Lost Recap: "The End"

It's pretty hard for me to even start this blog. I wanted to wait until I'd watched the episode again, but there's so much discussion everywhere that I couldn't resist writing it now. So, here it is...my final LOST recap.

Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse called it. They said there would be those who love the finale and people who would hate the finale. Fortunately, I seem to be in the majority of those that loved the finale. In short, I thought it was absolutely brilliant. For all the discussion about electromagnetic energy, smoke monsters, and the island, LOST was a show that always was, and will forever be remembered as, a show about the characters. Everything we saw through six season of amazing television was their growth and journey as humans.

Let's get this out of the way first. I am of the camp that believes they did NOT die in the original Oceanic 815 crash. This seems to be a growing belief among fans, based mostly on the shots of the plane wreckage that were displayed during the final credits. I think that might just be an image they chose for the final credits, just to remind us of where it all started. The LOST logo appears right after Jack's eye closes so I think that's meant to be the final image of the show. Knowing how much we all like to over analyze things, I do question why they chose that particular series of images for the credits. Seems like they could have went with something else that would have caused less confusion.

I believe everything we saw on the island happened and was real. The flashsideways however was a place they created together that acted as a kind of purgatory for each of them to accept their deaths and move on to the after life. They struggled to accept that they were indeed dead. Some (i.e. Hurley) were persuaded easier than others (i.e. Jack). We know that "everyone dies some time kiddo. Some before you, some long after you," as Christian says in the end. Christian also tells Jack that "everything that has ever happened to you is real." He also says that all the people he met were real. If they had all died in the crash, then they would have never met each other anyway (aside from the brief time on the flight). For anyone thinking they died in the crash, just watch that last scene with Christian again. I thought he did a pretty good job explaining it all.

I also love the conversation between Hugo and Ben, which clearly indicates they shared quite a few years on the island together. Too bad it's all ending because I would love to see a whole season dedicated to Hurley and Ben running the island together. That would make for some great tv. 

As for the rest of the episode, I loved nearly every minute of it. We saw a series of emotional, powerful scenes that triggered each of the characters on-island memories. It's hard to decide which one stood out the most. They were all incredibly well done and heart felt.


Locke was pretty much my favorite character so I was thrilled to see that he definitely died for a reason. Without his death, Jack would have never been driven to go back to the island. Jack would have never went back to destroy MIB. The scene were Jack berates MIB for mocking John Locke and his memory was awesome. I LOVED when Jack told him that he disgraced Locke by wearing his face. 

Desmond was also great in this episode. He too has been one of my favorite characters so I was happy to see him get such a great ending. This is certainly up for some debate here, but I think that Desmond took away the smoke monster's powers when he pulled the column out of the light. It stripped MIB of his powers and was getting ready to make Desmond the next smoke monster. Fortunately for us and Desmond, he's resistant to the energy. Not only did he survive the electromagnetic energy once again, it's almost a given that Hurley and Ben found a way to get him back home to Penny and Charlie. Hurley has always had the charming ability to care for others. I can assure you he found a way to get Desmond back home.  

And for Jack. Good ole' Jack Shephard. We have watched this dynamic character grow and develop through each season. He goes from being a concrete man of science to the man who dies to save the island...the island he once fought so hard to escape. 


For all of those who wanted answers about the island and the overall mythology of the show, I certainly see where you may be upset. Try and take a step back though and realize how much this show has been about the characters. Would we have cared so much about the mysterious apparitions if it hadn't been for the characters seeing them? Would Richard's agelessness have been nearly as interesting if it wasn't for his motives and story behind desiring immortality?

You know, I used to be one of those people who always longed for the answers, but something about The End transformed me. Maybe it's because the episode was so well done, but somewhere along the way I learned to let go. I came to realize that this was a show about the journey of characters who crashed on a mysterious island with some pretty cool properties...and some pretty dangerous ones. It's about a group of characters who learned to love, live, forgive, and ultimately, how to die.

Even still, you may be in luck if you are wanting more answers. There have been rumors floating around about all the extra content for the DVD release and it sounds like there may be a lot of answers there. I'll be sure and do a post when we get some type of official confirmation on that. 

I can't guarantee this will definitely be my last post on the show. In fact, I can almost guarantee that I will be making some LOST related posts in the future. I also plan to blog about other topics, I'm just not sure what all I want that to include yet. LOST is definitely still fresh on my mind so I may need to come back and further clarify a point or mention something I forgot. Unlike Jack, I'm still not ready to to let go. 


Be sure to vote in the poll on the top-right side of the page!

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.
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[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].
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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.

Lost Recap: "Across the Sea"

I would like to preface this post by saying that I am an incredible fan of the show (as if you couldn't tell by the fact that I devote my time to writing a blog about it). I think Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are two of the most brilliant minds in the world today. They have created a show that - regardless of its outcome - will go down as one of the greatest in television history.

With all that being said, I write this blog post with somewhat of a heavy heart as for the first time (in a long time), I have been incredibly let down by an episode of LOST. Don't get me wrong, episodes have disappointed me in the past, but none like this one. Maybe I'm personally guilty because of the fact that my expectations were at all-time high. It seemed like this would be the deep, explanatory, mythological episode we've all been dying to see. Alas, it wasn't meant to be (at least not for me). Before I go any further, I'll warn you now that this post is longer than my usual. Much more content to cover! So, without anything further, here's my recap of Across the Sea.

