The Variable

Variable (adj) apt or able to vary or change.

I just wanted to make sure we have a clear definition of the word.

Charles Widmore is Daniel's father. Who didn't see that one coming? But is he really his biological father? Is Eloise his biological mother, for that matter. How do two people have a child and then systematically raise that child for one purpose only? We're talking about a human being not a pet rock!

From every flashback we see, we get one important message. Daniel, it would seem, was conceived in order to return to the island and die at his mother's hands. By adhering to the idiom that one can't change one's destiny, Eloise Hawking has directed every stage of her son's life in one direction. Eloise Hawking has some major redemption of her own to fulfill. It's like she conceived Daniel for the sole purpose of directing his life to the point where she shoots him in 1977, believing that fate is set and there is nothing they can do to stop it. They denied him the small pleasures of life, pushing him toward a destiny they believed he had no chance of avoiding.

I'm wondeirng if she left the island because she shot her own son.

For Daniel's part, he just wanted to make her proud. Everything he did in his life was in hopes that his mother would love him and be proud of him.

Daniel: "Will...will it make you proud of me?"

Eloise: "Yes, Daniel. It will."

Wow. I have never thought so ill of a woman as I do of Eloise Hawking at this point in the show, but then, I see the pain in her eyes during the confrontation outside the Marina Medical Center at the end of the episode.

Charles:"Unfortunately, Eloise, my relationship with Penelope is one of the things I had to sacrifice."

Eloise: "Sacrifice? Don't you talk to me about sacrifice, Charles. I had to send my son back to the Island knowing full well that..."

Widmore: "He was my son, too, Eloise...."

Slap!

What's important here is what Eloise said. "I had to send my son back to the Island knowing full well that...."

Charles and Eloise know exactly what is going to happen to their son.

The winds of change are coming to Dharmaville. The jig is up and the interlopers know that it is time to flee. What with Kate stealing away with young Ben to the Hostiles, Sawyer helping her, Daniel on a whole new level of crazy. Something had to give and Stu Radzinsky is angry and aggressively paranoid and has been itching for a fight for too long. He finds is in the motor pool and gets a shot by a physicist for his trouble. His next fight is at LaFleur's place, only this time he wins.

Jack, Kate and Daniel head for the jungle to seek the others, while Sawyer, Juliet, Miles, Jin and Hurley get ready to depart for the beach. Sawyer and Juliet are arrested and Phil is apparently freed from the closet. We have no clue what happens to Miles, Jin and Hurley.

Daniel leaves Kate and Jack in the jungle and walks into the Hostile's camp demanding to see Ellie, who shoots him. The following exchange says it all.

Richard: "Why did you do that?"

Ellie: "He had a gun on you."

Richard: "He wasn't gonna shoot me, Eloise."

Daniel: "Eloise. You knew. You always knew. You knew this was gonna happen. You sent me here anyway."

Eloise:" Who are you?"

Daniel:"I...I'm your son."

Charles and Eloise raised their son, nurtured his gift, just so they could send him back to the island to be shot by his mother. Either they are so dedicated to the island and their fate that they were able to coldly allow Daniel's promising life to come to this.

WHAT I'm WONDERING

1. Radzinsky annoys the H E L L out of me! That man is such a cheat and a crook that his every action is suspect. He's always been annoying, but what exactly is in his job description?Too bad Daniel only shot him in the hand.


2. Juliet was sure quick to give Kate the code to the sonic fence when she heard Sawyer call her Freckles. Getting rid of the competition?


3. Speaking of Juliet, she knows way more than we think. She's up to something and it has little to do with saving her own butt. Her operating on two people was accepted way to easily. When Sawyer asked if she still had his back, she asked it back. What is she hiding?


4. Jack is finally realizing what his purpose is. He has to lead his people back to 2007 and Locke, then he needs to deal with his father issues.


5. Kate, too, is returning to her purpose and realizes she needs to get to 2007 and find Claire.


6. Richard hasn't changed his shirt is a few days. He has that same purple shirt on. Doesn't anyone in the camp know how to do laundry? And how did he know that Daniel wasn't going to shoot him?


7. Is Charles Widmore really Daniel's father, and if so, what kind of a man would purposely send his own child to his death for the sake of protecting a bloody island? I don't think the Island wanted it that way.

QUOTES OF NOTE

Sawyer - Phil, Jack. Jack, Phil. *closes closet*

Daniel - Think about it. A Chinese man named Miles, the same name as your son, shows up with me from the future.....

Daniel - Why would you tell me that?

Charles - Because come tomorrow, you won't remember I did.

Sawyer - Your mother is an Other?

Sawyer - Welcome to the meeting, Twitchy. Good to see you again. Pound cake's in the kitchen. Help yourself to the punch.

Jack - You need a gun to talk to your mother, Dan?

Daniel - You don't know my mother.

And my all-time new favourite!

Jack: I'm kinda getting used to insane.

SPECULATION

Here is what I think. I think Jack doubted that they were supposed to land in 1977 and has been waiting for confirmation, which he got from Daniel. Now he will emerge to lead his people to rescue Sawyer and Juliet and then find their way back to 2007. During their fight, the incident will occur anyway, but certain "events" of the future will never happen as a result of their actions in 1977. At least I hope so.

Think about it. If Oceanic 815 had never crashes, Sawyer will never grow into the loving man he is with Juliet. Juliet will be trapped, the object of two men's desires. Kate will go to jail and will never have learned how important a mother's love truly is. Hurley will forever believe the numbers are cursed and would probably lose half his fortune in the credit crunch of 2008/2009, as well, he probably would never reconcile with his father. Rose would die from her cancer and Bernard would be completely devastated. Claire would have given up her baby for adoption and never would have known the joy of true love only having a child can bring.

