Theories and spoilers ahoy! Bloggers Theresa DeLucci, Rajan Khanna, and Bridget McGovern dissect the sixth season, two-hour premiere of Lost, television’s most confusing show, in a weekly round-table. Join in with your own thoughts and predictions and be sure to check out some fun Lost-related links.
Theresa: First things first. I’m ridiculously excited for the final season of Lost. A story’s ending is just as important as its beginning and I’m hoping against hope that the last ten minutes of Lost’s series finale doesn’t ruin the whole series for me. (Hello, Galactica.) Lost is still mega-popular, but it’s definitely not as MEGA-mega popular as it was back in 2004. The twisty, turny, suspenseful, and at times completely muddled and frustrating turn of events has led to the loss of people both on the Island and off. I know a lot of former fans who dropped the show over the years after one too many questions went unanswered for too long, or the plot moved too slowly. (Hello, season 3.) But a lot of the dissatisfied viewers also admit they’ll give the show another shot once it’s all done and the last season is up on Netflix. So, as the series comes to a close, I’ll be pondering whether or not I can tell my friends sincerely that Lost, as a whole story, is a great one.
I’ve trudged through the frustrating, going-nowhere story arcs. The other Others, the infertile women, the bear cages, and even a whole damn episode devoted to Jack’s ugly tattoo. If Bai Ling’s performance in that episode couldn’t scare me away from this show, nothing will. I’m here til the bitter end.
That said, this episode was… something of a mixed bag for me.
So, the bomb Juliet set off in her weirdly creepy moment of defeat last season (if she can’t have Sawyer, then it’s better he never comes to the Island at all) succeeded in creating a timeline where Oceanic 815 lands safely in Los Angeles. Is this really what would’ve happened if 815 never crashed or are the castaways slightly… off somehow? I enjoyed the plane scenes, though I kinda had to laugh at how these were the chattiest passengers ever. It was awesome to see Arzt again, but if I was Hurley, I would’ve put on my headphones and feigned sleep. Speaking of Hurley—in this universe he’s got good luck instead of bad? And why was Desmond on the plane while Shannon, Michael, and Walt were not? Charlie still dies, albeit for a minute? Why was Rose telling Jack to relax during the turbulence instead of the other way around, when we saw this scene in the pilot? Where’s Jack’s dad’s coffin? Why is the Island rendered in bad CGI and completely submerged underwater? Lost seems very cinematic to me, but any time special effects are involved, I’m reminded that this is, in fact, a network TV show with budget and time limitations.
And back on the Island, everyone is still alive for the time being and it seems the bomb only knocked Sawyer, Kate, etc. back into the present. I think? So we’re following not two timelines so much as two realities. I have to give credit where it’s due, and the Lost creators sure know how to reinvent their storytelling technique. I’ll always miss the flashbacks that made me fall in love with the show, because those episodes were so character-centric. The last two season’s, Lost has been more plot-driven. This was especially true in the fifth season. Even re-watching it didn’t make me like all of the Locke/not-Locke time-skipping stuff. But I think showing us two different versions of the characters can be the best of both worlds. No pun intended. What was fate, what can be changed?
For example, I think it is fate that Kate remains easily the most boring, annoying character on this show. Everything about her rubs me the wrong way. If any of the Lost creators were female, I’d call Kate a Mary Sue. I don’t know. Maybe it still applies.
Was anyone else expecting Locke to walk off the plane at the end of the first hour? I was hoping for some last-minute weirdness there. But we’ll see what happens when Locke goes in for his free consult with Jack. I miss old Locke. This new Locke avatar for Silas-from-Deadwood is just kind of scary. And that’s without him being the smoke monster, too. And somewhere around the second hour is when I started to feel overwhelmed by questions. Now we have more new people. Or old people, if you count the Tailies, Cindy the Stewardess and the two little kids. But I will at least give the Temple people a chance because the bad-tempered Japanese guy is Hiroyuki Sanada, a fantastic character actor from Sunshine and The Twilight Samurai. And his lieutenant is yet another actor from Deadwood. If Ian McShane isn’t on this show by the finale, I will be pissed. But I’m a little annoyed that I have to learn about new mysterious people at this late date, no matter how happy I am that they magically brought Sayid back to life.
So after the premiere, I don’t feel like I know anything more than I did during the hiatus. But theories are already starting to form. Is Sayid really Sayid, or is he a vessel for Jacob? It’d be really interesting to see Sayid with more of a storyline this season, separate from his ability to kill men with household appliances. Will we finally learn more about Richard Alpert? After not-Locke’s comment about chains, could Richard have been one of the slaves brought over on the Black Rock? I have no clue. But I’m glad Lost is back because without it, I’d have no TV show to speculate and/or bitch about this season. It feels good to be back on the Island.
Raj: First thing I have to say is, what a dirty fucking trick. Here I am, excited, surprised and happy that Juliet is still alive under all that debris. I thought we lost her to the underwhelming V, and yet there’s her voice, and there’s her beaten and bloody body. And there’s her…dead body? WTF, Lost? What was the purpose of bringing her back just so we could watch her die again?
Weak sauce.
I have to say, though, that I like vengeful, brooding Sawyer (or James, as I now like to call him). I kinda wished that he had gone after Jack, but only because I find Jack almost as annoying as Kate. Except for alternate timeline Jack. Him, I like. Not nearly as whiny or self-pitying or righteously angry.
So, it seems like, as Theresa said, we’re now in two alternate realities as opposed to two time periods. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that at first. Seeing them on the plane in the first episode and not crashing made me feel a little weird. Like those dreams I have where I am in a different universe. But what I found ultimately interesting was how some people were better off landing in LAX, and others not so much.
