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.

Again we are on the Wizard Of OZ theme, he just wants to go home.

@Stubble – the others have always kept extensive files they knew everything about every one. Even though Dogen is in the temple he is still an other.

@James – yes the show can be crazy, but above all it is still fun, it still makes me think, and I’ll miss it when it is gone.

Thanks for the all the theories everyone. I have Wednesdays off which works out well for figuring out the latest episode. Of course this means I am not getting much done on Wednesdays anymore. Time to get back to reality, wish I had a parallel reality where I could be on vacation.

Question: how does Dogen know Claire is Jack’s sister? She didn’t know that, so the only person that might have told him is Christian, unless Jacob wrote it down on his list. Or, maybe Christian told Cabin Claire, and something happened afterward to Cabin Claire to make her into Clairielle.

=)

Heres to taking that leap of faith…

Oh, and I’m still on the Man In Locke’s side.

TEAM DARK!

And guess what? It is us die-hard fans that feel the pain the most. No, I am not going to apologize for this ridiculous incarnation of Lost and spend endless hours trying to make sense the sheer lunacy of it.

You know it has jumped the shark when the character’s don’t even flinch at the supernatural extremes of the show. The entire storytelling technique of Lost has been to answer last week’s question with this week’s question, all building to what we think — and were promised by the producers — was a completely rational and logical explanation.

But that doesn’t fly anymore and all of the storylines are so redundant now. I thought they were joking about the Zombie season. Is there any other hack genre gimmick that they have not thrown in the mix to hide the fact that emperor’s has been naked for a few seasons now. I guess Jack has not been revealed to be a robot and aliens haven’t descended on New-Otherton… yet.

I have a cynical idea that I pray is not true. Could Damon Lindelof be applying the same pragmatic yet hackish technique he used in Star Trek to hide the seams of his quilted storylines? You know: the time travel and alternate universes that conveniently explain away any discrepancy that fans will inevitably discover when the show wraps up.

“Oh, that decision we made in the writer’s room in season two doesn’t match the decision we made in season five because… because… the time lines have been altered! Yeah… that’s the ticket.”

Get it?

No, I don’t. And you’ve taken the best show on television and collapsed it under it’s own incomprehensible mythology.

At least we’ll always have season one and that primal, original motivation to get off the island. Hell, I even liked the sci-fi intrigue of Hanso and the purple sky finale of Season Two.

But from season three on — when they turned the mysterious others into a mundane suburb with a book club — they drifted somewhere else. I have watched every show since, but I really don’t care anymore. You can’t care when there are no rules to their universe.

Writers of Lost: you went waaaaaay too supernatural guys.

And the Oceanic 6 storyline and everything from Season 4 on is literally a betrayal of the original premise. Later when time travel was confirmed, I wanted to puke. At least at the execution of the idea.

And now we have season 6 with… wait for it… wait for it… new others! How ingenius!

I miss the days when we all thought is was cool that there was a polar bear on the island. Now we are debating whether Sayid is a good zombie or a bad zombie.

Really? Wow.

In response to the above, I can’t say “why” specifically, but I guess the only difference between the Dharma jump suit and Sayid’s other clothes is the Dharma jump suit was from a different time period.

agreed. if this show has a major weakness it is that instead of the main characters finding stuff from EACH OTHER they find it out from newly introduced characters. honestly every time some one new that wev’e never seen before opens their mouth, I roll my eyes. while there have been some good surprises as far as new people went (Ben, Daniel Farraday, my boyfriend Miles) so many of them have been aggravating and a waste of time (Nikki & Paolo, anyone?). i only pray that we don’t meet a single new person for the rest of the journey, but i have a feeling i am praying in vain.

the only other time i remember feeling like that about a lost episode was after 316. the on-island stuff was decent, but i could care less about the off-island storyline. the whole “look, they’re interacting the same way they did on the island” angle doesn’t fly for me. those relationships developed due to the fact that these strangers were thrust into a traumatic situation that they didn’t understand and couldn’t escape from. it was their experiences on the island that helped forge those unlikely bonds. to see the same relationships develop in the disaster-free LA X reality within a day just doesn’t ring true for me. feels too Mulholland Drive-ish.

granted, this may all be explained and make perfect sense later, but at least for now, i find it hard to get invested in the UnLosties.

Me too.

Let this be the first and last time we EVER complain about the show.
Seriously.

Kate redeemed? Nah. Still the PIA she always was. So why, why do the writers feel the need to inflict her upon us again? Character discovered, Kate evolving, No. I disagree with such sentiments concerning this episode or (sorry Kinves) previous seasons. I love Lost as much as anyone, actually revere it, but that does not mean weak is not weak. Writers- that was weak. Kate as character concept is weak.

Yo, slow up, Jason requested Sayid to temple. If Sayid is ‘claimed’, why does anyone think it is not Jacob doing the claiming? (Not MIB) And I think there is a lot of traction in considering Jacob ‘bad’, and MIB ‘good’ (or not AS bad). Remember, back in the first couple seasons it seemed like all you had to do was anticipate something particular and the writers would blow it out of the water? Well, the white/black thing looks that way to me. I’m not sure (who would be?) but Jacob is looking pretty suspect. @Knives- yeah, MIB is Locke, and as I said a ways back, Locke is God. Sign me up, I’m crossing the island with you, to march and trade jokes with Flocke/MIB/Esau. But… no Kate. And if we scoop up Sawyer, all good.

@ Lisa- Yes Miles rocked me all the way to the food court!

@Chris in Durham – You go! Saved me the time. With you all the way.

@ Jane from Ill – Nice tying the ring toss of Sawyer and Desmond.

@ManilaRaf – Juliette as Claire’s OB doc? Brilliant!

@Camille – The big conundrum- how can writers so skilled at detail, layers, and complexity use a yellow cab as a getaway car, and the car you go back and pick up your hostage in, and the car you take her to the hospital with? When the driver is, yes, an internationally at large murderer? Irritating beyond words, but I wrote it anyway.

@Aloha Oe’s Niece- Nice summary of The Other’s groupings, hierarchy, etc. This was also consuming my thoughts, including the Ben/Dogen relationship. Some shoeless, some suburban. Some mixing, some not. Strange, and why”

@Astro1derboy- Wow. Same flash I had a couple nights ago. When DID Locke become MIB’s pup? Locke was a broken husk getting on 815. The crash, the loss of plegia, long meditations on the beach looking out to sea, interrupted by Walt, to whom he tells ‘The Secret’. Is he not the first to look into the monster’s face? Then the Man of Action, Boar Killer, and the Keeper of the Island Ideal. I think that came from more than we have suspected.

@Beth in Sacto- The last season… THIS episode? You are on the money.

@NickinFuts- You are so right about things seeming much better about certain episodes when rewatched with better perspective. I am not being shy about this last episode, but I also had severe reservations when time travel was incorporated. Yet, yet… this one pained.

@Harold – Double Smokies? Yes, makes sense, and would help explain a lot to me. Too much being blamed on MIB, think Jacob is active in the spooky do.

All you saying “Hey its Lost, ease up. The best TV has to offer.” You’re right. And I will be crying in my beer May 24. But at this point this show has shocked rocked and amazed me. I will not be surprised if I look back and see What Kate Does as the seminal entry that pulled so much together and set the lens to focus everything to the end. But now? NOT!

