Monday, February 09, 2009

S5Ep4 - The Little Prince

Hello my dear friends -

Like most Lost fans, I enjoyed "The Little Prince" because it provided a welcome break from the intensity of the first three hours of the season. Even though the writers did throw us some curve balls and answer a few questions, not a heck of a lot actually happened in this episode to spawn a slew of new theories. At first I thought that meant that I'd have a very easy time cranking out a short post... but of course I was completely wrong. It doesn't even matter anymore whether or not a new episode is chock-full of information... the name of the game in Season Five is thinking back to how clues from past episodes may be able to be reinterpreted now that we know what's transpired since the Oceanic Six left the Island. Hence, no rest for weary Lost bloggers.


'CAUSE THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE WAITED FOR
YOUR CHANCE TO EVEN UP THE SCORE


From the short flashback at the beginning of the episode, we learned that it was Kate's idea to pass off Aaron as her own son once they returned to L.A., despite Jack thinking that there was probably a better way to handle the situation. Now -- three years later --Kate's worst nightmare has come true: someone's on to her.

In "The Lie," Kate told Sun about the lawyers who paid her a visit. The next time we see the two women, it's clear that Sun has advised Kate to try a little harder to find out the identity of the mystery client. Since Sun has been acting so shady, I definitely thought she was leading Kate into a trap by encouraging her to visit the law firm. I feared that Kate would be nabbed the second she stepped foot in their offices, and then Sun would run off with Aaron.

Before we saw the contents of the package Sun received at the hotel and before we saw her show up at the pier where the rest of the O6 (minus Hurley) met Ben, I thought there was still a chance that Sun was working for Mr. Linus. But as soon as we learned that she had hired someone to tail Ben (and/or Jack) as well as supply her with a gun... well, then I was pretty sure that she either really is in cahoots with Widmore, or is at least using him for the time being to bring Ben to justice.

There's still the question of how Sun would ever connect Ben to Jin's death, though. Even if Desmond -- who had been on the freighter long enough to have possibly learned that the explosives in its depths would be triggered by the heart monitor device attached to Keamy -- put everything together and told the O6 the whole story while they were resting on Penny's boat for a week, Sun would still have no way of knowing that it was Ben who killed Keamy. After all, Richard was the one who shot Keamy after his tussle with Sayid. The O6 should've thought Keamy was already dead by the time they left the Island and that Jin and Michael were just delaying an inevitable explosion. Therefore, all I can figure is that Locke/Jeremy Bentham visited Sun off-Island and explained what really happened...

...But that scenario doesn't really make sense, either, because we obviously have enough information at this point to assume that Locke was/will be doing everything he could to convince the O6 to return to the Island. It doesn't seem like he would purposefully say something to upset Sun, much less motivate her to knock off Ben. Consequently, the mystery of Sun's motivations remains.


THERE'S A MAN WHO LIVES A LIFE OF DANGER
TO EVERYONE HE MEETS HE STAYS A STRANGER
WITH EVERY MOVE HE MAKES, ANOTHER CHANCE HE TAKES
ODDS ARE HE WON'T LIVE TO SEE TOMORROW


Elsewhere in L.A., Sayid finally awakens after what Jack said had been forty-two hours of unconsciousness. Forty-two hours?!? I was surprised to hear that much time had passed since we saw He of the Flowing Locks get darted in "Because You Left"... but whatever. Probably all we were supposed to take away from Jack's comment is that if Ms. Hawking told Ben that he had seventy hours to get the crew back to the Island, then only slightly more than a day remains now to get the job done.

As Jack is pulled out in the hall and scolded by a hospital administrator, yet another dude tries to dart Sayid. Obviously whoever is behind these attacks wants Sayid captured alive -- and I think we can narrow the mastermind down to either Widmore or The Economist. I'm leaning toward the latter. Widmore has given us no reason to believe that he's wanting to mess with any of the people who have returned from the Island. Sun approached him first, and when Desmond stormed into his office, Widmore didn't try to stop him from leaving. In fact, all he seemed to care about was keeping Penny and Desmond out of the whole drama. I'm not saying that Widmore is a good guy or that he doesn't have an evil plan to find and control the Island, but there's really nothing that would lead us to believe that he's the one trying to get Sayid.

However, the same thing can't be said about The Economist. And here's why...


I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE
SOMEBODY'S WATCHIN' ME


As you may remember from Sayid's first flash-forward episode -- entitled, um, "The Economist" -- Sayid and Ben had been working together to try and kill this as-of-yet unnamed man. Here are a few key points of dialogue from that episode that I think will be important to keep in mind going forward (I've cut out unessential lines in the interest of time and post length):

Scene: When Sayid first meets Elsa in Berlin

SAYID: I’m a headhunter. A corporate recruiter. What do you do?

ELSA: My employer is an economist. He works in emerging markets. Actually, I don’t really understand what he does; which doesn’t matter, since all I do is shop for him. [Holds up pager] If this goes off, I’m at his side instantly. Which is wonderful, since he’s only in Berlin once or twice a year.


Scene: Sayid and Elsa's fifth date

(Elsa looks as if she's going to leave her pager behind when she and Sayid head out to the opera)

SAYID: I’ll carry it. If he does call, I don’t want you fired over me. You should tell your employer that there is newer technology.

ELSA: Well, I’ve tried. He’s very old-fashioned.


Scene: Elsa, who has just declared her love for Sayid, realizes that he's a spy

SAYID: You have to leave Berlin. People will be asking questions soon. About what happened to your employer. And you can’t be around to answer them.

ELSA: My employer? This… this is about my boss? Who are you? You’re gonna kill him? Do you even know him?

SAYID: His name is on a list.

ELSA: A list? What list? You have a list?

SAYID: It’s my employer's.

ELSA: And who is that?

SAYID: It doesn’t matter who he is! The man you are working for is not an economist.


