Wednesday, February 03, 2010

S6Ep1 - LA X (Part 1)

Note: I wrote this post on Sunday evening, before watching LA X (Part 2), so some theories have been rendered moot by the premiere's second hour. I'm leaving what I wrote as-is, however, in the interest of getting this published sooner rather than later. In addition, for reasons I will cover in the next week or so, there will be few or no pictures in my posts going forward, nor will I be able to include lyrical headings for every section. I have a good reason, trust me, but the explanation will have to wait for now.

Hello my dear friends –

First off, how good did it feel to watch a new episode of Lost? Very good, of course… but very strange as well. I mean, it’s been over eight months since the Season Five finale, so it kind of weirded me out to see our beloved characters back in action. Did anyone else feel that way? No? OK. I’ll shut up and start the recap then.

I don’t think I’m the only one who expected this episode to start off exactly as it did. The last few minutes of The Incident were replayed on the "Previously on Lost" segment, Juliet succeeded in making Jughead go boom, and then whaddaya know -- there’s Jack, drinkin’ it up as a passenger on what we can only assume is Oceanic Flight 815 (more on that later). He had a conversation with Rose that was similar to the one they had in the pilot, the aircraft hit turbulence for a few tense moments… and then the skies were friendly once again.

Because of hints given at this past summer’s Comic-Con convention, as well as on the Lost University site more recently, a lot of people figured we’d see an alternate reality play out. (The hints included commercials for Mr. Cluck’s Chicken Shack with Hurley as its owner, as well as an America’s Most Wanted clip featuring Kate -- an on-the-run criminal who had killed a handyman (NOT her stepfather) when she blew up her mother’s house. However, even though LA X’s opening airplane scene was expected by many of us, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t absolutely mesmerizing to watch unfold. I personally figured that we’d see the plane land A-OK in California, and that most of the characters wouldn’t end up any better off they’d been on the Island, but I didn’t expect freaky stuff to start going down on the plane. Like Desmond showing up. That was the #1 OMG moment of the night for me!

DO I KNOW YOU FROM SOMEWHERE?
WHY DO YOU LEAVE ME WANTING MORE?
WHY DO ALL THE THINGS I SAY
SOUND LIKE THE STUPID THINGS I'VE SAID
BEFORE?

So the man that Faraday (RIP, sniff) deemed “miraculously and wonderfully special” plops down next to Jack… and Jack gets the weird feeling that he’s met the perfectly coiffed Scot before. But Des is like, “Nope… sorry, brutha” and gives Jack the crazy side-eye.

Now, it’s bizarre enough that Des is there in the first place. But what’s even more puzzling is that neither he nor Jack recall their meeting while running up and down the stadium – a meeting that they’d both remembered when they saw each other again in the hatch in the original timeline. Which, of course, probably means that they were never both at that stadium together.

If you were paying very close attention, you might have noticed that Des was wearing a wedding ring. Perhaps in this alternate reality he didn’t waste any time getting together with Penny. BUT WAIT -- if the Island sank after Jughead detonated, then that means Widmore and Hawking would've been killed... which means Penny would've never been born (same goes for Faraday -- noooo!!!). So I think Des ended up marrying someone else, and since Widmore wasn't around sponsor a sailing race, Des never wouldve been at the stadium to meet Jack in the first place.

But none of the above explains: 1) why he was on a flight from Sydney to LA, or 2) where he vanished to once Jack returned to his seat later in the flight.


I’M NOT THERE
I'M GONE

What if Des wasn’t even there? No one else interacted with him but Jack… and from the looks of it, something mighty weird is going on in Jack’s head during this flight. When he went to the restroom and looked in the mirror, he was visibly shocked at his appearance. His actions seemed to imply that he thought he looked older – and he certainly didn’t know where that nick on his neck came from. When the plane leveled off, he was still bracing for impact, as Rose noticed. He also appeared to have subconscious memories of Des. So was it really Des that he saw, or a vision, courtesy of the Island or Jacob (who I assume would NOT have been killed by the blast, but would instead now be floating around the world trying desperately to undo the situation)? Was the Desmond vision meant to start planting seeds in Jack’s head about the life he left behind when he threw Jughead down the pit? And if Des was real, where did he run off to -- why’d he all of a sudden want to sit next to Snoring Guy again? I mean, did Jack have really bad alcohol breath, or what?


I DON'T WANNA BE HERE
ANYMORE

Another bit of bizarreness on the flight was the chaos in the bathroom. I’ll tell you the truth – I thought it was going to be Juliet in there. I thought that her death on the Island was going to parallel her death in the alternate timeline… but I was wrong. It was Charlie who was unconscious in the loo. Don’t lie to me and say you didn’t think he’d just OD’d! Because I did, you did, and everyone else did, too. So what a surprise it was to see that he’d actually tried to kill himself by stuffing a bag of heroin down his own throat. (Or if he was just trying to hide it by swallowing it, once he was resuscitated he still didn't seem too happy about the fact that doing so didn't end his life.)

Jack leapt into Hero Mode as expected, which I thought was kinda cool, since if the flight had crashed, we know he would’ve been busting into Hero Mode on the Island right away, too. And that he'd eventually save Charlie from death by hanging courtesy of Ethan. In this timeline, however, Sayid came to Jack’s aid, and Jack discovered what Charlie’s real plan was. How eerie was our Rock God’s “I should’ve died,” by the way?


