LOST - "The End" Review

I don't even know what to think. My mind was blown. I was excited. I was upset. I couldn't speak between 11PM-12AM. The finale was an eye opener to me on the whole series. I'm about to get real academic and read probably WAY too into the show.

As much as you can wonder what the Island is and the actual purpose of everything - it doesn't matter. The show is a character-driven story. The Island isn't the main character. Life isn't about trying to deal with all of the random challenges - smoke monsters are a metaphor for greedy opportunities, having to be a 'protector' of something, feeling trapped, etc. They all worked together to overcome these challenges, although they lost some friends along the way.

Rather, Life is about the people you connect with along the way. The Original Timeline was indeed real. Everything that happened. As Christian said, that was the most important time of the castaway's lives. It was when their will was tested the most to survive, to "Live Together" so they don't "Die Alone."

The Original Timeline all makes sense. Well, at a basic level. Of course I have SEVERAL questions relating directly towards what happened - specifically with what was going on in The Source. I'll do that later. But this is my thought process for how it all worked out:

Desmond was somewhat misled - he believed that by pulling the plug (uncorking the wine bottle) that the Losties would teleport to the Flash Sideways. They would be fine. The Island would be gone, but who cares? Desmond was the only one in the Original Timeline that was somewhat aware of the Sideways timeline. He didn't know what it meant necessarily - not that we did.

So Jack makes the "ultimate sacrifice" to save the Island. Hurley and Ben stay behind, becoming the new Jacob and Richard. What happens after that is unknown, and we don't really need to know. The show has always been about Jack. It opens and closes with Jack.

But now the Flash Sideways. As Christian said, it was the alternate reality that the Losties made together so they could "move on" together. Think about how many people have died over the seasons - innocent people. The only people that deserved to die was Anthony Cooper and Michael. They all spent so much time together on the Island that they wanted to move on together - and that was the point of the alternate flash sideways. Everyone was living a life they SHOULD have had - but for whatever reason their flawed lives did not allow in the original timeline. Sure, not everything was perfect, but it was more ideal than previously.

Once they all became "aware" of where they had been, they all came together to move on, lead by a Sheppard of Christians - quite a play on words. They didn't want to move on without each other, so now they move on together, and that was what the flash sideways was all about. They had died at different times, I'm assuming Hurley and Ben died at a later point, along with Kate & Sawyer, but they all wanted to move on together. Anna-Lucia wasn't ready, because she didn't have enough of a connection on the Island to anyone. Michael was stuck because he killed his own people for selfish purposes.

You don't really need to understand everything about the Island to understand the premise of the show. It's about these flawed and somewhat broken individuals who ban together for a life altering experience on the Island - as a group.

In fact --- the Island detracted from the story. The episode "Across The Sea" was VERY interesting, but the episode took away from the story that we cared about. We just saw the death of Sayid, Sun, and Jin. We were upset. People cried. We needed "Across the Sea" to move the story to the finale, but it takes away from the point of the show.

Lost is a story about community. How they react, how they struggle, based on their past, how it establishes their future, and how these people are ultimately tied together forever because of the events that have taken place on the Island.

Random Thoughts/Questions I will forever have:

1) Really excited that it was Kate & Jack.

2) Smokie can't die until the Island is "uncorked?" Can he turn into Smoke or is he then mortal? And couldn't he be killed at the source? That would make the most sense. Is there a need for new Smokie once the form in Locke is gone?

3) Bigger thought/question - What was it that Smokie really wanted to go back to? Doesn't he realize that 2,000 years later his people were gone? What was he going to do when he landed on the other land? Start a blog?

3.5) Same for Richard - where is he going? And he seemed to be showing a gray hair, so he's mortal because Jacob is dead? He has nothing left there.

4) Why was the Source not as light when Desmond went in it? Was that because Smokie had most of the light (turned to darkness) ?

5) What was Ben staying behind for? I assume Alex/Rousseau, but who knows.

6) Still, what exactly is the Island? It was most definitely real, but what was it?

Overall, wow, what a series. I want to rewatch all of it knowing what I know now, but I have very little time to reflect, because tonight we see the end of Jack Bauer. It's like my child/college mainstays are all ending at the same time.

Everything only ends once, everything else is just progress.

I'll see you in another life brotha. (which takes on a whole new meaning)

The Final LOST Post Before The Finale - I Think

Wow. It's finally here. After six season of polar bears, buttons, time travel, others, black smoke, flashbacks, flashforwards, and one strange island, this is the finale. I'm going to use the This Is It reference here, and if you read my previous post, you get the joke. If not, I'm sorry, please keep reading.

The thing I absolutely love about a series like LOST is that we are 2.5 hours away from the complete end of a series, and I still have no clue what is actually going to happen. There's too many possibilities and the writers have done a great job of keeping it wide open to speculation and thought.

SO WHAT I THINK WILL HAPPEN

Desmond is the key here. Jack has assumed role of protector, and Smokie cannot kill him (or any of the other candidates really.) It's also been established that one cannot really kill Smokie. They can push or hit him like a normal human, but they cannot truly kill him. He represents a higher being.