One is light, one is dark. Good v.s. evil. Black and white. Those are just a few of the themes that have been prevalent throughout the entire show known as LOST. After watching Across the Sea, I'm ready to go ahead and accept that all these concepts were just a big red herring (so to speak). LOST is not about good v.s. evil. It's not about things that are black and white; Across the Sea made things more gray than ever. It has made it absolutely clear to me that this show is about moral ambiguity and how "every man has a scale." Every man is capable of both good and evil.

It is truly something we should have seen from the first couple episodes of the show. We see characters with dark pasts (Sayid, Kate, Sawyer) come to the island to do both good and bad. We also have characters who come to the island as seemingly "good" people, only to commit unspeakable acts on the island (Michael, Jack, and even Locke to some degree). In addition, LOST has also been about truth and how there is seemingly no absolute truth. In other words, we are all, essentially, lost. 

I am definitely willing to hold off judgment until the series concludes; however, I'd be lying if I said this episode wasn't a disappointment for me. Maybe I'm just a sucker for heroic, epic battles of good v.s. evil because I am not at all pleased with the direction things seem to be headed. Why shouldn't the MIB be allowed to leave the island? All he ever did was search for the truth. His whole life he'd been sheltered and hidden away from all the truths in life. He only wanted to know what was "across the sea." Although he's taken many actions I don't agree with, it's hard not to feel a little sympathy for the guy at this point.

Even though we sympathize with him in some regards, it's hard to accept his ruthless killing of Eko, manipulation of John Locke, and slaying of Sun, Jin, and Sayid. Who are we supposed to cheer for here? Is there a right or wrong? Alas, there's no one to support, nor a right side to take. We are simply bystanders watching these characters struggle to find the truth...only to see them become further entangled within the infinite loop time after time, completely and totally lost. 

Speaking of sympathizing, what about Jacob? He seems like a jerk, but really, he is just a victim of Mother's lies. Forgive me if sound all doom and gloom today, but I just can't lie and say that I liked this episode. For starters, "Mother" said it best with the line, "Every answer I give you will only lead to more questions." Well mother, that's exactly how I feel. Although some may be satisfied with the answers given in this episode, I am not entirely pleased. I have a million more questions to follow them up with, which I suppose is part of the infinite web of searching for truth.

Despite all that, this is their story and they don't owe me anything. If a scene or event is done well, I'm not going to fault it just because it didn't go the way I'd hoped. However, there were many things in this episode that just felt contrived and frankly, not well done at all.

Let's start with "mother." First of all, who is she? Is she a goddess? Did she go through a candidate selection process like Jacob and the MIB? Maybe we're just meant to think of her as a protector of the island with divine, god-like powers. Ok fine, I'll go with that.

So Mother has taken MIB and Jacob as her potential candidates for taking over and protecting the island. As we observe MIB and Jacob during the early years, we see that Jacob takes believes everything that's told him. MIB, on the other hand, is curious and inquisitive about the world. I do have to wonder though, what if the island had decided to show Jacob his dead mother instead? Would he have have been just as curious?

MIB decides to go searching for the truth while Jacob continues to swallow every lie that Mother shoves down his throat, even though he realizes that she loves MIB more.

Next, what is she protecting the island from? You guessed it - a giant ball of light!!! This light is something that every man has, but it's also so great and powerful that every man wants more of it. Well doesn't that just make things crystal clear. You don't think so? Yeah, me neither.

So if that's the case, and the light is something that every man desires, then what's all this bull coming from Jacob about the island being a cork for evil? I thought the light was something every man desires and why would every man desire evil? After all, MIB is the one who believes that men are corrupt, not Jacob. You see? The rabbit hole just keeps going deeper.

We also learned how the smoke monster was created (or released?) and that was by - yep, you guessed it again - being shoved into the ball of light! Look, I'm totally fine with a vague explanation. After all, we've stuck around through polar bears, time travel, and moving an island so naturally, we shouldn't get upset when we learn that an equally unrealistic entity - a pillar of black smoke - was created by shoving a seemingly immortal man into a ball of light. HOWEVER, I do have a problem with there being absolutely no explanation in terms of the MIB's body washing up in a stream. Did his soul actually become the smoke monster or was it just released when Jacob cast his brother into the light?

Again, I'm withholding my final judgment until the series concludes, but the scenes throughout Across the Sea are events that often take a full season to come to an ultimate fruition.

Welp, it looks like this turned into more of a rant than an episode recap, but I guess I'll just leave it at that. What do you guys think? Am I being too hard on the episode? Were you satisfied with the answers? Maybe I will watch it again and give it another chance.

LOST shirt arrives

As you can see, the shirt I blogged about in a recent post arrived in the mail today. Overall, I'm very pleased. The t-shirt itself is actually 'fruit of the loom' so it is good quality. The graphic is screen printed so I hope it won't start to tear off after a few washes.

If I had to change one thing it would be to actually have the graphic a little bigger. Only a minor gripe. Definitely worth the $19 and I'll certainly be wearing this on 5-23-10.

Lost Recap: "The Candidate"

Speechless is probably the best word to describe how I felt after watching The Candidate. Although short on mythological answers, this episode more than made up for that with the intense action and incredible emotion. There’s really no way I can hope to illuminate on everything that happened in this episode. I’m just going to make an attempt to highlight a few of the things that stood out to me.

