Our expectations were perhaps impossibly high. Jen was counting down the weeks, then the days, until the premiere of Season 4. “I can’t frickin’ wait,” she’d say, simultaneously eager for “LOST” to return and afraid it wouldn’t live up to the hype. I have absolutely no doubt the return of “LOST,” especially in the barren wasteland of the writers’ strike, was indeed the most anticipated television event this year. And tonight, we got what we were waiting for, returning to the story of the island exactly where we left off. And it was good. But was it great?
As “The Beginning of the End” cut to black with the show’s trademark thud, we weren’t quite sure what to make of it. Jen didn’t say a word as the “Eli Stone” premiere picked up after the credits, so we watched Jonny Lee Miller lose his mind in amusing ways for the next hour before sitting down to tackle “LOST” head on. Was “The Beginning of the End” a good episode? Sure. But it wasn’t great. It was no “Fire + Water,” don’t get me wrong, but it felt like a middle, a piece, a fragment of a beginning. Perhaps it was impossible for “LOST” to blow our minds the way we dreamed it would. But there were definitely solid dents in tonight’s big “television event.”
One, I think part of the unease is natural, and is rooted pretty deep in every “LOST” fan’s heart. As holy-hell good as the Season 3 finale was, with its game-changing flash forward, the brilliant twist came at a price. Think about it: For three years we’ve been invested in a story that we’ve broadly envisioned as a survival story. A long arc exploration of human nature, sure, but one where the natural endpoint would be escape, or not.
But now we know about the “Oceanic Six.” We know Jack, Kate, and now Hurley are half of the known survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. To be sure, there is a lot of mystery and conflict left. Who are the other three? Why do Hurley and Jack want to go back? What the heck happened in between? And obviously, that’s what the next 48 episodes will give us, and probably a lot more. But at a total gut level, I think the stakes suddenly seem not so dramatic. These flash forwards haven’t yet given us The End, but they’re a drastic enough jump to be jarring. Like suddenly skipping a few hundred pages ahead in a good book.
Two, there’s something familiar about this setup. One that the “LOST” creators have explicitly confirmed. Season One? All about our survivors, who we know and love. Season Two? The Tailies. That didn’t end well. Season Three? The Others! An interesting bunch of people we can’t quite figure out. Now we’re starting Season Four, and here come The Rescuers Or Not. Another set of characters whose loyalties and motives are unknown and will no doubt be explored. Will they be as interesting as the Others? Or as the Tailies? We’re not even done with the Others. Is my brain big enough to keep track of all this?
Three, we’ve had eight months to imagine a million stories to fill the gap between “rescue from the island” and “desperation to go back.” I don’t think even the best writers out there (of which “LOST” writers certainly are) could compete with that. The longer we go between seasons (and it looks like this next hiatus will be a doozy), and the bigger holes we get in the timeline, the more likely we crazy fans are going to run away with the story.
But “The Beginning of the End” was disappointing for simpler reasons as well.
It did pick up right where “Through the Looking Glass” left off. Rescue is coming! But who are these rescuers? What’s the deal with Jacob and the creepy cabin? And that’s pretty much where we are now. And as much as I love and miss Charlie, it’s hard to miss a guy when you see him every ten minutes, either as an apparition, or as a wholly unnecessary replay of his death scene. We get it already. It was sad. It was hard to get misty eyed when Claire got the news (though I still did).
And speaking of dead people, frankly the nebulous definition of “dead” on “LOST” is getting downright comical. Mikhail the Energizer Bunny from Season Three was strange enough, but… why exactly did Naomi not die? Then die for real? All it gave us was that odd scene between Kate and Naomi, which was so odd it no doubt holds a clue or two (Naomi’s sister?). But having Naomi expire twice made about as much sense as… well, as Kate stealing the satellite phone from Jack.
