Meet Kevin Johnson

An unusually structured episode gave us one long flashback bookended by brief and somewhat maddening scenes on the island. We begin with Locke calling a Town Hall meeting and becoming Captain Obvious (“Um, we like knew that forever ago,” Hurley says, a hat tip to fans). And we end with Ben sending Alex to safety, but an ambush takes out her mother and boyfriend. In the middle, we see the lost months between Michael’s escape with Walt and his return on the freighter as Kevin Johnson. On the conspiracy side, Widmore is fingered as the man behind the fake wreckage. On the supernatural side, “The Island” is ascribed the intent and ability to keep Michael alive as he’s still got work to do, and Libby shows up in visions.

“Meet Kevin Johnson” didn’t offer much in the way of answers, but rather filled in a few blanks and confirmed a few things. Michael and Walt did make it home, though things obviously haven’t gone well since. Widmore is behind the fake wreckage (if Tom is to be believed), the bodies harvested from a Thailand graveyard. And Michael is compelled to return as much out of guilt over killing Ana Lucia and Libby as he is by his son’s estrangement. Mention of the rest of Ben’s followers at “The Temple” couldn’t have come at a more perfect time, the hiatus affording the chance to reconstruct Alpert’s group. Oh, and Tom was gay!

If the island kept Michael from killing himself, then Jack’s bridge rescue at the end of Season Three falls under a whole new light. Perhaps his work’s not over yet, either. And what of Hurley’s L.A. car chase? Perhaps his descent into madness stems in part from discovering some twisted form of invincibility? Maybe he finds he’s incredibly “lucky” insofar as he can’t get hurt or die… but to the point where it becomes a curse?

It was interesting to discover that Tom is another Mainland visitor, however infrequent, and obviously living in style when away on business. Seeing Tom traveling while Juliet was told they were trapped, Jen felt, implies that Juliet is as fooled by Ben by anyone else. Not that she’s innocent, or even trustworthy, but clearly not part of the inner circle.

Jen’s horrified to see Rousseau shot. We love Rousseau (the actress as much as the character), and although she has come and gone with almost maddening randomness, she’s always been a reminder of the deeper history of the island, a failsafe that we’d take comfort in, since we can fantasize that she just might someday give us some of the answers we most crave. We’re mourning Karl a bit less. Though Jen chuckled when he said, “I have a bad feeling about this.” (You have to be a “Star Wars” fan to appreciate it. Especially given how frequently Karl is compared to whiny Luke Skywalker.)

Who’s behind those bullets? My guess is Ben, since he sent them off in the first place and since Karl and Rosseau are the only two things standing between him and Alex. (Remember how possessive he is of Juliet.) On the other hand, we haven’t seen an ambush quite like that before, and with Frank’s chopper disappearing a little while ago, he may have been delivering some of the gun-happy thugs we met on the deck of the freighter.

Speaking of the freighter mission, it’s clear now that not everyone aboard is on board, so to speak. The automatic weapon skeet shoot further confirms the threat Ben sees in the freighter’s arrival. But Frank seems primarily motivated by finding Oceanic 815 survivors (and finding out what happened to his pilot friend). Indeed, as I mentioned before, I think everyone has a different story. Dan, Miles, Charlotte… like Michael, I think being on the boat is one means to several different ends. Miles’ line about 80 percent of the passengers lying about something was probably a conservative estimate.

Why did Sayid out Michael to the captain? So soon after being told, you know, don’t trust the captain? Is this the “thinking with your heart” mistake that Ben mentioned a while back? Torpedoing a plan out of anger over Michael’s betrayal? It seems like such a tactical mistake, the kind of mistake that we only wish were out of character for Sayid. But Jen’s warming up to the theory that Sayid is already working with Ben, starting at least from their conversation in the rec room. When Sayid seems surprised at Michael’s mention of Ben’s plan, he could just as easily be surprised in thinking, “You too?” He may have just needed confirmation from Michael himself (initially doubting Ben) before putting Phase Two into action.

We’re also baffled as to what Libby’s appearances mean. With Charlie, it seems as if he is a manifestation of Hurley’s guilt, nudging him toward doing the right thing. But Libby basically shocks Michael awake in the hospital, then warns him against setting off a bomb that doesn’t actually do anything. Jen thinks this actually adds credence to the theory that these visions are real and are being put there by someone else, perhaps Ben or — since it apparently has a plan — the island itself. Someone needed Michael to wake up, and to not follow through on the plan to kill everyone on the boat. (Recall that Ben was surprised that Michael pressed the button.) My question: Was Harper’s message to Juliet such a vision as well?

Or, on Libby, how about this? We see Michael wake up in the hospital twice. First, in an older hospital room, with older equipment. He sees Libby, who says he was in a car crash. He recognizes her and wakes up yelling. Then he’s in a modern room with a different nurse who also explains the car crash and the note for Walt. Remember, though, that Michael has had two significant car accidents in his lifetime. Was that first hospital room a dream, or was it his first recovery? Was Libby actually there? Could Michael’s recognition of her be the result of an “unstuck in time” moment? Why was his car (in 2004 New York) so old, anyway? We didn’t even see any other cars on the street.

