Episode 6x16 – What They Died For

Well, with the penultimate episode of LOST behind us, it’s all downhill (or down Island) from here. In the past, some episodes leading up to the season finale haven’t been too great—a lot of setup and not enough action and revelations. However with What They Died For, this was far from the case.

The episode was packed with answers, character and plot development, and even the most-welcomed revisiting of some old locations that we haven’t seen in awhile. Any combination of the above makes for a great LOST episode, but having all of them in one episode? Fantastic.

With the title of this week’s episode, there was some nervous speculation that a large amount (or all) of the on-Island Losties would be killed off. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case, and instead only referred to the deaths of previous Candidates.

So with one episode to go before the series is over and with everyone’s minds ready to burst with both nervousness and excitement, let’s take a look back at What They Died For…


Flash-Sideways Timeline (2004)
We start off the flash-sideways this week with Jack in his apartment and notices his neck injury from the season 6 premiere on 815. Though is Jack noticing it after the 815 flight when we first saw it, or is LOST going to pull some funky time travel/alt-timeline craziness where this is the first time it’s noticed by Jack? I’m probably looking way too much into it, but the scrape must be important, otherwise it wouldn’t have been acknowledged in the show twice.



Jack and David have breakfast with Claire (she took up his offer on coming back to his house) and David reminds Jack of the concert—more on that later—and Jack asks if his mom is coming too. Once again: yet another mention of David’s mom; this must be an important reveal in the finale as well, otherwise…why keep us in the dark about it?

Later Jack gets a phone call from Oceanic saying that Christian’s body was found, but Desmond is revealed to be posing as an Oceanic representative. Why? Because alt-Desmond is bad-ass and has something up his sleeve.

Locke recovers from his injuries and returns to his substitute (or Candidate?!) position, and Ben spies Desmond’s car, recognizing him as the one who previously ran over Locke. But kick-ass Desmond doesn’t want the attention of the police and beats Ben senseless on the hood of his car. He says that he doesn’t want to hurt Locke but instead wants to help him “let go”. First off, if he didn’t want to hurt him, he wouldn’t have run him over with his car. Secondly, what does Locke need to “let go” of?

While Desmond beats Ben, he has a flash of Desmond beating him at the marina from season 5’s Dead Is Dead when he went to shoot Penny, another character having a flash of their 2007-self. After, Desmond leaves Ben and drives away.

Ben is treated for his Desmond beating and remarks to Locke that he “saw” something when he was being beaten. He relays Desmond’s message of getting Locke to “let go” and says that for some reason he believed him.

Back at the LAPD, we see that Sawyer and Miles were on the end of Locke’s incomplete police phone call. Desmond arrives at the station and turns himself in for the attacking of Locke and Ben, almost wanting to be put in a cell. And then we see why—Desmond joins Sayid and Kate in jail…almost like a collection of Losties.

Obviously Desmond has got a plan…he’s always got a plan, much like Ben in the 2007 Island timeline and it seems to involve gathering all the Losties together. With Kate, Sayid, Miles, and Sawyer together, he’s doing a pretty good job.

Meanwhile, Miles reminds Sawyer about the concert at “my dad’s museum”. Two things about this: Dr. Chang has a museum. Very cool. I wonder if it’s filled with Dharma goodness? Second, If this is the same concert as the one Jack and David are going to, why can’t anyone remember it?!

After school, Ben spies Alex and she insists to give him a ride home. At the car, who else pops out but Rousseau? Since mentioning her in Dr. Linus, we’ve wondered if it’s really Rousseau that’s Alex’s mom or someone else. Now we know it really is (by the way, didn’t anyone else find it weird that she was in a dress? After seeing her in her feral Island clothing for 5 seasons, I was kind of shocked).



Another thing I feel worth mentioning is saying that Ben must come for dinner “even if we have to kidnap you", throwing out a neat, irrefutable parallel to season 3.

We then learn that Alex’s father died when she was two, Ben being the closest thing to a father she’s had. Hmm…another parallel? Though he didn’t die when she was two on the Island, he still died. Makes me wonder how alt-Alex’s father died and if he’s the same as the 2007 Island timeline.

Locke goes to see Jack at the hospital and his speech echoes one of his “don’t mistake coincidence for fate” Island speeches as he says that out of "all the doctors in Los Angeles" he ended up with Jack. He says that Jack is supposed to fix him and is ready to accept the surgery.

So with Locke changing his mind about the surgery and being a “Candidate” for it, could he become the on-Island Candidate (more about on-Island candidacy later)? The parallels seem too significant to ignore, but until we know where the FS fits in, everything is pure speculation.

Back at the jail, the prisoners are being transferred and a knowing Desmond remarks that it’s time to leave, showing that he has some control over what’s happening. He admits that he’s crazy for turning himself in and focuses their attention on wanting to be free. When the truck stops, he says that he’ll need a promise from each of them to do something and Kate and Sayid agree.



The truck stops and Ana Lucia frees them and receives her demand of $125,000, fooling the audience and showing that she is (temporarily at least) on Desmond’s side

Soon after, Hurley arrives appearing to recognize Ana Lucia (from the Island?) but she doesn’t remember him. Hurley motions to his car and points out the keys and thing’s they’ll need. Sayid goes with Hurley, and Kate with Desmond, who hands Kate a dress telling her, "We’re going to a concert."



2007 timeline
Back on the beach, Jack stitches up Kate’s sub injury (and she looks terrible!), yet another parallel, this time going back to the first time they met after the crash when the roles were reversed. She remarks about Ji Yeon and says that Flocke must be killed. Jack concurs…and it’s about time they started to realize his nature and intentions. Remembering Sayid’s suggestion, they go off to find Desmond in the well.

Sawyer remarks to Jack that he was responsible for Sun, Jin, and Sayid dying, as he pulled the bomb wires, but Jack say’s that it was “he”, Flocke, who killed them. Poor Sawyer, always in a mess. His reaction to their deaths was sort of like his reaction to Juliet’s death, though not as strong.