Smokie's plan is to sink the Island. I assume that means to lead Ben to the Source, allow him to take it (how one takes it is a mystery) and then the Island --- and humanity --- ends. However, I'm having a feeling that Ben has something up his sleeve. In my crazed head, he's going to have Miles go back to Widmore's body, find out the purpose of Desmond/why Widmore came back, relay that to Ben, who will then try to help Richard (if he's still alive) and Jack.

I think the way to kill Smokie is the same way he came into the world - throw him back into the Source. Only Jack or Desmond can do this, and seeing as how Jack has to protect the Island, I'm assuming that it will be Desmond. Smokie probably will not go willingly, but Desmond has proven to be able to handle the electromagnetism that comes with the Source, meaning he can literally drag Smokie into the Source. Then the spirit that is Smokie is entrapped back in the Source, and there is no evil spirit. Jack truly has nothing to protect the Source from, because everyone will want to leave the Island -- I'm assuming Ben dies somehow.

HOW THIS RELATES TO THE ALTERNATE TIMELINE

I'm still not sure. Which is what is so confusing. It seems to me that the people who are still alive/on Jacob's side are all heading to this concert - ALL CANDIDATES WELCOME - Kate, Jack, Sawyer, Miles, Faraday, Widmore, Desmond, Hawking, probably Charlie, they'll all be there. This massive group brought together SHOULD spark something. Jack seeing Kate (after operating on Locke - which somehow will relate to the OT and having to kill the body of Locke in Smokie)

Sayid is off to another area with Hurley. Probably somewhere with Claire and Jin and Sun - maybe all to the Hospital? Forming of the sides. Hurley is taking Sayid there - but why Hurley? Is this a foreshadow of Hurley? Sacrifice to get Locke dead?

THE THINGS I WANT RESOLVED BUT PROBABLY WILL NOT HAVE RESOLVED

WHAT THE $%^$ IS THE ISLAND

Seriously, how does this thing work. How did the light come to be? How did Mother come? How was the statue built? How special is the "Protector" ? Can he really control the destiny of the people chosen to come? WHY DOES THE SOURCE EVEN EXIST? HOW DOES THIS STUFF WORK??

What I'm kind of thinking, but know I'll never know --- The source represents power. Human nature is to be powerful. Everyone wants more. We have the ability to be powerful in our own right - controlling our lives and the lives of those around us - for good or evil. Hence what the MiB turned into. He turned into incarnate evil - exactly what he wanted. It's helping him the ability to leave, but not fully granting it.

The light is so powerful it's leaking out - hence the several electromagnetic pockets around the island. By Dharma digging into the electromagnetic pocket it allows for a release that COULD release the Source - hence why the button had to keep being pushed - "just savin' the world" - because the release would be the end. How this all relates to the ability to travel through time and the donkey wheel I'm not entirely sure. Humans have been working to chip away at the core of the island and access the power - but because they're dumb they don't realize they're destroying humanity.

ANOTHER THING --> If Smokie is trying to use people to get off, why does he kill them all in "Ab Aeterno"? He needs them to get out.

Who let the Dharma Initiative come and stay? How did they know about the electromagnetic fence that would keep Smokie out and why didn't Smokie kill the "Others"?

How did the Temple/beneath the Temple happen? I doubt Smokie wanted to create that himself. Was it always there?

Finally, just a retrospective - it's been a long six years. I think it's safe to say that Damon and Carlton had no clue what they were getting into when they first started. The topics have moved so quickly from season to season.

Season 1 - What is the Island/Survival/Strange Things

Season 2 - What is the Dharma Initiative/Walt/The Button

Season 3 - The Others/Desmond's Time Travel/Communicating with the outside world

Season 4 - Widmore & Ben/Rescue/Torching the Island

Season 5 - Getting Back/Time Travel/Dharma/Jughead

Season 6 - Saving The Island from Smokie/The New Jacob

Looking back, was all of this relevant to telling the ultimate story? Was all that nonsense over Walt really necessary? It all seems so drug out for this point I'm not sure I'm wholly satisfied that I've watched the series over and over for this. There should of been more of an endgame from the beginning, and slowly introduce them. We shouldn't of first heard of Jacob in Season 3 and never actually seen him until the end of Season 5. I guess part of it creates the mystery of the show - we've sat and asked who is Jacob for 2.5 years. The show just seemed to move so slow in the beginning to set up the characters that it was frustrating.

In the end, I'm going to watch the finale and I'm sure my jaw will be on the floor. And I'm sure I'll write another post about how epic the show is. It can't possibly be better than The Wire, but from a passionate/speculative perspective, this show rocks.

Namaste.

OMG WHAT IS GOING ON IN LOST

It's starting to get serious. Really really serious. There's only like 300 some minutes left, and we still have SO MUCH TO FIND OUT.

Let's get started gang!!! (True Life - I'm Peter Klaven)

1) Flash sideways SLASH Desmond

Can't really figure out what is the deal here. The OT Desmond seems to be calm, collected, and care-free. He knows Locke isn't Locke.

I think (but it's a stab) is that Desmond is "aware" of the flash sideways timeline. He knows that something else is going on - and that he's the key to merging the two or some how affecting the outcome. So far, we've only seen people realize their alternate realities via near-death experiences, love, or constants.

