There’s No Place Like Home
The overall design of Season 4 has been genius, as the introduction of flash forwards have set us up for a most unique of season finales. We’re building to a climax from both the past and the future, and the energy seems fittingly magnified. Yet for all the tension coming to a head on the island, two off-island scenes tonight really stood out for me: the reunification of the Oceanic 6 and their families on the tarmac here in Honolulu, and Claire’s mom revealing to Jack that he had (or has) a sister. The latter because it’s a reveal that we knew was inevitable, but was still so pitch perfect it had me holding my breath. Matthew Fox was fantastic, showing the brutal impact of the devastating news in his face, and still again we know things that Claire’s mom and Kate so far don’t. As for their arrival in Hawaii, it was a powerful reminder of how “LOST” defies expectations. Here’s a scene we all had in our heads as the last scene of the entire series: some, but not all, of the crash survivors make it off the island. Yet we still have two more seasons to go.
Jen, perhaps hardened after catching up on a week’s worth of e-mail, wasn’t about to cut the show too much slack. Who would ever believe Aaron is five weeks old? (Though babies on TV or in movies are always absurdly huge.) How is it that no one, Michael in particular, found all that C4 on the freighter until now? How can Kate, so muddled in everything else she does, still be such an expert jungle tracker? How is she not taken into custody the moment she stepped off the Coast Guard plane? And hadn’t we given up on “The Numbers”? But still, Jen cheered when Sun stood up to and undermined her father. And laughed when Hurley learned the vintage of the DHARMA crackers.
The last episode before the season finale always has it rough, usually packed full of disconnected setup for the big show to come. But apart from the musical montage where we visited each of the Oceanic 6 on the island — yes, indeed, they’re all over the place, and somehow need to end up together to escape— I thought “There’s No Place Like Home” was great.
I enjoyed Alpert’s on-island return, in yet another “you’re surrounded” jungle ambush with a surprisingly large crowd of surviving Others. Others that were again dressed in their grimy Season 2 rags, rather than suburban dwellers. Looks like they’re ready to rumble, the biggest island showdown since “The Purge.” And Ben’s mirror-flashing message and assertion that he always has a plan yanks us back to the world in which he’s always three steps ahead. I guess he hasn’t given up just yet.
And good ol’ fun-time Hurley, still holding his own between two Emmy winners, machine-gunning through questions that any sane person (or “LOST” fan) would ask. How do you move an island? Wouldn’t moving it bring the bad guys too? And the scene in the mansion where he finds a coconut and hears whispers was clever as hell. He escaped that freak-out opportunity only to end up staring at a cursed odometer. I’d begun to suspect “The Numbers” were a relic of the show’s tapdancing days, but with The Orchid and a moving island looming large, I guess they’re finding new life.
I’m more eager to see how Season 4 ends than I think I’ve been for any season prior… even Season 1, as we had nary an inkling about what was going on back then. My primary complaint is that we have to wait two weeks for it all to come together. And my biggest question is what the next act might bring.
Notes and Notions:
- I loved that the Oceanic 6 arrived in Honolulu (and the cheesy luau theme for Hurley’s birthday party). A pity the view of Diamond Head was washed out a bit by the volcanic haze that’s been hanging over the islands for weeks.
- Looks like Keamy’s last resort will take out the freighter, but whether that C4 is what torches the island, I’m not sure. It also looks like it’s still an extraction mission, as Frank says as much to Jack and Sawyer and the episode ends with Ben taking a gun butt to the head, not a bullet.
- Who else does Sun blame for Jin’s death, apart from her father. Herself? Widmore? (Taking over a large company might be the first step in corporate warfare.) Jack? (She didn’t attend Christian Shephard’s funeral, though the rest of the Oceanic 6 did.)
- I guess Jack learning that Claire is his sister is not what pushes him over the edge, or makes him want to go back. Because his brief bliss with Kate and long decline into madness has yet to happen. Unless Jack, like Sun, believes everyone else on the island is dead, only to later learn that they’re not?
- Once again, the Oceanic 6 survival story includes two others who survived the crash but didn’t make it to rescue. Your guess is as good as mine as to who those two might be.
- Speaking of the Oceanic 6 survival story, all season I’ve wondered how the world would react to finding out the wreckage at the bottom of the Sunda Trench was faked. Turns out it fits neatly into the lie being perpetrated off the island. Who crafted that lie is the question. In the cargo hold, it seemed Jack was most familiar with the story.
- Speaking of the cargo hold, when Oceanic publicist Karen Decker goes back there, she smiles at someone toward the front of the plane before approaching Jack and friends. Who? Maybe Ben? Or someone else we know who’s not a crash survivor? Or am I imagining things?
- It was nice to see Sayid and Nadia reunite, and apparently have some quality couple time. The glow is all the more bittersweet since we know things don’t turn out well for them.
- Lucky rabbits feet turned up both in the cockpit of the Coast Guard plane and on the keys to Hurley’s Camaro. Again, the Orchid Station may bring with it some more rabbit folklore.
- How did Claire’s mom come out of her coma? Will we see her, I wonder, visited by a ghostly Claire in a vision?
- Favorite Lines: Hurley’s mom, “Jesus Christ is not a weapon.” Sawyer, “You don’t get to die alone.” And spoken like a true PR person, “That’s not the best branding as far as we’re concerned, but it’s catchy!”
- Locations: The Oceanic 6 arrival was filmed out at Hangar 111 at Barber’s Point. Hurley’s Mansion was along Farmers Road in Kahala. Christian Shephard’s funeral was held at St. Patrick in Kaimuki.
