Well, now.
Well.
I didn’t take many notes as the show aired — compared to last week’s “Happily Ever After,” this was a relatively uncomplicated, straightforward episode in which characters move, the plot moves, and no new mysteries or questions crop up. In that, it was highly satisfying. There were still a few things I could’ve done without — the explanation for the whispers is one of them — but I’ll get to that in a sec.
Hurley has been the most lovable character throughout Lost’s run for a number of reasons. He’s the kid who always gets picked on, the kid who never gets chosen for big adventure, the kid who gets beaten down time after time but still believes that people should be treated with respect. Plus, he’s a sci fi nerd. He is The Underdog, and everybody loves The Underdog. It is profoundly satisfying to watch Sideways Hurley because he’s living the Underdog Makes Good narrative. He’s preternaturally lucky and supremely successful, and he’s also still essentially Hurley, believing that everyone deserves compassion and respect. Hurley the Humanitarian. Look what happens when a boatload of money falls into the right hands.
There’s a theory floating around the Lostverse that describes the Sideways Universe as a world in which all of the characters get what they most wanted in the Real Universe, though it comes at a price. I’m having a hard time applying it to Hurley. Actually, I’m having a hard time applying it to most of the characters, based on what we’ve seen of their Sideways existences. It’s easy with Locke — he gets Helen, though he’s still in a wheelchair. (Possibly he gets Helen AND his father’s acceptance.) Desmond gets Widmore’s approval, but not Penny. Sun and Jin get to be together, but Sun gets shot (endangering their unborn child). Sayid gets to be with the woman he loves, but not really. No idea how this theory applies to Kate, Claire, Sawyer, and Jack, and with Hurley . . . all I can think is that the lottery money isn’t cursed, but then it never was. He was never in a mental institution in the Sideways world, so maybe his most urgent desire was to not be paranoid and delusional. Anyway. This is mostly a sidenote that got out of hand. Back to the episode.
Libby! About damn time. Hurley placing a fresh flower on Libby’s grave tugged at my heartstrings; seeing her again after all these years was immensely satisfying. Libby’s ability to remember the Real Universe, and Hurley’s flashes of it during their first kiss (again with the heartstring tugging), means that there’s at least two more ways to break through the Sideways Universe, aside from having a near-death experience. Granted, Libby’s mental state and her ability to see the Real Universe is kind of a chicken-egg situation, and I’m not sure which came first. However, she was in Santa Rosa in the Real World as well, and I can’t help but think back to Season 2′s “Dave,” which ends on that shot of Libby in the Santa Rosa rec room, staring intently and rather madly at Hurley.
Do you think Libby knows what’s going on here? That’s my question. I like the idea that she does. It’s reminds me of the way all the Glory-fied crazy people in Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s Season 4 know what Dawn really is.
It was equally satisfying, as it has been all season, to watch Island Hurley come into his own. He’s had the occasional Moment before, but he’s carrying himself now with such quiet purpose and strength that he’s almost a different person from even the Hurley in “The Lighthouse.” And yet, he’s still essentially Hurley. He can’t keep the truth about not seeing Jacob from Jack. And that conversation, where Jack says that he’s pretty much OK now with following someone else, that was a nice moment. In my notes, I have it as “Jack learns an Important Lesson. Finally!”
I wasn’t expecting to see Michael again, but I did like how he appeared just after Hurley chides Libby for being the one dead person he hasn’t talked to, as though the island is taking the piss. “We’re not going to give you Libby, but here’s her killer. Psych!”
What I didn’t like? The explanation for the whispers. The idea that the Island is purgatory for souls who can’t move on is so unsatisfying for reasons I can’t fully articulate but should be obvious enough that I don’t need to. And maybe that’s not really what it is, purgatory. Maybe “moving on” means something other than “to Heaven.” What I’m hung up on is why Michael’s even there. I thought he’d fulfilled his duty to the island or whatever at the end of Season 4, on the freighter. Just before all that C4 blows up, Christian Shepherd appears to him and says, “You can go now.” Was it another “Psych! Just kidding. We’re going to need you to do this one other thing, but then I promise you can go” situation? Man, the Island is an asshole.
But I did like the knockout rolled-out ending. All of our original castaways, save Jin, are together. Finally! The look between Jack and Smokey was deliciously drawn out and intense. I wonder whether Jack will point out to everyone else there that Sayid is not really Sayid anymore. I don’t think that Kate or Sawyer have cottoned to this yet. (Speaking of Sawyer, I’m a little disgruntled that he hasn’t been doing much of anything other than confronting Smokey with things that Smokey has done. “So you went for a walk, huh?” Enough of that.)
That Smokey was going to toss Desmond down the well was telegraphed from the minute we saw the well, but did Desmond know that was going to happen? I’m thinking he did, because I’m still working with the idea that the latest EMP he experienced gave him the ability to see the entire picture of what was and what needs to be. Because he’s still so very ZEN about all the crap going on.
And if I’m not mistaken that’s the donkey wheel well, right? Although Smokey did mention that there were other wells all over the island and so maybe he tossed Des down a different one. That this happened in tandem with Sideways Des RUNNING OVER LOCKE was nothing short of super fantastic. Locke’s face, as he’s lying on the ground watching the Real Universe flash before his eyes, looked very much like his face after he was pushed out of the window, so that’s interesting even though I’m not sure what it signifies, if anything.
Other observations:
- So long, Ilana. I think you deserved something a little more dignified than going the way of the Arzt, and I hope we still get the backstory on how you became a Jacob disciple (Jacobite? Ha), though I guess that’s not likely, what with 5 episodes left.
- Small moment, but one I loved: Ben following Richard.
- Also loved Ben confronting Des, on the suspicion that Des is a pedophile stalking his next victim. LOVED that Des says he has a child named Charlie — subtle indication that he’s fully conscious of both his existences.
- Finally, the mysterious island boy! We’re agreed that he’s the same boy that Smokey saw earlier in the season, the one who warns, “You can’t kill them,” only older, right? Are we still agreed on the premise that this is Jacob? So now we’ve seen kid Jacob and pre-teen Jacob, yes?
Jacob’s a phoenix.
I’m only half-joking.
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