gina

toms river, NJ

I screamed at the TV the other night when Kate was just driving around LA in a Big Yellow Taxi — when every cop and federal agent in town would be looking for her. I know, the writers need to get characters from A to B, but can’t they do it in a believable method?

I don’t want everything explained and bundled-up in 1-hour segments, but I do expect progression and logic. Often times LOST is void of both. I have watched the show for 5 seasons, made a trip to Hawaii, bought the DVDs, and enjoyed the season opener, BUT after watching “What Kate Does” I got really annoyed.

I’m not really in the Kate-loving or Kate-hating camp, nor have I chosen a team to go for (this isn’t football). To me Lost have never been about the characters, it’s been the story and the events that surround them, and the greater questions of the nature of the island, space and time. So the ludicrousness of the Kate off-island story never bothered me. I can see how stupid it is but I don’t think it matters. Lost has always reverted to fairly clunky plot devices, broad characterisations and the odd cliche (the worst I think was a Jack flashback doing the whole ‘trying to resuscitate a dead patient on the operating table because he’s the sort of doctor who doesn’t give up’ thing. No doubt someone with better recall can remember the episode). Some people rave about the characters too but I’ve always felt that they are secondary to what it all means. This isn’t The Wire (or The Shield for that matter).

So in a whole ‘what does it all mean’ vogue, let me suggest something that popped into my head when I rewatched eps 1 and 2. I think the off-island stuff will happen after the on-island stuff. My main evidence, and I suppose it is a bit flimsy, is the cut on Jack’s neck. At this stage it doesn’t make sense as to why Jack had a cut there. The only way to explain it to the audience is to show us how he got it, and the only way I can see them doing that is by having it happen at the conclusion of the on-island story. So my prediction is that on-island events will result in Jack getting a cut shortly before something happening to create a new reality on Flight 815. The new reality begins at the point of turbulence that the off island characters experience on the plane and it is at that moment that Desmond, he of the special powers, appears on the flight. Before the turbulence, my guess is nothing had changed, which is why Desmond wasn’t on the plane at that moment.

The reason I’m mentioning it now is because people seem to think that the timelines will converge, like they are happening at the same time and somehow they will spill into one another. I think it’s a little cleverer than that. My sense is that the off-island stuff has a purpose that will relate to (and directly follow) events as they play out on the island. Part of what makes our Losties special, possibly, is their ability to see through realities, to retain information from one reality for application in the next. Perhaps this is part of Jacob’s or MiB’s plan to eliminate their nemesis: destroy the other by creating a new reality without the other, using the Losties to … who knows. But I think that there will be information from on-island that will be key to off-island because the former precedes the former. And what is happening off-island may be ultimately more important than what we are seeing on-island. Perhaps this device also allows the creators to answer our questions through the on-island story and show why it all matters in the off-island story.

@Yann
There’s something off about Jacob when he approaches Ilana and the detail of the gloves seems to capture it perfectly in retrospect.

How am I alone in my view on Esau? I feel like Kareem Abdul Jabaar in The Stand. “He’s coming! The dark man is coming!” Help me out here.

Apart from the interesting and important argument over the significance of Kate in this narrative, one thing I have for a long time noticed about Kate is…

The Award For Most Outstanding Nostril goes to…
Kate Austen

Cue scene: “What Kate Does”, about 14:35 into the episode (not counting commercials). Kate has returned to return Claire’s bags. She offers Claire a ride, which Claire initially refuses with incredulity and a bit of contempt, “Seriously?” Kate reiterates, “Do you want a ride or not?” Stop it right there, when Kate vocalizes the “ri” of ride. Her head goes back, her chin goes up, her lower teeth disappear behind her lower lip and her upper teeth show fully, and that’s where she wins the award.

Harold CBD (Claimed By Darkness)

All along Damon and Carlton have been orginial in their ideas so why steal from mythology?

Of course I haven’t watched the Lost University stuff so I may be all wrong.

