Season 6, Episode 17: SERIES FINALE: "The End"

Wow.

Let me just say that again. WOW.

I loved it. I know a lot of people have their own interpretations and some will probably be disappointed. I, however, absolutely loved it. I thought it was the perfect ending. I was thoroughly satisfied throughout the entire 2.5 hours. I was very happy with the ending.

It will take me some time to come up with an organized recap, especially because I want to rewatch the series finale as well as rewatch the 2-hour pilot episode from Season 1 (so I can watch it now with the knowledge of how it all ends and see if I pick up on anything). I've had a lot of thoughts about the Series Finale so far, so in no particular order, here is what I think:

Let me start by offering what I believe to be the final "interpretation" of what actually happened in the finale. It seems that a lot of people are confused about it. Everything that happened on the island, did happen. Yes they crashed on the island (and they lived), they encountered the Others, six of them went back, then came back again, encountered the smoke monster and Jacob and then Jack taking over as the protecter. All of this did actually happen. The "alternate timeline" or "sideways reality" - did NOT happen. Basically, when they set of the hydrogen bomb on the island, they were hoping to "erase" the events of the past by causing their plane to never crash on the island, therefore changing their futures if they had never crashed on the island. The whole series of "sideways" flashes that we saw, where none of them knew each other but eventually did cross paths, was not "real." None of this actually happened in real life. What we learned is that, for each of them, at the time of their death...whether that was on the island or 50 years later.... each of them goes through this sort of stage of "purgatory" which is their eventual passage into heaven (into "the light.") This alternate reality IS their "happily ever after" - it is their mind's version of what they always wanted - reuniting them with loved ones, giving them the happily ever after that they never had in their real life. The ironic thing is that for each of them, their "happily ever after" consists of the people they were with on the island. All of them, as we learned from Jacob, were searching for something before the crash, and it was THE ISLAND that saved them. Each of them found what they were looking for on the island, in the relationships they developed there.

I think that the entire "alternate world" that we have seen through this course of flashbacks, really is just one split second in their mind, as they near their moment of death. If you recall when Desmond was on the island being tested with the electromagnetic machine by Widmore's people and he experienced those "flashes" of his life with Penny - he later asks Widmore how long he was out, and finds out it's only been a few seconds. Meanwhile he has "experienced" an entire lifetime in his mind. This "alternate" reality is his own mind's version of his happily after ever. Because it was a near-death experience for him, I believe that was why Desmond experienced it at that time. But for all the rest of them, their "alternate realities" are brought upon at their own moments of death. In the Series Finale, this was Jack's alternate reality because it was HIS moment of death. When he dies on the island, just as his eye is closing, he is experiencing this alternate universe that is his passage to heaven (his "purgatory" so to speak) - it is the place where he experiences love, where he is reunited with Kate, where he is able to "fix" John Locke, where he has a son... all of the things in his real life that he could not do...in this alternate world of his as he lay dying, he is able to experience the joys of true happiness before going on to Heaven. We learn at the end, when they all assemble at the church, this is Jack's "moment" - his actual passageway on his way into Heaven - and all the people he loves and cares about - the people who were a part of the most important time in his life, they are all there. I think the question that a lot of people were confused about was did they all die? Christian Shephard answered that question in that everyone dies, at some time. Some of them died years before, some of them lived years after the island into old age. Everyone dies. But in this place - at the church - there is no "now." There really is no concept of WHEN they are, just that they are all together again during the passage into Heaven. They were all there for Jack, because it was HIS time. And at the different times when each of the rest of them died, they will all be there again.

Another example is when Juliette says "It worked." This was just after they set off the bomb to try and "erase" their pasts and their entire existance on the island. They thought if the bomb went off , their plane would never crash on the island and they all would go about their normal lives in L.A. after the plane lands. However, the thing is that it did NOT work. They didn't erase their pasts. What Juliette meant when she said that it worked, is because in HER mind, it did work. She was dying, and she experienced the alternate reality as she was entering this new world "into the light" - a world where she met Sawyer again and realized they could be together. So the scene we saw of them meeting again at the vending machine, they touch and all of a sudden it comes back. The feelings of love, the memories of each other - this is HER alternate reality. It is different for everybody. And it comes at different times for everybody. But this was Juliette's meaning that "IT WORKED." Because for her, it did.

The key thing in the final scene at the church - was that it was a TIMELESS existence. It was kind of an intermediary between death and that "moving on" that Christian talked about. Kate asks Jack if he is ready to leave? This is the place where they go to "move on" to the next world, they move on into the light. (The light of the island - the place where they can all be with their loved ones). But the key point here is that they all died at different times, in different places, but this "timeless" alternate reality allows them all to be together again as they ascend into heaven.

Also, I think the reason that Ben did not go inside the church, was because he was not ready for redemption. We saw that in his own alternate reality, he recognizes how evil he was in his life. He apologizes to Locke for everything he did to him, and even though Locke forgives him, I think that Ben does not forgive himself. For everyone else, in their alternate realities, they have to be ready to "move on" into the light at this moment of their death. But for Ben, he was not ready. Which is why I believe he did not go into the church. Even though in his alternate reality, he IS a good man. This was the life that he wishes he could have had for himself, his "happily ever after." But he has to be able to redeem himself in order to move on towards heaven. After death, every one of the other survivors is able to move on because they have made peace with the sins of their past and have redeemed themselves in their "alternate realities" where they are able to find the things they've always been searching for (which really comes down to one thing for everyone: LOVE). But for Ben, he has not made peace with himself yet. So I think until he can do that, he just sits outside of the church but is not yet "ready" to go in.

Another big theme that I want to talk about is the whole idea of Jack and Locke being the Man of Science Vs. the Man of Faith. This was a theme that we have been seeing since the very beginning of the series. Where Jack was scientific, the doctor, who always needed concrete and scientific proof for things, but Locke was the man of Faith, believing that they all had a purpose on the island. For the longest time, Jack did not believe him. It wasn't until the "real" Locke's death that Jack finally started to believe. But at the very end, when Jack and Locke were dueling it out and trying to figure out which one of them was right, ultimately it is Jack who prevails. He kills fake-Locke. Therefore the original "Man of Science" wins. However, it is ironic that at this point, the Man of Science has BECOME the Man of Faith. He believes in Faith now. He believes in his purpose, his destiny on the island. And what is most ironic, is that he tells the Man in Black that it was John Locke who taught him that. He tells him that he may look like him, but he could never be like the real John Locke. He was a great man, and he should have listened to him from the beginning. Jack finally realizes that Locke was right all along, that he should have believed in FAITH. I think this is also really ironic in the whole concept of the show in general. All along, the entire series of LOST has been very scientific in nature: electromagnetism, science experiments, time travel, physicists, etc. - but when the show ended, they didn't need to give us a concrete scientific reason to explain everything, it all came down to FAITH. In the end, this is a show about faith, NOT science. It is about these characters and their soul-searching, the search for redemption, forgiveness. In the end, for each of them, it was their faith that brought them home "to the light."

Another ironic twist is that in the end it was Jack who needed to "let go." We have seen over the past couple of episodes that Desmond said he ran over Locke not trying to hurt him, but to help him let go. Jack also tells Locke the same thing. But in Jack's alternate reality, HE really is the one who needs to let go. Once he arrives at the church and sees his father, he finally realizes he is dead. He breaks down crying once he realizes this, but his father helps him to learn to let go. He tells him this is a place where they can move on. Once he is with the people he cares about, he finally is able to let go. I think this alternate reality that we see of him "letting go" at the church, is the exact moment on the island when he is dying. This is the moment where he realizes that he saved the island. He fulfilled his purpose. The light in the cave comes on again and he knows he did what he was meant to do. Dr. Jack Shephard - the surgeon who always wanted to "fix" everything - finally made the ultimate fix. He FIXED the island. It was about to be destroyed, but if it weren't for him going back into the cave to make sure the light went on again, the island would have sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Jack finally did the one thing that gave him purpose in life, something that before he came to the island, he was searching for that meaning in his life. He was LOST. Now, this gave him purpose and meaning. Once this happened, he was finally able to "let go." Just as he lay dying in the bamboo forest (in the exact spot where he started out on the island), looking up at the sky he sees the plane fly overhead that Lapidus is flying with Kate, Sawyer, Claire, etc. as they are finally leaving the island and on their way home. He felt that sense of accomplishment that because of what HE did, they were able to go home. Even more ironic because in his real life, he knew he could not be with Kate. He had to sacrifice himself by dying on the island, even though he loved her, he knew they could not be together. But his alternate reality - the experiences he had on his way into Heaven - allowed him to be with her again. This was all realized as he had those "flashes" of his alternate universe and he realized it was time to move on into the next world ("See you in another life, brother!") This gave Jack the clarity and meaning that he needed in order to "let go." He knew at that point he could finally move on, he could leave this world and enter the LIGHT. He was ready to die, and at that very moment, his eye closes.

BRILLIANT.


So...there we have it. I feel pretty good about the ending. I think it gave a sense of closure and I really enjoyed it. Now, I plan to go back and watch the Pilot episode (which I tivo'd on Saturday night but haven't rewatched again) and then will watch the Finale again. So hopefully I will gain some insight into some of the many clues along the way about how it will all end.

Now that this is the final episode, I think I deserve some blog love from all of you "anonymous" people out there who read my blog but never post comments. I know for a fact there are several hundred people who read my blog religiously! So let me know what you thought of the finale. What questions, if any, do you have? Were you happy with the ending or disappointed? I want to know what you think - so do me a favor and give my blogging a sense of "purpose" (like Jack's purpose on the island - LOL). You don't need to post your name. But, if you want me to answer you, you need to atleast sign your comment with your first name only so I can address you if I am going to comment back. Thanks for sticking with me for the past five years that I have written this blog!!! I can't believe I've been writing recaps for that long!!! How funny to go back and read some of my earlier theories on what the island was, who the Others were, and how I thought it was all going to end! Oh well, I have to gloat a little on my series finale predictions that I posted before the Finale in that most of them were right! Namely, the idea that the "light" of the island is a place where all of them go after they die to be with their loved ones again. Right on the money with that one!!!

