The Last Mile

So here we are at last, the final outing. Will it answer all of our questions? I doubt it, but it should answer more then a few.

First of all I have to apologise for my absence throughout most of this season. This season has been an unusual one, with the answers/new questions ratio finally tipping in favour of answers there has just been a whole lot less to debate and discuss and many of the pieces have fallen fairly neatly into place, pretty much where we expected (such as with Jack being the chosen one). However, I have really enjoyed this season and am looking forward to the finale, even though it means the end of an era.

At this stage we think we know a lot, but of course Lost is a show that likes to show us that we really know nothing. So what do I think we know? Well on the topic of Jacob, Adam (I’m going to refer to the current incarnation of the Smoke Monster as Adam as it’s the only name that character has ever been given), and the light:

• The island is older then Jacob and Adam, so it’s story pre-dates theirs and we are yet to see it (and it’s possible we won’t).
  

• The “Light” at the centre of the island is very important. Should it be destroyed it would be very bad for everyone. We don’t know why.
  

• Should someone go into the light they become a Smoke Monster and are tied to the island (presumably by the light).
  

• Being tied to the island inevitably leads a Smoke Monster to want to destroy the light and so the island needs a protector.
  

• While the island has a protector only they and people they allow can find the light. This is why Jacob needed a replacement and why the island needed a protector even before Adam became a Smoke Monster. It also seems Smoke Monsters can’t harm the protector or potential protectors (not sure how that one works).
  

• It seems very likely (given the ancient hieroglyphs) that Adam was not the first smoke monster. If that is so, then it seems it can be destroyed. Unless the non-Adam Smoke Monster was not sentient as such and could be controlled by the Protector (perhaps used to kill Adams camp). Perhaps the suggestion here is that it can be cleansed of the human spirit inhabiting it.

All that still leaves the big questions: When did all this start (the light, island and any proto-Smokeys) and how does it effect the outside world.

So how about how things will turn out on the island? Here are a few thoughts:

• It seems to me that Ben wanted to know what Widmore knew and the only way to reliably get that info was to have him die and get Miles to use his ability to get the info. He knows he couldn’t trust Widmore to tell him, nor could he trust Widmore to tell the truth to Adam or Adam to tell him the truth. If there is one thing Ben knows really well it is deception after all! This suggests why they spent time making sure Ben could get in contact with Miles via the walkies.
  

• Desmond is obviously key to both Widmore and Adam’s plans. He also seems to be key to what is going on with the sideways reality. So that suggests that the two are very much linked together themselves. Can Desmond be consciously active in both realities and working towards a goal tied in both?
  

• We’ve all no doubt noticed that for most of the Losties the sideways reality is significantly better then the Island reality. Most notably for all of the ones that are dead in the Island reality. But will it turn out to be a way for the Island reality guys to have a happy ending or is it some kind of Devils Paradise? It could just be a side effect of damaging the islands light by nuking near it’s source (perhaps suggesting that if the island is destroyed it would un-write all of time?), but then why all the action over there?

To be honest I do not have a firm theory for this conclusion and that is really the way I prefer it at this stage. It’s also important not to forget while all the mysteries are being answered that there will be a number of personal stories concluding in this episode. Despite all the complexities and puzzles of Lost is has always really been about the characters. For the most part their personal stories could be considered concluded already, but I think we can still expect more.

Anyway, that is all I have. Like everyone else I will just have to watch and find out. So to everyone, good luck and Namaste.

S3E16: One of Us - General comments.

• Richard Alpert seems to be running the US side of things. He didn't go to the Island with Juliet and was apparently still out there the day of the crash. But now he is on the island at Ben's request. What is his interest in there being new people on the island?
  
  
• Why wouldn't they even let Juliet's sister onto their US base? Was it just to avoid her knowing anything? If so why not make her leave after reaching the main building. Is it perhaps that they in their racist way didn't want someone not on Jacobs list to go onto Other soil, like they consider that base to be an embassy and therefore under Others law.
  
  
• Jacks a bit heavy handed in protecting Juliet. Is he really just giving her 100% trust? Or is he just faking it and doing things in his usual headstrong way in which he aproaches everything else.
  
  
• Juliet can't have been convinced just by the absense of cancer, unless there are a lot more Others. But she must have witnessed something of the island's healing powers. She must also believe that this Jacob has healing powers and I doubt Juliet would take it on faith. Jacob is starting to seem more and more like some kind of ancient god. Probably a stone face that shoots flames and speaks with a booming voice.
  
  
• While it is true that sometimes a spade is just a spade, I'm not totally convinced Juliet is 100% on board with her role as a plant. Plus I would have to admit to being a little disapointed that someone that appears to be obviously a plant actually turned out to be a plant. I think we all called the Claire thing would be her supposed way in to the group (though I don't think anyone thought it was orchestrated via implant, that suggests they had it planned a long time back).
  
  
• I suspect that to get to the island without disruption the sub has to dive really deep and that people who's bodies aren't used to the high pressure may suffer an amount of discomfort. Perhaps part of the apparent super strength of some others (Ethan) is just an indicator of some kind of high pressure strength training. Or at least the strength is why they can sit around playing cards while at such pressures. Ethan did comment about "the last leg of the trip".
  
  
• An alternative to the above may be that some kind of surgeory was performed on Juliet, but personally I think it is to do with the journey at this time.
  
  
• I can't take credit for this one but it is a good catch. In the Lost experience, Mittlewerk apparently cured Pete Thompsons cancer. That was something they never really gave us all the details on during the experience. That doesn't mean this is all tied to Mittlewerk, but it does make it likely that this fact was a secret Easter Egg from the experience.