Tuesday, April 13, 2010

"Everybody Loves Hugo" Instant Reactions!

Brian's One Word Review: Boom.

The episode started with a bang (I guess we can stop waiting for that Ilana-centric episode now), ended with a bang (that might send Locke right into the care of Jack Shephard), and dropped a minor "mythology reveal" bomb as if it was no big deal in the middle (so the whispers, all along, have had nothing to do with the Others?).

Boom goes the dynamite.

So what did we learn this week?

Ilana. As soon as Ilana started haphazardly throwing bottles of water on top of the dynamite in the bag, I said out loud "isn't that stuff supposed to be super unstable?" With that, my comment was instantly addressed with Ilana going all Arzt on us. Thankfully, Ben was there to put her death in perspective a few minutes later. Ilana completed her "mission". It turns out that it wasn't to protect our Survivors - but to reveal to them that they are Candidates. With that mission complete, the Island was done with her... and got rid of her. Pretty harsh, right?

The theme continued later in the episode with Michael, who told Hurley that he "can't move on" because of what he did. So... it sure does seem like it's not so much Jacob who is all-powerful, but the Island itself that is actually "controlling fate" and deciding who is living and dying - and to take it one step further, that is deciding whose souls can find peace and whose souls are trapped on the Island as punishment for their actions.

Are we sure the Island isn't purgatory?

The Whispers. The Whispers have been around since the beginning of Season One, and we finally got an explanation for what they are... in the most anti-climactic fashion ever. Hurley saying "hang on dudes, I know what these whispers are" and then revealing that they are the voices of those who have died on the Island. I suppose it makes sense if you look at them as being these voices from beyond the grave talking about what was happening to our Survivors on the Island, sometimes trying to warn them about danger, sometimes simply predicting what was about to happen. I suppose based on the dead character whispering, some could be positive, some could be negative, some could be indifferent about our Survivors.

Still - if you go back and review what the Whispers have actually said over the years, some still seem out of place: http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Whisper_transcripts

More on that in the Analysis.

Based on Michael's comment, it seems like there are some who were able to "move on", and some who were not. Is this the Island passing judgment on who is good and bad? Or is it more of a literal sense of who was able to come to the Island and leave alive, vs. those who died on the Island (or in its vicinity like Michael)?


Libby. Another week, another dead character in Reality #1 that "sees the truth" in Reality #2. This week it was Libby - who didn't need a near-death experience to have her epiphany, but just see Hurley and experience "love at first sight". On the other hand, it took a kiss from Libby for Hurley to experience the same epiphany.

IT's a little strange how the experience that sparks this epiphany changes from character to character. It's not something as simple as love - or else Desmond probably wouldn't have plowed his car into Locke (man, that guy just can't catch a break!). The real question is how Desmond has such a deep understanding of what matters most to each member of Oceanic 815 that he can give them a little "push" in the right direction to experience enlightenment (Hmmmm - a "push" in the right direction, who does that remind me of?). Both on the Island and off the Island (in both realities), Desmond seems to know more than anyone else - SmokeLocke included. How he arrived at this state of total knowledge is beyond me... but I'm hoping for an explanation of that at some point in the future.


Desmond. As for On-Island Desmond, he took a trip with Locke to an ancient well (although it didn't seem to be the same well that houses the FDW based on the preview for next week). However, SmokeLocke did tell him that there were a number of wells like that on the Island - and that they were dug - by hand - by an ancient people on the Island who were trying to figure out why their compasses went crazy in those locations. (Note: since the first magnetic compasses were around in 221 BC, the people who dug those wells - and perhaps created the FDW - could be really, really, really old. Like older than Jesus)

Initially, I was thinking that Locke was actually taking Desmond to one of these locations to expose him to the electromagnetic core of the Island in hopes of "cancelling out" his powers, overloading him with energy, or something else super science-fictiony. However, it looks like he threw him down the well simply as a way to get rid of him - at least for now. Why not just kill him if he's a threat (and not a candidate)? Is it just to keep him away from Widmore?

The bad news for SmokeLocke is that Widmore is looking for the same place that he hid Desmond - pockets of weird electromagnetic matter on the Island (remember the map with Jin a few weeks ago?) SmokeLocke may have unknowingly put Desmond in a place where he will quickly be found - or exactly where Widmore wants him to be... which makes you wonder if Desmond's "enlightenment" means that he knew exactly what SmokeLocke would do - and that was exactly where he needed to be?

One more thing - it seemed like Desmond was "done" with Hurley after he saw that he had his epiphany. He didn't come up to him and say "now that you see this world is a fake, let's go save the real world!" or anything like that. So what's the purpose of each Survivor coming to this realization? What will they do with this knowledge? These are the questions that will be keeping me up at night this week.