“The Beginning of the End” is at least a beginning. Of the future we learn of the aforementioned “Oceanic Six,” and that the “lies” that Jack is tired of telling relate to the existence of other Flight 815 survivors. And on the island, it’s clear Locke and Jacob are getting along swimmingly… but Hurley also caught a glimpse of someone in that chair. And spanning both worlds, we see our survivors again split up, following either Jack or Locke. Hurley goes with Locke, which seems the better bet. But we learn that he thinks it was the wrong decision in retrospect.
We love “LOST.” But there are only seven more episodes left, so we can’t spend the first six getting up to speed this time around. With a set endpoint for the series, the writers have an unprecedented strong foundation on which to build the rest of the story. We hope they make the most if it.
Notes and Notions:
- The reappearance of Hurley’s Camaro was a nice touch, and the prompt reveal with Jack that we were getting another flash forward.
- If Charlie is dead (and he is), how did Hurley’s friend in the asylum spot him?
- Did Sawyer seem out of character to anyone else? Here’s a guy who just strangled the man who ruined his life; who has been cold and surly and shut off from the rest of the community ever since; who has turned cold to his love interest out of deep-seated jealousy… and he’s now Mr. Warm-and-Fuzzy, Let’s-Talk-About-Your-Feelings?
- It was good to see Big Mike again. It was not so good to hear the line, “Dark hair. Gorgeous.” Channeling a Calvin Klein ad?
- Loved Ben’s line, “It’s good to know somebody around here knows what the hell we’re doing.” And the way he flinched when Jack looked at him.
- Also loved Ben’s desperate plea to Danielle to save Alex. And the way Danielle slugged him.
- Thought it was great that Hurley was in a convenience store buying a Slushee. But wondering why it wasn’t a Slusho.
- Rose decides to go with Jack because she doesn’t trust Locke. “I’m not going anywhere with that man,” she tells Bernard. I can’t remember when Locke fell out of favor with her, though. Or maybe throwing a knife in a woman’s back would be a deal breaker for anyone?
- Couldn’t resist taking a look back at the opening shots of the previous Season Premiere episodes. Season one? The iconic eyeball. Season two? The disorienting “Make Your Own Kind of Music” hatch reveal. Season three, another musical interlude (“Downtown”) introducing us to suburban Othersville. Somehow, a pile of papayas doesn’t quite do it for me.
- Lost Location Notes: The Laniakea YWCA returns as Santa Rosa. The grassy yard of the institution, however, was played by Windward Community College. Hurley crashed his Camaro in an industrial yard in Kalihi (not sure which). Didn’t recognize the convenience store, and I’m not sure if the aerial view of the freeway was filmed here.
wow i cant wait for the ep to start back hear in the ul at sundae woooo and wow baby aron wat happened to claire?
Wow…is all I can say. I have even more questions than I did before. My husband and I spent the last three weeks watching the last three seasons, so that we would be completely refreshed for tonight. I’m glad we did, but to watch it tonight with commercials was anxiety producing. I don’t want to write too much about what was in the show, because I’m not sure if any of you have seen the episode yet. Tonight proved, yet again, what an amazing show Lost is. We gave it FIVE stars.
OK, I think this episode was serious blah material. I hate to say it, but it really didn’t do anything to advance the story. We pretty much are where we were at the end of S3.
The thing I’m the most disappointed about is the writing. Did they go on strike before this episode was written and replace the usual writers? I’ve always loved how the dialogue in this show hasn’t been obvious and contrived, but tonight’s show seemed so plain and bland in the dialogue department.
I think the show is great and there are going to be some really great ending possibilities, but overall I give this episode a C+.
I did like the creepy lawyer guy from Oceanic though. Very creepy. Very good.
Just got finished with it, and it was everything i’d hoped and more.
Their still going with the flash forwards, looks like the flashbacks
might be a thing of the past? Picks up perfect from last season and
the episode has a lot of info to mentally digest.
Enjoy Everyone… can’t wait to hear what you think!
