Jughead

What did we learn yesterday? Well, quite a lot, actually. As I mentioned last night, the show gave so many answers that I have whiplash. In no particular order:

- Penny and Desmond have a baby presumably 9 months after their reunion. The child is named Charlie. Isn’t that wonderful? I automatically assumed that the boy was named after Charlie Pace, whose selfless death saved Desmond. I forgot, though, that the child’s grandfather is also named Charles. I’m going with my first guess here – the boy’s namesake is our hobbit. Or vice versa.
- Charlotte’s condition is worsening. Dramatically. Is it time sickness, like what killed Minkowski and nearly killed Desmond? Does Charlotte need a constant? Does the fact that she was evidently born on the island make her more susceptible? And I must tell you, that I will be exceedingly disappointed if they kill her off right now. She seemed to have a more interesting story for us to explore.
- Daniel has a really bad poker face.
- How cool was it to see Miles’ mojo again? Like Charlotte, Miles has been woefully neglected. I blame the writers’ strike.
- In 1954, Richard appears to be acting like the leader of the Others, though he modestly admits that he answers to someone. Jacob, I presume?
- There’s a hydrogen bomb on the island. Could it be underneath the Swan station where Desmond spent years punching in numbers every 108 minutes. There’s an unusually strong magnetic field there, and a concrete wall several feet thick. A lot of people on the internet are really excited about the bomb. They believe that the radiation from the bomb is what added the time paradoxes to the island. And surely the bomb will show up again sometime?
- Desmond learns that Oxford has erased Daniel from its collective memory. That’s what happens when you send the brains of rats and a girl through time.
- Daniel tells Richard that he’s more interested in preventing an explosion “because I’m in love with the woman sitting next to me.” Honestly, I believed him. Not everyone does though. Some theories on their relationship later.
- Locke couldn’t kill the fleeing Other (unlike an aggravated Sawyer) – “he’s one of my people.”
- Theresa Spencer is the young woman whose brain apparently has been sent through time. She’s now more or less in a vegetative state. Daniel has abandoned her, so Charles Widmore, who funded Daniel’s research, takes care of all the bills for Theresa.
- Richard matter-of-factly notes that 18 US soldiers refused to leave the island, so, “We killed them.” But later Richard tells Locke that leaving the island is very complicated. Am I the only one to see the contradiction?
- When Richard tells Widmore to put down his gun, my jaw hit the ground. I had to rewind a couple of times to make sure I heard correctly. Now we know, Widmore has been on the island, and was an Other. And speaks Latin. One of many favorite lines of the night, “You think he [Locke] knows this island better than I do?” Um, yes.
- The girl with the gun, who evidently is named Ellie, reminds Daniel of someone. More on that later.
- Desmond is either brave or foolhardy in confronting Widmore. Widmore asks about Penny, and then agrees to give Desmond the address of Daniel’s mother. She just happens to be in LA (you know, where Ben is). “She won’t be pleased to see you. She’s a very private person.” But she and Desmond have so much in common!
- Widmore is afraid of what Ben will do to Penny: “Get out of this mess. Don’t put Penny’s life in danger…You’re getting yourself involved in something that goes back many many years. It has nothing to do with your or my daughter. Wherever you were hiding, go back there.”
- Becoming a leader of the Others is an intricate process that starts when the leader is young.
- Locke tells Richard when and where Locke will be born. Which explains some things that happened in the past season….

Two of my favorite lines of the night:

Juliet to Sawyer about how she learned Latin: “Others 101. Gotta know Latin. Language of the enlightened.”

Sawyer to Daniel after Ellie asked if Sawyer was a time traveler too: “You told her?”

So many theories are swirling, in my head and on the internet.

- Why is Ellie familiar to Daniel? I thought that perhaps she reminded him of Theresa Spencer or Charlotte. Maybe she’s Charlotte’s mother? I saw an intriguing theory on the internet however. The “pop up video” version of last week’s show indicated that Mrs. Hawking’s first name is Eloise. Ellie could be short for Eloise. Daniel’s lab rat was named Eloise. Maybe she’s familiar to Daniel because she’s Daniel’s mother?
- If Mrs. Hawking is Daniel’s mother and is Ellie, how come he doesn’t have a British accent? Was he born on the island? Could Widmore be his father? Charlotte was born on the island. Could Mrs. Hawking also be Charlotte’s mother? Could Charlotte and Daniel be siblings? We know that Daniel was somehow with the Dharma initiative in 1980. Is it possible that Daniel is actually Charlotte’s father? Could my head spin more from all these theories? No.
- Widmore is one arrogant sob. Is it possible that he doesn’t recognize Desmond’s role with the island? He clearly didn’t recognize Locke’s importance when they met in 1954. Locke was on Flight 815 because of a failed attempt to go on a walkabout, suggested by Abaddon. Does Abaddon work for Widmore? Does Widmore now know Locke’s role with the island? Was Widmore being groomed for leader of the Others? How did he come to leave the island?

