Lost - "There is no Sayid!"

Here we are again, another Wednesday afternoon and another step closer to the end of Lost, which if you didn't see was extended by 30 minutes so that ABC could sell more ads before what is sure to be a disappointing third quarter for them as the line up of shows on the television are not very inspiring. But we're not here to listen to me ramble on, well maybe you are, but not about gibberish, but about Lost goodness so let's get to it.

Mr. Locke was a candidate for a back surgery that could take him out of the wheelchair and Jack was there to help him get it done, but as we learned later in the show Locke didn't want out of the chair because he was bound by the guilt of pretty much ending his dad's life. It's hard to know how much underlining story was going on with this because normally I'd start throwing out a bunch of crazy theories, like Jack's demonic son David, but with only a few weeks left I don't think that there is time to play them all out. But here is what I was thinking because obviously something has to happen. As Locke was sitting in his hospital bed he started talking about hitting the button and he also said a very poinient line from way back in the show, I can't remember exactly what it was, but it was one where he was trying to convince Jack of something, it might have been, "I wish you would have believed me." Which Jack himself did say at the end of the episode, the exact line that Locke had said to him seasons ago. And if you didn't notice pretty much all of their lines were lines from past episodes with a new spin on them.

So why am I going on about all of this? There has to be some meaning, and yes here it is. I'm beginning to think that the sideways world and the island world are mirror images of each other and hold something that they want in the other life, on BOTH SIDES. Up until now the thought (eer my thought) has been that the sideways world was a place where wishes were granted to the castaways, but at a cost, where you don't really get what you wish for, there is always a catch. Up until last night I thought that John wanted to be with Helen, but he had to give up something, Ben wanted Alex alive, but he had to give up his power, Jack wanted a father son relationship but he didn't get his dad back, Desmond wanted Widmore's approval but he had to give up Penny, etc... As the season went on each character had to give up more and more in order for their wishes to come true, so how about this spin, the island world is the manifestation of the wishes from the sideways world. Take a breath, I'll wait...

In seeing Locke's dad as a vegetable, maybe Locke's greatest desire in the sideways world was that he could have his dad back, and we see where that got him in island world, a dead Helen, and himself dead as well. Locke on the island was a man that wanted to see meaning and faith in everything around him, which is why he was taken advantage of by pretty much everyone, including Smokey in the end. In the sideways world, his life was pretty good actually, he might not have been able to walk, but he was fine with that as the penance for his mistakes, stupid, but whatever. The one thing that nagged at him was that he had basically killed his father, he couldn't bring him back, but he could pay for his sins, but what if he could bring him back, would that have been the resulting island world? Let's take it one further, Saywer, oh sorry he's James in the sideways world, he wants nothing more than to find Anthony Cooper (Locke's dad). James's life seemed pretty good to me, he was a good cop and had the ability to bag hot redheads on first dates, what's not to like? But he still had that parental baggage that he wanted revenge for, and it really seemed like he was willing to give up anything to get it. Snap back to the island, Anthony Cooper magically shows up on the island and finds himself chained up on the Blackrock with Sawyer, guess who gets his revenge.

Here is another one for you, Jin, he wants to be with Sun, but obviously her dad isn't going to let that happen, so might his ambition be to find a way to marry Sun with her dad's approval? Which is what he gets in the island world, but he has to become a mobster to do it and almost sacrifices the love of Sun in the process. Never mind the whole Titanic scene last night kind of ruining that dream, but you get my point. Point is that in both worlds the people have some flaw that they want resolved and fixed in their life. Last season we got to see Jacob pop up in people's lives and give them what they were looking for (we assume). Would it be too surprising to see Smokey show up in everyone's lives in the sideways world to give them the same touch? Which means that the island is the looking glass.

Speaking of looking glass, let's revisit those hatch names and their context now.

Swan = When I think of a swan I think of the story, The Ugly Duckling, our of the swan several characters evolved into who they are today, including Locke being there when it blew up and Desmond gaining the ability to time travel.

Arrow = That was the station where the tailies hung out for a short time in their back story. An arrow tells you which way to go, but the station was destroyed, meaning there was no indication on which way to go.

Flame = It was the listening post that had all of the information about everyone's lives off of the island, and Locke blew it to pieces. Looking back now it's like Jacob said, "everything before they came here is irrelevant, it's a clean slate."

