Lost TV Review Zoo

6.16 The End

2010-05-26T08:11:00.000-07:00

Before We Start…

Before we delve into a summary of this, the final episode, I want to take a moment to talk about my journey with Lost. Like many of my readers, I too have been there from the start. Like many of the Lost characters, I also feel like I have been trapped on that island and in that universe for the same amount of time as they were. And it is a pleasant trapped feeling. For this, I must thank the creators and producers of Lost (principally, J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, and Damon Lindelof, although there many others involved), who have not only adhered strictly to their plot planning and structure, but have also carefully ensured that the look, feel and mood of the very first episode matches the same in the very last. What a joy it has been for viewers to see a creator’s vision for a long-running television series be allowed to carry through to its natural conclusion, without tampering by the networks or sudden interruption due to concern over ratings.

And so, finally, and a bit sadly, The End begins…

Summary and Spoilers

A series of quick juxtapositions show us the survivors both on the island and in LA, reminding us of the important connection. In LA, Kate watches as Christian Shephard’s coffin is delivered to Jack. Desmond intercepts this, signs for it, and asks that it be taken around the back. Kate wants to know what is going on. Desmond says he wants to ‘leave’, whatever that means, and promises to show her whatever that means.

On the island, Sawyer talks with the new Jack for the first time and asks for guidance. Jack shares the info that they need to get to the heart of the island and stop Smokey from putting it out – which will save all their lives. Sawyer believes that Desmond is the key. He goes on his own to fetch Desmond and will meet the others at the heart.

In LA, Hurley and Sayid pull into a hotel parking lot. Sayid, like Kate, has no idea what’s going on. Hurley says, "Stick with me and you’ll be very happy." He then pulls out a tranquilizer gun and heads for a hotel room where Charlie is drinking and drugging himself into a stupor. Hurley is there to convince Charlie to play the scheduled concert tonight, telling him that it is the most important thing he will ever do. When Charlie is not impressed, Hurley goes to plan B and shoots him with a dart. Hurley loads him in the car and off they go.

I find it ironic that the two people doing all the leading now, Hurley and Desmond, and probably the least likely leaders of the group.

On the island, Jack tries to explain why he took the job. It wasn’t for the dental plan; I don’t think you would need one if you are immortal, because your teeth probably don’t age either.

Sawyer thinks he is stealthily spying on Unlocke at the well, but Ben circles around and brings him in as a prisoner. This only lasts briefly; Sawyer quickly punches Ben and steals his gun, but before that he finds out that he is correct about Unlocke. He does need Desmond to destroy the island. Unlocke also tells Ben that he plans on sinking the island and sailing away, and he invites Ben to join him.

Desmond has escaped from the well and is being tended to by Rose, Bernard, and their dog Vincent. Rose feeds Desmond but tells him he must leave when he finishes, and she and Bernard have a rule not to get involved. But it is too late; Bernard has inadvertently led Unlocke and Ben to their camp. Unlocke makes it simple; either Desmond comes with him now, or he kills Rose and Bernard. Desmond agrees as long as Unlocke promises never to hurt them, which he does.

Unlocke, Ben and Desmond are heading for the heart. Ben’s concealed walkie lets off a little static and Unlocke almost realizes what it is, but he drops it. Ben tucks it a little further into his pocket and keeps walking. The source of the static is Miles, who has found Richard. Richard is stunned, but quickly recovers and gets back on task: to go to the other island and blow up the plane.

Back in LA, Miles sees Sayid the former prisoner passengering away and calls Sawyer to find out what is going on. Sawyer heads for Sun in the hospital to protect her from the escaped prisoner.

At the hospital, Jin looks after Sun. Sun’s baby doctor is Juliet. As Juliet does the ultrasound, Sun flashes back to the last time she did this – on the island – and suddenly she remembers all of it, as does Jin.

On the island, Sawyer rejoins the group, concerned about getting to Desmond first. Jack reminds him that they are all heading for the same place.

At the hospital, Jack and Locke speak before surgery. Locke asks about the missing coffin; Jack says it should be arriving soon. A bit later, Jack banters with Juliet, who just happens to be his ex-wife. Sawyer arrives, checking in on Sun.

Richard and Miles head for the other island. They retrieve Frank, floating in a life preserver. Frank is a handy pickup, because he has an idea even better than blowing up the plane: stealing the plane and taking it away. Either way, Unlocke won’t be able to use it. The explosives may cause a little problem for them, however.

There’s a gunfight coming at the OK Corral heart of the island, but first there is a little curtain raiser in an open field as Unlocke and Gang faces Jack’s Mob. Jack and Unlocke stand face to face and quietly speak about what will happen. Summary: Unlocke will try to destroy the island, and Jack will kill him. This is one of the best dramatic scenes in the entire Lost series. A little later, Jack tells Sawyer that Desmond is the surprise, a kind of secret weapon – although Jack doesn’t know how to use him yet. As they near the light, Unlocke says that only he, Jack and Desmond should continue on with the others staying back.

At the source, Desmond tries to convince Jack that none of this matters – that the alternative universe awaits them either way – a place where they can be with their loved ones and be happy. Jack does not go along with this. He puts great importance on the here and now. And so, tied together, they climb into the cave of the light.

Hurley and Sayid sit in the car at night, waiting for…something. Hurley kills time by building up Sayid’s deflated ego, telling him he thinks Sayid is a good person. Moments later, a fight starts in an alley. One man is beating up a brother and sister. Sayid jumps from the car and stops the assailant. He helps the woman to her feet – it is Shannon – and suddenly they both remember their island love and are reunited. Moments later, Boone stumbles up to the car, complaining a little about how many punches he has to take, and how difficult it was to get Shannon to come back from Australia. The guys both agree to let Sayid and Shannon enjoy their moment together.

Richard and gang land on Hydra and are met by bullets from Claire’s gun. She calms down when she finds out that they were not sent by Unlocke to kill her. Richard invites her to join them, but she refuses. This confrontation is heard via walkie by Kate and the others.

Unlocke and Jack lower Desmond slowly down a waterfall and discuss whether the real Locke was right or wrong about everything.

Backstage at the concert, Charlotte and Daniel are reunited. Kate, Claire, and Desmond are at the same table. Dr. Chang is the MC. On stage, Charlie makes eye contact with Claire. Suddenly, Claire feels pains and heads for the bathroom. The baby is coming; Claire heads backstage, and Kate helps her.

At the bottom of the waterfall, Desmond finds skeletons – and a circular pool. Without fear, he enters – and his body is rocked by electrical currents. He fights against them to remove a stone plug with the pool, draining it and extinguishing the light. The source of the plug begins to emit steam. Unlocke stops a second to gloat about Jack being wrong, then leaves. Jack tackles him and bloodies his lip, proving that Unlocke was also wrong – and is now mortal. A rock to Jack’s ear also proves his mortality. Their fight now will be to the death, but for now, Unlocke slips away.

Eloise Hawking visits Desmond’s table to remind him she said not to let this happen (by this, she means enabling the survivors to see the alternate reality). Desmond says he chose to ignore her.

Once again, Kate helps Claire to deliver her baby, and in that moment, they remember. That eyeliner wearing base player brings a blanket to Claire, and he and she are reunited – this one really touched me.

Back on the island, a full-blown catastrophic event is taking place, with rain and tremors. Jack jumps off and runs someplace – I assume he is pursuing Unlocke. Ben is trapped under an unmovable log. Miles says via walkie that they are taking off in an hour. Ben suggests they can make it in time if they take Unlocke’s boat.

Unlocke stands at the top of the cliff, ready to climb down the ladder to escape. Jack arrives, and they fight on the side of the cliff, threatened by the terrain and each other. As the cliff falls away near them, Unlocke stabs Jack in the side. Unlocke is about to deliver the fatal blow when Kate arrives and shoots him, saving Jack’s life. Unlocke says it is too late, but after Jack pushes him off the cliff, the sun shines on the island again. But as Sawyer and the others arrive, another tremor shakes the cliff face.

In LA, Jack has finished operating on Locke. He is wondering why his neck is bleeding, and why Locke woke up immediately after surgery. Locke has movement in his legs, and in that moment, he remembers everything that happened on the island. Jack could too, but he resists, and instead goes off to look for his son at the concert, even though Locke says they should go and that Jack has no son.

Sawyer checks in on Sun. He wants to protect her from Sayid and cannot understand why she and her husband just keep beaming at him as if they are sharing a private joke.

Frank scrambles to get the plane ready to fly. Jack realizes he must go back and try to turn on whatever Desmond turned off. Jack says goodbye to Sawyer and Kate and takes Hurley and Ben with him. Kate and Jack kiss deeply and profess their love, knowing that they may not ever see each other again. And how can Kate and Sawyer make it to the plane on time? They can jump off the cliff – and they do, too.

Sawyer and Jack meet at the hospital, and that moment almost gives Sawyer realization. A moment later, when Sawyer runs into Juliet. When she helps him out of his stuck candy bar dilemma, they both remember their island life and how it ended. They embrace, barely believing that they have been given a second chance.

At the concert, Jack meets Kate. Maybe it is the depth of their island relationship, or maybe it is the dress, but this finally breaks through and he cannot resist the memories. Kate asks him to come with

Hurley supports Jack as he moves slowly toward the cave. Jack says he must go alone. Hurley realizes that Jack is on a suicide mission. Jack asks Hurley to take his place. Hurley resists but accepts. And you have to wonder why Ben is there and why he wanted to come. Hurley drinks the water given to him by Jack and becomes the new Jacob. While Frank starts up the engines on Hydra, Jack is lowered into the hole. Jack helps Desmond to his feet, ties him up, and sends him home. Someone has to put that stone into the plug and die.

Sawyer and Kate reach Hydra. Sawyer turns and watches the other island disintegrating fast now. The sound of the plane engines revving means they must go. Kate convinces Claire to join them. They arrive at the plane just before Frank is ready to take off.

Jack lifts the heavy stone and places it into the hole, then crumples in pain.

Frank gets the plane airborne. With sudden serenity, they float above the turmoil.

As the light re-ignites and water pours into the pool, Jack laughs and cries with joy. Hurley and Ben pull the rope to retrieve Jack but find Desmond on the end of it.

Locke arrives at a church where Ben waits outside. Ben apologizes for what he did to John, and John forgives him. At Ben’s suggestion, Locke gets up out of his wheelchair and walks into the church.

Outside the cave, Hurley grieves for the lost Jack. Hurley is burdened by the scope and breadth of his new assignment, so asks Ben to help. Ben is honored and agrees.

At the church, Hurley thanks Ben for being a great number two. Jack and Kate arrive at the church, the church where Jack was going to have his father’s funeral. Kate goes in and tells Jack to go around back.

On the island, Jack awakens. He is still in pain, but the island is healed.

Jack walks into the church and sees his father’s coffin. When he touches the lid, he sees all the events of the island. When he opens the lid, the coffin is empty, but his father stands beside him. How can Jack’s dead father be in this place? Only one way – if everyone else is also dead. Did you wonder why those bodies were found at the bottom of the ocean? They did die, although not necessarily together. But in this place, Christian explains, they can all come together to remember and let go.

Inside the church, there is a joyous reunion between people who shared a special time together. Christian leaves, flooding the room with white light.

On the island, it ends as it began – with Jack collapsed amid a forest of bamboo. Vincent comes to say goodbye as Jack watches the plane leave the island, and his eyes slowly close.

Comments

I don’t fully understand all that, but whatever it was, it sure was beautiful.

Lost Quotes

"No one can tell you why you’re here, Kate – certainly not me."
- Desmond

"I got a bad feeling about this."
- Hurley’s reaction to Sawyer separating to go get Desmond

Unlocke: So it’s you.
Jack: Yeah, it’s me.
Unlocke: Jacob being who he is, I expected to be a little more surprised. You’re sort of the obvious choice, don’t you think?
Jack: He didn’t choose me. I volunteered.
Unlocke: I assume you’re here to stop me.
Jack: I can’t stop you. In fact, I, uh – I want to go with you.
Unlocke: I’m sorry Jack, I think you’re a little confused about what I came here to do.
Jack: No, I’m not. No, you’re going to the far side of the bamboo forest, to the place that I’ve sworn that I’ll protect. And then you think you’re gonna destroy the island.
Unlocke: I think?
Jack: That’s right. Because that’s not what’s gonna happen.
Unlocke: And what’s gonna happen, Jack?
Jack: I’m gonna kill you.
Unlocke: How do you plan to do that?
Jack: That’s a surprise.
Unlocke: Okay. Let’s get on with it.

Sawyer: What happened?
Kate: Locke’s dead. It’s over.
[a tremor shakes the cliff]
Sawyer: It sure don’t feel like it’s over.

Jin: We’ll see you there.
Sawyer: See me where?

Ben: Frank, how’s it going over there – what’s your timetable?
Frank: Don’t bother me!
Ben: Sounds like they’re making progress.

Kate: What now?
Sawyer: We jump.

Juliet: Kiss me James.
Sawyer: You got it, Blondie.

Kate: You can go in around back.
Jack: Wait – where are you going?
Kate: Inside – we’ll be waiting for you there – once you’re ready.
Jack: Ready for what?
Kate: To leave.

Jack: Where are we going?
Christian: Let’s go find out.

6.15 What They Died For

2010-05-19T07:50:00.000-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

Yeah, what did they die for? Why couldn’t they all stay alive until the happy ending? Let’s find out.

On the beach, in the aftermath of the sub explosion, Jack stitches Kate’s bullet wound using no anesthetics. Kate grieves for Sun and Jin and together, they promise each other that they will kill Unlocke for his crime. Soon, they are joined by Hurley and Sawyer. Jack has taken over the leadership role again. His first stop is to fetch Desmond from the well.

Miles, Ben, and Richard are on a quest to get a stash of C4 that Ben stowed when he was leader of the Others. At the Others compound, Miles is spooked by the spirit of Ben’s daughter. Richard tells Ben that he buried her after Ben left.

Inside a locked safe in his secret room, Ben grabs all the C4 so they can blow the plane to ‘hell’. As they load it into a satchel, they hear a noise in the kitchen. They are joined by Zoe and Charles Whidmore. With Ben’s gun trained on him, Whidmore tells Zoe to go back to the dock and sink the outrigger.

Now listen carefully to this part and help me figure it out, because I suspect we are getting to the key points in resolving this ‘mystery’. Whidmore says (and I believe him) that after his freighter was destroyed, he was visited by Jacob. Jacob convinced him of the error of his ways. Whidmore has now returned to the island with a mission. But just as he is about to tell Ben what the mission is, Zoe radios to say that Locke is approaching. She is told to run quickly and return to them, so they can hide. The alternative to hiding, says Whidmore, is dying.

As Jack and Sawyer head for Desmond, they discuss why Unlocke did not kill Desmond. Perhaps he was unable to because of one of those ‘rules’ that he seems to have. Sadly Sawyer muses that if that is true, if Unlocke cannot kill them, then Sawyer killed Jin, Sun, and Sayid by not trusting Jack about the bomb. Jack tells him that Unlocke killed them.

Hurley sees the ghost of Jacob as a young boy. The boy asks or demands ashes. Hurley does not know what he is talking about. The boy grabs the ashes and Hurley pursues him. He finds Jacob at a campfire. Jacob throws the ashes in the fire and tells Hurley that this is the last time he will see him. Jacob says they are "…very near the end".

Unlocke is coming and everyone has a different strategy. Whidmore and Zoe hide in the secret room. Ben just wants to stand there and deal with it. Richard goes out to meet Unlocke; his plan is to offer to join him and therefore buy some time for the Others. Why do I get the feeling that Richard is about to die (assuming Richard can be killed at all). Sure enough, the Unlocke who meets Richard is the smoke monster, and Richard is blasted off into the air. Unlocke then shows up as a man and asks Ben to kill some people. In return, Unlocke says when he leaves the island, Ben can have the island to himself. Ben agrees and then tells Unlocke where Whidmore is hiding.

As Unlocke approaches the hidden room, Ben is asked to wait outside, but he insists on watching. Unlocke slits Zoe’s throat without a second thought. He has a deal for Whidmore, however: he wants information, and, in exchange, he will not kill Penny after he leaves the island. All Whidmore has to do is tell Unlocke why he came to the island.

Whidmore says that he brought Desmond, a man resistant to electromagnetism, to the island to – and then whispers the reason to Unlocke so Ben cannot hear. Just after he finishes, Ben shoots Whidmore numerous times so that his daughter cannot be saved. But Unlocke says he already heard what he needed to know.

Jacob now visits Kate, Sawyer, and Jack. They all can see him, not just Hurley. Jacob explains that Sun, Jin, and Sayid died because their names were on the wall. Kate expresses her anger; Jacob asks them to sit down so he can explain why they were chosen, why they died, and how to protect the island, because when the fire burns down, one of them is going to start protecting it.

Jacob explains that he brought all of them here because he made a mistake a long time ago, everyone on the earth is in danger. Long ago, he created the monster that is Unlocke. Unlocke has been trying to kill him for ages. When he finally succeeded, that meant someone had to replace him. Sawyer complains that his life was fine until Jacob derailed him by bringing him to the island. Jacob contradicts him, saying that all of them were lost just as he was, and they need the island. Even Kate is eligible; her name was crossed off the list because she became a mother. Jacob says that they must protect the island’s light by killing Unlocke. Jack wonders if this is even possible.

Jack volunteers to take Jacob’s place; he is finally sure that this is why he is here. Jacob explains where the light is (past the bamboo). Jacob performs a ceremony, asking Jack to drink ‘consecrated’ water. Jack’s eyes reflect new knowledge and new power. "Now you’re like me," says Jacob.

Unlocke leads Ben to the well where he asked Sayid to kill Desmond. Desmond is gone, but Unlocke is still pleased. He plans to find Desmond and use him to destroy the island.

Alternatively:

Jack awakens in his room, wondering why he has a small bleeding wound on his neck. After some banter with his son about an upcoming concert, Claire wanders into the kitchen. A phone call from Oceanic Airlines informs Jack that his father’s coffin has been found and will be in LA by the end of the day. But the call is being made by Desmond, from inside his car.

This is one angry Desmond. He’s back at the school where he ran Locke over. When Ben sees him and blocks his car, Desmond moves Ben out of the way by punching him repeatedly in the face. Ben momentarily remembers the last time Desmond did that to him. Desmond does say that he is there not to kill Locke, but to help him let go.

Ben gets his wounds attended to in a medical ward. While there, he runs into Locke. Ben tells Locke that the man who ran him down came back and attacked him – until Ben ‘saw something’. Locke is about to call the police until Ben tells him that the man said he was trying to help Locke ‘let go’. Locke terminates the 911 call. Coincidentally, Desmond is at the police station, wanting to talk to someone. There, he confesses to Sawyer and Miles that he is the man who did the hit and run and who beat up Ben. He is placed in jail, where he shares a cell with Sayid. Kate is in a nearby cell. It is all coming together, although I have no idea what ‘it’ is.

Alex sees Ben’s bruises and offers him a ride home with her mother, Danielle. He also gets a dinner invitation. Danielle is very grateful for Ben’s mentoring of Alex, made all the more important because Alex’s own father died when she was two. Ben is brought to tears by her remarks.

Locke visits Jack at his office. Locke is exploring the strange coincidences involved in how many times their paths have crossed, and how the man who ran him down also said he was trying to help him let go – which is the same thing that Jack had said to him. Locke believes these things have happened because he was meant to have Jack fix his body.

Sawyer packs up the prisoners Sayid, Desmond, and Kate and sends them off to county prison. Kate tries to convince Sawyer to let her go, but he refuses. In the back of the van, Desmond says it is time to leave, but they must trust him. Kate and Sayid both think he is mad, but what they might as well try something. Desmond says he will set them free if they promise to do something for him after they are free. They both promise. Soon, the van stops, the back door opens, and Ana is there. She’s a corrupt cop who made a deal with Desmond – money for release. Soon, Hurley drives up and gives a fat envelope to Ana. Hurley takes Sayid with him; Desmond gives Kate a small dress, tells her they are going to a concert (Driveshaft?) and tells her to get in the Camaro. Remember Hurley’s Camaro? That’s the one.

Comments

The present and the alternative realities are closely intertwined now. Characters past and present are becoming aware of their ‘other’ existence.

Lost Quotes

Sawyer: The bomb on the sub – I killed them, didn’t I?
Jack: No. He killed them.

"You should get your friends. We’re very close to the end, Hugo."
- Jacob

"Did you say there were some other people to kill?"
- Ben, anxious to keep this spree going

"I didn’t pluck any of you out of a happy existence. You were all flawed. I chose you because you were like me. You were all alone. You were all looking for something that you couldn’t find out there. I chose you because you needed this place as much as it needed you."
- Jacob

"I thought that guy had a god complex before."
- Sawyer regarding Jack

"Now you’re like me."
- Jacob to Jack

Ben: Let me ask you something.
Unlocke: Shoot.
Ben: If you can turn yourself into smoke whenever you want, why do you bother walking?
Unlocke: I like the feel of my feet on the ground. Reminds me that…I was human.

Ben: What did Whidmore say to you?
Unlocke: He said Desmond was a failsafe – Jacob’s last resort in case god forbid I managed to kill all of his beloved candidates. One final way to make sure that I never leave this place.
Ben: Then why are you happy that he’s still alive?
Unlocke: Because I’m gonna find Desmond, and when I do, he’d gonna help me do the one thing that I could never do myself. I’m gonna destroy the island.

6.14 Across the Sea

2010-05-12T07:31:00.000-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

On the floating debris of a crude raft, a lone, injured, and pregnant woman clings to life and eventually drifts onto a beach. Limping and bleeding, she makes her way inland and drinks from a clear stream. She is startled by a female resident of the island who offers her shelter and food. They eat and converse; the driftwood woman is identified as Claudia. The other woman, played by surprise big name Allison Janney, is not identified, but her garb and manner are somehow reminiscent of either Jacob or the Smoke Monster.

Claudia is very close to full term, and shortly, she gives birth, painfully and vocally, to a boy she calls Jacob. But there is more to come – another boy. The island woman now beats Claudia to death with a rock, sparing her any post-partum depression.

Tween years later, and Smokey finds a board game on the beach. He lures Jacob into playing, making him promise not to tell their mother, because she would take the game away. While Smokey hangs on the beach staring out over the ocean, perhaps dreaming of getting off this god-forsaken rock, Jacob is a bit of a momma’s boy (at least, he thinks this is his momma). He tells Allison about the game. Soon, mom is on the beach too, taking credit for planting the game for Smokey. Mom tells the tale that the island is everything – that the boys came from her and she came from her mother. She also tells Smokey that he is immortal. Mom is apparently some kind of witch, alien, or superhero; as well as making the boys immortal, she has also ‘made it’ so they can never hurt each other. When a tribe who also shares the island is seen in their territory, mom blindfolds them and brings them to a place where a subterranean tunnel emits pure light – sort of the source, the heartbeat of all life. Their mission is to guard this place and stop the light from going out – if it goes out here, it goes out everywhere.

Claudia appears to Smokey (and not Jacob), leading him across the island to show him where he came from. They arrive at a tribal village where her shipwrecked friends crashed and settled. Claudia claims to be Smokey’s mother. He doesn’t know what to believe, but he now has doubts – and he knows his ‘mother’ lied to him. It’s no wonder Unlocke wants to leave the island – he is not from there. The boys are split, with Smokey leaving to be with the tribe, while Jacob stays with his ‘mother’.

Flash forward to Jacob as a young man. He has stayed with his mother as he promised. She grows old now, and her time is not long. For afar, Jacob watches his brother amongst the people, and visits him from time to time to play that board game. Smokey claims that the people of the tribe are ‘bad’: greedy and selfish. But Smokey stays because it is part of his plan to leave the island. He has discovered the magnetic power of the island. Jacob, always the tattletale, tells mom immediately. She goes to see for herself and visits Smokey, deep in a cave, where he is tending a coal fire. Smokey is building a system for channeling the water and the pure light as a means of escape off the island. Smokey says he is special and he must leave. But this woman is also special; she uses her guile to knock Smokey unconscious.

Mom returns to Jacob and says it is time. She leads him to the place of the light that she first shows to him years ago and tells him he must guard it now, and never go down there. She makes Jacob promise to protect this place forever.

Smokey awakens on the ground again, his hole filled in and his escape thwarted. He sees smokes in the distance and runs toward it. His village has been razed; he people murdered.

Mother knows she is about to be murdered for what she did. Smokey stabs her in the back. As she is dyeing, she explains that did not let Smokey leave because she loves him. Just before she dies, she thanks him for killing her. Jacob arrives too late and attacks his brother. He knows he cannot kill Smokey, so instead he sends him into the light. Moments later, a monster emerges and passes by him in a rush of sound and smoke. Jacob finds Smokey’s lifeless human body and carries him back to his campfire. He lays his mother and his brother side by side in the cave.

A massive flash forward shows Jack and Kate finding these very remains in the cave (as seen very early on in Lost).

Comments

I’m not confused. That made perfect sense. Now I understand! It’s so simple; I’m not going to insult your intelligence by repeating it here.

Just kidding. I really want to know why and what and who. What is this island, who was this woman – alien, god, whatever. How did Smokey re-inhabit a living body? We may find out the answer to that one next week.

Lost Quotes

Smokey: I have to go
Mom: Why?
Smokey: Because I don’t belong here!

Jacob: What’s down there?
Mom: Life, death, rebirth – it’s the source, the heart of the island.

6.13 The Candidate

2010-05-05T06:47:00.000-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

Jack awakens on Hydra Island, being watched over (or guarded) by Sayid.

Further inland, the whole gang (Hurley, Kate, Sun, Jin, Sawyer –are being locked in cages. Sawyer, who doesn’t want to get back in the cages unless he can be alone with Kate again, gets the drop on their diminutive guard, but gives up when Whidmore threatens to shoot Kate – apparently, she isn’t on the master list of prized castaways and is expendable. Whidmore assures Sawyer that they are being locked up for their own protection, because "…he’s coming." He pushes his minions to get the Smoke Monster fence up and running faster than the forecasted time of one hour.

Apparently, Jack was paddled (by Locke) to Hydra while unconscious. Locke, Sayid and Jack are on a rescue mission to free the others. Jack does not want to commit to rescuing his friends or especially leaving the island with Unlocke. To gain his trust (or at least his help), Unlocke uses the weird logic that he could easily kill Jack and everyone else, but instead he is asking for help. Yeah, I trust this thing.

Kate and Sawyer share an intimate cage. Sawyer tells Kate that at the cave where all their names were written, Kate’s name was there but crossed out. Sawyer is convinced that Whidmore would have killed Kate if pressed.

Sun and Jin share a cage and talk about their daughter, whom Jin has only seen in photographs graciously supplied by Whidmore. Sun returns Jin’s wedding ring to his finger. The reunion stops when the power dies and the fence does too. As Whidmore’s people scramble to regain power, the sound of the Smoke Monster echoes through the nearby jungle. Within seconds, lethal smoke invades the compound. A guard is smashed against the cage by smoke. While Kate stretches for the keys in his belt, Frank tries to kick open the door of his cage. Jack arrives, grabs the keys, and frees everyone. They leave in darkness but they are still marching in daylight, led to the plane by Jack, who says he will not be leaving the island. Rustling in the jungle causes multiple guns to be drawn, but when Sayid emerges, Jack calms everyone by stating that Sayid is with them and that he had turned off the generators. Sawyer takes a moment to thank Jack for coming back for them.

Unlocke strides purposefully toward the plane, even though two guards are firing on him at will. He breaks the neck of the first guard, and just for variety, shoots the second guard. For some reason, he also removes a wristwatch from the prone body of the second guard. Unlocke enters the plane and stalks through it, looking for and finding a booby trap probably designed to explode while the plane was in flight. While he is inside, the castaways arrive. Unlocke show and tells the bomb as a way of reinforcing that Whidmore wants them all dead, all at once. Would somebody please tell me now which of these guys is more evil?

Now Unlocke’s plan has merged with Sawyer hidden agenda – they will take the sub to leave the island. Unlocke says the sub is heavily guarded so everyone must help. Jack clacks his gun for effect and says he’ll help but he won’t leave. Unlocke says that’s just fine, but I don’t believe him, because he has claimed that everyone needs to leave or he can’t. Unlocke probably knows he can just knock Jack out and take him wherever he wants just like he did before. But Sawyer has another, even crazier plan. He asks Jack for one more little favor: to keep Unlocke from getting on the sub. Oh, just that one little thing, eh? Sawyer says just get him in the water, and he’ll take care of the rest.

Crouching in the underbrush, the Unlocke group prepares to take the sub. I’m wondering why Unlocke doesn’t just do it alone – he seems invincible. I also don’t get the strategy of sending the unarmed Sun in the first wave. She doesn’t even have any hand-to-hand combat skills that I am aware of. You can’t argue with success, however; this group of four quickly overpowers a guard and holds the captain at gunpoint demanding that he fire up the sub. Wave two now walks toward the sub. Unlocke again tries to convince Jack to come. Jack replies by pushing Unlocke off the dock. Shots ring out; a sniper shoots Kate. There is a fire fight between multiple Whidmore snipers and the castaways. Jack carries Kate and they flee into the sub. Unlocke climbs out of the water and uses a handgun to pick off the snipers. Sawyer tries to rescue Claire, but when Unlocke approaches, he closes the sub hatch and gives the order to dive. Claire is upset at missing her ride, but Unlocke, who moments ago acted like he wanted to get on the sub, tells her that she does not want to be on it.

The sub dives. Hurley has failed in his search for a first aid kit, but he has found the 4 sticks of explosives planted by Unlocke and set to go off in less than 4 minutes. Unfortunately, the sub is mid-dive and will not surface for at least 5 minutes. Jack is convinced that Unlocke cannot, or is not allowed to kill them, but that he planted the bomb to try to get them to kill each other. Jack is really sure that the bomb will not explode. Sawyer doesn’t buy this argument, and instead yanks one of the wires. The timer stops momentarily, then continues and speeds up. Sayid tells Jack the location of Desmond, who is still alive, and also tells Jack that he will need Desmond to defeat Unlocke. And why is Sayid saying this? Because he has chosen to save them by taking the bomb and martyring himself.

The explosion damages the sub. It is surfacing and sinking at the same time, it that makes any sense. Water floods in. Hurley is tasked to take Kate to safety while Jack attends to the others, especially Sun, who is trapped behind some heavy equipment. Their attempt fails and Sawyer is knocked out while trying. Sun is still trapped, but Jin says that Jack should leave and save Sawyer, while he attends to Sun.

Sun asks Jin to leave, again and again, but he refuses. As the sub tilts and descends, these two lovers die together.

Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley make it to the beach, grieving for those they have lost. Jack looks to the heavens and cries.

Back on the dock with Claire, Unlocke senses that the sub has sunk and that some of the people on board are still alive. He leaves, telling Claire that he is going to finish what he started.

Alternatively:

Post-surgery, John Locke awakens to see the face of his handsome surgeon, Jack Shepherd. While repairing Locke’s vehicle-related injuries, Jack takes a look at his spine and says he is a candidate for spinal surgery that would give life back to his legs. Surprisingly, Locke adamantly refuses this.

Jack talk to Locke’s former oral surgeon, Bernard. Bernard was also on flight 815, and sees what Jack is searching for. Bernard gives important information: that Locke was originally hurt in an accident that also involved a man called Anthony Cooper.

Jack finds Anthony Cooper and is about to talk to him, but Helen heads his off, asks him to leave, and says Locke is not interested in the spinal surgery. She won’t give Jack any reason for this. Helen takes Jack to see Anthony Cooper. Cooper is a catatonic old man in a wheelchair, staring off into space.

Jack checks on Locke, who is sleep-talking about pushing a button. He is distracted by the pregnant shape of Claire outside in the hall. Claire is looking for him, so they stop to talk. By the way, Claire certainly looks pregnant, but I think her fetus might suffer from ‘zero weight disorder’, because Claire is not walking as if she were carrying any extra weight –she is still bouncing around almost like she has some kind of inflatable prop under her shirt.

Claire shows Jack a box that their father left to her and asks if Jack knows anything about it. He does not. Their discussion reveals that Claire was also on flight 815. What the heck is going on here? Jack opens the music box – it plays "Catch a Falling Star" – but he cannot guess what it means. Jack asks Claire to come stay with him because they are family. Claire looks like she is about to say yes.

Locke is about to be discharged from the hospital. He is supposed to be met by Helen. As he heads down the hallway, Jin walks by, carrying flowers for Sun. Jack is there, too, asking again how Locke got hurt. Locke says it happened when he was piloting his private plane. He crashed it and turned his father into a vegetable. Jack tries and fails to convince Locke one more time to let him help.

Memorable Moments

Terry O’Quinn is probably my favorite Lost actor. From the start, he has been an intriguing, multifaceted character, and his acting skills have enabled him to be compassionate and ruthless as it is called for. Now, as Unlocke, he is pure evil, and yet he still manages to be compelling. His delivery of lines is often laden with subtle emotion. For example, listen to the way he delivers the line "Not all of them" as a reply to Claire’s line about all the sub passengers being dead. It is spoken with such detached disdain and yet with a kind of pure hatred. Wonderful!

Lost Quotes

[Whidmore locks everyone in cages]
Whidmore: You may not believe it, but I’m doing this for your own good.
Sawyer: You’re right. I don’t believe it.

Jack: Why should I trust you?
Unlocke: Because I could kill you Jack – right here, right now. And I could kill every single one of your friends. And there’s not a thing that you could do to stop me. But instead of killing you, I saved your life and now, I want to save them too. So will you help me?

Kate: [freed from cage] What are you doing here?
Jack: [gestures toward the sound of the Smoke Monster] I’m with him.

Unlocke: You sure you won’t reconsider, Jack?
Jack: Yeah, I’m sure.
Unlocke: Whoever told you you needed to stay had no idea what they were talking about.
Jack: John Locke told me I needed to stay.
[Jack pushes Unlock off the dock]

Claire: No! They’re leaving us!
Unlocke: No, trust me. You don’t want to be on that sub.

Unlocke: It sunk.
Claire: What, the submarine? But they were all on it, everyone! They’re all dead?
Unlocke: Not all of them. [puts his backpack on]
Claire: Where you going?
Unlocke: To finish what I started.

6.12 The Last Recruit

2010-04-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

It’s all coming together in the alternative universe, and Desmond is the unlikely organizer. I never saw Desmond as the one who would be on a mission, assembling a select group of castaways and eliminating those who he does not favor. I also never saw Desmond as the type of guy who would run over Locke in a wheelchair, unless he thought that Locke was sleeping with Penny – and even then, I saw him as more of a belligerent husband/boyfriend. "Penny! Why’d ye doo eet?" "He said he liked my cat-in-the-hat smile, Des!" Anyway, Desmond did overrun Locke, and this week, hopefully we’ll find out why. But first, we’re going to find out what kind of reception Unlocke gives to Hurley and his mob.

Unlocke takes Jack away to ‘catch up’. In response to Jack’s questions, Unlocke admits that he assumed the bodies of various dead people, including Jack’s father Christian. Unlocke used the body to lead Jack to water. Jack can’t completely disassociate this ‘thing’ from the body it inhabits, but there are no similarities. Unlocke views Locke as a sucker who believed in the island. Unlocke simply wants to leave, and he cannot leave, for some reason, unless everyone leaves with him.

Claire arrives to end the meeting, renew her brotherly love with Jack, and warn him ominously that now he must go with Unlocke – there is no choice.

Meanwhile, Sawyer, Kate, Sun and Hurley are scheming to make their own private escape in the submarine. People like Sayid and Claire are not invited.

Zoe shows up in camp alone, demands the ‘something’ (Desmond) back that Unlocke took, and when it is not given, radios her home base and sends a demonstration of their firepower – an aerial bomb explodes a few feet away. She says they have until nightfall to return what they took. She leaves her walkie-talkie. Unlocke immediately crushes it and says, "Well, here we go."

Unlocke organizes Sawyer to get a boat and meet the group at the bluffs and from there to sail to the other island and get on the plane. While Unlocke goes off to plot something with Sayid, Sawyer organizes Kate to come with, then pulls Jack aside to tell him his alternative plan: to avoid Unlocke and the group at the rendezvous point, and instead to leave on Whidmore’s sub. He tells Jack to get Hurley, Sun, and Frank and meet at a different rendezvous point. Jack is conflicted about leaving Sayid and especially newly discovered sibling Claire, but Sawyer makes a point when he says Claire lost her ticket when she tried to kill Kate. Now this is getting exciting! It gets even more exciting when we see Unlocke order Sayid to kill Desmond.

Sayid goes to the well. Desmond sits at the bottom in a puddle of water. Sayid points the gun but first explains to Desmond what he was promised in return: the woman he loved and lost will be returned to him. Desmond is able to halt Sayid by asking what he will tell this woman when she asks how he got her back.

Sawyer and Kate reach the boat, and Sawyer tells about the ‘ditch Locke’ plan. Kate is not happy about Claire not being invited, especially since she promised Claire she would get her off the island.

Back at the main group, Unlocke is concerned that Sayid has not joined them as planned. He goes back to investigate. Jack takes the opportunity to grab Sun, Hurley and Frank and to split off to the real rendezvous point. Claire is excluded but she sees them leave, and the hatred in her eyes is palpable.

Unlocke finds Sayid and grills him on the shooting of Desmond. Sayid stares him down and says he did kill Desmond, and invites Unlocke to check. Unlocke backs down and they continue back toward the group, but there is a tiny smirk on Sayid’s face, as if live is returning there for the first time in a long time.

Jack’s group finds the boat. As they get ready to sail, Claire arrives with rifle pointing toward them. Kate talks her down and convinces her to join them, by telling Claire sincerely that the only reason she came to the island was to bring her back. Claire drops her gun and hops on board, but also warns that Unlocke is going to be very angry when he finds out they are gone. They sail away, but Jack tells Sawyer that it doesn’t feel right to leave the island. Sawyer tells Jack to side with them completely or to get off the boat. In response, Jack jumps over the side. Do we have a candidate here?

Jack swims back to the beach and is greeted by Unlocke and a small group of armed disciples. On the other island, Sawyer and gang are greeted by Zoe and her armed disciples, but they drop weapons when they recognize each other. There is a long awaited tearful reunion between Sun and Jin. But Zoe’s call to Whidmore brings the guns back up again, and Zoe says the deal is off.

Bombs explode around Unlocke and his people, stunning Jack. Unlocke carries Jack to safety, comforting him with the ominous, "Don’t worry. It’s gonna be okay. You’re with me now."

Alternatively:

Locke, badly injured, is taken away in an ambulance; he is able to share the name Helen Norwood when asked who to notify. He shares this space with paramedics and Ben. Bullet-ridden Sun and bruised Locke arrive at the hospital on side by side stretchers; Sun gets very agitated when she sees him.

Sawyer captured and is now interrogating or flirting with Kate. He’s picked up on the weird coincidence that they were on the same flight and met up again, but he just uses it as a pickup line. This angle is thwarted when the observant Kate figures out that maybe Sawyer doesn’t want anybody to know that he went to Australia. They are interrupted when Miles shows security camera footage of Sayid leaving the Keamy crime scene.

Claire arrives at the adoption agency and runs into Desmond. He heads her off and suggests she come with him to see the lawyer with whom he has an appointment. It’s Ilana, and when she sees Claire, she says they have been looking for her.

Sayid, fresh from resolving the Keamy problem, arrives at Nadia’s house and packs quickly, telling her that he can never come back again. Before he can leave, he is arrested by Sawyer and Miles.

Jack and his son have arrived at the building as Claire and Desmond. They are here to hear Christian’s will read, which of course explains why Claire is there. A hospital emergency call intervenes; Jack asks that the will reading be postponed.

