Part Mop. Part Puppet. All Crazy.
Well, the third season of Lost ended tonight with Through the Looking Glass. It wasn’t the hatch-opening of Season 1 or the hatch explosion of Season 2, but it was finally Charlie’s death.
All this and more in my hurried-before-midnight recap:
He lied to The Others about The Looking Glass and it’s occupants (and the jamming).
He lied to Jack about killing Sayid/Bernard/Jin.
He lied (by omission) to Alex.
Where is the line and why can’t I figure it out?
Props to Jack for giving him a proper beatdown and finally finding the will to reach a better cost/benefits analysis other than “Live together, die alone”.
Previously Jack’s been like Capt. Kirk’s Kobayashi Maru solution: innovated but ultimately flawed. There is NO way around a no-win situation, just like Spock says.
Oh, and I LOVED Ben’s introduction of Alex to Rousseau. Classic Lost.
For those of us keeping score at home, they were the voices of the plane P.A. and the action news correspondent in the hospital waiting area (respectively). Fun (and podcast-previewed, so listen)!
I’m still VERY UNSURE about what Desmond did and didn’t see in his vision.
Was it really Charlie’s death in that way? What was that mess about a switch (and not a keypad)? Why hadn’t he known about Penelope or the boat switcheroo?
Speaking of which:
Well, she isn’t THAT Penny’s agent, but she did have Desmond’s photo. Is this an allusion to the alternate timeline/plane?
Does she work for Hanso/Dharma and not Widmore? Penny’s father perhaps?
Funny that her people were surprised to hear from Jack or anyone else. Had they given up?
We’ll never know because …
Again, much like Jack’s final embrace of consequences and messy solutions over prolonged suffering, Locke finally kills someone himself and not by proxy. Why he didn’t shoot Jack, though, is still a mystery.
And kudos to Sawyer for being as murderous as comes naturally to him. Tom was questioning Ben’s forethought in keeping the trio alive and Sawyer didn’t believe his surrender.
Nice touch about Walt, who returned, in a sense.
Premonition? Astral projection? Smoke monster? Island incarnate? Locke’s soulmate? Discuss.
With Ben captured and the Looking Glass sunk, what is to become of The Others, who are now leaderless and out of contact with Jacob?
Will Richard take over? Is Mikhail ever dead?
How long do the beach six stay put? How long will the other group wait at the tower? Is it February 2008 yet?
That’s it, folks. Too much? Too little? Just enough?
Whatever the case, this season ending with as many dangling plots as the other two and it’s just as delicious a wait. See you soon and in the blogosphere.
Like Desmond’s premonition?
Actually our Jack?
Future or alternate reality?
Christian Shepherd alive (or Jack Oxy’d out)?
UPDATE: What got Jack hooked on Oxy (other than the drug itself)? Was he hurt being saved from the island? Is their “psychic pain”? Was his original prescription also a forgery (like Christian’s)? Was Christian’s real (b/c he’s still alive)?
UPDATE II: Who’s in the box (I think Sawyer, some think Locke or Ben)? Who’s waiting for Kate?
A few more points before the witching hour:
Cuse and Lindelof interviewed.
Season 3 Recap, [Via Warren Ellis]
Mahalo!
UPDATE: The spoiler post I didn’t read before and I’m glad I didn’t. For the record, Jenn figured out the twist just after the island rescue call Jack made. Good on her.
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I don't really blog that much about Muppets, despite the URL, and focus mainly on Lost, etymology and whatever else strikes my fancy
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Greg
May 24th, 2007 at 8:02 am
One weird theory I heard, which would really make me laugh til I cry, is they are stuck in a loop (like the Star Trek:TNG episode Cause and Effect) where they are doomed to repeat events until they get it “right”
I’m guessing the funeral was for Locke, that’s why no one else turned up, who else do Kate and Jack know that would be disliked enough for no one to turn up to their funeral, especially since he has no family now his dad is dead.
dpb
May 24th, 2007 at 8:07 am
I thought the way in which Charlie died was lame. It’s like he killed himself because he thought he had to but for no logical reason. He had turned off the jamming, now get the F*CK out of there! No… he locks himself up and lets himself drown. It’s feasible that he and Desmond would have both had time to make their escape. Lame.
