Episode 16: “What They Died For”

Introduction

I really like this episode. I think it filled in more information than the previous episode, whose sole purpose seemed to be explaining the Big Picture. Also, it seemed to do a good job setting up the finale. Overall, I think we know most of the backstory about the Island, why everyone is there, and the motivations of Jacob and the Nemesis. There’s still a little mystery left; but there always will be.

Flashsideways: 2004

In this episode, and this is continuing from a few previous ones, Desmond is concerned with getting everyone to recognize their alternate realities. He also seems to be setting up some sort of plan. Not everyone is together, but they all seem to be where Desmond wants them to be: Locke is going to have the surgery; Sayid is with Hurley; Kate is with Desmond; I’m not sure where Sawyer is. They’re obviously setting something up for next episode. I don’t really have much of an idea, but I do feel as if it’s feasible to close this reality up. The bigger question is how will this reality be connected to the real-reality.

Jacob’s Explanation

Jacob’s explanation for his motivations, why everyone was “summoned” to the Island, and what they need to do is quite simple: Jacob made a mistake in making his brother into the Smoke Monster. If the Nemesis leaves the Island, evilness will spread throughout the world, or something like that. [This part of the Big Picture is still fuzzy. Why is the Nemesis evil? Or why is releasing him from the Island so bad? Does the Nemesis want the life source? Does he want to destroy it?] Jacob knew his evil twin would eventually kill him, so he had candidates ready to take his place. Now he needs one of them to do just that. As I supposed, Jack steps forward. After he becomes the new Protector, they are informed that they need to stop and/or kill Un-Locke.

Ben, Widmore, and Un-Locke

So is Ben bad again? I don’t like the idea, especially since they made such a point emphasizing his redemption. Is he playing along to find a way to destroy Un-Locke, playing his part well by killing Widmore? Does he really care about “ruling” the Island? Either way, Zoe throat is slit by Un-Locke, Widmore is shot by Ben (after Widmore explains what Desmond’s purpose is), and the Smoke Monster kills Alpert. Ben and Un-Locke go off, only to find Desmond gone from the well. Un-Locke explains that this is fine, since Desmond is resistant to the electromagnetism, and his new plan is to destroy the Island. [Quick question: Why did he tell Ben that? Isn’t the carrot Un-Locke is dangling in front of Ben the position of ruling the Island? Now that he knows it will be blown up, will he follow Un-Locke and kill the candidates for him? Ah, I think I have it. Un-Locke doesn’t need Ben now, since he will somehow have Desmond blow up the Island, thereby killing all of the candidates without Ben’s help.]

Finale / Desmond

So where are they going with this? On the one hand, Un-Locke wants to use Desmond to blow up the Island. On the other hand, Jack and his crew need to kill Un-Locke. I think the key to all of this is Desmond. I think that they need Desmond to do their part. Everyone needs Desmond. And this somehow connects to the parallel world, where Desmond is running around and setting up another plan. They can go a lot of different places with this, but I think they’ve set themselves up well for a number of reasons: First, the objectives of both sides are clear. Second, the majority of the Big Picture is answered. I don’t know about you, but I’m psyched for the finale!

By the way, I think the plan right now is to watch it at Ed and Daria’s Thursday evening.

Episodes 14 and 15: “The Candidate” and “Across the Sea”

Introduction

I plan on going through these two episodes rather quickly, and dedicating a little more time to the most recent episode, the penultimate one.

13: Flashsideways: 2004

The real Locke awakes from his successful surgery. Jack thinks he could make him walk again, but Locke refuses the offer. We find out Locke took his father, Anthony Cooper, on a plane ride, and they crashed. Locke was paralyzed from the waist down, but Cooper became comatose. Locke sees his situation as punishment, a purgatory of sorts, and his guilt disallows him to take Jack up on his offer of possible healing.

