Lost

[Ollie 1,059]

Wow......

[QMM 4]

I'm not happy with how they handled this.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

F*cking hell!

I'm not happy with how they handled this.

I think too often we tend to praise the dramatic murder of characters. So I have nothing against this. I should not like to see people to die. And I should not expect everyone to live either.

These guys have writing chops and balls to punch the audience in the gut and make you hate them. Kudos!

[Wycket 36]

While I don't like what happened, I can't say it wasn't done well.

Sayid died a hero, redeeming himself and proving that the MiB's powers are not absolute. It also gave Sun and Jin a good final moment, and a good piece for the two actors to work with after last episode's soap opera reunion. It also showed that Jack is right and everyone else is wrong. Unfortunate as I was hoping for Sawyer to become the new Jacob, but I guess that was asking a little much.

Next weeks episode should be quite good.

[Red 75]

The only death I would have qualms with in terms of how well it was executed (excuse the pun) is Lapidus', if he is indeed dead. The others felt right though tragic, and I hate to see them go, but their exits were powerful.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

I don't think Lapidus is dead. It's too ambiguous for Lost writers. If someone is dead they're usually pretty clear about it.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

He said "Oh hell" in his usual comedic attitude towards things. Got blasted with a giant metal door, unconscious, drowned with the sub. He's dead, don't see what's so ambiguous.

This was the major spoiler I was talking about, the one my friend told me. I knew a certain number of people were going to die, so whenever something involving death was about to happen, I would be like "There's one!" It kinda ruined the impact for me, but I still cried when Sun and Jin went, and little more when the rest of the survivors accepted their fate.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

Yes, but John Locke got shot and fell into a mound of dead bodies.

So...well...you know.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The bullet went straight through the spot where his kidney was missing. Different than going down with a submarine.

[Wycket 36]

I just realized Lapidus also died.

Damn, I'm really gonna miss him. Well, at least he went out with a good line I suppose.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

4 people died:

Sayid

Lapidus

Sun

Jin

Kate might be the next to go.

EDIT:

This just in, the series finale has been extended to 2 and a half hours.

[King Mark 3,631]

Well maybe everyone will die except 1 (the new Jacob)

With Sun and Jin dying that could be possible

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I think Jack is a shoe-in for replacing Jacob. Kate and Hurley will probably live. I always imagined Sawyer dying in some heroic way, but it seems like Sayid took that moment. It's weird to think that they are the only ones left. Although we still have Alpert, Miles, and Desmond out there.

[Wycket 36]

Well maybe everyone will die except 1 (the new Jacob)

With Sun and Jin dying that could be possible

I completely agree.

Kate's already wounded and Jack has no medical supplies, so I wouldn't be surprised for her to die in the next episode. I still think Sawyer will go out heroic, but maybe more to avenge Kate's death than to save others. And Hurley acts stupid and irrational so god knows what situation he could get in to kill himself. As for Linus and the others, they've become sorta background characters at this point and will probably die as a result of "the war".

[QMM 4]

I think Jack is a shoe-in for replacing Jacob.

Jack isn't replacing Jacob, Desmond is. Jack will replace Richard.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

What makes you say that? I never thought of it like that.

[Bryant Burnette 654]

The episode was decent, but I spent an inordinate amount of it wondering why Jin and Sun were speaking English to each other, and not Korean. Seriously, why? Especially when they're drowning...? Very bad choice.

Also, it seems obvious now that Sun's whole I-ran-into-a-tree-and-forgot-how-to-speak-English side plot was ... oh, I'll be charitable and say it was a misstep. Ah, screw that; every second of it was a waste of time that ought to have been spent on something else. I'm done with being charitable.

Speaking of which, how come Sayid was all of a sudden a good guy again? Granted, it wasn't actually all of a sudden, it obviously goes back at least as far as his sparing Desmond's life ... but my point still stands. Why would the show spend so many episodes convincing me that he'd gone over to the supposed dark side, only to go nowhere with it?

I was far more interested in the sideways story this week. Frankly, I'm close to the point of being glad the series is ending. This season has been an almost total letdown, with only a couple of episodes as good as what this series has led me to expect. Terry O'Quinn has been great, and Michael Giacchino has been great, but unless the last few hours are the best hours of television ever filmed, you can color me bummed out by the way this series is ending. I'm glad some folks are pleased with it, but as somebody who's been there since literally the second the first episode aired, I have not been at all satisfied.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I've been there since the first second with ya, Bryant. I'm satisfied, but you do bring up good points and I agree with the Sun and Sayid thing. I too was wondering why they weren't speaking Korean, and when Jin finally said "We will never be apart again" in Korean, that's when the tears came up in my eyes. However, we still don't know how the two timelines are going to merge, so the Sun forgetting English thing is still not a total misfire, yet.

