Lost - What They Died For

Ok, now this was the LOST episode we’ve all been waiting for! Didn’t “What They Died For” just feel like part 1 of the show’s series finale!?! Not only did we get more answers than ever before, but Ben killed Charles Widmore, the Final Four finally got a clue, it actually felt like something happened in the Flash Sideways, and after weeks of alluding to it for weeks, Jack became the new Jacob! All that’s left is one final showdown between Jack and Locke…something we’ve all been waiting years to finally happen.


My goal for tonight was to come home after the NY Times Talks Live: LOST event and blog about my thoughts and theories stemming from this week’s episode. I have to admit, I was shocked that Damon and Carlton actually gave some very minor spoilers/teasers for the final episode, and the show actually ended with a non-spoilery clip from Sunday night’s 2 ½ hour series finale. While the clip didn’t actually give anything away, it did make me rethink my latest theory. So while I don’t even necessarily believe this Ben related theory anymore, I’m going to give it anyway (since it’s all I’ve really got this week).


My latest theory revolves around why Ben flipped so quickly to the MIB’s side after pledging his allegiance to the Losties just a few episodes ago. Now I never believed Ben would really protect or even believe Widmore’s claims, but I don’t see why Ben would betray Richard and Miles. Then again, so far he hasn’t and maybe he’s just telling MIB what he wants to hear to protect himself. My theory is that Ben is actually playing the MIB and will ultimately turn on him/assist Jack in defeating him. Why else would they have made it a point to point out that Miles and Ben took Widmore’s walkie-talkies so they could communicate while separated on the island? Somehow this Ben/Miles partnership is going to come into play big time.


Now what I don’t understand is how the “brilliant” Charles Widmore got himself trapped so easily. After all that planning, why would he and Zoe just walk into the lion’s den like that? While I’m hoping we find out more about Widmore Sunday night, I do have a theory as to why Ben shot Widmore when he did. Ben stated it was because Widmore didn’t have the right to save his daughter, but maybe the shooting was not based solely on revenge. As you may remember, Widmore was in the process of trading information on how he was going to use Desmond for the protection of Penny’s life.


Maybe, just maybe, Ben shot Widmore to keep him from telling the MIB what his plans were, in essence keeping the MIB from finding out how and why Desmond could be used against him. Then again, I could be completely wrong and maybe Ben really was enraged that Widmore was trying to save the life of his daughter moments after Ben was reminded of Alex’ murder at the hands of Widmore’s men. To be honest, I couldn’t fault Ben for killing Widmore based on either of those reasons...but I guess we’ll find out his real motivation in just a few days. Thoughts?

We only have 2 more days until the LOST Series Finale, and I’m both looking forward to it and dreading it all at the same time. The End is truly here…

Lost - Across the Sea

Last week’s episode of LOST, “Across the Sea,” may have been one of the show’s most hated episodes ever, which is a pretty shocking statement considering how many people also loved the episode. But as Damon Lindelof tweeted last Wednesday, since when is polarizing a bad thing? I have to admit, I wasn’t exactly enamored with last week’s episode, but I didn’t despise it either.


Ultimately, I was just left feeling sad and confused. Why, with only 3 episodes left EVER, had Damon and Carlton given us an episode that didn’t feature a single primary cast member? While I’ve been dying for a Jacob/MIB-centric episode, was it really appropriate to spend a full hour of LOST on them with only 4.5 hours to go?


The biggest question to me is why did they air “Across the Sea” after the “The Candidate” instead of before? You see, from the interviews I’ve read with Damon and Carlton, the shocking deaths in “The Candidate” were to prove once and for all that FLocke truly is evil (and the real bad guy of the show). However, “Across the Sea” just made MIB a sympathetic character all over again. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to air “Across the Sea” first, allowing fans to empathize with the MIB even more before revealing his true intension to murder every last candidate on the island? While I know FLocke is bad, after watching “Across the Sea” I’m not so sure Jacob is as honest and altruistic as I once believed.


What frustrated me about “Across the Sea” was learning Jacob might not know much more about the island than we do. I get that the events of last week took place hundreds of years ago (giving Jacob plenty of time to learn all of the island’s secrets), but where does his knowledge actually come from? And is his mission to keep his brother on the island really just based on his crazy adoptive mother’s desire to keep man’s evil tendencies far away from her boys? Like most of LOST’s answers, I’m only left with more questions. This used to be one of the things I loved most about LOST, but with only 2 episodes left I’m starting to wonder if a true answer to why all this is happening is really coming.