Desmond is trying to help everyone realize their other selves. He helped Hurley follow Libby (which was such a corny storyline) and is doing something to Locke.

1.5) WHY DID DESMOND HIT LOCKE

There's a few potential reasons that I'm pondering.

a) My original thought was that the timelines are connected. If Locke dies in the flash, he dies in the original. That doesn't sync up though, because Locke is already dead. Smokie has only taken his shape, not his body. So that doesn't totally work.

b) Locke in Flash Sideways needs to remember the island, so he can become "self aware" - the best way to make that happen is to have something traumatic happen to him, similar to when his father threw him out of the building.

c) Locke will have surgery from Jack, and their touch/interaction will spark the memories of them on the island - which will then lead Jack to become Jacob, and preserve the Island.

2) The Boy

WTF. Seriously. This was a different kid than we saw in The Candidate, but imdb says it's the same actor. The hair is definitely different for a reason though. Makes me think of a young Jacob/Smokie. But Desmond saw him too - is Desmond a candidate? Or is he just special?

The boy could be Aaron, or a young Desmond. Or maybe it's the higher power that Jacob and Smokie adhere to. More on that in another post.

3) The Well

Before I talk about the well, how the hell are we seeing all these things this year that the losties never found before? The lighthouse, Smokies cave, the Temple, this new well. How does that happen? I thought Sayid was some kind of explorer.

The Well HAS to be something, but what? Smokie mentioned the electromagnetism - similar to that in the Hatch/Orchid? Can Desmond move the Island or dig deeper to find the pocket to kill Smokey? (PS - Smokey or Smokie? I can't decide. Smoke is a strange word to say. Try it.) WHICH BRINGS ME TO ANOTHER IDEA ---> When the hatch detonated, shouldn't that have done something to Smokey? It's clear he can't get past the fence, so if a large pocket of electromagnetic energy is emitted, I would think this would do something to him.

random unimportant point - can Jack Bauer just come and drop an EMP ? Wouldn't that do it?

The well has some purpose. It's not just to hold Desmond until he's out. That's foolish. I don't think it's another donkey wheel - how many of those can we have? I think it's just a temporary prison until next week.

4) The Whispers

I'm REALLY unsure about this whole thing. It supposedly can't be Smokie - so far as Ilana knows - because he's supposedly stuck in his current form. Some questions I have:
Why is Hurley the only one that can see the dead people on the island?
Why wouldn't Libby come around to talk to Hurley?
They aren't just stuck on the Island - Hurley saw Ana Lucia off the Island.
It doesn't explain Yemi.
How is Isabella on the Island?
Why was Walt able to do the same things? Where is Walt?
Where/How do these spirits determine when to come out and be visible and where do they go?
Charlie was off the island playing checkers with Hurley. How.

So I don't know what Michael is doing, but I feel like it's not legitimate. I'm not convinced the plane is the way off the Island. Last I remember, it was broken in the cockpit, probably doesn't have enough fuel, and the runway most likely isn't long enough. ALSO HOW DID BEN KNOW TO MAKE A RUNWAY IN THE FIRST PLACE - INTERESTING STUFF.

Maybe if Smokie were to leave, the dead spirits would be free as well. OR another thought - maybe Desmond ignites an electromagnetic release that would stop the plane from crashing - bringing his purpose full circle. He brought 815 here, now he would bring the plane that would destroy the world down.

So what's the point of Michael coming out now? Hurley's been back on the island for a little bit now, but then again I don't know how you count the "being in 1977" thing on the time line.

Lastly I was so souped by the Bruce references - Spanish Johnny's and Rosalita. Good work by the writers - as if I need another reason to love the show.

LOST - What Richard Alpert Taught Us

Wow, what an episode. Easily the episode that reveals the most about any single character (and the Island) and answers some of the questions we've been curious about now for quite some time. In that sense, I would argue it was the best & most revealing single episode we've seen.

However, as always, there's still more questions to be answered.

First a continuity error that I question:

At the beginning of the Incident, we see the Black Rock on the outskirts of the Island. MiB and Jacob sit and converse, talking about humans coming etc. The sea is calm, it's a beautiful day. But when the Black Rock actually comes, it comes in a gigantic storm, powerful enough for it to run into Jacob's statue. While it's easy to see that happen (can Jacob/MiB control the weather?) it didn't seem to make sense. In the long run, it's not as big of a deal, but it's still interesting to note.

Okay, so now it's game time - What we learned and new theories:

The cork-in-the-bottle metaphor that Jacob was the single best explanation we've ever had regarding the island, Jacob, and the Man In Black. But what exactly is the cork? Is the cork Jacob? Because one would think that since Jacob is dead, Man In Black would be gone by now. Or maybe his cause is to kill all candidates (but it seems like he personally cannot do that) before he can be free. That is who's "coming" in reference to the end of Season 5.

It's abhorrently apparent that MiB is lying and manipulating about everything and always has. He tried to manipulate Richard, and he's done the same thing to Claire, Sayid, and trying to reach out to Kate and Sawyer. He promises something to accomplish his means, following Jacob's statement that MiB tries to tempt others and prove that human are corruptible. What does this mean when he gets off the Island? Because as we already know, humans are corruptible (see Anthony Cooper, Sawyer, etc.)

