Lost- Season 5- Episode 16/17- the Finale

I know, I know, I know...I've neglected this blog terribly.  I can't make up for the lost posts, but I couldn't resist writing about tonight's finale, so...........let's start from the beginning

• It was hard not to notice the contrast of the two men sitting on the beach- one wearing black, the other white....good/bad?  We've seen the black/white/good/evil theme play out for a while, so this was no surprise.  It also seems to me that the theme flows through hair color of oppositional forces on the island- Jack vs. Sawyer, Jack vs. Locke, Ben vs. Widmore....and now these two gentlemen who have apparently been the puppet masters all along.  Big game of chess/backgammon?
• But what is it that Jacob wants to happen?  He clearly has a history of wanting people to come to the islands, and speaks of progress...towards what?  The Black Rock clearly failed because he began recruiting our Losties a long time ago.  Is this a test of human nature?  
• I just re-watched the first scenes of the episode over and it seemed really biblical in nature God vs. satan, good vs evil.  Jacob is clearly bringing people to the island, and expects a different outcome than has been seen before.  The dude in black (fallen angel?) says all they do is come, fight, corrupt, etc...and that it all ends the same.  Jacob says "it only ends once and what happens before that is just progress."
• This seems like a war for the souls of humans.  The dude in black assumes the darkness of mankind will prevail, and Jacob seems to bring certain people to the island who he believes will prove the dude in black wrong.  It's like his own personal army.  But, they all have free will.  Jacob doesn't interfere.  Very strong religious themes here.
• Much like the God/Satan battle, Satan wants to kill God, but can't.  Apparently the island has a rule against that....but he is determined to find a loophole.
• Why does the island have rules against the two main people (good v. evil) killing each other?  Ben and Widmore had the same discussion.  Did they believe they'd taken over leadership of the island after Jacob disappeared?  Who will be next?  Jack vs. Locke, Jack vs. Sawyer?
• I still don't get what "Frank might be a candidate" means.
• What is it about the Losties that Jacob likes?  Why does he recruit those people specifically?  Why does he always give each of them something (Kate- red lunchbox, Saywer- pen, Jack- Apollo bar, Hurley- guitar case, Locke- life, Jin/Sun- his blessing).  Is he picking pieces for his giant chess game (again, black vs. white theme?) 
• Although, he didn't give anything to Sayid or Ilana now that I think about it...what makes them different?  Ilana obviously has a past with Jacob....but what about Sayid?
• Why was Ilana all bandaged up?  What is her condition and why hasn't she had any visitors?
• Juliet was never visited by Jacob.  Is she not special?
• What about the other island Losties- Bernard, Michael, Walt, Rose, Anna Lucia, Boone, Eko...were they all just pawns?
• Pretty sure this went though everyone's minds- Juliet, make up your damn mind, girl!!!
• How can Richard be present in two timelines?  
• Locke:  "I'm not going to kill him- you are."  Ben turns out to be the ultimate pawn.
• I guess we can absolve Ben from the assumed crime of killing Nadia- looks like Jacob orchestrated that.  Makes sense...Sayid never would have left her.
• Now we know why Richard doesn't age- it was a gift from Jacob- who also doesn't age.
• I did have a "Poor Ben" feeling in this episode.  All he's done his whole life is try to follow his island destiny.  He followed every order, and in the end all Jacob has to say to the man who will likely kill him is "What about you?"  Harsh!
• When Richard knocked out Eloise he said he was protecting their leader.  Who was the black to her white then?  How did she lose her throne as leader?
• I thought the Bernard/Rose/Vincent cameos were kind of lame except for Rose mocking them about it being 3 years later and they're still running around after some drama!
• Jacob hadn't been in his cabin for a long time?  What's the deal with the ash?  Is that so the other dude can't cross into his house?  Random...
• Why burn down the cabin?  It's just a cabin...not like it's inviting something bad to reside there.  Seems like an overreaction to me.  
• If Jacob is so powerful, why did he ask Locke to help him way back in the cabin when Ben took Locke to see Jacob.  Why did Jacob need Locke's help?  
• Ben: "I lie.  That's what I do."  Nice!
• What lies in the shadow of the statue?  Apparently Jacob's home...
• I loved Miles asking everyone if they'd thought through the fact that Jack could actually be creating the circumstances that brought the plane down in the first place.  He's one of my favorite underutilized characters.
• The Juliet/Sawyer interaction was absolutely heartbreaking.  Poor Sawyer.  It's okay, buddy, I'm here for you!
• Eric and I totally predicted that Locke's body would be in the big metal box, but it didn't occur to me that he was being "possessed" by the dude in black to use his loophole.  
• So, it seems the Christian we've been seeing all along was really the dude in black messing with people by taking corpses to play with.  Sick.
• I'm also betting the dude in black possessed Alex, who convinced Ben to follow everything that "Locke" told her.  Another pawn...but the dude in black only has dark pawns...dead ones...
• Why did possessed Locke look freaked out when Jacob said "They're coming..."  Who is coming?
• Did anyone notice that at the end of the episode, when the word LOST popped up, the letters were black and the background was white....which is the reverse of the way it's been for 5 seasons.  That is definitely significant.  Is this the beginning of the opposites next season?  It certainly signals a change!