What did I miss? Another appearance by Young Jacob (maybe - was it the same kid as the first time? His hair looked darker, but that may have been the lighting), another annoying separation of characters (although conveniently, all the Candidates - plus Frank, who Ilana originally said "may be one" - are now together), except of course, Jin - because we can't have the Sun and Jin reunion before the finale, right?

Where is all this heading? Well, we've got three groups on the Island right now. Team SmokeLocke with Candidates, Team Widmore, and Team Alpert. I honestly don't know who is right, who is wrong, or how any of this is going to play out - but obviously someone has to get shot by Juliet at some point, right? I also find it interesting that it's clear that there is some serious advancement happening in the Flash Sideways storyline... but I can't figure out the end point for those either.

Good work Lost writers. I honestly thought by the time we hit the midpoint of the season, we would have some pretty good guesses about how the show would wrap up. But with six episodes left, I still have no freaking clue.

Discuss!

68 comments:

Anonymous said...

What do you think the chances are that when Desmond told Jack "I'll see you in another life, brother" was actually a look at this alternate reality? That it was his little "push" meeting with Jack like he had tonight with Hurley?

Anonymous said...

What do we think about Jack being the one who gets shot by Juliet?? They are the cause for each others deaths. And Brian, you make the comparisons to season 1....wasn't Jack originally supposed to die in the pilot?

Rebecca said...

People need to stop separating already. I'm worried about our Sun/Jin reunion... I think the boy was MIB as a kid, looked different than the first blond boy.

Unknown said...

Did anyone notice of Pierre Chang had a prosthetic hand in the opening scenes when he was introducing Hurley? That would give us an interesting insight as to what happened (if anything) with the detonation of the jughead.

Sawyer5665 said...

Definitely a different kid....darker hair.

What if there is a different reason why Desmond hit altLocke with his car? What if alt Locke is not John Locke?

Sawyer5665 said...

Also...

Jack and MIB finally meet!! I've been waiting for this all season!!

zim said...

The name of the restaurant where Hugo met Libby was Spanish Johnnys and he was supposed to meet Rosalita there - both references to characters from Bruce Springsteen's The Wild the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle album.

Sawyer5665 said...

Something interesting to ponder about Pierre Chang. What does he know in the Flashsideways world? He met a grown up Miles on the island...so in the flashsideways that was created when Jughead went boom he left the island and raised his baby Miles that grew up to look exactly like the guy he met on the island back in '77. So, what does he think is going on?? Does he know about the new time line like Eloise?

Jack Elder said...

True definition of hell? I Can't wait for the final episodes / reveals yet I don't want it to end! Also, Hurley made a reference to Bizarro / Anti Reality, just like I did a couple of weeks ago on this post. Go Hurley!

Michael said...

It was definitely a different kid. And his smile was creepy as hell in that scene.

I have a guess how this ends, for at least one of the characters (well, two depending on how you look at it) and it will pretty much suck for them, but I don't want to speculate on the 2% chance I'm right.

mark said...

wow. what a kick ass episode.

boom is right.

what happens to locke 2.0 if the real john locke dies in the alternate reality?

i think desmond knows. he ran over john locke without a hint of hesitation. illana revealed that the MIB is stuck in john locke's body. what if killing locke in the alternate reality can kill the MIB?!? or maybe it forces him to lose the ability to take human form? if this reality is the creation of the MIB, maybe the death of john locke will cause our survivors to realize the truth and remember everything that really happened?

Sam said...

so, which Des is which? since he woke from the electromagnetic shock, it seems like both Desmonds have the same knowledge of both realities. I just can't get my head around what he wants to do with that knowledge.

Anonymous said...

About desmond hitting locke, im almost positive that it is because he wants locke to meet jack, knocking their memory loose. The love thing wont work with those two characters, since Kate is in custody with Sawyer in the alt reality. However, maybe being rivals/enemies/counterparts are what jack and locke are destined to be, and their connection to getting their memories back.

Also, with the whispers, the main thing i dont see fitting in with Michael's explanation is that the only non-dead person to appear after the whispers is Walt. Something doesnt add up there, i think..

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

On the previews at the end of the episode, my hubby caught that it was the music from the first Willy Wonka (he loves that movie) and he was right! Very interesting when you look at the scene where the music appears. Check it out for yourself and turn up the volume. Listen for what they say:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zail7Gdqro


The Walt thing is a good catch. That doesn't add up....they will have to explain that...I can't believe the writers wouldn't catch that.

Vidya said...

In season 1 and 2 the whispers used to precede the arrival of the others.
Somehow they goofed up on this one. It was almost like..."hey we forgot to answer the question about the whispers...ooops, let's give it a one line explanation cos we don't have time to dwell on it"

Hector A P said...

Any chance that FLOCKE has a presence via Locke in the sideways world? That if, assuming this world was a cause of what is about to happen (that Flocke had it wrong...leaving the island wouldn't let him be free, it would just destroy the world they know and create the sideways one), he was thrust into the position of the one he was imitating in the current world?

