(*Most important scene of the season sidenote: I really believe that even more than the fact that the island is somehow mobile, the fact that Sun comes back to the real world carrying a whole bag full of whoop ass is the most significant development this season. She has rocked the two richest, most powerful characters on the show back on their heels in rapid succession and it looks like she's just getting started. She has a plan and as my title indicates, she's casting her net and she's going to catch someone big in it. My bet is that Sun will turn out to be the "dark horse" of the whole show. She was almost ignored in the first three seasons, but look at her now. If I were planning this show from the beginning, I'd want a character of her magnitude to be the one on which the whole bloody thing turns and I think that's exactly where we're headed. This scene was understated, but important enough to fly Yunjin Kim halfway around the world to film it when the dialogue could easily have been rewritten and shot as a telephone call. What does that tell you?*)
Locke demands to know why Ben killed Keamy, knowing that it would mean that everyone on the freighter would die.
"Well, John, I really wasn't thinking straight. Sometimes...good command decisions get compromised by bad emotional responses. I'm sure you're gonna do a much better job of separating the two than I ever did."
(*Hero-building sidenote: You think that no hero would do what Ben did? He is that much more human because he let his emotions cloud his normally clinical judgement. The best heroes are flawed and Ben's flaw is laid bare here. He actually, despite his protests to the contrary, has a heart. And it's broken. The building of a hero from the ashes of a villain continues.*)
Ben continues doing what he's been doing, ignoring John, despite the fact that he's just crowned him his successor in the previous moment.
"What are you doing? I asked you a question!"
"If I were you, I'd duck."
Something goes "kablooie" in the Vault.
"I better change."
As Juliet does her level best to polish off a bottle of Dharma hootch, Sawyer emerges from the surf. Obviously, Juliet's been at the bottle for a bit, as she seems to doubt the evidence of her eyes until the apparition of the half naked man speaks.
"Nice day for a swim."
"What are you doing here?"
"Decided to take a dip."
Sawyer spots the bottle.
"Whatcha celebratin'?"
"I'm not celebrating."
She looks pointedly over his shoulder and he follows her eyes, turning to see a plume of smoke on the horizon.
"Is that our boat?"
"It was."
(*What do you wanna bet sidenote: Sawyer has gotten caught in a net with A.L., a bear cage with Kate on closed circuit tv...I'm putting even money on him putting the moves on Juliette and/or Charlotte between now and season six. Probably in some kind of leg hold trap or maybe a live webcast...*)
Back in The Orchid, Ben zips up his parka. Locke is understandably confused about Ben's choice of outer-wear. Ben explains that he's going somewhere cold.
"Then where is mine"?
"You don't need one because you're not going with me."
Locke protests that Jacob told him what needed to be done and he needs to see it through, but Ben cuts him off.
"He told you what to do, but he didn't tell you how because he wants me to suffer the consequences."
"What consequences?"
"Whoever moves the island can never come back. So I'd like you to get on the elevator, John, and go back up. Richard and my people will be waiting 2 miles east of the Orchid."
"Waiting for me?"
"Ready, willing and able to share what they know. And then they will follow your every word. Good-bye, John. I'm sorry I made your life so miserable."
The two men shake hands and Salieri passes the torch to Mozart.
"What do I tell 'em to do?"
"You'll find your way, John. You always do."
Out in the jungle, Locke finds Richard exactly where Ben said he would.
"Hello, John. Welcome home."
Now we come to the scene. Ben's going to move the island. Will he use a computer? A big outboard motor? A jet engine? Three hampsters and a treadmill?
Nope.
It's a Frozen Donkey Wheel.
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Comments (17)
See you at greybishop.com, brotha.
Thanks for all the excellent recaps.
1 of 17 | Posted by Clair | Posted on June 7, 2008 6:15 PM
What a great finale and what a great recap..... I look forward to next season and your insight. Do you think we'll see the chaos on the island after the 6 left? It would be nice to see Sun crush a few people.
..... and I never caught Jack telling Kenny Roger's about the other island... and I watched it twice!!!
2 of 17 | Posted by chooch850 | Posted on June 8, 2008 6:01 PM
Great recap, greybishop!! If anyone wants some finale spoilers, go to YouTube and you can see:
1. The alternate endings of who was in the coffin
2. What Sawyer whispered to Kate before he jumped off the helicopter
3. What was whispered to Kate when she picked up the phone at the house
My daughter and I always watch the show with the captions on our t.v. because it picks up stuff you can't hear, but it didn't pick up what Sawyer said to Kate or what she heard on the other end of the phone.
See ya in January!!
3 of 17 | Posted by rubyslypperz | Posted on June 8, 2008 7:35 PM
Great finale and great recap.
I've never had a show that took me from extreme sorrow (Jin's death) to extreme happiness (Penny and Des's reunion) in a matter of an hour. I think the island has moved several times now. I think it moved in the season 2 finale, in the season 3 finale and Lock has now moved the island too.
4 of 17 | Posted by FreewayShark | Posted on June 8, 2008 9:34 PM
GB, thanks for all the recaps on what was a very solid season. I actually think the writers' strike may have actually helped make the season better by forcing the writers, once the strike was over, to really tighten things up and not meander so much.
As for the theory about the Ben's moving the island making a big "suck hole" in the ocean, did the island actually "move", or did it just move in time a little? If so, maybe that would explain why it didn't leave a void in the water? I'll definitely be stopping by your blog this summer. Thanks again.
-JR
5 of 17 | Posted by JasonR | Posted on June 9, 2008 7:25 AM
Thanks for the kind words folks!
