Lost Theory Question #9: Smokey and the Others

Last week's show brought up a few questions about the Others and Smokey that have been percolating around in my brain for some time now. When Locke asked Ben what the Monster was and Ben blatantly said he didn't know, I immediately thought he was lying. Dog, new tricks, etc.

Of course, I thought the exact same thing in "One of Us" when Juliet said the exact same thing to Kate. However after thinking on this the past week, I've come to doubt myself somewhat, especially since Locke also didn't seem to know what it was and he's now Jacob's newest BFF. So who's telling the truth here? Let's go through a couple current Smokey questions based on the little we know about him/her/it:

1) Did DHARMA bring Smokey to the island?

According to the Blast Door Map and the Lost Puzzle Clues, Smokey is called "Cerberus," served as DHARMA's security system (what Danielle called it in "Exodus" too - why doesn't someone ask her how she knows what the heck it is), underwent a "catastrophic malfunction," and pops up around the island through certain "Cerberus Vents."

This all seems to suggest DHARMA brought Smokey to the island to protect the Initiative, but then it went crazy and they had to construct the Sonic Fence to protect the Barracks. But you'd have to think that Ben, who's been with the DI since he was very little, would have to know something about the Monster. After all, even if DHARMA tried to keep the Monster a secret, once it went insane and they had to erect a giant fence for protection, you would think they would have had to tell everyone something about it for their own protection. Sure, they could have said the fence was to protect everyone from the Hostiles, but I can't believe everyone would have kept the DI's freakin' security system a classified secret like the Swan.

And any way you cut it, you have to figure Ben knows more than he was letting on. If the Monster was a DI creation, Ben should know something. But if the Map is wrong and Monster is actually something indigenous to the island, Ben should know something about that too given how chummy he's been with Jacob. Bottom line: Ben, at the very least, has to be lying somewhat. But it is possible that even he doesn't know what the Monster's origins are or how to destroy it. He and his father were mere work men, after all.

2) Whose side is Smokey on?

All evidence seems to suggest its own. Smokey has attacked both the Losties and the Others, tried to convince Eko and Locke (as Yemi in their dreams) to keep pushing the button for its own purposes and really seems to have no affection whatsoever for anybody but Locke.

I'd really love to see a Ben/Smokey stare down sometime and see what happens. Might not be pretty. :)

3) What is Smokey's agenda?

Again, it seems unclear. On one hand it seems to have some sort of moral code, judging people through its freaky, smoky mind reading trick, trying to get them to repent and redeem themselves. I think this might be why it spared Eko upon their first meeting because, at that time, he was honestly trying to be a "good person."

On the other hand, it desperately wanted the button to be pushed. Was this for self-preservation (maybe it didn't know the failsafe was a possibility and it didn't want to get sucked into magnetized oblivion) or was the Monster really looking out for the best interests of the island?

Regardless, while part of me now kinda believes Juliet may have been kept in the dark, I really think Ben knows a lot more about the Monster than what he's letting on. What do y'all think?

Addendum: As Shelly points out below, the fence was already up and running when Ben came to the island for the purpose of keeping out the "wildlife." This certainly makes it more likely Ben was kept in the dark about Smokey since the fence really seems to be tailored to keep Smokey out. And if the Monster was originally DHARMA's security system, that would mean it likely went crazy long before Ben arrived on the island.

But what I really can't wrap my brain around here is that Ben lived with DHARMA from childhood to adulthood. Assuming Smokey was on a rampage that entire time, I have a hard time believing Ben never was able to find out any information on it from anyone nor anything from all the binders and manuals of info DHARMA left behind. It's one thing to keep your underground bunkers a secret, but crazy, giant Smoke Monsters? Really?

Eh, maybe I am totally off base here. The more I seem to write, the more I can see how the DI wouldn't want to tell their scientists the Monster is a DI creation gone horribly wrong (provided it really is a DI creation - Danielle said the Monster protected the island, after all).

Anyway, maybe my gut reaction that Ben is always lying got too carried away with this one. =)

Six more episodes... and six more episodes?

Ausiello is reporting that with the WGA strike finally over, we may get six additional episodes of Lost this season! Pancake Jack heartily approves.

Lost Episode Review: 4.02 "Confirmed Dead"

If there's something strange
In your neighborhood,
Who ya' gonna call?

