Comments, Predictions And The Penultimate Link Dump...

Been quite a week. I haven't had a chance to watch "Across The Sea" again, but I have read a good deal of opinions online, most of which were at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of liking or disliking it. I still fall into the 'dislike' camp, but not because I wanted more to be revealed (as many of my friends and many of the commenters in this thread were), but because I thought what we were told was kind of cheesy.

This interview with Darlton has been making the rounds because the interviewer asked them about some of the specific complaints people had with the episode and they got a bit testy. On the one hand, they're absolutely right in that there's no way they can please everyone with the finale (and no reason to think they should have to either). On the other, I do think that many of the problems that I had with the episode were self-inflicted and correctable. If you think a cave with a golden light might look cheesy - don't show it. Either that or come up with something else. And I do agree that this episode probably would have gone over better had it been shown earlier in the season rather than now.

But they're also stuck between a rock and hard place here. I had really high expectations of "Across The Sea" because the show has been one of the best things on TV for the past six years and I was hoping the end run would meet that standard. So if you're going to reveal the centerpiece of the Island's mythology, come up with something better than a glowing cave (or at least make it look better than it did on screen). And I also realize that once the show ends, The Source (and "Across The Sea" in general) could look much better in retrospect.

The watering down of Smokey's evil also bothered me, but this is a personal preference thing. For me, the villains often make the show or the series and throughout Lost, Smokey was one of the most compelling reasons to watch. All this season has been constructed around him, building him into a villain with a single, solitary purpose - to escape the Island and destroy whoever got in his way - and I thought that was terrific. But now we understand why he wants to escape and, well, now I completely understand and kinda sympathize with him.

Yeah, he's certainly more bitter and evil in the present day than he was in "Across The Sea," but he isn't the product of his own arrogance like Dr. Doom, isn't pure evil like Randall Flagg or completely insane like the Joker. No, he's the product of a crazy, manipulative Mother and an impulsive, irrational brother who didn't think before he acted. It doesn't forgive everything he's done in the present, but it make us understand why he's the way he is. And the fact the supposed good Island god is partially responsible for creating him makes their whole conflict a lot less - *ahem* - black and white. And that just doesn't sit right with me, given everything we've seen this season, and seems to go against one of the major themes of the show. I like my evil to be EVIL, dammit! ;)

But anyway, this episode doesn't change the fact that I still love the show and am greatly looking forward to tonight and Sunday. What's everyone making for the finale? I think it's going to be wings of some sort for myself, but I can't decide whether I want slow-cooked Thai Peanut Wings or some breaded, fried Hot Wings. Mmmm... wings.
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The only other link I have to share other than the above Darlton interview (which you should read in full) is this letter from George Lucas to Darlton. I can't tell whether it was written in jest or not, but it is amusing nonetheless. :)

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Tonight's episode, "What They Died For," sounds rather expository to me. You gotta figure the entire endgame will be revealed tonight - i.e. Jack's gotta learn what Desmond's task is on the Island and (hopefully) what the role of the Alt is in all this. And you have to imagine they're going to be going to The Source at some point. Desmond's probably the only one who can find it...

Fearless Predictions

Considering there are only two episodes left, I might as well go all out...

1) I'm going to guess that not only is Desmond the only one who can find The Source, he's the only one who can enter it and survive. And perhaps if Desmond enters The Source he can reverse whatever damage Jacob caused by flushing his brother's body down the cave...

2) I'm going to guess one of the three remaining candidates will die this episode: Sawyer. And he does so in spectacularly heroic fashion to save everyone else. Unfortunately we'll probably get a teary goodbye scene with Kate beforehand.

3) Smokey will send Claire after the remaining candidates and she'll succeed in mortally wounding Kate before the candidates are rescued by... Ben!

4) Alt Jack will achieve awareness this episode and realize the person he really needs to make everything right is the creator of the Alt Universe - his wife, Juliet!

5) Someone will rhetorically ask "what did they die for" during the episode and Hurley will respond by quoting "Wrath of Khan."

