http://www.tvfanatic.com/2010/05/lost-epilogue-to-be-included-on-dvd-box-set/

Lost may be over, but the debate regarding its series finale isn’t the only thing that lives on.

When the DVD box set Lost: The Complete Collection hits stores on August 24, viewers will have a chance to watch an epilogue of sorts. The extended footage will focus on Hurley and Ben’s reign as island protectors.

“It’s a lot.” said Michael Emerson >. “It’s 12 or 14 minutes that opens a window onto that gap of unknown time between Hurley becoming number one and the end of the series. It’s self-contained, although it’s a rich period in the show’s mythology that’s never been explored, so who knows what will come of it.”

Based on the final exchange between Hurley and Ben, we know these two got along pretty well in their important island roles. But what, exactly, did those entail?

The DVD set is meant to provide that answer.

Here’s my early interpretation of the ending (with additional questions and reactions):

FLASH SIDEWAYS ENDING
The flash sideways is a dream-world of sorts for the dead. It’s a world created by the dead to get to live their life the way they wanted. It’s a state of Purgatory or Limbo where the characters can meet up with their loved ones and move on once they are completely fulfilled and happy. So for all the characters (minus Ben, Ana Lucia, Miles, Charlotte, Daniel, and others who weren’t ready), once they are “awakened” and found their love or happiness, they are ready to move on. Last week, Desmond said that Ana Lucia wasn’t ready yet. I’m not exactly sure why this is, but maybe because she hasn’t discovered her love or true happiness yet. Ben is awakened, but consciously chooses to stay and work out his issues. I think he needs the chance to be a good father figure to Alex before he can move on. Desmond told Eloise that he wouldn’t take her son Faraday. They probably need more time to reconnect as a family. Below is a list of the characters who moved on together, and who they found their love with. Except for Desmond and Penny, everyone else was on the original Oceanic 815 flight.

Charlie + Claire + Aaron
Desmond + Penny
Sun + Jin
Jack + Kate (plus he is reunited with his Dad)
Hurley + Libby
Sawyer + Juliet
Rose + Bernard
Sayid + Shannon
Locke + Faith/Fate/Destiny
Boone + ? Being happy for his sister ?

ISLAND ENDING
On the Island, Jack and Fake-Locke (aka Smokey) together lower Desmond into the heart of the Island to unplug the source of the light. Jack thinks this is how he will kill Fake-Locke, while Fake-Locke thinks this is how he will destroy the Island. They are both right. After the light goes out, the Island starts to crumble but Fake-Locke becomes mortal. Kate shoots him and Jack kicks him off a cliff where he plummets to his death. Jack they quickly gets lowered back into the heart and replugs the source, restoring the light and saving the Island. By doing this, Jack sacrifices himself and saves Desmond. Jack passed the job of guardian onto Hurley, who accepts and appoints Ben as his #2. Ben is very honored by this as always wanted to work for Jacob. Jack says Hurley makes a good guardian because he can do what he does best, help others. Ben tells Hurley he doesn’t have to run the Island the way Jacob did and he can sent Desmond home. Meanwhile, Lupidas flies the Ajira plane off the Island, with Sawyer, Kate, Miles, Claire, and Richard (who now ages) on board.

QUESTIONS UNANSWERED + ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

- The Co-creaters at the Times talk Thursday said that Walt would make an appearance in the finale. I never saw him (not Michael). What ever happens with them?

- It’s also too bad Eko didn’t show up. Although he quit the show, it still would have been nice for him to show up for the finale.

- I expected Eloise Hawking to play a bigger role than she did. She still knew where they were, but they never explained how she knew. I guess she is enlightened enough to have already “awakened.”

- Mostly everyone who left the Island in the plane had someone to go home to. Claire was going home to Aaron (where after extensive therapy, maybe they’ll let her have custody of him!) Kate will most likely adopt Ji-Yeon, and Sawyer has a daughter of his own to take care of. I’m not sure about Lupidas or Miles, but Richard will finally get to experience aging.

- Like the name of this blog, Desmond is special. He ended up being a sort of saint that brought everyone in the sideways world together and helped awaken them and help them find love. He ended up being once of the most significant characters in the show.

- Lost started and ended centered around Jack. If there was any main character of the show, it was Jack. We saw tremendous character development with his character. He really came full-circle.

- It’s nice that they lived together and died together, instead of “live together, die alone.” Also, a smart move on the creators part to make the flash-sideways world a “timeless” world. This way, they could bring all the characters together, whether they died seasons ago or we haven’t seen them die yet.

