'Lost's' 'The Candidate' Made Me Cry, Dammit

*Warning, spoilers ahead from the recent episode of Lost.*

Seriously, do not proceed if you haven't yet watched "The Candidate" . . .

Which 'Lost' Character Has the Worst Mommy/Daddy Issues?

After nearly six seasons of watching Lost, there’s one common thread I've picked up on for most of the main characters: They’ve got some serious mommy and daddy issues. Big time.

The messages I’ve drawn from the backstories of the various Losties: When you treat your kids crappy and set them up to fail in life, wreck their self-confidence or even, say, toss 'em out of an eight story window, bad things happen. They could wind up turning into a smoke monster, a murderous Ben Linus, a con man or a fugitive from the law.

My snarky take on the parenting lessons I’ve gleaned from Lost – like this one: “If you don’t treat your kids right, they’ll wind up poisoning you.” (referencing, of course, Ben Linus' gas poisoning of his Dharma dad) -- has just been published in column form.

In the meantime, here’s ABC’s “sneak peek” at next week’s new episode, “The Candidate,” where Jack declares to the Man in Black/Smoky Locke that he’s not leaving the island.



Which Lost character do you think has the biggest mommy or daddy issues? Jack? Locke? Ben? Sawyer?

Image credit: Mario Perez/ABC.

'Lost' Has a Repeat Tonight, but May 4's 'The Candidate' Focuses on Jack & Locke

While tonight’s episode of Lost is a repeat of the Richard episode -- "Ab Aeterno" -- the fresh episode next week on May 4, is called, “The Candidate” and, according to TV.com, it’s about, “Jack's suspicions about Locke make his decision more difficult after he is asked to complete a difficult task.”

The TV Fanatic added that, “Jack's questions about Locke grow this week, as he's asked to complete a difficult task.” (Among the interesting photos TV Fanatic has posted for "The Candidate" is the one on the left where Kate’s reaching through the bars.)

What to make of this episode description? Will the “difficult task” be killing someone? Jailing Kate in those cages again?

Could it really be that Jack -- the one whose last name is Shephard -- is THE candidate to replace Jacob, finally achieve redemption and prove that he has what it takes, or, because he seems like such an obvious choice, is he just a red herring? (When discussing who could possibly be Jacob's final replacement with my spouse, I floated Desmond's name but he said, "Desmond is kind of like Switzerland. Desmond's just neutral.")

In the meantime, ABC’s latest promo is supposed to suggest what, that the Man in Black/Smoky Locke’s soul is what, on fire, all messed up? Now there’s a news flash for ya. . .



Image credit: ABC via TV Fanatic.