LOST Lunch 6.16 What They Died For (Updated)

Hard to believe...the End is nigh, literally.

[update at bottom]

General feeling was that this was one of the best episodes ever.

Miles was in great form, with a number of memorable lines, like "the secreter room" and "I lived in these houses 30 years before you did... otherwise known as last week." So glad he has a great sense of when to make an exit. 

I observed that I thought the scene between Jack and Sawyer, where Sawyer says he killed Sun, Jin and Lapidus, and Jack counters, "No, he killed them" was one of the best ever... after all of their fighting, competing and head butting, they were down to their raw souls, and Jack had the grace to try to heal Sawyer.  Carol made the analogy that it was like when a criminal wants to commit suicide by cop and pushes a situation so that the police have no choice but to shoot...  so MIB used Sawyer  - he was being used as the weapon, not the purp.

Melissa thinks that Widmore isn't dead; that it all happened too quickly.  I confess she was alone in feeling that the senior Widmore lives.  However, we do like the idea that the scar on Sideways Jack's neck may be a hint at what is to come...  MIB's attempt to kill him the way he killed Zoe.  We wondered if MIB could kill Jack now that he has ASSUMED THE MANTLE OF PROTECTOR (imagine a nice drum roll echo thing going on there) the way MIB couldn't kill Jacob.  I for one hope it's only from a failed attempt, not a successful one. 

Big Question:  Who is the mother of David  - Jack's son in Sideways World?  (I forgot to bring up at the time, but there was a nasty little tease in the show when Locke, in front of Jack's desk, notices a photo.  We see it in a flash. I had hoped it would show the Mom...but it was Christian, Jack and David.  Those little devils know how to rattle our mental cages!)  We suspect the big reveal will be at the Mystery concert; mystery because we aren't sure if it is piano (for David) or the Drive Shaft concert or the Museum or all they all the same?  We are hoping all of the above so the whole gang will be in one place for some big, big WOW moments.  Chief of which might be some showdown between dear Mrs. Hawking/Widmore and Desmond.

Speaking of Desmond - he was ON FIRE!!!

Ben...Ben...Ben...  he certainly seemed to fall off the redemption wagon.  I am in the camp that feels his anger and rage at Widmore over the death of Alex was just too strong for him to ignore.  Note the sequence of scenes:  Island Ben is brought back to the death of Alex with Miles "discovery" of her grave followed by the admission at the house getting the C-4 that he now realizes HE was summoned by the Monster/Locke, not the other way round;  Ben comes in contact with Widmore and learns he has met Jacob; Sideways Ben is brought into the familial embrace of Alex and Danielle Rousseau when Alex doesn't want him to be alone after his beating;  after the dinner Danielle tells him he is the closest thing to a father Alex has ever had and he cries!  Then...  the Island World scene where Smocke threatens to kill Penny if Widmore doesn't tell him why he came back...and Ben shoots him and saying "He doesn't get to save his daughter."  I think it was a big ball of anger, guilt and rage exploding out of that rifle at Widmore (who, remember, Ben accused of changing the rules back when Island Alex was killed.) and is more the complexity of Ben than just evil.  The group hoped that Ben was still on the side of Good, (Craig did think he was back on the dark side) and mused that he is using his knowledge of Smockey/MIB/Puffy... whatever... gained over the years to out-fox him in the end.  All agree that Michael Emerson once again delivered a brilliant performance.

Carol worried that referring to Desmond as the Failsafe sounds like certain death. 

I raised a question I had with the group:  It seemed to me that when Desmond was first thrown into the well by Smockey it had a dry bottom. But, at the end of this episode, when he arrived at the well with Ben, there was water at the bottom.  At first I thought...is this really the same one?  Is he pulling a fast one on Ben?  Did Sayid really get Desmond out of the well, after all?  Everyone said they, too, noticed the water at the bottom...so its nice to know I wasn't hallucinating.  Some felt that maybe Sayid hadn't gotten him out, but just hadn't killed him.  Nothing was really decided. 

