Hello my fellow Losties! Welcome back! Are you getting a little sad that our Thursday tradition will be coming to a close in one week's time? Well, we'll deal with that next week! For now, we have to talk about Charlie and some more crazy stuff happening on our favorite island! What another great episode of this show! Ultimately, we kinda knew this episode would just be setting up the finale but wow did they toy with our emotions with poor doomed Charlie (or is he doomed???) And they sure set in motion events that will change the course of their lives on this island forever. Yes, Jack and crew will be splitting up and embarking on simultaneous adventures, conveniently timed around the end of the season! As Kate says, "Here we Go Again." And what do I always say? Yep, you guessed it......."WOW!!!"
Our finale setup episode immediately deals with Jack's plan to protect his people but also how the crew must deal with complications to that plan. Sayid continues to persist that the imminent rescue opportunity is priority #1 (that would be part of the complications to Jack's revenge plot!) Flustered and crazy Ben returns from his assassination attempt of the CHOSEN ONE with a new plan almost as devious and crazy as Jack's (yep, another complication!). Charlie writes out his 5 BEST MOMENTS in life to give to Claire after he dies. Desmond has perhaps his "FINAL" premonition about Charlie, guiding Charlie in his supposed final hours as the doomed hobbit/rocker prepares for his heroic fatal mission.
Let's go ahead and break this down the best we can!
Ben's New Orders6 hours ago prior to the rest of the episode's events. We see Ben return without Locke after the already infamous Jacob visit. Ben appears to be a man who has lost his composure and fears for losing his LEADERSHIP over the OTHERS community. Ben gives Alex the gun back and announces to the OTHERS that Locke had an "accident" and announces Jacob has a new plan. The kidnapping mission must be done that very night (instead of the next day). Since Juliet won't be prepared, take all of the women and kill any man that stands in your way! (uh oh!) Alex passes on information to Karl to warn Jack and friends. Observations:
- Ben lying to the others and giving false orders from Jacob confirms our suspicions that he shot Locke in order to maintain his ability to LEAD the Others. But Ben's flustered manner would seem to show him as a shell of the man that the OTHERS recruited to be their Leader. He has become so obsessed with finding a cure of Island Pregnancies that he has lost sight of HOW he is going about doing it. And this could lead to the DEATH of some very unfortunate castaways AND Others.
- Alex questions if Ben is real father. This seems to imply Alex does not know she was taken from Rousseau as a baby. I think we could assume that, but figured I'd mention.
- Alex has been seeing Karl in secret. Sawyer had told Karl to go BACK to Alex and it would seem he has never been caught. I guess the question remains to if Ben KNEW they were seeing each other and HOPED that Alex would tell Karl and the message would be relayed back to the castaways. Also...is it possible that Alex could be pregnant too? If the chances of getting pregnant on the island are as good as Juliet suggests, and this is the reason Ben wanted to keep them apart....then I guess there is as good a chance as any that she is!
Jack's back in charge
Well we knew a big speech was coming. We didn't know Jack was going to escort all of our regular cast-members (with none of the "Red-Shirts" as Boone or a Trekkie would say) into a random open field to announce his big plan! However there are some setbacks to the Plan. Let's break down these events:
- Jack reveals that he has been in talks with Rousseau to bring Dynamite from the Black Rock back to the camp. Well now we know why Rousseau was in the Black Rock! Jack gets into speech mode saying there's nowhere to run this time, nowhere to hide. "It's time we stop hiding. We're going to mark the tents with white rocks just as they instructed Juliet. And when they show up.....we're going to blow them all to hell!!" Woaaa Jack! So now it's Live Together, Die Alone, and KILL anyone that isn't us! niiiiiice
- Well, as always, I must quote myself from previous Blogs when I'm onto something! This was from the "The Man Behind the Curtain" blog just a couple weeks ago:
"Sayid got a new toy to play with in the Satellite Phone as predicted. They are going to try and communicate with the rescue freighter. All static right now even though it had a few bars of service. Perhaps they will go to the radio tower to kill Rousseau's transmission? Isn't that what was blocking all other signals before? "
Well, Sayid convinces Jack that communicating with the freighter is just as important as keeping people alive. And YES, they want to kill Rousseau's transmission. Juliet, however, reveals that Ben has been Jamming ANY transmission from leaving the island except theirs. And that there is a secret hatch UNDER WATER that is the source of the JAMMING. (And quite possibly the source of a LOT of answers!) - The Underwater hatch is revealed to be "The Looking Glass" Hatch. We'll get into all that is LOOKING GLASS in Charlie's sections below. For now, we will say that THIS is what is at the other end of that WIRE along the beach. The wire that Sayid found after he tortured Sawyer in season 1 and left the camp, inevitably finding Rousseau and then discovering the existence of THE OTHERS. The wire that Hurley finds after talking to Sayid about some crazy NUMBERS that were on maps and writings the Iraqi stole from Rousseau. The wire that Desmond has a flash about in another Charlie-death premonition and discusses with Hurley in order to locate. Yes, we've been wondering about this wire for quite some time. Earlier this season, we thought that we finally discovered that it went to the Hydra Hatch. But considering that was on a different island, it wasn't really possible.
