Lost Reviews and News

Key Points from "The Brig"

Season 3, Episode 19 Episode Air Date: 05/02/07
Point 1
	Boy, am I confused. Is Locke the Obi-Locke shaman we think he is? Or, is he a marionette in Ben's evil puppet show? Did the events of this episode set him free? Will he overthrow Ben and take his rightful place as a benevolent Other King (count those toes!)? Or, will he while away his island days hunting boar and dabbling in an ill-advised affair with Rousseau? Sorry. Unfortunate visual on that last one. Alas, I have no answers ... or theories ... or postulations or paradigm shifts. But I do have a recap to share. On to the review! With "The Brig," the "Lost" crew uses an established technique -- the flashback -- to fill in some key gaps from Locke's recent island experiences. During these sequences, we go inside Locke's brief time with the Others. You'll recall that Locke has been MIA since "Left Behind." Last time we saw him, he paid a brief, mysterious visit to Kate just before the Others donned gas masks and scurried off to an unknown location. Well, now we know where the Others went ... sorta. The Others went camping in an island valley pocked with ancient ruins (at least I think they're ancient). Why they went camping, why they chose this particular valley, and what their ultimate destination will be remain in doubt. But, in an interesting twist, Locke is invited to accompany the nomadic Others. Initially he thinks he's poised for an adventure, but as usual, the brochure doesn't live up to the experience. Once the tents are pitched and New Bennsylvania is settled, Locke is invited to a private meeting with Ben. Approaching his tent, Locke can see that Ben has a small black tape recorder perched by his ear. Juliet's voice is audible and it's clear he's listening to the recording Juliet made at the end of "D.O.C." Noticing Locke, Ben snaps off the recorder and motions toward a walking stick leaning against his cot. Locke hands it over and Ben gingerly rises. Ben is feeling frisky because, ever since Locke broke into Bennsylvania, Ben's wrecked spine has been on the mend. His improving health puts him in a chatty mood, and he tells Locke that the Others plan to storm the castaways' camp to gather up all the pregnant women. Locke's taken aback. He didn't see that coming. Ben assures him they've done this sort of thing before and they have no intention of hurting anyone ... unless they get in the way, or breathe or talk or make fun of Ben's eyelash condition. Ben's on a roll. He tells Locke he's looking forward to showing him the island's secrets. Unfortunately, there's just one small thing Locke needs to do before Ben's Magic Box is cracked open: He has to kill his father to prove his loyalty to the Others and "free himself" from Cooper's grasp. Or some such nonsense. Ben's just tired of lugging Cooper from campsite to campsite. To expedite the process, the Others have tied Cooper to a nearby pillar (the pillar's construction seems to put it into the same historical period as the four-toed statue seen in "Live Together, Die Alone." Or maybe I'm just making that up.) Let's pause a moment to consider this Cooper business. The evil conman/World's Worst Daddy mysteriously appeared at the end of "The Man from Tallahassee," and as this episode opened I figured we'd soon discover how and why Cooper arrived on the island. How stupid of me. We don't find out and now, given certain "events" (Key Point 2), we may never know. But here's the kicker: The Others claim to not know the how and why of Cooper's arrival, either. Seriously. What's going on? What possible explanation could there be? Moving on ... Night falls and New Bennsylvania is quiet. Ben limps over to Locke and nudges him with his walking stick (a la Yoda on Dagobah). "It's time," Ben says. Ben leads Locke over to Cooper (who's still tied to the pillar) and gives him the ol' "rah rah kill your father" speech. He hands Locke a long knife and suggests that "faster is better." Locke pauses, which is a mistake because it gives Cooper (who's been ungagged for some strange reason) an opportunity to dig into Locke's daddy issues. "The hesitation he's feeling is because he's spineless!" Cooper spits. Locke looks out and sees a crowd is forming. He resists the urge to sing. Turning back toward Cooper, Locke digs the pointy tip of the knife into Cooper's flabby gullet. One good sneeze. That's all he needs. Just one deep, angry sneeze. But then Locke thinks back to the good times spent with dear old dad; the days before the kidney theft and the attempted murder. Overcome with emotion, he drops his hand and steps back. Cooper laughs. THWACK! Ben smacks Cooper over the head with his Yoda stick. Cooper blacks out. Ben purses his lips and turns toward the group. "I'm sorry," Ben announces. "He's not who we thought he was. Please return to your tents and avoid pregnancy. Thank you." Locke walks down from the pillar and makes his way through the disappointed Others. Look close and you'll see the varsity jocks snickering while a tear forms at the eye of a kind-hearted cheerleader. The next day, Locke sits alone on a hill overlooking New Bennsylvania. Richard Alpert and his eyeliner arrive. Alpert tells Locke that Ben went out of his way to embarrass and discredit him because he sees Locke as a threat. Locke's confused. Alpert's magic eyeliner senses it, so he elaborates. Word of Locke's miraculous healing spread like wildfire through the Others. "People began to get very excited because that could only happen to someone who was extremely special," Alpert says, doing his best Morpheus impression. "Ben doesn't want anyone to think you're special, John." Oh Dick. You sure know how to push Locke's buttons. Whipping out that "special" thing is slick. It's the same technique Locke's mother used to hook Locke up with Cooper. It's his kryptonite. Alpert tells Locke that Ben has been distracting the Others with "fertility problems," but the truth is, they're looking for someone -- someone special -- who can reignite their faith in the island. This all sounds lovely to Locke, but as always, there's a hitch. Alpert says that for Locke to become the Other Ayatollah, he has to dispose of his father. "And since you're not going to do it," Alpert says, pulling a red folder from a bag, "I'm going to suggest someone else." Locke opens the folder. It's chock full of Sawyer details. You see where this is going, right? Soon thereafter, Locke wakes one morning to find the Others pulling up stakes and preparing to move camp (what are they, a MASH unit?). Locke asks Ben where they're going. Ben makes it abundantly clear that they are moving but Locke is staying behind with that blowhard Cooper. Locke morphs into Whiny Johnny. We've seen this before. His eyes get real big and his shoulders hunch over and he looks like a 50-year-old boy. "You can't leave me," he says, picking his nose with one hand and clutching a drippy ice cream cone in the other. "Don't tell me what I can't do, John," Ben says. Daaaaaamn. Those Others don't play. Ben tells Locke he can only rejoin them if he returns with his dead father's body slung over his back. With that, the Others pack up and move out. And that brings us up to the present day.