It's out there...but who knows. As you said, there's no freaking clue as to what is gonna happen here!

Unknown said...

Holy crap, that was the best episode preview ever. Gene Wilder is a mad, beautiful man.

Also, it seemed to me that it was the same kid, older. (Different actor, of course.)

Jana said...

I knew he was going to push Desmond down that well, especially when he started asking him about being scared. And I still screamed when it happened! So was MIB actually trying to kill Des?

And what was that look between Jack and Smokelocke at the end? Creepy!

Unknown said...

What a completely different episode then the last couple of weeks. I felt like every segment had something huge happen... illana blows up, hugo meets libby, alpert slipts, smokey meets desmond and talks about a little history, etc. It moved fast!

As for desmond, i feel like we have grown to believe that lots of people were all knowing, only to realize they knew nothing. Remember previous thoughts on Illana, Alpert, Ben, and that dead guy Dogen? Lets assume no one has a good grasp on what is happen. I can only get my heart broken so much. :-) I didn't read that much into Desmond's hitting Locke with his car. Remember Charlie practically killed Desmond to jog his memory, maybe Desmond knows that that is an approved method? Interestingly that means Locke is likely on the way to meet jack, and desmond might be going to jail to meet kate and Sawyer. Also, with Moneybags Hurley, he might have the means to wake everyone up quickly by throwing around some cash to make it happen.

I feel that Ben, Miles, and Richard are as good as dead now, because without the candidates, i don't see much of a purpose. At best they run into Widmore's team and join them just in time for the likely slaughter of that team.

Hey, random question for you brian. The smoke monster use to try to drag people underground, do you think that he did this at well sites? Also, there has been no real talk about replacing Jacob on the show lately, do you think its irrelevant or they were just developing the additional story lines?

Iamhappy said...

My feeling about the boy/now a teenager is that he is Jacob, who is being regrown by the island — somehow. The aging is fast, and I expect that soon other characters will see him as the original entity/actor again. So far, Hugo can see him as his spirit-self, Sawyer saw him as a young boy, and the renewed Desmond just saw him as a teenager; Sm-Locke/MIB sees him constantly, and is annoyed by it, and I interpret that as an indication that it's a phenomena that he has had repeatedly with his adversary.

Unknown said...

BOOOOM! How cool was it when Ilana "went all Arzt on us". Hardest laugh i had on the show for a couple of seasons. ;)

But ok, the main reason that makes us believe the sideways world is not going to be where the show ends is that it would render all the stuff that happened on the island moot.

Buuut now, with everyone rembering everything, they would carry over their experiences from island to their new lives minus the bad consequences for the stuff that happened on-island (like Libby being dead).

Soooo right now i think the island reality might in fact end and everyone lives happily ever after in the sideways world.

What do you think?

I also think that MIB isnt evil. Both he and Jacob are just different deity-like beings with differing views on fate and destiny. Imo MIB wants to destroy/leave the island-world to start fresh (sideways world).

When he threw Desmond down the well this episode, he was testing something.

Make sure to read up on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tezcatlipoca for part of the background on this.

paint said...

Ok, wow, if that is not purgatory what is?

I was thinking, when are we going to find out about Aaron??
seriously, think about this, Do we really know who Aaron's father was? Did we pay attention to him because it
was it so far in the beginning of the show that maybe we didn't pick up on who he was, if we ever saw him?
I sure can't remember, but wouldn't it be cool if Claire had an affair with Jacob and she became pregnant with Aaron and it turns out Aaron is Jacob's son. That little boy Locke saw was Aaron..
I probably am WAY off, but how else are we getting Aaron back on the Island, I mean he was born on the Island and he was one of the original surviors, you can't tell me we are just going to forget about his existence?

falcon said...

Two small items I found amusing/interesting. First, I thought I heard Hugo and his mother discussing going to a "Human Fund" event the next weekend after the museum gala - is that a shout-out to Seinfeld? Second, why did they take the BMW hood and trunk ornaments off Desmond's car? BMW wouldn't pay for product placement? Seemed odd - but certainly trivial, I don't think it's tied in to any grand mythology clues, LOL. Also, thanks for the link to the whispers transcripts - I didn't realize that such details were out there, and found them fascinating.

Khmer Rouge said...

1st comment, Justin: BAM! I think you hit it.

The BIG reveal is going to be that many scenes we witnessed in the past seasons and thought of as flashbacks were actually FlashSideways, and I'm thinking the Desmond/Jack scene on at the stadium was the pivotal one.

This was a great, great episode and it feels like things are going to move full-steam ahead from now on. Thank god!

