Lost--Season 6 - Spoilers Abound!!!

[danlo]

I dying tonight cause I expect GREAT thing out of this episode (I thought last week's was good and served it's purpose, though not one of the better ones), but can't watch as it's on the same time as the (#10 ranked) New Mexico Lobos basketball game. Fortunately I have DVR so I'll have to avoid this place until 6pm tomorrow.

[Kil Tyme]

Another episode and more questions, no real answers. I don't give a flip about the flash-sideways storylines. I grow weary...

[Akasri]

The scenes at the lighthouse were good - I was hoping when Jack did what he did (being vague to avoid spoilers) it would have affected his parallel life. That would have been an interesting twist, but no

[Zarathustra]

OK, I'm done making excuses. This season sucks. I thought it was just a "shifting gears" kind of thing. But this is more like stuck in a rut. There is no point to anything happening on the island. There is so little for these characters to do, they actually had Hurley and Miles playing Tic Tac Freaking Toe! Jesus. Jin gets caught in a bear trap last week, and then spends this entire episode on his butt. Jack and Kate meet each other in the jungle, say "hi," part ways. Nothing to see here; move along.

I get the point of Jacob showing Jack that he's been manipulated, which will hopefully jump start the angry-got-to-do-something Jack. But that could have been handled in one scene, not an entire episode.

They do not need to dedicate each episode to a single character!! There is no time for this. There are too many characters. We need to see this "war" between Widmore and . . . Ben? Is it still Ben? What the hell happened to that plotline? The man who "always has a plan" has been reduced to standing around. There is no war.

This build up and recruiting should have been done last season. We haven't had a painfully slow "where the hell is this going" arc like this since season 2. This is horrible.

[Cagliostro]

Well, we're seeing now a little bleeding over between the two parallel worlds now (Jack's scar). I suspect this will just start getting to be a bit more prevalent throughout the rest of the season. Also, is anybody noticing the strange sounds of the "whoosh" as they switch between flash-sideways? It sorta sounds like the plane crash. Very curious.

That blog I keep following keeps giving better and better stuff. Here's last weeks episode, and what he thinks is what is really going on. I think it fits. This could be a spoiler for the series overall, so read at your own risk.

5. the hatch all over again

here's how i'm seeing the bigger picture..

the monster is evil. pure evil. and the island exists purely as a containment system for it. jacob's job is the same as desmond's - he is 'manning the station,' ensuring the safety and protection of the rest of the world, and like desmond in the hatch, jacob is waiting for his replacement to come.

i'm guessing that it was the egyptians who discovered the island's powers, built the donkey wheel, tricked the monster into coming, then pushed the wheel, trapping him there forever. the monster says there's nothing to protect on the island, because he is the purpose of the island. it's only true function is to be his prison, all of its time and space manipulation properties exist to keep the world safe from the dangers contained within - and the only person who can release him is jacob's successor.

i have a sneaking feeling that in the parallel timeline, desmond is jacob's sucessor, echoing his 'savior of the world' position in the hatch, and that his appearance on the plane, reading (just like jacob before meeting locke), he touches jack just like jacob during their handshake, and then his mysterious disappearance, were all jacob-style 'pushes' to bring about his replacement. somehow, in the parallel timeline, is desmond is back 'manning the hatch' on a cosmic level? though, seeing as how the island is underwater in this timeline, there are still a million questions to answer before any of that will fully make sense.
----------------------

the final scene between nemesis and sawyer is eerily reminiscent of the scene between inman and desmond during the season 2 finale. desmond discovers that inman had been repairing his boat, and planning to abandon him, leaving him to push the button by himself. in their final fight, inman asks desmond to leave the island with him.

inman: want to come with me?
desmond: come where? what about the button?
inman: screw the button, man. who knows if it's even real?
desmond: that's not what you said when you were going on and on about dams and electromagnetics and failsafes!
inman: well, i was drunk.
desmond: why did you lie to me?
inman: i lied to you because i needed a sucker to save the world after i left.
desmond: you crazy old bastard! you stole my life!!
inman: oh, come on.
desmond: what else did you lie to me about?! what else? tell me?!

the same situation is echoed in the nemesis' struggle to leave the island. he needs those on the list to either die, join him (possibly the same as dying), or take over for jacob (and subsequently release him). in all circumstances, he must wait until the game is fully played out. it means that in order for the endgame to take place, both jacob and nemesis (and all parties affiliated with either side) are simply waiting for those final names to be crossed out. let me tell you, my excitement over this revelation nearly caused me to use allcaps here (though rob talked me out of it) -- finally, we finally have the true payoff to the 'you need to come back' storyline!!! all of it, all of it originates from jacob's search for a successor, and nemesis needing to place his man in that position. finally that huge gaping hole in the narrative drive of seasons 4 and 5 is filled!

