Episode 17 - The End

Well, I truly never thought this day would come and as sad as I am to see Lost go, it was quite a ride! It had its ups (Kate and Jack!) and its downs (Nikki and Paulo) but all in all it was a groundbreaking series that transformed the way viewers interacted with television. I hope you all enjoyed the finale as much as I did and aren't too disappointed with the lack of answers, but if you think hard enough about the last ten minutes you'll realize that this was the perfect finale, and not just because Kate ended up with Jack, but because it really ended with what the show was about, the characters.

SUMMARY

Island

Jack and the gang move on to find Desmond to beat Smokey to the heart of the island. Desmond rescued by Rose and Bernard, offered to help him but ultimately sent him on his way. Before he could leave Smokey appeared and threatened to kill Rose and Bernard if Desmond didn't come with him and Ben. Desmond agreed and left with Smokey when they came across Jack and the gang. Kate tried to shoot Smokey but he told her to save her bullets as they didn't hurt him. Jack agreed that they both needed to take Desmond to the heart of the island and he left with Smokey and Desmond. Once they arrived, they lowered Desmond down into the spring and once at the bottom, he got in the spring and removed the cork causing tremors throughout the island. During this time, Jack and Smokey became mortal and fought. Smokey knocked Jack out and ran for the cliffs to get on his boat. Jack catches up with him and they Matrix style fight. Smokey is able to stab Jack and right when Smokey is about to slit Jack's throat, Kate appears and shoots Smokey with her last bullet. Jack kicks Smokey over the edge and returns to say goodbye to Sawyer and Kate. Jack declares his love to Kate and then Hurley, Ben, and Jack return to the spring. Jack gives Hurley the power to become the protector and Ben agrees to be his second. They lower Jack down where he rescues Desmond and plugs the hole back up bringing the spring back to life. Meanwhile Kate and Sawyer find their way to the plane, grab Claire, and hop on board with Miles, Richard Alpert, and Frank Lupidus. The plane starts and they fly away. Jack wakes up outside the spring and wanders through the jungle to the bamboo forest where he initially woke up after the crash. He lays down, is joined by Vincent the dog and closes his eyes and dies.

Sideways Flash

The entire gang was making their way to the concert at the Whidmore's. At the hospital Juliet enters Sun and Jin's room to assess the status of the baby. When she goes to give the ultra sound Sun and Jin remember their past life and are happy. Juliet finds her son and ex husband Jack in the lobby and their son says he's taking Claire to the concert and will meet his dad there. Jack goes into surgery with Locke who wakes up and is able to feel his legs. He then remembers his past life and tries to help Jack remember, telling him he's ready and needs to let go. He tells him he never had a son and needs to go with him. Meanwhile Hurley shoots Charlie with a tranquilizer gun and throws him in the back of the car and then takes Sayid to a bar where a fight is happening outside. A man (Boone) is thrown to the side and once the girl is hit Sayid rushes to her aid and finds Shannon. They both remember and embrace. Boone comes over to thank Hurley for finally coming. Desmond and Kate show up at a church to sign for Jack's father's coffin and asks that it be put inside. He then takes Kate to the concert where she finds Claire and they both recognize each other from the hospital. Claire sees Charlie on stage where he was woken up by Charlotte who finds Daniel back stage and they remember each other. While Charlie is on stage he recognizes Claire who begins to go into labor. Kate goes to help her and they deliver Aaron backstage with Charlie's help. All three remember their past lives and Charlie and Claire kiss. Miles had seen Sayid at the concert and alerts Sawyer to this. Sawyer runs to the hospital to protect Sun and Jin when he comes across Juliet who was called away from the concert for an emergency. Upon seeing each other they remember and Juliet repeats her last lines from before she died on the island. When Jack finally arrives at the concert he's too late. Kate sees him and tells him that he will remember soon if he follows her. She takes him to the church and says everyone is waiting for him and to go around the back. He finds his father's coffin and opens it to see it's empty. His father appears behind him to tell him that everyone is waiting for him. Jack remembers his life on the island and through a series of flashes he sees all the peeople he's helped, lost, and loved. They embrace and Jack lets go. Christian Shepard tells him that he created this place for everyone to reconnect and Jack enters the church to find all of this friends together from the island. Kate holds his hand as they sit down at the church and Christian walks out into the light.

Well, I can't even believe that I just wrote the summary to the last every episode of Lost! The flash sideways was hard since it was very choppy and sappy. So I think it's important to say that the ending was left open to a number of interpretations and my below points will detail my thoughts on the finale so I don't know if everyone will agree but I think that was the point, you could kind of decide on your own ending.

1. I cannot describe the extreme satisfaction I derived from being right all along - Jack and Kate would end up together and they would do so in a very Titanic like fashion. Needless to say when Jack and Kate professed their love for each other I was ecstatic. They were the main love story from the beginning so it only made sense for them to end up together, and major props to the creators for making it happen in both story lines - on the island and in Jack's alternate reality!

2. So here is my take on the sideways flash ending. Life on the island was real - everyone really was alive and lived their life as it was portrayed. Some people died on the island (Jack, Boone, Shannon, Eko), some died off the island (Locke), and some died after the island (Kate, Sawyer, Richard, Miles, and Frank) but in the end everyone died. When Jack died, he created this alternate reality in the sideways flash to bring everyone back together. So yes it took place in 2004 but there's not telling when this 2004 took place. In a sense the show "Lost" was all about Jack and his perception of his life and death and every person on the show had their own "Lost" show. We as viewers caught a glimpse into Jack's. So he created this world where they all got to be together. They showed up on the island for a purpose, they were lost within their own lives and couldn't get past the difficulties that led them to where they were before the crash. Once they crashed on the island they had the opportunity to redeem themselves and find hope and meaning in relationships they created with each other. Jack created the alternate reality as a mechanism to help people let go and cure the loneliness and disconnect they had with their previous life. Once the character was able to let go of their past life, they were allowed to join the others in the church and pass on.

3. You can also look at the island as a test. These people were given the chance to redeem themselves to see if they would be allowed to enter their respective heavens. If you see at the end, the very god like "Christian Shephard" as Kate pointed out, was standing in front of a window that represented all of the major faiths in the world. I think Lost left us with this open ended possibility is once these people were at peace with themselves and passed the island's test of humanity, they were able to pass on to their respective heaven. Again I default to Titanic where they lived out their lives, be it they passed too soon or lived to an old age, they all were able to meet up in the flash sideways where they were truly meant to be and with the people they were meant to find.

4. Of the reunions on last night's show I have to highlight the ones between Sayid and Shannon and Claire and Charlie. They were the best of the night and my heart was melting after watching everyone get reunited - it was a veritable love fest and I LOVED it. I forgot how much I missed Shannon and Boone and when Sayid rescued her I almost died. Thank god for Vampire Diaries because I don't know how much longer I could have lived without Boone on my TV screen! But Claire and Charlie's little family unit was adorable, mostly due to the fact that Claire wasn't wearing that hideous wig anymore!