I'm really curious about Desmond straight-up running over Locke - is it because Des knows Locke is the MiB in the Island reality (and therefore lied to SmokeLocke on-Island), or is it just to get Locke into Jack's spinal surgery ward? Or maybe a bit of both? It could've just been a bit of revenge on Locke from Desmond in the Sideways world for that push down the well in the Island world. It seems Desmond can experience both worlds simultaneously, so maybe he figured, "hey, I'm stuck in a well in one world, but I can fuck your shit up Locke in the other."

Oh man, I'm so excited about the final episodes of this show.

Final thought - I'm in complete agreement with commenter Iamhappy. The creepy kid is Jacob being "regrown" by the Island. MiB has until Jacob is his adult self to finish his plan.

BOOM!

Diary of a Lonely Alcoholic said...

Did anyone notice that the view of Locke after he got hit by the car looked eerily similar to the look Locke had on his face when he first saw the smoke monster in Season 1?

Something tells me that this near death experience is very much like the one that Desmond and Charlie had in "Happily Ever After."

Desmond didn't want to kill Locke, and his attack had nothing to do with his being pushed down a well. Desmond may well have just allowed Locke to see to the other side.

mark said...

i think this episode answered the queston of whether desmond is aware of the two realities.

when ben approaches desmond in his car, desmond tells him that he has a son named charlie. he does, but in the OTHER reality. after widmore blasted desmond with electromagnetic energy last episode, he's been jumping back and forth, just like he did in the season 4 episode 'THE CONSTANT.'

Unknown said...

so the exp explanation for the whispers was disappointing but I'll accept it. It seems clear that it was a "uh how do we explain this? It's Dead people!!!"

When Michael said he cant move on is that because he is not allowed or his own guilt wont let him.

Desmond hit Locke to initiate a NDE so he remembers the island. Thats it, people are formulating way to complicated theories about killing the MIB.

Khmer Rouge said...

Eugene: I don't think it's a "way too complicated theory" to wonder if Desmond's running down of Locke wasn't somehow an attempt to injure MiB.

Clearly Des was trying to initiate a near-death experience in Sideways Locke, but to what end?

Desmond has been attempting to "wake up" the Sideways Survivors into awareness of the Island Reality, but in the Island reality Locke is dead dead dead, and possessed/claimed/whatever by MiB. If Locke's Sideways consciousness gets woken up, where does it wake up to? Does it rekindle any essence of the real Locke that might still somehow linger inside MiB? At the very least that would seem to be injurious to MiB.

Only time will tell, but I swear that in the ABC preview for next episode I saw a bunch of shots of the Smoke Monster zooming through the jungle.

I'm guessing Desmond's hit-and-run on Locke in the Sideways has weakened the Smoke Monster's hold on Locke's image (I hesitate to say "body" because we've seen Locke's body buried) on-Island.

Khmer Rouge said...

Also: creepy kid in the jungle is the same kid from before. Same actor: Duncan Kuty (I think I'm spelling it right). It does seem like he was made to seem older/more brown-haired though. But definitely the same kid.

nickflight said...

I love the flash-sideways now!!

It seems as though the LA X consciousnesses can have a memory bleed between realities in a few different ways-
- near death experience or head injury
- being near mirrors
- or perhaps "constants", which is what I think has happened with Hurley on the beach

If kissing Libby caused Hurley to have memories bleed between realities, perhaps some of the characters will connect with their constants instead of having a near-death experience. If this is right perhaps seeing Locke in hospital will offer Jack a constant.

This is just a dumb theory I have to try and explain why Charlie and Des needed near-death to occur whereas Hurley just needed to kiss Libby.

BTW Libby was awesome in this episode!!

nickflight said...

Also in the episode The Lighthouse I think, Jacob wanted Hurley to turn the dial to 108 (which was all the numbers added up). He said this would bring someone to the island. When Hurley dialled the number the name next to it was Wallace. That name reminded me of William Wallace, the Scotsman in Braveheart. I think it was the next episode that the sub showed up with Desmond.

What is Desmond is "Wallace"? The last two episodes he has seemed very Jacobish in the flash-sideways by giving people the push they need to get them to the island, just as Jacob did off-island when he touched them. Perhaps Des was brought to the island by Jacob getting Hurley to turn the dial, giving Widmore bearings or something with the end-game being that Des replaces Jacob or defeats Locke.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
nickflight said...

@ noemailformeadows: true, although Hurley didn't remember Libby until they kissed. Maybe Locke and Jack need to kiss.

Unknown said...

I dont remember Libby being hot or at least someone hot.

@Brendon - you may be right. It just seems strange to me if thats all it takes to disarm the smokey of Locke "image" then Desmond would have made that a bigger priority than hooking Hurley up with Libby.

I also don't believe it was so Locke could go see Jack as I believe Jack will need Kate to get memory bleed.

