The End: What did you think of the series finale?

UPDATE TWO: Part two of Doc Jensen's analysis.

UPDATE: Part one of Doc Jensen's recap
here. Part two comes tomorrow.

Doc Jensen asks a question in the recap about what's more important: the journey or the destination.

I think that in life and in the show, it's how you got there that's most important. Without the doing, where you end up really doesn't matter. As Jack told Desmond, there is no easy path, no easy way out. If you cheat, you miss the point. You miss making connections that proved so important in that final scene the the church.


Original post:

Can't wait to hear (OK, read) your thoughts.

I think I need to sleep on it.

Did you love it? Like it? Hate it? Think it was OK?

Were all the questions you wanted answered, answered?

Although, I'm still digesting it all, as far as series finales go, it was up there with M*A*S*H and Six Feet Under. Agree? Disagree?

Apparently, the ending had been the way they wanted to end the show since way back in season one. At first I thought this was the church. But now I actually think it was Jack dying on the island and the show closing on his eye.

Here is Doc Jensen's instant reaction. Will post the full wrap up tomorrow when he does.

Live LOST show a lovefest

If you were lucky enough to attend the "Times Talks Live: LOST" show tonight at local movie theaters, you probably walked out feeling like you got your $12.50 worth.

The New York Times' Lorne Manly (who wrote last week's excellent feature, "The Men Who Made ABC's LOST Last") played host for showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. The New York audience of LOST fanatics, like the ones in Dallas, cheered, applauded and hung on every word as the writer-producers discussed the creative process behind their cult hit.

Halfway through, actor Michael Emerson, who plays devious Ben Linus, walked onstage unannounced and joined the chat. Later, actor Jorge Garcia, who plays lovable Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, also strolled on to a storm of huzzahs.

Damon and Carlton dropped a couple of hints about who and what we might see in Sunday's finale. (Will there be a Star Wars reference in the first seven minutes? Damon says yes!) They discussed a few choice scenes that were shown, including Penny and Desmond's phone call from "The Constant."

But the best moment came at the end, when we got to see a short clip from the series finale. No spoilers here, but we'll just say that it hinted at the possible appearance of a beloved character we haven't seen since the Season 5 finale.

Lindelof, Cuse, Emerson deliver the Top Ten last night on Letterman

Here's a peek that just includes a few of the Top Ten spoilers (not really) for the series finale. One is about Betty White another is about creepy Ben dialogue.

Lost 6.16: "What they died for"

It's hard to believe that tonight we'll be watching the second to last episode of Lost.

It doesn't seem like that long ago, I read a review of the pilot and thought "That sounds interesting" and decided to check out the series premiere.

Tonight's episode sets up the 2 1/2 hour series finale. Expect answers, and, let's face it, more questions.

Want to know what we'll learn? (Not the answers themselves, though) Highlight the white text below: (Thanks to Hercules at Ain't It Cool News)

Everybody’s back, including Richard, Ben, Miles and Des.

It’s a big episode for Charles Widmore.

Major developments transpire in Los Angeles. We catch up with Hurley, Desmond, Kate, Sayid, Jack, John, Ben, Alex, Danielle and Ana Lucia.

We learn why Sun said “It’s him!” when she saw Locke.

We learn why Kate’s name was crossed off on the cave wall.

We learn Shepard, Ford and Reyes are not the only candidates left.

We learn this week which of the candidates succeeds Jacob.

If that's not enough, here are two clips from tonight's show:





Still not enough? Here's the series finale promo trailer. There appears to be no new footage. Just clips set to The Doors song The End.

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:

'Times Talks Live: LOST' in theaters 5/20

Here's your chance to hear LOST showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse talk about the show, just before the finale.

On May 20, theaters across the country will have one special showing of "Times Talks Live: LOST," a New York Times interview with the producers of LOST.

Tickets are $12.50 plus a $1 handling charge. Go to Fathomevents.com to buy your tickets online, and check for local showings and showtimes. Or, go to Fandango.com, another movie ticket website.

These online movie sites will send you a confirmation letter, and you'll need to show your credit card at the box office. Be sure to show up early for first-come seating.

The odds on who is the next candidate ...

What are the odds on who will replace Jacob?

Doc Jensen at Entertainment Weekly made this lists of odds before the tragic deaths of Jin and Sun and the heroic death of Sayid. But it's still interesting to see what he thought about their possibilities as The Candidate, as well as our remaining Losties.