My theory, at this early stage, is that the two realities will cross over at some point. Or interact in some way. Otherwise I don’t see the point in continuing to watch it play out. The island must still exist in the alternate timeline. Jacob is still out there, I would presume. So that’s my theory for the time being. Until I see something that contradicts it.
But as to that point, how did Juliet know that it worked? Could she somehow “see” into that other reality? Maybe being at the source of the blast she ended up existing in both realities at the same time. Is this me just wishing somehow that she’ll still be alive in some reality at some point?
Other guesses—I think that Richard was indeed on the Black Rock and that’s what we saw coming into the island when Jacob and the Adversary were talking on the beach. Which would make Richard really old, which we knew he was. Was that spring the mythical Fountain of Life? If the island did indeed move around that could play into the myths of the European colonial period. Maybe that’s what the Black Rock was looking for?
I agree about new characters at this point, especially after those from last season still haven’t settled (though I was glad to see that large oafish one go). But I really liked the Japanese guy and I got a huge kick out of seeing Sol from Deadwood all tricked out like Dennis Hopper’s character in Apocalypse Now, minus the cameras. Actually, how many Deadwood alums does that make that have appeared on the show? Sol, Silas, Trixie, Farnum, Calamity Jane, Joanie Stubbs…am I missing anyone?
I’m wondering what’s up with Jack’s Dad on Earth-2 as well. I guess we can assume the Adversary used Christian on Earth-1 since he seemed to only use dead bodies. But is there any way he could have gotten hold of the body? Was it just coincidence?
I was sad for Locke dying as a failure. I actually believed that he had a destiny, and I didn’t think it was to become the face of an evil (as far as we know) bastard.
Really, the weakest part of the opener for me, apart from the CGI which was pretty lackluster, was Sayid coming back. I mean was there any doubt? Especially the way they just kept the body laying there? Worse fake suspense ever.
I’m excited for the season, though. The end of last season had me worrying, but I think they seem to be on an interesting track and getting back to more interesting things, like the Temple and explaining the healing properties and how Ben was healed as a kid. By the way, I just caught that – Sayid shot Ben and he was healed in the Temple, presumably in the same spring. Then in the end Sayid, also shot, by Ben’s dad, is healed the same way. Or is he? I also thought that maybe he became a conduit for Jacob in the way that Locke did for the Adversary. It would explain why Jacob told Hurley what he did. And why Sayid apparently died.
I’m looking forward to next week, hopefully with a lot less Kate.
Bridget: I have to say, I feel like I spent this episode bracing for a revelation that never quite came. With only 18 hours of the series remaining, I guess I’m expecting the writers to start tossing crazy twists and turns at us like a deranged pitching machine, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. I mean, I had zero expectation that Juliet would survive her fall down the murderous shrapnel-hole any more than I thought Sayid would really be killed off, and I have to agree with Raj that the melodramatic fake-outs on both accounts seemed more than a little forced. At the same, I trust these writers, and I’m intrigued by the new narrative style, even if it potentially raises more questions than it answers at first.
More than anything, I enjoyed how much the premiere intentionally mirrored the first season in various ways. For example, Charlie almost chokes to death and claims he was “supposed to die” in the LAX world, while on the Island, Jack’s desperate attempts to resuscitate Sayid (and a tearful Kate’s attempts to stop him—man, she cries a lot) seemed to reenact the moments following Charlie’s hanging. The episode was filled with these kinds of subtle echoes, inspiring a sense that we are coming full circle, albeit by the strangest route possible (but we all know that’s what makes it fun ).
Despite the failure to deliver any truly mind-blowing epiphanies, I thought the episode was solid, and it felt satisfying after the long hiatus. Yeah, the CGI was goofy, and the Temple-based Others looked like a bunch of hippie/pirate rejects from some kind of nautical-themed Burning Man, but everything relating to Jacob and the Adversary is completely fascinating to me (what’s the deal with the ash?! And why is he “disappointed” in Jacob’s followers?! And why is pool all murky?! And will we get to see Richard Alpert in chains—because that could get kind of hot, right?! Or not. Anyway ). I actually hated to see Sawyer devolve so quickly from the relatively reasonable Mr. Juliet back into Snarly McMurderface, but on the other hand, it was a fantastic change of pace to see Hurley man up and take charge for a change. At this point, I just can’t wait to see where it goes from here, but in the meantime, here’s a bunch of illuminating/entertaining/random Lost-related links we thought you might enjoy while counting down to next week:
An intriguing interview with Cuse & Lindelof on the Jimmy Kimmel Show
An Entertainment Weekly interview with Cuse and Lindelof
A side-by-side comparison of the crash/not-crash of Oceanic 815
A helpful Lost timeline, courtesy of the NY Times
An immensely entertaining Lost Choose Your Own Adventure Game (Gawker)
SCI FI Wire’s hilarious Lost Bingo Cards
The obligatory Funny Or Die Lost parody
A touching salute to Dharma Beer
Theresa DeLucci is a graduate of the 2008 Clarion West Writers Workshop. When not hunkering down to write fiction this fall, she is looking forward to watching House, Dexter, and Stargate: Universe. She will also give HBO’s Bored to Death a look despite her extreme prejudice against Brooklyn hipsters.
Rajan Khanna is a graduate of the 2008 Clarion West Writers Workshop and his fiction has appeared in Shimmer Magazine. He lives in Brooklyn with his two cats, Chloe and Muppet.
Bridget McGovern is a lit nerd, a film geek, and a complete pop culture junkie. She enjoys David Bowie, roller coasters, and Geronimo Jackson more than anyone probably should.
