Lost Season 6: The Last Recruit (Episode 13)

Oh, Losties. I’m sorry my post is a little late in getting up today. Last night’s episode completely hog-tied me. Hog-tied? Hornswaggled. Gobsmacked.  I don’t know. I felt like I was in a giant tractor trailer truck and it was careening down the street and is now slooooowly turning a U-ie. LOST seemed to turn 180 degrees last night (180?!). Everyone that used to be nice was mean. Everyone that used to have faith now doesn’t. Everyone that was together is apart, those that were apart are now together. It actually kinda felt like fan-fiction: if I could write a LOST episode using their typical “join one team, then change your mind and do your own thing and blame it on fate or The Island or Jacob and then have a baddie turn into a good guy, etc. etc.” then this was THAT episode. But at the same time, it was a LOST lover’s dream—we saw reunions, we had the whole cast together (more or less), and it even felt like the first step of our final showdown. The first step to our finale. *sniff* I think I’m just getting sentimental knowing there is only a handful of episodes left for me to devour.

Well, enough of that jibberjabber (apparently I am really into strange words today), let’s get to “The Last Recruit” (oh, how creepy is THAT title?). This was technically a Jack-centric episode. And you know how much I love those. But with all the characters involved, it didn’t seem very Jack-ish. Come to think of it, Jack doesn’t seem very Jack-ish.

OK, here we go:

LA. PRESENT DAY.

Locke is being transported to the hospital (hmmm…wonder who’s going to operate on him?) with his new bff teacher friend, Ben. They seem concerned because his legs are not responding. Ben fills them in on Locke’s handicap and suddenly Locke comes to and tells them his name and his fiance’s name. As they are wheeling him into the ER, who shows up AT THE EXACT SAME TIME?

Why Sun and Jin, of course. (Oh, we knew this was coming! Didn’t we?) Sun and Locke are literally being wheeled into the hospital on parallel gurnies. When Sun looks into Locke’s face she is terrified and starts screaming, “It’s him! It’s him!” (Or “There he is! There he is!” I can’t remember…)

Meanwhile, Sawyer is having a tete-a-tete with Kate. Our conman-turned-cop seems to think it’s fate-ish that he and Kate have run into each other twice. Kate seems to think he’s flirting with her. (Sadly, I did, too.) But even mean old Kate couldn’t resist Sawyer’s southern charm. She smiled and batted her eyelashes. Then she called him on his secret, “I think you didn’t arrest me at LAX because you didn’t want anyone to know you were in Australia.” BAM.

This conversation is interrupted by Miles who has a lead on the shooter at the restaurant (aka SAYID). They show up at Sayid’s brother’s house and while Miles confronts Nadia at the front door, Sawyer bags a fleeing Sayid in the back. Poor misguided Sayid.

All this time, Desmond the Duke of Destiny has been hunting down Claire. She is on her way to the adoption agency when Desmond “accidently” meets her in the lobby. He convinces her to meet with his lawyer first. His lawyer just happens to be on the same floor (15!) as the adoption agency. I was racking my brain trying to figure out who Desmond’s lawyer might be and was surprised to see Ilana (a very feminine, happy Ilana)! Desmond introduces them and what do you know? Ilana has been looking for a Claire Littleton from Australia. This seems very fortuitous until we see Desmond’s smug face. (What is this man doing?!!)

A few minutes later another man enters the lawyer’s office. A man and his son. That’s right, Jack and David. Ilana introduces Claire. Jack asks how she knew his father. And Claire says, “He was my father, too.” Jack takes it in typical Jack stride and answers the phone when the hospital calls. It’s an emergency. He has to leave (leave his brand new preggo sister who just showed up to claim his dad’s inheritance?!) Well, actually, yes it is an emergency. I’ll give you one guess. See Paragraph 1.

While Jack and son David walk through the hospital, they have a strangely open and insightful conversation about Claire, Christian and Jack. Then Dr. Jack enters the operating room, “I’ve got this one.” he says. And just before he begins to cut into his patient’s dural sac (pretty sure this is the same operation he did on another occasion, too.) he recognizes John Locke’s face in the mirror.

And our only breath of fresh air comes when Sun wakes up to Jin who tells her they don’t have to hide anymore because they are both safe AND their baby is fine.

The Island.

We pick up where we left off last week—our Losties are reunited at unLocke’s camp. unLocke says “Hello, Jack” and then asks to have a private conversation and “catch up”. How incredibly weird is this? Why doesn’t anyone else think this is strange?!

