Lost Reviews and News
Key Points from "A Tale of Two Cities"
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Season 3, Episode 1 Episode Air Date: 10/04/06 |
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Point 1
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Well damn. I didn't see that coming!
Season three begins in a way you could never, ever imagine. Seriously. For the first three minutes I thought my TiVo dropped through a wormhole and started taping "Desperate Housewives." I actually checked the channel guide to make sure it was still on "Lost." The episode begins with the "Lost" eyeball, which is the only thing in the first few minutes that offers any clue we're watching "Lost." Longtime viewers already know what this eyeball business is all about, but for the "Lost" newbies, the "Lost" eyeball is a shot the crew uses from time to time that offers an intimate look at ... well, an eyeball. The very first shot in the very first episode was of Jack's eyeball. The very first shot in the very first episode of season two was of Desmond's eyeball. And, because the "Lost" producers are suckers for tradition, season three opens with a deep, dark look into another eyeball. The eye belongs to a new character: she's a pretty blonde woman (played by Elizabeth Mitchell) in her mid-30s, and when we first see her she's selecting a CD from a shelf in her home and loading it into her CD player. Immediately this suggests that she's not on the island because, until now, the only A/V equipment we've seen has been a circa 1980 turntable in the hatch and a row of ancient Trinitrons in the Pearl. The woman presses play on the CD player and the opening notes of "Downtown" float through her living room. She looks at herself in the mirror. She's clearly carrying a burden -- her eyes glisten with forming tears -- but she shakes her head, blinks away the tears and turns that frown upside down. Shortly thereafter the woman scurries around her home preparing for a gathering. A smoke alarm sounds and she rushes to the stove to tend to a tray of burning muffins. Alas, she's too late. The muffins have been lost (season three's first casualty!). Before the woman can grieve over her charred confections, the doorbell rings. The blonde woman greets an elegant older woman (you can tell she's elegant because she's wearing one of those "elegant older women scarves" around her neck). Both women glance to the side of the house where a man is fiddling with pipes. Elegant lady guffaws, asking the blonde woman if her plumbing still hasn't been fixed (I'm assuming this isn't a euphemism). The working man -- who is unseen save for his lower legs -- offers a muffled response: "It's a work in progress." The scene cuts inside the house and the blonde woman and the elegant woman have been joined by five other people: three middle-aged men and two women. As far as I can tell we haven't seen any of the men before, but one of the women resembles Mrs. Klugh from "Three Minutes" (she was the Ms. Cleo wannabe who worked her magic on Michael). This is the point where I had to check my channel guide. The group of people we're watching isn't concocting an elicit scheme, nor are they engaging in any weird cultish behavior. Rather, they're meeting as a book club. When we enter this book club scene, one of the members (his name is Adam) is in the midst of railing on the week's book selection. "It's popcorn," the amateur critic says. "There's no metaphor! it's by-the-numbers religious hokum-pocum. It's science fiction!" Adam presses on, suggesting that the reason one particular book club member -- an unseen man named Ben -- isn't present is because the selection is a load of science fiction hoo-ha, and Ben wouldn't have anything to do with it. "I know the host picks the book, but seriously Julie, he wouldn't read this in the damn bathroom," Adam says. The camera moves to the blonde woman (whom we now know as Julie). Her jaw is tightly set and Adam's critique is clearly pissing her off. She levels her eyes and unloads a scathing retort, noting that the book in question is, in fact, her favorite book, and it pleases her to no end that anal-retentive Adam doesn't like it. The elegant woman looks on, bemused at the can of whup-ass Julie just opened on Adam. As Julie takes a breath and prepares to lob another verbal volley at the now-stunned Adam, a deep rumble echoes through the house and the walls begin shake. Plates rattle! Glasses clink! The book club takes cover under the doorways (where are they, L.A.?), but the rumbling soon quiets. The group walks outside into the bright sunlight. Nearby neighbors also appear; everyone is curious as to what caused the big rumble. And this is when it gets interesting. As doors fly open and neighbors mill about, the unseen man who was tending to Julie's plumbing pops out from beneath the house. We see his face. HOLY CRAP! IT'S ETHAN! EVIL ETHAN! But before we can fully digest this stunning turn of events, another door flies open and out walks ... SWEET ZEUS' THUNDERBOLT! IT'S HENRY GALE! But before we can even begin to understand what's going on, the assembled cast all gazes skyward. Their eyes grow wide. The camera turns ... And there, arcing across the sky, is Oceanic 815. A smoky jet-trail is spilling from the plane as it rumbles overhead. BLAM! The tail section snaps off and tumbles away from the fuselage! (If you look carefully, you can seen Ana-Lucia sneering in response). BLAM! Oceanic 815's front section screams toward land. Henry Gale instantly springs to action. "Goodwin!" he shouts. MOTHER OF GOD, WE KNOW HIM TOO! Goodwin runs toward Henry. "You see where the tail landed?" Gale asks. "Yeah, probably in the water," Goodwin says. "You run, you can make that shore in an hour," Gale says, doing his best Samuel Gerard impersonation. Gale turns toward Ethan, who's standing nearby. "Ethan, get up there to that fuselage. There may actually be survivors ... and you're one of them. A passenger. You're in shock. Come up with an adequate story if they ask. Stay quiet if they don't. Listen. Learn. Don't get involved. I want lists in three days. GO!" Ethan and Goodwin run off in separate directions. The tension slows down as the rest of the neighborhood mills about, kicking dirt and wondering why a jumbo jet just cracked up in their airspace. Henry and Julie are standing near one another. Henry sees a book in Julie's arms. "So I guess I'm out of the book club," he says in his best Evil Henry Gale voice (the exact same voice he used while crunching cereal back in "The Whole Truth"). The camera pulls back from Henry and Julie. The shot widens and additional homes are visible. Pine trees and oak trees are seen, sprouting from manicured lawns and casting shade on walkways. The shot pulls back further and further, showing a circle of houses on a flat expanse of land ... and then the camera pulls back completely, and that's when we see that the entire community -- Dharma World or Hanso Land or whatever the hell it is -- is nestled safe and snug in a remote valley on a far side of ... THE ISLAND. And that's how Season 3 starts. Under normal circumstances I'd jump right into the next plot thread, but this massive revelation requires a bit of analysis. As always, if I miss something or make an egregious error, please post your thoughts/corrections in the comments area below. In no particular order I present, A Few Thoughts About This Very Big, Very Astounding First Scene:
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Point 2
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The splashy opening of this episode was a broad scene, but the
majority of the premiere is actually quite character-driven and simple. The
primary focus is on the current state of Jack, Kate and Sawyer.
Because our Island Doctor gets pissy when we don't acknowledge his alpha male dominance, we'll begin with Jack: For most of this episode, Jack is in an aquarium. You read that correctly. Our intrepid doctor -- a man who's been to Phuket and back, a man who's performed miracles in the operating room -- is, at the beginning of season three, little more than a sputtering goldfish trapped in a giant, dried-out aquarium. Of course, when we first see Jack we don't know he's in an aquarium. Neither does he. When the episode opens, Jack groggily wakes up from medicine-induced unconsciousness. He looks down and sees a band-aid stuck into the nook of his arm, and, being a trained medical professional in a presumably unsterile environment, he rips the band-aid off to reveal what looks like a needle wound. Looking around, Jack sees a wide, tall, dark room. The walls are metal and concrete. A large industrial table is bolted into the center of the room. Above, a knot of chains dangles from the high ceiling. Jack looks to his left and sees a button on the far end of the room. It's yet another mysterious Dharma button -- no directions, no clear utility -- but Jack is a man who pushes a button when he sees it (he's also a man who unlocks giant restraining doors, but we'll get to that in a minute). Jack runs toward the button. SMACK! Like a sparrow dive-bombing a window, Jack slams into a clear plastic wall. He spins backwards, confused and stunned (again, like a sparrow). Moving forward, he slides his hands along the plastic. Oh crap, he's trapped. Jack's rage wells. He steps back and unloads a mighty kick to the wall. Nothing happens. He slams another massive kick into the plastic. Nothing happens again. In fact, less happens this time than the first time. The wall doesn't even shake. Jack turns his fury to the chains hanging above. He climbs up on the long table and tugs viscously at a dangling chain. The chain slams against its bolt. Jack pulls again, and again the chain slams without incident. You see a theme here? As Jack rages against the machine, a door opens in a room on the other side of the plastic window. Jack freezes as Juliet appears. She calmly walks toward a nearby table lined with electronic equipment (the primary piece of equipment resembles an audio production board -- lots of switches and buttons). Juliet slides a switch and a loudspeaker inside Jack's cell cracks to life. "Can you hear me in there?" Juliet asks. Jack, summoning the strength of 1,000 gorillas, grabs the chain and slams it against the ceiling. The chain holds. It's approved to handle 1,001 gorillas. Juliet, remaining calm, asks Jack to come down from the table so they can talk. "Tell me where my friends are!" Jack screams. "Tell me why my daddy didn't love me!" (That second bit is implied in everything Jack says). Juliet draws upon her vast reserves of patience and again asks Jack to get his friggin' ass down from the damn table. This time, Jack's retort comes squarely from left field. "You think I'm stupid!?" Jack says. And this is when I decided that Juliet kicks ass. "I don't think you're stupid," she says. "I think you're stubborn." Jack is momentarily phased. In the span of 30 seconds this woman has completely figured him out. Unfortunately, the clarity of the moment fades and rage again wells in Jack's system. He grabs and chain and continues slamming it against the bolt. Juliet leaves because she's got better things to do than force a civilized conversation out of a meathead doctor. You know what I need right now? I need me some backstory. CUE BACKSTORY SWOOSH! Throughout this episode, as Jack paces his cell and pulls on that damn chain, we see intercut scenes from Jack's past illustrating the fallout from Sarah's abrupt departure (remember, Sarah left Jack at the end of "The Hunting Party" because, in her words, all he cared about was "fixing things," not loving her). In this episode's backstory, we see/learn the following:
Anyway, Sarah appears to be talking to her unnamed paramour. We know this because she giggles like a 13-year-old watching Leo in "Titanic." Jack doesn't like Leo or "Titanic," and he really doesn't like it when his soon-to-be-ex is talking to her Secret Lover while he's in the room. When Sarah snaps the phone shut and returns, Jack's apologetic mood has been replaced by anger. He demands to know the name of the man Sarah is seeing -- in fact, he downright pleads with her to tell him -- but just as it seems Sarah is about to cough up the goods, she grabs her purse and curtly walks out of the room.