Mirepoix in Mtl needs a re-watch

I don’t get the Kate Haters. She’s one of the better characters. I thought it had to do with jealous women or something, but now her character is going over a few guys heads as well. Can’t figure it out. Her character is so powerful and integral to all that is going on. Remember she was the lead before they decided to keep Jack alive in the pilot. Maybe because she’s the hardest to pin down that confuses everyone. The story that gets her to the island is such an interesting one. The way she hides her character while it creeps out little by little as the story unfolds is amazing. It’s okay if I get the show by myself and you all miss out. I’ll be okay with that. Keep thinking that this is filler.

It’ll be interesting to see her talk and interact, see if there is any Claire left.

How bad can she be if she saved Jin, unless she intended to shoot him as well until she saw him. She looked like she was saving an innocent to me.

I know its not in the cards for next week
but I still feel we are not finished with the FDW
and Sawyer may just be the one to go work things out with Widmore
Remember what Locke told him next to JugHead…
Could it be that Sawyer will figure out a way to bring Juliet back?

- Team Dark

I am on neither side, their are all gamers and whatever their reasons are you don’t kill people and act like you stumped on a bee. I think as I mentioned earlier that they live in The Numbers/doom world and that they will all die and at the end the side-world where their destiny has been found will be the only one remaining.

-Team Dark.

I’m leaning in that direction. Given what we’ve seen from the Others through the seasons, how can MIB/Smokeys actions be so villainous? Jacob is the one who appears to keep manipulating people onto the Island for his ongoing experiment in “progress”. From that perspective, I can understand MIB/Smokey wanting to finally stop the cycle. If we carry the Esau/Jacob analogy, maybe MIB is trying to reclaim the inheritance that was stolen by his younger twin Jacob. That inheritance (or his “home”) being the island itself.

Thanks for being a calm voice. I figured my rant would elicit some kind of extreme reaction. If I really thought it was boring, I wouldn’t watch at all, but I am still captivated. I just have too much invested at this point.

But I want to highlight the brilliant analysis someone made above about the writing of this particular episode. I did think of the actual taxi business stuff was just silly. So I am not even complaining about the big notions like the potential of a fountain of youth. No, on the contrary, I am finding the more mundane stuff implausible.

Are we really supposed to mourn for Sawyer when his relationship to Juliet was mostly something that happened off-camera in the three years he spent in the Dharma camp? I still thought we had a decent love triangle with Jack and Kate. I just don’t think the writer’s have earned that Juliet relationship, let alone play it to the heights of melodrama. I also felt that the choice to show a future flash with Kate and Jack in a relationship was a total mistake. It would be the equivalent of showing the two leads in Moonlighting get together. So much for all that dramatic tension.

Now Kate just seems like vain woman who hasn’t figured herself out, not in a profound way, but in an annoying way.

And regarding these New Others… can’t we just have a little CONTEXT. I know the characters can’t communicate the questions we all have or the show will end, but can’t they at least behave with some rationality?

I like the free will versus determinism stuff, but why would our heros just go along with these strangers without concrete reasons why. And it doesn’t help to give our characters the silly questions to cover it up? There should be a more elegant way to exposit that information.

Okay, so you take the guy and put him in the water. Can you explain that for me? Oh, you just killed him? Okay, that sucks. Wait, now he’s alive and you want to kill him again. I think by that point they are not going to be so obedient to these people, but there they are, acting like they are all buddies.

Going to 77 (the year I was born) was a cool idea in the abstract, but then why not explore Dharma in a very cool way? Instead, it was just more of the same mundane stuff. The show needs to be more mysterious, like it used to be. That doesn’t mean not answering questions, it means that they need to be consistent in characterization. Or if you pull a flip on a character, like Ben or Locke, only do it once. Don’t have them flip from good to evil many times or we get confused and irritated.

I still don’t know what Ben’s deal is. Do you? Why have they not really gone into the Native storylines by now — the eyeliner dudes?

No worries, Knives. I am still among you. I just need a good vent because I read here so many posts where people are trying to read the riddles and the answers they are coming up with are sooo, sooo, sooo complicated.

PS: I think Jack is a robot. Just kidding, or am I?

I will learn to hold my tongue. That being said, never put baby in a corner. And by “baby,” I mean LOST.

http://twitter.com/DamonLindelof

@NuckinFuts I have been saying that Locke’s eyes turn black from time to time al la Andre Linoge in Stephen King’s Storm of the Century.

