OK. We’ve had two weeks to process that season finale. Two weeks to think about what we’ve seen, two weeks to discuss, and two weeks to occasionally overwhelm well-meaning acquaintances who casually ask what we think about the show. Those people soon learn the error of their ways.
Now, avoiding the elephant in the room, first I have to thank spunky-buddies Adam and Evonne, who both alerted me to an ad that I missed. Near the end of the episode was an ad for Octagon Global Recruiting. You can see the ad here.
It’s pretty funny, actually. “We’re looking for people to fill a variety of unpaid positions.” And I love that “Janitor” is right next to “Neurosurgeon” on the list. Anyway, if you register on the site, you get a message that the Dharma Initiative will be contacting you shortly. There’s open recruiting in San Diego from July 24-27, which happens to coincide with the San Diego Comic-Con, which usually has a big Lost presentation. I’m kicking myself for being too poor to go. Does anybody want to take me?
It’s a popular theory that Jin may have survived the freighter explosion, espoused by Jeff Jensen at Entertainment Weekly and every single person I have spoken to for the last two weeks. I’d really like to think so, but I can’t let myself. Even if he got clear of the freighter, and I just don’t buy that Sun didn’t notice it (she was pretty focused), but even if he did, then he was left bobbing in the water. If the helicopter didn’t get back to the Island before it disappeared, there’s no way Jin made it back under his own power. I’m officially listing myself as “hopeful but resigned” when it comes to Jin’s fate.
Along those lines, the first time I watched the finale, I thought it showed Faraday and his boatful of extras being left behind, but now I’ve changed my mind. The last time we actually see them is when the sky goes crazy. They may actually have been transported with the Island. They were on roughly the same heading as the helicopter (something tells me Frank wasn’t as obsessive about the coordinates on that last flight), so they should have been within view when the copter went down.
Speaking of Faraday, I’m kind of embarrassed I didn’t think of this sooner: Remember his flashback earlier this season? He was crying while watching the news about Oceanic Flight 815. Not “That is a sad news story” crying, but “this guy is kind of unhinged” crying. It’s been implied that Faraday may be unstuck in time, just like Desmond. What if the Faraday we saw in that flashback was actually future Faraday displaced in the past? For that matter, if he is time-displaced, what’s going to happen to him now that Desmond’s off the Island? He’s Faraday’s Constant! The more I think about the various members of the Fantastic Foursome, the more fascinated I am.
Another member of the Foursome, Charlotte, is the subject of much discussion. In the finale, Miles talks her into staying on the Island by reminding her how hard she’d tried “to come back”, and she indicates to Faraday that she’s never found the place where she was born. We know that a woman can give birth on the Island if the child was conceived off-Island, but even that’s a dicey proposition. OK, so Charlotte could be one of the very rare Island babies. And she’s old enough that she could be a child of the Dharma Initiative. A proposition suggested by the aforementioned Evonne and others is that Charlotte could be Benry’s actual daughter with Annie. We don’t really know what happened to Annie, but it’s pretty clear that she is dead. What we don’t know is if she was wiped out in the Purge or not. Maybe she got pregnant on the Island and had to leave. Could Charlotte be that child? So Benry loses his adopted daughter that he raised from infancy and now he’s got a biological daughter he’s never met. Charlotte did seem to have a greater than average hatred of Benry when she and Faraday went to the Tempest. I like this theory. Goodwin indicated that Juliet might remind Benry of “her”, who I assume to be Annie. And let’s face it, with losing his true love like that, you can see why Benry would strap Alex’s boyfriend to the Chastity Chair for occasional deprogramming.
And speaking of spunky-pal Evonne, she was on-hand to provide details on the new footage that was added to the repeat of “There’s No Place Like Home – Part 1” on finale night. Now, usually when they claim there’s new footage in a repeat, it’s a scene of Locke climbing a ladder or Sawyer trying to find the magazine he was reading. But this time, the new footage was actually pertinent. In the Oceanic Six press conference, one reporter asks about the eight people who survived the crash. All the way back to Kate’s trial, their story has been that eight people survived, but the others died on the Island. And I’ve been confused all season as to whether they were claiming Aaron was born before the flight. Well, they answered that in the new footage, with Jack stating that the original eight survivors included the adult members of the Oceanic Six, plus Charlie, Boone, and Libby. It’s interesting that they chose those particular three, or why they even felt compelled to fudge the numbers. I think the specifics of their story will probably be more important next season. Two of the three they named are at least moderately famous – Has Charlie told you about his band Drive Shaft? No? Wait ten seconds. And in the early days on the Island, somebody recognized the name of Boone’s mother, as she’s apparently “the Martha Stewart of weddings”. Libby was rich and intermittently institutionalized, but we never saw any evidence that she was famous (or infamous). I’m thinking they named those three because giving them an actual date of death would discourage wealthy relatives or record executives from mounting a search. Regardless, that’s an interesting piece of information to bury in a repeat airing.
