This 108th episode of “LOST” took us back to the first few hours of this incredible show. We still don’t know whether “LOST” will succeed in answering enough questions and resolving enough loose ends. But the feel of the show, the growing sense of coming full circle after half a decade of storytelling, is fantastic. The spirit of “White Rabbit,” episode five from season one, was all over “The Lighthouse.” Jen thoroughly loved it. I enjoyed it. To me, some of the exposition and dialogue was a bit flat, and the ever clever fan-inspired commentary of Hurley was a bit too clever. But perhaps such things are unavoidable given the immense amount of explaining “LOST” will have to do in the limited time left. They need to spell it out for us, and they need to acknowledge how ridiculous some of it all sounds.

While on-island Jack is once again reaching a breaking point, off-island Jack is perhaps conquering his demons (his mom praises him for turning down a drink), acknowledging his daddy issues, and making amends with his son. His son! David plays piano like Jack, suffers under an overbearing father like Jack… and “has a gift,” perhaps also like Jack. But the big mystery now is, who is David’s mom? Whose house did Jack visit (and enter thanks to a key hidden under a white rabbit)? And why did she, frankly, miss David’s recital? David’s blue eyes made Jen think of Juliet immediately. Could we see her moving on, later this season, asking Sawyer out for coffee?

Jack’s inexplicable confusion over his appendectomy scar was intriguing. His appendix was removed by Juliet on the island, which could be one reason he doesn’t remember it in the LA X timeline. But his mother does. And seeing Dogen as a fellow parent was a nice touch. He perhaps is not as mysterious, special, or even immortal as we might have thought, if a twist in time leads him to being a dad in Los Angeles.

Mirrors and reflections continue to play a big part in this final season, perhaps never moreso than in “The Lighthouse.” There were literal mirrors, of course, but our requisite book reference is again “Alice in Wonderland.”

On the island, we find the lighouse, a major island landmark that nobody noticed because nobody was looking for it. Inside, another list of names, most of them crossed out, save for our dear survivors. Is it a different list than the one Unlocke showed Sawyer in the cave? Part of me thinks they’re the same list, and the cave scrawlings represent the efforts of Unlocke/Man In Black to track Jacob’s candidates. On the other hand, we see some names we didn’t see in the cave, most notably, “Austen.”

The lighthouse and its various degrees suggest that it was where Jacob “watched” his candidates, and perhaps guided them to the island. But rather than investigate further, angry Jack smashes the mirrors. At first it seemed ridiculous to me, how once again a major potential source for answers is conveniently destroyed. But in the narrative of Jack’s life, it makes sense.

In “White Rabbit,” Christian Shephard tells young Jack: “Don’t choose, Jack, don’t decide. You don’t want to be a hero, you don’t try and save everyone, because when you fail, you just don’t have what it takes.” We’ve seen Jack try to be the hero, and everything fell apart once he got off the island. We then saw Jack return to try and wait for his purpose to reveal itself, only to end up executing a plan that was apparently a catastrophic failure. Now, he finds a list of names that suggests that he’s part of a larger plan or game, and is also probably one of the last players still standing. That’d probably be enough to make anyone snap.

Of course, we’re still not convinced “Shephard” means him. Jacob’s first line to Sawyer after his name was pointed out on the cave wall was, “He’s not the only one.” And even though the mirror showed Jack’s childhood home, that house also belonged to Christian. Heck, we don’t know if the image of the house was from Jack’s past, or from the “LA X” timeline. A pity he had to smash the mirrors to bits.

And Claire. Creepy Claire. Jen said she was even scarier than Rousseau. And now the parallels are numerous. Claire, like Rosseau, has spent years living in the wilderness, setting traps, surviving, living in conflict with and hiding from The Others. And she’s also obsessed with finding her missing child. But it’s interesting that there’s a lot of old Claire in there, despite whatever sickness or darkness may have consumed her.

She says her father and “her friend” told her The Others have Aaron. Whether or not on-island Christian Shephard and Unlocke were one and the same (I wonder what form Unlocke took prior to the arrival of Ajira 316), I’m curious why they’d want her to believe her son was still on the island. Are they trying to encourage her to go to The Temple, or discouraging her? They’ve fed her paranoia and mistrust for three years, but to what end?

After what she did to Justin, we believe her when she says she’d kill Kate if Kate raised Aaron. But the whole conversation revives questions about how important Aaron actually is to the island, and also, why it matters who raises him. If Kate is truly motivated solely by reuniting Claire with Aaron, and Claire remains obsessed with finding her son, it looks like the kid will be key at the end of Season 6. Jin went out of his way to remind Claire how old Aaron is, which only made me think about the clearly older blonde boy that’s now haunting Unlocke. Taller Ghost Aaron indeed.

• This episode is at least the second time Hurley is given a message from an apparently departed spirit that is so important, he has to write it down. Charlie made Hurley write down his message for Jack in “Something Nice Back Home.”
• Jack’s son’s name is David. We’ve noted the role of Davids throughout “LOST.” Libby says her late husband’s name was David. Hurley’s dad was named David, as was Charlotte’s father. And Hurley’s imaginary friend was Dave.
• David is listening to music, but says it’s something Jack wouldn’t know. Easiest guess? Driveshaft. But if Driveshaft is a “one hit wonder” from a band led by a “bloody rock god,” why wouldn’t Jack know them? Since David is also a classical music buff, I’d like to think that in the “LA X” timeline, “Driveshaft” is a moody, artsy, acoustic indie band or something.
• What funeral was Margot and Jack talking about? Presumably Christian’s, meaning they eventually proceeded without his body. I’m wondering how much time has now elapsed since Oceanic 815 landed.
• Speaking of classical music, David’s choice of Chopin is the same as Daniel Faraday’s in “The Variable.”
• In addition to “White Rabbit,” this episode ties well to “Something Nice Back Home” from Season 4. It’s the episode where his appendix comes out, where his domestic bliss with Kate crumbles, and where he reads from “Alice” to Aaron.
• Shannon’s inhaler? Didn’t see that coming. The whole skit with Jorge Garcia at Comic-Con last year was apparently part of the master plan.
• Hurley fires off so many pop-culture inspired lines, I don’t know where to begin. He lied to a samurai. He described Jacob as being like Obi-Wan Kenobi. And he tells Dogen he’s a fan of “Indiana Jones.” But I’ll take any of those lines over the groan-worthy chat with Jack over Kate.
• Locations: David’s school, “St. Mary’s Academy,” is St. Louis School in Kaimuki. The “Williams Conservatory” recital hall is Central Middle School near downtown Honolulu. David’s mother’s house is a private residence on Malama Place in Manoa. Watch for updates on my Lost Locations website.

