Are We Still Lost?
Well, sort of.
When Lost first aired last fall, it immediately grabbed TV audiences by the throat and has never let go. Part X-Files, part Robinson Crusoe, Lost starts with a hair-raising plane crash, which leaves about 40 survivors on a seemingly deserted island. They then end up facing much more than just surviving.
There’s a tree-toppling “thing” in the jungle, a freaky French lady, polar bears, some very baaaad numbers, and an ominous hatch. Along with all the weird stuff, there’s also the human interest side of things, as we glimpse into each main character’s past. The show has proven to be one the hottest water-cooler topics–with a newfound Emmy win to back it up–with several theories on just where and who these Lost survivors are.
In the trippy two-hour season finale, we had some of our probing questions answered. But with a few juicy cliffhangers, we’ve also been saddled with a whole slate of new ones.
The Black Rock
Here’s what we know: OK, we all thought it was an actual rock, didn’t we? A rock with some kind of transmission tower near it, where a repeating series of numbers or an SOS message in French can be broadcast. But lo and behold, the Black Rock turns out to be a mining ship, circa 1800s, that somehow run aground in the middle of the jungle, with skeletons of slaves–and a crap load of dynamite–in its bowels. Jack, Locke, Hurley, Kate and Dr. Arzt are lead there by Rousseau (aka “French Chick”) so they can gather the dynamite to blow the hatch door. Hurley, of course, asks the obvious, “How does something like this happen?” Rousseau replies, “Are you on the same island I am?” But things get a little, er, messy when the highly obnoxious Dr. Arzt, who tags along because he’s some kind of expert with explosives, accidentally sets one off as he’s explaining how to safely wrap the sticks. Blows himself right up. Hurley nearly hurls.
Here’s what we still don’t know: Hello, the transmissions? Where’s the tower? The happy crew never looks for the source, which may have been helpful in trying to send, say, a new SOS message? Just a thought.
Interesting tidbit: Arzt launches into a tirade about how Jack, Kate, Locke, Sayid and all the characters we’ve come to know and love are the “cool clique,” but that the other 25 or so survivors are left hanging. It finally gives a little insight into how the rest of the survivors must be feeling, since we can’t really get to know them all. Arzt also asks the question we’ve all been wondering: Why hasn’t Hurley lost any weight? No explanation is given.
The French Chick
Here’s what we know: Her real name is Danielle Rousseau. She was part of a six-person scientific expedition that 16 years ago picked up an odd series of numbers (more on that later) and in trying to investigate, shipwrecked on the island. She also was pregnant at the time and gave birth to a daughter, Alex. But soon after, she claims the “Others” took the baby, and the remaining members of her team were “infected” and destroyed. She has been fending for herself alone in the jungle ever since, claiming she still hears the Others whispering in the jungle. When she finally comes to the survivors camp to warn them that the Others would be coming for Claire’s baby–signaled by the plume of black smoke somewhere off in the horizon–we come to realize it’s the shell-shocked, wild-eyed, grief-stricken Danielle who really wants Claire’s baby.
Here’s what we still don’t know: What infected her team? Is it contagious? Yikes.
The Others
Here’s what we know: Rousseau says there are other people on the island–or at least we think they are human–who apparently have a thing for very young children. Ethan could have been one of these Others since he wasn’t on the plane manifest and ends up kidnapping Charlie and a pregnant Claire. Yeah, that’s a big red flag. Charlie is rescued by Jack and Kate, and later Claire manages to escape but has no recollection of what happened to her. When Ethan comes back for Claire, Charlie kills him before the rest can get any information out of him. Now it’s Rousseau who takes off with Claire’s baby. Sayid and Charlie are in hot pursuit, and when they get to the “black smoke,” they only find a big campfire burning on the other side of the island–and Rousseau, alone with the baby. No Others. Rousseau says she wanted to exchange Claire’s baby for her own child but the Others had left. “I swear I heard them whispering about coming for the boy…”
Here’s what we still don’t know: Has Rousseau totally lost her mind and made up the whole Others scenario just so she can have the baby? Or are there really other people on the island? If there are no Others, who was Ethan? Please explain!
