Watch me and Roth’s 2 part review of LOST‘s season 6 premiere episode “LA X”. The first part is above and the 2nd part is below. Let us know what you thought about the episode and what your theories are, especially about the alternate timeline and who/what the relationship between Jacob and the smoke monster is. Please post your comments, questions, and theories below and we will try to answer as many as possible. Thanks!
- Dennis
LOST Season 6 Premiere REVIEW PART 2
Great review guys!
One thing that I picked up on my second viewing is when Charlie says to Jack, "I was supposed to die," it has two meanings. Sure, on the one hand, the heroin junkie is being a dick to the doctor who saved him, but on the other, the already dead Charlie is telling the you-were-supposed-to-crash Jack he shouldn't have messed with the past.
Regarding Sayid. Did he die or did he only appear to die? If he died, then there's only two conclusions: he was resurrected (which I don't buy because remember Richard said that you cannot come back from being dead–and he should know), or Jacob has entered Sayid's body. I'm betting that he wasn't really dead and that's why Miles seemed confused when sitting beside Sayid's supposedly dead body. He couldn't "hear" the dead Sayid, because there was no "dead" Sayid.
So if Sayid was never really dead, that means Jack gave up too soon. Which really goes deep into what you were saying about the new, defeated Jack. Like you said, he nearly caved Charlies' chest in trying to save him. The guy right now is no longer a leader. He's been whittled down to almost nothing.
I'm not crazy about the Temple Others. I'm also not crazy about this idea that a circle of gunpowder (or whatever it is) can physically prevent the smoke monster from crossing. WTF? What kind of stupid voodoo is that? That's just a totally made up rule.
It is very interesting to think about the man-in-black/smoke monster's actions in regards to what we now know about his motives.
His goal? Kill Jacob. However, he couldn't do it directly, so he had to have someone else kill Jacob. He also needed to be led to Jacob–he didn't know where he was (otherwise, why would he need Richard to show him the way?).
So going all the way back to season one, it's just very interesting to judge the smoke monster's actions in lieu of what we now know to be its goal.
I also like thinking about the Season 5 finale in lieu of what we know now. Locke and Ben go to the temple for Ben to be judged by the smoke monster. Ben falls through a weak floor to a room below. Seemingly concerned, Locke "goes for a rope," and conveniently, just as Locke goes away, here comes the smoke monster. And just as the smoke monster disappears, there's Locke again, ready to pull Ben up.
Yeah that black powder thing bugged me too.
I wonder if they had this planned as far back as season 1. One thing that might make sense is that he killed the pilot straight away – perhaps he wanted to create that tension that subsequently arose between the dual leaders of Locke and Jack – but that presupposes that he/it somehow has precognitive abilities??? And understood that those elements would come into play to drive Locke – because nothing seemed to drive Locke quite like Jack – and his leadership.
Great point on Desmond. Cause you gotta figure the bomb wiped out Penny's family. So if she hadn't been born yet, then Desmond would have never been train to the boat race and then ran into Jack. Though it looked like he recognized him from somewhere. And he is the "Constant" from the regular reality with all of his fun time jumping after the hatch blew. I'm thinking he's real.
I was glad to see Boone back. I'm loving him on Vampire Diaries. It's not a bad show, kinda interesting, but his character makes Vampire Diaries Totally worth watching.
Holy cow! I didn't even notice that with Jin and Sun.
I hate alternate realities when tied to time travel and specifically people trying to change it. It's one thing if it's like it is in Lost where they didn't know. I Despise it when it's comic book character and they know (Or should know) all they're doing is creating and alternate time line. I'm Hoping with Lost that at some point the two realities will merge back together but i'm not sure they will. I actually wonder if the Island is now in a realm all by itself with no way of reaching the outer world. They island itself appear to be existing out of a whole in the regular reality (at those specific coordinates), and now with reality shift, they have been separated from it.
