Pretty Obsessed with Lost

Events on the Island in The End

2010-07-14T14:38:00.000-05:00

The End was a complicated episode. It lasted two and a half hours and covered events both on the Island and in the "waiting room" of the dead. My last post covered the latter, but haven't discussed the former.

Thanks to Christian Shephard, we know that what happened on the Island actually happened - it was all real, no purgatory or waiting room or anything like that.

Ben

In What They Died For, it appeared that Ben had turned to the dark side, willing to kill anyone to regain control of the Island. Or he just wanted to kill Widmore. Whichever, I left the episode a little sick to my stomach when thinking of Ben. Would he ever find redemption?

And he did, apparently, as we saw that he made it to the sideways world (unlike Michael), and could have entered the church if he wished. So, what redeemed him? Shoving Hurley out of the way of a falling tree? Chosing to remain on the self-destructing Island? Acting as a witness to the passing of the power ritual from Jack to Hurley? Agreeing to become Hurley's number two (a role we learned he was great at)? Or something else entirely?

Whatever it was, I'm happy that Ben did reach the sideways world, and I'm glad that he remained on the Island. I really like the thought of him remaining on the Island, working with Hugo, and living the life he had always desired.

Claire

In this episode, Claire was hopeless. She had been abandoned by the survivors again and abandoned by her "friend", notLocke. She apparently figured out that notLocke did not have her best interests at heart. And she realized what was evident to all who observed her - she's bat shit crazy. How could she raise the son who won't even recognize her?

But Kate was able to convince Claire to leave the Island with her. As we saw the Ajira plane leave, we knew that Claire finally left the Island after three long, painful years. I really enjoyed the thought of Claire and Kate maintaining their friendship and raising Aaron together.

Desmond

We learned that Desmond knew less about his purpose on the Island than he thought. He believed that all he had to do was unplug the light, and everyone would appear in the sideways world, much happier. We can only assume that his exposure to electromagnetism showed him the sideways world, which he apparently misinterpreted as many of us did - another reality in which the plane never crashed. He was devastated to find out he was wrong, though we know that it was his actions that let notLocke be vulnerable to Kate's bullets.

We don't know what happened to Desmond after Hurley and Ben brought him back out of the light. From Hugo's conversation with Ben, we can only assume that Desmond did leave the Island and reunited with his wife and child. That also makes me happy.

Frank

I assumed that Frank was a dead man, but others had more faith than I, and surely enough, Frank survived. And it's a good thing, too, since he's a pilot and there was a plane to fly off the Island. We can only assume that Frank successfully flew the plane to safety, allowing its passengers to return to some semblance of a normal life.

Hurley

If this season has been about anything, it's been about Hurley gaining confidence in himself, all while remaining true to the Hugo we know and love. He takes care of people, and always tries to do what he thinks is right. Of all the survivors, he is the least selfish. Once notLocke was disposed of, he was the most logical candidate for guardian of the Island. And from what Ben says in the sideways world, Hugo did a great job. How I wish we could have had more than that brief glimpse of Hurley's guardianship.

I have to wonder if the Island extended Hugo's life just as it did Jacob's and Richard's. What rules did Hugo change? Did he allow other people to come to the Island? Did he ever travel off Island, as Ben and Widmore did when they led the Others? What happened to the Others, anyway? Did Hugo take care of them or send them off the Island? Who succeeded him once his guardianship was over? We'll never know the answers to those questions, but they are certainly enjoyable to ponder.

Jack

So, Jack finally became the hero we all predicted that he could be. And unlike Jacob, he freely chose to take on the role of guardian. And, as guardian, Jack accomplished a few things. First, he delayed notLocke long enough for Kate to find and shoot notLocke. Second, he transferred the guardianship of the Island to the imminently qualified Hurley. Lastly, he plugged the hole in the cave, allowing the light to return to the Island.

Did Jack know that he would sacrifice his life when he took over from Jacob? If he did, I suspect he would have willingly taken the role on anyway, knowing his martyr complex. But I don't want my last sentence to imply that Jack's sacrifice was less than it was. Indeed, he was fully committed to his actions in a way we haven't seen since the first season. Of all the characters, Jack met the promise that we first observed. And just as he opened the show, literally, he closed the show, with Vincent as silent witness. But before he died, he had proof that his sacrifice was not in vain - the Ajira plane with the remaining survivors flew over him. Good bye Jack. It was great knowing you.

Kate

As readers of this blog know, I've had issues with Kate almost since the beginning. But in this episode, her single-mindedness didn't bother me this time. The subject of her single-mindedness, of course, was Claire. Oh, and making notLocke pay for the deaths of her friends. And she was successful on both fronts. She convinced Claire to leave the Island, but most importantly, she kept trying to shoot notLocke, mortally wounding him the second time around. The look on notLocke's face was priceless.

Kate was the only one of the Oceanic Six to leave the Island a second time. Jack, Sun, and Sayid were dead, Hurley became the guardian of the Island, and Aaron never returned. I hope she returned to the wonderful life she built for herself while raising Aaron. However, she may have violated the conditions of her probation, which required her to remain in state. It would be awful if she had to return to prison!

Miles

Miles had two primary roles in this episode. His attempts to communicate with Ben resulted in Sawyer and Kate connecting with the Ajira flight. He also helped glue the plane together.

I'm so happy that Miles survived and made it off the Island. I don't know why he didn't go to the church in the sideways world, but I hope that, like Daniel, he'll be able to go at some point in the future. I really liked that his time in the sideways world was connected to Sawyer. Did the two remain friends after leaving the Island?

notLocke

College courses will be designed around the nature of notLocke. Who was he and what happened when he was thrown into the light? What name was he given at birth? Why was he evil?

But I can't go into that today. Instead, I will only comment that I was happy he died when he did. I hate the evil characters who never die bit. In this case, Desmond had pulled the plug on the light of the Island, so, as the Island was vulnerable, so were Jack, the guardian of the Island, and notLocke, the prisoner. They fought, drawing blood, and it seemed notLocke won when he struck a mortal blow on Jack. But there was Kate, bearing a gun and willing to use it, and that cost notLocke his life. His death did not stop the disintegration of the Island, but Jack took care of that.

the Nadlers

Rose and Bernard rescued Desmond from the well, and for their efforts were threatened with death by notLocke. But they survived, and we know that they remained on the Island, assuming that they weren't injured or killed during the time the Island was self-destructing. I like imagining that Vincent remains with them. I wonder if there was interaction between the Nadlers and Hurley and Ben, or if Hurley decided to leave the Nadlers alone in the world they created. I prefer the former, just because I think Hurley's so cool.

Richard

Richard survived his encounter with notLocke. At first, I thought it was because Desmond hadn't pulled the plug yet, but it turns out that Richard's hair started turning grey before the plug was pulled. How could his hair turn grey if he remained immortal? I'm not sure.

That Richard was on the plane and successfully made it off the Island thrilled me. But it also worries me. What will he do? Will he age in no time flat, turning to ashes before the eyes of the survivors? I hope not, since he realized that he wanted to live.

And why wasn't Richard in the sideways world?

Sawyer

One of the best parts of this episode (one of many for me) was that James "Sawyer" Ford finally left the Island after three very long years. You could argue that Claire changed far more than Sawyer did, since she was made crazy by notLocke. But I'm hoping that's temporary. Otherwise, I will argue that Sawyer changed the most on the Island. When Sawyer landed on the Island, he was a selfish con artist who separated himself from the crowd. Three years later, he was an integral part of the group, taking on leadership roles, finding a mature love, and receiving respect from the other survivors. I guess it is no surprise that in the sideways world he became a cop instead of a con man.

I wish we could see what James' life off the Island was like. I doubt he and Kate became a couple - she made it clear that she loved Jack. But I must believe that they remained in contact, and I hope that James and Miles remained friends as well - after all, their sideways lives were quite intertwined.

Vincent

Vincent has always had an important role on the show, even if rarely credited. He helped wake Jack up after the crash, and he bore silent witness to Jack's death in the end. We always knew that Vincent would not be killed during the run of the show, but I sure do wish he could have been allowed into the sideways world.

Coda

At some point this year, I'm sure I'll post on what Lost has meant to me throughout its run. Like Star Trek and the Buffyverse shows, this is a show that will not leave my mind or my life. But that's for another day.

The End

2010-06-06T19:32:00.002-05:00

As some of y'all may know, I gave birth about a week and a half before the series finale of Lost aired. I thought I had a deal with the babies (I had twins) - I asked them to wait until after we moved (April 25), after my baby shower (May 8), and after the series finale of Lost (May 23). I guess I should be happy that I got two out of three of my wishes. Fortunately, Nicole and Brian were willing to provide analyses of the episodes that aired after the twins were born. I haven't had much time to write, but I have seen all the episodes, and I wanted to share what I thought of the end of Lost.

Lost has been about spirituality, fate and destiny, science and reason, redemption, and family. It is these themes and how the characters deal with them that kept me entranced through the run of the series. Jack and John Locke's debate about faith and reason. Sayid's search for redemption. Everyone's issue with one parent or another (or both). I loved the relationships that developed - John Locke and Walt, Kate and Claire, Jin and Bernard, and most recently, James Ford and Miles. These, among other things, were my favorite part of the show. And the finale was all about these themes and especially the characters. That means I thoroughly enjoyed the finale.

That said, I enjoyed the mysteries introduced by the series as well. Why did Claire need to raise Aaron? What was Libby doing at Santa Rosa? Why did pregnant women die? What did the Others want with the children? What was so special about Walt? Why did the Others destroy the DHARMA Initiative? How does Eloise know as much as she does? Where did the Mother (Allison Janney) come from? How could Jacob leave the Island? What were the rules that governed the battle between Ben and Widmore and Jacob and the Man in Black?

There are many more mysteries; I just can't think of them all. And frankly, the fact that none of the listed mysteries were answered has upset a lot of people. I'm okay with the lack of answers. It became clear as the season progressed that many mysteries would go unsolved. Those mysteries that were addressed were actually rather lame. Remember the Temple? Remember the voices? The series as a whole would have been much improved had the above mysteries and more been resolved. The series raised them, then left us hanging. But because the characters and themes are so well explored, I still found myself happy and satisfied.

If you had asked me when I was a girl what my idea of heaven was, it would have included all the people (and pets) I had loved while alive. Apparently, the characters of Lost feel the same way. Somehow, they created a type of Purgatory or Limbo, perhaps, a waiting room, where they awaited their compatriots. Various issues were worked through: Jack and John Locke worked through some father issues, Hurley had good luck instead of bad, and Ben chose to sacrifice his ambition for someone else. Some issues remain unresolved: Kate was a fugitive, Claire planned to have her child adopted, Charlie was an addict, and Sayid was not married to Nadia. And some people are just plain missing, especially Michael and Walt.

How much control did our characters have in creating their sideways life? I suspect little, considering their amnesia, with the exception of Eloise. Eloise was able to raise her son the way she had probably wanted to, letting Daniel become a musician and supporting his musical endeavors. From her conversation with Desmond, it sounds like another party, perhaps Eloise, determined what life each person would have.

We also don't know "when" the sideways world started for our characters. Did their new lives start at birth? Or did they start when Oceanic 815 took off, with all memories being "implanted"? Did each enter the sideways world when he or she died? Or did they all enter when the last living survivor (presumably Hurley and/or Ben) died? Was Michael missing from the sideways world because he became a ghost or voice on the Island? And why would Ana Lucia be allowed in the sideways world but not Michael? Will Ana Lucia, Daniel, Charlotte, and Miles be able to join our characters in heaven or whatever place they went to? Why is Ben waiting - does he feel he needs more redemption? Or does he want to explore a possible relationship with Danielle Rousseau?

In The End, we discovered that Charlie's remembrance of the Island wasn't complete until he touched Claire. Libby also had memories of her time on the Island, but they were so vague that she ended up doubting her own sanity. Unlike Charlie, Desmond had a full remembrance, presumably caused by Widmore's experiment on Des. But even he required a flight manifest to find the other passengers. Hurley was the next to remember, and apparently developed a full memory by the time he helped break out Desmond, Kate, and Sayid (he recognized Ana Lucia).

But not all near death experiences led to total recall (I just had to say that). Although he clearly remembered his past while unconscious, John Locke didn't consciously remember until he moves his feet after his surgery. Likewise, Sun didn't remember until Juliet showed her the ultrasound images of her baby. Sayid and Shannon remember when they touch each other (Boone was somehow already in the club, but we don't know how), as do Sawyer and Juliet. Charlie seems to have his fog cleared when he touches Claire. Claire and Kate remember during Aaron's birth (will he be a baby for his entire time in the "other place"?).

As always, Jack is the last to come to terms with his newly found memories. He experiences flashes when John Locke asks Jack if he remembers, but he denies them. He still resists after Kate's kiss brings on more flashes of memory. It is only when he is at the church, talking with his father, that he believes.

What a joyful reunion we saw, as well! These people with their differences, conflicts, and misunderstandings, were happy to see each other again, and hugs and handshakes were shared all around. The expressions on their face were ecstatic, especially John Locke's (Terry O'Quinn has one of the best smiles). Everything is resolved, everyone knows what was sacrificed. And the sacrifice was worth it.

I wasn't expecting this angle. I had no idea what the sideways timeline was, and it never occurred to me that the characters were actually dead. I loved what the sideways timeline turned out to be.

I've not even touched upon the original timeline, which I also enjoyed. I hope to address it in another, later post.

First Post on The End

2010-05-27T14:20:00.002-05:00

You will likely see a number of posts over the next couple weeks from Carol, Brian, and me. There's just no putting this finale into one post. And the three of us have very differing opinions! So, we thought it be interesting to have a running stream of our takes over a period of time. I'm kicking things off...

So many people seem to be confused about what happened on LOST. I don't understand why. I don't think there was any confusion about what happened. The Island timeline was real. They all lived and died as they did - "whatever happened, happened." Much, much later, possibly at the end of time, when they all had died, they reconnected in an afterlife - the Sideways timeline. We saw how most of them died - the people who died on the island (e.g. Jack, Locke, Sayid, Charlie, Libby, Kwons, etc). They had to wait for the death of the rest to reconnect in the Sideways timeline. There are others that we don't know how they eventually die (e.g. Kate, Sawyer, Claire, Miles, Lupidus, Alpert, Hurley, and Ben), but they presumable live out their lives and die at some later time. So profoundly sad... everyone who lived to make it off the island (so few!) had to live out their lives without their loved ones. And Ji Yeon without her parents. I guess Rose, Bernard, and Ben were the only winners in life. Rose and Bernard got to live our their lives together on the island. Ben got to have his island (as #2, but still).

The Island was NOT purgatory... they were NOT dead the whole time. The producer debunked that theory years ago. And there's nothing in the final episode that even suggests they were dead the whole time. They were just dead in the Sideways timeline, which was their afterlife.

Christian and Jack tell us this is what happened. Jack realized "I died too" after he finally sees all of his Island memories --- which would include his death in the bamboo forest. Then, Christian tells him "everything that has ever happened to you is real." He goes on to explain that "everyone dies sometime, kiddo. Some of them before you [e.g. Locke and Sayid], some long after you [e.g. Hugo, Kate, and Sawyer]." He then explains that the Sideways timeline is a timeless place ("there is no now here") that our characters made together so that they could find one another after their deaths. Christian confirms that they WERE alive on the Island when he says "the most important part of your *life* was the time that you spent with these people."

One thing that intially really confused me in finding out that the Sideways timeline was a much-later afterlife: hadn't Juliet told us that the nuke worked (as interpreted by Miles in hearing her dying thoughts)? Her dying thought was "it worked," which lead me (and many others) to believe that sideways world was a parallel universe in which our heros had succeeded in resetting future events. But, no... they played a joke on us! When she said "it worked," she wasn't talking about the nuke. She was just talking about unplugging the stupid candy machine. I can't believe I was so fully duped by an off-handed remark about a vending machine!

Hugo "ruled" on the island for a long time, I'm guessing. Our clue to that is Ben and Hugo's brief conversation outside the church: H: "You were a good number 2." B: "You were a great number 1, Hugo." You sensed a relationship there, and that they worked together on the Island a long time. Maybe thousands of years, like Jacob. What I am left most confused about is the image of the sunk island that we were shown at the beginning of this season. Does the sunk island mean someone finally defeated the Protector of the Island (Hugo), put out the light, and destroyed the island? I'm thinking yes. Although it could be hundreds, thousands, or millions of years after our story. Perhaps it was when this finally happened, and the last Protector, Hugo, was defeated and killed, and the Island light put out, that the world ended and they joined each other in the Sideways timeline.

I'm still left with a lot of questions about outstanding mysteries throughout the course of the show. But, overall, I'm satisfied with the ending. But feeling very, very sad that what happened happened and that the Sideways timeline was not a way to redeem and bring back to life our beloved characters. I am so sad that they were only able to reconvene in death.

I Was Right About Something!

2010-05-23T22:57:00.001-05:00

Juliet was Jack's ex-wife in the sideways, soul-searching world. Cool.

What They Died For

2010-05-20T15:19:00.002-05:00

Happy Finale Week, friends! Of course this episode was going to be a set-up for the finale. How could it be anything else? They definitely have a lot of wrapping up to do in 2.5 hours on Sunday, though. For this penultimate episode, your faithful substitute-bloggers have decided to have a little point-counterpoint discussion on some of the mysteries of this episode and, of course, the big set-ups (in both sideways world and island world) for the finale. Enjoy, and comment away!

SIDEWAYS LAND (2004)

Jack

Nicole: I didn’t see as much of Jack putting together the pieces of the crazy “coincidences” of all of the 815ers as I would have liked. One point I did like because it supports a season-long theory of mine was Jack looking in the mirror and seeing an inexplicable neck wound. I think there have been many clues to the sideways characters being connected to Island characters by having cross-over things happen, such as Juliet “going out Dutch for coffee” as she was dying on the island, Jack’s mystery appendix scar, and Sun’s loss of English. Speaking of Juliet: I have a prediction that she is Sideways-Jack’s baby mama. I guess we will find out at the concert.

Brian: I’d love to see Juliet emerge as Jack’s ex. The problem is that Jack’s son looks to me like the product of a marriage between Jack and – brace yourselves – Kate.

Nicole: I have to disagree with that one. Otherwise, when Jack asked David if his mom would be there, his answer would have been “no, she’s incarcerated at the moment.” The pretty house in the suburbs that David lives in does not seem compatible with Kate’s fugitive lifestyle.

Locke

Nicole: I found it interesting that sideways-Locke immediately went to faith/fate when he heard from Ben what Desmond said about trying to help Locke let go. I probably would have gone with the more logical conspiracy theory --- that a crazed surgeon wanted so desperately to do his experimental surgery conspired with Desmond to bring him his surgical candidate. I would have thought that Jack might have been more suspicious of fate’s hand here, with all of the strange 815 connections he had recently discovered.

Brian: I’m not inclined to defend Jack as I’m usually put off by his smugness and martyr complex, but I’ll point out that he’s got so much going on right now that he may not be very attuned to the full extent of what’s happening with 815. His father died, the body disappeared, he met a sister he never knew he had, and he’s patching up a strained relationship with his kid. I’ll give Jack a break on this one.

Desmond

Brian: Claire and Sayid took a lot of heat for the crazy looks in their eyes when they were running around the Temple of Doom. I’m not picking up a similar reaction to Desmond. Is everyone just fully convinced that his motives are pure? Taking a cue from Creepy Charlie, he’s taking some extreme measures (running down Locke, giving Ben a beatdown, probably lying to Jack about Christian Shephard’s body) to jog the island memories with his seatmates.

Nicole: It seems to me that Desmond becomes more enlightened and knowing every episode. I suspect he remembers the Island timeline in full now. Oh, and why is Desmond pretending they found Christian's body? Where is that going to go?

Ben

Nicole: Ben getting beat up made him look much more like the Ben we know and… uh… love? I wonder if Desmond beat up Ben to make him “see” the other timeline, or is was he transferring his anger at Island-Ben onto Sideways-Ben? Something I did NOT see coming was Sideways-Ben and Sideways-Rousseau as a potential romance. I guess he is destined to be Alex’s father.

Brian: Sideways Rousseau was looking sooo good, especially in contrast to Island Rousseau. Granted the makeup and wardrobe options for her on the island were limited, but, still. Wow. Yeah, romance was definitely in the air. Rousseau essentially gave Ben a standing invitation for dinner. When Ben’s eyes started to well up with tears as Rousseau explained how he was the closest thing Alex had to a father, I bet he was thinking about his own father. And also how sacrificing his own ambitions for Alex’s college aspirations was the right thing to do and paying off in ways he hadn’t expected.

The Set-Up

Nicole: We know Desmond is trying to get everyone in the same place. What's he going to do to make them all “see” once they're there? Set off a bomb so they have a near-death experience like Desmond and Charlie? Are all of our characters going to wind up at the benefit concert? We can see how Hurley, Sayid, Kate, Jack (and probably Claire with him), Charlotte, and Miles are going to get there. Des has probably already lined Charlie up to be there. My guess is Faraday will be there is some musical capacity. What about the rest? Locke, Ben, Sawyer, Ana Lucia, Rose, Bernard, Juliet… I must be missing others! I predict Juliet being there as David’s mother, and I think a simple call from Miles reporting that the fugitives are there will probably get Sawyer there.

Brian: I like your theory about the benefit concert. Don’t forget about the Kwons (not sure how they’re going to get there) and the Widmores. My guess is that we’ve seen the last of Ana Lucia. I just hope Driveshaft’s set is brief. I’m still sick of You All Everybody.

ON THE ISLAND (2007)

Ben

Brian: About all that we need to know about Ben’s island state of mind is when he Smoke Monster whether they get to kill more people.

Nicole: Wow, he is the ultimate flip-flopper. That guy always leaves us guessing whether he's a good guy or a bad guy (if we even knew which side was good or bad). From the second we met him. I guess it's a sign of a great character that I'm mad that someone didn't off him three seasons ago. OK, I don’t really wish that; the show would not be nearly as good without him.

The Rules

Nicole: Is notLocke allowed to kill Richard under the rules? What about Ben and Widmore? Aren’t they not allowed to kill each other? What changed? Or did Ben fail in his attempt to kill Widmore?

Brian: I’m completely confused about Widmore’s role on the island. And I have a feeling that hearing what Widmore whispered into MIB’s ear isn’t going to clear things up much.

The Candidates

Brian: Sawyer passed on a great opportunity to be Top Dog. He made a sound decision by shelving his competitiveness with Jack in favor of the best interests of, well, the fate of the world.

Nicole: The saddest moment of the show was when Sawyer realized the Kwons death was his doing.

Brian: What was nice is that it also prompted one of the episode’s best developments – Jack and Sawyer shared a great moment when Jack tried to assure him that their death wasn’t his fault. They seemed to extinguish an alpha male rivalry in a way that Jacob and MIB never could.

Nicole: Is the show moving away from fate and destiny? The candidates were given a choice to become protector of the place that seems to be all about fate. But, it's starting to seem a lot more and more about choices - Jacob chose them to come to the island rather than them being fated to it.

The Protector

Nicole: I’m sure I’m not the only one that was sure that Jack was going to be “The One.” Sayid told him that it had to be him. But what’s going to happen for Jack now? There was definitely some crazy facial expressions after he drank Jacob’s anointed water. Is Jack now enlightened/all-knowing?

Brian: I imagined Jack thinking, Umm, this tastes like nasty river water but I’m going to make some goofy facial expressions and pretend that it’s giving me SUPER POWERS!

The Set-Up

Nicole: A war with Smokey is brewing. Our heroes have to figure out how to kill him. I can’t wait! But I’m still at a loss with Desmond’s special role on the Island. His is the last resort, a fail-safe. I don't really get it.

Brian: What happened to the well? The last time we saw Des, he was sitting at the bottom of it. When Smokey returned to it, water ran through it. But like many other questions we’ve had about the meaning of the smallest details, it could just be a continuity error. Maybe Desmond is really going to shine in L.A. Maybe that’s how he can most affect what happens on the Island. He and Jack somehow attack Evil from two sides, which seems to give them a fair shot.

Nicole: Presumable this war is all about THE LIGHT. notLocke/Smokey wants to get back to THE LIGHT. What will happen to Smokey if he gets to the cave? It now seems that only the protector can find the cave. If the protector and all his replacements are dead, does the cave become visible and accessible to all? I still am at a loss as to why Smokey thinks THE LIGHT is his ticket off the island.

Fearless Prediction I'll Probably Live to Regret

2010-05-19T21:25:00.003-05:00

I'm betting (hoping?) that when we meet David's mom, Jack's ex-wife in the sideways timeline, it's gonna be Juliet.

Who's with me on this one?

And my apologies to Nicole and Brian, who are now driving this blog. I just had to post this random thought.

Mommy Issues

2010-05-16T22:51:00.004-05:00

Hello, everyone. This is Brian, checking into the lineup as the other pinch hitter for Carol, your loyal Lost blogger. I've been a reader and commenter since Carol began the blog. Like many of you, Carol has always pushed me to a deeper and fuller understanding of Lost. I hope it won't be long before she's able to weigh in with her thoughts on the final season. Until then, congratulations to Carol and her family on the new additions. And thanks to my co-blogger, Nicole, for her great work last week with this post.

Now, let's get to it:

Many Lost bloggers noted how Across the Sea was a polarizing episode. You can find three of my favorites here and here. Did it work for you? I think that's going to largely depend on whether you're a fan of deep background Lost mythology or whether you'd prefer to spend the final 4.5 hours of the show with your favorite characters. I'm guessing most viewers (myself included) fall into the latter category. If so, we just lost a critical hour.

I think this would have been a great, mind-blowing episode for earlier in the season or even last season. The same goes for the Richard Alpert episode, which I thought was better acted and better written. Still, LindCuse prepared us for this by showcasing Jacob and MIB in the season five finale. In the opening scene of last season's finale, Man in Black stared into the ocean and said, "They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt. It always ends the same."

Obviously MIB wasn't completely dismissive of C.J. Cregg if he was still willing to quote her verbatim.

I thought Allison Janney did some nice work as Jacob and MIB's homicidal, adoptive mother. When she told Boy in Black that she planted the game, I didn't believe her for a second. If she hadn't lied, she would have been forced into acknowledging that life existed beyond their corner of the island. She would have been forced to admit that there was a motorcycle gang slaughtering boars in the jungle.

The killing of Claudia was about as abrupt as Ben's killing of Locke. Is it just a coincidence that this episode aired two days after Mother's Day? Speaking of Ben, can we get some more Ben before this thing ends on Sunday? Ben's about as sweet as Rose and Bernard at this point.

What is certain about this episode is that the glowing cave will be always be a touchstone for the show. I found myself wondering whether Lost jumped the shark. It had something of a Lucky Charms feel to it. I was fully prepared for a leprechaun to jump out. Instead, Jacob eventually gave us Smokey. With all of the bodies on Smokey's rap sheet, I think that Jacob shares some responsibility. That said, Jacob seemed to realize his mistake when he said goodbye to MIB as he buried him; he didn't say goodbye to C.J. Cregg.

Maybe this is more obvious than I think it is, but my modest prediction is that Faraday's somehow mixed up in what MIB kept referring to as the very smart men with ideas of how to harness the island's energy.

One thing I'd like to challenge from Nicole's post is the theory that MIB and Janney's character were named Adam and Eve. Just because Locke said so doesn't make it so. I think this is going to be a loose end that remains loose. "Every answer leads to more questions."

Please add your two cents to the comments. Did you like the glowing cave? What is it? A very retro kind of spa treatment? Does the warm, glowing light = life = the fate of humankind? We were getting some heavy religious imagery ("Take this cup. Drink." I thought I was in church for a second). Or is it something else entirely?

Where would you like to go in the final 3.5 hours?

Across the Sea

2010-05-14T15:53:00.004-05:00

Hi, all. I’m Nicole, and I am one of a two-member specially trained team that has been standing by in case of a “Defcon 4 Alert.” Today, our team was summoned to duty.

OK, in plain English: our beloved author has been with child. Children, actually. And those children made an early entrance into this world this week. My cohort, Brian, who you will meet in a post very soon to come, and I have been the back-up bloggers should this very event occur. Our heartfelt congratulations, Carol, and we hope to do your blog justice in these final three weeks!

Getting to “Across the Sea…”

MOTHER AND CLAUDIA

I’m sure most of us immediately guessed when we saw an expectant Claudia wash up on the shore that she was pregnant with Jacob and, potentially, the Man in Black (MIB). Claudia was promptly “rescued” by former White House Press Secretary C.J. Cregg (Mother). The internet tells me they were speaking Latin. I wonder if we were meant to believe that they were speaking Latin the entire episode, but they switched to English for our (and the actors’) convenience. I guess yes. We learn some things about Mother: she is the only one on the island, she arrived there by accident, and that she doesn’t want to answer all the questions that we wish she would (“every question I answer will only lead to another question”).We later learn that Mother does not age ala Richard Alpert and that she has some control over the island (if there are people, SHE will find them!).

Of course, Claudia goes into labor and Mother helps deliver the twin boys. Then, Mother kills Claudia. The first Other doing the first crazy thing to procure someone else’s child. Children, actually.

CHILDHOOD

Boy Jacob’s and the Boy in Black’s (BIB!) childhood interactions seem much like the adult interactions we had previously seen between the two. Very pensive. Every word they say to each other, every glance, every far-off look seems chock-full of meaning. These boys raised major nature vs. nurture questions: their adoptive mother seems to be a deity type and raising them as though they were the same despite their human biology. Did she do this through spells cast on them?

The game that BIB “found” showed us the beginning of the white vs. black seemingly-eternal conflict between Jacob and BIB. The game brought back the Egyptian imagery that has weaved its way though this entire show (there were hieroglyphs on the gameboard). I can’t even attempt to theorize on the Egyptian lore that might be connected to these symbols.

The most important thing we learned about these boys, I thought, was that Jacob was incapable of deceit and wrongdoing. BIB, on the other hand, is not like Jacob. BIB is also the one that questions what’s out there. And I doubt, even before he saw the people, that he bought Mother’s story that there was nothing out there.

THE PEOPLE

The people that Jacob and BIB see are presumably Claudia’s people. Seeing the people is the catalyst in Jacob’s and BIB’s lives --- causing BIB to rebel and Jacob to have to step up his loyalty to Mother. They learn that they are there for a reason, while the people are not. They are there to corrupt, destroy, etc. But, didn’t Jacob and BIB come with those people?!?

To prove their purpose to her boys, Mother has to take Jacob and BIB to THE LIGHT before she was otherwise planning to do so. We are supposedly given the answer to the biggest question out there in the entire history of the show: what the heck IS the island? The island is an encasement to this precious light. The warmest, brightest light that is inside every man (probably women too). We learn later that it is life, death, rebirth… sounds to me like it is the soul of the world. Which makes sense, considering that it needs to be protected at all costs.

THE RULES

While Mother is taking the boys to THE LIGHT, we learn what we’d already assumed from references in past episodes to the Rules: that Jacob and BIB/MIB can’t “hurt” each other. Since we see Jacob twice beat BIB/MIB to a pulp, I think we can interpret “hurt” to mean “kill.”

The Rules leave a lot of questions for me. Who makes the Rules? It appears there were some rules that Mother made (e.g. Jacob and MIB can’t kill each other). Were some Rules made by THE LIGHT / Island (e.g. needing a protector)? I also assume that some Rules are Jacob’s as the protector of the Island; MIB told us that Jacob would someday get to make up his own Rules to his own game. Are the Rules that apply to the candidates, Jack et al, Jacob’s rules for that game?

THE DONKEY WHEEL

Adult MIB does not lose any of the curiosity that had been his as a child about what else is out there. It still seems that Jacob couldn’t care less. MIB becomes convinced that THE LIGHT is his ticket off the island. He helps the people whom he had joined as a child try to find the source of THE LIGHT. He does exactly that which notLocke (presumably the same being as MIB) explained to Desmond that the confused, curious people did: find the spots where their compasses spin, where metal behaves strangely, and dig. Finally, the digging pays off and MIB finds THE LIGHT underground. He plans to rig a donkey wheel to some kind of mechanism to harness the water and THE LIGHT on the island.

What makes MIB think that THE LIGHT will get him off the island? I’m not so sure it does. THE LIGHT looks to me very similar to the light that flashes during time travel. Ben Linus turned a donkey wheel in a well that was engulfed in light to spark the island’s time travel. I have no doubt the two lights are connected, if not the same. MIB wasn’t looking to travel around in time, which seems to me to be what happens if you harness and use THE LIGHT.

THE PROTECTOR

After Mother learns of MIB’s quest, and knocks him out to prevent it, she realizes that any hope of him being her replacement really is gone. She has to go to her back-up replacement plan, Jacob, and in a hurry because she knows that MIB will be coming for her. She casts a spell on the wine, convinces Jacob to drink it, and, voila, Jacob is now the protector. Why did she have to officially make him protector in such a hurry? Wasn’t the fact that a candidate for replacement was out there enough? Jacob dies without officially having his replacement in place, but all is not lost as long as candidates are out there. Oh, and how will the chosen candidate now become the protector? We saw MIB break that wine bottle… maybe there’s a new Rule in place?

We all saw it coming that Mother was not long for this earth after handing power over to Jacob. Sure enough, she is stabbed in the back with a familiar dagger. And, note that she was stabbed before speaking. Seems to be important in killing these folks, except that Ben did kill Jacob after speaking.

THE SMOKE MONSTER

To avenge Mother’s death, Jacob does the one thing to MIB that Mother had told him was worse than death --- sends him into THE LIGHT cave. By doing so, I believe Jacob condemned his brother's soul into the form of smoke for all eternity. The smoke can take on different forms (his original body form, Christian, Alex, Locke, etc). I think the soul of the smoke monster is still MIB’s. But it’s interesting that the current notLocke has seemed at times to possess some of real Locke’s memories. Does the smoke monster take on a little bit of the soul of the people whose form he takes?

ADAM AND EVE

So, we finally know who our “Adam and Eve” skeletons are. I have a theory that Adam & Eve, including referencing the Bible, are literally MIB’s and Mother’s names. Why keep MIB’s and Mother’s names secret unless they were also LITERALLY named Adam and Eve? They had to keep the names a secret, because if they had told us back in the finale of Season 5 when we first met MIB that his name was literally Adam, it would have given too much of the Jacob back-story away. I.e., we would have immediately assumed MIB was one of the skeletons. The writers wanted to withhold from us that MIB was one of the skeletons, so they also withheld his name from us. I believe the flashback with just Jack and Kate talking would have been enough to remind us of the skeletons. But including Locke in the flashback included the revelation of the names. Including Locke in the flashback added nothing more than this, which I believe supports my theory. But it won't be my first LOST theory to go down the tubes if I'm wrong!

Well, looking forward to your thoughts in the comments, and looking forward to Brian’s response in a future post. Namaste!

The Candidate

2010-05-09T17:27:00.002-05:00

I was at a baby shower yesterday (technically, my own), when a friend I haven't seen for a while demanded to know why I hadn't posted yet. My first thought was, you read my blog? But she's right. I am late, due to a pregnancy-related illness. Let's also admit that this episode was a difficult one to watch. Let's get into it.

Jack in 2004

Jack in 2004 is just as determined to fix things as the "normal" Jack we know and love. And now he believes it is not enough to save John's life - he must fix the original injury that paralyzed him. For some reason, that involves knowing what caused John to be injured in the first place. John ain't talking, because he's not interested in surgery. So Jack has to use his investigative skills. He finds John's oral surgeon (Bernard!) to find out. I guess Jack has forgotten that federal law prevents even oral surgeons from sharing information about their patients. Bernard does, however, give Jack a name: Anthony Cooper. Cooper had aslo been injured in the same accident. Before Jack departs, Bernard adds, "I hope you find what you're looking for."

