Monday, March 23, 2009

S5Ep9 - Namaste

Hello my dear friends -

Not to kick things off on a depressing note, but did you realize that we are now officially past the halfway point of Season Five? Only eight hours of Lost remain this year. The bright side of this is that it's pretty fair to assume, based on everything we've seen so far in 2009, that what's left to be dished out on the show between now and May 13 is going to be awesome.

The latest installment, "Namaste," was my favorite kind of episode: fast-paced and interesting to watch, but not especially intense or confusing. From what I've seen around the blogosphere, most fans are in agreement that this was very much a set-up episode. Let's start with what happened in the "present time" (meaning early 2008)...


NO NEED TO ASK
HE'S A SMOOTH OPERATOR
SMOOOOOTH... OPERATOR

How cool was it that we actually got to see Ajira 316's landing on Alcatraz Island? Even though we already knew that the main characters ended up safe and sound, it was still very tense to watch... or at least it was for me. But I shouldn't have been worried, because Clean-Shaven Lapidus is all business, all the time. Granted, he was clued in to the fact that the plane would probably be taking a little detour, and I'm pretty sure he hadn't broken out his margarita mix for a mid-flight cocktail just yet, but regardless... I still applaud how quickly he was able to think under pressure and avert a mountain collision.

Then we got confirmation that the Others had in fact finished most of the runway on Alcatraz in time for 316's arrival (it still wasn't long enough... but it's the thought that counts, right?). As a refresher, when Kate and Sawyer were held captive and forced into physical labor by the Others in Season Three, they were shown clearing away and breaking up boulders and whatnot. In that season's finale, Sawyer asked Juliet what the end goal of the project was, and she responded "we were building a runway ... for the aliens."

At the time, most of us -- like Sawyer -- laughed it off as a joke and didn't think twice about her comment. But upon a review of that exchange, it's clear Juliet wasn't kidding about the runway part:

SAWYER: So, when you pulled us out of those polar bear cages and put us on the chain gang, what the hell'd you have us breaking all those rocks for anyway?
JULIET: We were building a runway.
SAWYER: Runway, for what?
JULIET: The aliens. [Smirks] I don't know what for, do you think they told me everything?

We last saw the runway near the end of 2004, when the Others had just begun working on it. Contrary to a few comments I've seen on some message boards, Ben did not order the runway project to be "moved up two weeks." I reviewed the transcript for "I Do," in which Juliet and Pickett had a conversation about something being moved up two weeks, and I really don't think they were talking about the runway:

[Kate is shown breaking rocks. Juliet and Pickett stand off to the side, talking in hushed tones.]
PICKETT: I don't understand. It's supposed to be two weeks.
JULIET: Our schedule's been moved up.
PICKETT: That's an order?
JULIET: It's coming from him.
PICKETT: It's stupid.
JULIET: It's not my call. It's the way it is, Danny.
PICKETT: Alright.
[Juliet walks over to Kate.]
JULIET: [To Kate] I would like you to put this on, and come with me. Please. [Hands Kate a hood]

I forgot how much I hated Pickett! Anyway, I'm pretty sure they were talking about Jack having to operate on Ben earlier than expected. That's why immediately after that conversation, Juliet takes Kate to see Jack, whom she tries to convince to cooperate with the Others in order to save Sawyer. I don't think we were meant to read anything more into the "two weeks" comment.

Either way, the two bigger questions are:

1) Can we safely assume that the Others continued to work on the runway during the three years the O6 were off of the Island and the Left-Behinders were back in the '70s?

I think we can, because, um, how else could the runway be there for Frank's convenience in 2008? And I think could still be the case even if the Losties altered the course of events back in 1977 (more on that later).

2) Who ordered the runway to be built, how did they know it would be needed, and why exactly did they decide the project should begin in 2004?

Apparently the producers answered the first part of this question in March 19th's audio podcast, so if you want to know, go listen to that (and please don't leave it/refer to it in the comments, as I won't publish anything spoilery). I can only assume the answer will be revealed on the show in due time, too. My guess for now is that someone who is aware of the time loopiness that's going on and has retained at least some knowledge from all of it would realize the need for a landing strip... and the most obvious person is Ben -- especially since he was on the plane that used the runway and was the leader of the Others in 2004.

Overall, though, I'm just impressed that what most of us had deemed to be a throwaway comment from the middle of Season Three was tied back into something fairly major in Season Five.


WAS IT SOMETHING THAT HE SAID...
ALL THE VOICES IN YOUR HEAD

Let's rewind just a bit to something that happened mid-air when Frank was struggling for control of the plane. While his ill-fated co-pilot was hollering "Mayday!" into the radio, a spooky, deep, automated-sounding voice reciting The Numbers could be heard in the background at the same time. If you didn't catch it, the audio from that scene is here (it's quick!). This is most likely the same message that Sam Toomey and Leonard Simms heard when they were stationed at a Naval listening post in 1988. If right now you're like, "Who the hell are Sam and Leonard?" then I ask you to think back... way back to the first Hurley-centric episode... Season One's "Numbers." And then read the first full paragraph here and I'm sure it will all come back to you.

Rousseau's team had also heard a transmission of the numbers -- it was actually what led them to crash on the Island.

So why it is a big deal that Lapidus and his co-pilot heard it as well?

It's a big deal because we know that by the time Oceanic 815 crashed in 2004, Danielle's French transmission (the one the Lostaways heard in the pilot episode) had replaced the Numbers Transmission. So what is going on?

I think there are two possible scenarios:
1) The plane was just picking up a broadcast from an earlier point in time because weird crap like that tends to happen on and around the Island. It could be comparable to when Sayid and Hurley heard what seemed to be a radio transmission playing big band music from the 1940s as they were monkeying around with the two-way radio found by the Tailies in the Arrow Station ("The Long Con," Season Two).

2) Something the Losties did during their time-skipping or Dharma-infiltrating changed the past, and as a result, Danielle's transmission was never recorded.

I'm leaning toward the latter explanation. Especially after seeing how different the Barracks looked in this episode. Once again, more on that issue later.

However, there's actually something even more puzzling -- on this same topic -- that is really throwing me for a loop. And that's how different the Numbers Transmission sounded when we heard it for a brief moment during "This Place is Death" compared to what came over the radio in "Namaste."

In a scene where Jin and Rousseau's team were walking through the jungle, we heard the numbers through Montand's receiver. Many people thought that the voice sounded like Hurley's, especially during "23" and "42." Thanks to reader EB for this link, where a Lost fan put together a quick audio/video clip of the scene in question (the audio will replay twice... just keep listening).

Regardless of whether or not you think it's Hurley rattling off the numbers, it's definitely not the same voice that could be heard through Ajira 316's radio. Though I believe there were a few other goofs in this episode, I don't think the production crew would make this kind of mistake -- someone obviously went through the effort of recording two different transmissions.

So what does it mean? Before you leave a knee-jerk explanation for me, think it through... because I have thought it through and can come up with no reasoning that makes sense as to why Montand would hear one voice that sounded like Hurley in 1988 and Frank would hear a different one in 2008. If it was Hurley (or someone else who sounded like him) that recorded the message in the '70s, shouldn't Montand and Frank both have heard the same thing?