From the exchanges above, we can infer that The Economist (I'm sticking with the nickname the Lost fan base at large uses, despite Sayid's last line) is male and that Ben and Sayid actually do know his name since it's on "the list." As we also know that Sayid had been killing off anyone Ben told him to at that point in time, it's fair to assume that The Economist would've been a goner had Sayid come face to face with him. The fact that Elsa mentioned that he was "old-fashioned," especially when it came to technology, leads me to believe that this guy may be doing a little time traveling. However, since we have yet to see anyone (except if you count Ben when he turned the FDW in one year and landed in the desert in another) -- actually time travel off of the Island, I'm not really sure how The Economist could be manipulating time. But more on that a bit later.

First, here are a few more points to consider...

Scene: Elsa shoots Sayid and then calls The Economist

ELSA: (on phone, in German) You were supposed to page me at ten-thirty, not ten. No, I didn’t kill him. He’s not going to give up the name now. Why should I keep him alive? No, he had no idea. All right, all right. I’ll bring him to you.

Scene: It is revealed that Sayid has been working for Ben.

BEN: I have another name for you.

SAYID: But they know I’m after them now.

BEN: Good.


These two scenes lead me to believe that whoever The Economist is, he does not know who Ben Linus is... or... he does know who Ben is but either 1) doesn't realize that Ben has left the Island (which definitely rules out Widmore, as Ben visited him off-Island and already had a chance to kill him) and/or 2) doesn't realize that it's Ben who's directing Sayid's actions. All this guy probably does know is that someone's been picking off his colleagues and he needs to get to the bottom of it. Otherwise he and Elsa wouldn't be so concerned with Sayid giving up the name of his employer. Further, now that The Economist knows that Sayid is after him, it would make sense that Sayid would be pursued by his henchman from that point forward -- leading to the ambushes at both the safe house and at the hospital. The Economist still wants to question Sayid, hence the tranquilizers rather than bullets.

Elsa's given us a few more clues about her boss, but before I delve into them I'm going to apologize for how confusing some of my analysis is going to be. There's just no easy way to write about the time travel/warp stuff.

Once you're sure your mind is up to it, read on...


LET'S DO THE TIME WARP, AGAIN

If you're under the weather or have consumed even the tiniest bit of alcohol, turn back now. You've been forewarned!

Let's revisit a strange comment Elsa made when she spoke to The Economist on the phone, shall we?

"You were supposed to page me at ten-thirty, not ten."

Hmm, her boss didn't call at the right time.

In fact, he was a half-hour off.

Now, perhaps the poor man was simply (and understandably) anxious about getting Elsa away from Love Machine Sayid, but something else happened on the Island in that same episode that makes me think the mix-up in the page time might have more meaning: Daniel ran his rocket experiment and found there to be a 31-minute difference between the time it was on the Island and the time it was on the freighter. Why should you care? Because I think there's a remote possibility that The Economist was calling Elsa from the Island. And even though I am saying upfront that this idea probably has no merit and it's totally ridiculous that I'm creating a theory based on ONE SENTENCE in the entire series, I will still attempt to explain it -- just in case.

So let's say that The Economist is on the Island. Let's also say that he's an Other working secretly against Richard and Ben for whatever reason (maybe he's a Dharma member-turned-Other who survived the Purge and is finally exacting revenge?). He may even be working for someone else (perhaps Abaddon?). Elsa said this guy had been in Berlin a few times each year... and we know that the Others seem to have always had the ability to leave and return to the Island, so that could still work (if it was even The Economist she actually met with). We also know that the Others like to roll old-school (or perhaps they've had no choice) -- so that may factor into why The Economist is still using a pager.

Here's where it starts getting messy. Forget the fact that Sawyer, Locke and crew have been traveling through time on the Island, because that doesn't apply to this theory, and the reason why is because the Others have not been affected by the turning of the FDW. I repeat, Richard and his people have not been skipping through the years. We know this from "Because You Left," when Daniel noted that it was most likely only the Lostie, Freighter + Juliet group moving around, and when Richard confirmed that by telling Locke that he (Richard) "didn't go anywhere" and that only John would be "moving on soon."

If The Economist is a rogue Other on the Island, then as the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 passed in the outside world, they passed for him on the Island at the same rate, too. We first received proof of this from the fact that the date on the Island and the date on the Freighter and the date in the outside world were all the same -- December 24, 2004 -- when Desmond called Penny in "The Constant." (They even had a calendar up in the communications room for our benefit.) And then of course when the Oceanic Six left the Island, it was clear that 108 days had passed both on the Island and elsewhere. All that ever appeared to be different (time-wise) between the Island and areas outside a certain radius was the thirty-minute time difference Daniel discovered in his rocket experiment (which was also evidenced by Dead Doc Ray washing up on the Island when Alive Doc Ray was still on the freighter).

So that's why, as I started think about who could be behind using Sayid as a dartboard in L.A., I zeroed in on the comment Elsa had made last season about The Economist calling a half-hour early. I think it's also a possibility that while Elsa assumes she's been meeting with her boss every once in a while over the years in Berlin, that The Economist never even left the Island and she'd been meeting with one of his cronies instead.

I'll stop with this now because I honestly think it was probably just a throwaway line, but since I'd be mad at myself for not mentioning it if it does in fact turn out to be a valid theory, I had to say something.


WHO ARE YOU?
WHO, WHO, WHO, WHO?

So back in L.A. in the hospital room where Sayid is able to fight off his latest aggressor, he discovers Kate's address in the guy's pocket. Ben (who's arrived after losing Hurley to the LAPD) doesn't seem the least bit surprised that Sayid has been targeted again, whereas Jack is immediately concerned for Kate.

I was a little confused by this scene because when Sayid asked the Faux Male Nurse who he worked for, the response was "Address -- it's in my pocket." We all know that Kate didn't send someone to capture Sayid, so I'm not sure if we're meant to think that this guy was going to go get her next, or if her address was supposed to throw Sayid off of the trail if the Faux Male Nurse was caught.

