S2Ep18 - Dave (Hurley's third flashback) - 04/05/06

Hello my dear friends,

Unlike most people on the boards, I was not a huge fan of 'Dave,'... mostly because I saw the A Beautiful Mind/The Sixth Sense-like "twist" coming from a mile away after watching the previews. Additionally, so much of what this episode was about (Is the entire show all in Hurley's head? Was Libby also in the psych ward with Hurley?) had been theorized before on the boards... I honestly felt like the writers decided to just take the ideas on the boards and make an episode out of them and then go have a beer and toast the fact that they just saved themselves a ton of effort.

However, I by no means thought it was a bad show - it just didn't really do anything for me. There were still a lot of little things I caught, though, so here we go:


R.I.P. RANCH DRESSING (yet again)

Seriously, what does this show have against Ranch? It is good on nearly EVERYTHING, and I'm a fairly picky eater! Earlier this season, Michael blew a container of Ranch up during shooting practice, and now Hurley wastes all of his for no apparent reason. I'm pissed! End of rant.

Back to the bigger issue... So after Libby convinces Hurley TO DESTROY his jungle pantry o' goodies (complete with shelves(!?!?) as my friend AW noted, see pic to the left), they find that a huge pallet of food has been dropped - a cruel test of willpower for poor Hurley. Before talking more about the food drop, I first have to say that I was tres annoyed by Libby telling Hurley to just pour Ranch dressing all over the place and scatter all sorts of other perfectly good stuff all over the ground. I mean, how selfish is that? Last I checked there was a new mom on the island as well as countless other pour souls still living off of boar, mangoes and whatever other scraps the Power Duo in the hatch decides to dole out. But noooooo, Libby felt that it was more important to get Hurley over his food addiction than to feed much-deserving plane crash survivors, so to hell with the other peeps!

Moving on... TPTB had Charlie say out loud what the overriding theory on the boards is regarding the food drop (mentioned in last week's write-up):

CHARLIE: Locke said some kind of blast doors trapped him in the hatch. Maybe it was because of this -- so no one would see who dropped it. Any of you guys see a plane last night?

And then of course I have to include Sawyer's follow-up response - not only because it includes another great nickname (especially since I had "De Plane, De Plane!" as a section title last week), but also because it mocks that fact that the Lostaways don't tell each other important information:

SAWYER: Yeah, I saw it, Tattoo. I just decided not to tell.


Back to the food drop... if it happens on some pre-determined schedule, then perhaps it is around every 60 or so days. The Lostaways have been on the island about that long at this point, and I think had it been dropped at any other point in time during their stay, they would've found it. So I think the last food supply restocking happened on Desmond's watch, and this was the next one since that point in time. But once again, I really have no clue, so if anyone has any other theories, let me know.


SPEAKING OF DESMOND...

This was the third episode in a row that repeated a previous Desmond one-liner:

"You're running like the devil is chasing you" - Locke to Ana Lucia
"Are you him?" - Helen to Locke's dad
"See you in another life!" - Dave to Hurley (although he didn't attempt to swing the signature Desmond "brotha!" at the end)

I don't know if they are doing this to just drive us all crazy (they're succeeding), or if it's leading somewhere. I certainly hope we get to welcome the Return of Desmond before the season is over.



I SEE CRAZY PEOPLE

So one long-standing question has been answered:

Q: "What put Hurley in the mental institution in the first place?"
A: "He stepped onto an already overloaded deck (the 23rd person on a deck that was only supposed to hold 8 - the numbers again, of course), and it collapsed and killed some people. He went catatonic afterward and his mother had him checked in.

Speculative questions have arisen now that we know the details of the accident:
1) Was Locke perhaps on that same deck and was paralyzed during its collapse?
2) Were one or both of the people that were killed in the accident related to anyone else on the island?

But by far, the biggest questions of the night were: Is Dave real? Is the entire show all in Hurley's head? In my mind, I think it's safe to answer an unequivocal "no" on both counts. Of course the writers wanted to make everyone doubt what is going on, and they did a good job tricking fans into second-guessing the reality of the island. And people are NOT all on the same page on this topic on the boards. The two biggest reasons why people thing Dave IS real are:

#1: How did Hurley get hit with the ball, have the slipper, get slapped, etc., if Dave isn't real?

#2: How can you explain the difference between the real-life pose and the photo Dr. Brooks took? - The producers know how people examine things... this definitely leaves a lot to be explained (although many have said that the difference in both the film quality and the angle of the real-life pose vs. that of the polaroid is enough to explain the subtle discrepancies).

However, I think those two points pale in comparison to the hard fact that if the show WAS all in Hurley's head, then they just explained the whole thing and need to start wrapping up production right quick. And since 1) they have planned the series to span 5-7 seasons and 2) the writers have SAID it is "not a dream, because WE would be disappointed if we were fans and that was the explanation," ... I'm pretty sure we haven't been watching the manifestations of Hurley's comatose mind this entire time.

