Not once, but twice in relatively quick succession, Unlocke observed tonight that there was a lot of catching up to do. He wasn’t kidding. “The Last Recruit” moved briskly, touched on a myriad of mysteries, and served up more explosions and twists. But the delicate balance of plot and character definitely felt askew, and along with all the forward velocity, there were moments that seemed to lose traction. At the end of last week’s episode, we felt the stage was set for the final sprint. Tonight’s tale had a lot of flash, but it still feels like we’re waiting for the big show. And with a week off before the next new episode, “The Last Recruit” definitely left us wanting more.
In the flash-sideways, the inevitable collision of our wayward survivors was aggressively accelerated. Sun makes her connection with the island world when she spots Locke on the next gurney. And Jack gets his hands on Locke’s dural sack without a consult. And by the close of our multi-faceted tour of Los Angeles, Kate, Sawyer, Miles, Sayid, Jin, Sun, Jack, Claire, Desmond, Locke, and Ben are clearly interconnected. But can they all be unified and even embark on a plan in the few hours ahead?
I did like Jack’s renewed connection with David, as well as the interplay between cop Sawyer and fugitive Kate, perhaps the strongest character moments in the episode. Seeing Ilana turn up as a lawyer the week after she was blown up on the island was fun, but It still doesn’t make up for her untimely end. Desmond’s actions are again curious, though. Why was he going to see a lawyer? At first we guessed it was just a ruse to point Claire toward Jack, drawn from post-flash omniscience. But he knew Ilana, and had an appointment. Perhaps she’s just corporation counsel for Widmore Industries?
On the island, our unified camp of survivors doesn’t last long, as Sawyer executes his plan and separates Unlocke from several of his precious candidates. It serves the Man in Black right for entrusting a key part of his plan to a con man. Of course, on “LOST,” it can’t be that simple, and after another long look at the ocean, Jack decides that his work’s not done, and jumps overboard. As soon as he returns to the island, Unlocke is there to claim him.
Is Jack “The Last Recruit”? He seems pretty set on confounding Unlocke, but he is also told twice that he’s already “with” him. Claire told Jack that his mistake was letting Unlocke speak. And after Unlocke rescues a dazed Jack from a huge explosion — reminiscent of Claire’s crossing over in New Otherton — he also tells Jack, “You’re with me, now.” I’m wondering if Unlocke is now back to square one… or if there’s a chance that Jack was really the only candidate he needed.
In terms of answers, Unlocke confirms to Jack that he had appeared as Christian Shephard soon after the crash. As with the explanation of the whispers last week, though, the answer seems to bring more questions. Was the Man In Black portraying Christian in Jacob’s cabin? (Probably.) Visiting Jack off the island? (Probably not?) Telling Locke to turn the donkey wheel? (Probably.) Talking to Sun and Frank about the DHARMA Initiative? (Probably not, since at the same time, the Man In Black was Unlocke with the Ajira crew, and supposedly “stuck” in that form.) And a few weeks ago, it seemed significant that Claire described her father and her “friend” as two separate entities. Did she just not know she was in the middle of a puppet show?
And while Unlocke’s darker nature seems even more pronounced now, I’m struck by what he told Jack: he appeared as his father to lead him to water. In retrospect, it does seem to be what the vision accomplished way back in Season 1. And Unlocke also brought water and food to Richard at the Black Rock. Of course, he wanted something from Richard, and still wants something from Jack. But I found the tiny shard of implied benevolence interesting.
Jack was trapped on the island before he even got there? Absolutely. All the Man in Black wanted to do was help them leave? I’m not sure. I think Jack is right to question why he wants them gone, and just how their continued presence is a threat.
While Sawyer was ready to write off Claire and Sayid, both seemed to get a glimmer of hope tonight. Claire’s homicidal urges toward Kate seemed to subside (again) as she was welcomed aboard the escape boat, and Sayid’s hesitation after returning to Locke suggests that talking to Desmond may have reawakened some humanity within him.