I’ll ditto what Amy said…Wow!!!!! and that’s really all I can say about the show.
Actually, I don’t think he was a lawyer from Oceanic at all. That’s why Hurley freaked out.
@ Amy
I mean the guy who claimed to be the lawyer. It doesn’t matter if he was or wasn’t, it was just creepy and great, and I think we will see him again.
I do agree with you that he was creepy :).
And we will definitely see him again.
I’m very glad Charlie was still in the show.
I can’t wait for next week.
SPOILER WARNING. I agree with Bryan. This episode was not very inspired. And I totally agree that we did not learn very much other than Hurley and 4 more they have not told us yet make it off the island. After the wow factor of the season 2 and 3 premiers, I guess I was expecting more tonight, especially with the extra long layoff, and the fact that the creators said they were going to be getting down to busniess in each episode now that they had a definate ending point by way of number of episodes left to produce.
Of course I will keep watching, but tonight was a very disappointing return for this Lost fan.
Okay, so it really seems like the ones who did make it off the island are being made to deny the fact that anyone other than the ‘six’ survived the crash at all. The whole interrogation scene really made it seem like the public story for Oceanic was that only ‘six’ people survived the crash at all, like Hurley and Jack and whoever had to den anyone else being alive on the island with them at all. But our big question is who is making them do that ad why? SO looking forward to a season six rescue mission to the island though.
And we’re totally thinking there are actually seven that make it back. It makes sense that whoever makes them agree to go mum on what happened on the island is very powerful and would be able to get an assumed identity for Kate, which, really, she would need going back. Awesome that she survived a crazy airplane crash, but I don’t know if that would give her a Kill My Abusive Dad pass. So whoever gets them off and makes them agree to keep quiet about what happened on the island wouldn’t take Kate public as one of the Oceanic Six and would likely claim she died in the crash.
So that makes seven off the island. We think.
Craziness.
Awesome craziness.
SPOILER WARNING.
I should have said the other THREE that make it off, counting Hurley, Jack AND Kate.
Sorry. Too excited.
I meant that someone’s making the Oceanic Six deny anyone else being alive on the island with them at all after the crash and we’re wondering who is making them do that and why?
And I’m totally calling a series ending rescue mission to the island.
I have mixed feelings. I was almost at the edge of my couch for most of the time; but after the episode ended, and I starded digesting it, I have to admit I sort of agree with Bryan, very little changed from what we knew back in May. Among those things that changed, I liked the theory about Kate posed above by Troy + Katie; the scene in which Hurley ends up by Jacob’s cabin was really creepy and unexplainable; The (temporary)disappearance of Naomi was also quite creepy (and It made me think that Patchy will definetely be back at some point)….
And I was just thinking that it would be kinda cool if the writers kill one of the “six”; but the actor would still get to appear in all the on-the-island scenes. We’d know they will die in 2007, but as long as it is still before then, they will be alive. Just a thought.
SPOILER WARNING:
I would really like to know what has the power to give Hurley those very vivid hallucinations. Even the other patients can see what he sees. Something followed them off of the Island, and the suicide at the end of last season was one of the ‘six’ who couldn’t take it anymore.
loved the point where jack says he’s thinking about growing a beard and we learn that this scene is a flash forward, but before the scene at the end of the finale of S3. Jack is going to spiral downward and we might be lucky to catch a view into that very spiral. Also love how this episode continues to maintain the us and them meme. Locke and Hurley’s tribe, Jack’s Tribe, the Others. Dayum I’m glad this is show is back!
Honestly NOT as good as I expected, but a solid start to what I hope will be more than 8 episodes.