Point 2
	Confident in what he has to do and how he has to do it, Locke sneaks back to the beach camp. It's late at night, but he conveniently finds his target -- Sawyer -- peeing on Ethan's unmarked grave (it doubles as a men's room). Sawyer is shocked to see Locke (and embarrassed because lil' James is dangling free). Locke's been planning for this moment, so he disregards pleasantries (and lil' James) and launches into his sales pitch/lie. Locke says he's "infiltrated" the Others and kidnapped Ben. He's returned because he wants Sawyer to kill their bug-eyed nemesis. Sawyer rightfully asks why Locke can't dispatch Ben himself. Locke says he's not a murderer. Sawyer offers the same excuse, but Locke knows better -- he's seen the file; he knows about the man Sawyer killed in Sydney. (Again, how could the Others possibly know about this?) Sawyer feigns ignorance and Locke uses his patented "oh, my mistake" mind trick. As Locke goes to leave, Sawyer pulls up his pants and follows him into the jungle. The sun rises as Locke and Sawyer make their way toward Locke's secret "Ben Hiding Place." Sawyer is barefoot, but he endures the pain because the future of Nakatomi Plaza rests in his hands ... wait, wrong story. The long hike allows Locke to dredge up the greatest hits from Sawyer's file, including the murder-suicide of his parents. He says the Others' folder doesn't explain why his father killed his mother and then turned the gun on himself. Locke fills his eyes with faux sincerity. "That must have been hard for you." Bad memories swirl around Sawyer. Locke's got him where he wants him. Locke lets the topic drop and continues on, but Sawyer isn't having it. He charges Locke and pistol whips him. The boys fall to the ground and Sawyer expertly slides Locke's knife from its sheath and slaps it against Locke's throat. Snarling, Sawyer says Ben has conned him before (the bunny/heart thing back in "Every Man for Himself"), and Sawyer isn't going to let it happen again. He figures Locke is in on a scam, so he demands to know where they're going and why they're going there. Locke continues the ruse. Struggling against the knife blade, he says the goal is to kill Ben. He can't do it himself. He knows Sawyer is the only one who can make it happen. Sawyer backs off. Locke dusts himself off. Sawyer is temporarily pacified, but he tells Locke he's not killing Ben. "You'll change your mind when you hear what he has to say," Locke says confidently. Their journey soon concludes at a location we haven't seen since season one: The Black Rock. This is Sawyer's first visit to the old ship, and he does a fine job exhibiting the proper level of shock and awe. Locke guides Sawyer into the dark interior and points out key landmarks: the chains that once held slaves, the slaves themselves, femurs branded with Dharma insignias, the boxes of unstable dynamite -- all the highlights. But the Black Rock is also hosting a new exhibit ... Locke leads Sawyer to the ship's brig. A muffled voice sounds from behind a heavy wooden door. Locke swings the door open. Inside, a hooded prisoner strains against chains and shackles. Sawyer steps into the room. WHAM! Locke slams the door and bolts it from the outside. Sawyer pounds and demands Locke open it, but Locke doesn't respond. He simply sits and waits. The prisoner stirs. Sawyer turns and pulls the hood off Ben's head. But that's not Ben. It's Cooper. And this is when the "Lost" producers take full advantage of the Safe Harbor liberties a 10 p.m. broadcast allows. Sawyer doesn't immediately recognize Cooper, but he will. Locke knows it; he patiently whittles outside the brig door. As he works (and listens to Sawyer and Cooper), Locke sees a figure emerge from the darkness. It's Rousseau! The two engage in a bizarre exchange. Rousseau says she's stopped by to stock up on dynamite. Locke doesn't have a problem with this. Her attention is momentarily diverted by the muffled shouting from within the brig and she looks at Locke. Locke responds by shining his flashlight toward the dynamite and cautioning her about its instability. She grabs a box and scurries off. That's it. That's the whole scene. Sidenote: What is Rousseau doing with the dynamite? Has she been tracking Alex and the Others? Did anyone actually see Alex during the camping scenes? And, doesn't Rousseau already know the dynamite is unstable? Didn't she use it to blow up her underground lair? Back inside the brig, Sawyer takes the gag out of Cooper's mouth (why do people keep doing this?). He points his gun -- which he's been carrying the whole time -- at the brig door and tells Locke he's going to pop a clip of bullets into his shiny bald head if Locke doesn't open the door immediately. Locke whittles and lets out an exasperated sigh. Oh, James. "If there were any bullets in that gun, why would you hold a knife to my throat?" Locke asks, referring to their recent jungle scuffle. Sawyer drops his arm. Cooper laughs. "I didn't raise no dummy," he says. And it's this one little comment that opens the door to a big ol' revelation. Sawyer begins to question Cooper and he soon discovers that Cooper is Locke's father. He's also the same guy who stole Locke's kidney and pushed him out an eighth-floor window. Nice guy. Sawyer asks the most obvious question: How did Cooper get to the island? Cooper scoffs. He doesn't believe they're on an island. He says his arrival in this "place" suddenly happened after someone rammed his car on a Tallahassee highway. Last he remembers, a paramedic smiled at him as an IV was slid into his vein. When he woke up, he was bound and gagged in a dirty room, staring into the incredulous eyes of his son. "Little hot for heaven, isn't it?" Cooper says with a smirk (the writers must love lines like this). Sawyer changes the topic and asks Cooper why he chucked Locke out a window. Cooper says Locke became a nuisance. He conned him out of one little kidney and Locke never got over it. Con? Con, you say? Sawyer rises. He asks Cooper his name. Cooper still doesn't realize where this is going. He rattles off his aliases: Alan Seward, Anthony Cooper, Ted McClaren, Tom Sawyer, Louis Jackson ... "Well how about that?" Sawyer growls. "Sawyer's my name, too." Sawyer launches a full interrogation and Cooper, for some weird reason, confirms that he spent time in Sawyer's hometown (Jasper, Ala.). He confirms he knew Sawyer's mother (Mary). He confirms he stole $38,000 from her. It's him! Cooper is Sawyer! Cooper is the con man who swindled Sawyer's mom! Sawyer reaches into his back pocket and pulls out "the letter" (now that's being prepared). He orders Cooper to read it. Cooper has nothing better to do, so he complies. "Dear Mr. Sawyer. You don't know who I am, but I know who you are. And I know what you done. You had sex with my mother and then you stole my dad's money all away, so he got angry and he killed my mother, and then he killed himself. Blah ... blah ... blah ... blah ... " Cooper stops. There isn't an ounce of remorse in his body. He says it isn't his fault Sawyer's dad overreacted. "FINISH IT!" Sawyer demands. Cooper looks down and tears the letter in two. Ohhhh, bad idea. Sawyer lunges and wraps a chain around Cooper's neck. "You wanna go to hell?!" Sawyer shouts, pulling the chain tight. Cooper kicks and struggles, but Sawyer's clamped on him like Leia on Jabba. Cooper sputters. Death spittle sprays across the brig. Sawyer spins Cooper's lifeless body to the floor. Locke opens the brig door. ("Hellooo? I thought I heard a noise ...") Locke looks at Sawyer and nods. "Thank you," he says quietly. Moments later, Sawyer runs from the brig and darts outside to vomit. Locke follows. As Sawyer dabs the last remnant of vengeance from his lips, Locke tells him to go back to the castaways. Tell them Juliet is a mole, Locke says, spilling the secret Ben revealed days before. Sawyer says they won't believe him. He's issued warnings about Juliet since she arrived, but they fall on deaf ears. Locke hands Sawyer Ben's tape recorder. Yup, that'll help. Locke moves to leave, but Sawyer has one last question: Is it true he was crippled? Locke pauses. "Not anymore," he says. With that, Locke moves to a nearby clearing and grabs his pack. Cooper's corpse is wrapped in an old blanket. Locke slings the body over his shoulder and walks off.