The entire article has more info. But here are the odds, as Doc Jensen sees them:

JACK
You got the sense from “Lighthouse” that Jacob really, really needs Jack to get over his bad self and dial into his Island destiny. The safe money is that said destiny is to spend eternity eating fish, spying on damned souls with magic mirrors, and plotting intricate redemption narratives for Island visitors.
ODDS: 3-1

BEN
It’s a fake-out! Jacob’s master plan all along has been to groom Ben as The Island’s new supreme being—but first, he’s had to break Ben of his pride and purge him of his sin, not to mention protect him from the Man In Black’s assassination plot. Bringing the castaways to The Island accomplishes both tasks. The most flattering theory of bad guy Ben is that knowingly or unknowingly he’s been producing challenges of character designed to prepare the castaways for their final conflict with Smokey. Actually, the total opposite is true. Jacob brought the castaways to The Island to test Ben’s character, intended to shape him into the kind of man worthy of Jacob’s loom-of-fate stool. Also, by deceiving Smokey into thinking Jack et. al. were his candidates, Jacob has been shielding Ben from Smokey — and co-opting Smokey into his plan to refine Ben’s soul.
ODDS: 5-1

SAWYER
Next to Ben, he’s the best yarn-spinner on The Island. He’s a precise judge of character. He’s also extremely well-read; judging from his library, he has a great grasp on universal themes like redemption and damnation, faith and reason. He also has great motivation to stay on The Island, as he killed a guy in Australia and should surely go to jail if he ever got back the civilization. Then again, maybe that sin makes him unqualified for Island divinity.
ODDS: 7-1

SUN
It’s about time The Island was ruled by a woman, don’t you think? She’s got a great name for a god. Also, Sun’s got the will and stamina for long-term redemption projects, as demonstrated by her unflagging search for Jin, who per my guestimations will be allowed to remain on The Island as her consort. They’ll get to bring Ji-Yeon over to The Island, too. I also think they can make the most of Island life. He fishes! She gardens! They know how to keep warm during cold evenings on the beach! Happily ever after on The Island will be like one long honeymoon for them.
ODDS: 9-1

HURLEY
Maybe the guy least interested in the job — which makes him the most dramatically interesting candidate for the job and therefore makes him an irresistible choice. Even though my Sun theory allows for Jin to stay, I suspect that the Jacob job is probably a solo act, and I think being alone would crush Hurley’s soul. The again, he’s got plenty of dead people for company. And really, who wouldn’t want to spend the rest of time hanging out with Ghost Michael?
ODDS: 12-1

SAYID
Zombie.
ODDS: 23-1

Lost finale expanded by 30 minutes!

The series finale of Lost has expanded to two and a half hours!

An extra 30 minutes of Lost awesomeness!

The show now runs from 8 - 10:30 Central Time with a clip show before it. And Damon and Carlton will be on Jimmy Kimmel that night.

Tonight on LOST: 'The Candidate'

This is ABC's official description of tonight's Lost episode, "The Candidate":

"Jack must decide whether or not to trust Locke after he is asked to follow through on a difficult task."

Here is how Brian interprets the promo on his excellent Lost...and Gone Forever blog:

Logic tells us that SmokeLocke is going to pick up right where he left off last week, heading to Hydra Island to reunite with his Candidates and to take on Widmore in “The Battle for the Island." Does Jack trust SmokeLocke? Of course not. Will he go along for the ride in an effort to try and understand SmokeLocke’s true intentions and figure out how to stop him? Most definitely. What is the “difficult task” that SmokeLocke tasks Jack with? The last time an episode description was worded like this, it was when SmokeLocke was convincing Ben to murder Jacob – could it be that this time it’s about Jack murdering Widmore? Maybe SmokeLocke promises to save all of his friends if he agrees to go along with him. Maybe he claims that the only way to save the Island is to go along with him. Either way, it’s going to be something that makes Jack question what his true purpose on the Island is, who he can trust, and what he should do. He’s going to be all alone in this decision, and it’s finally going to see if all that time spent staring out at the ocean paid off.

Time is getting very, very short for our favorite series. The Lost cast has wrapped shooting on Oahu; the producers have edited the two-hour finale, "The End," which will air on Sunday, May 23. We have heard that next week's episode, "Across the Sea," will be mythology-loaded and quite different from any episode of Lost that we have ever seen. And the series' penultimate episode that airs on May 18? Frankly, its title is so scary, so loaded, that I don't even want to mention it here.

Come back tonight and talk about "The Candidate" in the comments; I have a feeling there will be a lot to talk about. And don't forget, the ep runs a couple of minutes long, so be sure to set your recorders accordingly.

Tonight on LOST: 'The Last Recruit'

The cryptic title is "The Last Recruit" -- meaning, presumably, the last Lostie ostensibly to be recruited to UnLocke's tribe. [But don't hold me to that; I'm just guessing here.] ABC describes tonight's Lost episode thus: "Alliances are forged and broken as the Locke and Jack camps merge." We could have guessed this, of course, since last week's ep ended with Hugo, Jack, Sun and Frank arriving at Camp UnLocke, and with Jack staring at UnLocke in disbelief.