What did you think? Call the LostLine at (808) 356-0127 or comment below.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Wow, can you say intense.
This episode had one of the best LOST scenes ever when Claire’s mom told Jack about Claire. Jack’s reaction was amazing.
Now we have to wonder how all of the Oceanic 6 end up in the same place to get off the island and how do they do it. Sun and the baby are on the freighter which is rigged with explosives. What happens to Jin and Desmond if Sun gets off and the freighter blows up?
Jack, Hurley, Kate and Sayid are all up near the Orchid and we know they get off. What happens to Ben, Locke and Sawyer?
So many questions….
May 15th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
A great episode. I LOVED the beginning where they showed the Oceanic 6, and didn’t Kate look really tired? I thought it was a stark contrast to how e usually see her. And the same goes for Sawyer, I think, when he met up with Kate and Jack in the jungle. He looked really scared or something. I assumed he was shaken up from finding Claire’s body or something, but apparently they still think she is just wandering around somewhere on the island, and not dead. Which, who knows if she really IS dead? How do we even know that Christian is really dead? I like the theory that Christian staged his own death. And when Jack was shown his father’s supposed body in the morgue, what if it wasn’t really Christian?… Hmm. So many things to think about! Great episode tonight.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
When it wasn’t wandering around in the jungle, the episode was pretty cool. The whole Orchid thing felt dragged out, in that almost every scene with Ben and Locke consisted of them going to The Orchid, and we still have to wait 2 weeks to see what the thing does.
I wish they’d cut Jack’s screen time, he’s become incredibly uninteresting since his filler flashbacks in “Stranger in a Strange Land”. Actually, it was nice to see that so far, he’s only had 1 episode, as opposed to the 4 or 5 he USUALLY has per season. But still, do we NEED to see every time Jack goes traipsing into the jungle on a quasi adventure?
Still, I liked the episode, and especially liked how they reinforced the fact that Sun is such an evil, evil woman. And Hurley ready to clobber someone with his golden Jesus statue? Instant win.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
the best scene to me was Sun telling her father off. I loved it! Now he must repect her.
Some people have said they thought her dad was a big player in all of this island stuff. But the way he acted tonight, I don’t think so.
And just how much did Ocenanic pay these people? A bunch!!
May 15th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Oh, I forgot something… Has anyone wondered (besides me and my mom) if Richard could possibly be Locke’s father? I know Emily’s mom didn’t know who Richard was (or at least she said she didn’t) but maybe she had just never seen Richard before… Maybe that’s one of the reasons why Richard kept trying to “get,” to Locke, when he was a kid, then when he was in high school. Just wondering……
May 15th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
“And just how much did Oceanic pay these people? A bunch!!”
Yea, you have to be talking hundreds of millions of dollars plus the famous golden Oceanic pass. Hurley is now rolling in money but he seems to want none of it. His Oceanic settlement was probably bigger than his lottery winnings.
Alpert - I certainly don’t think Sun is an “evil, evil woman.” Her father though is an evil, evil man.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
I now am convinced that Sun believes that Jin is dead. She is too angry, too sad and too full of vengeance to be faking it. Something she sees before she leaves the island must convince her that he is dead. I’m still hoping that he and Desmond find a way to escape from the freighter and not be blown up.
Remember that our wonderful host here Ryan saw the freighter all nicely repainted in Honolulu Harbor, so I suspect that the finale will see the end of the freighter in the show.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Did anyone notice the statue that Hurley picked up to attack the would be burglar? It was a gold version of the heroin statues from season 2. Also, any significance to the rabbits feet? The co-pilot had one and then another showed up when Hurley’s father gave him the keys to the car…
A little freaky that the numbers resurfaced after so long. I know that is really key to Hurley’s story but it’s been a long time since we’ve seen those numbers.
Do you think the media is suspicious that Aaron is really Kate’s? it seemed like that reporter during the press conference was skeptical when he was questioning Kate.
I really loved that scene with Sun and her father. He’s such an ass and caused so much pain - it was great to see him rattled.
Nadia is beautiful. It’s sad that we know her fate!
Surely the boat wont blow… Jin and Desmund… I still believe that Jin is alive.
LA
May 15th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
I just got to say: best friggin’ show on television!!! I just know that this season is going to end bad for some of the characters we have come to know and care about. Now, about the explosives; shouldn’t Michael be somewhat familiar on what will set them off seeing that he was the one that was suppose to detonate them in the first place (or am I wrong on this). The two hour finale looks to be full of action and some tense scenes. I love that we get to see another Locke and Jack face off! I also don’t think that Sun is evil, but that live on the island gave her the guts to stand up to all the bad stuff her dad is into.
May 15th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Also note; the license plate on Hurley’s beat up car says PORTALS
May 15th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Leeann, you are mistaken about the statues. Yes the statue Hurley picked up is similar. He picked up a statue of Jesus, while Charlie hid his heroin in statues of the Virgin Mary (specifically, the Immaculate Conception).
I loved his mother’s line “you don’t use Jesus as a weapon”. Classic.
I thought this was a great show to set up the finale. So we can wait seven months to continue the story…
May 15th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Well, what I always have loved about the show is how it keeps me guessing. No exception here. Thought for sure we’d be looking at the Oceanic 6 getting on the raft but they certainly threw me for a loop on that when it was Daniel taking Sun, Jin, Aaron, and two other folk. It’s like those puzzles where the solution seems obvious at first but then you realize that you have to take a longer alternate route to get to that solution.
Guess we did at least get confirmation that Jin was not one of the two that died (of the initial 8 survivors) and that the story is that he died in the crash. But doesn’t look good for Michael, Desmond and Jin with all that C4.