Sayid’s character is definitely an empty one now, with even Sawyer dismissing him as a zombie. We’re hoping for a tragic and sad end, or a heroic final turn, but this blank-faced moping around has got to stop. At least Hurley suggests that redemption is possible, invoking what seems to be a contractually obligated “Star Wars” reference. (A reference that pop-culture wise-ass Sawyer inexplicably doesn’t recognize.) Anakin Skywalker turned against his dark lord in a climactic battle, so perhaps Sayid will do the same.
And, yes, at long last, Sun and Jin were reunited. As we’d feared, the overextended separation and the episode’s rushed pace robbed the moment of much of its dramatic power. Actually, the portable sonic fence on the beach seemed to have been purposely situated between them as they ran toward each other, and we were half expecting there to be yet another cheesy contrivance to keep them apart one more week. Fortunately, they embraced and declared their love… but the writers let Lapitas channel David Caruso with a smirking one-liner that deflated whatever emotional power was left in the scene.
Why did Widmore call off the deal with Sawyer? Why does anyone on Team Widmore think missiles are an effective weapon against Unlocke? Where has the spirit of Jacob been all this time, and what is Unlocke’s ultimate plan? And how are we going to survive two weeks before getting our next shot at answers?
- The conversation between Unlocke and Jack was a powerful one. When Unlocke said John Locke was stupid, and a sucker, at first I felt it was just adding insult to injury when it came to one of the most interesting and promising characters on “LOST.” But then I started to think (or hope) that they were actually setting John Locke up to be vindicated somehow. I hope so.
- Off the island, we learn that Locke’s wheelchair actually saved his life. Jen said it reminded her of how losing his kidney saved his life when he was shot by Ben.
- Flash-sideways Kate emphatically insists she’s innocent. And if the flash-sideways are going to ultimately suggest happier lives for our survivors, it would make sense that she is. Notice that Sawyer offers Kate an apple in the police station. A reference to Eve and the Garden of Eden? Or is it just an apple?
- Sawyer’s observation that it’s “weird” how he and Kate ended up crossing each others paths reminded us of Jack remarking to Kate in “316” that it was “crazy” to see that they were all back together on an airplane.
- We loved how cool Unlocke was when the first warning missile struck in the jungle. The huge explosion behind his unflinching figure called to mind the moment he blew up the submarine in Season 3.
- Zoe’s conversation with Unlocke, in which Unlocke says he has no idea what she’s talking about, is a direct mirror of the conversation Unlocke has with Widmore over a similar situation in “The Package.”
- Miles says his last name is Straum. So even though he’s got a good relationship with his museum-managing dad, Dr. Chang, there’s still a kink or two in that family tree.
- Ilana’s last name is Verdanski. Couldn’t think of how that might be significant, if only in comparison to Radzinski and Minkowski.
- Hurley says, “People are trying to kill us again.” Just like old times.
- Sawyer gets of at least one notable nickname: Chesty. It was funny how he referred to Lapitas as a guy who looked like he stepped out of a Burt Reynold’s movie… but it was an unusually clunky line of dialogue where “the pilot” probably would have sufficed.
- Locations: The office building where Claire, Desmond, Jack, David, and Ilana came together was Pauahi Tower in downtown Honolulu. The hospital where Sun and Jin and Jack and Locke turned up was the Rehab Hospital of the Pacific (though I think the ambulance bay and emergency entrance was Kuakini Hospital). The house where Sayid was captured by Sawyer and Miles is on Waiohinu Drive in Kahala. The “old pier” where Jack and his group boarded the Elizabeth was Coconut Island in Kaneohe Bay.
How did you like “The Last Recruit”? Favorite moments? New theories? Please comment below and join the conversation. You can also call and leave a brief (ideally, one-minute long) message on the LOSTLine at (815) 310-0808, or email us at lost@hawaiiup.com.
