A thinning of the herd on LOST

So... We got some answers on LOST. Or rather, FLocke eliminated some possibilities with his trickery. Anyone still think that he is somehow the good guy and Jacob isn't?

First things first - It was oddly satisfying to see Kate get shot. As in, I laughed like a madman when it happened. Unfortunately though, it seems pretty clear that she will survive, as a bullet, dynamite and sinking submarine aren't enough to kill her.

Tackling the deaths in order of occurrence, it was neat to see Jack's faith in Sayid being redeemable actually pan out. When it became clear that FLocke double-crossed them with the C4 and the submarine, Sayid was the one who tried to swallow it, Mask style. This did create another unintentionally funny moment though, when Hurley said he was going after Sayid, even though he had been blown to bits with the explosives.

Second, the scene with Sun and Jin was pretty gut-wrenching. It wasn't at the level of Desmond and Charlie, because I haven't formed as much of an attachment to them, but the scene was still really well done. However, it does make me think that somehow, Bizarro LAX will be the "real" world when all is said and done. Things are ending up a bit more "happily ever after" in that world as opposed to the Island, where people are now dying left and right. I don't see the creators of LOST being comfortable with just killing off half the cast for reals.

Speaking of Bizarro LAX, there was some interesting stuff going on in it. Locke is now responsible for his and his father's paralysis; they were linked before, but it wasn't Locke's fault before. It seems like Claire and Jack are going to do some bonding, which is sweet. And there are still some interesting tangles out there to be undone, such as what happens to Kate, Sawyer, Miles and Hurley.

However, the super-duper most tantalizing thing out there remains Desmond in the well. Sayid confirmed that he left him alive instead of killing him, and with Jack, Sawyer, Kate and Hurley managing to escape the submarine, and possibly Frank as well, Desmond would seem to be their #1 target. He wasn't on the candidate list, so it's not exactly clear what role he will play. But Desmond seems to be affected by the theory Jack stated - FLocke can't directly kill them.

Grade: A

The photo of Sun and Jin is from this awesome, awesome LOST blog.

Belated but never imitated LOST commentary

Oh Desmond, you beautiful bastard!

Ahhh - I know everyone has been waiting with bated breathe for this oft-delayed LOST commentary. Well, relax. After many promises by me, it is finally, finally here. You can cease writing your local representatives in Congress. As an aside, I think I'm finally, fingers crossed, done with a lot of the heavy flood coverage I've been slammed with the past two weeks, so I believe I will be back to a more normal blogging schedule.

Anyway, enough with that; let's talk LOST. I thought the most recent episode, "Happily Ever After", was the second-strongest of this season, behind only "Lighthouse." However, that was a Jack-centered episode, so I imagine I might be in the minority who thought it was the best of the season.

"Happily Ever After" followed Desmond, who is definitely the best "cool" character on the show, since he has the least amount of drama. While Sawyer gets some snappy lines, he is also constantly crying about his daddy, his mommy, Juliet, Kate and how he stubbed his toe in fifth grade. And while I love Miles, his screen time has shrunk further this season, and I doubt he is going to get his own episode, unfortunately.

Therefore, Desmond is definitely my pick for the coolest character of the cast. He has the most straightforward and uncomplicated love story with Penny, which is a nice contrast from the doom and gloom misery of the rest of the cast. Even though they have apparently been separated at this point, I can't help but think that things will be fine for them at the very end. (Not so coincidentally, the final episode of LOST is simply called "The End", and I'm a fan of the simplicity.)

Focusing on the episode itself, Desmond was doing cool Desmond stuff, like surviving elctromagnetic pulses and being able to switch between Bizarro LAX and the Island at willing seemingly because of the presence of his constant, Penny. At least, that's the impression I got from the episode. After Widmore's wacky experiment that exposes Desmond to a bunch of electromagnet energy, the story rapidly switches to Bizarro LAX, and later in the episode, when Desmond meets Penny, he finally switches back.

In earlier episodes, it is suggested that Desmond is unique in his ability to switch back and forth - this is especially evident in the time travel episodes, since almost everyone but him dies from the switching. However, it does seem like the only other person completely knowledgeable about the split universes is Eloise Widmore, a.k.a. the mother of Daniel Farraday / Daniel Widmore. Like Miles, I think it would be quite interesting if she got her own episode this season, but with only six episodes and seven hours of programming left, that seems unlikely.

"Happily Ever After" did end a bit ambiguously, with Sayid killing Widmore's man accompanying Desmond through the jungle. Desmond easily agreed to Sayid's request to go with him, which makes me think he has a trick or two up his sleeve. His name wasn't seen on camera in the Cave of Candidates, and it doesn't correspond to a number, so he seemingly isn't one. Yet, this doesn't mean he isn't, and it doesn't preclude him from having special abilities either. After all, Miles can talk to dead people, and he's not on the candidate list either.

I will say that I don't think it is a coincidence that my favorite episodes of this season have been written by the show's executive producers, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. And thankfully, I have noted that they wrote the final episode, "The End." While some people have been down on the show, I still have hope that a good portion of things will make sense at the end, and I like what they've done so far this season.

Grade: A+

The picture of Desmond is from the episode summary of the excellent LOST Wiki site, which is accessible here.