Episode 6x13 The Last Recruit

After the amazing ending sequence to Everybody Loves Hugo, it seemed almost impossible to have a not-so-great episode afterwards. Though the start of The Last Recruit was pretty amazing (along with various other scenes), the bombardment of characters in the flash-sideways felt overwhelming for a 1-hour episode. For premieres and finales, various character centricities are fine, almost welcomed, but for a middle-of-the-season episode, I just felt that it didn't work as well.

Without a doubt, The Last Recruit was more of a transitional episode, getting characters and plotlines where they need to be in order to set up for the penultimate episodes. Though it wasn't as action-packed and intriguing as last week's episode, we needed this one so that the remaining episodes of the series can be fantastic.

Flash-Sideways
The start of this episode picks up right where Everybody Loves Hugo left off, with ALT-Locke being hit by Desmond. He's accompanied by Ben to the hospital, where he crosses paths with Sun who is being hospitalized after being shot in The Package. Oddly enough, Sun seems to recognize Locke, exclaiming, "It's him! It's him" in Korean. Now, whether she's just delirious from blood loss, or truly recognizes him due to the bleeding of the two realities (or something else) is something else to speculate.

When Sun wakes up in her hospital room, Jin informs her that her and the baby will be fine (though I wonder what would've happened if Ji Yeon died in the ALT-reality and was alive in the other). Outside, Jack and David are walking around when Jack gets called into surgery. After being informed of the victim and injuries, he looks down and notices that it's Locke, whom he recognizes from LAX (or from the island!?). Considering Jack and Locke's conversation in the premiere about "irreversibility," it will definitely be interesting to see the outcome of the surgery and if Jack will be able to fix Locke.



Elsewhere, Claire is making her way to an adoption agency after her near-labor in the season premiere. At the sign-in desk, a very creepy Desmond approaches Claire and offers his help in providing legal representation during the adoption process from a lawyer he is going to see. Desmond persuades her to take up his offer and as they both make it to the 15th floor, the lawyer, Miss Verdansky, appears and is shown to be Ilana (really? Verdansky? Does that really fit with 'Ilana'? I wonder if that's her name in the island-reality too). As Claire is introduced, Ilana states that they have been looking for her.

In the same building, Jack and David arrive (prior to operating on Locke) to hear the contents of Christina's will (speaking of Christian, did Oceanic ever find his body?). Ilaa introduces Jack to Claire (possibly the reason Ilana was looking for her was due to Christian mentioning her in his will?). Apparently, Jack didn't know about Claire being his half-sister in this reality either. Almost immediately after, Jack gets a phone call--to operate on Locke--and apologizes for having to leave.



At the police station, Sawyer talks with Kate and receives a call about the incident at Keamy’s restaurant. He sees the surveillance tape showing Sayid at the scene of the crime and they go to find him.

Immediately after the event at Keamy’s, Sayid goes back to Nadia’s and begins to pack his things to leave, saying that he’s not coming back. Miles shows up at the door, but Sayid has gone—he runs out the back door where Sawyer ends up catching him, which pretty much concludes the flash-sideways storyline for this week. I can see why the Claire, Jack, Locke, and Sun stories were included but I can’t help but feeling that the Sayid and Sawyer/Miles bits were kind of thrown in there. Now I’m not saying that they didn’t serve a purpose, but they might have fit in better in a latter episode where the focus was more on them both on and off Island.

Now that everyone is joining together again on the Island, it seems fitting that they would do the same in the ALT-reality. It’s also nice to see the “glimpses” of the other reality through each character’s perspective which shows that the writers are showing this us for a reason…I just wish I knew what it was.