Or maybe I’m just thinking too hard.

It was good to see Cynthia Wattros again, at least. And a coherent Fisher Stevens. No sign of Zoe Bell’s Regina, though. Which means we better get a real freighter flashback soon. Alas, it’ll be another month until we get our next new dose of “LOST.” Time to pull out those Stephen King novels.

Notes and Notions:

  • Lots of fun references. “The Shining,” by Stephen King (cabin fever, and Stephen King). “Slaughterhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut (“unstuck in time,” eerie pink light). “It’s Getting Better” by Mama Cass (“Make Your Own Kind of Music”). And Bob Dylan fans may recognize the Hotel Earle (“Subterranean Homesick Blues” cue card video, Charlie’s Dylan T-shirt).
  • Looks like Sawyer was the winner in this week’s “token scene” lottery. Not only does he get the most awkward chunk of exposition (explaining exactly which Michael is on the boat), but he trots over with a late dig at Locke’s leadership.
  • Locations: The “Port of Suva” was Kewalo Basin. You could even see the smokestack from the old incinerator (now the Children’s Discovery Center) in the background. Michael gets into his green Dodge Aspen on Merchant Street next to Pioneer Plaza, drives up Bethel Street, then ends up between Pier 18 and 19 where he crashes into a shipping container.
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86 Responses to Meet Kevin Johnson

  1. mustangdenise says:

    OMG……..2 thumbs down for this episode …..not even worth the disk space and I am a LOST lover….but this was very substandard!!!!!

  2. Gannett says:

    Wow… absolutely brilliant episode. From start to finish, surprises, answers, and “WTF!?” moments. Two thumbs UP.

  3. debbie says:

    Hope Danielle is not dead. wanted some backstory on her. Also a crappy use of cynthia watros. Libby appearing as a ghost> Id like to know a little more about her story, too. Widmore and ben are playing everyone for their own amusement.Michael is fraked!

    Tom sure came out of the closet with a flair! Good on ya, Tom!

  4. Greg says:

    Yes, this epidsode was indeed a letdown, especially after the creators had built it up on their podcast a couple of times.

    What did we learn? Aaron IS one of the Oceanic 6. This should finally put to bed that whole argument thank goodness.
    The island has some sort of power away from the island?
    They had people on the ship who didn’t know about the mission? That seems kind of odd.
    OK, so Tom is gay? Didn’t see that coming. And it seemed rather contrived and pointless.
    Methinks the mission the helicopter was on last week was to ferry a couple of the Commando dudes over to the island, and tonight they were taking the shots at Danielle and crew. I don’t think Danielle is dead, she is supposed to have a flashback at some point.
    I thought there were a few leaps of logic in this episode that frankly seemed like bad writing.

    So, I still am not sure if it was Ben or Widmore that did the fake crash. I lean toward Widmore, but I don’t think anyone can be certain at this point.

    Seems like the plan indeed was to kill everyone on the island, since Miles did not respond to that, unless he was threatened not to?

    April 24th can’t get here soon enough. (Or whatever they said the date was.)

  5. xtremdelt says:

    In Episode 1 of Season 3, when Kate said she would not shower in front of Tom…Tom said “You’re not my type.”

    At that point, the internet buzzed with the idea that Tom may be gay. I think this was just a nod to the people who bought into that theory.

    Well done.

  6. Jonathan says:

    I agree with most; I don’t think I enjoyed this episode as much as last week’s entry. And I think it was mainly due to the numerous cameos that were just in passing. I was sooo excited to hear that Libby, Minkowski, Tom, Naomi, etc. were back…but most of them were on screen for less than 30 seconds! Walt was nice surprise though. And as for the ending…well, as surprising as it was…I think I’m just angry now.

  7. Karl says:

    WOW….I can´t belive it, me head is still spinning, it wasn´t that bad but it wasn´t the best EP either. I have a lot of questions after watching this episode and I think a lot of people won´t like that. But in the other hand we finally know how Michael ends woriking for Ben and where is Walt. And when everybody watches this episode you´ll blame Ben for the killings, like I do. OMG that Ben is the best villain you love to hate.

  8. Tamara says:

    Ok, I am hopping, hopping mad – I have never felt this way before about LOST – but how could they kill off ROUSSEAU???? Of course, I revere her as Delenn of the Minbari – (Babylon 5 reference) so I’m naturally pissed for that reason, but also – I always wanted to know more about her character.

    Damn you Cuse and Lindelof!!!!!

    In other news: Did anyone think it was strange the way Sayid outed Michael to the captain – Sayid is usually more undercover than that – I would think his MO would be that he would want to keep his options open, find out more, conduct surveillance – especially if he is in a situation where he isn’t exactly sure of the loyalties and who is telling the truth – also – does anyone think Sayid’s outage of Michael prompted the freighties to come to the island with guns (otherwise who is on the island shooting at Alex and Rousseau?) and Sayid ends up working for Ben out of guilt because his actions, in effect, prompted the war?

