I think I may still be crying from last night! I know that I am biased to this show but I challenge any show out there to come up with a better and more satisfying ending than what we just saw on Lost.  After six years of building and building you would have to wonder just how brilliant and involved the writers would have to be to come up with just the “right” ending, and they managed to do it.

Do we still have questions, YES!  But I’m OK with that.  I really started getting it in my head that I didn’t want them to answer everything.  I like my ideas and my theories and sure, they could have addressed a few of the bigger issues but I really am OK going out like we have.

NOTE: I don’t have a copy of the epi last night so I don’t have screen caps yet.

1.  Yes, I watched Jimmy Kimmel live and he addressed two items that I thought about as well.  One, why weren’t Michael and Walt in the church?  The first thought is that Walt isn’t dead yet so he can’t be there.  As for Michael, is he not headed to the same white light they are?  Harold Perrineau said it is because Michael is “trapped” on the island, like he told Hurley earlier this season.  I like that better than what I thought.  The other idea he presented is that the show was Jack’s redemption song, if you will and I like that too.

2.  However, I was laying there last night and still crying… and thinking that there were many of them that found redemption on the island.  Yes, Jack was our main character and the show really focused on his redemption especially this season but I like to think that the reason they can all meet in the church is that they all found their redemption.

3.  I also like the idea that in many religions that there is the theory that you are reincarnated, if you will, until you get “it right” and at that point you can go on to heaven.  I don’t think that everyone in that church died at the same time but that they were all kind of wandering around waiting on each other to come before they could all go.  I think the message there is of hope.

3.  So I guess Jack and Jacob had a little more talking off camera.  Sounded like Jack knew that he was only the temporary carrier of the torch.

4.  I was thrilled that Richard didn’t die so easily at the hands of Smokey.  I loved that by releasing the light Richard was set free and started showing a gray hair.  I just wonder after being on an island for hundreds of years what on earth could he possibly do back on land?  Imagine the culture shock!

5.  And I also never would have guessed Claire and Kate BOTH raising Aaron.  Nice touch.

6.  When Jack was down in the cave I kept expecting him to come roaring out as a plume of WHITE smoke.  Especially when he woke up in a very similar position as MIB after he was thrown in the cave.  His death, if I may, was beautiful and poetic.  And when Vincent came over and laid down beside him it was all over for me.  I couldn’t actually fully see the ending because I had a good “ugly” cry going on.

7.  So Des got a look at “the other side” when Widmore had him in the cabin with the electromagnetic energy and that is why he did whatever they needed him to do.  He knew that on “the other side” he would end up with Penny and his friends and he knew that everything that happened on the island didn’t matter.  I like when he is about to go into the cave how he tries telling Jack but Jack seems to still be holding on to one little bit of his science minded side.

8.  I love that this episode opens basically telling us the end.  The coffin is not for Christian at all.

9.  So David was what?  Just a wish of Jack’s?  That in an of itself is totally heartbreaking.

10.  I can’t believe that the big Jesus statue with it’s arms open didn’t clue me in to what was really going on.   Then there was Kate asking why she was “here” and Des telling her that no one could tell her why she was there.  And him telling her that he just wanted to leave.

11.  I was totally expecting Eko to show up and preside over Jack’s funeral.  That was disappointing actually.

12.  Them all being dead in the side time line explains why they could see the flashes of the island (life flashing before their eyes) but the island folks couldn’t see to the side.

13.  Miles and Sawyer both got off the island.  I guess those two really could become cops back home.

14.  I love that Hurley is the real care taker of the island and that Ben agrees to help him.  I bet Hurley could come up with some crazy rules for that island.  Did the writers know this way back when?  I remember Hurley coming out of the forest in a robe looking very angelic back in one of Charlie’s weird dreams.  I worry about Ben though because we have seen that he’s got a very, very bad side.  I would hope by Hurley telling him he was a “good number 2″ that means that Ben was good to him on the island.

15.  I guess Desmond’s flash of seeing Claire get off of the island in a helicopter was wrong.

16.  The smile on Hurley’s face when he first sees Charlie is priceless.  Sweet.  I loved when Sayid asks him “what was that” he says “that was Charlie.”  LOL’d

17.  And Vincent!  Hooray!  I’m so glad, even though it’s silly, that we got to see the fate of that dog.  I guess we can assume that Rose and Bernard do live happily ever after too now the Hurley is running the show on the island.  They are the new Others, only they don’t get involved.

18.  Des is the only one that crossed to the other side and came back.

19.  Since this seemed to be Jack centered redemption, then the show ending on the 23rd makes even more sense.

20.  Cracked me up when Flocke asked Jack how he planned to kill him and he told him it was a surprise.  Sounded like something Sawyer would have said.

21.  Dan and Charlotte aren’t “ready” yet and thus no flashback and they are not in the church.  Plus, they weren’t really a huge part of the Losties lives so I can see why they wouldn’t be there.  Plus it was nice that they left Dan behind to be with his mother.  As mothers we can understand why she would want him to stay with her.

22.  I loved the look on Charlie’s face when he sees Claire.

23.  MIB cracks Jack a good one upside the head with a rock.  Like mother like son!

24.  The Jack and Locke fist fight was a long time coming and it did not disappoint.  Especially the part where Jack pushes him off of the edge of the cliff.

25.  Did I mention yet that it’s a good thing Des got them all dressed up since they are all going to their funeral (s)?

26.  There has been a lot of speculation about the rain.  I think that the rain is brought on by the light or the island.  What it means is still to be discussed but after Des uncorked the light it started raining.

27.  I’ve rethought (already) why Ben didn’t go inside the church.  His real love is Alex.  Alex is probably not ready yet to cross over.  Ben logically wants to wait for her.  Christian says everyone wants someone to cross with and it makes sense that Ben would want to cross with her.

28.  Duct tape.  I think that they have a new use they could show in their ads.

29.  Did you guys have the Lost-related Target commercials?  I really loved that someone on-staff is obviously a Lost fan and they would make special commercials just for us.  I will do more shopping there just for that.  I already do shop there but I may think of them first for other things now too.  I couldn’t TiVo through them so at least they were entertaining.

30.  Fitting for MIB to die the way the Locke should have.  Locke was thrown from the window and landed just like MIB did on the edge.  I’m also glad they let him go before the end because I didn’t want the end to be a scene of them fighting.  This gave time to really build to a meaningful conclusion to the show.