Of course, all those people who died in and after the crash wouldn't have died. Ana Lucia, Libby, Mr. Eko, Dr. Artz. Ethan. Charlie would still be whacked out on heroin and Miles would still be scamming bereaved parents. Emma and Zack would still be shunted between parents. Boone and Shannon would still be playing their petty games and Paolo and Nikki would again be looking for ways to cheat each other out of the diamonds. Desmond would probably still be pushing a button every 108 minutes instead of finally connecting with Penny and having baby Charlie.

There's benefits and disadvantages to everything that happens in the world. Cause and effect. Action and reaction. The human condition that allows us to think, make our choices and exercise free will. Daniel was right. People are the variables! We will always be unpredictable. Wavering. Fluctuating. Mercurial.

Photo from Dark UFO

I'm Wondering......

Today I had an odd thought and, after mulling it over and over and over, wondered if anyone else had the same idea.

As with all great algebraic calculations there are constants and variables. We all know the constant never changes and, therefore, it is always there. The variable, however, is an unknown and if we choose to use the incorrect option the solution will unfortunately be catastrophic. I know this for fact because until the one of the smartest men I ever knew explained this to me, I was failing algebra.

I believe that Eloise Hawking may have made a gargantuan miscalculation and Jack, Hurley, Kate and Sayid were never supposed to land in 1977. Indeed, they were never supposed to be on Ajira 316 at all. And, after all that has happened, the effects of their presence in 1977 Dharma will resonate into the future like ripples on the water after a stone is tossed in.

Sayid shooting young Ben. Jack's refusal to help Juliet save young Ben's life. Kate donating blood. Hurley's garlic mayo. None of it should have ever happened.

I'm not an astrophysicist and can't really wrap my accountant brain around too much of this, but I'm willing to bet Eloise Hawking's assertion that "The universe has a way of course correcting" is the direct result of her manipulating others in order to fix her mistake!

Well.............

Nestor Carbonell Has The Most Soothing Voice......

While the clip show this week didn't really tell us anything we didn't know, I learned something new. Nestor Carbonell could make a gazillion bucks recording novels onto CD's! You know which ones I mean. They were originally intended as a tool for the blind so they, too, could enjoy the nuances of a novel without having to concentrate through their fingertips.

So, here`s what the clip show told us.

1. Eloise Hawking is Daniel Faraday`s mother. No big surprise there.
2. Charles Widmore did, indeed, stage the fake Oceanic 815 in the Sunda Trench. I`m a bit disappointed by this, actually.
3. Sun really was going to kill Ben as revenge for Jin`s apparent death.
4. Desmond is still hot.
5. No matter how many different angles they shoot Bearded Jack, it`s still a terrifying sight.

Well, that`s it. Just a note to Team Darlton. Never, ever, give Jack a beard again!

Something Interesting . . . .

Nickb123 has posted an interesting argument over on Lostpedia Blog detailing why he thinks Widmore staged the fake Oceanic 815 in the Sunda Trench. He makes some pretty valid points, including some details within the FIND 815 ARG, which I played, and connecting them to Widmore.

Personally I disagree with Nickb123, but I enjoy healthy debate and wanted to make a note of this particular blog.

The Origins of Illana and Bram?

I just stumbled across Docartz's interesting theory about who Illana and Bram are. Some things are begining to make sense and it seems to correlate to my earlier post.

The More I Think About It.........

......The more I am convinced that the third faction of the upcoming war on the island is a newly restructured Dharma Initiative. Jay over at Mistaking Coincidence for Fate has suggested as much and so has Frakkin Toaster over at Second Exodus.

A DI that is determined to reclaim the island, rebuild it's stations and return to the business of finding a way to change the Valenzetti Equation, which was one of their main purposes in the beginning (according to lostpedia).



Illana and Bram, I believe, are working for the new Dharma Initiative. By the way, I think the new DI no longer espouses on about that 70's principal of peace, love and joy, as evidenced by the way Illana rifle punches poor Frank (you will pay for that Illana). In the same vein, though, I don't think they use violence gratuitously either. Unlike Ben and Widmore, whereby winning must come no matter the cost to innocents alike (read Alex, Karl, Danielle) their main purpose remains as close to the original conception as possible.



Eloise Hawking, in my opinion, is working with the new DI as well. I'm basing this assertion on the fact that she's been working in the Lamp Post for several years (as stated by Widmore) and pin pointing the next place where the island will emerge. I can not believe that her work was merely to make sure the O5 are able to make their return. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

1. Eloise Hawking course corrected Desmond to the island in his flashes so he could push the button and save the world. I'm not sure if it was fated, as in meant to be, or if it was because the DI needed Desmond there.
2. Also, how did Illana and Bram (and the rest of their group) know to take Ajira Flight 316 if she didn't give it to them?
3. The food drops. Since Ben wasn't aware of them or the Swan's existence(as team Darlton have assured us) then the DI had to be continuing them in order to ensure their button pusher didn't starve to death. Therefore, not all the DI off island were killed when the purge took place and the Hostiles were not aware of every station. There was a reason why they had to maintain the Swan, see electromagnetism, and Eloise's work helped to located the island for the drops.
4. Eloise has been conspicuously absent from the island since at least 1977 and into the 90's, when Chuckie boy is exiled. I'm not sure why, but I just know it has something to do with Daniel.

Speaking of Daniel, I think the first time he arrives on the island is on the Kahana, simply because his nose didn't bleed during the flashes through time. Only those who had been on the island for any amount of time prior to the turning of the wheel suffered from the nose bleeds. Yes, I am aware that Widmore funded Daniel's research on time travel and is paying for Teresa's medical care, I just haven't managed a realistic explanation for it. Unless, as some have suggested, Chuckie spawned Daniel with Ellie (if so, that makes him a two timing cheat.)

