Monday, May 31, 2010

May 31,2010: Walking On The Highway and Other Adventures

I've come across some pretty entertaining nuggets in the newspaper over the last few days, and some of these stories are just too good not to share:

First up is a story I read today about a woman who is suing Google after using their popular Google Maps feature (which I use all the time) for directions. She had to travel 3 miles, and when she entered both locations, decided to walk...even though the directions took her on a highway. Now, let's examine the different aspects of this ridiculous situation:

1) The directions on Google Maps clearly stated "Walking Directions - use caution. This route may be missing sidewalks or pedestrian paths." She claims that these instructions were not visible to her since she was using her blackberry. Let's give her a pass on this one.

2) Google Maps directed her to walk on a road called Deer Valley Drive, which is also State Route 224 in Utah. By name alone, I'll give her a pass again on this one, but looking at the map, it's clear by the yellow line, and the circled '224', that this is a highway.

3) Let's assume you get all the way to Deer Valley Drive/Route 224, and you see this (actual photo):
do you continue? I would say not. If you have come this far without realizing that this is a highway that you shouldn't be walking on, legally or with any shred of common sense, this is your giant red flag moment.
THIS IS A HIGHWAY...STOP WALKING!

4) But...instead of aborting this Walkabout, she decided to then cross the road, and walk along an unprotected part of the road without a full shoulder, and with a noise barrier wall so that she was even closer to traffic that normal.

And then she got hit by a car.

So now she's suing Google, claiming it is their fault that this happened. I would submit that this was Natural Selection at its finest, trying to do the world a favour.

The second story was from Hamilton, Ontario, where a year-long battle over a urinal has finally ended with the restaurant in question agreeing to remove the urinal. There were letters, and protests, and complaints that this urinal objectified women, and a presence from The Woman Abuse Working Group, who called it degrading. Oh...here's a picture of the urinal.
Now, I'll say it flat-out...I don't want to use that urinal. It's terrifying. And not in a degrading and objectifying way...but in a 'Mick-Jagger-as-a-Deranged-Clown' sort of way. To me, there's just something about a wide open mouth that size that says absolutely zero percent sexual in any way whatsoever. Seriously, the last thing I want to do when I see that is undo my pants? Am I wrong?

Third is a brief one, but I must give credit where it's due. Yes, I can see the intrinsic benefits of having a program that blacks out the words 'Justin Bieber' on your computer, but I think it's a little crazy for Bieber fans to be issuing death threats over it. I'm not mentioning it because of the death threats, I'm mentioning it because the program is called Shaved Bieber! How awesome is that? Greg Leuch, inventor of Shaved Bieber...I want to be your friend. Call me.

This story is a couple of weeks old, but I still can't believe it. A motorcycle enthusiast in Puerto Rico who was murdered...yes, murdered...was enbalmed in the position of riding his motorbike, so that his body could be on display for three days in that pose. And they did it right up, special clothing, brought the bike in and everything. Wow, that's commitment. Look at the picture of the deceased David Colon below, and remember...that's a dead guy!
And finally, I still don't fully understand what happened in this video, but this confrontation between a TV reporter and a hospital PR person is reality TV at its best...I can't look away. Why won't he stop touching him?

Sunday, May 30, 2010

May 30, 2010: A Few Lost Photos To Make You Smile

I came across these photos in the past couple of weeks, and I thought I would share them with you. I think that you'll enjoy them...I know they brought a smile to my face.

First is this photo that was posted on DarkUFO. I (along with many others) referred to the Fake Locke as Flocke for Season 6, and this mosaic is a picture of John Locke, made entirely of seagulls. Yes...it's a Flocke of Seagulls.
I saw this picture on Nik at Nite, and if you don't break into an ear-splitting grin when you see this picture, I would submit that you aren't really a Lost fan at all.
This was the background image for a recent TV Guide cover commemorating the 6 seasons of Lost. Take a trip down memory lane and look at each picture...trust me, it's worth it. (click on the image to enlarge)
I posted this on the blog once before, but I think this is a good spot to re-post it. A collage image of Oceanic 815 breaking into two...with the picture made up of 108 Lost-related images. Can you identify all 108? (Thanks again to Matt for sending this in.)
I saw that a friend of mine posted this online, and it brought me back to Season 1. If you read my Ode To Lost, you'll recall that this image of John Locke over the Hatch is what hooked me on this show, so I really liked this picture.
And finally, two fun images of actual items that are going to be at this year's San Diego Comic-Con festival. The first is the new Claire "Squirrel Baby" Bobblehead figure, and the second is action figures of Jacob and the MIB. You can order them here if you aren't going to Comic-Con. (and yes, I know my birthday was in March, but they would make great gifts for your favourite Lost Blogger...wink, wink.)

Thursday, May 27, 2010

May 27, 2010: Lost Tidbits

A few more things to talk about since Lost ended earlier this week. Since, after this week, this blog will take a decidedly Lost-less appearance, I thought I would try to group all of these items together in one post.

First, I'd like to discuss a theory coming out of the Finale. A lot of people were wondering why Ben didn't go into the church when Hurley asked him. His exact words were "I still have some things to work on. I'll be here a while." Now, a lot of people, including me, took this to mean that he wasn't ready to leave a place where he had just found Danielle and Alex, and now had what appeared to be a family...similar to the reasoning that Eloise didn't want Desmond to take Daniel with him.

But after thinking about it, and talking about it, and listening to some ideas, I think that the real reason he didn't go, was because he wasn't part of that group. Think about it, Christian said that the people in that church spent the most important time of their lives with each other. There were a lot of people NOT in that group, like Michael (explained to be left on the Island), Walt, Ana Lucia, Eko, Daniel, Charlotte, Miles, Danielle, Alex, and many more.
I submit that Ben's "group" is entirely different. Perhaps it's some of those people listed above, and perhaps it's others we haven't mentioned...maybe Richard, or Tom, or so many more. When Ben said, "I still have some things to work on", I think what he meant that it was now HIS job to serve the same role Desmond did, and to show these people how they needed to gather. And I love that whether I'm right or wrong, I can go on believing that for myself.

Speaking of Ben, if you haven't heard the news, Michael Emerson revealed that the Season 6 DVD set of Lost will contain an epilogue from the time on the Island when Hurley was #1, and Ben was #2. And it's not just a quick toss-away scene, either, it's 12 to 14 minutes long. How exciting is that!? For those of you looking for answers still, maybe you'll get even more on the DVD...who knows?

And if you're one of those viewers that are still furious that you didn't get your answers in the Finale (and boy are there a LOT of you), you'll definitely enjoy this video.

As I've mentioned before, the response to my recaps this season has been amazing, and a tad overwhelming at times (in a good way!), but I wanted to take a moment as this all winds down to list and thank some people who helped make this all so amazing. My apologies if this comes across as an Oscar acceptance speech, but I need to give credit where it is due.

To all of those people in Season 1, who told me that I needed to start watching the show, and when I didn't, kept badgering me to do so...thank you. I can't even imagine if I had missed the last 6 years of this show.

To Vozzek69, you were the first recapper I ever read, and I first discovered you years ago on the abc.com Lost message boards. You showed me that intelligent thought sometimes needed to be applied to what became commonly referred to as 'the idiot box', and I looked forward to your recaps for 4 solid years.

To DarkUFO, who gathered all of the important items in the Lost Universe together under one roof, and made a home for all of us who wanted one. Imagine what life would have been like these past years without DarkUFO. I can't imagine it. And you gave me a shot without really knowing much about me, and I thank you for that.