Ah – I agree as well! I was worried the fence wasn’t off!
Sun recognized Locke! Can’t forget to discuss that.
@steve – When Desmond said “lawyer”, I also thought of Walt’s mom (I don’t think she and Michael ever actually got married).
And I don’t think that Sayid killed Desmond. I think they would have shown it if he had.
@ James: That is a very good point you make about the presence of Christian off the island. I bet that will be one of those production errors we’ll have to forgive and forget because there could be no other explanation than that for him showing up to visit his son if he really was the smoke monster back then.
I also thought Jin and Sun were going to get fried, that John Locke was going to open his eyes at the operation table, and that Claire was going to shoot Kate. All wishful thinking.
I tend to be very critical of LOST episodes, especially in this last season, but I really liked this one. It really set the table for the final 5 hours. I loved seeing Sun and Jin reunited and all of the folks in the alt coming together. I liked Jack making a stand. I felt more at peace with this episode than at any other this season, though I know many horrible things will come as soon as the next episode.
Most importantly no one has mentioned that Jack is the only one who chose to go back to the island and confront the MIB. He is the last recruit and he is the one who will ultimately defeat the MIB. All of the others decided to flee.
@fernando—what if MiB and Jacob are one and the same—and both have taken Christian’s form at different times. That would explain why Christian form was off island at points.
@ Stacey, NC: you’re absolutely right. Jikn and Sun’s reunion should have been in Korean. Or at least, Sun should have been surprised to hear her husband speak good English.
@ Carol from Boston: YES! Flashsideways Sun recognized John Locke as they were being wheeled into the ER. But what does it all mean when the FS Losties get these memory flashes? That still remains as the big question.
@Dave582 – I heard the fence power down before the Jin & Sun reunion. It felt very cut short – I realize there’s alot to fit into the episode, but it felt a tad trivialized.
Locke mentioned Helen in the ambulance. So she’s going to be in the mix in the final lets all get together at Jack’s hospital, which is kind of weird because she was never on the island.
Loved the episode, but one question is gnawing at me.
Is Smokey supposed to have been every incarnation of Christian that we’ve seen? Because there are two particular incidents that come to mind that don’t make a lot of sense to me. 1- Where Christian appears to Michael on the freighter and tells him “he can go now” and 2- Where Christian appears to Locke down the well, next to the donkey wheel, sometime in the past while Locke and company were flashing through time. I just hopes there’s more to Christian …
@lucydog: Good point. But if MIB and Jacob are one and the same, how can we explain seeing them together in some scenes? I’ll take your first explanation: that both of them used Christian’s body to manifest themselves and manipulate Jack and Claire, John Locke, and also Sun and Lapidus. I don’t think anyone else has seen Christian after his death, right?
I think there’s fake ghost and real ghost to explain all the appearances. When we see dead people, sometimes it’s MIB, sometimes it’s the real thing or Jacob or a dream or too many meds.
Can someone please kill Zoe now? Pretty please?
It’s getting harder and harder to stay Team Dark… but I just can’t bring myself to join Team Jacob. Maybe I should declare a new team – Team Neither!
I wasn’t really blown away on this episode. There were some great moments and all, but for the most part the deal with the boat and deciding which side or what plan Jack / Kate / Sawyer… should take was dragged out and is getting old.
I’m on team “someone please kill Kate now”.
@Ilias – The John Locke corpse was enough to convince me that Flocke is MiB. I think MiB was just shocked for some reason as to where Jacob lived.
@Brendan – I don’t know that MiB was really “trusting” everyone. I just think it was that important to him to find Sayid and ensure Desmond was dead.
@a couple of people – I also thought Sun and Jin were gonna get zapped.
@a couple of people – has it ever been definitively said that Christian Shepard was MiB? I’m not so convinced he was.
Team “oh please, don’t mess up the remaining episodes” No sixty foot towering flames, ok?
A few weeks ago I commented on the whole idea of redemption.