Jacob seemed different in this episode. He wasn't the calm, poised man we've seen. He was yelling at Richard, almost making fun of him, very much the Dexter side of him we've seen from Mark Pellegrino before. We learn about how Jacob doesn't want to interfere and allow humans to come to the Island "to have a second chance" - something almost all of the Losties needed on 815.

INTERESTING QUESTION: How do/did the others live on the Island? When the Black Rock was shipwrecked, Smokey killed everyone but Richard, and looked into him the same way he looked into Locke and Mr. Eko, then left, then takes the form of a loved one (but as far as we know Isabella was never on the Island, making it unusual for him to her shape - possibly changing the rules we previously thought) Regardless, if Smokey kills everyone when they get there, how did the others ever "survive"? And how do they/Ben get the ability to somewhat summon Smokey as a "security system" as we see in Season 4? Jacob mentions in last night's episode that everyone previously brought the the Island is dead, and I would assume that is because of Smokey. Maybe Richard was the beginning of human civilization on the Island (plus Jacob allowing Dharma to have the appropriate sonic fences to keep Smokey out.)

Another question: The killing of Jacob/MiB. We find out that Dogen was in fact not lying regarding letting them speak and it's over, as MiB says the same thing. So how is Ben able to kill Jacob? As leader? As he is inside the Temple? Need to know more about the rules here.

Overall, the episode confirmed much of previous speculation regarding Richard, although told through a compelling and somewhat heartwarming story that now re-focuses the effort for everyone to stop Locke from leaving the Island. I would love to see more episodes on even more of Jacob/MiB's history, during the Dharma period and so on, but we're just running out of time (que Jack Bauer)

I THINK I KNOW HOW LOST WILL END

It's Tuesday after 10, and I'm home on Spring Break. There isn't much else to do BUT blog.

BEFORE WE GET INTO TONIGHT'S EPISODE -- I watched last week's again at the 8PM slot and it said that Smokey had recruited Kate. CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS BELIEF.

So tonight's Lost was VERY subliminal. Alot of things were said but not alot of time was given to the time to analyze. But I believe it was very revealing at the same time.

What we learned:

1) Jack is learning his importance (as Jacob believed he would following the Lighthouse incident) and is gaining confidence in his abilities and wants to stand up for the fight. That's why he was so confident that the dynamite would not explode.

2) The Flash Sideways is quickly becoming the timeline of people getting a second chance to help those they care about - but from a distance. We saw it last week with Sayid. We see it this week with Ben. He wanted to help Alex so badly he didn't blackmail the principal. I'm led heavily to believe that he blackmailed Widmore previously to get off the island. I'm still not sure how this applies to Hurley being lucky, but that's just how it seems.

The question is how much to the Losties know the difference i.e. if Ben is given the chance to bring Alex back to a normal life, does he live knowing the consequences that he can never be her father? Or does he just have some unconscious attraction to her that he can't explain? Similar question for Sayid and Nadia.

P.S. Alex looked SO MUCH HOTTER than she ever did on the Island. I'm not sure if she's growing up or it was make up or what, but I was surprised. ALSO --- WHERE IS DANIELLE IN THIS EQUATION?

3) Alpert came from the Black Rock (SOMETHING I CONFIRMED EARLIER) -- BUT why this is important is because when Smokey first spoke to Alpert post-Jacob's death, he said "It's nice to see you free of those chains." Meaning --> Smokey saw Alpert as a slave on the Black Rock. Smokey wasn't on the Black Rock because he saw it coming to the Island with Jacob. But he had seen Alpert somehow.

What we need to know:

1) Following off point number one from earlier, Richard said, whoever is touched by Jacob cannot die by their own hand. My initial assumption was then that Michael had to be touched by Jacob at some point. But not EVERYONE that came to the island was touched by Jacob. Hell, Sayid & Hurley were touched after they were off the island the first time. So what exactly does this do? Is Jack/Hurley/Kwons/Kate/Sawyer destined to live forever as long as they stay on the island similar to Alpert?

2) Smokey's real plan

What exactly is his deal? He told Sawyer that the island doesn't need a protector. He told Ben that someone would need to be there when Smokey and his recruits leave. Why the flip flop? Is Ben even a candidate? What's the reality? Why didn't Smokey kill what's left of Illana/Team Jacob? It would be a pretty easy Smoke through. That perplexes me the most.

3) Illana's plan

Illana was furious about Ben killing Jacob, but then she accepted that Ben was mad at himself - with good reason. So now what? How exactly can she protect the candidates from Smokey? She needs more than a gun. But she also mentioned that Jacob was like a father to her, so I'm sure she knows a lot more than we think.

4) The Island in the Flash Sideways

Ben's dad (who is still alive in the alternate timeline) mentioned DHARMA and the Island. So it existed at some point. At some point they left (obviously) and the Island is now underwater. How? Why? What? Who? Hanh? Was it by Jughead being set off that caused the island to implode therefore DHARMA still existed but Oceanic 815 never crashed. The timeline we're in still happens because that was their present. The Flash is what happens if the Island went underwater. Danielle never comes, Alex is therefore not on the Island.