All in all, I think they did a pretty good job wrapping up the show. Even though it was chock full of emotion, I was expecting a sadder ending. But it was actually a happy ending . Jack did die on the Island, but he sacrificed himself for the greater good of humanity, and he still got to be with all his friends after he was dead. Lost ended on a very spiritual note, which a season ago I wouldn’t have been very pleased with. But the show has been packed with spiritual scenes since the beginning. Whatever happened, happened, I’m beginning to think everything happens for a reason.

EYES
We start on a signature shot of Jack’s opening his eyes. There’s actually a Lostpedia page listing all the “eyeopeners” in LOST.

DESMOND
Des is going to be crucial in the finale. Both sides depend on his help. Fake-Locke needs Desmond to destroy the Island, and Jack & co. need him to help defeat Fake-Locke.

JACOB
Jacob finally explains to the final four candidates what his job is and why he needs one of them to take over. When Kate asked why her name was crossed off the list, Jacob said that he just figured she has a purpose off the Island because she’s a mom. He goes on to say that it’s just chalk in a cave and she can have the job if she wants it. This statement kind of trivialized the candidate list and I think we were all hoping there would be a more profound reason why Kate was crossed off. There was so much speculation about how Jacob didn’t touch Kates shoulder when she was little, but he touches everyone elses. But it turns out that didn’t mean anything at all.

- Is guarding the island like the button? Does it NEED to be guarded? The button did need to be button, but we’ll see what happens with the Island.

SPOILERS… Kind of.
I went to the NY Times Lost Live talk last night, which was simulcast in a theater near me. There wasn’t any HUGE spoilers, but a couple giveaways. If you don’t want to read them, stop now. Otherwise, here we go.

- The first 7 minutes is a big Star Wars Reference
- Walt makes an appearance
- Fake-Locke talks about sinking the Island.

Ok, so not any major spoilers. I’ll post my final reaction after the show, but it’s looking like this LOST blog may sink with the Island. I can’t wait for Sunday, but I’m sad it’s all coming to an end. Until then, I’ll just be crossing my fingers and hoping it’s a strong finale!

“MOTHER”
While it told the history of Jacob and MIB, “Across the Sea” didn’t give the complete history of the Island. Jacob and MiB (his fraternal twin) were born on the Island shortly after their birth mother washed onto shore. Right after their birth she was killed by a seemingly crazy women they came to know as their mother. She is the guardian of the magical light on the Island, but how she came into this role was never explained. She said she ended up on the Island by accident, but we don’t know why. Where is she from? And does this matter? How long has she been there? Also, did she have anything to do with bringing Claudia to the Island or was that total coincidence? I think a lot of people wonder if it was absolutely necessary for her to kill Claudia off right after she gave birth. This seems to do one of two things: It shows that Mother was certified crazy right off the bat OR it shows how brainwashed she is by the Island, in that she honestly feels the twins were special enough that they had to be kept away from their birth mother and people. I think it’s a combination of both.

The other aspect about Mother that confused a lot of people was how she was able burn down an entire village, kill all the people, and carry the Man in Black out of the well. Either the producers didn’t think this through, or she has some super-strength. If it’s the latter, the theory that would make the most sense is if Mother is a smoke monster. This doesn’t really seem to make sense, but how else could she have done that? When Man in Black kills her, he uses the same knife that Dogen gives to Sayid to kill Smokey (as Locke), when he instructed Sayid to stab Fake-Locke before he utters a word. Well Mother didn’t say a word when Man in Black killed her. Then again, was it the same knife Ben used to kill Jacob?

FERTILITY
This plays a huge role on the Island. Claudia, Rousseau, and Claire all arrived at the Island very prego. The statue on the Island is Tawaret, which is the Egyptian goddess of fertility who later turned evil. Jacob later lives inside the foot of this statue. Did Jacob have the statue built in homage to this mother?

ERA OF JACOB
And we thought Richard had been at the Island for a long time. Jacob and MiB were born on the Island thousands of years ago, and most likely came from Ancient Rome (Claudia spoke Latin). Jacob has been the guardian of the magical light tunnel for thousands of years. Has he been looking for a candidate that those time? Or just when he got tired? Also, why is Jacob so picky about the candidates? I wonder if Mother had other candidates before Jacob and MiB, because Jacob seemed to have dozens of potential replacements. And what makes him cross someone off the list? Why is Sawyer still a candidate but Kate isn’t?

