It’s back, and boy was it worth the wait! After nearly an entire human gestation period, Lost has returned to kick off it’s final season, and these first two hours were jam packed. Man, they flew by for me, even with the slew of commercials.
If you were hoping for the avalanche of answers to start tonight, I think you must be unfamiliar with Lost. The show stuck to its typical MO and didn’t answer a question without raising two or three more … and admit it, that’s why you love Lost.
Well, there was just about everything that we love about Lost featured in these first two hours: answers, more questions, lots of confusion, some return appearances by old friends, and an attack by the smoke monster. I don’t think that I could have asked for anything more. Well, maybe I could have asked for Juliet not to die in the bottom of a ditch; she was always one of my favorites, and I would have liked to see a better ending for her character. I thought perhaps her death was going to have a higher meaning, like Charlie’s, but at this point that remains unclear.
The bomb going off seems to have done something. Maybe. Seriously, though, could they have drawn out Juliet’s death any more? It was bad enough that I had to watch her falling down the Swan shaft three or four times this evening.
As if there wasn’t enough going on in the Lost universe, we were introduced to a couple huge new mysteries. The first appears to be the consequences of the bomb going off. It would seem that there are a couple conflicting timelines existing: one as we left it last season, and another with flight 815 landing safely at LAX. It’s going to be very interesting seeing how these two timelines coexist and if they ever come together.
It was fun seeing everyone back on the plane, and it was a great reminder how far many of the characters have come since the first episode. It was sad watching Jin and Sun as the jaded, unhappy couple that they were back in 2004, as well as Charlie the self destructive drug addict.
The second big new mystery was the introduction of what appears to be yet another hidden society on the island, this time in the “temple.” We have heard the temple mentioned many times before, and it seems that it was always associated with the Others, but I’m wondering if this faction of people are separate or not. They certainly seem to be isolated inside the walls of the temple, though we had previously seen Cindy the flight attendant with Ben’s Others.
There weren’t only questions in these first hours, though; there were answers, including a huge one: we know who/what the smoke monster is. It seems a little too obvious now that the man in black is also the smoke monster. I’m still wondering about that circle of ash around Jacob’s cabin. Was it keeping the smoke monster out, while trying to protect Jacob? Or, was it keeping the man in black trapped inside? If that’s the case, why was the smoke monster able to roam free? This certainly warrants more consideration.
I’ll leave you with one thought to stew on, courtesy of my brother, who wondered if Jacob was going to possess Sayid’s body the same way that the man in black possessed John Locke’s. He called it right when Jacob came to visit Hurley, telling him to bring Sayid to the temple. With Sayid “dying” and then coming back right at the end of tonight’s episode, I think he may be on to something.
I know one thing I’m going to be wondering about for a while is what Desmond was doing on flight 815, and why he apparently disappeared. I think there is something important in that question, but I’m not sure what.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Feb 02, 2010 @ 23:21 EST5EDT
“I’m still wondering about that circle of ash around Jacob’s cabin.”
Ummm… to keep the smoke monster out of the captain, I thought that was very clear years ago, never mind more clear now.
unLocke is the smoke monster! I mean come on! Awesome.
why do you say it was clear years ago that the ash was there to keep Smokey out?
Not to jump into the arguement, but I thought that question was answered long ago. Maybe I’m remembering it wrong, but wasn’t there a scene where the smoke monster couldn’t cross the ash line?
There was the sonic fence that it couldn’t cross, I wonder if that’s what you’re thinking of.
I don’t recall any sort of resolution or comment regarding the circle of ash, but I could be forgetting something… there’s been a lot in this show over 5 years.
Very difficult to speculate about anything because these writers are tricky and can make fools out of speculators.
I will say that it was nice to see everyone again. In terms of characters, the more circumstances change, the more the characters stay the same.
And I’m happy Oreo is happy about unLocke as the smoke monster.
And what about anti-Jacob/unLocke’s line to Richard. Something to the effect of: “Nice to see you without chains.”
