So.

Things in the Sideways World are set to converge at David Shephard’s concert, part of the grand opening ceremonies for the new paleontology wing at Pierre Chang’s museum, funded by and named after Hurley.

I did not see that particular scenario coming.

Interesting, though, that this gathering almost mirrors the benefit thrown by the Widmores — we haven’t seen Daniel or Eloise since that episode, and just as Widmore snuffs it here, it’s like that particular narrative layer has folded up. (Maybe.)

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. It felt as though the story was truly and finally settling in for a sit around the campfire to tell us everything we need to know. (Not necessarily WANT to know. But need.)

It was an excellent blend of quiet scenes, weighted with the full force of previous seasons, and explosive violent scenes. I loved the scene between Jack and Locke in the Sideways world, as I have tended to love all of their scenes together. Loved that Locke echoed his own words from Season 1: What if all this is happening for a reason? And loved that Jack replied with another Lostian echo: Don’t mistake coincidence for fate.

Loved Ben’s scenes with Alex and Danielle, particularly that they happen after Desmond forcibly shows Ben the world that should be, so that Ben must have gotten flashes of Alex as his daughter on the island as he watched her study. And that knowing look that passes between Ben and Danielle — I’m chalking that up to “I remember you” and not any sort of romantic moment. Because the latter is a little too much for me to handle right now.

(Sidenote: I think I’m going to institute coq au vin night.)

And Ben tells Locke that Desmond was there to help Locke “let go.” It didn’t occur to me before that letting go is something both Lockes would benefit from — Sideways Locke needs to let go of his guilt and martyrdom so that he can have the chance to walk again; Smokey Locke needs to let it all go — his rage, his vengeance, his plan to kill everyone, his plan to destroy the island. Seriously. Dude. Just let it go.

Which makes me wonder whether Ben’s apparent 180 (or 360, as it were) is his plan to get Smokey to let go. Because I’m 97% sure that Ben is playing Smokey, either for self-preservation (which is completely in keeping with his character) and/or to save the island (ditto). He needs Smokey to believe that he’s on his side, so he gives up Widmore (I have to believe that revenge was always at the forefront of Ben’s mind as well, especially after Miles and Richard bring up Alex). And in using Smokey to kill Widmore, Ben appears to, possibly, once again have the upper hand as he has always had with Locke, up until the point at which Smokey/Locke convinced him to kill Jacob.

Which is not to say that Ben wasn’t absolutely, completely CHILL-MAKING in these scenes. Sinister Ben, I have missed you. But please don’t be evil.

Can’t say I’m sorry to see Widmore go, either. Much better to have the fate of the island rest in the hands of the characters we really got to know over the last six seasons.

But oh, Richard. The minute he said “I’m going to go talk to him” I knew it would go wrong because one of the things we know for sure is that you do NOT let Smokey talk to you if you want to stop him. But I wasn’t prepared for Smokey to hurl Richard so violently into a tree. Can Smokey kill Richard as he couldn’t kill Jacob? I don’t see anyone coming back from that, immortal or not. And if Richard’s indeed dead, he got an even rawer deal than Ilana and all the people on the sub. (Although it might have been better that way, as I don’t think I could take another drawn-out death scene.)

And Jack stepped up to become the next Jacob. OK, first of all, the scene around the fire made me recant what I said last week, that perhaps the whole of “Across the Sea” could have been reduced to a couple of flashbacks within another episode. Had that been done, I don’t think Jacob’s words to Kate, Sawyer, Jack, and Hurley would have been as impressive or powerful. Second, I am fully on board with Jack’s choice. He made that choice from an understanding that it was his destiny — this is why he was brought to the island; this is why he was brought to the lighthouse. These are the answers he’s wanted. He made his choice as Season 6 Jack, not as Season 1 Jack, who would’ve stepped up out of a compulsion to have to be the one in charge, in control, at all times. Both Season 1 and Season 6 Jack are still powered by their need to fix things, but their motivations for wanting to do so are different.