[Akasri]

Also, is anybody noticing the strange sounds of the "whoosh" as they switch between flash-sideways? It sorta sounds like the plane crash. Very curious.

I've thought that same thing. It sounds like the sound effect when the plane first started ripping apart.

[Cagliostro]

And yeah, Z, I agree...I'm still a bit frustrated, and really a) hope that the flash-sideways/alternate reality/universe next door thing goes somewhere other than just saying goodbye to the characters and b) really want the main timeline to start really picking up and giving characters something to do. Because so far, it's coming out a bit as the writers self-pleasure (on point a), though hopefully we'll start seeing the point of them soon. We were given a hint this week that it probably is going somewhere. I'm trying to be patient, but with so much to wrap up, they are doing far too much goofing around. If they are going to have an information dump, I'd rather they'd do it now than wait until the last few episodes, or otherwise this season will continue to be frustrating. And I'd say the same thing about the slow "where the hell is this going" arc, but I'd compare it to season 3.

I just wish the ads would stop saying "The time for questions is over." Because the majority of what they have been doing so far this season is starting up new ones. And yes...if this were season 6 of 7 seasons, I'd be taking this season in stride.

[Akasri]

On another note... who is Jacob expecting to come to the island?

And will he be able to make it to the island since the lighthouse is broken?

[Cagliostro]

Desmond, perhaps? And maybe with Widmore in tow so that we could get all the players in the same spot.

[Vraith]

Yea, the whoosh got really obvious last night, and it does sound jet-y.
I'm glad the bleeding over appears to be happening...I was beginning to think
I'd never predict anything right.
The pace isn't bugging me too much yet, but I can forsee a near future when it will...what is bugging me is the loss of group relationships/dynamics/char. interactions, and the pointing towards an "Evil is in a cage, one must be chosen to guard it" conclusion.

[Akasri]

Desmond, perhaps? And maybe with Widmore in tow so that we could get all the players in the same spot.

I was thinking Widmore and/or Desmond as well. There's really not anyone else that's not already accounted for unless Aaron or Walt would show up somehow.

Waaaaallltttt!!!!

/shudder

[Cagliostro]

Aaron is a distinct possibility, if he isn't the blond kid the Locke-less monster was being taunted by. Hell, with Claire all infected and dangerous, it could be that Aaron might come back into the story.

[Orlion]

Spoiler

As far as the island being there to contain an evil, I've been saying that since season 1

Perhaps this "infection" is not the result of the MiB, but what made the MiB what he is (i.e. from a man to a smoke monster). This, of course, is just thinking out loud. We may end up with a replacement for both. (i.e., Jack as the new Jacob, Sayid as the new MiB).

Also, does anyone else get the feeling that the "present time line" is in the same universe as the alternate flash sideways? I mean, maybe in the alternate universe, the bomb did annihilate the island, however, maybe the donkey wheel caused the other island to end up in the alternate universe, and whatever ends up happening is going to cause it to sink into the ocean.

Yeah, this season is starting to piss me off something fierce. I don't car that Shannon's inhaler happened to be at the caves all this time... all I have to say is that next week's episode better be as kick-ass as the advertisement implied, or I might be inclined to complain some more

[I'm Murrin]

Haven't seen this week's episode yet (still isn't available to download, arg), but I'm doubtful of the chances that I'll see an episode I like as much as I did The Constant in S4. S5 and 6 just haven't been quite the same as earlier ones.

[ItisWritten]

I just wish the ads would stop saying "The time for questions is over."

If there's anything more annoying than telling me to watch when I'm already watching, I can't think of it. Oh, wait. Yes I can. Telling me there will be answers as if they'll be on the next episode. But they've been saying that all season.

