Lost: The Final Season (Premieres Feb. 2)

A few thoughts/responses:

Waylon Jennings: What, it will make it more special to find out that Jacob and the Man in Black are actually, say, Zeus and Ares? Odin and Surter? God and Lucifer? No, I think I'm good with these being characters specific to the show. I'm not sure what kind of "broader context" you seek, but you're setting yourself up for disappointment, and for a nice righteous rip at the show because it didn't do what you wanted it to do.

RickStain: I don't know for sure if the ship they saw last year was the Black Rock. Maybe, maybe not. I do know that seeing the ship on the ocean with an intact statue doesn't preclude it from being the Black Rock, since it had to approach the shore before smashing the statue. Also, the Black Rock had to get to shore before Richard could try to kill Jacob.
Does it matter who that ship was anyway? If it was a previous ship, Jacob brought them, they died. The story doesn't change until Richard gets recruited.
93Devil: I think it's obvious the show's underlying theme is about a couple of deities using people as pawns in their little game. While their conversation in last year's finale hinted at it, Jacob confirmed it pretty clearly last night. This is a staple in stories about all-powerful beings, from Greek Mythology to the Book of Job.
BRoth: Can't see how anyone can argue against that theory.

In a lot of ways, the show has gone way off the rails from what its early premise seemed to be. I personally love the Island mythology stuff, but they do walk a thin line as far as making this a battle of deities, and keeping from minimizing the characters we've all followed for six seasons. At the same time, they've done a good job presenting a narrative in which battles are fought on all levels, between every manner of character. And every conflict is important to those participating in it, even if the old Jack vs. Sawyer for the guns and medical supplies pales in comparison to Jacob trying to prove to the MIB that humanity can choose good.

Going forward:

- I'd like to see how the Others came to the Island, and just what Richard did to advise them to survive.
- The baby issue, still a major plot point that needs to get explained.
- I think we will find out who shot at Sawyer and Friends in the boats during the time flashes last year.
- Glad we know what happened to the statue, but it was kind of a cheesy answer.
- I think we'll see the history of Jacob and MIB. There's no way they skip that.
- The Island sinking doesn't necessarily mean Jacob or MIB won. We'll see.
- Desmond hasn't been around for a while, but I think he still has a major role to play. I wonder if he's like Joan Collins in a classic Star Trek episode, where she was a "focal point in time." She was supposed to die in a car accident, and history continues as we know it. But in an alternate timeline, she is saved, and leads a pacifist movement that keeps us out of World War II, which allows Germany to develop The Bomb first and take over the world.
Desmond is that "focal point in time" for Lost. Maybe he's an enforcer or overseer, keeping tabs on things in both timelines, making sure they run properly. He could be anything. But I expect we'll start to see him cross over when the timelines merge. Because they have to, right?

Who knows? Maybe he's the grown up version of the raggety kid in the jungle reminding the MIB about the Rules.

EDIT: Sepinwall:

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2010/03/lost_ab_aeterno_the_life_and_l.html

 

Jesus. It takes longer to read his recap than it does to watch the damn show.

Also, I happen to be watching the season premiere of Breaking Bad, and they reference a collision of two 747s over Tenerife, the place in the Canary Islands where Richard is from. Deadliest plane crash in history, in 1977.

 

So I was reading about the Canary Islands and found a few interesting things.

1. In the centuries since Plato’s death, those convinced of the existence of Atlantis have maintained that Macronesia (the Canary Islands, the Azores, Cape Verde and Madeira) constitutes the visible remains of the lost continent.

2. Classical writer Homer identified the islands as Elysium, a place where the righteous spent their afterlife.

3. The origin of the islands’ first inhabitants has long been a source of mystery, with theories being volleyed about for decades but none accepted as definitive. Everyone agrees that the Canary Islands had no indigenous population and that they’ve been inhabited since before the birth of Christ. So the people living here had to come from somewhere. But the question was, where?

 

The Sepinwall analysis linked above answers how the Black Rock could be on a calm sea at one point and being whipped ashore by a storm minutes later:

Remember, we're dealing with guys who can grant eternal life, turn into smoke and pull down airplanes. Jacob said he brought the ship to the island. The storm didn't bring them there. Jacob brought up a storm that tossed the ship ashore.

 

That wouldn't explain why the prisoners didn't comment on the suddenness of the storm, or why they were surprised to see land (presumably, if they'd been hanging around the island in calm seas, they would have already noticed it).

Occam's Razor. Yes, you can come up with all kinds of twists as to why it could be the Black Rock. Or you can assume it's one of the previous times Jacob brought people to the island, which were explicitly referenced in the last episode.


Edit: Unless you can actually see the name of the Black Rock on the ship in the flashback, in which case I'm just a doofus and it's a continuity error but nothing serious.

 

Very interesting stuff. And check out this....

Tenerife, a Spanish island, is the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa.

Under "History:" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife#History

Two sides. Kinda neat. Just goes with what you've already pointed out.

Also, that wasn't the ship from the beach conversation scene. I understand the whole Jacob having powers thing, but c'mon. That's careless and downright egregious writing if so and the writers aren't stupid.

I want you guys to check out this piece of fan art from SL-Lost.com. Just UNREAL.

http://www.sl-lost.com/images/tumblr_kzswspxcpz1qz8fzn.jpg

I'm going to try to get it turned into a poster.

 

You nailed my sentiments perfectly. I'm gonna miss this show something fierce.

 

Seven sources who have seen every episode up to the finale, but not the finale, answer questions about the remainder of the season. So much awesome spoilerage here, I officially recuse myself from any speculation or theory discussion for the rest of the show. I know too, too much.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RrObyQ3XzcY/S7Bz5gvY8HI/AAAAAAAAyYY/PbaZ74pqGMk/s1600/spoilers.png

 

Well I'm not reading it then. Is it true though that the title of the finale is "The End." Or are they just joking about that?

 

answer in super tiny spoiler text


The two-part finale is, in fact, titled "The End."

 

I'm totally staying away from it, too.

Yes, it's called "The End." Damon and Carlton confirmed it in their latest podcast.

http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/03/24/lost-damon-carlton-series-finale-title/

Also, Nestor Carbonell was "totally blown away" by the finale script.

http://www.sl-lost.com/2010/03/24/nestor-carbonell-blown-away-by-lost-series-finale/

 

Baaaaaleted! Widmore had that page removed.