I thought that Sayid would be asked to kill one of his friends and his failure to do so would be his redemption. Now, Desmond wasn’t one of the people I had in mind but I sure hope my theory was right.
Not so I can puff my chest in pride and say “Yay! After 50 failed attempts I got a theory right!” No, but rather because I would hate for Des to be dead.
So now we know that Jack’s father, Christian was the Smoke Monster before John Locke. Although we really suspected it, we got the verification tonight. I am not sure about Claire and trusting her. She looks too creepy for words. I do know that Sayid did not kill Desmond. I hope that Des helped Sayid to see the light, as he has other characters. Both are too valuable to die now. I was glad Sawyer threw Jack off the boat. I have had enough of Jack for an eternity but have n doubt that Jack will wind up the hero. Not mine, mind you. I love this show and will miss it next week.
The conversation between Jack and Locke gave me a theory about the motivations of another character, Eloise Hawking. I think it’s pretty clear now that Eloise was working with MIB the entire time. MIB probably promised her that she would get her son back, and in exchange she became his contact on the mainland. I also think that once MIB forms an emotional link to someone (either by speaking to them or appearing as a loved one), a psychic link develops and he can appear to that person anywhere, even though he is stuck on the Island. This would explain how he appeared to Jack in the hospital and Michael on the freighter, as well as how he could give instructions to Eloise off the Island.
Thought it was a weak episode. No “wow” factor for me. It was not a very revealing or strong setup episode. Ok writers, we get that the characters off-island are converging. Let’s step things up now as opposed to revisiting the same theme over without any real progress.
Sun and Jin are finally reunited. (YAWN). Not really a climax moment since it was long overdue. (YAWN). Both characters not really having much depth to them didn’t help to reunion either. Now Sun can speak english… it’s a miracle! (YAWN).
Desmond seemed unconvincing and creepy trying to get Claire to see his “lawyer”… looking over her shoulder to read her name on the sign in sheet at reception… following her into the elevator – all very stalker-ish and somewhat forced.
Desmond’s character is becoming creepy and desperately silly: he’s becoming more of a stalker rather than an influencer and it is chipping away at his credibility as someone who is supposed to be in the know. He should take tips from our friend Richard A.
Widmore’s capability to send artillery shells with such precision was, well, interesting. Not sure if I find it cool, or corny just yet. What else did they cram into that mini sub? Are they going to pull at an M1 Abrams next? Killer Robo-Polar Bears? I guess explosions will continue to increase as we approach D-Day. I just hope it doesn’t become a cheesey backdrop to predictable fight scenes.
Jack jumping ship further reinforced his convictions about the Island. Perhaps Jack will never leave the island and instead assume the role as the new Jacob? I think that FLOCKE/MIB has something coming to him if he really believes that Jack is pledging allegiance to him. Jack is not gullible.
I think we should have had another Jacob scene to keep things interesting and anchored to the central theme of candidacy. Seems like there’s a growing void, and we are not sure who is supposed to fill it just yet.
I wish the writers had expanded more of the scene where Jack and FLOCK are having their heart-to-heart talk. I felt we were ripped off a bit there. Most of us already had a hunch that Christian (Jack’s dad) was really MIB. No great reveal there. Perhaps this scene was originally more revealing and chunks of it were edited out. I think this scene had potential to push this episode up a notch. But instead it takes us back down to what we’ve already been forecasting: getting off-island characters to converge.
Illana being Jack’s lawyer brought a smile to my face. She’s hot in a business suit. For some reason I was expecting her to have a bottle of water in hand. It was a blast seeing her again so soon after her on-island departure.
Was Sayid’s gun shot/flash in the promo just a teaser? We’re not sure if he actually shot Desmond or not, but my guess is “no”. I think Sayid is a sleeper-cell, waiting for the right moment to take out FLOCKE/MIB.
Great scene between Cop Sawyer and Serial Killer Kates. I loved the chemistry between them and the indirect flirtations. It was so believable, and simply, cute.
