Locke carries him away, he tells him, "Now you're with me" (pardon it is not exact). This makes me think JACK JUST DIED.

8. wolv256: And I know the big theory is gonna be "Is Jack dead?" But remember the dynamite couldn't kill him earlier. I don't think he's dead.

9. Howwillitend: The paramedic taking Locke to the hospital said that Locke's wheelchair was totally destroyed. That's not true! I saw the screencap showing Desmond driving away after hitting Locke, and the wheelchair is just fine!!

This is one of many odd occurances happening in the sideways world. The date being off on Claires sonogram, The flight arrivals that Desmond is looking at shows Oceanic 815, arrived, the next frame, it say it hasnt arrived yet.Desmond being on the plane, then seeming to vanish!

Could this mean that there are Two sideway worlds, or are things just out of sync with that world because it's not supposed to happen that way?

10. Sister Carrie: Now Original Ben and Sideways Locke have a shared experience: lying facedown on an operating table waiting for Jack to save their lives.

Should Juliet find her way into the OR, their experience will be complete.

LOST S6: E13- The Last Recruit

The doctors take the bodily evidence as the disease. . . . disease is itself an impudent opinion. He throws off the feelings of the sick and imparts to them his own which are perfect health, and his explanation destroys their feelings or disease. . . . He is like a captain who knows his business and feels confident in a storm, and his confidence sustains the crew and ship when both would be LOST if the captain should give way to his fears.
-Phineas Parkhurst Quimby

Wow, so everyone is finally starting to come together in the Flash-Sideways world and also in the Island world, sort of. Also, we got the clarification that it HAS been Smokey/The LockeNess Monster showing up as Christian Shephard, and probably everyone else's loved ones, and messing with everyone all this time. So the only dead spirits I trust are the ones that Hurley sees and Miles hears.

Sayid: Is there still hope for you?! It seems to me that if we didn't see it then it didn't happen, and therefore Sayid did NOT kill Desmond. Loved that conversation at the well. Unlike LockeNess who plays on peoples fears and insecurities and selfishness, Desmond is acting like Jacob and helping Sayid to make an honest and logical choice. The man surely knows how to play the love card. "What will you say when she asks you what you did to be with her again?" Poignant. Even if Sayid is turning a new leaf, I still, sadly, think he won't make it through the end of the season. Maybe he can at least die as a martyr though.

Sun & Jin: Yay! They are finally together on the island! Its been like two seasons that they have been apart! She even got her English back when she saw him. Sigh, gotta love a good Constant. Also yay, in the Sideways their baby is a-okay! Interesting that Sun recognized and was afraid of Locke when she saw him in the hospital. I bet she doesn't even really understand why, and it all ties into the theory that those dead or close too it or badly injured have a closer connection to their parallel selves. when Island Sun was knocked out and made a connection to Sideways Sun and lost her English, Sideways Sun mist have also felt something and had some kind of vision or memory of Locke (Well, Smokey as Locke).

Sawyer: Oh buddy, bitter much? I think Jack is right and he knows that there is still something you need to do on the island, but I can understand him not feeling like he owes the island anything when it has sent him through the ringer- its one thing for Jack who decided to come back, but Sawyer has never even gotten to leave at all since he jumped out of the helicopter for them, got tossed into the 70s and then loved and lost Juliet. He'll come through in the end though. He always does. In the sideways, I liked his comment to Kate about someone trying to bring them together- Oh James, always so surprisingly insightful. I do love always love the sassy back-and-forthing between Kate and Sawyer, and we will probably see a little somethin' somethin' between them in the next couple episodes, but I am still holding out that we will see Juliet before the end, that she will be Jack's baby mama and that she and Sawyer will meet and it will be instant connection.

