"The End" Recap and Analysis, by Erika

Here is the Finale recap from Erika Olson (aka "e") from LongLiveLocke.com.

This is it.

This is the Mother of All Posts.

If I were you, I would watch "The End" again before continuing on. Even if -- or perhaps I should say especially if -- you weren't too fond of it the first time around. I speak from experience when I say that it's much more enjoyable when you're not trying to figure out what's going on in the ALT world because you already know the twist.

If you don't refresh your memory of the finale, you might not have any idea what I'm talking about in this post. It's my fault that so much time has gone by since the last episode of Lost, but it'll be your fault if you don't revisit "The End" before you read the rest of what I have to say, and as a result find it hard to follow the details.

So, now... is everybody ready?

Good! Here we go.

Get comfortable.

ODI LOSTcast 67 - Bonus Podcast with Erika Olson and DarkUFO

Hey All,
As most of you know by now, we already had two other podcasts this week, a spoilers podcast with DarkUFO and then our weekly Recap Podcast for Episode 6x13 The Last Recruit.

However, as promised here is a little bonus podcast with our good friends Erika Olson from LongLiveLocke.com and DarkUFO.

Part 1 of the podcast is with Erika and Part 2 is with DarkUFO.

Karen and Danny (Vozzek) of course join in for all the fun, but Karen did not want to be spoiled so she was not a part of the podcast with Dark.

We talk to both Erika and Dark about Season 6, what they think will happen the rest of the way and much more!

Hope you all enjoy!

This podcast can be found on iTunes or via the link below:

http://the-odi.blogspot.com/2010/05/odi-lostcast-67-bonus-podcast-with.html

S6Ep13: "The Last Recruit" Recap and Analysis, by Erika

Here is the Episode 6.13 recap from Erika Olson (aka "e") from LongLiveLocke.com.

"The Last Recruit" was one of those episodes where the time just flew by because the hour was focused on getting characters in certain places rather than the overall mythology of the show. It seriously seemed like only 20 minutes had passed by the time the end credits rolled. So there's not a heck of a lot to say theory-wise. I still really enjoyed the episode, though it didn't live up to the crazy-high expectations I had based on that kick-ass Willy Wonka preview.

I'll tackle the alternate timeline first.

- If, as I speculated last week, Des had mowed Locke down in the hopes of inducing his Island memories through a traumatic experience, then his plan worked. Did you catch how Locke said Helen was the woman he "was going" to marry... rather than the woman he is going to marry? That's a sign he's seen the other side, in my book. Same goes for Sun... she'd been shot and thought she might have lost her baby, which was certainly enough to trigger visions of the original timeline. That's why she was freaking out and yelling, "Oh no, it's him!" when being wheeled into the hospital next to Locke (which was a totally cool scene). She thought it was the MIB. When she was out of surgery later, however, she seemed to be back to normal after she found out the baby was OK. But if she runs into any of the 815ers again, will that trigger another memory?

- Over at the police station, Sawyer was flirting it up with Fugitive Kate and musing over how many times they'd run into each other. I'm sure tons of Skaters cheered when Sawyer said, "It's like something wants us together" (or whatever the line was -- close enough). And did you notice how he was eating an apple and offered it to Kate as well? Is that a hint they're going to turn out to be the Adam and Eve skeletons? Then he learned about how Sayid escaped from what would go down in the record books as the Good Eggs Massacre, and he and Miles set out to find their prime suspect. I'm wondering if Kate will be gone by the time they return. I'm thinking she will be.


- Alt Sayid is totally weak and I was not digging him in this episode. His hair is a disgrace, he doesn't wear tank tops, and he was basically brought down by a freakin' garden hose. I mean, come on. What happened to Badass Sayid? He doesn't exist in the Sideways Timeline. I actually prefer Dead Eye Sayid. And now it's clear that NO version of Sayid is meant to live happily ever after with Nadia, dammit.

- Elsewhere in the sideways world, Des is stalking 815ers once again. This time he's found Claire, and he convinces her to talk with his attorney friend before she goes in to sign her adoption papers. If I were Claire I would've kicked his creepy butt down the escalator. He was coming on pretty strong, no? But whatever... she agreed, and since I was spoiled by the beginning credits I knew the lawyer would most likely be Ilana. And wouldn't you know it, she'd been looking for Claire in an attempt to settle Christian Shephard's affairs. I don't really know if that's why Des brought her to Ilana, or if he was just trying to get her to reconsider giving Aaron away, but regardless, the detour served to get her face-to-face with another 815er. That never seems to be enough to trigger a vision, though. Maybe she'll randomly go into labor the next time she and Jack reconvene with Ilana and then she'll be like, "I remember you! And I remember ME... with some sort of dead rodent on my head... what tha... ?"

- Jack has to make a quick exit from the will reading in order to attend to Locke. Whom he recognizes after looking in yet another mirror... this one underneath the operating table, very similar to how Ben was laid out for his spinal tumor surgery back in the infamous "KATE! DAMMIT! RUN!" episode (shout-out to Josh G). So call it -- will Jack make Locke able to walk again or not? I'm guessing he will, because then Locke will be one more 815er who is getting everything he ever hoped for in the alternate timeline. If he can walk Helen down the aisle in this life, is that really worth giving up in order to be called "a sucker" by the Smoke Monster? No. Unless something (or someone) convinces him that he will save the world by doing so. I should also mention that when Locke wakes up from the surgery, I believe he will have all of his Island memories still intact. The question is whether or not he'll "remember" anything AFTER the point he's killed by Ben. As in, will he be able to access the thoughts of the MIB since he's parading around in his form?