31.  After Hurley drank the water (which was filthy, btw) he looked like he kept waiting on something to happen.  Can Hurley give Ben everlasting life like Jacob did for Richard?

32.  I was holding my breathe until the plane made it up in the air.  This show is so unpredictable I wasn’t sure if they would really make it or not.  But I’m glad they did.  And I’m glad that I can make up what happens from there for myself.  And if you’ve ever seen Stephen King’s The Langoliers you were probably wondering what they would face once up in the air too.

33.  So the plug in the cave is like one big button to press?

34.  Jack wakes up in the same pool area that we’ve seen many times.  Kate and Sawyer took a swim there and Kate, Jack and Hurley woke up there after being transported off of the Ajira flight.  It must be close to The Source and would explain why it’s special.

35.  I will post some screen shots of the office Jack enters at the church.  Appears to be religious symbols from every religion you can think of.  Bravo Producers.

36.  Jack and his daddy issue = RESOLVED!  And wow was it moving.

The End.

click to enlarge

What did they die for? I was thinking back to Season 2 (I think) when Locke had Ben trapped in the “safe” with Sayid.  Jack tried going to stop Sayid from torturing Ben.  Locke stopped him and said something to the effect that anything happening behind that door was necessary because they are in a war.  My point being, everyone being brought to the island and perhaps even their deaths is part of that same war – the war between good and evil.  The people brought to the island both Flight 815 and before are soldiers in the war.

I also think when Jacob told Richard he brings people there to “prove a point” to MIB that people can make the right choice.  But so far what choices is he talking about?  Ben chooses to be with MIB but does that make him immediately bad?  The killing people part was before he agreed to side with MIB and at that point he was supposedly on Jacob’s side.  And why bring people to prove a point?  Is he lying?  Which is the correct answer- bringing them to prove a point or bringing them to take over for him?  Or, and I think the most accurate, bringing them there for company because being alone on an island for all those years sure can make one pretty lonely.

1.  On an aside, I just watched Josh Holloway on Jimmy Kimmel and he mentioned the best show idea.  If there would be a spin off I’d watch this is the one!  Sawyer and Miles cop show.  Now, wouldn’t that be fun to watch?  No island mysteries, just a good old fashioned cop show.

2.  Is this eye opening thing ever going to amount to more than just a common thread between episodes?  Now that we are down to the wire I have my doubts.  However, I have decided that I’m OK not knowing all the answers.  Sure, it would be nice to have some explanations but I am OK with my theories on things and I don’t need everything explained.  I’m hoping mostly just for a killer ending (which I have a theory on and will post later here).
click to enlarge

3.  Looks like the original timeline is literally “bleeding” through.  I cannot believe that the writers would show us this twice without it having significance.
click to enlarge

4.  How odd that Desmond calls Jack to lie about finding his father’s body.  Jack is already going to the concert so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

5.  Out of the four left Hurley has suffered the most loss.  He has lost Libby and Charlie on top of Sun, Jin and Sayid.  They’ve put him through a lot and I’d like to see somewhat of a happy ending for Hurley.  I’m not sure the other three will get that but seems like Hurley also has the most to lose back home too if he would decide to stay on the island.

6.  Here’s Ben getting beat up again.  A couple of things about this scene.  First of all, Desmond is acting like Jacob here beating people up.  Seems like Jacob had a hot temper.  Also, Desmond didn’t need to beat the crap out of Ben but when Ben asked the question of who he is Des seemed less interested in getting Ben to “see” something as far as enlightening him and more interested in some overdue revenge from when Ben tried to kill Penny.  Lastly, Des says he’s there to get Locke to “let go.”  Maybe someone by getting Locke to let go he’s trying to really get to Flocke and have him let go of the hold he has on Locke’s body?  What else is Locke holding on to that he needs to let go of?
click to enlarge

7.  I want to know what Alex said that Miles was picking up.  Perhaps we will still find out in a moment where Miles needs some ammunition to calm down Ben?  Why else show this to us and remind us that Miles can hear the dead?  Miles even started to say, “I don’t think…” before Richard stopped him.
click to enlarge

8.  Ben says that he was told he could summon the monster.  He also says that was before he discovered it was actually summoning him.  Who told Ben about the monster?  I’m thinking Smokey himself.  Maybe for a real reason and maybe just to mess with The Others and have a little “fun.”

9.  I know you’ve said that you really like the mean & evil Ben and I agree, he plays a fantastic bad guy.  I think that Ben did intend to help the Losties until he saw Widmore.  I imagine he was REALLY irritated when Widmore started bossing him around too.  Then for Widmore to say he talked to Jacob (knowing now that Jacob talked to Ben for the first time in the foot) must have just put him over the edge.  Ben decided then that he wanted his control back and the only way to do that was to side with Flocke.  Guess he got part of his wish, too, when he got to kill Widmore.

10.  Ben’s reflection looked somewhat distorted to me.  But that just might be my perception.  I did got back and watch this several times and it looks like Ben furrows his brow almost like he knows something or suspects his own reflection.
click to enlarge

11.  Sawyer tells Miles that he isn’t going to the concert.  I guess if Des clues him in that 3 fugitives are there he can get him to go there!

12.  It is really weird that Des asks Kate “… and how are you doing today?”  I can see why she and Sayid would think he was insane.

13.  Every once in awhile Sawyer’s humanity pokes through.  I figured he was going to feel responsible for Sun and Jin’s death but not enough to volunteer to take over Jacob’s job.
click to enlarge

14.  Jacob must pick and chose who he “reveals” himself to.  When he appeared as a little boy originally Sawyer could see him and now Hurley can see him but not Kate.  And why show up as the little boy to get the ashes from Hurley?  Hurley would have readily handed them over to adult Jacob.  Again, may be an unanswered question so let’s make our own reasons!  Because like the magical spell put on the water that turns an ordinary man into a timeless island man, Jacob can only set the spell as a boy that will enable him to appear to all of them and have a fireside chat.  There, I don’t need their reasons, I have my own!