Claire: Still don't know what to think about her. I think she was sincerely hurt and felt abandoned by everyone and she was definitely shooting laser darts of death out of her eyes as she watched everyone leaving her again. Yet I also think she was sincerely touched by Kate's little speech. I always love the Kate and Claire scenes. I like Kate in the sort of big sister role. When Claire decided to go with them though, I definitely got bug eyes and chills when she said, 'If he finds out we're gone... he's gonna be mad.' In the Sideways, I admit that if I were Claire I would have been a little creeped by Desmond's insistence. Awfully convenient that Ilana (now with an American accent) and her law firm were in the same building and even the same floor and the adoption agency that Claire was headed to. There's kismet for you. Sorry Jack was a tad abrupt with you Claire, sweetie. He's just in a bit of shock. Ummmm, her preggo belly looked super phony.

Jack: "Doesn't feel right leaving the island... last time it felt like a part of me was missing... we're supposed to do something... maybe he's afraid of what we do if we stay..." Sawyer: "Get off my boat." Jack: "I'm sorry if I got Juliet killed." Hmmmm. Well, it is still holding that Jack seems the likeliest Candidate, but again, maybe its to throw us off and surprise us in the end. Then the Widmore bombing. I guess those electromagnetic maps that Jin helped them out with are doing the trick. Good thing it was only extras (who are dressed like they are ready to follow Moses through the Red Sea) that got killed. What body part was it that fell next to Jack's head? Gross. (But it still made me chuckle. I'm so morbid). LockeNess may have hauled you away Jack, because he needs you, but don't you trust him! What exactly did it mean when Claire said that he was with LockeNess? 'You decided the moment you let him talk to you, just like the rest of us.' Jack, make sure Sayid's allegiance is with you, and get Desmond (Is Des out of the well now and stalking LockeNess?) In the Sideways, it was almost too sappy with Jack and his son, which reminded me of a couple of weeks ago with the Desmond episode and how things are supposed to feel perfect here and that it might all be a facade or a Matrix. Except that now, the people from their real lives are crashing into them and its coming back. Will we get a Locke-walking miracle from Dr. Shephard? I liked his confidence going into the surgery.

Lines of the night:

Harshest- "John Locke was not a believer. He was a sucker."

Hurleyism- "What's going on?" "People trying to kill us again."

Sawyerism- "That pilot that looks like he stepped off the set of a Burt Reynolds movie." Also, his reference to Claire drinking LockNess' Kool-Aid. Ha!

LOST in a Flash: Top 10 from 'Everybody Loves Hugo'

Whitney Matheson who writes the Pop Candy column on the USA Today has a LOST discussion thread after each new episode and each Friday she posts the ten most intriguing comments. I seriously cannot believe some of the little Easter Eggs people catch. Here are the ones for the 4/13/10 episode, Everybody Loves Hugo. (Click the title to link to the article.) Also, I would like it to be acknowledged that I already mentioned a couple of these in my own posts ;)

1. layfieldster: "Why arent you afraid?"

The line that Locke spoke to Desmond before he pushed him down the well. This wasn't just a question but it appears that it was a concern of MIB. And looking back it does seem that everyone he motivates and influences is guided by fear. MIBs main weapon is prying on people's fear in order to get them to do what he wants. Thus, it appears that MIB relies on fear and Jacob always relies on choice. This is the significant difference that separates the battle lines.

2. Sister Carrie: Not to sound like a broken record, but Michael again brought up the idea tonight of being "stuck" on the Island "because of what I did." He confirmed that The Whispers were others who were also stuck, unable to move on.

Maybe this was another example of the creators introducing a theory to dismiss it, but when reviewing Libby's backstory I came upon her encounter with Eko and Charlotte Malkin in the airport. Charlotte tells Eko that she saw Eko's brother Yemi when she was DEAD and "BETWEEN PLACES."

So again we have this idea of the Island as an "in-between place," somewhere people are "stuck." This could be another reference to the Island as "underworld," "abode of the dead," "Sheol." All are in-between places where people await final judgment. BUT Michael seems to intimate tonight that there is the possibility for REDEMPTION even for those in this holding cell. He tells Hurley that if he ever sees Libby again to tell her he's "very sorry."

So perhaps there is a way to be "unstuck" and that is through REDEMPTION or FORGIVENESS. I so wanted Hurley to say, after the big kiss with Libby on the beach: "Michael says he's sorry." And then Michael would be free!