13: The Island: 2007

All of the candidates are together. When they – and this includes Un-Locke – find the plane rigged with explosives, they go to the sub. Everyone gets on except for Un-Locke and Claire. This was Un-Locke’s plan. The apparent theory is that Un-Locke cannot kill any of the candidates, so he tries to set them up to mistrust and kill one another. It sort of works. Sawyer distrusts this aforementioned theory, as espoused by Jack, so he pulls out the wires to the bomb Un-Locke put in Jack’s bag. This accelerates the bomb. Sayid tells Jack where Desmond is – then the bomb instantly kills him. This was pure sacrifice, and it allows Kate, Jack, Hurley, and Sawyer to reach the shore. Sun and Jin don’t make it… (What about Frank? I think he’s coming back. Who else will fly the plane?)

14: Jacob and… What’s His Name?

I mainly like this episode, but I disliked a bunch of it, too. Let me try to summarize what we learn: Jacob and The Nemesis are twins. A nameless woman, known only as “Mother,” kills the brothers’ real mother right as they’re born. She is the Island Protector before Jacob. We assume she isn’t the first, since she mentioned arriving on the Island just like the pregnant woman, apparently washing up on shore. She seems to be protecting some sort of life source – a life source that cannot leave the Island, even though it will be desired, or else bad things will happen.

As children, Jacob doesn’t lie, but his twin is more sneaky. He doesn’t seem evil, just more devious. Mother likes the Nemesis more. But the Nemesis wants to leave the Island after seeing other people on the Island that came from another country. He leaves, and Jacob chooses to stay.

After much time has passed, the Nemesis, along with the help of others he is with, discovers a possible way to leave the Island. When Mother finds this, she destroys the well and kills all of the men. The Nemesis is pissed off (and rightfully so, right?) and he kills Mother. In a fit of rage and revenge, Jacob throws the Nemesis into the life source, since he has heard that going in there would be worse than death. The Nemesis exits as the smoke monster, and his physical body is dead.

Quick Thoughts

I like the idea of going back and explaining some of the Big Picture, but I’m hesitant that this was the best approach. The storyline doesn’t explain the Nemesis’ evil-ness; it makes Jacob look highly flawed – in fact, why is he any better than the Nemesis? He stayed with Mother, who doesn’t seem to be a positive character. Importantly, the good vs. evil or man-is-inherently-good vs. man-is-not conflict really goes by the wayside; in its place, we get more of a disorganized feud between two flawed people.

Episode 13: “The Last Recruit”

Introduction

I really enjoyed this last episode. It wasn’t the best of the season, but I thought it was better than average. For the most part, they didn’t add too much extra confusion, like the last three episodes. It didn’t answer too much, though. With only four episodes left, I’m wondering how “tied up” the entire show will end. At this point, we can only hope.

Flashsideways: 2004

There’s actually quite a lot that occurs in this reality. The real Locke goes into surgery; Jack is the surgeon; the episode ends with Jack recognizing Locke. Now the question is: Does he recognize Locke from the airport, or from the real 2007 reality? Either answer works, especially since when Sun gets carted through the hospital and sees Locke on a cart next to her, she freaks out; obviously, she too is connecting to the real reality through alternate-memories. In relation to Sun, we find out the baby and her are fine after the shooting. After Kate and Sawyer discuss a little in the police station, Sawyer and Miles are off to the multiple homicide; after seeing a videotape of Sayid, he becomes their target. Miles and Sawyer apprehend him. Desmond runs into Claire again and convinces her to see his lawyer, Ilana. Ilana had been searching for Claire anyway, since she is also Jack’s lawyer, and Claire is Jack’s half-sister and mentioned in Christian’s will. Right after Claire and Jack meet, Jack gets called into surgery and has to leave.

