LOST 4.9 - The Shape of Things to Come

What is LOST really all about?

I'll tell you what I think once I can get my notes together. Sorry for the delay!

But there's one thing I need to get out there before tonight's episode airs... Is the Island making Jack sick because his desire to get off the island is so great? Is the island trying to keep Jack from leaving?

LOST Season 4

It's confirmed! The season will have 14 hours.

That's fantastic...

Here's the schedule:

April 24 - Episode 4.9 The Shape of Things to Come
May 1 - Episode 4.10 Something Nice Back Home
May 8 - Episode 4.11 Cabin Fever
May 15 - Episode 4.12 There's No Place Like Home
May 22 - no episode
May 29 - Episodes 4.13 & 4.14 There's No Place Like Home

I Can't Wait!

LOST 4.8 - Meet Kevin Johnson

There's a war coming to LOST. I don’t think that either side in the conflict between Benjamin’s “Others” and Widmore’s group is to be trusted or believed, and I don’t think that either side is “good”. I think that the only “good” people left on this show are the poor survivors of the crash of Flight 815. Admittedly they are flawed people, but we’ve come to believe in their basic goodness.

During “Meet Kevin Johnson” both sides of the fight present their cases. They continue to try to drum the reasons why they should be believed into their respective audiences, which makes them both even more suspicious.

Ben again tells the Locke camp that Widmore has sent the freighter to exploit the island and kill everyone one it. I have to admit that Miles does not deny anything that Ben is telling Locke’s group, so it appears that Ben is correct, but I believe that Miles is just trying to not tip their hand. If Widmore’s people were really sent to kill everyone on the island, then why did Charlotte and Daniel disable the gas factory? On the other hand, why were Widmore’s deck hands so enthusiastically practicing their target shooting, and why would they laugh when Michael asks them why they need to practice shooting if this is truly a rescue mission?

Tom (in New York) tells Michael that Widmore is responsible for the fake Oceanic Flight 815 found at the bottom of the Sunda Trench. Isn’t it just too convenient that the cost of recovering the wreckage would be prohibitive; no one will ever be able to further investigate it. Can we believe the evidence that Tom presents to Michael, the dossier of materials that show the Thailand graveyard robbed for its bodies; the purchase order for the 777 aircraft; the shipping logs for the freighter hired to drop the whole thing down the Sunda Trench. Couldn’t Ben have faked the documents? Couldn’t the documents have been altered and in reality they show what BEN has done to fake the wreckage?

Miles does try to remind Locke and Sawyer that Ben has ways of getting whatever he wants (“considering you had a gun to his head and now he’s having dinner with you… I’d say he gets what he wants”), therefore he could have resources to fake the wreckage. And we do know that Ben has the ability to leave the island… in fact, Tom, in New York, tells Michael that “some of us can come and go” to the island.

But Frank also has a discussion with Michael that indicates that it’s been confirmed to him that the wreckage was faked, and he implies that someone other than Widmore was responsible for the wreckage.

Who to believe, Ben or Widmore… Whose motives do we trust? I don’t believe we know enough yet about the big picture to make an accurate determination.

I’ve almost gotten tired of hearing Benjamin Linus say “but we’re the good guys!” In "Meet Kevin Johnson" he tells Michael that he doesn't kill innocent people, that all the bad things that have been done in his name (but not at his request) have been done by other people (after all, he says, Michael killed Libby and Ana Lucia). I even think that he might have set up the episode’s finale ambush in an effort to get rid of Karl and Rousseau. I find it too convenient that he just happens to have a map to the “Temple” with him when it’s time to convince Alex to leave New Otherton. He’s been planning this.

Ben’s description of the “Temple” as a sanctuary, the last safe place on the island seems strange. Alex asks Ben why they cannot all go to the “Temple” and Ben states that it is only “for us”. Perhaps he knows that the Others will kill anyone approaching the “Temple” unexpected so he sends the trio there. And since his break with the rest of the “Others”, perhaps Ben feels that they will kill Karl and Rousseau and capture Alex and try to use her as bait/leverage.

I was really disappointed in this development. While Karl and Alex have always been secondary characters, Rousseau and her story has had a prominent place in the “Lost” mythology. I don’t feel that her story is really over yet. Perhaps she is no longer needed in the “now” of the show, but I feel that they still have a lot to explain about her past and what happened to her team. Did they die of the “time sickness”?

In “Meet Kevin Johnson” we do finally learn a bit about what happened to Michael and Walt after they left the island. Unfortunately there are still many details about their escape that are not revealed in this episode. How did they make it back to the United States? How did they get back to New York without having to reveal who they really are?

Michael’s visit to his mother does reveal that he and Walt arrived in civilization without explanation as to where they had been; they asked her not to reveal that they were home; she couldn’t even call them by their real names. Michael does not have the means to take care of Walt, so he leaves the boy with his mother (by the way, Walt did not look as if he was being played by the same actor to me) and emotionally spirals into despair.

But a strange thing begins to happen to Michael. Despite his numerous attempts at suicide, he cannot kill himself. He survives a horrendous car crash; a gun he purchases with Mr. Paik’s watch will not fire. Finally Tom tells Michael that he cannot die… that his fate is tied to the island and that he MUST go back (as Ben’s henchman) to take his fated part in what is to happen. Aha! Think about it… perhaps Jack has (during his downward spiral) also tried to commit suicide and that he has realized that he cannot kill himself. Perhaps he has realized that his fate, too, is tied to the island and that the only way he will ever have peace is to return.

Twice during Michael’s flashbacks he has a vision of Libby. The first time he sees her in the hospital. She is delivering blankets (she was carrying blankets in her arms when Michael shot her). The second time he sees her she tells him not to “do it” when he tries to blow up the freighter with the bomb. Are these visions analogous to Charlie’s appearances to Hurley? Remember when Jack tells a fellow doctor that his father is upstairs in the hospital after we knew of his father’s death? Perhaps Jack is seeing visions of his father as well! Perhaps all of these visions are harbingers of fate, reminding the survivors that they still have a role to play.

LOST - The Oceanic 6

OK, now that we know the identity of all of the Oceanic 6 (thanks to ABC's promotions department) - Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Sun and Aaron, I just have to comment.

Either Claire is dead (and rumors are running rampant that she is), or there better be some good explanation as to why she didn't leave the island and Aaron did.

This must be one REALLY BIG whopper that the Oceanic 6 have told!

I know that we will learn how they got off the island by the end of the season (next episode is April 24), but will we learn the reasons why it was these 6 in particular, or will we have to wait another 8 months for that answer?

LOST 4.7 - Ji Yeon

(Please note – this was written on Tuesday, March 18, 2008, two days before “Meet Kevin Johnson” aired.)

Here’s my rant for the day: I really wish that the ABC promotions department would get their act together. In their on-air promotions for this episode they promised that the final members of the Oceanic 6 would be revealed. Well… if they were, I’m still confused because the end of this episode (and in the way that it ends) still leaves one position on the “6” ambiguous. We have (in the order revealed) Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Sun… Who the heck is the 6th? I don’t believe that it is Aaron. There’s a lot of explaining that would have to happen to make Aaron part of the “6”. Kate was not pregnant when the flight went down, that can be proven. Did the survivors lie and say that she got pregnant on the island? Are they passing off Aaron as her biological son? If so, then how much time has passed on the “outside” that would make the story believable? If Kate has told the truth, that Aaron was the child of someone else on the plane, someone that died, how is it that she would have gained custody of him so quickly? The producers have said that they have no control over how ABC promotes the show. I wish, then, that they would come right out and say who the “6” really are.

