So I didn't do this on the other thread so as to not put spoilers from this episode...but what Andrew wrote...

My dream scenario for next week:

Jacob appears to Jack, and says, "Are you ready to know about the island?"

Jack says, "Yes. Yes, I am."

Jacob says, "Good," and proceeds to sit with him for a full hour, explaining, in detail, the what, how, why, and when of the island.

Close enough :). And I about lost it (pun intended) when Jacob showed up to Jack and co. This is the PERFECT followup to last week's necessary episode, IMO. I absolutely cannot wait for the finale...although it will be bittersweet.

Seeing Ana Lucia made my heart rage with anger for a brief moment... but I don't think she's gonna be a major player at all. Let's hope that was left to more of a cameo appearance :)

Our recording ended early. Mega d'oh!

So what happened after Desmond holds up the dress and says to Kate, "We're going to a concert"???

A few more observations.

1. So much for Ben's redemptive story arc. Bleaugh. I really hoped he was changed. I guess in sideways world he has, he's getting the daughter he always wanted, and he an Rousseau will soon be wed. But, geesh - I wanted him to stand against Locke. Even if it meant he died.

2. Richard was unceremoniously killed, by all appearances.

3. Widmore too. This show offs characters quicker than anything.

I'm not convinced Ben has returned to the dark side. His shooting of Charles Widmore might have been revenge for killing Alex, but it also might have been to try and stop him from telling Flocke about Desmond. Not exactly moral either way, but neither one would guarantee he is now throwing in with Flocke.

Other than that, his going along with Flocke to kill the rest of the Losties might just be to keep himself alive for a while, or possibly even to con and set Flocke up.

That's what I'm hoping for anyway. My favorite episode of the season is still Dr. Linus, and favorite scene the one with Ben and Iliana. I'd hate for Ben's redemption to be Lost (sorry, couldn't help myself).

Hurley will find love as well.

Bill, I think you were mostly right.

And as far as I'm concerned all my questions (but one) have been answered. Your paradigm is the one that explains everything, and I'm satisfied enough.

We're never gonna find out the true origin of the light. All mystery won't be answered. But I agree with you, they've done plenty.

The only question still remaining for me is the children question: What happened to the kids who were kidnapped? Why can't people conceive and give birth on the island? Why and how were Walt and Aaron supposed to be special?

But other than that, I'm satisfied. Great work Bill!

I think the last line of this episode set up the path for the finale. In the first episode of this season, we saw the island at the bottom of the ocean and assumed that it was because of the atomic bomb blast.

Now that we know that Flocke actually wants to destroy the island and cave of light so he can escape the island and/or die, I think the sunk island and sideways world is the hypothetical result of Locke being successful in destroying the island, not the atomic bomb blast.

So I think the finale will deal with the on-island Losties trying to stop Flocke from sinking the island, but they won't be able to do it alone. Somehow the sideways Losties are going to have to agree to return to the island to somehow stop Flocke and end the sideways Matrix-like false reality.

How they will explain or manage all that, I haven't got a clue.

Bill,
I have a request. Will you do a "pre-recorded live post"? Or whatever you call it, I'm asking that you record it. and then watch it with your computer in your lap, and pause it, and write comments when you want. Or maybe just do that on a second viewing.

I'd love to read your thoughts even if it is several days later. That's the real value in the liveblog anyway.

Shrode,

I actually think we are thinking along the same lines. Maybe I wasn't real clear with what I wrote. I also think the island is the true reality, won't be sunk, and will continue to exist with some mystery and protector.

I think the sideways world is a Matrix-like false reality. Which is why Desmond is always trying to get the Losties to 'wake up', similar to the Matrix. And it possibly explains why Eloise Hawking knows so much in it. Because she is working with whoever (Flocke?) controls this matrix world, rather than just an entrapped human mind like almost everyone else in it.

Obviously, the big question is what caused the false sideways world to ever begin? It seemingly corresponds with the island being sunk. So what actually caused the island to sink, and can it be stopped from ever sinking (along with the creation of the false sideways reality) in the current island time frame?

