Next: “Everybody Loves Hugo” (Episode 6-12)

“Everybody Loves Hugo” brought some memorable moments, from touching to downright shocking. We got a good dose of pyrotechnics, and a surprisingly blunt explanation to the perennial mystery of “the whispers.” Once again we saw some of our characters part ways, but we also saw our candidates come together sooner than we’d anticipated. And perhaps in keeping with the inherent intensity of this final season, this Hurley-centric episode was fortunately not overloaded with comic relief. Yet, on the heels of an epic Richard Alpert tale and a brain-busting Desmond episode, this week’s entry felt more like the sharp intake of breath before a grand declaration, a mechanically necessary repositioning of game pieces for the few chapters remaining ahead.

On the island, Unlocke unpacks a little bit more of his game plan… or at least fleshes out his cover story. The candidates’ return to the island was possible only together, and so then must they be reunited to leave. I’ve been wondering if Widmore’s return was to exploit the island, rather than to do the right thing… but now that Unlocke says Widmore is only after power, I’m more inclined to think he might actually be trying to save the world, after all. It seemed telling when Unlocke agreed with Desmond that the island had it in for everyone. And UnLocke, of course, had it in for Desmond. The way Terry O’Quinn’s face twitched moments before pushing Desmond down the magnetic well sent shivers down Jen’s spine. But despite Desmond’s fall, I’m confident we’re not quite done with our favorite Scottsman.

I enjoyed Hurley’s double bluff, first pretending to back Richard’s plan (only to blow the Black Rock to bits), then pretending to get direction from Jacob. It was great to see Richard called him on the ruse (“Jacob never tells us what to do”), and to see Hurley still play it cool. And in terms of repeating themes and scenarios, we again see sides chosen, and a group dividing in the forest. Miles and Ben follow Alpert, while Jack, Sun, and Frank follow Hurley. It’s a nice coincidence that Hurley’s fellow candidates chose to go with him, and that doesn’t bode well for what may be our last splinter group.

Jen is definitely warming up to Jack, though I’m not sure how to read his turn in this episode. He also knew Hurley was bluffing, but still went along with him because he’s concluded it’s time to trust other people. There are some things he can’t fix. That’s a good lesson for control-freak Jack, I suppose, but the epiphany sounds very similar to the one he had in Season 5. During his DHARMA days, he decided not to act, but rather wait for his moment. That didn’t turn out so well, so… now he’s going to take even less initiative? That’s not going to work, since Jacob told Hurley that Jack indeed has something he needs to do.

Michael’s return was odd. It provided some catharsis in his apology to Hurley, but the big “reveal” seemed really underplayed. Tonight, Hurley suddenly concludes that “the whispers” are essentially the voices of the dead “who can’t move on,” and Michael says he’s right. Is that it? The island is purgatory, after all? Over the past five seasons, there seemed to be some significance to when and where the whispers were heard (by people who don’t otherwise have communion with the dead), and a fair amount of theorizing was based on meticulous transcripts of what they were saying. My favorite theories involved DHARMA experiments or some other group of “observers,” or maybe a side-effect of time travel (or even the flash-sideways). I’m hoping there’s more to them, but probably not.

Even odder was the abrupt departure of Ilana. Kudos to the writers for avoiding another Arzt joke, but her death certainly frustrates people like me, who had just begun to accept that this “new character” was key to the bigger picture through her off-island connection to Jacob. The writers even let Ben comment on this curious development. But, he concludes, the island was merely done with her, and it will likely soon be done with everyone. We’re definitely sensing a theme, here.

And what to make of Miles? He finally has another conversation with Hurley about talking to dead people, but his own expertise is not even mentioned. And while Hurley seems to conclude that “dead people are more reliable” than the living, I’m wondering why Hurley isn’t more skeptical. His first reaction to Michael seemed the natural one. But something changed Hurley’s mind, and led him to blow up the Black Rock. What was in the bag he found in the camp? And while trying to blow up the plane was a plan that was apparently going to get everyone killed, walking right into Locke’s camp was also a heck of a gamble.

Their arrival was, in fact, foretold by Unlocke when he told Sawyer, “There’s a difference between doing nothing and waiting.” He knew the other candidates would come to him. And I was glad to see both groups reunited tonight, though. I’d assumed we’d have to wait for the finale. Can Sun and Jin’s reunification be put off much longer?

