Lost Virgin Diary – The island giveth, and the island can also taketh away

It’s not about what happened or who they were. It’s about who they are now – who they’ve become. As I watched images of them getting on the plane and preparing for take-off during the season finale, it struck me that those images of people on a plane are not who they are anymore. That’s who they used to be. The crash gave many of them a chance to start over, a chance to redefine themselves. From the Korean couple going through a rough patch in their marriage to the junkie who now has a chance to be sober (should he take it?) to Locke rediscovering the ability to walk that many take for granted every day to Claire being given the chance to raise her baby and Kate being allowed to start over as an unwanted woman, maybe it was the best thing for many of them to be given this precious gift of a clean slate.

However, the island giveth and the island can also taketh away. I think the island is testing them to prove their worthiness of this gift: such as when Locke’s legs nearly gave out or Charlie was suddenly faced with an entire stash of heroin or Michael was faced with the situation that his son whom he was just beginning to bond with was taken from him. They’ve come so far in the past 24 episodes, realizing who they are and who they want to be (happily married, clean and sober, a leader) that there’s no turning back now. Now that the hatch has been opened, I’m anxious to get Season 2 started and really open up this “Pandora’s Box!” Until next time, don’t forget your sunscreen!

WTF Moments (Episodes 11-24):
• Does Walt have special mind abilities? Are we possibly in Walt’s head? The polar bear in space in his comic book (which was Hurley’s) can’t have been a coincidence, can it? If Walt has special mind abilities, does Michael also? Hmm…
• A penguin with a sunburn makes about as much sense as a polar bear in a jungle.
• I like Sawyer in glasses – but then again, I love the nerdy look!
• Now I really get the joke behind Hurley’s guest-appearance on How I Met Your Mother in which he played a person cursed with a jinx! The numbers are certainly interesting. I’m not sure what to think about them and why they are on the hatch. Can numbers really bring bad luck and how many other connections do they have with the survivors?
• I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Modern Family’s own Julie Bowen guest-starred as Jack’s wife, as I learned Jack was once married in the flashbacks.
• Locke hit Sayid over the head and busted the transmitter?!
• Does The Black Rock (which blew my mind being a shipwreck and not an actual black cliff) have anything to do with the white and black rocks that are recurring seemingly-ominous images?
• The monster “guarding the island” – is it black wisps of smoke, a robotic-like creature, a “pissed-off giraffe” per Hurley or the Cookie Monster per Jimmy Kimmel? (That’s right, I watched the bonus features on Season 1) I’m more confused than ever!
• What is the hatch – is it an underground bunker? What’s inside? I liked Hurley’s theory about Twinkies being inside … junk food is probably the thing I’d miss the most if I were stranded on an island!
• Why have “The Others” kidnapped Walt?
• Shannon and Sayid as a couple threw me for a loop. What other love connections may surprise me? Will Kate end up with Jack or Sawyer?
• My boyfriend has a theory: He thinks they’re all on a secret military island base that has been around since after World War II. This would account for a radio transmission source, animals being experimented upon (polar bears) and the 50-year-old bodies found in the cave. This sadly makes more sense than any of my theories, but it feels like a let-down. Say it ain’t so!

Memorable Quotes:
“Folks down at the beach might have been doctors and accountants a month ago, but it’s Lord of the Flies time now.” – Sawyer

“Why would any one of us block an attempt to get home? We’re so intent on pointing the finger at one another that we’re ignoring the simple undeniable truth that the problem isn’t here – it’s there (points to the jungle). They’ve attacked us, sabotaged us, abducted us, murdered us. Maybe it’s time we stop blaming us and start worrying about them. We’re not the only people on this island and we all know it.” – Locke

“I’m sorry that I’m not cool enough to be part of your merry little band of adventurers. … I know a clique when I see it, I teach high school pal-y. You know, you people think you’re the only ones on this island doing anything of value. I got news for you. There were 40 other survivors of this plane crash and we are all people too.” – Dr. Arzt
“Dude, this is all in your head.” – Hurley
“Really? Then you explain to me why Kate gets the best pieces of wreckage to build her shelter? And the Korean guy, does he catch fish for everybody on the island? No, he does not … he doesn’t. And some of us have actually lost weight while we were here. Now do you mind telling me where you’re hiding the carbs ‘cause I can’t figure …” – Dr. Arzt

“Everybody wants me to be a leader until I make a decision they don’t like.” – Jack

Clacked by Kim Tibbs
on Jun 25, 2012 @ 13:00 EST5EDT