Saturday, March 22, 2008

S4Ep8 - I Was Happy to "Meet Kevin Johnson"

Hello my dear friends -

We've arrived at the end of the first run of Season Four episodes, and I, for one, think the show left us much to ponder as we head into a five-week hiatus. But others could not disagree with me more; it's been quite a while since I have seen an episode provoke such a wide spectrum of reactions. One of my friends emailed me that this episode was her favorite of the season. Another said that it "sucked." And many viewers were completely indifferent about the mini-finale.

I can't put my finger on why I am in the camp that liked "Meet Kevin Johnson," but I will admit that it was a pretty strange episode. It didn't have the feel of a normal installment of Lost. Maybe that's why I found it so interesting; it was just... different. It didn't hurt that the "previously on Lost" scenes included one of Michael's trademark "WAAAALLLLLLLT!"s. I got a good laugh out of that.

This episode doled out information left and right, so there is a lot to discuss. The order of this post will be: Island events, flashbacks, freighter events and then a podcast debrief.


LET'S GET TOGETHER, YEAH YEAH YEAH

The hour began with a meeting in the barracks; Locke inexplicably had a change of heart, and decided to parade Miles in front of everyone so that they could hear what he had to say. While the meeting only lasted for approximately two minutes (?), the most important thing that came out of it was that Miles didn't refute Ben's claims that the freighter team intended to kill everyone on the Island after they captured Ben. Michael's flashbacks later corroborated that assertion. So while Ben may not be the most innocent guy in the world, we know that many of the Freighties have bad intentions.

But most of the Lostaways weren't keen on taking Ben at his word... especially after they heard that Traitor Michael was his mole on the ship.

Further, Sawyer still believed that Locke was withholding information from everyone else. He confronted The Bald One about the $3.2 million deal that Miles tried to make with Ben (which I can only assume Kate told him about). Locke's response was that he never took that supposed agreement seriously... "As I didn't see a bank on the Island, I didn't think it was worth mentioning."

I actually think Locke's being straight on this one. While I fully admit that he's been acting shady this season, the fact that he gave Ben $1 in jest a few episodes ago supports the idea that Locke thought Miles' deal was so preposterous that it couldn't possibly be serious. The only thing that has been bugging me, however, is that in "The Economist," Locke caught Sayid just as Sayid was coming out of Ben's secret room (the door to the secret room was still open, I just re-watched that scene). You know, the room with all the passports and money in it. So shouldn't Locke have taken a look in that room for himself? Anyone who saw the contents of Ben's desk drawers would not have a hard time believing that Ben could get his hands on some serious dough. All I can figure is that after Locke took Sayid prisoner and then let him leave with Charlotte, he didn't go back to check out the hidden closet.

OR... maybe Locke is fooling everyone. We never saw what exactly went down when Sayid negotiated leaving Othersville with Charlotte. What did Sayid give to Locke in return? Locke may know much more than he's letting on, and perhaps feigning disbelief at Ben's access to cash (as well as letting Ben go free) is part of his master plan.

However, if Locke really is still naive enough to not understand Ben's level of power on the Island, Miles might have remedied that by reminding him that Ben seemed to be pretty good at getting what he wanted (which included pound cake). Considering what happened at the end of the episode, I think Miles' comments were pretty darn prophetic.



HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT

So what did happen at the very end of the episode? Ben convinced Alex, Karl and Rousseau to take off for the Temple, where the rest of the Others have been hiding for a while. He said that the Temple was "not for" the Lostaways. He convinced Alex that, because she is his daughter, the freighter crew would try to use her against him if she were caught at the barracks.

So the three head out, and just as Karl confesses his gut feeling that Ben may be playing them, he gets shot by an unseen attacker. An attacker who is so skilled that he/she can shoot only one hole in a water bottle! Them's some mad skillz!

Rousseau proclaims Karl to be dead, and then gets shot herself. The episode ends with Alex taking her chances, raising her arms to the sky and shouting, "Wait, wait, don't! I'm Ben's daughter! I'm his daughter!"

Many questions arose from these scenes:

1) Are Karl and Rousseau really dead?

The consensus on the boards is that Karl is dead but Rousseau is not. No one seems to have any proof for either assertion, though. That being said, I tend to agree; the previews said that "someone will die," and Karl seems to have been the unlucky character. Rousseau got hit in pretty much the same spot as did Karl, but I find it hard to believe that her time on the show is over. So I hold out hope that her love for her daughter will end up giving her the strength to recover. Or maybe the Island will magically heal her.


2) Is Alex really Ben's daughter?

Many people picked up on the fact that this time, when Ben called Alex his daughter, Rousseau didn't object like she had back at the radio tower. I personally believe that we can chalk that up to the fact that Rousseau simply agreed with Ben's overall plan. It doesn't matter who Alex's birth parents are--all that matters is that Ben raised Alex and cares about her, and so an enemy of Ben will try to exploit that relationship. Ben knows it, and Rousseau knows it. So they both agree that Alex needs to get away from Ben and to a safer area.

However, those who think that Alex could be Ben and Rousseau's daughter (meaning that Rousseau lied about her back-story and was at one point an Other and involved with Ben) have at least one point that I agree with: Rousseau seemed to know that she was walking into a trap as she left the barracks. Not only did she not object to Ben calling Alex his daughter, she also shot him a quick look of understanding when he said that Rousseau should go to the Temple because she would provide protection. Since he just got done saying that the Temple was not for the Lostaways, he wouldn't think that it was a safe haven for Rousseau, either. But that wouldn't matter if he knew she was never going to make it there.

For the record, I still think that Alex is Rousseau's daughter and that her father is NOT Ben. At the very least, there's no way Rousseau isn't Alex's birth mother--they look too much alike; that was some crazy casting that they pulled off. It couldn't be all for naught.

The debate about Alex's birth parents is another reason why I think Danielle is still alive--there are just too many questions about her past that would be very interesting to reveal over the rest of the series. I guess that they could do that in flashback form, but for whatever reason, I think Rousseau will rise again. And when she does, she's going to be even crazier and more pissed off than she was before! And that will rock.


3) Did Ben orchestrate the ambush?

I can't help but think that Ben knew exactly what was going to happen to Karl and Rousseau when he sent them off with Alex to the Temple. He never liked Karl, so getting him out of the way would ensure for the time being that Alex wouldn't get pregnant and die. Getting Rousseau out of the way would pretty much force Alex to view Ben as her only parent once again. Only if she never found out he was behind the ambush, that is.

Think about it--who else could've shot those two but the Others? Miles is still tied up, Frank may have left on the helicopter again, but we know he's not going to kill anyone, and we saw Daniel and Charlotte at the Island Breakfast Bar in the last episode. I don't think Jack's going to let them out of his sight ever again, after what just went down at The Tempest. Karl and Rousseau have always helped the Lostaways, so the 815ers certainly weren't responsible for the attack. Who does that leave? The Others.

The silent shots seemed right up the Others' alley. Let's not forget how good they are at sneaking around in the jungle and carrying out quiet ambushes. If I had seen an arrow or dart sticking out of Karl or Rousseau, I would be even more positive that the Others' were behind everything, because I could just imagine one of them in their dirty khakis and bare feet, blowing poisonous darts out of freakin' straws or something like that. This attack also reminded me of how the Others' captured Jack, Sawyer, Kate and Hurley at the end of Season Two. Remember that awful scene where they were all running up the hill and darts just started taking all of them down? Yeah, I'm more confident now that the Others' just killed one of their own--on Ben's orders. (Just to be clear, though, no arrow or dart could be seen sticking out of Karl or Rousseau. They were both hit on the right side of their chests with what seems to have been bullets.)