We now returned to your regularly scheduled aquarium incarceration. Later in the episode Jack hears a crackling noise coming from an ancient intercom unit located within his aquarium cell. It sounds like a voice is trying to talk to Jack, but static obscures the message. Jack presses the intercom's "Talk" button and says he can't hear the message. For a brief moment, the static clears and a familiar voice comes through: "Let it go, Jack." Whoa! That's Daddy's voice! Suddenly, overhead lights snap on and the door in the adjacent room cracks open. Jack is dazed, both by the sound of his father's voice and by the reappearance of Juliet. She's carrying a tray with a grilled cheese sandwich and bottle of Dharma water (look carefully and you'll see the sandwich has a Dharma logo branded into it ... just kidding). The sandwich is garnished with toothpicks and a sprig of parsley -- no joke. Juliet says the sandwich and water are for Jack, but he needs to follow protocol if he's going to get them. She instructs him to place his back on the far wall of the cell and remain there while she brings the food in from another door. Jack is unmoved by her generosity. He tells Juliet that she and the guy who's trying to talk to him through the intercom can stick their sandwiches in a sack. Juliet is confused ... she tells Jack the intercom hasn't worked for years. Jack shifts his gaze behind Juliet. He nods toward the red button on the far side of the wall and asks what it's used for. This is the same button Jack tried to reach earlier, but was stopped by the clear plastic wall. "It's used for emergencies," Juliet says. Foreshadowing alert! Jack turns and continues to pace in his cell. Juliet approaches the clear wall and opts for a different approach with Jack. She asks him what he does. Jack continues to pace. "I'm a repo man," he lies. "You know, when people don't pay their bills, I go in for the bank and I collect their possessions. I'm a people person so I really love it." "Are you married?" Juliet asks with a smirk. She knows Jack is lying. "No, I never saw the point," Jack snaps. "How about you? What's your job, besides making sandwiches?" And this is when Juliet fully won me over. "Oh, I didn't make it," she says casually. "I just put the toothpicks in." Jack stops pacing as Juliet's joke pierces his Invincibility Forcefield. Juliet sees an opportunity. She asks Jack where he was flying from when his plane crashed. His demeanor softens. He looks at Juliet and tells her he was flying from Sydney, bringing his dead Daddy home. "I'm sorry," Juliet says. "I'm sure you are," Jack says, his sarcasm welling up. "Thanks." But Juliet isn't done. She puts her palm on the plastic wall. "You can trust me, Jack. I'm not going to hurt you." Jack moves toward the wall. He stoops down so his eyes are on the same level as Juliet's. "What the hell is going on here?" he asks, desperate to know why he's been taken captive and who these freaky Others really are. Juliet drops her eyes, seemingly unsure of what to do next. It's a look reminiscent of the opening when she blinked away tears. She turns and slowly walks toward the door. Pausing at the entrance, she takes a bite of the sandwich and gazes back into the room. She doesn't make eye contact with Jack, but she seems to want to. Thinking better of it, Juliet leaves and softly closes the door behind her. Oh I like this. I like this very much. Juliet returns later with another plate of food (this time it's a lovely fruit plate). She tells Jack in no uncertain terms that the drugs he was given earlier -- the ones that knocked him out -- cause dehydration, headaches and hallucinations. Also, if he should experience priapism for more than four hours he should call ... Wait. Wrong medicine. Sorry. Jack looks up. "So you're a doctor, huh?" he asks. Juliet, without missing a beat, has the perfect response. "No. I'm a repo woman." Seriously. How can you not like this woman? Juliet asks Jack, again, to simply sit with his back against the far wall so she can come in with the food. She tells him there are no strings attached. He doesn't have to answer questions, he doesn't have to talk. Moreover, she says she realizes what Jack is trying to do -- he thinks that if he gives in to anything, even something as simple as eating, he's giving in completely. Juliet's logic is flawless. Jack relents and moves slowly to the far wall and sits. Juliet thanks Jack, exits the room and walks down a hallway toward the aquarium's door. Jack watches intently as the lever to the door of his aquarium cell slides open. Juliet takes a step in. Jack lunges for the door! The fruit plate shatters as Jack spins Juliet and slams her on the long table in the middle of the room. He grabs a tazer/shooter weapon tucked into the back of Juliet's pants and chucks it across the room. He picks up a large shard of broken plate and holds it to Juliet's throat. "Which way out?" he growls. Jack clutches Juliet as the two back into the hallway through the open aquarium door. He spots a heavy door with a spinning wheel at the far end of the hall. He orders Juliet to open it. Juliet, despite having a shard of dinnerware pressed to her jugular, refuses. She says that if they open that door, they both die. "Open it!" Jack shouts. A man's voice sounds from the opposite end of the hallway. "She's right, Jack." Jack spins with Juliet. His eyes pop as he sees Henry Gale/Ben! "I'll kill her!" Jack says. Ben, in a move that proves he's a vindictive son of a bitch with ice in his veins, doesn't flinch. "Okay," Ben says without blinking. "Have her open the door and she dies anyway." In this next bit, Jack displays the full depth of his meatheadedness. He shoves Juliet away and turns back toward the door. Grabbing the spinning handle, he pulls with all his strength and the door begins to creak. Ben looks at Juliet then turns and darts toward a door down the hall. Juliet follows, but Ben slams the door in her face, shutting her out. Jack unlocks the door and grabs the handle. He starts to pull, but the thing on the other side of the door really wants to get in, so he doesn't have to pull much at all. Uh. Oh. A deep rumble grows louder. Jack backs up. A huge surge of water bursts through the door and floods the hallway! Jack and Juliet are spun like toy boats. Juliet flails toward the room adjacent to the aquarium. She calls for Jack. He sputters toward her and together then push a heavy metal door against the water. "Press the button!" she yells. Jack struggles toward the red emergency button and slaps it. A heavy pump activates as water is sucked from the room. Jack moves to turn back toward Juliet, but she stops his advance with a killer right hook that knocks Jack unconscious. Juliet lifts him and keeps his head aloft as water drains from the room. Later, Jack comes to in the aquarium cell. The room is dry and he is too. Juliet is sitting at the equipment table in the adjacent room -- the two are again separated by the plastic partition. Juliet is paging through a thick folder filled with papers. "We're underwater, aren't we?" Jack asks, noting the obvious. Juliet confirms his adept conclusion (it takes an awful lot to slide one past 'ol Jack!). This is when Jack realizes he's in an aquarium -- a big aquarium, like the kind used for dolphins and sharks. "Is this one of their stations?" Jack asks, digging for dirt on the Dharma Initiative. "They called it the Hydra," Juliet responds calmly. "So you people are just ... whatever's left over of them," Jack says. Juliet's face grows somber. "Well, that was a long time ago," she says. "It doesn't matter who we were. It only matters who we are." Juliet looks down at the file. "We know exactly who you are, Jack Shephard." She proceeds to run down Jack's Greatest Hits: He's a spinal surgeon based out of St. Sebastian's hospital in L.A.; he went to Columbia (the university, not the country); he graduated from medical school a year faster than anyone else; he was married once and contested the divorce; his father died in Sydney and Juliet knew this before Jack told her because she's got a copy of the autopsy report. Who are these people? Jack looks at the folder sitting in front of Juliet. He asks if it contains information on his friends and family. Juliet says it does. Jack is dazed. There's one thing he needs to know. One very important thing. Of course, we're led to believe that this one important thing is the name of the man Sarah is with. But we're wrong. Jack leans on the table and hangs his head. "Do you know about my ex-wife?" "Sarah," Juliet says. "Yes, Jack. We know all about her. What would you like to find out?" "Is she ... is she happy?" Jack asks. "Yes, Jack," Juliet says. "She's very happy." Jack weeps. He's officially lost it. Juliet, seeing that Jack's armor has finally been tossed aside, asks him if she can bring him food without him going apeshit on her. "Can I trust you, Jack?" she asks. Jack nods a slow "yes." Juliet takes a breath and asks him to move against the wall ("It puts the lotion in the basket. IT ... PUTS ... THE LOTION ... IN THE BASKET!") Juliet leaves the room. Outside she turns to see Ben standing in the hallway, his arms pinned to his sides and his face set in that creepy Henry Gale expression. "Good work, Juliet," he says. "Thank you, Ben," she responds, launching a thousand tiny daggers with her eyes. And with that, Jack's segment concludes. |
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Point 3
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The two other captives, Kate and Sawyer, had considerably less
to do this week.
