By popular demand, Jen takes the reigns again! Charlie, up until now, has not been one of my favorite characters. There just isn’t much to him. He’s a junkie, who came thiiiiis close to being successful but never quite made it. It took four Charlie-centric episodes in which nothing happened to bring us to the point where we can appreciate him again. Charlie is likeable, if not a little messed up, and Dominic Monaghan was remarkable in this episode. The look on his face when Naomi told him about his memorial service was priceless.
But the rumors loomed large. I think we were all expecting Charlie to buy the farm tonight. So by the end of the episode, I was alternately weepy and buzzing on some kind of pumped-up sugar high. It’s a weird way to watch this show. And when his lone checkered sneaker floated away? I was a mess.
This hiatus is going to be hell.
You know who else I love? Sayid. He’s the only one on the island, it seems, who is willing to go toe-to-toe with Jack. “You said earlier you were a a leader, Jack. Why don’t you act like one.” [Ryan: Then again, remember what happened the last time Sayid “took charge” of an ambush — stolen yacht, anyone?] I know he’s a resourceful dude, but I’m wondering where he got that map of the Looking Glass.
I’ve got “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” stuck in my head. Help!
Still, Jack displayed some cojones tonight. I am so glad he went to Rousseau. I had major doubts about Rousseau this season, but my faith in her is restored. Even if she is only motivated by the chance to reunite with her daughter, she can be trusted. I think. This show continually surprises me with the way I feel about the characters and Rousseau is the best example of that. She comes out of nowhere, stirs up the survivors, disappears, reappears fast as a flash, possibly after being up to no good, and turns around and does something unexpected. She’s my new favorite character. For this week. She’s fearless and quiet and just a general badass. Personally, I wouldn’t have wasted the dynamite on the tree, but whatever works.
I don’t know who Alex has been talking to, but she’s onto Ben. I will not be surprised at all if she gets him killed. If she has learned about her mom, who is her source? There’s a whole lot of time unaccounted for, and I think it’s gonna make a heck of a flashback.
The leadership crisis back at the Others’ camp is intensifying. Alpert is clearly suspicious and Ben refuses to answer any questions. We have not yet begun to see Ben’s bad side, I bet. [Ryan: Even after he gassed his dad and shot the Second Coming?]
And I think we’ve discovered the Other Others. Fans have long speculated about a second group of folks hanging out on the island. Are the two ladies in the Looking Glass affiliated with that group? If not, who are they?
Notes and Notions:
- What is with Jack’s hair? There are a lot of bad wigs and confusing hair on this show, but Jack takes the cake. He’s had a close buzz cut for three months and it’s just now starting to grow out.
- I always tell Ryan that Rousseau and Alex could be mother and daughter in real life. They look eerily alike.
- Yay for Rose and Bernard! I missed them.
- Maybe I’m insane, but to me, the second woman in the Looking Glass looked like Cassidy. I can’t even begin to imagine how Cassidy fits into the Other Others, though.
- Links: “Greatest Hits” discussion at TheFuselage.com, Lost-Forum.com, and Pop Candy
I’m excited about these final two episodes in what has become one of the most electrifying serialized stories in recent memory. I watch Lost on the web exclusively. When watched as one on-going story, Lost holds up with stories like the Sandman by Niel Gaiman and other television series like Twin Peaks and the Sopranos.
Though there have been some complaints about Season 3, I think that upon retrospect it will emerge as one of the most challenging chapters in the series. Can’t wait.
I was getting pretty emotional there but that was a pretty cool ending. We might have caught our first glimpse of the other Others.
Was that Cindy in the looking glass? The brunnette in the background with the gun looked like her. I don’t have HD, so it was hard to tell. Anyone know?
Could have they made it more obvious that Charlie wasn’t going to die? Not complaining, but all things considered, nothing is as it seems. Good setup for the end..but I’m still not convinced that I trust Jack and his new girlfriend yet.