Sun awakens in the hospital with Jin waiting by her side, reassuring her that she and the baby are okay. In the hallway, Jack tells his son that he had no idea that he had a half-sister. Jack goes off to attend to his patient – and it is John Locke, the man whom he promised a free consultation. It is the ultimate coincidence – like someone is still pulling all the strings.

Comments

The stage has been set for the final episode of Lost, with at least two tremendous personal battles about to ensue. Sawyer is pitted against Whidmore, while Jack is left to defeat Unlocke. There’s little doubt in my mind that Unlocke, Whidmore, and Jacob are all basically evil – or at least, the three of them could disappear forever and the world would be a better place.

The wild cards in this are Desmond and Sayid. Desmond cannot be dead, and it is unclear whose side he is on. Likewise, Sayid also appears not to be dead, and he will make his own decision as to who to fight for. Both are tremendous assets.

Lost Quotes

Jack: You look just like him.
Unlocke: Does that bother you?
Jack: No, what bothers me is I don’t know any idea what the hell you are.
Unlocke: Sure you do.

Claire: Hey, what’s going on?
Hurley: People trying to kill us again.

Desmond: So what did he offer you? If you’re gonna shoot me in cold blood, brother, I think I have a right to know what you’re getting in exchange for it.
Sayid: He told me I could get something back I lost.
Desmond: And what did you lose?
Sayid: The woman I loved.
Desmond: And where is she now?
Sayid: Dead.
Desmond: And what makes you think Locke can bring her back?
Sayid: I died, and he brought me back.
Desmond: So what will you tell her?
Sayid: What do you mean?
Desmond: This woman, when she asks you what you did to be with her again? What will you tell her?

"We’re gonna ditch Locke. You, me, Jack Hurley, Sun, and that pilot, looks like he stepped off the set of a Burt Reynolds movie."
- Sawyer

Kate: I promised I would bring her [Claire] back.
Sawyer: That’s before she started drinking Locke’s Kool-aid.

Hurley: I think we should stick to Sawyer’s plan or he’ll be really pissed.
Jack: This is Sawyer’s plan.

6.11 Everybody Loves Hugo

2010-04-15T06:25:00.001-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

In the alternative universe:

At a tribute dinner for Hurley with Dr. Mark Wickman as the M.C., we learn that Hugo has not only been wildly successful financially by expanding his chicken franchise, but that he is also heralded for his philanthropic exploits. His only weak area is with getting dates – but his mother has remedied that by setting up a blind one for him with a neighbor’s daughter. His date shows Rosalita shows up, but it isn’t Rosalita – it’s Libby, who saw her from across the room. Libby says she knows Hugo, that they are connected like soul-mates. She remembers him, but he doesn’t reciprocate. She is taken away by Dr. Brooks, who is minding her on her day out from the Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute. Afterward, he soothes his frustration by eating a full bucket of Mr. Cluck by himself. Desmond walks into the fast food place and talks to Hurley, mentioning that he remembers him from flight 815. Desmond sits down and Hurley explains the source of his depression. When Hurley mentions that Libby said she knew him before, Desmond strongly suggests that Hurley go with his gut instinct that it is true and try to find out more.

Hurley visits Dr. Brooks and asks to see Libby. Brooks says it isn’t a good idea, but he changes his mind when Hurley offers him a 100 thousand dollar donation. Hurley meets Libby in the recreation area. Libby remembers the plane crash, the island, and Hurley. She hopes that Hurley will remember her, proving that she is not crazy. But he does not remember her. Hurley asks Libby out on a date, and she heartily accepts.
On their beach date, when Libby kisses Hurley, he begins to remember brief flashbacks of the island. They are observed from a distance by Desmond, who sees what is going on and looks satisfied with his meddling.
Desmond moves on to his next encounter. He finds the wheelchair-bound John Locke and unceremoniously drives him car right into him, severely injuring him.

On the island:

Hugo stops by Libby’s grave to speak to her. Ilana stops by on her way to the Black Rock to get dynamite. Then someone else stops by unexpectedly: Michael. His appearance is preceded by whispers, indicating that Michael is already dead. Gee, I miss Michael, and so does Jack, who shows up and cannot see him.

Ilana has four sticks of dynamite to use in blowing up the plane. But she drops the bag and blows herself up instead.

Sawyer and Kate are restless in the Unlocke camp. Unlocke is just whittling a stick, waiting for the stick to tell him what it will become. He is also waiting for everyone to come with him: Sun, Jack, Hurley. His waiting is interrupted by Sayid’s arrival. Sayid brings Desmond as his prisoner.

After Ilana’s sudden death, Richard sets out to get more dynamite. He’s for sticking to the plan. Hurley was questioning the plan earlier, but now seems suddenly confident that blowing up the plane is the correct choice. His steely gaze and even tone convinces Jack, too.

At the Black Rock, Richard’s crew is about to go in the boat, but Hurley snuck around and blew up the Black Rock – and all the dynamite. Richard is incensed, but Hurley says it is to protect everyone. Hurley explains to Miles that he did it because Michael told him to – and when dead people talk, he listens.

Richard now says that they will go to plan B: proceed to Dharma headquarters and get grenade and other explosive. Jack wants to talk about it first. Hurley is more forceful, saying that Jacob is there and that Jacob says they have to talk to Locke. Richard tries to get Hurley to prove that invisible Jacob is standing there, but Hurley says he doesn’t have to prove anything. The group splits; Miles and Ben go with Richard, and the others (Jack, Sun, and Frank) stick with Hurley. That’s ideal for Unlocke, as he soon will be reacquainted with those missing original crashers.

Unlocke unties Desmond and questions him about why he is on the island. Desmond tells all he knows. When Desmond says that the man he is talking to is John Locke, Unlocke asks Sayid to go, and walks with Desmond. A young boy stands a distance away in the woods, watching them. Unlocke angrily tells Desmond to ignore him. Unlocke brings Desmond to a deep old well.

Hurley’s shifty eyes were a telltale that Hurley did not talk to Jacob. He reveals this to Jack as the head through the dark woods toward a meeting with the Smoke Monster. Jack has thrown his support and trust behind Hurley, despite the deception. Privately, Sun and Frank aren’t so sure. Whispers mean that Michael has returned to explain that he and the other whisperers are stuck on the island because of what they did. Hurley asks if he can help; Michael just asks that he not get himself killed. Michael apologizes sincerely for killing Libby.

Hurley and gang come face to face with Unlocke. Unlocke’s face shows pleasure and confidence; Jack’s face shows fear and confusion.

Comments

I don’t know what kind of being Unlocke is, but the way he looked at Desmond as he talks about not being afraid makes him seem almost alien in regard to his understanding of human nature.

Memorable Moments

Unlock pushing Desmond into the well

Lost Quotes

"Ilana. There she was: hand-picked by Jacob; trained to come and protect you candidates. No sooner does she tell you who you are…then she blows up. The island was done with her. Makes me wonder what’s gonna happen when it’s done with us."
- Ben

"Dead people are more reliable to alive people."
- Hurley

"I don’t have to prove anything to you, Richard. You can either come with me…or you can keep trying to blow stuff up."
- Hurley

Unlocke: You’re out here, middle of the jungle, with me – not a person on earth even knows you’re here? Why aren’t you afraid?
Desmond: What is the point in being afraid?
[Unlocke pushes Desmond into the well]

6.10 Happily Ever After

2010-04-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

Desmond has just been brought out of sedation by Whidmore’s versatile henchwoman Zoe (engineer, gunfighter, nurse). Whidmore tells him that he was shot by Ben Linus. Whidmore also tells him that Penny and his child are safe. Oh, and one more thing: Whidmore tells him that he is back on the island. At this, Desmond begins beating Whidmore with an IV stand. Desmond is restrained and brought, along with Jin, to the generator room, where, after at least one Whidmore henchman dies, a test will be performed to see if Desmond can survive a catastrophic electromagnetic event. Desmond is locked in a room with a chair and two huge magnets, and is blasted from the island to the alternative universe. At an LAX baggage carousel, he meets other member of flight 815 (Hugo and Claire). He is chauffeured to Whidmore’s office, where he and Charles have a healthy working relationship brimming with mutual respect. Charles even breaks out the 60 year old Scotch (the significance of this will not be lost on loyal viewers). Whidmore asks a favor of trustworthy Hume: babysit a junkie base guitarist whom his wife and son want for a charity event. That druggie is Charlie.

Desmond meets Charlie at the courthouse. Charlie immediately ignores him and walks through traffic to get to a bar. Although it appears that Desmond is a success and Charlie a failure, Charlie begins to whittle away at Desmond’s hollow, loveless façade. Charlie breaks through by steering the car into the ocean. Desmond escapes but not before Charlie triggers memories of what has happened before – of Charlie’s previous drowning with the message "Not Penny’s Boat" written on his hand. Subsequently, Desmond receives more flashbacks while undergoing an MRI. Now he remembers Penny and his son. He presses the panic button, leaves the MRI, and goes in search of Charlie. Turned down by the nurse at the desk, he sees and asks Jack, but before Jack can answer, Charlie goes sprinting by. Desmond takes off in pursuit, then catches and confronts him. Charlie suggests that he forget about the concert and instead try to find Penny. Whidmore isn’t as amenable to this strategy and shows little compassion to Desmond, even though he almost died. Whidmore tells Desmond to deliver the message of the missing base player directly to Mrs. Whidmore (who just happens to be the woman we used to know as Eloise Hawking). Mrs. Whidmore is surprisingly forgiving about Desmond’s inability to deliver Charlie, but her mood changes when she overhears Desmond trying to find out more about someone named ‘Penny’. Mrs. Whidmore pulls Desmond aside and tells him to accept his life and stop searching for other things. It’s obvious that she is aware of the alternative timeline. She tells Desmond he is not yet ready to know these things.

As Desmond is just about to drive away, Daniel Whidmore (formerly known as Daniel Faraday) pokes his head into the limo and says they need to talk. Daniel tells Desmond that although he is a musician, he recently started scribbling complicated formulas using quantum mechanics that even he does not understand. Daniel believes in another life that he lived as a physicist, and that perhaps Penny is part of Desmond in this other life. And Daniel also tells Desmond where and when to find Penny – who just happens to be his half-sister.

At a stadium just like the one where Desmond met Jack long ago, Desmond meets Penny and says hello. They shake hands…and Desmond reawakens on the island, calm and ready to fulfill his role for Whidmore. As he accompanies a small group of people to his next assignment, Sayid appears and knocks most of them out. He tells Desmond that they are dangerous. Desmond calmly agrees and also agrees to go with Sayid.

Desmond returns to the stadium and Penny, where he had passed out after shaking her hand. She’s sweaty and he just fainted, and she agrees to meet him for coffee. Back at the limo, Desmond asks driver George to get him the manifest/passenger list from flight 815, so he can "…show them something."

Lost Quotes

"That man is the only person I’m aware of in the world who has survived a catastrophic electromagnetic event. I need to know that he can do it again – or we all die."
- Whidmore to Jin

Desmond: I don’t know anything about this woman. I don’t know – I don’t where she’s – I don’t even know if she exists. She is…she’s an idea.
Daniel: No, Mr. Hume. She’s my half-sister. And I can tell exactly where and when you can find her.

Desmond: You told me you brought me here to the island to do something very important.
Whidmore: Yeah.
Desmond: When do we start?

6.9 The Package

2010-03-31T07:06:00.001-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

A video feed clues us in that someone is observing Unlocke’s beach-dwelling gang. Unlocke comes over and talks to Jin about how all the uncrossed names must leave the island with him. Unlocke is now motivated to find Sun, since he doesn’t know which is them is a candidate. It’s also fair to say that Unlocke is trying to ensure that none of the potential candidates can fulfill their role (which would be to keep him bottled up on the island). Unlocke leaves soon after, telling Sayid that he has an errand to run. Sayid seems uninterested but is still left in charge until Unlocke returns. Sayid says he doesn’t feel anything. Unlocke thinks maybe that is for the best, because of what is coming. Jin sees this as an opportunity to escape and find Sun, but before he can head out, everyone is knocked out by tranquilizer darts shot by Whidmore’s invading army. Specifically, they have come for and take Jin.

In Ilana’s camp, Ilana says they will wait for Hurley to bring Richard back, because Richard knows what to do. Ben expresses doubt that Richard will return. Sun is getting severely frustrated with inaction and a lack of Jin. She keeps busy by tending her garden. Jack visits her there and speaks to her about her frustration. Jack tells her about the lighthouse and the mirror – this is his big exciting story and he takes every opportunity to tell people about it. Maybe he should scratch it into a tree or broadcast it in a loop using Danielle’s transmitter. Sun doesn’t let him finish, however, since she does not care about candidates or magic mirrors.

Jack leaves and Sun continues gardening until she cuts herself. Smelling blood, Unlocke arrives and tells Sun that Jin is in his camp across the island. Sun does not believe him, since she saw him kill the people at the temple. Unlocke uses the ‘those people were confused’ defense to explain why killed them. Sun runs away with Unlocke in pursuit, and then stops running when she smashes into a tree.

Later, Ben finds Sun and helps her up, and finds out that Unlocke was the cause of her accident.

Back at his camp, Unlocke discovers that everyone is unconscious, except for Jin, who is missing (and also unconscious). Unlocke shakes Sayid until he says they were attacked by unknown assailants.

Meanwhile, Jin is being held in a large cell whose metal walls are peppered with many small speakers. When he flicks a switch, a movie begins and music is blasted – identifying that he is in the Dharma indoctrination/brainwashing room. Susan Saint James, the bespectacled woman who almost tricked Sawyer, wants information on the pockets of energy discovered by Dharma. Jin insists that he first must speak with Charles Whidmore.

Unlocke gives Sayid a gun and suggests a zip lock bag to keep it from getting wet when they take the outrigger to the other island. Afterward, Claire and Unlocke have a very interesting discussion about whose name is on the wall and whose isn’t. Unlocke says that neither Claire nor Kate’s name is on the wall (although I thought Kate’s name was – was it crossed out?) but that he needs Claire (he doesn’t explain why). He also says he needs Kate and he does explain why: she can help to get three candidates – people he does need – onto the plane. He basically says that once Kate has fulfilled this purpose, Claire can dispose of her (well, he doesn’t say that per se, but Claire knows what he means). As Unlocke gets ready to go, Sawyer asks him why, and Unlocke explains that he must get Jin back.

Jack determines that Sun’s head bump has caused her to lose her ability to speak English, although she can still understand it. There’s little time to ponder this, because Richard (and Hurley) arrive back in camp. Richard tells everyone to pack their bags. His plan is to go to Hydra Island and destroy the plane before Unlocke can escape. An angry Sun tells him in Korean that she is not interested in destroying their only escape method.

Unlocke arrives on Hydra Island and is greeted by gunfire as he paces outside of the barrier. Whidmore himself arrives at the beach, and there is a brief tacit discussion: Unlocke wants Jin back, and Whidmore says he has no idea what Unlocke is talking about. Unlocke threatens (or promises) war.

Whidmore is unhappy that Jin was kidnapped and the war has begun. He gives Jin a camera that he found. Belonging to Sun, it contains digital photos of their daughter. Jin breaks down while viewing them. Whidmore promises to reunite Jin with his wife and daughter but explains that everyone they know and love will simply cease to be if Unlocke leaves the island. Whidmore brings Jin to see someone he calls ‘The Package’.

Alone on the beach, Sun is visited by Jack. He tests a theory that Sun can write in English – and she can. Jack brings Sun a lone tomato that he found in her garden. Sun explains why she did not go with Unlocke, even after Unlocke said he had Jin. Jack asks Sun to come with them; in exchange, he promises to help her find Jin and to get them both on the plane.

While Sawyer and Kate worry about the future, Unlocke returns alone. He has left Sayid on Hydra to infiltrate the sub and find out what Whidmore is hiding. As Sayid stealthily hides in the water, he watches as a drugged Desmond is manhandled by a couple of Whidmore’s personnel.

Sun and Jin’s alternative universe:

At the airport, Jin has his previously hidden and now discovered 25 thousand dollars in cash confiscated by customs officials. He can get it back if he fills out the required forms. Sun was unaware of the money and is somewhat perplexed to find out that Jin was delivering it, no questions asked, for her father. What kind of scared puppet did she marry – or is Jin simply a realist and a survivalist? They register at the hotel under separate names and get separate rooms. Now I am really starting to question this guy’s judgment – I would have opted for the one room – I’m quite sure of that.

Jin visits Sun to tell her he is going down to the restaurant to try to deliver the watch. Sun invites him in, not wishing to have a discussion in the hallway.

Sun tells him not to worry about it, as it is late, and then performs a very slow, above the belt strip-tease, where she basically unbuttons one button of her top at a time and then asks Jin if she should button it again. He keeps answering no until she gets to the fifth button, which he insists she re-button, just because he has this strange fifth button fetish. Just joking.

After love-making during the commercial break, and re-donning of underwear (as only people on TV seem to do), Sun tells Jin of her plan to run away, using a hidden account. Jin says that this is forbidden. Further negotiations are interrupted when Martin Keemy shows up at the door, looking for his watch, his cash, and Jin, who is hiding and discovered in the bathroom. Later, Keemy, his offsider Omar, and a translator determine that Sun wants to replace the confiscated money with her own if they are just allowed to go to the bank. The translator takes Sun to the bank, while Jin will be taken to the restaurant. Jin asks that Keemy promise not to tell Mr. Paik about his relationship with Sun. Keemy says he will keep the secret as long as he gets the money.

There’s bad news at the bank. Sun’s account was closed by her father. It’s a way to guarantee that Jin is killed, you would think.

At the restaurant, Jin is being held captive. Omar is sent to get Sayid, while Keemy enjoys explaining his role as a hit man sent to kill Jin as punishment for his affair with Sun. We’ve seen this scene from the other side, so we know things are not going to end well for Keemy and friends. Jin hears gunshots and soon meets Sayid. Sayid spares him and leaves him with a knife so that he can free himself. The translator and Sun returns; Jin gets the drop on him, and eventually kills him, but during the gunfight, Sun is hit by a stray bullet. As Jin carries her to get help, she gives him the news that she is pregnant.

Lost Quotes

Miles: Unless Alpert’s covered in bacon grease, I don’t think Hurley can track anything.
Frank: Hey! Don’t talk about bacon.

"…I’m three people short of getting off this island, and Kate can help me get these people on that plane. But, once she does…whatever happens, happens."
- Unlocke to Claire

Ben: What? For the fourth time, I was gathering mangoes, and she was already unconscious when I found her. What won’t you believe me?
Ilana: Because you’re speaking.

"A wise man once said that war was coming to this island. I think it just got here."
- Unlocke to Whidmore

6.08 Ab Aeterno

2010-03-24T07:14:00.000-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

I must admit that I know little about Richard. Part of that is because Lost hasn’t told me much, or if it has, I’ve missed the signs. And although he has been there since the Others were discovered, and he’s always been in a position of power, he’s never really done much, and certainly he’s never done any bad things – unless showing up year after year wearing eye makeup is a bad thing. One thing I did notice: this guy does not age. In scenes from 30 years ago, he looks exactly the same as he does now. I am just amazed by the technical wizards behind Lost – how did they accomplish such a feat? CGI? More than one actor? Who knows…J
Anyhow…for those of you who haven’t bothered to look this up on the internet, ‘Ab Aeterno’, the title of this episode, means ‘From the Beginning of Time’ in non-pig Latin. And soon you’ll probably be sick of your Lost friends telling you this definition ad nauseum.
And now, after that segue way, the episode begins:
Jacob visits Ilana in a hospital. She is wrapped in bandages, but her full lips are poking out and serve as identification. Jacob asks her to protect six people who are ‘candidates’. Back in real time, Ilana, Jack and the others discuss what they should now do. Ilana was supposed to bring the candidates to the temple and then ask someone called ‘Ricardus’ what to do next. But Richard has no idea what to do. What he does know is that Jack is dead and everyone else is dead, and this is not an island – it is hell. Obviously, Richard has not been reading what Damon Lindelof has been saying – Lindelof said the island is not an afterlife hell. But if Ricardus says it is, maybe it is.
Anyway, Richard says he is going to stop following Jacob and follow someone who might know something. Of course this means Unlocke. Richard goes to the campfire and grabs a handy Hollywood brand Nev-R-Stop Burning Log, and heads off into the jungle, in the middle of the night. You know, in the real world, when you grab one log out of a fire, it will burn for no longer than maybe a minute or two before it becomes smoldering coals (great for warmth but useless for scampering through a jungle at night.
Richard’s backstory:
Richard is bearded and riding a horse on the Canary Islands, circa 1867, Hey, I wonder if this horse also will not age, and if it will wear horse eye makeup. He enters a small cottage and attends to a very sick woman, Close to death, Isabella vows that they will always be together. Ricardo rides off to get a doctor. Twelve grueling mud and rain-soaked seconds later, his ride is finished. The doctor has the medicine but obviously does not care about saving any lives or having his dinner interrupted. He agrees to give life-saving medicine but then laughs when Ricardo does not have the money required. A struggle ensues; Ricardo accidentally pushes the doctor into a sharp lethal table, killing him. Ricardo grabs the medicine and leaves. He returns home but is too late. He is arrested immediately at his home by the local police, which certainly makes you wonder how the doctor’s servant got the message to the police so quickly. Email? Cell phone?
In jail, Richard makes his last confession to the local priest, but this is one tough padre. His confession is refused, and he is doomed to spend eternity in hell, should you believe in such things, which he obviously does. On his way to the gallows, he is purchased as a slave and soon is chained deep within a ship. After a long, horrible journey lasting twelve more horrific seconds, the ship approaches land – a land guarded by the statue that graces the shore of the Lost Island. Shipwrecked on the island, the officer who purchased Ricardo begins slaughtering the chained slaves, claiming that since there are more slaves than officers, letting them free would cause a mutiny. As he is about to stab Ricardo, the Smoke Monster arrives and carries the evil officer away. After digesting the officers, the Smoke Monster returns and goes face to face with Ricardo – and spares him. Time passes as Ricardo slowly tries to work his way free from his chains, battling weakness from lack of food and water. He hallucinates that Isabella is there – or maybe it is not a hallucination – maybe he and Isabella are both dead as she says. If she is alive, it doesn’t last – she is taken by the Smoke Monster.
More time passes, and now even Richard is getting bored with how this is being dragged out. He is finally discovered by a man who gives him water. This man is the original Unlocke, the original man who was with Jacob on the island. This man says that Ricardo’s wife is with ‘him’, meaning the other guy, which doesn’t make sense, because this guy is the Smoke Monster, as far as I know. Smokey frees Ricardo, but only after he promises to help him. And the way he wants him to help is to kill the devil and escape from what he calls hell.
Smokey sends Ricardo to the base of the statue to kill the devil, and gives him an ornate silver-handled dagger to finish the job. It’s confusing all right. Even Ricardo is confused. He saw the smoke take Isabella, but this guy, who freely admits to being the smoke, says that the other guy took and has Isabella. One thing about Smokey – whether he was in this form or in Unlocke form, he’s not shy about admitting that he can turn into smoke. I suppose it is pretty cool and is something that you would like to brag about if you could do it.
Jacob convinces Ricardo that he is not the devil, that he doesn’t have his wife, and that he is not dead. Using the analogy of red wine trapped in a bottle, Jacob explains that Smokey is evil and must be contained on the island. Although, it must be said, Jacob seems to think it is more important to convince Smokey that people are not corruptible sinners – and to that end, he has lured countless people to the island, and now they are all dead. So if Smokey is evil, this guy is, perhaps, just slightly less evil.
Jacob offers Ricardo a job – to be the intermediary between himself and the people he brings to the island. In return, Ricardo asks for his wife back (no can do), or to be absolved of his sins (nope, nada) or for an unlimited supply of black eyeliner (no, he didn’t ask for that) or to live forever. He says it as a joke, but Jacob can do that – and he does.
Ricardo accepts the offer and delivers a stone to Smokey from Jacob, perhaps as a sign that Jacob has won this battle. Smokey tells him that if he ever changes his mind and wants to switch sides (and see Isabella again), he can come and see him. Smokey gives Ricardo Isabella’s crucifix, which Ricardo promptly buries.
Back in the present:
It’s daylight. Richard digs up the crucifix that he buried all those years ago, and shouts "I changed my mind" to the heavens. Seconds later, nothing happens. Then about twelve seconds later, after some louder, more effective yelling, Hurley appears. Hurley has been speaking to Isabella. She wants to know why Ricardo buried her cross. In a touching scene, she tells Ricardo that he is not to blame for her death. Hurley also tells Richard that Isabella said one more thing: that he must stop Unlocke from leaving the island, because if he doesn’t, they will all go to hell.
Somewhere, on a hill far away, Unlocke casts his gaze over the island and seems to be aware that this conversation has taken place.
Back to the past:
Jacob and Smokey sit together to discuss their battle. Smokey wants to leave. Jacob vows never to let him leave while he is alive. Smokey promises to kill Jacob. Jacob says someone else will take his place.

Comments

So…now even someone as confused as myself can see the basic battle lines being drawn. Unlocke is trying to get off the island. He has surrounded himself with some powerful allies, including Sayid and Sawyer. Richard is the one who must get it together and muster a group to stop Unlocke. And now that we know that Smokey’s plan was always to kill Jacob and escape, the concept of the candidates makes more sense. Someone is needed to replace Jacob, and soon.

Lost Quotes

Richard: You want to know a secret, Jack? Something I’ve known a long, long time? You’re dead.
Hurley: You mean that figuratively, right?
Richard: No, I mean literally. We’re all dead. Every single one of us. And this, this – all this. It’s not what you think it is. We’re not on an island. We never were. We’re in hell.
Richard: Are you the devil?
Jacob: No.
Richard: Then who are you?
Jacob: My name is Jacob. I’m the one who brought your ship to this island.
Richard: You brought it here? Why?
Jacob: Think of this wine as what you keep calling ‘hell’. There’s many other names for it, too: malevolence, evil, darkness. And here it is, swirling around in the bottle, unable to get out, because if it did, it would spread. The cork is this island, and it’s the only thing keeping the darkness where it belongs. That man who sent you to kill me believes that everyone is 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: Before you brought my ship, there were others?
Jacob. Yes. Many.
Ricardo: What happened to them?
Jacob: They’re all dead.
"She said you have to stop the man in black – you have to stop him from leaving the island. Because if you don’t – we all go to hell."
- Hurley, relaying Isabella’s message to Richard

6.07 Recon

2010-03-17T06:03:00.000-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

Sawyer burns himself on the kettle, cursing quietly so as not to wake up the sleeping Jin. Sawyer has thoughtfully let Jin sleep in to recover from his bear trap and Claire ordeal. As part of his new, sensitive persona, Sawyer actually has a full 45 second conversation with Jin without calling him by a new nickname like Sleeping Beauty, Rumpelstiltskin, or Sleeping Asian Dude. Now it is time to get up and panic, for those crunching approaching footsteps could mean that Claire and Unlocke are back. Sawyer tells Jin that he is ‘with Locke’ so he can get off this godforsaken rock, but gives his word that they will not leave the island until they find and take Sun with them. The crunches are generated by Unlocke, and Kate, and Sayid, and Claire. Kate breathes a breathy ‘hi’ at Sawyer and he replies with a throaty ‘hi yourself’. Get a tent, guys. Sawyer asks Kate about the whereabouts of Jack, Hurley, and Miles. Miles cannot be accounted for. Kate asks Sawyer if he is now with Unlocke. Sawyer says he isn’t with anybody.

Claire packs up her most cherished items like her scary knife and even scarier skull baby Unlocke says the Black Smoke killed the people at the temple; in the same smoky breath he promises to protect these people. Later, after Unlocke specifies that everyone should make camp for a couple of days, Sawyer gets impatient and wants off the island and now. Unlocke pulls him aside and explains that Unlocke and Smoke Monster are one and the same, which is why you never seem them in the same photo together, arm in arm. Unlocke brings Sawyer to a tiny outrigger and sends him on a mission to sail to Hydra Island, infiltrate the group there that would mean to harm Unlocke, and bring back information. Sawyer agrees because he believes it will bring him closer to getting on that plane and escaping this godforsaken rock.

Kate asks the now catatonic Sayid if he believes Unlocke. Sayid says he does, but his eyes are lifeless and his opinion isn’t of much value. Still, his weird state is enough of a distraction for Kate that Claire is able to jump her and push a knife toward her throat. Sayid just watches like it is TV, but Unlocke arrives in time to throw Claire away and tell her that what she is doing is ‘unappropriate’. Maybe it’s ‘inappropriate’, too?

Unlocke apologizes to Kate for telling Claire that the Others had her baby. Kate asks about Sawyer, so Unlocke brings her to the beach to talk to her about her problems and his. He says his mother was crazy and he had growing pains that created problems that he is still trying to work through.

As Kate walks back to the camp, Claire blocks her path to apologize for her earlier actions and to embrace Kate in a big hug. Anyone who did NOT think that Claire was going to pull a knife and plunge it into Kate’s back, raise your hand.

On Hydra Island, Sawyer visits old sites and reminisces about Kate and Juliet and the zoo where he was kept prisoner. He finds a tiny article of Juliet’s clothing and a huge Ajira Airways passenger liner. Following a trail of debris and shoes, he finds the stinking remains of the passengers, dead and clothed, arranged like logs on a campfire. A live one runs by and he tackles her. Her name is Zoe and she says she is the only remaining survivor. Zoe says someone or something killed all the other survivors while she was out gathering wood. Sawyer offers to take her to the other island. But she’s not who she says, and with a whistle, her armed accomplices emerge, capture Sawyer, and bring him inside the docked submarine. There, Whidmore meets with Sawyer alone. Whidmore claims that he didn’t send a freighter to kill everyone on the island and that he didn’t kill all those people in the pile just up the shore. Sawyer disagrees, but still proposes to tell Unlocke that the coast is clear, and then to deliver Unlocke to Whidmore, so Whidmore can kill him. In return, Sawyer demands that his people are left unharmed and are granted safe passage off the island. Whidmore agrees and they shake hands.

Back on non-Hydra, Sawyer stays loyal to Unlocke and tells him the whole story of what happened, including Sawyer’s lie to Whidmore about leading Unlocke into an unsuspecting trap. Sawyer alerts Smokie to the fact that Whidmore is setting up Smoke-stopping pylons.

Sawyer returns to camp to spend time with the somber Kate. His real plan is to let Unlock and Whidmore fight it out while he and Kate steal the sub and get off the island.

Sawyer’s Alternative Universe

Sawyer has just finished satisfying another beautiful rapacious young woman. He feigns being late for an appointment, grabs his case, and wads of cash spill out. But his date is not so easily conned by this ‘pigeon drop’. She pulls a gun on Sawyer. But she is soon disappointed to learn that her husband is the target, Sawyer is an undercover cop, and Miles is his partner in the van, dashing in with gun drawn to disarm the woman.

Back at the donut shop, Sawyer is calling every Anthony Cooper for some secret reason that he doesn’t want to share with Miles, even when Miles senses it and prompts him.

Later that evening, Sawyer walks into a restaurant/bar to meet the blind date set up by Miles. It is Charlotte, looking resplendent in red curls and a sequined dress. They trade stories about why they chose their careers in archeology and cop-eology. Charlotte is aroused by Sawyer’s cop/criminal personality, and soon they are in bed together. But maybe Charlotte’s easy seduction is manipulative. After sex, she digs through his clothes drawers, supposedly looking for a t-shirt, but dwelling for a long time on the photo and story about Sawyer’s sad childhood where he lost his parents. Sawyer catches her and kicks her out.

The next day, Miles confronts Sawyer, but it’s not about the way he kicked Charlotte out. It’s about Miles discovery that Sawyer covered up his recent trip to Australia. Miles suspects a motive for that trip that warrants it being covered up, and of course we know that the trip was all about revenge to the man who conned his parents. Miles drops Sawyer as a partner.

Back at home, Sawyer heats a TV dinner and watches Little House on the Prairie. The calming words of Michael Landon soothe Sawyer, and filled with remorse and perhaps a touch of lust as well, he shows up at Charlotte’s door with a sunflower and a six-pack. But Charlotte sends him away and tells him he blew it.

Sawyer confronts Miles, invites him into his car, and finally tells all, or almost all – he gives Miles the grisly scrapbook and details the events of Sawyer’s childhood. Sawyer tells all – including his plan to find the right Anthony Cooper and then to kill him. Before Miles can completely convince him to drop this plan, a car crashes into them, and the driver flees on foot. Sawyer and Miles pursue and Sawyer catches and de-hoods the crim – it’s Kate.

Lost Quotes

Zoe: Do you all have guns? I mean – whoever killed those people back there – they might come back.
Sawyer: We got plenty of guns.

Sawyer: What happened back at the temple? How’d you know to rescue everybody from that Smoke Thing?
Unlocke: I didn’t rescue them. I’m the Smoke Thing.

Gunman: Down on your knees!
Sawyer: Alright, alright, you got me. Take me to your leader.

Unlocke: A long time ago, before I…looked…like this, I had a mother, just like everyone. She was a very disturbed woman. And as a result of that…I had some growing pains…problems that I’m still trying to work my way through. Problems that….could have been avoided, had things been different.
Kate: Why are you telling me this?
Unlocke: Because now Aaron…has a crazy mother too.

"Son of a bitch!"
- Sawyer, on catching and de-hooding the criminal Kate

Kate: Even if we could get on that plane, who’s gonna fly it?
Sawyer: We ain’t taking the plane, freckles. We’re takin’ the sub.

6.06 Dr. Linus

2010-03-13T03:14:00.000-08:00

Summary and Spoilers

Ben avoids the Smoke Monster and rejoins Ilana’s torch-wielding crew as they rush through the jungle. He suggests that they return to the beach camp where the original survivors lived. Ilana agrees, and off they flee.

Ilana has had a suspicion – she’s always had this suspicion – that maybe Ben lied about how Jacob died – that Jacob was not killed by Unlocke’s smoke. Now Ilana has the means to find out the truth. She hands Miles a little bag of Jacob’s remaining ashes-to-ashes, and demands he tell her how Jacob died. Miles kneels, concentrates, and then does the apolitical thing: simply says that Ben killed Jacob. What does Ilana do? Well, on the one hand, we think she might smite down Ben. But on the other hand, we know we are probably not going to lose Ben Linus at this point in the season. So she doesn’t, although obviously she’s not happy to be marching with the murderer of someone she says was her father figure.

It’s daytime now, and Ilana’s gang has finished their walk on the beach. Ilana starts building shelters and tasks the others to get food. Ben is being ignored. Sun wants to go in search of Jin, but Ilana tells her she also wants to find Jin. There’s a little exposition here as Ilana explains that she is protecting the final six candidates to replace Jacob.

Jack is in a hurry to return to the temple. Hurley knows something bad is going down there, so he is trying to delay. Richard appears out of nowhere, points toward the direction of the temple, and disappears.

Ben decides to annoy someone else by confronting Frank with the irony that, even though he overslept and did not pilot Oceanic 815, he still ended up on the island. Ilana doesn’t like his irony either, so she points a gun at his neck. Her expert efficiency skills can’t be denied when she ankle chains Ben to a tree and tells him to start digging his own grave. Dutifully, Ben proceeds, until he is tired and has a Hollywood-style professionally-produced sweat stain on the back of his shirt. He isn’t actually rushing to finish, although nearby gunshots from Ilana may motivate him. He turns down Miles’ offer of food; who wants a last meal served on a banana leaf?

Actually, Richard did not completely disappear. Jack and Hurley follow him, but instead of leading them to the temple, Richard brings them to the Black Rock, the ancient sailing ship high on the mountain. Richard has come there to die, but not before telling them that they should not trust anything Jacob says. By the way, Richard also reveals that his phenomenon of non-botox-related non-ageing was a gift from Jacob. Richard wants to kill himself, but says he cannot. He asks Jack and Hurley to do it for him by lighting a long fuse that leads to a stick of dynamite. Hurley says no, but Jack not only agrees and lights it up, but then stays with Richard as the fuse burns down. You see, Jack, once the world’s greatest disbeliever of all things mystical and unexplainable, has made a great leap of faith and now believes that after what he has seen at the lighthouse that someone or something will not let him die here for no reason. And yes, the fuse burns out just before it reaches the stick.

Ben has almost completed his grave when he hears the sound of the Smoke Monster. Suddenly, Unlocke appears, explaining that he doesn’t want Ben to die. Rather, he sees Ben as the perfect leader for the island after Unlocke and his group leave. Unlocke is true to his name: he unlocks Ben’s ankle restraint and tells him there is a rifle leaning against a tree 200 meters into the jungle. Unlocke leaves, as does Ben, with Ilana in close pursuit. Ben gets the rifle and gets Ilana to drop hers, then explains to her, painfully, why he killed Jacob – because he let Alex die. Ilana hears Ben’s story and accepts him back into the group.

As afternoon lengthens, Jack, Hurley and Richard arrive at camp. There are hugs all around (except for Ben and Richard).

Intriguingly, this group on the beach is being viewed by a passing submarine, inside of which is Charles Widmore.

Ben’s Alternative Universe:

Ben is high-school teaching about Napoleon, and a different island called Elba. He’s an inspired teacher who obviously loves what he does, and that’s why he’s disappointed when his after school history club is usurped by his new assignment: to supervise detention all week. He also butts heads with another, fully cynical teacher: old Island member Arzt! Nearby, another teacher in the lounge encourages Ben to become the principal: it’s Unlocke! What’s going on? We’ve basically got the whole island crew in this teacher’s lounge now. We could have done the Lost show in this teacher’s lounge and saved lots of money on all those Hawaii location shots.

At home, Ben prepares an organic meal for his ailing, live-in dad. Ben grouches about his day while his dad breathes with the help of oxygen. Alex shows up at the door, young and radiant. She’s a member of that history club. Ben, the dedicated teacher, agrees to tutor her in the library early the following morning. Hey, everyone from the island is in different roles! This is just like that Deep Space Nine episode where everyone worked in a newspaper office! That next morning Ben patiently tutors Alex and calms her. He even consoles her when she tells him that she accidentally caught Principal Reynolds doing the nurse.

Ben asks Arzt to hack into the nurse’s email account, and in doing so, tells him why, thereby revealing Alex’s secret and in some way violating her trust. Using the email evidence of the affair, Ben confronts Principal Reynolds and tries to force his resignation. Reynolds counterpunches by threatening to ruin Alex’s chances to get into Yale, etc. Ben backs down and Alex gets her letter of recommendation and her slot back in the history club. The only loser is Arzt, who’ll never get his shaded parking space.

Comments

I like the way Matthew Fox crosses his eyes slightly when he is really angry about something. It makes Jack look like he is about to go absolutely psycho, maybe even leave the show.

Lost Quotes

Ilana: Where’s Jurrah?
Ben: I’m fine. Thank you.
Ilana: Where is he!
Ben: Considering that he just killed Dogen, I don’t think he’s gonna be joining us.
Sun: Who’s Dogen?
Miles: The guy is charge of the temple.
Ben: Sayid killed the interpreter too.
Ilana: Are you sure?
Ben: He was standing over their dead bodies holding a bloody dagger, so, yeah, I’m pretty sure.

Miles: Linus killed him.
Ben: What? That’s not true!
Ilana: Are you sure?
Ben: Well, he was standing over Jacob’s dead body with a bloody dagger, so, yeah, I’m pretty sure.
Ilana: Thank you. Jacob was the closest thing I ever had to a father.
Miles: [to Ben] Oh, oh!

Miles: Not exactly tearing it up on the digging front are you?
Ben: I’m not in a big hurry.

"Right up until the second the knife went through his heart, he was hoping he was wrong about you. I guess he wasn’t."
- Miles to Ben (regarding the murder of Jacob)

Richard: There’s something I need to do.
Jack: To do what?
Richard: Die.

Ilana: Where will you go?
Ben: To Locke.
Ilana: Why?
Ben: Because he’s the only one that’ll have me.
Ilana: I’ll have you.

