TUIW Conversation: Lost – “The Package”

Each week, after taking a couple days to digest the episode and read what the blogs are says, 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 how do you follow “Ab Aeterno?” It was never going to be easy, but “The Package” probably didn’t do itself any favors by following last week’s brain explosion with a relatively pedestrian, plot-advancing episode. Still, the possibilities for the future are interesting and we are certainly hurtling towards the endgame. So let’s start with last week’s big cliffhanger. We found out that Desmond was indeed Widmore’s secret weapon and, given the locks on the door and Desmond’s heavily drugged out state, I can’t imagine he’s back on the island willingly. How did he come back? Why does Widmore need him? And is he really our last hope of stopping Smokey?

Michael: Ever since Eloise Hawking told him “the Island’s not done with you yet,” I’ve been waiting for Desmond to return. I’m really excited to see what his purpose is, but Widmore clearly needs him, and I almost wonder if the reason why has anything to do with his long standing hate of Desmond. Perhaps it was a way to shy Desmond away from his daughter, knowing his fate was to be decided by the Island. I assume that if Eloise knew Desmond was needed for something, Widmore would too. I do want to bring up something that a lot of reviews/commenters have taken aim at, which is Smokey’s assertion that the Aijira plane is the only way he can the others can get off the Island. A lot of folks have taken issue with the idea that a being that can turn into a smoke monster would have to take an airplane. I personally think it’s just another part to Jacob’s imprisonment of him. If simply killing Jacob had done the trick, Smokey would be gone. He mentioned needing all the Candidates, so I almost wonder if together, they act as a substitute for Jacob, and therefore, are preventing him from leaving on his own. What do you think? Is it a lame plot device? Is Smokey lying?

J: Yeah, the airplane thing seems odd to me too (for what its worth, Doc Jensen thinks its a con by Smokey; the plan is to put all the candidates on the plane and then have Widmore destroy it), but maybe its more to get the candidates off the island. And, its worth remembering that he is imprisoned there. I almost wonder if the whole pillar of smoke thing is what keeps him from being able to leave in some way. Smokey has said that Jacob “took his body away” and presumably turned him into a smoke monster, so maybe Jacob did it to make it more difficult for Smokey to leave the island. The other big scene, for me, was the (way too short) Widmore-Smokey showdown. Widmore said to Smokey that he doesn’t know much more about him than myths and stories, but do you think he’s telling the truth? We still don’t really know all that much about why Widmore came back, how he knew to come back, and what exactly he wants? To kill Smokey? To rescue the Losties and the island? To conquer Smokey and use him for his own nefarious purposes? Just because he’s anti-Smokey, does that mean his interests are aligned with Team Jacob?

M: Widmore has to know more than that. He himself told Pre-Flocke Locke that a war was coming to the Island, so I think he’s just being coy with Smokey. We still don’t know how Widmore came to the Island, and perhaps finding that out could help understand what exactly he’s doing there now. I get the feeling that he’s anti-Smokey, but is still Team Widmore, trying to make himself a Candidate so to speak, and take Jacob’s perch for himself. I feel like his conflict with Ben was more a misunderstanding between the two than anything involving Jacob and MiB. But we haven’t even touched on the FlashSideways lives of Jin and Sun. They aren’t married but much happier. Do you have any new FlashSideways theories? Are they developing a pattern? How good was it to see Mikhail?

J: Yeah, this is one of those weeks where there may have been some big nuggets in sideways world, but we have no real way of knowing. For instance, is there some kind of larger, course correction-esque significance to the fact that Mikhail was shot in the eye? And could Sun’s language issues have to do with some kind of combination of the timelines? Who knows, maybe in a couple weeks we could all be looking back on this episode as some kind of major turning point. I’m still going to back the theory that the alternate universe is the world after Smokey escapes from the island (notice what Widmore said would happen if Smokey gets off the island: everyone we know and care about would “cease to be.” Not exactly the same as dying, right?). But I can see from the massive V countdown clock in the corner of the screen that we’re almost out of time this week, so do you have any last thoughts? What’s your favorite theory for the alternate universe? Excited for next week? Care to join in piling on ABC’s incredibly stupid marketing department?

M: It seems like this was a bit of a drab discussion this week, mostly because it was kind of a drab episode. Lost has those sometimes, and you’re right, this could be a big episode come May 23 (yep, the finale is getting that much closer). Next week looks awesome, but I’m mostly excited for it because right now, I have no clue how long it is until V is on.