Lost Notes, part one million

I'm sorry that my blog has disintegrated (for the time being) into a series of nigh incomprehensible musings about an ABC science fiction show. I'm not apologizing to you, as if you somehow expected grander things out of me. I'm just sorry. However, I must write, so here we are.

As usual, don't read this until you are caught up to the current episode, which in this case is "Everybody Loves Hugo." Also if you don't feel like reading all of this, scroll down to the bottom where I discuss the contest.

Thoughts on yesterday's episode:
I enjoyed it. Quite a bit, actually. Throughout the show, the writers have made fleeting, futile efforts at convincing us that Hurley deeply matters, plotwise, to the show. While I would be the first to recognize his value as a character, as a member of a rich ensemble, I was never quite convinced by any arguments that his role in the Island's mythology was vital.

Last night, I believed for the first time. There really isn't that much else to say. The writers finally managed to convincingly elevate our fat friend to "mover and shaker" status, and I for one hope he stays there. I still don't think he's going to be the Last Candidate Standing, as it were, but he certainly jumped up through the ranks in this episode.

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While I'm sure she'll pop up in a flashsideways or two, I'm assuming this will be the general end of questions about Libby. The only question I ever had about her, which I believe was the main question most fans had about her, was simply what was she doing in the mental hospital. It seems that "Everybody Loves Hugo" didn't really answer that question so much as remove. In other words, the reason Libby was in the mental hospital was because she was mentally ill.

As I've previously stated, Libby is not that big of a deal to me. However, the turning of her central mystery into a nonissue is rather disrespectful of the writers. It's almost as if a parent who once promised three scoops of Baskin Robbins got so tired of his child asking about that he finally slammed down the newspaper, said "Fine!" in a grumbly sort of way, and went to and purchased a McDonald's vanilla cone for the kid.

In essence, they essentially just said, "She was there because she was there," making her situation no different from when we see Sawyer in background of the Australian police station while Boone is there. The difference, however, is that the camera didn't do a slow turnaround shot while an orchestra played Cliffhanger Music written by an Oscar winner. It's dumb that they did it this way, but I have bigger fish to fry.

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The answer to what the whispers are was not one of the show's best reveals, but it was nice to see that they hadn't forgotten about them. Also, I love Michael, so that was nice, too.

However, I have a nagging question about those whispers that I really, really hope gets answered: How does that explain Walt?

In "Abandoned," Shannon hears whispers right before getting shot in the guy by Ana Lucia. Right before the bullet bites her, however, she sees a tripped out, dripping wet, backwards-talking Walt. Walt was not dead at this time, nor is he now, but it seems that his strange appearance was related to the whispers. How does this line up?

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Two thoughts on Desmond:
A). He is clearly not dead, and I found it almost insulting how half-heartedly they tried to convey that he might be.
B). I'm 99 percent certain he ran over Locke in the flashsideways to induce some sort of emotional trauma that will result in a flood of memories.

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For those who followed my Lost character death game on Facebook, I was right about Ilana shuffling off the mortal coil -- or, in this case, shattering said coil into tiny pieces. I was surprised, though, that she nipped off so soon. I was certain she would get more explanation, perhaps even her own episode. As it is, I'm guessing that some sort of Jacob flashback will still explain a little more about her.

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OK, that's it for the episode specific stuff. Here are three other thoughts.

The timeline of the flashsideways has really bothered me because I am a nerd who is actually concerned about constructing a semi-workable theory of how time travel works in the Lost universe. The thing that was bothering me, however, is something that most people probably don't care about or even notice. The thing in question is the matter of when the sideways universe began.

Presumably, the reality split from regular Lost continuity when Jughead was blown up. However, if that's the case, whatever way Widmore found out about the sideways universe (let's assume he knows little else except that there's some kind of something that is out of whack and has to do with electromagnetism) should have been able to be discovered for 34 years. Why did someone just figure it out now?

