Mike Flacy

As I was sitting in the San Diego airport this week, I was anxiously downloading the finale of Thursday’s Lost to my laptop before the battery died. Fortunately, my battery lasted the length of the flight and I found that my previous predictions held up. I do believe that Lost may have lost (no pun intended) some viewers with their foray into the possibility of time travel. But they probably gained as many sci-fi nerds.

The Desmond / Penny reunion felt a bit flat compared to their hopeful phone call in The Constant (which was one of the best scenes in Lost history). But the important part was Desmond lived. Jin is a question mark right now, but I can’t imagine the show going without him next year. It also fits in well with Sun’s motivation to work with Widmore.

Michael’s death was justified and felt like a bit of redemption for him killing Ana Lucia and Hurley’s girl. He did his best to save Jin and pass the torch of fatherhood to him. It’s strange that Walt didn’t get to say goodbye to dear ole dad, but I’d imagine Walt will be chatting with the ghost of Michael eventually.

Keamy’s death was satisfying to say the least. And let me just say Sayid gave us a friendly reminder why he’s an official badass. The fight scene versus Keamy was ridiculously visceral. The whole radio transmitter ploy was fairly stupid, but it worked well for the majority of the audience that doesn’t give a flip about the science. Ben got his revenge and gave Keamy a painful death.

As for the reveal on the coffin, I had a feeling it was Locke as soon as Ben popped up in the room. I also think that Locke’s death means one of two things: Locke is officially dead, but returning him to the island will bring him back to life or that wasn’t Locke at all. Does anyone remember the video with the two rabbits? What if moving the island caused a doppelganger of Locke to be created a.k.a. Jeremy Bentham? It’s not probable, but it is possible.

Other random tidbits:

- Looks like Saywer and Juliet are going to hook up after polishing off that rum.

- Miles snarky outlook is growing on me. Charlotte got a whole lot more interesting.

- If Jin is alive and got moved with the island, it’s safe to assume that Daniel as moved as well.

- I think Sawyer told Kate something about his daughter.

- I love that Hurley was played chess with Mr. Eko’s ghost.

- Finally, I believe Ben is heading back to the island by hitching a ride with the Oceanic 6.

The more I think about Locke’s journey on last night’s episode of Lost, the more impressed I become with the writer’s sly incorporation of themes like Buddhism. The first time the young boy version of Locke meets Richard, picking out items that belonged to him is taken from the Buddhist test of finding the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Young John picked the vial of sand, the compass, and the rudimentary hunting knife.

Visibly upset, it’s clear that Richard wanted Locke to pick either the book of law or the ‘Mystery Island’ comic book; perhaps designed to represent rules and imagination respectively. But Locke picked the items that truly belonged to him. This fit in the theme later in the story when Locke rejected the idea of science camp (another attempt by Richard to alter John’s path) to choose his own destiny.

Later in the story, we see Abbadon manipulating John into getting on that Oceanic Six flight for his Australian walkabout. Rather than becoming upset at John’s choices, he encourages them. If Richard is supposed to represent destiny, then Abbadon clearly represents free will. Abbadon’s intentions are less clear though and he obviously remains oblivious to the island’s location after the Oceanic Six are rescued.

I believe Locke is a combination of both destiny & free will, but neither side realizes this yet. The only person that finally understands is Ben. What Ben saw as a manipulation of Hurley’s destiny under the guise of free will, Locke offered actual free will to Hurley.

Moving the Island

There are two distinct possibilities on this one. Physically moving the island is out of the question, so the island will have to be moved through time via the Orchid station or the pathway into the island will have to be moved. I’m leaning toward the time theory, although both are possible. The time theory would certainly explain the Black Rock ship sitting in the middle of the island. If the island jumped to a different time, any ship on the open seas in that area would suddenly be sitting on land rather sailing around. On the other hand, moving the entrance would fit with Widmore’s inability to find the island after the Oceanic Six get rescued. Plus it would be easier for a mass television audience to swallow than a time traveling island.

- My Favorite Moment: Hurley sharing his candy bar with Ben. It was sweet and a nice sidebar to the tension of the moment.