The reveal of Jack finding out that Claire is his half-sister was a nice touch. Guess that ruins my previous theory about Jack finding out about Claire on the island in an effort to save Jack - though he still is bleeding pretty badly there so someone will need to fix him up.
All that C4 is radio controlled. Guess who probably has the trigger? Keamy! I’m thinking that metronome on his arm is supposed to be the trigger. If he’s got all that intelligence about the island, he probably also figures he would just take the submarine to get out while blowing up the freighter and torching the island, leaving no witnesses at all to whatever evil deed he is ultimately up to.
Daniel knows about the secondary protocol??? Why would he know unless he’s been through it before, which makes sense since it was in his notebook.
Sayid and Nadia. How sad for us knowing that Nadia will be killed.
Sun buying controlling interest in the company was a nice touch of sweet revenge.
May 15th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
I feel a reservation to theorize about what this episode meant. I do, however, hold to what I said prior about WHY the Oceanic 6 are chosen among the other survivors. The HOW changes in light of this episode: the device on KEAMY’s arm is a heart-level transmitter that is sending a signal to the boat. If in the case of Keamy’s early death, the trigger is a stop of his heart-beat which sends a message to the C4 on the freighter to explode. This is why Captain Gault couldn’t kill Keamy. Can you see where this is going? The freighter will never make it back, that means Jin, Michael, and (I’m afraid) Desmond will most likely be caught in the explosion.
The helicopter will take a few passengers to the freighter to pick up Sun and Aaron. However, when they discover that safety lies back on the island, Frank will be forced to take the helicopter back. Using the information that Michael told Sun about the island, she’ll tell them that all they have to do is head on Ben’s bearing on the lifeboat. Six Oceanic survivors will make it to the small island near Indonesia, but will never be able to return or give coordinates to the island because by that point Locke would have changed its location…
Brilliant episode, and I hope that I am wrong in my predictions. I’ll post some more comments later, but this is the best that I could force myself to write. Ryan and Jen, you make my happy Sunday podcast mornings. Much respect, Thanks for your hard work.
-Mr. Z
May 15th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
I never thought I’d say this but I am glad the season is ending soon. I can’t take the drama, my heart is racing like crazy!
I loved Ben in this “How many times do I have to tell you? I always have a plan.” He was EXCELLENT in this episode and i am sure he will be in the next.
I feel certain the freighter will blow. I disagree with people who insist Michael HAS to be back next season. I think Walt definitely needs to be back but I think we’ve heard enough of ill-fated Michael. I only hope Jin somehow makes it off.
OK, also can SOMEONE explain to me why after all the pain those people went through why in the world where they being flown home in a cargo hold instead of a luxury private plane? I’m sure they might all be afraid to fly now but they should’ve at least had some beds, snacks, and a little champagne after all that suffering.
ALSO, wow so many things to unravel. The Oceanic Airlines logo, Orchid station ” space-like” from Miles’ notebook, the Sunda islands, 108 days, enthuriums, 5 different bank, Jesus as a weapon. What in the world?
May 15th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
I like the ending to this episode, Keamy and his people at the Orchid, Ben giving himself up to Keamy.
John and Hurley just a few feet away ready to do something.
Kate and Sayid with Richard and the Others heading to the Orchid.
Jack and Sawyer heading to the Orchid.
Michael, Desmond, Jin, Sun and Aaron on the feighter with whole bunch of C4.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:27 am
I loved this ep!
One of the scenes that stood out for me was Sun revealing to her father that she had purchased controlling stock in her father’s company. It also made me wonder if the second person she was referring to that ruined her husband could’ve have been Widmore. It would be more sweet to find that she ends up working for Ben like Sayid!
May 16th, 2008 at 12:41 am
I forgot to include in my previous post….
Funny line in this ep!
Sawyer to Miles: “who you talkin’ to genghis?” *LOL*
May 16th, 2008 at 1:00 am
Interesting episode. I agree with the above bloggers that Keamy has the trigger on his arm that will blow up the freighter and that will happen in the last episode. He is the other person responsible for Jin’s death which I now believe is inevitable. The helicopter picks up Jin. Likely scenario is that the chopper comes back and there is only space for Jin and Aaron. As they leave, the boat blows up. I am now thinking (or maybe just hoping) that the final “kiss” is between Penny (who finds the boat) and Desmond) and sends them through time so they avoid the explosion - although I am very fearful that the boat might explode as they have the kiss and all die. Who are the two people that died on the Island? Michael? Who else? What is the story? How the heck did Claire’s mother come out of the coma? So few answers….
May 16th, 2008 at 1:29 am
Broadcloak, Hurley’s numberplate is 2QRI445.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:58 am
I suspect the device on Keamy’s arm might be a portable sonic shield to protect him from the monster should it attack him or his people again.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:31 am
The list of questions is endless. Just curious if Sun’s pregnancy will also require some explaining. We know she is carrying Jin’s baby and that she gets pregnant on the island. They’re on the island for 100+ days. Yet, we learned a couple of seasons ago that Jin was sterile and their OB/GYN altered Jin’s records, only telling Sun the truth (am I remembering this correctly?). So, if the survivor story has Jin dying in the crash, that means that Sun’s survival story would have her conceiving before the fatal flight…supposedly a medical impossibility. With Sun’s father eventually losing some of his power (and threat), will that OB come forward with troublesome questions? Maybe totally insignifant, but just a curiosity. I think there’s much more to Sun’s story to come. Her buying out her father is a very interesting twist!
May 16th, 2008 at 2:42 am
Why didn’t Sam Austin (Kate’s dad…sort of) come and see her when she landed in Honolulu?