I’m off to find Knives, and join Flocke. I wanna kick Alpert too. And toss one back with Ford.

To all of you, thanks. This is a fantastic group, and has enhanced my enjoyment of Lost tremendously. Would not think of going it without Ryan and Jen, and you. You are tremendous. I feel bad for anyone trying these waters without such fellow Losties.

Part of me thinks that this idea is way to simple for Lost, but it makes sense. Thoughts?

I will tell you one important point, the sideways flashes shouldn’t be thought of as alternate realities, they are parallel realities.

Yes, yes, y’all. You were right!

What part of that off-island experience was at all believable? That on-the-run Kate would go back for Claire? (and if she told the truth–”Don’t worry, I didn’t take your money” then how did she pay the mechanic–Dodger from China Beach fame if anyone is trying to place him)? And then pregnant Claire gets in the car with her kidnapper? Really?????? Then its Girlfriend-roadtrip . . . to a conveniantly separated would-be adoptive mom and then off to the hospital. Could no one think of a better plot twist to get them there so we could delight in the Ethan “I don’t want to stick you with needles if I don’t have to” line?

I felt as though the senior writers who ensure every detail of plot and character all took a vacation so that the interns could have a shot before the show wrapped.

Please, please, please let this be the first & last time I ever complain about this show.

WHO ON GODS EARTH THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO SHOW 10 MINUTES OF SAWYER CRYING? THEY SHOULD BE FIRED!

Ethan’s surname is Goodspeed. Always has been, always will be. “Ethan Rom” was an alias he used when he infiltrated the Losties’ camp.

“Ethan Rom” also is an anagram for “Other Man”.

But another question that I have rattling around in my brain after rewatching “Flashes before your eyes” a couple days ago……. are we really seeing another timeline or parallel universe here, or are we seeing something similar to what Desmond experienced right after he turned the failsafe key? (just a thought)

Found this on Lostpedia about Kate’s alias, Joan Hart.
“Kate uses the alias of Joan Hart. This is the name of a character in the 1978 film, Damien: Omen 2. In this film, the character of Joan Hart is a reporter who discovers that the identity of the antichrist is a young boy, and subsequently is killed in a bizarre accident.” Aaron??!!??!!

On another note – I want to thank Ryan & Jen for this blog in that I can commisserate with other losties without anyone completely jumping down my throat. My colleague that I traditionally watercooler with recently had an anurysm and is recovering from an induced coma, physical therapy, and all the stresses associated with that… I certainly wish her the best on her long road to recovery (I’m sure we’ll watch the season later on DVD if nothing else), but also miss the weekly ‘real time shop talk’ we would have throughout the season. I appreciate this blog to let me get my ideas out (even if they don’t come out very coherantly!) Thanks LOSTIES!

Suppose the “claiming” process was completed with a trip to the temple, but began with a simple touch. Jacob touched almost all of the Losties currently hanging out at the temple. What if he “marked” them in some way that caused them to become “claimed” upon their death? Thus Jacob’s instructions to Hurley to get Sayid to the temple, and instructions to the Others that they will be in trouble if Sayid dies without going into the pool first. Would this also explain why young Ben wasn’t “claimed” by Jacob’s touch before going into the temple.

I agreed with you as to the Temple Others lying and all around sneakyness/manipulativeness. Which is also why I have yet to figure out in which camp to put my stake in, Jacob’s or MIB’s.

In all honesty, the more I think about Smokey and his various appearances, the more I wander if his form could be garnered by either the Jacob or the MIB entity. In other words, what if the Smokey form can be taken by either Jacob or the Man in Black.

We have seen Smokey has an entity that can:

Group A -

- indiscriminately kill : as in killing Seth Norris;
- be summonned : as with Ben in his basement;
- take the form of dead people : as with Yemi, Alex & Ben’s mother;
- be a judge and executioner : as for Echo
- be a manipulator : as with Alex to manipulate Ben

Group B -

- be a security system : as for the Temple;
- be a white light : as for Locke in season 1
- scan people and turn away : as with Kate and Juilet;

So maybe, group A Smokey is Evil entity, whether Jacob or MIB; and group B SmoKey is Good entity, whether Jacob or MIB??

Thoughts??

@ Rich in Cleveland: Good thought regarding the parallel between the translator and previous leaders being the voice of Jacob… or in fact Alpert being the voice of Jacob, since we now know that Ben never saw Jacob.

The dialogue was pretty funny – poking Claire with needles and all. I laughed out loud…

But my question is why is he Ethan Goodspeed now? Not Ethan Rohm… Does this mean we will see Horace again (did he die in the Incident or was he gassed by Ben, I can’t remember) and is Amy his wife? She was the one dancing, right? or having the picnic with the guy Sawyer shot. Is she important? I feel every little actor is showing up and might be, not just a casting duplicate from Hawaii, but a purposeful placement!

Like the mechanic that cut Kate’s handcuffs off. I did a double take because I thought it was Mr. Friendly… then Kelvin (from the Hatch & Iraq with Sayid) – but based on the casting credits, he’s not.

-Otherville News-
Oliva & Horace Goodspeed are delighted to announce the arrival of their son Ethan, delivered healthily in Darmaville on a random month in 1977.

No way does Sideways Ethan look 27! It does mean that Oliva and Horace met off island right?! And that their gentics produced the indredible fast aging man (we blame Horace)!

For fans of Fringe, did you notice Dogen’s typewriter? It’s used in the former to communicate between parallel universes. JJ Abrams appropriated and reconfigured many of the concepts coming to fruition in Lost. He should have just stayed on board if he couldn’t bear to part with them. Fringe is excellent btw.

Doesn’t Claire exclaim “It’s coming” as she enters labor? That was rather ominous I thought, perhaps calling back to the dream with marble-eyed Locke and the blood-soaked crib. In addition to the sickness beginning to pay off, I thought they started to lay the foundation for the reintroduction of Aaron’s importance. I’m not sure if Claire’s pronoun means Aaron could be a conduit for the infection or not, but the whole conversation between Ethan and Claire resonated with deeper meaning. “Mother nature’s gotten a little ahead of herself,” “the boy’s out of position,” & “the boy likes to move around” were all very suggestive.

On the role of the translator: the parallel with Ben is that he and all previous leaders functioned as the voice of Jacob. Ben was the translator affording Jacob the distance he needed to make hard decisions. . This could be seen as a commentary on the way God works as well. Why does he always seem to need a prophet rather than just having a world wide dream telecast? Because free will matters?

1) Group 1 are Others who had been there for a long time, Richard was one, and Kid Ben was taken to them.

2) Group 2—the Dharma group (who were not original Dharma people since adult Ben killed them) who sometimes dressed up as Others (when kidnapping Walt) and sometimes lived in the nice yellow barracks. But they still did medical research, i.e. Julliette, on the island.

Is this correct?

A lot of folks say that the smoke monster is really a judge or something. It judges you and kills you or whatever. There is a lot to support that, except what about the first time we saw it kill someone? It just yanked the pilot out of the plane and killed him, seemingly at random.