I’m sure many of you have already noticed the countless references to mirrors and reflections, both of which have been persistent throughout this entire season. In fact, if I had to sum up season 6 in one word, it would probably be one of those words. Everything from the on-island dialogue, to the alternate reality, is packed with interesting little throwbacks and connections to past seasons, past episodes, and even scenes within the same episode. Let me point out just a few of the connections I made in this most recent episode.

• Jack saves Locke/Locke saves Jack- On island, Flocke saves Jack after the explosion. In the alt, Jack saves Locke after Desmond runs him over.
• Jack and Locke/the candidates- In the alt, Jack tells Locke that he might be a “candidate.” On island, Sayid seems to confirm that Jack is indeed the candidate to replace Jacob when he says, “It’s going to be you Jack.”
• I wish you’d believe me- In the alt, Jack tells Locke, “I wish you’d believe me,” the very same words Locke wrote in his suicide note to Jack.
• Jack has come full circle- I know I’ve said it before, but it is crystal clear that Jack is now the John Locke/Man of Faith of the island.

Now...time to address the deaths. I’m not going to lie, I definitely teared up during Sun and Jin’s emotional scene. After all their marital struggles, they found what was most important in the end: love.  Yet again, we have a character coming full circle. For much of the first season, everyone hated Jin because of the way he treated Sun. Now, after the events of this week, every woman in the world would love to have a husband who would do the same as Jin, staying and dying together with the love of his life.

Sayid’s death was also well-done and a great ending to one of our favorite characters. It was refreshing to see him get one last moment of redemption. Sayid was a tortured soul (pun definitely intended), but in the end, I think we can all agree that his scale tipped ever so slightly towards “good.”

Some seem to believe that Lapidus is actually still alive, but let’s go ahead and assume he’s dead. He was never as important as Sun, Jin, or Sayid, but it was still sad to see him go. In the previous weeks, Lapidus has often been the source of comic relief with his never ending stream of one-liners. Thus, his death signifies that play time is over. This is the end and MIB is playing for keeps.

With only two episodes left until the finale, one would expect that we should be able to make a pretty educated guess on how the alt is going to merge with the on island timeline.  That being said, I feel like I have no idea a.) what caused the alt reality and b.) how it’s going to factor into the MIB/Jacob feud. I will say this though, I read a theory today posted by 'WarningTrack' on DarkUFO's website (darkufo.blogspot.com). This is one theory that I’m fully backing and feel it has a great chance of happening. Here it goes...within 5 minutes of the audience seeing Frank die, the ONLY pilot on the island, we are introduced to another interesting little nugget of information. In the alt, John Locke is a pilot. On island, there’s currently an Ajira plane with no one to fly it. At some point, these two timelines are going to merge and when they do...John Locke is going to fly the survivors off the island (everyone except probably Jack and maybe Kate).  Again, it’s not my theory and believe me I wish it was...but it’s definitely a theory that I’m backing. Check the link here for DarkUFO’s post.

Until next week...enjoy it while it lasts guys. We don’t have much time left. Oh, did you all see the promo for next week? Looks like all of us begging for answers are about to get our wish.

LOST Series Finale Extended by 30 minutes

This is just incredible. The finale will be 2 1/2 hours. I didn't think it was possible, but I'm now even more pumped for the finale.

DarkUFO broke the news here.

An affordable, yet awesome Lost t-shirt

There it is people. I finally found a LOST shirt that I absolutely love...and a pretty cheap one at that. Here is a link if you're interested in purchasing a similar one. I paid $19.40...shipping and all (there's a coupon code at the top of the screen to get $5 off).

What's cool about this shirt is that you can customize the color of the shirt, as well as the color of the design. Take a look at the link and you can see for yourself. Locke has always been one of my favorite characters so it isn't really a surprise that the shirt I ended up buying featured everyone's favorite man of faith.

I still have faith that the real John Locke's story isn't done quite yet. I'm holding out hope until the end... Sadly, we don't have much longer to go.

Lost t-shirts

With the finale less than a month away, now would be a great time to purchase a Lost themed t-shirt. I will most likely watch the finale with a pretty large group of friends so it would be cool to have a Lost themed shirt to wear. I've been searching around on the internet today and I thought I'd share a few of my favorites with you.

Price: $27.64
Shipping: $10.67
Purchase here

This is by far my favorite Lost themed t-shirt. Only problem is that it comes from a UK website so the shipping is kind of expensive. The shirt is already pretty expensive at $27.64 anyway. I would have already bought this if it wasn't for the price. You can save 10% by signing up for the site's newsletter, but I'm hoping they will have some kind of sale leading up to the finale (maybe free shipping at the very least).

 Price: $18.00
Shipping: $4.00
Purchase here

Unique and cheap. This is an overall great design and it's at a good price.

Price: $23.94
Shipping: $7.13
Purchase here

Not only is this a tribute to one of the best characters on Lost, you can also customize the color of the shirt as well as choose whether you want long or short sleeves. Again, slightly expensive though. Check out a Desmond version here.

Price: $24.00
Shipping: $7.00
Purchase here

Simple. Unique. Awesome.

Available in multiple colors as well.

Too bad the majority of the world would mistake you for a werewolf lover.