Helen is as surprised as Bernard that Jack is working so hard to find out about John's accident, but agrees to introduce Jack to Cooper. Unfortunately for Jack, Cooper is essentially a vegetable, and he won't be sharing any details about the accident that injured the two men.

Finally, Jack asks John why he won't be operated upon. So, John tells him. And Jack offers John the same advice given to him just weeks earlier from John. "You told me that my father was gone, and it hurt to hear that, but I knew you were right. Your father's gone too, Mr. Locke...What happened, happened, and you can let it go." As John leaves, Jack calls out, "I can help you, John. I wish you believed me."

How odd to hear Jack Shephard use John Locke's arguments with John Locke. So far it doesn't seem to be very effective.

I didn't mention it earlier, but Jack is justifiably incredulous to find that both Bernard and Claire were on Oceanic 815. Will this become too much coincidence even for him?

John in 2004

I didn't know whether to gasp at the coincidence or roll my eyes when Jack told John, of all people, that he might be a "candidate" for a new procedure that would result in John's walking. Unlike the John we know who died, this John wants to hear nothing of it. At the end of the hour, we learned that John's decision to refuse treatment was from guilt. He and his father were injured when John, a new pilot, convinced his terrified father to go on a flight with him. "It was my fault. This man, who I loved more than anything, will never walk, or talk..."

So, in the sideways timeline, John has the love of his father, what he wanted more than anything in the other timeline. But instead of having the time of his life with his father, he had the guilt of knowing what he did to his father, albeit accidentally. John had what he wanted, but even still, it was warped.

I never saw evidence that Desmond's plan to bring John's other memories to the forefront succeded anywhere but in John's unconscious. But as John sleeps, he appears to be going over his old conflict with Jack: "Push the button....I wish you had believed me."

Claire in 2004

Did you catch the tune from the music box Christian left Claire? If you knew it was "Catch a Falling Star," you win the award. I call it "Claire and Aaron's theme song". I wonder if she took Jack up on his offer to stay with him. It would certainly be cheaper than some hotel.

Bernard in 2004

I'm always happy to see one of the Nadlers. Unlike Jack, Bernard recognizes Jack immediately from the flight. Although he's not willing to reveal too much information to Jack, he does give Jack a name. But he senses Jack needs more than he's letting on.

2007

I can't go character by character as I have before with the "main" timeline. Too much happened. So much happened that when Jack rescued Sawyer et al from the cage I couldn't help but contrast with the third season, when we spent, what, six weeks in the cages?

So, what happened? Well, we all figured out that notLocke needs the candidates dead before he can leave the Island. Kate is not a candidate; for some reason her name was crossed off in the cave. We saw Sawyer organize the commandeering of the sub, just as if he were a cop or chief of security. We also learned that Sawyer can be fooled by a long con just like his victims. We also saw a lot of people die.

Sawyer is certain that he has a fool proof plan to prevent notLocke from escaping the Island. Since Jack doesn't want to leave the Island anyway, Jack can just shove notLocke out of the way. Jack does as told, but finds himself drawn unwillingly into the sub because Kate's shot in the shoulder. But the moment notLocke hands Jack his backpack, I'm nervous - it just didn't seem right. And it isn't. That notLocke is one sneaky bastard.

It is Jack who put all the pieces together; who realizes what limits notLocke has. He pleads with Sawyer:

Nothing's gonna happen...Don't pull those wires out. We're okay. Nothing's gonna happen...Locke can't kill us...This is what he wanted. This is what he's been waiting for. Everything that he has done has been to get us here. He wanted to get us all in the same place, at the same time - a nice, enclosed space where we had no hopes of getting out of...Locke said he can't leave the Island without us. I think that he can't leave the Island unless we're all dead. He told me that he could kill any one of us whenever he wanted. So, what if he hasn't because he's not allowed to? What if he's trying to get us to kill each other?

But Sawyer can't trust Jack's instincts, and pulls the wires. For a second, it appears Sawyer's right, but then it quickly becomes obvious that he was horribly wrong. If Jack is right, Sawyer, who only wanted to save his friends, is responsible for the deaths that follow. Poor Sawyer.

One thing I've noticed since notLocke ordered Sayid to kill Desmond is that Sayid seems a little less bat-shit crazy than normal. He's still not balanced or anything, but the messianic fervor we saw in his face is missing. And it is clear that he wants to survive, as he desperately tries to disarm the bomb. When it becomes clear the bomb is Sawyer-proof, at the least, Sayid becomes the Sayid we know. He tells Jack:

Listen carefully. There's a well on the main Island, half mile south from the camp we just left. Desmond's inside it. Locke wants him dead, which means you're going to need him....[in response to Jack asking why Sayid is telling him this] Because it's going to be you, Jack.

Sayid then takes the bomb and runs as far away from his friends as he can, until the bomb explodes in his hands. Sayid dies to save his friends. Sayid has done many terrible things, so his death is not all that big of a surprise. That he died trying to save his friends makes it all the better.

The explosion destroys the sub, and everyone has to get out. Jack sends Hurley and Kate out of the sub. But Sun is caught by flotsam, and Jin, Sawyer, and Jack work to free her. Nothing works. Sawyer is knocked out, and Jack must save him.

Jin could have left Sun to her fate, but he couldn't. They just spent three years separated by the explosion of a different type of boat, and he wasn't leaving her, as he promised he wouldn't. As they drowned, and their hands separated, I couldn't help but remember Charlie Pace's watery death.

Wait just a minute...DID THEY JUST KILL THE KWONS? They brought them back together just last episode, only to KILL THEM?

Kate, Hurley, and Jack weren't the only ones sobbing that night.

Fred Koehler, I mean Seamus, probably died as well, killed by the Smoke Monster. There's also some debate as to the fate of Lapidus, who was apparently knocked out on the sub as it sank. Time will tell.

We have four left, five if you count Claire. Hugo, James, Kate, and Jack. notLocke knows they live, and he now plans to finish what he started.

Some questions:

What did Sayid mean when he told Jack that "it's going to be you"?

Which team will Claire join?

In the sideways timeline, is the Anthony Cooper we met the same that conned Jim Ford's parents?

Why is Kate's name crossed out?

Where are Richard, Miles, and Ben? What role do they play?

Why does notLocke fear Desmond?

So, what happens next? I don't know. But I'm eagerly looking forward to it.

The Last Recruit

2010-04-21T18:49:00.002-05:00

So, we didn't get a lot of character development and we didn't get a lot of mythology in The Last Recruit. Instead, we got a lot of chess moves as the characters in both timelines became aligned.

First to address - the reunion of Jin and Sun. I found it beautiful and nicely understated. This has never been a flamboyant couple - they are relatively low-key, unlike the flashy Desmond and Penny. Don't get me wrong, I love Desmond and Penny, but Jin and Sun were the real romance to watch, because of all the betrayals, heartbreaks, and separation they have endured. We know their relationship at a far greater depth than we do Des and Penny. The reunion didn't make me cry, but it made me intensely happy. And it was meaningful that Sun's aphasia was cured at the sight of Jin.

We also had a number of parallels between the timelines. I'll list them:

Jack and Claire met for the first time with the knowledge they were siblings
Jin and Sun have happy news

Well, that's two. But we saw two things we've seen in the past. It wasn't Sawyer who swam in the ocean for a purpose but Jack. That was pretty cool. And Jack's hearing impairment after the bomb went off reminded me of Kate's impairment after Jughead went off.

I'm going to do this a little differently, since the episode was all over the place, and with the exception of notLocke, we really didn't learn anything all that new.

Sideways Timeline

The whole purpose of the sideways timeline in The Last Recruit was to bring the Oceanic non-survivors together. John and Sun arrived at the hospital at the same time, and Sun could see something in John when she looked at him - she's afraid of him. Was she remembering John Locke or notLocke? Jin, of course, is with Sun. Jack eventually arrives at the hospital to operate on John. Jack even recognizes John.

Jim Ford questioned Kate about how odd it was that they met again, "It's like someone's trying to put us together." She, in turn, answers a question a number of my readers had (but not my ignorant self) - why he didn't bust her in the elevator at LAX. She figured it out: if he busted her, then everyone would know he had gone to Australia.

Miles interrupts their tete a tete to get Jim in on the bloodbath at a nearby restaurant, where two Koreans were found alive, but unable to speak English. So, with three dead bodies, they had to rely on ATM cameras to identify their suspect. Meanwhile, Sayid rushes to Nadia's home to pack up and explain things to Nadia, but Miles interrupts (he interrupted a lot last night). Sayid runs back, to be tripped with a garden hose by Jim. Jim's now arrested two of his fellow passengers.

Before Jack gets to the hospital, Claire meets Desmond at a building where she's to meet with an adoption agency. Just by coincidence, Desmond has an appointment with his own lawyer, and encourages Claire to meet with the attorney before going to the agency. Desmond was more than a little creepy-stalker in his interactions with Claire, and his eyes had that same Messianic gaze we saw at the end of Happily Ever After. But Claire went along, and met with Ilana Verdansky (at last! A surname). It turns out Ilana has been looking for Claire. Because Ilana must be Christian Shephard's estate attorney. When Jack and David Shephard join the meeting, Claire reveals to Jack that his father is also her father.

2007 Timeline

There was a lot of moving on the Island too. Zoe demands the return of Desmond (but Widmore's people never returned Jin) and shows off Widmore's firepower. notLocke's response after she left? "Well, here we go." He sends Sawyer off to bring a sail boat to a certain point. Sawyer takes Kate with him, but not before conferring with Jack. notLocke then sends Sayid to shoot Desmond to death. Sayid looks reluctant, but notLocke reminds him of his promise. Sayid looks at him with his bat-shit crazy eyes (his eyes are either blank or bat-shit crazy - there's been no in between).

Sayid finds Des, who looks back at his would be assassin: "So, what did he offer ya?" When Desmond finds out that Sayid's prize is dead, he responds, "What will you tell her?" Sayid pauses...

Sawyer tells Kate his plan for Jack, Hurley, Sun, and the pilot (who looks like he could be in a Burt Reynolds movie) to join them at a different place from where they were supposed to meet up with notLocke. Kate is justifiably horrified at the idea of leaving Claire (but she never mentions Sayid) behind. They join up with Jack, et al, to discover that Claire followed them. And Kate talks to her, convincing her to join them, reminding her that Kate should have never raised Aaron - Claire should have. It's one of Kate's finest hours. Claire joins them, noting, "He find out we're gone, he's going to be mad."

Sayid meets up with notLocke, explaining he's a little late because he just killed an unarmed man and "needed a moment." None of us believe him, including notLocke, but Sayid encourages notLocke to check the well if he doesn't trust him. notLocke doesn't take him up on it.

Jack and Sawyer have a moment on the boat. Jack doesn't feel right leaving the Island:

Doesn't feel right...leaving the Island. Because I remember how I felt the last time I left. Like a part of me was missing. We were brought here because we were supposed t odo something, James. And if Locke...if that thing wants us to leave, maybe he's afraid of what happens if we stay.

Sawyer's having none of it, telling Jack to either leave the boat or keep his mouth shut. Jack decides to jump in the ocean. Kate wants to turn around, but Sawyer refuses to let her.

Jack is greeted on the beach by notLocke, who notes, "Sawyer took my boat, didn't he?" Sawyer, Kate, Claire, Hurley, Sun, and Burt, I mean Frank, come ashore on the Hydra Island, to be greeted by Zoe and her guns. Jin joins them, reuniting with Sun. Widmore then calls off his deal with Sawyer, so all our heroes must kneel in the sand with big guns pointed at them. In the meantime, Zoe sends another bomb to notLocke.

Jack hears it, but not in time. He is deafened by the blast, but notLocke rescues him, commenting, "It's going to be okay. Your with me now." That doesn't make me feel very comfortable.

notLocke

notLocke is the only one that will get an individual entry today, because he answered a few questions for us. First, we saw the first meeting between Jack and notLocke. And Jack continues his uncharacteristic penchant for asking questions. Why John Locke:

Because he was stupid enough to believe 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 wood box.

Who else did you look like? Were you the ghost of my father? Why?

You needed to find water...This may be hard for you to believe, Jack, but all I've ever been interested in is helping you....[To] leave. But because Jacob chose you, you were trapped on this Iland before you even got here. Now, Jacob's dead. We don't have to be trapped...We can get on an airplane and fly away whenever we want to.

And of course, everyone has to leave together. We just don't know why. Jack is skeptical - John was the only one who believed. notLocke interrupted him, "John Locke was not a believer, Jack. He was a sucker." Hmm...It almost sounds like self-loathing, doesn't it?

notLocke greets the morning with an apparent full contingent of candidates happily, "So nice to have everyone back together again." You know, without Jin, or the real Locke, or a sane Claire and Sayid. Among other missing parties. But the group isn't together for long, thanks to Sawyer.

So, we basically learned that the Smoke Monster was Christian on the Island. We don't know if he was always Christian or just some of the Christian time we saw. After all, we did see Christian in LA once. Was the Smoke Monster also Kate's black horse? Mr. Eko's brother Yemi? Hurley's imaginary friend Dave?

Thoughts

Claire's assertion that she was abandoned by everyone but notLocke is delusional. Christian/notLocke collected Claire when she was with Miles, Aaron and Sawyer returning to Jack's camp. She left Aaron, he wasn't taken from her. She told John Locke she was okay. By the time the survivors were able to escape, they had no time to find her. And not all of them escaped. Quite a number of them found themselves bouncing through time on the Island. So, while I understand where she's coming from, I think some of her cohorts should feel a little less guilty about leaving her behind. I'm just saying.

notLocke must think he has the primary candidate in Jack. It seems logical to assume it is Jack, as the signs have been pointed that way since episode one. But I am hoping that it's not that easy. Maybe it's Hurley? Wouldn't that be cool?

So, all in all, a very busy episode, with a lot of movement and not much else. And next week there will be no movement: ABC is airing a repeat of Ab Aeterno.

Everybody Loves Hugo

2010-04-14T18:41:00.004-05:00

I worked hard Wednesday night, trying to get this published on a timely basis. But at 9:30, I realized that I was exhausted, and couldn't do justice to the remainder. That's my sorry excuse for tardiness!

Did you recognize the voice of Pierre Chang before he showed up? The actor was uncredited, of course, but it was a pleasure to see him again. I rather hoped to see Charlotte and Miles, but I guess we're not so lucky.

Hugo Reyes in 2004

In the sideways timeline, Hugo made his millions not by use of the numbers but by a worldwide chain of Mr. Cluck's Chicken stores. But Hugo cares about more than just chicken, as he's also a philanthropist. And his latest philanthropy was the opening of a natural history museum.

Sadly, women don't seem to be impressed with Hurley's accomplishments, including his own mother. All she wants is for Hugo to find a nice girl. So she sets him up on a blind date with Rosalita. Who knew that filthy rich men could have such a problem meeting women?

Rosalita is a no-show, but someone even better shows up. Libby tells him he might think she's crazy, and wants to know, "Do you believe that two people can be connected, like soul mates?" But she's crestfallen when he doesn't recognize her. Hugo is crestfallen when he realizes that the only woman who seems to be interested in him is a psychiatric patient at Santa Rosa. A place where Hugo's never been before.

By the way, psychiatrists never take patients on field trips. Not that it makes a difference in the story. But this is one area in which I have some experience.

Another area in which I have some expertise in is using food to soothe the disappointments in my life, but Hugo has taken that to a much higher level than I ever have. But suddenly, there's Desmond, and I'll have thoughts on that below. In the meantime, Des strikes up a conversation with Hugo, albeit awkwardly. He listens to Hurley's tale of woe with Libby, then asks the million dollar question: "Did you believe her when she said she knew you?...I say go with your gut." And Hugo does.

It takes a bribe, but Hugo is allowed to visit Libby. And despite the fact that she still seems to be quite delusional (for anyone but a character on Lost), Hugo is still smitten, and asks her out on a date.

So we finally get to have the date that we wanted to see in Season 2, with Libby and Hugo on the beach (he didn't forget the blankets this time!) with all kinds of cheese. And then, they kiss. It was a sweet kiss, long enough for Hugo to suddenly have memories of his other life, and his feelings for Libby. The boundary between the timelines blur.

Desmond Hume in 2004

Desmond was the biggest surprise of the night for me. He clearly has the manifest, and has connected to two of his fellow Oceanic passengers. His connection with Hugo was sweet. He was like a matchmaker. But he's a bit creepy in how he followed them to the beach. And he looked mightily pleased with himself - how did he know that Hugo felt the other world?

But then Desmond did something that totally surprised me. For the first time in the sideways world, the last scene was not about the person who was centric to the episode. Instead, we were treated to Desmond running down a wheelchair-bound John Locke. I was truly stunned.

So, why did he do it? Is he trying to kill John since John is dead in the other world? Or was he trying to give John a similar near-death experience like his own so that John could have glimpses (or more) of the other world?

Whatever Desmond's intention, he certainly seemed to be confident in what he was doing. How did he gain this knowledge?

And just an aside - when he fished in his head for the name of his "son"he came out with "Charlie"? Was that a memory for the other world?

Libby in 2004

It's not clear to me whether Libby was on the Oceanic flight, nor how long she has been in Santa Rosa. We learned from her doctor that she has difficulty with reality (but really, who doesn't?).

She was watching TV, when she saw a Mr. Cluck's Chicken commercial, starring Hugo. Suddenly, "It was like I was hit on the head. I had memories of my life, only it was another life." She remembered a plane crash, being on an Island, and Hurley at Santa Rosa. She seemed clearly attracted to Hugo, but she knows that if Hugo remembers, like she does, then she's not crazy.

If Libby was not on the Oceanic flight in the sideways timeline, then she is the second non-Oceanic passenger to experience the blurring of the timelines. Perhaps like Daniel her mental health problems makes her more susceptible to this. I don't know. I think we'll learn more in future episodes.

Hurley in 2007

Poor Hurley. The dead people all yell at him, and the latest is Michael Dawson. Why doesn't Libby come to him? Instead, it's her murderer. And Michael needs Hurley to prevent everyone from getting killed. And why Hurley? "People are listening to you now, Hurley." But Ilana's not listening. She's all over the place. She's handling dynamite, a little loosely, and dismisses Hurley's suggestion to be careful. Sadly, he ended up with bits of Ilana on him. Poor Hurley.

But after Ilana dies, Hugo suddenly joins the dynamite bandwagon. Hunh? It turns out, he's pulling a Locke - he blows up The Black Rock! As Richard has an apoplectic fit, Hurley notes, "I'm protecting us." When Miles questions Hurley's trust of dead people, Hurley responds, "Dead people are more reliable than alive people."

Ilana's group breaks up at this point. Hurley tries to sway everyone's opinion by decreeing that Jacob told them they have to talk with notLocke. Richard calls his bluff, telling Hurley to ask Jacob what the Island was. Hurley stood his ground, "I don't have to prove anything, Richard." It's not enough for Richard, Ben, or Miles, who leave for the Barracks to find more explosives. Jack, Sun, and Lapidus stay with Hurley. As they try to find notLocke, Hurley starts second-guessing himself, and confesses to Jack: Jacob didn't tell him anything. Hurley's surprised when Jack confesses he knows Hurley lied. Among other things (see Jack later), Jack points out, "You asked me to trust you."

As they walked to notLocke's camp, they heard whispers, similar to what's been heard through the years. And Hurley realizes what they are. He walks away from the group, calling out to Michael. When he appears, he says, "You're stuck on the Island, aren't you?" It turns out the voices are of those who can't move on.

And so it was, that under the guise of developing a truce with not-Locke, that Hurley delivers three candidates to notLocke. We'll see what happens to that soon.

Desmond Hume in 20o7

Sayid's present to notLocke waited patiently at the tree to which he'd been tied, because, after all, "I have no where to run to, bruthah." When asked why Widmore brought him to the Island, he replies, "Considering I was kidnapped, you'll have to ask him." And he identified notLocke as "John Locke."

Does Des really think notLocke is John, or is he deliberately being vague? Whatever, his demeanor leads notLocke to send Sayid back to the camp and take Desmond on a trip. On the way there, they had a conversation:

notLocke: If I didn't know bettter, I'd say this Island has it in for you.
Desmond: Well, there's nothing special about me, bruthah. This Island has it in for all of us.

Des and notLocke talk about the well, but Desmond's casual demeanor appears to unnerve notLocke. So, he askes, "Why aren't you afraid?" Des answers, "What is the point in being afraid?" notLocke must not like having his questions answered by questions, so he pushes Desmond down the well. Des is no longer calm, as he screams on his way down. Somehow, Desmond is a threat to notLocke. And we don't know why. Yet.

Ilana in 2007

Well, RIP. That was sudden, unforeseen, and disappointing. I really thought we were going to get to know Ilana better and understand her role with Jacob and the Island. Instead, we get memories of Arzt as she handles unstable dynamite with casual disregard for her safety. After her acceptance of Ben into the group, I just expected more. We didn't get it.

Jack Shephard in 2007

So, Jack trusts Hurley. Even when he knows that Hurley is lying. He then follows Hurley to the lair of Jacob's adversary. Why?

Ever since Juliet died...ever since I got her killed...all I've wanted was to fix it. But I can't. I can't ever fix it. You have no idea how hard it is for me to sit back and listen to other people tell me what I should do. But I think maybe that's the point. Maybe I'm supposed to let go....you asked me to trust you.

Jack knew that Jacob's adversary looks and sounds like John Locke, his own personal adversary, but he still looks shell-shocked when he's finally face-to-face with him. notLocke, on his part, just smirks.

Michael Dawson in 2007

Well, technically, Michael is dead. But we have since learned that he is actually still on the Island, "Because of what I did." As such, he's able to join the dead people who yell at Hurley. What he needs from Hurley? "Just don't get yourself killed." Oh, and if Hurley ever does see Libby, to apologize for him. Why does he need Hurley to survive?

notLocke in 2007

I guess it is only fair that Desmond ran down John Locke in the sideways timeline. After all, notLocke just threw Des down a well. It reminded me of when Ben threw John Locke into the DHARMA dead-body gorge and shot him.

notLocke was clearly not pleased to see Desmond, and seemed to debate internally what to do with him. Why did Charles Widmore bring you here? Do you know who I am? How do you know it was electromagnetic energy? He's not as surprised this time when someone else sees the annoying boy (this time taller and more brunette).

notLocke takes Desmond to one of the many wells on the Island (do they correspond to the electromagnetic spots Jin mapped 30 years earlier?). Apparently, the well is so old that it was built by hand because people wanted to figure out why the spot made the needle on their compass spin. They had compasses but not shovels? notLocke lectures Desmond on the power hungry Widmore, but finally, exasperated by Des' unusual demeanor, asks, "Why aren't you afraid?" Desmond responds, "What is the point of being afraid?" So notLocke tosses Desmond down the well shaft. I guess that's why maybe you should be afraid, but maybe there really is no point in actually being afraid.

And how pleased notLocke looked as Hurley, Sun, and Jack walked into his camp. Like a cat with feathers in its mouth.

Richard Alpert in 2007

Richard had a plan, and nothing was going to sway him from it, not even the death of Ilana. As noted, he has an apoplectic fit when Hurley blows up The Black Rock. He is certainly not a very calm person this episode.

Best Quote that Really Didn't Fit Anywhere

No theories today, as I've integrated them above. But there was one great quote that just didn't fit above. Ben, pondering Ilana's death:

There she was, handpicked by Jacob. Trained to come and protect you candidates. Then she blows up. The Island was done with her. Makes me wonder what's going to happen when its done with us.

Happily Ever After

2010-04-11T15:13:00.002-05:00

When I heard the title of this episode, I just assumed that it was about the sideways marriage between John Locke and Helen. Instead, it seems that it was an attempt by someone, Eloise perhaps, to make Desmond happy so that something didn't happen. Or doesn't happen. Or something. But the best laid plans...

So, to begin:

Desmond in 2004

Desmond is a different man in the sideways universe. He's a successful businessman employed by Charles Widmore, a man who thinks so highly of Desmond that he's willing to share his MacCutcheon whisky with him. Des is so satisfied with his life that he's not interested in the restaurants or prostitutes that Minkowski offers him. Desmond's satisfaction with his life is driven home by Widmore: You really do have the life. No family, no commitments. Oh,to be free of attachments.

Desmond might have continued believing this had he not been asked to babysit Charlie Pace. Charlie challenges Desmond's assertions of happiness, and essentially lands them in a marina, perhaps the same one where Ben shot Des? While trying to rescue Charlie, Des has what could be a hallucination - Charlie's hand with the message, "Not Penny's boat." Perhaps Des would have passed unscathed had he not been sent through an MRI for another electromagnetic experience. He sees images of Penny and his life with her. He's smitten. But confused.

Unable to wrangle Charlie for his charity concert, Desmond is ordered by Widmore to notify the dragon lady wife. She takes the news surprisingly well, but interrupts when Desmond tries to take a look at the charity ball guest list. He then hears something that sounds vaguely familiar to us, but not to him:

You listen to me. I want you to stop. Someone has clearly affected the way you see things. This is a serious problem. It is in fact a violation. So, whatever you're doing, whatever it is you think you're looking for, you need to stop looking for it...I don't know why you're looking for anything.You have the perfect life. On top of it, you've managed to attain the thing you've wanted more than anything. My husband's life...You're not ready yet, Desmond.

So what does he do now? He gives up, ready to drink his sorrows away. But he's interrupted by Widmore's son, Daniel. Who is as strange in the sideways as he is on the Island. Daniel points the way for Desmond to find Penny, his half-sister. She likes to exercise just like Jack and Desmond do. But unlike Jack, when Penny shakes Desmond's hand, Desmond faints. After agreeing to meet Penny for coffee, he asks Minkowski to get the manifest from Oceanic 815. Why? "I just need to show them something." What indeed, Mr. Hume?

Charles Widmore in 2004

Widmore is a man who appreciates a hard worker. Perhaps he likes Desmond in this sideways because Des hadn't met Penny yet. But he clearly lives in fear of his wife, finally sending Desmond to deliver the bad news about Charlie's absence.

What confuses me about Widmore in 2004 is that he doesn't seem as hooked into the alternative world as his wife is.

Charlie Pace in 2004

So Charlie's in LA to perform at a charity event with Daniel. But Charlie's attachment to the sideways world is just as tenuous as it was in LA X. He walked through traffic without a concern for his own safety. He bugs his babysitter:

Have you ever been in love? I'm talking about spectacular, consciousness altering love...[describes choking on the bag of heroin] and then I see her...a woman, blond, rapturously beautiful. And I know her. We're together. It's like we've always been...I've seen something real. I've seen the truth.

For some reason, he decides that Desmond must experience a near-death experience too, so he takes control of Desmond's car and drives them into the marina. After he figures out that Desmond did experience something, he tells Des, This doesn't matter. None of this matters. All that matters is that we felt it...Start looking for Penny.

At some point, I had to wonder, where the hell was Liam? He had been trying to get information on Charlie in Recon.

Daniel Widmore in 2004

In the sideways reality, Daniel is a talented classical musician who has never studied physics. However, he looks as uncomfortable in this timeline as he did in the other one. For some reason, he recognizes the importance of Desmond, and stops him, asking if Des believes in love at first sight. He describes seeing Charlotte Lewis and falling in love with her. After meeting her, well, "things got weird." He wrote complicated quantum mechanics equations in his journal (not the same one) that only someone who's studied physics their entire life could write. It makes Daniel realize: What if this wasn't supposed to be our life? What if we had some other life, but for some reason, we changed things?

And it appears that Daniel, who was probably responsible for the change to begin with, now wants things back to normal. He thus tells Des that Penny isn't an idea, but his half-sister.

Eloise Widmore in 2004

Eloise apparently manages to put fear into just about everyone around her, including her husband and Minkowski. Widmore was so scared of her that he ordered Desmond to tell her about Charlie's disappearing act.

Her servants certainly seems to be in awe of her. Desmond is expecting the worse, so he misses her expression of dismay upon meeting him. But she covers, and seems remarkably sanguine when given Desmond's news, telling him, "What happened, happened." But then she hears Desmond asking about Penny. The gloves are off.

Suddenly, we're back in Flashes Before Your Eyes, where Eloise clearly knows more about what is going on than just about anyone except the producers. She's angry, and clearly determined that Desmond continue his "perfect" life. But we're less clear this time on why, other than her belief that Desmond is not ready. For what? What has she done?

George Minkowski in 2004

Minkowski and Desmond shared a common problem in Confirmed Dead - their consciousnesses wee traveling around. Minkowski died, apparently because he had no constant, as Des did. Now he's a chauffeur, one who can connect a person with just about anything, including women. And airplane manifests.

I have to admit to wondering why Minkowski didn't chauffeur Desmond and Charlie around.

Jack Shephard in 2004

Jack's appearance is only remarkable for his surprise upon learning that two other people from his Sydney flight were at the hospital. Too much of a coincidence, perhaps?

Penny Milton in 2004

Penny likes to exercise, and doesn't seem all that bothered when strangers address her by name. She even agrees to meet this handsome stranger at a local coffee shop. I guess she decided to not attend her stepmother's charity event.

Desmond in 2007

No surprise that Desmond is unhappy to find himself back on the Island. His hostility and aggression prior to the electromagnetic experiment were all in character for him. But afterward...he's calm. He interrupts Widmore's explanation, asking, "When do we start?" He's extremely...understanding.

When faced with Dead-Eyed Sayid, Desmond's eyes appear a little maniacal as well, or perhaps messianic. I'm not sure which. Des tells Sayid, "Lead the way."

Charles Widmore in 2007

Widmore is almost apologetic about bringing Desmond back to the Island, but after being attacked, he tells Des, "I can't take you back. The Island isn't done with you yet." We've heard that before. And who decided that the Island isn't done with him yet?

Widmore wants to put Desmond through the electromagnetic experiment, despite a man's recent death in it. "If everything I've been told about you is true, you'll be perfectly fine." Then, "Once it's over, I'm going to ask you to make a sacrifice. And I hope for all our sakes, you'll help me." He lists his own sacrifices, all to his family - his dead son, his daughter who hates him, and his grandson whom he's never seen. But those sacrifices will be for nothing if Desmond doesn't help him because otherwise Penny and everyone else will be gone forever.

Why did Widmore do the experiment on Desmond? Because Des survived one catastrophic electromagnetic event. The experiment was to see if he could survive another.

Widmore is happy that Desmond survived the experiment, but continues to be apologetic. Was he surprised at how compliant Des was?

Thoughts and Theories

This is one episode that is full of suggestions and questions, all clearly leading up to the final episode.

We entered the sideways universe in a completely different fashion than we have heretofore. There was no hint of the sideways until the experiment started, when we suddenly found ourselves among the clouds. We then saw Desmond, looking either at himself or the location of his luggage carousel at LAX. We then stayed in the sideways universe, without fail, until Penny and Desmond touched. Suddenly, the experiment is over, without music or any other sign that we had returned to the Island. I thought at first that the experiment ended the sideways timelines. When we returned to it, I thought perhaps Desmond failed somehow by following Sayid. But now I don't think so.

It seems that the sideways timeline is a creation of sorts, I'm not sure by whom (Jacob? Man-in-Black? Eloise?), to perhaps keep Desmond pacified. Someone decided that this life they created for him was the perfect one, under the impression that his whole goal was to earn Widmore's respect, not Penny's love. But Charlie Pace interfered, or perhaps the Oceanic flight, and the worlds are now colliding in Desmond's mind. He knows now that something is not right.

He's not alone. All the Oceanic survivors appear to be aware that something is off, but Charlie is the first to experience a conscious awareness of the other timeline. He believes it is a near-death experience that gave him that awareness, so he helps Desmond connect to it as well. The only other party who appears to be conscious of the other timeline is Daniel. However, he had no near-death experience and was never an Oceanic survivor. He's just...Daniel.

But Desmond is not connected to the other timeline just by his near-death experience. Indeed, if that had been all, he might have succeeded in rationalizing it away. But he is asked to undergo an MRI, a process that includes the use of electromagnetic energy (recall the questions about metal?). The MRI connected him to the other timeline more clearly, as he saw his first meeting with Penny, and even the birth of their son. He didn't just see it, but he felt it. And he knew it was real.

What made Desmond return to the Island? Was it touching his constant? Was it the clarification that this is what his life's goal should have been? We don't know.

I don't know who Eloise is working for, but she does not appear to be working with Widmore in either timeline. Is she working for Jacob or the Man-in-Black? What sacrifice does Widmore want Desmond to make? What did Desmond understand after traveling through the electromagnetic experiment? Is he supposed to do something in 2007, 2004, or both?

So much to think about. I am curious as to what you might have thought.

The Package

2010-03-31T17:55:00.002-05:00

Well, Sun finally gets to actually do more than complain about finding Jin this week. Although, when you think about it, that's pretty much all she did in the 2007 time line in this episode. Mostly in Korean. However, in 2004, she's a hot tamale!

In case you haven't heard, there's been a wedding amongst our Lost actors - Yunjin Kim married her long time boyfriend over the weekend. They won't go on honeymoon though until after they finish filming Lost.

Well, enough celebrity gossip. Let's get on with the show!

Sun in 2004

It turns out that Sun and Jin are not married in our sideways timeline. Thus, she and Jin have different rooms. But when Jin comes over to tell her he's going to Keamy's restaurant, Sun takes control, using her feminine wiles to seduce him. It turns out, Jin asked her to button her sweater on the plane not to control her, but to maintain the illusion that they aren't lovers. For that is clearly what they are. The next morning, she tries to talk Jin into running off with her (in the original timeline, she was going to run away from him), stating she has something to tell him. But they're interrupted by Keamy, who wants to know where his money is.

Sun has a plan - she'll get it from her super-secret account! With Mikhail Bakunin (!) as her translator, she goes to the bank, only to find her father's closed her account. Back at the restaurant, they find what Sayid left, but Jin has escaped, and after Bakunin shoots off two rounds, Jin shoots him dead. But not before Sun is shot in the stomach. She reveals what we already figured out - she's pregnant!

Did you notice Sun looking at herself in the mirror before letting Keamy in? She looked a little confused, like she didn't recognize herself...

Jin in 2004

Jin has apparently put his life in his hands by having an affair with the boss's daughter. He should be relieved customs took his money - he never asked what it was for, but we learned it was Keamy's fee for killing Jin! Apparently, no one's allowed to sleep with Sun.

Jin is far more nervous about the missing money than Sun, and doesn't jump at her offer to run off with her. He might have been talked into it, however, had Keamy not interrupted their idyll. He begs Keamy to not tell the boss that Jin and Sun are having an affair, and goes to the restaurant with Keamy and Omar. He's in the refrigerator tied up when Sayid shoots the kitchen up. Sayid gives Jin the tools he needs to escape, and he shoots Bakunin dead. Sadly, Sun is shot as well. It's then he learns he's going to be a father.

Sayid in 2004

So, is Sayid just as dead in the sideways timeline as he appears to be in 2007? The helpful man on the plane who kicked the bathroom door down to rescue Charlie from his drug overdose wouldn't set Jin free. Of course, in Sayid's defense, it probably would have been foolish to release a stranger who doesn't speak any language he knows right after killing Keamy et al. But there was something cold in how Sayid notes, "I don't know why you're here and I don't care." At least he gives Jin the box cutter.

Martin Keamy in 2004

No surprise to find out that Keamy works for Mr. Paik. Is he a contractor or is their relationship more permanent? Does he act as a loan shark for Mr. Paik too? He's still a heartless killer who doesn't care about the lives he disrupts. I was a little surprised that Sayid's bullets didn't kill him, but I'm going to guess (hope?) that he's dead now.