Yeah, the Doc had heard about the MiB taking on the resurrected appearance of Locke, but this was the first time Jack had actually seen his old frenemy's form as inhabited by Smokey. Jack having been the one who saw the real Locke in his coffin, and Jack having been the one who put his dead dad Christian's shoes on dead Locke's feet prior to loading the coffin on Ajira 316 (doing so under instructions from Eloise Hawking, and what was that all about, anyway?) -- well, it's understandable that the Doc would be having a mental moment where his Man of Science past is (as the Bible would say) "wrestling Jacob" in his Man of Faith present.

So (except for Richard, Miles and Ben, who are off on their own personal mission to kill Smokey) we've got our Losties more or less reunited now. Except, of course, for Sun, whose husband is once again the missing piece of the reunion puzzle; the kidnapped Jin is still at Camp Widmore over on Hydra Island. But since that is where UnLocke's crew apparently is bound for the next and possibly final skirmish, there is a good chance that Sun and Jin will reunite at some point soon. Maybe even tonight.

Or not. These Lost writers can be a cruel bunch, after all. Witness Desmond, who was kidnapped from his Long Beach hospital bed, drugged, transported back to the last place he wanted to go, tied up, subjected to a massive electromagnetic event in the name of saving the world (again), and now has been kidnapped once more by Sayid -- and thrown into a well by UnLocke. Poor Des! As Original Recipe Locke once told little Walt: "You're not having a good month."

I predict we won't will see any more character-centric flashes into the Sideways World during these last few episodes of Lost. Instead, I think we'll start to see many of our alt-Losties gathering, for one reason or another, at St. Sebastian's in LA-X. Alt-Desmond is giving little psychic pushes to them, as he did to Hugo -- or as in the case of alt-Locke, Des is giving him a great big smack with a Honda. Coincidentally, alt-Jin should be showing up at the ER with a wounded, pregnant Sun. It's about time for alt-James to make a reappearance with alt-Kate (our favorite fleeing felon and freckled femme fatale!) in police custody, too.

But when will we see alt-Juliet? According to ABC, Elizabeth Mitchell isn't listed among tonight's guest stars. Yet I can't help thinking that we'll see alt-Juliet as a doctor at St. Sebastian's (and, I'm betting, as Jack's ex-wife and David's mother), at some point soon. Surely she and alt-James will need to meet up, let the sparks fly, and plan that destiny-fated coffee date?

Remember that, as in recent weeks, Lost will run a couple of minutes long tonight and will be followed by Elizabeth Mitchell's new series, V.

And remember that next week -- for the only time in this final season -- we will not get a new episode of Lost. Instead, we'll get a repeat of the stellar episode "Ab Aeterno," revealing the backstory of that mysterious, ageless Island consigliere, Richard Alpert.

Come back to Losties Island tonight after the show ends, and comment on "The Last Recruit"!

Tonight on LOST: 'Everybody Loves Hugo'

Tonight's episode of Lost, "Everybody Loves Hugo," is obviously going to be Hurley-centric. There is a lot of fan speculation that we'll see Hugo's long-lost Island love, Libby (played by Cynthia Watros), returned to life and meeting up with alt-Hugo in Sideways World.

This episode promises to be reminiscent of the Season 2 ep, "Everybody Hates Hugo." In the flashbacks, Hurley uses The Numbers and wins the lottery, quits his job at Mr. Cluck's, and soon becomes convinced he is cursed because with his new money, everything in his life changes for the worse. On the Island, Hugo is given the job of supervising the food and supplies from the Hatch, and he worries that everyone will resent him for the decisions he has to make. In that same episode, we also are introduced to Libby, one of the Tailies who captured Sawyer, Jin and Michael after they lost Walt to the Others and were shipwrecked from the raft at the end of Season 1.

In Sideways World, we have seen alt-Hugo describing himself as the the luckiest guy in the world. In other glimpses we have seen him as a conscientious and kindly boss, though one with a more corporate persona than Original Recipe Hugo.

While things would seem better overall for alt-Hugo, it's likely that not everything will be perfect, just as nothing is perfect for any of our LA-X Losties. It will be interesting to see if he has any flashes of his Island life, and if he interacts in Sideways World with any more of his fellow 815ers.

Come back after the show ends and discuss "Everybody Loves Hugo" in the comments!

Tonight on LOST: 'Happily Ever After'

ABC's official summary of tonight's Lost episode: "Desmond wakes up to discover he's back on the Island."

And as Tweeted last week by showrunner (and co-scriptwriter, with Carlton Cuse, of tonight's ep) Damon Lindelof: "In one week, the conversation is going to change."