Been humming that to myself all morning. You can thank me for getting it into your head later. Right now, there's so much to dissect in this episode I barely know where to begin, so let's get down to it shall we?

Five Questions

1. Who the heck are the Fantastic Four?

Let's go through them one-by-one:

1) Daniel Faraday - Physicist, labeled a "head case" by Naomi. Cried when he heard the news Flight 815 was found. Flashback from Essex, Massachusetts.

2) Miles Straume - Psychic, who appears to speak to dead people, labeled a "Ghostbuster" by Naomi. I imagine his talents will be very useful on this island. Flashback from Inglewood, California.

3) Charlotte Lewis - Cultural anthropologist, labeled as such by Naomi. Elated at finding a polar bear skeleton with a DHARMA Hydra station collar in Tunisia. Her middle name is Staples. Staples?

4) Frank Lapidus - Pilot, labeled a "drunk" by Naomi. Knew the wreckage of Flight 815 was fake because HE was supposed to have piloted that fight and knew his replacement well. Memorized the flight manifest. Flashback from Bermuda (I think).

So what do all these people have in common that makes them so important they were recruited by the delightfully menacing Matthew Abbadon to find Ben? My guess is they all were either associated with, worked for or knew someone who worked for the DHARMA initiative. Charlotte's flashback implies this directly, but we also know that DHARMA used physicists and psychics in their research and must have had pilots on the payroll. Perhaps some of them have even been on the island previously.

So why are they (and Matthew) looking for Ben? Time will tell, but my guess is they suspect he might know what happened to DHARMA. Which brings me to...

2. Where and when was Ben's picture taken?

Okay. Take a look at this photo.



First of all this looks like it was taken off-island at a public place, like an airport. Notice the computer monitor in the background. That is not a 70's era monitor - I'd put it at early-to-mid nineties, maybe later. That means, according to my previous speculations, it must have been taken post-DHARMA Purge. And Ben doesn't look too happy to have had his photo snapped.

All this leads us to ask...

3. Why does Matthew want Ben?

My guess is to find out what happened to DHARMA or, if he already knows what happened, to get revenge for his part in the Purge. Bottom line here is that Matthew certainly knows Ben is alive and at least one part of the Fantastic Four knew what DHARMA was and that they did crazy experiments on polar bears. Which again leads us to...

4. How the heck did a DHARMA polar bear get to Tunisia?

I really don't have much speculation on this one. Could it have something to do with the Orchid Video? Oh, those wacky DHARMA scientists.

5. Jacob, Smokey, Hurley and Locke

This is kinda two questions tied together. First off, Ben and Locke seemed genuinely surprised (and even happy) that Hurley knew about Jacob's cabin (that Locke seemed to be taking a detour around). This makes me think that 1) Hurley is just as special as Jack and Locke and 2) the writers seem to be getting back to the "everybody's here for a reason" theme they had gotten away from since the first season. More fate, less coincidence as it were.

Secondly, the simple fact Locke asked Ben "what is the Monster" is kinda shocking because it implies 1) Locke has no clue what it is and that 2) Smokey is not Jacob. In addition, if Locke is as buddy-buddy with Jacob as he seems, it implies Jacob has no clue what Smokey is either. Are Jacob and the Monster enemies? Is Jacob the white to the Monster's black? Very, very interesting.

And I don't believe Ben for a second when he says he doesn't know. LIIIIIIIAAAAR!

Other tidbits

* Last episode, when Matthew confronted Hurley in the asylum and asked him if "any of them were still alive," he might have been referring to the team he sent, NOT the rest of Flight 815.

* Notice too that none of the Fantastic Four believed that the Flight 815 found in the trench was the real deal. However Matthew and Naomi also didn't expect to find any survivors from it.

* Two great Sawyer nicknames: Col. Kurtz (Locke) and Yoda (Ben).

* Ben's mind games have been delightful these past two episodes. And his point about Sawyer not wanting to leave was a very good one. But dontcha think they would have gagged him by now?

* Judging from Sayid's smile when he saw the helicopter, I'm guessing he's one of the Oceanic 6. Plus I bet he can pilot it.

*"The light scatters differently here." Twitchily cool.

* "Didn't you see my wink?" Heh.