On to the Island.

- Things kicked off on a very awesome note with the much-anticipated Jack/Fake Locke discussion. We got confirmation that the MIB had been masquerading as Christian the whole time. He also told Jack that all he'd ever been trying to do was help Jack leave the Island, but that had been impossible while Jacob was still alive. Now that Jacob was gone, they could all bust outta there... but it had to be all of them leaving together. Jack was like "OK..." but inside his head he wasn't buyin' it. Especially after the MIB called Locke a sucker for believing that the Island brought them there for a reason. Since Jack is now a Man of Faith, the MIB had essentially just called him a pitiful punk, too.

- On his way back to the main camp, Jack ran into Claire, who attempted to bond with her long-lost half-bro. But he told her politely that he wasn't exactly on her and Fake Locke's side just yet. And she was like, "Ha, ha, joke's on you." She believed that the second the MIB spoke with Jack, Jack was a goner.


- Then Zoe strolled into the clearing and showed off Widmore's Explosion Skillz by decimating part of the jungle right behind them. It reminded me of that scene in The Princess Bride when Fezzik (Andre the Giant) threw a boulder near the Man in Black's head (AAHHHH, I just realized yet another Lost/Princess Bride similarity... and not even the one I was originally pointing out!) and said, "I did that on purpose. I didn't have to miss." Fake Locke was not fazed and destroyed her walkie-talkie the second she left. "Here we go," he sighed.

- That's when everyone started cutting deals left and right, and my husband pointed out that the music sounded very Imperial March-like. Maybe because of Hurley's awesome dark side/Anakin lines. Anyway, Fake Locke announced the plan, and then Sawyer filled Jack in on the Plan B while Fake Locke was telling Sayid to go finish off Des.

- Am I nuts, or did the preview show Sayid's gun firing down into the well? 'Cause that didn't happen. Instead, I'm pretty sure Des guilted Sayid into NOT shooting him. Or else, you know, we probably would've seen Desmond's death scene, don't you think? So between Sayid NOT killing Zoe over on Hydra and now not killing Des, I'm wondering if there's perhaps a glimmer of He of the Black Tank Top left in those dead eyes? I hope there is!

- Same goes for Claire... everyone had counted her out, but then she ended up choosing to sail away with her original peeps instead of run to the MIB and tattle on them. Though I did like her "he's gonna be really mad" warning. And kudos to Kate for sticking to the original reason she came back to the Island. I was happy to see that.

- So everyone's on the boat, but then something doesn't sit right with Jack. "If that thing wants us to leave... maybe it's afraid of what will happen if we stay." I did NOT see him jumping off the boat and swimming back coming at all. The Mad Doctor is BACK, folks!

- The other group makes it to Hydra and out of nowhere comes Jin in a blindingly white t-shirt for his three-years-in-the-making reunion with Sun. I KNOW I was not the only one who feared they were going to get zapped by the sonic fence. I could barely watch that scene I was so worried.



But the hubby and wife duo didn't get to celebrate for very long, because then Widmore's team threatened everyone at gunpoint while also beginning to bomb the bejeezus out of the main Island.

- Speaking of... Jack makes it back to shore and then immediately gets blown sky high (though he miraculously remained in one piece). Fake Locke carries him into the jungle a ways where they appear to be out of imminent danger for the moment. He assures Jack that he'll be safe because "you're with me now." This brings me to my last point -- are we supposed to gather from this episode's title that JACK is "the last recruit"? Cause, um, I didn't really count Hurley, Sawyer, Kate or anyone else outside Claire and Sayid as technically being "recruited" by the MIB. Usually the episode titles make sense to me, but this one didn't.

Clearly, Jack is NOT on the MIB's side. If anything, he's just going to pretend to go along with him in order to stall... hoping that the Island will reveal whatever it was that he was brought there to do in the first place. The Island better hurry up! And while I'm on the topic of the Island -- I really pray this series doesn't end over on Hydra. That just wouldn't be right.

That's it for "The Last Recruit." On a semi-related note, I will not be able to write another recap until the finale, as I have a book manuscript due this month that I'm struggling to finish. I explain a bit more about my plans for the May 4, 11 and 18th episodes at the beginning of my post over at Long Live Locke here. Thanks for your support during this stressful time!

- e

ODI LOST Podcast Update - April 27th

Hey All,
Thanks for the emails and Tweets about a new podcast.

We are planning to have TWO new podcasts out over the next week, so keep your eyes and ears open.

The Episode 6x13 The Last Recruit podcast with Karen and Danny (Vozzek) has been recorded and is currently in the editing stages.

However we are planning a bonus podcast as well!

Tomorrow LOST Blogger Erika Olsen from LongLiveLocke.com will be joining us to talk about Season 6 and what we think will happen over the last 5 hours of the show.

Also if all goes well I will be chatting with DarkUFO later this week about his plans post LOST, what he thinks is happening on the show and I am sure we will chat up some spoilers!

So if you guys have any questions about our thoughts on Season 6 now is the time to get them sent in! Of course if you have questions for Erika or Dark please post those below as well!

S6Ep12 - "Everybody Loves Hugo," Recap and Analysis, by Erika

Here is the Episode 6.12 recap from Erika Olson (aka "e") from LongLiveLocke.com.

Let's kick off with a few notes concerning my last write-up. Many of you pointed out that when Des was looking at the Arrivals board, Flight 815 actually did have a status ("Arrived") -- it was simply flashing. That's what I get for examining screencaps out of context! Others schooled me in the fact that MRIs do not involve radiation, but rather powerful magnetic fields (which obviously is what would've triggered Des's flashes). And finally, in response to me doubting that Faraday could've connected the dots between his journal scribblings and the fact that he must've detonated a bomb in another timeline, some people suggested that he could've experienced flashes that filled in some of the gaps, but he just didn't share that with Des. I agree that's a reasonable explanation and so I am now at peace with the matter. Phew.