Taken all together, this means we can probably expect some real revelations from tonight's installation of Lost.

That title, for instance. Last week, in "The Package," we heard the phrase "happily ever after" from the sarcastic lips of killer-for-hire Martin Keamy, taunting poor English-less Jin as he was being duct-taped up in that walk-in fridge.

It appears that Des was drugged, put on a submarine and brought to the Island against his will by his formidable father-in-law, Charles Widmore. Obviously, as Eloise Hawking told Des at the Lamp Post station in LA, the Island is not yet done with him. Tonight's ep does not bode well for Desmond's "happily ever after" with his little family.

Widmore's apparently willing to sacrifice his already-rocky relationship with daughter Penny (and by extension, grandson Charlie) if it means saving the Island, and the world at large, from MiB. What's more, he expects Des to sacrifice too -- not just for his Lostie friends this time, but for the sake of Penny and Charlie's very existence. At least, that's what Widmore implied last week when he spoke to Jin about how Sun and their little Ji-Yeon would "cease to be" if MiB escaped from the Island.

Tonight, I hope we'll get at least some hints about how the alt-reality is connected to what is happening on the Island, and to the war that has now begun in earnest.

It will be fascinating to see what's happening in Desmond's alt-reality. Is he still married, and if so, is his wife still Penny? Does he still have psychic powers? Does he cross between realities, as he did in "The Constant" and "Flashes Before Your Eyes"?

Check back here as soon as the show ends to discuss "Happily Ever After" in the comments!

What did you think of 'The Package?'

Sun and Jin.

What do you think?

I'm reminding of what Jacob saying that it only ends once and everything else is just progress.

What progress do you think Lost is making toward resolving story lines before it all ends?

By the way, if you hadn't heard, the final episode will be called "The End."

Tonight on LOST: 'The Package'

Tonight on Lost, "The Package" is a Sun/Jin-centric episode. But we'll see some other old, familiar faces too.

ABC's promo, which is marginally more informative than last week's, says:

Sun and Jin desperately continue their search for one another, and Locke confronts his enemy.

Since UnLocke's biggest enemy, Jacob, is now dead (though still hanging with Hugo in his very special, Obi-Wan Kenobi way), this means UnLocke must be confronting his other enemy, former Others leader Charles Widmore, who has arrived on neighboring Hydra Island, via submarine. Widmore is, as the enhanced version of "Recon" reminded us, "a very dangerous man," even if he is not a man who can turn into murderous black smoke. And just exactly what or whom has Widmore got locked up aboard that sub of his, anyway? Maybe his son-in-law Desmond, who's been MIA since S6's premiere ep, "LA X"? O Brother Des, where art thou?

That enhanced version of "Recon" also reminded us that in the S5 finale "The Incident," UnLocke told Richard (who at the time still thought this was John Locke, Jacob's anointed leader) that he would have to "deal with" the Ajira 316 survivors. In the "Recon" scene showing the Ajira massacre victims on Hydra, the subtitles noted that we don't know what happened to them.

But we can guess, can't we? We know who carried out another recent mass killing, at the Temple.

My personal belief is that this is why Richard has been so distraught and suicidal: not just because because he temporarily lost faith in Jacob, but because he has realized that he was complicit in those Ajira murders, which he had believed he carried out at Jacob's behest. Now he knows that he was unwittingly the instrument of UnLocke, a.k.a. the MiB or Smokey. What's more, Richard must be wondering if the previous mass killings we know he participated in -- the US Army brigade in 1954, and the Dharma purge in 1992 --- were not also instigated by MiB, masquerading as Jacob. No wonder Richard has believed he was in hell, or at least destined to go there.

Speaking of destinies: Are Sun and Jin destined to reunite tonight? Frankly, I would not bet on it happening -- not in the Island timeline, anyway. Though of course, we should see the Kwons together in the 2004 Sideways World.

But wait: Are the Kwons even married in that parallel universe? I'm not convinced that they are.

In the Season 6 premiere ep, "LA X," it was deliberately made difficult for viewers to see if either Sun or Jin happened to be wearing a wedding ring. In the few shots where their left hands were briefly in the frame, no rings were spotted -- not by me, at least. And at the LAX Customs desk where Jin was questioned about the illicit cash he was carrying, the female Customs agent addressed Sun by her maiden name, as "Ms. Paik." Hmmmm.

On the other hand, Jin still treated Sun in the same abrupt, domineering way that he did in the early days of the original timeline -- including that whole "button up your sweater" thing. Would he be that overbearing to his boss's daughter if they weren't married?

Maybe yes -- say, if Jin were Sun's bodyguard, anxious for her not to attract male attention. Or maybe yes, if the Kwons were already divorced and simply traveling together for some Paik business-related reason.