[King Mark 3,631]

Why did they go to the plane,if "locke" knew it would be trapped. And how could they possibly make it fly again,surely the landing gear was damaged .Also it's stuck in the trees and the wings are bent

[Morlock 11]

Favorite episode of the season so far, and possibly my single favorite score for an episode ever. I was really pissed off at the English, it really lessened the impact of the ending. On top of last episodes anti-climactic meeting, it seemed like a nail in the coffin of Sun and Jin. The one moment in Korean was wonderful, but it doesn't make up for it.

That being said, I loved just about everything else in this episode.

[crocodile 8,020]

I don't know what to think. There are many things right about the episode, but I'm still feeling a bit detached from the show. And I mean this whole season in general. I kind of almost wanted it not to end so we could speculate endlessly as to what certain things mean. Thse closure is not that important to me, really.

Karol

[Morlock 11]

I've also been feeling very detached from this season. Although in my case, it's got a lot to do with the fact that Iv'e been rewatching it from the begining again, and I find myself very caught up in the earlier seasons. There's simply no comparison to watching 2-3 episodes a day- the one I watch once a weak can't compete. I enjoy the show a whole lot more when I'm in the thick of it- 43 minutes a week isn't immersive enough for me. Hopefully, I'll be able to watch the whole thing, including season 6, before the finale (I'm halfway through season 4 now).

[Jay 37,374]

Was the music box that Christian wanted Claire to have something that we've seen before?

[Ollie 1,059]

Well since it was mentioned in a recent interview that quite a few questions will go unanswered, I've just been enjoying Lost for what it is.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

You guys are over thinking the English v. Korean thing. Jin and Sun were planning on moving to America to start a new life there. English was their way of doing that. They found their new life on the island. I think it's kosher if they speak English before they die.

[Morlock 11]

It didn't work for me emotionally- Sun and Jin together have always existed in Korean in my mind. Also, it's simply unconvincing that after all this time apart, they naturally speak English to each other. People naturally revert back to their mother-tongue, particularly in moments of great emotion. It seems like it was done to give the Korean line extra oomph, but it felt wrong to me, and was distracting till the very end, when the fact that Jin is prepared to leave his daughter parent-less became more distracting.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

I don't know if I could have left my wife either. Those are situations where you would rather not find yourself and it's hard to determine which choice you would make in those situations. It's easy to watch on TV and say well clearly the logical thing to do is have one person survive and take care of the child....assuming there's any way back to the real world with a sinking sub.

Furthermore it could be argued Jin had developed no bond with his daughter. On the other hand the person he had bonded with most on this planet was right before him.

[Jay 37,374]

Cool clip from next week's episode:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuVQhkOBqjs

Is that music any theme we've heard before?

[Red 75]

It seems like it was done to give the Korean line extra oomph, but it felt wrong to me, and was distracting till the very end, when the fact that Jin is prepared to leave his daughter parent-less became more distracting.

It makes sense to me that Jin could not bare to leave Sun again after just being reunited with her, even if it did mean leaving their daughter. He wasn't about to let her die alone.

Cool clip from next week's episode:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuVQhkOBqjs

Is that music any theme we've heard before?

Yes, that's Richard's theme.

[crocodile 8,020]

It makes sense to me that Jin could not bare to leave Sun again after just being reunited with her, even if it did mean leaving their daughter. He wasn't about to let her die alone.

Which is good enough explanation to me. You can hardly expect people to make sensible decisions under such circumstances.

Karol

[Koray Savas 2,251]

He made a promise and kept it.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

I think Richard's theme in the sneak peak must be a placeholder.

Otherwise it's gone from romantic Richard theme to "Anything that Happened Pre Electricity Theme"

And that's just not very glamorous is it?

[crocodile 8,020]

It's not the first time they used different music to score a preview.

Karol

[Olivier 5]

Oh wow.

Gee.

Four deaths in a row, of three major characters and a very likeable one.

I think Jack is a shoe-in for replacing Jacob. Kate and Hurley will probably live. I always imagined Sawyer dying in some heroic way, but it seems like Sayid took that moment. It's weird to think that they are the only ones left. Although we still have Alpert, Miles, and Desmond out there.

It is weird; seeing these four, alone on the beach.

You forgot Rose and Bernard, though, still somewhere out there in the jungle.

The issue of which Kwon was the candidate is pretty moot now, and I like the idea it was never solved.