Off island for a short time we will probably one again have a man of science and a man of faith battle once Locke remembers island events

Unknown said...

hahaha For sure Nick. I would pay $50 to see everyone's reactions if the final scene at the end of the finale is Jack and Lock kissing and then - LOST - . haaaaaaa.

I'm with the "near death experience" to get Locke to snap out of it theory.

@Brendan - saying Locke is "dead dead dead" on the island so what will he wake up to is kinda silly considering Libby and Charlie died on the island as well and have both been "woken up". I don't think the wakeup "epiphany" has anything to do with the person having a realization and "transcending" to their on-island body or anything. They just remember what happened on the island and realize that something real fishy is going on. Which possibly, Dez running over Locke will cause to happen to Locke.

tiffanie said...

what's FDW?

i think that all our friends will end up at St. Sebastian's to see jack because.....

1. sun and jin: she's been shot and they're on their way to the hospital.
2. claire: already at the hospital under care of ethan, maybe still there
3. charlie: running around in the hospital, possibly still there
4. locke: run over and on his way to the hospital probably with ben?
5. jack: works at the hospital
6. sayid: will prob visit Omar in the hospital.
7. desmond: he's seeking everyone out?

(ok these don't really work)

1. hugo and libby: probably at the mental end of the hospital making out with libby, because why wouldn't that ward be a part of the whole hospital, this is LOST, right? (ok, i don't think it really is, but this has "some connection" written all over it)
2. sawyer, kate, and miles: probably will go there since that's where the party's at?

control said...

Pretty sure that Sawyer and Charlotte got in a kiss before, ahem, doing it. Neither showed any signs of recognition as a result. How about Sawyer and Miles, theyappear pretty tight, and nothing. There is more going on with what Charlie and now Desmond have been doing.

Unknown said...

FDW = frozen Donkey Wheel that seems to move the island through time (maybe realities too?)

I think it is important to remember that the Locke on the Island is not John Locke... it is the smoke monster. That means if Locke #2 gets his ephiphany, he is going to remember seasons 1-4 1/2. When he was destiny crazy on the island. In the flash sideways he accepted his diminished role in life... that might now change and he can start being obnoxious again. :-)

As for the preview for next week after the episode: i thought that one of the quick scenes looked like the camera angle and effect we had for "smokemonster vision". Don't think that spoils anything. I also loved the rowers song, i looked it up... what a creppy little song. My guess is that like when they played amazing grace it was more to stir the emotion for the upcoming episode then any type of spoiler or hint.

Unknown said...

love might be the answer to what makes them wake up... i mean, that is what Charlie was saying right?
Charile loved Claire
Desmond loved Penny
Hurley loved Libby...
Maybe it is a matter of finding what each person truly loved. If Reality #2 represents the ideal world, but without love, what would each character love enough to flash open?

let me speculate...
Sayid= Nadia??? seems like it would have already happened
Jack= Love from his father, kate?
Sawyer= Juliet?
Sun & Jin= Ji Yeon? or each other (that would blow it)
Kate= ??? bad episodes?
Locke= the island?
Claire= Aaron or Charlie?

This doesn't look promising, but it does seem that everyone getting an ephiphany is because of love. When Des talked to Hurley, he seemed unprepared, but massively encouraged him to pursue meeting with the woman he might remember.

Steve said...

Sayid and SHANNON...
Nadia is taken in the Alt...

schwa73 said...

Here's a random theory that just popped into my head while reading this blog post:

What if Desmond is now Jacob? What if Desmond died during Widmore's electromagnetic assault, and Jacob took over Desmond's body?

Thus, we have Desmond's sudden enlightenment.

Just an idea, no real thought put into it at all.

Steve said...

Saywer and Juliet.
Think about LAX. Juliet has the near death experience on the Island and saw through to having Coffee with Sawyer. Then through miles said "it worked!".

I think that's destined.

Desmond probably remembers these people somewhat through his epiphany. Locke was hit to give him a near death experience. Did you see Locke's face on the preview? On the stretcher? He looked mighty satisfied.. but Locke's love was the Island... rather than a person. Obviously he'll see Jack at the hosptial.

Desmond may be going to jail in the alt timeline. We have Ben as a witness. A nasty hit and run.


Also, Ben and Alex? The connection doesn't have to be LOVE, but I'm surprised she hasn't sparked a memory yet.

Unknown said...

I think the kid could be MIB as a kid. Every time Flocke see's the kid he is freaked out and maybe that is because he is seeing himself and realizes he is eternally trapped on the island. Similar to what Michael explained to Hurley last night. MIB's soul/spirit is trapped for the things he has done. Hence, ever time MIB sees the kid he sees himself and it reminds him of the difficult (if not impossible) task of becoming free (or going home). He sees the kid, becomes frustrated, his body language changes, he is seeing that his time is running short to complete his final loophole/mission. I just wouldn't be too surprised if we found out the KID was MIB. Strong cases for Jacob or Aaron being the kid make sense also. Libby was hot brutha…

Anonymous said...