AND I SCREAM FROM THE TOP OF MY LUNGS
WHAT'S GOIN' ON?

So let’s do a rundown of the main 815ers and what seems to be going on with each of them in this new reality:

- Jack: He’s still a hero, still a surgeon (or else that was really rude to push the call button when Cindy asked if there was a doctor on board), still liking the drinky-drink, and still one to rise to the occasion in an emergency. But that’s about all we’ve got. Can’t tell if he was coming home with his dad’s coffin, or if Christian’s disappearance was even the reason he was on the flight.

- Rose and Bernard: They’re still happy as clams. The happiest of everyone, just like they ended up being on the Island. But does Rose still have cancer? That is the question. My guess is that she does, and that therefore those two would’ve preferred their Island retirement digs, if given a choice.

- Hurley: Damn, Hurley’s gotten a bit overconfident, eh? He still won the Lotto, but instead of feeling that the numbers are cursed, he thinks he’s the luckiest dude on the planet. He’s running his biz, getting to live out his dream of whipping up secret sauces and spices – he’s happy. But … if this plane was coming from Australia, why was Hurley on it? Surely it wasn’t to go visit Sam Toomey's widow to learn the background of the numbers if the numbers weren’t haunting him. And did he even play THE numbers in the first place? Because if the Island was destroyed in 1977, there would've been no transmission for Sam or Leonard to have heard. Hmm. Either way, it was still Hurley's destiny to win the Lotto.

- Sawyer: I dare say Sawyer is still a con man. You caught that smirk as he followed Hurley off the plane, yes? Sawyer knows a good target when he sees one. There’s a chance Sawyer is living life on the up and up since he did try to give Hurley advice about watching out for people who might want to take advantage of him… but that smirk has me convinced (for now) that he’s still pulling scams with the best of them.

- Sun and Jin: SO awful to see the return of Evil Jin! Yick. And even worse to see Obedient Sun again. Boo.

- Boone: A miracle happened in this episode – I didn’t hate Boone! In fact, his “If anything happens to this plane, I’m stickin’ with you” to Locke made me all verklempt.

- Charlie: He wasn’t happy when he was on the original Flight 815 as his bro just shot down his dreams of a reunion tour/new album, but he wasn’t trying to off himself at that point, either. Looks like things have taken a much darker turn for the Drive Shaft bassist.

- Sayid: He knew where Nadia was and appeared to be on his way to see her. And he still kicks ass, phew. (Him busting down the bathroom door was one of my favorite parts of the episode.)

- Michael/Walt: Not shown. I’ll chalk this up to the fact that Malcolm David Kelly is not a little boy any more and will refrain from going crazy with theories for these two.

- Shannon: Not shown. But Boone explained why – he couldn’t convince her to leave Australia.

- Frogurt: Surely you caught him napping in between Locke and Boone. No flaming arrows back on the mainland, I figure. He will return to Fro-Yo-in’!

- Arzt: No age-old dynamite back on the mainland, either. Back to teachin’!

- Claire: HUGE omission. Where in the heck was she? Did she never get pregnant, and therefore had no need to go to LA to give her baybee up for adoption? Was that creepy psychic guy truly a psychic and knew that the plane wasn’t going to crash this time around, so he made up another scheme that would either force Claire to have to raise Aaron on her own?

- All the other tailsection peeps (Eko, Libby, the kids, Ana Lucia, etc.): None of them were shown.

- Locke: Yes, of course I had to save Locke for last because dammit if I didn’t think he was going to stand up at the end. And triple-dammit if I didn’t start crying when I realized that he was still in a wheelchair. He looks as miserable as ever. I died a little inside at the end of the episode when it zoomed in on his absolutely pathetic expression. NOOOOOOOooooooooooooo!!!!!



UNDER THE SEA

Exhibit A in the case against the Season Six Special Effects Budget was the camera dive down into the Pacific, which showed the Barracks resting on the ocean floor, along with the four-toed statue. I’m trying not to dwell on the straight-outta-my-1998-screensaver fishies. I guess this scene was meant to absolutely, undeniably confirm that in this timeline, the plan Faraday (God I miss that tie, sniff) devised to reset the course of events actually worked. The Island was decimated in 1977, meaning that Juliet was never lured into going there (I’m SURE we’ll see her eventually in this new reality), and Desmond never crashed there, and therefore no one was around to bring Oceanic 815 down by forgetting to push the Countdown Timer o’ Doom button. Buh-bye, Island.

I have a few more thoughts on the Bizarro Oceanic 815 timeline, but it’s probably best to switch over and talk about the present-day Island events first. And yes, before we go any further, I’m running with the notion that the Lostaways who’d been stuck in the ‘70s have now rejoined the rest of the group pretty much right where they left off at the end of Season Five. Jacob told Hurley that he died “an hour ago,” and that’s good enough reason for me to believe that the time jumps are now over for good. This might be an appropriate time to mention that my guiding principle for theories this season is going to be, “Considering that there are just 18 hours left, will this theory help bring the story to closure or not?” And everyone being back in the present day sets up a Sun and Jin reunion, as well as a Jack versus Fake Locke showdown.