There are some great arguments out there, but I can see that many of us are leaning toward a new Dharma Initiative. It makes perfect sense, really.

I'm not finished working this through, but let me know what you think so far. If you have any ideas, or have found the many Swiss cheese holes I'm sure are there, again, let me know.

Namaste

Arcticroses.

Some Like It Hoth.....

Where do I begin? I have so many thoughts rushing through my mind right now that even I'm confused by the chaos that it has created!

Some Like It Hoth surpassed my expectations on many levels. Team Darlton have set the bar rather high and I hope they can maintain that altitude throughout the rest of the season. It doesn't matter if they don't though, because I'd watch no matter what. I've invested too much of my life in LOST to give up now and, like your battered retirement investments, it will come back stronger than ever. How's that for total faith?


I'm going to try a different layout of how I review this episode. Usually I recap and jump back and forth, like the episode, but I want to see if my thoughts make more sense the way.


MILES'S FLASHBACKS

As soon as I saw the woman trying to rent the apartment, I realized it was Miles' mother. Seeing Lara, it wasn't that much of a leap for confirmation that Pierre Chang was Miles' father. We were supposed to learn that Miles and his mother were now going it alone in the world and that around the age of sevenish (?) Miles' gift was beginning to emerge, much to his torment.

We then see a much older Miles, with enough piercings to sink a battleship, visit his mother. He certainly looked like a rebel and, judging from the tone of his voice, he and his mother haven't exactly been on the best of terms. Miles learns that his father kicked them out when he was an infant and his mother tells him that his father never really cared about them at all. Oh yeah, and he's dead and buried in a place you can never go.

We next see an even older Miles as he speaks with a grieving father about his son. Miles tries to explain that he can't talk to a cremated body, but the Mr. Gray doesn't hear that. "You ad said anytime, anywhere..." So, Miles charges him extra, holds the man's hands and scams him. We know it's a scam. As he's leaving Mr. Gray's place Naomi introduces herself and, very cleverly, offers Miles a job.

She takes him to an empty restaurant where there's a body and tells Miles to talk to the poor guy. His name is Felix and he was delivering papers, photos, etc. to Widmore. Photos of empty graves, an invoice for an old plane. Miles didn't say how he died, but I'm sure we can figure it out. Naomi tells him that her team needs his abilities. There's this island, and on this island is a very bad man who killed a whole bunch of people. They need Miles to talk to the dead people and get their help to capture this man.

"Much as hunting down a mass murderer sounds really sage, ah, I'm gonna have to pass."

"My employer is willing to pay you $1.6 million"

"When do we leave?"

Later, as Miles is having a snack of a fish taco (I'd never heard of a fish taco until now) a van pulls up beside him and some guy says: "Hi Miles"

Now, I'm not sure about you, but my parents always told me never to talk to strangers, even strangers who know my name. But what does Miles do? Yeah, he stops long enough to be grabbed and dragged into the van and introduced to Bram. And where have we seen him before? You got it, on the beach at Hydra Island. Bram attempts to persuade Miles not to board the freighter and go to the island, offers to tell him everything about himself and his father, how he got his gift and even teasing him, and us, with the riddle of "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" Since Miles is totally clueless, much like Frank was, Bram tells him he's not ready to go to the island and tosses Miles out of the van.

There's a lot of speculation about Bram and Illana and their gang. Some people were thinking that they are working for Widmore, but I don't think so. Why would Chuckie have his own people talk his employees out of working for him? And he doesn't work for Ben, because Ben would have recognized him on the plane and on the beach.

Here's what I think. Bram and Illana work for Eloise Hawking and I also think that she had been evicted from the island. Either by Chuckie or Ben, it doesn't matter, because the fact remains that she is not on the island and hasn't been there for some time. Her absence from the 1977 camp was glaringly obvious, and even more pointed when Chuckie is exiled some years later. Perhaps she chose to leave in order to conduct important research, but I'm not banking on that. I think she had a falling out with Charles and left years ago, and her involvement in the Lamp Post comes from meeting her grown up son in the past.

Just before Miles leaves to board the freighter he returns to see Mr. Gray to return his money and apologize. He lied about talking to his son. When asked why he came back Miles told him it wasn't fair to Mr. Gray's son. "If you wanted your son to know that you loved him, why didn't you tell him when he was alive?" Now that's an excellent question, Miles.

ON THE ISLAND HAPPENINGS:
Kate and Sawyer, uhm, LaFleur, return from handing little Ben over to the Hostiles to be healed. Sawyer calls Miles on the walkie and tells him to accidentally erase a certain security tape, oddly enough it's number four. In Asian cultures the number four is associated with death. As Miles is about to erase the tape he is interrupted by Horace, who has an urgent package for LaFleur to deliver. Unfortunately LaFleur is not reachable, so Horace must bring Miles into the "circle of trust" and have him deliver an urgent package to Radzinsky in sector 324, which is where the Swan is being built. It is also in the middle of Hostile territory.

Miles drives to where Horace tells him to and is almost shot by Radzinsky. I dislike that man even more than before, which is difficult considering I despised him when he kept voting to kill everyone (the gorgeous Sayid, namely). Speaking of Hostile! The package turns out to be a body bag, which is quickly filled and loaded into the back of the powder blue Dharma van and Miles sent on his way back to Dharmaville.

