Found in Lost: Thoughts on "There's No Place Like Home, Part 1"

We're nearing the end here. :( Only two hours left! Stupid writers strike. Anyway, click through for (tardy--sorry!) thoughts on Part One of the finale. And not that it's any surprise, but I feel obliged to point out as usual that spoilers lie ahead.

TOPH TUCKER '08

First of all, great Oz reference in the title. Lost is really an amazingly similar story—catastrophe plops our hero(s) down in a strange land that’s totally isolated from the “real world,” and they have to make it back, but it’s a bittersweet farewell, etc. And certain folks from home, interestingly enough, show up in that strange new land—with the multiple parts played by the same actors in Oz, and the “ghosts” in Lost.

Second of all, great to see some more of Richard. It’s nice to have him back. And I love the mirrors. Can we assume Ben was communicating with the rest of the Others? Apparently in morse code his message said "seize." As in, "I'm going to allow myself to be seized"? Or as in, "Seize Kate and Sayid"? Or as in, "Follow me, ambush the bad guys, and seize Keamy and the other freighter people"? Or something else?

Third of all, more coolness: we finally figure out when Jack finds out that he’s related to Claire and thus Aaron. Could this affect how comfortable Jack feels about raising Aaron? Does Kate know? And Sun’s buyout of Paik was very cool. Also: what about when Hurley walked into his abandoned house to find the coconut and whispers? At first I thought we were seeing elements of the island “leaking” into the illusion of the “real world,” which would go well with Hurley’s theory that they’re all dead. But no, it was just a party. But the writers are clearly hinting at stuff there. I loved how clueless Hurley’s dad was—“Hey! How's everybody doing? [laughs] What are you talking about? Building a fire or huntin' boars?” It was nice to see the numbers return, too.

Fourth of all, has anyone else noticed how Memento-esque this past season has been? Well, it really started with the Season 3 finale. But consider: that flashforward was the farthest forward we've seen yet. Ever since then, they've been working their way in both directions, forward on-island and backwards off-island. And in 2 weeks, the two plotlines will meet. And... then what? Where will the story go after that?

Fifth of all, I have faith in Ben's plan.

Sixth of all, great to (sorta) see the Orchid. If you haven’t seen the orientation video that was a Season 3 DVD extra, do so now:



Seventh of all, moving the island… OK, so we've seen things ostensibly teleported to around Tunisia before. The polar bear that Charlotte found, for instance, and Ben was wearing a jacket with the Orchid logo when he landed in the desert. (I don't believe he walked. Besides, he asked what year it was; it makes sense that time and space travel could be all wrapped up into one.) Can the Orchid teleport to there? Moreover, can the Orchid only teleport to there? Will the whole island be plopped down in the middle of the desert? Haha. I doubt it. Also, it’s clear now that moving the island won’t solve the Keamy problem, so it’s just one part of Ben’s plan, probably to keep Widmore from finding the island again. I bet the Keamy problem solution has to do with the monster or the Others or both swooping in to ambush (/"seize") them.

Let's look at the Orchid logo for a moment. We've heard from the producers that the Orchid is tied to the time/space properties of the island, and we know it's very dangerous. (Could it be tied to The Incident? Maybe teleportation requires enormous energy, so it has to draw on the electromagnetic anomaly, so it caused a leak and... yeah. Everyone seems to be scared to be around when it is used.) Anyway, logo. The spiral-like design (although it's actually just concentric rings) is definitely reminiscent of time/space/teleport/time travel/wormhole stuff. And what's that thing right in the middle? A hook, something to tether the time-traveller so (s)he doesn't become unstuck in time like Desmond did? A split, a branch in possible futures? A, um, bird?

Moving on: with the freighter laden with explosives and the helicopter not big enough (or having enough range) to save everyone who is saved, neither of those is looking like a great rescue method for the 6. Could something entirely new be introduced? Could they be teleported off? Am I overthinking it?

But one thing I think is key is this: we can't assume we know enough to even have a clue what happens next. The freighter took this show in an entirely new direction. Prediction may be impossible.

Season 1: intro to the island and characters
Season 2: the hatch
Season 3: Hydra Island; the Others
Season 4: the freighter
Season 5: ???
Season 6: ??????

But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s see where the Oceanic 6 are now:

Jack: With Sawyer at the Orchid
Kate: With Sayid and the Others, trekking through the jungle
Hurley: With Ben and Locke at the Orchid
Sayid: With Kate and the Others, trekking through the jungle
Sun: On freighter, with Aaron
Aaron: On freighter, with Sun

Also worth noting: Ben is captured by the freighter people. When he confronts Sayid at Naomi’s funeral, Sayid asks how he got off the island:

SAYID: How did you get off the island?
BEN: Your friend Desmond had a boat. Remember? The Elizabeth. I followed a heading to Fiji. Then I chartered a plane.

So when the Oceanic 6 leave, Ben is still on the island.

Also remember that Matthew Abaddon, ultra-creepy deep-voiced guy, told Locke that he’d seen him again some day. Abaddon is (apparently) one of the Widmore guys. Could Locke end up getting captured and taken to him?

Assuming the Oceanic 6 get off by the end of this season—and it would be very annoying if they didn’t, haha—how could that work? Either the island people need to get to the freighter, or—if the freighter’s going to blow up—Sun and Aaron need to get back to the island and get, you know, teleported out or something. Frank could pick everyone up in the helicopter, fly them back to the freighter, and then the island could teleport away and disappear, meaning there’s no point in trying to fetch more folks from there. And then the freighter would go to Fiji or something.

Alternately, as the freighter explodes and the island skedaddles, the 6 could squeeze onto the zodiac or helicopter and teleport through a wormhole in the storm that surrounds the island. (Without some kind of teleportation, neither has the range it needs.)

I don’t think the finale will be anything as huge as the introduction of the flashforward last season. But it’ll be good. I’m excited. :)

Images from Lostpedia