So: Check back here tonight, as soon as Lost ends, and tell us what you thought of the episode.

Remember, tonight's show again runs a couple of minutes long. It will be immediately followed by a new episode of V, starring Elizabeth Mitchell -- our late, beloved Juliet.

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?

Tonight on LOST: 'Ab Aeterno'

The title of tonight's episode of Lost, "Ab Aeterno," is Latin ("Gotta learn Latin! Language of the enlightened," as Juliet told Sawyer in Season 5), and it means, more or less, "since the beginning of time."

Maybe we'll get a slightly different translation of the phrase from the man of the hour. This is a Richard-centric ep, and Lost fans are very excited, because "Ab Aeterno" promises to be mythology-heavy and full of disclosures about the Island, the good ship Black Rock, and the mysterious Mr. Alpert himself.

ABC's official promo is, like all its promos this season, impossibly vague: "Richard Alpert faces a difficult decision." Lost fansites are rife with chatter about expecting some good old-fashioned flashbacks, maybe even featuring Jacob and the Man in Black, instead of a flash-sideways this week.

That flashback possibility seems quite likely, if only because this is Richard we're talking about, and he's got tons of history we don't know yet -- thanks to being apparently ageless, which he says is Jacob's double-edged "gift." Also, actor Nestor Carbonell, who plays Richard, has been hinting that this episode will carry lots of juicy reveals.

UPDATE: Be sure to set your DVR or VCR to run past the usual hour, because Lost's "Ab Aeterno" episode will run six minutes longer!

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?

What did you think of 'Recon?"

Post your thoughts on 'Recon' in comments.

What did you think of Sideways Sawyer compared to Island Sawyer?

Tonight on LOST: 'Recon'

It's been a long, long three weeks since "the Substitute," the episode where we last saw Sawyer, but tonight the drought ends.

Previously on Lost, a bitter, angry, grieving James Ford was signing up with Smokey in the cave where all the candidates' names and numbers were scrawled. James himself, you'll remember, was No. 15. UnLocke asked him if he was ready to "get the hell off this Island," and James' response was: "Hell, yes." Thereby making himself Recruit No. 1 in the Man in Black's army.

The official ABC promo line for "Recon" is: "Locke tasks Sawyer with a mission." What kind of a mission? A reconnaissance mission to Camp Jacob, would be our guess.

But "recon" can have more than one meaning. And since we're talking about our favorite con man here, it's entirely possible that Sawyer will recognize just what kind of con man UnLocke is and what kind of evil he represents.

In that case, we're betting Sawyer will become a double agent, just the way his beloved Juliet did when she joined the Losties and pretended to be Ben's mole for the Others.

Meanwhile, we're also going to see what James' life is like in Sideways World. I'm going to go waaay out on a limb here and guess that we're going to see the biggest change yet. That in the parallel reality, maybe James Ford never became Sawyer the con man at all.

In "The Substitute," we found out that alt-Locke and his father, Anthony Cooper, were on good terms -- presumably meaning that alt-Cooper was not the conscienceless criminal who stole his son's kidney and then pushed Locke out an eighth-floor window, leaving him paralyzed. Locke was still in a wheelchair, yes, but apparently Cooper had no connection to whatever accident befell him.

So if Cooper's not the bad guy of that scenario...maybe he wasn't the man who ruined the Fords' lives, either. Maybe young James grew up without the horrible, psyche-scarring loss of his parents and the ambition to become a con man named Sawyer.

The James Ford we saw on Oceanic 815 in "LA X" seemed like a pretty relaxed guy, not like a murderer on the run. It'll be interesting to see what he's like tonight, for sure.

'Lost': The 'Third' World?

Doc Jensen posits that alongside Island World and Sideways World, perhaps there is a World we haven't yet seen.

Thoughts?

LOST: 'Dr. Linus' recaps and reax

The redemption of Ben Linus -- who'd a-thunk it? And for once, an episode that answered more questions than it raised. Here's a roundup of today's recaps and reaction to "Dr. Linus"...more to come later, so check back this p.m.

Ryan at Zap2It

Cindy at Television Without Pity

Brian at Lost...and Gone Forever

Kristin at E!Online

UPDATE: Doc Jensen at EW.com.

UPDATE: Jen and Liz at WaPo Lost Central.

AFTERNOON UPDATES: William at TV Guide

Maureen at the ChiTrib

Noel at AV Club

Mike at NYT Lost Watch

AND ONE MORE: Todd at LATimes Show Tracker

What did you think of 'Dr. Linus?'

Ben strikes again.

What are your thoughts on Lost's seventh episode?

Post your thoughts in comments.

Tonight on LOST: 'Dr. Linus'

O bliss! O joy! It's time to party with the Artist Formerly Known as Henry Gale. Yes, it's a Ben-centric episode, and those are always extra good.