  9. Kimberly says:

    I thought it was a great episode. Who shot Carl and Danielle? And I cannot believe that they would kill Danielle at this point.

  10. Avery says:

    OK, maybe it doesn’t mean anything…but I am an ER nurse, so I am always trying to catch blunders on shows like House, ER, etc…..

    When Michael first sees ‘Nurse Libby’, the old guy next to him is intubated (on a breathing machine). When the other nurse comes in, the old guy has an oxygen mask on his face called a ‘non-rebreather’. Is this a careless mistake???? Seems not to me…but I have no idea what it could mean!!!

  11. Greg says:

    I don’t think Danielle is dead. Really.
    This really bugs me about the ship’s crew: If it is a Widmore vessel, or if he just paid for it, whatever, it sure seems like everyone on the boat would be “in on it” in regards to the real mission. Heck, the captain is, so why wouldn’t everyone else be? I just always thought it was a stretch at best that Michael wound up on the boat, sabotaged it, and escaped suspicion. I thought there must have been some rock-solid explanation for it, but nope, there isn’t. It is very implausible, but I guess it’s the best the writers could come up with. And he isn’t the only one apparently that is unaware of the ships full mission. That just seems very unrealistic.

  12. Barry Zuckerkorn says:

    I wanted to wait until this episode aired to make sure an O6 was not revealed, but I think Aaron is NOT an O6.

    Here is why:
    In Eggtown, Jack testifies that 8 people survived the crash, and then 2 died. That means they claim that the last member of the O6 was a passenger on the plane (Aaron was not!). Now, some might argue that a pregnant woman counts as 2 people, but I don’t.
    If they’re claiming that either a) Kate was already pregnant or b) got pregnant on the island (that would be hard to explain) and they cannot claim she already had the baby; Jack would not count her and the fetus as 2 people surviving the crash. A pregnant woman is still only 1 person.
    So if 8 people survive the crash:
    Jack
    Hurley
    Sayid
    Sun
    Kate
    last O6?????
    two that died

    They only way that Aaron can be counted as an O6 is to claim that Jack screwed up the cover story in his testimony!

  13. LockItUp says:

    OK…this has bugged me for too long now and I cannot take it anymore! Everyone that keeps saying that Aaron doen’t count as one of the Oceanic 6 needs to use a bit of common sense(my brother is one of you, by the way). Let me set the scene for you… Survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 are found and rescued…brought back to the mainland…news crews swarm the plane/boat/helicopter and 6 adults and a child step off the plane..OMG! there are survivors! Really?! “How many?” someone asks. Well, they found and rescued 7 people, but one is a baby that wasn’t born when they were technically on the plane that crashed, so we’re not going to count him and we’re just going to call them the “Oceanic 6”.
    That makes no sense. They are the Oceanic 6, not because they are the adults that had paid tickets on the flight, but because they are the SIX LIVING PEOPLE that were brought back from the crash. Aaron counts. Sorry. Whew…I feel better now. I love the show, by the way…and Ryan and Jen, it’s great to hear your voices again each week. From Ohio, Thanks and keep it up.

  14. I’m watching the episode now and am starting to see the same paces used over again: like the alley where Michael tries to kill himself – it’s the same alleyway that Charlie saves a woman from being mugged.

    I guess there are only so many places in Hawaii to film.

  15. havasupi says:

    Brooklyn is in the house.

    But I only half watched the episode. Partly, because I was busy and partly because what I did see didn’t grab me enough to stop what I was doing.

    A shout to Avery! Nice spotting. I don’t know what is going on with the continuity mistakes in the last 2 episodes. I can’t believe it is sloppiness, but maybe with the writer’s strike looming they were rushing and missed some stuff.

    I am/will be disappointed if Aaron is an Oceanic 6. Aaron is a living being, but not on the manifest, I am a living being and not on the manifest of Oceanic 815 — If Aaron is an Oceanic 6 then so am I. And if he is a 6, it’s another symptom of weak writing— unless it gets paid off with a whammy of an explanation in probably the final season.

    My guesses for the 2 of the “8” survivors that “didn’t survive” would be Jin and Claire. I do think Jin is alive, Claire I am not sure.

    As for Libby, at least she gets a wash and a set in the after life, I have never seen her hair so Breck girl like.

    More later when I watch this episode with my full attention, if it holds it this time.

  16. Can someone please answer this: how on earth did Tom get off the island?

    If Locke blew up the sub and we have never seen a working plane …. how would a guy who was in the operating room with Ben can get to a Penthouse in New York?

  17. Z says:

    I’m willing to bet that the majority of people didn’t find this episode as amusing due to the disappointing ending. However, it does not mean that this episode didn’t provide any useful answers for the following stretch of shows:

    1. Jack can’t die because the island doesn’t allow him to (thus, the island is a manifestation of power that surpasses time and space)

    2. The others have been hiding at the Temple, which we already knew, no? (The question that hangs in the air is: Did Ben send Ruso, Alex, and Carl to die? or was that an act of self-defense by the Others? In which case I’d ask, weren’t they using scopes?)

