Sunday, April 05, 2009

S5Ep11 - Whatever Happened, Happened

Hello my dear friends -

My reaction to "Whatever Happened, Happened" was comparable to how I felt about "Namaste" and "He's Our You"; I enjoyed the episode and was thankful that a few mysteries were resolved, but it's not like my jaw had hit the floor by the time the hour came to a close or anything. However, there's still a lot to be said for this Kate-centric installment: the instantly infamous Miles/Hurley time travel debate, Evangeline Lilly's heart-wrenching performance, the possible end of the Love Quadrangle...

Flashbacks first!


MISS MISERY

The Kate and Cassidy reunion might have come as a surprise to "normal" viewers of the show (if you're reading this, I hate to be the one to tell you, but you're probably not normal), but most hardcore fans (including myself) had found enhanced audio clips of what Sawyer whispered before he jumped out of the helicopter at the end of Season Four, and therefore knew that Kate would most likely try to find his old flame and his daughter back on the mainland. What I didn't expect to see, however, was Kate telling Cassidy the truth about the Oceanic crash almost immediately after she returned. My knee-jerk reaction was to then be suspicious of Cassidy... I kept waiting for the scene where she ratted Kate out, which would inevitably lead to Aaron being taken away by force. Especially since she still seemed so bitter about Sawyer even after learning what happened to him. But I was wrong... we now know that she didn't blab the O6's secret.

Instead, Cassidy served as a pseudo-shrink for Kate... helping her to realize not only why Sawyer leapt into the ocean, but also why she made up the lie about being Aaron's birth mother in the first place. I thought the latter explanation was total crap, though, and was annoyed by the insinuation that Kate kept Aaron because "she needed him." I'm not trying to say that Kate didn't have some issues... but, um, hello... it IS a fact that Claire left her son in the jungle, and it IS a fact that the O6's cover could've been blown and therefore those back on the Island could've been in danger if Kate revealed Aaron's true identity once she returned to Los Angeles. I mean, what else was she supposed to do?

I personally think that Kate made the right choice by keeping Aaron during the three years before the group decided they needed to go back. It definitely sucks that poor Turniphead had to be abruptly separated from the only mother he's known and given to a complete stranger (even though she's a blood relative), but I feel like if that had been done at any earlier point, the group would've been constantly worried about Widmore tracking Aaron down and using him as leverage. Let's not forget that the O6 spent a chunk of time on Penny's boat and were told firsthand -- by Widmore's own daughter -- that there would be no calling him off in his search for the Island.



SOMEBODY'S CRYING

Between the freaky Ghost Claire visions, the middle-of-the-night haunting phone calls and her conversations with Cassidy, Kate was probably starting to realize that her time with Aaron was drawing to a close. But it wasn't until Ben's Threatening Lawyer Guy started hounded her and she then thought she'd lost Aaron at the grocery store and saw Meth Face Chick Who Sort of Resembled the Littleton Women (I'm sorry, but she was scary!) that Kate truly came to grips with what had to be done. (Was I the only one who thought Aaron had been taken? I was actually surprised when Kate found him.)

At this point in the episode, I still had no idea how the Kate-Aaron separation would go down. I thought that perhaps they had reintroduced Cassidy because Kate would choose to leave Aaron with her... and then he'd have little Clementine as a playmate. Instead, Kate decided to keep it in the family, so to speak, and sought out Claire's mother. She gave Mrs. Littleton a CliffsNotes version of what transpired on the Island, and then vowed to go back in order to find Claire.

I already commented above on how sad it is to think of Aaron being left with a woman he's never met before, so now let's talk about how sad it was to watch Kate say goodbye to him as he slept. Yeah, I cried! Evangeline Lilly was marvelous in this entire episode, but nothing topped her work in that scene. The whole situation is so depressing... I mean, even if Claire is found and is somehow able to leave the Island... Aaron's not going to know her, either. That kid will be in therapy his whole life. And since he's already been "raised by another" for three years, is bad stuff going to happen no matter what? Or is there still time to prevent the horrendous events that Claire's psychic predicted would happen if his birth mother wasn't the one to parent him?

If Claire's even alive, that is. Last we saw her (in Season Four's "Cabin Fever"), she was hangin' with Zombie Dad in Jacob's Shack. (On that note, Jorge Garcia (Hurley) pretty much confirmed that a production error had been made in "Namaste" -- the woman behind Sun was most likely a crew member in the frame by accident, and not Claire.)


TOMORROW... GO BACK TO BEING FRIENDS
OH... GO BACK TO BEING FRIENDS
BUT TONIGHT, LET'S BE LOVERS

I want to take a moment to revisit Kate and Jack's last-night-in-the-normal-world tryst simply because we now know the context of Kate's strange behavior. As many of us had guessed, she had voluntarily given Aaron to someone else, and then came to Jack to, uh, get her mind off of things. In my "316" write-up, I was really annoyed with both of the characters during that scene -- Jack for so easily agreeing to stop asking questions about Aaron, and Kate for not telling him exactly what had happened.

You may also remember that I was dreading the possibility that Kate would become pregnant as a result of this one-night stand. I'm still holding out hope that that's not what happens, but in case it does, here are two theories worth considering:

- Reader SG proposed that Kate's three years with Aaron made her realize that she really did love having a child. But since she'd made the decision to try to find Claire in order to reunite Aaron with his birth mother, and since she knew any woman who conceived on the Island would die, her fling with Jack was a last-ditch effort to get pregnant so that she could have a child of her own. Meaning, it wasn't some in-the-heat-of-the-moment display of passion or the result of any lingering feelings for The Mad Doctor, but rather a deliberate attempt to become a mother in her own right. I wanted to mention this idea because even though there's been a lot of speculation that Kate may be pregnant, I hadn't heard anyone say that maybe that was her plan all along.

- Before we knew exactly when the 815ers were going to end up once they'd returned to the Island, reader sweetpeas wondered -- assuming that Kate is pregnant -- if her child with Jack could possibly end up being Little Ben's crush, Annie. We've since learned that the timing doesn't work out for that theory, but I wanted to mention it anyway because if Kate is pregnant and she's still back in the '70s when she gives birth, there's a chance the kid (boy or girl) could be someone we've already met in earlier seasons. Hey, if Horace and Amy can spawn Ethan, anything's possible, right? Sweetpeas also questioned whether or not this strange phenomenon of Kate getting pregnant in 2008 but giving birth decades earlier could be what causes the future pregnancy issues for women on the Island. I guess we'll find out soon enough!

And with that weak segue, let's move on to the Island events...


AND I SCREAM AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS,
"WHAT'S GOING ON?"

