Lost with LOST: Everybody Cluckin' Loves Hurley (and Libby too)

If LOST has taught me anything, it has taught me to live outside the box, outside my realm of comfort. So this recap is being typed on the train. One hour to get you all my knowledge about this last episode. No convenient editing. No Lostpedia. No Doc Jensen, no Alan Sepinwall, no James Poniewozik. No interwebs. Just me, Hurley, FLocke, Libby, Desmond, Jack and the remnants of Ilana. And my stream of thought. So here we go, kids. Jump into the well with me and let’s figure out what the heck happened on Tuesday night.

THE Love Story and THE Puppy Love

I just came back from Vegas (if you didn’t know from my other posts stating the same) and my boys and I stayed at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay. Everything was “THE”. THEcafe. THElounge. THEpad. Even THEtp. Well, if they were to apply that to LOST we would have Desmond and Penny as THElovestory and Hurley and Libby as THEpuppylove. I don’t think I’ve felt as cheated out of anyone’s story as I was by Libby and Hurley’s budding romance. Damn you LOST writers, fate, Michael, and Cynthia Watros’ DWI!

Tuesday night it came all rushing back to both Sideways Hurley and to me. While I ridiculed the “reunion episode” feel of Season 6’s first 10 episodes, I’ve done nothing but love it the past two episodes. The Sideways World has won me over. Mostly thanks to Desmond. Nice job, brutha! We open up an episode called “Everybody Loves Hurley” on our greatest sustained comic relief of the season. We had the great philanthropist, Hurley, being lauded by Dr. Chang (who was not such a big fan of the big fella back in the 70s). We had Hurley’s mother* totally unthrilled by this fact: why didn’t Hurley spend more of his energies on LOVE? I mean he had his little dog with him, but what he really needed was not a puppy, but puppy love.

*Side Note: My question: where was Hurley’s dad? Did the cosmos keep him from coming back to the family or did Hurley’s giving away his money not jive with his money-grubbing lifestyle? Or was he just getting a little high? Riddle me that, LOST fans. Also, in a funny episode, did everyone get the Seinfeld reference to the Human Fund? Loved it but not sure the reference. Was Hurley money for himself? Was this about Festivus? A strike? I can't figure it out!?!

So he goes on a blind date with an absent Rosalita (Ben would like us to cue Bruce Springsteen here). What happened to Rosalita? Who knows? But who shows up instead? Libby. A very informed Libby. She knows more than she’s letting on*. And Doctor Brooks is back to make sure she doesn’t bother poor Hurley, escorting her to the nut house.

*Side Note: Libby knows more than everyone else. Like our buddy Charlie. Like our buddy Daniel Faraday/Widmore. Maybe Charlotte knew more as well when she was snooping around James Ford’s apartment. Let’s discuss this more later. Since they all have one thing in common with each other—they’re all sort of dead. So is Eloise dead since she knows more? Possibly

I want more Libby information now. Why was she in the mental hospital in the Island World? Or was she just a manifestation in the hospital like Dave was to Hurley? Why did she give Desmond the boat? Is there a connection with that and the fact that Desmond was the one who just directed Hurley to Libby? An episode that brought back Libby AND gave us a ton of answers failed to give us some of my bigger ones on Libby.

Hurley is unnerved by this meeting with Libby since she seems to know a lot about him but he can’t really place her. But something feels familiar. Déjà vu all over again? Seems like it. Another glitch in the Matrix. He can’t shake her. So Hurley does what he does every time he’s upset: he eats. Jack drinks/does drugs, Hurley eats, Kate runs, Sawyer lies, Sayid kills…we all have our vices. But Desmond isn’t going to allow Hurley to get distracted. Like the movie, Pay It Forward, Desmond is determined to take the knowledge of LOVE and the Island World and pass it on to Hurley. Des tells Hurley not to give up on this girl if he thinks she may be telling the truth. TRUTH—there’s that word again, brutha.