Questions, so many questions:

OK, so now we have confirmation that there are ghosts -- whispering, mumbling, chatty ghosts -- on the island.

Do these ghosts only whisper, or are some of them more active?

Doesn't the Island have ghosts who didn't die there, like Isabella (Richard Albert's wife)?

Is it the ghosts who are "claiming" Claire and Sayid, and not MIB? That would make claiming = spiritual possession.

Anyways, I didn't care for this episode as much as others. The whole Desmond-in-a-well felt like a stall tactic to me. Still looking forward to next episode, though.

Dave Harty said...

Now is the time in the 5+ years of Lost for answers - not more questions.

A lot of people died on the island, did all but the bad ones move on? If so, then it sounds like hell again. If not, I'm sure Hurley would have preferred to see Libby over Michael!

Locke did not die on the island. But he is dead in the island timeline. It seems like it is the dead that come back to spark these bleeding episodes - except Charlotte was dead, but didn't have an effect on Sawyer (as noted earlier).

Still a lot to be answered in 5 episodes.

But I did love the Willy Wonka in the preview and the "Human Fund" shout out.

jejic said...

I think Michael is working with Flocke. I think he is stuck with the Man In Black on the island. The evil cork. Do you remember how when the black smoke was going through the temple you could see faces in the flashes? I kind of think the dead people stuck there are at his whim and are hoping to be "unstuck" as well.

falcon said...

I'm no expert on either place so will defer to those who are, but to me the Hugo/Libby beach scene sure looked more like Hawaii (where Lost is filmed) than southern California (where the scene purportedly took place). At least they got the license plates right on Desmond's car and the school bus.

Khmer Rouge said...

@ Noemailformeadows: well, Libby and Charlie have had realizations of a sort, yes, but they're mostly vague and indistinct. The crucial part of my point remains: Desmond is tracking down the surviving Losties (really, the Candidates), the ones on-Island right now, in order to get them to awaken to the alternate reality (well, really to awaken to the Island reality, but I digress), in order to "fix things," however that's gonna work.

So the issue still stands: how does that work with Locke, the only Candidate who is alive in the LAX reality but dead in the Island reality. What Island consciousness does he have to go back to? If there is one, it's part of MiB's, who seems to possess all of Locke's memories and thoughts anyway, and I see that as problematic for MiB, should Locke's consciousness get "re-awoken" so to speak, and start to fight back against MiB's.

And this gets tricky, because if we have bleeding realities, do they bleed both ways? What about the other characters (Ben, springs to mind) who are playing roles on-Island and in LA - do they have to have the realization too? Does everyone who was ever on the Island have to, even the ones we've only seen in LA as cutesy shout-outs (Pierre Chang, Minkowski, Arzt, Ethan)? Is Richard Alpert in the LA Reality somewhere? It gets complicated real fast. But, fun to talk about....

Re: The Whispers, Lostpedia has an extensive catalog of all their appearances and the events they surrounded, too long to recount here, but in my reading of it, The Whispers have been a lot of things over the years, not really that consistent. But we've got the explanation, it's all we're likely to get so may as well live with it.

Leadfoot said...

@Falcon - I thought the same thing! I live in Los Angeles, and you are correct - our gross dirty beaches look NOTHING like that. :)

Eric Antoine Scuccimarra said...

Just had a thought. We seem to have two Desmonds who know what's going on in both realities. In fact they know way more than they should, I suspect some time jumping happened along with the sideways jump we saw.

I think alt-Desmond is going to to be pivotal to the end game in reality 1. Somehow he's going to cross over and save reality 1. Maybe only one Des can exist per reality therefore one has to sacrifice himself.

Somehow the electromagnetism allows him to jump realities and this is key to saving reality 1. Or they all have to do something in reality 2 to save reality 1. Either way I've been convinced that Desmond is key since late season 2 and I think this is a big part of it.

Despite assertions of having everything planned out from the beginning its obvious they threw some things in that don't fit in to the current overall story. Remember the first ARG? You can't go crazy over these things,

Dan Shargel said...

I'm not a demolitions expert but from what I've read dynamite doesn't cause fire to spontaneously break out when it's detonated. It's actually the opposite and puts out any fire because it pushes out the oxygen. So that scene with Ilana blowing herself up followed by flames on the ground looked totally fake. Good episode though.

Blu said...

Tell your friends about it! Lets get enough support to get him out there!
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=117661664917077

Unknown said...

Maybe Desmond hit Locke, so that Dr. Linus would touch him...knowing he was right there and was a friend of Mr. Locke's

Anonymous said...

