Lost Episode 6.12: "Everybody Loves Hugo"

Everybody Loves Hurley episodes. Including me. And that was a great one. But, honestly, I don't know what to say about it, or how to expound on it here on the blog, because I honestly have no idea what is happening. Every now and then I think I understand it all, then it magically evaporates and I realize I understand nothing. It's either great writing, or its all crumbling in on itself. Or my brain is unhinged. Either way, I'll give it my best shot. Maybe as I go through the episode, I'll figure things out. Care to join me?


HURLEY IS THE MUSEUM'S 'MAN OF THE YEAR': Really? The museum gives out 'Man of the Year' awards every year? Are there that many people who still go to museums? This was a fun opening, with Dr. Chang's great narration. Things I noticed: A red-headed woman sitting in the front row, probably Charlotte. Locke's Box factory showed up in the photo montage. The Cluck's Chicken Shack that got hit by a comet in "Tricia Tanaka is Dead" reappears here, and must have gotten hit by a comet in this time line as well because it had a banner on it reading "Grand Re-Opening." And I'm not sure about this next one, but in the slide of Hurley opening a home for kids, I'm pretty sure Alex and Emma were two of the kids in the photo with him, to his right. Cool stuff.


MICHAEL HAS BAD TIMING: I'm not sure why Michael was the chosen ghost to come to talk to Hurley, but it was good to see him again. And at least he wasn't yelling "WALT!" It was strange that whispers preceded his arrival, though. Previously, Whispers have never been part of Hurley's visions of dead people. And lately they seem to have centered around The Others' appearances. In fact, when Ben as an other attacked a young Danielle Rousseau last season, he said "If you ever hear whispers, run the other way." And we heard them in the temple when the Losties went in, right before the Losties were grabbed by the Others. So, I thought they were related to the Others. But according to what we learn later in the episode, it seems that's not the case. So...Is Michael bad or good? Is he working for Smokey and trying to stop Hurley from blowing up the plane so Smokey can escape? Or is he really trying to help Hurley? How does he know the future? Here you see my confusion showing. I have no idea. Also, didn't Michael look kind of scraped up? If it's scrapes from the explosion that killed him on the freighter back in Season 4, I would say that he should look a little more scraped up. Otherwise, I'm not sure what that was about.


LIBBY'S FAJITA FIELD TRIP: So, Libby is back in the flash-sideways, and spots Hurley at a Mexican restaurant. AND she KNOWS HIM. Crazy. Apparently, no matter what the time line, Libby's got to check into Santa Rosa for a bit. This time, she checked in because she saw Hurley's face on TV and started remembering things from other realities. I guess they're each other's constant, and yet again the power of Love is making people in this time line aware of the Island time line. Cool. By the way, the waiter that took Hurley's order also once played a "redshirt" on the island. For those of you that don't know, "redshirt" is a term used by Star Trek fans to describe the one guy (usually in a red jumpsuit) that beams down to a planet with Kirk and Spock that you know is just there script-wise so the bad guys can kill him. Lost uses that terminology as well, and has put red shirts on several people who die on the show in the background. Anyway, apparently the actor who played the waiter has been standing around in the background in the group scenes on the Island before. TRIVIA IS FUN!


ILANA NEEDS MORE BANDAGES: So, despite the fact that Ilana's been "training her whole life" to protect the candidates, she goes to the Black Rock and picks the most unstable, rotting pieces of dynamite she can find and throws them in a dangly shoulder satchel. Let's don't blame Jacob for that one. She even starts chunking them around willy-nilly. Erin and I the explosion coming the moment we saw the dynamite in her purse, and I'm sure you did too. But it was still shocking. Before she blows up, Hurley mentions that if they blow up the plane, then Smokey will just get angry and kill them. And he also says it's possible Richard doesn't know what he's doing. These are good questions. I definitely see this script headed for the 11th hour moment, where it looks like all is doomed for the Losties, but before it ends nastily, things will make a turn and start to go the right way. But I basically just described the last section of a story arc, so I'm no fiction Nostradamus. I'm sorry that Ilana had to kick the bucket for this tension to build story-wise, but it makes sense to build the tension by getting rid of the person in the "protector" role. And her death also causes a split with Richard, the Losties' advisor. Interesting.


LOCKE IS A-WHITTLIN': I thought this was interesting. Sawyer asks what Locke is carving, and Locke responds "When the time is right, it'll tell me." I have no way to look it up, but I'm pretty sure Locke has said those words before, back in Season One or Two. If not, it still seems like a Real Locke thing to say. Is Locke's consciousness still around inside Smokey, and as I predicted in earlier posts, will it start to make a comeback to defeat evil Locke? More later on that.


DESMOND THE PEACEFUL CAPTIVE: Sayid comes back and takes Locke to see Desmond, who is acting innocent, but definitely giving off the vibe that he's actually a super awesome secret agent. Does Desmond know more than he's letting on to Locke? I think so. Locke says "Do you know who I am?" And Desmond replies, "Of course." Staring at him, before adding calmly, "You're John Locke." Locke looks concerned. Desmond told Locke about Widmore's tests on him. Does Locke suspect what Widmore plans to use Desmond for? Or is he in the dark? I'm not sure.