To Erika Olsen, who showed me that recaps didn't always have to be JUST informative and intelligent (which hers are), but they could also be fun, and injected with humour, and personal flair. I looked forward to yours more than anything, because I loved your writing style, your sense of humour, your love of music (which came through), and your fantastic captions. Plus, your ideas were great. That's one hell of a complete package. Erika was the first one I was in contact with directly, and her accessibilty was something I'll never forget. Her style of writing inspired me to actually start writing again, and if you notice similarities between my blog and hers (Long Live Locke - link on the sidebar as well), I hope that you will take it as an homage, and not a 'copy'. One of the things I loved about her blog, was the hidden captions under the photos, and when I couldn't figure out how to do it, she's the one who actually taught me how, and guided me through the steps. If you've never read her stuff, do yourself a favour and check it out.

To Josh Wolk, who I also discovered around the same time as Erika. Not even with regards to Lost, but just in terms of his writing. Josh may be the funniest man on the planet, and he (along with Erika) are the two reasons that I chose to start writing again. He did nothing directly, but in terms of providing an inspiration, he was immeasurable. There is a link to his blog on the sidebar as well. You'll see what I mean.

To Nikki Stafford, who is without a doubt the most accessible Lost expert (recapper, blogger, author, and so much more) I have ever come across. Her work with this show inspired me to become better...and that made this season such a pleasure. I can only hope that one day my blog here has the same amazing sort of community feel that hers does.

To all of the new readers who have found me through DarkUFO and other Lost-related avenues. Thank you for the feedback, this road has been so much fun, and I'm glad I got to take it with all of you.

To my girlfriend, Devena, who put up with me being completely inaccessible from 8:59 on every Tuesday for the past few months. And who tolerated all the rewinding, pausing, note taking, and jumping up screaming "What the Hell?" Her support has been immeasurable, and I thank her so much.

So, that leaves one final piece of business.

I mentioned at the end of my recap for The End, as well as in my Ode To Lost, that I was considering recapping Lost from the beginning of Season 1. Many of you contacted me, and commented here and on Facebook and I'm pleased to report that I have indeed decided to Recap from the beginning.
I'm not sure when I'm going to start. I am definitely taking at least a month off. I know that DarkUFO is planning a re-watch at some point, and he has mentioned that he would like to publish my recaps there as well, so I will likely try to sync up with his plans. I'm not sure how it will work just yet, but once I figure it out, I will let you know. Feel free to add me on Facebook, as I will be posting updates there as well.

Looking forward to it...

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

May 25, 2010: Everyone's Under The Bus

Regular readers here will know of my affinity for Reality TV. As you have read in my posts and recaps, I have what I believe to be a firm and steadfast rule regarding the 3 phrases that constitute a mandatory penalty when used by a Reality TV Contestant: 1) "Game on" (any time after the first episode), 2) "It is what it is", and 3) "Throw them under the bus". On that note...enjoy this video.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

May 23, 2010: Lost Recap: The End

We’ve re-watched the Pilot episode, and the recap show, and we can’t put off the inevitable any longer. It’s a unique feeling to anticipate and dread the same event with such equality, but the time is upon us. We wanted all of our new episodes in a row, and they gave it to us. We wanted an end to horrible happenings like Nikki and Paulo, and they gave it to us. We wanted answers, and in the past season, they gave that to us as well. Now, as the curtain falls on what I can only assume (if you’re reading this), is a form of TV religion to you, we want closure. Would we get it?
114 episodes down, and one more to go. I’m sad to say these words…it’s time for “The End”

(For those of you that are unfamiliar with my recaps, please mouse over the pictures for captions underneath, and enjoy this picture of me in all of my Lost Geek-dom right before the Finale started tonight)
As we saw our final 'Previously on Lost' opening segment, we were reminded right away of Jacob's directions to Jack in 'What They Died For', telling Jack that the job of Island protector was his for "as long as you can." Many commenters last week speculated that this interesting choice of words foreshadowed a short reign for Jack, and that the finale would result in another change. I wasn't in this school of thought until I saw this segment to open the episode.

The episode itself opened with a fantastic scene transitioning between the Flash Sideways (FS) World, and the Island World, and also transitioning between characters, all the while interspersed with Christian Shephard's coffin making its way off of the Oceanic plane. We saw an opening shot of Jack in his office, then to his healing hands in the water on the Island; to Ben making coffee with his arm in a sling, then to him loading a pistol on the Island and looking at Flocke, which then cut to the real Locke in the hospital, saying goodbye to his wheelchair; from Sawyer the cop, to Sawyer on the Island tending to Kate's wound, and ending with Kate waiting in the car for Desmond. An absolutely beautiful scene, and all with no words spoken.

In the parking lot where random delivery guy is dropping off the coffin, Desmond appears out of nowhere to sign for it. The delivery guy, who was rocking a spectacular ponytail, asked Desmond, "Are you a priest or something?", and I loved how he answered with "Or something."
Then Desmond said something that was confusing at the time, but a hell of a lot clearer at the end, as he told Kate "No one can tell you why you're here, Kate. Certainly not me." So where the hell was 'here' supposed to be? At this point, only a few scant minutes into the episode, colour me confused.

On the Island, Jack had a conversation with the other members of the Final Four, explaining what Jacob told him about the heart of the Island and that, as he put it, "we need to protect it." No...it wasn't a team sport. It was pretty specific, this was your responsibility, not everyone else's. I didn't see Hurley or Kate or Sawyer drinking from the stream with Jacob last week.

Jack: "Jacob didn't say anything to me about Desmond."
Sawyer: "Doesn't sound like he said anything about anything."
Hurley: "That's kinda true, dude. He's worse than Yoda."

We returned from the first commercial break to find Hurley and Sayid at the Flightline Motel, which you die-hards will recognize as the same place that Anthony Cooper's con went down with John Locke, and where Helen found out that John had been meeting Cooper. Hurley had a great line in the Hummer on how Sayid didn't recognize the tranquilizer gun, which was interesting since he had two run-ins in the show with them in the past.

But the one thing that came out of this scene, which really set the emotional tone of the entire episode for me, was the pure unbridled emotion that we saw in Hurley's face the moment that he saw Charlie. And even though our little Drive Shaft Hobbit did his best to be antagonistic and confrontational, the joy that Hurley was exuding just couldn't be contained.
And the look on Sayid's face when Hurley dropped an unconscious Charlie in the back of the vehicle after sedating him...well, that was the first of many moments tonight that made me laugh out loud.

Back on the Island, Kate was asking Jack why he accepted the responsibility from Jacob. As he explained to her that the Island was all that he had left, and the only thing that he hadn't managed to ruin, I wondered if the Island stream cocktail from last week actually made Jack lose some of his self confidence when it appeared that he had actually gained a peace and solace that he hadn't had before. Kate echoed the words that Jack spoke to Locke in the FS World at the end of L.A. X, when she told him "nothing is irreversible."

As we cut to the well that didn't contain Desmond, and see Sawyer skulking around in the bushes, I had to point out that I found it a little inconsistent that our established 'near all-knowing' Flocke couldn't tell that Sawyer was spying on him from 15 feet away behind a single bush. I didn't think that Flocke, who knew who died and who didn't on the sub while he was standing on the dock in The Candidate, now was hoodwinked by what was, in essence, a situation straight out of a Spy vs. Spy cartoon. Although from a pure enjoyment standpoint, this scene got high marks for the swift elbow to Ben's face (and his ensuing groan), and the fact that Sawyer referred to Flocke as 'Smokey'.