Price: $24.95
Shipping: $7.95
Purchase here

Ok seriously, who wouldn't want a Mr. Cluck's t-shirt?!

Check out the rest of ABC's official LOST gear here!

 Price: $27.64
Shipping: $10.67

Purchase here


Another one of my fave's; however, this is also from the UK website where shipping will run you $10.67.




There are quite a few cool ones out there, but these stood out to me. I'd be willing to bet that some of these will see a pretty significant price drop following the finale. The only question is do you want to wait that long?

Let me know if there are any others out there that you guys really love.

Lost Recap: "The Last Recruit"

The Last Recruit was a fast-paced transition episode that really seemed like the calm before the storm, even though it had quite a bit of action in its own right. Sadly, you really get the feeling that the show is coming to a close. All those years of buildup, and we'll know the outcome exactly one month from today. You might know this type of episode would air right before a two week hiatus for the show (more on that later).

The opening conversation between Jack and MIB was pretty awesome. You really get a great look at how Jack's character has totally made a 180. He is now the man of faith. He's the one who believes in destiny. He's the new John Locke.

The interesting dynamic here is that MIB doesn't seem to know this. We know that by taking on John Locke's body, he also took on his memories (remember him telling Ben what Locke was thinking before he died?). By taking on John Locke's memories, he definitely saw all the confrontations between Locke and Jack. He saw Jack as a man of science who would stop at nothing to get off the island. This time, the game has changed and MIB has no idea. Jack has come full circle and is now ready to accept his destiny. He's ready to thwart the infamous man in black.

I really enjoyed the multi-centricity of the flashsideways throughout this episode. It was pretty cool to see how our losties are all coming together once again. Some quick notes about the sideways:

• Sun definitely remembers "MIB-Locke" as she frantically says "It's him!" when being wheeled-in on the gurney.
• Sayid, Kate, Sawyer, and Miles are now all in the same location...but how is this going to tie into the losties at the hospital?
• During the surgery, Jack is definitely going to flash to his island memories. Will he then believe that the man laying before him is really the evil MIB? Will he choose to save him or let him die? Very interesting stuff here...
• I still have absolutely no idea how this flashsideways is going to converge with the on-island stuff. Don't forget, we still have to find out why the island is under water in the flashsideways. 

 After reading several different thoughts and impressions on the episode, I'm definitely under the impression that MIB wanted Sawyer to take his boat. He wanted him to round up Kate, Sun, Lapidus, Hurley, and Jack. That's why he conveniently left to go check on Sayid...to give them time to get away. What he didn't anticipate was Jack coming back. Good ole' Jack Shephard now wants to stay on the island until his destiny is fulfilled. Jack and Sawyer share a tense moment and Sawyer basically tells Jack to get off his boat. Jack apologizes for Juliet's death and then he obliges by going overboard.

We also see that some of the real Sayid may still be alive underneath the "zombie-Sayid" we've come to know over the past few weeks, or as Hurley so eloquently puts it, "You can come back from the dark side." No way he shot Desmond in that well, especially after the moving speech he delivered. Desmond has taken on a very Jacob like manner in both realities as we now see him talking his way out of a life or death situation. There's still hope for Sayid and even Claire it seems. MIB is slowly losing his recruits, one by one.

Widmore's team is really throwing me off here. He seems to know a lot about the MIB, but if that's the case, then why in the world is he trying to kill him by firing a missile? He should know it's not that simple. What I loved about this scene is that the MIB doesn't even flinch and shows no signs of fear. He is clearly impervious to all physical harm, which makes it even more interesting to see how they're going to destroy him in the long run. Just check out the screencap to the right. Jack is clearly the focus of the shot, but look off to his left. There's the MIB, stoic and unscathed.

I was also confused as to why Widmore decides to hold all the losties at gunpoint. Right when we were starting to think he was a good guy, he goes out and pulls something like that.

If you don't watch the promos for future episodes then stop reading here.................

All I have to say is, WOW. The Candidate looks as if it's going to be one amazing, intense episode. The promo was just haunting and eerie. It seems that MIB goes "Rambo" on Widmore's camp, taking them out the old fashioned way...with a gun. Although the promo didn't show it, I can almost guarantee that we'll see MIB's smoke form sometime this episode. I can't even remember the last time he changed into Smokey so it will be cool to (hopefully) see him again.

As for next week, the show is taking a week off, then the remaining episodes will air on May 4th, May 11th, and May 18th. The two-hour SERIES finale will air on Sunday, May 23. Since we have a week off, I'll probably do a re-watch for some of my favorite episodes from this season (Ab Aeterno for sure). I will try and do a blog post regarding my re-watch just to let you guys know what I noticed differently.

By the way, in case you haven't had a chance yet, check out my previous blog post here. I need everyone's help in coming up with a new name for the blog!

Beware: Finale spoilers have hit (no spoilers in this post)

I can't stand spoilers, but for some reason, I always find myself wanting to read them. Not this time though. Not with the LOST series finale at stake.

I normally don't mind little spoilers such as who the episode focuses on, the title of the episode or who the guest stars are. This is why I look at some of the spoilers sections on different websites. This is really a catch 22 as sometimes I will read something that is a little more than I want to know. I'm glad to say though, I haven't been spoiled on anything MAJOR this season. I hope to keep it that way.