So, now what will happen?  Do they all go back to their normal lives pre-plane crash and next season we will watch them randomly be drawn into each other's lives (sort of like death's design on Final Destination).

My theory is no.  I think they will still crash on the island, but they will remember everything that happened to them the first time.  Why?  Well, the only thing I have to support this theory is the fact that Dr. Candle/Wickman/Whatever has had full use of his right arm the whole time in the 70's, and we know at some point he will lose function of that arm (based on the training videos we've seen).  During the scene where all of the metal was being sucked into the hole, his arm got caught, and Miles helped him out.  That's where his arm was hurt and permanently injured.  So, whatever we've seen on the island so far still happens after that event.  Make sense?  I don't know...I'm still trying to figure it all out...

I also think the island isn't done with them (if you go with my theory about the good vs. evil fight for their souls).  With or without Jacob being alive...the fight can continue, and now maybe the dude in black is pulling the strings....more temptations in the next season perhaps?

Oh wait, here's another theory...what if Jack/Juliet and the rest of the O6 fulfil Jacob's vision of people who have good souls because they did something selfless at the end.  They all gathered to toss a bomb down a hole that would surely kill them...and then Juliet detonated the bomb by hand which was a truly selfless act.  She was sacrificing herself so all of the misery of the island never happened (sort of like wiping away sins).

Random other thought- Is Smokey the dude in black?  

I'm still wondering about Hurley's guitar.  What's the significance?

Now, in keeping with the religious themes, this could also be a manifestation of the Jacob/Essau story from the bible.  See here for more info on that story.

Another theory goes along with the big four-toed statue on the island which most people believe is the greek god Sobek.  Click here to read the whole Wiki entry and see a pic, but here are some important clips:

Gradually, Sobek also came to symbolize the produce of the Nile and the fertility that it brought to the land; its status thus became more ambiguous.^[2] Sometimes the ferocity of a crocodile was seen in a positive light, Sobek in these circumstances was considered the army's patron, as a representation of strength and power.

Sobek's ambiguous nature led some Egyptians to believe that he was a repairer of evil that had been done, rather than a force for good in itself, for example, going to Duat to restore damage done to the dead as a result of their form of death. He was also said to call on suitable gods and goddesses required for protecting people in situation, effectively having a more distant role, nudging things along, rather than taking an active part. In this way, he was seen as a more primal god, eventually becoming regarded as an avatar of the primal god Amun, who at that time was considered the chief god. When his identity finally merged, Amun had become merged himself with Ra to become Amun-Ra, so Sobek, as an avatar of Amun-Ra, was known as Sobek-Ra.

In Egyptian Art, Sobek was depicted as an ordinary crocodile, or as a man with the head of a crocodile. When considered a patron of the pharaoh's army, he was shown with the symbol of royal authority - the uraeus. He was also shown with an ankh, representing his ability to undo evil and so cure ills. Once he had become Sobek-Ra, he was also shown with a sun-disc over his head, as Ra was a sun god.

In myths that appear extremely late in Egyptian history, Sobek is credited with catching the four sons of Horus in a net, as they emerged from the waters of the Nile in a lotus blossom. This motif derives from the birth of Ra in the Ogdoad cosmogony, and the fact that as a crocodile, Sobek is the best suited to collecting items upon the Nile.

"Lost" theories with Mike Myers-Briggs

Hi, I'm a friend of Breanne's with an introverted obsession about "Lost". Below are my theories on what the heck is going on. Any and all flames should be directed at me, I love a good, meaty debate.

Lost Theory -- Battle of the Gods

Great works of art and literature are based on timeless themes such as love, betrayal, self-actualization. When multiple themes are combined then a truly transcendent work becomes possible. “Lost” the TV series is just this kind of transcendent piece of art incorporating all the themes above as well as the fundamental theme of the search for meaning in the world through spiritual and materialistic means – the great debate of our age.