SO WHAT
I'M STILL A ROCK STAR
I GOT MY ROCK MOVES
AND I DON'T NEED YOU

After Ajira 316 comes to rest on Alcatraz Island, Caesar approached Ilana to see if she was OK. As he calls her "lady," I guess we can assume that they didn't know each other before the flight. Some people thought she said "Sarah?" when she first woke up (the only Sarah we know of on the show is Jack's ex-wife... unless you count the fake name Ana Lucia used during her little fling with Jack's dad), but others heard "Jarrah?" -- as in Sayid's last name. I think that makes more sense, as she was accompanying him.

From "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham," we know that Caesar followed through with his plan to search the Hydra buildings, while Ilana chatted up No Longer Dead Locke. In the meantime, Frank took off after Sun, who took off after Ben, who must at least be in semi-favor with the Island, as his injured arm had already healed.

While those three were having their stand-off near the outriggers, I kept thinking, "Something's gotta happen because we know Locke finds Ben alongside the other injured passengers." However, I was not expecting Sun to treat Ben to a Kwoncussion-by-oar, of all things. Her expression afterward, combined with her "I lied" reply to Frank, was my favorite part of the episode.


Sun and Frank made it to the other Island and found the pier in shambles. When something started moving in the brush, I was like, "VIIIINNNNNCEEENNNNTTTT!!!!! YESSSSZZZZZ!!!!!" But alas, our favorite yellow lab did not grace the screen with his presence. There were whispers, quiet monster-sounds and even some wisps of smoke/fog all throughout the Main Island scenes, so I think it's fair to assume that ol' Smokey was nearby.

One person who was definitely there was Zombie Dad -- and Sun and Frank could see him! How eerie was it when that door creaked open and he was standing still in the shadows? I would've busted out in the other direction immediately, but Sun was all, "Hey freaky dude, where's my husband?" and then proceeded to follow him like it was no big thang. I am sure this was not meant to be a funny moment, but I was laughing because Sun was all, "Whatever, I've seen everything at this point."


THROUGH SPACE AND TIME
ALWAYS ANOTHER SHOW
WONDERING WHERE I AM
LOST WITHOUT YOU

From what I can tell, the scene in which Zombie Dad shows Frank and Sun the 1977 Dharma Recruits picture is the hottest topic of debate from "Namaste." Why? Because the Barracks seem to be in much worse shape than they should have been.

This has sparked disagreement amongst Lost fans about when exactly Ajira 316 landed. I was surprised that there was any controversy about this, because I thought the "Thirty Years Earlier" note that was shown after Ajira 316 touched down should have killed any questions about the year in which the Frank, Locke, Sun et al had returned. Sawyer told the Returnees that it was 1977. 1977 + 30 = 2007... except that we know it's got to be at least half-way through January of 2008 since Locke/Bentham's passport wasn't issued until December 12, 2007...





... and then we know that Jack told Ben that it had been a month between the last time he'd talked to Locke and Locke's death. But it would've been lame if they noted "Thirty Years and One Month Earlier" or "Slightly More than Thirty Years Earlier" or "Three Hundred Sixty-One Months Earlier"... so we've gotta just roll with it!

However, some people can't let this one go, claiming that the fact that it went from night to day when the plane's controls started failing meant that all of a sudden it was a different year. I would remind those people, though, that we have proof that when the 815ers crashed the first time around, it remained the same year on-Island as it did off-Island for them. From Daniel's experiment we know that there may be some small glitches in the passage of time on and off of the Island, but overall, I think the "Thirty Years Earlier" message was meant to help clear up the time line.

Perhaps one reason why some remain unconvinced that Sun and Frank could really be in 2008 is that the Barracks looked so drastically different than when we last saw them in 2004. At the end of last season, Keamy's group had blown up a few buildings, but otherwise things had been kept fairly neat and tidy by the Others once they took over the neighborhood after 1992's Purge. We had certainly seen no evidence of Dharma logos on doors or old Dharma initiation photos on walls or registration signs hanging off of their hinges. So what is going on?

There seem to be three schools of thought on this one. (Before anyone gets offended and flames me, these are not my personal thoughts... I'm simply conveying the gist of what I've read across various message boards.)

1) "Thirty years earlier" message be damned! They've GOT to be in a much later point than 2008 in order to explain the condition of the Barracks. Daniel said that "what happened, happened," so the Losties couldn't have changed the past!

2) Sun and Frank weren't even AT the Barracks, you fools! The Barracks are inland and within the sonic security fence, which we did not see those two cross. (Want proof of the Barracks' location? Check out Ben's map from the Season Three finale.) Sun and Frank only made it to the old Dharma Processing Center, which is right off of the pier and which the Others probably left alone after the Purge. So the Losties didn't change the course of time, Ajira landed in 2008, and people are freaking out about nothing.

3) The average viewer thinks "Barracks" when they see yellow houses. Millions of Lost fans who don't read any blogs or message boards aren't going to know the location of the various Dharma buildings in relation to the rest of the Island... when they see Sun and Frank amidst yellow buildings, they would assume they're at the Barracks, and therefore that's probably what we superfans were meant to assume, too. And since the Others had been living at the Barracks for twelve years until Keamy's men showed up, there's no way that any of the structures would've been in such disarray after just three years. The Lostaways changed something when they went back in time.


I'm not sure where I stand on this issue, except that I definitely don't agree with theory #1.
#2 does make a good point about the location of the processing center versus the rest of the Barracks. However, the first thing that came to my mind when Frank and Sun approached the Dharma buildings is that whatever the Losties did back in the 70s must have set off a domino effect of change. For those of you holding on to something the producers said on a past podcast about how the rules of time travel for the show wouldn't be like on Heroes where someone could go back in time and affect the future... I gently remind you that these are the same guys who said during Season One that, "As the show progresses, it won't venture too far into science fiction as its mysteries unfold. Nothing is flat-out impossible. There are no spaceships. There isn't any time travel." My point is, if I were one of The Powers That Be on the show - I would definitely be throwing out half-truths left and right in order to keep people guessing. What fun would it be if they just told us exactly what to expect all of the time?

All that being said, I still remain in limbo about whether or not I think the future has been changed.

Four more quick things about this scene, and then it's time to get our groove on in the '70s:
- I don't think the random chick behind Sun is Claire. I think it was a production error. And even if it was Claire... then what? I'm not sure that would really be important, either... we've seen her with Zombie Dad before, after all.

- There is not a missing person in the Dharma photo. I rewatched this scene, and the guy in question steps out from behind the woman in front of him a few seconds later. He was short. That's it.

- Now that it's been confirmed that Sun, Ben, Frank and Locke didn't end up in the same time period as the others, the question becomes, why? I've seen tons of theories floating around about this issue, but quite frankly, all of them have gaping holes. Since I get the sense that the majority of this season, if not the rest of the series will revolve around reuniting everyone,
I have a feeling we might get more clarity on this subject soon. It may also be one of those mysteries that never gets explained and we'll just have to deal with it!

- Zombie Dad told Sun, "I'm sorry, but you have a bit of a journey ahead of you." What does that mean? To the bullet point above, does Sun need to find a way back to the '70s, or does she need to roam around the Island until she finds a 60-something-year-old Jin, or does she have to wait a long time before Jin returns to the present? My brain seriously cannot handle trying to think of how any of these scenarios (or other variations) could play out. So on that note, let's rejoin the other 815ers in Dharmaville, where life was a lot simpler.