I GOT THAT
BOOM BOOM POW

Good lord, how many times are we going to have to watch Juliet die? She gave it her all to make Jughead detonate in order to return Sawyer to what she figured would be a better life, and this is the thanks she gets? I can’t take it anymore. (It’s actually that I can’t take watching Sawyer’s heart burst into a million pieces anymore, but don’t tell that to Juliet fans, OK? Our secret.)

When Kate heard Juliet yelping from the bottom of the pit, I was like, “You have GOT to be kidding me.” Then, just like how I wrongly thought it was going to be Juliet dying in the bathroom on the plane, I got this weird feeling that Sawyer was going to find someone else down there once they’d dug out all the wreckage. But alas, it was his “blondie,” and she was not in good shape. (Anyone else cover their eyes because they thought her bottom half was going to be missing when Sawyer removed that pipe that had fallen on her? Glad they didn’t go THAT route!)

“Suliet” at least got their good-bye in this version of events, but it was pretty awful that she couldn’t tell him whatever it was she’d so wanted to say. She seemed to have been experiencing the same deadly time-travel effects that Charlotte fell victim to last season. Too sad.

Now what we have is the Return of Pissed Off Sawyer. Remember how angry he was during Season One? Stomping around, stealing supplies, fighting with everyone, and just pretty much being an ass? I fear that side of him is going to come out again. Because Hell hath no fury like a man whose woman was dragged down into a pocket of electromagnetic energy and crushed by tons of heavy objects but still managed to make a bomb go off and then died… all for nothing. If I were Jack, I’d start running.


LET ME HELP YOU WORK IT OUT
I'M THE ONE WHO'LL ALWAYS CARE
WHEN YOU NEED ME I'LL BE THERE
LET ME HELP YOU WORK IT OUT

While the rest of the time travelers were trying to rescue Juliet, Jacob came to visit Hurley at the Dharma Van. He announced that this time, he was in fact dead, but that he knew of a way Hurley could save Sayid, who had been bleeding out for approximately 15 hours at this point. (Seriously, guys, where’s the love for Sayid? It’s kind of ridiculous!)

Did you notice that it looked like Jacob was debating a bit about Sayid when he hunched over him? I couldn’t tell if he was just trying to figure out if he could be saved at all… or if he was trying to determine whether or not Sayid deserved to be saved. Either way, it was probably a good thing that Sayid seemed so remorseful in the last words we heard him speak. Jacob instructed Hurley to get his buddy to the Temple – the same temple Richard took Young Ben to after Sayid had shot him (oh, the irony). When Jack came back and confirmed that there was nothing he could do for He of the Flowing Locks and Black Tank Tops, Hurley was all, “I can fix him.” There were two moments on the beach in Oahu when the crowd of 15,000 erupted into applause. That was one of them.

I really hope we get to see what in the heck is IN that temple that can save everyone, by the way! ‘Cause at this point, I don’t think it’s Smokey. Speaking of…


YOU'RE NO GOOD
YOU'RE NO GOOD
YOU'RE NO GOOD
BABY, YOU'RE NO GOOD

Back in Jacob’s old home, the foot-toed foot statue, Fake Locke wasted no time putting the rest of his plan to (assumedly) take control of the Island into action. Ben was trembling and staring open-mouthed at the spot where Jacob had disappeared into the fire, prompting Fake Locke to holler, “Hey, snap out of it, fool! Go get that guy with the eyeliner.” So Ben obeys, and as soon as Ageless Richard sees Ben, he grabs him by the scruff of his neck like a naughty little puppy and demands to know what happened in there. Ben lies (of course), and then Richard throws him down in the sand next to Real Dead Locke.

Now, this next scene was the only one that didn’t sit well with me. Why – after seeing that Fake Locke was clearly not who Ben thought he was – would Ben still go along with his plan? Why continue to lie to Richard when he knew that Fake Locke most likely intended to kill Richard? What in the hell has Richard ever done to offend Ben, except look extraordinarily stylish in his tailored pants and Egyptian cotton (get it?) shirts? Jealousy takes many strange forms.

The good news was that Richard knows the old adage, “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.” He wasn’t born yesterday (get it -- again?). Richard was not stupid enough to face Fake Locke… and neither was Ilana. Instead, they sent Bram and a few other thick-necked goons in to kill Fake Locke, but Fake Locke pulled the ol’ Houdini on ‘em after displaying that he was actually bulletproof (that thing Bram picked up off the floor was a smushed bullet).

And then that familiar sound of ticking and clanking chains returned and a billow of black smoke burst forth, and that, my friends, was the second time the fans on Waikiki Beach went nuts. People love them some Smokey, I tell ya. So Smokey/Fake Locke goes to town on his three attackers, and even though I literally cringed at how poor the effects were once again, how could anyone not help but laugh when Smokey knocked Bram out of his circle of protective ash and then took him out?

Finally, we were delivered the best line of the night when Fake Locke reappeared. “I’m sorry you had to see me like that,” he said solemnly to a once again gape-mouthed Ben.

AH, I'D LOVE TO WEAR A RAINBOW EVERY DAY
AND TELL THE WORLD THAT EVERYTHING'S OKAY
BUT I'LL TRY TO CARRY OFF A LITTLE DARKNESS ON MY BACK
TILL THINGS ARE BRIGHTER
I'M THE MAN IN BLACK

I think that scene served as an official ANSWER about Smokey, don’t you? Sure, there’s still a lot we don’t know, of course, but if the show ended right now, I would feel satisfied with the information we’ve been given on the black smoke and wouldn’t feel cheated. We have confirmation that Smokey is the Man in Black, aka Jacob’s Nemesis, aka Fake Locke. At the beginning of The Incident, when we first saw Jacob and the Man in Black (MIB), MIB mentioned he “just ate.” A lot of people guessed that he ate A PERSON as Smokey. Methinks they were right.

