Lost: "The End"

It's hard to even fathom that I have seen the last of characters like Jack, Locke, Hurley, and Sawyer. "The End" to Lost was epic, touching, and in some cases bittersweet. Most of the initial sourness I had was the fact that everything about the island was still ambiguous at the series' end. Ultimately, upon several more viewings (hence the delay), my distaste was eased with the understanding that this was Jack's story, not the island's.

First lets deal with the elephant in the room - the Sideways "Purgatory." With the group I watched it with, the reveal was the most polarizing aspect of the episode; either people loved it for giving us a fond farewell to all the characters and a warm and fuzzy feeling that they all got to move on together, or people hated it for taking up so much of the season that they could have used in exploring the island. In terms of where I fell on the issue, it took me another viewing to get behind the afterlife. Of course, at the time tears were streaming down my face, but that was mostly due to the brilliant intercutting with Jack's tragically heroic death. 

Sideways: After Time

• We got from dead Christian's explanation to Jack that the sideways world is actually sort of like the Matrix: it is a collective dream created through the actions and interactions of the survivors of 815 and the ones they came to love. 
• It is akin to an eternal waiting room outside of time where their souls could find each other again, to remember the most important time of their lives, and move on together. The opening scene to season 6, the fade in from white, can probably be taken as the instant after Jack's eye closes in death; however, it cannot be treated as chronologically linear. As Christian explains, there were those that died before him, and those that died "long after." I am sure like many of you, my initial thought was that Hurley could have lived for several millenia, with the dream finally be activated by his death (so his soul could join). At the instant of Jack's death, time ceases to be relevant.
• This dream, as I imagine it, is the idealized world for the souls of the Losties after all the experiences they had on the island. For example, Sawyer was head of security for Dharma in the 70's, so his character progression actually had him as more of a cop than con-man after leaving the island - hence, after his death in the real world, he is realized as a cop in this timeless dream (though still dealing with the baggage of his past). This also could explain how Ben becomes a teacher, a role he might have slipped into as the islands number 2, and Hurley thinking he is the luckiest man alive after becoming the new Jacob.
• Problems with the dream:

1. Why were other souls trapped in the Lostie's collective dream (Ana Lucia). 
2. Was the dream an actual physical reality? Jack and Juliette are ex-spouses WITH a son. How are we to reconcile the creation of this new soul and the apparent history established between characters in this dream? 
3. Were the souls living out their lives in a state of eternal recurrence until they were activated? 
4. Sayid and Shannon? Seriously - not Nadia? In any state of existence, I guess I guy is still a guy. In one hand, we have a victim of war crimes in her mid 30's. In the other hand, a young,  hot, rich, asthmatic white girl. Other hand wins.

• Ultimately, if this reality exists outside of time, then technically anything is possible. It was a touching way for all our characters to reunite, but there always be this nagging feeling that everything that happened in that existence was meaningless. As Christian even states, their time "ON THE ISLAND" was the most important. Sigh. 

The Passion of Jack

• I have to say, that everything on the island was pretty badass, though I have to admit I was pretty much content when I got my Neo-Jack vs. Locke fight (with flying fist and all).
• Neo-Jack facing Smokey on the ridge was amazing. Telling Smokey straight up that he was going with him to the golden power and killing him, and Smokey's reaction, goes down as one of my favorite scenes in the history of Lost.
• Desmond is lowered down the waterfall in a mirror of the end of season 1 when Jack and Locke look down into the hatch. Desmond walks by skeletons of those who have tried to go near and failed. As soon as Desmond enters the waters, what could be described as the final safety measure, the burst of electromagnetism, arcs through Desmond as he pulls out giant stone key/plug. As the water drains, so too does the golden power until it is snuffed out.
• From the same hole that the power was flushed, a deep flare of red anrgry-sauce starts to erupt. 
• Darth Locke turns to escape now that the island seems to be sinking, but Jack catches him and rains down a few punches. As blood began to flow from Smokey, we are hit with the stark realization that the extinguishing the golden light had cost Smokey his immortality and power. It can probably be assumed that Jack lost whatever immortality he had briefly gained, and that whatever rules were in place to keep the two island powers from killing each other went down the drain with the power too.
• Jack and Locke have their final confrontation, where Jack is mortally wounded (that was no appendix scar) and Smokey takes a bullet in the back from Kate. Jack and Kate finally realize their true love, but with Jack's wound, it is fleeting. 
• Jack returns to cave of wonders with Hurley and Ben. Before descending and saving Desmond, Jack entrusts the island protectorship to Hurley in a gut wrenching scene. Hurley was my odds on favorite to obtain the title, as he truly was the most equipped in personality and demeanor to do what he does best for eternity: helping people. Who knows how long Hurley and the new-Alpert, Ben, rule - but I am sure many would have loved to see.
• Jack uses his last bit of strength to reboot the the island's engine, as he slides key/plug back into place and the golden power crackles to life around him. When I first saw Jack's body transported outside the cave, akin to the MIB's, my first thought was, "Oh no, he's the new smoke monster." Thankfully, or sadly, Jack is still barely alive, and stumbles to the spot in the bamboo grove that he first fell to on the island. I completely lost it here, and that was BEFORE they had to play the damn dog card. As Vincent barks and lays beside Jack in his final moments, I was overcome by the "live together, die alone" sentiment. Jack watches his friends escape and smiles as his eye closes for the final time. It was a truly perfect scene, one that will stick with me forever (and hard to write about even now). It's been a few days, and I still feel like someone close to me died. 

The Island: Final Theory

•  Based on what we were presented, there are many ways to interpret what the island was and it may take going back and viewing a few lore-laden episodes with the the new information from season 6 to fully synthesize.

The Island does matter, and Jack probably saved the world. From what? I am going to go out on a limb and say that the golden power is the spring of faith, the collective goodness and energy summoned from the creation of belief and hope. It is a "god particle" that  maintains its existence by feeding off the energy of the malevolent souls - souls that can neither be created nor destroyed - it summons and contains on the island."Mother" states to her two boys that the power of the island exists in everyone, but that man was greedy and would seek to control it for their own purposes, hence the existence of the sole guardian. The guardian is bonded to the faith-energy, enabling him/her to use their belief and "need" to create their own rules necessary to protect and feed the source, bringing new souls to the island so that they may either feed the energy or willingly "stay in the light" and become one with it. There are those that may be more uniquely attuned to this type of energy, like Walt, who was able to seemingly WILL things to happen through his need and faith. Think of the guardian of the island as an all-powerful Walt-like figure.