I'D LOVE TO CHANGE THE WORLD
BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO
SO I'LL LEAVE IT
UP TO YOU

I'm glad we got to see a little bit more of the reunion with Hurley, Jack and Kate. As soon as Jin heard that Sun had been with them, however, he wanted no part of the hug-fest... he took off for The Flame to see if a plane had been spotted. Did anyone else notice how the group neglected to mention that Ben was also along for the ride?

Anyway, there's not a ton to comment on about the trio's induction into the Dharma Initiative. As I said at the start of this post, it was fun to watch, but didn't necessarily advance or create any theories. Therefore, allow me to cover the bulk of my observations from the 1977 scenes in bullet point format:

- The reunited Lostaways quickly confirmed that three years had passed (for everyone) since they'd last seen each other. Don't think too much about how that could work, or else you'll drive yourself crazy like I did. I would venture to guess that Locke definitely lost three years of his life, though... which is I guess a small price to pay for being brought back from the dead. And Ben would have lost ten months when he flashed from the end of 2004 to October 24, 2005 after turning the FDW.

- "I gotta find a way to bring 'em in before somebody else finds 'em and they screw up everything we got here." This is what Sawyer told Juliet when he finally spilled the beans that the others had returned. I think he obviously was talking about the fact that he didn't want the Left-Behinders' covers to be blown... but I think his words might take on another meaning as things go forward. Let's face it, who would you feel closer to: people you knew for three months, or three years? How much motivation will Sawyer have to return to his rightful year or give up the life he's created with Juliet -- despite what he knows about the fate of the Initiative?

- How HILARIOUS was it that Jack was assigned janitorial duty? I'm sure it took everything in him not to blurt out, "But I'm an MD, dammit!" And did Juliet make Kate sweat it out for a few moments there on purpose, just to mess with her? What would you have done? (For the record, I have no idea why Chang had on a Swan jacket in the Dharma orientation video the new recruits watched... when that station hadn't yet been built.)

- So Amy and Horace's baby is Ethan. I've seen a lot of people riled up about this as he clearly looks a lot older than 27 in 2004. I'm more interested to learn why/how Ethan survived the Purge when we know his father and the rest of Dharma did not. And why did he grow up to have such super-strength? One guess is that, unbeknownst to Amy, Horace actually agreed to give his son to Richard as yet another (extreme) goodwill gesture to make up for Sawyer killing two Hostiles. That would mean Ethan was "raised by an Other." Hee, hee. Anyway, how priceless was Juliet's expression when she learned who she was cradling? That was my second-favorite moment of the night. Also, I really, really do not like Amy. Something about her just screams "evil bee-otch."

- Sawyer told Jack that Daniel wasn't there "anymore." Since we know from the season premiere that at some point Faraday was in a Dharma jumpsuit as the Orchid was being built, the question now becomes... where did he go? One theory is that he left the Island in order to build The Lamp Post back in L.A... but the timing doesn't work. Dharma used The Lamp Post to find the Island in the first place. Another theory is that Daniel is physically there but is much like his old pal Theresa in that his mind is constantly jumping around. That would definitely suck, so I hope that's not the case. I have no other ideas as to where he could be, except that maybe he did leave the Island in order to keep himself from talking to Little Charlotte, and now he's chillin' in Tahiti or something.

- Sawyer isn't going by Sawyer or James anymore. It's Jim or LaFleur, thank you very much. And as that sketchy Phil guy told Jack, he actually hates being called James. Just one more reason to wonder whether Sawyer is going to want to shake up his present situation... looks like he's bid his past an emphatic "good riddance." And speaking of sketchy Phil... he definitely seems to be noticing that something's a bit off about the Returnees.

- The Sawyer/Jack showdown was another incredible moment of the night. I enjoy (and have always enjoyed) both of these characters, and scenes in which they go head to head never fail to be top-notch. In "Exodus, Part One" (which remains one of my top five episodes), I about lost it when Sawyer finally told Jack that he'd seen his father (Christian/now Zombie Dad) in Sydney right before he died. Their face-off in "Namaste" was at that level of intensity. Great, great scene. I personally thought that as Jack walked away, he truly was relieved to not be in control and to let someone else worry about what to do for a change. The question is, how long can he resist the urge to take charge?


WHY DO WE ALWAYS COME HERE?
I GUESS WE'LL NEVER KNOW
IT'S LIKE A KIND OF TORTURE
TO HAVE TO WATCH THE SHOW

This section's lyrical heading was taken from opening theme of The Muppet Show, which could clearly be seen in the top-left monitor of Radzinsky's video wall. Sure, Radzinsky may act like a badass, but really, how threatening could a guy who tunes into Kermit and pals be? Anyway, depending on how badly your brain aches after a given episode, those lyrics might apply to Lost every once in a while, too...

Back to Radzinsky, who many think looked like Minkowski or Crazy Leonard... but who I think more closely resembles actor Paul Giamatti. How can we not feel just a tad sorry for him, despite his rudeness to Jin, Sawyer and Sayid in this episode? I mean, we know that he's going to create the glow-in-the-dark Hatch Map and then end up killing himself in the Swan while stationed there with Kelvin, who will end up showing Desmond the blood stain on the ceiling as proof. In "Namaste," we got to see the model for that first hatch. Radzinsky started freaking out after a Hostile (Sayid) got a peek at his creation -- his main concern was that the mystery man might have seen where the hatch was going to be built.

The two main explanations I've read as to why Radzinsky would think this was such a big deal are:
1) Dharma was going to build the hatch somewhere outside of the area that their "truce" with the Hostiles allowed them to roam. Remember, there is a good chance that Amy and Paul were attacked (and Paul killed) by Hostiles solely because they were having a picnic outside the agreed upon boundaries. Which actually makes it hard to fathom how anyone in Dharma could think they'd be able to get away with building a huge underground structure in a forbidden location without the Hostiles catching on.

2) Dharma was specifically planning to build the Swan on top of/next to the buried Jughead bomb -- although they might not have known a bomb was there... they might have just detected crazy magnetic/radioactive forces and wanted to harness them for experiments. Radzinsky might have not wanted the Hostiles to mess with or know any details about Dharma's plans, even if the location was truce-approved.

Either way, the hot-headed, bespectacled spaz was not pleased when Sawyer wouldn't agree to just kill Hostile Sayid, and he threatened to tattle about the whole drama to Horace. Am I the only one who's starting to fear that this situation is not going to end well for Sayid?


WHY CAN'T WE BE FRIENDS?

Seriously, since everyone in Dharma thinks Sayid is a Hostile, how could his return to the Island result in him living out any sort of normal life? Unless, that is, the group finds a way back to the present like now.

One thing that gives me a little bit of hope is that we still have yet to learn what it was that Ben did to cause Sayid to quit working for him, head down to Santo Domingo a and take up a life of volunteerism. That would lead me to believe that another reunion of Sayid and Grown Ben still lies ahead. In the meantime, however, we got to see the first time that Ben met Sayid. Man, that kid can play "spooky" like a pro. On a personal note, Little Ben is especially unnerving to me because he looks exactly like one of my nephews -- I can't take it. Therefore, I hope we don't see too much more of him because otherwise it will be hard for me to act normal at family functions.

