cine + octo = boo

“What the ‘eff just happened here?”

The final episode has come and gone, and as expected it’s cracked the LOST fanbase right in half. The great polarization has impacted many, and even within the halls of Fanboy Planet the lines have already been drawn. I’m curious to get Lon’s take on the series and the final episode, although I believe the final outcome will be moot in the end. We’ll see.

I’m going to forego a detailed recap, but we did learn a few things. The sideways was nirvana, or the afterlife depending on where you stand spiritually. The whole series centered on Jack, his trials involved in accepting his role in a very important sequence of events, and his trouble letting go of things after the fact. It was the story of a group of people who came together to prevent the end of humanity, and how they met up after they died to reminisce and let go of the most import period of time in their existence.

Where the great divide is formed lies in one’s need for answers. The producers have long said that they would answer what needed to be answered, nothing more and nothing less. This doesn’t sit well with many folks, but what happened happened. Right?

The concept of the show is pretty interesting. It’s sort of like what would happen if Luke, Leia, Han, Obi Wan, Chewy, R2, and C3PO met up in the afterlife, helped each other remember those times they stopped the Empire from destroying the galaxy, and then ultimately help each other let go of the things that bind them to their mortality, preventing them from becoming one with the force. This is a beautiful thing to contemplate, especially considering our own lack of understanding around our own individual existence, mortality, and what exists in the great beyond…unless you’re too busy asking questions like, “Why does the force exist?,” “Lightsabers, how do they work?,” or “Why are some people eligible to be Jedi while others aren’t?”

The dreaded midichlorian scenes in the prequel trilogy were written for those folks, and thankfully LOST never went there.

“What are the rules, exactly?”

Do we really need to know? There is enough evidence within the series to surmise what these rules are, how they were formed, and why they were formed. But do we need a numbered list of the rules? No.

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The one episode I’ve been looking forward to since we began this whole adventure, and I manage to forego the liveblogging. Disappointed? Sure. But in some ways this may be better. While the episode aired, I wasn’t sure what to make of each development, but the details completely engrossed me every step of the way. Looking back, it would’ve been nice to capture my immediate reactions to each twist, but it feels like this episode deserves a deeper look at things. So here we go, let’s dive in.

His name is Jacob.

We knew this, but what we didn’t know is that he didn’t arrive on the island alone. Across the Sea begins with Jacob’s mother landing on the island post-shipwreck. We witness her give birth to twin sons with the assistance of an unknown woman living on the island. She names one of the boys Jacob, and then subsequently meets her demise at the hands of her would-be protector. Jacob and the unnamed twin (dare I suggest, the Bad Twin?) are both raised by their mother’s murderer, and from that point on we come to know her only as “Mother.”

Is it any surprise that the tale of LOST begin with matricide? Considering the strong thematic loops of children with mommy complexes and daddy issues woven through each season? Let’s speak of weaving. The yarn that has been used to weave this tale all generates from the events that take place within the space of Across the Sea’s runtime.

Birth. Death. Faith. Science. The rules. Betrayal. The con. The guardian. Children with special powers. The candidates. The game.

All of these things, and many more, begin here. Did you miss them? Let’s run through some of the more subtle aspects of the episode.

The game.

One of the most damning complaints I read about this show is the supposed changing of rules “on a whim” from season to season. I hear this more often than I care to admit, and quite frankly the more I dive into why people feel this way, the more it becomes clear. They weren’t paying close enough attention.

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The LOST-pocalypse continues with a Hurley episode! Here are the rules, the liveblog begins below:

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The LOST-pocalypse is poised to tell us Richard Alpert’s story! Here are the rules, the liveblog begins below:

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Finally! The LOST-pocalypse brings us our first Ben episode! Tonight could promise to be huge!! Here are the rules, the liveblog begins below:

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It’s LOST-pocalypse night! Last week’s Lighthouse was (groan) illuminating. Tonight we’re treated to the title-loaded episode, Sundown. Let’s see if the ABC promos live up to their claims. Here are the rules, the liveblog begins below:

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The LOST-pocalypse train keeps on rolling! Last week we broke down the mind-bending episode, The Substitute. Tonight we’re on a West Coast delay (sorry, went to see Shutter Island and grab dinner with Dee), but I’m firing up the DVR and we’re hitting Lighthouse now. Here are the rules, the faux liveblog begins below:

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Onward with the LOST-pocalypse! The Substitute is spooling up, and here are the rules.

The live blog begins below:

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Tonight, the LOST-pocalypse continues! The episode on deck is What Kate Did. If you haven’t already, give my review of LA X a quick read, then head back over here tonight for the liveblog of What Kate Did. I’ve already gone over the rules, but give them another look when you get a minute.

The live blog begins below:

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LA X isn’t just a season premiere, it’s the beginning of the end. The ride we’ve all been enjoying since 2004 is gearing up for the last gasp, and expectations have been running high. For me, LA X needed to deliver in a way that added both shape and definition to all previous episodes while maintaining the mystery and illusiveness of the series. In some ways, what happened in LA X sets the tone and pacing for the rest of season 6, and prior to viewing I desperately wanted a balance between answering long-standing questions and offering more headscratch-inducing layers of labyrinthine confusion for the remaining 17 episodes. It succeeded.

Many are in this for the answers. They’ve come this far, they want to know what is going on. It’s admirable, but in a sick way that’s not my motivation. The part of LOST that compels me isn’t the promise of answers, although it’s nice to know that those will come in due time. But no, I’m in it for the sense of discovery and mystery. If season 6 were all answers and no journey it would cease to be as interesting and captivating as it has been for seasons past.

When Darlton (that’s Damon and Carlton) announced that time-travel was over with season 5, they opened a can of worms. How do you continue the narrative in a traditional LOST way without some sort of jump through time. We’ll they’ve figured it out. The opening of LA X presents us with a dual narrative — two distinct timelines that reflect two disparate outcomes following the Jughead incident. Let’s break them down.

Bizarro LOST timeline

The episode opens where the conclusion of The Incident left off, Juliet detonates Jughead and a flash of white fills the frame. Only this time we pull away from the white to reveal clouds through the cabin window of Ocean 815. We’re back on the flight that started it all. The implication is that somehow Faraday’s plan worked and that detonating Jughead diffused the pocket of energy at the construction site. What we are now witnessing is what would have happened had the crash never occurred in the first place. Only we’re not exactly. Things are different.

Jack’s hair is longer, Cindy gives him only one bottle of vodka, and Charlie doesn’t push his way down the aisle to the bathroom. Something is, off. Sort of like the title of the episode — there is an intentional space between the “A” and the “X” as if to say, “you’re supposed to notice that something is slightly off here.” These are intentional deviations from the Pilot episode, and we’re meant to take note. We’re not witnessing what would happen if the crash never occurred, we’re witnessing what happens in a timeline where the crash never needed to occur. We’ll discuss this more as the season progresses.

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