Spoiler Accuracy Thread

One of our users, BookhouseBoy, from the Forum, has started to compile a couple of interesting threads.

These threads take a look back after an episode has aired and looks at all the spoilers that were posted for it and how much we knew and how accurate our spoilers have been. Thankfully so far it's been pretty damn good ;). All our sources for example all rated What Kate Does as the lowest rated episode out of the 8-9 episodes that they had seen, and this appears to have been the consensus of the fans if you look at the current polls/episode table.

Take a look at threads below. We'll be updating this each week so that those of you who do not follow spoilers can see what was spoiled about the episodes that have aired.

Episode 6.01/6.02 - LA X
Episode 6.03 - What Kate Does
Episode 6.04 - The Substitute
Episode 6.05 - Lighthouse
Episode 6.06 - Sundown
Episode 6.07 - Dr. Linus
Episode 6.08 - Recon
Episode 6.09 - Ab Aeterno
Episode 6.10 - The Package
Episode 6.11 - Happily Ever After
Episode 6.12 - Everybody Love Hugo
Episode 6.13 - The Last Recruit
Episode 6.14 - The Candidate
Episode 6.15 - Across The Sea
Episode 6.16 - What They Died For
Episode 6.17/6.18 - The End

What did Dogen say?

Thanks to Jesus for the following.

This fellow fan of Lost has been posting the translations of what Dogen says in every episode. I find it really interesting . Enjoy

Episode 5 Lighthouse


Episode 3 What Kate Does


Episodes 1 & 2 LAX PART 1 & 2

Updated Season 6 Episode League Table

For those that have been emailing me, here are the updated Episode League Tables.

Lost Fantasy League: Week 1 Update!

UPDATE: The video is now up for your viewing pleasure. Also, check out the Week 2 Preview for my analysis of which characters are in dire straits as far as the LFL is concerned. Our rule book has been included at the end of the post as well.


I only had to watch it four times, but the scores are done! Sadly, due to a snowstorm that kept me shoveling over the weekend, the Super Bowl and some database issues, not everything is done yet for this first Lost Fantasy Update. The video update and my spoiler-free thoughts on Week 2's episode will be added to this post tomorrow. Everything else is here for you to read, I just need a little more time for the extras.

So, "LA X" has come and gone and what an impact it made! The Season 6 premier obliterated all kinds of LFL records. First of all, "LA X" scored a total of 1,810 points! That is almost double the score for last year's finale! This also means that many of our contestants have gotten off to unprecedented starts, now having more points after one episode than many earned all of last season.

And it doesn't stop there! While next week's episode is just one hour long, all of the points will be doubled! It doesn't get any more exciting than that. There are going to be a few minor format changes this year. Firstly, I've done away with my snarky episode recaps because there already several amazing recappers hard at work for this site that provide a lot more insight than I do with my sarcastic condensing of each episode. The video updates will also be a little different but you'll have to wait or tomorrow to learn how exactly.

Don't forget that you can use our Lost Fantasy Team Lookup Table to jog your memory of who all is on your Fantasy Team. You can also follow me behind the scenes each week by following the LFL on Facebook and Twitter.

So feast your eyes on all the goodies below and, if you think we got something wrong or simply overlooked some points, either let us know in the comment section or email me at LFLquestions@gmail.com!

The first week always seems to be the hardest, so please bear with me as these point rulings are not really in any kind of order. Once again, if you think we missed anything, please let me know in the comments section or by shooting me an email.

The rule book does contain an error that we somehow never caught. Our point categories chart and the rule book both say that encountering the Smoke Monster is worth 30 points. This is incorrect. Smokey encounters are actually worth 20 points.

1) All characters can and will earn points when meeting each other in the Alt Timeline. The reset side of the story seems to have tweaked everyone’s histories with each other as well as the present. Therefore, when League Characters meet major or minor Losties in the Alt, they can earn points for encountering a new person. To earn the points though, the League Character in question must exhibit some form of visual focus on the new person. Thus, some characters earned points for new encounters this episode while others did not. This was the single largest contributor to the premier’s amazing point total.

2) All visits and encounters that began in the Season 5 premier carried over to the Season 6 premier. This means that nobody earned points for visiting the Swan site during the recycled clips from “The Incident” and no one earned new points for visiting the Statue. Everything picked up point-wise where it was left off last year.

3) Kate does not lose points for taking Miles down. After reviewing and comparing the three takedowns and throw-downs in the episode, we ruled that Kate knocking Miles over did not contain either the same level of force or intent as the others, which did cause visible discomfort to the victims. This is going to more or less be our benchmark for what crosses the line from not an injury to being an injury.

4) Sawyer kicking Jack in the face is a minor injury. I watched the kick and its aftermath several times. Jack’s face was already beat up before the kick and it was dark during the scene. I could not detect any new cuts in Jack’s face on my TV, so the kick is only a minor injury.

5) Hurley, Jin and Sayid are not charged with an injury as a result from the Jughead blast. They were not shown to have been knocked unconscious, so they went unharmed. If there is no physical evidence of harm, we cannot dock points from anyone.

6) Richard tossing Ben and Sawyer tossing Miles did both count for injuries. There was intent, force and visible discomfort on both Ben’s and Miles’ faces. Again, this is going to be our bench mark for minor injuries this year.

7) When Ben leaves the Statue, his encounter with MIB/Smokey ends. Leaving the Statue for the beach camp puts enough distance and time between them that Ben begins a new encounter when he goes back in with Bram’s team. When MIB disappears and comes back in the entrance as Smokey, though, a new encounter does not start. There wasn’t enough time between his disappearance and reappearance to make a difference.

8) The Spring inside the Temple does not count as a new location. The entire Temple grounds (everything inside the wall) counts as the Temple. While the Spring seems to have some significant mythological value, it does not count as a separate new location.

9) Sawyer is not charged with killing or injuring of any Temple Others. When he and Miles are brought in, Miles states that Sawyer “took four of them out” before getting hit by a rock. “Took out” is a very vague term. It could mean knocked unconscious or it could mean killed. Either way, we did not see it happen and we did not see any dead or injured Others being brought into the Temple with Sawyer. Unless we have some kind of visual proof, we cannot deduct points. Sawyer dodges a big bullet with this ruling but it is consistent with the way we’ve called things in the past.

10) Sawyer does lose points for getting knocked out by the Others. He was brought in unconscious and Miles’ explanation explained why he was out cold. That is enough to cost him points.

11) Montand’s remains are significant enough to count for points. Everyone but Jin earned points for encountering a new person/thing with Montand’s corpse. Jin had met Montand before and knew why his remains lacked an arm.

12) Sayid was unconscious for most of the episode. This really only cost him from cashing in on two logos. He made up for lost time when he woke up/came back to life at the end of the episode.

13) The Ankh counts as a new thing. Hurley does not get points for it though because he knew that what was inside the guitar case was not a guitar. Vocalizing this knowledge disqualified him from the points that the others got.

14) The ash counts as a new thing. Only Hurley was around to collect points for it though, as everyone else was still inside at the time.

15) Sawyer, Jack and Juliet do not get points for visiting the Swan. Yes, they were moved to a new time period in the Swan’s existence but they did not move away from the site itself. Kate and Miles do get points for visiting the Swan because they both seem to have been blasted away from it. Hurley, Jin and Sayid drove up to it, so they too get points.

16) Jin earns two instances of ‘Travels by Car’ points. He drove the van to the Swan site and got out. By getting out of the car, his trip by car is over. When he gets back in, a new trip begins.