Then again, it was just behind Charlie and Jack right after that. Was it judging the pilot? Why? Were Jack and Charlie judged? Did they pass? Weird they would pass smoke monster judgement but weren’t worthy of being on the other’s list (the list back then, not the current list from Jacob). Was Locke judged as well?

I know, it doesn’t really pertain to this episode so feel free to ignore me, it’s just I recently discoverd the transmission and this blog so have a bunch of questions been burning for a long time.

Juliet delivered Ethan, this was before the bomb went off. Also the sub Sawyer, Kate, and Juliet was on was (supposedly) taking the women and children off of the island. So Ethan would have been there, getting off safely (along with Miles for any people who think he can’t exist in the flash-sideways, I’ve heard it on some podcasts).

@Coolpeace, I get the Other Others reason for letting Kate go, I just thought it was silly that Kate’s first excuse was to track Sawyer – then she mentioned being able to get him back.

@ Spalz Says:

February 9th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Anyone else notice the date on the ultrasound? Its a Month after the original flight crashed. 9/22/04 was flight 815, yet the ultrasound was done on 10/22/04. Could explain why Desmond was on the Flight…

- – Great catch!!! This means something…what it is I have no idea! After all the scrutiny that the producers know we will give the show this could NOT BE A MISTAKE!

Does this mean that the flight 815X was a month later? If so: SawyerX may not have been ‘kicked out’ of Austrailia. LockeX may HAVE gone on his walkabout. ChristianX may have not recruited Ana LuciaX OR he may have lasted a little longer before dying. I remember hearing the pilot’s name, but only know it was not LapidusX….does anyone here know if it was it the pilot in the 1st episode? Didn’t ClaireX have her own ticket, but maybe the psychic could not or did not convince her to go early. KateX perhaps waited for 1 more paystub before running out on the farmer…heck…do we even know these people?

#2.

I’m having a very hard time with the EthanX thing. Ethan was born to Horace and Amy. But they met in DHARMAville ; and Amy was with a guy named Paul who was killed by hostiles before they married….and what happened to Olivia who was Horace’s first…wife?

Does this verify that DHARMA still existed well past the bomb in both timelines? Something is here, I just can’t tell what — does anyone have any thoughts? Where are ya Yann? Is your nose bleeding?

It was not that the Others could not track Sawyer themselves, it is that they needed Sawyer to want to come back of his own free will.

Kate: I can convince him to come back.

————

It should be clear by now that free will and choice have been important themes throughout Lost.

Think back to Ben speaking to Jack in season 3 : ‘I want you to WANT to save my life.’

Jacob tells Ben he can choose not to kill him. Jacobl also tell Hugo in the cab that its his choice to returm or not.

Sayid needs to take the pill willingly.

So they need Sawyer to want to come back. And Kate thinks she can deliver… but she also has another agenda; ask Sawyer to help her find Claire.

Funny about pregancies in TV shows. I know when my wife went into labor it wasn’t that sudden “AAAAHHH!!!! He’s coming!” LOL….

After Kate says “I’m sorry for following you”…

Sawyer replies “Which time?” I think that sums up the frustration people feel towards Kate and her role on the show (which originally was supposed to be the leader when Jack was supposed to die in episode 1 per the original idea, I guess they couldn’t figure out what else to do with her).

Agreed on driving a stolen cab around LA for hours. One of many things that annoyed me.

The translator guy can’t put things in his own words? “There is no literal translation for_____”. Whatever man, what would you call it?! More cryptic nonsense to further my belief that Jacob and his boys aren’t all roses. I just can’t believe that Claire is gonna be evil, so for now I feel this reinforced my belief that MIB is actually the good guy – well, relatively speaking.

Was an okay episode for Claire, Ethan, Jack finally acting like the Jack we liked and not the wimpy whiner…. There were enough odd things that drug it down (Really Kate? They needed you to track them because the others that have been there forever and can move silently don’t know how to track?)

Of course maybe Libby was right and Claire was just putting 2 memories together.

Remember to enjoy the ride, everyone!!!

Who else will be claimed now? I have a feeling Sawyer will be, given what we’ve seen in the trailers, and perhaps even Kate. How great would it be to see Jack have to be on the opposite side of the line in the sand as the woman he seems to love? That’s at the core of what Lost has been – a tragedy wrapped up in a package of sci fi adventure. The only appropriate ending for Jack would be tragic, IMHO, and seeing this story play out should be fascinating.

It’s NOT Dogen.
It’s DOGON

DOGON == NOGOD == NO GOD

What I need to see for the remainder of this final season is a Richard Alpert centric ep and an ep that is “constant” centric to start.

http://getlostpodcast.iimmgg.com/image/2f7fbc11316274a2caf4bb3ca3e0bcb2

Rob is Mac on It’s always sunny in Philadelphia, he is the also writer & producer. Hilarious show here is a link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXEKSNJBJRA&feature=related

Here is Rob’s first ep of lost (season 3, ep 7:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_vcBJGdZrA&feature=related

enjoy!

My first thought about the ring was ‘It is Desmond’s ring’ but apparently not.

here is a screen cap:

http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1250-545.html

I *don’t* like the de ja vu. (Kate’s long look at Jack. Claire saying Aaron’s name as if she knew it). I don’t mind that things are turning out to be similar in this parallel timeline. The concept of fate has always been important in this show. I just don’t understand the cognition they seem to have with their parallel selves. As much as I am a huge fan of the Dark Tower series, these connections make this other timeline have less validity, even though the producers tell us both timelines are equally valid.

In terms of Claire’s sickness, I’m not certain she had to actually die to be infected. Even though she went through an explosion at the barracks, we certainly don’t see her disappear to the temple of a quick baptism. I’ve always wondered about a line from “Something Nice Back Home.” In it, Miles, Sawyer, and Claire are trekking with Aaron back to the beach after they leave Hurley, Ben, and Locke who are heading to Jacob’s cabin. Sawyer asks Claire how her head is. Her response:

“It’s better. Bit of a headache, but at least I’m not seeing things anymore.”

Next thing you know, Miles discovered Karl and Danielle’s body by hearing their voices. Is this a symptom of the sickness? Since Miles seemed to sense something amiss with Sayid in the temple, why didn’t he sense anything wrong with Claire? He did see her leave the campsite with a man she referred to as “dad.”

Oh answers…. I want them now! Oh wait. That means the season and the series will be over. I want them later!

http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Diamonds

On the acting
Holloway 2 thumbs up
Wait a minute! Has there ever been an episode where Sawyier hasnt nicknamed anyone?
Miles My guess is that the actor may just be making up these hilarious remarks (the foodcourt and leading Hugo) as he goes… really great

@Lucydog & Spalz
Indeed there seems to be a diference in most of the characters on board the flight that lands in LAX … If they did land a month later Locke may very well have been in the outback But this means that all the characters seen on that plane did something different than their previous lives in the period preceding this Sidney-LA flight
It means this group is venturing into a whole new story
Will it onfold on A316 anyway?
Will we encounter the to be adopter for Aaaron? (the one who broke up with the broken down lady in LA) Wouldnt it be amazing that it could be a known character? Speculations anyone??

Maybe the only ones who can get déjà vu visions/feelings in 2004 LA are the ones who spent some time there after being rescued… (i.e. the O6 + Desmond and Lapidus)

@Carol & Connie
Amy and Ethan (and a lot of Dharmites) left in 1977 in the sub
What if all those people are in LA in 2004 and involved with our new-improved 815ers?