What did you think?. We’d love your thoughts, theories, and feedback below. You can also e-mail us at lost@hawaiiup.com or call the LOSTLine at (815) 310-0808.

“Inside joke.” A great line. A provocative line. A dangerous line. Through some uncharacteristically straightforward expository scenes, this episode pulls back enough to give us the best view yet of the chess board. The game is afoot, our survivors are pawns, and presumably, despite the Man In Black’s plan to quit the island, there’s another showdown brewing. Yet, is it just a game? A battle between two eternal rivals? On many levels, this makes sense. Since Season 1, we’ve envisioned the entire show as an epic, but simple, contest between two sides. But will it be enough? Jen’s worried it may not be. I’m expecting there’s much more to the story.

The Man in Black is trapped. He sees only futility. He says Jacob is wasting lives to protect an island that doesn’t need protecting. Yet as he says this, we think immediately of the sunken island we saw in the premiere. Perhaps the island is not so invincible. And could its destruction bring about a greater, even global, calamity? Possibly.

Do we want this Man In Black running amok in the real world, in any case? Probably not.

Meanwhile, as we piece together this conflict, it’s less obvious that either Jacob or the Man In Black is noble, or good, or right. Jacob has certainly destroyed many lives in the name of protecting the island. And when The Man In Black learns that Jacob never gave Richard the whole story, his sympathy seems real. Neither player seems innocent. The scale with the black and white stones was a nearly too literal illustration of the balance between both sides. A balance that the Man In Black has apparently disrupted. And a balance that I think will prove to be necessary. No matter how frustrated or flawed, whatever forces Jacob and the Man In Black represent, we probably need them both to stick around.

Who was the young boy who appeared in the jungle? My daughter, fixated on his blonde hair, says Aaron… apparently through yet another twist in the space-time continuum. Maybe he was an embodiment of Jacob, in his original or now recycled form. But the way he reminded the Man In Black of the rules, and the way the Man In Black protested with Locke’s signature line, made me think he may actually represent something bigger, or on a higher plane, than MIB and Jacob.

Or maybe he’s just “special” in the way Walt was, giving some hope that there might be some explanation as to what was going on with him throughout the first half of the series.

We also see “The Numbers.” As MIB said, Jacob has a thing for numbers, and each of our iconic numbers is assigned to one of our survivors, who are merely the latest batch of “candidates.” There are other names on the cave wall, with different numbers, all crossed out. Is this the extent of the explanation we’ll get for the numbers? As someone who thought “The Numbers” might just be a McGuffin, I’m fine with that. But I’m hoping there’s just a little more to them.

The dialogue and flashbacks suggest that “Shepherd” is Jack, though it’s fun to think it could mean Christian, or Claire, or even Ray. The stated ambiguity of Kwon (Sun or Jin) is an interesting twist. And if we’re willing to entertain the thought that the boy in the forest is Aaron, why not add Ji Yeon to the list of possible name interpretations. Not depicted in the cave wall roll call? Austen. I’m not sure if that means anything, though, since there were a lot of names we didn’t see, and there were a lot of people on Oceanic 815 that probably didn’t make the list.

And MIB crossed out Locke, his current — and apparently semi-permanent — human form. He explains to Richard that he took Locke’s form to get to Jacob… but I don’t think that was “the loophole,” since it was Ben who did the stabbing. I also figure this can’t be the first time MIB took the form of a “candidate.” I really like the theory a listener shared on our “LA X” podcast that “the loophole” meant Jacob could only be killed by someone carrying his essence (i.e. Ben, infused in the temple spring). I still think, however, it has something to do with who’s the “leader” at any given time. “Unlocke” was allowed inside Jacob’s lair because everyone thought he was the real Locke and thus the island’s current leader, but the highest ranking person was actually Ben, who was therefore capable of killing him.

What does it mean, though, that MIB is “stuck” looking like Locke? He did change into smoke monster form in the premiere, and apparently again tonight in the eerie island flyover. (They definitely cranked up the mechanical elements of the smoke monster’s sound.) If he just can’t look like another person, can he still become a horse? An inanimate object?

The interplay between Sawyer and “Unlocke” was great. As many predicted last week, Sawyer with nothing to lose is a dangerous thing indeed. Having him allied with MIB makes things much more interesting, and I suspect we’ll see more of our survivors choosing different sides. Yet, for all MIB says about Jacob manipulating people, he conned Sawyer pretty good himself. Tapping into his vulnerabilities, offering answers, and even saving his life. It seems clear that dramatic ladder sequence on the cliffside was orchestrated by MIB to earn his trust.

Notes and Notions:

• It was nice to see Jacob’s off-island visits with our survivors pay off, but really, Jacob’s “master plan” to push all of them to the Island was only introduced in the Season 5 finale. I’m hoping the writers do a little more, and reach a bit further back, to illustrate that they knew where everything was going from the beginning. Until then… it’s still interesting to note that some of his visits were pre-crash, and some were after the Oceanic 6 returned. Why?
• The off-island stuff is still surprisingly compelling. Locke living with Helen, but ready to give up miracles? A wedding where his father would be welcome? An alarm clock that sounds like the Swan hatch? Hurley slams Randy and offers Locke a lifeline. We see both Hurley’s psychic and Rose at the temp agency. And Benjamin Linus as a whiny European History teacher was spot on.
• On the “miracles” question, we’re of two minds. On one hand, it seems like Locke’s life off the island is devoid of worth and meaning. Yet what Rose and Helen tell him aren’t exactly “give up.” The message seems more an argument for reason, practicality, comfort and peace. He rips up Jack’s card because he’s done resenting his disability and daydreaming, and ready to start living.
• Jen asked if Locke somehow never saw Rose on Oceanic 815. It would’ve been great for there to be a glimmer of recognition in their scene together, which of course could be interpreted different ways.
• The temp agency scene? That was filmed in my office. They took over our entire IT department. Take a look at all the detail work that went into setting up the cubicles shown briefly in the background… even though you didn’t see any of it on screen!
• Other locations: Locke’s house with Helen is on Alelo Street in Waikele, literally across the street from the home Locke inspected for Nadia. The box company office where Randy fired Locke was in the Hawaiian Telcom building downtown. The parking lot where Locke met Hurley is behind the Gentry Pacific Design Center in Iwilei, across the street from my office. For details, check out my new site, LOST Locations.
• Books & Music: It was great to hear Sawyer talk about “Of Mice and Men” again. And Jen was impressed in Sawyer’s punk rock playlist: “Search and Destroy,” by Iggy and the Stooges.

What did you think? Please share your thoughts on “The Substitute” (Episode 6×04)! Commenting below is the best way to have your say. You can also email us at lost@hawaiiup.com, or call the LOSTline at (815) 310-0808.

