Oh. my. word. I, personally, didn't see that ending coming. At all. I'm just in shock! It's not like the biggest shock ever, Alias had twist that were much larger in scale and had more oomph. However, on a softer, more emotional level, this "game-changer" has huge implications for the show. Now I just don't know what is a flashback anymore. Has the entire series been a flashback and we're now just entering "real-time"? Or, was it a flash-forward? Wow. Just, wow... So, dispute the fact that my mind is racing all over the place, trying to absorb all of this information, I'll go through my notes and write down what I thought was interesting, weird or funny from the 2-hour finale, as I try to absorb what this all means... The more I think about it, the bigger, stranger and more awesome it becomes...
The Others (Main Camp)
- Richard Alpert, aka Mr. Eyeliner, will be leading the Others to "the temple." Apart from Ben, and the Others on the beach, this is as much as we saw of the Others this week, and the last we'll see of them until February.
- Ben said that he was brainwashing Karl so he wouldn't have sex with his "daughter," Alex. (For unexplainable reasons, pregnant women on the island die before the second trimester ends. This has been revealed this season and was the reason Claire was kidnapped in season one, to find out if she was at risk for dying or not.)
John Locke
- Last seen dying in a mass grave, Locke is... not dead! But he's unable to walk again; his legs just lay limp. Discouraged, he reaches for a gun and is about to commit suicide when Walt re-appears and says THIS ISN'T 24, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT SUICIDE!!! Okay, not really. But Walt did appear! And boy, has the actor grown! He told John that he can walk and that he has work to do. And... that's it for Walt this season!
- Locke later appeared, having killed Naomi. He threatened to kill Jack if he made radio contact with Naomi's crew, saying "You're not supposed to do this."
The Losties (Trekking to the Tower)
- Before she left Bernard to go trekking to the radio tower, Rose made Bernard tell her "I am a dentist. I am not Rambo."
- Naomi had asked Jack what he did before he became "Moses." Ha!
- After the Losties became spooked from hearing only two explosions - not three - Jack started to give another speech. Rose immediately threatened to punch Jack if he said "live together, die alone" one more time. Heh. The FanVoice Award goes to... Rose!
- Jack kissed Juliet! Jack later told Kate that he loved Kate! Sawyer, right now, doesn't want Kate. Sawyer also did get to spend some buddy-buddy time with Juliet. And so the love square continues.
- Danielle Rousseau, the "crazy French chick," told Jack that when rescue comes that she'll be staying on the island. There's no one waiting for her at home and the island is now her life.
- Alex was reunited with her mom. Kudos to the actress who plays Alex for being able to portray disgust, confusion and a little bit of happiness during that scene. Especially the "are you serious? THAT?" look that she first had. Hee!
- In a one-on-one talk, Ben told Jack that Naomi isn't who she says she is, that she is part of the "bad guys" who are trying to find the island. So far, the only people that Ben has really referred to as being "bad" are the DHARMA folk. Could the freighter be a Lost Experience-tie-in? Is it Mittlework's folk? (Would they tie the Experience game in, though?)
- Ben also said that if they established radio communications, everyone on the island will die. Obviously that was a bluff and a lie. I think. Maybe. Possibly. I don't know!!!
- When Kate asked Jack why he tied up Ben, rather than killing him, Jack said that he wanted Ben to see them getting rescued so that he would KNOW that he failed.
- Crazy French Chick said that she recorded her message for help three days before Alex was born. I guess that means we could calculate how old Alex is, to-the-date, but that's just being geeky.
- Just as Naomi established a connection with her group, Locke threw a knife in her back. Thus ends the incredibly snarky life of Naomi. (Sadness!) Locke told Jack "You're not supposed to do this," that he wasn't supposed to save everyone. After a brief standoff, Jack went ahead and called for rescue. HELP IS COMING!!! THEY ARE GOING TO BE RESCUED!!!
The Beach Shooters (Jin, Bernard, Sayid)
- On their way to see what was up with the Beach Shooters, Sawyer asked Juliet why the Others had him and Kate break rocks all day. Juliet said that it was for a runway. "For what?" "For the aliens!" Ha! Jules then said that she's kept out of the loop a lot, too, and that she didn't know why they had to do that.
