Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Sayid Kills Someone and Other Predictions

I would like to thank the reader who volunteered that title for this weekly "Lost" prediction column. I think I know who it was, but I will respect the anonymity with which it was submitted (your secret is safe with me). Now that we've cleaned our collective pipes (minds out of the gutters, sickos) with the first two hours of the show and discussiongasms that came thereafter, we can begin to settle in to this 3+ month-long ride. I had some nice Facebook discussions and some wonderful email exchanges, but I once more implore you to get in on the comments below. We love this show, so let's talk about it. Also, if anyone has any hot forum news or links, share them. The only rule is no spoilers out in the open (unless it's something that happens on tonight's show that you post in response to tomorrow's recap column).

Okay, moving on. I spent most of this week trying to really think about one question: "Who's the good guy here? Is it Jake...or the Man in Black?!" Doc Jensen, my personal hero, made this point in his column today (great minds think alike, or at least my mind thinks like his great one). He said "if it turns out Jacob is the silver-tongued bad guy, I'm ready for it." Or something like that. With Flocke's angry "I'm disappointed in ALL OF YOU" last week and with his insistence upon free will, I suppose it's POSSIBLE that he's "the good guy" who is angry at his flock (hee hee, Flocke). But I doubt it. The producers HAVE said this boils down to good and evil, and even though they are frequently dirty-dirty-super-dirty liar faces, I believe them here. I also believe this isn't a rope-a-dope, and Jacob's the good guy. Why? Well, first off, Flocke is smokey the monster, and smokey the monster ate the pilot for no reason. He also dismembered French people and Eko and did lots of other things that aren't good. Now, if he is the wrathful God, who is good and just but also really mad, I suppose you can find reasons he may have done this stuff, but it seems unlikely. Plus, I don't need a 6th season revelation that all of the 6th season was spent working for the bad guy. Jacob's people at the temple seem to be guardians of good. At least, that's my take. Anyway, this was my reflection for the last week. Share your thoughts on "who is the good guy" in the comments below.

One other general thought regarding the sideways flashes. There seems to be two schools of thought forming. The first one that says the sideways flash is "real." Some theories are that the castaways join that world upon their death, making the island...purgatory (kind of), even if it is in a weirdly scientific sense. The second one says that the sideways flash ISN'T real, that it is some kind of possibility or scenario that needs tweaking or changing. I don't really like the first choice and I don't understand the second one, although I like it better. I think one thing is for sure, and that's the fact that we're taking for granted that these characters are the same in the sideways flash. With everything so different, why wouldn't these PEOPLE be different. What if Hurley isn't kind, but a douche? What if Kate isn't a sweet runaway who was hurt but a nasty vengeful killer? Things to think about.

God I love this show.

Let's get to the predictions before I lose my steam...oh, and because it's a Kate-centric episode.
What a way to start.

5 predictions for "What Kate Does"

1.) Jack finds out that he's not important - Now, I know we've all seen the previews of a "HULK SMASH" Jack asking why his name is ON a list...but I think the list indicates that he is not one of the people crucial to Jacob's mission. Why? I think this has something to do with Jacob wanting Jack to find his own way. I think he obviously IS important but will be told that he isn't. That or Jacob has finally realized what everyone else realized: You don't want Jack around making plans that will always, always, always backfire and go bad. I think we've been watching Jack get broken and broken and broken. We're going to watch him break tonight.

2.) Claire is not pregnant in the flash-sideways - We saw everyone's least favorite Australian (yes, Russel Crowe, you're off the hook) last week...but we didn't see her belly. The easy guess is that she would be preggers (and she probably is, because I'm very bad at this), but how crazy would it be if she just wasn't. I mean, it would negate her only definable characteristic but maybe that would help her go away. I'm very, very wrong on this, I just know it, but that's the fun of these predictions. I don't make safe bets.

3.) We'll see Christian tonight - One way or another, I should say. With his body missing in the flash sideways and his relationship to Jacob and the Man in Black unclear in the island timeline, it's high time we saw ole Christian again. I still think this guy is going to play a MAJOR role in the series, and it's getting to the point now that we need to see more of him, pronto.