17) Sayid avoids the death deduction because he does not stay dead. If we find out later that Sayid did die and was possessed by some new form of Island weirdness, then we will come back and adjust the scores accordingly.

All of the scores below are for characters who appeared in the episode. Characters who were absent are not mentioned because the absentee deduction has been eliminated.

Also, I am aware that I shorted Cindy some points. She should have earned an additional 20 points for encountering Charlie, who was new to her in the Alt timeline.

GROUP 1

JACK SHEPHARD (+285 POINTS): Attendance; Encounters a DHARMA Logo (4- Generic, Star, Chef, Arrow); Encounters a New Person, Place or Thing (13- Cindy, Rose, Bernard, Desmond, Ed Mars, Kate, Sayid, Charlie, Locke, Montand’s remains, The Temple, The Temple Others, the Ankh); Episode Centricity; First Person on Screen; Gets a Major Injury (2- The Jughead Blast, Knocked out by the Temple Others); Gets a Minor Injury (2- Kicked by Sawyer, Karate chopped by Dogen); Hears the Whispers; Miscellaneous FB/FF; Nicknamed by Sawyer (‘Doc’); Visits the Temple

KATE AUSTEN (+250 points): Attendance; Character Has an Eye Close-Up; Encounters a DHARMA Logo (4- Generic, Star, Swan, Arrow); Encounters a New Person, Place or Thing (9- Jack, Sawyer, Hurley, Frogurt, Claire, Montand’s remains, The Temple, The Temple Others, the Ankh); Episode Centricity; Gets a Major Injury (The Jughead Blast); Hears the Whispers; Inflicts a Major Injury (Knocks out Ed Mars); Miscellaneous FB/FF; Travels by Car; Visits a DHARMA Location (Swan); Visits the Temple

HUGO “HURLEY” REYES (+230 points): Attendance; Encounters a DHARMA Logo (Chef, Star, Generic, Arrow); Encounters Jacob; Encounters a New Person, Place or Thing (8- Arzt, Sawyer, Cindy, Kate, Montand’s remains, Temple Others, The Temple, The Ash); Episode Centricity; Miscellaneous FB/FF; Travels by Car; Visits a DHARMA Location (Swan); Visits the Temple

JAMES “SAWYER” FORD (+155 points): Attendance; Encounters a DHARMA Logo (2- Star, Generic); Encounters a New Person, Place or Thing (7- Kate, Hurley, Arzt, Cindy, Ed Mars, The Temple, Temple Others); Episode Centricity; Gets a Major Injury (The Jughead Blast, Knocked out by Temple Others); Inflicts a Minor Injury (Kicks Jack, throws Miles down); Kisses Someone (Juliet); Miscellaneous FB/FF; Says the Title of an Episode (“LA X”); Visits the Temple

BEN LINUS (+20 points): Attendance; Encounters the Smoke Monster; Gets a Minor Injury (Thrown down by Richard)



GROUP 2

SAYID JARRAH (+185 points): Attendance; Encounters a DHARMA Logo (2- Arrow, Chef); Encounters a New Person, Place or Thing (6- Jack, Cindy, Charlie, Arzt, The Temple, The Temple Others); Episode Centricity; Gets a Major Injury (Drowned); Goes in the Water; Last Line; Last Person on Screen; Miscellaneous FB/FF; Says the Title of an Episode (“I Do”); Travels by Car; Visits the Temple

JIN KWON (+155 points): Attendance; Encounters a DHARMA Logo (Star, Chef, Generic, Arrow); Encounters a New Person, Place or Thing (4- Rose, Bernard, the Ankh, Temple Others); Episode Centricity; Miscellaneous FB/FF; Travels by Car (twice); Visits a DHARMA Location (Swan); Visits the Temple

SUN KWON (+90 points): Attendance; Encounters a New Person, Place or Thing (2- Rose, Bernard); Encounters the Smoke Monster; Episode Centricity; Miscellaneous FB/FF

MILES STRAUME (+65 points): Attendance; Encounters a DHARMA Logo (4- Star, Generic, Chef, Arrow); Encounters a New Person, Place or Thing (2- The Temple, Temple Others); Gets a Major Injury (The Jughead Blast); Gets a Minor Injury (Thrown down by Sawyer); Says the Titla of an Episode (“One of Them”); Visits a DHARMA Location (Swan); Visits the Temple

MAN IN BLACK (-75 points): Attendance; Inflicts a Major Injury (Knocks Richard out); Kills Someone (4- Bram and the 3 gunmen); Says the Title of an Episode (2- “One of Them,” “Left Behind”)



GROUP 3

JOHN LOCKE (+95 points): Attendance; Encounters a New Person Place or Thing (3- Boone, Frogurt, Jack); Episode Centricity; Miscellaneous FB/FF; Says the Title of an Episode (2- “Pilot,” “Walkabout”)

DESMOND HUME (+40 points): Appears in Someone Else’s Miscellaneous FB/FF; Attendance; Encounters a New Person, Place or Thing (2- Jack, Cindy)

ILANA (+25 points): Attendance; Encounters the Smoke Monster

RICHARD ALPERT (+10 points): Attendance; Encounters the Smoke Monster; Gets a Major Injury (Knocked out by MIB/Smokey); Inflicts a Minor Injury (Throws Ben down); Says the Title of an Episode (“I Do”)

BRAM (-5 points): Attendance; Encounters the Smoke Monster; Gets Killed or Dies



GROUP 4

CLAIRE LITTLETON (+45 points): Appears in Someone Else’s Miscellaneous FB/FF; Attendance; Encounters a New Person, Place or Thing (2- Kate, Ed Mars); Travels by Car

FRANK LAPIDUS (+25 points): Attendance; Encounters the Smoke Monster

JACOB (+15 points): Attendance; Encounters a DHARMA Logo (Chef, Arrow)

JULIET BURKE (-80 points): Attendance; Encounters a DHARMA Logo (Star); Gets a Major Injury (Falls down the shaft, the Jughead Blast); Gets Killed or Dies; Inflicts a Major Injury (5- Jughead Blast hurts Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Miles and herself); Kisses Someone (Sawyer); Nicknamed by Sawyer (‘Blondie’)



GROUP 5

BERNARD NADLER (+40 points): Appears in Someone Else’s Miscellaneous FB/FF; Attendance; Encounters a New Person, Place or Thing (Jack); Kisses Someone (Rose)

ROSE NADLER (+40 points): Appears in Someone Else’s Miscellaneous FB/FF; Attendance; Encounters a New Person, Place or Thing (Jack); Kisses Someone (Bernard)



GROUP 6

CINDY CHANDLER (+140 points): Appears in Someone Else’s Miscellaneous FB/FF; Attendance; Encounters a New Person, Place or Thing (Jack, Sayid, Sawyer, Desmond, Hurley); Encounters of Uses the Numbers (Said ‘815’); First Line; Nicknamed by Sawyer (“Earhart”); Visits the Temple

SMOKE MONSTER (-75 points): Attendance; Inflicts a Major Injury (Knocks Richard out); Kills Someone (4- Bram and the 3 gunmen); Says the Title of an Episode (2- “One of Them,” “Left Behind”)



GROUP 7

DR. LESLIE ARZT (+55 points): Appearance in Someone Else’s Miscellaneous FB/FF; Attendance; Encounters New Person, Place or Thing (3- Hurley, Sawyer, Sayid)

BOONE CARLYLE (+40 points): Appearance in Someone Else’s Miscellaneous FB/FF; Attendance; Encounters New Person, Place or Thing (2- Locke, Frogurt)

CHARLIE PACE (+40 points): Appearance in Someone Else’s Miscellaneous FB/FF; Attendance; Encounters New Person, Place or Thing (3- Jack, Cindy, Sayid); Gets a Major Injury (Rendered unconscious)

We start off the Season with two Fantasy Geniuses of the Week! Seeing as this is the first week, these FGotW are our current leaders, ToxDuris and The Saviors. Congratulations to both of you!