Since we know a little bit about Miles, we know that he just can't not ask questions. And, when answers are not forth coming from the living, he turns to the dead for an explanation. Poor dude didn't even know what hit him but considering he was thinking about a girl, I'm hoping he went with a happy thought. From this we know that there was no foul play, but Dharma is involved in covering up his death. Electromagnetism pulled his filling out of it's socket through poor Alvarez's brain. It was an accident. Radzinsky said he fell into a ditch.

"The ditch had a gun?" Too flipping funny Miles!

Back at Dharmaville, Horace is on the horn with Pierre Chang, who wants the body brought to the Orchid for examination. And Miles is off again on his delivery mission, only this time, Hurley has hitched a ride. He has lunch for the work crew that must also be delivered.

"We can car pool. It'll help with global warming, which hasn't happened yet. Maybe we can prevent it." Gotta love Hurley. I'd like to say right now, that pairing Miles and Hurley as sparring partners was a stroke of brilliance. These two play off each other so well. Miles is no Charlie, but this relationship is so much different.

Hurley soon smells something amiss and makes Miles stop so he can check on his sandwiches, worried that his famous garlic mayo has gone bad.
Hurley-Dude, there's a body bag back here, with a body in it."
Miles-"That traditionally what you put in a body bag."
So, Miles and Hurley chitchat about what happened to Alvarez and Hurley asks the $64,000 question. "How does a filling get blown through someones brain?" Miles swears Hurley to secrecy and off they go again. At the Orchid they meet Pierre Chang, who freaks over Hurley's presence and threatens him with a transfer to the Hydra to scoop Polar Bear poop.

Dr. Chang disappears and then returns, getting Miles and Hurley to give him a lift to an unknown location and during the ride Hurley asks Chang questions designed so that Miles can learn some information about his father. He even goes so far as to suggest a little get together over beer! Suddenly Chang tells Miles to stop, he gets out and goes to a wall of jungle vines, opens a gate and gets back into the van. Inside is the site where the Swan is being built, and it's here that Hurley realizes exactly what it is being built.

They leave Chang at the Swan and head home to Dharmaville. On the way they talk about the differences between their powers and Hurley tries to convince Miles to forge a relationship with his father, but Miles refuses. "Maybe he'll let you hold baby you, or you could change your own diaper" must have struck a chord, because we later see Miles watching Pierre holding his son and reading to him a story about Polar Bears! Miles tears up and turns away, but is diverted when Chang calls out to him. He needs a ride to the dock to collect a package. When Miles asks if there are new recruits, he is told the sub is bringing in some scientists from Ann Arbor.

Roger returns from the Staff station with the supplies Juliet had sent him to get and, upon seeing the empty hospital bed, assumes his boy has passed away. Juliet couldn't think fast enough and so leads him to believe that Ben has been abducted and so he storms off the report it to security. We next see Roger sitting on the swing having a beer or two. Kate has a good heart, but she really should think these things through. She tried to comfort Roger and assure him that everything will be okay, but he wasn't too receptive. In fact, her actions made him wonder and he voiced his suspicions to Jack later on.

The new Jack really rocks. He's just doing his job and keeping a low profile, but something tells me that'll change soon. He stood calmly while Roger cast aspersions on Kate, then very gently planted the seed of doubt.
"I think, Roger, that you've had a hell of a day, and that its giving you a very good excuse to go out and get drunk. maybe that's put some crazy ideas into your head......"
Jack then did something I wasn't expecting. He went to Sawyer and gave him the lowdown.

Speaking of Sawyer, poor dude can't catch a break.
"Did you ever have one of those days when you're the Dutch boy with his finger......." Yeah, it's gets even better, my friend. Phil proves just how creepy he is by bringing that un-erased tape to Sawyer and get's punched out for his trouble.
"I figured that after three years of working together, I'd give you the benefit of the doubt........" Cue total unconsciousness and Sawyer drops him.

Miles delivers Chang to the dock and helps the groggy passengers with their luggage. As he is helping with a suitcase a new arrival pops his head out of the sub. It's a somewhat more lucid Daniel!

STAR WARS
I thought I would address the massive Star Wars references separately. Thirty years ago Star Wars premiered to mediocre reviews and box office billions. Kids know a good story when they see it. I know that JJ Abrams is a massive Star Wars fanatic. I saw the first movie eleven times and the next two several times as well, but I've seen every installment of Star Trek so many times I could almost recite them from memory. I didn't clue in to the fact that Hurley was writing the Empire Strikes Back until he told Miles, but I couldn't stop laughing and, after some thought, realized that's exactly what I would do.
"It's furry. Furry fist. I need spell check." He told Miles.

A Few Things:

Did Pierre Chang really just toss his wife a child out, or did he send them away for their won safety? Could he have sworn her to secrecy, the truth never to be told even upon death?

Does Dharma really think the Hostiles don't know that they are building the Swan station in their territory and thus breaking the agreement?

Felix was delivering photos of empty graves and a requisition for an old airplane to Widmore when he was killed. Did Ben have him killed and try to turn the evidence against Widmore (as Gualt had told Desmond and Sayid on the Kahana)?

Who does Bram work for?

What was the original purpose of the Swan and how long has Dharma known about the electromagnetism?

Something is bothering me. When Chang disappeared into the Orchid and then came back, Miles asked him what happened to the body, to which He replied: "What body?" I've almost convinced myself that there are two, possibly more, Pierre Changs running around the island. Maybe the result of an experiment gone awry? While he retains all the memories of the original Pierre, such as his life with his wife and child, education, etc, he doesn't have the recent day ti day, hour to hour memories. I'm not sure if this makes sense, and I haven't even begun to work out the logistics of it all, so I'm positive there are more holes in this idea than there are in Swiss cheese.

