I Was Wrong

Turns out it was Taweret not Sobek. Oh well, good hustle Mike.

The Incident - Post Mortum

Wow. My brain is still buzzing following that epic finale. My thoughts on the episode keep popping in and out of existence in my head but let me see if I can get most of them down here in some sort of summary:

Island Circa 1977
-First of all let me say that I am strongly in the school of thought that believes that, just like Miles said, everything they did actually caused the Incident. Not only this but their actions further intensified the hostilities between Dharma and the Others. Think about it. A group of what they assume are Other terrorists bust into their construction site, shoot up the place, and drop a bomb into their drill hole. We know Radinzsky survives to man the Swan with Kelvin so you can bet your ass he’s going to be spearheading the Post-Incident Hostile hate. He was pretty unstable to begin with and now that they’ve blown up his project he’s going off the deep end. And Dr. Chang, what did I tell you about casually leaning your arm against that drill? Sorry you had to learn the hard way, hope you don’t miss that hand too much.

-Speaking of Changtastic, unlike Radinzsky, he is pretty level headed. He was against drilling and knew the Losties were trying to avert a catastrophe so how will he act after the smoke clears? I doubt he’ll go on a Hostile witch hunt like Radinzsky but whatever he does won’t be able to stem Radinzsky’s quest for vengeance. I’m guessing that the Losties vanish back to their time post Incident and Chang is left holding the bag wondering where his son went and is drummed out of a leadership role by Radinzsky.

-What was up with Juliet’s wishy washy-ness? Did she really feel that she’d already lost Sawyer or was she playing her scripted part to make the Incident happen? That’d mean she knows more than she’s letting on and I’m not really ready to believe that yet.

-Man that fight between Sawyer and Jack was rough. I thought for a second Sawyer was going to beat Jack to death. Once Sawyer and Juliet started talking did you notice Jack stumbling around in the background in a daze? Hilarious.

-I’m guessing, and I’m sure a lot of others are thinking the same thing, that the Incident propels Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, Sayid, and Jin forward in time to the present. I’m guessing Miles will go too cause he’s from that time but he was never visited by Jacob so perhaps he’ll stay behind and get to hang out with the father he never knew. That’d be nice. And what about Juliet? Does she die or does she get sent back to the present with everyone else? If she gets sent back I sure hope the Island does a quick healing job on her cause otherwise she’s in some rough shape.

-Bomb + Swan = white sky and possible time travel. Fail Safe Key + Swan = purple sky and the ability to see into the future. Hmmm, I wonder that since Juliet was so close to the bomb when it went off, similarly to Desmond when he turned the key in the Swan, if she’ll not only live but have some sort of power like seeing the future or something.

-I hope this episode erased any doubt in your heads about the identity of Adam & Eve from season one. Those bones are obviously Bernard and Rose. Looks like we know at least they have a happy ending. Since they weren’t in that close proximity to the Swan I guess they didn’t get to time travel that go-around.

-I wish Sawyer had gotten a chance to give old Phil a quick one liner after he got impaled by giant metal rods, something a la Schwarzenegger in Predator, “Stick around”.

Jacob’s Travels
-Did you notice that every time Jacob visited one of the Losties he touched them? Does that somehow link them to him? Will they perhaps have some of his “power” once they get to the present?

-Did anyone else think that it looked like Locke was actually dead after the fall from the window and then Jacob touched him and brought him back to life?

-I mentioned this in the live blog, but the book Jacob was reading when Locke hit the ground was Everything That Rises Must Converge (Wikipedia , Revelation Summary , Everything That Rises Must Converge Summary) I can definitively see how Ben could be considered Julian and Jacob Julian’s mother.

-That plane Lil’ Kate was holding? In case you don’t remember it’s the same toy plane her childhood friend (the boy in the flashback) gave her. You’ll also remember she later caused that friend to get killed while she was running from the law. She risked getting caught getting that plane back from a safe deposit box and once she was on the Island got it out of the Marshall’s briefcase.

-Why did Jacob space out his visits to the Losties? He visited Kate when she was a child, Jack before the crash when he was a resident, Jin/Sun when they got married, Sayid shortly after he got off the Island and Hurley right before he went back.

-And what about his visit to Ilyna? Why was her face covered in gauze? Was she a leper? Obviously Jacob healed her. Who else was known for healing lepers? A guy you might have heard of before – Jesus!

