If you’re anything like us, a little part of you died along with Sun and Jin in this week’s episode of Lost. But though we’re in mourning, we know the best way to honor the dead is to seek out answers to the mysterious forces that claimed their lives (and Sayid’s). With time running low before the series concludes, we’re still wondering what Widmore’s endgame is, if Lapidus is really dead (and why they kept him around so long if he is), what Smokey’s intentions are, and just about a million other things. Seeking solace, we turned to our trusty gang of online recappers, mad geniuses, and commenters to check in on their latest ramblings. See what they have to say about the C4 on the plane and whether or not Jack is Jacob’s replacement.
• Curious as to how the Man in Black knew that some of our Losties survived the bomb? He’d have been able to leave had they all died. This blogger also wonders if Crazy Jungle Claire will snap back to being her old self (à la Sayid), and asks if quality time with the candidates will cause this change. Perhaps she needs a visit to Desmond’s well … [Televisionary]
• The Washington Post’s dueling bloggers have differing opinions on what MiB is up to. One argues that MiB conned everyone not just to get off the island, but to prove his point to Jacob — that, in the end, people will give in to their darker sides, and lie and betray one another. The other doesn’t think Sawyer’s instincts were necessarily wrong; after all, the last time he trusted Jack about a bomb, the love of his life was killed. Meanwhile, Sayid’s good side won out, Jin kept his promise to never leave his wife, and Hurley and Jack both saved lives — so it appears good did win out, for the time being. They do agree, however, that all of sideways Jack’s 815 moments were lacking. For the amount of “coincidences†he experienced, you’d think he would be a tad more intrigued, if he wasn’t going to have a download of understanding, the way Hurley and Desmond did. Should we read into this? Bonus: Is Bernard up to something? [Celebritology/WP]
• How’s this for “coincidences� The four people who survived the sub explosion — Hurley, Kate, Jack, and Sawyer — were the same four people the Others asked Michael for in exchange for WAAAAAALT way back in season two. Speaking of Kate, don’t worry about her gunshot wound, because plenty of other characters have survived shots to the shoulder, including Sayid, Ben, and Sawyer. Also, were you wondering what Ben, Miles, and Richard have been up to? They were the ones who wired the plane with C4, and they’ve probably been shot at by time-traveling Sawyer, Juliet, et al. Bonus crazy theory: Flocke is going to fly the Ajira plane off the island himself, with the pilot training he downloaded from Locke’s memories and skills. [JOpinionated]
• Sideways Locke has clearly had some glimpses of his island self, but he seems to be more resistant to these visions than other characters. Could that be the case because he has a more satisfactory life in the alternate timeline? (Aside from the whole plane crash thing, of course.) [Inside Pulse TV]
• Smokey’s con rested on the argument that Widmore wanted them to take the plane so that he could blow them up, which explained why there were only two men guarding it. But since this was likely a lie, why did Widmore leave the plane so unprotected? There must be a reason, unless he’s just running out of people. [Tuned In/Time]
• Why did so many of our characters actually trust Flocke? Haven’t they found all his murders a bit suspicious? Of course, this writer admits he can’t be sure, as he personally has “never been stranded (for the second time) on a magical time-jumping tropical island filled with shape-shifting smoke monsters inhabiting the bodies of my dead friends.†Also, for an episode with so much Dr. Shephard, where’s Jack’s son? [Videogum]
• If Sawyer had listened to Jack, then those submarine deaths would have been avoided, which cements Jack’s position as a leader. But since Sawyer didn’t listen, he’s going to have to give up that grudge against Jack, since the error judgment he attributed to the doctor is overshadowed only by his own bad decision on the submarine, which resulted in more deaths. [MTV Movies Blog]
• The theory that sideways Locke is actually the Man in Black doesn’t seem plausible anymore, given the sad burden that this Locke must carry. If this is a world of Smokey’s creation, then why make it so hard on “himself� [Watcher/Chicago Tribune]
• After looking at the music box and into its mirror, Jack invites Claire to stay with him. Coincidence? No way. The whole reason for the music box was for them to share a moment and bring them closer together. [Ed: And what if the music box was given to lawyer Ilana by Desmond?] [Buddy TV]
• This writer argues that all these mirrors are metaphors at best, red herrings at worst. Jack and Claire both looked into a mirror last night and nothing happened. There simply is no pattern, so we have to assume this is just a visual cue that the alt-verse is a reflection of the other universe. [TV Club/Slate]
• Daniel Dae Kim wants viewers to know that Jin didn’t totally forget about Ji Yeon. Look closely, and you’ll notice there is a moment where Jin looks away from Sun towards the door, and wonders if he should leave for his daughter. He also says [MINOR-BUT-NOT-REALLY SPOILER ALERT] we’re going to see Jin and Sun again somehow. [E! Online]
• Why isn’t Anthony Cooper evil in the sideways timeline? Could it be related to the island being underwater? It also appears that the Sawyer-Kate-Jack love triangle may be back, as they showed us both the cages of sex and Kate’s sobs of relief when she sees Jack back on the beach. [Watch with Kristen/E! Online]