- Sayid pulls out the blueprints he stole from the FLAME station...and of course the "Looking Glass" Hatch blueprints are in there. Juliet says Ben told everyone there was an "ACCIDENT" and that the Hatch is completely flooded. Jack questions how it still works. Sayid says it's irrelevant and that they must get in there. Ben sure likes throwing that "ACCIDENT" word around. Perhaps he was trying to maintain an "illusion" again so that no one tried to go to the Looking Glass? Of course, this is all assuming Juliet can be trusted! But that is not our concern at this time! The plan is someone must swim down into that Hatch and that it would appear getting out alive might be tough (the whole running out of oxygen thing!) Charlie, based on Desmond's vision, volunteers for the job and Dezzie goes with.
- According to the blueprints, it would appear that the station was designed for a submarine to dock there. We have yet to see the full functions of this DHARMA station, but this could be an important development on how people are ARRIVING to the island.
- Anyway - Plans had to change a bit once Karl showed up. Others are coming TONIGHT not tomorrow! Jack goes into EMERENCY PLANNING mode and says there are 3 things that must happen at the same time. 1.) The Looking Glass must be entered and the Transmission Jamming must be stopped 2.) The OTHERS still have to be killed! and 3.) Everyone not involved in Missions 1 and 2 are heading to the Radio Tower together in hopes of Rescue!
- Jack obviously wanted to stick around and kill people. He stated that for 90 days people have asked him to make decisions for the Group. Sayid suggested Jack start ACTING like a leader and don't put yourself on the FRONT Line. Lead the Majority of the group to RESCUE! Sayid will stick behind with 2 other Gunners. Rousseau did not finish rigging the tents to light the dynamite....so each gunner will target a tent and BLOW those crazy others to bits!
- Who are are assigned Murderers? 1.) - Sayid Jarrah - Ex-Iraqi Military Guy 2.) Jin Kwon - Ex-Hit man/Korean Military Soldier?? 3.) Bernard - Ex-Pheasant Shooter!
- That's right Rose and Bernard returned! And not a moment too soon. As we need people to die in the finale, and well...Bernard is on the front line now! That ain't cool! But you never know what's going to happen. Key thing we learned about Rose this week? She can tie some serious knots! I'm sure that's behind her psychic powers too right? Hey, in LOST anything is possible! Oh yeah....and where did she get the DREADS from?
- Bernard fired quiet an accurate shot on that DHARMA Can too, he might be okay!
- As for Jin, he and Sun have a tiny moment where Sun reveals she went to the medical hatch. She, however, did NOT reveal that she is a ticking DEATH clock!
- So, what does Jack's Plan do for us? Well, it has set up pretty much where we'll probably starting at the beginning of season 4. The group will be split up again....but this time...Jack, Kate and Sawyer should ALL be with the core of the survivors....just AWAY from the beach. What does that mean for Desmond, Charlie, Sayid, Jin and Bernard (yeah, that's 5 people, by the way in case you like numbers!)? Are one or more of them destined to say goodbye before this season's end? I would say not all of them, but maybe at least 1? Bernard would be a HUGE cop-out too! Well we have 2 more hours to find out! (I wouldn't quite call Jack's crew safe either).
Charlie's Greatest Hits
Can I just say for the record, that I loved how they did the flashbacks this week? Just like any great Rocker has-been would, Charlie compiled a list of his greatest memories, or his GREATEST HITS, prior to his inevitable predicted death. He uses the Marker he used in season 1 to put those crazy letters on fingers. You remember "LATE" and "FATE"? Ahhh, remember when we thought there was some huge symbolism behind those words? Yes, back in our Amateur LOST viewing days! Anyway, his top 5 hits ended up being his 5 flashback scenes in order from 5-1. And yes....it turns out he was making the list for Claire resulting in the ultimate tear-jerking scene of Charlie giving the letter to Desmond to give to her!