3. EileenBurmeister: On a more serious note, I couldn't remember where I had heard Spanish Johnny, the restaurant Hurley was to meet Rosalita at. "Spanish Johnny" is from Bruce Springsteen's "Incident on 57th Street." Spanish Johnny is described as "dressed just like dynamite." He meets "Puerto Rican Jane" who wants to take him "to the other part of town where paradise ain't so crowded." The new couple find their "soul flame" while "out on the street tonight." The song that comes after this one on the album? "Rosalita." I'm just saying...

4. Superdudex: Maybe at this point Desmond knows more than we've seen him remember. He is not trying to create near death experiences for the other passengers, but he is trying to recreate significant moments that will trigger their recollection.

Desmond's moment of recollection came not when he came in contact with his constant, but when he lived a nearly identical moment to his other self (Charlie's hand underwater).
Charlie's must have been as he was dying by lack of oxygen.
Faraday's when he saw Charlotte.

And now he is trying recreate moments for others:
Hugo's is when he kisses Libby (happened in season 2, and Desmond makes no attempt to create near death, just watches and makes sure it happens)
And at the end of the ep we saw Locke's recollection, as he was lying on his back after an accident, just like when he was pushed out the window.

How Desmond knows how to trigger their recollections i don't know. But it seems more recollection knowledge comes with more similar experiences (Desmonds other flashes when he was in the electromagnetic machine, when he shook hands with Penny, and Libby's on being in the institution and sitting on the beach with Hugo). Maybe he's made a significant recovery of other-life memories by meeting with Penny for coffee and following around other Oceanic people.

5. Cincy Steve:

Exurban Mom (0 friends, send message) wrote: 5h 18m ago
I think, in lieu of a mirror moment, we get Hurley looking at himself on a poster for Mr. Chicken. It's very close to a mirror moment, anyway, and the camera does pause and look at the poster for a second before Hurley is seen entering the Mr. Chicken franchise for his family bucket.
**********************************
Why couldn't the "mirror" moment be at the beginning with the film showing him from a baby through his life's work? It was a way for Hurley to reflect on his life and where he's at now like everyone else did with their instant mirror reflections.

6. dd42: When Richard said to ask Jacob was the Island was, I think he was referring to the 'cork' for the wine bottle, not something we haven't heard before. It was something that Jacob told Richard a long time ago.

Also, it seems like only people that originally died on the island (charlie, libby, faraday) have knowledge that the sideways world is not the "right" world. Except for Desmond because the rules don't apply to him. But only after they touch those who are still alive in the island world, do they realize this to be true as well in the sideways timeline.

7. Bubble of Sanity: The dynamite from Black Rock is all gone now; the atomic bomb has been detonated. I've got to find some explosives somewhere, because if they kill Desmond, I will blow up this show and look for an alternate timeline...

The "previews" of next week were the most revealing I've seen on "Lost" in quite some time. It appears that both Desmond and Locke survived their "encounters" with each other. Now, we will have to see what becomes of that. I'm with those who say that Desmond was sending Locke to a meeting with Jack. Not only will they both connect with the island, Jack will fix Locke's back.

As I noted in another post, in Genesis, Joseph the son of Jacob is thrown into a well. I have since noticed that there are references to Jacob's well, even in the New Testament. Is it possible that Desmond will be a "son" of Jacob, rescued from the well, and used to deliver everyone else, as happened in the biblical story?

To those of you who have already read what I said earlier, I'm just connecting a little more.

Oh, and to the one who mentioned compiling a list of the ten funniest moments, I'm grotesque enough that I nominate the following:

#1 - Arzt and the dynamite, with Hurley's follow-up comment. I remember that when it went off, everyone was shocked, but maybe a little relieved that Arzt had finally shut up...hilarious.
#2 - Juliet's husband and the bus. I did not think it was funny when it happened to Nadia, but Juliet's spouse was abusive and controlling, up to his comical last moment.
#3 - Ilana and the dynamite. If it's funny once, why isn't it funny twice? Maybe not...