5. When Jack went down the spring we all knew that was the end of him(even though me thinks he should have been healed by the magical spring and if Kate can survive a gunshot wound to the shoulder in a jungle then certainly Jack could survive a measly stab wound). However, seeing the spring and the giant cork that plugged up the entrance to Hell certainly made the wine reference from the beginning of the season make sense. I understand the religious ramifications when drinking the water turned into wine which made you the island's protector but it also worked that the spring was a cork preventing the evils of Smokey from escaping the island, almost like a Pandora's box. But it turns out we needed to uncork it to make Smokey mortal thus allowing us to kill him (and by us I mean Kate being bad ass with her gun and Jack's swift kick over the edge of the cliffs). All of this was a little predictable but we all knew we couldn't just let Smokey escape!

6. As I predicted, Jack was only the protector for a little while (2 1/2 hours I might point out!) and then Hurley took over with Ben at his right hand side. While I think Jack was the obvious choice, Hurley was clearly the better fit for it - as we've seen him in this compassionate role for six years now, of course he should rule protector over the island. Jack on the other hand has always been a hot head, not always thinking things over before acting, which is why he was perfect for the temporary protector from Jacob. He had to sacrifice himself for the island to get done what needed to be done while leaving it in the hands of someone fully capable. I'm happy for Ben too because his whole life he's lived for the island and now he gets a chance to guard it for real this time. I think Jacob left him out of the loop too much which caused his disgruntled attitude and often reckless behavior but now, ruling with Hurley who needs his help, he can achieve his goal of protecting the island he loves, this time with a better outcome.

7. The fight between Jack and Smokey was awesome, and I so called it going Matrix style. Smokey needed that beating and I never say no to Jack looking awesome and muscular while fighting bad guys. When Kate showed up to save the day it just made everything better. Few problems with that whole scene though - when I jump off cliffs (which you might not think this but I am adventurous) I don't jump head first, I tend to go feet first, for safety reasons. So come on Kate and Sawyer, don't you think it was a little risky? Also I think once Smokey was shot, I probably would have done something else to just make sure he was dead before I threw him off the cliff. I mean this is an evil pillar of smoke we're talking about here people! I wouldn't change a thing about the Kate and Jack embrace except I'll add a "take that Juliet and Kate lovers!" muahahah.

8. So why were some people in the church and others weren't? I think some are obvious - Michael was stuck on the island for eternity and Ana-Lucia, come on, I think we're all happy she wasn't there. I am curious as to why Miles wasn't there with his dad but then again I think this is Jack's alternate world and had the people there that were important to him. Also important to note is Ben's refusal to enter the church. He said he wasn't ready to let go which seems to be how you are able to enter the church. Everyone else found their redemption through love, romantic and friendly, Ben however was only ever to achieve his goals with deception and violence therefore he wasn't ready to pass on. He mayb able to achieve it someday with the help of Danielle and Alex.

9. While most of the mysteries were solved, some were not. We can't act surprised since we knew we wouldn't get all of our answers and I will let the creators slide since I don't think they even realized the beast they created in the beginning. A few questions I would have liked to seen answered would have been 1. Walt. Why was he so special and why did we never find out his importance to the island and his control over animal life? My assumption is that this was poor casting - he grew too fast and couldn't figure out how to get him into the story line so they just sent him away to live a happy life off the island. 2. Mother. How did she get there and why did she choose Jacob over Smokey? I'm assuming that we were never intended to get an answer to the island origins, just that it was the beginning of time and much like we don't know how we got here for sure, we won't be finding out how lostie island came to be. 3. The island. Why did they time travel, how come no one could find it and how the heck did it move around? I think all of those questions relate to each other, it was hard to find because it moved and it had to move to stay hidden. We also couldn't think of time as linear, we could bounce back and forth and sometimes skip certain parts - but I think everyone agrees we had to leave behind our sense of reality with the series as a whole. So those three questions are the biggies for me in being unresolved and that's too bad.

10. Way back in the beginning the producers said it wasn't purgatory. Many, many times they confirmed it wasn't, and in the end it was and it wasn't. The island was not purgatory, but a means to reach it. Jack created his purgatory and through their redemption on the island, they were able to find who and what they needed in purgatory. Once they entered the church they accepted their lives and moved on, with Christian Shepard leading the way to heaven. Heavily religious but any world with Kate and Jack together with Jack in a suit, I'll take it!

I think when I sat down to watch the pilot way back in 2004 I never expected that a show could draw so many thought provoking questions. I also appreciate and thank the show for making the science fiction genre much more mainstream and myself much less dorky .... oh wait, a science fiction blog still makes you dorky? okay whatever! I've always loved television as much as I love books and music and to find something that I can discuss on all levels was a treat. While my grammar has been less than perfect in my blog I hope my enthusiasm for the show and the love of the discussion has come through and you were able to disregard the fact that I was an English major (thanks Mom and Dad for the education!) I hope I was able to clear up a few of the mysteries and really get you thinking from a different perspective. I've always loved interactive stories and this show was just a perfect escape for a weekday night. Whether you're a fan from the very beginning, watching it on DVDs, or just eager to be in the loop, I think you'll be happy you stuck it through. I certainly am and I hope you all enjoyed reading along and thank you for indulging me while I put my thoughts out there. You guys are the best!

xo

B

Episode 16 - What They Died For

Well I can't believe the series is wrapping up and we only have one episode left ... what a long ride it's been! I hope you all tuned in last night because good old Jacob confirmed quite a few things for us!

SUMMARY

Flash Sideways

Jack wakes up in his apartment and has a small cut on his neck. His son enters the bathroom to tell him he made breakfast and Claire joins them at the table. They talk about Jack's son's concert that night and how they're all going to attend, the son urges Jack not to get weird when his mother arrives. Jack receives a call from Oceanic to tell him they found his father's coffin. The caller is actually Desmond who is watching a healed Locke cross the parking lot at school. Ben Linus notices him and attempts to make a citizen's arrest when Desmond gets out of the car and starts beating him up. Ben has a flash of recognition from a previous beating from Desmond in his other life and Desmond tells Ben he was trying to help Locke "let go" and flees. Ben relays this message to Locke and Locke urges Ben not to call the police. Locke instead goes to visit Jack and tells him the series of events and how he wants to proceed with the surgery. Jack urges him not to confuse coincidence with fate but Locke believes its his destiny and Jack agrees to help. Meanwhile Desmond goes to see Sawyer and turns himself in for Locke's hit and run and attacking Ben that morning. Sawyer puts him in a cell with Sayid and Kate. They are then transported to county jail, even after Kate asks Sawyer to let her go. Once inside the transport truck, Desmond asks Kate and Sayid if they wanted to leave and they agree to trust Desmond with whatever he asks in return for their freedom. When the truck stops after they promise, Ana Lucia lets them out and Hurley meets them to exchange $150k to Ana Lucia for her services. Sayid goes with Hurley while Kate goes with Desmond who informs her they are going to a concert. Meanwhile Ben is offered a ride home from school from Alex's mother Danielle Rousseau. At dinner Ben gets choked up when Danielle tells him that Alex views him as a father figure.