@Steven
Maybe the freighter never came to the island in 2004 if there wasnt any crash

Other questions
Will Sawyer meet Christian in the abandoned Dharma town?
Why would Jacob ask Ben to get his team to build a runway (landing strip) if the whole purpose of the O6 coming back was to execute MIB’s plan to kill Jacob?
About the claimed. It seems they can be killed since Rousseau was by the mercenaries. Was Alex (as Rousseau’s newborn kid) claimed too?
Have you noticed that the cured wound (Ben’s and Said’s) never seem to be in the same place that they originally were?

Please Let us go back to the False Locke gang!!

http://getlostpodcast.iimmgg.com/image/2f7fbc11316274a2caf4bb3ca3e0bcb2

Does anyone have a screenshot of Desmond’s ring?

I just wanted to point out that this is television, T E L E V I S I O N
and to expect reasonable behavior from any character (eg Claire), or group (eg LAPD) is actually what is unreasonable.

LOST ROCKS!

I am much more interested in the ‘sickness’. The only clues we have are Danielle’s story, that Ben was taken in by the ‘Others’ & we were told would never be the same. It all reminds me of ‘Invasion Of The Body Snatchers’.

They seem to have been taking people and turning them. When Sayid lives and apparently did not pass his test they apparently tried to kill him….but if it was poison plain and simple then why would he have to be ‘willing’ to take it? It seems to me that taking poison would kill you if you wanted it to or not.

All we really know is that the temple ‘Others’ are liars…shocker…& Danielle said they will lie for a very long time. I wonder if some people are more easily turned or convinced to join than the rest. This would explain why young children can be turned more easily and that Claire’s good influence needed to be part of Aaron’s life. I think our main losties and those that were never taken are too intelligent or something which makes them harder to turn…however I also think that if they are turned they would make the best possible ‘Others’. Even the fact that Ethan seemed so good on the X timeline makes me think that he was ‘sickened’ by the Others on island.

I don’t know really…I’m just getting some of this out of my system…I trust time will tell ; I’m still not ready to take a ‘side’ but I’m leaning towards MIB / Smokey. But I also think that perhaps Jack & Co. will have to kill both sides to set things right. It will be fun to re-visit these conversations when all of this is over and see how crazy this all was. It seems that when you look back on the previous seasons on a re-watch that it all made a little more sense that it seemed at the time, huh?

For example, I’m predicting that the characters in the flash sideways world never received visits from Jacob.

In “What Kate Does,” Kate claims she’s innocent. I believe her. I think that Jacob never allowed her to get away with stealing the lunch box, which prevented a conversation with her mother about right and wrong and led her to her life of crime.

In future episodes, I believe that we’ll see that “flash-sideways Sawyer” was never visited by Jacob, never devoted his life to vengeance, and perhaps never even called himself “Sawyer.” (Note that Dogan calls him “Ford” in “What Kate Does.”)

Taking this a step further, I believe that Jacob (or perhaps MIB) was the man with a rope around his waist who, according to Desmond, lead him to the monastery in “Catch 22.” I believe that this visit did not take place in the flash sideways world. Desmond married Ruth.

All this said, I believe that the universe has a way of course correcting. As the island world eventually fuses with the flash sideways world somehow, we’ll see that the characters end up at basically the same place, regardless of the path they took.

I do. As I said before during the re-watch, I missed the escapist Kate “Gingerbread Man” Austin. She is back in a huge way ! She was Locke’s tracking twin on the island and Sawyer’s con twin as well. Lost’s gun toting action chick on the run that may be slowed down but never held for long.

I enjoy Kate and her antics.
say something.

I rated this episode as great, in fact the more I think about it the more I love it. Of course this episode felt less productive, it was only one hour, last week was two hours, for course more happened. Nevertheless, this week we got some truly excellent character development, both on and off island. A call back to season one.

Right off the bat, we are given clues in the flashsideways that there are definite differences in that timeline. In ‘What Kates does’ sideways Kate does something that Island Kate never did : she stopped running. She goes back for Claire. This is something that island Kate has not done, not for her childhood friend, Tom, who lay dying; not for Kevin, whom she thought she loved. This is a significant change the writers want us to notice – that there is a ‘pull’ and a ‘shift’ between these characters and timelines. Why are we so ready to accept that from John and Jack and not from Claire and Kate. Well, I for one, am in.

Kate going after Sawyer led us to the fantastic scene on the dock. Great effort from Josh and Evie. Sawyer broke my heart when he finally accepts his share of the blame for Juliet dying. Kate’s reaction to Sawyer dismissing her on the dock – ‘if you leave now you can make it back by sunset’ – heart wrenching.

By the way: Sawyer acknowledges that Kate keeps coming after him:

KATE: I’m sorry for following you.
SWAYER: Which time.

Jack and Dogen’s scene with the pill, was great, it gave me hope for Jack. ‘I don’t trust myself’… the beginning of Jack’s redemption. It made me like Dogen. I want to see more of him. The reason given for the need of a translator, separation of the leader, is a lesson both Jack and Ben could have used in the past.

Finally, the ‘claiming’ of the bodies by the darkness (I am still on the fence as to who is what) is perhaps why the Others/Hostiles wanted to have their dead returned to them – so they could protect them against being ‘claimed’. Remember Amy’s first husband Paul (a Hostile) killed during a picnic. After he died Richard made a deal to get his body back.

Good catch on the sonogram’s date. This is either a continuity error or there is something to Cindy’s statement to Dogen telling him our Losties were on the FIRST plane. Maybe the sideways timeline is a second plane.

Enjoy each episode – we will be mourning the lack of better TV after Lost has finished its run.

More on Claire later… after a rewatch.

Considering that we know that Flocke can take on other peoples’ forms I am curious whether the Claire we saw in the cabin with Christian was really Claire or if it was a projection by Flocke…

I do agree that I think the story lines will connect with our Losties somehow returning to the island.

@Kira- I think Sayid thinks of torture as a way to get information and they didn’t ask him anything, they just hurt him for no good reason in Sayid’s mind. Plus Jack, you are right in not trusting them because how many times did Lennon say “we are going to hurt him” and they did. Dogen is like Ben, never assume anything he says is true.

I thought it was a bit amusing that Dogan’s room in the temple is set up like an office, with a desk, knicknacks, typewriter, fake mantle, book cases etc. Fake locke would disapprove, he would say Dogan is “corporate” like Ben.

My theory is that the MIB is a demon or fallen angel of some sort that can possess people. He’s obviously stuck on the island. I think he wants to go home to the greater world, where he can wreak whatever havoc he can do. Side idea to this: I’ll bet in the LAX universe he’s escaped since the island is under water and already causing trouble in the greater world. I’m thinking that the REAL parallel story line is one the island, and that our heros in the LAX universe are eventually recruited to save that universe by going BACK to the island with the plane crash.

Isn’t this fun?

True, dat. He is a gorgeous, gorgeous man.

That exact thought occurred to me at the end of the season premiere. I think we’ll find that Locke hasn’t been the original Locke for a very long time.