Well, that’s enough for tonight. I’ve much to ponder upon, as I’m sure you do. Please let me know what you thought!

Whiplash

That's what I have after watching tonight's episode. A lot of people have complained about the snail's pace with which the producers have answered questions, but not me. So much was revealed tonight that my neck hurts. Badly.

So, Widmore was on the island, a long time ago. He was as annoying a young man as he is controlling as an old one. And he's scared of Ben. And lucky that Locke takes his leadership role seriously - otherwise, he'd be dead.

Daniel professes his love for Charlotte, whose condition is worsening rapidly.

The best part - Penny and Desmond have a son, a son they named Charlie.

As always, more tomorrow. Feel free to leave your initial thoughts in the comments!

I've Made My Decision

So, something struck me while watching the Lost premiere Wednesday. Sawyer thinks Kate is dead. I’m sure he’s sad that Sun, Jin, Desmond, Aaron, and especially Hurley (does he care that much about Sayid and Jack?) died, but he’s clearly devastated thinking that Kate is dead.

And suddenly, it hit me. Kate should choose Sawyer.

Now, many of y’all who know me know that Kate drives me crazy. Of all the castaways, she is my least favorite (sorry Freckles). She is self-righteous (see her “rescuing” Jack from the Others after he told her to leave) and devious (see her working with Sun to poison Michael), and often just annoying. I can’t blame the actress – I actually think she does an excellent job showing the depths of emotions that Kate is experiencing. I blame the character.

I also don’t want to think of Kate as a prize for Sawyer and Jack. That’s just not the way I want to think of any woman. I am a feminist, after all.

But, if Kate were to ask me which of the two men she should choose, I think I could tell her without reservations, pick Sawyer. Well, as of this week.

Why? Well, Jack’s had his shot. He and Kate were clearly deeply in love and even engaged at one point. But Jack let his self-doubts and demons get in the way. I don’t know why Kate wouldn’t tell Jack what favor she was doing for Sawyer. But I do think she was right – it had nothing to do with Jack and Kate’s love for him. Did he really expect her to just forget Sawyer?

Not that Sawyer is all that great of a catch himself. He’s a con artist who can be very mean-spirited, and he’s very good of taking care of himself. However, he’s also exceedingly loyal, for example, willing to risk himself to protect Hurley from Ben, Locke, and Keamy. You expect Jack to be noble and self-sacrificing, and you expect Sawyer to be selfish and cynical. But they are both more than that, and when they switch roles, it is all the more striking.

Me – I’m looking forward to the expression on Sawyer’s face when he first realizes Kate is alive. If we’re lucky, that moment won’t occur until he actually sees her.

Lost Season Five Premiere

Well, my fellow Lost-addicts, I hope that you found last night’s episodes as satisfying as I did. If I had any complaint, it is that the emotional weight of the second hour was overwhelmed by the frantic action of the previous hour. But after some reflection, Hurley’s confession to and acceptance by his mother hit home. It was actually very satisfying. Until Hurley ran from Ben into the arms of the police. More on that…

I’m not sure how much recapping I plan to do in this blog. I feel that there are some wonderful sites already that do a fantastic job of recapping. I might at some point, when faced with only one hour of episode recap, but recapping two hours is a little too much at this point. There’s so much I want to think about instead!

Some thoughts on the two hour premiere:

How cool to see Pierre Chang/Marvin Candle in the beginning! I didn’t recognize the song – it turns out that it was a Willie Nelson song, Shotgun Willie. I’ve never heard it before. A lot of bloggers are betting that the baby the Dharma player was caring for is either Sun or Miles. I didn’t think of that. I was so primed to see one of our characters though, that I swore the cameraman was actually Sawyer. So Faraday showing up wasn’t that surprising to me, but was still cool. If anyone can figure out this time business, it is Faraday.

Daniel Faraday actually had a lot of good lines in the first hour – I took notes:
- “We must have been inside the radius” (explaining the Zodiak passengers’ continued presence near the island)
- “The camp isn’t gone. It hasn’t been built yet.”
- “…like a record, skipping…” (kinda like Marvin Candle’s Shotgun Willie!)
- “We’re either in the past or in the future.”
They struck me because he said them so matter-of-factly, like I’d talk about the snow piled up outside my house. Actually, I think I’m far more upset about the snow then Daniel appeared to be about bouncing around time. He only seemed to get emotional when Charlotte’s nose bled.