This is a small observation, but so far when alt-Charlie, alt-Faraday, and alt-Hurley recovered their island memories, they first recalled the blissful, happy moments of the island, mostly centered around meeting their soulmates. Will they eventually recall all the crappy, miserable island experiences as well? (ie., will Faraday and Hurley remember that Charlotte and Libby die, will Charlie remember when Claire didn't always trust him, etc.)

Obviously, we'll get a better sense of this pattern with alt-Locke, Jack, Sayid, Kate, Sawyer, Jin and Sun. Although I wonder, what's Kate's blissful island moment? Is it Aaron? What if Jack thinks of Kate, but Kate doesn't think of Jack...that'd be awkward (and funny). Does Sayid even have a blissful moment?

Regarding the bigger question -- what's the significance of the alt-characters recovering their island memories? -- I'll go this far: as a group, they'll understand there are 2 timelines at play, a fact their island-versions are oblivious to. But then what? Will they be able to influence the island timeline? Leave their timeline? Well, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Lisa G. said...

It seems to me that any situation that is similar/same as in the alt. universe (in this case Reality #1), that brings up intentse emotions (or that is important) triggers the "epiphany". Whether it be a NDE of Charlie drowning, the underwater scene with Des & Charlie on the other side of the window, Des & Penny meeting/touching, or Libby and Hugo on the beach having the picnic & kiss they missed out on in the island reality.

Desmond seems to know a LOT. I think he is the key that brings the 2 realities together/back together. I also think it was planned for him to be captured by Sayid. This would further explain why he wasn't afraid at all.

There are a few quantum physics type theories (using that term loosely) that keep popping up in my crazy little head. The one about when 2 parallel universes collide, 1 ceases to exist. The other about when you take something from 1 and transfer it into the other, something from the other of equal mass/worth (whatever) has to be transferred back in it's place. Two of the same things cannot be present in the same universe/reality (for very long), it leaves a gap in one, if you will, and a double in the other. This is unbalanced and things must be balanced.

My point is, when these 2 realities come together, somthing has to give where we will only end up with One. Also, i agree with the "closing the loophole" idea...with that Locke may end up pushing Smokey out of the image of him and perhaps he will regain more of his own consciousness from the Flash Sideway (Reality #2) bleeding into Reality #1. (Ressurection of "the one who will save us"???)

Keeping in mind that Reality #2 is about 4 1/2 years behind in linear time from Reality #1, i can see how Des would be able to gather everyone together and get them on a flight to get back to the island and easily merge the realities. This would change the perceived past experiences...IF they all remember both realities.

Even so, they could just wake up on the island and say..."OMG, i just had the weirdest dream..." and they all had the same dream where they blew up Jughead, etc. But that would kinda suck.

Hopefully, they all would end up a bit enlightened to their perceived realities and realize the point of being.

Oh, i think Michael was sent by Smoke Locke to get the group. That's why Smoke Locke was "waiting" for them to show up.

It seems that those who were "bad" are stuck there with the "evil presence" of the Smoke Monster. Not sure if there is any way of making amends, or if they just have to realize it is their own guilt that is holding them hostage and making them unable to be free (move on).

It also seems that without duality and it's balance of polarities (or the perception of it/them) the reality of the world/island (or the perception of IT) ceases to exist. Does this mean that reality itself literally ceases to exist???? Don't think so...at least not in the "real world", but then we aren't talking about the real world are we? Or ARE we? Hmmm.

Anyway, things are coming full circle and and gaps are closing up. Things are making more sense and becoming much clearer...i think.

This has been a great *portal* for LOST talk. Hope more people jump on board the facebook page in support of Brian.

Unknown said...

The whole "remembering blissful moments of an alternate-reality" hammers the movie Donnie Darko in my head. I said it around the beginning of the season also, but that movie and this show's plot lines have a lot in common. pretty much the whole movie is one reality and then *catastrophic event* and boom go back to the beginning of the movie but with a huge difference = main character is dead. This show = 5 seasons of one reality *catastrophic event* and boom the plane crash doesn't happen.

Of course this provides no incite whatsoever to the rest of the season, but definitely good similarities

Unknown said...

forgot to mention the similarity that after the catastrophic event in Donnie Darko all the characters who were heavily involved in the event had deja-vu moments when they saw one another. much like our blissful moments we're seeing now

Unknown said...

@noemailformeadows
when we heard whispers before sometimes the others appeared like when harper came to juliet or when jack, sawyer, hurley, and kate were captured first they heard the whispers then the others appeared and sometimes they didn't. other than that i remember when ben kidnapped alex he told danielle to run the other way whenever she heard whispers.
anyway the explanation doesnt make sense to me
@jejic: i think that michael was smoke monster too the same way he made himself look like eko's brother before. but smoke monster or not why did michael show up? just to talk about the whispers??? even though i dont think the answer was enough.

zim said...

One more thing about the Springsteen connection - Spanish Johnny is a character in the song Incident on 57th Street and the opening line of the song is - Spanish Johnny drove in from the UNDERWORLD last night.

jack said...