Tonight's episode of Lost is called "Dr. Linus." Here's the official ABC promo line: "Ben deals with the consequences of an uncovered lie."

The obvious follow-up to that is, "Which lie?" Because with Ben, you know, there are just so darn many lies he tells that we have totally lost track of them. Last we checked, he was up to about 167 fibs, untruths, whoppers and dodges, and that was just in Season 3.

We found out in "The Substitute" that alt-Ben is a teacher of European history at the same L.A.-area high school where alt-John Locke is teaching biology and coaching girls' gym. The only other thing we know about alt-Ben so far is that he is pretty darn snippy about maintaining the coffeemaker in the teachers' lounge. (Woe be unto him who fails to remove the old filter so Ben can make a fresh pot.)

Don't know about you, but we are praying that tonight he has a run-in with science teacher Leslie Arzt, so they can snipe at each other with lines like: "That's Doctor Arzt to you, Benjy!" and "Well, that's Doctor Linus to you, Leslie!" Of course, we have no actual evidence yet that Dr. Arzt even teaches at that school, but wouldn't that be a cool cameo?

On the Island's timeline, we know that Ben last week fled the Temple in terror, after realizing Sayid had gone over to Smokey's side and so had killed both Dogen and Lennon, who were floating lifeless in the Temple's healing pool. This week, we'll probably see more of Ben looking for Ilana and her little band of Jacobites, including Frank, Sun and Miles, who have escaped the Temple via the secret back door, and who presumably will be in the jungle, hiding from UnLocke and his tribe.

With the Temple breached, there are no longer any safe places on the Island that we know of. Will our Losties perhaps retreat to an abandoned Dharma station, there to await the arrival of whoever it is that Jacob predicted is coming to help them battle the Man in Black?

LOST connections at the Oscars

Two members of the Lost family won big at the 82nd annual Academy Awards last night.

Lost's resident composer, Michael Giacchino brought home the Oscar for scoring Disney/Pixar's animated instant-classic, UP. His joyous yet poignant waltz, "Married Life," underscored the story of Carl and Ellie's romance at the film's beginning, and it induced heartfelt sniffles in millions of moviegoers.

And actor Fisher Stevens -- who in Lost's Season 4 played George Minkowski, the freighter Kahana's doomed communications officer ("The Constant," "Meet Kevin Johnson") -- won for his documentary feature The Cove, about the secret, wanton slaughter of dolphins in Japan.

Video clips for episode 6.07: 'Dr. Linus'

Need a bit of the next episode to make it 'til Tuesday? Check out these clips from next week's Ben-centric episode called "Dr. Linus:"

Lost fans, bloggers divide on 'Sundown'

It's been a while since we've seen Lost fans so sharply disagreeing about an episode as they've been doing this week, over the Sayid-centric "Sundown."

Some critics, bloggers and commenters clearly loved the episode's bad-ass action sequences and its dark, ominous depiction of Sayid turning to the Dark Side of the Force. Some didn't like this one so much -- although not the way they hated, let's say, "Stranger in a Strange Land," aka The One About Jack's Tattoos, guest-starring the simply awful Bai Ling. Nor was the ep reviled as much as "Exposé," aka The One With Nikki and Paulo.

Here's a roundup of "Sundown" recaps, with a range of views that are pro, con, and somewhere in between:

EW.com's Doc Jensen

WashPost's Lost Central

Zap2Lost and Zap2Lost Course Corrections

Slate's TV Club

ChiTrib's The Watcher

The AV Club

NYT's Lost Watch

Lost...and Gone Forever

What did you think of 'Sundown?'

What did you think?

Post your thoughts in comments.

Go!

LOST: episode 6-06, 'Sundown'

Tonight's Lost episode, "Sundown," is summarized by ABC: "Sayid is faced with a difficult decision, and Claire sends a warning to the temple inhabitants." Which seems to indicate it will be Sayid-centric. Which mean Episode 6 breaks the S6 pattern of mirroring Season 1, and it won't be a Sun/Jin-centric episode, as expected. Which, considering the title is "Sundown," is kind of a big tease.

We can probably expect to see more of the Temple and its inhabitants, along with whichever Losties are still there. But with Kate, James, Jack, Hugo, and Jin gone, that just leaves Miles and Sayid. Sun, Frank, Ilana and Ben were heading to the Temple, the last we saw of them.

If the episode does focus on Sayid, what will his Sideways World be like? We know he got to LA with every intention of finding Nadia, his long-lost love. Does he find her? Will his alt-life be better, overall, than his Jacob/Island-affected life has been? (It could hardly be worse.)

We'll see. Come back when the show ends and we'll talk about it here, in the comments.

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.

What did you think of 'Lighthouse?'