15.  Red flowers all around Jacob.
click to enlarge

16.  The last we saw of Richard he was flying through the air.  I am not on board with believing he is dead.  It was just too abrupt for a character of his importance.  Plus, I think that at some point Ben will show a morsel of kindness to Richard in appreciation of him burying Alex.
click to enlarge

17.  Cute, Alex tells Ben he looks like Napolean.

18.  Alex asks Ben why someone would beat him up and Ben says “I guess they had me confused with someone else.”  Yes Ben, Des sure did.

19.  I liked seeing Danielle all cleaned up.  And if this is not the last couple you would put together in Lost then I don’t know who is!
click to enlarge

20.  Widmore says he brought Des back because of his resistance to electromagnetism.  Could they be planning to throw Desmond in the cave of light?  Will that be what stops MIB?  Or maybe Des can go into the light cave and extinguish whatever source keeps MIB alive.  We know Des can survive it.

21.  I thought for sure that Flocke was going to cut Widmore’s throat when he leaned in to whisper.  Who knows, he might have if Ben hadn’t shot him first.  And, I wonder if Widmore didn’t really give him the reason he is there or maybe not all the information.  They better hope so!

22.  Ironically, Flocke tells Ben that he got the info that he needed before Ben shot Widmore so “no harm done.”  Yeah, no harm, just two dead bodies.  Ho hum.

23.  Sawyer asks a good question, why should they pay for Jacob’s sins?  He doesn’t really answer the question but rather goes on to speak about their lonely existence back home.  I also wonder if Jacob also answered the infertility question.  He took Kate off the list because she became a mother.  Perhaps those on the island were all candidates and Jacob couldn’t use a mother so he selfishly ended their pregnancies?  He did say to them that he chose them because they needed the island as much as the island needed them.  I suppose when you become a mother there is someone that now needs you more than the island.
click to enlarge

24.  I love Sawyer’s line, “And I thought that guy had a God complex before.”

25.  However, Hurley follows by stating he’s glad it’s not him (taking Jacob’s place).  Makes me wonder… it really seemed far to easy to have Jack take over.  Perhaps Hurley just gave us some foreshadowing?

26.  Jacob really needed to get some MacCutcheon whiskey to inaugurate Jack into the Island Protector job.  Now that would have been an ironic twist!  Crappy pond water isn’t nearly as special.

27.  Now that Jack is the great island protector can he start making up his own rules since Jacob got to?

28.  Right after Jack drinks the magic pond water he sure looks like he suddenly knows stuff.
click to enlarge

29.  Kate tries her best to flirt her way with Saywer and get out of jail but he isn’t having it.  That is good because he needs to be single for when he meets up with Juliet.

30.  Flocke really made a big mistake in telling Ben that he’s going to destroy the island.  I believe that Ben was totally on board with Flocke until he found out that Flocke is going to destroy the one and only thing left in his life that he cares about and that is the island.  With a backpack full of C4 I’m sure that Ben is now going to be devising a plan to off Flocke and regain control.  Perhaps a Ben versus Jack ending to all of this?

31.  My thoughts on the ending are this.  I cannot believe that the writers are going to give us a happy ending.  If it was up to ABC that is exactly what we would get.  But these are the same writers that killed off Charlie, Sun and Jin (knowing they had a little kid at home) and just had Flocke slit Liz Lemon’s throat.  I think that when everyone converges at that concert Faraday is going to do a little course correction and kill them all.  This new timeline was not supposed to happen and he told Des that he is responsible.  The enlightened ones will know that, like Jake in The Dark Tower series would say, there are other worlds than this.  If he blows them up they will still exist somewhere.

32.  Or we may have a Stephen King ending where Jack opens the door only to find himself right back where we started, only with one tiny change that shows the viewer that he has another shot to get it right.  Perhaps Jack will wake up in the bamboo with Vincent by his side.

33.  One last thought, Miles hasn’t heard Flocke speak yet, right?  Does that mean he’s the only one left that can kill him?

I think the title this week is ironic.  I don’t know based on our known history of these characters that any one of them will have a happily ever after – except maybe Rose and Bernard.  Things look good as of the end of this week for Desmond and Penny but I’m very skeptical if it’s going to turn out where they can sail off into the sunset.

1. Typical opening scene with Desmond’s eye.  I can’t help but think back to Jacob’s cabin a few seasons ago when the eye appeared and freaked out Hurley.  Whose eye was that?  I’m not saying it’s Desmond’s eye but knowing that he can manipulate time and space then why couldn’t it be?  It could also be that at the time 4 X 01 was filmed they didn’t have Jacob and MIB cast so they just used “someone” but it’s far more fun to speculate.
click to enlarge

2.  If the generator hasn’t run for 20 years then does that mean they’ve been preparing all these years for this moment? What else could they have needed this large of a generator for?

3.  Call me crazy but this sure does resemble the inside of Jacob’s cabin.  Insert a crazy dog painting and there you go.  Could Jacob’s cabin have been more than just a place for Jacob to sit and wait on Ben to come for orders?  Could it have been some kind of portal between time lines?
click to enlarge

4.  Maybe they should have drug the fried dead guy out of the cabin before bringing in Desmond.  Might have not been such a scene that way.

5.  How does Widmore know that Des survived an electromagnetic blast?  Technically a lot of people, including Charlie, survived when Des turned the key.  But someone from the island got word to Widmore about the blast.   Also, this “test” that Widmore does this week is not the blast that he needs Desmond to survive and is not what he needs Des for yet.  They still need to channel the energy from the pockets on the island.  Maybe Des is going to be the conductor to the MIB and that is why is so OK going with Sayid.

6.  I don’t think we’ve seen what Des is going to have to sacrifice but I’m guessing that it’s his life in one of the two time lines.  Widmore showed him that he will have Penny either way so he can die in one and still have her in the other.

7.  OK, so they are using electromagnetic energy on Des so he can mind travel.  But I still think he’s got more work to do with this energy and that this experiment was just to set events in motion.  I like the “flux” gauge the best.
click to enlarge

8.  This show has had some pretty weak special effects but I thought they did a good job with this one.  Des almost looked like he was in a “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” scene though.
click to enlarge

9.  Also, right after Des gets “lit up” the screen goes white then to the clouds.  This all reminded me of Juliet hitting the bomb, flash to white then start this season in the clouds.