Hurley notices a young Jacob (now revealed to be the boy from the previous episodes) and demands Jacob’s ashes that Ilana took after his death and then runs off. While chasgin him, Hurley finds adult Jacob and it is revealed that when the fire goes out and the ashes are burned, Hurley won’t be able to see him again remarking, "we are very close to the end.” I took this as being said to both the characters and the audience in that the characters’ journeys and the series of LOST is coming to an end. But, how is Jacob able to personify himself as his younger self? Or, going along the more LOST route, are they two separate beings existing in their own time?

The Candidates are able to see Jacob as well and Kate demands to know that everyone they lost didn’t die for nothing. Jacob says that they died so in the process of determining the Island’s protector—we already knew this from a couple episodes ago, but it was a pretty big reveal from the characters’ perspectives—and that the Candidate will be determined by the time the fire is out.



So Jacob reveals that he chose the Candidates because they were all flawed and alone, much like Jacob’s previous self, and the Island needed them as much as they needed it. I was pretty satisfied with this answer; Jacob saw a lot of himself in the Losties and had enough faith them to place total trust in them that the Island would be safe once he was gone.

Now for an answer we’ve really been waiting for…why Kate’s name is crossed off! Turns out it was because she became a mother (raising Aaron) and it was more important to be a part of his life. Though, Jacob still gives her the option of being a Candidate if she wants.

Here’s what I’m having trouble understanding about Aaron though. First off, it would be great to see him again. Jeeze. Anyway, Aaron was never supposed to be “raised by another” and yet he was. And now, Jacob treats the action as something wonderful. So which is it? Was the act of raising him something that will cause devastation (besides Claire’s craziness) or something to be praised that results in the option to choose to protect a mythical Island? There’s a lot of moral questions that arise from the pondering, but there’s got to be something else to it that will be significant in the plot. Otherwise…what’s Aaron’s purpose now?

Jacob explains that the Candidate must protect the light at the heart of the Island, but until I get more information on that light and the Mystical Caves of Illumination, I really don’t have a reason to care about it or its well-being. Am I wrong? I’m hoping it’ll be addressed in the finale though.

He also says that the Candidate must kill Flocke, but he’s not even sure if it’s possible, showing that even Jacob has limited knowledge of the Island and smoke monster.

A choice is offered to see who takes the position as the Island’s protector (something that was never given to Jacob) and Jack steps up and accepts the role, saying that it’s the reason for him being on the Island. Now really, who didn’t see this coming? Speak up! I definitely saw Jack becoming the new Jacob (along with some other fans) awhile ago, but I wasn’t expecting it this soon. I would’ve bet that it would be a reveal in the last 20 minutes of the series or something like that. For that reason, I’m wondering if Jack will really be the new protector of the Island or if something terrible will happen to him, putting his position—and life—in jeopardy.

Jacob and Jack go to the creek and he tells Jack that the heart of the Island is near where he first woke up (the bamboo forest) when Oceanic 815 crashed, leading me to believe that we may see the opening scene again. Though Jack hasn’t seen the light before, he’ll be able to now that he will be protecting it.

Jacob then performs the same ritual with Jack that Mother did with Jacob, saying that familiar phrase “now you are like me,” saying that he must do the job “as long as you can."



So now that Jack has taken on the role of Jacob, I can’t help but have some questions related to it. For example, Jack knows he’ll be protecting the light…but how does one protect light? Can it be stolen? Used improperly? What? Seems like Jacob needs to leave Jack a list of instructions before he disappears. Also, is Jack like Jacob now in a sense that he cannot die? What about the rest of the Candidates, now that the position is fulfilled, can they be killed?


Hey! It's Dharmaville!
Now be finally have some insight to the whereabouts of Ben, Richard and Miles! We knew they were going to the Dharma barracks, but hadn’t seen them in quite a few episodes.



Ben says that the explosives they’re looking for are in his secret room behind the bookcase, the room where he was told he could summon the smoke monster, before he realized it was actually the one summoning him.

Meanwhile, Miles has one of his I-sense-dead-people moments and Richard reveals that he buried Alex here once that left the Island and Ben thanks him. I had temporarily forgotten about the shootout with Keamy at the Barracks and Alex’s death, so it was nice to revisit that moment and location again—because it just wouldn’t be LOST if we didn’t see the old Dharma location again—and seeing Ben’s emotion, somehow foreshadowing what’s to come.

At Ben’s house, they find Widmore in the kitchen, sending Zoe to get their supplies from the outrigger. What supplies is this again? Something non-important, or something that could be a total game changer for the finale?



I felt this was quite a surprising reveal, both for the characters and audience, in that this was the first time that Ben knew Widmore was on the Island. Though we knew they were both on the Island, it was like the audience was experiencing Ben’s shock vicariously through him and made for a trademark LOST tense moment.

Widmore explains that he is his last chance of surviving on the Island and that he’s had the plan rigged with C4 since he arrived, a throwback to The Candidate showing that Flocke was telling the truth in that Widmore was the one who rigged the plane.

But wait—there’s more reveals to come!

Widmore further explains that Jacob came to see him after the freighter explosion, showed him “the error of my ways”, and persuaded him to return to the Island. Ben challenges him but Jacob informed Widmore that he’s on the Island for “this exact purpose”, which is not explained, but most likely to defeat Flocke.

Here we go again with the unclear good vs. evil situation. Let’s break it down into a mini timeline of evil and deceit here:

Widmore exiled from Island—Widmore tries to find Island—Widmore sends freighter and team of mercenaries to destroy said Island and all people on it—Widmore wants the Island for himself—Widmore arrived back on the Island per Jacob’s invitation to assist in protecting its well-being? Something’s not adding up here.

Either Widmore is lying about his invitation back to the Island, or Jacob has got something up his sleeve. Why send someone to protect the Island when he previously tried to kill all his Candidates? Second chances? Hidden agenda? Regardless, if Widmore was visited by Jacob, that would be a flashback that I would very much love to see (though I doubt it will happen).

Zoe informs Widmore that Locke has arrived on the main Island and tells her to return ASAP and for everyone else to hide.

While Widmore and Zoe hide in Ben’s closet, Miles escapes into the jungle, Ben chooses not to hide because “he” will find him anyway, and peacemaker Richard decides to go to talk to Flocke, saying that talking to him will give them a chance. Wrong, Richard!