In The Incident we also learned that the circle of ash around Jacob’s old cabin had been broken, and that Ilana guessed that “someone else” had been using the shack for quite some time. That was surely MIB in there – heck, he might’ve even been the one who said “Help meeeee” to Locke… all part of his master plan to manipulate Locke into returning to the Island in a coffin so that he could assume his form, just like he most likely did with Zombie Dad, Alex, Eko's brother Yemi, etc., etc.. That might be why Locke was the only one we’ve ever seen Smokey spare – the MIB could sense right away that this was a man so desperate to be special, so desperate to be a leader, so desperate to MATTER, that he was the perfect person to carry out The Loophole strategy.


SO NOW WHAT?

Lapidus and Sun think everyone around them done lost their minds, so they’re scheming about what they should do. Ilana probably knew that Bram and crew would be destroyed upon entering the statue, so she might be a little shadier than previously expected. Remember that we still don’t know why she was all burned up in that Russian hospital when Jacob visited and asked for her help.

Then we’ve got Ben, who’s decided it’s a good idea to side with Fake Locke. ?!?! I guess maybe that might be the best way to stay alive in the short term, but I am still left wondering why Ben didn’t tell Richard the truth about what happened to Jacob when he had the chance.

But speaking of Jacob, don’t forget that his last words before crumpling down into the fire pit were, “They’re coming.” And did you notice how Ben called out the fact that Jacob didn’t even fight back when he was stabbed? Uh, yeah, that’s because JACOB, not Ben, appears to be the one who “always has a plan.” I’m positive that the “they” who are “coming” aren’t Bram and Ilana’s people. I’d bet good money (OK, maybe just like $5) that “they” are the 815ers Jacob visited in the past and physically touched. (If you watched the enhanced version of The Incident that aired last week, you saw how the pop-up boxes noted every single time Jacob made contact with one of the Lostaways. That means it’s important, people!) With his touch most likely came some sort of power that will help them fight against the Man in Black now that Jacob’s out of the picture. The enhanced version of The Incident also specifically stated that Jacob looks to have not only touched Locke after his eight-story fall, but also to have actually brought him back to life. I have faith that that means there’s a chance that we’ll see Real Locke some how, some way, alive and kickin’ again on the Island before the series is over. He got the extra-special dose of Jacob’s powers, yahoo!

Back to the “so now what?” question… I think the next thing we’ll see is the time-traveling 815ers fixing up Sayid in the Temple so that his Badassometer is back to 100%, and then those peeps will all eventually find their way to Fake Locke, and that’s when things will get REALLY interesting. Every one of them has been touched by Jacob, except Miles. That probably doesn’t bode well for Miles.


THE TIMELINES – PARALLEL OR NOT?

OK, since I have a sinking feeling that a lot of what I just spent 3 hours of battery power on during my flight back from Oahu will be totally negated once the second hour of LA X airs, I’m going to end with my thought about the timeline of the alternate reality. Since the Island events are still going down a little more than three years after the original Flight 815 crashed on September 22, 2004, I think we have to wonder whether or not the new flight scenes we were delivered are also in 2004 like the Pilot episode was… or if they are concurrent with the late 2007/early 2008 timeline. Remember that cut on Jack's neck? Perhaps that was a hint that AlternaJack is experiencing some of the same things that Original Jack is... at the same time.

Quite frankly I think it might make it easier storytelling-wise if both streams were moving along in parallel. It could still be Flight 815, just three or so years later – would that really change anything? No, it just would mean that, when compared with the original timeline, in the "flash sideways" scenes, Locke tried to go on his walkabout three years later, Jack's dad died three years later, etc., etc. Then we'd have both versions of all characters moving along together in parallel in early 2008 or so. That might set things up to converge in some whacked-out way for the series finale -- like maybe someone will cross over to the other timeline, or do something in one version of events that affects the other version. Hopefully we'll see a date in one of the Flash Sideways scenes in an upcoming episode that will clear this point up.

OK folks, I'm posting this Wednesday afternoon and don't anticipate starting to write about Part 2 for a while, but my post for that one will be up before the next episode, of course.

Hope you liked the premiere! I know I did.

- e

43 comments:

Erika (aka "e") said...

The lyrics used for some of the headings came from these songs:

“Skin” by Madonna
“I’m Not There” by Bob Dylan
“Scarlet Letter” by Mudvayne
“What’s Goin’ On” by Four Non Blondes
“Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid
“Boom Boom Pow” by The Black Eyed Peas
“Let Me Help You Work It Out” by Charley Pride
“You’re No Good” by Linda Ronstadt (prefer Van Halen version, though!)
“Man in Black” by Johnny Cash

- e

gimjam said...

I'm so happy to be back in my procrastinating routine at work reading your posts! :)

elizabeth said...

OMG it was so awesome! The only thing I sorta disagree with is that Penny could still have been born - remember she was born off-island with Widmore's second family. Daniel, however, no way. Boo.