Present
-The big statue turned out to be a giant crocodile man who I believe is the Egyptian god Sobek . Appropriate place for Jacob to live, under a god who was known as a repairer of evil that had been done. That certainly fits his relation ship with…

-This seasons bad ass game changer? EVIL LOCKE! I had my suspicions early in the episode but I didn’t figure out what was in the box until like 2 seconds before they tipped it over then all of a sudden everything made sense!

-Who is Evil Locke? Why the black shirted guy from the beginning of the episode the guy who wants to kill Jacob. A revelation that gives the Jacob/Island dynamic a spin on its head. I got the feeling that these were two immortals perhaps God and the Devil or, if you want to tap into the whole feel of the Island, Fate and Free Will. Jacob certainly seems to be a believer of Free Will even up to the end telling Ben, right before he kills him, that he had a choice. Jacob believes that eventually humans will make the right decisions for the Island and use its powers for good whereas Black Shirt thinks that all they’ll ever do is fight over who gets control over the Island. We meet them right as Jacob has brought yet another group of people to the Island much to Black Shirt’s displeasure. The other group? Why the Black Rock. Although how it eventually ends up in the middle of the jungle remains to be seen.

-Given these adversarial nature of these two perhaps they are like Jacob and Esau from the Bible. Warring brothers. Another Biblical connection? Jacob had a son named Benjamin. Jacob also wrestled with an angel for 2 days and when he couldn't be beaten the angel touched him, blessing him. Jacob touching all the Losties blessing them?

-With the revelation that Neo-Locke was actually Black Shirt we know he has been the one showing up as dead people on the Island: Eko’s brother Yemmi, Ben’s Mother, Horace, Alex, and most importantly Christian Sheppard.

-So Ilyna’s crew didn’t turn out to be Dharma, they were more like Jacob’s Special Forces squad. Is Ilyna an ageless person like Richard? They didn’t know each other but she certainly has some sort of special position with Jacob.

-The answer to Ilyana's question "What lies in the shadow of the statue"? Richard's answer, "He who shall save us". Very Christ-like...

-Poor John Locke. He ends up being the ultimate pawn. All his life he was looked down on and then finally somebody tells him he's destined to be great and it turns out once again that the only thing great about him is his gullibility. His dad takes his kindey, Black Shirt takes his whole body! Even Richard has always wondered by Locke was "special" when he didn't show any signs of it. Turns out he was just a loser all along.

-Think of all of the absolutely crazy stuff Black Shirt arranged so that he could get to the position where he could kill Jacob? He’s been manipulating practically everything from the start? The whole concept of Locke as the leader of the Others was manufactured by him so that he’d be able to access Jacob. “Jacob’s Cabin” was never Jacob’s home, he lived in the foot of the statue! The cabin was the home of Black Shirt. When Locke thought he was talking to Jacob it was Black Shirt! Black Shirt took the form of Christian telling Locke that he had to die to lead. He pulled all the strings to effectively make everyone believe that Locke was the leader the Others had been waiting for. All so he could take the form of Locke when his dead body showed up and command Ben to kill Jacob. When Ben asked Smokie for forgiveness and Alex showed up saying that Jacob wanted him to do anything Locke said? That was Black Shirt telling Ben to do whatever he said while he was Locke! Also notice how in that episode Locke and Smokie were never in the same place? That’s because Black Shirt IS the smoke too! And when Smokie grabs you and lets you live that’s Black Shirt scanning you and getting all your history so he can effectively BE you if the need arises.

So that’s my attempt at summarizing what could be considered one of the greatest 2 hours of TV man has ever known. But going into the final season there are still questions that need answers:

-Walt. What’s his importance and what role will he play. People hypothesize that Matthew Abbadon (the bald black dude) is just a older time traveling Walt but I’m not ready to believe that. And what was up with his dream about Locke where a lot of people were trying to hurt him? Shortly after that Locke was dead and it doesn’t look like he’s getting any more alive. Will he come back to life next season and be confused with Evil Locke/Black Shirt, thus a lot of people would be trying to hurt him.

-Claire. She’s currently hanging out with Christian, which I theorize is actually Black Shirt. That’s not a good person to be keeping company with. Not at all.

-Aaron. A lot was made about this kid at the beginning but he’s pretty much just a point of contention between Jack and Kate now. Will he come back to the Island? Will he be reunited with his mother Claire?

-So are Widmore and Ben actually on the same team? They’re both team Jacob (although Ben’s stabbing Jacob will probably not help his case). The real battle isn’t between Widmore and Ben, it’s between Jacob and Black Shirt. And that’s what next season is going to be about that war. Maybe Ben and Widmore will even put away their differences. And are the same rules that Jacob and Black Shirt are bound by being followed by Ben and Widmore, thus why Ben couldn’t kill Widmore?