I could go on and on about the craziness of Jacob and MIB’s “Mother,” the underwhelming discovery that Adam and Eve are really the Mother and MIB, or how ridiculous it is that Damon and Carlton are keeping the MIB’s name such a secret, but I won’t. Instead, I want to talk about my theory surrounding the Mother and the Smoke Monster. I’m now starting to believe that these two supernatural forces have always lived on the island and are in a constant struggle for the island and the world. To me, Mother was grooming the two boys to take over her role as guardian of the island. When MIB stabbed her, she thanked him for setting her free (via her death), which officially made Jacob the new guardian of the island. It seemed like after the wine ceremony between Jacob and Mother, the island was finally done with her and allowed her to die (similarly to how the island let Michael and Jin die when they were no longer needed).


I assume when MIB’s biological mother appeared to him that was the Smoke Monster. Since she died on the island, the Smoke Monster could take her form. It makes sense (at least to me) that when Jacob sent the MIB into the golden light, he didn’t transform into the Smoke Monster. Instead, the Smoke Monster took the form of the MIB. This explains why the MIB’s body was later found by Jacob in the river and why the Smoke Monster looks, talks and acts like the MIB (but isn’t really him). This theory would also work with Smokey’s recent transformation into Locke. Locke’s dead body was on the beach all along, even though Smokey looked, talked and even shared memories with John.


Ultimately there must always be good and evil on the island in the form of an island protector and an evil smoke like entity. But why they are there is anyone’s guess. What’s really confusing is how at times both entities have acted like their opposite counterpart, which makes me wonder if we’re not just looking at two sides of the same coin. Then again, maybe the smoke monster is truly pure evil and the guardian of the island is our last line of defense against the total destruction of the world…but I doubt it. I honestly have no idea what’s going to happen, I just pray we find out over the next 3.5 hours!

Lost - The Candidate

Wow, this is really it…only 4.5 more hours of LOST ever! With only five of the original Losties left alive on the island anything can and will happen. I’m nervous and anxious just thinking about it! The Blot’s also still reeling after the unexpected events of “The Candidate.” I can’t think of a LOST episode where so much happened in such a short amount of time. It really does feel like the end is near, and yet I still feel like I have no idea what’s going on!


The end of “The Candidate” was by far one of the saddest scenes I’ve ever seen, with Hurley, Jack and Kate crying over the deaths of their dear friends. To be honest, I’ve got really mixed emotions over the deaths of Sayid, Jin and Sun. I knew more deaths were inevitable, but to see the grim reaper come for three of the original Losties in a matter of minutes was almost too much to bare. Thankfully, with the existence of the Flash Sideways our favorite characters still live on to fight another day.


With that being said, I would be willing to bet my LOST fan club membership card that Frank Lapidus isn’t dead. Not only was his “death” glossed over, but I’m pretty sure the island isn’t done with him yet. Ilana said at the beginning of the season that Frank might be a candidate, and I think there’s more to Frank’s story than we realize. Why else would the Damon and Carlton have bumped him up to main cast status?


I have a ton of thoughts swirling around in my head after last week’s monumental episode, but I’m a little sick so I’ll keep it short. Here are a few random thoughts: is it possible the explosives on the airplane were not put there by Widmore’s people? My guess is they were placed there by Richard, Ben and Miles, who disappeared a few episodes ago to destroy the plane. But, if that were the case then why didn’t they just blow it up when they had the chance? Also, I know there’s been some speculation that Widmore and FLocke might be working together, but they why would FLocke have stolen Desmond and tried to kill him? I’m not saying Widmore is a good guy, but maybe his evil intentions and FLocke’s goals are adverse to one another.


Since the candidates have been protected by the island, is it safe to assume that the Kwon referenced on the cave walls was not Sun or Jin but their daughter Ji Yeon? And last but not least, what role will Claire play in LOST’s end game? She was brought back for a reason, and it has to be more than to look crazy, right? My guess is she’ll be put in the middle of FLocke and the Losties one more time only to be forced to choose a side while the world hangs in the balance.