Daniel seemed to actually take charge, something I hadn’t thought him capable of. I wasn’t quite sure why he dragged Charlotte, Miles, Juliet, and Sawyer to the Dharma station, but it did give him time to explain to a disbelieving Sawyer (and us) what was going on. Do you think Sawyer believed him?

Apparently the Others are not caught in the same “time warp” as the castaways, since John Locke, the new leader of the Others, flashed to a new time alone. Ethan wasn’t very friendly, but Richard Alpert may have saved John’s life. I loved Alpert’s conversation with John. The compass points north. Was I the only one who wondered if the compass was one of the items John was supposed to pick out when he was tested as a child? I checked – in the test, Locke picked the knife instead of the compass. Locke figured out his timeframe from the plane holding Yemi’s body and a whole lot of heroin. I still miss Mr. Eko.

The rules do not apply to Desmond. Daniel tells Sawyer that he can’t change the past, but then realizes that Desmond apparently can because of his unique qualifications. So Desmond must go to Oxford and find Daniel’s mother. I didn’t get this, but a lot of people think that Mrs. Hawking is Daniel’s mother. Desmond- you’ve already met her!

Wow, isn’t Charles Widmore a piece of work? He likes to be in control. Sun tells him that her common interest with Widmore is killing Benjamin Linus. I was really uncomfortable during the scene between Sun and Kate. I don’t believe that Sun means Kate well. How much has Sun changed? And why did she show a picture of an infant? Wouldn’t her daughter be about 2 by now?

I wasn’t sure what to make of Hurley’s anger at Sayid when the later decided it would be better to lie. Hurley said he wouldn’t help Sayid when he needed him, but he didn’t follow through on that threat in last night’s second episode. Maybe Hurley was too scared by Ninja-Sayid. Or perhaps by his feeling of helplessness after Sayid passed out.

Ana Lucia’s stopping Hurley was really exciting. She helped Hurley gather his wits about him, gave him some advice, then added, as though she had almost forgotten, “Oh, yeah, Libby says hi.” I wanted to cheer. More on her message later.

No surprise that Jack shaved. Surprise that Ben threw out Jack’s pills. (Although, as a public service announcement – it’s not good to flush medications in the toilet. Too easily enters the water supply.) What did Ben pull out of the vent? I couldn’t see. My absolute favorite line of the night was actually Jack’s. “He’s dead, isn’t he?” Well, Jack, death may be relative. Ben never did respond.

Second favorite line of the night came from Hurley’s mother, which I can only paraphrase, “There’s a dead Pakistani on my sofa!”

Favorite sight-gag of the night – Hurley throwing the hot pocket Ben when Ben startled him. Of course, he didn’t come close to Ben. Then we had to stare at the grease stain during their confrontation.

I’ll end this post on three notes:

1. Hurley’s scene with his mother, where he tells her the truth, was priceless. First, for Hurley’s description of events. We didn’t really get why the numbers had to be put in every 108 minutes either, Hurley. But how important for Hurley to hear from his mother that she believes him.
2. Hurley ignored Ana Lucia’s advice to avoid the cops, choosing to be arrested rather than trusting Ben. He instead paid attention to Sayid (the guy he wasn’t going to help), who said, “Whatever Ben tells you, do the opposite.” I can’t wait to find out whether Sayid broke with Ben and if so, why. But more importantly, I think Hurley’s decision will prove disastrous.
3. Mrs. Hawking reappears! We’ve seen her before in two Desmond-centric episodes. First, in “Flashes Before Your Eyes”, the episode where we find that Desmond has returned to the past, living with Penny in London, yet with a vague recollection that something was different. He decided to buy Penny a ring. The shopkeeper was Mrs. Hawking. She told Desmond he had to return to the island, and that his attempts to change what will happen in the future will fail, due to the universe’s “course correcting”. We also saw her in a picture with the abbot of Desmond’s abbey in “Catch-22”.

I’m sure I’ll post between now and next Thursday. One question I want to ponder: why do I trust ghosts more than Sayid? And other things that I just can’t it in today!

What did you think?

Lost from Lost

Which character do you miss from Lost? There’s been an awful lot of death on Lost, from the very first episode (remember the passenger that got too close to the engine or whatever it was? Still gives me nightmares.) to the last aired, when Michael (and possibly Jin) died. Sometimes the island won’t let you die – Michael’s death was delayed, and Locke appears to have 9 lives protecting him. But apparently, the island doesn’t mind letting a whole lot of others dying young. Some certainly seemed to die well before I was ready.