6.05 Sundown

2010-03-03T03:37:00.000-08:00

Summary and Spoilers

Sayid confronts the Other Leader, wanting answers – why the torture; why the poison? The ‘test’ proved that Sayid was more evil than good. A fight ensues: the broken dates, the endless waits, the conversation with the flying plates…the fight ends suddenly when the Leader’s prized baseball falls onto the floor. The Leader strongly suggests that Sayid leave, and he does begin to pack, but first Miles clarifies that the Others did not save Sayid’s life. We don’t know who did, but I’m beginning to suspect whoever did it has an ‘Un’ at the beginning of their name.

Claire agrees to raid the Temple as long as Unlocke keeps his promise to get her son back. She walks in and tells Leader that he (Unlocke) wants to meet with him outside the temple. The Leader refuses to leave, saying it would mean death. Claire is detained until the situation is resolved. The Leader asks for Shephard and Hurley to be brought to him, and is strongly disappointed to find out that they are missing and presumed escaped.

Now the Leader asks Sayid to stay. You can guess why: in this war against Unlocke, the Leader probably wants to utilize those specialized killing/torture skills that Sayid would normally like to keep dormant. Leader explains that Unlocke was trapped by Jacob but is now free to destroy everything: he is evil incarnate. Leader wants Sayid to kill Unlocke by stabbing him in the chest – but, importantly, the killing must take place before Unlocke speaks.

Sayid leaves the temple and crosses paths with Kate (but says nothing to her). Kate returns to the temple, and is excited to find out from Miles that Claire is there. Trouble brewing.

Sayid encounters Unlocke. Sayid stabs him (after Unlocke says ‘hello’) but it has little effect – it just elicits a quizzical and slightly hurt-feelings look from Unlocke. Unlocke explains that the Leader knew Sayid had no chance to kill him, and just hoped that Unlocke would kill Sayid. Unlocke offers Sayid anything that he desires in return for delivering a message. As a reward, Unlocke seems to be offering Sayid a second chance with Nadia.

Sayid delivers Unlocke’s message slash ultimatum: join Unlocke and leave the island, or stay at the temple and die. Most people choose to leave, but not Sayid, who brandishes that knife and tells Miles he has to return it.

Kate meets Claire and tells her that she is the one who took Aaron. Claire’s face changes from happiness to hatred, but she is down in the hole and Kate is way up above her, and besides, Unlocke is coming to kill everybody anyway.

Sayid confronts Leader about why he himself did not kill Sayid when he had the chance, rather than trying to get someone else to do it. The Leader explains that one Friday after work, his drunk driving led to his own son’s death. Leader made a pact with Jacob: his son was brought back to life, but Leader had to come to the island and never see his son again. Sayid punctuates Leader’s moving story by drowning him, and then drowning his hippie sidekick too. The reason: now Unlocke can enter the temple, and Sayid can be granted his wish. Immediately after Leader dies, the sound of the smoke monster can be heard. Soon, the smoke monster can be seen, too, as it starts dragging people into the jungle.

Kate and Miles separate. Kate tries to rescue Claire, but Claire suggests that Kate join her in the safety of the hole. This is even better advice than Kate’s "Run!", as the smoke monster passes overhead, leaving them unharmed. Miles is ‘rescued’ by Ilana, Lapidus, Ben, and Sun. Ben finds Sayid and tries to convince him to come with, but Sayid is just waiting to be captured.

Ilana finds a hidden door in the rock and takes Lapidus, Miles, and Sun to safety.

Kate, Claire, and Sayid walk dreamlike through destroyed, burning temple. Outside the temple, they gather around Unlocke with those who have joined him. Unlocke turns and begins to walk through the jungle, with his followers close behind.

Sayid’s alternate life:

Sayid finds Nadia, living in a lovely suburban house with two kids – and she is married to Sayid’s brother, Omar. How did this happen? Sayid got Nadia’s letters, but he chose not to answer. Nadia still loves him; he still loves her. And Omar is now past suspicion and into the angry glare stage.

Omar visits Sayid late at night to tell him that he is in debt to a loan shark – forever – and that he wants Sayid to ‘convince’ them to leave him alone. Omar says he knows what kind of a man Sayid is because of what happened in the war. When Omar is badly beaten, Sayid seemingly has his choice made for him – but Nadia steers him away from revenge.

On his way to pick up the kids, Sayid is picked up by two bodyguards and taken to a restaurant kitchen, where he meets Martin, the loan shark. There is a brief battle of words, with the shark trying to intimidate Sayid. This is a big mistake. Sayid kills the shark and his two sidekicks, then hears sounds and find a retro, no-English Jin tied up in the back of the kitchen.

Comments

I am completely confused now about who is good and who is evil. Sayid doesn’t seem to care, and both Jacob and Unlocke are manipulators, playing their games and using people like chess pieces.

Lost Quotes

Unlocke: [pulls Sayid’s knife from his own chest] Now why’d you go and do that?

Unlocke: Then shame on you for being talked into it [trying to kill me] so easily.
Sayid: And what is it you are trying to talk me into?

"I can’t be with you, because I don’t deserve you."
- Sayid to Nadia

Martin: Okay, fine, fine…take – it’s done. Your brother doesn’t owe me anything, the debt’s forgiven. Alright? Good? Okay? Just relax and…forget about it.
Sayid: I can’t. [shoots and kills him]

"Run! Run! Run!"
- Kate [to Miles], offering that tried and true Lost advice

6.04 Lighthouse

2010-02-25T22:27:00.000-08:00

Summary and Spoilers

Jack and the leader of the Others have a brief but sincere chat. The leader is glad that Jack has not left. Jack lets the leader know that Kate, Jin, and Sawyer are probably not coming back.

Hugo runs into Jacob in the pool room. Jacob says ‘someone’ is coming to the island, and he wants Hugo to help this ‘someone’ find the island. A bit later, Hugo is dutifully following instructions, traveling through a mysterious hall of the temple with indecipherable symbols. The leader tells him to leave, but Jacob feed Hugo lines – telling him to say that he is a candidate. It works, and the leader leaves. Jacob explains again that Hugo must bring Jack with him into the secret entrance, and gives some tips on how to get Jack to follow him. It works (specifically, the phrase "You’ve got what it takes" works) and Jack agrees to accompany Hugo.

Hugo and Jack escape into the jungle. They meet Kate. Kate is going to look for Claire, but Jack tells her that, according to the Others, something happened to Claire. Kate is not deterred and heads off anyway. Jack and Hugo end up at the old caves where the tribe once lived. Jack explains how he found the caves by following the ghost of his father.

Jack and Hurley continue through the jungle, trading stories about why they came back to the island. Hugo returned because Jacob told him to. Jack returned because he believed he could be emotionally healed there – and so far, he has been disappointed. They reach their destination – a lighthouse. Hugo has his orders – to turn the lighthouse on first. They climb to the top; a series of pulleys are used to adjust mirrors to the optimum angle. Jack discovers the name of the Oceanic survivors written on the surface of the table in the center of the room. He turns the mirrors to face his name and in the mirror, he can see the house where he grew up in. Jack wants to know why Jacob is watching him, and when answers are not forthcoming, he smashes the mirrors.

Jacob finally shows up for Hugo and explains that Jack is here to do something important, but that he must find out what it is for himself. Jacob also says that someone bad is coming to the temple, but that the people there cannot be warned – it is too late.

Sayid wants to know why everyone is staring at him. It may be because the Others believe that he is infected. Jack tells Sayid about the poison pill and why it was given – and that there is someone else with the same infection.

In the jungle, Claire approaches Jin, whose bloody foot is in an animal trap. Claire frees him, but Jin collapses when he tries to walk. When Jin’s eyes open again, he is in Claire’s makeshift shelter. He pokes around and finds a child’s cradle. Inside is a kind of jigsaw representation of a child, made from bones and buttons. Soon, Jin is joined by Claire and her newest prisoner - one of the Others who was guarding Jin. This guy says he knows of her, and that they must escape or she will kill them.

It’s unclear exactly how stable Claire is or isn’t. She believes the Others have Aaron because she says her father told her so. She claims that she doesn’t live on her own because she has a mysterious un-named friend. She fixes Jin’s leg, and then wields an axe at the tied-up Other, demanding to know where Aaron is. When Claire is about to swing, Jin tells her that Kate took Aaron off the island. Claire is devastated, and she responds to the Other’s request to be untied by killing him with an axe to the chest. So…she’s fairly crazy.

Jin now tells Claire that he lied about Kate taking Aaron off the island. He says the truth is that he has seen Aaron at the temple, a prisoner of the Others – and that he can get Claire in there. Claire says if Kate had been raising Aaron, she would kill her. Claire’s friend shows up – it’s un-Locke!

Jack’s flashback:

At home, Jack is still waiting to find out where his father’s body is. It’s in lost luggage somewhere, perhaps in Berlin. His mother is also wondering – she calls in a panic. Jack is only partially aware of his own life – he has an appendectomy scar but doesn’t remember having an appendectomy. He also has a teenage son named David.

David does his best to ignore his dad. It seems that (workaholic) Jack is not around much, and David has gotten used to that.

Jack helps his mom to search for his dad’s missing will. They discuss how upset David was at the funeral – a fact that David had not bothered to tell his dad. When the will is found, Jack’s mom wants to know about the person named ‘Claire Littleton’.

Back at home, Jack finds that David has gone out. Jack tries David’s mother house – he knows she is not home. He enters using a key hidden out front under a statue. David isn’t there, but his whereabouts are tracked to an audition at a music conservatory – an audition that he didn’t even bother to tell his dad about. Jack rushes to the conservatory in time to hear the last part of David’s stunning performance. Strangely, one of the other dads is the Other’s leader.

Jack catches up with David outside the conservatory. David says he didn’t tell Jack because he didn’t want his dad to see him fail. Jack tries to make David feel more secure about the love and respect they feel for each other.

Comments

If you were wondering how un-Locke was going to get into the temple, now you know – Jin will be forced to lead him in.

Think for a moment about what might happen should Kate find Claire right about now. Jin better think up a few more good lies to diffuse that scenario.

When the leader of the Others shows up as a dad at the conservatory rehearsal, it felt a little David Lynchian – and not necessarily in a good way.

Lost Quotes

Jack: Where is he?
Hugo: What?
Jack: Jacob. Where is he?
Hugo: He’s kind of dead. Turns up whenever he wants, like Obi Wan Kenobi.

"I came back here because I was broken…and I was stupid enough to think this place could fix me."
- Jack

6.03 The Substitute

2010-02-17T06:20:00.000-08:00

Summary and Spoilers

In the present, un-Locke machetes Richard down from a hanging bag and tells him it is time to talk, then quickly changes and invites – closer to demands – that Richard come with him, follow him instead of following the deceased Jacob. Richard refuses, and we think that he is about to face the wrath of this god, but un-Locke leaves suddenly when he is unnerved by the image of a young boy with bleeding arms. This meeting is noteworthy because it is the first time I have ever seen Richard looking scared – and he looks terrified.

Ben tells partial truths to the sobbing Ilana. He says that Locke killed her men by turning into a Smoke Monster. He also says that Locke killed Jacob. Ilana scoops up Jacob’s ashes and bags them.

Un-Locke visits Sawyer’s bachelor pad, where loud music plays on a retro turntable and Sawyer glugs whiskey. Sawyer realizes quickly that this thing may look like Locke but it is not him. Un-Locke is there to recruit – we know that now – and he offers to explain why Sawyer is on the island. Even a drunk, depressed Sawyer is intrigued by this, and he agrees to follow.

The real, dead Locke is still lying on the beach, his body beginning to decompose. Ilana is heading for the temple with Jacob’s ashes. She convinces Sun to follow her, because she says that Jin will be there, too. Frank also follows. But first, Sun says they must bury Locke. I’m thinking, no, don’t bury him – bring him to the temple, and dip him in the water. Can’t hurt. But no, they bury him, and Ben says some words over his grave, including how he is very sorry he murdered him.

Un-Locke and Sawyer begin their journey. Un-Locke sees the boy mirage again, but this time his arms are not bleeding. Sawyer can see him too. The boy runs and Un-Locke pursues, then falls. The boy and Un-Locke exchange a typical cryptic Lost dialogue exchange. Un-Locke’s response is a typical Locke line, and makes me wonder who or what this being is.

Richard pops out of the woods just long enough to tell Sawyer that Un-Locke is going to kill Sawyer and everyone else. A bit later, Sawyer draws his gun, ready to kill Un-Locke, but a passionate, fearless speech by Un-Locke makes Sawyer lower his gun and continue to follow. After a hair-raising brush with death on a series of bamboo and rope ladders leading down a steep ocean cliff, Un-Locke leads Sawyer deep into a cavern where the names of people who have ended up on the island are scrawled on the cave ceiling. Un-Locke says the names were written by Jacob. Most of the names are crossed out, but not Shephard or Reyes or Jarrah or Kwon. And, of course, Ford. And Locke. Where’s Kate? All the names are there because they have been nominated to protect the island. Un-Locke says there are three choices: ignore, protect, or just leave – together. Sawyer favors the leave together choice – and, suspiciously, that’s the choice also favored by Un-Locke (who perhaps wants the island for himself?).

Locke’s Flashback:

In flashback, Locke takes time out from choosing fabric colors for wedding chair backs to consider taking Jack Shephard up on his offer for a free consultation. Back at work in this alternate universe, Locke is fired when his boss finds out that he did not attend any convention events in Australia.

In the parking lot, Locke meets Hurley. Hugo is a different man – self-assured and confident, he owns the company that Locke has been fired from. Hurley also owns a temp agency, and tells Locke to go there and mention his name – and they will get him a job pronto.

Locke isn’t happy with the fuzzy wuzzy questions he is asked at the temp agency. He asks to speak to the interviewer’s supervisor, and comes face to face with Rose, the office manager.

The next morning, Locke calls Dr. Shephard’s office, but hangs up rather than speaking. He then tells Helen that he was fired for not going to the conference in Sydney – two things she did not know yet. At that moment, he also has his lost luggage delivered. Inside are the knives that he planned to use on his walkabout – the one he was not allowed to go on. So, three things that Helen didn’t know. Locke is feeling down about being trapped in his chair, forever, and tries to break up with Helen, but she loves him just as he is.

Locke is now coaching and teaching at what appears to be a high school. He looks rejuvenated and happy to be working, but that was before he meets Ben Linus, European History teacher, in the teacher’s lounge. Locke is a substitute teacher.

Lost Quotes

"Alright, Richard. Time to talk."
- Un-Locke

Ben: Locke – do you know why he carried Richard out into the jungle?
Ilana: He’s recruiting.

Sawyer: Thought you were dead.
Un-Locke: I am.

Ben: 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.
Frank: This is the weirdest damn funeral I’ve ever been to.

Sawyer: Who are you? You sure as hell ain’t John Locke.
Un-Locke: What makes you say that?
Sawyer: ‘Cause Locke was scared. Even when he was pretending he wasn’t. But you – you ain’t scared.

Boy: You can’t kill him. You know the rules.
Un-Locke: Don’t tell me what I can’t do.

6.02 What Kate Does

2010-02-17T00:29:00.000-08:00

Summary and Spoilers

The death of Juliet has once again morphed Sawyer’s ever changing personality. Now, he is a bitter, twisted man again, out only for himself. He gains no solace from Sayid’s resurrection, and instead steals a gun and leaves the compound, warning everyone not to follow him.

The Others really feel it is important that Sawyer returns. Kate volunteers to track him and bring him back. Jin also says he will go. Two of the Others will accompany them. Meanwhile, Sayid is tortured briefly, then told he was just tested and passed. But when he leaves the room the two Others who are in command say that they lied to him. Kate has other plans, and quickly disables both Others and takes their guns.

Jack is given a pill by the Others, and a choice: give it to Sayid to stop some mystery infection that they say he has (although he has no symptoms), or don’t give it to him, and watch the mystery infection spread. They won’t tell him what the infection is, or what’s in the pill. Good luck with that one, Jack.

Kate finds Sawyer still grieving for Juliet. Sawyer now says it is his fault that she died, because he convinced her to stay on the island. Sawyer says he is meant to be alone, and suggests Kate head back to the temple.

Jack confronts the leader of the Others and finally gets him to admit that the pill (which Jack did not give to Sayid) contains poison. They say that there is a darkness growing inside Sayid that will claim his heart. They say they know this because it happened to Jack’s sister. Jack’s sister? Oh yeah…that is Claire. Sure enough, when Jin is ambushed by the two Others, who arrives just in time to shoot them and save him? Claire, wearing a flannel shirt and crazy hair, and looking like she just stepped out of the Beverly Hillbillies.

Comments

As I mentioned in my summary, Sawyer’s personality has been most manipulated to suit the plot (and to provide dramatic intense moments for the popular actor). They always feel a bit contrived, but they sit okay later on, when we recall that Sawyer’s backstory establishes him as a man torn between the sweet innocence of a boy and the fiery revenge of a man who blames another for the death of his parents. And Sawyer has not achieved any sense of peace from his revenge quest.

Lost Quotes

"And as you can see, Hugo here has assumed the leadership position, so that's... pretty great."
- Miles

6.01 LA X (part 2)

2010-02-17T00:25:00.001-08:00

Summary and Spoilers

With Hurley bringing Sayid to the temple for salvation, it seems logical to also bring Juliet there, rather than just burying her. But no one thinks of that.

There are others at the temple, led by a Japanese man. One of the members of this tribe is the stewardess. The Japanese man gives the order to shoot Hurley and his friends, but Hurley saves the day by name-dropping ‘Jacob’. The guitar case contains a wooden icon. The Japanese man breaks it to reveal a letter from Jacob, telling them that if Sayid dies, they are all in a lot of trouble. This motivates the man to immerse Sayid’s unconscious body in a healing spring. This doesn’t work, and Sayid dies. A little later, Hurley nonchalantly mentions that Jacob is dead. This sends the others into a rushed panic to defend the temple against someone who is coming to attack it.

Sawyer and Miles bury Juliet. Afterward, Sawyer forces Miles to communicate with her, to ask her what she wanted to tell him at her moment of death. Miles says she wanted to say, "It worked." Sawyer has no idea what she meant by that.

More time passes, during which we see un-Locke emerge from the foot, knock Richard out, throw Richard’s limp body over his shoulder, and begin trudging off (I assume his destination is the temple). Back at the temple, Sayid suddenly comes back to life.

Lost Quotes

Ben: You’re the monster.
un-Locke: Let’s not resort to name calling.

6.01 LA X (part 1)

2010-02-17T00:21:00.000-08:00

Summary and Spoilers

So what happens after Juliet explodes the bomb? Well, it’s Lost, so it’s weird. Jack is back on flight 815 with the other survivors. The turbulence occurs, but it also ends without resulting in a crash. Jack seems to be the only one that is vaguely aware of the alternate reality. Other people (Rose, Bernard, Desmond, and the stewardess, played by Australian Kimberley Joseph) are all treating Jack and each other like they just met. Through a quick flight down beneath the ocean, we see that the island is now buried in deep water. Jack seems normal, except for one little thing: a strange red mark on his neck.

But of course, it’s never that simple. Because back on the island, Kate finds herself high in a tree, her ears ringing. She, along with Miles and a bloody pair of Jack and Sawyer, have been transported in time to just after Desmond exploded the hatch. Despite all of Jack’s efforts, the hatch has still been blown up. For his trouble, Jack gets a beating from Sawyer, who blames Jack for Juliet’s death. But a faint voice from below the wreckage could be Juliet. Meanwhile, Hurley waits nearby with Sayid. Sayid is near death, spitting up blood. Jacob, freshly dead and visible only to I-Can-See-Dead-People Hurley, tells Hurley he can save Sayid by bringing him to the temple.

Juliet is rescued only long enough to die in Sawyer’s arms. Will Sawyer now be a man of his word and kill Jack? He said so much to Kate.

Back on the plane, Jack saves Charlie from choking on a bag of drugs he was attempting to swallow. Charlie is not grateful, especially when he is arrested upon arrival in LA.

Jacob’s rival, currently inhabiting a copy of Locke’s body, not only can repel bullets, but when he’s angry he morphs (off-camera) into The Smoke Monster. Or, if he just wants to be in a more diluted form, yet still cause damage, he becomes The Secondhand Smoke Monster.

5.16 The Incident

2009-05-28T05:19:00.001-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

Jacob and other flashbacks:

In a time long ago, when tall sailing ships roamed the seas, Jacob was a man who shared the island with another, mysterious man. Jacob kept enticing ships to visit the island, to watch the people fight and corrupt the place. The other man wants to keep the island pure and tells Jacob that he wants to kill him. (Well, the island will be pure except for that killing, anyway). They have their little standoff chat on the beach, watching a sailing ship heading in, underneath the imposing structure of a huge animal-headed god statue. So now we know who Jacob is – sort of.

Flashback to a little Kate stealing her very first item – a lunchbox. She gets caught, and who bales her out by paying for it – none other than Jacob. And it's no coincidence, because Jacob knows her name.

It’s a funeral – I don’t know where – and a young boy mourns the death of someone. Jacob is there to lend a pen to the boy, who is identified as James (Sawyer). The pen is lent so James can write his famous letter to the real Sawyer. So Jacob seems very much to be a god-like figure – immortal, able to travel anywhere, and a manipulator of people.

Flashback to Sayid and Nadia, a happy couple about to cross a city street. Jacob stops Sayid to ask directions, and Nadia is killed in a hit and run.

Flashback to Jacob visiting Ilana in a third-world hospital. He asks her for a favor and she agrees.

Jacob reads a book on a park bench. A body – Locke’s body – hurtles to the ground behind him. Jacob apologizes to Locke for what he is going through, and promises things will be alright.

Flashback to Sun and Jin’s wedding. Jacob is a wedding guest, uninvited by either the bride or groom, who advises them, in perfect Korean, to never take their special love for granted.

Jack freezes at the operating table, but succeeds after his dad steps in and calms him down. After the successful op, Jacob shows up to free Jack’s trapped candy bar from the vending machine and to share some friendly, not so subtle advice about being stuck.

Flashback to a tween Juliet, devastated by the news that her parents are getting divorced. She races away from the family meeting and out into the living room, where Jacob…is not there. In fact, this is a rare Jacob-free flashback.

Flashback to Hurley, reluctantly leaving prison. He shares a cab with Jacob. Jacob spends the short ride trying to convince Hurley that Hurley is not crazy, and that he should go back to the island.

Kate, Juliet, and Sawyer:

On the sub, full-grown Kate is trying to convince Sawyer that they have to go back and stop Jack from blowing up the island. Sawyer patiently explains that he was happy in Dharmaville and has no interest in stopping Jack. Juliet does not concur, and when a guard arrives with sedatives, she knocks him out, takes his gun and keys, and frees Sawyer and Kate. Sawyer now changes his mind and of course agrees to stop Jack. At gunpoint, the sub captain agrees to surface the sub. Sawyer shoots and kills the radio to ensure that there is no communication with the island after they leave.

Juliet and gang paddle their inflatable back to the island. Landing on a somewhat familiar beach, they are greeted first by Vincent, and then by Rose and Bernard. Sawyer tries to convince Rose and Bernard to come with, but they have ‘retired’. They don’t even care that the island is about to blow up, because even if they both die, they will still be together, which is kind of creepy. I’m not sure who freaks me out more – Bernard, for being annoying all the time, or Rose, for wanting to spend every moment of her life (and death) with him. The most help they can offer is to point the gang in the direction of Dharmaville.

Dharma:

Over at Swan, Dr. Chang has stopped the drilling. Radzinsky vetoes that idea, insisting that the drilling continue. He flicks the on switch himself, unconcerned that the drill temperature has reached meltdown.

Locke to the future:

Locke tells Richard that he is going to visit Jacob to thank him for resurrecting him. In the last episode, he told Ben he was going to kill Jacob. Richard wants to know why Locke isn’t still dead. Locke suggests that Richard should have the answer, since he has never aged. Locke also says that after Jacob, they need to ‘deal’ with the other survivors of the plane, intimating that they will be killed (or thanked).

Later, after Ben confides to Locke that his dead daughter insisted that he follow all of Locke’s directives, Locke tells Ben that he is not going to kill Jacob – Ben is.

Locke and his followers reach the beach and the old camp of the survivors. Everyone has a rest, while Locke revs Ben up to kill Jacob, based on all the acts of faith and sacrifices Ben has made for him, with no reward.

Locke and gang reach the beach and a huge foot – the remainder of what once was a big god statue. Richard says Jacob lives under the foot. When night falls, Locke takes Ben in to see Jacob, despite Richard’s objections.

Outside, Ilana and her box have arrived. She has been looking for someone called Ricardo but settles for Richard, who speaks to her in Spanish. She opens the box. Inside is the dead body of Locke. So who is the Locke inside the foot? Is it FootLocke-R?

Inside, Locke and Ben meet Jacob. Locke and Jacob know each other, and it is obvious from the way they relate that this Locke is the same person, in some way, as the bearded man who threatened to kill Jacob all those years ago if he could find that loophole. He has found it now. Ben stabs Jacob. Locke kicks his body into the flames at the center of Jacob’s cavern, but not before Jacob utters, "They’re coming!"

On the other side of the island:

Ilana and friends have loaded the unconscious Frank on a boat and taken him to a remote place where they allow him to gaze inside of a box. "Terrific," is Frank’s one-word reaction, but we don’t get to see yet, so we’ll have to take his word for that.

Frank accompanies Ilana’s gang to their destination – Jacob’s cabin – all the while questioning what they are doing and why. The ash circle they left around the cabin has been broken, indicating that someone has been there and putting them all on guard. Ilana enters alone and discovers evidence that Jacob has not been there but someone else has. She gives orders to torch the place.

With the bomb:

Sayid has consulted Dan’s notebooks and has a plan: they remove the plutonium core from the bomb (this makes it lighter and transportable) and head for the Swan station. While Sayid loads the plutonium into a backpack, Richard asks Jack about Locke. Jack tells Richard not to give up on Locke and not to doubt his significance.

Attempting to break out, the gang breaks through to the basement of one of the Dharma houses. Eloise wants to go first, but Richard knocks her out and tells Jack and Sayid that he is protecting her. They can continue but he is going back. As they emerge into Dharmaville, Sayid’s plan to hide in plain sight backfires when they are spotted by Ben’s dad. Sayid is shot as the camp opens fire on them. Hurley and Jin arrive in the trusty blue Volkswagen bus just in time to take them to safety. Off they speed toward the Swan, hoping to get there before the catastrophe happens. Hurley stops, however, when the road is blocked by Sawyer, Kate, and Juliet.

Sawyer, Jack, and the Bomb:

Sawyer and Jack discuss whether to explode the bomb or not. When they cannot agree, they settle it J. J. Abrams style – with a long bloody fistfight. Sawyer wins, but Juliet changes her mind and decides they should help Jack. Why? Because she wants to lose Sawyer organically, rather than lose him to Kate in the unexploded world. (Huh?) I wrote that so it would make as little sense as the script, if you follow me.

At the Swan, Chang and Radzinsky have just drilled into the pocket when they get the news that Jack has escaped and is probably heading their way.

Jack finds that he has a much easier time convincing Kate that the bomb is a good idea when he talks to her just after Sawyer has beaten the crap out of him. Women go for the tall, bloody and handsome types. Afterward, Jack straps the bomb to his back and sneaks toward the Swan. He is discovered just before he gets there and is under fire, but he is joined by the rest of the gang, who arrives with guns blazing. Amazing, despite bullets flying everywhere, no big cast members get hit. Jack drops the bomb down the drill shaft, and everyone scrunches up their faces (like that’s going to help if a nuclear device explodes). But nothing happens. Instead, the pocket starts acting up, sucking in everything magnetic. Jack takes a toolbox to the head, and Juliet gets wrapped around a chain (but in a bad way, not in a good, bedroom fantasy way) and is pulled toward the gaping maw. Sawyer grabs her but cannot hold on, and she slips into the drill hole and disappears. Following her down at high speed are oodles of huge sharp and heavy magnetic objects. Sawyer collapses in agony and tears; Kate and Jack have to drag him to safety.

At the bottom of the well, Juliet comes to in a shallow puddle and is face to face with the bomb. She smashes it with rocks until it explodes…

Comments

The CGI people did a nice job with the huge animal-headed god statue (much better than they did last episode with that dodgy obviously CGI submarine).

Memorable Moments

With five different areas of focus, plus numerous Jacob flashbacks, it's difficult to pick the best moments, as there were too many. Or I am lazy.

Lost Quotes

Kate: We have to get out of here.
Sawyer: Outta here? We’re under water.

Locke: You’ve been staring for the last ten minutes, Richard – is there something you would like to ask me?
Richard: Ben told me that he strangled you.
Locke: That is my recollection, yes.

Juliet: We decided to leave this island, James. We did. And now we’re going back.
Sawyer: Are you serious?
Juliet: We can’t just let those people die. You want out - you wanna stay here and whine about it?
Sawyer: Unlock the damn cuffs!

"In my experience, the people who go out of their way to tell you they’re the good guys are the bad guys."
- Frank

Locke: Everything all right?
Ben: I was enjoying some alone time.

Locke: You mind if I ask you a question?
Ben: I’m a Pisces.

Ben: Why do you want me to kill Jacob, John?
Locke: Because despite your loyal service to this island, you got cancer. You had to watch your own daughter gunned down right in front of you. And your reward for those sacrifices? You were banished. And you did all this in the name of a man you’ve never even met. So the question is, Ben, why the hell wouldn’t you want to kill Jacob?

Locke: What is it? Why are we stopping?
Richard: You’ll see.
Locke: Well, it’s a wonderful foot, Richard, but what does it have to do with Jacob?
Richard: It’s where he lives.

Richard: What - what are you doing?
Ben: John wants me to join him.
Richard: You can’t bring him in.
Locke: Why not?
Richard: Because only our leader can request an audience with Jacob, and there can only be one leader on the island at a time, John.
Locke: I’m beginning to think you just make these rules up as you go along, Richard. Ben is coming in with me, and if that’s a problem, I’m sure Jacob and I can work it out.

"I don’t understand. If this is Locke, who’s in there?"
- Sun

"They’re coming!"
- Jacob (last words)

5.15 Follow the Leader

2009-05-22T06:22:00.001-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

After Daniel’s death, Jack and Kate are captured by the Others. Despite their Dharma uniforms, Eloise has seen her handwriting in Daniel’s notebook and suspects the prisoners are not part of Dharma.

Prisoners Jack and Kate discuss the pros and cons of fixing the past and wiping out their time on the island. Eloise interrupts – she wants to know how she shot her son. Jack tries to convince her that they can fix her mistake. They need to blow up that bomb real good. But Eloise has bad news – it is buried underneath Dharma-town. Getting in and out is not going to be easy for Jack and Kate - back at Dharma, Sawyer is being slapped around by Radzinsky.

Hurley escapes with Miles and Jin, but not before being accosted by Dr. Chang. Chang wants to know if they are from the future, and, when the answer is affirmative, confirms that Daniel was probably right about the advice to evacuate the island.

Chang walks into Sawyer’s torture party, warning everyone to evacuate, but Radzinsky vetoes this. Sawyer confirms the threat and promises to talk if he and Juliet are put on the submarine and evacuated. Radzinsky plops a notebook in Sawyer’s lap and asks for a map to the hostiles.

Sawyer gives them what they want, and soon, he and Juliet are inside the sub, chained to a table and contemplating their future freedom in the real world. Their romantic dream is thrown a bit when Kate is also banished to the sub and chained to the table, making for a strange little ménage a troi.

Miles and gang see Sawyer and Juliet being loaded onto the sub, and they see Chang yelling at his wife, telling her to get on also; Miles is a witness to his own life being saved by his father.

Eloise heads off with Richard, Kate, and Jack on a field trip to the bomb. Kate decides to drop out. She has no interest in killing everyone, destroying the island and wiping out the last three years. When she turns to leave, she is told to stay and threatened with death by Eloise’s party. A shot rings out, and the man who was about to shoot Kate lies dead, killed by Sayid. Kate still leaves, vowing to stop Jack before he kills everyone.

Richard, Eloise, Jack and Sayid dive into a pool and follow an underwater tunnel into underground tunnels that either are the ‘temple’ or are using the same sets. They find the big bomb – now they have to get it out or detonate it.

Thirty years later:

Locke arrives at the Others camp. Locke, Richard, and Ben head off to perform Locke’s mysterious ‘errand before nightfall’. Sun waits, hoping that Richard’s dire story that he watched Jin die in 1977 can somehow be incorrect or reversible. Locke’s itinerary is to first show Richard where he was the past three years, and then to visit Jacob. The ‘visit Jacob’ part is met with disdain by both Richard and Ben, but Locke insists that he is now leader and that is what he wants to do. Their first stop is a bizarre journey into the twilight zone, as an earlier version of Locke arrives with a bullet in his leg. Current Locke coaches Richard on what to do and say to Past Locke. After Richard removes the bullet, Past Locke disappears.

Back at camp, Locke’s second move is to invite everyone to join him in a jaunt to meet the mysterious Jacob, to come face to face with the man who has been supposedly giving orders to the Others. Sun thinks Locke is going to see Jacob so he can be reunited with Jin and the Others. But Locke tells Ben that the real reason is so he can kill Jacob.

Comments

A big bomb, a murder mission to Jacob (whoever and whatever he is), and a submarine trip to nowhere – we are building up to one dandy season finale! And its only one big double episode away! I find myself trying to figure out how the season will end – and failing.

Memorable Moments

Locke’s episode-ending murder plan for Jacob

Nits

This is just my personal feeling, but I don’t care how much you slip back and forth in time – there is only one John Locke. So it should not be possible for two of them to exist in the flesh in the same place, or anywhere at all, for that matter. Now maybe that second one is not really ‘in the flesh’ at all.

Lost Quotes

Sun: Who’s that man he’s talking to?
Ben: His name is Richard Alpert. He’s a kind of…advisor, and he has had that job for a very very long time.

Sun: Were you here in 1977?
Richard: Excuse me?
Sun: [shows photo of Dharma from 1977] These people – Jack Shepherd, Kate Austin, Hugo Reyes – they were here with my husband, Jin Kwan. Were you here? Do you remember them – any of them?
Richard: Yes, I was here 30 years ago. And I do, I remember these people, I remember meeting them very clearly, because…I watched them all die.

Locke: Ben, I’d appreciate if you’d join us.
Ben: Why, John, don’t you trust me here with my former people? Afraid I’ll stage a coup?
Locke: I’m not afraid of anything you can do anymore, Ben.
Ben: Well, in that case, I’d love to come.

Eloise: How is this my handwriting if I don’t remember writing it?
Jack: Because you haven’t written it yet.

Miles: Dr. Chang! What are you doing here?
Dr. Chang: I could ask you the same question.
Hurley: Well, we asked you first.
Dr. Chang: Your friend Faraday said that you were from the future. I need to know if he was telling the truth.
Hurley: Dude, that’s ridiculous.
Dr. Chang: What year were you born? What year?
Hurley: Uh, 1931.
Dr. Chang: You’re 46?
Hurley: Yeah. Yes I am.
Dr. Chang: So you fought in the Korean War?
Hurley: There’s no such thing.
Dr. Chang: Who’s the president of the United States?
Hurley: Alright, dude, we’re from the future. Sorry.
Dr. Chang: It’s true then – you are my son.
Miles: Yeah, it’s true.

Sayid: I don’t know if you are aware of this, but I’ve already changed things. I killed Benjamin Linus, and we’re all still here.
Kate: That’s because you didn’t kill him. Sawyer and me took him to the Others so that they could save him.
Sayid: Why did you do that?
Kate: Why did I do that? Since when did shooting kids and blowing up hydrogen bombs become okay?

Richard: I’m starting to think John Locke is going to be trouble.
Ben: Why do you think I tried to kill him?

Locke: I’m not interested in being reunited with my people.
Ben: What do you mean – you told Sun -
Locke: I know what I told her, but that’s not why we’re going to Jacob.
Ben: Then why are we going to Jacob?
Locke: So I can kill him.

5.14 The Variable

2009-05-04T06:44:00.000-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

In this Daniel-centric episode, we learn much more about how he, his mother Eloise, and Charles Widmore fit into the equation.

As a young man, Daniel was driven by his mother to excel at the sciences to the exclusion of all else. Eloise calls it her job to do so, with the emphasis on ‘job’, as if perhaps she is not only Daniel’s mother, but perhaps she has also been hired to guide Daniel in a particular sponsored direction. Daniel has been fully manipulated, since the huge research grant he receives upon graduation from Oxford was supplied by Widmore, who also happens to be (unbeknownst to him) his father.

But Daniel’s experiments at Oxford ended in tragedy, when he destroyed his mind and that of his girlfriend. Widmore offers him a way out – an expedition to return to the island, where his mind will be healed and he can continue his experiments and discover new sources of energy and time travel. Daniel, of course, accepts this proposal.

In the ‘present’, Daniel has returned to the island with a fresh new plan to negate the energy under the hatch and stop flight 815 from crashing. Whereas the last time we saw him, he was suggesting that ‘what happened, happened’, and that everyone should lie low and stop wasting their energy trying to change the unchangeable, this time, he’s running around, talking to everyone he can, trying to influence as much as possible. Unsure that his plan to halt the energy release will succeed, he accosts Dr. Chang and encourages him to evacuate as many people as possible. When Change treats him with disdain, he tells Chang that Miles is his son. Chang then holds him in even more disdain.

Daniel talks to a little girl named Charlotte as well. He encourages her to tell her mother to get on the sub and get out of there, again, in case he fails.

And after revealing that his mother is the only person that can get them off the island and back to where they are supposed to be, he elicits help from Jack and Kate to visit the hostiles (where his mother, Ellie, is a gun-toting member) to speak to her. This causes a rift in the group. With Phil still tied up in the closet, its time for the visitors to leave Dharmaville. Sawyer, Juliet, Miles, and Hurley decide to pack some supplies and head back to the beach camp. As mentioned, Kate, Jack, and Daniel head for the barrier and the hostiles beyond. But before they get away, they have a firefight with Radzinsky and his men. After the fight, Radzinsky visits Sawyer and hears banging in the closet. Upon discovering Phil, Radzinsky holds Sawyer at gunpoint and tells him to get on the floor.

Daniel fares no better with the hostile Ellie, who promptly shoots him, then registers shock when the dying Daniel reveals that he is her son.

Comments

In my commentary for Some Like it Hoth and other episodes, I questioned the Lost rules that time travel cannot influence the past or the future. In one sense, Daniel has contradicted this rule, at least in theory, by finally realizing the obvious – that the people, as variables, can definitely change the future by changing the past. However, he is shot by Eloise before he can attempt to make that change, thereby keeping the rules intact – for now.

There’s something satisfying watching the Sawyer-led meeting with many of the original survivors, as they decide how they will align themselves. There are still those two distinct groups, led by Sawyer and Jack, except this time, Kate goes with Jack (perhaps partially because Juliet is with Sawyer).

Lost Quotes

Daniel: And how did she convince you, Jack – she tell you it was your ‘destiny’?
Jack: Yeah, that’s exactly what she said.
Daniel: Well, I got some bad news for you, Jack - you don’t belong here at all. She was wrong.

Sawyer: Get in here. Phil, one of my security guys, got himself a videotape of me and Kate taking the kid out to the hostiles.
Jack: And where’s the tape?
Sawyer: With Phil.
Jack: And where is Phil?

Daniel: I need you to order the evacuation of every man, woman, and child on this island.
Chang: And why would I do that?
Daniel: Because that man is on a stretcher as a consequence of the electromagnetic activity that your drilling unleashed down here.
Chang: Which is now contained.
Daniel: It’s contained down here, but in about six hours, the same thing is gonna happen at the site of the Swan station, only the energy there is about 30 thousand times more powerful, sir. And the accident…it’s gonna be catastrophic.
Chang: That is utterly absurd! What could possibly qualify you to make that kind of prediction?
Daniel: I’m from the future.