Is Richard Alpert really dead?  Well, supposedly he can't die... or can he?  I think we felt that ole "the Island has finished with you" and he might be gone.  I sort of hope to see him with his wife at last.

Big Question: WHERE IS CLAIRE!?!?!  We last saw her on the dock with Smocke as the sub pulled out.  As Scooby Doo would put it...roah, roh.!?!

Doc Jensen was at his best for this week's recap.  If you haven't seen it yet...  it is long but because the episode was chock full of...gems.  We particularly loved his description of Sawyer, Kate and Hurley watching Jack's "annointment" as "the three wise-asses from the East"  and his coining of the term SOIES for Sudden Onset Island Enlightenment Syndrome.

Hurley...was his "glad it wasn't me" premature? or a twisted hint that, oops, he celebrated too soon? 

Kristina brought up Jacob's comment to Kate, that her name being crossed out was just a line of chalk on rock.  Was that a nod to us LOST obsessives that sometimes things DON'T have deeper meaning? (a la Freud's "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar")  Carol referred to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, where one learns that the answer of life, everything and the universe  is 42.  Yes, one of those numbers.  When an obsessed fan asked a very long question about the meaning of the number the author answered only "it's fiction".   'nuf said.

I noted that Jacob never really explained Why they died, just What they died for - the Golden Light.  He never really gives an explanation, the Why.  Carol said it was just semantics.

Question:  Any connection between Desmond entering the numbers in the computer in the Swan Hatch and the numbers by the candidates names on the cave wall?  Speculation:  Putting the numbers in contained the electromagnetism and protected the Island.  The Candidate's job is the same thing - containing the Monster, protecting the Golden Light, and saving the Island.

Craig brought up the idea of...who is bad here?  Jacob and Faux Mom made MIB the Monster.  Anyone would be a bit testy if lied to all one's life by one's parent, attacked by both mom and brother and killed by one's brother.  Well, yes, but Smokey took it a whole lot further...killing LOTS of people.  Did he never hear of You catch more flies with honey?  Oh, yeah, I guess not.

Phyllis observed: the last episode is coming and we still don't know what's going on!

We remembered Smocke telling Kate to keep Aaron away from Claire, as he knows what its like to be raised by a crazy Mom.  (Which again made me wonder, where is Claire...did he get rid of her to absolutely prevent her from getting to Aaron?) Are  Locke and MIB now a melding together of 2 men who had that experience?  Is that the reason MIB chose his body/being to take?  Again, the Island had a large supply of dead bodies over 2,000  years...why wait for Locke?  Another possibility - Locke was in a good position to manipulate Ben.  For me this is one of the big questions I hope gets addressed...but I'm not holding out much hope for that. 

Craig thinks Jacob is like Lucifer - he makes deals with people to do his bidding, made "deals with the Devil" when he touched them, maybe more for his goals than their own good. 

Something that came to me watching it a second time:  Desmond not seen on the Island because...he really isn't there.  He is able to go, really, from Island World to Sideways World because of his experience in the ElectroMagnetic Doughnuts.  (Widmore said he brought him back "because of his unique resistance to electromagnetism...a measure of last resort")  I was gratified that the group liked my theory.  I will hold onto that until Sunday when I fully expect it to be blown out of the water...  Craig said he thought Desmond was the Jacob of Sideways World!  We sort of liked that too.  It was also pointed out that Desmond had this ability back after the Hatch blew up - remember "The Constant"...but I think this is more... now HE determines where he goes and when.  He is not just being tossed about on Time's Trampoline.

All wondered what we will be feeling at 11:30pm EST, on Sunday.  We are feeling hopeful after this great episode and knowing they had 2 years to plan for this big finish.   And despite our most noble pronouncements we will probably stay up for Jimmy Kimmel's show.  How many of you are planning to take Monday off?

How many wish you could?

Update:  after leaving the lunch I finally got to read my Examiner and found that LOST had found its way to their editorial page in the form of this wonderful cartoon; sounds like as good a theory for the finish for one character as any I’ve heard.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/NateBeelerToons/Back-to-Normal-After-Lost-94376344.html


Namaste, Yinz!