“Lost” should be viewed like a Picasso painting or a cubist work, that is, it is a representation of reality from multiple viewpoints presented not only linearly through traditional video storytelling, but “stereoscopically” -- meaning that it offers multiple perspectives and levels of meaning at once. Indeed, the show has developed such a following because of the many levels of meaning and symbols encoded into each of its frames (witness the many websites, blogs, and forum threads devoted to puzzling out individual scenes from the show).

Many theories about “Lost” tie in intricacies and subtle details that the show’s creators offer up every week. Some are red herrings, some are real, and many are tied back to traditional “New Age” theories such as Atlantis, the predictions of the Mayan calendar, and kabbalah. Each of these is interesting, but I keep having the sense that sense that the Big Picture keeps getting lost in these details (pardon the tiny pun). The big questions are: what is the island and who are the characters? Below is my own theory, in broad strokes, about these questions.

The island is Eden. There are multiple clues about the nature of the island that match stories about Eden: children cannot be born on the island (Adam and Eve were expelled and childbirth foisted onto Eve as punishment for transgressing God’s law in Eden); there is a cave with the bones of “Adam and Eve” in it (although Adam and Eve could not have died in Eden since they were prohibited from re-entry by a fiery sword); and it is an island of plenty (there is plenty of fresh water, food, and even modern conveniences there per the Dharma initiative). Further, the island moves in time, it is not anchored to a single place on Earth not a single time on Earth. This means that “Eden” is a much a state of understanding or perception as it is a feature of the landscape. Thinking this way also undercuts the many places in the Middle East and around the world that claim to have had Eden located there. The island is Eden largely in the same sense that Dante used it to denote the top of Purgatory, the area just below Heaven’s spheres in his “Divine Comedy”.

Before I hear objections about babies being born on the island in 1978, let’s move on to the identity of some of the characters. Not the main Losties, but the truly menacing and powerful characters who defy description: Benjamin Linus, Richard Alpert, Charles Widmore, and the Dharma Initiative. The island is also the battleground/chessboard of the gods who have ruled over mankind. They are not people at all, though they do appear human, but are symbols of entire belief systems. The island is the gateway to transcendental knowledge for mankind and whoever rules the island defines the terms of that knowledge and how humans will have access to it.

First, Richard Alpert and the “Others” ruled the island. These are the pre-Christian and pre-monotheistic (even pagan?) entities who humans worshipped before the great monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). Richard Alpert is RA, the Egyption sun god (yes, his initial are R.A., get it?). Richard does not age, cannot be killed, and states on multiple occasions that the laws that govern the physical characters cannot affect him. This is because he is not human, he is the collective subconscious symbol of all those early beliefs of mankind. Pantheism, nature worship, sacrifice: these were all features of early human beliefs when these deities ruled the island and human consciousness. The large statue on the island is of the Egyptian fertility goddess Tawaret, who protects women in childbirth (so before there was the Judeo-Christian Eden, there was the Garden of Delights where women were fertile). But how did these “Others” come to lose control of the island?

Enter the Dharma Initiative (DI). Throughout Indian philosophy, Dharma is presented as a central concept that is used in order to explain the "higher truth" or ultimate reality of the universe. Members of the DI are Gnostics, seekers after the ultimate truth of the Universe, the ground of being. Although in modern times we think of Gnostics as a Christian sect that was suppressed by Roman Christians, in reality seekers after truth through non-traditional spiritual means are all gnostics (small “g”). We’ve seen DI search for points of time travel on the island, search for ways of allowing women to bear children on the island, and other “forbidden” or “lost” knowledge (there’s that word again). But what about Ben Linus, is he really part of the DI?

Although Ben claims to have been born on the island, we see that his father was recruited to come to the island by. . .Richard Alpert. So what is an Egyptian sun god doing recruiting this scourge into the DI? Ben is Lucifer, and Ben is an image of the Judeo-Christian god that gnostics believe is the Demiurge. Just like Satan, Ben was born in one world then thrust to rule over another (if we follow Milton). Just like Lucifer (and the many names he is known by: Satan, Lord of Lies, Mephistopheles) Ben lies in order to manipulate people to doing his bidding. Ben can even be likened to Judas when he strangles Locke in the hotel room only as a means to an of helping Locke get his people back to the island and to effect his own resurrection.

Richard Alpert recruited Ben in order to help shake the influence of the DI and to bring back a religious tone to salvation and transcendental knowledge. In island-speak: RA brought forth the Demiurge to control the path to salvation of humanity that was being opened by the gnostics. However, the Demiurge is a jealous god and he not only stamped out the DI but subordinated the worship of RA to his own pretensions of unified godhead. In fact, the slaughter of the DI is reminiscent of the stories of the slaying of the Templar knights as well as the extermination of the Cathars in France in the 13th century. So if Ben is the Demiurge why is he getting beaten up all the time?

