TUIW Lost Conversation: “LA X”

Each week, after taking a couple days to digest the episode and read what the blogs are saying, we’re going to have a TUIW Conversation about Lost to try and unpack the episode, bounce theories off each other, and see if we can’t figure out what’s going on with our favorite group of TV castaways (sorry Gilligan!)

Jonah: So Mike, I’ve gone on and on at length about what I thought about “LA X,” so let’s start with you. What were your general impressions of Lost’s big return?

Michael: I thought it was one of the strongest episodes Lost has ever produced. I’m of the opinion that so far each finale has upped the ante for the following season, but I think for the first time, we had a premier dictate things. We were left with Jacob’s murder at the hands of a mysterious man and with the detonation of a bomb. We’ve then returned to discover that Jacob’s murder is bad news for the Island, and that the bomb blast has both done what it was intended to do as well as continue to make things a lot more complicated forthe people on the Island. We don’t know where this alternate timeline where the plane doesn’t crash is going to lead us, but I think that above anything, it goes back to the ever present theme of destiny, and whether or not it will be fulfilled even if 815 lands at LAX. Like you said, we’ve heard your opinion, so I’ll ask you this: based on the premier, do you think this season is about punishing and/or redeeming the characters for their actions on and off the island?

J: I think that those are exactly the terms the creators want us to be thinking in. The last five years have been this journey of redemption for the characters and the main reason so many people didn’t want to see any kind of reboot was that they didn’t want to see everyone lose all the progress they made towards becoming better people. I think, ultimately, its going to be about redemption and finally being able to put aside the past and all those “what ifs” that have been nagging at our heroes since the beginning. The thematic and narrative richness of telling a story like that through multiple universes, I think, makes it worth it for me…providing the writers can actually pull it off. And, in another way, its also about “why these people?” Are they pawns in some game that’s too big for them to understand and it could have just as easily been a show about Scott and Steve and Arzt? Or is there a reason why it had to be Jack and Kate? And can they take control of their destinies? What do you think?

M: One of the interesting things to me in the premier was Charlie almost dying of asphyxiation, which Jack bringing him back, just like in Season 1, when Jack saves him after Ethan hangs him. Could it be that their destinies were predetermined and that Island or not, they were going to happen? Maybe the bomb blast that may or may not have created this alternative timeline caused it to play out that way. Again, I think it’s too early to tell. Back on the Island, I feel like we’re facing a “war” between Jacob’s followers and the Fake Locke/MiB/Smokey. What I want to know is did the survivors of 815 cause this escalation? Were they there at the wrong place at the wrong time? What are your thoughts on this upcoming showdown?

J: I don’t necessarily know its a matter of “wrong place, wrong time” since it seems like, except for Miles and (R.I.P.) Juliet, they were literally hand-picked by Jacob. I’ve got to admit to being slightly more engaged by the island stuff, since that was the kind of storytelling I’m used to (not that I didn’t love the alterna815 stuff, just that it was a little mindbending). I’m very intrigued to see how this war (that I agree is likely to happen) is going to play out and what, if anything, it has to do with the Ben-Widmore feud. Its still a little too early to tell what exactly it is that Smokey wants (other than to leave) and how he’s going to do it, but I agree that we’ve probably seen the battle lines drawn initially. What I’m hoping/expecting to see soon is Smokey’s side of the story. Right now, he seems like a pretty evil dude/thing, but nothing on Lost is ever that simple. Could he be a prisoner of Jacob? As for how the 815ers fit in, it seems like they represent Jacob’s last stand and, perhaps, the ending that he was talking about in “The Incident.” Maybe the season is going to end with them having to decide whether to join Team Jacob or Team Smokey? What do you think? Did Jacob summon the 815ers back to the island? And how does alterna815 fit into all of this?

M: That’s a pretty challenging question which I think I’m going to need to come back to in an episode or two, once we really get a sense of what’s going on in the larger sense. A theory I have is that maybe Jacob and MiB are opposites, there to serve some sort of cosmic balance. If this is the case, maybe the 815ers are there to take Jacob’s place in that balance. That of course would mean that someone else is going to need to fill in for the MiB if and when he gets taken down. Could that be Ben? Again, this is all theorizing. Changing the subject a little bit, I’m wondering who you think is going to play the biggest role this season? Jack seems tortured with guilt over what happened to Juliet, Hurley is acting as a middleman for a dead Jacob, and then there was that whole part where Sayid came back from the dead. Which Lostie do you think will have the biggest impact on the end of this epic saga?

J: I know its cheating to say all of them, but I really hope to see everyone get their big moment as the show starts to wind down. If I had to pick, though, I’d say my attention is squarely focused on Christian Shepard’s kids. Jack has clearly still embraced his inner Locke (like when he went with Hurley to take Sayid to the Temple) and he was about to chat with Lennon (which, looking at the episode again, I don’t remember actually ever being confirmed as the glasses dude’s name. Am I crazy?) when Sayid came to. But also keep an eye on what’s going on with AlternaJack. He was clearly expecting the plane to crash and had a sense that something was wrong. And, once again, Christian Shepard’s body is missing. I know Doc Jensen has been indicating that he thinks Christian Shepard isn’t just a body possessed by Smokey and, even if I don’t know if I entirely agree, I’m definitely hoping to see Jack get some reconciliation with his father. Then there’s his half-sister, Claire, who didn’t turn up until late in the premiere (to cheers, at least at the Alamo Drafthouse) and who has been gone for a year. But I think that she’s going to be at the center of a lot of what’s going on in both timelines. How did you feel about Claire’s return? Do you think she’s going to be a big factor this year? And, while it was nice to see a lot of oldies come back, the other really conspicuous cameo was Desmond during the beginning of the episode. Do you have any guesses about what he may be up to?

M: Desmond I’m not entirely sure. Seeing him on the plane was a bit of a mind-bender in itself. As for Claire, it depends on who/what Christian Shepard is. If Christian is as he claims, a spokesperson for Jacob, then Claire is going to be big in getting the Losties to get with Jacob’s program. It becomes far more complicated if she’s a follower of the MiB. I think what is inevitable is a showdown with Kate involving Aaron. That I’m definitely looking forward to. Overall, Lost has created potential for their best season ever this year, and I’m excited to go along for the ride.