L O S T Reaction

That poster above has nothing to do with my theory, it's just a really weird, trippy take on LOST from an ABC affiliate in Brazil. Click on it to see it all it's glory.

Before I get into the meat of my analysis, I should quickly sum up my thoughts on the episode as a whole. This season has given us some headaches (What Kate Does, The Package) and a "best ever?" episode (Ab Aeterno). To suggest that Happily Ever After will be included in the latter is a bit of a stretch. Most reviews are going nuts over this episode, but I'd put it only in the top 3 or 4 of the season. A quality episode, sure, and probably better than the B grade that Herb gave it (B+ in my book, but whatever). It surely wasn't the best of the season, and surely wasn't the best Desmond episode. Still, it gave us a new twist on the requisite Desmond/Penny love moment, finally bridged the gap between both worlds, and threw in some scene-chewing domination from Charlie (Widmore, not that goblin Pace). Like I said, a solid episode, and it provides plenty of fodder for throwing around new theories.

I'll throw this out at you first. Is there any coincidence that Desmond was told about these "love flashes" from two people who are already dead? Two people who already made "sacrifices" for the people they saw in those love flashes. Charlie accepted his death sentence because he figured he would be able to press the button to call for help and save everyone on the island (but mostly, save Claire). Faraday came back in time to alter the future, to have a chance at preventing Charlotte's freaky death. They both had a choice, as Desmond puts it, and they both ended up being sacrificed, and since Widmore is telling Desmond pretty much the same thing on the island, do we see a Desmond death coming up soon? Will he have to sacrifice himself on the island in order to save Penny, baby boy Charlie, and whoever else? More on that later.

This episode provided us with a look at what/who a few important characters cherish the most. While it was important to know who Desmond, Charlie, and Daniel saw in their flashes, ultimately, I think it'll come down to what the candidates (not the supporting players) see in their flashes and what choice the they make regarding their flash-sideways.

Desmond is now on a mission to track down fellow 815ers and show them a glimpse of what their lives should be like. The question is, will what they see be enough to get them to agree with Charlie; that nothing matters in sidewaysland? Since the big picture and end game of LOST deals with the candidates right now, we'll deal only with them. But "sacrifice" is a word that popped up more than a few times last night, and I think it's important to view these different flashes with that in mind.

The curtain will finally drop on the Jack, Kate, and Sawyer Show. No way will Sawyer see Kate, no matter how much we're led to believe that's a possibility. We're at the end of the series, time to flip over the cards and see where everyone stands. Therefore, I think Sawyer will see all the years he played house with Juliet, and of course her Swan song next to Jughead. I don't think that Charlie or Faraday saw their deaths (or sacrifices) in the brief flashes about Claire and Charlotte. With that in mind, I think Sideways Sawyer will see what happened to Juliet, and wished he had died in place of her. He missed that chance to bite the bullet for her and chose instead to do what he has always done: Survivin'. It should've been him in Juliet's place and his realization of that is gonna make him do something stupidly drastic. Small prediction: When we see Desmond catch up with Sawyer in the F-Sideways, we'll also see Miles, and see that none other than Pierre Chang is alive and well playing papa to Miles. On to Jack, now.



Jack will see Sarah? Of course not, but Modern Family rules so I just wanted to mention her. He'll see his life with idiot Kate and Aaron. Similar to Sawyer, he will ALSO see the misery it caused him. Jack already made the decision once (in the season 5 finale) that given the opportunity to wipe the slate clean of Kate, he would do it (so would all of us). I don't think he'll ignore the flash he'll see in sidewaysland, but he'll use that knowledge to reach a different conclusion. He definitely won't opt for the love that Charlie, Desmond, and Faraday see. Since Desmond already ran into Jack at the hospital, he'll have no trouble catching up with the Doc....right around the time he's giving Locke a consultation.

Locke will also see a flash (Helen of course, which won't surprise him, but her tombstone too, which will.) Notice a pattern? Jack, Locke, and Sawyer all see what they had...and subsequently LOST. Not a very convincing vision to embrace when each of them is leading a relatively more pleasant life in the sideways 'verse.



