It is finally here!

It’s been 265 long days since the season five finale of Lost. And a lot has happened. A few news-worthy items to jog your memory:

May: Adam Lambert didn’t win American Idol…the other guy did.

June: SC Governor Mark Sanford “went for a hike along the Appalachian Trail”...

July: Cash for Clunkers began and cost the government $2 billion more than predicted.

August: Twitter and Facebook had simultaneous outages, rebooting the world to 2001 for 5 short hours.

September: “YOU LIE!” – Joe Wilson.

October: 6 year-old Falcon did not, in fact, joy-ride across Colorado in a balloon.

November: Party crashers hit the White House, Tiger hit a tree, and the Yankees won the World Series.

December: My co-blogger, Charlie, had a birthday and received the Season 5 Dharma Initiative Orientation Kit from his Mom.

January: Spain took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from Sweden.

Yep…it has been a LONG TIME. And some CRAZY STUFF has happened. But we’re here now. And we’re so glad you’ve found your way back through this crazy world to the Dharma Blog. WELCOME HOME!

I don’t know about you, but this morning, I woke up happier than I’ve been in, oh, 265 days. LOST IS BACK!

There is no word to adequately capture my excitement about tonight. Say what you will about my sanity, but my life has been somewhat defined by Lost for the past several years. I have spent a lot of time (too much, some might say) theorizing, postulating, arguing, discussing, writing, and rewriting about this show. To think that the answers are going to start coming fast and furious tonight (a producer was quoted as saying the answers will start arriving like “water from a firehose”) is THRILLING.

Even more exciting is the fact that, until the new promo commercial and 2 minute video clip were released over the weekend, the season 6 storyline has been a closely guarded secret for the last nine months. (Truth: I have seen the commercial; I have NOT watched the 2 minute video clip.) We can guess all we want about what is going to happen…but that’s just it: we can only guess. No one knows! Awesome!

So as I sit down to write this first review of the sixth and final season, I’m left to my own devices. I don’t have all the answers or a huge overall theory to put forth about what is about to happen. Instead, I’m going to lay out a few concepts for you to be thinking about as you sit down tonight in your Dharma jumpsuits with your Dharma beer and your true Lost friends (shout-out to my Lost-Watch Party friends!). You might agree with me on a few things…you probably will disagree on most things. Most importantly, though, is that you allow yourself a few minutes to think about Lost before the clock strikes 7:00 PM CST. There’s a lot to think about…you owe it to yourself to go into tonight ready for anything.

According to executive producer Damon Lindelof, “what it is we’re doing this year is different than what we’ve done in other years.” And if that doesn’t get you excited, you should just close this browser window and go back to your TPS reports.

Let’s do this, team.

LA X

If you watched the Dharma Blog Preview Video from a couple weeks ago, you already know that tonight’s episode is entitled LA X. (That’s LA [space] X, in case the formatting isn’t coming through on your screen.) On the surface, LA X reminds one of the Los Angeles International Airport, which has the FAA code LAX, which is where Oceanic 815 was to land wayyyy back on September 22, 2004.

So...is this episode title proof that Juliet successfully changed the past by detonating Jughead in the season five finale? Did Juliet prevent the Swan Station from being completed…which prevented Desmond from pushing the button…which caused Desmond to fail to push the button while he was off killing Kelvin…which prevented Oceanic 815 from crashing onto the island? Is this season really going to be about what happens to our characters if they land at LAX (as strangers) and never go to the island?

Me thinks no.

Caveat: I do believe that there will be some sort of reset…in some capacity…this season. But a total reset? No. That would be a HUGE cop-out. It would negate all the stories, all of our emotional attachments to the characters (okay, my emotional attachment), and the extensive character development that has evolved since 2004. It won’t be happen. It can’t happen.

But let’s think about this. Almost every episode title over the last five seasons has represented a key theme or moment for the viewing audience (exception: Eggtown…lamest title ever). So what could LA X mean?

I’m pretty sure Charlie was on to something with his theory in our Preview Video. The reference to airport is intentional, but there is deeper meaning. Charlie believes that the X signifies an “alternate” (read: reset) Los Angeles…which I’m going to take on as my not-so-new theory about what tonight’s episode is going to be about. Tonight, there is going to be a partial reset. We’re going to see what would have happened if 815 had landed at LAX back in 2004.

More on that shortly.