Post your thoughts in comments!

Go!

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.

Brian's new theory of LOST

Over on the LOST...and Gone Forever blog, Brian has an interesting new theory of the Island, inspired by what he saw last week in "The Substitute." It involves what he's guessing to be the long and tangled history of Jacob and the Man in Black, aka Anti-Jacob.

"The best part of it all?" Brian writes. "I’m sure this entire theory will be thrown out the window by the end of next week’s episode."

True, but this is still a fun read. No spoilers, just theories -- and lots of 'em.

Recapping 6.04: 'The Substitute'

Watch with Kristin's "Lost Redux: Ummm...Did We Just Find Out What This Whole Show Is About?!"

And, if you like spoilers, she has an interesting tidbit here.

And what day after Lost, would be complete without Doc Jensen's insight?

Here's The Washington Post's dueling analysis. They have a 2 p.m. Wednesday chat (Central time). After that, there will be a transcript.

Also, there's already a clip from the next episode, The Lighthouse:

What did you think of The Substitute?

Have thoughts, questions about the episode?

Post them in comments.

Prepping for tonight's episode

What do you need to know before you watch the fourth episode?

Here's help from Doc Jensen for tonight's Locke-centric episode.

I can't help but wonder if Locke's backstory will remain the same. Will he be born premature to a teenage mother? Will his father throw him out a window? Will he be the man of faith off the island?

If the bomb going off can make Sayid Iranian (if he really is) instead of Iraqi ... Shannon not get on the plane ... Jin and Sun not married ... and get rid of Hurley's bad luck ... What will it change for Locke?

The article is spoiler free.

But here's a peak at tonight's episode. It's less than a minute.

Michael Ausiello dishes Lost Spoilers

In this week's Ask Ausiello on EW.com, he dishes a few Lost spoilers. The responses are in white type, so you have to highlight the text to see them.

Question: You’re blaming the late arrival of Ask Ausiello on the blizzard? Lame. But I’ll forgive you if you give me a really juicy Lost spoiler. —Jesse
Ausiello: Would you believe me if I told you my laptop got stuck in a 5-foot snowdrift? No? Okay, I’ll think of something else. In the meantime, here’s your juicy Lost spoiler: Someone has a kid in their flash-sideways. Guesses? Head to the comments!

Question: What can you tell me about Libby’s Lost return? —Joe
Ausiello: I can’t tell you very much. Cynthia Watros, however, describes her onscreen reunion with Jorge Garcia as “so sweet and honest. And I think, hopefully, when people see our scenes that they’ll get that feeling, too. [Libby and Hurley] are so incredibly real with each other. I was really grateful that I got to play those scenes and Libby got to sort of express herself in ways that she hasn’t been able to.”

SPOILER: Promo for 6.04 -- The Substitute

Wrapping up commentary on "What Kate Does"

Entertainment Weekly:
Doc Jensen's insights to "What Kate Does."
Ken Tucker's mythology free review.
Video: Reincarnation clues.
Doc Jensen talks about what he missed the first time around in the season premier.

E!Online:
Watch with Kristin: Lost Redux: Emilie De Ravin Dishes on "Feral Claire," and Insiders Reveal What's Next!

The Washington Post:
Dueling analysis
Chat

Discussion of 6.03:What Kate Does ...

Discuss in comments.

Go!

Lost yumminess

Check out these Lost-themed cupcakes.

A great idea for a Lost-watching party.

Hint. Hint.

'Lost': 'Kate' Expectations

Doc Jensen offers 10 thinking points for tonight's ''What Kate Does'' -- a companion to season 2's ''What Kate Did''? Plus: Meet ''Auntie Narrative,'' and a new installment of ''Totally Lost.''

And, what does the title mean? What does Kate do? She runs, Jensen says.

Also, keep in mind that the episode where we found out why Kate was on the run was called "What Kate Did."

Doc Jensen's 'Lost: 10 Burning Questions'

Over on EW.com, Doc Jensen's got his list of 10 questions that must be answered in this final season of Lost, with some revealing commentary from show runners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.

One biggie: "Who are Jacob and the Man in Black?" Well, that is "kind of the driving question of the whole season," says Carlton. He adds that it comes down not only to the conflict between the two adversaries, but to a huge metaphysical issue about "what is the fundamental nature of man. Is man good or is man evil?"

Lost 6.03: A sneak peak

The Losties finally start demanding answers.

It's a very short clip. Nothing is really spoiled except for the fact that you see Sayid and Jack saying they want answers.

Carlton Cuse: Epsiode 14 is written

CarltonCuse tweets:

Writing with DL and Liz Sarnoff for the last four days until the midnight hour and beyond but ep 14 is now done. 3 more eps to go. Crazy.