The episode began with Jin coming to and realizing that Little Ben had been shot by Sayid. The first thing I noticed was that Ben's wound was in a different location than it was at the end of the previous episode, and I started hollering at the TV in disgust. Then I was like, "OK, well, if he wasn't shot in his heart then he's definitely not going to die." So that was more than a little frustrating... not that I wanted the kid to kick the bucket or anything, but come on, that was a pretty blatant switcheroo. I mean, here's what we saw in "He's Our You":



And then here's what Ben looked like moments later when Jin rolled him over in "Whatever Happened, Happened":



What to make of this? I can only think of three possibilities:

1) It was a very bad screw-up on the part of the wardrobe and/or make-up peeps...

2) The Powers That Be wanted a big cliffhanger, and hoped viewers would think -- without a doubt -- that Ben was going to die, so they made the shot closer to his heart in "He's Our You" on purpose. They probably figured that the vast, vast majority of fans weren't going to compare frames after the following episode. (I know this seems hard to believe, but those of us who read Lost blogs, inspect screencaps and over-analyze dialogue are in the minority of the show's multimillion-person fan base.)

or

3) There's some other reason why the hole was in one place but the blood was in another... like "the Island moved the bullet" or "we saw things from Sayid's perspective, and he thought he hit Ben's heart" or "the bullet went in at an angle" or whatnot.

Quite frankly, I don't think the explanation matters (but if I had to choose, I'd go with #2). All that matters is that Little Ben's not going to die, but a lot of us truly believed there was a chance he might and a Great Debate raged for a week as to whether or not this was even possible. It was fun while it lasted, right?


RICO...
SUAVE


While Jin was making his way back to the Barracks with Sayid's victim in tow, the rest of us were getting totally skeeved out by Roger Linus and Kate flirting with each other. I know that we were supposed to see "a different side" of Ben's dad in this episode and all that, but seriously, I just could not deal with those scenes and actually kept hoping against hope that it was some other dude named Roger that just looked a hell of a lot like the guy who slammed his son's face against Sayid's cell bars not too long ago. This might have been the only time when I would've actually been OK with an "evil twin" scenario. Alas, when Jin rolled up we got confirmation that it was indeed Ben's dad who'd been macking on Ms. Austen. Blech!

(The title of this section is in reference to the fact that Jon Gries, who plays Ben's dad, also starred as Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite. Further, and I probably shouldn't admit this, but I saw Gerardo -- the cheesy dude who sang the 1991 hit "Rico Suave" -- in concert. Granted, it was a free concert that my high school won (and Mr. Judge, if you're reading this, I hold you partially responsible for this awful memory!), but that doesn't make me any less ashamed.)


NOBODY SAID IT WAS EASY
NO ONE EVER SAID IT WOULD BE SO HARD

"Hey, this is what you said in your last post... you even had the picture of Marty McFly and everything!" shouted my husband at the start of the Hurley/Miles time travel debate. We actually had to pause the show because we were laughing so hard in disbelief.

But it really shouldn't have been a surprise. By this late point in the series, we all know that Hurley often serves as the voice of the viewers at home. He's the one who's not afraid to ask the questions that are on our minds or make the blunt statements that we've been stewing over for months. And so it was only fitting that he got into it with Miles and attempted to clarify what in the hell is going on, and what can and cannot happen because of the characters' time-traveling escapades.

Maybe I've just thought about all of this waaaay too much, but everything they said was already crystal-clear to me. Miles subscribed to Faraday's "whatever happened, happened... we can't change the past" school of thought, while Hurley felt there was a possibility that they all might vanish at any moment because it looked like Ben might die. What I liked is that their argument did not end on a definitive note... if anything, Hurley stumped Mr. Ghostbuster:

HURLEY: But when we first captured Ben, Sayid like tortured him... then why wouldn't he remember getting shot by that same guy when he was a kid?
MILES: Huh? I hadn't thought of that.
HURLEY: Huh.


Now, yes... later in this same episode we learned why Ben's memory of Sayid might have gone out the window... and yes, there's also an argument to be made that maybe Ben DID recognize Sayid in 2004 but had the presence of mind to not appear shocked. I'm going to talk a little more about this issue later, but in regard to the Miles/Hurley discussion, there's really only one thing that I think we MUST take from it. There is one thing that is certain, no matter what you believe about whether or not the 815ers can change the past. And that one thing is that any of 815ers, or the Freighter Team, or Juliet can die in 1977, because it is their present. Forget about what year it is to the outside world, all that matters is that those characters have lived out thirty-ish years on this planet, and while their personal pasts are set in stone, their futures are still very much up in the air.

Sadly, I believe that they wouldn't have had Miles try to make this point so clearly if one of the gang's numbers isn't up soon. Because if one of the stuck-in-the-past characters bites the dust, The Powers That Be don't want us thinking, "but wait, it's 1977 and since we saw them alive in 2004, they must not really be dead!" They want us to know what the stakes are, and that's got to be why they had Miles say what he said.

And it doesn't make me happy at all. I don't want to lose anyone else, dammit!



NEW JACK CITY

While Miles and Hurley were entertaining themselves with their time travel dispute, Juliet was furiously trying to save Ben. However, she quickly realized that it was really Jack who needed to be at the operating table. But The Mad Doctor was having none of it.

SAWYER: Doc, I need you to come with me.
JACK: Come with you where?
SAWYER: Juliet says the kid is losing blood, and we ain't got none to put back in him, so we need you to show us where he sprung a leak.
JACK: [pauses and shakes head] No.
SAWYER: What?
JACK: No. I'm not coming with you.
SAWYER: If you don't come with me, Jack, that kid is gonna die.
JACK: [pauses] Then he dies.

What I found interesting about Jack in this episode is that in the above exchange with Sawyer, it seemed like he was "old Jack" ... the Man of Science who vehemently believed in free will. My reaction to Jack's stance was, "He's tempting fate, he wants to show he still has a choice and that everything's not predetermined."

At other points in the hour, though, "new Jack" (as Kate called him) seemed to be channeling his past nemesis, Locke:

KATE: This is our fault. We brought Sayid back. We caused this.
JACK: Yeah? When we were here before, I spent all my time trying to fix things... but did you ever think that maybe the Island just wants to fix things itself?

and

JACK: I came back because I was supposed to.
JULIET: Supposed to what?
JACK: I don't know yet.


What's ironic about Jack's refusal to operate on Little Ben is that it directly resulted in Little Ben's transformation into the conniving, manipulative, remorseless man that brought the O5 back to the Island in 2008 -- the man that Jack didn't feel compelled to save again. If Jack had operated on him in 1977, though, things might have ended up a lot differently for everyone. But, as Miles tried to explain to Hurley (and us), all of this already happened, and therefore Jack never agreed to help Little Ben.