Josh Holloway, you broke our hearts. Bravo. We had lowered expectations for this presumed “Kate episode,” and on most related points, we were right for having them. But for all the complaints we could readily recite from the cliché of Kate going after Sawyer actually being remarked upon to a largely flat and somewhat surreal off-island destraction — we did not hate “What Kate Does.” We both actually liked it.

And for Jen to say this about an episode with Kate’s name in the title, frankly, is no small feat for “LOST.”

On the character front, Sawyer’s crushing confession hit hard. We remarked last week that Josh Holloway’s descent into nihilism was a powerful turn, and our love for his talent only grew this week. Even saddled with on-the-nose lines like, “Do what you want with him, or anybody else,” he made us believe that this nearly redeemed man now had absolutely nothing to lose. And Dogen? Not since the introduction of creepy Benjamin Linus in Season Two have we been so confused yet simultaneously charmed by a new character. He’s mysterious and brooding, yet wry and funny… in a dignified way.

Jen thought Dogen’s pill presentation was very “Matrix.” And pointed out that Dogen’s leadership strategy, using a translator to add some distance between him and the people he leads, is something that Ben probably should have considered.

It’s a shame to think that this leader has to work with knuckleheads like Justin and (the now late) Aldo. But their two line debate over whether Jin is “one of them” or not was telling. The way Dogen was clearly concerned with Sawyer’s safe return, along with the recitation of names that Dogen called for when our losties were first brought to the temple, it’s obvious there’s something special about these specific people. Our people.

And on the mythology front, the reappearance of Claire before the final thud wasn’t even the most interesting clue. It was the diagnosis of poor Sayid, who’s not a zombie, but will possibly become one in due time. He, like Claire, has been “claimed,” and a darkness is growing within him. It seems that Claire is already lost to the dark side of the force, and the question is, who else has been so infected? The late Christian Shephard seems a good guess. These would be the agents of the Man In Black.

Claire did seem to be channeling a bit of Danielle Rousseau in her half second on screen, and she’s obviously been setting Rousseau-like traps. Also, the way Justin (or Aldo?) said Rosseau had been dead for a while seemed to suggest that perhaps our crazy Frenchwoman had a share of darkness within her as well. On the other hand, out of everyone on the island, she seemed most wary of “the sickness,” and the similarity between Sayid’s torture test and Rosseau’s car battery interrogation in Season 1 is obvious. I’m going to say Rosseau managed to steer clear of infection, just not of bullets.

One thing that stood out this week? Our friends at the temple seem to be big on free will and choice. After more than one physical scuffle with Jack, the burly guards obediently step aside when he finally decides he wants to talk to Dogen. And Dogen said Sayid had to take the pill — the poison pill — willingly. Indeed, the way Dogen asks Sawyer to stay, coupled with the way Hurley was told the alarm wasn’t to keep them locked in, suggests that our losties aren’t entirely the prisoners they think they are.

And what of the off-island storyline? There’s no doubt Kate had several moments of deja vu, from spotting Jack at the airport, to pulling the stuffed orca out of Claire’s backpack (the same whale that Aaron clutched in “Something Nice Back Home”), to hearing Aaron’s name. A name that even surprised Claire. So we get that there are links between the world where Oceanic 815 crashed and the world where it didn’t. But honestly it still seems like a distraction, a writers’ flight of “what if” fancy, particularly when the story we all thought we were following is still unfolding on the island. Sure, it was awesome to see Ethan again (talking about needles, no less), but we didn’t even see Unlocke, Alpert, Ben and friends this week. I can only hope to be wonderfully surprised with a big payoff further down the line.

• The zombie conversation was hilarious. But Miles topped it with, “We’ll be in the food court if you need us.”
• Dogen’s dry answers to Jack were great. “What’s that?” “A baseball.” “What’s this?” “Tea.” Reminiscent of Alpert’s explanation of a compass to Locke: “It points north, John.”
• Doc Arzt pulls the “Taxi Driver” “Midnight Cowboy” line, “I’m walkin’ here!” Just like Sawyer did when Christian hits him with the car door in “Two for the Road.”
• In contrast, Kate had some real clunkers. Her astonished lines with Sawyer in the temple as they looked at Sayid were, it seemed, practically a re-run of the same astonished conversation in the same dark corner as last week.
• So is this the end of the Kate-Sawyer side of the love triangle? I hope so. I’m not sure if I can take another go ’round. There definitely seemed to be some heat on the Kate-Jack side. I don’t care who Kate chooses. I just want her to choose and be done with it.
• It’s great to see Jin speaking English. And his desperate search for Sun is understandable. But they’ve been kept apart so long, I’m starting to forgetting the chemistry they had, and I’m afraid their reunification will be less Rose and Bernard and more “Waaalt!”
• Locations: Honolulu International Airport (LAX), Koapaka Street (where Kate left, then came back for, Claire), Hawaii Medical Center West (where Kate took Claire) and a home in Kahala (Claire’s would-be adoptive parents’ home).

What did you think of “What Kate Does”? right now! Commenting below is the best way to submit feedback, so you can share your thoughts with fellow listeners immediately. You can also e-mail us at lost@hawaiiup.com, or call the LOSTline at (815) 310-0808. We love hearing from you.

“LA X” was a fitting opener to the final season of “LOST.” It had a reassuring focus on character with a generous topping of mythology. It had moments of strong emotional resonance, and a few gasp-worthy reveals. And it sets the stage for the epic battle between Jacob and the Man In Black that has apparently simmered beneath much of what we’ve been studying for the past several years. Sure, with yet another storytelling “twist,” we have no idea what’s going on… but since when has that been a problem?

Okay. So Jen’s a little nonplussed with the “parallel storyline” structure, and I can see why. On one hand, it’s clever. We get to see both outcomes of the Jughead argument. And the little differences we spot range from amusing hat-tips to a deeper exploration of a person’s fate. On the other, it seems just a little cheap to not commit to one answer… at least this late in the game. It also raises the troubling specter of having to switch between two worlds for several more episodes, when we really want the writers to just pick a path and let the rubber finally, finally hit the road.

And intellectually, I can see many reasons to dismiss or even dislike the universe where Oceanic Flight 815 lands safely in Los Angeles. Through that lens, they’ve thrown out five years of character development and regression. So I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Sure, some of the touches were more fan bait than plot (Frogurt at the taxi stand, Doctor Arzt being annoying), but other moments felt right: Jack and Locke talking at the airport lost and found, with Jack taking interest in Locke’s condition. Jin returning to his darker, meaner self, and Sun already rebelling. Sawyer flirting with Kate, but more tellingly, not interfering with her escape from the airport. Hurley being confident and lucky. And Charlie, once running from death, now almost exhaustedly chasing it. I guess I’m more curious about the “what if” scenario than I thought I was.