Also wondering HOW MANY TIMES is Jin is going to be “miraculously reunited” with someone in the jungle? Honestly, if I hear someone else surprisedly exclaim “Jin!” again….God help us all.

Kate – what part of “don’t follow me” do you not understand? After hating Kate for a while but never really being able to pinpoint why, I finally realized it. She is completely selfish. Going to rescue her friends who told her not to might seem altruistic, but in fact all she’s doing is what makes her feel better. See also: killing the man her mother loved. See also: taking a child that never belonged to her. See also: running from the law, despite breaking it repeatedly. Kate is the type of jerk who will keep you on life support despite your DNR order. Screw Kate, I am done with her.

Speaking of things I am done with: the Others. Hey Others, you used to be mysterious, wily, and clever. See: Ben, Tom, Ethan, Juliet, and Mrs. Klugh. Now you just look like one-dimensional thugs. It’s hard to believe you were once referred to as ‘enlightened”; the only thing you seem capable of is yelling at people and shoving them around if they don’t do what you say. How about using your WORDS a little more? Maybe if you explained to your prisoners WTF is going on, they might be more compliant.

Also getting my panties in a twist this episode: Aldo. Not because of his character, but because of the fact that the writers had to insult our intelligence by clunkily pointing him out. I’m surprised he just didn’t stop in the middle of the jungle and announce “HEY, DO YOU REMEMBER ME? I’M TV’S ROB MCELHENNY! I WUZ IN SEASON 3, FROM THE EPISODE CALLED “NOT IN PORTLAND” REMEMBER? REMEMBER?!?”

Oh wait…that’s pretty much what he did. Not cool, writers. Not cool.

Many tiny things also yanking my crank…
– Dogan, who conveniently switches to English when he wants to be superdramatic. I am guessing they’ll drop the whole Japanese-in-front-of-the-subordinates plotline as quickly as they started it. Also, just because he is Japanese, that doesn’t mean he needs to be seen drinking tea and trimming bonsai trees. I’m surprised that he doesn’t have a geisha in the corner playing a shamisen.

– the poison pill. Something isn’t sitting right with me on this. I assume we are supposed to make the connection between the green pill and the fancy-pants injections that Desmond and Claire were given…but why a crude little pill? Shouldn’t you have a supply of injectables somewhere in the temple?

– the Justin / Aldo conversation was irritating and cringeworthy.
Justin: hey, maybe it’s the…
Aldo: HEY SHUT UP
Justin: Do you think that she…
Aldo: WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!?
Justin: OMG the answer to everything is…
Aldo: HEY MAN, SHUT IT
Justin: It’s peanutbutterjellyti…
Aldo: SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP

Argh, this ep drove me to near madness. I love Lost, but man…this episode…not the finest.

Same thoughts about the taxi thing, WAAAYYY too easy to identify (probably like 40 seconds total before you’re busted!)..

The airline said Christian’s casket was never put on the plane, so for it to disappear mid-flight seems strange. Maybe someone took it out of cargo and sent it ahead to the island..
And did Desmond just appear on the flight for the few minutes the plane flew over the island?

Also, love Sayid, but his crying ‘They tortured me, why did they torture me?’ was silly. We’ve seen him kill people with both hands tied behind his back, semi-conscious. Plus, he already assumed he was going to hell, essentially for all his misdeeds, so torture seems apropos..hmm..

OK, I remember the guard now from the Karl brainwashing episode. But did he mean to say Kate hit him in the head 3 years ago or 3 seasons ago?

Expect some weaker episodes this season as they put most of their budget and production efforts into the big payoffs (hopefully).

@L Reene
He’s still Sayid in my opinion. The infection hasn’t reached the “heart of darkness” stage yet.

@Chris in Durham @ Mindstage
Fair enough.

@Chris @ Annie
The line about Rousseau puzzled me as well. I believe what this means is that Rousseau “died” from the moment the dark side claimed her, back before she even shot Robert.

@Connie in Oregon @ Knives
Yeah. One minute the others say everyone will be in a world of hurt if Sayid dies and the next they’re trying to feed him a poison pill. Perhaps they don’t comprehend that Jacob foresaw this in his woven tapestry of fate and needed Sayid to be just as he is.

Are we certain that Jack had nothing to do with reviving Sayid? He laid hands upon him and working medical miracles is his thing.

Yann. Are you in the looking glass under strict orders to maintain radio silence?

If they had jumped universes, Sawyer would not have found the ring he got for Juliet in his old Dharma bungalow. Because that timeline would have ended in the destruction of the island.

@lucydog- I’m not suggesting the end of Lost will be the same as The Langoliers…I’m only saying that, as with other pieces of lit/pop lit that the producers and writers point us too, that the story of The Langoliers helps inform us as to perhaps how they view ‘time’ and multiple timelines.

The episode itself was fine, but a bit of a step back after “LA X”, which I think it to be expected somewhat.

I think where we are heading with these two timelines is for a convergence somewhere down the line. I believe the timeline on the island is starting to “bleed over” (in Jack’s case in “LA X”, quite literally bleeding over) into the LA timeline.
It might be similar to the effect on Desmond when Farraday talks to him at the Swan Hatch during the island flashing about in Season 5. The LA timeline characters may begin to have distinct memories intrude upon their lives, blurring the timelines. We have small touches of this thus far, but I predict they will become more frequent and more powerful as the season progresses. It brings to mind, in a way, Stephen King’s The Langoliers in which the group that survives in a ‘lost time’ period realize the world they inhabit is about to be consumed because it is not supposed to exist. I posit that where we are heading is for the island Losties to reunite with Sun and Lapidus, and for Frank to fly them from the island as it is about to be destroyed. Indeed in The Langoliers, as the group flies away from the airport, they see the world they left behind disappear, must the same way the island seemed to vanish when Ben moved the island, or, perhaps, the way the island appears at the bottom of the ocean in LA X.
It is also interesting to note that the survivors of The Langoliers experience a white flash that brings them back to their proper time where they retain their experiences of the lost period.

The introspective scene shared by Kate and Sawyer on the docks instantly became a highlight of the season so far. Sawyer looks unflinchingly at his past actions. He authored Juliet’s fate from that first parallel moment when he used his gift of charm to persuade her to stay. Kate winces at his every word because she finally seems to know her mind and longs for the clean slate she asked for from James so long ago. When Sawyer finally pitches the ring into the drink (unlike the parallel of regretful Desmond), you can tell this is one door closing forever. Holloway gets the Emmy this year.

Sawyer’s reaction to these harsh realizations is to drift toward nihilism and make himself a good candidate for the dark side. When Sawyer exits the gate of the temple and goes into the wilderness, he goes into a black background. He has obviously come to the conclusion that Anthony Cooper was right and that the island is hell. He talks about being imprisoned on this rock. Then, in a more karmic version, he says Sayid is consigned to another “go round” because of his failings.

Dogen says Sayid is infected. He offers as proof the fact that this already happened to Claire. We see Claire in the identical condition as Rousseau. Rousseau claimed it was not herself, but her other team members that became infected. So, is it all just a matter of perspective? If you serve one master, are the servants of the other by definition ill? Or did Rousseau die and get claimed in an unseen back story?