Anyway, the point of this post is that I have recently seen two thread titles on forums that indicate finale spoilers are starting to leak out. One read "FINALE Spoiler" while another read "MAJOR RUMOURS about series finale."

Needless to say, I'm not clicking on them to see whether or not they seem plausible and I hope you guys can avoid them as well. Here are some quick tips to avoid spoilers.

1. Stick to the sites you trust who have spoilers clearly labeled so you don't accidentally read one.
2. Avoid forums/message boards completely. Even if a section isn't supposed to have spoilers, you almost always have one jerk who'll throw one in there just to tick people off.
3. Do not read the comments sections on any story you read about Lost. Even if the story you are reading doesn't contain spoilers, often times, people will put spoilers in the comments just to annoy people.

Lost Recap: "Happily Ever After" and "Everybody Loves Hugo"

As you probably know, I failed to deliver on last week's recap. So for that, I give a double-dose of the LOST blog this week!  Rather than write out a blog for Happily Ever After, I would like to share a video I found on a fellow blogger's website (logankstewart.blogspot.com). This video recaps the episode better than I could ever hope to. Trust me...you MUST see this video.



In short, I loved Happily Ever After. Desmond has long been one of my favorite characters on the show, and definitely one of the most intriguing characters as well. He's clearly a game changer and one who will play a huge role in how the show ends.

Let's move onto Everybody Loves Hugo and seriously, who doesn't love Mr. Hugo Reyes? The guy is one of the most fun, lovable characters on the show, and ultimately, he's just so darn nice. Often times, Hurley has simply been there for comic relief, delivering one liners that bring a smile to our face. At other times, he's served as an advocate for the viewer by asking some of our biggest questions. In season 6 however, Hugo has taken on a much greater role. He's slowly making his voice heard and dare I say it...he's becoming a leader.

Let's start with the flashsideways, which have now become incredibly interesting. I'm really glad that they didn't leave Desmond out of the story for long. Right away we see that he has indeed set out on his mission to contact all the passengers from flight 815 and to show them their island memories.

His meeting with Hugo was charming and insightful. Desmond perks up when he hears that Hurley has already come into contact with Libby, which makes his job even easier. He tells Hurley to go with his gut-feeling. He follows up later and observes Hurley and Libby having their picnic on the beach. Once Hurley and Libby kiss, Desmond can see that his job is done.

On the island, Team-Jacob is scrambling about as they try and figure out what to do next. Richard and Ilana seem determined to blow up the Ajira plane, but Hurley and Jack aren't so sure. In one of the first three jaw-dropping moments of the episode, Ilana is literally blown to pieces when she throws her bag of dynamite to the ground. Poor, poor Ilana. Jacob stopped the dynamite from killing Jack and Richard, couldn't he have done the same for her? I still think Jacob is the good guy, but come on! She devoted her whole life to Jacob and now she will forever be remembered as Artz part II.

Meanwhile, MIB and Desmond are trekking through the jungle when they come to an ancient well. MIB tells Desmond a story of the island's original inhabitants and how they had dug the well to try and find the source of whatever it was that messed with their compasses. He then asks Desmond why he isn't afraid to which Desmond replies, what's the point in being afraid? We then get the 2nd "holy crap!" moment of the episode when MIB proceeds to throw Desmond into the well. I guess I should have seen this one coming, but I sort of expected Desmond to have something up his sleeve. Instead, he just allowed it to happen. At this point, I'm thinking Desmond definitely knows something that we don't (As a side note, I'm a little ticked that the previews for next week showed Desmond alive at the bottom of the well. I mean, I'm thrilled he's alive, but a little suspense wouldn't hurt).

Team-MIB is also trying to decide what to do next. Sawyer is growing impatient, but MIB says they must wait for the rest of the candidates to come to them. Oddly enough, Hugo suggests just that and unfortunately, Team Jacob comes to a crossroads. Richard, Ben, and Miles head to the Dharma barracks to stock up on grenades so they can blow up the Ajira plane (I just have a bad feeling about these three. I don't seem the surviving to the end). Jack, Sun, Lapidus, and Hurley head for camp-MIB thanks to some help from Michael's ghost (finally an answer to the whispers!).

Hurley enters the camp first and makes MIB swear that he won't harm them. Yeah, good luck with that. So now the stage is set for next week when MIB will make his case to Team-Jacob. It will be interesting to see how they respond and also interesting as to whether or not ghost Jacob will make an appearance.

Now back to the flashsideways. For some people (i.e. Hurley), Desmond only needs to show them their loved one to get them to remember. Unfortunately for one John Locke, he's already found the love of his life and she wasn't on the island. Therefore, it's reasonable to assume that there is no reason she would trigger his island memories. So what does Desmond decide to do? He runs over a man in a wheel chair. I have to say, this seems like something we should have guessed, but my jaw fell to the floor (for the 3rd time this episode) when Desmond's car smashed into Locke's wheelchair.

I now find myself asking some very interesting questions about the flash-sideways. How many people will just see their loved one and how many will have to have near death experiences? Let's do a quick tally to see where we stand.

