Thread: *LOST* Season Six

Last night's episode revolving around Richard was one of the best...EVER!!! I liked that it told the story of who Richard was...how he got to the island, etc...in one long narrative without flash-forwards, sideways, etc.

Now I don't know who to crush on...Sawyer with his dimples or Richard with his beautiful eyes and long eyelashes!

It was an excellent episode, yes. But I do think I'll be a little disappointed if they end it w/ the whole Heaven/Hell good/evil story line.

Is Richard Alpert... Myth-taken?
By Cindy McLennan
Season 6 | Episode 9 | Aired on 2010.03.23

There are no visits to the Sideways world in this episode. Instead, it's all Richard Alpert, all the time. Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.

Island; Lost-Away Beach: Sun and Ilana tell the gang that Sun, Jack and Hurley are among the "candidates" to take over Jacob's job, and yet none of them run screaming into the ocean, in a last-ditch effort to either kill themselves or swim home. When Jack wants to know their next step, Ilana flashes back to Jacob telling her Richard will know what to do. Back in the present, when Ilana asks Richard, he laughs maniacally, and basically tells the gang: Go to Hell -- oh wait, we're already there! In addition to that unsettling (incorrect) revelation, Richard says that Jacob is a liar liar pants on fire, and then stalks off to join Team Faucke. When Jack spies Hurley talking to an invisible friend at the tree-line, he figures it's Jacob, but we know it's not, because Hurley's speaking in Spanish, whereas he and Jacob converse in English. When Jack wants to know who he's talking to and what's up, Hurley's all, Chill, dude. I've got this.

Tenerife, Canary Islands, 1867: Ricardo Alpert (who I'm going to keep calling Richard) rides a horse back to a cottage where his wife Isabella lays dying. When she coughs up blood, he knows he must fetch a doctor, so Isabella gives him her gold cross to help pay the fee. After hours of riding through the pouring rain, Richard arrives at the doctor's home, but Doc refuses to go out in this weather. Instead, the doctor retrieves a small bottle containing a very expensive cure from a locked cabinet, but since all Richard has is a few coins and his wife's gold cross, the doctor refuses to help. When Richard struggles with the doctor over the bottle, the doctor falls, striking his head on his table. He dies instantly. Richard grabs the bottle (which to me looks like the bottle of sand Richard showed a young John Locke, years ago, but the druggies people in the forums say the contents are too white [suggesting it's cocaine] and that the bottle is different, and I'm inclined to believe them). But what does any of this matter? When Richard returns home, Isabella is dead, and Richard is arrested and thrown in prison (which seems a little too pat to me, but who cares).

A priest visits his cell, but when Richard (sincerely) confesses his sins, the priest refuses to absolve him. Father Fail's story is that Richard, who is slated to hang tomorrow, has no time for penance, but really, the priest is just crooked. The next day, he leads in a Mr. Whitfield (like Widmore, only field-ier) who is looking to buy English-speaking prisoners to accompany him and Captain Magnus Hanso on a journey. Richard fits the bill, so he's sold. Father Judas Fail gets his 30 pieces of silver.

They sail on the Black Rock, like you knew they would, and during a horrendous storm, they get caught up in a tsunami-like wave. The force of the wave and boat combined takes down the ancient statue of Four Toes, which Richard's fellow prisoners are convinced is El Diablo! The ship lands inland, like we've known for years. Soon the prisoners start to wake. Hanso is dead, though, and only five officers remain, so Whitfield kills one prisoner after the other. Just before he moves in on a pleading Richard, we hear the telltale ticka ticka rattle clank. Smokey pours in through the grates up on deck and brings Whitfield back up with him. Richard, still in chains, is judged and passes. DUN.