The same irony applies to Sayid, too. Sayid thought "his purpose" was to kill Ben so that all of the evil things Ben goes on to do in the future wouldn't happen. Instead, Sayid's actions ultimately led to Ben getting Other-ized at age twelve.



IT'S OVER, IT'S OVER, IT'S OVER...
IT'S OOOOOVER!

I would've never guessed that of all people, it would be Kate who went above and beyond to ensure Ben's survival. Motherhood truly changed her -- she simply didn't think of the young boy bleeding out on the hospital table as "Ben"... all she saw was a twelve-year-old in desperate need of help and a father beside himself with regret and worry. So when her blood donation wasn't enough, she brainstormed with Juliet to find another way to handle the situation.

Juliet then suggested that they take Ben to the Others. I can't decide whether or not we should interpret her suggestion to mean that: 1) she knew the Others had some supernatural way of saving people, or 2) she simply could think of no other options and figured that it was worth a try. Earlier this season we were given proof that she knows more about her old group then she'd previously let on... remember her statement about Richard being really old? This isn't to say that I think anything sinister is going on with Juliet, I'm simply wondering how much information she's still keeping to herself.

Regardless, Juliet and Kate eventually agreed that it was better if Kate took Ben into the jungle on her own... and they both knew that Sawyer would most likely be hot on her heels. Once the Dharma van was on its way, Juliet stormed over to the neighboring house to give Jack a piece of her mind. Words cannot describe how happy I was that this turned into neither a "Juliet couldn't resist dripping-wet-just-stepped-out-of-the-shower Jack, and so she jumped him" scene, nor a "Juliet cried to Jack because she thought Sawyer was going to fall for Kate again because they were going to be alone in the jungle together" scene. Juliet asked Jack why he came back, Jack said he didn't know, and that was it.

While we're on the subject of the Love Rhombus, or whatever the hell it's turned into, there are three other hopeful signs that it's kaput and that we'll be spared longing glances and tortured looks and all that crap from here on out:
1) Kate chose to come back to the Island to find Claire... not for Sawyer, and not just to follow Jack.

2) Kate confirmed that she didn't like the "new Jack," and he reminded her that she didn't really seem to like the "old Jack," either.

3) Sawyer declared that he was helping Ben because that's what Juliet wanted. "I'm doin' it for her." BOOM!



WON'T YOU SAVE ME?
SAVING'S WHAT I NEED

Did anyone else grow impatient with how leisurely all of the characters were acting as poor Little Ben was fading away? Juliet and Kate were having a chat by the van... Kate and Sawyer were catching up by the river... all while Little Ben was bleeding his guts out and most likely thinking, "I'm so gonna get you all you guys back for your dawdling!"

Finally some Others appeared in their usual out-of-thin-air manner, weapons drawn. I loved how Sawyer was just totally over their whole act. He's like, "Yeah, whatever... just get me the only guy with any fashion sense in your group -- you know who I'm talkin' 'bout!"

On cue, Richard materialized, looking like he'd just stepped out of a Ferragamo ad. (And seriously... at this point, for all we know, he did.) He goes, "Is that the same little brat who saw me on my worst bad hair day ever? I must erase that from his memory! Oh yeah, and he won't remember anything else once I'm done with him, either. 'Bye!"



OFFER UP YOUR BEST DEFENSE
BUT THIS IS THE END
THIS IS THE END
OF THE INNOCENCE

OK, so here's what Ageless Richard really said:

RICHARD: And why are you here?
KATE: Cause we need you to save his life. Can you?
[Richard pauses and thinks for a moment.]
RICHARD: If I take him, he's not ever gonna be the same again.
KATE: What do you mean by that?
RICHARD: What I mean is that he'll forget this ever happened and that his innocence will be gone. He will always be one of us.
RICHARD: You still want me to take him?
KATE: Yes.

Then, after some other Other warned Richard that perhaps he should check with Ellie or Charles before he did whatever he was about to do, ol' Bushy Eyebrows was like, "They're not the boss of me!" and stomped off to The Temple with Little Ben.

So, a few things about this final scene:
1) We now have confirmation that Ellie (who is most likely Ms. Eloise Hawking) and Angry Young Charles Widmore are still on the Island in 1977. As Widmore indicated to Locke in "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham," his people had protected the Island for three decades before he was exiled. So, depending on when Charles first arrived on the Island (it's now pretty clear that he was NOT born there... the math doesn't add up), his time's probably close to running out, as twenty-three years have passed since we saw him in "Jughead," which was set in 1954.

2) We've also learned that Richard does not consider himself subservient to Charles' group. So I remain confused about whether or not Charles and Ellie should actually be considered Hostiles, or if they're in some other group that the Hostiles agreed to work with. Or is it perhaps Ageless Richard who's the odd man out? Maybe he's the only one of his kind... but what "kind" is he, exactly? Who's leading this motley crew?

3) What is going to happen to Little Ben? The general consensus seems to be that Richard is going to sic Smokey on him and that it's essentially like selling one's soul to the devil -- Ben will now be controlled 100% by the Island. Remember that the Temple is the same place we saw Danielle's science team go into after Montand was dragged underground by Smokey. And look at what happened to them once they came out. They were all eeevil, and Danielle had no choice but to kill them. Will something similar happen to Ben, or will his transformation be a tad more controlled as Richard is there to oversee things?

4) Regardless of what Little Ben's about to go through, when Richard said "he'll forget this ever happened," was he just talking about the whole "being shot by Sayid and saved by a group of the 815ers" situation? Or was he talking about everything in Ben's life up to that point? Because the latter would explain: a) Why Ben claimed to have been born on the Island even though we knew he wasn't, b) why Ben said his mother taught him to read (which most of us had assumed was a joke) when we knew she died in childbirth, c) why he didn't seem to have any memory of Sayid when they met in 2004... etc., etc., etc.

I'm willing to buy that explanation. However, I understand why a lot of people are crying foul and "cop out!" in regard to this situation. By erasing Little Ben's memory, the writers have covered their tracks. Crazy fans can't go back through the past three seasons and complain about how The Powers That Be screwed up because Ben should've remembered certain things about the various 815ers. (This is assuming that the time traveling group will have somehow returned to their rightful year by the time Richard returns Ben to the Barracks, and so he'll have no memory of ever seeing any of them when he was young. If Ben comes backs and the Losties are still there, however, then nitpick away, folks!)