Overall: Another terrific, suspenseful installment, albeit one that leaves us with a plethora of new questions. Love all the newcomers. Here's hoping they live for more than an episode or two. 4.0/5

Flight 815 - Found!

I've been away the past few days, so all my half-finished posts are going to have to wait for next week. In the meantime, we have this week's episode to deal with: Confirmed Dead. Sez' ABC:

The survivors begin to question the intentions of their supposed rescuers when four strangers arrive on the island.

What? That's it? Fortunately Paula has a great preview of the episode up at The Lost Elders you should check out. In addition, Ben posts a recap of the recent Jay & Jack podcast featuring Jorge Garcia, who basically said that 1) the mysterious eye in the cabin was no one we knew yet and 2) that Jacob can apparently change his appearance.

This would seem to mean that Jacob, not Smokey, is behind the primary manifestations on the island (except for Yemi). In addition, if the eye belongs to someone we haven't met yet, could it be the unknown coffin guy Jack was so broke up over in the finale, J. -antham?

As far as the title of the episode goes, I agree with Paula that it probably refers to the fact both Naomi and Penny both said last season that Flight 815 was found and everyone on board was dead. Last month's Find815 webgame (Lostpedia has an excellent summary) showed how this came about. The major points:

1) Sam Thomas, a technician for Oceanic Airlines, is the main character. He was about to propose to his girlfriend, Sonya, who was a flight attendant aboard Flight 815 when it vanished. After the disappearance of the plane, he set out to discover what happened.

2) Someone a shady corporation called The Maxwell Group (which turned out to be a subsidiary of Widmore Industries) claimed that they knew Sonya and sent Sam a picture of her. This led Sam to stow away on a Maxwell funded expedition to find the Black Rock slave trading ship in the Sunda Trench.

3) On the ship Sam meets the shady Oscar Talbot, who's employed by Maxwell Group. They finally locate the spot where the Black Rock is supposed to be located, but instead finds Flight 815, which Sam recognizes instantly. Talbot looks pleased.

4) Later, in a TV press conference, Talbot speaks on how they stumbled upon the ship and that it was "pure chance" they had someone who was "so familiar with the plane" on board. The series ends with Sam looking disbelievingly at his TV screen.

So the Maxwell Group, and by proxy Widmore Industries, appears to have organized this huge hoax to make people think everyone from Flight 815 was dead. Remember that Widmore had previously sent someone else to the island who was killed by the Others: Henry Gale. In addition, Desmond ended up on the island after participating in Charles Widmore's boat race. If Widmore knew about the island before hand and wanted to get rid of Desmond, seems to me he could have sent Libby to give the boat to Desmond and somehow rigged Desmond's maps so he'd end up on the island. Regardless, someone in Maxwell/Widmore has a strong interest in the island and doesn't want people looking for the plane. Are all the newcomers from Maxwell? I guess we'll find out tomorrow! Woo hoo!

Lost Episode 4.01, "The Beginning of the End"

Lost is baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Is everyone as happy as I was last night?

What terrific season opener. The flash forwards were simply a stroke of genius. I actually found myself tonight looking forward to Hurley's off-island activities more than the actual on-island stuff. Wasn't it nice not to have a Jack-centric opener too? I know they really couldn't have had one since Jack closed out Season 3, but after realizing it was a Hurley episode I was positively giddy.

And kudos to Jorge Garcia for a terrific acting job. In fact, y'all should head over and compliment him yourself.

Five Questions/Points from last night:

1. Who's eye is this?



Most people seem to think it was this man:



Which would make sense since he showed up right after Hurley had his Jacob cabin Halloween freak out. But after looking at the screen cap I'm not so sure. It that Locke's eye, tinted dark by the night? Or was someone else in Jacob's cabin with:

2. Christian Shepherd?



Um, dude? WTF? Now in the light of Christian appearing in Monday's mindboggling good mobisode, one has to wonder who's responsible for all the visions on the island? I always thought it was the smoke monster impersonating everyone. But could it be Jacob instead? Or are Jacob and Smokey one and the same?

I don't think Christian Shepherd is actually Jacob - remember that Ben saw his mother on the island too. But I do think, along with the mobisode, that this suggests that Jack is at least as important to the island as Locke, if not more.