We spend an incredibly long time watching shackled Richard trying to free himself. Eventually, though, his wife Isabella appears. She says they're dead and in Hell, and that she's there to save him before the devil returns. When the ticka ticka rattle clank starts up again, Richard insists Isabella leave. She finally runs up top, where it sounds like she is killed by Smokey. Later, Esau shows up with a pitcher of water and some cups and touches Richard. When Richard asks if he's in hell, Esau says he is. He agrees to free Richard and "help" him find Isabella, if Richard will only agree to do anything he asks. He also adds, "It's good to see you out of those chains." He then gets Richard on his feet and explains that the only way to escape Hell is to kill the "devil." And he's delegating that task to Richard.

After a meal of freshly roasted boar (which is so not Kosher) Esau dispatches Richard to the statue to kill the devil, a.k.a. Jacob, who doesn't seem to be a devil at all. The knife and instructions Esau gives Richard are identical to the knife and instructions Dogen gave Sayid.

Richard arrives at Four-Toes beach, ready to do his duty, but is soundly thrashed by Jacob, who seems to know nothing about Isabella, but can guess how Richard came to assassinate him. When Richard keeps pissing and moaning about being dead, Jacob tries some tough love. He drags Richard into the surf and forcefully baptizes immerses him, 4 times, until Richard allows that he might actually want to live. Jacob tells him that's the first sensible thing he's said. He's not wrong.

Jacob pours Richard some wine, denies being the devil, and then uses his wine jug as a metaphor. The wine is hell. The cork is the island. Keep the cork in the bottle -- keep the darkness from spreading. (I'm so excited that one of my theories might be right, I can't stand it.) Jacob eventually manages to convert Richard to his team. Richard has only one request. He wants his wife back. Jacob admits he can't do that. Richard then asks for absolution from his sins. Jacob can't do that, either. Finally, Richard says that he never wants to die. "I want to live forever." Jacob says, " Now that, I can do." He then touches Richard.

Richard finds Esau and gives him a white rock from Jacob. Esau tells Richard that if he ever changes his mind, his offer still stands. He then hands Isabella's cross to Richard, saying it must have fallen off on the ship. Yeah, right. Whatever. Poof! The Man in Black is gone. Richard buries Isabella's cross and waters its grave with his tears.

.
NOW: Richard trudges through the jungle and digs up Isabella's cross. He then yells out to no one in particular that he's changed his mind and wants to accept Esau's standing offer. It's then that Hurley appears. And with him, is the ghost of Richard's wife. Hurley interprets Isabella's words for Richard. Isabella says it wasn't Richard's fault that she died. It was her time. When Richard says he would do anything for them to be together again, Isabella says they already are. Once she's gone, Richard puts her cross back around his neck. Hurley then tells him there's one more thing Isabella said he has to do. "You have to stop the man in black from leaving the island, or we all go to hell." Hidden some distance away, Faucke watches with hatred in his eyes.

We cut back to 1867, I guess. Jacob finds Esau playing with the white rock. Esau says that eventually, he'll kill Jacob. Jacob doesn't seem riled up by this, and says someone will take his place. Esau says, "I'll kill them, too." Before Jacob leaves, he give Esau the jug of wine to keep himself busy. As he goes, he tells Esau he'll see him. Esau says he'll see Jacob, too. "Sooner than you think." He then smashes that perfectly good bottle of wine. Clearly, he is evil.

Hats off to Nestor Carbonell. This was damned near a monologue and he carried the episode without breaking a sweat. We got some answers, big (why Jacob granted Richard immortality) and small (the destruction of Four Toes, and the resting place of the Black Rock), and we learned how Richard becomes an advisor, too (which I'll hit in the full recap). We also seemed to amass additional evidence that Smokey is bad and Jacob is good, and truly does believe in free will. Most importantly, we learned the importance of Craphole Island. Buffy fans may have seen some (close your eyes) parallels to Becoming, I Only Have Eyes for You, and, of course, the Hellmouth. I'll hit those in the recap, too.

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I agree I thought it was a very good episode. But it just keeps giving me more questions. lol
Like how did "john" (the devil) get into "john's body if he was already dead when he got to the island?
And does this mean now that they can never leave this island?