We also learned that Jacob was a huge mama’s boy. After this episode I actually think Jacob is a weak person. He seems to be completely whipped by his mother, and he doesn’t have a good reason why. He’s put his complete faith in her, and doesn’t even really question it (unlike MiB).

MAN IN BLACK
The Man in Black (in the early days) comes across as a much more normal person than Jacob. He has more general human characteristics: He questions the way things are, he lies, and he has to desire to explore and learn about the world for himself. When MiB becomes the smoke monster, does he become evil? He didn’t seem that bad in the early days, but then again, there’s probably been a lot of pent up anger in the thousands of years he’s been trapped on the Island as a pillar of smoke.

GHOSTS
As Fake-Locke, the Man in Black see’s young Jacob’s ghost. As a boy, he is visited by his mother’s ghost But she doesn’t visit Jacob. Why can MiB see her and not Jacob? What makes him different? Also, Hurley can see ghosts, Miles can hear their thoughts, but no one else can see them. I hope they explain why some people can see ghosts but others can’t.

Also, what’s with Fake-Locke seeing Jacob as a boy-ghost, but Hurley see’s him as a grown up ghost. Can he show up as any age he wants?

THE RULES
I hope they explain how the rules of the island work. It appears the guardian of the Island controls the rules. Mother made it so Jacob and Man in Black can’t kill each other. Man in Black can’t leave the Island. Apparently Jack and the other candidates can’t be killed by the Man in Black. What is the significance of these rules?

QUESTIONS ANSWERED
–”Adam and Eve,” the skeletons that Jack finds in the cave, are actually the remains of Mib and Mother. But is this really significant to the end of the show? I don’t think so. It just proves that the show producers had a “plan” since season 1, except Jack originally said the skeletons had been there 50 years (not thousands).

–We learn how MiB Became the Smoke Monster — Jacob basically turned him into it by throwing him into the golden tunnel. Why did it turn him into smoke, and what did Jacob think would happen when he did this?

–The Light in the tunnel is the heart of the Island, and it’s what people want. Come again? What’s this light business? I didnt understand/like this answer.

–The Donkey wheel was built by the Man in Black and his people as a way to leave the Island. But MiB didn’t get to finish it. So who did?

OTHER THOUGHTS & OBSERVATIONS

-What happened this episode must have simiarities to other things that happened on island. Look what Doc Jensen at Entertainment Weekly says about it.

So many shared elements. Shipwrecked castaways. A deadly first encounter with a supernatural Island entity. ”Special” children and child abduction. Ghosts. Suspicion and conflict with Others. Mystery boxes and games. The war between faith and reason. Betrayal and murder. Does the current iteration of this repeating myth involving Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and the rest of the surviving Oceanic 815 lot represent one more manifestation of the cycle that will continue forever and ever, Amen? Or is the great twist of the entire Lost saga is that everyone, friend or foe — from the castaways to Fake Locke to Dead Jacob — are actually striving toward the same end from different angles: reversing the curse; breaking the chain; cleaning the slate; reboot.

- Who does Ben work for? Is the smoke monster the real guardian? Why does Ben need to be “Judged” by Smokey?

- If Fake-Locke kills all candidates, does sideways world become the main world? In the sideways world, the Island is underwater. Is this because Fake-Locke left the Island? Is that what happens if he leaves? Is the sideways world a world without Jacob? In that world, the Island was never destroyed by the Black Rock, which means Richard never came tot he Island.

-Sorry it took me a week to finally post this blog. But time for the next (to last) episode. I hope it doesn’t disappoint!!

ISLAND IN A NUTSHELL (SUMMARY)
Jack, Sayid, and Fake-Locke rescue Sawyer, Kate, Hurley, Sun, Jin, and Lupidas, who were captured by Widmore’s people when they were trying to sail away. Fake-Locke brings everyone to the plane to leave the Island, but “finds” bricks of C-4 explosives in the overhead compartment. He tells them they have to go to the submarine instead. Sawyer and Jack devise a plan to throw Fake-Locke in the water so everyone (minus Jack) can escape on the sub without Fake-Locke. Fake-Locke catches on and switches his backpack (with the C-4 in it) with Jack’s. Jack didn’t intend to leave on the sub, but Sawyer shuts the hatch and tells them to submerge before Jack can exit. When they find the C-4 on the sub, Jack tries to convince them that they won’t die if they let the timer count down tells them that Fake-Locke is just trying to get them to kill themselves by trying to deactivate the bomb because he can’t kill them himself. Jack was clearly right, but Sawyer wouldn’t have it, and basically screws them all and pulls the cords on the bomb, setting it into rapid countdown. Sayid runs to the other end of the sub with the bomb and it explodes, killing him instantly. Jack, Hurley, Sawyer, and Kate escape, but Jin and Sun sink with the sub. Lupidas apparently also sinks with it too. Fake-Locke magically knows exactly what happened, and tells Claire he’s going to finish what he started.