Charles Widmore brings scientific rationalism and liberal humanism on the scene. Beyond paganism, Gnosticism, and organized religion, lies scientific rationalism as the pathway to ultimate knowledge and evolving beyond the “human condition”. While science strives to improve the state of man in the world, it has also been responsible for eugenics, concentration camps, mass slaughter under the guise of unlimited war and the nuclear bomb. Charles Widmore represents the military interests of the West in his early life on the island as part of the British military, and eventually he is the corporate owner seeking the Black Rock and the island to open up its secrets to all of humanity. His fight with Ben is the manifestation of modern Western debates between logic and science on the one hand, and religion and spirituality on the other. This debate is echoed in the relationship between John Locke (spiritual) and Jack Shepherd (scientific).

The overall story we are seeing is a recurring theme of mankind’s quest of knowledge (echoed in characters named after philosophers: Locke, Hume, Rousseau) with “the gods” playing games at a whole different level, pulling the proverbial strings, manipulating people to their whims.

I’m still working on the nature of the main characters such as Jack, Locke, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, and the others. If the gods are archetypes emanating from the collective unconscious, then perhaps the main characters are conscious manifestations of core personality types. (It all comes back to the Myers-Briggs, doesn’t it?)

Lost- Episode 9- Namaste

I wasn't a big fan of this episode.  It was a necessary episode to bring the losties back together, but it moved pretty slow for me.  However, if we get to see Jack working as a janitor, I will be happy!

Not many notes, but here are a few:

• Plane crash- since when is there a runway on the island?  I don't remember there every being a runway before.  How did Hurley, Kate and Jack get thrown from the plane?
• Why was Sun the only original Lostie left on the plane?  What is different about her?
• The O6 reunion was sweet and not overdone as I expected.  You could tell there was geniune affection between Kate and Sawyer, but they also seemed to hold back.
• Frank vs. Cesar = Jack vs. Sawyer power struggle to be leader on the island.
• Sun has  made large strides in becoming a strong, independent woman.  I like her taking initiative to follow Ben to see where he was going.
• New baby = Ethan (as I predicted!)
• Weren't adult Ethan and and Juliet "together"?  How akward would it have been for Juliet to hold baby Ethan in the 70's?  
• Someone did a poor job of casting baby Ethan.  That was a cute baby, and Ethan was super creepy!
• Hurley "I vote for not camping"
  
• Faraday gone? Where did he go?  Is he physically gone...or "mentally" gone?
• Sawyer doesn't want to be Nostradaumus of the island.  How tough would it be not to mention post 70's inventions on the island?  What if Hurley talks about how much he misses his iPod?  Or Kate talks about her favorite Prada shoes?  What if there's an island medical emergency and Ben asks for medical equipment that hasn't been invented?
• Will they all die in a new Purge- still orchestrated by Ben?
• Sayid = hostile...that won't go well for him.  Will this be an opportunity for Sawyer to return the favor of torture to Sayid.  Where's the bamboo?
• Wonder what jobs were assigned to Kate and Hurley?
• Ben regarding Frank's warning that he was on a freighter with commando's to eliminate Ben "How'd that work out for them?"
• Sun smacks Ben down- that was too awesome.  Is that how he ended up in the medical cabin when Locke found him?
• Frank "I thought you trusted Ben." Sun: "I lied"
• Sun, Ben and Frank ended up on a different island time?!  I'm lost.
• Shephard is on the destroyed island?  What?!
• Shephard "You have a bit of a journey ahead of you"  hmmmm.....
• Ben on the island as a kid- giving lunch to Sayid.  That was creepy.  Is that why he didn't land in the 70's like Jack, Kate, and Hurley?  He can't be there as an adult and a kid?  If so, then why couldn't Sun also land in the 70's?

Lost episode recap: Season 5 Episode 8- Lafleur

I can't believe I'm saying this after a Sawyer-centric episode, but I did NOT enjoy this episode. Just when things were starting to come together, the writers had to throw everything out of whack again. I also don't like Lafleur Sawyer. I prefer shirtless, savage, island Sawyer to parted/combed hair, clean shaven, Dharma Sawyer. Plus, Horace gives me the creeps.


I'm also growing tired of the time travel. Let's move on with the storyline, dudes. Now we're stuck in 1977. I hate stories about the 70's.