ALMOST TIME!!

We are T-minus 3 hours until the big Series Finale tonight. I am about to explode I just can't wait!!!

Random observation - but did anyone notice that today's date is the 23rd? And 23 is one of the numbers? Fate, or just coincidence??? ha ha

I had said I was going to write another blog post going over some of my favorite moments, theories, etc., however I have just returned from being out of town for the weekend so I apologize I did not get that done earlier than just before the finale.

Anyway, Here are my TOP TEN moments in Lost history. Just some of my favorite moments over the years that are memorable to me. Although some of them seem so long ago and before we really knew much of what was to come for our island castaways, here are some of the bigger moments.

10. Walt gets "taken" by the Others. When Michael, Walt, Sawyer and Jin try to escape the island on a raft looking to be rescued, they are elated at the sight of another boat coming their way. This is the first time we ever actually see any of the "others" - who basically take Walt and then blow up their boat to leave them in the middle of the ocean. This was the first of our season finale "cliffhangers."

9. "What's in the hatch?" Almost the entire first season was devoted to finding out what was in the hatch. This was before we knew anything about the Dharma Initiative, the Others, Widmore, Jacob and Richard... during the 1st season this was the island's big "mystery." I still remember though once they finally made it inside, and seeing the ping pong table, all the food, the computer with the beeping countdown clock. It was such a shocker to see all of this existed underground on the island.

8. Sayid shoots a young Ben. This was after we learned that the survivors had actually gone back in time after the island was "moved" by Ben. They are living amongst the Dharma Initiative. When Sayid is captured, we have a very ironic encounter of a young Ben coming to help free Sayid, who later on goes against him and shoots him. The biggest question after this episode was can these events "change" the future. Turns out they didn't. Sayid shooting Ben as a boy really made no difference in how things happened in the "future" - as Ben did not even have any memory of that happening (because he was taken to the Temple.)

7. The Desmond-Penny reunion. This was one of my favorite "heartfelt" moments of Lost. After years of being apart, and neither one of them gave up looking for one another, Penny and Desmond are finally reunited. I loved it!

6. John Locke's dad is "the real Sawyer." This was awesome! For the longest time we were trying to figure out who was the real Sawyer - the man that was responsible for the deaths of James Ford's parents, and who he sought revenge on his whole adult life. I loved the connections there to Locke and once he was brought to the island how Sawyer was able to learn who he really was, and finally kill him.

5. Ben is the "leader" of the Others. For almost the entire second season, we knew Benjamin Linus only as "Henry Gale" - a man who said he landed on the island in a hot air balloon. We questioned whether he was telling the truth or not, and although I always believed he was part of the Others, it was a big revelation when we learned that he was in fact their leader and calling the shots.

4. Locke is really the smoke monster. This was where we realized that it was the smoke monster who had "stolen" his body. For awhile we had believed that Locke had actually been brought back to life on the island, and this was the moment we realized that Locke had been "conned" again - by the smoke monster who set him up to leave the island, so he could die and take his body.

3. We learned that The Others are a civilized society on the island. For the longest time, we had only seen them in a "primitive" state and I can remember how shocked I was to see they lived in houses, had jobs, and held book club meetings. I remember at the time how "shocking" that was!

2. The episode "The Constant" where we learned about time travel on the island, the experiments that Daniel Faraday was conducting for years (conveniently "funded" by Charles Widmore), and the island's mysterious time loop.

And my number one absolute greatest moment in Lost history, is......

1. "We have to go back, Kate!" - I truly think this was the greatest moment ever!! When we first realized that Jack and Kate were OFF the island, and that what we had been seeing about Jack's spiral downward (alcoholic, suicidal, etc.) was not actually a flashback, but a flash-forward! I thought that was genius. I can remember that moment realizing that they had actually gotten off the island....absolutely my favorite moment in Lost history.


So now that we are just a few hours away from the finale, I want to post some of my "predictions" - just in case I am right, I can have it documented here on the internet for all to see. LOL :)

- I've been saying this for quite some time now, but in case you are reading this for the first time...my ultimate "theory" as to how the show will end up is that it will be Jack and Locke sitting on the beach, much like the way we saw Jacob and the Man in Black sitting on the beach. Their conversation was about how the same things keep happening over and over, just with different people, but that "it always ends the same." I think this is foreshadowing to show that we will still be left with Good vs. Evil - it is something that always exists - except now instead of Jacob and Man in Black fighting it out - now we have Jack and Locke (the "new" Jacob and the "new" MIB).

- I also think (and hope) that we will finally find out who Jack's ex-wife is, and the mother of his son. I said this awhile ago, but I will say again I think the mother could be Juliette. It is perfectly logical that they could have met in medical school (they are both doctors), had a child, and then soon after divorced. Plus the fact that Juliette is the only one who we have not seen yet in the alternate reality. I think that she will be at the concert, and I think that Miles is somehow going to convince Sawyer to come with him to the concert, setting up the stage for Sawyer and Juliette to "meet" again. They will both regain their memories of their previous life on the island, bringing back those feelings of love and that they were meant to be together. Just the way we have seen with Desmond and Penny, Hurley and Libby. I really hope that Sawyer and Juliette end up together!

- My final theory is in regards to the "light" of the island that Jacob, and now Jack, has to protect. I think that this "light" is actually the place on the island where people go after they die. It is their "happily ever after." It is where they are reunited with their loved ones after death. All along, the Man in Black has been promising people that if they stick with him, then he will reunite them with their loved ones (Sayid with Nadia, Richard with his wife, etc.) - but I don't think he really had the ability to do that. I think that this "light" of the island is basically a metaphor for heaven. If you think about it, when people are dying, there is always a reference to going toward "the light." I think this place is the heart of the island, and that Jack now has to protect this "heaven" from being corrupted by evil. I think that when Jacob threw his twin brother in there, he became the smoke monster because he wasn't supposed to go there yet - he wasn't meant to die (remember his mother said she made sure that could never happen). Jacob messed with Fate. His brother wasn't supposed to go into the cave, and because he messed with FATE (his "mistake"), evil was born. Now he has to protect the light of the island from evil ever getting inside, because it is the one happy place where people can be with the ones they love for eternity.

- I also have to write my husband's theory on here (which I will admit is a good one). He thinks that Ben is going to kill the smoke monster, because then he would have killed all the important people on the island...Jacob, Widmore, Locke, and now the Smoke Monster. I think that's a pretty good assumption. I will add my two cents to this theory though. I have stated before, that I am secretly hoping for Ben to show us that he is "good." This whole time we have seen such an evil, conniving and ruthless man. I remember when he pushed the button to blow up the freighter, and his response was "So what?" He has no heart. However, I am still holding out that behind that evil, there is some "good" that exists, that everything he has been doing was for the good of the island and ultimately for humanity. I think that if Ben does kill the Smoke Monster, it will be his one saving grace - his chance to "save" everyone once and for all.


I will end this post with a few questions that I would like to see answered on the finale. I know that not all questions will be answered, but here are some of the bigger questions that I want to know:

- Why can certain people suddenly communicate with the dead? Hurley can see and talk to dead people, Miles can communicate with the dead, Sawyer was able to see the image of the young Jacob running through the jungle. How is this possible, and how is it that only some people can see them?

- Are the events of the island truly FATE or just coincidence? I have always believed that this show is all about Fate. Everything that happens was MEANT to happen. The survivors were all meant to be on the island, everything that has happened, both past and future, was all part of a larger plan. However, in last week's episode, Jacob said something that made me question that. When talking to the remaining candidates, he made it known that "there is always a choice." He has talked about choice a lot, particularly when we saw him visit each of them prior to their arrival on the island, making it seem like the decisions they made which really shaped their lives, were all a CHOICE to them. However, if it was truly fate, how could there really be a real choice?

- I really want to know the Man in Black's name. I don't think we are going to find out. For some reason, I think this is one of those things that the writers are just leaving a mystery. Names have always been such an important part of the show (Jack SHEPHARD - a leader; John Locke (philosopher), of course Jacob in biblical times had a twin brother named Esau. I don't think on the show he is named Esau, but still I would love to know his name. Who he was in real life before he became the smoke monster.

- After the survivors blew up the bomb (in the 1970s) and Juliet died, why did she tell Sawyer "It worked." Now since we have seen the alternate reality as if they had never crashed, does that mean that it really did work, they were sent back to a life where they never really crashed? I am thinking that now in that alternate reality when Desmond is starting to gather them all, he will be bringing him back to the island, just to prove the theory that no matter what happens, they are meant to go to the island. Remember, Faraday was on the island before (as a boy, with young Charlotte) and came back to try to prevent her death. I think that in this alternate timeline, although they don't remember ever having been there (because it has been erased from their memories), that they still will go back to the island (via Desmond) and "relive" all the same moments again. This would just show that you can't change the past (or the future). What is meant to happen will happen.


Okay...that's it for now! I am getting ready to start the two hour recap right now which will hopefully give us some insights into the happenings over the past six seasons and how everything relates. Can't wait for the 2 and 1/2 hour finale!!! It's going to be a long night. Don't forget, for those who don't know, that at midnight there is a live reunion on Jimmy Kimmel of all the Lost actors and producers, talking about the season finale and hopefully giving us some answers and their own input!!!

Season 6, Episode 16: "What They Died For"

I can't believe only ONE more episode of Lost left. I can't wait for the finale, but yet I don't want it to come because that just means Lost is over. (big sigh)

Anyway....they are starting to wrap things up and this episode is leading us into the finale and starting to wrap things up. While I don't think there were any HUGE revelations, alot is happening to set us up for the end. Here are a few things I want to mention from this episode, "What They Died For."

