TV Geek Out 150: Lost, "Across the Sea"

As Lost's final season wound down, the controversy around its episodes just rose. "Across the Sea," the tale of a young Jacob and Man (er, Boy) in Black, was easily among the most divisive hours of Lost ever -- fans either loved this deep dive into the show's mythology, complete with the reveal of who the Island's Adam and Eve were, or they hated spending any time away from their beloved characters in the show's precious last hours. Either way, "Across the Sea" was a bold move even for a show filled with them. It provided answers -- even if they weren't necessarily answers that fans wanted -- without spoon-feeding them, and featured just a handful of the show's regulars in flashbacks that were actually flash-forwards. Mark Pellegrino, Titus Welliver and special guest star Allison Janney as the protector of the island and the boys' unpredictable "mother" carried the episode, which showed the origins of the show's conflicts and black and white imagery, as well as the source of the island's power -- a glowing cave that had viewers fascinated and frustrated in equal measure. Perry, Dana and Heather navigate the dense terrain of "Across the Sea" here.

Bonus: Maybe Jacob and MIB never would have feuded if they'd been able to play Connect Four Million.

TV Geek Out 149: Lost, "The Candidate"

The Lost episode "The Candidate" is perhaps the most devastating of them all. On the island, UnLocke tries to convince Jack to leave with everyone, while Widmore throws the Losties into the polar bear cages. Team Smokey soon busts them out, and they head for the Ajira plane, but they ditch their aerial escape plan when UnLocke finds a bomb there. They instead head for the sub, where Widmore's people engage them in a firefight. Kate gets shot, and Jack and everyone else end up on the sub, sans Claire and Smokey. They soon discover UnLocke's true treachery when they find the bomb in Jack's backpack, and Jack argues that they'll be fine if they do nothing. Sawyer just doesn't have faith in Jack, and tries to defuse the bomb. When that doesn't work, Sayid sacrifices himself for their safety, and Jin and Sun also die. In the Sideways world, Jack tries to convince Locke to let him fix his paralysis, but Locke refuses. Jack sets out to find out why Locke is resistant, and meets Bernard Nadler and Anthony Cooper in the process. Jack tries one more time to convince Locke, but he's too guilt-ridden to give in. TV geeks Dana, Heather, and Perry mourn the loss of Jin, Sun, Sayid, and maybe Lapidus, and discuss Jin's controversial decision to stay on the sinking sub with his beloved Sun. Listen in here!

TV Geek Out 148: Lost, "The Last Recruit"

TV Geek Out covers "The Last Recruit," in which UnLocke's plans are in full swing as the Losties reunite. He has a little chat with Jack and orders zombie Sayid to kill Desmond, but Des might just talk his way out of that fate. Back at Camp Smokey, Sawyer and Kate conspire with the others to ditch UnLocke and escape via sub. Crazy Claire tags along, and Jack jumps ship after a tense talk with Sawyer. Meanwhile, Widmore wants his package back, and starts firing missiles at the island. UnLocke saves Jack, thus acquiring his "last recruit." In Sideways-land, Locke is rushed to the hospital, where Sun and Jin arrive at the same time, and she recognizes Locke. Cop Sawyer flirts with Kate, and then joins Miles to arrest Sayid -- yay, more Ford & Straume! The charmingly creepy Desmond takes Claire to his lawyer (Ilana!), who introduces Claire to her half-sibling, Jack. And Jack gets called to the hospital to party with Locke's dural sac. TV geeks Perry, Heather, and Dana discuss all of this, as well as Ben's adorable attentiveness to Mr. Locke, Widmore's treacherousness, and the the long-awaited reunion of the Kwons. Listen in here!

TV Geek Out 147: Lost, "Everybody Loves Hugo"

"Everybody Loves Hugo" brought us the final Hugo Reyes episode of Lost. In contrast to the lighter tone of many Hurley installments, this one contained quite a lot of dire events. Ilana EXPLODED. Hurley blew up the Black Rock. Sideways Desmond drove his car straight into the wheelchair-bound Locke and sent him flying! UnLocke threw Island Desmond down a well!! Amidst these crazy developments, we got to see Sideways Hurley get the date he never had with Libby -- AND a kiss that awakened his island memories. On the island, Hurley dabbled with a leadership role among the Losties and convinced some of them to pay UnLocke a visit, while the trio of Richard, Ben, and Miles broke off on their own airplane-exploding mission. We also got another appearance of the mysterious young blond boy, visits from Ghost Michael, and an answer to the mystery of the island's cryptic whispers. Listen in as TV geeks Heather, Dana, and Perry discuss all the goings-on in this action-packed episode here.

TV Geek Out 146: Lost, "Happily Ever After"

The much-anticipated Desmond episode "Happily Ever After" did nothing less than bridge the gulf between the season's dual realities. When Widmore puts Des through an electromagnetic test on Hydra Island, his consciousness seems to become privy to the Sideways reality, where he was indeed an 815 passenger. We find out that Desmond not only works for Widmore there, but is even his treasured right-hand man. Desmond's next assignment -- to get troubled rocker Charlie Pace to a charity concert organized by Mrs. Widmore -- goes awry when Charlie steers their car off a pier, and Des has a vision of the Not Penny's Boat moment from the Island reality. More visions follow in the MRI machine at the hospital, and Desmond's new personal mission is to find Penny. Along the way, we get to see the Sideways Eloise Hawking and Daniel Faraday -- both Widmores instead -- and Des finds his beloved Penny. After that fateful meeting, Desmond seems to be blissfully enlightened in both realities. TV geeks Perry, Dana, and Heather discuss the complexities of this game-changing episode here.

