Progress in Lost and Out of My Mind

We have some significant movement in the game.  Right now, I am going to view each death that we think happened as a death until proven otherwise.



Again, the focus here is on the Island.  If the other world trumps, then nearly everyone is still alive. If both worlds co-exist, the Island will be the tie-breaker as there will be only a few survivors there.

1. Steve rocks to the top of the charts with Jack as the winning Candidate.  Of course, this could still change, but he drank the magic water after choosing to accept his fate.  Free will rocks!! Sayid is still dead but is free in LA, which means Nadia is still in play.  And Miles is unaccounted for as he did not hide in the closet.  The guy is a survivor.  Well played.
2. Wendy is in pretty good shape for the time being, moving down due to Jack's status. She has lost no characters, and Desmond may survive since he is so important for the defeat of Smokey.  Ben is likely to die during the finale as he added another murder to his tally.  But my guess is that killing Widmore was like Snape killing Dumbledore as I said in my other post--didn't really end the guy's life prematurely as both were fated to die, but was a useful murder to establish credibility.
3. Jacob the player is still alive even as his namesake is about to leave this plane and follow Obi-wan.  Kate is alive and well, with just a flesh wound.  Frank may still be alive although I will assume he is dead until proven otherwise.  Rose and Bernard should, if the time travel stuff is consistent, be hanging out quietly on the island somewhere with their dog.  They are not Adam and Eve.  
4. Chip moves back up as Hurley is alive and well, more references to the progeny of Jin and Sun suggest a possible appearance in some sort of denouement next week.  Daniel may play a role in Desmond's scheme, but, of course, he is still Island-dead.
5. Ali and David are pretty close to Chip.  Sawyer is alive but depressed, likely to sacrifice himself now that he carries the burden of the Sub deaths.  Penny is alive but only if Smokey or Ben fail to leave the island.  Well, Smokey as Ben is probably now just playing out the game.
6. Doc Jensen's strategy relies heavily on some survivors other than those featured this week--the non-mortared followers of Smokey, especially Cindy and her kids. 
7. Brandon has only marginal characters left.  They are all alive but unlikely to show up in the Island reality on Sunday.
8. Sara drops from second to near the basement, as she lost Richard, who is almost certainly dead.  Her entire game now hinges on rooting for the bad guy to win.  If Smokey destroys the Island, Sara wins (as everyone else will be dead).  
9. Ben has no hope.  Jungle Boy is Jacob, and Jacob will appear no more once the fire goes out.  Zoe is now dead, dead, dead.  Choosing the cougar most likely to die was unwise, even if the older players had fond memories of her on LA Law. Oh, Claire is still in play, too.  Where the hell was she tonight?  Still, not looking good for my former undergrad.  I guess I am a lousy teacher of strategery.

I am thinking of blogging live either here or on facebook Sunday night.  Let me know if you care and if you have a preference.