- Mr. Friendly & co. put three bullets in the sand, with the sound playing over Ben's walkie, to make him think that they killed the shooters. In fact, Mr. Friendly was debating the merits of fully going against Ben's will.
- Hurley tried to go with Sawyer and Juliet, but Sawyer told him that he's, well, too big and that he'd slow them down. It looks like Everybody Hates Hugo! Aw...
- As Sawyer and Juliet were figuring out how to save the Shooters, Hurley came speeding into the beach in the VW Van, running over a couple Others, paving the way for the shooter's rescue. Sayid, using only his feet, knocked a guard down to his knees and snapped his neck. Sayid Jarrah is now officially cooler than Jack Bauer. Hurley later sent out a message over the walkies, threatening the Others. You go, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes!
The Looking Glass (Charlie & Desmond)
- The two women in the DHARMA Station "The Looking Glass" are Greta and Bonnie. Greta's the black-haired one, Bonnie's the blonde with a short temper.
- Desmond woke up on the boat and was almost immediately shot at by Mikhail. He dove underwater and into the station, where he hid for a good chunk of the finale. (It looks like he hid in a closet. I'm not sure if that's another Lost metaphor or not.)
- Mikhail thought Bonnie and Greta were doing work in Canada. Mikhail also had no eye patch for a while this episode, allowing us to see his scarred eye, or, the lack thereof. Kudos to the makeup people!
- Mikhail asked Ben why he lied about soo much stuff. Ben said it was necessary to "protect" the island, that it's what Jacob told him to do. Mikhail is mad. Ben tells him to kill Bonnie, Greta and Charlie. Mikhail succeeds in killing Greta and mortally wounding Bonnie.
- Charlie unjammed whatever was blocking transmissions to-and-from the island after putting in this code: 545877554376113. Each number represents a musical note. When played out, it sounds out the chorus to "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys. Bonnie said that the code programmer was a musician. (Or, I would guess, just a avid Beach Boys fan.)
- After communications became unjammed, whatever frequency the Looking Glass was set to immediately picked up Penny Widemore, Desmond's girlfriend! She didn't really except to get a communique from this island and had no clue who Naomi was.
- Mikhail, from underwater, used a hand grenade to blow open a window, causing the communications room to start flooding. Charlie, presumably resigned to his fate, closed the door on Desmond and leaving himself trapped inside. He quickly wrote a short message to Des, "Not Penny's boat," then drowned. Aw!
Jack Shepard (Flashback)
There's a very important reason I'm saving the flashback for last. Because, well, it's the most creative use of a flashback yet.
- Jack returned home to LA after a flight on a Oceanic Airlines plane, now having a very thick beard. He saw something in the paper and became very distraught. He tried calling someone, but they didn't answer. He pulled over to the side of a bridge, climbed up and was about to jump when we heard cars crashing and an explosion. Jack the Doctor kicked in and he killed the suicide attempt. (Please pardon my ironic use of grammar.)
- Sarah, Jack's ex-wife, came in to check in on Jack at the hospital. Apparently, she's still listed as the first emergency contact. Jack wants her to give him a ride home, but she doesn't think it would be "appropriate." She leaves the room, saying "Good-bye, Jack."
- Jack met Dr. Ben Hamill, the new Chief of Surgery at the hospital that he works at. Jack wanted to do the surgery on a woman he helped pull out of the flaming car wreckage, but Dr. Hamill laid down the law - quite politely, too! - and said "no."
- Jack has a very beaten-down car and plays very loud, annoying rock music. And has retro sunglasses.
- The funeral parlor that Jack visited was Hoffs-Drawlor. Hoffs-Drawlor is a anagram for - get this - "flash forward." Apparently, the paper clipping was a obituary. No one, not even family or friends, showed up for the visitation. There was no funeral. Jack did not open the casket and we do not yet know who died. (Not until those with TiVo and HDTV's can freeze-frame the obituary!)
- Jack is now popping painkillers like Dr. Gregory House. He can no longer get a refill on his medication, so he's now stealing drugs from the supply closet.