What I didn’t buy so much was Hurley’s “At least it wasn’t me.” I may be saying so out of a slight sense of my own disappointment, but I caught in Jorge Garcia’s delivery more than a touch of regret that he didn’t step up before Jack did.

Other things:

Jack’s neck started bleeding — something he first noticed on the flight back from Sydney, still as mysterious as ever. A literal bleeding in of the original timeline into the sideways timeline?

We get teased with the prospect of finally seeing who David’s mom is. Any guesses?

Who let Desmond out of the well?

I liked the breakout scene, featuring Ana Lucia as a shady bribe-taking cop.

Strange men keep giving Kate dresses.

Speaking of Kate, what did you think about Jacob’s explanation for why her name was crossed out?

Finally, as we look toward the finale (!!), what do you most want to see happen? What’s left unanswered for you?

Related posts:

1. Thoughts on Lost – “Dr. Linus”
2. Thoughts on Lost – “The Substitute”
3. Thoughts on Lost – Recon

Me? Not so much.

It upset me, for sure (my refrain last night was “THAT WAS NOT OK”), but just as I wasn’t terribly moved by Sun and Jin’s reunion a couple weeks ago, their deaths didn’t have much of an emotional impact on me. I couldn’t really figure out why until Alan Sepinwall offered a succinct reason: “the show lost sight of the two as individual characters.” (Read the rest of his review here. After I read it last night I had half a mind to simply link to it for this post.) I’ll add this: after they were brought back together, the show didn’t have anything else for them to do. Ji Yeon, as with so many TV babies, is a complete afterthought (the second-most popular reaction to this scene, after “noooooooooo!”, is “What about your daughter?”). I had a feeling in the last episode that one or both of them were doomed. And the show could not sustain just ONE of them dying. That would’ve been worse. So while I don’t think killing of Sun and Jin was fair, I do recognize it as a sort of necessary thing. And while I don’t think it was the most amazing piece of storytelling that Lost’s ever done, Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae Kim were both incredible.

There were other things that got to me more, including but not limited to:

Hurley breaking down on the beach. That was more gutting for me than watching Sun and Jin die. (Conversely, Jack crying at the ocean? Seemed gratuitous and strange.)

The brief glimpse of Jin in the hospital in the Sideways world, just after he dies in the real world.

Sayid’s exertion of free will. That was a noble death. Or second death. All the zombie-like behavior he’d been displaying paid off in that brief moment when Sayid was himself again.

Sideways Jack and Locke’s scene at the end of the episode, when Jack quotes Faraday (“what happened, happened”) and Locke (“I wish you had believed me”) and talks about how it’s OK to let go even though he hasn’t quite figured out how yet. I could watch that scene over and over. It’s just beautifully acted.

And other things that I thought were awesome:

Sideways Cooper’s fate was more satisfying to watch than Real Cooper dying. Even though Sideways Cooper was apparently a helluva guy. I love the spin that the Sideways world gives that fraught relationship, making Locke responsible for his father’s condition rather than the other way around.

The bomb countdown SPEEDING UP after Sawyer removes the wires. For all the times that countdowns stop at 2 seconds to go, to have a bomb programmed to fast-track detonation is something I’ve never seen before, and I laughed out loud.

The return of Action Jack. As with Sayid’s zombie existence, I’d gotten so used to Jack’s passivity, which appears to be in full swing even at the beginning of this episode, that when he pushed Locke into the water I punched the air and whooped. It’s possible, though I feel strange saying so, that I am fully on board with the return of Jack as the show’s hero.

(Huh. I just remembered my dream last night involved getting chased by zombies in some sort of mountain village and barricading myself and others inside a school. I’m going to blame Buffy, Lost, and my addiction to Plants vs. Zombies for this.)

Yay, Bernard!

And seriously, for all my meh-ing about Sun and Jin dying, the submarine scenes were truly Lost at its best. They recalled Charlie’s death, they reminded us that the water is always ominous on this show, and they were excellently dramatic and intense.

I am a little pissed off that Frank seems to be dead, though.