Lost - The Last Recruit

As I re-watched “The Last Recruit” Sunday, I found myself liking the episode more and more. And yet, when it finally came time to put my thoughts together I’m drawing a blank. I think part of it is the realization that there are only a few episodes left, and that by the end of this month hopefully all of our questions will be answered. The other part is that at this point in Lost (and this is the honest to god truth) none of us have any clue what’s going on! Yes, we’re getting answers at a rate never before imaginable, but what comes next is truly anybody’s guess.


Surprisingly, “The Last Recruit” left me with more questions than any episode all season. Is Jack FLocke’s last recruit, and if so, what is FLocke’s real mission? One crazy theory I've read and have to mention is the belief that Jack died on the beach after Widmore’s people started pelting the island with bombs. I don’t buy for a second the producers would actually kill off Jack at this late stage of the series, but it does make FLocke’s words to Jack (You’re with me now) seem more poignant, especially when you consider Sayid only joined Team FLocke after dying himself.


Speaking of Sayid, has he finally proven one can come back from the dark side after sparing Desmond’s life? If so, what does this mean for Crazy Claire? Then again, does anyone believe there won’t be another showdown between Claire and Kate at some point in the near future? As the series draws to its conclusion, I’m starting to see/understand FLocke’s point of view more and more. Widmore is obviously not the altruistic “good guy” he pretends to be, and I am even starting to see the downside to Jacob’s actions. So what does this all mean and how is EVERYTHING going to tie together!?! Again, I have no clue. At this piont I'm really just hoping Sawyer didn’t just lead all of his friends into the worst trap of the show.


Well this is it, tonight marks the true beginning of the end of Lost and I still have some questions that NEED to be answered! For instance, how and why did Libby end up giving the sail boat to Desmond? Are we going to see Rose and Bernard again? And please tell me we have more Daniel Faraday in Lost’s final 5 hours. But seriously, of all the Lost loose ends still hanging out there the one that has to be addressed for fear of Losties everywhere revolting has to be what’s the deal with Walt and his magical powers, right? Here's hoping some of these answers come tonight! Namaste

Lost - Happily Ever After & Everybody Loves Hugo

The Blot’s gotten so far behind on my Lost episode reviews I’ve decided to combine the last two episodes into a single post…I’ll do my best to not to ramble. First of all, how great was “Happily Ever After?” I don’t know what it is about Desmond and Penny, but Desmond episodes are always the absolute best!


My only complaint of “Happily Ever After” is how much it felt like a FlashForward crossover. With Dominic Monaghan and Sonya Walger guest starring and all of the people blacking out, I could have sworn ABC was trying to do some cross promotions. Besides that, I did love the return of Charlie, Penny and Daniel Widmore (Faraday), even if it was only for one episode. Here’s hoping we see Faraday again in the Flash Sideways, he and Desmond have always made a really great team.


I could talk about this for hours, but what is the deal with Eloise Hawking!?! Is it me or is she the only character, besides Jacob and MIB, to actually know what’s going on. I can’t figure out why, but no matter what timeline or time period we’re in, she always seems to know more than she’s letting on. Does she have the same ability as Desmond to jump back and forth between the timelines? It’s obvious her goal is to save her son Daniel, but I can’t figure out how that agenda fits into Lost’s larger mythology. Is she working with her one time (or is it current) lover Charles Widmore? I’m not so sure that’s true in both timelines. But if not, is she still an Other following the path laid out by Jacob? Or is there a third option, and is she now a disciple of the Man-in-Locke? Things that make you go hmm…


With only a few weeks left, I’m really interested in seeing where the writers of Lost take the Flash Sideways storyline. I’m still struggling to understand it all, but I love how it’s starting to center around the power of love. What I really want to know is why does the power of love bring out memories of the island in certain characters (Faraday, Libby, Hurley), while it takes near death experiences to bring out those same memories in other characters (Charlie, Desmond and probably Locke)? Would love work on the other characters too if they found that certain someone? And if that’s true, why haven’t Jin and Sun’s latent island memories bubbled up yet? Wouldn’t we all agree they are each other’s constants? And if love doesn’t activate their memories, I would be willing to be getting shot should have done the trick on Sun.


This brings us to “Everybody Loves Hugo” and Desmond’s new mission of finding the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815. I don’t know about you, but Desmond is starting to look a whole lot like Jacob in the Flash Sideways. He is now secretly guiding the passengers of Oceanic flight 815 down an unknown path, and awakening their memories of life on the island through some questionable means. Wasn’t this exactly what Jacob did to the Oceanic 6 in the show’s original timeline?