As for Jack’s flash-forward, loved it. From the moment we first saw him on the plane all drunk, I had a feeling this was not his past. I love how far the fearless leader has fallen… what I don’t get though, is when he tells the other doctor to “Go find my father! If he’s less drunk than me, you can fire me.” Is Jack’s dad not dead? Or, was Jack that piss-ass drunk he didn’t remember his dad even dying?
Killer finale.
Hunter Maxin
May 24th, 2007 at 9:18 am
I cannot believe we’re still talking about alternate timelines. Seriously…it’s time to let it go.
Last night the flashbacks were the Island scenes. The “present” was Jack after the Island - tipped off extremely early by his Motorola RAZR btw.
If I had to guess…Season 4 will be certain characters realizing that they have to go back to the Island. The present will be in the new “now,” post-island, with flashbacks to the specifics of the “rescue”, its aftermatch (both on themselves and the island) and them getting “the call” as the islands wants them back.
I’d go as far as to wager the Season 4 finale will be the key members returning to the island. Who they are, why, and what happened will be mystery of next year? Part of that will inevitably be “what the hell is the island?”
The Casket: I think we were supposed to think it was Locke or Sawyer, but I’m guessing Locke never left the island (if he had a choice)…my wife thinks it was Ben.
As for Jack’s dead/not-dead Dad…I watched that scene mulitple times. From the reactios of everyone in that scene, including Jack, afer he says gt his father down there and compare how drunk they are…Jack’s dad is dead, they all know it, and Jack has slipped due to the drugs and stress or whatever. They all realize in that moment how messed up Jack truly is.
Also, he’s been writing (or tying to write) scrips from a dead doctor. That’ why he pulls the whole don’t bother routine in the pharmacy.
Mikhail - probably not dead. It’s only important if it is, if you follow. Great character though.
Charlie - yeah, technically he didn’t need to die, but he thought he did, which is enough for me.
Desmond’s flashes were never perfect, so who knows…more interesting is that if it wasn’t Penny’s boat, why was she calling the Looking Glass at all? Her connection to the Others is now highly suspect.
I have more, but that’s it for now
Seth
May 24th, 2007 at 10:11 am
@Hunter: great comments!
I’m not giving up on the time issue mostly b/c of Desmond’s visions and the comments of the producers in “The Answers” special that aired last week.
Of course, your theory on how the remaining seasons will be structured in terms of linear/flashback is appealing. I’m willing to believe it for now.
I still think there’s something in the story of Jack’s initial need for horse tranquilizer pain pills. You don’t just decide you need Oxy and get addicted. What caused his physical pain?
I immediately thought Sawyer was in the box, but my wife thought Locke. I think John would never leave the island. Interesting idea about Ben.
Who does that leave as “he/him” waiting for Kate? Someone we know or someone we don’t?
Awaiting your additional comments.
Hunter Maxin
May 24th, 2007 at 10:38 am
The producers did throw the phrase “space time continuum” into the Answers special, but I think that was more of a nod to the bloggers. It’s a red herring that literally does not fit the rest of the story when analyzed closely. But I’ll let it go for now.
what we have now is (the potential for) a major shift in the driving urgency of the show for the main characters. We can now move out of the “peril” aspect of the show (will we live?) and into the larger arc of destiny (why were we all on the plane?).
Without the threat of life, death, and rescue hanging over their heads, we can now allow them to ask the larger questions:
Why did the Island chose them?
Why do they need the Island (assuming Jack is not just a madman)?
How Dharma, The Others, Widmore, and all of our orbiting possibly shady organizations fit in with and what they want from the Island?
This also gives the Producers the opportunity to streamline the characters. We can remove the faceless survivors and get down just to who is important.
As for Jack’s “pain”…there is a lot we have not seen between the last moment of Island story and the “New Now”…Ben’ warnings, Locke’s warnings, the fact that Naomi is not who we all thought she was…all of this suggests at the least the possiblity of a very messy transition from Castaway to Rescue in a number of possible ways. I have no predicitions at all as to what that is…
However, I think it is extremely important to note the future season sizes. 16 hour seasons allow for more concise contained arcs. We are in a position for a mini-season of seeing that transition from “Lost” to “Found,” how hard that immersion BACK into the world is, why there was wreckage of a fake plane, etc…
We can tell individual NEW NOW stories, with flashbacks to the rescue, immersion for each, AND build the reason for why some (if not all) will try to GO BACK!