Hugo- Kissed Libby. No near-death experience needed.
Locke- Ran over by Desmond. 'Nuff said.
Sun and Jin- They're already together in the sideways. Near-death experience needed to remember.
Kate- She's already seen both Jack and Sawyer and even though she had a moment of recognition, none of her memories came flooding back. Looking like a near-death experience for her as well
Sayid- He's seen Nadia, but she was never on the island to begin with. Who was you ask? Shannon. He definitely cared about Shannon, maybe even loved her. Lucky for Sayid, no near-death experience required.
Sawyer- He's already seen Kate...but not Juliet. No near-death experience required.


As for Mr. Jack Shephard, here's my semi-bold prediction for the coming weeks. At some point in the next couple of episodes, sideways-Locke is going to be taken to a hospital where he will come into contact with...you guessed it...Jack Shephard. Jack is going to operate on Locke and when he does, I think that will be his moment to remember the island. He will flash back to the moment when he operated on Ben Linus to remove the tumor from his spine. Once Locke wakes up...who the heck knows what he and Jack will set out to do.

If you've been a fan of the show for very long, there are three things you know for certain about LOST. Episodes that focus on Desmond, Locke or Hurley are absolute gold. They seem to stand alone as some of the best episodes in the entire series in part because not only are they well written, but they usually contain quite a few answers as well. Everbody Loves Hugo was no different. The writers have really stepped up their game and the final season has hit the home stretch. I can't wait for it to end...but I'm going to be very sad when it does.

Lost Recap: "The Package"

Desmond is back...and not a moment too soon! I'm sure we all hoped that Desmond would live happily ever after (funny enough, that's the title of the next episode); however, it looks as if Charles Widmore has once again intruded upon Penny and Des' lives. Ever since Desmond started traveling through time, many of us have speculated that he would play an integral role in the end of the series. Now it appears that he will definitely have a role to play, but there will be plenty of time for Des next week.

Although "The Package" refers to Desmond, this episode focused on the relationship between Sun and Jin. In the flashsideways, we learn that Mr. Paik knows all about the relationship between his daughter and Jin. Not only does he know, but he's arranged for Martin Keamy to kill Jin. Lucky for Jin, the $25,000 was confiscated in customs and Keamy certainly won't kill Jin until he's paid in full.

What's interesting about this flashsideways is that we see how Jin is a completely different person. He is a much more likeable guy, similar to the Jin we've come to know, in contrast to the Jin we met at the very beginning of LOST. Once again, this seems to indicate that the flashsideways is a completely different world. It's not as if everything up until Flight 815 was the same as before, rather, their entire lives are different. In Jin's case, even his personality is totally different.

I'm still itching to know how these flashsideways are going to tie-in to the island storyline. In every episode, we see more and more examples of the timelines bleeding into one another. One particular example that stood out to me was how Sun hits her head on the island and Jin hits his head in the sideways. It seems so insignificant...but this is LOST. Nothing is insignificant.

As far as the on-island storyline, we have now learned that Widmore wants to keep MIB on the island, which I suppose puts him on Team Jacob for the time being. It wouldn't surprise me if by the end of the season we have a lot more gray than black and white as far as characters being wholly good or wholly evil...maybe even Jacob and MIB.

Whatever the case may be, Widmore seems to think that Desmond is the key to keeping MIB on the island. This raises a number of questions which I'm sure will be addressed during Desmond's episode.

To close, I'll leave you with a recent tantalizing little tweet from LOST's executive producer Damon Lindelof: "In one week, the conversation is going to change."

Lost Recap: "Ab Aeterno"

What an absolutely phenomenal episode.  For a long, long time, The Constant has been my single favorite episode of Lost. After last night's Ab Aeterno however, it's a very close competition.  For years we have waited and wondered about the mysterious Richard Alpert.  The producers gave us everything about him in this episode.  There's so much to talk about from this episode so I'm sure I will leave a lot of stuff out.  Feel free to comment if I don't mention something you found interesting.

This episode was absolutely PACKED with answers.  We found out where Richard came from, how he became a prisoner on the Black Rock, what happened to the Black Rock crew, how the statue broke, and oh...we found out WHAT THE ISLAND IS.   We learned that island is basically a cork to hell/evil.  For the most part, the island keeps the world a good place because it keeps the evil trapped inside.

As I said in the opening, I have a ton of thoughts so I'm just going to narrow things down to a few of them.

1. Why couldn't Jacob bring back Richard's wife Isabella?  Just a few episodes prior, Dogen told Sayid that Jacob had brought his son back to life, but that he (Dogen) could never see him again.  Seems to me that either one or both are lying (or perhaps I heard Dogen incorrectly).
2. It's interesting to note the biblical passage that Richard is reading while in the prison.  It appears to be a section of Luke that tells the story of Jesus' temptation in the desert where Satan tempts him through three different trials.  Interestingly enough, this entire episode is about Richard's temptation of going over to the side of the Man in Black.  In the end, Hurley and Isabella convince Richard that he can't allow the Man in Black to leave, or they will all go to hell.
3. I still can't be sure who is good and who is bad.  The writing is so superb that I constantly vacillate between Jacob and MIB being the good guy. 
4. Hurley has to be the most awesome character on Lost.  In terms of morality, he seems to be the best example of a wholly "good" person.  I'm sure there will be many deaths as the finale approaches...Hurley better not be one of them.

Before I get conclude, I have to comment on the superb acting in this episode.  Nestor Carbonell was absolutely amazing.  I found his emotion incredibly believable and I felt truly sorry for him in many scenes.  The scene near the end of the episode (where Hurley delivered a message from Richard's deceased wife) was one of the most touching and emotional scenes from the entire series.  It definitely rivals the Ben/Ilana scene from a few weeks back.