Interesting tidbit: We all know how Charlie is a recovering heroin addict. And we know that the downed Beechcraft was used for drug smuggling, loaded up with dozens of Virgin Mary statues filled with the stuff. As expected, Charlie discovers the plane’s contents on his chase with Sayid and later, after he brings the baby back to Claire, we see one of the statues peeking out of his bag. Oh, Charlie, just when you were doing so well.
The Monster
Here’s what we know: It’s big. It growls. It uproots and crushes trees. It kills people (at least the pilot from the second episode). And we never see it. Locke has had a few mystic run-ins with it, with shots of him basically looking up wide-eyed at whatever it is. He calls it the “Island.” Rousseau calls it a “security system,” to protect God knows what. But the final showdown comes in the finale, as Jack, Kate, Locke and Hurley are heading back with the dynamite and are, er, attacked. Locke is dragged by the monster (we still can’t see it, mind you) into a hole in the ground. Jack grabs him before he is sucked in, but Locke tells Jack to let him go, that he’ll be all right. But Jack isn’t about to do that and somehow gets Locke free. Finally, in a brief moment, we see something.
Here’s what we still don’t know: Is it some weird black mist, hanging in the air? An invisible force? What it the hell is it, for the love of God?
The Hatch
Here’s what we know: Ah, the hatch. Locke and Boone are the first ones to discover it. They don’t tell anyone for awhile. Instead, they excavate it to some degree and then try to open the hatch door, to no avail. After Boone dies, more or less because of the hatch, Locke is forced to tell Jack and the rest about it. And when Rousseau warns them the Others are coming, Jack’s first thought is to hide everyone in it. But they’ve got to open that damn door first. Locke’s all for it, saying it represents “hope.” But Sayid isn’t so sure. Apparently the hatch door doesn’t have any handles on the outside, meaning whatever is in it might very well be meant to stay in it. Hurley isn’t convinced either, especially after he notices the same series of foreboding numbers (see below) on the side of the hatch. No matter, because Jack and Locke blow the door–and inside is a long ladder leading down into the depths of the island. [Cue the portentous music].
Here’s what we still don’t know: Where it leads to. And what about the strange light which emanating from the inside when Locke was on top of it, banging and screaming in frustration, after Boone dies? Hmmm?
The Numbers
Here’s what we know: 4,8,15,16,23,42. These numbers are cursed, cursed, cursed. Rousseau knows. As does Hurley, who used the numbers to win the lottery and since has had nothing but bad luck befall those around him. Hurley’s grandfather dies, his new house burned to the ground–and the biggest of all–the plane he’s in crashes to the ground. Hurley got the numbers from a mental patient he once knew and then finds out the guy heard them in a strange transmission when he was in the Navy during World War II, cruising around the South Pacific. Interesting.
Here’s what we still don’t know: What they mean. Is it some kind of alien code? Does it pertain to the Others? I’m sure Hurley will have some choice words about it.
The Raft
Here’s what we know: Michael, determined to get his son Walt off the island, decides to build a raft. The first raft is burned by Walt, who doesn’t want to leave the island. But by the time the second raft is finished, Walt is more than eager to get away, especially after he senses what Locke plans to do with the hatch. “Don’t open it!,” Walt warns. Too late. Anyway, Michael and Walt are joined by Jin and Sawyer as they launch into the great wide open sea, in hopes of finding someone to rescue them. Well, it happens–but not exactly how they expected. The rafters run into a boat, but the people aboard don’t seem too helpful. No, instead they say that they have to take the boy and proceed to shoot Sawyer, grab Walt and blow up the raft, with Michael in the water screaming his son’s name. Intense.
Here’s what we still don’t know: Are the bad boat people some kind of a child smuggler ring? Do they know anything about the Black Rock? Or are they part of the Others, you know, with the whole child obsession deal? Rousseau did say they were coming for the boy. And if Walt does have some kind of psychic abilities, can he use them to escape? Talk about a juicy cliffhanger.
And a few other loose ends: Whatever happened to the black lady with the husband she thinks is still alive somewhere on the island? What about the radio transmission–hinting that there were other survivors–Boone heard from the Beechcraft? We still don’t know Kate’s evil deed that put her on the run or what happened to Jack’s marriage. Will Sawyer and Kate get together? The polar bears?
Get ready for some answers as the premiere of Lost‘s second season airs Sept. 21 at 9:00 pm EST on ABC.
