5.8 ½ Midseason Musings

With no new episode this week, it’s a good time to take a deep breath, and post some miscellaneous rambling thoughts on LOST. I’m going to try a similar format as the season opening write-up, and revisit each main or semi main character, and see if I have something to say.

Sayid: Well, he doesn’t seem to be on the Hydra Island. Which means he is most likely in the 1970’s with Dharma. Except that he is still in handcuffs. That seems to be quite a bit of bad news, to be alone in the jungle, in handcuffs. He better hope no polar bears are around that are willing to chase him. Then again, if Sayid is in the Dharma time, we may meet the little known Radzinsky and Kevin Inman, two guys that were stationed in the Swan, pushing the button. Radzinsky is the less known guy, responsible for putting the hatch drawings on the lock down doors in the Swan, and eventually put a shotgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. Kevin Inman is the guy Desmond was partnered with for a while in the Swan. He also had a connection to Kate’s military officer father, and had a prominent role in the Sayid flashback where Sayid did some torturing in Iraq. Inman and Radzinsky survived the Dharma purge, probably because the Others didn’t know where the Swan hatch was, even though they could see them through the monitors in the Pearl station, as we recall Ben and Juliet spying on the Losties in the Swan back in Season 3. It would be nice to get more info on these two mystery guys. And what exactly did Sayid do to get arrested and sent to Guam?

Jack: Final scene of Lost, as I keep on saying: Jack wakes up in the jungle, as the past meets the future in that split second. If the Dharma 7 never time jump to the present, they are the proof of the time loop, Groundhog Day angle, they will then live out the next few months on the island, Seasons 1-4, maybe with past knowledge, maybe not, but it would be interesting to see how the end is actually the beginning. Jack has undergone a remarkable change in character just before coming back to the island, now ignoring common sense to become a man of faith. So odd to see Jack ignoring his brain to follow his heart. Oh, wait, he was on his way to see the Wizard in search of a brain, so this might have been a good strategic move.

Hurley/Hugo: His character has receded into the background. Just as soon as you start thinking he is important, like finding the Cabin, he becomes the invisible man. Hurley’s paranoia over Ben is annoying me. Hurley is probably justified in his mistrust, but it doesn’t make it less annoying.

Sawyer: Locke and Sawyer are neck and neck for most dramatic character change since arriving on the island. I hope this dope realizes the happy time he spend with Juliet is not something to be treated lightly. Kate is a horrible person, Sawyer is one of my favorites on this show. Don’t do it, buddy. Don’t do it. Oh, you ARE going to do it, aren’t you?

Jin: After spending last season as Sun’s whipping boy, he has rebounded a bit, has made several very selfless acts, and is very good as Sawyer’s sidekick. Very natural.

Sun: Well, for all the hate I spewed in her direction, I find myself spewing less. Sure, she is a dope, betraying her father, betraying Jin, cutting a deal with Widmore, then abandoning her child to go look for Jin. She is still an ice queen, but I chalk it up to being a dummy at this point. She was trying to act like a hitman for a while, but as soon as she saw Jin‘s ring, she became as docile as a cow being led to slaughter by Ben. I hope for Jin’s sake, she is trapped in the present, and never has a chance to ruin Jin’s life again.

Kate: Easily, the worst actor and worst person on this show. I don’t care how many people Ben slaughters, his heart is not as ice cold as Kate’s. Please, island, what sacrifice do you need from me to ensure Kate dies? Why does she matter to the show’s story anymore. Jack is connected to the island by family. Hurley can see the cabin. Why is Kate in the past, other than to give Sawyer blue balls. Fock you, Kate. I’d want her to be pregnant and die in early childbirth, but that would be 2 trimesters too long for my liking. Kate has the same snaky obnoxiousness as the lady that called 911 3 times because McDonalds wouldn’t give her the chicken nuggets that she ordered.