8. CA Steeler: Desmond will do anything to make sure everyone meets up with their constant...even if it takes running over John Locke so he can see his constant, Jack Shepard.

9. eyolar: Okay, when Locke is on the ground after getting run over, I totally flashed on wow, that reminds me of when Locke is on the ground after the plane crashed originally. Also, it totally reminded me of his panicked, painful breathing after getting thrown out of the window. Now, bear with me, but that is when Jacob showed up and touched Locke, to comfort him as he lay there, very much in the same way that Ben was comforting Locke as he was laying on the ground after Des ran him over. Hmm, that makes 3 near-death experiences for Locke now doesn't it? That's got to be significant in some way.

10. Kathryn -- DC: At the very beginning of the episode, when Hurley is talking with his mother outside of the hotel, I think he made a reference to "The Human Fund." That is a fictional foundation from Seinfeld.

LOST S6: E12- 'Everybody Loves Hugo'

I couldn't tell fact from fiction,
Or if the dream was true
My only sure prediction
In this world was you.
I'd touch your features inchly.
Beard love and dared the cost,
The sented spiel reeled me unreal
And I found my senses LOST.
-Maya Angelou


Wow, so, Ilana got blown right up there. Just wanted to get that out of the way. Provocative musings by Ben, wondering what the island would do when it was done with all of them.

Hurley & Libby: Aaaah, so once again its a loooove connection that brings it all back. Libby and Hurley are then new Demi and Ashton. Nice how their conversation paralleled their island conversation on the cliff just before she was killed. I chuckled a little after she kissed him and he was like, "I think I'm remembering stuff." I was waiting for him to say, "Maybe if you kiss me some more..." Yeah, yeah, nice line buddy ;) (Also, this knocks Libby out of the runnings for potential Mother of Jack's son, so I'm thinking its Juliet).

Hurley & the Spirits: So the whispers are officially souls that are stuck on the island and can't move on. Is it like poltergeists or like purgatory? I should probably stop speculating into too much detail because I am guessing we won't get this answer, and the details probably don't really matter to the plot, but I can't help wondering what is the criteria for a soul getting trapped? Because they didn't get closure about something in life? Because they can't forgive themselves for their actions? Because someone alive is still holding on to them? Again, its probably unimportant and I can't be nit-picky, but it did leave me curious. Interesting to have Michael, the murderer of Libby, playing Hurley's Spirit Guide this week. Nice of him to apologize, I suppose. I do really think it IS Michael, too. Smokey used to be able morph into different people, but Ilana said early in the season that he had made his choice and I really do believe that at this point, other than still being able to be Smokey, he is stuck as Locke. Therefore, I do believe that every time Hurley speaks with a spirit it really is that person. Does that mean he should always listen to them though? Not necessarily. I mean, now all of the original Oceanic 815 people (who are still alive) are with LockeNess. (Except for Jin, of course- can't poor Sun and Jin catch a break?!)

Theories I Am Clinging To: 1- Jack seeming like the obvious choice for Candidate. I have talked about this before, but it came into play again this week with his conversation with Hurley. Jack is learning that he can't be in control all of the time and learning to let others lead sometimes: "this is me trusting you." 2- Last week with Charlie I talked about how it seemed that perhaps those who were no longer living in the island timeline were closer to their memories. I think that held this week with Libby.

The LockeNess Monster: He told Kate, "You were only able to get on this island because you did it together; if we're going to get off it has to happen the same way." I wonder how true that statement is, and if true, what all 'the same way' entails. The return of the phantom child who keeps haunting/taunting LockeNess. It still seems the most likely that it is somehow a young Jacob, but we await an explanation. He seems to really freak ol' Smokey out (he way Sayid keeps freaking me out with his dead, shark eyes). Another thing that seems to freak him out is Desmond's lack of fear. "What is the point of being afraid?" If Smokey IS a stereotypical mythological villain, then fear is probably his greatest weapon because he can control people that way. You can't manipulate someone who has no fear at all. Unless you create something to make them afraid, I suppose. I didn't even flinch when he toppled Desmond into the well. It was all too obviously coming, and I refuse to believe that Desmond is going out that way, so I'm not bothered by it. Ilana was one thing, because we didn't really know her, but Desmond is too important.

