Lost Reviews and News

Those questions were finally answered in this episode. But here's the weird thing: the big revelation wasn't all that big.

And so I'll get to that Who Died stuff in a little while. First, we need to pay another visit to Dr. Jack's angst-ridden backstory. (And no, Jack isn't the one who died.)

For those keeping score at home, this is the third Jack backstory episode. In previous editions we've discovered the following:

1. Jack has major daddy issues.

2. Jack's daddy is an alcoholic.

3. Jack's daddy is also quite dead.

That's right! Dr. Jack, the guy who's been swooning over Kate, was/is married. In this episode we see Jack in the days before his wedding. Here's what we discover:

• Jack's wife-to-be, Sarah (played by Julie Bowen from "Ed" and "Happy Gilmore"), was once Jack's patient. During the rehearsal dinner, Sarah recounts how she was involved in a wicked SUV accident that snapped her back into wee bits. Everyone said she was doomed, but Jack promised to "fix" her. And fix her he did -- in more ways than one. Sometime following Sarah's remarkable recovery, the two started to date.

• Sarah has hoodwinked Jack into the always dangerous writing-your-own-vows trap. Seriously, why do people ever do this? At best, you'll come off like a Hallmark card. At worst, you'll sound like the illiterate jackass you truly are. Nonetheless, Jack stupidly agrees to this vow nonsense, but he quickly discovers that dammit, he's a doctor, not a writer.

• During a drunken, heart-to-heart conversation, a very intoxicated Jack and his almost-drunk daddy discuss Jack's inability to write his own vows. (In case you're wondering about the timeline, Jack's wedding took place before daddy's ill-fated Sydney trip.) Jack is mired in confusion: If he can't write the vows, does that mean he shouldn't get married? Moreover, does he love Sarah simply because he saved her? Would he have asked her to marry him if she hadn't been his patient? And why does he have these asian symbols tattooed on his shoulder?

  Daddy responds with some sort of hoo-ha about commitment being the thing that makes "Jack tick." Whatever that means. He also tells Jack that Jack's biggest problem is that he can't "let go." Who is this guy? The cryptic Dr. Phil? "As your father, I believe you should listen to your heart, but only listen if you know what it's saying. Now pass me that vodka and let's go find us some hookers!"

• Somehow, daddy's enigmatic messages sink into Jack's psyche. We know this because the next day Jack steps to the altar and tells Sarah and the assembled wedding guests that he couldn't write his vows. He stumbles a bit and tears up, but just as we think it's going to be one of those "I love you, but I can't be with you" moments, Jack stages a dramatic late-inning comeback. Looking deep into Sarah's eyes, Jack tells her that she was all wrong about her accident: He wasn't the one who fixed her. She was the one who fixed him ... dramatic pause ... dramatic pause ... and ... KISS. Cue music! Begin wedded bliss ...

  Now, I'm not particularly good with symbolism and weighty story devices, but I think this wedding sequence was supposed to show us that Jack had found a balance between his deep sense of commitment and his inability to "let go." And what did he let go of? Well, I'm assuming he let go of his doubt and his questioning. Or maybe not. Hell, for all I know he "let go" of a couple thousand bucks at the blackjack table the night before and he needed Sarah to pick up the tab. But anyway, the wedding sequence had an air of revelation -- I'm just not sure what was revealed or, for that matter, if it really matters.

Stumped? (Probably not, but I'm going to pretend you are.) Answer the following question and you'll know the dead character:

What character's name is both the surname of an historical figure and a cheap brand of wine?

No. It's not Locke. Or Sayid. Or, uh, Kate.

It's Boone! Boone died! Boone bit it! The guy who got crushed by a plane in last week's episode is the guy who dies!

See what I mean? It's not much of a payoff. If a character is splattered under tons of plane wreckage, is it any surprise when that character dies? No. No it is not.

So now that we've got that out of the way, here's how Boone meets his maker.

When we left off last week, Locke carried a broken and bleeding Boone back into camp. Locke mumbled something about Boone falling off a cliff, but he scurried away before Jack could get more details. And so this week, Jack is left to tend to Boone's significant injuries. These injuries include:

1. A collapsed lung.

2. A crushed right leg.

3. Internal bleeding.

4. Major blood loss.

5. Deep lacerations.

6. A broken heart (courtesy of Shannon).

Uh, Jack? You might want to rethink that promise.

And so the episode plays out like "E.R." in the jungle. Jack barks orders at Kate and Hurley and Sun and anyone within 30 feet. When people don't immediately respond, Jack barks louder. Jack also displays quick thinking -- he inflates Boone's collapsed lung by punching a whole in Boone's chest cavity. But there are limits to Jack's medical abilities. Thankfully, Sun is there to swoop in with her extensive knowledge of alternative medicine and aquatic creatures. For example, when Jack whines about the dearth of needles, Sun finds a sea urchin equipped with needle-like spines! Amazing!

Jack successfully jury-rigs a blood transfusion (using Jack's blood, natch), but the blood pools in Boone's mangled right leg. This leads Jack to conclude two things:

1. Boone's leg needs to be amputated for him to survive.

2. Boone's injuries do not correspond with a fall -- they correspond with someone who's been crushed by a large, heavy object. This means Locke lied about the cliff accident ... and, more importantly, Jack knows Locke lied about the cliff accident. File this away. We'll return to this development later.

