‘Lost’: Don’t grieve for Jin

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After the shocking revelation at the end of this week’s ‘Lost,’ one might be tempted to fall into a funk. Up to now, all the characters who have gone to their reward on ‘Lost’ have had at least a little bit of an edge to them -- Ana Lucia, Mr. Eko, Charlie, even Shannon wasn’t a completely lovable character. But to see Sun weeping at Jin’s grave and realizing he would soon meet his untimely demise was a twist that could make even the most callous viewer shed a tear.

So go ahead and get weepy if you like. Don’t feel guilty, it’s healthy. But just know that despite strong evidence to the contrary, I don’t think Jin is dead.

During Sun’s flash-forward, we saw her give birth to the baby she was impregnated with before her trip to the island. (Note: Thanks to everyone who wrote in to correct me on this one. I had completely forgotten that the island had worked its magic on Jin and allowed him to father a child on the island. And here I was thinking Sun was still lying to him last night about the true paternity...) Assuming the bizarre time travel shenanigans going to and from the island didn’t do anything to prolong the pregnancy timeline, it’s safe to assume that these scenes took place just a couple of months after the Oceanic Six’s rescue. That means that when Hurley appears to visit Jin’s grave with Sun, it’s before his trip to back to the psych ward and his decision to return to the island. It must also come before bearded Jack’s tearful plea to Kate that they have to go back. So the mentality of the Oceanic Six at this time must have been one that did not involve thoughts of return in any way. In their minds, whoever had been left behind on the island was as good as dead -- they would never see any of them again.

The date of death on Jin’s tombstone was 9/22/2004, the date that Oceanic 815 crashed, which is proof that Jin never left the island. It’s possible that he really did die, but my suspicion is that if we were to return to Sun in flash-forward mode at the same point in the timeline as bearded Jack and crazy Hurley, we’d see a woman haunted by visions of her husband and thinking it was time to head back.

In other developments, Michael returned. And it’s all but confirmed that he’s Ben’s spy on the boat. Not that anyone should be surprised by that -- it’s probably the least surprising surprise of the new season. Now the big question is exactly how he went from speeding off in a little motor boat at the end of Season 2 to working as a lowly janitor on Charles Widmore’s freighter. And how will they explain away his son Walt’s sudden growth spurt? I’ll bet that kid is shaving by now. It appears as if we’ll learn most of that information next week.

Besides those two revelations, this week was a quiet episode, which is not to say that it was boring. Jin and Sun haven’t always been the heart of the show’s intrigue or drama, but their interaction tonight while dealing with Sun’s pre-island affair was sweet and human. Not every episode can be stuffed with anagrams and literary allusions, much as I sometimes feel like they should. Tonight was a reminder that without heart, the show would quickly flounder. Maybe it was the brief appearance by Bernard, who has somehow become the Boba Fett of ‘Lost’ lore -- that semi-obscure background character that has somehow become one of the most beloved people on the series. If ‘Lost’ ever gets a spinoff, look for Bernard to star in it. Maybe Bernard and his wacky Canadian brother open up a surf shop in Hawaii. ABC, are you listening?

-- Patrick Day