LA X

Season 6 started with a bang, albeit with a bang from last season. I'm sure I wasn't the only confused viewer when we saw it all twice, and ended up in two different realities. At first, I thought, Why is Jack on the plane but Kate and Miles aren't? But then, Jack was with Kate too! And Kate was with Jack! Amazingly, my nose bled not once last night.

So, we saw what happened if the clock were reset and the plane didn't crash and we saw the 1977ers transported 3o years to 2007, the same time line as Sun and Frank. The producers are allegedly calling this "flash sideways".

But the 2004 version of reality is altered. Shannon was left in Australia. Hurley has been the beneficiary of extraordinary good luck. Jack has a mysterious wound on his neck. Desmond is on the plane, which is better for him than being on the Island, since the Island is underwater. Charlie tried to commit suicide on a bag of smack (why didn't he just empty the contents?) and was arrested in LA. And wasn't Sawyer all perky and happy? There were also people we didn't see, especially Michael and Walt, though Libby, Ana Lucia, and Mr. Eko were also absent.

Some things seemed the same: Locke still cannot walk. Neil "Frogurt" and Leslie Arzt are still annoying. Kate is still in handcuffs. And who didn't catch the gleam of a potential con in Sawyer's eyes when he heard Hurley won the lottery? Also present was Greg Grunberg's voice as Seth Norris announcing the safe arrival of Oceanic 815 to LAX.

To me, Jack seemed the only one to be disoriented by his presence on the plane. He seemed startled each time he saw someone who had survived the now-erased plane crash. In the old time line, Jack and Desmond met before Desmond set sail to prove to Widmore his worthiness of Penny's love, but we've no guarantee that they met in the reset time. And Desmond seemed to just pop in and out, didn't he?

It was fun seeing these strangers reacting to each other in much the same way they did after the crash. Boone and Locke connected, even if Locke lied through his teeth about the walkabout. Sawyer saw Hurley as someone to manipulate (they didn't become friends until later). Kate stole a pen from Jack. Sawyer seemed to size up Kate's situation well and helped her get past some TSA. Sayid was helpful in rescuing Charlie. Charlie resented Jack for saving his life.

But the 2004 money shot was the final scene between Jack and Locke. It turns out that Christian Shephard's body was either never loaded onto Oceanic 815 (which is what most people on the blog0sphere seem to think) or disappeared mid flight (which is what I thought while watching). Jack has a memorial service without a body, and the airline can't tell him where Christian is. How frustrating is that? John overhears Jack's conversation with his mother, and inquires. He then notes, "They didn't lose your father. They lost his body." Jack absorbed this, and it was just obvious that this is what he needed to hear.

Jack then does what Jack does best, as a spinal surgeon, asking how Locke came to be the way he is. Sadly, to John, the damage is irreversible. But Dr. Fix-It-All hands John his card, saying, "Nothing's irreversible." And it is clear that this is what John needed to hear too.

So, in our reset 2004, we get to see the man of science and the man of faith interact. Only time will tell if they divide over their fundamental life view differences. But this is the relationship that I think could possibly change what happens in the other timeline - 2007.

The problem with the time flash to 2007 is that Juliet ended up where she had been, at the bottom of a shaft, but this time with tons of metal on top of her. Somehow, she ended up being in worse shape than Sayid. Sawyer rumbles and roars and is going to kill Jack if Juliet dies, and glowers often at Jack. Can I just say that this was the only time I rolled my eyes? Mainly because it wasn't just Jack's idea - Juliet bought into it too. If she hadn't, then Jack may have had more obstacles than he could have overcome. But I get it. Sawyer feels guilty, has to blame someone, and the producers probably think it's better if there is conflict between the two men. Whatever.

Some people have compared Juliet's death to Charlotte's in how her brain wandered in getting coffee and going dutch. Her dying before she could tell Sawyer something she had to tell him was frustrating. Lucky for Sawyer, there's Miles! Who seems unusually unwilling to talk with Juliet. And no wonder, her message made no sense to a grieving Sawyer, "It worked."

Was it just me or did Miles seem disappointed that Sawyer asked Miles not because of how helpful Miles is but because he can talk to the dead? I think Miles really valued his relationship with "boss".

Naveen Andrews has had the misfortune to play unconscious in the last season's premiere and this one. At least this time, they found a stretcher for the man. Both times, Sayid was essentially saved by Hurley, who had ghostly assistance both times. But Hurley is much braver this time around than he was last time, asking real questions and demanding to be taken seriously. Hurley once promised to not help Sayid, but fortunately he has not kept that promise yet. All I can say is "Go Hurley!"

Hurley recognized Jacob immediately and did demand answers from him, but basically got nothing but more cryptic instructions. I now realize the value of Hurley to Jacob - he must have known he'd be killed, and Hurley is the only one who can talk to the dead without requiring a body present. The only way to save Sayid is to take him to the Temple, a place where fortunately, Jin knows where to go.