But once Sawyer revealed to Flocke that they were no longer candidates (what is the deal with everyone just giving up info that puts them in danger in the last few episodes?), which implied that a new protector had been chosen to replace Jacob, didn't that make the rest of the Candidates expendable? It seemed like an obvious question to wonder why he didn't kill Sawyer on the spot, but now Sawyer, Kate, and Hurley were non-factors if Jack was the Protector.

Then Flocke addressed the situation that I brought up last week in my recap (albeit in the Comments section), if Flocke promised Ben the Island, and then declared he wanted to destroy it, then why would Ben help him? Flocke brushed it aside with a cavalier "I'm sorry if I forgot to mention the part about the Island being on the bottom of the Ocean."
What's that around the well? Dog tracks? Sounds like the return of our favourite Lost canine, which can only mean one thing...Rose and Bernard are back! Making their now annual once-a-year-Island-appearance in the Season Finale, the mystery of who helped Desmond out of the well was solved. (Many of you predicted this in the Comments section last week, and I didn't think it was going to be them. Wrong again.)

While they're not enjoying their morning coffee in Dharma Initiative Collector Mugs, or checking the fish traps (a nod to Jacob, perhaps?), they were living a simple life with no 'getting involved', and no 'drama'. Rose confirmed that they were travelling in time with no concept (or care) of how long it had been, or even what year it was. And Bernard was rocking a spectacular beard, wasn't he? Take that Mr. Friendly and your lame-ass glue on beard from Season 2...our resident dentist just blew you out of the water.
After breaking their rule to help Desmond, it all seemed fine and dandy as Des appeared ready to head on his way. But Flocke showed up with an ultimatum for Desmond...to come with him, or he would kill Rose and Bernard right in front of him, and 'make it hurt'. Even though Rose told him not to, we knew that Des would choose to go with Flocke when faced with that choice...you didn't really expect to see a violent end for Rose and Bernard in the Series Finale did you?

But here's the question I have. If Desmond understands what his purpose is on the Island, then why would he choose to save them? I understand the choice from a thematic and plot standpoint, but using logic...saving the world from a monster that will destroy it vs. saving 2 old folks who you shared a beach with for 2-3 weeks? Really? I understand that even if he said "Go ahead", he wasn't getting away from Flocke anyways, but the point is still pretty valid, I think.
On the outskirts of the Dharma barracks, Miles reported to Ben (via walkie) that he had found Richard alive. When we last saw Richard, he was being throat-chopped into the distance by the Smoke Monster, and when we last saw Miles, he was reportedly running through the jungle to get away from Flocke. Well then, why the hell did he come back to the Barracks, where he found Richard? I'm not even going to worry about, I'm just happy that Richard was still alive, as I steadfastly declared last week.

Back in the FS World, Sun is recovering from her gunshot wound almost as well as Kate was on the Island, and when Jin mentioned that a doctor was coming, I got a little giddy. And yes, I full-on fist-pumped when Juliet walked in the room, even though I was 100% expecting her to be in this episode. As I've mentioned in the past, isn't that part of the magic of this show, that they can put on screen exactly what you're expecting to see, and it still gives you that sort of reaction?
Cue the moment that gives Jin and Sun their 'awareness', as Juliet gives Sun an ultrasound, mirroring the same situation that happened on the Island in the Season 3 episode D.O.C. On a side note, for those of you that have become accustomed to my 'Mirror Image' examples in past recaps, I have decided to be extremely selective with the ones I choose for this episode, as we saw so many mirror moments triggering the 'Flashes.'

The scene with Sun and Jin becoming aware made it clear that everything comes back...happiness, pain, suffering, death. Because as we saw the happy moments between the two of them, we also saw the freighter explosion, and their deaths on the sub. As Juliet showed them the picture of the baby on the ultrasound, Jin said to Sun, "Did you see?", and I relished the double meaning of his question. And I did enjoy Juliet's face when they switched from Korean to English.

After fleeing the Flocke and Ben Well Party, Sawyer caught up with the gang again, and then found out that he was going to end up with them again, anyways.

Jack: "It doesn't matter if we find Desmond or he does, James. We're going to the same place."
Sawyer: "Then what?"
Jack: "Then it ends."

Which made me think back to the conversation between Jacob and MIB on the beach when we first met them, when Jacob declared that "it only ends once." And this was going to be that once. As they walked up the hill and the camera panned back, I noted this as Mirror Image #1: echoing the same shot (and similar situation) that we saw as the Losties travelled to the radio tower in the Season 3 Finale, Through The Looking Glass.

In the FS World, Locke is being prepped for surgery when Jack comes in and they have an interesting conversation about Jack's confidence in the fact that the surgery will work. When Locke questions his confidence, Jack responds with another great dual-meaning line, "Well, there's always the chance that I could kill you." Damn, I love these writers.

Newsflash! Richard has a grey hair! That's right, the Ultimate 5 O'Clock shadow apparently is now aging, presumably due to the death of Jacob. Looking back on the deal that Jacob made with him, it seems like a pretty raw deal if it's nullified when Jacob dies. He did say to Miles, "I realized I want to live", which I'm calling Mirror Image #2: echoing the line he spoke to Jacob in Ab Aeterno when Jacob was treating him as his own personal dunk tank volunteer.

Miles and Richard then took the outrigger from the dock, and as they teased the fact that a storm was coming, didn't you expect to finally see the other half of that outrigger scene in the rain that we saw last year? Sorry, too bad...just one final tease from Damon and Carlton. As they paddled through the debris from the sub, they also stumbled across a floating Lawnmower Man, aka Frank Lapidus, who I also insisted was not dead.
As they hauled him up into the outrigger, we got what I am referring to as Mirror Image #3: echoing when Bram and Ilana transported Frank from Hydra Island after the initial Ajira crash, as Frank laid in the canoe prone on his back in both instances. And as the three of them discussed their plan, why did no one think of just flying away instead of blowing up the plane before??

Flocke's group and Jack's group finally met up in an old-fashioned duel-type of atmosphere, with one faction cresting a hill and bracing for conflict. Just when I thought it was going to be one of those fantastic standoff scenes, Kate lost her freaking mind, grabbed Sawyer's gun, and started firing at Flocke. I was scared for her, because I had postulated in the past that Flocke responds once fired upon. (Remember how Richard yelled at everyone at the statue to not fire on him?)

Typical Kate, though, wasn't it? Impulsive, hot-headed, and 'think first, ask later'. Desmond and Ben hit the dirt as Kate fired away, and Flocke simply strolled past her, advising her to save her bullets. Then, Jack and Flocke came face-to-face in their inevitable (verbal) standoff, and after Flocke declared that Jack was "the obvious choice" (foreshadowing, and a knowing nod to the die-hards once again), we got this exchange:

Jack: "You think you're gonna destroy the Island."
Flocke: "I think?"
Jack: "But that's not what's gonna happen."
Flocke: "Well, what's gonna happen, Jack?
Jack: "I'm going to kill you."
Flocke: "How do you plan to do that?"
Jack: "That's a surprise."
Flocke: "OK, let's get on with it."
Wow, ramp up the awesome factor. That scene was fantastic.

I'm not going to take any real space on this, but in the FS World, what 98% of the Lostiverse was predicting came to fruition when Juliet was revealed to be both Jack's ex-wife and David's mother. I haven't been this shocked since Tiger Woods had a press conference admitting his extramarital affairs.