The reason why I personally think that Little Ben will not have any more interaction with the 815ers (meaning that it's going to be a while before he's returned to his father) is because Michael Emerson (Ben) was only originally signed on for three episodes of the series in Season Two. I know that seems hard to believe at this point as his character is now such a pivotal one, but it's true. After fans had such a strong reaction to Ben, Emerson was asked to stay on. So I think everyone just needs to cut the writers some slack here and 1) be happy that Ben evolved into such a huge presence on the show, but at the same time 2) remember that those first episodes in which he appeared as a captive in the hatch most likely didn't have any tie-ins whatsoever to what has since transpired on the show. Hence the need to erase Young Ben's memory.

Having said all that, there's still no reason we can't choose to believe that Ben did recognize the 815ers at the Swan, and that he was simply able to control his reactions... especially since we've seen him do just that so many times going forward. Therefore, if Little Ben does end up seeing any of the time travelers again while they're all still in 1977, that's how we can explain why he seemingly had no memory of them in 2004. Deal?




BEST LINES OF THE EPISODE


JACK: You're telling us we're under house arrest.

MILES: No. You're all free to leave whenever you want, but I'll shoot you in the leg.





MILES: What the hell are you doing, Tubby?

HURLEY: Checking to see if I'm disappearing.

MILES: What?

HURLEY: Back to the Future, man. We came back in time to the island, we can change stuff, so if little Ben dies he'll never grow up to be big Ben who's the one who made us come back here in the first place, which means we can't be here and therefore, dude, we don't exist.

MILES: You're an idiot.

HURLEY: Am I?






SAWYER: If you don't come with me, Jack... that kid is gonna die.

JACK: [pauses] Then he dies.






KATE: You know, I don't like the new you. I liked the old you who wouldn't just sit around waiting for things to happen.

JACK: [chuckles] You didn't like the old me, Kate.





HURLEY: But when we first captured Ben, Sayid like tortured him... then why wouldn't he remember getting shot by that same guy when he was a kid?

MILES: Huh? I hadn't thought of that.

HURLEY: Huh.





LOCKE: Hello, Ben.

[Ben looks up at John, stunned.]

LOCKE: Welcome back to the land of the living.





MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

On April 22nd I'll be joining the hilarious Ryan from Zap2It's Guide to Lost for a live chat on his site. We've been trying to schedule this for a while, and have finally settled on a night when there's another break in the schedule (a clip show entitled "The Story of the Oceanic Six" will run instead of a new episode... this is the only break left this season).

I'll definitely post all of the details as the date gets closer, but for now I'd venture to guess that the chat will start a half-hour before the clip show begins at 9 PM EST. I've felt awful about how I haven't had time to respond to many of your emails and Facebook messages this season, so perhaps I can make up for it by discussing theories and answering questions in real-time on the 22nd.


Until next week,
- e

58 comments:

Erika (aka "e") said...

The songs I used this time are:

“Miss Misery” by Elliott Smith

“Somebody’s Crying” by Chris Isaak

“Say Goodbye” by the Dave Matthews Band

“What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes

“Rico Suave” by Gerardo

“The Scientist” by Coldplay

“New Jack City” by Guy

“It’s Over” by Roy Orbison

“Save Me” by Hanson

“The End of the Innocence” by Don Henley


- e

yaacov said...

Great recap as always!

Sammy Jean said...

E-

Thought you might find this article interesting. http://darkufo.blogspot.com/2009/04/things-i-noticed-whatever-happened.html

He's one of your fellow bloggers on darkUFO. He had quite an interesting theory on why little Ben would have been shot in his heart (or really close to it) in "Namaste" but was shot on the complete opposite side in this episode. Just something to consider.

As always, a great recap. Looking forward to next week!

TC said...

Here's my question: If our merry band, including Miles, CAN be killed in 1977, why the heck did Miles, in an effort to demonstrate his theory, give Hurley a gun and tell him to shoot him? Wouldn't he have died?

Julie said...

I'm glad you caught the shot through the heart mistake as well. When Ben was rolled over I was like " What! That's not right!" My husband figured I must have been mistaken, but now I have back up! :)

LisaCPhotography said...

Obviously I don't know what the writers intend with the time travel paradox, but I believe that even though "whatever happened, happened" .... it hasn't all happened yet. The Ben being held captive by Sayid in the Hatch doesn't remember being shot by Sayid when Ben was a child because at that point in time, it hadn't happened yet. Desmond didn't remember when he met Daniel that Daniel knocked on the Hatch door, because at that point in time it hadn't happened yet. When it did happen, Desmond woke with a start, with a new memory.
We've seen in Ben's flashbacks that he remembers his anger at his father, and of Annie and of meeting Richard. So if Richard now erases his memory of all that... that is not what happened before.?

Anonymous said...

You and Ryan doing a chat? How awesome. You two are my favorite recappers. Don't make me pick a favorite, ok?
I watched Ben's traveling gunshot, too. I'm really glad it wasn't just sloppy makeup.
I did see one blooper, though. when Juliet and Kate were talking to Roger in the infirmary, the camera showed Juliet and Kate and you could see Sawyer between them in the background. the next time they showed them, he was gone. I'm pretty sure he wasn't anywhere near there at that time. Oops.

Nussy said...

TC, I think that's the point Miles was trying to make saying that Hurley COULD shoot and kill Miles. I don't know why Miles was completely ok with dying to prove his point though. Maybe he'd rather die than continue that conversation?

NanX said...

Thanks for the recap E and from the previews for next weeks episode, we are gonna need you! I think you nailed it and one of the main reasons for Hurley and Miles banter was to let us know any one of the 06 could die. I don't want to lose anyone either but whatever happens is already in the script.

They should keep Miles and Hurley having fun like this though as it was major fun for all of us. Miles has not been used enough with his gift, even the one he had on the freighter when he knew Michael was lying about his name.

Interesting about Ben's wound moving. I have also now seen photos that confirm the tape on Ben's glasses also move. I must have watched that one segment when Ben was turned over by Jin 10 times.

Another thing folks seem to be forgetting in blaming Jack for not operating on Ben, is it was only a little over 3 years ago that Jack was summoned to operate on Ben.

And sigh - this whatever happened always happened stuff is getting old. Just because we are now seeing thing unfold in the present of 1977 does not put an end to a course that has to be corrected. We still don't know and I expect a holy cow surprise before this show is done.

TC your question about Miles telling Hurley to just shoot me I chalked up to Miles being Sarcastic because it did not make sense with what he had just said.

Dreyesbo said...

@TC Yes, he would. However, he knew Hurley wouldn't shoot him.

