Spoilers below!
This week on LOST, island Hugo tries to rally the troops but is only semi-successful. Sideways Hugo is a beloved philanthropist and businessman who can’t get a date. Meanwhile, Desmond confuses us in both timelines, and the dead characters keep on coming.
Check out our discussion below and add your own thoughts & theories. Remember: no spoilers for episodes that haven’t aired yet!
What are your general thoughts & reactions?
CARA: I liked it! I’ve seen some negative reactions floating around to this one, but despite the fact that I saw numerous turns coming before they actually occurred — like Ilana blowing up, and Flocke pushing Desmond down the well — I thought the episode covered a lot and had a fast pace. Not a great episode, but a good one.
SADY: I always love it when Michael comes back. The scenes are often super-goofy, but Harold Perrineau invests them with an emotional gravity far beyond what they deserve. I was disappointed, however, when he spoke to Hurley about Big Dead Libby, and didn’t also ask him to pass on a message to WAAAAAAAAAAAAALT!
JILL: The episodes are only going to get more and more fast-passed and crammed full of action from here on out — they have to be, if even some of the important questions are going to be resolved. Which means that the character development thing is basically dead and I think there will be many more explosions.
SADY: My boy?
LAUREN: I actually had to read a recap to remember what happened in this episode before I joined in this conversation, so. There were indeed explosions. And we have confirmed that we have indeed spent 100+ hours of our lives on LOST: THE GREATEST LOVE STORY OF ALL TIME.
SADY: My BOY!
SALLY: I wasn’t thrilled about this episode. I forgot most of what happened and needed to chat with my friend about it before coming up with questions. For the most part, I enjoyed it while watching it, but it just wasn’t good enough to stay in my memory.
SADY: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALTTTTTTTTTT
In the flash sideways, Hurley owns everything, does good all over, and apparently everybody loves him. Sadly, he has a problem talking to women. What do we think of sideways Hurley?
CARA: Sideways Hurley is exactly like our regular Hurley — only he’s lucky. That’s really it, isn’t it? So of course I love him! And I’m happy that he’s mostly happy.
SADY: Oddly, Hurley seemed more depressed than usual in this one! Before, he was scared or angry, but in this one, despite being Hurley (who we love; seriously, there might not be a more instantly endearing character on TV than Hurley) he was just really, really down. Just moping over some tortilla chips, or whatever. I guess even being the luckiest guy alive isn’t totally fulfilling for him.
LAUREN: All realities suck in some way, yes?
SALLY: It made me sad how sad Hurley was. I thought he was about to admit himself for depression and join Libby in the hospital like old times. I loved him anyway though because he’s Hurley and Hurley’s the definition of lovable.
CARA: Huh. You know, I thought of Hurley as mostly happy because, well, everyone loved him! Which is what he always wanted! And even better, he wasn’t having bad luck. Which is what he also wanted! But he was also kind of quietly sad. So this ties into our theory from last week regarding the alternate universe giving you what it is you wanted, only to have it not turn out quite as awesome as planned, yes?
Libby’s back, but she’s in a mental hospital because she remembers her life with Hurley on the island and therefore thinks she’s crazy. But they kiss and then Hurley remembers too! What’s happening? How will these realities come together?
JILL: At first I thought the memories-coming-back was maybe a touch thing. I mean, Desmond didn’t remember until he touched Charlie’s hand (through the car window, though, so maybe not?).
SADY: Maybe it’s that they have to have experiences that are identical to ones they had on the Island. Hugo kissing Libby. Libby watching Hurley from afar (albeit through TV). Desmond trying to rescue Charlie from drowning; Desmond getting exposed to electromagnetic energy. Charlie… uh, well, Charlie dying. Man! Charlie has it rough! I eagerly await next week’s episode, in which Jack is triggered by being mean to a lady, making a cryface, and breaking something super-important. Possibly all at once!