And I only have one question/potential problem: a few episodes ago (“Everybody Loves Hugo,” to be precise) Richard and Ben and Miles trooped off to blow up the plane. Clearly they didn’t accomplish that goal. So what the hell happened to them and where the hell are they?

UPDATE: OK, I can’t believe I went and posted this thing without mentioning the biggest part of this whole episode, namely that now we know for sure that a) Smokey always intended to kill all the candidates and b) that he can’t actually do this himself. I think I neglected to include it earlier because it’s something that we all pretty much already knew, right? Or at least suspected? I’ve been working with that theory from the beginning, so. Yeah. Still. That’s pretty huge. And it looks like next week is going to be more about Jacob and the Man in Black, perhaps giving us more from MiB’s perspective. Can’t wait.

Related posts:

1. Thoughts on Lost – The Package
2. Thoughts on Lost – “Sundown”
3. Thoughts on Lost – What They Died For

I liked the Sideways stuff last week, but this was the best one yet — even with the wholly unsubtle Napolean lecture (I laughed, I’ll admit it, but seriously?). This is probably because it directly related to things that had happened and were still happening on the island. Most importantly, Ben is given a(nother) chance to save Alex, under a similar if not as violent set of circumstances — he’s faced with the choice between his own power and destroying her life. And Sideways Ben chooses wisely. I wasn’t the only one whose heartstrings were tugged on repeatedly while watching Ben tutor Alex, was I?

But then Island Ben chooses wisely as well, after an entire episode in which his attempts to cajole, persuade, bribe or blackmail — all of which have been successful in the past — are soundly rejected. And he returns to the group on the beach not as a leader, or anyone in charge of anything, but as one of them. And left out of the reunion, though I think Jack notices him there, at the end.

In the Sideways World, we learn that Ben and his father had indeed gone to the island to be a part of the DI, but then left. Why? Ben’s father is also a decent man, just as we can presume Locke’s father is, so I wonder if the Sideways World is like everyone’s second chance. Anyone who was on the island prior to Juliet detonating the bomb somehow gets a do-over. (Arzt was already dead, so he remains the blowhard he was before.) (Oh, Arzt.)

Sideways Ben relies on microwaveable dinners and store-bought sushi. I seem to recall Island Ben being a pretty good cook, so that’s interesting in a “huh” sort of way.

And there was just that one moment, when Arzt gleefully tells Ben “you’re a real killer!” as they plot the dethroning of Principal Reynolds (William Atherton — inspired casting, that) where Ben looks down and to the side as if maybe he sort of remembers that in some other configuration of his life he was literally a killer.

What else…

The big scene with Jack and Richard is important for a few reasons. First, Richard indicates that if Jacob touches you, you can’t die. Or rather, you can’t take your own life. Jacob touched Locke, Locke WAS going to kill himself but Ben interrupted him. And then Ben killed Locke. So that much is consistent.

This makes me wonder whether Jacob had previously touched Ilana, and wore gloves when he came to visit her in the hospital because he couldn’t touch her again, like Ned on Pushing Daisies. (I miss that show. Can a current show crossover with a cancelled show? Because that would be awesome.)

It also occurred to me last night that Jack and Richard are a lot alike, in a sort of Ben/Locke way, but I didn’t write that thought down and now I don’t remember why I thought that.

But that scene between them reminded me of a couple earlier episodes — it’s Jack who initially wants the timer in the hatch to run down because he thinks nothing is going to happen if it does; later it’s Locke who is so convinced. It also shows how far Jack’s come since Season 1 — that was a pretty huge leap of faith he took there, and while he’s always HAD faith, he never really put much stock in it before. But now — he got whatever it was that Jacob wanted him to get. He knows that he’s got some sort of purpose there, even if he doesn’t know what it is. He sounded exactly like the Locke of old.

And now I’m pretty sure we’re not going to get any special Richard episode, because it’s pretty clear that he did arrive on the Black Rock, as a slave (remember Smokey’s “Good to see you out of those chains”). It’s also clear that he never knew what was going on at all, the whole time he’s been on the island — which is actually pretty surprising, considering how the show seemingly set him up as the one who did have all the answers.