But boy, did the writers include a ton of shout-outs to the boards and the fan base at large... having Dave bring up well-known questions such as:
1) Why do the numbers keep appearing everywhere?
2) Why isn't Hurley losing any weight?
3) Would Libby really be interested in Hurley?

On that last topic - so Hurley finally gets some lovin'. But then the "big reveal" at the end made sure we weren't too excited for Hurley for very long. More on that shortly.

Two other things to note from the Hurley scenes:
1) How awesome was it that Jin just stood there laughing when Hurley was pounding the crap out of Sawyer? That was one of my favorite parts.

2) Much-debated on the boards: What does Dave say when the Polaroid is snapped? Hurley clearly says "Cheese," the transcripts (which, remember, are just some random guy transcribing what he hears) say that Dave said "Awesome," but when I rewound it several times, I couldn't make it out, though it did sound oddly like "Hansoooooooooo." Though of course I already had that in my head from the boards. We'll probably never know.




EKO... IS... STILL... BUILDING... WHAT, EXACTLY?

Your guess is as good as mine.





TO BE HENRY, OR NOT TO BE HENRY

LOCKE: What's your name -- your real name?
GALE: Why don't you just keep calling me Henry? I've gotten used to it.

OK, then, I will keep calling him Henry.

So when we first see Henry in this episode, he's in a crucifixion-like pose, being interrogated once again by Sayid. This scene was the best part of the episode for me, and it was filled with the most clues, so here is the transcript [after Sayid reads from the RealHenry's dollar bill, which proves that he was not dead upon impact, as Henry previously said]:

GALE [panicky]: It wasn't me. I didn't kill him. You don't understand.
SAYID: How did you know his wife's name? Did you interrogate him?
GALE: Please, just listen. I'm just a --
SAYID: How many of you are there?
GALE: If I told you about them -- you have no idea what he'll do.
SAYID: He?
ANA: You mean their leader -- the guy with the beard.
GALE: Him? He's no one. Nothing.
SAYID: Where are your people?
GALE: I can't...
SAYID: How many of you are there?!
GALE: You don't understand.
SAYID [pulling a gun]: Understand this --
ANA: Hey.
SAYID: You have 3 seconds to answer my question. How many of you are there? 1 --
GALE: He'll kill me!
SAYID: I'll kill you. [he pushes the slide back on the gun] 2...
ANA: Sayid!
GALE: You can't do this! I am not a bad person!


Here are the three important things from that scene:

1) The mention of He/Him again.
In 'Maternity Leave,' we heard Zeke and Ethan worrying about what "He" would do after finding out that Ethan brought Claire to the Medical Hatch without first making the list. Now Henry is talking about the same person/being - so scared that he was not even going to give up any information when Sayid started to pull the trigger.
Theories remain:
a) Henry is Him, the leader of the Others, and is just a damn good liar and actor with a lot of confidence that he won't end up getting killed by the Lostaways
b) Alvar Hanso (financier of the Dharma Initiative) or Gerald DeGroot (U of M hippie scientist guy from the video) is Him
c) Cerberus/Smoke Monster is Him
d) Someone we haven't seen yet is Him

Right now, I'm leaning toward A. Especially after the previews (more on that below). But when he said above, "If I tell you about 'them'"... that casts a little doubt on choice A to me. He's not necessarily speaking as if he's "one of them." But then again, he's a smart, tricky little bastard, now, isn't he?

2) Henry stated that Zeke was "no one, nothing." Which leads me to think:
a) Either there's a little Jack/Locke-ish competition going on between Henry and Zeke, or
b) Zeke literally is just the resident Island Hillbilly, who has a penchant for making threatening speeches but is otherwise harmless and useless, or
c) Zeke is on par with Henry in the pecking order of The Others and Henry was insulted that the Lostaways could mistake Zeke for Him., whoever He is

I also wonder, was Desmond an Other? I really don't think so, but since he did ask Locke, "Are you him?" when Locke first entered the Hatch, I have to consider this a possibility. I still think he was hoping Locke was his replacement for button duty.

3) "You can't do this! I am not a bad person!!!"
Perhaps Henry is not Him, then. Why would someone shout this in disbelief when they think they're about to get shot? If Henry was just an Others minion, he probably had been brainwashed into thinking, similar to Ethan and Goodwin, that what they were doing on the island was "the right thing to do" and that they were saving "the good people." For a "bad person" like Sayid to triumph by killing Henry would turn that world on its head, hence the reaction from Henry. I don't know what else to make of it.


HDTV TO THE RESCUE

Shout-out to my boy Humpy for bringing us yet another key clue... check out this screen capture of RealHenry's balloon from Lockdown.

Coincidence? I think not. Widmore Labs strikes again [they were also the maker of Sun's pregnancy test... for those of you who can't keep up anymore].