So, the 815 survivors are special, even vital in some way as the others now protect them like the holy grail. But they are special collectively probably for some heroic task they will need to accomplish for life to go on and not perish in darkness. This gives new meaning to “Live together, die alone.” It’s not just a hollow slogan, it’s a necessary condition for this future event to occur. It’s also why the dark man wants to kill as many of them as possible according to Alpert. The necessity of togetherness has been hinted at in other ways as well such as “Everything that rises must converge.” “It must be all of them.”

Has anyone noticed that whoever is in possession of the famous luger pistol seems to get drilled? Mr. Friendly had it first. Faraday removed it from the gun cabinet and threatened Eloise with it. Now Aldo takes one for the team. It’s an iconic prop, but I haven’t seen too much talk of where it came from or what it may mean.

I’m sure it’s all been said by now, but Dogen has been a fantastic addition especially since Ben has lost his way. And this episode was hilarious. Aldo and Justin were killing me. Perhaps this comic relief is also meant to inform us that the others are far from superhuman.

Defend the island.

Eventually all the main characters in the flash sideways will remember everything and seek each other out. As the characters “remember” the island. The changes in their life and characters in the flash sideways will flash to their present selves on the island. These changes in their character will be the difference they need to win the battle on the island. Example – Hugo being lucky and confident, Jack – having more faith, etc.

One thought I had immediately is that I cannot imagine the writers will continue a Jack-Sawyer-Kate triangle any more. That ship has sailed, at least based on Josh’s performance of a tortured man who lost the woman he loved, and Kate’s slow realization that Sawyer loved Juliette. (Until that moment on the docks, I think Kate was in denial about that.)

One thing that I hated was that I think at least at one point last season, Kate should have asked someone in Dharmaville—”Hey, has anyone seen Claire.” Or, perhaps when Kate said this to Sawyer on the docks that she came back for Claire he should have been like, “Claire? We haven’t seen her in three years. She’s probably dead.” That is just a transitional problem I have—and for all we know they probably filmed some lines like that but had to edit them down.

My other thought is that while the 2004 life seems more secondary to the action, I think at some point it is going to be flipped—and that the 2004 Losties are going to be the push in this season. So far, everyone’s issues in 2004 are not what they were in season 1. Boone didn’t have Shannon issues, Hurley is now lucky, Locke isn’t a loser, Kate may be innocent. (Maybe Sayid isn’t a torturer and Sawyer came to terms with the man who killed his parents) So that said, maybe Jacob gave them a second chance in that timeline.

So, overall, good episode. One worthy of watching again. Josh was amazing and his box of pain broke my heart. (That must have been his mother’s wedding ring?) I can only hope that in 2004 he gets a chance at Juliette—but I think the only payback would be is if HE KNOWS it’s a second chance and “It worked.”

I’d say the Sawyer showing his torn apart innards through Josh’s acting made this episode worth watching alone. I like that he didn’t go off to beat up someone but he just wanted to retrieve his would be engagement ring.

That said Kate is still the new Michael in terms of annoying in my eyes. When was the last time she did anything remotely interesting or even had a character building moment?! Also did anyone notice how much more cruel she was as sideways-Kate? Does this tie into how sideways-Locke seemed out of character and at peace? Why would Claire trust her after what she did to her?

Really liked seeing Dogen’s softer side when he isn’t trying to be tough. (To obviously show off to his people as an act). And right when I thought Jack was reverting back to non-action-crybaby mode he finally did something bold! Go Jack! I’ve been waiting for an entire season to see how his character would evolve and I’m really hoping this season he finds the middle ground between S1 (Run-n-gun) and S5 (Mopey, indifferent) Jack.

Overall good, not great, episode. I am glad that the pacing might slow down enough for more Sawyeresque scenes like we got today.

I am so sick of Kate. I don’t know if they are purposely trying to make Kate get under skin, but she is under mine. I really hope Sawyer’s statement is designed to make her “go away” because she needs to. I know there are many shippers and kate lovers out there but surely you can see enough is enough

Seeing Claire as the “nouveau Rousseau” was nice. I liked it. I wonder if she was as odd as Danielle was. I look forward to seeing how that turns out.

Ethan Goodspeed was awesome lol I laughed so hard lol. I love the way they are sneaking little cameos in like that. Its fun.

Disappointed not to see anything about Smocke, Ben, etc. Likewise, not much from Hurley and Miles.

It will be interesting to see if all of our original Losties end up being “claimed” by the two opposing forces of Jacob & MIB.

One of the Others guards with Kate and Jin said, “remember me, you hit me with the butt of a gun and escaped from prison 3-years ago.” What was that about? That actor looked familiar. More mind f.

——————————

that was Aldo, back in season 3, Alex helped Kate and Sawyer escape and in return they helped rescue Karl from room 23,which was being guarded by Aldo.

Needless to say:

@Knives: I 100% agree with the frustration, but having myself called how silly this episode was going to be back in post 2 of this feedback, I can safely say i didn’t have high expectations.

@Kate and Claire off island: Really? REALLY?! Kate who is a lone wolf who is running from the cops (which by the way, what does it say about the LAPD that they can’t track a stolen taxi until they stumble upon it at a hospital) takes the time to go back and help Claire. I know we’re supposed to be like “aaaw look at the alt reality and how even then they are like island friends”…. BUT REALLY?!?!? There could have been so much done to make off island alt kate into an entirely different only out for me character. But the best moment of silly writing was Kate and the mechanic.
Kate: I need these hand cuffs off and you’re gonna do it..

Mechanic: Nah, I’ve got the upper hand cause I know more stuff than you

Kate: Well then I need you to help me get them off, I’ll do whatever you want

Mechanic: *dirty look on his face*

AND RIGHT THERE I THOUGHT “wow… lost is about to go super edgy and Kate is going to use her sex to get what she wants just like how she sleeps with Jack and Sawyer in “using” them. BUUUUUUUUUUUUT…

Kate: Here’s 200 dollars!

Mechanic: AWESOME!

UGH…..

Only two things redeemable about this plotline was the look at Jack when she seemed to recognize him and when Ethan showed up.
Other than that, it was entirely forgetable. I love Evangeline. And I wouldn’t kick her out of bed for eatting crackers But… man, she has landed herself one of the most poorly written characters in the series.

@The Temple stuff:
Ok, this was interesting. Not too like “OMG OMG OMG!!” but, interesting.
I will say i was entirely shocked to find in season 6 we are going back to the sickness from the beginning of the show. I can honestly say I never expected a revisit to it.
As for “he’s been claimed”. I can see how this is where the battle lines are being drawn. Sayid will join MIB in the final battle…or will at least show us what happens while you have the sickness then be killed off.
Winner of the stolen scene award goes to Miles with “we’ll be at the food court”

@The Others:
Why is it one group of others uses pills to “kill the sickness” while another group is using shots ot prevent it? Was it too late to do that with sayid?
I still don’t understand the hierarchy of the others. Hopefully we’ll see something about it in the future.

@The Jin, Kate, 2 random guys
Ok, even though they were annoying I LOVED the two talkative others. They reminded me of all the adventure movies that have those two bumbling characters that give away way too much.
As for Kate following Sawyer, I think it’s been said 10000 times. NOT AGAIN
and Poor Jin, he has had some rotten luck when it comes to finding people he doesn’t need to find.

