Editor’s Note: Without a doubt, I would say that LOST is the biggest show on television. When I say that, I’m not talking about all those crummy reality shows and game shows. I’m talking good, honest to God, quality entertainment, with a staff of great writers, a terrific crew, a fantastic cast, and excellent direction. There is not a single show on television that has the pull, the intensity, or the cult that LOST has, and everyone here at Multiversity Comics is a HUGE fan of LOST (to the point we all went internet dark the night of the viewing so nothing would get spoiled).
With that being said, I knew that having a series of articles following the last and most intense season of LOST was a must for the site. And when thinking about it, I realized that LOST does have it’s foot in comic-dom. There’s the pilot episode, in which Walt reads an issue of Flash/Green Lantern: Faster Friends. There is Hurley’s reading of Y: The Last Man. Heck, Brian K Vaughan was a huge part of the writing staff last season, and Paul Dini has worked on the show as well. Heck, Watchmen is a confirmed influence on the writing staff of the show! So while, unlike Fringe, there is no comic book tie-in, I believe there is enough comic-ness in LOST for a solely comic book and comic book related website to discuss one of the greatest shows of all time.With that in mind, I contacted one of my friends, who is the BIGGEST LOST fan in the world, and asked him to write weekly articles about each episode.
And with that, I present to you one of the best write-ups on the first episode of the final season you’ll find anywhere on the internet. You can also join us in discussion about LOST over at our forum. /Editor’s Note
So, Juliet detonated the bomb. Flight 815, is that really you? Just seconds into season six, they’ve got us all wondering the same thing: did that bomb really go off and fix everything? Familiar face Cindy talks to Jack about his drink. She hands him a bottle. A bottle. Not two bottles, just one. In the pilot, she handed him two. Just seconds into season six, they’ve got us all wondering the same thing: did that bomb really go off and create some sort of new timeline? We see Rose, and in her conversation with Jack, she tells him that the turbulence is normal. In the pilot, it was Jack reassuring Rose that everything would be fine. After the turbulence is over, Rose says “it’s okay, you can let go.” That absolutely feels like one of those lines with more than one meaning. Jack has a lot more to let go of than just his seat. Jack gets up and heads to the bathroom. He looks at himself in the mirror, and the look on his face is almost one of strange recognition; something is different or weird to him about himself. Is that a sign of something, and why is he bleeding? Jack returns to his seat to find Desmond sitting in his row. The same Desmond Hume who was on the island when flight 815 crashed. The same Desmond Hume who caused flight 815 to crash. Uh oh. He tells Jack that he moved to this row because of the fella next to him on the plane. Is that something we’ll see later? Jack then remembers Desmond after he says “brotha,” which begs the question: does Jack remember him from the island or from the stadium? The camera goes right out the window and heads down. Into the ocean. A school of fish. Was that the sonar fence? No way, it couldn’t be. Was that…the Dharma barracks? Something must be wrong with the television, that can’t be right. Dharma shark!? Oh god…the statue…underwater. But why? The bomb? I think that’s too obvious, and I’ve always thought there was a reason we saw a class learning about the volcano near the end of season 3…could that be? Regardless, the whole island is submerged.
Island, we have a problem.
I believe that Juliet detonating the bomb is shown again to subtly tell us that two things happened as a consequence of that action: the plane now appears like it’s going to land, and our friends are still on the island, only now we see that they’ve flashed through time again to the present day. Kate sees the Swan hatch as it looked after Desmond blew it up. So despite the incident the hatch was still built, and somehow (Desmond?) it was blown up. So now they’ve got us all wondering the same thing: are these alternate timelines? However, a quote from Damon manages to say something about that while still not really saying anything about that: “we don’t use the phrase ‘alternate reality,’ because to call one of them an ‘alternate reality’ is to infer that one of them isn’t real, or one of them is real and the other is the alternate to being real.” Huh, okay. So, back to the island. Kate sees Sawyer and Jack lying in the grass. She wakes Jack up. Angry Sawyer wakes up and kicks Jack down into the ditch. Sawyer, thinking Juliet is dead, is enraged. Josh Holloway has always been great as James Ford, but he really nailed this episode. Kate then hears Juliet crying out for help from below, so with the helpf of Jin and the Dharma van, Sawyer is able to crawl down to her. Juliet mentions going out for coffee and going dutch just before she dies. This instantly reminded me of Charlotte talking about how she wasn’t allowed chocolate before dinner just before she died. Did Juliet’s consciousness flash to a time in the future or past and lead her to make those comments? She then tells Sawyer she has something important to say but is unable to say it. We later learn from Miles that she wanted to say “it worked.” This leads me to believe she saw the future. I have a feeling we’ll see a scene where she asks Sawyer to go out for coffee and go dutch, except that they won’t know each other at that time. Remember, Juliet told Sawyer that she wanted the bomb to work because if she never met him, she’d never have to lose him. I think she’s going to meet him anyway and invite him for coffee.