Mikhail Bakunin in 2004

How fun to see him again! Apparently, Mikhail is a friend of a friend of Keamy's. And he's a genius with languages, apparently knowing Korean. Sadly for him, he's doomed to lose that eye in any timeline, including this one.

Sun in 2007

Sun is clearly tired of all the stalling and all the talk about destiny and candidates. She just wants to find her husband. She retreats to a place where she's retreated before - the garden she grew so lovingly all those years ago. Okay, just 3, but still.

She's alone at the garden when she's approached by notLocke. And she's clearly uncomfortable, if not frightened. He promises to provide her with what she's been wanting - to be reunited with Jin - but when he stretches his hand out to her, she does what (so far) no one else has done - she runs away from him. Sadly, she doesn't look where she's going and runs into a tree, sustaining brain trauma.

The brain trauma induces a weird form of aphasia, in which she can only speak Korean but can understand English. Remember the first season when she pretended she didn't understand English? Further, we see that when Richard returns with a plan, Sun is the only one who doesn't fall in line. Instead, she goes off, in Korean, basically telling Richard that she will do nothing that will destroy their only way home.

We then get what would have been one of the best scenes in the night if ABC hadn't put a "V" tag on the corner, hiding what Sun was writing. Sun is staring out into the ocean when Jack joins her. He's figured out that just because she can't speak English doesn't mean she can't write it (I do believe that speech and writing are controlled by different parts of the brain). She didn't follow notLocke because she didn't trust him, but she does trust Jack. He promises to find Jin, if she goes him to the Hydra Island. She takes his hand.

I had forgotten how close these two had been in the first season. It was nice to see again, especially after all the animostiy Sun felt toward Jack after Jin "died" in the freighter explosion.

Jin in 2007

Well, Sun may not be able to speak English, but Jin sure can! Almost like a mirror to the first season!

Jin's having nothing to do with notLocke, and once notLocke leaves the camp, he gathers his stuff. When Sawyer tries to talk him out of it, Jin makes it clear that he wants to leave "before that thing comes back." However, it's taken out of his hands when Zoe and Frederick - I mean Seamus - shoot them all with darts. It turns out that Jin's the guy.

Jin wakes up in, of all places, Room 23. We've seen that place before! Jin finds the subliminal experiment video, which he quickly turns off. It turns out that Jin is "the guy" because during his time in the DHARMA Initiative, he worked on a map that showed the electromagnetic pockets on the Island. But Jin holds his ground - he'll only talk with Charles Widmore.

Widmore did one of the nicest things for anyone I've ever seen him do - he shows Jin the pictures of his daughter on Sun's camera. Jin knew he had a daughter, but he's never met her and never seen pictures of her. Did you cry when watching? I wanted to. He's so proud. I hope that we get to see him meet her.

For reasons not clear to us, Widmore decides that Jin needs to see Widmore's "package", which is not a what, but a who.

Ben in 2007

Like Sun, Ben is restless to move, and isn't confident that Richard will actually help them out. While out gathering fruit, he finds Sun unconscious. After bringing her back to Ilana's camp, he finds Ilana staring at him.

Ben: What? Oh, for the fourth time, I was gathering mangoes and she was already unconscious when I found her. Why won't you believe me?
Ilana: Because you're talking.

I found that to be extremely hilarious. You may be allowed in the fold, Ben, but they still don't trust you.

Claire in 2007

I am going to take a stand and declare that Claire hasn't really forgiven Kate for taking and raising Aaron. She's curious - is her name on the cave? No. Kate's? Not anymore. She comments that she is a stranger to her own son and that Kate's his mother now. But that's okay. Once notLocke is finished with Kate, Claire can do whatever she wants to her. I don't think that bodes well for Kate.

Desmond in 2007

Well, big surprise that Desmond was locked in that room in the submarine. I know it was supposed to be a big reveal, but it really wasn't. Instead, it was the eye contact between the drugged Desmond and the numbed Sayid that really hit home. These two once worked together. No longer.

Jack in 2007

Jack's back! He's like the leader we had in Season 1. Only, he's different. Because now he believes in that which cannot be seen. He trusts in Richard and Jacob. He tries to talk to Sun about the business of candidacy but backs off when it's clear she wants to hear none of it. But after her confrontation with notLocke, he approaches her again, giving her a tomato that he'd found in her garden. He makes a deal with her - come with them and he'll help her find Jin.

I kind of have to wonder - why does she have to come with him? Couldn't he help her find Jin whether she joins him or not?

Ilana in 2007

Ilana is only second to Jack in her devotion to Jacob, holding faith that Richard will return, and that he will have the answers for them. An extremely patient woman, she finally has a chance to change clothes. But she also lets us know that she still thinks Ben is a big liar.

Kate in 2007

Kate has an extremely minor role this week. Sawyer spends a lot of time talking with her. Claire glares at her.

Miles in 2007

There's only one reason to bring up Miles from this episode. As Ilana expressed faith that Hurley would find Richard and bring him back, Miles snarks, "Unless Alpert's covered in bacon grease, I'm not sure Hurley's tracking anything." Oh, Miles.

notLocke in 2007

notLocke was a little out of control this week. Jin doesn't trust him, Sawyer continues to confront him publicly, Sun runs away from him, and Widmore's people shoot darts at his people while he's gone.

We learned a little bit about why he's gathering candidates - he needs them all to leave the Island. And the fact that he didn't take Sun with him after she was knocked unconscious indicates that they really do have to follow him of their own free will.

notLocke is not very comforting with the man he makes his second in command. It's okay that you're numb, Sayid, because it will help you get through what's coming. What's coming? And how does notLocke know about it?

notLocke clearly doesn't like Kate very much. He lies to Claire about whether Kate's name was in the cave and whether Claire's name was. No matter what Claire feels about Kate, and she clearly doesn't mean Kate well, notLocke needs Kate to help him get the other three candidates on the plane. Once that's done, "Whatever happens, happens."

notLocke is justifiably angry that his camp was attacked and Jin taken. Not that Jin would have stayed in his camp. So he takes Sayid and goes to the Hydra Island. And confronts Widmore. Widmore stays behind the safety of the pylons. When asked, Widmore denies taking Jin. Whether he lied or didn't know we just don't know. Either way, notLocke gives one of the great lines of the night, "A wise man once said that war was coming to this Island. I think it just got here."

Richard Alpert in 2007

The other Man in Black returns to Ilana's camp, and he's the man we've known through the years. Decisive and determined, he makes his plans to prevent notLocke's escape from the Island. Perhaps fortunately for him, he doesn't understand Korean. His ears would have burned.

His plan to prevent notLocke's escape? Blow up the airplane on the Hydra Island.

Sawyer in 2007

Sawyer is disturbed that Jin is planning on leaving notLocke's camp. I'm not sure why. He definitely takes offense when Jin questions Sawyer's willingness to listen to notLocke. They don't get a chance to finish the argument, thanks to Zoe and Frederick - I mean Seamus.

Sawyer confronts notLocke when he announces that he and Sayid are going to the Hydra Island on an outrigger. He wants to know why notLocke doesn't just smoke on over to the Hydra. notLocke responds: "Do you think, if I could do that, I would still be on this Island?" Sawyer responds, "No, because that would be ridiculous." He has a point.

When notLocke returns from the Hydra Island without Jin or Sayid, Sawyer asks about them. It's good to know that he still cares about his friends. I don't know what kind of relationship Jin and Sawyer had during the three years of their time together in the DHARMA Initiative, as it doesn't appear to have made them close like Sawyer and Miles. But Sawyer's still looking out for him.

Sayid in 2007

Sayid is the logical one to choose as a second-in-command. I would. But when promoted, Sayid says, "I don't feel anything. Anger, happiness, pain. I don't feel it anymore." He doesn't feel enough to even be terribly bothered by this numbness. But he is slightly bothered by it. At least, enough to comment on it.

Sayid can swim, and he takes on the mission of finding out what is in Widmore's locked room. As he comes out of the water, all Apocalypse Now, he comes eye-to-eye with an equally numbed Desmond. But they did recognize each other.

Widmore in 2007

I noted Widmore's kindness to Jin earlier. It's not the first time we've seen him be kind. I'm thinking of his conversation with a 12-year-old Ben in Dead is Dead. But I also felt that he was manipulating Jin. Big surprise, hunh? As Jin looks at his daughter's pictures, Widmore states:

I know what it's like to be kept apart...I understand the one thing you want is to be reunited with your wife and daughter. But it would be short-lived if that thing masquerading as John Locke ever left this Island...Everyone we know and loved would simply cease to be.

Like notLocke, Widmore has lost a little control over his own camp. Zoe bags and tags Jin too soon, because Jin was about to leave notLocke's camp. I assume that his verbal confrontation with notLocke was too soon for his own taste.

Widmore's still a mixed bag, however, as evidenced by his decision to drug his own son-in-law and bring him back to the Island. Also, knowing the time frame, I think it is safe to say that Desmond is probably still recovering from the gunshot wound he sustained from Ben. Maybe the Island will heal him quickly. However, Desmond's presence as the Package does not bode well for Widmore's relationship with Penny.

Zoe in 2007

Zoe barely warrants a mention, except that she apparently bagged and tagged Jin too early for Widmore's plan. She points out that he perhaps should have found a mercenary to do the job instead of a geophysicist. I guess she doesn't know what a disaster the mercenary Widmore hired made of things.

Well, now that we've got that done: Questions:

Whose Side is Widmore On, Anyway?

For a long time, we thought of Widmore as the "big-bad" of the Island, the one willing to do anything to return to it, seemingly to engage in evil-doing. When Miles was "kidnapped" by Bram after being hired by Widmore to return to the Island, Bram told Miles that he was on the wrong side of the war coming up.

Yet it now seems that Widmore and Ilana have the same goal - preventing notLocke from leaving the Island. Will they join forces? Or are their methods for achieving this goal so far opposed to each other that they can never work together?

What's the Connection Between the Sideways Timeline and the 2007 Timeline?

There has to be a connection. We just don't know what it is. Until recently, it appeared that the lives of our characters were better in the sideways time than they had been. Jack resolved some of his father issues and improved his relationship with his son. John Locke confronted his own feelings of helplessness and deepened his relationship with Helen, whom he plans to marry. Kate escaped, at least for a little while. Ben's a high school teacher.

But, while Nadia lives, she is not Sayid's lover, despite their obvious love for each other. Sawyer's life is still overshadowed by what happened to his parents. Kate was caught. And Sun was shot in the stomach.

So, what is this timeline? Is it the result of Juliet blowing up Jughead? Or is it what would happen if notLocke escapes? Is it the beginning of the end, the ceasing of what all knew and loved as predicted by Widmore?

There's so much more, but I'm exhausted. What did you think?

Ab Aeterno

2010-03-25T20:15:00.002-05:00

Wow. What an episode. A number of things happened in Ab Aeterno, providing answers to some questions, perspectives on some characters, and ideas about what the nature of the Island really is. I think we can also put to rest the idea that Jacob might be God, or at least, the Judeo-Christian God.

Let's start first with what we learned about the candidates.

The Candidates

We return to the same scene between Ilana and Jacob that we saw in The Incident. Jacob never touched her, but we got more of the conversation. He needs her to protect 6 people - they are the remaining candidates. Flash forward to 2007, where, around the campfire, Sun announces that she, Jack, and Hurley are three of them. Ilana didn't correct her, but didn't she tell Sun earlier that she didn't know which Kwon was the candidate? Oh, well, nothing like confidence.

After Ilana brings them from the Temple, she's to ask Richard what to do next. And, at this point, we realize that Jack's intervention with Richard in The Black Rock did little other than prevent his suicide. He's still agitated, and announces, "You're dead. We're all dead....We're in hell." He then stalks off into the jungle, determine to find someone else to listen to.

It's at this point that Jack learns something rather vital - Richard wants to talk with Locke.

Jack: Locke is dead.
Ben: If it's any consolation, it's not exactly Locke.

One of Hurley's two best lines of the night comes when Jack demands to know to whom Hurley's speaking: Sorry Jack, but this has nothing to do with you.

Go Hurley!

The rest of our time focuses on Richard's story.

Ricardo

Ricardo's story is a sad but unfortunately not uncommon one. In 1867, the man comes home to find his tubercular wife coughing blood and burning with fever. He rides half a day away in the pouring rain for a doctor, to find the doctor is a venal man only interested in money. There's a shoving match, the doctor falls backward and dies, and Ricardo takes the medicine from the doctor's hands. But it's too late, Isabella, his wife is dead, and the police (or the Canary Island version of them) are banging on his door.

In prison, he's reading his English Bible when a priest brings him food and asks if Ricardo is prepared to make his confession. Which Ricardo promptly does. But when he asks to be absolved of his sins, the priest refuses. The only way Ricardo can earn the grace of absolution is through penance, which Ricardo won't have time for, seeing as he's scheduled to die the next day. "I'm afraid the devil awaits you in hell.'

I don't think much of this priest. I know enough about the sacrament of reconciliation to know that if you are truly sorry for your sins, you will be forgiven. And I'm convinced that Ricardo was truly sorry for killing the doctor. But this is just an aside.

As Ricardo is prepared for hanging, a Mr. Whitfield is given the opportunity to check Ricardo's hands and teeth. If Ricardo speaks English, he's good to go. Where? The New World. Whitfield announces, "This man is now the property of Magnus Hanso."

I'm pretty sure the New World to which Ricardo was headed is not America. I suspect it to be Australia or some other prisoner colony. I also want to point out that Hanso must be an ancestor of those who set up the Hanso Foundation. If you keep up with the activities of the producers at various Comic Cons, you then know that the Hanso Foundation funded the DHARMA Initiative. But this Magnus Hanso was killed in the shipwreck.

The trip to the New World looks completely miserable for prisoners, especially when there's a storm and shipwreck. The prisoners survive, but Whitfield decides he must kill the prisoners before they kill him. He's about to kill Ricardo when the Smoke Monster makes his appearance, killing all the officers, but, after pondering Ricardo, leaving him alive.

Ricardo, who really looks like he's wearing eyeliner in one of his close ups, tries to escape from his chains, but fails to. At one point, he awakens to find his now-dead fellow prisoners being eaten by a boar (yuck). But then, a miracle happens, as Isabella, his dead wife appears to him. Yes, we're dead, we're in hell. We must escape the devil. She runs from the ship, apparently to be killed by the Smoke Monster.

And so finds the Man in Black (not Jacob, as I had at first thought) nursing Ricardo back to health. He confirms that Ricardo is in hell and that the devil has Isabella. He agrees to help Ricardo, but only if Ricardo promises to do anything the Man in Black says. Ricardo is in no shape to refuse. He's shocked when he hears, "I'm afraid there's only one way to escape from hell. You're going to have to kill the devil."

So, if you eat a boar that has just recently eaten your friends, does that make you a cannibal?

The Man in Black gives Ricardo some instructions on how to kill the devil that we've heard before. The devil has to be stabbed in the stomach with a fancy knife before he says a word (apparently, the devil "can be very persuasive."). When Ricardo points out it is hard to stab black smoke, the Man in Black (I really wish we had a name) admits that he is the black smoke. Ricardo loses trust. He hears, "The devil betrayed me. He took my body. My humanity." And the Man in Black promises to reunite Ricardo with Isabella.

I still think it's not fair to get ticked with people when their alleged victim speaks before they really have a chance to stab. And let's face it, Sayid had been dead and Ricardo nearly so. What are people thinking?

The last thing that I expected Jacob to do was to beat Ricardo up. This is not the kind, gentle Jacob of The Incident. Indeed, this guy is all edge and irritation. He even dunks (or baptizes) Ricardo in the ocean after Ricardo protests once too often that he's dead.

And finally, we learn something about Jacob after he admits to bringing Ricardo's ship to the Island.

That man who sent you to kill me believes that everyone is corruptible because it's in their very nature to sin. I bring people here to prove him wrong. And when they get here, their past doesn't matter.

Ricardo is confused when he learns that everyone Jacob has brought to the Island has died and that Jacob never helped them.

I wanted them to help themselves. To know the difference between right and wrong without me having to tell them. It's all meaningless if I have to force them to do anything. Why should I have to step in?

Ricardo then says the thing that apparently Jacob has been needing to hear for years, "If you don't, he will." To which I say, duh!

Jacob realizes the truth of what Ricardo says, and offers Ricardo a job to act as his intermediary between him and the people he brings to the Island.

What's in it for Ricardo? Well, Jacob can't bring Isabella back, and he can't absolve Ricardo of his sins, but he can make Ricardo live forever. And Jacob puts his hand on Ricardo's shoulder, and Ricardo's fate is sealed.

Ricardo brings a white rock to the Man in Black (subtle), who seems unsurprised that his plan has failed. He then gives Ricardo the necklace with a cross that Isabella had given Ricardo to pay the doctor for her medication. I'm as confused as Isabella as to why he buries it.

Fast forward over 140 years, and now Richard is wearing black (I just noticed that - has he always?) and digs up his cross. He then yells to the Man in Black that he's changed his mind, and ready to follow him. He hears a noise, and is angered that it's not the Man in Black, but Hurley.

One things the producers do well is heartbreaking romantic scenes. Perhaps some viewers found the conversation between Richard, Isabella, and Hurley to be treacly, but I did not. I loved it, and wanted to cry. In the conversation, Isabella reminds Richard that they are always together, and that there was nothing he could do to save her. She also tells him that he needs to stop the Man in Black from leaving the Island, "If you don't, we all go to hell." Okay, so Hurley said the latter in Spanish, but whatever.

The episode ends back in 1867, with Jacob asking the Man in Black why he wanted to kill him. Really? You don't know why? I guess that was his first attempt. The Man in Black promises that he will kill Jacob and whomever takes Jacob's place.

And so much falls into place.

Thoughts

There's been a lot of discussion as to what is the nature of Jacob and the Man in Black. Good, evil, God, devil. I do believe that the Man in Black is evil, somehow, even if at most selfish, but I suspect he's more than that. But I'm not as convinced that Jacob is all good, and I'm sure he's not God. First of all, God kicked Lucifer out of heaven. He never dedicated himself to keeping Lucifer in one place. Perhaps Jacob is an angel of sorts, sent by God to keep this evil within bounds, but I'm not so sure.

Jacob himself seems to have a lot of rough edges in 1867. He brings The Black Rock onto the Island, but does nothing to prevent the Man in Black from killing the passengers and crew. How can they prove they can choose good if they're killed immediately? And why would he start punching Richard before talking with him? What's that comment about not letting anyone in his foot (okay, the foot of the statue, but it sounds better my way) unless they're invited? He sounded really irritated.

Richard may have thought that his 140 years as Jacob's intermediary was pointless, but I disagree. I think that Richard must have humanized Jacob to a large degree. Perhaps Richard was the first real human Jacob interacted with. But what a difference between Jacob in 1867 and Jacob over a hundred years later. In 1867, he petulantly demanded to know why he should intervene with the people he brought to the Island. But we saw him pay for Kate's lunch box, give James Ford a pen, congratulate Sun and Jin on their wedding, give Jack a candy bar, ask Sayid for directions, and perhaps revive John Locke after a fall from eight stories. And who can forget his conversations with Hurley? He didn't know Richard's name, but he certainly knew these eight intimately.

When Jacob talked with Ilana, he knew that only six candidates remained. We know that one named Kwon, Hurley, and Jack are candidates. It's doubtful that Ben, Miles or Lapidus are. There were eight people Jacob touched in The Incident: Kate, Sawyer, Sun, Jin, Jack, Sayid, John Locke, and Hurley. I personally think it's fair to say that John Locke and Sayid are no longer candidates. Locke was killed by Ben, and Sayid has apparently gone to the dark side (Darth Vader would be proud). That leaves six. A lot of hay has been made that Kate is not a candidate since we didn't see her name on the ceiling or on the lighthouse thingie. But just because we didn't see it doesn't mean that it wasn't there.

It's getting late, and I have a feeling that rambling could occur if I stay on, so I'll sign off. I'll be curious to hear what you have to say about this episode. It's definitely a hard one to not think about.

Delays Happen

2010-03-25T09:49:00.001-05:00

As you may have heard, my DVR decided to not record Lost on Wednesday night. I really hate when these machines start thinking for themselves. I didn't realize this until 20 minutes into the hour. I loved what I saw, but I want to watch the whole episode online before I post my thoughts. Hopefully that will happen tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime, I would like you to ponder the nature of good and evil.

The Life and Times of 'Lost's' Ben Linus (Set to Michael Jackson's "Ben")

2010-03-18T19:55:00.000-05:00

The Life and Times of 'Lost's' Ben Linus (Set to Michael Jackson's "Ben")

How could I not share this with y'all?

Recon

2010-03-18T10:15:00.002-05:00

Well, if this episode didn't make my mother happy, she's just impossible to please. We got plenty of Sawyer, and the producers know how to make it's female viewers happy - he spent quite a lot of that time without a shirt. Oh, my.

This episode wasn't about redemption and it had little to no mythology. Instead, it was all about relationships. Specifically, James Ford's relationships with the people in his life, and his relationship with the world. Let's get started.

Jimmy Ford in 2004

Yes, that's right. Our favorite con man never took on the name of the man who ruined his family. Instead, when it came time to choose to be a criminal or a cop, he chose the later. We were tricked, of course. In LA X, Jimmy's warning to Hugo Reyes that his bragging will attract con men made us all think that Jimmy was setting him up as a mark. At the beginning of Recon, we saw the beginning of the first season episode Confidence Man. It's post coitus with a beautiful woman, when she suddenly realizes he is late to a meeting. As he rushes to get ready, a briefcase opens up, spilling money all over the place. Oops - she wasn't supposed to see that. But this woman recognizes the con game - it seems her husband is a con man too. Suddenly, we realize that Jimmy's life is different from Sawyer's.

He tries to tell her (and us) that he's a cop. She's not the only one shocked, I'm sure, when he says the magic word - LaFleur! - and the cops burst in, including Jimmy's partner, Miles. Yeah! More Miles time!

Although Jimmy has taken a more legal path in his life than his counterpart, it is still an empty life. We have learned that his parents were still killed when he was nine after Anthony Cooper conned them. This has left a hole in his heart and soul, and he still has difficulties trusting others. He has a hot date with Charlotte Lewis (!), but it ends abruptly when he realizes she's found his Sawyer file. He lies to Miles about his trip to Australia, and when confronted by the lie, he refuses to trust his partner. He lives in a barely furnished apartment and watches Little House on the Prairie.

Michael Landon is long dead, but apparently, his message lives on. Jimmy pays close attention as Pa Ingalls tells Half-Pint that she shouldn't worry about his future death: "People aren't really gone when they die." He reminds her to enjoy her time while she's got it.

So a sunflower and six-pack later, Jimmy shows up at Charlotte's doorstep. Sadly, it's too late for her to accept him, so he leaves the sunflower and slinks away. Charlotte's made of far sterner stuff than I am, by the way.

Jimmy then reconciles with the person he should have - Miles. He shows Miles the Sawyer files, and explains why he kept his investigation from Miles - Miles would prevent him from killing Anthony Cooper. Their conversation is interrupted by a car plowing into them. A car and foot chase later, Jimmy captures ... Kate. Of course.

Sawyer in 2007

Sawyer is a man of many names. Recently, he had been James Ford, but I think he's now returned to Sawyer. But he's a little different from the Sawyer we first met, six years ago. That Sawyer was out for himself. This Sawyer seems to be, but his goal is not just to get himself off the Island but all his friends. And not just Kate, though the last scene might imply it. But I think he was genuine when he told Jin that they wouldn't leave the Island without Sun.

But Sawyer's tolerance of notLocke has lowered. And who can blame him after notLocke tells the group that they have to settle in a clearing for a few days? notLocke clearly doesn't like being challenged by Sawyer in front of the group, so he sends the con man on a recon mission - find out which survivors of the Ajira flight is on the Hydra Island, as notLocke believes they don't mean him well.

Apparently we're spending Season 6 looking at all the places we've known and loved through the series. Tonight, we got to see the polar bear cages where Kate and Sawyer were imprisoned in Season 3. And remember the dress that Mr. Friendly gave Kate? So did Sawyer. He seemed to remember a lot.

I love that this episode is called "Recon", since it's kind of a Sawyer con and re-con against two powerful men (well, one might be more entity than man, but still). Sawyer figures out Zoe isn't who she says she is, so he gets a quick trip to see Charles Widmore on his sub. He then tells Widmore about notLocke, and lies that he'll tell notLocke no one is on the Hydra Island. But then he tells notLocke all about Widmore.

Why? Well, he's not anyone's errand boy. And while notLocke and Widmore fight it out, Sawyer and his friends can take the submarine and finally leave the Island.

Charles Widmore in 2007

We watched as Widmore's people collected Sawyer, put up pylons, and were generally busy on the Hydra Island. He makes fun of Sawyer for not knowing much of what's going on, but says nothing more because, of course, Sawyer doesn't ask. Instead, he seems to take Sawyer's words at face value, acting at though they are allies. I am presuming that he knows better.

Charlotte in 2004

Wow, Charlotte's hot. Gentlemen, you'll have to let me know if her hotness made up for all that shirtless Sawyer.

Charlotte is still an archaeologist, but she seems less obsessed with finding a mysterious Island. I can only assume that since she's working with Pierre Chang, she was on the Island, just as Ben and his father were, but that's just supposition. She loves her work, and finds travel to be exciting and romantic. She's very flirty and very attracted to Jimmy. Until he kicks her out, that is.

Charlotte is probably right in turning the apologetic Jimmy away. After all, "You blew it". You don't kick hot women out of your apartment at 3 a.m. The sunflower was a really nice touch, though. James Ford understands the power of a single flower in any timeline.

Claire in 2007

Claire remains a creepy figure on the Island. Did you shiver a bit when she grabbed Kate's hand as they listened to notLocke? But we quickly learn that she's just biding her time. While Kate is distracted trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with Sayid, she attacks. And is shocked when notLocke, her "Friend", pulls her off Kate, and slaps her.

Claire appears to have heard notLocke's message that Kate took Aaron because Claire was missing. She finds Kate, and hugs her, thanking her for caring for Aaron. Is it a sincere reunion? Just too hard to tell.

Jin in 2007

We don't have a lot of Jin time this episode. He's still recovering from his bear-trap-induced injury. He tries to convince Sawyer to leave Claire's shack of scariness, and is shocked when Sawyer reveals he's with notLocke: "That is not Locke." Not news to Sawyer. Jin tells Sawyer that he can't leave the Island without Sun.

I don't remember seeing Jin after that. I assume he follows notLocke and his crazy band, along with Sawyer and Kate, but we don't see him. I also assume he still needs help, though maybe the Island's healing mojo has worked its magic on him.

Kate in 2007

Kate's world on the Island continues to fall apart. She quickly realizes that there's something wrong with Sayid, but is then shocked when she's attacked by Claire. She had plenty of clues that something wasn't quite right with Claire, but clearly didn't expect her friend to attack her with a knife.

So we find Kate sobbing away for the second time this season. Kate's a tough woman, and to be beaten down so much is hard for her. After all, she'd been friends with Claire, and had even helped her deliver Aaron. Sayid is missing in action. And she's getting apologies from a dead man. A dead man she never really liked all that much.

I'm not sure what notLocke's game with Kate is all about, and neither is she, but she appears to be listening, especially to the part about Aaron now having a crazy mother. Sadly, it's true, and Kate doesn't look all that mollified when Claire apologizes for herself later.

Liam Pace in 2004

Did you recognize Charlie's brother as he tried to get details from uncooperative police (including Jimmy)? In our original timeline, Liam had turned into a sober family man who refused to rejoin Drive Shaft. I wonder who he is now? Clearly, a caring brother.

Miles in 2004

Is he Miles Straume or Miles Chang? I never heard nor saw any indication one way or the other. We do know that Miles' father works at a museum with Charlotte Lewis. I was really hoping for a glimpse of Pierre Chang, but no such luck. Instead, we got plenty of Miles-time. Miles is Jimmy's partner, just like in their alternative DHARMA days. One difference, though: Miles has a girlfriend, but Jimmy doesn't. So he sets up Jimmy with his father's co-worker.

In this timeline, Miles needs to know that Jimmy trusts him. He may or may not be a ghostbuster in 2004, but he definitely can tell when he's being lied to. Apparently, the best liar notLocke ever met isn't good enough to snow Miles. Maybe Miles is a lie-buster in this timeline? Either way, he investigates, and can't believe Jimmy went to Australia without telling him. Sometimes people just don't like being lied to. And when Jimmy refuses to tell Miles why he went to Australia, Miles breaks up with Jimmy. I mean, he refuses to be Jimmy's partner.

It was good to see Miles and Jimmy make up at the end of their time on the episode, and how well they worked together to capture the fleeing Kate. I think that they are back on track.

notLocke in 2007

I think it is safe to say that notLocke is not happy to have the uncrazy Sawyer and Kate in his retinue. He promises his group answers, but then stalls them in a clearing.

What did you feel as you watched notLocke console Zach and Emma? Honestly, it didn't make me squirm nearly as much as notLocke's attempt to smile at Kate.

What made notLocke send Sawyer on his recon mission? Was it Sawyer's open challenging of his authority? Did that make him realize that Sawyer's not a pawn? He confessed to Sawyer that he was "the smoke thing" that killed remaining Others at the Temple. What he didn't explain was why they had to be killed so he could leave the Island. It doesn't really make sense. Later, he thanks Sawyer for his loyalty, but I doubt he buys that Sawyer is really loyal to him. What is cool is that Sawyer is loyal to his own group, not just himself. But didn't I touch on that earlier?

notLocke interacts much more with Kate this episode. He has to, if he's going to protect her from Claire. And he promised to keep all his people safe. Whatever that means.

What it means with Kate is pure, unadulterated manipulation. And it is there that we learn a little about the creature that has taken on Locke's shape. He asks Kate, "Have you ever had an enemy? Someone you needed to hate?" I'm trying to think. Honestly, I don't think she has, unless you count her father, Wayne.

But later he tells Kate, "My mother was crazy, a very disturbed woman...Because of that I had some growing pains." He made it clear it wasn't Locke's mother by indicating this is the mother he had long before he took on Locke's shape. And because he was raised by this woman, things happened that didn't have to happen.

That takes me back to Genesis, to Rebecca, the mother of Esau and Jacob. Remember that post? Rebecca made decisions that caused her family great problems. She made her preference for Jacob obvious (in her defense, Isaac, their father, made no secret of his preference for Esau), and arranged for Jacob to steal Esau's birthright. Just thinking.

Is notLocke lying about whom he is? Well, I don't think so. Maybe I'm just thinking that because we only have 10 hours left. We had to have some mythology this week.

Sayid in 2007

While Claire's eyes retain that religious ecstasy expression, Sayid's are now just dead. His impassive face gives us no idea of what he's thinking or feeling. And impassive is a good word for him. The Sayid I know and love would never have just watched while Claire tried to kill Kate. This Sayid barely seemed to know anything was going on.

Seamus in 2007

I'm probably the only fool that caught this. Remember the guy who came out of the bushes yelling at Sawyer to fall to his knees when Zoe whistled? He's played by Frederick Koehler. He played Chip Lowell, on Kate & Allie as Allie's son in the 1980s. He's been playing thugs and teenagers ever since then. It made me happy to see him.

Zoe in 2007

Sheila Kelley plays Zoe. She had a bit of a career in the 1990s. I haven't seen her lately. Until now. She asked too many questions for anyone to assume that she was anything but a trick. It would never occur to me to ask someone how many guns they have.

A lot of people on the blogosphere are really ticked that she joined the show. Oh, my goodness! A new character at the end of the show!?! What were the producers thinking? I'm not so bothered. Widmore needs servants. What are they expecting?

Extraneous Thoughts

So, who is Widmore working with? He seemed surprised that Locke is the shape of whatever our entity is. Is he here just to kill Ben and take control of the Island? Or does he have deeper alliances? And who or what is in that locked door on the sub?

Is the Anthony Cooper that conned Jimmy's parents the same that is John Locke's father? Remember, we saw a picture of Anthony Cooper with John on John's desk at work. Does John not know that Cooper is a con man?

I noticed a bit of parallelism in the episode. Okay, it was obvious, but still. When asked if he's okay by Kate, he says no, just as Kate does minutes later when asked by notLocke. There's a lot of that going on.

We've seen Watership Down before. It was one of the books that Kate found in Sawyer's tent in Confidence Man, and now on Jimmy's chest of drawers. Ford likes to read in any timeline.

Are we moving from father issues to mother issues? Does anyone have a healthy relationship with their parents?

So, tell me what you think.

The Return of Charles Widmore

2010-03-14T18:35:00.003-05:00

Well, if Ben can return to the Island, so can Widmore, I guess. I'm a bit embarrassed that I completely forgot to say anything in my analysis of Dr. Linus about Widmore's arrival via submarine. I think that my friend Mike (hi, Mike!) put it best - the scene just interfered with our enjoyment of the beach reunion.

But we can't just ignore Widmore's return, as we know it doesn't mean anything good.

How much time has elapsed since Ben shot Desmond and Desmond beat Ben almost to a pulp? A week? How did Widmore find the Island? It seems unlikely that Eloise Hawking helped him, after her slap when he dared to compare his loss with hers. Daniel Faraday is dead. Did Widmore have plans in place already when he hovered outside the hospital? Did he know that Locke, aka Jeremy Bentham, had died?

I'm also curious about any allies that Widmore might have on the Island. Clearly, Ben is not an ally. Ben exiled Widmore off the Island (a fate worse than death?) and bears the horrible memory of Widmore's agent killing his daughter. Locke is dead.

But what about Miles? Miles was hired by Widmore for purposes still unknown to us. What was Miles supposed to do for Widmore?

Sun was also an erstwhile ally of Widmore's. Now, of course, all she wants is to find her husband. But what was she supposed to do with Widmore? What did their plans involve? Did she somehow help Widmore find the Island?

A lot of bloggers are wondering who is on the sub with Widmore. I think it is safe to say neither Eloise nor Daniel are on the sub (these were both suggested by bloggers). Maybe Aaron, Ji Yeon, and Clementine? Okay, I'm just dreaming about this one. But surely he has someone important on that sub!

In the meantime, according to Comcast's description of Recon, this week's new episode, Sawyer's back. My mother will be so happy.

Jacob's Touch

2010-03-13T15:47:00.006-06:00

In Dr. Linus, we learned from Richard that Jacob's touch brought about changes, changes that can be seen as either blessings or curses. We know that Jacob's touch made Richard never die (at least, by his own hand) and never age. It also appeared to me that Jacob's touch revived John Locke after his father pushed him out of a window eight floors above ground. We don't know if Locke would have aged, but we do know he could be killed - just ask Ben.

So, what are the rules of this touch? Are there rules? Clearly, some who are touched by Jacob can age, or else Kate and James Ford would be the oldest children ever. Actually, I can hear some of you say that Kate is a child, but you know what I mean. We know that those who have been touched by Jacob can be "claimed" or "infected", as we saw with Sayid.

Can Sayid, Jin, Sun, Jack, and Hurley age? Is it possible that they will never die? Or can they never die until Jacob or the Island is done with them?

Is it Jacob's touch that makes a Candidate? notLocke seems to think so. If so, then Kate is surely a Candidate, as are both Kwons. Is it the touch that makes the Candidate worthy? Or is it just an acknowledgment of their worthiness? Or perhaps the touch is just to make the Candidate safe?

