Linda's Lost Blog

THE END ~ PART THREE

2010-05-30T14:17:00.001-07:00

DID YOU NOTICE?

The box Christian Shephard's coffin was transported in has stickers displaying the following airport codes: BWN (Brunei International Airport), GUM (A.B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam), HKG (Hong Kong International Airport, China), and LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) among others.

The stained glass window shows symbols of several faiths: the star and crescent of Islam, the Star of David (Judaism), the Aum (widely used as a symbol of Hinduism, but also present in Buddhism and Jainism), the Christian cross, the Dharmackra (Buddhism) and the Yin/Yang disk (Taoism). Oh look! I just KNEW Dharma would make an appearance!

There are four members of the Shephard family in the church. Christian, Jack, Claire and Aaron.

As Hurley is pulling into Charlie's motel with Sayid, a man is walking his dog cross the driveway in front of them. The dog is Jack Bender's adopted dog Lulu, who has appeared in 6 episodes and on the painting inside “Jacob’s Cabin”.

Penny, Juliet, and Desmond are the only characters in the church who were not on board Oceanic 815 and Desmond was not on the flight but was involved with the circumstances leading to the crash. Aaron was technically on Oceanic Flight 815, since Claire was pregnant with him.

Every character in the church has been on the show since the first or second season, except for Juliet who was introduced at the very beginning of the third.

Richard leaves the Island after living there for most of the past 140 years since his original marooning on the Black Rock. He had previously made various trips off-Island, such as recruiting Juliet. At least he won’t have culture shock when he lands!

Sawyer and Claire leave the Island for the first time, 3 years and a few months after arriving on Oceanic 815. They are the only characters to arrive on the Island for the first time in the very first episode, and to leave it for the first time in the very last episode.

The great glowing cavern has lost much of it's brightness (assuming the cause is MIB's growing strength - or the glow sticks were running out of batteries?)

Miles leaves the Island for the first time, 3 years after arriving from the freighter.

Kate leaves the Island for the second time, 14 days (or 30 years, starting in 1977) after time flashing off of Ajira 316. She is the only original cast member to leave the Island, return to civilization, come back to the Island, and leave again.

Frank leaves the Island for the second time, 14 days after crash landing Ajira 316. . He is notable in having piloted his own escape both times. The next time I fly, I think I’ll ask the name of the pilot BEFORE getting on the plane, just to be sure.

When Juliet tells Sawyer the secret to get the candy bar out of the vending machine, she says you can unplug it and plug it back in again and that it's technically legal. This is what Desmond and Jack do with the Heart of the Island.

As Kate empties her gun into Smocke, he jokingly advises her to save her bullets. Later on, Kate uses the remaining bullet in the decisive moment of the fight. Also, this is the same gun that Ben was loading at the well in the beginning of the episode.

Smocke takes the form of John Locke, a man who fell eight stories and broke his back, to manipulate the other characters. He dies after being kicked off a cliff and landing on his back, presumably breaking it.

Before Jack's death, Vincent arrives so he doesn't "die alone."

Jack has a tear in his eye just before he closes it for the last time.

Jack is stabbed where his appendix was taken out by Juliet, preventing more serious damage. This mirrors Locke losing his kidney and it saving his life when Ben shoots him and leaves him in the Dharma Dheath Pit.

Jack kicks the Man in Black down the cliffs reminiscent of the way the Man in Black kicked Jacob into the fire.

As Christian walks toward the doors on the church, you can see his brand new white sneakers!

Still working on QUOTABLE QUOTES and hope to have them up soon.

I seem to like many of Hugo's and Frank's lines, but I'd like to have a good balance.

Also working on a top 15 Best of list (or 42) here and there.

What list should I start with?

Top Moments That Made Me Cry?

Best Sawyer Nicknames?

Let me know what kinds of lists you want by leaving a comment.

THE END ~ PART TWO

2010-05-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

ALL THAT RISES MUST CONVERGE

Okay, so let me explain what I think the side flash world was.

It was a holding place for the souls of our LOSTIES.

The side world became noticeable to us after Juliet beat the ka boom out of Jug Head and imploded the Swan for the first, or was it the second time? Either way, she was halfway between the island and the side time when she whispered to James that it had worked. She felt the deep peace of knowing that they would be together again.

We then see Jack gazing out the plane window and watch as he visits the washroom and sees the blood spot on his neck. We didn’t know then what we know now, and in retrospect the spot on his neck wasn’t some mysterious clue, but a remnant of the struggle he went through just before he died.

Although we saw snippets of ALL of our LOSTIES in the side world, it was basically about Jack. He took the longest to come to terms with the end.

Christian: This is a place you all made together so you could find on another. The most important part of your life was the time you spent with these people. That's why all of you are here. No one does it alone, Jack. You needed all of them and they needed you.

Jack: For what?

Christian: To remember and to let go.

The side world was created by the LOSTIES to find each other and move forward together. They had all been through so much together that it seems fitting that they would move on together. It has always been about being together, and in each season as the group was divided many times over, they always found their way back to the group. Again, it’s that bond they shared and it’s strength was so that it would transcend death and take them into the next world.

As we saw, Desmond was the first one awakened by that awesome scene when Charlie helped him drive the car into the marina. I still get chills when I think of Charlie holding up his hand to the window. But the confirmation for Desmond came in the MRI machine which, if you think about it is a blast of electromagnetic energy, right?

Soon he’s a mission to bring his friends together. First it’s Hurley and Libby. It took only a kiss on the beach (thankfully Hugo didn’t forget the blankets this time), and the memories of a whole other life came flashing back.

We didn’t see it, but I’m sure Des visited Libby, Boone, Rose, Bernard (I’m assuming that Rose and Bernard survived the great island margarita shake and spent their days in retired bliss) and at some point recruited Hurley’s help.

Sun and Jin remembered when Juliet showed them their baby girl on the ultra sound machine. It was a beautiful montage of their lives together and apart and the quick flash of their baby girl and how, when they were ready to leave Jin said “See you there” to Sawyer. So funny.

I really loved the way Sawyer called Jack “Doc” in the hospital then did a double take when he realized he had just spoken to some dude in s suit. There was nothing to identify Jack as a doctor.

The tears were in check up until Sawyer pulled the plug on the vending machine and Juliet handed him the Apollo bar. Maybe Jacob’s touch helped them all to find each other again? Maybe he touched more than Jack, Kate, Sun, Jin, Locke, Hurley and Sayid? Who knows.

Hurley shooting Charlie with a tranquilizer gun and plopping him into the back of his hummer like a sack of taters! OH I laughed so hard when Sayid questioned him and Hurley says, “Oh, that’s just Charlie” as if Sayid should remember him!

Speaking of Sayid, I truly enjoyed how he was made to rush to Shannon’s aid and as he helped her up we could see the love that they shared. It was then that I realized that his heart only ever belonged to Shannon and that their coming together, to me at least, was as epic as Desmond and Penny’s phone call on Christmas Eve.

Hurley and Ben are there. They’ve spent a lot of time together, but Ben isn’t quite ready to move on. He has other’s who need awakening, perhaps?

And then Jack arrived at the church and saw his father’s casket, and he began to remember that time in his life and those people who were the most important to him. Then Dad shows up and asks the quintessential question. “Why are YOU here?”, which makes Jack realize he is dead too.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNND this is where I totally lost it as we cut back and forth between the island and here. More and more I bought into the concept that “happier ever after” didn’t have to mean that everyone was still alive. To watch Jack’s death as his other side self experiences his epiphany was mind boggling and such a beautiful tribute to Jack and his friends and that which is LOST.

They were all dead and because these people meant so much to each other they wanted to be together to move on to the next stage of their spiritual existence.

LOST has always been a journey of spiritual awakening, of community, of survival, of redemption…. It has never espoused specific religions and seems to dare its viewers to interpret it as they will. And that’s how is needs to be. To each of us LOST has meant many different things.

But the most beautiful thing LOST has meant to me is the circle of lifelong friends I have acquired and the community we have created. We were brought together by a common love for all things LOST. We are all so different and yet we are the same. It doesn’t matter how far away you are, my friends, you are in my heart every second of every day. Just as our survivors became a family, we too have become a family.

THE END ~ PART ONE

2010-05-27T10:52:00.001-07:00

And so it ends in the bamboo field where it began, Jack on his back as the life oozes out of him and Vincent by his side. The Ajira Airlines jet flies over head(presumably to safety), he smiles and closes his eye. Pass me a tissue because the only other time I have ever cried while watching the end of a TV show is when M*A*S*H ended way back when I was a fresh faced(albeit VERY young) teen and had relatively skinny thighs and a rose coloured glasses.

As we go on, we remember
All the times we had together
And as our lives change, from whatever
We will still be, friends forever

There is a certain bond to be had when you survive a plane crash on a mysterious and dangerous island, fight side by side to stay alive, battle supposed hostile indigenous peoples, and throw in an angry column of black smoke bent on total world destruction and I can easily see why one would want to join that exclusive club. It’s not like the benefits to living on an island that no one can seem to find outweighed the disadvantages. I’d draw a T-chart for you, but I’m too lazy.

LOST broke ALL the rules.

First of all, the Pilot was the most expensive speculative pilot EVER shot for network TV. Not that I noticed as I was trying to figure out how the heck all those people fell 30,000 feet and actually managed to SURVIVE, only to be felled by a flaming arrow, falling out of tree (yes Boone, I thought you were hardier than that) or whatever happened to Scott/Steve. Next, it took us to places we never expected. Locke was paralysed?!?!?!? Yeah, who saw that coming? And let’s not forget the tropical polar bears.

As an aside, how DID the polar bear get his Hydra collar off?

Anyway, my point is this: For many reasons LOST captured the imaginations of millions of people from around the world and brought us together every week to see what was happening next and if we’d find out what that great column of black smoke really was. I never, EVER once considered that it could be WHO! The fact that Cuse and Lindelof negotiated a specific end date meant that we had a deadline. We KNEW that our favourite show wasn’t going to just disappear like the island at the turning of the frozen donkey wheel.

Here’s what I believe.

I believe that the island was real and this was the iconic scale that kept the balance between good and evil. It held the source of life, death and of rebirth. She was a difficult mistress and demanded many sacrifices of her inhabitants. But she was also vulnerable and needed to be protected from those who didn’t understand the power and from those who sought to exploit that power. “Mother” wasn’t the first protector and we can safely assume that Hurley wasn’t the last. Jacob needed a successor who could do what the rules prevented him from doing. He needed someone who could kill MIB, the monster that he had created. By the way, I think the “rule” about Jacob and MIB not being able to kill each other was a “Mother” thing, and despite her death, because THEY believed it, it remained that way for all eternity.

Jacob and MIB have been sending volleys of hostility back and forth over centuries. Jacob would bring people to the island and MIB would corrupt them. Until Richard arrived and explained to Jacob that people can’t do what you expect of them if they don’t know what it is they’re supposed to do. And that’s when both Jacob and MIB stepped up their campaigns. MIB to kill his brother and escape the island and Jacob to find suitable candidates for his eventual replacement.

This is where it gets confusing for me. Dharma, I think, was brought to the island by Jacob. MIB knew that there may be candidates among them (we’ve see some names on the lighthouse compass wheel) and, via a corrupted Ben, orchestrated the Purge. Ben was, after all, the leader of the Others and who were they to question his actions, right? Later the Others were trying to kill the candidates who survived the crash. All this was through MIB’s manipulations. By appearing in the darkened cabin, and refusing to allow anything that provided light, MIB was calling the shots. Of course Ben NEVER saw Jacob because he was being used and manipulated by MIB. The circle of ash around the cabin wasn’t to keep Jacob safe, but keep Jacob OUT!

Jacob wanted to give his candidates something he was never afforded. He wanted, no, he NEEDED to give them the freedom to choose to take the job. I’m not sure if Jacob KNEW that Jack would volunteer, at least not immediately, and over time he may have been able to foresee an agreeable outcome, but I don’t think Jacob ever really knew exactly how it would all play out. But he wasn’t going to force anyone who didn’t want it to take the position. Really, would you take a job that offered little pay, eternal life, extreme isolation, oh, and the knowledge that your life would likely ended by a vengeful monster?

I believe that with Jacob’s death, and the transfer of responsibility, MIB became vulnerable to the frailties of the human form. Whether Jack knew that would happen or not doesn’t matter. Jack believed that his fight to save the island and kill MIB was for the good and that he had something Jacob didn’t. He had the ability to sacrifice his own life if necessary to kill Smocke.