And if Desmond is the new Jacob in the Flash Sideways, I’m starting to think Jack has finally accepted his fate as the island’s new Jacob. Instead of trying to lead in his usual manner of charging ahead, Jack has finally learned to lead by taking a backseat once in a while and following. I think Jack finally showed some real growth and maturity in the conversation he had with Hurley on the way to Locke’s camp, and I’m interested in seeing how his first conversation with the FLocke goes tonight.


Hands down the most out of left field death of a major character on Lost has to be Ilana’s! If this is truly the end of her story, I have to question what the purpose of her character was (other than informing the Losties that they are candidates). Then again, maybe by dying she fulfilled her mission, protecting the candidates. My guess is when Richard, Ben and Miles reach Widmore’s camp we’ll finally see the match-up we’ve all been waiting for: Widmore vs. Ben Part II. This will probably spur a lot of death and destruction on the Hydra station, and so by blowing up Ilana successfully protected the candidates by keeping them from traveling to the Hydra station. I know that’s a pretty convoluted explanation, but I’m sticking with it! Here’s hoping we at least get to see Ilana’s back story in the next few weeks.


I’m sure I’m leaving out a few important issues I wanted to discuss, but that’s what I get for trying to review two episodes of Lost at once. While I have no idea how Desmond’s storyline will play out, I pray it doesn’t involve him dying at the bottom of that well! Part of me thinks being at the bottom of that well is exactly where Desmond needs to be, especially if those wells are truly focal points of the island’s electromagnetism. I’m fairly certain Desmond will end up being the only person who can truly stop FLocke, but I just hope he doesn’t have to sacrifice his life to protect the world.


No matter what happens, Desmond and Penny need to end up together. And this why my new theory is that Desmond makes the ultimate sacrifice to stay on the island as a means of keeping the smoke monster trapped, but Penny ends up on the island with him and they turn out to be the Adam and Eve skeletons we first stumbled upon way back when. Sounds plausible, doesn’t it? We’re just a few hours away until a new episode and The Blot can’t wait! It’s just sad to think about the fact that we’ve only got a handful of new episodes left…until then, Namaste.

Lost - The Package

He’s baaaaaack! And no, I’m not talking about old Patchy, a.k.a. Mikhail. No I’m talking about everyone’s favorite button pusher, Desmond Hume! After a nine episode absence, Henry Ian Cusick made his triumphant return to Lost in “The Package.” The Blot was actually getting nervous we wouldn’t see Desmond for a few more weeks, but thankfully brotha’ Des is back and better than ever.


This week’s Lost Episode Review is even later than normal, but what can you do!?! Life’s been a little hectic around here lately and my Lost Episode Reviews seem to suffer the most. While I originally didn’t care much for Jin and Sun centric episodes, their last two have been pretty entertaining. I really enjoyed the Flash Sideways storyline in “The Package,” but to be honest, could have done without Sun’s on island storyline.


All but one of last week’s biggest shockers came from the Flash Sideways, where we learned that not only are Sun and Jin not married, but they’re dating behind Sun’s father’s back AND Sun’s pregnant! I had a feeling the money Jin was bringing to Keamy was payment for Keamy killing Jin, but I had no idea why. We now know that Sun’s father doesn’t take kindly to his employees sleeping with his daughter, but that seemed like a lot of effort just to have Jin whacked. I guess this was also a convenient way to disown Sun without his peers finding out back home in Japan.


I don’t have much to say about Sun’s on island storyline or the scenes involving Team Jacob. It seems like their scenes were more filler as other storylines got more of the show’s attention this week. Not much happened and I could care less that Sun currently can’t speak English. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this storyline on another show once before. What really got me excited about this episode was the official start of the war between Team FLocke and Team Widmore. But did anyone else think “did they preempt tonight’s episode of Lost with the movie Predator?” when the night vision goggle scene started?

Once I realized what was going on, all I could think about was how Charles Widmore turned his geeky science squad into deadly night hunters? Not only were they able to sneak up on FLocke’s camp, but they took everyone there down in about 3 seconds flat. I at least expected more out of Crazy Claire who had been living alone on the island for the past three years, constantly being hunted by the Others. I never would have guessed Widmore’s first move would be going after Jin, but after it’s explained that he needs Jin to help locate a specific location on the island everything started to make a lot more sense.


