LOST Recap: Season 6, Episode 12: “The Last Recruit”

Hey everyone, thanks for swinging by the blog today!  Alright, so here’s my theory on last night’s episode.  I believe that how much you liked it is inversely related to how bad you want immediate answers.  If you’re patient, and OK with the writers telling the story at their pace, then you probably enjoyed the show.  If you’re dying for answers, and wish that most of the mysteries were already solved, then you probably thought that this episode dragged.  Personally, I enjoyed the show.  I feel like I’d be beating a dead horse if I said the flash-sideways stuff is still not overly compelling (whoops, too late!), but I’m thoroughly enjoying everything happening on-island.  And let’s face it, even if this episode wasn’t your favorite, it’s still miles ahead of what awaits us in June.  (That’s no new LOST, ever.)  So let’s get right to the breakdown of the episode, shall we?

The Last Recruit

Interestingly, this was never really addressed in the episode.  Couple that with the fact that the episode appeared to be multi-centric, and it’s hard to understand what the title was really all about.  I’m thinking that it referred to Jack, in that he was the last candidate to be recruited by Smokey.  If any of you have anything different, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

“You were trapped on this island before you even got here.”

Smokey tells Jack that he took the form of Christian

Perhaps the most fascinating part of the entire episode happened in the first ten minutes, when Jack and Flocke share a little one-on-one time.  First of all, Smokey admits that he has been posing as Christian Shephard since the LOSTies’ third day on the island.  This opens a world of thoughts about things that have happened throughout the series.  I guess the first thought is, is MIB lying?  Based upon how he qualified his answer, specifically about leading Jack to water, leads me to believe that he is not.  So then the question becomes, is every instance of Christian Smokey?  In alot of cases, that makes perfect sense.  It would mean that the Christian that appeared to Claire and convinced her to abandon her baby was Smokey.  It would also mean that the Christian that appeared to Locke and encouraged him to move the island and turn the donkey wheel was indeed Smokey, trying to get him off the island so that he would get himself killed.  But then you have to ask, what about the Christian that appeared to Hurley?  Was that Smokey as well?  Can Hurley not tell the difference between an apparition and Smokey?  If not, is there any guarantee that the Michael he saw two episodes ago was indeed Michael?  Wouldn’t it be easy (and fit into Smokey’s plans) for Smokey to appear as Michael and tell him to destroy all of the dynamite?  And then to make a beeline for Smokey’s camp?  Aside from that, what about the Christian that appeared to Jack off-island?  That couldn’t be Smokey too, could it?  Isn’t Smokey trapped on-island?  While this paints a fuller picture, it’s still not the whole story.

As much as that portion of the conversation opens up multiple lines of thought, the fun doesn’t stop there. Next, Smokey gives us a line that might be a throw-away…or perhaps not.  The way I see it, Smokey’s very cognizant of the timeline of the island.  This is probably due to the fact that he’s been there so long.  But regardless of why, he clearly knows almost everything that’s happened on the island.  It was this knowledge that allowed him to foresee that Locke was eventually going to become the “leader” of the Others, and would allow Smokey to get access to Jacob’s abode once he took over Locke’s form.  In fact, if you consider that Christian appeared to Locke just as he fell down the well that housed the donkey wheel, then you might even go so far as to think that Smokey has some measure of ability to travel through time.  Regardless, he knows what’s going on.  Why did I go through all of the trouble to mention this?  Well, what if Smokey was not being figurative with his “trapped” comment?  What if Jack was literally trapped on the island, even before he got there?  Perhaps, just perhaps, this is our first clue that Jack himself is one of the “Adam & Eve” bodies in the caves.  Something to think about…

