The Incident *UPDATED*

Well, I did have time to watch LOST last night but I don't have time to say much about it other than....

I WAS RIGHT!!!!!!!

It's like the first time I have ever predicted anything correctly on this show. I've been saying all along that Locke was dead. After all the name of that episode when he was reintroduced was "Dead is Dead", and these writers NEVER say anything they don't mean. I didn't suspect that Locke's body was in the box until last night though. When they showed it to Lapidis it just hit me. I knew they were carrying his body around to show everyone that there was an impostor on the island. (You can ask Brian. I was predicting it all night.)

Now, I must admit that I was also wrong. I thought that Jacob was inhabiting Locke's body. Obviously I didn't know that other dude so I didn't suspect him. I really have no idea who he is. Apparently he and Jacob were trapped in the same kind of "I-can't-kill-you-and-you-can't-kill-me" deal that Whidmore and Ben are stuck in. "That other guy" figured out a way to get back on the island (inside a dead body....creepy) and convince someone else to kill Jacob. So I guess next season will be revealing who "that other guy" is and Richard and the statue gang trying to kill Locke.

The questions raised are limitless but the big one for me is....Is Jacob good or bad? I almost get the feeling he is a good guy. He seemed to be traveling around in time to share in major life moments with the Losties. It was like he wanted to get to know the people he was "ruling". He is going to be a very interesting angle to the show now.

Of course the other biggie is.......Who is "that other guy"? I have a feeling that it will be someone we know, or have at least met at some other point in the show. It seems a little late to introduce a new character now, doesn't it? And why did he want to kill Jacob? How long were they on that island together and what did Jacob do that ticked "that other guy" off so much?

Meanwhile on the other side of the space-time continuum......The love quadrangle continues. I'm sorry, but I'm just about sick of it. I think Juliette and Sawyer are perfect for each other (they both enjoy beating people senseless, apparently) and they should just be Dharma the rest of their lives or go be Microsoft tycoons in 1980s USA and be happy. Just move on!!! I just didn't buy the fact that the one little glance from Sawyer to Kate was enough to make Juliette want to NEVER even meet Sawyer in the first place. I felt like that whole tension was a little underdeveloped.

Having said that, I think Juliette made a lot more sense than Jack did. If you lose the one woman you've ever really loved (except for your ex-wife who you also have an undying love for) you punch your fist through a wall, or call her cell phone 215 times a day, or, in extreme cases, drive your car off a cliff....but you do not BLOW UP A HYDROGEN BOMB! Come on! There has got to be more to it than that.

I would have believed Jack if he had lamented all the people that had died and how he could save them all if he just kept the plane from crashing even if it was at a great personal sacrifice to himself and Kate and Sawyer. He's a 'saver', that's his M.O. He may be a lovesick puppy too, but he usually doesn't act on it. He just mopes and finds someone too save to keep his mind off of it. I found that whole "I've lost Kate" line of reasoning ridiculous. Go over there and plant a big kiss on her if you want her....don't blow her back to 2007 where she'll be IMPRISONED FOR LIFE!!!

Don't even get me started on why Kate suddenly agreed with Jack's plan. He didn't explain anything new to her. He just came back bleeding so she said, OK. Weird. I'm not sure what was happening there. They needed to kiss!!! That would have helped the whole scene a lot.

The scene that I thought was perfect was Juliette's death. No, not because I've always disliked her (which I have), but because it was full of angst and deathbed confessions of love and flying metal. (You should have seen Brian's face when she was about to drop down that shaft. Priceless!) I felt really sorry for Sawyer (and even Juliette, a little bit). I really believed that they loved each other and that Sawyer will now be completely lost and destroyed......giving Kate the perfect opportunity to fall in love with him again. Missed your chance again Jack.

While the whole "I love you so I wish I'd never met you" story line was a bit blah I thought Juliette detonating that bomb was the PERFECT ENDING to the season. She was saving Sawyer from the pain of ever knowing her....if it worked. I have a firm belief that she will not be dead for long. Maybe just until the series finale when all the dead people are back to life or time is back to before they died and they are still alive.

As for Sayid....I don't know. As I said earlier these writers never say anything they don't mean. So if Sayid says, "Nothing can save me," he's probably right. However if we are suddenly back in 2007 at the beginning of next season....I have no idea what to expect. If he is dead for now then I reassert the opinion mentioned above....he'll be back.

Speaking of back.....Bernard and Rose (and Vincent) FINALLY! It was so good to see them. I'd loved their take on everything. I think it is another example of the writers letting characters say what the viewership is thinking. In this case I think they were speaking for that group of people that can't get on the LOST bandwagon because it is sooooo far fetched and the characters are "always finding another reason to shoot at each other." I think Bernard and Rose's retirement was perfect. Juliette and Sawyer should borrow a chapter from their book. Boy, are they gonna be mad if Jack blasts them back to the present/past/future.

Overall, it was an exciting finale to a great season. I'm already eagerly awaiting next season and the mysteries it will present and the questions it will answer. I'm sure I've left a lot out of this post. I can't remember everything that happened. Please feel free to comment and give me your thoughts. I know there were some laugh out loud lines that I've forgotten to mention. You can also read other theories and recaps over at LOST Books Challenge.

Follow The Leader

My random thoughts on last night's episode:

Someone on the show (Ben) finally acknowledged Richard's immortality. Yes! Now if they'd only clear up the eyeliner issue we'd be all set.

It was ironic that the tables turned on Sawyer and Rudinzsky and Phil got to beat him to a pulp. I was proud of Sawyer for not telling them anything....at least not until he could get something valuable (a sub ride) in return. Hey, and an added bonus....Juliette got her clocked cleaned too. Can't say I didn't smile a little at that.

I think the funniest part of the whole episode was when Dr. Chang is trying to trip up Hurley...not too difficult. When Hurley claims to be 46 years old and that there is no such thing as the Korean War I was laughing so hard. Then Hurley's apology to Miles and Jin is funny too, it's almost like "Sorry dudes, but you knew I wasn't smart enough to pull that off."

Good old Sayid. He's always ready to pop out of the jungle and kill some people just when you need it most. I guess he's just been sneaking around waiting for a chance to save someone. Kate's lucky he didn't shoot her when she told him that she had saved Ben's life.