The smoke monster attacks him and tosses him into the air. Immediately after, Flocke comes out from behind a Dharma house and sits down next to Ben saying that he’s just the man he was looking for. In return for Ben killing some people for him, he will let him have the whole Island all for himself. Of all the people on the Island, Ben should be the one to know better trusting century-old smoke monsters, but agrees to the offer.



On his first step back into his journey of betrayal, Ben tells Flocke that Widmore is hiding inside his closet, and Ben shows tem where they are.

Locke tells Ben to wait outside but says that he wants to see this. When the light is turned on, Ben gives Widmore an all-is-fair-in-Islands-and-smoke-monsters look and offers a bitter "Sorry Charles."

Flocke inquires about Zoe and she proceeds to spill her life story, but Widmore tells her to stay quiet, a remark matched with Flocke cutting her throat. I’m betting that there were quite a few fans that were cheering once Liz Lemon was killed, but I actually really liked her character and didn’t find her annoying at all, like some others did. If nothing else, her death was used to further the point the MIB is an ass and needs to be stopped. But after coming down from Across the Sea where he was considerably less evil, just misunderstood, I think I can speak for everyone by saying that it’s tough trying to figure out his true nature and reasons behind his agenda.



Flocke goes on to say that as Widmore told her not to talk, Zoe was pointless, justifying his reason for killing her.

If Widmore doesn’t tell Flocke what he needs to know, the first thing he promises to do off the Island is kill Penny. Poor Penny, everyone always threatening to kill her and she’s just stuck in the middle.

Now it’s Widmore’s turn to spill his motives: he says that he brought Desmond to the Island because of his resistance to electromagnetism and that he was a “last resort,” but refuses to say any more in front of Ben.

As he proceeds to whisper the rest of what Flocke wants to hear, Ben shoots and kills Widmore saying that "he doesn't get to save his daughter," referring to how Widmore “changed the rules” (more on that later) and indirectly killed Alex.



Yes! Finally! What I’ve been waiting for all season—Ben back in action! I loved this entire sequence and thought it was great how he reverted back to his old manipulative self and took revenge on Widmore. I really hope this continues throughout the finale, just not at the Losties’ expense.

Flocke says that Widmore told him what he needed to know, followed by Ben’s eager inquiry about whether there are "other people to kill."

Whew. After that rollercoaster of a ride scene, we’ve got tons of information to process: Ben’s revenge, Widmore and Zoe dead, Ben working as an assassin for Flocke (paralleling Sayid’s role in season 5), etc. We also have some great questions that I’m hoping will be addressed in the finale. For example, in The Shape of Things to Come in season 4, Ben wasn’t able to kill Widmore because of “the rules”. Why was he able to now? Because Jacob is dead? I’m betting that it’s a plausibility but I think we need a bit more information on the specifics of “the rules” (whether they are governed by someone or it’s more like the “honor” system) before any conclusion is made.

Also, I’m a little afraid for Miles and Richard, probably more so for Miles. He hasn’t gotten a ton of screen time this season and he just ran off into the jungle unprotected, so I’m thinking that he time ay be coming to an end. He has one of the walkie-talkies though, so maybe Ben will bring him to safety or, on the other side of the coin, Flocke could lead him into a trap. At the moment, it’s difficult to say whether Miles made the right decision of running off when Flocke was coming.

As for Richard, he was attacked by the smoke monster. I’m not sure how (or if) one can recover from that, especially taking that immortality may be no more into consideration.

Lastly, what does Widmore have planned for Desmond? He revealed to Flocke that he wanted to see if he could survive another electromagnetic event—and he did. Now what? Was he expecting something in which Desmond would guarantee them survival? Desmond is said to be the last thing standing in Flocke’s way, so why?


At the well
Later Flocke and Ben go to the well and see that Desmond was not killed by Sayid and obviously freed by someone (Jack and co.?). Flocke tells Ben that Widmore said that if the Candidates were killed, Desmond was the one thing left to make sure Flocke never left the Island. So now it seems like Desmond was important to both Jacob and Widmore, but for the same purpose? Who knows, maybe there’s some electromagnetism in the near future.



Once Desmond is found, Flocke says that he will get him to do what he could never do: "destroy the Island."

L    O    S    T
So there we have it folks, the penultimate episode of LOST. I felt it was a pretty strong ad effective episode before a finale. Lots of interesting set-ups, character development, and just pure awesomeness. If What They Died For is a good indicator of what the finale will be like, I think we’re in for a fantastic one.

Probably the one think that everyone has on their minds is the flash sideways. Not only d we need to wrap up things on-Island, but we’ve got another reality to wonder about to—and I have a theory about that. Okay, so what if the sunken Island from the alt-reality is actually the Island in 2007, the Island we’ve seen for the past 6 seasons? Flocke says that he has intentions of destroying the Island, so what if he succeeds? I have a feeling that the Island sinking would be the end result. Though, unless it’s presented and resolved in a very careful and thought-out way, I wouldn’t like that to happen.

So until next time when the thoughts, theories, and speculation ends for the last time…

Namaste

Episode 6x15 – Across the Sea

After much anticipation, we finally have some insight into the lives, choices, and personalities of Jacob and MIB. Eliminating the flash-sideways and 2007 Island timelines this episode to focus entirely on back story of these two mysterious characters, we had a lot of things thrown at us, both answers and mysteries.

Let me start off by saying this: I’d be one of the first people to admit that I was totally excited for a Jacob/MIB-centric episode. With that, I expected—as did millions other viewers—some concrete answers and explanations. Much like Ab Aeterno though, Across the Sea primarily focused on the lives of the two characters on the Island during a short period of time. Yes, short. When you’re immortal and your brother’s a smoke monster, a couple decades is small potatoes.

I’ve noticed that the majority of viewers either loved or hated this one, and I can see why: a) there are 2 more Lost episodes left and b) it’s a Jacob/MIB-centricity. With those two facts, expecting answers wasn’t an outlandish expectation. And we did get some answers, although those answers branch out into more questions, whose level of importance and answers will hopefully not go ignored.