The episode started with Jack's eye opening. Once again we have seen numerous episodes opening up this way. In fact the very first episode of Lost was Jack's eye opening as he lay in the bamboo field after crashing on the island. Ironically we learn in this episode that the bamboo field where Jack woke up is very close to the "heart" of the island where the light is.

The alternate reality timeline was really good, I thought. We see more and more how Desmond is interfering in everyone's lives. First he makes the "fake" phone call to Jack saying they found his father's coffin. (I am still not sure what the significance of that would be.) Secondly, he goes to Locke's school and is seen by Ben. Does anyone else think it's weird that both times he went to Locke's school, Ben seems to be the only one who really notices him? They get in a fight, in which Desmond beats him up, and tells Ben he is not there to hurt Locke, but to help him "let go." I loved how they showed Ben having flashbacks of when Desmond beat him up at the marina. This is the first time Ben has crossed over into his previous life. Afterwards, Desmond goes to the police station to see Sawyer where he turns himself in. We then realize it is all part of his plan, as he gets thrown into the jail cell with Sayid and Kate. Desmond has everything planned out. Once the three of them are in the back of the police vehicle being transported, Desmond asks if they are ready to get out of there? Something tells me it isn't just the "car" he is talking about. He makes them promise they will do what he asks if he sets them free. I thought it was ironic that he talked about "setting them free" - just like we have seen with Fake Locke on the island. After they agree,they arrive at some sort of a big ship yard (with a nice little appearance by Ana Lucia!) Is this where the submarine is? I think it's very clear that Desmond is bringing them back to the island. Just goes to show that no matter what timeline, what happens in the past (or the future), they are MEANT to be on the island. And Desmond is going to make sure to get them all together again to be there.

I also LOVED the storyline where Locke is finally "getting it" that this is not just a coincidence, this is FATE. He goes back to see Jack and tells him he wants the surgery. When Ben told him about Desmond saying he wanted to help him "let go," Locke realized that was the same thing Jack said to him before. He is starting to put all the pieces together, and realizes these things all happened for a reason. Surprisingly, Jack says he thinks he is confusing coincidence for fate. However Locke tells him that he believes he is supposed to fix him. This mirrors the two of them in their past life on the island - with Locke believing that it is fate and Jack believing in just coincidence. It wasn't until Locke died that Jack finally started to believe in fate.


Now....moving on to island time.

Ben is very surprised to see Widmore back on the island. Even though he says he is there to help him, Ben does not believe him and refuses to run away with him. Ben says he will wait for Fake-Locke to show up, knowing the inevitable will happen. Sure enough, the "smoke monster" shows up and just like that he kills Richard. Wow! That was a big surprise. It was just like - BAM! Richard is gone. Wow. Then Locke comes walking up to Ben, and offers him a "deal" about promising him something in order to get him to do something for him. Locke wants Ben to kill the rest of the candidates for him (since he can't do it), in exchange he will leave the island for Ben to have it all to himself. Ben agrees (or so he makes Locke think, he still could be lying though). I think this is going to be the big turning point for Ben. We will finally know the truth if he is "one of the good ones" or not. Deep down he has always shown his evil side, though I have always been holding out hope for him that he has done everything for the good of the island. Now we will see the truth. Will he kill the candidates or not? Although he does kill Widmore - but that has been a long time coming. He still could not let him go for killing Alex, and as he said, "he does not get to save his daughter." I think that was for his own benefit (wanting to kill Widmore) but also to get Locke to trust him that he will kill the others. I'm not too sure though. I'm still thinking Ben could be "playing" him in order to protect the island.

We find out also why Widmore came back to the island. He apparently brought Desmond as a "fail-safe." His resistance to electromagnetism made him a last resort to Jacob, so that if Fake-Locke was able to kill all of the candidates, he could never leave. Now Locke has decided that he will find Desmond and somehow get him to destroy the island. What does this mean if the island is destroyed? Will that mean that the survivors will go about in the "alternate timeline" as if they never arrived there, or will it destroy their existance entirely?

Meanwhile, Jacob shows up again and instructs Hurley, Jack, Kate and Sawyer about what they have to do to protect the island. He tells them all why they are all there. He says that because of his "mistake," he is responsible for the monster. HE made him that way. And now someone needs to replace him to make sure the light of the island never goes out, since he can no longer do it. He chose each of them personally because they were like him. They were flawed. They were all alone and were looking for something they could not find. They needed the island as much as the island needed them. We have seen over and over in the past how each of the survivors was ultimately "saved' once they got to the island. All of them, like Jacob said, had nothing, and since arriving to the island, each of them has been given a second chance, a clean slate, a "rebirth." Jin and Sun rekindled their marriage, Kate became "free," Rose was cured of cancer, Charlie kicked his drug habit, Locke could walk again, Michael gained a relationship with his son Walt, Claire gave birth to and kept her baby boy. All of these things are instances in which the survivors gained something by being on the island, something they would not have had if they had not been brought there. So Jacob is right, they were all searching for something, and he gave it to them all once they were on the island. However, now that it's down to just a few candidates left, Jacob says he is not going to choose. It is for whoever wants it. He is giving them what he never had - a CHOICE. Jack immediately stands up and says this is his purpose and what he is meant to do, no question. Ever since Jack left the island the first time, he has felt a long, a sense of yearning for his true meaning in life. Apparently, he believes that this is undoubtedly his purpose and he volunteers.

Jacob brings Jack to a spring where he gives him water and asks him to drink from a cup. This of course is very biblical, representing the Cup of Life, Holy Communion, rebirth, etc.). Jacob instructs Jack to go back to the place where he first woke up on the island (the bamboo field he woke up in), and just beyond that field is where he needs to go. Interesting that the place where Jack started on the island, is right around the corner from the place where he now must go.

I have said before that I thought Jack was going to be the replacement for Jacob. Merely because that would pit him up against Fake-Locke. All throughout the series, we have seen Jack vs. Locke. From one of the earliest episodes titled "Man of Science vs. Man of Faith," it was always Locke and Jack against each other. It was Locke who felt he was meant to be on the island and Jack who wanted to leave, only for Locke to later leave him the note saying "I wish you had believed me." Now, ironically, it is Jack who feels it is HIS destiny to be on the island again - and this is his purpose. To protect the island from Fake-Locke. So once again, we have Jack vs. Locke, only this time it is Jack as "the new Jacob" and it is Locke who is "the new smoke monster." Both have replaced the previous people who served those roles. I have said before, and I will say it again, that I think the whole series will end with Jack and Locke sitting on the beach staring out at the ocean the same way we saw Jacob and MIB sitting on the beach - just showing us once again the "circle of life" on the island - this infinite "loop" that Jacob first spoke of to the Man in Black. It is the same story over and over, people come, they fight, they destroy, but the ending is always the same.

So that's it! Just a few more days to the finale!!!! I can't wait! I am also going to write another blog post between now and then, just going over some of my theories, favorite episodes, things to remember from the past, etc., so make sure to check back before Sunday.

Season 6, Episode 15: "Across the Sea"

OH MY LORD!!! What an amazing episode. I have to preface this by saying (and I don't mean this in a nah-nah-nah tone), but I WAS RIGHT! I have been saying all along that I thought Jacob and the Man in Black were twins. I must have referenced this atleast a dozen times over the past couple years - and I WAS RIGHT (sorry, I just had to say it one more time!) Also, over the past couple of weeks, when we have seen the "visions" of the two of them as young boys running through the woods (Remember, Locke saw the image of "himself" and also of Jacob as a boy, running through the woods) - I totally called that was them as boys.

Okay - back to the recap. Let me just say that I just got back from Jamaica a few hours ago (which was great, by the way!). I'm very tired and I want to go to bed. Since I couldn't watch LOST (I had a photo shoot on Tuesday night, yes, I know, how could I have booked a photo shoot on a Tuesday night in the final weeks of Lost. But hey, it was a free trip to Jamaica. Don't judge). Anyway, I didn't get to watch the show. So after getting home at about 8:30pm tonight, I sat down with my Tivo and watched the show, kicking myself that I had to wait two whole days to see one of the best episodes ever!! I have all these thoughts swarming around in my head, so I wanted to try and write the blog post tonight, but I am really tired - so forgive me if my thoughts are all over the place. This is probably going to be completely unorganized, but there is a lot to say, so just bear with me!!

Okay so we learn that Jacob and the Man in Black are twins. (Since they never revealed his name - and probably will not at this point - I will just be referring to him as MIB from this point forward). The woman protector of the island killed their real mother, claiming she was trying to protect them, because she wanted to keep them "good." Interesting that we have another storyline here of someone who took a child and raised them as her own (Ben took Alex and raised her as his own - he claimed he was "saving" her as she would have been killed. Also Kate took Aaron and raised her as her own - once again, she was trying to protect him). But a lot of baby-taking going on here, especially with the insistency of the psychic that Claire raise her baby on her own - she must not let anyone else raise him.

She shows them a cave which emits a warm, golden light. She tells them it is the heart of the island...when asked what is in there, she says "it is life, it is death, it is rebirth." She tells them that this "light" is something that there is a little bit within every man. If that light goes out, it goes out in everybody. Later on when Jacob asks if he will die if he goes inside, she tells him no, it would be worse than death. We later see that when MIB goes inside, he is transformed into the smoke monster.

Their fake-mother tried to keep them pure. She was convinced that by keeping them away from the other people, they would remain good and pure. This goes back to early biblical times - look at the story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. By biting the apple (temptation and curiosity), evil was born. This is the same as MIB wanting to find out what else was out there. Man is naturally going to have curiosity, ask questions, want to find out more.

