S2Ep5: ...And Found (Jin and Sun's first joint flashback) - 10/19/05

Hello my dearest and most patient friends -

So we have now been made to suffer through what I'm sure is just the first of many multi-week hiatuses (is that a word?) this season, just like last season. But even though I know nothing about sports and could care less, I will forgive The Powers That Be at ABC because even *I* was aware that not only was Chicago in the World Series, they WON the World Series, hence the reason for the break in the schedule (even though the WSeries was on Fox, they thought they would lose viewers to it). And since I live in Chicago (as many of you may not have known, I just realized), I will forgive them. And yes, the World Series was over a while ago, but they had to plan for all 7 games in the TV scheduling, hence the long break. Shout-out to CJ just for being the only long-time Sox fan I know!

On to the episode:
Do you ever get the feeling that perhaps you're on crack and you just don't know it? Because that's how I feel right now... I just remember watching this episode live with my peeps and all of us thinking that it was horrible. In fact, I dare say I thought it was the worst episode in the entire series because literally nothing happened. I was dreading writing this to all of you because I've now somehow started feeling personally guilty for any time the show sucks. But for the past few minutes I've been on the boards collecting the posts for this write-up, and have been blown away by the fact that apparently everyone else LOVED this episode. I am just perplexed, befuddled, confused... you name it. As Whitney Houston so eloquently said, "Crack is wack!"

WHY did these people enjoy watching Jin and Mr. Eko (gotta love that name, though) run through the woods all episode and accomplish nothing? I just don't get it. I did like the Sun/Jin flashbacks, but not enough to make up for the rest of the show. Here is what little I could scrape together on this episode...

THE OTHERS
I think there is only one thing actually is worth noting in this episode, and that is that we supposedly saw a glimpse of The Others traipsing through the jungle. Here is what you should contemplate:
- Mr. Eko made a point of saying:
- They do not leave footprints (remember on the season one finale... there were no footprints around the black smoke column, either, and Sayid and Charlie noticed it)
- They will not be found unless they WANT to be found
- Other Others points:
- They appear to be human, although I still think it's possible that they can shape-shift (X-Files term) into human form
- The last Other was dragging along a teddy bear, leading me to believe that Walt was not the first child taken (that bear was NOT Walt's). Or perhaps The Others ARE children who were raised on the island and developed superpowers?
- Even if they are not human and they do not leave footprints, they still appear to kill people the old-fashioned way judging from the Tailaway guy with the huge cleaver in his chest

MR. EKO
That is a cool-@ss name. Say it with me now: Mr. Eko. My peeps watching it with me all agreed that we liked him. But here is something bizarre. When he and Jin were having their pseudo-discussion about being married (involving lots of pointing to rings and whatnot), and Jin replied, "Yes, you?" Eko's answer was "Worse." I checked the transcripts, too, because at first I thought he said "Was" and then there was a big debate about it on the boards, and the transcripts say "Worse." My head is just kind of blanking on this one - anyone have any ideas as to what he could mean? All guys who are thinking of sending lame replies like "There's nothing worse
than marriage!" can now go think of other witty responses.

My second question about Eko is: was he on the plane? I'm not so sure he was... I think we're assuming he was because he is with the Tailaways. He never actually SAID anything about being on the plane. He seems kind of like their "Locke" to me. It is going to be awesome when/if Locke and Eko meet. Someone may have to watch me to make sure I don't explode with excitement.

Here is a possible future exchange:
Locke: *I* made glue out of rendered animal fat.
Eko: Well, I made a huge machete and I'm not going to tell you how and spill my secrets!
Locke: I can predict when it's going to rain out here.
Eko: I can sense The Others coming even though they don't make any sound.
Locke: I've seen The Monster and I'm friends with it.
Eko: Everyone in my group is pretty much dead yet here I still am.
Locke: I used to be a regional collections manager at a box company.
Eko: Well I was the NATIONAL collections manager at a box company - HA!!!!!!!
Then they have a knife duel to the death.

MUTE CHICK
I'm just sayin'.... there was some girl who looked kind of freaky and didn't talk. She was with the rest of the Tailaways. So we've got Eko, Ana Lucia, Libby, Bernard and Mute Chick. Now watch, she's going to have some heart-breaking flashback about why she really is mute and then I'm going to feel awful.

MICHAEL
At the polar opposite end of the spectrum from Mute Chick, I present to you: Michael. Seriously, dude, just stop yelling.