5 - First Time I heard myself on the radio
Prior to the band making their big break, Charlie, his brother Liam and the rest of Driveshaft have a flat tire on the way to a concert. And then they hear "You All Everybody" on the radio. Their lives change forever. I'm not going to look into this flashback very much. Just a cool scene to see! As the relevance of what these flashbacks stood for grew with each one.
4 - Dad teaches me to swim
We see a young Charlie (looks like the same actor that played him in "Fire and Water") afraid to jump into the pool. And Daddy in the pool promising that he'd catch Charlie. For once, on LOST, someone's Dad ends up being a GOOD father! And he DOES get his son after jumping in the pool. What do we learn here? Charlie learns how to swim. Important for the task ahead! Charlie tells Jack that he was a Swim Champion in England back in his youth. And that he can hold his breath under water for 4 minutes. We later learn in a discussion to Desmond, that this might have been a fib.
3 - Christmas Liam gave me the ring
We arrive at the flashback finding Charlie in bed with 2 women, as all rock stars would be found. Liam arrives on Christmas to pass on the DS ring to Charlie. We used to think this stood for Drive Shaft, but actually the band was named after Dexter Stratton (didn't find any significance in the name. Anyone?), and the ring has been passed down through the family for many generations. There was some ironic comments from Liam who says that he is a mess and that Charlie will be the one to settle down, get married and have children. (Liam actually quits taking heroin and has the family in Australia...leaving Charlie with a drug addiction and a mess) Charlie gets the ONE RING TO RULE THEM ALL (yes obvious Lord of the Rings reference due to Dominic's role in each! Of course, I unnecessarily explained anyway!) and Liam asks him to pass it down to FAMILY.
2 - Woman outside Covent Gardens calls me hero
Charlie, after playing guitar in the street (once again Oasis's "Wonderwall") and after once again singing "You're gonna be the one that saves me" Charlie saves a woman from being mugged. The woman tells Charlie he is a Hero and that 3 people walked by and did nothing. By the way, did you notice the woman was Sayid's Girl Nadia? Yeah, she has showed up in Iraq, California (Locke inspected her Home), and now England.
The other thing you might be thinking, as I did, that this was the same flashback where we saw Desmond confront Charlie (during his time traveling adventure). I double checked the episode so you guys don't have to (and a Picture just showed up so I added it). Charlie was wearing different clothes and was at a different location. The song was the same though. So, we can't have any theories that Desmond's time traveling episode did NOT happen. We must assume that it still did! (based on the producers)
1 - The Night I met You
This was sooooo sweet! We revisit the night of the crash and see how Charlie met Claire and see the start of the romantic/flirty banter between Charlie and Claire. I think they spliced in this new scene with some older ones to date EXACTLY when this happened. But I haven't done my season 1 research to double check. But the last time we checked, it would seem Charlie introduced himself to Claire by helping her with her luggage the NEXT day. I'm sure they did their research, and I'm just being picky though! The gesture that this was Charlie's #1 outweighs any inconsistencies!
Charlie's Noble Mission
Well, Desmond has a premonition (supposedly, we've seen him want Charlie to die before for his personal benefit. But Desmond seems to be a good guy, as he couldn't let it happen last time) and says that Charlie will HAVE to die this time. In this section we follow Charlie's path to acceptance that he will die to save the people he loves.
Naomi talks to Charlie and tells him that Driveshaft had a huge resurgence once word was out of his death. Charlie actually predicted this would be great publicity for the band back in season 1. So this was a nice ironic twist on that. Naomi said they released a greatest hits album and that the band was back together. This reminds me of all of those jokes that somewhere Elvis, Biggie, Tupac, and Kurt Cobain are hanging out on a deserted island somewhere collecting all of their royalties from the huge sales their supposed deaths brought in!
Desmond tells Charlie that he sees Charlie in an underwater station, he flips a switch, the place floods and then he drowns. But the last flash he sees? Claire and Aaron getting on a Helicopter. There is no telling WHEN these events all happen. Just that they do. So Desmond's vision of Claire, for all we know, could be 49 episodes away (yes...that would be the season finale!) Anyway...Charlie, as we've stated, volunteers to flip the switch to unjam communication, fully knowing he will die doing so.
During Charlie reminiscing on his greatest hits, we see him say goodbye to Claire (not telling Claire of Desmond's vision). And then to Aaron (aka Turnip Head awwwww). He tells Aaron that he loves him and even left the DS ring for him in the cradle (which Claire did not notice as she left for the radio tower with Aaron). Awww Charlie considers them FAMILY! so sweet! (I'm not gonna lie...I'm a sucker for the sappy sometimes! Plus Dom did such a great acting job in this entire episode!)