We'll start with Kate. Kate, like Jack, begins the episode unconscious. She wakes up to the sound of a high-pressure shower pounding a tile floor. Looking around, she sees she's in some sort of locker room. She looks up and spots Zeke (a.k.a Mr. Friendly, a.k.a The Formerly Bearded Other) standing against a nearby wall. He greets her with a hearty "Hi Kate!" then tells her to take a shower. Kate is confused, and a little creeped out. Zeke guides her toward a fresh towel, shampoo and soap, but Kate is unconvinced. "I'm not showering in front of you," she snaps. Zeke cracks up. "You're not my type," he laughs, walking out of the locker room. Kate, seeing that she's really got no other options, strips down and scrubs up. When she finishes, she wraps herself in the towel and pads over to a locker where her clothes were stored. But there's a problem ... the clothes aren't there. A nearby locker is open. A piece of masking tape is slapped across the door with the words "Wear These" scrawled across it. Kate peers in and sees ... A sun dress? Realizing that her sartorial choices are between a Dharma towel or a new dress, she opts for the dress. Putting it on, she takes a moment to look at herself in the mirror. It's the first time we've seen Kate in a dress; I don't think anyone would have a problem if we saw more of this type of thing. Alas, the moment soon ends as Zeke returns with Dharma henchmen in tow. The group marches Kate outside and guides her toward a nearby beach. Moving through the seaside brush, Kate stops dead in her tracks when the water comes into view. There, sitting at a cloth-covered table, is Ben ("the artist formerly known as Henry Gale," to steal Sawyer's line). The table is covered in breakfast food: coffee, fruit, eggs, juice, a McGriddle here and there. The set-up looks like a reward challenge from "Survivor." Zeke pushes Kate toward the table. She apprehensively sits down opposite Ben. Zeke and his boys depart, leaving Kate and Ben alone on the beach. Kate notices a pair of handcuffs resting near her plate. Ben tells her to put them on, but Kate resists, asking him what he'll do if she doesn't comply. "Then you won't get any coffee!" Ben chirps. Kate snaps the cuffs into place, but Ben catches on to her not-so-clever ploy. "A little tighter, please," Ben says. Kate clicks the cuffs shut. She asks Ben what's happened to Sawyer and Jack. Ben huffs in amusement. "Now why Sawyer?" he asks, noting that she inquired about him first. Kate doesn't respond, instead turning her attention to the meal in front of them. She wants to know why she's been brought here -- what's with the breakfast on the beach and the dress? Ben says the dress is to remind her what it feels like to be a lady. The meal is to remember what it's like to be civilized. The beach is meant to provide comfort in knowing that her friends are looking upon the same ocean. Ben summons his most evil Henry Gale look. "I did all those things so that you'd have something nice to hold on to" ... DRAMATIC PAUSE ... "Because, Kate, the next two weeks are going to be very unpleasant." BWAHAHAHAAHA! Ben rises and leaves. Kate paws at a McGriddle and wonders how she's going to get out of this mess. |
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Point 4
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And finally, we come to Sawyer.
Sawyer, oddly enough, wakes up in a bear cage. No joke. He's outside, confined in a cage that was once used to hold bears (presumably, polar bears, but that's not confirmed). The cage is located behind a multi-story building. A second bear cage stands about 10-15 feet away. The area is lined with overgrown trees and the grounds resemble a post-apocalyptic Busch Gardens. Inside his cage, Sawyer spots a series of gizmos: a lever hangs from the top of the cage, a foot pedal is built into the ground on the opposite wall, and a big red button stenciled with a fork and knife is in the middle of the cell. Sawyer presses the button and a woman's recorded voice barks "Warning!" Sawyer, unimpressed, presses the button again. The warning sounds, but this time it's accompanied by a buzzing noise. Sawyer moves to press the button a third time ... "I wouldn't do that." Sawyer spins and sees a young man/teenager sitting with his back toward him in the other bear cage. (This is a new character.) "I want your advice, I'll ask for it," Sawyer quips. Sawyer smacks the button. A bright electric current hurls Sawyer through the air. He slams against the cage and crumples to the ground. "Told you," the other prisoner snarks. Later, Sawyer catches on to the inner workings of the bear cage. In order to get food, he needs to press the foot pedal, push the button and pull the lever. But there's a problem -- he can't reach all of the doo-dads. As he ponders the bear puzzle, the kid in the other cage asks him how long it would take to get back to the Oceanic camp. "What, you talking to me now, Chachi?" Sawyer asks, then turns back to his levers. The kid continues, wanting to know about the people from Oceanic 815. "Oh they're just awesome," Sawyer says. "Last one of you that came to visit got tortured by an Iraqi ... he tortured me too, but hell, he don't know any better!" Sawyer turns back toward the other cage. He face drops. The kid has escaped. Sawyer looks around and the kid suddenly appears in front of him. The kid unlocks Sawyer's cage and points him toward a path around the multi-story building. Sawyer darts along a tall fence and then scurries into a clearing. "Hey." Sawyer turns and sees Juliet. He's confused: should he run or ask her out? Juliet takes a step forward, reaches behind her back and grabs a weapon. She cracks a dart directly into Sawyer's neck -- it's the same type of dart used in the season two finale, and the weapon is the same one Jack finds when he jumps Juliet in the aquarium. The drugs in the dart drop Sawyer to the ground. He convulses and loses consciousness. Moments later, Zeke and two of his henchmen drag Sawyer back to the bear cage and drop him on the dirt floor. Sawyer sputters to life and watches as Zeke slams the teenage boy's head against the bars of Sawyer's cage. "Say it, Carl," Zeke says. "I'm sorry I involved you in my breakout attempt," the kid (Carl) says. With that, the henchmen haul Carl off to an undisclosed location (they don't put him back in the other cage). Juliet and Zeke leave Sawyer to continue pondering the bear puzzle. Sawyer finally cracks the puzzle at the end of the episode. He slides a rock through the cage bars, positions it on the foot pedal, presses the big food button and then tosses his boot at the hanging lever. Marching music rings from the speaker. "Reward! Reward!" As rewards go, this one sucks. A big fish-shaped Dharma cracker slides down a food chute, followed by a load of grain. A water hose sputters to life and fills a nearby trough. As Sawyer slurps from the hose, Zeke and his henchmen lead Kate (who's still wearing the dress) into the other cage. Sawyer spins, thrilled to see Freckles ... and even more thrilled to see her in that dress. Zeke takes Kate's handcuffs off and notices that the cuffs chewed into her wrists. He offers to bring her antiseptic later. "How 'bout you bring me an ottoman?" Sawyer says. "While you're at it, I could use a blow dry." "Hey!" Zeke says, noticing Sawyer's food reward. "You got yourself a fish biscuit! How'd you do that?" "I figured out your complicated gizmos, that's how," Sawyer says, beaming with pride. "Only took the bears two hours!" Zeke laughs as he walks off. Sawyer is wounded. "How many of them were there?" he asks. Zeke doesn't answer. Sawyer looks at Kate. Her lip quivers, but Sawyer knows how to cheer Freckles up. "I requested that cage," Sawyer says, pointing at Kate's cell. Kate smiles. Sawyer compliments Kate on the dress, which is appropriate since she looks uncommonly good given the recent kidnapping and that breakfast interlude with Ben. Sawyer asks if she's hungry. She nods. He leans out from the bars and tosses his partially eaten fish biscuit to Kate. She catches it and chomps a gill. "Mmmm, that's terrific bass!" And with that, the season three premiere comes to a close. |
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Point 5
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I'll conclude with a few random questions/thoughts:
That's it for now. Be sure to drop by our "Lost" Forum for stimulating conversation and conjecture. |
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Next Episode:
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"The Glass Ballerina" -- Sayid's scheme to find Jack puts Sun and Jin
in the crosshairs of bad stuff. Airs: Wednesday, October 11, 9 p.m.,
ABC. |
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Review by Mac Slocum. All photos and episode descriptions © ABC Inc. |
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Posted by Mac on October 5, 2006 1:21 PM | Email This
I hearby dub the leader of the Others "Benry".
→ 2. Posted by: PiecesofArzt at October 5, 2006 1:50 PMI second "Benry." That's brilliant!
→ 3. Posted by: mac at October 5, 2006 1:54 PMAs everyone else has said, thank you so much Mac. I LOVE reading your reviews (and yes, that was me shouting).
Just an interesting connection between the book club selection and Season 2. When Lock gave HG/Ben a book to read while he was being held captive in the armory, HG said, "What, no Stephen King?". I'm sure that can't be a coincidence.
→ 4. Posted by: Amy at October 5, 2006 1:55 PMI can sum up the review in three words:
SWEET ZEUS' THUNDERBOLT!
Nice recap, Mac.
→ 5. Posted by: junger at October 5, 2006 1:58 PMOne thing wrong in my opinion with the recap...In the flashback with Jack going through Sarah's cellphone list. When Jack's Dad's cellphone rings, it is not Sarah, but rather Jack. Jack was calling all the numbers on the list and he noticed that his Dad's phone rang when he called that number so he knew he had talked with Sarah recently.
→ 6. Posted by: Michael at October 5, 2006 2:02 PM@Michael -- Excellent point. I was wondering how the logistics of that scene worked. Thanks for the clarification, I'll make a change in the review. -- mac
→ 7. Posted by: mac at October 5, 2006 2:04 PMThe elegant old lady in the beginning is played by Julie Adams and her name is Amelia. Old spoiler hounds like me know this stuff. :P
Alex wasn't in the episode. Nor was Pickett or Ms Klugh.
And I would be happy if you would refer to "Zeke" as "Tom" from now on, because that's his name. And isn't he just an awesome bastard?
But wait till you see Pickett in the next episode. I saw the CTV preview. Mmm, I love him! :D
→ 8. Posted by: Remus Lupin at October 5, 2006 2:05 PMAnyone ever notice that Jack is ALWAYS wrong when it comes to important things? In this episode alone, he is wronmg about his Dad and Sarah and the Door that he was told not to open. In the past, he is wrong about Henry Gale, he was wrong about Sawyer having Shannon's asthma meds, he's wrong about Michael... it goes on and on! he should just learn to NOT trust his instincts!
Great review, Mac, it's great to have you back!
OMG! This opener just blew my mind! I guess the aquarium explains the "Dharma brand" shark that's swimming around out there! I wonder what the life span of a Dharma shark is? 100 years like Joop?
Excellent recap Mac!
→ 10. Posted by: Jake3841 at October 5, 2006 2:09 PMWell summer is now offically over now that Lost is back on and Mac's reviews are back (Who cares about that silly Autumnal Equinox saying summer's done).
My wife brought up a point that Juliet looks very similar to Jack's ex wife Sara.
Also how do these people have all this information / dosier about all the people who survived flight 815?? CIA or worse?
Keep up the great work Mac, it's good to be back!
→ 11. Posted by: Kalico at October 5, 2006 2:10 PM"It puts the lotion in the basket" I am still laughing at that one. A great quote from Silence of the Lambs.
I also thought that she was Penny. Wasn't there a spoiler somewhere that said a few things that actually happened...Sawyer being kept in a cage, Jacks Dad sleeping with Jack's wife (even though this was only suggested)?