Anyway, I think it's fair to guess that the reason Little Ben delivers a sandwich to Sayid is because he's already met with Ageless Richard in the jungle and is developing Hostile Wannabe Fever. What will happen now? Will Little Ben report back to Richard that one of his men has been captured? Will Richard realize something strange is going on -- especially since Sawyer already alluded to his group's time-traveling adventures? Will Sayid be released and have no choice but to become "one of them"? Is that perhaps what Rose, Bernard and Vincent chose to do?

Who knows, but there's a part of me that wonders if Sayid's not above bumping off Little Ben and thereby saving some other iteration of himself the frustration of dealing with ol bug-eyes in the future...

... And yes, I guess that means that -- despite what Faraday kept insisting -- I do think the Lostaways can change the course of events. I'm sure we'll see if that's the case sooner rather than later.



BEST LINES OF THE EPISODE

LAPIDUS: Where's everyone else? Jack and... Kate and Hurley--where'd they go?
BEN: They're gone.
LAPIDUS: Gone? Gone where?
BEN: [Shaking his head faintly] How would I know?



[Hurley picks Sawyer up in a giant bear hug, lifting him off the ground.]
SAWYER: Easy on the ribs there, Kong.
HURLEY: "Kong." I actually missed that.



SAWYER: We're in the DHARMA Initiative.
JACK: They came back to the Island?
SAWYER: No. We came back. And so did you. It's 1977.
[A moment passes as this news sinks in to everyone.]
HURLEY: Uh... what?



HURLEY: [To Jin] Dude, your English is awesome.



BEN: Why are you following me?
SUN: Where are you going?
BEN: Back to our Island. ...You wanna come?



JULIET: Have you and Horace decided on a name?
AMY: Yeah, we have. We're gonna name him Ethan.
JULIET: [Whispers] Oh, hey, buddy. [Gives him back.]



KATE: So the woman who told you how to come back... did she mention that it would be 30 years ago?
JACK: No. No, she left that part out.



SAWYER [To Jack]: Nice suit, doc. Not exactly Island wear.




HURLEY: And... you guys are all members of the DHARMA Initiative.
SAWYER: Yep.
HURLEY: Well, you do realize those dudes get wiped out, right? I saw where all the bodies got dumped.
SAWYER: What about it?
HURLEY: Well, aren't you gonna warn 'em? Aren't you gonna stop it from happening?
SAWYER: I ain't here to play Nostradamus to these people.



LAPIDUS: Sun. I want you to think about this, okay? This guy is dangerous. Sun, that boat I came here on--it was filled with commandos whose only mission was to get him.
BEN: And how'd that work out for everyone?



[Sun knocks Ben out with an oar.]
LAPIDUS: I thought you trusted this guy.
SUN: I lied.





DR. CHANG: ... You've been assigned to the Shed.
JACK: "Work man." What does--what does that mean?
DR. CHANG: Based on your aptitude test, you'll be doing janitorial work.




PHOTOGRAPHER: Okay, ready? Everybody say, "Namaste!"
ALL: Namaste.
HURLEY: Nama-what?





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






A FEW PARTING NOTES

- Please don't leave spoilers in your comments. That includes anything from the "next on Lost" previews and podcasts as well as out-and-out spoilers. I won't publish them, anyway, so you might as well save yourself the effort and me the frustration. This has started happening a bit (I'm talkin' to you, all you "The baby is Ethan" writers!) so I figured I should remind everyone of my policy.

- If you're interested in the schedule for the rest of the season, it can be found here. Don't worry, episode titles are not listed.

- A few of you have asked if I'm on Twitter. The answer is: I am now. I'll probably leave any updates about the timing of my posts, and maybe even some early knee-jerk episode thoughts and reactions on Twitter rather than Facebook, as I am among the many who hate the redesign. But for those of you outside the U.S., fear not... I'll always keep everything vague and spoiler-free since I know you all see new episodes a few days later than we do.

- I usually don't even start writing my posts until the weekend... and I'll be spending this coming Friday - Sunday with my favorite person in the world -- my Grandma -- celebrating her 85th birthday. So my next write-up will be late, but it will still be published by Wednesday afternoon, April 1. (No, this is not an April Fool's joke.) Thanks in advance for your patience.


And as always, thanks for reading!
- e

72 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome as always.

thanks a lot for the updates.

And first.

Erika (aka "e") said...

The songs I pulled lyrics from for this week's post are, in order:

“Smooth Operator” by Sade
“Gloria” by Laura Branigan
“So What” by Pink
“Faithfully” by Journey
“I’d Love to Change the World” by Ten Years After
“The Muppet Show Theme” by The Muppets
“Why Can’t We Be Friends?” by War

- e

Unknown said...

It's interesting that Jack is finally okay with not fixing things. This goes along with the island being about redemption and escaping the demons of the past. In a general sense, I think the island is where "LOST" souls go to find themselves. Going to the island the first time, no one really changed too much...especially Jack. Until the very end, Jack was trying to take control..but now that he's once again on the island, maybe he and other LOSTIES will change what has previously held them back in life.

Anonymous said...

When you said you thought Amy is evil - I realized that I thought that as well - just have a bad feeling about her. What if she planned the picnic to be "captured" by the others so that she could join them and Sawyer and Juliet ruined that for her and now she is having to hang out in Dharmaville. Maybe she and Ethan go over to the others at the purge.

Reylloc said...

Great write up, de rigueur for this show & your blog.

I think maybe Daniel has gone to Oxford - I don't think he's gone Other/Hostile, or possibly on a hush-hush mission to the Orchid to set his watch. I also concur with you that the time gap between 1977 Dharma & Frank/Sun/Ben/Ajira is 30 years, what's a few months between castaways, anyway?
Things to think about: We saw (Yves) Montand lose his arm in a tug of war with Smokey - on an island with a population this small, what are the odds that Pierre went all mono mano in the same manner? Uh-huh.
If Christian tells you that you have "quite a journey ahead of you", since you're on an island, methinks he means a trip in time. As in Donkey-Wheel Time.
I think we've seen a possible future for Dharma/Others, but since most of the Losties are in '77, that is the "current location" of time in the loop. Lots of potential course-correcting & future proofing going on - and it's obvious that Ben's playbook isn't working anymore (or he'd have seen his tender reunion with the oar coming).
This season feels like it is about to gain some serious momentum to the finsih line.

Burgertime said...

After 4 years of no one being in the barracks I'm not sure why people would expect it to be all clean and tidy....it's an island, perhaps it was hit by a hurricane.

Sherylm said...

Hi, e, great write-up. Did you notice that Jack did NOT tell Sawyer how Locke died? Because if he said "suicide", Sawyer would have been sure to ask why and how could they all explain, particularly Kate, that none of them had actually wanted to come back to help out their "friends" - I don't count Hurley in that group as he was just frightened off by Abaddon or Sun, who did not hesitate a moment to come back for Jin once she knew he was alive.

Erika (aka "e") said...

Burgertime - I don't think it's necessarily the messiness that's bothering people... it's the fact that there were Dharma logos on the house doors and the Processing Center signs hanging from their hinges and photos up of the old Dharma initiates. None of that stuff should've been there if the Others had inhabited those houses for 12 years -- why would they have kept those signs up? So that's the heart of the issue.
- e

badwobot said...

I am in the camp that believes that the future can be changed. That said, if the island doesn't want you to die, ya' don't. If you are right about Sayid trying to plug young Ben, I wonder if the island will let Ben die. Ben, IMHO, does not always do the island's will.