Back on the Island, 2007
After a much-anticipated confrontation, Jack finally meets with Flocke, remarking how much he looks like Locke and is mystified, having no idea who he is. Flocke then goes on to say that he chose Locke’s body because Locke was stupid enough to think he was on the island for a reason. He also reveals that he also was responsible for Jack seeing his father all those times on the Island, taking his form to lead him to water back in season one. Though at this point, can we really believe him? Some of his appearances definitely seem “MIB” influenced (i.e. robotically walking through the jungle, standing in the ocean, etc.) but others seem as if it was actually Christian. What purpose would MIB serve in telling Locke in the frozen wheel chamber, “tell my son I said hello,” or sitting there in the jungle holding Aaron? Scare tactics for Jack, influence and trust for Claire? Something just isn’t adding up here and it’s hard to swallow that MIB was Christian all the times we’ve seen him.



In an end to their conversation, Flocke remarks to Jack that John Locke was not a believer but a sucker. Damn you, MIB. Damn you. It’s comments like that that reinforces the idea that he needs to go. Fast.

(I don’t know how they’ll do it but the writers need to bring Locke—the real Locke—back somehow. Seeing that he was used right up until the end is probably the most tragic ending to any of the Lost characters so far. Watching the MIB manipulate others through Locke’s body and use of his memories is almost as bad as watching Ben murder Locke and calls for some smoke monster ass-kicking.)

Now back at camp, Flocke says how nice it is to have everyone together again. Soon after, Zoe emerges from the bushes and demands him to return Desmond. Expectedly, he puts on a show claiming that he has no idea what she’s talking about.
She then uses her radio for her group to “show them what we’re capable of” and a bomb explodes nearby. Zoe gives Flocke until night to return Desmond and leaves.



We know that Widmore wanted Desmond to see if he could survive another electromagnetic event, but other than that, what do we know about his reasons for abducting him? Nothing. Is Widmore expecting another event similar to the Swan’s detonation? His purpose on the Island is pretty vague so far, so anything could happen. Oh, and Zoe, bombs are great for attacking people, but I’m afraid they probably won’t have an effect on century+ old smoke monsters.

After Zoe goes off (and I can’t believe he let her) Flocke states that Widmore has provoked them and makes planes to gather everyone up, go to the Hydra Island, and get on the Ajira plane. He gives Sawyer a map to get a boat and instructs him to bring it back to get them. However, Sawyer goes against Flocke and tells Jack, Hurley, Kate, and Sun to meet them at the dock where they’ll go to Hydra Island themselves to meet with Widmore, with whom Sawyer previously struck an “agreement”. Putting his plan into action, he also explains that Claire isn’t coming with them and “gave up her ticket when she tried to kill Kate.” This was rather surprising coming from Sawyer being that he reacted so strongly in season 4 to Claire’s Dharma house being blown up and his attempts to bring her to safety. I guess infected people aren’t allowed to go on boat rides.
Back on the island, Flocke orders Sayid to kill Desmond. Sayid is unsure at first, but then Flocke dangles his promise of brining Nadia back to him in front of him. With that, he goes off where he finds Desmond in the well (which was surprisingly shallow and empty) and draws his gun. Facing death, Desmond plays on Sayid’s fading emotions and asks if Sayid were to get Nadia back, what would he tell her that he did to be with her again?

While Flocke is leading his group, Claire tells Jack that she trusts Flocke because he is the only one who didn't abandon her, revealing Claire’s inner-child-like emotions and true feelings after being left behind. After Flocke goes off to find Sayid, Jack gathers Hurley, Sun, and Frank and they leave for the boat, unknowing that Claire is following them.

Meanwhile, Flocke finds Sayid and wonders if he really killed Desmond. At this point, the audience knows about as much as Flocke; did Desmond’s persuasion work and save his life, or did Sayid’s darkness prevail?

Sawyer and Kate arrive and meet up with Jack’s group, preparing to leave. Questioning their actions, Claire comes out of the jungle with a rifle and Kate confronts her saying that she can trust them and that the only reason she came back to the Island was to reunite her with Aaron–-a promise more reliable than Flocke’s. Claire agrees to go with them but when he (Flocke) finds out that they left, "he's going to be mad."



On the boat, Jack tells Sawyer that it doesn't feel right leaving the Island and believes that they were brought back to do something. If Flocke is trying to get them to leave, maybe he is afraid of what happens if they stay. Not liking Jack's "crazy talk," Sawyer tells Jack to get off the boat and that if he wants to leave, he can leave. Quite literally, Jack takes a leap of faith into the water and goes back to the main island (in a way paralleling Sawyer’s helicopter jump in the season 4 finale) while Kate unsuccessfully attempts to go back to get him.

