After reading this again, I started thinking more about the FSW and your thoughts on Hurley in particular. When we discussed this a few months ago, we differed on Hurley’s state in the FSW, and you’ve stuck to your belief that he is still kind of a mess in this life.

“Sometimes fans are frustrated with “the rules” throughout the story, because they don’t always seem to make rational sense.” 

When it comes to Across the Sea, I’ve been stumped at times to come up with reasons why this aired so close to the end, as well as thoughts about the young Jacob and MiB. But after this time, I think I’ve found quite a few things to talk about (and some of it will relate to What They Died For as well).

I mentioned it briefly once, but didn’t publish my short story, so no link. It’s basically a rough draft of that period after Jack dies, so I’ll give you a summary: Kate, Sawyer and Claire don’t make it to the plane in time, so they take the boat back to the Island.

“Do you think Ben was thinking that it was Jacob who was “banishing” him from the Island?” 

“You know what would have worked for me with Hugo & Libby in the FSW? Forget the lottery & the “Colonel Kluck” nonsense. FSW-Rose has cancer & Bernard needs to suffer through it with her; why not put Hugo in the hospital WITH Libby? Let them be introduced in group therapy; they talk; they like each other. Let Libby…

I’d like to discuss a few lines from the show that I’ve been thinking about, as they relate to recent episodes from Season 6:

It’s become more interesting to talk about the FSW in this rewatch, why, I’m not sure. But now that I’ve watched Desmond’s and Hurley’s respective episodes, I have some more thoughts for you...

#1. MiB “wearing” Locke’s face: I do believe there is some Locke bleeding through in MiB’s words and actions, but this is still a very evil presence that the castaways are dealing with.

You have had much more to say about Ilana than I have, but now in the midst of Season 6, I found myself thinking about her backstory and how much we didn’t see.

First, re: MiB’s recruiting, you’re absolutely right. If it doesn’t take a hard sell, no one would use it. But the question is, why doesn’t MiB feel like he has to make the hard sell? And I think the answer relates to what he told Jack in The Last Recruit: “John Locke was not a believer...He was a sucker.”

“Better times for whom, though? Jack, Locke, Desmond and Juliet are the only ones who seem happy. Everyone else: Sayid, Hugo, Kate, Sawyer, Sun, Jin, Charlie, Rose (and probably Bernard) are pretty much miserable.” 

I’d like to talk a bit about Jacob’s strategy vs. MiB’s strategy in recruiting the castaways to their side.

Another big storyline in the first part of Season 6 is Jack vs. Sawyer. Whether Sawyer is justified in blaming Jack for Juliet’s death or not, the fact remains that these two have always been somewhat at odds, and Jack is an easy target for him given that he came up with the plan to set off the nuke at the Swan.

OK, stef, I’m going to start off with the flash sideways...

I’ve talked about this a bit before, but in watching The Incident, I see alliances shifting faster than they do in the modern version of Survivor. Why not everyone is on board with Jack’s plan, and what makes them change their minds.

One thing I’ve noticed during this Season 5 rewatch is how the time travel plays out, relative to the known characters who are on the Island in the past. Richard, of course, who ends up visiting Locke several times before he comes to the Island in the plane crash, and notably, Eloise, who had this exchange with Jack…

I’m going to make another attempt at a random topic, because while it’s fun to discuss many aspects of the castaways’ relationships, or find little details that I hadn’t noticed on previous rewatches, it can also be a challenge to find criticisms of a show that I still love to watch so much.

It’s an interesting topic, one that I’ve honestly never really thought about before. Perhaps this is part of that 90% “under the iceberg” stuff that we never saw on the show.

Throughout this latest rewatch, I have talked more about Kate and Jack’s relationship and how it has progressed as we moved into Season 5. But now, eight hours in, the focus (especially in LaFleur) is shifting towards Sawyer and Juliet.