OK, this episode did not WOW me. With three minutes left I was waiting for a jaw dropper and all I got was another parachuter. Eh? It felt like a “to be continued: Facts of Life episode and not the “OMG I just shat myself” feeling that the last 6 episodes of season 3 gave me. Honestly, this episode could have existed without the Hurley-centric-ness. The greatness of second-half season 3 wasn’t just that the plot moved like a magnetic train, but that each episode was a complete story in itself. Tonight’s was just a picking up where the finale left off. It had no identity. It wasn’t ‘The Brig’ or ‘Greatest Hits’ it was just Season 3 finale Part III. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Lost with a passion, and probably why I’m being so critical, but for all the hype tonight left me wanting more. Well, I guess there’s always next Thursday…
OK…the reviews are mixed, and probably with good reason. Yes, it was good to get a Lost fix and get back to new episodes. I agree with Ryan that the length of the hiatus probably works against the show because it gives us more time to build up in our minds how we think Lost SHOULD be, and not take like it is. I would caution everyone not to rush to judgment too quickly, however. The writers, anticipating the strike, may have had to “tweak” these eight episodes to give us the info we need when we need it so it all makes sense in the end. Maybe it is not how they wanted to give us, but it the best they can do considering the circumstances.
I thought it was an exciting episode. Lots of “what the heck” and “gimme more” moments. The transition from S3 to S4 seemed seamless to me. It’s good to be Lost again!
The episode was a bit choppy. Some of the scenes seemed forced to me and the actors seemed out of sync. But I am sure that each of these scenes is probably filled with clues.
At any rate I’m glad we’re back!
I enjoyed the ep and all the questions it gave us. A lot of what I was thinking has been addressed above, so I’ll just make one point. Hurley has a new imaginary friend, the guy who pointed out Charlie for him. Poor guy, a traumatic experience (the deck breaking) caused it the first time, so what cracked him this time?
On another note, great to see Daniels from The Wire! My two favorite shows crossing paths.
I LOVED this episode. I think the next few episodes will be even more amazing. This one served us well and set up this season perfectly.
On the subject of Sawyer being “out of character” – I thought that too, but regardless of the way he sometimes treats Hurley, I think he has a soft spot for him. I think Sawyer honestly hurts for him.
Hi! Couldn’t wait to check this site in the am!
OK, did Jack ever give the “rescuer” his name? I don’t think so, and the guy said “are you Jack?” He said “I’m a survivior of Oceanic 815, can you get lock on us”. And, for rescue, it seems stupid to send another parachuter when you can just bring the boat closer and a small boat to pick people up (AND your previous parachuter said she was severely injured on her drop!). I’d be suspicious as hell, guns drawn people.
Last season people pointed out the coffin was small and no one came, so who could that last, possibly 7th person be?
The part about Jacob’s cabin freaked me out big time. OK, Hurley heard and saw Jacob and the face that scared him was Locke and the cabin just kept appearing. Wtf??
Well I kind of compred the epi to going to see a movie that’s based on a book you really loved, and then being disappointed because character’s etc. aren’t quite what you had imagined. After such a long break, re-watching episodes, mobisodes, whatever, I had come to expect “something more” , and at first was a little disappointed/let down. I had watched tonights episode with a friend that had never seen it before, and took some time to explain who was who, mysteries, flashbacks, flash forwards, etc. So after she left I went back a and rewatched it. Enjoying it more the second time around.
I’ve heard talk that it was Christian Shephard (sp) that was in the rocking chair in Jacob’s creepy cabin scene? I couldn’t tell with my tv though, anyone else have a better idea? Is Ben going to be cranky when he finds out Hurley saw something in Jacob’s cabin too?
Can’t wait for next week already to answer more questions and give me more to think about!
Entertainment Weekly’s website just stated that it WAS Christian Shepard in jacob’s chair..
When was that made clear? All I saw was an outline of a man..
Ah, Josh, of course! An imaginary friend, a la Dave! I woke up this morning thinking about how Charlie was visible to another patient (and added the question above), but that would explain it!
JudiF, we only got another fleeting glance of the shape in the chair, but the profile did look even more like Christian Shepherd. Of course, given the 13th mobisode, “So It Begins,” it’s hard not to feel even more strongly that he and Jacob are one and the same.
