L O S T S E A S O N F I N A L E ! ! !

Lost Episode Title: "Exodus (Part 2)" and "Exodus (Part 3)"

Character Involved: E V E R Y O N E. Again? I've got two thoughts -
either...

a. We're going to see flashbacks of the characters that we didn't see
flashbacks for in Exodus Part 1 (which would be Hurley, Locke, Charlie, and
Claire). You could argue that with Locke and Hurley, we're still yet to see
the most important flashbacks that have the most connection to the island.
You've also got Anti-christ carrying Claire, whose flashback could also be
quite intriguing. However, I doubt that these four characters could fill two
full hours of TV goodness, which makes choice B much more appealing…

b. We're going to see flashbacks of everyone (even of those who we saw last
week) that will tie them all together. We'll see a common thread in every
flashback (such as the character saying "I can't wait to get home" right
before they step on the plane or something along those lines, or each
sitting in a seat that contains either the Cursed Numbers or a combination
of Cursed Numbers - 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 or something along those lines.)

TV Guide Description: The castaways on the raft are surprised at sea by
something unexpected. Meanwhile, remaining islanders attempt to blow open
the hatch, and a visitor to the encampment might be a threat to Claire's
infant son.

Brian's Deeper Meaning Guess: You’d probably think I’d have nothing
additional to say since the episode title is the same as last week’s, where
I waxed intellectual about the Bible and Bob Marley for half a page – well,
you’d be wrong!

One of the most interesting things that happened last week is how the
characters split up. There’s basically three groups of the "main characters"

1. The Rafters: Walt, Michael, Sawyer, Jin
2. The Hatchers: Jack, Kate, Locke, CFL, Hurley
3. The Beachers: Charlie, Claire, Sayid, Shannon, Vincent

What’s the point? Well, each are looking at their own "Exodus".

The Rafters are the most obvious Exodi (that’s not a word, but it fits
here). They’ve left the island, and are now sailing out into the great
unknown.

The Beachers are basically the sitting ducks in this situation. The Others
are coming for them, as they have what could be the very thing that is
drawing the Others to them (Claire’s baby, Turnip Head). They also have the
weakest of the three groups, with only Sayid to offer any true protection.

Their exodus? How about when the Others come and capture them, and take them
off to another part of the island hostage?

The Hatchers? Well, it might take a while, but assuming they do eventually
blow open the hatch and get inside, there’s a good chance it will lead to
somewhere else too.

All three groups, therefore, will have exodused (again, not a word) from
their original place on the island.

More on the group breakdown later…

TV Guide Description Breakdown: What do the Rafters encounter while out at
sea? By the looks of the radar device they have shown in the commercials,
it’s something coming straight at them, and fast. What could it be?

Flashback to the scene last week where The Hatchers are almost to the Black
Rock. The monster reappears. Everyone scatters except for Locke, who is 100%
calm and not afraid, and Hurley, who is held by Locke. Locke says "It’s not
coming for us – it’s going in the other direction." Also, CFL says "It
protects the island". My bet? The Monster is heading straight for the
Rafters.

Why? Is it that they are dangerously close to discovering some huge secret
about the island that would pose a threat to it? Are they inside some giant
bubble done a la the Truman Show? Will they discover additional islands? Why
is it so critical that the Monster keep them on the island? That I do not
know, but that is my bet.

We’re also allegedly going to finally see "about 5% of the Monster" before
the season is up. This could be easily obtained in the sea environment by
showing a tail or Loch Ness Monster looking neck near the raft. Wait a
minute – Loch as in Locke? Is Locke the monster? Hmmm….

(If it’s not the monster that they encounter, the safe money is on them
finding another island with people on it, or perhaps some sort of wreckage
from CFL’s boat.)

As for the Hatchers attempting to blow up the Hatch, my guess is that they
gather the dynamite, get back to the hatch, set it off – and then nothing.
The Hatch is seemingly impenetrable… until all the sudden all the right
pieces of the puzzle are in place and it opens itself.