One of the most interesting things to me about the originals of Jacob and MIB, is that MIB really was not "evil" from the beginning (which I always suspected he was). Really it was just curiosity about what else was out there, wanting to know what was on the other side, wanting to leave this place and see what else was out there, asking questions about where things came from and what they meant. Isn't this just the natural curiosity of man? Turns out, MIB really was not "evil" to begin with, he just had that same curiosity inside him as the rest of mankind. He asked questions, he wanted to know what else was out there, where he came from, how he could leave the island? Jacob listened to everything his mother told him, he was "good" and "pure" - exactly as she wanted him. It wasn't until their (real) dead mother appeared to MIB (but not Jacob) that he learned the truth and decided to leave. Fast forward 30 years, and he has finally discovered a way off the island. I found it interesting that Jacob and MIB still had a somewhat "cordial" relationship all that time, with Jacob going to visit him. They were still brothers, still twins - connected at the core. Like I said, MIB really was not "evil" he just had a fire inside him that sparked curiosity. This reminds me of the "Man of Science vs. Man of Faith" that we saw from the beginning with Jack vs. Locke. The Man of Science asks questions about who we are and where we came from - whereas the Man of Faith just believes in his own faith, not questioning his faith. Jacob, as a boy, doesn't ask questions, he just believes what his mother tells him. However, we see with the young MIB, he wanted to know where he came from, and isn't that the burning question throughout all of mankind? A question that is still being asked thousands of years later? When MIB finally found a way to leave, his own mother tried to kill him, and she killed everyone who was a part of his group, and covered up the well which he had spent the past 30 years working on in order to leave. He was so upset that his own mother would do this to him, after all the time he had spent trying to get off the island, and now she just ruined it for him. The way the well was covered up kind of reminded me of the analogy of the "cork" in the wine bottle. The dirt placed over the well was that "cork" - not allowing him to leave. This, naturally, caused "evil" to stir inside him, which made him kill her. (Although, even after he killed her, he felt guilt and remorse, hugging her and crying.) But, it was like SHE created him. She created this "monster." If she had not done those things to prevent him from leaving, he would not have turned "evil." Fake-Locke all along has been saying to the other survivors, that all he wants is the same thing as them, to leave the island because he is a prisoner there. And that is the truth (I almost feel bad for him!)

Note also that just before she died, she said "Thank You." I'm not sure what that meant, I was thinking maybe that when people die, they go into "the light" that was present in the cave, and she knew that she was going to that place, thus thanking him? I don't know.

Before she died, though, we learned that Jacob's mother was passing on her role as protector of the light of the island to Jacob. Which signifies to me that it was passed on to her as well. Just like she tells Jacob earlier (and he also told MIB when they were sitting on the beach the first time we ever saw them on a Lost episode) - "they come, they fight, they destroy, they leave....and then it all happens again.") We keep hearing this quote over and over again. This is what I have been saying all along - everything is a big loop. It's the same story over and over again. It is always the story of good and evil being played out (like a GAME) - it started in the early days of adam and eve, it continued into the days of jacob and MIB, and now here it is being played out again with Locke and Jacke, Ben and Widmore, and the rest of the survivors of oceanic 815. It is a game that will continue for all of mankind. This just goes to show that there will always be good vs. evil as long as mankind is around. And that, really, it is just a game to be played.

If you remember waaaaay back into Season 1, I believe one of the first or second episodes, we saw Locke and Walt playing this same "game" that is similar to chess while sitting on the beach. The same game that Jacob and his brother played. They had just crashed on the island and Locke had taken a special interest in Walt, teaching him this "game." When Walt asks him about the game, Locke tells him that "this is a game that as old as Jesus Christ himself." Interesting, huh? Meaning this "game" playing out between good vs. evil has always been around, and always will be. The significance of the black stones and the white stones just further signifies the good vs. evil.

Interesting also that we finally find out the origin of the Adam and Eve skeletons from the caves. This has been a big question for a long time - who were they? That was the first time we ever saw the black and white stones appear in a Lost episode, and since then, many people (including myself) have wondered about it's significance. Finally we have an answer. That was where Jacob buried his mother and brother after they both were killed. If you remember, back when Jack and Kate moved everyone from the beach into the caves (to try and escape from the Others), they discovered the two bodies in the caves, and as they showed in a brief flashback in tonight's episode, Locke called them their very own "Adam and Eve." In a way, they were. One trying to stay true to being "good" and "pure," the other giving in to temptation and curiosity and causing evil to spread into the world. Just like Adam and Eve.

Now it is up to Jacob to protect "the light" of the island. One of the most interesting things from this episode I thought was the fact that when his mother was asking him to take on the role as protector, and he said he didn't want to do it, she tells him "You don't have a choice!" - If you recall, every time that Jacob went to visit one of our survivors, he tells them "You always have a choice" making them believe that they can make their own choices rather than forcing them into something they didn't want to do. Jacob felt forced by his mother to take on this role when it was something he did not want, something he did not feel was HIS role as he made it clear that his mother always loved his brother more, wanting MIB to be the protector but ultimately it had to be Jacob because he had left. He did not have a choice, so he always make it a point to let others know that "There is ALWAYS a choice." Remember he even told that to Ben just before he killed him. Ironically, in the end, it was Jacob's CHOICE to send his brother floating down into the cave of light - knowing that it would be a fate "worse than death" and therefore unleashing the smoke monster. The big question here is - did Jacob's brother BECOME the smoke monster....or did the smoke monster already exist and he just "took" the dead body of Jacob's brother? This is another one of those timeless questions... like which came first, the chicken or the egg? But it is a question that is legit - I am not sure if by sending MIB's body down into the cave, that was actually how the smoke monster was initially created? Or, if it already existed, and just took over MIB's body, just like it continued to do so with christian shepherd and now Locke's bodies. Regardless of how it came about, the point here is that it was Jacob's CHOICE to send his brother's body there - which in itself was kind of an evil act. Jacob is not so pure and innocent after all, now is he? He knew something bad would happen, and he did it anyway. This just goes to prove there is no such thing as mankind that is free from evil. It exists everywhere, this "darkness" is inside all of man. And, really, it was Jacob who caused this. By choosing to send his brother into the cave, it was he who unleashed this "darkness" out into the world in the form of the smoke monster. Just like with the "cork" analogy in the wine bottle, Jacob "uncorked" the monster - sending him out into the world, where he can unleash his evil unto all of mankind.

So? Thoughts? I want to know what everyone else things. Leave your messages in the comments section. At this point we are so close to the finale, and even though I just now watched this episode, I probably will need to watch it again to fully comprehend what is going on. So leave your comments about what you thought of the show!!

UPDATE

I just got back from Jamaica less than 2 hours ago and I have already watched LOST and am already getting started on my recap! Unfortunately I was not able to watch it there (I was SO upset) but I watched it the moment I got home!!! WOW. Great episode. I'm already working on my recap, this is one that I can't just let sit for a few days.... stay tuned.

Season 6, Episode 14: "The Candidate"

I am getting ready to leave for Jamaica tomorrow morning, so this is going to be quick (sorry!)

Last's week episode was called "The Candidate" - which has double meaning as we have seen that Jacob is looking for a "candidate" to replace him as protector of the island, and we also see in the alternate reality that Jack seeks out Locke as a "candidate" for surgery to FIX him.

In the alternate reality, we see many parallels to Jack as the leader, the savior, the "shephard" that he was on the island. Once again, he is always trying to fix things. For the first time, he is refused that opportunity and that kills him. He always has to be the one to fix everything. I thought it was interesting that Locke's reason for NOT wanting the surgery is because of the guilt he feels over putting his father in a vegetative state after the plane crash that he caused. Especially because on the island in real life time, most everyone there feels some sort of guilt for something in their pre-crash life and we see how they deal with their sins, forgiveness and guilt on the island. Now we learn that Locke is guilty over hurting his father (which of course is ironic because it was his father who put him in the wheelchair in real life) - he doesn't want to be "fixed" if his father can't be.

I also loved how Jack met Bernard, and slowly he started putting the pieces together of all the survivors he has met now that were on his flight from Sydney. He is finally understanding that this is not a coincidence, there has to be some meaning behind all of these meetings with people on his flight, most notably his own half-sister, Claire. As well as Locke and now Bernard.

Also, when Jack was in Locke's hospital room as he was waking up from surgery, Locke starts mumbling things like "push the button" and "I wish you had believed me." Of course these are memories from the island, I'm just wondering if Locke really starts to remember or if this is only evident in his "dream." There is a point when Jack is talking to him trying to convince him to have the surgery and says the same thing back to him, "I can help you...I wish you would believe me." Once again, Locke seems to ponder for a moment, almost like he has a memory or a "deja-vu" experience. You have to wonder if he is starting to have these memories from his "previous" life (the same way Desmond, Faraday, and Hurley have all had).


Okay, so back in island time, we learn that Locke "saved" Jack. He claims that he has had every opportunity to kill him, as well as the rest of the survivors, but that he is choosing to SAVE them, and to help them get off the island. It seems convincing, and for a moment you almost wonder if he is telling the truth. Locke uses this to gain Jack's trust and to help him convince the others that they should trust him. When he helps them out of the cages after the smoke monster kills all the guards, Jack tells Kate, "I'm with him." This is the first time he has acknowledged that he is "with" Locke. Of course we later learn that it was all a hoax, and that Locke got him to do exactly what he wanted. He got them all into a confined space, knowing they were going to leave without him, and now he has a bomb on the submarine.

As the bomb is ticking down, Jack tries to convince Sawyer that it CAN'T blow up. Because Locke cannot kill them. He asks Sawyer to trust him, but Sawyer says he doesn't and he tries to disarm the bomb. This only speeds it up, causing it to blow up. I think that if they had listened to Jack, it would not have blown up - but because Sawyer messed with it (which Locke knew he would), it blew up. So really he had to get Sawyer to kill them, because he knew he couldn't. Just like with Jacob, there are "rules" and he couldn't kill him, so he had to manipulate others to get someone else to do it. It is the same thing with the remaining "candidates" - he could not kill him, so he gained their trust and then got them exactly where he wanted them so he could kill them and leave the island. He can't leave the island unless they are all dead.