Oh, for the love of all things Holy. I could not handle tonight! I was bawling for the last half hour. So good! And a WONDERFUL way to bring in the finale. I’m so pumped.
As much as i do not like Charlie’s character, I think the flashback of when he met Claire did it for me. Because his character was so great in the beginning. But Liam, Rose, Bernard, Karl…everyone seems to be back. Charlie’s goodbyes to Claire, Aaron, and Hurley…yeah, I was in complete hysterics.
Ps. MikefromMaine- I thought that was Cindy too. But that character is credited as Greta. She is played by Lana Parrilla.
It definetely was not as good as the very previous episode, but it was still ok. And I found the flashbacks very touching, given that Charlie is writing a list of his “greatest hits”, the memories of his best moments in life.
What if Desmond is right. On the outrigger, he tells Charlie that perhaps he sees him die in his flashes because he is supposed to take his place. What if he really is meant to flip the switch? I can’t wait to find out next week. Also, I was in awe seeing the “Looking Glass” Station; it looked really awesome. A great way to answer (?) the question of the cable. And I caught myself holding my breath while Charlie dove to the moon-pool (even when I watched the episode a second time). Oh, and I loved that semi-question Alex asked: “Is he my father?” Does she really know that Ben is not her biological father? Why does she still call him ‘dad’?
Besides, it was great to see Bernard and Rose once again. We really missed them for the past four months!!!
I have a question: where was Aaron while Jack took the main Losties on a trek to demonstrate what his plan is all about? Claire did not have him, and the usual babysitters where there with her. By the way, does anyone know how many babies have played Aaron in the series? that would be an intersting piece of trivia to find out.
As for the preview for next week: I got rather upset to see Bernard, Sayid and Jin tied up and held at gunpoint by the Others. We’ve been there before. Are our Losties that stupid as to fall for the Other’s trickery one more time; that is getting really old and tiresome. But we’ll see how it plays out. And what about Ben intercepting the Losties going to the Radio Tower; it definetely looks like Ben is always a step ahead of the Losties, and he knows what they will do, where they will be. Hummm???
Still no answers to the bif finale from season 2. I am starting to think we will not learn anything else about that until 2010.
Namaste.
>> “Still no answers to the bif finale [SORRY, I meant BIG] from season 2.
Where is Locke? is he really dead? will we learn the answer to that question next week or next year? I’m dying to know.
Another return was Nadia who Charlie saved from being mugged.
Could the Looking Glass station be the “shortcut” to the mainland that gets the Others back and forth in seemingly record time? They take the submarine to the the station and use another means of transport from there to the mainland. Would explain why people have to be sedated for travel or in on the secret.
I am practically BURSTING to see next week’s finale!
I thought Charlie couldn’t swim. In one of the first episodes of the series, that woman, Joanna, is drowning and Charlie gets Jack to go and save her and he says he can’t swim…now he’s swimming like a fish…what the heck?
And one more thing…Naomi tells Charlie that there was a big deal made about his supposed demise and that the band got back together and put out a greatest hits album…all in less than three months???? Hmmmm…
Guess you guys are all in bed by now…we are four hours behind the east coast here in Alaska and I think two hours ahead of Ryan and Jen in Hawaii.
Charlie was still a junky when he told Jack he couldn’t swim. He could have been high or something.
Another great episode. Still, I do not thing Charlie is out in the clear.
loved the flashbacks in this one…
I think Sayid may have gotten the maps from the Flame in “Enter 77”. They showed him pulling out binders in the basement but didn’t show him taking them. But that makes the most sense to me.
can’t wait for the finale!
Wasn’t that Sayid’s Nadia that Charlie saved from the mugger?
Jen,
Sayid took a manual of schematics from the transmission station before Locke blew it up.
Desmond’s vision is still playing out. Charlie has to flip the yellow switch and then drown swimming out. I guess we’ll see that next week.
I’m curious as to how Ben knows to intercept Jack and the rest on the beach.