HURLEY GETS THE JACOB DUST: After Ilana's explosive exit, Hurley looks through her things, and finds a book in Russian. It's apparently a Russian copy of Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground. (Side note: Does BookPeople have a "Books from Lost" book club? They should.) He also finds a bag of Jacob ashes that he takes with him. This is good to note given how the episode ends with Hurley basically leading everyone unarmed, right into Locke's camp. I'm guessing that the magic dust will come in handy pretty soon.

BEN CAN'T NOT BE EVIL: Ben's poison tongue is still in effect, spreading doubt and fear as the Losties trek through the jungle. He's saying what everyone's thinking, though... Why did Ilana die, if Jacob wanted her help? And did she die just because she served her purpose, and the island was done with her? Here's my thought on that. Dead, Ilana may turn out to be more able to help Hurley's crew. After all, she will still be able to talk to Hurley, and may be able to help him while being unseen by Smokey later on. But who knows. Hurley appears to be getting to be a very important part of everything, though. And Jack is finally smart enough to trust him.


HURLEY CLUCKS HIS SORROWS AWAY: Hurley heads to a Mr. Cluck's and orders a family-sized bucket from the kid from Freaks & Geeks who was working behind the counter in a nice cameo. As Hurley's sitting and eating, he notices Desmond staring at him. Desmond comes up and joins him. Desmond is obviously on a mission, and at the chicken shack on purpose. Which is a weird sentence to write. Desmond tells Hurley to believe Libby, and is obviously encouraging him to remember. What is Desmond up to? Desmond gets his order number called, and it's 42, one of the Numbers. Weird that it wasn't Hurley's assigned candidate number, which is 8. 42 is the one that had "Kwon" written next to it on the cave wall. Anyway, Desmond leaves, saying on his way out, "It was nice bumping into you." Which is funny, because later he will REALLY bump into Locke.


GOODBYE, BLACK ROCK: Totally believably, Hurley uses his elusive ninja skills to escape detection, dash ahead of everyone into the Black Rock, light some dynamite (with... matches?) and then dash out before the whole ship explodes on everyone. Richard is super pissed, and leaves the group with Ben and Miles. An odd trio, if there ever was one. It will be interesting to see what happens to the three of these guys. If Miles survives, I will be surprised. But happy. Miles questions Hurley's blind following of dead people, and Hurley says that dead people are more reliable than live ones.


THE HUGO REYES REC ROOM: Hurley decides he likes the kind of crazy that means you find him attractive, so he heads to the asylum to ask Libby on a date. To do so, he throws around more of his benevolence. I really liked the fact that they didn't just throw Libby back in the mix in some kind of alternate-reality Charlotte kind of way, but instead made her play a major role in connecting this time line to the other one. Nicely done.


THE BOY IS BACK: And this time he looks more like Matt Damon than before. Did you know the actor who plays this kid is 14? I would have guessed like 9 or 10. Anyway, who is he, what's he doing here, why does Locke look pissed when he sees him, why does the kid smile, blah blah blah. I don't know. I'm glad that Desmond saw him, though. Maybe he'll rescue Desmond from the well later. But I'm getting ahead of myself...


DESMOND GETS THROWN INTO A WELL: I liked this scene a lot, though I think it would be a lot harder to push me into a well if I knew you were evil. I think Desmond does know that Locke is not Locke. We get some interesting insight into the well in this scene. According to Smokey it was dug by hand by people with compasses who were "looking for answers". Their compasses would go crazy right over spots like the one at the well. (BTW, compasses are thought to have been around since the 2nd century, and the earliest ones have been found in China. If I'm to believe Wikipedia.) I guess these are the electromagnetic pockets that Widmore's people referred to, like the one the hatch was built over. Smokey also says that Widmore is just interested in power, and finding these pockets. I could believe that, actually, because I'm having a hard time thinking Widmore's really motivated by helping those he loves, when he says things to flash-sideways Desmond like, "Oh to be unencumbered by attachments" or whatever he said last episode. Or I guess, Smokey could be lying. Either way, Desmond's not buying it, and much to Smokey's chagrin, he's not scared either. "What's the point of being afraid," Desmond asks. So Flocke sends Desmond's love down the well and Desmond gives a nice Wilheim scream as he plummets to the depths. Is he dead? No, but I only know that because of the preview for next week's episode.


"LETTING GO," THE JACK SHEPHARD STORY: Jack tells Hurley that he's done leading people to failure, and is going to start wearing his "Let Go and Let God" T-shirt more often. This is interesting. Does Jacob want people to let go? Or does he want them to just start making better choices? I dunno. Either way, this moment is interrupted by more whispers.