The problem, and Jacob's biggest mistake, is that the rules can create paradoxes. The MIB's rule of immortality conflicted with the malevolence that was borne in his soul from Mother's and Jacob's betrayal. Thus, instead of being able to contain the MIB's soul, his soul was transformed by the energy of the power into something physical that still existed within the rule of immortality conferred to him by Mother. Since Jack had transferred his guardianship to Hurley, and the rights to immortality, when the well of faith was reignited there was no paradox. It simply transported Jack outside, as his soul contained only goodness and faith. Who knows what would have happened if Jack had not given up the guardianship before reigniting the power? White smoke? Jack would have regained his immortality and probably not have died.

Whoever (or whatever) the first inhabitants of the island were, we might be able to assume that the golden power is the origin of all religion.. One can venture down the rabbit hole that since there was a gateway to Tunisia off the island, that cultures such as the Egyptians (who worshiped the Sun and the light) could have been adapted from stories about the island told by those who had managed to leave of an all powerful figure and his/her control over life, creation, and light.

Now for the obvious: what happens when the light of the island goes out? From what we were able to see in the final episode, there may be a couple of explanations. Jacob maintains that if the light goes out, malevolence would be released on the world - or to put it another way: if faith is extinguished, hate and suffering will ensue (a very Jedi belief). All of those evil souls trapped on the island, all of that trapped hatred would once again be loose on the world and able to corrupt. As Desmond first pulled the hyroglyphed stone cork I was reminded of that the redness that rose up  in that Dun Morogh scene of "Fellowship of the Ring" where the Balrog is awakened.

However, it could also be that the first ancient civilization had created the technology present in the cave that either created or used the energy to subdue a natural catastrophe (i.e. a massive volcano or world wide earthquakes).

I will update this theory as I go back and look at some episodes. Was the smoke monster a unique creation in island history? Until then, it's been a pleasure. Thank you Lost.

Lost: "The Last Recruit"

Oddly enough, after the second viewing, this episode resonated more with me on the technique in which the sideways  and island worlds would mirror each other between flashes. In general, this was more or less probably the last "orientation" episode of Lost; that is, this episode served to put the characters in their proper places for the end-game in both realities. This is not to imply that I was bummed out by the episode this week, as it was probably one of the most poignant episodes is recent memory, as all the characters were (briefly) reunited, though some were oddly lacking in emotional resonance (see: Jack/Claire).

I usually do an Off-island/On-island rundown, but this week's altered narrative structure demands an equal change. "The Last Recruit" abandoned the character-centric take on the sideways realm, and instead served to closely mirror upon juxtaposition the conflict of the Losties in both worlds. Here are some mirrored scenes/storylines:

Sun/Jin

•  Off Island: Sun is wheeled in to the ER losing blood fast, when she curiously not only recognizes Locke, but seems angry/terrified (my Korean facial recognition may be off) by his very presence in the gurney next to her. Eventually, Sun and Jin are reunited upon her waking, to the news that her baby is OK as well.
• On Island: Sun is carried along in Smokey's group losing patience fast. When Darth Locke approaches her in line, she is noticeably angry and writes down on her cry-pad that she blames him for her loss of speech. Ultimately, Sun and Jin or reunited on Hydra island, and Sun recovers her lost English.

Sayid

• Off Island: Sayid flees the scene after killing an unarmed Keamy, back to Nadia's house. Upon reaching the home, Sayid admits to Nadia that because of his actions, he can never return as it would only put her in harms way. While trying to flee, he is apprehended by cop-Sawyer via the ol' "garden snake got yo' shoes" maneuver. 

• On Island: Sayid is tasked by Locke to shoot an unarmed Desmond. When confronting Desmond, Sayid hesitates and flexes a lot as Desmond asks him what Locke could have offered him to make him turn to the dark side. Sayid's reasoning: since Locke brought him back from the dead, he could bring back Nadia. Desmond counters with: even if you brought her back, how would you explain what you have done to bring her back? Desmond's fate unknown, Sayid is caught fleeing by Locke via the ol' "omniscient Smoke-monster" maneuver. 

Kate/Sawyer

• Off Island: Kate is brought into by doucher-cop Sawyer, who ponders how strange it is that fate would smack her car into his (not a sexual metaphor). Kate maintains her innocence, while asking why Sawyer helped her escape in the airport. She figures that he couldn't bring her in, because he was hiding the fact that he knows it was wrong  that he had gone to Australia in the first place. 

• On Island: Kate is brought onto the boat by Sawyer, who wants to rendezvous with Jack and bring their group together again. When approached by crazy-Claire, Kate maintains her guilt for having raised Aaron. When Sawyer confronts Jack, the Doc figures that Sawyer is hiding the fact from himself that he he knows it is wrong to leave the island in the first place.

Jack

• Off Island: Jack with help of his precocious and similarly-haired son, comes to the conclusion that like his father, Jack has inherited the baggage that comes with keeping things to himself.  At the reading of his will, Ilana blows (up) Jack's mind with the reunion and revelation that Claire is his half-sister (thanks to the insistent charms of Desmond). Jack has to put his powerful waterworks on hold as Locke's emergency beckons his healing hands. Upon arrival, Jack is greeted with the dire news that the ER team has never seen injuries this bad, to which Jack responds by confidently taking the plunge into the surgery. Upon preparing to cut, Jack recognizes the familiar face of Locke in the mirror. 
• On Island: Jack refuses to keep things to himself as he questions the reasoning behind Smokey taking on the guise and familiar face of John Locke. Smokey dubiously admits to being the apparition of Christian Shepherd that led Jack to finding fresh water. Jack is later reunited with Claire, but the meeting doesn't last long as Claire tells Jack that whether he likes it or not, he is with Smokey. On the boat, Sawyer gives Jack the dire warning that unless Jack cooperates with the escape, he is off the boat - to which Jack responds by confidently taking the plunge into the ocean. Upon returning to the beach, he is greeted by the familiar face of John Locke.

All in all, this week was feat for further connecting the two worlds via storytelling shifts rather than the direct "memory download." Some quick thoughts:

• Do you believe Smokey was telling the truth that he was Christian Shepherd? The circumstances would line up, in that both Locke and Christian were dead and on the plane before Smokey took their guises. Christian's likeness had been used many times prior Smokey assuming John Locke's appearance, though perhaps never in the directly physical form. If Smokey was Christian before - how would he make the shift, since Ilana was convinced that Smokey would be stuck in Locke's form. Also, how was Smokey able to appear off island to Jack in Christian's form, unless of course, it wasn't Smokey - which makes everything he said still questionable at best.