3. THEY NEED YOU



Written on Charlie's hand. Kudos to Dominic for a great cameo too. So how far does the island's influence reach? It seems like "it," assuming "it" is the island, is going to great lengths to get them all back if it can send a dead rock star thousands of miles to send a message. I'm kind of digging Charlie now that he's dead too. :)

4. Matthew Abaddon

You just don't trust someone named after the "Angel of the the Abyss."

Hurley may be crazy, but he showed some great insight (for him) in calling him out. This brings up two big questions: What does everyone who got off the island have to keep secret and who's trying to find it out? Is the good Matthew from the same group that landed on the island? Did Locke and the others successfully repel them? Very cool (in a dark, intriguing way) how Jack was simply worried about whether Hurley gave up info rather than seeing Hurley himself.

5. Who are the rest of the Oceanic 6?

Jack, Kate, Hurley. Plus, Desmond did have a vision of Claire leaving the island. If that comes true, it makes four. Jin and Sun certainly have the most incentive to leave , however I think it would probably make for a more dramatic storyline if they didn't make it. Therefore my last two guesses are Sayid and Desmond, both of whom have long-lost loves they really want to return to (remember we know Nadia is living in LA now).

BTW, this is a spoiler free blog. If you know, please don't spill the beans.

Other Random Thoughts

1. I loved how we saw a pre-oxycontin Jack adding alcohol to his morning OJ. He's slowly becoming his father.

2. Also interesting how Hurley couldn't even talk about Ana-Lucia's on-island activities to her partner. Does the vow of silence encompass all island happenings, even ones that are dead?

3. Raise your hand if you thought Smokey (or the island) took Naomi's body at first. I did.

4. Ben was delightfully snarky this episode. Can't wait to have him and Locke go at it (or are they allies now) in the Barracks.

5. So does Kate leave Sawyer behind on the island? And what happens to their (likely) child? Could the "he" Kate was referring to in the Season Finale be their son? I haven't looked forward to a Kate-centric episode since the beginning of Season 2; now I'm positively dying for one.

Overall: Incredible opener. Better than last season, for sure. 4.5/5

The Lost Elders

Just a quick post. I've updated and added some thoughts to one of my oldest posts over at the great, new Lost Elders blog that I'll also be posting at: Who are Adam and Eve? Enjoy!

w00t!

I'm back! Now a newly minted doctor too! :)

Em and I spent the weekend in a little B&B since we really hadn't seen much of each other over the past several days.

Anyhoo I hope to post something or other in the next day or so. In the meantime, if you haven't seen the incredibly awesome LOST Mobisode #13 yet, what the heck are you waiting for!

Sweet, eh?

Top Ten Episodes #1: 3.08 "Flashes Before Your Eyes"

Quote:
I know your name as well as I know that you don't ask Penny to marry you. In fact, you break her heart. Well, breaking her heart, of course, is what drives you in a few short years from now to enter that sailing race to prove her father wrong. Which brings you to the island where you spend the next 3 years of your life entering numbers into the computer...until you are forced to turn that failsafe key. And if you don't do those things, Desmond David Hume, every single one of US is dead. So give me that sodding ring!

TV.com Rating: 9.2 (#28 overall)

Brief Recap: Desmond and Locke return and tell Hurley and Charlie that Eko is dead. :(

Desmond starts acting bonkers and going running off for the beach. Turns out, Claire is in the water and she's drowning. Charlie naturally freaks out, Desmond runs into the water "Baywatch" style and saves her. Charlie gives him the evil Hobbit eye, asked him how he knew she was drowning. Quoth the Hurley:

"I'll tell you how he knew. That guy...sees the future, dude.

Later on, Hurley and Charlie raid Sawyer's stash for a bottle of MacCutcheon Scotch in an attempt to get Desmond drunk and press him about his new ability. It works, they get sloshed, Charlie calls Desmond a coward. Des freaks, jumps all over Charlie:

"You don't want to know what happened to me when I turned that key! You don't want to know!"

And then the fun begins. We go back to the moment when Desmond turned the key and watch him as he travels back in time. He wakes up in his flat. Penny's there, having just moved in. Des is befuddled, but happy.

Desmond goes to see Penny's father, Charles Widmore, under the pretense of asking him for a job. However, he really just wanted to ask him for Penny's hand in marriage. Charles deftly swipes the Most Evil Father In The Lost Universe mantle away from Sun's dad by telling Desmond in no uncertain terms that he's a piece of garbage, unworthy of his daughter. Desmond's heart makes the sound of ultimate suffering. He exits, meets Charlie Hieronymus Pace on the street, recognizes him and realizes he's lived all this before. He predicts it will start to rain and it does.

