Lost - The Incident

Well that was interesting. Mrs. Channelup and I went to a friend's house to watch the finale so I was stuck writing notes on little pieces of paper and trying to not be anti-social. (Spoilers ahead)

I was apprehensive about watching it outside of my own living room because I thought there would be needless distractions. Man was I wrong. Watching Lost is an activity best shared. So much is going on, it is good to have some different viewpoints. That being said, Mrs. Channelup and I walked home and I just kept saying over and over again, "How the hell do I write about this?" She replied, "You'll think of something. You have a gift." I agreed and sprinted home.

I think I am just going to do this bullet point style with some quotes. How else would I even begin to sum up two hours of Lost?

"They come fight, they destroy they corrupt. It all ends the same." - unknown character
"It only ends once. Everything before that is just progress." - Jacob

- From the get-go we thought this would be a Jacob-centric episode. In some ways it was as we saw him enter briefly into the lives of all the original members. The implication being here that by entering their lives at various, traumatic points, Jacob is beginning to steer them towards the island for whatever reason. I suspect he, by choosing these particular people, hopes to end the perceived negative cycle of human corruption of the island and prove his adversary wrong.
There is another part of me that thinks Lost may have set him up to be the good guy, when in fact his aims for the island are selfish and detracting. He seems so benevolent, kind and trustworthy, but is he? I can imagine a situation where his death is actually the best thing for the island.

"We traveled back in time and are still finding ways to shoot each other." -Bernard
"Just care about being together. That's all that matters in the end." - Rose

- This basically, and obviously, sums up the other central theme of the show. What brings us together? Love? Fate? Something else we can't even fathom? The Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Juliet menagerie switched back and forth more times for me to count but it all boiled down to this: when each realized who they wanted to be with, it was much too late. And in the end detonating the bomb represented a way, not to find love, but to make sure each didn't love only to have it lost.

"I lied. That's what I do." - Ben Linus

- We know Ben, we know. But over the last two episodes Ben has awakened so to speak. He is sort of like an alcoholic who wakes up one day realizing his whole life has been one big haze of shame, sorrow and misguided ideals. The island was the booze, killing Locke was hitting rock bottom and his return was the beginning of the recovery. Unfortunately, by killing Jacob he appears to jump of the proverbial wagon. Even when Jacob's counsel (plea) mentions Ben's over-arcing selfishness and Jacob reminds Ben he, "Has a choice," Ben still chooses vice over well being. Some people just can't change. I know people will argue that Ben killed Jacob because of the pain Jacob inflicted, but the pain was only representative of what Ben deserved by his own actions.

"What lies in the shadow of the statue?" - Ilana

- The discovery of a little Locke-in-a-box was a true whaaaa moment even if Mrs. Channelup claimed she called it from the beginning. Obvious these people are very pro Jacob and anti fake-Locke, but who are they? Are they like super-Masons who have ruled behind the scenes for centuries fighting with the Knights Templar (are those the same groups? I don't know. You get my point though). This fight for the island has raged over centuries, maybe millenniums and the struggle continues. When Jacob whispers, "They're coming," I can't even venture a guess as to who he means.

"Boom." - the bomb

- Well, the ending was nothing but a moderate cliffhanger. The implications here are more minutia than actual story changers. Miles's assumption that the bomb doesn't stop the cataclysmic event, but rather IS the event itself was prescient and probably accurate. Many less questions need be answered if the bomb actually changes nothing. If the bomb acts as the reason for the the Hatch and the button, then we can spend the final season focusing on the island itself. I like that much better than rewriting any kind of history. (Remember, the Red Sox won the World Series in '04. We don't need the Oceanic flight landing, a butterfly flapping its wings, and Dave Roberts not stealing second. Wouldn't be right.)

Quick highlights from an entertaining two hours

- Miles yelling, "Dad," to Chang when he is trapped. A moment of true love from a guy who rarely has anything but awesome one-liners.

- This may be the first time in history VW Bus acted as a tactical assault vehicle. When the crew rolled up on the Swan station, guns a-blazing I cheered a little inside.

- Jacob convincing Hurley that he isn't crazy or cursed, but in fact a very special guy warmed me a bit. Hurley gets dumped on a lot, but all he needs is someone to say, "Everything is going to be all right. You are a good guy. Believe in yourself."

I am sure other thoughts will come but its late and i feel like I've spent thirty years on this damned island.