“Everybody Loves Hugo.” We already knew that, didn’t we? He’s one of the most beloved characters on the show, one who started out as comic relief, but quickly become a major player in the series’ overarching mythology. It was Hurley who first introduced us to the Numbers, using them to win the lottery which in turn led to a series of catastrophes in his life that caused him to conclude that he was cursed. It was Hurley’s pursuit of the origin of the Numbers that put him on Flight 815 and sent him to the island.
After leaving the island, Hurley started seeing dead people — specifically people who died on the island. Hurley felt this was further evidence that he was cursed. Jacob tried to convince him that maybe he was, in fact, blessed. It’s no coincidence that in the sideways timeline, this is the word Hurley uses to describe himself.
One of the two big guest stars in this episode was Harold Perrineau returning as Michael, father of Walt, murderer of Libby and Ana Lucia. “He’s one of the people who come back and yell at me after they die,” Hurley tells Miles.
Hurley isn’t exactly happy to see Michael, seeing as how he murdered Libby, but Michael has something important to tell him. He says a lot of people are going to die because they’re listening to Hurley now, and Hurley isn’t doing anything to stop the plan to blow up the Ajira plane.
As if on cue, Ilana blows up. You kind of saw it coming with the way she was slamming stuff into her pack, which was already stuffed with extremely unstable dynamite. (Best line of the episode goes to Ben: “The island was done with her.”) Hurley takes this as a sign and blows up the Black Rock. No more dynamite, no more exploding cast members.
Sayid shows up with Desmond, gift-wrapped nice and neat for Locke/the Man in Black. And what does Locke do? Tosses him down a well. I don’t think he really knows what to make of Desmond, much less what to do with him, which is why the Man in Black doesn’t kill him outright.
In the sideways timeline, Desmond has become one part guardian angel, one part matchmaker. It was nice to see Hurley finally get his date with Libby — and he remembered the blankets! Good for you, Hugo. To celebrate, Desmond decides to head over to the high school and run over Locke with his car. Perhaps this was payback for Locke throwing him down a well in the other timeline. Karma’s a bitch.
It only took six seasons, but we finally found out what the whispers are: the ghosts of people who have died on the island and can’t move on. It’s nice to see the writers continuing to bring closure to mysteries that have been around since the first season. What’s next? Adam and Eve?
In the Candidate pools taking place on the Internet, Hurley currently has the best odds for taking over as the new Jacob. He may be the underdog in some ways, but he’s probably the most even-keeled of all the Candidates. Jack has come a long way from the man of science he once was, but I think he’s still too obvious a choice to take over as protector of the island. That’s what many viewers will be expecting, and if the writers have shown us anything, it’s that they have a tendency to throw curve balls. I think when it comes to the final Candidate, that curve ball’s name will be Hugo Reyes. Dude!