Desmond goes to see a physicist friend of his to ask him about time travel. His friend thinks he's crazy. Desmond predicts something will happen in the soccer game, it doesn't. That night, Desmond realizes he has a chance to do everything over and decides to ask Penny to marry him anyway.

The next day, Desmond heads to an antique store to buy a ring. He asks the shopwoman, Ms. Hawking, to look at a ring and agrees to buy it. Ms. Hawking laughs and asks for it back. Desmond looks perplexed. Ms. Hawking then blows Desmond's mind with the speech above. Trippy cool.

Ms. Hawking then explains to Desmond, using a poor schmuck with bad taste in footwear as an example, that pushing the button is his fate and the universe has a way of "course correcting" should things go awry. Desmond refuses to believe her.

The next day, Des and Penny are walking along the street. A photographer stops them and takes their picture against a marina backdrop - the photo Desmond's been carrying around the world with him. Penny pays, Desmond freaks out, tells her he can't marry her. Desmond throws the ring into the river in a very, overly dramatic, "Lord of the Rings" way. (As an aside here, how much you want to bet we're going to see that ring again)

Later that day, Desmond's back in the pub. A soccer game is on and the team scores just like he predicted it would before. Desmond realizes he had wrong day and that he really is in the past. Much like Scrooge, he realizes that maybe he can change things... and then he gets whacked and ends up back on the island.

Back on the beach, Desmond's still strangling Charlie. He unfortunately stops, but then utters one of the greatest closing lines of any episode that ever aired on television:

"I'm sorry because...no matter what I try to do. You're going to die, Charlie."

L O S T

Why it's the best episode of LOST:

1. The "wrinkle"

Do you remember how you felt when it slowly dawned on you that Desmond's "flashback" might be real? I remember the episode was aired again the following week (right before "Stranger in a Strange Land" - how much of a downer was that) and I sat there watching every second, utterly fascinated as if I was seeing it for the first time.

Desmond's newfound abilities opened up so many cool theories on what's going on in the show. First off, to me, it opened up a potential explanation as to how all of these coincidences and connections happened on the show and how all these people with intertwined histories end up on the same island together: someone went back in time and arranged the whole thing. Time travel is the deus ex machina to end all deus ex machinas need an explanation as to how Jack and his half-sister both end up on the same flight back to L.A. together? Simple. Someone goes back in time and hires a fake psychic to put her on the plane. Need to correct something horrible that's going to happen in the future? Simple. Go back in time and make sure it never happens.

Maybe that's a bit of a cop out to some, but if used properly it can set up all sorts of wonderful plot lines, like what they did with Charlie last season. Not to mention, after several clunker flashbacks from the mini-series at the beginning of the season, Desmond's trip through time was a wonderful twist on the formula. Best to come along until the finale, anyway. :)

2. The best scene with the best evil father on the show

Desmond	Uh, with all due respect sir. I haven't come here to interview for a position in your company.
Charles Widmore	You haven't?
Desmond	No sir. I came here to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage. We've been together...2 years now and...Pen's moving in. And...I love her. Your permission would mean everything to me.
Charles Widmore	I'm impressed Hume. What a noble gesture.
	[Widmore gets up and crosses over to a wet bar by the wall]
Charles Widmore	You know anything about whiskey?
Desmond	Uh, no I'm afraid not sir.
Charles Widmore	This is a 60 year MacCutcheon. Named after Anderson MacCutcheon, esteemed Admiral from the Royal Navy. He retired with more medals than any man before or since.
	[Widmore gets 2 glasses and the bottle of whiskey and goes back to his desk]
Charles Widmore	Moved to the highlands to see out his remaining years. Admiral MacCutcheon was a great man, Hume.
	[Widmore places the 2 glasses side by side on his desk and opens the bottle of whiskey]
Charles Widmore	This was his crowning achievement.
	[Widmore pours a finger of whiskey into only one glass]
Charles Widmore	This swallow is worth more than you could make in a month.
	[Widmore drinks the whiskey]
Charles Widmore	And to share it with you would be a waste. And a disgrace to the great man who made it. Because you, Hume, will never be a great man.
Desmond	Mr. Widmore. I know I'm not...
Charles Widmore	What you're not...is worthy of drinking my whiskey. How could you ever be worthy of my daughter?

