“The End” – Lost Series Finale PART THREE

THE END

“I’ll see you in another life, brother.” – Jack

I hear that a lot of fans have not been fond of the character of Jack. I can see it sometimes. He could be rather dopey, especially with all the love stuff. But after that, I always thought Jack was pretty damn cool. There doesn’t seem to be any question now that Jack was the central figure of Lost and incredibly it with Jack, not Locke, that, in the end, we find the poetry of the show.

Jack Shepherd’s M.O. has been since the pilot to save people. You know that idea that the world’s best accountant’s personal finances are a mess? Same with Jack. He tries to save everyone else but himself and he’s the one character on the show that probably needed saving the most. Through 4 season, Jack was determined to see the island for only a mass of land out in the middle of the ocean. Through the most extreme and devastating circumstances, Jack finally got it. He was destined to come to the island. Why? To save it.

Jack knew that when he volunteered for Jacob’s role he would have to sacrifice himself. He knew all the way back when he first met Smokey, when he went to that lighthouse and saw that they had all been played. To save his friends, to save humanity, Jack Shepherd sacrificed himself. Hmmm, that sounds very familiar…

The way Jack died was a beautiful ending to his character. Didn’t he seem rather pleased? All the guilt and the heartache, he made up for it with his heroic act (I’m leaving the entire stone in hole/out of hole thing alone. I don’t get it so I’m not even trying). I love that he went back to that same place among the bamboo and that smile he gave Vincent was adorable. Having the show end on Jack’s eye closing, as it began on Jack’s eye opening, had such a feeling of peace to it that it was hard to even be sad it was all over. Though for the record I was crying uncontrollably by this point. J

Jack got to die a hero, as I’d imagine he always wanted to.

“There are no shortcuts. No do-overs. What happened, happened. Trust me. I know. All of this matters.” – Jack

This quote was, for me, the most important thing said in the entire finale, if not the entire season. So many of us were scared that these Sideways stories meant that the past 5 seasons didn’t count or had been washed away. If it had turned out that way, I’d have still been ok but probably would have felt a bit cheated. But I had faith in Team Darlton to not do that to us and it was well-placed.

With this statement, it was pretty well-defined that everything that happened on the island was real. There really was an island and all this crazy sh#$ really did happen. Thank goodness.

So correct me if I read what I was watching wrong. The Sideways world, in which almost all of our peeps were much, much happier and at peace with themselves than in our “real” world, was a collective postmortem in-between in which they could all reconnect with the people that had been the most important and significant in their lives and could continue or “leave” to wherever it is each was to go, wherever you as the viewer believe you go when you die. Each character had made up their life, not as they wanted it to be, but as how they saw themselves. As Hurley said to Sayid: “I think you’re a good guy, Sayid. I know a lot of people have told you that you’re not… Maybe you’ve heard it so many times that you started believing it. But you can’t let other people tell you what you are, dude. You have to decide for yourself.” Jack made himself up a son so as to atone for the sins of his own neglectful father. Locke connected with Anthony Cooper and was engaged. Sawyer, still seeking revenge, worked on the right side of the law as a good guy. Kate made herself a world in which she still killed – someone – but along the way she had a lot of good people help her out, something she probably felt she didn’t get a whole lot in her off-island real life. Ben got his daughter back and even a love interest. Miles had his dad, Faraday got to play music, Claire got the family she had been missing, Hurley got his mojo. Even Rose had it better. Sure she was dying in Sideways world but she was at peace with it. And then of course there is Desmond. Desmond’s specialness has long been mysterious. To me, he still is an enigma. So I’ll leave him at that. J

“We’ve been waiting for you.” – Locke

If I have that right, I can’t think of a more beautiful way to end Lost. By making the Sideways world a sort of communal purgatory-like environment, without time or space, Lost in its final minutes truly became what had made it so special all along. Sure the island adventures were fun and all the easter eggs made the show a DVR must. But at its core, what kept me coming back week after week, were the characters, my love for them and their love for each other. It was a happy ending that was as welcomed as it was surprising. A “wow!” on a whole other level.

With that, Lost is over.