Besides. The island is underwater? A development that comes about sometime after New Otherton is built? (A development that, sadly, could’ve used a few more days in the CGI rendering farm?) Just like watching a magic show, independent of everything else, I now simply have to see how they explain that. My guess is that it sank when Ben moved the island, a moment that is at the other end of whatever branching we’re now seeing. But I can’t even begin to explain what I actually mean.

Meanwhile, the new on-island world (universe, storyline, timeline, what have you) so far certainly seems to be custom-built to feed the fans obsessed with the mythology of the show. “I’m sorry you had to see me like that,” says Unlocke, while Richard says, incredulously, “You!” If the Man in Black and the smoke monster are one and the same, we now have a whole new prism through which to reexamine the last five seasons. I only hope things hold up under such scrutiny.

Learning what was in the guitar case so early in the season was a pleasant surprise, and the giant Ankh was certainly an impressive prop, regardless of the fact that a sealed envelope would’ve probably worked just as well.

Finally, we see the temple, and meet a whole new group of characters. It’s a good thing Hiroyuki Sanada is so good at being mysterious, because these original recipe Others (shunning technology and performing rituals) could very well have been too much, too late. Instead, Sanada seemed a perfect disciple and ally of Jacob, and through him, the Others again seemed to be a tribe to be reckoned with. An intimidating air that was reminiscent of the first two seasons, before Kate found the costumes.

What of the temple spring? Apparently it’s supposed to heal, as the Island itself does, though that power went missing as the water turned cloudy. Sayid, instead of being revived, apparently died. But that was likely always Jacob’s plan. I bet that Jacob now has a new agent or vessel in Sayid, given the unfamiliar voice with which Sayid asked, “What happened?”

But with word that Jacob is dead, the Others at the Temple prepare for battle with “him.” Their flare alerts Alpert, who’s sadly pummeled by Unlocke/Man In Black, and I guess the battle is on.

Notes and Notions:

• I guess we had to get “closure” with Juliet, but having to basically see her die twice was wrenching. Josh Holloway, hands down, gave the performance of the evening.
• From beyond the grave, Juliet says, “It worked.” So can she see the other timeline? Is it even, really, another timeline? After all, in Los Angeles, it’s 2004. On the island, it’s 2007 or so. Maybe the writers can somehow connect the two into one single timeline? Does that even make sense?
• The Man in Black’s tribute to the late John Locke was a bittersweet one. He spoke the truth about our sad, defeated friend, and our would-be hero. But perhaps not surprisingly, Terry O’Quinn’s “menacing” look is incredibly effective, and I’ll gladly let John Locke go in favor of seeing what the actor does with a whole new soul.
• The Man in Black wants to get off the island, and go “home.” I guess it’s fair to ask where or what “home” is, but I think the real story is why he (and likely Jacob) are trapped on the island. His reference to Alpert’s chains, meanwhile, hint strongly at the suspected link between Alpert and the Black Rock.
• Hurley can see Jacob, but Jin can’t, though Jacob touched them both. Therefore, Hurley is special, and seeing the dead is simply his thing. Indeed, he seems almost too suddenly fine with it, barely reacting when Jacob tells him he died three hours prior, and talking warmly to the recently deceased Sayid. Miles, too, got to let his freak flag fly, and this time his communion with the dead came with a great deal of dramatic flourish. Sometimes, I can’t believe this is the same show we were watching in Season 1.
• Great lighter moments. Hurley saying he knows how to use a gun, or arguing about trademarking the word “Outback.” Locke telling Boone he’s not pulling his leg, and Boone telling Locke he’d follow him to stay safe on a plane. And, of course, a Sawyer nickname: Earhart.
• Richard said, “Asking me what’s in the shadow of the damn statue doesn’t mean you’re in charge.” He flippantly referred to a line that, up until now, was infused with significance and weight. Kind of like, “Live together, die alone.”
• Fun with pointy things! Jack was again looking for a pen to save someone’s life. And how great is it that a character named Bram dies via a stake through his heart?
• Book: “Fear and Trembling” by Soren Kierkegaard, a retelling of the biblical story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac.
• Locations: The Temple interior is on the Hawaii Film Studio sound stage, but the impressive exterior is in Manoa Valley. The plane interior, and the collapsed hatch tunnel, was also on the studio lot. The Swan site is in the jungles of Heeia Kea in Kaneohe, and the foot of the four toed statue was Makua Beach. LAX is, of course, Honolulu International Airport.

We’d love your feedback for our podcast this weekend! Comment below, e-mail us at lost@hawaiiup.com, or call the LOSTLine at 815-310-0808.

Unfortunately, the Season 3 rewatch podcast scheduled for today will have to be postponed a week. Consider it a Thanksgiving dessert. We’ll discuss “One of Us” (Juliet), “Catch 22″ (Desmond) and “D.O.C.” (Sun) by Nov. 29, or hopefully earlier. Then the third and final “LOST Master Class” will follow on Dec. 6. We’re sorry for the delay. But don’t worry, we still have lots of time to wrap up our review before the season premiere of the sixth and final season of “LOST” on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. Groundhog Day.

Here’s the updated hiatus schedule.

Jacob falls. Jughead blows. Fade to white. Season five of “LOST” was a dizzying mix of sci-fi time travel, classic character flashbacks, and island mythology. All in all, a great ride, and one that has us hanging on for the sixth and final season in 2010. Though “The Transmission” is going to take a break for now, there’s too much to talk about to simply disappear into a magnetic pocket. We invite you to sound off on the season we’ve just seen, and continue the conversation with us and other listeners.

One More Show?

Depending on your interest, we may be able to assemble a “listener special” between the finale and Comic-Con in April. Of course, we want you to do all the hard work. You can share your thoughts here and via e-mail to lost@hawaiiup.com, but we’d love it if you’d contribute your voice via the new LostLine at (815) 310-0808. For best results, let us know who you are and where you’re from, and briefly answer one of the following questions:

• What did you think of Season 5 overall?
• What was your favorite moment… or least favorite moment?
• Top unanswered question going into Season 6 (and your favorite answer)?
• Favorite lines, quotes, or quips?

Even if a “listener special” doesn’t materialize, the comments here should offer great food for thought. Watch this space for news as Comic-Con approaches! As always, thank you for your support and participation. It makes everything worthwhile.

The Season 5 finale gave us the widest view yet of what’s been unfolding on the The Island, and for that, I’m thrilled. But the Season 5 finale also honed in on some of our character’s most petty failings, and for that, we’re both somewhat annoyed. Frankly, Jen was livid. I like the suggestion that we’ve been watching only the latest round in a perpetual battle between light and dark — one in which our survivors finally opened a “loophole” for the dark forces to gain the upper hand. I don’t like the idea that the huge, dramatic, cataclysmic detonation of the Jughead core we’ve been building up to all season came only as the result of more twists in the “para-love-ogram.”