Any of the Kwon's will see what Herb already predicted. The family unit with Ji Yeon in the middle. They'll opt for love too, same as the Brits and Faraday. Sun will succumb to her womb's wounds in Sidewaysland and Jin will see just how much Sun really means to him when he sees a glimpse of the family. How will Desmond find them????? Well, Jin takes Sun to the hospital to treat the gunshot wound and you know the rest. Jack's gonna have a busy day soon in surgery. BUT, if Sun dies on the island, all bets are off. It could send him down Sawyer's and Jack's path.

Hurley is obvious. Libby will make her long-confirmed reappearance in his flash, and he'll opt for love. Will we see Starla as Hugo's sideways-squeeze? File under: who cares.

(BTW, next week is a Hurley episode. Hooray.)


Sayid, well, he's screwed. You just don't kill Dogen. Ever. If Sayid gets picked up by the law for the murder of Keamy, you might see a showdown between him and Officer Ford. Throw in a little Desmond and he gets to take care of both of them at the same time. Again, when Sayid sees the death of Nadia (maybe a sprinkle of Shannon's death too), he'll fall right in line with Jack & Co.

I don't care what Kate and Claire see because this is ultimately about what the candidates see, and thems ain't candidates.

So that leaves two distinct camps. Those that see the love that's worth fighting/dying/leaving the island for: Desmond, Jin/Sun, Hurley, Charlie, Faraday...

...and those that see the love that they had and LOST (whether to death or whatever) and now have nothing to go back for: Jack, Sawyer, Locke, Sayid.

But the notion of "free will" and "choices" keep popping up. The candidates in sidewaysland will get to choose. Will they believe Desmond, trying somehow to reach a life they've only seen in flashes? Or will they take what they see as a sign that they're better off in this matrix-like land of ignorance. I mentioned early the notion of "sacrifice" for those that gave their lives for those they loved. Well we already kinda know who each of the candidates love, so consider this: what if it's not about the choice that's made in sidewaysland, but a choice thats made in the other life that brings you TO sidewaysland, granting you the things you wish most.

Charlie sacrificed himself to get Claire and her baby off the island (in reality Aaron was able to leave but without Claire, who stays behinds and goes crazy/gets smacked around). Before he even got to the island, all he wanted was to reunite DriveShaft and have a shot at touring again. His selfless death brings him to a place where Claire is alive and well, along with Aaron, never setting foot on that island. His band is also intact, still getting plenty of airtime on the radio. Faraday's heroics got him what he wanted to, a life where Charlotte isn't in danger, where he gets to play the piano for a living, never becoming a scientist that results in turning his college crush into a vegetable. The translation isn't perfect, because ideally Charlie and Faraday would want to be with their loves, but sometimes what's best for the person you love the most is that they never got involved with you in the first place, something better exemplified...

...with Sayid. We have a guy who loves Nadia so much, all he wants is for her to be as far from harm as possible. The flash-sideways world granted him that, though to do so she cannot be with him, but I've digressed enough. Because the point of all this is to pick out from amongst the remaining candidates a successor. Will it come from the camp that believes all you need is love? Or will it come from the camp that has nothing to lose, and therefore nothing to leave the island for?

I believe there will be two successor's and they both will come from that second camp. One for Jacob (not a surprise) and one for MiB (oooooooooo). We keep thinking that being a candidate is a good thing. That's not necessarily the case. Rather than picking someone who is the embodiment of good or purity or whatever, I think the task of living forever as the island's caretaker is given to someone else entirely; someone who has given up their mortal attachments (like the people they love the most). Maybe it was that very reason why Richard was allowed to stay on the island forever, and the same reason why Jacob wouldn't bring his wife back. Richard needed to be free of his attachments if he were to live on the island forever as an advisor. Recall that MiB was once a man, until he was "stripped of his humanity." I believe his humanity might have been the love he had for someone (could be a wife, brother, sister, son, daughter, etc). When that person or people were taken from him (killed, probably) and he was brought to the island, he got tricked into being Jacob's sparring partner because he was the perfect candidate for the job: someone who lost his humanity. Doob has already mentioned that MiB "was once a candidate." Herb elaborated: "Maybe #108, Wallace?" I believe they're right, but he wasn't a candidate for Jacob's job, he was a candidate for the job he eventually got chosen for: the role of the Man In Black. Similarly, the 6 candidates we know of now aren't just candidates for Jacob's job, but Jacob's AND MiB's. Hmmm...