If you remember, Locke tried busting open the Hatch with everything
imaginable – but only after he sacrificed Locke and begged the Hatch and the
Island did the light go on. The numbers engraved on the Hatch are the same
as Hurley’s Cursed Numbers. Could it be that Hurley being near the Hatch
will cause it to open? Could it be that the people who were sitting in the
rows of the Cursed Numbers would have to be at the Hatch in order to unlock
the key (more on this later, don’t worry)? Do you have to say the numbers
out loud three times a la Beetlejuice? I don’t know – but I can almost
guarantee it can’t be "busted open". It’ll be much more tricky than that.

The visitor to the encampment that is a threat to Claire’s baby (Turnip
Head)? Well, the only new visitor to the camp is CFL, which makes sense. She
lost her baby when she was young, and could likely be using the whole
"Others" scheme to get Turnip Head to replace her lost child. What if CFL is
in cahoots with the Others all along and is simply playing a trick on the
rest of the castaways to gain their trust, only to deceive them by stealing
a baby?

On the other hand, CFL could be totally legit – just crazy, and another
Ethan-like Other (maybe the new teacher that has appeared in recent weeks?)
is the one who steals her baby? Either way, we gotta get this baby out of
the main picture one way or the other. Steal it, sacrifice it, do something
with it to get it out of the hands of Claire so that she can become a real
character on the show again rather than a baby-holder.

Last Month's Episode Discussion Points: Top Five Episode for sure. The Black
Rock is finally revealed! A pirate ship?! The mystery of Kate’s toy plane is
fully explained! Shannon is even bitchier! So much to say. Open up my head
and let me out. Baby.

FLASHBACKS. Last week’s flashbacks served an important role to both hint at
the future and show truly how far these characters have come.

1. Michael and Walt – their relationship prior to the island was strained to
say the least, to the point where they were at each others’ throats over
something as simple as the volume of the TV. Now they’re truly a father and
son, sailing off together to avoid something terrible that Walt sensed on
the island.

2. Kate and the Bounty Hunter – the Bounty Hunter was carrying a case of
guns because Kate is seriously dangerous. Yet she shows her heart by doing
everything she could to simply save the toy plane that belonged to her
childhood boyfriend. Summed up her character in a simple scene.

3. Sun and Jin – Sun is doing everything she can to give Jin a good meal
prior to the flight (very subservient) and is super apologetic when she
spills coffee on him. They seem very much "together" as a couple. Now she’s
super independent, he’s on the Raft and she’s on the shore, and their
marriage has been torn down and put back together. My how things have
changed.

4. Boone and Shannon – Shannon is as bitchtastic as ever, Boone is her
whipping boy. Now Boone is dead and Shannon is absolutely a shell of her
former confident cocky self.

5. Sayid – he was basically isolated out and called a terrorist by Shannon,
and now he wants to hook up with her. It’s amazing what a girl in a bathing
suit can do to you!

6. Sawyer – in a police station being accused of a crime, now he’s been
accused of multiple crimes on the island (falsely) and shown true goodness.

7. Jack and Ana-Lucia (girl from Fast and the Furious / Blue Crush) – the
most telling scene of all. Jack is seated in Row 23 (they hit you over the
head with it, people!) and Ana is in Row 42 (whack whack – hello! Cursed
Numbers!). She even specifically states "that’s in the tail of the plane".
So there’s two ways this could go: either Jack runs into her on the island
(meaning the Hatchers find the tail) or someone else finds them and they
don’t realize they’re the tail (but we as the viewers do!) which would mean
the Rafters or Beachers.

ROWS. So Jack is in 23, Ana is in 42. Who’s in 4, 8, 15, 16? Could it be
that all the characters that survived were sitting in one of these rows? I
don’t think the numbers quite add up, but it was a wide plane – at least 7
wide, if memory serves. That would be roughly 42 people. Again, I don’t
think it quite works out, but it’s close.