When is Jack going to wake up and realize that Kate does not benefit from this "the plane will never crash" plan?!?! She'll never fall in love with Jack, she'll never get to be a mother to Aaron, and she'll likely rot in prison for the rest of her life. Why does Jack persist in this idiotic idea? What does he have to go back to anyway? His life before the crash was misery anyway. Misery on a beautiful tropical island or misery in Los Angeles, what difference does it make?

I really do believe that the island is communicating with John very clearly. Think about it. When he got shot in the leg and Richard removed the bullet, John was bouncing around through time every 30 seconds or so. There is no way John could have figured out when he was so that Richard could help him without some kind of supernatural guidance. Don't ask me what else the island is telling him, because I have no clue.

I've been involved in a couple of love triangles in my (teenage) days. They usually involved a lot of avoiding each other and leaving nasty notes in each other's lockers, but never were the three of us handcuffed together in the bottom of a submarine together. Poor Sawyer and Juliette. They just can't escape Kate. How and why do they get off that sub? Go please, just go!!!!

So now what is Jack's big plan for the bomb? He's just gonna follow the diagrams in Daniel's journal and set it off....after moving it to The Swan? Or maybe he is just going to set it off right where it is and blow up everything in Dharmaville? I really don't understand why he thinks this is a great idea.

Wasn't it sooooo gratifying to see Ben standing there in complete shock and confusion when John announced he was going to kill Jacob? Ah, how the tide has turned.

In the scenes from next week:

I'm excited that Juliette and Sawyer finally have the big blow up over Kate. I'm also glad to find out what is in that big box Ilana and the goons are hauling around the beach. Another encounter with Jacob ought to be interesting too. Are they going to shoot Jack to keep him from detonating that bomb? I wouldn't put it past Sawyer, Juliette or Kate. (Sawyer and Juliette will never meet if he suceeds either.)

What I am now confused about:

Time travel. (duh!) Specifically....why did future John have to tell future Richard to go pull the bullet out of past John's leg and tell him to die in order to bring the Losties back to the island? Future John wasn't there the first time Richard pulled the bullet out of John's leg right? Or was he? How can that be? Do I even want to burn the brain cells to try to figure it out? Probably not.

Jacob. Was John trying to insinuate that there is no Jacob and that Richard has just been using the facade of Jacob to influence the "leaders" (Whidmore, Ben) that he advises? Or does John really believe that he will be able to see Jacob when no one else has ever been able to? Did he see him in the cabin? (He didn't have a DVR or screen capture so I don't see how he could have.) And what does killing Jacob accomplish anyway? If my "dead is dead" theory is right and John is dead and acting as a host for Jacob (aka the Smoke Monster) then what will John have to do to kill Jacob? Remember when Jacob asked John to help him? Maybe this is it. Jacob is tired of being a smokey parasite and wants out of the whole thing. He (the island, whatever) has told John how to kill him (Jacob). I don't know. We'll see I guess.

Are we ever going to see Rose and Bernard and the gang again? Where are they and what are they doing? Maybe we never see them because they are in a different time than Locke and Jack' s crew. I hope they have some kind of interesting storyline when they finally do return to the show. And what about Claire? Kate is supposedly trying to find her. I guess we won't get that until next season.

Only one episode left! Bring on the incredible cliffhangers!

The Variables

While I love any and all things LOST and wouldn't miss an episode, I still feel like this one was a little anticlimactic. I mean when you compare it to the days of Boone dying just before they could cut off his leg with a big door, or John not pushing the button, or watching Charlie drown it just seems a little blah.

I think they tried to be all surprising and revealing but come on, we all already knew that Eloise was Daniel's mom and that Whidmore was Daniel's dad. We also knew that the hatch was built over the magic energy source. I don't think anyone thought Desmond was dead, did they?

I guess the big startling revelations for the night were:

1. Mr. "Whatever Happened Happened" is now changing his tune and thinks he can change the future.

2. Eloise is the worst parent EVER. Even by LOST standards she takes the prize.

3. Daniel is dying. Normally I would never believe that a character was dead when left bleeding at the end of an episode, but....Daniel made a big point of saying that anyone could die in "the present" and in the scenes from next week Jack is using Daniel's journal to figure out what to do, SO.....he's a goner. He'll be back at some point though, I'm sure.

4. The magic energy source is not the hydrogen bomb itself. I always thought that the Dharma people dug into the leaking ancient bomb, thus causing all of their problems. Apparently not. I'm not sure how blowing up the bomb will solve anything, but I'm not a relativistic physicist so why would I?

5. Daniel had lost his memory due to experimenting on himself too much. The island healed him. He does seem a lot more together (at least using full sentences) than he did when he first got there.

The Questions this episode raised are:

Why did Eloise send Daniel back if she was just going to shoot him? If sending him back would have meant saving the island or the people on it or whatever than it might have been worth it (more Jesus imagery there), but just to send him back to kill him? Doesn't seem to make sense.

Jack is a doctor and smart and all but do any of us really think he can #1 decipher anything Daniel has written and #2 figure out how to unearth, and detonate a 30 year old hydrogen bomb safely?

And just who is going to pilot the sub if Sawyer and the gang decide to escape from the island? It's not like riding a bike. I'm not sure that plan was very well thought out.

Why didn't they keep the same 50's Eloise actress? That was confusing.

Do the Losties really want the plane not to crash? Jack will be a drunk, depressed struggling surgeon. Charlie will be a heroine addict and struggling musician. Claire will give Aaron up for adoption. Jin and Sun will be in a childless struggling marriage. Sawyer and Juliette will never have met. John will be confined to a wheel chair for the rest of his life. Rose will have cancer. Kate will get the electric chair. Even the Others have it better than that.

The best lines of the night go to Sawyer. His nicknames cracked me up again. He called Daniel "Twitchy" and "HG Wells". Hilarious. (On a side note it seems that his calling Kate "Freckles" really ticked off Juliette. He might want to let that one go.)

BTW, how many episodes are left? (Translated how much time do I have to read The Brothers Karamazov?)

For more theories check out the LOST Books Challenge.

Some Like It Hoth *Updated*

As soon as I saw the title of the episode I knew there was going to be a Star Wars connection in there somewhere. I think it is hilarious, and so typical, that Hurley would be trying to write The Empire Strikes Back...with a few improvements. I'm sure George Lucas will be thrilled. And although I don't agree with the sentiment, I think the award for funniest line of the night once again goes to Hurley for, "Let's face it. Ewoks suck dude."