Lost explained by people who don't watch Lost

Fox's performance as Jack: 'Like Job with vodka'

Here's one last review of the season premier from Ken Tucker at Entertainment Weekly. Unlike Doc Jensen, he doesn't delve into the mythology.

He's looking at the acting, especially Matthew Fox as Jack and Terry O'Quinn and Locke (err...and as Fake Locke.)

Do you agree or disagree with his observations?

Homework to prepare for the next episode

Yep, that did say homework. But it's totally fun.

Doc Jensen at Entertainment Weekly is suggesting we rewatch two episodes to prepare ourselves for the next episode.

He says we should watch Tabula Rasa" from season 1, "What Kate Did" from season 2.

Will we see Sawyer's beloved Juliet again?

SPOILER IF YOU CLICK THE LINK

Find out what Elizabeth Mitchell has to say about whether Juliet will return, what she thinks Juliet's dying words about a coffee date and what it was like to work with Josh Holloway.

Will Sawyer and Juliet be together again? In the sideways world or on the island? Or both.

Post your thoughts in comments.

(Speaking of Sawyer, did he really keep his shirt on for the whole season premier?)

Lost producers announce season finale date

The series finale will air Sunday, May, 23.

Yep, we'll all be there.

iTunes Releases "Lost Tracks" Based On Characters

I'll just post what TV Guide says. What do you think about their selection for each character? Do you have a better suggestion?

Lost fans, need another way to express your devotion to the show? Buy their music!

Check out our Lost Episode Recap of the final season's premiere: "LA X (Parts I and II)"

iTunes has launched six exclusive seven-track collections inspired by characters from the ABC drama (called "Lost Tracks"). Songs range from Bon Jovi's "Bad Medicine" from Kate Austen's collection to Marvin Gaye's "Can I Get a Witness" from John Locke's selections. A playlist of "Dharma's Tracks" features head-trippers like Tina Turner's "Acid Queen" from The Who's Tommy, Three Dog Night's "Shambala" and "Dharma Lady" by Geronimo Jackson, a fictional musician in the show's mythology.

Check out all the playlists below:

Kate's Tracks:
"Cherry Bomb"— The Runaways
"Crazy" — Patsy Cline
"Jack of All Parades" — Elvis Costello
"(I Know) I'm Losing You" — Rod Stewart
"Another Nail in My Heart" — Squeeze
"Bad Medicine" — Bon Jovi (Watch the video)
"Somebody I Used to Know" — Squeeze

Sawyer's Tracks:
"Hair of the Dog" — Nazareth
"Bad Moon Rising" — John Fogerty
"You Got That Right" — Lynyrd Skynyrd (Watch the video)
"Farther Along" — Flying Burrito Brothers
"Walk Away" — The James Gang
"Strutter" — KISS
"Love Ain't for Keeping" — The Who

Locke's Tracks:
"Can I Get a Witness" — Marvin Gaye
"Listen to Me" — Buddy Holly
"Memphis, Tennessee" — Chuck Berry
"Lost Highway" — Hank Williams
"Mannish Boy" — Muddy Waters
"I'd Rather Go Blind" — Etta James
"I Put a Spell on You" — Nina Simone (Watch the video)

Hurley's Tracks:
"The Seed (2.0) " — The Roots
"C'mon and Love Me" — KISS
"Jesus" — Velvet Underground
"Call Me Names" — The Specials
"Goodbye Girl" — Squeeze
"Shangri-Las" — The Kinks
"Fresh Feeling" — Eels (Watch the video)

Charlie's Tracks:
"Gasoline Alley" — Rod Stewart
"Less Than Zero" — Elvis Costello
"I'm One" — The Who
"Going Underground" — The Jam
"Dirty Boots" — Sonic Youth (Watch the video)
"Lady Godiva's Operation" — Velvet Underground
"Empty Pages" — Traffic

Dharma's Tracks:
"Dharma Lady" — Geronimo Jackson
"Shambala" — Three Dog Night
"Hot Burrito #2" — Flying Burrito Brothers
"The Acid Queen" — The Who (Watch the video)
"The Pusher" — Steppenwolf
"Heaven Is in Your Mind" — Traffic
"Bell Bottom Blues" — Derek & the Dominos

''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.
  

And so it begins ...

Discuss the season premier in comments.

Go!

More tidbits. They're everywhere

New York magazine interviews Doc Jensen, the ultimate Lost fan.

The Royal Shakespeare Company reenacts Lost in 10 minutes:

Round up of tidbits ...

Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lily say they're done with TV after Lost.

Doc Jensen: Let's talk about 6.

Doc Jensen: How it ends (maybe).

Doc Jensen: A shot at recovery.

SPOILER ALERT: Terry O'Quinn spills something he's not supposed to tell.