And they kept their promise. Vincent didn’t die. 🙂

“The End” – Lost Series Finale PART TWO

**See Part One “The Island” below this post.

LOST REUNIONS

“Him destroying the island. You destroying him. It doesn’t matter. You’re gonna lower me into that light, and I’m gonna go somewhere else. A place where we can be with the ones we love and not have to ever think about this damn island again.” – Desmond

A couple of episodes ago when Desmond was in that Widmore electro-box thing and there was a big white flash, I’m thinking Desmond caught a glimpse of Sideways world and what it really meant. That’s why he wasn’t afraid of Smokey, that’d why he didn’t care what Jack or FLocke did to him. He knew that if he died he could be with the people he loved in a place where everything made sense and there was peace.

I would love to type on here that I figured out what the Sideways story was or I had a guess as to what it might be that was somewhat close to what it turned out to be pulling a Benjamin Linus on you. Truth is, I had no idea. But before we go into all that, I want to talk about the great Lost reunion, aka Sideways guys remembering their past.

I cried so many times during that episode, pretty much anytime someone got their memory back. Charlie and Claire really got to me, reminded me of the old days of Lost and just how much I’ve missed Charlie Pace on the show. Sun and Jin’s was equally hard and emotional to watch. I really liked that we didn’t see everyone’s moment of realization. Boone seemed to know what was going on – though maybe that was his vampire knowing showing through J. Sawyer and Juliet’s reunion was electric and beautiful as was Kate’s. The only one that didn’t hold much water for me, and I’ve read this elsewhere as well, is Sayid and Shannon. While it was cool to have Shannon there, I never was interested in their relationship and I never bought into Sayid loving her, especially after all the pining he did for Nadya. But I get why it had to be her in order to make the whole Sideways thing make “sense.”

While most of the characters had these revelatory moments due to connections with memorable moments of love, there are a few notable exceptions to that…I think. Ben Linus seemed to have flashes of the island when Desmond beat him. This has to be so familiar to Ben at this point that maybe that’s his big psychic connection to the island. Did Alex bring out the full memory for him? I don’t remember if that was part of last week’s episode or not. If so, then Ben would also fit into the group above.

Locke, however, had a different experience and it was absolutely necessary for it to happen that way. Locke’s revelation came when he could wiggle his feet in the hospital room, reminded him of that first moment on the island when he realized he was not paralyzed. His connection had nothing to do with anyone but himself. Even in death, Locke was special. Like Jack said, Locke had been right all along. Too bad Ben killed him.

Of course, Jack’s was the most important of all but I’m saving the whole Jack thing for a bit later.

“I’m very sorry for what I did to you, John. I was selfish and jealous. I wanted everything you had.”

“Well, if it helps, Ben… I forgive you.”

Since Season 2 we’ve been fortunate to see Terry O’Quinn share the screen with the wonderful Michael Emerson. Every scene they have together seem to have extra weight, to soar above other scenes and to make you have to catch your breath on the commercial break. I was thrilled that we got one final scene between the two, and how touching it was! I was thrown by Ben telling Locke to get out of the wheelchair, that he didn’t need it anymore but I think I get it now. It was a) a chance to see Locke get out of the wheelchair he was confined to through so much of his life and b) Ben acting, for the last time, as a representative of the island’s magical powers. Only in the Sideways world, the island’s magical powers were instead Jack’s surgical ability. The smile Locke gave Ben when he stood up was priceless and heartwarming.

“If the island’s going down, I’m going down with it.” – Ben

I know I’m spending a lot of space on Ben but since this is Regarding Benry and he is my favorite character and, well, this is my blog I’m gonna go for it. J

I’m incredibly intrigued by how Ben’s character ended and not only that he didn’t die, something I was sure was going to happen and looking forward to. So that Ben didn’t die, that he stayed on the island and became Hurley’s Richard Alpert, that he found his purpose not in a position of power but in a position of aid was indeed very poignant. All along Ben had been so good at saving himself, lying to everyone including the Smoke Monster to stay alive. All he ever wanted was to belong and even though our Losties saved him from that tree, he knew he didn’t belong on that plane leaving. His home was the island. Who knows how Ben died. I love that. I get to decide how he went, I choose that he went heroically and without betraying any more people.

And then there’s Sideways Ben (SBen). SBen only interacts with Locke, Alex, Danielle, Desmond and Hurley. I suppose we could assume that he interacts with Jack at the hospital though I don’t think we ever got to see it. With how much Ben tormented all these people on the island, he is still part of the group consciousness enough to be included in this Sideways world. Though I don’t think any one of them would have admitted it while alive, Ben was part of this significant time that bonded them all together.