OK, on to "Everybody Loves Hugo." I was happy with this episode because not only did I really enjoy it, but I also felt it didn't introduce a ton of new theories, which makes me feel less guilty about cutting my recap short. Because it's all about me, you know.

Here's my take on this latest hour:

- Did you guys know that in the slide montage at the beginning of the episode, the dog pictured with Hurley was Jorge Garcia's dog in real life, Nunu? He writes about and post pictures of Nunu all the time on his blog. I cheered when the little pooch got his moment in the sun.

- I did NOT see Ilana's violent end coming at all. I think I jumped two feet in the air when she blew up. I have a feeling I am in the minority on this one, though, because even my husband (read: not a crazy hardcore Lost fan) was like, "That was pretty obvious, the way she was tossing around the dynamite." I guess I just figured that since we never got the story on why she was all beat up in that Russian hospital, her time wouldn't be coming to a close in the near future. Now I'm assuming we'll never know what her deal was before Jacob came to visit her.

- That pouch Hurley nabbed from Ilana's things contains Jacob's ashes. I'm figuring that they'll come in handy in the eventual showdown with the MIB.

- Speaking of... Fake Locke is pleased that Dead-Eye Sayid brought Widmore's weapon -- Desmond -- back with him. Des does not appear to know that Fake Locke is not the Real Locke. I thought about this long and hard, and I am SURE everyone's going to jump all over me if I'm wrong, but I think that there really is no reason for Des to assume the bald dude who cut him loose from the tree is anyone but the same John Locke he knew from his previous stint on the Island. Because right before Ajira 316 left, Desmond was in Oxford, trying to track down Faraday... which led him to Theresa and eventually Widmore and then finally Eloise at the Lamp Post Station hidden underneath the church in LA. When Des showed up at that church, he barely talked to the 815ers, so it's not like they would've clued him in to Locke's death. He went into the church, heard like 5 minutes of what Eloise had to say and stormed out. A day or so later he was shot by Ben... and then Widmore abducts him and hauls him back to the Island. So I don't think he has any suspicions about Fake Locke. I mention this because I think it's important when discussing a certain theory a tad later...

- Fake Locke doled out a key piece of info in this episode: that all of the 815ers who returned on Ajira 316 have to be together again in order to leave the Island. I do think it's key they're all together, but I think he's lying about the reason. As I've said before, I don't think he has any intention of leaving on that plane with those guys. I think he has every intention of killing them all, as they're Jacob's "candidates." But the key to his plan must be that he has to do away with every last one of them in order to succeed at escaping (or whatever it is he's trying to accomplish). And that would be easiest to do if he could take them out together in one fell swoop somehow. I don't think he's "allowed" (thanks to the nebulous "rules") to kill them directly, either. So he must have found yet another loophole.

- Fake Locke viewed Des as a threat, so he took him for a nice little moonlight stroll into the depths of the jungle. On the way they saw that Freaky Kid from earlier in the season, who I'm assuming is Young Jacob, though that doesn't really make sense. I just can't think of a better theory. Who else could fluster the MIB so badly? I just can't figure out whether or not that kid is really there or if he's an apparition. I mean, both Sawyer and Des saw him, too. It makes no sense. Freaky Kid kind of looks like Peter Pan, don't you think? (That's it! I've got it! The Island is Never Never Land and the survivors are the Lost Boys! As a Disney fan I am ashamed I didn't figure this out sooner.)

- When the MIB and Des ended up at the well, I thought that the MIB was going to ask Des to go down there and turn the frozen donkey wheel again. I thought that once the MIB learned about Des's electromagnetic-resistance powers he realized that Des could help him escape from the Island, and the FDW was one way to go about it. But once again my husband saw what was coming way before I did. "He's gonna push him down that well." Then it happened like two seconds later. D'oh! And we were delivered yet another ultra-creepy face by Terry O'Quinn. How can he just turn so eeevil-looking at the drop of a hat like that? It scares me.

- Richard was TOTALLY FREAKING OUT the entire episode, which I found hilarious. It's like now that he cares about saving the Island again, he really cares. He was hell-bent on blowing up the Ajira plane, but Hurley put a stop to those plans... and destroyed the Black Rock in the process. I think that was the right call. None of us need to see anyone else go the way of Arzt.
After Hurley lied and said that Jacob told him they needed to go talk to Fake Locke, Richard called him out on it and said that he was headed to the Hydra and that he'd appreciate it if the others stayed out of his way. Ben and Miles were like "We're sticking with the ageless guy."

- So, um, the whispers were quickly explained out of the blue... by Michael, off all people. I'm totally fine with the "answer" that was given -- that the whispers belong to people who died on the Island who aren't able to "move on" -- but it totally does not address why Sawyer heard phrases from his OWN LIFE, like "It'll come back around," when he had his whisper encounter in the Season One episode "Outlaws." Or why the whispers have been heard off-Island.
Or, as commenter "Michael" mentioned on my site, the fact Zombie Dad told Michael "You can go now" after the freighter blew. But I never really got too worked up about this particular mystery in the first place, so I accept the given explanation and will cross this one off of the Mystery List.