@Everyone – Ok, here is a theory I’ve had for a while now about Juliet. Although I’ve read various posts suggesting that there are others who are thinking along the same lines, I have yet to see anything that says why. It seems to be just a “gut” feeling, no pun intended

I think Juliet was pregnant, and that was not only what she wanted to tell Sawyer just before she died, but what she did tell him through Miles by telling him “It Worked”. Now to try to explain………….

In the episode “Not In Portland”, everyone that Juliet told about her sister’s pregnancy, she started out by saying “It Worked”. She then waited for them to inquire as to “What worked”, and responded joyfully with the news that her sister was pregnant. What better way for team Darlton to confuse us all but to continue this continuity, and let Miles deliver the line no less. Most everyone thinks “It Worked” meant that the bomb did indeed reset everything (which it may very well have). But I also believe “It Worked”, also meant that she was PG.

Also, I believe Miles could sense there was something different with Juliet when he was helping Sawyer bury her, and that was the reason Sawyer had to force him into talking to her (or actually listening to her). Remember, he first said to Sawyer “it doesn’t matter”, when Sawyer finally pushed him on the issue, he responded with “It Worked”.

Now I think the interesting part will be, what transpired between the time Juliet banged on the Bomb in 1977, and when they found here at the bottom of the shaft in 2007? Maybe something “off island” in the sideways flashes?

I think we are in for one wild and interesting ride this season. Right up to the very end.

Sorry if I didn’t explain my thoughts very well here. Hopefully I got the highlights across.

It certainly held up Jen’s Sliding Doors comparison of the two realities. I recall one scene wear Kate was looking through her bag on the island and then it cut to her looking through Claire’s bag in LA. yada yada yada…

What I really wanted to write about though is a theory on Juliet. Is it possible that Juliet is from the future? If you recall her flashback in the “Incident” episode was very modern day, if this is the case wouldn’t she know if the bomb denotation was successful and everyone is ok.

Sorry to bring up old stuff.

This could, of course, further differentiate his and Miles powers, since Miles doesn’t see dead people, but can speak to them, which, I would much rather not see an explanation for. But Hurley’s ability to tap into the alternate reality could really be the way that our universes merge. Just a thought I wanted to throw out there….

Of course Sayid said, “A twelve-year-old Ben Linus brought me a chicken salad sandwich. How do you think I’m doing?”

@ Mirepoix in Mtl –

RE: ‘Rampage’ – I didn’t think Kate looked younger…I think it was shot now.
RE: synchronicity – I am wondering with the fact that time on the island seems to be different from time off the island as proven by Faraday and the doc’s dead body floating up on the beach if this means that the timelines can converge becuase time moves a lot slower on the island…unless you use a specific quardinant ( spelling )
RE: Sawyer – I think he said that he planned to go back to the Temple and told Kate she should get ready to go back too…I know he has no significant reason to participate any longer, but, I also think he has nothing to lose now. I figure that he is a man of action and will be un-afraid to start getting to the bottom of all this

@Team Jacob – I see your points but I won’t be convinced to join the team till I get more proof. Right now still Team Dark.

@Yann, Dharma was doing experiments, I wouldn’t call them evil, they were scientists, certainly a mass death was not called for, there were some bad Dharma people, but I can’t believe people that say “namaste” are out do do bad things.

I guess I am in the minority here, I don’t hate Kate. She is very self centered but I do like that in many ways she is as strong woman willing to stand up for herself. Plus I wouldn’t mind being her and being able to choose between Jack and Sawyer ( or her first husband played by Nathan Fillion)

For a while many of us have noticed that our character’s eyes change colors. So it must be that at different times they are being controlled or ‘claimed’ by the 2 players…Jacob & MIB.

Does anyone know if there is a place you can see all the opening shots of eyes to compare? I know in some scenes the eyes appear black or almost black.

Also -I’m with you guys that there is another Smokie running around…and it’s gonna be white / light colored.