This was actually an atypical Lost conversation because Jack asked some questions. Jack wanted to know who and what unLocke is. Somehow unLocke explains that he needed Locke’s dead body to take his form. Suddenly Jack realizes and fears that this unLocke was parading around as Christian Shepherd, too. (My husband totally did not buy that. Did you? Was unLocke being truthful?) unLocke finally comes to the point of their meeting—he needs Jack. In order to get off The Island, they all have to do it together, just as when they came in. unLocke claims he has only wanted to help them get off The Island from day 1 but because “Jacob chose you” they were trapped and unable to leave.

They also have a bitter conversation about Locke. unLocke demands that Locke was a sucker and a loser who believed in destiny and “The Island”. In light of Jack’s new found faith, this was a shot right between the eyes. It also made me sad to hear words like “sucker” coming straight from Locke’s mouth—being said by Locke. *sigh* Weird and weirder.

Then begins a crazy mixed up, indecisive series of events. I’ll try to keep them straight…

Event #1. Zoe enters unLocke’s camp and demands they return Desmond. If not, they will drop a bomb. Or shoot a missle. And otherwise destroy them.

Result: unLocke sends Sayid to kill Desmond while Sawyer and Kate bring Desmond’s sailboat to the rest of unLocke’s Flock. The sailboat will take them to Hydra Island and the airplane.

Event #2: Sawyer spills his plan to Jack—they are not following unLocke. They are commandeering the sailboat to head straight to Widmore’s sub and freedom.

Result: Claire sees Jack, Sun, Hurley and Frank sneak away from unLocke’s Flock and follow them.

Event #3: Kate lets Claire on the boat and they sail to Hydra Island.

Result: Jack confesses to Sawyer the he feels as if a piece of him is missing (namely, The Island). Sawyer says, “Get off my damn boat.” Jack jumps overboard. Much to Kate’s dismay.

Event #4: unLocke discovers Jack alone on the beach while the Sailboat Losties show up on Widmore’s Island.

Result: Sailboat Losties are double-crossed and Widmore bombs unLocke.

Final Final Result: unLocke rescues Jack from the missile and mutters the creepiest line so far, “You’re with me now.” *shiver*

Black Screen O’ Lost

Stuff To Talk About

1. unLocke. Is he good or bad? Bad or really bad? Evil Genius or Whiny Baby? unLocke’s conversation with Jack at the beginning and with him at the end were so riddled with meaning that I couldn’t even understand it. All the things we thought were Jacob in previous seasons (his cabin, Christian Shepherd, etc.) was that really the Man in Black? Does he really think Locke was a sucker? Or was Locke the only who got it right and that’s why the Man in Black wanted to take him? Jack speculated that maybe if unLocke doesn’t want them off The Island, he’s afraid of what might happen (to him) if they stay. What if The Island is an entity AGAINST the Man in Black and it needs our Losties to take out the Man in Black and he’s been manipulating them since DAY ONE?

2. Sideways Land. Are we about to have every single Lostie in the hospital? All it would take is Claire going into labor and Sawyer and Kate getting shot. That’s not too far-fetched. Also, do you think Jack and Locke are going to have a remember-the-Island moment in the operating room? That would be pretty awesome. And what about Desmond? How creepy is he as the master chessplayer of Team Get Everyone Back To The Island?

3. Full Circle. I feel like everything is coming to a close (obviously). But slowly, like my tractor trailer feeling from earlier. I mean, Jack jumping off the boat just like Sawyer jumping out of the heli? The flames on the beach and Jack’s deafness? Desmond running over Locke while Locke has Sayid kill Desmond? Kate bringing Claire back to Aaron, while Claire meets her real brother and nephew? Not to mention all the repeated phrases! It’s all just so the exact same story—but not really.

4. Sun and Jin. I know, I forgot to mention them. But aren’t you happy to see them back together? THREE YEARS they’ve been apart. *sniff* So so sad and sweet. Having happy endings for them in BOTH realities makes me a little uneasy, but we’ll see what happens.

Conclusion

Like I said, this felt a little like fan fiction. It was very typically Lost. But it had lots of overlapping and asides and shout outs that would please any  Lostie. I have to admit I am highly looking forward to the finale and not dreading it like I thought I would. I just need some resolution! What are you thinking? How did The Last Recruit feel to you? What were your favorite parts?

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