Lost blogging: What They Died For

[updated]

I’ve been terribly remiss in my Lost blogging. Unfortunately, my schedule and my lack of a television make it hard for me to blog about TV shows – even shows like Lost which I am, for lack of a better word, obsessed with.

This season has been, in my opinion, one of the best in the show. I liked last week’s “Across the Sea” which many people seemed to hate. But Tuesday’s “What They Died For” was amazing, and really sets us up for the grand finale.

I’m still not sure how the sideways world ties in to the ‘real world’ yet. At the beginning of the season, the island is underwater. From what we now know about the heart of the island and the light, does this mean that the light has gone out?  From what we now know about Smoke-Locke’s intention to either get off of or destroy the island, does this mean that the nuke actually did what Locke couldn’t do? Does this mean that in the sideways world, Locke is free? Or did the nuke never go off and in fact the sideways world is a result of the island being destroyed by Locke himself?

Other thoughts:

Is Richard Alpert dead? I thought he was immortal, but maybe not.

I love the part where Jack is stitching up Kate on the beach. Talk about full circle.

What are the rules governing who Locke can and cannot kill? Once Jack takes on the top job and Jacob is gone forever, is his ‘protection’ gone too? Does that protection lift when they are no longer candidates, i.e. now that Jack is Jacob, essentially, is Locke able to kill whomever he pleases?

I get the sense that Desmond is much more than either Widmore or Smokey knew – unless their whispered conversation reveals that they do know his potential. I don’t think so. I think Desmond has a far more important role to play than merely resisting the electromagnetism of the island. We’ll find out what that is as he gathers everyone together for the concert in the finale. In any case, I think he’s somehow beyond either the strings of Jacob or Smokey, or anything else.

Going back to “Across the Sea” for a moment: was Jacob and Smokey’s “mother” also a smoke-monster?  Was she the smoke monster and when she died her bad spirit went back into the cave only to be resurrected by the fratricide Jacob commits?  How else did she kill all those people? But if she was the monster, then why didn’t she want to leave the island herself? Maybe she couldn’t for some reason? Why did she favor the other brother over Jacob?

I’m not surprised it’s Jack taking over for Jacob – as the great doubter becomes a man of faith – but I wonder if there’s more to the real Locke, the dead Locke, who seemed a much more perfect fit. What does Desmond mean by wanting sideways Locke to “let go”? There’s more to this.

I don’t think Linus has gone over to the dark side. I think he’s trying to con the smoke monster, and got to take out Widmore in the process.

What is the cut on sideways Jack’s neck? This is more significant than merely a marker that his is not the real world. Locke did cut open that lady’s throat – and here we have this image of Jack with a cut on his neck…coincidence?

Will everyone be at the concert? Will Jack’s son play alongside Daniel Faraday? I imagine there will be some major revelation, but will there also be a choice? Will they have to decide whether to go back to the island…again?

Do I have too many questions to be properly wrapped up in 100 minutes of television this Sunday?  And does anyone know if it’s possible to get a network channel like ABC now if you don’t subscribe to any cable package?  I’d rather not wait until Monday this time to watch it on Hulu….

Also – for the best takes on Lost episodes, read Alan Sepinwall. His thoughts on Lost are always the most clear and interesting ones on the net.

It will be a shame to come to the end of this show, but I’m excited at the same time. Like the end of a good book or long series where you know you’re about to wrap it up, say good-bye to all your favorite characters and there is anticipation and dread all at once….

Thoughts?

Update.

Do you think Desmond can enter the Light?  He seems resistant to all the islands effects and can transport between realities (or is forced between them by the island?) – does this mean he is impervious to the effects of the Light, those same effects that turned Jacob’s brother into Smokey?  What are the implications of this?