THEY DO TALK TO EACH OTHER!

A fairly small point... but Ana Lucia never had any encounters with Hillbilly Zeke, yet she mentioned "the guy with the beard" to Henry, insinuating that she thought Zeke was the Others' leader. Therefore, I'm assuming she only would know about him if someone else actually - gasp! - shared information with her.



BITTER, PARTY OF ONE, YOUR TABLE IS READY

Although I don't think it was meant to be funny, my friends and I couldn't help but laugh at poor Locke going nuts, stuck in the bunk bed while the gun went off in the ammo room:

[Ana pushes Sayid just as he pulls the trigger so that he misses Gale.]
ANA: What the hell's wrong with you?
LOCKE [from the bunk bed]: What's going on? I heard a gun shot.
JACK [entering the armory]: What happened?
SAYID: He's a liar!
ANA [to Jack]: It's fine, just get him out of here.
[Sayid and Jack exit the armory.]
LOCKE: Jack! Jack!
JACK [looking in at Locke] I've got it covered, John.
[Locke hits the top bunk in frustration.]


Jack also had to break the bad news to Locke that he wasn't going to be able to walk normally for weeks. And then finally, our favorite Hatch Prisoner drops the bomb on Locke that he never even entered in the numbers or pressed the button - and went as far as calling the Hatch "a joke."

The most interesting part of the episode to me was this exchange:

LOCKE: Did you get caught on purpose? You and your people have been here for God knows how long, and you got caught in a net...
GALE: God doesn't know.
LOCKE: Excuse me?
GALE: God doesn't know how long we've been here, John. He can't see this island any better than the rest of the world can. May I ask you a question? What possible reason could I have for putting myself through all this?

What exactly was THAT supposed to have meant: God can't see the island any better than anyone else can? Hmmmmm.




I SEE MORE CRAZY PEOPLE

It had been theorized early on that Libby was most likely not telling the whole truth about her background, because she told Hurley mid-season that he stepped on her foot when he boarded the plane, and that could not have been possible as he was in the middle section and she was in the back. But what about her claims that she was a psychiatrist? Not necessarily untrue... she did do a few things previously that indicate some sort of medical background... setting that one guy's leg (though he did end up dying of an infection), hypnotizing Claire, and most recently, succeeding in literally talking Hurley off of the ledge. However, we now have PROOF that all was not always well with Libby, as the episode ended with her staring blankly into space, peering out from darker hair in a corner of the same psych ward Hurley called home for a bit. Theories range from: she was in there after Hurley killed someone in her family in the deck accident, to: she was never a psychiatrist but studied them enough as a patient that she's convinced herself she was one, to: she has been stalking Hurley ever since the psych ward and actually followed him to Australia and booked the same Oceanic flight back that he did [we still have not seen her official flashback yet, so this is possible].

Regardless, the chick is hiding something.
What's up with all the women on this show looking dismayed and fretful and guilty every time the men turn away?








BEST LINES OF THE EPISODE


SAWYER: Hold on, take it easy. You guys are like locusts. How about a little order here?
CHARLIE: Shouldn't we let someone a little more trustworthy take care of this?
SAWYER: Like you, babynapper?
CHARLIE: No, like Hurley. Why not Hurley? He's done it before, he can do it again.
HURLEY: No. No way! Not me, no. Not again, no.
LIBBY: Okay, hey, hey, how about no one's in charge, okay? I'm sure everyone can manage to just take what they need.
SAWYER: Great plan, Moonbeam. And after that we can sing Kumbaya and do 'trust falls.'



SAWYER: Well, that's what I get for not going to the expert in the first place. What can I do you for, Deep-dish?
HURLEY: I'm kind of looking for something.
SAWYER: Forget it; I'm done trading. I got enough food now to open a chain of mini-marts. Hey, you think Sayid needs a job? [SO bad, even for Sawyer]



CHARLIE: Hey, I noticed you were building something. I thought maybe you could use this -- for whatever it is.
EKO: That's very thoughtful of you, Charlie. Why don't you help me?
CHARLIE: What are you making?
EKO: Hold that end. [referring to a log]
CHARLIE: Is it a Starbucks? [another shout-out to the boards]


KATE: Seriously though, why would Hurley of all people...?
SAWYER: I've got no idea. I didn't do nothing. He just Hulked-out on me.



HURLEY: Did either of you see a guy run through here -- in a bathrobe, with a coconut?
CHARLIE: No, I saw a polar bear on roller blades with a mango.
EKO: I did not see anything, Hurley.




