I'm here to help you let go...

Wow...not really sure where to start. I loved tonight's Lost -- but it was bittersweet. Only 2.5 hours of Lost left! I can't wrap my head around it. 
Tonight's episode was a set up episode leading up to the big finale on Sunday. I'm usually not a huge fan of the set up episodes, but I really enjoyed this one.
Anyway, a few quick thoughts about tonight's episode.


I'm interested in seeing how Desmond's plan of getting everyone together works out. Looks like some of them are headed to Jack's son's concert. But what about the hospital crew? Jin and Sun are still there and it looks like Locke will be checking in soon.
I enjoyed seeing Ben get his ass kicked yet again by Desmond. Always a fun sight. It looks like Desmond's plan is working on Locke. I'm assuming that while Locke is under for his surgery, he'll remember everything.
Rousseau finally got to be a mother to Alex...yet Ben still ended up being the father figure in her life.
We got 2 more deaths tonight. Widmore and Richard. I was really sad to see Richard go. I love his character, but I do think that his story is over. Widmore I'm pretty neutral about. I think once we found out why he was back on the Island, we were done with him. 
Oh, we found out why he was on the Island. Jacob went to Widmore at some point and Desmond is Jacob's back up plan in case FLocke is successful in killing the remaining candidates. I'm assuming that Desmond wouldn't throw away his life with Penny and Charlie to stay on the Island, which means that Jacob wouldn't give Des a choice in the matter. Like he gave the remaining candidates.
Back to Ben though. Do we think he's really gone to the dark side, or is he playing FLocke?


So, child Jacob found Hurley in the jungle and asked for the ashes. He handed them over and chased after the kiddo. Jacob tells Hurley that the ashes are now in the fire and that when the fire goes out, Jacob will essentially be dead. Again. Jacob finally shows himself to the remaining candidates and at Kate's insistence tells them what Jin, Sun and Sayid died for. He tells them that one of them must take over his job of guarding the light in the Island. He tells them that it was him that wrote their names on the wall. We find out that Kate's name was crossed off because she became a mother, but that the job was still hers if she wanted it. Apparently Jacob is not a fan of mothers. Go figure.
Anyway, Jack volunteered for the job, drank the crazy Island Kool-Aide and got the special touch from Jacob. That's an interesting hiring process.
We found out why Jacob brought them to the Island too. None of them were in a happy place. I think one of the major themes of Lost has been redemption. All of the remaining candidates (and the 3 we lost 2 weeks ago) have, in my eyes, somehow made up for their past crimes and faults. I think that was part of Jacob's plan, too...regardless of who he thought would end up taking the job.
Jack has really come full circle for me. I like his whole "man of faith" persona. I think he'll serve the Island well.
But, I'm not ready to believe that Jack will be the one. We've got 2.5 more hours, so we will see. It would be like Lost to throw us for a major loop and have the show end with a different Island guardian. That's assuming that FLocke doesn't succeed and that there will still be an Island that needs protecting.


That's it for now I suppose. I'm planning a season 6 rewatch this Sunday before the finale starts. We'll see what thoughts I come up with then. I can't believe the crazy ride this show has taken us on. We've been watching for 6 years, and I can honestly say that I'm going to have a hard time letting go. And yes, I'm aware that it's only a TV show.  But maybe it's time to close the book. As much as we liked reading the book, it's time for it to end. 
Feel free to let me know if there's anything I missed -- I'm sure there was a ton I'm leaving out!


Buckle up kids, it's going to be a bumpy ride.


Namaste,
Bran


PS - I cannot tell you how happy Nate is for this show to be over. Not quite as happy as he was when he found out The Vampire Diaries was over until September, but still, pretty happy.