the blast door map

written by: paul zbyszewski and graham roland. paul has previously co-written 'jughead,' 'namaste,' and 'follow the leader.' paul was also the co-creator of the short-lived, lost-inspired 'daybreak.' graham roland joined the show this year as story editor, and has previously written two episodes of 'prison break.'

directed by: bobby roth. it must be tricky being a director on lost (or any tv show, really). you would want to bring your own visual style to the episode, but your primary job is to deliver the ultimate version of a 'lost' episode that you can. it has to fit with everything else. this episode had some great pacing, exciting action sequences, nice shots, and killer performances. great job.

cinematography by: john bartley. what i've noticed, as i look back on season 1, is that the lighting in season 1 was much more realistic and subtle. but since season 3, the lighting has been getting cartoonier, tilting the show more towards the stylization on heroes. take for example the way the caves were lit in season 1 - a beautifully executed set that truly looked and felt like an outdoor/indoor setting. last week we revisited the cave, and the difference in the lighting schemes is very clear. jack and hurley were lit more traditionally for tv, whereas the original caves were often scenes about characters being backlit. at least it's been a uniform transition in the show's visual style, but i really miss the way it used to look. it helps keep the fantasy sci-fi elements grounded if the look is consistently realistic.

nutshell: here was sayid's tribute episode, and i think it handled the task really well. in the bigger picture, it feels like we've exited the expository phase, with one of the strongest final moments of the season. the battle is beginning. wow, lots of people are going to die.

1. parallel sayid
2. the offer
   
3. gewd and evel
4. some questions
   
5. some moments
6. preboomer
7. next episode
   

1. parallel sayid
the theme that has surrounded sayid from the start has been the question of good and evil. 'sundown' presented two scenarios in which he's faced with the question, and in both timelines, is thwarted by his best intentions. sayid has already once 'gone evil' in nadia's name when he became a hitman for ben. in this episode, in the original timeline, we're seeing him make the exact same choice on the bigger scale. ben's evil has been replaced by that of the nemesis, and it's interesting to see nemesis use many of the same tactics. it's also really interesting to see nemesis in locke's body, playing many of the same cards ben used to play on locke.

i was worried about how nadia was going to be handled, given that the girl has barely been given more than three lines in the past three years. i think the show even teased us a little by initially making us question whether sayid was actually coming home to nadia, his wife. fortunately sayid's story hasn't been skewed to quite that degree, but it is still pretty different. in the original timeline, the day before the flight, sayid watched his friend put a bullet in his head after discovering that sayid was a spy sent to infiltrate a terrorist group - a job he took on the promise of being reunited with nadia.

but here, sayid's job is translating contracts for an oil company, and has kind of been avoiding nadia - she writes him, but he doesn't write back. he loves her, but knows that because of who he is and what he's done (i supposed we're meant to presume sayid and nadia's torture history is the same), he doesn't deserve her. that scene alone satisfactorily closed out the emotional arc of sayid's character for me. n the original timeline, sayid got three months of bliss with nadia at the price of her death, and in the parallel he gets a (possible) lifetime of her in his life, but with the well-founded resolve that he does not deserve to be with her. they can do anything they want with sayid now; his larger story is done.
he makes good eggs. also: makes good corpse. will we be revisited by each season's primary villains? s1: ethan s2: friendly s3: mikhail s4: keamy s5: radzinsky? ..please let there be just a little more radzinsky..

i was fully ready to say goodbye to sayid's character by the end of this episode, but what we got was more chilling. i think we can consider the character, like claire, dead. that look in his eyes when ben finds him with the knife in his hand - and then ben's slooow backaway.. amazing tension. sayid has gone full on bad guy.

what's sad though is that he did everything dogen asked him to do to prove himself good. sayid wants to be good, but in the parallel timeline, the situation forces him to become violent, and on the island, sayid is made 'an offer he can't refuse' by smokey.

2. the offer.
it's pretty interesting that smokey tells sayid that nadia's death can be undone, and that jacob made essentially the same promise to dogen regarding the death of his son. and now that we know dogen's backstory, we see that he and his son are, in a sense, reunited in the parallel timeline. are both smokey and jacob promising people the alternate timeline? it's sounding to me like 'jughead' didn't 'work,' but something that's going to happen in the final battle will actually accomplish the things jughead was meant to do, and thereby create the alternate timeline.

up until this week, we were still meant to feel some doubt about what side to root for, but after this episode i think there can be little doubt that smokey = the bad guys. jacob's methods may not always be altruistic, but his job seems to be to save the world by keeping the smoke monster entity contained. successful execution of that job would certainly require some underhanded tactics.

there's a popular theory going around that the parallel timeline is in fact an 'epilogue' that will connect seamlessly to the final moments of the finale. others think that the timelines truly are 'parallel' and there will be some kind of crossing back and forth as we get closer to the finish.

right now i'm more in the 'epilogue' camp.. i may change my mind after desmond resurfaces, but for now, given the information we have, it seems like what we're witnessing in the parallel are the results of a jughead-like event, that worked, which we'll see either in the finale or close to the finish.

