Lost 6x13: "The Last Recruit"

[coolghoul]

I gave it an Above Average. Mainly because I don't understand the applicability of the title. What/who is the Last Recruit? Is it Jack? But he hasn't joined Smokey. If anything, he thinks they shouldn't leave the island. Maybe Smokey will bathe him in the temple waters and turn him into proto-Sayid.

This part might be explained later and therefore my grade might change to Excellent.

I liked that Sun and Jin did their meet. (I actually expected a longer montage). But I guess they had to end on some kind of cliffhanger and had to hurry things along. However as soon as Jin said that they would not be parted, I was like - dude, one of you is either dying or staying behind on the island. You can't utter promises in the final season with an episode titled "What they Died for" coming up soon.

Also - even tho' SmokeyLocke said that he was Christian - I still was I'm-not-buying-that and sez-you to that. I still think those are separate.

Also - I have a theory.

Theory: For MIB to leave the island, no one can remain behind on the island. That's why he had to kill the people in the temple who didn't choose to leave the island with him. No living soul left behind. So, he will have to convince Jack to leave (or kill him - but maybe he can't kill candidates now).

Also, I don't believe that Jacob never interacted with the Losties and Others for the entire period until Locke, Ben and Hurley land up at The Shack of Jacob way back in season x. That's why Christian being Jacob seems to be more reasonable to me.

 

[Hober Mallow]

Isn't there still a ghost Christian out there? Someone had to appear to Jack in the lobby.

That's the only one that bugs me. Perhaps that one actually was ghost Christian. If I remember right, he had a concerned look on his face as he leaned over in his chair to tell Jack something.

Then again, remember what happened right before Jack saw Christian? A smoke alarm beeped, and Jack had to check it. It was right after that he saw Christian. So make of that what you will.

In any case, there's something I need to do I've been waiting all season to do. Ready?

(Red Dwarf Kryten voice) Smug mode:

Told you all since "The Incident" Christian was MIB. Told ya', told ya', told ya', told ya'...

Smug mode canceled.

Okay, back to your regularly scheduled discussion.

Also, why is the smoke monster stuck as Locke but not any of the other dead people?

I don't think he was all the dead people. The reveal about the dead not being able to move on seems to support the idea that at least many of the dead people we've seen were in fact those people, and not Smokey.

The one dead person that seems to have been Smokey was Eko's brother, and that was after MIB supposedly became Christian, so you still have a point. It's something I hope they answer, but we've only a few episodes left.

What/who is the Last Recruit?

Jack. Smokey has been recruiting all season, and the episode ended with him telling Jack, "You're with me, now."

 

[Mr Awe]

What show do you think this is? Of course it's a mystery!

Well, i couldn't remember if I was forgetting some incident between them. Guess not!

Mr Awe

You mean besides the scene where Locke showed up to try to talk to her, but ended up just scaring the Hell out of her. You know, where she hit her head and lost the ability to talk in English...

Duh, yeah, that's exactly what I mean!

Mr Awe

 

[Checkmate]

If you're talking about her flipping out in the alternate universe, it seemed pretty clear that the more delirious you are, the closer you are to remembering events in the main universe. So why wouldn't she be flipping out a bit when she recognized him? She was all kinds of dopey at the time. Just like Hugo was when Libby kissed him, and how Desmond was when he almost died.

 

[Mr Awe]

Yes, that's what I mean, I forgot the incident on the island and I think it applies to her experience in the flash-sideways.

Mr Awe

 

[LitmusDragon]

This episode and the previous week's raises some interesting questions about Jacob's overall plan, or if he had one.

Presumably Jacob had planned this sequence of events all along, or had considered it as a contingency (he wasn't sure if Ben would kill him or not). It seems apparent from the events of Lighthouse that he brought Hugo to the island so that he'd have a way to communicate even if he was killed. The incident at the Lighthouse, showing Jack his importance, seemed to indicate that Jacob had some overall plan.

However, in light of the fact that he led Hugo and Jack away from FLocke previously, what's the point of them ending up back with him now?

Where has Jacob been during these crucial events of the past few episodes?

Are things still going to Jacob's plan or aren't they?

Wild prediction: Jacob has been somehow detained (however a dead person might be detained), and had never intended Jack and Hugo to end up with FLock. Jack, Hugo, and the rest will leave the island with FLocke in the finale, but something unexpected will happen. This seems apparent because which is more interesting: a) FLocke never leaves the island, and we are left to speculate what might have happend or b) Showing what happens when he leaves the island?

 

[chrisspringob]

Also - even tho' SmokeyLocke said that he was Christian - I still was I'm-not-buying-that and sez-you to that. I still think those are separate.