In the Others' eyes, Karl is now considered "bad" because he forewarned the Lostaways about the Others' plan to steal the pregnant women from the beach. That led to several Others getting blown up. So they'd have no problem taking him down. And Rousseau was the mastermind of that plan, so she's expendable in their opinion, too. OK, now I've totally convinced myself--it was definitely the Others who ambushed Karl, Rousseau and Alex.

I sincerely hope that it doesn't turn out to be another group on the Island that we haven't met yet! That would be really lame.

On to Michael's flashbacks...


I'LL BE COUNTING UP MY DEMONS, YEAH
HOPING EVERYTHING'S NOT LOST

In the first flashback, we see Michael in deep despair--writing out a suicide note and then trying to kill himself by crashing his car into a huge shipping crate (with Mama Cass (who also sang Desmond's "Make Your Own Kind of Music") crooning "It's Getting Better" on the radio). At this point, I thought it was a flash-forward.

Michael's plan doesn't work, and we next see him in the hospital, where Dead Libby makes an appearance and scares the bejeezus out of him. Then the real nurse enters the room, and asks if she should contact Walt. Michael looks confused, but then she explains that Walt was who the suicide note was written to. The nurse is told not to contact Walt.

At this point, I was still convinced that these scenes were in the future, as Libby couldn't have appeared to Michael before he had been on the Island.

Some people thought that the guy lying next to Michael in the hospital looked familiar--they believe he might be Alvar Hanso. I think that's a stretch, but if you'd like to see a comparison of screen shots, click here.

In the next flashback, Michael visits his mother's house. Christmas decorations are up, and his mother mentions that Michael and Walt had been gone for two months with no explanation, so we could assume with some certainty that Michael's scenes are shortly after Thanksgiving--late November or early December 2004.

Michael's mom goes on to say that she thinks it's really sketchy that she can't call him or Walt by their real names, and that she is concerned about Walt not wanting to speak to his father, on top of him waking up screaming in the middle of the night. She refuses to let him see "his boy," but he does catch a glimpse of Walt in the upstairs window. It was definitely Island-Age Walt (not College Freshman Walt who visited Locke), so I think that's one more nail in the coffin for the Time Moves Differently on the Island Theory. Anyway, Walt walks away from the window with nary a smile for his dear ol' dad, which leaves Michael even more distraught and intent on offing himself.



HAPPINESS IS A WARM GUN

Next, Michael trades Jin's watch for a gun and bullets at a pawn shop. He creeps into a dark alley to try and kill himself once again, but is interrupted by none other than... Zeke! I was cheering when he showed up in his bad-ass black trench coat and slicked-back hair. No awesome mustache like in Juliet's latest flashback, but you can't win 'em all.

Perhaps one of the reasons I liked this episode is because Zeke finally put into words what, up until this point, only Locke had been crazy enough to suggest: the Island has some sort of control over the Lostaways. And I think that is the coolest thing ever.

ZEKE: I got some bad news for you, amigo. You can't kill yourself. The Island won't let you!
MICHAEL: (Panting) What'd you say?
ZEKE: No matter how bad you want to, no matter how many different ways you try, it won't happen.
(ZEKE hands the revolver back to Michael.)
ZEKE: Give it a shot if you don't believe me. You got more work to do, Mike. When you figure that out, I'm in the penthouse at the Hotel Earle.

Side note: "The Hotel Earle" is most likely a shout-out to the Coen brothers' movie Barton Fink, in which the Hotel Earle represents Hell. Or, it could be that one of the writers is a huge Bob Dylan fan--he was known to stay at this hotel in New York (now renamed The Washington Square Hotel).

Also of interest: how Zeke said that Michael had more "work to do." This is what Taller Ghost Walt said to Locke at the Skeleton Pit, and it's the same sentence Zombie Dad said to Vincent in "So It Begins" (a Lost Missing Piece)--referring to Jack.

But back to Michael... he takes the gun from Mr. Friendly and does indeed try to use it. Although it's loaded, it won't discharge bullets either time the trigger is pulled. Zeke, it seems, was right.

If the Island has some sort of power over the Lostaways, it would actually fit into the theory I made up on the fly last week about the Island summoning the 815ers to come help save it against "the bad guys." Way back in Season One I had another related theory that sprung up during "All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues": that one of the Island's curious powers was that it essentially allowed people to "will" things into happening--from Walt willing the rain to stop so they could search for Vincent to Jack willing Charlie back to life after he was hung up in the tree by Ethan.

In light of this latest episode, now I can't help but wonder if, rather than the Lostaways unknowingly being in control of what they wished/willed to occur, the Island was. That would explain a much wider range of mysteries: how Locke can walk, how Rose's cancer was cured, how Charlie's guitar appeared out of nowhere, how Charlie could swim, how the Dharma Van's engine could run... the list goes on and on. Obviously, I use the word "explain" very loosely in the previous sentence, but I don't think it's worth trying to actually figure out how the Island can exert influence over the 815ers just yet. It seems that perhaps the Island knows that its chosen 815ers need to be at "full strength" in order to be able to carry out the mission it has for them (which they are not aware of yet). Now that Zeke specifically said that the Island would prevent Michael from dying, we can rest assured that this phenomenon will be explored further over the rest of the series.


I FIND... SOMETIMES IT'S EASY TO BE MYSELF
SOMETIMES... I FIND IT'S BETTER TO BE SOMEBODY ELSE


Sufficiently spooked after the gun wouldn't fire and after seeing the news report about the Flight 815 wreckage, Michael visits Zeke and his, uh, caterer friend, to understand what in the heck is going on. Mr. Friendly spills a lot of information in a short amount of time:

- Some of the Others can come and go between the Island and the mainland.
My guess would be that only the people Ben trusts the most are allowed to leave. At first I thought it meant that only a certain group that had "special powers" could make the journey, but now I believe it's pretty straightforward. Ben figured out the right bearing at which boats and submarines can leave and return to the Island, but he only lets a chosen few do so in order to carry out his plans.

- Widmore staged the crash. He dug up bodies from a cemetery in Thailand, purchased a plane and had it hauled out to the ocean.
Hmmm, OK, so maybe Widmore did stage the crash. I'm not 100% sold on this, though. Ben's people could've done all of those same things and then just changed the documents so that Michael would believe he was doing the right thing. I still think there is some sort of third party involved in all of this (and "the economist" belongs to that third group), but that could still be the case even if it was Widmore who was behind the fake Oceanic crash.

Because I strive to report all major theories out there, I feel inclined to mention that there are many people who believe that the original Oceanic 815 did in fact crash and everyone on it died, and that the plane that crashed on the Island was another instance of that plane that went into a wormhole and entered a parallel dimension. Meaning that no one staged the crash, because it's real. Those of you who have been reading my posts for a long time may remember that at one point, I was a big proponent of the MPU theory (MPU stands for Multiple Parallel Universe, duh!) until the producers essentially shot it down on the 9/21/07 podcast (and again in recent podcasts) by saying that there is only one timeline and that there will not be "multiple futures." In addition to their comments, I think that the writers are going out of their way now to make it clear that the 815 wreckage was staged--it's just now a matter of who staged it.

If there were any possibility that there are two parallel universes, one in which Flight 815 actually did crash at the bottom of the ocean and one in which the Lostaways survived on the Island, we would've gotten other major hints by now. The series only has forty episodes left, and I just don't think they're going to take that extremely confusing path. If they did, it would have to mean that all of the people coming and going from the Island were also crossing over into another dimension. There are enough mysteries they have to resolve already, don't you think? I'm not saying it wouldn't be cool if the plane went into a wormhole, because it would. I just think it's clear that the series is not going in that direction. But I'm telling you about this theory because I think there's a 4.815162342% chance that it still might prove to be correct. They definitely have provided many suspicious "clues" across the series to date that would support this idea.