I really enjoy when little details from previous seasons pop back on the show and end up being pretty important nuggets of information. Who knew all that time Jin spent looking for Sun back in 1977 would become such an important part of Season 6! I have to commend the writers of Lost on their ability to tie little throwaway details back into the show’s overarching storylines.

And then for Widmore’s secret package to be a locked-up Desmond had me jumping out of my seat in excitement! I guess when Eloise Hawking told Desmond the island wasn’t done with him yet she really meant it. I actually feel bad for Desmond. Not only has he been ripped apart from Penny once again, but he probably expects Sayid to actually help save him. If there’s one thing I can be sure of, it’s that if and when Sayid and FLocke get their hands on Desmond he’ll be in more trouble than if he had stayed with the worst Father-in-law ever. I assume this means Widmore was behind Desmond’s coming to the island in the first place, which begs the question…just how long has Charles Widmore been planning all this?


It seems like Widmore might be the only character on Lost who actually knows what’s going on. He seems to understand the smoke monster and why he must stay on the island, as well as what can be gained by harnessing the island’s magnetic powers. Hopefully more revelations are just around the corner. My only question is does Widmore know about the Flash Sideways, and how does it all tie together?

Hopefully we’ll find out more tonight…if not, at least we can all look forward to Jin’s reaction to seeing Desmond for the first time in years. Hopefully Jin won’t be as willing to use Desmond as a means to reunite with Sun as Widmore is at using Desmond to return to the island.

Lost - Ab Aeterno

“Ab Aeterno” was, in a word, spectacular. It was hands down the best Lost Season 6 episode to date, and gave fans the type of answers we’ve all been dying for! With that being said, I wasn’t head over heels in love with this episode like many Lost fans and the media seem to be. In fact, I think the “greatness” of the episode has more to do with everyone’s dissatisfaction with Season 6 than the episode itself. But then again, maybe I’m being a little harsh. Either way, I loved finally learning Richard’s back story and how he became eternally youthful.


Truth be told, we learned more in last week’s episode than I ever thought we would, and “Ab Aeterno” definitely lived up to the hype we all placed on it. Fans have been clamoring for the back story of Richard Alpert for years, and the writers of Lost definitely made it worth our wait! I for one am glad to find out Richard’s story is so intricate to the history and mythology of the island…now if they’d only explain how and why Jacob formed the Others and allowed the Dharma Initiative to live on the island. I’m also dying to find out how and why Richard was allowed to leave the island these past 100 years.


Before I discuss “Ab Aeterno” any further, I’d like to bring up a killer subplot of “Recon” I totally glossed over while reviewing it. It was brought up by a reader on Pop Candy’s Lost in a Flash and it is spot on! I can’t believe I didn’t put two and two together. As you may remember, while Ben was digging his own grave, FLocke appeared and told him he had placed a rifle 200 yards away to help him escape from Ilana. Flocke added that once he escaped he should come to the Hydra station because that’s where his group would be. The first issue I had with this scene is that if FLocke wanted to free Ben why didn’t he just kill Ilana, or at the very least, bring the gun to him there. Why plant it 200 yards away? It seemed like just another pointless test Lost likes to include in episodes.


But that issue is really more of a red herring. The real issue is that FLocke told Ben to meet him at the Hydra station. Which is all fine and good, except FLocke’s group wasn’t really at the Hydra station. It was Widmore’s team that was at the Hydra station, so FLocke was really leading Ben into the clutches of his mortal enemy, Charles Widmore. It looks like FLocke was trying to kill two birds with one stone, by getting Ben to kill Ilana before leading Ben to his death at the hands of Charles Widmore. So, was FLocke trying to get Ben killed or was he sending Ben to the Hydra station so he could also kill Widmore? Has Ben already served his purpose, or is Ben FLocke’s new killing machine? Just think, in two episodes (and with FLocke’s help) Ben might have killed off Jacob, Ilana and Widmore!

And now back to “Ab Aeterno.” I wish I had more to say about this episode, but I’m still processing Richard’s claim that the island is hell! Is the Man in Black really the devil or just evil incarnate...and is there really a difference between the two? I know the island isn’t really hell, but what the heck is going on!?! One thing I can say about last week's episode is that I think it's truly amazing that after 5 1/2 seasons the show can produce an episode this good and it only feature the show's original characters for something like 3 minutes! That just doesn't happen on network television, and kudos to the people behind Lost and ABC for being gutsy enough to try it.