Ob La Di, Ob La Da Life Goes On, Brothah
By Cindy McLennan | Season 6 | Episode 11 | Aired on 2010.04.06

Perhaps I'm easy, but I am not cheap. "Happily Ever After" gets an A+ from me, for both reasons, or neither. Who knows. Look, it gets my A+ because I'm an incurable romantic and no Lost love story has pushed my 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42s as well and thoroughly as that of Penny and Desmond, so let's get right to it.

Island Reality: When Desmond wakes up and finds out he's not in an L.A. hospital with his lovely wife and son by his side, he beats the crap out of Charles Widmore with an I.V. pole and the fans go wild! Des demands to be returned to his real life, but Charles tells him, "I can't take you back. The island isn't done with you yet." Why, Island? Why? Don't you believe in love? Charles orders Zoe and the Widmorons to run "the test" now, even though they insist it is ahead of "schedule." Yeah? So was nabbing Jin, which forced Charles' early confrontation with Faucke; deal with it, Widmorons. While an albino bunny, Angstrom (or perhaps Updike's Angstrom, but my money's on the former) looks on, the Widmorons test their magical generator, and when it fails, the red shirt of the week, Guy Fried, goes out to the shed to investigate. Let's bid him a fond adieu. Crackle crackle sizzle sizz. My 11-year-old is still hung up on the caged rabbit, though. "Mommy, these writers have Daddy Issues and Bunny Issues." Baby McWord.

Charles Widmore doesn't give a hoot about the late Guy Fried. He just wants Desmond to walk into the same chamber where Guy Fried got fried. The Widmorons tie Des to a chair, make sure he has no metal of any kind on him, and then Charles blathers about how he hates to force this on Des, but once it's over, he's going to ask him to make a sacrifice. The boys bicker about sacrifice, but Widmore wins. His son died. His daughter hates him. He hasn't met his grandson. If Des doesn't help him, it will all be for nothing, and Penny and wee Charlie Hume, and everyone else will be gone forever.

The Widmorons leave Des in the shed, with a magical, electro-magnetic donut, where he struggles his way out of his bonds. As Charles and the Widmorons watch on a monitor, Jin demands an explanation. Charles tells him that Des is the only person in the world to have survived a catastrophic electromagnetic event akin to Smokey. Chuckles needs to know Des can do it again, or everyone dies. He orders the Widmorons to "turn it on." Baby-Face hits the switch, and once everything is running at full power, Widmore operates the gears. The gigantic, magical electro-magnetic donut glows. Des faces it down. "Let me out, you *******s!" The Gauss meter goes off the scale. Scott asks if Dean and Sam know about this super-duper EMF meter, and we flash to the...

Sideways Reality; Just After Oceanic Flight 815 Lands: Des runs into Hurley (who tells him their bags are on carousel 4) and Claire (he tells her she's expecting a boy) in the airport. Next, Desmond's driver, George Minkowski (Fisher Stevens) meets him and offers to get him anything he wants while he's in L.A. -- including lovely ladies of questionable repute, but Des just wants to go to the office and see his boss -- WHO IS CHARLES FRICKING WIDMORE. Sideways Des is Widmore's righthand man, and Chuckles has a job for our laddie. Des must pick up junkie Charlie Pace from the airport courthouse, where he's been held on drug charges, because Charlie and his band, Driveshaft, are to play at a charity gig arranged by Charles Widmore's wife. It seems their son, a classical musician, has conceived of this concert that combines classical music with rock-n-roll. Before Des leaves, Widmore pours him a generous shot of MacCutcheon's. "A drink to celebrate your indispensability... Nothing's too good for you." I'ma get a tissue for my bloody nose, give me a moment.

Des meets Charlie Pace, who is either bat**** insane, or a one-eyed chick in the land of the blind. He starts talking to Des about spectacular, consciousness-ending love. He encountered it, on the plane from Sydney. Seems he felt he was made by Kate's Marshal, so he ducked into the loo and swallowed his bag of heroin, but just then, the plane hit some massive turbulence. Charlie inadvertently choked. And in that moment, after everything went dark, he saw this beautiful blonde woman and just knew they were together, like they've always been and always will be. Just as he was engulfed in love, he woke to find this sodding idiot (Hi, Jack, I still love you) asking him if he was okay. When Des mocks, "Well, that's just poetry brother; you should write a song about that," Charlie protests that he's now seen something real.