Anyone with a heart surely had to cry during the scene where Jin and Sun died. Oh my goodness, so sad. I think Sun and Jin have come so far...and really when you think about it, it was the ISLAND that saved them. Before the plane crash, Sun was having an affair, on the verge of leaving Jin, who was working as a hitman for her father. When they first arrived on the island, they would barely speak to each other and he treated her like a slave. Now, they truly are in love, they have a child together (which is a miracle in itself) and Jin gave up his own life so that he could die with Sun, as he promised he would never leave her again. The ISLAND really was what brought their love back together. Which kind of goes along with the alternate reality theory of LOVE being the commonality between the two worlds. Now we have LOVE which really is what the island gave them.

After their death, we see Kate, Hurley and Jack sobbing for their loss. Once again, Jack is heartbroken over something that he could not fix. It killed him to just walk away from the submarine knowing he could do nothing to save them. Notice that when he is crying, he goes out by himself and stares at the ocean. This is the third time we have seen this analogy of "staring out at the ocean" - first with Jacob at the lighthouse, then with Sawyer in the boat, and now with this. Remember Jacob talked about Jack having to "stare out at the ocean for awhile" before he could really "get" what his purpose was on the island.

We are left with Kate who has been shot. Desmond is still in the well, and Sayid has informed Jack that he has to do something to help Desmond. I want to know when did Sayid become "good" again? It seems like he lost all of his allegiance to Locke, and he sacrificed his own life in the submarine in order to save the others. Does this mean that he was no longer infected with the darkness? I think something happened between him and Desmond when he was supposed to shoot Desmond, and he questioned him for what he would tell Nadia if he was able to see her again - that he KILLED in order to be with her again? I think Desmond's special powers were somehow able to "cure" Sayid of the "darkness." It was after he left the well where he was supposed to kill Desmond that he changed, no longer following Locke, but now helping his fellow survivors. He kills himself in order to save them.

The final scene shows Locke telling Claire that he has to "finish" what he set out to do. Somehow he knows that all of the candidates are not dead yet, and he needs them all to be dead in order for him to leave. The only remaining candidates are Sawyer and Hurley, now that Sun and Jin are dead. (Widmore told Sawyer and Kate that there are just 4 names left on the list...Hurley, Sawyer and the Kwans). Now that is just Hurley and Sawyer.


Like I said above, I am getting ready to leave for Jamaica in the morning, so I'm not sure if I will even be able to watch Lost on Tuesday night. If not, I will have to wait until Friday after I get back home. But check back for the blog post, I will get it done eventually. I know I have been a slacker lately with writing the posts in a timely manner, but I have just been so busy that it usually takes me a few days before I can sit down and write the blog post. Only a few weeks left, so I will try to be better these last few episodes!!

Season 6, Episode 13: "The Last Recruit"

I know I am slacking...it is late Tuesday afternoon, a new episode is coming on in just a few hours and I still haven't even written my recap from last week. Ahhhhhhh, here goes. This is going to have to be a quick one!

We saw a little bit of a glimpse into each of the main character's lives in the alternate timeline and how their paths have crossed. I think it is clear to see now that Desmond is the one interfering with their "fate" and making sure that they meet. For example, he set the stage for Claire to see a lawyer (Alana), knowing that she would meet Jack there. Last week we also saw that he went to see Hurley and persuaded him to go see Libby at the mental hospital. I am wondering if in this alternate timeline, Desmond is "the new Jacob" - the one who took over his place assuming he is also dead in this alternate timeline. We know that Jacob is looking for a "candidate" to take his place in the event of his death. Do we know if Desmond was on that list, perhaps in the alternate timeline he was? Think about it, this is exactly what Jacob did before, he went to visit each of the "candidates" and played a role in their "fate." Desmond is now doing the same thing. Notice he also touches them the same way that Jacob touched each candidate. Now I think it is clear why Desmond ran over Locke with his car. Last week I thought maybe it was to prove that "evil" had in fact spread into the world as a result of them leaving, but now I think it is very clear that he hit Locke purposely because he knew that he would be taken to Jack. Remember in Jack's pre-island life he was always obsessed with "fixing" things. He met his wife Sarah after she was paralyzed in a car accident and he "fixed" her too. Maybe this is his chance to "fix" Locke? And for some reason, Desmond wants to make sure that Jack and Locke cross paths. I think he has taken over Jacob's role to make sure that all of them meet eachother, and I presume, will bring them back to the island eventually (in the alternate timeline). So that in the alternate timeline - where they erased their past on the island - it will not matter because I think they will end up back there again anyway. Like Jack said, he has this "feeling" like they truly are supposed to be there. If it is their FATE to be on the island, then alternate timeline or not, they will end up there if that is what is meant to be. Desmond is now just stepping in to bring all the candidates together.

I think it is also extremely ironic that in the last scene of this episode, back in present time on the island as Widmore is bombing fake-Locke's camp, we see that it is fake-Locke who "saves" Jack. He picks him up and carries him away to safety just as an explosion goes off right where Jack was laying. So...there on the island, Locke saves Jack, and in the alternate reality, I think we will see that Jack saves Locke. Very Interesting.

We also learn in this episode that Jack is in fact the smoke monsters "last "recruit" (which was the title of this episode). I think we were to assume the title references Jack as being one of Jacob's recruits (which he also is), but now we learn that fake Locke is recruiting him as well to be on his side. He already has Claire and Sayid. And as we learn from Claire tonight, once you let him talk to you, you are with him. Recall that we have heard stories of both Jacob AND the smoke monster that you are not supposed to let them talk to you first. Claire tells Jack that he is already with Locke. Then we see that Jack jumps off Sawyer's boat to go back to the island - because he feels a strange pull to the island - something is telling him that he is supposed to be there. Strange that it was always LOCKE who was telling Jack this back in the beginning, and Jack did not believe him. Remember even in Locke's suicide note that he left for Jack, it says "I wish you had believed me." It seems like finally he does. Jack knows there is something more powerful that he is meant to be there for.

It seems like fake-Locke is "testing" Jack, the same way he has tested others. He used his father (Christian Shephard) to try and recruit Jack just 3 days after the original plane crashed, and ultimately that is how he got Claire too. We have seen him "use" the bodies of many other dead people on the island as well.

So Sawyer and Kate manage to get Desmond's old sailboat so that they can get over to Hydra Island and steal the plane so they can go home. Sawyer does not want Claire to come because she is crazy. However Kate insists they don't leave her behind. Claire is mad because once again they all left her. This is what happened the first time when they left the island for good, forcing her to go with fake-Locke (he was the only one who didn't leave her, she said). I think once Kate showed her compassion, she finally was able to rid her heart of the "darkness" that was bestowed upon her by being with fake-Locke. Like Hurley said, people can come back from the dark side. Maybe Claire just needed someone to show her how to feel emotion again in order to bring her back to "the good side." Maybe this is also what Desmond does when he tries to persuade Sayid not to kill him. Up until this point Sayid has felt no emotion, but Desmond puts the idea in his mind that he is going to have to tell Nadia that he killed an innocent man in order to see her again, and I think that makes Sayid feel emotion again. I don't think he killed Desmond and that he was lying to Locke when he saw him again in the woods.

Meanwhile, on the getaway boat, notice how Jack was sitting over the edge of the boat "staring out at the ocean" before he made the decision to jump out. Remember this is what Jacob told Hurley about Jack at the lighthouse when he was trying to get him on HIS side, that certain people just need to stare at the ocean for awhile before they know what they are supposed to do. However, when Jack goes back it is because he feels he is meant to be there, not because he wants to be "WITH" Locke. Claire tells him that he already is. Does this mean that Jack is going to go over to the dark side?

Something else of importance was in the very beginning of the episode when we see Sun arriving at the hospital and she sees John Locke being taken out of the ambulance next to her, just after he was hit by Desmond. She starts freaking out and crying "that's him, that's him!" It is almost as if she remembered him from the island. Perhaps she is having a "memory" of her time on the island, and remembers him as being the evil fake-Locke/smoke monster. Maybe her distress after being shot has allowed her mind/conscious to cross over into both worlds the same way we have seen others do.

Season 6, Episode 12: "Everybody Loves Hugo"

The title of this episode was "Everybody Loves Hugo." Notice the mirror reflection there to one of the previous episodes way back from Season 2 called "Everybody Hates Hugo." I think this is important as it shows Hurley's life is the complete opposite from what it was pre-crash in the original timeline. He was cursed with bad luck, everything going wrong in his life, he was running from it all. Now here he is the complete opposite, as he says he is the "luckiest guy in the world," seems very happy and content, winning Man of the Year for his charitable work, and now a beautiful woman is in love with him. Total opposite from the original reality. Everybody loves Hugo/Everybody hates Hugo. It is the yin and the yang, the white rock/black rock, good/evil. Mirror opposites for everything.

Side note: Did you notice Dr. Marvin Candle (from the Dharma Initiative videos) was the man presenting the award? Funny.

I think Hurley's alternate timeline is very important in the theory that I talked about last week. LOVE is the connector of the two worlds. Even if they "erased" their past from their memories, they still have the emotion, love, that carries through in both worlds. It takes those feelings to bring back the memories of where they had been in their "past life." I thought it was interesting also that Libby asked him if he believed in soul mates, because soul mates are often referred to as being from another life. When Libby and Hurley are on their "date" and she kisses him, he suddenly remembers everything about her, about being on the island with her, etc. - it is his feelings of love that bring him back to that world. If they truly are "soul mates" it is because they DID know each other in another world, a past life.

I am curious which other survivors we will see encounter feelings of LOVE that will reconnect the two worlds. I am really hoping Sawyer and Juliet will be reconnected in the alternate world, and they will remember each other. She told him on the island just before she died that maybe some people just aren't meant to be together. I think (well, I hope) that they ARE meant to be together and we will see them meet again in their alternate lives. Who else could be connected again? Perhaps Jack and Kate? She has always told him that she is "with" him and always stands by him. I also think Charlie and Claire. He mentioned to Desmond that he saw a girl on the plane and had feelings of love. Remember on the island he always had a little thing for Claire. Maybe they will end up together and he will care for Aaron. I think it is interesting though, that in all the scientific theories about this show, in the end, it is LOVE that brings everything together. Also because the show has always focused so much on faith vs. science (remember, man of faith (Locke) vs. man of science (Jack), and now what prevails? FAITH.

