LOST - Stuff happens!

Well, that was a mind blower.

Season 4 of LOST came to an explosive end this week with a special double-length episode that blew the special effects budget and killed several main characters.  Maybe.  It sure looked like they killed several main characters, anyway.  In the world of LOST, there is dead, and then there's dead-but-still-walking-around-and-chatting.

Where to begin?  Why, with bullet points of course!

- Sawyer and Hurley - Aww, Sawyer came back for Hurley.  They're buddies.  It's been like, six episodes since Sawyer has done something self-serving - the guy's turning into a regular white knight.  I liked the quiet scene with Sawyer and Hurley share a Dharma snack together - it reminded me of this comic.

- Sayid vs Keamy - Not only do we get automatic weapon fire, grenade comedy, and The Others in full-on ninja mode, but we were treated to a rumble in the jungle between Sayid and the despicable Keamy.  They tore into each other, using whatever weapons were at hand (gun, knife, big stick) but ultimately Keamy got the upper hand -- until he was shot repeatedly in the back by Richard Alpert, who apparently was waiting in the bushes applying eyeliner while the two men fought.  Sayid did not ask, "What took you so long?" which would have been my first question.  Oh, well, at least Keamy was finally dead.  Or was he?

- "It's a place where miracles happen." - Locke didn't just drink the Messiah Kool Aid, he guzzled it.  He and Ben descended into the subterranean Orchid station in order to move the Island, but not before Keamy returned from the dead (body armor) to menace them once again.  Ben was understandably still upset with Keamy because he murdered his daughter, and got all stabby with a big knife.  A dying Keamy meant that the C4 on the freighter was going to blow up, but Ben didn't really care.   

- Bunnies: good  Metal: not good -- Ben made Locke watch a DHARMA orientation video where Dr. Edgar Halliwax explains how you can put bunnies in the time/space machine, but for the love of God DON'T PUT ANY METAL IN IT -- as Ben loaded the time/space machine with metal objects.  I thought that was hilarious.  Sometimes it seems like Ben just does stuff to screw with Locke, doesn't it?

- Bus driver!  Move! That! Island!  -- Wearing the same parka we will see him wear in the episode "The Shape of Things to Come," Ben took it upon himself to move The Island, sending Locke back up top to take his place as the new chosen leader of The Others.  How does one move a huge island?  You just turn the big frosty wheel, silly.  Yeah, that kind of tripped me out, too.  Really?  There's a big wheel thingy?

- Out of gas -- When Lapidus announced that they're running low on gas and need to ditch all the extra weight, I'm glad they didn't go with a cheap Hurley joke.  Instead, Sawyer whispered something to Kate, kissed her hard right in front of Jack, and then jumped out of the helicopter.  "We'll go back for him when we refuel,"  Jack told Kate, but I think he was crossing his fingers when he said that.

- Ka-BOOM!  --  Jin, Michael, and a number of redshirts all got blown up with the freighter as Keamy died and his "deadman switch" activated the bomb.  At least, it sure looked like they all died -- I suppose it's possible that Jin survived that.  Judging by Sun's screaming, she was not so convinced. 

- Out of gas, again -- Lapidus was running out of things to land his helicopter on.  He turned the vehicle around and was heading back to the Island when bamf!  The whole damn thing disappeared in a flash of light.  Am I the only person who thought that the Island's sudden absence from the ocean would cause a tsunami when all the displaced water shifts suddenly?  I wouldn't want to be swimming on the east coast of Madagascar in a few hours...  Lapidus landed the helicopter on the water, which is not an ideal surface.

- Desmond + Penelope -- After a fake-out where we think Desmond might die, the helicopter crash survivors were rescued by a boat.  Not just any boat -- Penelope's boat!  The two star-crossed lovers were finally reunited, which was a rare note of closure and a fleeting moment of happiness.  Jack talked everyone into lying about the circumstances of their salvation.  "Just let me do the talking,"  Jack said.  He'll regret that.

- Man in the box -- In the flash forward, three years in the future, Bearded Jack visited the mysterious coffin from the end of Season Three.  He wasn't alone - Benjamin Linus showed up as well, telling Jack what he already knew - they need to go back to the Island.  Ben had some ideas as to how to make that happen, but EVERYBODY that got off the Island needed to return, including the dead guy in the box.  The camera pulled around the open lid to reveal the identity of the man in the box...

John Locke. 

I'm going to have to let this all sink in, because there was a lot of stuff to take onboard with this jumbo sized season finale.  I'm sure folks will be disecting it all summer.  For now, I'm just content to stew in my confusion and half-baked grand theories about LOST.  That giant space turtle theory is looking more and more likely...

--Dave Campbell

Comments

[Dylan]

Holy crap! Ben totally stole my super-secret parenting tactic! He totally used the "Just watch this movie while daddy gets some work done." move. I knew I couldn't trust that guy.

[Mary]

"wouldn't want to be swimming on the east coast of Madagascar in a few hours." - GOOD POINT!!.... BUT in reference to the displacement of the water when the island disappears... Could they somehow tie this to the giant tsunami of 2004?? Considering that's the approximate time-line?

[Mary]

"wouldn't want to be swimming on the east coast of Madagascar in a few hours." - GOOD POINT!!.... BUT in reference to the displacement of the water when the island disappears... Could they somehow tie this to the giant tsunami of 2004?? Considering that's the approximate time-line?

