Thursday, June 21, 2007

Recap: LOST Season Three

Remember the Canada.com article that I posted here back in October 10, 2006?

Some of the questions in the article were answered in Season 3. Let me break it down:

WHO ARE THE OTHERS?
The only episode that answered this question was "The Man Behind the Curtain," which is a Ben Linus-centric episode. According to Ben's flashbacks, the DHARMA Initiative employees in the Barracks were killed by a poisonous gas that the Hostiles (the supposed Island natives) and Ben Linus (a DHARMA employee) released - the event known as the Purge. It was inferred that Ben joined the Hostiles. It was not shown in the episode whether the poisonous gas reached the known DHARMA stations on the Island, such as the Swan, the Flame, the Pearl, the Arrow, and the Staff - which means not all DHARMA employees (not including Ben) were killed during the Purge. It's doubtful that the DHARMA employees in the Hydra and the Looking Glass stations were affected. We may learn more about the Others in Season 4.

WHO WILL KATE FALL FOR?
Well, Kate slept with Sawyer for the first time in "I Do," the fall finale. And she didn't tell Sawyer that she loved him - except in "Every Man for Himself" where she said she only did it so Danny Pickett would stop hitting him. They slept together again in "Catch-22" and "The Brig." However, Kate seemed to be jealous when Jack started to spend a lot of time with Juliet. Lostpedia.com described Kate and Sawyer's relationship as "ambiguous romantic relationship" - which is apt because we only saw the physical relationship in Season 3. They seem to have an emotional connection, although Kate has never told Sawyer that she loved him (after they first slept together) and she seems to feel something for Jack.

WHY WAS LOCKE IN A WHEELCHAIR?
We learned from the episode "The Man from Tallahassee" that Anthony Cooper (Locke's biological father) pushed Locke through an eighth-story window. Locke was paralyzed as a result. Anthony Cooper proved that he was a heartless SOB when he pushed his son through the window so Locke wouldn't be able to verify with Mrs Talbot (a rich middle-aged woman and Cooper's fiance) that the wedding was called off by Cooper. It was believed that Cooper killed, or hired someone to kill, Peter Talbot (Mrs Talbot's son).

WHO IS THE FATHER OF SUN'S UNBORN BABY?
It was revealed in the episode "D.O.C." that Sun's baby was conceived 45 to 47 days after Flight 815 crashed on the Island - Juliet said the survivors crashed "90 days ago" (Lostpedia says 88, instead of 90) and that the baby was conceived "53 days ago" - which means Jin is the baby's father. However, this is impossible because the raft (crew consisted of Michael, Walt, Sawyer, and Jin) was launched on the castaway's 44th day on the Island, which is according to Lostpedia's article on the Season 1 finale "Exodus Part 1." Before the launch of the raft, Jin and Sun were not speaking to each other. Maybe Juliet's calculation is wrong? Anyway, the downside of the baby being Jin's is that Sun will likely die on her second trimester. Juliet said that pregnant women who conceived on the Island never made it to their third trimester. Poor Sun. It was also revealed that Sun cheated on Jin with Jae Lee, which is why Sun wanted to know when the baby was conceived. If she conceived before the crash, then Jae Lee is the father and that Sun will live. On the other hand, if she conceived after the crash, then Jin is the father and that Sun will die.

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE HATCH?
Simple answer: the hatch imploded after Desmond turned the fail-safe key in "Live Together, Die Alone," the Season 2 finale. The episode "Further Instructions" revealed what happened to Locke, Desmond, and Eko after the implosion. A mute Locke woke up in the jungle. He saw a butt-naked Desmond running through the jungle; in the episode "Flashes Before Your Eyes," it was revealed that Desmond relived his past with Island elements after the electromagnetic discharge, what Lostpedia termed "one continuous 'lucid flashback' of Desmond's Time Travel" (I removed the link to Lostpedia's character article on Desmond). Anyway, with Charlie's help, Locke saved Eko from being ravaged by a polar bear, which somehow dragged an injured Eko. It was never shown how Locke ended up in the spot where he woke up, how Desmond ended up butt-naked, and how and where the polar bear found Eko.

DID MICHAEL AND WALT ESCAPE?
This was not addressed in Season 3. Although, Walt, or a manifestation of Walt, appeared in "Through the Looking Glass" to Locke when he was about to shoot himself. Some fans speculated that Michael could be the dead guy that Jack visited in the Hoffs/Drawlar funeral parlour in the flash-forward.

WHAT IS DHARMA DOING WITH THE KIDS?
In the penultimate Season 2 episode, "Three Minutes," Walt said the Others were forcing him to take tests and that they were pretending. Ms Klugh threatened Walt that he would be put in "the room" again if he didn't stop revealing things about the Others. Also, we saw in Season 2 that the teenage girl that helped Claire escape may be Danielle's daughter, Alex. In Season 3, it was revealed in "Not in Portland" that Ben raised Alex as his daughter. Throughout season 3, Alex rebelled against Ben and usually helped the castaways, thus thwarting Ben's plans. Finally, Emma and Zack, the two kids abducted by the Others from the Tailies' camp in Season 2, were shown in "Stranger in a Strange Land" watching Jack while he was in the cage. Also, they were shown as part of the Others in "The Brig." Cindy was with them in both episodes. Therefore, the Others are taking the kids so they could raise them and instill their beliefs in them. The reason for this is still unknown, although one theory is that DHARMA, and the Others, are experimenting with social utopia.

WHO IS LIBBY?
This was never addressed in Season 3.

IS CLAIRE JACK'S HALF-SISTER?
Yes. The episode "Par Avion" confirmed the very popular theory that Jack and Claire share the same father, Christian Shephard. However, Claire didn't want to know her father's name. Neither Jack nor Claire knows that they are half-siblings.

CAN THE SHOW KEEP IT UP?
Yes! Every episode (yes, even "Exposé") was excellently written and brilliantly acted. Season 3 answered many questions, and in true LOST fashion, generated some more. Season 3 focused on relationships. There was
  • romantic relationships (Kate & Sawyer, Jack & Juliet, Alex & Karl, Claire & Charlie, Sun & Jin, Nikki & Paulo, Rose & Bernard, Desmond & Penny);
  • father-child relationships (Jack & Christian, Claire & Christian, Penny & Mr Widmore, Alex & Ben, Sun & Mr Paik, Jin & Mr Kwon, Ben & Roger Linus, Hurley & Mr Reyes, Sawyer & Clementine, Charlie & Simon Pace);
  • mother-child relationships (Kate & Diane, Alex & Danielle, Claire & Carole Littleton, Jin & his mother, Ben & Emily Linus, Claire & Aaron);
  • friendships (the main castaways, Jack & Juliet); and
  • Other-ships (Jacob, Ben, Juliet, Tom, Alex, Karl, Ryan Pryce, Bea Klugh, Mikhail, Richard, Danny & Colleen Pickett, Isabel, the rest of the Others).

Let's just hope that the questions here that were not addressed in - and the many mysteries and questions generated in - Season 3 will be answered in Season 4. If not, Season 5 or 6. As long as they're answered by the time the series ends in May 2010, I'll be happy.

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