Next week we get a clip show about the O6, but from their prospective. Could be interesting, however I don't think we'll learn anything earth shattering. Then, on schedule is The Variable, and judging by the preview things are about to go pear shaped for our beloved Losties.

Until next week.

Namaste and good luck

Arcticroses

WhooT! Susan Boyle Is Utterly Amazing!

Today I was reduced to tears.

Normally I am a rockin' girl, meaning I prefer rock music over any other genre. I do, however, have a soft spot for Andrew LLoyd Weber's work.

If you haven't already checked out Susan Boyle's stunning performance on You Tube, please do so now. Despite singing such a sad song, about dreams and those dreams being torn to shreds, I felt only joy deep in my heart. Utterly Amazing!!!!!!!

A few Questions and Maybe one or Two Answers

Every week, usually after I've posted my recap, I visit Lostpedia and read the episode synopsis, just to see if I've missed something important. Like many of you who write recaps I am seriously obsessed with LOST. Unlike many of you, I do not have years of training (university) to show me what to look for in the way of symbolism, recurring themes, etc. Although I can easily see much of the symbolism's, recurring themes and such, they are so obvious to me that I tend to not point them out. If it's obvious to me, I assume it's obvious to everyone else. Which is why I follow blogs such as Dark UFO, Long Live Locke, Nik at Nite, and Mistaking Coincidence for Fate, among others.

I always make sure to credit whichever writer I quote, and if I can't recall where the idea or picture came from, I always try to make sure I note as such. I would also hope that, should I not credit someone with a quote, they would contact me so that I can take the steps to ensure credit is given where credit is due.

On Thursday, news broke about a video recapper who has been stealing, that's exactly what it is, word for word, the works of other bloggers, namely Vozzek69 from Dark UFO and Erica Olsen who writes the Long Live Locke blog, and claiming the work as his own. I find this practice utterly reprehensible and am thankful that I have never heard of this Seanie B person.

With dates of original post clearly stated on the previously mentioned blogs, I am hopeful that intellectual ownerships and copy writes are proven and the matter dealt with as quickly as possible. I also hope that these bloggers keep up their excellent work and understand their true followers rely on not just their analysis' but also their one of a kind points of view.

Namaste and good luck.

Arcticroses

Dead is Dead - The Numbers on the Crate

Somewhere out there was a screencap of the numbers on the cargo crate that Illana and her henchmen were trying to move/open. I saved it, but I can't remember where I found it in order to give the proper credit and for that I am very sorry. I usually put where I got the screencaps right in the name of the picture I save. Only this time, I forgot.

FEW MORE THOUGHTS ON DEAD IS DEAD

I've been thinking about Illana's question to Frank Lapidus. A lot. It's begun to consume me. And then I visited Mistaking Coincidence for Fate and read his take on Illana, had a that's what I was thinking moment and pondered even more.

"What lies in the shadow of the statue?"

In LaFleur we got to see the back of the statue when Sawyer, Juliet, Miles and Jin were flashing back and forth through time. Our glimpse was very brief but screencaps were posted on Dark UFO, Lost Media's Photo Gallery and everywhere else on the LOST internet.

But it was where they were standing when they saw the statue that interests me. Sawyer, Juliet, Miles and Jin were at the temple wall. The same place where Montand lost his arm and the very same place where Richard took an injured young Ben to be healed.Locke took Ben to face his judgement beneath this mysterious place.

Ben explained that the Others built the wall to keep the temple hidden.

"We built the wall to keep people like you out. The temple is located a about a half a mile from here" Or something close to that.

In any religion or faith, the temple is a haven, an important place to go for worship and, in times of need, shelter. It is where we go when we seek spiritual guidance and the strength to cope with hardship. It is where Ben told Richard to take their people, the only place on the island he knew where they would be safe. It was where he had sent Danielle, Karl and Alex.

I think Illana is looking for the temple. And, like Jay, I think she brought reinforcements in the form of other passengers and whatever is in that cargo crate.

However, I'm still trying to figure out who she is working for. At one time I entertained the thought that Ben had hired her to bring Sayid to Guam on the simple proof that only those in the Lamp Post knew which flight provided the best opportunity to get back to the island. Oh yeah, and the fact that I believed that only Ben knew that it was Sayid who killed Avelino in the Seychelles. There are some good arguments that it's Widmore who hired her, but how would he know which flight the O6 were planning to take? Which brings me to Eloise Hawking.

We are aware that she knows Whidmore from their time on the island. The very nature of their relationship is fuzzy at best, and we have been given hints here and there that they may have been a team at one point, leading the Others as a couple. However, there is the small matter of the births of Daniel Faraday and Penny Widmore. We now know that Charles frequently left the island and had a child with a woman on the outside. What we don't know is how Ellie came to be off the island and working in the Lamp Post.

Something tells me that she and Widmore do not have as close a relationship as they once enjoyed. Okay, that's blatantly obvious, but what if Ellie is also planning a return to the island? Aside from the O6 and Ben, I think she's the only other person who knew that Ajira 316 was their best chance of getting back to the island.

It's not perfect, but there it is. Let me know what you think.

Dead is Dead

Like a knight on his trusty steed, Charles Widmore comes riding into camp. At first, I thought we were going waaaaaaaay back in time to the 16th Century from the way the Others were dressed. Chuckie's hair almost confirmed it, until the dude in the Dharma issue coveralls strolled by (I watched that clip three times just to be sure). I'm not the only one who thinks Chuckie's hair is really, really bad. Sort of like Mandy Potamkin's delicious do in The Princess Bride.