And what about Ben? I don't remember this, but apparently, Jacob actually touched Ben as Ben stabbed him to death. Did this touch pass on to Ben any of the qualities we're looking at? Could it have possibly turned him into a Candidate? Wouldn't that be funny?

We have to adjust to the fact that not all questions will be answered, but I sincerely hope that we get answers to some of these questions. It might help explain why these people were brought together to the Island.

Dr. Linus

2010-03-10T18:38:00.003-06:00

Before I forget, I must express concern for my poor mother. She has had to suffer for three full weeks of a lack of Sawyer. I must admit, I'm missing some James Ford too.

A lack of Sawyer aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this week's episode. Even if it wasn't the best of the Ben-centric episodes, a Ben episode in Lost is one of the best ever to be seen. Ben in the sideways world has a Ph.D in European history and teaches high school. The one class we see him teaching focuses on Napoleon - not his wars or his impact on the law, but his exile on the island of Elba. Ben was telling his rapt students that on Elba, Napoleon faced his greatest challenge - not his exile, but his loss of power. Indeed, Napoleon "might just as well have been dead."

Power, the loss of power, on an island was certainly the theme of tonight's episode, in both timelines. Though I'm taking the metaphor of a school is an island perhaps too far.

Dr. Linus in 2004

Ben is a frustrated teacher. His principal clearly doesn't appreciate him and is stingy on supplies and ways to improve his school. Principal Reynolds is so disrespectful to Ben that he only calls him Linus, not Dr. Linus. But worse than that, he tells Ben that history club, with its five members, isn't for the students but to make Ben feel needed - not a good enough reason for Ben to get out of staffing detention for the week.

Ben's complaining with his best friend at work - Leslie Arzt - about how the principal just doesn't care about the students when he's interrupted by John Locke, suggesting that perhaps Ben should become principal. Who would listen to Ben? Well, John's listening.

I must have nearly fallen out of my chair when I saw who lives with Ben. I was hoping for Annie, but his dad was really cool. Apparently Roger lived just as unhealthy a life in the sideways timeline as he did on the Island. Perhaps Roger's vice here was cigarettes, as we watched a solicitous Ben trade out one oxygen canister for another (here he gasses his father for his health; on the Island, it was to kill). Ben clearly cares for his father, and his father clearly cares for him. As Ben speaks of his frustration with his position, finally noting, "Maybe I'm more of a loser than any of them (the students in detention)", Roger looks wistful: "This isn't what I wanted for you, Ben." That doesn't sound anything like the Roger we knew and ... well, I can't say loved. But then the other shoe drops - this pair had been to the Island in the DHARMA Initiative. And for reasons unknown, they left, clearly before it sank. And Roger believes that Ben could have been so much more had they stayed: "Who knows what you would have become?" Well, Roger, if his father on the Island had been as good as you, maybe he wouldn't have become the power-hungry killer he turned out to be.

Then we meet one of Ben's students, a bright young thing named Alexandra Rousseau. Apparently, she is one of Ben's most promising students, but her mother works two jobs and can't afford to send Alex to the college of the girl's dreams - Yale. However, Principal Reynolds is a grad (he didn't get far himself, now did he?), and a letter of recommendation from him would be worth gold. Ben clearly cares about Alex, and wants her to do well. But it's not until we see Dr. Linus' attempt at blackmail that we realize how much. Yes, the principal has engaged in an extramarital affair on school property. But, he quickly regains the upper hand. Reynolds can resign and suggest Linus as his replacement, or Reynolds can write a glowing letter of recommendation for Alex.

Lost tricks us into thinking that Ben chose power over Alex, but instead, Ben changes what he wants. Alex gets the best letter of recommendation she could have gotten, and Ben gets out of detention. Off the Island, Ben finally does what the on-Island Ben failed to do, pick a person over his own aggrandizement. Yes, he's still a frustrated teacher, but now he knows he's done the right thing.

Yes, yes, Principal Reynolds really had nothing to hold over Ben's head. All Ben had to do was wait until after the letter was written and then use those incriminating e-mails to oust the principal. I know it was a weak point in the writing. Suspend disbelief, however. It is a symbolic victory in the character of Ben Linus.

Ben in 2007

Ben tries to sustain the lie - he works very hard, though not very convincingly, to convince everyone that notLocke killed Jacob and Miles is lying. But Ilana is having nothing of it, rebuffing Ben's first attempts to "make nice" and then forcing him to dig his own grave.

I think there is no crueler torture than to force someone to dig his own grave. He tries to do it slowly, and tries to bribe Miles into releasing him, but nothing works. He even learns from Miles that Jacob did care about Ben, and had hoped that Ben would do the right thing up to the second that Ben stabbed Jacob. Ilana interferes. Keep digging Ben. So he does.

But then the tell-tale sound of the Smoke Monster, and sure enough, notLocke shows up. And he offers Ben not just freedom, but what Ben has spent decades seeking - leadership over the Island. Claire is offered a reunion with her son, Sayid a reunion with Nadia, and Ben power on the Island. notLocke knows his people.

Except he doesn't. Ben is far more complicated than that. He wants power, or he did, but he also wanted his leadership to have meaning, he wanted Jacob to find him special, and more importantly, there is Alex.

And we became witness to one of the two best scenes of the night, if not of the season so far. Holding Ilana at gunpoint, not killing her, he tells her that he knows just what she's feeling.

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.

He tells Ilana that he wants to join notLocke "because he's the only one that will have me." And suddenly Ben hears something that he had been desperate to hear from Jacob for so many years, "I'll have you."

First, here's Michael Emerson's Emmy nomination reel. The expression on Ben's face as he registered what Ilana was offering him, and as he took his gun, following her back to the beach, told novels of what is going on inside Ben. I do think that Emerson could read the phone book and make it compelling. This was masterful.

So why did Ben follow Ilana instead of going to the Hydra Island? I honestly think it was those three little words: I'll have you. Three seemingly simple words filled with power and hope for Ben. If Jacob's bodyguard could forgive Ben for killing someone who was like a father to her, then perhaps Jacob could have forgiven him, and perhaps he can forgive himself. Perhaps there's hope for Ben yet.

Alex in 2004

Of course, Alex is not Ben's daughter in this timeline, because the Other-in-training never kidnapped her from her mother. Instead, she lives in LA (as does everyone it seems) and is a student at the same school where Ben teaches. She's a student of great promise and dreams of Yale, but her mother is poor and has to work two jobs to make ends meet. I guess life isn't easy for Danielle in either timeline. She's also disgusted by the thought of a principal having sex with a nurse. As a typical teen, perhaps she should hook up with David Shephard?

Frank Lapidus in 2007

After wryly noting that Ben doesn't make friends easily, Frank spends his time on the beach building a fire. He reveals that he had been scheduled to pilot Oceanic 815, but overslept (is that another word for "had a hangover?"). He then wonders, "Imagine how different my life would be had that alarm gone off." Ben points out, "How different would it have been? The Island still got you in the end. Didn't it?"

Hurley in 2007

I have never dreamed of cheese curds, but I guess it is not surprising that Hurley would. I got the feeling that Hurley had fallen asleep while Jack stared out into the ocean, and this was the first communication between the two of them since the end of The Lighthouse. So I understood why Hurley didn't just come out and tell Jack they shouldn't return to the Temple. But he's such a bad liar. Oh, Hurley.

Hurley's great moment came while quizzing Richard on his agelessness. "Are you a cyborg? A vampire?" Sadly, Richard sidesteps all Hurley's questions. All we really get is that Jacob touched Richard, and thus, Richard is ageless. But now, Richard wants to die. Hurley wants nothing of it, and seems shocked as he watches Jack seemingly help Richard with his plan. When he realizes that Jack is staying with Richard, Hurley turns to leave, "I'll be about a mile away."

How pleasant to see Hurley return to the beach, reuniting with Sun and Miles. His hug with Miles just about made my night. Go Hurley!

Ilana in 2007

Jacob's body guard is now the protectoress of the six remaining candidates for Jacob's replacement. She finally forces the issue of just who killed Jacob, and asks Miles to do his thing. When it is revealed that Ben was indeed the murderer, her face said it all, but her words drove them home, "Jacob is the closest thing I ever had to a father."

Once on the beach, she forces Ben to dig his grave. She follows Ben when he escapes. notLocke had said she wouldn't hesitate to shoot Ben, but I think she does. And when Ben confesses, and apologizes, she accepts. She lets Ben return to the beach with her, as one of her group.

We still don't know this woman very much, and I don't know that we ever really will. But I do think that Ben made a mistake in lying to Ilana in the first place. I understand why he did lie, but it hurt him in the long run, clearly. I think all she needed to hear from Ben was the truth, the whole truth, something he is rarely capable of doing. My affection for Ilana grew when she accepted Ben into her group. And it made me really feel for her as she sobbed over Jacob's ashes.

Jack in 2007

Who is this guy and what did he do with Jack? Finally, the man of action and science has melded with the man of faith. And he's finally asking questions like he should (though he's not always good with the follow ups - I guess he's taking baby-steps). When he lit the dynamite for Richard, I was curious, but then he sits down as the lit fuse heads to explosion, "Now, let's talk."

Unfortunately, the talk is more about Jack than getting answers out of Richard, but we learn a lot. So much so, that this is the second great scene of the episode. First, Jacob, unlike notLocke, knows his candidates. notLocke thought Ben wants power over the Island. But as Jacob knew, Jack learning that Jacob has watched him all these years brought a new clarity to his purpose on the Island. And Jack knows it is not to be blown up in The Black Rock. As the fuse gets closer to the dynamite, Jack closes his eyes. The fuse, of course, goes out. Just as Jack knew it would.

So Jack leads Hurley and Richard back to the beach, where he is reunited with Sun, Lapidus, Miles, Ilana, and Ben. Hugs and handshakes, and then Jack takes a measuring look at Ben. What is he thinking? Is he remembering beating him up after Ben ordered Mr. Friendly to kill Sayid, Jin, and Bernard? Or is he remembering that he refused to operate on the 12-year-old Ben? Whatever, it is certainly an understandable stance.

The only thing that annoyed me about Jack this week was his own annoyance at Hurley's stalling. He finds it irritating that Hurley is clearly stalling returning to the Temple. Why didn't he just come out and ask Hurley why? It's not until Richard explains that all at the Temple are dead that Jack realizes Hurley knew.

Leslie Arzt in 2004

I guess we'll never get rid of this man, will we? Didn't he die in the first season? He's the gift that keeps on giving. However, it was pleasant to watch Ben and Arzt interact in their nerdy ways. Ben on the Island was extremely friendless (well deserved, mind you). But in the sideways timeline, he has a friend and confidant. And if someone asked me to break into someone's e-mail account, I think I'd ask for something better than a parking spot. I'm just saying.

Miles in 2007

How nice to get more Miles again! I guess Ken Leung didn't have a secret DUI after all. Miles gets to do his "hearing the dead mojo", not just once but twice. At first he taunts Ben with his "uh oh" after Ilana finds out Ben killed Jacob, but he's also nice to Ben, offering him food. However, Ben's bribe is pointless to Miles at this point, since he knows where a cache of diamonds are buried.

After Ben rejoins the group, we see Miles pondering a big diamond. I wasn't as bothered by that as some others on the blogs were. Yes, Miles has changed a lot in the past three years, but he's still Miles, and it's not like Nikki and Paolo need the diamonds anymore. What I think the commentators missed was something that made me almost laugh with joy. Did you see the hug Miles gave Hurley? Now, that is progress for Miles.

notLocke in 2007

Yes, John Locke showed up in 2004, and it was really cool when he told Ben that he was listening to him. But his one scene was more about Ben than John. However, notLocke's appearance was more substantial. I am convinced that he released Ben not because he wanted Ben to take over leadership of the Island once notLocke left but because he wanted Ben to kill Ilana. He warns Ben not to hesitate because Ilana certainly wouldn't (though I think she did). But notLocke misjudges his man. Ben didn't want to kill Ilana, he wanted atonement.

Richard Alpert in 2007

I thought that Richard was running like a rabbit in the jungle to escape from notLocke, but I guess he was also running from himself, and his own despair that now that Jacob is dead, his own long-lived life was pointless. Like Ben, this belief was devastating.

Instead of just telling Jack and Hurley about the events of the Temple, Richard takes them to The Black Rock. He handles some chains (perhaps the ones that once imprisoned him?), then manhandles some dynamite. It turns out that Jacob's touch has prevented Richard from killing himself. However, someone else can do it for him. Unfortunately for him, Jack has a plan for Richard as well. So he follows Jack with Hurley to the beach. More to come, I'm sure.

Sun in 2007

Sun continues to ask all the questions and focus on Jin. Nothing much else for her to do right now. She asks Ilana a bunch of questions, and who can blame her? She or Jin are candidates? For what? And what does replacing Jacob mean?

But at the end of the episode, her joy is palpable as she is reunited with Hurley and Jack. Of course she hugs Hurley, but it is nice to see her hug Jack too. She and Jack had not left on very good terms last season.

On a side note, I was really happy to see William Atherton as the ruthless Principal Reynolds. I understand that Atherton has been in tons of movies, but I know him from the mini-series (24 hours worth of mini-series) Centennial, which aired in 1978-79. He played such a nice character. I think it may have been the only time he's ever played a nice character. Oh,well.

So, any thoughts?

Sawyer and Sayid

2010-03-08T19:50:00.003-06:00

I'm having a hard time adjusting to the fact that Lost is now on Tuesday nights and not Wednesdays. Normally, I'm pretty flexible, but this change in days has me quite confused.

Tomorrow night's episode will apparently focus on one of my favorites, Benjamin Linus, perhaps a Dr. Linus in another timeline, but I had a few thoughts I wanted to share.

When Lost started, Sayid was a man of morals who did bad things and Sawyer was just a selfish con man. Sawyer's morals were all survival and his own economic gain. If he participated in group activities, you could be sure that there was some kind of ulterior motive. Now, you could argue that sometimes Sawyer acted selfishly after being treated with disregard by his fellow survivors. But remember The Long Con? In that second season episode, Sawyer worked with Charlie to convince Kate that Jack and Ana Lucia pretended to kidnap Sun to force everyone to join an army against the Others. It ended with Sawyer taking control of the guns and medications. When Charlie asked Sawyer why he did this, he responded, "I'm not a good person, Charlie. Never did a good thing in my life." After watching him that episode, it was hard to disagree.

Sayid, on the other hand, always tried to help the group. Even when he was engaging in some terrible behaviors (say, torturing Sawyer in the first season and "Henry Gale" in the second season), you knew it was to gather information, not for some selfish purpose. He kept a bonfire burning in hopes it would be seen by rescuers, helped Hurley set up a date with Libby, and prevented Jack from killing Locke. Sayid was so shaken by Naomi's death that he insisted her body be taken to the freighter for appropriate disposal later. He seemed such a good man.

But in the fourth season, things changed, starting with Sayid. We learned that Sayid became a hitman for, of all people, Ben Linus. Finally, in the fifth season, we saw Sayid shoot to kill a 12-year-old boy because of who the boy would grow up to be.

In the meantime, the fifth season saw a sea change in Sawyer. After Locke left the Island, he took a leadership role, and though he did develop a pretty complicated con, it was for the purpose of preventing their exile from the Island. And though Sawyer now believes his desire to keep Juliet on the Island was selfish, he found himself falling in love with her. Sawyer met the boy Ben in the DHARMA Initiative, but never tried to prevent the boy from growing up to be Ben Linus. Instead, he was just as shocked as Juliet and Kate after Sayid shot Ben. And somewhat dismayed when Sayid returned to life after dying.

Both Sayid and Sawyer are brilliantly developed and acted characters, and the past two seasons have seen them both grow and change tremendously. I would not follow either man for moral reasoning. Well, I take that back. I'd ask Sayid (prior to his "resurrection") for moral guidance, but I'd be more likely to do what Sawyer does. They've switched, with the only difference that Sayid desperately believes that he is a good man.

We don't know how Sayid's world views have changed now that he's bat-shit crazy. He just knows it's too late for him. But I'm not really sure what that means.

We had no idea last week where James was while notLocke and Claire planned and executed their destruction of the Temple. I assumed that he had been left behind to take care of Jin, but that is just an assumption. I hope that he is not on his way to becoming bat-shit crazy, simply because I'm having a hard time adjusting to the two we have. But perhaps Saywer and Jin are both safe from infection. Perhaps you have to be a candidate (such as Claire and Sayid) who has been killed (I still suspect that Claire was killed when her barracks-house was bombed). notLocke can then resurrect them, but has left his mark on them.

That's my theory. And I'm totally psyched for tomorrow night.

Sundown

2010-03-03T19:26:00.002-06:00

Oh, Sayid. Why are you giving me two difficult seasons in a row? Don't you know that I've been in your corner for forever? And how do you reward me? Death, destruction, and now madness. Let's get to it.

Sayid in 2004

One of the differences between this new 2004 and the original 2004 is that Sayid now has an Iranian passport, not an Iraqi one. I didn't pick up on that myself. We saw other differences in Sundown. Still deeply in love with Nadia, he pushed her into his brother's arms, and now plays an active role as Uncle Sayid. Why didn't he marry Nadia when he clearly could have? Because he couldn't forget the things he had done twelve years ago in Iraq - he didn't deserve her.

Omer, Sayid's brother, apparently couldn't forget what Sayid had done in the past either, wanting Sayid to use those skills to get him out of a dangerous relationship with a loan shark. But Sayid was having nothing of it, even to help Nadia, noting, "I'm not that man anymore."

He almost turned into that man when Omer is "mugged" outside one of his dry cleaning stores, but he didn't, swayed by Nadia's plea. But, as always, with Sayid, events happen, and while essentially kidnapped by Keamy (now a loan shark) and his henchmen, he uses his skills to protect himself. Perhaps shocking, but I'm not so sure, was his cold-blooded shooting of Keamy. Should Sayid have not killed him? Would Keamy have really left Omer alone?

This is the first sideways where we didn't see or meet an Other. Instead, it was Sayid's brother, Omer, who we met when he couldn't kill a chicken, Nadia, and the mercenary Keamy. And what a surprise to find Jin in Keamy's refrigerator. Did this have something to do with a bunch of cash in a suitcase?

Sayid in 2007

Well, Sayid started out righteously angry and ended up bat-shit crazy. Yes, bat-shit crazy is an extremely technical term, and I'm sure it will be included in the next DSM. Hearing from Jack that Dogen wanted Sayid to take a poison pill inspired Sayid to confront Dogen. But how frustrating that he accepted Dogen's answers, which consisted of vague comments on how Sayid's scale tipped toward evil. Sayid insisted, "You don't know me...I'm a good man." I guess that he's trying to convince himself. Dogen was clearly unconvinced, as he then attacked Sayid, and the battle between the Iraqi soldier and the Samarai commenced. A lot of people on the blogs really liked this fight. Dogen finally got the upper hand, but his baseball falling to the floor seemed to stop him from killing Sayid. Instead, he banished Sayid.

But Claire's announcement that "he" wanted to talk with Dogen changed everything. Did Sayid want to prove that he's good? All he had to do is stab the man who walked in the body of someone he knows who has died. But he must do so before the man speaks.

I watched Sayid in the jungle as he was surrounded by the smoke monster - it felt similar to when he heard the voices in the jungle after escaping from Rousseau. Was it his fault that notLocke said, "Hello, Sayid" before Sayid could stab him? It's not like Sayid was just sitting back, tapping his fingers. But nothing happened, not even a drop of blood oozed out.

Is this when Sayid changed? Is this when the infection took over his heart? By the end of the episode, he was clearly claimed, is this when it happened? Was it when he agreed to deliver notLocke's message in return for the life of Nadia? We know from Miles that Sayid was dead for two hours - and Miles would know - before he returned to life. Was it notLocke who resurrected him? It clearly isn't Jacob reincarnating as Sayid.

Sayid delivered notLocke's message to the Others, and the Others quickly divided into two teams - those who would join notLocke at sundown, and those who chose to die in the Temple (they were warned, after all). In the meantime, Sayid told Miles he had to return Dogen's sword to him. I assumed Dogen was going to end up with a sword in his gut.

Instead, we saw a warm heart-to-heart. Why did you try to get other people to kill me, but fail to do so when you had the opportunity? Dogen told Sayid how he ended up on the Island, after his son was mortally injured because Dogen was driving drunk. But Jacob, like notLocke, drives a hard bargain - Jacob would save the boy, but Dogen could never see his son again. Kind of like when he saved Rachel, Juliet's sister, who was never seen by Juliet again! When Dogen noted that it was sundown and asked what Sayid planned to do, I thought maybe Dogen's story touched Sayid when he said he'd stay. But Sayid immediately sprang into violence (his ability to do that is quite intimidating), shoving Dogen's head under the waters, just as Dogen had shoved Sayid's head under the water earlier. Then we learned that Dogen was all that was keeping notLocke out. A dead Dogen was all notLocke needed. The interpreter protested Sayid's actions, but then was killed for his troubles. Good-bye gentlemen. Nice knowing you.

It was clear Sayid was lost at this point. Presumably he was lost in the sideways 2004 as well. Ben tried to tell Sayid there was time to escape, but Sayid noted, "Not for me." Ben's expression told us he knew exactly what was going on with Sayid, and that it ain't pretty.

Finally, the scene with all the religious symbolism. Sayid, followed by Claire and Kate, wonders through the Temple yard amongst the dead bodies of the slain Others, and even a burning cross, with a look of ecstasy on his face. He passes through the doors, and joins notLocke. He is happy, and he is gone. Sayid is bat-shit crazy.

Ben in 2007

So, Ben followed Ilana to the Temple, and was quite the helpful boy scout, volunteering to find Sayid. I guess Ben still doesn't know that Sayid tried to kill him in 1977. But Ben certainly recognized whatever demon is in Sayid, slowly backing out of the room in fear. I guess maybe the Temple didn't turn him bat-shit crazy all those years ago.

Claire in 2007

Sayid is not the only one who is bat-shit crazy. She seemed almost normal in her conversation with notLocke - even seemed concerned about the Others that might be hurt by notLocke. After delivering notLocke's message, she spent her time in a pit in the Temple singing "Catch a Falling Star." This is the song Claire had wanted Aaron's adopted parents to sing to him.

It seemed to take Claire a minute to recognize Kate, but not long to understand Kate's message - Kate raised Aaron. I doubt she heard much of what else Kate tried to tell her, but as Kate was dragged away, Claire yelled out, "He's coming and they can't stop him."

Kate still didn't know that Claire is bat-shit crazy when she ran to rescue Claire from notLocke's attack. But Claire didn't need saving, at least, not from imminent death. Claire joined her fellow devotee with a similar ecstatic look in her eyes. She knows that notLocke's going to reunite her with Aaron. In the meantime, if I were Kate, I'd watch my back.

Dogen in 2007

Well, I was really getting into the hang of Dogen, so I'm a little surprised that he's now gone. What was the point of having him around again? Granted, he kept trying to get Sayid killed, but I was actually starting to like him. Oh, well.

Ilana in 2007

We still don't know a lot about Ilana, but she clearly knows a lot about the Temple. Only able to collect Miles from the survivors, she quickly saves her small group from notLocke.

Kate in 2007

I guess Kate changed her mind about searching for Claire in the jungle. It's kind of ironic that she found Claire in the very place she had determined to avoid. Using her finely honed people skills, she forced Dogen's interpreter to take her to Claire. Sadly, I don't think that Kate could see that Claire is bat-shit crazy, so I doubt she realizes that her life is in danger. It will be interesting to see her as she follows notLocke. I assume she is doing so as part of her pledge to reunite Claire with Aaron.

Martin Keamy in 2004

So, Keamy's a scary guy in any timeline. Why does't that surprise me? It took me a second to figure out who he was, as he talked about cooking eggs. The first time Keamy met Sayid, Sayid didn't succeed in killing him, but he did this time. But I'm guessing since we found Jin in the kitchen we'll be seeing Keamy again.

Miles in 2007

Wow, we finally get some Miles-time! Yeah! Granted, all he did was give information to various Oceanic survivors, but even that is better than the non-Miles we had.

I was a little frustrated when Miles told Sayid about how he died and was brought back to life without the help of the Others. Did Miles not see more than what we saw? Why didn't he say anything about it? Argh!

No Hurley this week, so we only had Miles to count on for humor. And he provided some, when Kate asked what was going on. He told Kate about Claire's entrance in the Temple, noting that while she was acting weird, she's "still hot though." Oh, Miles, we can always count on you.

But I was surprised by his empathic response to Kate about Sawyer though. His relationship with Sawyer was stronger than I would ever have thought it.

notLocke in 2007

According to Dogen, the entity wearing the looks of Locke is evil incarnate. And he certainly seemed so in this episode. Did he recognize that Sayid was infected? Either way, he manipulated Sayid with the skill of Ben Linus. And then he murdered every Other that remained in the Temple at sundown. That was one of the scariest scenes in Lost, even if some of the special effects weren't very special. I don't think he is happy that Kate is one of his followers, but he didn't turn her away either.

Sun in 2007

Sun, following Ilana, learns that Jin is not only alive, but also in her decade. That's all we saw of her.

I'll write more on theories tomorrow night, as it is late tonight. It's a little sad that Sayid has been pigeon-holed as the ruthless killer. I'm not sure that he's been all that different from Mr. Eko. But those are thoughts for further speculation.

In the meantime, post your thoughts!

Terry O'Quinn is Shopping Around a New Show with Michael Emerson

2010-02-25T21:28:00.000-06:00

Terry O'Quinn is Shopping Around a New Show with Michael Emerson

With the right vehicle, it could be great! I love these two actors together. Now all we need is a show with Ken Leung and Jorge Garcia.

Lighthouse

2010-02-25T19:19:00.004-06:00

I apologize for being a day later in posting than I like to be. Last night I just didn't feel good enough to actually put any thoughts to blog. But I'm better now, and here goes:

Perhaps I would have been more likely to write had I been blown away by the episode, but I wasn't. I must confess that I have a prejudice against the tried and trite typical troubled television teenager. And what else could be said about David Shephard other than that when we first met him? That may have blinded my impressions of the show and kept me from enjoying it as much as I would have normally. But I've thought about it, and I get where the episode was trying to go, and I think it mostly got there.

Jack in 2004

It wasn't surprising to hear Jack's conversation with his neurotic mother on the phone, but it was surprising when he drove to pick his son up at school. It's clear the relationship between the two is as strained as Jack's relationship with his own father, but it's not clear why. Even when David explains that his father was just too into his piano playing, it just seemed odd. But it's clear Jack cares about his son and wants to be closer. He's startled when his mother, seemingly self-centered, notes that David might be as terrified of Jack as Jack was of Christian. And so it was. Jack was also told he didn't have what it takes, and David was afraid of letting his father down. Jack saves the day, telling his son he'll love him no matter what. At last, Jack gets something right.

Did it seem to you that Jack just noticed that he has an appendectomy scar? According to his mother, he had the surgery as a boy. Or a man when marooned on an Island. Whichever. He also seemed to recognize Claire's name when his mother asked about her. And are the Others just all over the place or what? Lastly, unless the new timeline had Jack and Sarah meet at a different time, I doubt she is the mother of David. Sarah had the accident that led to her meeting Jack in approximately 2001, way too late to become the mother of a 16-year-old. Maybe Jack's meeting Sarah broke up his marriage with David's mother? And did you notice Jack turning down a drink?

Jack in 2007

Jack in 2007 was far more interesting than he was in 2004 - to me. I was actually impressed when Jack told Sayid about the infection - I presume he also told Sayid about Claire, but if so, we didn't see it.

But Jack's story this week was intertwined with Hurley's attempt to get Jack to do something. Of course Jack refused to go with Hugo, but Jacob's magic words, "You have what it takes", changed his mind.

Jack has one goal in following Hurley - to talk to Jacob. Even knowing that Jacob is dead. And why did Jack want to see Jacob? Perhaps his answer to Hurley about why he returned to the Island might shed some light on this: "I came back here because I was broken, and I was stupid enought to think this place could fix me." As bitter as he sounds, I think he's still hoping for some healing. And someone who cares enough to say, "You have what it takes", the opposite of what his father always told him, might have what it takes to either be healed or heal himself.

But Jacob is a no show - after all, Hurley and Miles are the only ones able to communicate with the dead. And in helping Hurley set the compass (or whatever) to 108 degrees, Jack sees his name at 23 degrees, and insists that they move the whatever it was to 23 degrees. And is horrified to see his childhood home. "What does he want from me?" Jack then does what Jack does best (just ask Sawyer) - he reacts, and destroys the mirror.

But Jacob's okay with that. As he and Hurley watch Jack stare out into the ocean, Jacob acknowledges that he wanted Jack to see what was in the mirror. "It was the only way for him to understand how important he is." I assume we'll see how Jack takes to that lesson later.

Hurley in 2007

Hurley was certainly my favorite part of the whole episode. At last, we got to spend time with him, and how delightful it was! Unlike all the other characters, Hurley actually asks questions, and he's become strong enough to stand up for himself, to Dogen and Jack (both with Jacob's help), and even to Jacob.

Hurley's showdown with Dogen was classic. "I'm a candidate and I can do whatever I want." He almost said it with conviction too. He clearly didn't believe Jacob, as noted when he said, "I just lied to a samarai." Then Hurley's initial attempt to get Jack to accompany him, "Be cool, man. Act natural." Oh, Hurley, you could never work for the CIA, could you?

Hurley again spoke for the audience as he and Jack surveyed the caves where they had stayed so long ago. Gazing at the skeletons, Hurley wonders, "What if these skeletons are us?" Maybe they are Hurley, maybe they are.

Otherwise, he's an unwilling witness to Jack learning a lesson. After confronting Jacob, he suddenly realized, "Did you want Jack to see what was in that mirror?" Well, yes, Hurley, because while you can be convinced during a short cab ride, Jack needs to internalize. He's slower than you are.

Claire in 2007

Wow, wacko Claire! With unpretty, dirty hair. She's got a crib with some kind of animal skin baby, and barely a shelter to call home. She clearly recognizes Jin, and takes good care of his wounds, but her eyes and her words indicate that she's far more disturbed than Danielle Rousseau ever thought of being. Convinced by her father and her friend that the Others are keeping Aaron from her, she decides to torture the surviving Other. She almost stops when Jin tells her that Kate has Aaron, but whack! the Other is killed in the most shocking scene of the night. Oh, Claire, what has happened to you these past three years?

It's a good thing that Jin changed his story about who has Aaron, because, "If Kate were raising Aaron, I'd have to kill her." Why, Claire? After all, you're the one who disappeared, leaving Aaron with Sawyer and Miles. When notLocke walks into her shelter, she tells Jin, "This isn't John, this is my friend." And that ain't good.

Dogen in 2004

It seemed like every time we turned around in The Substitute we saw someone we knew. Not so this week, which focused almost exclusively on Jack's family. Instead, the only familiar face we saw was Dogen, the father of another pianist auditioning for a spot at a conservatory. These kids are under too much pressure, right?

Dogen in 2007

We never saw Dogen's interpreter this time, even when he confronted Hurley about trying to escape. He and Jack have a leader-to-leader moment of honesty, and proves his intentions to keep Jack and Hurley at the Temple. But even he was powerless in the face of Hurley's candidacy. A Japanese threat ensued, and Dogen was seen no more.

Jacob in 2007

I must admit that I thoroughly enjoy Jacob, and I love his interactions with Hurley. I don't love how he was manipulative of Hurley, though given the way Hurley can't tell a lie well, I can understand why he did. I look forward to more Jacob in later episodes.

Jin in 2007

Jin again gets more lines in one episode than he ever did last season combined. Daniel Dae Kim did an excellent job of showing Jin's growing concern turn to outright fear as he watched the once sweet Claire murder a man for essentially nothing. With the evidence before him, he must have decided that Claire needs to go to the Temple. This makes me a little nervous - what is your endgame on this one, Jin?

Kate in 2007

Kate gets a small role this episode, nearly shooting Jack when he startles her in the jungle. For the first time ever, she doesn't follow Jack and Hurley. Heck, maybe she didn't join them because she was invited. Who knows with Kate? Instead, she's going to find Claire, because, after all, that should be easy. She's warned, however, that Claire might be changed, but she doesn't appear to take this as seriously as she perhaps should.

Miles in 2007

We saw Miles play tic-tac-toe with Hurley. It's a boring game when it always ends in a tie. That's it. I saw in another blog and I must repeat, did Ken Leung have a DUI that we don't know about? Because we're clearly not getting enough Miles-time.

Sayid in 2007

Like Miles, Sayid gets one scene, but at least he got some lines. Apparently all the Others know that Sayid is infected, and their stares are making him uncomfortable. Imagine that.

Theories

Compare and contrast Jacob's interactions with Hurley as opposed to what we learned about notLocke's interactions with Claire. Both lied to one of our heroes, both manipulate, both are mysterious. But Jacob lacks the sinister air that follows notLocke. And while Jacob's lie to Hurley helped Jack realize his importance, notLocke's lies to Claire only seemed to result in dead Others. After Lighthouse, I feel a little more clear on whether Jacob is good and whether notLocke is evil. The details of their conflict, of course, are still a mystery.

The numbers attached to our heroes returned again. I didn't discuss them much last week, partially because I found notLocke's explanation for them unsatisfying, "Jacob likes numbers" indeed. At first, I thought that the numbers were inconsistent, but no, Jack was 23 on the cavern wall and 23 on the compass thingie. I still have no idea what, if anything, they mean.

It doesn't help that I don't keep up with the numbers. I seen some rumblings on other blogs from people who do keep up with the numbers that they are different in the 2004 flash sideways. That would be interesting to explore.

Jack's issues with his father ran rampant through this episode, with Jack in one timeline confronted with his son's fear of disappointing Jack, and Jacob telling Jack that he does have what it takes. Jack's father issues have always gotten in his way, and perhaps being confronted with seeing the mirror version of his childhood home and hearing he is competent, in combination with developing a better relationship with his son than his father ever did with Jack, will help heal him enough that he can do whatever it is that Jacob needs him to do.

A lot of through the looking glass in this episode, with Jack again staring at himself in a mirror to find an unexpected wound or scar on his body. Staring at his childhood home in the mirror (or whatever) in the lighthouse. And how great that the key to David's home was under a rabbit?

I'll be curious to see what y'all think!

Theories about The Incident

2010-02-22T21:04:00.002-06:00

Well, it's the night before another episode of Lost (I didn't need Brian to remind me this time), and I thought I'd post a few comments and thoughts.

I've read all the comments left after my post on The Substitute, and it sparked some thoughts. I ran them by Brian today (hi, Brian!), because I knew it would help my thoughts crystallize into an almost coherent idea.

First, I've been thinking of the Incident as the event when the DHARMA Initiative found the electromagnetic mess that required the buttons to be pressed every 108 minutes and Juliet caused Jughead to explode. But I think the Incident actually is a combination of events from 1977 and 2007: the explosion of Jughead and the murder of Jacob. I think that those two events make up the Incident.

I have no idea why it created the two sideways of time, but somehow it has. Or perhaps it was the touch of Jacob that changed things. And that's what I think happened in the Incident - things changed. I wondered as I drove home if our people on the Oceanic 815 have been stuck in some sort of Moebius loop - one of the loops that never ends and never begins. But something is different on this loop, either Jughead or Jacob's touch.

Something Brian said today made me wonder when Jacob started touching our people. The only two he touched as children were James and Kate. According to Lostpedia (I have to trust it - I don't have time to watch all the episodes myself to figure out these details), Jacob visited James in 1976, and Kate in the early 1980s. In other words, Jacob touched the young James while the adult LaFleur was striking fear in the hearts of DHARMA security on the Island. Did Jacob figure out a way to stop the loop? Or to save the Island?