4.) We'll see Widmore tonight - We can't forget about this guy. I don't know if we'll see him in the flash-sideways or the island time, but we're going to see him soon. How cool would it be if he finally arrived on the island with his "army?" How great would it be if he showed up and stood next to Flocke, forming the giant evil war party to take on the temple gang? This could be so cool.

5.) Sayid will kill someone - I don't think Jacob is possessing Sayid, but I DO think Sayid is not Sayid anymore. Just like Ben wasn't kind "little Ben" after he was saved in the toilet water of the temple, I don't think Sayid is going to be so easy to get along with anymore. Yeah, that's right, I think he was MORE laid back when he was just a torturer. Call me crazy, which I am, but I think we're going to see Sayid get his mystical powers going tonight and he's going to flip out and kill someone. Hey, what if he goes all smoke monster? Wouldn't that be rad! A giant Sayid tornado of death. I'm getting excited just thinking about it. Whatever the case, I'm glad he's more important this season.

Okay, that's it. What do you think is going to happen? I want thoughts people! We don't have much time left!!!

UPDATE: My cousin, James, had a facebook note with a good list of questions. I'm posting it here for discussion. So get discussing! (I'm including some of my responses below).

1 Richard said he has been off the island three times, to John Locke, last season. Ok...1) Mittelos Bioscience recruitment of Juliet in Miami; 2) When John Locke was born; 3) When Locke was a young boy. -Is that it? I don't buy a man, who presumably doesn't age, has been around since a slave ship in the 1800s, is able to go off island for the first time in 2004 or so and recruit Juliet and totally act fine, as if he's a company executive, with totally normal behavior (he gives a PowerPoint presentation to Juliet!) -Huh?

Ryan's response - I think Richard is and always has been the ultimate "right hand man." I think he's in the know but has no real power. I think he's telling the truth about his off-island visits. I think he prefers life on the island. As far as his ability to blend in off-island, he's a sharp cookie. I'm guessing he practiced on island.

2. What was Ben's motivation to get everyone back to the island, even John? He has no clue what this bigger chess match is that's going on. And I don't buy he's just evil and never wanted any Lostie's to have their freedom.

This one was easy to me. Ben wanted to get back to the island. That's it. Since he was "banished," he had to trick his way back. He knew that meant getting in on the Ajira return flight, which is why he killed Locke after getting that info. I don't know that he wanted "everybody to come back," he just knew that was the plan and inserted himself in. If he had to get everybody back to get himself back, no biggie. He only cares about himself.

3. What is the loophole?

Le sigh. I really still think it's just that the leader of the others has to kill their "God." Ben was still the leader when he was tricked into killing Jacob. Maybe it's more complicated, but I don't know why it would be. The question isn't really "what's the loophole," it should be "WHY does there have to be a loophole," as in "what are the rules?"

4. Why did MIB use Locke's dead body, and if he used that, did he inhabit Christian's before, also?

MiB used Locke's body because it would get the proper reactions he needed from all parties involved...and no, he didn't inhabit Christian. Christian is something different...

5. Who or what is Christian? I don't believe he's Jacob, even though he was in Jacob's cabin.

I don't know that he's Jacob, but he's definitely FoJ (a friend of Jacob).

6. Who originally came up with the idea that Locke had to die? MIB-Locke? He told Richard to tell Locke during one of the flashes that he must die, and by this point, he was already MIB-Locke. How did he know he had to tell Locke this? He didn't seem to just think of it right there, and this was shown to us after the "Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" episode, as if we all knew now together that Locke needed these directions. But where did they come from?

Which leads me to my grand theory that all of this has happened before, over and over, and the loophole is where one man finds a spot in the repeat of this history to change the game and get the upper hand. Losties have lived their lives over and over, have been recycled, and re-played as pieces in a chess match or never ending tic tac toe game.

I agree on the over and over thing. It's been a big theory of mine. I'm 99% sure this is the case. In fact, they all but said it with "it ends the same way every time" and Jacob's response of "it only ends once."

7. Why did Sayid see his cat and Kate see her horse?

Ooh, forgot about Sayid's cat. My guess? We never find out.

8. Was Yemi the smoke monster?

Yes. And Alex in the temple.