- Michael can only redeem himself if he accepts Ben's mission
We've long known that "redemption" is a major theme in the series. Now Zeke came right out and hit us on the head with it:

MICHAEL: You want me to go undercover? Why the hell would I go back to work for you people?
ZEKE: Because if Widmore finds the Island, it's goodnight for everybody on it. He'll kill them all without thinking twice. You wanna redeem yourself for what you did? This is your only chance. You can save all their lives.

Combine the above with Zeke's earlier statement about the Island not letting Michael kill himself, and you've got mucho evidence for a strong force that wants the Lostaways to make peace in their lives above everything else. Especially when making peace in their lives will directly help save the Island from intruders.

I think it's safe to say that the Michael we grew so annoyed with on the Island is not the same Michael anymore. First off, he's not shouting "Waaaaalllllt" anymore. Secondly, in contrast to the cocky idiot he was on the Island, now he is a broken man, guilty and confused over the dismal turns his life has taken, and he's desperate to make things right. If he doesn't, Waaaalllllt will never talk to him again, and all that frickin' yelling will have been for nothing. So he agrees to become Kevin Johnson and kill everyone on the freighter.


COMMIT A LITTLE MORTAL SIN
IT'S GOOD FOR THE SOUL

Michael (as Kevin) heads to Fiji and we see him meet all of the Freighties: Minkowski before he started time-traveling, Naomi in her extremely low-riding jeans, and Miles. We learned that not only can Miles communicate with dead people, he can also tell when people who are alive are lying. Not sure why that hasn't come into play more on the Island... maybe he's keeping all of his abilities to himself for now (which would be smart, I guess).

Once the freighter sets sail, we see Michael meet Frank, and discover that Frank had no idea what the "science team" was going to do on the Island after he dropped them off. Additionally, we learn that he had somehow gotten in touch with Widmore and that Widmore "believes that 815 is still out there somewhere" and that the wreckage was faked, as does Frank. This scene inspired two thoughts: 1) When Frank called the Oceanic hotline and was transferred after he claimed that there was no way that the video on the news was of the real 815, I think that call is what eventually put him in touch with Widmore, and 2) Since we know that Widmore might have been the one to fake the crash (or at the very least thinks it was Ben who did so), I fear that Frank was brought on board in order to prevent him from telling his theory to the media (and to possibly get rid of him after he completed the helicopter runs). He is definitely one of the "innocent people" Benry referred to a bit later in the show.

Next, Michael opens his "care package" and, I have to tell you, I was so scared about what was going to be in that toolbox, I could barely look at the TV. I seriously thought that it was going to be reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Ark, where all those crazy spirits flew out of the Ark and everyone's faces melted off or exploded. I was positive that an unholy evil was in Michael's container, and that once it was unleashed, it would cause many on the ship to go insane. For a second, I thought that it might even be Smokey. Instead, it was just a fake bomb. But the scene was still pretty tense, despite its lack of ghostly horrors. (It also had the strange effect of making me even more excited for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull... but I digress.)

The important thing to take away from this scene is that Michael honestly believed that he was going to blow up the entire ship, and yet he went through with pushing the button. So was Ben really just testing him? Did Ben actually put the little "Not Yet" flag in the toolbox? Or was the Island somehow holding Michael off? After all, we did hear the whispers and a line from the same Mama Cass song that was playing on the radio when Michael drove his car into the dumpster, and Dead Libby did appear again to Michael right before he attempted to detonate the device. Ben may have just been acting like he put the note there, when in reality he was aware that it was the Island that stopped Michael.

It seems pretty strange that Ben would go to all of the trouble of sending the huge crate to the freighter (which could've possibly put Michael at risk for being found out) to just have it be some sort of test. But... if we take things at face value and assume that the Faux Bomb was nothing more than an attempt by Ben to ensure that Michael was committed, then the purpose of this scene was to convince us (along with Michael) that Ben isn't a complete mad man. He doesn't want to kill anyone who is unaware that they're in the middle of a battle.

I think it's safe to say that Minkowski and Frank weren't/aren't aware that the freighter crew is meant to kill everyone they find on the Island, and it's pretty obvious that Naomi, Keamy, Omar and the captain were/are. From Miles' silence during the barracks meeting at the beginning of the episode, I would assume that he knows of the plan, too. He may only know about it because of his ability to read minds, however. Because it honestly doesn't seem to me that Charlotte and Daniel (well, definitely not Daniel) would be comfortable with playing a role in a massacre. They may have just been told to disarm the power station in order to make the Island safer (and prevent Ben from carrying out another gas attack). After capturing Ben, they may just think that the freighter is going to take off.

So instead of having Michael blow up the Kahana, Ben orders him to make a list of everyone on the freighter so he can make a decision about each of them. I thought I loved lists! I can't hold a candle to Ben--that man loves him some lists. After Michael passed Ben's test by attempting to detonate the Faux Bomb, Ben informed him that he is now officially on the "good guys" list.

And finally, let's wrap up what happened in this episode by covering the real-time freighter events.


AND ISN'T IT IRONIC, DON'T YOU THINK?

When an alarm sounds, Desmond and Sayid run up to the main deck and watch the captain deliver a beat-down to yet another crew member who was trying to abandon ship. They learn that Michael will be in the engine room, so they go there and Sayid confronts him and demands an explanation for why he's on the ship. While the other Freightie who was with Michael went to the supply room for, oh, forty-five minutes or so, Michael whipped out a DVD player and showed Sayid all of his flashbacks.

Apparently the flashbacks weren't good enough for Sayid. After confirming that Michael was working for Benry, he marched "Kevin Johnson" into the captain's quarters and ratted him out. If you're anything like me, you were yelling, "Noooo! Sayid, don't!!! Why?!?!!? Whhhyyyyy???" And then a few minutes later, you might have realized the great irony of the scene. Michael was never going to be able to justify why he was working for Ben; Sayid hates Ben that much. But we all know that Sayid's going to end up working for Ben, too. Kind of embarrassing for He Of The Black Tank Top.

Did anyone else think that the captain did NOT look surprised by Sayid's claims? He was sitting there like, "Tell me something I don't know."

Why did Sayid do what he did? I think one of three things is going on with Sayid:

1) He is already working for/with Ben.

Recall the last time Sayid saw Ben (with Locke in the game room):

SAYID: I agree that these people are liars and they’re certainly not here to rescue us. But if I return safely with Char-LOTTE, they’ll take me to their ship. It’s our best chance of finding out who they are and what they really want.
[LOCKE sets his glass on the floor and gets up, walking toward SAYID.]
LOCKE: Well, then, I can save you a lot of trouble, Sayid, because Ben says he’s got a spy on the boat.
[SAYID stands up and approaches BEN.]
SAYID: Who?
BEN: It’s a secret.
SAYID: Forgive me, but the day I start trusting him is the day I would have sold my soul. Give me Char-LOTTE. Allow me to do things my way. Or war is coming, which we will both be powerless to stop.
LOCKE: Why would I give you Charlotte for nothing?
SAYID: Oh, I think you misunderstood me. I never expected you to give her to me for nothing. (smiles)

We can infer from this scene that, as I mentioned earlier in this post, the conversation above continued... we just didn't get to see it. I have a feeling that perhaps Sayid offered to become Ben's mole, but knew that the only way he could do that was if Ben gave him the name of the current mole, so that Sayid could "turn him in" to the captain. Ben may have even known that the captain was already on to Michael. It would then seem to the captain that Sayid was not only not in cahoots with his fellow 815er, but that he (like the captain and Widmore) also hated Ben. Ben is smart enough to know that Sayid would make a much better mole than would Michael. If Ben already got "the list" from Michael, then he may have no more use for him. Sayid, however, could keep up the charade and perhaps get even more information out of the captain and the rest of the crew.