I’d like to discuss a few points about the rest of the episode’s plot before we get to the episode’s heart, Sun and Jin’s story.

As always, there are a lot of things going on “behind the scenes” in the episode that are not explained right away, and which may (unfortunately) never pay off. At the beginning of the episode one of the freighter crew has a mysterious exchange with Frank. He asks Frank if he is “ready”, then tells him not to be late. Ready for what, late for what? And what is the mysterious mission that Frank has been sent on in the helicopter? Sayid asks where the helicopter has gone. He is told that Frank is running an “errand”. Sayid asks if he’s gone to the island and is answered “Do you know anywhere else that the ‘copter could land?”

And what the heck is up with Regina? She’s obviously not “with it” (she’s distracted, not really reading the book she is holding). Perhaps she is experiencing the “time sickness”. The Captain mentions that several members of the crew are experiencing a heightened case of cabin fever (his words for the sickness) due to their proximity to the island. Did she kill herself because she couldn’t stand the sickness any more? Or was she despondent over the death of Naomi? Remember the bracelet that Naomi was wearing? It was inscribed with the letters “R.G.”; perhaps Regina’s initials?

We have learned that there is a saboteur onboard the freighter… someone working against the purpose of the freighter folk. Someone has destroyed their communications, wrecked their engines, done something to the kitchen to make it unusable. (Frank has to bring Sayid and Desmond cans of lima beans… there is no other food available since there is “something wrong with the kitchen”.) But is the saboteur really Michael (who has been revealed as “Kevin Johnson”, a deck hand on the freighter)? We have no clue yet as to whether or not “Kevin” recognized Sayid, if he was the person that opened the door to the sick bay which allowed Sayid and Desmond to venture to the radio room (we’ve learned that it wasn’t Frank), or if “Kevin” was the person that put the “don’t trust the captain” message under their door.

The captain confirms that the freighter was dispatched by Charles Widmore. Onboard is the (supposed) flight data recorder from Oceanic 815, procured at great cost by Widmore. The captain wonders who would have the resources and manpower to fake a plane crash in the middle of the Pacific, let alone get over 300 bodies to place in the plane. He claims that this hoax has been perpetrated by Ben, and that this is the reason that they have been sent find him. Now we have more evidence of some kind of conflict between Widmore and Ben.

On to Sun and Jin’s story…

(Quick note: Hasn’t Jin been learning English too quickly? Boy, he must be one smart dude. Either that or Sun is an excellent teacher. Or maybe the island is helping with the learning process! LOL)

I was so pleased with the emotional direction of Sun and Jin’s story arc on the island this week.

I totally understood Sun’s growing anxiety over whether or not the survivors will be rescued. She hasn’t been able to fully believe anything that Juliet has told her (Juliet has lied so many times), so she’s not sure of the absolute necessity that she and Jin get off the island. And, admittedly, the freighter folk haven’t seemed too intent on rescuing the survivors (Daniel won’t give her a straight answer when Sun asks him point-blank whether or not the freighter folk are there to rescue them… “it’s not really my call”). So it was understandable that she decides to go the only other route available… join Locke at his camp with its perceived safety.

Juliet stunned me when she told Jin about Sun’s off island affair. But it was obvious that she had to do whatever she could to stop them from joining Locke. Splitting them up would do it. Juliet felt that Jin would not leave camp with Sun and that Sun would not leave without Jin.

The revelation of Sun’s infidelity lead to one of the most poignant scenes this season, Bernard and Jin fishing. I love Rose and Bernard and it’s been sad knowing that in the outside world Rose would probably be dead from her cancer. Jin asks Bernard why they would want to leave the island, knowing that its properties were keeping Rose alive. Bernard says that he knew it was the right thing to do (not joining “murderer” Locke), that life is about making the right choices, all about karma. You make good choices and good things will happen. I loved it when Bernard tells Jin “We must be the good guys.”

Even more poignant was the scene when Jin returns to Sun. He tells her that he is not the same man that she cheated on. Indeed! Jin has made a major evolution since the crash. He’s not the same man that I remember watching, appalled at how domineering he was to his wife. He’s become a caring and considerate husband and partner, and he forgives her and proves it by offering to take her to Locke’s camp if that’s what she wants. But now Sun realizes that she must get off the island, and she does…

Which leads me to the flash backs and forwards…

(Quick note: Sun is watching TV just before she begins to go into labor. The show she is watching: Nikki’s “Expose”!)

I have to admit that I did not pick up on any of the clues that would have indicated that Jin’s scenes were a flashback. I absolutely thought that the scenes were contemporary with Sun’s. I’ll also admit that for a while I felt absolutely duped… misdirected, manipulated and deceived.

However, after a second viewing, I understand what the writers were ultimately trying to do, mixing Jin’s flashback with Sun’s flash-forward. I get that they were trying to contrast the old Jin, the one that would yell at someone that he would kill them just for stealing his cab (“I’ll hunt you down and rip your head off”, he calls), with the man that he has become, the one that loves his wife and who wants to make sure his family survives.

While it was a bit of trickery, and I don’t really think I want them to do that ever again, it was very effective in this instance.

It was nice to see Hurley sane, joining Sun and Ji Yeon as they visted Jin’s grave in Korea. I noticed his emphatic “Good” when Sun told him that no one else would be joining them. Perhaps he does not want to see any of the others because of the guilt he feels at harboring their secret. We’ve seen Jack try to make sure that Hurley keeps quiet.

The date of death on Jin’s tombstone is 9/22/04, the day of the crash. What’s the explanation for that? Was the marker erected by Jin’s family after the announcement that all onboard the plane were dead? It’s doubtful since Sun was listed on the tombstone too as still alive. Why give Jin a death date of 9/22/08? I think it’s because he is really still alive and on the island and that the Oceanic 6 have lied again to cover up what has happened. Sun’s reaction would still be appropriate… she left the island but he didn’t so she does miss him. They are maintaining the façade that Jin is dead. I sure hope he’s not.

LOST 4.6 - The Other Woman

It’s kind of nice, every now and then, to have an episode that’s not so jam-packed with clues and information and mind-blowing (and mind numbing) events. Therefore “The Other Woman” was a nice diversion after five weeks of brain pounding LOST. Not that the episode didn’t contain anything cool…

Like a creepy new character in Harper, the island’s therapist (I loved the line “It’s hard being an ‘Other’”); husband to Goodwin, and ultimately Juliet’s rival. (I’m sorry, I’ve been misspelling Juliet’s name for weeks now. I stand corrected.) I know it would be easy to explain away Harper’s attitude towards Juliet as a result of Juliet’s affair with Goodwin, but I think (down deep) that Harper’s character is in the same vein as Ben… perhaps she was hand picked by Ben because of her cold, calculating demeanor. From the beginning, she doesn’t like the attention that Juliet is being given because it takes the focus away from her. I don’t know if we will see her again, but it was interesting to see how her presence was added into previously presented events (like the break-up of the plane).

In connection with Harper, I’d like to talk a bit about her appearance in the “now” of LOST… Did you notice that just before Harper appeared (out of nowhere) to Juliet in the jungle, she was preceded by the whispers? Did you also notice that the whispers accompanied her disappearance as well? At first I wondered if this vision of Harper was a manifestation of the smoke monster… but the more I thought about it, I started to wonder if perhaps the whispers are manifestations of minds that are traveling through time. Perhaps we are hearing the echoes of their thoughts as they move through the continuum. And perhaps this vision of Harper was a Harper that had been sent backward in time to get Juliet to try to stop Charlotte and Daniel. Otherwise it would be hard to explain how Ben could get a message to his people to send Harper to Juliet with the message. He’s been held captive in the basement of his quarters. Unless he can communicate psychically with the rest of the “Others” how else would he have done this? Well… if sometime in the future he connects back with the rest of his group he could send Harper back in time to try to get Juliet to stop the disabling of the Tempest. Makes sense to me.