Point 3
	The "campers" -- Desmond, Hurley, Jin and Charlie -- manage to sneak back into camp with their new friend, Tree Girl. Desmond has convinced his fellow campers to keep Tree Girl's existence a secret from Jack because Jack may have been compromised during his Other tenure. Charlie initially expresses reticence, but Jack's continued infatuation with Juliet certainly suggests that something happened to him during those 10 days of incarceration. The boys decide to loop Sayid into their cabal because he's generally trustworthy and he's handy with electronics (more on that in a moment). Sayid sneaks into the beach tent where Tree Girl is being kept and calmly questions her. That's when we learn the following: Tree Girl's name is Naomi. She has an English accent. She was hired by Penny Widmore (whom she's never met) to search for Desmond. Penny provided Naomi's company (Super Secret Rescue Operations, Inc.) with coordinates that appeared to be smack in the middle of the ocean. Presumably, these coordinates were acquired by the arctic researchers seen in the final moments of "Live Together, Die Alone." Naomi says the rescue operation is headquartered on a freighter located 80 miles away. She was conducting a search via helicopter when the island "appeared." Her chopper's instruments failed and she was forced to ditch. She also elaborates on last episode's revelation about Oceanic 815. The entire plane -- including bodies -- was found in an ocean trench off the cost of Bali. Sayid doesn't buy her story. He asks Desmond if he actually saw the helicopter and Desmond says he didn't. Sayid also finds it interesting that Naomi now has absolutely no way of contacting the freighter. And this is when Naomi earned my respect. "What was your name?" she asks. "Sayid?" Sayid nods. Naomi pulls out a satellite phone. "Remind me not to rescue you, Sayid," she snaps. After recovering from Naomi's bitch slap, Sayid goes outside to repair the phone. He gets it working, but as he fiddles with the buttons it becomes clear that something on the island is blocking communication. He begins to discuss this revelation with Hurley, but as he talks Kate suddenly appears and sees Sayid clutching the phone. Sayid has no choice but to let Kate in on the Naomi secret, but he asks that she not tell anyone (especially Jack). Exactly five minutes later, Kate finds Jack sitting with Juliet on the beach. She asks to speak with him alone, but Jack puffs out his chest and declares that Juliet can be privy to anything Kate has to say. "Ooookay," Kate huffs."When we kissed I had a cold sore and now you've got herpes. Have a good one!" Unfortunately, it doesn't play out this way. Rather, Kate intentionally defies Sayid and tells Jack that a woman parachuted onto the island and a freighter is parked 80 miles away. Jack asks why he wasn't informed about this earlier. Kate glares at Juliet then glares at Jack. "They don't trust you," Kate says. Jack pauses, then chooses to ignore the trust thing. He asks how the parachutist is supposed to contact her ship. Kate says she has a "phone radio thing" (Kate = tech geek). And this is when something very odd occurs. "We should tell her," Juliet says, looking at Jack. But Jack disagrees. "Not yet," he responds. And with that, Jack gets up to go tend to this Naomi business. Juliet stares at Kate. Kate stares at Juliet. And that's that.
Point 4
	A few closing questions and observations: Best Line: "You're wasting your time, bug eye!" -- Cooper to Ben. Confirmed: the Magic Box is a metaphor, not an actual box. Thank God. A literal magic box would have been lame. The final exchange between Jack and Juliet ("We should tell her") is very interesting. Did Juliet tell Jack about Ben's plan? Is Jack part of the plan? I'm curious to know if anyone was surprised by Cooper's connection to Sawyer. Seems to me, this connection has been assumed ever since we learned that Cooper was a con man. But, then again, my perspective on the show is kinda unusual because I spend/waste a lot of time mulling the details. Did casual viewers pick up on the Cooper-Sawyer link beforehand? What is Locke going to do now? Will he join up with the Others? Will he wander the island alone, Kung-Fu style? That's all I've got! Be sure to drop by the "Lost" Forum for stimulating conversation and conjecture.
Next Episode:
"The Man Behind the Curtain" -- Ben spills the beans about the Others and Jacob and why he has no eyelashes. Airs Wednesday, May 9, 2007 at 10 p.m. on ABC.
Review by Mac Slocum. All photos and episode descriptions © ABC Inc.