• Oddly, no mention of Alpert's crew. That makes those of note still left on the island at the episode's end: Smokey, Jack, Alpert, Ben, Miles, Sayid, and Desmond (probably).

•  Best line of the night was Sawyer's response to hearing that Jack didn't feel complete off-island, "There are pills for that." 

• Do you think that isolating Jack was Smokey's plan all along? He took it pretty well that the other candidates, those people he has continually expressed needing to escape, went over to the enemy. Did he subtly orchestrate the rest of the candidates moving to Hydra island so that they can be killed? 

• I guess Claire was just too crazy to be a real sister for Jack, as he oddly completely leaves her to her fate and makes off with the rest of the Losties without even a second thought. Also, why couldn't Sawyer have responded to her reasoning for being crazy and following Smokey because "at least Smokey didn't abandon me," with, "Hey Jane of the Jungle, I saw you 'asplode!"

                                                               You're with me now!

Lost: "Dr. Linus" Recap

Dr. Linus watches you masterbate

So, let me just go out on a limb and say that Michael Emerson deserves an Emmy for his work in the episode. This season has been really Ben-light, and it was refreshing to get several new looks at the character; there were ideas and perspectives that we really haven't been accustomed to in terms of what we thought we knew about him and his motivations.

Awhile ago, I posited a series of important questions about Ben. I added, in none-threatening green text, important info that was divulged this episode:

How much does Ben truly know about the island and its patron-deities?
- Clearly, Ben thought he had an intimate relationship with whichever entity occupied the cabin. Being that he has at one point been able to summon Smokey at will, my bet is that entity was probably the Man in Black who was trapped behind some of Jacob's ash. Was Ben an unwitting or knowing agent of said "evil incarnate?"

- One of the most integral lines spoken by Ben in terms of his true knowledge about Jacob: "Oh after all this time, you have decided to stop ignoring me." So either A) Ben was faking it in the cabin and no one was actually talking to him or B) he knew the person in the cabin wasn't Jacob, but was still following orders anyway. I am leaning toward (B) right now for the simple fact that he had knowledge of the entity in the cabin, like how it didn't like technology.

- It's funny, because for so long we have assumed that Ben was one of the masterminds pulling all the strings; but like he did with Sayid, what if he is just a pawn put in play by the Man in Black. I say the Man in Black because:
Not too much here, but his encounter with Smokey while digging his grave points more toward him being an unwitting aide to "evil incarnate" rather than knowing disciple.

This episode, personally, had me thinking that I had been giving Ben too much credit; like Richard and many other Others, he had been left out in the weeds and desperate for guidance from Jacob. However, I still think there is a legitimate logic question about that encounter in the cabin, but now I wouldn't put it past him with how much he has lied before on whether or not he was faking about seeing Jacob.

What gets Ben crossed off the list of "candidates?"
- Ok, so the "Linus" that was crossed out on the lighthouse wheel could have also been his father, but it's highly unlikely; only Ben eventually became an other after his resurrection in the temple. If the waters were clear, and Richard says "he will always be one of us," why has Ben been ignored by Jacob? Has he ever really met Jacob? He has methods of brainwashing people to believe in Jacob (see Alex's first/last boyfriend), though he goes to the cabin instead of the base of the statue to see his "master."

- What made Ben a "candidate?" Was his potential candidacy the reason why he was chosen to lead the others? Why then, did Richard never reveal the true location of Jacob's home?

Up until Jacob's demise at Ben's hand, he still held out hope that Ben would choose to do the "right" thing. This should serve as a warning to all those absentee parents: if you leave your kid in a car (island) to do what he wants, crack the window. They'll probably get all emotional and stabby later if you don't.

When Keamy killed Alex, Ben said he had "changed the rules." Are these rules similar to the ones the creepy boy told Darth Locke about: "You know the rules, you can't kill him."?
- This could be, more simply, rules of engagement that Widmore and Ben would not kill each others' family. Or, if we are to believe that Ben had knowledge of how events were supposed to play out, but they had been altered. This would be in reference to:

The most refreshingly "on the money" question in reference to this episode, as we finally found out what "rule" was changed: Ben chose the island, and Jacob let Alex die. For all you Jacob-haters, this episode must have been right up your alley, as Ben is the personification of everyone's gripe: why would a benevolent being, one who you gave up everything to protect, allow for all this terrible collateral damage and loss of life? Why would he not step in and use his "gift? " Why would an entity whose has been placed on this pedestal and the object of faith for so many, allow for these terrible crises of faith situations for his "chosen?"

Does Ben remember Sayid shooting him - or any of the castaways that had come back in 1977?
- If Ben knew how events were going to play out, and that the castaways had to end up in the past, has he had an edge this whole time?

Also not much here...

On to events on/off island:


Dr. Linus (Off-island):
• I feel like a broken record, so I should probably stop mentioning this "trend" after this week: Ben's off-island shenanigans once again fell into the theme of "cosmic second-chance." His alternate-reality "Dr. Linus" is a man who is dealing with those same personal struggles that mirror his on-island persona: the struggle for meaning, and the struggle for power.

• I really thought that off-island Locke would have a more rival-type role opposite Dr. Linus, but really he was pretty integral in pushing Ben down his mini-arc that climaxes in him becoming a not so bug-eyed creeper; he offered Ben support in his becoming principal when Ben voiced his disdain that he had to baby-sit the school's rejects while giving up his after school "history" club that serves to nurture the gifted students. Now think back to the end of season 2 and the beginning of 3 when Ben captured 4 of our 6 "listed" candidates handed down by Jacob himself; what exactly do you think his mirrored island self was thinking? Probably, "Why the heck do I have to babysit these damn rejects when I should be tending to my gifted flock of others?" Little did he know that the actual "gifted" ones were those four (well 3 after he let Hurley go), but he was probably crying buckets that Jacob wasn't talking to him. The point: Ben's grievances to his co-teachers were a very tongue-in-cheek way of pointing out why he started to become so frustrated with Jacob in the first place.

