Adam & Eve Continuity Error

One of the main questions people had, from the beginning was the identity of "Adam & Eve" bones in the cave. Now, i am one to give the benefit of the doubt to the writers, but I don't believe there is any way they can get out of this one. Here is what they said in regards to the skeletons found in the cave, in season 3

What is the meaning or significance of the two skeletons that Jack and Kate found in the cave of season 1?

CUSE: The answer to that question goes to the nature of the timeline of the island. We don't want to say too much about it, but there are a couple Easter eggs embedded in [the Feb. 7 episode], one of which is an anagram that actually sheds some light on the skeletons and hints at a larger mythological mystery that will start to unfold later in the season.

LINDELOF: There were certain things we knew from the very beginning. Independent of ever knowing when the end was going to be, we knew what it was going to be, and we wanted to start setting it up as early as season 1, or else people would think that we were making it up as we were going along. So the skeletons are the living — or, I guess, slowly decomposing — proof of that. When all is said and done, people are going to point to the skeletons and say, ''That is proof that from the very beginning, they always knew that they were going to do this.''

The episode that is being discussed is "Not in Portland." In this episode, Carl is rescued from Room 23. The secret easter egg, is something that can only be heard backwards. You can watch it here.  

Only fools are enslaved by time and space. 

an anagram that can be understood for: 

Bones of Nadlers may lady deep in lost cave

The Nadlers are of course, Rose and Bernard. So what gives? The black and white stones found in one of the skeletons DO fit nicely with them being MIB and mother, but you still have to contend with what the producers hinted to us back in season 3. Also, if it was Rose and Bernard, it would nicely explain what happened to them after they got stuck in the 1970's. 

I would be interested to find out when they decided to change this. Damn them. 

Across the Sea

So, we are back. Sorry for the long hiatus, but you know, players like me got to keep it real. But enough about my adventures, lets get down to business. So were you guys let down by last nights episode? Well, I was. At first. Actually, I am still a bit disappointed, but not as much as I was before. The problem with an episode like Across the Sea is that they only had about 45 minutes to delve into the most important parts of the island mythology. Obviously, we the fans are incredibly hungry for some answers. Oh ya, hungry. Hungrier than Homer Simpson in an all you can eat buffet. Anyways, this episode required some down town after it, in order set some of the pieces together. To tell you the truth, this episode spawned much more 'whys'— and given that there is only one more episode till the end— than i am comfortable with.

Anywho, lets get crackin. Or as this episode would like to show us, some HEAD CRACKIN! I am not going to give a full synopsis, since I reckon you actually saw the show and we only need to discuss the main points. Ok, so we got some chick that gives birth to our favorite twins. And can you believe it, they DIDN'T give us MIB's name. Unbelievable. The boys grow up, and we are told that MIB is special, that momma made is so they can't kill one another and that MIB will never have to worry about dying.

• a) Why is MIB special? One of the things we have to realize is that momma is the protector of the Island, meaning, like Jacob in the future, she is has certain 'gifts.' She can peer into peoples soul. We were told by Miles that Jacob —before being killed—thought Ben might end up being different. But turns out, Ben was Ben. This means that momma was able to peer into MIB's character. I think she kept on calling him special, because, as we see later, she loved MIB more and probably wanted HIM as her replacement. Though she ended up being wrong. I guess MIB's free will changed the course of events, and the role moved over to Jacob
  
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• b) Why did she make so they can't kill one another? Well, if she realized one of them will be the next protector, more than likely, the other will get jealous and try to kill the other. Soooo, problem solved. Since she has the powers (like Jacob had powers) she created a new rule.
  
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• c) Why would MIB never know what death is (ie, live forever)? Not to sure about this one. Perhaps, again, she thought MIB would take her place, thus she prematurely gave him an immortal life. Or maybe, it was simply a gift out of love.
  

At some point later, momma takes the boys to see what this Island is all about. Its some strange light that she holds to be the power for everything. Turns out, its both really good, but, but also has a flip side to it as we see later. This is what she is there to protect. What is it? Who knows. Like what other bloggers are saying is that they are most likely going to play this like Pulp Fiction did with the briefcase. MIB says its beautiful. Another blogger made a great observation that this is the exact same thing Locke says to Jack in the episode "White Rabbit." He tells him he has looked into the eye of this Island and what he saw was beautiful. If you remember, what Locke was looking at, was none other than the Smoke Monster, which is the exact thing that came out of that cave. We shall return to this soon.

Ok, so fast forward just a bit more. Jacob and MIB sit around playing their usual game when MIB sees Claudia. She leads him the camp of where the original survivors of the shipwreck have made camp. She tells him the truth about his origins. This scene should automatically remind you of the scene when young Ben ran away and saw the ghost of his mom, which ended up leading him to Richard. Now, what I don't get is, why didn't she appear to MIB and not Jacob? Was this ghost working independently, or was this the Island involved somehow? But why would the Island do that? Why set this whole thing up where one brother will try to harness the power to leave the Island?