I cannot wait for next week.  In my opinion, this was the best episode of season 6 by far.  Here's to hoping they get even better from here.

Lost Recap: "Dr. Linus"

Spoilers below so please don't read unless you've seen LOST episode 6x07 entitled Dr. Linus.

Wow...what another fabulous episode.  Season 6 is really starting to pick up the pace. Ben Linus has always been the "Severus Snape" of LOST and he certainly didn't disappoint in this episode. We have now seen numerous facets of his character, but what we saw in Dr. Linus was Ben completely stripped down, broken, and battered. Both on and off island, we have a man who feels completely ignored and unimportant in the world. By the end, we see that Ben is certainly important and needed, and you better believe that he will have a part to play in how the show finally ends.

It was also nice to get some answers in this episode. I think it's pretty much a given now that Richard originally came to the island on the Black Rock, possibly as a slave. He also gave us a little information on Jacob's "gift" or curse as he calls it. I still hope we get a more concrete answer on why Richard doesn't age. Was he a special case that Jacob granted immortality to? Clearly the others Jacob has touched age normally as evidenced by the fact that he touched Kate and Sawyer when they were young children.

Jack's character has now come full circle. He is now a complete man of faith, believing that he is most definitely on the island for a purpose. The dynamite not going off seems to prove that as well. The scene between he and Richard was well done and intense. I thought it was the second best moment of the episode and topped only by...

Ben's confrontation with Ilana. He finally pours out his soul and tells the complete and whole truth. He explains to Ilana what drove him to kill Jacob, but says that he doesn't expect her to forgive him when he can't even forgive himself. He then says he will go with Locke and Ilana asks why. He replies with, "Because he's the only one who'll have me." Wow...talk about heart-wrenching. This line may have been the most emotional moment of the season thus far. I pictured Ilana walking away without speaking at all. Her reply, "I'll have you," sent chills down my spine and actually resulted in me shouting with joy. 

In both realities, Ben is making all the right choices. He chose to go back with Ilana instead of following MIB. He chose to help Alex instead of forcing the principal's hand by revealing his inappropriate conduct. Despite all the wrong he's done, it looks as if there may be some redemption left for Dr. Benjamin Linus. I sure hope so.

Widmore's eventual appearance was inevitable so it was good to see him finally return. If he's headed to the hydra station, then perhaps he is somehow working with MIB to help him off the island. It would be fitting for him to join their cause since his arch nemesis, Ben, appears to be firmly on Jacob's team.

I absolutely loved how this week's closing was a direct parallel to last week's ending. Last week, we saw Team Smokey exiting the temple. The colors in this scene were dark, the music foreboding. This week's ending showed us a reunion of sorts, as Jack, Hurley, and Richard meet up with Ilana, Ben, Sun, Lapidus, and Miles. This scene was accompanied by bright images of happiness with the lush forest and sparkling ocean in the background. I know there is still some debate, but there's no way that Jacob and his new group aren't the good guys. The teams have been picked. Now let's see the game.

Lost Recap: "Sundown"

Spoilers below so please don't read unless you've seen LOST episode 6x06 entitled "Sundown."

Wow.  Talk about an intense opening to the show.  The fight between Sayid and Dogen was unexpected and intense, as was most of the episode. Although it was clearly a transition episode lacking in answers, they did an excellent job of positioning the characters for some truly epic events in the coming weeks.


I have always enjoyed the Sayid-centric episodes and this one was no different.  Sayid is a torcherer and murderer yet we still love him as a character.  He definitely has a good and evil side as Dogen highlighted early in the episode.  As we find out later in the episode, apparently Dogen's scales were right in determining that Sayid leans toward the path of evil.  


Sayid being evil is something that's a little hard for me to accept. You have to hand it to him though...he did almost exactly as Dogen said.  MIB barely uttered the words "Hello Sayid" before he had thrust the dagger into his chest.  The fact that he spoke is an interesting topic for debate.  Dogen clearly said that Sayid must stab him before he speaks.  We are now left to ask, did he mean this literally or figuratively?  If he meant it literally, then we could have the key to defeating MIB.  I took it as more of a figurative comment, meaning that MIB can easily persuade so you can't even give him a chance to open his lips.  


MIB's reaction to Sayid stabbing him gives us an incredible insight into his character.  Although he can be a ruthless killer at times (which we see later), he is also cool under pressure, calculating...and smart.  He played to Sayid absolutely perfectly by convincing him that Dogen wanted him to die.  Then he offered him a chance to do something that blew Sayid's mind...bring back the one he loved the most. Can you really blame Sayid for his actions?


The flashsideways was pretty entertaining and it was shocking to see that Nadia had married Sayid's brother, Omar.  Again, we see the good end evil in Sayid throughout this flash sideways.  Running into Jin was random.  Did any of you spot Jack in the hospital where Sayid's brother was taken?  He doesn't speak to Sayid or Nadia, but he walks right past them along with another doctor.  Keamy was just as arrogant and annoying as ever, so I wasn't all that upset when evil Sayid took him out.  Is it just  me or are we seeing the same thing off-island that we are on-island?  Certain characters are becoming grouped together before one final showdown.