I think it is also really interesting that back on the island, we are seeing different leaders emerge. Always in the past it was Locke and Jack trying to get the others to follow them (as I just said above, man of faith vs. man of science). Now, we have Hurley and Richard doing the same thing. Hurley wants people to go with him to talk to Locke, he does not want them to blow up the plane because he wants OFF the island. He says he is trying to protect them. However, Richard is doing whatever it takes to get rid of the plane so that fake-Locke cannot leave but Hurley blew up the Black Rock so they could not get the dynamite. This is ironic because it was Hurley who was the one to convince Richard that he needed to do whatever it takes to keep the man in black from leaving the island. Now dead Michael shows up and tells Hurley not to do it, and he listens to him? Mind you this is the man who killed the woman he was in love with, Libby. So, as Miles said, why are you listening to dead people who come back and yell at you? Maybe Hurley is "crazy" after all!!! Anyway, Jack tells Hurley that he trusts him and follows him. Once they arrive to see fake-Locke, Hurley makes a "deal" with him that no one will get hurt. Fake-Locke gives him his word. I thought it very strange that as soon as fake-Locke saw Jack, he gave him this very evil grin. Remember, it's not really Locke, it is the "man in black" - so what qualms could he possibly have with Jack? Unless Jack is "the chosen one" to protect the island, that would make HIM fake-Locke's new nemesis and a reason for him to be against him.

Something else I wanted to mention was that when fake-Locke and Desmond were walking through the woods, there was a young dark-haired boy that appeared. Fake-Locke got very upset and told Desmond to ignore him (I was surprised that Desmond could even see him). Anyway, remember a few episodes back there was another incident when fake-Locke saw a different boy - a younger blond boy, covered in blood - also running in the woods. Fake-Locke also got upset at that. My take is that the young blond boy was Jacob and that the dark-haired boy he saw in this episode was HIMSELF (the man in black) as a boy. I think their feud goes all the way back since they were children (I have said many times I think they are brothers), and that perhaps the man in black tried to kill Jacob as a child (which would be the image of him we saw when he was covered in blood). Anyway, just a thought.

So, the episode ends with Fake-Locke taking Desmond to the well (where the hatch once was) and gives him this whole explanation about how the people who dug it there long ago were looking for answers, and he tells Desmond that Charles Widmore is not looking for answers, but for power. Locke asks him why he isn't afraid, and Desmond says what's the point of being afraid? Then fake-Locke throws him down the well. Something tells me that Desmond will be able to get out of there alive, so he can carry out his plan to "save the world" which he feels is his destiny.

Meanwhile, in alternate reality time, Desmond is waiting outside of the school where Ben and Locke are teachers. Ben notices him sitting in his car and questions what he is doing. Just as Locke wheels himself into the road, Desmond floors it and hits him with his car full force. Ben comes running to help him. (Who wants to bet he is going to be taken to the hospital where Jack will be the one to "save" him.) I find it very strange that Desmond - who in the other timeline is ready to save the world from evil - now is the one executing it. All of the lengths the others are doing back on the island to keep Fake-Locke from leaving so as to protect the world from the corruption of "evil," and yet here we see that there is evil all around, even in the alternate timeline. So in this alternate world, did the man in black escape from the island and corrupt the world, or is it just to show that evil exists no matter what?

Season 6, Episode 11: "Happily Ever After"

THE NEW POST IS ADDED BELOW!!! Yes, I am okay! Thanks to everyone who was "impatiently" waiting for the recap. Sorry, it has been just about the busiest week of my life! Life with a 1-year-old, and running my own business, makes it difficult to keep up with the Lost blog. Only until my own MOM called me yesterday saying she had been receiving phone calls from several people asking if I was okay because OMG THE LOST BLOG IS STILL NOT UP!!! :)

Anyway, if you have not done so already, I highly suggest going back and reading my recap of the Season 4 episode, "The Constant," which was the cornerstone for last week's episode. Hard to believe that was two whole seasons ago, but our first look into Desmond's "visions" and his ability for his mind to travel into different time/dimensions. Click here to go back and read my blog post from The Constant, which still to this day I think was the greatest Lost episode of all time. As you will see, that was from February 2008, which is over two years ago, and yet look at the similarities in what we learned in that episode to where we are now.

Okay...I won't keep you waiting any longer. Here is the recap from this episode, "HAPPILY EVER AFTER."

I think the main thing that we learned here is that "Whatever happens, happens." We heard this quote used multiple times, and I think it speaks volumes about what we have learned about the show. All along we have assumed (atleast, I have assumed) that the "alternate reality" scenes were visions of what their lives would be like if they had NEVER crashed on the island. Meaning the past has been erased, they were never there. However, now we learn that those things DID happen, it just has been erased from the existence of their MIND, not necessarily that it never happened. (As Eloise said, whatever happens, happens). So things that did happen in the past, still did happen, it's just that the rest of the survivors don't have any recollection of that life because it has been erased from their minds. Only Desmond and Faraday are starting to "remember" because both of them have these "side effects" (as referenced in The Constant) that enable their minds to be a part of BOTH worlds. Only those people who have been exposed to electromagnetic energy (Desmond and Faraday) are AWARE that these two worlds exist. Everyone else just has no memory of what happened before. But clearly it DID happen. We have always just assumed that these are two alternate timelines. Now we see that the two timelines actually coincide - when Desmond was underwater with Charlie and he saw the "not Penny's boat" on Charlie's hand, he had a memory. Even though he was not aware of that previous lifetime, he remembered it...because it DID happen, they just "erased" it from their minds. Because he has these "side effects" from the exposure to electromagnetic energy, certain things spark his memory. And as Faraday explained to him, the same thing is happening to him (he also had extreme exposure to electromagnetic energy during his lab experiments).

Back in the episode, "The Constant," we learned that those who have been exposed to large amounts of electromagnetism have these "visions" or memories of things that maybe have not happened yet (in real life) but that their consciousness is able to have that "memory." In that episode, when Faraday is showing Desmond his experiment with the lab rat (Eloise, named after his mother), Desmond asks if this is going to change the future, and Faraday replies that you can't change the future. I believe that what we are seeing now is similar in that you also can't change the PAST. However you can just erase it from your mind. But, certain people (such as Desmond) are able to bridge the gap between their past life and their consciousness which has these memories.

This reminded me a lot of the movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, where people can erase the negative memories from their mind, but there are also "side effects." If you haven't ever seen that movie, watch it. Basically it is the same concept. Just because they have erased these memories and have no recollection of those things ever happening, does not mean that it didn't actually happen. They just don't remember it.

Way back when, Faraday wrote in his journal that "Desmond Hume is my constant" - I was waiting for him to show Desmond that in this week's episode but it did not appear that was written there (or else he just did not show him). Both Desmond and Faraday had enormous exposure to electromagnetism in their "pasts" which explains why they are the only two people who have these visions - Faraday said it was when he saw Charlotte, it was like he was already in love (that is not really "love at first sight" but because he had already loved her in his previous life). Same thing with Desmond, when he saw Penny for the first time - he "remembered" all those memories of his life with her. It seems like LOVE it what is the common thread between the two worlds. Because love is an emotion - that is something that cannot be erased. After Desmond woke up in the generator room back on the island, Widmore tells him he was only unconscious for a few seconds. This was the same thing that was happening in "The Constant" - their MIND travels through time. So what seems like a lifetime of memories in their MIND, is only a matter of seconds in real life.

So - the episode title, "Happily Ever After" - I think that is a reference to the fact that they have CHOSEN to live a different life, they have chosen their happily ever after. Desmond tells Charlie in the bar that there is always a choice, and we have also heard that before from Jacob. I think as Faraday was telling Desmond that he thinks he "already set off the bomb" because he wanted to change his life. He knows that something is not right, and by reading his journal he becomes aware of the bomb experiment. He is able to recognize that this is something from a past life. Kind of like when you have deja-vu. He knows that this is something that he already did, possibly because he was choosing to change his life, to erase the life he knew. He wanted to ERASE those things that had happened, but because of the electromagnetic exposure, he is now having "flashbacks" of his former life, as is Desmond. I have been saying all along as far as where they are now on the island, that I do think they are going to carry out the plans in Faraday's journal to "erase" their existance as they know it (remember Juliet said "it worked"), so that what we have seen of the "alternate" reality is actually their flashforwards as if the 815 flight lands in L.A. without ever crashing. These are the "happily ever afters" of each of the survivors - basically what happens to them if they were never on the island (or that they don't remember) - as we've seen most of them their lives are ultimately BETTER than what it was before - happily ever after. I am wondering if Sawyer is going to encounter Juliet in his own "happily ever after" and realize that their love still exists as well. Wouldn't that be awesome!!!!