Next week should be great. They keep telling us it will change the Lost world forever.
{Alice in Woderland Through the Looking-Glass book plot ) Alice ponders what the world is like on the other side of a mirror, and to her surprise, is able to pass through to experience the alternate world. Notice the White Rabbit symbol in the blueprint for the looking glass station. There was a few white rabbits shown in this episode.The White Rabbit alludes to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in which Alice famously enters the wonderous other world after following the White Rabbit down a rabbit hole. It seems the last leg of the trip to the island is on a submarine, posible there’s a “Stargate” portal in that loacation.
To those who called it, I do think that was Nadia that Charlie saved. He appeared to be in the same outfit and location as from “Flashes Before Your Eyes.” How anyone could tell whether the second woman at the Looking Glass was Cindy or Cassidy is WAY beyond me.
I very much like the little twist about how maybe Des needs to die to save Charlie. However, I find Des to be a more more likable and interesting character, so if only one of ’em goes… so long, Charlie, see you on the flip side, brotha.
I was a little underwhelmed by the episode. Not a bad one at all but compared to the other recent ones, disappointing. That being said, 1) it was still pretty good (despite COMPLETELY ripping off the “top 5 moments of your life” idea from High Fidelity (the book, not the movie, though the movie was brilliant as well)), 2) it was a lot better than in season two, where I felt like every other episode was a bit of a dud, and 3) we did learn a fair amount.
What is this about “Other Others?” Another few Others whom we have not previously met (a la Mikhail) or a separate group? The implication was that they were clearly working with the Others we know and love or hate.
I think Alex calls Ben “dad” for the same reasons that Juliet and Richard and the Others defer to Ben (and explained in a post of mine for the last episode)… the dude is a SOCIOPATH and they are afraid of him. Ritual massacre and cold-blooded killing, anyone?
By the way [and stop reading if you’re not into the Lost Experience thing] THANK YOU to whomever posted the link to the Sri Lanka video. VERY cool, though I don’t have the time to sift through 70 six-second video clips to piece together a 7 minute video (wait… there are those sevens again! 😉 ). (And yes, I do appreciate the irony of “not having time for that” while I write posts of thousands of words.) Does anyone have any theories as to who the “two tribes” are that Hanso refers to? The Black Rock survivors? The Others? Dharma? Or someone completely different?
“# Connie in Alaska Says:
May 16th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
I thought Charlie couldn’t swim. In one of the first episodes of the series, that woman, Joanna, is drowning and Charlie gets Jack to go and save her and he says he can’t swim…now he’s swimming like a fish…what the heck?”
You are right! And in another episode (maybe the same one?), someone says to Charlie something along the lines of “you were born on an island and you can’t swim?” And he says he never found the time.
So is this a continuity mistake, or did Charlie somehow change time, by jumping in the pool with his dad? Or was he just a coward?
Maybe Charlie can’t swim. Holding a weighted belt to dive and then floating to the surface gasping for breath hardly counts as swimming.
Charlie more or less divulged that he was lying about being a swimming champion. He is trying to be a hero (#2 on his list?) to help save Claire (#1 on his list).
Either that or it’s a continuity error… you have numerous writers on the show and they may have forgotten Charlie’s words in season 1.
I’m betting Juliet knew the looking glass was not flooded as she said it was. And where was the underwater hatch she and Ben were holding Jack as prisoner at the beginning of the season? Could that have been the looking glass?
Alright, I know this is probably a stupid question. But, yeah Charlie went to the underwater hatch…finally. Did we ever find out why, when Jack was being held by the others, he opened that door and there was a flood? Was that originally supposed to be the underwater hatch? Also, the whole “You have to die, brother.” is getting old quick.
I don’t know, for me, this episode was kind of flat. After last week’s ending with Jacob and Locke being shot,….the momemtum came to a screeching halt for me with this episode.
Maybe it’s because I really like Charlie and I don’t want him to die!