ToxDuris: Jack, Sayid, Locke, Claire, Walt, Cindy, Boone

The Saviors: Jack, Sayid, Locke, Claire, Aaron, Cindy, Charlie

CHARACTERS

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EPISODE DETAILS

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We're now just hours away from episode 6.03 and it is also our first of three double-point episodes this season. I don't know what we can expect but I do know that a few characters need to take major advantage of this week's double-points possibilities.

In Group 1, Sawyer needs to step it up a notch and be front and center in a non-violent kind of way. He has the potential to run with Jack and Kate (and currently Hurley) and tonight will give him that chance. If he grabs centricity, then he could be right back in the running, if not take a slight lead.

Ben also needs to get in gear. Right now he is way behind. If he has another poor performance this week, I think you will be able to write him off completely as a contender for this year. He's got a lot of ground to make up and the double-points factor gives him the chance. I'm not feeling as strongly about Ben's chances as I am about Sawyer's, but Lost never fails to surprise us.

Group 2 is still very much up in the air but Sun and Miles both need to step it up a hair. Also in this group (and appearing again in Group 6) is the Man in Black, whom we now know is the same entity as the Smoke Monster. I did not know this revelation was coming, but I do realize that I referred to MIB as Smokey in my pre-season analysis. It was a subconscious thing but it was not meant as a spoiler. I have read very few spoilers and I apologize to anyone who may have had that revelation 'ruined' by my words.

Anywho, MIB/Smokey is one dude in major need of a makeover. Tonight's double-point episode could put him well on his way to doing well. As long as he behaves himself, he could be a points bonanza. I doubt his temper will facilitate that though. His Week 1 hole isn't too much to climb out of but he needs to work fast and often at getting positive points.

Group 3 is wide open still unless John Locke gets the centricity tonight. We can all but write Bram off now, as he is dead. Sorry to the few of you who had him, but you may be toast for the season already. Richard, Desmond, Ilana and Locke all have the opportunity to jump ahead of the pack tonight. Locke has a good head start but the double-points factor all but eliminates the comfort that lead brings.

Group 4 is still wide open for anyone not named Juliet. Likewise for Group 5 and Group 7.

The people in Group 6 have some major work ahead of them. If you don't have Cindy on your team, you basically need to hope she is absent or dies tonight after being beaten many many times. Cindy has an awesome lead and I doubt it can be made up in just one double-points episode. This group is sort of a long-haul bunch anyway.

So there you have it! Tonight's episode could very well hold the fate of your Fantasy Team in its hands. Hard to believe that just the second episode and third hour of the season would be so important to the LFL but it is!

Come back next Monday for all the juicy scores and details. At that time, I will also be addressing a few things that were brought up in the comments from the scores for "LA X" and your emails as well.

Namaste and good luck!

ODI LOSTcast 49 - S6 Premiere Recap and 6x03 Preview

Hey All,
Happy LOST Day!

Wow what a great premiere last week! We got several answers but in classic LOST fashion a ton more questions?

The answers, questions and more from the two hour premiere got us very chatty and we theorized and talked for awhile. So much so that we had to break the podcast into two parts!

In Part 1 we completely breakdown the LA X Parallel time line and provide you with our theories on what is happening. In part 2 we talk about the 2007 on-island timeline at the temple and Four-Toed Statue. There is also a spoilers segment with a preview of Episode 6x03 at the end of part 2.

Both parts are available on iTunes or for those that can not access iTunes here is a link to an audio player and download links for both parts.

Those having troubles with iTunes, make sure you subscribe, goto your podcasts library and once you are in ODI Podcast, right click and select "Update Podcast".

NOTE: Spoilers begin at 98 Minute Mark of PART 2

http://the-odi.blogspot.com/2010/02/odi-lostcast-49-part-1-season-6.html

Prediction League - Episode 6.01/6.02 - LA X

Update: 9th Feb Massive thanks to Matt for getting the online tables etc available to use. You can check your standings as well as looking at all your predictions for the season.

http://www.dawgsled.com

There are likely to be some little bugs so please let us know in the comments.

Here are the first results of the Prediction League.

Note: It should not take us as long next week to get these results out but due to the double episode and some technical snafu it's taken a bit longer. Please check that we've not missed anything as I'm sure there will be some mistakes. If you have any questions etc please leave them in the comments below.

Note: The Fantasy League should be posted later tonight by G-Man, again this has take us a long time to calculate the scores due to it being essentially 2 episodes.

Find LOST with Carmel

FindLostWithCarmel

Episode 6x01-02 -- LA X-Offender - Recap by Anna

Hey All,
After a quite a long hiatus herself, Anna is back with her weekly recaps!

As always her recaps are filled with great insight and always a fun read. She now has her own site TheFourToedFoot.com where you can read her recaps and more or you can even find them on my site at TheODI.com.

Enjoy!

INTRO: Desire Brings Me Back

Well knock me sideways and dip me in brown water, if that wasn’t the LONGEST hiatus EVER! The latest installment of LOST was not only more than well worth the wait, but it also carried with it a different, heavier feeling than any other that preceded it. There is a deep, bittersweet sentiment in the air for me at least, in the knowledge that this is the final season premiere of the greatest television experience that has ever graced the screen. It seems to fit the current atmosphere of the show in having two separate “timelines” occurring at once, as I am overwhelmed with both excitement and a supreme touch of sadness. And although I am not going to dwell on this thought for long, I did want to first acknowledge it for a moment.

I also wanted to mention it’s a thrill to be back here providing a little recap and analysis for you all. I’m sending out a huge thank you to my supporters over the years who have kept me going with their love and encouragement, as well as a giant ‘hello’ to all the new readers that have come along just recently. It’s a true pleasure to be here with the very best community of friends and fans I’ve ever had the blessing of being a part of.

For those of you who haven’t read my articles before, I like to pick a band that seems to fit the episode and use their song titles for my section titles. For “LA X”, I have chosen a group who got their start in the DHARMA-esque mid-70’s, the ever-so-appropriate Blondie.

As with most two-part episodes, this is a long one, so grab your beverage of choice, sit back in your most comfy rocking chair, and (hopefully) enjoy!

Double Take

Who doesn’t love a great cliffhanger? And last season’s “The Incident” sure left us with a doozy. It was pretty evident when that last screen reversal from black-to-white showed up that we were in for a major game changer. Enter, Timeline X.

Anyone heavily familiar with comic lore would immediately recognize the careful placement of the “X” in this episode title. “X” typically refers to an alternate universe, world, or timeline, and it would seem that the approach LOST is now taking is no different. I think the idea is actually pretty clever, as it avoids paradox and gets around the whole “reset that would wipe away the last 5 years” idea that was joked about during Comic Con 2009.

Somehow detonating Jughead not only sent our characters trapped in ’77 some 30 years forward in their own timeline, but also managed to split everyone off into an additional, slightly different timeline. Little bits and pieces of the whole have been changed and shifted, reminding us that there might have been some slight-to-serious repercussions of exploding that bomb including creating a world in which Flight 815 never crashes on the Island at all.


