LOST, Mel's back from the dead, etc.

Hello bloggers.

For those of you who have been faithful reading this blog since its inception in 2006, I want to congratulate you for making it this far, having stuck by me through all of my crazy phases (musical theater, movie reviews, Dexter, Firefly, travel-blogging, and all other randomness that the title of this blog encompasses). My most recent phase has been dipping into the realm of short stories and poetry, due to the wonderful forum of backlight.org.

However, I fear some of you may have assumed that I have lost my regular Melissa blogging voice, amid fantastical tales of sculptures, pagodas, dragonflies and the like. Never fear, I still exist. I and my voice.

In honor of the recent return to Lost, I wanted to revist some of the questions I had the season finale of Season 4 in my previous blog entry here, as well as perhaps address some new questions which have arisen since Season 5 commenced exactly a week ago.

My former Season 4 questions:

Is Claire dead?
I still stand by the theory that Claire died in the cabin explosion, which explains why she was hanging out with creepy Jack's Dad in Jacob's shack. Her enigmatic stare and her obvious lack of concern for mothering Aaron leads me to believe that Claire is actually dead and whatever we see of Claire is just one of those crazy corporealization things that the Island tends to do, materializing people that are actually dead.

Where did the Island go?
Now we know that the Island (or at least the people on it) are now skipping through time. Trippiness to the max.

Is Jeremy Bentham really John Locke?
Yes, I was skeptical at first, but now I realize that the Oceanic 6 (and maybe John Locke himself?) coined the term Jeremy Bentham as a reference for Locke to use off the island, to maintain the lie that everyone on Oceanic 815 died in the original plain crash. I think now the real question is not whether or not Jeremy Bentham is John Locke, but how dying (and apparently cryogenically freezing himself in a butchery?) will save the Island and the people living on it. Hmm...

By becoming the Head Honcho Other, will Locke now become evil and manipulative like Ben?
I don't know if there is anymore validity to this theory. There DOES seem to be two dueling of destinies going on. One, between Locke and Ben, living parallel lives leading up to their appointment as leader of the Others. The other dueling of destinies is between Ben and Widmore, which i will get to in a minute...

Why didn’t Locke just strap that heart monitor to his own arm? (Jin might still be alive:()
Moot point. He didn't know that the heart monitor had anything to do with the bomb. Sad for Jin.

How the heck has Richard Alpert not aged?
I am more and more intrigued by Richard Alpert (or Pretty Eye Guy as Jeanne's sister calls him). He doesn't seem to age and he apparently has had a long-standing position of authority among the Others for decades. I want to know where he came from and why he doesn't age. My question from before as to whether or not Richard himself time traveled (due to his uncanny interest in John Locke from birth) was decisively settled in tonight's episode.

Is Sun trying to wreak revenge on Ben, her dad or Widmore? Or all three?
Hmm I'm a little fuzzy on what happened last week, but she seems to be trying to play all three of these suckers. No offense, Sun, but I think you're biting off more than you can chew at this point. Interesting to see how this corporate battle plays out. Sun is going to be a key player in the Ben vs. Widmore conflict, I'm wagering.

Will Jack find redemption? (and finally shed that Grizzly Jack beard?)
I believe he will find redemption. And he saved off that God-awful Mountain Man grizzly beard, so that was a relief. I think I cheered when he did that in last week's episode.

How will Jack get everybody to go back to the island?
Funny how the more intriguing question now is how will LOCKE get everybody to go back to the Island. I've wavered in my interest in Locke throughout the seasons. He's been kind of a percolating, slow burn kind of character, but this season, the writers are really letting it rip as far as John Locke is concerned.

Was Charlotte born on the island?
I THINK this was answered. Actually, right now, I'm a bit more concerned as to why she is the only one whose health seems to be adversely affected by the rigors of time travel (and possibly radiation from the hydrogen bomb?) I think her inability to cope with time travel has something to do with the fact that she has earlier childhood ties to the island.

Is Sayid Jack Bauer incarnate? (those were some wicked, flippy leg mano a mano moves)
I think he is. And if you disagree, check out the nasty butcher knife in the dishwashing machine action from last week.

How has that time-traveling twist really been at work during the past four seasons, unbeknownst to us?
I think this will begin to unravel. Now we know that a time-traveling Locke influenced Richard Alpert to seek him out as a sort of chosen-one for the island.

How exactly did Ben go from his little ice cave to the middle of the Tunisian desert?
Time travel/teleportation. Now we know. When and where in Lost is completely relative.

How can Desmond really expect not to be found by Charles Widmore?
Again, moot point. He strode into Widmore's office with confidence and resolve (not to mention a wicked awesome coat and scarf), sooooo different from the deferential, insecure Desmond of several years ago. I love how much Desmond has changed. And they named their kid CHARLIE. Ah, I miss Charlie Pace.

What are the whispers!??!?
I really think this has something to do with the time traveling aspect of the show. Past, present and future colliding will allow for some crossing of communication lines on the Island.

How does Ben control the Smoke Monster? Will Locke have the same power? What IS the Smoke Monster?
Talking with Jeanne and Alecia tonight, i realized that I am more interested in the duality playing out between Widmore, and the Smoke Monster is one of the ways this is working out. If Widmore truly is the one funding the Dharma Initiative, it seems to be this epic battle for the soul of the Island between Ben and Widmore. Widmore builds a security fence to keep out the Smoke Monster, an apparently effective device. Ben summons the Smoke Monster to kill Widmore's men in retaliation for killing his daughter. I don'tk now if we'll ever figure out exactly what the Smoke Monster is.

But ESPECIALLY now that we know that a young Charles Widmore was originally one of the Others, this demonstrates even more how obsessive and invested Widmore truly is in the island. He apparently lived and knew the Island inside out as a young man. However, assuming he eventually funds and directs the Dharma Initiative, it will be interesting to see how and why this war between the Hostiles/Others and the Dharma Initiative people played out.

Who is Jacob?
I really am beginning to at least consider more and more that Jacob has something to do with John Locke. Perhaps Locke IS Jacob. I don't know. But now that we know this entire season is dedicated to Locke skipping through time and influencing the past and trying to get the Oceanic 6 back to the Island, it's entirely possible that he influenced Jacob in some way.

And Widmore possibly has no regard or respect for Jacob (as is evidenced by his suspicion and dismissal of Locke's claim to know Jacob), although I'm not quite sure what that means.

Will Sawyer and Juliet hook up (eww… please no)?
They still might. But actually Juliet has grown on me now. She can apparently expertly handle a firearm, AND she can speak a dead language and keeps proving over and over what a valuable, smart, resourceful team player she is. I know she wants to get back to her sister and nephew, but, wow. She kind of looks like she belongs there on the Island. And if the writers play this right, a Sawyer/Juliet thing may actually work. But he's still smitten with Kate clearly, so that ain't happening anytime soon..

I am continually amazed at this show.

Other random thoughts....

-Faraday's mom MUST be Eloise Hawkings a.k.a. Creepy White Haired Lady from the jewelry shop.
-Penny's got a huge target sign on her back. I hope she survives. For Desmond's sake.
-I want to know why Aaron is so important to the island. First, the psychic tells us he must "not be raised by another." But now, the Claire vision (assuming the Island conjured this vision) told Kate not to take Aaron back to the island. Kate's raising him (she's the "another" in question now) and that apparently is against the Island's design or wishes.
-Are we rooting for Ben or Widmore? Or neither?

So many questions.

If you all have any theories to contribute, please share:)