DEPP. Okay, the Black Rock is not a giant dark piece of stone, but a
freakin’ Pirates of the Caribbean Ship! In the middle of the forest. What?
That explains why there is TNT on it (Pirates like to blow stuff up, of
course), but how did it get there? Did it sail through one of the Bermuda
Triangles that seem to offer a sort of "warp" to the island? How old is it?
Is the Island growing, and where the Black Rock is used to be the coast? If
so, the Island would have to be some sort of volcanic island – which could
explain the black smoke rising from the middle of it as well…

SMOKIN’. Speaking of which – what’s up with that smoke? Is it really just
the center of the volcanic island spewing out some heat? Is it a warning to
anyone nearby that trouble in the form of "Others" is on its way? Is it some
sort of calling beacon? "All Others on the Island gather here – we’re going
castaway huntin’!" Or are they preparing some huge pyre (another word taught
to me by Dave Matthews Band, thank you very much) to be used for a sacrifice
/ ritual? (Turnip Head?)

BABY. Very interesting was the fact that CFL took a great deal of interest
in Turnip Head. Could it be that having a baby is what calls The Others in
the first place? Her having Alex (which turns out to be a girl – so it’s
not Ethan after all!) brought the Others the first time, which resulted in
everyone but her dying. Claire having her baby may be all that is needed to
call the Others again. If this is the case, CFL might just steal Turnip Head
as a way to protect the castaways from the Others!

MONSTER. As I said earlier, it could be that the Monster is going to attack
the Rafters to keep them from leaving the island. But that doesn’t answer
the question "What is the Monster?" Okay, if it’s protecting the Island, is
it some sort of King Kong thing? Is it mechanical, built by the people /
scientists / Others on the island to keep people from revealing their
secrets?

AGUA. The commercials also show Sawyer diving under the water from the Raft.
Is he jumping for protection from something (like the Monster, which turns
out to be some sort of Bird-thing, swooping down on the Raft?) Or could it
be he sees something under the ocean like CFL’s ship wreckage or the tail of
the plane?

TOYS. So it turns out I was pretty close with the "use the toy to torture
Kate and make her feel bad for what she did" idea. But it wasn’t Tom’s wife
or Kate’s dad – it was the Bounty Hunter himself!

SNOOP. Remember what Walt said to Shannon when he gave her Vincent. "Here,
take Vincent – he took care of me / protected me when my mom died." (Okay,
maybe he didn’t talk using a forward slash – but it was something along
those lines.) Is there more than meets the eye to this statement? There have
been hints that there is more to Vincent than meets the eye (he’s a
Transformer? No, silly.) since he always seems to be disappearing when the
Monster appears, and seems very at ease on the Island. Also, Walt is well
aware that there is something big time bad coming to the castaways (thus his
hurry to get on that Raft and off the island!) Did he intentionally leave
Vincent because he knows he has Supernatural powers and truly will protect
them?

RINGS. Why hasn’t Jack been wearing his wedding ring to HBG? Well, per his
conversation with Ana – he’s no longer married! What does this mean? Either
he’s divorced, or HBG died. In my opinion, HBG probably died giving birth to
a baby. Remember how Jack flipped out when a pregnant Claire was in danger?
This would explain that – a lot. It would also explain a lot of Jack’s
psychological issues that seem to be weighing down on him and also how he
could resist the sugary sweet goodness that is Kate on the island. He’s
still in mourning. Not just of his dad, but of his wife / baby.

GROUPS. I’ll refer back to the groups that the castaways have become a part
of. The Rafters are incredibly strong. I could see Sawyer, Michael, Jin, and
Walt handling literally ANYTHING that comes their way. Anything of physical
nature could be handled by Sawyer and Michael. Anything that required smarts
could be handled by Jin. Anything that requires mind-reading or bending
reality could be handled by Walt. They could explore the entire ocean and
come back in one piece!

The Hatchers are truly the "core characters" of the show. Locke and Jack
serve as the natural leaders. Hurley is perhaps the one who ties everyone
together to each other and the Island, and Kate is the strong female lead. I
would think the things that are going to advance the storyline the furthest
are going to come from this group (and in turn, from the Hatch).

The Beachers suck. Nothing personal, but Sayid must have been in the
bathroom when they were picking teams to divide up. He’s got to protect
Shannon, Claire, Charlie, and Turnip Head. Shannon’s probably still going to
be all nasty to him after he didn’t kill Locke for her, and Charlie and
Claire have their own "pseudo-couple" thing going on. Look for them to get
captured by the Others, Sayid to escape and be the only hope of getting the
Hatchers to rescue the rest.