FLASH-SIDEWAYS IN A NUTSHELL
Basically, Jack is completely obsessed with fixing Locke and along the way realizes everyone he runs into was on his flight. Jack realizes he can perform low-risk experimental surgery to make Locke walk again, but Locke refuses. He even tries to get Bernard, Locke’s dentist, to tell him how Locke become wheelchair bound. He finds out Bernard was on his flight, weird! He then goes to visit Locke’s Dad, who is a vegetable. We learn that Locke crippled himself and his father by crashing a small plane. Claire shows Locke a wooden mirrored music box that their father left for her, and they find out they were both on Oceanic 815, double weird!

DEATH
Within one episide we lost Sayid, Sun, Jin, and maybe Lupidas (we never actually got confirmation he drowned, but it appears this was the case.) Sayid’s death was similar to Charlie’s in that they both sacrificed themselves to save others, and passed a last minute crucial message in their final moments. Sun and Jin died together, which was romantic in a tragic way. In a way, their death is the opposite of the LOST catchphrase “live together die alone.” Jin and Sun lived apart for three years, and right after they were finally united, they died together… right? Wrong! As they are dying, we see their hands separate. Tragic!
The silver lining is that Sayid, Sin, and Jin could technically still be alive… in the flash-sideways world. Sun, Jin and Sayid could continue to live in the flash sideways world. I heard a theory that characters who die in the first world, could still live happily in the sideways world, while the rest will have a choice about which world they end up in.
And how could the show’s creators make Sun and Jin’s Daughter Yi-Jeon an orphan? Well Doc Jensen’s blog in EW weekly hints that this will be addressed. He writes that he couldn’t include all Daniel Dae Kim’s comments in Ji-Yeon since they may be spoilers. Hmm…
My last comment on their deaths: Will they join the chorus of whispers on the Island?

FAKE-LOCKE (SMOKEY)
Any thoughts about him being the good guy are now out the window. I’ve heard theories that Smokey and Jacob are different sides of the same being, which I find hard to believe, but next week’s episode should clear it all up. I’m a little confused on Smokey’s intentions- does he want to leave the Island or not? We thought all he wanted was to leave the Island and that he needed everyone to leave together with him, but now it appears he just wants them all dead. Maybe he wants to just live in peace on the Island. Or, check out this theory from a reader on Doc Jensen’s blog:

Another theory inspired by this week’s Sideways world story comes from Eddy Rivas, who found it conspicuous/suspicious that “The Candidate” revealed to us that Sideways Locke has a pilot’s license. Apparently anticipating a scenario by which Fake Locke would be able to tap Sideways Locke’s aviation skills, Eddy writes: “I’m calling this right now: Locke is going to fly the Ajira plane off the island.

Also, who is the random boy that appears? Is it Jacob? The innocent soul of boy-hood smokey?

JACK
It appears Jack is the candidate. Or at least he clearly wants to be. New Jack completely pulled a 180 from the original Jack we came to know and respect. He turned from the man of science into a man of faith, and now seems to be fulfilling Locke’s “destiny” of dedicating himself to the Island. But is he actually the one candidate? I guess we’ll have to wait and see!
Just as Jack is insistent on fixing locke, does Jack want to stay on the island because he wants to “fix” it? Once Jack gets an idea in his head he’s stubborn as well. But think about it, does he really want to be the only one left on the Island? Would you want to be stuck on the Island with Smokey?

KATE
Kate got shot, and although she’s badly wounded, she appears to still be okay. But in the past few weeks, they keep drilling into the fact that Kate is expendable. Fake-Locke seems to be using her to get Jack, Sawyer, and the rest to do as he asks by threatening to kill her. But does she realy serve no purpose? It’s strange how Kate turned from one of the most important characters to this apparently useless character. But I have a feeling she may more significant than we think. I was sure that she would have been killed off in the sub with the rest of them if she wasn’t, so Kate must serve some kind of purpose.