Posted by Mac Slocum on May 3, 2007 11:58 AM |

Confused...that's for sure...my brain hurts! Thanks for the recap, mac.

#1. Posted by: JT at May 3, 2007 12:01 PM

this show blew my mind, locke is back!
disappointed he couldn't kill his evil
father that pushed him out window though
unreal,,, mw9 rules!

#2. Posted by: jenny talia at May 3, 2007 12:02 PM

Love your reviews Mac
GO RED SOX

#3. Posted by: bigdogjoe at May 3, 2007 12:02 PM

First or Second?

#4. Posted by: bemh at May 3, 2007 12:02 PM

Mac, you're the best!

#5. Posted by: Dan at May 3, 2007 12:02 PM

Red Neck Man- I have a great question for this week- "What is it that Juliet indicated she and Jack should tell Kate?"

#6. Posted by: sarah c at May 3, 2007 12:02 PM

Love your reviews Mac
GO RED SOX

#7. Posted by: bigdogjoe at May 3, 2007 12:03 PM

First? Cool!

Loved the Nakatomi reference. Nice one.

#8. Posted by: oj at May 3, 2007 12:08 PM

Did anybody else get that 'Empire Strikes Back' feeling. You know when Yoda sends Luke in to the dark to face his fears, his father. Only Obi-Locke is Yoda and Sawyer is Luke.
It would be awesome to see Sawyer training with Locke in his backpack.
Anyways - great episode, this season has been awesome - Obi-Locke is back and finally rescue is back on the agenda.
Still what's up with Jack and Juliet's little click?

#9. Posted by: callaway76 at May 3, 2007 12:09 PM

Mac, sweet little reference to "Carrie" there, and on the mark, too. To answer your question, Mrs. DC didn't see the merger of the Locke/Sawyer storylines coming. I imagine a lot more casual viewers didn't than did. Gotta log off the 'net and breathe the air more ;-)

I was intrigued by the use of the ancient ruins as set pieces. It matched up with Benry's cryptic statement that the Others were actually headed to an *old* place. Stay tuned for "Indiana Benry and the Temple of Doom".

#10. Posted by: Deep Cover at May 3, 2007 12:18 PM

Marvelous recap, mac, as always.

