AB AETERNO

AB AETERNO. According to Wikipedia, it means from eternity or for long ages, which certainly applies to our beloved ageless wonder named Richard Alpert. For long ages he has served Jacob and the island with loyalty and purpose until Jacob's 'death'. Now he is without direction and is uncertain what his purpose is, just as he was after his beloved Isabella's death and the resulting incarceration.

Let's talk about that, shall we?


I'm going to ignore the obvious error in dates here since I don't really think they are as important as others would believe. What's a few years between friends, right?

1867 - Flashback

We now know that Richard hails from Tenerife, on the Canary Islands. He was poverty stricken and married to Isabella. While Isabella was dying, Richard rushed to the doctor for help, giving him everything he had for the medication that would save her.


I am about to digress here, so bear with me. Is it just me, or was that doctor a total jerk? He was either completely consumed by greed or had a prejudice against poor people. Now, I wasn't born yesterday and I do know that most doctors are in it for the big bucks, fancy golf clubs and free drugs, but back then weren't doctors more dedicated to actually helping people? Didn't they brave
all sorts of weather to reach their patients and, oh I don't know, do things like save lives? Just curious.


Jumping back on track now.


We see the doctor pull a dirty on poor Richard and they struggle, the doctor falls, cracks his head and dies. Richard takes the meds (and Isabella's necklace since it was valuable) and rushes off to save her life, observed by the doctor's servant. It was horribly sad to see that he was too late. There is a Pandora's box of "if onlies" here that we could hash over. If only he had been earlier. If only the doctor hadn't been such a pansy ass and selfishly refused to go out in the rain. If only the servant had seen what the doctor had done. We could sit and spout "if onlies" until Mikail's cow came
home to The Flame Station, and then start anew with them. It doesn't change the fact that, despite getting the medication for Isabella, she was already gone before Richard's return. Talk about brutal.


Richard is arrested and is about to be put to death. I missed his trial, if he had one. He asked the priest for forgiveness for accidentally killing the doctor but did not receive absolution. At first I railed against the priest, thinking him a fraud. Does God not forgive those who confess their sins? Does he not allow us all to make penance unto HIM and admit us to heaven? I was so mad at that priest for telling Richard that because he has not done penance he would go to hell. Give the dude a break here! And by dude I am referring to Ricardus.

I think the priest sold Richard so that he could perform his lifetime of penance. And oh what penance it was. All I can think of is that song called Immortality, written by the Bee Gees (I admit to being a huge fan but I digress again).

Immor-tality
I make my journey through eternity
I keep the memory of you and me inside

Getting back to Richard and his indenture to the Black Rock. He is sold and chained in the hold of the ship, destination unknown, until fate intervenes. Remember when we all "assumed" it was the Black Rock on the horizon in the Incident? That has never been confirmed, but it is conceivable that the Black Rock sailed around the island much like Desmond did way back in Season 2, trapped in the bloody snowglobe until the storm swept it inland, presumably destroying the statue in the process. As an aside, GetLostPodcast, a great site for all things LOST, got an excellent screenshot of the ship aiming directly for the statue's nose!
I lightened it a bit.


I'm not sure about you, but I found this episode getting darker and darker as it progressed from the tidal wave onward and wondered what Magnus Hanso and Jonas Whitfield were thinking as they killed off their crew one by one in the name of "we don't have enough food or water for everyone so we're going to kill you all and try to survive on this deserted island all by ourselves, but we probably will die because we're soft hands (meaning we don't do manual labour) and don't know how to hunt, fish, look for water." You know, the basic survival thing. And when did that whole "survival in numbers" philosophy come into play, because if Jonas and the other officers were smart they would have used the slaves to help them survive? What door knobs!


Anyway, I'm off an a tangent again (I blame antibiotics and pain killers). Smokey comes along and kills off the officers and, after flashing and reading their minds, the rest of the slaves save for Richard. This is important to note here, I think. Remember how he flash read Locke and Eko, then Ben? MIB believes that humanity is corrupt and unable to redeem themselves, he scans people and, if he sees that they have no remorse for their actions, he gives them the ole "heave ho" so to speak and kills them. He saw in Richard a deep remorse for what he had done, yet also saw a teensy weensy chance of corruptability...and he had to give it a try, right? Come on, you know it's true.