Sawyer: [asking about Daniel] He still crazy?
Miles: It’s on a whole new level, man.

"I just got shot by a PHYSICIST! And the new recruits…are helping him."
- Radzinsky to Sawyer

Jack: You need a gun to go talk to your mother, Dan?
Daniel: You don’t know my mother, Jack.
Jack: You ready to tell me why she was wrong – why we don’t belong here?
Daniel: In about four hours, the Dharma folks at the Swan work site--they're gonna - gonna drill into the ground and accidentally tap into a massive pocket of energy. The result of the release of this energy would be catastrophic. So, in order to contain it, they're gonna have to cement the entire area in like Chernobyl. And this containment - the place they built over it - I believe you called it ‘the Hatch’ - the Swan hatch? Because of this one accident, these people are gonna spend the next 20 years keeping that energy at bay - by pressing a button - a button your friend Desmond will one day fail to push, and that will cause your plane - Oceanic 815 - to crash on this island. And because your plane crashed, a freighter will be sent to this island - a freighter I was on and Charlotte was on and so forth - this entire chain of events - it's gonna start happening this afternoon. But...we can change that. I studied relativistic physics my entire life. One thing emerged over and over - can't change the past, can't do it. Whatever happened, happened, right? But then I finally realized...I had been spending so much time focused on the constants, I forgot about the variables. Do you know what the variables in these equations are, Jack?
Jack: No.
Daniel: Us. We're the variables. People. We think, we reason, we make choices; we have free will. We can change our destiny. I think I can negate that energy under the Swan. I think I can destroy it. If I can, then that hatch will never be built, and your plane - your plane will land, just like it's supposed to, in Los Angeles.
Kate: And just how exactly do you plan on destroying this energy?
Daniel: I'm gonna detonate a hydrogen bomb.

Penny: Thought I’d lost you.
Desmond: I promised you, Penny – I promised you - I’d never leave you again.

Eloise: Sacrifice? Don’t you talk to me about sacrifice, Charles! I had to send my son back to the island knowing full well -
Widmore: It was my son too, Eloise.

5.13 Some Like It Hoth

2009-05-02T05:17:00.000-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

This Miles-centric episode tracks the life of the talks-to-dead-people person, starting from when he was the child of a single mom. We view the first time Miles discovered he could talk to dead people (he was just a boy), and how shocked and confused he was by finding he had this ability that he could not switch off.

Miles was raised by his mother alone; she said his father left just after Miles was born and is now dead. So it must have been quite a shock for Miles to arrive on the island in 1977 and meet his mother, father, and even himself as a little baby. Even more of a shock, his father, now known as Dr. Pierre Chang, is the infamous Dr. Marvin Candle from all those Dharma initiation films. Of course, Miles’ parents don’t know who he is. Miles has no interest in getting to know his father, but Hurley keeps encouraging him to mend fences. The argument that works best on Miles is when Hurley compares the situation to the Star Wars movie The Empire Strikes Back. When Miles secretly watches his dad playing with his little baby boy, Miles begins to wonder if he was wrong about his dad never loving him.

Sawyer, out all day covering up his part in freeing young Ben, returns to find Jack briefing Juliet on the latest with Kate. It seems Kate tried to reassure Ben’s dad Roger that Ben would be okay. Roger, drunk and angry, took this as a sign that Kate had something to do with Ben’s disappearance. Jack vouches for Kate and manages to temporarily convince Roger that she would not have harmed Ben. After Jack leaves, Phil shows up. Miles was supposed to erase the security tape that showed Sawyer bringing Ben outside the fence, but Miles got called away by Horace. Phil has seen the tape and now knows that Sawyer abducted Ben, but he hasn’t told anyone else yet. Sawyer invites Phil inside to talk, then knocks him out and tells Juliet to get some rope.

With Sawyer out of contact, Horace calls on Miles to take the van and meet Radzinsky in the jungle. Radzinsky loads a dead Dharma body into the back of the van and tells Miles to ask no questions. Miles brings the body and van back to Horace and gets additional orders to bring the body to The Orchid. Hurley is also going to the Orchard; Miles caves and lets Hurley carpool. During the ride, Hurley discovers the body, and then doubles his mistake by mentioning this to Dr. Chang when they arrive at the Orchid. Miles drops Chang off at the new construction site in an area of the jungle that is off-limits to Dharma. Hurley realizes that Dharma is building ‘the hatch’ there.

It seems that back on the mainland, Miles was initially hired by Widmore, and then tempted to quit Widmore by some mysterious alternative group (probably led by Ben). But while Widmore offered Miles 1.6 million dollars to join the expedition to the island and track down Ben, the other group offered no money at all. Instead, they promised to help Miles understand why he is different, and to help him find out about his father. Miles sticks with the 1.6 million, which is certainly consistent with his character.

Back on the island, new scientists have arrived on the sub, and one of them is Daniel.

Comments

I’m not fully invested in caring about Miles; even after this episode, that hasn’t changed much. Maybe it’s because he’s blatantly out for himself, aloof, sarcastic, and the opposite of brave. Haunted by his demons, it all makes more sense now.

I’m sure Ken Leung (Miles) would have been hanging out for this episode, after having almost nothing to do and very few lines so far this season.

I think Lost is parodying itself just slightly when it starts coming up with terms like the ‘Circle of Trust’. It kind of has that ‘Cone of Silence’ ring to it.

Nits

My general interpretation of time travel is: if you travel back in time to when you were a baby, you cannot be there as the older you and also as the baby. There is, physically, only one of you - there are not 500 billions snapshots of you, each alive. So Miles should not be able to travel back and see himself. As to what should happen…not sure.

Lost Quotes

Radzinsky: Miles! What are you doing out here? I was expecting LaFleur!
Miles: LaFleur’s busy. Horace sent me instead. I’m in the Circle of Trust -
Radzinsky: Get out!

Miles: What happened to him?
Radzinsky: He had an accident.
Miles: What kind of accident?
Radzinsky: He fell into a ditch.
Miles: Is that a bullet hole in his head? The ditch had a gun?

“Okay…so what really happened?”
- Miles to dead guy

Hurley: [looking at Dr. Chang] Dude, that guy is a total douche.
Miles: That douche is my dad.

5.12 Dead is Dead

2009-04-17T06:24:00.000-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

It’s a credit to Michael Emerson’s acting and the Lost writers that despite all of the evil acts that Ben has performed or ordered, I’m still not sure if he is evil, or exactly how evil he is – or at least if he is more or less evil than Charles Whidmore. Since this is a Ben-centric episode, we get to see a lot more of his character – and yet, I’m still not sure.

In flashback, we find out that Richard brought Ben the boy to the Temple, where the island made the decision to heal him. The island could very well have decided to let him die – or kill him. When Whidmore hears that Richard spared the life of this Dharma boy, he is unhappy – but he cannot argue with decisions the island makes.

Later, we see Ben when he is a little older, perhaps in his early 20s. Whidmore has sent him on a mission with a young Ethan to eliminate Danielle. Whidmore considers her a threat to the island. But Whidmore hasn’t told Ben about Danielle’s baby Alex. Faced with killing a mother, Ben opts out, but he does bring back the baby. Back at camp, Whidmore tells him to kill the baby. Ben refuses and tells Whidmore to do it. Whidmore just walks away. Okay, they’re both equally evil there, quite willing to use a baby as a pawn in their struggle to prove which one of them knows more about what the island wants. In many ways, they are like high priests, trying to interpret the same scripture.

Still later, Ben is able to banish Whidmore from the island at gunpoint. He has won the power struggle and convinced everyone that he knows more about what the island wants. Where does Richard stand in all this? The ageless eyeliner-wearing one doesn’t seem to get involved in this power struggle, always remaining close to the top of the command structure.

And Ben was evil on the mainland. Remember how he showed up to return to the island with numerous serious bruises? He got them while attempting an eye-for-an-eye retribution for Whidmore killing his daughter. Ben is about to shoot Penny, when once again a child (Desmond and Penny’s son) makes him stop. Ben will do many things, but killing mothers doesn’t seem to be among them. This gives Desmond time to jump him, stop him, and seriously injure him.

Ben is plenty evil enough in the present, too. He’s obviously shocked to see that Locke is still alive, but he tells Locke that he knew it would happen – that the only reason he killed Locke was because he knew this would get everyone back to the island and bring Locke back to life. But Ben also tells Sun that he had no idea that Locke would be alive again, and that he is terrified by this. This second revelation seems closer to the truth.

Locke, for his part, is serene – indeed, almost god-like. For most people, if they got a chance to confront the person who tried to kill them, they would go for that eye-for-an-eye type retribution. Locke is actually confronting the man that did kill him, and all he wants is an apology. Ben won’t even give him that, but Locke wants something else – he’s pushing Ben to return to the main island to face judgement. Ben initially says he will be judged for turning the wheel, bringing everyone back, and returning to the island. But Locke figures out the real reason: Ben will be judged for allowing his daughter Alex to be killed.

Ben has convinced the gun-toting Caesar that Locke wasn’t on the plane and is deranged. So when Ben and Locke are about to take a boat to the island, Ben makes it sound like he is going against his will. Caesar is about to stop Locke from going, but Ben has stolen his gun – and shoots him in cold blood. It’s an over-the-top response that was not warranted – there was no indication by Caesar that he intended to kill Locke – he was probably just going to detain and question him. But Ben tells Locke that he has just saved his life – and he offers this as an apology.

Back on the main island, Ben and Locke find Sun and Frank. Frank tries to get Sun to return to the other island, but Sun sticks with Ben, hanging on the possibility of finding Jin. Frank returns to the other island amid turmoil. It seems that some of the passengers, led by Ilana, have found a cache of guns and are now running things a little differently. When Frank can’t answer the "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" question, he is knocked to the ground with the butt of a gun.

Ben, Locke, and Sun go to the temple. Sun waits while Ben and Locke crawl beneath the structure. Alone, in a roomful of hieroglyphics indicating that the smoke monster is thousands of years old, Ben is surrounded by gray fog and images of the conflict that was part of his relationship with Alex. When the smoke monster retreats, Alex appears. She doesn’t look like a ghost (perhaps she inhabits the real world or lives in another timeline). Roughly, she pins Ben against a pillar, tells him to discard his plan to kill Locke, and instead to follow every word and command Locke gives. If he doesn’t do this, she says, she will hunt him down and terrorize him. Ben agrees and seems – on the surface - to be truly humbled.

Lost Quotes

Richard: He's just a boy, and he was dying.
Charles: Then you should've let him die.
Richard: Jacob wanted it done. The island chooses who the Island chooses. You know that.

Caesar: How you feeling, my friend?
Ben: Like someone hit me with an oar, but I'll live. edit »

"Sun, I had no idea it would happen. I've seen this island do miraculous things. I've seen it heal the sick, but never once has it done anything like this. Dead is dead. You don't come back from that, not even here. So the fact that John Locke is walking around this Island... scares the living hell out of me."
- Ben

Ben: You may want to go inside.
Sun: Why?
Ben: Because what's about to come out of that jungle is something I can't control.
[Locke walks out of the jungle]

Ben: May I ask you a question, John?
Locke: Shoot.
Ben: How is it that you know where you're going?
Locke: I just know.
Ben: I mean, how does that work, exactly?
Locke: How does what work?
Ben: The knowing. I mean, did it come upon you gradually, or did you wake up one morning suddenly understanding the mysteries of the universe?
Locke: You don't like this, do you?
Ben: What?
Locke: Having to ask questions that you don't know the answers to, blindly following someone in the hopes that they'll lead you to whatever it is you're looking for.
Ben: No, John, I don't like it at all.
Locke: Well, now you know what it was like to be me.

Ben: I knew it. I knew that this would happen.
Locke: Then why are you so surprised to see me?
Ben: Because it's one thing to believe it, John. It's another thing to see it.

Locke: Do what you say you were on your way to do. Be judged.
Ben: That's not something you want to see, John.
Locke: If everything you've done has been in the best interest of the island, then I'm sure the monster will understand.

Locke: Well, Ben, I was hoping you and I could talk about the elephant in the room.
Ben: I assume you're referring to the fact that I killed you.

Locke: If all I had to do is die, Ben, then why did you stop me?
Ben: You had critical information that would have died with you - and once you've given it to me - well I just didn't have time to talk you back into hanging yourself.

"You're in the habit of calling people "friend," but I don't think you mean it."
- Locke: [to Caesar]

5.11 Whatever Happened, Happened

2009-04-08T03:01:00.000-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

When Jin awakens from his Sayid bashing, he finds the almost dead body of young Ben. He brings Ben back to camp and alerts other that Sayid is the culprit. Juliet tries to patch Ben up, but she can’t stop the bleeding, and the Dharma surgeon is inaccessible at another station. Sawyer asks Jack to help, but Jack refuses. Later, Jack explains to Kate that he already saved Ben once, at Kate’s request, because Ben was going to kill Sawyer. He says he won’t do it again.

This discussion with Kate takes place in a house where Sawyer has put Miles and his rifle in charge of keeping Jack, Kate, and Hurley under house arrest lest they talk to anyone. Hurley questions Miles about time travel. Kate gets fed up with Jack’s indifference, and she leaves, despite the earlier warning from Miles that he would shoot anyone who left in the leg.

Kate gives blood (she’s a universal donor) but that isn’t enough. Juliet suggests the Others may be able to help. Kate loads Ben in a van and drives to the border of the Dharma camp. Sawyer arrives soon after, but he isn’t there to bring her back – he wants to help her.

Sawyer disables the barrier fence, and together they bring Ben to Richard, who reacts as if he already knew that Ben was coming. Richard agrees to take Ben, but says he will never come back, he will forget all that happened, and he will lose his innocence. Kate agrees to those conditions.

Richard carries Ben into the Temple.

On the other island, big Ben wakes up in his weakened state and finds himself face to face with a very alive John Locke.

In flashback, Kate visits Cassidy and brings her money, saying it is from Sawyer (even though it isn’t). Cassidy wants none of it. She is still angry at Sawyer, and she is convinced that the reason Kate took Aaron was to help mend the heart that Sawyer broke when he did his cowardly dive out of the helicopter. Kate leaks a lot of details about what really happened on the island. Later, she leaves Aaron with Claire’s mother, and leaks even more details.

Comments

Miles says that time-traveling islanders like himself cannot change events that have already happened, because even though those events happened in the future, it is from their past. Hurley then wonders why Ben did not remember Sayid in the future. Miles doesn’t have an answer for this. However, later we learn (from Richard) that Ben will forget all that happened.

This doesn’t make sense to me and doesn’t gel with how time travel and the timeline is normally handled in fiction. Surely, if you travel back in time and do things differently, this would affect the future. I wonder why the creators have chosen the opposite path. Are they saying that nothing the time travelers do will change the future? Logical or not, it seems like a more boring strategy – I was looking forward to a different, Ben-free future where the Dharma people were not mass murdered.

Kate tells Claire’s mother that Claire is still alive. This seems like a big call – Claire is missing and presumed dead, isn’t she?

One of the Others suggests to Richard that before taking Ben, he should consult with Charles and Ellie. So in this time period, Widmore is still in a position of power with the Others.

Nits

Sayid has just spent a couple of years traveling around assassinating people. So why, when he had his chance to kill young Ben, did he shoot him from a distance and then run away? There was no one in the vicinity who was threatening him. I would have expected Sayid to fire a couple of shots into the head of young Ben; normally, that has a greater chance of guaranteeing death. Or is it possible that Sayid did not want to kill Ben?

Young Ben’s internal injuries would be exacerbated by a bumpy ride on a dirt road…so I’m not sure if Kate’s decision to move him was such a good idea. I suppose she had no alternative; Juliet stated he would die anyway.

Lost Quotes

Jack: I’ve already saved Benjamin Linus, and I did it for you Kate…I don’t need to do it again.
Kate: This is our fault; we brought Sayid back; we caused this.
Jack: No, when we were here before I spent all my time trying to fix things, but did you ever think that maybe the island just wants to fix things itself? That maybe I was just getting in the way?
Kate: You know, I don’t like the new you. I liked the old you who wouldn’t just sit around and wait for things to happen.
Jack: You didn’t like the old me, Kate.

Hurley: Let me get this straight, all this already happened?
Miles: Yes.
Hurley: So, this conversation we’re having right now, we already had it.
Miles: [claps] Yes!
Hurley: Then what am I gonna say next?
Miles: I don’t know.
Hurley: Ha! Then your theory is wrong!
Miles: For the thousandth time, you dingbat, the conversation already happened. But not for you and me. For you and me, it’s happening right now.
Hurley: Okay, answer me this. If all this already happened to me? Then why don’t I remember any of it?
Miles: Because once Ben turned that wheel, time isn’t a straight line for us anymore. Our experiences in the past and the future occurred before these experiences right now.
Hurley: [pause] Say that again?
Miles: [frustrated, hands Hurley his gun] Shoot me, shoot me please.
Hurley: Ah-ha! I can’t shoot you, because then if you die in 1977, then you’ll never come back to the island on the freighter 30 years from now.
Miles: I can die! Because I’ve already come to the island on the freighter! Any of us can die, because this is our present.
Hurley: But you said Ben couldn’t die because he still has to grow up and become the leader of the Others.
Miles: Because this is his past.
Hurley: But, when we first captured Ben, and Sayid, like, tortured him? Then why wouldn’t he remember getting shot by that same guy when he was a kid?
Miles: [pause] Huh. I hadn’t thought of that.
Hurley: Huh.

"Hello Ben. Welcome back to the land of the living."
- Locke to Big Ben

5.10 He’s Our You

2009-04-01T04:42:00.001-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

If I had to choose a Lost cast member to ‘share a jail cell with’, my clear choice would be Sayid (Naveen Andrews). Almost every line he delivers in that quiet, powerful accent brings more to the script than is already there. And so I enjoyed this mostly Sayid-centric episode.

We learn more about Sayid’s past in this episode. As a child, he was willing to kill a dinner chicken at his father’s request, while his more sensitive brother was not. This earned praise from his father. Was this what led him to a life as a torturer? When he was on the island, he tortured Sawyer for information, then regretted it later. But when he left the island and his wife was killed, Ben pinned the blame on Widmore’s men, and Sayid trusted Ben – and became an assassin.

There’s no doubt that Sayid despises and distrusts Ben. Ironically, it is Ben as a boy who gravitates to Sayid in his cell, brings him sandwiches and a book to read, and, eventually, helps him escape. (This isn’t ironic for young Ben, who has no idea of the hardship he will cause for Sayid and his island-mates). Ben wants to leave Dharma and join the Hostiles, and he make Sayid promise to do that in exchange for freedom. Sayid seems to know that Ben will save him; he passes earlier on Sawyer’s offer to let him escape. Sayid is due to be executed, and at the time, his refusal to allow Sawyer to release him seems like a death wish. This is when he says that he now knows his purpose. Is it to die like Locke? Not exactly.

A flaming bus crashes into the barracks. The diversion (staged by young Ben, we would assume) allows him to sneak into the jail and free Sayid. As soon as they reach the jungle, they encounter Jin. Sayid knocks Jin out, then Ben receives his reward for allowing Sayid to escape: Sayid shoots and (we assume) kills him.

Speaking of Sawyer…James jumps back and forth between being concerned solely with maintaining his reputation in Dharma. Anything he is going to do to help Sayid will fit within those constraints. His plan is to have Sayid say he is a defector. This is a bad plan, and it’s lucky Sayid did not go along with it. It wouldn’t take long for this story to be exposed as a lie, especially if Richard were to return to the Dharma compound. Sawyer, to his credit, is ready to allow Sayid to escape when Dharma votes to execute Sayid. As mentioned before, Sayid turns down this offer (for reasons we learn later).

Jack, Kate, and Hurley have little to do in this episode. Kate has started working at the garage, despite having no knowledge of engines. Hurley is the one who tells Kate that Sawyer and Juliet are living together; Jack hid that fact.

Comments

Now that Sayid has killed young Ben, what will happen to the ailing Ben’s body in the present timeline? Will it cease to exist?

Will Ben’s death change the course of history? When he reached maturity, Ben orchestrated the mass murder of the Dharma people. What will happen to Dharma now? Will there still be a war with the Hostiles, and will the Hostiles win again in this timeline?

Lost Quotes

Sayid: I killed all those people for you, and now you’re just walking away?
Ben: You didn’t kill them me, Sayid. You’re the one that asked for their names. There’s no one else in Widmore’s organization that we need to go after.

Sawyer: Hit me in the face.
Sayid: What?
Sawyer: Go on, you owe me one anyway. So make it a good one. I want you to take these keys out of my pocket and let yourself out. Guard outside is Phil. He's a dimwit. So I reckon you can get his gun before he even realizes you're out. Just promise me you won't shoot him.

Ben: Sayid: And that’s why you’re here. You actually came all this way to suggest I kill this man [who is parked outside Hugo’s mental institution].
Ben: You don’t want to?
Sayid: What makes you think I want to?
Ben: Because, Sayid…to put it simply, you’re capable of things most other men aren’t. Every choice you’ve made in your life, whether it was to murder or to torture – it hasn’t really been a choice at all, has it? It’s in your nature; it’s what you are! You’re a killer, Sayid!
Sayid: I’m not what you think I am. I don’t like killing.
Ben: Well, then, I apologize. I was mistaken about you.

Juliet: It's over isn't it?
Sawyer: What's over?
Juliet: This. Us. Playing House. All of it.

Sayid: Where to now?
Ben: Nowhere. You're done.
Sayid: What do you mean, I'm done?
Ben: We're done. Andropov was the last one. You've taken care of everyone who posed a threat to your friends. It's been a pleasure working with you, Sayid.

Sawyer: How are you doing?
Sayid: A 12-year old Ben Linus brought me a chicken salad sandwich. How do you think I'm doing?

"Four years ago I ran away into the jungle and Richard found me. I said I wanted to leave, that I wanted to join you. So I've been patient. And if you're patient too, I think I can help you."
- Young Ben (to Sayid)

Sayid: Are you a professional?
Ilana: A professional what? You think I'm a prostitute. I'm not a professional anything. I just thought you looked sad. I like sad men.
Sayid: I'm sorry to hear that.

Sawyer: You got yourself a choice, Chief. Either you cooperate and join the party in Dharmaville or you're on your own.
Sayid: Then I guess I'm on my own.

Roger: What I can't figure out is how the hell you got caught. You Hostiles are supposed to be the kings of the jungle. How dumb are you that you got captured by these idiots.
Sayid: And yet you're the one who mops up after them.

Horace: I just spoke to the prisoner. We have a problem.
Sawyer: Why, what did he say?
Horace: Nothing. Which is what worries me. We need to find out why he violated the truce. Why the hell he would come into our territory. I'm just going to have to have Oldham do his thing on him.
Sawyer: That psychopath? No way.

Sayid: [looking at Oldham] Who is that man?
Sawyer: He's our you.

Oldham: Why were you in handcuffs when we found you?
Sayid: Because...because I am a bad man.

Sayid: You were right about me.
Young Ben: What?
Sayid: I am a killer.

5.9 Namaste

2009-03-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

This episode picks up where La Fleur left off; Sawyer is reacquainted with his ‘friends’ Kate, Hurley, and Jack on the North Point. After shocking them by mentioning that the year is 1977, he rushes back to camp. Juliet helps him formulate a plan: a sub is arriving the following day with new Dharma recruits. Juliet will add three names to the list, and the new arrivals will take jobs at Dharma. That part goes well, although Jack is appalled at being handed a ‘workman’ suit and janitorial duties.

Back at this first meeting, Jack tells Jin that Sun was on the plane that crashed. Jin rushes off to the Flame station, where Dharma employee Radzinsky grudgingly checks with the other stations but finds no evidence that a plane has crashed (of course, we know this is because the plane crashed 30 years later). An intruder breaks through the perimeter and is assumed to be a hostile, but on closer examination, it’s a handcuffed Sayid who is forced to pretend to be a hostile to avoid possibly getting shot. Jin alerts Sawyer to Sayid’s capture; Sawyer arrives and safely takes him back to camp and locks him up (for his own safety) while trying to figure out the next step.

The other people on the plane have crashed on the sister island; they are ½ mile and 30 years away in the present. Ben sneaks away from the group and Sun follows him (and Frank follows Sun). Ben has discovered 3 outrigger boats; he plans to take one across to the main island. Sun agrees to accompany him. But when Ben turns his back, Sun oars him in the head and takes Frank with her instead. On the other island, they are greeted by Christian, who shows them a dusty group Dharma photo from 1977, and tells them that they have a big journey ahead of them.

On the first evening, Jack visits Sawyer at his house and is shocked to find out that James and Juliet are now a couple. Up to now, Sawyer has seemed like a sensible, controlled, fair man since he joined Dharma, but with Jack in the room, he becomes a bit more confrontative. It’s obvious that these guys don’t like each other and are highly competitive. Jack wonders why Sawyer is reading a book and not coming up with a plan; in rebuttal, Sawyer questions Jack’s leadership in his last island stint. Juliet leaves them alone to catch up on old rivalries.

Sayid is alone in his cell. In the evening, an owlish young bespectacled boy who calls himself Ben brings him a sandwich.

Comments

Sayid, Kate, Jack, and Hurley have landed in 1977; the remainder of the people on the plane have landed on the sister island in the present (about 30 years later). It looks like Christian can lead people through a doorway to travel from one time frame to the other.

We meet Ben as a boy, and Ethan (Anna and Horace’s child) as a baby.

Lost is much improved now that the setting has returned to the island(s).

I’m normally not a big fan of time travel, but here it is used well to place our survivors within a different part of known history. It also now gives more value to all that we learned about the early days of Dharma.

If young Ben is on the island, and older Ben arrives there, will he get sick and die the way Charlotte did? Even if you accept the theory of time travel, I don’t think it can be used to have two of you where there is only really one of you.

Memorable Moments

The crash landing

Quotable Quotes

Sawyer: We're in the Dharma Initiative.
Jack: They came back to the island?
Sawyer: No. We came back. And so did you. It's 1977!
Hugo: Uh... What?

Sun: Why are you leaving?
Ben: Why are you staying?

(Sun knocks Ben out with an oar.)
Frank: I thought you trusted this guy.
Sun: I lied.

Hurley: Okay, so it's 1977.
Sawyer: Yep.
Hurley: And you guys are all members of the Dharma Initiative.
Sawyer: Yep.
Hurley: Well you do realize those dudes get wiped out, right? I mean, I saw the pit where all the bodies got dumped.
Sawyer: I ain't here to play Nostradamus to these people. Besides, Faraday's got some interesting theories on what we can and can't do here.
Jack: Did you say Faraday? He's here?
Sawyer: Not any more.

Jack: We need to find the rest of the people from the plane.
Sawyer: If there was a plane, Jin'll find it. So we got about ten minutes to make Intake, or you're all going to be camping in the jungle for a long time. There aint another batch of recruits due in for six months.
Jack: What do you think?
Kate: I think we should listen to Sawyer.
Hurley: I vote for not camping.

Kate: So the woman who told you how to get back, did she mention it would be thirty years ago?
Jack: No. No, she left that part out.

Hurley: What if they start asking us questions we can't answer, like who's President in 1977?
Sawyer: It's not a damn game show, Hugo.

Juliet: Have you and Horace settled on a name for him?
Amy: Yeah, we have. We're going to name him Ethan.

Young Ben: Are you a hostile?
Sayid: Do you think I am?
Young Ben: What's your name?
Sayid: Sayid, what's yours?
Young Ben: I'm Ben.
Sayid: It's nice to meet you Ben.

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 that Winston Churchill read a book every night. Even during the blitz. Said it made him think better.

Jack: I got us off the island.
Sawyer: But here you are. Right back where you started. So I'm going to go back to reading my book and I'm going to think. Because that's how I saved your ass today. And that's how I'm going to save Sayid's tomorrow.

5.8 LaFleur

2009-03-19T06:31:00.000-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

Our timeframe begins just as Locke descends into the well in his attempt to leave the island. But this story is not about Locke; it is about what happened to the people he left behind. When Locke turned the donkey wheel, there was one more big earthquake flash, and then silence. Immediately, Sawyer, Juliet, Miles, and Jin knew that this was different. The headaches were gone. Later, when they rejoined Daniel, he confirmed what they already knew: time travel was over – they were not jumping anymore. And wherever they were now, this was where they were going to stay.

Daniel’s alone-ness meant that Charlotte was not among them. Her body disappeared during one of the flashes. This is explained much later in this episode, when a little red-haired Dharma girl waves at Daniel. Charlotte lives again on the island as she did the first time, and for whatever reason, she wasn’t able to co-exist at another stage in her life in this same place. Or something like that.

Speaking of Dharma…this is where the castaways find themselves. It is ‘That 70s Island’, 1974 to be exact. Dharma is heavily entrenched on the island, and they are in conflict with The Others.

As the survivors are heading back to the beach, they come across a conflict where they see a Dharma member dead, and two men putting a burlap sack over the head of a protesting Dharma woman, Amy. Sawyer and Juliet win a gun battle and bury the two dead Others. The woman takes them back to the Dharma compound, but she does it according to protocol, which means she tricks them at the sonic fence and they are brought in unconscious.

The Dharma leader, Horace, questions Sawyer, who is using a fake name (Jim LaFleur) and a fake story (their salvage boat crashed on the reef). Horace believes the story but still insists they leave the island on the next sub bound for Tahiti, despite Sawyer’s request that they be granted time to find the missing members of their crew. Their discussion is interrupted by the arrival of Richard Alpert, who has easily penetrated the Dharma defenses. There is a tentative truce between Dharma and the Others; Richard has come to find out why the truce was broken and where his missing men are. Against Horace’s wishes, Sawyer speaks to Richard alone and drops a few time-travel hints like ‘Jughead’, ‘bald guy leader’, and ‘John Locke’. He admits to killing the men. Richard agrees to keep the peace but he takes the injured body of Paul, Amy’s husband, as payment

Horace agrees to let Sawyer stay for two more weeks to search for his crew. That night, Juliet says she has been trying to get off the island for years and she will leave the next day, but Sawyer convinces her to stay just two more weeks.

Flash forward three years. The castaways have been accepted at Dharma and are working members of the community. Sawyer is head of security, with Jin and Miles working under him. I’m note sure where Daniel is. Juliet is an auto mechanic; she is not only still on the island, but she and Sawyer are living together and very much in love. It has been a good day: Juliet overcame her fear of failure with helping women on the island deliver babies; she successfully helped Amy give birth to a boy. But the big story comes the following morning, when Jin rings Sawyer with a big surprise: he has found Jack, Hurley, and Kate.

In the final scene, Sawyer stands in a remote section of the North Valley and gazes on his long-lost friends, including a woman named Kate. He seems to remember her very much, which is different to the story he just told Horace about how she had faded from his consciousness.

Comments

This episode fills in the gaps in what happened to those that Locke left behind, while we wait for the Next Big Thing to advance the plot – namely, for Jin to tell someone about finding Jack, Hurley, and Kate.

Although Ben is not in this episode, I found myself once again surmising on whether he is good or evil. It is a credit to the way his character is written and the way it is acted (by the talented Michael Emerson) that we still don’t know for sure. But a bit more light has been shed. We see that when Richard led the Others, they had a hard line, but they kept to a truce. Ben came in and killed all the Dharma people. And I don’t think making a judgment on Ben says anything about Widmore. Widmore could be more or less evil than Ben – we really know little about him.

Maybe if Locke can take over leadership of the Others, he can maintain the peace with Dharma and avert the Dharma massacre. Surely there is room on the island for both groups. But how does Widmore fit into this, and why didn’t Widmore try to get back onto the island as well?

Memorable Moments

The meeting of Sawyer and his old companions

The chemistry between Juliet and Sawyer

Nits

After the big flash, Sawyer lies on the ground and sees that the rocks surrounding the well are back. Without looking, he jumps over the side and grabs onto the rope – then looks down and sees that there is still solid ground inside the well. I find it hard to believe that he wouldn’t at least look down first before jumping over the side of the well.

Also after the big flash, Juliet says it is all over – the time jumps have stopped. This is a big leap of logic to make in a short amount of time, yet she seems very sure of herself.

Quotable Quotes

Richard: You're not a member of Dharma Initiative, then what are you?
Sawyer: Did you bury the bomb?
Richard: Excuse me?
Sawyer: The hydrogen bomb, with Jughead written on the side, did you bury it? Yeah, I know about it. I also know twenty years ago some bald fella limped into your camp and fed you some mumbo jumbo about being your leader. Then, puff, he went and disappeared right in front of you. Is this ringing a bell? That man's name’s John Locke, and I'm waiting for him to come back. So, you still think I'm a member of the damn Dharma Initiative?
Richard: No. Guess I don't.

Sawyer: All right, listen up. When we get there, there's gonna be a lot of questions. So just keep your mouth shut. Let me do the talking.
Miles: You really think you can convince them that we were in a boat wreck?
Sawyer: I'm a professional. I used to lie for a living.

Sawyer: You do realize it's 1974. 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: What about me? You really going to leave me here with a mad scientist and Mr. I Speak to Dead People? And Jin, he'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?

Sawyer: Let me talk to him.
Horace: Excuse me?
Sawyer: Your buddy out there with the eyeliner. Let me talk to him.
Horace: We had a truce with these people. You don't understand.
Sawyer: I understand I'm the one who killed his men. And I'm the one who's going to go out there and tell him why I did it.
Horace: I can't let you do that.
Sawyer: It's a good thing I ain't asking your permission.

"I had a thing for a girl once. And I had a shot at her, but I didn't take it. For a little while, I'd lay in bed every night, wondering if it was a mistake. Wondering if... I'd ever stop thinking about her. And now I can barely remember what she looks like. I mean, her face... it's.. She's just gone, and she ain't never coming back. So... Is three years long enough to get over someone? Absolutely."
- Sawyer

5.7 The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

2009-03-18T06:27:00.000-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

The passengers on flight 316 are now stranded on the island, and their leader, Caesar, is wondering who is the well-dressed bald guy who nobody remembers seeing on the plane. It’s John Locke, fresh out of his coffin and locking very much alive. He has little memory of how he got there.

Flashback:

John Locke spins the Donkey Wheel and pops out at the entrance slash exit point in the desert of Tunisia. All he has is the hope that someone is on the other side of the video camera that is trained on his position, because he cannot move – he lies prone in the desert. A number of hours later, he is dumped in the back of a pickup truck by Arabs, and transported to a simple hospital, where he is painfully patched together. When he comes to, Charles Widmore is at his bedside. He was at the other end of the camera, watching for John to be booted off the island, and he takes credit for bringing in a specialist to re-patch his leg. Widmore’s story is that he was banished from the island by Ben – he doesn’t say why. He also says that John is special and is meant to bring everyone back and be the new leader of the Others. John is skeptical, but accepts Widmore’s offer of help. Widmore provides transportation and a driver/companion in Matthew Abaddon, and John begins his quest to convince everyone to return.

He starts with Sayid, who is building houses for the poor in Santo Domingo, but Sayid thinks John is being manipulated, and has no interest in returning to the island.

Next, he visits Walt, who is all grown up. John isn’t there to convince Walt to go back, just to say hello. Ben is seen lurking nearby, watching and unseen.

Kate has no interest in returning to the island, and Hurley takes one look at Abaddon and runs away.

John also asks Abaddon to find the love of his life, Helen; they visit here grave, as she died of a brain aneurysm.

Their next step is interrupted when Abaddon is shot numerous times. John drives away in a panic and crashes the car. He wakes up in a hospital with Jack at his bedside. This is Jack’s bearded phase, and he isn’t open to ideas about going back to the island, either, until Locke mentions meeting Jack’s father, Christian. Jack seems affected by this by still uninterested.

Depressed, John retreats to a grimy hotel room, writes a short note to Jack (which we saw in the episode 316), and prepares to hang himself. A knock at the door stops him temporarily. It is Ben, there to convince him that he should not off himself. Ben says John has much more work to do. When John says that he hasn’t been able to convince anyone, Ben cheers him up by telling him that Jack bought a ticket to Sydney. Ben also tells John that he is special and that he is meant to lead the Others. Ben talks John down. During their subsequent talk, John tells Ben that he will not speak to Sun because Jin told him not to bring her back. Strangely, when John mentions that he needs to speak to Eloise Hawking because she can get them back to the island, Ben strangles him, then makes it look like a suicide.

Back in the present, John speaks to Caesar and admits to have spent 100 days on the island. John asks for a passenger list, but Caesar says the pilot took it when he left with a female passenger and one of the outriggers. Together, they tour the people who were hurt in the crash. One of them is Ben, and John identifies him as "…the man who killed me."

Comments

Who is the bad guy: you make the call!

Is it Widmore, who sent in a team to assassinate Ben, and who seemed to want to reveal the location of the island? Or is it Ben, who murdered John; who will use the information about Jin to lure Sun back to the island against Jin’s wishes; who deceived Sayid?

We know that Ben Linus and Charles Widmore have been feuding for a long time; they have admitted as much. But why? Why did Ben kick Charles off the island? Is it a simple power struggle, or is there good and bad, right and wrong?

Why does Ben go through all the trouble of talking John out of committing suicide, only to strangle him when John mentions Eloise Hawking? This makes no sense, and the events that follow do not shed any light on it. As we know, Ben then proceeds to assemble the castaways and take them all back anyway, which is what John was going to do. It seems that Linus, Locke, and Widmore all have the same objective – so why are they fighting and killing each other?

Memorable Moments

The look of disgust John makes when Abaddon readies a wheelchair for him

Quotable Quotes

Locke: Why would you help me?
Widmore: Because there's a war coming, John. And if you're not back on the island when that happens, the wrong side is going to win.

Ilana: Nobody remembers you being on the plane
Locke: Well, I don't remember being on it either.
Ilana: What do you remember?
Locke: I remember a lot.
Ilana: Like why you're dressed up so nice?
Locke: No, but I can guess.
Ilana: Please. Guess.
Locke: I think this suit is what they were gonna bury me in.
Ilana: Sorry?
Locke: You asked what I remembered. I remember dying.

Caesar: (about Ben) You know him?
Locke: Yeah. He's the man who killed me.

5.6 316

2009-03-15T03:05:00.000-07:00

Summary and Spoilers

Eloise Hawking brings the survivors into a secret subterranean room where a huge pendulum swings back and forth over a floor map of the earth. For some reason, I kept expected to see Homer Simpson suddenly appear on that pendulum, swinging and shouting, "Woo hoo!". This doesn’t happen; instead, Eloise explains that the room is a Dharma station called The Lamp Post. At least, that’s what it sounds like she says. Dharma created it to pinpoint the location of the island, which moves through time and is connected to other electromagnetic time portals.

Desmond delivers his message from Daniel, then storms from the room. Eloise says the island is not done with him, but he says he is done with the island.

Eloise has modified her stringent conditions that all survivors must return to the island. Now she says that if they all do not attempt the return, the results could be unpredictable. She says that if they get on flight 316 leaving for Guam in a few hours, they will get back to the island.

Finally, Eloise takes Jack aside and tells him he must give something belonging to his father to Locke. She gives him an envelope containing Locke’s suicide note. Jack doesn’t open the envelope.

After meeting with Eloise, Jack returns to his apartment and finds Kate in his bed. She has agreed to go back to the island, but refuses to answer any questions about Aaron, and makes Jack promise never to ask. This seems like a bad way to start a relationship – with an important question that must never be asked or answered – but maybe they are not starting a relationship – maybe it is just an elaborate one-night stand.

Jack gets a call from a nursing home where his grandfather has made his fourth attempt to escape. It’s only a brief visit, but a fateful one – his grandfather had packed a pair of Jack’s father’s shoes in his bag. Jack identifies them and takes them back with him.

