Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Lost Rehash S6.14: The Candidate

I’m not exactly sure how to express myself.  I really wasn’t expecting everything to go down like this, but then again, I kind of was.  But definitely not as shocking and emotional as it was.  No.  And it was close.  I mean, I was probably on the borderline for tears there, and that’s only happened a handful of times in the LOST run.JackLocke In one fell swoop, one sneaky masterful plan, Sayid, Jin, and Sun were killed, in addition to Frank (I’m guessing) and the rest of the sub crew.  And what seemed like spontaneous decision by unLocke (opting for the sub as opposed to the plane; adding the watch to the bomb), I have to wonder how the thing would have played out if different actions were taken.  Was Jack right?  Would the bomb have blown up if Sawyer hadn’t pulled those wires?  Yeah, it probably would have, but still, I have to wonder.  And does it matter which Kwon was the Candidate?  And why didn’t Kate die?  (Okay, my loathing of Kate has actually abated quite a bit, and now she just gets on my nerves from time to time.)

“The Candidate” was an amazing, heartbreaking, exhilarating episode, one that will definitely be burned into memory.  Beloved characters died.  Sayid, seeking retribution and forgiveness for all of his past mistakes, (predictably) sacrifices himself to keep the others alive.  Still, the force of the bomb pins Sun up against the wall, and after some failed attempts, everybody leaves her behind but Jin, who stays with her until it ends, promising to never leave her again.  lostbombTheir conversation was very moving, and you could easily see the love in their eyes.  I hate to say it, but the tragic scene was beautiful.

In the Flash-sideways (FS) things are moving quickly.  Locke has recovered from his surgery and Jack is telling him that he is a candidate for a new procedure that could restore feeling to his legs.  Locke refuses, and we later learn that he’s punishing himself over a mistake he made that led to the loss of his legs, as well as a complete near-vegetative state for his father, Anthony Cooper.  In the process of learning about Cooper, Jack meets Bernard and learns that he, too, was on Oceanic 815.

I’m wondering if the FS reality exists while Jack (and/or Locke) stays in the dark about the Island.  He seems to be on the edge of enlightenment, but he never quite makes it over.  Will he soon meet Kate and things click in place for him?  Is the coincidence of getting tangled in Oceanic 815’s web digging at him?  Whatever the case, I’m very curious about what the FS is. 

Thoughts and Observations

  • Have you noticed that many of these episode titles could refer to either time-line?  Are they misleading on purpose or are they truly dual sided?  “The Candidate” was John Locke being up for advanced surgery; Sayid told Jack that “he was the One”, which I assume meant the Candidate.  “The Last Recruit” was Jack falling under the tutelage of unLocke, but it could’ve also been Locke falling under the scalpel of Dr. Shephard.  And “The Package” was Desmond, but it was also the gift Jin brought to the States to deliver to Keamy.  There are plenty more of these things, and I wonder if they have any special meanings or if they’re just literary techniques.
  • Sayid’s self-sacrifice was easily predictable, but it was still a blow to seem him die.  I’ve always liked the man.  Seeing him off himself to save the others was definitely in character, especially if he was hoping it would atone for all his wrongs.  Too bad Sayid had such a short season.
  • I can see Sawyer dying in a similar way Sayid did, sacrificing himself.
  • My feelings for Jin and Sun have always varied.  Sometimes Sun was just a whiny spoiled rich girl, selfish and irksome.  Sometimes she was a loving wife and caring lady.  Jin was a hardcore Korean mafia type, abusive and absent, but he was a loving husband and a compassionate man.  Their death wasn’t terrible, but it was sad, especially considering that they left Ji Yeon behind. 
  • Witnessing Hugo, Kate, and Jack’s sorrow at the loss of three of their friends felt like I was trespassing onto something deeply personal and that I should give them a moment.  It’s stuff like this that makes LOST the greatest show to have ever aired.
  • I have no idea what to think about Widmore’s crew.  What’s their game?
  • Is Desmond going to get out of that well next week?
  • As reported by everybody in Hollywood, the finale has been extended to 2.5 hours now.  Awesome, I say!
  • I never trusted you unLocke.  You tried to say that you were good and didn’t have any evil intentions.  Bah, not once did I believe you, and you proved me right tonight you evil man/smoke/deity thing.
  • It’s crazy all the lines that are being re-used in the FS.  “I wish you had believed me,” Jack said to Locke.  “What happened happened.”  Ahh, too many things.
  • This episode will take some processing time and some time to decompress.  Great stuff.
     
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7 comments:

Bill said...

I just finished watching this episode myself.

Wow.

That sure was emotional.

I really wonder if the bomb would have gone off.

logankstewart said...

I keep wondering the same thing, Bill. What if Sawyer hadn't pulled those wires? I imagine it still would've exploded, but I'm not confident. Grr.

An excellent episode, though.

Bill said...

Another question...if unLocke couldn't directly kill them (still unsure if that's the case) why wouldn't he allow them to take the plane and go boom? He can't be hurt by the explosion, right? It seems awful risky to assume a situation would arise that would necessitate Jack being in the same confined area as the rest of them. And he must be the fastest bomb-maker ever...just saying, watches don't work like that last I checked.

logankstewart said...

I think he didn't take the plane because Jack wasn't willing to leave the Island yet, and unLocke knew that. So he needed a way to get Jack on board, and he likely knew the sub was being patrolled and that there would be a firefight. He must've been gambling that someone would get shot and need Jack's attention.

The watch thing doesn't seem that far-fetched to me. If unLocke is a swirling, smoking magical thing, surely he could whip up a timer to an already constructed bomb relatively quickly. I did have to suspend my belief when the seconds started ticking faster...

Anonymous said...

About Widmore, he's the most unlikable yet potentially good guy ever. It's maddening.

My theory on FS...somehow, someway all of the FS will get on ANOTHER plane together. At the end of the final episode, we'll see their plane go down (again)...thus beginning the cycle again. Meanwhile, on the island, good will win out (whatever that looks like) and the universe will be preserved. Yet, the new (and final) crash will hint at some kind of an endless cycle going on. I can't really explain it, but I think the theme will be "you can't change destiny."

However, it ends, I bet the final frame of the series will be the same as the first. Jack's eyes opening up...then LOST spinning with gong.

RetroRaconteur said...

Logan- I definitely think the bomb would NOT have went off if they had just left it alone. I believe there are "rules" in place to where MIB simply can't kill the candidates. By taking matters into their own hands (i.e. Sawyer trying to disarm it) the deaths were then on Sawyer. The only way MIB can get off the island is if he convinces them to kill each other. All I can say is, good luck getting Kate, Jack, or Hurley to kill anyone. Sawyer will be difficult as well because he's going to feel incredibly guilty when he wakes up.

Ryan and Heather- You know, I've thought that too, but remember...the island is underwater in that timeline. We still don't even know what caused that.

logankstewart said...

@Ryan: Thanks for stopping by my blog, especially on a Lost post! Widmore is definitely still a wild-card. While I don't see him in Jacob's camp, I don't think he wants Smokey to get off the Island either. It'll be interesting to see how he plays out.

Interesting thoughts on the FS.

Yeah, I've long thought that the series would end cyclical. That seems to be the thing these days, but with Lost it almost makes sense to do so.

@Jonathan: Indeed, but what exactly are the rules I wonder. Since Widmore technically created the bomb as a trap and unLocke only tinkered with it, how would the rules work there? And it was Jack that brought the bomb on board, not unLocke.

Definitely it's been clear that unLocke wants all the Candidates dead, and I really don't see the survivors offing each other at all.

Surely we'll find out why the Island is underwater in the FS?