Ole Smokey waited until that point where Richard was [thisclose] to giving up, rolling over and letting death have its way. I wonder how long that was? Hours or days? Then Smokey uses the image of Isabella to brighten his spirits only to snatch her away from him! How cruel and savage, MIB is! But he uses that anger which we all have inside us that leads us into the dark territory of revenge to his own purposes. He takes advantage and tried to 'encourage' our corruptability. I wonder how many times he has failed in this? How many men like Richard has he tried to use to kill Jacob? Someone needs to tell him that he will fail again and again.


MIB tells lies to convince people to do what he wants them to do. He told Richard that Jacob was the "devil" and that he had Isabella. In order for him to get her back and leave "hell", Richard would need to kill Jacob. That dagger looked familiar, didn't it? Maybe the one that Dogen gave to Sayid? And just as with Sayid, Richard fails in his attempt.

WARNING: I'm going off an a tangent again.

Am I the only person who immediately thought of that Verizon "Can You Hear Me Now?" commercial while Jacob was giving Richard a giant swirly in the surf? "Are you dead?" Dunk. "Are you dead, now?" Dunk. "How about now?" Sputter. Maybe Jacob created those commercials while he was off island touching people.

"Think of this wine as what you keep calling hell. There's many names for it too: malevolence, evil, darkness. Here it is, swirling around in the bottle unable to get out, because if it did it would spread. The cork is this island and it's the only thing keeping the darkness where it belongs. That man who sent you to kill me believes that everyone is corruptable because it in their very nature to sin. I bring people here to prove him wrong, and when they get here, their past doesn't matter."

Okay, so the island is the door that blocks the passage to hell? I was hoping for more than that and am disappointed. There had better be more. Like, I don't know, MIB is a prisoner on the island because, back when he was a young man, he learned supernatural powers and couldn't handle them. Maybe he wasn't supposed to have powers but stole them? Maybe he was born with them but was dropped on his head when he was a baby and the resulting inability to control himself has forced the leaders of the underworld to exile him. Maybe he's just rotten through and through and likes to play with human lives the same way a cat would play with a bird it has caught. Either way, Jacob says that MIB is malevolence and he must be kept from spreading his darkness across the world.

Jacob brings people to the island to prove to MIB that they are not corruptable. MIB keeps trying to get people to kill Jacob to prove that they are. Is this the proverbial "Chinese Finger Puzzle" or what? Two equal and opposing forces that constantly pull or push at each other will inevitably cancel each other's strengths out. Do you want to know why I believe MIB didn't kill Richard along with the others aboard the Black Rock? Don't answer because I'm going to tell you anyway.

When Ole Smokey flash read Richard's mind he saw inside a man whose circumstances had always taught him to act on the side of good. Richard abided by the law and chose a christian way of life, working toward the promise of heaven when he reached the end. But there were also the words of the priest fresh in his memory, assuring him that he would go to hell to pay for causing the "accidental" death of the not-so-good doctor. Back in those days, with little education, people believed a priest's word was the decree of God himself.

So, MIB sees in Richard an opportunity. What Richard wants more than anything is to redeem himself in the eyes of God and then die to be with his beloved Isabella in heaven. To be told that he was already in hell, then to see his wife and hear her screams while shackled to the bulkhead of a ship had to have been severely demoralizing. MIB provided, through lies and manipulation, an avenue by which Richard could achieve his desire. MIB promised Richard that he would be with his wife once again ( but he forgot to tell Richard that he'd have to die first). Unfortunately MIB failed to realize that Richard, thinking that he would rot in hell for his sin and would never see his Isabella again, decided that he would prefer to live forever.

I need to address this little thing that's been bugging me as I am writing. Over the ages, Jacob has been bringing people to the island, then leaving them to their own devices to survive. He doesn't protect them from MIB's influences or the dangers of the "smoke" persona. Inevitably MIB kills them all and then the cycle begins again with more people arriving. But Jacob has principles and will not, or can't, interfere. Obviously MIB doesn't share the same personal rules since he's taken every opportunity to kill them. What the people need, as Richard pointed out, is guidance. It's true. In many aspects of our lives we can't do what is expected of us unless we know what those expectations are. Didn't God give Moses the Ten Commandments because he needed his followers to understand what was right and what was wrong? Makes sense to me.

The final 1867 scene is of Jacob confronting MIB about the attempt on his life and the promise that should MIB succeed someone would be there to take Jacob's place to keep the cork on the wine bottle. The first attempt failed, but MIB has learned from it (as evidenced by his take over of John Locke's persona) and will continue his quest to escape.