For those clamoring for a resolution to the Libby storyline, the flash-sideways in “Everybody Loves Hugo” brings direct relief. It doesn’t explain how she came to be in the institution with Hurley in the original timeline, but who cares? It was worth it to see Hurley struck by lightning in the Mexican restaurant, and to see him finally see “the truth” on their long-delayed picnic on the beach. In some respects, the flash-sideways felt like one giant checkmark on the long list of “LOST” mysteries. But Jorge Garcia and especially Cynthia Watros sold it. The date was nice, but I was actually a bit misty-eyed during the rec room scene when Libby again heard that Hurley had no memory of her. It’s hard to imagine what depth her character might have brought to the show had Libby survived beyond Season Two.

The final scene, though, was a hell of a twist. The tension was built masterfully, with Ben rightfully suspicious of a man staking out a school parking lot, and Desmond’s fixation on Locke as he wheeled his way past. Then, bam! Locke is flat on his back, in shock. I was half expecting the scene to close with a close up of his toes.

It is curious, though, that Desmond was content to subtly suggest that Hurley go with his instincts in his curiosity about Libby, but then decides to take a much more direct role in Locke’s introduction to “the truth.” Whereas Hurley’s connection with Libby echoes the “love” invoked for Charlie and Claire (and Desmond and Penny, and Daniel and Charlotte), poor Locke had to get the “near death experience” treatment instead. Presumably, “love” would be less effective for Locke, given his good relationship with Helen in the flash-sideways, but… how would Desmond know? And how is he, so far, picking out our island survivors from among the hundreds of presumably innocent or uninvolved people aboard Oceanic 815?

Notes and Notions:

  • The opening slideshow, narrated by Dr. Pierre Chang, was fun. It seemed to include a few real-world photos of Jorge Garcia. He got his dog, Nunu, onto “LOST” via the shot of him in front of the Hawaiian Humane Society (its logo clearly visible). And I’d bet those were real baby pictures, too.
  • I liked how even “lucky” Hurley was intimidated by talking to women, a trait that goes back to Starla at the record store in Season Two. I don’t know what happened to his blind date, Rosalita, but it was also nice to hear that Grandpa Tito is apparently still around in the flash-sideways.
  • Jen loved how subtly Henry Ian Cusick played the faint moment of confusion after Desmond immediately came up with the name “Charlie” for his son when confronted by Ben.
  • It’s a small thing, but I love how one of the extras (a long-haired Asian woman) looked perplexed in the scene where Hurley meets Desmond in the Mr. Cluck’s restaurant. Hurley yells, “What?” And we see her clearly reacting as if Hurley might be yelling at her, rather than Desmond. A lot of times, background extras in scenes are a little too oblivious to the action we’re watching. It was a nice touch.
  • The creepy boy, who Desmond saw, is back to haunting Unlocke. His smile was disconcerting, taunting, in the same vein of his earlier admonition, “You know the rules. You can’t kill him.” The more we see of him, the more he seems like a young Jacob. Gloating Jacob.
  • After Locke’s “Blow Up Everything That Can Get Us Off The Island Tour,” tonight we had the “Blow Up Everything (and Everyone) That Can Blow Up Everything That Can Get Us Off The Island Tour.”
  • What is Unlocke the Wood Whisperer carving? Claire already has a crib for her scary squirrel baby. Part of me would like to see him recreate Mr. Eko’s carved “Jesus Stick.”
  • Looks like Richard’s back to declaring, “We’re dead, we’re all dead!”
  • Books: The Russian book Hurley found among Ilana’s belongings was “Notes from the Underground” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Wikipedia says it is considered by many to be the world’s first existentialist novel.
  • Locations: The awards ceremony was filmed at the Koolau Golf Club/First Presbyterian Church in Kaneohe. The “fajita fieldtrip” to Spanish Johnny’s was filmed at Bandito’s Cantina at Pearlridge. The Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute was again the YWCA on Richards Street downtown, and Mr. Cluck’s Chicken Shack was again the Popeye’s Chicken on Dillingham Boulevard. The beach where Hurley and Libby had their date was the west end of Ala Moana Park. And the parking lot where Desmond met Ben and hit Locke was August Elementary School in Waipahu. And, of course, the slideshow included shots of the Hawaiian Humane Society, the Honolulu Zoo, and the box company exterior at Gentry Pacific Design Center.

