Lost--Season 6 - Spoilers Abound!!!

[I'm Murrin]

Jack's been destined to replace Jacob since the Lighthouse. It seemed pretty obvious to me that was his role.

Of the others, Kate and Hurley have lives to go back to - Kate got over her problems after she took Aaron, while Hurley may have stayed crazy in the three years off but he's now in a position to live a normal, happy life. Sawyer has a daughter and his outlook has changed since Juliet, maybe he can make something of himself if he goes back.

Jack lost everything, and has nothing to go back to.

[Zarathustra]

I haven't been posting in my own thread for a while. I've been increasingly disappointed with each new episode, but last week's was just utter shit. A wheel that turns water and light? And that moves the island? 2000 year old corpses in tropical rainforest still have clothing? Slow-motion "our obsessive audience is too stupid to remember the mystery of the cave corpses" season 1 recap?? Magic Kool-aid. Super hole-filling, village killing, mom. Uhg.

I'm starting to fear that we're not going to get answers to the larger questions. Walt. The numbers. Super powers in multiple characters. Aaron. Why pregnant women die on the island. What is the island. How can it move through time.

Maybe they'll surprise me and save all the big answers for the finale, but I'm really worried that this has been a massive waste of time.

I was surprised when Jack stepped up to take on Jacob's task. I figured it would be Hurley.

I wasn't surprised, but for a second I thought it might be Hurley. I knew it couldn't be Sawyer or Kate, but Hurley's connection to Jacob and his growing role this season seemed to be preparing us for something. I think his "glad it wasn't me" comment was a nod to the audience that the writers knew we might suspect him.

Wondering what Ben's up to at this point. I thought at first that maybe he only wanted Widmore dead, not that he wanted to help Locke, but I'm not sure. Now that Locke's told him he's going to destroy the island, after telling Ben he'd have the island to himself (I don't think Ben believed him anyway), I don't know where Ben will go.

That was one of the best things of this episode. Ben back to being Ben. (I also liked how his facial bruising is starting to match in both worlds ... remind you of any leper we all know? ). I didn't notice how Locke contradicted himself until you pointed it out. Seems pretty dumb now. But I guess it was just manipulation. And Ben's cool with it. He seems to have made peace with his own manipulation (or has a final twist up his sleeve).

I think this episode really made things clear--why Jacob brought the people to the island; why they're there. What the island is; what that light is; that should hopefully be answered at the season finale.

If you can explain how it's more clear now than before, I'm all ears. The only thing we learned was that the reason they were brought here included the motivation of fixing Jacob's mistake (which is the sole detail from last week's episode that has any purpose, apparently). Other than that, we already knew they were all flawed, that they were candidates for replacing him, and that they needed to protect the island. What else was new? This was a classic Lost tease.

This finale better be awesome

Absolutely. I'm going to be drinking homebrew, have a cookout, and probably be posting during commercials. Who's with me?

[I'm Murrin]

Considering that Desmond and Hurley, at least, are now fully awake, the direction of the sideways universe does not seem to be aiming toward its continuation. If we consider the origin of that timeline, then to resolve such a story satisfactorily they will have to explain the Incident, what it actually did, and how it can be fixed in the final episode.

[Akasri]

I imagine they were also candidates--but they got killed off themselves over the course of the show. There were a lot of names on that cave wall, ya know.

Surely not everyone on the plane was a candidate... Seems like an excessive loss of life just to get 6 people to the island.

And why now? What has changed that makes Jacob need a replacement? Is it just that he is only immortal for a limited time (to quote Rush )?

[Mighara Sovmadhi]

Ok, so Jacob brought the candidates to the island because they were flawed and he needed one of them to take over for him... what about the other 50-100 people (or however many) on flight 815 that died as a result? They were just collateral damage?

If he could travel to/from the island at will, as it seems he could, couldn't he have found a better way to get them there without the high body count?

Jacob didn't directly (or even indirectly) cause the plane crash. But it seems like he can predict or intuit the future in certain ways, and so bringing his candidates to the island means guiding them towards something he knows will lead them there. So I wouldn't think of him as having done something bad re: the candidates ending up there.