My notes- chronologically:

• Sawyer jumping into the well trying to find Locke was cute. He's a loyal friend. Love him!!!
• No one's nose is bleeding anymore. I guess that's good because the flashing thing was getting annoying.
• Charlotte's gone- big tear...not really. But how did her body just disappear? She moved on...but they didn't. What does that mean? Did her body disappear because she existed in that time on the island and therefore couldn't exist also as an adult? Or did she disappear because dead people don't flash?
• We finally know what the 4-toed statue was before it lost it's body. But who is it? How/When was it destroyed? Looks like a long-haired chick in a mini-skirt. Interesting...
• 3 yrs later- Lafleur...Sawyer...Horace...was I the only one whose head was hurting during this scene?!
• Some people online believe the statue is of Anubis. Anubis was associated with mummification and afterlife in Egyptian mythology. Anubis was also mentioned on the blast door map. I can sort of see a similarity, though I don't see the big dog ears on the statue. Anubis was seen as the most important god to the dead. Anubis is also typically shown holding an Ankh (and that looks to be true in the picture shown below of the statue). This is an interesting theory when combined with the Ankh symbol we see on Paul later in the episode. (picture of Anubis below).
• Sawyer- "Horace, our fearless leader." I can't imagine Sawyer ever following someone willingly. What's the deal? (Horace's history on LOST explained below)
• Horace has a wife, Amy. Really? Cause that dude looks like he was beaten with an ugly stick. I guess the pickins are slim on the island.
• Horace and Amy were fighting about Paul...yes, that's a great reason to go drinking and blowing things up when you have a pregnant wife at home. Horace is an a-hole
• Miles: "Who put him in charge?"
• Sawyer- "Thanks for backing me up" Juliet- "You should be- it's a stupid idea." They're so cute together.
• Faraday "Whatever happened- happened." Sawyer- "Thanks anyway, Plato." Sounds like reality didn't necessarily change then...it's like this IS the reality that was supposed to happen. Does that make sense? Maybe they're stuck in a never ending loop on the island. i.e. This always was the experience of the island.
• Stupid flashbacks- 3 years ago- Amy almost got killed by two dudes. Why? Who were the others? Is she good or bad...or just scared of hostiles?
• Amy- "We have to bury them." Why doesn't anyone ever ask why? Sawyer's getting soft in his "old" age (errr...70's.)
• Sawyer- shipwrecked on the way to Tahiti...fast thinking.
• Amy is a liar- let them walk through force field. Why is Sawyer nice to her in the future? Too forgiving.
• Toddler Charlotte is on the island (as predicted). Creepy!
• A successful birth?! So, what happens after 1977 that stops all future island based conceptions to fail? The purge? The incident? Ben?
• Who will this baby boy be in the future? You know it has to be a character we've seen in 2004! What island men would have been in their early 30's? Ethan?
• Horace to Sawyer- "you're Not Dharma material" awesome!
• Sawyer- "Your buddy out there with the eyeliner..." It's about time someone said it! how do hostiles get a hold of Maybelline anyway?
• What is the truce/agreement between the hostiles and Dharma?
• Why is everyone so preoccupied with burying the bodies? Do unburied island bodies come back to life? Locke...Christian...???
• Fast talking Sawyer with Richard- this was a great scene. For once Sawyer has faith in Locke and knows how to use his information. Now how does he remain with Horace and become Head of Security after this revelation with Richard?
• Amy keeps Paul's necklace- That symbol was the Egyptian Ankh- the symbol for eternal life...reincarnation, anyone?
• Why wouldn't they leave on the submarine? That's just stupid. Yes, they're going back to the 70's but just think about all of the things you could do...invent the pet rock, invest in Microsoft and Starbucks, smoke on airplanes....
• Juliet and Sawyer together- precious...do they share a hair straightener?
• It's 1977, surely Ben the kid is on the island by now, or is this pre-Benny and his mean daddy? How will the Losties avoid the purge?
• Will we ever meet the real Henry Gale?
• We know that when Ben is an adult on the island Horace is married to Olivia. What happens between Horace and Amy between now and then?

BTW, I'm on Team Juliet. Jack and Kate deserve each other- they're both lame.