Before I wrap up talking about Sayid and whoever is out to get him, let me encourage you to review the first few sections of last season's "The Economist" write-up, because we need to be on the lookout for the "R.G." who gave similar metallic bracelets to both Elsa and Naomi from the freighter. Since we don't know a character with those initials yet, my bizarre Rogue Other theory could still work. Though at this point, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being the late Robert Goulet. Regardless of who The Economist is, I'd bet that he's got to be referenced again (or shown) sooner rather than later. Ben and Sayid both made subtle references to their falling out (Ben: "Let's... save the dirty linen for later"), so perhaps we'll get a flashback about why Sayid is confident that "the only side Ben's on is his own."


I'M A DESPERATE MAN
SEND LAWYERS, GUNS AND MONEY
THE SHIT HAS HIT THE FAN

While Ben and Sayid spend some quality time driving around together (in a van that had an anagram of "Reincarnation" on its side...), Jack goes to ensure that Kate is safe. He ends up tailing the lawyer with her and they are both stunned to find that Claire's mom is the one he's visiting. Too bad that I wasn't stunned; the "Previously on Lost" clips always ruin those types of surprises. As soon as they aired the scene where Ms. Littleton visited Jack at his dad's funeral, I knew she'd be in the episode. Grrr.

Anyway, I can't decide if her inclusion in "The Little Prince" was simply to fill time and save the big reveal of The Mystery Client until the end of the episode, or if there's really more to her L.A. visit than attempting to get settlement money from Oceanic (which does seem strange since it's three years after the crash).

Regardless, Jack and Kate are convinced that they no longer need to worry about her, and they head out to meet Sun and Aaron at the marina. At the same time, Sayid and Ben were chatting with Ben's lawyer to get the details about springing Hurley from the slammer. The lawyer is of course the same one working for Claire's mom (that seems like a BIG stretch... of all the lawyers in the world she hires the guy Ben has on his payroll?) and the same one that's been harassing Kate (not to mention the heroic chemical plant manager on last week's 24, the dad from My So-Called Life (Jordan Catalano 4EVA), and one of the founders of the Steppenwolf theater here in my hometown -- Chicago represent!).

I can't say I was too surprised by this reveal; it seemed pretty likely that Ben was going to exploit each of the O6 in whatever way he could in order to convince them of the need to return to the Island. So far he's played on Jack's guilt and savior complexes as well as his need to "fix" things, Hurley's reluctance to continue lying, and Kate's fear of someone taking Aaron away. Sayid's already lost everything he cares about in the world, so if the others go, he shouldn't be too hard to convince. Which of course leaves Sun and Her Gun. I can only assume we'll see how Ben intends to manipulate her next week -- unless she shoots him first.

While the episode ends before Sun gets out of her car, we are treated to Kate's reaction when she sees both Sayid and Ben. It was something like, "WTF!??! OMG?!?!! Are you kidding me?!?! Seriously?!?! WTF!!?!?!!" -- and not in a good way.


And now, let's hop over to the Island.


BABY, BABY, BABY,
LIGHT MY WAY

Locke convinces Sawyer of the need to return to the Orchid Station so that he can attempt to leave the Island and bring back those who left. The rest of the group sets off with them, and on the way they see the infamous hatch light shoot up to the heavens. The first thing that went through my mind was, "HolycrapholycrapholycrapholyCRAP -- we might get another glimpse of the Amputron 2000!!!" I was so looking forward to watching Jack almost hack off Boone's leg with the plane's cargo hold door once again. Alas, it was not meant to be.

But I still absolutely loved revisiting that fateful night on the Island, because the scene at the end of "Deus Ex Machina" where Locke was crying and banging on the hatch is one of my all-time favorite memories of watching the show. I had a group of people over for that episode and everyone totally flipped out and got chills when that freakin' light came on. My heart broke a million times over for Locke when he was all, "WHYYYY did you do this to me?!?! Whhyyyy!!!!!???", and so I was thankful that we got to hear how he's put that experience in perspective: "I needed that pain to get to where I am now."

Next, Sawyer stumbles upon Kate helping Claire give birth to Aaron in the jungle. I gotta tell ya, I definitely choked up watching him stand there, transfixed. I thought I would hate it if the characters ever came across each other or saw situations from their own time on the Island, but I was really moved by both Locke and Sawyer's reactions.


IF YOU WANT BLOOD
YOU GOT IT

In a not so pleasant turn of events, both Miles and Juliet joined Charlotte's Bloody Nose Gang. I can no longer deny the "Miles is Pierre Chang's son" theory discussed at the beginning of my write-up for "Because You Left" -- I think it's pretty obvious from Daniel's "Are you sure?" comment that Miles has indeed been on the Island before. The interesting thing is that he doesn't seem aware of this fact (thereby squashing speculation that he was out to kill Ben to avenge his father's death in the Purge). And apparently Juliet is affected because she'd been on the Island so much longer than the others. On that note, I should probably address a question I've gotten a few times: If Juliet is an Other, why isn't she staying put in time with Richard and the rest of her people... and why would she get a nosebleed? My guess is that when she received that weird branding mark after her trial for killing a member of her own group (in order to help Kate and Sawyer escape Alcatraz Island), that exempted her from the benefits of being an Other. She avoided the Others' usual "eye for an eye" death sentence, but lost immunity from potentially fatal bouts of time travel.

I'm pretty sure that Sawyer, Rose and Bernard (if we ever see them again) will also start experiencing this side effect before too long -- I mean, we've heard more than a few times that "everyone's going to die" if the Oceanic Six don't return...


A SHOT IN THE DARK
NOT A THING THAT YOU CAN DO
A SHOT IN THE DARK
ALWAYS CREEPING UP ON YOU

Did we perhaps see evidence of that return already? After the next flash, the group finds their old camp -- minus the Zodiac and plus two outriggers which contained evidence that their prior occupants had been on Ajira Airlines. We've seen the Ajira logo before -- hidden in promos for Season Five -- and most people assumed that it would be the airline that brought the O6 back.