TV Geek Out 145: Lost, "The Package"

Sure, "The Package" is one of the better season-6 episodes of Lost, but it has a title that makes double entendre fans salivate. There’s Sun’s button-filled seduction of Jin, of course, but the highlight for any eternal 11-year-old is when Charles Widmore announces with great majesty that it’s time for him to show Jin The Package. We also get more Sideways Keamy, a two-eyed Sideways Mikhail, and find out how Jin wound up locked in a meat locker. On the island, Widemore's lackeys attack Camp Smokey and kidnap Jin, leading to a touching scene where he sees pictures of his daughter for for first time. Meanwhile, UnLocke tries to recruit Sun and she loses her ability to speak English; UnLocke visits Hydra Island and tells Widmore it's on; and Lapidus defends the sanctity of bacon. Listen as Heather, Perry, and Dana fail miserably at keeping a straight face while unpacking "The Package." Check it all out here.

TV Geek Out 144: True Blood, "Hard-Hearted Hannah"

TV Geek Out continues our coverage of True Blood's second season with this discussion of "Hard-Hearted Hannah," which brought Bill's maker back in a big way. Lorena's return sparks a shocking flashback to the 1920s, where Bill and her seduce a wealthy couple and then feast on them in a sexual bloodbath. In the present, Lorena holds Bill hostage in his hotel room, having been summoned there by Eric, who is trying to drive a wedge between the brooding vamp and Sookie. Meanwhile, Hugo and Sookie go undercover at the Fellowship of the Sun church, but they're quickly found out and dragged to the basement. Back in Bon Temps, Sam and Daphne go for a nice run in animal form, but it ends badly when Daphne turns on him and hands him over to Maryann at her latest and most graphic orgy yet -- where it looks like Sam might be some kind of ceremonial sacrifice! In other news, Sarah and Jason get it on in the church, Hoyt adorably shows up in Dallas to see Jessica, and Lafayette suffers from some seriously trippy PTSD when he hallucinates Eric's head on Andy's body while the lawman heatedly questions him. TV geeks Heather and Dana discuss the controversial brutality displayed by Bill in the flashback, praise Terry for his awesome comforting skills with Lafayette, worry about the fate of Sam, and chat about all the other goings-on here!

TV Geek Out 143: Lost, "Ab Aeterno"

"Ab Aeterno" was one of the most-hyped and anticipated episodes of Lost's final season, and it turned out to be one of the best. We finally learned the history of the mysterious Richard Alpert, and Nestor Carbonell made the most of this spotlight, giving Alpert's journey from an accidental murderer to Jacob's representative the gravity it needed. "Ab Aeterno" also gave viewers more insight into the long-simmering feud between Jacob and the Man in Black, making clear that their disagreement isn't just moral -- it's personal. Free of flash-sideways and an extra six minutes long, the episode felt as much like a stand-alone short movie as it did a part of Lost, delivering gorgeous atmosphere and cinematography as well as answers. We now know that the island is a cork keeping MIB's darkness in check, but just how bad will it be if he unstops the bottle? How good can Jacob really be if he brings people to the island against their will and offers little, if any, help for them to make good decisions? Dana, Perry and Heather discuss these topics and more here.

TV Geek Out 142: True Blood, "Never Let Me Go"

As HBO re-airs season 2 of True Blood, TV Geek Out gets back to our coverage of the deliciously devious show. In the season's fifth episode, "Never Let Me Go," things pick up in Dallas where they left off. Jessica has ordered a man off the room-service menu for dinner, and he's been delivered by Barry the bellhop -- another telepath! Sookie proceeds to chase him down and stalk him throughout the episode; meanwhile, Bill tries to rein in Jessica, but only manages to push her toward Hoyt. Later the vampires clash over how to handle the Godric situation, but eventually decide that Sookie should do some undercover recon at the Fellowship of the Sun church. At the same time, the Soldiers of the Sun are in hardcore boot-camp mode, where the rivalry between Jason and the Lukinator is heating up, and so is Sarah's passion for Jason's "talents"; even Rev. Steve Newlin can't help but show golden-boy Jason his massive stockpile of weaponry. Back in Bon Temps, Sam is connecting with Daphne, even more so after he discovers her similar shapeshifting abilities. Also, Maryann cranks up her manipulation of Tara, asking her if she and Eggs can crash at Chez Stackhouse, and not really taking no for an answer. All of this pales in comparison, though, to the Viking Flashback(!) to Eric's death and "rebirth" via Godric -- his maker! Listen in as True Blood geeks Dana and Heather discuss all this and more here!

TV Geek Out 141: Lost, "Recon"

If any of Lost's flash-sideways deserve to be spun off into their own shows, it's the tantalizing glimpse we saw of Sawyer and Miles as cop buddies during "Recon." Who wouldn't want to watch the adventures of James Ford and Miles Straume as members of the LAPD who laugh, learn and love? Those are the lessons Ford seemed to be catching onto as he watched "Little House," blew a date with Charlotte Lewis and apprehended a certain fetching fugitive. Meanwhile, on the Island, Sawyer was playing a game with big stakes, hoping to set up UnLocke and Widmore so that they'd take each other out. "Recon" may not have had the most answers out of Season 6's episodes, but it sure was entertaining. Dana, Perry and Heather geek out about it here.