Lost Recap: "What They Died For"

There are several reasons why this week's blog is a little late. First, I've just been very busy this week. I worked Sunday-Thursday and have a class on Saturday so this week has been packed for me. Secondly, I just don't want this show to end. By writing this blog post for the penultimate episode of the season, I am confirming that the show is indeed coming to an end. And after watching What They Died For, I just don't want this show to end.

Don't get me wrong, I'm dying to know how this magnificent story ends, but it is incredibly rare to have a show like LOST. Who knows how many years will pass before we see another like it. Now that we got all the reminiscing out of the way, let's recap What They Died For.

"Now THAT was an episode of LOST!" Those were the words I immediately tweeted upon seeing this week's episode. As you all know from my last recap, I wasn't all that thrilled with Across the Sea. I understood it, but that just doesn't change the fact that I didn't enjoy that 60 minutes in front of the television. Not only did What They Died For blow my expectations out of the water, it made Across the Sea even better.

We see that Jacob fully admits he made a mistake and that the smoke monster's existence is entirely his fault. Sawyer even questions why they should try and fix his mistake. Sawyer also asks something similar to "Why did you pull us out of our lives? Things were going pretty well." Poor Sawyer. He's already forgotten how miserable he was before finding the island. Before the island, Sawyer was a broken man on a path of revenge. He had never known true love and he lived his life as a con man. Jacob quickly respond by telling them that none of their lives were perfect and that was the reason he brought them there. We knew they all had issues, but what we didn't know that is specifically why they were brought to the island. Had there lives been going great, there is no way Jacob would have brought them to the island. Rather, like Jacob, they were flawed. Not only did the island need them...they needed the island.

The quote from Jacob about them needing the island really got me thinking and believing that this flashsideways universe is indeed the end. Time for one last effort at a prediction: someway, somehow, the on-island events have allowed these characters to have a re-do on life. They have been given a chance to make their lives better and Desmond is working to make sure they all remember what they went through to get there. I'm reminded of the ending to D.J. Machale's Pendragon series. If you don't want to be spoiled on the very ending of that series, please skip the next paragraph.
....
...
..
.
[Pendragon spoilers] Throughout Pendragon, the main character travels through time and space saving multiple worlds from their destruction. He keeps a journal throughout that details the events of each adventure. At the very end of book 10, after the evil is vanquished, Bobby Pendragon gets a chance to go back and live his life completely and totally normal. As he rests on his death bed, a mysterious man (his Uncle Press) comes to visit him. Press gives Bobby a journal that was written by Bobby himself as he went on his adventures to the different worlds. Bobby then has a chance to remember and realize everything he did in those other worlds. Not only did the events definitely happen, the events made Bobby's normal life possible. I believe this will turn out to be true for the end of LOST. Everything that our characters have done on-island has given them a second chance at life [end of Pendragon spoilers].
.
..
...
....

We then get to see a phenomenal scene as Jack makes the choice to take over as Jacob's replacement. Jack has been such an interesting character to watch for me. I don't think I'm alone in my love/hate relationship for his character. In season 1, everyone pretty much loved the guy. He became the leader of the losties and did his best to guide them. Somewhere in the middle of the series, Jack grew increasingly stubborn in his struggle with science v.s. faith and got to the point where many people hated him as a character. By the time he made it off island, he was completely broken as a man. Now, he's returned to the island and Jack has re-emerged as a character we can all love. He's given the perfect chance to ridicule Sawyer for practically blowing up the sub; however, he reacts as a good leader should. He points the blame at MIB, the one really responsible, and he even admits to Sawyer that he's been wrong before (and he has definitely been wrong in the past).

In the flashsideways, we get to see Desmond and Hurley who appear to be fully conscious and aware of the other reality. Hurley makes this clear by saying, "I didn't know Ana Lucia was gonna be here." Hurley remembers. What makes all of this even more exciting is that Desmond says Ana Lucia isn't ready yet, which might imply that the finale is going to be A LOT about Desmond showing everyone the other reality.

I couldn't end this recap without mentioning the superb scene between Jack and Locke. These two men have been some of our very favorite characters since the beginning. The hairs on my neck prickled when Locke said that he was ready to get out of his chair. I'm getting chills now just thinking about it. What a phenomenal line and just a great scene from LOST. I think it's all but a given that the real John Locke is going to walk at some point in the series finale. And my, what a powerful moment it's going to be.

That's it for the recap. I can't believe I didn't even get a chance to mention MIB killing(?) Richard, Ben going evil (again), and the appearance by Danielle. This episode was just so packed with awesomeness. I want to take a quick moment to say how incredibly excited I am to see the finale. Whoever is out there reading this, I hope you have enjoyed my thoughts on the series. I hope you all have a chance to watch the finale with people you know and love, people who have shared this incredible journey with you. My wife and I are having 10 or so people over to our house for a little goodbye party. I will, of course, be fully decked out in my LOST shirt, which may end up serving as a tissue by the time the final credits roll. Definitely look forward to my post-finale blog, which may even come in two parts considering the length, not to mention magnitude, of this episode. So for the final time before we KNOW HOW LOST ENDS, I bid you farewell. As my fellow blogger Vozzek put it...see you on the other side.