Lost with LOST: Oh The Places We'll Go

A whole lot of nothing happened last night on LOST. Yet, a lot happened. Last night's episode was a "Matthew Abaddon" episode. The other one this season occurred the last time we saw Sawyer and Miles in the Sideways World. It was also the one where FLocke tried to recruit Sawyer. In last night's episode, we saw FLocke try to recruit Jack with many of the same double speak. Meanwhile, Sideways Desmond is pulling his own Matthew Abaddon impression, shepherding all the Castaways towards consciousness. It wasn't an episode I loved but it seemed like a necessary one to set up the rest of the season. So in honor of last night's episode being on 4/20, put a whole lot of nothing into our [tobacco-only] paraphenalia, put on some Geronimo Jackson, light our Dharma matches, inhale, and let the world as we know it float away.

That's FLocke'd Up!

The above was uttered by Stacey as we watched the episode and it was certainly true. Let's bring out a few large questions/reveals from the episode and I'll give my opinion on it. I want to know your opinions too so make sure to chime in below in the comments. Because we all know that I'm bound to be wrong more than I'm right, but since you're here reading my blog post, you must think something of my commentary. (I'm more curious about yours)

FLocke tells Jack that his dead father's ghost was actually Man In Black running around the forest in Smokey's body. Do we believe him?

[Deep exhale] I don't know. In some ways, this makes sense with everything we've learned from LOST so far. But there are some serious holes here. If the Man In Black can't leave The Island then how did he show up as Christian in Los Angeles during Jack's flash forward in "Something Nice Back Home"? Was he Christian when he appeared before Michael telling him "you can go now" in "There's No Place Like Home: Part II"? Is it possible that Christian's body never made it on the plane in the Island World as it didn't make it on the plane in the Sideways World? I've learned not to trust "bad guys" on LOST (from Ben to Widmore to FLocke), so excuse me if I'm not going to believe the shifty FLocke just yet. And Claire did say to Jin that she was kept company on The Island by Christian and a friend (MIB). It keeps me wondering...

Sayid couldn't have killed Desmond, could he have? Come on, brutha!

I don't think so. I'm 95% sure he didn't. We learn on LOST not to believe someone is dead ever, but especially not when we don't see them killed. Hell, Sayid was dead and he came back to life so I can't imagine they would kill off poor Desmond without giving him a little bit more of a good-bye. I think Desmond said the one thing that could appeal to Sayid's conscious--if he has one. You wonder if, after the cameras panned away from that conversation, that Desmond didn't just promise Sayid the same thing: to get to see Nadia again. Maybe he'll find a way to awaken him in the Sideways World. Maybe not. Sayid's character has become depressing and you almost wish someone would finally put him out of his misery. We know, in some ways, that "dead is dead" so if Sayid can't ever really be with Nadia, let's just end his eternal suffering now.

Why did Sideways Sun freak out when she saw Sideways Locke? (and did that freak you out?)

It's true they were on the same plane, but otherwise, these two probably never came into contact in the Sideways World. So why did this freak out Sun so badly? Me thinks that the gunshot wound may have started her conscious flowing back to the Island World and seeing Locke in that state may have really started the memory exchange. I think she knew exactly who/what Locke was by remembering FLocke from The Island. That, or maybe something deep inside her made her yell that like the thing deep inside Claire that made her yell out "name him Aaron" about her son or the thing deep inside Jack and Kate and company that have made them give each other second looks in the Sideways World. You figured by now we'd know a little bit more about the Sideways World, but alas, we're still left theorizing as much as we were when the season started aboard Oceanic 815. So we're left theorizing why Sideways Sun would be so scared of Sideways Locke. And you wonder if this will send Sideways Jin on a mission to kill Sideways Locke who may or may not have smiled when Sun yelled "it's him! it's him!"...(and yes, this did freak me out and I think everyone else in the room watching with me).

Can you give me another fun tidbit about this episode, Andrew?

Sure, why not. Here's one good one: The boat that Sawyer, Kate, and co took? That was the Elizabeth. Significance? This was Libby's husband's boat (remember, Libby is short for Elizabeth) which she offered to Desmond to sail in his race around the world. Well the boat ended up leaving him on The Island and he tried to sail it off once Jack, Locke, Kate and co came and took over The Hatch. Well that sailing attempt didn't go too well and poor ole Des ended up driving the boat right up on the beach. Sayid, Jin and Sun took the boat and sailed it around the Island because they were supposed to ambush The Others who Jack, Hurley, Sawyer and Kate were going after with Michael (who Jack and Sayid sort of suspected as a traitor). This was the same boat that Sun was on when The Others came by submarine to attack Jin, Sun, and Sayid but the mission sort of failed when Sun shot the wife of the guy guarding Sawyer. The Others stole the boat back but the cost of this was that the guy whose wife Sun shot decided he wanted to take out his anger on Sawyer and after a pleading with Kate, Jack saved them both by purposely screwing up a spinal surgery on one Ben Linus. I think this may play a factor in what happens next in LOST and I will explain later.

Love-Hate Relationship

Let's get into a little bit of what I liked from this episode and what I didn't like. I'm curious if all of you feel the same way about some of these.