Finally, Smokey tells Jack that Locke was nothing more than a “sucker”.  Well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but the whole thing is starting to smack of reverse psychology to me.  Seriously, are the writers going to have the legacy of John Locke be reduced to a man so lost that he failed to commit suicide, only to be murdered minutes later, and then be ridiculed for his faith?  I’m not buying it.  But I am afraid that they’ll try to give his character some resolution by granting him the ability to walk, and following through with his wedding to Helen, in the sideways timeline.  I can imagine that some LOST viewers out there are hoping for this.  That somehow, if everyone has a happy ending in the sideways timeline, then it makes up for the pain and suffering in the main timeline.  I can tell you that for me, this would come off as a supreme cop-out.  Anything that happens in the sideways timeline, no matter how well explained, cannot supercede the main timeline in my eyes.  I truly hope that the writers don’t use it as an “out”.  Regardless, I’d put money on Locke becoming more than what he is now, in either the sideways timeline, the main timeline, or both.

“It’s him!  It’s him!”

Sideways Locke tells Ben his first name

The interesting thing I’m taking from the initial sideways scene is that it’s clear that consciousness can move from the main timeline to the sideways timeline with some encouragement.  Desmond did it with help from a little EM pulse.  Sun did it with a bump on the head.  Perhaps others have done so as well.  My question is twofold: first, if consciousness can travel from the main timeline to the alternate timeline, is it far-fetched to think that the reverse is possible?  I believe that we haven’t seen it yet, but would it be any surprise if we did as early as next episode?  The other part of my question is this: could someone, say Locke, have already made the trip to the sideways universe?  Perhaps the Locke in the sideways timeline actually has the consciousness of the Locke in the main timeline?  Maybe he’s been keeping the secret all this time because he is enjoying his new and improved life?  I hope I’m not too far in left field with some of these thoughts, but I get the impression that there’s a major reveal of some sort on the horizon, and Locke’s story, at least in the flash-sideways, is clearly not complete.

“Sayid ain’t invited.  He’s gone over to the dark side.”

Finally, some action!  While alot of you out there might see this episode as moving the pieces in place for the grand shakedown at the end of the series (and I think there’s some truth to that), what’s seems more relevant is that the characters are moving, and putting plans in place.  The LOSTies are stealing, scheming, and taking chances.  And as a result, we’re sucked back in to rooting for them and judging their motivations.  I think that’s what made this episode feel more than just a “moving pieces” episode for me.

Desmond is off his sideways rocker

While I’m not inclined to over-analyze the sideways timeline (as usual), I will take the bait on a couple of things happening over there.  I’ll start by discussing Desmond’s behavior.  Was it me, or did he come off as just a bit creepy in this episode?  Tracking Claire down, following her through the building, and practically forcing her to visit his lawyer…it all seemed just a bit shady.  Of course, compared to running Locke down with his car, I guess it’s not that much of a stretch.  The question though, is why?  Last week’s actions made some sort of sense when set against the backdrop of what we know, but this week?  Desmond just comes off as plumb crazy.

One other quick thing I want to mention: Desmond warns Claire to not do anything that might make her situation “irreversible”.  A curious choice of words, as they harken back to Locke’s words to Jack in the season premiere.

Sayid and Desmond discuss the price of a life

Desmond chats with Sayid at gunpoint

There’s an interesting theory floating around the internet regarding Desmond being the actual replacement for Jacob.  I hadn’t really given it much thought until this episode.  However, after looking at what Desmond’s doing in the alternate timeline, as well as his conversational abilities with Sayid in the main timeline, I’m starting to consider it more as a possibility.  In the scene at the well, Desmond asks all of the right questions to have Sayid, despite the fact that he’s a zombie, reflect upon the reasons why he’s doing what he’s doing.  Despite what Sayid says to Smokey later in the episode, it’s hard to come to any other conclusion than the idea that Sayid did not shoot and kill Desmond.

Strike one up for Mr. Giacchino

Most of the comments I make in this blog are with respect to the plot points and mysteries of the show.  On rare occasions, I’ll reference the level of acting and try to give credit to some of the more amazing performances.  One thing I don’t think I’ve ever done, is to comment on the score.  But I have to admit, especially in an episode like “The Last Recruit”, where showing characters moving from one location to the other is a large part of the on-screen action, the music really added to the overall enjoyment of the show.  It helped to create a measure of tension at the right moments, but also seemed to add weight to scenes that otherwise might seem somewhat rote in nature.  The score was particularly spot-on in this episode, so I thought I’d mention it specifically.