OK, where was I? Oh ya, LOST. So MIB runs away, and they grow up separately. When Jacob comes plays with his brother, we are introduced (finally) to the well and its magnetic appeal. When momma comes back to visit MIB after 30 years, we are also shown the origins of the frozen wheel. To be honest with you, I was rather confused as to why they (or MIB) would think that the energy down in the well, would help them leave the Island. It's not like that energy came with an instruction manual. Anyways, momma says goodbye and cracks some more head. (does this remind you of when Ben was willing to sacrifice his own child for the Island?) When MIB comes to, he sees everyone gone and the well filled in with dirt. Was it momma that killed everyone? How the hell did she do that?

Next up, momma takes Jacob to the hidden light source. It is time for her to pass the torch to him. The great part of this scene is this: Momma does not give Jacob a choice. He has to be the one to take her place and protect this Island. Jacob on the other hand made 'choice' a hallmark in how the next replacement is chosen. If you remember when little Jacob and little MIB are playing with their game, MIB tells him that one day, Jacob will make a game and create the rules. And so he did.

So momma and Jacob continue to discuss the Island. She tells Jacob never to go into that light because it would be worse than death. I am guessing being a protector of the Island means that you are in some sort of communion with the Island and thus she knew that.

Momma than goes back to her cave where she sees everything ruins and before she knows it, she is stabbed by MIB. She does two things. First she thanks MIB. Seeing as she is the protector, she could not die unless killed. This can now answer why is that Jacob was able to killed by a knife but fake-Locke was not able to. Simply put, a protector is still human and can get killed by someone. Now that she is dead, she knows her job is done. She then proceeds to explain to MIB why she did not want him to leave. It's because she loved him. Now, this might sound cheesy, and a bit forced, but really, it fits rather nicely with LOST. That love really is great part of humanity and though she was not their biological children, she still loved them as much as any mother would.

Uh oh. Look who's back? JACOB!! And he is about to open a can of woop ass on MIB. Jacob in his zeal and anger takes MIB down to the stream where the light is. So what was Jacob trying to do exactly? I mean, Jacob was pissed, so was he trying to kill MIB? I guess not since he was told he can't. Instead - remembering what his mom said about the light, that its a fate worse than death - he sends MIB down into it. Damn, Jacob pulled a Ben. He let his anger take over and just like Ben's action released a great menace, so did Jacob.

After that, we finally see the release of the Smoke Monster. I would say this is one of the most perplexing and yet awe inspring part of the episode. Let me discuss the latter first:

What is the smoke monster? To be 100% sure, I don't know. But it seems the smoke monster is the corruption of the "good" of the island. As soon as MIB is taken into the light, the light disappears and instead, the Island spews out this monstrosity. I think it goes to show us how 'good' is so EASILY corruptible. Momma was worried about the 'bad people' because she did not want them to corrupt her boys. This smoke monster is all that remains of what— as Locke said — is beautiful about this Island. It is beautiful but yet dark and evil. As the light needed to be protected, lest EVERYTHING gets undone, now the smoke monster—the last remnant of that force— must be "protected" on the Island. If that evil escapes, all reality is undone, just like had that light been tampered with. Instead of light being kept at bay, now dark is.

Now, for the perplexing part. It seems to me than, that the Smoke Monster is its OWN entity. MIB is dead. The Smoke Monster simply uses what ever body image, along with its memories as its own. This can explain why, when fake Locke saw young Jacob, he told him (paraphrasing) "Don't tell me what I can and cannot do." Well, that is straight out Locke. But since he is using his image, he also uses his memories as well. When he was Christian, he told Locke: "Say hi to my son." This theory does seem to fall apart with the following: The Smoke Monster REALLY wants to leave the Island? Why? Is it just using MIB's memories? Since MIB wanted to leave, so does MIB? Well, if this is true, than the second he turned into Locke, he would want to STAY on the Island, since that is what Locke's memories were.

Smoke Monster also seems REALLY into the whole MIB thing. He says he was betrayed! That his body was taken! That he wants to go home! Is MIB's spirit and the Smoke Monster permanently fused? Hmmmm....now that I just wrote that, maybe that IS the answer. The fate worse than death is for your soul to BECOME the polar opposite of the good that this Island is. It's a curse. I think i will go with that for now till I think of it over some more.

As a side note, a friend of mine said something interesting. With the Smoke Monsters release, and that light being extinguished, there is no more warmth in that power source. With a lack of warmth, the only thing to happen is it turns cold. This may explain why where the donkey wheel is, it is now totally frozen.