SAWYER
He really screwed it up for them,and if Jack was right, he’s responsible for Sayid, Sun, and Jin’s deaths. Sawyer is the antithesis of Jack right now; a non believer who just wants to go home — however, he and Jack still had some kind of understanding. But isn’t Jack pissed at him for the sub incident?

HURLEY
How did he swim all the way from deep under the sub with Kate? I don’t buy it.

LUPIDAS
Is he dead? If yes, was his purpose on the Island just to make us think he would fly them home?

WIDMORE
Still unclear on his deal. He obviously knows something that we don’t. Is he really trying to kill the others? Who put the C-4 in the plane in the first place? Fake-Locke? Or was it Widmore, or perhaps even Ben or Richard?

FAKE-LOCKE
If Locke didn’t place the C-4 in the plane, how did he know exactly where it was? He is all-knowing to some extent. He knew that that some died on the sub. But does he know that Sayid didn’t kill Desmond? They better completely explain everything about him next week!

BEN AND RICHARD
Where are they? Does Ben have any significance?

SUN AND JIN
Anyone else think it was weird that Jin and Sun were talking in English to each other, especially when they were dying? Also Jin sounded like a voice-over dub in a Kung-Fu movie.

WOODEN BOX
What does the box that Christian left for Claire signify? A coffin? A mirror into the other world?

QUOTES OF THE EPISODE (WITH MY REACTION)

Jack to Locke: “I think you’re a candidate… I think I could fix you.” Title of the episode — Locke is “the candidate” … at least in the flash forwards!

Fake-Locke on Kate: “It doesn’t matter to me whether she lives or dies.” Ok, so is she gonna die of what?

Jack on leaving the Island “I’m not meant to go.” So does this mean you are the candidate?

Jack to Locke on their fathers being gone: “What happened, happened, and you can let it go.” Ahh, Classic LOST line.

Locke muttering in his sleep “Push the button” and “I wish you had believed me.” and later on Jack to Locke: “I can help you John. I wish you believed me.” Woah, when Jack said this it made Locke stop dead on his tracks. Did he remember the other universe?

Sayid to Jack right before Sayid sacrifices himself: “Listen carefully. There’s a well on the island half a mile south from the camp we just left. Desmond’s inside it. Locke wants him dead. Which means you’re going to need him, do you understand me?” Jack: ‘Why are you telling me this?” Sayid: Because it’s going to be you, Jack.” What’s Jack going to be, the candidate? The one to save the Island? Will Desmond get them to the flash-sideways world? Is that their escape?

More info on TalentNetworkNews.com

Get ready for more “Lost.”

The producers of ABC’s hit drama have shot so much crucial material for the show’s hugely anticipated finale that the network has agreed to extend the last episode by an extra half hour.

When the “Lost” finale airs on Sunday, May 23rd, the episode will run from 9 to 11:30 p.m. The overrun will air instead of the local news, with the “Jimmy Kimmel Live: Aloha to Lost” post-finale special remaining at 11:30 p.m. ABC is expected to announce the plan on tonight’s episode of Kimmel.

Executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof just completed post-production on the finale — titled “The End” — on Monday night. Both sent out identical Tweets: “We’re done. Amen.”

The supersizing of the finale is the latest adjustment to what might as well be called “The ‘Lost’ Weekend.” ABC is airing an “enhanced” (pop-ups) version of the show’s original two-hour pilot on May 22. On Sunday there’s a two-hour retrospective titled “Lost: The Final Journey,” followed by the finale and Kimmel post-show.

INSTANT REACTION
Well, this was hands down my favorite episode of the season, and it rivaled as one of the best episodes of all of LOST! Desmond is back, and he’s more special than ever! For the first time, the flash-forwards really seemed to have some meaning. the characters in this flash-sideways were a lot more turned in to what’s happening than in previous episodes. The characters are starting to realize that maybe this isn’t the reality they were meant to live. It was actually a nice break from Jacob and Smokey, and nice to have the science element back. We had great appearances by Charlie, Faraday, and Eloise.

CHARLIE
Charlie taught Desmond that he needs to chase the love that he knows he feels. When Charlie and Desmond both had near death experiences that triggered flashes into their alternate realities and saw/felt the loves they didn’t know they had (Claire & Penny).