“You did this to me!”

I’m not sure just how much we’re supposed to read into Locke’s response to Sun’s written words above, but it struck me as interesting that he didn’t take any credit for Sun losing her voice, or more importantly, Sun’s consciousness migrating to the sideways timeline.  This would have been a perfect time to lead us in the direction that Smokey is responsible for the alternate timeline, and that what we’re seeing over there is a result of him granting everyone their wishes in return for helping him get off the island.  But no such luck.  Maybe the sideways timeline is something else entirely…

“I just shot an unarmed man…I needed a moment.”

Two big things caught my eye in the scene where Sayid claims to have done Smokey’s dirty work.  First, did you notice Sayid gazing up into the trees at the start of the scene?  It’s almost as if he was looking for a vine…perhaps one long enough to help Desmond out of the well?

The other thing that was fascinating was the disdain that Sayid seems to have for Smokey here.  He doesn’t outright confront him, but he clearly challenges him to check his work if he doesn’t think he completed it successfully.  It’ll be interesting to see if he takes that to the next level in subsequent episodes and perhaps challenges Smokey directly, especially if he didn’t kill Desmond, as most of us suspect.

“Get off my damn boat!”

Jack shares his faith, to Sawyer's displeasure

Not sure about the rest of you, but I really enjoyed the dialog here between Jack and Sawyer.  Both of these men have very strong convictions about where they’re headed, and they simply don’t mesh.  Sawyer is thoroughly finished with the island.  In fact, the only reason why he decided to go with Smokey in the first place was because he was promised a way off the rock.  Ever since he lost Juliet, he has no other objective except to find a way off.  So it’s not at all surprising that he wants nothing to do with Jack, and his talk that is infused with so much mysticism and blind faith.  After all, it was that same mentality that managed to convince everyone to attempt to detonate Jughead, and ultimately led to Juliet’s death.

Jack fully understands this, and even once again apologizes for his hand in Juliet’s death.  But he knows that no matter what he does to evade it or delay it, he’s got a task to perform.  And if trying to achieve that task puts a crimp in Smokey’s plans, well then, all the better.  Jack has come to grips with the idea that he’s got some sort of destiny to fulfill, and if it means jumping off the boat halfway to Hydra Island, so be it.  I just wonder whether or not he’s going to live through whatever the island has in store for him…

Sun and Jin get their reunion

Jin and Sun reunite

Although I hate to say it, it came off just a bit cheesy to me.  Especially so when Lapidus mentioned Sun getting her English back.  That was a “take you out of the moment” line for sure.  Of course, the reunion is short-lived, as Widmore backs out of his deal, and uses the opportunity to fire upon the Smoking Club on the other island.

Smokey gets Jack out of harm's way

But here’s the part I don’t understand.  I’ve been under the impression that Smokey can either get everyone together, get on a plane, and get off the island; OR, he can lead the candidiates to their death, even if he can’t carry out the task himself.  So why not leave Jack to be blown to bits by Widmore’s attack?  Why pull him out of the line of fire just to try to convince him to willingly follow him?  Perhaps I’m understanding the rules of the game incorrectly, but it definitely seemed odd that Smokey wouldn’t simply leave him to meet his fate on the shore.

Post-episode questions

1. Are the migrations of consciousness from the main timeline to the sideways timeline only a one-way street?  Is anyone going to go from the sideways timeline to the main timeline?

2. What is Desmond’s fate?  Did Sayid actually kill him?

3. Why did Widmore go back on his deal with Sawyer?  What’s his ultimate plan?

4. What does Smokey have in store for Jack?  Why did he save him instead of letting him die?

5. Can you believe that there’s no new LOST next week?  Can you wait 2 whole weeks for the next episode?

That’s all I have for this week, but I plan to have a few things to talk about next week, despite the fact that there’s no new episode.  I hope you come back by!