The Tide is High

In fact, even if it wanted to, that plane was never going to crash on the Island in Timeline X because it’s now been revealed to have sunken to the ocean floor! Another shocker right out of the gate! It would appear the Island had been down there for some time now as well, since our favorite statue remnant has grown a barnacle or two over the years. How many years is yet to be determined, but I am guessing roughly 30 or so if the bomb went off in 1977 and the Island sunk not long afterwards.

Here’s something I noticed in the underwater shot that is making me scratch my head. Why do we see what appears to be part of an ankh from the original “whole” statue of Tawret next to it? Is it possible that in Timeline X the statue could have still been whole at the time the Island sunk, and the very act of its plunge is what tore it from its remaining foot?

I have been thinking for some time now that the events that have taken place on the Island have actually been going on for countless iterations. Using a skipping record as an analogy, one could theorize that the Island has seen multiple rounds of the same major occurrences, just with small insignificant differences. If we remember what Jacob said, this is all just progress. We are somehow working our way towards a final resolution. “It only ends once…”, he says. Does this mean the Island keeps replaying events, with each complete cycle having the purpose of making its way a little bit farther towards this eventual and final outcome? I am not sure I have figured it out completely, but I do feel in my gut that Timeline X is not as separate as it would first appear to be. In fact, and maybe this might be a little bit crazy, but what if sinking the Island in the X-timeline is actually the reason the statue of Tawret was broken in the first place as we know it in our “normal” timeline?

We have only seen bits and pieces of the history of the Island, so I can only assume (and hope) that these two seemingly separate realities do indeed connect and potentially even collide at some point. Perhaps this is the final outcome Jacob is so diligently working towards. If anything, he at least seems to have the knowledge to some degree of what will happen and the players, i.e. our main characters that he literally touched during their lifetimes that are going to help bring it all to the grand conclusion. As Faraday pointed out, they are the Variables in the Equation. I also think this is the reason why Jacob allowed himself to be murdered so easily without fighting back. He must have had some insight that his death somehow continues the progress, perhaps even serving as the catalyst to finally break the cycle that has been going on for countless ages through time and multiple “realties”. If his Nemesis has found a loophole to escape the replays, then perhaps Jacob has as well through this particular set of people that I can only guess he personally brought to the Island in the first place.


I Know But I Don't Know

Right from the start we were shown that Jack-X seems to remember something. Those first couple of moments showed him somewhat disoriented yet familiar to his spot on Flight 815. And why not? If people can consciousness time-travel then it makes sense that coming straight out of an explosion at the Swan and into a new timeline would leave a little electromagnetic jet-lag of its own. This is further suggested by his trip to the bathroom and inspection of himself in the mirror, a very important symbol on LOST. Jack just went through the literal looking glass, and so perhaps this hints that either he or other characters will gradually begin to remember more from their other timeline on the Island.

I hope I wasn’t the only one who got a little teary when we actually saw Flight 815 touch ground. The entire sequence was just as moving as when we saw the O6 return home. Michael Giacchino’s subtly haunting score and the direction went hand-in-hand here to give us a gorgeous peek at our characters as they prepared to move on with their lives in Timeline X.

Living in the Real World

Most of our characters seemed to be in the same predicament in the X timeline as they were in the normal one save some slight differences. Is this an effect from detonating Jughead which shows the type of butterfly effect that can occur when you change the past? I think so, yes. For one thing, Desmond is on the plane! This is one major difference in this iteration, as there is no Island for him to be pushing buttons on. But is it really Desmond in the flesh? No one else saw him, and he disappeared quickly never to be seen again in the episode. I found this to be extremely odd, as if his only purpose was to mess with Jack’s mind and perhaps try to jog his memory a bit.

I want to now quickly run down our original Island survivors and point out what was the same and what was different in the new timeline.

Jack – Still returning from Sydney with his dead father’s coffin, except this time Oceanic “lost” the coffin somewhere in transit.

Desmond – Seen on Oceanic Flight 815 for the first time, is also wearing a wedding ring.

Charlie – Still a drug addict in the airplane bathroom, but this time he is even worse off with an attempt at suicide. Even in Timeline X it seems that Charlie is meant to die from asphyxiation.

Jin and Sun – Still heading to the states to deliver that darn watch, and also still a troubled couple as Jin was right back to his old “button up your sweater” self. Whether or not Sun knows English is yet to be determined, but I think she is still a liar even in this timeline.

Rose and Bernard – Still a marvelously happy couple. In fact they seem almost too happy to have just left Australia with no hope of a cure for Rose’s cancer. Perhaps in this iteration, she has been cured after all.

Boone – Was unsuccessful at getting Shannon to leave her abusive relationship. However he still seems to want to follow Locke. Very touching moment when the two shook hands and said goodbye.

Locke – Still a bit of a pretender to everyone else, but still visibly miserable as he is still wheelchair bound. This time around he does not have his suitcase full of knives. Guess they are with Christian’s body somewhere…?

Hurley – One of the biggest differences seen, as Hurley-X considers himself to be the luckiest guy in the world. How on earth do the numbers come into play here and serve as a positive influence in this timeline? I’m sure it has something to do with the fact the Island is no more.

Frogurt – Still obnoxious. I wonder if we will see him perish in the new timeline…

Arzt – Still annoying. I wonder if we will see Arzt-Parts in the new timeline…

Kate – Still a fugitive and still running. In this timeline the idea is that she did not kill her stepfather but instead a plumber in the house explosion she caused. This was first alluded to at Comic Con 2009 with a fake “America’s Most Wanted” TV spot.

Claire – Much of what is going on with her is unknown, as we only saw her briefly in the cab that Kate hijacked. We have no idea at this point whether she was on the plane, or if she is still pregnant. However it is great to see that she and Kate are instantly thrown together.

Sawyer – Still shows signs of being the same con-man we know and love, but he seems a lot more chipper than a man who just murdered someone and was being thrown out of the Australian country.

Sayid – Still kickin’ awesome, and still heading to find his dear love Nadia.

I believe as the season continues we will only continue to see the same kind of connections between the X-characters that we have seen in the regular timeline over the past 5 seasons. The LOST universe, no matter which version you are in, does indeed seem to course-correct.


Atomic

During the last 8 months, a good deal of the LOST community correctly guessed that we would see what we had already come to know from the now-infamous white flash; that exploding Jughead so close to that pocket of anomalous electromagnetic energy would induce a bit of time-travelling fun-stuff. LOST has trained us so well with its knack of continuously referencing itself, so besides that whole whacky little Timeline-X thing going on, it wasn’t too much of a surprise to then also see a second version of events where our gang shifts a couple of decades into the future to the Hatch formerly known as the Swan.

We learned way back in season 3 what explosions in the proximity of that little area of the Island can bring about. Ears ringing and/or muteness. Bodies strewn about, miraculously unharmed. Perhaps something or someone even, ends up in a tree. Don’t forget the chance for complete and total loss of one’s clothing. OK so we didn’t get that last one, but for the most part the results were of the standard Hatch-Go-Boom type of affair. And just in case you still didn’t believe it, we had Jin to confirm it was indeed time-travel once again. Ah, we’re back and all is well!

Unless you’re Juliet. Not only was the entire Swan regrouping sequence a tad long, but we also had to basically say goodbye to Jules all over again. I had pretty much resigned myself to her death when I cried my eyes out each of the 108 times I’d re-watched “The Incident”, so I was not at all prepared to go down that path that again. Thanks LOST, thanks for giving me hope and then ripping it right back out from under me!