2007

One hundred and forty years later, Richard is himself without direction. He has loyally followed Jacob's directions without reservation and finds himself lost and confused as to what he's supposed to do. He has advised humans on the island, served as intermediary for Jacob, for a century and a half and yet, it would seem, he never really knew why. He reminds me of someone who has devoted their life to God, faithful right to the time when something catastrophic occurs and, as a result of that trauma, are left wondering why God would allow such a thing to happen. The doubt creeps in and they begin to question God and his plan. They wonder why, since they'd followed God's will why would he punish them so. They can go one of two ways. Either their faith is renewed and stronger, or they walk away believing they have been duped and lied to all their lives.

Richard was at this point at the beginning of Ab Aeterno. Before him he saw two paths and needed to choose which one to follow. One path led to MIB's offer of escape and the other had a destination of which was unknown to Richard. His anger, his disillusionment with Jacob, was tugging at him to take the path he knew would lead him off and away from the island. However the island, or rather Jacob, has other plans for Richard.

I'm at a loss to explain Hurley's intervention at the stone bench where Richard had buried Isabella's necklace a century and a half ago. Again, I think of that song Immortality and wonder if Isabella's spirit has been at Richard's side all along. Through Hurley, she is able to communicate that they are already together. Am I wrong to think that Richard should never have buried the cross to begin with and had he kept it with him he would have felt her presence and possibly wouldn't have been tempted to go to the other side? Maybe I am a romantic at heart. So, the touching scene of love that transcends time and death leads us to what Richard's next task will be. Stop the Man In Black from leaving the island.

Just a silly thought here, but what if Richard is the one who takes Jacob's place and the candidates are his intermediaries? Yeah, I'm probably wrong, but wouldn't that be a heck of a twist to the story?
DID YOU NOTICE?

A few friends of mine noticed a cobalt blue butterfly flutter across the screen, did you see it too?

The familiar "whoosh" sound that signals the transiton into a flashback absent in many of the transitions in this episode.

The episode opened with a flashback of one character (Ilana) but centered on a different character (Richard) then closed with a flashback of yet another character (MIB).

In the close up of Richard's eye, when he wakes up on the crashed Black Rock, you can see Nestor's contact lens.

Although Magnus Hanso is referenced, we don't see him.

Hurley's new confidence has made him fearless as he follows Richard into the jungle, spurred on by Isabella.

Arzt suggested that the Black Rock was washed inland by a tidal wave in Exodus Pt.2, and it was confirmed in this episode.

Ben told Sun that he first met Richard after he was shot and was healed by the Others, leading us to believe that the spring in the temple erased his previous memory.

QUESTIONS:

Why was the Black Rock trading in slaves?

Was Isabella's spirit buried with her necklace?

Why didn't Smocke answer Richard's calls?

Why can't Smocke leave the island yet?

If Ben doesn't remember meeting Richard in the jungle before being shot, why does Sayid remember everyone he knew prior to being drowned/saved in the spring?

Now that Richard knows he needs to keep Smocke on the island, does he know how to?

Does he know who Jacob's replacement is?

Ab Aeterno is one of my favourite episodes of the entire series so far. Perhaps THE best! I hope you liked it as much as I did.

Next week we have the Package.

I don't have a clue what it's about but I'll be watching it with a fellow LOSTaholic, whom I will be meeting for the very first time tomorrow. SJ, I can't wait!

RECON

And let this be the very first image I see in every episode henceforth!

Okay, I was going to do this long drawn out recap, but since we've all watched Recon at least three times (I'm on my 8th viewing), I'm just going to tell you what I think. Let's start with the side time, as always.

So, James is still bent on revenge against the man who caused his father to commit murder-suicide. Only in this time he is a cop and his partner, oddly enough, is Miles! And James is going out on blind dates with Charlotte, but assumes she's snooping when she opens the wrong drawer looking for a t-shirt. So far, the only difference in this man from the Sawyer we know is his chosen profession. He even still watches "Little House"

Eventually, like in the original time, he trusts Miles enough to confess his deep dark secret and his quest for revenge against the man who changed his life forever. In doing so, I think his need diminishes and he is able to move forward in his life.

When LOST first started, I viewed Sayer as a angst riddled teenager with a "rebel" complex and unable, or unwilling, to grow past that fifteen year old who opposed all symbols of authority. As LOST has progressed so has James' ability to move past his stunted past and grow into a man with a heart of gold, empathy and the ability to open himself to the love he deserves. I feared for him after he lost Juliet, but now know that he had to lose her to know that the love they had was something that transcended both times and both planes of existence.

And how interesting is it that Miles' father sets James up for a blind date?