Hurley goes to see her in the mental hospital, talks with Doctor Brooks (who, I got the sense, knows something more than everyone as well). She’s in their voluntarily but he’s still crazily attracted to her. Even though he can’t remember her as well as she seems to remember him. But he asks her on a date. On the beach. Something they finally got to do. With Michael’s return this episode and Hurley’s talk with Libby’s grave, it sort of reinforced feelings that I’ve had for a while: Hurley continues to blame himself for Libby’s death. Between his “being cursed” and his forgetting the blankets that made her go back to the hatch and get killed, I think that Hurley (like many of the Castaways and even people like Richard) have been harboring a lot of guilt.

But this time he got his date. Libby leaned in and kissed Hugo and suddenly Hurley awoke. He became alive. Unlike Charlie and Desmond (and maybe Locke…more on that later), Hurley needed a love experience and not a near-death experience to wake up from this “perfect” Sideways World. Like Sleeping Beauty or The Frog Prince or Princess Fiona in Shrek, Hugo Reyes woke up and took his true form when he was kissed. He learned to love again--for the first time. He was WALL-E after meeting Eva. And the man who helped him remind it was sitting in a car watching and knowing—Desmond Hume just turned his first Castaway.

Cluck You, You FLocke

From the best of my memory, “Everybody Hates Hurley” starts out with Hurley pigging out in the hatch as he dreams of Mr. Cluck’s chicken and an English-speaking Jin. It also involves Hurley getting the responsibility of divvying up the hatch food—a responsibility he desperately tries to get rid of. Well “Everybody Loves Hurley” has Hurley and Mr. Cluck’s chicken at the beginning but has him actually taking on responsibility and being a leader. The man worried about everyone hating him doesn’t seem to have that fear anymore in either World.

And he's got a following. Jack. Sun. Lapides. How did he get them? In the oddest of ways. He lied to them. First he took the advice of Michael, of all people, to not blow up the plane. Then he watched Ilana blow up* and had less of a reaction then when Artz did the same. He then reached into her pile of stuff and pulled out her pouch of Jacob ash. Maybe Hurley knows that he'll see her soon enough?

*Side Note: Did anyone have a less glorious existence than Ilana? Now all the Ajira flight members are gone. Caeasar, Bram, and Ilana all suffered some pretty thankless deaths. Especially Ilana who dedicated her whole life to serving Jacob. Though I wouldn't have recommended throwing dynamite against the ground like that.  

Then Hurley changes his mind and says they need to go get the dynamite from the Black Rock. Except he doesn't want to get the dynamite. He wants to blow it all up. So long Black Rock. I guess the theories that they were going to take the ship off The Island is officially debunked. Now they will need to go under the sea or over the sea. Or maybe via exiting spirits. Who knows. Hurley knows that he's not going to blow up the plane and wants some people to come with him. He even lies that he's following Jacob's plan. But for some reason Jack, Sun and Lapides go with him.

In a touching scene in the forest, Jack admits that he's been trying to change things since he got Juliet killed and now he's willing to sit back and follow someone else. Stay tuned on this one. Not sure if this decision is going to work out so well. Since Hurley wants to lead them, to of all places, straight to FLocke. Ouch. Let's just put all the candidates on FLocke's doorstep, why don't we? If Sun is truly the "Kwon", he's got everyone at this point.

On the way to the FLocke, Hurley sees Michael again. I didn't love this scene. It was a big reveal that the whispers were souls trapped on The Island. And it was delivered very, well, blah. So was the apology that Michael gave Hurley for killing Libby. I wanted some more emotion, some more details, some more something--but it just felt as empty as Michael's dark soul.

Do you believe the ghost of Michael? If it's true, does this mean that Jacob is keeping all bad people's souls here? Why did he let Ana Lucia's soul leave but keep Michael's? Why can Jack's dad leave The Island and stay on The Island at different times? I'm wondering if maybe this explanation isn't exactly true. Or maybe I'm just distrusting. I'm also distrusting of Michael. He wanted to leave The Island once and lied to Hurley. Would he do it again to have his soul freed? I don't think so but I wouldn't put it past him.