Or, does the murder of Jacob mean that no one was touched, and no candidates were around to save the Island? So, at some point, it sank in the ocean?

I don't know. As you can tell, my thoughts are still quite nebulous, and I am perfectly aware that events in tomorrow night's episode may change all my theories. I believe in being adaptable.

Before I sign off, I want to thank everyone for not pointing out the obvious last week - John Locke is a substitute [teacher] in 2004. Hence, the title. Right?

The Substitute

2010-02-17T18:34:00.003-06:00

You know, I was once asked in an interview, "If you were a candle, what part would you be?" I didn't get the job. I'm glad I didn't get the job.

John Locke's interview with Lynn Karnoff was amusing on several levels, but sadly, I only picked up on the obvious. But thank goodness for the internet, because I learned that Lynn Karnoff in a different timeline was hired by Hurley's father in Tricia Tanaka is Dead to convince Hurley that she can erase the curse from the numbers. Hurley figured it out and stormed out. Pretty funny, hunh?

I thought this was a fabulous episode, but then aren't all John Locke-centric episodes? Here are some thoughts:

John Locke in 2004

Rose sees John as in denial over his paralysis, but I believe that he is actually bordering between denial and anger. He is angry at anyone who might hint that he can't do what he wants to do. He refuses to park in the handicapped spot at work, even though it would give his van room to open with his wheelchair ramp. He tries to get off the broken wheelchair ramp, even though Helen was inside and could have helped.

And who wasn't surprised when Helen just popped out of the house to help John? They're engaged? The wedding is in a month? And John's father is on the invite list? Is this the same Anthony Cooper we know and hate? Or is this a foster father perhaps? If it is Cooper, did he not con his son out of a kidney and push his son out a window to paralyze him? I guess we'll learn that answer later. Hopefully.

But Helen was a welcome surprise. She had left John because of his obsession with his father. I guess if John wasn't obsessed with his con artist father, then there's no reason for Helen to dump John.

But there's still trouble in paradise. John lies to Helen (just like he does to his boss) about the walkabout. He doesn't tell her he'd been fired immediately. But he faces up to his lies, and it seems the lies are all related to his anger at his paralysis, and his lack of hope in a miracle leading to his walking again.

In this timeline, John doesn't believe in destiny or miracles. And somehow, that just seems sad. It's Helen who thinks it's destiny that John met a spinal surgery. John thinks it's just a dream. But the wedding is still on, and Helen shows how much she loves John. I think they make a good couple.

John Locke in 2007

Locke is finally buried in this episode. Sun puts aside her own desire to reunite with Jin to make sure that Locke was buried with the other fatalities after the crash of Oceanic 815. I guess this means I can stop hoping that John's eyes will pop open at any time.

notLocke in 2007

I don't tend to think of Locke and notLocke as sharing anything but a body, but it turns out that they both hate being told what they cannot do. Is there some of Locke in notLocke? Did some of John's personality transfer over? Or are they that much alike and that's the real reason Mr. Smoke Monster selected John?

We learned more about the nature of notLocke last night. It turns out that traveling as the Smoke Monster is pretty cool looking. From Ilana we learned that notLocke is now stuck in John's form. I wonder why? Ilana also believes that notLocke is recruiting, but she didn't say what for.

When asked by James what he was, his answer was most revealing:

What I am is trapped, and I've been trapped for so long that I don't even remember what it's like to be free. Maybe you can understand that. But before I was trapped, I was a man, James. Just like you...I know what it's like to feel joy...to feel pain, anger, fear...to experience betrayal. I know what it's like to lose someone you love.

Although James notes that notLocke wasn't scared, the presence of the boy whose arms were sometimes bloody clearly shook him. He is also surprised to learn that James could see the boy. Despite the fact that notLocke can travel as the Smoke Monster, he chooses to chase him on foot, resulting in a big trip. And then a warning, "You know the rules. You can't kill him." What did that mean?

Richard told James that notLocke would kill Sawyer, but a trip down Jacob's ladder (everyone's calling them that) showed that notLocke needs James alive, at least right now. I'll talk about the cave below, but the scene showed a master manipulator at work. James may be a con man, but I suspect notLocke is too.

Ben Linus in 2004

If you had asked me whether we'd see Ben in 2004, I'd have said no way! But there he is, complaining about his fellow teachers who just can't seem to remember to throw away the coffee grounds! But he seems pleased when the new substitute teacher wants the more civilized Earl Grey tea (Jean-Luc Picard's beverage of choice, by the way). So, welcome world, to Benjamin Linus, European history. This is going to be good. I've got some theories below.

Ben Linus in 2007

Honestly, I can't blame Ben for lying to Ilana about who killed Jacob. However, his lengthy pause before answering is clue enough to the observant listener that he lied. Ben will probably argue that he wouldn't have killed Jacob without notLocke's manipulation. But even Ben seems to know no one believes his lies. He's slipping.

A lot of people in the blogosphere assumed that Ben would follow notLocke wherever he went, but this episode showed otherwise. Why didn't Ben follow notLocke? Why didn't notLocke want Ben to follow him? Does notLocke need Jacob's candidates, a group to which Ben does not belong, perhaps? Instead, Ben sticks with Ilana, Sun, and Frank, and ends up helping Frank tote John's body to the cemetary.

The money shot of the whole episode was Ben's eulogy. I feel it was heartfelt. I feel bad for the pain that Ben is suffering now, and I do believe he is. How could he not? His whole world and his whole understanding of the world is now radically altered, and he has been as much a patsy as the mover of things. All that's left is the patsy, and that must leave a bitter taste in his mouth. Here's the eulogy:

Alright, I know him. John Locke was a...a believer, he was a man of faith...he was...a much better man than I will ever be. And I'm very sorry I murdered him.

James Ford in 2007

Josh Holloway continues to delight in his interpretation of James Ford. He could have been just a redneck grifter, but there's so much more to the character than that. His lack of surprise at seeing the dead John Locke. His quick understanding, despite probably being totally sauced, that this is notLocke, "Who are you? 'Cause you sure as hell ain't John Locke...'Cause Locke was scared." I'm going to assume that this quick assessment comes from his practice as a con artist.

I guess that Sawyer finds the idea of following notLocke in the jungle more appealing than drinking lots of whiskey and wearing just his underwear. He doesn't follow Richard, despite Richard's warning that notLocke will eventually kill James and everyone James cares for. The only person James cares for is now dead, so the latter isn't likely to change his mind. But James is not suicidal, as we saw in his scary trip down Jacob's ladder. How will they get out of that cave, anyway? But I was truly concerned that Richard's prediction would come true and the ladders were just notLocke's way of killing James.

Someone wrote in a blog or in a comment to someone else's blog that you can't con a con man, but they've forgotten that Ben did con Sawyer on the Hydra Island in the third season. I'm sure that notLocke is conning James, but I also believe that unlike Sawyer on the Hydra Island, James is walking in with both eyes open.

Frank Lapidus in 2007

There wasn't much from Frank tonight, except for the night's best line, "Weirdest damn funeral I've ever been to." Really, Frank?

Hugo Reyes in 2004

What a happy man Hugo is! I wonder if he is ever called Hurley in this time line?

Hugo's personality is still the same, pointing out to John that he could have parked in the handicapped spot. And his own amusement that he actually owns a company. But what a take-charge guy he is, giving John the number to his temp agency for another job "pronto". But then the kicker, "And chin up. Things are gonna work out." This guy's a real optimist.

Ilana in 2007

Unlike Ben, I think that Ilana cried because of the death of Jacob, not because of her cohorts. I could be wrong. She's hard to read, so I can't tell if she knows Ben is lying to her about who killed Jacob.

She must wonder what crazy group she's attached herself to. First, instead of retreating to the safety of the Temple, they have to bury John. And when they do bury John, no one wants to eulogize him, and the one that finally does admits he murdered the dead man.

Ilana seems to know a lot about the Island and its occupants. She knew that Sun searched for Jin, even though Sun has never confided in her. She knows about the Temple. She knows about the ashes. She knows what notLocke is up to. Now, if only the people around her would be smart enough to start asking the right questions!

Randy Nations in 2004

Hugo is right. Randy is still a huge douche.

Richard Alpert in 2007

I've never seen Richard so shaken and scared as he has been since realizing notLocke's identity. It's nice that he stopped and tries to rescue James from notLocke, but he runs like a scared rabbit at notLocke's approach.

I'm sure notLocke wasn't the only one disappointed that Jacob never shared his plans or thoughts with Richard. And Richard seemed okay with not knowing why Jacob wanted certain things done. With knowing nothing. What's wrong with the people on this Island?

Rose Nadler in 2004

One question answered - Rose still has terminal cancer. But pretty cool that she works for Hugo. And I bet she's really good at her job. Just watching the way she handles John's unrealistic expectation of becoming a construction supervisor was great. Her level gaze and this, "But eventually I got past the denial part and I got back to living whatever life I've got left."

If I have terminal cancer, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be working. I'm just saying.

Theories

The Boy

Who is this boy? Why didn't Richard see him? Can only Jacob's candidates see him? Or notLocke's recruits? And why does he scare notLocke so? I've seen some theories that the boy might be an older Aaron or a younger Jacob or John Locke.

The Rules

What are these rules anyway? Are the rules between Ben and Widmore the same as the rules between Jacob and the Man in Black? What does "You can't kill him" mean, anyway? He's impossible to kill or it's wrong to kill him? And is "him" Jacob?

The Cave

Why would Jacob write down the names of his candidates on the roof of that isolated cavern? And why attach numbers to the names? According to notLocke, a not necessarily reliable source, the names were of people that Jacob has touched. Some names are scribbled out. And what are the candidates, anyway? What are they candidates of? Remember that Ilana said that Frank might be a candidate. Several things to note: Austen was never shown. A lot of people are convinced that this is significant. Ryan McGee from Zap2it saw Littleton scribbled out. Is that Aaron or Claire? The names notLocke pointed out to James are (in no particular order):

23 Shephard
8 Reyes
16 Jarrah
42 Kwon (but unknown which - maybe it's both?)
4 Locke (scribbled out by notLocke)
15 Ford

As notLocke pointed the names out, we were taken back to The Incident, where we saw Jacob touching each of the named persons. notLocke tells James that by Jacob's touch, Jacob was taking away all free will from the touched, causing them to act in ways that would lead them straight to the Island. And what is the successful candidate supposed to do? Well, according to notLocke, three things:

Do nothing, die, and get your name scribbled off.
Protect the Island, essentially from nothing.
Leave, with notLocke.

No surprise that Sawyer picked the latter. I'm curious to see how this turns out.

Others Elementary School

The last person I was expecting to see in the teachers' lounge was Benjamin Linus, who, frankly, seems quite pedantic in this timeline. Some bloggers believe they also saw Harper, Goodwin's wife, in the lounge as well, but I didn't spot her. If we see other Others....

But Ben's presence at the school brings a lot of questions. How did he get there? How much did Jughead change? A lot of us just assumed that the only thing Jughead would change for the Oceanic 815ers is that the plane would not crash. This is clearly not true. We saw the Island submerged, and I assumed that the Island sank as a result of Jughead. If so, then Ben would have sunk with it, since he was with the Others/Hostiles during the Incident (surely if Ben had been "found" and put into the submarine something would have been said). So, at what point did the Island sink? Was Ben ever on the Island? Had this Ben been shot by Sayid and treated at the Temple?

Hopefully more answers will be forthcoming. I didn't sense any glance of recognition between Ben and John similar to the recognition we saw between Kate and Jack and Jack and Desmond earlier. Other bloggers did see it however. I'll be curious to see what y'all think about that.

What Kate Does was all about relationships. This episode was too, but with a heaping helping of mythology and leads to potential answers too. There's so much to think about, that I feel like I left something major out. Let me know what it is. I hate forgetting things. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing your comments!

Jimmy Fallon Gets 'Lost' in 'Late'

2010-02-16T20:11:00.000-06:00

I'm going to take a guess that Jimmy Fallon likes Lost. This is really funny.

Jimmy Fallon Gets 'Lost' in 'Late'

Tomorrow Night - The Substitute

2010-02-15T20:07:00.003-06:00

I always think it's a little dangerous to pay a lot of attention to the titles of Lost episodes, but I do enjoy contemplating what they might mean.

Who's the substitute of tomorrow night's episode? Well, I think it is most likely notLocke taking Locke's place. The previews for tomorrow night showed notLocke interacting with James "Sawyer" Ford (Locke called Sawyer "James" and I just assume his doppelganger will as well). Perhaps Sawyer is a substitute for Ben?

Depending on what it means when someone is "claimed", you could argue that Claire has been substituted by something or someone, and that something or someone is about to substitute for Sayid. This will be interesting to observe.

Of course, Kate has acted as a substitute mother to Aaron. When will Claire (or whomever) discover that?

Just a few odd notes. I've not refered to the promo shots that were released by Lost earlier. Since I've switched to a Mac, I've not been able to figure out how to steal - I mean download! - pictures for your viewing pleasure. So I'll just have to give you a link to look at: http://www.bscreview.com/wp-content/gallery/lost-last-supper-3/lost-last-supper-poster-3.jpg. Oddly enough I couldn't find the picture on the ABC website. Whatever.

The picture is of our Lost characters placed in a "Last Supper" pose. Although I love Renaissance art, I've never studied this work enough to know who is whom. But it turns out I don't need to study it - all the other Lost fans can fill me in on this! The only two posers I'll comment on tonight are Locke/notLocke and Sayid (soon to be notSayid?). Locke, of course, is in Jesus's spot (I actually didn't need to be told that - I'm not that ignorant!). But what I didn't know is that Sayid is in Judas's spot. When I first read this, before learning that Sayid was "claimed", I didn't quite understand his placement. But now it makes me ponder. Does Sayid have to become notSayid (perhaps Jacob?) to defeat notLocke? Is that why Jacob looked so hard at Sayid in the first episode of the season?

Last thought. Last week I stared at the flirty mechanic who freed Kate from her handcuffs for a small fee. The man was absolutely familiar to me, but his name wasn't in the credits. I thought perhaps I was losing my mind. But I read today that the mechanic was played by an uncredited Jeff Kober. Kober is most famous to me for playing not one but two roles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. My favorite role he played was Rack, a magic dealer. And by magic dealer, I mean like a drug dealer. And if you watch Lost you really can't make fun of Buffy storylines. I'm just saying.

What Kate Does

2010-02-10T17:12:00.002-06:00

Last night's episode was a lot slower than last week's, but it still had a lot of emotional resonance for me. There were several scenes last night that reminded me of how much I love the characters of this show, faults and all.

My goal is to not do a recap. I promise! So, tonight, I'm going to do something a little different. I'm going to go character by character, and then to a few thoughts and theories. Because it was Kate's story, and we saw Claire in both time lines, I'll start with them. Afterward, I think alphabetical should be adequate.

Kate in 2004

After how Kate essentially manhandled Claire and the taxi driver, I was happy that the compassion that has marked Kate since we've known her is still there. Looking in Claire's bag made her realize what she did to the woman, so she does what she always does - a very stupid thing. Oh, it was a kind thing, but also stupid. If you are a woman on the run from the law, you don't go back to the victims of your crime and taxi them around the city. The two women quickly bonded, a bond like the one they had on the Island. So Kate was there when Claire found out the adoptive parents didn't want her baby and when the baby tried to come four weeks early. The two even held hands when it seemed that Aaron's heart had stopped. When the police came by to ask Claire about "Joan Hart", Claire claimed she didn't know where Kate had gone.

There wasn't much else that marked Kate's time in 2004 except these;
- Kate's lingering gaze at Jack as she seemed to recognize...something. They did bump into each other on the plane, but I doubt she was paying much attention to his face while stealing his pen. So Jack isn't the only one who feels something in 2004.
- Kate looked as surprised as I did when Claire yelled in the hospital, "Is Aaron okay?" If Kate recognized Jack, she certainly responded to the name of the little boy that she raised as her son for three years.

Kate in 2007

Kate remained characteristic in 2007 too. Of course she was going to follow Sawyer, even after he asked her not to, and of course, she didn't have a clear plan of action for after finding him. I know I don't like Kate all the time, but I've never blamed Evangeline Lily, and I found her performance last night to be remarkable. With Kate, it's always the expression in her eyes. She follows Sawyer to LaFleur's house, and, seeing his heavy emotion, she tries to leave. At the dock, her face falls completely as she hears how much Sawyer loved Juliet, and when he leaves, she starts crying.

Have we ever seen Kate cry like that? She has faced rejection and anger from both Sawyer and Jack before, but I don't think I've ever seen her cry in response. Why did she cry? Because she realized how much Sawyer loved Juliet? Because she realized that she gave up Aaron not just to find Claire but also to find Sawyer? And she realized that the latter might not be interested in being found by her? Because she realized there was nothing she could do to ease Sawyer's pain? Or did Sawyer's statement that "Some of us were meant to be alone" hit home?

For some reason, it is Kate's tears that made the biggest impression on me when looking at her story (I had other impressions, just not about Kate). I noticed that a number of reviewers didn't even mention it in their recaps or comments, but I think it is significant. Perhaps Kate will finally understand that there are consequences to everything, and some things just can't be swept away. We'll see.

Claire in 2004

Well, she was quite pregnant, wasn't she? And quite brave to get back in a car with a woman who had held her at gunpoint. But, regardless of how unrealistic it was, I'm glad she did it. I think she realized that something was up with the adoptive parents when they didn't show up to pick her up, which, of course, was confirmed after a visit with a teary-eyed would-be mother. Kate was right - she should have called. I hope she pays for Claire's transportation and medical costs.

Watching Claire cope with the fact that the adoption fell through, I thought back to Season 1, when Richard Malkin arranged the adoption. We don't know if in this 2004 Richard Malkin even exists for Claire, but if he does, did he know the Bascombs would fall through? Does Aaron still need to be raised by Claire?

Claire was as surprised as we were when she yelled out, "Is Aaron okay?" Yet another connection to the pre-Jughead reality we know and love.

Claire in 2007

My mouth nearly fell open when Dogen told Jack his sister has been consumed by the darkness that will soon take over Sayid. I keep thinking back to her last scenes in Season Four. Her home exploded. She appeared alive and well, and accompanied Sawyer and Miles into the jungle. I don't remember this, but other bloggers do - Miles kept looking at Claire in that way of his (like he did with Sayid last week and last night). Was he watching the darkness inhabit her body? Claire wakes up by the fireside to see her father holding Aaron. She then disappears, without Aaron, to be seen by Locke in Jacob's cabin with Christian. She was very odd, and very cryptic.

So what, if anything, infected her? The explosion? Christian? Jacob? The Man in Black? Is Christian infected?

Three years later, she is the Rousseau of the Island, apparently doing what she can to rid the Island of the Others. (And who didn't cheer when Aldo bit it?). Why she shot just the two Others and not Jin doesn't really make sense to me, since she didn't seem to recognize him until afterward. Perhaps she only shoots people who aren't in her traps.

Do the Others think she has the darkness because she tries to hurt them? Or does she try to hurt the Others because she has the darkness?

And I also thought of my friend Brian (hi Brian!) when looking at Claire in 2007. She's the first of many who did not have dirty, pretty hair. I'm just saying.

Dogen

At last, we get a name, and yet another reason why he refuses to speak English to people who only understand English. I wonder, is he still like Pat Morita in The Karate Kid?

Dogen seems to fit right in with the Others, doing horrible things (like torturing Sayid) in the belief that what he is doing is too important to not do. He seemed to recognize that Jack (not Hurley as Miles claims) was the true leader, and seemed to respect him as such, eventually giving Jack more answers in less than five minutes than Jack has gotten in over three years.

But before he "respected" Jack, he tried to manipulate him, using Jack's obvious weaknesses to convince Jack to give Sayid a poison pill. Maybe Dogen gave Jack respect because Jack fall for it. Of course, it also appears that Dogen knows more about Jack than Jack knows about himself (of course, most people know more about Jack than Jack does, but that's a different story). But Dogen was upfront with Jack, giving Jack his understanding of what is happening to Sayid.

Dogen was brought to the Island just like Jack was. Did he come on the Black Rock with Richard?

Ethan Goodspeed

One of the problems with digital television and DVRs is that the show descriptions sometimes gives away a Lost "surprise". In this case, they identified William Mapother as "Ethan Goodspeed". But how delightful to see him again! A number of bloggers found him to be creepy in 2004, but I didn't. He just seemed like a good and caring OB/GYN. You know, one who cares for Claire off the Island just like he did on it. Only, without kidnapping her.

His presence in 2004 brought up some questions for me that we don't yet have the answers to. Did the Island sink when Juliet exploded Jughead in 1977? If so, then we know that Ethan and his mother must have been on the sub with the other women and children, including Miles and Charlotte. Instead of returning to the Island and joining forces with Ben, he must have been raised off the Island, without a father, and eventually becoming a doctor. If the Island did sink, does this mean that Ben, Horace, Chang, Eloise, Charles Widmore, and Richard Alpert are dead in this 2004? Were Penny and Daniel never born?

Hurley in 2007

Hurley had a more limited role this episode, mostly limited to comic relief. His two best lines:

"It's the Others, dude. They caught us. Again."

"Are you a zombie?"

Jack in 2007

We did see Jack in 2004, but it was only that recognition glance with Kate. Otherwise, all we saw of him was in 2007.

And the old Jack is back. Or perhaps not. Perhaps he is a new and improved Jack, who actually knows to ask the right questions and knows when he's being manipulated. He certainly confronted Dogen after finding out Sayid had been tortured. And I was impressed with Jack's conversation with Sayid, in which he told Sayid the Others wanted Sayid to take the green pill. The old Jack might have just tricked Sayid into taking it.

But the Jack that took the poison pill was especially new. What a way to call Dogen's game. Jack must be too important for Dogen to let die. I wonder why.

I was a little curious as to why Jack felt the need to kiss Kate when he did. If he wasn't intending to kiss her, he sure fooled me. What is it about her that keeps him so connected to her? She didn't seem ready to kiss him back, though. Maybe his attraction was part of the game he gets involved in when she seems to favor Sawyer? I don't know.

Jin in 2007

Jin continues to take a more active role this season than last season. He agreed to follow Kate, and when she dropped him and their minders like a hot potato, he took the opportunity to find Sun. I am not sure why Aldo was so insistent that Jin's questions not be answered (and I was quite happy that he died, let me tell you), but now Jin knows Sun's flight did land on or near the Island. Sadly for him, the Others found him. But Claire took care of them. Now what?

Miles in 2007

Like Hurley, Miles' role this episode seems to be mostly limited to comic relief. Who didn't laugh when he told Jack that he and Hurley could be found in the food court?

In my husband's family, they have a term that I never quite understood, "the hairy eyeball". They would joke that someone gave them a "hairy eyeball". But I think I now know exactly what that look is - the look Miles gave Sayid this week. I wonder if Miles himself has connected what he senses in Sayid to what he sensed in Claire. Time will tell.

Sawyer in 2007

Was I the only one who thought that Sawyer was completely reverting to Season 1 last night? The bad boy was definitely in force, as he held a gun on the Others and left the Temple to run away.

But his interaction with Kate told us otherwise. One of the two best scenes of the night was on the dock (the other was the conversation between Sayid and Jack). First, the sly line to Kate after she apologized for following him, "Which time?" Good one, Sawyer. But it was the new and mature Sawyer recognizing that he blames himself for Juliet's death, because he prevented her from leaving the Island in 1974. He didn't want to be left alone (I guess Miles, Jin, and Daniel didn't count for much!), but now he feels that maybe he was meant to be left alone (there's that fate vs. free will again). Then he kills me, "I was going to ask her to marry me." He had hidden the ring in the floorboards so Juliet wouldn't find it. And she never did.

I mourned Juliet's death in May, 2009. Last night, my heart broke for Sawyer's grief. Great job, Josh Holloway. You had me in tears.

Sayid in 2007

First, the darkness. Should I capitalize this term? Anyway, Sayid seemed to pretty much be Sayid, grateful to Jack for saving his life and all, so perhaps he hasn't been taken over by Jacob. But this infection scares me. Granted, Sayid is a pretty dark guy already (just ask Sawyer), but he has a strong sense of right and wrong - will that be gone? Who will he be? Who claimed him? More on that later.

Watching Sayid be tortured was hard, even knowing that he has tortured so many others, including Sawyer. But Sayid is not a helpless man, and here he cried in helplessness, because he knew he had nothing to tell them. And they never asked him a question. Why else torture someone if not for information? Neither Sayid nor Dogen's interpreter were fooled by Dogen's lie that Sayid passed any test.

One of my favorite scenes of the night was between Jack and Sayid. Sayid literally puts his trust in Jack's hands, "I only care about who I trust." If Jack says to take the pill, Sayid will.

I'm still not happy the Others tried to poison Sayid. In LA X, they told Hurley that things would be bad if Sayid were to die. Now they are trying to kill him. Does that mean that what Sayid could be is even worse than if he died?

Questions

I've already discussed one question I had above under "Ethan Goodspeed", whomever he might be. But Sayid's new quandary has intrigued me, and left me with more questions than answers. What is claiming Sayid? What claimed Claire? Did this same infection claim Christian and the French? Is this the sickness that Danielle mentioned in Season 1? Did Ben receive that same darkness when he was healed in 1977? Did Jacob know Sayid would be infected when he looked at the dying Sayid?

Is it possible that Jacob is the darkness? Or a manifestation of the Man in Black? Who is good and who is evil, anyway?

Next Week

Next week's episode is titled The Substitute. I am intrigued by the pairing of notLocke and Sawyer. Something tells me, it's going to be good.

Tomorrow Night!

2010-02-08T20:35:00.003-06:00

I've really got to get used to Lost being aired on Tuesdays instead of Wednesdays. It didn't hit me that the next episode is tomorrow until Brian (hi, Brian!) asked if I was going to post a "pre-game" analysis or something like that. He's got a point.

Tomorrow night's episode is titled, What Kate Does. You might remember that in Season 2, there was an episode called What Kate Did, apparently named so that we could find finally find out why Kate became a refugee from the law in the first place. I told Brian today that I hoped that What Kate Does is more interesting than What Kate Did, but I'm not sure it's fair. That's when we learned that Kate killed the man she had thought was her abusive stepfather because she learned he was actually her father. The thought of any part of her containing any part of him was too much for her to handle. She also struggled with her feelings on the Island with Sawyer, who was recovering from an infection after a gunshot wound. She had feelings for Sawyer, but he reminded her of the man she killed. And in his delirium, it sometimes appeared that Wayne's ghost inhabited Sawyer. This is also the episode where Kate saw a black horse on the Island.

So, what does Kate do? And when does she do it? In 2004, she had again managed to escape from US Marshall Mars' clutches, taking a taxi holding Claire by hostage so she could make good her escape. In 2007, she is in the Temple gawking at a newly resurrected Sayid (or Jacob reincarnated?). Perhaps it is what Kate does in both time lines that is important. I guess that time will tell.

I don't tend to enjoy Kate-centric episodes, and I'm not alone in that respect. But last season's Whatever Happened, Happened was one of the most compelling of Kate stories, and I sincerely hope that tomorrow night continues the trend. I am still sorry that I wasn't able to watch all the Kate-centric episodes like I had promised before the season start (what can I say - I'm a procrastinator!), but I am going to keep my mind open.

Sayid's Corpse

2010-02-04T19:27:00.003-06:00

As I was driving to work this morning, I was hit with a thought that furthers the theory that Sayid may have arisen as someone other than Sayid.

Miles and Sawyer were not present in the Temple when Sayid was declared dead by the Others and Jack. His body lay where it had been placed by the Others after the failed treatment. Hurley approached Sayid to say goodbye, offering to talk with Sayid whenever he wanted to talk. He looked up to find Miles staring at Sayid's corpse.

The expression on Miles' face said it all. His eyes were wide-eyed and almost scared. What was he hearing from Sayid's body? Because it's Sayid, I just assumed that somehow Miles noticed that Sayid is dead but not dead. Denial is a very strong coping mechanism, my friends.

But now it seems more likely that Miles heard something else he's probably never heard before - something he couldn't put into words. And perhaps that is Jacob taking ownership of Sayid's body.

I presume we'll figure that out quickly enough. I'm crossing my fingers.

LA X

2010-02-03T12:07:00.003-06:00

Season 6 started with a bang, albeit with a bang from last season. I'm sure I wasn't the only confused viewer when we saw it all twice, and ended up in two different realities. At first, I thought, Why is Jack on the plane but Kate and Miles aren't? But then, Jack was with Kate too! And Kate was with Jack! Amazingly, my nose bled not once last night.

So, we saw what happened if the clock were reset and the plane didn't crash and we saw the 1977ers transported 3o years to 2007, the same time line as Sun and Frank. The producers are allegedly calling this "flash sideways".

But the 2004 version of reality is altered. Shannon was left in Australia. Hurley has been the beneficiary of extraordinary good luck. Jack has a mysterious wound on his neck. Desmond is on the plane, which is better for him than being on the Island, since the Island is underwater. Charlie tried to commit suicide on a bag of smack (why didn't he just empty the contents?) and was arrested in LA. And wasn't Sawyer all perky and happy? There were also people we didn't see, especially Michael and Walt, though Libby, Ana Lucia, and Mr. Eko were also absent.

Some things seemed the same: Locke still cannot walk. Neil "Frogurt" and Leslie Arzt are still annoying. Kate is still in handcuffs. And who didn't catch the gleam of a potential con in Sawyer's eyes when he heard Hurley won the lottery? Also present was Greg Grunberg's voice as Seth Norris announcing the safe arrival of Oceanic 815 to LAX.

To me, Jack seemed the only one to be disoriented by his presence on the plane. He seemed startled each time he saw someone who had survived the now-erased plane crash. In the old time line, Jack and Desmond met before Desmond set sail to prove to Widmore his worthiness of Penny's love, but we've no guarantee that they met in the reset time. And Desmond seemed to just pop in and out, didn't he?

It was fun seeing these strangers reacting to each other in much the same way they did after the crash. Boone and Locke connected, even if Locke lied through his teeth about the walkabout. Sawyer saw Hurley as someone to manipulate (they didn't become friends until later). Kate stole a pen from Jack. Sawyer seemed to size up Kate's situation well and helped her get past some TSA. Sayid was helpful in rescuing Charlie. Charlie resented Jack for saving his life.

But the 2004 money shot was the final scene between Jack and Locke. It turns out that Christian Shephard's body was either never loaded onto Oceanic 815 (which is what most people on the blog0sphere seem to think) or disappeared mid flight (which is what I thought while watching). Jack has a memorial service without a body, and the airline can't tell him where Christian is. How frustrating is that? John overhears Jack's conversation with his mother, and inquires. He then notes, "They didn't lose your father. They lost his body." Jack absorbed this, and it was just obvious that this is what he needed to hear.

Jack then does what Jack does best, as a spinal surgeon, asking how Locke came to be the way he is. Sadly, to John, the damage is irreversible. But Dr. Fix-It-All hands John his card, saying, "Nothing's irreversible." And it is clear that this is what John needed to hear too.

So, in our reset 2004, we get to see the man of science and the man of faith interact. Only time will tell if they divide over their fundamental life view differences. But this is the relationship that I think could possibly change what happens in the other timeline - 2007.

The problem with the time flash to 2007 is that Juliet ended up where she had been, at the bottom of a shaft, but this time with tons of metal on top of her. Somehow, she ended up being in worse shape than Sayid. Sawyer rumbles and roars and is going to kill Jack if Juliet dies, and glowers often at Jack. Can I just say that this was the only time I rolled my eyes? Mainly because it wasn't just Jack's idea - Juliet bought into it too. If she hadn't, then Jack may have had more obstacles than he could have overcome. But I get it. Sawyer feels guilty, has to blame someone, and the producers probably think it's better if there is conflict between the two men. Whatever.

Some people have compared Juliet's death to Charlotte's in how her brain wandered in getting coffee and going dutch. Her dying before she could tell Sawyer something she had to tell him was frustrating. Lucky for Sawyer, there's Miles! Who seems unusually unwilling to talk with Juliet. And no wonder, her message made no sense to a grieving Sawyer, "It worked."

Was it just me or did Miles seem disappointed that Sawyer asked Miles not because of how helpful Miles is but because he can talk to the dead? I think Miles really valued his relationship with "boss".

Naveen Andrews has had the misfortune to play unconscious in the last season's premiere and this one. At least this time, they found a stretcher for the man. Both times, Sayid was essentially saved by Hurley, who had ghostly assistance both times. But Hurley is much braver this time around than he was last time, asking real questions and demanding to be taken seriously. Hurley once promised to not help Sayid, but fortunately he has not kept that promise yet. All I can say is "Go Hurley!"

Hurley recognized Jacob immediately and did demand answers from him, but basically got nothing but more cryptic instructions. I now realize the value of Hurley to Jacob - he must have known he'd be killed, and Hurley is the only one who can talk to the dead without requiring a body present. The only way to save Sayid is to take him to the Temple, a place where fortunately, Jin knows where to go.

While glowering Sawyer and helpful Miles bury Juliet, Hurley, Jack, Kate, and Jin carry Sayid to the Temple, where they are caught by yet more Others. With the exception of Cindy and the two children, we've never seen these Others. I guess they are the ones that Ben has referred to as being safe in the Temple. Is Goodwin's wife Harper there? I didn't like her.

The guitar case holds not Charlie's guitar as theorized but a huge ankh, which is immediately broken for it's message. Is it yet another list of Jacob's? When Hurley asks what's on the list, all he's told is, "If you're friend there dies, we're all in a lot of trouble." And it looks like he might just die, since the waters in the Temple are dirty, and don't heal the cut of the Japenese Other. The waters seem to heal Sayid at first - his gut wound would not have allowed all that thrashing around. But the cure has to last so long, and when that time comes, it is clear that Sayid is dead. He was too far gone. Did they just kill Sayid? Could I be more devastated?

Meanwhile, under the shadow of the statute, Ben faces the enormity of his actions when faced with the corpse of the real John Locke. Bram is still extremely annoying, and handles the situation poorly, so I have to say I wasn't sorry he was then killed by the smoke monster. Bye bye Bram.

But his death told us something that we've probably already guessed: the Man in Black, Esau, notLocke is the Smoke Monster. Who doesn't like being called a monster. Is he also Christian, Yemi, Walt, and all the other ghosts who've shown up on the Island? Ben tried his best to hide from the monster, but apparently he was safe. notLocke tells Ben, "I'm sorry you had to see me like that." I suspect Ben is too.

In my opinion, the money shot of the 2007 scenes (besides the final reveal which may have more to do with my love of Sayid than anything else) was the conversation between Ben and notLocke, as Ben demands to know who notLocke is. We already knew from Jacob that notLocke is "an old friend who tired of my company." notLocke instead talked about the actual John Locke, and emphasized how pitiful John was in life and in death. My heart was breaking as I listened. But John, unlike the other survivors, was smart enough to know that life on the Island was far better than his pitiful life off. But he then adds, "I want the one thing John Locke didn't. I want to go home."

The final scenes were quick. Richard recognizes notLocke from his days in chains, but is knocked unconscious before he can explain more. The Others in the Temple take battle positions on hearing of Jacob's death, not to keep the survivors in, but to keep "him" out. As the Others try to interrogate Jack, Sayid comes to life.

Theories:

Why two different time lines? Well, I believe the explosion of Jughead led to both realities occurring. And what happens in one reality (my theory again - the 2004 reset version) will affect the 2007 reality. Time will tell how wrong I am!