    3. The Oceanic-6 are as follows: Jack, Kate, Aaron, Sayid, Hurley, and Jin… I know it’s ridiculous to conclude that an unborn child is a “survivor” but it has been confirmed by ABC.

    While the episode wasn’t as fast paced as we expected, and we still didn’t find out who was in the casket. For the sake of the show, don’t go on submitting your disappointment to a show that wont return till April.

    Theory:
    1. Sayid is working for Ben (hypocracy!) for the same reason Michael is.
    2. Ben wasn’t lying about Witmore (this is a theory because at this point we can’t tell heads-from-tails)
    3. Michael is the man in the casket. I hypothesized that Michael would commit suicide in this episode, but was incorrect at estimating the time. However, when Michael leaves the island as Kevin Johnson (not an O-6), his guilt will return and he will attempt to kill himself and succeed because the island no longer has a use for him.
    4. Have a good vacation from the podcast Ryan and Jen!
    -Z

  18. Last question: how did Michael and Walt get off the island in that little crappy boat? There couldn’t be enough gas for more than a few days of steady travel, so there must be an island or boat traffic close to the Island.

    But if that’s the case, why did the Widmore ship have to travel so far to get to the LOST island?

    Thoughts anyone?

  19. Nels says:

    Carl and Danielle may not be dead since I seem to recall that Mikhail was shot with a spear and still survived. Do not underestimate the healing power of the island (heck, even Naomi survived a gunshot from Locke, Locke survived a gunshot from Ben). If Tom is correct that the island won’t let you die before you are supposed to then they have an “out” to have Carl and Danielle be alive in an upcoming episode so I would not worry much there.

    I was kinda hoping for more meat to Michael’s story but I’m not sure we got much meat there. Obviously the freighter story is to be told in more pieces than just this one, which slows the pacing of this season considerably for now.

    Based on the previews for upcoming season 4 episodes, Aaron is most definitely an O6. How they can justify that? Well, if someone can fake a crash, they can certainly redo the manifest. The preview guy’s voice already has told us that the we know who the O6 are (and Aaron did flash on screen) so there we have it.

    How Tom can get back to the mainland? Likely the sub. I think when Tom refers to Michael as 2 months after the crash it’s a nod to the timeline. I think sub is blown up closer to the 3 month time period, thus allowing Tom to get back to the island. I don’t see any timeline discrepancies there.

    Ben sure does love his lists, doesn’t he?

    Too bad we have a 4 week break but we’ll survive through it and I’m sure we’ll be back on the fast pace with the remaining 5 episodes.

  20. Linus says:

    I have two thoughts, one on new business, and one on old business:

    1. So Tom is gay. I thought it was interesting that they just sort of slipped it in. If it had been a girl in Tom’s apartment, I don’t think anybody would have noticed — maybe we’d have speculation on who that girl was, but nothing calling her inclusion “pointless” or anything of the sort. The fact is that there are gay people in the world; their number were underrepresented on Lost as was. I don’t think Tom’s sexuality is either pointed or pointelss.

    2. As to Aaron being a member of the Oceanic Six: People keep saying that this is a symptom of weak writing. This is the opposite of the case, and I don’t really see why it’s so hard to grasp that. “Oceanic Six” would be a media-spawned appelation; American news media are not exactly famous for their grasp of fine distinctions with “in the manifest” or “not in the manifest”. What they know is that six people came off that island, six people who were all associated with Oceanic flight 815, whether they were born yet or not. The media would of course call these people something like “Oceanic Six”. They wouldn’t take the time to be like, “Well, technically we have an Oceanic Five, and then this one baby who wasn’t born yet.” It would have been very poor writing to do it otherwise — to imply that the media, in the world of Lost, hav the same meticulous grasp of nuance as people obsessed with a television show. THAT would have been a cheap stunt.

  21. Connie in Alaska says:

    Wow. I thought this episode was full of goodness. Would have liked to have heard more from Miles. The Lostie Board meeting at Locke’s place didn’t really tell us anything new, but did confirm who knows what and that now everyone knows. Looks like Ben is using the coming of the Freighties to help build his army, but he doesn’t want “his” people to be involved. Let the Oceanics fight and die!

    I thought maybe the Others at the Temple were given orders to kill anyone who approached except Alex, but Tamara’s idea that it is a group of Freighties makes more sense. It also explains the little “errand” that Frank went on with the ‘copter. I fully expect Alex to be taken hostage and used to lure out Ben…will he sacrifice even his daughter to save the Island?