One can't even assume that Widmore knew about such events for a long time and just chose to act now, because the last time he saw Desmond before the kidnapping, he told him to run away and hide. Clearly, something changed his mind in a big way. However, it simply makes no sense that the flashsideways universe would suddenly appear in 2007, because the event that caused it happened in 1974. Hence, my theory.

The Island binds each group of people who come to it together in time. They can all interact with other members of other groups, but when it comes their own personal chronologies, the Island always makes sure it matches up. The Others are their own thing, the Dharma folks are their own thing, and the freighter folk and survivors make up their own little group. That's why the survivors left on the Island at the beginning of Season Five jumped through time while the Others didn't.

To address more coincidental occurrences, that's why the returning Kate, Jack, Hurley and Sayid jumped back in time to exactly the time period in which they would have aged as much as Sawyer and Co. That's also If you watch, through all the time travel that has occurred, none of the freighter people or the survivors (or, nonsensically, Juliet), ever get any older than any of the other ones. If Jack was two months older than Kate at the beginning of the show, he is two months older than her now.

How does that explain the flashsideways? Simple. While the actual event that caused the flashsideways happened in 1974, it was caused by people from the survivor/freighter group, all of whom are bound together in time. Thus, the event took effect in their collective present, which was the day in 2007 when Jack and Co. came back to the future (yuk, yuk, yuk).

Clear as mud? Sure, and it doesn't explain Juliet or why Sun stayed in the present while her buddies went back to 1974. But it's the best I've got.

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Where are Walt, Christian and Aaron? Seriously, this is making me angry. These are some serious loose ends, and they need to be resolved.

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Why do Miles and Frank still exist? As much as I love them, I'm confused as to what purpose they're serving on the show right now. Frank has barely said or done anything at all this year, and it's been several episodes since Miles has been called upon for any use. What are they there for?

That's all I've got for today folks, except an invitation to get in on my previous Lost Facebook challenge. Granted, you're coming in a week late, so you'll lose one point by not being able to guess the fate of Ilana, but you've still got a legitimate shot at some predictive bragging rights. The rules are below, taken from my Facebook note on the subject.

Game One: The Character Death Game

We all know about Lost's predilection for offing its main characters, and one of the most surprising things about this singularly odd final season is that there are only five weeks left until the last hurrah, and all of the main characters (with the possible exception of Sayid? (EDIT: and now, Ilana)) are fully intact.

We know this isn't going to last. The writers have said so, and even if they had said the opposite we would, like psychic and biological polygraphs, know immediately that they were lying. Your first mission, should you choose to accept it, is to either post down below or send me a message with your predictions, simply "alive" or "dead," for the following 14 main cast members (astute readers will note that I'm leaving out unLocke for the moment. If I should not do so, let me know):

Desmond
Ilana XXXXXXXX
Richard
Claire
Sayid
Kate
Sawyer
Jack
Jin
Ben
Hurley
Sun
Miles
Frank

Game Two: The Candidate Game, Part One

One of the central mysteries of this season is who will become "the next Jacob" and take over the role of The Island's eternal and mysterious babysitter. Why someone would WANT such a job is probably one of those mysteries that just won't get answered.

Anyway, there are six people - or, as the show calls them, candidates - up for the job. Currently, the identities of five of them are (more or less) known. Your second job is to write below or to me which of these six options will, in the end, become Jacob's replacement. Please note that I'm intentionally using the names as they appear on the cave wall, just in case the writers end up surprising us and telling us that Christian, not Jack, is a candidate (or some other such manipulation), no matter how far fetched such an idea might be.

Shephard
Ford
Reyes
Jarrah
Kwon
An unknown, sixth candidate

Game Three: The Candidate Game, Part Two

This one is the one most open for ideas, and I would encourage discussion below. Illana mentioned that there are six candidates, but, as shown above, only five of them are (literally) carved in stone. Who is the final candidate, and why do you think so? Could it be Miles, who has somehow stayed alive long after the show has last found use for him? Could it be Lapidus, who was supposed to be on 815 that day? Could it be Desmond, who has found himself once again in the middle of circumstances he can't even begin to understand? Or could it be some other unnamed person, yet to factor prominently into the mix?

Let's discuss.