And e, I disagree in the picture in which Sayid mocks Bernard. Remember, he did shoot the dinamite, Jin was the screwup :P

Anonymous said...

in the words of hurley in this episode, "that was really confusing" :P

but as always, thanks for the awesome recaps!

*kristYn from CALI*
a.k.a. twilight obsessed :D

Sally said...

you are a "recap wizard" Erika!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S.the only thing i never like in your post is that you so don't like the romance part of the show.....but that's not a "fault" so don't mind it...

Anonymous said...

I think the only thing Ben won't remember is specifically being shot. He'd have to remember other things up until that point because of the way he looks at the Annie doll later on. That was before the 815ers even came to the island and he clearly remembers Annie.

Also, if his entire memory is erased, what basis does he kill his father on then? Just before he kills him he says "I've had to put up with you all this time" indicating that not only did he have to go back to Dharma and live with his dad for years but his dad most likely became abusive again.

Unknown said...

Hey e. Enjoyed this post as usual. However, something is bothering me.

First, you said that Ben said he was born on the Island because he didn't remember what happened before Richard took him inside the temple.

But Ben DID remember where he was born, because in S3E20, he told John Locke:

BEN: You know, John, you're not wrong. Some of the things I've told you—some of the things I've told everybody—are simply not true.
LOCKE: Like what?
BEN: Well, for starters, I wasn't born on this island.
LOCKE: Then where did you come from?
BEN: That's what I wanna show you.

So basically, when he said he wasn't born on the Island, he was simply lying, as he told the truth only hours later, in the same episode.

Another thing is about Ben remembering Sayyid, and Michael Emerson being casted for only three episodes.

While it kills the momentum of LOST for me when I know that certain characters were brought in without being thought of since the start (Jack supposed to die in the pilot), I do believe that the characters' stories are always planned, they just adjust them to the actors.

For example, while Jack was supposed to die and the Pilot lives, the Pilot (Seth) could have been son of Christian, took leadership of the survivors, fell for Kate, yada yada...

Same can be said for Benjamin Linus. While Michael Emerson wasn't planned to be the captive/Leader, another actor could have marched on the dock in Season 2 finale, shown as the leader of Others, and be named Benjamin Linus.

And we know that Ben saw Sayyid waaaayyy more times than in the Swan Station, so for me, it doesn't matter if Michael Emerson was the first to see him, Benjamin Linus interacted with Sayyid a lot more since that time, and he him remembering Sayyid doesn't fall in the "newly casted actor" argument.

Anonymous said...

Hey Erica, Has anyone else noticed that Claire's Mom looks much younger and has lost her mole? What evidence do we have that she is really Claire's Mom? Do you think Kate ever checked up on her story? I think it was a little too convenient that she just happened to be there waiting for Kate to give up Aaron. Could she be a plant by people who are trying to influence what happens? I also think Cassidy could be a plant. I have thought for a long time that Sawyer is in on a long con.
Anyone else?

Anonymous said...

I took something else away from Jack refusing to help Little Ben: Jack was D.O.N.E. playin'. He had been yanked around by events in his life for so long and tried in vain to 'fix things' for so long. I think that after finally deciding to go back to the island, and THEN getting dumped 30 years in the past, that he shrugged his shoulders and said, 'enough'. I don't blame him at all for not trying to save Ben. He had been forced to do things against his will before and he was through being played with, now that he actually had a choice.
Aside from that, it sure was COLD BLOODED of him to refuse to help save a child.

Roland said...

It seems to me that Dying Ben will die - and then be Judged. Since he's obviously (at this point in his life) an Innocent Murder Victim - he will be judged to be a Good Person - something he has told us he is several times over the last 5.5 Seasons.

Note that Good Persons are not permitted to Kill - and except for Killing His Father - Ben has not directly killed anyone. Note also that the Good Persons among Family Ben/Richard used bolos, sling-shots, trank darts, tasers, trip-wires etc - but no guns.

It was only Bad Person Haters like Danny, Ryan, Colleen, Mikhail - and even Tom who used guns and who actually killed people ... and these Bad Person Family Richard members are all dead now - thanks to Ben.

The Good Person "Thou Shalt Not Kill" Rule did not apply to Juliet's murder of Hater Danny.

Erika (aka "e") said...

Sammy Jean - I have since read Vozzek69's recap (I always wait until after mine are done to read anyone else's in attempt to not influence my own thoughts), and I think it is extremely interesting (and did mention the idea of seeing things from various perspectives in my recap, too), but I'm not sure what the "So what?" of it all is. If Lost has been showing us different things from different characters' perspectives... so what? How does that affect the overall story line of what is going on? I'm not trying to rip on the idea or anything, I just don't really get what we're to do with it besides say, "Oh, that explains a few weird inconsistencies." Any idea?

TC - As others said, I think Miles was just being sarcastic because a few minutes later he was like, "I WOULD die!"

LisaC - Hmm, I'm not seeing things the same way you are on this one. I think Desmond is the anomaly... he didn't remember his convo with Daniel until it happened for Daniel, but most people are chalking that up to the overall "specialness" of Desmond and the weirdness of the Losties having the time flashes. However, I think all other characters remember what happened to them in their own time period. Widmore remembered meeting Locke in 1954, Danielle remembered meeting Jin right after her crash -- because she was then mad at him months later when he showed up again after her team had gone mad. Etc., etc. So I do think 12-year-old Ben would remember the 815ers from 1977 on -- unless is memory is purposefully erased.

Joe Cool - Yes, there are tons of bloopers in the show... that's why I feel bad for anyone thinking that the Lost crew is somehow superhuman and can't make any mistakes...

http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Bloopers

Dreyesbo - Yes, some other people got me on the Bernard caption, too. It has since been changed, thanks!

OutraJess - I personally hope his whole memory isn't erased, too. Because we know he definitely remembers Annie, so that would be a big goof. However, I do think he'll go back to the Barracks (just perhaps after the Losties have left) and so he'll still have more time with Annie and his mean dad. He doesn't help with the Purge for 15 more years, remember... there's time!

SergioFX - Yes, I totally forgot about Ben copping to that lie about being born on the Island. Oops. And I agree with you about how Ben probably just took over the plot meant for another character... my point in the recap was meant for people who are desperately going back and searching those beginning episodes that he was in... I don't think they're going to find any obvious "clues" because they weren't there... because at that point Ben wasn't meant to stick around.

Anon - If the Cassidy and Claire's mom stuff had happened in Seasons Two or Three, then I think I would be more suspicious... but now that the series is winding down, I just don't think they have time to build up any more strange mysteries like that. I think they're trying to dole out more answers than questions at this point, so I think we're meant to take those two characters at face value.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

- e

Holly C said...