    Once and for all…Aaron IS one of the O6…it was confirmed in the previews for the next episode…THE END! ;O)

    When Michael left the Island, Ben told him he would find “rescue”. I don’t think it was anything out of the ordinary like how the Others get back and forth or Michael wouldn’t have been so surprised to see Tom or exclaimed about them just coming and going (Tom’s reply was interesting, though. “Some of them” have the ability to come and go as they please!) The fact that he and Walt simply reentered “real life” makes me think they were simply picked up in a shipping lane or reached another populated island. Whatever happened, Michael’s rescue didn’t give him any new insights or raise any new suspicions or reveal anything unusual to him about the Others or their transportation. He never expected to hear from any of them again and he certainly didn’t know how to get back on his own.

    Sayid’s mistrust and hatred of Ben is what drove him to “out” Michael. Michael saying not to trust the captain is the same as Ben not to trust the captain, so Sayid doesn’t believe Michael. The irony of his actions was pretty thick!

    I hate to admit it, but it’s looking like Ben really IS one of the good guys! I am so confused! I found his refusal to destroy the ship while “innocent” people are aboard to be very telling. But we did get to see him operating out of the Ben Cave!

  22. BXCellent says:

    Michael being in Manhatten just really didn’t make sense. Even if that boat made it to the mainland, an island, or a shipping lane, he’d still have to make it from the South Pacific to the US. Was he carrying his and Walts passports and cash / credit cards to buy a flight the whole 2 months? Even at this stretch, he would have been picked up when he either booked the flight or arrived in the US as one of the passengers of 815. I can handle stretching reality to add time travel, but circumventing border control?

  23. Connie in Alaska says:

    BXcellent: Those are some very good points. It is highly unlikely that anyone had their passports or any money (well, Locke did have at least a buck!) It is possible that Ben supplied new fake passports and gave them some money…we know he has access to that kind of stuff. Hmmmm…..

    Did anyone else catch whispers when Libby appeared to Michael on the freighter? We only get TV by antenna and our ABC reception is really bad so I wasn’t sure if I was hearing whispers or interference. The first time he saw her I am pretty sure it was a bad dream. The second time seemed like one of the infamous “visitations” like when Harper came to Juliet. Libby basically told him that it wasn’t time to set off the bomb, which he found out was true when he actually did try to set it off.

  24. helen says:

    Liked the bomb’s flag that yield the sign “Not Yet”.

  25. mikeyt says:

    Connie: After listening to the sound again, right before Libby appears on the frieghter, it didn’t sound like whispers. It actually was a faint clip of the song, “It’s Getting Better”, that Michael was listening to when he crashed his car at the beginning of the episode. At least that’s what it sounded like to me.

  26. Crissy says:

    For the benefit of all the people who are now convinced that Aaron is one of the Oceanic Six because the preview seemed to indicate such, consider this: The promos are put together by ABC. ABC is not necessarily privy to what Damon & Carlton are planning. Per Michael Ausiello at TV Guide:

    “. . . don’t expect a definitive answer about the Six from Team Darlton. Carlton Cuse tells me they’re ‘not going public with any further clarifications right now.’ And what of the ABC promo that promised viewers they’d know the identity of the Six by the end of last week’s episode? ‘We don’t determine how ABC promotes the show,’ says Cuse. ‘But Damon and I will say you have now seen all of the Oceanic Six in this season’s episodes.'”

  27. Frank says:

    I think the structure of the episode undercut its suspensefulness. The one continuous chunk of flashback felt like too much of an information dump. I think, for all of us, who, at times, wish for ‘answers’ an episode where too much is told at once reminds us to be careful to get what we ask for. It seemed like Michael’s story was condensed into one episode, probably, so as to satisfy those who’d cry blood if we didn’t get ‘answers’. But no good story does or should work that way. ANd this episode felt a bit too much like a dumbed-down one. And it came out not only in giving us all of Michael’s story at once, but in what were some poorly written moments where the whole of Michael’s motivation (this huge epic moment for us watching) is reduced to Tom suddenly figuring out Michael told Walt why he was guilty of murder. And then, we were supposed to have the reasons behind Michael and Walt’s estrangement ‘answered’ in that same breath. Let’s hope _Lost_ avoids such shortcuts in the future.

    I was also hoping that Michael’s backstory would end up being about more than just his guilt over his actions. It seemed like it wasn’t tied into the mythology enough–other than through the “island won’t let you kill yourself” idea, which, wasn’t really made to be all that relevant to why he was willing, ultimately, to go back.

    -We were left with some good stuff too though:
    1. Michael’s “I’m sorry” just before he drives his car into the container mirrors what Jack said to himself just as he was going to jump off the bridge. So, I think it is safe to say that the island is preventing Jack in the same way.
    2. The end was quite unexpected as far as Rousseau’ s death (?) went. I have a hunch it was Ben’s doing.

  28. James says:

    Not a great episode, and a terrible one to end the block of episodes. I can’t help but think Lost was so much more fun when it was so much more simple. I don’t know who I really care about on the island anymore. Since they live in a virtual paradise with every amenity available, I don’t quite understand the peril of the island, nor of their rush to leave. And it seems like seasons 4-6 are merely going to follow this redundant and incoherant narrative style in which we forgot the simple premise of what the show was about when we loved it — and that is discovering the mystery of the island and getting home.