ANA LUCIA
Even though I have never positioned this as a "family-friendly" distribution list, I am not compelled to write out the various nicknames that Ana Lucia has earned on the boards, for they are quite profane. Suffice it to say, there are only a few posters out there who like her, while most are hoping she bites the bullet. But I have a feeling we will not be that lucky. The only thing to mention with her is that she does have a thick band on her left ring finger, yet told Sawyer she wasn't married. Since I re-watched nearly all of Season 1 recently (mentioned last week), I remembered that in the flashback on the finale where she was flirting with Jack at the airport, I got the feeling that perhaps she was in the middle of a divorce.

SARA - DEAD OR NOT? DO I CARE? NOT REALLY.
Jack was married to Sara, that we knew. Now he is not, which we also knew. At first I thought she must have ended up dying after his miracle "saving" of her (possibly with the help of Hatch Man/Desmond's powers), and that is what turned him back to Man o' Science. But after his comment to Sun that his ring was "rolling around in a drawer back at home," I'm not so sure. Perhaps she did end up leaving him or vice versa.

LOCKE
When Sun is talking to Locke after he spied her ripping apart her garden, she says "Don't you ever get frustrated?" Locke says something like "I'm not lost anymore." My brother would like to point out that "he is totally lying. He DOES get frustrated. Remember when the computer broke and he hit his head on the desk and was like 'What do you want me to do?!' He totally lost it. So, he is lying about that." While I do not deny that Locke's actions seem to be different than his words, I also think he wasn't consciously LYING to Sun. I think he's giving himself a little more credit than he deserves... he's definitely not Mr. Calm, Cool and Collected ALL of the time.

Also on Locke, my brother asks "have you ever discussed *who* he is talking to/at when he talks/yells at the island? He also yelled at the island when he went paralyzed before Boone died, right? (ERIKA: Yes, along with when he was banging on the hatch and the light came on.) Has somebody or something talked to Locke? If not, then why does he feel like he can talk to the
island? Why does he think it is "listening" to him?"

My answer to this is that when Locke has "talked to the island" on several occasions, I think he thinks he is either talking to God, or some higher power that he believes is controlling his destiny. I do not think any person or thing ever literally talked to him on the island and that now he is shouting back at it. We know that he DID see the monster twice... once he said it was "beautiful" and the other time he became very afraid and then the monster almost dragged him down a hole to who knows where. So perhaps whatever it was he saw, combined with his miracle cure, has convinced him that there is some power or being that brought him to the island for a
reason.

BEST LINES OF THE EPISODE
[Hurley and Sun sitting nearby Vincent, watching him.]
HURLEY: So, Seoul. Is that in the good Korea or the bad Korea?
(awkward silence)
SUN: The good one.
HURLEY: Dude, dogs will eat anything. When I was a kid, my dog, Buster -- I had this drawer where I'd throw in all my change, right -- and I guess there were some Smarties in there -- so, like, the next day, Buster craps out a $1.35 in nickels.
[Sun doesn't respond.]

GREAT NON-PC/SWEAR-WORD-INFESTED SITE
Shout-out to Uncle Grambo for forwarding along this link... Definitely hilarious and highly recommended for the true Lost fan, and nothing TOO offensive... basically the gist of this site is that they "snark" (rip on, find fault with) various people/topics. The page below is them snarking the cast of Lost.
http://www.snarkywood.com/2005/09/snark_for_a_cau_1.html


PREVIEWS
D@mmit, CreepyDrownedWalt is back! I was just getting over my nightmares. Apparently someone is going to die. I don't know who it is. It better stay that way until showtime!

Also, apparently NEXT week they are going to do something different with the show. We may be spoiled by the previews at the end of this week, but I really hope they keep it under wraps. However, I have been forewarned that if you do not want to be spoiled (like me), then do NOT read the episode listing on Tivo or TV guide or whatever your source is for next week, because it gives it away. Is NOTHING sacred?


ON THE SENTIMENTAL TIP
I often mention "my peeps" who watch the show faithfully with me each week, put up with my antics, don't make fun of me for going as overboard as I do, and keep me on my toes by noticing things I never would have seen. KG and EG are two of these people and I am happy to announce that they recently added the first Lost Baby to the distribution list a few weeks ago. OK, so no, he doesn't already have his own email address, but he DOES already have his own dedicated mini-bean bag in my TV room. Lil' Will got his first visit by Crazy Auntie E tonight and is now the proud owner of a bib with "the numbers" on it, a baby t-shirt that says I Love Sayid (Love is a big red heart, Sayid is his mom's fave character), and then a jumper reading "I'd rather be watching Lost." You KNOW he's being schooled in Lost Season One the next time I see him! Seriously though you guys, congrats.

Enjoy the show this week, back on at the regular time Wednesday night...
- e