If you think back to the previous episode, "Ji Yeon," when Sayid first met the captain and the captain just immediately spilled all that information about the fake 815 wreckage, the black box and Widmore's search, you could tell that Sayid was skeptical about how chatty Gault was. Recall this exchange with Doc Ray shortly thereafter:

RAY: So what do you think of the captain?
SAYID: He was surprisingly forthcoming.

That is Sayid-speak for "I'm onto him." In this scenario (Theory #1), Sayid takes over for Michael as the mole on the ship, but then his involvement with Ben ends for the time-being. It is not until he is back on the mainland and something bad happens (I personally think something is going to happen to Nadia) that he then begins to work for Ben "officially."


2) Sayid blew Michael's cover, which will lead to the Freighties coming to the Island, which will lead to bad things for the Lostaways, which will guilt Sayid into working for Ben to make up for it all.


This idea is pretty straightforward. Recall Ben's ominous line to Sayid when they were both being held captive in the game room in "The Economist," before Locke came in:

BEN: I lost a dollar, you know.
SAYID: How did you manage that?
BEN: I bet John that you wouldn’t be stupid enough to fall for your friend as bait.
SAYID: What do you know about friendship?

If Sayid really did jump the gun and turned Michael into the captain without thinking things through, then he will end up feeling responsible for whatever happens next. If the Freighties are able to carry out part or all of their plan on the Island, then Ben is going to remember what happened at the barracks: Sayid fell for his friends as "bait." Ben will therefore use the need to protect the rest of the Oceanic Six (in addition to anyone who may survive on the Island) as leverage over Sayid in order to get Sayid to work for him in the future. Here is some more proof from the final scene of "The Economist":

BEN: Why are you crying? Because it hurts? Or because you were stupid enough to care for her? These people don’t deserve our sympathies. Need I remind you what they did the last time you thought with your heart instead of your gun?
SAYID: You used that to recruit me into killing for you.
BEN: Do you want to protect your friends or not, Sayid?

Unfortunately, I think whatever Ben is talking about above has not yet transpired on screen. But the tactic Ben is using--guilt over lost friends--supports Theory #2. In this scenario, Sayid doesn't start working for Ben until after something bad happens that drives him to do so--either on the Island or back on the mainland.

3) Sayid is already working for/with Ben, so he turned Michael in on purpose in order to become the new mole and to gain Gault's trust. But the Freighties still get to the Island and wreak havoc, so Sayid continues to work for Ben to attempt to "make it right."

In this scenario, Sayid essentially started working for Ben in the game room, and never stops. Their alliance only grows stronger as time goes on.

This is the way I'm leaning right now.



BEST LINES OF THE EPISODE


MILES: We're here for him. (indicates Ben)
HURLEY: Um, we kind of, like, knew that forever ago.


MICHAEL: Why would I help the son of a bitch who kidnapped my son?
ZEKE: We gave him back to you in one piece, Mike. You're the one who lost him.



ARTURO: Is this the guy who hit you with the champagne bottle?



MILES chuckles.
LOCKE: Somethin' funny?
MILES: Linus will find a way to get it.
LOCKE: And how will he do that?
MILES: He wants to survive. And considering a week ago you had a gun to his head, and tonight he's eating pound cake... I'd say he's a guy who gets what he wants.



ZEKE: ...It's game time. Are you in or out?
MICHAEL: I'm in.



OFFICIAL LOST PODCAST DEBRIEF

(As always, there are what could be considered mild spoilers in this section. The producers talk about what will or will not be covered over the rest of the season, and give general hints as to what may be going on with some aspects of the story. If you would rather be completely in the dark, skip to the next bold heading.)

The podcast began with Lindelof and Cuse promising to reveal the code name for the Season Four finale at the end of the session. The previous three code names were: The Bagel, The Challah, and The Rattlesnake in the Mailbox.

They went out of their way to say that the code name is not for the final scene of Season Four; it's for a scene before the very end that is most significant. They reiterated that the final scene of this year's finale is NOT a jaw-dropper.

The funniest part of the podcast was that a fire alarm went off while they were talking and they needed to evacuate!

Once they returned, it was entirely a fan question and answer format. I did my best to summarize the questions and their respective responses:

Q. Who are the Oceanic Six?
A. We, on a past podcast, said that you would know who the Oceanic Six were by the end of the seventh episode. This morning, we debated about listing them out for you on today's podcast because we are loath to disseminate information that is critical to the show on a forum that is outside of the show. But we're in a catch-22, because what we didn't anticipate was that people would not be clear as to who the O6 were by now, because they always think we're up to shenanigans. We are not up to any shenanigans, you've seen Jin's gravestone, you've seen all of the Oceanic Six on screen, you should be able to deduce who they are, but yes, there is a scene in a future episode where you see all of The Six together, and it will be confirmed for you. We wanted everyone to go into the seventh episode thinking that they were seeing flash-forwards of both Sun and Jin, so that it wasn't until the very end of the episode that it's revealed that Jin is dead, and that his date of death is listed as the date of the crash, so at that point you would realize that his scenes were flashbacks. ABC did confirm the six members of the Oceanic Six at the trailer of the end of the eighth episode, however, which they ran by us first.

Q. Is Tom gay?
A. Yes. We have long hinted that there was a gay character on the show, and back in Season Three when he said that Kate was "not his type," that was a hint.

Q. Minkowski and Desmond have experienced side effects from the Island. Why didn't Desmond experience them before when he took off on the sailboat? Why aren't others experiencing them? I hope you have a coherent explanation for all of this. [e: If you remember, when Locke took over pressing the button in the Swan, Desmond busted out of the hatch and left on a boat... only to show up again later (drunk) because the boat just went in circles]
A. We think we have a coherent explanation, not all of which we can detail here just yet. But there is a difference between whether or not you are inside or outside the realm of the Island. When Desmond left before, he was just going in circles, so he probably wasn't outside the realm of the Island. And remember when Ben told Michael how to leave, he told him a very specific bearing to stay on. Faraday told Frank not to stray from a very specific bearing as well. It's basically like when space shuttles leave and enter the Earth's atmosphere, they have to do so at a very specific angle, otherwise they will burn up. Also, remember that Desmond did experience intense electromagnetic radiation when he turned the fail-safe key, which may make him susceptible to effects that others may not be susceptible to. These side effects may not be that different from "the sickness" that has been mentioned before on this show...


Q. Are we ever going to see what's happened to the hatch after Desmond turned the fail-safe key? Are we going to see how Desmond, Locke and Eko ended up outside of the hatch? Are we going to see a purple sky again?
A. We are not going to go back and replay any more details about the Swan hatch imploding. The characters were blown out somehow. Yes, we will have another electromagnetic event on the show, which causes the sky to turn purple.