9. Does the smoke monster care about judging, or does it just care about finding a candidate for its loophole search?

Since Smokey is Flocke, I'll do you one better: He doesn't care about judging, he cares about getting home. That's all he cares about. And remember, he's a person, not a thing.

10. Illana and Braum talked about Lapidus and asked "Is he a candidate?" -For what? A proxy for Jacob? Does that mean Jacob knew he was already going to die, and like MIB, he's looking for a body to inhabit also?

I think body inhabiting is wrong. I think we're too hung up on that. I think it's a candidate for "being in Jacob's army" or "being one of the castaways that turns the tide." We know that Jacob has a list and that Kate, Sayid, Sawyer, and Hurley are on it. I think Illana and Braum didn't know who was on it, and Lapidus may have been in their opinion.

11. Why did they flashback to Juliet's childhood in the finale of last season, but NOT have Jacob appear, like they did in every other flashback of the finale? Ok, she died. So, what was the point of her flashback then?

Simple storytelling to show us that it matters who Jacob touched and who he didn't, in my opinion.

12. Widmore was banished for leaving the island repeatedly, as an Other. But later on, we find out Ben has done so many times himself. Why isn't Ben punished, if this is an island rule?

Nobody called him on it. Nobody crossed Ben. Besides, I thought the REAL sin was having a child off island.

13. The war between Widmore and Ben...became important in season 4 and 5, and now has gone away completely. You had Sayid killing Widmore's people for Ben. Ben had surveillance video on Widmore at his house in Dharmaville. Widmore claimed to be looking for the island. They both claimed the island was theirs. Widmore had Alex killed (did he order that?) and then Ben vowed vengeance, but then chickened out when he saw Dez's son, Charlie. So, that's it? War over? Does Widmore want Ben dead? He couldn't kill Ben when Ben was standing in his bedroom (rules?) but he could send a mercenary team to the island and have him captured/killed?

It hasn't gone away. The War isn't over, it hasn't started yet.

14. Did Widmore want to kill everyone on the island, as plan B, like Keamy claimed?

Yes. I'm guessing he's an agent of the Man in Black.

15. Why can't Widmore find the damn island? He was married to Eloise or at least getting it on with her, and she has the hook up now, and he knows where she lives in L.A., but he can't get some updated coordinates from her?

They don't much like one another I'm guessing, as evident by Farraday not knowing his daddy.

16. What matters more, Ben vs. Widmore, or MIB vs. Jacob? -Their war doesn't seem to be for control of the island, since MIB justs "wants to go home."

Ben vs Widmore IS Jacob vs MIB. It's all the same. They're pawns of Jacob and the MIB.

17. Where is home?

Great question. I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's a when, not a where.

18. What is the smoke monster? Why does it make a mechanical sound?

The smoke monster is the man in black. It makes that sound because it's creepy. Seriously, I think that's the only reason.

19. What is room 23? Who designed it? Why are the Degroots in the images, before you see the message "Jacob is good." (-message might have said something else similar). Are Dharma and Jacob related? (I think they are).

Good one again. I think you may be right.

20. What is Jack's ultimate mission? There is no clear cut antagonist, there is no clear cut journey, he has no clear cut flaw. He has no willpower to want anything at this point, really. When do we find out the endgame? What's the cleverness in withholding from an audience and smiling and keeping us engaged by telling us "Trust us writers, we have a master plan" if, with 16 episodes left, we have no inkling what that plan is?

Jack's ultimate mission is redemption. He has a clear cut flaw: HE SUCKS AS A LEADER AND YET LONGS TO LEAD. He must heal others but can't heal himself. His endgame is reconnecting and forgiving his father and learning to follow. I think he will become a servant of the island.

Good questions. What say you all?

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2 Comments:

Anonymous James Syrek said...

I do think Sayid is still Sayid, but he joins Naomi, Mikhail, Keamy, Claire, and others who have died and within a few minutes of their death, were resurrected. Just my guess.

I agree about Widmore. From what I hear, we're not done with him, yet.

February 09, 2010  
Blogger Ryan said...

Were the others really dead though? Sayid had no pulse. Plus, there has to be SOMETHING about the water that "changed him" right? I can't wait to see Widmore again. I hope it's very soon. Oh, and I'm going to repost some of your questions here.

February 09, 2010  

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