• This blogger, while worried about what the Paiks will do to Ji Yeon, reminds us not to be too upset about Ji Yeon being an orphan, since, let’s be serious, the chances of Jin and Sun making it off that island were slim to none to begin with. She also thinks Bernard knows more than he’s letting on. He remembered Anthony Cooper a little too quickly. Plus: Is it significant that Christian died exactly the same way in both timelines? [Nik at Nite]
• Could Ji Yeon’s new orphan status be proof that it’s the sideways timeline that’s going to “win out� And with both the sub and our trained pilot gone, it seems like no one is going to leave the island. [Long Live Locke]
• Doc Jensen, on the other hand, thinks this episode proved that something is truly off with the sideways timeline. All of the Oceanic 815 coincidences Jack encountered left him slightly flustered; perhaps he needs a few more of these to wake up, so to speak? Or will there be “One Big Moment� Furthermore, he wants to know what these rules governing the island are, especially since it seems like Flocke really can kill the candidates … but perhaps if they die of his hand, Smokey can’t escape. Doc also makes a good point about the bomb: If Jack’s theory that Smokey needed the castaways to do something to the bomb for it to go off was correct, then it’s a good thing for Flocke that Kate got shot, or Jack never would have looked inside his bag. Finally, he offers up this excellent opinion on Sun and Jin’s deaths, which we couldn’t have put better ourselves:
What the hell is so wrong with only focusing on Jin and Sun as a marital unit? Let me tell you what’s wrong with that: Nothing. I think it’s awesome that Lost chose to tell us a story about two people who took their marriage seriously, who worked through their problems when their union was in crisis, who forgave each other for their sins and redeemed their transgressions by using them as opportunities to build a stronger relationship (Jin’s admission in â€Ji Yeon†that he was basically responsible for Sun’s infidelity was a powerful expression of grace and reflection), who saw themselves a better and greater when they were together than apart. I am grateful that Lost told that story. Lost is better for telling that story than not telling any other Jin and Sun story. I am not saying it was perfect. I’m saying I appreciate it for what it was, not what it wasn’t.
• Did Lapidus die? We saw him get hit by the exploding door, but we didn’t see his body the way we saw Jin and Sun’s. Plus, if he died in the sub, what was the point of having him follow everyone around all season? [TV Guide]
• Anyone who’s confused about the C4 on the plane should just keep in mind that Smokey knew it was there all along and used it to his advantage. Why else would he have grabbed that watch of the dead guard’s wrist before even setting foot on the plane? [Magic Lamp]
• In a radical departure from conventional thinking, this writer suggests that Smokey hasn’t been able to leave the island because, just like every other person brought there, he has issues to deal with. The notion that he is trapped there by external forces is just a distraction from the reality that he needs to overcome his own barriers. [DocArzt’s LOST Blog]
• Everyone assumes that the alt-verse takes place in 2004, and that may very well be the case. But what if, somehow, it is running concurrently with the real timeline? This would explain conditions for the “aware†characters, like Bernard, for whom 2004 on the island would feel like three years in the past because he has three years of memories. If that’s the case, then we can assume a much closer relationship between the two realities than previously seemed possible. [Vozzek69/Dark UFO]
• If Anthony Cooper has been catatonic in a nursing home all this time, why has it been so hard for Sawyer to find him? What will sideways James do when he finds the real Sawyer? [The Lost Blog/Filmfodder]
• Is the alt-verse going to replace the original timeline? Many signs point to yes, since Jack is slowly putting the pieces together and may ultimately attain a Desmond-like understanding. And if Jack is the one to figure everything out, then he’ll be the one responsible for deciding which timeline to “choose†as the real one. Will he go for a happy world where he doesn’t know Kate or a sad world where Kate may die? [Mistaking Coincidence for Fate]
• Is the sideways timeline what happens if every single person on the Island dies? This is a possibility for which we might need to prepare ourselves. Either way, the sideways is probably Smokey’s doing. Pay attention to the way Smokey used the word “sunk.†We assumed he meant the submarine, but what if he meant the island? What if he can sense the pieces of the sideways puzzle falling into place? If the sideways is his construction, it’s certainly a place of evil, and a place where Locke seems to have it worse than anyone, crippled by both his body and guilt. [It Happened Last Night]
• Commenter remingtonpup reminds us that Kate’s name is only crossed off in the cave, and not in the lighthouse.
• Henry_K_Duff thinks Lapidus is definitely alive, as people on Lost tend to be alive until you see them truly dead. See: Mikhail, many times.
• Like_shootin_fish_in_a_barrel thinks this whole thing is a plot between Widmore and Sun’s evil dad.
• Ponies_and_rainbows wonders if Flocke didn’t set off to kill the rest of the castaways (since we don’t know how he would know that they didn’t die), but went to go finish off Desmond instead.