So what do we come out from this episode. One thing is, Jacob is the one at fault for everything. Second, I still need to know for sure what the smoke monster is and why IT wants to leave. I know why MIB wanted to leave, but I need something more concrete as to the relationship between MIB and the smoke monster. Third, I want to know what the hell this Island REALLY is. No more abstract notions of light and purity. What's the connection between this Island, its power and reality.

Siiiiighhh. I am tired. Honestly, as I was watching the episode, I was getting really pissed because I kept on telling my wife (lets call her Kate): "Ummm, well why." A lot of whys still persist and I would rather this episode along with its mythology to have had more than just 45 minutes. Much more could have been discussed. And though that can be said of any episode, this one required it especially, given how much frustration I see out there from other bloggers. But, as I said, this episode also needed some down town to think it over more thoroughly. What I LOVED about this episode is that you were shown that MIB was not some evil Damien child. He was good. All he wanted was to live his own life. You see the love and hurt in his eyes. I was really routing for his character. He had a mother that lied to him and gave him the round-a-round by never telling him why he could not leave. So was he finally corrupted by the humans he was living with? Not to sure. All this rest on whether MIB really is the smoke monster or not. Seems he is given also that Jacob told Hurly that he used to be his friend a lot time ago. It's just that this episode really didn't make him all that evil. He only killed his mother because of what she did in killing his people. Arrggghhhh, I'm tired. Good night.

Ab Aeterno

WOW. Was that an amazing episode, or was that an amazing episode. Lets just get cracking eh? For starters, this episode wasn’t even trying to hide the religious connotations. I thought they executed that perfectly, and we shall actually speak about that soon Anyways, lets begin.

So we are finally given the back story to Richard. In it, he is arrested for murder. Instead of being executed, he is sold off to Magnus Hanso. So who is Magnus Hanso? Magnus Hanso is a great grandfather of Alvar Hanso, the man that financed the Dharma Initiative. If you recall, in season 3, Widmore was in an auction house trying to bid on the boat ledger from the Black Rock. It was the only thing found of the lost ship. Though not shown, Magnus was also on the boat. We know this because a notation on the Blast Door Map mentions knowledge of where Magnus is buried on the Island. He is reportedly buried under and actual black rock. This actually led me to believe that MIB was indeed Magnus Hanso for a bit. So much for that idea.

Now, there seems to be some discrepancies in time here. Reading about the Black Rock, it mentions the ship was lost in 1845, but the events of Richard’s past and the crash on the Island only occur in 1867. On top of that, the LOST Experience mentions the ship was lost in 1881. OOOOOOKKKKK now.

Another thing, when Jacob and Man-In-Black(MIB) were sitting on the shore looking out to the ocean, they see a ship. We assumed it was the Black Rock. The problem is, that scene occurred during the middle of a calm blue sky. The events with Richard on the boat happened during the night in a storm. In fact, I recall thinking just how IS the black rock going to end up in the middle of the jungle in such calm waters. So, did the writers simply forget about the initial sighting of the boat when they filmed this episode?? Well, maybe not. Allow me to explain. I think the scene with Jacob and MIB on the shore looking at some ship happened long before the Black Rock. The ship they saw, was a different ship. How do I know this?? Two things:

1) When MIB and Jacob were talking on the beach, MIB said ONE DAY, he will find a loop hole. Meaning, he had not found that loop hole yet. In last nights episode, you see that he found that loop hole, which is to get somebody else to kill Jacob. If the original boat that they saw together WAS the Black Rock, I doubt that on the beach, MIB would not have known about a loop hole, but only a couple of days later, discovery it.

2) When Jacob was talking to Richard, he mentions that there were other humans on the Island before, but they were all killed. Obviously, the only way for humans to get there is with a boat.

Ok, so the Black Rock crashes on the Island due to a tsunami and crashes into the giant four-toad statue. Now we know how it was destroyed. A few days go by, and the MIB(Smokey) attacks the ship killing everyone, or just about. He heads to Richard in an attempt to read his thoughts. This is how MIB is able to take the form of Isabella, Richards dead wife.

And so, starts the great struggle. The whole episode is full of religious —particular Christian— theology. The concept of penance vs damnation is very well represented. Since Richard’s state of mind was that he was in Hell, MIB used this for his advantage. He convinced Richard that both of them are in the clutches of the devil and that in order for Richard to see his wife, and MIB to leave this Island (ie. Hell) Richard must kill Jacob (que loophole). Of course, this all sounds familiar. This is the exact same sweet proposal MIB (Locke) gave Sayid. That if he helped him, Sayid would see Nadia again. This MIB is sounding more and more like the Devil himself. So off Richard goes prancing around looking for Jacob to kill. Instead, Jacob opens a can of WOOP ASS on Richard. After a good clobbering, they sit and talk. It was a talk, that was in my opinion, one of the best on the show. It really summed up the nature of Jacob, and the nature of the island. It’s all really giant ‘cork’ keeping in some rotten evil from spilling out to the rest of humanity. It doesn’t explain why this Island has exotic matter and can time travel, but I am sure we will get to that.