On the plane, Hurley says “nothing bad ever happens to me; I’m the luckiest guy alive!” So now they’ve got us all wondering the same thing: how is this version of Hurley the exact opposite of the cursed Hurley we’ve grown to love over the last five years? Back to the island, and Hurley is doing his best to help Sayid, who is bleeding badly and coughing up blood. Hurley is grossed out by the blood, which draws an obvious parallel to the pilot when Jack was working on the marshal, and Hurley tried to help but fainted. Sayid seems to believe he is about to die, and wonders aloud how horrible the place he’ll end up after his death will be considering the great number of people he’s tortured over the years; he seems genuinely remorseful. We later find out from Jacob that Sayid needs to be saved, and for that to happen he must be taken to the Temple. Why is it so important that he be saved? Will his innocence be taken like Richard said little Ben’s would be? Also, don’t let this irony pass you by: Sayid was the one who shot little Ben who was then taken to the Temple. Ben’s father shot Sayid who now needs to be taken to the Temple.
On the plane, we see Locke and Boone chatting while Frogurt sleeps. Boone explains that he went to Australia to save his sister from an abusive relationship but she chose to stay. (Note: this is due to Maggie Grace being unavailable; the producers did reach out to her in an attempt to bring her back.) Locke seems very confident, and tells Boone he went on a walkabout while in Australia. This is very odd, considering that in “Walkabout” his attempt was denied. I believe Locke; I believe he’s a different man and this time around, that air of confidence was enough to convince the people who run the walkabouts that he was fit enough to join them on the trip. However, the most interesting thing about the exchange to me was Boone saying “if this thing goes down, I’m sticking with you.” If you remember, Boone did end up spending time with Locke on the island, and all that led to was his death.
Continued belowInside the statue we go, and we’re right back where we left off. Ben is staring into the fire in disbelief, and MIB (Fake Locke aka the Man in Black) tells Ben that Jacob is gone. Here, Terry O’Quinn is playing a guy playing a guy, and shined this entire episode as both MIB and on the plane as the real John Locke. Ben is told to tell Richard to come inside and talk to Locke.
On the plane, we find that old friend Charlie is not breathing. Jack does his hero thing and finds his passageway is blocked. He then finds Charlie’s drugs are the object that’s lodged in his throat and saves his life. Charlie then asks “am I alive?” (Remember ComicCon? Dominic Monaghan came out with three words written on his hand. Those three words were “am I alive?” and it turns out to be his first line this season.) He then sarcastically says “terrific,” which is the same thing he said just after the monster first made noise out in the jungle just off the beach. Charlie is then put into handcuffs and he tells Jack “I was supposed to die.” This reminds us of the island, where Desmond had his flashes of Charlie dying up until he actually did die. I have no idea what to make of that, but it’s worth mentioning.
Ben informs Richard that everything is okay and that John would like to talk to him. Richard gets angry and shows Ben that Locke is lying dead in the sand. Bram decides that he can’t wait any longer and he goes in to see Jacob, but instead finds Locke. Locke tells them that they are just Jacob’s bodyguards and that they are no longer needed; they’re free to go. Bram responds by firing at MIB, who disappears for a moment. The smoke monster comes barreling in a moment later and quickly ends the threat. The interesting thing about this scene was that Bram used a circle of ash (like the one around the cabin) to protect himself from smoky temporarily.
Jack returns to his seat, only to find Desmond gone. Rose had been sleeping, so she doesn’t know where he went. My hunch is that he went back to his original seat. Is that a scene we’ll see later? I hope so. I’m also very curious as to who it was that he was sitting next to. Flight 815, meet LA X. A moment we never thought possible just a few years ago, yet here it is. Touchdown. Interesting about this scene is that the police officers that board upon landing take Charlie off with them before the rest of the passengers get off. Kate sees them and thinks they’re for her, but she is wrong. They show the police escorting him off the plane, and they grab his guitar case for him, the guitar case that seems to be exactly the same case as the one Jacob gave to Hurley. What’s in there? Does it matter? Will we see it? Jack and Locke smile at each other as Jack gets off the plane, just as they smiled at each other when Jack got on in the pilot.
On his way out of LA X, Jack is paged by Oceanic. He arrives at the courtesy booth to find out that his cargo (coffin) never boarded the plane and the airline is not sure where it is. So when the plane crashed, Christian was nowhere to be found, even though Jack found the coffin. Now the plane landed, and Christian is nowhere to be found. Is it possible that Christian is not dead? If not, did someone take the coffin? If so, who? Coffins don’t just get up and leave on their own, so I think both of these notions are in play here.