10.  SKID, you are right.  Two Desmond reflections.  I would guess that yes, it’s of major significance.
click to enlarge

11.  So many things about the Losties lives are the same in both timelines and it brought them aboard flight 815 even down to the outfits that they have on.  Yes, there are some major differences in their lives (Saywer and his job, Jack having a son) but many things are the same.  In the original timeline Desmond was not on board the flight because he was already on the island.  There are many, many differences in Desmond’s life.  In science experiments you throw in variables to see what the difference in the outcome will be.  I would say that whether it be Jacob, MIB or Widmore playing this game, Desmond is for sure a variable on the board.  His choices, his fate affect the direction of all of their lives.

12.  Desmond reflecting on things that could have been, or were, or might still happen.
click to enlarge

13.  Widmore tells Desmond that unless he can get Drive Shaft to the charity even that his wife (Eloise) will “destroy” him.  Nice wording.  Probably literal.

14.  Desmond is finally worthy of Widmore’s MacCutcheon whiskey.  Widmore needs him now whereas before Desmond didn’t appear to be on the right path.  Maybe previously Widmore thought Des wasn’t “ready” and in this time line it’s Eloise that thinks he’s not ready/
click to enlarge

15.  I’m sure we will look back on this painting and it will mean more by The End.  For now I’m guessing it’s a wish for the scales to balance again.  I’m going to firmly take sides and speculate that MIB is free in the new timeline.  Widmore needs to use Desmond to balance the scales which does make him a good guy.  Maybe he was a good guy in the original too.  I still think that him wanting to kill Ben was to stop Ben from killing Jacob.

click to enlarge

16.  How cool was it to see Desmond and Charlie back together again?  They were having drinks again just like they did by the campfire.
click to enlarge

17.  There is something very surreal about Charlie in the new timeline.  When they go in the water while Desmond is struggling to get out Charlie just closes his eyes and succumbs to his fate.  When they are the in the hospital he runs to be free and tells Desmond that there is nothing that they can do for him there.  Why?  I don’t think the guy is suicidal and there is something very special about him here.

18.  Not Penny’s Boat.  How does Charlie know to lift up his hand?  But the doctor says Des bumped his head and it appears from Sun’s experience that you can cross over when you bump your head.
click to enlarge

19.  And why aren’t these people on shore helping?  Why not throw over a life preserver or something?
click to enlarge

20.  The guy with Des at the MRI tells him to try and not press the button because then he’ll have to start all over from the beginning.  Ironic, don’t you think?

21.  OK, there is no way that the MRI machine sounding like Smokey is just a coincidence.  And Smokey also “reads” people like the machine does (like when Smokey comes, Desmond is having flashes of his past/other life).  Not that Smokey is an MRI machine but it’s still pretty ironic.

22.  Gratuitous Charlie screenshot.  I don’t know if we will get anymore for the remainder of the show so I just had to get one more in here.  I love his character and thought it was fabulous to see him again.
click to enlarge

23.  Eloise does not look very happy to see Desmond.  While everyone else is finding their happily ever after mates something tells me that Eloise and Widmore aren’t the happiest married couple.  Widmore has his agenda moving forward and she doesn’t seem to agree by trying to stop Des from finding out who Penny is.  And SKID you are right again, the same symbol that Juliet had branded on her.  I’m leaning towards Eloise being on the “black” side of the scale.
click to enlarge

24.  I think that Eloise wants to stop Desmond because she does not want him to interfere with this timeline.  My guess is that she probably made a deal with MIB to have her son back and doesn’t want Des to interfere with that.  Remember that MIB does try to deal to bring back dead people (Nadia, Richard’s wife).  She probably helped to free MIB in this time line in exchange for her son (Dan).  She reminds Desmond that he has the “perfect life” including the thing that he wanted the most, Widmore’s approval.  That was true for the old time line as well.

25.  Another list.  Eloise tells Des that he’s not ready to see the list.  Who knows how many Losties are on that list.  By the time he leaves the stadium, however, he is ready for the list and asks for a different one, the flight manifest.

26.  Two dead people from the island and both reflections are black.  Mankowski and Dan.
click to enlarge

27.  I’m thinking that the “museum” is special.  We know that Pierre Chang and Charlotte work there.  Eloise has a connection (the fundraiser is there) and Dan hangs out there.  I would guess we are going to see more Dharma connections come along at the museum this season.  Maybe the new lighthouse station is there.

28.  Why would Dan pull Des aside to talk about Charlotte and his crazy dream?  Could it be because Dan wrote more than just one page of crazy equations?  Maybe the page is in there where Dan wrote that Desmond Hume is his constant? Seems that Dan’s mind crossed over in his dream after being “sparked” by seeing Charlotte and that is how he remembered some of his physics.

29.  Yes, Dan is a musician but his book was left behind in 1977.  You can believe that Eloise and Dharma got their hands on that book and is probably how they know so much about time travel, Desmond, and the alternate time line.

30.  I also wanted to get a gratuitous shot of Dan in here.  He’s another one of my favorite characters and we might not see him again this season.   Oh and yes, of course he’s wearing the tie!  Now they need to bring in Juliet!
click to enlarge

31.  OK, did Dan tell us that this new timeline wasn’t supposed to be an that maybe the energy needs to be released to end it?  He speculates to Des that maybe “this” isn’t the life they were supposed to live.  He may very well have to kill off all of the Losties in one time line or another to set things straight and it sounds like from Dan’s speech that the new time line has to go.

32.   Anyone expecting Desmond to tell Penny, “See you in another life, brother sister” at the stadium?

33.  Des wakes up on the island and is ready to go with Widmore’s plan.  I think it’s part because he knows he will still be with Penny and part because he’s working for Widmore and gained what he wanted, his respect.  There is a remote possibility that Des’s consciousness switched places between the two timelines so that the Des that didn’t have Penny can continue without her (on the island) and the Des that loves her now has her again in the new time line.

34.  Did anyone else chuckle when Sayid just killed two people yet told Des that “these people are extremely dangerous?”

35.  The fact that Sayid doesn’t kill Liz Lemon Zoe shows that he still has a little humanity left in him. There is good and bad in everyone.

36.  What could Penny be training for when she’s running these stairs?  Could it be for a sailboat trip around the world?

37.  Is Des going to show the Losties through love that they have another life on the island?  What about those who didn’t have it?  Is he going to show him the way back to that love so that if he has to kill them all here they will understand or agree to go?  Locke had to find a way to convince them to all go back, maybe Des does too.