Well, That Sucks...Let's Talk About It

The most interesting debate about this episode involves the Locke-Desmond interactions in both the Island World and the Sideways World. I got an e-mail about it and some good responses. Here are some below:

Jay: THANK YOU DOC JENSEN. I couldn't have said it better myself. Wait a second, I did say it.....two weeks ago! (check out my comment)

When Fake Locke asked Desmond if he knew who he was, and Desmond replied ''John Locke,'' did you get the sense that the reason that Fake Locke threw Desmond into the well was because Desmond had stumbled on his big secret — that this Fake Locke thing who's been claiming not to be John Locke all season long really is John Locke?

Yes. I thought that thought.

So if the Man In Black really isn't Fake Locke, then… who or where is he?

He's in the body of Frank Lapidus.

Seriously?

Sure. 

Sarah: Ummm but didn't we see john locke dead? Flapidus? Wtf?

Jay: In a show featuring a Smoke Monster, time travel, and electromagnetic energy pockets, you are concerned about faking someone's death?

Andrew: I totally disagree and I’ll write about it when I post my review. I think FLocke threw Desmond down the well for the same reason Smokey killed Mr. Eko: the lack of fear. Everyone else is scared of FLocke/MIB/Smokey. If he can’t manipulate you, he gets rid of you like he did the people in the temple.
The first Smokey-John Locke interaction was the episode where Doc Artz blew himself up a la Ilana. Everyone ran when the Smoke Monster came but Locke just waited for it. So Smokey grabbed him and was about to take him down his hole when fear ran all over Locke’s face. So Smokey let him go and used him for his loophole.

It’s an interesting theory that Locke=FLocke…but I can’t buy it. Sarah said it: John Locke is dead. And dead is dead…

Unless maybe you’re Sideways conscious gets run over and you transport back to your Island World’s dead body and resurrect. Maybe.

Alaine: Hahaha... I like the response about Frank Lapidus.

Sorry Jay, but I STILL think youre wrong... FLocke, is FLocke... NOT Locke, I'm sure of it. That glimmer is FLocke's eye when speaking to Desmond I think had more to do with Desmond's calm demeanor and his ability to withstand those electromagnetic waves and travel through (time? space? something...) -- seems like Desmond is a threat to FLocke and his plan...But commmeon.... FLocke is NOT Locke... and FLapidus, puLEAse!

Jay: This is obviously a theory that's bound to generate disagreement. And it's a radical theory, for sure, so I'm not surprised that you guys disagree.

But Andrew, I'm surprised at your reason. You think FLocke tried to kill Desmond (next week's preview shows him alive, not dead) simply because he couldn't manipulate him since he wasn't afraid? FLocke, who knows more than anyone else left on the Island, killed someone with Desmond's unique "talents" because of an oversized ego?

Ooooh, look at me, I'm the Smoke Monster, hear me roooooooar! All who do not tremble in my presence shall PERISH!!!

I can see FLocke killing the people in the Temple because they weren't afraid enough to join him. If left alone, they could get in his way. But Desmond....he's different. It's possible that the only one who knows the extent of his powers is Desmond himself. FLocke obviously sees something important about him, so why would he kill him just because he wasn't afraid? That seems awfully egomaniac....and could potentially backfire.

Andrew: And the reason why he used Locke in the first place was exactly because he could manipulate him. He got him to believe in whatever he told him—in whatever form he took. Everyone else took the ideal of free will and became the variable in the experiment. Locke was the weak one who followed blindly. He was the most easily manipulated.

Jay: You may be right about the manipulation aspect -- who knows -- but that still seems like a very simplistic reason for killing the person with the most spectacular power -- the ability to withstand several massive electromagnetic blasts. Nobody else can do this, which makes Desmond very valuable on an island that happens to be filled with massive pockets of electromagnetic energy.

Nevertheless, after talking to Desmond, FLocke concludes in about 45 seconds that Desmond cannot be manipulated. Not much of an effort there, Smokey.