That's the way I'm leaning, too... although it's of course also possible that Ajira carried an enemy group to the Island and the O6 return by other means, especially considering the fact that Locke, Sawyer, Juliet, Miles, Charlotte and Daniel became the target of gunfire as they paddled around the Island. I find it hard to believe that any of the O6 would randomly start shooting from afar at a canoe full of what could be their friends. And I of course hope it's not the O6 in the other boat, because one of them might have been hit by Juliet before the next flash swept the time travelers to (relative) safety...


HEY, I...
OH, I'M STILL ALIVE

The final scene of the episode delivered the big shocker of the night. Not so much because Jin was found alive (I'm totally spoiler-free and knew he'd be back - come on, it's Jin, people!), but rather because of who found him. The year is 1988 and Danielle Rousseau and her science team have just crashed on the Island -- we even finally got a glimpse of Montand (with both arms).

Now of course the question becomes, will Jin stay with them long enough so that we get an understanding of what actually happened to the entire crew and how Danielle went from a sweet-faced, gentle young woman to a hardened Crazy French Chick? And will Jin find a way to reunite with his fellow Lostaways left on the Island? And does anyone remember a time when Danielle and Jin directly interact in "the future" after the 815 crash? Off the top of my head, I can't... but Jin obviously recognizes Danielle's name and/or face when he awakens on the beach. He was like, "Oh #$(* -- don't shoot me, freak!"


BEST LINES OF THE EPISODE

KATE (to Aaron): Aaron, honey, mommy's gonna run out and do an errand. I'll be right back. OK? And then we can go home.
SUN: Don't worry about us, Kate. There's candy in the minibar and a hundred channels on TV. We're going to be just fine here.

(e thinks: Worst. Babysitter. Ever.)


JACK: Hurley, where are you?
HURLEY: Dude, I'm totally cool. I'm in L.A. County lockup.



KATE (to Jack): You shaved your beard.



JULIET: The camp's back.
SAWYER: Finally. Anybody for a DHARMA beer?



JULIET: Ajira. It's an airline. It's based out of India, but they fly everywhere.
SAWYER: Great. Maybe they got a flight out of here to Vegas tonight.



SAWYER: I saw Kate.
JULIET: What?
SAWYER: Last night, in the jungle. Before the last flash. She was delivering Claire's baby.
JULIET: But that was two months ago.
SAWYER: Time travel's a bitch.




SAYID: Who was that?
BEN: That's my lawyer.


KATE: It's him.
JACK: What?
KATE: It's him. He's the one who's trying to take Aaron.
JACK: No. No. You--you don't understand.
BEN: No, Jack. She's right. It was me. Sorry.


ON A PERSONAL NOTE

Thanks to everyone on Facebook who sent along their well wishes for my dog. He was very ill last week but is doing better now, as you can see below. He was actually quite annoyed that I disturbed his Lost-watching experience to take this picture.



As always, thanks for reading -- Ben has less than a day to get the 06 and Dead Locke back to the Island, and so I can only imagine that the next episode is going to be a wild one...

- e

69 comments:

Erika (aka "e") said...

Here are the songs I pulled from for this week's section headings:

“Say it to Me Now” by The Swell Season

“Secret Agent Man” by Johnny Rivers

“Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell

“The Time Warp” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show

“Who Are You” by The Who

“Lawyers, Guns and Money” by Warren Zevon

“Ultraviolet (Light My Way)” by U2

“If You Want Blood (You Got It)” by AC/DC

“Shot in the Dark” by Ozzy Osbourne

“Alive” by Pearl Jam

- e

David said...

I think the twist for next week is that Sun doesn't blame Ben... she blames JACK! The pictures that she receives are of both Ben and Jack, which would make for a very interesting twist.

Unknown said...

YOU ARE UNBELIEVABLE! I CHECK YOUR SITE MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY UNTIL I SEE THE NEW POST! GREAT JOB YET AGAIN!

-Q

Anonymous said...

Great write-up again E. Awesome stuff. My in-laws are going to the island for vacation this week and are also LOST fans. They plan on taking some sort of lost tour.

As for SUN. I think Ben needed a way to lure her to the docks. He's not dumb. He reeled her in like all of his other fish. She's not dumb enough to shoot Ben in front of the other 5 castaways. He has them all but Hurley who IMO won't be that easy to reel in. He's going to be the fish that fights I bet. Especially if he sees Sayid and Ben working together again. He'll think Sayid was lying to him.

josephine siu said...

I LOVE your episode recaps. They keep me occupied at work (:

But your knowledge of past episodes and seasons is amazing. I started watching during the 3rd season, and your references to the first and second season help a lot!

Thanks for always taking the time to offer us what's sloshing around in your brain! (:

blackbox2342 said...

Brilliant recap as always :]

Nice to some Ozzy on there!

Keep up the fab work!

BB

Best wishes for your dog!

Anonymous said...

I adore, I mean ADORE, your posts and always look forward to your insight. I am a big fan of LOST but not such a knowledgable one. However, didn't the line about not liking new technology once get spoken about Jacob-maybe by Ben before John entered the cabin the first time? That might support your theory that the calls are coming from the island to Elsa and that her boss is/was none other than Jacob. Keep up the excellent observations, e! Love ya!

Anonymous said...

One question, why was it only Juliette that recognized the name Ajira Airlines? Is it a special "Others" airline? Since they fly between sydney and LA you'd think someone must have heard from them. Seems odd that she's the only one that knows.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Locke/Bentham has told Sun that Jin is alive. So might there be another motive to kill Ben?

jantje_lover said...

Great write-up again. The 30-minute theory is awesome. And yes, Ricky Gervais would indeed be awesome!

Keep up the good work!

Aaron said...

It's sick how much I look forward to your updates. Nice job as always.

Anonymous said...

Excellent write up as usual! The Economist could be Jacob: the line about not liking technology was also mentioned back in an earlier season when Locke first went to see him at the cabin.

Lula! said...

David beat me to it...I think Sun's after Jack. I do. Could be wrong, but that's what I'm leaning toward.

Love that you referenced RHPS. I've said for 4 years now that if Tim Curry ever shows up on our show, that's it...I'm done...I will keel over in a dead faint, from pure happiness.