What did you think? We’d love your thoughts for our podcast. Please comment below, and share your reaction, thoughts, theories and theories with fellow fans. Or, you can email us at lost@hawaiiup.com, or call the LOSTline at (815) 310-0808.

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375 Responses to Next: “Everybody Loves Hugo” (Episode 6-12)

  1. John says:

    On the issue of good v. evil, I don’t think we are going to have a sudden reveal that Jacob is bad and MIB is “good”. I think that would be too much of a reversal at this point and would smack of a series-ending gimmick. While you can point to things about Jacob that suggest that he isn’t purely good, it is hard to argue with the idea that MIB is dominated by bad impulses. He kills indiscriminately, manipulates like crazy, has turned Claire into a psychotic, has turned Sayid into his emotionless hit-man, engaged in mass murder in the temple, etc. It would be pretty hard at this point to caste him as the side of “good.”

    It certainly is possible that we will discover that both he and Jacob are complex figures who are neither purely good nor purely evil. In other words, they are more human in character than divine. Jacob is mostly good and is acting to protect mankind, but sometimes has petty emotions and will manipulate and use people for his greater good. MIB may very well have been driven to his current state by events that make his anger and disregard for others at least understandable. As with Darth Vader, we may glimpse the humanity in him before all is concluded.

    However, I don’t think we can switch the basic orientation of Jacob being on the “good” side and “Locke” being a villain without a very wrenching and unsettling sudden reversal of the story arc. That’s the kind of gimmicky reveal one would expect from a poorly written soap, not a series with as much depth as Lost.

  2. John says:

    Carol, the forward cabin really doesn’t reveal that much. You get inklings of things because of people seeing scenes being shot from a distance, but I don’t think they have told us anything at all about how the story will end. Knowing that character A and B were seen together and one of them had a weapon pointed at the other (hypothetically) does little to tip one off what the answers are to our many questions.

  3. LReene says:

    @Carol from Boston – As an avid listener to the entire Podcast including the Forward Cabin, I can honestly say that I have no more of a clue on how things are going to end than if I would have only listened to the main section. I was even lucky enough to spend two entire weeks last month following the filming crew around the island and watching them film scenes from episodes 15 and 16, and I STILL couldn’t tell you what those scenes mean as to the final end game. The best that I can hope for, is that when the scenes do air, I’ll be able to say “Hey, I was there and watched them film that!” 🙂

    So in short, if the others on this board are anything like myself, reading all the theories is fun. It’s enlightening to get other’s points of view to expand our own knowledge. And it has been an absolute GREAT way to add further enjoyment to the best show on television. But as far as giving foreknowledge of what is to come? I would guess probably not. I think the end is going to be just as big of shock to us “Spoiler Geeks” as it is to anyone else.

    Like always, just my 2 cents worth.

  4. tommy b says:

    hey first time blogger here. just a quick thought, was the young man Unlocke saw a younger version of the man in black after all he was holding a long stick like a staff, similar to the one Unlocke was carving in this episode.Also he had brown hair not blonde hair like Jacob. Would be interested to hear what others think???
    On the episode overall i didn’t think much of it removing Ilana almost reminded me of Cesar death she seemed such a vital character and to kill her like that was a shock even though i didn’t actually like her. Also the rather blunt explanation for the whispers could have been done in a better way as they was no build up or mystery surrounding the whispers in the episode. But I suppose we don’t have long left and we need some answers quick, I’m starting to feel like i don’t want the answers so i can carry on thinking up theories in my head.

  5. Leon G says:

    How about a Desmond spin off series where he runs into each passenger from flight 815, you know, to jog their memory. It could be called “Touched by a Bimmer,” that’s Beemer for us Yanks. There would easily be enough names on the manifest for a 5 season run.

  6. Bonita in Atlanta says:

    @ Leon, yeah Brotha, that’d work for me!

  7. Mattfromnd says:

    Other
     
    Re-creating events from the original timeline is what causes the characters in the sideways to see flashes of the original timeline. 