There are only six candidates left: One of the Kwons, Jack, Hurley, Sawyer, Kate, and . . . Frank? Desmond? Walt? I think signs are pointing to Frank, considering the conversation he has with Ben, where Ben points out that even though Frank missed his chance to pilot Oceanic 815, the island got him in the end.

For what it’s worth, the books in Sawyer’s old tent are Chaim Potok’s The Chosen (OF COURSE) and something by Benjamin Disraeli. The title appears to be Justice and Truth in Action, which is not the title of anything Disraeli wrote. One of his more famous quotes is, however, “Justice IS truth in action.” So again, interesting in a “huh” sort of way.

Aaaaaaaaaand Widmore. Widmore! So it was WIDMORE that Jacob was referring to, when he told Hurley that someone was coming to the island, and needed help getting there. And then when Jack smashed the mirrors, Jacob assured Hurley that this person would find another way. Indeed. Submarines don’t need lighthouses.

BUT: Widmore is one of the good guys? He had been in Jacob’s camp, way back when, before he was exiled for whatever it was (fathering a child off island, I think. Right?) Is it possible that Widmore and Ben were always on the same side, i.e. against the Man in Black, but jockeying for who was going to be the Chosen Candidate? And I’m still a little confused by what Ben meant then, after Alex was killed, that Widmore “changed the rules.” Anyone?

Related posts:

1. Thoughts on Lost – What They Died For
2. Thoughts on Lost – “The Substitute”
3. Thoughts on Lost – “Lighthouse”

I say the first is wrong, the second is a matter of opinion, and the third I wholeheartedly agree with. I don’t think it’s going to be possible for me to say this season is good or bad until it’s over. Individual episodes so far have been decent, “The Substitute” was excellent, this week’s was better than “What Kate Does” but not as good as the premiere or “The Substitute.” In terms of story I think it’s fine. Did it answer anything? Not concretely. Am I bothered by this? No. I don’t think any of us should be watching this show with a checklist — I mean, I have a checklist, but if I’m watching each episode WAITING for something I think they should address, then I’m not paying attention to what they’re actually DOING.

There. I’m done with the whole “they’re not answering anything” bit, at least for a few weeks. But I definitely agree that the show works better when the group is together — if not physically, then at least within the parameters of a single episode. I miss Ben and Sun and Frank already, even though we saw them last week. I am eager for more of Ilana and her mission. I can’t wait for the timelines to reconcile.

Other things I want: Richard’s story, Desmond’s return (not necessarily to the island), the explanation for what/how/why Christian is.

OK. This episode.

You know, for a Jack ep I quite liked it, and I think that’s because it follows the course laid out last season, where Jack is not really in charge of anything. Here he’s following Hurley through the jungle (just as Sawyer follows Smokey) without knowing why, and when he tries to assert himself in bringing Kate along with them, both Kate and Hurley say no — not part of either’s agenda.

And I liked Sideways Jack as well — also not all that in control, but dealing with it. Doesn’t remember having his appendix out. In the original timeline, it was Juliet who took it out (Season 4, “Something Nice Back Home”). In the sideways timeline it apparently happened when Jack was a kid. his inability to recall this major event, in addition to Claire being named in Christian’s will — which I think would’ve been the first time Sideways Jack hears her name — points to the two timelines drawing closer together.

Sideways Jack has a son named David (who’s the mother? Don’t care. Could be Sarah, could be some random woman we don’t know, hell, it could be Juliet. David’s mom doesn’t seem all that important to the story at this point, so I’m not going to worry about it) who has just as tangled a relationship to Jack as Jack had to his dad, and as Walt had with Michael. Because really — they only see each other once a month? Horrible custody settlement, but maybe that’s because, you know, Jack didn’t have his shit together during the divorce proceedings (his mother’s “good for you” after he refuses a drink was telling). And the other parallel between Jack/Michael and David/Walt was, of course, Dogen telling Jack that David has a gift. It also hearkens back to what a number of people have told Locke over the course of his life.