I suppose in the end it was crucial that we see Juliet and Sawyer have a proper goodbye after such a huge investment in their story, just as much as it was crucial to let us see that her proximity to the heart of the explosion had given her a little bout of the time-hiccups the likes of which we hadn’t seen since dear Charlotte’s death. I am going along with the idea that she indeed consciousness-time-tripped and saw herself in Timeline X meeting up with Sawyer at some point we have yet to witness. If anything, this is the most feel-good of the possibilities, and seems to fit with the idea that our characters are all somehow destined to connect no matter where, or when, they are.


Heart of Glass

I’ve mentioned before how impressed I am with Josh Holloway’s acting over the years, and right in this first episode of the season he totally blew me away. His immense and violent new hatred of Jack’s supposedly failed plan really took me by surprise. I also love how it wasn’t Juliet’s death in concept as much as it was Sawyer’s facial expressions that pulled on my heartstrings all over again. Then he immediately demonstrates a complete shift to the calmest deep-seated anger I believe I have seen anyone demonstrate on the show, ever. It was a good thing Kate was there to help keep the now-destroyed former DHARMA security chief at bay else Jack wouldn’t be fixing much else save some supper for the Island worms.

Speaking of the Big Dirt Nap, Miles sure is a handy fella to have around when a loved one dies moments before uttering the most important thing they will ever have said in their entire lives. But what intrigued me most about this scene was not the fact that Juliet just pretty much confirms what many of us had already been thinking since the start of the episode with the revelation, “It worked”. I am very much interested in the sounds that we heard during Mile’s little impromptu séance, sounds that were eerily familiar; grinding and wheezing, organic and mechanical, noises that were so much like the Smoke Monster I was waiting for it to come forth out of the ground at any moment. I believe this was not at all unintentional, just as most things we see or hear on LOST. More on this in a bit.

Die Young, Stay Pretty

Thank goodness we were given a break from all of that Sawyer & Jack tension for some sweet hangout time with Hurley and Ghost Jacob. OK so it wasn’t totally the sitcom I was hoping for, as poor Sayid was laying there bleeding to death and anticipating his own torture in the afterlife. But honestly, I was not really worried for the Man with the Kick of a Clydesdale. Something just told me it wasn’t his time just yet. Perhaps I was refusing to accept the potential loss of another main character so soon. O maybe it was just too fun and distracting seeing Hurley get some limelight and the opportunity to “out-fix” Jack for once. They had to keep Sayid alive if Hurley and Jacob were working together, right?

By the way, was I the only one having "Raiders of the Lost Ark" flashbacks as our gang headed down into the Temple wall and encountered one very crusty French skeleton? Indy’s voice took over for a second as I heard in my head, “So this is where Montand cashed in. A competitor. He was good, very good…”

I adore ANY time we encounter ANY part of the show involving ancient structures, and the tunnel scene was no different. The pace really picked up here as our friends were mysteriously picked off one-by-one horror-movie style. What an excellently creepy execution, as I had no idea what was going on until the last moment’s reveal of the two dudes knocking Jack out from behind. I think I heard the entire audience of the East Coast exclaim at once, “Who the *bleep* are these jokers!?!?”


Orchid Club

I mean, how was I to know there was yet another group of Others? Hardcore gun-totin’-hippie-pirate- monk-Others at that. Did they steal that Temple from the set of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"? Are they vegans or does Ben occasionally invite them all to one of his famous ham cookouts? Do these Temple Others and Richard’s Others say, get together on the weekends for volleyball tournaments before soaking their aching muscles in Jacob’s Celebrity Hot Tub? This is supposedly the season of answers, but all this gang did is bring about more questions for me.

Once again Hurley saves the day with his quick thought to mention that whacky Jacob guy, proving not all red-shirts are cannon-fodder. Looks like the Big J had been planning that little mixer at the Temple for some time now and even made sure that everyone he invited was on the guest list. And they were all invited, as Jacob had personally touched each one of them at some point except for Miles. I’m not quite sure what this means for our resident Ghostbuster, but with all the talking dead people on the Island it would be handy to keep him around a while longer.

Well, at least he needed to be around long enough to notice something odd was afoot in regards to Sayid’s supposedly dead body.

Undone

It would seem our Temple Others had been used to much cleaner spring water prior to Jacob’s death, as it would seem its healing powers are directly related to his living connection to the Island. Without him, these waters have changed and darkened. We already know that water is a symbol of both rebirth and the underworld, so it is still a fitting place for healing to occur. I believe it is also safe to assume that this is where Richard brought young Ben, who was on his death-bed from a gunshot from Sayid. How appropriately ironic that this is now where Sayid is brought after a gunshot from Ben’s father.

As the saying goes, “If it’s clear never fear, if it’s brown, make him drown.” What a disturbing scene to see poor, almost dead Sayid be dunked under and finished off in such a way. I loved when Hurley shouted out, “You’re not saving him, you’re drowning him!” He has really become much more assertive this season already and I am digging it. It not only shows his growth as a character mixed up in this Island insanity, but also how much he cares about everyone else to the point of really stepping up and “making his own luck”. But for some reason I believe even Sayid’s death in the spring was perhaps also part of Jacob’s plan, as it was his instruction they were following to bring Sayid to the Temple in the first place. Maybe when the water is dark, a person literally must die and cross over to the other side in order to be brought back.

In the season 5 finale, Ilana asks Bram if Frank could potentially be a “candidate”. A candidate for what, might I ask? My initial thought was for Jacob’s rebirth much like the Man in Black was “reborn” as John Locke. There is a lot of chatter in the LOST community about Sayid’s return to consciousness and whether or not he is in fact now the embodiment of Jacob. I am not sure about this, as it would almost seem too obvious. Not to mention, when Sayid wakes up, he asks, “What happened?” as if he really had just awaken from a short nap. I could totally be wrong about this, but I think if he was now Jacob he would be well aware of what happened and would be quickly getting up and taking charge of the situation. I am more along the line of thought that Sayid is still Sayid, just now reborn with a new purpose and direct connection to the Island just like Ben.

No Exit

When the news finally broke that Jacob is dead, I really loved the look on the Temple leader’s face. This was indeed a development they had yet to experience, and these Others leapt into full lockdown mode within seconds. Flower-gathering children were rushed inside, armed men were sent to their posts, a circle of ash was started around the barrier, and a fireworks rocket was exploded into the sky to warn the rest of the Island inhabitants that the game was now ON.

What is so important at the Temple that the Others need to protect it from the Monster in Black? Is the spring somehow a source of other powers we have yet to come to know? Is it a portal through worlds? Is this linked to the reason why it has the ability heal, because being in those waters can somehow access a person’s “essence” through time itself? Could the Temple be the one place that the MIB needs to access in order for him to achieve his goals?

And why on earth have we been led to believe that the Monster in Black was actually protecting the Temple, and was several times seen at the wall around it? We have witnessed it as it dragged victims into that infamous hole in the corner of the wall, and we have witnessed Ben go underground within its tunnels to be judged. Yet now we are seeing the Temple Others trying to keep the same entity from entering. This is a question that bothers me a bit and that hopefully will be answered soon.


The Beast

Of course, my very favorite part of the episode was the event taking place back at the beach at the four toed foot. Finally, what had been theorized by many in the community during the hiatus was revealed. Ladies and gentlemen, I do believe we have ourselves a Lockeness Monster!