Speaking of synchronicity
John moved the FDW bacvk on its axis only to move to 2007 Tunisia
and our 77 Losties blew the bomb in the EM swan dig only to find themselves in 2007
Cannot be just coincidental

By the way
Widmore tells Locke in the desert that there is a war coming
and Jacob says shorly after «They’re coming»

One last question
Has any of you thought that Sawyer might be headed down the Orchid? now that he finds no significant business to attend anymore on the Island

I still think that the off island stories are meant to be surreal and non-realistic. All the off island stuff (to me) seems kind of dreamlike. Even though I also found Kate’s antics annoying, I’m hoping that this is a consistent plot device rather than lazy writing.

http://forum.thefuselage.com/showthread.php?t=120299

@Yann
I liked the idea of the rules governing how the two sides treat each other, sort of a metaphysical Geneva convention. However, if Rousseau and Claire were claimed by the darkness, wouldn’t this be a contradiction because they have both killed others? I think a better analogy for the book of laws would be the dstiction between samurai and ninja. One is bound by honor and service and the other is a self-interested mercenary.

Which leads me to my declaration of support. Team Jacob here. Maybe I’m just a loyalist like Mikhail or spent too much time in room 23, but I still see Jacob as the side of light. Even when the others start reverting to those persistent human flaws, this happens because Jacob allows them free reign to make their own choices. Plus, for as long as Ben’s been the leader, I believe the others have been deceived by Unkocke and have acted under his orders.

Defend the island!

Available on the last post-set, I caught the CC/DL appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel show after the season premiere — the comment that resonated most for me was their declaration that the MYSTERIES that will be ANSWERED by the final thud are the ones of concern (or importance) to the Losties themselves, and NOT necessarily to the audience at home.

I’ve enjoyed every minute of this show, and will continue to do so for years to come through DVDs. I love this blog, especially Ryan and Jen’s opening analysis each week, and reading all the brilliant catches and theories posted here. Thanx to all!!!

Well, I just thought that if we think of Jacob and MIB as two similar entities – that perhaps if the MIB can transform into a grey pillar of Smoke; then perhaps Jacob can also manifest as a grey pillar of Smoke.

In fact why not think that these two entities have similar powers of transformation. Both can take the form of various dead people to use to try and out wit the other.

These would explain, as mentioned in my other post above, the various descriptions of Smokey.

Just a thought.

Next to The Transmission, this is my favorite Lost site.

I am checking in from the outback, my search for Locke in our walkabouts have not shed any light to the mystery and I have still not been able to figure out why this country is the key (Hurley said that back in S5 IIRC).

Well this episode certainly did shed some light on people being claimed by the black monster, so maybe Locke was claimed back in S1 when he was dragged by the smoke monster who knows.

On the other side this episode did really impress me… …and are we going to go through the entire season with the two timelines, it is a bit frustrating.

So had the Losties been pawns in this eternal fight between the man in black and the man in white, hmmm… ….I hope we will get some answers soon as we only have 12 or so weeks to go.

I will let you know if I find any clues down here

You guys rock as always…

G’day to you!

Ilias

For that matter the two smokey’s theory has merit too. So many posts here I am not sure of who thought that up. Can someone remind me?

What if the two smoke monsters had a fight and the statue was destroyed in that fight and also the reason the Black Rock was crashed in the middle of the Island. It would take a lot to destroy a statue of that size, but smokey could do it. Wouldn’t that be a cool fight to watch?

@Digidoug – good observation and I think it definitely means something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa4X_HuFhK8

My review of this latest episode =)

Just my fifty cents (two cents adjusted for inflation).

@Kait.
Fascinating theory.

McCutcheon from the bottle brutha! I see team Flocke garnering the extant gunslinger Ford, and actually wouldn’t mind Linus lying for our side. I’ve long thought that he, like MIB, is misunderstood. Desmond is the free agent, and I think contract terms could be arranged.