• Who knows if this is also why Ben got scratched off the list? Maybe Ben had been handed a list down from Jacob (or Richard from Jacob) to be a care-taker to these Oceanic castaway "rejects," but their importance was such an affront to Ben and the others who had given up all their lives to Jacob's cause. It probably wouldn't be that cool if you had to get shot, purge Dharma, instigate a coup of Widmore, and become the leader of Jacob's disciples just to then step aside and protect a few random people that drop out of the sky one day off an Oceanic plane. Great line, by the way, from Lupidus when he calls out Ben for being "nostalgic" for those days before the crash.

• The power-play, which I guess would mirror his coup of Widmore, was trying to blackmail the current douche-in-office, Walter Peck. Alright I know that's not his name but that actor always plays jerks, and he will always be the uber-douche "Walter Peck" (is a pecker) of Ghostbusters fame (You know, that city agent who opens the containment unit. Great type-cast btw). Ben enlists the aide of Artz (man I am loving these multiple shout-outs in both timelines - when Hurly mentions getting Artz on his shirt in the Black Rock) to get the dirt on the principal that would prove his illicit affair with the nurse. Ben is caught in a catch-22 of sorts, as Peck counters with the threat of trashing Ben's prized student, Alex, and her chances at getting into Yale. So, like on the island with Keamy (although with less brain-splattering), Ben is given the choice to "save" Alex or choose power.

• We get it, everybody gets a happy ending. Sheesh. Ben chooses Alex and giving up his car spot to non-exploded Artz rather than power. He probably also just condemned himself to more T.V. dinners and adjusting his father's iron lung. Speaking of which, we got some small but important info about when the island sinks: it has to be after Ben and his father already had joined Dharma and then get the opportunity to leave. If they both leave together - does that mean Ben is never shot and thus never tied to the island and the Others before the island is sunk?

Dr. Linus (On-island)
• Ilana and her bag o' knowledge. What didn't Jacob tell her? Apparently they were so close, she thinks of him as a "father." Aw, if only Jacob had touched Ben like that, Ben probably wouldn't have touched him with a knife. Seriously though, she grabbed Jacob's ash because she knew Miles could commune with the dead; more specifically, he could tell her exactly how Jacob died. One of the best line reads ever from Miles to Ben, "Uh oh."

• Ilana played surrogate leader to team Jacob, while team Jacob's once and future king, Jack, ran into the man that must have been losing mascara running around for three episodes: Richard. Like Ben (and frankly, like more than 50% of you in that poll), Richard is having a little crises of faith in Jacob. Hundred(s) of years - all for what? So that Jacob could die? That's when Richard drops the episode's biggest lore-bomb perhaps explaining his immortality and none-cyborg nature (go Hurley): If Jacob touches you, you cannot die. Now there needs to be some debate as to whether Jacob's touch just saves you from killing yourself, or whether it also means natural causes (such as aging = Richard). Jacob touched Sawyer and Kate as children, though they aged and Richard seemingly does not. Is there an extra special "fountain of youth" special massage touch you can buy? There might be more to it than that, but right now the only thing that was confirmed was that once you are touched, you cannot commit suicide - you can only die by another's hand. Suicide watch recount-time:

1. Jack tries to throw himself off a bridge, and fails.
2. Michael tries to shoot himself, and fails...at least until "Christian" said he "could go now."
3. Locke tries to hang himself and...well fails for about 5 minutes until Ben lends a helping tug.

• So wait, under those rules, why couldn't Smokey kill Jacob? Could it be, that it would be SUICIDE (dramatic sounds)?!? Hey, if Smokey and Jacob are just two sides of one coin, it might not be so far fetched.

• Awesome new-Jackness that followed: Russian roulette with dynamite! Jack pulled out his Lighthouse-gifted knowledge that Jacob had been watching him since he was a child, so if it was all true about himself being meant for something on the island (and not a lie as Richard had suggested), he couldn't kill himself. What does Jack get for his Jedi tricks? A new recruit! The teams stand:

Darth Locke
1. Sawyer
2. Sayid
3. Claire
4. Random Others
5. Kate?
6. Smoke monster (should definitely be counted more than once. It gets on point for every retarded dinosaur scream it makes)

Jack
1. Hurley
2. Sun
3. Jin (I don't think this is a stretch)
4. Ilana
5. Lupidus
6. Miles
7. Richard
8. Ben?!?

• Wait...Ben? Smokey visits Ben digging his own grave and gives him a way out. Curiously, he doesn't offer Ben a seat on his ship out of town, but offers Ben more power in what is presumably Jacob's vacant caretaker position of the island. I say presumably because it is only implied, and yet could also very well mean Smokey's job if he succeeds in leaving the island. Why can't Ben leave? This would fit in nicely to the whole "Locke's resurrection in Jacob's role and Ben's ascension to MIB status" for the series finale idea I had been thinking about.

• After "getting the jump" on Ilana, Ben does something his on-island persona has never done before: he doesn't shoot first, but instead shoots bullets of truth (that was corny, my apologies). He bears his tortured soul, and you know, it kind of makes sense. He let his own daughter die for the island - but for what? He hated Jacob for not caring or helping, but also realizes that he was sad and confused when he stabbed him. Ilana does a very Jacob thing and lets him die...er, I mean forgives him. Ben meanders back to the beach to start the process of mending fences and shelters, and just in the nick of time to see his new leader and former number 2 return. Can't wait for that conversation (awkward).

• What's long, hard, and full of seaman? Charles Widmore's sub!!! Does he have some unfinished business from his first time around, or is on a new mission?

If you made it through this wall-o-text, I salute you. It was a dense and fulfilling episode. Now, I am off to shag a nurse on my lunch break. Toodles!

Now with "Jack beat me again" bruises

Lost: "Sundown": Recap

Can he be redeemed?

Of all characters, Sayid is probably the most likeable quasi-villains any T.V. show has ever had; and yes, after tonight's viewing, I have to conclude that in his current "state(s)," Sayid's scale has tipped a little to far toward dark side. Ok lets get real, if his scale was a little off-balance at the beginning of the episode, by it's end there must have a big fat black rock weighing down on one side. From Republican Guard torturer-extraordinaire, to suave island-technology guru and lover to hot blond trust-fund asthmatics, to down and dirty assassin and kid-shooter - Sayid's whole journey has been tipping those scales all over the place. One moment his getting down and dirty with Shannon, the next his busting caps for hire on the back nine.