This seemingly simple answer actually may explain a lot of the strange goings-on we have seen over the past 5 seasons in regards to the dead on the Island. We know that ol’ Smokes can take the form of both the physical dead, and the people from other characters’ memories. If he has been working hard at finding his “loophole” then I am pretty sure he has been pushing and manipulating our Flight 815 survivors from the very beginning, starting with the form of Christian Sheppard in his white tennis shoes. At this point I doubt that it was Jacob who Christian was speaking for, but the MIB himself. He is the one who, through manipulating time and Locke’s own past, set Locke on the path to leave the Island. It was also then MIB-as-Christian who really sealed the idea in John’s head that he was going to have to die in order to bring the Oceanic 6 back.

Even Jacob’s cabin can be seen in a whole new light here. Perhaps part of the MIB’s power was somehow being contained in the cabin within that circle of ash. We know that he was roaming about as the Smoke Monster, but maybe he was being kept somehow subservient to Jacob as the “security system” for the Island that we had been originally told the Monster functions as. Ben also had the ability to summon the Monster from his secret closet as we saw him do when the freighter folks were a threat. In addition, if Ben had been going to the cabin to consort with Jacob, it makes more sense now why he never actually saw nor spoke to him. It was also more than likely MIB himself who was asking for Locke’s help way back in “The Man Behind the Curtain”, and who also went wild and made a huge ruckus when technology in the form of a flashlight shined nearby. If Jacob is a fan of progress, then MIB seems to be the perfect fit for the one who shuns it, even in the form of battery-power. At some point, such as when Hurley stumbled, the circle of ash was broken and MIB was able to fully make his plans of Island mutiny a reality. Not to mention, Ilana had instantly been able to recognize that someone else had been using the cabin and that Jacob had not been there for some time. No wonder she had her team burn it to the ground.


The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game

In one of the more amazing moments of the episode, “Locke in Black” and Ben have a short conversation regarding the real John, and his last thoughts as Ben choked him to death last season. Notice how LIB sits in half-shadow and half-light in this scene. As he sits forward into the light, he discusses how he admired John Locke’s faithfulness to the Island and his desire to stay. Then he sits back into the darkness as Ben asks him, “What do You want?” With an expression of uber-creepiness I don’t believe Terry O’Quinn has ever made on the show before, he simply replies that he wants to go “home”.

Um, he wants to go Home? Like, E.T. wants to go Home? This would seem to be the million-dollar question now plaguing viewers. I know I was not the only one thinking to myself, “Please, please don’t let Home be another planet!” But we should prepare ourselves for this possibility. There have been numerous references and hints over the years to either extraterrestrials or that which falls from the sky. Perhaps Juliet wasn’t joking at all when she told Sawyer that day the Others were building a runway for aliens, though now I suppose it would seem they were building it for Ajira Flight 316. However, we also have a lot of references surrounding Aaron, such as “The Little Prince” and his favorite song, “To Catch a Fallen Star”. To add even more to the pot here, in this very episode we had a nice little “X-Files” Easter egg. If you notice carefully Rose was reading a magazine with an advertisement on the back that had a UFO on it with the phrase, “The Truth is Out There” that was part of an ad for the infamous cigarette brand from the show, Morley. Either the writers wish to keep giving us red herrings from outer space, or all of this is evidence pointing to something not from Here being related to the Island and our characters.

Personally, I am starting to think that MIB’s Home is what one might call the Underworld, or the Dimension of the Dead. This seems to be what his powers suggest, and also, what his nickname, the Cerberus, would hint at. When Ben was being judged under the Temple wall, we were shown a painting of what appears to be Anubis and some strange, black, snake-like create reminiscent of the Monster facing off with each other. Anubis is also associated with the Dead, and is the Egyptian god of mummification along with other things. With so many references to the Underworld in the show, and knowing how MIB operates, I am going to stick with this idea for now. This could explain why MIB could have been seen as some type of deity by some of the other more ancient cultures that once inhabited The Island. In addition, if the Temple, much like the ancient Egyptian pyramids, is some type of portal between worlds it would make sense that this is his next pit-stop and would allow him to finally leave the Island’s plane of existence once and for all.

MIB is not a fan of servitude, as evidenced by his words to Bram & Co. that they are no longer bound to Jacob and are free to go. He makes another reference to it when he comes face to face with Richard with the “chains” remark before knocking him out and carrying him off past the Real Locke’s dead body. I loved Nestor Carbonell’s acting in this scene, as even though he only said one word, “You?” he said it with such complete terror and shock so that we know now that Richard and MIB have a history as well. I really cannot wait to see the rest of this play out.

CONCLUSION: Dreaming

The night after the finale, I dreamed in LOST. In my dream I had a party and Carlton, Damon, and various cast members attended. We all sat on the beach and watched the Temple Others’ fireworks overhead while high-fiving each other about what an awesome season premiere we had just witnessed.

This is what LOST does to me. It gets into my subconscious and takes a firm grip. And this seems totally fitting too for a show so steeped in symbolism, the Underworld, and the duality of consciousness and unconsciousness. It doesn’t even matter which side of the mirror I am on anymore. This story has become a part of me like none other, and I love every minute of it. However the rest of this final season plays out, I will always be LOST along with everyone else, trying to figure it all out along with everyone else, and attempting to grasp and hold on to the personal connections that I make through it, along with everyone else. Life and art have always been two sides of the same coin, just as darkness and light, or science and faith.

I for one am more than thrilled to be experiencing both as one and the same.

a.N.
fourtoedfoot.com


*I write about LOST because I love the challenge of deciphering the clues and adding the pieces together. My thoughts are based solely on the show and random research, as I try to avoid spoilers, promos, and even future episode titles. I love to guess what is going on, but I also like to do so in a way that leaves some of the conclusions still up to you. I do not know the answers and am often wrong. Whatever the truth turns out to be, it has been the journey that has meant the most to me.*

"LA X (Part 2) " Recap and Analysis, by Erika

Here is the Season Six Premiere (Part 2) recap from Erika Olson (aka "e") from LongLiveLocke.com.

First off, a few quick notes: 1) In case you missed it, I explained why I am going to have to streamline my posts going forward here, and 2) I need to give a huge shout-out to DarkUFO lurker Alex from Florida, who I ran into at the Oahu premiere. It was great to meet you! And stop lurking, girl!

Now, before we review the second hour of the "LA X," I wanted to revisit two things I mentioned in my Part 1 post:


1) Penny’s fate in the alternate timeline: I had pointed out that Desmond was wearing a wedding ring on Bizarro Flight 815, and speculated that he couldn’t be married to Penny because Widmore would’ve been killed when the Island was destroyed. But several of you reminded me that Penny was most likely already born by this point in time, as we know her mother was an off-Island “outsider.” Further, it looked like Penny was in her early 30s when she brought Little Charlie into the world in 2005 (which would be consistent with the theory that she was already safe and sound as an off-Island toddler in 1977). So there is a possibility that Des and Penny still ended up together in the Flash Sideways – but there’s also a chance that they never met because Widmore didn’t live to become a successful businessman with a penchant for Moriah wine from Desmond’s monastery. So I don’t think Penny would’ve met Des as he was packing up his robes and leaving the brothahood like she did in the original timeline.