LOST Discussion: 10 Things I Can’t Wait To See

Hey everyone, while we’re stuck with a LOST clip show this week, I thought I’d do something a little different than usual on the blog.  As you’re probably aware, we’ve only got 4 hours of LOST left this season, and then probably another 17 next.  And then that’s it!  LOST will be gone forever (except on Blu-Ray and DVD, of course.)

So, with more LOST yesterdays than tomorrows, I thought I’d take a look at some of the things I’m really looking forward to over the next 20+ hours of my favorite show.  And really, the writers have done a great job of answering a ton of questions for us.  I’d have to say that more questions have been answered to this point than are remaining to be answered.  But there are still some really good mysteries, events, people, and storylines that I’m looking forward to knowing the final bit on.

And, I thought I’d share all of them, including what I’m hoping for, with all of you.  If any of them jive with what you’re thinking about when you think LOST, I hope that you’ll comment below and start a discussion.  It’d be nice to chat about a few of these things while we still have time!  So, without further ado, here’s my list:

10.  Jack Shephard’s ultimate fate

When Jack was first introduced back in the pilot, it was hard to dispute the fact that he was the most central character in LOST.  Over the course of the series, Jack has slowly lost the leadership role, become extremely flawed, and for a time (at least for me), became pretty much uninteresting.  But really, LOST is as much Jack’s story as it is anyone else’s.  And his recent change…finally giving up his need to fix things, and actually thinking about himself and his destiny…is incredibly compelling.  There was a time that I really didn’t care about Jack’s character anymore, but that time has come and gone.  I can’t wait to see how Jack fulfills his island destiny…and if he lives through what the island has in store for him.

My fearless prediction: Jack will make a decision that will save the island, the world, and Kate, but will spell his own demise.

9. “The War”

If I was a betting man, I would wager that LOST’s sixth and final season is going to be all about this “war” that keeps getting hinted to us viewers.  And if it is, and it’s LOST’s final endgame, then you’d have to imagine that it’s going to be absolutely spectacular.  You know that everyone left alive (and perhaps even those that aren’t) will play a part, and that the show will pull out all the stops to go out with a bang.  Of course, we know so little about it, so I really couldn’t justify placing it any higher on my list.  Is it about the future of humanity as a whole?  Is it about the ability to continue to keep the space-time continuum together?  Or is it something just a bit more mundane?  I’d have to imagine that we’ll get just a bit more of a taste of what it’ll be prior to the end of the season,  And, if I were to do another list when the final frame of the finale airs, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it jumped 7 spots to the top.

My fearless prediction: The war is all about who gets control of the island once and for all.  It will bring some sides together that appear to be enemies right now, and cause much death and devastation.  Those that live through it will be able to access all of the powers of the island for all of eternity.

8. Who are “Adam & Eve”

So…just in case you forgot, we were introduced to a couple of skeletons way back in Season 1.  And the writers have come forward to say that they wanted to do that as early as possible, to prove that they had a plan for the ending all along.  While this may seem somewhat trivial, the revelation of what the writers had planned from the beginning, and how it plays out, will be fascinating for me.  I think a good part of how LOST is remembered will come down to how they answer or reveal some of the mysteries that have spanned the majority of the show.  To me, this is one of those long-spanning mysteries.  Here’s hoping that the explanation is worth the wait.

My fearless prediction: It’s gotta be a couple, right?  The easy guess is Jack and Kate, but I’m going to go with Rose and Bernard.

7. How Christian/the apparitions/the whispers are tied together

Alright, some of you might be a bit critical of me for lumping 3 different things into this one category, but really, I can’t help but feel as though they’re related.  After all, Christian technically is an apparition himself.  Of course, at the same time, you have to wonder whether or not his presence is a little more special than the others, or if the apparitions are actually all one entity.  And at the same time, it clearly seems as though the whispers seem to happen at the same time the apparitions appear (see Ben’s mother for a recent example).  Again, this is one of those mysteries that has spanned all 5 seasons to date, so the anticipation is high for a spectacular explanation.  This could be one that will make us watch all of those old episodes again just to se how it all fits together.