Kudos to Alex this week. I like that girl!!! I think she will be a key player in the next season.
One of those woman @ the Looking Glass seemed pretty young. Young like, maybe 16 or 17, fair skinned and fair haired like Ben. Another young girl the same age as Alex. Hmmm.
Wasn’t there an episode with Danielle lighting some kind of fire on the beach, right by “the wire”, for her baby? Does Danielle think her baby is “out there” when in fact her baby might be right under her nose? (Speaking to the uncanny resemblance between her and Alex.)
Thinking about it – is it possible these people @ looking glass are original Dharma people? People who didn’t get gassed because nobody could get to the station or because things could be easily sealed off to prevent gassing throughout the complex.
And did anybody else notice if it was only woman that appeared at Looking Glass?
There were two people in the Looking Glass. Both women.
Maybe the first one (younger, blonde) was Annie? She looks too young though… much younger than Ben.
Did I miss something, or was Sawyer nowhere to be seen in the group that went off with Jack? Why wasn’t he considered to be, or why didn’t he insist on being, one of the gunmen? Could he have snuck off to look for Locke (apologies if I completely missed something)?
Agreed that the Looking Glass itself is an amazing feat of … however they did that! What a cool and amazing structure! And great double play on the Alice in Wonderland theme, and its actual function.
I’m enraptured by all the episodes lately, no matter which turn they take! The writers seem to like to alternate between “soft” (more emotional) episodes and harder, more action-packed ones… no complaints here!
How can the Black Rock (a pirate ship which looks like a vintage 1700’s edition) have dynamite? … dynamite (in stick form) was not invented until the 1860’s by Alfred Nobel.
http://inventors.about.com/od/dstartinventions/a/Alfred_Nobel.htm
btw: there’s a strange similarity between the life of Alfred Nobel and Alvaro Hanso. Both men, one real, the other fictional, made their fortunes from making/selling implements of destruction who later went on to use their fortunes for the benefit of mankind.
If you take a look at the preview of next week is slow mo, you can make out Patchy betweens clips of Desmond in that underground hatch. That would seem to mean that the Others are connected with the two “ladies of the looking glass”
It also shows the three “shooters” (Syaid, Jin and Benard) on their knees with their hands tied and the new bad ass other (Ryan?) in the foreground. The shooters seem to do some damage, but get caught.
And Charlie gets a great slap in the face from the blonde lady. That’s really cool in slow mo. Emmy for Charlie!
Seems like the Others are going to win this little battle – or at least they (the producers) want us to think that.
btw, where is jack taking everyone?
Jack is supposed to be taking the group to Danielle’s radio tower in hopes that Charlie will disable the jamming device and allow Naomi to get a clear signal to her ship to get them all rescued.
As for Charlie, I believe either there is a continuity problem, or Charlie had his “stash” of heroine on his person at the time. He didn’t want to ruin it in the ocean’s water, but also couldn’t discreetly store it at the time. I prefer to believe the latter since I’ve been stunned so far by the brilliant writing on this show.
Naomi is from Manchester and speaks (and apparently reads) Portuguese. I’m going to need an explanation for that.
Do we know where the radio tower is or have we’ve seen it yet? I kind of got confused when Juliette, Jack and Syaid were talking about the two locations. I assume the radio tower isn’t another hatch, right?
It would be a nice twist if the Lostaways won this time. I mean, the Others won last year when they took J/K/S, they won two years ago when they took Walt. I want the good guys to finally win one.
OH MY GOODNESS!!! I am with the folks that see last night’s episode as being a bridge between last weeks episode and the season finale.
First of all, Sayid got the schematic of The Looking Glass when they were at Mikhail’s cabin. I think I soft of agreed with Jack about focusing on the impending ambush from the others first and then dealing with The Looking Glass and trying to get rescued.