- While I thought the tail end of Jack's "I gotta chillax" speech seemed a little forced and solely for the benefit of "normal" viewers who hadn't figured that out for themselves already, it was still kind of cool to hear Jack admit that he's a Man of Faith all the way now. Though I had to laugh when Hurley countered, "But what if you not making the decisions gets us all killed?"... because that's kind of what I was thinking. Whether or not you like Jack's character, I challenge you to re-watch Season One and tell me with a straight-face that he didn't do a damn good job of leading the crash survivors through all of that initial craziness. It was INSANE how much he took on his shoulders in Season One... almost comical when you think about it. So we'll see how the 815ers do without him in control. Unless now that he's seen Fake Locke he won't be able to hold back any longer. Which leads us to...

- The final Island scene rocked. Once Des was pushed down the well and Hurley, Sun and Jack started headed toward the MIB's camp, I thought, "Oh crap... the MIB is getting exactly what he wants. Almost nothing is standing in his way now." He's got all of the candidates (minus Jin, whom we must assume is important or else Fake Locke wouldn't care about Widmore having him) and they came to him willingly. Widmore's weapon is out of the way. How will the MIB be stopped? Wouldn't it be hilarious if Hurley just opened up that bag of ash and threw it at him? Would he dissolve like the Wicked Witch of the West? But seriously, though, it is quite possible that the MIB might be killed by Jack's stare. That was an intense glare-a-thon goin' down in those last few moments, even though it ended with Fake Locke smirking. I loved it. (Though I did find myself a little sad that it wasn't Jack and Real Locke facing off again... or joining forces like I'd always dreamed/hoped would happen. Sigh. I haven't given up all hope on Real Locke re-emerging somehow, some way, through the MIB, though. Especially after the MIB was engaging in some very Locke-like wood-carving activities earlier in the episode.)

- As for the sideways flashes... I was never a big Libby fan, but was very touched by how they told the story of her and Alt.Hurley's budding relationship. Poignant, indeed. And I loved how Des is the new Jacob and attempted to give Hurley a push in the right direction (which worked) to help him remember the Island timeline. When Libby and Hurley had their kiss, the look on Hurley's face afterward definitely got me choked up. I'm digging how all of this is coming together.

- EXCEPT that I didn't enjoy seeing poor Locke get mowed down by Des. It was kind of funny that Ben was thinking Des was a sicko high school student stalker, though. And did you notice how Alt.Des mentioned that his son's name was Charlie (even though he has no son in the Alt timeline)? That's more proof of what I said last week, that he totally remembers everything in both timelines now. Anyway, when he ran over Locke, I was like "WHAAATTTT THE HEEELLLLLLL!?!?!" I was very upset and confused. My initial thought was that Des did this in order to get Locke and Jack reunited again (at the hospital). But now I think Des did what he did in order to inflict a traumatic/near-death experience upon Locke, as we know from Charlie's experience that such an ordeal can trigger memories of the characters' other lives. And if you watch the end of that scene closely again, you will see Locke's eyes darting around, like he's watching fast-moving scenes. So I suspect that maybe Des's plan worked. But another theory is one my husband brought up to me after I was finished with my What the Hell rant mentioned above. He said he thought Des was trying to KILL Locke because he knew he'd turn into the MIB in the other timeline. But if you really think that theory through, it doesn't make sense because: 1) there's no reason to believe Des knows the guy who looks like Locke isn't Real Locke back on the Island, as I discussed earlier, and 2) how would killing Locke in the sideways timeline help anything, even if Des was aware of the MIB's presence? Real Locke is already dead in the original timeline. Therefore, I'm sticking with the simplest explanation, which is that Des is trying to get all of the 815ers to remember their Island experiences, and he knows that either extremely bad events (getting run over by a car) or extremely happy/emotional events (being kissed by a hot chick) can bring about those memories.

- There were two "brotha!"s in this episode.

Let me end this post by saying that while I enjoyed "Everybody Loves Hugo," I gotta admit that the preview for next week's show was my favorite part of the night. Don't worry, I am not going to spill the scenes that were covered because I know some of you consider the previews to be spoilers. All I'm going to say is that I immediately recognized the cracked-out sing-songy wailing it was set to as Willy Wonka's (Gene Wilder) speech when he and the Golden Ticket winners were cruising through the Tunnel of Doom in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (though technically I believe what was used was the band Pendulum's remix of Wonka's speech in the song "Through the Loop"). Have no idea what I'm talking about? The Lost preview clip is here... and a clip of Willy Wonka scene in question is here -- the speech starts at the 1:18 mark... thanks to Franco C for the link. Anyway, I watched that preview and though, "Holy crap, that looks NUTS." If the episode ends up sucking I'm just going to watch the preview again ten times in a row and call it a night.

One last Lost-related thing for ya... check out the site lostathon.com if you've got a second. Three dudes are going to re-watch the entire series from beginning to end (they're timing it so that they'll run right up to the series finale on May 23), non-stop, in an attempt to not only break a Guinness World Record but also raise $100,000 for charity. It makes my eyes hurt just thinking about it, but more power to 'em if they can pull it off! Thanks to Anna of fourtoedfoot.com for cluing me in about this.

Until next time,
- e

S6Ep11 - "Happily Ever After" Recap and Analysis, by Erika

Here is the Episode 6.11 recap from Erika Olson (aka "e") from LongLiveLocke.com.

Was this the worst episode ever, or what?

HA, I kid. Here are my overall thoughts on and random remarks about "Happily Ever After."

- When Des woke up and Widmore was explaining where he was, did you catch that little twitch on Des's face near his mouth? I was like, "Oh, lord, he is going to UNLEASH!" And that's of course what happened.