Back to the Island and what can only be described as the most awkward group walk ever. At the mouth of the bamboo field, Flocke, Jack, and Desmond carry on alone, but not before Hurley tells Jack, "I believe in you, dude." At the entrance to the Cave of Light, the light is noticeably fainter than when we saw it in Across The Sea. Just before entering the cave, Desmond enlightens Jack:
"This doesn't matter, you know? Him destroying the Island, you destroying him. It doesn't matter. You're going to lower me into that light, and I'm going to go somewhere else. A place where we can be with the ones that we love. And not ever have to think about this damn Island again. And you know the best part, Jack? You're in this place."

Jack responds with a curt: "There are no do-overs. What happened, happened. All of this matters." At this point, I was starting to believe him.
The awkwardness of the most unlikely tag team in Lost history continued as Flocke and Jack lowered Desmond down the waterfall. It was weird watching the teamwork of the two of them, and I started to note that this was a mirror image of when they went down to the hatch for the first time...but then Flocke made the comparison for me. Oh, what the hell, I'm still calling it Mirror Image #4. "Just like old times", Flocke said.

Jack took umbrage with that comment and snapped back, "You're not John Locke. You disrespect his memory by wearing his face, but you're nothing like him. Turns out he was right about most everything. I just wish I could have told him that while he was still alive."

Flocke insists he is right about Locke, and Jack says that they'll just have to see.

It's the ultimate pissing contest.

Ironically over a waterfall lit with yellow light. My apologies for the imagery.

Then the camera pans down the waterfall in a shot virtually identical to the final shot in the Season 1 finale, as Jack and Locke peered down the hatch. Mirror Image #5.

Once Desmond is at the bottom of the cave, he sees skeletons (?), and a pool with channels heading outward (to the Temple perhaps?). As he enters the pool to pull 'the cork', we see his unique resistance to electromagnetism as he fights off the effects. As the light goes out and the cave goes dark, the Island rumbles, and Flocke proudly proclaims his victory to Jack, "It looks like you were wrong."
But as Flocke leaves the cave, he is attacked from behind by Jack, and as we see Flocke realize that he is bleeding, Jack throws his words right back in his face, "Looks like you were wrong too." Clearly Jack's plan was to let Desmond extinguish the light since that would be the only way to physically kill Flocke. A good plan that seemed like it was destined to end right outside the cave until Flocke remembered a lesson taught by his mother when he was only minutes old...the time-honoured 'grab a rock and bash them in the head' plan of attack.

On Hydra Island, the Pilot, The Ghost Whisperer, and the (Formerly) Ageless Wonder found themselves face-to-face with an angry Claire. As they were communicating with Kate via the walkie, we got Mirror Image #6: Kate listened through the walkie as shots were fired into the sand on the beach, presumably killing her allies, just as Jack listened on the walkie as shots were fired on the beach in the same situation in Through The Looking Glass.

I'll wrap up the concert in a rapid-fire format: Juliet left David with Aunt Claire, who she just met (mother of the year), Charlotte was the hottest wake-up call service in history, Charlie actually wore eyeliner (unlike Richard), the gang sat at Table 23 (the numbers!), Desmond smirked as he asked Claire and Kate "Do you two know each other?", Eloise asked Desmond not to take Daniel, and Drive Shaft's music has the same effect on Claire as raw sea urchin.

The only major situation coming out of the concert was the birth of Aaron, mirroring the Island events, and bringing Charlie, Claire, and Kate all to full 'awareness' status. It was an emotional scene, and lots of kleenex was used in our house. The only thing that was missing, was Charlie calling Aaron 'Turniphead'.
But I have to step outside of the parameters of this recap for just a moment and say, as a red-blooded male who thinks Evangeline Lilly is one of the most beautiful women on the planet...how on earth did it take 115 episodes to get her in a little black dress? Ok, back to the episode...

...and to the ultimate confrontation. Jack and Flocke...on the cliff...in the rain. I expected Flocke to chuck that knife at Jack like Locke did into Naomi's back in Season 3. But no, it was a head-on collision, and a running punch from Jack that looked like something out of a Mission Impossible movie. The wall crumbled, Jack got stabbed, and just as we saw Flocke ready to plunge his knife into Jack's throat...Kate saved the day with a well timed shot, and the deliciously snide comment, "I saved you a bullet."

Then Jack gave us Mirror Image #7: as he kicked Flocke off the side of the cliff in the exact same manner that Flocke kicked Jacob into the fire in the foot of the statue. The Island Protector and his nemesis, only the roles are reversed. In a vicious drop, Flocke met his end on the rocks below, and the sound editing team deserves an Emmy for the disgusting crunch we heard as he landed.
A beautiful transition to the hospital in the FS World, and a nurse telling Jack 'Nice work Dr. Shephard", as Locke is being wheeled out of surgery. We get the explanation on the neck wound (as was suggested by many readers last week), and John Locke waking up early, wiggling his toes, and triggering his own flash.

Sawyer was in the hospital as well, and after being told by Jin and Sun--with knowing smiles--that they would "see him there", he ran into Juliet at the vending machine, and we got the expected 'We can go dutch' scene we've been expecting since L.A. X as they both had their respective flashes with each other. "It worked", she told him, echoing her words that we heard via Miles regarding the bomb. I give credit to Josh Holloway, who I've never been a fan of, for the pure emotion in this scene. Fantastic.
Back on the Island, Jack explained that he was going to have to go back and turn the light back on. I won't refer to this one as a mirror image, but it's the same situation that we saw with the Frozen Donkey Wheel. Just as Locke had to go correct it after Ben turned it, Jack has to go undo what Desmond did.

Kate pleads with him to leave it and let the Island destroy itself, but he insists he has to finish it. As he convinces her to leave on the plane and take Claire home to Aaron, she says to him "Tell me I'll see you again", and his silence speaks volumes. They exchange 'I love you's, and I was emotional. Call it cheesy, call me schmaltzy...I can take it...but I've been a Jater since day one, and I've always felt that Jack and Kate belonged together. So this final exchange between the two of them validated that it was the right thing all along, and I'm happy it ended that way.

But man, talk about an awkward boat ride with Sawyer right after that, huh?

Sawyer called Miles 'Enos' (again, like on the Dharma Security team), called Hurley 'Bigfoot', and in my personal favourite, called Frank 'Chesty'. Just squeezing in a few more nicknames before it ends, huh Darlton? Personally, I prefer Frank 'The Walkie Talkie Chucker' Lapidus...what the hell was that about?

FS Jack gets his own flash with Kate at the end of the concert, and Island Jack heads back with Hurley and Ben to go into the cave. I've long maintained that Hurley is the heart of this show, and has been for 6 years, but the scene in front of the cave as Jack explained to Hurley that it was him that needed to protect the Island...it was proof. The heart of the show at the heart of the Island, and his innocence refused to let him believe that he couldn't find a way to not let Jack die. Jack ended this by telling Hurley the same thing Hurley told him at the same spot, 'I believe in you."

The ceremony transferring power from Jack to Hurley (as was predicted by many of you last week. Damn you're good.) said a lot. It was the third ceremony we saw, and all 3 were slightly different. The one common thread was the drinking of liquid, and I would suggest that the key element in all 3 ceremonies was simply the pure belief that this ceremony did what they believed it did. Jack did no chanting as Jacob or his mother did, he just gave Hurley a drink of dirty stream water in an Oceanic water bottle. How fitting.

Down in the cave, before Jack completed his role, and played the ultimate game of Perfection by popping the cork back in the pool, he solidified his sacrifice by saving Desmond.
Jack: "Go home to your wife and son."
Desmond: "What about you, Jack?"
Jack: "I'll see you in another life, brother."