Encompassing the majority of the plotlines throughout Across the Sea, the episode raises the question of: what do crazy mothers, frozen donkey wheels, and mystical caves of illumination all have in common? Well, let’s find out as we take a look back Across the Sea…

Here’s the story, of a man named…?
During some point in the past (some sources are claiming between 450 BC and 900 AD) a pregnant woman shipwrecks on the Island separated from her crew. Upon her brief exploration, she comes across another woman who gives her food and healing while the woman, Claudia, speaks in Latin saying that she arrived “by accident”.

Though, are we to believe that Claudia and her people are the first people to come to the Island? I mean, this episode is the farthest back we’ve seen chronologically, right? But if this is the case, how would the Egyptian references and hieroglyphics be explained? The Romans had nothing to do with hieroglyphics and statues of fertility, so I’m going to say that the Island’s population history goes even farther back than we’ve seen.

Suddenly, Claudia goes into labor (revealing to be in the latter portions of her pregnancy) and gives birth to a boy who she names Jacob. She relaxes for a moment before realizing that she is giving birth to yet another child; unlike Jacob, the other child is whiney and obviously irritated. Claudia says that she was only expecting one child and therefore picked out one name, leaving the second child nameless, and when she asks to see the child, the woman who initially cared for her upon her arrival heaves a rock, killing her with it.



After this scene, we can safely infer that we viewed the birth of Jacob and MIB, our thoughts accompanied by visual symbolization of good and evil: Jacob born silent and content, while MIB was crying; Jacob wrapped in a white blanket, with MIB in a dark one. Also, MIB in the guise of Locke appeared to be telling the truth saying that he “had a crazy mother too”. Oh, and she was one crazy mother, continuing the trend and joining Claire and Rousseau.

“We are here for a reason.”
On the beach, the BIB (Boy in Black) and Jacob find an old Egyptian game on the beach which BIB “just knows” how to play. How? I have no idea. Jacob is worried that Mother will take the game away, but plays anyway.

Now we get some interesting character development and insight into both brothers. Jacob seems to be worried, unsure, and always balancing the advantages and consequences of a decision. His remarks about Mother taking the game away shows this, and it seems as if young Jacob totally contrasts from his 2007 confident, knowledgeable self.

Later, Mother gets Jacob to tell her about the game, commenting that he cannot lie and further showing his place as the “good” and responsible child. On the beach, she tells BIB of their conversation and that he is “special”, though we’re not clear on the meaning of this yet. Could it possibly be the same “special” that Locke was constantly referred to as? Sure sounds like it, as both had an opportunity as Candidates to protect the Island.

Then we get insight into the deceiving, protective nature of Mother. She states that there is nowhere but the Island (which later plays a large part into their futures), nothing "somewhere else, across the sea." She also talks about death, but BIB has no knowledge of it, further showing Mother’s desire for both boys to live a sheltered life.

Both boys later find out that they are not the only people on the Island and demand an explanation from Mother. She says that they are different from the other men because "we are here for a reason". Blindfolding them and leading them through the jungle, Mother takes them to see the “reason” for their existence which turns out to be a cave with a running stream and light emanating from it. Though it is a beautiful sight, Mother firmly states that they must never enter the cave.



Okay, here’s where it gets a little strange (but this is Lost, right?):

Apparently, a little bit of the light is inside each person but everyone is greedy and wants more. Foreshadowing MIB’s beach chat with Jacob in the season 5 finale, Mother says, “they come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt and it always ends the same.”

Although it seems like the light cannot be taken from the Island, if it goes out, it goes out everywhere. Apparently, the Island does need a protector, as Jacob’s reason for the Candidates was revealed a couple episodes ago.

Protecting the Island & the Rules
Mother says that when her time is up, either Jacob or BIB will have to protect the Island, showing that Mother has influenced Jacob enough to believe that the Island needs protecting even in 2007.

The boys later play the Egyptian game again and BIB tells Jacob that one day he can have his own game and his own rules for others to follow. So here we go: the rules again. What are the rules? Something totally made up or metaphorical, or is there really a list of Rules that one has to follow?

Judging by Jacob and BIB’s previous lack of Island and world knowledge, I would guess that they have no further knowledge of the Rules than what they’re told. Would this mean that the Rules are real, or just set into motion by some unknown person or force as a means of control based on belief? Hopefully more of this to come in the remaining episodes.

As BIB is playing the game, he sees a woman who reveals herself as his real mother. Though, only he can see her, as she is dead (is that really a sufficient explanation?).



She takes him to the people who she first came to the Island with, who have built a little village and seem to be thriving. BIB learns that there are places across the sea and that he is from there. With that, Claudia leaves.

In the middle of the night, BIB wakes Jacob and tries to explain how Mother lied to them their whole lives and that the people in the village are their people. Not wanting to believe, Jacob strongly reacts to BIB’s comments and is beaten by Jacob. BIB says that he’s going to leave the Island to go “home”, across the sea, and wishes that Jacob would go with him. Jacob being sweet and obeying, stays with Mother. But she says that no matter how hard he tries, BIB can never leave the Island.

Here BIB mentions “home” much like he does on the Island in 2007. Are we to say that home isn’t actually a determined place, but just off the Island? Throughout his life, MIB never wanted to stay on the Island and just wanted to go to where he came from, “home”. Though unspecific, it’s quite possible that MIB doesn’t know where home is, just that it’s not the Island.

Later Mother admits to killing Jacob’s real mother because she would’ve taken them back to her people, “the bad people”, and she needed Jacob to “stay good”.

Wait! You’re saying, Stay good? What does that mean?

Assumingly, Mother needed someone to take care of the Island after she was gone and had her eyes set on Jacob as the eyes on favorite. But like she told BIB, she loves them for different reasons: BIB for being powerful and unrelenting; Jacob for being obedient and reliable. Though I guess the job of protecting magical light requires the latter.

BIB goes to the Roman settlement and Jacob agrees to stay with Mother. Little, snotty Jacob.

Wheels, wells, and the Mystical Caves of Illumination
Some decades later, it appears as if MIB and Jacob still haven’t tired of playing their Egyptian game. MIB says Mother is insane but was right in that people are “greedy, manipulative, untrustworthy and selfish” and is only staying with them in hopes to find a way off the Island, and he did.

His idea involves a well (much like the Orchid well and the one MIB threw Desmond in) and explains to Jacob the strangeness of the metal-magnetism relationship on the Island.