Ben, badly beaten up after a visit to someone he said was an old friend, rings Jack to ask him to pick up Locke’s coffin and bring it to the airport. Jack takes this opportunity to puts his dad’s shoes on Locke, and to slip the unread suicide note into the coffin. Like a bad penny, it turns up again when airport personnel find it during a routine scan of the coffin. Finally, Jack reads it on the plane – its one line reads, "I wish you had believed me."

It seems unlikely that Sayid or Hurley will make the flight, but they both magically show up at the airport. A mystery surrounds how either of them found out about the flight.

Fittingly, the pilot of the plane is Frank Lapidus – who better to take them into the time portal. Sure enough, turbulence increases, there is a white out, and Jack wakes up much like he did on his first trip to the island – face up in a grove of bamboo trees, with a camera trained on his eye. He rushes to calls for help and rescues the drowning Hurley and his guitar case from a pool beneath a waterfall. Along the shore, Kate opens her eyes – she’s okay. Before they have a chance to look for the others, the Dharma van drives up, and Jin emerges, rifle drawn. Jack says his name, and there is a glimmer of recognition on Jin’s face – but the rifle isn’t lowered.

Comments

If you love Jack, you’ll love this episode – he’s in every scene!

After a slow start to season five, the last two episodes of Lost have returned strongly, reaching entertainment levels that approach those of the first two seasons. Aside from too much exposition from Mrs. Eloise, everything else about the episode clicks.

Jin arrives in a Dharma van that looks to be brand new. Does this mean that we have arrived in an earlier time period, and has Jin been stuck here long enough to get a job with Dharma?

What has caused Kate to do such a stunning reversal regarding Aaron? One moment, she was fiercely protective of him, and she had no intention of going back to the island. The next moment, she has ditched him, and she is going back to the island.

This is one of the rare episodes that was shown out of original order. Originally, the next episode (The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham) was supposed to be shown before this one.

Memorable Moments

· Jack’s almost-happy expression at finding out he is back on the island amid the bamboo

Nits

The scene where Jack find Hurley and Kate at the waterfall is shown twice, and the second time, what Kate says is different. Was this a simple continuity error, or are the creators inferring that the scene actually did happen twice, and Jack is caught in a time loop?

Quotable Quotes

Jack: Did you know about this place?
Ben: No, No, I didn't.
Jack: Is he telling the truth?
Eloise: Probably not.

Ben: Thomas the Apostle. When Jesus wanted to return to Judea, knowing that he would probably be murdered there, Thomas said to the others, "Let us also go, that we might die with him." But Thomas was not remembered for this bravery. His claim to fame came later... when he refused to acknowledge the resurrection. He just couldn't wrap his mind around it. The story goes... that he needed to touch Jesus' wounds to be convinced.
Jack: So was he?
Ben: Of course he was. We're all convinced sooner or later, Jack.

Jack And the other people on this plane - what's gonna happen to them?
Ben: Who cares?

5.5 This Place is Death

2009-03-06T17:06:00.001-08:00

If I was stranded on The Island and had to pick a partner for Pictionary, I would pick the member of the French team who fingers a perfect line drawing of a radio tower as an example for Jin. As we discovered at the end of the previous episode, Jin has somehow survived the boat explosion, and is now hanging with Danielle’s team. The team have picked up the repeating numbers radio signal and want Jin’s help to find the tower. Jin says he wants to go back to his camp to find his wife, but the best he can hope for is to run into one of his Significant Others. He agrees to help them find the tower first. But on the way, they encounter the Smoke Monster and lose two members of their team (well, they lose one member, and he other member loses an arm and disappears down the Smoke Hole). The entire team decides to go into the hole to attempt a rescue, but Jin manages to convince the very pregnant Danielle not to follow. Soon after, Jin flashes away.

When Jin emerges, it is a few months later (based on the state of the decomposed arm, which looks mummified). Danielle’s crew have gone mad, and she is in the process of putting them out of their misery. She shoots and misses Jin, then pursues him. He is saved by another flash, and finds himself rejoined with Locke, Sawyer and gang.

As Locke and company head for the Orchid, a series of flashes mean nosebleeds all around and a weakening condition for Charlotte. She is babbling now, but scattered among the nonsense, she says some important snippets:

She tells Jin not to let Sun return to the island, because ‘this place is death’.
She tells Daniel that she grew up on the island with her mother and father as part of the Dharma initiative, and that her mother later took her back to England and told her the island was all in her imagination. She became an anthropologist for the sole purpose of finding the island again.
She said there was a scary man on the island that told her if she returned she would die, and that the scary man was [drumroll] Daniel! At least I think she said ‘scary’; it might have been ‘hairy’).

Having exhausted her confusing quips, Charlotte passes away.

At the site of the Orchid, there is only a well, but Charlotte tipped Locke that this was the place. Based on the words of Charlotte, Jin makes Locke promise not to bring Sun back. He gives his wedding ring to Locke and tells him to tell Sun that he died. Locke descends by rope but a flash buries him in an underground chamber and he injures his leg badly in the fall. He is met at the bottom by Jack’s father Christian, who admonishes him about letting Ben move the island when he had been specifically instructed at the cabin that he, Locke, should move it. Locke receives explicit instructions to bring everyone back to the island. He struggles to his feet, turns the donkey wheel and disappears in a flash of light.

Back on the mainland, Sun points a gun at Ben and is ready to kill him to avenge the death of Jin, when Ben drops the bombshell by claiming the Jin is not dead. He says proof is 30 minutes away (not allowing for traffic). Sun agrees to accompany him, as does Jack, but Kate is incensed at knowing that Jack is in bed with Ben – she leaves in a huff, as does Sayid. With Hurley still incarcerated, Ben is going to have some serious problems getting everyone together.

Outside the location of the mystery woman, Ben produces Jin’s wedding ring and gives it to Sun. Ben had made no promise to hide the survival of Jin, and he is playing it – in fact, if he can get Sun on his side, she can probably convince more people to come back to the island. Desmond walks up out of nowhere, and together, they enter the church. Inside is Eloise Hawking, ready to reveal important information (but not until the next episode).

Comments

I’ve made no secret that I’m not a big fan of time travel, but in this episode, it is used to good effect to go back to a time on the island that was a lot more enjoyable to me. It was great to see campfires, basic survival, and the Smoke Monster.

When Jack’s father appears underground, I had a sudden flashback to long ago, when I was watching another show called Twin Peaks. It felt almost the same – and it wasn’t necessarily a good feeling, because Twin Peaks ended up going off into areas that it could never resolve.

Locke does not know that the mystery man who is giving him save-everyone instructions is – or was – Jack’s father.

So does Locke have to bring back everyone who left the island, or only major cast members? Weren’t there some other people who made it to the boat that blew up? Do they have to be brought back (dead or alive) too? And what about Michael, and Walt, and Claire?

Memorable Moments

The Smoke Monster is one of the most original entities ever created, an exhilarating combination of vapor, mechanical sounds, and sentience

Nits

Jin’s English has improved markedly since we last saw him, despite the fact that very little time has passed since we last saw him, and he spent most of that time alone floating at sea.

That mummified arm should probably simply be stripped down to the bone by organic creatures. What would cause it to be mummified in a damp, creature-filled rainforest environment?

In early episodes of Lost, why didn’t Danielle remember Jin from these encounters? According to my theory anyway, if you travel back in time and meet someone, they should have that memory of the meeting from then on.

Quotable Quotes

Jin: Please! Translate.
Sawyer: You heard the man – translate!
Miles: Uh…he’s Korean; I’m from Encino.

"Run!!!"
- Jin (oft-repeated basic strategy/advice on Lost)

Daniel: So, you speak any other languages?
Charlotte: Only Klingon.

5.4 The Little Prince

2009-03-06T16:21:00.000-08:00

Kate is trying to find out who wants to take Aaron away from her. She meets with the lawyer who came to her door demanding blood samples a couple of episodes ago, and offers to give the samples in exchange for talking to the person – but it’s no deal. Instead, she tails the lawyer. She is joined by Jack. He is trying to assemble everyone as per Ben’s instructions, and, having found a piece of paper with Kate’s address in an assassin’s pocket, he is a little concerned. The lawyer leads them to Claire’s mother, but it’s a red herring – she does not even know that Aaron exists. The real culprit is Ben – he admits to wanting to take Aaron away, but never really explains why.

Jack has finished ridding Sayid of most of the horse tranquilizer that was shot into his body. There’s no respite, as Sayid is visited by an orderly who tries to shoot him with more darts. Sayid bests the guy in true Sayid style, somehow springing from the bed quickly and quietly despite the fact that just seconds ago he looked almost catatonic.

Meanwhile, Kate has left Aaron is the capable babysitting hands of Sun. But Sun is not your conventional babysitter – she’s been twisting the Forrest Gump script into ‘Death is like a box of chocolates’. I’m referring to her unusual delivery of a handgun hidden under a box of chocolates, of course.

Ben has assembled as many survivors as he could wrangle at a pier; Sun drives up with her gun ready and Aaron asleep in the back, watching Ben and getting ready to pounce.

Back on the island, Charlotte’s condition is worsening. The latest jump knocks her out for more than 10 minutes, frustrating Sawyer and causing Juliette to start asking some hard questions to Daniel, who finally admits that he thought something like this might happen.

Meanwhile, Locke convinces Sawyer that they must get back to the Orchid, so he can leave the island, bring everyone back, and fix all this. He tells Sawyer that they must come back to save everyone – and he says he knows everyone is still alive.

The flashes continue, bringing glimpses of earlier times on the island. It’s like walking through a clip show. In one clip, Sawyer, who is ahead of the group, watches Kate helping Claire give birth.

On the beach, the group find an outrigger. They take it, and are soon pursued by people in another outrigger, firing at them. A flash once again saves them. They make it to the shore and find French-labelled wreckage.

We now see French-speaking people in a raft. They also make it to shore (a different shore). In the morning, they find a stranger washed up as well – Jin! He is comforted by a young pregnant woman who identifies herself as Danielle Rousseau.

Comments

The numbers figure prominently in this episode: Sun has 16 chocolates delivered; Kate lives at 42 Panorama Crest; Sayid was unconscious for 42 hours.

The name ‘Canton-Rainier’ on the side of Ben’s van is a anagram of ‘reincarnation’.

Memorable Moments

It was great to see Jin again

Nits

When Locke and gang are in the outrigger and a flash occurs, they reappear, still in the outrigger, but in stormy conditions. Shouldn’t the outrigger have disappeared?

Quotable Quotes

Jack: Tomorrow morning I'm going to have to convince everyone to lie. If it's just me they're never going to go for it. So I'm going to turn to you first. Are you with me?
Kate: I have always been with you.

Daniel: It’s like really bad jet-lag.
Juliette: Really bad jet-lag doesn’t make you hemmorhage, Daniel.

"I think they want their boat back!"
- Miles (paddling and avoiding bullets)

5.3 Jughead

2009-03-04T05:34:00.001-08:00

Lost just wouldn’t be Lost without perennially worried man Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) crinkling his brow as he sets out on another dodgy mission. He has decided to follow up on the dream/memory implanted by Daniel: to pursue Daniel’s mother at Oxford, despite the Widmore dangers that this may inflict. By the way, if Cusick was able to time travel, he could go back to the 1940s and become the quintessential ‘worried man’ character actor, appearing in the credits of countless films as "Worried Man………..Henry Ian Cusick". Time traveling even further to the 1980s, he could have a spinoff series called Worried Man, in which each week he is given something huge to Worry about.

Desmond could also have played Obsessed Man. Here, he is completely dedicated to fulfilling Daniel’s wish and saving everyone on the island, but he also has put a ridiculously short time limitation on it – if he can’t save everyone by the end of the day, he’ll just forget about the whole thing and go back to serenely sailing. A lot of things happen on his sojourn – he doesn’t find Daniel’s mother, but he finds a deserted lab where Daniel was conducting bizarre rat brain time travel experiments. He also finds a comatose woman, her brain ruined by one of Daniel’s experiments. The woman’s sister also tells Des that Daniel (drumroll, please) works for Widmore. Angered, Des visits Widmore and demands answers. Widmore gives Desmond the Los Angeles address of Daniel’s mother, but says she won’t be happy to see him. Back on the boat, Des keeps his promise and tells Penny that he is willing to drop it, but she knows he cannot and insists that they all go along. She doesn’t know about the dire warning that Widmore delivered to Desmond, a warning to keep his family away from this whole conflict.

Back on the island, Sawyer, Locke, Daniel, Miles, Charlotte and Juliet are in the past. The island is occupied by Others, but they are in para-military mode, engaged in a war with American troops who invaded ‘their’ island and used it for testing nuclear weapons. They left behind a big leaking bomb called Jughead. A survivor rendezvous at the creek is interrupted by another staple of latter-day Lost: big explosions. This time, they are land mines, planted by the now-dead Americans. Soon after, Locke and gang capture some Other troops; conversely, Daniel and crew are captured by Ellie, an Australian Other with a big gun. Daniel manages to keep them alive by claiming that he can disarm the nuclear device.

Meanwhile, Locke arrives in camp, demanding to speak to Richard. He assures Richard that he saved him in the future. Richard isn’t exactly willing to accept any of this, since he has no memory of it, but neither is he dismissing it. Locke asks Richard to explain how he can save everyone, but a flash occurs, and it’s off to another time. Before Locke leaves, he has a little run-in with a young, trigger-happy soldier who identifies himself as none other than a younger version of Charles Widmore.

Comments

This show completely ignores the USA-based survivors (Jack, Ben, Sayid, Kate, Aaron, Sun, and Hugo…did I leave anyone out?) and focuses instead on Desmond and family, and the people remaining on the island.

It appears that Charlotte is suffering from a reaction to all those time travel jumps – and Daniel seems to know what is happening to her. Something similar probably happened to the comatose woman that was a victim of Daniel’s experiments at Oxford.

Memorable Moments

If you like explosions, you’ll enjoy land mines blowing up anonymous survivors in the background, while Daniel, Charlotte and Miles scatter

Nits

I’m not a big fan of time travel as a plot contrivance, and here’s why. Let us look at how time travel has been used in Lost. Daniel travels three years into the past and tells Desmond to contact Daniel’s mother at Oxford. Three years from when this happened, we see Desmond wake up, seemingly suddenly possessing this ‘memory’. It’s as if these two points in time (‘three years ago’ and ‘today’) are all important and somehow interconnected. But what is so important about ‘today’? Today is only important so far as it is when we are watching Desmond. If Daniel truly did travel back along the timeline and change the past, then Desmond should have had the experience and memory of what happened immediately after it happened, not three years later. To prove this point, let’s take a look at another timeline intersection. John Locke travels back in time and demands to see Richard. Among other things, he tells Richard that Richard saved his life in the future. Locke then flashes and disappears. Richard is still there. Richard has just had this experience, and it is now part of his memory – immediately, not at some arbitrary unimportant point three years later.

Quotable Quotes

Cunningham: That idiot shouted out 'Meet at the creek'. We knew exactly where they were headed. Sent a group after them.
Sawyer: Maybe I should've said it in my secret language.

Locke: And because I'm your leader.
Richard: You're my leader?
Locke: That's what you told me.
Richard: Well, look, I certainly don't want to contradict myself.

"Look, right out there, beyond where you can see, there’s an island, and it's a very special island. I left it a long time ago - never thought I'd see it again. It’s called...Great Britain."
- Desmond

Richard: How do I know you weren't sent here on some suicide mission? That I'll take you out to the bomb, and you'll just detonate it?
Faraday: Because... I'm in love with the woman sitting next to me. And I would never... I would never do anything to hurt her.
Richard: Alright. Take care of your bomb, but if you try anything else, you will hurt her.

5.2 The Lie

2009-02-09T04:49:00.000-08:00

In the Lost beginning, there were a small group of provision-free survivors forced to fend for themselves on a wild island. Once again, this is true, at least for a few moments; until out of the air fly numerous flaming arrows. Whereas Bernard was unable to get a fire going, someone on the other side of the trees was having better luck. Their first arrow wiped out the annoying Neil Frogurt. No longer would he berate Bernard’s Boy Scout skills or call Sawyer an inbred. Other arrows hit trees, usually when people were hiding behind them and poking their heads out for a look, as they have been wont to do since the first cowboy and injun movie.

But flaming arrows were not the only problems. Sawyer and Juliet ran into some crazed and armed British troops with a penchant for extracting information from their prisoners by using a Middle Eastern style of punishment – the lopping of the hand. In this case, it was Juliet’s hand. Fortunately for her, Locke came out of nowhere, fists and knife flying, and killed / scattered the crazy soldiers.

One other problem belongs to Charlotte. She had a nosebleed in the last episode, and this time, she mentions to Dan that she is losing her long-term memory. Dan may know something about what is causing her condition (perhaps it is a symptom of time-jumping), but if he does know anything, he’s keeping it a secret.

On the mainland, Hurley is visited by the Ghost of Ana Lucia past. She tells him to change his clothes and get the drugged Sayid to a safe place. With no other shirt to turn to and no other place to go to, he chooses a yellow ‘I love my Shih Tzu’ ‘T’ and home. His dad helps him by deflecting the staked-out cops, and again by driving the nearly lifeless body of Sayid to Jack. Jack takes Sayid to the hospital and revives him, but he gets a near strangling as thanks before Sayid realizes who he is strangling and stops.

Meanwhile Hugo gets some peace of mind when he tells his mother the true abbreviated story of what happened after the crash. His peace is short-lived, for Ben comes to visit. Warned off by Sayid, Hurley doesn’t accept Ben’s plea to come with and return to the island, and instead, complicates Ben’s plans by turning himself into the waiting arms of the LAPD.

Dejected, Ben has to report to the Queen of Time (Mrs Hawkings) that he is having some difficulties. These are compounded when she tells him that he only has 70 hours to get everyone back on the island, and that if he fails, bad things are going to happen (one again, I believe this is ‘Ghostbusters’ style bad).

Comments

Just when I was enjoying the situation where, a small group of survivors had to fend for themselves on an island, with no ‘Others’ to threaten them, those arrows came flying.

Memorable Moments

Þ Watching Ben trying once again to use his art of persuasion, this time on Hurley

Quotable Quotes

Ben: Any Luck?
Ms Hawkings Yes, what about you?
Ben: I'm having some difficulties.
Ms. Hawkings: Well, you better get busy, because you only have 70 hours.
Ben: What, no, no, that's not enough time. What I need…
Ms. Hawkings: What you need is irreverent. 70 hours is what you got.
Ben: Look, I lost Reyes tonight. So what happens if I can't get them all to come back?
Ms Hawkings: Then God help us all.

Ben: John's casket is outside in a carpet van. I need to move it somewhere safe.
Jack: Safe? He's dead isn't he?

5.1 Because You Left

2009-02-07T19:58:00.000-08:00

Somewhere in time, Dharma has discovered the existence of the ‘big wheel’. The workers building the Orchid want to drill in there, but the drills keep melting. Dr Candle shows up flaming mad (forgive the pun), insisting that they stop drilling lest they release the time-related energy within, which, he assures them, would be ‘bad’ (Ghostbusters ‘bad’, I think). Dan is there, working nearby, taking in all this talk of time energy, his mouth watering. He’ll undoubtedly write this all down in his little notebook at his first opportunity.

Ben has convinced Jack that they must gather everyone up and return to the island, otherwise everyone they left behind will die. And why is Locke dead? Because Richard told him that the only way to get everyone back to the island is to die. It kind of reminds me of an old Star Trek Next Generation episode, where a pesty, formerly omnipotent character named ‘Q’ asks, "How can I convince you people that I’m mortal?" "Die," replies Worf.

Anyway, the only main thing that Lost shares with Star Trek is time travel. For some reason, we want to believe the when Ben turns the big wheel, the island moves to a new place. What is easier to believe is that the time period where the island sits (with a buffer area surrounding the island large enough to encompass Dan’s boat) has been moved. Dan comes back to explain to Sawyer, Juliet and the rest (note: the phrase ‘and the rest’ © the song from Gilligan’s Island season 1) that the island is stuttering through time. Sure enough, a series of whiteouts occur, and each time, island features disappear or re-appear. Hatches are blown up, then intact; the camp is gone; the freighter is gone.

At one point, a frustrated Sawyer bangs on the door to the hatch to elicit help from Desmond. Dan pesters him to stop, assuring him that this attempt to change what originally happened must fail. But after Sawyer leaves, Dan consults his little handwritten notebook, then suddenly, after a proverbial light bulb appears over his head, begins banging on the hatch door himself. Desmond answers in full contamination suit, pointing a gun at Dan and ready to fire it. Dan calms him down enough to live, tells Desmond that he is ‘special’ and ‘immune to all this’, and then asks Desmond to return to Oxford and find Dan’s mother. Desmond awakens on the yacht with the cat in the hat (sorry, I meant Penny - her mouth for some reason reminds me of the cat in the hat). He says he did not have a dream – he had a memory. He immediately begins ratcheting sails and heading for Oxford.

On the other side of the island, Locke is encountering the same stuttering time in the vicinity of the drug plane. First, the plane crashes, a sure sign to him that he has traveled back in time. Then Ethan from the past (who does not know him) shoots him in the leg and is about to finish the job when time jumps again. Now, the plane is on the ground. Richard shows up (he of the eye makeup) and seems to know about time jumping. He treats Locke’s leg and gives him a compass, with instructions to give it back to Richard the next time they meet (since Richard will not recognize him). Most importantly, he tells Locke that the only way to make things right is to get everyone back on the island, and the only way to get them back on the island…is to die.

Kate has been suspected by some mystery person of not being the biological mother of the fair-haired boy she is caring for. A lawyer wants to take a couple of blood samples, but Kate slams the door, quickly packs, and takes her son on ‘vacation’.

Sun is stopped at the airport by Widmore to discuss their mutual goal, which Sun states is to kill Ben Linus.

Hurley and Sayid are on the run. Hurley is already a suspect in killing the man found dead outside the mental institution from which he escaped (Sayid is the killer). At Sayid’s apartment, Sayid is ambushed by and kills two more guys. Hurley foolishly picks up the gun (as people are wont to do only on TV and in the movies) and he is photographed by at least one bystander with a cell phone. He’s got some ‘splainin’ to do – unless, of course, he escapes back to the past.

Comments

Ah, for the good old days of season 1, when time didn’t jump, there were no outsiders, the only issue was how to survive on a wilderness island after a plane crash while being stalked by mysterious feral ‘others’. But the characters have been around so long in our minds and are so real, that we can basically watch them be made to do anything at this point. I know, however, that you could never get anyone to start watching Lost now – they would be way too confused. So viewer numbers have to drop off, as some people are inevitably going to stop watching as time goes on.

It’s good to see that Bernard can still overact at the same high level as when he first got to the island.

Richard’s quote about knowing Locke had a bullet in his leg because Locke ‘will’ tell him indicates that we are going to be jumping back and forth in time in future episodes. For example, there will be a scene in Richard’s future where Locke gives him the compass and tells him that they met in the past and Richard treated Locke’s leg. Something like that, anyway.

Nits

Locke pulls his knife from and leather sheath, and, for some reason, the sound effects people dubbed in a metal ‘schwish’ sound, like when two swords cross.

Kate is never actually served with the court order; I believe she has to take it in her hand to be considered served, and she never does. In addition, lawyers generally do not run around serving court orders. It’s a time consuming process (for example, what if she wasn’t home or if she just never opened the door?). This is a specialty job done by Process Servers (for a lot less money than lawyers make).

Quotable Quotes

Jack: How did we get here...? How did all of this happen?
Ben: It happened because you left, Jack... Now let's get started shall we?

Hurley: Wait. He's on our side now?
Sayid: Listen to me, Hurley. If you ever have the misfortune of running into him [Ben], whatever he tells you, just do the opposite.

Daniel: Desmond didn't know you when he first came out of there. You never met. Which means you can't meet.
Sawyer: This would all be fascinating, if I was listening to you.

Miles: Why are we going back to the beach, if there's nothing to go back to?
Juliet: So stay here.
Miles: That chick likes me.

Hurley: Want a fry?
Sayid: No, thank you.
Hurley: You know maybe if you ate more comfort food, you wouldn't have to go around shooting people.

Hurley: So that dude you pocked outside Santa Rosa, who was he?
Sayid: I don't care. He was armed and he was watching you. That made him an enemy.
Hurley: You think he was going to kill me?
Sayid: I'm not taking risks after Bentham died.
Hurley: You mean Locke?
Sayid: Yeah, I mean Locke.
Hurley: I need a cool code name.

Locke: What is this?
Richard: It's a compass.
Locke: What does it do?
Richard: It points north, John. Look, I wish I had time to be more sensitive about this because it's a lot to swallow, but you need to know it in order to do what you gotta do. So I'm just gonna say it, okay? The only way to save the island, John, is to get your people back here. The ones who left.
Locke: Jack, Kate? But the chopper was headed for the boat. The boat...
Richard: No, they're fine, John, and they're already home, so you have to convince them to come back.
Locke: How... How am I supposed to do that?
Richard: You're gonna have to die, John.

The Orchid: Orientation Video

2008-08-01T08:41:00.001-07:00

Can't see the embedded video? Click here to view
This video (which I believe is from The Lost Experience) gives a big clue about the powers of the island, and shows where future episodes might be heading. Apparently, it is possible for 2 of one thing to exist (probably by using some kind of time travel or phase jump, where those 2 #15 rabbits are the same beast existing in different areas of time, or something like that). I'll leave further theories to you...

4.13 There’s No Place Like Home (Parts 2 and 3)

2008-07-06T00:13:00.001-07:00

Jack and Sawyer reach the Orchid and find Hurley – and Locke. Locke is wandering around, looking for the elevator. Locke asks to speak to Jack, and once again tries to convince him that Jack must not leave the island. He fails, but he fares better at convincing Jack that if they do go, they must lie about what happened.

On the boat, Desmond is examining the bomb. He has enough experience in this area to say that there is no way to disarm it. The best Michael can come up with is to delay the explosion by spraying the battery with liquid hydrogen.

Ben shows up to help Locke find the elevator. Together, Ben and Locke descend. Ben busies Locke with an informational Dharma video while he loads a chamber with everything metal he can find. Locke discovers that the purpose of the station was to use the natural elements of the island to do experiments in time travel. Keamy interrupts them, having been saved by his body armor. Keamy tells them that he is rigged with a dead man’s trigger – if he dies, the freighter will blow up. Intent on revenge for his daughter’s death, Ben mortally wounds Keamy anyway, and despite Locke’s efforts, he dies soon after. Ben sends Locke back to become leader of the Others, while Ben dons a warm coat and descends to an ice-filled cave.

Jack, Sawyer, and Hurley head for the chopper. Frank takes Sawyer, Hurley, Jack, and Kate on the chopper, but as they get over the ocean, the fuel gauge heads for empty. They discover that fuel is leaking out of two bullet holes in the tank. Frank says they need to lose a couple hundred more pounds to make it. Sawyer whispers something to Kate, kisses her, and then jumps out. the helicopter reaches the boat, and Frank lands, despite Desmond yelling ‘bomb!’ and trying to wave them away. Michael has run out of nitrogen, and the explosion is imminent. Kate, Hurley, Jack, Sayid, Desmond, Sun and Aaron get on the chopper; Jin tries to make it, but Frank has to take off before he can get there. Sun screams for Jin, but after the freighter explodes, Jack tells her he is gone.

Dan comes back for his second load of people. He pulls Miles and Charlotte aside and tells them they must get on the next boatload, for their own safety. Miles says he has decided to stay on the island, and, soon after, Miles convinces Charlotte to stay as well.

At the chopper, Kate runs out of the jungle, causing Keamy to draw his gun. Kate says she is being pursued by Ben’s people. Soon, all but Keamy have been ambushed. Kate and Ben take the opportunity to run off, with Keamy in pursuit. Keamy is gaining ground when Sayid tackles him. Keamy and Sayid fight, with Keamy getting the upper hand. Just as he is about to finish off Sayid, Richard arrives and shoots Keamy. Ben and Richard converse; Ben tells Kate and she and Sayid are free to get on the chopper and leave the island.

Sawyer successfully swims back to the island, where he sees Juliet sitting on the beach, drinking from a bottle of Dharma rum. She points to the ocean, where a plume of smoke marks the spot where the freighter used to be.

Ben turns an ancient wheel; the surrounding area becomes brightly lit. Above, the chopper is now has the island in view. Suddenly, bright light engulfs all; when it abates, the island is gone. Frank has no choice but to bring the chopper down in the ocean. The survivors all make it into the life raft. As night-time falls, a boat approaches. It is Penny’s boat; she and Desmond are emotionally reunited. Jack speaks to Penny and formulates a plan to dumb the survivors in a raft so they can paddle to a nearly island and be officially rescued there. This will lend credence to their story of being the only survivors of the crash.

The flash-forward:

Jack tells Kate that they were not meant to leave the island. Kate vehemently disagrees, and is angered that Jack would even suggest it. She also is angry that Jack would believe Jeremy Bentham’s claim that they must go back.

Sun journeys to England to offer her help to Charles Widmore.

In the mental institution, Hurley is visiting by Walt’s grandmother, who has brought Walt. Walt asks Hurley why no one came to visit him – except for Jeremy Bentham. Walt asks why they are all lieing; Hurley says it is to protect everyone that didn’t come back.

Sayid kills a suspicious man who was sitting in a car outside Hurley’s mental institution, that breaks in and convinces Hurley to come with him to someplace safe. Hurley agrees after Sayid tells him that Bentham is dead.

Kate dreams of Claire. Claire tells Kate, "You can’t bring him back, Kate. Don’t you dare bring him back!"

Jack breaks into the funeral parlor where Jeremy Bentham is in a casket. Ben is there. Ben tells Jack that he must go back to the island, and that he cannot go alone – he must bring everyone else, including the man in the casket. The camera moves overhead to reveal that the dead man known as Jeremy Bentham is John Locke.

Comments

Walt has grown so fast that he is almost unrecognizable.

Quotable Quotes

"Dude, I've been having regular conversations with dead people. The last thing I need now is paranoia."
- Hurley to Sayid

Locke: It's not an island. It's a place where miracles happen. And--and--if you--if you don't believe that, Jack, if you can't believe that, just wait till you see what I'm about to do.
Jack: There's no such thing as miracles.
Locke: Well... we'll just have to see which one of us is right.

Jack: What did you wanna talk to me about, John?
Locke: I want you to reconsider leaving the island, Jack. I would like you to stay.
Jack: You'd like me to stay.
Locke: Yeah, that's right.
Jack: You threw a knife into the back of an unarmed woman. You led half of our people across the island and got most of them killed.
Locke: Well, Jack, you put a gun to my head and you pulled the trigger. I was hoping we could let bygones be bygones.
Jack: Well, I' tell you what. You stay here in your little greenhouse, but the rest of us are going home.
Locke: But you're not supposed to go home.
Jack: And what am I supposed to do? Oh, I think I remember. What was it that you said on the way out to the hatch - that crashing here was our destiny?
Locke: You know, Jack. You know that you're here for a reason. You know it. And if you leave this place, that knowledge is gonna eat you alive from the inside out... until you decide to come back.

"Hey, Kenny Rogers. What you trying to do there, pick a lock?"
- Sawyer

Kate: We have to go back? We have to go back? Who do you think you are? You call me over and over again for two days straight, stoned on your pills, and you show up here with an obituary for Jeremy Bentham. When he came to me and I heard what he had to say, I knew he was crazy. But you, you believed him.
Jack: Yes.
Kate: Him, of all people.
Jack: Yes, Kate, I did, because he said that it was the only way to keep you safe, you and Aaron.
(Kate slaps Jack.)
Kate: Don't you say his name! I still have to explain to him why you're not there to read to him, so don't you say his name!
Jack: I'm sorry.
Kate: I spent the last three years trying to forget all the horrible things that happened on the day that we left. How dare you ask me to go back!

"Lie to them, Jack. If you do it half as well as you lie to yourself, they'll believe you."
- Locke

Locke: Ben, what did you do? You just killed everybody on that boat.
Ben: So?

4.12 There’s No Place Like Home (Part 1)

2008-07-06T00:12:00.000-07:00

Ben seems to know how the island can be moved, and where this move can be initiated: at the station known as the Orchid. They stop as they near the Orchid. Ben digs up a case and uses a mirror to signal someone on a nearby mountain. At the Orchid, Ben, Locke, and Hurley discover that the soldiers are already there. Ben says he has a plan: he walks in unarmed and surrenders to Keamy, and gets a pistol to the face in reply.

Dan uses the dropped phone to monitor a conversation between Keamy and his troops, where their destination of the Orchid is mentioned. Dan consults his notes and, agitated, warns Charlotte that they must get off the island.

Jack decides to track the helicopter and asks Kate to go. Juliet objects strongly to the idea of Jack traveling so soon after surgery, but he ignores her. Jack starts to bleed soon after they start walking. And they meet up with an old friend – Sawyer (carrying Aaron). Sawyer has the bad news that Claire walked off into the jungle, that the soldiers are doing nothing good. Sawyer and Jack argue about whether they should still try to find the helicopter until Kate tells them to stop. Jack decides to head off alone; Sawyer reluctantly decides to accompany him. Kate takes the baby back to the beach.

Jack and Sawyer find the chopper, with Frank handcuffed to it. Sawyer frees Frank. Frank says that the soldiers are heading for the Orchid, and that they will capture Ben and do ‘nothing good’ to the people with them. When Sawyer tells Jack that Hurley is there, Jack knows they must go to the Orchid and try to rescue him.

Sayid lands on the beach but his plans to start ferrying people back are put on hold when he is told that Jack and Sawyer are heading for the Orchid and danger. Kate, who has just arrived back with Aaron, leaves Aaron with Sun, and heads back into the jungle to guide Sayid. On the way to the Orchid, they are surrounded and disarmed by Richard and a large group of Others. Together, they all begin marching to a common destination.

Dan volunteers to ferry people back and forth to the freighter. Only six people can fit, so Jin, Sun, and Aaron board the raft, along with some no-name survivors. Dan arrives safely, unloads his cargo, and heads back for more.

On the boat, Jin and Sun are reunited with Desmond and a apologetic Michael, who tries to explain that he was doing what he was doing to atone for his earlier behavior. Desmond discovers a crude bomb which is probably linked to Keamy’s detonator. Jin tells Sun to go to the far side of the boat while he and Desmond try to figure out how to disarm it.

In flash-forward:

The Oceanic 6 (Jack, Kate, Aaron, Hurley, Sun, and Sayid) are being helicoptered to an army base in Honolulu. There, they are reunited with their families – all but Sayid (who is adopted by Hurley’s mom) and Kate and Aaron (who have no one). They face some questions from the press, where they spout their agreed story. They claim that they clung to lifejackets and seats and drifted to an island off Indonesia. Sun lies and says that Jin died on the plane.

Sayid has a visitor: Nadia – and they embrace.

Hurley’s mom and dad throw a coming home party for him with a tastelessly chosen ‘island’ theme. Hurley’s dad gives him the restored Camaro. Hurley is initially thrilled, but when he gets in the driver’s seat and sees that the odometer numbers are on ‘481516’ and ‘2342’. Hurley leaves and car and flees on foot at high speed.

Sun has used the settlement money to buy a controlling interest in her father’s company. She delivers this news to him specifically to punish him for the death of Jin.

Jack is finally able to attend his father wake and deliver a short but moving eulogy. An Australian woman asks to speak to him, and confides that Christian fathered a child with her in Australia, and that ironically, the person was also on Oceanic 815. Her name: Claire.

Comments

Jack finally knows that Claire is his half-sister (we have known for some time, but neither Claire nor Jack knew).

The intriguing mystery now is figuring out how the six survivors got off the island – and how Sun and Aaron hooked up with them, since they are separated at this point in time.

I haven’t checked ahead to see if Lost will be continued for two more seasons (as per the original plan), but it doesn’t seem like it will. Everything seems to be tieing up nicely. And, frankly, I think it is time to call it a day. Four years is a long time for anyone.

It took a couple of viewings for me to finally recognize the actress who plays Oceanic representative Karen Decker as a Star Trek alumni: it’s Michelle Forbes, who played Ensign Ro Laren on Star Trek: Next Generations.

Nits

During the beach scenes, there are a number of sea turtles visible. They jump around in position a little. I assume that they could not be removed from shot because they are endangered and heavily protected.

Quotable Quotes

Ben: Listen to me very carefully, John, because I'm not gonna have time to repeat this. You're gonna go into that greenhouse through that hole there. Once inside, you're gonna turn left. Go about 20 paces until you see a patch of anthuriums on your left. They're in an alcove against the north wall. Face the wall, reach down with your left hand. You'll find a switch that activates the elevator. The elevator takes you down to the actual Orchid station.
Hurley: Whoa. Wait. What?
Locke: Okay, I'm sorry, Ben, but maybe I missed the part where you explained what I'm supposed to do about the armed men inside.

Sun: I don't understand. How'd you get back to New York?
Michael: Uh, Walt and I, uh, uh... we took Ben's boat and we followed his bearing. A couple of days, we came to an island, you know, with people. I sold the boat... we hopped a cargo ferry back to the States. Didn't tell anybody who we were.
Sun: And now you're working for Ben?
Michael: I do not work for Ben. I'm trying to make up for what I did. I'm trying to help you out here. Translate what I said.
Jin: I understand.

Carole: I believe I'm the reason he was in Australia when he died.
Jack: I'm sorry. I don't understand. Why would he have come to see you?
Carole: Oh, he... he didn't come to see me. I was still in the hospital. I never saw him. He came to see his daughter. My daughter, Mr. Shephard.
Jack: My father didn't have a daughter--
Carole: Yes. He did. If you don't believe me, check his phone records. Would you like to know the--the strangest thing about all this, Mr. Shephard? My daughter was on your plane, too. She was on flight 8-1-5. You were in the air for six hours, probably just a few rows from her and you never even knew she was your sister. She was one of the ones who died when your plane hit the water. Her name was... Claire. I didn't mean to burden you with this, but... you needed to know. I'm... sorry for your loss.

Sawyer: Hang on, Shaggy. You said the hit squad's gonna grab Ben Linus?
Lapidus: Well, I don't see what's gonna stop 'em.
Sawyer: What are they gonna do with the people that are with 'em?
Lapidus: Nothin' good.
Sawyer: Hugo's with Ben.
Jack: Son of a bitch.

Sawyer: You know this yahoo?
Jack: Yeah.
Lapidus: "Yahoo"? This yahoo dropped that phone on you guys so you could find me and I could fly you outta here. So why don't you do me a favor and get that back compartment? There's a toolbox. See if you can find something to get me outta these things.
Jack: You heard the man.
Sawyer: Well, all right. Can I get you boys a nice, cold glass of lemonade while I'm back there?

Sawyer: Cut yourself shavin'?
Jack: Juliet took out my appendix a couple of days ago.
Sawyer: You kiddin' me.
Jack: Nope.
Sawyer: Well, what else did I miss?

"You ruined my husband's life. It is because of you we were on that plane. Two people are responsible for his death. You are one of them. I am going to have my baby. And then we shall discuss the plans for the future of the company. Our company."
- Sun

"Hold up! You don't get to die alone."
- Sawyer

Sawyer: Well, you better hope it ain't Sayid, 'cause if he's with those animals that just blew up half of New Otherton, you do not wanna tussle with 'em.
Kate: What, they tried to kill you?
Sawyer: Just like Locke said they would.

Miles: Hey, long time no see.
Sawyer: Hey, who are you talkin' to up there, Genghis?
Jack: Where's Claire?
Sawyer: We lost her.
Jack: You what?
Sawyer: She just walked off in the middle of the night. We looked for her for a day, but she was just gone. I was hopin' maybe she went back to the beach.
Jack: She didn't.

Kate: You're bleeding.
Jack: No, I'm not bleeding. I'm... I'm suppurating. It's... discharge. My body's just fighting the infection around the stitches.
Kate: You know when most people are lying and they can't look you in the eye? You do the exact opposite.