- Dr. Hamill told Jack that the lady he helped save from the car crash - which made him a hero in the eyes of the media - is fine. But apparently, Mrs. Arlen was driving when she saw a man about to make a suicide jump from the bridge. She was so distracted that she drove over the median and boom!, the accident happened. Jack, possibly drunk and very medicated, goes into kind of a overdosed hissy fit.
- Jack's apartment is very messy and is full of maps. He's still drinking. (Like father, like son!) He tries calling the number again and is successful. He urges the person on the other end not to hang up, that he needs to see her. "You know where," he says. At the airport! By a gate, in the dark of the night, Jack waits for his contact. Who is this lady on the phone? Kate Austen. That's right, the Kate from the island! This isn't a flashback, it's a flashforward! We just didn't realize it yet! Meaning, they are safe. And (kind of) sound. And not married. (Sorry, Jaters.)
- Kate tells Jack that he looks terrible. Apparently, Jack's been using the Golden Pass that "they" received from Oceanic Airlines and is taking cross-continental trips every weekend, hoping to be in a plane crash. (He's no longer "almost an optimist," it would seen!) He's hoping to get back to the island. "I'm sick of lying," he says. "We made a mistake." Kate isn't so sure and has to get back to someone. "Good-bye, Jack." "We have to go back, Kate. We have to go back!"
And... end Season 3. That's it until February, 2008!
Final Thoughts:
Halfway through the finale it struck me that they were using Jack flashbacks to show us that he used to be a very broken mess of a man and that now, here on the island he is a very strong leader. (It's been the trend on Lost, shifting from how their lives were very similar when they first crashed, to where they are now a much stronger person.) It turns out that he was a strong leader on the island but then became a mess after he was rescued. He became a drunk again and is addicted to painkillers. He was even going to commit suicide. His life was a mess before the island, it's a mess afterwards and he doesn't appreciate how good he has it on the island when he was there. But he seems to realize it now and wants to get back, desperately, even if it means riding on airlines every week.
Without knowing an end-date to the series, having a flashforward would have seemed to be kind of a stalling tactic, something to do when the flashbacks run out. But knowing they can write everything towards the end goal now, it's a fresh blast of creativity that will help keep the show fresh, new and engaging. Kudos for having the guts to do this, Lost guys!
BODY COUNT: I counted 13 people dying, including multiple Others, Mr. Friendly, Bonnie,
Important Questions:
- What is the Temple that the Others are going to? Where is it, who made it and what is it's function? And does it perhaps have anything to do with the 4-toed statue?
- Who was the person in the funeral parlor that nobody came to see?
- Who did FutureKate have to get back to?
- Why does FutureJack have a horrible beard?
- Why did FutureJack, in a very drunken rage (possibly enhanced by too-many drugs), exclaim "Why don't you go ask my father upstairs," telling the new Chief of Surgery to see if his dad was more drunk than he was. By this time in Jack's life, Jack's dad has been long dead. Was it the fact that his mind was not clear, or is his father alive again?
- Was Sarah, Jacks' ex, pregnant, or was that scene filmed when Julie Bowen was still preggers?
(Or, was I just seeing things? Or, am I unknowingly being really mean to Mrs. Bowen?)
- Who are Naomi's people? Who are these Other Others? (DHARMA, perhaps?)
- Evidently, Jack doesn't end up with either Kate or Juliet. But did Kate really wind up with Sawyer? Or is it someone else? (Like her ex-husband, or a parole officer?)
- When Jack exclaimed "We have to go back, Kate. We have to go back!", what - or whom - does he need?
- Will next season have more flash-forwards? If so, will it be with other characters or with just Jack and/or Kate? We know Claire gets rescued, too, according to Desmond...
- When the rescue boats/bad guys come, who stays on the island and who goes?
- Who made Jack and Kate lie?
- How far into the future is this flashforward?
- Is Mikhail immortal? (Is Richard Alpert?)
- What will Des do? Will he swim back to shore immediately and try to find the Losties and warn them about Naomi, or will he explore the Looking Glass?
- How soon until every single Other finds out that they were lied to by Ben?
- Seriously, how stupid was Bonnie?
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