Now, here is something that I am a bit confused about. Jacob and the Island’s role seems to be to simply be the guard dog to this evil MIB right? Ok, so why is Jacob bringing people the Island. I get it, I get it. He says he wants to show that humanity is good and not what MIB thinks, which is that they are prone to sin. But, who cares? I thought Jacobs only job was to keep MIB “locked up.” If so, then who cares what MIB thinks. As long as he is kept on the Island, everyone is safe.

Hmmmm…Perhaps we will get an eventual answer to this when we learn more about MIB’s past and how he was betrayed. For now, it seems to me that Jacob is trying to water down some of MIB’s hate.

Another option maybe that Jacob knows he can only be there temporary. That eventually, he will need a replacement. He actually even said something of the sorts when talking to MIB at the end of the episode. Jacob asked him what will he do if he finds a replacement, to which MIB replied that he would kill him as well.

With all that though, Jacob says that he cannot interfere. That man must find its own way (more religious theology). Richard jumps in and tells him that if he won’t, than MIB WILL interfere. To this, Jacob agrees and appoints Richard as his helper. So I was thinking, what does this represent? Is it sort of a God & a Christ/Moses relationship where God sends his son/spirit/teacher down to earth to help influence and teach man the right path? Ben did complain to Jacob that Locke(MIB) got marched in as if he were Moses. I almost see it as though there is a God, Jacob is like Christ and gets betrayed by man while Richard is sort of like an apostle... continuing the role in which he was chosen by his Mentor.

Richard, decides not to kill Jacob and returns to MIB, who gives Richard back his lost cross necklace (more religious symbolism). As a gesture that he is not taking up MIB’s proposal of being reunited with Isabella, Richard buries the necklace.

Fast forward to our time, and you see confused Richard digging it back and calling on MIB to join him. Richard, I guess still fragile over everything, decides to take MIB’s offer. Now, I thought this was going to happen because if you look at this poster of the LOST supper, you see Richard on the other side, along with the people that are supposedly on MIB’s side. But, not so fast. Who else, but Hurly comes and saves the day. He ‘reunites’ Richard with his wife as a sort of intermediate between the living and dead. This was one of the most heart warming scenes in all of LOST. We really saw a side to Richard that we never saw in four years of this show. My guess is, by putting on the cross around his neck, Richard has finally found his faith again and is ready to ‘represent’ Jacob again. And just in time, because Hurly warns that if they don’t stop MIB from leaving the Island, they are all going to HELL!!!!!!

PS- if you get a chance, watch this episode of the Twilight Zone called "The Howling Man." It is about the Devil being captured by a group of monks and held prisoner so that he does not terrorize the world. The devil is able to convince a man to unlock his cell door by simply removing the wooden staff that shuts the door..... something that presumably, the Devil himself can reach out and do himself, but couldn't. He needed to trick a man to do it for him.

Dr. Linus and More.

Holy Mother of Cheese, its been a while since I have last posted. Did I actually tell you guys about the cheese factory? Oh well nevermind. Anyways, we have a lot to talk about. Let us begin, shall we? To tell you the truth, I am not sure where to begin since I have written for a while. Whatever.

Anyways, are given an answer to the numbers. As mentioned in the episode “Dr. Linus” only 6 people are left representing candidates. Kate is mysteriously not mentioned. Why? Not sure, either she dies soon, or Jacob just has a thing for Asian women over brunettes. As we progress alone, an interesting scene is shown where we meet a young little Danish boy staring at fake-Locke. Clearly, this is Jacob. But what is interesting is that Richard was not able to seem him, but Sawyer was. Wee little Danish boy tells fake-Locke that he knows the rules and cannot kill him (ie Sawyer). Why? Well, we know Sawyer is a candidate and I guess there is some rule that just like fake-Locke cannot kill Jacob himself, he is not able to kill a candidate since, as we learned last night, a candidate will eventually take the place of Jacob. So what are these rules? You may have remembered them. Lets stroll back a bit to season 4 to the episode “The shape of things to come.” There Linus comfronts Widmore in bed. Wait, that diden’t sound right. Anyways, Widmore asks Ben if he is going to kill him to which Ben responds that he knows he can’t do that. Is there any connection between Jacob vs fake-Locke to that of Ben vs Widmore? It seems there is. A writer (that I will link at the bottom) has a very interesting perspective. That really LOST, is not about Jacob vs fake-Locke, but really about how their long fued gets reflected to the humans in the Island. Maybe that goes without saying, but its still interesting to always keep in mind. Anyways, the rules are something that definitely intrigues me. Perhaps its simply that just like fake-Locke can’t kill the rightful boss of the Island (and vice-versa) the same applies to the battle between Linus and Widmore.