This episode didn't really accomplish a lot story wise but it was nice to have our suspicions confirmed that Miles really is Dr. Chang's son. It was nice of the writers to let Hurley, once again, ask the questions about Marvin Candle/Dr. Chang's name changes, that we've all been asking for a while now. Too bad Miles didn't have an answer. I did enjoy seeing a little more of Miles' back story. We never really did find out why he has his "gift" though, did we?

Of course we also got our first look at the building of the hatch and the first inkling that electromagnetism is going to start causing a lot of problems on the island....in addition to pulling fillings through one's brain. I think the biggest thing that happened in this episode is that Daniel Farraday is back!!! Wooo Hooo! I have no idea how he left or how he got back, but I'm thrilled that he is here because he seems to be the only one that has this time travel thing under control and can remember everything and everyone from all time periods that he has visited. It things are going to get straightened out in the space-time continuum then I think Daniel is the man for the job.

I also assume that Juliette's "Well. Here we go," was a reference to the beginning of the war with the hostiles. This must be the incident that starts it all. No surprise that Roger would be the one to stir it all up. Boy, I really don't like that guy. Almost makes me feel sorry for Ben...almost.

The big question raised in this episode was, "Who is Dram?" I have no clue who he is working for. Ben would be the logical conclusion...or Eloise Hawking maybe? I know it'll all be cleared up in time, it's just more waiting. We should be good at that by now.

*Updated* Apparently Dram/Bram/guy driving black van is one of the guys on the island helping Ilana. I didn't even recognize him. They are now affectionately being called "The Shadow of the Statue Crew" since the term "Others" was already taken.

For more thoughts on this episode check out The LOST Books Challenge.

Dead is Dead

I felt like this was a very good episode. A lot of loose ends were tied up and we got to see Ben suffer....which is always a plus.

I absolutely loved the power struggle and reversal of roles between Ben and Locke! They way John kept taunting him and reminding him about his impeding judgement was hilarious. Wasn't it great to see Ben squirm? I think this is the first time we've ever seen Ben really afraid. And now Ben has to do everything John says. Boy, this oughta be good.

I never bought Ben's whole, "I'm here to be judged" line. After a while I did believe he cared about Alex and felt bad for letting her be killed, but really, why would the smoke monster care about that? Ben's killed a lot of other people (or allowed them to be killed). I don't think the smoke monster is real picky when it comes to death...at least not for the average person.

I liked the emphasis on children in this episode. (Children besides Aaron, that is.) We see Ben sparing Rousseau's life because of Alex and then Ben sparing Penny's life because of Charlie. It is nice to see that something is sacred to Ben.

And speaking of little Charlie....I almost jumped up and cheered when Desmond (after having already been shot) beats Ben to a pulp. I have a feeling that, like the rest of us, he had been waiting to do that for a long time. I did feel like that scene was way too short and there wasn't enough Desmond in the episode, though.

Poor Ceasar! He just got on the show. We were just beginning to get interested in trying to figure out who he was and what his role would be when Ben killed him. I felt really bad for him....although when I think about it......would you rather just be shot down in cold blood or have to live on the island for 3 years, travel through time until your nose bleeds, and then get stuck in Dharma land for 30 more years all while trying to unravel the mysteries of the island? It really is a toss up.

I think this episode is further proving what I've been saying for quite some time. The smoke monster is Jacob. He takes on a host body so that he can be seen and heard by the living. He has appeared in the body of Echo's brother, Christian Shephard and now Alex....not to mention several others. I think he is also using the body of John Locke.

That's right. John is dead! As Ben said, "Dead is dead. You don't get to come back from that. Not even here." I think we will discover that John never really did resurrect, his body is just being used by Old Smokey to do the work of the island. John is the new Jacob. As always, we will have to wait and see.

Most Hurley-esque line of the night:

Frank Lapidis, "As long as the dead guy says there's a reason I guess everything's gonna be just peachy."

Typical Ben line of the night:

Benjamin Linus, "I just didn't have time to talk you back in to hanging yourself."

"Is That Supposed to Make Me Feel Better" line of the night:

John Locke, "I assure you Sun, I'm the same man I've always been."

Best Commercial of the night:

Metallica Guitar Hero (Made even funnier by the fact that even though we were watching LOST on our DVR my husband chose not to skip that particular commercial. When he realized Heidi Klum wouldn't be appearing it was priceless.)

Newest Mysteries:

What is up with Ilana and her goons? What could they possibly be up to?

What lies in the shadow of the statue?

Why was Ben able to return to the island when Whidmore has never managed to?

Revelations:

There were horses on the island...maybe Sawyer wasn't crazy after all.

Whidmore had some whacked out hair back in the 70s. Didn't we all?

The whispers are significant and should be avoided at all costs.

Ben did not know about Eloise Hawking until John mentioned it just before he died.

Whidmore was banished from the island for leaving and returning too many times.

Ben did not kill Penny.

Coming Up:

I'm so glad that we get to find out more about Miles next week. His powers haven't been a part of the show for a long time. We need to get back to that I think. Plus, I just like the 70s Dharma storyline a lot right now.

Check out The LOST Books Challenge for more theories.

What Happened, Happened

It was great to finally find out why, and with whom, Kate left Aaron. I have to admit I was more than a little disturbed (as in yelling at the TV) when I thought that Kate was going to leave him with Cassidy (the human lie detector). It was just too much. I loved seeing Kate really love Aaron and struggle with leaving him. It was nice to see the mother in her come out.

I was shocked to hear that Kate believes Claire is still alive. And may I just digress for a moment to say that they must have found Emilie de Ravin's sister to play the role of the lady in the supermarket. Didn’t she look just like Claire, with just a few facial differences? Cool. I halfway believed something ghostly was going on for a minute. Anyway….I was always unclear as to what exactly happened to Claire. I pretty much thought she was dead and operating in the ghostly realms of Jacob and Christian….which may still turn out to be true…..but I didn’t realize that the Losties thought she was still alive and just disappeared.

If Kate’s entire reason for coming back was to find Claire then that should lead us to some more answers about her and Jacob and Christian. Maybe not this season (I don’t see how they can stuff much more in to this season), but for sure next season. Although, it is possible that Sun and Frank will run in to her still in the coming weeks. Am I talking in circles? This show does that to me.