I believe Oceanic 815 crashed onto the island and that the ensuing struggle to survive, to leave, return and protect the island was all very real. The trip back in time and setting off Jughead was real. The pain and sorrow as each of our beloved characters died. Boone. Shannon. Libby. Charlie. The shocks of their deaths still resonate in my world.

In the end, Jack was able to do what he’s only ever wanted to do. He got Kate, Sawyer and Claire off the island. And he even managed to give Hurley a most amazing gift!

In the end, didn’t MIB get what he wanted? With his death came blessed release and he was able to leave, or at least his spirit did. I wonder if MIB and Jacob met in a sideways life at a church, hugged and cried and were able to move on as well. Somehow I’d like to think they were going in the same direction (I just don’t know if it were North or South, if you get my drift).

Desmond was the first to be awakened on ALL levels of consciousness and it was his job to act as the catalyst for everyone else. He knew when the time was right, and thanks to Chuckie Widmore (I’m so going to miss calling him that) he was better able to understand and accept what he needed to do.

As the season progressed, I was beginning to wonder about the “reality” of the sideways world. As each person became awakened to their memories, I was expecting some sort of mystical fade away to the island (too much Star Trek?) where they would be equipped to succeed in what ever task they were required to complete.

I also thought that the two “realities” would converge. They did, in a way. Just not how I expected it to, but this is LOST and when have I ever been right?

I believe that Ajira 316 landed safely at the first runway it found and oh the tale its passengers told!

I believe that Kate and Claire were reunited with Aaron and they all lived long, nearly happy lives. They did not forget those who were left behind and maybe Hurley and Ben came to visit every once in a while?

Maybe Sawyer found a better way to live his life until he could be reunited with his love. Maybe he and Miles formed an off island partnership and created LaFleur Security, specializing in keeping remote locations safe.

Maybe Frank went back to Eleuthera and opened a bar built to look like the temple and he has Richard mixing drinks and serving up age old advice to the love lorn.

I don’t know. But I’d like to think that the writers left these stories untold so that the fans could speculate for years.

Tomorrow (hopefully) you will get Part Two ~ The Sideways World.

Questions, Quotes, and Did You Notice will be separate posts as well.

All images generously provided by DarkUFO and LOSTMedia.

WHAT THEY DIED FOR

2010-05-20T10:50:00.001-07:00

WOW, how the heck did I manage to be right? Yesterday’s post on my blog I predicted that Widmore would die. I was wrong about WHO kills him, but the end result is the same, right? Right? And Richard? Is he really gone? Will we get to see anymore manscara man? I have a few thoughts about that but I’ll get to that later, so let’s get to it.

Again, no recap. I’ll leave that to Doc Jensen and others. They’re much better at it than I am anyway.

Jack keeps noticing an injury that refuses to heal, and I’m thinking that it’s a connection to Island World, and possibly a remnant of battle with Smocke. Eventually Jack will figure it out. Most likely while attending the concert, where incidentally, it would seem everyone else is going to be at the same time. Yep, maybe we’ll learn that Juliet is David’s mother, she’ll accidentally spill coffee on James (she DID mention sharing a coffee just before she bought the biscuit in the doubly imploded Swan Station) and they’ll fall madly in love (or hate).

By the way, I believe the concert is a benefit for the museum and will feature Drive Shaft, Daniel Widmore/Faraday. Maybe we’ll see Dogen and his genius spawn there as well? Who knows at this point?

So, Desmond pretends to be an Oceanic Rep and tells Jack that they have found his father’s coffin. I think this is an effort to get him to “let it go”, to finally relax his agony over the loss of his father and thus opening his mind to the recollections of his “island” self.

Desmond beats the bejeebees out of Ben when he’s stopped from running down Locke again, which triggers BEN’S memories. I wonder if he thought he would fall into the harbour once again when Desmond threw him to the ground. And while we’re on the subject of Ben’s beat down, why is it no one came to his rescue? Did his students dislike him so much that they were secretly cheering on the Squirrely Scotsman? Ben later tells John that Desmond claimed to be HELPING him, and then tosses a weird “I believe him” into the conversation, which gets Locke thinking about fate, destiny and “what if everything is happening for a reason?” He visits Jack at the hospital, admits to tossing his business card (shame on him because now that LOST is ending, that’s going to be a collector’s item), asks the fate question and, while Jack so desperately wants to fix him, is told not to mistake coincidence for fate.

I have to admit, I realized that Sayid and Kate were in the lock up when Desmond was tossed in after confessing his dirty deeds. I figured that he would be up to something, but I didn’t realize he’d bribed Ana Lucia (or Ana Lucifer as a friend calls her) to let them go. And only for $125,000 bucks? That’s kind of cheap when you consider that she’s tossing away her career and probably her freedom. I would have expected some thing like, oh, $108,000,00.00! But she’s not ready yet. I screamed “There’s Hurley’s car!” as the camera panned back, and then as the tell tale yellow Hummer arrived, I knew that Des had convinced Hugo to front the cash. The money man behind it all.

I think Desmond has charged Hugo and Sayid with the task of bringing Sun and Jin from the hospital to the concert? Or maybe Locke and Ben? I also think that Kate (did you see the look of disgust on her face when she held up that little black dress?) will be there to jar Jack’s memory even more. Remember, she’s already been in physical contact with him on the plane (she lifted his pen) and I think she will be the source of his memory.

Am I the only one who thinks Danielle is still slightly cuckoo? Am I the only one who thinks that Ben and Danielle will be in a romance, making Ben Alex’s step-father in BOTH time lines? I so giggled when Danielle insisted on Ben joining them for dinner even if they have to “kidnap” him. Ha! I am so twisted.

2007 – Island World

Smocke does NOT want lemonade and has taken to whittling his thumb rather than his stick. After spending so much time creating the stick, you’d think he’d carry it around! It could be a useful tool as things come together in the culmination of the island war. But we’re getting a head of ourselves.

Gee, Kate was brave while Jack stitched up her shoulder. I would have cried like the great big baby I am. Of course, I am a natural red head and it’s been genetically proven that we feel pain quicker and more deeply than others. Yeah, I would have wailed and sobbed and been pathetic. Gotta give Kate kudos for being so brave. Maybe Smocke could steal Zach’s teddy bear and give it to her as a security item. I have a feeling that she’s going to need something besides counting to five. It could help her cope with the pain of knowing that little Ji Yeon is now an orphan as well.

Jack is thinking clearly and knows that Locke will soon find out that Desmond is still alive. They need to get to him first. Good thing Sayid told him where he stashed the happy Scotsman. Sawyer is feeling guilty about not believing Jack’s assertion that the bomb wouldn’t go off. Because of his actions, and a deep rooted “rebellion” against Jack, several members of their team are dead. Now, more than ever they will need to work together to avoid dying alone. Jack explains that Sawyer didn’t kill Jin, Sun, Frank and Sayid. Smocke did.

Before he ran off with the Smoke-made bomb, Sayid told Jack about Desmond and his special qualities. Oh, and he also spilled about how Smocke wanted him dead and that he didn’t do the dirty deed for him, instead stashing him somewhere safe. At least, I hope he’s safe. Maybe Sayid stashed him back at the imploded Swan. Maybe there’s a little nook undamaged by two implosions where Des has access to Apollo Bars and Ranch Dressing. So, Jack decides that they need Desmond and they set off to retrieve him.

Along the way, Hurley is accosted by a young version of Jacob (maybe he’s taken that form because it was a happy time for him, before he and his brother parted ways and started on their path of fundamental differences) who takes the bag of Jacob’s ashes and leads Hurley to the fire and Jacob.

I called this one as well. Okay, it didn’t exactly go down how I described it. I had predicted that Jacob would explain to the candidates (or what’s left of them) via Hurley’s “I-talk-to-dead-people” ability why they’re on the island, why they’re candidates and what they need to do. I did not expect Jacob to make himself clearly visible to Jack, James and Kate. Obviously neither did poor Hurley. Hey, does that mean his abilities are fading? If that happens he’ll be lonely. I think the ashes in the fire may have helped Jack, Kate and James to see Jacob (but I could be wrong)

Anyway, Jack steps up and volunteers for the job. No big surprise there.

I need to address a few thoughts here. Some of you have mentioned the fact that Smocke may have taken Jacob’s form and is once gain setting a trap for the LOSTIES. That’s not possible. Remember when some of the survivors were carrying Locke’s body to the survivor’s beach camp to bury him? Someone had asked her what’s to stop MIB from taking the form of anyone. Ilana explained that MIB was stuck with that form now and that he can’t appear as any other dead person now. Perhaps it has something to do with the amount of time he’s spent in that form, or maybe it has something to do with Jacob’s death. It doesn’t matter. The fact remains that since that point in time, we have not seen Smocke take on a different appearance other than as the Smoke Monster.

Also, someone mentioned that Jacob used water which was different than when “Mother” used wine. It’s not the beverage that provides the power, but the incantation. I still haven’t got a clue what was said (I’m assuming that was Latin) but did you see Jack’s eyes briefly widen after he sipped the water? He now knows the entire history of the island, MIB, Jacob, Richard, the others and why Ben’s eyes are so buggy. He may even know where Mikail’s cow is hiding for all I know. Do I think he has a plan? Yes. Do I think that this time his plan will work? Yes…..as long as he can convince James, Kate, Sawyer and anyone else who wants to defeat Smocke to play together in the sandbox.

Meanwhile, we finally got to see what Ben, Richard and Miles were up to. I felt so sad to see Dharmaville (maybe Jack can fix it up and re-name it Margaritaville and install a giant waterslide and rollercoaster) in such a sad state. Did you notice the plants in the rail planters on the gazebo? Oh! And the nice table in the middle of the yard? Why the surface looks undamaged! Inside Ben’s bungalow, behind the bookcase and in the not-so-secret room, Ben loads up Miles’ back pack with C4.

This is where Widmore comes in and I was sure that Ben and Widmore would realize that they’re working for the same cause. Man was I ever wrong. Miles grabs the C4 and heads for the jungle after the warning that Smocke has arrived. Me thinks Miles and his back pack full of explosive material will be a factor at point on Sunday. Smocke smacks Richard and sends him flying into the trees. I think we’re to assume that he’s now dead, the possibility being made a reality now that Jacob, is gone? Anyway, Smocke sits and chats with Ben on the porch.

Okay, I was not surprised that Ben told Smocke where Widmore was hiding. Ben is all about self preservation and feeding thos megalomanical tendancies of his. Smocke offered him the ultimate prize of being the care taker and big boss of the island once again. It’ll be awfully lonely with no one to boss around and the sub has sunk, so there’s no real way to bring any play mates to visit. Something tells me that Ben may not survive the transition.

Just when I think I have it all figured out, they go and change the rules. Speaking of rules, I think Jacob changed the rules when he gave Chuckie permission to return to the island. And Smocke threatening to kill Penny? How dare he? By the time Smocke is done there will be more orphans running around the world than we can keep track of. Widmore, for all his bravado and dedication to protecting the island, caved awfully darned fast and whispered (like a school girl) what Jacob had told him. Really? Whisper? That’s so that we don’t know what’s to come, but I think they could have addressed that a bit better. No use complaining now the writers have all moved on.

Were you as disappointed in Ben as I was when he shot Chuckie and claimed that he didn’t get to save his daughter? Did you laugh from your toes when Smocke told him that he already knew what Jacob wanted? Do you think that Ben will once again, in order to save his runs-like-a-girl butt, jump the fence and help whom ever is winning? And considering that Smocke offers the job of island custodian to Ben, then tells him that he’s going to destroy the island, I can see Ben changing his mind and going to the other side.

Yeah, me too.

DID YOU NOTICE?

Ben’s black eye can be seen in both time lines. Apparently this is because Henry Ian Cusick accidentally punched Michael Emerson for real while they were filming the scene at the school.

Mira Furlan is back and, despite something like a 38 episode absence, and in the side time, she still appears crazy. At least, she did to me.

In Season 2, Desmond turned the “failsafe” key in the Swan and now he’s being considered Jacob’s “failsafe”.

Ben’s left arm is in a sling after being beat up by Desmond, which mirrors 316 when Ben boards the plane.

Alex compared Ben to Napoleon Bonaparte. In Dr. Linus, he was teaching a lesson about Napoleon.