So what about this Danish boy. Why a young boy? Does this have something to do with fake-Locke’s past? Well, given that LOST has always introduced as to weird visions, based on somebody’s troubled past, I would say, yes! Were they childhood friends? Brothers? Don’t know yet.

I love the juxtaposition of fake-Locke to real Locke and Jack. In season 4, it was Locke that said the Island needs protecting, and here, fake-Locke repeats exactly what Jack had said. That its just a damn Island and needs no protection.

On we go to Claire and her new best friend, fake-Locke. Which, she knows, is the Smoke Monster. But at the same time, she mentions that her father, Christian, has also been keeping her company and told her the baby is the Temple. Ok, so I am going to spend a bit of time trying to figure out old Christian because I think he is such a key to something important. Is he a good guy, or bad guy? Is he playing a double agent here? So here we go:

1) The first time Christian is shown, is the deleted scenes of the Pilot, where he sends Vincent (the dog, not Price) to wake Jack. Christian says “He’s got work to do.” This sounds almost the same as what Jacob told Hurly. That Jack has something important to do. From this, you would garner Christian is a good guy.

2) Next, we officially see Christian for the first time in the episode “The White Rabbit.” Here, Jack follows him only to be lead almost to his death by nearly falling off the cliff. Was he trying to kill Jack? Perhaps not. This lead to Locke rescuing Jack and explaining to Jack what a leader must do. Jack then finds water for the survivors including an empty coffin of his father (we will get back to this). This is really the episode Jack takes up the mantle of leadership. Perhaps that was Christians intent in making Jack follow him into the jungle. Ok, Christian is probably still good. No problem.

3) We then don’t hear much about Christian for a while till Hurly sees ol’Christian rocking on the rocking chair in Jacob’s Cabin. Sooooo, what does that mean? Not sure.

4) We then really don’t see Christian, but we do see Yemi, Eko’s brother. Why is this important? Well, both the bodies of Yemi and Christian go missing after they died. Neither of them were buried. Add to this that the producers confirmed that when Eko was talking to his Yemi, right before his death, he was really talking to the smoke monster. Ok. So does that mean that Christian is also the smoke monster?

5) The next time we see Christian is while Sawyer, Miles and Claire are camping out. Claire wakes up to see Christian. Later Locke walks into the Cabin to see Christian saying he can speak on Jacob’s behalf. Christian tells him to move the Island. Now, given what we know about Claires infection, and her odd behavior way back inside the cabin, it would seem Christian is moving a bit toward the bad side no? I mean, why else would Claire and Christian give each other that weird evil look.

6) Next up, we see Christian down at the well after Locke falls down in order to push the donkey wheel. Christian tells Locke, that he told Locke to turn the wheel, not Ben. But this would mean that Locke would be banished and not Ben. Hence, Locke would never have been killed, the survivors never would return to the Island and Smoke Monster would not take over his body? So why did Christian (ie smoke monster) initially want to banish Locke out? Could it be that initially, the smoke monster was trying to get rid of all the candidates from the island? Not sure. Also, if Christian IS the smoke monster, why would he tell Locke to tell Jack “his son” hi? Clearly, if he is the smoke monster, its not really his son. And, by passing this message via Locke to Jack, wouldn’t it make a greater impression to Jack to come back to the Island???? Something I doubt the smoke monster wants. OR, perhaps its all part of the plan, to have Locke die and Jack bring back Lockes body in order to take over his ID. Could be.

7) The biggest clue that Christian is the smoke monster is when Lapidus and Sun row back to the main island. There, they hear the smoke monster and the next thing you see is Christian in the barracks.

Ok, lets go on. Lets talk about this infection thingamabob. Claire is infected, and now Sayid is infected. My thoughts are really, when someone is close to death, or has died, they are in fact very susceptible to come under the influence of the smoke monster (ie, the infection). Does this mean that Ben was infected? He was nearly killed and when taken to the temple, Richard said he will never be the same again. Actually, something tells me that he is probably not infected. Going through the temple rite, is akin to what Dogen and Richard went through. By being given a gift by Jacob, you are a changed person and you are never the same.

Oh, oh oh, so now speaking of Dogen, what was with that scene with the baseball falling. Well, I think it may be, again, part of the rules. The baseball falling was simply a ‘reminder’ to Dogen about the agreement he made with Jacob. Making an agreement with Jacob, means you go by the ‘rules’ and once again, NOBODY can kill a candidate. Sayid was a candidate and no matter if he is infected, the rules are solid.

So now lets skip to last nights episode. It really was amazing. Had lots of layers to it. In the sideway flashes, we see Ben Linus as a teacher. We are also given to amazing pieces of information. One is, that Ben and his father WERE on in Dharma but left. Why did they leave? Was it when Dr. Chang evacuated the Island???? Or is there something else entirely. The second, is that we see Alex. This is important because it gives us a bit of extra information as to when the Island disappeared. Alex was born in 1988/89. This means she was never born on the Island…because most likely, Rousseau never landed in the Island in the first place because it was not there. So for now, I am of the opinion that the Island was already gone by 1988.

