To my (10) regular readers: I have to warn you now that I'll probably be blogging on a regular basis about LOST now that the season is upon us. I am, however, also going to try harder to get more written on a more consistent basis. I'll make sure to mix it up to keep you all happy.

As the last season of the best television show ever begins, I find myself rewatching episodes and focusing in on the big questions that have really stuck with me. I'm a reasonable viewer who knows that a little bit of unexplained mystery is a good thing, but in my mind, I really want the following five answers before the final closing screen *bam* of LOST hits the screen. Let me know what you're looking forward to most in the comments below!


                                  WHO IS RICHARD ALPERT AND WHY DOESN'T HE EVER AGE?

                                                          
                                    Saucy bastard

For some reason or another, Jacob has chosen Richard to be his right-hand man - leader of the Others. I want to know why. Is there something about Richard that makes him the stand out man? Was Richard simply in the right place at the right time - just another pawn in a war between Jacob and the Man in Black? Or does Jacob just really dig a man with thick set of lashes? I need to know!

My Guess: I'm with the majority here in believing that Richard arrived on the island via the Black Rock. I think it would be really interesting to discover that Richard was actually an evil ass man (i.e. slave trader) in his time. Perhaps his time with Jacob is a means to earning redemption?


                                        BODIES IN THE CAVE - WHO ARE ADAM AND EVE?

                       
Remember way back in the first season when the biggest problem amongst the castaways was deciding whether living at the beach or in the caves was safer? Sigh. Those were simpler days.

When Jack first finds the caves, they are occupied by two rotting corpses Locke lovingly refers to as Adam and Eve. Next to the bodies is a bag containing one black rock and one white rock.

My Guess: The rocks are part of a random selection process in which the person who selects the black stone out of a bag is made to stay on the island to protect it after everyone else has left. The white stone indicates that someone voluntarily decided to stay behind with the loser. In my wishy-washy mind, Sawyer and Kate are Adam and Eve. In my dreamworld, Kate picks the black stone, and Sawyer decides to give up his chance to return home to stay with Kate forever. (Note: In my dreamworld, Jack is also dead in the end...) My husband insists Adam and Eve are Rose and Bernard. I could believe that, too.


                                         WHO'S THAT WHISPERING IN THE TREES?

I first became aware of the whispers in the first season of LOST, and although I've never been able to make out any logical words myself, I believe the many Internet nerds who spend time listening, enhancing, listening some more, and transcribing. If you haven't caught on yet, anytime something important happens in LOST, whispers can be heard in the background. In transcriptions, the whispers seem to be people holding conversations about what is happening on the island. Characters are mentioned and actions are discussed. The whispers have been acknowledged by the characters on LOST, so apparently it's not just the viewer that is supposed to be hearing them. Check out this website if you don't believe me: LOST Whispers

My Guess: Um, I don't know. I have no real guess here. Could it be the spirits of the dead? People watching in some Dharma station? Some gods watching from above? The Others being extra creepy? I wouldn't be surprised if this is never answered, because I just don't know HOW it could be answered.


                                     CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD - DEAD MAN WALKING?

                 

This is the mystery that I am most excited for. It is also the question that most confuses me. As you all know, ex-Chief of Surgery Christian Shephard supposedly died in Australia after a drinking binge, and Jack is sent to Australia to bring back dear 'ole dad's corpse. After the plane crashes, however, Jack is confronted with what seems to be his father's roaming ghost and a now empty coffin. Christian has since been seen lurking around run down cabins and old Dharma barracks, hanging out with his possibly dead long-lost daughter Claire, delivering supposed messages from Jacob, and telling Locke how to bring back the Oceanic 6/die for the island.

On an island that seems quite overpopulated by dead people, is Christian just another manifestation of Smokey? A minion of the Man in Black? The Man in Black himself? Or, could Christian really be working on behalf of Jacob? There's also the possibility that Christian is alive - that he has somehow been resurrected...

My Guess: Let's rule out what I DON'T think is a possibility here:  I don't think Christian is alive. That's just silly. I have, from the beginning, suspected the Christian is no good. Setting Locke up to leave the island seemed the most suspicious to me. Also, in the few moments that we've seen her since she ditched Aaron to hang out with Christian, Claire has seemed quite malevolent. I suspect that he's evil, but I would not be surprised (or disappointed) to discover that his motives are pure. I also have thought that it would be neat to find out that it is simply Christian's spirit trying to redeem itself so it can be allowed to move on.


                                                   WHAT IS THE SMOKE MONSTER?

                                 

I think that this question is on every LOST lover's list. We've seen it "scan" people. We've definitely seen it kill people (remember when it ripped Montands' arm off...and sucked the pilot out of the cockpit...and poor Echo...). We've heard it make rattling noises and its strange "dinosaur" call. We know it enjoys ripping apart trees, and as of season 5, we've seen where it lives (a grate under the temple). Ben has the ability to summon the monster, but he doesn't have any control over it at all. In fact, Ben fears the monster and feels that need to be judged by it. Everyone - from characters on the show to fellow nerds on the message boards - suggests that the monster is some kind of island security system - but what is it protecting?

My Guess: I tend to think that Smokey (as his good friends lovingly refer to him) works with neither Jacob nor the Man in Black; he is neutral - not good and not evil. I think that Smokey may be one of the few things/peoples/deities on the island that are original to the island. My guess would be that the temple was built around and for Smokey.

The assumption that Smokey is connected to judgment and redemption seems obvious, and I am particularly fond of the hieroglyph that shows Smokey and the Egyptian god Anubis together. In a connecting light, Smokey is also named Cerberus by Radzinsky and Kalvin (go Clancy!). Both of these allusions connect Smokey to ancient beliefs about entering the afterlife. If the island is some kind of gateway to the land of the dead, perhaps Smokey is the judge who decides whether or not you can come in.

As for the accepted belief that Smokey can take on the form of dead people or memories... I think I agree...although...hmmm...I just don't know. There are also aspects of the Smoke Monster that seem technological...so the possibility that it is man-made also exists in the back of my mind.


                                       BONUS QUESTION: WHO WAS IN THE CABIN

                          

The cabin - supposed living quarters of the man himself: Jacob. Ben goes to the cabin to speak to Jacob, but never hears from him directly. Locke hears a plea for help in the cabin. Hurley is given access to the cabin at times. Objects fly around, eyes appear out of nowhere, and creepy Christian seems to have rented a room. Additionally, the cabin seems to have the ability to move around the island.

In season 5, what seems like a major clue is revealed: a ring of ash surrounding the cabin has been broken. Has something broken in or out?

My Guess: The cabin was being used as a "prison" for the Man in Black. Somehow the ring of ash, which circled the cabin in order to keep the MiB imprisoned, was broken. Now the MiB is running around disguised as Locke. Damn you, Flocke!