The backstory of Richard is one of the mysteries I’m most interested in.
The two timelines (or parallel universes) created by the bomb seem consistent with J.J. Abrams’ version of time travel in Star Trek … Spock traveling back in time created a new timeline that exists simultaneously and runs parallel to the original timeline. I’m not a science whiz, but that’s what I was thinking of while watching tonight.
I also thought that Jacob may be planning to inhabit Sayid’s body, but that doesn’t quite make sense. There are currently two John Lockes, one possessed and one dead, but there’s only one Sayid, right?
I liked the smoke monster revelation – it makes sense that the Anti-Jacob is the monster. Now I assumed that the “Jacob” in the cabin was actually the Anti-Jacob the whole time, manipulating Ben and pretending to be Jacob. So the circle of ash was probably supposed to keep him inside the cabin. But like you said – how did the smoke monster get out? The circle must have been broken.
In one timeline we saw the island completely submerged underwater – this made me think of Atlantis. And the life-giving water made me think of the fountain of youth.
The mysteries are what keep me coming back, but the waiting is pure torture!
um… no. in the star trek movie … Spock and the Romulans going back in time altered the timeline … there are no parallel timelines
That’s how time travel used to work, i.e., how it worked in all the previous episodes, which is why some old school fans were so pissed off at the movie. To pacify them, the screenwriters decreed in interviews after the movie premiered that time travel now creates alternate timelines, and their precious Prime timeline is still intact.
Yes, Ryan is correct. Star Trek has used both versions of time travel. In First Contact, for example, there is only one timeline, and time travel alters that one timeline. In episodes like “Mirror, Mirror” and “Parallels,” the parallel universes theory is used.
With Abrams’ Star Trek, one of the writers, Bob Orci, said they were trying to follow the latest science and specifically the parallel universes version of quantum mechanics. So, Gordon, that’s why I’m saying there are parallel timelines in the Abrams’ movie. I don’t think they decided it after the fact in order to appease the fans; that’s the way the theory works (and they made a big deal about using the latest science, so I don’t think they just decided to switch to this theory to appease Trekkies).
Anyways, my point was just that I believe the same scientific theory is being used here in Lost.
I meant to say, “Ryan is partially correct.”
As you say, it was invented for the movie. And it’s not the latest science, that’s just how they described it to justify their choice, never mind how ridiculous it is to use the word “science” when describing time travel. The single timeline versus infinite branching timelines debate goes back decades.
Actually, there was always a distinct difference in Trek between time travel, and travel between parallel universes/dimensions. Time travel always affects your universe, which is why it was necessary to kill Edith Keeler and prevent the Borg from assimilating past Earth to protect the present from being changed. Hence, destroying Vulcan leads to massive changes in all the Trek series.
On the other hand, when you travel to a parallel universe, you don’t travel in time at all, as time has passed at the same rate in all of them. Each universe has its own quantum signature, which is how Worf was able to find his way home again, and events in other universes, such as killing people or blowing up an Enterprise, doesn’t affect your universe at all.
Orci and Kurtzman are saying that not only did Spock and Nero travel in time, but they also jumped to an entirely different dimensional branch unrelated to their previous universe, which has never happened before in Trek. This was never mentioned in the movie, and to my knowledge, neither was it mentioned in the novelization or the prequel comic. The first instance of it I saw was their online interview in response to all the TOS fan complaints after the opening weekend, which is why it felt more like spin and damage control than something that had been thought out thoroughly beforehand.
Yes, back to LOST, as this stuff has been beaten to death on more appropriate boards.
Another reason I felt the explanation was not well thought out was that the singularity sent Spock and Nero to different times, but somehow picked the exact same parallel universe out of countless quadrillions in which to deposit them. I bought it under the old single timeline model, and would have accepted the exact same spacetime coordinate (same time, same universe) in the parallel timeline model. The serendipitous combination they chose strained credibility, even for Trek.