Yet not enough for SBen to walk into that church. He told Locke that he still had a few things to figure out. Wonder what he means by this. Is Ben not ready to “leave” or does he feel like he is not worthy to go into that room with all those people? I think Ben hadn’t come to terms with his life yet (understandable since he has so much to reconcile with). It was awfully sweet of Hurley to come out and let Ben know he could come in with seemingly no hard feelings – there are no hard feelings in Sideways world. Hurley gave Ben the validation it seemed he never got while alive. Even in death Hurley is cheering people up. So the last image we get of Ben is sitting just outside the group, observing and thinking way too much. Again, it was kinda perfect.

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I’m doing one final post coming shortly so please come back for it later this afternoon! 🙂

“The End” – Lost Series Finale PART ONE

You wouldn’t be here unless you watched the Lost Series Finale so no, I’m not putting a spoiler warning here. 🙂

I feel fairly confident in saying that there could have been no better way to end a show like Lost than what we saw last night. It was heroic, emotional, and filled with the kind of poetry that you rarely if ever see on a pop culture television show. I know I’m going to miss some things here as it was pretty rough even staying awake for this last night but I’ll give it my best shot:

THE ISLAND

“You all head to your heart of the island, and I’ll go get the magic leprechaun out of that well.” – Sawyer

As with all Lost finales, this one began with everyone scattered about the island and on a mission to get somewhere. **Note: Loved the opening with the music over flashes of Sideways characters juxtaposed to their island personas.** The revelation that Desmond was the key to the whole mess came and went with a lot of ease to our Losties and I had to laugh when Sawyer so quickly volunteered to go get him, though I found it odd that there was not even a discussion as to someone backing him up. I also found it immensely entertaining how bad Sawyer is at hiding since Ben found him with relative ease, though of course Sawyer took care of that pretty quick himself. Being that the finale had to cover a lot in a short amount of time, I’ll forgive them these conveniences, especially having Sawyer find everyone so fast. Lost in a forest? Call James Ford.

I think I wasn’t the only one that cheered when Vincent, Bernard and Rose popped up. The island’s resident happy retired couple as usual did not disappoint with Rose kindly asking recovering Desmond to be on his way. That of course made Smokey’s entrance into their camp all the more terrifying. Terry O’Quinn has a lifetime of Emmy clips to submit from this one episode alone. When he threatened to hurt Bernard and Rose if Desmond refused to come with him and said “I’ll make it hurt” – well, that was as scary as this show has ever gotten. Smoke Monster indeed. BTW, that was SOOO not the same dog.

Jack’s group wasn’t fairing much better and believe it or not it was due to Hurley. Always the source of light (hmmm…) and humor, Hurley’s proclamation “I have a bad feeling about this” somehow transcended the cheesy nature of this overused statement and made me genuinely agree that this didn’t look good for Jack & Co. The utter state of doom that Jack had entered into in his own mind became abundantly clear when he told Kate “I took it because the island’s all I got left. It’s the only thing in my life I haven’t managed to ruin.” I’m thinking Jack already knew he wasn’t making it through this much longer. Perhaps Jacob told him, perhaps not.

Oh and Richard’s alive! And aging! And happy about it! Lucky.

I think here endeth the linear nature of my post. Things got a little nutty on the show after this and it’s easier to take a block at a time.

“When you said you were going to destroy the island, I thought you were speaking figuratively.” – Ben

You know what Ben? I don’t know that you did think that. One of the many things I’m still perplexed by with this finale is the motivation for Smokey to be doing what he was doing. Did he want the island destroyed? In my opinion, I don’t think he cared either way. Desmond taking that stone out of that hole (…um…whatever?) was the only way he would be free to leave the island. Did Smokey know that it would also cause the destruction of the island? Yes but he didn’t care. Now, did he know that Desmond doing his thing would make him mortal? Probably not. He looked pretty surprised when Jack made him bleed. I think that’s why he decided to take off and not kill Jack, he knew he was vulnerable and had to get off that rock pronto.