Now, the beauty of this episode was the amount of parallels it had with our regular time line. In this sideways flash, we see Ben having the same drive for power as he had on the island. The way he seeks to aquire that power is to blackmail the principle about an illicit affair he had. Does this ring any bells dear readers??? It should. This is exactly what happened when Widmore was banished and Ben took over. Widmore had an affair with an outsider. The interesting part is, this whole crave for power (of being the principle) started because Locke told him HE should take over. Is this some sort of clue as to some outside force (ie, smoke Monster) pushing Ben to banish Widmore due to the affair and he gain power of the Island? Anyways, it did end rather nicely, because here, in the flash sideways, Ben does not let Alex down. He sacrificed power for her. Later on, we see Ben telling Ilana that he made a mistake in choosing the Island over Alex. Ben of course, tries to make up for this by choosing to stay with Ilana rather than take the offer of power that fake-Locke told him he would give him.

Speaking of fake-Locke, he mentioned they are heading back to the Hydra Island. Why? What’s there? All I can think of is that they may want to repair the Ajira plane and take off, but that can’t be it. Is there something unique about that small Island that has always evaded us???

Moving on, to Jack (my man) and Hurly. They end up meeting Richard, who takes them to the Black Rock. We now of course confirmation that Richard was on that ship and that, that is probably where Jacob rescued him. Richard as it goes, has begun to loose all faith in the Island and Jacob. The writers I thought really handled this scene well. It goes to the heart of the issue of faith. For years Richard served Jacob and was never given the whole picture of what his purpose is. Finally, Jacobs death is the last straw. He ultimately looses that faith. But fate, always steps in. This time, the irony is, that faith is rescued by Jack. Richard tells him that anyone Jacob touches is blessed (which now he feels is a curse). Richard asks Jack to him by lighting the dynamite. This is where Jack steps in to test whether any of this is true. He displays the ultimate act of faith, something he would never have done before. Jack tells Richard about the lighthouse and that he has something left to do. The dynamite of course, does not blow up and this revitalizes Richard’s faith, that in fact, there is reason to all of this even though he has had to wait for so long. Jack says they have to basically start all over. By the way, this does pose an interesting question. If anyone that is touched by Jacob cannot die, how on earth is real Locke dead??

This episode had a lot of nostalgia to it. Ben even felt it. Ben, after entering Sawyers tent says he feels like Oceanic broke up happened only yesterday, insisting even that he actually misses those old days. I think he echos the views sentiments. Look how far we have come and we know its almost soon to end and nothing will ever be the same. The ending, too, was quite beautiful. In a node to the 3^rd season’s “One of Us” when Jack comes back after his capture by the others and everyone runs to hug him, the same happens in last nights episode. Our characters (at least half of them) are once again reunited in some semblance of happiness in their old camp. The music even matched the mood. Now the pieces of each side have been set, the game now begins.

OH, and how can I forget the final surprise of the evening? Widmore? He's back? Is this the guy that Jacob has been waiting for? If you recall, Widmore told real Locke off the Island that there was a war coming and that Locke needed to be there. How did Widmore know this? My guess is that somehow Jacob told him. Of course, I am assuming Widmore is actually good here? We don't know his true intentions yet. But it seems to me that he is coming to claim the Island, which is rightfully his. But if Widmore is the one Jacob was waiting for, what is the point of the candidates? Ilana made it clear that the candidate is supposed to take over Jacob's position and last I saw, Widmore was not one of them. Perhaps, simply, Widmore is to once again carry the mantle of leadership as he once did. Jacob, requires a human being to lead and help the candidate assume the position.

Anyways, terrific story telling. I am really enjoying it.

A writer, linked below, has come up with a theory on the sideways flashes:

During last week's discussion of "Sundown," some of you speculated that if I'm right, we're seeing key differences in the endings of the characters who sided with Jacob and those who went with Smokey. Sayid goes with Smokey, and in the alt-timeline has a kind of monkey's paw fantasy where he's near Nadia but not with her, and still placed in situations where he has to be the killer he doesn't want to be. Hurley, meanwhile, goes with Jacob and ends up far happier and luckier than he was in the original timeline.

It’s interesting. Read the rest here.

LA X

Update: First read my post, then read this interview. I may actually be wrong about my theory that the bomb sank the island. It is still very possible that the bomb caused conscienceness to fly back and forth.

Hi Everyone,

I thought it would be fun to start this delicious premier with a good joke: So did you hear about the new dairy facility that just opened up in northern Israel? It's called "The Cheeses of Nazareth". HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHA. OH MERCY. I am too much. Anyways, lets get started and just as a reminder, this is not a thurough recap. I tend to to stick with my theories or other interesting things that go on.