Thanks for your recap! I look forward to reading it each week!

LisaCPhotography said...

Hey e...
thanks for the reply on my comment.. I think we are thinking the same way... just saying it differently. Widmore remembered meeting Locke in "2007 Locke"s 1954... not Widmore's original 1954 when Locke wasn't even born. Danielle remembered meeting Jin after the crash, after "2007 Jim" went back in time... but not the first time she crashed and came to meet Jin in 2007. 12-year-old Ben was meeting the "2007 Losties" for the first time in the Losties time travel... but 2007 Ben wouldn't remember meeting them when he was Henry Gale in 2004ish because the 2007 Losties hadn't time traveled back yet...

Thanks so much for the comment, and for your recaps!

RebeccaZ said...

In regards to Kate leaving Aaron with Claire's mum ... I was surprised that she left him alone in the hotel room to go tell Claire's mum about the situation and I almost wonder if Kate's goodbye to Aaron wasn't before she went to Claire's mum's room instead of after, leaving the possibility that Aaron was taken. And probably returned to the Island.

Erika (aka "e") said...

LisaC - Now I know we are thinking about it very differently! Because I DO think that Widmore remembered Locke from 1954 on... it doesn't matter that Locke wasn't born yet in the outside world, 2004 Locke was there, in the flesh, in 1954. Same goes for Jin/Danielle, Little Ben/the 815ers, etc. The only person this didn't apply to is Desmond.

But, truth be told, I don't think we're ever going to get a solid answer on this one... so I think the good news is we can all keep thinking about it however it makes sense to each of us personally, because they probably won't revisit this concept on the show. Which is a good thing, because our brains may melt otherwise. : )

RebeccaZ - I thought that same thing... I'm like "You're going to leave a three-year-old ALONE in a creepy hotel room after what just happened at the grocery store?!?!

- e

- e

LisaCPhotography said...

Hey e,
Ha ha ha... one last time, and then I'll be done! Because my brain is about to melt!
I agree with you... Locke was there in 1954, and as Charles said to Locke, I met you in 1954... how long has it been for you? and that was just a few days for that Locke. And you are right... there isn't a correct answer for this stuff and the writers may not address how it works... but it is still fun, especially to see how everyone sees it all so differently!

Anonymous said...

Great recap as always, Erika!

I just wanted to chime in about Michael Emerson's role, because Darlton specifically referred to it during one of their DVD commentaries (though I can't remember which one, but I'm fairly certain it was Season 4).

They said that they left "Henry Gale's" conversation intentionally vague so they could use it for a bigger reveal at the end of the season. If the actor did a good job, his conversation would be an example of referring to himself in 3rd person to hid his identity. As a result, he would be retained and the revelation that he was in fact the leader would make for a bigger twist. If, however, he sucked, then they would just disregard him as an Other underling and the true leader would reveal himself at the end. Basically, the "Other leader" character was always intended to play Ben's role, it was just never set in stone that Michael Emerson would be in it for the long haul.

Personally, I believe that Richard's reference to "he won't remember" merely refers to Sayid shooting him, Sawyer's delivery, etc., so none of this really matters anyway, but I just found it really interesting.

Erika (aka "e") said...

Drewcipher - Thanks for that bit from the DVD extras... one of these days I will watch all of them... probably some time after May 2010. : )

I, too, think that Ben will have only forgotten the shooting incident... but I always try to throw out ALL the theories in my write-ups.

- e

Julie said...

Erica-
I love your blog. I anxioulsy wait for it every week. I don't believe I have ever posted before. I think Sayid will be the one we lose. I hate saying that because I LOVE Sayid, but that look on his face after he shoots Ben. That whole episode showing him to be a cold blooded killer. I think, in the end, it gets to be too much for him. I don't think he'll kill himself, but a situation could arise where he puts himself in a dangerous position and "let's himself get killed".

Taller Ghost Walt said...

Great recap, as usual!

One thing about Ben's apparent memory loss: Let's not forget that the Others gathered information about the passengers of 815 the minute they 'arrived' on the island. Also they used the Pearl to observe the survivors from time to time.

So Ben probably knew he's gonna meet LaFleur & Co. at the Swan. He might very well been shocked when he found out, though. We just haven't seen that moment (yet).

Erika (aka "e") said...

Taller Ghost Walt -

That's a GREAT point... it would be very cool if we see a scene where Ben's learning about everyone from Patchy's research and then the realization dawns on him... that would definitely explain why he wouldn't be surprised to SEE any of them. He was already prepared for it.

- e

HeavyRaines said...

Hey e, love the blog. I thought you might find the following link interesting. It is not spoilery in any way, it was an interview done with Carlton and Damon from before Season Four about various LOST topics. One of the questions was:

"You brought up the introduction of Ben before, and people who are agnostic to atheistic about the idea of a master plan will say, "Well, geez, they hired (Michael) Emerson to be a day player for an episode or two, and now he's the fulcrum of the show." Could you clarify?"

To which the dynamic due replied:

"We have plans, but the big plans have trap doors. Basically, the plan on the table was Rousseau captures the leader of The Others, but doesn't know who he is. She turns him over to Sayid, Sayid tortures him, he claims he's a balloonist, it's a case of mistaken identity, and it becomes a David E. Kelley story of "Will Sayid believe him or will he not?" It'll be a three-episode arc, at the end they'll realize he was lying all along and he'll escape. That was the plan all along. The trap door of the plan is that, once it's revealed that he's an Other, he'll admit to it and talk about the leader of The Others being a great man, in the third person. So if the actor is awesome, he's referring to himself. But if the actor is not awesome, he'll just be a lieutenant. He'll go running off, or get killed, and we'll meet the actual leader of The Others in the finale of this season when Jack and Kate and Sawyer and Hurley are double-crossed by Michael. We already had the spinal surgery story in our back pocket, and that's where the story was going. Emerson basically, not quite guaranteed, that the story ballooned from a three-episode arc to a six-episode arc that tied into Michael's return and the killing of Ana-Lucia.

At the beginning of the year, we have all these ideas, but we're writing a script every eight days. I love that people think we're smart enough -- I understand why there are atheists and agnostics out there, because they believe in a subjective reality of it. They believe that JK Rowling outlined all seven Harry Potter books because she had unlimited time, nobody to answer to and an unlimited budget. She could make her characters do whatever she wants. WE can't make our characters do whatever we want; our characters are played by actors. if we were just writing a novel, "Lost" would be uncompromised in its vision, and probably a lot worse than it's been for being realized by a cast and crew of 500 who helped realize it in their own separate ways. The idea that Michael Emerson, the way he played Ben, is more Napoleonic -- when you had thought of the leader of The Others, you thought of a big scary dude, and the fact that it's him is fascinating. Which was our thinking when we cast him. We cast the leader of The Others, but we didn't commit to it until Michael said, "You guys got any milk?""