Rant aside, I'm not so irritated with the pace as some. Yeah, it seems they're spending too much time sideways, but we're also learning about who these people are by seeing what they do without the island influence. Dysfunctional Jack finds the connection with his kid. Kate doubles back to undo a dirty deed. Locke comes to grips with his disability. If none of this matters I'll be pissed, but I'm still buying it for now.

Just an idle thought ... all that machine-like clanking that accompanies smokey's movements, particularly in last week's episode, could that be his chains?

[Cagliostro]

Just an idle thought ... all that machine-like clanking that accompanies smokey's movements, particularly in last week's episode, could that be his chains?

Nahhhh....it's a rolley-coaster!

[Zarathustra]

IIW, I don't mind the sideways flashes nearly as much as the events on the island. I did not wait 5 years to watch Hurley play Tic Tac Toe at the temple! And while I like fake Locke recruiting Sawyer, he didn't have to take him to the cave to do this. He could have just told Sawyer everything at Sawyer's house. Anyone (incl. fake Locke) could have written their names on the cave wall. I don't see how that was proof of anything. It was filler to stretch out the reveal for a full hour.

If this is the entire explanation for the numbers, I'll be really disappointed. Merely forming yet another seemingly random connection isn't an explantion.

Murrin, I agree that The Constant was the single best episode of Lost. Right up there with "Walkabout" and the season finales of 1 and 2. However, I think season 5 was the best season so far. I almost wish it the entire series had ended with the white flash after Juliette hits the bomb, and let us draw our own conclusions from there.

[Vraith]

I almost wish it the entire series had ended with the white flash after Juliette hits the bomb, and let us draw our own conclusions from there.

In a way, that would have been fun, just to listen to so many peope screaming WTF!

OTOH, I remember how mad I was when "Twin Peaks" ended with Bob taking over Cooper and saying "see ya in 20 years."

[I'm Murrin]

I've been thinking about the structure of the last few episodes, and I think they've got their story threads a bit too mixed up in the interests of focusing on characters.

The lighthouse storyline and the visit of Sawyer and Locke to the cave compliment each other; if you rearranged some content so that Locke's episode began with Richard and ended with him visiting Sawyer in Otherton (I'm not sure where they'd pull extra story content from), they could have put the lighthouse and cave sections into the same episode, and the episode would end with a much bigger feeling mystery, the names in the cave and the names on the lighthouse being revealed at the same time. Not to mention it would place the nemesis and Jacob side by side in the same episode.

In a similar vein, the storyline of Jin and Claire should have been part of Kate's episode. If they had sped up the early portions of that episode, so that Jin is captured sooner, then you get the juxtaposition of Claire in the other reality and Claire on the island, and you end with more complimentary moments: Claire and Kate saying goodbye in LA, Kate setting off to find Claire, and Claire saying if Kate had raised Aaron she would kill her (the perfect moment to end on, placed right after the happy hospital scene).

[Worm of Despite]

I think the whole thing's a bit of a mess. Season I-IV felt much clearer and easier to follow, while V felt choppy, disorienting, and outright lacking the spacious cinematography of the island I had so enjoyed in the first four seasons. I mean, season 5 had talking heads and tight shots of the jungle, but nothing like the awe-inspiring pans or slowly rising shots of mountains, ocean shores, etc. Just no inspiration.

And the revelations of season 5 and 6 are smaller, Diet versions of Seasons 1-4's. They're drawn out longer and just not as many bangs per dollar. Season 4 eps. were snappier--even before the opening credits stopped rolling.

I'd say though--this season improves over 5, being that it hints there'll be answers, whereas 5 was just a lot of elevator music until they got to the island (I found none of the off-island stuff interesting, which is a big no-no; it was always interesting before), and it took the whole season for things that shouldn't have taken so long, (way too many episodes showing how they got back to the island; waaay too long a trek to get Ben and the Locke Monster just to see Jacob). Exploding a nuclear bomb, really? Really? Very delicate solution for a spinal surgeon, Jack.

Bad Lost. Bad. No biscuits. A shame, too. The show's still interesting, and I do want to see how it ends, of course, but it coulda been perfect.