Roland said...

I don't know what the purpose could be, but ... when I first saw Carole in "Little Prince", I immediately thought that I was looking at Elsa - right down to her hair - which was quite different from how she had it done up for Christian's wake.

Anonymous said...

Just when I make it through the weekend and I feel the pang of withdrawals from the previous week's episode message boards and discussions, I get my Monday morning fix from you. Ahhhhh. Blisssssss! Now I'm jonesin' for Wednesday night!

Roland said...

Note that Ben told Locke that he (Ben) could never go back to the Island. Maybe ... Ben knows he’s about to die - and be reincarnated side by side with Locke - the van’s big enough, dontcha think?.

Anonymous said...

Also, e, best photo caption ever...Keamy pointing to his arm detonator and your caption "Take a whiff, suckas!" Almost spit out my juice! :)

PenguinJosh said...

Awesome recap E, the best one out there!

Love the rehash of The Economist!!

Great stuff,

Josh!

Sharon Rose said...

What's Richard's last name? Does it start with a G?

YoYo said...

Once again, great post. Couple thoughts though. I was Indy the impression that it was Sun who was trying to kill/tranquilize Sayid. First because of Kate's address in the faux nurse' pocket (where Sun had been staying in LA) and when she has the gun later...but I know it may be a little far fetched considering she had pictures of Ben... Hmm, dunno.
Also, I don't think Faraday or Sawyer will get nose bleeds. Faraday because he saw Des who is his Constant and Sawyer saw Kate at the birth of Aaron while time skipping, who happens to be his constant (Kate, not Aaron). Just some thoughts.

Anonymous said...

Excellent, once again.

My kids and I commented that we could hear a universal scream when Jin washed up. YES!

Ok, are we SURE that the 42 hours over-laps the 70+ hours? I.E. - is Sayid shot before or after Ben talks to Mrs. H?

Could Ben be setting Sun up to come with them by using Jack as bait to get her to the dock?

Looking forward to Wednesday!
Sarah M. in MI

Anonymous said...

Great recap and analysis as always e! I always look forward to your analysis. I am also happy to see you are the first of my regular analysts to note that you are not convinced as the rest of the blogosphere is that Sun is after Ben. I am convinced she is after Jack here is why:

Sun has been making me nervous since the end of last season. Why? She has a controlling position now in her fathers evil empire that has amazing vast resources. Remember all the way back to the first season. Why were Sun and Jin on the plane to LA from Sydney? Jin had to deliver Sun's father's watch to someone in LA. This leaves me to think that Sun has big connections in LA because of said evil empire. Where is Sun presently? In LA! Every recap and analysis I have read thus far (until yours) assumes that Sun wants to kill Ben. I don't see it that way, it is too obvious. She said this to Widmore, to get to Widmore. I don't think that was her agenda at all. More on this in a minute. Additionally, every recap and analysis I have read says that the gun in the box of chocolates and the surveillance report is from Widmore. Why is everyone assuming this. Back to what I was just writing. Where were Sun and Jin going from Sydney for her fathers business? LA... Where is Sun now? LA. Sun certainly has plenty of her own resources in LA. Widmore is in England and my research does not show any connection between Widmore and LA. So why are we assuming she has Widmore's help at all... or yet or even that quickly after his little meet and greet at the airport in England which was either Heathrow or Gatwick... I haven't looked into which yet as I don't think it is essential to know.

Sun calls Kate in the nick of time, keeps Kate from calling Jack which she was thinking of doing and not doing at that moment. At their meeting in the hotel we get a flashback to the freighter. Kate makes Sun get on the helicopter and says she will get Jin. Jack stops Kate and makes her get on the helicopter and they leave Jin behind. Sun has no idea that Keamy's death caused by Ben is what caused the bomb to go off on the freighter and that is is what "killed" Jin. She blames Jack. This flashback is meant to show us yet again that she blames Jack. No where in the flashback do we see Ben and John in the Orchid station lamenting over a quickly dying Keamy and John saying "You just killed everyone on that boat" and Ben saying "So?". Kate apologies to Sun for Jin's death, showing us again that Kate does have remorse about past events. Sun says to her "I don't blame you" and changes the subject to "So how is Jack"... coincidence? I think not!

In the preview for our upcoming episode: This Place is Death, we see Sun yell to Kate: "Get out of the way Kate". Kate as I recall was standing in front of Jack. Did no one else spot this besides me and my fellow LOST geek husband? Seems not, as yet again, every recap and analysis we have seen mentions she is there to kill Ben. Just so happens in the preview we hear Ben tell her "Jin is alive and I can prove it". While we don't know we happens, we already know Jin is alive and that Ben is NOT lying. But that gun was to kill Jack and not Ben. Anyone wanna bet me on this one? Need more proof she is after Jack and not Ben? All the surveillance photographs are of Ben and Jack.

C out!

Christy G said...

e! getting to read this post was a great study break!! thanks for all that you put into this blog!!

also, i had the same thought...have jin and rosseau ever encountered one another? yes! in the episode greatest hits from s3...jack takes a whole group, including jin, out to the spot where rosseau has rigged the tree with dynamite. so the question is, why doesn't she remember him??

ahh! can't wait until wednesday!!

Chet said...

Found your reviews through DarkUFO, gearing up now to read through the archives bc I love your take on the show!

Locke @ the end of Deus Ex Machina was one of my top moments too, so I definitely shared your thrill at seeing that moment revisited!

Glad your dog is okay, and that pic of him is hilarious! He does look pissed!

Shelley said...

E-
Curious weaving together of the Economist theory. Much to think about. I vaguely remember that the writers said that the Elsa/Naomi bracelets were of no significance. As mhy husband spotted Elsa's immediately and we were then on the lookout for info. Did I make that up??
Still searching for R.G. though.

Pedro González said...

one -best line- you missed,

SAWYER: Thank youuuuu, looooooord!!!!!!

Julie said...

Awesome job as usual!