Guest Starring tonight…

Guess what? The ABC news release says there will be no guest stars tonight. All together now: hahahahaha, ABC. Nice try. Of course there will be guest stars. This is Lost. There are always guest stars. ABC is lying, kids. The list of guest stars usually leads obsessive fans like me and Charlie to piece together possible roles for said individuals…so the non-release of said list is a smart move. Well played, ABC. Well played.

I guess we should reflect on the series regulars, then?

Many of you have pointed out small but significant changes to the ABC-released “permanent cast list” for the show this season (the ‘Varsity Squad’):

“Lost” stars Naveen Andrews as Sayid, Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, Emilie de Ravin as Claire, Michael Emerson as Ben, Jeff Fahey as Frank Lapidus, Matthew Fox as Jack, Jorge Garcia as Hurley, Josh Holloway as Sawyer, Daniel Dae Kim as Jin, Yunjin Kim as Sun, Ken Leung as Miles, Evangeline Lilly as Kate, Terry O’Quinn as Locke and Zuleikha Robinson as Ilana.

Anyone else a little intrigued by the fact that Richard Alpert and Ilana are on Varsity? Yeah, that’s interesting for SURE. Since we know that these two exist only in the current storyline on the island (they are at The Foot, as we like to call it), the possibility that Juliet and the Jughead prevented Oceanic 815 from crashing is eliminated (they wouldn’t be around). Also interesting is that Claire is back…and all the confusion that surrounds her. Is she alive? Is she dead? And what was the deal with her and Christian Shephard in Jacob’s cabin? I could go on and on about her.

Notably absent from the Varsity squad (and causing serious distress for Charlie) is Desmond. What does this mean? I’m quite certain we will see Desmond this season. Nay, I’m certain we will. To look on the bright side of things, perhaps he is happy with Penny and baby Charlie…and living a great life…and done with this crazy island. (pause) Eh, probably not all sunny skies for the Hume Family, but I can still dream.

What else does the news release say?

The episode description for tonight (which is also showing up on your DVR / channel guides on your TV’s) reads as follows:

“The aftermath from Juliet’s detonation of the hydrogen bomb is revealed.”

Okay. So Juliet did, indeed, detonate the Jughead (for those of you still doubting that…), and we’re going to find out what happened. Great. Excellent. Lots of information. Thanks for nothing, ABC.

That’s all we’ve got…

Okay, before I go off on what to be on the lookout for tonight, here are a few big picture things I’m confident about:

1. Despite my ruminations about a reset, the island is going to stay a huge part of this show. Like it or not, Lost doesn’t really exist without the island. It is essentially a character on the show…arguably one of the most important characters.

2. The most critical storyline right now is Jacob / Man-in-Black (MIB) for three reasons. First, this storyline is taking place in the present, which means it is the only one that can move forward the overall timeline. Second, this storyline has the best chance of providing answers about all the island’s / show’s mysteries. Third, I believe this is the storyline / timeline that all of our characters need to get to, as quickly as possible, if there is going to be any real resolution for this show.

3. I know I sound like a broken record, but whatever happened, happened. This is true. This HAS to be true. Changing the past will denigrate the last five seasons of the show (and the last five years of our lives). Whatever happened, happened.

So…about LA X…

Despite everything I just said and everything I have ever learned…I believe tonight’s episode will start with Oceanic 815 successfully landing in Los Angeles. Yep. Reread that sentence and be shocked. I will go so far as to say the opening scene will be in the cabin of 815 in 2004 (perhaps a close-up on Jack’s eye, as he wakes up from a nap), flying over the island…and not crashing. I know you’re thinking WTF (why the face? I love Modern Family…). But I’m serious about this. How CRAZY would that be??

However, it won’t be all that it seems.

I’m wondering if this whole storyline will be “It’s a Wonderful Life” – esque and show us “what might have been” (thanks, Lonestar). It will be a reset to an alternate reality of what would have happened if the plan worked. (Whew. Tongue twister.) But we’ll eventually find out that the plan DID NOT work. These opening scenes will be the first of a series of cruel glimpses into how different everyone’s lives would have been…but it won’t matter. Because it never happened.

Confused? Okay…how about this.