I do have two theories/questions stemming from last week’s episode and I’d like to get everyone’s feedback. First the questions: since we know the island acts as a cork keeping evil trapped, because the island has sunk in the Flash Sideways, does that mean evil has been set free? Or does it mean evil has been vanquished and the island is no longer needed? And now on to my theory that’s been building over the past two episodes…in “Recon” we saw Widmore’s team setting up a sonic fence on the Hydra station. I originally thought this was to protect Widmore’s team from Smokey coming back to kill them. But, what if it was to trap Smokey on the Hydra station!?! Think of it as an even smaller jail cell on the 2nd island, which would finally free the main island from FLocke’s presence and allow Widmore to regain control of what he wants most in this world, the island. Things to make you go hmm…

Lost - Recon

While I enjoyed last week’s episode of Lost, after watching it a second time I’m starting to understand everyone’s frustration with the Season 6. I loved the cameos by Charlie’s brother Liam and Rebecca Mader’s Charlotte and thought this week’s Flash Sidways was brilliant, but the so-called answers we’re receiving have been kind of a letdown.


When FLocke explained to Kate how and why Claire was crazy I almost threw something at my TV. After two years the only answer we get is that Smokey needed Claire to help him in his war against the Others, so he tricked her into hating them!?! I expect so much more from Lost and its writers, and this seemed like a weak copout to me. I really, really hope this isn’t a sign of things to come.


As for those loony scenes between Kate and Claire, they really freaked me out! Emilie de Raven is doing a fantastic job playing crazy, and I can’t wait to see her go nuts on Kate again (we all know it’s going to happen right?). What really terrified me was the look on Sayid’s face as Claire tried to kill Kate. He’s totally out of it and doesn’t seem to care about anyone or anything anymore. Naveen Andrews has always been able to convey a wide range of emotions with just a turn of his head and a piercing look, and in “Recon” he delivered once again. I don’t know what’s going on with Sayid, but I fear for anyone that gets in his way.


After talking about “Recon” with some fellow Lost fans, I was surprised to learn that not everyone is as interested in this upcoming war over the island as I am. In some respects I agree with them that too much of the show has centered around the island’s new found mythology, and not enough time on the show’s characters. Truth be told, Lost has never been just about the island, but it definitely became a huge part of the show these past two seasons, really ever since the characters first began time jumping.


I for one have really enjoyed watching the Losties pick sides for the impending battle over the island, but throwing in a third team, Team Widmore, this late in the game may have been unwise. We don’t know anything about these new characters from Widmore’s sub, and it’s hard to want to give them a chance knowing all of the terrible things Charles has done over the years. Regardless, the rest of this season is definitely going to be focusing on the upcoming battle between FLocke’s team of crazies and the combined forces of Team Widmore and Team Jacob, so we’d better get used it (and ready for some action).

I know I mentioned it earlier, but how awesome was this week’s Sawyer-centric Flash Sideways!?! Learning that Sawyer and Miles ended up as partners on the police force was just too damn cool. If ABC had half a brain, they’d already be developing an hour long police dramedy spin-off staring Sawyer and Miles. That’s the show they should be making instead of a Hawaii 5-O remake!


I enjoyed learning Charlotte works with Miles’ father at the museum in the Flash Sideways, and that she’s still an adventure seeking archeologist. But what really made this week’s Flash Sideways stand out was the twist that Sawyer had become a cop instead of a con-man. Thankfully, he’s still searching for the real Sawyer, a.k.a. Anthony Cooper, and now that Miles is in on the hunt, I’ve got a feeling this storyline is going to get really interesting really fast. Thankfully, with only ten or eleven more hours of Lost left, we won’t have to wait that much longer for a resolution to Sawyer’s quest for vengeance.

No big theories this week, but tomorrow night’s episode is going to be HUGE!!! From my understanding, it’s a Richard-centric episode and features an old school Flash Back instead of a Flash Sideways. The episode is entitled "Ab Aeterno,” which is Latin for “since the beginning of time” or, more figuratively, “since a very long time ago.” (link) I can’t wait!