  29. cat says:

    I don’t think Danielle is dead – just Karl. I suspect that Ben had the other “others” do him to pay him back for helping Sawyer and Kate escape. Ben isn’t going to let him off the hook. I just think there is more to the Danielle story that needs to be told before they kill her off. The fact the Michael can’t die is interesting. He has to come back to save the 815ers before he can kill himself. I agree with Ryan that Jack doesn’t seem to be able to kill himself (nor perhaps Hurly or Sayid) until they have “redeemed” themselves and “saved” the survivors. The captain didn’t seem surprised by the fact that Michael was working for Ben – maybe he is really Ben’s spy. Michael seems to have gotten on the boat awfully easily given it’s mission. One would think that the security checks would have been a little tighter. Interesting episode. I can see why the original plan was not to have this episode end the first series. It is going to be tough to have to wait for another month and the “war to begin”.

  30. Michelle says:

    Color me disappointed. I’ve generally not been a fan of Michael episodes, for the somewhat indulgent reason that they tend to be so unrelievedly grim, but this episode didn’t even have much of a payoff. I think Harold Perrineau is a pretty fantastic actor, but Michael has gone to such (excessively?) dark places that I can barely enjoy watching him. This episode could be summarized like this:

    “Michael tries to kill himself. Michael tries to kill himself. Michael tries to kill himself. The Island won’t let him. Michael tries to kill himself and everyone on the freighter. Ben won’t let him. Make no subtlety of the fact that Michael’s actions are driven by GUILT. The end.”

    Also, it seemed blindingly obvious to me that Ben was lying his pants off. He doesn’t harm the innocent? Oh, right; the **entire population** of the Dharma initiative must have been real meanies, then. And Goodwin? Ana-Lucia killed him, not Ben! Yeah, he’s a good guy, alright…

    And we have still not seen a shred of evidence that Widmore’s folk have any intention of murdering everyone on the Island. We have Ben’s word for it, and that is just not good enough for me.

    Finally, if Danielle is dead, I will be deeply upset. She does NOT deserve a death like that. (I’m none too happy with Karl’s death, but I saw it coming. That’s one less romance to root for…)

  31. LockItUp says:

    Havasupi…”If Aaron is one of then, so am I..” You are not listening. When the “Average Joe” hears about survivors of some horrible accident, and they say. “Really, they FOUND SURVIVORS?!” “HOW MANY survivors?” Do you honestly think anyone would say, “Well, they rescued 7 people, but were officially only going to refer to them as the Oceanic 6, because one was a baby “not on the manifest”.

  32. Briand says:

    I find myself agreeing with Connie (and Michael, Sayid) and actually think that Ben might actually be on the good side. Whatever that is. I liked the episode well enough but can only take Michael in small doses.

    Didn’t Alex look great in this episode. Perfect makeup and camera work lovingly watching her revealed her to be a real beatifil girl. Then, wammo, let’s kill your boyfriend. Wasn’t there a line right before that scene where someone said “Ben always gets his way…”

    Break till April!

  33. LockItUp says:

    My last post was before I read “Linus'” post about the same. Thank you for proving to me that there are people that understand the profound stupidity of our media and the fact that the writers “get it”.

  34. thekidflash says:

    Overall, I liked the episode. I can see what Cuse and Lindelof said about not thinking this was a great place to stop, but I was hoping more of a “Exodus” cliffhanger than we got. Mr. Friendly was in great form, even if he is now gay.
    I personally don’t think that the ambush was set up by Ben, considering how it seems like they were readying to kill Alex as well, but I can with how long he hesitated and glanced at Karl that he could have been deciding if or if not to send him to his death. That scene was exceptionally badass, with the bodies dropping dead, the rustles in the forest, and Alex playing her last card. Reminscent of “Live Together, Die Alone”.
    And I hate to be the one who brings this up, but Naomi’s jeans were majorly sagging in her “argument” apperence.
    Overall, a good episode, but not best for a hiatus. I rather enjoyed the “Kate, dammit, run!” that began the last hiatus, not sure if “I’m Ben’s Daughter!” does it for me.

  35. target242 says:

    I think the Libby apparitions were also a manifest of Michael’s guilt. Before the episode aired, the “previously on lost” showed what Michael did to Ana-Lucia and Libby. Recall that the shooting of Libby was quite accidental…she happened to walk in at the wrong time. The death of Ana Lucia was more purposeful…maybe because Ben realised Ana Lucia would be no good to them…

    I kinda think that Ben is behind the shootings as well. The way he stared at Alex and almost going out of his way to send them to the Temple…

    Another confusing point though: Ben says his people are at the Temple…but where were they when the gas was being neutralized? Would they not have tried to stop them?

  36. tvscifi.com says:

    The promo during Eli Stone said, “We now know who the Oceanic 6 are,” then it listed Kate, Arron, Jack, Hurley, Sayid and Sun. So that puts this to rest.