This is the second time Kate has been released from jail and given a dress to wear.

QUOTABLE QUOTES

BEN: I lived in these houses a long time, Miles. I think I can remember how to get there.

MILES: Well, I lived in these house 30 years before you did; otherwise known as last week…and I have no idea where the hell we are.

BEN: Guess it’s a good thing, you’re following me.

BEN: What’s wrong?

MILES: It’s just--I--you know, I get wonky around dead stuff.

NURSE: This may sting a bit, Mr. Linus.

BEN: It’s Dr. Linus, actually.

MILES: These are both great plans, but I’m gonna go with surviving. . . If you need us, we’ll be running through the jungle.

BEN: After you. . . Charles and his lady friend are in here. . . She’s armed. But I’m guessing that’s not a problem for you.

SAWYER: Tell me something, Jacob. Why do I gotta be punished for your mistake? What made you think you could mess with my life? I was doin’ just fine til you dragged my ass to this damn rock.

JACOB: No, you weren’t. None of you were. I didn’t pluck any of you out of a happy existence. You were all flawed. I chose you because you were like me. You were all alone. You were all looking for something that you couldn’t find out there. I chose you because you needed this place as much as it needed you.

SAWYER: And I thought that guy had a God complex before.

KATE: James.

SAWYER: Yeah, I know.

HURLEY: I’m just glad it’s not me.

Screencaps provided by GetLostPodCast and Lost Media

Sunday is almost upon us, but before we get to that, don't forget to enjoy the enhanced Pilot Part 1 &2 on Saturday night. Make sure you have lots of tissue handy.

Me? I have a truck load of tissue, plenty of fudge, Coke Zero, rum, pop corn and Rolaids on hand. My HD TV is ready and waiting. My comfy chair has been cleaned and padded with fluffy pillows. The footstool sits nearby and the power cord to the laptop will be plugged in.

At 11pm, on May 23rd, the world will hear a collective wail of despair as it all officially ends.

Oh yeah, and the DVR is loaded and programmed to all of it. I have the feeling that I'll want to see this one over and over and over and over.

Before we watch tonight......

2010-05-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

I'd like to make a prediction.

As you know, I work VERY hard to remain spoiler free. This week has been very difficult as practically everyone wants to reveal what's going to happen in What They Died For and the finale. While I respect some people feel the need to know what is going to happen (thus be prepared for any shocks or surprises), I am the polar opposite. Since LOST is less six days away from the big ending, many sites aren't hiding the spoilers any longer. It's a no holds barred situation out there and I've found my LOST surfing seriously curtailed in an attempt to stay "out of the loop"

This does not mean that I don't sit and think about what's about to happen. In fact, I spend more time than I should trying to figure out what we will see next. So, in the spirit of looking like a total brainless twit, I am going to predict what happens tonight.

Are you ready?

Oh! Before I get to my prediction, look what arrived at my house today in preparation for Sunday!

You can see how sad I am becoming.

Okay, tonight someone is going to have some explaining to do and I think that Jacob will appear to Hurley and spill all about why the candidates were chosen and what is going to need to be done to stop Smocke. Jack was right, by the way. the only way Smocke can leave the island is if all the candidates are dead. Then, and only then, will Smocke have the ability to depart.

Speaking of Smocke, I think he's going to be going on a rampage in the next little while and I think he's going to start with Widmore. Chuckie boy, I think, will be a sacrifice the island demands.

Where are Ben, Richard and Miles? Yeah, I think they have great big bulls eyes on their backs too. I'm just wondering, since Jacob made Richard immortal, can he die? What about Miles? I fear he will not make it out of Ben's basement.

Ahhh, Ben. How I love thee, let me count the ways....

Er, can someone help me out here?

Just joking. I love Ben and all the machinations (for SJ) he gets up to. Since season two I have been anticipating his next move. But, most of all, do you know what I love about Ben?

His sense of self preservation. He's changed sides as many times as Jacob and MIB have played Senet throughout their youth. Keep an eye on Ben, because I think he'll be hopping the fence to the other side again before this is all over.

I made a great big pan of fudge for tonight (sigh) and have my truck load of Kleenex ready.

Let me know if I forgot anything.

ACROSS THE SEA

2010-05-13T14:53:00.001-07:00

Okay, I freely admit that this was not an episode that will ever make it onto my favourite 116 episodes list. I think it ranks down there around the bottom, alternating places with Exposé, and team Razzle Dazzle for 118^th and 117^th place. I’m sure these two episodes will remain on the bottom of my list for all eternity.

That being said, we learned a metric tonne of information from Across The Sea that, for some of you, may have changed the way you look at Jacob, his brother and their relationship with the island. Yeah, like the fact that they were twins was a surprise any of us. Thanks Damon and Carlton for that confirmation. We also learned that the boys that Smocke, Sawyer and Desmond are seeing are “reflections or ghosts” of the people Jacob and MIB used to be.

Again, I’m not going to recap the episode. You’ve all seen it and have likely read more recaps than there are existing episodes of the series. I’ll just give you my thoughts on what I got from it and the resulting questions bouncing around in my mind (or what’s left of my brain after LOST got into it).

I know that there a lot of viewers out there who were bitterly disappointed with this week’s episode. Perhaps they were expecting some great spectacular story of mythical proportions of how MIB came to be the smoke monster and where his home is and how it relates to our current island inhabitants. I do know that many were angry that STILL we do not know his name, although I don’t really think his name is integral to the weave of the fabric of the story. What’s important is the fact that he has always wanted to leave and has been prevented from doing so for a very specific reason.

Across the Sea will be an episode that grows on people over time, as we watch it again (which is miles ahead of Exposé if you ask me). Eventually, after reading Doc Jensen`s analysis, Erica Olsen`s analysis, etc, people will see the necessity of an episode such as this one.

We saw a woman wash ashore on the other side of the island from her ship mates, and I believe that it was no accident. She didn’t ride the waves and I think was “brought” to that side of the island by “Mother”. It’s pretty convenient that Mother found her so quickly and was able to help her give birth. While Mother was surprised by the birth of the second baby, I can see that her plan to groom, if you will, her replacement took root immediately following the birth of the babies.

As I thought about Jacob and his brother being born on the island and never knowing any other people, I realized that they would not know of the outside world and therefore would never want to leave. After all, if there is no evidence of anything beyond the pristine shores of their island, why would they even entertain the thought of leaving?

I found it difficult to tell when Mother was speaking truthfully and when she was being deceitful. She lied to the boys by telling them that there is nothing across the sea. I’m positive that it was she who appeared to Boy in Black as Claudia as part of her plan to figure out which boy would be her successor as protector of the island. If this is true, then she was the smoke monster from the beginning, and it is in her actions that MIB became the smoke monster. Since they were boys, she has been played the boys off each other, even swaddling Jacob in a light wrap and No Name baby in a dark wrap (they sound like burritos, don’t they?). They were dressed as opposites from the very beginning which foretold the tale of their futures.

I think, from the very beginning, it was Mother’s plan that Boy in Black would leave to live with “his people” and learn that what she had said about the light and humanity wanting more was true. MIB needed to go be with his people, become attached to them, learn from them and then, when Mother “took care of them”, he needed to seek vengeance against his mother for killing them. Just as Jacob needed to knock MIB unconscious and toss him into that incredibly fast moving stream that carried him into the cave of glowing light.

Mother had told Jacob that the light was the source. It was life, death and rebirth, but that he must never go into the cave as a fate worse than death would befall him. That fate, by the way, is becoming the smoke monster for all eternity (and obviously that is a fate worse than death, IMO). Mother, I believe, was the smoke monster first and this is evidenced in the fact that she was able to pull MIB out of the well, fill in the well and then destroy the village and kill its inhabitants.

Perhaps each incarnation of the smoke monster retains the memories of it’s previous manifestations. You know, I just can’t stop thinking about that song by the Poppy Family called Where Evil Grows. A specific line keeps playing over and over in my head.

“And it never shows the place where evil grows….Evil grows in cracks and holes, and lives in people's minds”

I can’t help but wonder if the golden glow in the cave is a disguise. Boy in Black thought it beautiful. Mother agreed. What if that is what John Locke saw when he first met Ole Smokey?

I think that very soon after Jacob tossed his brother into that stream and saw that column of volcanic ash cloud and lightening roaring out of the mouth of the cave, he figured out that Mother had manipulated them. Instead of protecting the island, Jacob must now protect the rest of the world and keep his brother “corked” and unable to leave.

I've made it so you can never hurt each other.

I need to address this thought. I was distressed when Boy in Black asked what death is, and Mother told him that he wouldn’t have to worry about that. If she truly made it so that neither Jacob nor his brother could hurt the other, how is it that Jacob was able to beat on his brother? How was he able to knock him unconscious and send him floating into the golden glow? Is MIB not dead when Jacob so regretfully places the bodies in the cave? Or is it just his human form that is dead? And, after so many years, he reappears in his human form to talk with Jacob on the beach at the feet of the Statue. What or how did Mother do to make it so that Jacob and MIB would live on into eternity?

HERE’S WHAT I WAS HOPING WE WOULD LEARN

I was hoping that we would learn more about the ancient influences that we have seen on the island. Who built the statue of Terewet, the tunnels, the temple, the caves in which Smokey lived?

Why was it that Jacob was able to leave the island to visit those LOSTIES he has visited, and how was he able to do so?

I was hoping that MIB’s claim that Jacob took away his humanity would have a mythical, god like tale behind it.

I was hoping to learn how both Jacob and MIB came to be seemingly immortal.

Most of all I was hoping to learn the “rules” by which they seemed to live their lives.

My assertion that the loophole MIB had found was finding someone else to kill Jacob turned out to be correct. Yay me. Neither could hurt the other, but mere mortals could fell them. An interesting concept that takes away their god-like immortality in one fell swoop. Neither Jacob nor MIB are blameless and both have caused a lot of deaths over the years, but I believe that only MIB has actually killed with his own “hands”. To see what Smokey can do in a confined space we need only go back and watch what happens when Ilana and her crew enter the foot to confront Smocke. And then there is the temple.

Jacob’s culpability lies in the fact that he continually brought people to the island and failed to help them to survive. He failed to tell them what was expected of their presence. The only person he has ever used his own hands to kill, if it can be classified as killed, is his brother.

Do I believe that Smoke/MIB/Smokey is evil? Yes I do. Despite having a home, a family, MIB has only ever wanted another home. Even before he went to live with the shipwreck survivors and learn their ways, he has always wanted more. That is why Mother put the game on the beach. That is why she appeared to him and led him to the village. That is why he lived amidst people he despised and mocked the very qualities that he possessed. He wanted more.

Mother said that there is a little bit of the light inside all man. I think that light is contentment. That’s the only thing I ever want more of.

DID YOU NOTICE?

This is the first time in the history of LOST that no main character appear in original footage, and only Jack, Kate and Locke appear in archived footage.

Claudia is the third woman to arrive on the island pregnant, give birth and have her children raised by another.

Claudia’s abdomen didn’t get smaller after she gave birth to TWO babies. Surely it would have deflated at least a bit.

Did you notice the giant sea turtle on the beach with young Boy in Black and as his mother approaches, the turtle is no where to be seen.

When MIB is visited by “Mother” in the well, she is bathed in light and he shown in darkness.

MIB seems to adopt the “man of science” attitude by using technology to find a way off the island, yet he takes over Locke’s body, who was a “man of faith”.

Mother is examining a black stone from the burned Senet game just before MIB stabs her in the back.

The knife the MIB carries is the same one given to Richard in Ab Aeterno and to Sayid by Dogen.

There was at least one little girl in the village, which means that Mother/Smokey murdered the children as well when she destroyed the village.

QUESTIONS:

What was in the wine that made Jacob become the protector?

What was Mother saying as she poured the wine?

How did MIB explain his reappearance to Jacob after his body was laid to rest in the cave?

Why did Jacob only say goodbye to his brother and not Mother?

Where’s Vincent?

QUOTABLE QUOTES

MOTHER: Every question I answer will simply lead to another question. You should rest. Just be grateful you're alive.

MOTHER: Of course he did. Jacob doesn't know how to lie. He's not like you.

BOY IN BLACK: Why? What am I like?

MOTHER: You're... special.

JACOB: What makes them dangerous?

MOTHER: The same thing that makes all men dangerous. They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt... and it always ends the same.