-Finally – is Jacob really the good guy? LePedus had it right, the more a person tells you they’re on the good guy side the more you have to distrust them.

Ok, now let’s discuss all through the summer and into 2010!

It Begins!

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Jackson in Jurassic Park - Hold on to your butts.

9:02 Who's this Robinson Caruso chap? Oh shit - is that the Black Rock?!

9:03 Are these two dudes some sort of Gods using men as their play things? White clothed to black clothed.

9:03 Loophole....JACOB!?!?

9:03 Who is an Egyptian God with a freaking crocodile head?

9:04 Ah, commercial break. I don't know how I'm going to do all this live bloggin. So if the guy in white is Jacob who's the guy in black? Perhaps he is....the BLACK SMOKE?!?!

9:06 Poop, a Kate flashback.

9:07 Jacob? Bailing Kate out? He's obviously had his eye on Kate for a while. For whatever bet he and Black Shirt are running. Will we find out that he hung out this other Losties?

9:10 Fucking punch his ass Changtastic!

9:11 I kinda like the little "Lost March" music. I need that to play when I walk around town.

9:12 Ben admits that he's never actually met Jacob.

9:13 Candidate? Perhaps for Dharma?

9:15 To quote Detective Mills in Se7en, "What's in the box? WHATS IN THE BOX!!!" Lost has the upper hand now.

9:17 Egyptian crocodile god - Sobek. Repairer of Evil. Thank you internet.

9:19 Well look at that Jacob visited Lil' Sawyer too.

9:23 Wasn't Horace an Egyptian god too? Horace the god, Horace the crazy Dharma stoner?

9:24 Could Locke actually be Black Shirt? Black Shirt said he wanted to kill Jacob...

9:25 Locke is TOTALLY Black Shirt, that's why he's going to make Ben kill Jacob. He can't do it due to whatever rules they have!

9:27 More on Sobek: Sobek's ambiguous nature lead some to say he was a repairer of evil that had been done, rather than a force for good in itself, for example, going to Duat to restore damage done to the dead as a result of their form of death. He was also said to call on suitable gods and goddesses required for protecting people in situation, effectively having a more distant role, nudging things along, rather than taking an active part.

9:29 Jacob can get off the Island whenever he wants at whatever time period? Also - OH SNAP!

9:34 Ouch, gut wound! Sayid might not make it. On a personal note, I've totally been to the place where they film Otherville in Hawaii. Little known fact its actually a YMCA camp.

9:37 BTW, Jenni, Richard is totally not Jacob :)

9:40 Vincent?! WTF? Oh, Bernard and Rose.

9:43 All we care about is being together? Eh Bernard? I'm thinking that almost assures that him and Rose are the couple in the case from season 1.

9:44 Why look, they found Jacob's shack. And the ash is broken, what does it mean?

9:45 Ok, so looks like Ilena and crew are sided with Jacob. Not Dharma :(

9:47 Been using...."it"?

9:47 Right now you're thinking, "Hey Mike, good call on the whole Sobek thing. That's going to be important".

9:49 Commercial thought - when the Losties go back to their own time I think they're going to pop out right in the shadow of the statue.

9:52 The amazing travelin' Jacob shows up right when Locke does his swan dive. Not only that but he brings him back to LIFE!

9:55 Jacob = God, Black Shirt = Devil?

9:57 I've totally been to that temple where Jin and Sun are getting married.

9:58 No surprises anymore - Jacob has meet all the Losties before the crash.

10:03 That book Jacob was reading: Everything That Rises Must Converge

10:05 Aaaahhhhh, what lies in the shadow of the statue? Jacob, bazingo!

10:08 Kyle's onto something with the physical touching of Jacob...

10:12 I wonder if Jack could die this episode?

10:18 Watch your arm Changtastic! Look how he's causally just leaning it against the drill. That's a recipe for disaster!

10:23 Crazy Commercial theory - whats in the box? A sarcophagus.

10:29 Ahhhhhh, so Jacob is the reason Hurley went on flight 316. Tricky little guy.

10:30 Sweet jesus only 30 more minutes!!!

10:33 Ben's ultimate moment of redemption could be coming when he DOESN'T kill Jacob...

10:41 This much gunplay, somebody has to die.

10:43 Oops, we caused The Incident!

10:46 That was INTENSE. Poor Juliet.

10:47 That's probably going to cause some friction between Jack and Sawyer...

10:51 Crap, I don't speak Spanish!

10:52 Lockes Body! Just came to me right before they flipped him out!

10:54 I was totally RIGHT!