Thank goodness for Hurley! Not only does he add a lot of much needed comic relief on the show but the writers finally threw us a bone and had Hurley go ahead and ask all of the questions that the rest of us have been pondering for weeks now. (They even threw in the Back to the Future disappearing theory. Those guys definitely read the message boards.) Not that it did a lot of good, but hey, it was a nice attempt.

It did kind of make sense, in a weird time-warpy sort of way, when Miles said that the Losties past and future all happened before their present. That is why it can’t change. It already happened, so it’s over and done. They can only change their present and the present and future of those around them. Of course Hurley blew a hole in that theory when he asked why past Ben didn’t remember Sayid in the future. I guess that was explained later in the show when Richard said that Ben wouldn't remember any of this happening. But, knowing Ben, I wouldn't be surprised if he probably did remember Sayid, and everybody else, and just didn’t let on.

I guess they did prove that whatever happened, happened, though. Even though the circumstances are different, Ben still ended up with the Others and still lost his innocence. That was going to happen no matter what. I do find it ironic that Juliette and Kate think that people that live as nomads in the rain forest will have some kind of brilliant surgeon or operating equipment that can save dying Ben. Or maybe they were thinking more along mystical lines the whole time, I don’t know.

I was really happy that Jack didn’t operate on Ben this time. It’s just too ridiculous for them to ask him to save him….again. Like he said, he’s been there and done that. Nice way to lay the blame on Kate too. That wasn’t real chivalrous, but it was the truth.

Apparently everyone was very aware that Kate and Sawyer had quite a thing going…..everyone but me that is. I guess I was just in denial because I wanted her to be with Jack so badly. It seems like in this episode Jack admits that Kate never really loved him, Sawyer admits that he did jump off the chopper because he was afraid of his budding relationship with Kate, Kate admits (not in so many words) that she loved Sawyer. However, Sawyer also admits to loving (or at least having feelings for) Juliette. I’m not sure where Jack stands right now. He could go either way. It’s a toss up between Kate and Juliette at this point. Oh, what a tangled web they weave.

So, what will the future hold? (Boy, that's stupid question to ask about this show!)

We know that Ben will massacre all of the Dharma people, but that won’t be for several more years. Maybe the Losties will be gone by then. (Of course all of the Dharma people could die of something else. This episode proves that result has to be the same but the methods can differ greatly.)

Locke is back and confronting Ben. Ben tells him that he has come back to be judged. I really don’t know what that means or what it entails, but I’m sure it’ll be very interesting.

We found out that Charles Whidmore and Eloise Hawking are still on the island in 1977, and Richard is kind of a rogue guy operating without their permission. I’m sure they will come back in to play before the season ends.

We also have to find out more about Sun and Frank, Daniel Farraday and Christian and Claire. Desmond, Penny, Rose, Bernard, hello? Anyone?

For more interesting (and concise) theories check out the LOST Books Challenge.

He's Our You

That has to be the best episode title ever. LOST rarely pulls lines straight out of the show for their titles, but this one was just too good to pass up. Sawyer's "He's our you." definitely gets my vote for best line of the night.

What we learned:

Little Ben is quite the humanitarian (bringing the sandwiches and all) but he developed his evil genius mastermind skills at an early age too, apparently.

Horace's intimidation methods are laughable when appllied to Sayid. "I'm going to take it to the next level." Oooooh, I bet he talks now. Come on Horace, you're a lover not a fighter.

When she gets all dressed up to seduce somebody Alana looks just like Jordin Sparks.

We have to add A Separate Reality to our LOST Books list. (How appropriate.)

Someone, my guess is Whidmore, hired Alana to get Sayid on that flight, while failing to mention to her that it would probably crash.

Mad scientists are somehow less intimidating when they have a southern accent.

Ben really shouldn’t wear hats.

Questions that were raised:

Is Ben really dead? (No way.)

Was it just my DVR dying or was the whole episode really “jerky” for everybody?

Is Sayid going to be wearing purple all season? Maybe he’ll get a jumpsuit soon.


Where is Farraday and what happened to him?

Where have I seen that drawling mad scientist guy before? I know he's been in some other show.

*Updated: The Mad Scientist is Larry from the Bob Newheart Show. You probably remember his brothers Darryl and Darryl.

Check out LOST Untangled at http://www.abc.go.com/ for a real laugh and a look at what Daniel Dae Kim (Jin) has to say about the significance of the books that appear on LOST.

Head over to The LOST Books Challenge to read more theories.

Namaste

Lots of tension in this week's episode. Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Juliette....we're right back where we started 3 years ago.....30 years in the future....4 days ago....whatever. All of the pretending not to know each other and trying not to let anyone get killed creates a lot of tension too. You could cut the air with a knife for the entire hour.

This week's episode solved a couple of small mysteries. For one, I'm releived to find out that they didn't crash again....just more like had a rough landing. Secondly, the baby is Ethan. Makes sense. Gonna be hard to kill a guy you watched grow up, though.

Of course, I do still have some questions. Why didn't Sun disappear? Where is Farraday? Where did he go? What happened to him and what instructions did he leave for Sawyer and Juliette? What happened to Ole One Eye that used to run the Flame? I thought we might see him again. How did Sawyer have anything that would fit Hurley? A baggy sweatshirt is not sufficient.

LOL line of the night:

Dr. Chang to Jack: "Based on your aptitude test you'll be doing janitorial work."

And I must say, thank goodness for the jumpsuits. I don't think I could stand everybody wearing all those 70s clothes.

Yay, Sun!!!!! It had to feel good to knock Ben's block off with that oar. I was wondering how he would get left behind with the injured people from the plane crash/landing. I'm glad she did it but I feel like she may regret it. Ben might have known how to get back to "when" Jin and the others are. Of course now she's found Christian/Jacob (that guy is like a bad penny, he just keeps showing up) so he can probably give her the details. I was crushed that Sun was not "when" Jin is. I'm so ready for that reunion.

Little Ben is there already. I knew it!!! So, do all of the other fake Dharma people know who he is? Surely they've met him and put two and two together. And I was speculating that Dr. Chang was Miles' Dad and we'd see a big moment when Miles realizes that he did grow up on the island, but so far that hasn't materialized. Is is possible that Miles and the Doc haven't run into each other yet? How big of an island is it?

So based on the scenes from next week I'm anticipating a good cat fight (or at least the first rumblings of it) between Kate and Juliette. (My husband is hoping it will be in the mud again.) I'm also thrilled/afraid that Sayid may see it as his duty to kill Little Ben. As always, I can't wait to see what happens.