Also, I wonder if we have already seen some changes come to pass. I wonder if LaFleur's new personality is the result of personal growth OR a change in young James Ford's past. Knowing what he knows, wouldn't it be tempting for Sawyer to go help his little childhood self?

Anonymous said...

about the "mystery chick"... have you notice where LOST is filmed? Hawaii, one of the most haunted region. doesn't the picture look some what demonic to you?

Matt Nightingale said...

Question. Maybe I'm confused. I often am as I watch LOST. :) If "Little Ben" sees Sayid, then he grows up to at least recognize Sayid, right? Has he just been keeping quiet about this whole period? Maybe ALL ALONG he's known about Sawyer, Juliet, Daniel, etc. Could it be? I think so, because remember, Charlotte remembered Daniel being there when she was a little girl!

Anonymous said...

Did anyone else notice that Frank's co-pilot was "Brian," Kelly's love interest from the Saved By the Bell Hawaii episodes? That bastard probably wanted to run the Dharma Initiative into the ground so he could buy them out and expand his father's resort!!

Erika (aka "e") said...

SherylM - Yeah, obviously there would be a lot of questions if Sawyer need HOW Locke died... not that Jack really knows the full truth either, though! : ) But it was a typical "it doesn't matter" scene.

Badwobot - Yes, perhaps things can be changed except for killing someone that the Island wants alive. I don't think Sawyer would leave the Island to go talk to his younger self, though... he would be too nervous about not making it back to his happy home with Juliet and good job with Dharma. : )

Matt N - No, you're not confused, Ben probably does remember all of the 815 peeps -- that's probably why he's always been so confident about his actions. However, since he WAS surprised about Alex dying, it's proof that the loop may be changing with each iteration...

- e

Julie said...

e,

Great to have you back! Great write up as usual. I am sad that we have already hit the halfway point of the season. At the same time this season has been so awesome I just want to see more and more!

Hope you had a great vacation!

Anonymous said...

Does ben remember Sayid and all the other losties in dharma? I ask because didn't he meet him when he was young so maybe he remembered them when he was older.

Also, Remember the list Jacob gave to Ben about the losties he wanted...im not sure if this is correct but werent the names Jack, Sayid, Kate, and Hurley.. these are the same people who traveled in time to 1977 so maybe jacob made them come back in time.

Erika (aka "e") said...

Joe -

I gave my take on your Little Ben question above.

Regarding "The List..." I think, from what I've seen on the boards, that people are getting confused because there was more than one list. The list you're referring to was NOT Jacob's list, that was a list Ms. Klugh gave Michael of who to bring back with him. Remember that they then let Hurley go to warn the rest of the 815ers to leave the Others alone. They simply needed Jack, Kate and Sawyer to play off of each other in order to get Jack to do Ben's surgery.

In fact, during Ben's surgery, Pickett complained that Jack was NOT "even on Jacob's list."

Then there was a list which we never saw that Goodwin and Ana Lucia talked about, and that's when we learned that the Others were supposedly taking "good people" and children.

Not too sure if any of these lists are connected to what's going on now.

- e

Anonymous said...

Thank you!

Great Writeup as always

Anonymous said...

I was one of the people who wrote, "The baby is Ethan", but I had no idea that it was an established spoiler. I don't read them either. I was just expressing my theory b/c he was the only logical one. I apologize.

Aunt J-ha said...

This was great Erica! Reading your posts make up for my friends abandoning the show after season 2 because they "just don't get it"
Thanks!

Unknown said...

Great updates as usual. I just wanted to say your my favorite LOST re-capper specifically because you're as anti-spoiler as I am.

Kia said...

As usual, you covered all of the questions I had about the episode. I know I said that I HATED the idea of any kind of time loop...... but if you are going to do a loop.... THIS is how you do it! I am LOVING this season....... I still hope little things like Libby's story are explained though.

Erika (aka "e") said...

To the Anon directly above -

No worries... several people wrote that exact same sentence, on both this site and where my posts are republished on DarkUFO's site, and the fact that they seemed so confident, especially using the word "is" made me realize that it might be a spoiler, especially since I knew that info about the baby's identity was out there.

If someone backed up WHY they thought it would be Ethan, that would've be a different story, since we really have no reason to think that just yet, esp. since the timing seems so off. Since no one gave any reasoning, I knew it was probably a spoiler. : )

- e

Anonymous said...

Hey e, hope you enjoyed your "break". I laughed out loud at the phrase "Kwoncussion-by-oar"....genuinely funny!

I too am in the "time can be altered" camp. I don't think that the Others would have left all those signs up. I got the impression that the Processing Centre WASN'T "just off the pier" but actually at Dharmaville due to the conversation that Chang had with Jack.

Chang: "who was your shuttle driver?"
Jack:"I'm sorry, who?"
Chang: "who was your driver from the sub?"
Jack: "that was..erm, that was La Fleur"

I know that I am assuming this as the next scene shows what looks like Dharmaville-real and the Processing Centre no longer features. I tried re-watching both scenes to give me any clue that I was right or wrong. But anyway, none of that REALLY matters. What matters is why the Others would not have used those buildings if they were using the Pier up until when Locke blew up the sub. The place would not have become so delapidated in such a short space of time, ie the pier, the buildings near it etc. I'm maybe not so clear on this theory but it's late, so that's my excuse!

Oh and Happy Birthday to your Grandmother! Namaste!

frgrsdhn said...

I, too, think Amy is EVIL!!! I cannot forget the look on her face when she took the earplugs out!

I have to say, I was somewhat disappointed in the Jack/Sawyer scene at Sawyer's house. I needed them to sit down and hash out what happened the last 3 years.....but they just argued. And I will be SO MAD if Sawyer and Kate get back together. Juliet needs a romance break! I keep saying, what's three months to three years??

Anonymous said...

Hey Erica. Love your LOST blog. Just a quick note on the Barracks and why it looks like a different place. If you go back to S3 Ep. 20 "The man Behind the Curtain" You can see that as the new recruits get out of the sub they head to that processing place where Christian gets the picture from. If you look they actually show us the shuttles to DHARMAville where all the nice yellow houses are behind the sonic fence. So Sun and Frank are in the right place it was just a little messy and dark.

Anonymous said...

Welcome Back E! Great write up. On the everything happened, happened front, I do feel some things can and have/will change based on happenings going on ?now? or ?then?, however you look at it. But what if some the stuff that is occuring now (in either time line) hasn't happened yet and therefore is why it is not exactly changing things, but actually happening for the first time.
I am shot down on this by Juliet going back and delivering ethan and Sawyer saving Amy which may not have allowed Ethan to be born which we know happened already.
On the flip side, I don't think little Ben can die because it hasn't happened yet in real time, but I think Sayid and others will try to kill him and may lead him to believe he is special for this reason.(and maybe why the others think he is special.) I feel alot of surprises coming our way (maybe not answers), but surprises. I'm excited!!!
Brasco

M.Snyder said...

I certainly feel inclined to believe that the Losties can in fact change the course of the future. Although, I still have hope that maybe they can't (since I am a firm believer in Daniel's theory). That sprinkle of hope is a theory that maybe from 2004-2007 a new Dharma initiative was somehow created, therefore explaining the Dharma signs everywhere.