All my favorites all rolled up in one episode.  Desmond centric (I knew right there it was going to be good).  Charlie, Charlie and more Charlie!  And Daniel!  So far all the Des centric episodes have ranked up as my favorite TV of all time and this week did not disappoint.

1.  We didn’t need a “previously on Lost” this week because Des hasn’t been around yet this season.  But we did get the eye opening.

2.  Isn’t Liz Lemmon Zoe a geophysicist?  Why is she in charge of the meds for Desmond?

3.  If Ben shot Desmond then could he be working with Flocke?  Was he trying to stop Desmond because he knew that Des would come back to help stop Flocke and be used by Widmore?  It would also explain why Ben killed Locke, because he knew MIB needed his body.

4.  We get to see behind the scenes on Hydra.  But they didn’t just build this generator/time machine overnight so they must have been preparing for a long time much like when they were building the airstrip.

5.  I loved the lip twitch when Widmore tells Desmond that he’s back on the island.  Now THAT is acting!

6.  What sacrifice did Desmond make?  Did he leave his consciousness back in the new timeline and that is why he’s so docile once he gets back?

7.  Desmond is touching or interacting with each of the Losties much like Jacob did with them.  But, if the candidates are different this time it could explain why the numbers are different in the new time line (as they correspond with the candidates for this time line).  You will see that Hurley’s lottery numbers are different and thus I think that we have different candidates here.

8.  Looks like Minkowski is playing the same role the Creepy Eyed Man played in the old time line.  He’s driving people where they need to go.

9.  Nice scales in Widmore’s painting.  White and Black rocks, just like in MIB’s cave.

10.  Is Des going to have to take another sail boat trip? He was admiring the sail boat in his office – red herring or things to come?

11.  I was confused.  Charlie is NOT Widmore’s son.  I watched the scene back and Widmore wants Charlie bailed out because, he says, he needs him to come and play with Daniel at the event.  I love that Dan is now a musician, instead of a physicist.  I LOVE that Widmore is sending him right to Charlie so that Charlie can help him “feel it” or see what he needs to do.

12.  MacCutcheon whiskey.  Now Des can finally drink it. AND toasting his “indespensibility.”

13.  Interesting that Charlie can just walk across the street without getting hit. Much like how Michael couldn’t kill himself either and Jack couldn’t get the dynamite to explode.

14.  Reflection, full body, in the courthouse door of Desmond.

15. Charlie says “Spectacular, conscious-altering love.”  How apropos for this episode.

16.  Charlie sees Claire when he’s dead?

17.  I guess if you are going to get Des to do what you want then love would be the card to play.  However Widmore set this up he was right to use love and Penny to get Des to see or “feel” whatever he needs him to do.

18.  Choices – Des tells Charlie that there is always a choice. Then Charlie has to nearly drown (again) for Desmond to see what he’s talking about.  I really didn’t need to see drowning Charlie again as that scene will haunt me forever.  But we got the point brother!

19.  So there were guys walking around the pier and none of them jumped in or ran over to help?

20.  I thought for sure Des was going to go back to the island during the MRI since they were asking him the same questions and it’s magnetic energy.   But he did take quite the crazy brain ride!  Let me just say that it’s crazy and insane how the writers come up with these scenes.  To think this stuff up is genius!

21.  Whatever Charlie knows Desmond figures out by the end.  None of “this” matters.  No one in the hospital can help him.

22.  Eloise is surprised to see Des.  Probably because they are running at least a day ahead (according to what Zoe said to Widmore about not having the generator ready).  Widmore probably sends Desmond to Eloise to let her know whatever plan is taking shape here is going forward.  She tries to give him a similar warning as she did in the past.  What violation is he committing?  It’s almost as if she’s working on MIB’s side by trying to stop him.

23.  Nice Dan reflection – his was the first one where we couldn’t actually see him but only a black shadow.

24.  What is up with all these guys in love?  Dan talks about Charlotte (and I love that she’s eating a chocolate bar).  Then Dan wakes up and draws his advanced equations.  What if Des has to set off a nuclear bomb in the new time line to stop MIB and put things back they way they should be in the original time line?  That’s why Dan is back as he is COURSE CORRECTING!  In the new time line the MIB is free and roaming the earth and Des has to set off the bomb to stop him and put things back the way they should be.

25.  I was expecting Des to meet Jack again in the stands.

26.  I can believe a lot of things on this island but if you are a woman in a huge stadium running and some guy comes up to you would you shake his hand?  Would you go to coffee with him right after meeting him?

27.  And he touches Penny.

28.  Widmore had to know that Des was going to be taken.  Why else would he send Des out where he could get nabbed? And Des must know it’s OK to go with Sayid.  Maybe because Des left behind his consciousness in the new time line.  He’s now started on his mission.  His sacrifice is to leave Penny and Charlie behind in the old time line but he can begin again in the new time line.  If that is true and new time line is a good place then Desmond can show the Losties that Dan’s plan and Juliet’s sacrifice were both worth it.  why else would he need the manifest?  Or maybe he needs the manifest to find the new “candidates.”

29.  Sayid must have some decency in him as he tells Zoe to run instead of just killing her.

30.  Just had another thought.  Regarding the title – des finds his happily ever after in the new time line?  charlie found his in the old time line?

More numbers.  Good shots of the numbers.  But who is 108???  I’m voting Desmond.  He’s special.

1.  First shot.  Jack’s dad in a white suit, Jack and his mom in black.

2.  Second picture, Jack smiling with his arm around his dad.  Maybe Locke isn’t the only one in this new timeline that has resolved his “daddy issues.”  Not only do they look happy, but to have a picture of his dad out?  Most of us only keep pictures out of the people that we really care about, not some drunken relative that ruined our life.

3.  Jack looking in the mirror.  Seems to be a theme going here.  Alive on the “other side” and you look at yourself in the mirror (Locke didn’t).

4.  Jack suddenly discovers the appendix scar.  This Jack had it taken out at 7 or 8, Original Jack had his taken out three years ago.  He just now discovers the scar?  I’m thinking that things on the island are somehow crossing over like Faraday talking to Desmond  back in time then Desmond “remembering” it.

5.  I love that Jack has a kid and I love that he’s a “good” kid.  He gets his redemption with his son also.  Uh oh, we know what happens to characters that find redemption (at least on the island).