I still need to sum up the final 15 minutes, and make my closing thoughts, and it's ridiculously late as I'm writing this, so I'm going with some bullet points for the next few items:
- Hurley became Jacob (Jack), Ben became Richard, and the others left on the plane.
- I wish Kate and Sawyer would have looked at each other on the plane and said "Good thing we built that runway."
- Where is Desmond?
- The final scene outside the church with Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson made me realize that I'll likely never see them on screen together again. That is a travesty, those two were absolute magic together.

Now, let's talk about the last 15 minutes, and the big reveal, because this is what the major topic of conversation is going to be coming out of this episode. I'm not going to break it all down, just give you my initial thoughts on what it means.

I was plugging along in this episode, loving everything I saw, and then when Christian showed up and started explaining to Jack, I wasn't sure I was very happy with what I was hearing. I loved the way it was presented, but I wasn't sure how I felt about what it meant.

Upon further consideration, and another viewing, I'm very happy with the end. I'm of the mindset that the FS World was the 'afterlife' for our Losties, and as Christian explained, a world that they created to find each other. The Island was not purgatory, and what happened there, indeed happened. But the Flash-Sideways world wasn't real...and once they made the connections they needed to make, to form this afterlife community with each other, that was their own closure, and they just needed to wait for each other to be ready...to 'let go'.

Desmond was acting as the Shepherd of this group, leading his flock (neither pun is intended, honest) to come together in full awareness of what this all meant...full understanding. We were given hints, many of them in this episode:
- Desmond describing himself not as a priest, but "or something".
- Desmond telling Kate what 'here' was.
- Locke saying to Jack before surgery, "See you on the other side."
- Desmond speech to Jack at the mouth of the cave about it not mattering.
- Desmond asking Kate after her flash with Claire if she understands.
- Jin and Sun telling Sawyer "See you there."
- Locke telling Jack he doesn't have a son.
I'm sure a lot of people don't like the ending, but I do. Maybe I'm wrong in my analysis...I've been wrong before, but I think I am understanding what I saw, and I'm at peace. I loved the imagery of everyone in the church together.

And the final scene of Jack laying in the bamboo field and being joined by Vincent before seeing the Ajira plane fly overhead and closing his eye...beautiful. Just beautiful.
So that’s it.

It’s over.

“The End” in so many ways.

I’m not sure where to go from here. As I mentioned in the past, I came late to this party, and recapping this past season has been an unbelievable pleasure for me. What started out as a small project for me and a few friends has blossomed into something beyond my wildest expectations. A very special thank you must go out to DarkUFO for allowing me to be a part of this unbelievable community of fans and friends. And an even bigger thank you to him for the countless hours and tireless effort he has put into making this community the fantastic place that it is. Words aren’t enough, my friend, and I was thrilled when you announced that this site would continue on after the Finale. Your legacy deserves a very long shelf life. My words of praise with neither be the first nor the last.

As I mentioned in my Ode To Lost earlier this weekend, I’m considering recapping the show from the very first episode, with the new perspective of having seen the Finale. I’m not sure if I will, but I’m bouncing the idea around. I want a reason to keep writing…and to maybe keep this show alive a little longer. Call it selfish, but while I’m ready for the story to end, I don’t think I’m ready for a world without these characters just yet.

If I decide to recap the old episodes, they will be posted here,so I hope you’ll come along for the ride. (And if DarkUFO wants them posted there as well, I’d be only too happy to have them there) Many of you have come to the site already, joined as Followers, and also added me on Facebook, and that has been very flattering. Feel free to add me or send me an email if you ever want to chat about Lost, or anything else.

And now, I’m afraid I can put it off no longer. I’m trying every way I can to NOT type that last sentence and say good-bye…but it’s time. It’s been a hell of a ride. And I’ll miss it.

So Thank-You. Good-Bye…and for one final time…Namaste.

I think I'm ready to let go.

Sean Furfaro.

Friday, May 21, 2010

May 21, 2010: An Ode To Lost

As I thumbed through my 2004 TV Preview issue of Entertainment Weekly, I was reading about a bunch of new shows that were premiering in the fall. There was the Friends spinoff featuring Matt LeBlanc and Drea De Matteo (also both featured on the cover); a new incarnation of the CSI Franchise set in New York; a new show about a bunch of housewives who lived on the same street; a legal drama starring James Spader; a medical drama about a cranky doctor with a cane…and this show about a plane crash on an Island.
I was reading the synopsis, which include the sentence ''There are going to be things that will be just left of normal on the show, but the reason you'll care is because you get invested in the characters", and I thought to myself “How the hell is that concept going to be able to last a full season?” Plus, it was starring the guy from Party of Five, the guy from Millenium, and one of the Hobbits..so I wasn’t optimistic. I just passed on by.

I was flipping around on September 22, 2004, and saw that the 2-hour premiere of Lost was on in a few minutes, so I decided to tune in. I watched the opening sequence on the beach, with Jack running around, a guy getting sucked into the engine turbine, and all sorts of craziness going on.

“Too busy”, I thought…and switched the channel.

That’s right. You heard that right. So, I’m letting you in on my little secret…

I didn’t watch the first season of Lost.

Yes, that’s correct. Me! Super Lost-geek…Mr. ‘Don’t you dare call me or text me during Lost’…Mr. ‘write a 4,000 word recap right after the episode’…didn’t watch the first season.

But a lot of friends watched it, and raved about it. I would catch a few minutes here and there as I was flipping around on Wednesday nights, but never enough to really follow what was going along. “Oh, an Iraqi guy who is a torturer?”, I thought to myself, “Isn’t THAT unique?” And why the hell did he have a British accent?
Then one night I caught the last few minutes of a recap show, highlighting the story up to that point, and the closing image of John Locke looking into the hatch piqued my interest. I went into work and asked one of my co-workers, Larry, what it meant. He explained that he didn’t know yet, and that the show was getting better and better every week. He recommended again that I watch it, and since he and I had similar tastes, I figured I would give it a shot. But with the serialized nature of the show, and the new trend of TV on DVD, I committed to not watch any in that first season, watch the DVDs in the off-season, and then pick it up in Season 2 if I liked it.

So after the first season ended, I got the DVDs for Labour Day weekend in 2005, and planned on watching as much as I could over the course of the weekend. I figured I could fit it all in before Season 2 premiered two weeks later. Little did I know just how addictive it was, and ‘one more episode’ didn’t seem that bad at 3 in the morning. Eventually, I had watched the entire first season…all 25 episodes…over the course of that weekend.

And I was hooked.

I watched on Wednesdays at 9, Wednesdays at 10, Thursdays at 10, and Tuesdays at nine. It bounced around like a rabbit trying to stay out of Ben Linus’s satchel. But every time it changed slots, it meant a new routine. When it aired on Wednesdays, which was my regular poker night, I would generally get home between 1 am and 2 am. Having recorded it while I was gone, I couldn’t wait until the next night to watch it…we were all going to be talking about it at work the next day. So I would have to stay up that extra hour, to make sure I watched it before I went to bed, regardless of how late it was.
When the switch to Thursday happened, I was thrilled, because I had a viewing routine on Thursday night. I would head to my girlfriend’s house to watch Survivor and CSI already, and now Lost was on right after, so it would work out perfectly, other than having to drive home at 11 pm. Keep in mind that this was before I was writing recaps on the blog, so that wasn’t an issue. Then back to Wednesday (damn it!), and then finally off to Tuesday for Season 6. Lost was the utility infielder of mid-week television viewing.