This ep will really get the bloggers going crazy today, I'm sure! And if I donâ€™t have to get sidetracked dealing with â€œbigotsâ€, this is going to be a fun exchange with all the mac-ees and mac-ettes. Ok, we got some BIG answers and Big questions, but after (deservedly) pissinâ€™ and moaninâ€™ about the writers in the first six episodes, I must admit, theyâ€™re coming back with a vengeance as we near the end of the season! As usual, I set down after the show and punched out my â€œinstant reactionâ€:

WHAT I SAW TONIGHT (11:20 EST - 5/02/07)

Mostly a night of surprises and non-surprises.

Biggest non-surprise was Locke/Sawyerâ€™s dilemma. With all the conjecture this past week, YOU KNEW it was going to be Lockeâ€™s Daddy that John wanted Sawyer to kill. That was a GREAT sequence of events in regard to the emotional roller-coaster that BOTH men demonstrated. It was gratifying to see that both do have a MORAL COMPASS, in spite of their past experiences. And boy, did Daddy deserve to Die!!!! If there was any indecision about this guyâ€™s character, it was certainly dispelled tonight. That was really a riveting story.

Non-surprise #2 - Ben is truly one of the worldâ€™s great NASTY GUYS!!!!!

Non-surprise #3 - Naomi is there for Desmond on behest of Penny. Aaaaah Love. It does conquer all.

Non-surprise #4: OF COURSE thereâ€™s a boat out there out of reach!
AND the telephone line is out . . . Isnâ€™t that Horror/Mystery Movie clichÃ© #274 . . . ? . .

My â€œAâ€ list of surprises and/or questions that come immediately to mind are:

â€¢Why did Daddy keep laughing about â€œWhat Island?!?â€

â€¢Flight 815 is in a ocean trough with all bodies aboard!?! This IS a somewhat troubling and confusing plot scenario.

â€¢OUT OF THE BLUE, Rousseau walks into the middle of a scene - asks Locke where the dynamite is - and then doesnâ€™t just take a few sticks, she takes a whole honking crate of it. What the heck is she planning to blow up? Rhode Island?

â€¢All this dilemma over the satellite phone. Isnâ€™t there still a transmitter somewhere on the island with CFWâ€™s S.O.S. call being repeated for the 84gillioneth time? Why havenâ€™t we EVER tried to find that?

â€¢If the Others are SO RICHLY FUNDED, as they obviously are, why do they have to travel across the savanna like Moses and the Israelites? Why donâ€™t they have Hummers and Airflow Trailers?

â€¢So now John Lockeâ€™s future hinges on carrying Daddyâ€™s corpse across the island? Are we heading for the â€œAncient Home of the Ancestor-Others?â€ Ahhh. Destiny Awaits! (My best guess for last scene of the season - John Locke peering down a hole in the leg of the giant four-toed statue at Morlocks and Hominids . . . or not.)

â€¢And for goodness sakes, what is this great SECRET that Jack and Juliet SHARE? Iâ€™ll bet the whole finale is hinged on this clandestine morsel.

And finally, with the tape recorder and the news of Julietâ€™s intrigue coming back to camp with Sawyer - â€œLuuucy, you got sumâ€™plainin to do!â€

DRH

#11. Posted by: davidrh at May 3, 2007 12:20 PM

I don't think I've ever experienced 'schadenfreude' with as much clarity as I did when watching Sawyer kill the old grifter. Who knew watching someone get strangled with a chain could be so uplifting?

#12. Posted by: Deep Cover at May 3, 2007 12:21 PM

I wasn't surprised at all by the connection. I kept hoping it would turn out not to be Cooper as the "real Sawyer" just because it would throw me a loop. (Another good line: "I was young and Huck Finn was taken.")

Also, when Charlie went to get Sayid, he was digging in the ground, and it clearly sounded like he had hit something right when Charlie arrived. Any speculations on what it could be? He obviously knew right where to dig.

Sounds to me like Jack and Juliette's big "should we tell her?" secret is the same thing Ben told Locke: that there would be a raid on the island and all the pregnant women would be taken.

#13. Posted by: Trinity at May 3, 2007 12:23 PM

Mac, thanks, great review as always! Loved the "magic eyeliner" line...& speaking of which, perhaps Richard Alpert somehow got Ben's share of eyelashes. ; >

#14. Posted by: AlaÃ¯s_Longthought at May 3, 2007 12:23 PM

About the plane wreckage and bodies...

First, Cooper also confirmed during his diarrheal interogation that the plane wreckage and bodies had been found.

But... did anyone catch exactly what Cooper and/or Naomi said about the bodies? I think Naomi said something about underwater robots, but did they just see *general* bodies, or specific identifiable bodies? Or did they actually *recover* bodies?

#15. Posted by: Buck41 at May 3, 2007 12:28 PM

A couple of points:

1. Naomi said that CAMERAS confirmed the people on 815 were dead. Probably pretty easy for The Hanso Foundation to FAKE that footage, don'ya think? (Or maybe she's lying, just like everybody else.)

2. Is it Christmas on Lost Isle? "3 days ago" Juliet said it's been 90 days since 815 crashed.

9/22/04 + 90 days = 12/21/04

12/21/04 + 3 days + 1 night = 12/25/04

12/26/04 = tsunami??

#16. Posted by: Dan at May 3, 2007 12:29 PM

The scene with Cooper on the pillar and Locke needing to kill him seems to reek of the whole Moriah Vinyard/ Bible link where God asked (someone) to kill their son as an act of faith. That was an interesting tie-in. Next week should kick butt too.