Oh… and who exactly is the last recruit? Did I miss something? Where’s Vincent?
Team Buckle up Hands in the Air and Enjoy the Ride!
Okay, I’ll buy that the smoke monster was Christian off the island, or even on the freighter (despite the fact that he’s apparently vulnerable to water). But was there ever a point where we see smokey “scan” Jack? Isn’t this how the smoke monster uses other people’s vulnerabilities to his advantage? In which case, how would smokey know to inhabit the form of Jack’s Dad in the first place?
I think part of the issue with Christian always appearing is because his body was brought to the island. When Locke’s body was brought to the island, that gave MIB the opportunity to take his form (even though Locke was still in his coffin). As was postulated last week (I’m sorry I forget who) with sideways Locke’s near-death experience being the start of him to fight back, I think we’ll see more of a struggle of him doing that. There was a very blatant change in island Locke’s voice at one point that clearly and distinctly was MIB’s. It seems that MIB is aware that the window of opportunity is closing fast for his chance to get off the island and at times he does seem hurried to achieve his goal. But, if Locke is trying gain control of himself, that would explain some of the “slips” of island Locke that allow the others to slip away and take things into their own hands.
@lucydog – I agree with you, told my wife when Sayid made the deal with MiB that it coulda been Shannon he was talking about. Of course, my wife laughed and told me I was crazy, but still…
I guess I was one of the 5 who dug Shannon too, but really, well, just cuz I thought she was hot. And spoke French.
oh crud – sorry for a silly post. I missed some of the episode, stuff going on, and I didn’t see the Jack/MiB heart to heart. Sorry about the Christian comment.
@Rus – LOL at the killer robo polar bears!
also @Rus – got the creepy vibe from Desmond when he was stalking Claire. Surprised she went along with it. I guess he know Ilyana was looking for her. Insignificant point, but still… I do think the creepiness might have been deliberate – Desmond is desperate to make everything come together.
Why can’t Kate just tell Claire that Aaron is with her mother….
On a side note: Jack Shepherd’s Son, David, is perfectly casted. Those two look like father and son for real. Dylan Minnette, the actor who plays David Shepherd, better consider getting a DNA test done to see if Matthew Fox’s son.
I’m actually glad that this duo had some time to work out their issues to get on to some higher ground. Many of us, in the real world, sometimes let these family grudges go on too long over pride and like in Season 1’s Jack and Christian, who never got a chance to tell each other what they really wanted to say, until it was too late.
Jack has now been “claimed” by MIB. Just like Claire was injured in an explosion and never came back the same, Jack has now undergone a similar event. Does this mean that Jack will turn into one of Flocke’s puppets like Claire and Sayid?
Man I am not liking this season at all. So hard to stay positive. Things that bothered me:
– The whole “Sun bumped her head and forget how to speak English” was bad to begin with, but now knowing the whole reason was for the lame Lapidus line of “it looks like shes found her voice” or whatever after she miraculously speaks English again after seeing Jin. So terrible. Cheapened the whole scene, which didn’t need any help to be emotional or to establish significance, but they had to telegraph it anyway.
– Lots of little stuff:
– Locke and Jack (I think) talking in pitch black of night in the beginning of the episode, then next minute it’s bright daylight.
– Claire being highly suspicious of Desmond (which I understand) after being completely receptive to Kidnapped Kate with a gun. Do the writer’s ever think about this kind of stuff?
– Where did the missiles come from? Do they ignore the “barrier” of the island that needs the correct bearing to not get time-shifted? Didn’t Farradays experimental rocket come like 20 minutes late, and that was fired from just off shore, presumably about the same as these missiles (coming from the sub)? Also, those special effects are laughable for a show that makes as much money as LOST does.
– Yet another Star Wars reference… enough already, seriously
– So little happening, so little time left, so many loose ends….
