Ok, this time I'm for real. No more guessing. No more changing my mind. This is my final theory and I'm going to stick to it till the bitter end.

The Island is a prison for Jacob and Smokey - but a good prison. Jacob represents Good - Smokey represents Evil. The island keeps Good and Evil in balance by keeping them from leaving. I'm not sure how that allows for Jacob leaving to influence the passengers in the past, but... that's my theory. Seeing the scale in the cave just sealed it for me. Also, I can see Good being ok with being stuck on the Island. I can see Jacob being "ok" with keeping balance in the world, much like I'd imagine God accepting the fact that there must be evil in the world for our lives to have any meaning. Of course, Evil would want freedom to cause as much doom and gloom as possible.

But anyway - that's my theory now: The Island is a way to keep Good and Evil in balance across the world. Lose the balance - on either side - and the world loses something important.

Ok, I have a few random thoughts about the episode, but before I begin, I'd like to share my new current theory on "What the Hell is Going On." This is not a new theory. Nor is it one I have proof of (obviously) - but a few things tonight really cemented it in for me. Of course, next week I'll call this entire post BS and pretend that Scott made me wrote it.

Ok - so with that out of the way - I think Jacob is God and Bad Guy is Lucifer. Here is why:

(By the way - I'm no Bible scholar - so please forgive my ignorance.)

1) First, the scene from the previous season with them sitting on the beach - Bad Guy's attitude about the men (I think he said something about them bringing destruction), it felt like the kind of thing Lucifer would say to God - bad mouthing his creation. Also, I can see God and Lucifer discussing man like that.

2) The way he convinced Ben to kill Jacob. Felt like the kind of move old Lucie would make.

3) The way he talked about Locke - he spoke about how everyone brought to the Island had a crappy life before. Bad Guy appreciated the fact that Locke recognized that the Island was better. Almost as if it was Lucifer's version of Paradise. Obviously a lot of people have died. A lot of bad things happened - but being that it is the creation of a fallen angel, it makes sense.

4) And the biggest thing for me? Bad Guy saying he wanted the one thing Locke didn't - to go home. That harkens to the Fall.

5) Also - if you have read any of my reviews - you know one of the issues I have with the show is why the Island wants to keep them there when it's obviously so bad for them. If this is indeed Lucifer's idea of paradise, and if he believes their lives are horrible off Island, it could explain why the Island can't let go.

So if the Island is - well - Hell, or a twisted version of Heaven created on Earth, it explains the adversarial relationship between Jacob and Bad Guy. Also - isn't most of the Egyptian markings related to the Underworld?

Forgive the bad typing - I'm exhausted and don't feel like cleaning it up. Ok, some random thoughts.

1) Bad Guy tells Richard that he was happy to see him out of his chains. Was that in an earlier episode? Was he a prisoner on the Black Rock perhaps?

2) Smoke Monster. Holy. Crap. I loved that scene - especially how he took care of the guy protected by the circle. Of course, now we know (do we?) that Bad Guy == Smoke Monster. That... that I'm not sure I like. I mean, I kinda liked the idea of the Smoke Monster being some... wild... or animalistic part of the Island. You can control it - some times - but it didn't have a real direction or purpose. Still - let me just say - the entire rest of the season can suck. That scene makes it worthwhile.

3) Ok, am I the only one who thought the Asian guy - in charge of the temple - is a bit too "Kung Fu Master"? When he did those martial arts move on Jack I groaned a bit. Sooo stereotypical.

4) When Ben left the statue - notice how he was confident again? He just went through hell - but he can still keep it together.

Wow. Awesome episode. I'm not going to try to review the whole two hours, but I want to focus on one main thing - a line that Richard Alpert said to Locke that I think is critical to the main mystery of Lost. Richard told Locke what he had to do if he wanted to save the Island. I have said time and time again that the Island is somehow - sentient - or alive like an animal or some such - but it is definitely aware. The Hostile, or natives, who were there before Dharma, and who precipitated the purge, may simply be aspects of the Island, like ghosts or spirits (which would help explain Richard's never-changing face).

So I'm convinced I'm right. What I'm confused about though is why the Island would throw a hissy fit over a few people living. It just strikes me as juvenile. Like a petty god who demands people to worship itself.

Oh - and that scene at the end. WTF?!? Who was the old lady? Why was she using a computer from the 1980s?

Just a gentle reminder - Lost returns tonight. I'm hoping for a good season. I truly love Lost, but I'm hoping that they can keep the story together, coherent, interesting, etc, as they slowly approach the end.

Starting on Monday September 15th, SciFi will air Lost in 4 episode blocks and air 4 episodes every Monday night after that.

Time to either catch up or start watching.

Link to SciFi schedule

Boy is that title depressing. Well, I just got done watching the season finale of Lost. While not as good as last year, it was very well done. As always, my thoughts here are in no particular order, but I want to start off with two main issues I have now with Lost:

1) The Oceanic 6 were trying to return to the Island when it moved. Now their lives are crap and they all have to return. Now while they did want to escape, especially Jack, they were trying to go BACK!

So what - they left the Island - and it's not really their fault - and the Island is making their life hell? That seems a bit unfair if you ask me. I mean whats the point here. The Island brings them down. The Island is a "place of miracles", but if you dare leave without permission you get screwed?

Maybe I'm taking this too personal - but the Island is really pissing me off here.