As Desmond drives, Charlie tells him that he feels sorry for him, since he hasn't seen what's really real. "I can either show you what I'm talking about it, or you can get out of the car." Before Des can give due consideration to his choices, Charlie grabs the wheel and drives them off the pier and right into the water. As the car fills up, a conscious Des tries to rescue an unconscious Charlie. When it doesn't work, he swims to the top, takes a breath, and goes back under. When Des knocks on Charlie's window, Charlie holds up his hand. It's clean at first, but suddenly, it reads, "NOT PENNY'S BOAT." Then it's clean, again. Des gets Charlie out, and brings him to the pier, where they wait for help.

Sideways St. Sebastian's Hospital a.k.a. The Only Hospital in L.A.: The staff wants to do an MRI on Des, but when they start this electro-magnetic laden test, he has more visions of Penny and knows he has to find Charlie Pace ASAP, so he pushes the fail safe panic button, and ends the test. No one will give Des any information on Charlie Pace, since he's not family. But then, Dr. Jack Shephard appears. Des recognizes him from Oceanic 815, and tries to hit Jack up for some intel, but before Jack has to decide whether or not he should run afoul of HIPAA, Charlie runs through the halls. Des chases after him, but never says, "At least get some pants, brothah." Once he catches Charlie, Desmond demands to see his hands. "NOT PENNY'S BOAT," is not on either one, but Desmond's desperation is enough to clue Charlie in on the fact that his plan worked. Desmond's near-death experience showed him his really truly true reality and soul-scorching love, too.

Later, Desmond reports to a nearly unforgiving Widmore that Pace is a no-go for the Mrs. and young Master Widmore's classical music/rock extravaganza. Widmore tells Des he gets the pleasure of telling the less than understanding Mrs. Widmore that her event is a bust. Des mans up, and does just that. Mrs. Widmore is none other than Eloise Hawking, and she's totally fine (or pretends to be) with Desmond's disappointing news. On his way out of the venue, Des overhears some employees reading off the approved guest list. The name Penny Milton is the one that catches his ear, but the previously oh-so-cool Madame Widmore won't let Des find out one detail about Ms. Paradise Lost Milton. She runs him off, telling him that what he's doing is a violation, and he needs to stop. "You're not ready yet, Desmond."

Back at the limo, George has booze waiting for a disconcerted Desmond, but before he can put away a significant amount, the musician-son of Mr. Charles and Mrs. Eloise (née Hawking) Widmore knocks on the limo window. Another hopeless romantic, Daniel Faraday Widmore just recently saw the love of his life -- a striking redhead with brilliant blue eyes (eating chocolate, probably before dinner), who works at the museum. I hope he doesn't mind James Ford's sloppy seconds. Anyhow, when Daniel saw her (Charlotte), that's when things got weird. That night, he fell asleep and then woke and had to write all these hi-tech equations. As a mere musician, Daniel couldn't make them out, but a friend at Cal-Tech told him they were quantum mechanics stuff of which lifelong physicists only dream. "What if all this wasn't supposed to be our life? What if we had some other life and for some reason we changed things... I don't want to set off a nuclear bomb, Mr. Hume.... I think I already did." Their conversation turns to Penny, who Desmond dismisses as just an idea. Daniel says, "No, Mr. Hume. She's my half-sister. And I can tell you exactly where and when you can find her."

Des finds Penny running the steps at the stadium, where -- a lifetime ago -- she once found him, and in which -- another lifetime ago -- Des once found Jack. Des introduces himself and strikes up a conversation. They shake hands and we cut to...