Island

The losties mourn the loss of Sun, Jin, and Sayid when Jack makes the decision for the group to carry on to find Desmond in the well after stiching up a wounded Kate. While journeying inward Hurley sees a flash of young Jacob who asks him for the ashes Ilana gave him. He runs away with them and Hurley chases after to find the older Jacob at a fire. He tells Hurley that he will only be alive for as long as the fire burns. Soon Kate, Jack, and Sawyer come across Jacob and to Hurley's astonishment they can all see him. Jacob sits them down to explain why he brought them there. He said he made a mistake a long time ago and knew one day he would have to pay and he brought them to the island to help him defeat Smokey and to become the new protector of the island. He explains that one of them will have to assume the role and he is giving them the choice. Jack agrees and believes it is his purpose for being there so Jacob guides him to the light source of the island. He explains to Jack that it's location is beyond the bamboo he woke up in when he first landed on the island. He goes to the stream, cups water into his hand and says a prayer. He gives the water to Jack who drinks it and assumed Jacob's role.

Ben, Richard, and Miles approach Othersville in hopes of getting enough C4 explosives from Ben's house to blow up the plane. Before entering Miles becomes aware of Alex's body and Richard reveals that he buried it. While inside Ben's secret closet they come across Zoe and Whidmore. Whidmore explains to Ben that he's already laced the plane with explosives and that he's always a step ahead of Ben. When Whidmore reveals that he's here to help he tells Ben that Smokey is on his way. Miles freaks out and decides to retreat to the jungle. Richard thinks he can reason with Smokey and Ben decides it's time to face the music and he wants to wait outside for Smokey. They tell Whidmore and Zoe to hide in the closet. Smokey appears in Othersville and knocks Richard Alpert into a tree. He appears to Ben as Locke. Ben spills that Whidmore and Zoe are inside and armed. Locke asks Ben to help him kill people so he can get off the island. Once inside Smokey kills Zoe once she speaks. Smokey then asks Whidmore why is really there and he will not harm his daughter once he gets off the island. Whidmore tells Ben to leave since he won't say it in front of him and whispers it into Smokey's ear, however before he can finish Ben shoots Whidmore. Smokey is surprised by Ben but tells him he knows what he needs. Ben asks Smokey who else he needs to kill.

Ha wow - that was a tough once since there were about 4 different story lines but I hope I got everything! On to the last top 10 where I can actually speculate - I can't believe we only have 1 episode left!

1. The death toll in this episode is up in the air. Yes, we lost Zoe (thank god because those glasses were killing me!) and a big player Whidmore. But we also are led to believe that Richard Alpert is dead too. But I'm not buying it since he was important enough to dedicate an entire back story episode on him. Plus we want to see him reunite with his long lost wife! Whidmore was a shock because he has been a key player in this since the very beginning ... mysteriously funding the research and trips to the island, and searching for it himself. But I guess if others (Smokey) know his plan that Desmond is his fail safe, others will find out and try to stop Smokey.

2. My problem with this episode is the way Jacob chose his candidate. It seemed too easy. He narrowed it down to his top four apparently and let them choose amongst themselves. Of course Jack couldn't resist the opportunity and Sawyer nailed it on the head when he said Jack has a God complex. Jack just seemed like the obvious choice and in a show where the obvious is never usually the right answer I would have thought they'd gone a different route. That being said I don't think Jack will be the final candidate ... I was always thinking it would come across Hurley's plate since he's the most compassionate and compliant character on the show. I also think crossing off Kate because she became a mother was ridiculous because HELLO it's NOT HER BABY! Wouldn't Sun have been crossed off too? That answer angered me.

3. I think we got our answer with how Jacob knows everything he knows. It seems to be inherited once you accept the position of the island's protector. A look of knowing and understanding came over Jack's face at the end where it seemed like Jacob's knowledge passed along to Jack. We also learned that Jacob didn't want the job but held on to it for as long as he could and that Jack would have to do the same. I guess he'll hold on for another two and a half hours.

4. I liked how the flash sideways were mimicking the other universe, in that Jack and Locke had an almost exact conversation of what they had on the island. They're all inherently the same. And although we know that Desmond's ultimate plan is to get them all in one place, which will be this concert, we still don't know what his end game is. Besides getting them all to remember the alternate universe I can't speculate on what will then happen.

5. Jacob told the candidates that his job was to protect the light from the MIB and that it will now become Jack's job. But why is that different from Mother's job? Mother didn't have a Smokey to protect the light as far as we know - so what was her job on the island? I think this is going to frustrate a lot of people, not knowing how she got there, what her purpose was and I honestly don't think we'll get an answer. I think if we think of the island as the beginning of time and a protector must exist to protect it at all times whether its Smokey or some other evil threat then perhaps we don't need to delve much more into it. I'm a little unsatisfied with it but then again I've been preparing myself for having some mysteries remain just that.

6. Sayid and Kate seem to be last on the list for Desmond to clue into their alternate lives so it was funny to see how clueless they were. I like that Hurley is on team Desmond and seems to remember both lives now. They're going to gather everyone at the concert - Jack and yes, I'm going to say it, Juliet because she will be the mother of his child. I was thinking about it a lot and decided that Jack's son purposefully has bright blue eyes so that could be the trait he got from Juliet. It kills me that they were even together in this universe but I feel a little better knowing that it didn't work out. Juliet will reunite with Sawyer when he shows up to arrest the fugitives and Kate with Jack attending his son's concert. I'm sure Charlotte, Miles, Faraday, Libby, etc will all be there too! I won't lie - I sort of envision my ending for Lost to be like that of Titanic - everyone will be together in heaven and Jack and Kate will get together while everyone else claps in approval. Hey, a girl can dream can't she? Oh and my friend Maureen came up with a good point - Juliet before she died had asked Sawyer to go for a cup of coffee - she bets that Juliet will say this to Sawyer when she meets him at the concert ... so it was a little flash forward to that moment where they all meet up again? Time will tell!

7. Ben kills me sometimes, he really does! I was a little mad when he shot Whidmore because come on! I wanted to hear what he had to say about Desmond being the fail safe and what his plans were with him. He acted too fast when he shot Jacob and now he is just a crazy man when he shoots Whidmore. And his reasoning was really dumb too - ok so he didn't kill Penny when he had the chance and decided to let her go but now all of a sudden he's like, screw it, kill Penny? Seems like he's going to be Smokey's henchman now and kill off all the candidates which he can now since a candidate was chosen - me thinks Hurley, Kate, and Sawyer are no longer safe from being killed off since they're not candidates so they better watch their back!

8. It was funny to see Danielle Rousseau in a dress, and flirting with Ben Linus nonetheless! So Alex's love for Ben was really as a father, what he wanted all along. Good because in the last episode with them it was a little creepy.

9. Now that Jack is immortal will his first order of business be to create another immortal friend like Jacob did with Richard? I hope so and I hope he chooses Kate! Nah they've got to find Desmond first and protect him, or use him as the fail safe key ... but didn't they do that after season 2?

10. One thing I liked was how Jacob just sat them all down to explain some stuff because that's what always bugged me, is they would capture someone who has the answers and then never try to get it out of them. And they reacted as I would have, asking him to clarify why they brought them. His answers were lame - because they were all flawed and not happy with their current lives. I would say that just about sums up everyone in the world. Jacob said the island needed them and they needed the island. I can get on board with that but I probably could have used something like why he put them through such a rigorous test to narrow it down to them 4 to just be like, well who wants it?