I just don't think the real reason the island appears to have sunk will end up being due to the atomic bomb blast. I think it will end up being some action or trickery of Flocke instead. I also think it will somehow be stopped by the sideways Losties becoming aware of their psychological imprisonment and somehow ending it (probably by returning to the island), foiling Flocke's plans and extending the islands life with some Lostie as its new protector.

Bill,
I hate to break it to you, but Jin and Sun are dead.

Dead dead. Really dead. They ain't comin back. And the sideways thing won't bring them back.

Give up hope, and accept it. Pack up your women, children and livestock and leave the banks of Denial. Life was not better back in Egypt.

In my best Dr. Bones McCoy voice, "They're dead, Bill."

There I said it. Now I sit back and wait 5 days to see if I get disproved... ;-)

Immediately after Sun and Jin died I was thinking the alternate reality would become the true reality so that everyone could live happily ever after, etc. But now to me that seems like too much of a copout and I don't think the writers want to be that typical anyways.

The Matrix-esque theory does sound intriguing. I think that would make for a much better ending, if true. Or even if the sideways timeline isn't even real, but just a hypothetical "this is what would have happened if smokey got off the island" type scenario. And of course, I don't think we're gonna get a spoonfed answer for everything we may want. But I don't really want that either. In real life there are so many things we don't have difinitive answers for, so I don't see why a show would be any different. I don't even think it's possible for them to answer everything we want without introducing more questions...that's just the way things are.

I also really hope the sideways world is false, as even the happier stories there seem shallow to me.

Meanwhile most of the island Losties have died heroic deaths, often sacrificing themselves for others (Sayid, Charlie, Juliet, Jin). And the remaining Losties probably will be called on to sacrifice more in the finale.

Those are good deaths, and not ones I want to see blotted out, even by a happier or more pleasant life for those characters.

I think sideways Losties are being wakened in order to be a part of the Island reality fix, too. What I think will be interesting is when the sideways characters stumble across the fact that their real counterparts are dead. I can't even imagine how they are going to resolve it, but I can't wait. Other than the fact that I'm depressed that it will be over.

Kevo,

That seems to make sense on a couple of levels:
-If I've heard one person say it, I've heard a hundred people say, "I just don't see how they're going to wrap the whole thing up by the end of the season"
-They need a reason for people to buy the DVDs
-The answers provided in the DVD can't be too pivotal to the story
-I wouldn't be surprised if the extra 20 minutes are "What happened after?" similar to the epilogue at the end of HP7


Do you think the final ep will end with a shocking moment followed by the LOST logo (something that puts everything into perspective) or will it end more on a "Happily Ever After" line?

Here's what they will do:
They'll have the musical montage thingie, near the end to give us all closure, and make us feel good, because most everything will be wrapped up.

And then after the music, there will be 30-60 more seconds. The music will stop, there will be a scene, and it will be a shocker. Something people will talk about for years, and then BOOM, LOST logo, and we're done. (They want their ending to create as much shock and awe as the Sopranos.)

That's my prediction.

Weird blooper how Flocke tells Ben he can have the island after he leaves, and then tells him he's going to destroy it. Surprised the writers didn't catch that.
Bill-thanks for your live-blogging. Reading them has been so tied-in with the whole LOST experience for us; You've done a great job, and I know it was a sacrifice--a sacrifice the Island demanded. I think I'll miss them almost as much as the show.

A couple interesting things to note here:

1) What if flash sideways Claire is really carrying twins? Perhaps we might see some of the same symbolism in the flash sideways timeline as we did the main. Claire did get that music box from her dad so maybe she'll pass it on to one of her twins (like how MIB's "mom" gave him the box). It'll be interesting to see how that plays out.

2) Now that Jack is "protector" does that mean that MIB can change forms again? I seem to remember that he was "locked" (tee hee) in as Locke's form once Jacob was killed. If he killed Desmond and changed to his form, does he also inherit Desmond's resistance to electromagnitism? Maybe that could be how he plans to "use" Desmond? Hmm.

jen,
me too.