Charlotte: Daniel? What's wrong?
Daniel: Charlotte, did you hear what he said? They're going to the Orchid. They're using the secondary protocol.
Charlotte: What are you talking about?
Daniel: We have to get off this island. Right now.

Jack: We all know the story. If we get any questions that we don't wanna answer, or that we can't answer, let's just keep our mouths shut. It's okay. They'll--they'll think that we're in shock.
Sun: We are in shock, Jack.
Jack: Well... then this should be easy.

4.11 Cabin Fever

2008-07-06T00:11:00.000-07:00

Locke, Hurley, and Ben are still trying to find the cabin, with no luck. There is confusion: Ben has been following Hurley, but Hurley has been following Locke. No one knows where the cabin is, so Locke makes an executive decision to make camp.

In a dream, Locke is visited by a Dharma employee Horace, who, a while back, was building a cabin for himself and his family. With new direction, Locke finds the mass grave and searches Horace’s pocket. He finds blueprints and a map to the cabin. Armed with the map, Locke tells Hurley that he should head back to the beach, but Hurley decides to stay, rather than go back by himself.

Upon reaching the cabin (at night, of course), Locke enters alone, with Hurley and Ben both choosing not to accompany him. Upon entering, Locke finds that Jacob is not there, but Christian is. He says he can speak for Jacob. Sitting next to Christian is Claire. Claire tells Locke she is fine. Locke asks the one question that matters: "How do I save the island?" When Locke emerges, he says the answer he received is: ‘He wants us to move the island’.

On the boat:

Sayid wakes Desmond to tell him that the helicopter is back. They see that one of the soldiers is badly wounded. Keamy, who saw that Ben knew everything about him, confronts the captain, believing that Gault betrayed him. Gault points the finger at Michael. Michael is chained downstairs – Keamy comes close to killing him, but settles for pistol-whipping him.

Keamy tells Frank to gas up the chopper, because he is going back. Gault tries to warm Keamy that he may be getting sick like the other crewmembers who killed themselves. Keamy ignores him and takes his key – and uses it to switch to the secondary protocol. Keamy says that the island is going to be torched and that he now knows where Ben will go.

Gault has set up a hiding place for Sayid and Desmond, but Sayid rejects that idea, asking instead that he be given the inflatable Zodiac to start ferrying people off the island. Gault agrees, and, a little later, Sayid heads for the island

Frank visits Michael and asks him why Michael didn’t tell him that he was a survivor of Oceanic 815. Michael tells Frank not to fly Keamy back to the island. Frank promises to take care of Keamy. Frank also laughs when Michael suggests that Widmore put the fake plane at the bottom of the ocean.

Omar wires Keamy with what looks like a detonator. Heavily armed, Keamy and his men board the chopper. When Frank refuses, Keamy kills the doctor and Gault. Frank relents, but he quickly bundles a tracking phone in a bag under his seat.

As the helicopter flies over the beach survivors, Franks drops the tracking phone. Jack takes this not as a warning, but as a sign that the chopper people want the survivors to follow them.

In flashback:

A young woman whose mother objects to her relationship with a much older man is hit by a car. She is six month pregnant and delivers a baby boy, who she is unable to accept. The boy (who is John Locke) is put up for adoption. Outside, in a waiting area, the ageless Richard watches.

Locke, as a young boy, is visited by Richard, who claims to run a school for special kids. On the wall is a picture of the smoke monster drawn by Locke. Richard tests Locke by presenting a series of items, and asking which one already belonged to Locke. Locke picks the wrong item; disappointed, Richard tells his mother that Locke is not ready.

Locke is now a teenager in high school, a geeky science kid who gets tormented by other kids. His science teacher tells him that a Dr Alpert from Mittelos wants Locke to go to science camp there in the summer. Locke wants to be cooler than that, and when his teacher tells him he cannot be the popular quarterback or a superhero, Locke tells him not to tell what he can’t do.

Locke is now post-accident, in rehab, trying to walk. He is visited by Matthew Abbadon (the man who visited Hurley in the institution and said he worked for Oceanic. Abbadon tells Locke he should go walkabout in Australia.

Comments

I suppose now we can assume that, sadly, Claire is dead. We still don’t know how or why she died.

There are probably lots of people who have watched Lost from the beginning, but bowed out as the show turned away from the original simple, gentler premise of survivors on an island, and became more like 24.

Since the doctor showed up dead on the island before he was killed on the boat, this seems to indicate that there is a time lag between the two areas.

Quotable Quotes

Ben: He actually thinks staying was his idea. Not bad, John. Not bad at all.
Locke: I'm not you.
Ben: You're certainly not.

"We don't have time for this. The people from the boat are already on their way back, and once they get here, all of these questions won't matter one bit. So why don't you ask the one question that does matter?"
- Christian

Ben: Did he tell you what we're supposed to do?
Locke: He did.
Ben: Well?
Locke: He wants us to move the island.

"The Island wanted me to get sick, and you to get well. My time is over John."
- Ben

4.10 Something Nice Back Home

2008-07-02T08:01:00.001-07:00

Jack’s stomach problems have gotten worse. When he tries to intervene in an angry confrontation between Bernard, who tells Dan and Charlotte that they are lieing, Jack passes out. When he comes to, Juliet makes a more careful examination, rather than taking his word that he has food poisoning. She discovers that his appendix is about to go supernova. She sends Sun and Jin back to the medical station, stating that Jack cannot even be stretchered there for fear of his appendix bursting in transit. Jin and Sun do not have an encyclopedic knowledge of the required shopping list of surgical intruments; Dan heard this and volunteers to go (along with Charlotte). When Sun expresses distrust, Charlotte fires off another quip, and is strictly warned by Dan to cut it out. Dan and Charlotte do go, and they help to gather the materials. While there, Jin and Sun converse in Korean. Jin picks up on Charlotte’s hidden understanding of the language. Later, when he confronts her on this (in Korean), she lies and replies in English, stating that she has no idea what he is saying. He then tells her (again in Korean) that if she doesn’t admit her knowledge, he will break all ten of Dan’s fingers. She replies in Korean that she understands. Jin then makes her promise that when the helicopter takes them away, that Sun must be on it. Charlotte agrees with a tiny nod of her head.

Jack is now ready for surgery. He asked that he be given a local anaesthetic, and tells Kate to hold a mirror so he can watched Juliet. But when he panics and shifts around too much, Juliet asks Bernard to put him under. Jack pleads with Kate to help, but Juliet strongly insists, telling Kate to leave. Tears stream down Kate’s cheeks, but she is unable to react. Jack is sent under, and IMUPOHERE

Sawyer and gang:

Sawyer, Claire, Aaron, and Miles are making their way back to the beach when Miles senses something. He asks who Danielle and Karl are, then digs up their bodies in shallow graves. Sawyer steps between the site and Claire, seeking to protect her. Sawyer also steps between the glances that Miles throws at Claire, warning him that he will get a boot in the face if he doesn’t stay away. Their journey is interrupted again by Frank, who, armed with a tracking device, warns them that they must hide before the quickly advancing soldiers find them. Frank is able to bluff the soldiers into leaving the area.

They stop to camp, and, in the dark of night, Claire wakes to find what appears to be Jack’s father holding Aaron. She calls him ‘dad’. In the morning, Sawyer sees that Claire is gone. Miles tells that he watched her walk off into the jungle with someone she called ‘dad’. Sawyer hears Aaron close by, and finds him, alone but safe, under a tree. He hears Claire cries but cannot find her as the episode ends…

The flash-forward:

Jack has accepted Aaron, and he and Kate are living and loving together. Jack has become a model father figure, and all seems perfect…but then Jack thinks he sees his father walking away through the lobby. Ghosts are also haunting Hurley. He has stopped taking his meds, believing that they all died on the island. Jack visits Hurley; Hurley tells him about a visit he had from Charlie, where Charlie gave him a message for Jack: "You are not meant to raise him." Hurley also said that Charlie said someone would be visiting Jack soon.

Rather than being spooked by Hurley’s comments, Jack returns him, wakes Kate, and asks her to marry him. She readily accepts. But Jack is being haunted by the specter of his father. Visibly shaken, he asks his fellow doctor for a script for ?diazipane.

Jack gets suspicious of what Kate is doing when she has strange phone calls and stays out late. Fueled by drusgs and drink, he angrily confronts her. She tells him she was doing something for Sawyer. Jack says Sawyer chose to stay, and he (Jack) is the one who saved her. When Jack yells that Kate is not related to Aaron, and Aaron hears him, it seems certain that Kate will tell Jack to leave.

Comments

Kudos to the writers! I was wondering why Jack couldn’t be brought to the medical station; then, a few moments later, Kate asked Juliet that same question. And later, I was wondering why Jack didn’t just perform the operation himself (it is feasible). Soon after, Jack does say that he wants to watch the operation using a mirror. And few moments after that, Kate says she is surprised Jack didn’t take out his own appendix!

We can see now how Jack deteriorated into the bearded, alcoholic drug addict we saw in a later flash forward.

Nits

When Jack passes out, Juliet yells his name at him a lot – as if that is really going to work.

If the survivors were worried about Dan and Charlotte going to the medical station, why doesn’t Bernard go instead? Like Dan, he has medical training and can identify medical instruments.

Quotable Quotes

Rose: The day before we're all supposed to be rescued, the person that we count on the most suddenly comes down with a life-threatening condition, and you're chalking it up to bad luck?
Bernard: Well, what are you saying, that-that Jack did something to offend the gods? People get sick, Rose.
Rose: Not here. Here, they get better.

Jack: But he's not here, is he? No. No, he made his choice. He chose to stay. I'm the one who came back. I'm the one who's here. I'm the one who saved you.

Kate: Jack. You can't-you can't do this. If you have problems, you need to figure them out. Alright? 'Cause I can't have you like this around my son.
Jack: Your son? You're not even related to him!

Juliet: (To Kate) You know he kissed me.
Kate: What?
Juliet: The other day, when you came back from the other side of the island, Jack kissed me. It was nice. But it wasn't for me, it was for him. I'm pretty sure he was trying to prove something.
Kate: Prove what?
Juliet: That he doesn't love someone else.
Kate: Thank you, Juliet. Thank you for saving his life. (She leaves)
Juliet: (to Jack) I know you're awake.

4.9 The Shape of Things to Come

2008-07-02T08:00:00.004-07:00

The doctor from the freighter washes up on the shore, his throat cut. Dan and Charlotte say they have no idea what happened. Dan mentions that he may be able to fix the sat phone so that Morse code can be sent. Kate offers to show him the materials they salvaged from the plane.

Dan is able to fix the phone. He asked what happened to the doctor. The Morse code reply, he says, is that the helicopter is coming back tomorrow and all is well. But Bernard also knows Morse code, and says the actual message is, "The doctor is fine." Jack confronts Dan forcibly for lieing, getting him to admit that they had no intention of rescuing anyone, but has to break off the confrontation when the stomach bug he has been enduring suddenly gets worse.

We can’t see the faces of Alex’s captors, but they are decked out in full army gear. We learn later that they are the mercenaries from the freighter. They force Alex to disable the perimeter fence; she takes that opportunity to send a coded message to Ben’s phone. Ben barricades the house, along with Locke, Hurley. Sawyer almost gets shot while rescuing Claire. Ben gets touchy when Sawyer and Claire try to get safely into the house, but Hurley ignores the gun pointed at him and lets them in. Soon after, the doorbell rings. It is Miles, sent with a phone so that Ben can talk to the mercenaries.

The mercenaries arrive with Alex at gunpoint, saying they will kill Alex if Ben does not come out. Ben tries to bluff them, saying that Alex is not his daughter, and that he is never coming out. They respond by executing Alex. Ben, heartbroken, says they have changed the rules, and disappears behind a locked steel door. Inside, away from prying eyes, he opens another stone door and descends into the earth. When he returns, he brings the smoke monster with him, and it attacks the mercenaries while the survivors go in the other direction. Ben’s plan is to take Locke and Hurley to see Jacob. Locke is required because Jacob will talk to him. Hurley is required because only he knows where the cabin is located. Sawyer gets sick of all this stuff and decides to go back to the beach, taking Claire and Aaron with him. Miles also decides to go back to the beach. Sawyer also wants Hurley to come, but Locke holds Sawyer at gunpoint, insisting that Hurley stay with him. Sawyer and Locke have a standoff that ends when Hurley agrees to go with Locke.

In flash-forward, Ben is face-up in the desert in Tunisia. It seems he must have transported there through a rift in time, as there is no indication of how he got there. Two arabs on horseback find him and appear about to take him prisoner when he goes all James Bond, whipping one and killing the other. He rides the horse into town and takes photos of a man who is hanging around at the funeral of Sayid’s wife, Nadia. Sayid confronts Ben. Ben explains that he has discovered that a man who was working for Widmore killed Nadia in Los Angeles. Later, when Ben confronts the man to give him a message for Widmore, Sayid steps in and empties his gun into the supposed assassin. Wrecked with sorrow and anger, Sayid begs Ben to tell him who to kill next. Ben promises to get in touch, as his mouth curls into that famous little smile of his.

In the dead of night, Ben goes to a penthouse and is able to enter silently. There, he wakes up Charles Widmore, to tell him that he is going to kill Penelope as revenge for Widmore’s killing of Alex.

Comments

This brutal episode features non-stop killing, maiming, executing brutality from start to finish. Even Hurley is serious in this episode.

Ben’s story about the man who killed Nadia seems completely contrived to put Sayid into revenge mode, yet Sayid buys it totally. Sayid is really losing his edge.

Why does Ben say that he cannot kill Charles Widmore? Are Ben and Charles not human? They sometimes act with the audacity of Greek gods – perhaps they are. Widmore also says that the island has ‘always’ been his. The way he says ‘always’ made me think that he was talking about a length of time longer than a human lifespan.

Nits

Who were those Others who stupidly run out of their houses to have a look when they hear gunfire (and promptly get shot)? I thought Ben said that all of his people had gone to the Temple – and we haven’t seen anyone else living at the barracks. Are they just disposable Others here to get shot?

Quotable Quotes

"Can't believe you're just giving him Australia. Australia's the key to the whole game."
- Hurley

Bernard: He's lying. What the message said was, "What are you talking about? The doctor is fine."
Daniel: You know Morse code.

Sawyer: (regarding Hurley) You harm so much as one hair on his curly head, I'll kill you!
Locke: Fair enough.

"Don't stand there looking at me with those horrible eyes of yours."
- Charles Widmore to Ben Linus

"I know who you are...what you are. I know that everything you have you took from me."
- Charles Widmore to Ben Linus

Charles Widmore: Why are you here?
Ben Linus: I'm here, Charles, to tell you that I'm going to kill your daughter. Penelope, is it? And when she's gone, when she is dead, then you'll understand how I feel, and you'd wished you hadn't changed the rules.

4.8 Meet Kevin Johnson

2008-07-02T08:00:00.003-07:00

On the island:

Locke brings Miles to a meeting of all, and explains why Miles and his gang are here – but everyone already seems to know that. Outside, Sawyer asks Locke why he didn’t tell about Miles 3.25 million dollar bribe. Locke didn’t think it was meaningful or possible, but Miles says Ben will find a way to survive. To prove it, he points to how well Ben has done so far: one minute – locked up. The next – eating dinner with everyone.

Ben takes a moment to give Alex a map to the Temple and ask her to please flee there for safety, and to take Karl and Danielle there to guide her. They all agree and head out. Ben seems sincere, but as they leave, it seems his mouth curls into a tiny smile of victory. On the way to the temple, shots ring out; Karl and Danielle are killed, and Alex surrenders. The episode ends as she waits, arms extended, for the shooter to emerge from tall grass.

On the boat:

An alarm wakes Sayid and Desmond. They rush on deck to see the Captain beating a crewman who was trying to leave on the inflatable. He warns the crew about what happened to Minkowski after he tried the same thing.

Sayid confronts Michael and gets the entire story of how and why he is on the boat. When Sayid finds out that Michael is working for Ben, he drags him to the captain and tells the whole story.

Michaels’ flashback:

Michael is living in New York City – if you can call it living. Foolishly, he decided to tell Walt that he killed Ana and Libby. Walt has decided not to speak to him – he nows lives with his grandmother, who won’t even let Michael see him. Michael tries to commit suicide by ramming his car into a dumpster and shooting himself Neither works, and he is haunted by the ghost of Libby at every turn. He is also visited by Tom, who asks him to redeem himself and save the people on the island by going undercover on the freighter and killing everyone aboard – before they can kill the island inhabitants. Michael agrees.

It doesn’t take long for Michael to suspect that the freighter is not on a rescue mission – the gunplay and nonchalant demeanor of the crew indicates that they are more in the mercenary class.

Michael has been given a bomb, but when he detonates it, a little thingy pops up that reads, "Not Yet.’ Soon after, Walt calls – but it isn’t Walt at all – it’s Ben. Ben says that they are surprised that Michael detonated the bomb. Ben rigged it as a joke to prove that he isn’t as ruthless as Widmore, whom he says will kill everyone on the island. Ben asks Michael to make a list of the people on the boat, so the innocents can be spared. He then tells Michael there will be one more phone call when Michael can give Ben the list, and, afterward, to disable the radio room and engines.

Comments

This is a good but ultimately confusing episode.

Tom says that Widmore faked the crash of Oceanic 815. Yet in a previous episode, Charlotte claimed that Ben did it. Maybe Ben and Widmore are working together?

Tom also tells Michael to stop trying to kill himself because the island won’t let him do it. How does the island have such power?

I have the feeling that Captain Gault is going to say that he knows all about Michael already.

Is the shooter of Karl and Danielle going to be Mikhail? Is Karl dead? It certainly seems so. Is Danielle dead? I hope not – I would miss her.

Not only can Miles read dead people; he can read the living, too. When Michael gets on the ship, Miles tells him that his name isn’t ‘Kevin Johnson’.

Nits

Why would Michael tell Walt that he killed Ana and Libby? Wouldn’t that just make Walt feel guilty for it too? Big mistake. And would Walt really react by not wanting to talk to or see Michael? Wouldn’t he be more confused and less moralistic?

Ben says once the boat people have him, their orders are to kill everyone else on the island. Why would their orders be framed in that way? Why not kill everyone except for Ben to start with?

Quotable Quotes

Tom: Oh, you met some of them now. Got some names and faces and you're gettin cold feet, huh?
Michael: Yeah, actually I am.
Tom: Well here are a few more names for ya, Sun, Sawyer, Jack, Claire, her baby, and the only way you're going to save their lives is if you man up and get on that boat. Or maybe you wanna come back and explain to your kid how you let all of them die too. It's game time, are you in or out?
Michael: I'm in.

Minkowski: What, are you going Nicholson on us?
Michael: What?
Minkowski: You know, Jack Nicholson in The Shining, when he's bouncing that ball against the wall? Next thing you know, you're gonna go after your wife with an ax.

Michael: Walt?
Ben: I'm so sorry, Michael, but he's still in New York. So I'm afraid you're stuck with me. Michael? Are you still there?
Michael: You put me on this boat, talked me into blowing it up, and when I push the damn button, a flag pops up.
Ben: You actually activated the bomb?
Michael: (Shouts) It's not a bomb! It's a...It's a joke
Ben: There are people on your boat who are innocent. They have no idea that the man they work for is a monster, a killer without conscience or a greater purpose. I had to show you the difference between him and me. When I'm at war, I'll do what I need to do to win, but I will not kill innocent people.
Michael: Ana Lucia and Libby... they were innocent.
Ben: You killed them, Michael. No one asked you to. I don't blame you, Michael. We did have your boy. And what wouldn't a man do for his son?
Michael: What do you want?
Ben: I want you to compile a list of names... every person on your boat. When I call again, you'll give me that list. Then you will disable the radio room you're sitting in. When the crew is disoriented by their lack of communication, you'll take out the engines, too. That way, the boat can never get to this island, and your friends will be safe. Will you do that for me, Michael?
Michael: Yeah.
Ben: Then consider yourself one of the good guys.

Captain Gault: What the hell is this?
Sayid: This man is not who you think he is. He was a passenger on Oceanic Flight 815. I spent two months with him on the Island before he betrayed us. This is the man who sabotaged your radio room. He destroyed the ship's engine, and his name isn't Kevin Johnson. It's Michael Dawson, and he's a traitor.

4.7 Ji Yeon

2008-07-02T08:00:00.001-07:00

Sun is getting more and more suspicious of the motive of Charlotte and Dan. She confronts Dan, asking if they are going to rescued. When Dan says it is not his call, and refuses to say whose call it is. Sun thanks him sarcastically, then decides to take herself and Jin to Locke’s camp. Juliet finds out by accident, and tries hard to convince Sun that she must stay to get rescued; it’s the only way to save herself and her baby. But Sun no longer trusts Juliet.

As Sun and Jin head out, Juliet intercepts them and tries one more time to convince Sun – and then Jin – that they must stay. Juliet appeals directly to Jin, telling him that Sun’s life and the life of the baby are in danger. When that doesn’t work, she tells Jin that Sun had an affair, and thought that the baby’s father was the other man. This gets Jin’s attention, and he turns back and returns to Jack’s camp. Sun is appalled, but Juliet says she had to protect her patient – Sun must get off the island.

Jin is initially silent but calm. He deliberately takes his fishing poles and, accompanied by the annoying, puppy-dog Bernard, gets some separation. Bernard talks about being married and how difficult and wonderful it is. Jin returns, calmer, and tell Sun that he understands. He realizes that what she did was done to another man – the man that he used to be.

On the boat, Sayid and Desmond watch as Regina, chained, jumps overboard to commit suicide. The captain forbids anyone to save her, for fear of losing more crew to the insanity caused by the proximity to the island. Sayid and Desmond are moved to ‘better’, supposedly quieter quarters, with a huge bloodstain on the wall. The doctor asks a crewman down the hall to clean it. The crewman responds – it is Michael! Michael is using a pseudonyn, and acts like he doesn’t know either of the two survivors.

The flash-forward:

Sun is giving birth, calling out for Jin. Across town, Jin is hurrying to buy the perfect huge stuffed panda and make it to the hospital. After a number of problems, he finally arrives, but it is then that we learn that the scenes of him are from the past, and the panda he is delivering is for Mr Paik to woo a Chinese businessman.

Hurley visits Sun not longer after the birth of Ji Yeon, and together they visit Jin’s gravesite.

Comments

This is a softer, emotional, well-written and sometimes beautifully filmed episode, as we learn (in a roundabout way) that Jin dies before his daughter is born. There is wonderful dialogue in this episode, such as when Jin refers to ‘that man’. At first, it seems like he means Sun’s lover, but he is referring to the man that he used to be. Another lovely scene is filmed in low, warm light inside Jin and Sun’s tent, as they discuss baby names.

We can assume that Michael is Ben’s spy – and Sayid and Desmond’s friend – on the boat. Remember also that when Michael left, Ben gave him the coordinates to sail by (which may have purposely been to place Michael on a course to the boat).

Captain Gault pretty much says that Benjamin Linus is the mastermind behind the faking of the crash of Oceanic 315.

Nits

I still don’t understand how anyone could fool anyone with 324 corpse bodies to replace the real bodies on Oceanic 315 – unless there was some kind of cloning done.

Quotable Quotes

Ray: (watching a blood stain in the wall) That shouldn't still be there. Damn it.
(calling a janitor) Hey Johnson is that you? Johnson!
Johnson: Yeah?
Ray: Mop this up.
Johnson: Sorry I gotta go up on deck.
Ray: (yelling) No, you have to mop this up.
(Johnson aproaches)
Ray: Kevin this is -
Sayid: Sayid.
Desmond: Desmond.
Michael: (shaking Desmond's hand) Kevin Johnson.
Sayid: Nice to meet you Kevin.

"Now here's the funny thing. This black box comes from oceanic flight 815. A salvage vessel recovered it from the bottom of the ocean. It took a considerable amount of Mr. Widmore's resources to procure it. It was found with the wreckage of the plane along with all 324 dead passengers. That's not the complete story, as you are well aware Mr. Jarrah, given the fact that you're standing here, breathing. The wreckage was obviously staged. Now can you imagine what kind of resources and manpower go into pulling oof a feat of that magnitude. Faking the recovery of a plane crash. Putting 324 families through a grieving process based on lie. But what's even more disturbing, where exactly does one come across 324 dead bodies. And that Mr. Jarrah, Mr. Hume, is just one of the many reasons we want Benjamin Linus."
- Captain Gault (to Sayid and Desmond)

4.6 The Other Woman

2008-07-02T07:59:00.002-07:00

Charlotte and Dan have disappeared from camp without telling anyone. Jin saw them head into the jungle, but told no one. His reason? He took at face value Jack’s statement that they were friends and posed no threat. Jack seems to think otherwise, and quickly heads out with Juliet to track them, while Jin and Sun head out together, also to search. It starts to rain – always a bad sign – and Juliet encounters Harper, her therapist from her days as an Other. Harper is there to deliver a message to Juliet from Ben. She says that Charlotte and Dan are heading for a station known as the Tempest, there to release a deadly gas and kill everyone on the island. Harper tells Juliet she must kill them before they do so. Jack arrives, and also sees Harper, but she seems to disappear into thin air.

In flashback, we find out that Harper wasn’t much help to Juliet as a therapist back then, and her help deteriorated even more after she found out that Juliet was sleeping with her (Harper’s) husband, Goodwin. This worries Harper, because she (and everyone else) knows that Ben thinks Juliet belongs to him. Sure enough, somehow Ben does find out about the affair, although he never lets on. His reaction is to assign Goodwin to infiltrate the tailies, and to basically keep him on assignment there until it becomes a suicide mission and Goodwin is killed. To rub in this point, Ben drags Juliet all the way out into the jungle, without telling her why, and shows her Goodwin’s impaled and decomposing body. Now Ben reveals, in his own roundabout way, that he knew and the two of them, and that Juliet is his. For a moment, Ben lets his guard down and shows the full extent of his crazed, megalomaniac personality. Then he quickly returns to being just cruelly civil.

Meanwhile, Kate has stumbled upon Charlotte and Dan. Kate asks a few questions, and when the answers don’t sound right, she asks to look in Dan’s bag. She sees the gas masks, and then Charlotte bashes her on the head and knocks her out.

Jack and Juliet went up the hill…and find Kate, alive and groaning. Kate tells what happens and Juliet goes off to get her some water – but just keeps on going. Kate explains to Jack why she stayed with Locke.

Juliet reaches the Tempest. Dan is at the console, wrestling with commands while the vats of chemicals are about to explode. Juliet points her gun and tells him to back away, but he refuses. Charlotte arrives; Juliet and Charlotte knock each other around for awhile, until Charlotte is able to convince Juliet that they are there to render the gas inert and stop Ben from using it to kill everyone. Juliet lets Dan proceed, and he secures the tanks with a couple of seconds to go before disaster.

Jack and Kate arrive. Kate needs a lot of explaining before she will lower her gun, but, eventually, she believes Charlotte and Dan. Juliet tells Jack that Ben thinks she belongs to him, and that being near her will not be a good place to be when Ben wins this war – which she is sure he will. Jack and Juliet kiss – and Jack says Ben knows where to find him.

Over at Eggtown:

Locke is still pumping Ben for information, with little success so far. But in exchange for a semblance of freedom, Ben tells Locke that Charles Widmore’s boat is anchored off the island. Ben says Widmore is trying to find the island, and he has already killed anyone who has gotten in his way. Widmore already knows about the island, and views it as a tourist attraction – people will flock to see the place that cured the cripple Locke. Ben gives Locke a thick file about Widmore, but Locke says it still isn’t enough. Locke asks for the name of Ben’s man on the boat. Ben tells Locke to sit down. We as viewers don’t get to hear what Ben says next, but he must have told Locke what he wanted, because in the next scene, Sawyer and Hurley stop playing horseshoes and look on in shock and awe as Ben, unchained and alone, heads toward one of the buildings with a pile of towels.

Locke also has a visit from Claire. She wants to find out why the boat is her and asks to speak to Miles, feeling that a softer approach might work better than Locke’s methods. Locke is not receptive to her suggestion, mostly, it seems, because he views it as a criticism of his ability as a leader. When Locke mentions Charlie’s message about the boat, Claire reminds him that Charlie just said whose boat it wasn’t. Locke slams down the knife he is using, and the scene ends before we can see how this conflict is resolved.

Comments

The creators have done an excellent job of planning the structure of the complex relationships of Lost. I was impressed that we have only now learned why Goodwin was sent to infiltrate the tailies.

Harper seemed to disappear like a specter. Have the Others figured out some way to transport, bend time, or recall ghosts?

Every episode makes me just that little bit more creeped out about the kind of person Ben really is.

Nits

After Jack and Juliet find Charlotte and Dan’s trail, we never see them get a message to Jin and Sun – nor is there any way for them to communicate with them. So presumably, Jin and Sun are still searching!

It is an extreme health risk for Juliet to touch the multi-day-old rotting corpse face of Goodwin.

It takes quite a lot of time for people to reach the Tempest, giving the impression that it is a long way inland. However, after Jack, Juliet, and Kate arrive, some shots back toward the ocean direction reveal that the ocean is not nearly as far away as it should be after all that walking. Of course, it is possible that the track curved around and ended up near the ocean again, I suppose, but in that case, you would want to walk along the beach and then head in. The island looks mountainous, and you could always make better time by sticking to the beach as long as possible.

The behavior of Charlotte and Dan lends itself to television script cliché, and has very little basis in common sense. If your goal is to do something that the people around you will feel is in their best interest, then why sneak away to do it, and why bash everyone who tries to stop you? It’s the only negative about this episode.

Since Ben’s use of the gas may not have been imminent, I don’t think it was necessary for Charlotte and Dan to act like they had to disable it immediately, without sharing their plans with anyone. On the other hand, they were probably smart not to trust anyone, since as far as they know, Ben may have spies everywhere.

Quotable Quotes

Juliet: Ben, this is amazing. Seriously, you shouldn't have gone to all the trouble. I'm only gonna be here for six months.
Ben: Right, of course. But... we want you to feel at home.

Claire: I wanna know what's going on with Miles.
Locke: Right now, not a whole lot. I'm... bringing him food and water until he decides to talk.
Claire: I'd like to talk to him myself.
Locke: And why would you want to do that?
Claire: John, we have to find out who these people are and where they came from and why they're not interested in rescuing us.
Locke: And you don't think I'm gonna get that out of him?
Claire: No, I... I just think we might be taking the wrong approach. I mean, you killed one, Ben shot one, and now we're holding one prisoner. You know, it's not hard to understand why they might think we're hostile. I might be just a little less intimidating.
Locke: It's not gonna happen, Claire. You do remember what Charlie said about these people.
Claire: All Charlie said was whose boat it isn't. Don't you wanna know whose boat it is?

Jack: You people have therapists?
Juliet: It's very stressful being an Other, Jack.

Juliet: You knew this would happen. You sent him out here because you knew this would happen. You wanted this! You wanted him to die! Why?
Ben: Why? You're asking me why? After everything I did to get you here, after everything I've done to keep you here - how can you possibly not understand...that you're mine!

"John, three months ago in Gainesville, Florida, the virgin mary seemed to appear in a patch of mold on the side of an old housing complex. When the word got out, over 5,000 people came to see her face for themselves. You've survived an airline crash on this island. One minute, you're in a wheelchair. The next minute, you're doing jumping jacks. If 5,000 people came out to see a piece of mold, how many people do you think would come here to see you?"
- Ben

"Juliet... look me in the eye and tell me you are certain that Benjamin Linus wouldn't use this gas to kill everyone on this island! We know he's used it before. If you wanna stop us, you're gonna have to shoot us both."
- Charlotte

Juliet: (to Jack) Don't you understand? These people came here to wage war against Ben, and Ben's gonna win. Jack, and when he does, you don't wanna be anywhere near me.
Jack: Why not?
Juliet: Because he thinks that I'm his. And he knows how I feel about you.

Sawyer: What the hell you are doin' out?
Ben: (smiling) See you guys at dinner.

4.5 The Constant

2008-07-02T07:59:00.001-07:00

Sayid, Desmond, and Frank are flying toward the freighter. Sayid wonders why Franks insists on flying straight through the only huge thunderhead in the sky. They shake and shimmy, but make it through. But Desmond is disoriented and highly agitated. He doesn’t recognize Sayid or Frank anymore, nor does he know why they know him or how he got into the chopper.

It seems that the trip from the Island to the freighter has caused Desmond to become unstable in time. On board the freighter, he is taken away and locked in a room to await the doctor. There, he meets Mikowski. The former communications officer is strapped to the bed and receiving sedative injections because he, too, is slipping back and forth in time. Even worse, Mikowski’s buddy suffered the same symptoms and is now dead.

Sayid works out a deal with Frank, trading his gun for Frank’s phone. Sayid calls Jack and says they made it safely, but tells of Desmond’s condition. Despite Charlotte’s chiding, Dan has decided the tell Jack and Juliet that some people exhibit ‘side effects’ when they travel to and from the island. Dan insists on speaking to Desmond, so Sayid and Frank bring the phone to the brig. After asking Desmond a few questions about where and when he is jumping to, Dan tells Desmond the next time he jumps, to go to Oxford and find him (Dan) in the year 1996 (8 years earlier). Dan gives him some settings and a name (Eloise) that must be important.

Desmond finds Dan in 1996 and convinces him that this is no hoax. Dan is experimenting with time jumps; Eloise is the lab rat that proves it can work. Dan isn’t able to help Desmond by stabilizing him, but he does impart an important tip: if Desmond can establish a constant in 2004, this wil stabilize him and save his life.

Unable to contact Penny, Desmond finds Penny’s father, and, surprisingly, the Desmond-hating dad gives Desmond Penny’s new address.

In the present, Mikowski leads Desmond and Sayid to the radio room, then dies from the effects of time travel. Despite wires being cut and the entire room in a shambles, Sayid is able to get a phone working in about 60 seconds. Desmond makes one more jump and is able to convince Penny in 1996 to give him her number, and not to change it for the next 8 years. He promises to call her on Christmas Eve, 2004. Desmond makes the call; he makes contact. He and Penny confirm their love for each other. Desmond has has constant, and he is saved.

Back on the island, Dan looks through his old notebooks and finds the following note: "If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant".

Comments

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode, even if at times it was outrageous and silly. The performance by Jeremy Davies (Dan) was fun to watch – he puts so much energy and sincerity into his quirkyness.

It is looking more and more like there are two alternative timelines running here. In one timeline, the island exists and there are survivors of Oceanic 815. In the other timeline, there were no survivors and no island. And perhaps Ben found a way to escape from one timeline into another.

Dan’s notebook note (If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant) seems to indicate that he is also traveling through time.

The journal on auction is from a boat called the Black Rock (the same one that shipwrecked on the island). The first mate who wrote the journal, Tovard Hanso, has the same surname as Magnus Hanso, the founder of Dharma.

Nits

Despite the entire room being trashed, with huge bundles of wires severed, Sayid takes a look and says (in regard to fixing it): "Give me a minute." I had to laugh out loud at this – this seemed cartoonish.

Quotable Quotes

Minkowski: I'm George Minkowski. I'm the communications officer. Before they strapped me down here, all the calls to and from this boat came through me, in the radio room. And every so often, I'd get this flashing light on my console. An incoming call. We were under strict orders never to answer it.
Desmond: So? What's that got to do with me?
Minkowski: Those calls came from your girlfriend. Penelope Widmore.

Desmond: I'm sorry, how is a rat running through a bloody maze so incredible?
Daniel: What is incredible, is I just finished the maze this morning. I'm not going to teach her to run it until an hour from now.

(After entering the ship's communication room and seeing the equipment in complete disarray)
Desmond: Can you fix it, brother?
Sayid: Give me a minute.

Penny: I'll find you, Des -
Desmond: I promise -
Penny: No matter what -
Desmond: I'll come back to you -
Penny: I won't give up -
Desmond and Penny: (in unison) I promise. I love you.

4.4 Eggtown

2008-06-22T04:18:00.003-07:00

Locke makes a fresh egg and melon breakfast and brings it to Ben, but when Ben refuses to share any information about the ship, Locke takes it away. Locke endures more classic Ben needling about how Locke doesn’t know what to do next, but it appears to have no effect. But when Locke gets a little way down the hall, he slams the tray into the wall. Inside, Ben’s mouth curls into a smile: mission accomplished yet again.

Claire and Kate are enjoying a cup of coffee on the deck. Claire goes to make a cup for Sawyer. Sawyer asks Kate to move in with him, but she refuses. She doesn’t share her secret agenda. Kate asks Sawyer to leave.

Jin and Sun discuss where they will live after they are rescued. Jin wants to live in the USA, explaining that this is why he learned English. However, Sun wants to return home to Korea. Their discussion is interrupted by the arrival of Jack, Juliet, Daniel, and Charlotte. Sun asks about Kate, and Jack tells her that she stayed with Locke.

Kate visits Locke and asks if she can speak to Miles. Locke asks her why; she says that is her business. Locke says no. There is a tense discussion about whether Locke is a dictator or not.

Kate sees Hurley carrying a tray of food. She tells him Locke asked her to bring it to Miles. But when she doesn’t know that Miles is being held at the boathouse, Hurley realizes he is being scammed. He still gives her the tray, but he makes her promise that she won’t spring Miles and won’t tell Locke that Hurley.

Kate asks Miles if his people know anything about her. Miles promises to answer that question if she will let him have 1 minute with you-know-who (Ben).

When Jack admits he is unable to get through the ship, Sun asks him if perhaps Locke is right – that the new people are going to try to hurt them. But Jack says that Locke has no idea what he is doing.

Kate asks Claire about Locke – how often he leaves his house, and whether he still has Ben in the basement. When Aaron cries, Claire asks Kate to pick him up, but Kate refuses, saying she isn’t good with babies.

Kate visits Sawyer and asks him to help her bust Ben out of his prison. Sawyer distracts Locke with a backgammon game, and fools Locke a little by telling him that Kate’s plan is to spring Ben and bring him to Miles. Locke and Sawyer go to the boathouse, but Miles is gone. Kate has brought Miles to Ben, instead. Miles uses his minute to tell Ben he will tell his employer Ben is dead, if Ben pays him 3.2 million dollars. Kate cuts short the conversation. As she and Miles are leaving, they meet Locke and Sawyer on the stairs. Locke orders Kate to go back to her house, taking possession of Miles at gunpoint.

Locke follows Kate back to her house and asks Claire to go away so he can talk to Kate alone. He asks her what Ben and Miles said to each other. Kate tells Locke about Miles extortion offer. Locke tells Kate that she is not welcome any more, and that he wants her gone by morning.

Kate visits Sawyer and tells him what happens. He takes her into his bed and promises to protect her. In the morning, she tells him she was not pregnant, and when she sees his gleeful reaction, she leaves. When Sawyer goads her about going back and forth between him and Jack, she slaps him hard – and still leaves.

Daniel is guessing at cards with Charlotte, when Jack interrupts, concerned about the whereabouts of Sayid and Desmond. He pesters Daniel and Charlotte for an alternative number. They admit there is an emergency number, and they dial it. A woman named Regina answers, but she says no helicopter has arrived.

Locke has chained Miles’ arms to the ceiling, apparently all night. He visits Miles in the morning, pulls a pin from a hand grenade, and shoves the grenade in Miles’ mouth.

The flash-forward:

Kate is in court, charged with a long list of offenses, with first degree murder being the most serious. Despite her well-known face as one of the Oceanic 6, she is remanded in custody, since her past history makes her a strong candidate to flee.

Kate’s lawyer asks her to enter a plea bargain, but she isn’t interested, nor is she willing to bring her son into court as a way of eliciting sympathy from the jury. But her lawyer does invite Jack to testify. Jack says that he crashed into the water and was saved by Kate. In fact, he says, she saved all 8 of the crash survivors: got food and water for them. He says they all would have died if it wasn’t for Kate. Kate interrupts him and says she doesn’t want to hear anymore –

Kate’s mother asks to speak to Kate, saying that she doesn’t want to testify anymore. But she wants to see Kate’s son. When Kate hears this, she tells her mom she is not welcome anywhere near her son, and asks her mother to go away.