Also, the Kate/Jack timeline was a little confusing to me. Do you think this is how it went?
1. Jack and Kate start off together when they first arrive home. We see this in at Hurley’s party (Jack’s going to be late) and at Christian’s funeral.
2. Jack learns of Aaron’s relationship to himself. This causes such guilt, that he doesn’t want to see Aaron which puts a strain on their relationship.
3. After the trial, they try again only to fall apart once more due to Christian’s appearances and Kate’s promise to Sawyer.
4. Jack goes nuts and calls Kate to tell her “We have to go back!”
Does this ring true? I usually don’t care much about the Kate/Jack, Kate/Sawyer, Jack/Juliet storylines, but I would like to know how it all fits together.
Great episode. Two weeks is too long!!
May 16th, 2008 at 2:55 am
One thing that totally amazes me about Lost is how many fans of the show really dislike the two major characters in the story. From day one the two major leads have been Jack and Kate, yet so many people (not myself) diss not only the episodes that feature their backstory or future story, but diss scenes in other episodes where they appear. Just look at the fans ratings of episodes on DarkUFO. The Jack and Kate episodes almost always place low.
If anyone is going to convince the Oceanic 6 to return to the island it is Jack and I suspect Kate will go to.
Ryan and Jen:
Maybe this is something you can discuss on your podcast and give us your thoughts.
John
May 16th, 2008 at 3:18 am
Another Sawyer nickname: He called Lapidus Shaggy!
May 16th, 2008 at 3:31 am
I personally think that the underlying, yet more important, love story is between Desmond & Penny. I don’t care what crazy time travel stunt has to be pulled off in order to get these two together, just do it! Poor Des has waited 3 years & I will be very disappointed if he goes down with the C4 & the freighter!!
May 16th, 2008 at 3:40 am
Great episode last night. I thought at the end that C4 was going to explode - killing Jin-Desmond and Michael. Speaking of death
Jin is one of my favorite characters, I am dreading his upcoming death. Hopefuly , there is a twist of fate and he does not die.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:10 am
Camille, I think the reason we see the Oceanic 6 going to Hawaii after being “rescued” on a cargo plane is because it’s a Coast Guard plane. Which makes sense if it is a rescue (unless the Coast Guard has some cushy jet plane that we don’t know about). So, I think given that it makes sense to arrive that way rather than on some exclusive jet with champagne and caviar from a rescue.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:39 am
I suspect Hurley got rid of his lottery winnings but kept the money he got from Oceanic.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:49 am
I’m thinking there will only be room in the helicopter for Sun & Aaron. Faraday will come back and take Desmond and Jin back to the island with him. The ship explodes as the helicopter flies away. Sun believes Jin to be dead. I think the other person she blames for Jin’s death is Jack. She was the only Oceanic 6 that did not show up for Christian Shepard’s funeral.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:50 am
I should probably re-watch the episode (which I always do) before I write this, but what the heck. I actually plan to watch a whole bunch of episodes from the 1st three seasons in preparation for the finale. What better way to kill the two-week wait!
Jen, I agree! Aaron is only 5 weeks old?? Please! There’s no way the public can buy that! A better Oceanic “spin” story might have been that Kate was MORE than 6 months pregnant “while being pursued” before capture.
Yes, lots of problems with that one too, but you always hear about a woman giving birth who didn’t even KNOW she was pregnant, so why not try to sell it that she didn’t gain any weight, etc? Combine it with say, he was born prematurely from the stress of the crash, blah blah blah? That would be alot harder to prove than the age of a baby since any good (or bad!) pediatrician would refute that age in a hot second… I am hoping the LOST folks have a reason that they want Kate (and whomever else is involved with the “facts” of the story) caught in a lie about his age further down the road because that’s the only reason to run with a made-up, clearly inaccurate, age of “her” baby.
I forget - did Claire’s mom know she was pregnant? That crash with Claire and her mom is one of those episodes I have to watch again…
As far as the other 2 “survivors” that would have made up an Oceanic 8, I’ve got lots o’questions/speculations:
- Does anyone else wonder where Walt figures into this??
- Won’t grandma and Walt see these 6 and wonder what’s up with Michael? Do they have to involve her in their conspiracy? Will one of the 6 make contact with Walt? MAYBE through Walt’s “special”-ness Jack will discover why they urgently need to go back.
- Perhaps Walt (and Hurley, if he doesn’t have a total meltdown) will help find the island after it’s moved so they can go back.
- It’s got to be 2 people that they have to “explain away” based on… something; some kind of connection or evidence that can’t be changed. Something that the 6 have as part of their “story” that makes the other 2 an integral part - i.e. (this may be a bad example but) someone with some glimmer of medical training like Boone (an EMT) or even Bernard (dentist) had to be alive to remove Jack’s appendix (if that needed explaining), etc. Or so-and-so had such-and-such training/expertise and that’s how we figured out how to hunt for food,etc. (See what I mean? I feel like I’m not being clear, sorry!)
- And are the 2 other “dead” survivors REALLY dead - like the Pilot or Eko or Libby or Ana Lucia or Boone or Shannon? Or are they “we’re-pretty-sure” dead, like Charlie? Or “who-knows” dead, like Michael or Claire or Rose or Bernard?
Maybe re-watching those episodes will help. Or maybe I’ll just have more questions…!
Thanks for all you guys do! Dare I hope you’ll give us more than one podcast before the finale?!
Jayne O - Northport, NY
May 16th, 2008 at 6:19 am
My laugh-out-loud line of the night was Sawyer “Do you want a glass of nice cold lemonade while I’m back there?”