La Fleur

Wow! This may be one of the most shocking episodes ever. I mean, I always knew that they would all be reunited back on the island eventually but I never thought about when that would be. As it turns out it is 1970 something and Dharma is in it's hey day. I guess it was pretty naive of me to assume that they would land (or crash as the case may be) in the present day, but that's what I thought would happen. This brings a whole new dimension...and set of characters...to the show. Wow!

A few interesting tidbits from last night:

Thanks goodness the time-travelling is over for a while. If I see the pharse "Three Years Later" or "Three Years Earlier" one more time I'm gonna scream.

I was a little worried when I found out that Juliette is now a mechanic. Now she'll be even more appealling to my husband. But it helped a little that she is head-over-heels in love with Sawyer (I mean Jim LaFleur) now and will probably get the snot beat out of her by Kate before it is all said and done. Little bitter....sorry.

Apparently in the early days of Dharma mothers and babies both survived child birth. So what happened? Was the leaky bomb unearthed? I suspect so.

Judging from the scenes for next week the tide has certainly turned. It looks like Sawyer (I refuse to refer to him as Jim) is running the whole show now. He may have even taken over Ben's role as biggest manipulator and liar of all time. Who am I kidding? That's a title that Ben has no danger of losing any time soon. But it will be interesting to see Sawyer in charge instead of Jack. Weird dynamic there.

Daniel has already spotted Charlotte on the island which means that Eloise is still there, at least for now. Does that also mean that Miles will run in to his parents and be completely shocked? Probably.

I continue to be impressed by the marksmanship of the Losties and Others. I can believe that a con man like Sawyer would know how to handle a weapon, but a fertility doctor from Portland that can shoot a man through the heart from behind a bush 50 yards away? Gotta hand it to Ben. He trained his people well.

The best line of the night goes to Sawyer once again: In response to Daniel's assertion that it makes no difference what they do because "whatever happened, happened", Sawyer says, "Thanks anyway, Plato."

I look forward to seeing how all of this plays out and how the history of the others is changed....which it technically can't be, right? How is that gonna work?

To check out some smarter people's theories head over to LOST Books Challenge.

Jeremy Bentham

Once again I came away from this episode feeling like the writers wasted a good opportunity for some suspense. The music and the lead up to John's discovery on the island was so suspenseful that it was almost like they forgot that they already showed us that John was back in the previews from last week. They really need to stop giving so much away. (I can't believe I'm saying that.)

Actually they did answer quite a few questions this week. Mostly about where John was and what he was up to before his untimely death. We found out that the "exit" from the island is in Tunisia. We found out how John got the name "Jeremy Bentham" and how he found the Oceanic Six. But most of all we found out that I WAS RIGHT! I totally predicted (in this post about the Jughead episode) that Ben replaced Whidmore as the leader of the Island. I've never predicted anything correctly on this show before. WoooHooo!

Of course we were still left with lots of new questions. The biggest one being, why did Ben kill John after saving his life? Was he just trying to get information out of him? Did he need to find out about Jin, or the freighter, or Eloise Hawking before could kill him? Or was it the mere revelation that John knew about Mrs. Hawking that pushed Ben over the edge and he never really went there with any intention of killing him before that? I've given up trying to predict what is going through Ben's head.

So now they are all back on the island, including some strangers who were on the plane and Ceasar and Alana. Is Ceasar the new Jack? Does that make Alana the new Kate? It's hard to believe that they can still be introducing new characters at this point, but now John has a whole new crew to confuse and frustrate with his mystical talk about being, not just special, but now actually risen from the dead. Was it Ceasar, with his newly found shotgun, that was shooting at Sawyer and the gang as they paddled the boat in the rain? That is starting to seem sort of likely.

Random thoughts:

It was nice to see Walt again, although I thought he lost some of his acting ability as he grew up.

Was it Kate that took the boat with Lapidis? That seems strange. I would think that Kate and Jack would be pretty much inseperable.

Who are the sides in this war that is coming to the Island? Is it Ben vs. Whidmore?

I was thrilled to see that the Island did not treat Ben special in any way. He crashed in that plane like any other regular guy. Yes! He deserves it.

In the scenes from next week:

Sawyer seeing Kate again after what? 4 days? GAG!

I think Charlotte may be back from the dead already.

The burlap head dresses have returned. Oh how we've missed them.

For more LOST theories and questions head over to the LOST Books Challenge and follow the links.

316

I immediately thought of John 3:16 when I saw the title of this episode. After watching it I can see that the scripture may have indeed been the reference intended. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with John Locke being set up as a Jesus figure, though. Here are my thoughts on the show:

Let me get this straight: Christian substitutes for Jacob and John substitutes for Christian? Weird triangle there. Also, I assume that Hugo has a guitar case on the plane to make up for Charlie not being there and Sayid is in handcuffs with an armed escort to make up for the fact that Kate is now free. But why is Ben there? He doesn't fit in at all. Of course maybe he didn't get off of the Ajira jet either.

Interesting that Lapidis is back....although I'm not sure that I would have recognized him without hearing his name first. He looked SO different without his beard and long scruffy hair. I hope he is happy that he finally gets his chance to fly a doomed aircraft...although things didn't turn out too well for the first pilot.

I found it telling that Hurley was the only one concerned about keeping other people off of the plane that he was pretty sure would crash. Jack worried about them but only after they were already on the plane. Of course, Ben didn't care.

Which leads me to the stupidest line of the night: Jack asking Mrs. Hawking about Ben, "Is he telling the truth?"

And the dumbest statement of the night: Mrs. Hawking telling everyone, "I apologize if this is confusing."

So, is the "very clever fellow" Mrs. Hawking refers to, Daniel Farraday? And was it just me or was Eloise completely unsurprised and unconcerned that her son was on the island and in danger?

So why did Ben lie about his mother? Or was it jsut a figure of speech/a joke? And what in the world happened to him? My theory is that he somehow got Sayid arrested and deported to Guam while simultaneously busting Hurley out of jail. That would be impossible for most people but Ben could do it with one hand tied behind his back.

The biggest mystery of the night has to be what happened to Aaron and why did Kate let him go? I'm pretty sure he is with Claire's mom, but you never know.

Note to Jack: Getting your Sunday School lessons from Ben is probably not a good idea.