Let’s start with what I liked. Though “like” is dependent entirely on the foolhardy presumption that my interpretation of what we’ve seen with Jacob is right. Based solely on the opening scene, no less. To wit:

Jacob is light, goodness, benevolence. His nemesis, yet unnamed, is dark, petty, judgemental. Perhaps for an eternity, they have battled on The Island. But they cannot vanquish each other directly. The Island is largely the chess board, and the pieces are men. Imperfect, flawed humans. By the time the Black Rock arrives, they’ve been through the cycle many times. Jacob summoned another group, believing they might avoid self destruction. Darkness says, “It always ends the same.”

So the Black Rock, the Dharma Initiative, perhaps even The Others, and most certainly the survivors of Flight 815… each group came to the island, struggled over leadership, and self destructed.

Richard Alpert, perpetual advisor, serves Jacob by trying to guide and protect whomever is the leader: Eloise (who Richard called his leader in 1977), Ben (whom Richard and perhaps Jacob felt was ultimately an inadequate leader), and Locke (who Richard presumed to be special, even if it was Locke that gave him that idea in the first place). Darkness, meanwhile, acts through visions, or actually possessing the form of the dead. Christian Shephard. Alex. Perhaps Claire. And, yes, the late Locke, whom we now know isn’t Locke. We’ll call him Dark Locke.

Jacob is compassionate and feels for these flawed people. He visits them, literally touches them, perhaps merely knowing their path, or perhaps steering them. However the cycle ends, he knows it must end.

But something happened with Oceanic Flight 815. Something about this last cycle was different. And the why and how are, most likely, part of what awaits in Season Six. Nonetheless, the combination of The Incident, of Desmond turning the failsafe, of Eloise sending them back on Ajira 316 but scattering them through time — this whole convoluted series events, the entirety of the last five seasons of “LOST” — has led us to the loophole. The loophole that allowed Darkness to vanquish Jacob, with Ben as his instrument.

What is the loophole?

I can only guess by guessing at the rules. Only the leader can enter the temple. There can be only one leader. And the leader, essentially, decides who wins. Darkness, through manipulating the leader with visions and the reanimated dead, has probably brought the leader to Jacob dozens or hundreds of times. Each time, the leader has probably arrived, ready to reject and kill Jacob. But once inside, alone, Jacob appeals to the leader’s better self, gives them a choice, and they always choose light.

Darkness found his loophole through Locke. I’m not sure exactly when, but Locke had been the key for a while. Locke eventually died. And, yes, Locke is still dead. But with his body returned to the island, Darkness was able to take the form of Locke, becoming Dark Locke, and bewilder everyone  — including Ben and, curiously, Richard — with his knowledge of The Island. He asserts many times that he is the leader. And he repeatedly taunts Ben for never having made the cut with Jacob.

Dark Locke brings everyone to Jacob. He, the supposed leader, goes into Jacob’s lair, and insists on bringing Ben. Why? Because Ben is the leader. Ben’s been the leader ever since he returned on Ajira 316 and woke up in the infirmary, because Locke is still dead. That’s the loophole. And Dark Locke, having goaded Ben during the entire journey, looses his jealousy and insecurity and rage, and Ben, the leader, stabs Jacob and throws him into the fire.

The end?

Of course not. With his last breath, Jacob says, “They’re coming.” Who? My guess, perhaps obviously, is that “they” are everyone misplaced in time, back in 1977, who are near the Swan and subjected to the universe-twisting combination of electromagnetism and a hydrogen bomb blast. My guess for Season 6 is that everyone is reunited in 2007, but Darkness rules The Island, and the epic battle will be these imperfect, flawed humans trying to vanquish him.

But I could be completely wrong.

For example, where does the smoke monster fit? Is it an agent of Darkness? I’m inclined to think so, since it does stand in judgment of men, finding them unworthy and destroying them much as I imagine Darkness would. It could also be the agent through which Darkness assumes the form of the dead, such as both Alex and Dark Locke in the temple. Jen’s question, though, is how Ben became familiar enough with it to use it for his own means. It may be more likely that the smoke monster is a free agent.

Where do Bram and Ilana fit? Given the riddle, I guess they’re aligned with Alpert, and therefore presumably Jacob. What role will they play? I certainly hope it’s something more significant than teasing viewers with a mystery box for half a season. And if we now know that Ilana always knew Locke was in that box, she was obviously not surprised by seeing Dark Locke eating a mango in “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham.” How can she not be surprised by Dark Locke, but Alpert be apparently merely suspicious? And could they actually be agents of Darkness? After all, in the opening scene in the ancient past, it’s Darkness who calls Jacob “my friend.”

And if we’ve actually been watching pawns on a chess board, manipulated by Jacob and Darkness, it’d be somewhat disheartening to imagine that the longstanding battle between crafty and clever Ben and rich industrialist Charles Widmore is essentially insignificant. There has to be more to it.

Yet, Ben was goaded into killing Jacob after decades of servitude simply by becoming a petulant, whiny, sore loser. Juliet reverses herself halfway through the “Stop Jack” mission, simply because Sawyer looked at Kate funny. And Jack admits that his talk about destiny was all a crock: he wants to detonate a deadly hydrogen bomb simply because he blew it with Kate. Sayid is shot, valiantly rigs the bomb to go off on impact, but it doesn’t. Juliet dies, but doesn’t, but does, because Jack didn’t detonate the bomb, she did. And Miles gets the throwaway line about how their actions are creating the events they’re trying to stop… all bringing us to the big dramatic blast that wasn’t, because it was effectively “defused” by all the character machinations that led up to it.

The preceding paragraph is essentially why Jen went to bed angry. Here’s hoping she’s feeling a little more charitable by the time we record our podcast.

