the tindog coffeehouse

I’ve been a huge fan of Lost since Season 1, but for whatever reason I’ve only blogged about it (briefly) once. And I’m not really starting now. After all, there are so many other, better places to find in-depth reviews, analyses, and theories. But with so much going on in this final season, I just wanted to jot down my initial thoughts of last night’s episode, braindump style. I’ll try to update the list throughout the week as I read through everyone else’s ideas, and hopefully I’ll repeat the process for the entire season.

That being said, here goes (in no particular order):

• So fake-Locke is the resurrected/reincarnated Man in Black, and fake-Sayid is the resurrected/reincarnated Jacob. Which means that the actors we saw in the Season 5 finale were probably resurrected/reincarnated as well. In other words, the battle between the two characters has been going on for a long, long time. When one body dies, the spirit of that character moves on to another host and the cycle continues. That is, until the Man in Black finds his loophole.
• Interesting that MIB says he just wants to go home. Where’s that? Anywhere but the island. (Think metaphysically, not geographically.)
• Smokey is another incarnation of MIB! Interesting how Smokey lives not in the Temple, but in the catacombs underneath and outside of it, an underworld if you will. A realm of the undead, much like Hades. Does that mean MIB is undead, sentenced to an eternal captivity, eternal damnation? Certainly seems that way. Remember, Lucifer (Satan) was condemned by God, cast out of Heaven, and sentenced to an eternity in Hell (Hades) (Ezekiel 28:15-16, Luke 10:18). And much like the Smoke Monster, the Bible says Satan comes to “steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10).
• Love the imagery of Sayid being lowered into the water and raised again, arms splayed as if he were on a cross, then coming back to life. A true baptism: a death of the old life, washing away his sin, then being reborn in the image of Christ and consumed by the Holy Spirit.
• Does that mean Jacob is the equivalent to Jesus/the Holy Spirit? Remember: “God loves you as He loved Jacob”. And “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
• Is that why Richard Alpert doesn’t age? MIB said Richard looked different out of his chains, but were those chains literal or metaphorical? Was he set free from bondage/sin by Jacob in return for eternal life?
• Interesting that MIB took the form of dead-for-real John Locke, yet Locke’s body remained. Meanwhile, when Sayid came back to life, he was still in his own body. So maybe the Jacob-inhabiting-Sayid theory isn’t true after all.
• Juliet told Miles that the reset worked, and it did — in a way. The Losties are back on Oceanic 815 but in an alternate version, a separate reality string. This reminded me of Desmond’s flashes, memories of events that really didn’t happen in his past but were happening simultaneously in a different reality string. Which reminds me of Ms. Hawkins’ warning that you can try to change the future (or the past), but the universe has a way of self-correcting. In other words, even though the reset worked in a way, the Losties will still end up however they were destined to end up. (Again, rehashing Lost’s themes of free will vs. determinism!)
• Funny how some of the the alternate universe Losties are better off than their originals and some aren’t. Hurley is now the luckiest guy in the world instead of the unluckiest. And Locke finally got to go on his walkabout. But yet, Locke is still returning home to world in which he is crippled and emotionally broken. Kate is still in handcuffs. Charlie is still a drug addict. Jin is still a henchmen for his father-in-law. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
• Was Claire on the plane? We saw her in a cab at LAX but not on the plane. We also didn’t see Michael, Walt, Libby, Ana Lucia, Eko, or Nikki and Paulo. Were they (the characters) on the flight? Maybe, maybe not. After all, Shannon wasn’t. Hmm…
• Frogurt was on the flight. How awesome was that?
• How can you not love Rose and Bernard?
• Glad to hear Greg Grunberg’s voice as the Oceanic 815 pilot.
• What about the battle for the island between Ben and Widmore? I hope we don’t get so focused on Jacob/MIB that we forget about them. Because there are so many unanswered and unresolved issues there.
• Ms. Hawkins warned Desmond last season that the island wasn’t done with him yet. I hope she’s right. Because that’s another set of unresolved questions.
• How does Christian Shepherd fit into this whole thing? I think the fact that his body is missing in the alternate universe is very telling. That was absolutely intentional.

Whew! I think that’s it for now.

My brain hurts!