FARADAY
Or should I say Dan Widmore. As always Faraday’s role was awesome. He’s a classical piano player but after he sees Charlotte, he suddenly writes down advanced quantam mechanics in his notebook! As usual, Faraday is the character who explains what’s going on. He suggests to Desmond that maybe they aren’t supposed to be in this life. They had another life and for some reason they changed things. Faraday even goes as far as saying he thinks he detonated a nuclear bomb.

ELOISE
Eloise is a mysterious character. Somehow, she knows exactly what’s going on and tells Desmond not to look for Penny because he isn’t ready yet.

DESMOND
On the Island, Desmond is unknowingly brought there by Widmore, which he is VERY unhappy about. Widmore forces him into a room and drives massive amounts of electromagnetic energy into him, convinced that he is special and will be able to survive it again. In the Flash sideways, Desmond is Widmore’s right hand man, but he doesn’t have love in his life. That is until Charlie forces him to think by driving into the Ocean. Desmond has a flash of Charlie holding out his hand with “Not Penny’s Boat” written on it, and has flashes of his love with Penny. When he actually meets Penny, he faints and wakes up on the Island after the energy test. All of a sudden, he’s cooperative and happy to help Widmore.

MAJOR THEME:
Choice.

DESMOND’S MISSION
Desmond knows that something strange is going on, and realizes it’s happening to all the people on Oceanic Flight 815. He asked for the flight’s manifest and is going to show everyone on the flight what’s going on. Finally the flash-sideways are really getting good!!!

Mixed feelings about this episode. This wasn’t one of my favorite episodes of the season, but it wasn’t horrible by any means. It didn’t really have many big reveals for me except the ending, and this season my expectations are high. As a whole, this season has been really solid and a few corny part here and there don’t change that.

My favorite part of the episode was obviously the ending, when the namesake of this blog made his long anticipated appearance!! We all knew it was coming, so it wasn’t really that surprising when he was the “package,” but still… DESMOND IS BACK!!!! If the first half of the season was missing anything, it was Desmond. I knew he had to play a crucial role, and sure enough it’s looking like he will. After all, the name of this blog is Desmond is Special.  I’ll get back to Desmond later. For now, here are my thoughts and observations:

THE ISLAND IN A NUT SHELL
In the beginning of the episode team we see night-cam spy video of Fake-Locke’s camp. Turns out it’s Widmore’s people, and they capture Jin.
Meanwhile, Fake-Locke tries to reunite Jin and Sun because he can only leave the Island if all names not crossed off leave together. Apparently we still don’t know which Kwon is the candidate, so I guess its safer for Locke to just gather both of them. Plus, one won’t want to leave without the other. In the end of the episode Desmond comes out of the Sub!

FLASH SIDEWAYS IN A NUTSHELL
Jin and Sun, who are unmarried, come to the L.A so Jin can give mobsters that work for Sun’s father $25k and a watch. But we find out later in the episode that her Dad really wants him dead because he’s in love with Jin. The 25K was Keames pay for “popping” Jin.

WIDMORE
I’ve always thought of Widmore as more of a bad guy, but now I’m not so sure. Lost tends to do this with its characters. Widmore wants to make sure Fake-Locke doesn’t leave the island. If there’s some thing that can bring Widmore and Ben together, it seems it’s Fake-Locke. So is Widmore on Team Jacob? We’ll see. Something big will go down with Widmore though. Fake-Locke says to him: “A wise man once said war was coming to this island, I think it just got here.”

DESMOND
Desmond is “the package.”  I’m so excited to see him back!  We already know Desmond is special, is he Widmore’s secret weapon in the war vs. Face-Locke? Will Desmond be an equal match for him? We already know the rules don’t apply to him. Will Desmond be able to travel back between both universes (Island and flash sideways?) Can’t wait to see what his purpose is!

SUN
Sun balances out any coolness and excitement that Desmond brings to this show. She bores me, and I think it’s pretty lame/cheesy that while on the Island she bumped her head and forgets to speak English. It just seemed silly.  The only point I could come up with though is that both worlds are paralleling each other.  In the flash-sideways, Sun doesn’t speak English, so by her forgetting to speak on the Island, it shows that the two works are getting closer. Her language barrier seemed to make the episode drag on though.
At the end of the flash sideways, Sun is shot in the stomach and reveals she’s pregnant. Will a miracle still happen and will she still give birth? Or is she doomed in the flash-sideways. There’s not much time left to answer all this, but we’ll see!

SUN AND JIN
Will they just reunite already! This has been the longest wait for a reunion ever! In the flash sideways, they are unmarried. What happened differently for them to not get together like they did in the first reality?