Yeah i always though that the smoke monster was doing some sort of Judgement then, but now i'm pretty convince that he is judging them on weither or not they can help him or be detrimental to his plans. I think Mister Echo is the clear sign of that, in that the "Others" Judged him to be a good person. Granted he fought them off not knowing their plans (so would I) and then the smoke monster seemed to make the point of getting rid of him. Side note: I really want to see Echo come back.
Wow i really like Dennis' Idea that Jacob is the caretaker and the Smoke monster is the Prisoner. I figured they were some sort of cosmic beings, but i really like that take.
Yeah i kept thinking the same thinking with Sayid. Like with last Season finale, it made since. Well if he dies, it's okay cause we're gonna nuke everything and we either all die or time get's reset anyways… so why bother saving him at this critical moment. But in this one it was like, ZOMG DO something with him!
Great review. This is where i'm gonna come for this whole seasons to discuss Lost.
I also didn't notice the Sun and Jin thing until I saw it online, and then rewatched the scenes with them in it and thought "how did I miss that?"
Yeah the Sayid thing got from bad to worse (and I'm not talking about his wound). How did no one at the show notice how ridiculous that was?
Dennis
Yeah not sure if it made it into the edited version – but i had mentioned that what appeared as judgment now seemed to be him/it assessing if he was helpful to his plan or not. I also really liked echo and was sad to see him go. Like Chuck said it's possible that echo was possibly TOO spiritually advanced to suite it's needs.
Thanks for commenting!
Roth
Also with Jin and Sun – I am thinking he is somehow her Dad's hired gun/her keeper on this trip.
Roth
Can you quote in these boxes? I'm going to try. If I fail, you know what I was trying to do, hahaha.
[quote]Yeah i always though that the smoke monster was doing some sort of Judgement then, but now i'm pretty convince that he is judging them on weither or not they can help him or be detrimental to his plans.[/quote]
Yeah! That's what seems totally obvious now. And that's what makes me want to watch the entire series again. I want to judge the smoke monster's actions against what we now know!
I agree with you totally on Mister Echo, too. I loved that character. I wonder if the smoke monster perceived that Mister Echo might ultimately provide too much spiritual guidance to Locke, leading him away from his "chosen" path….
Interesting, to say the least, hahaha.
Wow…let me just first say that the Sayid popping up and down kept freaking me out
Ok..Desmond on the plane..he had to have been there because he'd never been sent to the island right? and if Penny's family was on the island when Juliette set off the bomb..then Charles Whittmore is dead. I really think that Jack knows that he's met him before…I think he realizes something funny is going on but he's not letting on too much.
Boone..how I'd missed him..but I really don't get how there not being an island had anything to do with Shannon not being on the plane…she should have been there regardless. And it's funny how he says he's sticking with Locke..because isn't Locke one of the reasons he dies in the end?
Locke – maybe because this is an alternate time, he seems happier, because as Locke 2.0 pointed out to Ben, Locke was the saddest most pathetic character of the bunch. I certainly hope he got to go on his walk-a-bout and he finds his knives
I think he'll be contacting Jack shortly…
Sun and Jin – SO did not notice they didn't have wedding rings…OR that they didn't call her by her married name. Excellent catch. I wonder why he's taking her to LA…maybe she's the one who is in the family business. She has shown that she can be ruthless.
Christian – he isn't in the coffin…on the plane…because he's ALIVE ON THE ISLAND….or he never died…
I don't really have much to say about Kate or Sawyer or Hurley
I just find it funny that Sawyer tells Hurley that people will take advantage of him…ironic…
What I really had a huge problem with in this episode was the introduction of new characters. What on earth do we need them for at this point? I am sure I just can't see it, but I really don't want to invest in anyone new – especially not the guy who doesn't speak English – I hope the black smoke kicks his ass.
As far as Sayid goes, my prediction is that Jacob is going to be reincarnated through him…or he's going to use him in some way…otherwise the bleed-out that lasted 2 seasons was pointless.