Since Uhura called it an “alternate reality” in the movie, I think it was planned and not merely damage control.
In the LOST season premiere, going back in time and using the bomb didn’t alter the original timeline but created another. So in the new timeline, it worked, and the plane lands. In the original timeline, it didn’t work, and they’re still on the island.
If Trek were to be consistent, then when Picard went back in time and defeated the Borg, he was actually creating a new timeline. So in one universe it worked and the Borg were defeated, and in another universe it didn’t work and the Borg won.
But Trek doesn’t consistently follow through on that concept that every possibility exists in a parallel universe. It’s inconsistent with Back to the Future time travel, because that type of time travel actually erases/overwrites one version of reality instead of allowing all possibilities to exist.
I’ve only seen the movie once, and don’t recall Uhura saying that, so will accept your word on it. Is there a reason Uhura, who wouldn’t have any knowledge of the matter, said it rather than Spock Prime?
I think you’re agreeing with me in your First Contact example. My point was that Trek did use the Back to the Future model consistently previous to this. Everyone on the Guardian’s planet was protected from changes in the timeline, while the Federation disappeared around them. When Picard is following the Borg Sphere, there is a line of dialogue about the Enterprise being in the “temporal wake” of the Sphere’s time portal, which protects them, while outside the wake the fleet disappears and the Earth is Borgified. They go back to prevent that and change the Prime timeline back to something as close as possible to the original, not create a new timeline. In both instances, changes in the past are seen, on screen, to affect the present in which they live, unlike what is said to have happened in the movie. Heck, in Voyager and Enterprise, 29th century Starfleet patrols and protects the single timeline against changes, which would be pointless in an all-possibilities-exist model.
Yeah, I think we’re on the same page, Ryan.
To answer your question re Uhura, she said it during Young Spock’s explanation. He was saying, “Here is what’s happening… yadda yadda yadda…” and she interjects, “An alternate reality!” and Spock answers, “Precisely.” I assume she must have learned about this stuff at the Academy.
If I’m not mistaken, the flight attendant who was with the people at the temple said something to the effect of “they were on the other flight 815.” Did I hear that right?
It was nice seeing Charlie, Claire, Frogurt, Prof. Arzst and Boone again, but too bad Maggie Grace couldn’t find three minutes to shoot one short scene on the plane with her “brother.”
she said they were on the first plane. i’m pretty sure they must have seen the Ajira 315 plane as it appeared.
“The show stuck to its typical MO and didn’t answer a question without raising two or three more … and admit it, that’s why you love Lost.”
Maybe its just me. This is exactly why the show frustrates me so much. After watching it, i have to read 3 blogs and other web sites to understand what i just saw.
wowsie wow wowsers, what a show!
agreed, one extremely significant question is;
just what the heck was Desmond doing on the plane in that parallel universe?? and where did he go?
The first time, Desmond (loved to see him again, just much to short) got stuck on the island. In this version, the island is under water, so he didn’t. More than enough time to get on the plain. The big question of course (in addition to where he went) is why and what happened to him and his happy end. I hope, they don’t take that away from him. He looked kinda happy, so I keep my hopes up for him, although the authors can be pretty mean sometimes.
Another big question – what happened to the body of Jack’s father? We saw him on the island so that makes me wonder whether in the alternate universe he still might have somehow ended up there.
As for Sayid – I also thought from the beginning that Jacob might use his body. Can’t wait to see where they are going with this. BTW – did anyone else have a slight SG-feeling about the scene with him in the water? I could have sworn he would wake up with glowing eyes ;-)
maybe he just went back to his assigned seat for arrival into LAX?
-Locke is smokey was rather an awesome reveal.
-Richard was a slave on the Black Rock. Only way I can think of how they explain the “chains” line.
-Dharma Shark! Only way to explain the events in the movie Jaws.
-Since the others left Dharmaville they have morphed into a samurai, a hippie, and the villains from a Indiana Jones flick? Strange. Also that hippie was not very peace and love man, meaning he is a poser hippie.