Allison Ruffing said...

I'm just soooooo glad it's back!!!

So funny that you said you expected someone else other than Juliet to be down in that hole -- that is what I thought, too. Didn't know if we'd be dealing with some kind of alternate version of the alternate version, or something.

Re. the cheesy underwater effects...did you find it odd that an h-bomb supposedly blew up here, but somehow the swingset (and the big giant foot) were still standing, just underwater? I mean, between a bomb blast and the tidal wave it probably caused, I'd think that stuff would have been much more scattered about. I did enjoy seeing the Dharma logo on the shark's tail, though. :-)

I had not thought about the possibility of the successful flight we saw not taking place at the point that the crash did. Will have to noodle that one a while!

ElsieM said...

Excellent recap, E. :) Your thoughts about Jack sensing something was off when he looked in the mirror was something I hadn't even thought of. I was only thinking of the cut on his neck, but interesting that he might look different/older to himself.

I've heard the speculations that Richard might be an Egyptian slave, but I was thinking that the name Ricardus actually sounds more like it comes from Ancient Rome. Just a thought...

Thanks! Elsie

Unknown said...

Yes! So happy to see the season start and get the first write-up!

My feedback - I originally thought The Incident Part I and II and LA X Part I strongly suggest that MIB took Locke's body, and is also the smoke monster.

However, the smoke monster has been running loose on the island for the entire series, while some "spirit" has supposedly been trapped in the cabin. That leaves me with only two options:

1. MIB is the smoke monster and pretended all this time to be trapped in the cabin when visitors appeared. Yet the whole time, MIB knew he could leave the cabin any time and just kept up the image of being trapped. Or MIB intentionally gave the illusion to the losties that it was Jacob in there to throw them off.

2. MIB and the smoke monster are in fact different beings.

Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out, but I am not quite convinced yet that MIB is the smoke monster.

DSRing said...

So good to have your recap back, and so quick. I think youshould pre-screen all the future losts so we dont have to wait.

I read a interview where D&C suggest we look closer at the underwater scene. Ok Dharma was built, but so it was in 77 anyway. Then i noticed the seems different from the one jacob lived in...R vs L. Am i going crazy ??

Joshua said...

Fantastic review, Erika, as always! :)

Josh

helkatmat said...

Two questions from part 1 LA X:
(1)Since we saw the "back door" to the Swan station (which implies it was built) did the bomb cause "the incident?" Also, I believe I saw the exercise bicycle from Desmond hatch period in the debris Sawyer was clearing to get to Juliet. Odd, no?
(2) If the island is underwater at the time of the Jack et al Oceanic flight, doesn't that imply that the flight is taking place at a future time from when Kate wakes up in the tree? The way they had us hear what Kate was hearing after having been so close to the blast sounded like she was underwater. I love those little extra touches that mess with your mind!

I am so glad LOST is back and I have so much to think about -and look forward to- but I certainly hope the time line is made clear soon!

Ann said...

Thanks for another great recap, Erika! I had said to my co-worker/fellow Lost fan this morning that I hoped my "favorite Lost blogger" (that would be you, of course!) had written her recap on the flight home from Hawaii, and lo and behold, you did! I agree about having to watch Sawyer lose Juliet twice--just too excruciating. Can't wait to see what you have to say about part 2!

Anonymous said...

If I were to make a guess, I'd say that the new flight 815 is indeed in 2004 and season 6 will be about their lives in the three years leading up to 2007 (or maybe 2010).

Perhaps we'll get a chance to see if they change like they did in the three years on/off the island in the original timeline. Does the universe really course correct? Will they make connections to each other?

Meanwhile, we'll also see the events on the island unfold. Charles warned of a big battle brewing. Will the two universes ever connect if the storytelling of each timeline catches up?

On another note, my wife thinks that the ash around the cabin wasn't to keep Smokey trapped inside but to keep him out in order to protect whomever (or whatever) was inside.

Great to have Lost and you back, E!!

--S

Shelley said...

WHY can't you post about part two for awhile? I would love it now, please.

Last night was so awesome! Except I had to cover my eyes after watching Juliette die for the billionth time (I'd seen it on a trailer online, too).

tierdear said...

Excellent, as always. I'm glad you cleared up what it was that was picked up off the floor when they shot at MIB/Naughty Locke before Smokey came. We paused it--we were sure it was a bug (hence the locust-y sounds). Makes sense that it was a bullet though.

Were you able to catch Jimmy Kimmel after the premiere? Carlton and Damon were on, answering what was coincidence during that episode and what was planned.

One of the things that Damlton (their celebrity hybrid name) is the fact that the space between "LA" and "X" in the title of the episode was "very much planned". Maybe it signifies the three times lines--two are dependent on each other and the other stands alone? Or maybe it's the distance between Los Angeles and the island? (Or maybe I'm reading way too much into it, but Darlton wouldn't mention it if it wasn't important, right?)

Moving randomly along, I didn't get the impression that Charlie was actually trying to kill himself in the bathroom. I got more that he was trying to swallow the drugs to hide them? Or he was trying to throw them back up to use? I could be wrong.

I can't wait to see what you thought about the second half. I heard that they will be auctioning off all the Lost props used in the series after the finale. If you could keep any prop from the series, what would it be?

Lovelovelove
Tier

grem said...