Agree with whoever said Sawyer looked particularly old and haggard when he came out of the jungle with Aaron. Significant? Not sure.
Kate didn’t need to lie about Aaron’s age, and I don’t think she did (as Ryan points out - TV babies are always ridiculously huge). Claire gave birth on the island, and Kate is just taking her place in the lie. The only tough thing to explain is how pregnant she was when picked up by the Marshalls, and I was glad to see that questioned during this episode.
Can’t wait to see how those 6 all come to be in one place! We STILL haven’t seen a big “regret” moment from Hurley for going with Locke in the first place and I wonder how that will come about.
May 16th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Everyone kept theorizing that Michael was in the coffin back in Cali when Jack went to pay his repects. If that is Michael then we know Michael makes it back to the mainland somehow and doesn’t go up with the ship.
I agree that when Keemy is killed and he will be the ship is going by by!
So the questions I am most concerened with currently are, who is in the coffin?
How does Sun and Aaron link up with the other four?
Who are the two individuals who were discovered with “the six” but are not alive?
May 16th, 2008 at 6:27 am
Oh yeah, Sun is prgenant people she might not have shown up for Jack fathers funeral, because she is not supposed to fly while pregnant at a certain point.
We can’t assume how much time passed before they actually had time to get the funeral service prepared.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Maybe the finally won’t have a flash forward or a flash back…the two timelines have converged! As Ryan said, just genius in story telling.
I love that hurley reached out to Sayid when he had no one to meet him. And, his dad must have changed the odometer since it was the nice car hurley was driving when he crashed it.
Wonderful episode!
May 16th, 2008 at 7:55 am
at Jayne O’Gorman - I think Claire told her mom she was pregnant while her mother was in the coma…so it depends on if you think that information made it through to her or not.
Wow - I am already aggravated that we are at the end of this amazing season and I’ll have to go back into Lost withdrawals.
I too agree Keamy’s arm pulse will trigger the explosion. But that’s all I feel really certain about. I tell ya - I was scared last night thinking these characters were all going to die … wow….
I like to think that Walt will come into play again next season when Jack needs to get back to the island…he’s the only person who could be the 815er’s ace in the hole…I predict that after Jack goes to the funeral ( which may be Walt’s Grandmother…where Jack was hoping to see Walt perhaps ) Walt will show up and that will get the ball rolling on getting back.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Ryan, you pose some good questions, but Sun managing to purchase controlling interest in her father’s company was one that puzzled me. How much could Sun’s Oceanic settlement possibly have been? According to Lostpedia, “Paik Heavy Industries seems to be involved in various manufacturing industry sectors, including motor and vehicle manufacture under the names Paik Motors and Paik Automotive.”
That’s a multibillion dollar conglomerate. No settlement could make a dent in that.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:10 am
I believe the -2- people who do not survive are the helicpter pilot, Frank Lapidus, and Jin. I can’t imagine Jin & Sun seperating. I believe they all get on the helicpter, it crashes into the sea and the O-6 make safe to the Indonesia island.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:13 am
Oops — well it can’t be his grandmother in the coffin if you believe the newspaper obit…however…could be a guardian of Walt or some relation…perhaps a down-trodden Brian that had moved back and was there again instead of Michael…or Michael…any help would be good…but that scenario sounds kinda good to me….
May 16th, 2008 at 9:07 am
I’m wondering if perhaps the ending of this season’s finale will be exactly at the point of the end of the flash-forward in last year’s finale. i e. Jack and Kate at the airport with Jack saying they have to go back. Then we will be in “real” time for the next two seasons.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:39 am
It’s surprising to me to see that Richard is still on the island at this point. If the ‘others’ - and by that definition I mean Ben’s former group of not-quite-flunkies - are supposed to be hiding in ‘the temple’, why are they out and about to the point where they can find Sayid and Kate? Why make themselves targets to Keamy & the soldiers - though they far outnumber however many are left at this point, if they were determined to save Ben.
Last week you mentioned that you believed Richard and Abaddon gave the same sort of feeling, and I agree, however I feel that they are opposing players. Going all the way back to the pilot, Locke’s summary of Backgammon - “There are two players. One side is light, and one side is dark.”
Anyway, keep up the good work and I can’t wait to hear what you have to say about this week’s episode!
May 16th, 2008 at 10:10 am
DaRealDeal Says:
So the questions I am most concerened with currently are, who is in the coffin?
****
It would be some body who’s death made it into newspaper’s first section. It could not be Michael since he was not one of the Oceanic Six or somebody connected to it, say the crew of the feighter (which up until last’s night episode could have been a source of news worthy stuff).
That would leave either Sayid or Hurley. Sun is not based in LA so it could not be her. Of course it might be Hurley’s dad assuming his mom dies in a future episode.
****
And as far as the device on Keamy’s arm being a trigger for a bomb on the ship, I would imagine some dialouge would go like this:
Keamy: Alight Linus give up now or I press this button on my arm that will blow up the ship, the one with your man Johnson on it.
Ben: You mean the same ship that brought you here and the same ship that will take us back to the outside world?
May 16th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Fabulous episode. It leaves you drooling for follow-up, and yet, they gave us enough to digest in this episode that we’ll have plenty enough to talk about during the one-week hiatus.
My favorite lines were the same as yours, but I’ve got a few more:
“What else did I miss?”
- Sawyer, after learning about Jack’s appendectomy
“Can I get you boys a cold glass of lemonade while I’m back there?”
- Sawyer, sassing Jack and Lapidus
Hurley: “And how are we gonna do that?”
Ben: “Very carefully.”