UPCOMING EPISODES

04/12/06 - 'S.O.S.' - A "trade" strategy - seemingly Henry in exchange for Waaaaaaaaaaaaaalt! and/or Michael - is concocted by Jack, who appears to be in full Ballistic Mode in the previews. I actually loved the previews. If you don't remember them, here's a play by play recap:

Ominous-Sounding Deep Voice Guy (OSDVG): "Next Wednesday...."
Flash to Jack in pouring rain in the jungle, shouting out to no one: "HEY, I'M BACK!"
Flash to Kate and Jack by a fire. Kate says, "I'm sorry I kissed you."
OSDVG: "On an all-new Lost..."
Counter clicks down from 2:16 to 2:15
Flash to Jack and Kate walking in jungle, then a flash of Jack saying: "I'm going out to the line that we're not supposed to cross." (many arching eyebrows while he says that)
Flash to Jack again in the middle of the jungle in the rain: "Hey, do you HEAR ME?"
Flash to Jack talking to Henry: "We're going to force a trade, us for you." [that makes no sense, but that's what I heard]
Flash to Sawyer on the beach: "The ol' prisoner exchange..."
Flash to Locke, drawing a "?" and then scribbling it out, frustrated and hitting the desk.
Flash to Jack again in the jungle: "We've got your man!"
Flash to Henry: "They'll never give you Walt." [hey, who told him about Waaaallllllt?]
Flash to Ana Lucia standing in the doorway of the Hatch.
Flash to Kate looking concerned.
Flash to several short clips of Jack freaking out in the jungle:
"You want him back? You're going to have to come out here!!!"
"COME ON OUT!"
"I KNOW you can HEAR ME!!!!!"
Flash to Kate yelling, "Jaaaack?!?!"
Flash to Jack running
Flash to Jack going, "Wait, wait..."
Flash to a creepy baby doll being picked up from the grass in the jungle
Flash to a net/trap yanking up people (it's Jack and Kate, from what I can tell on Pause)
Flash to perhaps THE CREEPIEST Henry Gale look ever: he's slightly smiling and just being very still, staring off to the side. I literally squealed all ten times (yes, ten) I re-watched the previews - even on different days!

Dammit, why should I be the only one to suffer for this blog? Here you go: a face only an Other could love (sorry, that's horrible, but I'm tired and loopy).

And here's a hint: the flashbacks are about a Lostaway (or Lostaways), who was/were not even in the preview.


Three weeks later... the final four:

5/03/06 - "Two for the Road" - I am not happy after finding out whose flashback this is.

5/10/06 - "?"

5/17/06 - "Three Minutes"

5/24/06 - Still untitled two-hour season finale.

HERE'S HOPE FOR BETTER SCHEDULING NEXT SEASON

From Executive Producer, Damon Lindelof: "There's 36 weeks in a TV season and we have 24 episodes. But we're lobbying ABC for when the show is on, it's on, and when it's off, it's off. So, we want to air it in three acts next year. You know, blocks of seven, seven and eight. But in order to do that, we have to roll the show out in October instead of September, and hopefully that will work out."

Best site ever to find out if Lost is a repeat or not (updated each week of the season - wish I could've told you guys about this one sooner!):

http://www.islostarepeat.com/

ASHTON KUTCHER AIN'T GOT NUTHIN' ON NAVEEN ANDREWS (SAYID)

When it comes to dating older women, that is. Here's a recent interview with the man who plays our favorite torturer.

As we have three weeks until the next new episode, I will probably not post the 'S.O.S.' write-up next Monday, especially since I'm traveling this week for The Man. However, I will do my best to get something up sooner rather than later.

Until then,

- e

S2Ep17, Lockdown - (Locke's fourth flashback) - 3/28/06

Hello my dear friends,

Yes, it is safe to assume that I was flipping out during this episode. But enough about me... there is much to review, so we best get going.

YOU KNOW THE SAYING, "THERE'S ALWAYS SOMEBODY WORSE OFF THAN YOU"?

Well, that person would be John Locke. We already knew that he had been paralyzed, worked for "The Man" at a dreary box company late in his career after having been conned out of his kidney by his long-lost father and mother years before. And we suspected all didn't end up well with Helen, since before Locke went to Australia he was talking to a "love-line operator" (I'm trying to be tactful, out of respect) he was calling Helen, shortly before being denied his chance to go on a walkabout in Australia. But now we know that it was even worse for poor Locke... having finally forgiven his father at what he thought was his father's funeral, only to find out that daddy faked his own death to escape some unsavory characters to whom he owed a lot of money. Hmmm... Locke's dad was a Con Man? Remind you of anyone else?

So what does Locke do but HELP his father yet again by giving him all of his con-job cash that was hidden away in a safety deposit box, not even keeping any for himself. The desperation to receive some sort of affection or gratitude from his father cost him his relationship with Helen, who heart-breakingly turned down his proposal for marriage, leaving him sad and alone in a motel parking lot as a Very Ominous Oceanic plane flew overhead. *Sigh.* Poor Locke. Now I'm all depressed again. But all of these things happened to Locke PRE-island. Has he learned anything from his past?