Hydra Island: Des wakes up in the room looking at the hand Penny just shook in the other reality. He's okay and has been unconscious for only a few seconds. Charles wants to make his sales pitch, but Desmond already understands. "You brought me here to the island to do something very important. When do we start?"

As Zoe and the Widmorons move Des through the jungle, they're accosted by Sayid, who makes quick work of the men and orders Zoe to run. Once they're alone, Sayid tells Des that the Widmorons are extremely dangerous. "We need to go, now." Des, as relaxed as he was during his last conversation with Widmore, says, "Aye, of course. Lead the way."

Sideways: Desmond wakes; when he and Penny touched hands, he fainted. Awww. Once he's back on his feet, they make a date to have coffee on the corner of Sweetzer and Melrose. She's totally feeling it, too. Once she's gone, Des exhales and returns to his limo, and to George, who asks, "So, did you find what you were looking for?" Des smiles. "Yes, George, I did. Corner of Melrose and Sweetzer, please." George: "You got it, and if there's anything else I can do for you, Mr. Hume, you just name it." Desmond leans forward. "Actually, there is one thing, George. Can you get me the manifest from my flight from Sydney -- Oceanic 815 -- just the names of the passengers?" George: "Sure, I can. Do you mind if I ask what you need it for?" Des sits back. "I just need to show them something." DUN! Bad robot.

Well, the realities are bleeding into one another fast and furious, now. For those of you who are keeping track of such things, Sideways Desmond caught a glimpse of his reflection in a door window. There were some glorious parallels between Desmond of seasons past and his Sideways counterparts, and some spiffy anti-parallels, too. At the end of the day, though, this episode worked because, despite how long we spent in the Sideways 'verse, it was character-driven, and driven by characters who have captured our hearts.

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Originally Posted by whatever

I agree I thought it was a very good episode. But it just keeps giving me more questions. lol
Like how did "john" (the devil) get into "john's body if he was already dead when he got to the island?
And does this mean now that they can never leave this island?

The "devil" did not get into John's body...he assumed John's physical appearance. I'm thinking that since he is the smoke monster, he can take on anyone's appearance...at least any mortal's appearance.

Remember...John's actual body fell out of the casket while Devil John (fake Locke) was somewhere else.

I think the entire point is for Fake Locke to get off the island. Jacob has been keeping him here and bringing people over the years to show him that people will ultimately make the right choice. Fake Locke wants to find someone who will choose to take him off the island.

At least...that's what I'm getting from everything.

OMG not Sayid,Jin and Sun...WTF????

Nice Package
By Cindy McLennan | Season 6 | Episode 10 | Aired on 2010.03.30

We finally get a Jin and Sun-centric episode, but on the island -- in the reality in which it matters to me right now -- they never catch a glimpse of each other. Suffice it to say, I'm a little bitter, but I'm holding that in check for now. What did you think? Click on that Episode Report Card right up there, and let me know. And now, let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up....

Sideways L.A. Reality: After deplaning from Oceanic 815, Sun Paik and Jin Soo Kwon check into their L.A. hotel and make a big stink about having separate rooms, because "no marry." But when Jin leaves his room (842) at 11:30 PM to visit Sun, and tells her he's going to the restaurant to deliver the watch Mr. Paik gave him, Sun starts unbuttoning buttons on that frigging beige cardigan, and Jin? He doesn't mind in the slightest. They end up in bed. The next morning, Sun suggests they run away together and says she has something important to tell Jin, but she's interrupted by Keamy's knock on her door. Keamy wants the 25 grand Mr. Paik had Jin carry over from Korea. There's only one problem -- Jin doesn't have it, because Customs is turning it over to the Feds (even though, I think, Customs = the Feds). Since Keamy and Omar (not Omer) don't speak Korean, and Jin and Sun don't (seem to) speak English, Keamy *****es about being trapped in a "Godzilla movie" because he's just that special, and then orders Omar to bring in that guy that knows something like nine languages -- MIKHAIL! And? Sideways Mikhail has both eyes. He also looks ten years younger, and what's up with that?