My fearless prediction: The apparitions are actually resurrected island dwellers, but can only appear when the island allows them to.  The whispers are the island going through its catalog of deceased folks and deciding which one to manifest.

6. What happens in the Temple

If I remember correctly, we didn’t even hear about The Temple until we got near the end of Season 3.  But it’s been a huge part of the mythology this season, and seems to be inextricably tied to “The Sickness” that we were introduced to way back in Season 1.  It seems to be central to how the Others maintain control of the island, and also tied to Ben becoming the man he is today.  If that weren’t enough, The Temple may also be tied to many of the other mysteries of the island.  At the end of it all, The Temple may be the central focus of the island, and tied to how everything operates.  But in the very least, it’s a piece of the island that, when explained, will answer a couple of questions that we’ve been wondering about for quite some time.

My fearless prediction: The Temple is where all of the resurrections take place (the bodies must be taken there), and is the central location for all of the island’s powers.

5. What is the Smoke Monster?

Interestingly, I think that the Smoke Monster was my #1 mystery for the longest time.  In fact, it might still be at the top of the list if not for this season’s “Dead Is Dead”, where we were given just a few more details about how Smokey operates.  So while I now have other things that I’m slightly more interested in, I still am very excited about the final explanation of Smokey.  What is it made of?  Is it mechanical or organic?  Whose bidding does it carry out?  And what is the true reason why it kills some but spares others?  The episode where we get the final word on the Smoke Monster will be an excellent episode indeed.

My fearless prediction: The smoke monster is a supremely advanced machine, brought to the island from the future when the island skipped through time.  It does the bidding of whoever controls the temple.

4. The backstory of Richard Alpert

With Ben’s past almost fully explained with this season’s episodes, I’d nominate Richard as the most enigmatic character on LOST.  Heck, he may have been even before we got so much of Ben’s story.  There’s just so much we don’t know about him.  Just how old is he?  Has he been leading the Others before we even knew them as Others?  What’s his arrangement with the Others?  What’s his relationship with Jacob?  He’s clearly a huge part of the Others’ hierarchy, and can do some things that defy explanation (like walk through the sonic fence unscathed), so getting his backstory will be an exciting thing.  I imagine that getting to know what he’s all about will tell us a ton more about the island as well.

My fearless prediction: Richard is from the distant past of the island, but was resurrected, so is able to retain his age from the time he was brought back to life.

3. “What Lies in the Shadow of the Statue?”

Alright, so the statue would have had a hard time making the cut prior to this season.  But now that we’ve seen more than just the foot, and in fact, have a group using the statue as a code word/riddle, it’s suddenly become one of the most forward-facing mysteries on the show.  And there are many layers to it as well.  What is the statue a replica of?  If by some chance it’s Anubis, as many have speculated, then what does that mean?  Is the island the gateway to the afterlife?  Is the island’s truly amazing power not just healing people, but actually resurrecting them?  The other angle is all about Ilana’s group, and what they have in store.  After “Some Like It Hoth”, you’d have to think that they’re not part of Team Widmore.  But could they be doing Ben’s dirty work?  Are they a faction of Richard’s team?  Do they have a different leader altogether?  And what the heck is in their crate?

But what I find to be the most fascinating about this group is that they seem to, despite the subterfuge, have their collective heads in the right place.  They had a true understanding of Miles’ plight, and the fact that he’s been injured by his relationship (or lack thereof) with his dad.  They seem to know that he’s using money to replace the hole in his heart, and that he’d love to understand why he can “talk” to dead people.  And they offered him answers to those questions.  Of course, the final mystery is all about what the answer is to their question.  And perhaps, it’ll have some true meaning, whether the answer itself is literal or figurative.

My fearless prediction: The statue is indeed Anubis, the temple is in the shadow of the statue, and Team Ilana is going to give the island inhabitants all they can handle in the coming war.

