When it comes to the mysteries of Lost, I've always been a viewer more interested in answers to those surrounding the characters more than those surrounding the Island. As such, one of the biggest dangling threads for me went back to season two, when Libby was killed off without us ever seeing a flashback episode explaining her past... but having seen that tantalizing glimpse of her in the mental institution with Hurley.
So honestly, I'm not sure how I felt about them revisiting this thread tonight. I mean, on the one hand, I'm certainly glad that they revisited the story between Libby and Hurley. Their relationship was very pure and sweet, just nice to watch. But showing us this story again, and putting her in the institution again in this reality just makes me wonder all over again: what the hell was she doing in the asylum the "first time" around?
Perhaps we are meant to infer that "first reality Libby" was actually there for exactly the same reason? That she had memories from an alternate reality, specifically memories of Hurley? She was, after all, quite fixated on him in that brief scene we saw of her in the institution four years ago. And she very clearly remembered him. If she was fixating on him as a sort of "constant," then... well, I suppose that all makes some rough kind of sense.
But even if that is the answer to that question, it then begs more questions. Why is Libby so special that she knew apparently before anybody else about the existence of the other world? Is this something we're going to actually get answers to in the scant five episodes we have left, or was tonight more about just giving us that last revisiting of an old character before things wind up?
Either way, I've probably obsessed about this one aspect of a busy episode long enough. After all, there were plenty of other things going on. We had the return of Michael, conclusively revealing the nature of the ghostly whispers we've heard on the Island all these years -- they are just that, ghostly whispers. I certainly didn't need to see Michael again for me to feel my experience with Lost was complete, but sure, whatever. He didn't run around screaming Walt's name for an hour, so I'm okay with it.
Poor Ilana. We hardly knew you. But I have to say, as I was watching her shove things into that bag of dynamite, I was totally picturing pompous old Dr. Arzt, and saying out loud to the TV, "how in the hell is that dynamite not blowing.... oh, well, there it is."
On deck for next episode, the rest of the candidates finally arrive to confront UnLocke. But to keep you thinking until then, we were left with one more big thing on the way out: what the hell is going on with Sideways Desmond? He closed out the episode by running over Sideways Locke with his car. Hugo gets a kiss from his soul mate, Locke gets the front grill.
This, of course, came after Smokey-as-Locke tossed Island Desmond down the well. So is this some kind of revenge thing? Do the two Desmonds have complete awareness of one another now? Or is it not as petty as that? Was Sideways Desmond going after Locke because he knows Locke is dead in the other reality? But then, so was Libby. But then, Libby wasn't an Oceanic passenger in this second reality. Or maybe Desmond wasn't trying to kill Locke, and knew he would survive?
Now there's enough to keep your head spinning until next week arrives. Dramatically speaking, this week's episode was actually one of the weaker ones of the season, I thought. Still, even at that, it offered plenty to get the mind spinning, and certainly pushed pieces a little closer to the finish.
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