The full interview is here: http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/
2009/01/lost_damon_lindelof_qa.html

Hope that clears some things up about Ben's role in the show.

Joel said...

Everything was great, as usual...but LOL @ Love Rhombus.

You're awesome Erika. :)

Anonymous said...

Loved your post, Erika!
Thanks!!!
-iesterdeis

Reylloc said...

Great one, e. I'm on the fence about whether Little Ben will remember nothing about anything up to his revival/rebirth at the Temple, or just of the incidence of his being shot. Time will tell, but either way, not a game changer, really.
2 things I noticed that haven't been mentioned: 1.) When Kate "loses" Aaron in the market, no one notices Aaron except Kate & googly blonde woman. The stockboy doesn't look at Aaron when Kate asks about product, and when she runs back to him and asks if he's seen Aaron, his reaction is "...boy? What boy?" It seems the writers wanted us to think that no one could see Aaron but Kate. Or not. I think if Kate asked me for directions, I'd probably not notice a small child trailing behind (at first).
2.) When LeFleur says to Kate "... I'm doing it for her", I took it to mean he was doing it for Clementine. Possibly for Juliet, but I think a maturing Sawyer is thinking about his daughter and how if she were in this situation, he'd hope a guy (like him) would save an innocent kid from dying.
Should be very interesting to see how long Lil' Ben is Templed and how Big Ben fares in the Temple, with some interesting synchronicity (give or take 30 years).
Farewell to the quadrangle of love, it's a dead horse. Time for some Widmore banishing & installation of a Locke.

Catherine said...

I only just discovered your blog 3-4 posts ago, so I sort of feel like I don't "deserve" to post yet, as I haven't gone back through your archives to make sure I'm not repeating ideas that have been hashed out long ago... But I'm sort on time, so c'est la vie.

I feel like Ben will have to continue to interact with the present-people--at least with Juliet. Way back Goodwin's wife (I think it was her) said something about Ben being into Juliet because she "looked just like her." Maybe I missed it, but I don't remember ever finding out who "she" was. When we found out that Sawyer, Juliet, etc. were in 1977 with kid-Ben, I figured Juliet must have become a motherly figure to him (Oedipus complex), so when Mrs. Goodwin said that Juliet looked just like her, the "her" was actually Juliet. Naturally she looked just like herself.

The other thing I've been thinking about is Chang's baby. At first I thought it was a boy (was this outright stated or implied? I must have had a reason for assuming it), and must be Miles, but lately I've been wondering if it was actually Sun. It could explain why Sun didn't flash back with the rest of the O6. It would make sense if the island wouldn't allow you to meet your past self. That could get really tricky. Charlotte died before meeting her 1977 self, and Ben didn't go back to meet his past self either. It wouldn't explain why Locke stayed in the present, though. Sorry this second point is so random! I thought I'd throw it in since you mentioned theories about babies today.

Anyways, thanks so much for such great posts every week! I'm a new reader, but I was hooked immediately!

Unknown said...

Hi Erika,
I have enjoyed your posts for a couple seasons and this is my first time posting a comment.

I really do enjoy your posts the best.

I was very suspicious of Cassidy too! You are the first person I’ve heard/read mention that! I was afraid Cassidy might try to play Kate.

Rico Suave? I can’t. Your captions are so awesome!

I also loved the scene with Hurley and Miles. Thank you for pointing out that the writers are letting us know that if one of the Losties dies in 1977, they are really dead. I guess I should have picked that up knowing the name of the next episode.

Please keep up the great work!

Shelley said...

E, I want a button. A Losty, blingy, Long Live Locke link to your site that will make my blog complete. Just because you don't know me doesn't mean you couldn't make me one for my birthday and I would totally share it with all your other fans. Please?

Anonymous said...

Love the recaps! My group of co-worker LOST fans depend on me to explain things.

I especially enjoyed the look on Ben's face when he wakes up and sees Locke sitting next to him!

Will we have a new season in the fall or have to wait until 2010?

Bonnie in Alaska

LOSTobsessed said...

Hey e, great recap as usual!

I found the theory about Kate's pregnancy interesting and it got me thinking: what if someone was pregnant but it was actually Juliet? What if she was the first pregnant woman to die on the island? How ironic would that be! I can't imagine how devastated James would be if that happened.

This is probably just another crazy idea of mine but I needed to share it to get it out of my mind.

AllisonR said...

I agree that Roger's flirting was totally creepy!!! Ewwwwww! (Though at least he seemed sober, which in itself is a mystery.) For some reason I had not made the Uncle Rico connection, but now that you've pointed it out to me...double ewwwww. :-)

Gotta say, I don't believe for a moment that the love "rhombus" is over. Kate SO did not go back to the Island to find Claire. (When she said it, I was like, "huh? Where did that come from?") She is there for Sawyer, period, end of story, even if for the moment she's delusional about her motives.

I do believe Sawyer when he said he was saving Ben because Juliet asked him to. I also believe that he loves her. However, I think he knows they're over, and SHE knows they're over, because with Kate around there is no other option. He has been dodging Juliet's "it's over, isn't it?" questions, and she's been smart enough not to ask him flat-out directly if their relationship is doomed, instead pretending she's referring to "all this" and their cover story with the DI. Whether or not Sawyer and Kate reunite romantically right away or drag it out for a while, I still think we're in for a lot more angst and longing glances. I think they will probably delude themselves about this a little longer, but in the end I'm sure they have no choice but to be together.

I really do hope there's some way that little Ben CAN remember everything that's happened to him. I was so excited when I started thinking that Ben had met all these people before, and then I felt totally deflated when Richard said he wouldn't remember.

It is cool, though, that Sayid, trying to save them in the future, causes Ben to become evil, and Jack has a chance to avert that disaster but blows it precisely because Ben's already been so evil to him. Future evil Ben causes future Sayid and future Jack to create evil Ben in the first place. So awesomely mind-bending.

Great blog! (As always!)

Ernie said...

I think it was on DarkUFO or another blog, but the frame of Ben being shot by Sayid looks to be flipped, that's why the wound changes side. The tape on his glasses also changed sides, showing that the film was reversed. Looks like a production error, unless there's more to it.

Anonymous said...

Do you find it a bit surprising that Kate didn't really react to Cassidy opening the door the first time? I get that Cassidy would recognize Kate from the TV coverage of the O6 and think back to their previous meeting. But Kate couldn't have made the connection between Sawyer and Cassidy.

