Jack, the babyface you love to hate.

I know they are the good guys, but whenever I kept hearing the name, I kept thinking “Sinister Six.” Yes, super nerd here.

Anyway, Heidi gave you the LOST season premiere post the other day. So, here’s a place to talk about what happened in “The Beginning of the End.”

SPOILERS AHOY AFTER THE JUMP

Okay, let’s get the big thing out of the way.

Yes, that was Christian Shephard (aka Jack’s Dad) in the shack.

Sittin' here in my rockin' chair.

Is he alive? Is that Jacob? Is that Smokey? And whose eye was that? I subscribe to the theory that it was John Locke.

Poor Hurley. Unluckiest Lottery Winner Ever. Did he really see Charlie? Did that other patient really see Charlie?

Shouldn’t Jack be better at HORSE?

Aren’t you glad that we don’t have to spend weeks listening to LOSTies ask “Where are Rose and Bernard?”

One last thing, just to stimulate some conversation. Who would YOU have gone with, Jack or Locke? Me, I’m a Locke guy all the way. I think Jack is the most dislikable babyface since Early Attitude Era Bret Hart.

Posted by Mark Coale

48 COMMENTS

  1. I would have gone with Jack. It would have gotten me as far away from Claire as humanly possible, and that is a good thing.

    More interesting to me than who are the Oceanic Six….WHAT is the Oceanic Six? Do all but six of them die? Do they have to leave all but six on the island for some reason? Certainly appeared to me that, if the latter is the case, Hurley’s story is implying that, before the series is over, the Oceanic Six will return to the island to rescue their friends.

    Veeeeeery interesting.

  2. JACK, because the minute locke leaves the island i bet his legs won’t work again, so if i was him, i would stay as well. that said…

    lol…I watched the catch up show and the first new episode …I was bored… actually felt like it was 3 hours long to me…dont know why, but i dont care about any of the characters anymore.

    tried to stay with it, but it lost me last season…and I kept trying to give it another try. ah well..i’m just one person.

    Amanda enjoy’s it…but my buddy joey did the same thing last night…said he had enough .

    weird, eh? can’t pinpoint why.

    jimmy

  3. that’s funny.

    most people I know that were lagging on the show were re-energized by the new “flash forward” gimmick at the end of last season and the start of season four.

    Like a bunch of people, I think “the secret” is the fact the six were allowed to leave the island and everyone else (those that are still alive) is still on the island.

    here’s a comics analogy I heard tonight: The Boaties will be an even bigger baddy than the Others and this will force the two factions on the island to band together, like Reed Richard and Dr Doom having to team-up to fight The Red Skull.

  4. I was pretty disappointed by the first episode… to the point of giving up on the show. I was frustrated enough to run out and search for spoilers, so I know pretty well who two of the other three are, and I can guess who the last one is.

    This show was great for inspiration, bending a few concepts about storytelling and giving the audience something to think about, and even chase around for answers separate from the show itself.

    But the thing has run its course. The entire concept is ready for being spoofed — not for laughs per se, but just for more fun than the overly dramatic presentation LOST is famous for. When UGLY BETTY for the American audience was first proposed, it was thought of as a joke — now it’s a guilty pleasure for people who feel that the over the top nature makes watching TV fun again. Could a SciFi oriented show be done in a “telenovela” style? Could they outLOST LOST?

  5. great show, I’d go with jack. My guess is Locke takes them to Jacob, who’s evil. All are stuck there. Jack, Kate, Hurley & 3 others make it off the island, but the others are still alive. I agree with the above, they have to help the others (stuck with Locke?)
    BKV must have some added significance with “the beginning of the end” after what happened with Y

  6. BTW, I know you can easily find out who the other three are online but THE BEAT officially discourages SPOILERS. When I saw the car in the beginning of the S4 opener I *knew* Hugo was inside. Absolutely knew. There are few surprises in fiction so I work hard to preserve one or two.

  7. I would go with Locke because the show is only interesting when locke is on, so I am guaranteed to be entertained. Also, anytime anything significant happens to these people it is Locke who knows what’s going on so I would trust him.