The Conversation at the Well: So the well is really old, and its not the only one, and it was dug by people who wanted to find answers (about the island, the meaning of life, the universe...?) According to Smokey, Widmore is not one of these people and only wants power, not answers. From what we know of Widmore's past and the way he has acted thus far on the island (collecting Jin for his knowledge of the Dharma maps and being, for all we can tell, ignorant of the Candidates situation), I think this is probably true. Does it have to be one way or the other though? If he craves power, can't he also crave answers? He DOES seem to know that Smokey is evil and not to be released from the island. I don't trust him any more than I trust Smokey though.

Flash-Sideways Desmond: I enjoy seeing him play the sweet little guardian angel, pushing people in the right direction. He is so confident and I wish I knew what he knows. I'm torn about his reasons for hit-and-running John: 1- He knows that the way to connect John with his island memories is to get him to Jack and give him a walking miracle, 2- he truly did want to kill him in the hopes or knowledge that it would weaken him as the host/vessel of Smokey.

Favorite Hurley Lines: 'Give me a bucket. Family size' ... 'He's one of the people who come back and yell at me after they die' ... 'Clearly she's good enough for like, a fajita field trip.' Also, him teasing Libby about this 'bizarro universe' she is remembering- gotta love it when the characters call it like it is. I can appreciate writers who can make light of themselves.

Anyone notice how in the preview for next week they were playing the eerie, crazy song from tunnel scene in the 1971 Willy Wonka movie? Creepers.

Also, check out this sweet promo I found, haha!

LOST S6: E11- 'Happily Ever After'

Now, little boy LOST, he takes himself so seriously
He brags of his misery, he likes to live dangerously
And when bringing her name up
He speaks of a farewell kiss to me
He's sure got a lotta gall to be so useless and all
Muttering small talk at the wall while I'm in the hall
How can I explain?
Oh, it's so hard to get on
And these visions of Johanna, they kept me up past the dawn.

-Bob Dylan

Desmond loves Penny...

Charlie loves Claire...

Daniel loves Charlotte...

Love makes them remember... love conquers all! Be still my beating heart during the cat scan Penny flashes! Also Penny's giddy laugh and Desmond's joyful strut as they parted ways at the stands. Does this whole show boil down to soul mates?! I can dig it.

I had fun with the opening island scenes of this episode. It felt all Island of Doctor Moreau-ish. At first it seemed like the Jurassic Park compound and I was sure we would hear raptor screeching, then when they turned on the generator too soon and the dude was still touching it, I wanted it to morph him and give him a crab hand or make him like Jeff Goldblum in The Fly or something, but sadly they played it safe with the old 'fried to death' bit.

Des has always been the wild card and could travel back and forth to the different times in his mind. Widmore knows this about him. Is Widmore aware of the alternate timeline and knows that Desmond is the only one who can connect the two realities? Was electromagnetism the only way to connect him to the other world? In the end Des seemed to understand his purpose, or at least felt good about knowing he had a purpose, but Widmore referred to it as a great sacrifice. What does it entail?

The first few Flash-Sideways sequences we saw seemed to be really positive alternatives and giving people closure. Then we had a couple that were sort of ambiguous and made me question that, like Sayid's and Sun/Jin's. This week is the first time I really viewed the Sideways scenario to be sort of trickery or a facade. Is an ominous Someone trying to keep them happy in this fake world and trying to give them what they want to keep them form their higher callings? It made me think of the scene in Labyrinth when Sarah is sort of drugged to forget her purpose so that her time to succeed will run out, but then she sees some familiar things and remembers. Desmond taking Penny's hand was sort of his, "you have no power over me" moment where he knew who he was and what was needed of him. Apparently in both realities. Not sure why he was so cool going with Sayid in the end, but maybe we is just so zen in his purpose and in the euphoria of Penny that he knows he will be able to accomplish his mission no matter what? He wants the flight manifest because he needs to 'show them something.' What is the plan, Des?