I can't even tell you how happy I am that I'm doing this again. Reading your recaps is one of the best things in the Lost world. Anyways, just my 2 cents: I once thought, as well, that The Man in Black was living in the cabin but now I'm thinking that maybe it really was Jacob there and the circle of ash was to protect him from MIB. Remember that when Ben took Locke there, he was really careful to not break the circle. I don't know why Jacob would ask Locke to help him, though.
Another thing, and this is probably something that we may have to discuss in your next recap, why do I get the feeling that maybe Fake Locke is going to be the "good" guy or at least the side that most of us are going to be rooting for? I don't really think that we' re gonna be seein Real Locke alive and kicking in the island again but maybe even in this form he's going to be the one we want to win in this upcoming war. Even if Terry gives an excellent performance one again (the man is just spectacular!)I hate it that he is the villain now and we' re gonna be asking for his "death" :(

Dr. Gorila Zombie said...

Loved your review as always! I have a weird theory. Could this alternate flight 8195 timeline be... the real end of the series? I mean... Let´s imagine that when Jacob/Nemesis war in the island ends our good guys win and the prize is returning to the original flight as if never happened but with a better life than before...

It seems that in this "flight 815" now Hurley is very happy, Jack is a hero again, Charlie doesn´t die (he has finally evade fate), Locke will be able to walk again thanks to Jack...

What do you think about this? Thanks for you AWESOME recaps! Best wishes!

Unknown said...

Hi e,
I have a question that maybe you could hep answer, Of all the little things mentioned from Jacks cut in the mirror to the bullet proof smoke monster why hasn't anyone addressed why the MIB/locke cut the cloth and wiped his knife?

Anonymous said...

Wow I'm so glad to have Lost back and indeed it is back in the greatest way possible. But not only is it great to have Lost back it's great to have e's recaps.

Desmond being on the plane - didn't see that happening. I think it could be explained he was simply jet setting around the world since he was never stuck on the island and changed seats and then changed seats again once he realised he was sitting next to a crazy man staring at him ;)

Or....

It was Desmond from Timeline A post 2008 (ie he's married and has baby Charlie) and he's putting into effect his "the rules don't apply to him" thing and is jumping through timelines to save the universe or whatever. He of course knew Jack but couldn't say anything... yet. I like this theory but apparently Darlton have said no time travel this year so who knows.

I'm glad you pointed out that everyone (other than the losties) dieing on island in 1977 means Faraday wouldn't be born. Like Elizabeth said Penny could be alive because it's likely she was conceived prior to 1977. But she's not rich cause dad's dead and she's not buying monk wine :)

Miles and Charlotte should be alive right? Because they jumped on the sub before jughead went boom. So at least Faraday's plan worked in a way to save Charlotte even if he doesn't exist.

But speaking of dead people one would assume Jacob went boom along with the island which means he couldn't save/heal Locke after his 8 story fall which means he should be dead too, but there he is on the plane paralysed. I wonder how he survived?

And speaking of Locke I must say e you are handling Terry O'Quinn now playing a smug a**hole pretty well :)

Not Locke is now the new Ben for me - he's so deliciously evil it's so fun to watch.

A question: being a non-American (although I have been to LAX a few times briefly) was this episode partially filmed there? Because if that's the case that would only be what the 2nd or 3rd time they've filmed outside of Hawaii.

Any Deadwood watchers here? Is that the whole cast minus Ian McShane and Timothy Olyphant now on Lost?

Interesting they have Hiroyuki Sanada speak Japanese and translate him when he can both act and speak in English very well.

I have nothing against him but I was glad to see Bram go.

So who broke the ring of ash containing MIB? And who imprisoned him in the first place? One would assume it was some time in the 70's that he was imprisoned in the cabin because it had to of been built. Was it the people representing Ilana's crew?

I loved getting a bit of Alpert backstory. So he was a slave on the Black Rock, did he take a bath in the temple spring?

He obviously doesn't age like Jacob doesn't, but how much like Jacob is he now?

Jacob = Obi Wan Kenobi

He sacrificed his life to the bad guy dressed in black, but being dead hasn't stopped him from still hanging around dispensing advice.

Claire! I hope we get to see her in more than just flash-sideways like Boone and Charlie and she actually shows up in the Island storyline.

Last of all: was I the only person that was thinking the rear bumper of the VW van was going to comically rip of when Jin was trying to pull out the beam? Way to go Jin attach the chain to the bumper and the chassis.

Also I hate yelling at my tv but the Darlton had Jack (a doctor) digging through rubble while Sayid was bleeding out. Really?

Q: how many doctors does it take to lift a beam when a bad-ass is bleeding out from a gunshot wound?

A: none!

Han4Ever said...

I'm so happy to be back watching Lost, again and again, and reading all the fun theories. Awesome recap as always E!

I hear ya about Juliet between watching the Incident yesterday afternoon, the re-cap, the "previously on" and the episode, I was all cried out! Keeping my fingers crossed you are right about Real Locke coming back! I love that idea.

As for Des, did you notice that he showed up basically as Charlie would have been trying to kill himself (with the timeline assumed to be the same when he got in the bathroom right before 815 crashed)? And disappeared after Jack saves Charlie? Maybe Charlie's death is necessary for Des and Penny to lead their lives together, and Charlie knows it?


