In a normal LOST cycle, this would have been the season finale. It was gripping, it tore me apart, we found out some things that enlarge the scope of the mystery, and we had to say good bye. That kind of sums it up. That means I’m threading on unknown grounds now: the third act of the movie is over, the curtain has fallen. So what’s next?

The episode…

This episode was, without a doubt, the most disturbing LOST episode ever. I can stand losing Sayid – him deciding to do something good on a whim showed us that he was a good guy. Obviously, some of his storyline is left hanging. I personally think this will be the case with every character on the show (and will cause some people to be disappointed): Sayid incorporated the sickness, but what was it, in the end? Was it being persuaded by Smokey? It must have been. This makes the Sundown episode even more tragic: Dogen told Sayid – who had been fighting internally for six seasons – that he was a bad guy, and Sayid, tired by the fight, believed him. Interesting take on the sickness, and it makes sense if you look at Rousseau’s crew in season five. They were all persuaded by the monster, that was “only a security system”. Which was a downright lie. Oh LOST, you deviously humanist series.

Sayid had only been gone for moments when Sun and Jin got the axe in what I think to be the most disturbing LOST death ever. Just like Juliet’s death in the Incident, it was torn over multiple scenes – but opposed to Juliet, who had been a tragic-fated character right off the bat, it was never quite clear whether Sun and Jin were indeed tragic. It so appears they are: they spent six seasons trying to find each other, only to be killed in doing so. Makes sense why their reunion wasn’t the big tear-jerker scene. It’s really, really harsh, but I understand. I just would’ve wished for Jin to see his daughter. At least she’ll be in good Korean hands; and Mr. Paik will have a chance to redeem himself for all the mistakes he’s made towards Sun and Jin. You can do it, Mr. Paik.

Closure, twice over. Surely, it didn’t come the way or at the time we expected it to come, but it fits. It’s hard to admit it, and it makes me boil inside, but from a narrative point of view, these deaths fit. But what about Frank? Sure, it would be awesome to have him say one line per episode for about three seasons and have him go down saying “Aw Hell” and being hit in the head by an exploding door… But I want to see Frank again. Hey, I guess they filed him in the Ilana column. That’s the column where they put newly added characters that won’t get exposition because the fans get pissed every time one does. Nikki and Paolo were still awesome to me (in an sarcatic way), so meh.

The Questions…

The cat’s out of the bag. For anyone left in doubt, we now know that Smokey is a bad guy. But what about Jacob? He’s responsible for a lot more deaths than Smokey is – after all Jacob caused the Losties to crash on the island, killing hundreds. Smokey, on the very next day, killed one person: the pilot. A few red shirts and an angry black priest later, he might have reached half of Jacob’s death amount.

Is this a “greater good” kind of thing? Is Jacob indeed an evil bastard? Oh LOST, I guess we’ll only know for sure who’s light and who’s dark in the near future…

Next week…

Next week promises to be something we’ve never seen before. Apparently, the episode will feature next to no cast members. Instead, we’ll get a more than healthy dose of Jacob and Smokey. The rules of the game might finally be revealed. I wonder if our man in black will finally get a name?

This might sound stupid, but whether or not a name is given to our nemesis seems very important to me personally. I remember that, when the show had only just begun and J.J. Abrams was still actively involved, Abrams gave a lecture about a box: it’s not about what’s inside, but the mystery of what might be. The thought of this box – also alluded on LOST sometime in the third season – intrigued me. Now, the question remains: do we want the ultimate thing in this series to have a name? Won’t every name be a disappointment?

In All…

Gripping, sad, so sad. There’s just nothing to say about this episode. Even if I did write so much, words appear to fall short. Getting on that submarine was the worst decision they ever made. In doing so, the LOST writers have effectively done the hardest there is to do for an author: kill your darlings.

Favourite Quote: Jin: “I won’t leave you. I will never leave you again.”