5) Widmore

Obviously this was the bombshell at the end of the episode. How did Widmore find the Island? What's his plan? The line "There's people on the Island, should I stop?" makes me think that Widmore has some plan to destroy the island/self-destruct because the "wrong side" is going to win and Widmore needs to prevent that from happening.

THE KICKER ---> HOW I THINK IT WILL END

I had a revelation that I firmly believed when I first saw the episode. Since then (only a hour later) I've kind of had a change of heart, but I'm still throwing it out there anyway, because it's fun to take a stand. If I'm wrong, I'll edit this post and you'll never know.

What was important in this episode was two crucial things: Jack acknowledging his higher-calling following the Lighthouse, and Smoke Monster's offer to Ben to stay on the Island and protect it. You can almost feel the good vs. evil vibe. It's great. I'm also probably wrong because somehow the Flash sideways is supposed to intercede with the current. But I really believed it.

I think Widmore throws a cog in that potential plan, but every episode I get more and more excited to see how it plays out. It's my anti-drug. So come May, I'll NEED to find a new anti-drug.

LOST - WHAT DID I JUST WATCH

Wow, what a transition from a crappy episode to UTTERLY EPIC. I literally had my mouth open and goosebumps for five straight minutes after the episode. I turned my TV off and sat there. I am supposed to be finishing this PR plan for class, but writing this post suddenly became MUCH more interesting and a worthwhile outlet of my time.

So let's get started gang! (WHAT)

1) SAYID

Clearly, he's not so much infected as he is broken (more on that later.) He keeps trying to get rid of his killer-past and move on and be "normal". As we see, being normal wouldn't let him be with the only thing he really wanted: Nadia. Instead, he keeps having to kill people. It's just in his nature. Even in the sideways timeline, he still has to kill people (Nice addition adding Keamy PS.) It's in his nature. That's what Dogan saw when he determined Sayid was "evil" - because Sayid is naturally an evil man. He tries to be good, but life calls upon him to do other things.

I also think SPECIFICALLY because Smokey said "Hello Sayid" that therefore Sayid couldn't kill him. Dogen made it clear that if Smokey spoke it was over. He spoke. It's over. Smokey used that to turn him against Dogen.

He lost his trust in the people at the Temple, and Smokey must have told him something (besides the "I can get you whatever you want" line) to make him want to kill Dogen. Smokey must have said that by killing Dogen, Smokey can fulfill his mission, and "go home." I don't really believe Sayid is infected, he is just tired of the BS that the Island keeps throwing at him time after time.

Back to the broken thing I mentioned - it seems like everyone from the O6 except Hurley is really broken. Jack obviously. Sawyer lost the woman he loved. Kate is struggling to understand why Claire won't come with her - The ONLY reason Kate came. Sun doesn't count cause she's so brutally insignificant these days that I don't care to justify her.

2) Candidates

It's clear that Sayid's crossed himself off the list. I'm assuming the same for Sawyer - but where is he??

So that leaves us with - Jack, Hugo, and "Kwon" - I'm assuming it's Jin (mainly because I'm sexist - SARCASM.) It's gotta be Jack. It just has to be. It has to be.

3) Dogen

I'm glad the baseball storyline was wrapped up - it really bothered me that this stupid baseball seemed to have some higher meaning - and not that it's not significant, but it doesn't have to deal with the over-arcing issue going on.

But WHY was he the reason that Smokey was staying out - not the ash? Is the ash insignificant? What would the point be of laying down the ash if IT DOESN'T DO ANYTHING? By him dying, Smokey gets into the Temple. What sort of logic is that? I really hope that angle is answered.

4) Illana/Lapedis/The Good Guys

Clearly this is going to be an episode with some form of a backstory that I assume will happen next week. How they got in/How they know/What they know.

It's got to be the room that Illana found is something secret from Smokey. Another special place on the island. And I personally believe that it will do something that can help protect the island or reincarnate Jacob. That's where the ashes that Illana scooped up come into play. There has to be something there obviously, as that's the only play they have left.

To sympathize with Sun (and cause I made a sarcastic sexist comment earlier) - Where is Jin? Claire left him at the tent, or did he get turned? In that case we cross him off the list. Is he with Sawyer?

MEETING BETWEEN 3 and 4 - WHY DOESN'T DOGEN KNOW WHAT ILLANA SEEMS TO KNOW ? Instead, he just kinda mooks around.

RANDOM ---> WHERE'S ALPERT? He clearly hasn't been at the Temple, but he told Sawyer that was the only safe place on the Island, so why didn't he go there? Unless he got caught by Smokey again.

5) Smokey

So what's his deal eh? Unless I missed something, there was nothing that he did in the Temple that he NEEDED to do. He already killed Jacob. He was "free." Maybe the Temple murder was just a revenge thing. A big kick in the guts to everyone that's ever been against him. Seems unnecessary though.

I write this in every post about Lost - something's not right. Team Jacob tells one story, and Team Smokey tells something else. I can't tell who's right or who's wrong. Sometimes I almost want to believe what Smokey is saying is true. Someone obviously is lying. We've been lead to believe that Jacob is the light and the best. I don't know. They're too secretive. Smokey seems so open. Why would he want people to come with him? Why wouldn't he just kill all of them (except for those that he 'recruited'?) Does he really want those who lived in the Temple to switch just like that? Does he expect their loyalty to switch that easily? It doesn't make any sense to me.