The biggest question remains: How did he end up in a wheelchair? Considering the fact that I could barely watch the screen during the Lockebacks in fear of seeing him get a beat-down by the thugs, I dread the episode when we actually do see what happened.


LOCKE AND HENRY, SITTIN' IN A TREE

You had probably already figured from the previews, as I had, that Locke was going to get stuck within the blast doors and that Henry was going to have to help him out. However, I was truly surprised (not to mention horrified) that Locke attempted to slide UNDER the door once it was propped open, only to have it come slamming down upon his legs. I was quite confident that he was going to end up paralyzed again, and for a brief moment I was in complete turmoil thinking they were actually going to kill him off (he would lose too much blood or something). Trust me, I had my pen poised to write the first of many hate letters, should that have happened.

What I had thought was going to happen was that Henry would help Locke, Locke would put him back in the cell and all would appear normal once Jack returned to the hatch. I thought that since Locke's wound only appeared to be affecting one leg, he would explain it away somehow and that no one but Locke and Henry would ever know what had really transpired - and I foresaw this "secret bond" between them coming into play down the line.

Except that that's not what happened. So here are the theories on what DID happen and what the repercussions will be:


LESSON LEARNED: DON'T TRY TO SLIDE UNDER AN EXTREMELY HEAVY DOOR WHICH IS ONLY PROPPED OPEN BY A FLIMSY TOOL BOX

Now the question is: WHY did the doors go down in the first place? They made it a point of showing us that the countdown clock was working fine and was at 47 minutes. All of a sudden static comes over the speakers and a woman's voice is heard counting down - then the doors drop.

The prevailing theory on the boards is that the blast doors are timed with the "supply drops." But just so no one is confused, here is what I mean when I say "supply drops"... because there was some confusion about this on the boards:

1) The balloon Sayid and company found was the smiley face balloon Henry drew the map to... it was about a day's journey away from camp.

2) The parachute-looking thing that Jack and Kate found in the jungle was very near to the camp, and had recently been dropped/put there, as the flare/strobe light was blinking, and they would've seen it in the past 60 or so days otherwise. This parachute appeared to be an unmanned "supply drop" containing tons of Dharma-branded food.

So the theory is that perhaps when the Dharma Initiative was originally set up (and they thought there would only ever be two people in the Hatch), the way to ensure that the two people in the Hatch STAYED in the Hatch was to shut down the blast doors any time there was a supply drop. That would prevent them from seeing whoever was leaving the supplies, but perhaps also alert them to the fact that the supplies were there in the first place. We have no idea if we've seen all of the Dharma videos - perhaps there were instructions somewhere regarding what happens during the "re-stocking" procedures. The woman on the speaker did say something about "protocol."

There are really no other theories besides that one for why the doors dropped. Any other ideas?


DE PLANE! DE PLANE?

... But if it WAS a food drop - where was the plane that the supplies were dropped from?

Theories are:
1) The plane was completely silent somehow
2) There was no plane - the Others just put the parachute there and came and went in their usual Ninja Way
3) The parachute appeared to be dropped from the sky but really was brought up from underground
4) They are in some sort of Bermuda Triangle-ish area so no one would ever see or hear the plane
5) They're all too self-absorbed and busy NOT sharing information with each other, so no one noticed the plane



MAP QUEST

I counted to 5 after the "hatch map" was shown on the blast doors... and then figured, "Yep, it should be up on the boards by now." Not only is it up on the boards, but ALL of the random scribblings have been transcribed, translated and discussed to death.

So first, refresh your memory with the original shot of the map here.

Then, take a look at the transcribed map here to read the details fairly clearly. How did someone do that, you ask? The producers gave Entertainment Weekly a better version of the shot and then people went from there.

Since I would be writing for literally months if I was to attempt to analyze all that is on the map, I won't. I will paste in below some of the translations, and then cover some of the main points as well. But if any of you take a look at it and some other light bulb goes off to you, by all means, please add a Comment at the end of this post.