2. How did Locke get resurrected, and what happened to him in the process?

I don’t care what the new Locke actually says, the man is, quite frankly, someone completely different than the man we’ve come to know over the first 4 1/2 seasons of LOST.  The new Locke is so in tune with the island that he has the ability to know whether Sun will ever see Jin again.  He conveniently disappears when Ben summons the Smoke Monster, and then again when he comes face-to-face with it.  The old Locke had the ability to get in tune with the island when he focused, but never even close to the level that the new Locke has mastered, and achieves effortlessly.  He has come back to a completely different level.

Of course, this may have everything to do with the actual resurrection process that Locke went through in the first place.  We have absolutely no idea how, when, or where this took place, but Locke was clearly dead, and now is apparently alive.  Was his resurrection at all similar to Christian Shepard?  Or, has he been resurrected in a more “real” sense?  In other words, is he an apparition of some sort, or is he the same flesh and blood as say, Frank Lapidus?  Many layers of intrigue here, and every scene with Locke right now has me on the edge of my seat. 

My fearless prediction: Locke was taken to the temple to be resurrected and is now inextricably tied to the island.

1. Who is Jacob?

I have to admit, Jacob’s been at or near the top of my list ever since Ben and Locke visited his cabin back near the end of Season 3.  We know almost nothing about him, other than he seems to be invisible, asked Locke to “Help Me”, and seems to be the man that the Others, Richard Alpert, Charles Widmore, and perhaps many others, report to or answer to.  It’s inferred that he has the answers to all of the island’s mysteries, powers, and weirdness.  He’s made a list (to what end we don’t know), which only contained certain LOSTies names on them, but not all.  And for some strange reason, he seems to hate technology, even something as simple as a flashlight.  The potential of what he could be, what he stands for, and what he could do to anyone and everyone on the island seems limitless.

Jacob and his true nature would seem to be the key to the entire endgame of LOST.  Maybe the “war” is about who will control Jacob.  Maybe the war is about who Jacob will give his loyalty to.  Perhaps Jacob is the original founder of the island and can explain everything that’s happened to everyone on it since its inception.  With only a season and a couple of episodes remaining, I don’t think that it’s too far-fetched to think that the revelation of Jacob will also coincide with the revelation of LOST’s ultimate storyline, and how the whole thing comes to an end.  I’ll certainly be excited to see anything that gives us even the slightest info on the character and its meaning.

My fearless prediction: I think I’ve made enough dumb predictions prior to now…I’m going to refrain on one of these so I’m not a straight 10 for 10 wrong on all of them!  🙂

A few runners-up

Not everything could make my list, but here are a few more things that I’m keeping my eye on:

The infertility issue

We haven’t seen alot of this lately, but it was a huge item in earlier seasons.  It caused us to worry about the safety of Jin & Sun’s baby, and it’s the reason why Juliet is on the island.  And, it wasn’t an issue in Dharmaville in 1977, but clearly was in 2004.  Here’s hoping that we’ll see what caused it, as well as the resolution, before the series comes to a close.

The Faraday/Hawking/Widmore connection

Faraday has been a fun character to watch right from his first appearance on the show.  We’ve only seen a brief glimpse into his backstory, but even his introduction was full of mystery.  Why did he have such a strange reaction to seeing the footage of the Flight 815 wreckage?  Has he been to the island before?  What did he learn from his time travel experiements?  What was he doing at the start of Season 5 near the donkey wheel with what looked like an oxygen tank?  There’s alot to learn about Faraday, and his return in “Some Like It Hoth” was a nice sight.

The resolution to the Jack/Kate/Sawyer/Juliet quadrangle

While I haven’t been overly fond of this storyline through the seasons, it would be a bit of a travesty if we didn’t get some kind of real resolution to this prior to the end of the series.  Hopefully one of the couples will find some measure of happiness amongst the madness of the island.

That’s my list!  Did I miss one of your favorites?  Do you have something to share in addition to my comments?  Do you want to add any predictions to mine?  I’d love to hear all of your thoughts on these items, and anything else related to what you can’t wait to see in the final few hours of LOST!