The trial is halted when the star witness, Kate’s mom, refuses to testify. Kate strikes a deal that keeps her out of prison, but she is not allowed to leave the state.

As Kate leaves the courtroom via the back way, Jack intercepts her. Kate thanks Jack for telling the story, stating that it is a lie that Jack has repeated many times. Jack says he didn’t mean what he said in the courtroom – meaning that he does love her. Kate asks him to come over, but Jack wants to go for coffee. Kate says she knows why Jack doesn’t want to see the baby, but she cannot socialize with him until he is ready to deal with it. Jack says okay, and they part ways.

Kate returns home to her baby-sitter, who has just put the baby down for a nap. She wakes him, and calls him by name: Aaron!

Comments

I suppose Aaron has now been confirmed as one of the Oceanic 6.

Why is Kate saying that she is Aaron’s mother? Why – and how – did Kate get possession of Aaron? We probably won’t find out the answer to that question for some time.

I like the way Jack’s story of Kate, told in the courtroom, starts as a small lie, and becomes a bigger one.

Kate’s sick mother is wearing one of those oxygen tubes in her nose. Actors as patients are always wearing those tubes. I wish I had invested in the company that makes those tubes years ago!

When Miles is talking to Ben, just before he says, "It’s extortion…", his lips move. It could be a stutter, or he could be delivering a hidden message to Ben.

A poster called kkelley09, posting on YouTube, has this theory: 3.2 million dollars is a code. 3,200,000 matches the heading that Ben gave Michael to head for when he left the island. This can be extrapolated from the 3.2, combined with the 5 zeros. This indicates that the outsiders know where the island is located, and Ben has a week to act/deliver before the outsiders arrive.

Nits

The trial scene is goofy as only a TV trial scene can be. A defendant (Kate) objects, and the judge does not find her in contempt of court. The prosecuting attorney asks Jack if he is in love with Kate. Things like this don’t happen in real life.

Kate has suddenly developed a Canadian accent; she keeps saying ‘oat’ when she means ‘out’ (I think Evangeline Lilly must be slipping up, and the director isn’t noticing it).

Charlotte tells Jack there is another emergency number. She dials the number, then Jack says, "Put her on speaker." Regina answers the phone. How did Jack know that a woman was going to answer the phone? In the past, Mikowski or Regina answered the phone! And I don’t think Jack was calling the phone ‘her’.

Quotable Quotes

"I feel for you, John. I really do. You keep hitting dead ends. ... You couldn't find the cabin, you can't make contact with Jacob...you're so desperate to figure out what to do next, you're even asking me for help. So here we are, just like old times. Except I'm locked in a different room, and you're more lost than you ever were."
- Ben

Kate: I wanna talk to Miles. Where you keeping him?
Locke: Why do you need to talk to him?
Kate: Well, that's personal.
Locke: No.
Kate: And what gives you the right to decide whether or not -
Locke: You may think this is a democracy Kate, because of the way Jack ran things, but this is not a democracy.
Kate: Then I guess that makes it a dictatorship.
Locke: If I was a dictator, I would just shoot you and go about my day. Dinner's at 6:00 if you're hungry.

Kate: Are you taking that to Miles?
Hurley: Yeah.
Kate: Locke told me to do it.
Hurley: Good, that guy creeps me out.
Kate: He's still in the rec room, right?
Hurley: No, he's in the boat house......You just totally Scooby Doo-ed me, didn't you?

Miles: You bring him to me, and I will tell you everything I know about you.
Kate: Who?
Miles: Who do you think?

"Only 8 of us survived the crash, we landed in the water, I was hurt pretty badly, in fact - if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have made it to the shore. She took care of me, she took care of all of us."
- Jack

Ben: What makes you think I have access to that kind of money?
Miles: Do not treat me like I'm one of them! Like I don't know who you are and what you can do!

Sawyer: Beach? What, you're leaving? Because of this? That's that? You crawl up in my bed one second and the next you just...
Kate: Goodbye, James.
Sawyer: Don't make this about me, Kate. You didn't want a baby anymore than I did. You're just looking for some excuse to split, and now you've got one. But that's all right, Freckles, I ain't gonna hold it against you. I'm just gonna sit right here in my comfortable bed, because in about a week, you'll find some reason to get pissed at Jack, and bounce right back to me.

4.3 The Economist

2008-06-22T04:18:00.001-07:00

Sayid meditates, then walks over to Naomi’s body and closes her eyes. He reads the inscription on her bracelet: "N, I’ll always be with you. R. G." Frank is ready to make a flight back to the ship, and he has room for three passengers. Sayid wants to go, to find out who these people really are. Sayid offers to get Charlotte back in exchange for a ticket on the chopper. Despite Miles’ complaining, Frank agrees. Miles invites himself along, and Sayid doesn’t object, although he still won’t give Miles his gun back. At Jack’s urging, Kate also goes, brandishing her gun.

Jack sends Juliet back to the beach to bring back Desmond.

Sawyer wants to get info from Ben by shooting off one toe at a time, but Locke says no, because then they would have to carry him. Locke leads his gang to what he believes is the location of Jacob’s cabin – but it is not there anymore. Ben says Locke is there to find out what to do next. Locke seems nervous but keeps control by saying they should keep moving toward the barracks. Hurley objects, suggesting that they let Charlotte go, rather than keeping her as a hostage. Locke says he is making the decisions now, and gets in Hurley’s face to ask if he has any objections to that.

Daniel sets up a testing device and asks that a payload be delivered from the ship. Some minutes later, the payload is delivered. Daniel compares numbers and seems worried.

Sayid’s gang reach the barracks and finds them seemingly deserted. While they are searching, they find Hurley, bound and gagged. Hurley says he had an altercation with Locke and was left behind. They continue their search in Ben’s house.

Juliet arrives back with a rifle-toting, happy-to-see-a-chopper Desmond.

Sayid finds a hidden room with many passports, at least one of them has Ben’s , they are ambushed by Sawyer, Locke, and Danielle. It seems Hurley was bait. Sawyer keeps Kate ‘prisoner’ in a room and tries to convince her that she should stay on the island with him and play house. Sayid convinces Locke to trade Charlotte for Miles.

Desmond questions Frank and Daniel about the picture of he and Penny that was found on Naomi, but neither one will say anything – they just trade portentous glances.

Sayid returns and tells Jack that Kate chose to stay behind. Sayid and Desmond board the chopper, with Sayid also asking that Naomi’s body be taken back. Charlotte and Daniel decide to stay behind.

As Frank is ready to fly, Daniel pulls him aside and cautions him to ensure that he come back in on the exact bearing that he flew in the first time. The chopper pulls away and heads over the ocean.

Sayid’s flash-forward:

Sayid is golfing in the Seychelles when he strikes up a conversation – and a bet – with another golfer. The other golfer wins the wager, but says Sayid does not need to pay when he finds out that Sayid is one of the ‘Oceanic 6’. This golfer’s instincts are right – Sayid shoots him, saying his name (Mr Angeline) as he does so. Apparently, the man was not a stranger to Sayid.

In Berlin, Sayid goes into a café and shares a table with an attractive young woman. Mutual attraction leads to small talk, a date, and, eventually, a relationship. But Sayid’s real purpose is to kill the woman’s employer. Unbeknownst to Sayid, the woman is aware of this, and is staying with Sayid to get information from him. A gun battle ensures; Sayid is shot but the woman is killed. Sayid visits a veterinarian’s office to get fixed up. The vet is none other than Ben, who is revealed to be Sayid’s boss. Ben has hired Sayid to assassinate a list of people who Ben says are threats to Sayid’s friends.

Comments

We now know 4 of the ‘Oceanic 6’: Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Sayid.

Although I have glanced at reports that season 4 ratings are down, I personally am not seeing a decline in the quality of the episodes. The writing is still good, and I am amused by the introduction of new mysteries. The four new characters introduced, and their murky purpose, has served the story well. Granted, I still believe that season 1 was the strongest season, since I prefer the simpler ‘survival’ plot. There was more focus on personality and conflict. Now, there is a tendency to overplot.

Nits

It’s strange that Locke would give Charlotte to Sayid, knowing that this would enable Sayid to reach the ship. Since Locke has stated numerous times that he and his group do not want to be rescued, you would think he would want to inhibit Sayid from reaching the ship.

Why is Sayid able to trade Miles for Charlotte? At this point, Locke has already captured Sayid and Miles. Miles is no longer Sayid’s to hand over. If Locke wants Miles, all he has to do is keeping holding him prisoner.

Quotable Quotes

Sayid: Gun's a last resort, Kate.
Kate: You give Locke that same speech?

Kate: Kinda sucks, huh?
Jack: What's that?
Kate: Being told not to come along. Now you know what it feels like to be me.
Jack: Does that mean I should wait twenty minutes and go anyway?

Sawyer: What's in this cabin that's so important anyway?
Ben: John's looking for somebody to tell him what to do next.

Sawyer: You ready to give us the name, Gizmo?
Locke: He's not going to tell you who the spy is on their boat, James.
Sawyer: Yeah, why not?
Locke: Because that's the only thing keeping him alive.
Sawyer: Well here's an idea: why don't we take a gun, point it to his big toe and send that little piggy to the market. ... And if he still doesn't want to tell us, move on to the roast beef. Why don't we do that?
Locke: Because then we'd have to carry him.

Sayid: You're not the best candidate for this kind of mission.
Jack: What kind of mission is that?
Sayid: I'm going to make Locke give me Charlotte. And I'm going to do it without any bloodshed.
Jack: As opposed to the way I'd do it.
Sayid: Last time you encountered him; you put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. That's not good diplomacy.

Frank: What happened to Miles?
Sayid: I traded him.
Frank: Traded him?
Sayid: I promised you Charlotte. Here she is.
Frank: You cheated.
Sayid: Did I?
Frank: Yes, you did. Lucky for you, that guy's nothing but a pain in my ass.

Sayid: Naomi, were you close to her?
Miles: Nope. Met her on the boat.
Sayid: You don't seem particularly affected by her death.
Miles: Sure I'm affected. She was hot and I dug her accent.

Sawyer: Look around us, Freckles. We've got roofs over our heads, electricity, showers, beds -
Kate: How long, Sawyer? How long do you think we can play house?
Sawyer: Why don't we find out?

Frank: This guy Sayid, where's he from?
Jack: Iraq.
Frank: Iraq? So he's just gonna go and work everything out? What was he, a diplomat?
Jack: No... No, he was a torturer.

Miles: Where the hell did they go, Tubby?
Hurley: Oh - awesome, the ship sent us another Sawyer.

4.2 Confirmed Dead

2008-06-22T04:17:00.000-07:00

The rescuers have arrived, but it’s never that easy on Lost. The first ‘rescuer’ to parachute in is Daniel. He meets Kate and Jack, and, after some hesitation, Jack admits he is Jack. It all looks rosy when Daniel is able to contact his boat using Naomi’s phone and confirm their position. Daniel’s descent to the island was not pleasant: in flashback, we learn that he was basically tossed out of the helicopter as a weight reduction exercise, to try to avoid a crash. Rescue is imminent now. But why is Daniel carrying a gun? Why are they really there? The answers will have to wait until Daniel hooks up with other members of his team. The second jumper, Miles, has landed on a rock ledge near the ocean and appears to be injured. But when Jack gets close, Miles jumps up, gun drawn, and demands to see Naomi’s body. Why? In flashback, we learn that Miles is a ghost whisperer. He has the talent to speak to ghosts. But we also see he is using that talent to hustle people (and ghosts) for money. He puts one haunting spirit at peace by finding and extracting a large wad of cash that the deceased had probably stolen. He could have given that money to the deceased’s mother…but he didn’t.

Ben is doing his usual crap-stirring, this time with Sawyer. After goading Sawyer about how he lost Kate to Jack, Sawyer suggests to Locke that they kill Ben now, before he causes more trouble. Locke says only Ben’s mouth is dangerous. Sawyer asks how Locke got a bullet hole, then. Locke shows how the bullet went straight through, and muses that it would have killed him if he still had a kidney on that side.

Miles is highly agitated. He is led to Naomi’s body and spends some quiet time with her, speaking in a low voice away from the others. When he finishes, he concedes that Kate was telling the truth – they didn’t kill her. Jack asks Miles to lower his gun but Miles has no intention to do that, even when Jack says that their friends have guns trained on his head. When the bullets start flying from the hidden Sayid and Juliet, Miles changes his mind, and gives up his piece.

The third member of the team, Charlotte, is hanging upside down from a tree, her parachute tangled in branches. She unhooks and dives into the pond below. When she surfaces, she meets Locke’s gang on the bank. Charlotte, we learn from a brief flashback, is an anthropologist. She is thrilled to find the survivors of Oceanic 815. But they are not so thrilled to find her. She wants to use her homing beacon to contact the freighter. But Locke says they do not want to be rescued.

Miles has tracked another member of their team, running from something, and coming straight for them. Vincent the Dog emerges from the bushes, wearing Charlotte’s homing beacon. Jack states that Locke must have Charlotte.

Jack’s mob finds the fourth member of the team, Frank (the helicopter pilot). Frank is an older, Hawaiian-shirt-wearing ex-hippie type who not only survived the crash, but also landed the ‘copter. Sayid’s investigation reveals that there is minor damage but that bird will fly. Frank’s flashback reveals a connection to Oceanic: while watching footage of the dead bodies found in the ocean trench, he knew that the body pictured that was supposed to be pilot Seth Norris was not him.

There is a standoff when Locke wants to continue toward the barracks, but Charlotte wants to go her own way. Suddenly, shots ring out. Ben has grabbed Karl’s gun and shot Charlotte twice in the chest. She survives, thanks to her bullet-proof vest. Sawyer goes nuts and wants to execute Ben there and then, but Locke says he will take care of the mess. But just as Locke is about to do something bad, Ben recites an encyclopedia’s worth of personal information about Charlotte and her team. It seems Ben has a spy on her boat. Ben’s valuable information grants him a temporary stay of execution.

Finally, we learn that Naomi was the team leader and the only one with experience in whatever their main objective is. Naomi was hired by the same man that visited Hurley in the mental institution in a flash-forward. Naomi does not seem convinced that the assembled team was suited for the mission, but she is confident she can pull it all together.

When Miles learns that Juliet was not on the plane, he gets even more agitated than normal, and demands to know where Ben is. He magnanimously reveals the true objective of their mission: to find and get Benjamin Linus.

Comments

As yet we don’t know why this team is there to get Ben.

If Frank is right, and the underwater corpse is not Seth Norris, then whose body is it? And are the other bodies genuine? How could they be genuine – everyone would know their loved ones were not genuine when they tried to identify the remains.

Nits

First Jack and then Sawyer have taken turns repeatedly pummeling Ben’s face, yet afterward, Ben has no broken jaw or teeth, no blurred vision, and no permanent brain damage. Aside from a lot of blood, he seems to have nothing wrong at all. In real life, he would probably be dead from infection from all those open wounds from which that blood is flowing.

Charlotte dives into a muddy pond, but the water in the underwater shot of her dive is clear and blue (almost as if it was filmed in a tank).

Quotable Quotes

Jack: Put the guns down.
Miles: Now why would I do that?
Jack: Because our friends are out in the jungle right holding a gun at your head and his head, so I'm gonna forget about the misunderstanding, just put the guns down!
Miles: Come on, how stupid do you think I -
(Shots ring out, and Juliet and Sayid emerge from the bushes with guns aimed at Miles and Daniel)
Jack: I don't know, Miles. How stupid are you?

Ben: Mind if I ask you a question, James?
Sawyer: Yeah I do.
Ben: Why'd you leave Kate behind?
Sawyer: Wasting your time, Yoda.
Ben: I know it's not pleasant but, let's face it, you really don't stand a chance now...
Sawyer: Chance of what?
Ben: James. Look at yourself. Yes, on this island you're brave, daring, handsome; you're someone, but if you left with them, back in the real world a low-life scam artist like you could never compete with a first class surgeon. I think Kate was really upset when you made your choice to come with us. Thank God she has Jack there to comfort -
(Sawyer attacks Ben)

Sawyer: Anyone want to tell me why we're keeping this guy alive?
Locke: We're keeping him alive because he's been on this island a lot longer than any of us. Because he has information we need and because apart from his mouth, he's completely harmless.
Sawyer: His mouth put that hole in your gut?

Sawyer: You mind telling us who you're getting your orders from, Colonel Kurtz?
Locke: I got 'em from Walt.
Sawyer: What the hell do you mean you saw Walt? In a dream?
Locke: No dream. It was Walt. Only...taller.
Sawyer: Taller? What, like a giant?

"The light... it's strange out here, isn't it, it's kind of like, it doesn't, it doesn't scatter quite right."
- Daniel

Sayid: You say you are not here on a rescue mission and the world at large believes us to be dead. But here we are alive and well and you don't seem remotely surprised to see us.
Miles: (sarcastically excited) Oh my God, you guys were on Oceanic flight 815! Wow! (pause) Is that better?

Miles: Where's the chopper?
Frank: I saw a cow.

Kate: Dan? Your name's Dan, right? Listen, Dan, I know that you don't want anyone to get hurt, right? So why don't you put the gun away.
Dan: Because Miles would kill me?

4.1 The Beginning of the End

2008-06-18T05:24:00.000-07:00

The man on the boat says he needs to rejig the phone and asks to speak to Naomi. Jack lies and says that she has gone to get firewood.

Ben begs Danielle to take his daughter far away from this place, before everyone is killed. Danielle simply tells him to shut up, because Alex is not his daughter.

Jack and Kate suddenly notice that Naomi is missing. Ben says she crawled away. Kate find two trails – one is a blood trail and one isn’t. She suspects trickery, but Jack says Naomi was injured and wouldn’t have the strength for tricks. He says he will follow the blood trail, and asks Kate to lead the people back to the beach. They hug goodbye.

Jack and Danielle follow the blood trail, with Ben tied up and towed behind. When the trail suddenly ends, Danielle says they have been tricked. Jack reaches for the phone but it is gone. Ben says that Kate took it when she hugged him.

Kate finds Naomi, who attacks her and demands the phone. Kate begs her not to tell how she got hurt, saying that Locke is not one of them. Naomi takes the phone and tells the boat man that she hurt herself when she parachuted onto the island. She adjusts the phone, and the man says he has pinpointed her position. Then she dies.

The Looking Glass crew returns with the news that Charlie is dead. Hurley is most affected by this. The crew also brings Charlie’s message: "Not Penny’s Boat." This they take to mean that the people on the boat are evil. Sawyer wants to warn Jack using the walkie, but Sayid says they must not, because the evil boat people are probably monitoring their communication. Hurley ends this discussion by tossing the walkie in the ocean and starting out to get to Jack. Everyone else falls into step.

As it gets dark, Hurley falls behind and gets separated from the group. He ends up at Jacob’s hut. He hears whispering, looks inside, and sees a shadowy shape in the rocking chair, and another face popping up at the window. Scared, he runs, and is able to close his eyes and make the hut go away. When he opens his eyes, Locke is there. Locke gives him water and calms him down. Together, they go to find Jack and warn him about the boat.

Hurley and Locke reach Sayid and the crew. Sayid is angry at seeing Locke, but not as angry as Jack and his crew show up. Jack punches Locke, steals his gun, and pulls the trigger while pointing it at Locke’s head. The unloaded gun clicks harmlessly. Jack’s authority is undermined when Hurley reveals Charlie’s dieing message. Locke says he is heading for the abandoned barracks, stating that the security there is best. Everyone except for Jack and Kate go with him.

Hurley also volunteers to tell Claire about Charlie, in a very moving scene.

The rain starts falling (never a good omen). Jack and Kate reminisce about their initial trip across the island with Charlie to the cabin of the plane. They are interrupted by the sound of a helicopter. A solo man parachutes down, removes his helmet, and says, "Are you Jack?"

The flash-forward:

Jack watches Hurley crash his car. Hurley is arrested, yelling that he is one of the ‘Oceanic 6’. He is questioned by the cop who used to partner Ana Lucia. The cop asks Hurley if he knew her, but Hurley says he never heard of her. Hurley is seeing things and is sent to a mental institution, for which is he grateful – he feels safe there. In the institution, he is visited by a man who says he works for Oceanic Airlines, but Hurley doesn’t believe it. Later, he is visited by Charlie. Charlie says he is dead. Charlie also says, "They need you."

Jack visits Hurley and asks if he has told or he will tell. Hurley doesn’t answer. Hurley says they need to go back – that it needs them. Jack has cleaned up his act, although he is still drinking a little. He gets angry and says they can never go back. "Never say never, dude," says Hurley.

Comments

Cleverly, the creators are now using flash-forwards instead of flashbacks. Good – I was getting sick of those flashbacks.

The flash-forward in this episode takes place before the one shown in the previous episode. Previously, Jack had a beard and he had deteroriated to heavy drinking and drug use. In this episode, he is just a little unshaven, and is only adding a little bit of alcohol to his morning drink.

In the Future, Hurley apologizes to Jack for going with Locke. Yet we now know that Locke was never going to shoot Jack – the gun was not loaded. We also know that Jack was going to shoot and kill Locke – he fired the unloaded gun at his head. So who is good and who is evil? One thing is sure – Locke seems incapable of killing, but Jack could kill at any time.

Christian Shephard is seen in Jacob's cabin wearing a single white tennis shoe - the other shoe was seen hanging from a branch on the beach in the first episode of Lost.

Nits

During Hurley's car chase in the beginning of the episode, an ‘Aloha’ gas station sign is visible. Aloha gas stations are located in Hawaii – but Hurley is supposed to be living in California (Lost is filmed in Hawaii).

Quotable Quotes

Ben: Everyone who stays here is going to die. Now get Alex and get away right now. I don't care where you go. Just go. I will not have my daughter -
Danielle: (punches Ben in the face) She's not your daughter!

Hurley: I don't think we did the right thing, Jack. I think it wants us to come back.
Jack: Hurley.
Hurley: And it's going to do everything it can -
Jack: We're never going back!
Hugo: Never say never, dude.

3.22 Through the Looking Glass

2008-06-18T05:19:00.000-07:00

Jack leads most of the survivors away, leaving Sayid and his two shooters. When 10 Others arrive, Sayid and Bernard hit their targets, causing This Weeks Obigatory Explosions, and killing 7 of the 10 invaders. But Jin misses the mark, and soon, the three shooters are captured.

Contacted on walkie-talkie, Ben demands information about where the rest of the Survivors have done. When no one speaks, Sayid is knocked about, and Ben says to kill Jin. Bernard caves, telling not only that the survivors are heading for the tower, but that they have a satellite phone. He also reveals that Karl is the one who warned them that the Others were coming.

Meanwhile, the survivors stopped to wait for the shooters, and hear only two explosions. Worried, some of them want to go back, but Jack is able to keep them moving for awhile.

Charlie is being beaten by the two rough women in the Looking Glass, but he isn’t saying much. They contact Ben. Ben seems very worried and tells Mikhail to go there and find out why Charlie is there. Mikhail is initially reluctant, wondering why Ben told them that the Looking Glass was flooded and inoperable. Ben says simply that he lied, and says he needs Mikhail to do this. Mikhail agrees.

The women again ask Charlie why he is there. He says he is there to shut the jamming signal. They ask how he will do it without the code. Charlie says he doesn’t need the code, because he is going to succeed. He seems so sure of himself that the women are looking a little bit uneasy.

Ben reveals his plan to head for the radio tower to convince the survivors not to use the phone. When Alex expresses an interest in going, Ben agrees, saying that he will take her to her new home. He also reveals tht the reason he tried to get rid of Karl was to stop her from getting pregnant (and dieing).

Desmond comes to after his knockout by Charlie, but doesn’t have much time to recover before the arriving Mikhail. Mikhail starts firing at him. Desmond dives and is able to make it up into the Looking Glass, and to hide before the women see him. Just as the more aggressive woman is about to torture Charlie with a spear gun and also accidentally find Desmond, Mikhail arrives soon after, saying that Desmond is in there somewhere. Charlie stirs up things by asking Mikhail why Ben had said that the station was flooded. He also reveals that Ben was jamming all transmissions. Ben rings and Mikhail confronts him about the jamming. Ben says that Jacob said to do it; it is all part of the plan to protect the island, which is currently under attack. Ben apologizes to Mikhail for not trusting him, and then asks him to kill Charlie and the women too.

Eventually goaded by Kate, Sawyer says he will go back. Jack says no, since with no guns, it would be a suicide mission. But Juliet says that she knows where there is a cache of guns. Juliet and Sawyer leave, and after some banter about who is screwing who, Juliet says there are no guns – she just said that because Jack would not have let them go. Hurley catches up, but Sawyer tells him to go back. As with Charlie, Sawyer uses Hurley’s weight to turn them away.

Locke awakens. His legs won’t move. He reaches for a nearby gun, and is ready to shoot himself. But Walt shows up at the edge of the hole and tells Locke to get up, because he has work to do. Locke’s face changes from despair to hope.

The group continues to head for the radio tower but stops when confronted by Ben and Alex. Ben asks to speak to Jack, saying that since Jack just killed 7 of his people, he owes him that. Jack and Ben walk a short distance away; Jack grabs Ben’s walkie just in case.

Ben says that Naomi is one of the bad guys, and if she is able to contact the outside world, everyone on the island will be killed. He urges Jack to give the phone to him. Having lost all his credibility, Jack doesn’t believe him, so Ben goes to plan B. He reveals that he is holding the three hostages, and says if Jack doesn’t turn over the phone in one minute, he will shoot them. Jack refuses, and three shots are fired. Enraged that his friends have been killed, Jack beats Ben for about the head until he is bloody.

Jack carries Ben back to the group and tells them to tie him up. Danielle takes this moment to walk up to and look longingly at Alex. From the ground, Ben reveals that Danielle is Alex’s mom. Danielle seizes the moment and gently suggests to Alex that they tie Ben up together in a true bonding moment, in more ways than one. Jack walks a short distance away and confides in Kate that their three friends are dead. He cautions her not to let anyone else know.

Sawyer and Juliet have reached the beach, but with no guns, they have no way to mount an attack. They hear a noise coming toward them – it sounds a little like the smoke monster. But it is Hurley, driving the van. He burts through the beach knowing out two of the guards. Sayid snaps the neck of one of the others with his legs. Tom surrenders to Sawyer, but Sawyer shoots him anyway; he says this is payback for taking Walt off the raft. Hurley uses the walkie to try to contac the Others, but gets Jack instead and tells him that everyone is okay. The survivors enjoy a brief moment of joy (especially Jack and Kate, who thought Sayid and the others were dead).

At the Looking Glass, Mikhail has made his choice. He shoots the two women, killing one and mortally wounding Bonnie. As he is about to shoot Charlie, Desmond jumps out and shoots Mikhail in the chest with a speargun. Charlie manages to convince Bonnie to tell him the code as a way of making Ben’s life miserable. Charlie does crack the code, and the jamming signal stops. Just as Charlie is leaving the control room, an incoming video message arrives. It is from Penny. When Charlie asks about her boat, she says she knows of no boat and knows no one named Naomi. At this moment, Mikhail appears at the outside porthole and detonates a hand grenade. Seeing what is about to happen, Charlie locks Desmond out of the control room, saving Desmond’s life but dooming his own. As the control room floods, Charlie has time to scroll a quick message on his hand: "Not Penny’s Boat." Desmond sees the message and touches his hand to Charlie’s against the glass before Charlie dies.

The main group reaches the radio tower. Naomi discovers that her phone is working. She is still being jammed by Danielle’s signal, so Danielle shuts it off.

Just as Naomi is about to make contact, she is struck by something and falls forward, blood pouring from her mouth. It is Locke, who has shown up just in time to throw an axe. He holds a gun on Jack and tries to get Jack to move away from the phone, but Jack refuses. When Ben tries to urge Locke to shoot Jack, Danielle nonchalantly knocks him out with a blow to the head. Locke backs down, while saying that this is not what Jack was supposed to do. Jack answers the call and tells the man on the other end that they are survivors of Flight 815. The man says he will get a fix on their position and be there soon.

Jack’s flashforward:

Jack’s full beard can’t hide his depression, nor can his parade of drinks dull it, as he heads back home on a flight to LA. When the stewardess cuts him off, he reads the paper instead – and finds out that someone is dead. Depressed beyond repair, he drives to a bridge and and gets ready to jump off. But a car accident turns him into a hero. Sarah comes to the hospital, but only because she is still listed as his emergency contact.

Jack tries to get involved in operating on the women who was seriously injured in the crash, but the surgeon on duty politely but firmly turns him away.

Jack goes to someone’s funeral (viewing) and is the only one to show up. He says he is neither friend nor family.

Jack is turned away at a pharmacist because his prescription has expired. He slams his fist down on the counter and stumbles out.

Jack goes back to the hospital to load up on prescription drugs after his own prescription ran out. The surgeon on duty confronts him, asking him gently what he was doing on that bridge at that hour, suspecting that he was trying to commit suicide. Jack has another shouting fit and stumbles out again.

In a squalid apartment, Jack calls someone on the phone and they agree to meet him out near the airport runway. It is Kate (and we now realize we are seeing the future). Jack says they must find a way to get back to the island – that they were never meant to leave. Kate says they were meant to leave, and that she must go back home because ‘he will be wondering’. Kate leaves, and Jack watches as a plane flies low overhead, taking off for destinations unknown.

Comments

Mikhail now has to decide whether to trust Ben once again (and kill three people) or perhaps team with the women to break away from Ben.

Charlie’s death scene was extremely moving. I will miss him as a character (and actor), despite his many faults.

The creators were very clever and sneaky to make us assume that the alternative glimpses we were seeing of Jack’s life had happened in the past, not the future, since all the other stories like that shown thus far were always from the past.

Whose funeral was Jack attending? From what little I could glean from freeze-framing the newspaper article, it is a man whose name starts with "Jo".

Who is Kate living with in the future?

It is now possible that the survivors will have to join forces with the Others to fight off this new threat, the supposed rescuers that will be contacted with Naomi’s phone.

Nits

In the opening scene, the radio tower group heads out with the ocean on their right. But in the next scene, the ocean is on their left! They have turned around!

It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book to fire into the air (or the dirt) but not actually kill the person. But why does Ben radio ahead and tell Ryan to fire into the dirt three times if Ben’s voice is not heard? This is a silly strategy. It made sense for Ben to tell Jack that he would kill the hostages if the phone was not handed over. But by making believe he had killed all three of them, Ben lost any leverage he might have had to get the phone back! He would have been better off saying that he killed one of them, then threatening to kill another one in a minute if the phone was not handed over.

In his flash-forward, why is Jack speaking about his father as if he is still alive? Is this because the future the timeline the survivors returned to was different than the one they left?

Quotable Quotes

Richard: We're going to the radio tower?
Ben: Not we, Richard, me. You're going to take everyone to the temple as planned.
Richard: Now might not be the best time to go tromping off on your own.
Ben: Oh really and why not?
Richard: Because people are asking questions, Ben. About leaving home, about what happened to Locke, about Jacob. Not to mention the rapidly spreading rumor that everyone that went down to the beach is dead.
Ben: They're not all dead.

Tom: They're all dead. Diane, Ivan, all of em, dead. And Shephard and his people, they're all gone.
Ben: Gone, gone where?
Tom: I don't know. Did you hear me? They killed seven of our...
Ryan: Tom! Calm down and tell him the good news.
Ben: What good news?
Tom: We caught three of em. The one's who stayed behind to blow up the tents. Ben, they knew we were coming?
Ben: It was Juliet. She betrayed us.

Ben: Mikhail, you need to go down to The Looking Glass and find out what Charlie Pace is doing down there.
Mikhail: You told us The Looking Glass was inoperable, flooded.
Ben: I lied. Mikhail, I need you to go, now!
Mikhail: I can be there by dawn. But if Juliet told them about The Looking Glass, what else did she tell them?

Sawyer: So, you screwing Jack yet?
Juliet: No, are you?

"Here's a better question to ask Cyclops. Why did your little friend Ben tell you people that this entire station was flooded, when it isn't? Or, why these two have been jamming transmissions off the island."
- Charlie

Jack: You okay?
Kate: Yeah, I just, had a rock in my shoe.
Jack: He didn't mean it, you know.
Kate: What?
Jack: Sawyer. When he said that he didn't want you to go with him, he didn't mean it.
Kate:If he didn't mean it, why'd he say it?
Jack: I'm trying to protect you. That's why I asked you not to come back for me.
Kate: Hey. Why are you sticking up for Sawyer, he'd never do it for you.
Jack: Because I love you.

Ben: May I have my walkie back?
Jack: What?
Ben: There's something you need to hear. Please?
(Jack hands Ben the walkie-talkie)
Ben: Thank you. Tom are you there?
Tom: (over the walkie) Yeah, I'm here.
Ben: (To Jack) Your plan killed seven of my people. But the ones that you failed to kill are now holding you friends, Jin, Sayid, Bernard, at gun point.
Jack: And what's to stop me from snapping your neck?
Ben: Tom unless you hear my voice in one minute, shoot all three of them.
Tom: Got it.
Ben: (pulls out his watch) Bring me the phone Jack. (struggling is heard over the walkie) 40 seconds.
Jack: No, I'm getting them off the island. All of them!
Ben: Let me ask you something, Jack. Why do you want to leave the island? What is it that you so desperately want to get back to? You have no one, your fathers dead, your wife left you; moved on with another man. Can you just not wait to get back to the hospital? Get back to fixing things? (Jack moves forward) It's 20 seconds now, just get me the phone Jack.
Jack: No.
Ben: 10 seconds, bring me the phone.
Jack: No.
Ben: I'm not bluffing!
Jack: I won't -
Ben: 5…
Jack: Do it!
Ben: 4, 3…
Jack: No!
(3 gun shots are heard over the walkie)
Ben: I'm so sorry Jack.
(Jack attacks Ben and beats him, he then picks up the walkie-talkie)
Jack: Tom, are you there?
Tom: Yeah Jack, I hear you.
Jack: Im gonna lead my people up the radio tower and I'm gonna make a call. And I'm gonna get 'em all rescued, every one of them! And then I'm going to come and find you, and I'm gonna kill ya.

Tom: Okay. I give up.
(Sawyer shoots him in the chest)
Sawyer: That's for taking the kid off the raft.
Hurley: Dude, it was over. He surrendered.
Sawyer: I didn't believe him.

Ben: Jack! I know you think you're saving your people. But you need to stop this. It's a mistake.
Jack: The mistake was listening to you.
Ben: This'll be your last chance, Jack. I'm telling you, making that call is the beginning of the end.
Naomi: I've got it, I've got a signal!
Ben: Jack please, you don't know what you're doing!
Jack: I know exactly what I'm doing.

Ben: You have to understand, everything I did, I did for the Island.
Mikhail: The Island told you it was necessary for you to jam your own people?
Ben: Yes it did. You've always been a loyalist, Mikhail, now I'm asking you to trust me, to trust Jacob who told me to do this.
Mikhail: Why would Jacob ask you to lie to your own people?
Ben: Because this Island is under assault by forces stronger than anything its had to deal with in many many years. And we are meant to protect it, Mikhail, by any means necessary. The jamming was for everyone's security. We are in a serious situation here.

Locke: Please, put the phone down.
Jack: No, you're done keeping me on this island!
Locke: I will kill you if I have to.
Jack: Then do it, John.

Jack: Every Friday night I, I fly from LA to Tokyo or, Singapore, Sydney. And then I, I get off and I, have a drink, and then I fly home.
Kate: Why?
Jack: Because I wanted to crash, Kate. I don't care about anybody else on board. Every little bump we hit or turbulence, I mean I, I actually close my eyes and I pray that I can get back.

3.21 Greatest Hits

2008-06-13T08:08:00.001-07:00

Desmond has had another one of his flashes. He sees Claire and Aaron, rescued, leaving the island on a helicopter. But one of the pieces of the puzzle that makes this possible is Charlie’s death. This time, Charlie must die or Claire and Aaron will not be rescued.

It is soon revealed how this will happen. Sayid has repaired Naomi’s radio, but the signal is being jammed. He believes it is being jammed by Danielle’s distress call. But Juliet reveals that it is jammed from an underwater Dharma station called The Looking Glass. Desmond death scene for Charlie involves a hatch, flipping a yellow lit switch, and then drowning. This must be the place, so when a volunteer is needed to disable the jamming signal, Charlie steps forward. However, Jack vetoes the idea.

Jack is more focused on retaking charge of the group and preparing the invasion of the Others. To demonstrate his plan, Jack brings the group out into an open area and summons Danielle, who ghosts out silently from the jungle, joins the connections on a car battery, and blows a few palm trees sky high. Jack’s plan: when the Others come to the marked tents, the tents will blow up and kill them.

Back at camp, everyone chips in to wire the tents so they can be detonated the following night. But Karl arrives in the outrigger to tell them that the plans have changed and the Others will be there tonight instead!

At the Others camp, we find out the reason why this happened: Ben returned from his outing with Locke and Jacob looking angry that things didn’t go as planned. He tells Richard that Jacob wants them to get the women today. Ben also changes the plans, telling his men to take all the women and sort them out later. And he says if any of the men get in the way, they should be killed. Alex overhears this and it is she who tells Karl (who is still a fugitive and is living in the woods) that he must go and warn the survivors, since Kate and Sawyer saved his life.

There will be no time for the survivors to wire the dynamite properly. Sayid comes up with the idea of shooting the dynamite from a distance. He assembles three shooters: Bernard, Jin, and himself.

Charlie prepares himself for leaving. He thinks about and writes down his ‘greatest hits’, the five most memorable moments of this life. He leaves his heirloom ring for Aaron. He kisses Claire goodbye, and hugs Hurley and tells him he loves him.

Desmond and Charlie take the outrigger and follow the cable near where Danielle was first encountered. When they reach the underwater station, Desmond offers to take Charlie’s place. Charlie seems to think this is a good idea, but then knocks Desmond out with a paddle and dives down. He barely makes it under and up into the submarine docking pool, where he collapses on the floor, yelling with joy at being alive. Suddenly, doors open and two women in military-type gear burst in, guns drawn, and aimed at him.

Comments

This is another top-notch episode. I also like the way the creators built us up to think that Charlie was going to die, only to save him (for a while, anyway).

We are back watching the great battle for leadership (before, it was Jack and Locke; now, it is Jack and Sayid).

The woman Charlie saves from the mugger is Sayid’s love interest, Nadia.

Charlie’s greatest hits:
#5 The first time I heard myself on the radio.
#4 Dad teaching me to swim at Butlin's.
#3 The Christmas Liam gave me the ring.
#2 Woman outside Covent Garden calls me a Hero.
#1 The night I met you (meaning Claire).

Nits

Because the creators need to have a big explosion in every episode, Jack has to drag everyone out away from camp and then show them a big explosion, rather than just telling them his plan. "And now, this explosion is for all of you who don’t know what something looks like when it blows up."

The ring that Charlie puts in Aaron’s crib is a choking hazard.

As Charlie runs toward Hurley to hug him goodbye, you can briefly see the legs and sandal-clad feet of a Lost crewmember on the left.

Quotable Quotes

Charlie: All right. Tell me.
Desmond: You sure you wanna know? It might be easier if you just...
Charlie: Yeah. I want to know.
Desmond: You're inside a hatch. There's, uh, a room full of equipment. There's a blinking yellow light above a switch. You flick the switch, light goes off, and, then, you drown.