So that's it folks - the last regular episode ever. If ever there was a time to post your final theories its now because after Sunday's finale there is no more! I've appreciated everyone who comments and puts some thought into it each week and I truly hope for all our sakes that we get our answers. Oh and one favor I will ask is that if the worst happens (Jack and Kate do not end up together) we keep our gloating to a minimum. Thank you.

xo

B

Episode 15 - Across the Sea

Verrrry interesting episode! A flashback to how Jacob and MIB started - something I think we've been wanting to know. Not sure anything really surprised me, except that Allison Janney was their mother, but I digress. On to the summary!

SUMMARY

Island

A woman washes ashore and is rescued by an island inhabitant (Mother). Mother helps the woman who has apparently ended up on the island by accident to deliver her baby. She urges Mother to let her find the rest of her people however Mother delivers the first baby who the woman names Jacob and is surprised when she delivers a twin whom she has no name picked out for. Mother places the babies aside and kills the woman with a rock. Years later the boys have grown into teens. Jacob and his brother live with Mother and one day while playing together the boys come across others on the island. They hide and then run to Mother to question her. She tells them it's too early for them to know but she blindfolds them and takes them to a special stream with an aura of light glowing from a cave. She tells them this is the life force of the island and all that exists and they are there to protect it from others. When they return to their home, Jacob and MIB are out playing when their actual mother appears to MIB and begs him to follow. MIB leaves Jacob behind and his mother tells him who she is and what happened. When MIB returns he tries to recruit Jacob to follow but Jacob decides to stay. Jacob and MIB stay in touch over the years without his mother's knowledge and one day MIB tells Jacob he found a way to leave the island. Jacob reports this back to his mother and she follows MIB. She confronts him about leaving telling him he can't, that he belongs on the island. He is distraught that she stole him from his people and he demonstrates the immense power the island has and how he searched the island for the life source and found an alternative way into it. They dug deep to find it and he plans on installing a wheel to help him access the source so he can leave the island. MIB decides to kill Mother and follows Jacob to the life source. Once there MIB tells Jacob he's leaving and they fight. In the midst of the fight MIB smashes his head on the rock and he dies. Jacob lets him flow down the river where he returns as a pillar of smoke. Jacob finds MIB's dead body on the other side of the cave and places his body along with Mothers, in the cave. He places 2 rocks inside their pockets and we have a flashback to when Kate and Jack discovered the bodies in the cave.

Okay so I hope I got the order right with my summary but basically it was a very linear plot with some answers and some more un-named new characters. awesome.

1. So basically, with only 3 1/2 more hours left of Lost, the creators decided to dedicate an entire episode to Jacob and Smokey's back story. I mean, it was certainly interesting, and explained a few things, but really, a whole episode without the entire main cast? At least they threw us a bone in the end and gave us a little Kate and Jack but still, die hard fans knew what the reference was with the bodies so they didn't need to insult us by giving us a flashback to say "remember this?". It was a risky plot decision but in the end I think it was necessary for us to see how it all began.

2. I did not have any idea that Allison Janney was being cast in this series! I'm not a huge fan of hers so I guess it was fitting since I didn't really love her character. What was interesting with how they portrayed her as the vessel for telling Jacob and Smokey's story but they conveniently left out telling us how she arrived at the island. We know she was Jacob's predecessor for protecting the island but that's about all we know of her history. Oh and she likes to murder people who wash ashore to have babies. Also she joins the rank of baby stealers.

3. The "life source" of not only the island but the world is located at the top of a river. I guess it makes sense with water always being associated with providing life but the graphics were mega-cheesy. Somehow the creators of Lost showed us what they were protecting it but still left it unexplained. It's getting too religious on me and I can't speculate what the source is other than God himself. She said they could never go in there and even when MIB did, he came out as Smokey and we never were told anything more about it.

4. Is it wrong to think that Smokey was a cute teenager? And that adult Jacob still creeps me out because he was Rita's abusive husband on Dexter? (Awesome show btw - if you haven't seen it you must must catch up for season 5!) Well it was probably creepy of me to say so but I don't blame MIB for being curious about what exists beyond the sea. And once he finds out that others (hey the original Others!) are on the island, I don't blame him for wondering more about it and defying Mother to get some answers. I feel like MIB is a Lost viewer - he needs answers and he needs them now!

5. When Mother died at the hands of Smokey, she whispered "Thank you" to him. She clearly was overwhelmed by the years she spent protecting the island and was grooming the boys to become her replacement. It was interesting how Jacob mentioned to her that it seemed like MIB was who she wanted to replace her all along but instead she has Jacob. I would have thought she would have seen how good Jacob was over the years and he would have been the obvious choice. Then again Mother isn't completely innocent either since she did murder the woman who washed ashore as well as MIB's entire camp. The lines between good and evil are still so blurred and I think in the finale we'll get the clear distinction as to who is good and who is evil - and who will win.

6. I really can't believe they actually revealed who the skeletons were in the cave. I thought for sure that was a mystery that was going to go unsolved. But if my memory serves me right, didn't Jack diagnose they as no major traumas and that it took 40-50 years for clothes to deteriorate like that? Clearly they both died traumatically and over 50 years ago. But I'll let that one slide Lost ...

7. Did Smokey exist before MIB died or was he created when MIB died? So Smokey could in fact not be MIB at all, he could be the actual counterpart to the life source and by Jacob sending MIB's body down the hole, he was able to release Smokey. But from the conversations MIB has had with Jacob post being Smokey, I have to think a part of him is still in there, that's why he has this vendetta against Jacob. I hope that was clear.

8. A parallel between Jacob and Mother is that it seemed like Mother knew she was going to die, so she said goodbye to Jacob and told him he was to take over, in not so many words. Also once MIB had killed her, it was like she expected it, but thanking him for releasing her. It also seemed like Jacob knew he was going to die as well, I wonder if this was part of the process?

9. Ok so whats with no one having names anymore on Lost? For what seemed like a show where names were super important - most of the new characters I find I'm having to invent something to call them!

10. MIB had some interesting things to say to Jacob in so far as the rules of the island. He gave Jacob the idea that he could make up his own rules - create his own destiny perhaps? But we all know that somehow the two of them, through Mother I assume, cannot hurt each other - until Jacob has died. I don't think it was every MIB's plan to be trapped on the island or fight with Jacob but that's what has happened and I think it was carefully orchestrated by Mother once she saw that MIB was not capable of leading the island ... is it because he always longed for more even though he lived in a veritable paradise? I think that too is the over-arching theme to Lost - anyone who isn't satisfied with the island, it usually doesn't end well for them.

Okay folks, only two more episodes to post your theories! The finale is next Sunday, May 23rd and it's 2 and a half hours long followed by a special with the entire cast on Jimmy Kimmel.

xo

B

Episode 14 - The Candidate

Okay now we're getting somewhere!! Lost was insanity last night - major character deaths, Jack in a t-shirt AND a suit, and we're down to the final four! Read on friends!

