LOST: Wherein Desmond Willfully Ignores ADA Laws

Compared to last week's LOST in which we see the show's Black Iron Prison receive its first frontal assault, this week's was more of a mixed bag. On the one hand, we learned that the whispers are the voices of the dead, their souls unable to continue their journey. On the other, we get that bag with the draw string that Hurley finds eminently interesting but about which he keeps mum. Another mystery to ponder as the show caroms to its end.



The title was "Everybody Loves Hugo" and we find out via a Citizen Kane-like montage that in the flash sideways world the fried chicken magnate has donated lots of money to worthy causes. And the voice narrating was instantly familiar – Pierre Chang. It turns out that Hurley was being given a civic award of some kind and the montage was shown at the ceremony. Afterwards, his mother chastises him for not having a woman in his life and sets him up on a blind date. The date apparently bailed on him but Libby shows up and engages the lonely billionaire. He looks familiar to her – she has been undergoing anamnesis. Unfortunately Hurley has not. But a brief appearance by Desmond spurs him to meet Libby again and they end up having the picnic denied them on the Island. A kiss from her proves to be just what the doctor ordered to kickstart Hurley's memory and images from the Island come flooding into his mind.

Back on the Island, Ilana retrieves four sticks of dynamite from the Black Rock and tries to rally the troops for a voyage to the Hydra island where they'll blow-up the defenseless Ajira 316 to prevent Smokey from being able make his way to the real world. But in her haste and frustration at having to justify the plan, the candidates' guardian drops the backpack containing the explosives and she ends up pulling a Doc Arzt. A rather ignominious exit, if you ask me.

But it allows Hurley to rifle through her belongings and find a copy of Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground and the bag I mentioned above. My theory is that the bag contains Jacob's ashes. Although why Hurley looks at them like he's discovered the super-secret jackpot is something I haven't figured out yet.

Our hero who communes with the dead hears the whispers at the beginning of the episode when he is at the Losties' Island boneyard and encounters Michael who tells him that he must not blow up the Ajira plane or else everyone will die. Later the whispers and Michael return. We are told that they are the voices of the dead who cannot move on.

But is the apparition of Michael trustworthy? Considering that the whispers have been heard in a variety of situations before, it seems odd for one of the souls to suddenly appear and offer advice. I don't remember hearing whispers when the ghost of Richard's beloved Isabella appeared. Then again, she only warned not to let Smokey off the Island – the whole idea of blowing up the plane was Richard's. Perhaps the ghostly Michael is trustworthy after all. The idea of using the plane to escape could be just another one of Smokey's subterfuges, a ploy to kill off the candidates. Maybe that is what Michael is warning against when he told Hurley that he wanted to make sure he didn't get everyone killed.

Back in "Ab Aeterno", Smokey convinced Richard that the Island was Hell and now an ethereal Michael maintains that the Island houses the souls of the dead who cannot reach their final destination. Perhaps the Island really is Hell. Jacob said that it was like a cork keeping malevolence bottled up. Well, evil incarnate resides in Hell so perhaps Smokey getting off the Island is the equivalent of that bottle being uncorked. And is Hell not thought to be underground? That's the pun behind the Dostoevsky book. In this scenario it is Jacob and not Smokey who is Cerberus for it is he who keeps Smokey from leaving.

Lastly, in the flash sideways we see that Desmond's crusade to find his fellow Flight 815 passengers and get them started down the path of anamnesis worked on Hurley but why hit the wheelchair-bound Locke with his car? I wonder if the two Desmonds are now one or are floating freely between each other. The on-Island version feels no fear and is one of the happiest-go-lucky people ever while the flash sideways incarnation feels motivated to run over Locke. Has the hit and run Desmond taken a leap of faith and decided that the two worlds are connected? If so, does this really account for his malevolent action against the disabled?



Some things for next week. First, Locke thinks that, with the arrival of the Hurley-led group, that he has his candidates and can now get moving on that whole busting out of Dodge plan of his. But does he? We know "Kwon" was on the list but was it Jin or Sun or both? I think Smokey will soon find out that he requires Jin who is being detained by Widmore.

And since most of the Losties are now at Camp Smokey, we'll no doubt find out more about the Widmore Energy Stratagem. I wonder if the old man's team is going to head to the Orchid Station as Smokey's gang make a dash for the Hydra island.

Lastly, who will die? The end of the show is nigh and I am thinking that more folks are going to bite the dust. My guess is that Sayid is next. Ever since his resurrection, he's been a heartless automaton with a darkness that's growing inside him.