At first I thought Recon meant a reconnaissance mission. You know, the kind where someone goes ahead and then reports back to the boss what obstacles lay ahead. Then I realized the secondary meaning. The first Sawyer centric episode we ever say was "Confidence Man", and since I'm still hoping that Season Six is mirroring Season One (or as close as you can get at this point), I remember just what Sawyer was really, really good at...conning people.

Sawyer started out on his own, leaving his friends behind at the temple and claiming that none of them were his friends. But I also knew that, after all is said and done, the James Ford of today would not abandon people like Miles and Jin and Kate. At some point, he will come back around and realize that they need him as much as he needs them, and we see this beginning to happen when he tells Kate his plan.

Right now we see three different camps. There's Smocke's group of people. I think they number about 23 or 24, and likely are the largest number wise. Many of them are with Smocke out of fear more than any sort of loyalty. Emma and Zach really have no choice since Cindy, duty bound I guess to keep them as safe as possible, made a decision for the three of them. We know that Smocke has lied to Claire about Aaron's where abouts and perhaps he did it to drive her crazy, I'm not sure.

Speaking of crazy, it is no coincidence that Smocke claims to have had a crazy mother, has taken the form of a man who also had a crazy mother and is now telling Kate that Aaron has a crazy mother. Not sure where Crazy Danielle comes in, but there's an awful lot of crazies on this island! I'm wondering how Claire will come out of this one or if it's already too late. Her brain cells have been bumping into each other for so long that they've caused irreparable damage. You could just see Kate thinking" "I am so NOT giving Aaron back to that nutzoid!"

Maybe even Sayid has gone crazy, since he sat there like a lump and watched Claire try to kill Kate. I am not liking him very much and have stopped feeling sorry for him. He has embraced his evil overlord a little too easily after fighting to find some good within for so very long. Disappointed, I am.

Sawyer's plan became pretty clear as he spoke to Chuckie in the sub. Or so I thought. He assumed that Widmore wants to kill Smocke because of the sonic fencing Widmore's men were erecting and Widmore was happy to let him think as much. And he may be right, but I'm not feeling it. And that Sawyer then went back to the main island and informed Smocke about his deal with Chuckie did not surprise me. Sawyer stated very clearly early in the episode that he was aligning himself with no one. The plan? Pit Smocke and Chuckie against each other and while they're busy, he takes off in the sub. Do you really think this plan is going to work smoothly? Me neither.
Have you ever hear the phrase, "The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing"?

This is where Jack and the others at the beach camp may come in. Since they have no idea of Widmore's presence as of yet, these seven people could be the deciding factor as to who wins the upcoming clash of the LOSTaway Titans. Think about this for a moment. We have Smocke and his terrified band of not-so-merry men, women and two children. He has yet to tell them what is happening (hmmm, shades of Jacob?). We have James planning to pit Smocke and Widmore against each other. I seriously doubt any of the people in either Smocke's or Widmore's camp are a "candidate."

So, who do we have left?

Sun

Hurley

Jack

As soon as the "candidate" realizes there's a certain job to do, I think his or her actions will end the war. The island will either self destruct or return to it's former existence. Or maybe it will do both (remember it WAS submerged in the side time). Of course, I could be wrong (as is usually the case).

DID YOU NOTICE?:

There was no "Previously On LOST" at the beginning of this episode.

Recon aired on 3/16, referencing Ajira 316, and it's the first time we see that plane since Namaste.

Sawyer is back to using nicknames. He called Kate "Freckles" and Widmore "Chief"

Ava, the woman he was in bed with in the side time, called him "Dimples"

The first words Sawyer speaks in the side time and the last words he speaks in the original time are "Son of a bitch"

The code for his back up that he was in danger was "LaFleur"

The three books on James' dresser in the side time were Watership Down, A Wrinkle In Time and Lancelot, all of which he has been seen reading on the island.

QUESTIONS:

What is inside the locked room on the sub?

Who, or what, killed the Ajira 316 survivors?

Why didn't Sayid help Kate?

Does Widmore really want to kill Smocke?

Why did cop-James allow fugitive-Kate to escape at the airport in LA X?

Who is Miles dating?

Who is in the picture taped to the inside of James' locker?

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

Ava: You're a cop?

James: Surprise.

Kate: So, you're with Locke now?

Sawyer: I ain't with anybody, Kate.

Sawyer: I'm sorry, I forgot my manners.

Smocke: I forgive you.

Sawyer: You got a whip?

Charlotte: Maybe

Kate: Sayid, are you alright?