#17. Posted by: Sanderson at May 3, 2007 12:29 PM

Please tell me that someone else has remembered that dead people may or may not stay dead! Is Cooper going to bite Locke's ear thru the sack when the island revives him? Have we concluded a pattern to "seemingly dead" vs "dead dead" people- ie One Eye Russian brain explosion but now alive? Paulo and Nikki spider bite burial - still dead? How can we be sure Cooper is dead?
Thanks Mac ...

#18. Posted by: jack_is_hot_n_jasper_al at May 3, 2007 12:31 PM

Great review Mac. It's nice to see that Sawyer is not a killer at heart. A killer would not vomit the way he did after doing the evil deed.

I imagine the Others sweep and snatch of all pregnant women will include more that just Sun. Kate?

Juliet's ass is toast when Sawyer plays that tape. Jack will have to dig deep to come up with an excuse for this one.

Can't wait until next week!!

#19. Posted by: Glen at May 3, 2007 12:33 PM

i'm guessing the "should we tell her?" has to do with the "purple sky incident" and communications out of the island being disabled.

#20. Posted by: jay at May 3, 2007 12:35 PM

"Richard Alpert and his eyeliner arrive." I loved it....the Herpes line was pretty darn good too.

But how about that odd scene with Locke and Rousseau...how strange was that? I'm not sure what it meant, or why I liked it so much, but I got a big kick out of that scene.

#21. Posted by: petew at May 3, 2007 12:35 PM

Another great line: "If you need me, I'll be here all week John!"

#22. Posted by: The Duf at May 3, 2007 12:36 PM

Yeah, I worry about the whole "Is he REALLY dead?" thing, too. The writers are really copping out on that point, you know? I mean, how absurd is it that neither Kate, nor Sayid, nor John, nor Danielle, took a pulse?!? Come on!

And was John really carrying Cooper, or was he carrying explosives, or both, or something/someone else in that bag??

#23. Posted by: Dan at May 3, 2007 12:36 PM

The scene with Locke and Alpert saying that Ben is jealous of Locke being special suggested that Alpert was one of the "Others" that Juliet said wanted to have Ben dead.

Also why do they want Locke to lead them, as they have Him/Jacob?

#24. Posted by: Sky at May 3, 2007 12:38 PM

I don't think there would be any way to recover bodies from that deep. I sure it will turn out to be doctered video. The plane just happend to sink in the deepest trench in the pacific. How convenient for the Others that there will be know way to retreive the bodies, or the black boxes.

#25. Posted by: Glen at May 3, 2007 12:39 PM

GRAA Mac,

"Don't tell me what I can or can't doâ€¦" Locke used to say that a lot if I'm not mistaken. Ben gave Locke a little knowing look after he said it.

So we are to believe that Sawyer kept his letter in his back pocket for lo these many years? All his travels and all his cons and all the times he dropped trou to jump into the sack with some lovely dupe and he still has his letter? Right. Could be worse I s'poseâ€¦it could've been Bruce Willis' watch from Pulp Fiction.

And Sayid, the genius ex-Republican Guardsman, tries out the ultra-secret sat phone while hiding behind a bush thirty feet from camp and is discovered byâ€¦Kate?

Ben is stealing this show hands down. He is the only character who consistently behaves in a logical albeit bizarre manner. Okay, maybe Rousseau tooâ€¦what's she need the dynamite for? The Others got an-Other sub? Any more pesky hatches or comm stations need 'sploding? She gonna ride on inta town, pull a number seven, bust Mongo out of the calaboose, and then go to the number seven dance?

Anybody know a good water ski and shark repellant store? I got a bad feeling about this...

Yoda stick....that's funny.

#26. Posted by: ransomjackson at May 3, 2007 12:39 PM

Best Line of the Review:
"... Please return to your tents and avoid pregnancy. Thank you."

Anybody else get the sense that Sawyer's the one that's gonna cast off his burden's and Locke's still gonna be a tortured soul that's just replaced his Cooper Daddy with a Bug-Eye Daddy ? At some point Locke's gonna have to kill daddy.

#27. Posted by: trexl at May 3, 2007 12:41 PM

I think Locke is really carrying Cooper, and that Cooper is really dead. One of the scenes from next week is Locke dumping that burlap-wrapped body at Ben's feet.

Speaking of next week, I'm surprised nobody has commented on the scene-flash of the "NAMASTE" sign!

#28. Posted by: Buck41 at May 3, 2007 12:42 PM

Oh and Mac, this is by far one of your funniest re-caps. Go figure, one of the greatest episodes=Great Recap. Still you had me rolling on each paragraph.
The Kate Herpes comment was awesome!!!
Locke's confused, Alpert's magic eyeliner senses it, so he elaborates.
You the man Mac!!!

#29. Posted by: callaway76 at May 3, 2007 12:42 PM

I'm confused as to why Locke couldn't kill Cooper. By getting Sawyer to do it, isn't he just as responsible? Maybe it has something to do with the island and his recovery from paralysis?

I also thought that what Juliet wanted to tell Kate had to do with the impending raid. Juliet said she was going to get a â€œsampleâ€ from Kate. Maybe it was to see if she is pregnant. If so, then Kate will be taken along with Sun.