SUMMARY

Island

Whidmore is rounding up the losties and stuffing them back into the Dharma cages. He assures them that he's only trying to protect them. While in the cages, Smokey appears and takes out Whidmore's cronies and Jack shows up to help the losties escape. They head off towards the Ajira plane to leave the island. Once they get there Smokey kills the two guards and boards the plane. He finds it rigged with wires and C4. He brings it out to show his followers and he decides the only way off the plane is via submarine. While making their way to the sub they come under heavy fire from Whidmore's gang and Kate is shot in the shoulder. Smokey secretly switched Jack's pack for his. Jack, who said he wasn't coming along, pushes Smokey into the water, grabs Kate, and heads for the sub. Once inside they commandeer the sub and unfortunately Sawyer can't get Claire in time and they begin to dive down. Jack begins tending to Kate's shoulder when he opens his pack to find the C4 rigged up with 4 minutes to go. He insists they return to the surface and Sayid concludes it can be offset by pulling out the wires simultaneously. Jack realizes that this was Smokey's plan all along and that nothing will happen if they let the time run out. Sawyer doesn't want to take the chance and pulls the wires out. The countdown is momentarily stopped and then begins to rapidly increase. With only a minute left Sayid grabs the explosives and tells Jack he believes in him and runs to the other side of the sub where it explodes. Sun gets stuck under a large obstruction and at the last minute Jin urges everyone else to escape and stays with Sun while they plummet to the bottom of the ocean, tearfully. Kate, Hurley, Sawyer, and Jack make it to the surface.

Flash Sideways

Locke wakes up in the hospital to find that Jack has saved him. Jack tries to convince Locke that he is a candidate for a test surgery and he thinks that he could fix Locke's back. When he urges Locke to tell him how he was injured Locke refuses to tell him and declines the surgery. Since Jack needs his answers he decides to investigate and obscurely goes to Locke's dentist of 3 years ago. Bernard can't give him any answers but gives him the name Anthony Cooper, a man who was in the same accident. Jack returns to the hospital and runs into Claire who has come to see him about something Christian left her, a small wooden music box. Jack doesn't know what it is and then invites Claire to stay with him since they're family. Jack then tracks down Anthony Cooper at a nursing facility and he runs into Helen. Helen urges him to leave but then gives in and shows Jack to Anthony who is completely unresponsive since the accident. Jack returns to Locke at the hospital and tells him he had seen Anthony Cooper. Locke become agitated and tells Jack that he crashed his plane on his first official ride as a newly licenced pilot and his father, who was afraid of flying, did not recover from the crash. Locke feels eternally guilty and will not accept Jack's offer to fix his injury. Jack says he lost his father too and that it is time for them to move on, like Locke told Jack on flight 815, the man in the coffin wasn't Jack's father and Jack tries to tell Locke that the man in the nursing home is no longer Anthony Cooper and it was time to let go.

Phew! I always think its going to be so much shorter and then I decide to include every little detail!

1. I knew Jack would come back as the hero! He's going to save Kate, he knew the right answer for the bomb, he saved Sawyer and he will save the island! He figured out that Smokey can't kill them and he's trying to get around Jacob's rules by having them kill each other. Perhaps they should have listened to Whidmore and stayed in the cage!

2. Something interesting to think about is Smokey's thought process with this. He had switched his and Jack's backpacks before Jack "betrayed" him and threw him into the water (which is kind of a lame move considering he can turn into smoke and kill them all, or so he thought at the time). So does this mean that Smokey knew Jack would betray him and leave him off the sub so they would all blow themselves up? What would have happened if he had boarded the sub with the losties and tried to leave? He seemed pretty upset at the end when he realized that a few of them survived so it seems that his plan all along was to kill them. Looks like we have our answer if he's good or bad.

3. Well I've been complaining that the body count this season has been lower than I expected, and then they go ahead and kill off 3 major major characters. Some may argue that Sayid already died, but he seems to have made this sacrifice as the old Sayid before the darkness took over him so I guess we can call this his official death. Sun and Jin died, as expected, together. It was a very touching scene for sure but I have to say, Sun is a pretty skinny woman, are you telling me she couldn't slip out from those bars?

4. I almost died when Kate got shot! I won't lie, if she dies I'm actually okay with it. However, if she dies before she can profess her love to Jack there will be wrath brought down upon the shows creators like you've never seen!! No not really, I'll probably just curse the show out loud and admit defeat. I'm already predicting tons of emails about how wrong I am.

5. The sideways flash was a little boring for me this time around, besides the fact that Jack in a suit is pretty much always a win, but it was interesting to see how opposite Locke's life actually is. Yes he's still in a wheel chair but because of his own doing. He even managed to have a relationship with his father however he was his father's downfall - by urging him to join his first flight only to crash the plane and essentially end his cognitive life. So my question is, if Anthony Cooper was a good man in this life then was he Sawyer? Because our Sawyer still has that name ...

6. The end scene on the beach was what really got me with Sun and Jin's death. When Hurley started crying you realize how many of their friends have died because of the island. It's weird we're down to our final four players - Jack, Sawyer, Hurley, and Kate. Although Kate isn't on the list anymore so I'm sure she's a goner.

7. So the losties were on that sub for say oh 6 minutes before they discovered the bomb in Jack's bag. So when the submarine began to sink, and sink, and sink, did anyone wonder how far they had actually gone for the ocean to be that deep? And how they could possible have swam up there, each with a limp body in tow, and make it to the beach is beyond me. I'm gonna go with magic.

8. It's sad that they left Claire behind but they really had no choice since she refused to come when Sawyer was calling her. She's obviously going to feel deserted and try to kill someone - probably Kate since she's been trying to all season. Maybe something will happen where she goes to kill Kate and Jack steps in and ends up killing Claire! Probably not but who knows.

9. I thought once maybe we could escape a Jack-centric episode without him crying but I was wrong. Although I'll give him a break since 3 of his friends did just die. Notice how I said 3 - we still don't know if Lupidus is dead. I think they left it open ended on purpose because if they do take the Ajira plane off the island they will need a pilot and I think it would be a fitting end if they used a plane for their final escape, leaving Kate and Jack behind to populate Lost island with their babies. :)

10. The scenes from the next were uber lame. Lost is totally trying to not give us anything to look forward to next week all while mixing it with super old season 1 footage so they can pretend they've known what they've been doing all along. I don't buy it - show me some steamy Jack and Kate previews!

Bahh ok so not much more to go! Post your theories and make me feel special!

xo

B

Episode 13 - The Last Recruit

Hi all! So sorry for the late post, crazy week but here is my summary and thoughts on this week Jack-intensive episode! Boy oh boy does that man look good in a suit! Since it's been a week my summary will be a little light but I know you all did your homework and watched!