Smokey was so full of hate in this episode. Is it because our Losties represented the work of his brother Jacob? Or did Jack merely represent his last obstacle to getting what he wanted? His behavior in this one, and really since he killed Sun, Jin and Sayid, made it very hard to keep up my sympathy for the Man in Black from that “Across the Sea” episode. And can you just imagine the spinoff “Smokey and the Benry: Lost at Sea” in which Ben and the Smoke Monster have hilarious mad cap adventures on that tiny sailboat? J

There was never any doubt in my mind that Jack was going to defeat Smokey at some point. The epic battle between Jack and fake Locke was cheesy – and so totally awesome! I know it wasn’t actually Locke but Matthew Fox and Terry O’Quinn have always been great sparring partners and to watch that tension between the two manifest in a violent, brutal fight to the death was exhilarating. Kate redeemed herself in my book when she shot Smokey. “I saved a bullet for you.” Ha! But again, O’Quinn just stole this show, like, the whole season.

“You disrespect his memory by wearing his face, but you’re nothing like him. Turns out he was right about almost everything. I just wish I could’ve told him that while he was still alive.” – Jack

I was so freaking happy to hear Jack say that. Jack’s tormented relationship with Locke came full circle here. See Jack, you were being kind of a dick in Season 2…and Season 3…and definitely Season 4.

“I don’t believe in a lot of things, but I do believe in duct tape.” – Miles

With all the crazy-ass stuff going on with Jack and Smokey, it was really nice to have a simple, let’s-get-off-this-island storyline to balance the insanity. Miles, Richard, and a not-dead Lapidus (I admit I was wrong on that one and I was shocked to see him floating in the water) burned rubber to the plane to get off the quickly falling apart island. Sawyer and Kate, after she had a tearful goodbye with Jack that even made me become a fan of that couple, rushed to get to the plane in time. Along the way they find Claire who is too scared of what the island made her become to go back to her son. Was the whole Kate convincing Claire to leave thing a waste of time in a jam-packed episode? Eh, somewhat but I still liked it. Turns out Kate’s most special relationship on the island was not with Jack or Sawyer but with Claire. Very tense seeing that plane try to take off. I kept thinking Smokey was going to jump out and smack it down.

And with that, we get a huge answer: who survives the island? Miles, Lapidus, Richard and, from the original flight 815, Kate, Sawyer and Claire. Never in a million years did I think Sawyer was going to survive this thing. One of a million shocks of the evening.

“That’s how Jacob ran things. Maybe there’s another way. A better way.” – Ben

Though I expected it at one point, I understand now that there is no way in hell the creators could have killed off Hurley. He is and always has been the heart of this show, the conduit for the viewers, and the most genuine of all of the characters. How fitting is it that he would be the protector of the island. He is pure, he is incorruptible by power, and all he has ever wanted to do is, as Jack told him, help people. I think he’s perfect for it.

Surprise one million and two for me last night was Hurley asking (!) Ben to be his number 2. I thought for sure Ben was a goner and was stunned when the gang willingly tried to help him get out from under that tree (after he had saved Hurley mind you) without even debating whether the time should be taken. Ben put these people through hell yet they still saw him for what he was: a pawn. The character of Ben had one of the largest redemption arcs of the show and leave it to Hurley to be the one to offer the hand of acceptance and purpose. More on these guys later.

I thought it was great that pretty much the island story ended here. We don’t know if Desmond got back, if more people came to the island or how long Hurley protected it. There was no big bang for the island, instead the island’s story keeps going on. Perfect.

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Wow, I’ve rambled on and I haven’t even touched on the Sideways story, character ends and the overall ending to the show. Look for the second post in a little while.

“The End” – Lost Series Finale COMING SOON!

For any of you who are waiting for my take on last night’s episode, I’m working on it and hope to have it posted by lunch. 🙂 So come back soon!

R.I.P. “Lost”

18 minutes from the end of my favorite show, one of the best to ever be on television.

“Lost”, you have given me so many hours of entertainment and thought-provoking pleasure. I have no idea what you have in store for us tonight but I can’t wait.