Q. Will you comment on the significance of the visions on the show? Are they all the monster, are they apparitions, are they actual animals, or just in the characters' heads?
A.
Ben's mother: Apparition
Wild boar (from an early Sawyer episode): Animal
Spider that paralyzed Nikki: Monster
Bird that cries "Hurley": No comment
Dave: Imagination and apparition
Yemi: Monster
Patchy's cat named Nadia (like Sayid's Nadia): Animal and coincidence
Walt: The character of Walt is a person. When Walt appears to other characters, that could be an apparition and/or the monster.
Kate's horse: Undead [e: he also listed Christian Shephard and Yemi as "undead," despite what he said about Yemi above]


Q. Is Aaron in danger now that he is being raised by Kate? In "Raised by Another," the psychic told Claire that she must be the one to raise Aaron or something bad would happen. Now that Kate is raising him, is he in danger, and are others around him in danger? Does Jack perhaps know this and that is why he doesn't want to see him?
A. Yes, Aaron is in danger. The psychic did say that in Season One, but we did see the psychic again in Season Two, where he claimed to be nothing more than a scam artist (to Eko). So it depends on what you believe... if you believe he really did have a vision about the baby, then yes, Aaron is in danger. If you believe he was just a scam artist, then Aaron is perfectly fine. I said Aaron was in danger at the outset because Kate is a known murderer who blows up houses and the men in her life... well, she has a bad track record, so if I were Aaron, as soon as I could walk I would get away from her.


Q. Is Charlotte a cultural anthropologist (what Ben said her degree was in) or an archaeologist (since we saw her at the dig site)? Will we ever see a flashback about the Black Rock or the four-toed statue?
A. You will learn more about the Black Rock and the four-toed statue, but not necessarily in a flashback. Charlotte's degree is in cultural anthropology, but she's a closet archaeologist. The fact that Charlotte is a cultural anthropologist has meaning... those people study ancient civilizations. Ancient civilizations.


And finally...
Q. What is the code name for the Season Four finale?
A. The Frozen Donkey Wheel. Seriously.

[e: from what I've seen on the boards the general consensus of the meaning of TFDW is: "A donkey wheel is a means of powering something, using a donkey (beast of burden) as motive power. So freezing it would stop it in its tracks." I personally think this means that either all theories are going to be blown out of the water by whatever happens in the finale, or... a more literal interpretation could be that whatever is powering the Island is going to be shut down and all hell will break loose.]

The moderator ended by mentioning that the name of the ninth episode is: "The Shape of Things to Come."



DON'T YOU... FORGET ABOUT ME

We now have a five-week break until Lost returns on April 24th (an hour later: 10 PM EST). There will be another podcast with the producers on April 18th, and a few days or so afterward I will do a post that will include the podcast debrief, in addition to a discussion of the bevy of theories and ideas that have arisen over the course of the season so far. I would expect that this post will be up around April 20th or 21st.

In the meantime, be sure to check in to According to e, where I will try my best to post daily on week days, and sometimes even on weekends. My review of Xanadu on Broadway is up, and in a few weeks I will be taking another vacation, from which I will be sure to post embarrassing photos of myself (hint: it will involve pirates... again).

If you don't want to read my musings about anything other than Lost, then I will see you back here in a month!
- e

48 comments:

Anonymous said...

I also thought that Smokey was going to come out of that box that Michael opened. Very nerve-wracking!!

Anonymous said...

I love your recaps but I think you have jumped the gun on who shot Karl and Dani.
You wrote Frank off the list very quickly, and while I agree he cannot shoot like that, he didn't have to shoot to be involved in it.
In the previous episode, the tall military type guy (forgot his name) tells Frank not to be late. It is very easy for Frank to make another trip to the island and drop off those guys. BTW it also looked like those same guys were missing while the captain was beating up the person trying to take to small boat.

Anonymous said...

Did you find it odd how Nurse Libby called Michael "Mr.Johnson" even though this was before he even learned that he would be Kevin Johnson?

Anonymous said...

As for the Ben thing. It was a total setup and I believe Rousseau knew that as well. Ben made it clear to let Alex know that she can be held as a bargaining chip. I did find it odd why Michael got pissed at the guys shooting the skeets. What business is it of his to be yelling at them? Also how long does it take to sail from Fiji to NY? That's one long trip to do twice in a month.

Anonymous said...

thanx e,
this was one of the most highly anticipated posts by you. the other was "the constant"!i have a couple of things to say.
(1)i really wish the MPU theory will come back into play.
(2) have you played via domus yet?
(3) what show did you like before lost?
please feature at least one of these in a future write up.

i would appreciate it.

:)

Surly said...

I gotta say I agree with Anonymous no. 1: I don't think the Others shot Karl and Rousseau: I think it was more Freighties, brought there on Lapidus's errand. Lapidus's errand is just too coincidental, the automatic weapon skeet-shooting had to be in there for a reason, and let's not forget that the Others are very high-and-mighty when it comes to killing: they don't kill their own (I'm referring to Karl here) without at least giving them a trial-by-annoying-sheriff.

That doesn't rule out a set-up by Ben, necessarily, but makes it a lot less likely.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you that it was the others who shot Karl and Rousseau... now that Ben was out of captivity, he could have snuck into his little communications room to contact the others at the temple and told them they were coming, and what route they were going to take (he gave them the map afterall). To affirm this theory, did you see the look in his eye after Alex was playing with Aaron and she and Karl went to leave, and Karl put his hand on Alex's lower back? He has never liked Karl and I think the thought of his daughter and him being intimate and possibly even having a kid was too much for him to take, so he had Karl taken out. I also think he saw Rousseau as a threat since she is Alex's biological mother.
As to the "where was Frank" theory... that is a huge mystery. We know he took off in the helicopter, but where??? I can't wait to find out.
Great write up as always, e. I really look forward to these every week. Bummed we have to wait till April 24...

Anonymous said...

do you think the list ben was going to give michael of all the "good people" on the boat is the same kind of list he gave ethan about the lostaways when they first crashed?

-jackie

Anonymous said...

Wonderful recap, E. I have a question - do you think Alex might be pregnant already? During the episode, she made a sort of gesture, like she was rubbing her stomache. Kind of seems like a little foreshadowing to me, and it would be more than a bit ironic if Ben was indeed responsible for Karl's death (sort of closing the barn door after the horses get out - so to speak!) - Julie

Lula! said...

YES! A Hayley Mills reference--still digging the song lyrics.

As always, a fab write-up...thanks!

Anonymous said...

Hey e,

I have a couple of comments/questions.

1) My husband is trying to convince me that Zeke switched guns with Michael during their scuffle, thereby giving him a gun that wouldn't shoot its bullets. Though we both like the idea of the island being in control of people's actions, perhaps things aren't as mystical as Zeke was alluding to? Then again, one could point to the island keeping Michael from dying in the car crash. I mean, he barely had a scratch on his face, and yet, the windshield was totally smashed in. He was doing about 80 mph when he crashed--he should have been dead, but seemed to have walked out of the hospital later that night.

2) I agree with some of the other posters about the shooting of Karl and Rousseau. I think the Freighties are responsible, but I would like to add another theory to this. I think Ben set it up for them to be killed by the Freighties, because he and Widmore are actually working TOGETHER, despite what they and their people are saying about the other one.

I think Ben did everything he has done in order to get the Freighties TO the island to kill off the "original Others, The Losties, etc. His pleas to Jack not to call the boat were done because he knew that it would make Jack for sure call the boat. If you look back, there are many other instances where Ben's actions could be seen to be done to achieve the exact opposite of what he is saying.

At this point, I have no clue what Ben's and Widmore's end game is, but I just have this feeling that they are working together, but only the two of them know it. Everybody else is being manipulated for Ben's and Widmore's evil gain.

Perhaps the island, the Losties, the "original" Others & Jacob will be the only ones who can stop these two evil men? Your thoughts?

another e

Anonymous said...

Has anyone noticed that the 4-toed foot closely resembles the Statue of Liberty's foot? Can't explain the missing toe, but since we are possibly looking at an "ancient" civilization, that statue could be the remains of THE statue. My theory is that somehow this ties in with the island's protection from the destruction of the world. Thoughts E? Anyone?

Anonymous said...