While glowering Sawyer and helpful Miles bury Juliet, Hurley, Jack, Kate, and Jin carry Sayid to the Temple, where they are caught by yet more Others. With the exception of Cindy and the two children, we've never seen these Others. I guess they are the ones that Ben has referred to as being safe in the Temple. Is Goodwin's wife Harper there? I didn't like her.

The guitar case holds not Charlie's guitar as theorized but a huge ankh, which is immediately broken for it's message. Is it yet another list of Jacob's? When Hurley asks what's on the list, all he's told is, "If you're friend there dies, we're all in a lot of trouble." And it looks like he might just die, since the waters in the Temple are dirty, and don't heal the cut of the Japenese Other. The waters seem to heal Sayid at first - his gut wound would not have allowed all that thrashing around. But the cure has to last so long, and when that time comes, it is clear that Sayid is dead. He was too far gone. Did they just kill Sayid? Could I be more devastated?

Meanwhile, under the shadow of the statute, Ben faces the enormity of his actions when faced with the corpse of the real John Locke. Bram is still extremely annoying, and handles the situation poorly, so I have to say I wasn't sorry he was then killed by the smoke monster. Bye bye Bram.

But his death told us something that we've probably already guessed: the Man in Black, Esau, notLocke is the Smoke Monster. Who doesn't like being called a monster. Is he also Christian, Yemi, Walt, and all the other ghosts who've shown up on the Island? Ben tried his best to hide from the monster, but apparently he was safe. notLocke tells Ben, "I'm sorry you had to see me like that." I suspect Ben is too.

In my opinion, the money shot of the 2007 scenes (besides the final reveal which may have more to do with my love of Sayid than anything else) was the conversation between Ben and notLocke, as Ben demands to know who notLocke is. We already knew from Jacob that notLocke is "an old friend who tired of my company." notLocke instead talked about the actual John Locke, and emphasized how pitiful John was in life and in death. My heart was breaking as I listened. But John, unlike the other survivors, was smart enough to know that life on the Island was far better than his pitiful life off. But he then adds, "I want the one thing John Locke didn't. I want to go home."

The final scenes were quick. Richard recognizes notLocke from his days in chains, but is knocked unconscious before he can explain more. The Others in the Temple take battle positions on hearing of Jacob's death, not to keep the survivors in, but to keep "him" out. As the Others try to interrogate Jack, Sayid comes to life.

Theories:

Why two different time lines? Well, I believe the explosion of Jughead led to both realities occurring. And what happens in one reality (my theory again - the 2004 reset version) will affect the 2007 reality. Time will tell how wrong I am!

I don't know that this is my theory, but I'll share it anyway. On the blogosphere, some have expressed the belief that Sayid did die, and that Jacob or maybe even notLocke have taken over his body. It could explain why Jacob looked at Sayid for so long. I'm hoping that is not true, as I want Naveen Andrews to play Sayid just as much as I want Terry O'Quinn to play John Locke. Also, why is Sayid so important? He never has been before.

It seemed to me that notLocke spent a lot of time talking about John Locke's weaknesses. I'm hoping it's one of those "he doth protest too much" and it means that we'll see John Locke in 2007. Or the John Locke in 2004 will do something that proves he's not the pathetic loser he seemed.

Another parallel: Sayid shot Ben, who was taken to the Temple to be cured. Apparently the waters must have been clean. Think what we were told about this cure - Ben would never be the same and won't remember things. Ben's father shot Sayid, who was taken to the Temple to be cured. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown (maybe the death of Jacob?) the waters were muddy. Assuming Sayid is not Jacob or someone else, is he otherwise permanently altered? Will he be as changed as Ben was? What will happen to his memory? Will the muddiness of the water alter the cure?

Questions:

Where is "home" for notLocke? Is it the Temple? Off the Island? Why was Jacob keeping him on the Island? It doesn't seem very nice to keep someone somewhere against their will.

Why didn't the Others find Rose and Bernard when they found Sawyer and Miles? The actors were in the 2004 reality, so they could easily have been in the 2007. Unless for some reason they weren't flashed to 2007. Maybe they are still in 1977 and will turn into Adam and Eve. That would be cool.

When will we find out Richard's back story? What was he doing in chains? When I was told the Black Rock was a slave ship, I was thinking of African slaves. Richard doesn't look African. Was this an Amistad situation where the slavers were enslaved in a slave revolt?

Thoughts:

I wasn't as upset by Juliet's death last night, as I grieved for her last season already. I only have so much grief in me.

I love the two time lines going on at the same time. Whether my theories are right or wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Jin got to say more lines last night than he did in the whole of Season 5. Maybe he's been forgiven?

Where is Christian?

Well, I apologize for the lengthy post - my goal is to recap less and analyze more, but this episode was two hours long, and so much happened! I'm just saying!

I really hope to hear what y'all have to say. What an episode!