Didn't Smokey also spare Juliet? Not that she would not be critical in his loop hole plan… just saying. Which leads to my theory that there may be more than one entity on this island that can turn itself into a pillar of black smoke. But there is probably more evidence to that in part 2… until then!

Mellis said...

Love the recap and it's so nice to have life back to normal. :)

I like your idea of the two timelines being in 2007. Maybe that's why they made such an point of showing how things were different on this flight. Maybe it's because it's a different flight, not the 2004 one. Does anyone even say Flight815? I'll have to rewatch.

Chris Kirk said...

The thingcame away with at the end of part 2 was that sayid kickin the touture bucket was that means one of 2 things 1. MIB is coming back controlling sayid hence the note supposidly saying everyone is in trouble if sayid dies. 2. Jacob is coming back as sayid through the same kind of loophole MIB used with Locke. Would love to hear what you think. Big fan

Alessandro said...

Hi e, welcome back to you and Lost!

I also posted that on Ryan's blog, it's just a thought, but... If TMiB is Smokey, according the paint from the temple from an episode from last season where something like Smokey was facing the statue, and the content of guitar's case shown at the temple, well couldn't Jacob be Tawaret? And since Tawaret = fertility, Jacob blocked in the cabin could explain the fertility matter? However I have to say I am not too persuaded at that, your opinion?

Scott said...

Great recap as usual, e.

Something is up with Sayid, when they pulled him out of the water he was in that Christ-like crucified position. Could he be the NEW Jacob? (This may have been in the 2nd hour, I can't remember. If it is, please forgive me)

Like you, I'm sure we are going to see Juliette again. I guessing we will see her in the alternate timeline asking someone to go get coffee...dutch.

I think SmokFlocke, though possibly evil, is pretty awesome. Both the move he pulled on Bram and his "Sorry you had to see me like that." were two of my favorite moments.

I can't wait to see how they converge these two timelines.

Unknown said...

I have to agree with James. I think the Smoke Monster and MIB are different beings. Something was trapped in the cabin by the ash in Cabin fever. Probably not Jacob since he has been seen off-island so frequently. Definitely not the smoke monster since it was seen raising hell only two episodes earlier in The Shape of Things to Come. That leaves the mystery being to be the Man in Black or someone/thing that we have yet to think of.

Anonymous said...

I'm going to say that there is no "alternate timeline" but rather a "next timeline."
Sometime this season Jack is going to do something to complete what the detonation of Jughead started.
As Juliet mentioned "it worked," but something else needs to be done that is going to transport the losties off the island and back onto flight 815...and since Desmond is going to be on the island at the time that this is going to happen, he is going to go along for the ride...er, flight.
I think the opening scenes of LAX, were the beginning of the end of the show, and we are going to see those scenes again sometime around episode 12-14 of this season.

Anonymous said...

Why does everyone assume that Jacob was/is a good guy? He seems to brain wash people on the island into following him, he manipulates people and takes advantage of them. He also built a little army to protect himself. He almost seems like a Pablo Escobar type person. I honestly believe that MIB is the good guy. He hates seeing how Jacob lures people to the island to experiment with. I also believe that Jacob banished him to this smokey character and he is pissed about it and wants his life back.

As for the four toed statute. Do you think it was the bomb that destroyed the statue and left the foot remaining? Maybe the island can resurface, just as how it can dissapear. Maybe that is how the Black Rock appeared all the way inland.

-Alex

Sherlock938 said...

It's an excellent recap, as always. I'm so happy to share your thoughts again. When I started watching I had a strange feeling too, after 8 months of hiatus. I was afraid to be disappointed. But after 20 minutes I felt home, lost and found again in Lost.

There were 2 scenes, I sensed I had a glimpse on the end of the series. At first when we saw the island under water. Secondly it was SmokeFlockes claim, he wants to, no, not phone home, but go home himself. It suggested a possible Sci-Fi ending to me. Would love to hear what you think about it.

I'm absolutely thrilled Lost and your recaps are back.

Namaste - Marcus from Berlin

Anonymous said...

You're my favorite recapper.

For the second hour review, you should mention that damn butt shot when one of those Temple Others is picking up Sayid to go bobbing for apples.

Anonymous said...

Locke in the temple, especially his long speech where he's going in and out of the darkness, reminded me of Marlon Brando's Kurtz in Apocalypse Now.

Evan said...

I'm guessing that both timelines are identical until they diverge in1977. If so, it means Ben cannot exist in the 'LAX' timeline. Young Ben would have died when the island blew up and submerged, along with all the Others and Dharma folk. Make sense?

Anonymous said...

Glad you've decided to stay the course on recapping (I especially liked the analysis of what changed if the island sank). After all, it only ends once, so you should keep on keeping on.

Wanted to point out that tsunamis and islands sinking are often caused by earthquakes and volcanoes erupting, either of which could have happened in the wake of Jughead's detonation (as many believe the island has a volcano). So Jughead could have been step one in causing the island to sink. In fact, the island could have been underwater before, as we're still waiting for an explanation of how the Black Rock ended up in the interior of the island...

Sherylm said...