Troy + Katie, you’re right, I’m not sure how Kate would’ve re-entered society with those crimes under her belt. When she met with Jack by the airport (some time after last night’s flash forward), she may have indeed no longer been Kate, or even an “Oceanic Six” celebrity. If that’s the case, there may be a seventh escapee.
Either way, I’m not sure if the person in the coffin was an “Oceanic Six” survivor.
I missed one point until talking with some friends about the show….I wondered — at the end of Season 3 — why was Jack telling Kate they should never have left but then denying Hurly last night? Thankfully, I was corrected on what I thought was an inconsistency. The flash forwards last night were actually before the flash forwards last season’s finale. The key point there was Jack talking about maybe growing a beard.
Anyway, thought it worth pointing out since my question now becomes how long will it take us to get to the point where he meets up with Kate?
Here are my thoughts about the “Oceanic Six” I think the person who passed away was Ben, because it was someone who they couldnt stand and I assume Sawyer is one, because Kate says “he will wonder where I am” at the end of last season. But one would think that Claire and the baby had to get off the island, cause thats what Desmonds vision was-otherwise, why would Charlie have to die?
A mediocre episode of Lost is still better than anything else! It occured to me that the rescuers are probable the same people that occupied the Hatch (remember, they called the others the “hostiles”)…and have kept replenishing it from the air (they have a penchant for parachute drops). I bet they are the original Dharma initiative people, and that the Others have always been a break away group…
I guess we’ll find out eventually why Hurley, who went with Locke, got to get off the island anyway, and why going with Locke is a mistake.
Did anyone else see Juliette in the psychiatric ward for a brief instant?
I’ll tell you what burns me about this episode, ABC is really starting to get on my nerves with their ridiculous trailers that purported to show moments from the premiere that we, surprise, never got. This isn’t the LOST team’s fault, it’s ABC’s.
But the fact that we had to wait till the very end of the entire episode just to see one of the guys from the freighter finally arrive — and nothing more — was a slap in the face to fans IMO, and that is LOST team’s fault! That we didn’t learn even a trivial amount more about who the freighter guys are burned me up — and not in a good way Damon and Carleton!
I’m happy to be strung along when you deliver an overall gut punch. But this was basically a one hour trailer for a premiere that never happened. The ABC trailers for this episode showed the parachute guy plainly saying rescuing survivors isn’t exactly job #1. But we didn’t even get to see that tonight. And for all we know, we ain’t ever gonna see it. That would be like George Lucas showing a trailer for Star Wars: ANH that included a few key clips from Empire! Not fair guys! And not at all appreciated by this fan.
I don’t think that Kate was necessarily waiting for Sawyer. I think it would be nice, but it wouldn’t be necessary. It could be that part of her new life included someone who was not part of flight. So, DaRealDeal may be right. Our six might be Jack, Kate, Hurley, Ben, Claire, and Aaron.
Another thought, the person in the coffin could be Michael. Because of how he left the island, he would not have been considered one of the “Oceanic Six.” In that case, Sawyer could have been one of the six instead of Ben.
I think that what was put into the recap hour before the new episode was significant. Did anyone
else notice that the rather insignificant scene between Hurley and Sayid where the old music plays on the radio was chosen? Is that a clue about how things really work on this island? I’m not putting out any theories. I just thought it was food for thought. Any theories?
I was just struck with this thought: Given the potential time-travel aspects of the show and the back-and-forth, what if one of the coffins Jack found at the beginning of the series (Adam/Eve) is the same coffin that we see now at the funeral home? I wonder if it could have been projected back to the island somehow, but at a different time? Sort of like being stuck in a time loop.
Okay, I have mixed feelings about this ep. Not enough new material is my biggest complaint. I felt like we were going around in circles again, not advancing the story line. I’m a bit tired of Helicopters that drop parachutists… why don’t they just land the Helicopter? Isn’t that why you have a Helicopter? Then you could “rescue” people. Guess they need the dramatic entrance.