Now of course Jacob has to run home and tell Mother about MIB’s plans; he’s the favorite after all. After, Mother goes down to MIB’s well where he states that he tried to find the cave that she brought him and Jacob to, but found another way to get access to the light: digging at different locations on the Island to locate the light, much like the Dharma Initiative digging around for electromagnetism. Ah, if only MIB had left a note so Dharma wouldn’t have to do all that work. It hasn’t been confirmed as far as I know, but I’m making an educated guess that the light is electromagnetism.

Then we see what MIB’s been working on: a giant, wooden (and unfrozen) wheel. According to him, he plans to harness the light and water and somehow…move the Island? No offence, MIB, but I’d love to know how you plan on doing that.



So is this wheel, the wheel? The Frozen Donkey Wheel under the Orchid station? I’d say yes and no. Yes, because he probably used a wheel and a well for his plans, but a different one which would explain why the setting was different than that below the Orchid station.

Mother looking strangely relaxed and subdued, approaches MIB to give him a goodbye hug before he leaves the Island, but hits his head against the stone wall instead. Yeah, quite a drastic change in actions.

Mother then goes back to her favorite, Jacob, and takes him to the Mystical Cave of Illumination and says that he’s going to protect it. Not asking if he wants to protect it, but telling. Ironically, Jacob is planned to protect something of which he hardly has any knowledge of.

Mother: "Life, death, rebirth; it's the source, the heart of the island."

Once again, weirdness alert! Mother pours some wine and starts muttering over it, the scene and ritual reeking of Biblical symbolism. In drinking the wine, Jacob accepts the role of the Island’s protector and to find a replacement when he can no longer keep up his duty. Ahem. Candidates.

If the wine was what makes Jacob immortal, why would Mother need to add in the clause of finding a replacement? In theory, Jacob should be able to protect and live on the Island forever now, right?

Jacob is visibly saddened by becoming protector of the Island as a second choice, but Mother admits that it should’ve been him all along. Hmm…why the sudden burst of enlightment, Mother? Does it factor into your evil plans?

Jacob drinks the wine with Mother commenting "now you and I are the same."



MIB wakes up some time later and finds that his village destroyed and his people dead, the remains of the Egyptian game nearby prompting the thought that it was all Jacob’s doing.

Back at the caves, Mother sends Jacob off for firewood saying that a storm is coming. As he leaves, Mother spots the Egyptian game on the floor as the audience chants together, Look out!

Sure enough, she’s stabbed by MIB who apparently discovered that she destroyed the village. Though, how in the world could she set fire to, destroy, and kill everything in the village, especially in her current physical state? Looks to me like the only thing that could do that kind of damage would be a smoke monster…but I’ll get to that in a bit.

Jacob sees what MIB did and attacks him (paralleling the same action years before). He drags him through the jungle, MIB claiming all the while that he cannot kill him, as Mother stated. Instead, Jacob has something else planned, something “worse than death” and throws him into the stream near the Mystical Caves of Illumination. He hits his head on a rock and is sucked into the mouth of the cave.

Seconds later, WHOOOOSH!! And the mouth of the cave projectile vomits smoke monster into the sky, and it disappears into the jungle. I’ve mentioned this in past blog entries (and I don’t know if anyone else has noticed but) the smoke monster has recently been gray rather than black, so I’m glad that the graphics department decided to change to back to the more intimidating dense black color. It may seem minor, but I’m picky about my smoke monster continuity!



I’m not sure why the color has been changed back to black after being gray for a season or two, or if it even has to do with the story, but if it does, could aging have to do something with it? Maybe weakening of some inner-Island force? Maybe it’s none of that and the graphics department just used a different program for smokey’s FX.

Anyway, I was totally confused and simultaneously amazed at the sudden appearance of the smoke monster. From that scene, I kind of inferred that the cave+light+human interference=smoke monster transformation. But was this the creation of the smoke monster or the monster merging with MIB? This is one that most definitely needs to be answered.

Weirdness Alert #3:

MIB’s body washes ashore! What’s up with that? We know that MIB was seen in MIB form after the incident, so there are some missing puzzle pieces that need to be filled in before we see the whole picture (is this what MIB referred to when saying that Jacob stole his body?).

Jacob then carries MIB’s body back to the caves and places it next to that of Mother, showing us a familiar yet unfamiliar set-up…Adam and Eve!! Finally we get the answer to one of the earliest and most theorized about mysteries of Lost. Adam and Eve are MIB (well, his body anyway) and Mother. I was thrilled with the explanation but I wasn’t in total shock and here’s why: for years we’ve been thinking it’s a couple, probably some of the Losties. Then there’s the even more weird theories like the Aaron-went-back-in-time-and-then-became-trapped-on-the-Island-and-became-“Adam” ones. For that reason and that reason only was I not shocked. I think we were all expecting something really out there and absurd, but I’m glad that shock value was, somewhat, sacrificed for a plausible, believable explanation. Though, I could’ve done without the flashbacks to season 1 of Jack, Kate, and Locke finding A&E. I mean, how long have we been watching and waiting for this answer again? 6 years? If you didn’t know that it was Adam and Eve by 10:02, then shame on you. Shame!



L    O    S    T
Well, so ends another episode of Lost. Has it sunk in for you that everything—all the theorizing, watching, re-watching, note taking, etc.—will be over in less than two weeks? Yeah, me either. Even scarier than not having our weekly fix of Lostification after season 6, is not having a good portion of answers after season 6. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed Across the Sea, but think it’s just a bit too late to be introducing new mysteries that have a chance of not being resolved in the remaining 3.5 hours of the series.

I don’t know what to think—whether we’re getting answers or not, what the ending is, will I like it?—so I’m trying not to think anything. As you can probably judge by my almost 3,000-word blog entry, it’s not working. I just can’t help it! As much faith as I have in Damon and Carlton for providing a real kick-ass ending to the show, it would be naïve of me six years in to think that we’re going to have everything resolved because it’s just not going to happen.