10:56 That book Jacob was reading is starting to make sense. Only after Ben kills Jacob will he realize the error of his decision.

10:57 They're coming? The 77s Losties perhaps?

10:59 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2010 so far away!!!!!!

Well folks that's it. What a ride. I'll try and summarize all this stuff later but for now I have to try and put my brains back into my head.

Live Blog TONIGHT!

To celebrate the season finale of Lost I'll be live bloggin' throughout the episode. Want to see my crazy theories develop on the spot? Then load up the Lost Forum come 9pm.

You're Going to Kill Who Now?

This week’s episode was like a chess match, every piece being moved into position for next week’s season finale where LOST will ultimately say “checkmate” and all our minds will be collectively blown all over our living rooms. Start breaking out the tarp now so you’ll limit the mess to a minimum.

First let’s start with our friends in 1977:
- Daniel is starting to look pretty darn dead. I’m beginning to think he might not make it…

- Did you see Charles’ covert pat on Ellie’s stomach when they were side baring in the camp? I’m thinking she’s already got a Lil’ Dan in the oven.

- Looks like Dr. Chang is stepping up to fill the void of awesomeness left behind in the wake of Daniel’s death. His grilling of Hurley was classic, “You’re 46?”. Looks like he’s got enough authority to get people moving off the Island. Even a touching moment where Miles saw why his dad made him and his mother leave. I can’t be the only one who wanted Miles to run down there and give his dad a big hug and then both of them start playing a little father son catch. But even Dr. Changtastic (I’m copywriting that!) can’t seem to get Radinzsky to shut the hell up. That guy is a loose cannon.

- Jack has completed the metamorphosis from a man of science to a man of faith. Now his faith is saying “lets blow this mother fucker up!”. Kate of course, being Kate, doesn’t go along and gets captured. Thus she’s in the sub as it departs, much to Juliet’s displeasure. Cat fight eminent. Every time she and Sawyer seem to be out of it Kate shows back up to be the annoying third wheel. But given the previews for next week somehow they get back on the Island…

- So how’d the Others get Jughead down in the tunnels in the first place? As Richard said it’s a 4,000lb 12 foot bomb, that isn’t exactly the most mobile thing out there. And it’s probably still blasting out radiation, is that going to cause future implications? Is the series finale going to have Jack and Sayid dying from radiation poisoning?

- Are Miles, Hurley, and Jin headed back to the beach? Or are they going to somehow rescue Sawyer, Juliet, and Kate from the sub?

Now back to 2007:
- NeoLocke is one confident bastard. And he’s operating just like old Leader Ben – telling people where to go or what to do but not telling them why. And he’s totally manipulating like Ben too. Sun is going to be quite ticked off when she finds out Locke wasn’t really trying to save their people, instead he was focused on killing Jacob.

- Speaking of killing Jacob I’m guessing a lot of people are taking that as a bad thing. Remember back when Locke first saw Jacob Jacob’s ghostly voice pleaded “help me”? Given what we now know about the Island and its unique time shifting properties, I’m thinking instead of physically time shifting like the Losties were doing at the beginning of this season Jacob’s mind has shifted leaving his body god knows where. He is looking for the sweet sweet release of death, and thus Locke will be “helping him” by killing him. And that’s my Crazy Lost Theory of the Week™.

- Still on the subject of Jacob, Ben didn’t really seem to fight Locke’s accusation that he never was able to see Jacob. Was Ben using Jacob in a Wizard of Oz type role to keep the Others placated?

- I thought for a second at the beginning of this episode when we saw Richard building a ship in a bottle we were going to get a Richard back story episode that was going to boggle the minds and senses but alas we didn’t. Although the ship got me thinking – did Richard come on the original Black Rock and that’s why he likes ships? Or has he just always been on the Island. It is clear he is like the Island’s ambassador to the Others. Meant to guide and advise the Other’s Leader. And it looks like he’s never had to work with a proactive Leader like Locke. Even he is starting to have second thoughts about Locke. Or is he in awe of what the Leader that they were looking for can really do?

- Another cool point for NeoLocke – when he took them straight to where his past self was going to show up with a bullet wound and sent Richard to help him. Nice to see that callback and it further proved that NeoLocke knows what he’s doing. He even had Richard give himself the compass so that past self could then give the compass to past Richard in the 50s so that future Richard would have the compass to give to future Locke at that very moment. You’re eyes just crossed didn’t they?

Well that’s about it. Why don’t you all discuss it in the comments below. Last week had very poor participation. I’m going to go into week long meditation now in preparation for the season finale.