For those of you with short memories, here is a summary of Horace's appearances on the island:

Horace Goodspeed was a mathematician for the DHARMA Initiative, and possibly worked with the Valenzetti Equation. He also had an Arrow station logo on his jumpsuit. This logo is slightly different than the one that appears on the wall of the station, as the colours of the inside circle inverted.
While driving outside of Portland, Horace and Olivia were flagged down by Roger Linus who was holding his dying wife, Emily, and their newborn son, Benjamin, in his arms. Horace offered to drive them to the hospital.
Several years later, Horace offered Roger a position with the Initiative, where he would work as a "Work Man" or janitor. While there, Roger became furious at Horace for there being a conflict with the islands "Hostiles" and for him nearly being killed.
Horace was eventually killed when the Hostiles purged the Barracks with a toxic gas, Horace died while sitting on a bench. Ben closed only Horace's eyes, showing that he still had some respect for him.
In the episode Cabin Fever, John Locke saw Horace in a dream when he, Ben and Hurley were searching for jacob. Horace told him that he was constructing a cabin to have some rest from DI once in a while. Horace then explained that he had been dead for twelve years! He said that John had to find him, to find Jacob. Horace appeared to be in some sort of a time loop, for the tree he cut down was standing moments later, only for Horace to cut it down again. He also introduced himself repeatedly,every time the tree was standing again.
It was his body that Locke examined carefully, and in one of the pockets there was a map and a plan of a cabin, that Horace was building a long time ago.

And...as always...images from Sledgeweb's Lost.

LOST- S5 E7- The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

Did anyone else nearly throw up during the Tunisian hospital scene? I can't deal with much more of that! It's almost as bad as the video my dad tried to show me today of his horse being gelded. No thanks!

It also really messed with my head when Abaddon returned. It's hard for me to separate one actor on two of my favorite shows.

I honestly couldn't look when Locke was going to hang himself. That was a gut-wrenching scene! I totally thought Ben was a good guy. I thought he looked so sincere. I can't believe I set aside my 4 years of skepticism for a few minutes of good acting! He deserves an award for that!

My notes:

• I was totally lost in the beginning scene. I was not expecting the rest of the airplane passengers to be alive on the island, and Locke to be alive! That was pretty great!
• The Dharma station Cesar was searching had Rousseau and Farraday's notes in it. Which station was that, though.
• Many great quotes in this episode. Locke- "I think this suit is what they were going to bury me in"
• So the big wheel definitely shoots you out in Tunisia when you turn it. Widmore's pretty smart to figure that out and set up cameras there to monitor it.
• When Widmore visited John in the hospital, that was one of the most open/answer-filled conversations ever.
• Widmore: "There's a war coming and if you're not on the island when it happens, the wrong side will win."
• Widmore is helping John get the O6 back to the island...gives him a phone and all he has to do is press 23 to reach Widmore. 23...one of the numbers, of course.
• Locke: "How do I know you're not lying?" Widmore: "I didn't try to kill you."
• Widmore tries to convince Locke that Ben had to be removed so Locke could rule the island. Why don't I believe that. Seems too selfless for Widmore.
• Locke: "What makes you think I'm so special?" Widmore: "Because you are."
• Nice to see Sayid is making good use of some career counseling. Torturer and Assassin were less attractive than volunteer home builder.
• How many seasons has it been since Walt left the island? Man that kid grew up fast!
• Walt is still special. He has premonitions of Locke on the island and someone is going to try to hurt him. It's not looking good for Locke. Walt is always right.
• Of course, Ben saw the whole thing go down. Did Walt have premonitions about that too? I'm betting Walt ends up being the key to the island. He'll sense something is going on and go save everyone.
• The Hurley scene was great. "Am I talking to a dude in a wheelchair right now?"
• I also love him plugging his ears and yelling "LALALALALALALALA." I did that today on a customer call, but it didn't work out as well for me.
• Abaddon "The Driver"- "I help people get to where they need to go." That's the most accurate job description I've heard on Lost.
• Poor Helen died of a brain aneurysm. She died on April 8th. 4-8 (the numbers, of course.)
• I was definitely not expecting Abaddon to get shot. Did anyone not think Ben was behind that? I was just starting to like Abaddon.
• Of course Locke showed up in Jack's hospital...why not!? There was no way he could have gotten inside of Jack's head without telling him Christian said hello. That was a great moment.
• Locke and Ben deserve an award for the hanging scene. It was so hard to watch Locke prepare and then Ben was so convincing when he begged him to stop and he'd help him find the O6. He looked so sincere.
• I was so not ready for him to flip back into Ben-mode.
• Did he kill Locke because once Locke told him he was supposed to see Eloise that was all he needed to know?
• Or did he kill him because then he know that Widmore also knew about Eloise and he had to kill Locke to upset Widmore's plan?
• Whose side is Eloise on?
• Remember- Widmore's research is what sent Eloise's son (Farraday) to the island.
• So, Frank and some woman took a boat and the flight manifest and disappeared. Who was the woman? Why did they leave?
• Why haven't the new Losties found the old Losties?
• Is Ben dead or just hurt?
• Locke: "That's the man that killed me." That was great!
• So, Locke came back to life on the island. Did Christian also come alive on the island when he landed or is he a spirit?
• Does the island have powers to reincarnate as well as stop aging?