Why would Ben ask Juliet to do his bidding? We get some more answers in this episode about Ben’s obsession with Juliet and what exactly is his hold over her. It was really kind of cute and yet creepy to see the budding crush Ben had on Juliet. It just added more layers to the character of Ben… to see him so giddy while presenting Juliet with her own house, or when fixing her a private dinner, and yet witness his pure evil side when he takes Juliet out to see what has happened to Goodwin. Ben considers Juliet his property, and will do anything to keep anyone coming between the two of them. (We see in an enhanced flashback that Ben actually sent Goodwin out to the tail section with the intention that he be killed while under cover.) Therefore we know why Juliet does his bidding, she doesn’t want Ben to take retribution on the people the she cares about (in this case her new interest… Jack).

Harper makes an interesting statement to Juliet during one of her sessions. She tells Juliet that Ben likes her because “you look just like her.” There’s been some speculation that the “her” is Ben’s childhood friend Annie, but I really think that Harper means Ben’s mother, whom I believe that Juliet resembles. Another creepy dimension to Ben…

On to some comments about the new Dharma station, the Tempest. During the episode we are told (by Goodwin) that the Tempest is the station that powers the island and Juliet repeats this information to Jack while following Charlotte and Daniel there. But Goodwin’s chemical burns and his statement that he “could kill everyone” if he pulled the wrong switch indicate a much more dangerous purpose for the station. Apparently the Tempest is a station that manufactures, or at least stores toxic gas. Now why would Dharma (and the Tempest is definitely of Dharma manufacture, even though it looks a bit newer – more high tech than the “hatch”) need to have that kind of facility on this island? I haven’t a clue.

In the freighter folk’s first episode, we saw that they have brought gas masks and biohazard suits with them. I had always believed that they brought those items with them because they planned to do to Ben and his people what Ben had done to the Dharma folks, gas them out of existence. Instead, we learn that Charlotte and Daniel have been sent to neutralize the gas… make it inert. They claim that they know Ben has used it in the past, and they want to make sure he can’t use it again. Of course Ben claims that it’s the opposite; that the freighter folk are there to kill everyone with the gas. He’s lying as usual.

There are a few things I don’t understand about the Tempest storyline. I don’t understand why Charlotte and Daniel waited around the beach camp for a couple of days before heading out to neutralize the Tempest station. It seems to me that if the plot point was this important that they wouldn’t have waited so long. I also don’t get why Charlotte and Daniel were the ones chosen to do this… what specifically about the two of them was necessary to complete this mission? Perhaps it’s just one of the things that they were sent to do. It does seem like maybe Daniel was trying hard to remember the codes to put into the computer from (perhaps) a past (or future) memory… and Charlotte was having to encourage him again that he would be able to complete the job.

It was nice to hear a reference to Zack and Emma, the kids from the tail section that were abducted by the Others. Ben mentions that Juliet has been doing a good job of taking care of them. However Juliet pushes Ben to try to reveal some information about why they were taken. I’m surprised she doesn’t know. Ben’s only answer is that they were on the list and that’s all she needed to know. What list (Jacob’s?) and what’s the significance of the list? We still don’t know.

There was a bit of rehash in the scenes at camp Locke… someone (Claire in this case) questions Locke’s tactics, Ben feeds off Locke’s paranoia at his lack of leadership. (“Has the revolution begun yet?”)

Ben had a cool line in the scene where Locke was feeding him dinner… rabbit. (“It didn’t have a number on it did it?” – referring back to the scene’s last year with the numbered rabbit that Ben tortured.)

He also had an interesting line when he tells Locke “if my people still wanted me they would have stormed this camp a long time ago.” Is this Ben lying again, or did I detect a bit of truth behind the wistful look in his eyes… Ben really knew that this was true, and now he is looking for his new role?

However, ultimately the scenes do lead us to some new information when Ben finally promises to show Locke why the freighter folk are a common enemy. What we see is a videotape (taped over the Red Sox game that Juliet showed Jack early in season three) of Charles Widmore having one of Ben’s men (so we are told) beat up. Ben declares that Widmore is the man whose boat is parked off shore… that he’s been trying to find the island, to exploit it. Ben also agrees to give up the name of the man he has on the boat, and he tells Locke to sit down before revealing the name. Of course we don’t find out this episode, but will know next week. The information must have satisfied Locke, because he sets Ben free. I loved Ben’s jaunty little comment “see you guys at dinner”.

Juliet has another interesting viewpoint on the freighter folk and Ben… she says that “these people came to wage war with Ben, and Ben is going to win.” Interesting foreshadowing of what’s still to come this season on LOST.

LOST 4.5 - The Constant

This episode blew my mind away! Desmond has always been one of the most intriguing characters for me and it was cool to see more of him and get some firm proof of what is actually happening to him.

Let’s backtrack a little bit into the world of LOST and go over some plot points that are pertinent to understanding “The Constant”.

--We know that Dharma was studying the island due to it’s strange electromagnetic properties. We know that the Swan station was set up to study those properties but that an accident happened that had to be contained. We know that the button in the hatch helped release the build-up of electromagnetic force. We know that Desmond had to engage a failsafe device in the hatch when the force was not allowed to release. We know that Desmond survived the hatch implosion, but seemed to have precognitive abilities.

--We know that getting to the island is dangerous. We know that getting off the island is possible, but only by following a specific compass heading (305 degrees). Using this heading helps avoid any time dilation side effects (see next).

--We know that time on the island is moving at a completely different rate than that of the outside world, or that at least by moving through the spatial barrier between the island and the outside world, one would experience the effect of time dilation (time on the two sides of the divide would not be the same). (Proof: Daniel’s previous experiments; Sayid asks Frank “Why did we take off at dusk and land in mid-day?”)

Hold onto your hat… things get wild from here…

I believe that when Desmond was originally thrown out of the hatch that his consciousness was ripped from his body and that it began to float free (although it could use his body as a vessel to contain it). I believe that his consciousness could move through time to specific points and that this is what gave him precognition; why he could remember things happening from other times and places.

As the helicopter with Sayid and Desmond aboard left the island, Frank tried to keep it on course 305. However, the ‘copter was hit by lightening and the wind shear from the storm caused Frank to leave the proscribed course (the dial went to 310). The combination of the effects of the electromagnetic force of the storm (the lightening) and the ‘copter’s deviation from the course (leaving the path that will avoid time dilation) throws Desmond’s consciousness back to 1996. (In this episode, Daniel asks if Desmond has been exposed to high levels of radiation or magnetism… as if these types of things can be the cause of the movement though time and space.)

I think that it’s important to remember that what we see of Desmond’s experiences back in 1996 are not flashbacks; they are the result of his consciousness actually jumping back and forth between 1996 and 2004 and inhabiting his body in those two time periods. We are jumping back and forth with him, seeing what he is experiencing in both times.

There’s one big question that my hypothesis brings up… why does Desmond not remember the present (2004)? I think that it has to do with Desmond’s return back in time. So far all of Desmond’s visions have been of the future, so his “future self” could remember the island “past”. But when Desmond is thrown backwards, perhaps his conscious state also reverted back to the past and retained only memories of what had happened in that time and before. I think that this is a plausible explanation for his lack of “present” memory…

I like the idea that this bouncing back and forth has an awful side effect…. If the brain cannot handle the changes, it eventually begins to go mad, then it ultimately expires. What the brain needs is an anchor to points on the time-line, something to keep the conscious flow of thought moving from one time to another, not allowing it to wander aimlessly… and the anchor is the “constant”. This is a really cool storytelling device, and of course it’s cool for Desmond because he has a perfect constant… Penny.