Note to ABC: Please make the entire show and scenes from next week fit within the 64 minute window that Tivo and DVR standardly record. It is REALLY disappointing to miss the last few seconds every week.

This Place is Death...(or The Return of Old Smokey)

Well.

We finally see some more of the smoke monster. He has been suspiciously absent for a season or two. He made his return in fine style by dismembering one of Danielle's friends and driving the rest of them insane. I do think it is interesting that even though Jin was there (and he wasn't the first time this happened to Danielle's group) the result was the same. It seems to be confirming what Mrs. Hawking told Desmond....you cannot change what will happen. "The universe has a way of course correcting." Desmond could prevent Charlie's death a dozen times but in the end Charlie had to die one way or the other. They same seems to be true here. Danielle and her baby had to end up alone on that island with the others.

Jin did learn a valuable lesson, that Sayid could have warned him about had they been at the same place in time: Never approach Danielle when she has a gun in her hands. She just shot her husband/boyfriend. She's not gonna hesitate to shoot a crazy disappearing Korean.

I was surprised that it didn't take long for Jin to end up back with everyone else. I kind of expected that story line to go on a little longer. How did Jin know Charlotte spoke Korean? Could he just tell that she was understanding what he said or has he met her somewhere before? Now that I think about it, they have met before on the island and she did translate for him, right?

I almost cried when Jin told John to tell Sun he was dead....but then 10 minutes later we realize that she is never going to hear that message, so no big deal. I felt like that was kind of a waste of suspense. We all would have been on pins and needles if Sun was getting conflicting messages about whether Jin was alive or dead and trying to decide whether or not to return to the island. Won't Sun's daughter have to go too? She was after all on the island?

It was interesting to see that Charlotte got a personality and became quite lovable on her deathbed. I've never been really thrilled with her character but I really liked her for the last 7 minutes before she died. I still think the relationship between Charlotte and Daniel is not romantic, but instead is familial. I just don't know in what way, yet. I do feel like they may be brother and sister. In her delirium (or time travel or whatever) she said, "Why can't Danny come with us?" as if she were a little girl asking if her little brother could tag along. I don't know. Her mother definitely lived on the island and her Dad is a horrible person...so that fits with Eloise and Whidmore. We shall see, I guess.

Which brings me to Eloise. Was there anyone out there still wondering if she was Daniel's mother and the woman who understands the "windows"? They seemed to make it all suspenseful and dramatic with lots of crazy music, but really, was anyone surprised? I think we all pretty much knew that Eloise, Mrs. Hawking, Daniel's mother, and petite-British-girl-with-rifle were all one in the same. I'm glad they have found her though, and that we might get some more information about time travel now. I'm completely terrified that Desmond will go back to the island.

As John lay in the well with a really gross compound fracture of his leg, and we heard someone coming, Brian and I guessed Richard? Whidmore? Ben? Mrs. Hawking?, but we never suspected Christian Shepherd! Wow. (Actually Brian did guess Jacob, but he didn't know it would be Christian that showed up.) So are Christian and Jacob one and the same or is dead Dr. Shepherd just the body that Jacob is currently using? Maybe Jacob is the smoke monster and he kills people so that he can use their bodies...or in this case he conveniently finds a dead body that drops on to his island and inhabits it? Just a thought.

Here are some other random thoughts I had last night:

Wouldn't you love to have time travel to save you from dangerous situations? Mugger approaching you in a dark alley? Time travel to a beach in Tahiti. Half-crazed, dehydrated, pregnant French woman shooting at you? Travel forward in time 20 years to reunite with all of your friends. Must be nice.

I really hope someone has the pleasure of shooting Ben right between the eyes before this show goes off the air. If for no other reason than he always has to be so cryptic and secretive. Why can't he just sit everyone down and explain it all from the beginning?!!

Best line of the night:

Charlotte: Just Klingon. (in response to Daniel's query about how many other languages she speaks). Star Trek fans everywhere were rejoicing, let me tell you.

Best scene from next week: Jack and Kate kissing. Yes!!

If you want to read more thoughts and theories check out the links at the LOST Books blog.

Jin Again

Is it just me or was last night's episode somewhat...predictable? (...a word I have never used in referring to LOST before, I must say.)

I don't think anyone was surprised that Claire's mom was in the hotel room or that the lawyer works for Ben. (Although that does raise the question of what Ben has to do with Claire's mom, if anything.) Also no shock that the french kids in the life raft were Danielle and her crew or that the male nurse was secretly an assassin out to dart Sayid yet again.

However, in true LOST style, we are left with a few new mysteries.

Who was in the boat shooting at Sawyer and the gang as they paddled around the island?

Does Sun have some reason (other than the glaringly obvious ones) to kill Ben?

Will Daniel be able to stop all of the nosebleeds?

How is Locke going to die?

Has Miles been on the island before? How? How many times?

I don't expect the answers to most of these for quite some time, but we'll see.

I was thrilled to see Jin alive. It should be interesting to see how a Korean who doesn't know anything about the time travel thing and a bunch of French kids that slowly go crazy and die are going to interact and communicate. Judging from the scenes from next week Ben is still in touch with what is going on back on the island and will prove to Sun that Jin is alive. (Flashback to when we thought he had been killed on the beach because Jack was beating Ben to pulp.)

I still feel like the Daniel/Charlotte relationship is going to have some surprises in it. When she woke up from her time travelling coma and heard his name she blossomed like a rose. Something is going on there. It may be brother/sister or boyfriend/girlfriend or mad scientist/unfortunate lab rat. We'll see.

I missed Desmond and Penny this week. Unfortunately with characters scattered throughout the world, and the space-time continuum, it is hard to get everyone in one episode. I hope we get back to the Mrs. Hawking storyline next week.

Most exciting event of the night: Juliette's nosebleed! (My husband is totally infatuated with her so......I kind of hate her.) I thought he might cry when she started hemorrhaging. :)


I feel sorry for the actors that now have to live and shoot their scenes in Los Angeles instead of Hawaii. What a bummer. See, there are perks to staying on the island...even if you do have to get a few nosebleeds now and then.

Jughead

If you are anything like me these were your comments during LOST last night:

1. Stay on the boat Desmond! Desmond, DO NOT LEAVE PENNY!

2. Yeah right. A shaggy haired toothpick of a guy with a black string tie really looks like someone from the US military. (Thoughts echoed later in the show by cute petite British girl with rifle.)