JILL: I am also confused about who can and cannot remember. Libby wasn’t on the second Oceanic flight (was she?), and yet she remembers — although she didn’t seem to need help remembering, hence being in the mental institution.
CARA: The one thing I did like about how they treated mental illness in this episode is how Hurley interacted with Libby, in a way that wasn’t condescending or patronizing. He treated her with respect, and basically like he would any other person. But I thought they kind ruined it with “But don’t worry, she’s not really ‘crazy,’ so it’s totally okay for them to be together!” (s.e. smith has a different take.)
I’ve seen some folks wonder whether or not Libby’s sideways storyline is actually connected to her unresolved original storyline. If somehow, she saw the alternate universe way before Desmond did, and checked herself into the hospital then, too. Of course I don’t think we’ll ever know either way, but it’s an interesting idea.
SALLY: I just got all warm and fuzzy when Hurley and Libby kissed. I think I was too distracted with Libby being there (I loved her character) to pay attention to much else lol. Also, I think maybe Sady was right last week (or was it the week before?) and it’s all about looooove. Or, at least, I started singing “All You Need Is Love” to myself when they saw each other and then again when they kissed. Really, if the show ends up being about love more than any usual sci-fi theme, I can’t say I’d be disappointed.
On the island, Hurley’s manages to convince the candidates on his side of the island to go with him. What are Richard, Ben & Miles going to do on their own? What’s going to happen now that all the candidates (minus Jin) are together?
CARA: I have to say that whatever happens, I am totally Team Richard. I love Hurley to pieces — and Sun and Frank are cool, though they never get to do anything — but Team Richard is just infinitely badass. Richard, Ben, and Miles? They are going to have the most wicked sarcasm-off this world has ever seen.
Meanwhile, Hurley has a good point that really pissing Smokey off in a way that also traps them on the island with Smokey might not be the best of plans. And yet, Richard also has a point that trying to talk it out with Smokey probably isn’t going to work. I imagine that if Ilana hadn’t died, she would have told Hurley that getting all of the candidates in one place where Smokey has access to them is OMG BAD IDEA. But she’s dead, so there you go. We shall see!
JILL: I am afraid to have all of the candidates together, especially with Locke. I think only Bad Things will happen — and clearly Desmond has to be the way out of those Bad Things, right?
SADY: Or, Jin is actually the leading candidate by default now! Since the rest of them are sort of deadzo. In related news: He will also be single? This is what we refer to, in Insensitive Person Circles, as a “win/win situation.”
SALLY: I’m not a big fan of Team Richard, if only because he seems way too intent on blowing up that plane and not open to figuring out any other options. I realize that he doesn’t want to waste time but, seriously, he couldn’t take just a FEW minutes to brainstorm with everyone else? He’s been all “LET’S BLOW IT UP!” since he got back.
Oh, apparently Michael is stuck on the island and that’s what the voices are about. Does anyone care? They also killed off another woman. Is anyone surprised?
CARA: Haha. I thought the scene with Michael was a little ham-fisted, honestly. The whispers weren’t really on my radar, though in retrospect they probably should have been. So there you go.
SALLY: I added the whispers thing to my list of “answers to LOST you weren’t even asking questions about!” It annoyed me.
CARA: With regards to Ilana, I just remain honestly surprised that it took them so long to kill her.
SADY: And, truly, as one woman enters the Roster of Characters, another one leaves us, in a manner that seems to have very little to do with the plot or her character or anything besides (1) PLOT TWIST! and (2) SPLOSIONS! and (3) Motivating A Dude. It’s the ciiiircle of LOOOOOST, and it kills us all! Provided we are girls!
JILL: I thought the whispers thing was neat! It also adds another layer to the “maybe we’re in Hell” storyline — it implies that the island is also some sort of limbo for people who wronged it. I’m curious to see who else is stuck there — like, is Christian in limbo, or was Smokey imitating him? (I think the latter, but). Which other dead people are just stuck there forever?