    Charlie had a near death experience and was saved by Jack. On the island, he was hung by Ethan and almost died. 

    Hurley had a beach date with libby, which they almost had in the original timeline. 

    Desmond was trying to save charlie from behind a glass window in the car,  just like he tried to save Charlie in the looking glass room which had a window. 

    Some of the smaller deja vu moments could be the same thing. 

    Jack almost expecting the plane to crash after the turbulance. 
    Claire coming up with the name Aaron after being looked at by dr Ethan rom. 

    The only one I’m having trouble placing is DES running over Locke. Not sure exactly what that one is re-creating, but I’m sure there’s something.
     e-creating events from the original timeline is what causes the characters in the sideways to see flashes of the original timeline. 

    Charlie had a near death experience and was saved by Jack. On the island, he was hung by Ethan and almost died. 

    Hurley had a beach date with libby, which they almost had in the original timeline. 

    Desmond was trying to save charlie from behind a glass window in the car,  just like he tried to save Charlie in the looking glass room which had a window.
    Some of the smaller deja vu moments could be the same thing. 

    Jack almost expecting the plane to crash after the turbulance. 
    Claire coming up with the name Aaron after being looked at by dr Ethan rom.

    The only one I’m having trouble placing is DES running over Locke. Not sure exactly what that one is re-creating, but I’m sure there’s something.
     

  8. Mattfromnd says:

    Hmm don’t know why that posted double like that. Weird

  9. Mattfromnd says:

    Hmm don’t know why that posted double like that. Weird

  10. KK says:

    @Mattfromnd — at first I thought the “looping” of your post was part of your theory… 🙂 If your theory is right about re-creating events in FS to jog memories, maybe what Des is trying to recreate for Locke by runnin him over has yet to happen to Locke on the island.

  11. ScottB in DC says:

    Ok so Locke says, there’s a difference between doing nothing and waiting – He’s referring to the fact that he appeared as Michael to Hurley and convinced him to confront unLocke and not blow up the plane. Smokey can still change forms even though Jacob is dead – he was black smoke in the temple, killing everyone. So we shouldn’t believe Michael’s statement about not being able to move on.

    The freighter must have been “within the radius” as Faraday put it in the boat during season 4 returning to the island. Jin washed ashore on the island, so michael’s body was within the radius too and available to smokey.

    Why was Walt the one to talk to Locke after he was shot and warn him about the freightees? Locke was shot by Ben and left for dead, did he really die there like Claire presumably did? If Walt’s body was not on the island, how is it possible his apparition appeared to Locke?

  12. ScottB in DC says:

    Rewatching the earlier episodes from the season and last season knowing what we know now is awesome. The first thing Richard says to unLocke is “there’s something different about you.” Heeelllllloooooo…….

    UnLocke and Ben observe Richard pulling the bullet out of Locke’s leg during the flash sideways – Ben says to Locke, “well this must be an out of body experience” and UnLocke replies ” something like that”………….

    When Locke wakes because Horace (UnLocke) is chopping down trees to make the cabin, in a dream, the first thing we see is their campfire going strong and putting out a lot of smoke………… Heeelllloooooo…… If Hurley Ben and Locke were asleep all night, why do the writers have the fire going strong? An obvious clue in retrospect.

  13. Paul in Seattle says:

    I’m sure Desmond is in Tunisia.

  14. Kitty in DC says:

    I just listened to the transmission and your discussion regarding why Desmond nudges Hurley and hits Locke with the car. I think they told us in the lighthouse episode.

    When Jacob tells Hurley some people can be told to do things in the back of a cab and other need to sit at the side of cliff and stare at the sea. Jack had to see the lighthouse/Locke had to be hit by a car.

  15. Carol from Boston says:

    LReene and John, Thanks for time to answer my question re: the forward cabin. Lreene – That is pretty exciting that you got to watch filming for a couple of weeks. Did you have something to do with the show or just follow it as a fan?

    @ScottB – love your comments re: Locke and MIB, I’ll have to go back and rewatch some of season 5. Very interesting.

  16. Geef says:

    MIB has stated that he is “Smokie”. He has also blamed “Smokie” for doing something to others, in Ab Aeterno.

    If he doesn’t seem to lie…

    Could Jacob also have had the “Smokie” power?