2) What sank the Island: It could’ve been Jughead’s detonation thanks to Juliet’s rock-banging efforts. But maybe Jughead didn’t even go off? Maybe Jacob being killed was what caused the remaining Lostaways to get flung through time to the present-day? Who knows. Some people think that since we heard one of the Dharma teachers mention a volcano in “The Man Behind the Curtain,” maybe Jughead caused an explosion deep in the core of the Island, and then that explosion did something to set off the volcano, and that’s what doomed our favorite rock? None of the possible explanations I can think of explain why the Barracks, a swing set, the sonic fence posts and even the remainder of the Tawaret statue would still be mostly intact, though. Doesn’t it seem like a nuclear bomb would’ve decimated everything… and a volcano would’ve turned the houses and the four-toed structure to ash? (By the way, if you're interested in whether or not Lost is actually sticking to real scientific theories as it proceeds boldly into multiverse territory, check out this Popular Mechanics article by my girl Erin McCarthy.)


OK, that’s enough looking backward… we must move on to the second hour, which began after that tearjerking scene where Depressed, Pathetic, But Alive Locke was wheeled off of the flight.


AIN’T NO SUNSHINE WHEN SHE’S GONE

While we didn’t have to watch Juliet die again in the second hour, we did have to endure her sad burial scene. I was like, “It’s about time!” when Sawyer demanded that Miles put his Sixth Sense Skillz to use and report back on her missing final words. Alas, more depressing stuff followed, because all Miles could hear was “It worked,” and Sawyer had no idea what that meant. But I’ll tell you what it meant: it meant that Juliet’s consciousness jumped over to the Alternate Timeline and she saw that her peeps never crashed on the Island. So she passed away at peace, knowing that – in some strange way – her bomb-blowing-up efforts were not in vain. I’m 72.5% sure that we’ll eventually see her on a coffee date with Sawyer in the Alternate Timeline, and she’ll suggest that they can go dutch on the bill. Then her seemingly incoherent babbling right before she died would not have been that incoherent at all. She wasn’t no fool!



SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE

While Sawyer and Miles were laying Juliet to rest, Jack, Kate, Hurley and Jin were trying to navigate a stretcher-bound, fading-fast Sayid down deep, dark holes and over giant crevasses in order to find whatever it was that Jacob believed could save him. We got to see the skeleton of poor Montand and reminisce about his infamous missing arm, and we all held our breath as each of the 815ers side-stepped around a gaping pit. Can I just ask what the point of that big hole in the ground was if no one was even going to do so much as slip? Sheesh.

Then Kate ran ahead, disappeared, and Jack busted after her – leaving Hurley, Jin and Mostly Dead Slightly Alive Sayid in the pitch-black caves. It didn’t take long for Jack to realize he’d made a mistake because Hurley started hollering and then his cries were muffled by someone… or something. Did you catch that little black shadow creature that ran behind Jack? If you did, then admit it – you were scared. I was definitely flipping out and thought, “YEP. They’re finally gonna do it. They are going there. THERE ARE GONNA BE ALIENS ON THIS SHOW.” The whole scene with all those weird noises and figures whipping around behind the Mad Doctor reminded me of when Joaquin Phoenix peered out of the window and caught a glimpse of that alien busting down the street in Signs (one of the only times I’ve ever jumped out of my seat in a movie theater).

Alas, there were no aliens. (Still not taking that possibility off of the table before the series is over, though.)

It was just the Others, back in their old-school garb – one was even rockin’ a purple-pink turban. I liked him the best.


NOW OVER AT THE TEMPLE
OH! THEY REALLY PACK ‘EM IN

I wasn’t very surprised by the towering temple, or by the fact that all of the Others (including Cindy and the kids) had been chillin’ there. After all, in late 2004, before anyone left the Island in the original timeline, Ben had instructed Alex and Rousseau to go join the Others at “The Temple”… but then Keamy’s team ambushed the newly reunited mother and daughter (and Karl) and, well, you know what happened next.

I also had figured that in another ironic twist, Sayid would have to undergo the same treatment that Young Ben did when Richard took him to the Temple in an attempt to save him from Sayid’s assassination attempt.

But before the Others got around to helping the 815ers, they of course tried to kill them without asking hardly any questions first. Hurley, who’s been rising nicely to the occasion as the group’s new and most clear-headed leader, thought quickly and shouted, “Wait a second, dudes – Jacob sent me and he gave me that guitar case into which I may or may not have peeked.”

I don’t know what I was expecting to see in the case (a guitar with special powers? a machine gun? an inflatable Charlie doll? buckets of Hurley’s secret sauce with which to win over the Others?), but it sure as hell wasn’t an ankh with one of Jacob’s list and/or some random note hidden inside.

According to the John Lennon-looking dude (whose official character name is actually Lennon – nice!), the note said that if Sayid dies, they’re all screwed.


WELL I LOVE THAT DIRTY WATER

Everyone tramped into the temple and it was noted that the miracle spring was not running clear. (To fans of DListed: I immediately thought, “Somethin’ in the milk ain’t clean!”) The grouchy Japanese dude who seemed to be the Others’ boss cut his hand and was dismayed to see that the waters didn’t heal him back up. That’s when he let the 815ers know that there’d be “risks” to trying to save/drown Sayid. But there really wasn’t any choice, was there? I didn’t like watching them save/drown He of the Black Tank Tops at all. But I knew knew KNEW that there was no way Sayid was gonna go out like that. Death by drowning? Um, no… sorry. Nameless chick from Season One and our dear Darth Hoodie already had that honor.

But for a while we had to wait while a lifeless Sayid dried out on the ground (did you notice how Jesus-like he looked when they were carrying him out of the water?) and everyone else gazed wide-eyed at each other in shock. MajorlyPissedOff Sawyer and Miles had also been captured and brought to the spring area by this time.

Hurley wasn’t about to sit around and do nothing, so he found Cranky Japanese Guy (whose name is apparently “Dogen”) and was observant enough to realize that this fool actually understood English. Dogen understood English but was a big snobby brat about it and wanted everyone to just leave him alone so he could continue making like Mr. Miyagi with his bonsai tree-trimming.

But then Hurley dropped the bomb that Jacob had been defeated, and that totally sent the Others into chickens-with-heads-cut-off mode, running around the Temple setting up flare-shooters and sprinkling ash every which way but loose. Lennon explained that the ash was to keep “him” out.


ASHES TO ASHES
FUNK TO FUNKY

So let’s pause for a moment and discuss two big mysteries:

1) At what point did the Temple stop being Smokey’s Playground? When Richard took Young Ben there to be healed in the late ‘70s, we didn’t see any wisps of dark clouds hangin’ around. But Smokey was lurking around those parts in 1988 when the French team had their unfortunate encounter with him. Remember that Rousseau’s partner, Robert, and a few others actually climbed down into the hole after Smokey and armless Montand, only to come out “changed”… or “sick.” Sick enough for Rousseau to have no choice but to kill them all weeks later. And Smokey was definitely there in 2004 when Ben summoned him to give Keamy’s team a spanking… and again in late 2007/early 2008 when Fake Locke led Ben to the underground chamber to be judged. So what exactly is the connection between Smokey and the Temple, and if Smokey and the Man in Black are indeed one in the same, why haven’t the Others had a ring of ash around their hideout this entire time? Were they just relying on Jacob to keep the peace? Was Smokey unable to hurt them as long as Jacob was around? I think that might have been what was going on.

2) So let’s just run with the notion that the Others had no real reason to be scared of Smokey until Jacob was no longer able to protect them. Smokey could kill or scare the crap out of anyone else who came to the Island, but the Others were off-limits while Jacob reigned. What does that mean for Jacob’s cabin and the broken circle of ash there that Ilana noticed? Was Jacob originally in that cabin, admiring his bloodhound oil painting and reveling in his lack of modern-day gadgets and enjoying a stress-free existence because he knew that the circle of ash was keeping his nemesis away? Or was it the Man in Black who was being kept hostage in the cabin for some time, and unable to escape because of the circle of ash? I could go either way on this one – there’s evidence for both scenarios. As I can only assume that we’re going to keep learning more and more about the Man in Black/Fake Locke, his relationship to Smokey and his ability to take other forms, I will let these questions rest for now.

