Lost, Season 6, Episode 14, The Candidate

Okay okay. I'm lame. At this point, though, it seems like it's just time to site back and enjoy the rest of the ride. The series is definitely moving towards some closure, as indicated by the ever increasing body count, and indicated by the fact that the two timelines are merging at such at rapid rate. (Though to be honest, the body has been rising all season, it's just been mostly with bit players who spend their time in the background of the show.)

See, once the Flash Sideways "collapses" (for lack of a better word), the Man in Black (FLocke) will no longer have another timeline to use as a way to show the Losties how things 'could've been'. That timeline will soon be no more, I think. But I've said this before.

Jin and Sun? RIP. Bummer to see you go (though we may see you a couple more times in the Flash Sideways), but it's not a shock to see characters dropping to the wayside. Though to be honest, I didn't think they'd be casualties of the Jacob/Man in Black game. I had hoped that they'd get home to Ji Yeon. But that won't be. She'll have one helluva trust fund, I imagine.

Lapidus? Yeah, bummed to see him go, assuming of course that he also died in the sub. Though this was not visually confirmed, it seems likely: knocked out by iron door, unable to escape from sub = drowned.

Sayid? It was obvious you would be part of the death toll, but at least you went out as the cool Sayid. And yes, it's obvious that Desmond convinced you that working for FLocke was not a good idea.

FLocke? His con to get them on the sub to wipe out as many candidates as possible failed (thanks Sayid!), but he'll keep trying.

Kate? Still the one candidate that nobody seems to know is available. FLocke thinks she's not one because her name was crossed off in the cave, but he doesn't know that she was still active on the Lighthouse list.

More losses will be on the way, but thus far the survival of Kate, Jack and Hurley still goes a long way towards my previously prediction that they'll be three that remain on the Island when Team Jacob beats down on FLocke and his flock. The sad part of that is that it's likely that Cindy and the kids could be cannon-fodder in the final upcoming battle.

I still believe Charles Widmore is working with Jacob and his reason for putting Sawyer, Kate, et al into the Hydra cages was to protect them. Widmore likely did not expect Jack to break them out, but what's done is done. But unless there's another of these rules we don't know about, why didn't Widmore just tell them "Hey, I'm here to protect you. Get in the cage", or something like that.

Sawyer: you idiot. If you hadn't pulled the wires out of the C4, it wouldn't have blown up. But his history with Jack is well known, and there was (is?) no way he'll follow Jack. Could Sawyer end up in the body pile when all is said and done? It seems likely.

The fate of Desmond? Hmmm...good question. I'm not sure. He'll obviously play a pivotal role in how this all shakes out, but whether he lives or dies is beyond me at this point. I hope he lives. We also have to see what parts Richard, Ben and Miles will play in the coming resolution.

I'd be okay with Widmore biting it, though. Zoey will be part of the grand solution along with Desmond. I may even have a sense that nobody else will be leaving the Island. We'll see.

As the Flash Sideways players continue to "see" (is that the right word?) what's going on in the Island timeline, it continues the merge of the two that we have also been seeing all season. Only one timeline will exist in the end, and it will be the Island timeline.

And Man In Black will lose and remain trapped on the Island. I think.

With this week's second to the last regular season episode, Across the Sea, the preview teased that it will be story about how Jacob and Man in Black came to be. That'll be a good one.

The following Tuesday we'll see the episode Why They Died and this will wrap up the regular weekly series episodes. Sunday night, May 23rd, the 2 1/2 hour season finale, The End (parts 1 & 2) will present the end as the writers and producers have been setting it up.

Will it meet your expectations? Who knows? The one thing I still want to know, however, is: what was in the bag that Hurley found in beach camp?

Until next time, I have to go and take a long, long look into my mirror.