Did anyone ever see the Gwyneth Paltrow movie “Sliding Doors” from the early 2000’s? Bear with me for a moment. This is a crazy movie about the impact of a single moment on a life. Here’s the set up: one morning, Paltrow is running late to get to the subway to go to work. The movie travels two parallel timelines: one in which she makes the subway and gets on, and one in which she doesn’t. In the end, both timelines converge upon the same moment…a moment that she was going to get to no matter what happened in her life (or what timeline she followed). It is a bizarre movie, but it really makes you think about all the seemingly-mundane choices we make in our lives every day…and how they all have the potential of having huge ramifications.

So how does this movie relate to Lost? Well, the “subway moment” (per se) in this show is the plane crashing. We’ve already seen the timeline where the plane crashes. Tonight, we’re going to start to see a timeline where the plane does NOT crash. But, if it is like “Sliding Doors”, both the crashing and not-crashing timelines will inevitably end up at the same place…a moment that was going to happen, no matter what. What is that moment? No clue. When is that moment? No clue. Where is that moment? Say it with me now: the island? I think so.

So I know it probably seems like this whole not-crashing scenario will be a big waste of time. However, I think the writers are trying to show us that the crash was the BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO OUR CHARACTERS.

I don’t know about you, but I have never thought of the crash of 815 as a good thing. Sure, there have been a few moments of “awww…” (Baby Aaron is here!) and “ohhhhh…” (Sawyer gave Juliet a daisy!), but overall, I have a general policy that all plane crashes = bad. So perhaps this alternate, non-crashing timeline will show terrible, horrible things…like Kate going to jail, Jack battling an even worse addiction, Locke in his wheelchair at a box company, Nikki/Paolo/Boone/Shannon being alive, Etc etc. And when we realize that this alternate timeline isn’t real…we’re going to be SO happy the plane crashed. We’re going to see the island as a wonderful place. And as a place that really did change all the characters’ lives for the better.

How awesome would that be??!

A few other options…

So while I think the above theory would be an excellent storyline to follow…it’s probably completely wrong. I’ve been reading a lot of other theories about this season, and offer these two additional theories for you to consider:

1. Course Correction Theory: Juliet and the Jughead did change the past. However, everything still shakes down the way it always was supposed to be. The universe found a way for something else to bring down 815, Desmond did something different with his time on the Island, etc. In the end, all our characters end up in the exact same place, even though some of the details in getting there have been changed. To use an analogy, detonating Jughead threw a big rock in the stream…but the stream found a way around the rock and down the original path. Kapeesh?

2. Flashes Before Your Eyes Theory: Recall that when Desmond experienced the implosion of the Swan Station, he gained the ability to see the future. What if when Juliet detonated the Jughead, something similar happens...and our time-traveling survivors see the “alternate reality” future in flashes?

Let’s be honest, though. None of these theories are great. Lost storylines tend to come out of left field…and are simultaneously completely unpredictable, completely bizarre, and completely awesome. I’m confident tonight’s episode will be exactly this: unpredictable, bizarre, and awesome.

Reuniting the Cast

I’d like to spend a few minutes talking about how the characters are going to reunite…because, as I stated before, this has to happen. (Truth: My heart just can’t bear the thought of Sun and Jin remaining decades apart…it’s just too cruel…go ahead and roll your eyes, Charlie). So, a few theories that I’ve found to this pesky problem:

1. The detonation of the Jughead zaps the characters back to their true time. Perhaps the universe doesn’t want our survivors to change the past, and in order to prevent it, it flashes them forward to 2007 right before the Jughead detonates.

2. (Warning: this one is weird) Jacob touching the time-traveling survivors in the past activates them to be called upon if he dies. Ben stabbing Jacob ‘calls’ our survivors to Jacob…even though it means pulling them through time. Weird. And kinda magical. But Jacob is both weird and magical.

(long, awkward pause)

Man, these are dumb. Really really dumb. I have no idea how the characters will be reunited. Anyone out there have any theories on this??

And the Schedule for Tonight…

7:00 CST – “Lost: Beginning of the End” (clip show)

8:00 CST – “LA X, Part 1”

9:00 CST – “LA X, Part 2”

To Close…

“There are two sides, two players. One is light, the other is dark.” John Locke spoke these words five years ago in the episode “Pilot.” On the brink of season six, this quote remains a window into the heart of this show. Could it be this simple? Have the answers been in front of us the whole time?

Tonight is going to rock, guys. Enjoy the ride. See you tomorrow morning!!

Namaste,

Maggie