Jack was not quite right about their being invulnerable, though; is it that The Island was done with these? or is it only the chosen one that is invulnerable?

Speaking of which, how come Sayid was all of a sudden a good guy again? Granted, it wasn't actually all of a sudden, it obviously goes back at least as far as his sparing Desmond's life ... but my point still stands. Why would the show spend so many episodes convincing me that he'd gone over to the supposed dark side, only to go nowhere with it?

Even though she was seeming to grow better, Claire is still confused and under the influence of MiB's brainwashing; unlike Sayid, she was alone with him for three years, and she was convinced her baby had been stolen, which was a powerful thing for him to use on her; his gri on Sayid was looser.

The "contamination" does not appear to be an actual, total, irreversible one, but the term was probably used by Dogen because it was the best one to describe what they observed; it is a contamination, indeed, but apprently more of a kind that resurrects and influences, but does not take full control permanently; free will and choice still seem to be major factors in the equation.

I suppose we'll see Richard, Ben and Miles next week-- won't we? It's been a while.

And now I'm thinking that Jacob may not appear again until the very end.

We now know for certain that Locke wanted to get them killed, and the submarine was the best way; he must have known or guessed about the explosives; he may have gained the knowledge when killing one of Widmore's team.

But how will he get away from the Island, now?

Great scenes: Sayid's heroic death, Sun & Jin's last moments, and Locke & Jack's last scene in the hospital.

Oh, and how do you understand the title?

"The Candidate" hinted at a revelation (explicitly or implicitly) of the ultimate candidate, but there was none-- was there?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The Candidate worked as a double-meaning, I thought. There's of course the candidates for Jacob, our survivors; and then there's the real John Locke, who Jack said was a "candidate for a new procedure."

As for how the Smoke will leave now and why they were able to die, it's all in Jack's explanation at the end. If Sawyer didn't remove the pins, they would have been fine. But the Smoke made it so they would kill each other, because he is bound by the rules and can't actually do it himself. He also needs all of the candidates dead in order to leave. It makes sense, he needed to kill Jacob, and now he needs to kill his possible replacements. That way, nothing stands between him and freedom.

He's a very clever one, this cloud of smoke He even had me believing that Jacob was the bad guy, and that he actually needed all the survivors alive and together.

[Jay 37,374]

I agree that Jack was right and Smokey can't kill them directly. Sawyer screwed them over and got Lapidus, Sayid, and the Kwons killed.

So now we have Hurley, Jack, Kate, and Sawyer alive on a beach (which beach? Was it Hydra or main island?). Richard, Miles, and Ben roaming the jungle on the main island somewhere (what are they up to, anyway?). Fake-Locke and Claire together on Hydra Island, where Widmore and Zoe are still alive. Desmond in a well on the main island. Penny alive off-island. All 3 children (Ji Yeon, Aaron, Charlie Hume) alive off-island, along with Walt. Rose and Bernard haven't been seen since the 1970s, who knows if they teleported to the present with our heroes or not. That's about everyone, I think. I can't believe there's only 4 1/2 hours left!

Anybody else hosting a LOST finale viewing party?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I watch LOST by myself, everyone else just ruins the experience. I watched last night's episode with my parents, and my mom cannot use the remote whatsoever. I got home at 9:30, so we were watching the DVR recording and fast-forwarding through commercials. She would skip far into the episode, actually exit and go to the live broadcast. It was terrible. Like halfway through she exited the recording and I saw Jin and Sun in the sinking sub. It was infuriating.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

Lapidus is not dead. He will be back with a one liner I promise you!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

He had his last one-liner. Accept it!

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

No! It was a set up for another one liner at least! "I had a nasty run in with a door."

Oh and King Mark as long as a plane has wings, one working engine, fuel, and a tail it can fly. The gears are there for passenger comfort.

Oh and my she who must be obeyed has this habit of not reacting to the show unless it's something really emotional or hilarious. Watching anything with her you feel like the show sucks. So you have to remind yourself that at the end of it shell go wow that was amazing! Otherwise you feel detached from the show and notice all the negatives. Ruins it.

[Ollie 1,059]

She who must be obeyed got too confused during season 3 and gave up.

[Morlock 11]

I don't know if I could have left my wife either. Those are situations where you would rather not find yourself and it's hard to determine which choice you would make in those situations. It's easy to watch on TV and say well clearly the logical thing to do is have one person survive and take care of the child....assuming there's any way back to the real world with a sinking sub.

Furthermore it could be argued Jin had developed no bond with his daughter. On the other hand the person he had bonded with most on this planet was right before him.