So apparently, Faraday's plan worked. I say apparently, because Faraday and Co. thought that everything would be erased and they would start all over. Not quite. What we have now, is an alternative parallel reality. The producers are calling this a "FLASH SIDEWAYS" (clever). Anyways, we see Jack on the plane, feeling a bit startled and looking around a bit. Everything is different this time around.

Skip forward a bit and we see our fine survivors waking up next to the hatch in the year 2007. The H-bomb threw them back into the future. Juliets voice is heard from the rubble and handsome Sawyer comes to save her. As she lays there dying, she mumbles about getting some coffee and "we can go dutch."

Ok, so lets stop here. What on earth is going on here? Which timeline is real and which is not? Well, let me share with you my theory that I had worked on for a while. I think it fits pretty well (not perfect, but well). Let us take a sporting strole down memory lane to season 3's "Flashes before Your Eyes. If you recall, Desmond recollects how after the hatch explosion (which he was IN) tossed 'him' back into his past self inside his old apartment with Penny. The kicker is that subconsciencsely he realizes something is up. He remembers things, but he can't fully pinpoint what it is.

I believe this is exactly what happened in his episode and will be shown throughout the rest of the season. It is pretty clear that Jack has some faint memory of a different reality while he is flying. The H-bomb blowing had the same affect on our survivors as the hatch did to Desmond. Another piece of evidence to support this is the Juliet's dying jibberish. Is it familiar to you????? Well it should if you call yourself a true LOST fan. Her conscience was traveling to the other reality where she was talking to someone else. We saw this with Charlotte before she died. She started blanking in and out. This is why Juliet told Miles "IT WORKED." It did work, just not in the way they thought it would.

The obvious difference between the two stories is this. With Desmond, he merely traveled to a different time (unless the producers are screwing with us and that TOO was a different reality). In our case, its not just a time issue, but a different reality moving parallel with our own. I believe the answer to this is simply because detonating the bomb really DID Destroy the Island. That is why the Island is underwater. So this alternative reality was created because the Island was destroyed (this was the bomb's doing) but at the same time, not only is there a different reality, but this reality is now infused with a parallel conscienseness (this was due to the enormous amount of radioactive exotic energy underneath the hatch) My guess is that we will be seeing more characters starting to remember things. So just to recap this part: With Desmond, there was no bomb, only radioactive exotic energy which transplanted his mind. But with our characters, not only was there that SAME energy that hit Desmond, but there was ALSO a bomb that destroyed everything causing a —so far— 1) a permanent alternative reality 2) but with vague memories of a different reality.

BTW, did you notice the wound on Jack's face when he was in the lavatory. I have a feeling we will be seeing a reason for that. Or, perhaps the blast of the bomb somehow scared him in this reality. Not sure, but I think the writers put it there for a reason. And whats with the missing coffin with Christian inside????? Major story there coming up, I am sure.

Ok, let's go on. After some hoopla, our heroes arrive at the Temple where another batch of "Others' are roasting marshmallows. We at long last finally see what happened to Cindy the Stewardess (thats right, I said STERWARDESS) and the kids that were taken by the Others. If you recall, they have not been seen since Season 3 when Ben told most of his people to head for the Temple. So in the Temple we see a big bath full of bubbling water that is supposed to heal. Jacob tells Hurly to bring Sayid hear in order to save him. Now we know how young Ben was brought back to life. I had earlier suspected that Richard took Ben to the Smoke Monster in order to revive him, since we knew Smoky was underneath the Temple. I just couldn't understand why Richard would take him to the Smoke Monster when he knew Smokey wasn't exactly friendly. Now we know it wasn't the Smoke Monster but infact, a giant whirlpool bath. At least things are clear there. Actually, one things is not clear. The Temple is above ground, and yet underground is where the Monster dwells as we saw when he judged Ben????? That seems strange.

Also, keep an eye for this guy. I have a feeling we might be seeing him. If you recall, he was taken away by Richard after one of his men was killed by Sawyer and Juliet. I have a feeling after taking Paul away from Dharma, he took him to the Temple, though, Paul would be an old man by now.

Now, I have read that supposedly, the reason Jacob wanted Sayid to be taken to the Temple is so Jacob can once again live, but through Sayid's body. Perhaps, but I don't think so. The main reason is because the Temple Others mentioned that they would be in trouble if Sayid was to die. And this happened before they were told of Jacob's death, which means Sayid living has a different importance all together.