FLocke could have turned the potentially biggest weapon on the island into an ally. Desmond seems to be able to switch between parallel universes, which could also be very valuable. And FLocke killed him after less than 1 minute of conversation. Doesn't that seem pretty hasty to anyone??

Andrew: If Charles Widmore showed up trying to obliterate you and this is what he had locked under armed guard in my submarine, I’m not sure I’d even give him the time of day before killing him. Just saying.

Alaine: Touche Andrew, touche

A thought... Do you think FLocke knew that Desmond would survive the fall when he pushed him in? He knew that Desmond could survive the electromagetic impulses, and he knew the well was a pocket of electromagnetic energy... OR maybe he has no idea about the time-traveling-alternate-universe-traveling ability and truly thought he was going to kill Desmond? BUT come on, like I said before, Smokey has more efficient ways of killing someone than pushing them down a well....

Jay: Desmond is like Boardwalk with a hotel on it. You want him on your side. You protect him with an armed guard. He's valuable and a potential threat to the other side. Whether he's actually a lethal weapon, or simply a priceless commodity on the island, whoever approaches him should think very, very hard before killing him.

He's not some anonymous Temple dweller. He's Desmond Hume! And Smokey took only 45 seconds before throwing him down a well. Hasty hasty hasty.

Another potential reason for FLocke to throw Desmond into the well? It shuts him up without killing him (assuming FLocke knew he wouldn't die). While he's down the well, he's virtually impossible to find, retrieve, and communicate with.

Sarah: So yeah It was definitley brought up earlier but I think Flocke's motives also lie with the fact Desmond both lacks fear - and is coming from Charles Widmores lock and key. Whether FLocke knows about desmond's ability to withstand EMPs (is that too 24?) - he knew Widmore had been with Desmond and Desmond was not afraid - not a good combo.

I want to talk about Desmond hitting Flocke more and Hurley/Libby also but will wait for the post.

Conclusion...?

We have one last big question: why did Desmond run over Sideways Locke? Did he know that FLocke had tried to kill him in the Island World? Was he trying to "wake him up" like Charlie had done to him? Was he trying to get him to waken up in Locke's dead body? Was he trying to get him to take back over FLocke's body? Who is that kid*? Why is Desmond so calm (puffing up with Hurley's dad?)? And since we saw Desmond is in the "next on", how did he survive the fall and did FLocke know he would survive? And, lastly, is it possible that Desmond is now "bad"?

*Side Note: Quick theory on who that kid is. I think that Man In Black once killed a kid. So his spirit is trapped on The Island like Michael's. And he's trying to find his way out. His loophole. And he thinks he's found it through Locke's body. After a lot of years. Maybe. Let me know what you think of this theory. Now make up a theory for what the heck is up with fTina Fey's character, Zoe.

Libby and Hurley made this episode to me. Like Desmond last episode, Hurley couldn't truly be happy until the last person who needed to love him, loved him: Elizabeth AKA Libby. Like Desmond and Penny, for some reason these two people were kept apart. Helen and Locke. Boone and Locke. Kate and Sawyer. Hurley and fried chicken. Daniel and Charlotte. Jack and that weird truck. Jin and Sun. But fate (or something else) brought them all together. I want to know if it truly is "something else".

I really liked this episode and I'm ready for hopefully more Libby and Hurley. I'm scared for all the "candidates" now that they're with FLocke. I'm ready for more of the love stories that we've come to love ourselves on LOST: Desmond and Penny, Jin and Sun, and Hurley and Libby. I'm very scared for the trio of Miles, Richard and Ben who don't seem to have much of a place in the future of The Island and may now be expendable. I'm really ready for Desmond to recruit the rest of the Oceanic passengers and I'm scared to death for those that FLocke is trying to recruit. Mostly, I'm sad that this show is coming to an end (4 weeks until the finale!?!)...but I'm loving every minute of it, brutha.

Thoughts? Theories? Ideas? Leave it all in the comments below!

Pictures from ABC.com