If you look at the candidates, we already disqualified Jin/Sun because they wouldn't give up each other to have Jacob's spot. With Hurley, I think it will be less about Libby and more about the fact that he's a family man who loves his mother and father that will keep him from wanting to be there forever. Also, it's Hurley, he never had a shot, really. Sawyer wants nothing more than to leave the island, as he's said time and time again. I don't think it would interest him to be Jacob or MiB anyway. Sayid is the one casualty of war I think we all see coming because his lifetime of killing is finally gonna bite him in the ass. Plus, I think he'll be happy to die if it means being with Nadia somehow. But assuming two successors will be chosen hinges on MiB actually doing what he's set out to do.

I think MiB will reach his goal and get off the island, but in order for him to leave without bringing all this evil, malevolence, darkness with him, he'll need to choose someone to give his gift too. But is he even evil?

MiB:
1. all about free will
2. doesn't want people to come to the island because they corrupt it and use the island's unique properties for their own gains.
3. turns to smoke to protect the island from unwanted and dangerous intruders.
4. can take form of dead people because....well because he has superpowers. who knows.
5. wants to leave the island because he's been there too long, and there is someone he loves somewhere that he has to get too (maybe in afterlife) i. e. he wants to die.
(we'll see a MiB backstory in the finale similar to alpert's. rooted in lots of love, sadness that he can't be with someone because of immortality, etc).

Jacob:
1. claims to be about free will but when he constantly "brings" people to the island, there's really no free will in that at all.
2. can grant immortality, but Richard himself compares it more to a curse than a gift.
3. doesn't care about proving MiB wrong, he knows people come to corrupt and he likes it that way.
4. you all know it's the twist that's coming.

MiB = GOOD

Jacob = BAD (or is he?)

The showdown has always been about two people in L O S T. Two different ideologies that constantly clash. Nevermind if they've swayed from the path a little bit in the show's later seasons, it all comes back to this. Did you see Jack's face when he was told Locke is back? RIVALRY STATUS CEMENTED. As I've said, Sawyer wants off the island more than anybody, he's not sticking around forever, and Sayid is gonna straight up get punished for the murdering he's been doing. But now that we know the players, what role do they assume?

How it plays out will be interesting because it could go either way. But I think it will go like this: MiB currently has Locke's body, so if he "leaves" the island it could be metaphorical, a way for his spirit to finally to be free of the island's chains, a way for him to finally be dead, and when his spirit is gone, Locke is left with his body back, and some smokey upgrades too. Locke = MiB, the good guy, constant protector of the island, which is what Locke always wanted to be. Locke was never afraid of the smoke monster because he saw himself in it. And loved it.

With Jack, I think they'll come to it a little differently. He'll be chosen as Jacob's successor, which seems like something Jack might not be entirely thrilled about. But it will be presented to him different than it is to Locke. Locke will embrace the idea of living on the island forever, acting as it's guardian. However, I have a feeling Jack will be picked as successor #1 first. He'll be told that when he becomes New Jacob, he (and only he) we'll have the power to defeat MiB once and for all. That's more Jack's style. He likes to be the hero. If he can defeat MiB once and for all, then maybe he won't even need to stay with the island. He can be the hero without all the drawbacks of immortal guard duty. But just like Jacob wanting Ben to stab him, MiB will want to be killed also, allowing his spirit to be free. He could never die before because Jacob never wanted to kill him. When Jack finally does the deed, Locke will remain as new MiB's successor, because the island's setup only works with these two opposing forces at work. Jack will think he's gotten rid of the problem, when it turns out Locke is now the new MiB. Joke's on Jack, something the writer's have been fond of for a while. Jack (the healer), will fit perfectly into Jacob's shoes. He won't need a scalpel to save lives anymore, he can do it with his magic hands.

And the show ends with Locke and Jack left with each other, similar to when we first see Jacob and MiB on the beach. Even their roles remain intact. Jack will want to bring people to the island hoping to find a candidate for his eventual replacement, Locke will get mad when they fuck with his baby, and try to stop him. It doesn't matter who is good and who is evil. With MiB and Jacob, it might never have been about good vs. evil, just about two guys who hate each other's guts, who each believe that THEY are right and the other's wrong. Two sides of the same coin. In that sense, Jack vs. Locke makes perfect sense.

Somewhere, maybe in a flash sideways, Doc Jensen just got a boner.