You have such a great take on the show. I love it because your theories really get me thinking, and also back me up too! My husband thinks my theories are crazy but then I send him here and say "see! she thinks the same!" It's also amazing because you take us back and recap on moments in older episodes that we may have forgotten about. Great take on the 30 minute pager idea! :)

Julie

Anonymous said...

Great job, e! (as always)

Something that's been bugging me about Jin appearing -

How did he end up floating on a wooden door if he'd been blown off a steel freighter? The "door" also had a rounded plank "gate" appearance...

What's up with that?

RowanRaven said...

e!

Please forgive the repetition if anyone else has already pointed this out... but I just re-viewed "Greatest Hits", and Jin indeed does meet Ms. Rousseau. Jack leads Jin and the rest to Danielle, who then goes on to effectively demonstrate her power of DYN-O-MITE!

Thanks again for all that you do, say, and write!! Also very glad Mr. Doggie is doing better.

Anonymous said...

Hi e

just wanted to finally post something i've been reading your recaps for a while now, and they really just pure genius, i wait for them as much as i wait for each episode, and they enhance every episode so much. just wanted to say thank you for your dedication and hard work, during a hard day reading your recaps is great, it just takes stess away, your humor is great and so is your writing. i just really appreciated!!!

and the comment to the manager from the plant on 24 was great!!!!

Beerage said...

Great stuff e. And damn thats a huge tv to watch Lost on, your lucky :) Everyone I know hates Lost with a passion, your blog posts give me hope that I'll one day find someone as passionate about Lost as I am :D

I have a theory about the whispers in jungle that happen season 1+....


...They are the future losties, trying to watch them about the thing thats going to happen, probably is because of the time-travel the language is messed up, perhaps its latin?

badwobot said...

Hi e,

I really look forward to your write ups. I also think that Sun is after Jack. I think you make a really good case for it. The scene's from next week also sort of suggested it. My big question is where the heck is Ji Yeon? Is she watching 100 channels and eating from the minibar in a hotel room back in Korea? Something weird is going on.

I think Darlton said that Naomi's and Elsa's bracelets were similar, but not from the same person. That is not to say however that they are not important...

Sharon Rose- I wonder if Richard is young enough to have a last name, or is he ancient like Adam, Job, Jesus, and Cher?

Christina

Anonymous said...

I agree that Sun is after Jack as David and others said. She was so angry (understandably) on the helicopter after Jack stopped Kate from getting Jin.

But all will be rectified somehow now that we know our beloved Jin lives!

Thanks for your amazing write-ups. I so enjoy reliving the episodes through your analysis.

Anonymous said...

Richard's last name is Alpert.

Anonymous said...

Thanks again, I love your posts. Just enough to think about, but not too much. I played golf the other day with a guy who told me that his son was a costume designer on a show that shoots in Hawaii. It couldn't be, but yes!!! I asked, "Is the show called LOST?" Yes he says, do you watch it? "Only every second" I replied. So much for golf the rest of the day {couldn't concentrate}.

Anonymous said...

I really have looked forward to your blogs, and have told the story of your Hawaiian trip and the Terry meet and greet to others- very cool stuff.

e, I don't think we have seen anything that would lead us to believe that regular rank and file Others know anything about time travel. Richard, a high ranking other, seemed to know nothing. If there was an immunity that Juliette was stripped of it is something known to only a few, the Sherrif would have to be one. We also haven't seen flash backs of the DI being affected with time travel except for the image of Horrace Goodspeed that Locke saw with a bleeding nose.

The reason why only the losties Freighties and Juliette jump through time and not Rchard's crew is a tough one. Maybe Jacob protects his people? They have to come up with something plausible, but they never dissapoint, do they. Thanks for writing every week, I look forward to the next post.

James said...

Great, as usual.

Just one thing: Why does everyone assume someone other than Ben is responsible for the attacks on Sayid? It's obvious that they had a falling out and Ben thinks that the only way to get him back to the island is to drug him for the trip. Ben set up Kate and was sending the "hitman" to get her next, that's hwy he had her addrss in his pocket. Just an idea...

Anonymous said...

Hi e,

thanks for your work!

"Obviously whoever is behind these attacks wants Sayid captured alive". I have a different theory: I am quite sure that THEY can't kill Sayid, and THEY know about this fact, that's why they dart him. Maybe even all of the O6 are kind of immortal as long as they are off-the-island?

Regards
Siggi from Germany

Unknown said...

- E, what you said about Jin/Danielle meeting in the future is the same mistake I did when I first saw the episode.

You see, it doesn't matter if they met or not, because the events of them meeting in 1988 did not happen in Danielle's timeline yet, so she wouldn't recognize Jin even if she has met him.

Same thing with what happened with Desmond and Daniel Faraday.

Up until Daniel met with Desmond in DESMOND's past, Desmond was not aware of this encounter. It's like, it happened in the conscience of Desmond, but up until it happens in the timeline, Desmond is not aware of it.

If Rousseau had been alive now, she would have remembered the encounter after it happened in Ep4. But she is dead, so it doesn't matter at this point.

Get what I'm saying? The events are stored in the conscious of the person, but until they take place in the timeline, he cannot be aware of them.

Randy said...

Before I start, let me say that I'm a long-time reader but first-time commenter. I normally followed your blogs over on DarkUFO but have since started reading them over here on your site. Your episode analyses are often insightful and make me think quite a lot – you do a wonderful job here! :-)

I have to say that I think you're really going out on a limb with the "Economist" theory. I have to say that if they go with the economist being the one sending those henchmen after Sayid that I think it would be a bit contrived.

I think there's a much simpler explanation for the henchmen sent after Sayid. We know as of this season that he is no longer working for Ben; in fact, we have heard Sayid telling people to do the exact opposite of whatever Ben tells them to do.

Now - we also know that Ben was attempting to run a "power play" of sorts on Kate by sending his lawyers after her for “custody” of Aaron. One of the henchmen attacking Sayid had Kate's address in his pocket. I really don't think it's a big stretch to say that the henchmen were also working for Ben, and the reason they had to come at him with tranquilizers & the like is because they knew he was going to be tough to capture.