Also, about the new transmission of the numbers, remember when in 2004 at the tower Danielle removed her french transmission, saying it was no longer needed? Maybe this possible new Dharma re-started the numbers transmission, with a new voice.

Anonymous said...

Nan -

I think Amy is so evil she killed Paul.

No one is taking about how unlike Sayid, he is acting. He had the same time that Jack, Kate and Hurley had but Sayid is still in handcuffs, in the front no less. And our Sayid would have heard Jin coming a half mile away.

Really enjoyed the recap.

RebeccaZ said...

I sensed that Jack really hated being put in a subservient position to Sawyer. It looked like he was pretty close to developing a nervous tick so I think he'll be undermining Jim pretty soon. I preferred Jack off island, with a ratty beard and as an addict. The power tripping, island leader Jack is not my cup of tea. Sawyer all the way.

I also thought that maybe this was the first time Ben was being introduced to a Hostile face to face and he decides he wants to join them after meeting Sayid who becomes a father/hero figure to young Ben. Which would just be wild and wacky and makes my brain start spinning with the implications.

Great post.

Namaste.

Anonymous said...

Thinking about some strange things ...

the 6 "numbers" ... the "Oceanic 6" ... looking at the Hatch blast door map, 6 perimeter Dharma stations are listed (there was a 7th, which looks like it was crossed out). Coincidence?


Also, could Ben want to travel back to the island, in an attempt to be "reborn" (similar to Christian and Locke)? Not physically reborn, but instead spiritually reborn, to earn a "second chance" after what he'd done (Purge).


Finally, we're told that Lapidus was supposed to pilot Oceanic flight 815. When Kate, Jack and Charlie found the cockpit in the jungle after the crash, Smokey was nosing around the front of the plane. Could it be when Smokey discovered the "imposter" pilot, he got angry and killed this pilot?

Anonymous said...

Something I thought was interesting about the Ajira 316 flight... when the flash started and Frank took manual control of the plane it started turning until it had completely flipped upside down. As it came back around, it had turned to day. It seems to be a recurring them in LOST... the LOST logo with the island on top and the city scape underneath. Did anyone else find this interesting?

m said...

I've seen another possible explanation for the 2007 condition of the Dharma Barracks ~ initiation center: that it is an apparition similar to Jacob's cabin, which moves and appears and disappears. Since Christian appears in this building, as in the cabin, and also since the Smoke monster is on the premises, it seems plausible to me. What do you think?
And, any thoughts on the possibility the Ben's 'mustard' comment to Sayid could have been Others/Hostiles code?

Anonymous said...

Love your right ups! I have only discovered them in the last few months and I am in the process of going through all your previous blogs right back to season 1.

I would like to offer my input on two of the questions you posed through your last blog for the latest episode "Nameste" and also my opinion on the whole show.

Why did flight 316 hear the numbers even though Rousseau changed it in the 80's?

Point 1 was close, however I believe that the lamp post predicted a way to get to the island but on approach they went through a time bubble which was 1977, the island picked up those losties that where meant to be there (the island or maybe smokey knows that key events happen on the island that those losties have to be there to trigger or resolve) for whatever reason the flight 316 went through that period of time and while they where there they picked up the radio frequency from that point in time. I apoligies for the scatterbrain.

The second point is I believe everything that Daniel Faraday has said is true and correct the losties that have returned (both in 1977 and 2007-8) is already part of the history of the island, that everything is happening because it is meant to happen in order for the island to correct whatever majorly went wrong in the first place.

Ongoing thought process, i don't believe the island was meant to be or at least doesn't want to be inhabited the moment that it was inhabited things have gone wrong (The Dharma Initiative). I believe now that the island is attempting or may even know what is required for it to be clear of all issues and then to be uninhabited (or at least abolish all invasive elements eg. hatches and what not) on a side not maybe the hostiles followed these same standards at one stage but now that they use the hatches, the island may not value them anymore. The island has caused two separate crashes (indirectly through the hatch) with flight 815, also with flight 316, these people who have landed have all contributed to the resolution to initial colonization.

I may be losing it but that's just what i think.

Again I would like to thank you for your terrific analysis of lost.

regards
Alex (alpevado@hotmail.com)

Alex King said...

Thanks for the awesome write-up e!

I'm kind of surprised this wasn't mentioned, but did anyone else do a double-take when Jack was issued the "Workman" uniform? Doesn't this ring a bell with anyone? The Adam and Eve skeletons from "House of the Rising Sun" were in Dharma leotards, and one of them was wearing a leotard that said "Workman". So is the skeleton Jack? Or could it be someone else... I'm still not sure what to think about that one.

Anonymous said...

We have already seen first hand that things can be changed when Desmond prevented a number of different Charlie deaths. However, as Ms Hawkings pointed out, this can only be done for so long - sooner or later the universe 'course corrects' and the thing that should happen happens.

I take this to mean that important stuff that are destined to happen must happen, and the Others occupying Dharmaville maybe isn't a big enough event to be enforced. The purge on the other hand would probably qualify, so if DI managed to escape being wiped out the way it was shown in TMBTC, they surely bit the dust in some other grueling way later (earlier?) on.

About young Ben, I don't think he can be killed either. That would just produce to many time continuity problems since he is so important for the islands events

Sally said...

Welcome back "e".Great recap!!!one of the best of yours and others.you're really best recaper ever!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the excellent summaries. I enjoy reading them almost as much as the show, as it reminds me of all the good stuff that happens in lost.

re: Sayid being easily captured by Jin. I like the idea (not mine; read on a site somewhere) that Sayid was intercepted by the Others after his (re)appearance on the island, and was told to become captured by the DI as part of some plot by Richard. Perhaps something to do with meeting young Ben.

P.

Anonymous said...

Thanks as always for the weekly recap and analysis, e!

Anonymous said...

Hey Erika. Once again, a thouroughly enjoyable read. I especially liked the "Kwoncussion-by-oar" and "Hostile Wannabe Fever". Keep up the good work. Many thanks. Marco xxx

Anonymous said...

I don't see any comments regarding the blurry image of a woman (girl) behind Sun when she is talking to Christian. It's been mentioned on other sites. It "could be" Claire but it's very blurry. Some think it's a production gaffe.

Aaron W said...

As far as the numbers go, we only have heard them twice, both of which were this season.

The first time is in "This Place is Death" where Rousseau's team in 1988 hears a voice similar to Hurley's. We know that shortly after this Rousseau replaces the transmission with her distress call, which goes uninterrupted until Jack and co. shut it off in "Through the Looking Glass". The radio tower was then broadcasting nothing.

The voice might not be Hurley's, but it is possible because he is back in 1977 and could easily set up the recording. It would be very ironic/cool if this is the case.

The second time was in this episode. This time it's late 2007 or early 2008, and the voice is an automated one similar to the voice that said the iteration numbers in Rousseau's message.

I suspect, as one of the other commenters mentioned, that the Dharma Initiative was reconstituted between when the O6 left the island and when Ajira 316 lands. This was alluded to in the Comic Con 2008 video. I think the reason we see the signs etc. at the processing center is because some new DI recruits arrived recently. They possibly set up the numbers recording again.

I'm also going to suggest that when Sun and Frank show up, Smokey has just finished disposing of the new DI recruits, a la the pilot in Season 1.

Anonymous said...