Notes and Notions:

• Damon Lindeloff and Carlton Cuse hinted that the end of this Season 5 finale would be like the end of the Season 1 finale, and it was. Just as we saw nothing at the bottom of the hatch after Locke finally blew it open, we saw nothing after the bright white flash of Jughead. It’s a cliffhanger in only the faintest sense of the word. No tangible piece of what may come in Season 6 beyond “they’re coming.”
• If the “what’s in the box” teases weren’t enough, what’s the deal with Hurley’s guitar case? We know Jacob gave it to him, which is great, but… really? Will we just not know? Or will it be blasted into 2007 alongside Hurley to taunt us in Season 6?
• When Juliet said, “Live together, die alone,” didn’t you want to punch her in the face?
• Juliet’s death was wrenching, but probably would’ve been moreso if she hadn’t essentially dumped Sawyer two scenes earlier. It doesn’t look good for Sayid, either. And while it was good to see Phil get skewered, I really felt Sawyer deserved to have his death under his belt, rather than a random pipe.
• I’m not sure whether Jacob’s visits with all our characters were meant to direct them to their fates or change them. They made a point of showing him physically touch each of them, tapping Kate on the nose, holding young Sawyer’s hand a moment when handing him a pen. But it seems odd that Jacob helps revive Locke after falling from a high rise, but doesn’t do much more than give Jack an Apollo Bar.
• I really liked how Rose and Bernard were handled, even if I’m pretty sure this is the last we’ll see of them (beyond perhaps more explicit confirmation that they’re the “Adam and Eve” skeletons from Season 1). Their dismay at being found was hilarious. They got the lives they always wanted, they retired from the cycle of violence, and they’re happy to die as long as they’re together. Aww…
• We saw Vincent, too, but he’s now a mystery to me. If he survives the hydrogen bomb blast in 1977, he’s not likely to still be around in 2007. Unless he’s thrown through time along with Jack and friends. I can’t think of any other way Vincent makes it to the end of Season 6, as the creators seem to suggest he will.
• I liked how Bram called Frank a “yahoo.” Since it turned out that Frank was only pretending to be unconscious, I would’ve enjoyed having him pop up to respond to the word like he did in Season 4. He also got the great line, “In my experience the people who go out of their way to tell you they’re the good guys are the bad guys.”
• Talk about writing themselves out of a corner. Jughead already shrunk by several feet between “Jughead” and “Follow the Leader.” But after talking so much about its size and weight, turns out all we need is the core, which conveniently fits in a backpack. Now we can walk it over to the Swan!
• Some of the flashbacks were so short, and linked so plainly to the scenes that followed, I would’ve rather not seen them. Juliet’s parents got divorced, so that’s why she dumps Sawyer! Sayid watched Nadia die in the street, so that’s why he’s ready to die after being shot! Jacob recruited Ilana, and Jacob put Hurley on Ajira 316! It felt off.
• When Locke was thrown through the window, didn’t he bring a cascade of broken glass with him? The way he drops, singularly, with a thud before Jacob walks up seemed a bit strange. And were they suggesting Jacob saved Sayid’s life by pulling him back off the street?
• I can forgive Miles’ anvilicious “what if this causes the incident” epiphany because he also had the great line after Jack said the plan is not to go back in time. “Right, because that would be ridiculous.”
• Snarky Ben is fun. “I’m a Pisces.” Or, “I lied. It’s what I do.” Or when Sun asks Ben if he expects her to believe he doesn’t know about the statue. “Not really.”
• I liked that Sun found Charlie’s Drive Shaft ring in Aaron’s old crib, and that Charlie was mentioned in Jacob’s conversation with Hurley (along with Libby). Interesting how some long lost characters still get shoutouts, while many others don’t.
• Book: “Everything that Rises must Converge” by Flannery O’Connor. Interestingly, Jen’s working her way through an anthology of O’Connor short stories right now.
• Locations: Too many to list completely. Sun and Jin got married at the Byodo-In Temple in Kaneohe. Locke fell out of the Waikiki Landmark highrise on Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki. Young Kate shoplifted from a small store near Haleiwa (the name escapes me at the moment, but we mentioned it on our podcast). Young Sawyer’s funeral was at a church in Ewa Villages. Hurley was released from the Oahu Community Correctional Center on Dillingham Blvd. Nadia was killed at the corner of Auahi and Kamani streets off Ward.

What did you think? Comment below, call the LostLine at (808) 356-0127, or e-mail us at lost@hawaiiup.com.

Each season, the penultimate episode is usually given the sad assignment of being the doormat for the season finale. And, like those that have come before, “Follow The Leader” had its share of trekking and shuffling and exposition, as the various chess pieces are moved into place for the final showdown. But as these “setup episodes” go, we really liked this one. Great character moments, solid conflicts, noticeably vibrant cinematography (about which we only periodically rave), and brisk pacing. We’re satisfied, and properly pumped up for next week.

True, we had not one, but two “recycled” moments last night. The first? They replayed the “Ellie Shoots Faraday” scene from Jack and Kate’s perspective. And to be honest, I briefly feared that the writers would pull a “magical moving bullet hole” trick, a la Ben. Instead, they went out of their way to show us that Faraday is truly dead… right down to the “hand over the eyes to close them” cliche that’s everywhere in movies and TV. But the second re-run moment was unexpected: Locke brings Ben and Richard to meet Flashing Locke at the drug plane. It was awesome to watch, but prompted the night’s biggest headache as we tried to plot out where and when Richard and Locke were, and when they knew what. Frankly, I wonder if they just wrote in the scene to solve the “infinite compass” question. Either way, though, it was fun to watch.

I loved Michael Emerson’s Ben this week, exasperated and snarky. His scenes with Locke were fun, yet significant, throwing the two “leaders” into sharp relief. I also liked the brief moments of chemistry between Ben and Alpert, both familiar and awkward. The scene where Hurley is outed as a time traveler was, of course, hilarious… especially since he’s stumped when asked who the president is in 1977. He asked that very question to Sawyer in “Namaste,” but Sawyer groused, “It’s not a damned game show.” But that same scene carried unexpected warmth, as well, when Miles admits to Dr. Chang that he’s his son… and Dr. Chang accepts it.

As far as chemistry goes, I was loving the interplay between Sawyer and Juliet. From the violent interrogation to their conversation on the dock (where Juliet says she’s still glad Sawyer talked her into staying, and he hatches a plan to get rich via Microsoft), it’s great how the show’s most out-of-the-blue coupling remains one of its most strong and mature.

Until, of course, Kate drops in, and is handcuffed next to Juliet, the two of them conveniently across from Sawyer. That moment was so cheap and forced, I actually thought I heard a cartoony needle-scratching-off-a-record sound effect in the back ground. And here I thought we’d at least make it out of Season 5 without returning to Season 1 romantic melodrama.

And I was just starting to warm up to Kate again, too. She’s assertive, skeptical, perceptive… a lot of the things she’s often not allowed to be for the sake of a twist. She’s the first (followed by Sayid) to point out that the last three years of their lives is not something to be discarded lightly. I liked her look of exasperation when Jack admits to being with Faraday, and her answer to Ellie when she asks whether Jack knows what he’s talking about: “He thinks he does.” She stands up to, and parts ways with, Jack, soon after delivering one of her best lines in recent memory: “Since when did shooting kids and blowing up hydrogen bombs become okay?” Evangeline Lilly’s acting was solid, not screechy, her glassy eyes tonight taking me back to Kate’s strong Season 1 moments. Alas, she then marches off… right back into a soap opera.

I’m certain that the fake-out, when Kate briefly thinks she’d been shot, is simultaneously a low- and high-point for those who aren’t a fan of her character.