@Island Claire:
Ok, I’m not too much concerned with how or why..
my concern is.. they said she was claimed like Rousseau…. BUT… I don’t remember Danielle being evil or claimed or anything. In fact I thought her people were…

unless her people were the good ones and she was the bad one and they tried to kill her and she killed them instead. I guess I don’t understand the sides in war.

@Final thoughts going into the future:

1. If we have a final epic battle… why do I think Kate and Claire will fight. I can just see it happening. Claire will be all “you’ll never raise mah babey!” and Kate will be all “I just wanted to find you!” and Claire will go “LIAR!” then they’ll have a misguided fight scene in the rain in the jungle with lightning and thunder and all that.

2. I am 100% convinced that Sawyer will join Locke. 1. cause of their connection to Locke’s dad. 2. Sawyer’s sadness and hatred. 3. Sawyer has nothing else to live for and Locke will gladly convince him otherwise.

@shanny – who is Rob MElhenney? Who did he play?

The movie scared the living daylights out of me as a 10 year old and burned Kober’s freaky face (and even freakier laugh) into my brain forever. I hope this actor gets more than a flash in this season. He’s really good.

*

On another note, everywhere around the net I am reading people seem to be pretty much taking the temple people at their word about “the infection” and how it makes people’s hearts “dark”, but I am not entirely convinced.

I am still wondering many things:
1) Did Montand and the French team make it all the way to the temple or just underneath it?
2) What was Smokey doing down there at the time? Was he really guarding it back then? Who was inside to be guarded?
3) Why did Jacob live in the shadow of the statue instead of vaulted above all others inside the temple?

The producers say this is a simple story of good and evil, but I don’t believe them just yet…

Sawyer threw the engagement ring in a body of water just like Desmond once did.

Artz screaming, “I’m walkin’ here, I’m walkin’ here” is a call-out from the film Midnight Cowboy, Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman).

Is the “Healing Pool” the same underwater submarine docking station they used for the “Looking Glass”?

How did Kate get the handcuffs removed, then just casually drive up to see Claire sitting on a bench? Every cop and Federal agent in LA would be looking for a girl driving a Yellow Cab. But maybe Kate has a cloaking device in this dimension? Very unrealistic.

One of the Others guards with Kate and Jin said, “remember me, you hit me with the butt of a gun and escaped from prison 3-years ago.” What was that about? That actor looked familiar. More mind f.

It doesn’t explain why she got along so well with the Losties.

Like the majority of you I felt let down after last week’s action packed episode. I expected more reveals, perhaps this is a “set up” episode that is preparing us for what is coming next.

@Knives – I feel your frustration, I am not a fan of the Temple others and I am so tired of cryptic answers and everyone just accepting them.

Thoughts I haven’t seen covered here yet:

Miles knows something is up with Sayid, I don’t think he knows what it is but he feels a change. Why doesn’t he say something?

Where did Sawyer get a ring on the Island? Is it the Penny ring? Good catch to the person who posted about it above.

The baseball reference – is that supposed to show us that Dogan misses home and wants to leave just like Jack? Interesting line about being brought there just like Jack for the same purpose.

re: Ethan being a doctor – could it be because his mom and he left on the sub just before the incident and then he stayed off the island. He certainly seems like a kind Ethan now, so much of the Claire/Ethan sequence reminded me of when Claire was drugged and kidnapped and being give the shots to safeguard her and the baby.

Could all those shots of the mystery “vitamins” and the quarantine be to keep from being “claimed”?

Another parallel to first season, poor Jin being trapped once again, this time by a bear trap instead of those handcuffs. Of course just like Sayid and Rousseau. I also caught the expression and the confused hand touching on Claire that is just like Rousseau. The look of trying to connect with reality.

That’s it for now, I have to rewatch it.

Still not sure what side I am on, I have a feeling that the losties are going to side with Fake Locke and that Dogan knows that and is trying to prevent it. They are the key, which ever side they choose may win.

One last thought, I always assumed the final battle would be the losties (oceanic passengers) vs the others. What happens if they are divided in battle? I would hate to have to choose a side between them.

Oh, and I really think we are perilously close to a zombie season, even if Sayid denies he is one!

Biggest question: “It happened to your sister” really makes you wonder what ‘claimed’ meant and what it’ll mean for Sayid

Love the Sonogram date catch from several of you above. You folks are amazing and this podcast/blog always enriches my experience of LOST – Kudos!

I do like the Zombie references (I laughed out loud), and Tarzan Claire is great! When Aldo & Justin were saying to Jin & Kate to watch out for the traps “they are HERS” – I think the audience was meant to think it was Rousseau – who was already dead for 3+ years at this point – but it was great that it was Claire… but still, what’s up with that?

Sawyer’s downturn after Juliet’s death is just heartbreaking to watch, because he’d made such a peaceful turnaround after the final time jump to the Dharma time. His pain just seems so much deeper than it ever was before he got to the island. I find it interesting how everyone is finding a reason to blame themselves for Juliet’s death. There were so many different points in the timeline where her death seemingly could have been averted–but is the point that it really couldn’t have been? The whole Mrs. Hawking and the guy in the red shoes speech?

One thing I’m confused on. If Jacob WANTS people to come to the island, and the Others work for Jacob…why the reaction when people are on the island;ie. the big ‘you’re not welcome here’ attitude? I don’t get it.

And I also heart Dogan. He really is such a cool and interesting character. Even though we’re so attached to these other characters we’ve gotten to know over the past years, I just keep wanting to see more Dogan. We need some kind of Dogan spin-off show!!

One more thing…I was very relieved to see that Jack wasn’t so far gone that he–as a doctor–would not just give some random capsule to Sayid because Temple Manager Dogan said so. The thought that he might just do that on trust alone was freaking me out.

Thanks for the podcast…love you guys!!

The sickness explanation was good but clearly leaves questions. I guess that is the level of “answers” we will get this season – there will still be a lot left for interpretation.

I’m really liking the flashsideways. Ethan, Aaron and the look Kate gave Jack – great. The movement of these two universes together is really fascinating.

I thought the big line in this weeks ep was Dogen telling Jack to give the pill to Sayid in order to be “redeemed”. I can’t help but think that had Jack done that, there would have been immediate impacts to the alternative timeline and the two universes would have moved closer together. But, he didn’t take that chance so we will have to wait for the net redemption opportunity to see what happens.

As if that wasn’t stretch enough, the preggers-and-ready-to-pop Claire accepts a ride offer from a woman she’s never met, who minutes before was in handcuffs, waving a pistol in her face, and snatched her baby bag? Hmmm…

Can’t say I loved the story telling of this episode, but as usual, LOST brings home the bacon on story execution. The writers delivered just what they needed, with just enough carrot and string (Claire/Roussseau) to lure me back next week.

One theory that is starting to make sense to me is that Jacob/Esau is not a metaphor for good versus evil, but a very real struggle between two evils, in the form of fallen angels. Perhaps God has banished them to the island as a form of purgatory. The island’s energy properties act as a barrier to their ability to inflict damage on the outer world, but doesn’t prevent them from toying with passers-by.

Here are samples of historical fallen angels that may fit the bill:

Buer – teaches philosophy, logic and ethics.