Liked: 

• Desmond's reactions in the Sideways World. His interaction with Ilana and Claire was almost comical and was amazingly played by the actor, Henry Ian Cusick. When he's introducing the two, his giddiness about Ilana already looking for Claire was great. Desmond obviously knows more than he lets on to the characters and he showed that in his smiles in this episode.
• FLocke's reactions in the Island World. While Desmond seems to be the shifty one moving around the pieces in the Sideways World, that's FLocke's job in the Island World. And Terry O'Quinn deserves an Emmy for his job this season. FLocke sometimes delivers his lines this season with smiles but they are tremendously unsettling and really the opposite of the ones we see from Desmond. His shiftiness has been quite unsettling but his dialogue this past episode describing John Locke as a "sucker" to Jack was awesome and goose-bump-inducing all at the same time.
• "Don't worry, it's going to be OK. You're with me now". It deserves it's own bullet point because it was so skin-crawlingly-juicy that it was what the LOST writers wanted to leave us sitting on for two weeks. Loved it.
• Everyone back together. However briefly, it was nice to have the whole gang back together again. But since "Live Together, Die Alone" seems to be a nice figure of speech that no one adheres to, the group is now split up again. So we have Hurley, Sawyer, Kate, Lapidus, Sun, Jin, and the Widmore Clan. We have Jack, FLocke, Sayid, and the other Others (or whoever is still alive after this bombing). And we have our last group with Miles, Ben, and Richard. Whither Rose and Bernard? 
• Jack and his son. I don't know why, but this Sideways relationship that has lasted one episode on this show has stuck with me.
• This means war. We've been previewing it ever since Widmore went to visit John Locke in a Tunisia hospital and now we're finally seeing the battle we've been waiting for.
• Sawyer's "Burt Reynolds" comment towards Lapidus. He also called him "chesty" in this episode but at a time where we're highly concentrated in the super serious, Sawyer is again a great source of comic relief. The Burt Reynolds line was awesome and hilarious. And Sawyer's Star Wars conversation about "coming back from the dark side" with Hurley was great as well. Also, check out Sawyer's awesome "Son of A Bitch" video (H/T Stacey).

Disliked:

• Lapidus' "looks like someone got their voice back comment". *Gag*. For a show that has kept corniness to a low and has had Lapidus deliver some of the best lines on the show ("We're not going to Guam" and "This is the weirdest funeral I've ever been to"), it was disappointing for them to stoop to this low. It was also a little disappointing how easily Sun got her voice back. I was happy for Jin and Sun to get back together, but I've really become so divested in their relationship that it wasn't as happy a reunion for me as Libby and Hurley or Desmond and Penny. And, to be honest, how they filmed that scene, I half expected the fences were still on and they were going to get sonic blasted by the sonic fence running into each other's embrace. Amazingly the Sideways baby is OK, Sideways Sun is OK, and Island Sun is OK. Too convenient and too easy for my liking.
• Zoe's storming into FLocke's camp. Why wouldn't someone just shoot her? Especially Claire or Sayid. I'm surprised that FLocke didn't turn into Smokey and just rip her head off. Why let her live? Why let her leave? I don't get it. Also, I can't imagine she really thought that they would turn over Desmond. Why do it? Just to break up the camp? I doubt it. 
• Kate. I'm done with her character. I was hoping that Claire would do the deed this episode. I don't even elicit any emotion when she talks about coming back for Claire and Aaron. It all seems hollow to me. Pull the trigger, Claire--for all of us.
• Sawyer throwing Jack off the boat. I understand why both did what they did but the scene didn't do it for me. And it was one time where I was fed up with Jack's whole "destiny" talk too. Though it was a flash back in my mind to when Sawyer jumped off the helicopter. But that was much cooler than this.
• Sawyer trusting Widmore.Why go to his camp now? He didn't trust him before, why start now? I don't get the change in heart. Does he think that he'll be able to take the man's sub that easily?
• Claire. Maybe it's just an uneasiness about her but she's turned into a weird sort of character. On The Office, Michael Scott said one episode, "I love inside jokes. I'd like to be a part of one some day". You get the feeling that Claire is just someone who needs to be part of everyone's inside jokes. She hates that she's the last one to know everything. And her "reunion" in both worlds with Jack wasn't as fruitful as you would think for two people who didn't know they had siblings up until now. At least Jack showed a little bit more of emotion when he saw her. I know Claire's a little dead inside, but I wanted a little more.

It All Ends Once

Let's get right to the big finish. 4 nights left of LOST. 5 more episodes until the biggest thing on ABC since Rosanne (H/T Sarah). It really doesn't feel like we have enough time to get everything wrapped up and I hope that it isn't all rushed at the end. I think Jack's going to have to make some big choices. I always said this was going to come down to Jack and I definitely think so now. So like I mentioned above, Jack had Ben on the operating table and a chance to either save him or kill him. He chose a middle ground and saved him while setting his friends free. You wonder if that's what's going to happen to Jack here. What if he gets the memories of John Locke/FLocke in the Sideways World and has to decide whether to save this man on his operating table? What if Jack is able to let his friends leave the Island by sacrificing something (himself, his obsession with fixing things, his relationship with his Sideways Son, Sideways Locke)? Maybe he's right and they do have an unfulfilled purpose. I still think Jack's will be to take the ultimate leap of faith and resurrect someone from the dead (either John Locke or his dad, Christian). 5 more episodes. So like Jack described to Kate in the first episode (when he talked about a dural sack burst like Sideways Locke now has): we have a timeout next week and then 1...2...3...4...5...

Comments? Theories? Thoughts about the episode? Have different answers to my questions above. Let me know in the comments below and check out this Wired article full of juicy LOST nuggets (H/T Jay)