OMFG! It wouldn’t be Lost without a battered Ben – Lost “What They Died For”

MAJOR SPOILERS! IF YOU DIDN’T WATCH LAST NIGHT, GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“You don’t get to save your daughter” – HELL YES! Once again, Ben proves to rock and hard in this latest, one of the last, episodes of Lost. Wow! Need to still process it so here are quick thoughts:

• I am so freaking happy Ben killed Widmore. Holy crap!
• Is Ben going to be the new Smokey? Or is he playing Smokey, pretending to help him?
• Sideways Ben and Sideways Danielle! 🙂
• Holding a grudge there Sideways Desmond?
• Jack is the new Jacob. Is that going to last do you think? I think not.
• Notice that the crew with Jacob were the same four kidnapped at the end of Season 2.
• Smokey promises Ben the run of the island and then tells him he’s going to destroy the island. Don’t get it.
• Desmond is a fail safe. What does that mean? I need to watch Season 2 again apparently. See, that damn hatch did mean a lot to the show. 🙂
• Is Richard dead?
• No love for the deceased Lapidus. Sad. He was pretty awesome.
• I don’t think Miles has a prayer out in that jungle alone.
• Why did Widmore rig his own plane with C4?
• Richard buried Alex! AWWWW
• Poor Sawyer, he feels so guilty. Loved how Jack responded to that. Jack has truly gone back to Season One hero now.
• I still think they are all going to die.
• I still have no idea what the Sideways world is.

Only 2.5 hours of this wonderful show left! I’m excited and sad all at once.

Adam and Eve Revealed: Lost “Across the Sea”

MAJOR SPOILERS! IF YOU DIDN’T WATCH LAST NIGHT, GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went to sleep last night after watching Lost thinking that finally we had gotten some real answers as to what this island is and what we’ve been watching this whole time. I feel like the story is coming together at full speed now and we have plane loads more info now than we did at the beginning of the season. I loved last night’s episode, thought it was one of the most poignant, spiritual and meaningful episodes of the whole series.

Which is why I am stunned at the moment. I went over to EW.com to read Doc Jensen’s instant reaction column and I went on to read the comments from viewers and it was nothing but a hate fest with most of them saying this was one of the worst episodes they’ve done. Seriously people? This was worse than “Strangers From a Strange Land” or “The Other Woman”?

I don’t get it. We’ve all been waiting for answers and the end of this show for years and now that it’s here there seems to be this growing backlash against what the show has become. Yes, the light inside the rocks was a little hokey but are you really trying to tell me that you find a mystical light beneath the island unbelievable when there’s a freakin’ smoke monster running around these past 6 seasons? Come on.

There’s no way a show like this can end in a pleasing way to everyone. Some fans are going to want this to be a scientific explanation, that the island’s mysterious properties all stem from electromagnetic forces and that is the base for everything that has happened. Some fans are going to want total death and destruction and heartache because that’s what we’ve gotten the past 6 seasons.

From what we’ve seen so far this season though, that’s apparently not what this show has ever been about. Season 6 has shown me that Lost is a show about belief, that faith in something good can conquer every evil and every hardship that  humans have to face out there in the real world. I think Jack is the leader of that, having taken it over for Locke who was an unfortunate casualty in the battle.

I mean, isn’t that what last night’s show was about? The island has special powers beyond imagination but if that power is exploited, as the human race tends to do with things like this, something very bad is going to happen. Jacob has to go on blind faith that he is protecting something worth protecting. He’s not happy about it but he doesn’t have to be. The Man in Black (how sad is it that he never even had a name?) wanted to exploit the power, and still does, for his own gain. His intentions are not necessarily sinister but that doesn’t make him any more right in his actions.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m so into this show and so sad it’s ending that I’m going to make myself like whatever they throw at me (for the record, I’ve enjoyed the Sideways stories). I don’t care. When I like something, I want everyone to like it and I can never understand why someone doesn’t. But I would love to tell all these haters out there that if you didn’t like last night’s episode and this season has been a disappointment for you, maybe you should just stop watching cause I don’t think Lost will get any better for you. Last night’s episode set us on the right path going into the finale so either suck it up and watch the show you love or get off the plane.

By the way, that MIB and his “mother” are Adam and Eve and that Jacob ended up alone with the monster he created was such a huge and heartbreaking revelation. Way to go Lost guys! Was not expecting that at all.

15 Minutes of Devastation

MAJOR SPOILERS! IF YOU DIDN’T WATCH LAST NIGHT, GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I MEAN IT!!! THERE ARE SPOILERS FROM LAST NIGHT’S EPISODE HERE!