I had hoped for more, but it seemed a bit disjointed. Forward and backward, it’s hard to find a lot of new clues. Like the poster above said, it did seem like a 90 minute trailer for another episode.
I am not sure how it can be concluded that Christian is Jacob. Wouldn’t that cause continuity issues? Do we know how long Ben has been talking to jacob? Not sure how christian can be doctoring in the states during the day and giving ben instructions at night.
My theory about why Hurley said he didn’t know Ana Lucia is because Michael is the one who killed her. It’s probably not worth getting murder charges against Michael (and there would surely be for killing a cop) and leaving Walt without a family.
I agree…the commercial interruptions really drain a person….as well as a year break in the story….and I agree that we didn’t get too much more about the story than we had before…..which sort of stinks after brushing up and taking it upon myself to get a few friends into the story.
I thought we were promised “answers” to the big questions….not a whole new set of questions….but I can see that some of these new questions undoubtedly relate to some of the old ones. This prior sentence would only make any since to a LOST fan. As for this, I really don’t know yet whether to complain, or to jump for joy so I guess I’ll do neither. At least I have something to complain or jump for joy about again, I guess.
Observations :
– When I watch an episode “through the eyes of Hurley” I don’t know who is REAL / IMAGINARY / DEAD / ISLAND APPARITION / DHARMA CONSPIRACY ( lawyer? ) / or “other” ( no pun intended ). That kind of made this frustrating. So I guess I’ll wait and see what some of the other characters see in the future.
– Jack seemed relatively happy here, so what makes him get to the point where he “has to go back”. Does this mean he starts seeing things or people too?
– Who is Charlie trying to get Hurley to help? Claire / Aaron? Everyone?
– So why not say you knew Ana Lucia? Liked the partner tie-in.
– I too, have missed this site! Thanks for letting me vent!
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The discomfort between Hurley and Jack when they meet on the basketball court, and Hurley’s need to apologize for going with Locke made me wonder about what happens (happened?) so that Hurley somehow changes his mind and ends up getting off the island as part of the Oceanic six.
Obviously more conflict is coming in future episodes, but it made me wonder if Kate and the others in Jack’s group would also be angry at Hurley for whatever he does. Is it possible that Kate is so angry she wouldn’t even go to Hurley’s funeral?
I suppose it’s an odd assumption, especially when everyone talks about how small the coffin was that Jack visited, but I thought the change in the way that Hurley was portrayed was important. He’s a pretty miserable creature now that he’s off the island, and the Oceanic six seem like a pretty tortured bunch.
It wouldn’t be a popular plot twist, but it certainly would motivate Jack to go back if ‘happy-go-lucky’ Hurley were the one in the funeral home….
Is it me or did Hurley not miss a single shot when playng B-Ball. Has he gone from having bad luck to good luck.
To respond to what AM and others have said as to why Hurley denied knowing Anna Lucia, In the future someone (could it be Oceanic or someone who owns it) has DEFINITELY made it clear to the “SIX” that they CANNOT discuss there being any OTHER survivors on that island, this is why Hurley denied knowing her. It is also why Jack stated, “he is tired of lying”
So the puzzle becomes who is the person that is behind the cover up?
I haven’t read all the comments, so someone may have brought this up already, but did anyone else notice the “whispering” when the survivors walked up on the beach group in the jungle? Hasn’t the whispers been reserved for the others until now?
Did anyone else catch that Jack’s exwife was quite pregnant when she met him at the hospital (end of last season’s ep and reminded again in last night’s recap)? Could be nothing at all except a “kick Jack while he’s down” moment, but I thought it was interesting since pregnancy is a major topic of concern to our friends on the island.