Back on the island, we see the hole in the wall at the Temple that Jin went to with Rousseau and her crew. The Losties enter and find Montand minus the arm that was pulled off back in 1988. Before we know it, strange, shadowy figures are knocking Jack out front behind and dragging him outside. Behold, the Temple. Finally! And hey look, there’s Cindy! And John Lennon! And Mr. Miyagi! Oh, what a crew. (Note: the guy who looks like John Lennon’s name is John Hawkes. His characters name is — get this — Lennon. Really.) Mr. Miyagi decides everyone should be shot until Hurley mentions that Jacob sent them, and he has the guitar case as proof. Inside is an ankh, and he snaps it over his knee to reveal a note inside. The Losties all give their names, and Lennon tells Hurley “if your friend there dies, we’re all in a lot of trouble.” So again, why is Sayid staying alive so important to Jacob? Sayid is taken to the spring, but for some reason the water isn’t clear. Miyagi cuts his hand and puts it underwater, and seems disturbed when the water doesn’t heal the cut. What happened to the water that made it not clear and unable to heal him? Is it connected to Jacob’s death? They attempt to heal Sayid, though it looks more like they are just trying to drown him. Well, that’s exactly what they did. Sayid is dead…for now.
Continued belowBack in the airport, Kate is doing what Kate does best: running. The marshal took a suitcase to the head when the plane crashed, and now in this new timeline Kate introduces his head to the bathroom sink. Thinking quickly, she tells the women who walk in that she was attacked, and runs for the exit. She hops in a taxi, puts a gun to the drivers head and then who do we sitting next to her? Claire! She gets about 2 seconds of screen time before the taxi speeds off and the marshal is left in the dust. This reappearance for Claire was nice, but it almost seemed forced. I would have rather them waited and shown her when we’d be able to see what she’s up to. Either way, it’s not a big deal and I hope we see that soon.
Cindy decided to be nice to our Losties and had Zach and Emma bring them something to drink. So I guess this is where her and the kids have been since the crash. Good to know, that’s always been something I’d wondered about. We then learn that Miyagi can speak English, but chooses not to. Upon learning that Jacob has died, Miyagi ramps up the ‘oh shit, Jacob is dead’ protocol. A circle of ash is poured just inside the walls, the walls are reinforced with beams and a flare is shot off. “It’s to keep him out,” says Lennon, presumably about MIB.
Speaking of MIB, Ben asks him “what are you?” His response: “I’m not a what, I’m a who.” Ben feels used, and accuses MIB of using him. “I didn’t make you do anything,” he says. MIB did the same thing Ben did to countless people over the years; he not only got Ben to do what he wanted him to do, he made Ben think it was his choice. Pay close attention to the use of lighting in this scene, it’s particularly fantastic. MIB sits mostly in the dark, while the light bathes Ben. We then begin the process of humanizing MIB when he tells ben “I want to go home.” He’s a real person. He has a home somewhere. He has/had a family. Will we learn about this? I bet yes, and I can’t wait. I’m really starting to question how “good” Jacob is and how “evil” MIB is. We know that’s the battle that is raging, but we still don’t know who is on what side. What if Jacob usurped power from MIB just like Ben did to Charles Widmore? Are Ben and Widmore each on one side here? I think these are both possibilities.
On the beach, Richard sees the flare. He knew something wasn’t right before, but now he knows that Jacob is dead. Just as he realizes this, MIB comes marching out of the statue with Ben and walks right up to him. “Hello Richard. It’s good to see you out of those chains.” Richard: “You?” MIB: Me.” He then knocks Richard out and picks him up. It’s possible that the “chains” he speaks of just refer to him being Jacob’s servant, which could be a possibility, but I don’t believe that to be the truth. If you remember when the Losties went to the Black Rock to get dynamite, they found skeletons of the slaves chained to the walls. It’s been speculated for awhile now, but I think this line is our biggest hint yet pointing at Richard being a slave on that ship that, for some reason, was saved by Jacob and given eternal life. MIB then turns to the crowd and tells hem he’s very disappointed in all of them. My two thoughts on this are he either means humanity as a whole (this goes back to the ‘they come, they fight, they destroy’ idea) or maybe he was just disappointed that they all believed in Jacob for so long. He then walks past the dead body of John Locke with Richard over his shoulder, probably on his way to the Temple.
Back inside the Temple, Sawyer and Miles are brought in by the Others. We see Hurley go over to Sayid’s dead body to say goodbye, and Miles has a strange look on his face. Does this mean Sayid had some wild thought in his mind before he died that scared Miles, or is Sayid not dead? Lennon wants to talk to Jack, and he begins to put up a fight and refuse until Hurley yells “JACK!” and everyone sees Sayid sit up and ask the question that was on all of our minds at the time: “What happened?”
Continued belowThe episode ended there, but I’m going to backtrack and end this with the Jack/Locke scene at the airport. Jack just happened to fall out of the sky to fix Ben, and Ben thought that was much more than just a coincidence. Is the fact that Locke and Jack both lost something on the plane fates way of bringing them together so Jack can fix Locke? What an ending that would be. The man of science Jack saves the man of faith Locke, which in turn fixes him. I hope we see that.
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Hey everyone, my name is Crit and Matt asked me to post my LOST recaps/reviews here and I happily obliged. I would love to hear your feedback whether you agree or disagree with anything I said, I’m always happy to discuss it!
I run fuckyeahlost.com and also have my own blog, fuckyeahcrit.com so check those out! Hopefully a lot of the Multiversity readers are big LOST fans, and I hope you’ll all enjoy my posts!