@James – join us. We ARE with you. I almost drowned in my own vomit on the first travel in time, yet here we are, keeping the faith. Knives talked me down from that bridge, and yes, I have to keep reminding myself (at times) that this is worth it, that Lost is the best time I have ever had with the tube. It IS. Like any genius, it is maddening, yet genius undeniable. And the maddening is also attractive. @Carol from Boston, KnivesMonroe, NuckinFuts – Join arms, and sing about the girl from Nantucket. And pass that bottle, brutha. @Yann – Your pain is OUR pain. @Carol – my thoughts precisely. Jacob cheats, interferes, and games his way along. MIB/Flocke has had to swallow his ____ for too long, long enough to drive him to create the loophole and kill the A__h___. Welcome to Team Flocke, Team Dark, Sistuh.

@Kait- Very nice. Nice theory, and well articulated. I am attracted.

Most of us seem to agree that this last episode was the morning after a serious binge enjoyed with the season opener. Cotton mouth, nausea, and headache. We are all each others aspirin and fluids. I have faith, strong faith that we will be rewarded and soon.

Meanwhile, I headed out to find Flocke. And Long Live Lost, Ryan, and Jen.

On a good note, the crying scene with Sawyer and Kate was top notch acting….really loved it. Seeing Claire as the new Rousseau was intriguing…it didn’t seem to me that she was as evil or sick as Bruce Lee made her out to be. Also, Kate’s faint recollection of Claire and Jack was good stuff, probably the best part of the side flashes…will be fun to see where LOST goes with this. Oh, and Arzt in the street made me smile…can never get enough of Arzt.

Hoping that next week’s episode is a whole lot more interesting.

I’m really surprised how the majority of people writing here don’t find Kate sympathetic or even interesting. I’m very disappointed in all of you. I watched the ep twice and found it really weak because I couldn’t reconcile Kate crying there by herself on the jetty, after Sawyer walks away.

Jen (of this blog) suggested that Kate might be realizing how she’s lying to herself about finding Claire, that she really still has feelings for Sawyer and now hears from him that he has deep feelings only for Juliet. Kate is realizing she failed, due to her self-involvement or even self-absorption, to make it last with either of the men she found attractive and adequate for her. She’s realizing she’s dug herself into a deep existential hole.

So, I watched it a third time and I think that’s the ticket to appreciating this ep. I agree the writing didn’t quite pull it off, you need to flesh out the content and substance of Kate’s feelings a bit too much, but, with this idea, the episode becomes a healthy whole and Kate resumes being a real, complicated person. E.g., she sacrifices for Claire in the new reality but finds herself without someone’s hand to hold in the island reality.

The b-story about Sayid and Claire will continue, but Kate’s development and this episode, at least with this elaboration, is well-drawn.

@KnivesMonroe and friends- Yes, CBD, Claimed By Darkness. Jacob is very, very earnest, but then, Locke, our new favorite son, showed a lot of understanding and compassion, too.

@Yann- You are quite right, all the Losties, except Hurley, Rose and Bernard, are prepared to murder (Hurley and Bernard are prepared to kill only in self-defense). Even the upstanding Jack loses himself (“Through the Looking Glass”). Your theory that you take off with might be right, but needs more evidence.

I’ve always posited that the special properties of the island are the reason the Others, the long-term inhabitants, are unable to carry children to term. The strange time properties making it impossible for them to make it past 7 months of pregnancy. This was why once the DI was purged, The Others needed Juliette to come to the island and find a away for them to reproduce sucessefully. I also believed this was why they kidnapped the children. To give them young children to grow the population artificially.

I still hold to these ideas, but I wonder now if they are concommitant reasons as well. Could the ‘spring’ inside the temple, which one assumes the Others have all at some point been baptized in, somehow cause the proceative problems as well. If so, how odd, given that Taweret is a god of fertility. If the spring (and the island itself) holds properties which make healing and longevity possible, is the impossibility of procreation the price paid for such ‘blessing’.
Also, I wonder now if ‘the sickness’ is another reason The Others would take children…protecting them before they could become infected. The scene where Ben kidnaps Alex and then is confronted by Widmore who demands the child be killed, somewhat defies this theory, but it could be simply because by this point a) it would be believed the child might already be corrupted or; b) the tension between Widmore and Ben was by that point simply clouding any decision that was made.

One other point regarding ‘being claimed’. In Season 3 when Colleen is killed, she is dressed in white and buried at sea in a funeral pyre…could this ceremony be a way of protecting the dead from being ‘claimed’?