I am 100% certain these things shall come to pass. Enjoy the (second-to-last) show everyone! Review up tomorrow morning! :)

Link Dump + Predictions

I have no clue what the title of tonight's episode, Across The Sea, means, nor do I have any idea whether it'll have some sort of centricity either. But my gut feeling from the title is that this may be an info dump on the origins of the Island, Smokey and Jacob in general. Anyone who's seen the "No Exit" episode of BSG will know what I mean. I'm not linking to that episode because it contains MASSIVE SPOILERS for anyone who hasn't seen the series yet and still wants to (and I highly, highly recommend it - in fact, this reminds me that I still have a BSG series review to do. Hmmm....)

Link Dump:

- Lostpedia is hosting a Q&A with Darlton, not about show mysteries or questions, but about general influences, writing stuff, etc. You can post your questions to them here and they'll try and answer as many as they can before the finale. Be warned: There are a lot of questions already.

- This is a funny Darlton video (featuring the Muppets), if you haven't seen it already.

- I picked up the EW Lost Finale issue and I was a bit underwhelmed. It's not bad, per se, just kinda thin, especially when compared with what they did for Seinfeld's departure. I still have that Seinfeld issue and it's simply one of the best magazines I've ever read. Complete series guide with capsules and ratings for every episode, lists upon lists of minutia, guest stars, Jerry's girlfriends, Newman appearances, a guide to Seinfeld around New York City, etc., etc...

Now I really didn't expect something quite so good for Lost, but I did hope it would be similarly comprehensive. And while there is some good stuff in it, it wasn't anything special. Oh well. Worth picking up if you're traveling and need something to browse.

Fearless Predictions:

1) The big reveal tonight will be a full explanation of "the rules" behind Smokey and Jacob's little contest and I predict we'll also find out just how the new Jacob is chosen and ascends his Island throne,

2) The big Alt reveal tonight will be exactly what Eloise knows about the Alt timeline and what her role in all of this really is.

3) The episode will end tonight with Desmond telling Jack and company about the existence of the Alt

4) The carnage will continue. My guess is Richard or Miles is going to buy it tonight at the hands of a really pissed off Smoke Monster.

5) A new, underground DHARMA station will be found, The Leaf, manned by two guys who've subsisted on nothing but Twinkies and Ding Dongs for the last fifteen years (that stuff never goes bad, right)?

I am 100% certain these things shall come to pass. Enjoy the show! Review up Wednesday! :)

So Who's It Going To Be?

Season 6 can now basically be boiled down to three questions:

1) Which candidate will become the new Jacob?

2) How will the two universes come together (or will one be destroyed)?

3) What will happen to all the remaining Losties when all this is over?

I'm guessing that Tuesday's episode, "The Candidate," is going to definitively address #1. And since we know that the remaining six (kinda) candidates are Jack, Hurley, Sawyer, Sayid and Jin or Sun, we can kinda speculate on who it's going to be.

Jack is the obvious candidate - he's the hero, the one who's now been set up to spend some quality alone time with Smokey and the common sense pick for the new Jacob. But perhaps Jack has another role to play - maybe he needs to make a sacrifice (playing the hero) so that one of the other candidates can become Jacob. If that's the case, who will it be?

You have to think Sayid is automatically disqualified, given he killed the protector of the Temple and his hippie translator. Likewise, I think whichever of Jin or Sun is the actual candidate will turn down the role, given their son daughter is still alive out there in the outside world.

As I speculated before, I see Hurley in more in a supportive role (i.e. the new Richard) than becoming the new head honcho. That leaves Sawyer, and I have to say of all the remaining candidates outside of Jack, I could definitely see him as the new Jacob. Why? Mostly because he really doesn't have anything to go back to. Yeah, there's Cassidy and Clementine, but even if he did leave the Island, I really can't see him playing much of a part in either of their lives.

Plus, can't you see Sawyer becoming an omniscient Island God and convincing Kate to stay behind with him? Of course, if this came to pass, they probably wouldn't become Adam and Eve, but that's what Rose and Bernard are there for anyway.

Am I right? Probably not - it probably will be Jack, setting up the inevitable Jack vs. Locke endgame showdown, which is probably how it should end anyway. But I've only got three hours worth of speculation left before we get the rest of the answers - I've got to make the best of the time that I've given! :)

Predictions:

1) We will find out in this episode who the new Jacob will be.

2) Widmore will reveal how he plans to defeat Smokey using the Island's electromagnetism.

3) Smokey will blaze a trail of murderous destruction through Hydra Island, only to be stopped by Hurley's bag of Jacob's ashes (right before he's about to slaughter Tina Fey).