MOTHER: Light. The warmest, brightest light you've ever seen or felt. And we must make sure that no one ever finds it.

BOY IN BLACK: It's beautiful...

MOTHER: Yes it is. And that's why they want it. Because a little bit of this very same light is inside of every man. But they always want more.

JACOB: Can they take it?

MOTHER: No. But they would try. And if they tried they could put it out. And if the light goes out here... it goes out everywhere. And so I've protected this place. But I can't protect it forever.

BOY IN BLACK: Then who will?

MOTHER: It will have to be one of you.

MOTHER [grabbing Boy In Black]: My love, you need to know this. Whatever you have been told, you will never be able to leave this island.

BOY IN BLACK [forces himself away from his mother]: That’s not true. One day I can prove it.

MAN IN BLACK: Oh, you mean my people. You wanna know if they’re bad. That woman may be insane, but she’s most definitely right about that.

JACOB: I don’t know. They don’t seem so bad to me,

MAN IN BLACK: That’s easy for you to say. Looking down on us from above. Trust me, I’ve lived among them for 30 years. They’re greedy, manipulative, untrustworthy, and selfish.

Next week's episode is called What They Died For, and it sounds so horribly ominous. I'll need chocolate, tissues, and probably several days to get over what I may see.

*sigh*

On May 24th I will be wearing my "Warning: I am going through LOST Withdrawl" label.

THE CANDIDATE

2010-05-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

The producers and writers of LOST have assured us that they have a plan and that we will get answers to some of the major mysteries that make up the mythology of the greatest show (in my humble opinion) ever to have aired on network television. After The Candidate, I had to convince myself to keep the faith that this will all end accordingly. Since the beginning of this season I have prepared myself with the knowledge that any one of our favourite characters can die. Couple that awareness with the fact that LOST is ending its amazing run and you have a complex formula for dissolution of everything that we have held near and dear to our hearts since September 22, 2004 and we suddenly find ourselves on a bullet train hurtling out of control. Hang on, my friends, for the ride of your lives!

Immediately following last nights airing of the Candidate there was such an outcry of anger, total devastation and absolute confusion that I think it may have caused an almost epic traffic jam on the internet. I have tried to stay away from all reviews and recaps in order to get my own thoughts sorted out. I am still feeling like I have been cast adrift into a vortex of confusion. Sleep is usually one of my dearest friends, but last night it was fitful and fraught with frequent episodes of sitting upright in bed and asking “what does that mean?” and then falling back down to the pillow in a cold sweat.

FLASHSIDEWAYS/WHAT IF/SIDE TIME

I loved how Jack referred to John as a “candidate”, and was initially confused when his offer to perform surgery and “fix” John was refused. As the episode progressed though, I realized that John was punishing himself, forcing himself to be confined to the wheelchair. It wasn’t until I saw Anthony Cooper that I realized the cause of his guilt. Forgive me, but I kind of giggled at the irony. In Original time, Anthony Cooper caused John’s injury that paralysed him and in the Side time, the roles were reversed and John was the reason his father is doing the best impression of a turnip I have seen in a long while. It’s also a bit ironic that John is the cause of his own paralysis, and I think that it is a foreshadowing of what may be MIB’s downfall (But I’ll get to that in a bit).

It was nice to see Bernard again. As time goes by, we are seeing the connections that our LOSTIES have in the Original time being forged in the Side time. I’m not sure how this will pan out in the Side time, but I’m willing to put my faith in the belief that we get our “happily ever after” there and not in the Original time. I enjoyed Bernard teasing Jack about flirting with Rose, and it underscores the deep seated love he has for his wife. That’s two couples now who are soul mates. Maybe three, if Desmond doesn’t get chucked into jail for the hit and run non-accident.

Speaking of Desmond, we haven’t seen him for a while and I’m wondering if he and Penny truly connected over that coffee they were supposed to have

Claire seeks out Jack at the hospital to ask him a question about her portion of Christian’s estate, which was an ornate music box that played “Catch A falling Star”. This was a double-whammy prop, in my view. The music box played a song that has recurred throughout the entire fabric of the show, and as they looked at it, we could see Jack’s and Claire’s images reflected in a mirror. This is only the beginning for Jack and Claire as siblings and I think that Jack’s invitation that she stay with him will allow for Claire to keep “Aaron” in the Side time. My heart skipped a beat or two when Jack assured Claire that they were not strangers, but family. This bodes well for both of them, I think…I hope.

The final scene in the Side time was so very interesting and outlined that both Jack and John are still unable to “let it go” or “forgive themselves”. In Jack’s case, he is learning and is willing to use that life lesson to help another person. We will see if he really is ready to stop trying to “fix” people and things and not chase after John in an effort to convince him to have the surgery.

Earlier I alluded to John’s self inflicted paralysis as a possible cause of falter for MIB in the Original time. I think that John Locke’s “consciousness “will assert itself in MIB causing an inner struggle of who will gain control over the “body”. This struggle will weaken MIB and thwart his efforts to leave the island and leading to his ultimate failure. I really don’t know how it will go down, but I do have a theory (which I’ll get to later).

ORIGINAL TIME

GOD

As Jack woke and sat up in the outrigger I couldn’t help but think of Frank’s similar sleep sailing experience. As Sayid said, at least he didn’t have to paddle. I’m not sure about anyone else, but when Sayid said that I thought I saw a spark of “emotion” and had a renewed hope that his story of redemption would get off that detour to hell he was on. We know now that Sayid’s story has ended.

When Jack tells Smocke that he’ll help him but he is not leaving the island, he sets off a chain of events that lead to a very shocking and sad ending. The final half hour of this episode was spent sitting bolt upright and clinging to the edge of my rocking chair with eyes glued to the TV. I’m not blaming Jack for the catastrophic ending, but I do think it was his mistake to lay out his intentions so soon and it allowed Smocke to formulate yet another evil plan to kill off all the candidates.

Sawyer and his group are tossed into the polar bear cage, and you can hear the hum if the portable sonic fence. I don’t ever recall hearing the other fence hum. This is not a good scene as Sawyer explains to Kate that her name was on the cave wall and that it had been crossed off. At this point I realized that Kate’s usefulness was ended to all parties involved save for Kate herself. I also realized that by telling her, Sawyer was trying to protect her. Forewarned is forearmed? I’m not sure.

I am wondering how Sayid killed the power to the portable sonic fence. Did he just pull cut the extension cord? Did he pull the plug? Did he steal all the gas from the generator? Did he poke that stick Smocke was whittling a few episodes back into some moving parts? HOW? This allowed Smocke to wreck havoc at the cages and help free the others. Don’t think he’s not angry about how they all turned against him, by the way. Jack arrives to help everyone out of the cages and lead them to relative safety, if there is such a thing. He explains to Kate that he’s not meant to leave the island but will help them all get to the plane. Obviously Jack didn’t hear the part about ALL of them having to leave TOGETHER when Smocke was explaining how things are going to work. I had bad feeling as Smocke was checking the plane and found the wires that led him to the C4. Question! Why didn’t Widmore just destroy the plane as soon as he arrived on the island? Yeah, yeah, I know it’s a plot device, but that’s the kind of detail that bugs me. Then I had an awful thought that Widmore is secretly working WITH Smocke and they had planned that. But if our LOSTIES took the sub, how would Chuckie leave? I know there’s no way that he would want to STAY on the island once Smocke had been bottled up again.

Also, I believe MIB DID kill all the other survivors on that plane. Remember all the times he would disappear and when asked where he was, he would say he was taking care of something. Think back to the Incident when he told Richard that they would have to go to Hydra Island and deal with the others from the plane. Yeah, I’m convinced Smocke did that.

So, where was I? Oh yes, the plane. I really loved the home made bamboo steps! I wonder if I can have those for my pool…..Anyway, knew that the plane was not going to be the answer to Smocke’s little problem. For a while now I have considered the thought that his main goal was to kill ALL the candidates in fell swoop, thus gaining the freedom to leave the island at his own will. Let’s review the facts, shall we?

Originally there were multiple “candidates” for Jacob’s job, (if you take the lighthouse compass as the list, there were 360 candidates over the years so far) but as time passed and people were killed on the island, or they didn’t measure up, their names were crossed off the list. A bit of trivia for you to stump your friends. There are 15 passengers from 815 on the list and 4 Others on the list that are in reference to the NUMBERS! Don’t ask where I find this stuff, it would frighten you.

LOCKE – 4, REYES – 8, FORD – 15, JARRAH – 16, SHEPHARD – 23, KWON - 42, Austen – 51

Since Kate’s number is 51, which by the way is the transposition of 15, I am assuming that she’s not going to make it to the end and thus not going to succeed in her quest to reunite Claire and Aaron off island. Interestingly enough Claire’s number is 313 and Charlie’s number was 195.

Okay, back to business. Smocke has been very insistent that all the survivors be TOGETHER when they attempt to leave the island and at first I believed that some magical force dictated such. Then I remembered that Smocke DOESN’T KNOW who will be the one to do Jacob’s job and that he had vowed to kill anyone that may take his nemesis’ place. Since he has no idea WHO would become the next Jacob, he really had no choice but to start eliminating them. The “RULES” state that he can’t kill any of the candidates himself, so over the years he has used his belief that humans will kill each other and manipulated the deaths of many people. Which brings us to the doomed submarine ride….

Smocke switched his C4 filled pack with Jack’s back pack. We all saw it happen and that is when I knew for sure that Smocke had planned to confine the candidates and let them either be killed by each other or Widmore’s men. And how convenient that poor Claire was left behind (that really rankled me since she was defending them). Jack was right when he told Sawyer that the C4 would NOT explode. I know that many of you believe that it would have since it was Jack who carried it onto the sub that it would go off, but since Jack did so UNKNOWINGLY it makes perfect sense that it would not have. Unfortunately for Jin, Sun and Sayid, Sawyer didn’t believe it and pulled the wires, thus setting into motion the disastrous events that followed.

WHY?

Why?

There are an awful lot of people who are bitter and angry that Sun and Jin (myself included as I sobbed into half a box of tissues) did not get their happily ever after and were unable to leave the island to raise their daughter. But think for a minute. In the Side time they have the opportunity to embrace their futures and raise their daughter together, so in a way, they have achieved it and their story arc is finished. We got to see that Desmond had managed to reach deep within the darkness of Sayid and provided him with the means by which to have his Nadia back. Let’s hope they are reunited in death because we know that in the Side time they will be apart forever.

That leaves us with Lapidus and his status is unknown at this point. He was hit rather hard by that door and I think knocked out, so I’m thinking that he’s dead too. This is distressing to me. We have not seen how his life pans out in the Side time, so I’m hopeful that he has a chance at happiness.

The last we saw of the remaining candidates they were washed up on the dark beach and mourning the loss of their friends. I’m sure, as he had in the flashsideways while talking to John Locke, Jack was wishing James had believed him. I know I was thinking it.

DID YOU NOTICE?

Locke wants to kill Jack in the original time and Jack wants to help Locke in the side time.

Original Locke regained the use of his legs from the crash of 815, Side Locke was paralysed in a plane crash.

Original Anthony Cooper caused John’s paralysis. Side Anthony’s vegetative state was cause by John.

While unconscious, John Locke mumbles; “Push the button” and “I wish you had believed me”. Jack repeated the wish to John later, which caused him to pause.

This episode breaks the record for the largest number of MAIN CAST characters being killed at three, also this season (for obvious reasons) is the first season to kill off more than one original main character.

This is the first episode since the premiere of Season 4 where ALL the main characters appear in the same place at the same time. Go check!

There were 4 bricks of C4

QUESTIONS

How did Widmore know about the list?

Where are Cindy, Zach and Emma?

Is Frank alive?

How’s Jack going to help Kate now?

Why wasn’t the sub more visibly guarded?

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

JOHN: Why?

JACK: Because I think you're a candidate.

SAYID: Welcome to Hydra island. At least you didn't have to paddle.

WIDMORE: I have a list of names. Ford, you're on it. As are Reyes and the Kwons. Kate Austen? She's not. It doesn't matter to me whether she lives or dies.

WIDMORE: You may not believe it, but I'm doing this for your own good.

SAWYER: You're right. I don't believe it.

BERNARD: Do you mind if I ask you why you're so interested in Mr. Locke, Jack?

JACK: Um... he and I met about a week ago. We were on the same flight back from Australia--

BERNARD: Oceanic 815.