Did anyone go to http://www.flyoceanicair.com? It was displayed at the bottom of the Oceanic Airline “commercial” that aired during Eli Stone. I downloaded the Press Release from the site and thought it was weird that the 9 cities Oceanic has resumed flights to are also cities some of the characters are from…
Los Angeles, CA (Jack, Hurley, just to name a few)
Tustin, CA (John Locke)
Ames, IA (Kate is from Iowa)
Miami, FL (Juliet)
New York, NY (Michael)
Portland, OR (Ben)
Seoul, South Korea (Sun & Jin)
Sydney, Australia (Claire)
Got this from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_of_Lost#Main_characters. Also listed is Knoxville, TN but I didn’t see any characters that were from there. I then thought in order for the survivors to use their “golden passes”, Oceanic Airlines would have to be operating in their city (or else they would be useless), so could this be a clue as to who our survivors are? I know there are 9 cities and only 6 survivors but still, I think this is strange. Thoughts anyone?
Couple of people mentioned Sawyer’s uncharacteristic behavior about asking Hurley about his feelings. But I feel like a bit of change in him started from last season’s finale when he insulted Hurley so he wouldn’t go back to check up on Sayid and the others that were left on the beach to ambush the others. He was trying to protect him there, so this character change isn’t too new. I think him realizing that Kate will always love Jack and then him killing the original Sawyer has brought some change in him.
I agree with you and Jen that this Lost was a bit “meh.” And I think it speaks VOLUMES that you were able to sit through the Eli show BEFORE you discussed Lost. After seeing so many commercials for that show, I had to instantly turn off the TV after Lost.
I felt like I was not getting anything new. I think the parachute guy should have showed up 5 minutes in. That would have been a major payoff. Like you said, the other season openers had good starts. I loved it how we got right down in the hatch instantly in Season 2. Huge payoff. For the wait we’ve had, this didn’t add up. Sure, there are questions and things to ponder, but I felt really sad. I looooove Lost and I felt disappointed. BUT I also hated the tail story and the random cages/beating stuff and those eventually went away and Lost kicked my a$$, so hopefully, that will happen again!!
We were debriefing on the episode tonight and debating “who’s in the coffin?” The reaction by Kate and Jack to the obit announcement was shock, fear, relief…and there was no one at the funeral. Any thoughts on it being Ben? He’s a shorter guy, no family, certainly without friends (all islanders) and would definitely elicit that type of reaction from Jack. Maybe the tumor came back, no other means on the island to survive, etc. to drive his motivation to be off the island. My two hesitations are that I think Jack would have wanted the coffin opened when it was offered AND if he were one of the “Oceanic 6,” the notoriety would have brought more people to the funeral. Thoughts?
With the good and bad of the episode, were are soooooooooo glad it’s back!
Potential spoilers here:
Interesting reading people’s reviews of the show. After my early post, I figured I’d get skewered by Lost fans for being too critical of the show. I’m surprised to see that people also thought it was a bit meh. My biggest gripe is with the flat dialogue. I’ve grow to love this show because their dialogue isn’t predictable and trite. Last night I thought it was. It seemed more like Heroes dialogue than Lost dialogue.
Anyway. It’s clear after the finale last year (Jack’s ‘I’m tired of lying comment) and last nights comments by Hurley about not revealing something that they are definitely hiding something.
My feeling is that this rescue ship arc is way before what will ultimately cause all but 6 to survive the island.
Also if anyone didn’t see the viral billboard campaign that was launched before the season started, there were “Who are the Oceanic 6?” billboards placed in several cities which were soon ‘vandalized’ with the words “find815.com” written on them.
http://the-odi.blogspot.com/2008/01/new-billboard-for-season-4-of-lost.html
Might take a look if you haven’t checked that site out. Also hansoair.org is another one with some useful information including this passage:
“July 25, 2006 – Today the Hanso Foundation formally and publically announces the acquisition of Oceanic Airlines which will now be known as HansoAir. With Oceanic Airlines filing for bankruptcy during the holiday season of 2005 following the bizarre disappearances of several Pacific Ocean flights in 2004 the company welcomed the friendly takeover from its former partner, the Hanso Foundation. ”
“Several”. Interesting.