→ 12. Posted by: meg at October 5, 2006 2:16 PMOh, one more thing for now..the song "Downtown" that Juliet was listening to, wasn't it similar to the song Desmond was listening to when the scene opened last season with him on the bike working out? Is it the same artist? I forgot who sings it.
→ 13. Posted by: meg at October 5, 2006 2:19 PMwasn't jack making a b-line to the open door on the opposite side of his cage and not to the button when he face-planted into the plexiglass?
→ 14. Posted by: jraw at October 5, 2006 2:23 PMMac,
Great to have you and your blog back. I can stop going through withdrawals now.
One small note:
When Jack was dialing the numbers in his office and Dad walked in, Jack dialed one of the numbers on the list and Dad's cell phone rang. It wasn't Sarah calling, it was Jack.
→ 15. Posted by: sharkkiller69 at October 5, 2006 2:23 PMJraw - I also thought Jack was heading for the open door, not the button.
Here's a question for anyone with Tivo: when Sarah was walking away from Jack at the lawyer's office (or wherever they were), was she smiling? Maybe not, but both my husband and I thought it looked like she was. More proof of her evilness!
→ 16. Posted by: Amy at October 5, 2006 2:25 PMThank you, Mac - your reviews are the best.
I must preface this by saying that Lost is one of my Top 5 favorite shows of all-time, and that I am absolutely obsessed.
Now ... I was extremely disappointed by this episode. Except for the brilliant opening scene, everything else was just felt so melodramatic & empty to me.
I was 100% convinced that the flashback would belong to Henry Gale (he will never be Ben to me). How could it not? Instead, we got another look into Jack's past ... and, umm, it didn't really give us any new information about him, except that he is a creepy stalker, and that some of those scenes with Sara belonged on the Lifetime channel. We already knew Sara left him for another guy. We already knew his father was an alcoholic. The scene in the hotel at the AA meeting? Wow, just awful. And the worst line of the night, by far, goes to Sarah: "Well, on the bright side, now you have somebody to fix," or whatever the hell she said. Yuck.
Kate's scenes were mildly more interesting. Clearly, she was treated the best - I kind of liked the whole beach/breakfast part with Gale, with her in the sundress, and the "normal" food & all that stuff.
As for Sawyer -- ummm, nothing happened! He was in that cage that entire episode! What was the point? I don't get it.
And that Juliet chick -- yeah, she's pretty cute. But I thought they forced her character a little bit too much. The back & forth banter with Jack was just so incredibly forced that I could not take it seriously. I'm sorry. And all that information she has about Jack? I'm assuming we'll find out about it -- maybe the guy who was seeing Sarah is on the island too?
Lastly, I am disappointed that we saw nothing of Locke, or Desmond, or Eko, or Sayid ... yada yada. Remember, those characters that made this show grat? How do you have a season premiere of Lost without Locke? Absolutely dumfounding.
Now, obviously I am going to stick with the show for the rest of the season, and I have hope that things will improve ... but to be honest, I think the writers have bitten off more than they can chew.
→ 17. Posted by: Mike NYC at October 5, 2006 2:28 PMOK, I see Michael brought up my point while I was typing my comment. Sorry about that.
I must be crazy because nobody on any of the msg boards seems to have noticed this but...
Didn't the guy who is waiting for Sarah at the jail (presumably her lover) look a lot like Henry/Ben/Benry? It would be a bit weird, but stranger things have happened on the show. Nobody seems to be talking about him. Anybody have a screen cap? Been trying to get one, but lost-media.com is really slow today.
→ 19. Posted by: Asher at October 5, 2006 2:29 PMAsher - I did not notice a resemblence at all between Sarah's new man and HG. I thought the new man's hair was much darker, he seemed younger and his facial features were way different.
→ 20. Posted by: Amy at October 5, 2006 2:31 PMGreat stuff Mac. Good to have you back.
One more thought you didn't touch on. It looks as if the cage that housed Sawyer were for the polar bears seen on the island and this is where they came from. Also, the aquarium is probably where the shark lived that was seen in the ocean with the Dharma logo in the episode "Adrift".
Mike NYC, Yes, I kind of agree with you. I was floored in the first few minutes of the show, but nothing else intrigued me. It seems obvious that the girl is supposed to win the affections of Jack, and we have read that in many spoilers. The flashbacks were nothing new, except for now the dislike of Sarah that is starting.
If the show is falling, and I hope it isn't, I am going to reserve judgement for the meantime.
Welcome back Mack. Great post as always. That first scene threw me as well. Glad your posts are back, now all will be well, at least until May
→ 23. Posted by: Gerard at October 5, 2006 2:35 PMI thought it was cool that she was reading Carrie. Carrie and telekenetic powers much like Walt does. Wierd.
→ 24. Posted by: Dimitri at October 5, 2006 2:38 PMBTW, I love these reviews, started reading them last season and have been hooked ever since.
I just realized all 3 of them were in animal cages(bear cage and an aquarium). I would like to know where on the island all this stuff is located, seems it has to be close to the coast since Juliet walked away from Jack and tazered Sawyer. So they are not far apart and I would assume the "aquarium" is underwater at the coast.
→ 25. Posted by: Michael at October 5, 2006 2:41 PMNo one mentioned that Kate's wrists were all raw and cut from the handcuffs......seems like the result of a struggle
Hi Fred
→ 26. Posted by: Who Dis? at October 5, 2006 2:45 PMWasn't Carl (the kid in the jail) the same kid fixing Juliet's plumbing in the beginning of the ep?
Is coffee so great that Kate would put handcuffs on just cause Ben/Henry Gale asked?
How does Jack not know his own dad’s cell phone number?
Could Juliet really knock Jack out with one punch?
Paper plates, woman! Paper plates! Never give a "hostage" glass plates!
→ 27. Posted by: Connie at October 5, 2006 2:47 PMIt was just dissapointing after the first 5 minutes. Mainly because they have so many different storylines they need to address right now. Watching Jack's struggle is not what people are interested in at this point.
We want to know what happened to Echo/Desmond/Locke...We want to know where Michael and Walt went off to... We want to know what is going on with Jin/Sun on the boat...We want to know about Penny and what they are looking for.
There are just so many other interesting storylines that are better than what was shown last night. They really need to have a season premier 2 hours long.
→ 28. Posted by: Michael at October 5, 2006 2:48 PMthanks a loads mac you made my night i can sleep now was w8ting for your review since morning :) this is the only way i can keep up with lost. thanks a millions keep up the good work:). w8ting for the next episode review you rock on:)
→ 29. Posted by: abhi at October 5, 2006 2:51 PMI was happy with this episode. I think the first "chunk" will probably focus on this Kate/Sawyer/Jake storyline, then when it comes back in February focus more on eveyone else.
Sal's nice
→ 30. Posted by: Who Dis? at October 5, 2006 2:51 PMGreat review- GREAT season opener! I couldn't have imagined a better way to kick off S3- It was off the hook. Why are there so many negative reviews floating around the net? It was a great way to begin...the look into the "Others" way of life was just brilliant...and by the way, Stephen King must have gone mental from the tribute...he's a huge LOST fan! Keep it up Mac!
→ 31. Posted by: Sillygirl0630 at October 5, 2006 2:55 PMAnyone got any clues as to how the cuffs chewed into Kate's wrists? It couldnt have been from just having them on. And she looked alot more upset being led into the cage than she did on the beach. And she isn't really a cryer either. Something must have happened between the beach and the cage.
→ 32. Posted by: Melissa at October 5, 2006 2:57 PMMaybe she is 'someone's' type? I hate to think that but you're right, something major happened to her.
→ 33. Posted by: hookedonlost at October 5, 2006 2:59 PMAbsolutely wonderful! I, too, thought it was Penny in the beginning, especially when the song started playing. The song was when I was certain that I was watching the right show (I thought it was a flashback, tho)!!
I'm so glad you mentioned how much you like Juliet, because I was almost feeling guilty for liking an Other so much!
I understand why some would want the characters to be named appropriately, but Zeke will always be Zeke to me!
I'd also like to note that it was very un-Sawyer like for him to give the Dharma fish food to Kate. When he did that, I thought it spoke VOLUMES of his feelings for her!
So happy that the season has finally started and that I can get such a humorous review the next day!! Thanx Mac! :D
→ 34. Posted by: Paula at October 5, 2006 3:04 PMIt seemed like the writers really wanted us to believe that it was Jack's father who was having the affair with his wife.
I mean why not have him say "Are you crazy, you think I did what!" as oppossed to "Let it go" ?
And what was with that guy Sarah was canoodling with at school in the beginning. Was he same guy outside the jail?
Hi Richard
hookedonlost - i was thinking the same thing. since (YUCK) they seem to like babies so much..
I'd like to see Sawyer kick some Other butt if they hurt Kate.
First to MAC: I can't tell you how great it is to have you back, this one was a doozie and you recaped it perfectly, as always, so thank you for that.
Second all I can say on the opener is OMG!!
Third to Remus Lupin, loved your views, and if Lost and Potter are your two big passions, drop me a line, I think we might have a lot to chat about! :)
Glad to have the show -- and your expert recaps -- back. But a couple of points that probably don't ammount to much...
That was rosemary on the sandwich plate, not parsley.
And it's been mentioned elsewhere, but the Petula Clark CD was in the jewelbox of Talking Heads' "Speaking in Tounges."
(And actually, the CD shown was identified as a Son Volt CD, for what it's worth.)
Mac,
I missed you reviews almost as much as I missed the show. Want to point out a strange coincidence, although given this show it my be on purpose. The person who actually wrote the song "Downtown" was a man named Tony Hatch.
Sam
→ 39. Posted by: Sam at October 5, 2006 3:15 PMObviously that song "Downtown" was used for a reason. My thought? Juliet and Benry recently broke up because she's not to into this whole thing, like Benry is (Maybe he's taken this experiment to the next level and she's not down with that). Anyway, she misses life back on the mainland. Her spirit is renewed by Jack. I read somewhere that Jack is given some kind of offer by the Others. I wonder if it has something to Juliet?