They arrive on Hydra Island and immediately following, Widmore's people confront them, the two sides divided by the portable pylons.

Unexpectedly, another long-awaited moment is brought to life as Sun notices Jin and they reunite for the first time since the freighter explosion in the season 4 finale. Though, I can’t help but think that their current happiness is short lived, a prelude to death and destruction in the near future.



During their moment of happiness as they both run towards the sonic fence, I was fearing for them both. I was sure that their joy would take hold of them, make them forget the pylons, and were about to be zapped, ending their reunion in tragedy. It would have been horrible and unfair, yet amazing utilization of irony and twisting the audience’s expectations.

Shortly after, Sun regains her voice (seemingly by being brought back to Jin) but their reunion is cut short by Widmore’s crew holding the new arrivals at gunpoint, emphasizing that Widmore’s deal with Sawyer is off. Zoe makes sure that Flocke is located on the main Island and orders Widmore to fire when ready.

Jack eventually makes it back to the Island and Flocke meets him, remarking that Sawyer stole his boat. The bomb that Zoe ordered lands almost directly on them both, but both are unscathed. Jack is disoriented but Flocke tells him not to worry because "you're with me now."



Thoughts, Questions, and the future of Lost
For a transitional episode, The Last Recruit was fairly entertaining; definitely not the best of the season but not the worst either. Hopefully some greatness was sacrificed so that next week’s episode and the remaining ones after can be fantastic.

Jack getting screen time with Flocke as well as Claire was highly-anticipated as well and along with the reunion of Sun and Jin, we were treated to a lot of “catching-up” on the Island.

With the Losties held at gunpoint and Jack “protected” by Flocke, it’s clear that Widmore’s often-referenced war is coming soon. Though, what is the “war” exactly? We still don’t know too much about it other than Widmore is certain of its coming and that picking the wrong side will result in horrible consequences. Does the war tie in with the rules, an equally vague topic? The specifics of it such as why and how it’s coming and how it will take place are unknown as well, but I’m sure once we finally see it that it will be one of the best pieces of Lost ever.

With Lost returning in two weeks with The Candidate, I’m wondering if the title suggests that we’ll find out who will be replacing Jacob. Hmm…the thought brings up another question: why does Jacob need replacing…wait, why does the Island need protecting…what is the Island? It’s an endless chain of questions (that hopefully be answered before the series finale on May 23rd)!

Until next time...

Namaste

Getting LOST

Here's a post that I've been meaning to make for awhile now. It's an article that I wrote for my school's paper about the decreasing fan base of Lost in the penultimate seasons. It looks much better properly formatted, but the paragraph formatting feature isn't working for some reason, so use your imagination and pretend that it is working.

Enjoy!

On September 22, 2004, Oceanic flight 815 disappeared over the Pacific Ocean.

Taking off from Sydney, the 324 passengers were thought dead by the public. However, out of the 324 passengers, 70 came to realize that they were the survivors of a plane crash on an uncharted island in the South Pacific that would change their lives forever.

Each survivor with a unique past and back story, they slowly start to piece together that each of them are interconnected in ways that they could never have imagined. Though does this mysterious island provide refuge and atonement for past sins, or does it create more problems and questions than the survivors are able to handle?

For the pop culture experts out there, you may have known that Oceanic flight 815 is a fictional plane, which is great news for television fanatics. Without which, ABC’s Emmy award winning show, Lost, would not be possible.

Involving numerous intriguing plot techniques devices such as twists, foreshadowing, flashbacks, and cliffhanger endings, Lost is not just another television show, but a television experience that allows that viewer to tap into their imagination and theorize and speculate about what may or may not happen on the show.