As I devoured the recaps online every week (Erika, Vozzek69, Doc Jensen, Robz888, Luhks, Anna, and many others), I started writing my own late in Season 5. It was very fulfilling, and the response was overwhelming. I’m sorry I came to the party so late, and I wish I would have started much earlier. I’m actually considering going back and re-watching each episode from the beginning, and recapping them along the way…I haven’t decided yet. I know I’m not the only one to discuss doing that (or even do it in the off-season), but I’m thinking it might be a good way to keep up the writing that I’ve been enjoying so much.

And now that it’s coming to an end, I look back on the past 6 years as a fantastic journey. It was frustrating, it was rewarding, it was joyous, it was emotional, it was heartbreaking, it was mind-challenging, it was funny, it was poignant…it was just plain awesome. I’m not sure as television shows go, I would place it as high on my all-time list as The Wire, or Sports Night, or Homicide: Life on The Street, or maybe even Six Feet Under…but as for as ‘event viewing’ goes, and something that held me captive for that long, Lost is #1 by a long shot.

I saw fish biscuits, smoke monsters, spinal tumors, sonic fences, time-traveling bunnies, and Bad Robots.

I learned about The Black Rock, The Hanso Foundation, Mittelos Bioscience, the Hoffs Drawlor funeral home, The Valenzetti Equation, Tawaret, nanobots, the Panopticon, and having “a constant.”

I saw polar bears, boars, spiders, horses, a dog, and that god damn Dharma shark.

I craved Apollo Bars, Dharma Ranch dressing, MacCutcheons Whiskey, and 3-piece dinner from Mr. Cluck's Chicken Shack.

I visited Swans, Orchids, Pearls, Lamp Posts, Hydras, Flames, Tempests, and the Looking Glass...oh, and also Room 23.

I listened to Mama Cass, Petula Clark, Patsy Cline, Three Dog Night, Geronimo Jackson, and Drive Shaft.

I noted countless references to Star Wars, Star Trek, and The Wizard of Oz. And was re-introduced to half of the cast of Deadwood.

I met some people with some very famous names, like Locke, Rousseau, Hume, Bentham, Burke, Bakunin, Faraday, Hawking, Alpert…and even C.S. Lewis.

I travelled to the South Pacific, Australia, Korea, England, Nigeria, Tunisia, Scotland and Portland, and many others, all the while knowing full well that I was looking at Hawaii.

I heard “Dude”, “Brotha”, “Son of a Bitch”, and WAAAAAAAAAAAAALT!!!!

I played golf with Hurley, ate imaginary Peanut Butter with Charlie and Claire, pushed the button with Locke, planted a garden with Sun, and built a raft with Michael.

Plus, now whenever I see a Volkswagen van, I can associate it with something other than the Libyan terrorists from Back To The Future.
I lived alongside all the other die-hards on various message boards and websites. There were Jaters, and Skaters, Purgatory Theorists, “Where are Rose and Bernard?” junkies, questions about Vincent, "Richard Alpert is Ra the Egyptian Sun God" (with eyeliner) arguments, and those who insisted that Aaron was the answer to everything. And my personal favourite, all those people who said "I think that (insert random background character from newest episode here) was actually (insert character no longer on Lost)" No, none of those people were Cindy, and for the love of GOD, every black woman you see is NOT Mrs. Klugh!

I mourned the loss of Charlie, Eko, Daniel, Michael, Sayid, Jin, Sun, and Juliet.

Nikki, Paulo, Zoe, Frogurt, Caesar, and Charles Widmore…not so much. Those ones actually made me a little happy.

Ilana, Dogen, Lennon, Charlotte, Libby, Danielle, and Alex…I wish I had been able to learn more.

Boone, Shannon, Ana Lucia, Tricia Tanaka…shrug.

I absolutely lost my breath seeing two Portugese guys in a snowy shack, the words "Not Penny's Boat", and "Kate, we have to go back!"

And I did it all while I was flashing back, flashing forward, and flashing sideways!

So this is it…”The End.” Everything ends at some point or another, doesn’t it? You break up with your high-school sweetheart…your favourite basketball player retires…the cereal you ate as a kid doesn’t get made anymore…maybe the lead singer of your favourite band dies…or your version of TV religion comes to an end.

Maybe I should have written this post after the Finale aired, but I wanted to say these things before it ended…while it was still there, still living and breathing, still a relationship that I feel with the characters on the show.

I truly believe that the Finale will be fantastic, and I will feel happy and fulfilled at the end. My expectations are high, and I refuse to lower them.

And even if I’m not…I’m thankful for the journey.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

May 18, 2010: Lost Recap: What They Died For

"I want you to have the one thing that I was never given. A choice."
"What if none of us chooses it?"
"Then this ends very badly."

An interesting choice of words because one thing that Lost is definitely not doing is 'ending badly.' This episode packed a half-season's worth of fantastic moments into one hour, and it didn't feel rushed at all. That may be the most impressive thing of all. So much to to talk about...so let's find out "What They Died For."

Previously on Lost, we got reminded full-on of the emotional impact of the 3 deaths in "The Candidate" 2 weeks ago. I mentioned in my recap last week that I liked the decision of making us sit with those deaths for 2 full weeks before continuing the story, and with this 'Previously' segment, we were taken right back to that emotional meltdown of an episode.
This episode started off in the Flash Sideways (FS) World with Jack sporting a new cut on his neck, echoing back to one of the opening scenes in "L.A. X", as he examined the scratch on his neck in the airplane bathroom. He had a look on his face that he was perhaps suspicious of the 'coincidence', but nothing concrete.

As Jack sat down for breakfast with David over a bowl of Family Size Super Bran, David talked about his upcoming concert that night. We learned that his mom was also going to be there, making me think that we're finally going to find out who it is! Alas, it was just a tease. They were soon joined by Auntie Claire, who made no mention of going to the concert with her newfound family...but that was probably only due to the fact that Jack got a call from an 'Oceanic Airlines' (wink wink, nudge nudge), that might as well have said, "We found your Dad, brutha!" Yes...Desmond is back in the FS, playing his version of chess with our FS Losties.
On the Island, we saw the aftermath of Kate's gunshot wound as Jack sewed her up on the beach, giving us Mirror Image #1: Jack sews up Kate's wound on the beach, just as Kate sewed up Jack's wound in the Pilot episode. Right down to the placement of them on the beach, this scene was virtually the same, with the two roles mirrored. I expected Jack to give the 'Count to 5 when you're scared' speech again. (Get used to the Mirror Images, there's a lot of them in this one.)

But NOW we're going to talk about Ji-Yeon? I know it was just a way of acknowledging it since, as poignant as Sun and Jin's death scene was, they didn't really come across as Parents of the Year not mentioning their daughter. But then puffy-eyed Kate went from weepy to angry in a split second as she made it clear she wanted revenge for their deaths.

Kate: "We have to kill him, Jack."
Jack: "I know."

Back in the FS World, Desmond is sitting in his car watching John Locke, mirroring the exact same scene that we saw when Scotland's Worst Driver ran down our favourite wheelchair-bound substitute teacher. I didn't think for a second that we were going to see him run down Locke again, even after he started the car when John wheeled out into the road.

But in swooped Dr. Benjamin Linus to save the day, and seriously...how wrong does that sound? He even said "I won't let you hurt Mr. Locke again!" As he confronted Desmond, he got a swift punch in the face, which was pretty awesome. As I pointed out a while back that it had been a while since we saw Sayid snapping some sucker's neck, it's been even longer since we saw Ben get the snot beaten out of him.
As Desmond pounded on him on the ground, I was just about to chalk it up to another Mirror Image, but the show did it for me, as Ben flashed back to the dock after shooting Desmond and the fight they had (both of which ended with Ben's arm in a sling). Now Ben has joined the ranks of the 'aware'...or at least the 'near-aware'...as he flashed between the two realities.

