Lost: Season 6 Episode 16: What They Died For – TV Review
By Krystal Clark
Last night’s episode of “Lost” was entitled “What They Died For” and it was supposed to be the big set up for the series finale on Sunday. Before the show aired it seemed as if some truths were going to be revealed and we would be left with a huge cliffhanger leading us into “The End.” But instead of an entertaining hour of twists and turns I received confirmation of theories I had from months ago. No real surprises here…
The Players:
- Director: Jack Bender
- Writers/Creator:Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz, Elizabeth Sarnoff, Damon Lindelof, Jeffrey Lieber, J.J. Abrams
- Cast: Naveen Andrews, Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Josh Holloway, Jorge Garcia, Daniel Dae Kim, Terry O’Quinn, Nestor Carbonell, Michael Emerson, Yunjin Kim, Jeff Fahey, Emilie de Ravin, Mark Pelligrino, Alan Dale, Mira Furlan, Sheila Kelley, Tania Raymonde, Michelle Rodriguez, Dylan Minnette
The Show’s Plot:
“Lost” centers on the survivors of the ill fated Oceanic Flight 815 who crashed on a mysterious island. They fight the elements, the island’s mysteries, and each other while trying to survive in uncharted territory.
Title of this Week’s Episode: “What They Died For” Season 6: Episode 16
Jacob reveals himself to the rest of the castaways and finds a successor to protect the island. Pseudo-Locke joins forces with Ben to destroy Charles Widmore and tries to find Desmond before the others do. In the alternate timeline, Desmond arranges for the escape of Kate and Sayid, with Hurley and Ana Lucia’s help.
The Good:
- Family Affair: The only good thing about this episode were the parts where we got to see all the families together. Jack, Claire, and his son along with Ben, Danielle, and Alex. It was also nice to see Danielle clean and dressed up for once and was it just us or was she flirting with Ben?
- The Concert: We were left with the set up that something big was about to go down at the concert where Jack’s son will be playing. We also heard that his mother would be attending. I wonder if Julie Bowen will return to play his mom/Jack’s ex-wife or will it be someone else?
The So-So:
- Jacob’s Plan: There was nothing that Jacob said in his speech to Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley that we couldn’t have picked up on ourselves. I think the only thing he really clarified was why Kate’s name was crossed out (her being a mother and all).
- Pseudo-Locke’s Plan: The Man in Black wants to destroy the island? At first he wanted to leave and now he’s hell bent on blowing the whole thing up? Is this just a way for the writers to make sense of Desmond and his electromagnetic superpowers?
The Bad:
- Jack Taking Jacob’s Place: Jack has always taken the leadership role among the castaways and we’re supposed to be shocked that he’s the one taking Jacob’s place? It would have been great if they decided to throw the past to the wind and give it to someone else. If it was going to be him all along what was the point of the other 3 people sitting there waiting in the wings?
- Richard’s Death: So Richard got taken out by the Smoke Monster quick, fast, and in a hurry. These past few deaths are starting to feel rushed and aren’t really satisfying.
- Loose Ends: Where’s Miles? Is Sayid really dead? What about Frank? I understand the series finale will be over 2 hours long but it feels like a lot of stuff will have to be resolved in a short amount of time.
Overall:
Last night’s episode was not a worthy build up to the series finale. There was nothing revealed that we didn’t already know or have an idea of. Everything was pretty predictable and if we’re getting this close to the end there should be some jaw-dropping revelations happening and there weren’t any.
Rating: 5/10
Show Airs: Tuesdays at 9pm on ABC
Check Out Our Previous Lost Reviews:
- Lost: Happily Ever After – TV Review
- Lost: Everybody Loves Hugo – TV Review
- Lost: The Last Recruit – TV Review
- Lost: The Candidate – TV Review
- Lost: Across The Sea: TV Review
What did you think of last night’s episode of Lost? Did you pick up on anything I missed?
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 8:20AM
If Kate's name was taken off because she became a mother, does this mean that we can assume that Jin was the "Kwon" candidate?
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 3:23PM
That's so true! It wouldn't have made sense for Sun to be a candidate if she too was a mother. Plus she actually got pregnant and Kate only adopted Aaron for a short period of time.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 8:31AM
if the reasoning was that kate had something to live for having a child, you would think jin having a child gave him something live for as well. kind of doesnt fit with jacobs explanation.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 8:33AM
I agree. It doesn't make any sense plus Jin hadn't even met his daughter, yet which was completely unfair. But didn't Jacob still tell Kate the job was hers if she wanted it or am i remembering it wrong?