This scene is one of my favorites of the entire show.

Charles Widmore has currently usurped both Christian Shepherd and Mr. Paik in my book as the "father most likely to bring about the destruction of life as we know it." All three men are rich and powerful, with considerable influence. In one of my earliest theories, I thought Christian was still alive and orchestrating everything behind the scenes. We now know that isn't true (well, sorta) and that his body has likely been absorbed by the Monster (like it probably did to some others).

And while there are parallels between Charles Widmore's treatment of Desmond and Mr. Paik's treatment of Jin (both men look down on their daughter's choice of a lower class man), Paik's his motivations appear to stem more from business rather than spite. And Mr. Paik at least gave Jin his blessing to marry his daughter and gave him a position of responsibility within his organization. Charles Widmore has simply done everything humanly possible to destroy Desmond's life. You have to wonder if he was responsible for Desmond getting thrown into military prison too.

Now if you clicked on that third theory link I posted above, you know that there is thought going around that Charles Widmore is a course corrector. In other words, the only reason he's being so harsh with Desmond is to make damn sure he ends up on the island. Especially since he could have easily sent Penny to pick up the wine from the monastery so she'd meet Desmond for the first time.

While part of me could kind of see this, I'm more inclined to think he really is a bastard, and that innate quality is what the real course correctors were counting on. Regardless, in the two short scenes we've seen him, Charles Widmore has simply owned the screen. He's not quite Cigarette Smoking Man, but the potential is certainly there.

3. Ms. Hawking

Desmond	You're here to...to talk me out of marrying Penny. Well, it won't bloody work!
Ms. Hawking	Oh yes it will.
Desmond	No! There is no island. There is no...button. It's madness! I love her, she loves me. I'm going to spend the rest of my life with her!
Ms. Hawking	No, Desmond. You're not.
	[The scaffolding from the construction site suddenly collapses, burying the man with the red sneakers and killing him instantly]
Desmond	Oh my God!
	[Desmond turns and looks at Ms. Hawking]
Desmond	You knew that was going to happen, didn't you!
	[Ms. Hawking silently nods her head yes]
Desmond	Then why didn't you stop it! Why didn't you do anything!
Ms. Hawking	Because it wouldn't matter. Had I warned him about the scaffolding, tomorrow he'd be hit by a taxi. If I warned him about the taxi, he'd fall in the shower and break his neck. The universe, unfortunately, has a way of...course correcting. That man was supposed to die. That was his path. Just as it's your path to go to the island. You don't do it because you choose to, Desmond. You do it because you are supposed to.
Desmond	I'm going to meet Penny in an hour. I've got a ring. She'll say yes. I can choose whatever I want.
Ms. Hawking	You may not like your path, Desmond. But, pushing that button is the only truly great thing that you will ever do.
Desmond	How much for the ring?

Another of my favorite overall scenes. That's two in one episode.

The real question regarding this scene to me, and I've pondered this before, is if Desmond really has a choice or not? On one hand, as Mr. Red Shoes and Charlie seem to indicate, you can't escape your fate, especially if your fate is to die (of course, in that regard we ALL can't escape our fate). However, judging from Ms. Hawking's reaction in the shop it seemed like to me that Desmond certainly did have a choice, otherwise Ms. Hawking wouldn't have had to try and talk him out of it.

Desmond, of course, is a special situation. I imagine most course correctors simply have to nudge the proper people into place at the proper time, like when Desmond met Penny outside the monastery. But what happens when someone you worked so hard to get to the proper place suddenly gets a chance to do it all over again? Do the same fate rules still apply? Ms. Hawking certainly seemed to go out of her way to convince Desmond to leave Penny as he did before. After all, if he was truly fated to end up on the island, Ms. Hawking shouldn't have had to do anything - fate would have taken care of it for her, right?

I think Desmond had a choice. He could have destroyed the world if he wanted to, but instead...

4. Desmond's choice... and heartbreak

Please...let me go back! Let me go back one more time. I'll do it right! I'll do it right this time! I'm sorry Penny! [beginning to cry] I'll change it! I'll change it...