Mac â€“ you are the man. ("Hellooo? I thought I heard a noiseâ€¦â€ â€“ just one of many laugh-out-loud moments.)

#30. Posted by: callie at May 3, 2007 12:42 PM

Just wanted to add that Ben tells Locke, "Don't tell me what I can't do." which is one of the lines Locke has said many times in the past (on the walkabout, in the box company, etc.)

#31. Posted by: Kates at May 3, 2007 12:43 PM

When Kate told JackJewels that there was a outsider who could rescue them, Jack was not at all excited or believed it to be true . . . because Juliet and Jack know a â€œsecretâ€ about the island (which presumably discounts the chance of rescue).

Two outsiders, Naomi and Cooper, told the survivors that they are dead or the island is Hell. No motivation to lie. Cooperâ€™s story of being rear ended and killed in a high speed traffic accident makes sense. It also falls into a pattern of other traffic accident victims in flashbacks. If the survivors did not know they were dead, then they would have hope that they would be rescued (which leads to possible manipulation); telling them they are dead puts them into a hopeless situation and less likely to be manipulated by Ben. That might be the Big Secret.

The Others devotion to Healers, such as Locke, is almost cult like. Richardâ€™s inference that some of the Others thought Ben was wasting his time on fertility experiments ( a form of healing or generating new life) when there are those who self-heal (Locke, Ben) would be important to their final goal. The Others have this worship of Healing Powers which equates to Life. Life, or maybe the possibility of having a Second Life (reincarnation, rebirth) is the driving force behind Benâ€™s group. How else could one leave Hell?

#32. Posted by: welh at May 3, 2007 12:44 PM

I believe Jack and Juliet have a plan against Ben's invasion. But, Ben not trusting anyone has countered this plan by setting up Juliet by getting her tape to the losties camp. Spy or ally...

#33. Posted by: John at May 3, 2007 12:46 PM

Something to chew on...

When Sawyer thinks to listen to the tape on the way back to camp, and hears Juliet's musings about Austin being pregnant, especially given the Island's effect on Male Potency, and Sawyer realizing he is the delivery agent.

Also, the Mindfloods saw the Sawyer / Cooper relationship long ago when the Cooper-Locke backstory revealed Cooper as a con-man. Ultimately there will be another relationship revealed as there is only one other Lostie who has a background running cons.

Notice the tie-ins with the backgrounds and backstories of the individuals.

Jack-Juliet => Medical Risk takers

Cooper-Sawyer-Kate (Nikki/Paulo excluded) => Cons

Desmond-Penny-Widmore-Dharma-Hanso => Probably season 5 material.

There has to be more tie-ins that I just haven't thought of yet.

#34. Posted by: Neal Mindflood at May 3, 2007 12:50 PM

Jack, should we tell Kate that...

1. She is preggers and she will die

2. Sawyer has painted naked cave drawings of her in one of the stations' bathrooms.

3. Ben posted her cage sex video on the internet.

4. In real life she dates a hobbit

#35. Posted by: brooklyn bum at May 3, 2007 12:59 PM

Regarding Jack and Jules and the 'we should tell them', 'not yet' thingy:

This will end up being the total set-up for the finale. Sawyer spills the beans next week and everyone is super surprised 'cause the original RNM (much props bro!) has audio proof (tape recorder) that Jules is in fact a mole....and she's 'under Jack's protection', so he'll be grilled by the beach camp as to what the 'hell' (sorry, had to) is going on!

I anticipate Jack and Jules will willingly tell the camp that Sawyer is correct. They'll try to spin it towards 'we were only trying to protect all you who are preggers'. They will in turn attempt to re-gain the trust of the camp by creating a defense strategy (Jack's army idea?) so nobody is stolen away.

I believe that this defense strategy will be flawed so it favors Jack, Jules, and of course the Others. How easy would it be to set up the camp to fail? Anyone think Ben will be listening to another tape recording next week with Jules saying 'Sayid, Sun, and Charlie will be here....Des, Jin and Hurley will be there...Kate will pro'ly be washing her neck w/ possible urine over there'.

We all believe that the core purpose driving Jack and Jules is to get off the island. Some believe that Jules may have fibbed a bit by telling Sun she got preggers ON the island, therefore tricking Ben into believing Jules has solved the preggers issue when Sun delivers a healthy-bald-Rex-specs-wearing-baby boy w/ a mean sky-hook, thus letting her go home.

I can just see Sawyer (again forced to be leader) and Co. standing on the beach after the raid w/ his D in his hand saying - 'Now that's how you run a con!'

#36. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 3, 2007 12:59 PM

I think that Ben is Satan and the only way you can really die on the island is when you have atoned for your sins. Because only certain people have come back from the dead like eye patch guy.

#37. Posted by: Gay at May 3, 2007 1:01 PM

I had the feeling that the Juliette/Jack secret has something to do with communications of the island. I think Jack wants to see this "radio-phone thingy" for himself, and then he'll let the group down gently, that there is no outgoing communication possible on the island, because of the jamming signal, i.e. the cable running out to the ocean - just my hypothesis. I guess we'll just have to see.