Locke: Locke is in the present. Being that Sawyer knows Locke jumped to fix the time jumping, he and Jack can compare stories where Jack knows Locke was coming back to the island, it might be worth speculating on their part that Locke is in another time line. What would I do? How about writing messages to Locke, and leaving them where only Locke would find them. Maybe make an orientation film for him, or leave a message at the Swan. Something to let Locke know they are trapped in the past. A war is coming. Maybe it’s not so simple, a battle between Ben and Widmore. How about a battle between people from different time periods, a battle to see which time period triumphs. Or something even crazier. And let’s consider a truly interesting scenario. It’s pretty obvious that Locke’s loyalty is to the Others and the island at this point. What if this big battle coming up is between Locke led Others vs. the Losties and friends. Locke has to lead a final battle vs. Jack and his friends. Locke will have mixed emotions about that one. And towards the end of Season 6, Locke betrays the Others for the better good and helps Jack, and dies one final time for the island. Jack is then forced to become the guardian of the island and as a result the spiritual leader.

Claire: turns out, she is pregnant in real life, and is having a kid. Which explains why she isn’t on the show at the moment. So, no need to speculate anything about her.


Benjamin: Holy smokes, Ben is a liar. When Jack turned to Ben aboard the Ajira flight, and asked him if he knew that Locke killed himself, Ben acted surprised, despite being the one who killed him. But let’s not overlook how Jack asked Ben how can you be reading? Ben answered, “my mother taught me”. You know what, I missed this lie the first time. Ben’s mother died in child birth. Even when Ben is asked an innocent question, he can’t help but lie. So….my belief is that Ben NEVER could communicate with Jacob. He was able to find the cabin. But he may have fooled Widmore into leaving the island. He had Dharma killed off. He may have fooled Richard into thinking Ben was to be the Others leader. Then pretended to hear Jacob speak. But since Ben was not meant to be the leader, the island punished the island with childbirth issues, an homage to Ben’s mother dying in childbirth. And that is why Ben was so shocked when Jacob spoke to Locke the first time. Ben was pretending to talk to an empty chair, but Locke heard “help me” Jacob needed Locke’s help to rescue the island from Widmore AND Ben. Ben is a larger than life character that just continues to get better with every episode. Just get ready to hate him, because he killed Penny. No. Doubt. In. My. Mind. We will see that flashback soon enough, probably in a few episodes, as a reason for Desmond to return to the island this season. Revenge. If we saw Ben kill the beloved Locke, why not Penny? Who in their right mind would be so incensed to stop watching at this point? Also, if you consider Ben’s lust for Juliet, you may consider the stupid romantic angle on the show as a love pentagram.

Desmond: I know Penny is dead. Hell, I hope it too. Desmond knows Ben is going back to the island. Revenge moves him to go back, with Widmore’s help. But since he is special, does his arrival reunite all the Losties and the rest into the same time frame? Does Desmond time jump? Does Desmond stay in present day.. The writers can go in so many wonderful directions.

Juliet: Just when I think they are about to kill her off, she starts doing the between the sheets tango with Sawyer. I hope she makes it to the end of the season alive. Again, I have to point out how Juliet is hiding information from the rest.

Vincent: have we seen him this year?

Shannon/Boone: consider someone just starting to watch Season 1. They come up to you and ask “how are Shannon and Boone doing?” You have to rack your memory to try to remember who the hell these people are. Oh, yeah. I remember them. But you can’t tell your friend they have been dead for many seasons. How cool is that?

Walt: No way the island is through with him. He will be back at some point, probably Season 6.

Mr Eko/AnaLucia: We’ve never seen Mr Eko since he died. It would be nice, writers. More Ana Lucia = more gooder.


Libby: I get the feeling we will never get her back story, how she was in the same mental hospital as Hurley, how she gave her boat to Desmond. Seems like the time has passed on her character, and her lingering questions will continue to linger.

Daniel: As much as I loved his character last year, and as important he was the first half of this season, he is becoming a whiny 5 year old. Boo fraking Hoo. Charlotte is dead. You had a crush on her. Get over it. Again, let me point out, you never even kissed her. This is like some horrible Drew Barrymore movie. I know, I know, that’s redundant. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy. Daniel and Charlotte is a joke. Writers: just stop.