Sayid: No

Sawyer: You didn't really send me over there to find passengers from that plane, did you?

Smocke: No.

Sawyer: Well in case you're interested, they're all dead.

Smocke: Well that's terrible. What happened?

Sawyer: I don't know.

Smocke: Well what do you know, James?

So there you have it. Do you think Sawyer's plan will work and he and Kate will be able to leave the island? What about Jack and his group? Where do they fit in to this scenario? With Ben in their camp we can pretty well be sure that Chuckie isn't going to be visiting anytime soon.

When do you think we'll see Chuckie in the side time? What do you think he's been up to?

Dr. Linus

WOW. That is all.Talk to you next week.

Okay, just joking. Dr. Linus was the first episode to feature a character in the side time other than the survivors of Oceanic 815. May I admit that the writers did NOT disappoint on any level? I'm sorry for the tardiness of this post as well. Life has been a bit hectic of late, but better late than never, right?

We've already seen Ben off the island in the side flashes, notably in The Substitute, and you gotta admit that you were just as intrigued as I was. Were you wondering if he was a power hungry megalomaniac? Were you wondering if he'd ever been to the island? If so, how and when did they leave? I'm sure we'll never get the answer to those questions. Onward, we go!

"What was truly devastating to him was the loss of power. Sure, they allowed him to keep the title of Emperor...... but without any power it was meaningless. He might as well have been dead" ~ Dr. Linus talking to his high school history class about another megalomaniac who went by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte. And all I could think about for about 10 minutes was poor beaten Ben on the island. Ben in side time may have a doctorate in European History, but he lives a sparse life employed as a teacher and supporting his father.

But things aren't good for Ben on the teaching front. He gets little respect from his superiors and is forced to drop his history club to "step up amidst cut backs" to supervise detention. Okay, how cool is it that Dr. Leslie Arzt is friends with Dr. Benjamin Linus in side time? Who in their left, right or drunken mind would have ever thought that could be a possibility? Nope, I didn't see that one coming. I was half expecting Arzt to befriend Locke, but I see he sat separate from the regular teachers. Yet, I found it ironic that John Locke indicated that he would follow Ben Linus as a principal.

ALEX!!!!! We got to see Alex again as one of Dr. Linus' star students who lives with her mother (who works four jobs to make ends meet). She loves history and wants to go to Yale. She needs help in the form of a very good reference letter and the only person who can give it to her is the Principal. But the principal is playing a game with the school nurse, so Ben uses the knowledge to blackmail him into "retiring".

I found the fact that Ben failed at his blackmail attempt very interesting. Again, it's all about power and though Ben wanted that power to improve the academic faculty and better provide for the students, he wasn't meant to be an administrator. Blame the island. Blame fate. Blame Alex for sending an e-mail to the principal requesting a letter of recommendation on her behalf.

I held my breath when Ben was forced to chose. Take down the principal or ensure Alex got her letter. I wondered how he would choose. I tell you, my ears were popping and my eyes were bulging until he chose Alex's future over his own desire for power. FINALLY! I thought.

Even in side time, Ben is gassing his father. Only this time he's providing life giving oxygen. One thing is perfectly clear in the side flash, Ben and Roger have a much more traditional father son relationship than even we could have imagined. We learn that they were indeed part of the Dharma Initiative in their pasts, and they left the island. What we don't know is why they left, but I'll hazard a guess that it was some sort of accident that had put his son in danger. I am assuming that since there was no mention of Emily, Ben's mother, that she still died on the day Ben was born (or possibly shortly after). The major difference here is that Ben's issues with his father were not evident.

In original time, Miles spills the beans and tells Ilana that it was not Smocke that killed Jacob, but Ben. Ben denies the deed, but the jig is up and there's much to be done. The rag tag group are heading back to the beach camp where the territory is familiar and the ocean is at their backs. Once there, Ilana creates an island version of the ankle monitor and ties Ben to a tree (how many times has Be been tied to a tree?), telling him to start digging his own grave. She's really ticked at him and Ben sees that he has no way out of this bind (literally and figuratively). Ever trying to escape paying the consequences of his actions, he even tried to bribe Miles with that 3.2 million buckaroos and, once again is foiled when Miles tells him about the diamonds buried with Team Razzle Dazzle (Nikki and Paolo for those of you who haven't heard me refer to them as such). Poor Ben. I actually felt sorry for him. And, to make matters even worse, the clicking starts and along comes Smocke to make him an offer he can't refuse. Or can he?