Once Desmond has made this conscious connection between past and present Penny (in one of the most touching scenes in LOST history), he gains his anchor and can survive the chaos of the time shifting. The anchor actually snaps him back to the 2004 present where he finally remembers who he is and what’s happening around him (his declaration to the now recognizable Sayid that he is “perfect”).

And now, some other notes concerning this episode:

Do you remember that when we first met Rousseau back in the first season, she told Sayid that all of the other members of her party had contacted a sickness? Is it possible that they approached the island on the “wrong” vector and contracted “time sickness”? Perhaps Rousseau is one of a few people that is immune to it?

For (I believe) the first time, we actually have a reference to a specific post-crash date in the LOST time-line, it’s Christmas Eve, 2004. Don’t forget that in the real world there is a Tsunami coming in the south pacific. I wonder if this will be manifested in the LOST world.

Why does it always seem to be raining in Desmond’s military service scenes? It was raining when Desmond was released from military prison, and it was raining in all of these military scenes. By the way, I am wondering if Desmond was in prison because he went AWOL at some time (due to his time-jumping)?

The episode includes a cool scene at an auction where the journal of the Black Rock’s (this ship on the island) first mate is being auctioned. The auction is lot 2342 (the same as the setting on the “time machine” in Daniel’s office: 2.342). The journal was found in Madagascar in the possession of pirates. The ship was on a training mission to Siam (actually a slave run) when it sank in the South Pacific. It has been in the possession of Tovar Hanso, who I suspect is related to Alvar Hanso, one of the founders of the Dharma Initiative. The journal is purchased by Mr. Widmore (Penny’s father), thus cementing his place in the back story of LOST.

We get a bit more information from Penny during her final joyful reunion (albeit by phone) with Desmond. She says she has been searching for Desmond for the past 3 years. She says she knows about the island and that she won’t give up on trying to find Desmond.

Some notes on the story of the freighter and its folk:

-The ship’s last port was in Fiji.
-The ship anchors 80 knots off the coast of the island and waits for orders.
-The crew grows bored.
-Brandon and Minkowski take the ship’s tender out to see the island; Brandon begins to act strangely, they turn around and return to the ship but Brandon dies.
-Minkowski mentions to Desmond that they keep receiving a signal that they are under strict orders to ignore. They know that the messages are from Penny, so they must know that she is also looking for the island. Perhaps there is a race going on to find the island?
-After Minkowski’s return, someone sabotages the communications equipment. (Ben’s person on the boat? Was this also the person that opened the door to the infirmary and allowed Minkowski, Sayid and Demsond to reach the communications room?)
-Minkowski shows signs of the temporal illness, eventually dies because his mind cannot take the shifting through time.

I also liked this episode because it gave us more information about the cool character of Daniel. I loved it when he tells Desmond that his lab is where he does “the things that Oxford frowns upon”; perhaps because they are so unconventional?

Some notes on details that come up during Daniel’s scenes:

-Daniel says that the time displacements are sometimes hours and sometimes years… indicating that they are variable.
-Daniel indicates that Eloise’s (the rat) consciousness, not her body, have been sent forward in time then brought back. This is important in understanding what is happening to Desmond.
-Daniel tells Desmond “you can’t change the future” which reinforces Mrs. Hawking’s statement that the universe “course corrects” itself; that what is meant to be will be.
-Daniel notes that while Desmond was only gone to the future for 5 minutes in his frame of mind, that his mind was actually gone for 75 minutes, showing the fluidity of forward motion of time… that time is not moving at a constant rate.

When we saw Daniel in his flashback a few weeks ago, he was emotionally distraught and was being assisted by a caretaker. One of the possible explanations for this is that he’s been exposed to a lot of radiation (as Desmond points out when Daniel does nothing to protect his head from the time test radiation).

But I think that a more plausible explanation is that Daniel’s consciousness has also been knocked out of time and that he has been, to a much smaller degree than Desmond, able to move his thoughts through time and that this is taking a toll on him… eventually he will not survive unless he finds HIS constant. And of course it’s cool again when that constant turns out to be the one person he helped save from the time jumping… Desmond.

LOST 4.4 - Eggtown

I don’t quite know why this episode was entitled “Eggtown”. As far as I’m concerned it should have been called “Liars” or “Everyone Lies”.

Before I get started on my notes, there was a blooper near the beginning of the episode. I’ve never seen one on the show before so it surprised me. When Locke throws Ben’s uneaten breakfast and tray at a wall (which looked like concrete), the wall bounced!

It seems to me that Locke is starting to lose it. Despite his protestation to Ben that he’s in control (he knows that Ben is just playing his little mind games with him), the scene in the hall with the bouncing breakfast shows that Locke really is frustrated that he’s lost favor with the island. He even looks to Sawyer for vindication that he’s a “good” leader. Then, of course, he overreacts with Miles by putting a live grenade in his mouth to keep him quiet. Locke says he is doing it so that people will understand that there have to be consequences for violating Locke’s wishes. But I think a grenade in the mouth is a bit extreme. Was it the act of a man whose mind is going mad? I think so.

Locke tells Miles during the grenade encounter that he is “responsible for the well-being of the island.” Is that something he has come to believe on his own, or is it something he has been told by Jacob? Is this more evidence of Locke’s delusions?

Island Kate seems so conflicted to me… I think that she really wants to leave the island, but is being tempted by Sawyer’s proposition that they stay on the island together, as a couple. Before she decides what to do, I think that she wants to know if there is any chance that, after all she has done, there would be a life for her off the island. She looks to Miles for the answer. She wants to know if they (the freighter folk, but in essence the “outside” world) know who she is and what she has done. Of course they do… her crimes wouldn’t have been dismissed that easily. Miles gives her a piece of advice; stay on the island… no one would know that she hadn’t died. I think at the end she realizes that she and Sawyer would never make it together (he’s happy when Kate announces she’s definitely not pregnant, a sign that he’s not really that committed to their relationship).

I don’t yet understand the significance of the scene between Charlotte and Dan. Charlotte seems to be testing Dan’s ability to remember cards. But remember them from when, two minutes ago or a long time ago? Was it meant to show that Dan has had some psychic ability in the past and perhaps he has lost it or was this test to demonstrate that Dan has some kind of short-term memory problem? Charlotte seems to be encouraged that Dan remembered two out of three of the cards. She calls it progress. I guess we’ll have to learn more about this later.

Miles is such a jerk. His snotty comments irk me, but he is an interesting character and such a contrast from all of the other freighter folk.

We learn that despite Miles’ statement in an earlier episode that he doesn’t know why he was hired to find Ben, at least he knows who Ben is and what kind of power Ben has off the island. It was nice to see Miles get the upper hand, if even for a moment, when he tells Ben that the man he works for has put a lot of time and energy into finding Ben. Ben even looks a little frightened. Ben seems to know who Miles is; he knows the person that Miles works for and is afraid of him (or is at least as frightened as Ben ever shows).

But Miles has an agenda of his own, apart from the person that hired him. He needs money… precisely $3.2 Million. (I have no clue as to the significance of that figure, but it’s got to be for something very specific.) And he’s willing to tell his boss that Ben is dead in exchange for the money. He’ll even go so far as to silence Charlotte (who knows that Ben is alive). What could his separate purpose be? I just don’t know yet.