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 8:59AM
i dont think richard is dead, he is going to live forever remember
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 9:02AM
Perhaps we can get reviews from someone who actually watches and follows the show…it WAS supposed to be Jack the whole time…deviating from that plan would be stupid and destroy all the parallelisms set up from season 1. Come back and write a better review when you've seen the whole thing dumbass…
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 4:11PM
Perhaps you can comeback without the unnecessary rudeness of a 5 year old and use a civil attitude when referring to other people. First of all just because something is "set up" in the Lost world doesn't mean its going to come to fruition. How many parallel timelines have we gone through already? Nothing is really set in stone here. Secondly, the show is known to shock and awe at the last minute so don't act as if the thought of Jack not being "the one." couldn't have been changed at any point in time.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 9:39AM
Agreed! The real surprise was that they revealed it to be Jack last night, as opposed to the final half hour of the finale. We now have 2 and a half hours of complete mystery awaiting us.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 9:57AM
Since they revealed Jacob's successor in this episode, it seems possible to me that Jack could die in the finale and have to pass on the job to one of the remaining survivors. Not necessarily likely, but possible. I actually liked the episode a lot, especially the scene between Alt Jack/Alt Locke at the hospital and the fabulous scene on the porch between MiB and Ben ("would you like some lemonade?"). Ben looked like he was going to throw up after Richard was taken out so abruptly. Sawyer couldn't con MiB, but Ben is one of the only ones who managed to con Sawyer. Or he is back to being self-serving and evil again (what a waste of a story arc that would be). I am finally really, really interested in how the alt-reality will impact 2007 island reality. I agree that one of the above comments was super lame and rude, but I also totally disagree with the low rating given to this episode.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 5:02PM
THANK YOU!! That's what I was saying! Him becoming the island protector in this episode no less (as opposed to the finale) just seemed off. The whole idea of something happening to him and the power being given to someone else is exactly what I was thinking.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 10:57AM
Jack will die and take Locke where he belongs. Hurley will step up to be the island's protector. They hinted with: "Just glad it wasn't me"
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 2:33PM
have you noticed that in the alt-reality Desmond's the one thats trying to get the losties and in the island reality they are all searching for desmond? interesting parallel…
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 4:51PM
[...] If you’re behind on any episodes of this season’s “Lost” we suggest you play catch up because the show is about to be over. The series finale airs on Sunday, May 23rd and the [...]
Thursday, May 20, 2010 4:05AM
1 – Sometimes the obvious answer is the best answer, its right that Jack was the new Jacob
2 – Who says Richards dead? If you dont see a dead body, chances are hes coming back.
Thursday, May 20, 2010 12:47PM
I will be very disapointed if Richard is really dead, meaning that I'm expecting him to show up in the finale. By the way, what happened to Claire? I thought Faux Locke took her after the shootout outside the submarine?
Thursday, May 20, 2010 7:51PM
Yeah, where is Claire? Maybe she's somewhere lurking in the shadows or maybe she found Desmond. Who knows. This finale episode is going to have a lot of explaining to do!
Thursday, May 20, 2010 2:53PM
The writers have conditioned the lost fans all along that the black smoke/monster/MIB was the biggest secret and have been poised as the ultimate villain. Isn’t he was just a victim of the circumstances? Jacob is in fact more evil than anybody else! Who gave him the right to bring jack and the rest into the island and suffer beyond imagination. Their lives off the island being flawed and Jacob’s mistakes certainly can never justify their sufferings in the process. The finale would be great if and only if it would reveal that the true villain is Jacob and that the MIB/Black Smoke is actually the “good guy” and a hero! This would make sense as fans seem to accept all along that Jacob is the good guy and black smoke is the bad guy…
Thursday, May 20, 2010 3:19PM
wow are you a wanker…this review is not for the NY Times…it is for us to discuss and make different arguments and I appreciate people taking time to discuss and write about it…right or wrong.
Dumbass…….you couldn't have come up with something a little more clever?
Friday, May 21, 2010 11:19AM
So true, the matchup was foreshadowed in the season 2 opener "Man of Science, Man of Faith" with the shot of Locke and Jack looking down into the hatch shaft.
Saturday, May 22, 2010 9:37PM
Well, first of all guys, what’s with the dumbass stuff ? Lost in its storyline and execution is so unique that not all of us are gonna like the end, no matter how mind boggling it is! So point one, let us agree to disagree
Secondly, about the episode, I have little doubt that the writers have finally met their nemesis. You need to rem that lindeloff has been screaming @ the top of his voice about an earth shattering ending to lost from the time christ was crucified. Also, it was only about a month back that it was decided that the last 2 hrs wud now b extended to 2.5 hrs ! What happened to all the planning. its clearly evident that the ending was NOT decided pre hand and was left to the meandering of timelines and most importatnt audience appraisals of past episodes. I disagree with the whole ‘alls well that ends well’ funda. Lost has made me laugh, cry, introspect and most importantyl made me lose my conscisness to things like time travel, alternate reality…no matter what happens in the end, I go back a man fullfilled with aa heavy heart and a free mind..love u lost and always willl