- For once I was semi-right about something... last week I guessed that Des was needed because he'd turned the failsafe key and had absorbed some sort of electromagnetic property within himself. And that does look to be the reason Widmore needs him. This week we only saw them testing Desmond to see if he could still withstand an EM surge... so it's still not clear exactly what else Zoe and her team are trying to accomplish with Desmond's help. Since Widmore mentioned "sacrifice," the obvious guess is that whatever they intend to use Desmond for will kill him. I'm envisioning dropping him down into one of the Island's other electromagnetic pockets or something like that. But I still don't really understand why... I don't understand what doing something like that would achieve... unless Widmore needs everyone to go back in time AGAIN and either 1) not detonate Jughead, 2) not ever let Charlie turn off the blocking signal and/or not ever let Jack make contact with the freighter, or 3) something else. But since Widmore controlled the freighter, #2 doesn't really make sense. Hell, NONE of it makes sense. Anyone have any ideas as to what exactly Widmore is trying to use Desmond for and more importantly, why? If it doesn't have to do with "undoing" something, what could he be up to? Is there something related to the electromagnetic energy that Widmore suspects will rid the Island of the MIB once and for all?

- Once Des went into the EM surge I knew we'd see Alt Flight 815 again. But the weird thing was that when Des paused at the arrival board, Flight 815 was the only flight showing no status. In light of everything else that happened in this episode, I found that odd -- like maybe it's a clue that this timeline is still in "flux" status -- more on that later. (And remember in my premiere write-up I mentioned that Des had a wedding ring? Well, clearly he's not married in the Alt. So either that was just a production error or something SO bizarre is going on that it is totally beyond my abilities to decipher.)



- I also was not surprised to see Des working for Widmore. Did you notice that in Widmore's office there was no longer a painting of a polar bear but rather one of what looked to be Jacob and the MIB's stone scale?



- So Des and Widmore are all lovey-dovey and Widmore is sharing drinks of MacCutcheon's with his favorite employee... even though in the original timeline he said Des wasn't worthy. Then he gives him the assignment of looking after Charlie. I immediately thought something bizarre was going on when, after his release from jail, Charlie just walked right into traffic. Knowing what we know now, I'm figuring that he was either trying to have another near-death experience in order to have a vision of (presumably) Claire again, OR he didn't think he could be killed.

- Des ended up having his two flashes of Penny (within the sideways-flashes of the overall episode) when 1) he, like Charlie choking on the plane, was also in a life-or-death situation -- nearly drowning in order to save Charlie, and 2) he was experiencing another form of radiation in the MRI machine.

- After his talks with Charlie, Des figured out that something odd was going on. He became determined to find Penny, and when he got thisclose, Eloise (who's married to Widmore in this version of events) told him to "stop looking." Very similar to how she tried to prevent him from buying the engagement ring in the original timeline. Did you notice how she had a mini panic attack when Des first showed up, too? So obviously Eloise knows what's going on and might be the only character who always knows what's up, no matter what timeline it is. (It's not clear that Widmore has any clue that something strange is afoot.) And since in "Flashes Before Your Eyes" she wore the telling Ouroboros broach, I figured her pins this time meant something... so thanks to LLL reader David E J for suggesting that they might represent parallel timelines.

- Drumroll, please... and a big round of applause for The Return of the Skinny Tie (and its owner, Faraday, of course)! While I was thrilled to see him again, I did think his conversation with Des was a little far-fetched (which I realize is kind of silly for me to say in the context of this show). I mean, connecting his out-of-nowhere journal scribblings with quantum mechanics is one thing... but then connecting that to the fact that he probably set off a nuclear bomb in another timeline?!? That is a bit of a stretch, no? Whatever, I don't mind, but it kind of bugged me at the time. I'll chalk his ability to piece together the puzzle up to his overall brilliance... or the possibility that maybe he knows more than he let on to Des.

- Faraday gave Des the deets on where to find Penny, and I gotta say that I started welling up just seeing Penny running up and down the stadium, before she and Des even interacted. I also gotta say that if I were her and all of a sudden some dude appears alone with me in a gigantic, empty stadium and asks me out, I would be worried. Even if he was a gorgeous Scotsman. But I guess love at first sight has a strange effect on people, huh? The important part, however, is that once Des and Penny shook hands, he fainted. And from that point on, it seemed pretty clear to me that he started REMEMBERING what was going on between the two timelines. This might be because Penny is his Constant. Regardless, when he awoke in the Electromagnetic Chamber of Doom, he was all dazed... but smiley. And continued to be that way, even when Dead-Eye Sayid took out Widmore's team and asked Des to come with him.

- When Des flashed back to the Alt timeline, he was still all dazed and smiley, and it wasn't just because he had finally found Penny. It was because he knew what he had to do... and his knowledge of the Island timeline carried over. That's why he knew he needed the 815 manifest (shout-out to driver Minkowski, by the way! Who knew he was such a skeezeball with all that talk about prostitutes and whatnot?).

- The only thing I can't figure out is exactly what Des is going to do once he finds the 815ers. Is he going to try to nearly kill them so that they, too, can experience visions of the other world? And for the record, I don't think this is all coming down to a "love conquering all" thing. That's certainly a possibility, but it really doesn't apply for all of the characters. I especially can't figure out how Des would convince Jack, who has a SON in the Alt timeline but not in the original, that they were meant to live other lives. Speaking of that...

- What I think is going on is that both timelines we've seen this season are like two outcomes of a Schrodinger's Cat experiment. I can't remember if the Cat paradox was ever directly referenced on the show, but I know it was by Dom Monaghan's character on FlashForward, ironically enough. Basically I think that until the characters make some sort of final choice... or until the MIB either succeeds or fails in what he's trying to do, BOTH timelines exist. Then, depending on the outcome of people's choices, one timeline will eventually go POOF.