Here's the thing. Ben's been learning a few things upon his return to the island and I think he is a changed man. He knows a few things now that he didn't know before he left (and if you think of it, he left of his own volition so he was never really banished). Smocke comes along, uses his "magic" to free Ben from the tether and gives him an out. Ben makes a run for it but Ilana catches up to him and they have a face off, each pointing a gun at the other. But here's the kicker. When Ben explains what happened inside the Four Toed Foot and admits that he doesn't really want to go to Smocke's camp but feels it necessary because no one wants him, Ilana shocks us all and as much as forgives him! Wow, did not see that coming. Nope, not at all. And the fact that Ben decides to try his luck with the crew he is already with tells us that his aspirations of being a great leader are gone.

Elsewhere on the island, Jack and Hurley are trying to make their way back to the temple. Hurley is stalling as much as he possibly can, knowing what Jacob told him about the bad person and the temple. They can't figure out which way to turn when they meet Richard Alpert, in a rush to get as far away from the temple as he can. He's seen the carnage there and, without Jacob to guide him, is lost and without purpose. He says he'll take Jack and Hurley back to the temple, but instead leads them to the Black Rock. Interestingly, this is the first appearance of the "slave" ship since season three. Seems so long ago.

Anyway, Richard, without purpose and no longer the confident honey we all know and love, does what any lost soul does when faced with adversity. He's going to commit suicide by way of having someone kill him. Apparently, when Jacob touches you he takes away your ability to kill yourself. Gee, what a guy. Jack follows Richard into the ship, lights the stick of TNT and sits down facing Richard. At first I thought Jack was going to take the easy way out and be a casualty of Richard's suicide by murder, then I realized that Jack's new found faith, if not his purpose, was protecting him. He knew that he would not die. He was willing to take the risk and put his fate in the hands of the island to make his point. The look on Richard's face when the fuse went out just before reaching the TNT was one of incredulity and renewed faith.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I can see a Jack and Richard friendship through the ages. I'm not sure if they are peers, but each of them have something that compliments the other. Jack tells Richard they have to go back to where it all began. The beach. Imagine that, huh?

Right now we are seeing our people getting into place. Jack, Ilana, Hurley, Sun, Ben, and Richard are all on the beach.

Sawyer, Claire, Jin, Kate, Not-The-Same-Sayid, and Smocke out in the jungle.

We can definitely see the alignment of sides happening.

And then there's the new arrivals. As Jack, Hurley and Richard arrive at the survivor's camp we see another faction arrive as a submarine surfaces. I knew it would be Chuckie on board that Submarine. I had only one question. Was that the Galaga, or did Chuckie Widmore have another sub made?

DID YOU NOTICE?

Dr. Linus is the first episode to focus a side time on someone other than an 815 survivor.

The actor who plays Roger Linus has portrayed him as a young man (at Ben's birth) to an old man. The longest interval of any other character!

Ben just keeps gassing his father! In the Purge it was to kill him, but in the side time it was to keep him alive with oxygen.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

Ilana: Where's Jarrah?

Ben: I'm fine, that you.

Ilana: Where is he?

Ben: Considering that he just killed Dogen, I don't think he's going to be joining us.

Ilana: Are you sure?

Ben: He was standing over their dead bodies holding a bloody dagger, so yeah, I'm pretty sure.....

Ilana to Miles after he read Jacob's ashes: Are you sure?

Miles: Considering he was standing over his dead body with a bloody dagger in his hand, yeah, I'm pretty sure.

Hurley: Hmmm, cheese curds.....

BEN: I watched my daughter Alex die in front of me. And it was my fault. I had a chance to save her. But I chose the island over her. All in the name of Jacob. I sacrificed everything for him. And he didn't even care. Yeah I stabbed him, I was... so angry...confused...I was terrified that I was about to lose the only thing that had ever mattered to me - my power. But the thing that really mattered was already gone. I'm sorry that I killed Jacob. I am, and I do not expect you to forgive me because...I can never forgive myself.

ILANA: Where will you go?

BEN: To Locke.

ILANA: Why?

BEN: Because he's the only one who'll have me.

ILANA: I'll have you. [She leaves, he follows]

JACK: Wanna try another stick?

RICHARD: All right Jack. You seem to have all the answers. Now what?

JACK: We go back to where we started.

And, my all time favourite?

HURLEY: So did Dr Arzt. And I was wiping him out of my shirt two days later.

I included this because Sun's smile says it all!

QUESTIONS:

Why and when did Ben and Roger leave Dharma and the island?

Does Jacob's touch mean that no one can kill themselves?