Lost - Dr. Linus

Man, was last week’s episode of Lost awesome or what!?! We got answers, redemption and twists all in under an hour. Not only did we get to see more of Ben and Arzt in the Flash Sideways, but we also got our first Alex Rousseau appearance since her very unfortunate (and sad) death. We learned that Alex is being raised by a single mother who works two jobs to provide for her daughter. Here’s hoping we don’t have to wait too long to see Danielle show up in a Flash Sideways scene.


It was also cool how the writers juxtaposed the end of “Dr. Linus” with the end of “Sundown” from two weeks ago. “Sundown” ended with the formation of FLocke’s “evil” crew, including Crazy Claire and Evil Sayid, while “Dr. Linus” ended with the coming together of Jacob’s “good guys” team. For a minute there I actually thought I was watching a Season 1 episode when Lost’s classic music medley started playing and we had a slow motion Lostie reunion on the beach. Finally our cast has fully come together, albeit in two warring factions. I have to say, the makeup of Jacob’s side was quite surprising. Never in a million years did I expect Team Jacob to include Jack, Ilana, Richard AND Ben. It should be an entertaining crew though, with 3 of the show’s funniest characters (Hurley, Miles and Frank) finally hanging out together on consistent basis.

And did everyone love the scene between Jack and Richard as much as I did? For once I feel like we actually learned something from a conversation on Lost, primarily Jacob’s ability to keep his chosen ones from killing themselves. I am a little torn as to what the expression was on Jack’s face right before the dynamite should have blown up in the Black Rock. Was that a look of true faith or had Jack finally come to terms with the fact he might die? Either way, at this point Jack seems to have completely given in to his destiny and now believes whole heartedly in fate/faith.


The inability of candidates to kill themselves raises an interesting question: was Michael Dawson’s inability to kill himself because he was “touched” by Jacob (meaning he was also at one time a candidate)? Richard doesn’t seem to be a candidate, so I suppose Jacob’s “gift” can be given to non-candidates as well, but that doesn’t explain Michael’s true role on the island. We saw Michael try to kill himself on multiple occasions, only to find out the island wasn’t through with him yet. Then, when he finally was able to die, it was Christian Shephard who told him his time was up.

I originally felt like Michael was protected by Jacob, but as we have learned more about the smoke monster, it appears he may have been protected by FLocke instead. I think this question won’t be answered until we learn if Christian was/is the Smoke Monster or if he is some of emissary for the island. At this point, I’m leaning towards Dr. Shephard being the smoke monster because we haven’t seen him since smokey was trapped in Locke’s form.


For me, all of the revelations/questions coming out of "Dr. Linus" tied in perfectly to the episode’s final scene, in which we discover a submarine off the island’s coast carrying Charles Widemore back to the island! You see, with all this talk of rules and gifts, the reappearance of Widemore and Alex in last week’s episode reminded me of another rule, the rule that stated Charles and Ben couldn’t kill each other. I assume this is because Jacob touched both of them, Charles at some point in the past and Ben either when he was resurrected in the temple or moments before he killed Jacob in the four toed statue. But what is the true purpose of this rule and how does it relate to the “gift” Jacob gives his chosen ones? All of this has to be related, right?

Another aspect of Jacob that bothers me is that he appears to be all knowing. For instance, when he convinced Hurley to take Jack away from the temple to the lighthouse, he said he did so to protect them from the danger about to engulf the temple. Jacob also knew the effect being at the lighthouse would have on Jack, and while we don’t know exactly what Jacob has told Ilana, it appears he’s given her hints and clues as to what’s to come.


If this is true, and Jacob is in fact omniscient, then doesn’t it stand to reason Jacob knew what was going to happen to Sayid and Dogen at the temple!?! The only reason Sayid was even taken to the temple and "saved" was because Jacob told Hurley to do so. Since Jacob apparently knows how all this is going to play out, he also had to know Sayid would die and be reborn infected. I take this to mean he wanted Sayid to become infected and join FLocke’s team. And this, my friends, is The Blot’s first true Season 6 theory.

Lost, among all other things, seems to be about redemption. And from what I can tell, Jacob wanted Sayid to help FLock so he could gain his trust and earn his way into FLocke's inner circle. Then, during the final conflict between Team Jacob and Team FLocke, Sayid will turn against the smoke monster and finally earn the redemption that has eluded him for so many years. Is this farfetched? Am I grasping at straws, hoping one of my favorite characters has not truly gone to the dark side? Possibly, but only time will tell! Namaste...