But I’ll leave you all to ponder this: below is a screencap from Season 3’s “The Man Behind the Curtain.” In that episode, Ben is shown stepping carefully over the ash. However, to me it looks like the ash is already broken in an area to the left of where Ben’s shadow falls. There are a lot of dark spots in this shot so maybe it’s just an issue with the lighting situation, but it got me wondering not only who broke the circle of ash, but when… and, of course, why.





AND I’M A CHANGED MAN
I’VE BEEN BAPTIZED
AND I’M A CHANGED MAN
I’M A BRAND NEW GUY

The Others were in full-out panic mode with their ashing and flaring, and John Lennon did NOT give peace a chance when he threatened Jack about the need for them to have a private chat. Jack’s all, “You can’t make me!!!” and John Lennon’s all, “Imagine… my fist in your face!” but then we never got to see that situation play out (or learn what Lennon needed to discuss) because – AS WE ALL KNEW in our heart of hearts (especially since Miles was acting suspicious in a I-Can’t-Hear-This-Dead-Person way) – Sayid teetered onto his elbow like a collapsed drunk and said, “I’m back, suckas!”

For the record, even though only 1% of me was afraid that he was really dead, I was still happy to have even that little bit of doubt removed. As far as I’m concerned, Sayid’s safe for the rest of the series (am I being naïve?), though he’s clearly got some sort of Otherness running through his veins now. One theory is that Jacob has possessed Sayid. Another is that a Bit o’ Jacob is in ALL of the 815ers that were visited by him in the past, meaning that if any one of them dies, his full power couldn’t be unleashed and/or he could never be resurrected. Kind of like the whole Horcrux situation in the Harry Potter books. Kind of.

Either way, Sayid’s back and he better be able to still kick butt and take names. That’s all I ask. That, and that Yoko Ono doesn’t show up. If that happens then I WILL stop watching.


SOUL LIKE A LUCIFER
BLACK AND COLD LIKE A PIECE OF LEAD
MISGUIDED ANGEL
LOVE YOU ‘TIL I’M DEAD

Elsewhere on the Island, Ben’s mind was whirling from the realization that Locke wasn’t really Locke, and that this Fake Locke and Smokey were one in the same. I know some people out there still doubt this, but once again I urge you to consider the fact that there are just 16 hours remaining in this show. When there is dialogue like this…

BEN: What are you?
LOCKE: Wh.. I'm not a what Ben, I'm a who.
BEN: You're the monster.
LOCKE: Let's not resort to name-calling.

… It’s meant to clear things up for the not-so-hardcore fans. It’s an answer, people! I know they’re hard to recognize after going so long without any… but I want you to take it and put it under your pillow and kiss it goodnight tonight. Because IT IS a blessed answer!!!

Then Fake Locke went on to give an awful (OK, it was amazing, but you know what I mean) speech about how sad and pathetic Real Locke was in his dying moments. I could barely stand to think about it. And I’ll be damned if I could get THIS evil face out of my mind that night. YEEK!!!



Fake Locke wrapped up his conversation with Ben by stating that all he wanted to do was go home. Now, at the start of my Season Five finale post, I talked about the possibility of Jacob and the Man in Black being some kind of fallen angels, like in the movie Dogma. I didn’t think the writers would actually go that route, but now I’m starting to reconsider this theory. I mean, where else would “home” be for the Man in Black besides either Heaven or Hell? What, you think he’s from Jersey or something? Come on.

Once Fake Locke emerged from the statue, Richard was quick to realize what was going on and warned everyone not to open fire on the masquerading baddie. He knew that the bullets would just ricochet off of him (that’s a sweet superpower, by the way). He also figured out that Fake Locke was the Man in Black, whom he must have tussled with waaaaaay back in the day, because he was like “Oh no, not YOU again!” before being knocked out cold. Fake Locke’s mention of seeing Richard “without his chains” was probably meant to be a confirmation that Richard originally came to the Island on the Black Rock, which, as you may remember, was a slaving ship.

Next, Fake Locke flipped the Ageless one over his shoulder (just like Real Locke did with his dead daddy-in-a-bag back in “The Brig”) and then scolded the Others on the beach for reasons I didn’t really understand. What did they do that was so wrong except traipse all over the Island following him? I don’t get it.

There you have it for the Island events. Not nearly as much happened in the Alternate Timeline in hour two.


HELP
I HAVE DONE IT AGAIN
I HAVE BEEN HERE
MANY TIMES BEFORE

So the America’s Most Wanted clip about Kate that was shown at Comic-Con panned out. She did escape the marshal’s custody once again, with a little help from none other than Sawyer (and no thanks to a snippy Frogurt in the cab line). The biggest reveal in Kate’s scenes, though, was of course the fact that the taxi she jumped into already had a passenger—Claire. Now, I haven’t been able to watch this part of the show again, but I definitely didn’t see any obvious (meaning, visible without pausing the frame) signs that Claire was or was not pregnant. I’m sure you’ll all tell me if I missed something there. Either way, it’s clear that even though Claire wasn’t shown on the Oceanic flight, she was in fact on it. Now we just need to know if her reason for flying from Australia is the same as it was before.


LET’S FLIP THE TRACK
BRING THE OLD SCHOOL BACK

Kate wasn’t the only one having problems leaving LAX. Jin and Sun were detained because he didn’t fill out the freakin’ customs form correctly, and the security peeps went on to find a stash o’ cash in his luggage. I’m so not enjoying the experience of watching Mean Jin again, I tell ya. He’s up to his old shady tricks and it sucks. At least Sun (who was curiously referred to by her maiden name, “Ms. Paik” – I failed to catch whether she was wearing a wedding ring, so maybe they’re not even married?) kept up her no-English-speaking charade and didn’t come to Jin’s rescue like she easily could’ve. Let the defiance begin!


LET ME HEAR YOU SAY
THIS SH!T IS BANANAS
B – A – N – A – N – A – S

I don’t like to swear too much in these recaps, but I just couldn’t help myself with the heading above because it sums up my reaction to the final scene between Jack and Locke. But before I get to that, two points of weirdness: 1) Christian’s coffin – GONE! and 2) Locke’s knives – GONE! Christian’s destiny was to NOT be buried, I guess. No idea what’s going on with the missing knives. They were probably just an excuse for the writers to bring Jack and Locke together in the airport. But I’m sure something more is going on with the MIA coffin.

You already know how much the end of Part 1 (with Locke being wheeled off the flight) depressed the hell out of me and made me cry, so I was thankful that this last Flash Sideways scene of Part 2 provided such a lift -- such… HOPE. I wasn’t sure I was diggin’ the whole Alternate Timeline thing until this scene. But if Jack is able to “fix” Locke and Locke ends up able to finally go on his walkabout and live out a happy life in the real world, then you can count me among those who would be satisfied with that outcome for my favorite character (though let’s be clear – I’d still prefer to see him running around alive and well on the Island, but, as the Stones said best, you can’t always get what you want).

I’ll leave you with my favorite line of the second hour, courtesy of Jack:
“Nothing is irreversible.”

LOVE IT. All around, an extraordinary premiere – wouldn’t you agree?

Until next time,
- e