Seeing Dogen open up to Sayid was a very touching scene. We actually got a few answers here as Dogen told us his story of coming to the island.  The fate of his son was absolutely tragic and he shared that he inadvertently killed his son while driving drunk.  This explained Dogen's delicate care of the baseball.  Jacob appeared to Dogen and gave him the opportunity to bring his son back...but he could never see him again.  Seems like a fair bargain.  Dogen's son doesn't have to suffer because of his father's actions, yet Dogen must pay for his sins by living on the island and doing Jacob's work.  Dogen then asks Sayid if MIB offered him a similar bargain to which Sayid replies, "yes."

At this moment I thought, holy crap...they are both evil.  


I nearly fell out of my chair when Sayid slung him under the water to drown the life out of him.  The proposition of bringing back Nadia was too great for Sayid as he now appears to have fully embraced the role of MIB's hitman.  The ending was just absolutely insane.  MIB in smoke monster form rips into the temple and annihilates everyone inside, everyone except for our heroes: Ilana, Lapidus, Sun, Miles, and Ben.  I wouldn't be surprised to see them catch up with Hurley and Jack next week to form Team Jacob.  For Team MIB we now have Claire, Sawyer, Sayid, and apparently Kate as well.  Jin is still out in the forest nursing a wounded leg.


The final shots of the show were incredibly well done and the music was great. Sayid and Claire leave the temple with wicked glares as the eery rendition of Catch a Falling Star plays in the background. 


So after an action packed episode we are left with a myriad of new questions and countless other theories to debate.  Despite all that, I feel that we are very close to figuring it all out.  I don't know if it will be me or someone else on the countless message boards out there...but I now believe that someone could guess a lot of the ending.  I'm not sure why...but the positioning of all the pieces has a dark sense of foreboding and dread.

As I said earlier, at one point in this episode I started to think that both Jacob and MIB are evil.  Then I started to consider a theory that I've heard thrown around, but never given it much thought: maybe Jacob and MIB are the same guy (think Fight Club). That's why we still don't have a name for MIB.  Because he's Jacob.  From the very first episode of the show, we've heard about a game between light and dark.  Good and Evil.  Yin and Yang.  Dogen even highlights this in the episode's opening by saying every man has a scale.  Right now, Jacob's scale has been tipped to the dark side.  Something...or someone is going to tip it back in the favor of good.  And that will be the end of Lost.


I'm not even sure if I believe this theory yet, but man...I'm seriously starting to consider it.

Thoughts on "Lighthouse"

Spoilers below so please don't read unless you've seen LOST episode 6x05 entitled "Lighthouse."


*****


****


***


**


*


I could go on and on about Lost so for the sake of time, but I will try and keep it as brief as I can.


The scene were Jack washes his face in the bathroom and looks into the mirror reminded me of a scene from the season 6 premiere, LA X.  We see a similar scene where Jack goes to the restroom on the plane and notices a small cut on his neck as he is washing his face.  In Lighthouse, Jack notices a scar where his appendix was removed; however, he doesn't appear to remember much about it as he later asks his mother how old he was when he had the surgery.  These are both clear examples of the two timelines somehow meshing together.


It was definitely interesting to see that Jack had a son, yet I'm still questioning the significance of these flashsideways.

Why doesn't Jacob want Jack and Hurley to be at the temple when MIB (otherwise known as Man in black/Smokey/FakeLocke/ManInLocke/etc...) arrives? Does he not care for Sayid and all the others at the temple? They are supposedly "his" people. I thought it was the safest place on the island right now... 

I really think they are throwing us a lot of red herrings to try and convince us that Jacob is the evil one. I have to say, the revelation that Jacob had been watching them all through the mirrors really made me question how good he may or may not be. But after Jack smashes the mirror and after a commercial break, we see the scene where Jack let's his son know that he will always love him no matter what. 

Look at this following quote from Jack and imagine that it is actually Jacob speaking these words to all of the candidates. "I don't ever want you to feel that way. I will always love you. In my eyes, no matter what you do you can never fail. I just want to be a part of your life." Jacob isn't doing these things to take away their free will. He's doing these things because he loves them and wants to be in their life, very similar to parents and their children or even God and his children. 

Many of the questions and concerns I have about Jacob are questions people often have in regards to a god in their life. If God is all knowing, is there any free will? Why do bad things happen to good people? How could God allow this to happen? Etc... So many of those questions are what I'm asking about Jacob right now. If you believe in God and Satan, or just even some form of good and evil, the right choice isn't always obvious. Matthew 7:15-16 reads, "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them." MIB's message sounds great right now, but by his "fruit" we will see him for what he really is.

We can now see how everything is "setting up" for the next few episodes. Sun, Lapidus, Ilana, and Ben are headed to the temple where they will find Dogan, Sayid, Miles and all the "others." Kate is looking for Claire who is with both Jin and MIB. Sawyer can't be too far behind. Jack and Hurley are together and will likely head back to the temple now that their task at the Lighthouse is complete. Hopefully, everyone on island will be together soon so we won't have to go multiple episodes without seeing certain characters.

Although the promo for next week was somewhat confusing, it must be pretty good if they really can't show us anything.

I nearly forgot...WHO is #108???? My first thought was Desmond, but screencaps of Jacob's wheel indicate that 108 is someone named "Wallace."