Naomi: You're from Manchester then?
Charlie: I am. My band got it's start at the Night and Day bar on Oldham Street.
Naomi: What band?
Charlie: Oh, we're called Drive Shaft.
Naomi: Yeah. Yeah, I know you.
Charlie: We had a... moment in the sun.
Naomi: No, not that. The crash! You're the dead rock star. They made a big deal out of you when they found the plane. Huge memorial service, new album.
Charlie: There's a new album?
Naomi: Yeah. God, it was everywhere. The greatest hits thing. Hey, look on the bright side; you're not really dead, right?

Karl: They're, coming. My people.
Sawyer: Sorry you came all this way for nothing but we already know.
Karl: Then why are you still here?
Sawyer: Because when your people show up here tomorrow night, we're gonna be ready for 'em.
Karl: Tomorrow? No. No they're coming tonight. They're coming right now!

Ben: If you leave right now, how long will it take to you to reach their camp?
Ryan: Well, if I take my ten best, we could set up to hit 'em by nightfall.
Ben: Then you better get going.
Richard: No. No, Ben. Wait, moving at this schedule, Juliet may not be ready, what if she hasn't had time to identify -
Ben: Then we'll take all their women, and we'll sort out the ones we need later.
Ryan: And the men?
Ben: If any of them are stupid enough to get in your way, kill 'em.

"What are you more concerned about? Killing the Others or getting our people off this island? This afternoon you said you were our leader; it's time for you to act like one. Lead them to the radio tower Jack. And then take us all home."
- Sayid: (to Jack)

3.20 The Man Behind the Curtain

2008-06-13T08:07:00.002-07:00

While Ben and Richard hunt for the misplaced recording device, Locke shows up, body bag over his shoulder, and gains the upper hand in his relationship with Ben. He demands to see Jacob, believing that there is no such person – that Ben has invented him as a way of having a scapegoat for all his kingly decisions. Mikhail bursts into camp, telling the story of the parachutist, and suggesting strongly that the Others head for the survivors camp. Ben and Locke had been heading to see Jacob, and when Mikhail wonders why Locke is now calling the shots, Locke attacks him and beats him about the head for a while. Soon, Locke and Ben are heading off to see Jacob.

They approach an old cabin in the middle of the night. Ben lights an oil lamp and warns Locke to douse his flashlight, as Jacob does not like technology. Inside the cabin, there is no one – just an empty unmoving rocking chair. But Ben begins to carry on a conversation with this invisible person. It’s all one-sided; there are no replies. Locke sees it as a show for his benefit, but when he turns to leave, another voice says something. When Locke turns back and turns on his flashlight, the room erupts in poltergeist-type activity, with doors slamming, windows breaking, oil lamps crashing to the floor, and Ben being thrown back against the wall when he asks Jacob to calm down. Locke goes outside, and Ben soon follows. Locke still believes it was a trick, so Ben asks if he can show him one more thing.

They stop at an open pit. Inside are numerous human skeletons. Ben explains that they are the bodies of the Dharma people, and how he was smart enough not to be in that pit. He chides Locke for not being as smart, and then shoots him. Locke falls backward into the put, shot in the chest. Ben asks Locke what Jacob said, and Locke replies, "He said, ‘Help me’." Ben says he hopes Jacob does help him, and leaves him in the pit.

Back at camp:

Sawyer returns, pulls Sayid aside, and plays him the incriminating tape of Juliet. Sayid assembles the survivors and plays the tape for them. Jack and Juliet, who have been off somewhere, return, and Juliet tells Sawyer to turn over the tape and play it. It contains a message from Ben, outlining the plans of the Others to attack the camp and take all pregnant women (Juliet is supposed to mark the tents of the pregnant ones to make it easy. Juliet had already told Jack about this, and Jack had been formulating a plan. He now says he is ready to start catching up.

Ben’s mini backstory:

A young couple is hiking in the woods outside Portland, when the woman – 7 months pregnant – gives birth to Ben and dies in childbirth. The car that stops to help them is a man and a woman who work for Dharma. Later, Ben’s father and a teenage, withdrawn Ben arrive on the island. Ben’s dad has accepted the offer to work there, but is disgusted to find out he will be doing janitorial type jobs. He also isn’t happy that his life is often in danger because of attacks by the other inhabitants of the island, the ‘hostiles’. Depressed by the death of his wife, he blames his son for this, and drinks Dharma Initiative beer every night until he passes out. Ben sees his mother at his window and in the woods, and one day, goes outside the barricade to try to find her. Instead, he meets one of the hostiles (Richard Alpert). He asks Richard if he can go with him, and Richard says he must be patient.

Some time later, Ben, now a young man in his 20s, accompanies his dad on a road trip to Pearl Station, where he kills him with poison gas. He returns to the barracks and links up with Richard and the other hostiles, who have killed all of the Dharma people and taken over.

Comments

Just to confuse everyone more, now we have a ghost! But we also have the definitive explanation of why the Dharma Initiative is no longer on the island.

It’s great having Jack on board (assuming he is on board). I was worried that he had been brainwashed.

I assume that Locke will not die, but will simply summon his great healing powers and get well soon.

This is another excellent episode. The show is on a roll now, with plenty of conflict, mystery, and sub-plots.

Nits

When Jacob gets angry, the lit lantern falls off the table, shatters on the floor, and fire spreads across the floor. Moments later, Locke leaves the cabin, and Ben follows not long after. Ben carries the lantern and hangs it back up – it is bother unlit and intact! And the cabin does not burn to the ground! (Maybe Jacob fixed the lantern and put out the fire).

Quotable Quotes

Ben: Something you should know, John, before we go. Whether or not you think he's the Wizard of Oz, I can assure you that Jacob is very, very real. And we're gonna go see him, and he's not gonna like it. In fact I have a feeling he's going to be very angry. And that's why my hand was shaking because this is not a man you go and see. This is a man who summons you.
Locke: Well I guess there's a first time for everything.

(Locke and Ben are standing over a large open grave of bodies wearing Dharma suits)
Ben: This is where I came from, John. These are my people - the Dharma Initiative. They came here seeking harmony, but they couldn't coexist with the island's original inhabitants. When it became clear that one side had to go, one side had to be "purged", I did what I had to do. I was one of the people that was smart enough to make sure that I didn't end up in that ditch. Which makes me considerably smarter than you, John. (Ben pulls out a gun and shoots John in the stomach)

Ben: What did Jacob say to you?
Locke: (dying in the ditch) Why did you do this?
Ben: Because you heard him. Now, I need to know what he said.
Locke: "Help me."
Ben: John, I'm not going to ask you again. What did he say to you!?
Locke: He said, "Help me."
Ben: Well I certainly hope he helps you, John!

3.19 The Brig

2008-06-13T08:07:00.001-07:00

Kate leaves Sawyer’s tent after another romantic interlude, saying that she has to sleep in her own tent to feel comfortable. Sawyer half-follows her, since he needs to do a pee. He notices Hurley and Jin, back from their ‘camping trip’, doing something to Desmond’s shelter and looking suspicious. Uninterested, he continues on his way. While standing in the dark jungle, he hears rustling noises and draws his gun. Locke emerges, saying he is looking for Sawyer. After awhile, Sawyer lowers his gun. Locke says he has infiltrated the Others and captured Ben, and he wants Sawyer to kill him. Sawyer says he is not a murderer, and Locke says he made a mistake. He begins to walk away, and Sawyer, intrigued reluctantly follows. Locke’s tiny hidden smile reveals that this was exactly what he wanted.

As they walk, Locke reveals that he knows about Sawyer’s previous murder from reading his file. Sawyer becomes agitated, whacking Locke’s head and then holding a knife at his throat and demanding to know why Locke wants him. Locke says he could not do it himself.

Locke leads Sawyer to the Black Rock, the landlocked pirate ship whose hold is filled with the skeletons of slaves. Locke says he has Ben tied up in the brig. Sawyer enters the brig; sure enough, there is a hooded man tied up in there, complaining in a muffled gagged voice. Locke closes and bars the door, trapping the complaining Sawyer as well. Sawyer removes the hood and sees he is locked in with Anthony Cooper, a man who is a stranger to him.

Danielle shows up at the Black Rock unexpectedly. She has come to get some dynamite. Locke is unperturbed, banking on the fact that Danielle will not get involved in this kind of situation. Sure enough, she ignores Sawyer’s cries from the brig, takes her dynamite, and leaves.

Sawyer talks to Cooper a little, and, over time, realizes most horribly that this is the man who, by conning his father, pushed his father over the edge and caused the murder/suicide of his parents. Cooper shows no remorse, and in fact seems to think the whole thing is meaningless. He has even more reason to feel that way, since he believes that he and everyone else on the ‘island’ are dead. In fact, his last memory is of being in a serious car crash and closing his eyes while on a stretcher. He is also aware that flight 815 was found with all bodies intact – and dead.

Sawyer tries to make Cooper read the letter, but Cooper gets halfway through and then rips it up. Enraged, Sawyer strangles him. Locke then opens the brig and quietly thanks Sawyer.

Sawyer heads back to camp, but not before Locke tells him that Juliet is a mole who is still working for Ben. He gives Sawyer the personal recording device with Juliet’s message to Ben to use as proof to the survivors that Juliet is bad. Locke also says that in three days, the Others will raid the camp and take the pregnant women – and they say no one will get hurt. Locke also says that he is not infiltrating the Others – he is on his own journey now. He slings a bagful of dead Cooper over his shoulder and heads out on that journey.

Back at camp:

Hurley and the campers are hiding the parachutist (Naomi) in Desmond’s tent while she heals. Charlie and Hurley want Jack to look at her wound, but Desmond doesn’t trust Jack, nor do the other campers. Instead, Hurley fetches Sayid. Naomi tells Sayid that the plane was found in a deep trench off of Bali, with all bodies dead and accounted for. Sayid is suspicious after questioning Naomi. This doesn’t exactly endure him to her, but she still gives him the broken phone to fix. While Sayid is working on the phone, Kate sees him and it. Sayid tells her where they got it, but warns her to keep it a secret. Kate doesn’t listen and goes to tell Jack, asking to talk to him in private. Juliet, who is sitting there, says she will go, but Jack insists that she can stay. So Kate tells both of them about the phone, Naomi, and, most importantly to her, the fact that no one trusts Jack anymore. Jack is very concerned about the phone, but unconcerned about whether anyone trusts him. Intriguingly, Juliet says they should tell Kate something that seems to be relevant to where they are and whether they will be rescued. Jack heads off toward Desmond’s tent and confrontation.

In mini-flashback:

We go back 8 days to learn about Locke’s time with the Others and Ben. Locke is a bit of a celebrity among the Others, since he is known as the Guy Who Is No Longer Paralyzed. Ben seems to believe that Locke is special; he says he is healing faster since Locke arrived. It seems to be true, too: Cooper bites Locke quite severely in their first meeting, and two days later, Locke is fully healed. Ben was pushing Locke hard to kill Cooper, even trying to get him to do it in front of virtually the whole camp. But Locke was unable to do it. Richard Alpert suggests getting someone else to do it, and gives Locke Sawyer’s file.

Comments

This is one of the better recent episodes, with plenty of gray areas, and the bombshell that the survivors may not have survived after all. This has been one of my theories for some time, but I’m not about to believe it just yet.

The structure of this episode helps to build the tension and queasiness. For example, I liked the scene amid the Others’ tent village, where Locke is happily helping Cindy pitch her tent. All around them, Others are peacefully setting up camp in an idyllic valley. Now pull back to reveal Locke’s father tied to a pole in the middle of all this!

If the bodies of the people on flight 815 have truly been found dead at the bottom of an ocean trench, then the only explanation that comes to mind is that the island is the afterlife (with Ben or Jacob as the pseudo devil?). However, the producers have apparently denied that this is the case. The producers are painting themselves into a corner where they will have some explaining to do, and have to be very creative to adequately explain everything. At this point, it is highly likely that whatever explanation they come up with (if they bother coming up with one at all) will be a disappointment to most fans. It is just too difficult to come up with something original, logical, and not trick-laden. More likely, it will involve an alternative universe and timeline, one that was punctured by the plane crash and is tied to the strange magnetic and healing properties of the island.

Quotable Quotes

Sawyer: You want me to walk you home?
Kate: It's five tents, I think I'll make it.
Sawyer: You sure? I gotta pee anyway.
Kate: That is so romantic.

"You're wasting your time, bug eye. Me and him have been through all this. All he wants is his daddy."
- Anthony Cooper to Ben

Sayid: Naomi, from where, exactly, did you take off?
Naomi: A ship, a freighter, about 80 nautical miles west of here. I'm part of a search and recovery team.
Sayid: You told my friends the wreckage of flight 815 was discovered; did you mean the partial wreckage?
Naomi: No, they found the entire plane off the coast of Bali in an ocean trench four miles deep. They sent down cameras in these little robots to survey the wreck. The bodies were all there.
Sayid: Well, obviously we're not dead.
Naomi: Obviously.

Cooper: (Reading the letter) "You don't know who I am, but I know who you are and I know what you done. You had sex with my mother, and then you stole my dad's money all away, so he got angry and he killed my mother, and then he killed himself-" Blah, blah, blah, blah. So, what? Is this supposed to be you? You wrote this letter? Hey, wait a second. Did you take my name because you were on some kind of revenge kick?
Sawyer: Keep reading!
Cooper: Easy, easy, don't get all worked up. Look, I ran that con two dozen times. If your mother was one of the-
Sawyer: Mary. Her name was Mary.
Cooper: Mary from Jasper, Alabama. Yeah, I remember her. She practically begged me to take her $38,000 and to rescue her from her sorry little life.
Sawyer: You finish the letter!

3.18 D.O.C.

2008-06-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

The female parachutist is mumbling in various languages, most of which, like Chinese and Italian, are indecipherable to Desmond and the boys. But Hurley picks up on Spanish for "I’m tired", and they discover that she is badly injured: a branch is protruding from her side. Desmond really cannot help her, and matters complicate when Mikhail stumbles out of the jungle and almost tramples them. He quickly turns and keeps running, but Jin tracks him down and overpowers him. Mikhail doesn’t explain how he has risen from his obvious death at the electromagnetic killing barricade, but he does say the he was a Russian field medic who can save the woman’s life. In return, he asks that he be allowed to go free after he has succeeded. Mikhail knows what he is doing, and does save her life, and Desmond keeps his word and lets him go, despite the strong objections of Charlie, who wants to take Mikhail back as a prisoner. Jin notices that the woman’s high-tech phone is missing, catches Mikhail again, and gets the phone. Once again, Charlie pushes hard for captivity, but Desmond insists that Mikhail be let free.

Back at camp, Jack visits Sun and asks her some personal questions about her pregnancy. Jack says they are just routine questions as he tries to catch up on people he didn’t see when he was away. But Sun senses something is wrong, and confronts Kate, who admits that Juliet had done research on pregnant women. Now Sun confronts Juliet, who admits that all pregnant women have died. Later that night, Juliet visits Sun and tells her that she can help her, but that she must go with her alone – now – in the middle of the night. Together, they return to the medical station where Claire and Kate searched for the serum. There didn’t seem to be much there of any worth on the last visit, but Juliet knows of a hidden room where there is still working equipment – including a sonogram. Juliet says she needs to find out when the baby was conceived. If the baby was conceived on the island, she says Sun is going to die. If the baby was conceived before Sun reached the island, Sun is not at risk. The situation is complicated by Sun’s statement that she slept with someone else before she reached the island. So either Sun is pregnant from another man, or she is carrying Jin’s baby and is going to die. The latter is the case, although Juliet promises to do whatever she can to help her. After Sun leaves, Juliet leaves a taped message to Ben, telling him that she has gotten blood samples of Sun, and will get samples of the other women in due course. After she shuts the recorder, she adds, "I hate you."

The parachutist gains consciousness, and sees Hurley. When Hurley tells her that he is a survivor of flight 815, the woman expresses astonishment, stating that this is impossible. She says the flight 815 plane was found, and there were no survivors!

Sun’s flashback backstory:

Not long after Sun’s wedding, she is approached by an older woman who says that Jin’s mother was a prostitute, and that Jin does not know this. She says she will keep this secret if she is given 100 thousand dollars in 3 days. Sun visits Jin’s father and confirms that the story is true. Jin’s father also begs her to spare Jin the shame that this knowledge would bring. Now Sun visits her father and asks him for the money. She does not say exactly why she needs it, but does say it will spare someone she loves a great shame. Her father guesses that she means to spare Jin, and says that it is Jin’s debt. He will pay it off by no longer working as floor manager – now Jin will work directly for Sun’s father (doing his dirty work).

Sun pays the woman the money, but also confronts the woman, telling her she knows she is Jin’s mother, and threatening to kill her is she does not disappear.

Comments

D.O.C. stands for ‘Date Of Conception’.

So now we know that Juliet is being coerced into what she is doing, just as Michael was, just as mostly every Other is. Not that this will ensure that she won’t go ahead with it. In fact, it is more likely that she will go ahead with it.

After Mikhail finishes treating the parachutists’s wound, she says something in Portuguese. Mikhail translates it as, "Thank you." However, what she actually says is, "I am not alone."

Nits

"It’s 6am Saturday morning," in Juliet’s taped message to Ben – straight from the Department of Redundancy Department. (It often is 6am in the morning – I’ve noticed that too).

Quotable Quotes

Desmond: We need to bring Jack here.
Charlie: It's an eight hour walk! One way!
Desmond: Then I'll run.
Charlie: Are you out of your mind? It's not safe. It's gonna be dark soon. Who knows who's out in this jungle!? In case you have forgotten, there are people on this island trying to kill us!
Desmond: Nobody knows we're here!
Hurley: [fires off a flare] [pause] Oops.

Desmond: Who are you? (pause) I said, "Who are you?"
Charlie: He's the guy who shot Sayid. Kate told us he lived down in that station Locke blew up. He's an Other.
Hurley: I thought Locke killed that guy with the electro fence thingy.
Desmond: You've got five seconds to talk or I fire this gun, Brother.
Mikhail: That's a flare gun.
Desmond: And how do you think it will feel taking a flare to the chest at this range?
Mikhail: As your friend pointed out, I've already died once this week.

Jin: Phone!
Charlie: You stole this?
Mikhail: How could you respect me if I didn't try?

Sun: Why didn't you tell me you were Jin's mother?
Woman: I gave birth to him, but that does not make me his mother.
Sun: You know how powerful my family is. My husband believes that you are dead. Do not force me to make that a reality.

"Ben, it's 6am on Saturday morning. Kwon is pregnant. The fetus is healthy and was conceived on the island with her husband. He was sterile before they got here. I'm still working on getting samples from the other women; I should have Austen's soon. I'll report back when I know more. [turns off recorder] I hate you."
- Juliet (speaking into tape recorder)

Parachutist: Who are you?
Hurley: Hugo Reyes. I crashed here on Oceanic Flight 815--a bunch of us survived. Is that why you're here? Were you looking for us?
Parachutist: 815. Flight 815? The one from Sydney?
Hurley: Yeah!
Parachutist: No, that's not possible.
Hurley: Yeah, I know. It wasn't easy, but we found food, and a hatch, and more food -
Parachutist: No. No, Flight 815. They found the plane. There were no survivors. They were all dead.

3.17 Catch-22

2008-06-08T03:42:00.000-07:00

Desmond has had another one of his flash-forwards. He sees Hurley lifting the cable near where Danielle was first contacted; Jin is there, too, and Penny shows up somehow. Perhaps most importantly, Charlie is killed when one of Danielle’s booby-traps shoots an arrow into his throat. Desmond is obsessed with assembling the crew he saw in the vision, and ensuring that nothing is changed – including making sure that Charlie is killed. Desmond believes that if he can keep things the same, Penny will suddenly be on the island.

Under the guise of a camping trip, Desmond gets all the guys to go. They reach the cable on the beach and camp there for the evening. In the dark of night, they hear a helicopter engine, then something – or someone – is dropped into the jungle, just before the helicopter crashes into the ocean.

In the morning, the guys head out toward where the thing was dropped. Desmond reaches the place where he saw Charlie die, but he changes his mind and saves Charlie’s life instead. They continue on, finding a parachutist hanging from a tree, wearing a full helmet, face and body fully covered. Desmond cuts the lines, pulls of the helmet – and it is not Penny – it is a dark-haired woman who says his name before passing out.

Camp life: Sawyer entices Jack to play a few games of table tennis, and finally finds something he can beat the Doc at. Kate sees Jack and Juliet having dinner together and talking quietly and up close; she promptly barges into Sawyer’s tent and jumps on him. Later, Sawyer figures out why she did what she did and confronts her about it.

Desmond’s flashback backstory:

After dating a girl for six years, Desmond got drunk and joined a community of monks, without even stopping to tell the girl he had changed his mind. He took a vow of silence for a time, then became a part of the community. As a nonice, he seemed well on the path to full monkhood. But after finally confronting the girl whom he stood up, he gets caught in the act of getting drunk on a couple of expensive bottle of monk-produced wine. Kicked out of the monkery, he meets Penny on his way out, and the attraction is mutual and immediate, even though she looks just a little like the Cat in the Hat (I’m serious – the corners of her mouth curl up just like his do).

Comments

Is anyone else getting just a little sick of these backstories? I mean, they’re not horrible or anything, but in some cases, they are also not revealing anything new or relevant or important about the character. Yes, Desmond is a coward; Desmond is scared. We already knew that. Well, here’s another example.

When Desmond turns in his robes, the monk has a photo on his desk. The photo is of the monk standing next to Ms Hawking (the jewelry store woman who knew all about time travel). By the way, the photo is a quick a dirty job, and obviously Photoshopped (of course, it is only really visible if you freeze-frame).

Nits

Why does Jin want to go camping? Isn’t ‘camping’ what they do every single day already?

Quotable Quotes

Desmond: It was, it was like a sorta jigsaw puzzle. Only, I didn’t have the picture on the box so, I don’t know how the pieces fit exactly, but one of the pieces, the first one, it was your pulling the cable out of the sand.
Hurley: So, what are the other pieces?
Desmond: If I tell you that, it'll change the picture on the box.

Kate: It's strange huh?
Jack: What's that?
Kate: Being back, not, looking for a way out of a cage. Not finding a reason to go running off into the jungle again; I almost don't know what to do with myself.
Jack: Well enjoy it. I'm sure something will go wrong soon enough.

"If we don't play every 108 minutes, the island is going to explode!"
- Sawyer (explaining the workings of the ping pong table to Jack)

"You need me to make you a mix tape?"
- Sawyer to Kate

Sawyer: Did you tell him?
Kate: Did I tell who what?
Sawyer: You know, did you tell the Doc ... about you and me?
Kate: No, but he knows. He saw us in one of their surveillance monitors.
Sawyer: I thought you said the camera was broken.
Kate: Well, they had another camera.
Sawyer: Perverts.

"Hope I'm not interrupting. You two arguing over who's your favorite Other?"
- Sawyer (to Jack and Juliet)

Charlie: Why didn't you tell us [about the parachutist]?
Desmond: Would you come if I had?
Charlie: Of course. Why wouldn't I?
Desmond: I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want anything to change.
Charlie: Fair enough. Look, if whatever your seeing leads to your girl getting us rescued, why would we want to change anything, right?
Desmond: Right.

Desmond: If the flashes don't happen exactly how I saw them, the picture changes. I was supposed to let you die, Charlie.
Charlie: What's that supposed to mean?
Desmond: It means it's bloody pointless! I keep saving your life and what good is it, then? It's just gonna keep happening again and again. Maybe that's the point, ya? Maybe, it's a test?
Charlie: Test?
Desmond: Like God testing Abraham. Except, that I failed because I changed what I saw.

3.16 One of Us

2008-06-08T03:38:00.000-07:00

Sayid, Jack, Kate, and Juliet head back toward the beach. When they stop to camp for the night, Kate attempts to get some information from Jack about his week with the Others. Jack doesn’t say much – just that he took care of Ben so he could get off the island. Meanwhile, Sayid takes advantage of a moment alone with Juliet to ask her to explain who she is and why the Others are on the island. When she isn’t forthright, he threatens her gently but menacingly. Jack returns and says that Juliet will be left alone until she is ready to answer the questions, and that she comes under his (Jack’s) protection.

On the beach, Charlie is passing Claire’s sleeping shelter and hears Aaron crying. He soothes Aaron and find Claire still asleep – she didn’t even hear the crying. Claire doesn’t feel very well, so she goes back to sleep while Charlie takes care of the baby.

On the trip back, Juliet shares her trepidation about how long it will take her to be accepted by the survivors after all the things ‘her people’ did to them.

Claire is getting sicker and sicker; Jack and the others arrive back. No one is very happy to see Juliet, least of all Sawyer. Juliet sits alone on the beach. Hurley wanders over and gives Juliet a not so subtle warning about what happens to Other infiltrators who enter their camp. There is also a meeting to discuss Juliet, with Sawyer pushing hard for Sayid to pump her for information. Sayid says he does not torture anymore, but he also says he does not trust her. Jack says that the fact that he trusts her should be enough, but Sayid disagrees. The meeting is interrupted by Claire, who stumbles in looking white as a ghost, and promptly passes out, bleeding profusely from the nose. Jack has no idea why. Juliet tells him it is because of drugs that she gave Claire to help her to keep her baby – every other woman who conceived on the island lost their baby and died in the late stages of pregnancy. Juliet tells that Ethan was treating her, but when it was discovered that Ethan was not on the plane, Ethan took it upon himself to kidnap Claire. Juliet says she knows where a serum is that will save Claire. Jack tells her to go get the medicine. But Sawyer and Sayid are not so trusting. They follow her and try to corner her into telling all. But she pulls the history card, reeling off all the bad things they have done in their lives. They back down and let her go.

True to her word, Juliet injects Claire and Claire gets better.

Juliet’s flashback backstory:

Juliet and her sister arrive at the high security entrance to Mittelos airport. Juliet is offered a strong tranquilizer for the trip, both to soothe the journey and, you would think, to zonk her out so she has no memory of how she got to the secret location. She initially balks about taking the tranquilizer, but suddenly chug-a-lugs it.

She awakens inside the submarine, which has stopped moving. She crawls up what will be the first of many hatches, and sees the island – and shakes hands with Ben.

Juliet is in an operating room, disappointed that the woman on the table has just died. Also there are Goodwin and Ethan. Another pregnant woman has died on the island – every woman has. Juliet says she has failed, and asks Ben to go home because her sister is giving birth in three months. But Ben says he knows her sister has cancer again. Ben promises that if Juliet stays, Ben will cure her cancer.

Juliet discovers that Ben has cancer when she views an x-ray of his back, after he complained of back pain.

Ben takes her to Mikhail’s station and shows her live footage of her healthy sister and her healthy two year old son.

Ben and Juliet have a meeting. Ben goes over the plan – Juliet will appear to be dumped out of the Others. She will infiltrate the survivors. A pre-planted bug will be activated in Claire – Juliet will save her, gaining the trust of the people. Ben then hands Juliet a gas mask, and says that he will see her in a week.

Comments

The notion of the ‘infiltrator’ is one that has worked well in past episodes of Lost that featured Henry/Ben. Juliet as infiltrator also causes tension; it’s almost unfortunate that the creators decided to let us know so early that she is evil (or has ulterior motives). Unless of course, she will not follow through on those orders – or perhaps Jack is playing dumb and does not trust her.

In a previous episode, Mikhail claimed that the satellite communications stopped working after the plane crashed. However, in this episode, Ben visits Mikhail the day after the crash, and the satellite is still working.

So it appears that in one week, the Others are going to invade the camp, use gas to knock out everyone, and then…do something.

Nits

Why does Jack insist that Juliet needs time before she can answer the questions about herself and the Others? Why does she need time? Just answer the questions! The only reason she needs time is so she can hatch her evil plan.

When Ben hands Juliet a form that is supposed to be proof that her sister Rachel cancer has returned, it has information on it like, "Sex: Male; Height: 5’11"; Weight: 187. That doesn’t sound like a description of Rachel to me. Unless…that makes the fact that Juliet got this 5 foot 11 male pregnant even more impressive!

Quotable Quotes

Jack: They'll come around. Just give 'em some time.
Juliet: My people kept Sayid chained to a swing-set for three days, then I dragged Kate into the jungle, handcuffed myself to her, and lied about it. How much time do you think they need?
Jack: We'll be back to our beach in a couple hours. So, they'll probably be over it by then.

"I want to know what you people are doing on this island. Why you're terrorizing us, making lists, kidnapping children. I want to know everything. But the first thing I'd like to know is: Who are you?"
- Sayid (to Juliet)

Juliet: What happened to her?
Jin: (speaks in Korean)
Sun: He said, 'What do you care?'

Ben: Let's go over it again. Just to be sure.
Juliet: I drag Austen out in to the jungle, handcuff myself to her, then tell her I was gassed just like she was.
Ben: Then, if she catches you in the lie -
Juliet: I'll admit to it. Tell her it was the only way to earn her trust.
Ben: Good. What then?
Juliet: They'll take me back to the beach. I know you want me to go there, but after everything we've done to them they're going to be a problem.
Ben: We've activate the implant within Claire. She should be symptomatic within the next 48 hours. By the time you get to that camp, you'll have a nice, big crisis to solve.
Juliet: I'll need supplies.
Ben: Pryce is already on his way. He'll hide the case at Ethan's old drop point. Tell Jack that you can save her; he trusts you. Are you alright?
Juliet: I'm fine.
Ben: (Ben puts a gas mask on the table) See you in a week.

Jack: They're good people. They're willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. But, eventually, they're gonna need some answers.
Juliet: Why don't you? You keep talking about them. Why don't I ever have to explain myself to you?
Jack: You were there. You were standing right next to me when that submarine exploded. In that moment, I saw it in your eyes: you want to get off this island more than anything else in the world. That makes you one of us.

"Mikhail! It's Ben! We're approaching the house! Don't shoot us."
- Ben

Sayid: I don't trust her, Jack. If she's so innocent, why won't she answer my questions?
Jack: Give her some time. She's afraid.
Sayid: How much time?
Jack: Look, the fact that I trust her should be enough.
Sayid: It's not.

Hurley: I don't remember you from the dock, where you put bags on our heads, after you shocked us.
Juliet: I had the day off.

"The last one of you guys that came over here, Ethan, he kidnapped Claire and Charlie got upset. We buried him over there."
- Hurley to Juliet

3.15 Left Behind

2008-06-05T06:01:00.000-07:00

Kate is still locked in the pool room at the Others’ complex. When she hears the door rattle, she hides behind it and swings a metal stick at Juliet when she enters. But the spry Juliet ducks, and flips Kate over like a pack of cards, temporarily damaging her back.

Locke visits Kate, only to tell her that he is going with the Others. He infers that he has been invited to do so, and says that they are not happy with what Kate did in her past.

Some time later, Kate watches as the Others gather outside and don gas masks. A smoking cannister is tossed into her room, and she passes out. She awakens on the jungle floor, handcuffed to Juliet. Juliet says she was also abandoned.

Kate drags the unwilling Juliet back toward the Village of the Others, ostensibly to rescue her friends. Juliet tells her not to go back for Jack, as she already broke his heart – he saw her romantic interlude with Sawyer. They tussle, and Kate accidentally dislocates Juliet’s shoulder. While apologizing, the smoke monster appears. Kate and Juliet hide in a thicket of thin trees (that looks exactly like the thicket that everyone has been hiding from the smoke monster in, even going back to season one). When the monster goes, the pair head for the village. The monster returns, and they run and fall in a big mud pile and get covered with mud. Then they have to run through a huge pit of jello – no, I was hoping that would happen but it didn’t. Instead, they reach the barrier of the Others area. Juliet brings Kate in and then turns it on, repelling the smoke monster. She also brandishes a hidden key to the handcuffs, which she now uses. She says she hid the key in the hopes that she wouldn’t get left behind again. She also admits being familiar with the smoke monster (although earlier, she acted like she had never seen it before) and that she knew it would be repelled by the barricade.

At the semi-deserted village, Juliet goes to get Sayid and suggests that Kate get Jack. Kate enters Jack’s apartment and finds items strewn everywhere, including Jack, who is still unconscious on the floor. Jack wakes up, and while still groggy, is subjected to another teary, screwed up face apology from Kate, this time for coming back to rescue him when he didn’t need to be rescued. Jack is able to walk, and together, Jack, Kate, Juliet, and Sayid head for ‘home’, with Jack overriding Sayid’s objection to Juliet coming with them.

Hurley tells Sawyer that he is about to be voted against and banished, forced to move half a mile down the beach. Sawyer appears unperturbed, and rejects Hurley’s suggestion that he make amends. But after trying his hand at cleaning a fish, Sawyer changes his mind. He seeks out Hurley and agrees to make nice. He compliments Claire’s baby, gives her a blanket, hunts boar with Desmond, and puts on a boar-b-cue complete with beer and fixins. But when Charlie mentions that there is no vote, Sawyer realizes he has been conned into being nice by Hurley. Hurley’s motivation is to make Sawyer take over the reigns as leader, in the absence of Jack, Locke, Sayid, and Kate.

Kate’s flashback backstory:

Kate’s car breaks down while she is fleeing the Marshall in Iowa. At a gas station, she bails a woman out who is trying to scam a customer. It’s Cassidy (who was scammed by Sawyer some time ago). They become friends. Cassidy agrees to help Kate get a meeting with her mother. Kate wants to find out why her mom turned her in. Kate walks up to her mom’s the house and is promptly arrested. But wait: it’s a trick- it’s actually Cassidy, dressed up to look like Kate – to suss out the place. Kate does get her meeting – in the toilet of the diner where her mother works. Kate’s mom says she loved the man who Kate burned alive, and it obvious that she still hates Kate for doing it. She threatens to turn Kate in if she ever sees her again.

Cassidy drops Kate off at the gas station, but not before revealing that she is carrying the baby of the man who scammed her.

Comments

Cassidy never actually mentions Sawyer’s name, but it is possible that one day, Sawyer might mention Cassidy’s name to Kate, and Kate might make the connection.

This is the second time that Hurley has scammed Sawyer. He also fooled Sawyer into thinking that Sawyer could beat him at table tennis.

Nits

While waitressing, Kate's mother uses the expression, ‘no worries’ when talking to Cassidy. This is an Australian expression that is not used much in America (at least the last time I checked).

Why can’t that smoke monster find people when they hide behind thickets of small trees? Last time I checked, smoke could go just about anywhere it wanted.

What’s with Sawyer? This guy is supposed to be a con artist, a charmer, and he doesn’t know how to at least pretend that he likes people? Wouldn’t he be doing that kind of thing all the time in his profession?

When the smoke monster is approaching the women in the rain, there is something red and rectangular shaped off to the left of the screen (just briefly). It’s probably someone wearing a red shirt.

When Sawyer talks to Claire, Aaron gets upset and starts crying. However, in a much earlier episode, it was the sound of Sawyer’s voice that made Aaron stop crying. This would have been a good story for Sawyer to tell to Claire if he wanted to impress her with small talk – but for some reason, he doesn’t remember this happening.

Quotable Quotes

Juliet: I hope you're not dragging me all the way back there for him.
Kate: Excuse me?
Juliet: I hope you're not going back for Jack. Because I was standing right there when he told you not to come back! And now that you've ruined his chance to get off the island –

"Welcome to the wonderful world of not knowing what the hell's going on."
- Kate to Juliet

3.14 Expose

2008-06-05T03:47:00.000-07:00

One minute, Nikki is running through through the jungle in a panic, stopping suddenly to frantically dig a hole with her hands and bury something we cannot see. The next, we are watching a flashback of her where she is a pole dancer, removing her trenchcoat to reveal a star-studded bikini. Backstage, she is shot by a shadowy man wearing a fedora. Wait…it’s all a campy television show called Expose, and Nikki is the guest star who has been killed. She has more than a professional relationship with the senior citizen who is directing the show, as we find out when we see him and her enjoying a delicious meal at his expansive home, cooked up by his young, slim, Meditteranean chef Paolo. When Zukerman slumps suddenly into his food and dies, Nikki seems panicked, but she only concerned that his planned poisoning by she and Paolo remains the perfect crime. Together, they take a Matryoshka doll from his safe.

Through a series of clever mini-flashbacks, we learn about Nikki and Paolo’s exploits on the island. (In some cases, Nikki is, I believe, placed in footage where she did not exist earlier, such as during the initial crash). We see another perspective on Jack’s "live together, die alone" speech. We find out that Nikki tried to get Arnzt to help her find their missing bag – the bag with the treasure. We are surprised to see that Paolo knew about the ‘Pearl’ station long before anyone else, but told no one, because he hid his treasure there. Paolo says he hid that treasure because he feared that Nikki wouldn’t need him once she had it. But he tells her that too late; she has just unleashed a poisonous spider on him that bites and paralyzes him. What she didn’t count on was that this female spider immediately attracted tens of excited male spiders, one of which bites and paralyzes her. That’s why she buried the bag. She makes it to the beach and falls onto the sand, sparing Sawyer from another table tennis loss to Hurley. She mumbles something. Sawyer thinks she said, "Powerlines." Hurley says it was, "Paolo lies." That makes more sense, since Paolo is her boyfriend. Hurley pronounces her dead, while Sawyer notices the dirt under her fingernails and guesses that she had buried something.

Sawyer’s ‘perimeter sweep’ is actually a hunt for the buried treasure, and he finds it: a bag of diamonds.

We also overhear a conversation between Ben and Juliet in the Pearl Station, where they discuss Ben’s plan to capture Jack and coerce him into performing the required surgery.

Their search for clues leads them to the main suspect, Paolo, who is also dead. Sun believes that the Others killed the pair, and when Sawyer states that the Others are all the way on the other side of the island, Sun reminds him that she was abducted by the Others, leading to many telling looks between Sawyer and Charlie. Later, while Charlie and Sun are digging holes, Charlie decides to tell Sun that he was the one who abducted her, and that he was following Sawyer directive. Sun later confronts Sawyer on this, but says she will not tell Jin, otherwise they will have to dig another grave.

Sawyer, who tried to give the diamonds to Sun (she refused, saying they were worthless) now scatters them in the grave.

As Hurley and Sawyer are piling, Hurley realizes Nikki’s last word was actually, "Paralyzed." But it’s a little too late.

Comments

Using the backdrop of the campy television series Expose, this episode is also campy and silly. It is a straight camp horror entry that, except for small flashbacks to earlier events, has little to do with the Lost universe that we are currently concerned with. There are some clever self-referential jokes about death and the fate of guest stars.

The monster sound that occurs when the male spiders attach Nikki seems to indicate that they are somehow related to the ‘monster’ and the island’s automated defense system.

Nits

It’s ridiculous. If you’re paralyzed, you are still breathing, and your body is still warm – and it doesn’t go into rigor mortis. Wouldn’t one of these people have noticed that Nikki and Paolo were still breathing, warm, and flexible?

It is extraordinarily out of character for Charlie to tell Sun that he was the one who kidnapped her, and for Sawyer to give away the diamonds. And we get very little emotional ‘bang’ from Sun. I would have thought that she would have been absolutely devastated by this news.

Quotable Quotes

"I’m a guest star, and we all know what happens to guest stars."
- Nikki

Hurley: Nikki’s dead.
Sawyer: Who the hell’s Nikki?

Juliet: That him, Shephard?
Ben: Yes.
Juliet: He's cute. Why are we doing this? Shephard will never agree to do the surgery.
Ben: No, I can convince him to do it.
Juliet: How?
Ben: Same way I get anybody to do anything; I find what he's emotionally invested in and I exploit it.
Juliet: So, what? We just grab all three of them? Ford and Austen too?
Ben: No, they need to come to us.
Juliet: And, how do we make that happen?
Ben: Michael, of course.

Shannon: (to Boone) If you quit flirting with random guys maybe we could actually get on the plane!
Nikki: (to Paulo) Promise me we'll never end up like them.

Sun: Charlie told me it was your idea to kidnap me.
Sawyer: You're gonna tell Jin?
Sun: No.
Sawyer: Why not?
Sun: Because then we have to dig another grave.