6.  Lots of reflections in this episode.  Next scene is Jack looking at himself in the water.  Jack seems to have some sort of “feeling” or intuition that there is more then just his one timeline.

7.  They must be going to do more with Miles then have him play tick-tac-toe.  He talks to dead people too.  Maybe one for each side?

8.  Hurley has become Jacob’s new Ben.  I remember Ben telling Locke that he wouldn’t be able to see Jacob and was shocked when he did hear him (help me).  Now Hurley is in the same position when Jack asks to see him.  And Ben told Locke that it didn’t work like that when Locke insisted he take him to talk to Jacob.

9.  The book David was reading “Annotated Alice’… Jack starts to talk about “Kitty and Snowdrop” who were the black and white kittens and according to Wikipedia, “At the end of the book they are associated with the Red Queen and the White Queen respectively in the looking glass world.”  Ah, so many crossover themes!

10.  Could anyone hear what David was listening to?  Jeronimo Jackson or Driveshaft?

11.  Jin hurt his “left” leg.  Locke was always hurting his left leg.  When Michael hurt his leg it was the left leg.  Claire points to her left leg when she says she was shot.  Probably doesn’t mean anything but at least they are consistent.

12.  Claire knows that they left the island?  If she saw the whole thing then wouldn’t she be shocked to see them back?

13.  OK so Hurley, dude,  THE best lines this week!  Indiana Jones stuff, Obi Wan Kanobi, lying to a samari… ROTFL!

14.  Dogan knows that the candidates are but Richard doesn’t?

15.  Do we know why the line “you have what it takes” means so much to Jack?  I’m thinking that he had conversation with his dad but not the specifics.  Jack talks to David near the end and says that his dad always told him that he “didn’t have what it takes” but can there be more to this then just the obvious?

16.  The doll that Claire has in the bassinet solidifies the fact that he is coo-coo for coco puffs.  That was so creepy!

17.  Oh yeah, and the fact that she just kills the temple guy without blinking an eye.

18.  And yes, I noticed how much she and Danielle were alike. But I think Claire has a huge lead on the crazy train over Danielle.

19.  I love the new crazy jungle claire too.  Without the perfect hair and make up she looks pretty cool!

20.  Claire’s buddy is Christian, I think she sees Christian.  Jin saw Locke.  He takes all sorts of forms.  Who will Jack see???

21.  It’s nice to see that Jack has stopped drinking back in the new time line.

22.  Did you catch the “McKutcheon” whiskey at Jack’s mom’s house?  I’ll get a screen shot.  It’s Desmond and Widmore’s whiskey if you recall.

23.  And Jack’s dad must not be too much better if he still has an illegitimate child (Claire) in the new time line.

24.  Should be very interesting when Kate does reveal she’s been raising Aaron.  Kate can really kick some butt and our new Claire is pretty intense.  Going to be quite the showdown.

25.  Shannon’s inhaler was finally found!  They thought that Sawyer stole it and if memory serves he got quite a beating over that thing.

26.  Did Hurley just tell us who is in the cave?  Is it Rose and Bernard perhaps?

27.  Was I the only one who loves seeing the caves again?  Very nostalgic.

28.  I think it was Jacob that led Jack to the cave.  Jacob tells Hurley that Jack has to find the answers in his own way and finding the coffin was probably one of the ways to lead him there.

29.  I assume that Sara is David’s mother but I guess it doesn’t have to be her.  I notice that they didn’t show the “mother” in any pictures, she was “out of town” when Jack went to the house and they never say her name.

30.  House key hidden in the rabbit.  Another reoccuring theme – rabbits.  But this bunny didn’t have any numbers on it.

31.  I guess by Jack hearing his message on the answering machine for David (before he left Australia) answers the question of whether this time line started on the plane.

32.  Jack came back to the island because he was broken.  Jack always has to fix things!  His faith brought him back because he thought the island could fix him.  And it will.

33.  Jack questions why they hadn’t seen the lighthouse before.  Maybe it’s like the cabin that appears and disappears.

34.  Remember how much Faraday wanted to play the piano but his mother wouldn’t let him because he had more important things to do?  I just can’t help but think there is some connection between David and Daniel.

35.  Dogan at the tryouts.  Coincidence?

36.  Gotta get screen shots again of those numbers.  Now this looks much more like Jacob’s work (very detailed and orderly).  I think Desmond is at 108 degrees.

37.  How cool were the reflections in the mirrors?  Will have to screen cap but I thought I also saw buildings from sun and Jin’s meeting with Jacob.  Why Jack’s childhood house for him to see?

38.  Someone bad is going to the temple?  Could that someone be Claire?

You must watch this YouTube video.  This guy is amazing with his “Lost” software how he explains the two parallel time lines exist.  Then there is this “deleted scene” from Season Five where Faraday also explains the split in time.

So, we can see how the island is underwater in the “new” 2004 airplane scene.  How?  In 1977 Juliet detonated the bomb.  The whole thing was gone and sunk the island (no, I don’t know how but come on, Locke turns into smoke so it’s possible here).  Butterfly affect comes into play.  Widmore has no reason to want to get back to the island (it’s underwater and everyone there is dead).  Desmond never sets sail on his around the world trip and lands on the island.  Ben and the Others back on the island never travel back and forth doing who knows what back on land.  Juliet never goes to the island.  Leonard would have never been chanting the numbers in the asylum for Hurley to use (yes, I know Hurley still won the lottery so it goes along with the theory that what must happen will happen).

In Season One people’s paths were crossing and it was fun to spot them but in Season Six their crossing paths now has a whole new significance.

If we believe the time line of Vaughn (the first video I linked) then the the two (or more) time lines will never cross.  But if we listen to Faraday he doesn’t say they will cross either but he does reiterate that whatever happened, happened.  On a side note, he says that he spent the 3 years back home recreating his all of his work back in Ann Arbor (if you recall that is where the DeGroots  founded the Dharma Initiative) so in this alternative time line they have access to all of Faraday’s work.  I can’t imagine what they might do with it in this alternative time line.

And let’s agree that Not-Locke was correct when he called their lives “pathetic” back home.  As we can see from this first episode, they are no better off with the plane not crashing.  Kate was better the original way because she didn’t have to go to prison and could stop running.