On a side note, I was wrong about what the episode would tell us, and now I'm at a loss: what DID Sayid, Jin, and Sun die for, exactly? Jacob didn't explain anything more than viewers could've learned from "Across the Sea." So the title of this ep. seemed kinda pointless.

No way "The End" could be a misnomer, though...

[I'm Murrin]

The end is the beginning is the end.

[Orlion]

I imagine they were also candidates--but they got killed off themselves over the course of the show. There were a lot of names on that cave wall, ya know.

Surely not everyone on the plane was a candidate... Seems like an excessive loss of life just to get 6 people to the island.

And why now? What has changed that makes Jacob need a replacement? Is it just that he is only immortal for a limited time (to quote Rush )?

He knew that his brother was out to kill him and that, as a result, the island would need a protector. He probably knew since Ben Linus rose to prominence, which is why he's actively looking for candidates now instead of years ago.

As far as the amount of people dying... apparently, if Smokey gets off the island, the whole world will be at his mercy assuming nothing else happens as a result. Though tragic, I'd say the body count is paltry compared to the whole world being smothered.

Also, I never thought Hurley would choose to be the Protector, he has absolutely no confidence. Sawyer could have been, having lost everything himself. However, his meeting with FLocke gave him the desire to just leave the island all together. Kate could, in theory, though there's a lot she wants to do (for surprising selfless purposes).

The line "it's just chalk" I think is very significant. It shows that overall, Jacob wants his successor to have one characteristic : That he/she had chosen. It also shows that instead of just plucking whoever may be best, he wants to choose someone who will benefit from the position. That's also a point of the sideways universe: it shows that even though the castaways seem to be living better, there are even more important experiences that they lost as a result of never being on the island. To the point that those who have perceived are working towards its realization.

As far as answers in the episode, I think there were significant clarifications. We know that the light exists still separate from Esau, that he apparently wants/ needs to destroy it. That he went after the candidates first because Jacob still was able to protect the Source for a little while longer, that Desmond s a "failsafe"... somehow, he's meant to enter the heart of the Island. I'm actually quite excited for the finale.

And I further think that Walt hardly counts as a big question, I'm more concerned as to whether or not Vincent survived

[Akasri]

I just thought of something.

Spoiler

Ben shot Widmore last night... but didn't he say back a couple seasons that he couldn't kill Widmore?

[I'm Murrin]

I think the issue with everyone dying if Jacob's brother leaves is the same thing that Mother told them - if the light goes out on the Island, it goes out everywhere. If Jacob's brother leaves the Island now, with that part of the Source he became, it will cause the light to go out.

[Worm of Despite]

I think this episode really made things clear--why Jacob brought the people to the island; why they're there. What the island is; what that light is; that should hopefully be answered at the season finale.

If you can explain how it's more clear now than before, I'm all ears. The only thing we learned was that the reason they were brought here included the motivation of fixing Jacob's mistake (which is the sole detail from last week's episode that has any purpose, apparently). Other than that, we already knew they were all flawed, that they were candidates for replacing him, and that they needed to protect the island. What else was new? This was a classic Lost tease.

Yes; all those things we knew, but exactly why is much clearer (for me). So I think there was a bit more than a tease. As for the "numbers", Walt's powers, the polar bear--those things seem kind of minor, don't you think? Maybe they'll answer them, maybe not; for me it's not very consequential. If they can just wrap this story up nicely, I'll be satisfied. A lot of great works of lit. have a few mysteries (and often on purpose). Again; I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and believe they'll pull this one through.

I imagine they were also candidates--but they got killed off themselves over the course of the show. There were a lot of names on that cave wall, ya know.

Surely not everyone on the plane was a candidate... Seems like an excessive loss of life just to get 6 people to the island.

And why now? What has changed that makes Jacob need a replacement? Is it just that he is only immortal for a limited time (to quote Rush )?