I still have my doubts though; Sayid's sudden shift seemed a little too arch-villainy for my liking. Then again, perhaps that is the point. As Dogen tells our doomed Lostie, once you hear "him" speak, it's already too late. Whatever Dogen and the other temple-dwellers feared was that thing that was lying dormant within Sayid - that thing that remained hidden next to his heart - has been activated by hearing the smooth-talking Smokey. It's sort of like having an Alien face-hugger implanting a chest-burster, but instead of flying chest particles you just turn evil  from the mere words of the entity that brought you back - the entity that implanted it there in the first place. Of course, that is also a common thread we have here with our suddenly evil cast of castaways: they were seemingly "dead."

1.  Sayid was drowned and clammy for 2 hours before shooting awake. 
2. Claire was a-sploded in New Otherton, only to turn up next to her spectral Daddy.
3.  Locke was killed by Ben, but Smokey has been taking his form out for a test drive. 

It begs the question: is Sayid really alive? Zombies!

The Sundown: Off Island

• Following the mold of the other alternate reality Losties' stories so far, this Sayid is a little smoother around the edges. He doesn't seem to have tortured past with Nadia (get it), he brings his niece and nephew sweet (dangerous) toys, and most importantly: he has his violence switch in check. 
• His brother wants him to rough up his loan-shark? No thanks, says this Sayid (even though it probably would work out better for him if his douche brother were out of his way). At several critical points in this new-reality story, Sayid is given the opportunity to do violence as a means to an end, and he refuses. It is not until he himself, as well as Nadia and the kids, are threatened that he takes action in there defense rather than cold blood. 
• Why did he push his bro to marry Nadia? Sayid self-righteously asserts that because of his sins, he does not deserve a life with her. Unlike in his former life where he tortured Nadia and tried to seek her for himself without fully taking a penance, this Sayid instead has spent his his years after the Republican Guard atoning for what he had done. Or has he? There was still a bit of ambiguity with his job, but perhaps for now we should take him at his word until proven otherwise that he is "translator."
• What if, by choosing to not be with Nadia, Sayid has ultimately saved her life in this new reality? He had a bad string of luck with the ladies he has loved (Shannon/Nadia), and it's almost as if karma has been blue-balling Sayid; maybe the horrors he committed were just too awful. Hell, those tortures and his lovers' deaths were even BEFORE he became an assassin and shot a kid. In this new reality, Sayid seems to have hit that fork in the road and chosen "pacifism unless really F'd with," over wanton violence and kid shooting. Hey, maybe the only way for him to be with Nadia was to not be with her. The sill love each other though, which might be all the counts. 
• The Keamy/Sayid death part deaux echoed an idea that I threw out there in the Locke episode a few weeks back when I wondered whether or not Rose and other peripheral characters would still have the same fate. Rose has terminal cancer in both realities, and Keamy dies by Sayid's hand in both realities; I wonder if Dr. Linus is going to push a cripple down the school steps?
• Hey, actual cross-castaway story progression! Jin ended up in Keamy's freezer. Guess he fell for "Keamy's Kash 4 Gold" scam. 

The Sundown: On Island

• Samurai vs. Assassin? Yes please! By far the best choreographed fight scene since Ben getting punched in the face (the twentieth time, of course), Sayid and Dogen busted out some sweet Matrix leg sweeps and gurney dives. Of course, just when I yell, "FINISH HIM," Dogen doesn't have the ball(s) to do it. Did remembering his son's death really make him beg off? Or was it the memory of Jacob's offer and the fact that Sayid still was a candidate?
•  Sayid is once again led to do dirty work again. First, he is seemingly tricked by Dogen to maybe getting slain on purpose by Darth Locke. I for one do not think this was the case (more Smokey misdirection), as Dogen should have known if Sayid had "darkness" about to take over, Smokey was probably not going to keep him as a prized recruit rather than kill. To me, it's more probably that it was a last ditch effort to try something that was ultimately futile, as Jacob's magical swords have no effect once he is dead and the water has turned a nice poo-shade.
• In terms of info on our favorite deities, the big news is that one side views smokey as the "evil incarnate" that will slay everyone on the island, while Smokey goes about offering seemingly impossible things for the sake of fealty, just like his nemesis Jacob did with Dogen. I was still sort of playing with the idea that like Republicans and Democracts, both sides were portraying the other as more extreme than they actually were: Jacob uses misdirection and is willing to kill a lot of people for a sake of a few to get what he wants, while Smokey just wants to kill EVERYTHING; after the wanton slaughter though, I am going to have to side with team Jacob. Does it make me a bad person that I loved the smokey storming the citadel scene so much though? I hope that one day the audience is treated with an actual transformation between the MIB's Smoke and Locke forms.
• RIP Dogen and Lennon. In what seemed almost as nefariously comical as Anakin's nonsensical turn to Darth Vader in Episode III, Sayid went suddenly off the deep end with his own force-choke and neck-filet. I wonder if there was more to the conversation after Smokey promised him that he could have anything (clearly there was, as Sayid returns to the temple with a message for the masses and a raging vendetta). For such a well-liked character, it seems a pretty sad and sudden turn. Sayid, like Sawyer, was awesome for his ability to see through people's B.S.; unlike Saywer (who hasn't died and suddenly risen) one wonders whether Sayid really had a chance when coming face to face with Smokey. With Jacob dead, there was only one other entity that we know of that could have the power to raise the dead; perhaps with his promise and his magically forked tongue (think about that, ladies), Smokey has awoken that which he had implanted within Sayid, and thus consolidated his power over him until the moment of Smokey (or his) demise (re-demise?). Quick, someone get Shanon's inhaler and spray him in the face!
• Claire = creepier? She was singing that song that Kate would sing to get Aaron to sleep. Other than that, girl needs some Selsun Blue. 
• Out of seemingly nowhere, Team Sun appeared and escaped (via secret passageway - thanks Jacob!) with our remaining temple crew in tow sans-Kate. Were they with Locke outside? Won't he know they are nearby and fleeing? Speaking of which, apparently Kate lucked out: Smokey can only go is straight lines and not down when he is raging (sort of like that game snake on old cell-phones).

I know Lost loves Star Wars, so this episode wreaked of "Empire Strikes Back." You would think that after Sayid made one deal with the devil (Ben), that he would know better. Right now, my money is on that ultimately, Sayid would have no real say in the matter: his soul had already been claimed. Hopefully, it can still be saved by Jack.

Until next week...

 

Have you seen my sleeves?

