One episode away…

Posted in ARTS to Lost In C-U by Adam Fein on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 5:00 pm

WHAT HAPPENED

Two episodes ago, Sayid blurted (before he bolted for the next room with the explosives) "Because it's you, Jack." Last night Jack accepted Jacob's offer to be the new guardian and LOST prepared us for the finale by reminding us of the slight margins between free will and predestined fate.

FACTS CONFIRMED

1. We know now (at least a little more about) the meaning of the statement "they come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt and it always ends the same." Jacob has been bringing ‘lost' people back to the island to correct the mistake he made when he turned his brother into an abomination. A mistake corrected only with the destruction of his brother, or at least, the promise of another human to be the next-in-line protector of the island's essence from his brother.
2. ''I was told I could summon the Monster. That was before I realized it summoned me.'' Ben told Miles... confirmation from Ben that the entity which he thought was Jacob was actually the Man In Black.
3. Widmore, post-freighter, was working for/with Jacob.
4. The cave names were written and crossed off by Jacob, not MIB.

BURNING QUESTIONS

1. Does Sideways (2004) Locke's new faith in all of the post-flight 815 "coincidental" happenings and his decision to have the surgery and ''get out of this wheelchair,'' signify that the return of the original Locke is coming? That'd be cool.
2. What are your thoughts on why the island is at the bottom of the ocean in Sideways world and how do you think that will play itself out in the finale?
3. Desmond is Jacob's final failsafe (remember the ‘failsafe' key Des turned in season 2 was his first electromagnetic experience). Jack's first major task will be finding him and protecting him from MIB. What will become of Desmond?
4. Has Ben decided once again, through his actions, to not accept redemption? Or is he redeeming himself with his current actions? Where will Ben wind up?
5. When Jacob sealed Jack's consecration as Island protector and said ''Now we are the same.'' Jack had a ‘look' on his face. What did this look mean? Was he filled with new knowledge?
6. [Great Sideways World Questions from the Doc surrounding the idea that perhaps not everyone in the Sideways world would be better off with Island Enlightenment.] Should Sideways Ben be robbed of happiness in this life by being saddled with the memories and consciousness of his damaged and damned Island-word self? Should Rousseau and Alex be victimized anew by being made to meld with the fate-screwed people they once were? Can they decline getting hit with the Enlightenment whammy stick? Do the Sideways world peeps have any control over the process that Desmond seems determined to unleash? Thoughts?

THEORIES TO DISCUSS

1. Ben seems to have sided with MIB, but I don't buy it, I think he will attempt to exploit MIB and pass any weakness he can find to Jack and co. Agree? Disagree?
2. (Doc Jensen) Once upon a time, The Source did reside within all of humanity. Humanity stopped believing in The Source, (or we convinced ourselves that The Source stopped believing in us), so much so that now The Source exists as an anomaly that's hidden away from us (the island) - as something lost that must be found. The Truth Is Out There — but once, The Truth was Inside all of us. Desmond will absorb the light/electromagnetic energy (he's the only one that can) and redistribute it to the world. Humanity, once again, will collectively protect the ‘Source'. Discuss.
3. (Doc Jensen) The Island does not actually need a protector. Jacob warned the castaways that if no one took the position, ''this will all end very badly.'' But how would he know? Discuss.
4. (Doc Jensen) Jack will not hold the protector/island guardian job by series' end — perhaps due to theory #3 above. Jack will need to sacrifice his life in order to stop Fake Locke/MIB from extinguishing The Source forever and turning reality into a burnt-out husk of meaninglessness. Maybe he should work up his own list of candidate replacements, just in case? Hurley? Discuss.
5. (Doc Jensen) If Ben has always been wrong about being Jacob's chosen one for a period of time, then that means his tenure as the leader of the Others was fraudulent and invalid — which means that Charles Widmore was probably quite sincere in his persecution of Ben. Discuss.

FAVORITE SCENES

1. Jacob's humble honesty in his answer to Kate when she asked why she wasn't a candidate anymore. "Because you're a mother now" - and her reaction was absolutely perfect.
2. Not an example of amazing writing or anything, but the circular nature of Jack sewing up Kate in this episode, when Kate stitched up Jack way back in the season 1 pilot was cool.
3. The end of Sawyer's hate on Jack...Given their island history, when these two are united it's fun to watch.
4. Ben Linus' scenes with Locke/MIB and Widmore. Three superb actors all on the scene at once... "You told her not to talk to me. That made her pointless." Slit. Boom.
5. Rousseau to Ben (in Sideways world), on inviting him to dinner at Alex's request... ''We'd insist, even if we have to kidnap you.'' Nice.
6. When Hurley (in Sideways world) saw Ana Lucia on the dock and was like "No not her, really?" Nope, don't worry Hurley, she's not ready. Ha.

I'll end with this Doc Jensen paragraph which eloquently summarizes the impetus for the finale... and has me chomping at the bit for Sunday....

"...in the world of LOST, where everyone and everything is interconnected via mystical/electromagnetic light under The Island, the fact of the matter is that if The Underlying Meaning Of Existence is extinguished, we're as good as dead. It doesn't matter if it's not your fault. It doesn't matter if it was someone else's mistake you're being forced to fix. You can't run away from this fight. You're not allowed. You don't get that choice. Nobody does. Similarly, you can't ever be disqualified from fighting that fight, either — which is why Jacob couldn't deny Kate the job of Island guardian even if he wanted to..."

We need heroes.