Dantanian – appears as a man with many faces.

Imamiah – governs voyages.

Lahash – interferes with divine will.

Obyzouth – kills newborns and cause still-births

I hope Emilie de Ravin has the chops to pull off a truly dark character, because if she’s got it, then it will be fun to watch. If not, it will be very painful.

I enjoy watching the Dogan character as much as I enjoy Richard Alpert. I’d love to see a showdown between the two of them, and a backstory on both.

And I’ll repeat what so many have already said – an Emmy for Josh Holloway! Awesome performance on the submarine dock! He does “destroyed” very well!

The fact that we’re seeing the same characters have intertwined fates both on island and off-island (Ethan-Claire, Claire-Kate, Boone-Locke for starters) reminds me of reincarnation and karma. Some people believe that certain souls have “unfinished business” from previous lives that causes them to come together in future lives to conclude their karma together.

The people that they are in their future life and the circumstances they meet in may be different, but underneath it all their two souls are the same, and are completing some unfinished business together. So, for example, in a past lifetime, one person may been jealous of another man who was in love with his wife and pushed that man off a cliff. So maybe in a future lifetime, they meet up again to complete their karma, and there might be some critical moment which involves heights. The where and the what are less important. It is the underlying interaction that is important, and the learning that comes from it. And it could be said that it is each person’s destiny to complete their unfinished business. Once they do, their destiny is found! Or at least that part of their destiny.

So, regardless of which reality they are in, Ethan and Claire have something that requires them to come together under a theme of birth. And Boone may have had an unfinished piece around “looking up to Locke”. And Kate/Claire clearly seem to have some baby karma together.

This is not my native spiritual viewpoint, so please correct if I am getting something about karma incorrect here.

“He’s an Iraqi torturer who kills kids, of course he deserves a 2nd chance”

That was probably the cruelest thing Sawyer has ever said.

But he has a point.

Ryan just read your review, it defintely put things in perspective.

^_^

I am not completely digging this FLASHSIDEWAYS thing.
How it pans out will show if it is was worth half the episode time for this final season, and i still have faith in the tremendously talented writers and performers.

Literary, I’m not fond of introducing new characters (temple folk) and have them be liars, then anything and everything our cryptic Temple folk are saying is RUBBISH. If these characters are cryptic tip toeing liars then why are our characters with them.. This is really frustrating me.

Granted I love how much story time Sayid is getting, I hate how Jacob (the ‘supposed’ angel/protector/savior of the island) told Hugo to take Sayid to the temple, as they do, they say they failed, wait he’s alive much to their shigrin, they torture/test him (lie to him again) why torture him, and then try to poison him? This just seems WAY to inconsistent.

And, as MUCH as it pains me to say this, but I can’t help but the feel the presentation, and direction this show is taking and is in is really quite too self aware and almost entirely pretentious!

Jack- What happened to the man of faith Jack? Why are we getting stunted season 3 in a shark cage Jack, albeit great performance by Matt Fox, but please where is the growth that took 6 seasons to build? I did think it was awesome that he was heroic in trying to see what was inside the pill, but this is the final season of lost… What the F is happening?

Miles- Stealing the show

Hugo- Still the heart of the show.

Kate- Now, I’m fond of Kate because she stirs shit up that entertains us fans, but I agree her course is getting over the top redundant and overtly predictable. In both Timelines!

Sawyer- The writers seem to be doing something right, because what is happening with Sawyer is completely real and completely painful, and I love every second of his painful torment. Not because Im a sadist but because its terrific drama.

Jin and Sun- Are MERELY miles away from each other, why aren’t they together already.

Dogen and Lennon- As gnarly as those actors are, their characters are so convolutedly misconceiving crypic douche bags they are stunting our characters from achieving their supposed destiny.

Call Backs- The call backs this early are fun to watch, but if it honestly doesnt push the story or offer any momentum I see it quite worthless. Granted I am certainly one for appreciating and relishing nostalgia, but if you are going to cram it so tangledly down our throat, why should we be invested?

There are STILL things I care about. And that’s where the heck was Claire, what does it mean and what is the significance of being ‘claimed’ and ‘infected’. Whats up with Alpert? AND I MISS BEN!!!

I think thats what we need, Benjamin Linus because he gets s*** done.

I don’t dislike the episode, I enjoyed what it was, I don’t mind the slow pace AT ALL! I am a sucker for pacing. But what is genuinely pissing me off is how for ONCE in LOST’S awesome legacy I feel like the story DOES not know where the F it’s going to conclude.

I don’t like this feeling.

Ideally I suppose it is alot to ask, but really think about it. I’m not asking for an epic episode after an epic episode. I just don’t like where our beloved characters are in this final season of the greatest show on television.

Next weeks episode assures me to promising as assures the rest of us that the ratio between questions and answers should be more heavy, but please writers, RESOLVE!!!

I do feel like I am being very rough and its only been the 3rd episode, but I really hope our 815ers get the F out of the temple because I can’t stand the Others right now, because they are crippling the momentum of our characters respective destinies.

If this is the writers way for ‘setting up’ the chess game that is our characters lives, then so be it, I can live with that. I just hope it gets less excruciating.

At this point I don’t want answers, I just want closure, redemption, and for the story to come ‘full circle’. I care much more about why are characters have done what they done, and who they turn out to be, and what happens to them FAR BEYOND mythology!

Sorry for ranting. Love the podcast, love the forum’s response.

I feel better now.

-Knives

PS
At this point? How is Jacob a good guy? What has he done?
Nothing.

I’m on Man In Locke’s side. Just because he is ‘dark’ doesn’t mean he’s evil. Sure as Smokie he has killed hundreds, but he makes a more appealing case. He doesn’t try to be cryptic, he is matter of factly, and he is blunt.
I suppose so was Satan, but at this moment in time.

Count me as a solider on the Dark side,because Jacob has failed.

Ryan & Jen, I’ve not left any comments before tonight but have been listening to your podcast from the very beginning. So let me take this chance to say, ‘Thank you for all your time, hard work & enthusiasm. It has been infectious and an important part of my lost experience.’

The reason I have always loved this show is because most of the characters are so flawed, yet layered with good intentions. Probably the character of Desmond is the most “all-around” good.

Kate is taking quite a bashing here. I believe her character is heroic because she tried to make her mother’s life better. She was always there for Claire (and still is). And she has helped Jack numerous times.

But yes she is flawed like the majority of the characters are, and she is still finding her way as the majority of characters still are. She is selfish, but so are all the Losties. I think she dearly cares about Sawyer and is deeply touched by his loss. I think Jin’s question to her about who she “cares about” will push her in the right direction.

Interesting re: all the raves about Holloway’s acting. I adore his character and find him absolutely drool-worthy, but have mostly considered his acting to be a weak link in the show. My husband often jokes about his limited two expressions of “smirky” and “pissed.” He has improved greatly though, and tonight’s scene at the dock was indeed impressive.

@ Jon from NC — yes, Sayid has way less of an Iraqi accent

@ Chris in Durham NC — I think it is realistic for people to make impulsive, trusting, and even foolish choices… just watch the news

Lennon actor is from a great and quirky movie called “Me and You and Everyone We know” (or close to that title)

I think the season is off to a great start, and I am loving the ride!