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‘Lost’ Wednesdays: ‘You don’t look like a Rosalita’

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I don’t know that anyone would have predicted that just a few episodes from the end of ‘Lost,’ we’d all still be pulling out crazy theories on what is or isn’t going on on the Island (or off of it, as the case may be). Yet, here we are, after another episode, and we’re still talking past each other with theories and rancor and arguments about whether the final season should be more about answers or more about what the characters are up to. I suppose I’d say that we’re heading into the home stretch, and I’m mostly along for the ride. But it wouldn’t be ‘Lost’ if we weren’t all wondering just what was to come.

Before we get into your comments, though, I’d invite you to read Alan Sepinwall’s concerns that maybe the show doesn’t have enough time to properly wrap up its story lines. I don’t agree with what he’s saying -- I’d say we’re well on our way to having this all be tied together in a satisfying fashion -- but it’s an interesting perspective, coming from someone who’s clearly enjoying a lot of the season but has big concerns about the direction it’s all headed. I do hope he’s wrong, but if anyone’s going to be right about something like this, it’s probably going to be him. (I also really liked Maureen Ryan’s thoughts on Tuesday night’s episode.)

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But let’s move on to your comments for the episode. This week’s section was probably more argumentative than usual, but I trust all of you aren’t actually mad at each other. I hope, at least.

Let’s start with lazarus’ thoughts on Lapidus:

Why is Lapidus alive? Because he’s the only one who can fly that plane off the island. And I’m speculating that the same people will get on a plane in each reality, and when they reach the same point during their flights geographically, the two worlds will reconcile. Most LOST fans seem to like Frank, and his comic relief is usually welcome, but he does seem extraneous otherwise. Miles joining Richard’s team makes it even more likely that he’s going to be the next one to go.

Obviously, we’re not going to get an epic Lapidus backstory (though oh, how I wish we would). At the same time, I can’t really buy that the show is going to come down to two alternate timeline planes crossing paths. That just strikes me as a little hokey. It’s not that the ‘Lost’ guys never go in for hokey, but this seems a little too broad and obvious, even for them. It’s a good theory, though, and it certainly does seem that Miles will be the next to go. (Though, that said, we’re at a point where literally any character who dies next will be a sad character to see go.)

Charlotte K reminds us that Sawyer seemed to see the kid, too (though I don’t know if we got confirmation of this) way back in the season’s earliest episodes. As to who the kid is, though, she’s not sure. I’m still betting on it being the young Jacob, but I don’t know. She’s also wondering if Miles leaving with Richard and Ben is motivated by his fear of Hurley’s powers, and I think that may be the case. Miles did seem mildly worried by just how present the dead were in Hurley’s life, and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he just had to get away from the guy. At the same time, though, it seemed that the show was just trying to get the Season One gang back together, and that meant Richard, Ben and Miles had to go. (And Desmond had to go in a well, but we’ll get to that.)

Rogers begs to differ with my enjoyment of the episode:

Are you out of your mind? This was yet another hour of nothing happening. How can this be a show about characters? All the characters do is sit around and wait for someone to tell them to do something. When they ask why they have to do it, someone just walks away into the jungle. These characters have no agency, goals or desires beyond filling out the plot.

I’d say that outside of Jack -- who’s clearly just playing out the string and trying to stop getting people killed -- everybody on the show has one overriding desire at this point: to get off the Island. Jacob and the Man in Black are trapped in this centuries-old conflict, but they’re the only ones who really seem to care about it. Even Widmore still seems more interested in possessing the Island for himself. This is all building to a war over the Island, and what I’m loving about it is that our characters, increasingly, just don’t care. The death of Ilana was shocking, yes, but it was shocking both because it came out of nowhere and it was completely meaningless. Her whole life built to ... to THAT? I love that the show has become about a bunch of people who have no idea how to escape the situation they find themselves in and basically just have to gut it out to have any chance at getting what they want. Choosing neither side is sometimes harder than picking a side.

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I like SAJ’s thought that Desmond doesn’t care about the Island and seems so blissed out about everything (not to mention unafraid of the Smoke Monster) because he’s cognizant of the other timeline and knows his true mission is there. And I like this thought by Steve even more:

It is apparent that Desmond is attempting to reconnect the Losties with their ‘Soul Mates.’ Is it possible that Desmond hitting Locke with the car is done so to send him to the hospital to reconnect with Dr. Jack. Jack and Locke have always been connected as two opposites. While Kate makes sense with the theme of love, but maybe it is really about connecting with your constant and that means Jack and Locke go together?

I’d love if that happened! I like a good love story as much as anyone else, but I really would rather that the show not make this all about love as a solution. If it turns out that Jack and Locke -- as intellectual sparring partners -- were just as connected as Desmond and Penny, it would be a great way to set up the end of this particular storyline. And something tells me we’ll find out more about this next week.

Laura points out that the name of Hurley’s blind date put her (and me) in mind of one of my favorite songs of all time, ‘Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)’ by Bruce Springsteen. And, obviously, we were meant to think that, she points out, because the name of the restaurant is ‘Spanish Johnny’s,’ and Spanish Johnny is the name of the protagonist in the very next song on that album, ‘Incident on 57th Street.’

Doug wonders if Hurley picking up the ashes means that he’s going to try to get the Oceanic gang off the Island by getting them all on the plane and then surrounding it with ashes so that the Man in Black cannot get on board. This seems a little too easy of an answer, honestly, but I’m sure the ashes are there for some reason.

Finally, Jae asks a question all of us have asked at one time or another:

Did I just miss it or did the show ever explain why Walt was ‘a very special boy’ to the Others and why he could appear to other people on the island after he’d been kidnapped? I keep feeling like this is a loose end that has never been tied up.

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I agree that Walt’s true purpose has never been explained. At the same time, because the actor grew up so fast, it seems like we’ll never get that answer, unless the show just tosses off an explanation somewhere along the line. It’s too bad, because Walt was one of the best characters (or at least most interesting) back when the show started, and I’d love to know what the deal was with him.

And with that, it’s time to go. We’ll see you this weekend, and remember to send me your e-mails and Tweets with your fun ‘Lost’ stuff.

-- Todd VanDerWerff (follow me on Twitter at @tvoti)

Photo: Michael (Harold Perrineau) returns from the dead to give Hurley a warning. Credit: ABC

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