→ 40. Posted by: fuber at October 5, 2006 3:24 PMJust think how proud the Salingers would be to see both boys grow up to be doctors?
→ 41. Posted by: justathought at October 5, 2006 3:24 PMRe: Connie's comment... Yes. Yes, coffee is worth putting handcuffs on. If I hadn't had coffee for xx days I would've slapped those suckers on real quick.
Also, we pretty much surmised this at the end of season 2, but it's clear for sure now that the Others had no idea the plane was going to crash.
No way in hell one or two people could push the door closed on the flooding water. I know those are the things that we must accept 'cos it's a TV show, but that one was pretty extreme in its unrealism.
I think Jack is the One who the Others think can modify the Valenzetti equation (the numbers). (Check out the film inserted in Mac's last pre-season post to see what I mean.) Now Jack *really* has something to fix - the human race.
Wonder if the cage break was staged. What are the odds he breaks free shortly after Sawyer gets there?
Think of all the things that the Others must have delivered to them to keep their 'neighborhood' that nice - lawn mowers, weed-eaters, fuel for lawn mowers and weed-eaters, CDs and electronics, nice clothes, books... (Maybe they have TiVo ; ) My point is, if distribution is this easy or regular, then it makes sense that they have the means to leave the island if they want. But they don't? Why? Do they think they're infected?
Many more thoughts, but I'll save 'em...
→ 42. Posted by: JR at October 5, 2006 3:27 PMJack's giving up information was lame riiiiiiight? He should've held her hostage and kept her for ransom of 25 dimes riiiiiight? 25 dimes that's gangsta for 25,000 riiiiight?
→ 43. Posted by: Elegant Elliott Often at October 5, 2006 3:28 PM@Bill P -- I never could differentiate my garnish ;) Thanks for the correction on the rosemary.
@Sam -- You know, when I found that link to "Downtown" I thought the very same thing. Coincidence? Hmmmm.
-- mac
→ 44. Posted by: mac at October 5, 2006 3:28 PM"Jack, summoning the strength of 1,000 gorillas, grabs the chain and slams it against the ceiling. The chain holds. It's approved to handle 1,001 gorillas. "
--Mack thats funniest line you've ever written. Absolutly brilliant!!!
→ 45. Posted by: jo at October 5, 2006 3:31 PMMeg: "Downtown" by Petula Clark; "Make Your Own Kind of Music" Mama Cass Elliott (per Wikipedia)
Possible link: Juliet and Libby-sisters?
(Maybe that was why Sawyer froze when he saw her, momentary confusion)
Kate's wrists cut from being pulled/dragged by the handcuffs, which would then cut into the skin. Her dress did not seem dirty so not that great a theory.
Maybe 'Carrie' is Juliet's favorite book because she gets her revenge on all the bullies at the end?
→ 46. Posted by: PiecesofArzt at October 5, 2006 3:32 PMMac -
So glad the new season has started... i've been watching the clock all day waiting for 2pm to get here to read your review - and as usual you did NOT disappoint!
Great review!
→ 47. Posted by: Toni at October 5, 2006 3:33 PMBrilliant show. The opening blew my mind - but so much of it seemed to talk to different theories of psychology, captivity, etc. And yes - now we know where the dharma shark came from. The whole thing is like Pleasantville but 100 times creepier. Ugh.
→ 48. Posted by: MissT at October 5, 2006 3:33 PMIt seemed a little strange to me that Juliet was present so quickly upon sawyers escape attempt. Especially with the degree of time she took with Jack. She was the frst one to reach Sawyer, in fact. I think I would be dissapointed if there were "multiples".
Also, I don't suppose Carl was also a survivor. Perhaps one of the younger kids abducted in Season 1?
→ 49. Posted by: sand at October 5, 2006 3:34 PMGreat review Mac. Your reviews make Thursday much more interesting.
Two points:
1. I also thought that the man outside of the jail looked like Henry Gale
2. Does anyone else wonder if Jack's "file" was nothing but a bunch of blank papers. Was there anything in there that he hasn't mentioned to at least someone on the island? Maybe it is more that the Others are keen observers with perhaps a bugging system than omniscient.
Wouldn't have been cool - if they did the first 30 days from the "OTHERS" point of view?!? Kind of like they started last season?
That's what I was hoping for - the first 5 minutes were excellent!
ALSO, Jack definitely spied the wifey being very close to the guy in the school yard (co-worker, dad of a child?) WHY DID HE GO so bonkers on his dad? That was a bummer.
Will stick with it for sure - but really was not blown away by the entire episode. Your recaps and everyone's comments really make it a worthy way to spend time though!
THANKS!
I think that Tom (a.k.a. Zeke, aka Mr. Friendly) looks horribly like Jack's dad. Maybe the Others who are Dharma workers cloned Jack's Dad, but gave him a different name, maybe to avoid confusion. That I guess would make sense, since Julie has Shepard's autopsy report. Just a guess.
→ 52. Posted by: Mr. Cube` at October 5, 2006 3:39 PMThree more thoughts: If Kate thought she had no choice in putting the handcuffs (a reasonable assumption) then she would put them on.
I too disbelieved any two people forcing back the OCEAN from flooding in but what are ya gonna do? Drown two characters?
Also the info Juliet gave Jack was fairly generic. He's a doctor,(from Ethan), he graduated from Columbia and works at St. Sebastian (Check your local hospital's website for info on the staff), divorce proceedings (public record?), father died in Sydney (foreigner dies in Australia, local newspaper). She made up the part about Sarah being happy knowing it would crush Jack.
→ 53. Posted by: PiecesofArzt at October 5, 2006 3:46 PMthe guy fixin juliets pluming was ethan rom, also Juliet referred to the red button as the ''Yellow buton'' is she colour blind?
→ 54. Posted by: maestr06 at October 5, 2006 3:46 PMHey guys, this is my first time posting. I just keep hitting the refresh button on my work computer and now can't resist...
I'm really interested in the book club scene (seeing as the first 10 minutes of the show was the part that impressed me the most). What does it mean when the one guy says 'Carrie' is religious mumbo jumbo and science fiction is just as bad and Benry would probably deficate on rather than read it, and he probably wouldn't even grant it that honor. For all of the stuff Dharma does...I don't know...I'm really curious about their distain towards either organized religion, science fiction, or both, and why is Juliet such an advocate of it?
PS
would anybody else be totally thrilled if Kate and Sawyer hook up. I like them together WAY more than Jack and Kate
PPS
Juliet is badass
Welcome Back Mac!, I agree 100% with your assesment of Sarah. I am however getting more and more frustrated with the lack of questioning by the prisoners. Why aren't they all saying What the "F" is going on here? What gives you the right. I know they have to drag it out but it is not normal human behavior to wait patiently for answers
→ 56. Posted by: DLostinBoston at October 5, 2006 3:48 PMWelcome back, Mac. I've missed your wrap-ups almost as much as the show itself.
That said, did anyone notice Juliet's reference to "free will" during her riff on Adam? Is that somehow significant?
And what about "the name" of the guy Sarah was with after Jack. Think that's going to have a connection elsewhere in the season?
And, yeah -- Who ARE these people???
jraw - amazing catch on the cell phone call!
→ 57. Posted by: Kate at October 5, 2006 3:49 PMI had lots of problems with this episode:
1. Why didn't Jack's dad just TELL HIM straight up that he wasn't sleeping with Sara? Instead of saying "Let it go" or "I'm your father," all he had to say was "I'm not sleeping with your wife." But he didn't say that. Why? Either he really *was* fooling around with Sara, or (I suspect) the writers didn't script it that way because it would interfere with their plot device. This reminds me of one of those silly sitcoms where a simple misunderstanding turns lasts the whole show.
2. Wouldn't Jack know his own father's cell phone number?
3. If Kate just finished breakfast with Benry, why was she already hungry again? Maybe more time passed than we realized. That could explain her bloody wrists and distraught appearance.
juliet cud of got the jacks das autopsy from the plane wreckage-also do u think they no jack is related to claire
→ 59. Posted by: maestr06 at October 5, 2006 3:57 PMand also ameila is juliets mother
→ 60. Posted by: maestr06 at October 5, 2006 4:02 PM"juliet cud of got the jacks das autopsy from the plane wreckage-also do u think they no jack is related to claire"
Translate, please.
Though I would have liked a two-hour premiere with, perhaps, an hour total dedicated to Jack/Kate/Sawyer and the other hour to rest of the cast, I was pretty happy with the story overall. The allegory of "outside looking in" through Jack's past and present was an effective device.
Did anyone else notice that the music during Sawyer's brief escape was very, VERY similar to the music used in the original Planet of the Apes, when Charlton Heston (as Taylor) was fleeing through the fields from the ape hunting party? I thought it was a nice tip of the hat, what with Sawyer caged up like Taylor.
→ 61. Posted by: greenwar at October 5, 2006 4:07 PMGreat to be reading your recaps again, Mac. What a long summer...
I thought Kate looked most unhappy when they put her in the cage across from Sawyer's cage. It seemed maybe they had done something to her, after breakfast. I mean, how could her wrists get that ripped up from eating breakfast... Wierd. And how could she eat that 20 yr old fish biscuit like a starving woman, if it was right after that delicious breakfast on the beach.
→ 62. Posted by: lost chao at October 5, 2006 4:07 PMlost Chao:
Some time had probably lapsed since kate had breakfast and got to the cage.....at least enough time for the tranquilizer dart to wear off AND for sawyer to figure out the bear puzzle
→ 63. Posted by: Bigfoot at October 5, 2006 4:12 PMJuliet could of got Jacks dads autopsy from the plane wreckage-also do u think they know jack is related to claire
→ 64. Posted by: maestr06 at October 5, 2006 4:12 PMGreenwar, my friends and I noticed the Planet of the Apes thing. One person said "whoa, this is JUST like Planet of the Apes, that's screwed up", haha, glad someone else caught that.
(i posted before as 'obsessed' and decided a name change was necessary so i sounded like less of a freakshow)
So did Kate actually EAT breakfast on the beach with Benry or what? Seeming just a short bit later, she showed no hesitation at all in accepting the fish food from Sawyer.