6) Kate

Kate doesn't know what's going on. She just wants to save Claire. But by her going with Smokey, she provides an interesting complex. I highly doubt she gets recruited. She's too smart. She's going to find out more - and then will probably run into Sawyer and Jin, and can somehow help everyone. She's definitely on the good side I think. She's too worried about Claire. I know I mentioned this earlier, but that's her sole mission.

7) Now what?

Jack and Hurley clearly are the only ones that seem safe from everything. And with Jacob there to aide Hurley, that's a huge help. Apparently next week Ben "pays for his sins" or whatever the ABC Promo said. Hope it's more interesting than the first 54 minutes of this weeks, but is just as powerful as the last 6.

PS --> Only 12 more hours of LOST. WHAT WILL I DO WITHOUT IT. This blog might actually die when Lost dies. It'll go underwater like the Island. Get ready.

LOST - NO MORE QUESTIONS ?

Spoiler. Spoiler. Blah I get tired of saying it.

Okay so LOST just ended and it was so awesome I had to write about it immediately. Prepare for a typical scattered post as I try to gather my thoughts.

1) THE NUMBERS

So the numbers actually DO have a purpose - sort of. Somehow these specific numbers connect to each of the people remaining from 815 - EXCEPT KATE OR CLAIRE. It's possible Claire was removed because she is dead/infected/sick/pick your word. That doesn't explain no listing for Kate - unless she was crossed out. Maybe she's not a "candidate" she's just a random girl. Or maybe she was already dead. Maybe Jacob visited all of the survivors pre-crash, but we only see those few. In trying to focus on the story while observing the room, I could of swore I saw Rutherford (for Shannon or Boone) inscribed, so Jacob could had listed everyone originally. Why wasn't Kate on the list? Is this technically Jacob's list? Can they not die (putting more emphasis on Sayid - although Locke is dead.)

HOW DO THE NUMBERS CONNECT TO THE SWAN - "THE NUMBERS"

My concern is maybe that Smoke Locke isn't being totally truthful. Why would Jacob come all the way down here when he had the Cabin/Statue? Maybe it's Smokey's list. Clearly the pendulum could of been for either of them. The concept of Jacob's ladder also could apply here.

Also though, we've been dealing with Jacob for so long we assume he's the good superpower. He's also white in the light vs black literary device (so we think.)

2) SMOKEY/NEMESIS

My gut tells me that he's still trying to get into the Temple. He needs someone to get past the ash so he can get in there and kill everyone. Right now thats Sawyer - a broken man desperate for answers. That's how they can get off the island "together." Sawyer helps Smokey, Smokey either kills him or lets him go, and Smokey is free to rule the island (or worse.) He's playing the part of the liberator by talking to Richard as if he's been enslaved by Jacob without any real knowledge for of what's going on. I'm sure Jacob told Richard whatever Richard needed to know.

BUT Smokey cheated. He technically killed Jacob by pushing him into the fire. There's a chance Jacob may not of died by being stabbed from Ben. That's where that boy comes in - who JUST HAS TO BE AARON. HAS TO BE. Because Smokey cheated, Jacob can rise again, or some other power (maybe one of the candidates - also remember Lapedis is a candidate too) can become the new Jacob to put Smokey back in his place. Maybe it's Aaron - providing him more of a purpose. It's interesting that Smokey has something he's scared of - and that he doesn't just transform to take him out. Maybe a power higher than Jacob/Smokey. Maybe Aaron is a reincarnation of Jacob, which was the purpose of allowing him to be born.

TO NOTE: Alpert couldn't see the kid. Sawyer could. Alpert probably isn't a candidate.

But does the Island need a new Jacob? Was Smokey lying in saying this Island didn't need anything? Is that what we see in the "sideways" time line - a world where the island doesn't 'exist' ? It's definitely possible, but I have my doubts about Smokey.

3) INTERESTING SIDEWAYS TIME LINE NOTES

-Hurley's doing great - different

-Rose still has cancer but she's loving life
-How can Rose and Hurley be on the same plane if Hurley is her boss? Wouldn't Hurley notice?

-LOCKE IS WITH HELEN - that's a huge change, but he's still depressed as ever.

-Locke as a teacher and him saying "John Locke - Substitute" is an interesting - but definitely serves as a metaphor - for being Smokey's Substitute - and potentially could have been Jacob's as a candidate. The writers are too smart.

-Also of note for Locke is that Helen mentioned his father attending the wedding. Meaning that they probably are on better terms than they were on the original time line. Meaning that Locke was paralyzed by other means.

-BEN AS A EUROPEAN HISTORY TEACHER - interesting. If he was Egyptian history I would have died. What does this sideways time line have to do with his rivalry with Widmore - if that even exists with everything else going on)

-SIDE NOTE FOR BEN --> By Ben being off the Island, that means that the Island had been underwater PRE-Dharma. Here's why: Ben in 1977 was last seen at the Temple, being healed from Sayid shooting him. So, were the bomb to go off, it would have killed him and everyone else. Ethan from last episode is fine because he would have been evacuated on the sub. Ben was not on the sub - as far as we know of course.