Moving around a bit, we finally get the answer of what the mysterious ash was around the Cabin. Turns out, Smokey can't pass through it. Which makes me question why the Sonar Fence is able to repel him. Oh well. Anyways, when the Others hear that Jacob is dead, the immediately fortify the Temple by surrounding it with Ash. This is similar to the Cabin. I am assuming that at some point after the Purge, Jacob was kept safe in the Cabin with the ash around it. Ok, so why ash? Not sure yet, but I just saw a video (sorry, forgot the link) where they mention something interesting. The writers have previously stated that there is a volcano on the Island that will be part of the story. And what comes out of volcanos????? No, not Rosie O'Donell, but ash. Tons and tons of ash comes out of volcanos. Will this be how the Enemy Locke will be destroyed??? If you remember, in the episode showing Ben's childhood, the teacher was teaching the children about volcanic eruptions. Anyways, so now that we know Jacob's Enemy is the Smoke Monster for sure, I have some questions.

1) How as Ben able to summon such a powerful enemy at will

2) Why did Ben even need to be judged by the Smoke Monster? Is there some understanding between the groups that the Smoke Monster plays a vital role in the Island

3) Why didn't the Smoke Monster ever kill the Others before? Was it because Jacob was alive and now that he is dead he can go and kill or take over the Temple and the Others?

The truth is, we will have to wait. After coming out of the Statue, Locke/Enemy goes to Richard and tells him that its good to see him "out of his chains." So now we almost have full proof evidence that Richard was from the Black Rock slave ship. Richard, also seems to know who this enemy is, and I can't wait to see how their histories are shared. Anyways, Locke knocks Richard and carries him toward the jungle, most likely to the Temple (or a stop at the "Love Cabin" wink, wink). Before he departs, he tells everyone they should be ashamed of the themselves. I am guessing there is some importance to this as well as the fact that Enemy/Locke tells Ben that he "wants to go home." Damn, I can't even imagine what that means. Could he be from an alternative reality????

Just to end this, the whole show has always been about destiny vs free will. So far, destiny is winning. Everything so far seems to following a set course set out by Jacob himself. Jacob gave Hurly a guitar case with a special message to the leader of the Temple Others. But wait a minute. If Hurly was supposed to give them the case, why did they end up traveling to 1977??? Well, it's because they were SUPPOSED to go there in order to get the rest of their LOST friends. But how would they get back to where supposedly Jacob wants them???? Well, we have a handy H-bomb they can use. So just to take Faraday's famous "Whatever happened, happened" line, I would say "Whatever needs to happen, will happen." And whatever needed to happen in order to fulfill Jacob's plan, is so far happening.

I am sure the rest of the season, we will be seeing more of this tension especially what with this alternative reality.

A Recap

Hi all,

Wow, it's been so long since I have last posted something. I hope my two readers are still around. Anyways, let me cut to the chase. Before the final season starts off next week, I thought it fitting to post some questions that have been lingering in my Einstonian mind for quite some time. So in no particular order, here they are

1) What happened to Cindy the flight attendant. We last saw her after she was taken by the Others at the Hydra station and told to 'watch' Jack in the cage.

2) The supply drop - Please someone explain to me how on earth that supply drop happened back in season 2. I have a feeling the writers don't know either and dropped the whole thing.

4) Richard Alpert/Ben Linus Relationship - Here is what I don't understand. In the 70's when Richard took Ben inside the Temple, he told an angry Charles Widmore that, that was Jacob's orders. Now, we are never shown that, but its safe to assume that Jacob never told Richard to rescue a wounded Benjamin. So how on earth did Ben get the leadership of the Others? Also, from the looks of it, Richard took Ben to the Smoke Monster (and, as we know, the Smoke Monster is the Bad Guy that took over Locke).

So this leads to my next question regarding Richard. Does he even know who this Smoke Monster is? If he did, why did he take Ben to it instead of taking him to Jacob.

5) The cabin - I am a bit confused. Why would Ben even make up the story that Jacob lived in the cabin in the first place? Did he one day stumble upon a magical empty Cabin and see it fit to create some lie that Jacob lived there? Didn't Richard ever think of telling Ben that Jacob was not in that Cabin. Did Richard know that someone else was there?

6) Christian - Who's side is he on here? If he is good, why did he want Locke to move the Island therefore causing Locke to be banished? If he is good, why wouldn't he tell Locke NOT to die since its most likely some trick.

7) What was Juliets mark? (it was also shown on a tree once)

8) Pregnancies - Why did Ben all of sudden force the Others to become some sort of Island Scientist working on ways to keep women on the island pregnant?

9) What happened to Annie

There might be more later.

For now, check out these images here and here.

Looking carefully at them, it almost looks its telling the story of the Egyptians that perhaps came to the Island. The image shows them on boats. The other image shows what looks to be a war and people dying and enslaved. If you remember, the "bad guy" told Jacob that humans always come to the Island and fight and corrupt. One needs to remember, that Oceanic 815 is probably in a long line of visitors to the Island that Jacob brought to the Island, starting with Egyptians, then the Black Rock. Each probably failed on their mission.

The Incident

Awesome episode, but there is a lot to discuss, so give me a bit of time to get my thoughts together. See you soon :)