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In case you didn't want to read the whole six-part live blog, and you DO want to know what happened on Lost - The Looking Glass, here it is in a reader's digest form:
Most of the Losties remove themselves from the camp to escape the Others, who are coming to kidnap the women and kill any men who get in the way of their plans, and to use the Radio Tower to make contact with the boat that Naomi supposedly has waiting for her some 18 miles off the Island shore. Three of the Losties -Jin, Sayid and Bernard stay behind to set a trap for the Others. They will each shoot at a tent full of dynamite when the Others go to take whomever they think is inside. The plan goes off just fine for the first two shots - Sayid and Bernard. But Jin is intercepted, and the Others who do not die in the two blasts take all three of these Losties hostage. Meanwhile, Charlie is taken hostage by the warrior girls in the Looking Glass Hatch. They rough him up, but he doesn't care, as he has resigned himself to dying anyway; he should have been dead by now already, so it's all gravy, even getting beaten up. The girls figure out that Charlie is there to turn off the signal jamp that the Looking Glass maintains to keep the island off of radar and satellite communication, and they contact Ben, who sends Mikhael to put a stop to Charlie's plan. Mikhael is pissed off because Ben never told him or anyone else (other than the girls in the hatch) about the signal jam. It's quite a deception, really, considering everyone thought they had some freedom of choice in staying or going. Mikhael shoots at a just-waking-up-on-the-outrigger-Desmond, who swims into the Looking Glass and finds Charlie alive.
In the midst of all of this action, we have Jack flashbacks, which right away seem to be flash-forwards. Technology seems to be a bit forward of where it is today (his teeny tiny razor phone, for example), and Jack has a major beard. Jack's in a bad way. He travels on an Oceanic flight (guess they stayed in business) and gets cut off by the stewardess. He seems to live at an airport hotel. One night, he goes to kill himself on a bridge, causing a major accident. He saves the accident victims, but finds himself a persona non gratis at his hospital. He mentions his dad, but no one else seems to acknowledge whether his dad is alive or dead. The ambiguity could be telling. Jack drives into a harsh part of town and into a funeral parlour that seems to cater to a black clientele. No one attended the viewing (there was no funeral) for whomever is in the coffin, and Jack looks sad and conflicted as he runs his hands over the box.
Back on the Island, an inexperienced-in-terror-situations-Bernard spills the beans when Jin's life is threatened by the Others, and he tells the Others exactly where Jack is going and how Juliet betrayed the Others by telling of their ambush and kidnap plans. The Others, including Tom Friendly and Ryan Price - two of the few who are still alive - tell Ben of Jack's plans, and Ben sets out, with Alex, to stop them. By talking to them. Yes, Ben thinks he can manipulate the Losties into not trying to be rescued.
Meanwhile Juliet and Sawyer have left the group and have headed back to the camp - there is concern for the shooters because only two of the three shots were heard. Sawyer wouldn't let Kate go with him (because he wants to protect her). Juliet kisses Jack goodbye on the lips. And then Jack tells Kate that he loves...Kate. Confusing. Thus, Juliet and Sawyer are not there when Ben arrives with Alex to stop the Losties from proceeding. Ben meets privately with Jack, demanding the satellite phone from him. He threatens to have Tom and Ryan kill Sayid, Jin and Bernard if he won't. Three shots are heard. Jack looks shaken. But he believes he has done what he has to do. Then he beats the crap out of Ben, takes him hostage, and they all proceed up to the Tower. Alex and Rousseau are introduced by Ben (in a moment of, Iguess, human decency) as mother and daughter, and they look exactly alike and they totally bond in their badassness and hatred of Ben.
Makes me wonder why she didn't tell the Losties the truth about Ben when she bought him to them in the days when he called himself "Henry Gale". Maybe she should have considered telling the truth? Eh, communication isn't really in much supply on this Island.
Back at the camp, while all of this is going on, Juliet and Sawyer arrive in time to see Hurley, who Sawyer totally dissed and wouldn't allow him to come with him back to camp with him and Juliet, driving the Work Man Van towards Tom and Ryan. He MOWS down Ryan. Tom surrenders. Sawyer shoots him anyway. "For taking the boy off the raft." Wow. HARSH. I kinda like it, even if it is gratuitous violence. He redeems himself by telling Hurley, who has said, "Dude, he surrendered," "He was lyin'." They make contact with the Losties on the way to the Radio Tower, who still don't have a signal, and give the good and unexpected news that the three gun-firing Losties are SAFE!
But why no signal? Seems that there's been another sort of ambush in the Looking Glass. Mikhael shoots at the girls, on orders from Ben, although one survives briefly. Desmond shoots at Mikhael, although he dies briefly. Charlie tells Desmond not to kill the blonde girl because she knows how to un-jam the signal - turns out it is NOT about flicking a yellow switch, but about playing "Good Vibrations" on a type-pad keyboard. Hmmmm. That worked out well, considering Charlie's musical talents. The blonde girl dies right after spilling that tidbit. And Charlie sets about playing the song on the type-pad. As soon as he does, PENNY comes into view on a screen. She hears Desmond in the background and is thrilled. She does not know anything about any Naomi or any boat that any Naomi might have been on. Charlie knows, then, that Naomi is not who she said she was. Nevertheless, when Mikhael rises up from the dead for a second (third?) time since we've met him, he has a hand grenade, which he uses to blow through the window of the hatch in which Charlie is talking on screen to Penny. Charlie has a choice. He can swim out along with Desmond, or he can shut Desmond out and die alone, as Desmond prophesized was the prerequisite for saving the Losties and getting them rescued.
He chooses to die a hopeful hero, maintaining his faith in the prophesy Desmond layed out, even though some of the details were wrong. Before he goes, he writes on his palm on his trustee sharpee pen, "The Boat Is Not Penny's" or something to that effect. His death is horrible and sad, although it seems peaceful to watch.
Still, Penny now knows that Flight 815 had survivors and that Desmond is with them. She may even be able to see their coordinates. So, this may led to their rescue...
which....
....turns out to definitely have happened.....
The Jack flashbacks were DEFINITELY flashforwards. We find this out when he begs a certain someone for a meeting, and this certain someone, after much cajoling acquiesces. That certain someone is....KATE. Kate arrives, nicely coiffed, nicely made up, looking healthy with full, rosy cheeks, driving a Volvo (family car, no?). Jack is tormented, telling her, "We need to get back to the island." She says no. He begs her. She leaves.
But whatever rescue happens for the Losties probably doesn't happen the way they thought it would when they met Naomi, since she is not who she said she was. Of course, at the point in time when the signal gets unjammed and Charlie meets his watery death, the only ones who know this are Charlie and Desmond. Jack and his group make contact with Naomi's boat, despite that Locke appears (having been coaxed out of putting himself out of his misery by a Walt apparition...real or imagined....who says that Locke has more work to do and can't die yet) and throws a knife into Naomi's back and threatens Jack with a similar fate if he makes contact with the outside world.
Why do Locke and Ben not want to make contact with the outside world? Ben told Alex in an earlier scene, "Because I said so," or something like that. Not really good information, that. "Because Jacob wants it this way," he told Mikhael. Again, that doesn't really satisfy any need to know.
In the end, Jack is told by "Naomi's boat" or whoever they are, that help is on the way.
We shall see.
YC