I'm just not ready for a whole new set of Lost characters. Please tell me we don't have to go through "What's that smoke monster thing?" "Why are there polar bears here?" and "what's Dharma?" all over again. We were moving along so well!

Here are some photos from Sledgeweb's Lost.

Lost Episode Recap- Season 5, Episode 6: 316

Another episode with tons of answers. The question is do you like this kind of episode where the answers are handed to you or the old-school easter egg style ones where you have to put the clues together yourself?

I'm not a big fan of Jack-centric episodes, but I am glad the writers read my blog and had Ben beat up again (as I requested in my last post!!!)

• Nice parallel opening- Jack waking up on the floor of the jungle.
• Mrs Hawking is super creepy. The LampPost station- this is the first Dharma station off of the island. It's hidden in a church? Of course!
• Also, the Lamp Post is a C.S. Lewis reference- Chronicles of Narnia
• There are pockets of energy and the island has always been moving? How did no one notice the flashes of light? They had to stop looking for the island where it was supposed to be, and look for where it was going to be. Doesn't sound like a very exact science. Likelihood that they end up in Tunisia?
• Who created the pendulum room? Alvar Hanso?
• Jack: Is Ben telling the truth? Hawking: Probably not.
• Mrs. Hawking to Desmond- The island isn't done with you. That's not the first time we have heard that.
• Ajira airways flight 316- #16 reference? or John 3:16 reference? "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but shall have eternal life." Lots of religious references in this episode.
• John Locke committed suicide- hung himself. That's sad! I bet Ben knew.
• They have to recreate as much of the original flight as possible. So John has to wear Christian's shoes. That's very odd and symbolic. Big shoes to fill....walk a mile in my shoes...
• Thomas the Apostle- needed to touch Jesus' wounds to be convinced
• Jack's Granddad seems oddly normal for the men in the Shephard family. No alcoholism for him? Just magic shows? I bet he'd be willing to go on the ride to Guam!
• Kate tells Jack to never ask about Aaron again. That's not good. What happened to him?
• Did she give him to Claire's mom? Or Sawyer's Baby Mama?
• Who gives up their kid and hooks up with a dude the next minute? Heartless!
• Ben beaten up again- got sidetracked? Doing what? Going after Penny?
• Who is Simon of Simon's Butcher Shop. Could that place be any more creepy?
• Who was the dude who offered condolences at the airport? Have we seen him before?
• Why is Sayid in handcuffs? I guess that's one way to recreate the fugitive part of the plane experience. Why would he be expedited to Guam? He looks like he desperately needs to say something to each passenger as they get on the plane.
• Hurley bought all of the extra seats. Awe- he's such a Feeler!
• Jack- row 8- numbers reference?
• Sun left without her baby? Not likely!
• Who told Hurley to be on the plane? How did he get out of jail? Did Charlie come speak to him?
• What's in Hurley's guitar case? Is it Charley's guitar or did he bring lots of snacks for the road?
• Hurley was reading "Y the Last Man" which is also written by Brian K. Vaughn, who was hired to write for LOST toward the end of that series. He's also shopping for a movie deal.
• I totally predicted that Frank would be the pilot. I love when I'm right!
• Frank- We're not going to Guam are we? If I were Frank I'd turn that plane around immediately.
• Frank looks like 10 years younger now than he did on the island.
• John's letter- "Jack, I wish you had believed me" Heart-wrenching!!!!
• Hurley to random passenger- "Dude, you might want to buckle your seatbelt."
• Jin in the VW bus- that was a nice surprise! I was totally expecting Roger Workman. The question is what time the island is on. The VW bus looks pretty clean and new.
• Jin is in a Dharma uniform. Is he blending in with the crew?
• How did Desmond get out of having to get on the plane? I thought Hawking said the island wasn't done with him!
• I really hope the random passengers don't become new characters. New characters rarely work. They're only good bait to be killed off later like Charlotte, Nikki, Paolo, and the parachute chick.
• Ben seemed awfully calm for someone preparing for a plane crash. It's as if he's been through this before.
• Why didn't anyone ask why Ben was all beaten up? Ben called Jack from a dock- Penny and Desmond live on a boat. It's not looking good for Penny.
• Ben reading Ulysses- this must be important somehow
• Did the flight attendants not think it was odd for the Oceanic 6 to assemble on the plane? That would be my first clue to call Homeland Security. One would think the O6 would be pretty well known, especially in the aviation industry.
• What are the chances that flight 815 was a set up just like 316 was? What if people are always just trying to get back to the island?