3. Aaaaaahhh, he named his son Charlie. That's sweet.

4. They raised a baby on a boat!!????!!!!

5. *gasp* Whidmore!!????!!!!

6. *gasp* Charlotte!!????!!!!!

7. A hydrogen bomb? That explains the giant concrete hatches and fertility issues, I guess.

So here is what we know now:

It is currently 1954 and there is a small group of "Others", led at least partially by Richard, living on the island. The US military has been storming the island, I assume in an attempt to retrieve their H-Bomb. Dharma has not entered the picture yet as far as I can tell.

I have a feeling that Whidmore, knowing of the island's power......when he is booted off for insubordination or leaves or whatever.......creates Dharma and sends them to the island to discover all of it's possibilites. Or it could be that Whidmore has spent 50 years looking for the island and just found it for the first time with that freighter and Dharma is led by someone else.

I have no great new theories after last nights episode except for this:

Ben told John that he was to become the new leader of the island. Could it be that the island has therefore sent John back in time to a time before Ben arrives so that John can assume his leadership before Ben ever has the opportunity to?

What year did Ben arrive on the island? Late 60s, early 70s? Could it be that Whidmore was a leader on the island and was displaced by Ben the same way that Ben is being displaced by John?

Theresa Whats-Her-Name in the coma looked an awful lot like Charlotte....and so did the girl in the picture that Desmond found in Daniel's old lab. Are they one in the same? I think so. Remember how Desmond would pass out on the ship while he was time traveling around Scotland?

I really liked this episode, but I think it may be the first one in the history of the show that didn't have either Jack or Kate in it. Weird. It was nice to be on the island almost the whole time though. I enjoy the island story lines better than all of the suffering going on back on the mainland.

(Strange that the people with indoor plumbing, refrigeration and fast food are the ones suffering, but hey, Ben warned them not to go, right?)

The LOST Books Challenge

I've recently joined my very first challenge!

Apparently a lot of avid readers also really enjoy watching LOST. They are particularily enthralled with finding literary references within the show.

Many times real books are being read by characters on the show or they appear on the bookshelves in different locations on the show. Other times the title of a well known book (A Tale of Two Cities, for instance) is actually used as a title for an episode and sometimes different literary works are referred to by characters through their dialogue on the show.

Anyway the LOST Books Challenge encourages participants to read at least 5 of the books mentioned, or alluded to, on the show between the first episode and the finale of this season. The list of books is long and distinguished and I had already read several of them....but here are the five that I chose to read in the next 4 months.

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky: It's a classic that I've never had time to read (or never been required to read by a college professor) and I know a friend of mine that just read it, so I thought I'd give it a try. This is my most ambitious selection.

The Coalwood Way by Homer Hickam: I loved the movie October Sky and I've seen it several times. I am thrilled to read a book written by the real life Homer Hickam. I might even get Brian to read this one with me.....what am I saying?....maybe he'll let me read it aloud to him.

Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie: I like Christie's novels and this happens to be one I haven't read. Easy choice.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: I recently read "The Grapes of Wrath" and didn't particularly like it that much so people have been telling me to give Steinbeck another shot and try Of Mice and Men. That's what I'm doing.

The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares: Hey, what's the point of a challenge if you don't challenge yourself? I've never heard of this book or the author, but the story line sounded interesting so I chose it. A total wild card.

If you want to join the LOST Books Challenge....or you just want to see the list of books that have been referenced on the show....you can go here.

Of course I'll review all of the books I read and keep you posted on my progress in the challenge.

Now I promise not to post anymore about LOST until next Thursday. Cross my heart!

Addicted to LOST?

I couldn't help myself.

Once I saw this hilarious YouTube video I had to post it.

It cracks me up....and hits a little too close to home, too.

Season Five is Finally Here

Well, it's back. The best show on television since Seinfeld (which is techinically still on 47 times a day in reruns)is back for it's 5th season and it started with a bang.

Time Travel. We all suspected it, the writers have given us glimpses of it, but now I think we've got an entire season in front of us of characters bouncing in and out of the past, present and future. Thank goodness they've got a quantum physicist running around the island with them to explain it all.

It was great to have some "old stuff" brought back and worked in again...like Eko's brother's plane and finding a dead boar in the jungle, etc. And I am looking forward to, in the immortal words of Haley Joel Osmet, "seeing dead people". I had heard that Libby would be back this season and I suspect we can anticipate appearances by Boone, Shannon, Charlie and several others. Of course we've got to get back to Walt and Michael at some point to, I guess.

Of course the season premier left me with more questions than answers, as usual.

Who wants Aaron so badly, and why?

Is Charlotte going crazy and having nose-bleeds (the first signs of upcoming death)from too much time travel and the lack of a constant, like the poor guy on the freighter?

Why don't the rules apply to Desmond? Because he isn't part of Dharma (technically) or the Others? Because he got himself, with Penny's help, off of the island?

Is Ben desperate to get back to the island so he can overthrow Locke?

Is Sun still a "good guy"? She's scaring me a little.

Who was the lady in the butcher shop, Jill? Was I supposed to recognize her from the island?

So many questions and only two more seasons to get them all answered. Aaaaahhhh!

On to miscellaneous observations:

I must say that I'm glad Jack is clean shaven and off the pills, at least for now. I couldn't take much more of that beard.

I love that Hurley is the only one smart enough (or insane enough) to confess to quadruple homicide instead of walking outside with Ben. His (Hurley's)recap of events to his mom was great, too.

I think Ms. Hawking is Daniel's mother and I'm glad that she's back. I love it when they bring back someone that you thought was a "one timer" and turn them in to a main character. That just makes it so awesome! I also think it is awesome that she can boss Ben around.

I can't wait for next week....and the next week....and the next week.....and the next week.....well, you get the point.

Until then.......Namaste!

Final Thoughts on LOST

I haven't posted about the LOST Finale yet because I just watched it last night. We were swamped around here and didn't have time to watch it on Thursday. We got together with friends on Sat. evening to watch it and it did not dissapoint me one bit.

Well...maybe one bit. Jin did die...while Sun watched, screaming from the helicopter. That was awful, although not totally unexpected.

But the Desmond and Penny reunion more than made up for it. I couldn't believe it. I thought they'd dangle that relationship along for another season or two. I was so thrilled that they were reunited on the boat. I shouted for joy as we watched it.