We see Charles confront Richard about bringing Ben into the temple and allowing the island to heal him. I love that Richard shut Charles up by telling him that "Jacob" wanted it done this way. Jacob seems to be the proverbial "Not Me" or the "He Did It" scapegoat. "The island chooses who the island chooses." Richard told Charles. Much to the later's chagrin. We see him grudgingly accept the island's will. But something tells me that Charles, despite claiming that he is trying to protect the island, is only wanting to use the island for much of his own gain and he is willing to kill anyone who gets in his way.

We then see Charles introduce himself to young Ben and explain that despite living with the Dharma people, it doesn't make him Dharma. Sort of like being a doctor and living among nurses, I guess. When Ben tells him that he's rather stay with the Others, Charles tells him not yet....sort of.

When next we see Ben he is waking up to find John Locke sitting at his bedside and shows genuine surprise at finding Locke alive, then claimed to know this would happen. "It's one thing to believe it, John. It's another thing to see it." I loved the intrigued expression on John's face when Ben said he had come back to the island to be judged for all he had done. And thus Ben's journey to judgement and redemption begins.

Until now we have only seen some of the horrible circumstances that helped to create the monster that Ben has become. We're aware that he has had to grow up with a father who expressed nothing short of hatred toward him for the loss of his wife during childbirth. But now, we learn how, while healing Ben, the island exacted a price that perhaps, if given the choice, he may not have been willing to pay.

When Charles sends Ben and a very young bloodthirsty Ethan (where the hell did he come from?) to knock off the outsider, Ben learns there's a child. I have no doubt in my mind that he would have killed Danielle without a second thought if he hadn't found baby Alex as well. I used to think that Ben took the baby because he desperately wanted one and couldn't have one (misguided by the whole no baby's or mothers survive into second trimester thingee), but now I realize that Ben took Alex for other reasons.

Humour me on this one, okay? We all see that Ben has a soft spot for mothers and, deep inside his fabric of being, his conscience can not allow him to force an innocent baby to grow up without it's mother. This is confirmed twice in Dead is Dead. We know, also, that Ben took baby Alex back to the camp and challenged Widmore's authority. By the look of the Others' faces when he challenged Widmore to murder an innocent babe, I think they do not believe the island would have wanted the child to be killed either. Innocence is something to be preserved and relished. By showing the Other's that he was willing to defy Charles' orders, he has begun to slowly assert his own claim on the island. It isn't long after that scene that Charles is forcibly removed from the island, though I was disappointed that he went without much of a fight.

"You had a daughter with an outsider!" Ben berated Charles. Since we've not seen Ellie Hawkin, could she, too, have had Daniel with an outsider? Is that why she is no longer on the island and must hang in the deepest reaches of the Lamp Post station?

Back to John and Ben over on Hydra, and in the present of 2007.

Ben stops by to see what Illana and her peeps are up to and happily accepts her lame explanation and refusal of help. Have a nice day, he says. Am I the only one who giggled at how totally gay he sounded when he said that. I half expected him to skip away happily to play dolls. I like him and Michael Emmerson deserves multiple Emmy's for portraying such amazing talent. We next see Ben have a chat with Ceasar. I almost choked when he inferred that John was already on the island when the plane crashed and that he was possibly crazy. Master manipulator Ben at his best.

My heart hurt a little when Ben found the photo of himself and Alex, but that quickly passed. Like John, I never imagined Ben running things from behind a desk and almost fell to the floor laughing while John sat and propped his feet up. This is a very different John Locke from the man who left the island and we see that when he lets Ben ramble on about why he had to kill him. However, I didn't really clue in to this different Locke until he assured Ben.

"If everything you have done is in the best interest of the the island, then I'm sure the monster will understand."

John knows more about the island than he ever did before! I thought.

Then Ben shoots Ceasar and off they paddle to the main island where Ben must face his fate. Was I the only one who thought John sitting on the dock to put on his socks and shoes was kind of funny? Dharmaville was just as spooky as when Sun and Frank entered. John questions why the Others moved into the houses when Jacob shuns technology, but the answer is not forthcoming when a light goes on in Ben's old house. Specifically Alex's bedroom.

This is when I had my second he's different thought.

Ben: "You don't have the first idea of what this island wants?"

John: "Are you sure about that?"

Turns out Sun was planning on spending the night. Her shock and surprise at learning that John is alive is nothing compared to Ben's shock at learning that the rest of the O6 are stuck in Dharmaville thirty years ago. He has no idea how they got there or how to get to them. Locke, though, has some ideas how to help Sun find Jin. Frank cuts out and heads back to the other island to see if he can fix the radio. Sun, Ben and Locke are going to figure out how to get to Jin. But first, Ben must seek judgement from the monster and calls him by pulling a plug from a dirty ancient basin.

While John wanders off into the jungle and Sun sits patiently waiting on the porch. Ben paces nervously. As well, he should, too. He has a lot to answer for. But ole smokey doesn't come at Ben's bidding (pets have a mind of their own sometimes) and John decides they must go to the mountain. When Ben protests that he doesn't know where it lives, John, providing my third "he knows" moment, responds that he does.

So far the flashbacks have provided us with snippets of Ben's compassion toward mothers and babies and I was beginning to truly doubt my assertion of Ben's uber evilness. I was almost convinced. Then we flashed to the marine in LA. Ben is phoning Charles and telling him that his daughter is soon to be dead. He shot Desmond, and I thought our favorite button pushing brutha really was a gonner, and stomped down the pier toward Penny.

Am I the only one who thinks naming their boat after Desmond's favorite book was cool?

