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?
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
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!
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!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
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?
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
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.
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.
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