X-RAY DELTA ONE, THIS IS MISSION CONTROL

Spectacu-buddy EJ Feddes had an awesome observation about last week’s “LA X” title, in that of course the space there was intentional, and it wasn’t meant to denote the three letter call-sign for the LA terminal, but merely to evoke it. His genius was that it was meant to name the parallel timeline, though, where 815 landing safely was LA X, the other Jack was “Jack X,” “Hurley X,” and so on. Too good not to adopt.

Also too good not to mention is my man wackychimp’s calling Fake Locke the “Locke-Dressed Monster.” He asked everyone to put that out there and give him credit, so I have, but you’re all only going to remember it was me letting you in on it, I know.

And in the comments section last week, my good pal Mark Espinosa lets fly with a theory that Jacob is the Devil. I think he’s on to something, but I don’t think it’s actually Lucifer himself…. merely
the guy representing the “black” side of the backgammon game. “God loves you as he loved Jacob” …past-tense… certainly seems to give that one credence. Jacob’s still a going concern at that point in the show, so it’s His love that’s waned, not Jacob himself. And that’s what happened to the light-bringer…

Feddes is also responsible for figuring out the main beat of the season, if you ask me: “This is going to sound crazy, and you’ll probably all be making fun of me come May, but I’m going to go out on a limb here. What if something happens in Timeline X where the Lostaways need to make sure that the Island is never destroyed? Like, Desmond convinces them that this isn’t the world it’s supposed to be. And frankly, we know most of their lives are going to suck whether they’re in LA or on the Island, so it might not be a hard sell. What if two of the Lostaways end up in the 50’s where they defuse the Jughead bomb? And what if they die of radiation poisoning, and are left in the caves where they end up as a pair of skeletons? We could have a case with two alternate timelines creating one another.” And I’m betting those two are Sawyer and Kate. Or, like Mimi thinks, Jacob and the Man in Black. Either way. Or, since Jack and Kate are the ones who found the skeletons, maybe it’s Jack and Kate themselves, with Sawyer redeeming himself with the One True Love thing and the Take Care of His Kid Thing, and all. I dunno. Not enough puzzle pieces out to make the call.

But speaking of Lucifer, or the light-bringer, have you noticed how much of that is going on in the show? Forget that my man Frank’s last name is Lapidus: a Jewish family name derived from the Hebrew biblical male given name Lapidot, husband of the prophetess Deborah (Judges 4:4). The literal meaning of the name is “torches” or “candles.” Like the pseudonyms Chang uses: Dr. Marvin Candle, Dr. Mark Wickmund and Dr. Edgar Halliwax… no wonder Frank’s a “candidate.” He’s bringing the light; it’s right there in his name.

And speaking of “candidates,” how was last night’s bombshell that The Numbers are the candidates for Jacob’s replacement? Mind = blown.

But let’s start from the beginning:

1. “What are the odds of you just running into a spinal surgeon?” You mean, like, what are the odds that you are diagnosed with a cancerous tumor on the magical island that heals everyone else on the very day that a spinal surgeon falls from the sky? Like Jack X and Locke X running into each other and being pals? Like that? Or coincidence like both Michelle Rodriguez and Zuliekha Robinson being in my favorite show? More like that?

2. Is it just me or did the reflection of the smoke monster in Sawyer’s window during that awesome POV shot look more white than black?

3. And forget Randy, Locke’s boss in Dimension X, is the same dope from Mr. Cluck… in the scene where he fires Locke, Terry O’Quinn’s stunned reaction is all over his green eyes. They cut to the next scene, and Fake Locke offers Richard water and pierces him with a blue-eyed stare. This time it was so obvious that even Mimi can’t deny the color change thing any more. “Come with me and I promise I’ll tell you everything.” And now they’re green again. I don’t know what it means but it’s driving me bananas.

4. If the ring of ash contains the monster, what will the actual ashes of Jacob do?

5. Dharma whiskey!

6. I think it’s pretty telling that the best episode of the season so far doesn’t have Jack or Kate in it.

7. Looks like they’re finally going to address the kid thing. If this really is a battle between good and evil, the kids are all angels. As the blond kid leaves the “Don’t tell me what I can’t do” scene, there’s a halo-like flash of heavenly light on his head.

8. My man Lapidus has two awesome lines: “He’s starting to get pretty ripe.” and “This is the weirdest damn funeral I’ve ever been to.” I love this character.

9. In the “I got fired, Helen” scene, Katey Segal’s shirt reads “Peace & Karma.” Sweet.

…and finally, I went nuts with the freeze-frame, and got a bunch of names from Jacob’s list:

222 O’TOOLE
10 MATTINGLLY (with its odd double L)
317 GLEASON
396 GRANT
238 JONES
313 LITTLETON (Whether that’s Clair or Aaron, we don’t know)

and the best one: 20 TROUP. LOST fans reading this know why.