Lost 6.15: Across the Sea

Tonight's Lost is supposed to be heavy into the mythology of the Island.

We'll see Jacob, Man In Black 1.0 (or at least in the first version we saw him as) and guest star Allison Janney (CJ on The West Wing). I'm not sure what role she'll be playing. But I wonder how she ties into the past of Jacob, MIB 1.0 and the Island.

There will be very little of the main cast in tonight's show. Originally, it was reported that none of the series regulars would be seen in tonight's episode. But apparently, that's not quite true.

Also, supposedly there is a flashback seen to something we saw in an earlier season that will show us that JJ, Carlton and Damon knew what they were doing all along.

Don't forget to come back here after the show to chat about what we see and what we think could be coming up.

The episode was written by Carlton and Damon and directed by Tucker Gates.

Can't wait? Here are two sneak peaks of tonight's show:

What did you think of 'Ab Aeterno?'

What do you think about the episode? What about Richard's story?

Did the answers satisfy you?

Where does the show go from here?

Has your opinion of Jacob and The Man in Black changed?

What is the island?

Word on the street, er... the blogs, is that we'll find out the answer in the next episode, which gives us Richard's backstory.

STOP READING IF YOU DON'T WANT SMALL HINTS TO HELP YOU GUESS.

It's a four letter word that doesn't have the letters A or E. It does have an O.

One suggestion that's been out there quite a bit is that the island is a door.

My only other guess is that it's a port as in a portal.

Any other thoughts?

Lost cast, creators give hints about the end

You'll have to check out this link to Watch with Kristin for the scoop.

If you're trying to judge how spoiled you might be if you click: It's not so much what the answers are as what will or won't be answered.

More from Watch with Kristin (Some text is in white, so highlight if you want clues about what the island actually is):

• Michael Emerson hints at a possible Lost death.
• We will find out what the island is halfway through the season. What is the island? It's a four-letter word. There is no letter "E" or no letter "A" in the word. Guesses?

Also, here's Doc Jensen's recap of Lighthouse.

Catching up with theories and goings on

Doc Jensen:Lost and music from the 80s ...

Photo gallery: The 10 who could be the new Jacob

Tiny Spoiler (Highlight the blank spot after this. The type is in white): Shannon will be back.

What did you think of The Substitute?

Have thoughts, questions about the episode?

Post them in comments.

''Nothing's irreversible''

At least that's what Jack tells Locke in the sideways world.

Check out these breakdowns of the first two episodes:

• As always, Doc Jensen has riveting insight into how literature (Salmon Rushdie) and even Michael Jackson (sorta) influenced what we saw last night. Also, Cuse and Lindelof explain a few things about the premier.
  
• Here's Watch with Kristin's Lost Redux. Spoiler free until you get to the part entitled "What's to Come." No major reveals if you're OK with spoiler tidbits.
• And The Washington Post's dueling analysis. If you can make it, they host a live chat today at 3 p.m. Central Time. If you can't chat live, you can read the transcript later from the same link.
  

Washington Post, Doc Jensen Chat about the show

Check out this chat with the Washington Post reviewers, Jen and Liz, and guest Doc Jensen of Entertainment Weekly.

Lots of theories, guesses and fun. Spoiler free except for the mention of a few characters who are returning.

A sampling:

Reston, Va.: Liz, Jen, you know I love you, but my geek-brain is exploding over the fact that Doc Jensen is sitting in on our little chat! I'm wondering what his position is on the Ben, Good or Evil, debate.

Jeff Jensen: All this depends on what was meant when by Richard's statement that if he saved Young Ben, the kid's innocence would be lost and that he'd become one of them. My theory? In being saved, Ben basically lost his free will and became a pawn of The Island's will, an extension of it. Ben is basically then exempt from good and evil; his fate is controlled by a greater intelligence/agency. The question is: Is That greater intelligence/agency good or evil? (Assuming I am correct.)

Jen Chaney: And this supports my theory that Ben deserves a little of our sympathy. Thank you, Jeff Jensen!

More questions answered -- sorta

I hesitate to put the spoiler tag up for this post, but if you click on this link to E!Online's Watch with Kristin, you'll see some about who is coming back, who they are trying to bring back and some questions that will be answered. Josh Hollway, Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof talk a little about season 6 and the show in general.

There are no spoilers about the plot.

Here's an example from Cuse:

Obviously, you can't answer every single question, but some things like the numbers—
No, obviously, if we said nothing about the smoke monster, if we said nothing about the numbers, we would be killed, but we believe that we recognize what the major questions are, and we will be providing some answers to those questions.

Two versions of the Lost last supper poster

So, there are actually two versions of the Lost Last Supper Photo. As your English teacher used to say, compare and contrast. What do you think?

What should we expect in the final season?