And, of course, NOT surprised that they killed off Ilana, but I am surprised by how totally nonchalant they were about it! I mean, she had a backstory and a whole arc going, and then, BAM! So unceremonious, unlike most of the other deaths of relatively important people. However, I liked Ilana’s death for one reason: It gives me hope that the writers will bend to the public will and blow Jack up in a similarly unceremonious way, and everyone will just kind of shrug their shoulders and be like, “Ok, onto the next temple I guess.” A girl can dream, right?
Desmond’s still cool as a cucumber despite the chaos around him and he has no idea Locke is now Flocke. Then two seemingly important things happen: 1) Desmond sees little jungle boy, 2) Desmond admits he’s not afraid, which makes Flocke push him down the well. What?!
CARA: I don’t think he pushed Desmond down the well because he wasn’t afraid. I think he pushed him down the well because he wanted to get rid of him. My guess is that Desmond made a mistake in telling Flocke about the eletromagnatism, and Flocke has guessed how Widmore planned on using Desmond to defeat him. No Desmond = no plan by Widmore. Simple as that.
SADY: See, now, I thought Desmond’s creepy affectlessness throughout the episode was highly significant. Like: Maybe he’s fully aware that he exists in two realities, on some level, and therefore doesn’t take either one as being “real?” Or maybe he’s ascended to a higher plane? Or something? Or maybe… he’s just a MURDERER.
JILL: Or maybe he realizes that he gets to be with Penny in either universe, so he just doesn’t give a damn about what’s happening.
SALLY: I don’t know, I got the sense it was significant that Desmond wasn’t afraid. Not that Flocke wouldn’t have killed him anyway, but he seemed to take great interest in why he wasn’t afraid. I have a vague sense that this has come up earlier in the season – this idea of fearlessness around Flocke. Maybe with Sawyer? Can’t quite remember… But if it did, then is it significant that Sawyer also saw jungle boy? I’m so confused…
After Flocke pushes Desmond down the well on the island, sideways Desmond runs Locke over. Is this another sign that Desmond is aware of both realities? What exactly does this mean?
SADY: I called it! Last week! Desmond is a stone-cold killer, and everyone on that plane will die by his hand! What do you think of your beloved Desmond NOW??? “Oh, but Sady,” you say. “He didn’t kill Charlie! Or Hugo! Or Jack! There are in fact numerous examples I can point to, thereby disproving your theory!” And to you, I say: He hasn’t killed them… yet.
CARA: First of all, I have to say WTF DESMOND??? Secondly, I must say: Desmond, if you had to purposely engage in random hit and runs, why couldn’t you have run over Jack??? And thirdly, I am terribly confused as to why he thought it was acceptable to help Hurley see his other life by counseling him over a bucket of chicken, but decided the only way to help out Locke was to possibly kill him in a rather brutal fashion. I suppose it’s possible that Desmond was seeking revenge for being thrown down the well by someone he thought was Locke — but even if that were the case, and even with him thinking that Flocke is Locke, you’d still think he’d realize that the Locke in one universe is not really the same guy as the Locke in the other universe.
JILL: I don’t think it was revenge. Definitely not. Bizarro LA Desmond doesn’t seem to care about revenge — he seems universally focused on making sure that everyone else on the second Oceanic flight remembers the island. I think what Sady said above was right — that in order to remember the island, you need to have an experience that you also had on the island. Or you need to find whatever “thing” it was that motivated you while on the island (Libby for Hurley, Charlie for Desmond). For Locke, maybe Desmond thinks that “thing” is death, or possibly healing, since Locke got onto the island and could suddenly walk. Revenge-seeking seems like waaaaay too easy an explanation.
LAUREN: How does Locke’s murder in sideways world fit into the island world, I wonder? Does anyone think this is a strategic effort against Smokey on Desmond’s part?
SALLY: I don’t see how it could be. Everyone but Desmond seems wholly unaffected by the other reality and while Flocke has thrown out a Locke phrase or two, I don’t think he’d be able to feel sideways Locke. Unless he can. In which case, you know, whatever.