I know, I know. But once it came to mind, it was hard for me not to get distracted by it. This one is just me. But I stand by my problems with the use of English. It maky be logical (though I'm not convinced), but I don't think it makes dramatic sense.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

Lucky bastard

Oh and she doesn't like me turning up the volume on the speaker system...or let alone "why you use it with a tv show on tv.."

She'd be fine and dandy listening to the so so TV speaker. Boggles my mind!

[Ollie 1,059]

I only use my stereo system for the Superbowl or NBA finals.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

I couldn't marry you Mark.

[Morlock 11]

I've never been able to keep track of all the themes and motifs in the scores...but am I correct in my sense that this episode featured a couple of new ones, or did I just never notice them before? The music for the rescue/walk to the plane and submarine, as well as the music for the flooding of the sub. Didn't sound familiar. Terrific stuff, either way. It felt like the music was kicking into higher gear, focused, driving, determined, and leaning more towards the epic, or maybe 'mythic' would be more accurate.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

By the way, can I just say that the most powerful moment of the episode for me, was not anyone's death.

But instead the moment Jack turns around to Smocke and says "John Locke told me I needed to stay!" was one of those highlights of the entire show for me. It's such a little moment, you blink and miss it, but it was just fantastic, it made me cheer and brought a smile to my face.

Jack/Matthew Fox have developed so much from the first episode, both as character and actor. Matthew Fox has been putting in great performances this season.

I've never been able to keep track of all the themes and motifs in the scores...but am I correct in my sense that this episode featured a couple of new ones, or did I just never notice them before? The music for the rescue/walk to the plane and submarine, as well as the music for the flooding of the sub. Didn't sound familiar. Terrific stuff, either way. It felt like the music was kicking into higher gear, focused, driving, determined, and leaning more towards the epic, or maybe 'mythic' would be more accurate.

Locke theme + Destiny theme developed further + Medal of Honor Sub theme.

[Bryant Burnette 654]

But I stand by my problems with the use of English. It maky be logical (though I'm not convinced), but I don't think it makes dramatic sense.

It didn't work dramatically at all, in my opinion. I love Sun and Jin as characters, but that scene wrung no emotion whatsoever out of me, and it should have. I love Sayid even more, and yet his death affected me not at all. I honestly got more emotional when Nikki and Paolo died, because at least there, even though I couldn't possibly have cared less about the characters, it felt like their deaths were the culmination of a story. A kinda lame story, true, but still.

Now, I'll admit that whereas those characters have died, they're also -- in the sideways world -- still alive. So maybe there's still hope. Probably not, though.

I've got to say, though, that there was still an awful lot of good material in the episode. I liked all of the interactions between Jack and Locke in the sideways world, for example, and I'm also immediately invested in the relationship between those versions of Jack and Claire. Also, the creeping realization alterna-Jack is coming to that something seriously odd was going on with Oceanic 815 is very interesting.

I dunno. This season just bums me out. I want to love it, and I just don't.

On an unrelated note, there is a Lost event on Thursday, May 20 in select movie theatre nationwide. It involves Lindelof and Cuse doing a live Q&A. I've got to figure out how to get out of working so's I can watch it.

[Jay 37,374]

Wow! Check out this second clip from next week's episode!

Man I can't wait for next week!

[Elmo Lewis 6]

But I stand by my problems with the use of English. It maky be logical (though I'm not convinced), but I don't think it makes dramatic sense.

It didn't work dramatically at all, in my opinion. I love Sun and Jin as characters, but that scene wrung no emotion whatsoever out of me, and it should have. I love Sayid even more, and yet his death affected me not at all. I honestly got more emotional when Nikki and Paolo died, because at least there, even though I couldn't possibly have cared less about the characters, it felt like their deaths were the culmination of a story. A kinda lame story, true, but still.

I couldn't agree more. My biggest bug with this otherwise brilliant episode was that it didn't answer the question of "why are these guys dying now? What have they achieved by being there thoroughout the season?" All the time invested in them in the past few weeks has not taken them anywhere, either narratively speaking or dramatically speaking.

Sayid succumbed to the dark side and returned to be "good", and a big deal was made about his resurrection. But now all the dramatic punch of that arc (as well as the answers as to what the infection is) is putrefying in the bottom of the ocean. Sun and Jin dying right after their separation plot is resolved pretty much confirms that these two guys ceased to be characters on their own. They had become the walking/talking personification the "separate couple endlessly looking for each other" plot. Which, much like the characters themselves, was completely alienated from the main story.

Still brilliant direction in the sub sequence, beautiful music and endearing performances. And a kudos for so ruthlessly setting up the main guys in such a sorry state for the finale.