Connections: David’s reading Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass, which Jack had read to Aaron; the sign at David’s audition for the Williams Conservatory said “Welcome all Candidates.” (Ha.)

Dogen: he and Jack have a nice moment at the Temple, echoed in the Sideways world, but it brings up the question of why/how Dogen is off island. Additionally, something I didn’t think of at the time but someone else raised via Twitter, how is Ben off the island in the Sideways world? Two possibilities that I can think of: 1) again, these anomalies (they should’ve gone down with the island — provided, of course, that the island DID blow up and what we saw at the bottom of the ocean was real and not another fake) point to the two timelines drawing closer to reconciliation; 2) if we follow the trajectory of the original timeline, then if the plane never crashes then Ben never gets shot and never gets taken to the Temple . . . and now I’m in Back to the Future mode where it’s better just not to think about this too much.

I’ll get to Hurley/the lighthouse in a second. Want to talk about Claire first. Claire makes me really uncomfortable now, as she’s supposed to, but still — that fake baby? CREEPY. Her face when she tells Jin that Smokey is her friend? So creepy. She doesn’t seem to recognize that Aaron would be three years old now, which is interesting. She also has rewritten history it seems, implying that her friends just left her on the island, when what did happen is that she left Aaron to follow Christian into the jungle — AND she told Locke later that it would be better if he didn’t tell anyone that he saw her. That she distinguishes between “my father” and “my friend” is intriguing and confusing. That she axed the Other was predictable, but I did like how it showed Jin that this is not the Claire he knew, and so he lies to her in order to bring her to people he thinks will be able to help her. Of course Smokey’s along for the ride now, and this is the bad thing that Jacob tells Hurley is coming.

OK. The one thing I did not like about this episode was the shoddy writing given to Hurley. He’s always been the audience stand-in, and the pop culture nerd with the Star Wars references and whatnot, but last night it seemed that all Hurley really did was string along a bunch of Hurleyisms, and that’s not fair, especially when it seems as though Hurley is poised to be the next Island Guy. (Jackie raised a good point last night about the numbers: that their assignation to the other Losties explains why Hurley is drawn to them. As far as I’m concerned, this is the only explanation for the numbers that I need.)

Though I did like his line at the cave, asking whether THEY are Adam and Eve. It reminded me of very early in Season 1, when he’s convinced that the monster is a dinosaur. Both of these explanations are things the television audience had thought as well, and I think the Adam and Eve line is just an acknowledgement of that.

And the Lighthouse. I am sure Jeff Jensen is going to have something to say about Woolf’s To The Lighthouse, which if memory serves has a lot to do with simply watching people, but it’s been a very long time since I last read the book (I should reread. It’s damn good). At the lighthouse we get the List again, and I saw more names this time: Dawson, Linus, Rousseau, and Austen, listed at 51, and not crossed off. This screencap, when clicked to embiggen, shows Radzinsky crossed off at 106 and I think Faraday crossed off at 101. (OK, I just like looking for the names.) And at 108, the degree to which Jacob told Hurley the lighthouse should be set, is someone named Wallace, but the name is crossed off. (My first thought: “Marcellus?”)

Lighthouse vs. cave: light vs. dark. Got it.

I’m not sure Jacob knew that Jack was going to smash the mirrors. And I’m also not sure that anyone is coming to the island now, or was ever going to, because the two points of the trip were 1) to get Hurley and Jack away from the temple, and 2) to get Jack to see why he’s important, and give him something to think about as he stares into the ocean. Jacob’s shrug that whoever it is will find another way to the island indicates that he’s not worried, and he might not be worried because he just made it all up in order for Hurley and Jack’s trip to have some sort of meaning for them.

But if someone is coming to the island, then my money’s on Desmond. Wishful thinking perhaps, but if 108 is still a significant number even if the name attached to it on the compass (?) isn’t, then he’s the one most closely associated with it, having pushed that button every 108 seconds for three years.

What were your thoughts?

Related posts:

1. Thoughts on Lost – What They Died For
2. Thoughts on Lost – What Kate Does
3. Thoughts on Lost – Everybody Loves Hugo