3. gewd and evel
so, it's time to take control of the island! how are the remaining cast going to break down on the two sides? one thing i love about the sideways story is that it shows us who each character really is at heart, without the influence of the island in their life.. which leads me to start thinking that the island itself is actually a repository of evil, and that the problems that have stretched through this particular set of character's lives is an extension of the island's evil reaching through their lives. the parallel timeline shows how their lives 'should' be, without that darkness tainting it.

of course the parallel timeline isn't all flowers and sunshine - rose has cancer again, walt probably still has michael as his dad, and i hate to say it, but nikki and paolo are once again roaming the earth. but on the large scale, because of its depiction of a place where characters (for the most part) seem to be able to find peace. the parallel is the antithesis of the island. in fact, if the parallel were a show by itself, it would be called:
it seems like the show is dividing itself into good and evil through the sideways flashes. when the characters connect, they don't know why, but they want to help each other. the parallel seems overtaken by a mysterious force that's working in opposition to the force that brought them to the island.

lines are being drawn. people are taking sides. who's going to end up where? here's my thoughts:

nemesis:

• claire - a given. i think we'll find out that she actually died in the explosion that blew up her house in new-otherton. check out the deleted scene from that episode, that showed claire complaining of visions of her father immediately after that explosion. claire even says 'are we dead?' seems pretty clear.
  
• sayid - we know he died from both the gunshot and drowning in the spring meant to save him. it's interesting that he didn't instantly turn evil. characters still have choices, but after killing dogen and lennon, there's no going back for sayid. he could be saved in the parallel, but not here.
  
• sawyer - the first recruit. i'm curious to see his parallel story. i'm wondering if that version of himself ever wrote that letter to 'the real sawyer.' did jacob give him the pen in that timeline? are all of jacob's touches removed form the parallel?
  

• sun - yes, i think sun is going to join nemesis. we saw her turn into a villainess after she witnessed what she thought was jin's death. she quickly became nice again (she also became a total non-character) once she discovered jin was still alive. but i think sun is going to witness jin's death again. this time it's going to be jin's real death, and this time sun is going to turn evil for real. for me, the only way to pay off the short sun-as-villain arc in season 5. the show has teased us with jin's death twice already. it's time they go all out. sun's turn could also be foreshadowed by her expressed distrust of ilana. the great thing about the parallel story is that it can totally oppose the island story - whichever story gets the happy ending, the other story will get the most tragic one possible, and i think a lot of tragic things are going to happen on the island. the death of john locke was just the beginning.
• miles - i'm just throwing him in here because more people will need to join the dark side, and miles' ghost-talking power may be necessary against hurley's similar power. miles clearly has some conscience, and jacob's people actively attempted to recruit him based on his conscience in 'some like it hoth,' but in the end he chose the extortion route to the island, rather than the altruistic one.

jacob:

• hurley - jacob can actually talk to hurley, so it's not very likely that hurley is going to stop being his spokesperson. also, hurley is probably the most fundamentally 'good' character on the show. his story is entirely about his situation, and he provides a kind of centered, stoned-out commentary on the goings on around him, whether his life has been cursed or blessed.
  
• jack - he's got demons in his closet, and he's certainly not the most mature person on the island, but i think we can agree that he's, at heart, a good guy. the questionable things he's done (pointed a gun at locke's head and pulled the trigger) have mostly arisen out of the extraordinarily stressful circumstances of the island.
  
• kate - though she's currently marching in with the nemesis gang, that dismissive look from locke i think says everything. he'll take her if she wants to join, but he is completely ambivalent about her. it's an interesting parallel to the real locke's attitude toward kate. in season 4's 'eggtown,' locke banished kate from the barracks. locke had always felt uneasy about kate's history. i think we can agree that kate is 'good,' though her backstory is riddled with crime, she stood trial for those crimes (even though her lenient punishment was based on the oceanic 6 lie), and has matured into, aside from hurley, the most balanced person on the island. now that she's found claire, i'm worried for her. 'balanced' people don't last long on 'lost,' and now they've closed all of her open story arcs. love connection with jack? over. love connection with sawyer? no way. who else is left for kate to hook up with? unless she finds something fast, kate is going to die. don't cry though, she'll meet jack in the parallel and be the coolest step-mom ever.
• ben - it has nothing to do with whether or not he's 'good.' after being used by smokey, i think ben will be joining jacob's side mainly because it's against nemesis. i'm so excited for this week's ben episode, though i'm worried for him as well - his arcs are closed, and the character thrives on having secrets and power. it took four seasons, but it seems like the show has finally exploded the last of ben's secrets. at this point to suddenly gift him with additional information would seem false. the man has had all the pride beaten out of him, and i think the parallel story probably will show us that had he not been shot and dipped in the spring, he truly would have been a good person. still manipulative, but good.

tossup:

• richard - he seems to know more than anyone just what the stakes are, so it's unlikely he'd suddenly join up with nemesis, but nemesis also seems to have answers that jacob was never honest about.. episode 9 is richard's..
• lapidus - seems to be a good guy. we know nothing of his past other than that he was originally supposed to be piloting flight 815. bram and ilana took a liking to him, and he seems firmly entrenched in their camp.
• jin - if jin doesn't die, he's going to have to play along as a nemesis recruit in order to stay alive. i think his attempt to switch sides is what will ultimately kill him. is there any way to get him back on a boat? seems like jin really needs to die on a boat.
  