Which leads me to the character I miss most – Mr. Eko. Of all the Tailies, he was my absolute favorite. Part of the reason was the power of the actor, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who dominates any scene he’s in. The actor worked with the producers to help develop Mr. Eko. Mr. Eko was supposed to be a priest from Nigeria, but it turns out that he was also a former child-soldier, strong man, and drug dealer. He was capable of great violence, but was also very gentle. Eko went mute to atone for killing two Others who had tried to kidnap him. He ignored Ana Lucia to carry a wounded Sawyer to Jack, thereby probably saving Sawyer’s life. Because Mr. Eko listened to Charlie, he baptized both Aaron and Claire (the island must have wanted it). He knew things that others just didn’t seem to know, and understood that not all things were knowable. He seemed to have a connection to the island similar to Locke.

But the actor apparently tired of the role and life on the island. He worked with the producers to orchestrate the end of Mr. Eko. In the wildly uneven Season Three, Eko was confronted with his sins, sins that he did not believe he should atone for, simply because of a lack of choice. Then the smoke monster produces an arm which smashes Mr. Eko to his death. Before he dies, he tells Locke that they are “next”.

I so wish that we could have seen more of Mr. Eko. His death still haunts me, because I felt like there was so much more that could be explored. He left us wanting more, which, I guess, is not such a bad way to go.

Your turn.

The Start of It All

Can you believe that I've not watched Lost from the very beginning? I had classes at night, so, of all the new shows starting that year, I decided to watch Desperate Housewives instead - after all, it aired on Sundays. Normally, I'm on top of the new TV season. I acquire the Fall Preview issues of TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly, read them cover to cover, and pick the new shows I'm going to watch. But that year, what with school, and a return from a summer abroad, I was clueless, and Lost never entered my mind. I had seen some funky posters on my way to the bus. As I recall, they were a series of three and in black and white (that part I'm not going to swear to). One of the Lost was the Party of Five guy. Another was a hobbit. The third was a hot chick, notable only for not being blond.

Well, I didn't make the full season of Desperate Housewives. It is an extremely well done series, and I believe it is worthy of its status as a hit, must-see show. It is just not a hit, must-see show with me.

One night, I was home from school. Maybe there was no class that night. I wasn't in the habit of skipping class, but whatever, I was home that night. Anyway. I decided to watch TV. And Lost was on. It was White Rabbit. I was so confused. Jack's hallucinating about his father and everyone's thirsty and the coffin is empty...But I was intrigued. I didn't know who was whom for the most part. I recognized the hobbit, of course, and Terry O'Quinn, because he's been in just about everything.

So I caught Lost when I could. It was slowly beginning to click. But I fell for Lost when I saw the repeat of Walkabout. The first episode of Lost focuses on Locke, telling about his mind-numbing office job with a hateful boss. On the island, he's hunting boar, but off the island he was paraplegic. It was a shock, it was unpredictable, and it was totally right. I was hooked.

A Modest Beginning

These past two weeks have work have led me to believe that I need to have a hobby. At the same time, it occurs to me that next week, Lost returns. As most of my friends know, I love Lost. You could say that I am pretty obsessed with Lost. I love watching the shows and reading recaps about them. I also love talking ad nauseum about Lost. So, why not take combine my need for a hobby with my love for Lost, and share it with all my fellow Lost-lovers.

I assure you that my posts will not include spoilers. I also will not obsess about how slow the plot might be or rail against the lack of answers to all the questions they raise. I love the journey, and the slow pace doesn’t really faze me. And honestly, all the time travel theories and the numbers really are beyond me. I love theories with the best of them, but my head can’t wrap around those. And I couldn’t tell you the numbers to save my life.

What will I talk about? Well, the rest of this post should give a clue. I’ll start with where we left our characters last season.