  8. I’d have to go with Locke.
    The guy’s had three apparently miraculous recoveries while on the island: Being cured of his paralysis immediately upon arriving, Getting up out of that Dharma death hole when he was seemingly mortally wounded *and* surviving whatever the hell happened to him when the hatch imploded at the end of season 2. That’s a lot of inexplicable recoveries.
    Of course, none of the other Losties *know* about these “miracles,” do they? Except for Rose, and they seemed to make a real point of her not trusting Locke anymore. My guess is we’ll see her (and Bernard) soon regret their decision to stay with Jack & co. There’s said to be quite a few more deaths coming, so maybe we’ll see Jack’s group whittled down to only 5. (Plus Hurley, who somehow ends up back among the “rescued.”)
    I was surprised that Charlie’s warning didn’t convince more of them to go with Locke. That warning alone would have swayed me.

    I’m not nearly as disappointed as some others sound, but I do think the bloom is off the rose a bit with this show. I’m getting a been-here-done-this feeling for the first time.
    Here’s hoping next week’s episode is as game-changing as I’ve been hearing, and that we start getting some real answers to some of the mysteries. I’d like to see this thing wrapped up in Spring 2010 as promised, preferably with the balance of this season’s 16 episodes airing in the Fall…assuming the strike gets settled in time.

  9. I’m still enjoying the show but it was lagging with new mysteries constantly coming along and very few answers being given. The flashbacks were getting old too (yes, everyone was connected to someone else on the flight, got it!) and I would only half watch those parts.

    The flashforwards are a huge improvement and a great idea. And I’m hoping since we are now on the other side of the hill with the story now we’ll get more answers, so I’m still very much on board and excited about this season.

    I would probably be with Jack. I would be all for getting far away from random deadly smoke beasts and whatever it took to accomplish that.

    But you have to wonder, at this point why doesn’t Ben just give them some clue to what the island is really about and why the boat people are dangerous?

  10. My coffee-deprived brain saw the “Who are the Oceanic Six?” and the thoughts bounced around in my brain trying to figure out what you were talking about. I cross-referenced The Secret Six, The Deep Six, The Sea Devils and Ocean’s 11 before I read any further.

    Super nerds unite!

  11. I’d go with Locke, in part because he’s The Man but also because Hurley and Sawyer are with him and they’re the only other ones who tend to look out for everyone else. Jack is mostly about his own self-interest in getting off the Island. He’s dangerously pig-headed.

    As for the Smoke Monster, the barracks have a fence to keep it out.

    I don’t think Hurley will end up back with Jack. I think he’ll end up with the Oceanic Six (not quite the same thing) for other reasons than wanting to rejoin Jack. I suspect he gets rescued unwillingly.

    I also think that the flash-forwards are to the not-too-distant future in the series. I think at Comic-Con it was said that they’re going to be off the island before too long. I’m guessing that would have happened in the latter part of this season if it hadn’t been cut down to 8 episodes. The remainder of the series will be them trying to get back.

    I think the series is more kick-ass than it’s ever been.

    Incidentally, the next ep is written by Brian K. Vaughan.

  12. Note: I realize Sawyer was a self-centered ass most of the time, but lately he seems to have softened up. Maybe because he finally got “Sawyer”. I’m afraid that doesn’t bode well for him though, since his character arc is pretty much wrapped.

  13. I would have gone with Locke, unless I could see into the future and knew that Hurley would later say “We should have gone with you, Jack” (paraphrase).

    The real question for me is: if everyone but the 6 are still on the island, why did the 6 leave, and why wouldn’t they make it their mission to get everyone else off too?

    Next season will almost certainly involve the 6 going back to the island.

  14. It seems to be a bad thing when the Oceanic Six leave the island … the only two flash-forwards we’ve seen have been pretty depressing. Maybe they’re not supposed to leave the island at all and when they do, they waste their chance at redemption.

    I like how Hurley was special enough to see Jacob IMMEDIATELY.

    Is anyone else curious about Richard being in the past when Ben was a kid and in the present? Do you think they’ll ever mention that again?

  15. I’m sure Richard will be mentioned again. However, the actor who plays him is now a regular on another series (CANE), so that might effect his ability to be on the show.