So then it is upon us. Fortunately, for Dez and Charlie, Karl showed up with a boat, so they didn't have to swim to the Looking Glass. Upon arriving, Dez tries to stop Charlie from going down suggesting that maybe HE has been foiling all of the Charlie death visions because HE is supposed to take his place. In the end Charlie, being all noble again, knocks Dez unconscious and dives down. We get a good look at the Looking Glass station from outside and the thing is MASSIVE! The DHARMA Logo is a big white bunny/or rabbit with a hole in the neck. Yes a WHITE RABBIT. Remember the season 1 episode White Rabbit where Jack sees a vision of his Father? Remember all of the visions that followed? Remember these visions of the future that Desmond has been seeing all season long? Anyone think the expression "Through the Looking Glass" sounds familiar? Well not only is it the name of next week's finale episode, but it's also a sequel book to a very famous story, and one referenced in the "White Rabbit" episode of LOST. Yes, it is "Alice and Wonderland" PART II For the full name of the book is "Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There" This is one time that I think the book reference is VERY important. Why do I say so? Let's take a peek from wikipedia at the themes covered in this book:
"Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (
1871) is a work of
children's literature by
Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), generally categorized as
literary nonsense. It is the sequel to
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, although it makes no reference to its events. In it, there are many mirror themes, including opposites, time running backwards, and so on."
Hmmmm Time Running Backwards....Mirror Themes....ahhhhh these concepts sound very familiar and very relevant! Could all of the events transpiring on that crazy island be linked to things happening in The Looking Glass Station? All of the visions? Desmond's premonitions? Could the safe-key that was turned in the SWAN Hatch be linked as a trigger to something happening in The Looking Glass Station. Were these visions intentionally given to Desmond to bring Charlie TO the Looking Glass Station? Charlie AND Desmond, maybe? And what about the SUB being linked to this station and based on every question I just asked. Is it possible that the Looking Glass Station is involved in getting people TO the island? Wow...I'm really psyched to see what we find out next week! But still....what happened to Charlie?
Right...Charlie found an opening underneath the station and ended up in the Moon Pool entrance to the Looking Glace. It appeared to be a HUGE Hangar-like area. Charlie feels that Desmond's premonition was incorrect. Although, did anyone notice inconsistencies with stories earlier? Juliet believed the hatch was flooded (based on what Ben told her)...but Desmond says that the hatch floods after he flips the switch.
(try clicking on image to enlarge. if not...go to
this link and check out a larger image) What gives? Does that mean Charlie IS still doomed? Well he definitely looks doomed right now as he his being held at gunpoint by......
2 crazy women! Well, this is definitely a diffferent scenario than the last time we saw Charlie with two women (you know...the Ring Flashback!) Yes as Charlie is rejoicing in his survival, 2 women appear in military-esque fashion with guns rifles cocked and aimed at Charlie. Reminded me of how we were first introduced to Desmond at the start of season 2. Who are these women? I'm sure that's what we should be asking. People are speculating the BLONDE is Annie (Ben's childhood crush/friend). Others are suggesting it's the same woman that threw the lantern on Michael's Raft and blew it up at the end of season 1. Rumors are saying the brunette looks like Cassidy (sawyer's Long Con). I'm not going to deny any of this, but just raise more questions. Who are they working for? If Ben made up a flood story about Looking Glass, are they working for him? Does he have something over both of them to make them work for him? Are they working for Jacob? Are they working for themselves? Are they the last known survivors of the DHARMA initiative? Are we going to find out this season? WOW WOW WOW! This show is just crazy!
And with that, there's not much more I can say. We have 2 more hours to wrap up this fantastic season of LOST. I'm sure there are spoilers out there about the GAME CHANGING event that is going to happen next week. But I've read that these things should not be pursued because it will ruin your personal enjoyment of the episode! So steer clear of the spoilers!
I'm sure I missed tons of stuff though from THIS episode....and I'm really excited that the Blog audience is continuing to grow!. 2 Weeks ago, the hit count on thursday was twice as much as the weeks prior. Last week was twice that of 2 weeks ago! This is fantastic! It's unfortunate that we have to take a hiatus until February with all of you frequent readers! Maybe we'll think of something to keep the blog alive in the "Off-Season"! But please, keep commenting and sharing theories. You all had some really great ideas that I never even thought of last week!
And as a warning, I will try my best to get the blog out in a timely manner next week. But it is twice as hard to recap a 2 hour LOST episode as a 1 Hour, as you can probably imagine. Be Patient as I try to balance this with my real job! Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and see you after next week's CATASTROPHIC FINALE!