    Just a question?

  17. aaron r says:

    i just wish the writers would tell me how to fill up tuesday night. and wednesday, and…

  18. J. Maggio says:

    Regarding science vs. magic/religion:

    I think the people who are complaining about the show being too “magical” of late are misguided. The show has always had a magical element, and the science has always been kind of B.S. BUT, more importantly, I think the show will end with some awesome BLENDING of magic and science. For example, the island is corking “evil” but that is probably the same as the electromagnetism. The whispers are ghosts, or they are brain patterns left behind via dead people. Smokie is a magical genie, or he is the manifestation of the electromagnetism in a conscious form. The island itself is a “magical” place or a place simply with some neat physical qualities? There is no answer to these things. It is both, neither, whatever. Much of this is how one frames it. To me, that is the only reasonable answer to the debate of science versus faith, (old) Jack vs (original) Locke. In other words, there exists various data in the world–empirical, intuitive, etc. And how we define those things is how we make sense of the world. Different people make sense of the world in different ways. To me this is key, and–if the go down this path–I think it would be brilliant and sophisticated philosophical stance.

    Some other side notes:

    One other note, if the was ever “science” in this show, it was in the context of Marvel comics science. I guess that makes sense since the creators said it would be “pseudo-science,” which means FAKE science. In other words, bit-by-a-radioactive-spider science.

    I think if we frame the whispers in the context of the ghosts trying to warn some of the living when danger comes, then it makes fine sense. “When you hear whispers, you run the other way.” The whispers would also warn of smokie, others, maybe even bad weather.

    Also, I think Alpert revealed something key. “Jacob never tells us what to do.” So, I it is funny how much Richard, Ben, Widmore, and (O)thers–now Hurley–have used Jacob as an excuse. They use him as a conversation-stopper, in the same way “God told me to do it” is a conversation stopper. It kills discussion, and it kills democracy. But, I assume, that Jacob must have given *some* lists and instructions to Others. Lots of the Others are candidates–not final ones, but on the dial/cave–and hence, I imagine, Jacob wanted them there. Picket, Juliet, Ben, and other Others are candidates, even if only the “temple” Others seemed to know the importance of the Candidates.

    This leads me to next thought about Richard and his statement. I think LOTS of Richard’s actions have come from Richard himself, and not Jacob. It is likely that Jacob told him to protect some people, and maybe to tell Ben to tell people to build a runway, but I doubt that Jacob told Richard to kill the military, or Dharma, or etc. Now, it could be that given the evil/magnetism of the island, that Richard and company were justified in preventing the military and/or Dharma from releasing it, but I do not think Jacob told him to do that. And, it could also be that it was at this point that Jacob began keeping Richard somewhat in the dark. Clearly the Dogen/Lennon and Ben/Richard teams knew each other, and they were allies, but it is unclear the actual relationship. It seems that Jacob had a lot more interaction with Dogen and his peeps then he did with Richard’s people. I think Richard lost his way somewhat, and that is why he was partially out of the loop.

    Just some thoughts

  19. greenberry says:

    Great well-thought-out post above

  20. arbucklefatty says:

    Here is the thought bouncing around in my head about Un-Locke, the candidates and the end game. I think Un-Locke needs the candidates all together in order to kill them so that he can escape the island, because only Jacob (or his successor) can keep Un-Locke in place. If they are all dead, nothing blocks him and off he goes to create dismay in the world. So, now that we have them all in one place, Un-Locke will start the process, but before he can finish, one of the candidates will agree to become the new Jacob (thus preventing Un-Locke from being able to kill him/her due to the “Rules”). What comes next… I don’t know, I’m just a crackpot fan who loves this damn show. I will be sad when it is over. LOST: The Movie, anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

  21. J. Maggio says:

    Greenberry: Thanks

    J

  22. aaron r says:

    i’ve seen and heard several comments about a Lost movie. myself, i don’t think i want to see one. the whole idea of a beginning and an end… doesn’t work for me. it’s one of the reasons that the x-files movies didn’t really work. i’d rather see the people from Lost go on and have great careers.
    and evangeline lily will fall madly in love with me…

  23. Carol from Boston says:

    re: Lost movie – I love this show but I want to end here. The show works because of the staff and writers and Damon and Carlton and the actors. Damon and Carlton said this is the end for them and I wouldn’t want to see their vision screwed up by somebody else. The only thing that would work for me is like a “lost, the next generation” with all new characters and the children of the current losties. But if Damon and Carlton aren’t involved I don’t know if it would be worth watching.