[Jack looks shocked]

BERNARD: I sat across the aisle from you. If memory serves, you were flirting with my wife, Rose, while I was in the bathroom. It's pretty weird, huh?

JACK: Yeah.

LOCKE: You know, I would ask him, except I don't think he's gonna give me a straight answer. But I can't imagine that his intentions are good. If we move right now, we can break your people out, run for the plane, and be off this island before Widmore knows what hit him.

LOCKE: Because I could kill you, Jack. Right here. Right now. And I could kill every single one of your friends. And there's not a thing that you could do to stop me. But instead of killing you, I saved your life. And now I want to save them too. So will you help me? (LIAR)

HURLEY: And we're dead... (when the power to the sonic fence goes off)

HURLEY: Well... wait, now he wants us to leave the island?

LOCKE: No, Hugo. He wants to get us all in the same place at the same time... a nice confined space we have no hope of getting out of... and then he wants to kill us. (foreshadowing?)

Jack: Why don't you come stay with me?

Claire: Stay with you? [ Jack nods.] I mean, we're…we're strangers.

Jack [laughs]: No, we're not strangers. We're...we're family.

JACK: Locke…We did exactly what he wanted.

OBSERVATION: We have been led to believe that water is not a good thing for Smocke while he is in his smoke form, so, if my thinking that John Locke from the Side time will assert his “consciousness” into the Original time and force MIB out of his body, he will have no form to take. If that happens on Hydra, all Jack has to do is ensure there are no other forms he can take and remove all forms of travel off that island. But I’m probably wrong.

Next week we get Across The Sea. I’m both fearful and excited to see what happens next.

THE LAST RECRUIT

2010-04-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, so now we know that the stick Smocke was whittling is to crush communication devices! All that work for that? I would have used a rock. Less work and it saves a tree. We also know that none of the women, knowing that they were returning to an uncharted island, bothered to pack a hair brush. Those slobs! Claire really needs a hairbrush and by the way things are looking, so does Kate and Zoe. What woman doesn’t pack a hair brush? Seriously, this is really bothering me! I usually pack a hairbrush, two combs and like a gazillion pins, ponytail holders and barrettes. People, these women are not normal.

There was a much anticipated (and prayed for) reunion, a whole lot of double dealing and even more back stabbing in this episode.

2004 “What If”

What if time is full of a multitude of snippets from all our LOSTIES this week.

Two ambulances converge on apparently the one and only hospital in LA. One is carrying Sun and the other is bringing in John Locke and the stretchers meet outside. Sun recognizes John Locke, but is unable to explain to Jin how she knows him. For some, I think that a traumatic event is what causes memories of that other life to surface.

Ever since last week’s episode I have been trying to understand why Desmond would run down a seemingly harmless man in a wheelchair. I have a theory on that, but we’ll get to that later.

Desmond meets up with very pregnant Claire and offers the assistance of a lawyer before she visits the adoption agency. It’s not a bad idea and he’s promised that it will not cost her a penny (even I’d jump at a free legal consultation). Were you as surprised as I was that the lawyer who was his very good friend was Ilana? AND that they seemed to be very close? It was no coincidence that she had been looking for one Claire Littleton from Australia since she was also handling the probate of Christian Shephard’s last will and testament.

Jack and his son David (who seem to be improving their relationship) arrive to hear the will and meet Claire. Jack didn’t seem too surprised to learn that Claire was his half sister. I really wanted to see David get excited about a new “Auntie” and baby cousin, but alas, the boy is an emotional android. But the reading of the will would have to wait as Jack is called to the hospital to operate on a spinal injury who happens to be John Locke.

Okay, that was quick. Now, let’s get to Desmond running over John Locke in cold blood last week. I truly believe that Desmond has a “link” of consciousness to what is happening on the island. I have spent over a week pondering his seemingly remorseless act and the reasons he could have behind it. The link is the only explanation I can come up with.

Essentially, Desmond knows almost instantly what is happening on the island. He didn’t run down John Locke to avenge himself on the island. It goes much deeper than that. I’m thinking that Jack will operate on John and repair the previous damage to his spinal chord, thus allowing him to walk again. This change in his “physical status” could cause Smocke on the island to lose the use of his corporeal form’s legs. Kind of a paradox if you think about it, but almost fitting in a way.

I know it’s far fetched, but it’s all I got with regards to Desmond and John Locke.

I’ve also been thinking about how things are very different in the “What If” time. Jack has a pre-teen son. Jin and Sun aren’t married (although they are still involved). Sayid isn’t searching for the love of his life because she’s married to his brother. Hurley, ahem, Hugo doesn’t believe he is cursed and has never been in a mental institute. On that thought, do you wonder if Tricia Tanaka will make an appearance? Miles is a cop. Pierre Chang is working at the museum with Charlotte. Daniel gets to play the piano. Eloise is married to Chuckie (I think they deserve each other) and Penny knows her half brother (I’m doubtful that she ever met Daniel in the other time).

But two things remain the same. Kate is still on the run and accused of murder (although she denies this and could very well be innocent of it) and Sawyer’s father still killed his wife and then himself. He is still seeking vengeance for that, it seems. As an aside, do you think he still killed that shrimp seller in Australia?

Kate and Sawyer were the only two survivors who were visited during childhood if memory serves me correctly.

And let’s not forget those island inhabitants! Ben’s a doctor of European History and teaches high school. Roger turned into Father of the Year (how’s that for irony?). Alex is alive and living with her mother (I wonder what happened to her father). Ethan is a doctor and is averse to poking people with needles. Will we see Mr. Friendly and will he still be gay and living with Arturo? What about Juliet. Many of my LOST friends think that Juliet is Jack’s ex-wife. Could be. What about Goodwin and his harpy fishwife, Harper? I need a spreadsheet to keep track!

2007 – Original time

Zoe, the mercenary geologist, and her team of thugs showed up at Smocke’s camp to politely request the return of their “package” and were only willing to wait until sundown for it to happen, promising an explosive retaliation if Smocke didn’t turn Desmond over. Apparently Smocke wasn’t planning to get going on his plan to take the plane just yet. Obviously Widmore wasn’t aware of the schedule. Smocke sends Sayid to take care of Desmond, who’s still down that well.

Speaking of that well, am I the only one who noticed that it isn’t as deep as it was last week? It appears to have gotten shallower since then and I was thinking that one more week and Desmond could just hop out under his own power!

Which brings us to even more fracturing of the survivors…sort of. Smocke gives Sawyer a map to the Elizabeth (remember, Desmond’s boat that Sayid, Sun and Jin used to try to ambush the Others) and tells him to meet him at the Pala Ferry dock. Sawyer, seeing this as his opportunity, then gives Jack the map and tells him to get himself, Hurley, Frank (everyone needs Frank), and Sun away from the others. Freckles, ahem, I mean Kate, accompanies Sawyer to get the boat.

How many times did Sawyer call Kate Freckles during this episode? It’s starting to be like when we used to count Hurley’s “dude”. I guess this means that he’s over Juliet enough to revert to his happy-go-lucky-nick-naming former self.

Smocke notices that Sayid still hasn’t rejoined the group and goes looking for him, giving Jack and the others opportunity to remove themselves. Claire sees this and follows. She feels a certain loyalty toward Smocke. After all, he’s the only one who didn’t abandon her. Of course, he’s also the one who led her into the jungle and kept her from rescue and her baby for the last three years. Ha! You were thinking that I missed that admission, weren’t you? Nah, I was just waiting for the right time to mention it.

Anyway, Kate convinces Claire that she’s going to take her off the island and back to Aaron and the survivors set sail for Hydra. Smocke catches up to Sayid who says he’s just killed a man and needed a moment. Yeah? When have we seen Sayid EVER take a moment to refocus himself after killing? We will see Desmond again, I’m sure. Desmond found that little teeny tiny bit of “light” within the darkness that was consuming Sayid.

But Jack doesn’t think it’s right. “We were brought here because we’re supposed to do something, James. And if Locke--that…that thing--wants us to leave? Maybe, it’s afraid of what happens if we stay.” In a scene that calls to mind Sawyer’s epic helicopter exit, Jack jumped ship and headed for the island, where Smocke was waiting for him.

Meanwhile, the boat reaches Hydra Island. Sawyer and Kate, and the others, believe they have reached safety only to be confronted by the mercenary geologist and her crew. Did you hold your breath as Jin walked across the fence line and prayed that his head wouldn’t explode? And yes, I had to wipe my eye as Sun and Jin were finally able to embrace. Reunited and it feels so good. At least until Widmore takes his turn at stabbing someone in the back. Widmore, me thinks, is either working with Smocke or, now that he had pretty well all the survivors he feels the need to continue protecting the island from the outside world. I haven’t decided yet.

Back at the beach on the big island, Widmore’s missiles make landfall and blow Smocke’s rag tag group of red shirts (yes that’s exactly what they are and silly you if you had hopes that they’d be more useful). Poor Jack is dazed and confused as Smocke tosses him over his shoulder and carries him to safety. Hey, wasn’t Claire somewhat dazed and confused when Smocke, pretending to be her father, lead her into the bowels of hell? I wonder if Jack will be just as resentful that everyone abandoned him to the tender mercies of Smocke.

I’m not sure what to make of the continuing fracturing of the people. One group splits then joins another group then decides to go their own way, then splits again. Holy crap, it’s like a biology test tube experiment gone awry as cells divide and join and divide again and join and….I’m pulling my hair out here. Just when I thought things were coming together they fall apart.

I think Jack jumping ship, so to speak, was the right thing for him to do. Again it will come down to Jack squaring off against his nemesis. Or rather, the shell of his nemesis that holds “most” of Locke’s memories and experiences. I say most because I think Smocke is not in total control of the “essence” that is/was John Locke. This may be important in the up coming episodes as we enter the home stretch.

Question?

Why does Miles introduce himself to Nadia as Detective Straum? Isn’t his father’s last name Chang? Does this mean that he still grew up apart from his father?

Why can’t Widmore’s guys hit Smocke with the missiles?

When will Frank take his shirt off? When will Sawyer take his shirt off?

Now that she’s Chuckie’s captive, will Claire go all crazy again and kill off Kate before they can get off the island?

Is Jack the new Crazy Claire?

Why did Widmore renege on his deal with Sawyer (despite the fact that Sawyer was going to double cross him)?

Did Sayid kill Desmond?

DID YOU N OTICE?

This is the first episode that Jack and Claire have met since finding out that that the are brother and sister.

We learned Ilana’s last name is Verdansky

The Elizabeth (Desmond’s boat) appears for the first time since season 3’s The Glass Ballerina

This is the first episode since season 3 that Claire has had a flashback from her point of view.

Jack’s chit chat with both Smocke and Claire happened at night, and yet they returned to the camp in daylight?

Claire and Desmond got off the elevator on the 15^th floor.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

JACK: Why John Locke?

LOCKE: Because he was stupid enough to believe that he'd been brought here for a reason. Because he pursued that belief until it got him killed. And because you were kind enough to bring his body back here in a nice wooden box.

JACK: John Locke was the only one of us that ever believed in this place. He did everything he could to keep us from leaving this island.

LOCKE: John Locke was not a believer, Jack. He was a sucker.

SAWYER: Sayid ain’t invited. He’s gone over to the dark side.

HURLEY: Yeah, but you can always bring people back from the dark side. I mean, Anakin--

SAWYER: Who the hell’s Anakin? Look, just keep your mouth shut. Don’t say nothing’ to no one.

DESMOND: This woman--when she asks you what you did to be with her again…what will you tell her?

SAWYER: Get off my damn boat.

Next week we have a rerun of Ab Aeterno and don't get a new episode until May 4th, which will be the Candidate.

EVERYBODY LOVES HUGO

2010-04-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

Yet another mysterious boy appears on the island. This one is bigger, possibly older and has dark hair. The smile is ominous. Who could he be? And why is Smocke suddenly ignoring the boys? What's Desmond in "What if" time up to and why did he run over wheelchair bound John Locke? Does Desmond have a consciousness connection between the two times? And how about Hurley asserting himself with Richard. I have never seen Richard so "panicky" before and I have a bad feeling about it. But, let's start with my thoughts on the "What If" time, shall we?