While Lost still has a gargantuan fan-base, some viewers simply do not understand (or choose not to understand) the mysteries of Lost whilst the amount of viewers that religiously watch the show each Tuesday night is continuing in a downward spiral. Why is that? For such a popular show, why are long-time fans of the show beginning to stop watching as Lost reaches its series finale? Could it be that the questions and intense situations are too much for the viewer’s mind to handle?

Granted, some aspects of the show are highly implausible, the questions and mysteries are far from boring. For instance: what is the Dharma Initiative? What does the numerical sequence 4-8-15-16-23-42 have to do with the show? And what exactly is that black smoke monster running around the island? It is questions like these that attract and engage viewers to Lost while simultaneously dissuading other viewers from watching. Does the show involve too much thinking and theorizing that some people just turn off their minds?

As Americans, we cannot deny the fact that the level of intelligence in the country has gone downhill over the years. Whether it’s due to laziness, lack of motivation, or something completely different, we can not push away that the public in general has a tough time using their own brains and creativity and rely on others to spoon-feed them information.

Now, you may be wondering what does this have to do with Lost? As the seasons of Lost have progressed, for every answer given, it seems as if three more questions are posed. Some may think that getting answers to one’s questions would give some sort of satisfaction to the viewer and allow them to take a deep breath while re-grouping their thoughts about the show. However, being that some questions aren’t answered for a couple seasons, it gives viewers the chance to ponder and speculate their own answers. As time passes and theories are developed, viewers start to accept the ideas that have been created among other Lost viewers. When the time comes that a large question is answered, some fans are not pleased with the answer being that they had either started to believe a theory of their own or feel that they were cheated if they feel that the answer given does not truly satisfy them.

As Lost prepares for its final season, complaints about the complicated nature of the show are at a high, as are viewer headaches. Questions are still arising just as worries that the producers are “making it up as they go along”. Executive producers of Lost, Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, have stated on numerous occasions that the previous seasons and plot lines were planned and thought through and that they do know where the show is going leading up to the series finale. Though, this does not prevent viewer complaints, it shows that the show is actually planned and outlined, however lack of viewer patience and dedication to the show and its revelations give some viewers the excuse to exclaim that Lost is too complicated and has deviated from its original roots.

In regards to the plan for the ending of Lost, Damon Lindelof says,
“Yes, the actual ending ending is exactly the same as we'd always planned on it being, except we didn't know if we were going to get there after two seasons, four seasons or after six seasons, so the road to the ending has had to change significantly. But the ending itself? Whether people like it or not, that's the ending we've had.”

In the end, Lost is not a show for everyone. Though facts show that the writers and producers know where the show is headed, it doesn’t keep some viewers to continue their complaints of its complicated nature and lack of answered questions. In relation to this, Lost proves to be a successful example of just how little the public delegates their minds to handle when it comes to patience and dissecting information.

Being that Lost is a television show, it is the opinion of many that viewers should not have to be subjected to opening their minds and scratching their heads while being entertained. In fact, some question whether it is entertainment at all. Regardless of viewer opinions, Lost is and will continue to be a show that is extremely entertaining while simultaneously engaging the viewer and allowing them to be apart of the show through creativity and use of their inner quick-witted intelligence…whether the casual viewer agrees with it or not.

The final season of Lost can be seen Tuesdays at 9:00 PM on ABC.

Happily Ever Affter

For the first time since, well, awhile, Desmond's back (and with lines)!

I was looking forward to this episode, thinking that we were going to get some revelations about Desmond being brought back to the Island, his "uniqueness," etc. Though there were some interesting mini-revelations, I was a bit disappointed being that the majority of the episode was Desmond's alt-life. Though it was interesting to see and connect the similarities to the on-Island lives of the Losties, there's so much ground to cover on the Island and with the pre-existing mysteries, that the ALT needs to start coming to a close. Honestly, I thought they would do that earlier on this season, but that's beside the point. On to "Happily Ever After"...

Desmond wakes up to the face of Charles Widmore, obviously shocked, and it is revealed that he's been brought back to the Island (dun, dun DUN). Is he infuriated? Well, does attacking someone with an IV pole count? I'd go for 'yeah.'