On island time (?)
- Charlotte refuses to go with Daniel to the freighter. Miles tells her that he knows she was born on the island.
- Ben kills Keamy, knowing that he is dooming all on the freighter by doing so. He sends Locke out of the station, and turns the key. He shows up in a desert , as seen in a previous episode.
- Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Sayid, Hurley, and Lapidus are flying to the freighter when a fuel leak endangers their safety. Sawyer whispers something in Kate’s ear, kisses her, then drops out of the helicopter into the ocean.
- Lapidus safely lands the helicopter on the freighter, and the hole is fixed and the copter refueled. Desmond, Sun, and Aaron board.
- Michael, previously with Desmond and Jin’s assistance, has kept the freighter from blowing up by freezing the bomb. Unfortunately, they run out of liquid nitrogen (?). Christian Shepherd appears to Michael, saying, “You can go now, Michael.” The bomb explodes. Presumably, Michael dies in the explosion (the actor certainly seems to think so).
- The helicopter takes off on Desmond’s warning of the C4 on the freighter. Jin has run from bowels to get on the helicopter. Despite Sun’s demands, Jack refuses to allow the helicopter to land again. The freighter explodes, and it appears that Jin dies with Michael. Sun’s grief was devastating.
- Sawyer walks out of the ocean shirtless. Priceless.
- Sawyer joins Juliette on the beach. Juliette is clearly intent on becoming intoxicated on whatever beverage is in her hands. When asked, she points to the ocean, where we can clearly see the freighter is burning.
- Lapidus tries to bring the helicopter to the island, but suddenly, the island disappears in a white-yellow light. When the fuel runs out, they float in a raft, eventually to be picked up by Penny Widmore.
- Daniel Faraday is en route to or from the freighter when the island disappears.
- Millions of people are ecstatic that Penny and Desmond are reunited.
- The Oceanic Six honor Locke’s request to lie about the island, and develop a story. They are dropped off near the fake wreckage of Oceanic 815, where they are found.

“Today”
- Kate dreamed of Claire warning her to never bring Aaron back to the island.
- Walt tells Hurley that he had been contacted by Jeremy Bentham, the dead guy.
- Sun blames two people for the presumed death of Jin; one is clearly her father. She goes through a hostile takeover of his company. She also approaches Penny Widmore’s father, Charles Widmore, indicating that they have common interests, related to the island.
- Sayid kills a man who is clearly watching the mental institution where Hurley is hospitalized. Sayid successfully convinces Hurley to leave with him.
- Hurley was playing chess (?) with Mr. Eko.
- Jack discovers that Claire is his sister.
- Jack breaks into the funeral home where Jeremy Bentham is interred. He is startled by Ben, who tells Jack that everyone needs to go back to the island, including Jeremy Bentham. The casket is opened to reveal John Locke.


So what will we learn about the island and our friends this season? How will our questions be answered? Will the producers be able to answer our questions without raising yet more questions?

- What the heck is going on with Claire? Is she dead?
- Why is Jacob using Christian Shepherd to talk for the island? And WTF is Jacob anyway? And where is Christian’s body? Is he not dead?
- Who’s right about the island – Jack or Locke? It appears right now that Jack believes Locke is.
- Who else does Sun blame for her husband’s presumed death? Initially I believed that it was Jack, which would make it very difficult for him to convince her to return to the island. Now I’m wondering if she blames Widmore, or even Ben.
- Is Ben the epitome of Machiavellian or what? That assumes that his ends really are as noble as he protests them to be.
- Will any of the Lost-aways figure out that they are being manipulated by Ben?
- Will Penny & Desmond stay a happy couple? What will happen when Ben tries to take his revenge for Alex’s death?
- How did Locke leave the island? What killed him?
- What is the deal with Walt? What is his connection to the island? Does he have to return to the island with the Oceanic Six, Locke, and Ben? And isn’t he tall?
- Can the producers make a new rule that Sawyer never wears a shirt again?
- Kate is raising Claire’s son, Aaron. The psychic, Richard Malkin, said that Claire must raise her child, implying doom if she doesn’t. Will there be repercussions? Or was this predicted and planned for?
- Sayid is now a stone-cold killer. How does he recover from that?
- Jack now has something to fix. He’ll sober up and shave, I’m sure. Kate will find herself torn, yet again, between Jack and Sawyer.
- Dear Producers: Please, please let Jin live. I would rather have that than a shirtless Sawyer.
- Is Desmond still clairvoyant? Or is that only island-bound? Will he have to return to the island?
- What’s up with Charlotte? Could she be Annie (Ben’s friend from the Dharma Initiative)?
- Where or when is the island?
- What’s the deal with Richard Alpert? Isn’t it great that Nestor Carbonell’s terrible series with Jimmy Smits was cancelled so that Richard could return to Lost? Are there other ageless Others?
- What is Locke’s connection to the island? What object should he have picked when Richard “tested” him?
- Is Matthew Abbadon the creepiest, most sinister character on the show? I think he could give Ben a run for his money. What is his agenda? Who the heck is he working for? At first I figured he was working for Charles Widmore. But I became confused when he sent Locke to the island. Was that part of Widmore’s plan to wrest control of the island from Ben?

Well, that’s enough for tonight. I got a later start than I had wanted, and Bruce wants the computer. I’ve not edited as I would have liked, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.