- I still have absolutely no idea how everything will all come together, though. Seriously. NO IDEA.

- What I DO know, and perhaps what is way more important anyway, is that I counted THREE instances of "brotha" in this episode. YESSSSSS. I also threw up a fist-pump when "You All Everybody" played. So many great moments in this episode, huh?

That's all I can do this time, guys. Hope it was better than nothing. And a HUGE shout-out to Hawaii-based LLL reader Jenna M, who sent me these pictures she snapped of Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond) running the Tag the World Triathalon in Waikiki last fall. I told her I absolutely had to "share the lusciousness" with you all.




Finally, if there are any longtime readers of my posts wondering why I changed my usual recap format, I explain it here. The short story is that I have a book manuscript due in mid-May, and at this point it needs 99% of my energy.

Until next time,
- e

S6Ep10 - "The Package" Analysis and Recap, by Erika

Here is the Episode 6.10 recap from Erika Olson (aka "e") from LongLiveLocke.com.


KEEP IT ON THE DOWN LOW
NOBODY HAS TO KNOW

As many of us suspected after the season premiere, Sun and Jin aren't married in the alternate timeline. What I didn't see coming, however, is that Sun truly doesn't know English in the flash sideways. I'd thought she was just feigning ignorance when she was questioned by security after Jin was caught with the bag o' money. But if they were never married and he never was a crappy husband and she never wanted to take off on her own, then she had no reason to learn English, I guess.

BUT, they are still getting it on... and going to great lengths to hide their affair. Millions of men around the world forgave the producers for years of Shirtless Sawyer scenes once they got a look at Shirtless Sun, and all was well with the world for a few moments. Then Keamy had to ruin everything. Turns out it was his payment that had been confiscated and it was none other than my Kos Tour guide -- the man partially responsible for my picture with Terry O'Quinn -- Jeff, who was one of the guys refusing to let Jin leave with the dough! Yes, he was an extra in this episode and played one of the security guards, isn't that cool? That's him on the right. Congrats, Jeff -- you the man!



Speaking of the airport scene, and I'm sorry to be jumping around a bit in this section, but did anyone else notice this dude's absolutely amazing mullet?


Seriously, I could not take my eyes off of it. I was like, "Screw Sun and Jin -- I wanna know about that guy." I thought for sure he would be some key player in the episode solely because of that 'do. But like so many other times, I was wrong.

ANYWAY... Keamy calls in The Man Formerly Known as Patchy (hooray!) to translate for him. I was totally surprised to see our favorite Soviet, though by now all of these past character cameos shouldn't be such a shock, should they?

Sun claimed she had enough money to pay Keamy what he was owed, so Mikhail went to the bank with her while Keamy took Jin to the back of the restaurant we'd seen previously in "Sundown." It turns out that Mr. Paik already knew about the secret lovers, had closed Sun's account, and had hired Keamy to kill Jin -- the $25k was supposed to be his payment for doing so. But as we know, Sayid put a dent in those plans. After Sayid gave Jin a razor and took off, Mikhail shows up with Sun, things get ugly, and Jin straight-up shoots Mikhail in the eye. Is it wrong that I couldn't contain a huge laugh at that point? The Patch is his destiny.

Then came the scene that nobody expected. Sun had been hit in the stomach during the crossfire. My jaw definitely dropped open when I realized what was going on. But then it got worse... as Jin was carrying her out, she dropped a bombshell: "I'm pregnant."

You can be damn sure that I yelled "Saaaaaayyyyy WHHHAAATTTT?!?!" What did you yell?

OK, so here are my two main thoughts on this new development:
1) In the original timeline, pre-Flight 815, we learned that Jin was infertile. Sun knew this, but never told Jin. Once they survived the crash, that issue was resolved thanks to the Island's special powers and Sun became pregnant, with Juliet confirming that it was Jin's child because the "D.O.C" (date of conception) was during their Island stay. So now I'm totally confused because why would his infertility just randomly disappear in the alt timeline? UNLESS....
2) Jin is not the baby daddy. Let's face it, this is a possibility. Yes, in the flashes Sun did say that she wanted Jin to "run away" with her and they definitely seem to be in love, but that doesn't mean Sun hadn't been fooling around with Baldy back in Korea like she was in the original timeline. She has been proven not to be the most moral person in the world, so it's in the realm of possibility. Now, I fully admit that I think there's only like a 5% chance of this playing out since we're careening toward the end of the series, but I thought I'd mention it. It's the only way I can make sense of the situation.

Anyone else have an idea as to why Jin would not be infertile in the alt timeline? Hold up -- I just thought of one other possibility... when Jacob touched Sun and Jin in the original timeline, maybe Jacob purposely caused Jin's issues? And maybe in the alt timeline Jacob didn't visit anyone, so Jin was fine? I can't fathom why Jacob would do such a thing, though -- what would the point be? And so, I debunk my own theory.

OK, on to the Island.


PRIVATE EYES
THEY'RE WATCHING YOU
THEY SEE YOUR EVERY MOVE

Man, did that night vision stuff scare me. Since the episode opened with that scene, all that was going through my head was, "Whoa... is there another party we don't know about? Is this all a game that someone else is watching through a monitor? WHAT IS GOING ON?!?!" But it wasn't actually that hard to figure out, I was just slow that night. Clearly it was going to turn out to be Widmore's team. After Dead-Eye Sayid informed Fake Locke that he was utterly devoid of emotion and Fake Locke responded that it was probably better that way because of "what's coming," Fake Locke went into the jungle alone to do God knows what. The unseen night-vision people watched Fake Locke leave, saw that Jin was going to take this as his chance to bust out, and then decided to nick everyone in the neck with poisonous darts. One of my top twenty freak-out moments of the series was at the end of Season Two when Jack, Sawyer, Kate and Hurley got taken out by darts in a similar fashion after Michael set them up to be captured by the Others. So this scene brought back all those awful memories. Boo. At least there was no convulsing this time around.