- I'm in the camp that thinks Frank took some of the freighter marksmen with him to the island and they shot Karl and Rousseau. High power sniper rifles.

- Remember that Charlotte also used the "I have work to do" line when she asked to stay behind on the island.

- Perhaps the island didn't allow Jack to kill himself on that bridge and, therefore, caused that woman to get in a wreck at the end of last season.

-S

Anonymous said...

Okay, you may not want to post this one so I'll do it separately from my last comment... I'm guessing your comment about Naomi's very low-riding jeans was because you noticed what was showing as she left Frank and went through the ship's door. OMG. Ain't High Def fun???

-S

Craig said...

First, a preemptive apology for how wordy this comment is. Sure, I haven't written it yet but (a) I'm always wordy and (b) I'm one of the people that loved this episode, so I'll probably have even more to say than normal.

I liked that Locke brought everyone (well, everyone we care about) in New Otherton together to talk about Ben, Miles and the freighter. It shows that he's growing as a leader and realizing that he needs to bring people into the loop rather than making decisions unilaterally. Jack still hasn't gotten that one figured out. It doesn't mean he's not still, as Miles suggested, being played a bit by Ben, but he's on the right track.

I've often wondered about Alex being truly Ben's daughter. I have no idea how it would have had to work out with all the island pregnancy issues, but it seems strange that Ben cares for Alex while anything resembling care for anyone else is purely manipulation and preserving Ben's self-interest.

I hope Rousseau isn't dead. She's got so much more to give the story, while Karl has always been an ancillary character at best. In fact, one thing that leads me to believe that she is not dead is that during the show we have never (to the best of my recollection) seen scenes that did not include at least one character who is in a flashback (i.e. no scenes of just redshirts). The scene of A,K and D getting shot at included no flashback characters. That was either a first or one of them is going to flashback at some point.

I'm not sure who did the shooting, but Karl, or rather the actor who plays him, did suggest that more was shot than was shown because they filmed the people coming out of the bushes. (I'll leave out any details to avoid what may or may not be spoiler-ish)

I feel like no matter who did the shooting, Ben got exactly what he wanted and intended. However, the one problem I have then is that I doubt that Ben wanted Alex to get shot or for Alex to be captured if it is Widmore's people doing the shooting. If Widmore's people killed Karl and take Alex as a prisoner, that can't serve Ben's purposes and would actually use his favorite gambit (find out what he's emotionally invested in and use it to control him) against him.

I loved Michael's flashback (except that it destroyed my "Ben sent Michael back in time" theory that would have explained taller ghost Walt). It showed us a man driven by desire for redemption, but for whom redemption would always be out of reach. The scene were Tom talks to him about "sharing his guilt" with Walt was wonderful. The Others all seem to be masters at emotional manipulation. (Compare also the conversation Ben and Michael had where Ben first uses Walt's name, then says re: Ana and Libby "no one asked you to kill them, Michael. You did that yourself.") The more I see the rest of these people the less I trust anything Juliet says or does.

I really like your second theory about Sayid turning in Michael and had been telling anyone who would listen a similar theory that this was Sayid thinking with his heart instead of his gun, and that soon Sayid would be the one looking for redemption. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I thought that the undead horse thing was kind of meant as a joke. It happens to be on the section of board where things that are dead but still seen are. I assume that doesn't mean it's really a zombie horse. I did find it interesting that there was no thought given to which column Christian falls in during the question. Yes, I know he was in the undead column on the board, but, as you mention, so was Yemi.

I've read all sorts of speculation about FDW, but I'm not sure it means anything. Did "the bagel" really mean anything either? Challah could have been interpreted as a "twist" but it could easily have been just a joke in reference to the bagel. What I do know about the Frozen Donkey Wheel is that after last year's fiasco, I'm going to be avoiding anything that even slightly resembles a spoiler.

Keep up the great posts. Have fun on yet another vacation (good thing there's a hiatus or we might all be questioning your priorities).

And again apologies for the logorrhea

surfmadpig said...

Why Sayid gave Michael to the captain???

I liked your theories, but I think you keep forgetting to think in simple terms:

Sayid doesn't trust Ben OR the freighties at this point. At the same time, Sayid knows that Michael not only betrayed the losties, but also killed an innocent woman (Anna Lucia doesn't count :b) AND led the four to the Others. Michael is nothing short of a traitor for Sayid. While we know more stuff about the future and the present of the losties, Sayid does not. So it's safe to assume he gave Michael to the captain because he thinks Michael deserves punishment, but AT THE SAME TIME wanted to see the captain's reaction and will decide the rest of the plan from there. That's simply it for me.

Erika (aka "e") said...

Hi everyone -

Regarding the possibility of the Freighties being behind the attack in the jungle... Yes, after I wrote my post, I read about the theory that Frank took Keamy and Omar to the Island and that they could be the ones behind the shooting (I did say that Frank left the Island, but just that I didn't think he would personally would kill anyone). The only problem I see with that idea is that both other times when the helicopter has come to the Island--both when Naomi came and when Daniel et al came, the Lostaways noticed it--they heard it and saw it.

Now, I DEFINITELY don't put it past the writers to show in a later episode that perhaps the Lostaways on the beach saw/heard the helicopter again, but that the people at the barracks didn't, and that's how Keamy/Omar were able to sneak up on Alex, Karl and Rousseau. I think that would be kind of lame since they are so obviously trying to make us think that Ben is behind it, but since we just saw them also purposefully try to trick the audience in "Ji Yeon" with the twist that Jin's flashes were in the past, then I agree that the helicopter peeps very well may have already landed again and are up to no good.

Then I will OFFICIALLY hate Keamy and Omar. I already didn't like Keamy and his toothy grin, but Omar hadn't rubbed me the wrong way as much just yet.


On to another topic...

I didn't notice that Nurse Libby called Michael "Mr. Johnson." That IS weird. I can only assume it was The Island, who knows all. : )


To the Anon poster with the 3 questions:
1) We shall see if the MPU theory ever comes back into play... I just think it would be really tough to pull off at this late point. But stranger things have happened.

2) Have not played the video game... I'm assuming I would need some sort of game system, which I don't have...

3) The only show I've liked as much as Lost was "The X-Files." I went to two conventions!

Jackie - Yes, I think Ben gathers "lists of names," takes them to Jacob to decide who is good/bad, and then makes decisions on their fates. So he was having Michael do the same thing he had Ethan and Goodwin do.

Julie - I don't think they would have Alex be pregnant, unless they want to get into Jamie Lynn Spears territory. Alex is supposed to only be 16, and I think that plotline would alienate a lot of its mainstream America audience, to be blunt.

Craig - I agree that I don't really think the finale code names mean anything either. They are pretty silly!

Surfmadpig: I do agree with what you're saying, that's why I wrote: "Michael was never going to be able to justify why he was working for Ben; Sayid hates Ben that much." But why I went into my theories is that we KNOW that Sayid ends up working for Ben. So my theories were more trying to figure out at what point Sayid started working for Ben. We can't ignore that since we know it comes to pass from Sayid's flash-forward.

Anonymous said...

E,

You didn't give me your response about the foot. What gives? :-)

Erika (aka "e") said...

Another e - I definitely like your theory about Widmore and Benry working TOGETHER... that may be the ultimate twist. I will try to remember to mention that (and give you credit, of course) in my April 20/21st write-up. I will have to think through it a bit more in the meantime.

Julie - Hmmm... I think they gave us a big hint in the podcast and they were being pretty literal, so I don't think it's the SoL. Especially since JJ Abrams just did "Cloverfield" and had the SOL's head blow off... that would be like SOL overkill! He would need to seek counseling for why he has such a think for the SOL.

