Lost

Well, well, well. Everything's starting to come together. Tonight we saw the emergence of a new leader, a look at just how evil Smokey is, a better clue as to what the island is, the return of an old friend, and the power of Love. (Cue Huey Lewis and the News).

This episode opens with Jack and Hurley's group on their beach arguing about what to do. Ilana and Richard are determined to blow up the Ajira airplane so the Smoke Monster can't use it to leave. Ilana picks up up the bag of dynamite, packs a few things in the bag and promptly explodes. Goodbye Ilana, we hardly knew ye. Despite this Richard is still determined to blow up the plane and leads the team back to the Black Rock for more dynamite. On the way there Ben makes the observation that Ilana is dead because "the Island was finished with her" and wonders what will happen when the Island is finished with them. Good question. I think by now it's obvious that somebody is controlling things. In fact it's so blatant that if we get to the end of this thing and someone tries to explain all this as an experiment in Free Will I will throw something at my TV. The "Free Will" choices that these characters are making are obviously being guided by a higher power. (Of course I'm a Calvinist so I'm comfortable with the idea that man's Free Will and God's Decisive Will are compatible, but I wonder if that's where this is going.)

On the way to Black Rock, the team loses Hurley. Just let that sink in for a minute. They look around and Hurley's not there. There's not another character on this show that this turn of events would be more ridiculous for. Not only do they lose him but apparently he beat them to Black Rock with enough time to blow up all the dynamite there. Can you see Hurley taking off in a dead run towards Black Rock and NOBODY NOTICING? Can you see Hurley running? I sure can't but what do I know.

With all the dynamite gone this team has to make a new decision. Richard wants to continue to try to blow up the plane, Hurley wants to go to Locke. Unable to reach a consensus, Richard, Linus and Miles head toward the plane and Hurley leads Jack, Sun, and The Lawnmower Man towards Flocke. Along the way they hear the whispers that we hear right before disaster strikes but this time Hurley says that he knows what they are. He steps into the clearing and Lo and Behold, it's Michael back from the dead. Hurley tells us that those whispers are the ones who "can't move on". Apparently if you did enough bad things you are trapped on the Island after you die. So if the Island isn't Hell or Purgatory it at the very least has some connection to one of those places. I can't wait until that is explained.

Michael tells Hurley where Flocke is and Hurley leads his group out of the forest to Flocke's camp. Two things. #1 All 6 of the candidates are together just like Flocke said they would be. (Assuming that Sun is a candidate and not Jin) #2 Hurley is leading the way. Wouldn't it be something if the main over-arching plot of this entire show is Hurley's transformation from bumbling lovable loser to noble bold Leader of Men. Never bet against the fat ones.

Back at Flocke's camp, while all this is going on and before the other group arrives, Sayid delivers Desmond to Flocke and Flocke and Desmond go for a little walk. Locke takes Desmond to a well (like the one Locke fell into and turned the Donkey Wheel) and delivers a little history lesson about why people dug the well in order to see why it made compass needles go crazy. Then Flocke asks Desmond why he's not scared. After all, they are in the middle of a jungle alone, and no one knows where he is. Desmond answers "What is the point of being afraid?" and Flocke promptly throws him down to the bottom of the well. Poor Desmond, finally freed from his bunker only to end of at the bottom of a well.

Meanwhile, back in Flash-Sideways land, Hurley gets to meet the love of his life, Libby. Unfortunately she's crazy. Like Insane Asylum crazy. But when she sees Hurley she starts to remember her time on the Island and when she kisses Hurley, he remembers also. Which comes back to a theme in these Flash-Sideways, namely that Love is some kind of bridge between the two time periods. A strong enough bond will allow you to "pierce the veil" between the two worlds. I'm pretty sure that if I think about it to long my head will hurt but I look forward to that being revealed.

However, all of this was not the most entertaining moment of the night. That occurred when Flash-Sideways Desmond purposely runs over Locke while he's in a wheelchair. That is cold-blooded! I wondered if he remembered Flocke pushing him into the well?

What did you think? Leave a comment and let me know.