2004 "What If"

Hugo Reyes is a saint. Check it out! ^ That's Nunu, Jorge Garcia's real dog making a cameo appearance up there! Okay, back to Hugo. Unlike his previous 2004 self, Hugo can't seem to do anything wrong. His Mr. Cluck's Chicken franchises are growing in leaps and bounds and going places very few other American fast food restaurants get to go. His philanthropy is massive and demonstrates what we all knew from that very first we met him.....Hurley's got the most generous heart on the planet and he genuinely loves to help others less fortunate than he.

But there is one thing that "What If" Hugo has in common with our original lovable Hurley and it's soon to be rectified when Libby approaches poor stood up Hugo at Spanish Johnny's and tells him about being so connected, like "soulmates". Unfortunately, the good Dr. Brooks comes along and bursts Hugo's bubble by taking Libby back to the Santa Rosa Mental Hospital van!

You know, after being stood up by Rosalita (Grandpa Tito's neighbour's daughter) and then meeting a cracked nut like Libby, you'd think Hugo would give up, but we all deal with depression in our own way. Some people drink themselves into oblivion. Others bury their heads in denial. And still others eat. And eat. And eat. Hugo falls into that category and meets Desmond (not accidental, by the way) at one of his Mr. Cluck's locations and if found eating a family size bucket of chicken. He's depressed. The woman of his dreams is "full on nuts" and insists that the know each other.

Tangent!

Is it just me, or does Desmond remind you of John Locke aka Jeremy Bentham, trying to get the Oceanic Six to agree to return to the island? All Desmond has to do, it would appear, is find a way to make the Oceanic Six "remember" their other world and wait for things to happen.

Back to Hugo's "What If" life.

Something Desmond convinces Hugo to give Libby a chance and so Hugo buys his way in to see Libby at the mental hospital. Hugo and Libby chat, and make a date. Libby checked herself in to the hospital, so she can leave any time she wants. They have a date on the beach (this time Hugo remembered the blanket), they talk about Libby's bizarro alternate universe. They kiss and...WHOOSH...Hugo sees flashes and remembers as well.

From a distance Desmond watches, smiles and drives away. He has other passengers to deal with and John Locke is next on his "to do" list. And man does he "take care of" Locke! I'm wondering if Desmond has a "special" connection to the other "time" because the timing of him running down Locke coincided with Smocke tossing him down the well in 2007. I couldn't help but think "tit for tat" on that one. My daughter, however, has decided that running over a man in a wheelchair (even one who in another time has allowed himself to become a "zombie" of his former self) is just plain wrong and appears to have lost any and all respect for Desmond.

The reason why I feel that "What If" Desmond has a special consciousness connection to his other self is simple. As far as he knows, John Locke is dead in the other time and, logic thinking tells me that there is no way that he would know about MIB taking John Locke's form. There really is no reason for "What If" Desmond to want to harm John Locke.....unless he knew something that no one else did. He has to know that, in the other world, John Locke's machinations lead to disaster for all of them.

2007 "Original" Time

Hurley talks with Libby in this time line as well. My heart was breaking for him as he knelt by her grave, put a fresh flower against her cross and told her how he wished she would come to him the same way as other "dead" people have so they could talk. I have often wondered, aside from the actress not being available *wink wink*, why Libby's essence has never visited Hurley like Charlie, Ana Lucia and other dead people have. I can only assume that she was able to "move on," unlike Michael, Charlie and Ana Lucia. I think she always was a "good" person who had done no harm to anyone (and she did give Desmond the boat so he could regain his honour, right?). That's gotta account for a lot, I think.

Michael's spirit shows up and tells Hurley that blowing up the plane is the wrong thing to do. A whole lot of people will get killed and it will be Hurley's fault because people are listening to him now. I don't think that really was Michael's spirit and I believe that was Smocke using Michael's "appearance" to direct Hurley. I'll get to why later.

Ilana and Richard's plan to blow up the plane on Hydra island is moving ahead, and Ilana visits the Black Rock to get her supplies. I'm sorry, but Richard is a useless twit and SHOULD have insisted on going to collect the glycerin sticks. After all, HE CAN'T KILL HIMSELF SO THE DYNAMITE WILL NOT GO BOOM! I was not expecting her to blast herself into bits and pieces. Am I a sick person for waiting for Hurley to say "Dude, you've got some Ilana on you"? And, am I a sick person for being disappointed when I did not hear it?

I know, I AM a sick person in a twisted sort of way.

While everyone commiserates about what to do now, Hurley looks at Ilana's things and opens the bag containing Jacob's ashes. There has been debate about exactly what was in that bag. Some say it was the diamonds, others think it was something else. I really think it was Jacob's ashes, and seeing the ashes reminds Hurley of Michael's words. He doesn't want to be the one who causes even more people to be killed (do you think he's feeling guilty about the deaths at the temple?). He makes a decision.

Richard decides they need to get more dynamite and takes everyone to the Black Rock and, surprisingly, Hurley backs him up. They all trek to the Black Rock and suddenly Richard decides that he's the only one who can handle the dynamite. A little late on that one, aren't you guyliner dude? Sheesh, he waits for Ilana to self destruct before he realizes he can't kill himself and should be the only one to handle the "temperamental" boom boom sticks? Ha! Just how did Hurley beat them all to the Black Rock? How did the group not notice he wasn't with them? Nice work keeping track of everyone, Richard. I'm blaming Richard because he was leading that particular expedition and protecting the "candidates" would now fall onto his shoulder as a "prophet of Jacob".

I didn't expect Hurley to totally destroy the ship. Really! I just didn't think about what he would do to stop Richard from blowing up that Ajira Airlines plane. I half expected that when Hurley suddenly conceded that they needed to get more dynamite, he was told by Jacob's ashes that they needed to follow this line of attack. Either that or, like a Genie in a bottle, Hurley caught Jacob taking a bubble bath in the bottom of that little grey sack. Which leads me to my earlier thought about Michael.

Let me explain. In my mind, I can only think of one character on that island who absolutely needs that airplane intact, who's very freedom depends upon the plane not being destroyed. Everyone else on the island either wants to live there or already has a way to get back home. Think about this. The Oceanic Six returned to the island fully aware that it was highly probable that they would never leave. Ben DID tell Jack as much. Rose and Bernard happily retired to their secluded cabin with Vincent as their loyal pet.

Now I being you to another reason why I think the spirit of Michael wasn't really him. Smocke told Kate and Sawyer that they were "waiting" for the arrival of Jack, Hurley, and Sun. He KNEW they were coming because he orchestrated it using Michael's spirit. And before you call me mental, I just ask that you think about this for a moment. A lot of it makes sense. MIB needs every one of the Oceanic Six to be on that plane together in much the same way they returned to the island. Something tells me that once the plane is airborne and out of the Island's influence, and he doesn't need them any longer, their lives will end. He did hint at something like that to Claire in Sundown. I'll wait while you go look.

Do you see where I'm going with this? The only person who desperately does not want that plane destroyed is Smocke/MIB/Fake Locke. I could be so wrong on this (and probably am) but the more I think about this one point the more I am convinced.

Once Hurley blows the Black Rock, the beach group divides again. Hurley asserts himself a little stronger this time when Richard "tests" him. Jacob has never directly told anyone what to do, allowing them to make their own choices (and we see where that is getting them, don't we?). Richard, Ben and Miles decide to take their quest for explosives to the Barracks where Ben assures them that there's a cache still there. I wondered how Ben would know that after being gone from the island for three years, but whatever. Ben probably has the guns and grenades well and truly hidden under the floorboards like Sawyer hid his show box.

Which leaves us with Hurley, Jack, Sun and Frank trekking off to find Locke's camp and talk to him. Exactly what they are going to say, I haven't a clue, but I'm sure Hurley will think of something. I really liked Jack's explanation to Hurley why he agreed to follow him into the camp of the enemy. Jack is allowing his faith in Hurley, and Jacob, to point them in the right direction and, in a major way, help him to atone for Juliet's death. He doesn't realize that exploding Jughead has caused a reset.

But before we get to that meeting in the dark between Smocke and Hurley, let's talk about poor Desmond. One of the reasons I think Desmond has a link to the other time is the fact that he calmly allowed Smocke to lead him into the depths of the jungle and toss him into the well. The Desmond we know would not have permitted that, and he would have tried to escape no matter what. Sure, he told Smocke that he thought he was talking to John Locke. Sure he can tell him that there's no where to run. But the fact remains. The Desmond we know and love was done with the island and would have been the first one on that plane waiting for Frank to power up the engines to get them all out of there.

Why would Desmond let these things happen to him? Because he knows that, in the other life, everyone he cares about from the island will survive and be happy. Does this mean that the resolution of the island problems will leave them in the other time? I'm not sure...yet. The convergence has begun and will continue until each of the Oceanic Six in the "What If" time are in possession of the "memories." Then, and only then, will we see which time will be left to carry on, if any.

So, Hurley walks out of the jungle into Smocke's camp. Surprise! Okay, the only one not surprised by the emergence of this group was Smocke. Again, he knew they were coming because he pointed the way. Hurley says they need to talk, but the others with him are worried that Smocke will hurt them and needs a promise that that will not happen. I am skeptical that Smocke will not hurt them, yet positive they are safe until the plane takes off.

Am I the only one who thinks Hurley has a plan and that he will out maneuver Smocke? Or maybe I'm just hopeful.

Speaking of hopeful, many viewers have jumped to the conclusion that the island is purgatory as a result of the revelation that the whispers were those who have dies but are unable to move on. Here is what a friend has said about that. I admit to agreeing with her.

"My inital thought was that Michael was another manifestation of Smokey. But then the whole thing about the whispers. I had thought from long ago that the whispers were the collective consciousness of those that had died on the island. I didn't think of it in terms of Purgatory. Rather that - when we die .. the energy of our bodies (electric) has to go somewhere. Some would call it a soul. Others would say it is just energy. That energy leaves our body (recently been scientifically proven) .. some believe the energy goes to Heaven/hell- all religions have their own twist on death .. I say it has to go somewhere - personally I think we return to our Higher Power. On Lost perhaps .. those who have died on or within the perimeter of the island are contained similar to the containment of the Electromagnetic Energy. I dont think they are being judged .. but yes they are 'trapped' there .. until the energy is released.

I also think there are clues .. in the conversation between Locke and Jack in Alternate U .. when Locke says .. you don't really lose people .they are always with you. And the fact that the Others burned the bodies of the their deceased and floated them out to sea. It kind of reminded me of Hinduism .. but I think it was significant.

To which someone asked: How can it be explained that Sawyer heard the whispers of the man he killed in Australia repeating "It will come back around"

My only thoughts on that would be that the collective consciousness that exists on the island and really anywhere in the universe allows one to hear those things .. particularly things from our past that 'haunt' us. A statement like "It'll come back around" could have multiple meanings to multiple people .. Kind of like "What comes around goes around" .. I've heard that many times in all kinds of context throughout my life. If I were to hear that phrase it would jar certain, specific memories though where I have placed the most meaning to the phrase. perhaps that is what Sawyer experienced. We (the viewers) were allowed to hear it so we could relate it to a specific memory and know that it was coming from a specific incident from a person deemed deceased. I do think that the energy that encapsulates one's body merges with the energy of those around you .. Hippy terms .. You give off a good vice or a bad vibe .. your aura .. Our energies are intertwined once we meet. That's all I got for now. May have to rewatch."

May have to rewatch? MAY?

Just teasing. I agree with my friend about the whispers and the collective consciousness. What to you think?

DID YOU NOTICE?

Of course I'm so far behind everyone else, you've probably already noticed all of the following:

Jorge Garcia's famous dog Nunu made a cameo appearance.

The mysterious boy was older and had dark hair, this time smiling ominously and running away after Smocke ignored him.

Jin did not appear in this episode.

Hurley's mother is still trying to find a girl for him.

Desmond's order number was the number 42 and speaking of the number 4, Ilana blew herself to bits using 4 sticks of dynamite.

On the island, Smocke's eyes are two different colours. One is blue and the other is green.

The book that belonged to Ilana was called Notes From The Underground and was written by Fyddor Dostoyevsky (I think I spelled that right).

It's ironic that Smocke pushed Desmond into the well and Desmond runs over John Locke shortly after. Also ironic that Ben strangled John in the original time but tries to save him in the "what if" time.

QUOTABLE QUOTES

Hurley, to his mother after she tells him about his blind date: "What's she like?"

Carmen: "Willing to meet you.."

Hurley: "Ma!"