In short - it's not the economist that's sending henchmen after Sayid, it's Ben. Ben knows he can no longer manipulate Sayid through his words, so he resorts to force to do it. I think it also helps my theory to reference the fact that Ben is so well-networked off the Island. Yes, Mr. Widmore certainly would have access to henchmen – but him trying to capture Sayid just seems like it would run contrary to where my gut tells me they’re going.

Don’t get me wrong – I, like you, am sure we will hear from the “economist” at some point again before the Series Finale. I just don’t think it would feel right for that person to be involved in this particular situation.

Like another blogger above said – you missed (IMHO) the absolute best line of the episode! Sawyer (as the flash is coming on): “Thank you, Lord!”
Sawyer (as the flash has just ended): “I TAKE THAT BACK!”

Looking forward to your next post!

-Randy

WendyWatson said...

Cute dog, glad he's better.

Small addition to your Economist theory: when Elsa is on the phone, she's very likely not talking to her boss - her tone is too irritated, and she addresses him in a way that signals familiarity and equal standing between them. Now it's possible they simply got it wrong, but the actress' German seemed fluent enough for her to notice something like that.

Sayid's attackers: I thought they were simply send by Ben, to unsettle Sayid (with Kate's address being in the last man's pocket to manipulate Sayid and/or Jack into contacting her.). I like your idea too, though.

Anonymous said...

Hey e!
Another great and thought-provoking post.
My favourite line from this episode was by Sawyer as the sky grew white while they were being shot at:
"Thank you Lord!... I take that back!" on turning up in the middle of a storm.

Roland said...

So ... if Locke's gonna get reincarnated, he will need an unborn child to "become". The only unborn child on the Island (as at last week's Ep) is ... Alex. Maybe in the "Current Iteration", Alex is a boy named Alexander, destined to become a Great Leader.

Anonymous said...

maybe the others aren't caught in the flashes because they were initially protected by being in the temple?

-uncle rico

yogagirl said...

I think your posts are fantastic - I can hardly remember what happens from one episode to the next much less what happens from one season to the next! There is one thing that's been puzzling me that you didn't mention though - why is the episode called The Little Prince? I assume it's some kind of reference to the Saint-Exupéry story but is there supposed to be some kind of clue in there for us? Have been reading up on it and discovered he was inspired to write the book after crash landing in the Sahara dessert but not sure if that means anything.

Life Is A Road Trip said...

Once again another brilliant post! No matter how much I read after the last episode you always give me something new to think about.

I'm also happy that your furry friend is well again!

Anonymous said...

You missed my fave quote from this episode (by Sawyer of course): "Who are they? Other others?" LOL

Ernie said...

I think we as Lost fans are looking too much into Sun's motivation for getting Ben. I don't think theirs a specific instance that she blames Ben for, resulting in Jin's "death." I think she blames Ben for all the torture and crap that he put the 815 survivors through on the island, which led to Jin's "death."

WendyWatson said...

@SergioFX
Get what I'm saying? The events are stored in the conscious of the person, but until they take place in the timeline, he cannot be aware of them.

I don't think we can use Des as an example how it usually works, since his experiences concerning anything with time travel are probably unique.

If we take Richard's experience with meeting Locke at different points of his (linear)timeline as the norm, this always happened to Danielle. It just now happens to Jin, but it happened to Danielle 16 years ago, because there is just one timeline (only poor Jin touches it twice, once as a teenager in Korea and once as a grown man on the island).

As for why she didn't remember it, I guess it's because she went insane.

Anonymous said...

Does everyone remember sawyer's comment, in season one, I believe, when kate knocks him down in the jungle - "I made this birthday wish four years ago, freckles", or something like that? I think that may have been future sawyer, talking to the (then)present Kate....

Erika (aka "e") said...

To the Anon commenter above -

Yes, I had a big section about Sawyer's comment in my "Because You Left" write-up.

- e

Anonymous said...

I just went back and read it, sorry to repeat you thoughts!

Anonymous said...

Hey e, about the Naomi/Elsa bracelet I always got the feeling that maybe Naomi and Captain Gault (who's first name could begin with an R) were maybe lovers. Elsa's on the other hand I figured just looked similar and wasn't connected to Naomi's.

Lostmommyof4 said...

IMO- the economist is in fact Widmore. I felt it when we saw his office recently. When he went to get Daniel Farraday's mothers address fro Des, he didn't open a new window on Outlook. he grabbed an old address book...with paper! I don't even own one of those anymore, do you?!?! It struck me as very old fashioned. In fact we didn't see any technology on his desk. Maybe a hangover from his days on the Island- we know Jacob doesn't like technology!

Thanks for the write up!!!

Anonymous said...

Greeeeeat spoiler-free summary of last week's episode ! Some of your theories really make sense in my mind !! Thanks e

Anonymous said...

Thanks, e... another great post.

Did it seem odd to you that Jin time traveled? He was near the freighter (duh) and according to Juliet and Sawyer on the beach, the freighter was gone when the island moved. Besides, the helicopter wasn't THAT far away from the freighter and it didn't travel through time.

Also, I froze the scene of Sun looking over the notes she got along with the gun. The notes are hard to read but seemed to say that the subject was female. I know it said that the client was female (Sun). There was also something about the subject visiting the mailbox several times a day and something about waiting for some photos. I'm sure there is a better recap of what was written somewhere.... busy week for me. :)

-S

Unknown said...

I seriously love your blog. I look forward to it as much as the episodes! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and theories with us, sometimes I can't process all the Lostness by myself. Locke is my favorite too' I would say you were lucky to meet him, but I think Locke would say it was fate.

Anonymous said...

Ben's lawyer being the plant manager from "24" wasn't the only cross-over: I loved how Ben said to Jack about getting Kate and meeting at the pier: "And Jack, hurry. We're running out of time". I shouted out loud to myself; "Ha, great nod to '24'" (my "other" favorite show).
Also, Claire's mother's looks bothered me, too. I compared her in the Christian Shepherd funeral scene to the scene in the hotel room and her face is definitely different...she had several warts in the funeral scene that weren't there in the hotel room. Wonder if there is any significance to this? Never crossed my mind about Elsa, but now that someone mentioned it, Claire's mom did look a bit like her in that hotel room scene with Jack.