Here is the one thing that TOTALLY shocked me. Sawyer lives. I know that probably didn't shock anyone else but I happened to read this post on Friday that said, "Now I'm going to go do some housework and try not to worry that they've killed-off Sawyer in LOST tonight!"

I watched the whole first half just knowing that he would die. Then he jumped off the helicopter (to sacrifice himself for Kate and the others...how sweet...and because he really has no life to go back to anyway) and I thought it was over for him. Then like 10 minutes later he swims up and starts talking to Juliette! What episode was she watching? Did she stop watching part way through? Does she think that everyone who was on the island when it "moved" died? Was she just messing with us? I don't know. I plan to ask her though.

I thought the most intriguing part of the whole show was when Miles mentions that Charlotte (who one of my fellow bloggers calls C.S. Lewis...anyone know why?) has been trying to get back to the island for a long time. Hummmm! So she was there before. She is looking for her birthplace? Odd. I've read some theories that she is Sawyer's daughter. Who knows?

Of course the best lines of the night were,

Locke: Is he talking about what I think he's talking about?

Ben: If you mean time travelling bunnies, then yes.

And Sawyer came up with another great nickname. He called Frank the pilot "Kenny Rogers". Doesn't he look like Kenny Rogers? That is so funny. Do you think the writers come up with that or Josh What's-His-Name that plays Sawyer just said that because the guy really does remind him of Kenny Rogers?

I was glad that they seemed to answer several questions for us.

Who is in the coffin? John Locke

How do the 6 get off the island? Helicopter crash

How does Jin die? C-4

Who rescues them? Penny

How do you move an island? Turn a frozen underground wheel until you see fire and disappear.

Of course we are left with lots of questions too.

Why did John change his name to Jeremy Bentham?

Why are Jack and Sayid desperate to get back to the island?

Is Sun working for or against Whidmore?

Is Sun working for or against the Oceanic 6?

Why was Charlotte on the island?

How did Charlotte get off the island?

Is Hurley really insane?

Is Claire really dead?

Is the new season really not going to start until January? Ugh!

My newest wild theory: Charlotte is dead. That is how Miles knows about her. He talks to dead people, you know. Just a theory. We'll see.

Head over to Rocks in My Dryer to read some other insightful comments.

Island Wars

Well.

More of Juliette nagging Jack…no big surprise. (When is she going to die already??!!)

Yet another secret Dharma research “hatch”, The Orchid…no big surprise.

Jin made it to the freighter safely. Now that was a little bit of a surprise. Are they really going to blow him up? I can’t bear to watch that.

And by the way…what kind of Captain doesn’t notice 3 tons of C4 explosives on his boat? I mean come on!

I must say that Sun had the best revenge! It was a perfect example of poetic justice when she told off her father. I hope she puts him in charge of the fishing division…preferably gutting and cleaning. You go Sun!!

We all knew Sawyer really cared deep down…but that he even cares about Hurley…how sweet…really. He really is just a big teddy bear inside of that gruff exterior. I’m anxious to see how he says goodbye to Kate and what instructions he gives her (presumably about caring for his daughter).

I’m glad that a little more truth came out in this episode. Now Jack knows that Claire is his sister and Aaron is his nephew. That wasn’t really how I thought he would find out, but I’m glad he knows. I’m not sure why that knowledge makes him incapable of being with Kate and Aaron (for a while) but I’m sure we’ll find out…eventually.

I do wonder who came up with the whole a-life-raft-washed-up-on-the-shore-of-the-island-of-Membatta-and-we-floated-to-Africa story. It seems very complicated and well thought out. Did Oceanic concoct it? Ben? Jack? Sayid?

The understatement of the night had to be when Ben said, “I wasn’t being entirely truthful.” Yeah, no kidding.

Let me just say that I don’t even want to watch the 2 hour season finale. Nothing but bad stuff is gonna happen, I can feel it. We’re going to have to see them all suffer because of their decisions, but then we’ll get to rejoice when they finally find peace at end of the last season.

I think this next season is going to be kind of like The Empire Strikes Back. The rebels can’t win every battle. Sometimes the good guys get caught by snow monsters or frozen in carbonite. But never fear, there is always a sequel. The Ewoks will come out of the forest to help and there will be a Return of the Jedi.

No really, think about it. Ben is turning Locke to the dark side, Jack found out that Claire was his sister (granted he never kissed her), Kate is always trying to boss the guys around and falling in love with them at the same time, it may all be happening a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away………………

For more outrageous theories, but fewer classic sci-fi movie analogies, go to Rocks in My Dryer and follow the links.

Answers, Anyone?

I have no answers or theories regarding last nights show. All I've got are questions. Lots of questions.

Richard??!! Richard??!! Are you kidding me??!!

Has Locke been connected to the Island from birth? Have they been recruiting him since he was 5 years old? Did he really draw the black smoke as a child? Did the knife test prove that he was destined to become the leader one day? Is that why Richard got so upset?

So, has the Island now chosen Locke to reveal it's secrets to instead of Ben? Hey, do you think Locke and Ben are somehow related? What was Ben's mom's name? It wasn't Emily was it?

So Michael is still under the magic island bubble of immortality, I guess?

We already knew that time on the Island was not the same as time elsewhere, but how much delay is there? According to last night, maybe several hours? Is the delay more the farther away from the Island you get? Like back in the good old USA it is still 90 days ago? Huh?

Was Whidmore's original plan to kidnap Ben and remove him from the Island? Is his secondary plan to just torch the whole place?

I understand why the pilot, Frank, would help the Losties on the beach, although I don't think they understand why he gave them that GPS thingie, but why did the Captain help Sayid and Desmond? Did I miss something?

Christian??!! Christian??!! Are you kidding me??!!

All of those people that claimed he was Jacob were right (well kind of right, he only claims to be Jacob's spokesperson)??!! He is dead, just like Horace, but being used by the Island, right? What is he doing with Claire? What is Claire doing with him? Why would she give up Aaron? Is this another trick by the Island to get a baby?

So they are just going to move the Island now? Doesn't that sound reasonable?

This episode just set us up for a lot of information yet to come, didn't it? What about those previews for next week? Do they really get off? Really, really off?

Do you want some answers? Maybe the links over at Rocks in My Dryer will help?

Wow, I've never used so many question marks in my life....have I?