And Locke. Something’s up with Locke. If Locke’s even Locke. Richard immediately notices something’s different about him, and I don’t think it’s because he has a “purpose” now. He’s confident and resolute, but he’s something else… and when he dismisses out of hand Sun’s hopes of reunification with Jin, I got a cold chill. And he wants to kill the allmighty Jacob, if he’s allmighty at all. Is doing so in service of a grand plan that Locke is executing? Perhaps. Or is it simply the folly of a man who thinks he’s ascended to a level higher than he has? There’s a dark side to the new-and-improved Locke. And while I said earlier that I didn’t think I could take one more rise-and-fall cycle for his long-tortured character, I feel as if another reckoning is coming for him.

Jen observed: Kate is turning into Jack, skeptical and assertive. Jack is turning into Locke, a blind believer. And Locke is turning into Ben, all-knowing but perhaps overconfident. My contribution? Sun is turning into Michael. Her one-dimensional “have you seen my husband” path of the last several episodes are becoming this season’s “Wa-a-a-a-a-alt!”

Finally, does Jack detonate Jughead? I’m still of the opinion that he doesn’t, or that whatever happens, it isn’t what you’d typically expect of a blast from a 40,000-pound hydrogen bomb. Indeed, tonight we learn that Jughead is actually parked right underneath Othersville. You know, the cozy cottages and grassy fields that still exist, intact, in 2007?

Notes and Notions:

• “LOST” has good hair days, and bad hair days. It also has good special effects days, and bad special effects days. I have to say, the dramatic departure of the Galaga falls into the latter category. It was pretty weak, which I guess has to be expected given a weekly show and budget. It would’ve been better for us just to assume its departure based on the activity inside… but I guess they had to show the submarine under way else we draw the conclusion that it doesn’t move at all.
• The casting for Younger Eloise is great. (As was the casting for Young Eloise in “Jughead.”) Alice Evans is absolutely believable as the precursor to stoic Mrs. Hawking. Her character’s struggle to process what Faraday said was great. And her motivations for helping Jack seem deliciously unclear. Does she really want to undo the death of a son she never knew? Or is the prospect of just blasting the Dharma Initiative to smithereens just too tempting?
• In 2007, Alpert makes brief mention of another group of Others/Hostiiles at The Temple. Meanwhile, we know on Alcatraz (a.k.a. Hydra Island), Ilana and friends are up to something as well. I think both of these largely unexplored parties will play a key part in the season finale.
• Sayid is back. He seemed to take the fact that Ben survived surprisingly well. I mean, he of anyone, now, should have a strong opinion as to whether what they’re doing (and what they’re about to do) is really changing anything at all.
• So, Jack is seizing his moment. But Jen wonders, as do I, when his epiphany took place. He seemed to more roll into his current mission than blast off from a specific spark of inspiration or realization. I was expecting considerably more fireworks to celebrate the instant he decided to act.
• Radzinkski is a vile man. And apparently can stage a coup just by telling Horace he’s in charge. At least we seem to know how his story ends, as a stain on the roof of his precious Swan. Given what Phil did to Juliet, I don’t suspect he’s long for this world, either.

What did you think? Please comment below, e-mail us at lost@hawaiiup.com, or leave a message on the LostLine at (808) 356-0127.

If the size of the post-thud headache is a reliable metric in evaluating the quality of an episode, “The Variable” may take top prize for Season 5. Jen and I are still trying to sort out the possibilities and impossibilities presented tonight. The man who preached emphatically that you can’t change the past finally returns, now emphatic that you can. Even our characters recognize the insanity of undoing everything that’s happened (essentially erasing the entirety of “LOST” to date). But just as Daniel Faraday gets rolling, he’s shot dead. By his mom. A mother who knew, in 2007, that he was sending his memory-addled son to that very fate.

My theory, such as it is? Faraday’s Jughead plan was doomed to failure, and will ultimately not change anything. But his death, his mother’s sacrifice, will instead be the key, the real “incident” that sets everything else in motion.

Why is Faraday wrong? Because he ended up telling Charlotte to leave the island, even though he didn’t want to, thereby closing the loop on one of his own “whatever happened, happened” moments. Because his supposedly radical conclusion — that people, and free will, are the key variables — is undercut by the fact that we’ve been shown that the meddling of our Losties in 1957 and 1977 were always part of the island’s history. And because, I think, we see him realize, with his last breath, what his mother was up to. He was never meant to go to the island to be healed or to save anyone. He simply had to die.

He simply had to die… for the first time. I’m struck by Eloise Hawking’s conversation with Penny, where she says with an obvious sense of wonder, “For the first time in a long time, I don’t know what’s going to happen next.” And she later tells Charles Widmore about sacrifice, about how she sent her son to the island knowing full well he would be killed (by her). Sacrificing her son, it seems, was something she only just barely found the strength to do. Something she’d never done before, which somehow allowed her to always know the future.

Yes, it’s still an attempt to change history, or change destiny, and I’m still not convinced it can be done. But if I ever suspected that Widmore and Hawking were playing at a wholly different level than any of the other characters, I’m convinced of it now. I only hope that whatever Hawking wants to change, it’s not erasing everything we’ve spent the last five years dissecting. That might be a bold move for the end of Season 5, but one that would ultimately be disheartening.

No question, the big questions raised in “The Variable” are worthy of a long conversation. But character wise, story wise, plot wise, it was… merely a good episode. One of those “set up” or “bridge” episodes, if you’ll pardon the expression. It brought a mix of reveals and confirmations, as we suspected Widmore might be Faraday’s father, and that Widmore planted the fake wreckage (meaning Miles’ chat with the dead guy in “Some Like It Hoth” was a fake out). The dramatic stakes were raised, once again via the separation of our Losties into two groups. We see things spiraling out of control, Faraday’s “four hour” countdown conveniently making the rest of the season a near real-time experience.

I was mostly disappointed in Faraday’s story. It simply felt rushed. We flew through his life, from his youth (torn away from the piano) to his graduation, through his experiments and expulsion from Oxford, to deciding to getting on the freighter. Theresa was but a mere blip, and the whole “Memento”-esque memory condition seemed awkwardly shoehorned in. (We did get our hint last season, though, via his memory test with Charlotte.) I mean, this is not the first time we’ve had an intriguing character with some key knowledge and connections… who ends up dying just when their significance begins to emerge (and at the end of a paint-by-numbers flashback episode).

Jen doesn’t want Faraday to be dead, but frankly, he better be. Another Ben-like resurrection at this point would be downright comical. I’d like to think we’ll still learn more about Faraday and his experiments (perhaps in flashbacks for Hawking or Widmore). His still unexplained tears at the sight of the fake wreckage suggests to me that, in true “Constant” fashion, a part of Miles’ scrambled brain was already in touch with his future self.