Looking forward to hearing your podcast on this episode!

I think that Jacob and MIB were to be sent on a mission on earth(from divinity/God) to help humankind evolve or Self-realize so that they may break their cycles of reincarnation and become liberated souls-forever returning and living at Home- heaven, the Ultimate, divine universe, whatever. As to how they would help with this process, they were given a choice. The two beings would from a trinity with the island, (the power of creation, growth and development(jacob) and destruction(MIB). One could be a non-corporeal supernatural force, with lots of powers, entrusted with the job of being like a cosmic vacuum cleaner. This being would assess the humans, scan them for weakness, obsessions, addictions ect. and then destroy and remove these obstacles. The other being would be born a lowly human, and would have to follow the path of Self realization and once attaining this level would be a human guide, guru or prophet of sorts, nurturing human growth once the obstacles had been removed by the “vaccum”. The two beings would from a trinity with the island, (the power of creation) growth and development (Jacob) and destruction (MIB). These beings would work together in unison with the island until all the souls had attained liberation and then everyone would be free to go home. So MIB chose the flashier job, but after awile he grew tired and resentful of the humans making the same mistakes over and over, life after life, prolonging his separation from the divine state. “I’m dissappointed in all of you”…

The human birth was actually the better choice, because Jacob was revered and loved, not feared like Smokey. MIB felt like he was tricked by Jacob. His hatred for Jacob and humanity grew and he started to pervert his powers, claiming souls by obscuring the heart(the path home), destroying the ability to procreate (no more souls) so that he can be free from his duties. For some reason Jacob is exiled, and has not seen his people for a really long time. He may have not fought back against his death because he didn’t have the capacity. The destructive force was MIB’s responsibility- so Jacob may not have this quality. I think that the Others suck because they are following a shell of a system. They have all the makings of a good deciple: devotion, detatchment, loyalty, obedience, faith but they are missing the element of love. They have no love. Without Jacob’s direct influence, there is no example of love. This is why Hurley is so important, and why Jacob chose him to represent. Hurley only makes decisions from his heart, from love. Hurley will save all!

I’m not quite sure how MIB is planning to go home, or if he even sees the divine as his home anymore. I was thinking that he may try to claim a human birth for himself, possibly Aaron. This may be the “real” loophole. Or he may be off to the Temple to kill Richard- a liberated soul “nice to see you out of those chains” and hitch a ride. Ok, that sounds crazy. I’m done now:)

Also, I didn’t see a bullet hole in Sayid’s shirt. Does this mean the water somehow turns back time for anything submerged in it? Maybe the water turns you back 108 minutes. He still had scarring from the bullet, so maybe not.

The fact that Darlton chose S6 to introduce yet another batch of characters rankle with me.. hard.

Thank you so much for the Transmission! My wife and I live in Maryland and we are big fans! We loved the Season 3 re-watch podcast and we are looking forward to your coverage this season. LOST takes on a whole new dimension when combined with your wonderful podcast and blog. We love you guys and “You All Everybody” out there in Transmission land.

A few thoughts so far on the direction this season is headed in after three episodes:

1- Dogen rocks! I only like new characters that add value and he is not disapointing so far. Although if Jack and Dogen play catch with the baseball ala Mr. Friendly and Jack with the football. I might have to throw a hold on a minute flag on Darlton for cheezziness!

2- So I think I get the basic idea of what Darlton is doing with the 2004 Flash sideways crew and 2007 original LOSTies. I am not sure how they will do this, but I think we will see the 2004 Flashies merge in 2007 with the Originals on the Island in the Final episode. It is like this… imagine two tall mirrors side by side. Both mirrors show the same person(the soul) but one mirror shows the 2004 Flash version and the other shows the 2007 real time version. Currently the show is showing us the two mirror versions as if we were standing say ten feet away from the mirror. The closer the soul part gets to the side by side mirrors the closer the refelections come together. The question at the end of this is which mirror will end up being broken… the Flash mirror or the Original version. I think what we will see is that some people will retain their original self and others will venture on as their alternative self, but on the same time line and in the same soul. So I am not suggesting that Jacob splits souls or MIB does either and no this is not a rehash of Horcruxes the LOST version. I think what we are going to see is that the Island makes people whole again and thus its purpose is to maintain the balance of Good and Evil or Black and White in the universe.