Widmore goes on to tell Desmond that, “the island isn’t done with you yet,” while Jin is outside of the room (revealed to be on the Hydra Island). After taking instructions from Widmore, Zoe takes Jin down their “experiment,” where a large industrial-looking crate is, with some sort of electrical equipment is housed.



Starting the experiment early, a man is pushed into the locked crate area and a large circular electrical apparatus is shown, emitting a bright light. Soon, the light engulfs the man and as the machine is turned off, he is shown lying on the floor dead.

After a quick glance at the dead man, Widmore orders Desmond inside the chamber, wanting to know if he can survive another electromagnetic event (and other undisclosed information). Before the experiment begins, he states that Desmond will be asked to make a large sacrifice, but it is not revealed what Widmore meant by that, either metaphorically or literally.

Inside the chamber still, Widmore adds that if Desmond won't help, it will all be for nothing, everyone vanishing forever. With that lingering, Widmore leaves Desmond, locks the room, and starts the electricity inside, the intense light engulfing him.

Flash-sideways
(For the most part, I'm not going to elaborate on the FS, as it was basically "The Adventures of Desmond in Sideways-Land." There were, however, some parts worth mentioning, which is what I'll do)

The FS pretty much follows Desmond as he goes about his day (wow, that sounds quaint, doesn't it?), coincidentally, working for Charles Widmore, who emphatically expresses Desmond's indispensability.

Throughout the FS portion of the episode, Desmond seems to have "flashes" of his 2007Island self, much like many of the other Losties (i.e. Jack and Kate, Sun, etc.), providing us with frightening similarities between both realities: Desmond pushing the Swan Station button vs. Desmond pushing the MRI button, Desmond running in the stadium vs. Penny running in the stadium, and Charlie's "Not Penny's Boat" hand vs. Charlie's hand underwater in the car, just to name a few cool ones.



With this alongside with Desmond's "uniqueness" where the rules don't apply to him, could it be said that Desmond has a much stronger relation with his alt-self than the other Losties, or maybe it means that there is no alt-Desmond, and 2007 Desmond flashed to the ALT, or maybe none of the above. Regardless of the reason, it can certainly be said that Desmond (in 2007 OR the ALT) know what's going on. In future episodes, it will be very interesting to see how this plays out and how his knowledge relates to Widmore's plan and the entire Lost scheme.

Quite possibly one the most intriguing portions of the episode was "ALT" Desmond interacting with Daniel Fara--uh, I mean Widmore and Eloise Widmore (Hawking). Much like her 2007 self, she seems to know an awful lot about the mysteries of the world(s). How she knows, on the other hand, is hopefully a mystery that will not be left out in the remaining episodes.

Desmond also meets up with ALT-Daniel who is ironically a musician and not a physicist. However, he says that one day he woke to find he had written complex equations in his journal in relation to time and space. Later he attempts suggest to Desmond that maybe their life wasn’t meant to be their true and them changing things in another life caused their current existence, mirroring the hydrogen bomb explosion on the Island.



Somehow, Daniel’s existence seems to have merged with his 2007-knowledge to inform him of the existence of both realities. Though, like Ms. Hawking/Widmore, how does he have this insight, aside from the journal equations? Is the fabric of the universe wearing thin, realities bleeding into each other caused by some yet-to-be-revealed event?

Back on the Island, 2007
Desmond is found alive in the chamber and while only a few seconds have passed, Desmond feels as if it’s been hours. Widmore explains that his talent is vital to the mission and Desmond immediately interrupts, stating that he understands and is ready to assist Widmore, the ALT apparently having some awakening affect on him.

Soon after, Desmond is brought back to Widmore’s base, escorted by Zoe who is going to show him something. Interrupting, (a very infected) Sayid immerges from the bushes and points a gun at Zoe, strongly suggesting that she run away. She does.



Sayid alone with Desmond says that "these people are extremely dangerous" and that they need to go now. Desmond looks oddly calm and answers, "Of course; lead the way."

Well, I guess Desmond's line, "See you in another life, brother" has taken on a whole new meaning.

Until next time...

Namaste