So, my biggest question is what is Widmore wanting to do with Desmond in his effort to "save all of mankind" and its relation to fake-Locke ever leaving the island? Whatever it is, Desmond is willing to do it, after having come out of his "vision" and seeing how his two timelines coincide. He finally understands what he has to do. Here's my theory on this: I think because Widmore now knows that Desmond can handle the radiation, he is going to have HIM set off the bomb (using the plans from Faraday's research journal, which remember also happens to be his son, AND he was also the one who funded his research). If the bomb goes off, this would "erase" the past - but ultimately I think Desmond would have to sacrifice himself as he would die when the bomb goes off - but by doing this it would ultimately erase the events of the past. If their plane never crashes on the island, John Locke never comes to the island, Jacob is never killed, etc., this would erase this whole string of events where fake-Locke is able to find his "loophole" and can leave the island because Jacob is dead. If their plane had never crashed on the island, Locke would never have become the "leader" and Ben would have never killed him, ultimately setting up the stage for the Man in Black to "take" Locke's body and use that to get Ben to kill Jacob. (confused?!!) - Basically, without their plane crash, Jacob would still be alive, and the Man in Black would still be "trapped" on the island. Thus, the fact that he is about to leave the island, bringing evil into the world, would not be possible if Jacob were still alive. So it all goes back to the plane crashing on the island and that event needs to be erased in order to save the world. Perhaps this really means that Widmore truly is "one of the good ones" after all. He has sacrificed the relationship with his own daughter in order to protect the island, and now perhaps he is going to have to ask Desmond to sacrifice himself by blowing up the bomb (which I have always presumed he has brought with him on the submarine, but that is just my guess, we don't actually know that) in order to carry out Faraday's plans. I've been saying this all along, but tonight's episode kind of confirms my theory...atleast I think so! :)

A couple of hidden things. Did you notice in the alternate timeline, when Desmond is in Widmore's office, there is a painting on the wall of a scale. Just like the one that we saw in the cave on the island. One side has a black rock and one side has a white rock. Very interesting!!! There is also a model ship of the Black Rock in his office. Remember that Widmore was the one who purchased the journal from the Black Rock's captain during the auction. Another random note....did you all notice George Minkowski was the chauffeur that was driving Desmond around? Remember, he was the Director of Communications on the freighter. Just another one of the connections. He was one of the guys back from the episode "The Constant" who suffered the same side effects from the electromagnetism after taking a boat out from the freighter to see the island, and he was one of the first people we saw who died (starting with the nose bleeds) from the consequences of the excess energy surrounding the island.

Obviously Desmond has something "special" about him that has kept him alive (whereas others, such as George Minkowski and Charlotte, have died) - and like Widmore said - he is the only person in the world who has LIVED through the exposure to that amount of electromagnetism. We've always seen those references to "special" people (Walt, Locke, etc.) and now maybe it is Desmond who is the special one - he is the key to saving the world. Another little note about that...remember the very first time we ever saw Desmond, when he was down in the hatch. Jack and Locke found him and asked what he was doing there, he responded that he was "just saving the world." In his mind, by pushing the button every 108 seconds, he truly thought he was saving the world. Now, it turns out, he just may do so.


PS - For those people who have just started reading my blog this season, I just want to mention that I have been writing this since Season 2. (Sorry, I never did it for Season 1, who ever knew back when the show started that I would love the show so much or that it would spark its very own blog by me! I started sending emails back in the 2nd season to a few friends who had questions about the show and I would write my little "recaps" every week, then the emails got forwarded around to so many different people and hence, the blog began.) Anyway, if you click on the "Archives" on the right side of the page, you can access all the past posts from seasons 2, 3, 4 and 5. I think once the series ends, I just may have to go back and get the entire series on DVD and rewatch from the beginning. Then I can read my blog posts and see what I wrote in the recaps from the beginning! :)

Season 6, Episode 10: "The Package"

After last week's AMAZING episode (and my super long blog post), I think no matter what we got this week we would be a little disappointed. No way can you top that episode, so naturally it was somewhat of a let down as we didn't get a lot of answers. (although I read that next week is supposed to be another great one.)

I don't feel like there is too much to write about this week, so I will just touch upon a few key pointers and save my energy for next week's big episode.

• Sun had trouble "believing" in their purpose on the island. She does not trust Richard, she does not trust fake-Locke, and she just wants to be left alone. At the end, when Jack talks to her, he makes the same promise to her that fake-Locke did. He promises to help her find Jin and to get her off the island. However, she TRUSTS Jack whereas she does not trust fake-Locke. I thought it was interesting that when Jack came to talk to her she was sitting on the beach staring out at the ocean. If you remember, when Jack was at the lighthouse and saw his name on "the wheel" he sat and stared at the ocean while Jacob came and talked to Hurley. Jacob said that for some people it was as easy as getting in the back of a cab and telling them what their purpose was, whereas others (such as Jack) needed to sit and stare at the ocean for awhile, to truly ponder the idea of their destiny. This is what Jack did, and eventually he really did believe in his purpose there on the island. He was trying to convince Sun of this earlier in tonight's episode, to no avail, but turns out she just needed "to sit and stare at the ocean for awhile." She had to come to make her own decision, and she chose to trust Jack in the hopes that he will make good on his promise.

• So, in Sun's "alternate reality," she and Jin are not married but are having a secret affair. She makes plans to run away with him, but little did she know her father had found out about their relationship and had taken all the money out of her bank account. Turns out that Keamy (the guy from the freighter) was actually hired by her father to kill Jin. He ties him him in the freezer and says to him that "some people just aren't meant to be together." (Remember this is what Juliet also said to Sawyer and also what her parents told her as a little girl). In a strange twist of fate (yes, fate?), Sayid actually kills Keamy, and helps Jin to escape. During a shootout between Jin and Mikhail (the interpreter who escorted Sun to the bank), Sun is accidentally shot (and soon after informs Jin that she is pregnant). Remember in their "real" past Sun was unable to get pregnant. It was only by the "miracle" of the island that she was able to conceive. Also, did you notice who the "language interpreter" was? It was Mikhail, the Russian guy from the island who lived alone in a cabin on the island. Remember how he had an eyepatch? Well, did you happen to notice that when Jin smashed his face down on the corner of the table, he hits him right in the eye. They zoom in real close on his damaged eye, which immediately made me remember that was our eye-patch friend from the island. Very ironic.

So I guess the whole alternate reality theory for Sun and Jin is to determine whether or not they are actually "meant" to be together. So different from their past before the crash, where Sun is having an affair with someone else and just about to leave Jin. Now here they are in this alternate/flashforward world where they are secretly in love, forbidden to be together, and letting destiny run it's course as to whether or not they are meant to be. I am wondering if Sun's life will ultimately be placed in Jack's hands - assuming that Jin will likely rush her to the hospital. Wouldn't it be ironic if our dear Dr. Jack Shephard was the doctor who was given the chance to "save" her. Also because of the fact that on the island, it was Jack who sat with Sun on the beach at the end of tonight's episode, convincing her that he would help her find Jin, and she confides that she does trust him. Ultimately, Jack "saved" Sun here as well, helping her become a believer in their purpose on the island. Wouldn't it be ironic if he "saved" her in the alternate reality too?

• Okay, back on the island, the "war" begins between fake-Locke and Charles Widmore. We also see that Widmore has built the same kind of "security fence" that the Others had in their camp to keep the smoke monster (Locke) out. Both of them are fighting for the remaining people on "the list." We also learn that in order to leave the island, fake-Locke needs ALL of them to go together. He also tells Claire that once he can get those remaining three people, "whatever happens, happens" - which is basically his way of saying that Claire has his "permission" to kill Kate as she had wanted to. The only reason fake-Locke stopped her before is because he needs Kate to help get him off the island. It seems like he does not care whether they live or die, he just needs them to help him escape. We learn from Widmore, that if fake-Locke does get off the island, all of the people in the world "will cease to be." Basically, if fake-Locke gets off the island and infiltrates the rest of the world with "the darkness in his heart," basically the world will end and everyone will die.

Enter "The Package" from Widmore's submarine. He explains that this package is not a what, but a "who." Sure enough, in the final seconds of the show, we see that it is "Mr. Hume" they are bringing from the submarine (Desmond). Remember when Eloise told him after he left the island that "the island is not done with you yet." We also know that Eloise and Widmore were once together and had a child together (Faraday), so clearly they still have ties. She must have helped Widmore to get Desmond back to the island since he supposedly has a "purpose" there. Widmore says that he came back to the island to try and save the rest of the world from fake-Locke. If you remember, when Desmond was first in the hatch, and the Oceanic 815 survivors first found their way into the hatch, when they ask Desmond what he has been doing down there, he replies that he is "saving the world." He believes the world has come to an end, and that the button-pushing is actually saving the world. I think that in Widmore bringing him back to the island, he is going to have some "purpose" in which he truly does have to save the world.

• Another little note - I have always recalled the episode "The Constant" where Daniel Faraday writes in his journal that "Desmond Hume is my constant." I have always believed that surely would come into play again and would certainly be important. Now that we know Desmond's role in coming back to the island as a key player in Widmore's plan, I think we will see more with Faraday and if he is his "constant." Will the island still skip through time? This would help support my theory that the survivors are going to carry out Faraday's scientific plans on how to "erase" their past by keeping the original 815 flight from ever crashing on the island. Because if Desmond never was in the hatch, he would not have avoided pushing the button that one day which caused their plane to crash. Everything ties back to Desmond. However, in the voiceover in the scenes for next week, they talk about Desmond having to make a sacrifice, and once again the line that "the island is not done with you yet." I think that Desmond is going to have to make a sacrifice for the island (perhaps either Penny or his son Charlie, or both) in order to "save" the world. Kind of like saving the ones you love, or saving the entire world. This would be Desmond's purpose. There have been tons of other islanders who have had to make sacrifices in the name of the island. Ben - sacrificed his own father and then ultimately his own daughter, all for the island. Dogan (the man from the Temple) sacrificed his son who he killed in a car crash...in order to save his life he sacrificed every being able to see him again if he went to the island. And even Widmore - who has sacrificed his relationship with Penny because of his "larger plan" with the island and with using Desmond to help save the world. So, clearly, everyone on the island is forced to make a big sacrifice - giving up the ones they love for the sake of the island, and ultimately, for the world and all of mankind.

Season 6, Episode 9: "Ab Aeterno"

WOW!! WOW!! WOW!! Best episode so far this season. I can't even process how much information we just got (why can't every episode be like this one?)

This episode is titled "Ab Aeterno," which is a latin phrase that literally means "from eternity"or "since the beginning of time." This emphasizes the fact that Richard has eternal life.