So, what exactly will happen in the season premiere?

It's hard to say where it will start and where it will go from there.

But, Watch with Kristin at E!Online, has a few tidbits about what kinds of things we will learn this season. (This is spoiler free. Just let's us know that we will get answers ... It just doesn't tell us what they are.) She says:

1. There Are Answers. Finally, now that we are down to the very last season, Team Darlton is able to give the fans what they've been waiting five season for: answers! Who is the smoke monster? What is the Island? Why are they all there? It's all down to the wire now, and I can tell you that in the first two hours alone of Lost's sixth season, there are more "answers" to the show's huge mysteries than there were in all of last season. Even if you've fallen out of this series, you will want to tune in to the end to see what it's all about. And for you fans who've followed all along, you will not be let down.
2. Terry O'Quinn Is Front and Center. Remember a few seasons back when Terry complained that John Locke's storyline was small, meek and misguided? Well, if only he could have seen then what is ahead for him in the final season: a stronger, more intense and more commanding storyline than Terry has ever had on this series. T.O.Q. just plain rocks, and the twists he will take this season will make you scream out loud.
3. It's Like a High School Reunion Without Having to Worry Whether You Look Fat. As you are well aware by now, nearly all of the Losties we've loved and lost (Dominic Monaghan, Ian Somerhalder, Rebecca Mader, just to name a few) will be back in some capacity for season six. It is a pretty awesome welcome-home party, with new connections you might not have guessed.

Dissecting Lost even more than usual

Thanks to Tim for this link. As he said this is for those who are really into the show.

This site dissects the show even more than we usually do.

Catching up with Entertainment Weekly's Doc Jensen

Doc Jensen is once again musing on the ins and outs of Lost.

Catch up with what he's been doing:

• How long has Locke actually been Fake Locke? And more. Like how JJ Abrams decided to leave Lost of MI:3 and how Lindelof and Cuse became the show runners. How Abrams "dated" Tom Cruise. And, of course, more theories.
• The island as Mouse Trap and other games.

Lost in posters

If you haven't heard, the Lost creators "commissioned" 16 posters about the show.

Pictured is the final poster. And, here is a link to all 16 posters. What clues to you think they give us?

Check out other Lost-inspired art shown at December's "Lost Underground Art Project."

Doc Jensen previews the finale

Here's the last Doc Jensen preview of the season. Enjoy.

Since ''LaFleur,'' I have argued that season 5 has been modeled on season 2, and
I believe my theory has held. Season 2's finale, ''Live Together, Die Alone,''
hinged on a Big Picture binary question: Does the button really do anything: Yes
or no? The season 5 finale, ''The Incident,'' hinges on the resolution of a
similar, black-or-white issue: Can the past be changed: Yes or no?

He makes three predictions of the finale. Not spoilers. He's just speculating.

Why does Locke want to murder Jacob?

Why does Eloise Hawking know so much about the castaways' destiny? Is she stuck in a self-aware, open-ended time loop, or does she have flashes of the future à la Ben?

What is the significance of the Ajira storyline?

What is the "fork in the outlet" and will it make the audience "eat its own soul?"

NO SPOILERS HERE!


The showrunners are calling this season's game changer the fork in the outlet, as we told you in an earlier post.

What do you think it is? How will it change the show forever?

E!Online is reporting that Michael Emerson (aka Ben) is saying: that the ending is : "enough to keep an audience eating its own soul for the whole hiatus."

We've had the bagel and the snake in the mailbox. Both weren't literal.

But last season's frozen donkey wheel certainly was.

Speculate in comments!

More thoughts on Lost from Doc Jensen as we wait out this one-week break

More theories from Doc Jensen on what's happening on Lost.

He makes some corrections to past comment and gives us new fodder to think about during this tiny hiatus.

Rumor has it that next week's episode, ''The Variable,'' represents a bookend to last year's classic and similarly high science-titled outing, ''The Constant,'' which gave us time-travel guru Daniel Faraday counseling time-traveling Desmond on how to do the time warp shuffle without causing his brain to melt out his nose. ''The Constant'' was one of the most romantic episodes of Lost ever — but since a variable is the exact opposite of a constant, does that mean we're about to get served with one of Lost's bleakest installments?

Lost: the book club

Want to make sense of all those passing references to the literary world?

ABC has composed a reading list for Lost fans.

The Lost creaters even wrote a note welcoming you to the Lost book club. They don't promise the books will provide insight but they do promise enrichment for reading them. Sounds like high school English. Although there are some interesting books on the list.

They recommend A Tale of Two Cities, On the Road, Carrie, Of Mice and Men, Stranger in a Strange Land, Catch-22, A Brief History of Time and more.

If you've read any of these and can provide insight to the show, discuss in the comments.