→ 66. Posted by: ButchM at October 5, 2006 4:20 PMHey Mac,
Great to have you back. Missed your recaps and your witicism.
On last night's premier, I thought it was fantastic. BOO on the naysayers that complain it was too laid back or not interesting enough. The episode was full of character personality information. Besides the creators of the show can't make every single episode a gangbuster, mega epic, with answers and twists and turns. I think we'd all get tired of that pretty quick. Besides the first 6 episodes will deal with Jack, Kate, and Sawyer's captivity (and hopefully eventual escape). I'm going to savor each delicious episode like a fine meal and not complain that it isn't coming fast enough like a Big Mac meal at Mickey D's.
One question - in the scene where Jack is attending to a patient with the nurse in the room and he catches his father taking a cell phone call in the hallway, did anyone else think that the patient looked like "Tom"? I tried pausing and reqinding but I couldn't get a screen cap that had enough detail. I ask only because there was a report a couple of months ago that stated that Jack had dealings with one of the others back in the "real world" pre-island. Thoughts?
Anywho - great to have you back Mac.
Keep up the solid work.
→ 67. Posted by: Mr. Grimm at October 5, 2006 4:27 PMALSO:
Shout out to PiecesofArzt - Love "Benry", great name.
→ 68. Posted by: Mr. Grimm at October 5, 2006 4:29 PM"Is coffee so great that Kate would put handcuffs on just cause Ben/Henry Gale asked?"
Obviously you've never drank from a French press before! :)
Great job, Mac!!! Especially the SOTL reference! Love ya, man!
→ 69. Posted by: Trinity at October 5, 2006 4:29 PMAnyone notice that the song to start Jack's flashback was also the same song as the beginning of a flashback in Shawshank Redemption when Andy Dufresne is sitting in a car stalking his cheating wife? Shawshank Redemption also being a Steven King book...
→ 70. Posted by: Sean at October 5, 2006 4:30 PM@Mr. Grimm -- Nice catch re: Zeke/Tom in the hospital! I saw something on http://lost.cubit.net about this. It look like you're definitely on to something!
Anyone remember what Jack was diagnosing for that guy? I seem to remember an epideral being mentioned. -- mac
→ 71. Posted by: mac at October 5, 2006 4:31 PMGreat writing, when she brought Jack the grilled cheese, it was "straight from the frying pan" -- and into the fire, as the saying goes.
The escapes were staged. Jack was supposed to attack, the water was supposed to gush, and it didn't come from the ocean, there probably was just enough back there to cause the problem, but not drown them. Chachi was a plant, and Sawyer was supposed to get out but get immediately caught. These guys are using classic military interrogation techniques -- Guantanamo or Sen McCain, anyone?
Okay, so I didn't think this episode was that great. Maybe I'm the only one, but the opening scene was great and then.....commercial, after commercial after commercial. I think there was about 15 minutes of show and 45 of adds. Drove me crazy. It was especially bad if you had it Tivoed and forwarded through the commercials. Next thing that bugged me, Jack...he drives me nuts. I liked him better when he wasn't so stupid. It seems like the writers want everybody to have flaws, but when you concentrate on that, you seem to over do things. The turn Jacks character has taken is driving me nuts. (you gonna cry jack, huh, you gunna cray?!!) Also his exchange with juliet made me puke in my mouth a little. I mean, Jack is supposed to be the clear thinker. Let's break this down... You've been captured, you know the lady that captured you is one of the freaks that did this to you....You hate them, so you're going to give in and let them make you cry????!!!! C'mon man, suck it up. If it's me, I would pretend to play along and turn the tables on them, wait until they get really close and then just snap their kneck. It just shows that they make every character so week it gets redundant.
→ 73. Posted by: Jeremy at October 5, 2006 4:33 PMHey, Mac:
Just thought I'd drop in to let you know I'm still lurking and reading. Another fine precis. I had a coffee spit-take at the '1001 gorillas' line and had to stifle a belly laugh at the 'it puts the lotion in the basket' quote. You've still got your curveball, kid.
DC
→ 74. Posted by: Deep Cover at October 5, 2006 4:33 PMThank Mac, I think he did say "Epidural" and seeing as how Jack is a back surgeon that would make sense. An Epidural is a anisthetic given to pregnant women in labor to help them deal with the lower back pain. Could be "Tom", if it was him, had back trouble and Jack "fixed" him.
→ 75. Posted by: Mr. Grimm at October 5, 2006 4:34 PMThanks Mac, I think he did say "Epidural" and seeing as how Jack is a back surgeon that would make sense. An Epidural is a anisthetic given to pregnant women in labor to help them deal with the lower back pain. Could be "Tom", if it was him, had back trouble and Jack "fixed" him.
→ 76. Posted by: Mr. Grimm at October 5, 2006 4:35 PMYeah, I also think Carl's escape was staged. I think he's an Other, and they staged it so that Sawyer would think twice about trying to escape.Otherwise, wouldn't they have thrown Carl back in his cage?
AWESOME recap as always, Mac!
Sorry for the dooubla posting above - I must have clicked POST twice by accident.
→ 78. Posted by: Mr. Grimm at October 5, 2006 4:39 PMThanks to Mac for getting the season started off right!
Regarding the patient that Jack is treating, I think he says to remove the epidural catheter, and the nurse asks him--are you sure the patient is ready to self-medicate? does anyone think maybe something bad happens to the patient because of Jack's neglect (ie, he is focusing on his father at the time)?
@DC -- I appreciate that. It really means a lot. -- mac
→ 80. Posted by: mac at October 5, 2006 4:47 PMSome food for thought (not duplicated in any of the above comments):
(1) Where are the children? When everyone comes running out of the houses in the opening scene, there are NO kids. What are the chances of that? All those people and No children? Teens? Babies? Of course, this dovetails nicely with the fact that when the Others attacked the tailies, they took all the kids. On purpose.
(2) Juliet. Can't help but meniton the literary parallel here. Juliet, one of the most famous names in classic lit, falls deeply in love with a leader from a rival gang (Romeo, for those of you going, huh?). Their forbidden love ends up being the cause of their demise. Hmm. Very intersting.
(3) The fish biscuit. If Kate just chowed down on a whoppin' mega-breakfast with Benry, then why does she tell Sawyer she is so hungry? It seems that she would be full. Very full.
...just thoughts. LOVE the reviews, Mac. I rush home from work on Wed. to read 'em. Keep 'em coming!
→ 81. Posted by: GatorGal at October 5, 2006 4:47 PMI SOOOO agree that Kate would be way better off with Sawyer than with Jack!! I actually squealled when he gave her the fish food!! I did find it strange that she was hungry, and did wonder what all had happened to her after breakfast...
→ 82. Posted by: Paula at October 5, 2006 4:59 PMI was just scanning the "Tale of Two Cities" photo gallery at ABC.com (http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/galleries) and it looks like they added a photo to the gallery that wasn't supposed to be there.
Check this out:
http://tinyurl.com/njt3l
In this photo, a little girl watches over Jack in the aquarium.
Did I miss something, or did this not happen yet? -- mac
→ 83. Posted by: mac at October 5, 2006 5:03 PMAs far as Kate being hungry: Henry Gale gets up after he delivers his bad news. It is possible that she just didn't have an appetite after hearing that she was in for a tough two weeks. I don't remember seeing her cleaning her plate.
Maybe Jack is playing Juliet. If finding out the man's name would have appeased him and stopped the stalking before the crash, and someone is dangling a "we know everything" carrot in front of Jack's face, why wouldn't he have asked the question? Either Jack is finally doing what his father suggested and letting go (I hope so because "Mad Jack" is getting annoying) or maybe he just wants them to think that they are breaking him.
→ 84. Posted by: aecookie at October 5, 2006 5:07 PMHi everyone,
Welcome back, Mac! As always, great review!!
Did anyone else think that the book club review was a "meta-review" or "meta-comment" on Lost as a whole? "Religious munbo-jumbo" is related to the whole Purgatory thing... "Science-fiction" is the whole time-travel or "hole" theory about the island...
@cesco: Totally agree re: the meta review. That *had* to be a shot at the show's critics ;) -- mac
→ 86. Posted by: mac at October 5, 2006 5:12 PMPosters are saying we didn't learn anything new from Jack's backstory in this episode, but I disagree.
Jack's father had been recovering, sober for 50 days. Then Jack blows up on him, and Daddy goes back to the bottle big time. I think these are the events that have caused Jack to believe that he essentially killed his father.
Cesco, I like that idea a lot, haha!
→ 88. Posted by: NYC Leigh at October 5, 2006 5:14 PM@Buck41: Your point is something I was mulling as I was writing the review. Back in Season 1, Jack's mother referred to something Jack "did" that, presumably, sent his father off the deep end. We all assumed that Jack's betrayal was when he narced on Dr. Daddy after he turned up drunk in the operating room. But I can't remember if the narcing happened before or after Jack accused him of sleeping with Sarah. Is it possible that Jack's grave injustice -- the one his mom was referring to -- was the accusation of Dr. Daddy's involvement with Sarah? -- mac
→ 89. Posted by: mac at October 5, 2006 5:18 PMwow, what an episode!!
great to be back!
Benry (genious!) did get up after he dropped his bomb re the next 2 weeks. I cant imagine just sitting there in my pretty dress chowing on eggs after that being said to me.
Also, "you cant have coffee..." hello... sarcasm/evil humor. she knows she has no choice- she just rolled over without getting shocked or almost drowned first! Women are smarter that way! :-)
→ 91. Posted by: no sleep till bk at October 5, 2006 5:21 PMA couple things....
re: aecookie's comment - I would guess there are all sorts of observation areas on the island. Remember the one hatch with the view of all the other hatches? Makes sense they can monitor conversations if that's what is going on. I for one think that they have a broader reach than just the island, though, and the power to find out about people. Remember the comments about when you have enough money you can find anyone anywhere? Fits into this scenario as well.