So until next time for my penultimate Lost recap (sigh), enjoy absorbing the massive load of ponderings from this week’s episode, because everything is coming to an end…

Namaste

Episode 6x14 – The Candidate

Hours after it aired, I’m still unsure of how to put my feelings about last night’s episode into words. It’s had a lot of “sitting” time, but there’s quite a bit of information to digest, leaving us with only death and darkness after the credits roll.

The Candidate was filled with everything from excitement to tragedy, and if you watched it last night, you’re probably filled with a toxic mixture of emotions (betrayal, devastation, hatred, sadness, etc.) One thing is certain, however: The Candidate reaffirmed one truth that Lost fans are no doubt finding difficult to accept— Lost is coming to an end…and soon.

The plot events and inundation of emotional scenes in this episode is proof enough to prove this point and shows that Lost isn’t afraid to dispose of some major characters and shake of viewers emotions in order to tell its story.

As Widmore said referring to the Smoke Monster, “He’s coming”, and so is the end. With that, let’s take a look at The Candidate…

Flash-Sideways Timeline:
Locke wakes up from surgery with Jack hovering over him, refreshing his memory about what happened and how Locke got to where he is now. He remarks to Locke that he may be a Candidate for a new surgical treatment to repair his spine, hopefully making him mobile again. And…there we have it: a mention of candidacy in the FS timeline. How’s that for ironic? With The Candidate being the episode title this week, it’s natural to infer that the writers were referring to the one who will replace Jacob in the 2007 Island time, but ironically, it’s relating to Locke and his possible new surgery, which he refuses to accept. Jack puzzled, walks away.

I’m going to go out on a limb and throw out a theory here: since it seems like all of our Island Candidates are getting picked off, maybe none the names on the cave ceiling and Lighthouse will become the Candidate. With Jack referencing to Locke his surgical Candidacy, is it possible that maybe alt-Locke is the Candidate, the purpose to be revealed in a later episode? I mean, he was a Candidate before he died, so since he’s alive in the alt-timeline, why couldn’t he be?

Soon after, Jack goes into a dentist office and finds Dr. Bernard Nadler there, seemingly holding the same occupation in both timelines. Ah, there’s our Bernard! Though he’s pretty much MIA on-Island, it was great to finally at least get to see him again, no matter the timeline.

Jack asks Bernard for a patient file, John Locke, in an attempt to find out how he was paralyzed and in so, why he’s refusing a possible cure.

Both Jack and Bernard remember that they were on Oceanic 815, but Bernard seems more insightful than we know. He refuses to hand over Locke’s file, but gives Jack the name “Anthony Cooper”, saying that he was brought in with Locke three years prior.

Jack follows Bernard’s lead and finds Anthony Cooper at a nursing home, bumping into Helen upon his arrival. They make their way into a room where Helen goes up to a man in a wheelchair, turns it around, showing an almost brain-dead Cooper, and reveals him to be Locke’s father.

Considering all the shitty things that Cooper pulled on Locke in the 2007 timeline, it should’ve been very easy to hate him. Key words: should have been. However, once I saw that deep, blank look on Cooper’s face with his mouth hanging open, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. The acting of all the actors paired with the music in the scene made it very emotional (the type of scenes that would later infiltrate the remainder of episode) and the realization of the differences between Cooper’s situation in both timelines was tragic, and somehow extremely hard-hitting and realistic.

Later, Jack goes back to the hospital at stands at Locke’s bedside, listening to him in his sleep murmuring phrases such as, “Push the button” and “I wish you had believed me", once again showing another character seemingly connecting with their 2007 Island counterparts. Though, this is a tough one because on-Island Locke is dead so how is alt-Locke connecting with his dead self? Maybe through the memories of Locke remaining alive through MIB inhabiting his body? Who knows? But it sure is interesting to ponder.

In the hospital, Jack runs into Claire for the first time since abruptly leaving Christian’s will reading and Claire tells Jack that Christian felt it was very important to will her a music box, ironically enough, playing “Catch a Falling Star”, which conjures up contrasting images of sweet, innocent alt-Claire, with that of infected Claire singing the song as the Losties exit the Temple in Sundown.

Jack, however, doesn’t know the meaning of the gift and answers Claire’s question of how Christian died and how he was bringing the body back from Sydney. They both then realize that they, too, were on Oceanic 815 together and Jack offers to let Claire stay with him because they’re “not strangers, we’re family.”

A recuperated Locke starts to leave the hospital and runs into Jack, thanking him for his help (by the way, did you see Jin pass by with a bunch of flowers going into a hospital room?). Though, Locke is somewhat upset to learn that Jack invaded his privacy and tacked down his father to see how Locke became paralyzed. He then tells Jack that he was paralyzed via a plane crash (irony being that the Oceanic 815 crash reversed his paralysis in the 2007 timeline) which also put his father into a vegetative state.



Locke says that he received his pilot’s license and begged Cooper to be his first passenger. Though afraid of flying, Cooper went along, as Locke had said that he could trust him. Whatever the reason for the crash, Locke is certain that it was his fault. Jack tells Locke that he now has to accept that his father is gone, but Locke refuses to face reality, responding to Jack with, “he he’s not” (similar to Jack’s own denial of his father’s death). However, Jack reminds him that although a physical being of his father remains, he’s not really there. Locke blaming himself won’t get Cooper back, and is only making Locke’s own life worse, revealing that Locke refuses the surgery out of guilt at the possibility of being fixed, while his father is irreparable.

Again, we’re faced with references to the 2007 Island timeline as Jack remarks to Locke that “what happened, happened", and that Locke can "let it go".

Jack and Locke talk for a bit and Locke says goodbye and goes for the exit. Immediately, Jack calls after him exclaiming, "I can help you, John. I wish you believed me” but Locke goes, leaving us with Island Locke’s final message to Jack, now being spoken by Jack.

And so ends the Flash-sideways for The Candidate…

Now, I haven’t been a fan of many of the FS storylines and time usage for a large portion of the season, but I absolutely loved this one and think I am starting to finally understand and accept the reason for the writers inserting it as the season’s new narrative device.