Sawyer didn't know they had met when he whispered in Kate's ear on the helicopter. And Kate didn't know there was any previous connection between Sawyer and Cassidy when she and Cassidy were hanging back in the day. She knew there was someone but we never heard Cassidy mention Sawyer's name.

I would have expected Kate to see Cassidy at the door and say something like, "Wow! I remember you! I can't believe that YOU are the mother of Sawyer's child. Small world."

-S

Sherri said...

Great right up as usual!!

Am I the only one that was upset with the fact that Kate was not only leaving her "son" with a complete stranger, but leaving him alone in a hotel room? Her whole goodbye scene rang false to me because of this.

I so did not catch the Roger/Uncle Rico connection-thanks for pointing that out!

Anonymous said...

Don't you think that the entire time young ben was shot and dying, the old ben laid injured during present time? and when richard took young ben to heal him, the old ben woke up. so there's a link....

mj said...

You had me at "meth face"

MJ said...

e,

After reading the Emerson interview (thanks Heavy Raines) I now realize the "He's a great man, an unforgiving man, etc." was not about Jacob after all, right? It was about the "leader of the Others" who, thanks to good acting by Emerson, turns out to actually be the guy they captured (Ben)....hmmm makes me wonder if all this Jacob obsessing that I and lots of others has been a waste of time...

MJ

Anonymous said...

How DID Miles know about the FDW???
["What DO I mean?"]
I don't think any of them would know exactly WHAT Ben or John did.
UNLESS...Faraday knows. He was at the site.
I just thought it was a pretty big statement to let hang out there, and probably NOT a production error. They seem a bit too thorough for that.
It kind of surprised me that the producers/writers are amazed that the fans think they have this all planned out from beginning to end.
Um, hello, this plot is so complex and enormous that you had better have it all planned out! Obviously they can change some things on the fly [cutting lose the two dui ladies in one fell swoop for example.]
Still wondering where poor Bernard, Rose, and Vincent are.

Sarah M. in MI

Rick said...

My wife and I had to pause it at the scene where Hurley was talking about Back to the Future. We cracked up. "Erica called it!"

Anonymous said...

whenever there's an inconsistency or a plot hole, Lost writers always can, and often do, just wave their hand and say, "it's Island Magic. That's all." very annoying.

I don't expect time travel issues to ever be satisfactorily or competently resolved. They're Hollywood writers after all, not quantum physicists.

Andre said...

Hello,

i love to read your recap every week, great work!

Today, as i watched a video recap on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO10Pfctp4U) i noticed that this guy almost copied your recap 1:1, you 2 know each other, work together on the recaps, or did he just "stole" yours?

Just wanted to let you know.

Keep up the good work.

greetings from germany

Anonymous said...

Hey, have you seen this yet? http://digg.com/d1oQnV Some youtube guy was plagarising your exact posts

The 5 Powell's said...

did you squeal with delight when Locke showed up at the end? I thought immediately of you when they showed him.

Nina said...

Hi
Long time reader, first time commenter. I just wanted to say I saw the article on docarzt site about the plagarist Sean whoever. That's terrible! I love your recaps and support you all the way. I hope the scumbag gets whats comming to him! Love ya!!!

Anonymous said...

You are an Lost uber genius. With all the Lost viewers all over the world, you are the ONLY person with the ideas and theories that you have. ALL of your ideas are original. I wish I was a genius like you are...

Anonymous said...

Hello e (thats what most ppl call u i guess) first time i ever watch ur recaps and i love them cant w8 for ur ep 12 recap keep up the good work

Anonymous said...

E-
Fantastic blog. I like your insights, your humor, and your writing style. Very nice. I found your site due to the unfortunate situation with the plagiarism issue. I'm sorry someone else is profiting from your hard work. I believe tvguide is paying that guy so filing a copyright violation is probably in order. Here's there page in case you want to pursue that:
http://www.tvguide.com/services/copyright.aspx
On the bright side I found a fantastic Lost blog.
Oh, and John Locke Rules!

Unknown said...

Hey E. Just wanted to throw some support your way. I've been an impatient Seanie B fan for a while now and was relieved when I heard all the noise as now I have a more accurate sight to come to to get more thourough information! Just read threw your happened/happened recap and was shocked to see how word for word it realy was. So if he realy does pull info from your sight and waits to post it untill the next show airs it's good to know I can beat him to the info by comming strait here. Looking forward to enjoying your work. Keep it up. Could you answer me with an email to let me know when your recaps post in relation to the last episode? (I'm writing this comment on easter sunday so assume it still takes a few days to publish, I'm just tired of waiting untill the following WED!) Thanks!
-Ross

makeyourownkindofmusic said...

e-
never commented here before but am a faithful reader and wanted to say that this situation stinks! you have my support 100%
your write-ups ARE very insightful ... but to steal them, that is SO low. :( if that dude was a real LOST fan he could come up with his own stuff. seriously, that is really beyond the pale.
good luck and please keep doing what you do so well. i always anxiously await my Long live Locke recap each week!
thanks!

Life Is A Road Trip said...

I'm sure that I'm way behind here and probably this has already been discussed at some point since I only started following Long Live Locke last year (unfortunately). Is it possible the psychic told Claire to never let her son be raised "AN OTHER" instead of "another"?

And I still can't shake the feeling that Jack's line to Ben right before he radios for the chopper, "I know EXACTLY what I'm doing", is going to be repeated at some point (maybe even in a similar situation) and be an important part of a future episode.

RosieP said...

I personally think that Kate made the right choice by keeping Aaron during the three years before the group decided they needed to go back. It definitely sucks that poor Turniphead had to be abruptly separated from the only mother he's known and given to a complete stranger (even though she's a blood relative), but I feel like if that had been done at any earlier point, the group would've been constantly worried about Widmore tracking Aaron down and using him as leverage.



This is bullshit. I'm sorry if I have to be cruel, but it's bullshit. I'm getting sick and tired of fans trying to make excuses for Kate claiming Aaron as her own. She had no business doing that. He was never in any danger from Widmore. If he was, Kate would have been dead and Aaron would have been taken by Widmore.

I realize that you like Kate a lot. I don't even dislike her anymore. But this has got to stop. She had no business raising Aaron. She said so herself in "The Last Candidate". She and the rest of the O6 should have informed the authorities about Aaron's real mother. Chances are Carole Littleton would have been with her grandson three years earlier.

It is criminal that Kate used Aaron as her own emotional crutch. She used an innocent child for her own selfishness. At least she had the decency to realize that what she had done was wrong. When will the fans do the same?