4) Claire will revert to evil form, reveal she just went along for the ride for an opportunity to sink her teeth into Kate's sweet, sweet brain.

5) We'll finally get to see Ben, Richard and Miles again and discover they've spent the last 24 hours getting wasted off of stale DHARMA beer while playing pool in the rec room.

I'm 100% certain these things shall come to pass. Enjoy the show! Review up Wednesday morning! :)

Fearless Predictions...

Tomorrow's curiously titled episode, "The Last Recruit," doesn't tell us a whole lot about its centricity, considering it will likely be about whoever Smokey's final recruit will be (remember that Sawyer was technically his first recruit). So let's go through the possible candidates (outside of the real candidates):

1) Frank - Smokey needs Frank to fly the plane, so presumably he's going to have to recruit him.

2) Jin - Smokey presumably needs Jin back in order to leave the Island, something that will be a whole lot easier now that Sun is in his camp.

3) Charles Widmore - Make your enemy your friend by making him an offer he can't refuse, like serving him up the Island on a platter.

I can't really see Smokey recruiting anyone else but these three and, out of the three, Frank seems the most plausible, especially since we've already had a Jin/Sun episode this season.

So a Frank-centric episode tomorrow? I would admittedly love that... :)

Predictions:

1) If we do get a Frank-centric episode, his Alt story will feature Desmond searching him out so he can ask him when he's next flying to Guam.

2) Jin will finally sit down with Widmore and Tina Fey and tell us all where the pockets of EM energy are on the Island.

3) Ben, Miles and Richard will arrive at the Barracks looking for explosives and find Smokey beat them to the punch.

4) Hurley will attempt to trap Smokey with Jacob's ashes, but Evil Minion Sayid will ruin his plan.

5) Now that Jack, Sun and Hurley are all in Smokey's camp, Claire will subtly attempt to cover Kate's head in BBQ sauce.

I am 100% certain all these things shall come to pass. Enjoy the show! Review up Wednesday morning! :)

Fearless Predictions...

The title of tonight’s episode, “Everybody Loves Hugo,” is an Alt-play off the Season 2 episode “Everybody Hates Hugo.” I’m expecting healthy doses of Numbers, ghosts and Alt-y goodness this evening! :)

1) Hurley will be the first person Desmond contacts in the Alt and helps regain his memory. But Alt Hurley will love his new life so much he’ll want nothing to do with Desmond. Odds Alt Hurley is married to Libby: 80%

2) Widmore is told that Sayid has captured Desmond and says “Good. All according to plan.” Odds Smokey freaks and kills Desmond outright when he sees him: 50%

3) Jacob tells Hurley about Desmond and tells him they need to get him away from Dark Minion Sayid. Odds Jacob tells Hurley how one of the candidates will become the new Jacob: 10%

4) Illana and company finally join up with Team Widmore as they try and figure out how to stop Smokey. Odds one of them comes up with the idea of destroying the plane: 0%

5) Widmore brings Hurley a giant tub of ranch dressing as a present, tells him to try it with some of his delicious chicken nuggets as it really brings out the ham. Odds Hurley actually has a stash of chicken nuggets somewhere on the Island: 108%

I am 100% certain all these things shall come to pass. :)

Enjoy the show! Review up tomorrow!

Fearless Predictions...

Because our mutual friend, Desmond, is finally back on the Island, I have exceedingly great expectations for tonight!

1) Tonight's Darlton-penned episode, "Happily Ever After," won't be quite as good overall as Ab Aeterno, but it will have the most shocking reveals of the season and the best episode cliffhanger.

2) We will find out whether Widmore arranged for Libby to give Desmond the Elizabeth or not.

3) We will find out whether the Alt timeline is in any way connected to the present day universe.

4) Smokey will freak out in some way when Sayid tells him Desmond is back on the Island

5) Jack, Ben and Hurley will suddenly burst into song at some point as a way of promoting next summer's greatly anticipated "Lost: The Musical"

Bonus (Serious) Prediction: At some point in the season, maybe even tonight, Desmond will know he's about to die (probably by sacrificing himself in some way) and will pull out "Our Mutual Friend" and start to read.

I'm 100% certain these things shall come to pass.

