Lost: Happily Ever After

[ncexnyc]

I still haven't seen anything yet that shows me the alt-reality timeline is better. Again, TPTB have done a great job of keeping everything somewhat fuzzy, both in the characters lives and the situation between Jacob and Flocke.

Like the game the other night, this ones going down to the final episode.

[JasonEvans]

Ok, everyone needs to go back and rewatch all Desmond-centric episodes RIGHT NOW!

You know how my kids are watching Lost for the first time? Well, they are in the middle of season 3 and were just watching the fabulous Flashes Before Your Eyes where Desmond flashes back on almost asking Penny to marry him before Eloise Hawking (in the Jewelry store) talks him out of it and tells him he is supposed to push the button.

At the time, we didn't know much about the Mrs. Hawkins character. We all thought the only thing she was talking about was pushing the button and "course correcting" to make sure Desmond went to the Island. But, something she said stuck out to me as I watched this scene over again with my kids.

Right after she tells him he has to go push the button she says, "because if you do not do it, all of us will die."

Now, when I first saw this scene several years ago, I quite naturally thought she meant that his failure to push the button would kill everyone. But, in light of what has been happening in season 6 and especially what happened in this week's episode, allow me to posit that she does not give a rats behind about the button. She needs Des to go to the Island for the same reason she needs him to not look for Penny in the alt-world. She is trying to preserve some kind of destiny and reality. That is the "we are all going to die" she is trying to preserve. It has nothing to do with the button and everything to do with making sure that Desmond is in the right place doing the right thing so he cannot change reality in such a way as to destroy the world she is protecting/creating.

I'll even go so far as to say that she is probably somehow working with and helping FLocke/MIB. After all, she is the one who told Jack to bring Locke's body back with him on the plane (allowing MIB to take his place as FLocke). She is now the one trying to stop Desmond from alerting everyone that "something is wrong" in the alt-LAX (which will probably cause folks like Sawyer and Sayid who are on MIB's side to abandon him or something like that).

Hearing Eloise say, "or we will all die" just struck a real chord with me. Is it possible that the end game we are seeing right now was being foreshadowed back in the middle of season three?

--Jason "by the way, Eloise can see people's fate before they die too-- just like the way Des did with Charlie" Evans

[Welcome2DaSlopes]

I feel like all these episodes are adding up to one BIG ONE. Not very much like lost, which almost every show is huge but Idk, I hope i'm not dissapointed.

[JasonEvans]

I feel like all these episodes are adding up to one BIG ONE. Not very much like lost, which almost every show is huge but Idk, I hope i'm not dissapointed.

It is worth noting that even if they wait until the final episode to resolve everything, they have 2 hours to get it done. That is the entire length of a mainstream Hollywood movie. In the same amount of time that Hollywood would tell you an entire story, Lost simply has to wrap up their story.

-Jason "as I go from hopeful to hopeless, I am clearly in the hopeful camp after this week's episode" Evans

[Udaman]

Loved this episode. Loved it. The mirroring of other past episodes was great (taking the drink with Whidmore, running on the steps, the scene in the car with Charlie's hand)...just great. Finally.

Of course, I'm still confused. Faraday is saying that they shouldn't be there (with there being in the odd timeline)...like that maybe they were supposed to blow up the bomb, and somehow that didn't happen, or maybe blowing up the bomb was what got them where they were and that shouldn't happen. Tough to tell.

But clearly Desmond understands it all now, and will be instrumental in getting everyone together in the alt timeline, to somehow make a decision about staying or going. They'll all see what they had on the island, and likely realize that getting what they have now has consequences.

What gives me the most comfort is that Lost, at least this season, clearly knows what they are doing. Just like Breaking Bad - it seems they sat down and wrote out every episode for all the shows, and tied them together - they are not making this season up as they go along, and that gives me hope for at least a satisfying season.

And, as JE says, the 2 hour finale will present plenty of time to wrap stuff up.

[Jarhead]

It is worth noting that even if they wait until the final episode to resolve everything, they have 2 hours to get it done. That is the entire length of a mainstream Hollywood movie. In the same amount of time that Hollywood would tell you an entire story, Lost simply has to wrap up their story.

-Jason "as I go from hopeful to hopeless, I am clearly in the hopeful camp after this week's episode" Evans

I think you've nailed it, Jason. I'm guessing that we'll be feeling the end line before the final episode, but we won't get it until the final 10 or 15 minutes. Up to that time we will still need some answers. Folks are complaining about not getting answers now, but any that we would get are teasers more than answers. We have to pay attention, though, or we may miss something. The punchline might go right over our heads.

[Reisen]

Wow, surprised to see so much love for the episode. I thought it was the worst of the season.

Little to advance the concrete story arc (only a few minutes of on-island action, and the part where we discover why Desmond is special), no Flocke, minimal Jin, just a little Sayid (who has jumped the shark anyway), etc etc.

Everyone is making a big deal about Desmond and Whidmore being BFFs in LA-X, but I thought that one was pretty predictable. The Charlie scenes, including in the bar, were downright painful. We went from smoke monsters, sonic fences, hatches, others, and numbers, to basically an English Telenovella with Charlie and Desmond hallucinating about the loves of their lives.

An occasional side-flash to a Jin or Sayid off-island is acceptable, but they focused way too much on LA-X this episode, and could have cut out about 30 minutes of it without affecting story arc.

[DukeUsul]

It's also worth noting that Eloise knows her son came back to blow up the bomb. She knows she kills him. She spends her whole life not allowing him to follow his musical dream and forces him into physics. All so that he can go back in time. All so that he can help tell them to blow up the bomb. All so that he can cause the timeline to split. All so that Eloise will have an alternate life in which Daniel is alive and is able to be her son and enjoy his musical life and be happy.

That would be good motivation for her to be doing all that she is doing. And like Jason said... I wouldn't be surprised if it's all set up/helped/prodded by MIB.

[johnb]

Wow, surprised to see so much love for the episode. I thought it was the worst of the season.

Little to advance the concrete story arc (only a few minutes of on-island action, and the part where we discover why Desmond is special), no Flocke, minimal Jin, just a little Sayid (who has jumped the shark anyway), etc etc.

Everyone is making a big deal about Desmond and Whidmore being BFFs in LA-X, but I thought that one was pretty predictable. The Charlie scenes, including in the bar, were downright painful. We went from smoke monsters, sonic fences, hatches, others, and numbers, to basically an English Telenovella with Charlie and Desmond hallucinating about the loves of their lives.

An occasional side-flash to a Jin or Sayid off-island is acceptable, but they focused way too much on LA-X this episode, and could have cut out about 30 minutes of it without affecting story arc.

I agree, especially the bit about true love--seemed maudlin to me.