EMPTY GARDEN

It turns out Fake Locke left his peeps in order to visit Sun in her old garden. But she wasn't buying anything he was selling. I was pretty impressed with Sun because, as we ALL know, the only frickin' thing she's been hollering about this entire season is "finding her husband." And that's what Fake Locke promised -- a reunion with Jin at long last. But I guess she knew better than to trust an undead version of the bald guy that had come back to the Island in a coffin. So she busts outta the garden just like Ben busted out in "Dr. Linus" when he decided to try and escape from Ilana and his self-dug grave. It didn't turn out as well for Sun because she ran head-first into a tree and was knocked out cold. Fake Locke disappeared, Ben found her... but when she awoke she could no longer speak English.

Now, something suspicious is definitely going on with this, don't you agree? We've seen subtle hints of the original timeline influencing the alternate timeline earlier in the season, with Jack's neck cut and abdominal scar, with Kate kinda-sort having an "a ha!" moment when she saw Jack outside the terminal and then later seeming to have a reaction to unborn baby Aaron's whale doll, and with Claire suddenly having Aaron's name come to her. And we've seen all of the flash-sideways characters look into a mirror during their centric episodes -- that's gotta mean something because it's happened in every episode. Now we have Sun no longer speaking English, just like in the alternate timeline. I can't really put into words what I think this means, other than to say that I think the two versions of events are starting to intertwine a bit -- and affect each other. Will a 2004 version of a character end up doing or saying something that helps the Present-Day version of his or her character? Or vice versa? That's the way I'm thinking it's going.


I SEE THE BAD MOON RISIN'
I SEE TROUBLE ON THE WAY
I SEE EARTHQUAKES AND LIGHTNIN'
I SEE BAD TIMES TODAY

Back at the jungle camp site, Widmore's peeps steal Jin and take off. Fake Locke returns and is PISSED. I found it interesting that he didn't act like he cared about anyone except Sayid, whom he slapped awake first, and then immediately asked about Jin. Seems like if Sawyer was one of the candidates Fake Locke would've been a little more concerned about his life. And he basically said "whatever" about Kate and Claire.

The attack sprung Fake Locke into action and after the others regained consciousness he informed them that he and Sayid were heading to Hydra to retrieve Jin. Before they left, Claire cornered Fake Locke about the names on the cave wall and asked if she or Kate were listed. He said that neither of them were, but told Claire that he still needed her, and that he was essentially just using Kate. Then in so many words he said that it didn't matter to him whether Kate lived or died after he got everyone else on the Ajira flight. "Whatever happens, happens." Yikes.

Over at the beach, Ilana's all, "Told ya so!" when Richard and Hurley trudge back into the camp. Richard is alarmed when he hears that Fake Locke had recently visited Sun, and even more concerned when Ben told him that the MIB intended to carry out his plan on Hydra. The Ageless One immediately figured out that the MIB was going to attempt to escape the Island via the Ajira plane and ordered everyone to pack up because they needed to go there, too. (Cue me having another meltdown about the impending outrigger shootout... how much longer are they going to tease us about this? Wait, I have an answer to my own question: until they finally remind everyone about that time-traveling scene in the "Previously on Lost" segment. When that happens, except the shootout to follow in that episode.)

Sun continues to be in a bad mood and storms off again. Eventually Jack finds her and they have a pseudo-chat on the beach (I thought that scene was exceptionally beautiful with the eerie way the sky was lit, didn't you?). After Sun reveals that she didn't go with Fake Locke because she doesn't trust him, Jack asked if she trusted him, and put out his hand to her just like Fake Locke had done. Sun declared herself to be on Team Jack, took his hand and -- I think it's safe to assume -- implicitly agreed that she'll head over the Hydra with the rest of the group.

(Hmm, I just thought of something -- what if Sun's the one who gets shot on the outrigger kind of like how she was shot in the flash sideways?)

In the meantime, Fake Locke reached Hydra and I was honestly shocked to see him come face to face with Widmore already. I loved their "Do you know who I am?" "Do you know who I am?" convo. And after Widmore denied abducting Jin, I found it interesting that Fake Locke once again pulled from Real Locke's memories: "A wise man once said that war is coming to this island." That was, of course, what Widmore said to Real Locke in "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham."


PHOTOGRAPH
ALL I'VE GOT IS A PHOTOGRAPH
BUT IT'S NOT ENOUGH

How psyched was I to see the return of the Clockwork Orange Brainwashing Rave Room?!?! VERY psyched. Oh, how I loved that room. Did you notice how Jin had to turn on the video just to remind all of the non-diehard viewers where in the hell he was? I thought that was funny.

After attempting to leave and subsequently being tased by Zoe, Jin's asked about the electromagnet pockets on the Island. That means that Widmore's plan has something to do with those spots. Jin refused to talk and instead demanded to speak to Widmore. And he got his wish.