Holy crap! I know I had been saying that I wanted some characters to die in this final season of Lost but I certainly wasn’t expecting BOTH Jin and Sun to die. In an estimated 15 minutes of this show, the Lost gods – in the form of the big bad Smokey – killed off 3 (!) main characters: our two recently reunited love birds and Sayid. These weren’t periphery characters. These were 3 of the core Losties. WOW! And let’s not forget that, since we didn’t see him on the beach, I think it’s safe to say Lapidus is gone now too. 4 characters that fast! Amazing.

Some little bits from what I can remember last night:

• I’m really curious as to what’s going on with Richard, Ben and Miles. You gotta think they are gonna pop up here soon.
• So I guess FLocke really is the bad guy. I guess that makes sense but it’s nice to get confirmation. And he’s a badass. Damn. Though seriously Jack, you are so naive.
• I admit it. I cheered when Kate got shot. I was a little sad when she turned up alive on the beach.
• I really thought Sawyer was a goner. I actually thought the show might pull a huge mindfuck and just kill everyone but Jack. I still think that might be where this is going.
• I’m pretty convinced Jack is the candidate to take over for Jacob. Seems like that’s what’s happening.
• Sideways Anthony Cooper looked really really scary.
• Sideways Locke is paralyzed by his own doing from a plane crash?!!! Loved all the Jack and Locke stuff. They have great scenes together.
• I might be the only Lost fan that was happy to see the Season 3 cages again. 🙂
• Miles is the only Freighty left alive now. Doesn’t look good for him does it?
• Does this mean the only way off the island now is that plane?
• Sawyer said Kate’s name was crossed off in the cave. We didn’t see that. Does that mean he was lying or are the writers trying to tell us her name was crossed off?

I think this is sound advice. Following Jack around a jungle might keep you alive for a little bit but eventually you’re gonna die. Great episode.

ETA: It was announced that the finale, airing on Sunday, May 23, will now by extended by 30 minutes so it is a 2 and a half hour finale with a recap before hand and a Jimmy Kimmel special after. Plan on getting very VERY little sleep the night of the 23rd!!! The actual finale doesn’t even start till 9.

Beats the hell out of me – Lost 6×11 “Happily Ever After”

SPOILER ALERT: Oh for Pete’s sake. You all know you should have watched the latest Lost episode or else you wouldn’t be here but since Internet etiquette dictates I have to put up a spoiler alert, here it is.

Well, I think it’s safe to say that last night’s episode of Lost was the most confusing by far of the season. I most definitely have to watch it again so I’m not going to comment on it until tomorrow. But I will say this: CHARLIE!! 🙂

Game On – Lost 6×9 “Ab Aeterno”

SPOILER ALERT: Oh for Pete’s sake. You all know you should have watched the latest Lost episode or else you wouldn’t be here but since Internet etiquette dictates I have to put up a spoiler alert, here it is.

Eyeliner guy finally got his own episode! And keeping with the tone of this whole final season, Richard’s “Ab Aeterno” episode was one of those that don’t seem like much while watching but then you think about it and realize a huge chunk of the show was just revealed. In the case of last night’s Lost, the game was revealed and it’s huge. But let’s go through some other things first.

Lounging on the beach

• Once again, Ben gets the best lines of the episode. “If it helps, it’s not all Locke” or whatever he said to forever-bewildered Jack.
• Speaking of, who can’t wait for THAT reunion? Jack and NotLocke? Please let that be coming.
• Hurley’s rebuff of Jack was awesome. He’s really come into his own this season and I love it.
• Loved the editing as Richard was going into the jungle cut with Ben’s dialogue.
• Loved, LOVED Richard’s line to Jack: “You’re dead. We’re all dead. This is hell” I almost bought it.

A Slave from a Slave Ship

• Come on. We all had guessed Richard had come on the Black Rock. That’s been hinted at for a long time. Locke’s line about the chains in the season premiere gave away that Richard had been a slave on the slave ship. Slight criticism here: did we really need to spend half an episode setting all of that up?
• The story with Richard’s wife was quite poignant though and it reminded me a lot of Sayid and Nadia. Forbidden love is such a big theme in Lost.
• I couldn’t help  but think of that Old Spice (is it old spice?) commercial when Ricardos was riding the horse. 🙂
• One of the most awesome moments of Season 6?: The Black Rock crashing through the statue. I could just imagine Jacob sitting in there, being all “shit man, that plan backfired a little.”
• Captain guy slicing through the other slaves was pretty hardcore. Had he gone mad or was his logic sound?