Notes and Notions:

• Jaters rejoice? Sawyer asks “Freckles” to come with him to the beach to start over, and Juliet immediately gives up the code to the sonic fence. Sawyer asks if Juliet still has his back, and her response is only to ask if he’s got her back. If they’re going to go back down that path, I only hope they save it for Season 6.
• I liked how young piano-playing Faraday told his mother that he could “make time.” Or how he, back on the island, knew when Dr. Chang would arrive at The Orchid, “right on time.”
• We still haven’t seen Jack’s “moment,” but it was amusing how he noted that it was lucky he was a janitor when they suddenly needed the keys to the gun safe. As one of our listeners noted weeks ago, maybe that was always Sawyer’s plan.
• Speaking of moments, Jack’s little speech to Kate about hers was pretty anvilicious. We know the both of them have yet to fulfill some grand plan, but to have that spelled out so melodramatically was jarring.
• Tonight brought a great reminder that some of our Losties spent some time in the 1950s, with Hurley’s line, “Like, Fonzie time?”
• Sawyer’s still got it in the nickname department. “Twitchy” suits frantic Faraday just fine. Bonus points for the straight-faced delivery of the line, “Your mother is an Other?”
• Not to be outdone, Miles tells Faraday, “I thought you’d gotten rich inventing the DVD or something.”
• Any numerologists want to sort out the significance of 141717?
• Locations: Oxford was, again, St. Andrew’s in downtown Honolulu. The Indian restaurant where Daniel got his notebook was Grand Cafe on Pauahi St. Can’t place the “Marina Medical Center.”

We definitely need help untangling this 100th episode of “LOST.” Please comment below, e-mail lost@hawaiiup.com, or call the LostLine at (808) 356-0127.

After aligning herself with the minority in being disappointed in last week’s episode, Jen said tonight that she loved “Some Like It Hoth.” We both agreed it was hardly a deep, rich exploration of characters and mythology. It was a generous helping of fan fodder, chock full of little epiphanies and truly golden one-liners to keep us grinning throughout. Wrapped in the comfortable and traditional flashback structure, we finally get some of Miles’ backstory. We cross a few items off the “mystery” checklist. We get a glimpse of the coming “war” and the likely collapse of our survivors’ DHARMA ruse. And at the closing thud, Dan Faraday returns, likely with a hell of a story to tell… in two weeks.

First, the fun stuff. The unlikely buddy team of Hurley and Miles was as great as we’d imagined (and as was hinted during the time travel debate a couple of weeks ago). Miles was the straight man, but still wickedly wry. And Hurley was in top form. From stopping global warming to pre-writing “The Empire Strikes Back,” from possibly bringing us the closest to a “fart joke” we’ve ever seen on this show to his gleeful meddling between Dr. Chang and Miles, Jorge Garcia has never been more funny, and perfectly in sync with “LOST” fans. Was it a bit much? A touch of pandering? Jen doesn’t think so… though I can see how a grumpier fan looking for more forward motion might have felt a bit annoyed.

I thought Miles’ journey was well presented, though necessarily compressed. Tortured by his ability as a child, he grew to exploit it. He was also, like just about everyone on “LOST,” simmering with daddy issues. (Jen and I agreed, young punk Miles was wonderfully depicted.) Bram’s pitch in the black van didn’t penetrate his armor, but Hurley’s “Star Wars” metaphor at the DHARMA van did. And the scene where he sees his father reading to him was powerful. Dr. Chang has consistently been depicted as a grouch (and a “douche”), a reputation that even guarded Miles must have been familiar with. So to suddenly see him genuinely happy, perhaps only when he’s with baby Miles, said a lot. When Dr. Candle comes out to tell older Miles that he needs him? When Miles’ voice falters? Yeah, they got me.

Did Dr. Candle throw his wife and son out, or off the island? I’m thinking no. Perhaps she fled with baby Miles. But from what?

As for the reveals? They were doled out with great efficiency. Miles is Dr. Chang’s infant son. It’s possible to see yourself in the past (but physical contact may still be a problem). Miles wanted $3.2 million from Ben as he was trying, for the second time, to double his money from Widmore. Widmore was genuinely investigating the faked plane wreckage… though whoever was behind it is still unclear. And is that mysterious person or group behind trying to talk Miles out of joining Naomi’s expedition? Because that entity is also behind Ilana’s mission in 2007 (linked by the brilliantly-named Bram).

“The Reconstituted DHARMA Initiative” of the futurepresent is as good a theory as any.

It was a fun ride. But the path ahead looks to be a deliciously treacherous one. First of all, Kate is back to form, flapping her gums and toppling the first domino of doubt that’ll likely lead to our survivors’ expulsion from the DHARMA Initiative. And, yes, Daniel Faraday is back, returning from Ann Arbor as a Swan-assigned DHARMA scientist. How and why he ended off island will be almost as interesting to explore as what he’s ultimately up to. We only know he arrived, broken, in Othersville in 1974, and sometime later got inside The Orchid just as the frozen wheel was discovered. Is he trying to change something? We’re told “whatever happened, happened,” but if anyone’s going to break that particular rule, it’s him.

• Favorite Hurley moment? His interaction with Dr. Chang where they discus polar bear feces. Favorite Hurley line? “It all could have been avoided if they just… communicated.” No truer words are there for “LOST” — or for just about any dramatic story.
• I can’t wait for Jack to find his moment, to be “activated” a la Ilana… because his shuffling around is seriously getting on my nerves. The scene where he delivers his intel to Sawyer then quietly walks out left me scratching my head. And his defense of Kate to Roger was pretty weak. What could he have said to chill Roger out? How about, “She had a son, but lost him. She doesn’t ever want to talk about it. She just feels deeply for Ben, and for you.”
• Lots of numbers in this episode, including (finally) the numbers, being stamped into the hatch. There was the $1.6 and $3.2 million, of course, and the 3:16 on the microwave in the opening scene. Mr. Vonner was found dead in apartment four. They also clearly showed Miles’ older, bedridden mother lived in apartment 7… but earlier it seemed as if she came running from an apartment a few doors down from apartment 104.
• Music was prominent in this episode, too. Albert Hammond’s “It Never Rains In Southern California” and Captain & Tennille’s “Love Will Keep Us Together.” Plus a reference to Miles Davis. Dr. Chang loves country (hence “Shotgun Willie” in the opening scene of Season 5).
• Locations: The apartment complex and the taco stand are both in Aiea, makai of Pearlridge, next to Pearl Kai Shopping Center.

Please comment below, e-mail us at lost@hawaiiup.com, or call the LostLine at (808) 356-0127 by Friday, April 17.