We learn that the helicopter has not made it to the freighter yet. Has it met some dire fate, or perhaps Regina is lying and Sayid and Desmond are being held captive? Next week’s episode will apparently tell…

On to Kate’s off island future…

I would say that what we saw in this episode happens fairly quickly after the Oceanic Six are “rescued”, so therefore I believe it happens before Hurley begins to go crazy and before Jack begins to snap under the secret that they are all hiding.

What do we learn about the fate of the characters? Well, we learn that they are all liars; that they have concocted a story meant to cover up what really happened to them.

From Jack’s testimony we learn that the lie begins with only eight survivors of the crash of Oceanic 815. (Wow, does that mean that all of the other forty-some people that really did survive are killed off or are left behind??) Jack’s tale recalls that the eight landed in the water and only through Kate’s efforts did they make it to land on a deserted island. Jack was badly hurt, and Kate nursed him back to health. She was the one that helped feed and shelter the castaways. She was the reason they survived. She was heroic. (Jack does not explain how only six were rescued.)

Jack lies that the Federal Marshall that was transporting Kate back to the United States died in the crash, that Jack never spoke to the Marshall, and that he learned of Kate’s legal condition directly from Kate. Jack never questioned Kate about why she was in custody because he felt that after what she had just done for the survivors, that she had earned his trust. Did he forgive her because he loved her? Perhaps, but he lies again and says that he doesn’t love her anymore.

Kate is very afraid that she will have to serve jail time… but she’s committed murder (along with several other felonies) and has admitted it to her mother. What would she expect? Why is it so important to her that she not serve any jail time? It must be that she is afraid of what will happen to her “son” if she does.

(The rest of my notes assumes that Aaron is indeed the son of Claire and not Kate’s own child that she has named Aaron in honor of Claire’s baby.)

I think that something must have happened to Claire on the. Remember that the psychic declared that Aaron had to be raised by Claire. Perhaps after Claire’s death/absence, someone from the island group had to raise him and Kate has been entrusted with the task of acting as Claire’s surrogate.

Why does Kate refuse her mother’s reconciliation advances? Why does Kate refuse to let her mother see or get close to Aaron? Is Kate’s hatred of her mother because of her betrayal that strong? Perhaps Kate rejects her mother because she knows that if she goes to jail that her mother will try to take Aaron, and that Kate knows that Aaron must be raised by her. I know. It’s a stretch. But I think that it’s the only plausible explanation.

Also, why is Kate – a woman that couldn’t settle down in one place (remember her marriage to the police officer) – so quick to accept the plea agreement that requires her not to leave the state of California for 10 years? Even the DA is surprised that Kate accepts the deal. Maybe it’s because it gives her a perfect excuse not to have to go back to the island. Maybe this is why she turns ignores Jack’s later plea to go back with him.

Back to Jack for a final comment. Jack still loves Kate, and it appears that Kate would love for something to happen between the two of them. But something is holding Jack back… it’s Aaron. Could it be that Jack was the cause of Claire’s death/absence, and that he just can’t face Aaron because of that? (Does Jack know that Aaron is his nephew?) I think that Jack is heartsick because he knows that he could have Kate if it weren’t for the fact of Aaron.

Slap My Head Moment 2/21/08

Why is it such a revelation that Ben has been leaving the island?

After all, we already know that Richard Albert and Ethan Rom have been leaving the island... We've seen them in the United States... they were working for Mittelos Bioscience!

LOST 4.3 - The Economist

It’s probably a good thing that it took me so long to put my notes together. In the past few days the producers have made some statements that clear up some of my questions about this episode.

Such as: the producers have stated that there is absolutely no relationship or hidden meaning behind the similarities in Naomi’s and Elsa’s bracelets. (What the inscription on Naomi’s bracelet – “N, I’ll always be with you. RG” – means is still a mystery. Does the “R” stand for Regina, the woman on the boat that the freighter people have been talking to?)

Or this: I kept thinking that the first “Flash Forward” sequence in the episode was being shown out of order; that the hit that takes place in the Seychelle Islands actually takes place after the events in Germany and after it is revealed that Sayid is working for Ben. However, the producers have announced this week that within the structure of a LOST episode, all of the events that tie to one timeline or another are always shown in chronological order. However, it seemed to make more sense to me that the reason that the gentleman that Sayid killed was so upset after Sayid said he was part of the Oceanic 6 was that he had heard that someone from the Oceanic 6 was out to kill people on Ben’s “list”. After all, Sayid tells Ben after his incident with Elsa, that the people on the “list” will know he is coming for them.

Another note: I don’t really know where to put Sayid’s “Flash Forward” into the chronology of the “Future of LOST”. There’s nothing to tie him in with events in the outside world, or with other members of the Oceanic 6. So for now Sayid’s future will have to remain a separate item from the chronology. The producers have promised that by the end of the season we should know the story of the future of the Oceanic 6.

Now on to the rest of the episode.

I’m going to keep my comments tied to the various groups of people.

First, the Locke-ites.

There was a very intriguing moment for Locke in this episode! Remember, Locke was trying to find the Jacob’s cabin… he found the ring of ash but the cabin was gone. Is Jacob off somewhere else or is this a sign that Locke has done something to break his connection with the island? If so what did he do?

Leave it to Ben to give Locke a dig… Ben makes sure to raise the other Locke-ite’s suspicions concerning Locke’s leadership since he can no longer find the cabin.

I have to give it to Locke, he recovers from this set-back pretty quickly, although I still hate him for what he is doing to Hurley. Hurley makes a valiant attempt again to bring compromise to the situation, but Locke quickly shoots him down and then uses him in the ruse to capture Sayid, Kate and Miles.

I loved Hurley’s line when he first meets Miles and Miles calls him “Tubby”. “Oh great, the ship’s sent us another Sawyer!” I laughed out loud!

I don’t quite understand why Miles says “not yet” to Hurley when Hurley asks if the freighter people are there to kill them, unless it’s just Miles’ flip answer… he seems to be the kind of person who doesn’t care about anyone else’s interests but his own.

Of course, one of the big reveals in this episode was the contents of Ben’s secret closet. The business suits, suit cases, passports, foreign currency… lead me to only one conclusion. Ben has been coming and going from the island for a long time now, and has been hiding that fact from the other “Others’. What a rat! He won’t allow anyone else to leave the island, but comes and goes as he pleases.

By the way, two of the passports were from New Zealand and Switzerland. Obviously Ben gets around (or at least plans to)! The multitude of identities indicates that Ben has much to hide or much to hide from.

I really liked the scene in New Otherton with Kate and Sawyer having a frank discussion about the pros and cons of staying/leaving the island. Sawyer has really fallen for Kate and although he seems to find it easy to think that he could remain away from civilization, Kate still demonstrates her inability to settle in one place… Sawyer states the compelling reason not to go back (“is there anything waiting for you but handcuffs?”), but Kate just can’t see herself “playing house”. They are at an impass that may never be resolved. Will Sawyer sacrifice himself to get Kate off the island if that’s what she really wants?

I had a “Jonestown” feeling when Locke enters the place where they have Sayid and Ben imprisoned, carrying a pitcher of iced tea. Just about gasped thinking… he won’t do that, will he?

Near the end of the sequence at New Otherton, Sayid makes the supremely ironic statement to Locke that “the day I start trusting him (Ben) is the day I sell my soul”. Which we now know he ultimately does. Whatever happens to the Oceanic 6 really must be horrible. It makes emotional messes of Jack and Hurley and turns Sayid into Ben’s hired killer.