Kate MUST still be a fugitive. James Ford possibly too (I have to imagine he’s not Sawyer anymore). It makes sense for them to be together AND I find it hard to believe there wouldn’t be a ton of survivors at his funeral if it were him.
The better question, in my opinion, is who among them would rate mention in the newspaper when they died.
Season 4 can end with them back (or almost back) and then Season 5 can get back to the Island mysteries ON the Island.
Hunter Maxin
May 24th, 2007 at 10:42 am
This jump forward in time also allows them to bring back the 6′2 man child version of Walt.
They obviously had to write him off because he was aging way too fast (I think they ultimately were on the island 95-100 days)…but jumping from 2004 to 2008 and now he’s the right size.
Hunter Maxin
May 24th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
There is an additional point to be made about Cha-lee’ death, brotha, that is worth noting, but may noy actually mean anything:
We’ve all noted that Charlie didn’t need to die with how things actually played out, but that he willingly sacrificed hmself so that Desmond’s vision would be fulfilled. His death was someting of a self-fulfilling prophecy at the end there.
The question is, whether Demond pushed Charlie to allow himself to die for some heretorfore unseen ulterior motives on Brother Hume’s part.
Not saying I subscribe to this theory, but some food for thought.
Beth
May 24th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Oceanic airlines shouldn’t exist post-island. ABC had a website made for the airline, same with Driveshaft and Hanso Foundation. On the site, it specifically said the airline shut down post-crash. If we have to ignore that, then I’m going to guess that everything we learned via the other websites (Hanso foundation, Lost experience) is subject to be changed as well?
Hunter Maxin
May 24th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
The person on the other end of Naomi’s phone called himself “Minkowski”. Hermann Minkowski was a mathematician who believed that the theory of relativity could be best understood in a four dimensional space in which time and space are intermingled.
Nick
May 24th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Going with the airline possibly starting back up. If they do get rescued, then the Losties can tell everyone about what happened to the plane. It was a freak accident and it was the pilots responsible for taking them off course with no communications. After that news comes out, Oceanic could start up with their travels again, as it wouldn’t necessarily be the airlines fault.
I dunno. I’m still blown away by that last scene. The finale was great, but I keep coming back to that scene in my head.
dpb
May 24th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Hunter, I came to the same idea the more I thought about the show today. The following seasons could lead to the return to the island. It could definitely be the kick the show needs to get fans back into it.
How’s this for an idea though? Once the lostaways get back to the island, they become “The Others” and a new set of passengers from a wrecked boat or something become the lostaways?
Hunter Maxin
May 24th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
DPB - who knows?
The answer lies in WHY them being on the Island is important. Pehaps they are meant to replace the Others, to guard the Island in the manner in which it was intended, before Ben…went astray, for whatever reason.
I think too little was made of Ben’s preoccupation with saving the pregnant women and his own mother’s death at conception. There are two ways of looking at that too…that Jacob brought Ben into this world (very Palpatine, btw) or that the simple psychological ramification would lead him astray…or both.
Hunter Maxin
May 24th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
My last comment for the day…
Further review shows that the gender of the deceased in the “Bearded Jack” timeline was never revealed.
The combo of no mourners PLUS Jack’s emotions to it, lead me to believe it was Juliet in that coffin.
Bill
May 24th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Great season finale! Definitely some wicked mind games. Haven’t quite figured out where they are going, so it has accomplished it’s goal. That is -keeping me tuned in when the next season starts.
Jeff
May 25th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Sawyer has to be the person Kate was referring to, otherwise there will be further plot twists. So it can’t be Sawyer because it is too obvious.
Michael could be in the coffin. Ultimately, he would be the most hated person by betraying everyone and killing two people for Ben. The other leading candidates for the coffin are Ben, Locke and Sawyer.
I wonder how they undo this plot twist? Jack’s finale can’t be a bitter drugged out doctor. I think it was a premonition of his own as he was dialing the ship. Season 4 will begin with him destroying the phone so he does not follow his vision and can work on his second chance with Kate.
I have to admit, they really pulled the season out of a death spriral. The last few episodes were solid.