Joking aside, I did compare pictures and while I definitely see the similarities in the toes, the SOL has draped robes around the foot itself, whereas the Island statue has a bare foot and leg. I'm sure it was INSPIRED by the SOL, though!

- e

Robert Klotz said...

Hey Erika!

I've been reading your stuff here since Andy started posting them on DarkUFO. As always, GREAT STUFF and funny photo captions. I love 'em all.

About the water bottle, I think a bullet grazed it, thus causing only one hole and no hole in Karl. He stupidly stood up and got blasted, which was probably the intention of the shooter (I'm betting Keamy, Omar and the Kahana Gun Club). I think Ben knew where Frank was landing them and sent Danielle, Karl and Alex on a course where the interception would happen, with precisely calculated results: Karl dead meat, Rousseau likely also (although I hope she's got enough air left before blood fills her right lung that she can spill some beans to Alex), and Ben's Queen on the chessboard, Alex, in full defensive play.

Regarding Miles, he's probably more of a bounty hunter than a psychic/ghostbuster. His analytical skills seem second none, or at least rival Ben's. There's lots of evidence of him summing up a situation in an instant, the latest being his tagging Kevin as Not Kevin. I think there's an anti-ghostbuster element to him, a la Houdini, who before he was killed, debunked lots of psychics -- and spawned the popular theory that they had him murdered on Halloween. I could go into detail about this Theory on Miles if you want me to.

The shipping container Michael crashes into looks exactly like the one of the deck of the Kahana. Since you brought are the first I've seen to bring it up, I thought I'd mention it here.

The best part of your essay was confirmation about how the island seems to have wish fulfillment powers, and children seem to be the most able to use them. (Disneyworld anyone? WALT Disneyworld, I should say.) I think this is because children are almost always uncorrupted, which is why Ben took Alex, Ethan took Claire and her bellyfull of Aaron, faceless Others took Zack and Emma. Other uncorrupted souls on the island who've benefitted from wish fulfillment are as you said: Jack bringing beatific Charlie back, Hurley getting his wild ride in the van, Locke getting his legs back, Rose getting cured, Bernie finding Rose at last and Charlie gaining the ability to swim very well. The more conflicted characters, Sawyer, Sayid, Eko, Ana and Kate, they don't seem to always get the same benefit. Is there an Island God at work? Does Ben just call him Jacob for want of a better name? This theory could also hold that the Others were all compromised and LOST their abilities with the island when they committed mass murder of DHARMA. Ben may get special communications with JACOB when he gives the island a human sacrifice -- Anthony Cooper. But that's the only way Ben can commune with the island. He understands it and what it wants, he thinks, but it no longer accepts him. Yeah, I know, supernatural and non-science. But fun to think about.

I don't share your opinion that Lapidus is definitely one of the innocents. Could very well be, but he also could be much more than we've seen. All in all, the most intriguing new character of S4 for me.

Finally, I guessed long ago and posted so on Lostpedia and DarkUFO that Sayid's backstory has HUGE GAPING HOLES. From his meeting with Inman to his entrusting Shannon with his dufflebag, there's a lot going on with the guy. I think that's why we didn't see much of the scene where Sayid and Ben shared internment.

Hope the snow is melting in Chicago!

Bong
Swamp City, FL

Niki B. said...

your posts are great! i look forward to them every week. this time i have three comments...

1. Did you think that Tom may have said that only some people can leave the island because of radiation levels that some of the others may or may not be exposed to on a regular basis?
2. I think sadly, Rousseau's story is most likely over. This season was cut short by 3 episodes because of the writers strike. I think one of those episodes would have been a back story about Rousseau, and then her character arc would have been complete. Although I feel like I've been jipped, I think she bit it.
3. I agree with your Sayid/Ben theory that he is already working for Ben. I think Sayid will do whatever it takes to get off the island and keep his friends safe, like he has the entire season. He sold his soul when he tortured people in Iraq already anyway..but then again... what if michael fails because of this and Windmore gets to the island? Maybe Windmore only finds the oceanic 6, or 8 before two died, and this is the story jack thought up on the fly. What if they escape somehow, and the others are left on the island in hiding to fend for themselves against Windmore?

who knows! I'm so sad Lost is gone for the next few weeks! What will I do when I'm supposed to be working...

Anonymous said...

He Of The Black Tank Top.

man, that was funny!

i really want to agree with your theory about Sayid striking a deal with Ben or SOMETHING happening between Ben and Sayid while they were in the game room. i'm so sick of people on this show having perfect opportunities to have conversations (especially with the Others) and get some questions answered and the vague weird answers are given, especially by Ben. so my hope is that they talked about their favorite colors or something while they were locked in that stinkin' game room.

loved the write up! so sad they won't continue for a little while.

kt

Anonymous said...

I would have to say I have very much enjoyed reading your recaps except when you imply or blatantly state that people are stupid, hopeless, or shouldn't continue watching the show because they didn't catch something you did.

Erika (aka "e") said...

To the commenter above... it's called sarcasm... someone would be crazy if they SERIOUSLY ripped on anyone for not catching something in Lost! So that's certainly not how any of my comments were intended... and those who have been reading my posts for a few years now understand that. All of those comments I made in past write-ups were in jest, please do not take them seriously.

- e

Anonymous said...

When Michael drove into the container there was a ship sailing through and right before it cut to commerical the ship turns its lights off. What was the deal with that?

Craig said...

It's interesting that some people see the statue and think Statue of Liberty. I see it and immediately think Colossus of Rhodes. I'm not sure why I think that or how that would have any bearing on the story though.

Aww...I wrote all that in my first comment and got the shortest response for any of the commenters. It's because I made that joke about Locke and Boone a while back, isn't it? ;)

Anonymous said...

Two things have been bothering me:

1) If the Others can get off the island whenever they want, why do they continue to let women die in pregnancy?

Yes, I understand that not everyone knows that they can leave the island (and Ben can't just let people come & go as they like). But at minimum, he would send his daughter Alex off the island to have the baby safely if she were pregnant, right?

And then what about the wives/girlfriends of the men that work for Ben and know that they can leave the island? Wouldn't they do what they could to save their loved ones?

Maybe I'm missing something here, but seems like the explanation here is a bit flawed when they make a big deal about women dying and then we can find out that people are leaving the island and returning all of the time.

2) I don't really think that Sayid would work for Ben in the future. There are a few possibilities here: 1) Ben is actually good, and Sayid starts working for Ben b/c he realizes that Ben is good, 2) Ben manipulates Sayid to work for him over guilt over "the last time he thought with his heart, not his gun" and/or a desire to save his friends, and 3) Sayid pretends to work for Ben but actually he is working against Ben or infiltrating to get information to go against Ben to help his friends/save the island/whatever.

While the show has led us to believe #2, I'm leaning towards #3. But I'll admit, I'm biased - I love Sayid as much as e loves Locke.

Erika (aka "e") said...

Craig -

Yes, I had mentioned back at the S2 finale that many thought it looked like the Colossus of Rhodes statue (look under "Speaking of Sayid" section of this post:
http://longlivelocke.blogspot.com/2006/06/s2finale-live-together-die-alone.html)

I agree that it is more like that statue than any other! And no offense taken by the Boone/Locke comment. Others have said way worse!

Mary - I agree with you. It is weird they don't have the women leave. Maybe they thought that wouldn't help, either? Until Sun came along, I don't think anyone conceived a child on the Island and then delivered it on the mainland and knew it would be OK. Maybe Sun will start a new trend! ; )

It would be interesting if Sayid was working against Ben but appeared to be working for him... but I think that would be really confusing... he would have to be willing to kill people that were technically "on his side" then--like Elsa and the guy on the golf course, etc.