-Kate sure had an easy time escaping from an airport post 9/11. Or is LAX security just as bad as Newark’s.
-Sayed is still Sayed i think, just has a bit of Jacob inside him now (thats what she said). What I mean by that is that Sayed is not just a vessel for Jacob, Sayed just now has Jacob’s powers and must take over as the replacement of whatever Jacob was.
Incredible. I shed a tear at the death of Juliet – she and Sawyer deserved a happy ending, but the three years they had together at Dharma will have to suffice.
The general storyline of Jacob vs. his nemesis (who we now know to be Smokey!) takes center stage for the final season, and now everything as an over-arching story is starting to make sense.
Instead of flashbacks or flash-forwards this season, we have flashes to the alternate reality created when the bomb went off. Now we get to find out more about who the characters would have been had the plane never crashed. It looks like we’re going to see more on that as the season progresses, but I worry that it will end poorly for all of them – the moral seems to be that the plane crash actually saved their pathetic lives (as John Locke originally understood), and what they were going back to was not any better. To wit:
-Locke is still handicapped as the island never healed him. Other than that, he seems to be the same guy, if a bit more sad and angry. I was touched by the scene near the end of episode 2 between him and Jack, where his spiritual strength may have started a friendship between them as Jack is at a low point.
-Jack is the man of science we saw during Season 1. His father’s body has completed vanished, so there’s some mystery there, but his character isn’t greatly changed.
-Kate is a fugitive, which it was easy to forget. Is Edward Mars the most inept marshal in the world, or what? She disables him and escapes in Claire’s cab after the plane lands.
-Hurley’s character is possibly the most changed, which makes sense because he wouldn’t have played the unlucky numbers that came from the island (the island is at the bottom of the sea in this reality). He tells Sawyer he’s “the luckiest guy in the world”.
-I’m not sure about Sawyer yet. He’s roguish as he used to be, but we don’t know yet how much (if any) of his past has changed.
-Jin is the scumbag he was when the show started. It’s hard to believe how far he’s come as a character. Sun nabs the opportunity to escape him when customs detains him (because he can’t answer their questions about the dirty money he’s carrying).
We also got to see the alternate versions of some characters we hadn’t seen in a while; I’m really glad they got these actors back:
-Charlie almost died trying to swallow his drugs to evade capture. Jack saved him, but Charlie was resentful as the authorities took him away. He also grew tremendously on the island, and it’s sad to see him revert (in a sense) to what he once was.
-Boone, alive and well, wasn’t able to convince Shannon to come home with him (presumably because they couldn’t get the actress back). He still hits it off with Locke, though.
-Neil (Frogurt) and Arzt are the same whiny jerks they were when they died on the island. Seriously, Neil was alive on the island with everybody else for a good forty-some days. Where was his personal development in all that time?!
I’m really looking forward to where this is going. The writers have outdone themselves this time; fantastic beginning to the end.
“Charlie almost died trying to swallow his drugs to evade capture.”
I took it as him swallowing his drugs to kill himself. He even told Jack that he was supposed to die.
I didn’t think of it that way at all, but that might just be because I was seeing things in terms of Season 1. It makes sense that things were different, since there weren’t seventeen airplane personnel hunting Charlie down, but still… If he was indeed attempting suicide, what sense does it make to swallow a small bag and assume that would do the trick? Though I’ll admit that this Charlie seemed a lot darker than the Charlie the show started with.
To be honest I understand why they aired two episodes – if there had been any more slowmotion scenes you could’ve stuck the whole plot into one episode.
Anyway, I’m not expecting Lost to answer all the questions. I was happy to see my favorite good looking actors again and see things happen. I don’t really care anymore for answers, I’m enjoying the ride.