Sorry for the negativity, I know it’s frowned upon, but this season has been so depressing for me. I’ve been a “super-user” type of fan for 6 years, spending tons of hours between episodes reading blogs, theories, etc., and this is just nowhere close to the payoff I have been waiting for…
The Jin-Sun reunion was a pretty big letdown. So much for eveyone’s theories on Sun’s lack of speaking English. I guess all she had to do was say ‘I love you.’ Even my wife, the hopeless romantic, rolled her eyes at that.
Fake Locke saying he was Christian was a lie I hope. Otherwise he has been off the island and in more than one place at the same time – which points to writing that wasn’t sure of itself some of the time.
Katherine “ANNE” Austin, She was annie back on the island with ben when they were kids. I thought so ever since she commented in the hatch about not eating those dharma candy bars since she was little.
MIB lied. Jacob is christian. he’s the only one who can leave the island and Christian has left twice. So who else has jacob become? Ben’s mom? Alex? Lockes dad? Walt? Can jacob also become a smoke monster? Did he kill Mr Ecko?
With the sideways crew coming back to the island in the end, they can now kill off characters on the island without really losing them, so look for some major deaths in the last few episodes. Either that or duplicates running around in the finale. Easier to kill one before then. Probably Jacobs plan to bring the duplicates/sideways back to the island at the last minute to stop the MIB. It’s what he meant as he was dying and said “They’re coming”
@Craig – The walls are coming down around the writers… I think what bothers me most is that I spent years arguing on behalf of LOST that it wasn’t “made up as they went” (as many people surmised), but now I feel like a sucker. To add insult to injury, Darlton seemingly either lied or had no idea what was going to happen on the show when they vehemently shot down time travel as a possibility, not to mention purgatory. A simple “no comment” would have sufficed, but no, not their style. They love the aura of coming across like “the smartest guys in the room”, but in reality, they’re usually just lying. The only question is if they’ve been knowingly lying all along, or simply oblivious to the actual end-game of the show.
I know, I know, I need to go take a cold shower or something
@Chris in Durham NC – I see where youre coming from. A friend at work watches the show and he pretty much feels the same way you do. The best thing Cuse and Lindelof could have done was say ‘no comment’ to any critical storyline question instead of lying or splitting hairs over them. Time travel, dead is dead, Purgatory are all points they have either not been truthful on or bended their words around to fit what they eventually wrote.
As an avid watcher of this show I would MUCH rather them keep me in the dark than to keep pulling the bait and switch on me.
@Rus from Texas – I should have just read your post and went to bed, you summed up how I feel pretty well and much more level-headed : ) I would agree that the best part (ahem, only good part, cough) of this episode was the Sawyer/Kate interaction in the police station. Kate’s insight into Sawyer’s actions in LA X were spot on and a nice “ah ha, that makes sense” moment for my viewing group, and Sawyer’s reaction was extremely well acted. Made me miss Season 1!
My thought about MIB and whether he was Christian or not… isn’t it MIB who is capable of appearing as dead people on the island? Maybe that’s all there is to it: MIB manifested himself as Christian on the island to manipulate the people he appeared to, i.e. Jack, Ben… Who is appearing as Christian off the island? I don’t know.
@Chris in Durham — I noticed that time-discrepancy too (night time when Jack and Locke talk, then daytime when they come out of the jungle). Weird, yes. But due to bad editing or lack of attention to detail or because it’s a sucky season, no.
I agree with a lot of you all everybody above that the Jin/Sun reunion was a little cheesy — the sudden recall of English from being reunited with someone she’s never spoken English with, and the Lapidus comment — it all seemed like a forced resolution to her language lapse. But then, I’m just not a romantic, either. I’m one of the very few who was taken back by the Spanish novella flavor of Ab Aeterno (which I got over pretty quickly, because all in all it was an excellent episode).
Wait if Jack is the final recruit..who the heck is the candidate?