Ilana: "With that plane gone that thing won't be able to leave the island."

Hurley: "yeah....well neither will we and the we'll be stuck here with it and it will be angry at us!"

Locke, explaining to Kate why they aren't doing anything: "You were only able to come back to this island because you all did it together. If we're gonna get onthat plane and leave, it has to happen the same way. We're waiting for your friends to get here, Kate. Hugo, Sun, Jack. That's the only way we're ever getting off this Godforsaken rock"

Kate:" I don't see that happening."

Desmond's response to Hurley's assertion that his dream girl is crazy: "Well, all women are a little bit crazy, brother."

LIBBY: I wanna be with you because I like you.

HURLEY: Yeah but, you like me because...well...you're...delusional.

HURLEY: I don't know who you are, dude, or what you want, but we have to talk to you.

LOCKE: We?

HURLEY: There are other people with me. The thing is...you got weapons and we got weapons, and I don't want anyone to get hurt...or killed. So, we're not gonna do anything. I want your word that you're not gonna do anything either.

[Locke hands Hurley his knife.]

The following picture was taken by my daughter outside Chapter's Bookestore. I swear I saw a Dharma logo on the front and thought that Dmarma had a new model for their new island adventures.

I hope you enjoyed the read. On Tuesday we have The Last Recruit. Who could it be? Jack? Sun? Hurley? Frank? of Kate? Notice, she has yet to actually commit to Smocke's cause.

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

2010-04-07T17:10:00.001-07:00

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

And now we know why Desmond is so special and unique. He’s the only person in the world to have survived a catastrophic electromagnetic event (and who is still alive because we all know that John Locke was in that room with Des when he turned that fail safe key). Let’s not forget that Mr. Eko and Charlie Pace were present in the “hatch” when it self imploded and stole all of Desmond’s clothes. But alas, THEY are all DEAD and now Chuckie has to resort to plan B (wanna bet he’d planned to use John Locke before dear Ben pulled out an orange extension cord on him and hanged him like a Christmas ornament?).

So this is what I know.

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

There, now you know as much as I do.

Have a good day and we’ll chat next week.

Okay, I’m joking. I’ll give it up and share my thoughts with you, but be warned that I’m still struggling with an infected tooth and have been “affected” by antibiotics and painkillers.

Happily Ever After points out a few home truths to us, even if we don’t really want to know them. First of all, there is no such thing as happily ever after and when we believe we have reached that point something, or someone (Charlie and Daniel) is going to come along to point out that although we seem to have it all, the grass is greener in our other lives. I actually pictured myself living on an island paradise with my LOST friends and our every need or want was taken care of. We were pampered and spoiled and never had a care. Our children loved and respected us and did as we asked them, and …… Who am I kidding? It’s human nature to want to accomplish utter happiness and contentment with our lives, yet once we obtain what we believe we want (and are the envy of limo drivers and CEO’s alike) we realize that it was just too easy. Did I forget to mention on ALL KNOWING BUTINSKI NAMED ELOISE?

We’ll get to her in a moment. First let’s deal with what happened on Hydra in 2007.

Poor Desmond awakens to find that he’s back on the island (sort of since he was never on Hydra) and under the qualified care of Zoe, the geophysicist? What do they teach these people in those universities? He’s pretty ticked when Chuckie tells him that he’s kidnapped him and brought him back to the island and the IV pole gave Des a helping hand in expressing his anger. The island, she isn’t finished with him yet. But we all KNEW (okay hoped) that Desmond would be back. I’m not sure we realized it would be under these terms. And wouldn’t you be just a little peeved (read totally pissed off) if you’d just woken up to find that you’d taken from the sterile safety of a hospital and had been drugged for three days straight, then forced to wake up? Yep, me too.

Things get off to a rip roaring start as Chuckie decides to reschedule the “little test” earlier than expected. Of course, Jin is there, in his normal state of confusion (they really need to make him look a bit more assertive) to see what happens when “normal” people get between the giant electromagnetic donuts. Zap! Interestingly, did you notice that when the tech pulled the switch to reset the breaker for that huge honkin’ generator he pulled it down? And did you notice that when he was told to shut it off (after that dude become a Krispy Kritter) he also pulled the switch down? Just thought I’d point that out to you. And how insensitive of Chuckie and his goons to bring poor Des to the zap shack before the BBQ remains of that guy could be removed? Did you see Desmond’s feet plant themselves on either side of the door frame? That kind of reminded me of the time I needed to give my border collie a bath and I picked her up to put her into the tub…..She did the exact same thing with ALL FOUR OF HER PAWS. She won that round, by the way.

Back on track, Linda.

So, the goons strap Desmond to a chair and the one guy thinks to ask: “Do you have any metal on? Keys? Chains? Coins?” To which Chuckie replies: “Of course he doesn’t, you idiot” and rolls his eyes. I am wondering where our esteemed Mr. Widmore found these guys! Oh, and I also wondered if the zipper in Desmond’s pants was metal. They lock him in and hide behind a cinder block wall (that’s comforting to see that they’re taking all those safety precautions), turn on the generator and watch from a distance as our beloved Scotsman gets an unhealthy dose of what apparently is electromagnetic energy and passes out.

I was kind of worried (hoping) he’d wake up without any clothes again.

Of course Desmond survives and comes to, completely calm and accepting of what he needs to do, much to Charles’ confusion. He follows Zoe back to the hospital, but never makes it as Sayid steps up, kills the two goons and sends Zoe running. In a move that totally confuses me, Desmond seems to happily follow Sayid away from Chuckie’s protection.

And this provides the segue into what I am now calling the “what if” time as we soar through the clouds backwards and out of an Oceanic Arrivals board (if you can find a still of the board, you’ll notice that all of Hurley’s numbers are on that board in various places). It’s Desmond, again in reflection (these are important, but we’ll get to that in a few), and he’s gazing in an apparent trance at the board. That is until Hurley swings by to let him know that his luggage is on carousel number 4.

Desmond helps Claire pull her bag from the carousel (what a gentleman) then offers her a ride, which is declined. I’m going to go off on a bit of a tangent here, but I promise to get back on track quickly.

Am I the only one who noticed the stains on Claire’s shirt? Go back and take a look at the scenes in the airport. I’ll wait here. You’ll see. Big orange stains on her bulbous belly. The least they could have done was give her a clean shirt for this scene. That one looked like she’d been wearing it and slopped mango juice down her front!

Back on track again.

As soon as I saw Fisher Stevens I waited, almost breathlessly, for a reference to a Ferris wheel, but to no avail as his somewhat subdued character just drove Des to the office. But I was glad to see George throughout the episode.

Did Chuckie’s happy greeting to Des surprise you? What about that great satisfied grin? Or that “fatherly” hug? Me neither. The big surprise came when he gave Des a sip of that 60 year old MacCutcheon’s Scotch and told him he was worth it! Yeah, the fact that Des had obtained the one thing he’d always wanted from Chuckie in the “original” time was foreboding. Sometimes you need to be careful what you wish for, because all things, good or bad, come with a price and the fact that Desmond didn’t have Penny in his life (yet) was oddly disturbing to me. Being Charles Widmore’s right hand man comes at a cost and poor Desmond was about to get an assignment that would change his life (and hopefully the lives of all the Lostaways) forever.

Have you noticed that some of the people who are dead in the original time seem to have a better grasp of things in the “what if” time? Think back to LA X for a moment, when Jack saved Charlie’s life, and the ungrateful wretch told him that he was supposed to die. This is important, because Charlie gets it. He knows that he’s not where he’s supposed to be. This isn’t the way his life is supposed to be. And, like Desmond in The Constant, he wants to get back to that place where he felt happiest and was loved by Claire (I’m assuming that the rapturously beautiful blond he spoke of was Claire). This is it. The converging of “original” and “what if” starts to become really evident right here.

Daniel too, has an awareness and he recognizes the same “feeling” in Desmond when he sees his mother (who still knows far more than any other (but not those Others) character in ANY time) attempt to dissuade Desmond (again) from finding Penny. I wasn’t surprised to find that Eloise is still manipulating lives despite being married to a magnate (or money magnet) and raising her son (and not killing him) in this time. Some things just can’t be changed, it would seem. Daniel, as in the original time, does not what his mother would expect and shares his feelings and beliefs with Des.

Des has heard from two separate people now of an emerging awareness that things are not as they are supposed to be and begins to question his own life (and happiness) as well. The name Penny strikes a chord with him. Buried deep in his consciousness is the knowledge that his other life was happier with “her” than having the approval from “the man”. When he meets Penny it is the “catalyst” moment that convinces Desmond that their lives are all wrong and tasks George with getting him a list of all the passengers on Oceanic 815.

“I just need to show them something”

HERE IS WHAT I THINK

We didn’t see it, but Charles has already told Desmond what he needs to do and it involves Smocke and a violent explosion of electromagnetic energy. I’m worried that the sacrifice Widmore spoke of is Desmond’s life. Okay, I admit it. I’m worried for every single one of our LOSTies and expect we’ll be losing almost all of them by the end of the season.

DID YOU NOTICE?

I’m not sure if it’s a continuity error, but in LA X, Desmond wore a wedding ring ( DarkUFO has a screen shot of it), but Des isn’t married in this episode and has yet to meet Penny.

Someone asks Desmond in each time if he’s wearing any metal or has any metal fillings. Once in the zap shack and just before he has an MRI. Also, someone shined a light in Desmond’s eyes in each time as well.

When Desmond walks into Widmore’s office you can see a scale with black objects on one side and white objects on the other side to the left and it is balanced mounted on the left wall. Then, when Charles is talking on the phone, you can see what looks to be the same painting on the wall to the right of his desk.

Eloise’s brooches are of starbursts and look like the mark that was given to Juliet. Incidentally, Eloise is wearing two brooches (one smaller than the other) slightly parallel to the other, but if the longer portion of each pin were to continue you would see the points meeting.

Desmond’s reflection is seen twice in this episode. Once in the Oceanic arrival schedule board and also in the glass door of the police station. Daniel’s reflection is seen in the limo window as well, although it is more of a silhouette.

When Desmond first meets Penny in the “what if” time, she is running the tour de stade. In the original time, Desmond met Jack while running the tour de stade and it was revealed that Penny had sought him out there.

There are a prolific amount of repeated phrases from other seasons. “What happened, happened” and “The island isn’t finished with you yet” for example.

A friend pointed out to me that Eloise’s hair must be Chuckie’s constant.

QUESTIONS:

Where are Penny and Charlie?

Why is it that Desmond can survive a massive and violent electromagnetic event?

Why didn’t the people on the boat rush to help Desmond when he brought Charlie up out of the submerged car?

What exactly is Desmond violating by looking for Penny?

Why did Sayid let Zoe go but killed the other two?

Is Jack’s hospital the only one in LA? Everyone seems to end up at St. Sebastian.

Since Desmond made contact with his constant (Penny) in the “what if” time, is this what makes him special in 2007?

Does that last question make sense?

QUOTES

Zoe: You’re not in a hospital, Mr. Hume. We had to move you…

Desmond: “ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG”

Desmond (to Charles): “That’s 60 year old Scotch, Charles”

Charles: “Nothings too good for you”

Charlie (explaining about what happened on the plane): “I’m talking about spectacular consciousness altering love. So you know what that looks like?”

Desmond (to Charlie): There’s always a choice, brothah

Des: Why are you running?

Charlie: “Cause no one here can help me”

Charlie: “This doesn’t matter. None of this matters. All that matters is that we felt it”

Desmond (on the phone to Charles): “He’s a junkie that drove my car into the ocean. I’m fine, by the way, thanks for asking.

Daniel: “It’s like already loved her….and that’s when things got weird.”

Daniel: “What if this. All of this…..What if this wasn’t supposed to be our life? What if we had someother life and for some reason we changed things……I don’t want to set off a nuclear bomb, Mr. Hume. I think I already did.”

Desmond: “She’s an idea…”

Daniel: “No, Mr. Hume, she’s my half sister”

Ad the most interesting of them all?

Desmond: “I just need to show them something”

Oddly enough, next week's episode is called "Everybody Loves Hugo" Should be a good one.

THE PACKAGE

2010-04-02T09:23:00.001-07:00

Shhhh, we're watching LOST~

I'm not sure about anyone else, but this had to be the most enjoyable episode to watch. Of course, it may have had something to do with the company I was keeping at the time. For the first time ever, I got to watch LOST with a fellow LOSTaholic!