Hydra = It's a monster with many heads, and now it's playing a huge role in the end game of the show. I'm starting to see it represent the many heads or many realities that can come out of the actions of the island folk, and the monstrous results that could result.

Pearl = It was the island watching station of the other stations. Similar to the swan, a pearl is found in something not that pretty, but itself is beautiful. Kind of going out on a limb here, but it was the first time that the castaways got to see their role on the island, that pushing the button was meaningless, well not really. It was the point of questioning who they were on the inside, for right or wrong.

Orchid = I have no idea =)

The Looking Glass = And last but not least, the Looking Glass. The underwater station that was jamming the radio signal between the island and the outside world. Interestingly enough the looking glass station was also only seen in the final two episodes of season 3, the middle of the show's story. The looking glass itself represents the boundary between two worlds and in the Alice story, it's when Alice goes through the looking glass that everything gets crazy. Kind of like season 4, 5, and 6 of Lost.

So getting back to my point, what if the island isn't a cork like Jacob said, but it's the midway point between two worlds? I guess the island would still be like a cork then wouldn't it. =)


Anyway.... enough with that craziness, what other cool events transpired last night?

Sayid got to die as a hero, saving the remaining castaways from a big chunk of c4, was it me or did that sub seem to get larger and larger as the season went on? And thank you Mr. Sawyer for once again trying to save everyone's butt but instead almost getting them all killed. You know I'm starting to wonder if Saywer is nearly as smart as he likes to think he is. Sure he read a whole bunch of books in season 1 and he did get all of the time traveling folks into the Dharma camp, but it really seems to me that when there is a thought out plan that needs to be done, he is not the guy. Survival he is a natural at, but getting ahead, not so much. It was encouraging to see Smokey play him like a fool, makes me respect Smokey as a bad guy. Sure I think we all saw what was coming with the sub a few episodes ago, but as is usually the case, we seem to put things together a little faster than our island friends.

And I'm just going to say it again, I'm loving the new Jack, he's just a guy trying to find his place, no more Mr. I'll fix you, he's just going along for the ride. And he was correct that the boom would never have blown then up, it had to be their own intervention. But thinking about it, since Saywer pulled the plug does that mean that the bomb wouldn't have gone off if Sayid didn't run? Flash back to a couple of episodes ago to where Richard had Jack light the dynamite but then Jack didn't leave and the dynamite didn't blow. Seems like the same would have held last night if Sayid didn't run, but since he did, it blew up. Ok even my head is spinning from that one. By that theory if Saywer had ran off with the bomb, it wouldn't have blown up, and then Sun and Jin would still be alive, instead they have an orphan daughter.

Oh and, "There is no Sayid." Best line of the season!

Speaking of orphan daughters, any chance that their daughter is the candidate and not Sun or Jin? Wouldn't her name be Kwon? I can't take credit for that one, I ripped that one off, but it was good. Only way that could play out is if everyone else died. Oh and FYI, Claire's last name could be Sheppard too.

And how cool was that scene with Smokey walking up to the plane while getting shot at? Seemed like someone using the cheat codes in a first person shooter, Call of Duty if you will Brittney. Just walk up, break a neck, pick up the gun and shot the other guy, simple and just cool. And as tangents in my writing go, how about someone else who got shot but didn't die, Kate. Damnit, can we please for the love of God kill her already. I was so excited to see it when she got shot, only to see them saving her. I mean where was the Dharma shark when they were swimming to the surface to smell that bleeding shoulder, dumbass shark, and the writers, you jerks, what a tease, you know we all want to see Kate die, ugh! Seriously let her go do her hair commercials and get off my show already! *shake fist*

So in the end what do we have? Smokey is pissed off that his little plan to kill them all in one shot didn't work, nice try, thanks for playing. Claire is cornfused as ever, seems like no one wants her, now Smokey is stuck with her, would be fitting that because he saved her she turned out to be the actual candidate. Jack, Hurley, Saywer, and Kate are our survivors of sub disaster U-571, just like at the end of season 2, they were the 4 people that Micheal was told to bring with him, interesting...

I expect next weeks episode to kick more butt then the smokers section of the Betty Ford clinic, Jacob and Smokey the back story, the love story for the ages. I would honestly say that if you consider yourself a Lost fan you will be parked in front of your TV for that one. Unless you're Dede and haven't watched anything this season in favor of American Idol and are waiting for the season 6 dvds to come out, I'm so going to spoil it for her. =) hehehe