- I think this was re: approaching The Orchid
And, adding on to your line from Hurley’s mom, I also loved her follow-up: “Jesus Chris is not a weapon! (pause) OK, enjoy your party.”
Rock on, Ozawas!
May 16th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
How can I wait two whole weeks for the finale?!
I can’t believe Desmond would be killed off at this point. There is too much invested in his character and too much left to explore with his time traveling and love with Penny, who is herself extra important by virtue of being Widmore’s daughter and Ben’s future target. I’m hoping Jin is not really dead!!
May 16th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
A great episode, indeed! It dawned on me when reading Camille’s post that we get to listen to the conversation about the five banks troubling Mr. Paik for a reason. The five banks represent the interests of the other Oceanic Six who have contributed some of their settlement to leverage the buyout. It stands to reason that even a generous settlement from Oceanic Air may not be enough for one person to buy out Paik Heavy Industries, but pooled money might be.
As an aside, I wonder if Paik Industries has any business dealing with the Widmore Corporation or the Hanso Foundation for that matter.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
@helen: Good call about the upcoming Keamy/Ben dialogue! I think you’re onto something
On the other hand Keamy is such a killing machine, I wonder if he even cares if he dies too?
@elizabeth: Yes, please do not kill off Desmond!! He’s such a great character.
Brilliant scene with Sun and her father!
It seems totally clear that Sun really does believe Jin is dead, whether he is or not. If the frieghter blows up next episode, I wouldn’t be surprised if we find out later (sometime in season 5 or 6) that those who we think die in the explosion are still alive on the island, or somewhere else (Tunesia, lol?)
Has anyone kept track of how many times the line “and now why would I do that?” has been said?? Just curious. I think there were 2 last night, hehe!
Seeing the cursed numbers again was totally freaky! I thought it was weird that Hurley ran away down the street. And nice theme for his party, I was thinking exactly what Sayid said… so awkward… have to admit that I was freaked out by the coconut and whispers!
Can’t wait for Part 2…so glad it’s going to be 2 hrs!
May 16th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
If Christian and Claire are ghost/dead but are corporeal (because Claire can carry Aaron), then why don’t they go to Orchid and move the island? So some ‘eye’ retina scan or DNA will make the ‘machine’ work and therefore, it has to be a descendant of Jacob/Adam? Which begs the questions “Who’s your daddy?”
Maybe there are two cabins? There was not the powder residue scene from the first visit with Ben and Locke. And Ben was just a little too willing to let John go alone. I think he knew Jacob was not there. Love candy bar scene. Maybe best so far this season. I agree with Ryan that there’s more there than simply bidding time.
I was thinking that the Horace dream was more like a ‘transmission’ looping instead of a type of purgatory. Like Goodwin’s wife appearing in the jungle to Juilette. It would be totally creepy to wake up after to Ben L. staring at you with gun on knees saying “I use to have dream like that.” Yikes.
Ben was going to go to the Orchid station anyway right? So, way did he go thru all that cabin stuff with Locke. I think he is playing with both Hurley and Locke to get them to do something at the Orchid station he can’t. He indicated that ‘moving the island’ was risky, or something to that effect, so he’s experienced it before. Maybe when Ben appeared in desert in parka the island was at one of the poles.
Love the cast.
May 16th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Something my husband brings up - I apologize if this has already been discussed, I didn’t see it anywhere - is who is behind the story/concensus of the Oceanic 6 on “what happened”?
I originally thought that Oceanic Air was behind the story (I guess because of their title of the “Oceanic 6″), but they must have agreed on a story before making contact with Oceanic Airlines. Who came up with it? Ben? Jack/Kate? Locke? Hmmm… And what about the fake wreckage?
May 16th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
I had a question about the timeline, too. When Jack is speaking at his father’s funeral, I thought I heard him say that “ten months ago I was sitting in a bar in Sydney writing my father’s eulogy on a cocktail napkin.” If that is the case, then the funeral is taking place in July because Jack was in Sydney in September. I guess this is not so unusual except for the incredible non-growing Aaron. The Oceanic 6 make it off the Island in Late December/Early January. If we are generous and give them a month to wander around before making it back to civilization, that puts them in February. Aaron was born in October or November? In July he would be eight or nine months old! Yet, at the funeral in July, we see Kate holding the same “five-week-old” Aaron!
May 16th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
@Connie: Hey, Connie.
Although, in one of my previous posts my timeline assertion about them being on the island for only 2 day in real time was absolutely wrong. I’d like to take what I had said, and fix upon it with this: if we are to believe that they sail off the island on the raft (as the images taken of the Oceanic-6 indicate), then it is possible that they sailed without a proper coordination in the wrong bearing, arriving off the island within the ten month window.
As a sidenote, it appears that if this is the case, then the events on the island now would be a paradox in time since their official story says 100 days on island, while they have truly been on the island a little over 150 days. To be honest, that would explain the writers format of the show: if time is irrelevant, then flashbacks and flash-forwards are occurring all at the same time. Truly genius.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
“Speaking of the cargo hold, when Oceanic publicist Karen Decker goes back there, she smiles at someone toward the front of the plane before approaching Jack and friends. Who? Maybe Ben? Or someone else we know who’s not a crash survivor? Or am I imagining things? ”
i saw her smile at someone also. I wonder who that could be.