How did Danielle and Alex end up living in LA? Does this mean that Alex wasn't born on the island?

How did Widmore find the island again? Did Eloise help him? Or does the island have two or three pre-determined locations that it keeps moving to?

So, what did you think of Dr. Linus? Did you enjoy seeing Ben ripped to pieces and then, upon forgiveness, being rebuilt into a decent man?

Did you enjoy seeing Dr. Arzt again? Was he still annoying?

All screen caps from Lostpedia and LostMedia.

SUNDOWN

Or, My Head Exploded And I think The Dog Buried My Cognitive Thinking Somewhere In The Back Yard

It is the morning after we have all seen Sundown. I am sitting in a piddly coffee shop on the main floor of the local hospital and they are NOT sharing their WIFI with me! I KNOW they have it because I have it before. I had planned to use my time here productively and re-watch online, but since Café Movito is being chintzy with their WIFI (shameless berating), I have decided to start collecting my thoughts (the ones that I can gather without using the vacuumcleaner and a metal detector) and try to find some sort of understanding to the speeding train wreck/ crossing the sound barrier sonic boom plane crash/ catastrophic Swan implosion that was Sundown (and I mean that in a good way Damon and Carlton).Considering there wasn’t too much movement or action the last couple of episodes, Sundown threw us in head first within minutes and didn’t stop until Smocke, as they are calling the combination of Locke and Smokey, calmly led the Others away from the temple. I’d like use some smart Biblical reference here about good people being led astray, but my head hurts and I the last version of the bible I read were the children’s stories and I can’t remember anyone other than Moses leading the masses. Besides, I’m pretty sure there is no comparison here.

At this point in the game I am questioning the whole somewhat shaky understanding that Jacob was good and Smocke is bad, yet I’m pretty confident that Team Darlton wants us to be as dazed and confused as humanly possible. As we are all aware, nothing is black and white or clear cut or even unquestionable when it comes to LOST and the twists and turns that its super creative (and delightfully evil) writers have produced. THANKS A LOT, GUYS FOR THE MANY SLEEPLESS NIGHTS!

Basically, in a nut shell (and we all know I’m nutz) Sayid in side time travels the globe translating oil contracts. His beloved Nadia is married to his brother and they live with their two kids in suburban LA. They own two “dry cleaning” shops and appear to be living the American Immigrant dream. But all is not on the up and up with brother dearest and he has taken out a loan with a very shady character (Martin Keamy you are slime in any time), and despite having paid back the loan is being forced to pay extortion money now. When Sayid is threatened things turn ugly and, yet again, Marty pays the ultimate price for his errant ways. But wait, there’s more!

This is the first time we see Jin in Side time since he was led away by the customs officials in LA X, so we can assume the “obscene” amount of cash was satisfactorily explained away and that he was able to avoid incarceration. So, off to finish Paik’s bidding and deliver that “priceless” watch post haste, right? Yes, and who could be the recipient of said watch? Either Marty was “friends” with Paik (I can totally see that, by the way, since they both exhibit such cold ruthlessness), or Jin lost the cash and was looking for more to make his escape. I’m probably wrong.

After Sayid dispatches Keamy and his minions he hears banging and follows the noise to a cooler, where he finds poor Side time Jin, tied up and silenced (sort of) with duct tape across his mouth. That had to hurt royally when he pulled it off don’t you think? I’ll bet Jin’s thoughts were not publishable in any language! I have a thought on how poor Jin came to be mixing it with the Romaine lettuce and cole slaw and I’m not sure I like it.

In original time we see the Sayid we all know and love. Obviously he has recovered enough from both the drowning and diagnosis by electrocution/white hot cattle prod, to demand some answers. There aren’t many 815ers left at the temple and Sayid feels it’s time to either win Dogen over or leave. We learn a little about Dogen and how (and why) he came to the island. Speaking of the Japanese Samurai, I was surprised that he isn’t older than I had expected. He came across as a wise and ancient soul, having collected many many years of experiences and learned important lessons along the way. Instead, we learn that he was a banker and had killed his son in a drinking and driving accident then sold his soul to Jacob in exchange for his son’s life.

Dogen sends Sayid out to kill Smocke and when that fails (and really, we kind of expected that, right?), Smocke makes Sayid an offer he can’t refuse. It’s ironic that he voices that he is a good man to Dogen and then surrenders to his evil side as soon as he is offered a sweet deal by the competition. It’s too bad that he’s struggled so long to regain his self respect only to give up in a moment of weakness. Do you really think Smocke is going to keep his promise and Sayid will see Nadia again? Dead is dead, right? Although, on second thought, she could come back as a polar bear or a Hurley Bird, I guess.