Great write-up, as always =)

Part of me doesn't want agree with the idea that the Losties are able to change the past-- and I agree with Brasco that Ethan's birth makes it seem as though the possibility of them not affecting the future is still open. We know that Ethan exists in the future, and maybe that means either the Losties were not able to do anything to change that from happening, or that the Losties were always there to ensure his birth (saving Amy, delivering Ethan).

Lady-in-Gray said...

The fact that Jack was not on Jacob's list, makes me wonder about something. Since Jack is Christian Shepherd's son, would that make Jacob and Christian opposing forces of some sort....

Anonymous said...

e,

I've always assumed that you worked for The Company post-Harvard based on your keen powers of observation. If that were true, however, you would have said that Sayid was building houses in the Caribbean (Dominican Republic) and not South America.

Still, a wonderful recap, as always.

m1ke said...

I am in the camp that thinks the reason sun and ben were not teleported to 1977 is because there are already "iterations" of them present in 1977 and the "course-correcting mechanism" wont allow two iterations of person in the same time line. It wouldn't necessarily surprise me if we found out Sun was born on the island.

Ernie said...

Hey e,

Thanks for the shout out this week!

I think what the producers alluded to about not changing the future (ie Heroes), was the finale of Season 3 with bearded Jack. They wanted to audience to invest in that future and said that future will happen.

As for on-island, I think that is ever changing. With the characters back in 1977, I think they will alter 2007/8 on island. Not sure if this makes sense, but I'm willing to just sit back and see where they take us.

My biggest question about this season is whether or not Sawyer and company were always part of DHARMA. I guess if they're changing the future on the island, then the answer would be no, they were not always part of DHARMA's original timeline.

SKID said...

e, (and anyone)

Remember Ben's comment to Sayid n the vet clinic that was something to effect of: "You remember what happened LAST time you chose your heart over your gun." (not exact words)

This was said in the context of Sayid having to kill the spy woman he fell in love with in Germany, but I don't THINK we have seen the moment that Ben was referring to.

Could it be that this "moment" Ben referred to was when Ben was a kid?? Perhaps Ben has told and convinced Sayid that he met him when he was a kid. Sayid almost had a look of: "Oh so THIS was when we met" upon being introduced to Ben, but either way, I am guessing that this choosing "heart over gun moment" may happen soon.

Anonymous said...

Great analysis as usual. Couple things bug me though.

Regarding "whatever happened, happened," why can't the losties in '77 have changed the future but it hasn't course-corrected yet? Isn't that the concept? I mean, Desmond certainly delayed Charlie's death, although Hawking explained that what was destined would eventually happen. Who's to say how long it would take destiny to catch up? Maybe by 2011, everything will be righted again.

And how does Sayid know that Young Ben is THE Ben? I don't see how he would have figured out that it's '77? I don't recall anyone saying it, and it's not the sort of thing you'd jump to on your own.

Last, re: Rose & Bernard, is it really just them? Does anyone have any idea how many of the original 815 survivors there still should be? It seems like we lost track of a lot of red shirts along the way. Surely someone, somewhere, has a Lost Survivor Clock posted?

Anonymous said...

Hey Erika,
Great recap. It's always informative and fun to read your recap. So... my only comment is on Amy. I agree, she is a "bee yotch". I also think she is an Other. I thought something was wrong with the whole "go have a picnic and get executed" thing from the second I saw it. I've been thinking about it and although I don't have a perfect theory, I believe she was an Other. She somehow infiltrated Dharma (she could have even gone to the mainland and gotten recruited as we know that Richard, Mr. Friendly, and others can go back an forth) and is ?spying? on them? Perhaps she went out to give info to the Others, her Dharma husband followed her, he gets shot and she is believed to be a double agent so they put a bag over her head. Who knows, but there are lots of plausible scenarios. I mean, who the heckfire would go have a pleasant picnic out in an area where you know you'll be killed if you're discovered. Dharmaland had lots of nice picnic areas!! Also, if Amy were an other, that would explain Ethan ending up with the Others and his super-strength. So... what do you think?!

Anonymous said...

Happy B'day to GMa!

Fatty Cahill said...

Namaste:

There's a few things we need to establish. *These are the facts:

Frank is flying Ajira Airways flight 316 at night, in Jan 2008 (What I will refer to as present time, the present time in the narrative of LOST) *A flash*occurs*sending Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sayid to 1977. *Post-Flash the plane is flying during the day, and the co-pilot has a WTF? moment, while Frank is simply trying to land the plane. *Once they have crash landed the co-pilot has been impaled by tree branch. *We see the title card "Thirty Years Earlier". *

This is why everyone is stuck on the idea that the Ajira Airways passengers are in present time, late Jan 2008. *But the title card really means to say "we are about to show you 30 years before this moment", not "when" they ended up.*I think it's completely rational to say that the flash from Night to Day insinuates that Flight 316 traveled through time, or , in even simpler terms, Ajira flight 316 is not "when" it was before the flash. *So I think it is false to assume that the Ajira passengers landed in Jan 2008. *

If you swallow that, then there are two ways we can go. *We are before 2008 or we are after 2008. *

Arguments for before Jan 2008:

-The dock and surrounding area is full of old dharma stuff, kinda like post-purge looking and note: no sub.
-The processing center's sign is swaying against the building while dharma signs are nailed to a few doors.
-This does not really resemble the 2004 Othersville days of yesteryear. The others used the sub and this area regularly, juliet came in the sub. I highly doubt they would have left up the pictures of the people they had just gassed and thrown into a giant ditch.

Arguments for after Jan 2008:

- The runway is finished which we assume was Ben's construction project, we see Sawyer and Kate working on it in season 3 when they were sleeping in polar bear cages.

The runway kinda seals the deal for me as a clear indication that we are post Jan 2008. How post? Damned if i know. A post where the dharma initiative was back in business or at least trying to appear that way. And Obviously from the look of things, it didn't work out...again.

Was someone trying to play dharma with old props to keep up a lie?

Erika (aka "e") said...

Fatty Cahill -

Sorry, your reasoning would still leave Sun and Frank in 2008. "Thirty years before this moment," per your comment, is 1977, which we know, because Sawyer told Jack. So it HAS to work in reverse... 1977 + 30 = when Ajira landed = 2008 give or take a month. I don't really get how it could be any other way... I addressed the day to night thing in my write-up -- we've seen that before and it didn't indicate a change of year... it just meant the characters had moved in or out of the boundary of the Island.

- e

AllisonR said...

GREAT post!

Lot to love about this episode...especially Lapidus. (Is the guy one unbelievable pilot, or what?) I was hoping he'd somehow make it back into our story, and here he is. By the way...have we ever actually seen Frank drinking? He's always been pegged as "a drunk" but I don't think I've ever actually seen him drunk. Are we just supposed to assume that shaggy, unkempt facial hair equals habitual intoxication? (Like with Dr. Jack?)

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks Amy is eeee-vil. Obviously, no one is brave enough to just look her in the eye and say, "Amy, you're gonna be in the Dharma Initiative, you gotta wear a jumpsuit." She seems to be the only one exempt from this uniform thing!

I love your idea that little Ben might already be taking info back to Richard. Hadn't considered that. Though I did wonder how he got chosen to deliver that sandwich. This makes sense.

Awesome blog, as always! (Glad you found a way to work a Locke pic in there.)

Anonymous said...