I mean I never understood people who read Stephen King’s “IT” who kept complaining it was too long. The whole thing is interesting for about 95% of the time you read it and once the Clowns come out you _have_ to be disappointed because everything that’s left to your imagination is now gone. Isn’t it kind of a good thing that you don’t get answers to everything? That you can speculate and think about it while on your daily commute? That you wonder how things will progress?
Shows which answer all and everything don’t leave you that option.
On a scale from 1 to 10 I would give last night’s episode a 7. It was good to have the guys back and there were a couple of scenes that really had me close to tears and that’s what I want from “good TV”. To stir up emotions. “Lost” is doing that for me. It’s a good show and I will enjoy every single bit of it until it goes off the air.
Unless of course it comes up with “Clowns” as answers.
gaaah… “slowmotion scenes… you could’ve”
Somebody add an edit function to the comments!
+1 for this.
also, i wish they had it so you could easily search what posts you’ve commented on (like on tvsquad & engadget)
You forgot to increase the Deadwood Actor Count!
I would love just one more maxim from Sol Star’s late father!
Great premiere! I loved all the reveals, and didn’t find myself quite so annoyed at all the new questions. :)
Couple of things. First of all, in the parallel universe that has everyone landing back at LAX, I bet every one of those people is going to end up on the island anyway somehow. Which is why the things that wouldn’t get another shot at it, like the coffin and the knives, got “lost” on the flight over. And why Jack will help John walk again so that he can end up as himself back on the island.
The Others at the Temple asked Jack if he was “Shephard.” My bet is that has something to do with Christian, whose role in all of this still remains a big question mark.
What happens if Claire raises the baby? I hope that question gets answered.
I have no idea why he disappeared, but Desmond ending up on the plane could be rather simple. Since the whole pocket of energy problem never happened, Desmond’s destiny (as defined by the lady who sold him the ring for Penny) never existed, which means his entire life of not proposing to her, joining the army, going to jail, the boat race, never happened. He therefore could have theoretically been anywhere in the world when that plane left Australia, including on the plane.
Question for you Bob: did it seem to you as if the entire plane sequence was shot back when the pilot was? Because a lot of the actors looked younger than they did in the alternate universe scenes, a lot closer to their season one ages than now. What did you think? If not, Walt will not be returning in that universe, which is frustrating. Why he’s special is still hanging out there.
I’m definitely extremely interested in Richard’s story. I also think Ben will step up to lead the Others, making this ultimately a Ben/John battle to the end. Quite a step up for a onetime short-lived character.
And I love your brother’s theory. I think he’s right.
I’m very excited for the rest of this season!
the reality where 815 lands … it would be impossible for them to go to the island because it is underwater.
Desmond might have simply gone back to his seat …
the way they made the characters look less “worn” … that is called makeup and special effects.
I’d be disappointed in Lost if something as simple as the island being underwater kept everyone off of it. ;)
Could be, but I didn’t see less worn, I saw younger. Hugo, for one, looked exactly like he did back then, as did Sawyer.
Quote: “What happens if Claire raises the baby?”
The question is rather will she raise the baby at all? After all she wanted to give him up for adoption.
I also thought, they might still end up on the island. Didn’t think of the knives and the coffin in this context though. You might be on to something.
True. But the psychic told Claire she couldn’t raise the baby herself (is that an accurate summation?), and I’m very curious why. It may have to do with Claire as opposed to Aaron, meaning, “you can’t raise him because you HAVE to be doing X on an island,” but either way it’s a big question of mine.
I will tell my wife; the theory was hers. :)
The psychic told her that Aaron couldn’t be “raised by another” (or was it “an other”). He wanted her to keep him.
And I do recall thinking that Sawyer in particular looked younger on the plane. Could have just been Hollywood magic, though, or some of the footage could have been borrowed from the pilot.
My bad. Okay, so then I guess the question is what happens when someone else adopts and attempts to raise Aaron….
here is an awesome YouTube video showing the events inside Oceanic 815 from the pilot and the season premiere … side by side
Thanks for the link, that was pretty awesome.