Miles: Best wiseass on the show. Hope he sticks around. Plus, after spending 3 years on the island, Lord knows what he has learned by now, after hearing the dead chatter. His character is about to take a step up to the next level.

Charlotte: I never want to hear her name again. Enough.

Danielle: We got the back story in a fantastic flashback with the monster. As the French say, vaya con Dios.

Rose: Eve part of Adam and Eve skeletons in the caves from Season 1? Maybe. But I’m glad she has disappeared for a number of episodes. She is yet another character I’ve done a 180 on since the beginning of the series. I used to really like. Maybe it was because she wasn’t afraid to give Jack some grief. Once she decided to stick with Jack and turn her back on Locke, I lost a lot of respect for her character.

Richard: Richard never ages. I think the island is more important and powerful than the people on the island. Therefore, is it logical to think Richard doesn‘t age because he was time jumping and popped into the wrong time before the wheel stopped spinning. The island isn’t aging him until he gets to the right time, then the clock starts. If Sawyer, Juliet, Miles, Jin, Jack, Kate, Hurley remain in Dharma time, I bet they don’t age a bit until they reach 2007. So what is the right time for Richard? I’m not sure. He may be related to the Black Rock in some way, since he looks a bit Johnny Depp pirate-like. Could it be that he won’t age until he time jumps to the correct past, possibly the Black Rock time. Until that happens, he is not allowed to age, because whatever happened, happens. If he ages and dies, he can’t go back to the past and do what he is meant to do. In essence, Richard is somewhat lost in time, much like the island. How’s that for the first plausible Richard theory you’ve heard? And I don’t want to hear the Richard is a god theory. He isn’t.

Bernard: Adam part of Adam and Eve skeletons from Season 1? He was a likeable dope for a while, but his down home advice he was giving to others rubbed me the wrong way. The same way Garrison Keillor made me send him hundreds of death threats. I didn’t want to do it. But I felt I owed it to him. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you Garrison.

Alex: Well, we found out Danielle was really her mother, and Ben was not her father. Closure.

Nikki/Paulo: I want a Nikki dead character appearance. What? I’m the only one? But she was a stripper!!!

Christian: the zombie that we all have grown to like. I am looking forward to his next appearance. I want another Christian Jack meeting.

Frank: Well, he isn’t gone for good after all. He continues to be more important than anyone realizes.

Penny: most likely dead. Little Charlie might be dead too. I don’t care.

Dr Candle/Halliwax: We will see this guy a lot more, if we are in Dharma time. I want to hear more about the truth behind the tapes, and what the leaders of Dharma are actually doing with all of these hatches, and which ones we haven’t seen.

Charles Widmore: the apparent villain, but his story suddenly has much more complexity. We need more. If Penny is dead, he is going to be more vicious in going after Ben. Good.

Aaron: Enough with Aaron. I hope when Claire returns, she is motivated to kill Kate.

Caesar: The way he was searching the hatch, he was looking for specific information. Can he be anything but a Widmore spy?

Ilana: She seems more like an innocent victim of circumstance, but is likely to be a puppet to Caesar’s string pulling.

The Smoke Monster: I have been demanding a flashback for many seasons. Can we get one soon? Please?

I’ve been spot on with how the season will progress, from the time travel beginning, to the shift to Dharma, a clever way to get their all important back story. It’s most likely going to continue for a while, with several episodes to explore a young Ben Linus, young Charlotte, possibly a young Miles, and other surprise appearances, no doubt. So, after Dharma, where do we go? The only possibility left will be the Others back story. Where they came from, why some of them don’t age, what is their motivation in anything they do, where do they hide on the island. I think the statue story is done. The Black Rock is still unresolved. But when you think about it, what major mysteries are still left? We have gotten so many answers in the last year and half, it makes me dizzy.