I had wondered how long it was going to be before we saw the adventures of Ben, Richard, and Miles, and we were re-introduced to this trio on a sarcasm-filled walk back to the Dharma Barracks. As they arrived, Miles was apparently hearing/feeling something, and Ben, in his best 'teacher' voice (a nice touch coming right out of the FS scene) said, "Is there something you want to share with us Miles?"

We were then reminded that this was the spot that Alex was killed, and we learned that after Ben left, Richard buried her there. So obviously, Miles was hearing something from Alex, and I wish they would have expanded on that instead of just giving us a reminder of the daughter war between Widmore and Ben for a key scene later in the episode. It reminded me of how powerful a scene it was when Keamy killed Alex. (And for those of you that are Kevin Durand fans, make sure to see him as Little John in the new Robin Hood movie.)

Inside the house, and inside Ben's secret room (more answers!), we learned that the crazy drain contraption we saw last season in "Dead is Dead", was indeed how the Smoke Monster was summoned. Or as Ben put it, "“That’s where I was told that I could summon the monster. That’s before I realized that it was the one summoning me.” That was a great line, but not as good as the following exchange between Richard and Ben:

Ben: "Are we looking to cripple the plane or blow it to hell?"
Richard: "Blow it to hell."
Ben: "Then we'd better take it all."

Is this a redundant mission now, to blow up the plane, or is the plane still in the plan for Flocke?

After emerging from the secret room, they ran into Zoe in the kitchen (what was she doing, looking for a snack?), and I screamed "Kill her!" along with 98% of other Lost viewers.
She did not get shot, and we then saw the inevitable face-to-face meeting between Charles Widmore and Ben Linus. The last time we saw these two face-to-face, Ben was standing at the end of Charles' bed in "The Shape Of Things To Come." This has been a long time coming.

As Charles started asking questions, and Richard sang like a canary on their plans, did you see Ben's face? That was pretty entertaining. Then we got the story we had all been wondering about Widmore. Jacob had indeed visited him after the Freighter blew up, and summoned him to the Island. I'm sure that some of you were convinced at this point that if Jacob went to Widmore, and as he declared that he had seen "the error of my ways", then he must be good...as many commenters have suggested. I wasn't fooled for a second, and as I've said all along, remember that this is the man who ordered Ben to kill Alex when she was a baby...there's no way they would ever expect us to accept him as a 'good' character. Never.

Back to the FS World, where we see Ben and Locke together at the school. As Ben explains to Locke that he "saw something", he also tells him that Desmond told him he needed to help Locke "Let go", which is what Jack told him at the hospital. John calls the LAPD, which leads us to a transitional scene at the police station as we see Miles getting ready to go to a concert with his father. Presumably, this would be the same concert where David is performing. Is it father & son night at the recital hall? (Pierre & Miles, Jack & David, maybe Dogen and little Dogen?)

At the station, we see Desmond ask to see Sawyer (I'm not calling him Ford in the FS World), and then confess the hit-and-run on John Locke, and the beatdown on Dr. Linus. As he is taken to his holding cell, we see him walk in and flash that Desmond smile at someone in the cell.
It's the Black Tank Top of Death...Sayid, and as he looks downward on him, I'm calling this Mirror Image #2: Desmond looks down on Sayid with an opportunity to save him, just as Sayid looked down into the well at Desmond with an opportunity to save him a couple of episodes back. Oh yeah, Kate's in the next cell, too.

Walking through the jungle back on the Island (Kate recovered remarkably quickly from her gunshot wound, didn't she?), Sawyer realized the full effect of his actions on the sub.

Sawyer: "The bomb on the sub? You said he couldnt kill us."
Jack: "I've been wrong before."
Sawyer: "I killed them, didn't I?"
Jack: " No. He killed them."

As much as Sawyer constantly gives Jack hell for everything he does, the good doctor still bails him out in this conversation. He knows full well that he wasn't wrong, but he still tries to make Sawyer believe that it wasn't his fault. He knows the guilt of having death on your hands (Juliet, Michael), and he doesn't want it for Sawyer.

Out of nowhere, Hurley sees Young Jacob, who brazenly insists on the ashes that Hurley has in his pocket...the ashes that Ilana took from the foot of the statue where Jacob burned...the ashes of Jacob. When Hurley is reluctant to hand them over, Young Jacob snatches them away and runs...and Hurley gives chase. Did anyone think Hurley could catch him?
As Hurley came across Jacob among a bunch of red flowers, I felt a queasy feeling in my stomach. I neglected to mention the red flowers in last week's recap at the mouth of the cave when the Smoke Monster was 'born', and relay it back to the other instance of the red flowers in the show (Eko's meeting with Yemi), all of which had preceded the appearance of the Smoke Monster.

So after seeing them in this scene, I said out loud "No!", because I honestly thought I was about to see the death of Hurley. And with my mind being where it was at the time, I did not believe that Jacob was actually him...I was sure it was the MIB trying to set up the Losties to get all in one place again. Even the explanation of the burning of the ashes signifying the 'end of Jacob' made sense...

But I was wrong.

As we learned later, it was indeed Jacob, but why the red flowers? Was it just a fear-inducing moment for die-hard Losties like me? Did any of you think the same thing? And why did he appear as young Jacob to Hurley? As an unfamiliar face, instead of just as himself?

Flocke disembarks from the dock and sees Widmore's outrigger loaded with cases still. Remember that back in the barracks, Widmore instructed Zoe to get their stuff out of the outrigger and then sink it, signifying that he knows the end of the story plays out here, and he no longer needs the outrigger to travel between Islands.

Miles decides that he doesn't want to stick around and hide, or stick around and face Flocke, so he decided to just...run away? If Miles ends up dying as he's off hiding in the jungle, or we never hear from him again, I'm going to be pretty pissed. It's bad enough that we have to assume Frank is dead, but now Miles is gone? Why did we develop these characters just to have them go out with a whimper. At least Ilana blew up!

While Widmore and Zoe hide in the secret room, Richard and Ben decide to meet Flocke head on. As they head outside, I'm calling this Mirror Image #3: as Richard and Locke survey the scene of an empty Dharma Barracks, it mirrored when Ben returned after the Purge, and he and Richard slowly surveyed the same scene (minus all the dead bodies of course).

Tika-tika-tika...here comes the Smoke Monster. And there goes Richard. I'm not going to call this one a Mirror Image, but I have to point out that Flocke sure does enjoy nailing Richard right in the throat.
Then Ben sits on the front porch, and I am going to label this Mirror Image #4: as he emerged from the Barracks house and waited for Flocke/Locke to appear, it mirrored the same scene in "Dead is Dead", when he did the same with Sun, declaring "what's about to come out of that jungle is something I can't control."

Then we hear Seductive Flocke's sales pitch to Ben, which essentially was "Kill everyone for me, and you can have the Island." Ben then gives up Widmore in a flash, telling Flocke where he was inside. Remember that whole "Charles killed my daughter" thing? Payback's a bitch, and it's on it's way to the secret room.

OK, I'm just going to be honest and say that I didn't really groove off of Ben's new attachment to Danielle in an intended 'love interest' kind of way. Just too weird. I do, understand, however that we had to see this scene to remind us of Ben's fatherly instincts with Alex (in both worlds) to set up what we were about to see coming up.