To the anon poster who asked about the ship in the background turning off its lights... not sure what to make of that. As Bongzilla pointed out, some thing the shipping crate was from the Kahana, or that the Kahana was even in the background. They have been known to re-use props (like the shipping crate)... so I'm not reading too much into those things right now...

- e

- e

Anonymous said...

hi e,
i was the anon poster who asked the three q's

i just wanted to tell you that via domus is available for the pc and it seems pretty awesome.

also a few more q's

1. why the sudden hiatus
2. is find815 still active
3. wo do you think (other than karl or dani) will get killed off?

Erika (aka "e") said...

To the above poster:

1) The hiatus is because of the writers' strike a few months ago. They only had 8 episodes done before the strike... now they need to write the remaining 5 hours and shoot the shows, so it takes time to ramp up again

2) Find815.com is now over...

3) No predictions from me - I don't want anyone else to die!

- e

Anonymous said...

i think the shooter is..... CLOVERFIELD!

Anonymous said...

hi i am the poster that so far only asks in three question incriments i will no longer be posting anonymously now that i have an account

Robert Klotz said...

We haven't seen any women characters leave the island and certainly not any pregnant ones. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but haven't only Ethan, Richard and now Tom been seen during Island Standard Time off the island? we know Sun delivers her baby off-island in Island Future Time but we're a loooong way from learning how the Oceanic Six escape LOST Island.

I'm thinking the Island Vile Vortex (yeah, that oldie but still crispy theory) would destroy the fetus. If nothing else it's an easy narrative explanation to this question from the pov of Damon and Carlton. Pregnant women can't survive leaving the island. Simple.

Anonymous said...

Hi e,

It's a real bummer when readers take things so personally/seriously.

Please don't refrain from your hilarious sarcastic remarks in your future write-ups. Obviously, the majority of your readers "get it" and would be very saddened if you wrote your recaps any other way!

Keep on keeping on...

Another e

Anonymous said...

In response to the person who thought Nurse Libby said "Mr. Johnson." I watched it again and now I think she says "Mr. Dawson." Which just happens to be Michael's last name.

And did anyone else notice that after one commercial just before the show came back on, the ABC logo and the "Start Here" promo morphed into The Mole logo for a split second? You know the old show with the green fingerprint? It was the commercial that broke up the scene with Tom and Michael in the alley.

Coincidence? I think not.

Okay, I heard that they are going to bring that show back and should start filming soon but still.....

-S

Erika (aka "e") said...

S -

Thank you for the clarification on Johnson vs. Dawson... I haven't had time to watch it again yet...

Also, yes, I have seen the spots for The Mole a few other times. You are correct, they are just a split second. I would assume this is on purpose... so that people would be like, "Did I just see that?" Interesting tactic.

You might have seen my speculation on The Mole returning on this post:

http://according-to-e.blogspot.com/2008/01/reality-roundup.html

(at the end)

I can't wait! But it will never be as good as when AC hosted it. : (

- e

Anonymous said...

Hi e I think everyone has missed the biggest question of all about the episode!

Will the rifle ever get to leave Rousseau's back?

Anonymous said...

Did anyone think there was significance to the names that Zeke rattled off when talking to Micheal? Seemed interesting that it was everyone that leaves or that we think leaves the island as part of the Oceanic6.

Anonymous said...

yeah watchin enhanced version of beggining of the end

The_Other_Other said...

You may have seen this already but anyways here it is, as it states the most compelling theory about what is happening on LOST (read only if you do not want to be spoiled ... in the case of this is what actually is going on).

Literally this could be bang on.

http://duggmirror.com/television/An_Extremely_Compelling_LOST_Theory/

Anonymous said...

High five to Mary for thinking about why don't all pregnant women just leave and come back?
It is not "simple" as one commenter said...
How come Sun can leave and deliver a healthy baby and no one else?
Could it be that everyone can leave, but not everyone can go back? Maybe that's why Ben won't let pregnant people leave. Or maybe it's only the original others that can come and go?
I hope they answer this question!
p.s. Your sarcasm cracks me up! It keeps it real!

PenguinJosh said...

"Mon dieu"

Hahah, once again, E, you crack me up so much!

:D :D :D

Anonymous said...

To The Other Other-
I read that "most compelling theory" as to what's really going on and I agree. I think it is DEAD ON. I don't really consider it a spoiler as it's a theory, but it all makes sense and kind of tied together what has been floating around in my head for a long time. I just couldn't piece it together. I didn't feel spoiled after I read it. Instead, I felt RELIEF, like now I can follow each episode and have this core to tie it back to. I don't agree with all the answers that were given in the Q and A section, but the overall theory flows so perfectly. I really didn't see any holes in it. E, have you read this and what are your thoughts? Anyone else?

Erika (aka "e") said...

The Other Other and Julie G -

I'm going to stay away from reading it... I actually usually get inexplicably disappointed when I read theories that I actually think make sense. I'd rather remain surprised, even though I agree that technically it's not a spoiler if it is just someone's theory. But let's face it, there's no way someone isn't going to be right about what's going on--it's not like the writers are supreme beings that can come up with thoughts that no one else will ever be able to. So I'd rather just enjoy the ride for now.

That being said, I don't think any of us will actually be "surprised" by the end of the sixth season. If they're doing their job, the biggest mysteries will probably be wrapped up well beforehand. I'd just rather let the show wrap them up for me than read about what may be going on at this early point in time.

Thanks for not spilling anything about the theory and for leaving the link in case anyone else is interested...

- e

Anonymous said...

Hi E, The Other Other and Julie G,

I have read the theory and I think it is max. 20% correct. Don't worry, I won't mention any details!


First: It is too complicated (and I don't think that the average auditorium will accept too complicated plots that they need a month to understand). We should never forget, that the commercial success of Lost does not depend on the (maybe 10.000) blog-writing-reading-and-commenting-fans, but to the millions of avg. viewers. The writers won't mess with them.

Second: The Theory seems to be going zik-zak in order to touch many of the mysteries and this seems to me quite odd. Many details of the theory are a single exception to the overall theory only to address a single mystery. I think the real explanation of Lost will be straight-forward and won't have the need to go in detail as the general explanation will be enough.

Anonymous said...

E, I don't think that the show will end will all questions answered. That's just not going to happen. It would be too easy to finish it with closure. I bet we'll still be salivating when its done. As long as they don't batch the series finale like the Sopranos this should be good.

Why did they announce an end to the show? Was it due to lack of viewership or did the writers think they only really had 5 seasons in them before they ran out of ideas?

Erika (aka "e") said...

I agree (and the producers have already said) that the series finale won't tie everything up in a nice little bow for us, and I definitely prefer that to some lame ending.

The producers were actually the ones who pushed ABC to agree on an end date for the show, because the writers had always envisioned a 5-season arc and felt that they were having to stretch things out if they didn't know when the end would be. Whereas ABC wanted to keep the cash cow going. So they agreed to a total of six seasons, but the last three seasons would have less episodes each (16 rather than the typical 24).

I think it was a smart move. I'd rather have the episodes be the best they can be then have the show on for longer but have nothing happen.

- e

Anonymous said...

The cool thing about this season is that they said the next 5 episodes will be comprised of the total storyline for eight episodes. That means there won't be that slow let down episode.

Also did you find it odd that out of the first eight episodes non were Jack centric? The first season it was practically all about Jack and then when Lost was declared a success Mathew Fox started to whine as to why the cast of Lost didn't get paid as much as the cast of Desperate Houswives then all of a sudden he went from being the central character to almost a role character. Even Ben now seems more central than Jack. They always say to never bite the hand that feeds you.