I don't know that this is my theory, but I'll share it anyway. On the blogosphere, some have expressed the belief that Sayid did die, and that Jacob or maybe even notLocke have taken over his body. It could explain why Jacob looked at Sayid for so long. I'm hoping that is not true, as I want Naveen Andrews to play Sayid just as much as I want Terry O'Quinn to play John Locke. Also, why is Sayid so important? He never has been before.

It seemed to me that notLocke spent a lot of time talking about John Locke's weaknesses. I'm hoping it's one of those "he doth protest too much" and it means that we'll see John Locke in 2007. Or the John Locke in 2004 will do something that proves he's not the pathetic loser he seemed.

Another parallel: Sayid shot Ben, who was taken to the Temple to be cured. Apparently the waters must have been clean. Think what we were told about this cure - Ben would never be the same and won't remember things. Ben's father shot Sayid, who was taken to the Temple to be cured. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown (maybe the death of Jacob?) the waters were muddy. Assuming Sayid is not Jacob or someone else, is he otherwise permanently altered? Will he be as changed as Ben was? What will happen to his memory? Will the muddiness of the water alter the cure?

Questions:

Where is "home" for notLocke? Is it the Temple? Off the Island? Why was Jacob keeping him on the Island? It doesn't seem very nice to keep someone somewhere against their will.

Why didn't the Others find Rose and Bernard when they found Sawyer and Miles? The actors were in the 2004 reality, so they could easily have been in the 2007. Unless for some reason they weren't flashed to 2007. Maybe they are still in 1977 and will turn into Adam and Eve. That would be cool.

When will we find out Richard's back story? What was he doing in chains? When I was told the Black Rock was a slave ship, I was thinking of African slaves. Richard doesn't look African. Was this an Amistad situation where the slavers were enslaved in a slave revolt?

Thoughts:

I wasn't as upset by Juliet's death last night, as I grieved for her last season already. I only have so much grief in me.

I love the two time lines going on at the same time. Whether my theories are right or wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Jin got to say more lines last night than he did in the whole of Season 5. Maybe he's been forgiven?

Where is Christian?

Well, I apologize for the lengthy post - my goal is to recap less and analyze more, but this episode was two hours long, and so much happened! I'm just saying!

I really hope to hear what y'all have to say. What an episode!

The End Begins

2010-02-02T19:08:00.002-06:00

It is with mixed feelings that I await tonight's episode of Lost. I am delighted that the season starts tonight and am on the edge of my seat, curious as to what happened after Jughead exploded. But I'm also sad, because I know that this is the final season, and that for better or for worse, there will be no more Lost after the season ends. When the various Star Treks ended and Buffy and Angel ended, there was a hole in my life. These characters have become real to me. If I even see a picture of one of these characters - Buffy, Spock, Sun, my heart jumps. They are old friends. And my Lost friends are about to, well, get lost.

But I'm going to try to spend the next couple of months enjoying each episode, analyzing them, and pondering what is the meaning of it all. I know that not all questions will be answered. I know that the only character guaranteed survival at the very end is Vincent. And I know that I'm not going to like everything the producers do. But I also know that whatever they do, it will be thrilling and thought-provoking.

And I'm really looking forward to the conversations we have on this blog and in person. It's going to be awesome!

The Dead

2010-01-31T18:57:00.004-06:00

Lost is famous for the number of dead characters it has produced. Starting with Boone, we learned that no one is safe, with the possible exception of Jack, Kate, and Sawyer. Sometimes the dead don't seem to stay dead, but act as ghostly messengers for Jacob or the Man in Black. Others are seen in flash backs. Sometimes the dead die and are never seen again.

We know that some people died prematurely: the producers had lots of plans for Mr. Eko, but the actor, stricken with grief over family losses, asked to be let out of his contract. Danielle also died earlier than planned, again, because the actress asked to go - she was tired of Hawaii!

Below, I will discuss the dead, first of Oceanic 815 survivors and their families, then of some important persons we've met along the way. I will not discuss Locke, Juliet (fate unknown), Claire (fate also unknown), Daniel, or Charlotte, since I've already written about them. I'll also not talk about redshirts, since there are too many to adequately cover.

Now, as far as I am concerned, I think that all the characters, especially the 815 survivors, should return to the show - one way or the other. We know that Jughead did something, though we don't know what. I doubt that everyone will find themselves on the plane again, but if the past changed, not all the survivors would have died, right? Or something? But I know that this may not fit reality, as the characters are brought to life by actors who may or may not be willing to come back. Some actors, such as Emilie de Ravin, have returned, as have others that, since I know and the frikkin' show starts tomorrow, I will note below. Others, I've heard rumors of but don't know.

And oh, by the way, my predictions are almost always wrong.

So, here we go:

Christian Shephard

Could Christian's death be what started it all? After his son refused to protect him after a botched surgery in which a pregnant patient died, Christian flew to Australia and essentially drank himself to death. Jack was sent to Australia to collect the body, but apparently failed to get the appropriate paperwork. Luckily for Jack (and us), Jack was able to persuade the airline to board Christian's casket on Oceanic 815.

Once on the Island, Christian didn't seem to remain dead long. Instead, he was everywhere: sending Vincent to wake Jack up after the crash, popping up here and there so Jack would chase him, and even showing up off the Island to haunt Jack. Christian also talked several times with Locke, claiming he was talking on Jacob's behalf. Before Michael exploded with the freighter, Christian appeared, telling Michael he could go now.

For a long time, I just assumed that Christian was a benign presence on the Island, who worked with Jacob for the good of the Island. Ryan McGee of Zap2It, however, has had a different perspective on Christian, claiming that there is a good one and a bad one - you can tell the difference because the good one wears his funeral suit and the bad one wears khakis and a shirt.

I'm not convinced. Brown-shirted Christian seemed genuinely surprised when Locke revealed he'd been told he would have to die to bring the Oceanic Six back to the Island. However, that's not a lot to set my cap on. Hopefully, this season will show us the answer.

Likelihood of Returning: Are you kidding? If John Terry refused to come back, Lost fans the world over would make his life miserable. He's far too important a part of the mythology to leave out.

Seth Norris

In case you've forgotten, Seth Norris is the unlucky pilot who flew Oceanic 815 for Frank Lapidus and lived - briefly - to regret it. He was the first casualty of the smoke monster. Interestingly, Jack was supposed to be the first victim, but the producers were persuaded by the network to keep Jack around as the hero.

Likelihood of Returning: Greg Grunberg is a friend of JJ Abrams, and has appeared on most if not all his shows. However, Grunberg has a major role in Heroes on NBC. I think Grunberg's one time spot was just that.

Edward Mars

Edward Mars was the Javert to Kate's Jean Valjean (if you don't know Les Miserables, I just can't help you). He seemingly devoted his life to hunting her down and bringing her to justice. How many marshals will fly to Australia to capture a relatively harmless murderess? Let's face it, Kate was a member of Al Queda.

However, his decision to fly to Australia was a fatal one, for Kate had been touched by Jacob but Mars seemingly wasn't. He was mortally wounded, and Jack's attempts at healing him failed. Sawyer tried to shoot him to death, but he missed, so Jack smothered him.

Likelihood of Return: Let's face it, we've seen Mars a lot, most often in Kate's flashbacks. I'd be surprised if we didn't see Fredric Lehne again this season.

Nathan

Nathan was one of the tail section survivors who challenged Ana Lucia's leadership. Ana Lucia eventually suspected him of being an Other, and dug a hole to imprison him in. Goodwin killed Nathan out of fear that his protests of innocence might ring true with Ana Lucia and lead her eyes to him.

Likelihood of Return: Nathan died a nearly total unknown character - we don't even have a last name for him. I don't know if we'll see Nathan, but I'm sure Josh Randall would be willing.

Goodwin Stanhope

Juliet's first Island lover appeared to be romancing Ana Lucia, who eventually figured out that Goodwin was an Other. She killed him.

Likelihood of Return: We've seen Stanhope after his death in Juliet's flashbacks. Surely we'll get to see him again?

Ethan Rom

Ethan at first seemed to be just a regular survivor, willing to pitch in and help with anything. But he quickly turned sinister when we learned with Hurley that Ethan's name was not on the manifest. By then, it was too late. Claire was kidnapped and Charlie was hanged (yet survived). Claire returned to the survivors, but Ethan demanded her back. At an arranged meeting, Ethan was shot to death by an avenging Charlie.

We have seen Ethan every season since. In various flashbacks, we've seen that he was a surgeon who had been born on the Island (perhaps the last healthy baby born then?) in the Dharma Initiative, and somehow recruited to join the Others.

Likelihood of Return: There's no way we won't be seeing Tom Cruise's cousin this season. William Mapother's Ethan is too important to not return.

Boone Carlyle

The death of Boone was perhaps the first realization that none of our characters are safe. TV convention says that if an actor is in the main credits, the character can't die. But not so on Lost.

Boone's death was also remarkable because of how senseless it was. Locke was temporarily paralyzed, and was unable to climb the tree the Beechcraft airplane was in. Boone, young and agile, scrambled up, but was unable to escape when his weight caused the plane to crash. His wounds were mortal, despite Jack's best efforts.

We saw Boone a couple of times afterward, mostly in flashbacks, but also in a sweat lodge dream of Locke's.

Likelihood of Return: Ian Somerholder has been pretty good natured about returning to the show. However, he is now starring in a television show about vampires, The Vampire Diaries, on the CW. However, Entertainment Weekly has informed me that he will somehow be back on the show. How? Well, that might be answered tomorrow night. Or not.

Leslie Arzt

Arzt was the annoying science teacher with a chip on his shoulder, who ably demonstrated how dangerous leaky dynamite is when it blew him into pieces.

Likelihood of Return: I see no reason for Daniel Roebuck to turn down the opportunity if asked. However, the role always seemed more of a comic relief than a serious part of the mythology, so if he does come back, I think he'll be very much relegated to the background.

Shannon Rutherford

Shannon's death always felt premature to me. She had just started finding redemption and a purpose in life (and a sexy relationship with Sayid!) when she was shot by Ana Lucia who assumed Shannon was an Other. Apparently, the producers felt her storyline had reached an end point.

Likelihood of Return: Come on, if Boone's back, surely his stepsister has to come back too! Maggie Grace has done pretty well for herself since she left the show, but not that well.

Ana Lucia Cortez

Ana Lucia was a divisive character, who was hated by many of us, including me. However, as she joined our group and interacted more with the characters, including Sawyer and Sayid, I began to like her better, and was interested in seeing what her story would be. Color me (and everyone else) surprised when Michael first apologized and then shot her to death.

Likelihood of Return: Had Michelle Rodriguez not reprised her role in last season's The Lie, I might have thought we'd seen the end of her. However, if the producers find a role for her, she's likely to come back. Considering her relationship with so many of the survivors and with Christian, I think it would be good to see her.

Libby Smith

Libby's death was equally as surprising as Ana Lucia. All we know about Libby is that she was institutionalized with Hurley at one point, was a widow, and gave Desmond her boat. She was developing a romantic relationship with Hurley when she entered the Hatch to get blankets for a picnic. Talk about bad timing. She tried to tell Jack about it, but died before she could be understood. It was hard to watch Hurley's heart break.

Likelihood of Return: Cynthia Watros returned to Lost once to haunt Michael (and didn't he deserve it!). However, she had been devastated when she was fired. The producers knew that Ana Lucia would die, but felt that her character had been so polarizing that the audience might not feel the enormity of what Michael did. The death of Libby did just that. However, I have since heard that we'll be seeing the actress this season, so ... welcome back Libby!

Mr. Eko

Mr. Eko was the most charismatic of the Taillies, and one of the most missed of all the characters. He was eventually killed by the Smoke Monster for refusing to apologize for his actions in the past. Why wasn't he sorry? Because he felt that he had done the best he could with what he had.

Likelihood of Return: Of all the persons who have requested to leave the show, it sounds like Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje's request was the most disruptive. The producers had planned for the spiritual Mr. Eko to receive visions of the future that nothing could prevent. But the actor was greiving the death of his parents, and wanted to return to London. I personally would love to see Mr. Eko again, and I've heard that the actor would like to return. I have not heard whether the producers have taken him up on the offer or not.

Nikki and Paolo

I have no idea why these two characters were so hated by the fans. Yes, you could argue that they were rather clumsily added to the cast and seemed to play no real purpose. But I strongly believe that you have to give the producers time - it will probably all turn out alright. But the producers were responsive to the outcry, and wrote a fabulous story about how they ended up on the Island and eventually were buried alive because of their own machinations. Bye-bye!

Likelihood of Return: I'd say nil. Apparently, the producers still obsess over the mistake of adding this pair to the main credits. If they come back, then they'll only be background.

Anthony Cooper

I don't care what issues you might have with your father, but Locke and Sawyer (who can claim Cooper as his "spiritual" father) have them beat. Anthony Cooper conned his own son out of a kidney. Does it get more despicable than that? Somehow, the Others managed to get Cooper onto the Island, and ordered Locke to kill him. But Locke couldn't. But a file of information from Richard Alpert later, Locke found a way to introduce Sawyer to Cooper. Sawyer then killed that demon from his past.

Likelihood of Return: I'm going to age myself here. I first noticed Kevin Tighe since he starred in Emergency! in the early 1970s. If you had told me that the man who played Roy DeSoto could play one of the evilest men on a show full of evil, I would have laughed. Cooper is extremely important in the background of two of our main characters, so I'm truly hoping we get to see him in the next season.

Tom

Ah, Mr. Friendly, Ben's right-hand man, who seemed to do whatever Ben told him without question. More or less. However, it was following Ben's order to take Walt that led to his death - it was one thing that Sawyer couldn't forgive.

Likelihood of Return: If we see any Others, I'm sure we'll see MC Gainey's Tom.

Charlie Pace

One of the reasons I was interested in the show was because of the Hobbit. I must confess. But how nerve-wracking to watch Desmond experience vision after vision of how Charlie would die. The producers decided that they would cheat the audience if Charlie did not eventually die, so die he did. And in a far nobler way than Charlie had ever lived.

Likelihood of Return: Dominic Monaghan has a new role in FlashForward as a genius who may have caused a world-wide blackout. He is one of the more dynamic actors on the show. FlashForward is aired on ABC, the same channel as Lost, and has been touting itself as the next Lost (it's not). The show is very proud of its actor connections to Lost, and no doubt want the actors to return. I'm certain we'll see Charlie Pace this season.

Mikhail Bukanin

This one-eyed evil-doer died several times, first when Locke pushed him into the sonic fence, and then when he blew himself up outside the Looking Glass, taking Charlie Pace with him. He was not my favorite villain, but he was effective.

Likelihood of Return: I actually have no opinion.

Naomi Dorritt

Widmore's go-to girl didn't survive her encounter with the Island and Locke. Did Walt really tell Locke he had to kill her? Or was that just Locke's interpretation?

Likelihood of Return: We've seen Naomi on occasion in flashbacks. She was an interesting character, and I'd personally like to see her back, but I don't know if she'll be back.

Karl Martin

This character earns the award for most boring Other ever. What Alex saw in him is beyond me. He was killed by Keamy's men as he sought the Temple.

Likelihood of Return: Unless the producers focus on the Others, which they might since Nestor Carbonell is coming on full time, there is no need to see this guy.

Danielle Rousseau

Danielle's death was unexpected. She survived alone on the Island all that time just to be shot to death by Keamy's men? What? At least we got to see some of her back story last season, but when you think about it, we really didn't learn anything new about her.

Likelihood of Return: Danielle is one of those characters who's early demise was not planned by the producers. Mira Furlan tired of living on Hawaii, and requested to be written out. I think the producers wrapped up Danielle's story this past season. I don't see her coming back.

Alex Rousseau

The cold-blooded murder of Alex took Ben by surprise, who apparently believed that the "rules", whatever they might be, would protect her. He took a gamble, and he and Alex both lost.

Likelihood of Return: Unlike Danielle, I suspect we might see Alex again, if only as a manifestation of the Smoke Monster. Tania Raymonde has a recurring role on CBS' Cold Case, but I believe they could let her come back for a spot or two.

Michael Dawson

Oh, Michael. What cost to your soul to rescue your son from the Others. Two murders and an estrangement from Walt later, he found that he was unable to commit suicide - the Island wasn't done with him yet. So Michael worked for Ben Linus, returning to the Island on a freighter and eventually doing his best to keep the explosives from going off after Keamy's death. His actions doubtless saved a number of lives, including Jin's.

Likelihood of Return: If you had asked me two or three months ago, I'd have said "Nil." After Michael's untimely death, Harold Perrineau expressed his disappointment that the producers made Walt into the stereotypical black son without a father. I'm guessing Perrineau wasn't ready to be fired. But the producers didn't hold the interview against the actor, so expect to see Michael this season. I'm guessing that Walt's taller than he is now.

Helen Norwood

Helen died of a brain aneurysm, breaking Locke's heart.

Likelihood of Return: I think small. There's no real reason to have her return, especially if Locke never returns to life.

Matthew Abaddon

Abaddon is one of the most mysterious and sinister of secondary characters we've seen. The man who helps people get where they need to be was killed by Ben, probably as Ben was trying to kill John Locke. That death was unexpected, and too early - there's so much I want to learn about him!

Likelihood of Return: Lance Reddick is now working on Fringe, but that shouldn't prevent a return, right? I'm not sure how or why, but wouldn't it be great to get a few answers about him?

Caesar

Caesar was a trick. We thought he was the man to watch on the Island, but instead he became the victim of Ben's last successful manipulation. Bye bye Caesar!

Likelihood of Return: Nil. I don't think that we'll see him again. Of course, if time is restarted, even partially...

Jacob

Mortally stabbed by Ben and pushed in to the fire by notLocke, Jacob is, I'm sure, dead. We have no idea who he is, what he is, or even whether he was good or not. I suspect some of those answers will be answered this season.

Likelihood of Return: He won't be brought back to life, I think, but we should learn a lot more about Jacob before the season is over.

Horace Goodspeed

Horace, of course, was killed in the Purge. He also acted as a ghostly guide to Locke once.

Likelihood of Return: I wish it could happen, even if as a ghost, but I don't see it.

Roger Linus

This guy was not killed in the Purge but by his own son. Although we all felt a little sympathy for him this past season as he coped with his son's injury and his own inadequacy as a parent, he was still an abusive drunk.

Likelihood of Return: Unlikely unless as a ghost haunting Ben as he copes with his failures.

Pierre Chang

Chang likely died in the Purge.

Likelihood of Return: I'm sure we'll see Chang, even if under a pseudonym. I hope that we'll get to see some Chang and Miles time.

Stuart Radzinsky

Radzinsky was one of the most unlikable Dharma Initiative. He apparently killed himself while staffing the Swan station. It is unknown how he survived the Purge.

Likelihood of Return: I hope not!

The Rest - The Alive Version

2010-01-30T18:33:00.004-06:00

I think that I've finished with all the main characters from Season Five, and a happy moment that is, as well, what with the Season Six Premiere around the corner. But I want to post on the rest of our characters, the alive ones, or presumably alive ones, who didn't warrant a "main character" credit this past season.

I try not to post anything I might learn on the internet about what will happen in future episodes - spoilers - and can confirm that I actually have little to no information that can count as spoilers. However, I do have some casting news in my head. I will try to keep some of that out of my blog, but I know that three characters will be in the credits (okay, the actors), and I consider that fair game.

Richard Alpert

Yes, Nestor Carbonell will be in the main credits this season, and that can only be a good thing. Richard is an enigma, even if a now familiar one (Richard has been in more episodes than Desmond), as an ageless man who acts as an adviser or guide to the leader of the Others. He says he doesn't answer to the leader but does answer to someone - Jacob, perhaps? We also know that he communicated with Ben on Jacob's behalf, much to Ben's distress. But with Richard, we have far more questions than answers. How did Richard end up on the Island? A number of people speculate he was on The Black Rock that we saw Jacob looking at in The Incident. Why does he never age? How come he saw nothing special in John Locke? How does he manage to get to the States so often? What is his role with the Others? How does he select the leaders?

The questions are seemingly endless.

Claire Littleton

Yes, Emilie de Ravin is back after a year's absence from Lost. The last we saw, Aaron's mother and Jack's half-sister was hanging out with her ghostly father in Jacob's cabin, making oblique statements. Well, we also saw her at Aaron's California bedside, warning Kate to never let Aaron return to the Island. Was Claire killed in the explosion that destroyed her Dharma Initiative house? Was she allowed to carry Aaron to safety? Once he was safe, did her father then collect her so she could be a ghostly adviser too? Or just a ghostly companion?

I figure Richard's role this season is fairly obvious, but I'm not sure what Claire's will be. Will Juliet's explosion of Jughead restart everything? Will we see a live Claire or a ghostly Claire? Will we finally see Desmond's vision of Claire boarding a helicopter to leave the Island come true?

Frank Lapidus

Frank has been a favorite since he first appeared in Season Four's Confirmed Dead. A drunk, he was the original pilot for Oceanic 815, but for reasons unknown, Seth Norris flew instead. He was recruited by Widmore to act as a helicopter pilot for his mission to the Island. After his rescue from the Island, Frank was employed by Ajira Airlines, and had the unlucky duty of being assigned Ajira Flight 316. When Jack asked to meet him, and Frank saw so many of the Oceanic Six on board, he noted, "We're not going to Guam, are we?"

I'm convinced that Frank's mastery as a pilot prevented Ajira 316's from causing more deaths. After the plane landed, he was a little bit all over the place, accompanying Sun to the Island, staying with her in Ben's house, then returning to the Hydra Island to try to rally the remaining Ajira survivors. Upon his return, he was confronted by an armed Ilana, who demanded to know what lay in the shadow of the statute. Frank had no answer, of course, and she knocked him unconscious.

Ilana forced her team to carry the unconscious Frank with them, and Frank overheard them talking about him, with Ilana saying Frank might be a candidate. A candidate for what? Hopefully that will be answered this season.

Ilana

I don't know if Zuleikha Robinson will be in the main credits. The remaining characters, to the best of my knowledge, are not. We don't know a lot about Ilana - we don't even know her surname. We don't know her nationality - Russian, maybe? We don't know how she knows Jacob. We don't know who she works for. Who hired her to capture Sayid? We do know she speaks and understands Latin, and believes that she is working for the good guys. I'm certain that we'll see some answers this season.

Bram

At first, I thought Bram was basically a "red shirt", a nameless Ajira survivor. We saw him listening to Frank and Caesar argue about what to do next, and working with Ilana to open a crate. It wasn't until we saw him with Ilana in her confrontation with Frank that I realized he was more than just a "red shirt." As early as 2004, he was working for "the good guys", grabbing Miles from the street in an effort to talk Miles out of taking Widmore's job. On the Island, he's clearly following Ilana's orders.

Pierre Chang

Oddly enough, Francois Chau has yet to be credited on Lost for his role as the man of many aliases. Until this season, we only saw Chang in various Dharma videos, each time with a different name, talking about some aspect of the station the watcher was assigned to. How exciting this season, then, to see Chang in the very first season of the first episode of the season. We learned a lot about him. He is Miles' father and a brilliant scientist. He has a conscience. He is able to believe some pretty unbelievable things (Daniel, Hurley, and Miles are from the future). We also know how he lost his arm.

I hope we see Chang again this season. The assumption is that he died in the Purge in 1992, so I'm not sure whether he belongs in this post or the next, on dead people. However, if the producers want him back, I'm certain Chang will be there.

I'm now going to organize things a bit. First, I'll start with the parents of the Oceanic 815 survivors and those associated with them.

Eloise Hawking

Until this season, we'd only seen the unnamed Eloise Hawking twice: once in Flashes Before Your Eyes, and in a picture on Catch-22. Both times were associated with Desmond (her picture was on a monk's desk - you know, when Desmond was a monk). This time, we saw her as a young woman, a confident leader, and a controlling and manipulative mother. A strong believer in destiny, she also seems to be an accomplished scientist in her own right. From Flashes Before Your Eyes, she appeared to be able to see the future in the same way Desmond did for a while, but it seems from her conversation with Penny that she no longer does so. You could argue that her knowledge of the future came from Daniel's journal, but that doesn't explain how she knew a man in red shoes would die. But now, she's on her own. Like all the rest of us.

I really hope we see Eloise this season. I'm not sure what if any role she has to play with the Jacob-notLocke battle, but it would seem odd without her.

Charles Widmore

Until this season, Widmore was the ying to Ben's yang. We were given the impression that the battle over the Island was between those two men, and all we had to do was figure out which was more evil. There is no doubt that Widmore is evil. He sent a freighter to the Island with orders to kill everyone on the Island. That's pretty evil. He also controlled his daughter Penny's life, and apparently abandoned his son. We also learned this season that he was the man who placed the fake Oceanic 815 in the ocean.

This season, we also saw Widmore in a more favorable light. Oh, it was clear as a young man that he was an arrogant son of a bitch, and his decision to snap the neck of his colleague was stunning. But he was kind to Ben when the boy work up after his treatment at the Temple. At some point, presumably after Eloise left the Island, Widmore became the leader of the Others, but his decision to spend so much time off-Island, and his fathering of Penny with a woman off-Island, gave Ben his opening to have Widmore deposed and exiled from the Island.

Widmore lost control once again, when his daughter Penny decided to follow her heart and marry Desmond. Widmore has not seen Penny for three years, though it appears that he tried to find her. However, he felt somewhat comforted by her disappearance - if he couldn't find her, Ben couldn't either. When we last saw him, he knew Penny was safe and that Desmond would survive. However, he still knew how to piss people off.

I have to wonder about his plotting with Sun. Is Sun's agreement to return to the Island not just an attempt to find Jin but also to get even with Ben? If so, it would actually make Sun more interesting. Time will tell.

I would be completely surprised if we didn't see Widmore again.

Carmen Reyes

If Hurley is one of the nicest people on the Island, his mother is one of the reasons why. Yes, she pressured Hurley through the years to better himself and lose weight, but she was a good and loving mother to Hurley. She helped Hurley cope when his father abandoned the family, and most importantly, believed in Hurley, even with the seemingly unbelievable.

We've seen Carmen at least once every season. We really need to see her again this season - it would just be wrong not to.

David Reyes

Hurley's decision to forgive his father after abandoning the family is nothing short of proof that Hurley is a saint. David only returned after finding out his son had won the lottery. However, David still did what he could to help his son, giving him a car after Hurley returned from the Island, and helping his son after his escape from Santa Rosa. He even warned Jack to leave his son alone. I guess later is better than never, hunh?

If we see Carmen, David can't be far behind. Unless the explosion of the bomb resets beyond the crash of Oceanic 815, where Hurley didn't win the lottery, but I find that unlikely.

Carole Littleton

The producers did an excellent job of making us believe that Carole was behind the attempt to get Aaron from Kate. Instead, she was in town to get her settlement check from Oceanic 815. Carole was in a coma when her daughter left Australia, so I doubt that she knew Claire was pregnant. How surprised she must have been then to learn that Aaron was Claire's son, not Kate's. I suspect she took little Aaron back to Australia.

If Claire is coming back, I feel safe in assuming we will see her mother at some point, especially now that her mother has custody of Aaron. Of course, the explosion of Jughead might mean the change of everything. However, I still expect to see Carole.

Margo Shephard

I had almost forgotten that Margo even existed. Jack's mother and Christian's widow, she was a rather cold-hearted woman that Christian regretted marrying. I doubt we'll see her again.

Ray Shephard

At least we had seen Margo in the past before. Ray's existence was a complete surprise. Jack's grandfather and Christian's father agreed that Christian shouldn't have married Margo (she's very unpopular, isn't she?). He spent his time trying to escape from his retirement home. For some reason, he also saved Christian's shoes. That seemed odd. I doubt we'll see him again, but who knows? Maybe he'll show up at Christian's funeral if everything is restarted again.

Diane Janssen

Kate's mother was hard to like. She had an affair with Wayne while still with Sam, and let her daughter believe Sam was her father. She left Sam for the alcoholic and abusive Wayne, and didn't seem to care that he was overly close to Kate. When Kate killed Wayne, and told her mother what she had done, Diane decided her daughter needed to be prosecuted. Essentially, she turned her own daughter into a fugitive. She only softened when Kate returned from the Island with her "grandson", but Kate, who had since given up trying to have a relationship with her mother, refused to be blackmailed by her mother. Diane then decided to do the right thing and didn't testify at Kate's murder trial.

If things are reset, to some extent, we might see Diane again. However, she only seemed interested in meeting with Kate because of Aaron, so she might decide to continue her prosecution of her daughter.

The Paiks

It appears that Sun left little Ji-Yeon with her mother and presumably her father. This is despite the fact that Sun managed a hostile takeover of Paik Industries. It is possible that her father is now dead, but we don't know. However, I suspect that we will see the Paiks, one or both, this season.

Enough of the parental drama! Let's move on to drama related to lovers!

Cassidy Phillips

Sawyer's former lover and target somehow stabilized her life, perhaps for the sake of their daughter. For good reason, she didn't have a high opinion of Sawyer, and had no compunctions against telling Kate what she thought. Eventually, she became friends with Kate, and they became a good support system for each other.

I'm sure we'll see Cassidy, too. If time has been reset (which I don't think is likely) then perhaps Sawyer will want to see his daughter. Otherwise, Kate will want to see her friend. We'll see.

Theresa Spencer

Daniel's former lover, lab assistant, and lab rat is currently supported by Widmore as her brain slips around through time. I suppose she is lucky that she is not dead of time sickness like Charlotte, but her life still seems sad. I don't think we'll see her again.

Before I get to the children, let me talk about a sibling:

Rachel Carlson

Juliet's sister has apparently survived cancer twice, and is raising her son, Julian, possibly believing her sister has disappeared from the face of the earth. Ben promised Juliet that Jacob would heal Rachel's cancer himself. I wonder - did they meet? I hope we see Rachel again, but if Juliet has a minor role this season, I doubt we will.

And now, the children:

Aaron Littleton

I suspect I could have a whole post on the importance of Aaron Littleton to the Island, but I will just now summarize by saying we will surely see this child again, one way or another.

Ji-Yeon Kwon

Ji-Yeon is now living with her grandmother, not knowing that her mother has returned to the Island where she was conceived to find the father she never knew. If time is reset, Ji-Yeon will have never been conceived. I hope that doesn't happen, though, as I'd like to see more of her.

Charlie Hume

The son of Desmond and Penny excited a lot of theorizing on various blogs about whether Charlie Hume will somehow grow up to be Charlie Pace. I'm on record as saying that I hope the only relationship between the two is that Hume was named after Pace. If it weren't for the young Charlie, Penny would have probably been killed. See - already he's a hero! I hope we see him again too.

Walt Lloyd

The problem with Walt Lloyd is that the actor who plays him, Malcolm David Kelley, grew up! That alone makes it unlikely that the timeline can be restarted to the very beginning. But somehow Walt has to be involved, because of his unique qualities and relationship to the Island. I'm on record with my disappointment in how he was used in Season Five, and the producers have only one season to make it right. I hope they are listening!

Clementine Phillips (Ford)

Sawyer's daughter has never met her father, and has probably gained a less than favorable impression of him. It is noble that Sawyer asked Kate to look after her, but I think he assessed his weaknesses three years later very well - he would not have made a good father in 2004. My hope is that Sawyer doesn't start at the very beginning this season, and that the growth we saw last season continues. If it does, and he somehow makes it back to the mainland, perhaps he'll met with Clementine. Time will tell.

Daniel Faraday and Charlotte Lewis - Season Five

2010-01-27T20:17:00.005-06:00

I've now moved on to the dearly departed. Other than John Locke, Daniel and Charlotte are the only other main characters who died this past season. Unlike John, we don't know Daniel or Charlotte very well, and we're not very sure if we'll see either character this upcoming season. Unlike our other couples, this one never became a "real couple", seemingly never getting further than the crush stage.

I'll start with Charlotte. We learned a few things about Charlotte this season, namely that she lived on the Island as part of the Dharma Initiative from (at least) the ages of 3 to 6, when she left with her mother because of the predicted Incident. We don't know if she was born on the Island, but I think it unlikely since the Initiative tried to have babies born off Island. We also don't know at what age Charlotte arrived on the Island.

Before she left in 1977, Charlotte was approached by "a crazy man" who told her she had to leave the Island and never return, otherwise, she would die. As we know, Charlotte grew up, became an anthropologist, found the skeleton of a polar bear in the Tunisian desert, and did everything she could to return to the Island. Perhaps Daniel's warning made it more enticing for her?

Unfortunately, as someone who spent at least three years and probably more on the Island, Charlotte was the most affect by the time flashes, and John was unable to fix the donkey wheel in time to spare her life. Before she died she told Locke all he needed to know to find the Orchid. She also warned Daniel about his warning. When she died, her body stopped moving along with time. We hardly got to know Charlotte before her untimely death. I don't think those gaps will be filled in this coming season.

Daniel's story was much more complex. No surprise that he has parental issues. He was apparently conceived on the Island, the child of Eloise Hawking and Charles Widmore, both leaders of the Others at one time or another. Presumably born off-Island, Daniel was raised by his mother to believe that he had a special destiny, one that required his unwavering devotion from childhood to achieve. He wasn't allowed to follow his passion of piano, instead, focusing his energies on science. A genius, he was the youngest doctor to graduate from Oxford.

To his mother's consternation, Daniel was dating another student. What she didn't know was that Theresa Spencer would become Daniel's lab rat, as he sent her brain through time so much that it eventually never stopped. Theresa eventually became a bedridden invalid, cared for by her sister. Widmore paid the bills.

Daniel left Oxford, and in response to Daniel's experiments on Theresa and himself, Oxford deleted all records of his time there. As far as we know, Daniel, also suffering from the effects of his experiments, became an invalid as well. Perhaps his caretaker was also paid by Widmore? We don't know. But Widmore knew how to find Daniel, and gave him an offer: a trip to a miraculous Island that could cure him. Later, his mother encouraged him, saying that she would be proud of him if he were to go. More on that later.

The Island did indeed seem to cure Daniel. His memory improved, as did his social skills. He took charge when the freighter exploded, guiding the Zodiac raft back to the Island. He tried to find solutions to their problem, and approved of Locke's plan to find the donkey wheel. When confronted with a nuclear weapon on the Island during a time trip, he explained how to contain it. Sadly, he also diagnosed Charlotte with what I can only call time-travel sickness.

In Season Four, it was obvious that Daniel and Charlotte were fond of each other, and we continued to see their platonic love for each other in Season Five. Daniel was clearly protective of Charlotte during the time flashes, and when asked by Richard why Daniel could be trusted, he said truthfully, "I'm in love with the woman sitting next to me." He couldn't do anything to hurt her.

It was at this time that we met a young British hostile, Ellie. Ellie was given the task of escorting Daniel to Jughead. He looked at her at one point, saying, "You look familiar."

I presume that Daniel recognized Ellie as his mother, but given his memory problems and his less than familial relationship with his mother, he might not have. How odd to have met his mother long before he was conceived! In the meantime, many bloggers speculated that Daniel had an affair with Ellie (before we found out she was his mother) and Charlotte was the result. The love Daniel had for Charlotte was more paternal than erotic. However, I never believed it. Daniel was clear - he was "in love" with Charlotte, and he said it with an unusual intensity that convinced me his feelings were love and not just paternal. It turns out I was right.

Daniel was devastated by Charlotte's death. He was found crouched over where her body had been, and had to be coaxed by Juliet to go with them. He walked like a zombie, clearly unaware of what was going on around him. The only thing he noticed was a three-year-old Charlotte walking by him with her mother.

We don't know what happened to Daniel during the three years Sawyer, Miles, Jin, and Juliet lived with the Dharma Initiative. At some point, he took a sub off the Island, and studied at Ann Arbor. He only returned upon finding out that Jack, Kate, and Hurley had returned.