1.  Remember right after Faraday talks to Desmond about finding his mother Desmond wakes up with Penny and suddenly “remembers” the conversation?  When we first see Jack on the new plane he looks for a minute like he’s disoriented. I wonder if something similar happened to Jack in that we see him only moments in time after Juliet detonates the bomb.  Hopefully you understand what I meant here.  Not that she changed Jack’s present but it’s happening on two different plains of time simultaneously.

2.  I don’t know if they were serious, but Darlton were recently on Jimmy Kimmel and indicated that the fact that the stewardess only gave Jack one drink instead of two was significant.  But they joke a lot.  Time will be the judge.

3.  Darlton also told Kimmel that Rose being the confident flier while Jack was frightened has significance.  I think it’s cute that Rose tells Bernard she missed him while he was in the bathroom.  Or is there more to this as well.

4.  How is it that Jack doesn’t remember cutting himself?  And I love the scene here of Jack looking at himself in the mirror.  Symbolic of the time lines.

5.  If my theory is right then Jack would have never met Desmond in the stadium because Des would not have been preparing for his big sailing trip.  Ever had dejavu?  Jack is having it right here. Makes me wonder what my dejavu means.  Hm…

6.  Underwater shots.  Here you go!  Dharma security, Dharma houses, the swing set and even the Dharma shark!

7.  One thing has stayed the same, opening the scene with an eye.  But I have a hard time believing Kate could get her hands on false eyelashes.  Maybe she took them out of Claire’s bag.  Remember how Claire always had makeup on?

8.  If Artz is asking Hurley to site lines from his Clucky commercial, then these teasers this summer really meant something; Clucky Commercial, Kate on America’s Most Wanted.

9. I still want to know how the Dharma van traveled with them through time.

10.  Shouldn’t Rose and Bernard be in the current time with Jack and everyone?  And are we going to see Vincent again soon?

11.  Michael Emerson must be as excited at Terry O’Quinn for this season.  Ben is now tied with Not-Locke and way far away from being any kind of leader.  So his role and Not-Locke’s roll are going to reverse.  I can’t wait to see how these two guys embrace these characters.  You can see already the desperation in Ben’s face.  But he always has a plan, right?  Maybe Ben will be the one that saves them all.  That would be ironic.

12.  On a side note, are we going to find out anything about the “real” Henry Gale?

13.  Here’s the shot of Not-Locke sitting in the old rocking chair.  Looks like the chair from the cabin.

14.  Wow, Not-Locke can repel bullets too.

15.  Ash ring repels Smokey.  This makes me wonder who exactly was in the cabin.  We saw in the pilot episode (Season One) that the trees were being parted and the sounds of Smokey.  But I also thought for awhile that Jacob had Smokey trapped in the cabin.  Now I think that it really was Jacob in the cabin as it was surrounded by Ash.  I think it was Locke who ended up breaking that ring and that is when Jacob retreated to the foot.

16.  Locke had to die so that Smokey could take over his body.  But there is more to Locke then just a vessel.  Smokey also took over Eko’s brother, Christian and Ana Lucia so if that’s is all he needed then he could have killed Jacob before.  He needed a true believer, like Locke.  I wonder if Jacob also had Locke in mind for his own use?  Remember how Richard came to him as boy with his “test” that Locke failed?  They came to him again in high school.

17.  I think we are going to hear the Juliet- coffee line again with Sawyer.  I’ve said previously that I think she’s “mind” traveling between the time lines and that is how she knows the plan worked.  Elizabeth Mitchell did say that she has more then one scene in Season Six.  How the survivors will come to believe it is the next question.  Maybe Juliet will somehow retain her memory from the island in the new time line.  Maybe that is how Mrs. Hawkings knew to tell Desmond that he “had” to go to the island – she remembered or “mind traveled.”

18.  Yeah Charlie!  I really hope they bring him back more for this season.  Charlie and Hurley were good friends so I can hope.

19.  Looks like it’s still 2004 according to Sayid’s passport.

20.  Guess we might find out why this watch was so vitally important to Jin.  But all the money they find in his luggage makes me think that perhaps Jin was the one thinking of leaving Sun in this alternative world.

21.  I don’t think that we discuss enough what a great job Josh Holloway does with his role as Sawyer either.  We know what a great looking buy he is and to come onscreen with matted hair and all covered in dirt and blood, well he still looks good.  But I think he’s really brought something extra to Sawyer last season and so far this season.  I can’t wait to see how much he does this season too with the grief that Sawyer is going to be carrying.

22.  I’m thinking that although the island is underwater in the new time line, someone (whether it be Jacob or Not-Locke) needed that body and that is where Christian is.  I’m sure he’ll be popping up this season.

23.  Nice of Kate to walk away with the torch right as Jin and Jack are going around the huge, gaping hole.  But then she hears the whispers.  I know that it appears that it’s the new Others but I’m not 100% sure of this.  I could believe that they are talking in the cavern and the whispers echo, but it doesn’t explain how they traveled out in the jungle when the survivors heard them back in Season One.  I’m hoping there is a little more clarity coming.  Maybe all of the new Others at the Temple are dead or something like what Richard is?  Afterall, they do have a ragtag group of people – ranging from a hippie to a Japanese Samurai dude.

24. More red flowers!

25.  Here is the description of the new guy “Lennon” when they were looking to cast him.  “According to the casting breakdown, Lennon is the scruffy, edgy and charismatic spokesperson and translator for the president of a foreign corporation who is far more powerful than it seems from his position.”  Is the samurai guy president of a company back home?  Did they change their minds about his role?

26.  Jack didn’t care to know what the “risks” of putting Sayid in the water were because he’s not 100% a man of faith yet.  Jack just thinks Sayid is all but dead anyway.

27.  Non-Locke says he wants the one thing that Locke didn’t – to go home.  Why does that have to mean off of the island?  I think that the reason that the Temple Others got so upset knowing Jacob was dead was because the Temple is his “home.”  And I would guess that he can do very bad things from “home” especially considering that they have the magic water at the Temple.

28.  Jack tells Locke that nothing is irreversible.  What if Locke does go to Jack and have his back fixed?  Could Locke being fixed in this time line explain and carry over to another time line?  Could it explain how Locke suddenly has the ability to walk once he’s on the island?  I’m sure there is a subtle meaning to the line also but thought maybe there was a literal meaning as well.