3 – I hope that the Flashies are not just what if versions of our original cast. That would be cheap and I hope Darlton does not go there. I kind of think that “What Ever Happpened, Happened” as a universal theme is evident in the 2004 time line now as we are seeing our Flashies go through the same experieinces that they were destined to live through Island visit or not. I think we are going to see Locke walk, because Jack fixes him. Kate will play a part in Aaron’s life now that she is connected again with Claire. I can only hope that we see the Flash version of Sawyer meeting Juliet somehow off island.

4 – The biggest mystery of all…how the heck are Deadwood and LOST linked? Well when LOST ends, do yourself a favor and watch Deadwood! Another awesome show and it is amazing how many Deadwood actors are showing up on LOST. If Ian McShane shows up as the Captain of the Blackrock this season I will flip my lid. Boy would he make a good Lost bad guy!

Keep up the great work. 13 more episodes to go… oh the horror!

Welshie loves LOST!

Another reason I am on Team Smokey/dark:

Jacob has brought people to the island to prove some point, not sure of what it is yet. But the reason it has never worked is because Jacob has stacked the deck. He cheats. There has never really been “free will”. Jacob has created the others. In creating them he has created the “enemy” and manipulated them into thinking they are the good guys. All evidence points to them being the bad guys.

Dharma is a non-violent society yet they were all “purged” as if they were evil. The others then took over their territory.

Oceanic 815 would have been fine if left alone. They would have just lived on the island, trying to make the best of a bad situation. Instead they were kidnapped, beaten and killed. The Oceanic 815 group had to fight back to survive. This forced some of them to become like the others and do bad things (Michael shooting Libby and Ana Lucia, Sayid killing, etc). They had to fight against the enemy – the others.

Maybe Widmore isn’t trying to regain control over the island, maybe he is trying to elminate Ben and stop the others from repeating this cycle over and over.

But I have felt that the show was ultimately about redemption. Everyone has good and bad in them. I hope that the end of this series shows that good can overcome evil and that given the choice, people will choose the good. That free will can change fate.

Sayid had chosen to redeem himself with doing good before being forced back to the island. In fact Sayid is the one person who did not come back with free will. Maybe that is why coming back did not work out for him.

Ok, the most important part: MIB is right! “you brought them here. They fight, kill, corrupt…”
Dogen confirmed that there are no children for the Others since some time and that they are brought to the Island (by Jacob). What do we know of the Others past and their attitude? Mihail, a former soviet union warrior/killer. Ben, liar manipulator killer. Dogen, manipulator torturor poisoner. Aldo, moron warden killer. And when you are taken as a child and brought up by those people you end up: Ethan, a psycho abductor hanger instead of a nice doctor.
Most of you think that Rousseau’s team as been “claimed”. I clearly don’t. How do the Others knows Rousseau’s name? I think they were brought to the Temple and “cleansed”. And we know how the Others interact with other people if they don’t have a list when they meet them, they shot arrows (Ben was nice to tell her to go the other way when she hears whispers… But Ben is always nice with young mothers).
Hence, Claire à la Rousseau’s way… “claimed” or “unclean” or “sick”. I would say “still human” (like… screaming when you are tortured) and just saved Jin from being killed by the Others.

What is my main problem with what they are doing: I think they let us believed that Jacob was representing free will and was preventing MIB to “go home” and that MIB was a killer (Pilot, Eko…) that “judged” people because he had powers. But now team Jacob are killers, team MIB are killers, Sayid Sawyer Kate (and Jack in some extend to his father) are killers… How can I care anymore about these people who are all cold hearted killer? How could I connect myself emotionally with so “wrong” individuals? I don’t even care if they do things for the “right” reasons, what is happening in this universe is just wrong and now I really hope they all disappear by the end and that the alternate universe (where you use your abductor as a taxi) ends up the only one remaining, where people are actually human.
PS: Claire was abducted by Ethan before giving birth with Kate. Now it seems that she got abducted by Kate before giving birth with Ethan.