  16. Heidi’s 2¢: Richard’s youthfulness, Locke’s recovery, Patchy’s toughness and several “Other” things, literally, point to some kind of immortality from the island. In fact maybe it even floats over back in the real world, with both Jack and Hurley engaging in death-defying activities. I like in the last episode o season 3 how Jack just crossed the street without looking and nearly got hit by a car. Hugo isn’t afraid of the police, either. Maybe even Charlie’s return *with a new haircut* is part of this.

  17. Yeah, but don’t forget in Jack’s mountain man-leave me alone media people-beard style, during last seasons flash forward conclusion, he attended a funeral service where he was the only attendant. He made mention to Kate about this, so it is most likely that whoever died was one of the Oceanic Six. I initially thought maybe Locke or Sawyer, but maybe it was Ben.
    Given the choice of Jack or Locke, I would have initially gone with Jack, because I would want to be off the island so badly and get back to my life that I would WANT to believe that the boaties are good. However, after hearing Hugo’s speech (similiar to Jack’s in the first season), I would let my paranoia and survival instincts (which would have manifested after all this time on an island) get the best of me and side with Locke. I enjoyed that aspect of the story.
    Also think about this, maybe the flash forwards are really the story and the island story is the flashback, so has the format changed? This is why people are loosing interest.

  18. Well… if I have to choose, I’d have to go with Locke, just because I think Hurley convinced me with his speech.

    About the Oceanic Six, we saw Jack’s father in the hospital in the flash-forward of the last chapter of the Season Three. So I assume that he’s one of the Six, don’t you think so?

  19. i first thought that they might drag out who the last 3 are. sort of like how BATTLESTAR GALACTICA had you guessing who was a cylon. the more i think about it, the more i think we will find out who those 3 are very soon. as in over the next few episodes. i think now that LOST has a set time to end (depending on how the strike affects), they are not going to start up too many loooooooooooong and unanswered mysteries. they’ll be answering stuff sooner.

    loved this episode. jorge garcia has really grown as an actor. great scene in the jungle with the group.

    looking forward to more!

  20. I’d go wherever Said (sp?) goes. His instincts are trustworthy and he doesn’t seem to have a God complex or hidden agenda. Plus Jack seems to have lost a lot of weight since last season, which worries me.

  21. edus,

    Am I wrong in remembering that we didn’t see Jack’s father in the hospital last year? At the time that was first shown, I seem to remember being confused if those scenes were happening before or after the crash, and the fact that Jack asks for his father, who would have been dead if they happened after the crash, meant they were happening before the crash. Then I assumed it was because Jack was drunk at the time and thought his father was still dead.

    And just because we see his father in the shack does not mean he is alive.

  22. what about juliet? she is evil yet perplexing and i wonder why jack doesnt mistrust her…she seems to have no conscience…will she get off the island?

  23. Hmmm Heidi guessed correct about Hurley being in the car. I originally thought it would have been Freckles who would walked out of the car – given her police record.

    ~

    Coat

  24. Three of the oceanic six have already been identified. Jack, and Kate, and they have met up already, and now Hurley. There is a fourth person they know – the mystery person in the coffin. So – we need to find out who the other three of the six are, and who is dead who is neither friend or family to Jack. I think it’s Ben – the head “other” – dead and away from the island.

  25. the fourth person is Sawyer. This was revealed during last season’s finale. The scene was the fast forward, when Jack met Kate at the end of the runway. Jack mentions Sawyer. Something along the lines of whether or not she had been with, or seen, Sawyer. At least, that’s how I remember things.

  26. No, tod, I believe Jack said “Is he waiting for you?” But we never get to hear Sawyer. That was your guess. Mine too, by the way.

  27. Who are the Oceanic Six?
    This is my theory– when The Others had Walt, they gave Michael a list of six people they wanted him to bring to them– Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke, Sayid, and Hurley.
    So far we know for sure Jack, Kate, and Hurley are back…

  28. DOH! I have to correct myself. Sayid wasn’t one of those six. He went to the yacht wit Sun and Jin. Honestly, now I can’t remember if there was a sixth or just those 5.
    I also believe it was Ben in the box. He wouldn’t be one of the O6 because he wasn’t a passenger. The coffin was kind of small-ish. And Kate was really annoyed that Jack thought they should go.