Some notes about the ‘Copter gang:

I still think that Naomi has some part yet to play in this season’s storyline. She is so prominently featured (they make sure to show her body often, and she even gets a ride home to the freighter), that even though she’s “dead”, that I think something is still going on.

It bothers me that Sayid removed Naomi’s bracelet. Isn’t that like grave robbing? Maybe he feels he can use the information contained on the bracelet in whatever he is planning?

Sayid finds the picture of Penny and Desmond on Naomi’s body. Was Naomi working at two purposes here? She was hired to get the four freighter folk to the island, but perhaps she was also secretly working with Penny? I hope we will someday know.

It does seem to me that the freighter people at least know about Penny. They act suspiciously when Desmond asks them if they know her or if she sent them. Perhaps they have only been told that Penny is looking for the island and that they must reach it first.

It’s interesting to know that the four people chosen for this mission (Dan, Miles, Charlotte, Frank) do not know much about each other, and that they also didn’t know much about Naomi. (Is that typical for covert ops?) It’s also made very clear that they only fairly tolerate each other. (One of the group complains that “Miles is a pain in the ass”.) It is a bit surprising to learn that they have not been told why they have been sent to get Ben. It’s also a bit hard to believe that these people would undertake such a mission without having been told why or why specifically they were chosen. I’d sure be wondering why!

It seems a bit shady that the freighter folk are only allowed to use certain channels on the radio at certain times, and that some of them are only allowed to talk to the freighter under certain circumstances and sometimes only to certain people. (Frank warns Dan not to talk to Minkowski, and to only speak to Regina about the “scientific stuff.) It seems that no one we’ve met so far is really aware of the whole picture. Everyone is hiding something.

Another cool reveal during the episode is that the island is indeed out of time synch with the rest of the world (the island seems to be behind the rest of the world). The time gap during Dan’s experiment was 31 minutes. This must be caused by the special properties of the island. However, I found it interesting that Dan wasn’t surprised by this fact. He even had an experiment designed specifically to measure the displacement. So, he knew what to expect. What’s even more interesting is that he said that the gap of 31 minutes wasn’t good! Does that mean that the gap is widening or that it was much more than expected?

It was touching that Jack seemed very hurt that Kate did not come back.

One more comment about the ‘Copter… Miles stresses to Frank that they must stay on a specific heading to leave the island. They must not stray under any circumstances. This is consistent with what Ben told Michael and Walt when he let them go at the end of season 2. I believe that this means that there is only one trajectory that can be taken to get off the island and to avoid the time displacement effects. But it does mean that they CAN get off the island!

There are just a few other things to say about Sayid’s future story.

It’s interesting that some of the Oceanic 6 seem to have a LOT of money… Kate seems to be well off. Sayid is at least being taken care of financially by Ben (he can afford to take a luxury trip to the Seychelle Islands to golf).

Could Elsa be a “shopper” for Alvar Hanso?

I didn’t quite get how Elsa knew that Sayid was one of the Oceanic 6. She mentions that Sayid doesn’t like to talk about the crash. Perhaps Sayid simply said he had been in a plane crash without telling her the details. Interesting that Elsa was working the other side of the spy game all along. I never saw it coming.

Finally the big reveal… and ultimately what it means.

My jaw dropped on the floor when it was revealed that Sayid is now working for Ben! Of course we don’t know much about his motivation, other than that apparently he is doing it in exchange for Ben’s “protection” of his friends. Why do Hurley, Kate and Jack need to be protected? What is the secret that they are all keeping? It must be something to do with Ben… does he get them off the island, and in exchange they have to lie for him?

One more note, and this one’s about Kate (in preparation for tonight’s episode):

Could Kate also be working for Ben now? Maybe Ben is the “he” that Kate was referring to at the end of Jack’s flash-forward! Maybe once they got off the island, Ben helped erase all of Kate’s felonies in exchange for her working for him, just like Sayid is having to work for Ben. Just a little thought to chew on…

The Future of LOST

The Future Of LOST

--Sometime shortly after the disappearance of Oceanic Flight 815, robot probes from the Christianne 1 are searching the seabed along the Sunda Trench for sunken trading ships (the Black Rock perhaps).
It’s stated that the ship’s magnetometers are picking up lots of anomalies. What could be causing them?
They are not searching for fight 815, but when they come upon an Oceanic jet they immediately assume it’s 815.
(That’s a big assumption to make so quickly… I would think that they would at least have to check with the airline and other experts before they make such a presumption. Could this be a clue that the discovery was manufactured?)

--News reports on the discovery of the ship leak out by the next morning. The body of the plane is complete, but broken into several pieces. All passengers are declared dead. Statements are made that it would be next to impossible to recover the bodies. Gruesome pictures of the bodies are shown.
(Seems weird that news organizations would be allowed to or would even want to air pictures of the bodies. I would think there would be some kind of standard that would not allow them to do that.)

--Daniel Farraday, in Essex, Massachusetts, becomes incredibly upset while watching reports of the discovery. Daniel is asked why he’s become so emotional… he replies that he doesn’t know.
(I haven’t got a clue either. Perhaps he knew someone on board.)

--Miles hears the news of 815’s discovery while in Inglewood, California. He arrives at the home of a woman with the last name Gardner. Miles has been summoned to exorcise a ghost from Ms. Gardner’s home. Miles “ghostbusting” talent is apparently real. He convinces the spirit of Ms. Gardner’s dead grandson to reveal the location of his money stash.
(Apparently the mechanism that Miles uses creates an environment conducive for spirit activity. Note that I think I saw pictures of young Mr. Eko on the wall of Ms. Gardner’s home!)

--Charlotte S. Lewis (C.S. Lewis??) sees a newspaper headlining the story of the discovery of the wreckage of flight 815. She does not believe the story. She seems to have had some prior connection to the Dharma initiative. She bribes her way onto an archeological dig. How does she know about the dig? “… People in our line of work are terrible at keeping secrets.” The dig has uncovered the skeleton of a polar bear. Charlotte finds a collar bearing the Dharma “Hydra” logo. It was buried with the skeleton.
(One of the “Hydra” station polar bears from the island? Teleportation? Time Travel?)

--Frank, the pilot, is in the Bahamas. He’s playing with a small toy airplane. He drops it in an aquarium and it sinks… flight 815? Frank notices that something is not quite right with the image that is being shown of the body of pilot Seth Norris. Seth’s not wearing his wedding ring, something Frank does not believe would ever happen. Franks smells something fishy. He calls the crash hotline and tries to report what he knows.
(This reinforces the idea that the crash has been manufactured to cover up reality. Who initiated the cover up and why? I think Dharma has gotten Oceanic to go along with the ruse. Why? Because they don’t want anyone getting anywhere near the island.)

--Naomi is meeting with Mr. Abbadon. They are meeting in some deserted offices/warehouse. Mr. Abbadon has hired Naomi to go on a mission, and he has provided her with a team. Naomi does not believe that these people will be able to carry out the mission. She says they have no field or military experience. She calls them the “head case”, the “ghostbuster” and “drunk”. Naomi seems to have complete knowledge of the goal of their mission. She asks what she is to do if she meets up with any survivors of Oceanic 815. Abbadon advises her that there were no survivors, but she insists and he deflects her question, “Just do what you were hired for.”
(So, I think that maybe Noami did some research or was given information about the 815 survivors by Dharma and she made up a cover story to tell anyone that she met from 815.
Naomi doesn’t think much of the four that Abbadon has picked, that they’re not the right kind of people to carry out the mission… then they had to have been chosen for a particular reason. In my previous post I mentioned some of the reasons I think each person was chosen.)