Anonymous said...

Hey e! Great write-up, as usual. But I think the best line of the episode happened when the time traveling group was being shot at by the group in the other boat, and a flash comes on, and Sawyer shouts, "Thank you Lord!" And then they end up in the rain, and he shouts again, "I take that back!" Hilarious!

Reylloc said...

Hey e! Great write up as usual.
2 things - 1.) The reason the Others are NOT time leaping is this: When Ben realized it was time for a "measure of last resort", he sent his Others off to the Temple, and unsuccessfully attempted to send Alex/Karl/Danielle there, too. I believe either being in/at the Temple prevents you from leaping, or there is a treatment you get there which renders you immune from the time leaps.
2.) Ben is absolutely behind everything happening to the O6 - Claire's mother, the lawyer/DNA/bay-bee issue, the Dart men, even the cops outside Hugo's 'rents house. He is driving everyone together so as to get them to return, willingly or not (dart boys), to the Island of Locke. The wild card is Sun.

Or not.

Having nosebleeds proves you've been on the island previously and returned (IMO). I also think Juliet has many cards under the table (but she is basically a good person.

MikeNJD said...

Great job as always e. I love the fact that you remember things like Elsa's line from "The Economist." Even as huge of a fan as I am, I don't always remember stuff like that. One point to quibble: As a lawyer, it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility that it would take three years for a settlement to be reached and for Claire's mom to be paid out. This stuff takes a looooong time. Especially with 300-odd passengers and crew families to deal with, besides some determination that Oceanic was actually "at fault" for what happened (leading to their desire to settle and not litigate). Three years is possible, although the fact that she and Ben have the same lawyer is very weird. Can't wait for tonight's ep! Thanks for your work e!

Cherlynn said...

LOVE the blog! I think you're a genius! All that stuff you caught a few weeks ago as "clues" to the time travel back in previous seasos was nothing short of brilliant!

A friend of mine, Natalie (gotta give props where they're due), thinks that maybe the whispers that folks hear in the jungle are the voices of people traveling through time...what are your thoughts on that??

Julie said...

Hi E - wonderful post, thought provoking as ever.

If your theory about the identity of the Economist is right, my money is on Richard. He's been off island, there's been some tension with Ben before, and certainly with Widmore, too. And maybe Alpert is not his last name, but his middle name. His actual name could be something like Richard Alpert Grayson.

Keep up the good work and give your pooch a pupperoni treat! Julie

Anonymous said...

I think reader "Siggi" is on to something with Sayid being protected by the island, and cannot be killed ... maybe similar to when Michael was off-island, and Tom said to him "The Island won't let you".

SKID said...

Anonymous writes:
"I played golf the other day with a guy who told me that his son was a costume designer on a show that shoots in Hawaii. It couldn't be, but yes!!! I asked, "Is the show called LOST?" Yes he says, do you watch it?"

My response: Any way to hook me up with one of those ties?

I'll even take the one with blood on it.

Parteum said...

The 31, 30 minute-theory makes a lot of sense. Best Lost blog I've ever read. Cheers!

TJ Ciaravino said...

Seriously... You have way too much time on your hands. I can't believe you do this each week. This is insane! I have some friends who would love your site. They have started posting on my site ihatelost.blogspot.com and they would love this. I on the other hand am not a big fan of the show, hence my new blog. Keep up the craziness!

SKID said...

e,

I sent the following comment to DOC Jensen at EW since following some comments I wrote to him last year, he made me his un-official LOST Art historian. Hilarious since I know nothing about art and am way more interested in tropical tie-wearing nonsense BUT I digress from my usual Faraday Tie Updates since I felt compelled to write a quick observation LOADED with potential meaning although I will stop short of necessarily arguing that it is a direct "clue" bearing any weight.

I noticed that in last week's episode Ms. Hawking is lighting candles in her "sanctuary over science lab" while standing in front of a painting of "The Doubting Thomas" (done by Caravaggio in thr 1600's) placing his hands in the side of Jesus as proof of His . . . drum roll . . . resurrection.

I would have stopped there since there are obvious connections to the many "resurrections/reincarnations" we have already been exposed to, BUT I would ADD that Thomas was called twice by Jesus "Didymus" which means . . . louder drum roll . . . "TWIN".

. . . implying that Thomas either WAS a twin or some argue that it was a nickname, and others suggest that maybe he just looked like someone else (perhaps even Jesus). No doubt the name (like on LOST) WAS of some significance for the bible writers to include it. In this culture twins were looked upon with some negative regard because they messed up laws of inheritance and birth-rights, a tradition going all the way back to Esau who had his birth-right STOLEN by his twin brother . . . maybe BIGGEST drum roll . . . JACOB.

Again, no real revelation, but the only Thomas I can think of in the show would be Claire's boyfriend and the FATHER of Aaron. I cannot go so far as to suggest that this connection is meaningful and I tend to run from theorists who jump on the "they have the same name and/or same skin color so they HAVE to be connected" bandwagon, BUT I do find it interesting that from the Greek word for "twin" we get our word "double" AND "doubt" (DOUBLE-mindedness).

SO, (and I will be more than impressed to know that anyone has even hung around to read this much) I would lean on the side that the painting really means nothing more than pointing us to a key figure in the biblical narrative who BELIEVED . . . AND . . . DOUBTED (common themes in LOST).

You might even say that history will always regard him as a man living in the tension of being a man of science OR a man of faith.

Maybe there is something deeper. IF so, (maybe) you read it here first.

Now back to planning my "HE TOOK OFF THE TIE" Party . . . for which I am growing more confident that my printing invitations for sadi party was a waste of time.

Anonymous said...

LOVE your blog, Hubby and I wait for it every week here in the UK. Keep up the good work - you give us so many things to think about TPTB should be paying you :)