4. some questions.

what exactly is dogen's power to protect the temple? we saw the shot of claire and nemesis standing at the edge of the ash before claire went into the temple - it seems that somehow dogen's life 'powers' the ash. did the ash around the temple have to be broken before smokey could enter, or did dogen's death totally nullify it? it seems like smokey was waiting for the exact instant of dogen's death before entering. odd..

what exactly is nemesis' plan? how is he planning to use the small army of people who've chosen to follow him? is there truly a way for all of them to get off the island together, or is it just a ruse to gain their allegiance? is everyone who left the temple to join nemesis now 'infected' or can they still venture to jacob's side? is there any hope for claire?

where did ilana, lapidus, sun, ben, and miles disappear to? are they heading to the lighthouse?
hey! remember the person juliet shot from the outrigger boat during the timeflash in season 5's 'the little prince?' we know that timeflash occured in 2007, after ajira landed, but the events of that flash have not yet crossed over with what we've seen in 2007 so far.. this crossover is something the writers have been holding onto for awhile, so next time any of our cast gets into one of the outrigger boats.. look out.

5. some moments.
so far, i've been impressed with this season's episodes. 'the substitute' remains my favorite of the season for its strength in both the island and sideways stories. jack's episode is the only one so far that's made me cry, though it's too bad the island story in jack's ep wasn't quite as strong as the parallel. 'sundown' featured the strongest island storyline since locke's episode, thanks to some killer moments:

• sayid vs. dogen - it would not be a complete tribute episode to sayid if it didn't include a kick-ass fight scene. the choreography was great, especially when sayid started flinging pots. my only disappointment is that he didn't get to use one of his trademark leg moves.
• sayid plunges the knife into nemesis - i actually felt relief that sayid had so easily chosen to prove himself good.. of course, he was instructed to do it before nemesis spoke a word. in the end i don't think sayid's delay matters - the end result would have been the same; a bloodless stabbing, and recruitment of sayid. dogen was expecting nemesis to protect himself. bad play, dogen.
  
• miles says of claire 'still hot though.'

• kate's meeting with claire. the music during this scene is fantastic - it starts out from kate's perspective; hopeful and sweet. it's been three years since kate saw claire! then, as soon as kate says, with her hand to her heart, 'i took him!' the music goes slightly sour, shifting to claire's perspective. what i want: a serious kick-ass fight between kate and claire.
• ben's discovery of sayid at the spring. the look in ben's eyes. the look in sayid's eyes. terror and terrified.
• cindy is flaky - well, so are a lot of the others. they seem to know quite a bit about what's actually going on, because a bunch of them switched sides pretty quick. rob predicted that we might see a metaphor similar to the game of 'othello,' where the playing of one piece can quickly turn the entire board black or white.
• smokey rushes over kate - an amazing shot. for that matter..
• smokey's takedown of the temple - for some reason this was much more exciting than smokey's tantrum at the foot statue. i think the camera was more kinetic, and the size of the temple allowed for more variety.
• the calvalry comes in - i totally loved miles' astonished 'lapidus!?' the last time miles saw lapidus was the beginning of season 5, when the chopper took off to take desmond and sayid to the freighter.

• 'catch a falling star.' woah. i think this was the first episode of season 6 to end with a slow-motion/music montage, and this is unlike anything else the show has ever done before.. claire, kate, sayid walk through the carnage of the temple, kate collects a rifle from a body, and through it all is a haunting version of claire's signature song, accompanied by (oscar winner!) michael giacchino's score.

6. preboomer
nemesis nods to sayid and claire. they nod back with demented pride. kate steps into the light with an astonished look on her face. nemesis gives her an indifferent look, turns, and walks up the hill, his new followers behind him.

(boom)

the timing of the music, the energy of the scene, the momentousness of it - best preboomer of the season if you ask me.

7. next episode
it's ben! he's only only had one genuine flashback episode: 'the man behind the curtain,' though he's had a total of three centric episodes, and good chunks of the 1977 story could count as ben backstory as well. 'the shape of things to come' was a flashforward episode, showing how he recruited sayid, and 'dead is dead' flashed between ben in 1977 and island ben being 'judged' (or so he thought) by the smoke monster.

regardless of whether or not the character dies at the end of the episode, this is almost certainly going to be our last ben episode, and it must function flawlessly as his tribute. ben's entire story seems to stem from the death of his mother during his birth. the details of ben's backstory wil answer a lot of questions about just when this alternate timeline originates. did ben's mother still die? did horace and olivia goodspeed still pick them up by the side of the road, outside of portland? was this ben ever on the island? is alex rousseau 'teacher's pet?'

the sideways story is a wonderful way to return to ben the things that have been stolen from him in the original timeline: secrets and power. no idea how they'll give all that to a european history teacher, but i have a feeling this is the parallel story that will provide the most answers yet about just how the two timelines are related. i'm expecting classic ben moments.