How come Ben was very "all knowing" after he turned the FDW and met up with Whidmore following the murder of Alex? He understood the "rules of engagement" and clearly knew alot. Now, he has been relegated as a side character with barely any speaking lines?! Any thoughts?

Khmer Rouge said...

Yeah, the downturn of Ben's character is a bit of a disappointment for me too, though I'm still holding out hope that it picks up somehow.

He just has to know at least as much as Widmore. How could he not? The FDW, how to summon the Smoke Monster, etc.

I can see how Richard seemed to know a lot, but was really acting on pure faith (and even that is a little hard to take, given Richard's 100+ years on the Island), but Ben has demonstrated, time and again, real knowledge of the workings and mysteries of the Island that no one else has known about. And now he just sits there, making cynical remarks?

I'm disappointed in that, because he, and Locke have been my favorite characters, and now one of them is dead and possessed by evil and the other has been reduced to a shell of his former self.

It seems likely to me that Ben will die sometime soon, but I'm hoping he gets to do so through some sort of grand redemption (a la Spike in the Buffy finale, not to belabor the Buffy comparisons).

Anonymous said...

Smokey needs a few things to get off the island:
1) He needs a vehicle (the plane for now).
2) He needs the same situation to be recreated (all the people who were on the Guam flight).
3) And he needs a body (which is dead in another reality).

Since Locke is actually dead in Reality 1, that’s the reality that Smokey will staying in with his "vessel."

Also, it takes more than a kiss to make realities “bleed.” It takes a connection. Right now it all seems to boil down to a love connection, but there are other connections and Desmond seems to be the new man in charge in Reality 2 to make these connections come about. What will that be with Jack & Locke? Who knows but the writers at this point!

We haven’t seen what happens to anyone in Reality 1, when something happens to them in Reality 2. I somehow doubt that Locke will die from Desmond hitting him. So, there will be a Jack/Locke meeting in Reality 2. This should be crucial.

Unknown said...

i really think it's important to remember that the smoke monster is not John Locke. He just looks like him. John Locke is recently buried at the beach.

It's funny, but all these themes and principals are being used regularly on Fringe right now, JJ Abrams next project.

I think my big guess as to the ending at this point (to be proven wrong) is that the characters in Reality #2 can do something big (ex. setting off a bomb) in their reality that is going to affect reality #1. Since Jughead affected reality #2, why can's something there course correct and change reality #1? I don't think they are going to have anyone jump realities. We don't know if they are aware of the present going ons of the island reality, we just know that Charlie, Desmond, and Hurley are aware it exists. I don't see how awareness of something can actually do anything productive. (that was not a political statement, i swear) Something tangible is going to have to happen. That, or the islander's are going to be aware of the reality #2, use the FDW to go back and prevent the incident in true Back to the Future style.

Steve said...

smoke monster is stuck as locke. Michael couldn't be the smoke monster.

jack said...

Do write Benjamin Linus off unceremoniously would be a big mistake IMO. He was very 'in the know' for too long for him now to be simply cast as an 'extra' with barely any speaking lines.

Khmer Rouge said...

@ Jack: I definitely don't want to write off Ben, he's my favorite character on the whole damn show, but if you look at how the writers treated Richard (ageless, apparently in-the-know, but, oh well, nope, just a blind follower of the Jacob gospel), I'm just saying it's not impossible that Ben's no more than a footnote at this point.
Isn't it weird to think back on how HUGE presence Ben was in Seasons 3-4, especially, and 5 as well.

@ Rob Patterson: you're right to point out that Smokey is not John Locke, per se. But he does seem to retain a lot, if not all, of Locke's memories, so there's some co-dependency there. Locke is definitely more than just a vessel, despite his body being buried on the Island. Recall SmokeLocke shouting "don't tell me what I can't do!" at creepy Jungle Kid. That's too much of a cross-over with Locke's actual personality to not be a hint of some kind.

There was a podcast with Lindelof/Cuse a while back that suggested we think about what would happen should a character die in Sideways world. That's why I'm harping on the Locke car crash thing. It is potentially the key to bringing the two realities together.

Also, someone pointed out that the Island is 3 years ahead of the Sideways reality. I'm not sure how yet, but this may turn out to be significant as well.

Anonymous said...

@Brendan

Here's my current guess about the 3 year difference between the island and flash-sideways timelines:

Remember that the island is basically a time machine (among other things) with many unique properties, so light refracts differently and missiles fired off-island arrive 1/2 hr later than expected. So, basically, when one event from the flash-sideways bleeds to the island, or vice-versa, there's a temporal distortion effect of, oh let's say 3 years.

I'll admit it's not the most satisfying explanation, and I'd prefer one that gives the time difference more significance to the overall story, so I'm open to suggestions.