On Keamy's orders, Mikhail takes Sun to the bank. She'll hit up her personal account to give Keamy the 25K he's expecting. But once at the bank, Sun and Mikhail learn that Mr. Paik not only knew about Sun's secret account, he somehow used his muscle to get the bank to transfer the funds into one of his accounts. Sun's balance? Zero. That's probably just as well. Paik was paying Keamy the 25K to kill Jin, because you so don't mess with the boss's daughter. Once at the restaurant, Keamy and Omar (not Omer) tie up Jin and leave him in the restaurant's walk-in. Jin hears Sayid shoot Keamy and his minions and raises a ruckus. Sayid finds Jin in the walk-in, like we already saw, but he doesn't free him. Instead, Sayid slips a razor into Jin's still-bound hands, wishes him luck and takes off.

When Mikhail and Sun get to the restaurant, they see the carnage and find the dying -- but not dead yet -- Keamy. Sheesh, this guy dies harder than Rasputin. Anyhow, Jin appears and he and Mikhail struggle for a gun. It goes off, and the bullet hits Sun in the stomach, but Jin doesn't realize that until after he SHOOTS OUT MIKHAIL'S EYE! Once Jin realizes Sun has been hit, he scoops her up in his beautiful arms; she tells him she's pregnant; he carries her out.

Island Jacobites: Most of the Jacobites' story involves waiting on Lostaway Beach for Richard Alpert to return. Ben doubts he will, but Ilana is sure of it, because Jacob hasn't lied to her, yet. Sun, frustrated that no one is focused on helping her find Jin, retreats to her old garden to tidy things up. Faucke catches up with her there, and tries to tempt her into coming with him and reuniting with Jin. Sun freaks and runs -- straight into a tree. Later, Ben finds her, and while she can still understand English, she can no longer speak it. Back at the beach camp, Hurley and a reinvigorated Richard return. When Richard gives everyone their marching orders (he wants to disable the plane), Sun tells off the Jacobites -- in Korean -- for ignoring her need to get Jin. They can't understand her, since they don't speak Korean, but they get her general drift, just the same. Later, based on an experience he had when he was a Baby Doc, Jack brings Sun some paper and a pen -- hoping she can write in English, even though she cannot speak it. She can. We all breathe a sigh of relief.

Island Fauckers: Faucke leaves Sayid guarding the troops while he goes off to woo Sun over to his team. And while he's gone, Widmore's Commandos sneak into Camp Faucke, tranquilize the Fauckers, and nab Jin. When Faucke returns, he is devastated to learn Jin is gone. He and Sayid saddle up and head to Hydra Island to confront Widmore. But once they're there, we don't see Sayid, only Faucke. Faucke and Widmore have a pissing contest; Widmore denies kidnapping Jin; Faucke tells Widmore war is coming to the island and maybe just started, and then leaves. Widmore, by the way, very much has Jin -- in room 23, at the Hydra compound, but he's got a whole new approach to mind-control. He gives Jin Sun's digital camera that he found on Ajira 316. It's loaded with pictures of Sun and Ji Yeon which make both Jin and me cry, but shut up. Widmore says he too has a daughter, and tells Jin that if they don't stop Faucke from leaving the island, their daughters and everyone they know and love will cease to be.

Sawyer reminds Kate that he's not on Team Faucke or any other team, but he's got a feeling this is almost over. He's assuming Team Widmore took care of things. Just then, Faucke returns without Jin. In his own indirect way, Faucke lets Sawyer know that he's dispatched Sayid to find out what's in the locked room on Widmore's sub.

Team Widmore: It seems Zoe (Liz Laura Roslin Lemon) jumped the gun on nabbing Jin. Now Widmore has to improvise. He tells her to bring out the package from the sub. The package isn't a what. It's a who. DESMOND! Desmond was too heavily medicated on his trip over, so when Zoe and a crew member drag him off the sub, Desmond collapses on the dock. In the water, Sayid is waiting. He silently swims over to Des, and makes oh-so-meaningful eyes at him. Dun. Bad Robot.

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