2) Claire is now... something. A spirit? Whatever - she seems to be one with the Island now. So why in the heck would she tell Kate (in a dream) to not bring the baby back? Maybe the whole "You all have to return" thing doesn't include the baby? If so... meh. I mean, ok, shouldn't be a big deal. Well, Kate has risen this child as her own - she basically adopted the child - and giving up the child would be just as hard as a birth mother giving her child up, so that could be a point of contention, but I really do hope that isn't the major thrust of the next season. If the theme is, "Jack rounding everyone up to return" I'm going to be a bit disappointed.

Ok, so random notes:

1) Locke is dead. Man, that sucks. It was bad enough when Ecco died, but Locke? Of course, even with his death he can be around for the rest of the show.

2) The "Science vs Faith" argument really came to a head. I loved Hurleys reaction when Jack refused to believe the Island moved. I also enjoyed the last discussion Jack and Locke had.

3) Time traveling bunnies. I love it. That whole scene was dead on perfect, especially Locke watching Ben put the metal objects in the room. I think we also got a really good idea about what Dharma was doing. They weren't evil per se - but they treated the Island like a science fair. The Island didn't appreciate that (hence the mass murder), but really their experiments now seem more silly then anything else.

4) There was a new fake commercial - Octagon something or another. I'm sure it will be on Lostpedia later. Anyone remember the URL? I guess it's another ARG.

5) Why would Sun want to help Widmore? The only possible thing I can think of is that she figured out Ben killed Keamy which led to the boat blowing up and her husband's death.

So.... this has been a good season I think. I like how the show is growing. I can't believe I have to wait till 2009, but I'm definitely hooked.

Sorry for the delay. Last night was a late night for me so I'm a bit behind today.

As it stands - last nights episode was another filler episode - but a really darn good one. A few things really stood out for me:

Look at the faces of the 5 people on the airplane. Everyone but Jack is pissed. Not sad. Not afraid. Pissed. This to me implies that Jack makes some kind of decision that gets them off the Island, but not in a way they like. It also implies that people are still alive. If everyone had died I think they would be filled with despair, especially Sun.

The Others: Is this who Ben who signaling? Or was it someone else? What do the Others have in mind? I am completely at a loss on this one.

Sun: While I thought the confrontation with her father was cool, I can't imagine Oceanic giving them enough money for her to buy a major corporation. (Or what I think is a big corporation.)

Hurley: Ok, I love this guy. Really. I especially love how he asks the questions we (viewers) ask. I loved the "If we move the Island and the bad guys are on the Island, don't they just follow us" question. I mean seriously. I've been asking the same thing myself.

So that's it for me. I mean I liked the episode - but that's all I really want to comment on. (Plus I got 3.5 hours of sleep so my RAM is a bit low.)

I was talking to Boyzoid about how I was worried that two more years would stretch it a bit - but you know - if they spend a whole year or two years on the Oceanic 6 trying to fight off Widmore and rescue the remaining survivors, I think it would work.

Impressive. Any episode focusing on Locke is a good episode, and this was no exception. I don't think any episode has shown such a wide variety of timelines. We see from John's birth to his childhood, his time in highschool, and some time during his therapy after falling from the building. Most interesting though are the people who visited him.

First off - we see Richard again, who appears to be ageless. It is strongly implied that Richard was Locke's father. Why? When Locke's grandmother sees him, I swear I saw a look of contempt on her face. She definitely seemed to recognize him. If he is the father, then Richard is certainly more than a ghost.

Later on in Locke's life, we see him interact with the black man. Ok, the 'black man' is not a great name, but I'm not aware of his name on the show. (At least I've finally remembered Richard's name.) He offers Locke some helpful advice - and that's what's really eating at me.

Earlier in the show Richard visits Locke and seems disappointed when Locke didn't pass a test. The African American gentleman - who works for Widmore - seemed to be happy with Locke. If Richard represents the Island - this seems... odd.

More and more we seem to have the Island being represented as a sentient force. Locke asks Christopher at the cabin what he should do to protect the Island. And the answer - move the Island - implies some sense of self-protection.

So let's think about it. The Island has drawn an old slave ship. It drew in the Dharma Initiative. It drew in the airplane. It's certainly drawing Widmore. The Island then is obviously very special. Very powerful. And it wants to protect itself. It slaughtered Dharma. It brought down the airplane to help defend itself against Widmore. It's alive. I just know it.

Anyway I'm rambling now. Next week looks to be great.

Smoke Monster for the win! And not just the normal Smoke Monster, but the big giant one. Sweet. Ok, so as always, here are my observations in no particular order.

1) It was nice to see how Ben "snatched" Sayed.

2) It was also nice to see Ben kick some major butt. He not only has the psychological skills down he can also fight well.

3) When Ben went into the "other" room, not the first hidden room, but the other room, did anyone get a good screen grab of the door? It almost seemed Mayan.

4) The Smoke Monster has been described as a security system and it looks like it can indeed be controlled, somewhat. Ben seems to be able to call it, but he did seem to be worried about it as well. So maybe its almost like an animal - they can summon it and let it go wild, but they to be careful with it.

So the big thing I want to discuss is the Widmore/Linus conversation. Widmore said a few interesting things.

First - Ben couldn't kill him.

Second - He said he knew 'what' Ben was. Ok, that may not mean anything ominous (like Ben is a vampire) but that Ben is more than he seems.

Third - Widmore said Ben got everything from him.

Also - Ben made mention of 'rules'.

So what is the game? Ben has the Island, and Widmore wants it. We kinda new that already. But apparently the 'fight' has been going on for some time. I almost had the impression of two old business rivals.