Lost: "The Lighthouse" Recap

This week's episode of Lost, for all purposes, should be viewed like the mysterious lighthouse for which it was named, as a mirror and parallel to last weeks episode:

In last week's episode, Darth Locke apprenticed Sawyer in tracking down "Jacob's" big cave of baby names so that he could drop the bombshell that Sawyer had been guided and watched by that nefarious Jacob all his life in what amounts to a futile effort to protect the island. 

In this week episode, Jacob - or should I say his surrogate and new BFF Hurley, guided Jack to Jacob's big lighthouse of baby names so that Jacob could prove to Jack that he really is special, and that he had been watching and guiding Jack all his life. 

Without all the new alternate Jack off-island stuff, this episode was thematically exactly the same as the one previous, yet directly opposite. Like two black and white pieces on a game board, Sawyer and Jack have been led by our two players to the depths and heights of each other's kingdom. Sawyer, descended to the bowels of  a Hell-cave to see what what Smokey had wrought. Jack ascended to the heavenly heights of the island and the lighthouse - where once again we see the names written in a wheel, most of which are crossed out. If we are led to believe that there are 1 name for each degree in a wheel, that means there could only be 360 deceased/potential candidates. What happens when those names run out? Also, wtf is with all the wheel imagery? Donkey-wheels, lighthouse wheels, the wheels on Locke's rusted out wheel chair? Time keeps rolling on I guess.


But back to the dueling deities; to me, this episode proves that wherever Locke took Sawyer, it was NOT Jacob's cave. More than likely, it was Smokey's himself (would literally fit him nicely), where either the names were a set-up for Sawyer to see, or in fact meticulous counter-espionage. Consider this, what if, like Jacob, Smokey is looking for a someone to take the mantle off his shoulders as island badass-security system (who better to groom than the former head of Dharma security than Sawyer?). Smokey seems to have taking a shining to a few (if not all) of the "candidates;" it could be that those who are being corrupted (even against their will) like Sayid or Claire, or shoe-ins because of their evolving conditions.

The Lighthouse (Off-Island)

•  The big shocker in alternate Jack's life is that he not only has a son, but an angsty teenage one at that. Jack's son seems to be carrying on the Shepard mantle of trying to live up to his father's expectations while living in his considerably large (absent) shadow. 
• Ironically (as even Hurley believes that Jack would make a great dad - much to island-Jack's chagrin) Jack really does make a great dad, at least in his intent. He seems to make the effort when he has the time, it's just that the time just hadn't been there. 
• Speaking of time, why can't Jack seem to remember much of his past? It's as if on-island Jack, in body and redeemed soul, has been placed in this new reality with a clean slate and a memory wipe. Perhaps this alternate reality are the candidate's reward for fulfilling whatever task Jacob has for them. However, you get to keep your scars. Yay plastic surgery!
• We have the Samurai Dogen (love that line, as he was also awesome in The Last Sumarai) even making a cameo, subtly pulling at Jack's heart strings by questioning how long Jack had known his son was a budding musical prodigy. Turns out mommy (mysteriously absent) intentionally kept Jack in the dark because he was maybe too stage-parenty before (just like his dad in the ER in a way).
• In the end, this alternate story (like the others) came to a warm and fuzzy ending; Jack told his kid that he was good enough, and just wanted to be apart of his life (which was the opposite mantra of his father).
• Catch the line when Jack's (alcaholic?) mother offered him a drink? To his "no thanks," she responded with "good for you." Was that in spite of his father, or because he had an addiction problem in this life, and thus lost the relationship with his son?

The Lighthouse (On-Island)

•  Hurley once again played surrogate ghost-partner to Jacob. They are slowly becoming my favorite all-time Lost dynamic-duo, as Hurley's no bullshit banter with Jacob is pretty priceless. One gets the feeling that Jacob is not only using Hurley as a means to further his goals for Jack and the others, but also showing Hurley the "tricks of the trade" as it were by sharing only with him why he does what he does and how he does it. If I was a betting man (which I am), I would put 2:1 odds that Hurley is already being groomed as Jacob's replacement. 
• The Lighthouse - what is it? Lighthouses literally "sheparded" Lost ships who were too far out, or served as a marker for the way home. This lighthouse might have been that way for Jacob to constantly keep tabs on his candidates -  to shepard these lost souls to the island. That is, until Jack hulk-smashed and got him and Hurley "7 years bad luck." He's such a wet blanket sometimes. 
• Claire is creepy. She has that Danielle Rousseau act down pat, and likes to play with sharp things. Other than sharp things ,she hangs out with her father, and a person who she knows is not really Locke, but her "friend" anyway. Oh and guess what, if she finds out that Kate really had raised her baby in the wake of her...death/disappearance, well she'll kill her. Issues probably don't even begin to describe her. We did get some good tidbits of info from her ramblings:

1. Her "father" told her that the others stole her baby
2. She was captured at some point after hanging out with her father and "tortured" like Sayid. I'll go out on a limb and say she failed the test too.
3. She befriended a guy.
4. The guy is John Locke. 
5. She knows he's not John Locke. 

• OK, I could have probably lumped 3 and 4 together, but I think it was important to make clear that she knows that her "friend" can appear as people he/it is not. With the blatant lie by "her father" about the others having her baby, we may be able to assume that Smokey has taken the appearance of Christian before, and slowly planted the seeds that have driven Claire mad with grief and rage over her lost baby. My guess, to use her as a weapon against Jack/Kate in coming fight. 
• For some reason, Smokey as Christian brought me back to his appearance before Michael on the ship right before it exploded. Who else was on that boat? Oh right, a possible candidate in Jin. Could Smokey have been trying to pick-off candidates in this indirect manner before?
• It also needs to be pointed out that Jacob needed to get Hurley and Jack away from the temple, and whatever was to happen there. Once again, why not at the very least Hurley, Jack, and KATE? Her omission seemed strange last week, but now it feels as if Jacob perhaps really has no use for Kate even though she had been touched. Was her sin too great? 
• Poor Jin. Bastard always catches the wrong breaks. Good thing he might get a reunion with Sun soon, even though it probably be as a hostage. 

Until next week. What's the over under on seconds Jack will be crying this season?

                                                            Poor Hobo Fail Jack

Lost: "The Incident"

What lies in the shadow of the statue?

Thanks to babelfish translations, Ricardo Alpert tells Illana, "He that will save us."

...