The show has been keeping "Christian" a mystery for six years, and the answer is given a few eps from the end, and you think they're now going to spend the time in one of the last five episodes to say "Just kidding, the correct answer is X"? What would be the point? That would just be utterly useless.

Besides, we have ample evidence that "Christian" has been working towards MiB's goals for some time. He recruits Claire. He sends Locke back to the mainland to bring everyone back so that Ben can kill Jacob, etc. What's the point of introducing another entity at this point that just serves MiB's agenda anyway?

Regarding how he could appear to Jack on the mainland......well, maybe his physical body is trapped on the Island, but he can project outside? Or else, maybe the clue can be found in what he told Jack in this ep. He tells Jack that he's trapped by the Island just like Jack is. Yet Jack has left the Island as well. Maybe, like Jack, MiB can leave the Island for brief periods of time, but it always draws him back, and that's why he wants to escape?

 

[TheGodBen]

Finally! Jack is dead! I've been waiting 5 years for this moment and it finally happened. And he died just like his sister; killed in an explosion caused by Widmore. It's poetic and it contained an explosion, so that makes it ten times cooler.

Now if only that bitch Kate would kick the bucket I'd finally have payback for what happened to my dearest Locke.

 

[Jax]

Finally! Jack is dead! I've been waiting 5 years for this moment and it finally happened. And he died just like his sister; killed in an explosion caused by Widmore. It's poetic and it contained an explosion, so that makes it ten times cooler.

Now if only that bitch Kate would kick the bucket I'd finally have payback for what happened to my dearest Locke.

I don't buy that Jack died, it would be a really poor way to kill off a character whose been the main lead for 6 years.

 

[Mallet]

Yah, Jack isn't dead. That's just silly talk.

If Smokie really has been all of the appearances of Christian then there are some serious plot holes in the Lost storyline (or at least in Smokies plans).

Mainly it was Christian that first told Locke he was going to have to move the Island. If Locke had done that (rather then Ben) then Locke would have been off the Island (and alive, never to return, but able to walk, so a sort-of happy ending for him). Everyone else would be still back, stuck on the Island but alive and safe. The Island wouldn't have started skipping through time, people wouldn't have died from brain damage or Other flaming arrow attacks, etc... Most likely the Others & the Losties would start working together and become friends (Ben was already helping them and Richard was always a fairly peaceful person).

So... if Locke had followed Christian's exactly the first time, none of Smokie's plans would have worked out. At all. It would in fact destroy most of what seemed to be Smokie's plans.

So I find it hard to believe that Smokie was also Christian at that occasion. Otherwise Smokie is a complete idiot and retard and we shouldn't be worried about him at all, since he is obviously stupid and can't formulate a good plan.

 

[Joshua Howard]

This was a good episode. It was unusually good. Lost was a much stronger show back when everyone was trying to adjust to survival on the island and figure out what and who the Dharma initiative was. Back when any stranger was one of "The Others" it was spellbinding.

At some point the Dharma initiative got downplayed into a secondary plot, and we've been trying to figure out what the smoke monster and alternate realities are all about with little progress along the way. Don't get me wrong. I have continued to like the show all along. Nevertheless, I hope that it wraps up with some kind of revelation that is truly down-the-hatch epic.

When the hatch was blown up, the sky turned pink, and life went on, I felt like LOST started losing its direction. Certainly, the epic wonder of the beginning wore off at that point, and the suspension of disbelief became harder. I still believe that if the last few episodes do a stellar job of tying everything together, the finalle can make up for the weakness which the series has experienced.

 

[TheGodBen]

I don't buy that Jack died, it would be a really poor way to kill off a character whose been the main lead for 6 years.

It's not like he's dead dead, this is Lost we're talking about. But the way that they played up Jack being hit by the explosion, and the way that NotLocke said "You're with me now" gave a very similar feeling with what happened with Claire and Sayid. Jack died, NotLocke brought him back to life to use him as a slave but, just like Claire and Sayid, Jack will break free and be the one to stop NotLocke.

 

[Servo]

Excellent episode.

Anyone else reckon that the final scene of the final episode will be Jack and MiB (still as Locke) sat on the beach, echoing the "I'll find a way to kill you" scene between MiB and Jacob?

 

[chrisspringob]

Lostpedia agrees with me on the continuity screw up in the sideways timeline:

http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/The_Last_Recruit

"Sun and Jin could not realistically arrive at the ER at the same moment as John Locke, as the events of "The Package" takes place just a day or two after the arrival of Oceanic 815 into Los Angeles, whereas Desmond's attack on Locke took place at least a week after, due to Desmond telling Hurley it had been a week since their flight in "Everybody Loves Hugo"."