    I actually thought this was a very good episode, but I think it signals a turn for the plot and I hope it isn’t going to metaphysical.

    If the “Island” is manipulating people with magic or something, there goes any scientific explanation to what’s going on.

    If the Smoke Monster is just “fate” manifesting itself, I don’t like that.

    If all the flashback coincidences, the numbers, the people cheating death, are all just “time” trying to correct itself — that means no one on the island has free will, because everything is predestined. You can’t even kill yourself if time doesn’t want you to? What happened to choice?

    It is starting to look like the whispers, ghosts and Mrs. Hawking are time, fate, god, take your pick, and have no scientific explanation. To me this is as much a cheat as “they are in purgatory” or “It’s all a dream.”

    The science fiction ending the producers promised has gone off the rails into fantasy land. Not that this is a bad thing, but I wish they would have just started the show on Fantasy Island and kept the scientific out of it all together.

    I could be wrong, and I hope the last shot of the show isn’t some kid holding an Island Snow globe 😉

  37. Ben says:

    I don’t see all the fuss about who the Oceanic Six are. It is just a story. There easily could be more who get off the island and the Oceanic Six are only the very public faces that take all the attention. After all, Michael is an Oceanic 815 survivor and he’s already been out in the “real world” without attracting much attention.
    I’m beginning to think perhaps everyone who leaves the island. ends up working for Ben. Or at least being asked to work for Ben. That is what is so tormenting for Jack, he cannot work for Ben. Neither can Hurley, and so they are tormented to the point where they either must actively work for him or against him.
    Rousseau is not dead. Being shot is not the same as being dead, especially on this island.
    Perhaps Sayid has a bigger plan in mind when he “outs” Michael to the captain. This may be the only we he can break both Micheal and the captain of their missions for Ben & Whidmore, respectively. Ultimately it will allow Sayid to commandeer the ship.

  38. Oceanic 6 1/2 says:

    Tonight’s episode was okay. I do have a question that I hope someone can answer for me. Please correct me if I am wrong, but last season when Desmond and crew are walking around the island, they hear a helicopter crash into the sea and then later on find Naomi. So did the ship have two helicopters, or is this just sloppy writing?

  39. Preston says:

    Regardless of who shot Rousseau and Karl, I think Ben knew what would happen – that they would be shot and his daughter would make it out alive. I echo the belief that this is Ben being possessive of his daughter.

    As for Tom being gay, that was not only hinted at his comment about Kate not being his type, but the way he threw the football to Jack.

    The most interesting aspect of this episode was that Michael couldn’t kill himself. The powers of time course-correcting was much more blatant than before, because it actually prevented things from happening rather than make changes later to get back on the timeline.

    I was shocked at Sayid turning in Michael without even thinking, and I can’t wait to see how that plays out.

  40. Bill says:

    I really didn’t need this episode.

    Harold Perrineau wanted out of the series, so they wrote him off. He and Walt had run their courses anyway — so long, farewell, auf weidersehen goodbye. Now, THEY’RE back, and just when I think there’s way too many characters on this show anyway. Jeez-zz.

    I didn’t need Tom’s smooch with his bitch. …not that there’s anything wrong with it… but let’s hope the gay buck stops here.

    Frank (the helicopter pilot) would have never compromised information about Charles Whidmore to a “deckhand” Michael (Kevin). Frank’s too tough a guy to be that insecure.

    I didn’t need to see Rouseau and Karl get zapped. They are great characters. Would hate to see them exit, especially at the expense of making room for Walt and Michael. Of course, Ben set them up to be ambushed.

    Sayid a tattletailer — Never.

    I’m thinking (hoping) that it’s Michael in the coffin. Jack’s newspaper clipping made a mention about New York or Manhattan in the article. Now we know that’s where Michael is living.

    Q: When Naomi parachuted, didn’t her helicopter crash in the ocean? Who was flying it? Did they have 2 helicopters on the freighter?

  41. Medusa says:

    In answer to Nels’s question about how Tom could get back to the mainland after the sub was blown up, I think that it’s likely that the scene we saw with him and Michael took place before Locke blew up the sub. There had to be time for Michael to get hired on the freighter, fly to where the freighter was, for the freighter to set out for the island, etc. – all of which is occuring while much of season 3 is happening on the island.

    I had some timeline questions, though – Michael’s mom says that he was gone “for two months” which syncs with how long Michael and Walt were on the island, right? So time is moving at the same pace off the island and on the island, at least in this instance? Otherwise, wouldn’t she have said, “You were gone 3 years?” (or whatever the theory of island time vs. “real” time is)

    But then, we have the Kate and Aaron flash forward. The boy is clearly not 4 months old, which means that if island time is on par with mainland time (like for Walt/Michael), then her waiting for trial has drawn out for 2 years??? Or that the actual rescue doesn’t take place until about 2 years from now???