Well, we’ve got to get there sooner or later. Let’s talk about Locke. First off, let’s give Terry O’Quinn his Emmy right now. (Nominations are coming up, and I think Locke and Benry should have no problem getting nominated again this year, and I’m throwing Desmond into the works for “The Constant” alone. And in the Supporting Actress category, they’re just a bunch of useless drunks if Sun doesn’t score a nomination. When I have the power to give out Emmys on my own, the world will be a happier place.) He absolutely rocked this season and I want to send him a present. Second, most people I talk to think he was forced to leave the Island, just like Benry. I think these people are wrong. This scenario would mean that he moved the Island, so how was he going to get the Six back to the Island if he doesn’t know where it is anymore? No, I think Locke left the Island of his own accord, as we’ve seen Tom, Ethan, and Richard “Batmanuel” Alpert do. (We’ve heard that Benry left on occasion too, and we’ve seen his room of traveling paraphernalia.) I think that whatever is happening on the Island is so bad that Locke actually chose to leave to assemble the rest of the Lostaways. I tend to believe that if the threat to the Island could be solved by moving it again, Locke would make the hard decision to move the Island and lose his paradise. I think this has to be a threat from within, and I can’t imagine how bringing back the Lostaways would solve it. Kate’s more about contributing to problems than, you know, solving them.
Spunky-writer Casey wonders if “Jeremy Bentham” used a wheelchair when he visited the Oceanic Six. That’s a good question. Did the Island completely heal Locke’s injuries, or is only able to walk on the Island. I, along with the Lostaways, have assumed that leaving the Island would bring back Rose’s cancer and take away Locke’s legs, but we don’t actually know that. Who knows how Island magic works? Well, Jacob. But that’s it!
It occurs to me that Locke may not be so popular with the surviving Lostaways. Not everybody’s plugged into the coconut Internet (Thanks, Sawyer!), so a lot of them know that there was a lot of talk of rescue, and then suddenly that all came to an end. Things might be a little tense there. At this point, the surviving Lostaways are the ones who chose not to follow Locke, so they may be a trifle upset that the guy they didn’t trust is leading the people who kept them living in fear for most of their time on the Island.
And then we’ve got Locke in the coffin. I’m coming to grips with it, even if I did get an e-mail from Future Locke one year ago assuring me that he wasn’t in the coffin. Now, obviously if it’s important to bring Locke back to the Island that could well indicate this isn’t the end of his story. Is this all part of his plan? At the very least (fingers crossed) he has the chance for resurrection as a happy ghost. Heck, Christian Shephard’s in better shape on the Island than he ever was when he was alive. I’m not saying I’m not sad, but I don’t think it’s over just yet. Some people have mentioned that the key to Island resurrection is staying above ground. The people who’ve been buried, we never see them again. Christian and Mikhail, however, they seem to be doing fine. I’m going to cling to that like a madman.
There will be further bulletins as events warrant. In the meantime, keep sending your theories and Lost chat to ejfeddes@spunkybean.com – I’m always happy to hear from fellow obsessives. I’d also like to thank the good people at the local museum who made me my very own Swan logo. I forgot to mention them during the Finale, but I think we all had a lot on our minds.
And now, spunkybean is pleased to present a special treat. My fellow spunky-writer and frequent collaborator Myndi has an exciting feature that combines our love of Lost with our love of Dancing with the Stars. Take it away, Myndi!
The dust surrounding that gripping and breathtaking Lost season finale has settled long enough for us to show you some stunning pictures. The following were obtained exclusively by our spunkybean spy, who managed to infiltrate the Dancing With the Stars 100th episode party in Los Angeles. As it turns out, he (or is it a she? We’ll never tell!) was able to snap several shots of Benjamin “Benry” Linus, who must’ve been in town either right before or after he confronted Dr. Jack Shephard at “Jeremy Bentham”‘s funeral. He sure looks like he’s having a great time, doesn’t he? He cleans up well, too! And check out all the hot ladies who are clearly smitten…Juliet, eat your heart out!