SUMMARY

Sideways Flash
Claire is on her way to the adoption agency after leaving the hospital and on her way she runs into Desmond. He convinces her to go see his lawyer, Ilana. While there Jack and his son also enter the room. They are there to hear Christian's will being read out loud and while there it is revealed that Claire and Jack are half brother and sister. Jack is overwhelmed and is paged for an emergency surgery. He arrives at the hospital to find his patient, a paraplegic, was hit by a car. That patient just so happened to be John Locke, who was brought in by Ben Linus, and Jack admits that he recognizes him. He was also recognized by Sun while on her way into the hospital. We find out that Sun's baby is okay and she has survived her gunshot wound. Meanwhile, Kate is being held in Sawyer's police station. He questions her on her charges and she coolly claims she's innocent. She asks him why he never arrested her at the airport and he plays dumb. Miles interrupts them and tells them they need to respond to a multiple homicide at a nearby restaurant. They arrive at Nadia's house to capture Sayid who is their prime suspect. Inside, Sayid tells Nadia he has fixed everything but must go. On his way out Sawyer captures him.

Island
Jack and Smokey have a talk about his plan to leave the island. Zoe appears to the group and demands they return Desmond. She threatens to blow them up if they don't hand him over by the end of the day. Jack and the gang begin to follow Smokey across the island when Sawyer informs Jack of his plan. Smokey had asked Sawyer to take the boat around the island and Sawyer decided to fill Jack in on his escape and cohorts with Whidmore. Sawyer leaves taking Kate with him while the rest march on. Smokey asks Sayid to go take care of Desmond. When Sayid arrives at the well to shoot Desmond, Desmond asks Sayid what he will tell Nadia of how he got her back? Sayid appears to have guilt over killing Desmond. Meanwhile Jack, Sun, Lupidus, and Hurley take off to meet Sawyer. Claire sees them and follows. She surprises them at the boat and Kate convinces Claire to join them saying all she wants is to reunite her with Aaron. Once on board Sawyer and Jack have a talk and Jack admits to having second thoughts. Sawyer tells him to leave and Jack swims to shore. He joins up with Smokey who gladly accepts him until they're attacked by Whidmore's people and Jack almost gets blown up. Meanwhile the boat arrives with Whidmore's people on the island. Jin is among the group and a tender reunion between Sun and Jin occurs. However Whidmore's gang phones into their headquarters and instead of honoring their agreement they are instructed to open fire on the group.

Phew just kidding, pretty detailed for a week later!!

1. So Jack is a babe and I looooove when they put him in a suit! But what's up with his son and his voice being about 10 octaves lower. Damn that was a fast transition into puberty! It was a tender reunion between him and Claire, I was happy they addressed this but they left it too soon since Jack was called into surgery for stupid Locke. I wanted to see Claire be all happy that she has a family, maybe she'll keep Aaron.

2. I think this episode explained why Desmond hit Locke with his car, to get him to the hospital so he could meet up with Jack. It seems like everyone is at the hospital or the police station. How will Desmond ever get those two groups to meet up? What is his ultimate plan? Does he think if he gets everyone together they will remember and somehow be magically transported back to the correct timeline? Either way I want more Kate and Jack in the sideways flash!

3. So Jack was the last recruit for Locke's army. When he jumped off that boat I for sure thought Kate was going after. You know she wanted to but feels like she has to stay for Claire. Me thinks a little reunion between them will happen soon, or is that wishful thinking? What are you all going to say to me if they don't end up together after years of preaching that it would happen? Also worth mentioning is when Jack flew back from the bomb on the beach he woke up and had a very interesting look on his face, sort of like the one Locke had on his face when he got hit by Desmonds car. I can't say why I thought that scene was important but it creeped me out a little.

4. I think one great thing the Lost creators are doing is keeping that little bit of doubt in your mind that maybe, just maybe, Smokey really is the good guy and Jacob is bad. I truly can't guess which one is right at this point although I'd like to say Jacob is being truthful in all that he says. Because it would be a nice little ending to have Jack replace him and the world be a safe place, but if I know Lost, and I think I do, that won't be the case.

5. So Sayid is still on his quest to get everyone together in the sideways flash. This begs us to ask the questions: A. Does he share a mind-link with Desmond back on the island or is he just doing this because he had the glimpse into the other world? and B. Why does he not care at all about Penny and Charlie anymore? Where did they go??

6. So clearly Sayid didn't kill Desmond, he's way too important to just end like that. The bigger question here is that Desmond was able to appeal to Sayid's human side, which most of us thought was lost when the darkness took over. So is Sayid able to be saved? Have we totally lost him forever?

7. Smokey admitted that he was Jack's dad on the island. Kind of disappointing seeing as I wanted Jack and Christian to make things right. I wonder why Smokey had to change from being Christian's form to being Locke's form? Will it make a difference in how he gets off the island if he ever does?

8. I know I've said it before and I'm sorry to say it again but I don't think our dear hot friend Sawyer has much time left on the island. The kill count has been considerably lower than I expected this season. He's tricked both sides, or so he thought, and will soon have to answer to both Whidmore and Smokey. I think he's a fan favorite which will make it a tragic loss to the series and yeah, I'll probably miss him when he's gone. I think we can all agree he isn't a candidate for taking over the island given his past behaviors so there isn't much more for him to do on the show. And as Lost usually goes, once the island is done with you, you're a goner.

9. Sun and Jin were finally reunited! It's been over 2 seasons in the making and it was certainly tender. It was a nice touch that their reconnection was able to cure Sun's speech loss. What's next for them? It's hard to say since they have a child off the island, but I don't think anyone is getting off the island, so they'll probably bite the dust. Ha I'm so morbid but their story is pretty much complete.

10. So clear sides have been drawn and we're still very much clueless on whom we should be following. Whidmore certainly hasn't come off as a good guy but he seems to be on Team Jacob who we'd like to think is. And Smokey just kills everyone for the sake of getting off the island while Whidmore is doing everything possible to prevent that from happening. So take your best guess because we don't have much longer!

So that's it folks. Sorry for the late posting but tonight is a re-run so hopefully this will tide you over until next week!

xo
B

Episode 12 - Everybody Loves Hugo

What an exciting episode last night! A few island answers, some off-island romance, and even ghost whispers!

SUMMARY

Island
The camp has divided into two teams - one who wants to blow up the Ajira plane and one who doesn't. Ilana is on Richard's side to blow up the plane but is a bit careless with her Black Rock dynamite and has Doc Arzt's unfortunate problem of blowing herself up. Richard explains that its because the island was finished with her and he gathers his crew to head to the Black Rock for more dynamite. Hurley is visited by ghost Michael who tells him that he can't blow up the plane. Hurley tries to get the group to change their plan but he ends up following the group to the Black Rock. Once they arrive they hear Hurley running from the Black Rock screaming for everyone to run. The Black Rock blows up and Hurley admits he did it because Jacob told him to. Hurley pretends like he's talking to Jacob and that he told him to lead the gang to Smokey. Richard realizes he's lying and the group separates. Jack follows Hurley because he asks him to trust him. Sun and Frank also follow him. Halfway to Smokey Hurley admits to Jack that he lied and Jack tells Hurley he was done being a leader and trying to fix things so he followed Hurley. Hurley decides to speak to Michael and asks why he's there. Michael tells him that he can't move on and is stuck on the island. He admits that the spirits are the island whispers and asks Hurley to forgive him for what he did to Libby. He points him in the direction of Smokey and the gang heads that way. Hurley approaches Smokey and reveals that if he doesn't harm them his gang will join up with Smokey.