2007: Real Reality

I think this may be the only episode (other than the Desmond one) where a considerable less happens in this reality. Basically, Widmore wants Desmond back, and threatens Un-Locke’s group through Zoe. Un-Locke tells Sayid to kill Desmond. Although he arrives at the well with a gun, after Desmond’s plea to Sayid, we aren’t sure if Sayid went through with it. I think we’re supposed to assume that no killing occurred. Meanwhile, Sawyer leaves with a group to get the sailboat. Although he was told to meet up with Un-Locke, he goes straight to Hydra Island, hoping to reunite with Widmore, who has a “deal” with. Before getting there, he gets Hugo and company to meet him at the boat; and when Claire tries to hold them at gunpoint, Kate convinces her to join them in peace. Is Claire back to being good now? Not sure… Also, Jack leaves the boat. (See next section for a more in-depth discussion of this act and the character of Jack in general.) Once on Hydra Island, though, Widmore’s crew handle Sawyer’s group roughly, alluding to the fact that Widmore will not honor their “deal.”

Jack

Although I dislike the “sensitive acting” of Jack, I do see that he is the most positive of characters throughout all six seasons. Although he whines and throws fits, he always seems to be trying to do the right thing. And now, he seems to be the most consistently committed to seeing all of the actions of and on the Island as having meaning. I think I was correct in saying earlier that Jacob’s plan in “The Lighthouse” was to show Jack that everything is imbued with meaning – it worked. Jack has yet to give up this belief, and his jumping back into the water in this episode only reinforces this idea. I think Jack is a very important character – perhaps the most important. Let’s remember that the entire show began with him. I think it will end with him. This leads me to my newest “theory.”

May 23 / Number 23 / Jack

OK, let me throw this out there: Next Tuesday, there is no episode; it is the only week skipped. Also, the season and show’s finale is on a Sunday. Neither of these seems like glaring conspiracies. However, this means the show will end on 4/23. Both of these numbers are part of the Lost numbers – Hurley’s lotto numbers, etc. In particular, 23 is Jack’s number: It was next to his name in the cave where Un-Locke showed Sawyer, and it was next to his name on the huge compass in the lighthouse. When you set the compass to 23, you saw Jack’s childhood house. I think they purposely moved things around so they could end the show on the 23^rd, and I think this is because of Jack. Will he be the one to take over the Island. I sort of think so…

By the way, use this link to check out TONS of references to 23 throughout the whole show. It’s kind of crazy. Some of them are stretches, but some seem intentional. Example: Jack’s seat on the plane is 23A. http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/23.

Where are they going with all of this?

There are only four installments left. That’s not too much time to answer so many questions. In the middle of the season, they seemed concerned with getting at some of the bigger questions: Jacob and the Nemesis’s relationship, etc. Lately, they’ve been working on the relationship between the two alternate worlds, and what happened exactly when the bomb went off. This episode didn’t seem concerned with either of those. Instead, I felt like they were preparing the scene for the final conflict. They probably have in mind what exactly they want going on in the last two-hour finale; and I think they’re making sure everyone is their correct places before then. That’s why Jack leaves the group, Sawyer is on Hydra Island, etc.

Sayid and Claire Back to the Good Side?

If Sayid chose not to kill Desmond, and Claire’s quick change of heart and mind is real, then the two pretty “evil” characters are back on the “good” track. Is everyone going to end on this side? No idea.

Polls

By the way, 66% of us thought the show is NOT going to end with someone taking over Jacob’s job, and 33% said yes. I was the one yes, and I stand by it. By the way, vote on this week’s poll!

Episode 12: “Everyone Loves Hugo”

Introduction

This was an OK episode. Of course, I love the show and have enjoyed every episode of this season so far. But it was a bit on the weaker side; plus, it made no advancement of the bigger questions (although Richard did say he “knew what the Island was”). I have accepted, even if begrudgingly, that the writers feel content with some of their answering of the bigger questions in the episode focusing on Richard. They are now more concerned with connecting the alternate and real worlds together. (By the way, I feel as if we can call it the “real world” now, since a growing number of people in the “alternate world” feel as if their world is not complete reality – as if there is a “realer” world somewhere else.)

