Lost 6.12, "Everybody Loves Hugo"

Lost 6.12, "Everybody Loves Hugo"

Apr 19

Seriously, everybody does.

While the takeaway from this week’s episode was clearly meant to be its final few minutes (otherwise why put it there?), the entire hour showcased a great character, a really underrated actor, and more touchy-feely for Lost’s final season.

More after the jump, for those who DON’T WANNA BE SPOILED (OR ARE ALREADY SPOILED)…

Let’s talk about those last few minutes first, because it was pretty damn jarring; I fell asleep the first time I tried to watch it, and I asked my wife, “Did I miss much?” She said I did, and yes, that is true. I missed a doozy.

So presumably, at this point Alterna-Desmond has the passenger list of Oceanic 815 and is tracking them down to push them into position for…something. He also knows enough about the main timeline to realize that either Locke needs to be dead to set things right…or does he think that in killing Locke, he’s really stopping the Man in Black? Probably not; probably the former.

It was a neat moment, Alterna-Desmond engaging in a brief encounter with Alterna-Ben before flooring his expensive car into Alterna-Locke’s wheelchair. Certainly a classic Lost corker of a finale. In this case, though, it felt tacked-on, and one of those situations where the final cliffhanger of an episode really jarred with the tone of the rest of the episode, which was much more warm and humorous.

Well, except for the part where Flocke dumped Desmond into a well. That wasn’t warm or humorous. Unless you’re evil.

I’ve probably said this before but it’s my lingering impression of this season: The writers have returned to the character-driven writing that made this show great at the start, and it is all the better for it. There’s been no shortage of revelations and jaw-dropper moments this season, but there’s also been so many classic touching moments–the gut-wrench thrown into Jin and Sun’s story, Alterna-Desmond meeting Alterna-Penny like it was always meant to be, even the macabre appearance of Claire’s baby made of bones.

This week we get a Hurley-centric episode in which the Alterna-Hurley is not just wildly rich from his lottery ticket, but also successful, benevolent, and mostly happy. As oppsed to our main timeline, where he’s also benevolent and happy, but was cursed by horrific luck throughout his life. Then he meets Alterna-Libby, a crazy lady who claims she knew Hurley in an alternate universe, which of course, she did. They have a touching alterna-romance until Alterna-Hurley sees this alternate universe himself, at which point we leave Alterna-Hurley and Alterna-Libby on the beach while Alterna-Desmond drives his alterna-sports car into Alterna-Locke’s alterna-wheelchair.

On the island, it feels a bit like vamping to kill time; the creepy Flocke/Desmond encounter was cool, and the ghost of Michael added a layer of regret to the island’s mysteries that I hope will pay off further before the end. Otherwise, there’s the other shocking moment of the episode, Ilana blowing up, and then the Richard Alpert crowd stomps around the island for the rest of the hour looking for dynamite to maybe blow up a plane or maybe not. Again, seems vampy.

I love Hurley, and I love his family, so it was a treat to see Mama Hurley again, although Cheech Marin returning as Daddy Hurley would have been even better. I liked Alterna-Hurley’s sweet approach to Libby, who is in a mental hospital when they meet, but he pursues her anyway. I like the direction in which this alternate timeline is moving. Love might just conquer all…at least, after we watch Terry O’Quinn play twitchy dead.