For some reason, Daniel's studies after the last time flash led him to question the principle of the immutability of the past - the "whatever happened, happened" belief. Destiny did not exist, because humans are variables - they can change the outcomes of things. Humans have free will. Jack Kate, and Hurley (and Sayid too) were not supposed to be in 1977. And the Incident was hours away. A small nuclear bomb should be able to negate the energy of the Incident, and no one would have to push a button, so that Desmond would not once fail to press it on time, resulting in the crash of Oceanic 815.

But the episode The Variable contradicted Daniel's new beliefs twice. Daniel has promised himself that he would not approach the young Charlotte about not returning to the Island. But upon his return to the Island from Ann Arbor, he could not prevent himself from telling her what her future would hold. He started her on the path that would result in the one thing he was trying to prevent. Why couldn't he stop himself? Because it had already happened and there was nothing he could do to stop it?

Yet, this holds no emotional cards in comparison to the final scene of the episode. Daniel knew he would have to seek his young mother out to get access to Jughead, a vital part of his plan to negate the Incident. As leader of the Hostiles, Eloise was well guarded, so Daniel felt the need to come armed. He approached Richard Alpert, who wisely knew Daniel would not harm him. But Eloise didn't see that. All she saw was her helper, her guide to the Island, held at gunpoint. She then shot Daniel.

And Daniel looked up at her face, recognized her, and realized what she had done. The older Eloise, the one who had told him she would be proud of him for returning to the Island, knew exactly what she was doing. She knew even then that she would shoot him. In a sense, Eloise committed homicide, not necessarily in 1977, when she thought she was protecting one of her own, but in 2004, when she encouraged him to take Widmore's job offer. Eloise has known since 1977 what destiny is - a confluence of events that must happen, even if it is the last thing she wants to do. She was even pregnant, presumably with Daniel, when she killed him. As heartless as she appears to be, it is obvious she is devastated by this.

Daniel never knew Widmore was his father. He was probably better off for it.

The Actress

Charlotte Lewis was supposed to be an American, and rumors abounded that Kirsten Bell of Veronica Mars was a shoe-in for the role. I think it was probably better for Bell's career that she didn't take the role, as the role would have been a little too close to the character of Veronica Mars. When Rebecca Mader auditioned, the producers were so impressed with her that they made the character British.

I don't know how Mader took Charlotte's death, and thus her own firing, but she certainly didn't like being blamed for a mistake made in the character's age. In Season Four's Confirmed Dead, Ben announced that Charlotte was born in 1979. However, she was about 3 or 4 in 1974, so this information was obviously wrong. In a podcast following LaFleur, the producers were asked about this discrepancy. They alleged that Mader had a "diva" moment and insisted that Charlotte be no older than herself. Fighting words. When Mader found out, she announced on her Facebook page that this was not true and was "NOT COOL". The producers later apologized and acknowledged that the error was totally their own.

Likelihood of Return

I can't predict. I don't know if the hard feelings Mader has been resolved by the producers' apology. I also don't know what role the character would play. Sadly, Charlotte was never given the opportunity to be more than an obsession of Daniel's.

The Actor

Indy-fave Jeremy Davies has turned Daniel Faraday into a cult character. I could find no interesting gossip or news of his recent work.

Likelihood of Return

He's got to. There's no choice. He has to explain to us all what is going on.

Desmond Hume and Penelope Hume - Season Five

2010-01-23T18:51:00.003-06:00

We didn't see much of Desmond and Penny this season, though we were rewarded with something rarely seen in the middle of the series with a couple as important as the Humes: we saw them happy, healthy, and functioning as a couple.

After dropping off the Oceanic Six, the Humes essentially dropped off the face of the earth, traveling the seas on Our Mutual Friend. At some point, they married, and we were more or less present at the birth of their son, Charlie. It was hard not to be happy when thinking about Desmond and Penny.

The action started when Desmond woke up from a dream, a dream that he believed to be true. He had been on the Island, pressing the button every 108 minutes, when he heard a long banging on the hatch. He confronted the intruder, who was Daniel Faraday. Faraday realized that for Desmond "the rules" didn't apply, so even though Daniel and Desmond had not met at that time, Daniel knew he could communicate with him. So he asked Desmond to find his mother, but flashed away before he could tell her name.

Penny took it better than most TV wives would. She questioned him, brought up all the logical reasons why his dream was just a dream, but then supported him in his decision. All she asked was a promise that he wouldn't return to the Island. Desmond's reply: "Why in God's name would I ever go back there?" Oh, Desmond, have you ever heard of famous last words?

While trying to find Daniel's mother, Desmond has an opportunity to confront Widmore, Penny's father. What a different confrontation than the last time they met! This time, Desmond had all the power, and Widmore had none. Desmond demanded all the answers, and refused to answer any of Widmore's understandable questions (like, where's my daughter?). Go, Desmond. You're the man.

One of the quickest trips to LA by boat later, Desmond finds Ben, Sun, and Jack at the same church as Faraday's mother. He gets to surprise Ben with a simple question, "Are you looking for Faraday's mother, too?" Guess from Ben's expression he had no clue Eloise Hawking was Faraday's mother.

But Desmond was next to be shocked, when a face from his past turned out to be Faraday's mother. Desmond had never learned her name, but the woman who told Desmond he had to go back to the Island, and that he couldn't propose to Penny, and that he could do nothing to prevent Charlie Pace from dying. Desmond couldn't believe that Jack and Sun were even thinking about returning to the Island. He delivered his message, told Hawking what he thought of her, and left.

But we knew two things - one, the Island isn't done with Desmond and two, Ben wanted revenge for Alex's death. The first thing will presumably occur in the final season, but we saw Ben's attempt at killing Penny. Despite her protests that she had nothing to do with her father anymore, Ben was ready to kill her, until Charlie called her. And Penny was saved - Ben can't kill women with children. Then, despite a gunshot wound from Ben, Desmond managed to beat Ben and throw him into the harbor.

We last saw Desmond and Penny in the hospital after he had emergency surgery to treat his gunshot wound. Responding to Penny's fear, Desmond says, "I promised you, Penny. I promised you - I'd never leave you again." Wow, doesn't Desmond know all the right things to say?

The Actress

Sonya Walger is starring in a new series, FlashForward, on ABC, as Dr. Olivia Benford. Her character's story lines, for the most part, are among the most watchable of the series (my dissatisfaction with FlashForward is well-documented here). The actress also married Davey Holmes, a screenwriter who has written for Pushing Daisies, In Treatment, and Damages, among others. Congratulations Ms. Walger!

The Actor

Henry Ian Cusick, on the other hand, has not had as good a year as his on-screen wife. Chelsea Stone, a former ABC production worker, filed a lawsuit in April alleging that Cusick, the man who once played Jesus, sexually harrassed her by placing his hand on her buttocks, putting his face on her breasts, and kissing her. She further alleges that she notified the appropriate management who, instead of protecting her from Cusick's unwanted behaviors, instead took measures to continue her interaction with him. Stone was shortly thereafter fired. I must say, it was rather hard to watch Desmond after news of the lawsuit hit the press.

In more pleasant news, Cusick also played Charles Darwin on PBS' Nova.

Sun-Hwa Kwon and Jin-Soo Kwon, Season Five

2010-01-21T19:47:00.005-06:00

Well, I've covered the Dreaded Quad, the men who changed the most over the season, and lastly, the comedians. Now, I'm going to cover the couples. Sadly, there wasn't enough that happened to them in the past season for them to warrant their own individual entries. Even the couple that died really don't have enough to warrant something separate.

I debated whether I would start with Penny and Desmond or with Sun and Jin, but I decided that the iconic couple of the show should take center stage.

I've been misled by the couples in the past, thinking that Penny and Desmond were the iconic couple (see The Constant), but this past season, with Sun desperate to find Jin and Jin desperate to prevent Sun from returning to the Island, I've rethought it, and I now believe that our Koreans are the iconic couple of the series.

Granted, we never saw the couple together this season - with one important exception, which I'll talk about later. Instead, Jin and Sun spent three years apart, separated by geography and time.

Sun started the season clearly bent on revenge. When she watched the freighter explode she believed that Jin exploded with it. In her heart, she blamed two people for his death: her father and Benjamin Linus. She also wasn't very happy with Kate or Jack, either. We know she had some sort of plan, which involved surveillance photos and private investigation reports, but we're not sure that the plan was more sophisticated than a hostile takeover of her father's company and the murder of Ben Linus.

But wasn't she scary before the Ajira flight? She scared me. Her question of Kate, "How's Jack?" made the hairs on my neck stand up. I wanted to scream when Kate left Aaron with Sun. As Sun talked with Ji Yeon, I was nervous when Sun said she had a new friend for Ji Yeon to play with.

But scary, sinister Sun changed the moment Ben handed her Jin's wedding ring. Taking the ring as proof of life, Sun agreed to follow Ben on the crazy plan to return to the Island. After all, she tells Jack in 316, "If there's even a chance that Jin is alive, I have to be on that plane."

For reasons unknown to us, Sun did not flash to the 1970s like Jack, Hurley, Kate, and Sayid. She remained in 2007 with Ben and Frank. She watched Ben sneaking around, so she followed him. She agreed to follow him to the Island, telling Frank she had to trust him. However, once she had all the information from Ben she needed, she whacked him on the head with an oar. It was the last bit of spirit we saw in Sun, and I must say I'm sure I wasn't alone in cheering. At last, someone beat Ben at his own game!

Sun and Frank traveled to the main Island, where Sun met Christian. Christian showed her a picture of Kate, Jack and Hurley in the Dharma Initiative in 1977. He then told her to wait for John Locke, a man she thought was dead. The moment Ben and John find her in Ben's old house, Sun turns from a woman of strength to a woman who asked questions, mostly about finding her husband. Instead of being manipulated by Ben, she was manipulated by John. We last see her in the shadow of the statute, looking down at John's corpse, asking, as if anyone around her knew the answer, "If this is Locke...who's in there?"

Jin had even less screen time than Sun. He didn't even show up until the very end of the fourth episode, The Little Prince. His biggest moment was the episode This Place is Death, in which Jin meets Danielle Rousseau. It was a little amusing watching the Korean Jin and the French Danielle talk in English in an effort to understand each other. Sadly, Jin's English isn't that great yet. Somehow he understands the French are looking for the radio tower, and he gets across that he knows how to find it. Thus, they follow him into the jungle. He then gets to watch the French meet the Smoke Monster. Nadine is killed, and Montand is dragged into some vent, losing an arm in the process. The French hear Montand's voice and all follow, save Danielle, who would have followed, but Jin, traditionalist that he is, suggested the heavily pregnant woman stay topside. Jin then flashes away.

Jin flashes just a short time later, to find Danielle pointing a gun at Robert. He observes the interaction between the two, and cries in alarm when Danielle shoots Robert dead. Fortunately, Jin flashed again before Danielle's bullets could find him.

When Sawyer finds Jin, he is clearly thrilled to be with his friends, but devastated that Sun is not with them. He understands Charlotte when she tells him to leave Sun where she is, because "This place is death." Knowing that, he extracts a promise from John that he will not approach Sun, and if Sun asks, John will tell her Jin died.

After that, Jin maybe had a line or two per episode. He followed Sawyer into the Dharma Initiative, and joined security. His English greatly improved, and he appeared to be an accepted member of the Initiative.

You might have thought that Jin's finding of Kate, Hurley, and Jack would have increased his visibility on the show a bit, but instead, all we got was Jin demanding Radzinsky find the airplane that allegedly crashed on the Island. Jin's lucky day - he also was the first to find Sayid, probably saving Sayid's life. Jin also found the young Ben after Sayid shot him, bringing him back to the barracks. He stayed with Miles and Hurley when their ruse was revealed, but never took a very active part. He even stayed behind to take care of Sayid while Jack dropped Jughead.

The only time we saw Sun and Jin together was a flashback to their wedding. And a sweet wedding it was. One of their guests, unknown to both of them, was a man we know as Jacob, who touched both of them, giving his blessings. Jin commented on his excellent Korean.

I'm sure that we are all excited about what we are all hoping for - the reunion of Jin and Sun. I suspect that it will put Sawyer and Kate's reunion to shame, though it might not surpass Desmond and Penny's. But I certainly wouldn't want to be the producers if the series ends without Jin and Sun at least being together for a time.

The Actress

The Korean Julia Roberts has apparently been filming a movie called Harmony, scheduled to be released in 2010. I was not able to find much information about the movie or Kim's role in it. Yunjin Kim also was #72 in AskMen.com's Top 99 Most Desirable Woman Countdown of 2009.

The Actor

Daniel Dae Kim broke the Lost DUI curse. He was arrested on October 25, 2007 for a DUI. Unlike previous DUI offenders, however, Kim was not fired, his character was not shot to death, and he continued to have a role on the show. Just a very very small role.

He apparently has a role in a movie called The Adjustment Bureau, which stars Emily Blunt and Matt Damon and is set to be released in 2010.

Miles Straume, Season Five

2010-01-17T20:35:00.000-06:00

Although we met Miles Straume in Season Four, the Writer's Strike prevented us from learning as much about him as perhaps we would have liked. All we really learned is that Miles is a selfish jerk and that he can communicate with the dead. What a pleasure then, in Season Five, to really meet Miles and learn about his history.

It turns out that Miles, while not born on the Island, spent his first few months with his parents there. Evacuated from the Island with his mother, he was raised in Encino believing his father abandoned them. (As an aside, I'm not sure that Lara's lifelong anger at Pierre makes sense. All women and children were being evacuated. She was not singled out.) As a child, he discovered that he could hear the fleeting thoughts of the dead. Estranged from his mother, he showed up at her death bed looking a lot like Kid Omega in X-Men: The Last Stand.

Miles actually seemed estranged from the whole human race, even after arriving on the Island. Respectful of no one, respected by none, he only wanted what he could get - money. And he didn't mind being a turn-coat - as long as the price was right.

His hiring by Widmore to travel to the Island changed his life forever. Hired for his unique ability to hear the thoughts of the dead, Miles accepted a high price, and wouldn't turn down the job unless he was paid more. Miles was warned, "All the money in the world isn't gonna fill that empty hole inside you." And indeed, before he left for the Island he returned money to a grieving father whom he'd conned.

On the Island, nothing really changed for Miles until Ben turned the wheel and the Island started skipping through time. Before it was over, one of his colleagues was dead, an 815er disappeared in a well, and Miles accepted the fact that they were tripping through time. He then found himself stuck in the 1970s. He adapted.

Miles' relationship with Sawyer underwent a transformation. Prior to their joining the Dharma Initiative, Miles questioned everything Sawyer suggested. But in 1977, Miles followed Sawyer without question.

I've made much about Miles and Hurley as the greatest comic duo on the show so far. One commentator I've read argues that Miles and Hurley became friends in Whatever Happened, Happened, but I'm not so sure I agree. By Some Like It Hoth, Miles still doesn't respect Hurley and resents the latter's interference in Miles' work. Miles realizes he made a mistake when he reveals that "that douchebag", Pierre Chang, was his father. Hurley, who knows all about father issues, tries to help Miles sort through them, and before the hour was up, Miles was observing his own father read a book to his baby self, and perhaps realizing his father wasn't all he had thought.

Daniel's return to the Island brought complications to everyone, especially when Dan revealed to Pierre Chang that Miles was his son. Miles of course, immediately denied it. However, after the gig was up, and Miles teamed with Hurley and Jin to escape the Dharma Initiative, Miles could not deny his paternity when pressed (it didn't help that Hurley was incapable to answering even the most basic of history questions). Miles encourages his father to pay attention to Daniel and evacuate everyone from the Island who doesn't need to be there. Miles then watches as his father argues with his wife, basically running her off the Island.

Finally, in The Incident, we see Miles do something completely selfless, completely focused on someone other than him. His father injured, Miles yells out "Dad" and risks his own life to rescue him.

We have no idea what will be left behind after Juliet made Jughead explode, but hopefully some of Miles' changes will stick around.

The Actor

Ken Leung apparently worked on a film that has not been released yet called "Works of Art." I think you can see a trailer for it on YouTube. Otherwise, he is expected to be seen in Season 6 of Lost.

Michael Emerson Doesn't Win the Golden Globes

2010-01-17T19:54:00.002-06:00

Lost is usually ignored by the Golden Globes, so that Michael Emerson actually got nominated is pretty impressive. No surprise, though, that he lost to John Lithgow for his performance in Dexter. From what I've heard (I don't have Showtime), Lithgow's performance was extraordinary. But too bad for Emerson!

Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, Season Five

2010-01-01T16:13:00.004-06:00

Of all the characters on Lost, Hurley is the one who most represents the audience. And not just any old audience, but an obsessed fan of genre media, such as Star Wars or Lost. It is Hurley who asks the questions that we're asking. And it's Hurley who is the soul of the show. If Hurley thinks that a particular action is wrong, he's usually right.

The season started with Hurley's rescue from the Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute by Sayid. Unfortunately for both of them, Sayid's safe house was compromised, and Sayid shot with several tranquilizing darts. Sayid lived, but because he was unconscious, Hurley was essentially on his own. With some (misleading - at least to me!) advice from Ana Lucia, Hurley was able to pull his act together, ending up at his parents' home.

In the same episode, The Lie, we learned that Hurley was against lying about the Island. So angry was he that he threatened to never help Sayid again - a promise he did not fulfill. But it was clear that the lie weighed on Hurley, and that he honestly believed those left behind on the Island were harmed by their actions. Finally, he told his mother:

Okay. See, we did crash, but it was on this crazy island. And we waited for rescue, and there wasn't any rescue. And there was a smoke monster, and then there were other people on the island. We called them the Others, and they started attacking us. And we found some hatches, and there was a button you had to push every 108 minutes or... well, I was never really clear on that. But... the Others didn't have anything to do with the hatches. That was the DHARMA Initiative. The Others killed them, and now they're trying to kill us. And then we teamed up with the Others because some worse people were coming on a freighter. Desmond's girlfriend's father sent them to kill us. So we stole their helicopter and we flew it to their freighter, but it blew up. And we couldn't go back to the island because it disappeared, so then we crashed into the ocean, and we floated there for a while until a boat came and picked us up. And by then, there were six of us. That part was true. But the re... But the rest of the people... who were on the plane? They're still on that island.

Have you ever tried to explain why you love Lost to people who've never watched? I would argue that you would sound a lot like Hurley did trying to tell his mother what the show was about. You might find that there was a lot that happened that you could argue you were "never really clear on".

The end of the episode ended with Hurley rejecting Ben's offer to return to the Island and surrendering to the police. We didn't see him for a while. Unbeknownst to him, Ben had his attorney working to get Hurley released. Despite his numerous misgivings, Hurley was released from jail, all charges dropped. And it was then that I think one of the most momentous events in Hurley's life and possibly in the show itself occurred. Hurley met Jacob.

Perhaps I'm reading too much into the fact that Jacob had a far longer conversation with Hurley than he did with any other Oceanic 815 survivor. Perhaps I'm reading too much into the fact that Jacob gave Hurley more than Sayid, Jack, Kate, and Sun were given - a choice to return to the Island. Sayid, as you recall, was in handcuffs, while Jack, Kate, and Sun all returned due to the manipulations of Ben. Hurley was given a choice.

Hurley was also given something else almost as important to Hurley. Hurley had viewed his visitations by the ghosts (for lack of a better term) as a curse, part of the same curse that had struck him after using the numbers to win the lottery. In his mind, it was the curse that caused Oceanic 815 to crash and his friends to die. But Jacob thought otherwise:

JACOB: Well, what if you weren't cursed? What if you were blessed?

HURLEY: How do you mean "blessed?"

JACOB: Well, you get to talk to people you've lost... seems like a pretty wonderful thing to me.

HURLEY: Oh, I'm sure it's wonderful, except for the part where I'm crazy.

JACOB: I've got some news for you, Hugo, and you're just gonna have to take my word on this. You are not crazy.

Clearly, Hurley listened, because back on the Island, he willingly shared with Miles that he spoke to dead people too, even going so far as to brag,"You're just jealous my powers are better than yours."

One of the best pairings of the season was Hurley and Miles. The hostile, angry Miles matched wits with someone whose intelligence he severely underestimated. Hurley worked hard to figure out how the "whatever happened, happened" theory applied to them, since they were in the past, a past that had already happened, but not to him. It was hard to wrap the mind around the fact that what Sayid, Hurley, Jack, Kate, Jin, Sawyer, Juliet, and Miles did already happened, but not to them. Because for them, the past (the 1970s) was their present. And Hurley finally stumped Miles: If Sayid shot the young Ben in the 1970s, why didn't Ben recognize Sayid nearly 30 years later? Sadly, we know the answer, which I found to be quite dissatisfying. But that is another topic.

Is Hurley The Little Prince?

When I wrote a study of who might be the Litte Prince, I declared that Hurley's chances of being so low to medium. This essay was written in the middle of the season, before Hurley's conversation with Jacob. I didn't even think of it, until I read a post on Ryan McGee's Lost blog on Zap2It on Jacob's heir unapparent. He argues that perhaps Hurley, in all his goodness of soul, generosity of spirit, and devotion to honesty, is the true heir to Jacob. It quite got me thinking.

The Actor

As you may know, I'm pretty sure that Jorge Garcia left a comment on my blog, correcting an error of mine - an error I found again today on another site. Garcia did indeed read the lines for Sawyer in auditioning for Lost, but he denied auditioning for the role of Sawyer. Now I know.

The actor has his own blog, which is an amusing slice of life about his life on Hawaii and as a celebrity. The actor also appeared at Comic Con this year, and did an excellent job of being Hurley, asking the questions we all want to ask. I'll quote from a blogger who was there:

[Garcia] asked Darlton if the commercials indicate that Jack's actions in the S5 finale worked and flight 815 didn't crash. Darlton's response? "Trust us." Jorge's comeback? "The last time you told me to trust you guys, you said that Nikki and Paolo were going to be awesome."

He makes an excellent point.

Season Six Starts February 2!

2009-11-27T13:10:00.000-06:00

This is just to let you know - a date has been set!

Sayid Jarrah, Season Five

2009-11-26T12:01:00.004-06:00

Ah, the futility of it all. When I think of Sayid during Season Five, that’s all I can think of. How futile it all was for him. A man of action, he took the opportunity to kill a future evil, to put it to rest, and to change his own life and those of so many others. Sadly, what he couldn’t know is that his act actually set into motion the very events that turned Ben into Ben.

I’ve been told that my post on Ben Linus was a very emotional one, and looking back, I realize that is so. This post, I believe, will be no less so, because the evolution of this character, one of my very favorites, has truly saddened me. Sayid is a good man, with a good heart, who made a decision that to me, was so horrific and wrong-minded, that I fear he can never achieve atonement. That his decision, his act, was futile makes it all that harder for me

Sayid had one episode this season. For many episodes, Sayid was either unconscious or hiding in the jungle. He was a minor character, even at the end, throughout the season, with the exception of one episode, He’s Our You.

As I posted following the episode, I found He’s Our You to be somewhat off. The episode seemed designed to show us that from the very beginning of his life, Sayid was nothing more than a heartless killer. I’ve never seen him that way. For one thing, I don’t know that we ever saw Sayid kill anyone until he broke the neck of an Other (Jason) with his feet in Through the Looking Glass. Until The Economist, Sayid only killed to protect his own life or those of others. After The Shape of Things to Come, we understood how Ben manipulated Sayid’s grief over Nadia’s death to use Sayid’s military skills to kill Ben’s enemies. Not a great moment for Sayid – hello, where’s your infamous intuition? But we saw in He’s Our You that Sayid seemed to relish his role with Ben, and was devastated when it ended so abruptly.

How could Ben’s words in the Dominican Republic turn Sayid into a killer of twelve-year-old boys? What made Sayid decide that Ben was so evil that he needed to be killed as a child? These are questions that I feel were not answered this season. They certainly weren’t answered in He’s Our You.

I won’t go into great detail about the events of He’s Our You, because I know that my thinking hasn’t altered that much since I posted on the episode. Sayid’s shooting of the twelve-year-old was foreshadowed in previous episodes, but his decision still shocked and appalled me. That his was the first step that turned Ben into Ben wasn’t known until later, and makes the act not just futile but also senseless.

I have read other commentators who believe that this is the end of Sayid – that nothing he can do will ever make up for that one act. Even if everything is erased by Juliet’s explosion of Jughead, the act remains engraved on Sayid’s heart one way or another. And that saddens me, because, up until The Economist, Sayid was one of the most redeemable of our characters.

Sayid spent the remainder of the season first, hiding in the jungle. He rescued Kate and Jack from an overly hostile Hostile, and learned that Kate saved Ben. He helped Jack figure out Jughead, and was shot trying to carry it out of the Barracks. He suffered a fatal wound, I suspect, but Jack did his best to save Sayid. Sayid remained in the van while Jack, Sawyer, Juliet, Kate, and Miles worked to set Jughead off (where was Hurley? Taking care of Sayid?). Obviously, we have no idea what happens after Jughead detonated.

The Actor

Naveen Andrews has had a long-term relationship with actress Barbara Hershey. However, during a “break”, he had an affair with actress Elena Eustache, and sired a son, Naveen Joshua Andrews. Andrews the actor reunited with Hershey, and shared joint custody with Eustache. However, on January 7, 2009, Andrews won sole custody after Eustache took the boy out of LA County in defiance of a court order and accused Hershey of practicing witchcraft and poisoning Naveen Jr. Eustache was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, and a full hearing was scheduled for February. Sadly, I’ve seen nothing on the internet about that hearing, but I’ve seen pictures of Andrews with his son as late as September.

I didn't even bother with pictures today. Sorry.

Benjamin Linus, Season Five

2009-11-08T18:30:00.020-06:00

I’ve been delaying this post, and I’m not sure why. I think that part of it is that in the writing, I know I will have to face a fact I’m not sure I’m willing to face: Ben killed Locke for his own purposes, not for what was best for the Island. Any doubt about that was removed when he looked at Sun and said, “Dead is dead.” He had no idea that John Locke could be resurrected, or, as the case turned out to be, the Man in Black was reincarnated into John Locke.

Like John, we saw Ben at his lowest point this season (both in the 1970s and in “current time”). Unlike John, we never saw Ben at the height of his powers. Indeed, we saw Ben take an often passive, reactive role this season, something we haven’t seen from him. No matter how bad the situation, Ben has always been able to turn it to his advantage. But not this season.

Let’s start with Ben in the 1970s…

The Transformation of Ben into an Other

When a young boy brought Sayid a meal, it was no surprise that it was Ben. Three years had passed since the events of The Man Behind the Curtain, and Ben had been waiting patiently as instructed by Richard. He was clearly excited to see Sayid, thinking that perhaps the time for patience was over. Not content to any longer wait patiently, Ben characteristically took matters into his own hands, arranging for a distraction so he could rescue Sayid.

Unfortunately, Ben’s eyes were blinded as to Sayid’s true purpose, as he learned later to his regret. And why shouldn’t he have been naïve? We saw the abuse that Ben suffered at his father’s hands – emotional and physical. And Ben was only twelve, with little experience of the world outside of the DHARMA Initiative. Sayid’s presence gave Ben hope that his time of misery and suffering were over.

But Sayid was not a Hostile, and knowing what a monster Ben would become in the future, after escaping the Initiative, Sayid turned his gun on Ben, shot the boy, and left him for dead.

Other than apologizing for taking his father’s keys, Ben was a passive participant in the remaining events in the 1970s. Juliet tried desperately to save Ben, to no avail, and the only surgeon around refuse to help. Juliet, knowing the character and abilities of the Others, made a decision with Kate – the boy had to be taken to the Others. Richard agreed to take the boy, but warned his would-be rescuers that the process would forever change Ben, who would lose his innocence and become one of the Others. Further, his memory of the events that transpired would be lost.

I’ve stated elsewhere my disappointment that Ben had no memory of the events that transpired in his getting shot. He mentioned it briefly in Dead is Dead, but otherwise we have no real idea as to how much his memory was impaired by the process of saving his life. When Sun showed him a picture of the 1977 recruits into the DHARMA Initiative, Ben was genuinely surprised to see Jack, Hurley, and Kate among them. Maybe he wouldn’t have remembered them anyway, since he seemed to have little contact with them as a boy (at least while conscious), but it appears he also had no memory of Sawyer, Juliet, Miles, Sun, or Daniel. The fact that Ben lost his memory of the events resulting in his being shot meant that when he was caught in Danielle’s net, he didn’t recognize Sayid. When Ben called Sayid a stone cold killer, he didn’t know that it would result in his transformation 30-something years earlier from a boy to an Other. I still feel this was a missed opportunity.

Ben Gathers the Oceanic 6

Between the time that Ben turned the wheel and brought Sun and Jack to Eloise Hawking, Ben worked as he always did, through manipulation, behind the scenes. He manipulated Sayid into killing his enemies, most likely Widmore’s men. He manipulated Jack into gathering the remaining Oceanic 6 for the trip back to the Island. He coldly dropped Sayid as soon as he no longer needed him, then convinced Sayid to kill Hurley’s “guards” as a means to “protect” Hurley. He managed to convince Sun to follow him, hiding Jin’s wedding ring until they were at the church where Hawking was.

Ben’s powers of manipulation failed him only twice. Hurley refused to follow him back to the Island, even though he had once believed it was the thing to do. Only Jacob’s intervention brought Hurley back. And Ben couldn’t manipulate himself to kill Penny Widmore in retaliation.

Ben’s “shining” moment was his one interaction with John Locke, in Locke’s hotel room. I’m not convinced that Ben himself knew he was entering Locke’s room to kill him. If Ben had planned to kill John, no matter what, then he truly was a master actor, a manipulator of the highest skill.

But I wonder if Ben killed John Locke not because Locke had given Ben the final piece to the puzzle needed to return to the Island (Eloise Hawking’s name), or because he believed that Jacob communicated with John again. As we saw in Ben’s final scene of the episode, Ben has felt the pain of being ignored by Jacob while John Locke has been special. This reminder of Ben’s seemingly unimportance to Jacob, and John’s place on the Island, may have been the final straw. And John Locke’s life was ended in a brutal fashion.

I’ll miss you John. I really will.

Back Home on the Island

Ben showed up on Ajira 316 beaten and bloodied from his encounter with the Hume family. Like Frank and Sun, Ben did not flash into the 1970s. Instead, he stayed mostly to himself, but seemed pleased that Sun was following him. He seemingly talked her into going with him to the main Island, but his confidence in his skill and his mark was misplaced. Sun didn’t trust him, and as soon as she had the knowledge from him that she needed, she knocked him unconscious. And thus, thousands if not millions of Lost fans sighed, “Finally.”

But then Ben woke up to his worst nightmare. John Locke greeted Ben as he awakened, “Welcome to the land of the living.” Did Ben give up just a little at this point, knowing the Island favored John so greatly? Maybe not. Ben skillfully manipulated Caesar to mistrust John, with the ostensible reason of getting the shotgun away from Caesar.

In my opinion, Ben’s manipulation of Caesar was Ben’s last. For him, it was essentially downhill from there on out. At one point, Sun asked Ben what happened to the rest of the infamous statute. He told her it had been that way for as long as he had been on the Island. She looked at him and asked if he expected her to believe him. The master manipulator sighs, “Not really.”

We know, of course, that John Locke remained dead. Instead, Ben was accompanied by not-Locke who insisted on following Ben back to the Island. Ben alleged that he planned to be judged by the Island for breaking the rules – returning to the Island after turning the wheel – but not-Locke forced Ben to admit he sought judgment for Alex’s death. Now accompanied by Sun, Ben and not-Locke sought the Temple. Once there, Ben was surprised that not-Locke knew a different way inside it.

In the Temple, Ben’s life continued to turn upside down. For the Smoke Monster showed up, giving Ben a visual of Alex’s death, and then it turned into Alex. At first Alex pretended to listen to Ben, but then, she pinned him against a pillar:

Listen to me, you bastard! I know that you’re planning to kill John again, and I want you to know that if you so much as touch him, I will hunt you down and destroy you. You will listen to every word that John Locke says, and you will follow his every order. Do you understand?

When the Smoke Monster left, Ben looked devastated, not least by the fact that it left him alive.

From there on out, Ben was not-Locke’s lackey. Not-Locke was the lying , deadly manipulator, and Ben was the easy mark. Not-Locke slowly but surely let Ben in on his plan, that they must find Jacob, that Jacob must die, and that Ben must kill Jacob. And why wouldn’t Ben want to kill Jacob? After all, despite years of loyal service to the Island and to Jacob, following every order, Ben never saw Jacob. Instead, he contracted cancer, watched his daughter die, and was banished from the Island. Oh, how skillfully not-Locke found Ben’s every weakness.

At the final confrontation between not-Locke and Jacob, Ben was the actor, but not the focus. Although Ben observed that not-Locke and Jacob appeared to know each other, he didn’t explore it. For he finally was face to face with Jacob, the entity he had heard about for 3 decades, the entity who never met him, who never found him special. When Jacob reminded Ben that he had a choice, Ben exploded.

Oh... so now, after all this time, you've decided to stop ignoring me. Thirty-five years I lived on this island, and all I ever heard was your name over and over. Richard would bring me your instructions--all those slips of paper, all those lists--and I never questioned anything. I did as I was told. But when I dared to ask to see you myself, I was told, "You have to wait. You have to be patient." But when he asked to see you? He gets marched straight up here as if was Moses. So... why him? Hmm? What was it that was so wrong with me? What about me?!

Then Jacob responds, “What about you?” And then Ben stabs Jacob over and over.

In that final episode, we learned that John Locke was never resurrected, and that it was someone else who acted as John. From what Jacob said to not-Locke, we have assumed that not-Locke was actually the Man in Black, or Esau. What will happen to Ben when he realizes that he was the pawn in a game that may be centuries old?

The Actor

After the season ended, Michael Emerson made the media rounds doing interviews. I’m sure it had nothing to do with a plan to encourage Emmy voters to select him as Outstanding Supporting Actor, but either way, he did win! Yeah! A well-deserved win.

Emerson also appeared at Comic-Con this summer, and took an active part in the humor of the Lost panel, showing his “audition” for the role of Hurley, and making fun of Josh Holloway for not being able to read. It appears that everyone had a great time.

Editor's Note

I had fabulous pictures for this post, but I had problems with Blogger this time. I honestly don't know if the problem is with the pictures or some other problem. It was annoying.

John Locke, Season 5

2009-10-11T18:31:00.015-05:00

My next three posts will focus on the characters that changed the most, in my opinion, in Season Five: John Locke, Benjamin Linus, and Sayid Jarrah. Of the three, John changed the most, simply because he went from being alive to being dead, which is quite a big change. It turns out that the man we thought was John Locke in half of the season was not, in fact, John Locke at all. In fact, John died, and remained dead. We know who was pretending to be John Locke, but we know little about him. All of us, myself included, forgot that there is a difference between reincarnation and resurrection. The clue was there, but we thought the producers were sloppy. It turns out, we were.

This season showed us John at his strongest and his weakest (ignoring the dead part for the moment). The season opened with John, the new leader of the Others, separated from them by the time flashes. Because of his location – the Beechcraft airplane in which Yemi died – John quickly ascertained that he was traveling through time. Unfortunately, Ethan didn’t get the memo about the new leader, and he shot John in the leg. John would have probably died had Not-Locke not sent Richard to bandage John up. I won’t go over that conversation right now, especially since we learned that it was actually Not-Locke who told Richard that John would have to die to get his friends back to the Island. That will be covered in my “Not-Locke” post.

John later finds Sawyer and Juliet, saving them from some murderous Others. John didn’t know he killed Others, though, until Juliet identified them as such after hearing “Jones” and his cohort speak Latin. When “Jones” takes off, John refuses to shoot him because, “he’s one of my people.”