The episode opens once again with an eye opening - we haven't had the "eye" opening in a while now. Typically the person who the episode is about is the one whose eye you see in those opening scenes, but this time it was actually Alana, who is bandaged up in a hospital when Jacob comes to see her. Is Alana going to have a flashback episode? I would like to know why she is all bandaged up, and why she has such a close relationship with Jacob. Anyway, this is when he comes to her asking for help. He wants her to "protect" the final six candidates. Notice he says "the final six" which emphasizes that none of the other candidates are around anymore.

We then go to present time on the island, where we recently left off with Richard being suicidal and a little crazy. He says everything Jacob ever said was a lie, and proceeds to tell the others that they are all dead and the island is hell. (Of course, the producers were just trying to play with us by making us "think" that was the big mystery of the show and the island. But, come on, we still have 9 episodes to go, I did not for one second believe they were all dead.) As we continue through the episode, we learn that is really a metaphor for Richard's life and experiences. I think the point of the whole dead/hell theory was that in Richard's mind, he was dead (because without his wife, he had nothing to live for) and this whole time on the island has been his personal hell.) Now that he is questioning everything he has ever done for Jacob, and he is trying to persuade the other survivors that they too are dead and this is hell. It is this point that Richard takes off to find "the other person that they should be listening to." Of course we learn this is Locke (smoke monster/man in black) and that Richard has changed his mind and wants to follow him now.

Now we start to learn about Richard's backstory: It is 1867 in the Canary Islands and Richard's wife, Isabella is sick. He travels all night to find a doctor, but accidentally kills him when he won't give him the medicine. He returns to his wife, but it is too late and she has died. Did you notice she had a Bible in her hands as she was laying dead? Richard is taken to jail and is trying to ask forgiveness from God. The priest tells him that he cannot give him penance, as murder is something that cannot be forgiven. He tells him he is going to Hell. Just as he is awaiting being hung, a man comes and purchases him as a slave for the Captain of the Black Rock ship, Magnus Hanso. Remember the name Hanso? It was Alvar Hanso who provided much of the funding for the Dharma Inititative. Also remember when Widmore purchased the log book at the auction from Captain Hanso.

I also want to go back a bit and mention the scene when Richard is in jail, he is reading from the Bible and we zoom in on the passage he is reading, which is Luke 4:37. This is the story of Jesus Christ going into the desert after being tempted by the Devil. He comes across a man who has devil-like qualities (evil/darkness) inside him. This is a direct parallel to Richard coming to the island and being "tempted" by the Devil also, and then coming across the Man in Black (a man in human form but with devil-like qualities, filled with evil and darkness). In the Bible passage, Jesus commanded the "evil" unclean spirits out of the man without doing him any harm, and they come out.

After being "saved" from the hanging, Richard is now on the Black Rock ship, tied up in chains with the other slaves. They are caught in a storm and crash on the island. They are all killed by Whitfield (the man who purchased him), but just as he is about to kill Richard, the Black Smoke shows up and kills them all. It appears before Richard and looks him in the eye, but spares him. I am reminded of this same thing that once happened with Locke (the Black Smoke appeared before him and as Locke later described it, he looked him in the eye and what he saw was a beautiful thing.) Why does the Black Smoke spare Richard but not the other men? Does he see something in Richard that leads him to believe he can be "tempted?" Yes, I think he used his wife's death knowing that Richard could be "conned" or tempted the same way that the black smoke knew that Locke could be "conned" into believing he had to die to save the others (when really the man in black just needed to "use" his body). So, the man in black now appears before Richard, now in human form, and tells him "I am a friend." Notice this is also what Claire referred to him as (her "friend") and he promises to help Richard and to free him from the chains if he will help HIM in return. Richard promises he will do anything. After freeing him, the man in black says "It's nice to see you out of those chains." Remember this is the same thing that he (in the form of Locke) says to Richard again, just after Jacob is dead. This is how Richard knows that fake-Locke is really the smoke monster, and he gives him that same line about being out of the chains.

At this point the Man in Black explains to Richard what he has to do. He tells him they are going to escape from Hell but in order to do that he must kill the Devil. He gives him a dagger and tells him to put it through his chest, but he must do so before he speaks or it won't work. Remember this was the same instructions that Dogen (from the Temple) gave to Sayid when asking him to kill the smoke monster/man in black (fake-Locke). The Man in Black promises Richard that he will be able to see his wife again if he does this for him.

After trying (and failing) to kill Jacob, Richard learns that Jacob is NOT really the devil. The Man in Black tricked him, uses him, trying to get around that "loophole" of how to kill Jacob. He wants to kill him because Jacob is keeping him "prisoner" on the island and he wants off. Jacob then explains to Richard in metaphorical form, that the Man in Black represents evil and a darkness, just like the wine in the bottle. The island is the CORK that keeps the darkness from getting out and spreading. Basically the island is what keeps the man in black from unleashing evil on the world. Jacob's role is to protect the world from the evil getting out from its "cork." The man in black believes that everyone can be corrupted and that it is natural to sin. Jacob wants to prove him wrong. That is why he brings people to the island, to give them moral opportunities to choose between right and wrong. He knows that anyone who passes his "test" will be worthy of taking over his job if and when the Devil is able to find his "loophole" and kill him. (so far no one has passed, apparently, as he is still searching for a replacement candidate). Jacob does not believe in intervening, however, so for those that choose wrong, they die (I guess those are the ones that the Devil "takes" because they no longer are candidates for Jacob). So all of the people whose names we saw that were crossed off the list, are now dead? Jacob says that for those who cannot choose on their own between good and evil, he lets them go. So, these "final six" candidates are the only ones left who have the opportunity to CHOOSE good. With Jacob, he makes it clear that you always have a choice. A choice to do the right thing, to be GOOD.

So, after this explanation, Jacob offers Richard a job. He asks him to be his "representative" for those who he brings to the island. Richard asks what he gets in return. After asking first to see his wife again, and second to be saved from ever going to hell (which Jacob said he could not do), he then asks that he will live forever. Jacob says he can do that. Richard never wants to die because he is afraid he WILL go to hell for the sins he committed. After Jacob promises him eternal life, notice that he touches him. Remember all the "candidates" that he went to visit earlier in their lives, he touches all of them. (Jack, Hurley, Kate, Sawyer, Jin, Sun) - so does this mean that they all will have eternal life as well? He also touched Locke and Sayid, but once they became "evil," Jacob allowed them to die because they were no longer considered candidates. So it obviously was not Jacob who saved Sayid and brought him back to life in the Temple. I assume that it was the Man in Black, he saved him so that he could "take" him because he knew that the evil/darkness had spread and that he could "use" Sayid on his side.

Meanwhile, we go back to the present time when Richard has set off in search for fake-Locke (man in black) so that he can "change his mind" and ask him if his offer still stands. He digs up the cross necklace of his wife's that he buried long ago. It is at this point that Hurley shows up and tells Richard that he can talk to his wife (I'm still curious as to how Hurley can talk to dead people - when will we get another Hurley episode?) He finally convinces him when she tells him that it was not his fault that she died, that she knows he was trying to save her but that it was her time. Richard tells her that he just wants them to be together again and she says that they are together. Richard finally understand that he does not need to side with the devil in order to be with his wife again. He puts the cross necklace back on, which also symbolizes that he is good again - wearing the cross is a sign that he is NOT with the devil but that he has made the choice to be good, to be a man of God again. He finally understands that the Man in Black cannot make a promise for him to be with his wife again, because he knows she is in his heart always.

One last thing, Hurley tells him. He must stop the Man in Black from leaving the island, or they are all going to HELL.


A couple other things I also want to mention....

- I want to talk a bit about the four-toed statue. One of the big questions was always what happened to the statue? The only time we ever saw it in its full size was when we saw Jacob and the Man in Black sitting on the beach as they watched the Black Rock out at sea. It was then that the Man in Black told Jacob that he wanted to kill him, but that he just needed to find a "loophole." As they walked away, we saw the full size statue. Now we know that when the Black Rock crashed on the island, it hit the statue, breaking it up into pieces. Only the foot remains (which is where Jacob lived). Ironically, the four-toed statue is that of "Taweret," which in Egyptian mythology is the Goddess of rebirth and fertility. Both are very important in the underlying themes of Lost. REBIRTH, as we have just learned, is what Jacob gives to those who he brings to the island. He wipes their slates free of sin and allows them to start over, believing that everyone deserves forgiveness and that once on the island, their pasts should not matter. He gives them rebirth. We have seen tons of themes involving "rebirth" on the island. Secondly....fertility as we know is also important on the island. The Others have been doing fertility tests as women are unable to have children on the island. Mythology also tells us that the goddess Taweret was paired with another deity, and became the demon-wife of Apep, the original god of evil. This is symbolic of the two deities on the island, Jacob (representing rebirth) and the Man in Black (representing evil).

- Another thing....I think that in Richard's "vision" of Isabella coming to him when he was on the Black Rock, telling him they are both dead and that this is hell, I believe this was a dream. Richard had been shackled for who knows how long at that point, after everyone else had been killed. He was delusional and probably near death himself. I think this was just his interpretation, figuring he must be dead and in hell (after the priest told him he was going to hell). I do not think they are all dead or that the island is hell. Richard lived his whole life on the island believing that he "saw" Isabella, which is why he made a promise to the Man in Black to help him, because he just wanted to be with her again. However, I think it was the Man in Black who "appeared" to him as his dead wife as a means to "con" him into trusting him. The Man in Black has also done this with other dead people, trying to get others on his side and promising them the one thing they want most in order to turn them to the dark side (claire, sayid). This just proves that people, in their darkest moments, will promise anything just to get the one thing back that they lost. They will allow themselves to be corrupted (which is what the devil says everyone will do). I guess we just need to see if Jacob can prove him wrong and find someone who will choose GOOD to be his replacement.

This whole series of LOST and the whole existence of the survivors on the island is all just a game between Jacob and the Man in Black. Each one of them is trying to "win" the souls of those people, trying to prove to the other one whether Good vs. Evil will prevail. I guess we have to wait 9 more episodes to see which one wins. The whole show has always referenced good and evil, now we know why!!!