I have to admit that the Sun/Jin storyline has never been that compelling to me -- I just haven't really connected to those characters that much. Their #1 moment for me was Sun's ear-splitting scream when she saw the freighter (with Jin on its deck) blow up (which I was POSITIVE we'd have to live through again courtesy of the "Previously on Lost" segment before this episode, but we didn't). #2 was when they said good-bye (after weeks of fighting) when Jin was about to leave on the raft in the Season One finale. And #3 was Jin getting all teary-eyed at seeing the Ji Yeon pics in this episode. Kudos to Daniel Dae Kim for bringing it!

So yeah, Widmore gave Jin Sun's digital camera from the Ajira wreckage, then let him take a moment to scroll through the gallery, and then got down to business. He informed Jin that if the MIB ever left the Island, everyone they both knew and loved would "simply cease to be." That sounds like some end of the world crap to me, don't you think? Kind of like when Ms. Hawking warned Desmond that if he didn't fulfill his destiny on the Island, that "every single one of us is dead."

Speaking of Desmond...


I MET YOU ON SOMEBODY'S ISLAND
YOU THOUGHT YOU HAD KNOWN ME BEFORE

Can I get a "FINALLY?!?!"
Can I get a "'Bout damn time!?!"
And can I get big ol' round of cheers that we're bound to hear "Brotha!" again soon?

Hooray, hooray! Desmond is BACK, and he is The Package (no perverted jokes, please). For like two milliseconds I thought The Package might be Ji Yeon, but then the reality of Desmond not being seen since the premiere returned and I knew it was going to be him.

We found this out thanks to a very creepy scene in which a Rambo-like Dead-Eye Sayid was slithering through the water and came face to face with Des as he hung over the pier, all whacked out on spiked OJ. They just stared at each other for several seconds and I had no idea what was going to happen. I thought maybe Sayid was going to pull Des into the water and glide away with him, or that Des would start shouting and alert Widmore's team to Sayid's presence. Instead, they both remained silent and Des was hauled onto shore. I can only imagine that Sayid will return to Fake Locke and report his findings so they know what they're dealing with.

But what ARE they dealing with, exactly? What is Desmond needed for? Since Zoe mentioned she's a geophysicist and is all concerned about the electromagnetic pockets, I can only assume they think that because Desmond turned the failsafe key (which then caused him to have all those weird future-flashes) that he has harnessed within him some sort of special power (how they would KNOW he turned the key is another mystery). Faraday alluded to something along these lines when he informed Desmond (during one of the time-traveling jumps last season) that he was "uniquely and miraculously special." Ms. Hawking also knew how important Desmond was -- not just because of what she said to him in "Flashes Before Your Eyes," but also because she warned him after he refused to join the Ajira flight: "The Island isn't done with you yet."

So Desmond's connection with turning the failsafe key and the effect doing so had on him and on the Island's electromagnetic pull is the only thing I can reasonably assume Widmore's team wants him for. Unless they just REALLY like his accent. Anyone else have other ideas?


FLIES IN THE VASOLINE WE ARE
SOMETIMES IT BLOWS MY MIND
KEEP GETTING STUCK HERE ALL THE TIME

Let's end with the same question we've ended several posts with this season: What is UP with Widmore?

Here's where my head's at after this episode: Widmore, like Ben and like Jacob, is against the MIB leaving the Island. He does not want that to happen and understands that the results would be catastrophic. But that doesn't necessarily mean he's on Jacob's "side," per se. Widmore is on his own side and apart from wanting to contain the MIB, he has his own agenda. And that agenda involves: 1) keeping the MIB from escaping so as to not end the world, and 2) making sure the Island is easily accessible in the future.

Why? Because he wants to exploit its unique properties and powers. Ben said as much back when he first introduced Real Locke to Widmore via security video tape back in Season Four: "John, three months ago in Gainesville, Florida, the Virgin Mary seemed to appear in a patch of mold on the side of an old housing complex. When the word got out, over 5,000 people came to see her face for themselves. You've survived an airline crash on this island. One minute, you're in a wheelchair. The next minute, you're doing jumping jacks. If 5,000 people came out to see a piece of mold, how many people do you think would come here to see you? Charles Widmore wants to exploit this island, and he'll do everything in his power to possess it."

Now, Ben lied a lot during that talk he had with Real Locke, but I think there may have been a glimmer of truth to this part. We do know that Widmore has been on a quest to find the Island again ever since he'd been banished. We also know that he is a successful businessman back in the real world. Maybe he feels like the Island could be added to his empire? Maybe he knows that if he brought sick people there and they were cured that he would be worshiped -- like a god? Maybe he just wants the Island all for himself and wants to be able to simply come and go as he pleases without all the calculations that are currently necessary? Who knows... but in my mind he is STILL "bad" overall. Remember Alex!

As to why he chose Jin to kidnap rather than, say, Sawyer (another "candidate"... assuming Widmore even knows about the candidates...), on top of Jin's familiarity with the electromagnetic pocket locations, it might go back to Widmore's familiarity with Sun. Don't forget -- they struck some sort of weird deal after Sun returned as one of the O6 and thought Jin was dead. She was going to kill Ben with the gun Widmore provided and all that. So maybe there was more to their agreement than we realized.


BEST LINES OF THE EPISODE

ILANA: Hugo will find him. He will track him down and bring him back.

MILES: Unless Alpert's covered in bacon grease, I'm not sure Hurley can track anything...

LAPIDUS: Hey, don't talk about bacon.

SAWYER: What do you need a boat for? Can't you just turn into smoke and fly your ass over the water?

LOCKE: Do you think if I could do that I would still be on this island?

SAWYER: No, 'cause that would be ridiculous.

BEN: What? Oh, for the fourth time, I was gathering mangoes and she was already unconscious when I found her. Why won't you believe me?

ILANA: Because you're speaking.

Until next time,
- e