29.  Here’s a shot of Jack’s card, in case it means something later.

30.  Right after Not-Locke knocks out Richard he says “I’m very disappointed in all of you.”  Huh, why?  the he slings Richard over his shoulder like an old boar.  Maybe he’s going to hold him ransom to get inside the Temple?

31.  I originally thought that Sayid was taken over by Jacob.  But when asked, Darlton would only say that “something” is inhabiting Sayid.  What are the possibilities?  We may not know yet.  After all, who could have ever dreamed that there would be a freighter appear or that only 6 would get home then come back.  But I would still prefer that it’s Jacob.

Faraday said that they could not change fate.  Charlie is supposed to die.  Mrs Hawkins explained course correction.  Their destiny called from the island.  Their destiny will still have it’s way.  Kate will keep running.  Sawyer keeps conning.  But Not-Locke put it best when he said to Ben that the survivors don’t even realize how pitiful their lives are back home.  Guess we are seeing that.  Will like to see how this destiny fixes itself.

I think we are dealing with two time lines running parallel to each other.  Jack did change history but I think that the two time lines are going to intersect at some point.  Thus proving Faraday’s theory that you cannot change your destiny.

1.  You could see right away that the plane ride was different.  The stewardess only handed Jack one bottle of vodka and in the original she handed him two.  Boone was without Shannon.  Claire must have changed her mind about adopting Aaron.  Charlie didn’t run past Jack to the bathroom. The cops didn’t take Kate, they took Charlie.  (and btw, YEAH CHARLIE!!!).  But these things would not have been different because Jack / Juliet set the bomb off.  And the island was underwater which Jack could not have changed with the bomb.

2.  Desmond.  Where are thou Desmond?  What was that all about? But omg he looked good!

3.  I need to screen cap but I swear that was a Dharma shark.  Graphics were pretty bad though.  And the foot was there so history wasn’t completely changed.

4.  Kate’s eye opens.  And she’s in a tree.  Cool!

5.  So at first I was pretty upset that they just didn’t leave Juliet where we last saw her.  Then I remembered an interview with Elizabeth Mitchell where she stated she came back as Juliet because her role was pivotal to the season.  She tells Miles that “it worked.”  Of course no one will think to question him further on this but this is a huge clue to what is going on with the alter-universe of their lives that we are seeing.  She also talks to Sawyer about going for coffee, dutch.  Was she traveling to the other time line?  Is she in some state like Faraday had Eloise (the rat)?  Traveling back and forth in her mind?

6.  So back on the plane Hurley tells Sawyer that “nothing bad” ever happens to him.  Back with the original Hurley only bad things happened.  He thought he was cursed!

7.  Like Ben, I also want to know why Jacob didn’t fight back?  Unless he knows that like the survivors back on the plane, you cannot change your destiny so he gives in to it.  Plus, can he possibly take over Sayid’s body?  Is that why he wanted Sayid at the temple so badly?  Is Sayid now Jacob?  Oooo, Locke versus Sayid?  Show down!

8.  I wasn’t sure if it was on purpose, but I remember in the Pilot Boone really wants to get a pen to help save Rose.  When Jack is trying to save Charlie on the plane he asks for a pen.  I found it amusing.

9.  So with Rose back home is she now going to die of cancer?

10.  Why did the Dharma van travel forward in time but nothing else tangible did?

11.  Wow, Jack is really going to be screwed up in his head with all these people dying on his watch.  We’ll have angry Sawyer, depressed Jack and not-Locke.  What a trio!

12.  Now we know why Locke was the only one old Smokey didn’t kill.  He looked inside and what Smokey saw was what he wanted.  He needed to keep Locke alive to take over his body.

13.  Did you notice Not-Locke sitting in the old rocking chair?  Just like the old rocking chair in the cabin.

14.  So where did Desmond disappear to on the plane?

15.  Sayid told us not to mistake coincidence for fate.  It’s no coincidence that Christian Shepherd’s body isn’t on that plane.

16.  Remember last season when Hurley told Sayid that he was going to have a time that he needed help and that he wouldn’t help him?  Guess he changed his mind because twice Hurley literally saved his life.

17.  And was Hurley hilarious tonight or what?

18.  Kate heard the whispers in the temple.  Then we see the Others in the temple.  Not sure I know what the significance of the whispers in the jungle were if it’s just these people.  I’m hoping there is more explanation to come.

19.  I’m worried about Hurley running around in that red shirt.  There was a problem in the past with people wearing red and then dying.

20.  I like how they “baptized” Sayid in the temple.  I think the Japanese guy knew exactly what they were doing in the water.  He knew that Sayid wasn’t going to die.  And we know from the past that bodies left out and not buried seem to be resurrected.

21.  Another question – who is this Japanese dude?  Will be interested to hear his story.

22.  Locke broke the circle of ash around Jacob’s shack last season.  Guess he must have let Not-Locke in at that moment.  I will have to come back o the significance of the ash.  Also, the guy in the temple was OK until he stepped out of the ash.

23.  Claire either was on the plane or lives in LA.  She was in the cab with Kate.

24.  Jack also had a pivitol line to Locke, “nothing’s irreversable.”  Interesting.

25.  Why didn’t Richard want them to shoot Locke?    Looks like Richard knows Not-Locke from way back.  I’m thinking Black Rock history?

26.  Is Terry O’Quinn the best actor ever?  He really gets to exercise his acting chops this season!  I love it!

27.  Where is Vincent?

28.  The bullet hit Non-Locke but seemed to bend (didn’t go straight through him).  What exactly is this guy?

29.  My hope is that this is the last of the Saywer and Kate love affair (with his grief over Juliet).

30.  On a limb here – MAYBE the plane didn’t crash because the circumstances weren’t right.  Last season they had to recreate the flight as close to the original in order to crash on the island again.  If Jack’s dad’s body wasn’t on the plane then maybe they couldn’t crash?

I have to go back and watch again.  Come back in a few days for more thoughts and screencaps!  Welcome back, looks like we’ve hit the ground running.

  Click to enlarge

Well, if Dominic Monaghan is really in this show then it may have a chance.  He says, however, in an interview that I saw that he’s not in the pilot but rather joins a few episodes into the show.  That could explain why I haven’t been able to find him in the show’s credits yet.  But… they may want to make a bigger deal of it if they are hoping to draw in Lost fans.

So … maybe not. But Dom looks good.