I must explain, for those of you who don't know, that I have many beloved friends whom I have never met. We were brought together by our love and our obsessions with a simple TV show. First we met on the ABC LOST boards, then added each other on Facebook. It was wonderful to have a face and name to go with the screen personnas. We have found that despite sharing the LOST connection we also share so much more. Like many others around the world, we have created our own "cyber family and circle of friends" that has evolved into life long friendships. I'm not sure how to thank ABC, JJ Abrams and LOST for giving us all such a beautiful gift. Nor do I know how to explain how our "cyber family" has come to be. It just has and I am forever grateful.

This past week two "cyber" friends become "real life" friends. True and dear, my friend will be with me forever and although we are separated by distance (and an international boarder) we are close enough that we can visit on long weekends and school holidays. Oh! Before I forget, we've both managed to introduce LOST to our children and create second generation fans.

AND WE GOT TO WATCH LOST TOGETHER!

It was the most amazing and gratifying experience, and one I will treasure for the rest of my life.

SIDE TIME

Once again, we ALL know what transpired, so I'm just going to give you my thoughts on it.

Don't you think that both Keamy and Paik KNEW that it was illegal to carry that much cash into the country? Just a thought, but I'm pretty sure Paik slipped that cash in so that it would be taken away and Sun would be required to visit the bank to get some of HER "not-so-secret" money only to find that her father had emptied and closed the account. It was old lop-sided face Paik's way to tell her he was in control of her life. The fact that he was having Jin deliver the cash to Keamy, and that the money WAS intended as a fee for killing Jin, is both a sign of Paik's bent and twistedly vicious mind and ironic. Very much ironic. But even in the "slightly changed side time" Paik loses, Keamy gets his and, hopefully Jack can save Sun and the baby so Jin and Sun can start a new life in the US.

Now wouldn't that be a proverbial kick in the pants for Paik? Tee hee, I find myself liking that thought.

The fact that Jin and Sun are NOT married (as most of you predicted) at that time also leads me to believe that the "differences" between the original time and the side time go way back since they were for four years prior to boarding Oceanic 815. I'm just not sure how far back. Possibly to the time of The Incident? Did the explosion of the hydrogen bomb, coupled with the release of electromagnetic energy cause a sort of reboot for all our islanders? I'm still not sure, but it's making things pretty interesting.

Let's see what other differences there are:

Jack is divorced with a pre-teen son and is trying to maintain a relationship with him that does not resemble the relationship he had with his still dead father. Jacob touched Jack at the time of his first ever solo surgery on the girl. Kate is still wanted for killing her father and is still on the run. Jacob touched her when she was approximately 10 or 11 years old. James doesn't go by the name of Sayer, is a cop and is using his position to hunt down the man who caused his parents' deaths. He still plans to kill Anthony Cooper.

Miles is a cop as well, and has a girlfriend. I'm not sure if he has the "gift" of talking with the dead. His father works at a museum with Charlotte, so we know that he grew up with both parents now. There was no mention of Charlotte or Miles being born on the island, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. Ben has a doctorate in European History and teaches at an LA high school alongside Dr. Leslie Arzt and the substitute teacher named John Locke, who lost his job at the box factory after using company funds to try to take a "walkabout" in Australia instead of attending conferences. Roger Linus was not killed by Ben in the purge and Alex Rousseau grew up in LA with her mother working three jobs just to make ends meet.

Are you still with me?

Helen is still alive. But her date of death is a few years away. Remember, this is 2004 in side time and she supposedly died in 2006.

Patchy has TWO eyes, well, HAD two eyes until Jin took aim, and works for Keamy. Still not doing "good" things, since Omar and Keamy are still sort of like "mercenaries for hire" and to what ever the highest bidder is willing to pay. As an aside, Patchy used to be somewhat good looking, don't you think? Claire arrives in LA to find that the people who were supposed to adopt her baby have split and didn't have the decency to call or write of their change of plans. Ethan is a doctor off island, but appears to be obsessed with NOT poking people with needles.

Sayid was still a torturer during the Gulf War, and is still consumed by guilt for his actions. His brother is married to the love of his life, and he is still stepping up and cleaning up Omer's (not Omar, Keamy's lackey) messes and killing people. Hurley still won the lottery and still owns many companies, some of which some of our Lostaways actually work for. He also believes he is the luckies guy in the world.

Who have I forgotten? Let me know.

Another thing that was pointed out to me by a friend is the use of reflections in the side times. Each character who is a candidate is seen looking in the mirror (or in Ben's case reflected in the door of the microwave), as if examining the events of their lives. I'm sure this is significant, but haven't decided yet how.

Original time, 2007

I have to tell you that I am finding this point in the island time a bit dark, yet completely absorbing. Our crash survivors are clearly divided, and on has been kidnapped by Widmore's people. Speaking of kidnapping, as soon as I saw that tranquilizing dart that hit Jin, I immediately thought of when the Other's ambushed Hurley, Jack, Kate and Sawyer at the end of Season Two. Almost the same method, don't you think?

Flocke, Smocke or MIB. What ever you call him, it was revealed that he NEEDS all the candidates together and with him in order to leave the island. He already has James and Kate, who's name apparently appeared on the cave wall but is no longer there, but has lost Jin and has to go try to get him back.

The little chat between Chuckie and Smocke was interesting. That Widmore had erected the pylons that keeps the Smoke Monster at bay is telling. He certainly knows a lot more than what's been revealed to us and than what he's told Smocke. And he certainly has no intention of allowing MIB to leave the island. Ironic that he's the one who sent John Locke on the quest to take the Oceanic 6 back to the island and provided MIB with the "means" of possibly escaping his paradise prison. Another interesting thought is that both he and Ben, despite being adversaries, may actually end up fighting on the same side in the end. Just a thought.

Wasn't it heart warming to watch Jin seeing pictures of his daughter for the first time? This is important as it gives him a motive to want to leave the island by any means possible. So that leaves us wondering what he would do if it's revealed that he is the one to take Jacob's place as guardian of the island (although I don't think that is the case).

Smocke tried to get Sun to cross over to his side, but she is one strong woman who relies heavily on her intuition. The only thing Sun wants is to reunite with her husband, return to Korea to their daughter and live life's roller coaster ever after. Her heart's desire notwithsatanding, she followed her intuition and ran from Smocke, falling and hitting her head in the process. The loss of her spoken English was the result, and this has already caused her frustration while trying to communicate with everyone else. Are you thinking that MIB took that ability away from her so that she would go searching for Jin, thus placing her into his camp?

Richard is back! And he is on a mission. It's almost like the knowledge that his beloved Isabella is by his side in spirit was a catalyst for him. He knows what needs to be done now. Stop the Man In Black from leaving the island by all means possible. First of all, destroy the plane, which appears to be the survivor's only way off the island. Not that Sun appreciates his efforts.

Jack helps Sun to understand why they must do what they must do and gives her Charlie's Sharpie Pen and a pad of paper to express her voice. I guess he couldn't find a pencil, because what if the Sharpie runs out of ink? And she could erase things and reuse the paper if it takes her a long time to get her "English" back. With a pen, that kind of can't happen.

According to Widmore, should MIB escape the island, everyone associated with it will cease to exist. I'm not sure if he means that they all die (because MIB will likely kill them once he doesn't need them) or if they just go poof as if they had never been born. But if that happens, what about the rest of humanity? What about the people the LOSTaways knew and loved in the outside world? Widmore has his own idea of how to stop MIB from leaving the island and I think it has something to do with those pockets of electromagnetism that Zoe was asking Jin about.

And he has an ace up his sleeve as well. I'm not sure why or how he did it, but he has Desmond (the package) back on the island. Like Paik, Widmore's actions could have serious consequences for his relationship with his daughter. I hope the side time Widmore isn't such a cruel SOB and allows his daughter to marry Desmond. He could be a great grandfather.

As an aside, do you think Widmore and Eloise Hawking are together? Penny and Daniel could have grown up together!

My friend pointed out something glaringly obvious. Each time Smocke tries to convince one of the candidates to "cross over" to his camp, he holds out his hand. He did it with Sayid. He did with James. He tried it with Kate, but she didn't take it. I can't recall if he did it with Jin. He tried it with Sun, and she didn't take it. When Claire was upset about her name not being on the wall, he held out his hand for her to take. There is meaning in this, but I can't quite find a way to figure it out yet.

Interestingly, when Jack was talking to Sun on the beach and had given her the pen and paper, he too held out his hand for her to touch. It can be interpreted as a comforting touch, but I get the feeling, as does my friend, that it is significant. Does Jack's touching Sun make her immune to Smocke's touch?

The battle lines are almost drawn and soon we will find ourselves observing the war that is coming. Who will win? Who will survive? Who will take Jacob's place and keep the cork in the bottle?

I have had a thought about the two times that is a sort of loose interpretation of the book title, "All That Rises Must Converge". I think that in each time line our characters will be brought together to the same place. Possibly at the hospital in the 2004 time, where Jack will be required to choose which patient to assist (maybe?). In 2007, they may meet on the Hydra (since the plane seems to be the destination for both camps). When both times are together, the survivors will find the power they need to do what ever it is that each needs to do.

In no way am I looking forward to the end of this series. I am very aware that characters whom I have invested six seasons in (and countless hours of intense thought and speculation), can be killed off at the drop of a banana leaf or coconut to the noggin. I have no idea, after all this time, who will choose to do what. I thought I knew, but now not so much. This season is all out chaos and there is no way to predict which way our beloved LOSTaways will turn.
DID YOU NOTICE?

Ilana finally changed her clothes.

This is the first time that all the cast who are full time credited cast members have appeared in the one episode. The last time we saw them all was in LA X.

The only living character who has bee a part of the main cast and has left the island and not returned is Walt.

The map Zoe showed Jin really didn't resemble any map of the island we have seen before.

Locke said "Whatever happens, happens".

Keamy said "Happily Ever After", which it the name of the next episode.

Widmore called Flocke evil and said must he be stopped, yet Ben and the other characters once referred to Widmore the same way.

Miles is annoyed that Hurley brought Richard back, while Ilana is happy he did.

Jin's room number was 842.

QUESTIONS:

Why does Widmore need to find the pockets of electromagnetic energy?

How did Widmore manage to kidnap Desmond?

Why does Smocke need all the candidates in order to leave the island?

Why can't Smocke swoosh across water?

If Dharma knew that Smokey couldn't travel over water, why didn't they just stay on Hydra and eliminate the threat of his possible attacks?

Where did all those people that Widmore brought to the island in the sub sleep? That's an awfully small sub. And where did he store all the equipment, in a tow along tube?

QUOTES:

LOCKE: Well Jin, I'm not sure. But what it does mean is that the only way we can leave the island is if all the names that haven't been crossed off go together.

SAYID: I don't feel anything.

LOCKE: Excuse me?

SAYID: Anger. Happiness. Pain. I don't feel it anymore.

LOCKE: Maybe that's best, Sayid. It'll help you get through what's coming.

MILES: Unless Alpert's covered in bacon grease, I'm not sure Hurley can track anything...

FRANK: Hey, don't talk about bacon.

LOCKE: I promised you I would reunite you two... took me a little longer than I thought it would... but he's with my people, back at my camp across the island. I can take you to him right now.

SUN: I don't believe you. You killed those people at the temple...

LOCKE: Those people were confused. They were lied to. I didn't want to hurt them. Any one of them could have chosen to come with me. And I'm giving you that choice, Sun... right now. I would never make you do anything against your will. I'm asking you. Please. Come with me. Jin's waiting.

[Sun runs away]

ZOE: It's called Room 23. The Dharma Initiative was doing experiments on subliminal messaging in here. But... you know all about the Dharma Initiative... don't you, Mr. Kwon?

BEN: What? Oh, for the fourth time, I was gathering mangoes and she was already unconcious when I found her. Why won't you believe me?

ILANA: Because you're speaking.

MILES: This is your fault isn't it?

HURLEY: Sorta.

So, what did you think? Am I way off with some of my ideas?

Next week brings us Happily Ever After, and for some reason, I think it's a myth. I don't think, in the world of LOST, there is such a thing. We will have to see, yes?

AB AETERNO

2010-03-24T16:21:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-20T20:03:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-10T11:34:00.001-08:00

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

2010-03-07T13:45:00.000-08:00

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?