All of the above has happened during the 91 days that the 815 survivors have been on the Island.

Sometime in the future…

--Hurley is living in Los Angeles. He’s having trouble dealing with something. He sees the ghost of Charlie at a mini-mart. He’s arrested after a car chase with the police. At the station, he sees another vision of Charlie. This time an image of Charlie is swimming in the interrogation room mirror. On Charlie’s hand are written the words “They need you.” The hallucinations drive Hurley to request to be admitted to a mental institution.
(During the chase, Hurley is driving the car he and his dad were going to rebuild.
Hurley declares that he is one of the Oceanic 6. Therefore we know at least 6 of the survivors get off the island. Hurley, Kate and Jack are three of them.
Hurley’s arresting officer is Ana Lucia’s former partner. Hurley denies having met Ana on the plane. There’s got to be a reason that he wouldn’t want to mention knowing her.
Hurley MUST be in a bad frame of mind… he turns down the offer of a donut!
Who is the “They” Charlie is referring to? It has to be the people that did NOT get off the island.)

--While at the institution, Hurley is visited by Mr. Matthew Abbadan. He says he is an attorney from Oceanic Airlines. He’s a creepy dude. He says he’s heard about Hurley’s episode. He says Oceanic feels guilty about his troubles and wants to help his situation. They will move him to a nicer facility, one near the ocean. Hurley says he doesn’t want to be near the ocean. Hurley begins to get suspicious and asks Abbadan for a business card, which Abbadan does not have. Mr. Abbadan asks one last question, “are they alive?” before Hurley freaks out and Mr. Abbadan disappears.
(I believe Mr. Abbadan is actually from Dharma. He’s trying to determine what really happened on the island and if anyone is still alive.)

--Hurley has another vision of Charlie. Charlie says that he is dead, but that he is also “here”. He tries to convince Hurley that “they need you”, and that Hurley is hiding from the truth, that he knows what he need to do.
(At the beginning of the scene, another patient tells Hurley to be careful, that someone is watching him. Hurley turns to see Charlie. This is a misdirection… there is another man in the background that is looking at Hurley. I believe the patient was actually talking about that man, not Charlie. So, is Charlie really dead? Yes, I think so… but what did Charlie mean when he said he was “here”? It could be that Charlie is just Hurley’s conscience, egging him on to doing what is right, but I think it’s possible that this vision is a manifestation of the spirit of the island that has remained with Hurley, and that the island needs him to come back.)

--Later, Jack (who is also living in LA) visits Hurley. Jack seems to be in a fairly good place. He’s back to work at the hospital, trying to grow a beard. He is genuinely happy to see Hurley. Apparently, the Oceanic 6 have become celebrities. Hurley asks Jack if the reporters are leaving him alone, now… Jack says he only has to sign autographs every now and then. Hurley becomes suspicious of the reason for Jack’s visit. Jack admits that after he saw Hurley’s chase and had heard about Hurley’s mental trouble, that he was wondering if Hurley was going to “tell”. Hurley tells Jack that “I don’t think we did the right thing Jack. It want’s us to come back… it’s going to do everything it can…” Jack says “we’re never going back…” Hurley says “never say never!”
(What has happened to these people? Even though the six have escaped the island, they have obviously left people behind. They also had to have escaped under circumstances that they don’t want anyone else to know about.)

Farther into the future…

--Bearded Jack is also beginning to fall apart. Whatever happened to he and the others has been weighing too heavily on his mind and heart. He’s drinking; he’s taking oxycodone like candy. He’s driven to the point of suicide. He’s been using his Oceanic Air golden pass to fly as much as he can… he’s trying to get back to the island, wishing that every plane he is on will crash back there.

--Jack reads something in the paper that leads him to a funeral parlor. Someone he knows has died, but someone who is neither friend nor family. Who could it be? Someone without much of a life in the world… no one attends the funeral.
(I haven’t got a clue as to who this might be. I keep thinking that the coffin was too small to have an adult in it. Could it be Ben? He’s kind of short.)

--Jack talks to the chief of surgery at the hospital about his dad as if he were still alive.
(Is Jack now hallucinating as well? Or was he just in some drug/alcohol stupor and misspoke?)

--Jack becomes obsessive. His apartment is filled with charts and books, trying to find the island. In final desperation, he calls Kate and asks her to meet him. He shows Kate the obituary, and wonders why she was not at the funeral. She asks Jack why he would think that she would go. Jack expresses to Kate that he wants desperately to get back to the island. Kate warns him that “this is not going to change”… their new life. Jack tells her that he is “sick of lying”, that “we made a mistake. We were not supposed to leave.” Kate replies “yes, we were.” Kate can see that she won’t change Jack’s mind. She leaves.
(Kate seems pretty well put together in this scene, and at peace. She’s apparently OK with whatever has happened. She mentions that “he” is waiting for her. Perhaps that “he” is what is making the situation bearable for her. I think that she got off the island because she was pregnant and has had a baby.)

LOST 4.2 - Confirmed Dead

I really enjoyed this episode. The writer’s found a great way to introduce us to the four “freighter people” while giving us some peeks at what’s been happening off the island in the past 91 days. I’ll cover those off the island events in a separate post.

Let’s start with Locke and his entourage…

As you know, I’ve really come to hate Locke lately. His first appearance in this episode made me smirk. Locke seemed to be “communing” with the island. OK, I know it’s been demonstrated that he has a special connection to the island, but now he’s coming off to me like he’s some kind of island swami, and his demeanor seems more hokey than real. Not that this is a bad thing… it helps reinforce my opinion of him. I just hope they don’t take it too far.

I think that Hurley is going to regret accidentally letting on that he knows about the cabin. (It was obvious to me that Ben and Locke both caught on to this… even though they seemed to ignore it.) Just wait until Ben and Locke find out that Hurley’s also seen Jacob! That will be a hoot!

I would like to have seen a bit more discussion about who Locke is taking his orders from. (After Sawyer questions him, Locke tells Sawyer that he is taking his orders from a taller Walt.) I think that Locke is in reality still taking his orders from Jacob, or whatever Jacob is… and I think that Locke doesn’t want the rest of his entourage to know the true nature of his relationship with Jacob. He used the vision of Walt as a deflection. I think that “Walt” was actually another physical manifestation of Jacob, one that could exist outside the cabin, and that we’ve actually seen three incarnations so far (unknown bearded man, Jack’s dad, Walt).

Sawyer comes across much smarter in this episode than usual. I love the way that he keeps pestering Locke about why he is keeping Ben around. We all know that Ben’s a menace… I’m glad that someone is still pointing that out to the somewhat oblivious Locke (perhaps he’s still communing with the island), who calls Ben “harmless. It takes “harmless” Ben’s shooting Charlotte to wake Locke up to the threat (he finally admits that he must “clean up his mess”).

Locke’s “clean up”, of course, leads to one of the episodes climaxes… first Ben’s denial that he knows what the smoke monster is (I think he’s lying), and then his acknowledgement that he knows who the “freighter people” are because he has someone on board their ship! What does that mean? I think it means that Ben has had a lot more contact off island than we’ve ever been lead to think. Perhaps he’s even been off island himself!

Which leads me to a discussion of the “freighter people”.

Even though I know we are supposed to believe that these characters are the new “bad guys” of LOST, I really liked all four of them. They’re all really intriguing characters!