KATE… DO WE STILL CARE?
Fake-Locke tells Claire, “I need Kate… because I’m three people shy of getting off the Island and Kate can help me get on the plane… but when she does, whatever happens happens.”
Hmm… Is Fake-Locke alluding that Kate may not make it, that he doesn’t plane to bring her off the Island? Kate has seemed pretty inconsequential since it was revealed she wasn’t a candidate. I heard some rumors that a major character could die this season… Could it be Kate? Ben also seems inconsequential this season. What’s going on with him?

SAYID
He tells Fake-Locke “I don’t feel anything, no pain.” Locke replies “That’s good for what’s coming.” Could he be talking about war? He is Fake-Locke’s warrior now. Pretty bad-ass that he swam all the way to the other Island.

ILANA
Still has faith in Jacob. She says Hugo will track Richard and bring him back. Sure enough, he does!

CANDIDATES
Jack finally feels like he has purpose now that he knows he is a candidate. But Sun doesn’t seem to give two hoots about being special. But Sun and Jin seem to have a nice partnership now, as she trusts Jack to help her find Jin and get off the Island

WHATS DONE IS DONE
This is said more than once in the episode, same with “Whatever happens, happens.” Stresses the importance of fate and that you can’t change the future.

FAKE-LOCKE/SMOKEY
Widmore says to to Jin, “If that thing masquerading as Locke gets off the island… everything you know and love will cease to be.” Pretty strong words! Since Fake-Locke and Jacob seem like Gods, and this show now seems like Clash of the Titans, it makes all the other seasons (especially the emphasis on the Dharma initiative) seem so inconsequential. I hope they give Dharma and the sci/fi part of the show more emphasis.

I have so many different thoughts and reactions, so I’ll try to harness all my excitement and focus on the most important issues.

Summary
Basically, the episode goes like this: In 1867, Richard has to choose between the following the Man in Black or Jacob. Both try to manipulate them and say the other one is the devil, but Richard eventually chooses Jacob. He is granted immortality and accepts his job offer as his representative to people who Jacob brings to the Island. But over 140 years later, Richard feels his eternal life has been wasted and finally wants to take the Man in Black up on his offer. Hurley comes over and tells him his dead wife Isabella is standing with him. She tells Hurley that she has to stop the Man in Black from leaving the Island or everyone will go to hell. Fake Locke is watching all this go down.

Isabella
– I’m a little confused by Hurley talking to Isabella. First of all, it’s totally absurd that Hurley can all of a sudden talk to ghosts. Did he just acquire this ability after he left the Island the first time? How come no ghosts were talking to him in Seasons 1-4? I don’t think Dave, Hurley’s original imaginary friend was a ghost of a dead person, or was he? Is Isabella actually Jacob just trying to manipulate Richard to stay on his side? Maybe Jacob is just using Hurley has his puppet? I still don’t know what to believe!

The List of Candidates?
– Where did Jacob get the list from in the first place? Will we ever know WHY we picked the candidates? What exactly makes each of them special? Most of them do have unique traits (Hurley=talks to the dead, Sayid=great torturer, handyman, warrior, Sawyer = amazing liar/con man, Jack = good leader?, Sun/Jin = ?). Maybe Jacob knows he can use their traits to his advantage? Or maybe they are there because they aren’t perfect? This still confuses me.

Are we in Hell?
– They brought up the whole “Island is hell” theme alot. I’m pretty sure this isn’t the case, but it was clever how they did mention it. It’s like the writers (as usual) wanted to mess with us and directly mention one of the main theories (to confuse us but then show that this theory isn’t correct).

What up with Dharma?
– Dharma initiative. Do we know their origin/purpose? I hope this is something we learn in the final hours. We know they are researching the unique properties of the Island. Do they know about Jacob and the Man in Black? The captain of the Black Rock was Magnus Hanso.  The founder of Dharma is Alvar Hanso.  According to Lostpedia,  Alvar Hanso is Magnus’ great grandson. Lostpedia has a whole bio on Alvar Hanso… did I miss something? Maybe they got it from one of the Dharma Websites that the producers set up. But from watching the show, we know very little about the Hansos. Did Magus Hanso bring the Black Rock to the Island on purpose? Or maybe Dharma was created because Alvar Hanso is trying to figure out what happened to the Black Rock?