Enjoy the show! Review up tomorrow morning! :)

Fearless Predictions...

...on tonight's episode "The Package"

1) Assuming it's a Jin/Sun episode (which it kinda looked like from last week's preview), we're going to see lots of people popping up in their Alt story. Sayid and Keamy for sure, but I'm betting we'll see both the MiB and Desmond too (remember him)

2) "The Package" will refer to whatever Widmore has in that locked room

3) We'll finally learn how Jacob's replacement is chosen (holdover from last week)

4) Smokey will offer not to kill everyone if Frank flies him off the Island

5) Ben will finally explain to someone how the "Magic Box" works

6) Hurley will set up a ping-pong tournament with all the ghosts on the Island and win by default when they can't pick up a paddle.

I'm 100% certain all these things shall come to pass.

Enjoy the episode! Review up tomorrow morning! :)

Fearless Predictions...

...for tonight's Richard-centric episode we've all been waiting for! Be sure to double check your DVR's because it runs an extra four minutes long tonight! :)

1) We will finally get to see the Black Rock land on the Island

2) We will get some more history into Smokey and Jacob's conflict

3) We will get to see DHARMA coming to the Island for the first time (and Richard negotiating the treaty with them)

4) We will learn from Ilana how the official candidate to replace Jacob is chosen

5) Smokey will appear at the end and offer to trade Jin for Frank

6) Claire and Sayid will get hungry and decide to roast Zach and Emma over a fire on a spit

I'm 100% certain all of these shall come to pass. Enjoy the show! Review up tomorrow morning! :)

Fearless Predictions

1) Tonight's Ben-centric episode will be the best of the season so far

2) Alt Locke will make another appearance in Ben's sideways flashes

3) We'll see Sawyer and Jin again

4) We'll find out who's coming to the Island

5) Smokey, Claire and Sayid will kill Kate and feast upon her heart

I feel very confident that all these things shall come to pass tonight.

Maybe.

Enjoy the show! Review up tomorrow! :)

Scriptwriting 101

A bit of news from Hawaii. It's not really spoilerish - just a setting, no plot or cast info - but I put it in invisotext for those that don't want to know anything. Highlight to read, don't read below if you don't want to know. :)

The media circus at the state Capitol on Friday did not involve the Legislature. It was the crew from ABC's hit show "Lost," which was filming a scene. People passing by saw flashing lights, fake police cars and a horde of news media. The cast was shooting for the upcoming season, which begins airing in February.The show's producers are extremely secretive so the plot of the scene is being kept under wraps.

Okay. So we have a scene at an official looking building with an event that causes the police and media hounds to show up. Speculation time! Posit:

1) Flashback, flash forward, or off-island real time.
2) Who the scene involves
3) General description of what's going on

Think of it like a "Clue" solution. I'm going with 1) Flash Forward (Kate), 2) Kate, Jack, and Lance Reddick's new character 3) Kate reluctantly agrees to help Jack get information that will help them get back to the island, but Reddick catches them *ahem* "Red" handed.

About That New Podcast

In case you missed it (or didn't miss it but haven't had time to listen yet), TALBOA has a great summary of all the good tidbits. The most important of which is the following:

The flashforward is set-in-stone. It's not a possible future or an alternate reality. Carlton mentions that the flashforwards would be less exciting if they never really happened (I agree). However, we will continue to see more weird time stuff, a la Desmond's time travel. Damon says that "Flashes Before Your Eyes" laid all the ground rules on how time travel works on the series. (Yes, Damon said "time travel." There is time travel on LOST. I hope people start believing this).

Interesting, eh? In my review of Through the Looking Glass, I laid out three possible scenarios the flash forward represented. According to the podcast, it seems that scenario #1 (future set in stone, we get to see how it happens) seems the most plausible now. But the fact that they specifically say time travel is possible (and more importantly that Desmond laid the ground rules) gives a glimmer of hope that scenario #2 is also possible (the future really happened, but they can go back in time and alter it).

So what are the ground rules?

1) If you're going to die sometime in the near future, you can't escape that fate

Charlie and Red Shoe Guy proved this one

2) Altering small things in Desmond's visions may change the whole future

Would Desmond have found Penny hanging from the tree had he not saved Charlie? We don't know that yet. But clearly Desmond does have the free will to alter things. Which brings me to the big one...