Long ago when I first saw the line of ash and then the cabin for the first time, I postulated that perhaps the island was an eternal prison for an evil being, or Jacob. The extreme version of this story would be the Lucifer one; the island was the place on Earth that the fallen angel Lucifer fell when he was cast out of Heaven.

In "The Incident," we got a new twist in the war between good and evil to control fate. It has long been established in Lost that there seemed to be two dueling sides vying for the island, and thus perhaps the world. Was it the Others vs. Dharma? Widmore vs. Ben?

Apparently this duel, this time loop has been in motion for much longer than any of us anticipated. Enjoying a fresh-fish taco, Jacob stares out into the Ocean and upon the incoming Black Rock and probably it's long expected cargo, Ricardo Alpert. And then he is joined by his opposite, the Man in Black.

You see, Jacob isn't the only powerful force on the island. As Locke once explained to Walt via backgammon, for every white piece - there is black. There is evil. The Man in Black (MIB lols) hates Jacob so much for his belief that humanity can be saved. All he sees out of men is their desire to control, destroy, and make war. Still, Jacob beckons more of his chosen few to the island.

For what? Well it seems that Jacob has been weaving a tapestry in the shadow of the statue; literally though, it seems the man in white has been carefully weaving certain events and people together. Jacob travels the world touching lost souls at their exact time of need, thus binding them to the island so that they may enact free will within the waves of time and change themselves, and maybe change the final outcome: humanity's destruction by their own hands.

The MIB despises humanity, for he knows how this every loop ends in men destroying themselves. More importantly, he despises Jacob for his faith that men can break the cycle of destruction through their choices, through the illusion of free will. How many times has Jacob done his little experiments with incorrigible men? The MIB is sick of it. Endless loops - endless times having to go down to the wheel and reset it all before everything is destroyed.

"It can end only once. Everything up to that point is progress."

Progress? An eternity of living multiple lifetimes, watching the same events unfold. All the while Jacob weaves his timeline tapestry, ferrying his chosen saved to the island, while the MIB is forced to feed on the damned. A thousand lifetimes, and all MIB wants to do now is end it:

"You know how much I want to kill you right now?"

Ah, but there is a catch. It seems these two opposing demi-gods cannot directly slay each other. Disgusted, MIB returns into the jungle - returns to his cabin. His hatred festers. He begins to actively plot, so much so that Jacob is forced to bind him behind a wall of white ash so that he cannot spread his influence and discord.

"I will find a loophole."

...

The big revelation in Season 5's finale was that Darth Locke (as I have come to call him) actually is way more Darthy then we thought. In fact, he isn't even John Locke at all. It seems the Man in Black finally found his loophole. I am sure we will eventually find out how the MIB broke free of his cabin bondage - how the ash turned black. The important part is that he is free. Ben is just some sort of apprentice-level manipulator compared to his new master, easily falling under Darth Locke's spell and becoming the loophole by finally killing Jacob.

Yet the MIB should have known. Things seemed a little off when Ben told him that his dead daughter appeared to him and made him promise to do exactly what Darth Locke said. He was surprised - could it really be that easy? The MIB didn't even have to convince Ben to kill Jacob.

"They are coming."

From his dying lips, he sputtered the last words to his nemesis. Checkmate. Everything finally ended for Jacob; yet the chosen - the destined - were about to be summoned via an atomic bomb.

Jack the Shepherd and his tribe are coming.

Jacob had planned for this all along. He had been there in all their lives, touching them, binding them to the island and weaving their fates together. They were his ultimate end game in case the MIB had ever found his loophole. Disgusted by this realization, Darth Locke scowls and kicks Jacob's body into the fire.

...

Some people I have talked to said they were pretty upset that we didn't get our answer on whether or not Jack changed the future.

I think that we did though. I believe Faraday was ultimately right before that whatever happened, happened. Like Miles said, the castaways probably are the ones that caused the incident in the first place, because they had to. Akin to what happened to Desmond after the hatch imploded, I think through Jacob's grace (and Juliette exerting her free will), the castaways will be transported back to the present so that Jack and Locke (well the MIB) can have their ultimate showdown.

You see, I think the swerve is that the real game-changing "incident" wasn't in 1977. I believe the real incident was when the MIB finally broke the cycle and killed Jacob. Everything after that point is going to be different. It's funny, because it seemed destined from season 1 that Jack and Locke would ultimately be the driving opposing forces in Lost's conclusion. Locke the man of destiny against Jack the man of science.

Yet the real Locke is gone. Dead is dead. It sort of sucks, because you felt like the new Locke was a BAMF, that he had finally realized his potential. The only caveat to him maybe being REALLY dead is that Jacob not only touched him, but brought him back to life; we'll see.

No the real people of destiny appears to have been Kate, Sawyer, Sun, Jin, Sayid, and Hurly with Jack probably assuming the leadership role of a lifetime.

Jacob's death has signaled the end of the eternal backgammon game with the MIB, as well as the end of the time loops. Lost can and will end only once. The tapestry is complete (can't wait to see the finished product) and Jacob's hand picked team will either exert free will and make the right choices that will save themselves and the world, or they fail before the MIB's hatred of humanity.

So how do you think it will end? Was Jack the destined one all along? Will Ben become Sith-apprentice to his new (or maybe destined) master? Is the real Locke truly gone forever? Is the monster and the MIB one and the same?

There is a war coming.

Lost: "Follow the Leader"

The penultimate setup to the season 5 finale was a veritable Rubik's cube of information: how do all these events line up in time? Or do they?

Perhaps the best way to break this episode down is by the "leader" characters and their motivations.

Jack
Jack has taken up Faraday's mantle as a man on the mission to change time forever. Unfortunately, Jack also has taken up the mantle as the resident crazy-person. Where Jack 4 season's ago was running around doing all he could to save dying castaways, Faith Jack of season 5 is hell bent on detonating a H-bomb. My how things have changed. Looks like my idea of the journal being more important (a variable) seemed to somewhat payoff as it is now Jack's new bible. Just follow the word of God (Farademeology), and you save the world.