Well, e, you certainly picked the right character to name your blog after because Terry Quinn does an excellent job as the evil Unlocke and as the still-crippled-but-somehow-less-tortured Locke in the alternate timeline.
After rewatching the premier, I noticed a few random things: Sayid was wounded by Ben's awful father in exactly the same way he had wounded young Ben. And maybe since young Ben, who seemed quite sweet before being gunned down in cold blood, somehow got twisted by the healing process at the Temple, Sayid will become "untwisted" by the same process, i.e. no longer controlled by all his bad past actions. I thought his voice sounded different when he woke from the dead. And, incidentally, on the plane in the alternate timeline, Sayid did not look like someone who had just turned in a good friend, causing him to commit suicide.
Also, in the alternate timeline, when Jack and Locke are talking about the coffin being lost, Jack says "My dad died in Australia a couple of days ago and I flew down to get him.", which is not exactly how it happened the first time round, is it?
And did you happen to notice the magazine Rose is reading on the airplane? "Weekly Woodsman" - not the kind of magazine you usually find in the pocket of the seat in front of you on the flight from Sydney to LAX ;-)
Finally, this episode really brought back to me what first struck me about LOST...in the temple scene, you have every kind of person imaginable: Japanese, Korean, Iraqis, Aussies,some guys in turbans, all different ethnic groups of North Americans, young and old. That's still so very rare on television... as is having a tender love scene played by two normally very good-looking people absolutely covered in blood and gore, while all the rest of our heroes/heroines look worse than something the cat dragged in...what a great show and actors/actresses!

Aunt J-ha said...

Words can not express how happy I am to have LOST back. I really enjoyed LAX part 1 & 2 and can not wait to see the rest of the story unfold. Especially watching how fate steps in to bring these strangers together, even though they haven't spent time on the island together.

Anonymous said...

Fear not yet for Juliet. Remember the scene in the outrigger canoe at the start of Season 5 when the lostaways were shot at in 'Ajira time'(they'd just come across Ajira 316 bottles on the beach)?

However in season 6 as soon as they've flashed forward to Ajira time Juliet has died.

Hence something's got to give. Either she's going to get resurrected (and shot at), or they've made an almighty production error. We'll just have to see which!

SDS said...

I totalled expected Jack to just turn on his heels and start sprinting from Pissed Off Sawyer.

I also noticed Jacob hunching over Sayid for a beat. I'm a bit torn about this scene - on one hand, I believe Jacob has reincarnated in some form into Sayid. On the other, if he was deciding whether to save Sayid or not, then I wonder what was in the note that the Japanese Other read? If Jacob wasn't THAT sure of events, then I doubt the note specifically said "Save Sayid Jarrah from that nasty gunshot wound. Also, big shout-out to Hurley, Jack, Kate and Jin. Give them bread or incur my wrath." and I kinda got the feeling that the note said EXACTLY that :)

drallabg said...

Can hardly wait.....Locke will return to the island...I just know it!

Anonymous said...

There were kids at the temple so I guess thats where all the children went

Unknown said...

Ha ha Bram (Stoker, author of Dracula) got a stake through the heart.

Joshua said...

Great review as always! :D

The gaping crevasse they pass I thought was where Ben fell? Maybe I'm wrong

Eric Belair said...

I haven't done a lot of research/reading since last week (aside from your posts, erika), but am I crazy or is Jack's hair WAYYYY longer on this Oceanic 815 flight than it was on the original flight (when it crashed)??? Just one little detail that stood out to me...

SDS said...

Hey UnLawyer, gave you a shout-out:

http://superduperstream.blogspot.com/2010/02/lost-la-x-analysis-2-amendments.html

Nice catch :D ;)

KellyJ said...

My take on the premiere: A girlfriend and I have been hashing this over since the episode appeared. Her thought process, which I agree with and we were able to make it work, LOL, is that Smokey is the MIB. Kind of like the Bible, good versus evil. Jacob and MIB were together since the beginning of time on the island, it appeared, and something happened to make MIB evil (God versus the snake/Satan). Neither could kill each other (just as God and Satan) so they have to outwit each other. MIB was banned from the temple, where the good people lived and Jacob ruled.

Somehow, MIB was killed - maybe in a fire - hence the ash to protect the temple and Jacob's people - and became Smokey? Smokey finally figured out a way to have someone turn on Jacob and kill him, and he, too, was thrown in a fire.

Now the temple people with their healing powers are freaking out a little because their 'leader' is gone. They sprinkle ash to protect them from Smokey, but as we know, Smokey isn't stupid and can make things drop from the wall without entering into the circle, LOL. Smokey can also take the form of dead people, and he picked Locke, probably because of Locke's affinity to the island.

I have no idea how close we are to what will be the actual story, but I think what we came up with has some credibility :-)

Anonymous said...

You brought back good memories about when I watched Signs. I was watching it in our living room and my wife was in the desk room, which is right behind that wall the TV was on. Immediately after that scene where the kids saw the alien, my wife opened the door very quickly and I about hit the roof! I almost screamed “YOU CAN’T DO THAT!!!”. So, now she will never watch Signs because, as she puts it, “Bert isn’t scared of anything and he was scared during Signs”. What made it more intense was that I truly believe in aliens. Yes, I’m one of those.
I have loved your recaps. They have made me think about more possibilities than I could ever come up with myself. You and Ryan and Vozzek69 have been my favorites. I’m going to miss you guys.
Bert

Anonymous said...

I think that jacobs cabin holds the spirit of dead locke trapped within and that MIB switched places with locke. MIB was trapped in the cabin and the dust was to hold him in. It was the future dead locke saying help me?