I believe that Smokey did use Christian’s body on the island, but when Christian visited Jack at his office, well, that was the spirit of Christian. Jack was told by Hurley that he would be having a visitor and Jack didn’t want to hear it. Since Hurley talks to the dead, he probably knew that dead Christian was going to visit Jack. So that might explain the on-island/off-island Christian.
Great episode, I can’t wait to see the next one, to see them all come together in the alt.
Someone on here was complaining about the fake gunshot effect from Sayid’s gun last week — well, looks like you were spot on. They were messing with us.
Re: Christian: I had been holding on to the belief that Christian was NOT MiB because of one connection…Hurley saw ghost Charlie while at Santa Rosa, and he told Hurley to tell Jack that he would be visited soon, too. Then Christian appeared to Jack at Jack’s office. In this case if MiB was Christian, then ghost Charlie would be tied to MiB, too, which would mean that Hurley would’ve been following MiB. I don’t think the writers would make Hurley a patsy like that. When MiB told Jack he was Christian and lead them to the cave– the only instance he’s copped to so far of being Christian– (and Claire said that when she saw Christian it was MiB) they were both ON the island. Jack’s sighting off island, as well as Michael’s on the freighter, both would’ve involved MiB crossing water, which he’s said he can’t do on his own. So I think that the off island Christian is possibly a real ghost sighting trying to lead them on the correct path. While they might be doing Jacob’s work, I don’t think they would be Jacob…I don’t think that Jacob has or will appear as anybody other than Jacob. Doesn’t seem his style to deceive by putting on a different face.
re: the missiles hitting the island…the freighter wasn’t in the sphere of the island, so there was the time lag that Faraday observed. But the Widmore missiles were coming from Hydra Island, which I’d say is in the Island’s sphere of influence as it travels with the Island.
Since Sawyer took the Elizabeth (Des/ Libby’s boat sure is in good shape for everything it’s been through!), I’m guessing that MiB’s people will take an outrigger and end up shooting at the Sawyer/ Juliet flashing group from last season. So will an Other red shirt get hit or will it be Jack?
@Stacey, NC … Sawyer, like many Star Wars fans, might choose to forget the new trilogy, so not knowing Anakin in the heat of an “argument” is totally understandable
And I don’t care how Desmond acted, I’d gladly follow him!
Please tell me Sayid didn’t kill Desmond.
I think the real question of this episode was
‘can zombies make love’
Yes or no?
We have 2 weeks to think about this!
Hey guys I just found your podcast before this season aired and after tonights episode I just had to post what I heard in tonights show. PLEASE tell me that people heard the same thing I did when Unlocke and Sayid were talking when unlocke asked Sayid to kill Desmond. I forget the exact line but when unlocke tells Sayid to kill Desmond I swear I heard his voice change yet again in the show and it sounded just like MIB’s voice.
Flocke seemed pretty gullible tasking Sawyer to retrieve the boat. He must know Sawyer’s particular character flaw would inevitably cause him to strike out on his own. Yet the slithering darkness has an intelligence that spans ages and also has the patience to plot this gambit down to the last detail. So why such an obvious mistake at the final hour? Because he needed to persuade the “last recruit.” As Ben once said, “If you can get Jack, you can get all of them.” And he was right. The ending wasn’t the mind-bender I was anticipating, but it was a truly a visceral thud and a turning point in favor of darkness.
@Chris in Silver Springs MD – I heard it too! I had forgotten about it until I read your comment, but I too could have sworn that his voice changed at the end of that line. Very cool.
I have to admit to being somewhat underwhelmed by this episode. A couple of the resolutions seemed too quick and too forced: Sun’s regaining her ability to speak English and Claire’s willingness to join Kate and company on the boat, in particular. I thought it was going to take considerably longer to shake Claire out of her stupor. But Sun’s recognition of Locke in the Sideways timeline was a very interesting development, and I look forward to seeing how that plays out.