While Hurley was leading his team across the island, Sayid was bringing back Desmond to Smokey. Once Smokey told an agitated Sawyer to wait, he left to begin questioning Desmond. He wanted to know why he was brought there and a very calm Desmond didn't have any answers for him. He explained that he was blasted with an EMP so Smokey leads him to an ancient well. He explains that it was built a long time ago by hand and the people that built it weren't looking for water. They were looking for the islands power. He also explains that Charles Whidmore wasn't there for answers, he was there for power. He asked Desmond why he wasn't afraid and Desmond said there was no reason to be and with that Smokey gave him the old heave ho' down the well. He returned to his camp to find the rest of the losties delivered to him by Hurley.

Flash Sideways

Hurley is being celebrated by Dr. Halliwax/Candle as a philanthropist at a gala. We find that Hurley struck it rich by way of his love of Chicken where he purchased Mr. Cluck's and began a major corporation. His mother thought his life was lacking a romantic interest and set him up on a blind date. While waiting for his date, Libby approached his table and explained that she knew him from another life and she had feelings for him. Her doctor came over to their table and apologized for interrupting Hurley's meal. He chased after her to realize she was being transported back to a mental hospital. Later, Hurley went to a Mr. Cluck's to eat an entire bucket of chicken when he was approached by Desmond. Desmond convinced him to give this mystery woman another chance to see if she was right. Desmond went to the Mental Hospital and convinced her doctor by way of a large donation to see her. Hurley visited her in the recreational room where some old favorites were hanging around. Libby tried to explain that she had flashes of Hurley from another life on an island. He apologized for not remembering but decided to take her on a date. He took her to the beach where they had a picnic and Libby kissed Hurley because she thought this scene was familiar, something they never got to do. At that moment Hurley remembered Libby from his un-lived life on the island. Desmond was in the background watching this all unfold. Once he saw them reconnect he moved on to Locke's school. He was approached by Ben and told to move on because, you know, staring at children at a school is frowned upon. Desmond starts up his car and drives straight into Locke who was wheeling himself to his car. Desmond drives away and leaves Locke bleeding in the road.

Wow, that was super long! I wanted to get every detail because I thought it was important, although I'm sure you didn't read since I hope you all watched.

1. Okay so the collision course these two time lines seem to be on are setting up an exciting ending. Desmond can communicate somehow between the two universes but what his motive is is still unclear to us. My roommate came up with a brilliant idea that maybe if you die in one universe, you die in the other. But I don't know if that can be true because we saw a very alive Charlotte getting it on with Sawyer and she died a while ago on the island. Same with Farraday. So what I think Desmond is trying to do with all the peeps from 815 is recreate the events in their island life so as to jog their memories from that life. Not everyone had a love story on the island like Desmond, Charlie, and Hurley so in Locke's case, he had to recreate him being hit by a car. Although he fell out of a window to become paralyzed in his island life, he did get hit by a car in the parking lot when he was chasing after his mother. Either way, the facial expression he made was eerily similar to when he crashed on the island.

2. I didn't even pick up on it that Hurley and Libby were recreating their date that never happened until they said how familiar it seemed. That was a very nice touching scene and I like how they both had this connection to the mental hospital. It still never explains why Libby was in the hospital in the island life but I suspect we'll never know. Just that it was important that their paths crossed in both lives.

3. As much as I hate Michael, his scene was also very touching. I like that he finally apologized to Hurley for what he did. But he also gave us a major answer by telling Hurley that the spirits on the island are not allowed to cross over and they are the haunting whispers we've been hearing for years. Wow, really? Ghosts are responsible for the creepy whispers? Lame explanation but I liked hearing that Michael was doomed to wander the island whispering. Makes it seem like the island really IS purgatory! Something the writers discredited a long time ago ...

4. Jack has really let me down this season. I expected him to step up and be the man, but its looking more like Jacob is grooming Hurley to be the caretaker for the island. Jack is just going with the flow, not trying to fix things. Maybe, Kate will realize this and love Jack again, I mean she did give him a cute smile when he came back. I don't like, however, that this change in Jack was caused by his guilt over Juliet's death. Just because she died he still isn't curious about the island? Please.

5. Woah! Smokey did not just push Desmond down that well!!! As if that could kill Desmond! A little careless that he didn't stick around to make sure he was fully dead if that was his intention. Clearly Desmond is going to magically still be alive at the bottom of the well. I think he will be there until Whidmore and company find him and use him for what they brought him here for. Also worth mentioning - who are these little kids that keep popping up? Must be the ghosts of Smokey and Jacob, but Desmond could see him too. I'm sure it will be explained soon.

6. Richard is still such an interesting character. I loved how he knew right away that Hurley was lying, because Jacob never tells anyone what to do. So what about those little lists he was creating along the way? Didn't he tell the Others to go steal those people? Anyways, I liked how Richard demanded that Hurley ask Jacob what the island was, he's still dying to know, as are we. Me thinks we won't find out until the very end, and what an exciting moment that will be!

7. Ilana blowing up was awesome. It was about time for her to go and I wasn't too shocked, plus Ben said the island was done with her. She was being mighty brutal with that dynamite. I think if we've learned anything from Lost its that Black Rock dynamite is temperamental. And also that when you're in a plane crash, its usually with a plane full of hot people.

8. So Hurley in the alternate universe is still a loveable guy. Always receiving awards for his good deeds. The only thing I was thinking about during this whole "Hurley is awesome" montage was that I don't know anyone who owns a fast food chain and yet this guy seems to be recognized everywhere he goes. Unless you count Ronald McDonald or that guy who owned Wendy's, Dave something, but I'm pretty sure he died, I don't know anyone who is famous for owning a fast food chain. I'm not even sure if people own up to that nowadays. Wow I don't know where this tangent is leading so I'll stop.

9. So how's it all going to end. I think the universes will collide for sure, once Desmond achieves whatever goal it is he's after. His determination in this world is certainly more so than the one on the island. Has he so quickly forgotten how he must get back to Penny and Charlie? I miss the old Desmond and hope he knows what he's doing. Maybe somehow Jacob influences Desmond through the whole EMP thing and he secretly has a plan. Why else would Smokey throw him down the well? He's clearly a threat to him.

10. Smokey mentioned that this wasn't the only well on the island. So is this not the same well that Locke went down to turn the wheel? Are these wells just primitive swan hatches? They dug because of the electromagnetic power they felt? Will this well lead to the answer of what the island is?

Four more episodes left! Here's to hoping there's a spin off! Although I'm hoping they don't because I don't know how long I can keep writing this blog :) Just kidding I'd do it forever for my loyal readers! Post your theories because we've only got a month left!

xo

B

Episode 11 - Happily Ever After

Oh boy do I love me some Desmond-centric episodes! Not a ton of info and answers given to us but definitely some useful insight into the mystery of Desmond and the island!