Lost - Sundown

It seems like the internet was a buzz even more so than usual over last week’s episode of Lost. Personally, The Blot loved “Sundown,” but many fans out there seem to be unfulfilled by an episode if it doesn’t hit you over the head with “answers.” While “Sundown” didn’t answer some long standing questions, it did something much more…it gave us what I thought was an awesome episode with a storyline that had actual meat to it.


Sayid-centric episodes are often multi-layered in a way other Lost episodes aren’t, and “Sundown” was no exception. Its gotten to the point now where I can’t decide which storyline I like better, the Flash Sideways or the Island. This week’s Flash Sideways was awesome, and while I had lots of guesses as to who the mob boss might be, Martin Keamy was not one of them. The writers of Lost did an excellent job throwing me off with that guest appearance!


I loved the scene between Keamy and Sayid, and thought it was a perfect example of Sayid’s deadliness. The man truly is a living weapon. Plus, the Flash Sideways finally gave us a cliffhanger when Sayid found Jin locked up in the freezer. My theory is that the watch (along with the money Jin was trying to smuggle into the country) was for Keamy. Since airport security probably confiscated the money, Jin ended up going to Keamy empty handed which resulted in his trip to the freezer. Sayid’s murder spree is probably the only thing that kept Jin alive in the Flash Sideways.


While Sayid’s fight scene in the Flash Sideways was awesome, his fight on the Island was a little too Matrix-y for me. What was with all of Sayid and Dogen’s flips, jumps and kicks!?! That’s not Sayid’s style at all, and I would have expected a much different fighting style from Dogen as well (especially considering how "mystical" he is). That one fight scene was probably the low point of the episode for me, but other than that I really enjoyed what was probably our final episode focused on the temple.


I liked “Sundown” for a number of reasons, one of which was it was the first time in weeks that we got to see almost all of the show’s cast in a single episode. All “Sundown” was missing Jack, Hurley and Richard, and all 500 cast members would have been accounted for. I thought Dogen’s backstory was interesting, and we did learn more about Sayid’s infection. We also got to see Claire at her creepiest!!! I don’t know what was scarier, her look at Kate when Kate told Claire she took Aaron or Sayid’s look at Ben when he told Ben his time had run out.


So many storylines were fleshed out last week and I can’t wait to see where this story is going. I know many are worried the Island’s civil war is going to take over the show, but I have faith in the show’s exec-producers and writers. Besides, aren’t you dying to see what takes place at FLocke’s new camp? As @kahunablair puts it, with FLocke, Crazy Claire and Infected Sayid having joined forces, Lost now has its very own “anti-A-Team.” (link) Those three alone could cause some serious trouble for our Losties, but add in some of the most dangerous Others and Jack, Hurley, Ilana, Frank, Sun and Miles better watch out! I’m also really interested to see how Kate, Sawyer and Jin handle themselves as members of Team FLocke. Something tells me all three of them will be ready to jump camp relatively soon.


Part of me is a little sad to see Sayid give in to the dark side, but I’ve got a feeling our favorite Iraqi interrogator will be redeemed in the end. Besides, I couldn’t have been the only person who cheered when Sayid slit the throat of the most annoying Other ever, Lennon? I thought that scene in the temple was awesome, from Dogen and Sayid’s heart to heart, to Sayid paying Dogen back for the drowning he suffered earlier in the season, to Sayid’s murder of Lennon and the brief interaction between Ben and Sayid.


I’m pretty sure Ben knew something was up the moment he saw Sayid, but it was interesting to see Ben care enough to go after Sayid himself. Ben’s never been one to put himself in the line of danger, so I think his actions show that not only does Ben feel a connection to Sayid over their time spent together off island, but after the death of Jacob might Ben now feel a need to repent? There are a million parallels between Ben and Sayid (Sayid shot a young Ben, Sayid was shot by Ben’s father, and both were resurrected by the temple’s waters), and I think this week we might finally find out what effect Ben’s resurrection had on his life and the Island.

This tomorrow night’s episode “Dr. Linus” should be a good one (and a Ben-centric episode to boot), but what’s really crazy about "Dr. Linus" is that according to Wikipedia it was directed by Mario Van Peebles! How random is that!?!

Lost airs Tuesday nights at 9/8c on ABC.