I also keep wondering why Hurley is continuing with Ben and Locke if he wants to go home. Why didn’t he just go to the beach? very confusing
May 16th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Ryan & Jen,
Love your podcast first time writing a comment. I have to say that I liked this episode a lot. It had so many great moments. My favorites I have to say had to be the Hurley moments, Specially when the reporter makes the comment about how for being gone for over a hundred days they looked very well nourished and Hurley’s reaction “is that directed to me dude” LOL moment. Keep up the good work I look forward to your podcast following every episode.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Connie in Alaska - I definitely heard Jack say 10 months also, which does put the funeral in July 2005. I guess that explains how Claire’s mother is well enough to be there although I thought she was in a permanent coma. I wonder why the delay in holding the funeral? Also, what’s up with the feds? Why was Kate not arrested at the airport in Honolulu or in LA when she attended Hugo’s party. Why the heck is she still not arrested 10 months later by the time of the funeral? The feds spent a lot of time and money chasing her down before the crash. Now they don’t seem to mind letting an accused murderer run around.
May 17th, 2008 at 1:04 am
@Nels- I don’t understand. If it is a coast guard plane and it was some big hasty pick up, how did they get all new clothes in their right sizes. Jack’s suit was practically tailor fit. Do the Coast Guard travel around with clean new trunks full of clothes and makeup in various sizes??
May 17th, 2008 at 6:35 am
Suns meeting with her Dad is very important to how they will get back I think… The men who have a meeting with Dad mention 5 seperate banks… perhaps the survivors have pooled their money and will use Paik industries to battle widmore……. (I’ve always thought Paik was involved somehow).
May 17th, 2008 at 6:40 am
Camille, I think the whole story of the “Oceanic 6″ and how they are clean with clothes and such is a part we haven’t gotten yet. We know they were certainly “briefed” on what their story should be but we don’t know why or by whom yet.
Having them come back in a Coast Guard plane makes sense if the people who are behind the cover up want to portray the Oceanic 6 as being “rescued.” The people even have gone so far as to either doctor up a photo or to stage a photo of the Oceanic 6 being found by natives on the beach too. So obviously there is some big cover up going on. We just don’t know who is doing the covering up.
May 17th, 2008 at 7:46 am
@ Connie & Mr. Z & more - - Wow…If this is a paradox / parallel universe then that could explain a few of these inconsistancies…in time, events, & coverup story.
Time - I’m sure it would mess Jack & gang up now and then when they let their guard down a little with the coverup story. Also - - this could explain in part the non-growing Aaron…maybe he has “Alpert’s disease” ( although later he does get bigger for some reason. )
Events - Perhaps in this parallel Claire’s mom woke up / was never in a coma.
This would be a lot to deal with, but just a suggestion…
May 17th, 2008 at 7:47 am
Your recaps always point out a few things that I’ve missed! Also really enjoy your comprehensive knowledge of past show details and theories. Haven’t been taping the shows to watch again, so glad they will re-run the last two episodes next week.
Did Kate overhear Claire’s mom?
May 17th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Ryan, Jen, and Vicky,
Regarding your observations that:
“when Oceanic publicist Karen Decker goes back there, she smiles at someone toward the front of the plane before approaching Jack and friends. Who? Maybe Ben? Or someone else we know who’s not a crash survivor? Or am I imagining things?”
In reviewing that scene again, there does appear to be someone sitting at the forward part of the cargo area in the Coast Guard C-130 who is not one of the O6. However, once the ramp goes down in Hawaii, and Hurley exits the plane first (without anyone else coming aboard), there is another Coast Guard crewmember seen in a flight suit who is standing inside the aircraft next to Karen Decker. He is not one of the pilots, so must be the loadmaster (standard crewmember on the HC-130H).
Also, regarding nels’ and others’ comments about the O6 coming back to Hawaii in a Coast Guard rescue plane. I agree it isn’t really too plausible that the survivors would have been picked up by a rescue unit from Hawaii and flown directly back to Hawaii (for fuel considerations alone). Realistically, once they showed up on the Indonesian island, Oceanic would more likely have had them picked up and flown back to Australia to get them medical attention/ cleaned up (e.g. in Darwin) and then later flown them privately back to the West Coast, rather than Hawaii. I’m sure the only reason the scene was written/ shot the way it was is because the Barber’s Point Coast Guard unit was immediately available in Hawaii. There’s probably no more plot significance than that.
May 17th, 2008 at 10:15 am
As far as the misterious person in the casket, I would have to agree that it must be Michael, as they all despise him for what he did, including his son and mother. On another note, do you think that the island let him die? Last we heard from Tom, “the island won’t let you die” he says to Michael back in New York.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:27 am
What was the message the Ben received after sending the message with the mirror? We didn’t see Ben’s message, but saw the flashes back from the mountainside. Can anyone interpret the morse code mirror flashes?
Also, who do you think he was signaling? He said to Locke “Who do you think?” Does he want Locke to infer “Jacob?”
May 17th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Did anyone else think that one of the rocks on the ground marking Ben’s Dharma box looked like a statue-sized nose??? There’s a quick glimpse when Ben first stops and looks down, and then it’s the second rock that he moves out of the way.
May 17th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
When Sun announced she now had the controlling interest in her father’s business, I thought, “man she got some kind of settlement from Oceanic Air!”
But remember — Paik’s executives reported that “someone” used five banks to pull off the “deal”. Aaron wouldn’t have gotten a settlement, but the other “five” Oceanic survivors pooled thier money to buy the controlling interest in Paik Enterprises for Sun, I think.
I remember Claire’s mother being on life support with chances — slim or none — of recovery. In Hawaii, when she told Jack about Claire being his sister, was she a ghost or was she for real? I wish there was a way to keep the dead and alive straight.
