I found it a tad boring. Sure, we found out one of the multitude of "secrets," but it really wasn't that important in the grand scheme of things. While I still love the show, I'm about ready for it to be over.
I completely agree. Despite being pumped for this weeks show it failed to really engage me. It just seems like its heading down this religious overtone path, even if it isn't that's how I'm taking it. I can't wait for it to be over. Once the show really captured my imagination, now it seems to just use the same " you're here or doing this for a reason which I can't explain but do it anyhow" each week and now it's just annoying.
It's kind of a let down to me, that the entire essence of the conflict that has happened thusfar is basically nature vs nurture. I feel like the air has been let out of my lost balloon.
Has anyone considered that the name LOST does not really have to do with the island or people being LOST on it... But instead LOST represents either MIB or Jacob losing their game in the end. LOST could mean one of them LOST the game! The whole island being the game board and the island inhabitants, including the lostees, being nothing but pawns on the board. Just a thought I had a few weeks back and now since there has been more focus on the game that MIB and Jacob have been playing and how MIB tells Jacob "One day you can make up your own game and everyone will have to follow your rules." Just sort of seems fitting. Anyone think this?
The thought did cross my mind, but just last night. For the past year (or so), I've seen it more as a reference to a Milton-esque (not the ice cream guy) "Paradise Lost" analogy.
I personally loved the episode. I think it's far from religious in the traditional sense. The ambiguity of what is good and evil is what I love about it. I think if you disliked last night episode you will probably not enjoy the finale. I don't think they'll give many more answers.
I like your idea wizeguy! I don't know if that's what was intended - but it's a cool idea. I loved last night's episode - and so did everyone I watched it with. We're going to re-watch in a few days. It planted little seeds of ideas, but I need to see it again to see which ones might actually grow roots. Their adoptive mother wiping out the village reminded me of the smoke monster/MIB wiping out the temple. But the mother killed to "protect" the island, and the MIB kills to get off the island. For some reason their birth mother looked familiar to me - I thought she might have been Richard's wife? How crazy would that be if, through some time bending, Richard was their father? They're probably different actresses though. I thought it was funny how this dark, Spanish woman gave birth to a blonde, pale kid that looks nothing like her or her people - maybe Jacob is the one who is special, despite what their adoptive mother told his brother. It appears that the MIB was already dead when we first met him on the beach talking to Jacob. Did he become the smoke monster when he entered the light, or did he just release it?
And to debunct one thing real quick. Richard's wife, Isabella and Claudia (MIB and J)'s mother is not the same person.
I am wondering when Jacob and MIB had their conversation near the statue's foot? I guess I will assume it happened after MIB "died" since MIB never expressed his desire to kill Jacob in last night's episode. But seriously, Jacob couldn't says his brother's name once at all? MIB's name may not be so important, but it's bugging the crap out of me.
I had a feeling that MIB just lost his body and became the smoke monsters, and until he entered Locke's body, was not able to actually take form again to leave the island.
Thanks for the debunk, wizeguy! One less thing to think about. I'm not sure that MIB has a name. If he does it's being withheld for a reason. And yeah, that conversation at the statue's foot had to have taken place after his death. Ever since he died or became the smoke monster or whatever he's been playing Jacob's game and trying to figure out a way to "win". MIB has taken many forms since "becoming" the smoke monster. He's taken Jacob's brother's form (his original form?), and that of Christian, Boone, Shannon, possibly Walt, Locke (duh) and probably a few I'm forgetting.
I also think MIB used Vincent (the dog) as well. However, if MIB can only take the body of a dead person, then don't mind me.
I'm not positive that he can only use dead people - after Ben shot Locke and left him in the pit Walt appeared to Locke and told him to get up, and Walt wasn't dead (but he wasn't on the island either). We don't know for sure that "Walt" was the MIB, but who else could it have been?
Walt is quite special. Just as special as Desmond is. I think MIB took on Walt's body (missed your mentioning of him on who MIB took the form of) when Walt appeared wet and in the scene with Locke in the pit.
this is an interesting theory from my girls co worker.. Jacob and MIB's "mother" spent the whole episode building up to her replacement. Were lead to think she has chosen Jacob to replace her duties of protecting the island. But what if she actually chose MIB to replace her job as...wait for it...THE SMOKE MONSTER! The whole episode is about her manipulation on Jacob that eventually leads him to throw his brother into the light which turns him into the new smoke monster. She left the game on the beach to start a rivalry between the two boys. She used her "smokey" powers to appear as MIB's real mother and guide him to the others. She saw that MIB had all the qualities to be the evil smoke monster (able to lie.. ect.). What kind of woman beats a pregnant woman with a rock and steals her babies? an evil woman! a smoke monster! How did she ruin the camp and destroy the well in such a short amount of time...well, if she turned into smokey then poof! easy! She told Jacob the light was a fate worse than death. hmm..sounds like she knows from experience! She knew MIB would kill her, so she showed Jacob exactly how to get his revenge on MIB, throw him into the light! Which made MIB her replacement, which was the plan all along! Jacob was only a pawn!
Nice! Fits with the village/temple destruction parallel. I didn't even think to put MIB's "vision" of his mother in the context of how he now uses the same tactic to further his goals. If this is true it's interesting though that the two different "smoke monsters" (MIB and his "mother") have different agendas. She clearly had no intention of leaving the island, and kept saying how certain things were "meant to be", whereas he wants to leave the island at all costs - so there's still the fate vs free will thing going on. I'm wondering if she was both light & dark. Clearly she was relieved when she was killed - perhaps it was too much for one person to carry both yin and yang and so she was able to bestow the light duties on Jacob and the dark duties on MIB. There was the wine ceremony with Jacob, which I'm assuming is what gave him his near immortality and protectorship powers.
After more thought here's what I'm thinking: The adoptive mother was a single entity that split itself into two entities - Jacob & MIB. There was a strong parallel between the temple slaughter earlier in the season and the village slaughter in last night's episode - both clearly the work of Smokey. Yet she also bestowed Jacob's protectorship powers on him during the wine ceremony at the mouth of the cave, so she must have played the role of the protector too. And when she was killed she was clearly relieved...perhaps it was too much for the light/dark roles to inhabit a single being, so she gave the dark to MIB and the light to Jacob. By appearing to MIB as his biological mother she essentially gave MIB "free will" (though was it really free will?) and set the wheels in motion for him to be Smokey, and later gave Jacob his destiny or "fate" when she passed on her protectorship powers. And now that I'm thinking about it the loom that was featured in the episode could represent the adoptive mother as both light and dark: the shuttle goes back and forth, the string weaves in and out, and depending on whether the string being woven goes in front or behind it would show either the vertical string (light) or the horizontal string (dark), and the loom is destroyed right before the adoptive mother is killed.