Also, is anyone else curious about how Jack's "miracle" operation fits into the puzzle? Could Jack possess some sort of trait (saying "power" sounds so cliche) that makes him uniquely interesting to people studying humanity? Remember the film explaining the Dharma Project and where it cut off as it is mentioning "utopian society" or something like that. Seems pretty obvious that they are studying humans and human interactions in various environments.
If any of these comments have been mentioned already I'm sorry.. I've been trying to keep up with these but wasn't able to get all the way through and keep these thoughts in my head.
Thanks!
- S
The music that is playing in Jack's flashback while in the car, watching Sarah at school, i thing is the same Glenn Miller Orchestra music that Sayid and Hurley picked up on the walkie talkie. Do you agree?
Also, maybe now we know where the cable on the beach goes. Maybe to the "Hydra" aquarium? I also think that it was not the entire ocean of water flooding in but just enough to fill the rooms so they could work on the sharks/dolphins in their water. But Henry still made it seem as though he didn't care if Juliet were killed with Jack. Maybe it is made to seem that way so Jack can learn to trust her. Make it look like she is on the outside of what Henry is doing.
Ok, now I'm waiting for Sawyer to say, "You damn dirty apes!" or for him to escape again and come up to the beach with a portion of Statue of Liberty there in the sand...
I got the impression Kate didn't eat anything, therefore hungry for the Meow Mix cracker.
→ 94. Posted by: Connie at October 5, 2006 5:41 PMLove the episode three things struck me funny:
1) Jack's glass jaw; one punch knock out??
2) Sawyer's neighbor; Can anyone say 'Ana Louisa pit prisoner’ When will Sawyer learn
3) The others have already kidnapped, stunned, and drugged and/or doped them; would you or any other rational person eat or drink anything the others offered you on the first day of captivity.
Awesome review; I finally got to read the opinions of somebody who loved this episode as much as I did. Can't wait for next week to how The Others mess with their new "pets".
→ 96. Posted by: Jacob at October 5, 2006 5:47 PMWhy was this episode named as "Tale of Two cities"?
→ 97. Posted by: Sudhir at October 5, 2006 5:56 PMMaybe to highlight the literary references and juxtapose the "Others" way of life against that of the crash survivors?
- S
→ 98. Posted by: Stefan at October 5, 2006 5:58 PMI don't see why some are incredulous that the dossier on Jack isn't real. Surely these people are connected to the outside world-- maybe they just contacted the "home office" and asked them to do some detective work. I don't believe the Others are marooned the way our heroes are.
→ 99. Posted by: AB at October 5, 2006 6:04 PMTo quick observations: 1) Lost is still the #1 kick-ass show on television; and 2) Matthew Fox should be nominated for an Emmy for that performance last night.
With that said – please writers no more back-stories that only rehash what we already know. Last night’s episode involving Jack might have been appropriate in Season 1 – or 2 – but not in the premiere of Season 3 – which should have been 2 hours. I know that our tragic heroes have only been on the island for about 2 months but during that time 40+ people should have reconnoitered the island and found the Others’ community. And how could Rousseau not know – after all the years she has been trapped there? Glad to see JJ back onboard. I am looking forward to at least one shocking revelation an episode and more answers than new questions.
→ 100. Posted by: PAG at October 5, 2006 6:05 PMRousseau is pretty screwed up in the head. Maybe she did know and had it cleaned out of her memory? Maybe she's a complete and total whack job? Maybe she's one of them? Sort of convenient how she caught Benry, isn't it? Do leaders normally wander around islands and get caught in primitive net traps?
I still think she's a complete and total whack job... but that's just me.
→ 101. Posted by: Stefan at October 5, 2006 6:10 PMI do see your point that the Others might be connected with someone or agency off the island.
I also recognize that the scientist down in the Pearl were told that they were doing very important work only to have their notes end up in a pile in the jungle.
Good point about the notebooks ending up in a junk pile.
I do think it's all some sort of weird social experiment, though. How do people react when they find out their lives have been a waste (i.e. pushing the button, filling out notebooks, etc.)? Seems to be a pretty prototypical controlled scientific environment.
→ 103. Posted by: Stefan at October 5, 2006 6:24 PMChristina said: "The music that is playing in Jack's flashback while in the car, watching Sarah at school, i thing is the same Glenn Miller Orchestra music that Sayid and Hurley picked up on the walkie talkie. Do you agree?"
Yes, absolutely. Knew I'd heard it before.
→ 104. Posted by: Mehdron at October 5, 2006 7:02 PMMac, there's something you should know... You were my first blog, but when we parted for the summer, I began seeing other blogs, and none of them were as interesting and funny as you.
So glad to have you back!
As for the show, I will never say anything bad about it, but surely we have learned enough about Jack. I can't wait for next week!
→ 105. Posted by: S at October 5, 2006 7:03 PMGreat review as always. Just one thing, above you mentioned:
'For most of this episode, Jack is an aquarium.'
Then you say:
'You read that correctly.'
I think you meant to say 'Jack is IN an aquarium' so we actually read that incorrectly :)
→ 106. Posted by: Ronny B at October 5, 2006 7:15 PMTo PieceofArzst: do you live in the Philly area? I heard "Benry" used on a radio talk show this morning!
→ 107. Posted by: S at October 5, 2006 7:31 PM@RonnyB -- Wow, that's quite a typo on my part! Thanks for the catch! -- mac
→ 108. Posted by: mac at October 5, 2006 7:51 PMGreat work as always Mac! I think Amy said above that it looks like Jack's wife is smiling as she leaves the scene in the lawyers office. I thought the same thing when I watched it, I also checked again on my PVR (tivo) and it is hard to tell... Can someone else check that out and let me know?
→ 109. Posted by: db at October 5, 2006 8:03 PMHi and welcome back y'all! Brilliant work, Mac....
Is it true that Carl was one of Ana's pit prisoners from last season? Can anyone confirm this?
Could "Tale of Two Cities" be a reference about the two very different worlds that seem to be existing on the island ("Other Town" and "Survivor Camp")?
JR - can you provide more specifics or a link to the video you reference that can be found in Mac's last pre-season post? I am not sure about the Jack and the numbers theory...
Is "friends of Bill W." an AA term?
Juliet....which rival man does she pine for? Benry? How could he be her rival? Or does it foreshadow her falling for one of the Losties???
I thought the man in the hospital bed was surely someone we had seen before, but when I paused it to get another look, I couldn't see the face clearly....
→ 110. Posted by: Vikki at October 5, 2006 8:10 PMSorry....I forgot:
WGNABB
and
namaste....
→ 111. Posted by: Vikki at October 5, 2006 8:12 PMVicci
I believe the reference to being one of Anna's pit buddies, is the trick that Anna played on them, pretending to be a cast away. I believe that the kid is doing the same thing.
→ 112. Posted by: db at October 5, 2006 8:14 PMI haven't made it through all of the comments yet, so forgive me if this is a repeat. Since we now know the plane crashes in 2004, all of the info that Juliette had on Jack could have been found on the Internet. Divorce procedings are public record and there are many sites that list the educational backgrounds of doctors. Maybe they simply Googled Jack. I don't know what they could have found by searching for, "Is Sarah happy?" however.
→ 113. Posted by: Sara at October 5, 2006 8:14 PMSorry *Vikki*
→ 114. Posted by: db at October 5, 2006 8:15 PM*****Obviously 815 isn't the first flight to crash into the island (Eko's Bro). Notice how the book club ran outside and instinctively looked UP, almost expecting something and IMMEDIATELY Benry had a plan to infiltrate. I really think it's interesting that he wasn't all veni, vidi, vici on the losties but rather was "Picardian" in his "Prime Directive" of blending in, observing, but not interfering (At least not at first). What the hell???
My last question: How F*CK%ng big is this Island??? Benry tells his henchman he can make the beach in an hour? How could the Tailies not stumble upon the Socialtopia that is Hanso-World?
Great to have you back Mac!
Wow! That was amazing and the opening was even better. But I have some thoughts...
1. Other names usually have some significance. Ethan Rom spells out "other man", Goodwin is very much like good one, but now we've got two new names. Juliet and Ben. Now I'm sincerely hoping that Juliet's name is not refering to William Shake's play because we all know what happened to Romeo. (I hope this doesn't happen to Jack!) And Ben....amazing I remember this from last year latin words; ben means good in terms of a prefix. Accident? I think not.
2. I must agree with everyone else in regards to Kate being upset when she was locked in the cages. She's only broken down twice I think and for very understandable reasons. Something happened to her between the beach and the cages. And she didn't eat the breakfast with Ben after he told her the next two weeks were going to be vey unpleasant. Yeah, I think I might lose my appetite too. And over two hours probably lapsed between the beach and the cages (since it obviously took Sawyer longer than 2 hours to figure out the "complicated gizmo".
3. First off in regards to Jack and where he is I must Hah! I was right! There was an underwater hatch! Yes! Anyways, Jack was a bit of a stalker (ok understatment.) So its too bad that Juliet's an Other and everything. They'd make a good couple.
And Mac thanks for all the great reviews! I enjoy reading them after evey episode.
Jeez, I worte a lot! Oh well
→ 116. Posted by: lostfugitive at October 5, 2006 8:34 PMVikki...Bill W. was a co-founder of A.A.
→ 117. Posted by: J-Rod at October 5, 2006 8:41 PMThought of Benry myself but apparently it was already on other message boards last night. I'm going with great minds think alike!
As for Glassjaw Jack, he should have been tired from pushing the OCEAN back in closing the door. Perhaps one punch was all that was needed at that point.
GatorGal brought up two very interesting points with there being no children present, and with the Romeo and Juliet allusion.
I Loved the season premier. It wasn't bad, it was just extremely different. New, completely different area of the island, a bunch of new characters (well, The Others...); it really doesn't have the same feel of any of the first two seasons but it was still a great episode that provokes new questioning and reasoning.
It seems like a lot of people are concerned about why Jack's father didn't respond blatantly to Jack's accusation. I think Jack is dangerously obsessive with the whole "other man" situation (could Jack have done something to him? And where DID he get his tattoos?), and Jack's father knows this. Jack is obviously irrational and daddy gets attacked either way. Make sense?