What a weird guy! Dan, the “physicist” – “I don’t like to be pigeonholed” – is described as a genius by another character, and he is such a bad liar. I guess he wasn’t selected for this mission because of his acting chops. I think it’s pretty obvious that he was picked to participate because it was thought that the team might encounter some strange physical phenomenon (“the light doesn’t scatter quite right”) and that his expertise might be needed in that area.

Even though Miles comes across as a jackass, he’s such a cool character. In just a few minutes of screen time, the writers and actor have made him totally believable as a bonafide “ghostbuster”. After all, Naomi “told” him that our survivors didn’t kill her… more on that later. Why was Miles chosen for this team? I think it was because of the strange spiritual forces of the island (whispering voices anyone?). I think that it was thought that Miles’ talent would be extremely valuable in communicating with the island.

Charlotte Staples Lewis (C.S. Lewis?!) is a bit different than the previous two. She seems almost surprised that she is really “here”, on the island… like being “here” is something she’s aspired to for some time. I don’t quite know why she was chosen. In her flashback (again, I’ll discuss that one in another post), she seems to be seeking out Dharma, trying to find evidence of the Initiative. It seems that she does know some pieces of the story of the island… she’s very curious when she sees Claire and Aaron. She asks if the baby was born on the island, as if she knew the difficulties of pregnant women on the island. Why would she be chosen for this mission when someone/thing/entity is so dead set on keeping everything secret?

Frank is obviously tied directly to the story of Flight 815. Why was he chosen for this mission? We know that Frank was trying to blow the whistle on the 815 cover-up. Perhaps he was sent on the mission not only because he could pilot a ‘copter, but also to get rid of him… to shove him aside so that he couldn’t make more noise about what he knew.

A few notes about Naomi – I don’t think that she’s really dead! Remember last season during Paolo and Nikki’s episode, we continued to see flashbacks from their perspective even though we thought that they were dead? The producers explained that on LOST you NEVER see anything from the perspective of a dead person and that that should have been a giveaway that Paolo and Nikki weren’t dead, just paralyzed. Well… if that is one of the “rules” of the LOST world, then Naomi can’t be dead because we saw a scene in this episode from her perspective. It couldn’t have been from Mr. Abbadon’s perspective since we haven’t met him in the current time frame yet. I expect we will see more of Naomi!

Finally… what is the purpose of the mission of the freighter people? As Miles reveals at the other climax of the episode, it is to find Ben. But why?

At first it seems strange that Miles, Dan and Frank are all unfazed by the presence of 815 survivors on the island. I think that they were told that the survivors might be there, and that they were told to lie to them, tell them anything to keep them out of the way so that the team’s real mission could be accomplished. (However, I have to admit that this does not explain why Naomi originally told the group that she had been dispatched by Penny to find Desmond. Maybe she had to make up that story to cover their real mission?)

I think that the Dharma Initiative sent the team there to avenge the people that were killed in the Purge. I think they were sent to kill all of the Others. Why else would they have a box filled with haz-mat uniforms and gas masks? They were going to do unto Ben as Ben did unto them! If the 815 survivors got killed in the process, then they would be acceptable collateral damage.

So, in a very real sense, Ben hasn’t been lying… he told Jack that everyone would die if he contacted the freighter. He just didn’t say it was because of him!

More Notes: LOST 4.1 - The Beginning Of The End

I’ve had a chance to look back through “The Beginning Of The End” and have a few more comments.

As I said in my previous post, I really hate Locke right now. I was entirely ecstatic when Jack “shot” Locke. It doesn’t matter that the gun wasn’t loaded, I still loved the moment.

It’s kind of disturbing that I really liked all of the violent moments in the show…

I particularly loved Danielle for slugging Ben’s face when he called Alex “his” daughter. In fact, I’m very pleased with all of the beating that Ben is taking!

One of the gentle moments that I loved took place when Hurley was talking with Bernard about his lottery winnings. He was expressing how freeing it would be to get back to the real world, where the money won’t matter any more. Particularly sad when juxtaposed against what we’ve seen of Hurley’s future.

Hurley’s always been one of my favorite characters. It’s nice to know that Hurley is “special”… that he too has a connection to the spirit of the Island.

I’m wondering why Hurley saw Jacob in the form of Jack’s dad! Does Jacob present “himself” to each person differently? Does he take on different forms? What is the significance of Hurley’s vision?

There’s been much discussion about the “eye” that Hurley saw and to whom it belonged. My first (and still strongest) impression is that it belongs to Locke… he had been back to the cabin to commune with Jacob and get “further instructions”.

I laughed on my second viewing of the episode when Kate once again screws up by taking events into her own hands (remember when she followed Jack, Locke and Sawyer out to meet Mr. Friendly in season 2). She thinks she is helping by tracking Naomi, but ultimately her actions allow Naomi to warn her cohorts on the freighter.

Another reason I hate Locke: I hate how he preyed on Hurley’s grief when trying to convince Hurley to follow him. I think that if it hadn’t been for Locke’s pushing he would have stayed with Jack.

Although I will give this to Locke, he genuinely appeared sympathetic when he witnessed Hurley telling Claire that Charlie was dead.

But I got extremely angry again when Locke tells the gathered survivors “All I have ever done has been in the best interest of all of us.” To that I say CRAP!!! See my comment in the post below.

Finally a note about the split:

Locke’s group--
In the context presented in the episode, I understand Hurley, Claire and Sawyer’s decision to go with Locke. I get that Rousseau doesn’t want to leave the island, but I don’t quite get why Alex and Karl go with Locke, unless they just want to stay with “family”.

Jack’s group—
I think Sayid stays with Jack because he knows that even if the rescuers are “bad” that the survivors can deal with whatever they bring. We know that Juliette desperately wants to get off the island. I loved Rose’s answer to Bernard when he asks if she wants to stay (knowing that if she leaves her cancer will probably return)… “I’m not going anywhere with THAT man!” Smart cookie! I think Kate stayed simply out of loyalty (not love) for Jack. Finally, why does Desmond stay, even after he’s been warned that it’s “not Penny’s boat”? I’m not sure. We don’t know if he’s had any more flashes that would give him insight as to what is to come. He’s a mystery to me.

LOST 4.1 - The Beginning Of The End

I don't have a lot of comments tonight.

The first episode of the new season was everything I had hoped it would be. Mostly I had hoped that it would be emotionally satisfying... and it was.

I felt Hurley's pain for the loss of his friend Charlie.

I felt Jack's pain at being betrayed by so many of the people that he fought so hard to save.

I felt hatred for Locke for causing the group to split. I don't care if he thinks he's right, or that in the long run he may BE right... he's done nothing but serve his own interests lately... he hasn't earned the trust he's asking for.

I felt hungry for more information on (and can't wait to see, as difficult as they might be to take in) the events that must ultimately put Jack and Hurley in such horrible places.

I got to spend a few more minutes with Charlie... I never really liked him until I saw his life through his eyes in his top 5 life moments.

I got to see a few more brief seconds of Jacob.

I got what I wanted... how about you?

WDCC Ducks!

Some of you know that I collect sculptures from the Walt Disney Classics Collection. This year's membership gift piece is Donald Duck from "Good Scouts". Donald is accompanied by this three nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie! (Forgive me if I spelled their names incorrectly.)

Here are some pictures of the new pieces. I love them!

New Year's Morning!

Here's what waited me when I woke up on New Year's morning...

LOST Season 4

The excitement is building! I can't wait for January 31.

There are also things going on on-line with a new internet game which concludes a few hours before the 4th season premiere.

I have never posted my thoughts on the final episode of season 3 and hope still to do that before season 4 begins. I'll have to go back and re-watch the episode (I got the DVD set for Christmas).