Map Issues and Questions:
- What is at the very top of the map? Since Locke's legs prevented the doors from going down to the floor, there may be other important information at the tippy-top. Which leads to another question - does Locke realize this? And either way, is he going to try to get a look at the map again? And on top of that... is he going to TELL ANYONE ELSE ABOUT IT!?!?!?!
- Who made the map? There is a big "I am here" near The Swan (original hatch). My guess is that it was Desmond or his previously-mentioned partner, Kelvin. Whoever made it had explored and/or knew about the other hatches, as well as some of the specifics of the Dharma Initiative, and had a thing for Latin and French phrases. Or, it could've been pieced together by more than one person over the course of time.
- If Henry is an Other, does he know the map is there? If so, he may not have wanted Locke to have seen it. If that is the case, what will he do to prevent Locke from telling anyone else about it?
- What is the big "?" in the middle? My take is that that is where some sort of radioactive waste is... as Sayid alluded to in an episode earlier this season - whatever is bordering the hatch is completely enclosed in concrete, and the only other place Sayid had heard of something like that before was Chernobyl.
- The "Cerberus system" and "Cerberus activity" are mentioned on the left-hand side. What is Cerberus? - and no, I'm not talking the hedge fund (dorks! you know who you are!). I'm talking the three-headed dog of legend who guards the gates of Hell. Most people on the boards consider "Cerberus" to mean Smokey, especially since it noted a "catastrophic malfunction" of Cerberus as well. And since I really hated the nickname Smokey all along, I'm going to call the black cloud thing Cerberus from now on until I have reason not to.
- No one knows what the various C.V.s stand for.
- The Flame hatch has not been discovered by the Lostaways yet. There may also be a reference to "The Pearl" as another hatch on the right.
- "Dharmatel" is mentioned frequently, along with IP-type addresses containing "the numbers" and words like relay, intranet and servers.
- "Activity minimal during lockdown and restocking procedures" in the bottom right led many to believe those two things are related.
- "Final resting place of Magnus Hanso" near the Black Rock on the lower right - Alvar's dad, perhaps?
- Throughout the map, there are many scribblings that allude to nearly every single weird "inexplicable" thing that has happened on the island. A sampling: listening station, gene therapy, extreme climate change, weather project, magnetic interference...
- There are a lot of years mentioned, specifically in the 80s. People still wonder if the actual Dharma Initiative was abandoned at that point and if "the lunatics are now running the asylum," so to speak.

Additionally, the map is in this week's edition of Entertainment Weekly, along with their take on a few of the key scribblings. However, I have the magazine and cannot make out ANY of the scribblings on it at all, so a huge shout-out needs to be given to my Brother in Usability, RS, who forwarded me the clearly transcribed map.


NEUTIQUAM ERRO ... OK, MAYBE I AM

Some translations from the map for yo' lazy asses:

Aegrescit medendo - The disease worsens with the treatment. The remedy is worse than the disease
Sursum corda - Lift up your hearts (to God)
Credo nos in fluctu eodem esse - I think we're on the same wavelength
Malum consilium quod mutari non potest - It's a bad plan that can't be changed.
Cogito ergo doleo - I think therefore I am depressed
Ut sit magna, tamen certe lenta ira deorum est - The wrath of the gods may be great, but it certainly is slow
Hic sunt dracones - Here be dragons (e: YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! Dragons!!!!!! Prayers = Answered.)
Nil actum credens dum quid superesset agendum - Don't consider that anything has been done if anything is left to be done
Liberate te ex inferis - Save yourself from hell
Mus uni non fidit antro - A mouse does not rely on just one hole


LONG TIME, NO SEE

Yes, that was Nadia (Sayid's old flame that he mysteriously forgot about after meeting Shannon) whose house was being inspected by Locke. People acted like it was big, new information that she was still alive, but we KNEW she was still alive from Sayid's second flashback when the FBI/CIA or whatever agency it was showed him a picture of her, TOLD him she was in California, and said that they only way they would tell him exactly where she was is if he cooperated with them. However, in this new episode it was very lame how she specifically mentioned to Locke that she "didn't have a husband." OK, writers, you made your point - Nadia is still alive, in California and does not have a husband - so if Sayid ever gets off the damn island he has a chance at a happy life. Unless Locke was lying and her place IS infested with mold!


REGARDING HENRY

Before we discuss the captivating Final Scene, let us remember some things that made Henry suspect long before Sayid busted him:

- As mentioned in a past write-up, "Henry" is mentioned in the backward audio track/whispers. Even if he is not the REAL Henry Gale, he may have been going by the name Henry. If he wasn't an Other, and we assume the Others are the ones in the whispers, then how else would they know his name?
- He was way too smug from the beginning
- He didn't die after the original Sayid beat-down
- He gave Sayid the Obvious Other Evil Glare
- He was asking tons of questions about the Hatch... but asking them in a way that almost implied he knew the answers
- He was pitting the Lostaways against each other
- He acted like he knew the numbers when Locke recited them. He repeated them quickly, then got knocked out and never asked for them again and STILL was able to enter them

And now, here is the transcript of the end of the episode. My brother has decided that he is going to start talking like Sayid because Sayid has such a way with words. I agree... it's almost like he's got his own Yoda-ish style goin' on (though I can never do justice to his crazy inflections via the written word):

JACK [entering]: Get away from him.
GALE: Wait, you don't...
SAYID [aiming his gun]: Step back, right now.
LOCKE: Sayid, it's okay.
[Jack grabs Gale and shoves him up against a wall.]
JACK: I said, "get away"!
LOCKE: I let him out -- some kind of lockdown or something -- he, he was helping me.
GALE: Couldn't you find my balloon?
ANA: Yeah, we found it.
SAYID: We did find your balloon, Henry Gale, exactly how you described it. We also found the grave you described -- your wife's grave. The grave you said you dug with your own bare hands. It was all there. Your whole story -- your alibi -- it was true. But still I did not believe it to be true. So I dug up that grave and found that there was not a woman inside. There was a man.
[Sayid shows him an African-American male's driver's license]
A man named Henry Gale.


AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhh!
That was awesome.

OK, so now what? It appears at this point that NotHenry either killed RealHenry, took his "back-story/identity" and then buried him, or that RealHenry was already dead (crashed on island and died in the process) and then NotHenry proceeded to bury him and steal his name. Was there really a "wife" of RealHenry? Probably not. However, there has been mention that perhaps RealHenry is Rose's brother. Hey, Eko's brother ended up on the island too - and Desmond and Jack had met previously... I mean, come on - stranger things HAVE happened! Here's a post on that topic:

- "We know of just about everyone and why they were traveling to/from Australia. With the exception of: Eko; Libby; and Rose and her husband. Maybe she and her husband went to Australia either to (a) see her brother off on his balloon trip around the world; or (b) went to Australia to meet her brother after his balloon trip around the world. Either way, he never made it. "

Back to NotHenry... Three things come to mind, all assuming that NotHenry IS an Other:
1) He may be the "him" that Ethan and Zeke referred to in Maternity Leave - as in, the Head Other. If he is crafty enough to plan getting captured, learn a lot about the Lostaways and still avoid getting killed, he could definitely qualify as Head Other in my book.
2) He may try to use Locke's gullible nature against him and "recruit" him over to the Others' side. Especially after seeing Locke's dedication to the numbers. Shout-out to my brother for that theory.
3) What are the Lostaways going to do with him now? MajorlyPissedSayid is back again next week...

THE FIVE EVENTS...

... mentioned in the previews for this episode - what were they? Here's my take on things that could qualify, not that it really even matters:

1) The blast doors went down, giving us insight into the "protocol" mentioned over the loudspeaker

2) Locke's leg was seriously injured again and/or Henry helped him by entering in the numbers

3) The Hatch Map was revealed

4) They found the Food Drop

5) They found the Smiley Face balloon... but Henry Gale is NotHenry Gale

BEST LINES OF THE EPISODE

[We see Locke and Helen drive up to the cemetery where Cooper's being buried.]
HELEN: You sure you want to do this? [Locke nods] We could just go on that picnic, you know.
LOCKE: Soon, I promise.
HELEN: Hey, maybe he left you his kidney?



JACK [exiting]: Don't call him, Hurley.
SAWYER [to Jack]: Hey, Amarillo Slim -- you think because you watch poker on TV you can tussle with the big boys?
JACK: I've got to head back to the hatch.
SAWYER: Hatch ain't going nowhere, Doc. How about you put your mangos where your mouth is?



COOPER: Hello, son.
[Scene switches to Locke and Cooper in a bar.]
LOCKE: What do you want?
COOPER: Look, John, I know what I did to you was wrong.
LOCKE: You stole my kidney.
COOPER: I was dying.
LOCKE: You could've asked me. You could have just asked me. What do you want from me?
COOPER: I killed myself off because there are 2 men out there who were going to beat me to it.
LOCKE: What'd you do, steal their livers?



JACK: But at least I'm not in your head. Well, I guess that's it.
SAWYER: What do you mean, "it"?
JACK: Sawyer, you're busted. I got it all. It wouldn't really be fair for you to go pick more mangos.
SAWYER: Oh, I've got a hell of lot more than mangos. You want to play real stakes, name 'em?
JACK [laughing]: It's a pile of fruit, man.
SAWYER: And I want it back.
KATE: Should I go and get a ruler?



SAWYER: So, where'd you learn to play cards, Doc?
JACK: Phuket.
SAWYER: What the hell were you doing in Thailand?
[Jack doesn't respond] What, you don't think I know where Phuket is? Just because I dropped out in 9th grade don't make me an idiot.



SAWYER: Okay, I'll call you with the aspirin and raise you with a bottle of Amoxicillin.
JACK: Do you even know what Amoxicillin is?
SAWYER: You may have been to Phuket, Doc, but I've been to Tallahassee. [Jack looks like he doesn't understand] Let's just say something was burning and it wasn't from the sunshine.


SAWYER: Hey, when I asked you what you wanted for stakes -- why didn't you ask for the guns?
JACK: When I need the guns, I'll get the guns.


UPCOMING EPISODES

This week: 'Dave' - As you may have figured out from the previews, this will be a flashback to Hurley's time in the mental institution. Also looks like the Lostaways go berzerker over the new food supply. Guest-starring Charlotte's husband from Sex & the City.

4/12/06 - 'S.O.S' - Rumor is it's a flashback that everyone's been curiously awaiting, and that the writers previously didn't think they'd be able to squeeze in this season.