The Doc's position is pretty much utilitarianism (established by John Stuart Mill, a follower of the school of John Locke) which states that morally, the best action to take is one that benefits the most people. Jack believes it is his "destiny" to detonate the bomb, because by doing so, he erases all the pain and suffering the castaways and those that have died because of the plane crashed have endured. Faith Jack doesn't seem to care about the bonds he has made with Kate and the rest of the Losties, as what is the right thing to do is to try and save all those people that have senselessly died. Sayid seemed to agreed, because lets face it, his life has been pretty crappy since the plane crash. Kate takes offense, as Jack pretty much pulls the ultimate boyfriend douchebaggery: come off as a crazy lunatic while admitting that his life would be better without the crash. Who knows if Jack will actually be able to go through with it. If you believe that what happened, happened - it is obvious he can't. It also seems incompatible to the show's designs to have a veritable "erase button" that negates all the progress these characters have made on the road to redemption. I feel a swerve coming on, as I still hold out some hope that Jack has something up his sleeve.

I mean blowing up an H-bomb? At the exact time the electromagnetic energy is released? If things go badly, then Jack potentially kills more people than he intends to save by changing time.

Crazy maybe paradox alert:
Also, if Jack stops the plane from crashing, then he stops himself from coming back in time and stopping the plane crashing. My head just asploded.

Locke
Jedi Locke made his return with a vengeance. Not only does this new version come with updated confidence, but he also has a built in island-receiver that allows him to pinpoint the exact time and location for when he'll see his limping time-twin pop out of nowhere. This event also answered the question whether or not the characters could exist multiply at two different places at the same time. Locke worked his leader mojo all episode, establishing himself as the all-knowing, all-seeing man with a plan. It was funny to watch Ben still try to play Locke, trying to butter him up. Locke's presence and unpredictability seemed to truly phase Ben and even Alpert. I think Locke's gambit to kill Jacob might be purely for show, or a way to make Ben and Alpert play whatever cards they holding close the vest.

Locke once said that he wouldn't change the past, because the summation of those experiences is what made him the man he is today; that being said, I found it a little hard to believe that he would then admit to Ben that he cared little if at all for Jin and the castaways stranded in the past. Again, I think Locke is playing Ben by doing the complete opposite of what Ben is expecting him to do. It's also curious that Locke is openly demanding empirical evidence of Jacob's existence when he was so ready to believe in him before.

My guess? Locke already knows that he is Jacob. Or rather, Locke already knows that he will become Jacob. Similar to the way he knew exactly where he would pop out of time before, I think Locke will literally become the false God that Ben and Alpert have been parading around and brainwashing people about. Give them a miracle they won't forget.

Alpert
Even though this episode was Alpert-centric, it was more a time jumping history of Alpert giving the, I think fake, "wtf" face. I still can't trust this guy has no idea what's going on/happening. It seems whatever game Alpert is playing was immediately threatened by Locke's behavior, so perhaps we'll shortly see just who or what exactly he is. His allegiances seem to change with the wind, and maybe the trick to figuring out what Alpert it wants it to try and piece together the reasons for him initiating the leader changes between Widmore (or Eloise?), Ben, and now Locke.

Also, how did Alpert and the others get Jughead down under the ground in those tunnel/ruins? Those tunnels seemed pretty darn ancient, which made me wonder weather or not those had been built with the foreknowledge of future events; that is, the ancients built the tunnels knowing that one day they would be used for Jughead.

Eloise
She didn't seemed to phased by her son's death. In fact, she seemed to be pretty gung-ho to lead Jack and crew down the tunnels. We also didn't get the last conversation between her and Widmore, but it seemed to me like she has him pretty whipped. I wonder weather or not she gave him some special Intel or instructions to do something while they were down in the tunnels. Also, great cleavage.

LaFleur
Got the snot kicked out of him. Seems obvious that he drew the wrong coordinates to where the others are in hopes of getting off before they figured it out. I think Kate's return to the sub will prompt him to try stop Jack to preserve his state of redemption and love for Juliette. My bet is Juliette does something crazy and jealous-like to ruin things. Kate, always blowing up homes, literally and figuratively. Also, way to leave Hurly, Miles, and Jin high and dry. Jerkface.

Nah, I am pretty sure he's got something cooking up his sleeve.

Other Things
Radinzki getting all hopped up on rage. He REALLY wants to tap into that electromagnetism. I wonder why?

Hurly's epic history fail.

Sun's eye-rolling, "Can Jacob tell us how to get to Jin?" moment. Jeebus.

Can't wait to find out what "The Incident" really means.

- Claymhor

Lost 4/1: "What Happened, Happened"

Cannot say I was overly blown away by this episode; Kate's stories never seem to phase me that much. I can't tell if it is that I have lost interest in her because her character is too transparent and her actions are too predictable, or because I am a raging, heartless sexist. Every girl I have talked to loved this episode, so it's hard to complain.

Interesting tidbits:

Jack: is a pussy. You know I want to believe that he is playing some cards close to the vest, that he may be planning or knowing more than we think he does, but his "wait for fate" approach is tedious. Maybe that's the point though; maybe Kate's series-aware reference to how she doesn't like the new Jack is a pointed effort to tell the audience that we aren't supposed to like him. Hopefully it pays off later down the road.

Sawyer: He openly in front of Kate pretty much told her that he does what he does to protect his and July's happiness on the island. You know...until she dies.

Kate: so she turned out to be the catalyst and fated shepherd of Ben to the others. I am sure old-Jack will take umbrage - and then the new one just won't care.

Alpert: We had a reference to "Ellie" (Eloise Hawking?) and Widmore by the Others and their questioning of Alpert's motives, to which Alpert himself replies that he does not answer to them. Did he omnisciently hold in his hands the new heir to the leadership, thus breaking his fealty to Widmore? Of course his last words to Sawyer and Kate had to be extremely vague, as to leave the audience with several different interpretations:

1. Ben's "loss of innocence" - does this go hand in hand with he'll always be one of us? What we will do to him to heal him will forever alter him physically, or attune him to the island? Does healing him also gift Ben with the knowledge of future events, making him a slave to uphold the timeline that creates him?
2. Loss of Ben's memory - Alpert also mentions that by going through the island healing ritual in the mythical "Temple", young Ben will lose the memory of the events. Does he lose the memory of ALL event predating his shooting, thus answering Hurly's time-boggling question of how Ben doesn't recognize Sayid in the future? His relationship with his father, and the way he kills him in cold-blood during the purge seems to suggest that he does retain old memories (and grudges). Perhaps future Ben will shed more light (and consequently more darkness) on what happened after Alpert took him down into the temple. This may have something to do with why Alpert specifically asked Sawyer for the body of of the slain Dharma initiative member in payment for the deaths of 2 others.