Along with contrasting with the 2007 timeline, the FS timeline seems to be being used in order to show the consequences of Jack & Co. detonating the hydrogen bomb on the Island and the tragedy they caused. At some point, they’ll come to a realization that their selfishness caused others’ problems and tragedy and they’ll have to atone for their actions once again. Though, how the timelines will mesh together and fit in with the storyline, I’m not so certain. But I can pretty much guarantee that everyone in the alt-timeline will, at some point, congregate together and consciously form the realization that there’s another reality, with a different version of them present in it.

What really made the FS this week though, was more of the amazing acting between Jack and Locke. Their chemistry is amazing and shows a fantastic contrast with their past on the Island in 2007. Although Locke is dead on the Island, the writers have somehow find a way to make his story even more compelling and emotional, showing that the well that is Lost, isn’t dry just yet.

The Island, 2007
Welcome to Hydra Island!
Picking up where we left off last week, Jack awakens to Sayid, the official greeter of Hydra Island. He breaks the news to Jack that the rest of Flocke’s followers went out and scattered in the jungle (ah, so that explains where Cindy and the surviving Temple folk are!) and then Flocke says that Widmore’s people are holding the rest of the Losties captive and that Flocke wants to help free them, seemingly caring for the well-being of the Jack and the Candidates. Seemingly.

Back at Widmore’s area, Kate, Hurley, Claire, Sun, Jin, Frank, and Sawyer are forced into the bear cages, Kate and Sawyer giving the impression of recalling their previous experiences in the cages back in season 3. Though this time, there definitely not doing what they were before.



Sawyer tells Kate that her name was crossed off on the cave ceiling, reaffirming Widmore’s statement that she’s totally dispensable. Meanwhile, Jin and Sun talk about Ji Yeon and Sun gives Jin back his wedding ring, ironically given away by Jin to not get Sun back to the Island. Well, that worked out perfectly. But wait…!

The generator powering the sonic fences dies, and we hear the familiar ticka-ticka-ticka sound of the smoke monster. Is it just me or has ole Smokey seemed to have taken on a grey color, as opposed to totally black in previous seasons? I’d like that mystery cleared up please. Forget about the statue, MIB, Candidates, etc. Just tell me why the smoke monster is grey. Maybe it’s just old age? In any case, Widmore’s team is attacked by the smoke monster in an attempt to free the caged Losties/Candidates. Several are killed including Seamus (aka Fatty), by being thrust onto the metal cage.

While Smokey does his thing, Kate reaches through the bars of the cage and tries to get Seamus’ keys to unlock the cage. Before she can though, Frank repeatedly kicks the cage door, while Jack simultaneously comes up with keys and frees the group. With the cage-Losties stunned at the appearance of the smoke monster, Jack calmly expresses, “I’m with him.” Nice Jack, real nice. Put your allegiance with a century-old killer mass of black smoke. But we’ll get to Jack’s decision later.

All aboard Explosive Ajira Airline!
Once freed, they start on their continuous-episode trek to the Ajira plane where Jack says that he’s not meant to leave the Island, but will help the rest of them leave. According to Sayid, “Locke” is waiting.

He arrives at the plane and totally nonchalantly shoots Widmore’s guards pitifully guarding the plane, and takes a watch off one of the bodies. We see that someone has built some bamboo steps up to the plane entrance and Flocke goes up and finds a pack of explosives wired into the plane.



Flocke then explains that Widmore wired the plane so that he could kill them all together and shows them the C4 as proof. The new and improved plan (because the first one worked out so well) is to leave the Island in Widmore’s sub, but Hurley being the Hurley that we all love once again says what the audience is thinking: Flocke isn’t supposed to leave the Island. Oh Hurley, you are the heart of the show.

Time to leave the Island
Flocke leads everyone to the sub and Claire apologizes to Flocke for switching sides, but is forgiven. Whether Claire truly is sorry or is just trying to remain on Flocke’s good side, much like the rest of the smart Losties, is uncertain. I think she’s not completely cured of the “sickness” and is a bit conflicted at the moment.

Though Sawyer said to Flocke that he trusts him, he later tells Jack the opposite and that Flocke cannot be allowed to get on the sub, laying out a plan for Jack and Flocke to be the last on the sub. A portion of the rest of the group makes it onto the sub and orders the crew to start it up.



Meanwhile, I’m getting nervous for the rest of the Losties on the dock. A shootout happens between them and Widmore’s tree-hopping people, with Sayid making it into the sub.

While that’s happening, Flocke asks Jack to reconsider his thoughts of staying.

Flocke: Whoever told you to stay had no idea what they were talking about.

Jack: John Locke told me I needed to stay.

With that, Jack is infuriated and with the power of the audience behind him, pushes Flocke into the water. Yes!

Then I almost died.

Kate is abruptly shot in the shoulder by Widmore’s tree folk and leaving Flocke treading water, carried an injured Kate into the sub. How great would it have been to hear Jack screaming, “KAAAAAATE!” like Michael’s, “WAAAALT!” Okay, not so great, but it’s a funny thought (not to mention much less annoying than Michael’s rendition).

The tension starts to speed up and I was starting to fear the worst: Kate was going to die. If we’re paralleling Sayid getting shot in the season 5 finale though, she’ll probably be fine. However, the injury looks pretty serious and with Hurley unable to locate a first aid kit…who knows.

As everyone boards the sub, Claire is left behind after trying to protect everyone against Widmore’s people (great aim by the way). Kate then realizes that they left Claire behind and Sawyer goes above to call for her to get in, but instead sees Claire and Flocke shooting more of Widmore’s people. Flocke goes for the sub hatch and Sawyer closes it, leaving both Claire and Flocke behind as the sub dives. Claire is shocked that she was left behind and runs toward the sub, but Flocke restrains her saying, "Trust me, you don't want to be on that sub."

And once again, I feel so sorry for Claire as she’s left out and left behind once again. She was just starting to learn to trust again, coming out of her “infection” and then she’s devastated that her once-friends have turned on her. Will this be enough to make Claire once again switch to an allegiance with Flocke, or realize his true intentions? This could play a huge part of the remaining episodes, as Claire clearly isn’t defined as totally good or totally infected as of yet.

“Nothing is going to happen…”
Jack gets his backpack to help Kate and realizes that Flocke put the bomb from the plane into his bag and rigged it to a timer from the dead guard’s watch. I believe Jack was thinking something along the lines of, Oh crap.