But I digress. I believed it when Ben apologized to Penny for what he was about to do. Like Alex, she didn't have anything to do with the war that rages between Linus and Widmore, but in Ben's mind it had to be an-eye-for-an-eye. Enter the cutest curly haired kid named Charlie and immediately Ben's resolve wavers. Seriously wavers. I'm positive I wasn't the only person who yelled out in triumph when Desmond opened a can of whupa** on Ben. Now we know how he came to be bruised and cut and wearing a sling when he boarded Ajira 316. More importantly, we know that he failed to carry out his threat. Widmore may have gotten the eye, but Ben would get something much better.

John Locke leads Ben and Sun to the temple, or rather the temple wall and the place where Montand lost his arm. The fact that this is the wall and not the temple is important, but I'll go into that later. Ben and Locke scramble down the hole and into the bowels of where the Monster calls home. They go so far and, knowing that this was his judgement and his alone, thanks John for his guidance and goes on alone. And promptly falls through the floor. Despite possibly being swallowed whole by the Monster, Ben's humour is still there.

I'm not going to go into great detail with the smoke monster judgement scene. I am, however, going to stick my neck out and state that I firmly believe the statue we saw the back of in LaFleur is that of Anubis. Check out the hieroglyphs! There's also an excellent argument for what, or who the statue and the black smoke monster could represent over at Lostpedia Blog. Suffice it to say, the Ole Smokey clicked, flashed and swirled around Ben, showing him scenes of his past which displayed compassion and the occasional bad decision (ie. allowing Alex to be murdered by Keamy), and deemed that Ben is still of use to the island.

But before he was permitted to leave the bowels of the temple, Ben had a face to face with Alex. The agony in his voice was heart wrenching and the shock in his eyes as she pinned him against the pillar and issued the island's warning that John Locke is the `chosen one.`

`I know that you are already planning to kill John again. If you so much as touch him, I will hunt you down and destroy you!` Notice Ghost Alex did not say kill. I`m wondering is Ben can be killed or if, when the island healed him, he achieved a form of immortality. Perhaps he has to kill himself before his dead is dead and maybe that is why he killed John. Of course, that idea can be blown to smithereens next week and I could be totally wrong. It`s happened before.

I think the island is not done with Ben and his purpose is not finished. He is needed.

Back to the Hydra and Frank, where Illana asks a very interesting question of a bemused Frank: "What lies in the shadow of the statue? Poor Frank is clueless and gets clobbered for not knowing. "Get everyone else. Tell them it's time...." Time for what, exactly? Who are the others? First of all, I haven't the foggiest who she's working for, but I'm pretty sure she was well prepared for island life when she boarded that plane in L.A.

But the question, "What lies in the shadow of the statue" has intrigued me. The only thing I can think that is near the statue, or what's left of the statue, is the temple. We haven't seen it yet and I'm wondering what special qualities the temple may have that the Others felt necessary to build a wall to protect it. I'm hoping we find out soon enough.

Some other quotes:

• Every time you hear whispers, you run the other way!
• I was just hoping for an apology.
• I just didn't have time to back into hanging yourself, John.
• You just make friends everywhere you go, don't you?
• As long as the dead guy say's there's a reason, then I guess things are just peachy.
• Now the only ones here to help us are a murderer and a guy who can't remember how he got out of the coffin.
• Ben - This is where the island healed me.
• John - Let`s hope it`s as generous this time around.

Okay, so there you have it. My take on Dead is Dead. I have a few theories floating around my head, but until I can get them into some sort of coherent sense, I'm keeping them to myself.

Until next week, Namaste and Good Luck

Arcticroses

Whatever Happened, Happened....Initial Thoughts.

This has got to be one of the best, if not the best, Kate centric episode ever! Holy pile of crepes, monsieur, but I truly loved this one! I've always had a soft spot for Kate, yet have despised the character at times (specifically when she waffled between Jack and Sawyer and played them against each other), but I was always able to find some good qualities within her to hang on to during those tough times when her actions totally ticked me off.

Okay, so it didn't have a great deal of explosions or guns going off or even a good fist fight, but it gave us the answer to one question that's been deeply troubling me since the beginning of the season. What did Kate do with Aaron and why did she voluntarily return to the island.

I admit that I was on the Carole Littleton bandwagon early on and always believed Kate would do the right thing....eventually. If you look back at the things Kate has done since crashing on the island, you will notice that many of her actions could be interpreted as the correct thing to do. Her methods have not always been the most conventional, nor legal for that matter, but I believe her motives have been with the best intentions. For those who really hate Kate, I really hope you give her credit where credit is due.

SURVIVOR'S GUILT?

Kate's visits to Cassidy answered a few questions. We now know what Sawyer whispered in Kate's ear just before he leaped from the helicopter. Take care of my kid. A bit late in the day, in my view, but at least, when he thought it was all over for him, he considered his daughter's future. Cassidy convinced Kate that she needed Aaron to mend her broken heart, but I'm not sure it was Sawyer who broke it. Rather I think that the entire experience on the island, and the fact that people whom Kate really loved and cared about were left behind, is what actually broke her heart. That and the fact that she knew how much Claire had come to love her son. I think I'd probably do the same thing, just in case there were an iota of a chance that Claire may someday emerge. The heart has it's reason of which reason knows nothing about.

JULIET OPERATES AGAIN!
Once again Juliet dons the scrubs and tries her best to save another kid. Admittedly, she is not a surgeon and her expertise in that field are seriously limited, but she did her best. How is it that Horace and the other Dharmaites don't seem to question a motor pool mechanic's amazing medical ability? Why haven't they transferred her from the garage to the infirmary after she safely delivered a baby by Cesarean section? And how did LaFleur explain that one, I wonder?

I have to agree, though, that 1977 Ben is just an innocent kid and not the murdering, manipulative liar we've seen thus far. This Ben isn't the same person the survivors knew in the future-past. More on that later.