Howdy! Thanks for the awesome write up as usual! : )

I am LOVING a self-realized Sawyer.
Yeah, he has a purpose in waiting for Locke to return, and looking for him in all the grids, but along the way he became...happy???
The moment when he gazes across at Kate didn't look like "Hey, there's that forbidden fruit," it seemed more like "Sorry Freckles, I've respectfully moved on."

And I TOTALLY think that the Jack as janitor and Kate's info getting lost was payback from both Sawyer and Juliet. LOL
"Howdy Doc. How's about I take you down a notch."
"Hi Kate dear. Keep your hands off my man, or I'll kill you."

I also liked the "Look a little dazed and confused, you've been drugged." Like THAT'S hard for the returning Losties. LOL

There is one thing that people always forget in their discussions about LOST.
Never trust any info that is sourced to BEN. If it starts with "Ben said...," you must always remember "...Ben LIES Jack."
So, if Ben said "This is Jacob's list," it doesn't mean a thing.
It might be, it might not be, because BEN LIES.
"Mustard not on that sandwich, Yeah, I'll convince you that there is no mustard on that sandwich, even if there is. Because I lie."

REALLY looking forward to this week.
Sarah M. in MI

Anonymous said...

e - or anyone else, can you please, please tell me why Hurley was wearing a University of Georgia mascot (the bulldog) hoodie? As we all know nothing is a coincidence on this show. I'm wondering if this was a shout-out or something along those lines because to my knowledge there hasn't been anything remotely collegiate on the show.

Thanks!
Fourth Generation UGA Graduate

Anonymous said...

best lines do not include the ultimate line of the episode:

Hurley: I vote for no camping!

Erika (aka "e") said...

Fourth Generation UGA Graduate -

I did a little digging, and here's all that I can figure about why Hurley's wearing the bulldog:

- Hurley was given clothes to wear by Sawyer...

- ... and Josh Holloway, who plays Sawyer, grew up in Georgia and spent one year at UGA before leaving for NYC to start a modeling career.

So I think perhaps it's a little shout-out to the state in which Josh was raised? Maybe he requested the hoodie for Hurley's character?

If I find out anything else, I'll post again, but I'm chalking it up to inside shout-out. Just like how producer Jack Bender's dog was on the "I love my wirehaired" t-shirt Hurley dismissed in favor for "I love Shih Tzus." : )

- e

Anonymous said...

Did anyone else laugh outloud at the fact that little Ben brought a sandwich to the prisioner, Sayid? It reminded me of when Jack was being held captive and all they fed him were sandwiches, made by Ben.

Anonymous said...

I have been reading your reviews for a while now and this is the first time I have commented. I just wanted to say they all make for a great read and it is fun to guess what song the lyrics are from. Nice touch with the captions on the pics as well.
I cant wait to read next weeks.
Namaste!

blandestk said...

Erika, which sites/forums do you view for the general pulse you mention in your articles?

Anonymous said...

e - thanks for the post about UGA, you're the best!! I always knew there was something special about Sawyer :)

Looking forward to the next post!

UGA Grad!

Anonymous said...

I am also firmly in the "Amy is an Other" camp...but Paul was with Dharma. And it was Amy's Ankh necklace, she was just taking it back after giving it to him.

I think that Ethan was the last baby delivered on the island, and that is because he is "Tainted" as a mix of Native/Newcomer blood. This tainted bloodline offended the Island and it stopped people from breeding.

That may also explain why Ethan has super strength. (If indeed that is true, it is still possible that he is just in peak condition after living on an island all his live.)

Anonymous said...

Stumbled upon your page, and just had to comment to tell you how great the write-up was. Look forward to checking the blog out next week for your review on tonight's episode. Great job!

Anonymous said...

Do you know what Kate said to Sawyer before he gets back in the van to collect clothes and a story? I have re-wound it about 40 times and can't get it... argh!

Thanks, as always for a great writeup!!

SKID said...

. . . so I am guessing that if Oldham can't get the job done, he calls upon his brother Darrell or his other brother Darrell?

Anonymous said...

e-
Great post. I was wondering if you thought there was any chance that Sun could be Chang's baby and that is why she didn't flash to 1977 (couldn't be two of them like why Ben couldn't flash there either)
Long shot but possible??

Thanks for the great write up I look forward to it each week.
Namaste

Erika (aka "e") said...

blandestk - I don't visit any forums, my brother does and summarizes for me so that I can avoid spoilers. Not sure where he goes. Also, after doing this for 5 years, I have a pretty good feel for what factions will develop with theories... plus I get anywhere from dozens to one hundred private emails/FB messages per episode and I can get a sense of what people are thinking -- usually it's all very similar. : )


Christen - Check the transcripts on Lostpedia.com, sorry, don't have time to look it up right now...

Nicky - There was a video shown at Comic-Con this summer that gave a little info about Chang's baby and kind of rules out Sun. I wrote about it here:

http://longlivelocke.blogspot.com/2008/07/hints-from-comic-con.html

- e

Anonymous said...

Just want to comment on Sawyer telling Jack that Faraday is no longer with them. I believe Faraday has caused another reaction within the orchid. We saw him in the Dharma jumpsuit at the beginning of "Because You Left". Just before the scene ends they show a close up of one of the bore holes in the wall. I noticed a smaller hole to the bottom right with what appears to be an arrow pointing to it. I think Faraday put the arrow there and this is how he left, again.

Anonymous said...

I have a problem with all the people suggesting that Sun and Ben didn't end up in 1977 because they already exist on the island at that time. When Locke and crew were flipping through time Sawyer came across Kate and Claire and Locke noticed the light from the Swan the night Boone died. Locke, Sawyer and Juilet were all on the island at this point. Can you bend the rules to fit what you want? Maybe, it is TV, but that would be weak.

Gustavo Fernández Walker said...

Hi, Erika! I know I should wait for your next post to write this, since it concerns episode 10, but I think it can be considered non-spoilerish, since it addresses a topic that has been already discussed here. So, you can erase all these previous words, and let this comment start with:
... But what if Ben could be killed in 1977 because he has already done everything that was needed to course-correct the future? I mean, now the island would be simply wrapping things up. It's like some logical proceeding: you create an hypothesis that would help you solve the problem, but you must eliminate it once you've reached the solution. In this case, if something went wrong, Ben would have been necessary to ensure that all measures for course-correction are indeed taken. And once they've been taken, he's no longer needed: in the "correct" course of events, he shouldn't even have to be there in the first place. Anyway, I still don't want Ben to be killed, he's an awesome character, and we still have a season and a half to go!

Makaha Studios said...

- If Sayid runs into the Others’ territory and meets Richard Alpert, what will he tell him?
- If Sayid meets Charles Widmore (who I assume is the leader of the Others in 1977), what will he tell him?
- If the killing of one’s father is a prerequisite to becoming the Others’ leader (e.g., Ben), did Locke mess up when he allowed Sawyer to kill Anthony Cooper, like he messed up when he allowed Ben to turn the wheel?
- Is Kate more eligible than Locke is to lead the Others, since she killed her father?
- BTW, I don’t think Kate gave Aaron to Claire’s mom. I think she gave him to Ben’s lawyer which is why she was so overwrought about it.

Anonymous said...

Depending on your point of view, Locke and Ben actually gained some time in reference to everyone else, since they are now younger than they should have been, and this may be more important than it looks, or may just be used as a literary tool to differentiate the duo from the rest of the group.