The timer starts at 3:54 and Jack demands that they surface, telling Sawyer that Flocke intended to be left at the dock, but Frank informs them that it will take five minutes to surface.



Sawyer starts to take Sayid suggestion about disarming the bomb (by pulling the two wires out simultaneously) but Jack stops him saying that nothing is going to happen if they leave it alone. If they pull the wires…“Boom.” I forget who said it in this episode, but it paralleled Jin’s utterance of the same word on the freighter in the season 4 finale. C4+ship/sub=awesome parallel.

Jack realizes that they’ve done exactly what Flocke wanted by “he wanted to get us all in the same place at the same time. A nice enclosed space where we had no hope of getting out of", the same thing which he accused Widmore of, the lie now exposed.

Flocke has repeatedly stated that he needs all the Candidates to leave the Island together for it to work, but it seems as if the real reason he needed them all together was to kill them, so that he could get off the Island. Contrary to his claims in past episodes, Flocke cannot leave because of the Candidates…and unless they’re dead, he’s stuck on the Island.

Sawyer being Sawyer is unable to trust Jack that everything will be okay, and pulls the wires from the C4. And once again, my heart drops…and I hold my breath…



The timer stops at 1:31 but then rapidly decreases.

From this point on, the episode is an emotional rollercoaster: sadness, action, and complete chaos.

In a split second decision, Sayid grabs the bomb and runs off, but not before informing Jack of Desmond’s location (I’m pretty sure this is Jack’s first bit of information that Desmond’s back on the Island) and saying:

Sayid: “Locke wants him dead, which means you are going to need him."

Jack asks why Sayid’s telling him this all of a sudden and responds:

Sayid: "Because it's going to be you, Jack."

If nothing else, this little dialogue shows that Desmond is alive and that his little speech/persuasion technique worked with Sayid at the well. Flocke is not going to be happy about this one.

With Sayid leaving us to wonder what he meant by that remark, he runs through the submarine, getting the C4 away from the Losties, and the bomb explodes in his arms and begins to sink the submarine.

Episode casualty tally: 1

Though Sayid was a main character, he’s been through a lot (especially this season) and it was nice to see that he was able to shrink away from his “infection” to such a point that he made the choice to sacrifice him for his friends. Much like many other dead characters, Sayid has redeemed himself through his actions, making his death that much more symbolic and easier for the viewer to accept.

Something happens
The sub begins to take on water and Frank is knocked out by a metal door as a cause of the water pressure. Meanwhile, Hurley plays innocent hero and swims with Kate out of the sub (did I mention Hurley was the heart of the show?) before asking about Sayid’s status, prompting Jack exclaiming, "There is no Sayid", really forcing both the characters and viewer to realize the permanency of what’s occurred and what’s about to.

Hurley and Kate escape the sub but Sun is pinned against the wall by a giant metal cabinet and Jin, Sawyer, and Jack attempt to free her. They move the cabinet, but she’s still pinned by metal bars/piping.



Increasing the tension, Sawyer is knocked out by a metal bar and Jack is once again conflicted: to save Sawyer, or to free Sun? After deliberation prompted by Jin’s telling him to help Sawyer instead, he takes a look back at them both and leaves the sub.

And then there were two.

Jin and Sun are left in the sub alone, Sun still trapped beneath the bar. At this point, I think we all knew all too well what was about to happen, but just didn’t want to believe it. Damon and Carlton wouldn’t do that to us, would they?

The water rises to neck level and Sun begs for Jin to leave, his efforts to free her not getting anywhere. Spending 3 years trying to find each other, they vow never to leave each other again, and as the water rises and the sub sinks, they drown together holding hands.

The last image we have of Jin and Sun are their hands clasped together, and drifting apart.



Episode casualty tally: 3

Well, I’m going to just say it: if you didn’t at least shed a tear in the penultimate moments of this episode, you have no soul. Sun and Jin are dead. We might as well be too, right? After spending 6 years with these characters, it’s hard to let them go. Though, it didn’t feel like they were being killed just to do so. Their deaths had meaning and symbolism (which I could easily spend an entire post rambling over) and it seems as if the writers had as tough a time as letting go as we did. Although they didn’t make it to the finale and get that permanent happy ending, Sun and Jin were reunited and their brief happiness should be enough.

Recovery
Jack and Sawyer make it to the beach and find Hurley with Kate, who asks about Jin and Sun. Jack shakes his head, confirming their deaths. Now comes depressing moment #3: Hurley and Kate breaking down into tears. Okay, I can handle character deaths and all that good stuff, but seeing them exhausted and having everything catch up with them was just too much…one of the most impacting moments on the show to date. To date.

Away from the group, Jack stands in the ocean and cries, looking strangely like Christian standing in the ocean in season 1. He looks up into the sky (for answers? help?) and takes everything in, quite possibly contemplating his decision to leave Jin and Sun in the sub.



“…finish what I started.”
Flocke is still at the dock with Claire and says that the sub sunk and that not all of them are dead. He leaved with his backpack "To finish what I started."

L    O    S    T
Saying that The Candidate was a roller coaster would be an understatement. A draining and chaotic rollercoaster sounds more like it.

With Sun and Jin dead, Ji Yeon is now an orphan and also prompts the question of, which Kwon is the 42 Candidate? Jin or Sun? I don’t think it matters much now, but if the writers wanted to pull a twist on us, Ji Yeon still qualifies as a Kwon…

Also, it seems as if Michael was correct: Hurley’s decision is following Flocke got a lot of people killed. It’s a shame (though I’m not sure the deaths can totally be attributed to Hurley’s actions) and Hurley probably realizes it, partially the cause for his breakdown on the beach.

In the end, we’re let with a fantastic episode but there’s still a lot of ground to cover:

- Who’s the Candidate?
- Will Desmond be saved? What’s his purpose on the Island and why does Widmore care?
- Did Frank make it out of the sub?
- How will MIB finish what he started now that the Losties are aware of his rue nature and intentions?
- Where the heck are Ben, Richard, and Miles?

Well, from the short promo of next week’s episode, I think we’ll at least get some answers and insight into MIB and his intentions. As for the rest of our burning questions, we’ll just have to wait and see…

Until next time…

Namaste