 

[McCoy]

Can we agree on these statements?

* any time a dead person appeared to someone other than Hurley, it was definitely MiB in disguise
* any time a dead person appeared to Hurley in the presence of others but only Hurley could see him/her, it was definitely a real ghost
* there is still the possibility that a dead person appearing to Hurley when no one else is around could be either a ghost, or MiB

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Great ep. The stories in both realities are really coming together now. Great feeling of this story roaring to an EPIC conclusion!

 

[Mallet]

Can we agree on these statements?

* any time a dead person appeared to someone other than Hurley, it was definitely MiB in disguise
* any time a dead person appeared to Hurley in the presence of others but only Hurley could see him/her, it was definitely a real ghost
* there is still the possibility that a dead person appearing to Hurley when no one else is around could be either a ghost, or MiB

What about a person, not dead, appearing to someone, and only sometimes that person could see them, but no one else?

-Walt appeared to Shannon, but at first only Shannon could see him, not Sayid. but then one time Sayid could also see him, as well as Shannon.

-Lady, can't remember her name (Goodwin's wife), appeared out of nowhere in the jungle to talk to Juliette. Jack also saw her.

-That time Jack saw his father in the hospital, when the smoke alarm went off, another Doctor walked in. Not sure if Ghost Christian disappeared before the doctor walked in, or if the doctor couldn't see the ghost. When Jack turned around a moment later the Ghost was gone.

-there were a couple of times during the episode when Christian led Jack to find water that only Jack was able to see him, even though other people were around. What's with that?

and a side note...

Where is Christian's body? Smokie can appear as any dead person, but he doesn't need their body to do so. He doesn't "take over" their dead bodies, as we found out when Locke's dead body was still lying around. So where is Christian's body? It wasn't in the coffin. And the coffin was closed when Jack found it. So who or what took Christian's body before jack could reach the caves?

 

[Mojochi]

From the live commentary thread...

Answer: Christian is Smokey too!

I thought he was lying.

I got that impression too. It seemed like a very suspect conversation, wherein MIB would tell Jack anything he thought would help coerce him. Plus, so much just contradicts the claim that MIB was every appearance of Christian. I may be wrong, but I hope I'm right, because if it's true that MIB was Christian, then that is a rather weakly put together conclusion for that story arc, imo

The only thing that supports MIB's claim is that he had a pretty detailed knowledge of the fact that Jack chasing his dad helped him find water, which is rather significant, but still... that reveal I found a bit disappointing

And who told her Jack was her brother? I can't keep it all straight anymore.

Yeah, how did she know? Some of you suggested that either Jacob or the smoke monster told her. Is that what happened?

I suppose the most likely answer is MIB told her, even though she seemed to announce it to them, this week, as if it was new news to everyone, including MIB. I doubt she got it from Jacob, who she's had almost no contact with, or any of the other people who might have known, like Dogen, her mom, or maybe even Kate

I suppose if MIB lied about being Christian, then Christian could have told her, but it's just not able to be determined as of yet

 

[FormerLurker]

Christian told Claire all about himself when he went to visit her in Australia. Including his having other children, or at least one other child, with his wife.

 

[chrisspringob]

Where is Christian's body? Smokie can appear as any dead person, but he doesn't need their body to do so. He doesn't "take over" their dead bodies, as we found out when Locke's dead body was still lying around. So where is Christian's body? It wasn't in the coffin. And the coffin was closed when Jack found it. So who or what took Christian's body before jack could reach the caves?

MiB may have simply stolen the body and stashed it somewhere, to perpetuate the illusion for Jack that Christian had come back to life. If Jack had found the body there, then he'd know that whatever was wondering around the jungle wasn't really his father.

Or there could be some other explanation which has to do with why his body is missing in the sideways timeline as well. Of course, it's not clear why someone would load an empty casket on a plane without noticing that it's empty.

I suppose the most likely answer is MIB told her, even though she seemed to announce it to them, this week, as if it was new news to everyone, including MIB.

I didn't catch how MiB reacted to that line. Did he act surprised? If not, then it's possible that he told Claire. How did he know? Well, how does he know everything that Locke knows? Something about scanning the body and then taking its form give him all the knowledge that that person has.


One thing to keep in mind with all of this is that the writers had no idea what they were doing in Season 1. Much of the mythology of the series has been retconned in after the fact. Now that we're starting to get some answers to long-running mysteries, I don't expect that everything is going to fit together perfectly. So there may be some discontinuities with explanations like MiB = Christian, but that's to be expected, given that the writers didn't actually think through all of this 6 years ago.