VEGAS. It’s betting time!

DEATH. If I were putting money down, I’d wager someone is going to die
before 10:00 pm EST. Who tops the list?

1. Jin. He reconciled with Sun, they had a touching scene, and he really has
no more backstory to tell that I can think of. That’s the perfect recipe for
him to die! It would also serve to strengthen Jin as a character. (If I can
play "high school girl" for a moment – it was quite touching of Sun to give
him the book of translations for the Raft – and he said he was doing all
this so that he could save her! What a sweetheart! – okay, I’m done).

2. Sawyer. It pains me to even write this because he’s one of my top 3
characters on the show. But think about it – he played the big Ace in his
pocket last episode by telling Jack about the conversation he had with his
dad in Australia prior to the plane taking off. His character has now come
full circle with the redemption theme – from murderer, to martyr for being
accused of everything on the island even when innocent, to doing the right
thing and making Jack aware of his dad’s true feelings.

DIRECTION. At the end of this episode, we should have an idea as to "where
is this show going?" Remember how we weren’t even sure if there was anyone
else on the Island until after the Ethan episode where he stole Claire and
Charlie. That turned the show on its head and proved there was real danger,
and not just imaginary danger. This season finale should serve to do
something very similar. Are there really "Others" on the island? What are
they? What is the sickness? What is in the Hatch? What lies just beyond the
Island? The answers should determine what we’re going to be looking at come
next season.

CLIFF. There was a quote in USA Weekend about Lost two weeks back where the
show’s creators said "Not everyone would be back – it’s too hard to keep 14
characters in the spotlight each week. There will be new characters
introduced as well…" which sounds very contradictory to me – how can you add
new characters without killing off a bunch of existing ones to keep you main
cast numbers reasonable? I’ll tell you how. By leaving characters in limbo.

And the characters I’m talking about are the Rafters. Look for the Rafters’
fate to be left uncertain as the credits roll Wednesday night. Someone on
the Raft will die, the rest of their fates will be uncertain. Next season,
we won’t even hear from them until mid-way through the year (November
sweeps, EM2 people?) when they come back with word from what lies beyond the
Island. That gives the writers plenty of time to introduce new characters
with a reduced cast without killing off much beloved characters.

HANGER. So here’s how I see it all going down:

The Rafters lives hang in the balance as they battle the monster in the
Ocean OR they come across the Tail of the Plane.

Meanwhile, the Beachers are taken prisoners by the Others where they are
about to be executed / tortured.

Meanwhile, the Hatchers open up the Hatch to discover something shocking
that links everyone to each other on the Island or confirms the true nature
of the Island. In the off chance that the Rafters don’t discover the Tail
People, they’ll find them.

So we’ll have all this going on – crazy triple cliffhanger action, when the
screen goes to black and the word LOST appears on it.

The last scene will be one of the groups coming across the Tail of the
Plane. There will be stunned silence from both parties. America will scream,
cheer, throw stuff, and high five. We will then endure the longest four
months of our lives waiting for Lost to come back on the air.

HOUSEKEEPING. So here’s something I’ve wanted to know for a while. How many
people actually read this Email? It started out by just being a little thing
I forwarded to my co-workers who weren’t watching the show analytically
enough. But now it’s grown into a mailing list of over 50 people. If you
wouldn’t mind, if you read this – regardless of you get it directly from me,
or get it forwarded from someone else – Email me and let me know!

END? No, this is not the Last Lost Email of the Year! I’ll write one last
one next week with reactions to the Finale, rankings on the best episodes
and characters of the season, and forecasts for the future. Then America
will see its productivity increase for the next four months as workers once
again have their full day available for work, rather than wasting valuable
company time reading some crazy person talk about a TV show for hours on
end!

PARTY. Come one, come all to the Lost Season Finale Party at the Delta
House. I’ll order some pizza for everyone to eat and enjoy (plus, I’ve found
that if people have food in their mouths, they’re less likely to talk during
the show!). Let me know if you plan on attending so I can order accordingly.

Feel free to stick around for the Alias finale afterwards, which should be
very solid as well.

Hold your breath. It should be a doozy. Happy watching!

Brian