Flashsideways: 2004

I really enjoyed the reintroduction of Libby. Calling me sexist, but I feel that too many of the female characters in the show are bad actresses or “butch” egos – some are both. But Libby’s always played a good role. However, one of the reasons I didn’t like this flashsideways as much was because of this fact: we really learn nothing new about the connection between the two worlds through Hugo and Libby’s relationship. We still simply know that people are having memories of the “real” world. I’ll deal with Desmond’s running down of Locke later in this post.

Michael?

So, is Michael really Michael? And either way, whose side is he on? And either way, is he telling the truth? All of these questions need answering. When he first came, we heard eerie whispers, reminiscent of the Smoke Monster. This definitely created suspicion in the viewers – as intended. When Michael reappeared and discussed what the whispers were – the dead on the Island that can’t move on – he seemed a more positive character, especially when he said he was sorry for killing Libby. But why did Hugo listen to him? This leads me to my next point.

The Plane / What the Heck Should They Be Doing?

Are they supposed to blow up the plane? If we posit Jacob as good and true, then they should be listening to Richard. So why is Hugo, someone who has followed Jacob in the past and doesn’t seem disinclined to believe him, choosing to change up the plan on account of Michael’s one warning? It doesn’t add up exactly to me. But this situation opens for me one of my frustrations of the show from the “Season 1”: I keep asking, “So what the heck should they be doing?” What seems the correct course of action is often discredited in the following episode. Although this isn’t the worst thing in the world, it does create annoyance in me at times. Why? It discredits the previous episode and its conflict. For example, if Michael and Hugo are right and they shouldn’t blow up the plane, then Jacob’s message to Ilana to “follow Richard” and Richard’s revelation that they need to blow up the plane become meaningless. I’m sorry to be negative in this post, but I need to let this out. And I’m not finished…

Lack of Information Leads to Neither Moral nor Immoral Choices

When it comes to decision making and the conflicts that arise from this, there needs to be some indication as to what it the right and what is the wrong choice. If not, it is not really a moral or conscience-driven choice – in reality it’s simply a roll of the dice, an emotional reaction to a specific situation. As Joe noted (and I agree), if there is no indication as to what it good and what it bad – or if good and bad keep changing – the conflicts lose their meaning. Using this episode again, is Higo making the right or wrong decision? Well, there’s absolutely no indication as to an answer – and if there were, we could be sure next week they’d flop the sides again. As much as I love the show, this annoys me perhaps the most.

The Island Again

Richard made mention of the Island again, in his words, “I know what the Island is.” This sentence doesn’t exactly seem to imbue the Island with human-like or conscious qualities. Either way, I’m glad this has come up the last few weeks; this means they probably really want to answer it.

Desmond and Locke

So why does Desmond run over Locke? This is my theory. I think the alternate-Desmond is closely connected to real-Desmond. Now, whether this means he’s having vivid flashbacks or he is actually traveling between realities doesn’t matter. What I think happened is that alternate-Desmond thinks Locke is bad since real-Desmond experienced Locke tossing him down the well. Now, to us it’s obvious that Locke and Un-Locke are not the same. But let’s remember that when Un-Locke asked Desmond who is he was, he answered, “John Locke.”

Candidates / Conclusion

So who exactly are the candidates? I always assumed it was the following list: Jack, Sayid, Kate, Sun/Jin, Hugo and Sawyer. Was there more? Maybe. Maybe Aaron. Or are the Oceanic 6 the candidates? Either way, apparently Kate isn’t one anymore. Why? I don’t know. What I do know is that when Hugo and his companions join Locke at the very end of this episode, it seems that all of the candidates are in the same place (except if Jin is the candidate and not Sun).

Episode 11: “Happily Ever After”

Introduction

My feelings about this episode are mixed: On the one hand, it was exciting, complex, and rather neat; but on the other hand, it made no more advancements in the essential Lost questions that I so want answered. With only 5 installments left (6 hours, since the last episode will be two hours), I’m not completely sure they will handily tie up the major questions. I hope it ends well enough, at least.

