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! :)