-Did anyone else think that the kid that Locke grabbed was going to be Walt? Obviously they can't capture Walt in 2004 form, but that would of made the sideways time lines that much more unbelievable.

I can't figure out if the sideways time line is to prove anything outside of how their lives would have been without the island - but why did some people have different pre-island experiences? Why is Hurley not cursed? Kate may be innocent for whatever she did? There's a lot of questions still left to be answered.

I think I read where Damon & Carlton are working towards proving that the lives of everyone on the island was going to be linked regardless of the events of the island - but was it because of the island?

4) Illana

She had to pick up those ashes for a reason. There must be some connection. Maybe they can reincarnate Jacob. Maybe it's to prove it to Dogen. I can't be sure, but there's definitely a connection. We still don't know how she knows about Jacob/Island/Temple or any of that.

PS REALLY CAN'T WAIT FOR JIN AND SUN TO GET BACK TOGETHER SO THAT CAN STOP BEING A STORYLINE.

Overall though this episode was the best of the season. I'm back on board the LOST train and will have a long 7 days until next week's episode.

LOST - MORE THINGS I DON'T KNOW BUT I REALLY WANT TO

This is part 2 of a 2,000 part series on more things I need to know about Lost. After watching the Season 5 Finale again last night on ABC, it brought up new things that I am just so confused about.

I'll give a disclaimer now, if you don't like Lost and don't want to hear me question the universe, stop reading now. Go read something more interesting.

QUESTION 45) Where is DHARMA post-Purge?

This builds off my last point in my previous Lost post regarding The Swan site/The Button. In Season 3 we learn that Ben and the Others lead "The Purge" and killed/removed DHARMA from the Island. But then what happened to the Ann Arbor team? Someone HAD to have known what happened on the Island regarding the "Incident" (pending we find out what exactly the incident is - the effects of Juliet potentially detonating the bomb) so why wouldn't they have sent someone to keep pushing the button to prevent "the end of the world." Even if the University of Michigan were to drop the project, they would still owe it to continue to clean up the mess they made.

So maybe I'm taking to far/literal there including UMich. Next point.

QUESTION 92) Eloise Hawking
Things we know: Her and Charles Widmore were leaders on the Island. They gave birth to Daniel Faraday. At some point, she leaves to Island to raise Daniel, alone, without Widmore. She did not leave with him.

Things we don't know: How does she know about The Lamp Post station? How does she know that Desmond will need to push the button before he's even on the island (based off the S3 Episode "Flashes Before Your Eyes")? How does she even know about the button?

Eloise MUST be free from time in a similar way that Desmond is. She must be able to see things previously and in the future. How did this happen? Was this a result of the incident (that again may be changing pending Jughead's detonation)? She KNEW in 1990s that by sending Faraday (PS WHY IS HIS LAST NAME FARADAY AND NOT HAWKING) that she will kill him in the 1970s. BUT HOW.

Eloise also mentions the end of the world/war coming post-button. How does she know about this if she is not even on the Island? Is this about Ben and Charles or Jacob and The Man in Black (as ABC called him last night.)

Another point related to but not directly towards Eloise - How did the 1954 US Army turn from the Army to the Others. This builds somewhat off of the Richard Alpert questions earlier. How can he be the "leader" of the Army? He's clearly been on the island for a while. Somehow the Army troops turned into the "Others" slash "Hostiles." My guess was that this was another coming of "them" that Jacob and the Man in Black spoke of. Some were on Jacob's List to stay, while others did not.

SOMETHING ELSE THAT JUST POPPED IN MY HEAD - The Lamp Post was a Dharma Station. Probably made post-1954. Given that idea, how did the US Army find the island and be able to bring Jughead & set up camp there? Did they just find it (maybe at the help of Jacob)? Remember, the picture of the island from 1954 was in the Lamp Post Station, so someone must have returned.

PS - I really love and hate this show. It causes me to think about so much of it, but then random thoughts like that entire last paragraph pop up in my head and causes me to change my mind/opinion/creates an entire new opinion. And that will only last until I form something new, or I find out a little bit of what is actually going on. A gift & a curse.

QUESTION #42) Time Travel - Why, How, and WHEN ?

Lost has reset the rules of time travel that at least in my head was set by movies like Back to the Future and probably some Star Trek or other time-traveling series. The thesis used to be: You can't interfere with anything in the past, because it will affect the future - potentially your future. Marty McFly almost disappeared completely.

Our only real guide to the time complex is Faraday.

It's strange because Faraday flip-flops his opinion. First it's "Whatever Happened, Happened" then it turns to "Variables" - like the Losties in 1977 - CAN alter the past. We still don't know what's right or wrong. Based on events like Ben being shot by Sayid but still living, it would almost make sense that Whatever Happened, Happened. The Variable concept is what most people are familiar with. Is it real though? What actually happens? Obviously we intend to find out in the premiere, but it still raises a lot of questions, like:

If Juliet's detonation works, do the Losties just jump back to 2004, erasing EVERYTHING that has happened? The writers have said that doesn't happen, at least to end the series. The first episode is called LAX though. Everyone is coming back in some capacity. Something happens. I could speculate for days, so I'll just stop now. At least this is one of the answers that I know I will be getting in less than a week. Partially anyway.