Poor misguided Claire. First of all she’s lured into the forest by the ghost of her father and leaves her baby behind. Then, when she isn’t found, Kate takes Aaron as her own and takes care of him off the island. Meanwhile, it appears her loving father has abandoned her and Smocke has befriended her (I wonder how that friend request would look on Facebook) and lies and tells her that Aaron is in the temple. No wonder she’s a bit nutty and rotating on a wobbly axis! But, she’ll do anything to get her baby back and whatever Smocke wants, Smocke gets at this point.

I know that I said I was growing to seriously dislike what Kate does a few weeks ago, and I still think she’s a loose cannon, but in this case, I think she may have done the right thing. She told Claire the truth, and in the face of certain “black freight train smoke” kind of danger, Kate could only think of helping Claire (even though she didn’t actually need it, bit it is a redeemable act). It’s what kept her alive and, I think, why Smocke didn’t kill her as he rolled over the pit or during the aftermath when they were all leaving the temple.

I’m wondering how Ilana, Frank, Sun and Ben got into the temple, since the spot in the wall we saw Hurley looking at appears to be some sort of hidden room. As an aside, I was curious about the symbol on the wall where Ilana took them to be safe and did a little research. The symbol is an ancient Egyptian Hieroglyph (I found this in a book called the Egyptian Book of Hieroglyphs no less!) that is called a Shen Ring. It is a symbol of eternity and protection, but also represents dual concepts of time. The first concept being the periodical time (based on the rise and fall of the Nile water levels, so maybe a year) and then the infinity (a life time or career?). Interesting, huh? I haven’t quite figured out if this is an inside joke by the writers, or if we should pay some serious attention to it.

Creepy things!

How creepy was Sayid’s smile when he told Ben that it was too late for him? And the haunting “Catch A Falling Star” as Sayid, Kate and Claire walk through the temple courtyard amidst the death and destruction? I still get chills.

DID YOU NOTICE?

Omar and Keamy are the first two characters to be killed in the side time and are also dead in the original time. Also, Omar was accidentally killed by a grenade tossed by Keamy in the original time and was accidentally killed by his associate in the side time. Poor dude can’t win.

The SUV that takes Sayid to “visit” Keamy, has the same license plate as Jack’s Bronco (recycling at its best).

If Kate had just stayed at the temple, Claire would have come to her.

When Dogen explains “the scale” to Sayid, he holds up his hands. One represents good and the other represents evil. The hand he uses for “evil” is covered by a black glove while the hand he uses for “good” is bare.

I know you all saw him, but just in case, did you see Jack at the hospital when Sayid and Nadia were arriving?

QUESTIONS:

Why can’t Smocke be killed the same way as Jacob? Why wasn’t there any blood on the dagger when he pulled it out of his chest?

How did Dogen’s death allow Smocke to enter the temple? What was keeping him out?

Since it wasn’t the Others who saved Sayid, who or what did? Jacob? Smocke? Another entity that we have yet to meet?

Where are Sawyer and Jin? They were last seen in the company of Smocke, so what happened to them? Have they been recruited or doesn’t Smocke trust them?

Why didn’t Richard make it to the temple to warn them? Where is he? Did he realize it was too late and go into hiding? Where did he go, the barracks, the Black Rock, the beach for a sun tan?

Why was Jin being held by Keamy? Where’s Sun in the side time?

QUOTES:

Claire: Are you going to hurt them?

Smocke: Only the ones who won’t listen.

Sayid: Since I’ve been here, I’ve been drowned, beaten and tortured at your hands. Why would I ever do anything for you?

Miles: Welcome back to the circus!

Miles: Right. Claire. She strolled in here a couple hours ago acting all weird. Still hot though.

Frank: We’ll play catch up later. You wanna live, you better move your ass! (I like this one)

Frank: You do hear that, right? You got a plan or are you gonna keep staring at the wall?

Ilana: I have a plan. (sounds like Ben, doesn’t she?).

So, I WAS wrong. I had assumed Sundown would be Sun and/or Jin centric, but instead we got Sayid. Not that I’m complaining. I forgot to take into account the fact that season one was LONGER and was comprised of several more episodes (still not pleased with that BTW).

Next up? Dr. Linus, and I can’t wait! The mere fact that Benny Boy has a doctorate is causing my curiosity and imagination to run wickedly wild.

See? Isn't that a creepy smile?