Charlie’s acting in this episode was the best performance he’d had since early in season 1. I’ve been a little indifferent to all the rumors of his pending demise until tonight. I was pretty emotional about the way I thought his storyline was wrapping up. His goodbye hug to Hurley really got me. I love Hurley and I think Charlie really does too!
I’ve always kind of thought that one possibility was that something would happen to Claire and Charlie would be left with Aaron.
I loved that they tied Naomi into Charlie’s flashback!!
I’m thinking that Karl, Bernard and Rose are three possible fatalities for the season finale. Also, possibly Claire.
Will we see Annie again? Ben’s little girlfriend that made him the wooden doll? I don’t think we’ve seen the last of her…. not thinking that she got gassed.
We watched “The Man Behind The Curtain” again last night before watching “Greatest Hits” and I swear that we heard someone yell “Mikhail” right before the raid on the Dharma camp. We replayed it several times and it’s pretty clear.
Anyway, that’s just some of my thoughts.
Leeann
Gretchen, maybe Naomi’s family is Portugese and she lives in (or moved to) Manchester… plenty of people speak languages fluently other than the primary language of the country they live in. Her speaking Portugese should be no more puzzling than Sayid or Sun speaking English.
Charlie’s shoe had some time on the camera for a bit. The checkared shoe is like a chess board and that the colors are black and white….good/bad thing again.
Yeah this episode was just a small prelude to what will happen in the finale. I have to rewatch it because my daughter woke up in the middle of it….
And yeah wow the looking glass is impressive!
Could Greta and Bonnie (the Looking Glass women) have been on the helicopter with Naomi? It crashed offshore off of “Cable Beach” where Jin, Charlie, Hurley, and Des were camped. Maybe the LG Station was flooded, but they somehow managed to do a string of implausible things:
1. Don their SCUBA gear that they luckily brought with them on their helicopter mission (!?)
2. upon the underwater station (at night, in the dark?)
2. Get inside.
3. Re-boot the station; pump water out
/end theory
Oh jeez. Let’s try that again:
1. Don their SCUBA gear that they luckily brought with them on their helicopter mission (!?)
2. Stumble upon the underwater station (at night, in the dark?)
3. Get inside.
4. Re-boot the station; pump water out
Somehow I think that Juliett is still invloved with Ben and is still tryingto set them up. Or could it be that Ben lied to her? Either way I think charlie is a gonner. Charlies goodbye to Hurley was truly heartfelt. The ring he left behind was a family heirloom. How will Claire react to this? The show was good and the finale is going to be great!
Also on some of the things at the lost store online…the dharma logos…there is one with nothing in it….could that be a mirror symbol?
The Hydra Station, where Jack, Kate & Sawyer were held captive, was on or near the island with the cages. I got the impression the the whole station was not under water, but portions of it could be flooded.
I agree with Leeann that this epi was a “staging area” for the season finale.
People from any country can learn to speak any number of languages so why do people find it odd that Naomi speaks Portuguese? She has an ethnic look, perhaps she was raised in a multi-cultural household or maybe languages are part of her specialization in her job.
Where are you John Locke!?
Leeann wrote: “I loved that they tied Naomi into Charlie’s flashback!!” I do not know exactly what Leeann is talking about. It seemed to me she is confusing Naomi (parachutist) with Nadia (Sayid’s Nadia) which is the one actually appearing in Charlie’s flashback.
Connie in Alaska, you are absolutely right. Charlie expressed not knowing how to swim early int he show. To me, it is a little mistake the writers made. But I can live with it. After all, it would not be the first (or the last one).
Namaste.
I thought that last nights episode was good, let me take a breath after last week to prepare for what should be a nail bitter/ cliff hanger season finale. Anyway wondered if anyone noticed the tatoo on Ryan (other sent to Lostie beach), saw he had one on the preview for next weeks show, but I couldn’t make out what it was. Looked like a heart with two (?) words overlaying it. Looks different than say Jack’s.Blonde lady in the looking glass station- could she be the missing Annie, all grown up and that’s why she was not seen in the “gasing”? She looked older than a teenager, but I’m not good at approximating ages. And was that Patchy shooting at Des from the beach, forcing him to dive in, man he must have woken up with a killer headache!? Can’t wait to see next weeks show.