For the remainder of the time that John is on the Island, he is clearly the leader. Unlike last season, though, he’s not a dictator, but seems to care about Sawyer, Charlotte, and the remaining Left Behinders. Perhaps buoyed by his conversation with Richard, he has a plan to save them and acts on it. And the rest follow, even Miles. Sawyer questions John a couple of times, but it is a respectful questioning (for Sawyer), and he helps John enact his plan.

Thanks to a time skip, the Orchid disappears, but the well, predicted by Charlotte, remains. John goes down the well on a rope, but the rope was cut in two by yet another time skip, and John plummeted to the bottom, severely injuring his leg. At this point, John changes from the confident and powerful leader to a disabled and disheartened man.

Off the Island, John can convince no one to return to the Island. Kate and Jack treat him with contempt and disbelief, Hurley thinks he’s a ghost, and Sayid outright refuses. John doesn’t even both asking Walt. John seems out of touch during his return, as we saw when Walt told John about his dream, a dream that John summarily dismisses.

At last, John gives up, and starts the process of committing suicide. And that is how Benjamin Linus finds him.

I’ll discuss Ben and this scene in a later post, but I know I’m not the only one who was tremendously surprised, first, at how kind he was to John, and then how cruelly he killed him. Ben told John that he was special, and that they would work together to bring the Jack, Kate, and the others back to the Island. Just what John wanted to hear. But John mentioned the name Eloise Hawking, and that was his death warrant.

The Meaning of John

I’ve made several assumptions through the years about John Locke. I’ve always assumed that he is special. He was healed of his paralysis on the Island. He met the smoke monster and survived. He knew and understood the hearts of his fellow Lostaways. I wanted to believe that he did have that destiny that he desperately sought.

John’s seeming resurrection only buttressed me believe in his destiny. How confident and strong he was, how truly connected to the Island he was. Except, it wasn’t him, it was Not-Locke. John was still in his casket, dead.

Richard even asked Jack about John, in the 1970s-era DHARMA days. Richard saw nothing special in John in the two times he had met him (up-to-then). Even though Richard was not impressed by John, he still tried to recruit him when he was in high school. But John rejected the offer.

So, was John a dupe, a sap? Was he truly just a loser with dreams bigger than his potential? Was he so desperate to be special that the Man-in-Black was able to manipulate John into being the vessel he needed to kill Jacob? But why would Jacob touch John if he weren't important?

Is John Gone?

Watching the final half of last season, I felt that John was truly coming into his own. He died, but he had to die to save the Island and his friends. Only in the last minutes of The Incident did we learn that John was still dead – he had not been resurrected but lay in his coffin. I was shocked, horrified, sad. And worried. Is John permanently dead? Will he never have a chance to have a destiny? Other bloggers, primarily Ryan McGee on Zap2It, believe that John is dead, and is never returning. I hope that he’s wrong. But I’m also afraid that Ryan might be right.

The Actor

As far as I can tell, Terry O’Quinn hasn’t done much this year other than Lost. He didn’t seem to do a media blitz as Michael Emerson and Evangeline Lilly did. No commercials, no guest roles. I did find a video of O’Quinn on The View, but it was from 2008. It seems that he has decided to not submit his name for Emmy consideration, because once you’ve won for a role, you shouldn’t try for another Emmy until you have a new role. I believe that he did attend the Kentucky Derby, which is where this picture is from. Maybe he's just enjoying Hawaiian life.

The Dreaded Quad, Season 5

2009-10-05T20:47:00.006-05:00

This post has been a long time coming, partially because my initial efforts have meant that the post will be the longest post ever. This show has played with the relationships between and among these characters since Jack first opened his eye in the first episode. Kate has vacillated between Jack and Sawyer as she deals with her daddy issues. In Season 2, Ana Lucia Cortez was brought in to be the first to create a quad from a triangle, but she was so disliked by fans that her character was soon permanently retired by Michael. Our current quad started in Season 3 with the introduction of Juliet.

It is my firm belief that the quad is now dead. If nothing else, the final scene of Juliet trying to set off Jughead leads me to this conclusion. I think it also notable that Jacob never touched Juliet. And let's not forget that Elizabeth Mitchell has a starring role in V.

I must admit that the original triangle could be quite tiresome, perhaps because of Kate’s own inability to understand what she wants. I know someone who calls Kate a strong woman, but she is not when it comes to Sawyer and Jack. In the first four seasons she couldn't choose between the recalcitrant Sawyer or the noble Jack. Her feelings for Sawyer are the first to be consummated, but she clearly feels guilty later and devastated when she realizes that Jack knows of it. She later returns to Sawyer’s bed (sleeping bag? Tent?) after watching Jack and Juliet together. Sawyer is no fool, but he agrees to the arrangement – any Kate is better than no Kate. Kate’s choice appears to be made for her when Sawyer whispers his request of her and jumps out of the helicopter into the ocean.

She agrees to marry Jack when they are off the Island. But her need to protect Sawyer’s secrets and Jack’s substance abuse led to the destruction of that engagement. Even when she briefly reunited with him before the “trip to Guam”, she made it clear to Jack that just because they were in the same place doesn’t mean that they were together.

Although Sawyer slept with Ana Lucia, both he and Jack clearly are attracted to Kate. Yes, Jack appeared to have feelings for Juliet, but Juliet was aware that he prefered Kate. Sawyer’s feelings for Kate were clear this past season as he dealt with his belief that Kate was dead and that he would never see her again. The cruelties of time travel led to Sawyer staring hungrily at Kate as she helped Claire give birth. Somehow, three years later, he honestly believed that he was over Kate. Just as he made this realization, of course, Kate returns to the Island, and Sawyer’s face makes it clear that he was wrong.

I was never convinced that Jack and Juliet were a real couple. She was clearly attracted to him, and he to her, but they both knew that his heart wasn’t in it. Why did Juliet accept this? What attracted her to him, anyway, besides the obvious? His skill, his desire to escape the Island, his leadership skills? Was her attraction for him part of the emotional turmoil as she escaped from Ben’s clutches amongst a group of people who clearly didn’t trust her? Or was it because he seemed to be the opposite of Ben? I don’t know.

But, in watching Namaste and Whatever Happened, Happened, I am certain that whatever feelings existed between the two of them are now gone. When Jack knocked on Sawyer’s door to be let in by Juliet, he appeared pleased to see her, but nothing more. The “shock” he felt after realizing the state of affairs between Juliet and Sawyer seemed nothing more than the narcissistic injury of realizing that a former flame is with a rival. The confrontation in the shower further buttresses my belief. Juliet was horrified that Jack refused to operate on a 12-year-old, even if that 12-year-old was the future Ben, and his explanation didn’t assuage her. She lost respect for him, and he betrayed everything that she believed in. When she stormed out of there, I felt that this relationship, in that form, was dead.

I had heard that Juliet would become a romantic interest for Sawyer, but I rather forgot it as the season started. Sawyer and Juliet started out as equals, respecting each other and looking out for each other. She was able to calm him down without denigrating him, and he was able to talk her into helping Amy give birth. For the first time in this quad, we saw a couple that were friends and lovers, and it was clear that they were good for each other. How many of us women swooned as Sawyer picked a flower for Juliet and kissed her in the kitchen? How many of us felt our hearts ripped out as Sawyer grasped Juliet’s hand, refusing to let her go down the well to her death? And who doubts that he was devastated?

Kate was surprised by the relationship, and observed it warily upon her return to the Island. Although she and Juliet were wary around each other initially, as time passed they became allies in their shared determination to save Ben’s life. But Kate still flinched whenever Sawyer referred to his feelings for Juliet, especially when he told Kate he was helping her with Ben because Juliet wanted him to. Some commentators I’ve read have expressed their belief that this conversation was the end of the affair. I’m not so convinced. Here is the conversation:

KATE: Hey. Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?

SAWYER: When I found out Ben was gone, and Juliet told me what you were up to, I asked that exact damn question. Why are you helping Ben? And she said...no matter what he's gonna grow up to be, it's wrong to let a kid die. So...that's why I'm doing this. I'm doing it for her.

***

KATE: Is that why you asked me to take care of your daughter?

SAWYER: Did you?

KATE: Of course I did.

SAWYER: What's she like?

KATE: Clementine?

SAWYER: Yeah, Clementine.

KATE: Oh, she's beautiful. Looks just like you when she smiles. She's growing up fast. Already has a little attitude.

SAWYER: I bet you and Cassidy had a lot to talk about.

KATE: She had an interesting theory on why you jumped off the chopper.

SAWYER: Yeah, what's that?

KATE: She thought you were worried about what would happen if you didn't.

SAWYER: You and me would've never worked out, Kate. I wasn't any more fit to be your boyfriend than I am to be that little girl's father.

KATE: You seem to be doing all right with Juliet.

SAWYER: Yeah. I've done a lot of growing up the past three years.

Cassidy provided an interesting mirror to Kate, challenging Kate’s view of Sawyer as a selfless hero who sacrificed himself for her. Kate clearly can’t tell how she feels, as her attraction to Sawyer remains as strong as ever. Sawyer is apparently equally attracted, staring at Kate, and calling her “Freckles” at inopportune times. Indeed, his obvious attraction perhaps fractured his relationship with Juliet, leading her to do whatever she could to prevent their relationship from starting in the first place.

I was also struck by the fact that Jack and Kate did not continue their affair on the Island. Jack would have been justified for thinking that they were back together after their night together. But perhaps it was just mutual pity-party sex, because neither party made an effort to stay together on the Island.

So what is next? Well, I’m fairly certain that Juliet is out of the picture, at least initially. We have no idea what will happen with our Losties in the new season. Will they land at LAX in 2004, all strangers to each other? Will they end up in Locke’s time, ready to battle Esau? What memories will they have of the past five years? Will there be no memories but impressions and feelings? Of course, I don’t know. The producers can do just about whatever they want to at this point. Whatever it is, I know I’ll be watching.

Michael Emerson Wins the Emmy!

2009-09-21T18:49:00.002-05:00

I'm sure that most of y'all were like me, glued to the TV last night watching the Emmys. It was a better ceremony than most, but the best moment of all was when Michael Emerson won an Emmy for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Drama. His speech was short and awkward:

Oh, my goodness, what a fine honor. I feel like I'm living out a character actor's dream. One day I flew to Hawaii to do a guest spot, and four years later it's become the role of a lifetime. I salute the other formidable actors in my category [William Hurt had been expected to win, despite a lackluster performance in Damages]. I salute my steadfast and beautiful wife, Carrie, and my fine representation, and all the brilliant writers, producers, and artists that make up the Lost family to which I belong. As they say in Honolulu [I don't speak Hawaiian]... Goodnight.

Sadly, Lost did not win for Outstanding Drama, losing to Mad Men. That's okay. Maybe next year.

Zap2It Locke Lost Event

2009-09-20T12:08:00.008-05:00

I must give Lesley credit for this post - it was she who pointed out I would blog about bloggers meeting. Good point! And so I will.

Sadly, no one else was able to attend with me. People had all kind of excuses, including prior plans or wedding anniversaries - whatever! So I was on my own. I was a little nervous at first - people don't believe me, but I'm very shy.

I didn't arrive at The Dark Horse until a little after 7. I heard I missed a little drama - a reenactment of the conflict between frat boys and geeks. The Lost party was in the beer garden in back, but the organizers found it already occupied by a number of Steelers fans in town for the game. Apparently, when the Steelers play, their fans start drinking early and often. So they were a little rowdy and had to be moved to the bar area. Later, I heard that they would open the bathroom door while a friend was using the facilities. Fun times!

By the time I got there, the Steelers fans were gone, and the garden was decorated with the cover page shots of Lost characters from TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly. "DHARMA cookies" and other DHARMA products were present, including DHARMA cozies. Appetizers were already available - Mr. Cluck's Chicken Wings, Paulo's Pulled Pork Nachos, Katesadillas, and Hurley's Hummus. We could also indulge in drinks such as Jack & Coke, Jin & Tonic, and Wrecks on the Beach. It was a cash bar, and I decided to drink Chardonnay. Perhaps I should have called it "Charliennay"?

MacCutcheon Whiskey was not available, and even if it had been, I don't think that any of us could have afforded it.

One of the organizers immediately greeted me. I think y'all would like Erika. She has a beautiful picture of herself with Terry O'Quinn at Long Live Locke that you just have to see. I must be honest and say that I had not known of her blog until the announcement of this event, but I have enjoyed what I've read. She told me later in the evening that Lost has really changed her life - she changed her profession to become a freelance writer!

I met Bo and Mac (I think that is his name) while gathering some appetizers, and I was starting to get nervous. It looked like most people were with friends! My social anxiety was kicking in. I sat at an unoccupied table to eat and enjoy my Charliennay, but Mac called me over to the table where he was. He was with his wife (whose name sadly escapes me), a young couple (whose names also escape me), Bo and his friend Jake, and Maria (pronounced like Mariah of Mariah Carey but without the "h"). Maria was quite a character. She was an acting major in college and I believe has finished her MBA. She knew about this event because she is a long-time follower of Ryan from Zap2It. Needing a reason to leave Charlotte behind for the weekend, she flew into Chicago.

Later, we were joined by Wayne, a guy who bore a passing resemblance to Locke with his shorn hair. He also wore a shirt that had a geometric pattern similar to the DHARMA octagon which started a few conversations.

The conversation focused mostly on Lost, of course. Our favorite quotes (mine include "son of a bitch" and "Others 101"), our favorite characters (Kate is quite unpopular), and our hopes for the next season. Bo, it turns out, had attended Comic Con in San Diego, so he told us a little about that. He also attended the Comic Con the year prior, asking the first question, so I will have to look that up.

We also talked about other shows we enjoy, including Fringe, 30 Rock, and Mad Men. This was a little difficult for me because I'm behind on all three shows! We are also anticipating FlashForward, though no one really believes it can replace Lost.

We also talked about our favorite blogs, including Ryan's Zap2It blog. And I did get to meet Ryan himself. Apparently, he has a "real job" and is also a blogger. I guess being a blogger doesn't pay well? I didn't get to spend as much time talking with him as I would have liked, but I must recommend his blog. He recently posted his theory that Hurley might be the true heir to the Island (I'm sure I'll have some thoughts on that later).

I did admit to Wayne at some point that I have a blog, and he promised to look it up. I felt a little foolish later, though. There was a raffle (I won diddly-squat), which gave away Blueray versions of Lost and a book, which Wayne had given, because he had written the glossary for it. Oh. The book is called Getting Lost, and appears to be edited by Orson Scott Card. A little investigation on my part revealed that Wayne is local author Wayne Allen Sallee. I've not heard of him because he appears to write mostly horror, which I don't read. But I am sure I will check out his book.

I left shortly thereafter, having thoroughly enjoyed my evening with other fans of Lost. We were a motley crew of folks, with some professionals, some suburbanites, some young, some not-so-young. It would be really cool to have something like this again.

I must give a shout-out to Brian who taught me how to make links. Thanks Brian!

Zap2It Lost Event in Chicago

2009-09-07T11:49:00.002-05:00

I want to invite everyone in the Chicagoland area to a Lost event in Chicago on September 18 at The Dark Horse Bar and Grille (chosen because of Kate's black horse) at 3443 N Sheffield Avenue, starting at 7 PM. It is being hosted by one of the bloggers I read, Ryan McGee of Zap2It and his girl (wife?) Erika Olson behind the blog Long Live Locke. I've really enjoyed McGee's blogs over the years, and his theorizing has given me much to think about. It's a cash bar, and it will totally be fun!

Juliet Burke, Season 5

2009-08-23T17:59:00.011-05:00

This season brought me to the heights of sublimity and the depths of despair, both times, related to the good doctor.

Not that Juliet has always been the “good doctor”. In her first season, we had no idea whose side she was on. She kept Jack captive, threatened to kill Kate (to keep Sawyer in line), and worked with Ben. But, at the same time, she orchestrated an opportunity to let Jack know that she wanted to “overthrow” Ben, and that she needed his help doing it. Later, she pretended to be cast out from the Others to gain the trust of the 815ers. Even after we discovered that she had told Jack she was working with Ben, it still seemed hard to trust her. What were her alliances, anyway? At first, her only goal was to get home to her sister.

But somehow, Juliet slowly but surely changed. She told Jack she was tired of following Ben’s dreams, and she developed feelings for Jack. By the end of Season Three, Juliet was walking in lockstep with our heroes, helping Sawyer and Hurley rescue Sayid, Jin and Bernard from the Others.

Juliet was a full-fledged member of the team by Season 4, so much so that I was actually surprised to remember that she hadn’t crashed on the Island on 815. The only time I didn’t like her is when she told Jin that Sun had had an affair. But by the end of the season, even Kate seemed to like Juliet.

We saw nothing this season that made me even remotely dislike Juliet. Instead, she continued to develop into one of my favorite characters. Unlike the 815ers, she was always calm in a crisis and seemed to know the right questions to ask. She also demonstrated a unique skill – the ability to speak Latin. She learned it in Others 101.

Other than her romance with Sawyer and that blasted final episode of the season, I found three things about Juliet this season to be remarkable.

First, she had the chance to leave the island. Twice. And she never made if off. Not even once. In prior seasons we learned that Juliet was originally supposed to be on the Island for six months. After the six months, she asked to go home so she could attend to her pregnant sister. Ben refused, saying that Juliet’s sister would die of cancer before she gave birth. However, if Juliet stayed, Ben would make sure that Jacob healed Rachel. Three years later, she was still on the Island, working with Ben to manipulate Jack into operating on Ben…

Then, in LaFleur, the Left Behinders were told that they were being summarily shipped back to the States in the submarine. At last, a chance to leave! But Sawyer arranged for a two-week period of grace (you know, to find “his people”). And yet one of the most tender scenes of a tender episode:

SAWYER: I bought us two weeks. Horace said we can wait for the next sub. Any luck, Locke'll be back by then.
JULIET: And then what?
SAWYER: What do you mean, "Then what"?
JULIET: Locke said he was leaving to save us. The flashes have stopped. They're over. No more bloody noses. We're already saved. That sub behind you brought me here. I've been trying to get off of this island for more than three years, and now I've got my chance.
JULIET: I'm going to leave.
SAWYER: You do realize it's 1974, that whatever it is you think you're going back to... it don't exist yet.
JULIET: It's not a reason not to go.
SAWYER: Well, what about me? You really gonna leave me here with the mad scientist and Mr. "I Speak to Dead People"? And Jin, who's a hell of a nice guy but not exactly the greatest conversationalist.
JULIET: You'll be fine.
SAWYER: Maybe... but who's gonna get my back? Come on. Just give me two weeks, that's all I'm asking. Two weeks.
JULIET: All right. Two weeks.

We know what happens then. Three more years pass. Suddenly, everything changes: Jack, Kate, and Hurley are back. It’s not long before the DHARMA Initiative learns that James and Juliet are not who they thought. The DHARMA Initiative agrees to let James and Juliet go. Another tender moment, sadly disrupted by Kate:

SAWYER: We'll buy Microsoft.
JULIET: Excuse me?
SAWYER: Then we'll bet the Cowboys in the '78 Super Bowl. We're gonna be rich. Look, I'm sorry. I should've listened to you when you wanted to get on this sub three years ago.
JULIET: I'm glad you talked me out of it.
. . .
JULIET: What are we gonna do when we get to Ann Arbor?
SAWYER: We ain't going to Ann Arbor.
JULIET: What do you mean?
SAWYER: These guys ain't cops. They got no authority over us back in the real world. So once we dock, wherever we dock... we're free.
JULIET: "Real world." I don't even know what that means anymore.
SAWYER: Hey, come here. Whatever happens, I got your back, remember?
JULIET: I love you.
SAWYER: I love you back.

But their escape from the Island was as short-lived as that tender scene. Sawyer point blank refuses to help Kate stop Jack from blowing up the Island. But Juliet has other plans, telling Sawyer: “We decided to leave this Island, James, we did. And now we're going back.”

Secondly, she successfully delivered her first baby in six years. Remember that whole pregnancy problem? Ben arranged for Juliet to come to the Island to help women carry their babies to term without dying. When a woman conceived on the Island, she died approximately 100 days after conception. Claire was the first woman to give birth on the Island, which Juliet attributed to Aaron’s conception 8 months earlier off the Island. At least nine other pregnant women Juliet worked with in three years were not so lucky. For reasons she could not explain, the mother’s immune system would shut down. Juliet feared that the same would happen to Sun, a fate she wanted to avoid at all costs.

For whatever reason, Juliet did not operate as a doctor in the DHARMA Initiative. Instead, she worked in the motor pool. At first, I thought she might have chosen that path to avoid having to deal with pregnant women. But then it occurred to me, how could Juliet prove that she was a doctor? I don’t know when Juliet attended medical school, but I strongly suspect it was not before 1974. I’m guessing it was just easier to join the motor pool.

Which is where James found her when Amy went into labor two weeks early. Amy was never supposed to give birth on the Island. She was supposed to be on the submarine that “delivered” Jack, Kate, and Hurley. It occurs to me that Amy long passed the threshold that women 30 years later never survived. Still, the birth was supposed to take place off the island. Presumably, Miles was also born off-Island. (Baby Miles was 4 months old, according to Lostpedia, at the time of The Incident). But pregnancies never go as planned, and so it was that Amy entered labor. It was not the Island’s sinister influence on pregnant women that made the birth so difficult, however – Ethan was breech. The DHARMA doctor was clearly unable to cope with this development. And Sawyer, ever the problem-solver, knew who could cope.

Juliet initially demurred, reminding Sawyer that they “had an agreement”, and “Don't you understand that every time I try to help a woman on this island give birth, it hasn't worked?” But James would not be persuaded. When Juliet walked into the medical office, she was all business, asking questions of the doctor and then giving orders. The doctor was understandably puzzled, but Amy recognized someone who could help her.

And finally, after six long years, Juliet did what she had come to the Island to do, help a woman give birth.

Thirdly, Juliet was never touched by Jacob. Instead, in The Incident, all we saw was what felt like a clumsy add-on of Juliet’s parents telling their children of their impending divorce. The little girl, Juliet, cried, saying that she didn’t want to understand how two people who were supposed to be together wouldn’t be. We are given the impression that this incident was the real motive for why Juliet decided to support Jack’s plan to blow up the Island. If the plan worked as promised, everything starts over, and Juliet will then never lose Sawyer.

But aside from the faulty psychological reasoning by the producers, the lack of Jacob touching Juliet has, unfortunately, far reaching consequences for the character. I believe that Jacob and Esau have been in conflict for decades, if not centuries, and Jacob must have known that his enemy had plans for Jacob’s death. Knowing what those plans entailed, and who, Jacob visited a select group, and touched them all. We don’t know the significance of the touch, of course, but I strongly believe that he needs all those touched in his battle with Esau. For whatever reason, Jacob doesn’t need Juliet. She therefore seems more disposable to the Island than the others, and that worries me.

We all know the end of the season, however, with Juliet, severely if not mortally wounded, determinedly hitting Jughead to make it explode. The screen faded to white (and I’ve seen many swear the heard the sounds of an explosion at that time). We have no idea what happened, to Juliet or to anyone else.

The Actress

Perhaps Elizabeth Mitchell knew in advance and sought the role, or perhaps she earned the role and that caused the producers to let her go, but either way, Mitchell will be starring in a TV remake of V this fall. The series premieres November 3 on ABC. Mitchell plays Erica Evans, an FBI agent in the Counter Terrorist Division, who is the single mother of a troubled teenaged son (aren’t all teenagers on TV troubled?). Eventually Evans becomes involved in a conspiracy, presumably against the aliens, but I don’t know that for sure. I’m going to guess that this will make the actress less available for Lost. And that makes me very sad.

I Stand Corrected

2009-08-11T20:12:00.002-05:00

Some of you may have heard that I have good reason to believe that Jorge Garcia, Hurley on Lost, left a comment on a recent post. I have my reasons for actually believing this, which, if you’re curious, let me know and I’ll fill you in.

Among other things, his comment made me realize my dependence on an unreliable source. I strive for accuracy in everything I do and everything I say. When I theorize, I research faithfully the facts behind my theories. When I ponder on a character, I want to understand their past as shown in previous episodes. And I’ve been using Lostpedia to help. Well, using, I think, is an understatement. I rely on it totally. Whether I’m looking at their transcripts to review and/or steal dialogue, character biographies, or pictures from the episodes, I find Lostpedia to be, well, encyclopedic in its breadth and depth of knowledge about Lost. But I stopped using Lostpedia as a tool and started relying on it solely. I forgot something very important about Lostpedia. Like Wikipedia, Lostpedia is created, written, and edited by people like me. Like you. Like the person in the office or cubicle next to you. Or in the seat next to you in the coffee shop. Etc. In other words, I forgot that, while most of what I find on Lostpedia is accurate, not all of it is, and I should always look at the information I find there with skepticism.

So I thank Mr. Garcia, not just for noticing my blog, but for taking the time to correct an error in my post. Because I never want disseminate wrong information. I hope it is clear that I love to hear when you disagree with me on a theory or character motivation. But because I’m committed to never adding to misinformation, I also hope you tell me when I’m wrong. That includes grammar and spelling. As much as I love to write this blog, I also love to hear from you.

My error, by the way? I read on Lostpedia that Mr. Garcia, among other Lost actors, read the lines of Sawyer when auditioning. I found two theories about this on Lostpedia: one, that those were the only lines available, and two, that the actors were actually auditioning for the role of Sawyer. Mr. Garcia let me know that he never auditioned for Sawyer. I guess I'm just gonna have to sign up to edit Lostpedia posts to right that wrong.

Jorge Garcia as Sawyer

2009-07-29T20:53:00.003-05:00

I had hoped to attach this to the Sawyer post, but I just can't seem to make it work. So I'm going to try on a separate one.

The lead-in paragraph would have said:

I’ve heard two different theories about this, but it is a fact that Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, and Dominic Monaghan all read Sawyer’s lines when auditioning for the show. I’ve heard they read Sawyer’s lines simply because his was the only character fully written. I’ve also heard that Garcia and Monaghan both were actually auditioning for the role of Sawyer. Can you imagine Garcia as Sawyer? If not, this should help:

James "Sawyer" Ford, Season 5

2009-07-29T20:31:00.013-05:00

One of the things I really like about Lost is comfortable producers feel adapting its characters to the actor. One character that has really benefited from this is Sawyer. Sawyer was always a con man, but initially he was a Prada-wearing con man. The producers liked Josh Holloway’s audition so much that Sawyer went from a city-slicker to a Southern boy. It took the actor a while to catch on that the producers wanted him to use his natural Southern accent (Holloway was raised in Georgia). Even “Freckles”, Sawyer’s nickname for Kate, was also Holloway-born.

Sawyer’s Finest Year…or Three

This season, Sawyer had to do the seemingly impossible: accept the fact that he was skipping through time. In their first flash, the Left Behinders discover that their beach camp is gone. Sawyer, meeting Daniel for the first time, scoffs when the physicist says the camp hadn’t been built yet. When Daniel at first refuses to explain what he believes is going on (saying it would be difficult to explain to a quantum physicist), Sawyer slaps Daniel, threatening to slap Charlotte if she interferes. Daniel tries to explain, of course, but Sawyer wants nothing of it. Instead, he wants to break back into the Swan Station to get clothing and food, but Daniel stops him – “You can’t change the past, James.” And indeed, James did not. Desmond never responded to Sawyer’s pounding on the Swan Hatch. When he sees Kate assisting Claire give birth, he stands by, staring in agony. By Jughead, the third episode of the season, Sawyer doesn’t seem to question John when John refers to time travel. What was really funny was watching James trying to explain their time travel situation to Jin.

We also see James take on the role of a leader. In The Little Prince, Sawyer, taking John’s suggestion they go the Orchid, determined that was were the Left Behinders needed to go. After John turns the wheel, Sawyer announces that they’ll wait for John to come back, no matter how long it takes. When he pronounces his plan to wait at the beach and Miles questions the plan, Juliet supports Sawyer (though she later tells Sawyer she thinks it was a stupid idea). Miles then asks, to no one in particular, “Who put him in charge?”

When the Left Behinders find Amy in trouble, Sawyer acts heroically, rescuing her from the Hostiles. He then turns into con man-mode, creating a story on the fly (I guess he didn’t think that confessing they were from the future would be believed). James renamed himself “Jim LaFleur”, and said that the Left Behinders were shipwrecked while trying to find the slave ship, the Black Rock. They were wandering the jungle looking for missing crewmen. Horace believes James, but tells him they have to leave, because “Jim” is clearly not “DHARMA material.” An interaction with Richard Alpert later, James has bought them two weeks to search for their missing crew.

Jim is Accepted by Society

By the time three years have passed, the” “crew” remains missing, and James has become chief of DHARMA Initiative security. Further, everyone in security (and apparently janitorial) are terrified of him. He commands respect, something he’s never had before. And he’s comfortable in that skin. So much so, that he can confront Jack when pushed:

SAWYER: Evening, Doc. … Take a load off. You want a beer?
JACK: No. No, I'm fine.
SAWYER: What can I do for you, Jack?
JACK: I don't even know where to start. Uh... how about with Sayid?
SAWYER: I had no choice. He was running around in the jungle, got caught by my people. And seein' as how he can't tell the truth about how he got here, I had to improvise.
JACK: Improvise?
SAWYER: Uh-huh. And for now, Sayid is safe, which is all that matters.
JACK: So where do we go from here?
SAWYER: I'm working on it.
JACK: Really? Because it looked to me like you were reading a book.
SAWYER: I heard once Winston Churchill read a book every night, even during the Blitz. He said it made him think better. It's how I like to run things. I think. I'm sure that doesn't mean that much to you, 'cause back when you were calling the shots, you pretty much just reacted. See, you didn't think, Jack, and as I recall, a lot of people ended up dead.
JACK: I got us off the Island.
SAWYER: But here you are... right back where you started. So I'm gonna go back to reading my book, and I'm gonna think, 'cause that's how I saved your ass today. And that's how I'm gonna save Sayid's tomorrow. All you gotta do is go home, get a good night's rest. Let me do what I do ...now ain't that a relief?
JACK: Yeah.

Later, Sawyer tells Sayid: these people trust me! I've built a life here – and a pretty good one.

I have to wonder, is this the first time that Sawyer has fit into a community? Been an upstanding member of society? Respected and feared not because he is a thief and a con man but because he is good – really good – at his job – being a security guard. It’s the most conventional and traditional that Sawyer has ever been. Granted, he’s in the DHARMA Initiative, which is hardly conservative.

Part of the wonderful life that James builds involves a romantic relationship with Juliet. I will, of course, talk more about this in a later post. But I will state here that it appears to be a strong bond between the two, and Juliet’s beliefs clearly inform much of Sawyer’s behavior, as I noted later in this post.

Sawyer’s Alternative World Comes Crashing Down

Unfortunately, the return of the Oceanic Six (technically Four since Aaron was left with Carole Littleton and Sun was left in 2007) changed everything. Sawyer fought it for a long time, doing everything he could to integrate the Four into the DHARMA Initiative. He didn’t see how their return ended his comfortable life. He just didn’t get it. He couldn’t control events. He couldn’t prevent 12-year-old Ben trying to escape his horrible life by freeing Sayid. He couldn’t prevent Sayid from trying to kill Ben. He couldn’t control the DHARMA Initiative. Or any of the things that brought his life spiraling out of control.

After Sayid shot Ben, Sawyer was less concerned about the boy’s fate than in doing what Juliet wanted him to do. Thus, he sought Jack’s medical help. Thus, he helped Kate take Ben to the Others: “When I found out Ben was gone, and Juliet told me what you were up to, I asked that exact damn question. Why are you helping Ben? And she said...no matter what he's gonna grow up to be, it's wrong to let a kid die. So...that's why I'm doing this. I'm doing it for her.”

Phil’s discovery of the videotape implicating Sawyer in taking Ben was the final nail in Sawyer’s comfortable life in the DHARMA Initiative. Sawyer saw two options: take the sub to escape or hide in the jungle. He was against finding Daniel’s mother. He tried to talk Kate into joining him on the beach, but Juliet, angered at the use of the nickname “Freckles” gave Kate the information she needed to pass the sonic fence. This was the first fracture in James’ relationship with Juliet (explored more in another post).

Not that he had been hidden, but the old Sawyer seemed to return as Radzinsky beat him, once the remaining DHARMA learned that James and Juliet were not who they seemed to be. He refused to answer any questions, pointing out to Juliet that they wouldn’t believe him anyway. However, once Phil figures out that hitting Juliet will make James talk, he does, drawing a map to the Hostiles so that Sawyer and Juliet can get on the submarine. And when Kate joins them on the sub, breaking the sweetest moment ever, James clearly couldn’t care that Jack planned to detonate a hydrogen bomb. Instead, he wanted to finally leave the Island. Just like saving Ben, he only changed his mind because of Juliet.

So, Sawyer tries to talk Jack out of blowing up the Island. This is one of the best scenes involving these two in the episode. It starts with:

SAWYER: I ain't gettin' in the van. I need five minutes, that's all. I'll say what I gotta say, and then you can do whatever the hell you want to. But you're gonna listen. You owe me that much, Jack.
JACK: Five minutes.
SAWYER: Take a load off, Doc.
JACK: No, thanks.
SAWYER: Sit down, Jack.
SAWYER: My folks died when I was 8 years old. I ever tell you that?
JACK: No.
SAWYER: Con man took my dad for everything he had. He didn't deal with it very well. He shot my mom, then he blew his own head off. I was hiding under the bed when it happened. I heard the whole thing.
JACK: I'm sorry.
SAWYER: Yeah. That was a year ago.
JACK: What?
SAWYER: Right now it's July 1977, which means that happened last year. So I could've hopped on the sub, gone back to the States, walked right in my house and stopped my daddy from killing anybody.
JACK: Why didn't you?
SAWYER: Because, Jack... what's done is done.
JACK: It doesn't have to be that way.
SAWYER: What did you screw up so bad the first time around you're willing to blow up a damn nuke just for a second chance?
JACK: That's not what this is about.
SAWYER: Then what is it about?
JACK: Three years ago, Locke told me that all this was happening for a reason, that us being here was our destiny.
SAWYER: I don't speak "destiny". What I do understand is a man does what he does 'cause he wants something for himself. What do you want, Jack?
JACK: I had her. I had her, and I lost her.
SAWYER: Kate? Well, damn, Doc, she's standing right on the other side of those trees. You want her back, just go and ask her.
JACK: Nah, it's too late for that. Your five minutes is up.
SAWYER: Jack... if what you're doin' even works, you and Kate will be strangers, and she'll be in damn handcuffs.
JACK: If it's meant to be, it's meant to be.
SAWYER: Well, I guess there's nothing I can say that's gonna change your mind.
JACK: No, I guess there's not.

Then, of course, the fight that’s been brewing between these two since the Oceanic 816 crashed. I’m normally bored by fights, but this one was so essential to these two characters, that I just enjoyed it. Until Juliet broke it off. She’d changed her mind. More on that in a later post. But once again, Sawyer agrees to act in a way contrary to his nature because of Juliet. And we all know what happens next.

The Actor

Josh Holloway seems to stay under the radar. However, he had one bit of exciting news this year, the birth of his daughter, Java Kumala Holloway, born April 9, 2009. I’m sure the name has some kind of meaning. I just don’t know what.

In my research for this post, I learned something I didn’t know about Josh Holloway and one of my other favorite shows. You may have known that Daniel Dae Kim and Sam Anderson had both guest starred on Angel. It turns out that Holloway was the first vampire that Angel dusted in LA. Who knew?