It's also interesting that people are automatically assuming that The Others did something to Kate. Although it's more likely that Kate tried to attack Ben during their breakfast. The scuffle could had been in trying to keep Kate detained. The Others don't seem to be the type to attack without reason and Kate certainly has a history of acting out when in captivity. Also, I doubt Kate ate her breakfast.
And, did anyone else begin to feel kind of bad for Ethan after that little bit of what we saw of him in the suburban portion of the island? Yeah, he did hang Charlie by the neck and abduct Claire while she was preggers, but now I'm starting to re-question his motives for doing so.
Also, I don't feel the same disdain for Sarah as a lot of people seem to. So she's moved on? Good for her, I'm sure it's been a while since Jack's kiss and her revelation that she's been seeing someone else. Jack, understandably, is irrational, jealous, and livid but obsessively so. Although, I could be biased as I've never liked Jack. Yes, he's a good leader, but there's something about Jack that I can't pinpoint but have always disliked.
→ 119. Posted by: Phil at October 5, 2006 9:18 PMJust a point. Just because there was an area that looked like sububia doesn't mean that they couldn't take some time to dismantel it. We still don't know what the full resources of DARMA are on the island. There is still the area that they are being held captive, but it is possible that they have abandoned the other site managing to keep it hidden.
→ 120. Posted by: db at October 5, 2006 9:28 PMJust a point. Just because there was an area that looked like sububia doesn't mean that they couldn't take some time to dismantel it. We still don't know what the full resources of DARMA are on the island. There is still the area that they are being held captive, but it is possible that they have abandoned the other site managing to keep it hidden.
→ 121. Posted by: db at October 5, 2006 9:28 PMOne of the things Juliet says just before the earthquake hits is "Is there any free will left on this..." I think she was going to end her statement with island. She says this right after adam's rant.
I think we are going to find that Ben runs the Others with an Iron fist and he is terrified of what 40 odd new people could do to his order, what ever it is. They could force him to read The Langoliers.
Mac,
Thank you SO much for your awesome recaps! I'm sure I'm not the only one who missed you over the summer... :-)
So, good point by someone before: Where are all the kids? Are they being kept in one of the other areas and being used in experiments, even tho as Juliet said, the Dahrma things was over long ago...
I'm confused as to Benry and Juliet's disdain for each other.
It's too bad that people were disappointed with the episode. We'll get plenty of the other characters in the next few weeks. I'm glad we got the suburbia view of the Others to give us an idea of what the heck they were doing BEFORE the crash.
Also, did anyone get a screen cap of the patient Jack was working on when he was distracted by his dad? Was it Tom?
Thanks for everyone's input! So glad to be back in the Lost loop...
→ 123. Posted by: Sara at October 5, 2006 9:35 PMRead most of the comments but not all... about 75%. I apologize for my premature post but it's late here now and i keep forgetting what I want to say.
IMO; Dont let time confuse you. In this prison like envirnonment, the producers give no clue as to how much time passes. I expect missing sequences to lapse over between episodes like in the beginning of Season 2... We will find out why Kate's wrist were bloody and how Juliet knew Sawyer was escaping.
Concerning this seasons schedule; I believe that the mid season break will end as soon as penny gets to the island. Would be a nice cliff hanger
-and i also thought that the opening sequence was penny at first... didn't quite look like here but who else could it have been.
show recap=BRILLIANT
→ 124. Posted by: middies at October 5, 2006 9:47 PMKate is forced to wear a sundress. She is then walked, unrestrained, to the beach and then told to wear handcuffs to drink coffee. Is coffee less dangerous with handcuffs on?
She is then escorted to the cage where she is quiet and melancholy. Her wrists are severely wounded from the handcuffs... not from drinking coffee!
She seems vulnerable in the sundress for some reason. Benry said the next two weeks would be unpleasant. Hmmm...
I preferred when you didn't post a ENTIRE TRANSCRIPT of the show. Cogency is king.
→ 126. Posted by: boring at October 5, 2006 10:00 PMGREAT EPISODE...OK...HERE IS MY THOUGHTS/ THINGS I READ ONLINE THROUGH BLOGS..LOCKE AND CHARLIE WON'T BE SEEN UNTIL THE 3RD EPISODE. CLAIRE IS JACK'S HALF SISTER...I READ THAT SOME WHERE...AND LOCKE AND ROSE WILL BOTH LOOSE THIER FIGHTS AGAINST CANCER AND BEING PARALIZED DUE TO THE LOSS OF THE HATCH...AGAIN I READ THESE PREDICTIONS ONLINE..SO JUST THROWING OUT WHAT I KNOW...THIS SEASON IS GOING TO BE BRILLIANT...I CANNOT WAIT...WELCOME BACK J.J. ABRAMS...WE MISSED YOUR STYLE!!!!
→ 127. Posted by: Benny at October 5, 2006 10:14 PMWhen Zeke told Kate she's not his type, did anyone else wonder if he's gay? Or maybe Dharma's work left them in some way unable to procreate, and that's why they steal children? Just a thought...
→ 128. Posted by: mrs dobalena at October 5, 2006 10:17 PMSara - I have paused the scene where Jack and the nurse are talking by the patient's bed and I can't seem to connect the face to anyone we have seen before....I do not think it is Tom
J-Rod - thanks for the info about Bill W....
About Carl....I thought that Ana Lucia let someone out of the pit before she killed Goodwin....or was that the same guy that got his neck broken by Goodwin?
Also, I played the opening scene over again, and it appears as though the appliances in Juliet's place are modern and up to date. How come none of the stuff in her place is branded with the Dharma logo?
Could Jack's jaw have been so easily broken because of the medicine Juliet said they gave him, which would have left him extremely dehydrated and on the verge of hallucinating? Was Jack's dad's voice on the intercom a hallucination? Did we ever find out what happened to his body after season one?
Are Jack, Kate, and Sawyer all being kept in the area called The Hydra (what was the symbol that Sawyer saw when he looked across the cage???)? And, if they are in the Hydra area, where is this station located as per the hatch map that Locke saw? Anyone have a link for that map? I erased the one I saved....
→ 129. Posted by: Vikki at October 5, 2006 10:30 PMYa know what ... that episode did not reveal much. We already knew all this info and it was a far cry from the season 2 opener. This episode severely suffered. Jack was great however. top notch acting.
thinng
"we're gonna need a bigger boat"
→ 130. Posted by: thinng at October 5, 2006 10:32 PM@Boring -- Ah yes, the "the reviews are too long" argument. They are what they are, my friend. -- mac
→ 131. Posted by: mac at October 5, 2006 10:33 PMI just wanted to comment on why Kate was so upset when walking towards the cage. I personally think if you put yourself in her mindset - she looked like she started to cry when she saw Sawyer. Not that they were tears of joy, but to not know what is going to happen to you - you're captive and alone and the two men that you are closest to are just gone.. she must have felt some comfort to see Sawyer - that now she wouldn't be alone going through whatever ordeal it is the Others are going to put them through. So yeah, she started to cry.
And why did they take her to where Sawyer was locked up, and not to the aquarium with Jack? I personally liked the scene where she was reunited with Sawyer more than any other one (well, except for the opening sequence.)
I also like these "slower" stories - because they allow you to connect with how the characters are ever-changing. They delve deeper into the psyche of the characters, and make you get more or less attached to them. That's why the show is so good on all aspects.
→ 132. Posted by: Katie at October 5, 2006 10:42 PMThe review was awesome! Unbelievable, I know some people who occasionally miss an episode, and I tell them this is where to go to find out everything they need to know. Don't change a thing!
→ 133. Posted by: mrs dobalena at October 5, 2006 10:42 PMOne thing that I think we're all assuming & that's that Dharma World/Hanso Land is on the island that the Lostaways are on. One of the last scenes from Season 2's finale shows Jack etc. by the Pala Ferry. It's possible that Dharma World is on another, nearby island & the Hydra station is partially underwater in-between the two islands. Not sure how highly I'd rate the possibility of it, but I thought I'd kick it out there.
And Mac, *wonderful* recap as always. Finally, a reason to look forward to Thursdays again...thanks!
→ 134. Posted by: Alais_Longthought at October 5, 2006 10:47 PM...that part about Sarah deserving another car wreck was hilarious Mac. Bravo, ...but you're right, she does deserve it. colossal b...
"we're gonna need a bigger boat"
→ 135. Posted by: thinng at October 5, 2006 10:54 PMwhat Mac ...? who said the reviews are too long ? whoever it was... GO HOME !
"we're gonna need a bigger boat"
→ 136. Posted by: thinng at October 5, 2006 10:57 PMHello to all; I really enjoyed the first episode of this season and Mac has done his usual outstanding job of recapping.
To the people querying Jack's 'glass jaw' - I think much of his capitulation can be put down to the physical and emotional strain he has been subjected to, and the knock-on effects of the sedative/doping drugs will certainly have contributed.
Don't forget that he eventually bested Ethan Rom, who was no slouch in the fighting department (ask Charlie, presuming that Rom did his work alone).
Regarding Jack not knowing his dad's mobile number - how many of you really know your close friends and family's numbers? They are most likely stored as contacts in your phones. There was a funny story on the radio recently where someone's mum actually had her own number written on paper and stuck to her own mobile phone lol!
I love how the recaps and subsequent comments on here can change one's perception of events, too. I thought it odd that Kate would be so hungry and never thought anything of the cuts she had suffered from wearing the cuffs. I also presumed that 'The Aquarium' was connected to the cable which was headed out into the sea back
Finally. Mac is back. I haven't read the complete key points yet, but I am so overjoyed that you are back.
This has been a religion for me ever since season 1. Watch LOST. Wait... check filmfodder LOSTblog... still nothing... check again... WOOHOOOO! It's there!
WGNABB
Then came RSS-feeds and things got better. (somehow the RSS-feed doesn't seem to work at this moment)
I can't wait to see what's next, but I know it's gonna be awesome.
→ 1. Posted by: SnakeJake at October 5, 2006 1:45 PM