The title of this episode was Happily Ever After, which could just be a sweet reference to the love story that is Desmond and Penny, but I think it is meant to be taken a little more, ironically or sarcastically. The Flash-Sideways seems to represent this facade of happily ever after, but it can't last because there is no such thing as that. Not in a cynical way, just in a realistic way. No 'happily ever after' doesn't mean no happy in your life, it just means there are responsibilities and sacrifices to think of. Also, however much you (whoever the you or what is in this situation) try to give people new memories to keep them... distracted, so to speak, you apparently can't actually rid them of their strong emotions. Reality is their true Happily Ever After and they need to get back to it.

The Flash-Sideways is our Losties Matrix Eloise Hawking Widmore, what do you know, woman? "What happened, happened," - nice touch. She was always a bit of a Seer- does she understand the discrepancies in the Flash reality but prefers to stay in it because she gets to keep her son in this version of her life, like the betrayer in the first Matrix who wanted to forget? What is interesting though, is that with this new perspective of the Flashes I am thinking back on what has been taken from these people to make them start seeing the truth. For Des, Charlie and Dan its their ladies, for Sun/Jin it is their child who they may have lost when Sun was shot... but for others they were given something- A son for Jack, a shot at raising Aaron for Claire... they might be harder to convince. Desmond is the new Jack, trying to get everyone 'back to the island' in a way. Though this episode was the most blatant, Des and Charlie and Daniel aren't the only ones remembering, so maybe it won't be hard to convince the others of the truth, it just might be hard to get them to make the right decision in choosing their real life. There were scenes/moments with some of the others, most specifically Jack, where they seemed to have deja vu or were trying to makes sense of a memory.

Charlie was also, of course, the perfect person to help guide Desmond because of their friendship in the other reality which manifested it in the 'Not Penny's Boat' scene. Charlie looked outside of himself- did he remember the island and Desmond when he almost died before and did the hand thing to jog Desmond's memory? Maybe Charlie is just sort of a talisman since he is dead in the other reality. Maybe its because he is dead in the other reality that he is so much closer to his memories than the others. The way Juliet slipped into it just before she died and the way Sun was affected when she passed out.

Nice touches & parallels with the Flash-Sideways: Running into Claire and predicting a boy, Having the scene in Widmore's office where they drink together and Widmore tells him nothing is too good for him when in a previous situation in his office he won't offer him a drink because he isn't good enough, having George be the driver in this episode since he was in the pivotal Constant episode, the nutty guy who died on the freighter, I believe of a brain aneurysm for his lack of a Constant.

Great lines of the night:

Daniel- "What if this wasn't supposed to be our life?" ... "I don't want to set off a nuclear bomb... I think I already did."

Charlie- "Spectacular, consciousness-altering love," nice description, and "then why are you accosting a man in a dressing gown."

Penny- "I shook your hand and then you fainted; I must have quite an affect on you," and the classic, "have we met before...?"

LOST Peeps

I actually can't stand the Easter candy Peeps, but this is hilarious:

Click HERE to see the other competitors in the Washington Post's fourth annual "Peeps Show" (te he). Some of them are extremely creative and impressive. Still Peeps though. Bleck.

LOST S6: E10- 'The Package'

When a man has LOST all happiness, he's not alive. Call him a breathing corpse.

-Sophocles

Paik and Kwon, not married. Yowza. They certainly gave us a tricky interpretation of the truth in the season premiere. But he is still working for her dad, who is a jerk in any reality, and it now appears the entire situation was set up to get rid of Jin for getting romantically involved with Sun. A less than warm welcome back to Mikhail, aka 'Patchy,' (now patchless and fluent in many languages). When Jin was tied up that creeper Keamy said to him, seemingly sincere, "some people just aren't meant to be together." I will be very sad if this is foreshadowing. Sun shot in the crossfire- did their unborn child survive? Gaaaahh! If there had been a little more time, I was half expecting a Flash-Sideways scene at the end where they are at the hospital and Jack saying something like, 'I'm going to do everything I can to help you, but I need you to trust me,' to parallel the conversation he had with sun on the beach. I always liked the Jack and Sun friendship- respectful with no presumptions or expectations, just easy and honest. (Side note, I hate Sun's hair in the Flash-Sideways!!)