    @J. you could very well be right about Richard. He does seem like someone who has presumed too much and started making up some of his own rules. It seems like now he is a wildcard, he’s lost it mentally. I can see him finally dying and being reunited with Isabella.

    What role do you all think are losties will be playing in the last few episodes? What will their purpose be? Hurley is the heart of the show right now, I can see Kate or Sawer willing to sacrifice their own lives to help someone else, Kate for Clare, Sawyer for Kate or Hurley? Clare could turn on anyone right now. Jack fighting with Locke to save the island, Desmond guiding them all. Miles is usually out for himself, not sure what he’ll do. I think his importance may be knowing if someone is really dead or a ghost or MIB.

    I guess my final thought is that this island has an unusually high number of explosives and guns available for a place that is out in the middle of nowhere. I think Hurley is the only one who hasn’t shot anybody.

    How did MIB become so smart about setting bombs?

  24. Captain Kirk says:

    Sideways World Questions…

    A friend and I are arguing. he says that the alternative sideways world was created by the bomb blast. I say that it only opened up the door, so to speak. In other words, I’m arguing this alternative timeline already existed and events were not CAUSED by the bomb exploding. He says that the bomb exploding CAUSED the alternative timeline to branch off approximately 30 years ago. The reason why I don’t buy his easier, more simple theory, is that it seems many events simply cannot be explained as “being different because of the bomb.” For example, Shannon was not on the plane ride home. This, to me, was a biggie. Jack getting married but this time having a kid…seems to have no relationship to the island being there or not–Jack still had the same daddy problems he had in both worlds. My point is that had the bomb “worked”, it would have simply restarted time for Jack and company on the plane. That’s when it would have changed for them. Only at that point, because that’s the only event that was affected. One could say, perhaps, that the fact that the island didn’t exist would change the timeline around everyone on board Oceanic 815. Thus, things in their past (up to the 1970s era explosion) would have also been affected. But here’s why that makes little sense to me…If the island didn’t exist, and the plane didn’t crash in order to bring them to the island, then why were they on the plane at all? So my point is it is an alternative timeline that existed with or without respect to Jughead.

  25. Abbey42 says:

    Hi, folks: Went to a theater last night to see the Times Talk interview with Darlton. Wanted to talk about it here, but forgive me if I sound cagey. Want to avoid anything spoilerish, and still make my point.

    I lost faith in Lost with the Adam and Eve reveal. I thought it was a cheat. Jack had said the skeletons were between 40 and 50 years old. Damon, in a number of interviews, said that the reveal would say something fundamental about the nature of the island, and that it would show that the Lost creators knew what they were doing form the beginning. They weren’t, it didn’t and it didn’t.

    Last night’s interview really grabbed my attention at first — with Darlton talking about the continual creation and collaboration among writers that gave us the Lost storyline. When they talked about these big concepts, they were great.

    Then they started taking fan questions. One of the questions posed covered a mystery that was dear to me. The answer Darlton gave, which was basically that they had already answered the mystery in the show, was utterly and completely bogus. It ignored or contradicted information provided in the show.

    Again, I don’t want to give anything away, so consider this silly little scenario. Let’s call it the mystery of the white couch. A white fabric-covered couch first seen in S1E2 turns into a blue suede couch. The mystery of how the couch turned blue suede is lingered over for several episodes. Then we hear about it from time to time. Now, we’re not going to hear about it anymore. The mystery has been solved.

    How?

    According to Darlton…well, don’t you remember how, in one flashback, Jack sat on the couch and he was holding a pen? There’s your answer. The pen must have broken, and its blue ink spilled on the couch.

    OK, that would leave a stain on the couch, not turn the entire couch blue. And certainly not turn it into suede.

    I have left my knives and my hammers at home, but I AM starting to feel like any Wilkes in the book Misery, when she talks about bad serial storytelling and the cheats therein. How silly am I to actually feel HURT by this storytelling? : )

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