May 17th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
I find it amazing how the writers have taken us from seeing Ben and the Others as a menacing, amoral group, to seeing them in this new almost heroic light. Ben said his people would be willing to give up their lives for the island, and now it seems he has put himself on the line again. How different is this Ben from the creepy, controlling monster who would kill Juliet’s lover because she belonged to him? Meanwhile Alpert and the remaining Others are (presumably) coming to Ben’s rescue having been summoned from the Temple by the flashy mirror to one last task. Suddenly I find myself cheering for the Others. Where do I sign up?
I’ve been a Locke fan since season 1. He’s always done pretty much what I would have done. He’s my proxy on the show and it’s been a delight to watch him find his true purpose. I do hope if he’s still on the island during season 5, the show still focuses on him as well as Jack and Hurley’s attempts to re-find the island.
I agree with those who find Sun’s takeover of her father’s company rather dubious. Someone suggested the ‘five banks’ implied that five survivors had chipped in, but I doubt this is the case. It is common practice in high finance to have several banks providing funding for a leveraged buyout, so that no single bank takes all the risk, but I think probably the writers wanted to imply that Sun had achieved her goal secretly by employing five banks to buy up shares independently, hiding her identity until the appropriate reveal. I’m not sure this is legally possible in reality - you’d surely have to announce a hostile takeover bid before taking a controlling interest, but let’s grant them poetic license.
When are the writers going to find some purpose for Charlotte being in the show? So far she’s just been Faraday’s grumpy sidekick. Is she going to do some archeology? And Miles just looks shell-shocked right now. So much for the arrogant wisecracking!
Jack’s reaction to learning about Claire was an astounding piece of acting. He had to show surprise, shock and despair whilst also avoiding looking at Aaron, or giving away that he knew Claire very well and was a lot more devastated by learning the truth than even Claire’s mother might have expected. And he pulled it off perfectly.
How did super Kate become an expert jungle tracker when Sayid the military man is not? Isn’t it poor strategy to shout out to those following you that they should show themselves? Doesnt that just let them know that you don’t know where they are? Ah well, let’s not complain too much. There’s a larger plot at stake and it must be unbelievably tough to bring all those story arcs to their culmination in the right times and places with perfect emotional content.
Great job. Again. Season 4 has just been incredible.
May 17th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
@Tess: Kate learned her tracking skills from her dad which she has said since season 1.
May 17th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I heard Ryan and Jen on (I think) the Lost Mythos podcast, last week. It was great.
Got to know our hosts a little better. Can’t wait to hear their take on this episode.
There is probably not much we can infer from it, but I’m curious. They said the Oceanic Six was rescued after 108 days. What day do we think it is now? I think we had a pretty good idea what day it was on the Constant. I was just wondering how many days on the island do we have left.
May 17th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Sun wouldn’t need anyone to chip in. I would assume that perhaps she received another settlement from Oceanic for Jin.
May 18th, 2008 at 4:23 am
Thanks for interesting thoughts, everyone. Good to be in the company of fellow addicts!
- I’m wondering what deal could have been good enough to convince the Oceanic 6 to hew to such a big lie? Most/all of them seem to have enough character not to just accept gobs of money to maintain the fiction–but maybe I’m wrong.
- I agree that Richard and Abbadon are opposing characters, at a high and apparently immortal level. If that’s the case, what would be Abbadon’s incentive for luring Locke to Australia? Presumably to get him on Oceanic Flight 815… with the thought that he’d die on it? While he seemed to have Locke’s best interests at heart during the hospital scene, it sure was ominous when he held his wheelchair at the top of the stairs.
- I’m someone who really likes both Jack and Kate, though Kate sure has her morally ambiguous ups and downs. Interesting, though, that many people seem not to like them. Is it that Jack is pretty self-righteous– and Kate??
May 18th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Conventional thinking at the beginning of this series would have led us to believe that the final scene we would see, would be the Losties getting off the island. Here were are only about 2/3rds through and we see this scene. It’s just brilliant.
I really cannot wait to see what it is that actually makes these 6 so frightened that they collectively decide to lie about what happened. Something fairly traumatic i think.
May 18th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Rolondo - I thought the immaculate conception was when Mary was conceived as an infant, not when she got pregnant while still a virgin.
May 19th, 2008 at 5:08 am
I’m not sure the feelings of fans towards Jack and Kate can be described as liked or disliked. Lost has such a compelling storyline, that I sometimes resent the necessary character development, since that takes away time that could be used on plot.
Also, characters such as Ben, Locke, Walt, and Hurley all have more depth to explore in their characters than the Jack and Kate “are they going to get together or not” plot line.
This is just my very humble opinion, but I think this is where some of the negative energy is coming from. Transplant these characters into another show, and they would be amazing. In comparison to the rest of Lost, however, they seem a little lackluster.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:37 am
I got a screen shot showing clearly that there is someone sitting behind the O6 and he is not a crew member. Very interesting. Its dark but it either looks like Christian or the captain.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:43 am
Wildy,
The Immaculate Conception is when the Virgin Mary conceived Jesus without having sex.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:32 am
The Immaculate Conception is the idea that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was herself conceived without original sin.
Check out http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07674d.htm
‘In the Constitution Ineffabilis Deus of 8 December, 1854, Pius IX pronounced and defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary “in the first instance of her conception, … was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin.”‘
May 20th, 2008 at 9:14 am
@ Paintergirl1 - You just hit the nail on the head with the Jack/Kate storyline. They are great actors and both interesting characters, but they lack that depth. Good comments!
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:42 am
Can anyone tell me about Richard? He does not age. From the time of Lockes and Bens birth till current, he has not aged.
Also, the black man that told Locke to do a walk-about. Why did he have to ask Hurley if there were still others alive. And Jack asking Hurley if he told any one about the others still on the island.