It's been a while since I blogged about LOST. There have been various reasons for this. Much like the theme of Lost's characters, I've had my boughts of faith and faith that has been lost-both personally & in the direction of this show. The first season was mysterious & I was uncertain about the future of each character. I now know many of the fates of past characters, while others I wonder what was their true purpose for being on the show.

As I write this now, I'm listening to Michael Giacchino's spell bounding score Final Boarding from Season One's soundtrack. It sets the tone of feeling emotionally lost & confused in a world full of chaos. It urges one to face uncertainty, balancing bravery & fear. This balancing act is seen in many of LOST's characters. For example, in the first season, Jack would bring a sense of noble heroism as his persona to prove himself more than adequate or "good enough" in the eyes of others. Another character balancing strength and weakness is Locke. Having similar feelings of being told what I can't do because of certain limitations, I felt the need to yell his famous lines "Don't tell me what I can't do!" Locke, who felt lost and betrayed in what he had faith in, suddenly feels one with the island as if it were his savior. However, the island turned itself against him, revealing Locke as just a fragile man full of too much expectations and blind faith that led him to where he is now (no spoiler alert here). His lesson for us is not to become blinded by what seems like Light but is actually the Darkness that has deceived us.

These ideas are mainly inspired from the first season, a season that sparked great interest in epic stories and mythology. I found it intellectually stimulating and it sometimes helped me get through rough patches during my crises of faith. There have been times where an episode would end with the words flashing LOST across my screen with the familiar dramatic drum sound, teasing me to want to know more. These episodes would lead me to yell at my tv "I need to know more" "Oh my G*D!!! What?"...or the all too familiar phrase "I want some answers!"....And some answers we did receive, not in such a linear fashion as we may have liked.

Other episodes made me sympathize other characters you would naturally hate in real life. My favorite so far has been Ben's "flashsideways story", beating any flashback or flashforward I can remember. This episode left me crying four times, quoting a scene which made me become a secret Ben supporter. It reminds me of how some characters on this island are wounded and broken and that how in these states, they can do terrible things...only to realize too late what they have done...The question is, will they be forgiven?...This leads me to this week's most recent episode.

(Possible spolier). Richard Alpert, or shall I call him Ricardo as he was introduced in this episode, is to me a legendary character full of mystery. I often wonder if we should have left his back story up to us to decide. His legend built up in my mind only led to my surprised disappointment in the direction that his back story forces the series now to answer. Is this just another story of supernatural forces of Good vs. Evil? What about all the time travel nonsense? My only consolation, although I myself being spiritual minded, is that the whole concept of what is insinuated is utterly based on Richard and Isabella's religious background. Their own experiences are influencing the reality on the island. Trying to think of another example to back this up, however, seems difficult to me.

Returning back to my favorite episode of this season, recall the scene in the Black Rock between Jack & Richard (TNT never made me so nervous)...Richard's words to Jack echoed once again of a broken man whose faith has been shattered. How many times in our own lives have we felt we knew everything and that everything we lived for suddenly becomes a lie? What great disappointment we must have in those people or our beliefs. Trying to parallel these things together with other characters still remains difficult to puzzle together. So far, Locke, Ben, and now Richard (once the main compass of directing everyone) suddenly become a triad representing crises of faith.

Yet there is also the themes of love and redemption, also echoed in this week's episode (possible spoiler alert). The constant in Richard's life is Isabella and when that bond is suddenly threatened, Richard's life is changed. His so called deal with "The Man in Black" parallel's the deal with that between Flocke (fake Locke) and Sayid, who also has had his love, his constant taken from him. The question remains: To what lengths will we go to obtain our truest desires? And as for redemption, what can we do with our conscience if even the man himself who can grant immortality to Richard cannot even absolve him of his sin? Is there a way to earn forgiveness?

Love and redemption are most prominent themes I have seen in many characters between Kate, Jack, and Sawyer. The dynamic between Sawyer and Juliet, however, made me believe both in love & redemption born together simultaneously. It was the love of Juliet that finally allowed Sawyer a sense of peace...and once again we see that now that his constant has been threatened (spoiler), he is back to being his old self far worse than when we saw him first upon crashing on the island. And with both men without their constant to balance them, they decide to join forces with (F)Locke.

I could go on with the relationship between father/son and father/daughter conflicts. To summarize, however, Kate never got along with her father; Jack always felt inadequate or "not good enough" in the eyes of his father; Locke, estranged from his real father; Sawyer, lost his parents at a young age; Claire barely knew her father until too late; Ben constantly blamed for his mother's death by his father; Ben's own fractured relationship with daughter...etc etc etc. With this season, one character, Ilana, (spoiler alert) states her anger and her loss to Ben for his killing Jacob:"He was like a father to me"...And at what length did she take to deal with this loss?...You only have to watch the episode...but in the one instant we learn of TRUE FORGIVENESS...

(MAJOR SPOILER):

Scene: Ben runs through the thick jungle, in search of rifle "Locke" had told him would be hiding. Rushing behind with rifle in hand, Ilana keeps pace with Ben only to stop short seeing that he is armed...

(after a few words spoken by Ben describing his sorrow for what he did to his daughter)...

Ilana: So, where will you go ?

Ben: Locke

Ilana:...(great pause)...Why? (we see a sense of weakening)

Ben: Because he's the only one who'll have me!

Ilana:.....(short silence)......I'll have you! (she turns away, her rifle now lowered)

Ben stands, wide eyed with great disbelief. We sensed earlier his urgency to run towards "Locke". Soon, Ben makes the decision we all hoped for....

----------------------------------- I apologize for not doing this scene any justice. I'm not a scriptwriter after all. I also did-------------------------------
not intend for spoilers, but it is the only way to convey how the journey of LOST has taken
me thus far....I am hoping that my love for LOST will be redeemed with an episode to
make up for the overly hyped (imao) Richard-centric episode. As much as I believe that
LOST is a moral tale between Good and Evil, it must tell this on a scale far more than what
is predicatable...but perhaps I'm expecting too much. My only faith is that the final 5 scenes
I've read the writers have had all along will truly bring a satisfying closure to what could be
the most epic tv show of all time

Sidenote: Richard's story is like the show Lost. His character is built up and greatly admired throughout the seasons only to fizzle unexpectedly when
is most needed to bring the stakes higher...Seven episodes left! Can LOST make a comeback in such a short time? If so, I better stock
up on Kleenex, exercise my tweeting thumbs, and think of a kick ass Facebook update status when it ends!