Island Sun! Good girl for running from LockeNess even though you really want your Jin back! She has been so bitter that I was worried about her making a stupid decision. So he was chasing her just so he could chat some more? Because he apparently can't take them against their will. Can understand English but can't speak it. Jack said it might be Aphasia, but I think maybe it is the two realities colliding. It happened when she had an unconscious occurrence like when Juliet seemed to slip into her other self before she died.

Drug darted by the Tina, er, the Zoe chick (who is apparently a geophysicist (Widmore likes his specialists- Charlotte, Daniel...). They aren't there to rescue them, they just want Jin to explain to them the Dharma grid maps with pockets of electromagnetism, which makes me think that Widmore may not understand the whole 'Candidates' situation. Also interesting that LockeNess is not all-knowing and they could just swipe Jin out from under him. Also, other than making threats and leaving a spy, he didn't do much. So far he's been kind of on top of the situation, but with losing Pretty Eyes last week and Jin this week, I see that he will have to work for it and the odds may be more even than they have seemed. The Package is Desmond! Good to see you Brutha. Sorry you are all drugged up and apparently there against your will. What is that wily Widmore planning? Will Sun be surprised to see him or was she aware of his coming based on the hints of them working together from their off-island conversation a season ago?

That was a surprisingly sane conversation Clairseau had with LockeNess, up until the part when he pretty much told her she's allowed to murder Kate once she assists to gather the other still viable Candidates to leave the island with him. Even after that though, she didn't make a wicked face like, 'yes, I get to kill Kate,' she made more of a confused, 'do I still even want to kill Kate?' face. (Also, unless he was lying to keep his promise to Claire, Kate is officially NOT a Candidate- and yet... he is basing that on the cave and not the Lighthouse where there was distinctly an un-crossed-out 'Austen.' They wouldn't have showed us that for nothing. When Jack and Hurley got to the Lighthouse they wondered why they hadn't seen it before and said something about you see it when it wants you to (or when Jacob wants you to?) So, does Man in Black not know of it? I'm not convinced Kate is really off the list yet). I do think Claire is Claimed like Sayid, but I think that perhaps her maternal affection and hope for Aaron has kept her from going completely over like him, despite all the time they have been separated. Though it was a Kwon-Centric episode, my quote at the top this week was for Sayid. Even in the Sideways his eyes looked dead. He doesn't feel anything and it will help him get through what's coming. What's coming?! War, apparently. If LockeNess gets off the island we would all just 'simply cease to be." Dun dun duh...

Because the Flash-Sideways scenarios have been sort of closure/happy endings until now, a lot of people have theorized that this reality is how the Losties lives would have gone if Jacob had never touched them and so he therefore must be more wicked than he seemed. I never thought much of that, partly based on the fact that Sayid and Hurley were touched just before the Ajira flight and not before the Oceanic flight, yet their lives were different already, but now I should think that theory is for sure out. Even if Sun and Jin's baby can be saved, they are still in a foreign country with no money, a language barrier, and dead bodies to be explained. This then makes me think that maybe as opposed to the two worlds literally becoming one at some point, the Losties will maybe have to/get to make a choice of which they want. Despite all they have been through, I think Sun and Jin would choose the island timeline.

I think the key to all if it is Hope. Hope is tied to faith and love and all of these other themes, but with the scenario of the island being a corked bottle to avoid evil pouring into the world, it reminds me of the story of Pandora's Box where Hope is the greatest weapon to defeat the evil, or, despair in the world. As with the story of Pandora, Hope has the potential to be just as dangerous on its own as any of the worlds evils, but all together, Hope balances the other evils out. The individuals that Jacob has chosen are survivors- after all they have been through they are still fighting, not only for themselves but for each other, their children and the future. You can't be a survivor without a large capacity for, and ability to, Hope.