Custody Battle for Richard Alpert (where’s the last name coming from?)

• Man in Black (MIB) gets to Ricardos first and promises, as is his tendency, what Richard wants most: to be reunited with his dead but seemingly on-island wife Isabella. Richard has just been sold as a slave, taken on a brutal journey, crashed on an island, seen every living soul around him killed or eaten by smoke and suffered from malnourishment for who knows how long. He sees his dead wife and all reason has left him. So when this guy frees him, says he can get Richard back to Isabella, can you really blame Eyeliner Man for agreeing?
• Found it extremely interesting that MIB used the exact same wording as Dogen when he talked Sayid into trying to kill NotLocke a few episodes ago. What are we supposed to make of that? Especially the bit about “don’t let him talk first.”
• MIB is an interesting character because he seems so rational, reasonable and calm. Of course, if you believe he’s lying to Richard, he’s a giant ass. Jacob, on the other hand, is a giant ass on the surface but once you get to talking to him is a semi-reluctant, pensive guardian angel.
• Though I kept screaming “jerk!” at the TV when Jacob was beating up Richard, it was pretty cool to see him get so physical for once.
• While MIB promised Richard anything he wanted, Jacob promised Richard only what was possible to give him. More truthful, yes, but Jacob neglected to have Richard see any reason or cause for hesitation on his request to live forever. He saw his chance to have a “representative” and took it with gusto while Richard was still so overwhelmed he could not have possibly been thinking clearly. Manipulators all around here.
• I’ll get to Jacob’s conversation with Richard at the end.

Back in present day island…

• Richard goes to where he buried his wife’s necklace that had miraculously been recovered by MIB over a century ago and digs up the memento. His mind is made up. Jacob manipulated him, lied to him and told him he had a purpose then went off and died. Richard’s fed up and wants to go with Smokey. You could probably say that Richard is a little lost at this point.
• In to save the day is talks-to-the-dead Hurley with a message for Richard from his long-lost wife Isabella. In a horrendously touching scene, Richard’s faith in…what exactly?… is restored.
• But then Izzy leaves Richard with a message: kill MIB or y’all are going to hell, for realsies this time.
• Was Isabella’s ghost talking through Hurley Jacob’s idea or dead Jacob himself? Is this Jacob’s thank-you to Richard for more than a lifetime of faithful service? Or was it the island? Or something else?
• The religious overtones of the episode are impossible to ignore but I’m going to for right now because I need to watch the episode again before commenting on it.

Put a cork in it

Obviously the nut-meat of this episode was the huge chunk of mythology revealed through Jacob’s conversation with first Richard then Man in Black. Though I need to watch it again for a clearer idea of it, I think Lost just revealed the game to us, 7 episodes away from the end. The game is this: MIB is evil, pure evil. The island contains that evil from spreading to the outside world and causing true devastation and perhaps even apocalypse. But the island can’t do it alone so someone has to act as protector, a roadblock so that Smokey can never leave. That’s Jacob and, if he dies, he’ll be replaced by the candidates.

But Jacob keeps bringing people to the island. He wants to prove Smokey wrong, that not all people are corruptible. In this way, the island acts as a sort of tabula rasa in that the past does not hinder one’s future success on the island and beyond…as long as one can face that past head on and conquer it. It’s a metaphor for real life but the islands makes real manifestations of the characters’ past transgressions, forcing them to deal with it.

Would be all fine and good if you didn’t have the pure incarnation of evil running around the island as well, as Richard pointed out to Jacob. Look at Mr. Echo. He confronted his past, his dealings with his brother, and what he got for it was a royal beat down by Smokey. Bottom line: Jacob wants these people to figure it out without his interference, Smokey is all about butting in. They are each other’s exact opposite yet use similar methods in their goals.

Again, this is just an initial take. I might come back later on with a more reasoned argument but I think this is where we are at with this show. The game of good vs. evil has been laid out for us. The mystery remaining is where our Losties fit into it.

On a final, side note: Only 7 episodes left? :::cries uncontrollably:::