LOST: Final Pre-Season Predictions

Wow I have been busy. I swear that I will get back to Deadwood and Rome (and The Wire, which I am nearly done with). However, with the premiere of LOST's final season debuting in less than 5 days, and a certain other thing (see below), I wanted to get this out sooner rather than later. First, I always wanted to put out this post so that I could detail a few of my pre-season predictions. In addition, The A.V. Club posted a "leaked" clip from the Season 6 premiere, "LA X." One of my friends told me about it and pointed out that it ends with an ABC ad, so it was released by ABC themselves. At first, I simply assumed that it was misdirection by them, so I watched it, believing that Lindelof and Cuse were screwing with us, but my friend and I came to the conclusion that it could in fact be real. Anyway, the question is definitely whether ABC is messing with us or not, rather than whether some random person got a hold of it. In addition, it is only 4 minutes long, and the first minute and a half or so is footage from "The Incident."



Anyway, my predictions. Ever since Comic Con, when they released the Mr. Cluck's commercial featuring a Hurley that never crashed on the Island, it has been pretty apparent that the writers were going to do something with alternate realities (see my old post about the characters' would-be fates). However, they cannot simple reset the timeline because that would negate the past 5 years and would probably end with a geek riot. My theory on the subject is that the visions of the alternate reality will be in place of flashbacks/forwards, and that the alternate characters will be vaguely aware that something is not quite right with the world (kind of like Buffy in the episode "Superstar," when Jonathan's fantasy world didn't sit right with her). Daniel and Eloise have pointed out that "the rules" of time travel don't apply to Desmond, so he will likely have a very important role to play in setting things right (even if he won't have a starring role this year). Some kind of sacrifice, maybe?

I'm sticking with my prediction from last year that Titus (who I will soon be referring to by a different name) and the Smoke Monster are either the same entity or principal and agent, respectively. The Huffington Post predicted that Rose and Bernard end up as "Adam and Eve" from the caves, and I'm going to agree with them. Assuming the producers make good on some old promises, if we see the adult version of Annie (young Ben's friend from the DHARMA barracks), I believe that she will be played by Elizabeth "Juliet" Mitchell. The producers have said that Annie will play a "seismic" role in Ben's story, and in Season 4, Juliet's therapist commented that Ben took a liking to her because Juliet "looks just like her." Who's the "her" in that sentence? I'm guessing Annie.

I wouldn't be too surprised if Illana and Bram are agents of Widmore. The commando approach (come back, Keamy!) failed, so maybe this is his attempt to retake the Island through a small infiltration? They clearly have knowledge of the Island and currently oppose Ben while supporting Jacob. However, they only oppose Ben because he is with Locke (though maybe Widmore knows that Ben has been unable to actually see Jacob). In addition, Widmore does not seem like the kind of guy Jacob would grant an audience to any more than Ben. As for the "magic box" from Season 3, I think that, like Ben said, it is just a metaphor. The Island is a place of miracles, and if someone wants something bad enough, it will be granted (though there is likely a price). People get healed (Locke wanted nothing more than to be a hunter, and suddenly, his legs were restored and he was the designated hunter/tracker), Jin and Sun's marriage was restored, Michael and Walt became close, Sawyer settled his score with the "real" Sawyer, Kate became free. On the other hand, the Island was a source of strife for people like Jack, Juliet, and Desmond. I think the magic box is as subjective as it is not a box. It is for believers like Locke and Ben, and rewards the righteous (Locke was healed) while it punishes the wicked (Ben contracted cancer). I have competing theories about it, which is why my analysis here is so scattered.

Anyway, I really need to get back to work. I'll probably do a final Dollhouse post before getting back to Deadwood (I didn't realize that I haven't spoken about the Attic or the founder yet!). The final episode airs tonight! Until then, here's a neat little video:



Up next: Where mind and body are as one, forever...