3) Desmond had a choice in the past. He could have stayed with Penny and everyone would have died.

The big thing here is that Mrs. Hawking didn't tell Desmond that no matter what he does he was going to end up on the island. On the contrary, she had to convince him not to stay with Penny and that pushing the button was more important. Yes, if Desmond had stayed it would have been catastrophically bad, but the point here is he had a choice to stay. And if Desmond has choices when he travels in time, who's to say that he can't go back in time and do it again.

Desmond sacrificed himself when he went back, sacrificed a life of happiness with Penny to save the world. I think he (or maybe Jack) is going to be presented with a similar choice towards the end of show.

Whatcha think? Yea or Nay? :)

Everybody In The Death Pool!

There's a scene midway through Jaws where Richard Dreyfuss' character Matt Hooper is looking for Rob Schnider's Police Chief. He arrives in bedlam as hordes of fishermen have decended on Amity Island to claim a $3,000 reward for catching the shark.

Hopper runs into the Chief amid the chaos who enlists his help in trying to stop eight fishermen from piling into a tiny motorboat. Hooper tells them they're overloading it, but they casually brush him away.

Dreyfuss then, with a masterfully sarcastic delivery, utters one of my favorite lines in all of moviedom:

"Hahahahahahah! They're all gonna die!"

Since Lost has such a penchant for killing off characters, regardless of their popularity (see Eko, Mr.), I'm kinda wondering who's going to kick the bucket next season. We know Jack and Kate make it off the island, but everyone else is squarely in the crosshairs.

Here are my top five candidates for horrible island death (with odds):

1. Michael (even) - The most hated man on the island returns. With all those weapons around, don't you think someone's going to take some revenge? Maybe Dave will get Hurley to do something way of out character for him. Maybe the Monster will make him pay for his sins.

Either way, I bet he'll be screaming at the end.

2. Rose/Bernard (2:1) - I'm shocked, shocked I tell you that one of them didn't die in the finale. They are actually the perfect candidates: They'd create a huge emotional response, but it really wouldn't overly affect the show since they're so minor. Plus, Rose's cancer could easily make a return allowing for a death scene with a weepy Bernard. Book it - one of them won't make it off the island.

3. Jin (5:1) - Many of the main characters have already had their complete stories told, so they're pretty much fair game for the writers' sickle. Sun already has a date with death in Season 6 unless the Losties figure out why pregnant women die midway through, so that leaves Jin as odd man out here. He's one of the the more likely of the main characters to die, his death would have an incredible emotional impact and it would create a lingering plot point with Sun. Of the remaining first season Losties, I think Jin's the most likely to go.

4. Sayid (10:1) - On the other hand, there's Sayid. His story isn't fully told (what happened to him in Basra), he's extremely popular and his military/electronic/torturing abilities has made him an excellent deus ex machina for the writers. Losties in a tight spot? No problem! Sayid to the rescue.

However, because Naveen Andrews has such a budding film career, I think he make make a date with death himself; if he's killed, it's because he asked the writers for out. But if he goes, he's definitely going down in a blaze of glory. No going gentle for this English gent.

5. Danielle (25:1) - We know we're supposed to get her story this season and, if we do, I can see her being offed once her story's been told. She's been reunited with Alex and would likely do anything to protect her now. I'm betting she dies saving Alex's life.

Honorable Mentions, in order of death likeliness (and why they won't end up dying)

1. Claire - Partially because Jack doesn't know she's his half-sister yet. But mostly because them someone else would have to take care of Aaron all the time (and Christian Shepherd's grandson ain't going nowhere). Locke has no time for babysitting.

2. Hurley - You can't kill the funny guy. That's just lame, dude.

3. Sawyer - They'd lose 95% of their female audience

4. Desmond - They'd lose the other five percent. Besides, he can see it coming.

5. Sun - Too important a plot point

6. Juliet - Ditto. Besides we haven't seen her whole story yet

7. Ben - Because I'd hunt down the writers and kill them.

8. Richard - Too new a character to kill. Besides, he's got some killer eyeshadow.

9. Locke - HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. To think some people thought he was dead last season. Locke will be here until the end.

10. Vincent - Since he's the evil mastermind of the island, he's not going anywhere.

Who do you think's going to die in Season 4? Everyone? No one? Just the new guys? Discuss?