The Lost Recap – Episode 605: “Sundown”

I’m going to deviate from my normal recap format this time, so bear with me. We are five episodes into the final season of Lost and I’m having a hard time getting into it.

Don’t get me wrong, I love this show. It’s one of the best series to be on TV in the past decade, it’s got a strong central cast, and enough going on to intrigue viewers and spawn hundred of websites about what’s truly happening.

Then we come to the final season where we’re being shown a parallel universe of Oceanic Flight 815 landing at LAX safely and the lives of our main cast from then on. At the same time “Locke” is recruiting the remaining castaways to his side, the new set of Others is trying to protect the castaways that remain, and Jacob is fighting back against “Locke” by any means necessary (like appearing to Hurley and getting him to take Jack to a mysterious lighthouse).

It’s all well and good. It’s Lost. A lot of stuff happens with a lot of characters and things ratchet up and unravel as the season progresses. But the issue I have so far with this season is while they are answering basic questions about Jacob, the lists, and the numbers, they continue to pose more complex questions that only further complicate things. Again, no real issue with that, I just wish they’d stop promoting each episode as if some great unveiling were about to happen.

And then we get to last night’s episode, “Sundown,” which held my interest much more than “Lighthouse” and left me wanting more. But the one issue I had was what is happening to the castaways as “Locke” starts to recruit them.

Last night Sayid turned evil, and we already know that Claire has as well. “Locke” is now the Man in Black, and we don’t know the current fate of Jin and Sawyer. But, if what has happened to Locke and Sayid is any indication, it looks as if our cast will be turning into drones working for the Man in Black and not be the characters we’ve come to enjoy.

Yes, we will get to see them in the parallel universe storylines still, but what does this do to our interest in these characters on the island? Does it diminish it? I would argue that if Locke and Sayid are no longer Locke and Sayid, then their function changes in the overall story and therefore they are no longer key components of the ensemble cast.

Why? Because they’re not who they used to be. Now, I don’t know if over the next dozen eps if Jack or someone will reverse this hold that “Locke” has on certain people. I don’t. I do, however, hope that this doesn’t become a regular thing each week. I happen to like the characters and their struggles and turning them into ruthless killers doesn’t jive with me.

As of last night’s episode, we have been given a few new pieces of the puzzle:

1. Claire now knows that Kate took Aaron off the island.

2. Sayid has been “turned” and is a loyal follower of “Locke” along with Claire (but we don’t know if Claire is undead like “Locke” or not at this point).

3. Our two main Other Others, Lennon and Dogen, are dead thanks for undead Sayid.

4. The temple of the Other Others has been invaded and those who choose to follow “Locke” will survive.

5. In a parallel universe, Sayid’s love, Nadia, is married to his brother.

So, now we have a group of Other Others led by “Locke” that includes Claire, Sayid, and a confused Kate. Hurley and Jack are over at the mysterious lighthouse with the ghost of Jacob, Sawyer and Jin are elsewhere, and Sun, Lapidus, and Ilana are hiding in a secret room in the temple. And Sun knows that Jin is alive and on the island.

Now we come to the question portion of our article. Remember, we’ve supposed to be getting all the answers this season, but still so many new questions keep popping up. These questions cover the last few eps of the show:

• Does the Man in Black, who now looks like John Locke, have an actual name?

• Why has Jacob been spying on the folks from this particular flight all of their lives?

• Why are there so many places on the island with the names of the castaways and the numbers?

• Is Jack the chosen one? And if so, why?

• Why hasn’t Jacob inhabited a seeable body like the Man in Black has? Why is he only appearing to Hurley and not allowing others to see him?

• What has possessed Sayid? We know it’s evil, but is it just the Man in Black possessing yet another body?

• Is Claire really crazy? Is she dead, but brought back to life once more?

• Will Claire kill Kate like she said she would for taking Aaron off the island?

• Ben was brought back to life by similar means as Sayid (the pool), and he turned evil as well. So why does he freak out upon seeing what Sayid has done? Didn’t he recruit Sayid off the island to kill for him?

• Who is telling the truth about the fate of the island and the future of its inhabitants? “Locke”? Jacob?

• What role does Charles Widmore play in all of this?

• Will Jin and Sun ever reunite? And if they do, will it really be Jin or a turned version of him that Sun meets with?

• Will Miles be killed off? He’s not on the list, and if he is he’s crossed off. Is his fate sealed?
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I understand that we have twelve episodes left and we have to have content that keeps viewers glued to the TV each week. Totally for that. But I wish that questions presented in seasons 1-5 would be answered in a coherent manner before all these new issues start to make their presence known. Again, not complaining, just a bit frustrated with this season so far.

On to next week, where we may see the demise of one of our favorite bad guys. That’s what the promo for next week’s ep seems to suggest. We’ll see what happens.

As always, if you have any thoughts, theories, your own questions, or comments feel free to post them. Is there anyone out there who has the answers I’m looking for? Yes, I know it’s a TV show, but I can’t be the only person who feels this way.

We’ll see you next week for episode 606, “Dr. Linus.”

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