...he had his heart broken all over again. This scene was the second most emotional of the season for me, right behind Locke's first encounter with his wheelchair.

One of the things though that still puzzles me about this scene is how the time travel actually worked. It seems like Desmond's consciousness is what traveled into the past, triggered each time by a traumatic event (Hatch exploding - getting whacked with a bat). Of course, this is very similar to Days of Future Past, which I've talked about before in regards to the finale.

Regardless though, by heart broke along with Desmond watching this scene.

5. The best ending

"When I saw the lightning hit the roof...you were electrocuted. And when you heard Claire was in the water...you, you drowned trying to save her. I dove in myself so you never went in. I...I've tried brother! I've tried twice to save you but...the universe has a way of course correcting and...and I can't stop it forever. I'm sorry. I'm sorry because...no matter what I try to do. You're going to die, Charlie."

Daniel over at The Lost Diary often likes to say that Lost episodes should end "right." That is, when the big black screen with L O S T comes up at the end and the drum sounds, we should be shellshocked, jaws open, blown away and left begging for more. The entire first season did this pretty well, but season two, while there were some good episodes - "Lockdown" and "Man of Science" in particular - largely failed in this regard. Same thing with the season 3 mini-series; the "I Do" cliffhanger was simply awful.

But "Flashes" had the best ending of any episode on the show. Kudos to Dominic and Henry who simply knocked themselves out on the scene. And I simply can't deny that the fact Charlie was the one who was going to die held an incredible amount of evil pleasure for me.

But at that point, being promised Charlie's death was simply icing on the tastiest LOST cake of them all. Mmmm... DHARMA cake... *drool*

Summary: When I initially scratched out my list, this episode was #2 behind "The 23rd Psalm." But as I thought about it more and more, Eko's death in "The Cost of Living" bothered me. It made Eko's utterly incredible past basically seem shallow and meaningless. It made his seemingly genuine attempts at redemption feel false. And ultimately it dropped "23" down to #2.

And that's because everything I felt in "The 23rd Psalm" the first time I saw it, I felt tenfold in "Flashes." Desmond is a tragic character. He's flawed, but he has good intentions. And he's desperately in love with a woman that he ended up running away from rather than fighting for.

So what happens? He's given a second chance to do it all over again, a second chance to right the greatest mistake he ever made in his life. And he seizes it, he's going to do it. Going to do it right this time.

And then he's told that if he takes that chance, if he marries the love of his life, the world as we know it would end. And that he has no choice but to make the same mistake he made all those years ago over again.

So he sacrifices the only thing he loves, the only thing in his life that's ever bought him happiness, to save us all. L O S T

Best. Episode. Evar.

Whatcha think?

(As always, thanks to The Lost Hatch for their excellent episode transcripts)

Previous Reviews:
#10: White Rabbit
#9: The Man From Tallahassee
#8: Exodus
#7: Numbers
#6: Lockdown
#5: Man of Science, Man of Faith
#4: The Pilot
#3: Walkabout
#2: The 23rd Psalm

The Magic Box

Apparently it's sitting in J.J. Abrams' office, unopened. Check out this funny, inspirational little lecture by J.J. - makes you want to go out and write something... and really, really want to watch SOME NEW LOST! :)

Can You Find 815?

Aw, man. There's a new Lost webgame and I don't have time to play. Stupid thesis. :(

Looks like it's going to fill in some of the blanks on the search for Flight 815 - maybe we'll actually come to learn how the flight was "found" in a trench with all persons aboard. It also introduces us to another person on the flight: Sonya, one of the flight attendants.

I'm curious to see in what year this game takes place. Remember that the actions of Rachel Blake in The Lost Experience took place in 2006. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe TLE ever explicitly stated whether Flight 815 had been found as Naomi states on the show (and which Penny confirmed to Charlie in the finale). In other words, if the game is canon, it presumably this webgame takes place long before Naomi's crash on the island.

Have any of you guys started playing? It is fun? Interesting?

I've also put up a new poll. Honestly I was kind of shocked that so many people were sad to see Charlie die. But then I thought I may have worded the question poorly because Charlie's death was sad, even to me, but I wasn't really sad to see him off the show. I think the new poll is closer to what I was curious about. My vote goes to Eko, although Mikhail is a close second.

Back to writing now. *sigh* :(