Connection Between The Two Alternate Worlds / What the Bomb Actually Did

This episode began the writers’ attempt to make a real connection between the two alternate worlds. I guess I don’t care too much about this – at least not as much as knowing what the Island, who Jacob is, why they are on the Island, and questions like these. I suspect that the writers decided that through episodes such as “Ab Aeterno” (the one with Richard’s back story), they have answered enough of the bigger Lost questions so far; now they’re on to trying to explain exactly what went on when the bomb exploded – what exactly is the connection between the two alternate worlds.

They don’t even really answer these questions, though. All three – Desmond, Charlie, and Daniel – seem to have visions of their lives on the Island. However, these visions didn’t really occur in their worlds. Somehow this world isn’t a real complete world; somehow the splitting of reality that happened at the end of “Season 5” created a world that should not be.

So what are they driving at? Since Charlie sees Claire when he almost dies (I think it’s Claire), is the real world the afterlife of this alternate world? That wouldn’t make too much practical sense. So what? Please, readers, send in your thoughts to this question as comments

Desmond’s Purpose

Desmond miraculously survived the electromagnetic explosion in Hatch, somewhere back in “Season 3” or “4.” This makes him a wanted man, at least in the eyes of Widmore. The real question here is “For what does Widmore want to use Desmond?” What does Widmore plan on detonating – a bomb or the electromagnetic power locked in the Island itself? – and what does he plan on destroying? If we hypothesize that Widmore is good (and I sort of think this), then perhaps he is planning on blowing up The Nemesis/Un-Locke. I like this idea.

The Island?

Something Widmore said early in the episode made me recall how the show has shifted gears since the earlier seasons. Widmore said to Desmond, “The Island isn’t though with you,” or something to that extent. In earlier seasons, there was always an emphasis on the Island itself as a conscious entity. It had desires and wishes; it could make decisions. True, it wasn’t human, but there was something conscious about it. Was it good or bad? That was never answered. When Jacob came into the picture, the idea of the Island as the supreme being faded; we became more concerned with what Jacob’s intentions and desires were – whether or not he was good or bad. But the question remains: Is the Island a conscious entity outside and apart from Jacob? Is it good, bad or neutral?

Final Episode

The final episode, a two hour finale, will air May 23; I don’t know the times. Note: This is a Sunday. We should get together and watch it live.

Episode 10: “The Package”

Introduction

One blip excluding, this season’s pattern has been one fast-paced, revealing episode followed by a slower-paced, less revealing episode. This week continued the precedent. Although the installment was enjoyable, not an incredible amount happened – and not many of the larger questions of the Island were tackled. It wasn’t the slowest, though.

2004 Flashsideways

Sun and Jin and not married, but have become involved. In fact, their “involvement” is the reason they’re sent to LA, for Sun’s father has planned their deaths – or at least Jin’s. So how did Jin, the son of a fisherman and later a hotel greeter, get a job with Sun’s father in this world? We don’t get an answer to that, and we probably never will. What we do know is that Sayid takes care of Jin’s hitmen, Jin shoots and kills one of them, Sun is hit by someone’s stray bullet, and she informs Jin she is pregnant.

Importance of Sun and Jin

Two of the warring parties seem preoccupied by Jin. Widmore wants Jin because he worked for the Dharma Initiative, and can read their maps; apparently, Widmore’s group is interested in the pockets of electromagnetism. Meanwhile, Un-Locke spends time trying to convince Sun to go back with him to his group and Jin. He almost convinces her.

Un-Locke’s Plan

Of course we don’t know much, but it seems that Un-Locke is trying to get off the Island. He also mentions that he needs all of the candidates to be able to do that. Why is this? Is this so that none of them can take Jacob’s spot as protector of the Island? This seems a reasonable answer.

Widmore?

On the one hand, Widmore came across in this episode as part of Team-Jacob. He seems preoccupied with keeping Un-Locke on the Island, which is exactly what Jacob and his followers want. Of course, is it as simple as that? Widmore is back on Jacob’s side? I’m not sure. Widmore’s smile, his team’s desire to find the pockets of electromagnetism, and his capture of Desmond all point to a more complex answer.