Don't worry, I'm sure I'll think of something else the minute I hit Publish Post. And I'll probably post it soon.

LOST - I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON

SPOILER ALERT. IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED LOST UP TO SEASON 5 BUT PLAN ON IT, DON'T CONTINUE READING. IF YOU DON'T WATCH LOST, THIS POST IS WORTHLESS AND FULL OF GEEK SPEAK. THANK YOU.

Okay, so, now that we got that out of the way. This post is going to be long and I'm going to look like a total nerd. Deal with it.

This is it. The Final Season. We supposedly have all our questions answered. I'm SO excited for the premiere next Tuesday. It's great that the shows creators opted for the show to end on its own terms instead of dragging out until it was ultimately canceled (like The O.C. - RIP.) I'm sure ABC wants Lost to stay around. Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof said no though and apparently have had the ending set in stone since season 3 (which is really weird because it seemed like season 3 they were stalling)

This probably won't be my first Lost post before the season starts. So for this one, I'm going to post 3 (out of a possible 1000) things I need to know - and what I think - before the show is over.

Overall Question 1) What is the deal with Jacob and his nemesis?

We had no clue who Jacob really was until the last episode of the season. We didn't even know he had a "nemesis." Hell, we didn't even know if he was real or if Ben made him up. But he is indeed real, and wow, he lives in that damned statue that's been in our heads since season 2.

So clearly Jacob and his nemesis are clearly a good vs. evil metaphor. One wears white one wears black. Jacob seems nice and concerned and the nemesis only wants to kill Jacob but needs a loophole.

I believe - and so do many others - that the nemesis is the smoke monster, and he can assume the body of the people who die before they are on the island. My basis is clearly he's in Locke. Then when Ben went to the Temple, the smoke monster (via Alex) told him to trust Locke no matter what - setting up Locke ordering Ben to kill Jacob. Smokey was definitely involved in Mr. Eko's brother Yemi, because after Eko talks to "Yemi" the smoke monster kills Eko. I'm not sure what I think regarding Christian. Maybe it's Jacob. Maybe it's his nemesis. Maybe they rotate.

RANDOM QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS SITUATION - If Smokey is "inside" Locke in 2007 when he's at the smoke monster, who is in Christian in 2007 when talking to Sun? Is there a third variable? And what exactly are Jacob and his Nemesis? Are they gods? Egyptian Gods? Anubis? What role do Illana and Bram play - are they like worshipers of Jacob? How do they know about the Island? What happened to the statue?

Overall Question 2) The Black Rock & Richard Alpert

Okay, so maybe this is more of a two-part question (with 20 follow up questions)

How did the Black Rock ever get that far in the middle of the island? The only logical (and normal) possibility is that a storm lifted it (maybe the same storm that broke the statue/the black rock broke the statue because of the storm/dynamite????) However it's entirely possible that Jacob and/or his nemesis did something to bring it here. Maybe the nemesis brought it, used the dynamite to blow up the statue, but Jacob was still alive. It seems likely that the ship at the beginning of the last episode of season 5 was the Black Rock.

According to Lostpedia, The Black Rock was captained by Magnus Hanso, grandfather of Alvar Hanso, the main supporter of DHARMA. Is there any connection between Alvar knowing the island? Supposedly Magnus' burial site is at the Black Rock, so it can't be known if Alvar ever knew.


Now Ricard Alpert. Or Ricardus. I'm not sure. It's obvious that him and Jacob have some kind of a connection. Obviously I don't know what it is. It seems too easy to think that Richard was on the Black Rock. Given that the Black Rock was sometime in the 1800s and Richard is known by Illana and Bram as Ricardus (which is Latin) it makes sense to think he's from an even earlier time. What exactly is his role though? Is he just like Jacob's minion? Is Jacob like Yoda and Richard is a young Luke Skywalker? Well, that's a stretch, but I liked it. Does anyone else love the Star Wars references in Lost besides me? Some Like It Hoth. (I'm laughing on my end, which means you probably aren't)

Overall Question 3) The war between Ben and Charles Widmore - what is actually going on?


We've been told to trust neither of them. What are their actual intentions? I still really want to know if Widmore told Keamy to torch the island after they got Ben. It doesn't seem to make sense. Doesn't Widmore want to go back? Is he truly banned from coming back? How did he technically get removed as leader anyway? Who am I supposed to trust?

For some reason, I feel like Ben is the better of the two - with the best intentions of the island. That's also based on the fact that we don't see much of Widmore. He seems like he is more involved in getting as much information as possible in trying to bring down Ben. Ben just wants to be on the island in peace.

Something else I thought of after watching season 2 - what would the others do without Desmond? Did they know the significance of the button? If Desmond died, would they have stepped in and keep pressing it? Damon Lindelof says that the others 'probably didn't know,' so had Desmond died or quit or went insane, the island (and the world) would be destroyed. Supposedly. I'm thinking that if this were true then Widmore/Hawking would need to make more of an effort towards getting someone else on the island to keep the button pressed.


So that's what I'm thinking right now about Lost (another good day at work, right?) It's something that my brain obsesses over and I can't wait to see how it plays out.