All of this is why this is one of the very best shows ever made. I love all the guessing and wondering what's going to possibly happen next! This is going to leave us all stunned in the end…I can't wait!!!!
In this alternate timeline I think we can assume that Widmore, Ben, and "The Others" are dead and therefore Daniel and Penny were never born.
Yeah the Boone – Locke conversation was funny because it was so ironic compared to what happened in the original timeline.
So far, also not liking the new characters either, where the hell have they been for the past 5 seasons, hahaha.
I really liked the episode too, despite the Sayid thing and the temple stuff.
Dennis
Great review overall, but I disagree with one major point…
This episode wasn't just "good." It was absolutely, mind-blowingly, brain-meltingly brilliant. Probably among the best 5 episodes of the entire series, IMO. Just so many great scenes, from Flocke deflecting bullets, turning into Smokey and unleashing hell, to Juliet's death, to the touching and ironic scene between Jack and Locke at the airport. So many answers, from the effects of the bomb going off to the true identity of Flocke/MIB as Smokey, to the astounding revelation that Flocke/MIB just "wants to go home." And so many intriguing questions raised. The purpose of a premiere is to dig its hooks so far into your skin you won't be leaving any time soon, and this episode definitely accomplished that for me. I give it 10/10.
I really liked the episode as well, perhaps knowing beforehand about the alternate timeline lessened the impact for me. I believe later on when I watch the episodes this season I'll probably appreciate this episode more because it will have set up and hinted at things to come that we haven't seen yet.
Dennis
You guys are exactly right that Smokey has never been judging people. It's always about, "Can I use this person to accomplish my goal of killing Jacob and getting away from here?" Did a full series rewatch after Season 5 and noticed just how obvious it was in hindsight. The most noteworthy example is definitely Mr. Eko. Originally Smokey let him live because he perceived that he could use his guilt over his dead brother to manipulate him. Then in his later encounter it became clear that he had freed himself from this guilt and so he was no longer useful. Hence the, "Why do you speak to me as if I were your brother," followed by Smokey coming out and making minced meat of him.
Another example, I think, is towards the end of season 1 when Smokey suddenly attacks Locke. Locke at the time was on his way to blow open the hatch. I think that for some reason, Smokey/MIB didn't want them getting down there and so was trying to stop Locke. I think perhaps that them finding Desmond in the hatch will prove to be a part of Jacob's counter-plan.
Sorry, just one more comment. I think I'm going to have to disagree with you guys about Sayid. In the Season 5 finale, what exactly could they do to help Sayid? They were being chased around by Dharma guys and it seemed that Sayid's only hope was to accomplish the "reset" where presumably he would never actually have been shot in the first place. So why would they want to delay accomplishing the reset to help a man who probably had a lethal wound anyway?
As for the Season 6 premiere, of course they would be more focused on trying to get Juliet out than on Sayid. Sorry, but if someone I deeply cared about was buried under rubble and crying out for help, I'd definitely help them before I attended to someone I really don't care that much about at all. Also, Hurley doesn't really know for sure whether he can really trust this Jacob guy, so I'm sure he waited to see first if Jack could do anything to save Sayid. So it was only after Jack said it was a lost cause that he mentioned the temple.
I guess I just don't really see the problem here. To be honest, I didn't even notice this at all until you mentioned it in your review.
I'm suprised to hear you say that, everyone I saw it with and people I've talked to online all agree about the Sayid thing. They seemed to have no regard for his life, moving his body around while he's bleeding to death and not paying attention to him at all.
In the Season 5 premiere they did delay, Jack and Sawyer stop and have a talk and fight in the jungle while Sayid is bleeding out and the hydrogen bomb (which Sayid said is very unstable and must be detonated as soon as possible) are in the van.
Even if they cared for Juliet more than Sayid, they would have at least tried to help him in some way. It's not like he's Ben or someone else they hate.
Dennis
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