  29. I think the O6 are are Jack, Kate, Hugo, Sayid, WAlt and Michael. We know the first four are for sure so theres a givin but Mike and Walt havent been on in awhile and it would shock everyone if it was them. That is the lost way of doing things

  30. MOD EDIT: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN WHITE!!!

    The Oceanic Six ARE: Jack, Kate, Hugo, Sun, Jin, and Claire. Sayid will leave the island too, secretly, but work for Ben who also temporarily leaves the island. Michael will be living in NYC with Walt, secretly as well…with a possible confrontation with one of the others. My sources also tell me there will be a few deaths in the end of Season 4 and in Season 5 – who are Claire, Desmond, and possibly Sawyer. There are also possible rumors that the season 6 finale, which already has been written, is that everyone from the Oceanic flight eventually is rescued except for John Locke who decides to stay and work as the new leader for the new Dharma initiative.

  31. Adam: The Oceanic six refers to passengers of Oceanic 815. Since Ben was not a passenger and not on the manifest, he does not count. Aaron would not be considered a passenger becuase he was unborn at the time of the flight, hence not on the manifest. Either the writers overlooked the Aaron technicality, or there are still 2 of the Oceanic 6 yet to be revealed.

  32. Adam: The Oceanic six refers to passengers of Oceanic 815. Since Ben was not a passenger and not on the manifest, he does not count. Aaron would not be considered a passenger becuase he was unborn at the time of the flight, hence not on the manifest. Either the writers overlooked the Aaron technicality, or there are still 2 of the Oceanic 6 yet to be revealed.

  33. Jay…certainly ben is conniving enough to steal the identity of a fellow presumably single (perhaps orphaned) dead 815 “survivor”. Though I agree that Ben is probably not among the six since he most likely got off the island some other way. Don’t know what to think about Aaron.

  34. Jay…certainly ben is conniving enough to steal the identity of a fellow presumably single (perhaps orphaned) dead 815 “survivor”. Though I agree that Ben is probably not among the six since he most likely got off the island some other way. Don’t know what to think about Aaron.

  35. Absolutely agree that Ben is not one of the six. Still unsure about Aaron. I wonder what relevance it will have that Aaron is being “raised by another”. So far they have been revealing at least one of the six in each new episode, so maybe Aaron counts.

  36. The previews for next week’s episode “Ji Yeon” confirms that Aaron is in fact one of the Oceanic Six. According to the preview, the last of the Oceanic Six is to be revealed. So far, we’ve had five: Jack, Kate, Hugo, Sayid, and Aaron.

  37. Hey, I don’t know if anyone noticed during Kate’s trial when Jack comes in to testify, that they say there were only 8 survivors of the Oceanic 815 crash, not 48 like we know there to be and only 6 of them become known as the Oceanic Six. So 2 of them (we have to assume) die before or while being rescued. I take it Jin is one of the 2 who they say die after the crash. Another mystery is why doesn’t Witmore’s people know about the other survivors since they ask Hurley at the Nut House if there were any more survivors. That means all the people on the boat that’s not Penny’s have to be keeping this secret as well or something happens to them.

  38. ok so for everyone that’s dumb read this…Aaron is not a survivor seeing as how he was not listed on the manifest cuz he was not born yet. There is Jack, Kate, Sayid, Hurley, and Sun comfirmed. I’m thinking another survivor is Micheal seeing as how he was on the ship he probably went back with the survivors to his son. There’s not many other options seeing as how everyone else either wanted to stay on the island or are apparently dead. (R.I.P. Claire and Jin).

  39. About Ben being back in the real world with Sayid. Let me throw this at you. Ben had a secret room in his home that Sayid found filled with clothing, suitcases, passports and cash. This room he had hidden from his own people (the Others). Why hide these items unless Ben has some secret way off the island he didn’t want his people to know about? Which is a possible reason he wasn’t too concerned about letting Locke blow up the sub.

  40. A little more about Ben and his secrets. Remember, old Ben told the Others that they had lost communications with the real world when in fact, he had been jamming communications from the Looking Glass that he had also told the Others had been flooded. He was even willing to let Cyclops kill the two women he had stationed there to keep this secret from the Others. We also know Ben got that tape of Mr. Witmore which he showed to Locke. Not to mention Ben must have a way to communicate with his spy on the boat since he knew the names of the helicopter crew. I’m also hoping we’ll get to see “The Temple” this season (the place he was leading the Other’s to before he headed off to stop Jack).

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