I HADN'T THOUGHT OF THAT, HUH.
You gotta love the Hurley-Miles debate of cause and effect and the entire time travel-you-can't-change-anything-cause-it's-already-happened theory. I've been questioning Miles' purpose in the whole picture, but have decided to be patient. His time will come, right? Right Darlton? Anyway, I laughed so hard when Hurley stumped him.

Hurley has got to be one of the best characters on this show! He may not appear to do much but his value is more than the total of most characters. He comes across as not too bright but then, when we least expect it.....Blip! Another Hurleyism that speaks volumes of wisdom. Hurley usually gets it right, as well.

As an aside: Nik at Nite has posted three very clever explanations of the time travel time line thingee on her blog. I found these very helpful, being the non-rocket scientist physicist that I am (the accountant in me says this is all wrong, but I gotta go with it).

NOPE, NOT GONNA DO IT AGAIN.....

Jack totally rocked this episode! I've been having a difficult time accepting the new man of faith, but he made the right call. He came back to the island, accepted the job he had been given as a janitor, and willingly walked away from the temptation to fix things for everyone. Back then, in the past-future, Jack was always fixing things because everyone expected him to, not because he wanted to. Remember, he never really wanted to be their leader, but stepped up to the plate and accepted that not everyone would accept his decisions. Now, in 1977, he has a different role to fill. He just doesn't know exactly what it is yet. When the island is ready, all will be made perfectly clear for him.

"I already saved Benjamin Linus and I did it for you, Kate. I'm not going to do it again"

Basically, what Jack is telling Kate, is that he's done fixing things for everyone when they require him to do so. Sooner or later, Jack will figure out what his purpose is and then, and only then, will he become the man of faith who leads.

ROGER IS CREEPY. THAT IS ALL

Roger kind of creeped me out. I was used to the despicable father-of-the-year candidate and believed that there was no redemption for him. Then he goes and regrets being the world's worst father and admits that he's made some major mistakes while raising his son. His distress at Ben's condition seemed genuine. Thankfully, Juliet sends him to the medical hatch to fetch some supplies in an effort to give him something to do. That was quite thoughtful of her, really. Either that or she just wanted to get him out of her hair.

I'm loving Sawyer and Juliet together. I may have said as much before, but this is one relationship that needs to continue. I'll admit, I thought Kate's reason for returning to the island was Sawyer and was not looking forward to seeing her ruin something so wonderful for Sawyer. Sawyer admitted that he had done a great deal of growing up in the three years since arriving at Dharmaville. He truly is a different man from the one who jumped from the helicopter.

HE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME

So, Juliet and Kate conspire together to save young Ben`s life and this is how the island gains ownership of his eternal soul, and with Sawyer's help, Kate takes him to Richard Alpert and asks for his help. One of the other Others balked and asked what Ellie and Charles are going to say, to which Richard sharply replied: "I don't answer to either Ellie or Charles." Gotta love that ageless non-manscara wearing dude.


What troubled me, though was his statement to Kate and Sawyer. The kid will never be the same. He will not remember anything and he will lose his innocence. Despite this ominous warning, and Richard did give them an out, Kate agreed to let Richard help Ben. When we last see Richard he is carrying young Ben into what appeared to be the Temple. The regretful look on his face is worrying. Isn't that where Ole Smokey tore off Montand's arm and took possession of Danielle's main squeeze?

Speaking of which, we haven`t seen Ole Smokey since the flashes ceased, but I have a feeling that we will be seeing him before too long. I still have no idea what it is, but Jay over on Mistaking Coincidence for Fate has an excellent theory or two (plus the most excellent of reviews).

WELCOME BACK TO THE LAND OF THE LIVING

I literally gasped at the knowing snicker on Locke`s face when older Ben finally awoke from his outrigger paddle induced slumber. I wasn`t expecting Ben to be as surprised as he was to see his dearly departed friend, and laughed so hard at that WTF look on his face that Coke Zero came out my nose! Note to self: When watching the endings of LOST, please refrain from having any beverage in your mouth that may be re-routed up the nasal passages and expelled out the nose. I can`t wait for next Wednesday to see Dead is Dead.

I JUST LIKE THIS PICTURE OF HURLEY. THE LOOK ON HIS FACE SAYS, "YEAH? WELL STUMPED YUH, DIDN'T I?"



I WONDER........

• Why hasn't Horace questioned how Juliet, a mere mechanic, knows how to deliver a baby via Cesarean section and how she came to know how to remove a bullet from a wounded child's chest? And who in their right mind sends the surgeon to an isolated underwater station when most of the population lives in New Otherton? Also, how does the surgeon get out of the Looking Glass without the sub?
• Why hasn't Jin stopped by to introduce himself to the new arrivals and why didn't he tell Phil that he'd found Ben and that he was shot?
• Did Hurley always know how to cook nutritious meals for large groups or is he just winging it?
• Does this crisis with his son make Roger appreciate Ben and treat him any better? Roger said he always tried to do what he thought his wife would have wanted him to do, but does that mean she wanted little Ben to be abused physically and mentally?
• When will Jack figure out what his purpose on the island is and what will he do once he does? Will he still just accept things on faith? Something tells me that he will emerge as a leader once again. Only this time, he will be stronger and more effective.
• Can someone please clue Horace in and send him a bottle of hair conditioner and a pretty orange wool ribbon to tie those locks into a ponytail? I haven't got a problem with long haired men, just men with long hair that looks unkempt and uncombed.
• Why does Ben still have his shoes on when Juliet and Kate "spirit" him out of the infirmary and into the Dharma van? Do they think he'll wake up and want to walk to see Richard? Did Juliet operate on him while he still had his shoes on?

Until next week. Namaste and good luck.

Arcticroses.