My Season 6 Thoughts & Predictions

I just finished rewatching Season 5 and I'm now ready and raring to go for the final season of my all-time favorite tv show.

To say that expectations are high would be an understatement, that's for sure. I've loved this show from the very first episode (well, minus Jack's tattoos and Nikki and Paolo), and I do have a lot of faith in Damon, Carlton, and the whole team to give us a conclusion that is heartfelt, mind-blowing, and more than a little head-scratching.

They've been giving a lot of interviews lately advising people not to expect the answers to everything - and to expect that, as it always has, the show is going to continue focusing on the characters as the main driving force. They admit some people might be disappointed by how it all ends, but I'm just hoping that if they stay true to the story they've developed so far, then all the loyal fans like me will be happy with how it ends up.

So, in no particular order, here are my thoughts and predictions as we prepare for our last season on the Island (or is it?):

Supernatural vs. Science
First off, there's a lot of debate on the blogs about whether LOST will/should end up having a completely scientific explanation or if there will end up being something supernatural (or religious) behind it. Some people feel very strongly that the whole thing should be rooted in science, but I'm not one of them. I think there are enough elements - the smoke monster, ghosts / resurrections, the Island moving and skipping, etc. - that point towards a more mythical or supernatural explanation behind things, I'm okay with leaving some of the answers just unknown.

At the same time, I don't subscribe to another common theory out there - that the Island is Eden. I haven't read many in-depth treatments of that idea, but I hope the show doesn't go down the road of being straight religious allegory. At least not straight from only one religious worldview - I like all of the diverse influences in the story, and I think I would be disappointed if it all turned out to be a Judeo-Christian allegory.

Jacob vs. the Man In Black
Rewatching Season 5 is fascinating once you know of the existence of the Man in Black (aka Esau, for some good old Judeo-Christian allegory ;-). Knowing that Locke is truly dead and is a manifestation of the MIB colors everything he does in this season differently, and it confirms my belief that the MIB = Smoky = all the manifestations we've seen of Christian, Eko's brother, Alex, etc.

If you pay close to attention to Jacob and the MIB's conversation on the beach, as they're watching the Black Rock approach, you can hear what I believe to be the central story of LOST. Jacob believes that men are ultimately good and create progress, the MIB believes that they are ultimately corrupt and will lead to destruction. Jacob has been luring / attracting / bringing people to this Island for centuries or more, to watch them play out this drama. So far, the MIB has been right and each instance has led to destruction.

But Jacob says all it will take is for one time to end the cycle - one time when people choose correctly and effect positive change rather than kill each other - and that's when this drama will end. My friends, I believe that is what the final season of LOST will be about. It's our current cast of survivors (and maybe some of their long-LOST friends) who will be the ones to save themselves, save the Island, and end this cycle.

So who are Jacob and the MIB? I'm fine with them being ancient mythical figures. They're nearly Immortal - or at least, they can't kill each other directly. But, alas, the MIB found his vessel in John Locke, who found his willing executioner in Ben Linus. So is Jacob really dead? It appears so. But deaths aren't always as they appear on this Island, as we know so well.

The Incident
So..... the Incident. That's the key question that will probably be answered in the opening minutes of Tuesday's premiere. Did Daniel/Jack's crazy plan to nuke the electromagnetic core of the Island actually reset time and prevent their plane from crashing? Was Juliet's sacrifice the ultimate "reset" button?

Here's the thing.... I just don't see how that's possible. To my logic, Miles was right - this WAS the Incident, and the Incident always took place. Whatever happened, happened, right? It's what makes it impossible for women to give birth on the Island, it's what took Marvin Candle's arm, it's what led to the creation of the Hatch and the button and the plane crash itself.

Because if the nuke really did reset everything -- how can the show continue? Would they really start the final season by erasing nearly everything we've seen before, including all of the character development, and put our characters back to the beginning without even knowing each other? I doubt it. If they do, I'll admit I'm wrong, but I just don't think that's what's going to happen.

So -- either the Incident always happened that way, or it didn't work the way they intended.

But, I do think it did SOMETHING that will bring all of our characters back to the current time period. They have to all be reunited to deal with the war that is surely about to break out on the Island, now that MIBLocke has killed Jacob, and the Shadow of the Statue people will be there to avenge his death. (So, if they're not Widmore's people, cuz they tried to stop Miles from getting on the freighter... are they a third camp? Jacob's cult out in the modern world?)

And we've all seen the casting news that several of characters will be back after death... Claire (?), Michael, Libby, Boone, Charlie? The easy way to explain that is that there will be more flashbacks, or more manifestations by the MIB. I'm willing to even speculate that the Incident did do something to affect those who had died on the Island since the crash.... though I can't figure out how that would be explained just yet.

Or... Damon and Carlton are finally giving us the zombie season they've promised all along!

Those Crazy Love Triangles
And, finally, since we're promised another great season of character stories, here's my guess...

- Jack & Kate end up together.
- Sawyer stays alone, mourning Juliet (and waiting for me).
- Jin and Sun are reunited, Jin overjoyed to hear about Ji Yeon.
- Penny and Desmond are happy, healthy, and safe on their sailboat.
- Claire is somehow alive and gets to raise Aaron, with Auntie Kate helping out.
- Hurley gets to have some kind of happiness with Libby, even if it's her ghost.
- Rose and Bernard get to stay in their Island retirement paradise.

And A Few Other Things
Richard Alpert is so awesome. I really want a flashback episode about him. I still think he was the captain of the Black Rock and somehow was enlisted to be Jacob's right-hand man for eternity. What's been so great to watch over time is that while he once seemed like an all-knowing, prescient guy, he actually has only known what people have told him. He just has lived a "very, very long time" and has been smart enough to put it all together. I don't think he's time-travelled, but he's somehow immortal.

Who were Adam and Eve in the cave? I like the theory that it's Rose and Bernard.

What are the numbers? For now, I'm guessing a red herring that just link together a whole lot of storylines. The numbers = the serial number in the Hatch, and that's how it all began. Poor Hurley, it's not a curse!

Okay, fellow LOSTies, that's all I've got for now.... I'd love to hear your thoughts and predictions too! See you all on Tuesday night! :-)

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