This episode deserves many pictures. As always, here are some from Sledgeweb's Lost. http://lost.cubit.net/

LOST S5 Episode 5 Recap: This Place is Death

I know, I know, I've said this before....but this was the BEST episode ever!!! When it comes to emotions, moving the story along, and giving answers this episode had it all! Plus, I'm not sad that Charlotte is gone. She annoyed me.

Answers:

• Charlotte was on the island before
• If you don't have a constant on the island- you die
• Christian Shephard is Jacob
• If you push the giant island wheel of fortune you get off the island

Starting from the beginning:

• It's good to know that when Rousseau was young she wasn't crazy. She was very logical back then (i.e. Tower first, then camp)
• I have a hard time believing that when the smoke monster grabs you and rips off your arm all you say is "Help, I'm hurt, but the smoke monster is gone." I'm thinking a few curse words and a "OMG my freaking arm is gone" would be more likely.
• Maybe the smoke monster is responsible for Dr. Candle/Mr. Wickman's missing arm!
• How disappointing do you think it is to get your big break to be on a hit show like LOST and then die after 2 minutes on the screen? How do you think their next casting call goes? "Yeah, I was on LOST. I was the dude whose arm was ripped off by the smoke monster- remember?"
• Poor Rousseau. She had to kill her husband because he was going to kill her. Now, was he really sick, or did she just think they were all going crazy. Sounds like her husband figured out that the smoke monster is a security system (which is a pretty popular theory out there). So, was he crazy or did Rousseau become paranoid and trigger happy?
• The Sawyer/Jin reunion was adorable. I was hoping for a Beverly Hills 90210 style secret handshake, but a hug worked too.
• Is it just me- or do the flashes seem to be happening more often now?
• Charlotte speaks Korean...interesting. No answers for how she learned that.
• Someone in LA who shows proof that Jin is alive and show how to get back to the island....Mrs Hawking (Farraday's mom/the clock shop lady)
• Charlotte: Don't let them bring her back- this place is death....hence the title
• Sun: "You said you'd be there in 30 minutes" Ben: "I didn't account for the traffic"
• Geronimo Jackson reference- this isn't the first one.
• Charlotte to Locke- "look for the well"...how did she know that? From her time on the island? Did she know how to get off of the island this whole time?
• The best conversation full of answers that Lost has ever shown: Charlotte- "I've been here before. I grew up on the island. " Moved to England with her mom, and her mom convinced her she was making the island up. She became an anthropologist to prove that the island exists. A scary man once told her she could never come back to the island again or else she would die. She thinks that man was Farraday!
• What if Farraday actually goes back in time and tells her that because of what he knows now? Which came first- the chicken or the egg? Sort of like Locke telling Richard to come bring the compass to him. Is this island just one continuous loop of experiences? Like a broken record that keeps skipping?
• Does Daniel not age just like Richard? How long has he been around the island?
• Jin makes Locke promise not to bring Sun back. That was such a sad scene. I can't believe he told Lock to tell Sun he was dead. Heartbreaking! Good thing Locke won't have to break his promise since Ben will do the recruiting.
• Sawyer to Locke- "Are you sure you don't want us to lower you down?" Locke: "What would be the fun in that?"
• Poor John, something is always happening to his legs. Shot, broken, stabbed, beaten...paralyzed!!!
• Christian Shephard- that was the biggest OMG ever!!!!!! Christian Shephard is JACOB!!!!!
• Christian Shephard regarding listening to Ben: "Since when did that get you anywhere worth a damn?"
• Locke turns the island wheel of fortune just like Christian said and that's how he gets back to the US? He is an island sacrifice! Will he be paralyzed when he gets off of the island?
• Did you notice how the wheel kept shaking back and forth? Is that why island time kept skipping- because it was broken? Did Ben break the wheel?
• Locke doesn't know Christian Shephard is Jack's dad...or Claire's dad for that matter...lots to learn all-knowing Locke...lots to learn.
• Since Locke turned the wheel, does tha mean time will stop skipping on the island? Will they be left in whatever time it was when Locke turned the wheel?
• Desmond shows up with Sun, Ben, and Jack. They go meet Mrs. Hawking (the watch lady). That was great- but what about Hurley, Sayid and Kate? How will they get them back on the island? Why does Mrs Hawking seem unconcerned with only having 4 of them?
• I also liked Ben's face when Desmond said he was there to see Farraday's mom. Pretty sure Ben didn't know about that!
• Something tells me Mrs Hawking isn't a "good guy." She looks creepy- like an evil scientist.

It also looks like next week is packed with answers about the island itself.

Here are some great pics from Sledgeweb's Lost.