[Mike Tattoo]

So it seems like the “whispering voices” are definitely linked to the Others, or at least the bad ass ninja ones hanging with Richard. I wonder if they’ll ever bother to explain what exactly the whole whispering voices are all about. I think the Others work best when they are both like The Predator; this invisible, bad ass killing machine in the jungle but also like The Invasion of the Body Snatchers; a metaphor for a fear of the unknown or fear of a different culture . Maybe that’s another aspect of the Chaos Magnet theory, the island collects all of these bad ass crime fighters over time that over the course of several seasons the most bad ass ones eventually become recruited to Team Up with the Others. I mean, look how they stressed the point of how hard Sayid of all people had to fight to keep up with them.

The sadistic fan boy in me would have strung out the freighter explosion by just 10 seconds to do a mini homage to Titanic. In just 10 seconds we could have easily taken out at least 13 Red Shirts. Literally. You could have the disposable Lost crew that made it on the freighter all dressed in bright red life preservers getting maimed and blown up and chopped to pieces as the freighter sank. That might be a bit too dark for most of America, but it would definitely work on the enhanced Director’s Exxtreme Authority version of the DVD.

So lots of questions to brainstorm on till next season -

What did Locke do to get kicked off the island?

Could Locke walk when he was off he island and communicating with Walt and the Oceanic 6, or was he cruising around in a wheelchair?

When they take Locke’s body back to the island, is he gonna pull a Ben Kenobi and start hanging out with Christian Shepard?

Is Ben gonna be successful in busting a cap in Penny’s ass? They could pull the predictable and safe cheesy soap opera ending where True Love wins out and Ben fails to kill Penny, or they could go the Exxxtreme Authority over the top route. Wonder which one it’ll be...

[Danielle]

the whole time I was watching, I was texting my boyfriend "GIANT SPACE TURTLE! GIANT *BLEEP*IN' SPACE TURTLE!!!"

You totally called it.

That and the bit about Ben just doing stuff to piss off John. Absolutely.

[J-S]

Hm...still digesting it! Especially after having viewed the 2 alternate endings this morning (I taped GMA so I could see them when I got home!), but I'll get to those later. So, hm... I'm sorry - not that I'm making weight jokes, but Hurley made a commitment to Locke (*not* to Jack) to stay on the island. Why could he not at least do a quick rock-paper-scissors with Sawyer. I mean, I thought that was pretty crummy of Hugo. Especially when he is the one who is all about the Karma Monster.

And someone help me out with this; I've kind of thought all along that it was Walt who was the "grandson" killed in drug-related violence. I'm talking about the episode where Miles goes to her house because she wants her grandson's spirit to leave the house and then Miles finds the hidden drug money and takes it...? If anyone still has that recording, I wonder about taking a look at who the grandmother was and comparing her to Walt's grandmother that showed up at Hurley's mental hospital.

I'm also wondering if Locke got off the island because Ben was lying the whole time when he said Locke had been selected as the new leader. I think Ben will always be the leader because he is the one who murdered the Dharma folks and the island appreciated that. (lol) I think that the only reason he decided to "share custody" of the island with Locke is so that he could leave to go murder Whidmore -- and others -- in an effort to keep the island hidden. Then when he came back (maybe 2.5 years later), he murders Locke and puts his body on a sub... we do know that the sub took off from somewhere along the west coast (I thought Juliette got on it in Oregon, but I could be wrong -- maybe that's just where the research facility was??). So there's my hunch. I mean, Ben didn't give up all sorts of details to Locke. Ben didn't tell him wtf that black smoke "creature" was, what this "magic box" is, why folks who both are and AREN'T dead flit around like holograms or something... I mean, what the heck is up with that?! I think he didn't bother telling Locke - not because Richard and The Others will - but because he knows he will return to the island as soon as he kills off anyone/everyone who is a threat to it. And that includes the folks who left - Kate, Jack, Sayid, Sun and Hurley. I'll bet that if they did something like refuse to return, Ben would have them killed. I do believe however that Aaron wouldn't remember a thing so I think he could safely be left with his grandma in Australia and it's not like Ben is going to force Sun to bring her baby to the island. I seriously think it's all about "people who could tell" being left alive and Ben doesn't trust anyone.

Oh! So the alternate endings?? GMA said that in case someone leaked the ending, Lost filmed two alternate endings. One had Sawyer in the casket (oh, come on!) and the other had Desmond in the casket ... which actually could have made some sense. Sort of. I mean, seriously. How the heck is Desmond going to avoid having Whidmore know he is back??? Penny is his daughter!! Penny gets her money from rich Daddy, right?! Hm... I think the plot could thicken with those two and what Daddy Big Bucks might force them to do... Can't wait until next season!!

[Viviane]

Two things of Lost I would like to have for me: the smoke monster to bother people I dont like and the Dharma food, it seems very tasty! Ben and Locke are the best characters and actors I've ever seen on TV in all the times!

[Viviane]

Ah, and I've become a Lostaholic and mom too!

[Kevin]

I'm just glad that they stuck with the well known method of Space Turtle teleportation: Turning a big frozen wheel.

[missedledzep07]

I think the ash around jacobs cabin is to keep it from burning, if a fire was started, or a circle where the devil cannot here what is discussed in the cabin??

[Lattaland]

He got all 'stabby'. I almost choked I laughed so hard at that description. Hard to tell my five little kids why that tickled me so much. They aren't allowed to watch Lost. Too many nightmare inducing scenes for the wee folk. I like the way you write. Thanks for taking the time to get it on line. Entertaining.
:)