  42. Medusa says:

    One more comment – we know that this episode was going to be held back if the strike didn’t end soon enough to produce more episodes for this year. I think based on the comments here (which are clearly mixed), that decision might have been based more on not wanting to end on a somewhat “filler” episode, vs. ending with the Sun/Jin episode which packed a more emotional wallop. I can’t believe it’s just me who cares more about what happens to Jin than whether Karl or Rousseau are really dead. (Sorry, I like Rousseau, too, but she’s not a headliner.)

  43. Jeff says:

    Well I figured Tom was gay way back when the secene with him and Kate in the shower…. he said very clearly your not my type…..

    anyway

    peace

  44. Jeremias says:

    Does anyone have a timeline?
    How many days had passed when Michael and Walt left the island at the end of season two?
    How many days had passed when we heard about the freighter the first time?

    Michael mother mentioned that he had been gone for over two months and just wanted to know how it all fit.

    Also Tom made it back to the island in time to get killed in season 3’s final.

  45. Bill says:

    Medusa — Jin ain’t dead.

    Why would Hurley make that long ass solo trip (dressed in that suit) to pay tribute to a memorial with an incorrect date of death? No proof Jin’s buried there, no proof he died, no blood, no DNA. No proof that Rouseau and Karl are dead.

    Yes, Sun was sad, but she misses him and is uncertain of his safety. My money says Jin’s stuck with the others (well, maybe not the OTHERS… but castaways) on the island.

  46. Vertigo says:

    The pacing of this episode seemed a bit off to me, but overall it is likely very important to the story. Every once and a while there is an eo like this, it is not a work of art like some but it is necessary to fill in some of the gaps that have been purposefully left by the writers.

    At first the “outing” of Tom seem contrived to me too, but after thinking about the big picture I can see it being useful to the story. Over time we have leared a lot about the backstories of the others, including their personal lives: Danny & Colleen Pickett, Ethan & his late wife, Goodwin/Harper/Juliet, etc. This closes off the story of Tom’s personal life and we already knew a peice when he said that Kate was not his type. I think that the other important peice is that with all of the talk about the other’s “lists” and “our people” and “the good people” we now have enough examples to know that even though it is not clear what the criteria is to be a good person in the eyes of the others, it is clear that it is not about race, lifestyle, age, or the other individual facts that we know about specific others.

    The biggest surprise was how impulsively Sayid acted at the end of the episode. In some cases hs is very smart and methodical but in this instance he just hauled Michael to the captain without even talking to Desmond or considering another way to deal with the information.

    With how easily Alex, Karl, and Danielle left the barracks it makes me wonder what sort of security Locke has set up there. We know that either some frieghter-raiders or others are going to eventually get there and it would not be smart to rely just on the old Dharma sonic fence. If he has it well guarded then you would have to be shocked at how easily those 3 people just left on some suspicious instructions from someone that is not that trustworthy.

    It is going to be a painful haitus, but the next 5 promise to be very action packed due to the way the season has played out, I can’t wait.

  47. Aitor says:

    I really liked this episode. I think we’ve been spoiled this season by finally getting some answers, and as this episode introduces more questions than the answers it gives, some people are likely to feel disappointed.

    I have a few comments.

    Ben seems to know a great deal about Charles Widmore. Does he know who Desmond is and about his relationship with Penelope Widmore?

    Why Michael? Ben has (had?) the resources to send anyone more qualified as a spy on that boat. Why bother with Michael? Does the future hold something for Michael? Is that why he can’t kill himself? I’m so looking forward to the day when the show explains course-correction. On a related note, does Ben know the future? Is that why he chose Michael?

    I’m sure they have an explanation, but Tom leaving the island and Ben communicating with the boat, after “the sky turned purple” and the submarine was blown up? How is that?

    I don’t think it was Ben who ordered the shooting. After all, I don’t think the Others have any good shooters left after the Losties killed the remaining few on the beach. And it did seem the work of pro shooters… like the ones we saw practizing on the deck of the freighter.

  48. Montana says:

    This whole time I thought the Temple was an actual temple — maybe something to do w/ the 4-toed statue. For me it was interesting to discover in this episode that it’s actually another hatch.

    Linus (previous commentor): yours is the best explanation for the Oceanic 6 I’ve ever read. Thank you. Also, I think it’s funny what a big deal everyone is making of who they are or aren’t. “The Oceanic 6” is obviously a comment on modern media coverage. Everything’s got a title, whether it reflects reality or not.

    This brings me to the writers and the writing on the show. Too many viewers are too quick to bash the writing and call it sloppy when something seems off. In my mind, the writers come through every time. People question this or that detail or apparent discrepancy — and then, voila, somewhere down the line, the writers answer questions, reconcile descrepancies, show us who’s in control of this story line. It’s great writing!

  49. Bryce says:

    anyone who thinks danielle rousseau is actually dead is naive. think of all the supposed killings in this show, where someone is shot but not dead. locke, patchy…

    i gaurantee you rousseau is not dead.

  50. Bryce says:

    this was one of my favorite episodes of the season. great to have michael back. he reached new lows, but seeks redemtion — and i think he’ll play a major role and attain it. i forgot how much i missed him on lost until i saw him again.

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