Tonight

Okay folks, tonight is the first part of the 3 hour season finale of LOST. As many of you know, my speculation about this show since they announced that there were 3 more season left to go has been this:

Season 4 (the current season) – We see how the Oceanic 6 get off the island.

Season 5 – We see their attempts to get back to the island, why it’s so important they get back, and why it’s so difficult. We also see what is happening on the island.

Season 6 – We see what happens when they finally get back to the island and head toward Cuse and Lindleoff’s ultimate endgame. What that is, I have no idea.

So far, I’ve been pretty much right with how this season has unfolded. Sure, it’s a pretty big generalization and I by no means have a clue about specifics, but it’s nice to have a rough idea of where you are headed and then actually see it play out. Knowing all the details would ruin the ride and the rampant speculation is a major charm of LOST. That said; let me speculate a bit more.

- I think what we will see tonight has been laid out in the preview. It’s clear we are headed to the standoff/showdown between Keamy’s freighter crew and the Oceanic survivors/Ben. It also appears that we will have a flash forward to the Oceanic 6 getting back to civilization, so I would imagine that the next 3 hours of LOST will slowly bridge that gap.

- I have no idea who the show will revolve around tonight, but it would only make sense if we get a Claire/Christian Sheppard storyline either tonight or as part of the 2 hour finale in two weeks. The writers need to bring the sibling relationship between Jack & Claire to light to at least Jack (so that he understands that Aaron is his nephew). It would also be nice to start giving us answers as to why Claire went with Christian so willingly two episodes ago and why she appeared with her father in Jacob’s cabin last week. You could use a Claire episode to address both characters. Plus, it would make sense to explain Christian’s remark last week about why Aaron is not supposed to stay on the island.

- Speaking of Christian Sheppard, what is his story? Alive? Dead? My belief is that he is the method/vessel the island is using to communicate with the 815 survivors. This would be similar to using Charlie to talk to Hurley, Dharma worker Horace talking to Locke last week, etc. The problem with this theory is that we have not seen any of the others interact in a physical manner and Christian obviously did that when he held Aaron. So, this leads to the possibility that the island actually brought him back to life after the plane crash.

- Deaths. What is LOST without deaths? From the Jack flash forward a couple of weeks back, it is clear that Sawyer is safe since Jack referred to Sawyer making his choice to remain on the island. But is anyone else safe? I would hope Rose and Bernard are as it makes sense for her to want to stay since her cancer is apparently in remission on the island. Lots of people expect Jin to buy the farm after the flashback/flash forward episode he and Sun shared this season. Desmond? I hope not, I want to see a Penny/Dez reunion, but who’s to say we won’t see that in the next 3 hours, only to have the show pull the rug out from underneath us? Speaking of which…

- It’s clear that the freighter crew will not be doing the rescuing. So how does the Oceanic 6 make it home? I believe it will be Penny’s crew, leading to her reunion with Desmond. Given this belief, might we see either Dez or Penny die in the rescue attempt? That would break a lot of hearts if it comes to fruition.

- Finally, I wonder if these last 3 hours will be the last we see of LOST’s “flash” structure. If the show is structured over the final 2 seasons the way that I anticipate, you won’t really need the “flashes” as a story telling device. The concurrent on-island/off-island stories can play out simultaneously and be told in real time.

Your thoughts? Feel free to speculate in the Comments section below and join us back her after the show tonight and tomorrow for more commentary.