SUMMARY


Island

Desmond wakes up to find he's been brought back to the island by Whidmore. After giving Whidmore a beat down he is subdued and Whidmore decides he is ready. Whidmore asks Zoe to prepare the machine. During the preparation process, a man is killed when he enters the wood box and the copper coils are turned on. Whidmore insists that they need to know is Desmond can withstand another electromagnetic event and they bring him to the box. Whidmore tells Desmond he needs his help. Desmond breaks free from the chair but the machine starts and he is wisked away to the alternate universe. Once he returns, Whidmore finds him alive and willing to help him. Along the way back, the group is approached by Sayid who kills everyone but Zoe and asks her to run away. She willingly obeys. Sayid asks Desmond to come with him and a very docile Desmond agrees.

Flash-Sideways

Once Desmond enters the machine on the island, he is transformed to the flash-sideways universe and is standing in front of the arrivals board at the airport. Hurley informs him what carousel the luggage is arriving at and while getting his luggage he meets Claire. He offers to give her a ride but she declines and as a parting farewell he tells her the baby will be a boy. His driver, George Minkowski, meets him at the airport and brings him back to the office. Whidmore, Desmond's boss, welcomes him with open arms and celebrates with a 60 year old glass of McCutcheons whisky for the deal Desmond recently closed in Sydney. He is interrupted when he asks Desmond to pick up a musician from jail and babysit him until he can perform at Whidmore's wife's charity bash with his son. Desmond agrees and goes to pick Charlie up. Charlie tells Desmond that right before he was rescued on the plane, he saw a blond girl and knew he loved her in another time. He tries to show Desmond what he means so he grabs the wheel and drives the car off the marina. Desmond is able to get himself and Charlie out of the submerged car but while underwater the scene from the island universe appears before him where Charlie was underwater and warning him about Penny's boat. While at the hospital he is given an MRI since his cat scan was inconclusive and halfway through he freaks out when he has a vision of him and Penny from their island life. He tells the nurse he needs to find Charlie and with Jack's help he does. Charlie convinces him that he saw the other life and should put all his energy into finding Penny. Desmond leaves the hospital to tell Whidmore's wife that Charlie won't be playing at the benefit and when he arrives at their house he finally meets Mrs. Whidmore aka Eloise Hawkings. She thanks him for delivering the news personally. While Desmond is leaving he hears the guest list being read off and the name Penny Milton. He stops to ask to see the list but Eloise intercepts and won't allow him. She tells him to stop looking for whatever he's looking for so he leaves. On his way out he is intercepted by Daniel Whidmore (Farraday) who tells him how he saw a red haired woman and knew he loved her. He then explains that the following day he woke up and wrote down highly complicated quantum physics in his notebook and believes that they are equations that lead to an alternate universe. He then offers to help him find Penny since she is his half sister. Desmond goes to the stadium where he finds her running. He goes up to her to ask her out and passes out right after they meet. When he wakes she agrees to meet him for coffee and Desmond happily returns to his car.

Wow that was a lot of info!! Now on to the theories although they're going to be more like observations and explanations since we only have 5 episodes left!

1. So I think what is happening here is the two universes are colliding and Desmond is the only one who can travel through both and make the connection that the two actually exist and are directly related to circumstances that happened in one. I think it's all leading up to an inevitable "crash" between the two universes. As in most time travel stories, you can't have more than one reality exist without destroying both. So I think that the little hints of recognitions in the flash-sideways and now the full on hallucinations are in fact the two universes colliding. How Desmond remains to be the only one who can travel through to both is still a mystery, but I think it will allude back to how he was painted as a Jesus figure in season 3 after the hatch blew, and he literally looked like Jesus. I also think the "sacrifice" Whidmore was asking for was Desmond, and I think he will die since he's already been reunited with Penny in both worlds.

2. So in the flash-sideways Desmond seems to have his life together. A good job, lots of money, travels the world ... but most of all he has what he lacked in his previous life - Charles Whidmore's approval. The only thing he's missing though is Penny. So Charlie asks the question is his life really better in this life? I think we can all agree a universal no, since he doesn't have Penny which is the best love story on this show! (counting Jack and Kate, yeah I said it!)

3. So Farraday makes an appearance in this side-flash and you guessed it, he crossed paths with Charlotte and experiences love at first sight! Pretty tender, but I think the important thing we take away from this is how much of his past island life is coming back to him. He wakes up one day and can write and understand the equivalent to a life spent studying quantum physics. He also is the second stranger to suggest to Desmond that an alternate universe exists, one they were supposed to live. So if Desmond is going to be the so-called spiritual guide from one universe to the other, it looks like Farraday will be the scientific link. But I'm not holding my breath for an explanation of how they bounce between the two.

4. So did anyone else get the feeling like this big machine that Whidmore had was straight up out of Jurassic Park? I half expected a velociraptor to jump out and eat everyone! But alas, it was a large crate with huge copper coils inside. I also doubt we will get an explanation on how this thing works but Maureen asked the question, is this the magic box that Ben was talking about that brought Locke's father to the island? I think not since that means they would have had to take him from the alternate universe and Locke is now friends with him in that universe but who knows! Good observation!

5. As we've been speculating, the island looks like its breaking down to good vs. evil and honestly I don't think we could expect anything more because isn't that the biggest battle there is? So since this island is the key to saving the world as we know it, wouldn't a battle of good and evil be just the thing to settle it? I also feel like there aren't too many more large mysteries to be solved except the whole who is on what team and who will win? They've answered all the biggies, now we're sort of just along for the ride!

6. So Sayid came out at the end to get Desmond, and the reason being that he is such a key player for Whidmore and team Smokey wants him. But why did Desmond go so easily? Maybe he thinks he can achieve what needs to be done from either side? What does this version of Desmond know now that he can travel between the two universes? And also, Sayid continues to be so badass!!

7. The real touching moment in the episode was when the car went off the marina and Desmond had his first real glimpse into the alternate universe via Charlie and his underwater antics. I thought the situation was a bit of a stretch but it did provide us the window to see into the island life they shared. Again I'm going to reference The Matrix in that this was a very deja vu moment, a glitch that lets us know something is there that shouldn't be. I guess the other big mystery aside from good vs. evil is which universe actually belongs.

8. If I have to look at Claire in that ridiculous wig for one more episode I might just start ignoring her story line altogether. It was tender though how Charlie saw her in his alternate universe flash. I almost feel like he should have referenced an empty jar of peanut butter or something.

9. Another thought for the Smokey/MiB vs. Jacob debate is that Jacob could be controlling the island universe and Smokey could be controlling the flash-sideways universe. Maybe whoever wins will have their universe be the winner! Maybe Jacob's universe is the one where people are with the people they love but for fleeting moments and Smokey's universe is one where people have settled and their life hasn't exactly been fulfilled. So maybe neither is good or bad, maybe one is just a different alternative to the other. Boy oh boy do I contradict myself from point to point!

10. The appearance of Daniel's mother Eloise was also really interesting and puzzling. While she appears to just be Whidmore's wife in this universe, she clearly knows something about the life she left behind. She's demanding that Desmond stops looking for whatever he's looking for. Does she know that if him and Penny connect, something will happen to this universe? Does she like it more since she's with Whidmore and has her son Daniel with her? Does she know that once Desmond connects with Penny, he will try to connect everyone else on the flight?

So I can't believe we're nearing the end of the series! Crazy stuff! Now is the time to post your theories so you can gloat at the end to see if you were right all along!

xo

B