Anybody noticed how Jack changed? From a lifesaver he’s turning into a killer?
He so happy to wipe all the Others out, know when they think that they are just a step towards beeing rescued?
If Annie is still alive and aging at the same rate Ben is (i.e. she is not one of the “immortal” hostiles) she would be in her 40’s at least. I think we will find out that Annie met a tragic end or was sent away years before due to Ben’s manipulations and quest for power/control.
Here’s my theory. Haven’t read any other sites. Just came up with this at lunch. The folks on The Looking Glass are the last remaining Dharma folks that Ben hid there from the Purge. I am betting that Annie is there (in agreement with someone who said one of the women is Annie above).
Ben told The Others that the hatch flooded so none of them would go there, and keep Annie safe. And that’s why Juliette said Ben’s the only one who’s ever been there.
I would love that!
And I so don’t want Charlie to die. This episode won me back!
My theory on Desmond’s flashes is that they are intended to tell D what he needs to do to stop Charlie from dieing in order for something to happen. Like D had to save Charlie in order for Charlie to be there when they got Naomi out of the tree. So, D has to save Charlie to make sure he succeeds in his mission.
In western tradition according to penguin dictionary of symbols….shoes “signify a dying person is about to take his leave…” (hence charlie) It also symbolizes travel…symbols of the traveller. Also it’s a sign that the “individual are his or her own master, self-sufficient and responsible for his or her own actions”. I did know that shoes are a symbol as well of the principle of reality.
I think Jack is leading them into a trap. He seemed awfully eager to make sure that all the women were going (e.g. Rose and Rousseau). If there is anyone I would want handling a gun at the beach it’s Rousseau. Why would Jack be adamant that she not stay?
As I posted several weeks ago, I think Jack had a meeting with Ben just like the one Ben had with Juliette prior to rejoining the Losties.
I think Annie is in the Looking Glass. My guess is that she was there during the coup by Ben’s design, and Ben is telling the people that the hatch is flooded to prevent them from discovering her. This is his way of a) protecting her, or b) preventing him from losing her to another guy. Now he’s probably too ashamed to face her, his one true friend, after his betrayal, which is why he has left her there. Annie perhaps believes that Dharma is still at war with the hostiles and that Charlie is a hostile himself, reminiscent of my favorite movie, Underground.
I also think that the hatch must have had something to do with the helicopter crash, or perhaps Naomi was once one of the ladies in the hatch.
Lastly, why not just cut the cable to the underwater hatch? Wouldn’t that be easier than swimming down there?
charlies band on the radio was played on a station with the number 23
If Desmond had a flash of charlie pulling a lever and then drowning, wouldn’t he have to be there to witness the event? Either he was lieing, Charlie did not pull the level when he was supposed to, or he will have the oppurtunity to pull the lever in the future. Personally I think that it would be anticlimatic to have Charlie die in the finale after seeing this episode, so I don’t really know.
“maybe….it’s god thats going to be the one that saves me……” hmmm.
When I went home for lunch my daughter was watching the 1st Kate flashback epi “Tabula Rasa” and the fake name she gives the Australian farmer is “Annie”!!!
Anyway, about the little girl Annie. You have to remember that the purge happened years ago. Deducing from Ben’s age then and now, the condition of the bodies in the pit of death and Roger Linus’ body, Alex’s age (I am assuming Ben acquired her after the purge) it had to have happened at least 15 or more years prior. Would Annie have been hiding in an underwater hatch or anywhere else on the Island for all that time? It doesn’t seem likely to me. For all we know she is still part of the Others group or she was gassed with everyone else during the purge or she left the Island. I am sure Ben had a hand in it whatever it was, and that ain’t good!