Boone sputters to life and sees that Jack is about to take a path that will undoubtedly lead to a dead end. The operative word is dead. Boone knows he's a goner, so he tells Jack that the promise he made earlier in the episode -- that whole Boone "won't die" thing -- can be forgotten. Jack hears the wisdom behind Boone's words (the first and only time "wisdom" and "Boone" have ever been linked), so he drops to the ground to comfort Boone in his final moments. In a whisper, Boone says: "Tell Shannon ... tell Shannon ... tell ... I ..."

That's it. Those are Boone's last words. "Tell Shannon ... tell Shannon ... tell ... I ..."

Not exactly Yoda's "there is another" speech, is it?

Now, I'm sure everyone is going to think that Boone was trying to say "Tell Shannon I love her." See, that's what they want you to think. But I don't buy it. I believe he meant to say "Tell Shannon I think she sucks in bed." Or maybe "Tell Shannon I found out we're biologically related."

So that's that with Boone. To honor his memory, I offer the following Hurley-inspired eulogy:

"Whoa. Dude. Well. Boone was a good guy who had a freaky relationship with his sister. He was trustworthy, loyal, and, um, really good at wedding stuff. He died real crappy. And oh yeah, he was once a lifeguard. Uh ... Amen, Dude."

The "Lost" producers went nutty with the Circle of Life this week. How so? Well, every one of Boone's dying sequences was contrasted by one of Claire's birthing sequences. You read that correctly. Claire finally popped that little bugger out.

The birth was relatively uneventful. Claire started having contractions early in the episode, which causes her to freak out and hide in the woods. Kate stumbles upon Claire and realizes what's happening, but Kate faces a dilemma because she's supposed to be helping Jack with Boone. So Kate screams for help, which brings Jin rushing in from the beach. Kate tells Jin to find Jack and tell him that Claire is having the baby. Somehow, Jin sorta kinda gets the message and runs off to the cave camps. But there's a problem -- and that problem goes by the name of Boone. If Jack leaves Boone to deliver the baby, Boone will die.

So long story short, Jack pairs Jin with Charlie and he outlines very specific delivery instructions. These instructions, Jack says, are intended for Kate. She's the one who needs to deliver the baby. It's unclear why Jack is so adamant about Kate's involvement.

With Jack's baby-delivering instructions burned into their brains, Jin and Charlie rush back to Claire's jungle delivery room. Kate is apprehensive about delivering the baby, but Claire's labor screams rip through Kate's reluctance.

As the episode progresses, Claire is overwhelmed by fear. She tells Kate she's worried that Evil Ethan may have done something to her baby. She's also scared that her unborn child will know that she wanted to give it up for adoption. Kate comforts Claire by telling her that the present is all that really matters. She also says something kind of wacky: "This baby is all of ours." Sure, Kate. Whatever.

Claire puts her fear aside and pushes mightily ... and out pops a healthy baby boy. Kate gingerly transfers the crying newborn into Claire's arms.

"I think I'll name him Ethan," Claire says.

Heh heh. Just kidding. The baby's name is unknown. At this point all we know about the kid is that it's a boy and that he's healthy (Jack proclaims him so at the end of the episode).

In the closing moments of the show, Claire is greeted at the beach by all of the castaways (including those random people we rarely see) and everyone fawns over the new baby. It's happy, happy, joy, joy for all involved.

Well, almost everyone ...

And so Sayid and Shannon spend the night together, but they don't go all the way (or so we're led to believe). At one point the two appear to be getting hot and heavy, but Shannon takes a pause for the cause. She tells Sayid that she and Boone aren't actually brother and sister. She also says Boone is in love with her. Sayid asks if Shannon feels the same way about Boone. Shannon claims she'll always feel something for Boone, but she vehemently denies having any of "those" feelings for her step-brother. Nonetheless, because Boone is on the island, she wants to take things slow with Sayid. This is fine with Sayid because he knows "Lost" was picked up for a second season, so it's only a matter of time before Shannon lets down her defenses.

Now, keep in mind that Boone is dying as she's saying all this. And that brings us to the next part ...

Remember that whole Circle of Life juxtaposition? Well, it comes full circle (so to speak) during the closing scene on the beach. As Claire shows off her new child, Sayid and Shannon stroll happily down the beach, hand-in-hand. Jack sees them and breaks off from the crowd. As he approaches, the music swells and Jack gets a pained expression. The dialogue isn't heard, but the effect of Jack's message is clear: Shannon takes a few steps back, stunned by news that Boone is dead. The Circle of Life strikes again!

Jack sits alone on the beach, putting water and other items into a backpack. Kate comes and sits next to him.

Kate: "Want to talk about it?"

Jack: "Talk about what?"

Kate: "Boone died, Jack."

Jack: "He didn't die ... He was murdered." [Jack rises and throws on his backpack]

Kate: "What? Jack ... Where are you going?"

Jack: "To find John Locke."

So here are a few high points from the preview:

• Jack jumps at Locke and tackles him to the ground.

• Michael and Jin put the finishing touches on the escape raft.

• Sawyer grabs Kate and tells her she's not getting his place on the raft.

• Jack discovers that someone stole the key to the metal gun case.

• The castaways hold a funeral (presumably for Boone, but who knows?).

• Sayid grabs Locke by the throat, points a gun at him and says "no more lies."

• A separate scene appears to show Locke being shot in the chest.

That's it for now. Be sure to drop by our "Lost" Forum for stimulating conversation and conjecture.