As for the void in the water, JasonR, if you're right and the moving of the island doesn't leave a big void in the ocean, I don't understand why they didn't just cut to a calm ocean. It would have been just as effective at getting the point across.
By giving us the big ripple like they did, they imply that the island's disappearance has physical consequences in the water. If that's the case, those consequences would be much greater than what we saw.
I know, I know, I'm nitpicking. Still it annoys me when a science fiction show messes up on the basic science stuff.
6 of 17 | Posted by Greybishop | Posted on June 9, 2008 7:52 AM
I don't know much about fluid dynamics, either, but maybe the big ripple in the water was the end of the larger, more dramatic (and thus more expensive to create) consequences. Water doesn't just geyser and come down flat....it keeps moving until it calms, with each movement getting smaller and smaller.
: )
Thanks for the recaps, and have a fantastic summer. I look forward to your re-recaps!
7 of 17 | Posted by marishka | Posted on June 9, 2008 8:19 AM
GB--you are the god damned greatest!!!!!
Great recaps! Great season!
I know NOTHING about science and I am not a huge science fiction fan, so I can't make any comments on the moving island waves. I just love this show and I am willing to suspend ALL of my logic to continue to enjoy it.
Loved Penny and Desmond. I hope we get to see more Jeff Fahey next season. And I'll say it...I was bummed when Keamy died. He was pretty smokin', even though his character was totally psychotic.
8 of 17 | Posted by james_woods_rules | Posted on June 9, 2008 2:28 PM
I'll second that james_woods! Keamy was a smokin' hot piece of man!
Great recap Grey!
*Nobody's getting the Emmy for Best Direction for this episode sidenote: Was I the only one who got nauseous during the gunfight?* No you were not! I had to look away because it was too much for me.
"He then does what all parents at the end of their ropes do. He parks John in front of the electronic babysitter while he does his grown up stuff." That was a perfect description of that scene!!! LOL!
I agree that Yunjin Kim deserves an award for her acting in the finale. She did a great job when the freighter blew. I don't want to believe Jin is dead. Did anyone else catch that during the first explosion he was at the back of the boat and could easily have jumped off before the second explosion? Or was that wishful thinking on my part?
I can't wait to see what happens next season. I'll definitely be checking out your other recaps from the previous seasons this summer!
9 of 17 | Posted by akgirl7 | Posted on June 9, 2008 4:16 PM
did you miss out on the ad near the end of the episode for octagon global recruiting? I was pretty sure it was 'fake', then there was a watermark at the end saying it was paid for by ABC, Inc. The dates for their 'recruitment fair' in San Diego are the same as the Comic Con there. Their website says they are recruiting for a new DHARMA Initiative project.
10 of 17 | Posted by jennifah | Posted on June 9, 2008 6:16 PM
Months ago I gave up watching this inane show without direction or plan, with 100 monkeys with typewriters writing the weekly scripts on the fly. However, I have never given up reading your recaps, GB. It really is more fun just to read your cogent prose and your musings and guesses, not to mention your eclectic knowledge of many different subjects.
In short, I think you do a fantastic job of making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Enjoy the respite until January. Many thanks for enjoyable reading.
11 of 17 | Posted by talma63 | Posted on June 11, 2008 8:07 AM
Jennifah -
Yeah, I didn't comment on the commercial. I actually am not a fan of the tie in stuff that ABC has done with this show. The Lost Experience was silly and pointless, Bad Twin was Awful Novel and in this case two stikes is enough for me.
talma63 -
You REALLY need to come to my discussion forum. We have a guy there who you would get along with famously. He's our board's resident LOST skeptic and he regularly rips on the show. Given that the rest of the forum is made up of fans ranging from admiring to rabid, he could use a friend!
12 of 17 | Posted by Greybishop | Posted on June 11, 2008 10:21 AM
Heya, quick question to GB and the group...
During the scene of Farraday and Charlotte on the beach (page 5 of this recap), did anyone notice Farraday kind of going blurry or out of focus? I watched it at work, then watched it again at home on the VCR, so it could have just been the local cable provider. The reason I ask is because Charlotte seemed to be in focus, just Farraday was out...
I haven't been able to sort through all the Lost websites to find anything, so I thought I'd start here, since y'all are so smart. :)
13 of 17 | Posted by teri00 | Posted on June 18, 2008 11:54 AM
teri00-
I'll take a look at it tonight. If you're right, that would be neat!
14 of 17 | Posted by Greybishop | Posted on June 19, 2008 8:43 AM
teri00-
Just took a look. Nothing unusual that I could spot. Would've been interesting though...
15 of 17 | Posted by Greybishop | Posted on June 20, 2008 7:18 PM
This week (July 13) marks the beginning of the new series of season 2 recaps I'm doing.
Drop by greybishop.com for details.
16 of 17 | Posted by Greybishop | Posted on July 14, 2008 9:28 AM
Can't believe I just found this now. I completely agree with the assessment of the scene between Sun and Widmore. But I think Sun's had kick-ass potential all along. She's always been more tough than Jin. My thought is that Locke visited her like he visited the rest and told her what Ben did to make the boat explode. Working with Widmore could be a way to get revenge on Ben. So it they all go back, then Sun will be the "dark horse" working for the other guy. It's a crime that Yunjin Kim (and Jorge Garcia, for that matter) were Emmy-snubbed.
But the show delivers so many surprises...who knows? Can't wait until next month!
17 of 17 | Posted by Allison | Posted on December 27, 2008 3:41 PM