What did we really learn, other than they were having Coq Au Vin for dinner, and that Ben looked like Napoleon? (Essay Topic: discuss Ben and Napoleon and the concept of "The Island" as an exile) Not much, but this whole section had some pretty good lines in it:

"Why would someone want to hurt you, you’re like the nicest guy ever."
"After everything you've done for my daughter, a ride is the least we can do."
"We insist. Even if we have to kidnap you."
"You're the closest thing to a father that she's ever had."

The last line made Ben cry, just as he did after the death of Alex on the Island. How many of you figured out that this was going to be the episode where Ben got his revenge? Hands up, please.

Cut to the FS World, where we see Ben and Flocke enter the house, and prominent in the camera shot is a picture of Alex as a young girl. As Flocke goes to enter the secret room, Ben declares "I want to see it." And when Flocke opened the door and flicked on the light, Charles and Widmore were standing there helplessly. They looked rather pathetic. And the smug "Sorry, Charles" from Ben couldn't have helped.

Then, all of my unhappiness over Zoe not being killed earlier in the episode was forgiven as Flocke unsheathed his dagger and slit Zoe's throat in one swift motion. This vicious death was, in my opinion, a nod to all the fans that hated her almost as much as Nikki and Paolo...and on their behalf, I say 'thank you.' Flocke explained to Charles, "You told her not to talk to me and that made her pointless." I actually laughed out loud at that line.

Then, the bribe came, as Flocke promised not to kill Penny if Charles would spill everything to him. And as Charles gave up every piece of information except for one, Flocke motioned him closer so that he could whisper it in his ear. In an incredibly tense approach, Charles began to whisper the final point in an effort to protect Penny, and then...BANG!
"He doesn't get to save his daughter."

Brutal. Vicious. Cold-Blooded Murder. And we all loved it, didn't we? Try to tell me again that Charles Widmore is good.

Ben is back.

The main piece of information that Charles gave up was Desmond's purpose, "because of his unique resistance to electro-magnetism." He then indicated that Desmond was there "as a measure of last resort", which was how the Fail Safe Key was referred to in the Hatch. You can see the recognition in Flocke's eyes when he hears it, as Locke would have known about it. So, while Desmond turned the Fail Safe Key in the Hatch, he now IS the Fail Safe Key.

In the FS World, Locke visited Jack again, and we saw a conversation with the two of them that made it clear that Locke was ready to now become the Man of Faith once again. As he sat there with Jack, Locke gave us Mirror Image #5: as Locke said to Jack, "Maybe this is happening for a reason", it mirrored Locke's legendary line from "Exodus: Part 1", when he said ""Each one of us was brought here for a reason." Coincidence vs. Fate once again.

The Final 4 (Jack, Sawyer, Hurley, and Kate), came to a clearing where they found Jacob, who they could now see...and the answers came flowing fast and furious in the coming scenes.

"Come and sit down and I'll tell you what they died for", Jacob told them, "I'll tell you why I chose them, and why I chose you. And then I'll tell you everything you need to know about protecting this Island because by the time that fire burns out, one of you is going to have to start doing it."
Jacob explained what happened with MIB, and how he was responsible for creating "The Smoke Monster". He went on to say that they were all chosen because they were flawed, and alone in the real world, and that they needed the Island as much as the Island needed them. He also explained that the crossed-out names on the wall were 'just a line of chalk in a cave", and that Kate was still an eligible candidate, but he had excluded her since she became a mother. Does this confirm that Jin was the Kwon on the wall? Sun was a mother, and even though Jin was technically a father, he was alone on the Island having never met Ji-Yeon.

He explained the Cave of Light, and how it had to be protected, and then we got what summed it up absolutely perfectly, which is why I chose it as the opening for this Recap:

"I want you to have the one thing that I was never given. A choice."
"What if none of us chooses it?"
"Then this ends very badly."

Then Jack made the choice we all knew he would, he confidently volunteered to be the Island protector, and Jacob took him to the water, chanted as his mother did 2000 years ago, and gave him directions to the Cave. Now he would be able to find it near the bamboo field where he originally landed on the Island. I thought it was pretty significant that we watched Jacob wash his hands, cleansing himself of the Island and his responsibility to protect it.

Last week, there was a lot of talk that "Across the Sea" should have been placed earlier in the season, but after seeing tonight's episode, it was clear that it needed to be third from last, and right before this episode. We needed to see the cave, the ceremony between Mother and Jacob ("now you're like me"), and the creation of the Smoke Monster to fully understand what happened tonight. It was perfectly placed.

Sawyer: "And I thought that guy had a God complex before" (OK, that was pretty funny.)

It's getting late, and I'm on the verge of rambling again, so I'll try to sum up the great Armored Car Escape (which was awesome!) as quickly as I can, in bullet points:
- I thought Kate and Sawyer talking through the jail cell 'cage' was going to trigger a 'Flash' to the Dharma bear cages.
- I loved Desmond's calm demeanor laying the plan out.
- I wish I wouldn't have seen Michelle Rodriguez's name in the opening credits, or the Ana Lucia reveal would have been pretty good, but I am happy that she wasn't revealed as David's mom, which would have been pretty disappointing.
- Hurley driving up in the Hummer looked like it was straight out of CSI Miami.
- "You didn't tell me Ana Lucia was going to be here." Hurley knows everything! This is great!
I will, however point out Mirror Image #6: when Desmond gave Kate the dress, it mirrored the scene on Hydra Island when Ben gave Kate the dress. And as Desmond declared "We...are going to a concert", it became apparent that this is the location (not John and Helen's wedding as so many people predicted) where everyone and everything will come together in the FS World.

Ben: "If you can turn yourself into smoke whenever you want, why do you bother walking?"
Flocke: "I like the feel of my feet on the ground. It reminds me that I was human."
As Locke and Ben look down into the well where Desmond was supposed to be, we see Mirror Image #7: an almost identical camera shot of the Season 1 finale when the Hatch door was blown open and they were looking inside. Interesting to think that in theory, Desmond was down below in each scenario.

Flocke didn't seem surprised that Sayid didn't kill Desmond, but what was with that rope? Who put it there to help him out? It wasn't Sayid...he told Jack that Desmond was still in the well. Was it someone else? Maybe Frank? What's your theory?

And the last thing we learn before the Finale Event on Sunday night, is that Flocke intends to use Desmond to destroy the Island. Damn...Sunday is going to be awesome.

Body Count: Zoe, Charles Widmore, presumably Jacob when the fire goes out, Richard?

I thought this was an incredible episode. Let's be honest, though, they could pretty much parade flying donkeys on the screen and I would probably rave about it, but this was a fantastic hour of what is turning out to be my favourite season of the show.

A quick note regarding last week’s recap for “Across The Sea”. One of the things about writing my Lost recap immediately after the show ends, is that I haven’t fully been able to wrap my head around what I just saw. Sure, I could wait until the next day, but I like to make my mark with immediate reactions. If that puts me off the mark sometimes…well, I’m ok with that. Last week for instance, once I read the Comments section, my eyes were opened a lot to some options I hadn’t really considered. Sometimes you guys are just one step ahead of me.

Again, thanks for reading, for commenting, and for those of you clicking through and exploring my blog (http://sfurfaro.blogspot.com/) as well. You can also add me on Facebook, where new blog posts get posted there as soon as they go up.

As far as the Season Finale is concerned, I will be writing a full recap, and it will be going up in the hours after the finale airs. I have committed to stay up and write it immediately after the episode, as I have done all season. I realize that this means a late night/early morning, but I will have it up soon after “The End.” And since Monday is a holiday…I can simply sleep all day.

I look forward to your Comments.