Ricardo from Tenerife
– They gave Richard a cool backstory. I like how his is really Spanish, and after over 100 years his accent wore off. I actually went to Tenerife in 2004. It’s a cool place because they have beaches with black sand.  Hmm, could this be why they picked Tenerife as Richard’s homeland? We’re usually used to sand being white. It’s like the white rock vs. the black rock, good vs. evil!

Others vs. Dharma
– Richard (and the others) never liked the Dharma initiative. This makes more sense, because if the Dharma initiative is all connected to Magnus Hanso, Richard wouldn’t think much of them, as he was a slave to Magnus on the Black Rock.

LOST
–The end of the episode was part cheesy-part bad ass. Jacob gives MiB the white rock and the bottle of wine. He says if he leaves, someone will just take his place. Mib replies that he’ll kill them too. Then he says I’ll see you “sooner than you think” and breaks the bottle! Very symbolic episode. I hope that the next episode doesn’t suck compared to this, but I have a feeling we may have to wait another week before another truly awesome episode like this one. The bottom line that while this episode did explain a lot, I am still as confused as hell!

This was a deep episode. Ben finds redemption. Jack is a total bad ass who knows he has a purpose. And team-Jacob is back to square one at the beach. Funny how things are pretty similar to season 1.

Most of the on-Island happenings deal with faith and forgiveness – two strong themes on LOST. Ben used to hold a great deal of power on the Island, but now he’s pretty much a pitiful person, who no one really respects. He’s caught dead in his lie about not killing Jacob, thanks to Miles the dead-body listener. Ilana is so pissed that Ben killed the closest thing she had to a father that she makes him dig his own grave. But Fake-Locke offers Ben a chance a way out as keeper of the Island after everyone leaves. This is Ben’s last chance to regain some status on the Island. But after he opens up to Ilana, she would rather forgive him than have him join “evil-incarnate.”  I thought it was a little strange how quickly Ilana pulled a 180 and is now cool with him staying, but I’ll just have to believe it. Ben chooses to stay with Ilana and gang and helps them set up camp back on the Island.

The situations/relationships in the flash sideways parallel events that happened on the Island. In the flash sideways, Locke suggests that Ben should become the school principle and says that he would listen to him. Previously, we’ve seen Locke be manipulated by Ben several times and following his every command. But eventually, the roles reverse and Locke becomes the leader. The flash sideways suggests a reality where Locke is still willing to listen to Ben. Also in the flash sideways, Ben tries to manipulate and black mail the principal (no surprise there). But after the principal throws it back in his face by threatening to ruin Alex’s future, Ben is given another chance to save Alex.  In both words, Ben is tested. It seems he may have redeemed himself and is now a better person. But with Ben you never really know.

- We also learn more about Richard. He confirms that he was on the Black Rock, and explains that he doesn’t age because Jacob touched him and gave him a gift. But now he feels like his life is a waste after Jacob dies, because he never really got to know his purpose in life. Enter Jack. After Jack went ballistic on the magic mirror and stared into the sunset, he is now a super-believer bad-ass who knows he has a purpose. It’s great to see Jack back in action and it was pretty awesome to see him stare down the stick of dynamite. He proved to Richard that they are both important, and he showed anyone who Jacob touches can’t kill themselves. Wouldn’t it be a crazy ending if the last episode flashes forward hundreds of years and Jack (or one of the other candidates) is still living on the Island unaged?

-If Jacob made all the candidates suicide-proof, is this why Ben ended up killing Locke? Could he not has hanged himself if he tried? But then again, Ben didn’t know that Locke was touched by Jacob… or did he assume?

- One theory that I like is that the flash sideways is actually the life the losties will return to if they follow Fake-Locke off the Island. So in a way, it’s actually a flash-forward (but really 3 years behind). This would be kind of cool and justify why the flash-sideways are important. The second part of the theory is that the flash-sideways is a universe where Jacob has never intervened with their lives. This would explain why so many things are different. But did the different universe start after the bomb went off? We know the Dharma initiative still existed in the flash-forward world, but somehow Ben and his father leave the Island together. This still confuses me.

- In the flash sideways, Ben looks at his reflection through the microwave.  This is a theme we’ve seen in every flash sideways this season. In every episode so far, the main character of each episode has looked at reflections of themselves in the flash sideways. Some people say this is them staring at the other versions of themselves.

- At the end of the episode, we see Widmore on a sub approaching the Island. Is that who Jacob said was coming to the Island? But the bigger question is… is Desmond aboard this sub? He better me!  Please write your thoughts below.