Ok I’ve been thinking and I have a theory that Naomi and the freighter are part of the dharma initiative.
It seems strange to me that no one ever came to the island after Ben killed everyone from Dharma. I mean it is possible that Ben somehow stayed in contact with the Dharma from the outside world, but wouldn’t they get suspicious if they never heard from anybody else? So if Ben kills everyone and takes the submarine, then Dharma would have no way of getting to the island right? Supposedly the submarine is the only way on or off the island.
It is also possible that Charles Widmore is in control of Dharma. Based on that, after Desmond blows the hatch and the guys in the snow get a location based on the magnetic pulse or whatever, this gives Dharma somewhere to look, so they send out a freighter full of helicopters and search members to find and take back the island from the hostiles. That is why Ben knows that everyone will die if they call the freighter. Because he is the only one alive who knows why there is no one from Dharma left on the island and Dharma is obviously not happy.
If this is true then other theories mentioned could also be true, Henry Gale was sent out to find the island by Widmore and Dharma, the sailing race was to try and find the island. There is also the matter of the food drops, but it seems that the food drops stopped after they stopped pushing the button. As long as the button was being pushed Dharma from the outside world knew that someone was still alive and in control. But if the button stops then something is wrong. Maybe the self destruct key was in case of a hostile attack to prevent the hostiles from being in control.
This theory seems very likely to me, It also doesn’t make sense that the writers would introduce a new group of people that were simply looking for the island and were in no way related to anything previously.
Possible reasons these theories are not true. are obviously the food drops, if Dharma knows where to drop the food then why can’t they just go the island. They knew how to get to the island with the submarine, couldn’t they just get another submarine and if they found it in the first place, wouldn’t they have the coordinates on file somewhere. But like I said, maybe because the button was being pushed they had no reason to believe anything was wrong. Let me know what you think.
I was a fan of his episode. Of course it’s been so long since we’ve had a new one that I would have taken one where we just watch Locke shave his head. Hurley had to say he didn’t know Ana Lucia. I guess we are supposed to believe that the “Oceanic 6” swore to someone that they wouldn’t mention any other survivors.
Once last note…Hallucination Charlie was sporting a very hip wardrobe and haircut.
Re Charlie’s appearance to Hurley:
Could it be possible to be “dead” in one timeline and “alive” in another? Charlie died in Island time, but could he still be alive in another time and able to communicate across timelines? Thus you could be dead and yet “still here”. I also thought the guy who alerted Hurley to Charlie looked kinda sketchy…like he was trying to hide his identity.
I think Kate’s “him” could also be her cop-husband. Maybe upon returning she was able to reconcile with him.
I think the coffin holds Michael.
LOST is a state of mind. Our so-called “Oceanic 6” is this season’s new LOSTIES.
Sure, they were rescued but they are LOST again.
I think that the next season will be a return to the Island by all of the original cast (except for Charlie)–i.e., unless, the actor wants to get back in. It’s not impossible to write a script to explain how Charlie wasn’t really dead.
Return to Gilligan’s Island anyone?
I’m really iffy about this new Season.
A few points:
(1) Could part of the LOST six be Micheal and Walt – they left the Island. We know Harold Perrineau is coming back (annouced at comiccon). He’s listed in IMDB in Confirmed Dead and The Economist. My vote for the sixth person is Juliet since she wanted to see her sister so bad.
(2) I don’t think it’s unusual to have people not die on the Island – the Island has healing powers as seen in several episodes.
(3) Where is the “monster” – the odd smoky thing? We haven’t seen it for a very long time. It seems they have dropped this thing from sight. No one seems to be afraid of it anymore.
(4) If the Darhma Initative was so huge and they set-up the Island, what prevented them from finding the Island again when all the Darhma people were killed?
Love the blog!! Wish you guys would do the podcast again!!