Can we now agree that Desmond is NOT a candidate or Jacob-like, but instead is behaving like Matthew Abaddon? After all, these characters were not introduced as random socks and Abaddon was a minor yet central character in the mythology: a man who helped people get to where they need to be. Sound like Desmond-X?
Similarly, Desmond at the bottom of the well poses the Michael/Walt Dichotomy: Are you willing to compromise yourself for the one you love, only to loose them to your own guilt? It’s a beautiful philosophical question that has — for all I know — never been asked on television.
Argh! We were so close to learning who Jack’s wife is on the flash sideways! But in the end the writers didn’t willing to disclose that to us yet.
Do you guys think that sideways-Sun has already “felt it”? It seemed that she did since she said “It’s him!” when her eyes locked at Locke’s bandaged face.
@Doug from IL
I don’t know if I agree about Eloise as she seems disenchanted with the ATL, but the supposition that MIB travels with the consciousness of those he has touched was genius. How else do we now explain Christian’s manifestation to Jack in the O6 narrative?
@Bonita
Kate’s scene with James was one of the high points of this episode. She immediately diagnosed his game. Kate returned to the pinnacle of her attractiveness, awareness, and even innocence. In fact, I would say this brief encounter has ensured that they are destined to be together in the ATL. Exactly what they might have wished for from a rogue genie.
@Bonita again
I think we all feel that Juliet will turn out to be Jack’s ex-wife. But the idea that she is called to the hospital as Sun’s OBGYN? Beautiful.
I’m still in tears over Sun and Jin. I am SO glad neither one of them died before they got to reunite!! I have been waiting and waiting and was so happy when they reunited! I was just starting to process it and bawl, and then BAM! Let’s jerk the audience around by having the Whidmore others pull guns on them.
I hate Zoey. I really do.
I really am baffled by how this is all going to go down.
– I don’t believe Desmond is dead
– I wonder where Sayid went off to
– I wonder how this is all going to play out
I am hoping that somehow Jack finds Desmond and then… well, not sure what they could do, but maybe if they have Sayid on their side, they could go against Smokey. Although, I don’t know. I’m so confused at this point. He’s evil for wanting to kill Des, but I’m not liking the way Whidmore’s running his end of the show, either.
I was pissed at Sawyer tonight for insisting that Jack get off the boat. I have really come to love Sawyer, but man he pissed me off. And when Smokey saved Jack, I almost (ALMOST) believe he’s a good guy. I will disagree with whoever said that Jack is now under the influence of Flocke. I don’t think that’s the case. I think he’s trying to find the right side, and just doesn’t think that Sawyer’s way was the best. By the looks of things, neither of them is in a good place right now.
In regards to Smokey being Christian… I don’t know how I feel about this. I don’t think Smokey was Christian when he sent Vincent to get Jack, or when he went to Michael, or when he went to Sun and Lapidus. When he went to Sun and Lapidus, Smokey was already busy killing Jacob. I don’t think he can be two places that far apart like that. Plus, if he was Christian when Jacob died, how does that work? One last thing about that – Claire said that she was with “My father” and “My friend” and she talked about it as if they were two separate people entirely.
Off island, I was fascinated by Sun’s response to Locke. Ilana without an accent has me baffled. What does that mean? That she’s not Russian? WTH?
I love Jack and David. They are too darn cute!
Pretty bummed. The show is kind of falling apart. I’ve been a die hard sine day 1, but I still don’t care about the sideways. Really. The sideways was part of their master plan three years ago when they agreed on six seasons? The sun speaking English was laughable. The whispers answer was clunky (and full of holes just like the MIB/smokey/Christian reveal tonight).
There’s not much for Miles, Ben, Frank or Sun to do on the show anymore. Zoe is not a good character. Where is Widmore? too expensive for each episode or back in England?
it seems like they could have wrapped this up in 5 seasons and cut the sideways and all the clunky walking back and forth.
Praying they right this ship now before they ruin what u thiught would go down as the best show in tv history.