The Final Showdown? Hydra Island?

It feels like the final showdown is going to happen on Hydra Island. The plane and sub, the two physical vehicles of rescue, are there, and everyone is drawn to them. Richard seems convinced now that they should go there, because Un-Locke will be there. If this is true, then all three groups – Team-Jacob, Team-Un-Locke, and Team-Widmore – will be there soon.

Episode 9: “Ab Aeterno”

Introduction

What an episode! I know I’ve said great things about a few of the latest episodes, but this may be my favorite. Not only was the acting great and the story extremely compelling – but on top of all of that, we get real, tangible answers to major questions. Of course, not everything is as clear as the waters of Lake George; but do we really want it to be? Come on now, we do have a bunch of episodes left.

Jacob’s Purpose

This episode said explicitly some important things the season had been implying. First of all, Jacob is a defender of the Island, and his main job is to keep The Nemesis there. If his job fails, the evil in The Nemesis will spread to the entire world. I liked the wine bottle analogy. And how about The Nemesis breaking the bottle at the end. Foreshadowing?

Man’s Inherent Goodness/Badness & Freewill

What separates Jacob and the Nemesis ideologically is their opinions on man’s inherent goodness or badness. The Nemesis thinks man is more bad than good, and always will corrupt and destroy. Jacob disagrees, and this is why he brings people to the Island: to demonstrate that people can and will choose to be good. However, he does not want to interfere in human affairs, thinking it will affect people’s freewill. Although this is an incorrect view of freewill, I guess Jacob’s point is that he wants people to arrive at what the moral choice is by their own natural abilities, and to choose to do it. But Ricardo makes the point that the Nemesis is at work corrupting the people Jacob brings to the Island, so Jacob needs to counter; without giving up his belief that he doesn’t want to affect people’s freewill, Jacob compromises, and allows Ricardo to be his figure and representative on the Island (like the Pope?).

Jacob is like God, but not exactly…

Although there have been persistent theories that project Jacob as not good (thanks, Mom), I think this episode really separates the two sides. Jacob believes in freewill and man’s inherent goodness, while the Nemesis does not. I don’t know how they could spin Jacob into being bad now – at least, I don’t think they could do it well, without there being a lot of dumb holes. I’ve spoken in the past about Jacob’s “God-like” quality. I remain steadfast in this belief. However, it must be understood that there are distinct differences between his “God-ness” and our Christian ideas. I don’t think Jacob is all-powerful or all-knowing; and although I think he’s “good,” I don’t think he’s all-good in the way we talk about God being all-good.

Are They All Dead?

The writers of the show already spoke out against the idea that everyone on board the plane is dead, and they’re in hell or purgatory. They said this a year or so ago. So when it comes up in this episode, I think we’re supposed to recognize it as being false.

Two Different Approaches to the Major Questions

In getting at the heart of the major questions of the show, I see the writers of the show as going in two directions. Let me make my point by asking an important question: Why did the plane crash? Why are they on the Island? On the one hand, we can go in the direction this episode presented, and say that they are just another in a long list of people Jacob has brought to the Island to show that man is inherently good and can make good moral choices. On the other hand, we have this idea of candidacy; in this vein, our answer would be that Jacob has summoned the group to the Island to have someone take his place. I’m not saying that the two contradict each other; I’m simply saying that they take us to different conclusions if we focus on one and not the other.

The Rules?

Let me end by simply saying a word or two about the “rules” this Island seems to be bound to. We know some of the rules already, like Un-Locke couldn’t kill Jacob himself – and he can’t kill certain people on the Island now, like Sawyer. But there also seems to be other rules that both Jacob and the Nemesis are bound to: like the only the way to kill one of them is with a specific knife, and only before the victim speaks. Once he speaks, the power seems gone. It does make me wonder how Ben killed Jacob.