H.Pol Sixe
May 25th, 2007 at 12:19 am
great twist ending and flashforward Jack a great idea. Altogether a very strong episode. Curious why the Others didn’t execute Sayid, Jin and Bernard and instead put three bullets in the sand, those three Losties had just whacked seven of their buddies. I didn’t know a VW vans was such a good bush ATV. Our Losties are a murderous bunch and seem to be winning the body count? The Others do seem to be a forgiving crowd, are they really the “bad” guys here? I’d vote for Juliet in the box. Flashforward Kate looked pretty sleek but was she driving a Volvo?, would surely have to still be a fugitive so “he” waiting would be Sawyer or Penny’s dad Widmore as a sugar-daddy?? And, is it c. Xmas 2004 when they reach the tower, make the call?
Tina
May 25th, 2007 at 12:43 am
Re: the gender of the person in the cakset…A close up of the obituary Jack was reading shows that it reads that Man was found dead…not a woman. Anyone else see that?
Polo
May 25th, 2007 at 4:57 am
Hi everyone,
I watched the finale yesterday and I’m really puzzled.
Two possible answers after what we saw:
- It is a flash-back. Then Jack’father is not dead. But how come Jack and Kate know each others?
- It is a flash-forward. Jack was to drunk to realise is father was dead. His ex-wife Sarah
seems to be 7 or 8 months pregnant. She wasn’t before Jack took the plane from
Sidney to LA. But, how come is Oceanic airlines still in service?
I watched it several times and I’m now pretty sure that the deceased in the “Bearded Jack” timeline was a man. I tried to read what was written on the LA newspaper. I managed to read “a man was found…”
Two questions rise: why is John still living? What about Walt?
I’d like to believe that the rescue team is coming, but after all, What Ben said could be true. It makes sense since Charlie wrote before dieing: “Not Penny’s boat”.
Penny was suprised to hear about a rescue boat. I thought she was looking for Dezzie? Remember the scene after the hatch explosion… the 2 scientists calling her when she’s in bed.
It is not a rescue team (That makes sense since they’re all supposed to be dead in the plane crash. Why sending a rescue team if they’re all dead?).
What about the monster? If it’s a security system, why that thing didn’t show up?
By the way, someone mentioned that Ben lied to Jack when he asked to kill Sayid, Bernard and Jin… which is false. He thought they were going to get shot when he asked Tom to kill them. Why did Sawyer and Juliet head back to the beach? I don’t understand why they headed back…
When is going to happen in Season 4: They are going to be found. Desmond will warn them. A helicopter will come to rescue them. Some of them will stay on the island (Rose, Bernard, Locke,…). The others will head to the “temple”. (The four toed statue?)
Something is going to happen to all of them, except Jack and Kate.
- They’re going to be captured by the “rescue team”.
- The so-called rescue team will have problem with the others and the mysterious power of the Island.
Jack and kate will return to LA.
Kate will go back with the policeman. Jack will be more and more depressed because he left his friends behind.
Tim Martin
May 25th, 2007 at 8:59 am
The episode was entitled “through the looking glass” which I believe is a direct reference to Alice’s journeys in wonderland. It is my opinion that the remaining episodes are going to be revealed backwards — kind of like a reflection — as everything Alice sees in the looking glass is backwards. This certainly would be an interesting and innovative move by the writers. For instance, it would allow the writers to suspend the secrets of the island to the absolute final episode with the rescue and discovery of the island!
Also, nobody has mentioned this, but I think Claire was the lady in the carwreck who saw Jack on the bridge and Aaron was the boy who was pulled from the wreck. I do not have the capacity to go back and view the episode again, but that would explain Jack’s obsession with the case. I also think I saw Claire’s face underneath the massive amounts of bandages. As for the coffin — my first impulse is Locke, as Locke is the one who wanted to stay on the island — but it could be Ben, Sawyer, or even Jack …. not to get too deep.
cb
May 26th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
I like a parole officer as Kate’s mystery contact in her airport scene with Jack.
Stevo
May 27th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
the patient in the hospital is definetely NOT claire, looked at it four, five times, and it’s not here. Little boy in the hospital is wearing charlie’s ring
Stevo
May 27th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
NOT wearing the ring ;-)
Bob
May 27th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Ben did lie about killing Jin, Bernard and Sayid. Tom complains about being ordered to fire shots into the sand by Ben.
Even when I wasn’t sure that the flashforwards were flashforwards, I kept thinking that the dead body was Michael. That would explain Kate’s reaction.
The shooting of the show also focuses a lot of attention on the area of the city where the funeral home is. That might be a clue.
martimus
May 29th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
As anyone got an opinion on what Eko said before he died. Lok said that Eko said “we’re next”.