SO THE SECRET OF THE WHISPERS...IS THAT THEY ARE BASICALLY PURGATORY: So, as I mentioned earlier, we finally get an explanation for the whispers. They're the voices of people who are stuck on the island because of what they did. They can't "move on". So, is every Whisper someone who committed evil in some way while on the island? Are Nikki and Paulo whispers now? What about Boone? What about Mr. Eko? Who moved on, and who didn't? Where did they move on to? The after life? Hurley asks if there's anything he can do to help Michael move on, and Michael says "Don't get yourself killed." What does this mean? Maybe if the Man in Black is defeated, they can "move on"? Before Hurley leaves, Michael tells Hurley to tell Libby he's sorry, which seems only appropriate since he shot her in the stomach.


FINALLY, THE PICNIC: This was a nice scene with flash-sideways Hurley and Libby, who after a kiss both get confirmation about the existence of another time line. Desmond watchese them from a distance. Clearly flash-sideways Desmond is on a mission.


HURLEY GOES TO CAMP: Upon returning from throwing Scottish dudes into wells, Locke slaps his buddy Sayid some skin and turns around as Hurley walks back into the camp, surprising everyone. Hurley asks for a conversation, and says they are unarmed, asking Smokey not to do anything. Smokey says, "You have my word". Then the rest of the crew walk out and Smokey looks right at Jack and says: "Hello, Jack." I have a theory for this. Is it because HE'S CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD? We still don't know if Smokey and the creepy version of Christian Shepard hanging out in Jacob's Cabin are the same person or not. So, I'm just saying, this "Hello, Jack" could be a father talking to his son.


DESMOND SHOCKS US ALL: We see Desmond at Locke's school, watching Locke from a distance. Ben is concerned and talks to Desmond, who makes up a son named "Charlie" and starts to exit. But not before HE RUNS OVER LOCKE WITH HIS CAR. Um, to say this was shocking is an understatement. What's Desmond doing? My first thought was that he was taking some weird revenge for being thrown down the well (because at this point I thought island Desmond was dead) but my wife Erin had a better theory. She thinks he's doing the same thing that Charlie did to him last episode when he drove Desmond off the pier. If Desmond can't convert Locke with a love relationship that spans the time lines (because Locke's lady Helen wasn't on the island), then perhaps he has to use a near-death experience to get Locke to wake up to what's going on. I think this is a great theory. Also possible is that Desmond knows that if any of them die, they will mind-travel back to the other time line. That's why Charlie wanted to die last episode, so he could be with Claire. Is it possible if Locke dies in this timeline, that his spirit will re-enter Fake Locke's body and start to fight for control of it? I think so.

TIME LINE CONVERGENCE: Beyond that last theory, I think its possible that we might see people getting to choose what time line they stay in. If they all become aware of the two time lines, it's possible that those who do better in one could choose to stay in it. And those who have a nasty fate in one can just switch to the other. That's only if it's feasible for both time lines to exist. And which time line is Man in Black from? And is one of the time lines his home?

SMOKEY NEEDS EVERYONE: Another thing we learned this episode is that Locke needs all of the Losties to ride in the plane with him so he can recreate the circumstances of their arrival. Is he trying to recreate the Oceanic 815 passengers or the Ajira 316 crew? I'm unsure. But either way, he needs folks alive. At this point, I'm unsure of everything.

Notice anything else, or got any other good theories as to what's going on?

Here's what I saw in the preview for next week:

"THERE'S NO EARTHLY WAY OF KNOWING WHICH DIRECTION WE ARE GOING": First of all, what a creative song choice for next week's preview. If you didn't recognize it, it was the creepy song sung by Gene Wilder as the boat entered the terrifying tunnel in the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie. (Click here to watch it and relive your 70s childhood nightmares.) It was totally appropriate lyrically, because I honestly no idea where they're headed with everything. And how they can possibly end this show in the 5 episodes we have left. The preview started with Jack looking over his shoulder, and a shot of some rocks on the ocean. Then we saw Claire and Sayid being evil looking at their camp, and the evil campers looking at Hurley's group that just arrived. We see Sun's notepad with the note "You did this to me" on it, which I'm assuming she's showing to Smokey (see my theory on that from two episodes ago.) We see Locke, still alive, and staring up from a hospital bed being rolled into the emergency room. Is he remembering his other time line, and wondering what the evil dude is doing in his body? We see Sayid approaching Desmond's well. We see Locke leading his crew through the jungle. We see a map of the island, and a view of Desmond looking up at Sayid from the bottom of the well. We see Evil Tina Fey pushing a button in front of Locke and a huge explosion occurring behind Locke. Then, shockingly, we see Sayid shooting a gun into the well. The super says "THE TIME IS NOW", a statement which is always pretty much true without saying anything much. Next week's episode is called "The Last Recruit." Who is the last recruit? Recruits refer to people who will join Locke's side (as opposed to candidates on Jacob's side). Who will it be? I'm not sure we can count everyone who showed up with Hurley at Locke's camp this episode a "recruit" since they were just there to talk, so it could be any of them, or Jin, or somone else all together. Vote for your guess in this week's poll. (My vote: Frank. Smokey needs a pilot.) But remember, you have no way to know the direction they're going, so it may be better to just sit back and enjoy the ride. Which I'm unable to do, apparently, with out blogging for hours afterwards. Oh well. See you next week.