3-week Hiatus

5/03/06 - 'Two for the Road' - No info on this one yet.

5/10/06 - "?" Named that because of the middle area of the hatch map, it has been said.

5/17/06 - "Three Minutes' - No info on this on yet, but the title creeps me out for some reason!

5/24/06 - Two hour finale - still untitled.


POSTS FROM THE BOARDS

- "The voice over the speaker was a woman's voice, counting down to 1; when she got to 1, the blast doors came down. I think this must have happened many times (maybe each time there was a food delivery?), because someone had lots of time with the doors down to draw that map on it, either Desmond or his other roommate. Some people have written about either of them going out to get the food that was left for them, but did they ever go out? As far as they knew, they were quarantined in a safe environment which they never left. So how did the food from the parachute drop get to Desmond et al.? Did somebody bring it to them while the blast doors were down?"
- "I know the tide is turning against Locke on this board, but I feel so badly for him that I just want to give him an hour-long hug. No wonder he loves the island so much. It's a 200% improvement on the life he left behind."
- "A tiger doesn't change its stripes. Kate runs, Jack fixes, Sayid tortures, Sawyer cons, AL shoots... and Locke trusts unwisely, and even when the person he trusts for once doesn't let him down (daddy, in this ep, or Henry), things turn out badly for him." - "The Locke backstory always makes me incredibly depressed. When Helen said no it was just heartwrenching. And the whole time I was waiting for be-bop and rock-steady to come and beat the crap out of John thus causing the paralysis."- "I was kind of hoping that when Locke opened the deposit box he'd find only a toy DC-3 and be all "The hell? What would anyone want with this?""- "WhoÂ’s taken a screencap of the image of the wall? Because I want that shit analyzed. Now!" - "One interesting thing I did notice was that two of the hatches are drawn in dotted lines and the other 4 are solid lines - that actually does make me think maybe the person who drew the diagram has explored the ones drawn in solid lines. Either way, the drawing is too cool."
- "Here's my guess: Desmond drew those. He probably didn't venture out much, but perhaps at the beginning? Or the person before him. There clearly is an "I am here" written on the picture, so obviously this was someone who didn't know the inner workings of Dharma. And the scratched out hatch...one that's been explored, perhaps? It's probably a guess that there is something connecting all of them. The question is, why was all that drawn in invisible (well not really) ink to be seen by a blacklight? And has Desmond forgotten about the button at all? Have the doors closed in on him? I'm very interested now."
- "More importantlyÂ…does Henry know what Locke saw? Anyone? Bueller."
- "I knew they weren't going to reveal how Locke ended up in the chair. That'll be pretty much the last Lockeback."
- "The wait for Locke's accident or shooting or whatever it is that causes his paralysis is killing me....it's almost like the death watch on Handsome Black Agent Curtis or Aaron the Wonder Agent in 24. "
- "Obviously he is not the "real" Henry Gale. But if he IS one of the Others, it suggests that the Others do not know all the secrets of the Swan Station and the Island, as NotHenry looked seriously freaked out when the doors came down - now, I can understand him acting for Locke's benefit, but why would he LOOK scared if Locke can't see him in the Armory? Perhaps he knows enough (i.e. there is something bad associated with Swan Station) to be very afraid when something weird happens. "
- "Did anyone think that maybe Henry didn't actually push the button? We didn't see him do it, and he looked kind of shifty as he was telling Locke that he had."
- "So evidently the hatch is a total hippie paradise...a pantry full of food, a library full of books, a stereo system with a big rack of LPs, and even blacklight paintings! Whoa, cool man! I guess we can all meditate on the ?-centered mandala."
- "I love how Sayid's all "yeah you thought I wasn't crazy enough to dig up a grave, well you thought wrong, bitch." Can't wait for the smack down."
- "I knew that Sayid was gonna dig this grave up. Like this is SAYID we're talking about."
- "Am I the only one who thinks that "fake" Henry Gale isn't an Other? I'm not sure why, but I just get the feeling he's not a Dharma Other, but some other type of Other? I was pretty sure as soon as Sayid started to look at the grave he was about to dig it up, but that was when I started to think he was from yet another group of people on the island. I'm probably just crazy."
- "I've never been a Jack fan, but I loved it when he was all, when I need the guns, I'll get the guns. Playa!"
- "When I want the guns, I'll get the guns." Don't hate the playa, Sawyer, hate the game."
- "You stole my kidney!" There is just no way to deliver that without it sounding completely hilarious."


BORAT, HERE SHE COMES

A moment of silence in "respeck" to the fact that this was the last Lost episode that my dear friend, and brother's girlfriend, JB, will have viewed in the U.S. this season. She is off to the land of Kazakhstan to make the world a better place. Let's hope she is met with a fast Internet connection upon arrival in order to download the final 5 episodes from iTunes!

Until next week,
- e

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