He's probably been trying to get candidates for a while. And the only "rush" (if you can call hundreds of years of his waiting a rush) is that he's probably tired of doing his job and just living in general. I think anybody might find life a bit tiring after thousands of years (many people find it so after just 50, and they don't have an island they're stuck on).

[Zarathustra]

Well, it's all inconsequential. It's just a damn TV show. But the numbers at the very least seem like a big deal. They pop up everywhere. How does the island control the lottery? Hurley's odometer? Cheerleader uniforms in airports (season 1 finale)? These are phenomena completely outside of the island. Its mystical powers must extend to the entire earth, down to its smallest details. Seems pretty important to me.

[Vraith]

I think I heard the cast is going to be on Jimmy Kimmel right after the end?
I'm chuckling to myself, hearing Paul Harvey, or whoever it was, saying "And now....the rest of the story..." and the cast telling us all the little answers the show didn't bother to reveal.

[wayfriend]

Don't give up on Hurley being the Protector yet, folks. Did anyone else notice Hurley saying, "I'm glad I don't have THAT job." I call that an ironic foreshadowing.

As for Ben ... didn't Locke promise Ben the island first, and then later say he's going to destroy the island? If that's right, Ben is certainly thinking about switching sides again. And is "the island will be yours" also ironic foreshadowing? I'm still hoping Ben is redeemed, and becomes the Protector, before the end.

And was it Ben or Locke that killed Widmore? I can't remember already. If it was Locke, then there was no inconsistency there.

I liked Jacob's line about Kate and the Chalk. It was downright one of the most awesome lines in the show. "It's just a line of chalk". We were so freaked out.

What else will turn out to be a line of chalk, I wonder.

[I'm Murrin]

Ben shot Widmore two or three times just as he was whispering the truth about Desmond to Locke. That's what made me think he had only wanted to see Widmore die, and did not want to actually help Locke.

[Worm of Despite]

The finale's a 2-hour premier (or a bit longer, I can't recall or be bothered to check up on Lostpedia), but maybe one hour of the show will be devoted to the actual plot, while the 2nd hour the producers will just be sitting in a chair answering the rest of our questions. =P

[wayfriend]

Ben shot Widmore two or three times just as he was whispering the truth about Desmond to Locke. That's what made me think he had only wanted to see Widmore die, and did not want to actually help Locke.

Oh yeah. And then he said "his daughter doesn't get to live" or something like that.

That seems like enough motive to me. Ben was infuriated that his daugher would be saved. So he made sure Widmore would not be around to enjoy it. "Temporary insanity" seems to apply here.

while the 2nd hour the producers will just be sitting in a chair answering the rest of our questions. =P

... until the fire goes out.

[Worm of Despite]

while the 2nd hour the producers will just be sitting in a chair answering the rest of our questions. =P

... until the fire goes out.

Bad-dum tish!

[Kil Tyme]

I am hoping the end will make sense of the rest of the season, let alone the whole series. Then I can rewatch season 6 and maybe actually enjoy it 2nd time around. The last two eps have been better and would have probably been outstanding if it weren't for the clock ticking on answering questions.

When Jacob was enchanting the water before he gave it to Jack to drink, top on my mind was "Is he going to teach Jack how to enchant the water for his own replacement?" I have a feeling Jacob will be leaving a piss-poor passdown for Jack. "See ya; don't wanna be ya!" That, or Jacob is faking the water thing. Remember, momma smoke went crazy towards the end of her tour of duty on the island; Jacob may have also. Actually, dooming dozens to die in the airplane crash that brought the candidates to the island is just as bad as momma wiping out the ancients.

[dANdeLION]

Jack will be there with his son and (still unnamed) ex-wife.

They showed an ex-wife way back in Season 1; the girl Jack cured the same way he wants to cure Locke.....boy, that was a long time ago!

[I'm Murrin]

We have not had any indication whether or not that series of events ever happened in the sideways timeline.


Ben again: He said "He doesn't get to save his daughter", which is another bit of a turnaround for Ben, given that he decided in season 5 not to kill Penny after seeing she was a mother, and later passed on an apology to Desmond for hurting him.