***********SPOILER ALERT**************
I've heard that 5 people are going to die by the end of the season. I'm guessing that Locke's daddy is #1. Any speculation on who the other 4 are? Another spoiler I heard was one of our 4 favorite characters is going to bite it by the end of the season. Kate . . . Jack . . . Sawyer . . . Locke. Who could it be?

#38. Posted by: ANTP? at May 3, 2007 1:02 PM

I think what Juliet knows is what exactly is hiding the island, and why transmissions are being blocked, and she has told Jack.
Or maybe it was just a coincidence that she said this right after Kate said something about the satphone.

#39. Posted by: Zeppo at May 3, 2007 1:03 PM

I think the Others kidnapped Cooper from Tallahassee the minute they realized he was Locke's kryptonite and could be used to manipulate him into doing/believing exactly what they want him to. (To what endgame I have no idea, but it's coming!) Examples to support: Ben and Juliet's conversation in the Pearl; Juliet needing to be drugged to get to the island; someone running Cooper off the road and the paramedic "smiling" when he put in the IV, and Richard Alpert in Miami taking orders from Ben on the Island.)

Or, less "realistically," Smokey is impersonating Cooper. (Cerebrus, Vincent, dog bite!)

Shrug.

#40. Posted by: AB at May 3, 2007 1:04 PM

Has anyone thought about the fact that Juliette mentions that Austin is pregnant on the tape and now Saywer has it in his posession. Will he listen and find out that he's gonna be a daddy? Maybe the secret that Jack and Juliette share is about Kates pregnancy.
Also, ABSOLUTELY no surprise about Cooper being Sawyer.
I think Jack is brainwashed, like Cindy(the flight attendant who was kidnapped) seems to be. Did Ben really want Locke to slaughter his father in front of the children(think of the children) no wonder there are no birhts on this island, these people are sick

#41. Posted by: Sheila at May 3, 2007 1:04 PM

************SPOILER***********

#2 will be Charlie most likely.
They interviewed him and he said he is not coming back for next season.

#42. Posted by: Zeppo at May 3, 2007 1:05 PM

Locke: what a devious MoFo Having Sawyer do his dirty work for him! chicken!!!
Could they really be in Hell?
I donâ€™t think itâ€™s Hell, but I have some other theories like that. Cause if it IS hell why are people dying?? Do they go to a different hell? Was Juliette killed with that sedative in the OJ???? Why would a pregnant chick be in hell, if she didnâ€™t really do anything that bad? I donâ€™t know, t looks way too farfetched that the island is hell, it might be Limbo and then the people that die are really going to hell, or forgiven and sent to heaven through death in Limbo(?!?!?) I think that itâ€™s more of the Dharma Initiative sort of thing going on...
Wreckage found at the bottom of the Pacific off of Fiji? Scurry!!!
I loved when Locke's father called Benry "Bug Eyes".
Rather than hell, it's more like the movie "The Village" where Benry and the others are using money to do anything they want, and intentionally keep themselves hidden/isolated from the rest of the world. They probs caused the car accident and kidnapped Cooper, just like they made Juliet's ex-husband get hit by a bus, and staged a plane wreck at the bottom of the ocean.
I read that the latest piece of land ever found by man was discovered in the mid 70's a new uncharted piece of land of the coast of Madagascar. Uninhabited by man. Then satellite imaging came to life and we can see everything, so a possibility is that the dharma money is keeping everything quiet, including having an uncharted piece of land for their experiments.
We are sure that dharma still exists, because they keep food parachuting to the island, THEY know someone is on the island and are sending food to them.
I think Benry is part of a major scheme and only plays a minor role being the "leader" of the others, and I also think that they not only had a sub, but that they come and go as they please. The major Other players. Like Dr. Alpert or that funky dude thatâ€™s always with him
There are still too many variables out there to know what the writers really have in mind so I know that there IS another season and a LOT of stuff needs to be resolved, like for example:
the islands power, who is Jacob, what is the monster, why is the island uncharted, why was Benry born on the island, Is this a huge experiment that a crazy government is running, who invented the question mark and why???
Lots of stuff
And some of the good guys have to die as well yes? maybe useless bernard? charlie? dunno

#43. Posted by: mapache at May 3, 2007 1:07 PM

I am thinking
#2 Charlie
#3 and 4 others
#5 Jack

#44. Posted by: Sheila at May 3, 2007 1:14 PM

i gotta be honest, i love the show and usually pretty good at seeing major story mergers coming but i never connected sawyer/cooper and im a little angry at myself for that.

even though it was mentioned in the review does anyone else find the incredible lack of remorse and seeming desire to piss off sawyer odd given his tenuous, at best, predicament in the brig?

#45. Posted by: mdc at May 3, 2007 1:18 PM

Probably my favorite episode of all LOST time -- whatever that may be?!? Great job writers and actors (particularly Josh Holloway) and good job Mac, as always!!!

#46. Posted by: BELost at May 3, 2007 1:18 PM

Cooper described his coming to the island basically as this: his car was rearended, a medic smiled as he applied an IV, then blackness, then he woke up in the room. The thought immediately popped into my head that that was a perfect description of how the others might kidnap someone they wanted on the island. And Cooper figures he's dead because Locke walks in, and Cooper knows that Locke died in the plane crash. So naturally he figures he's in hell.

The whole episode made me think of the string theory/alternate timelines thing: Desmond neglects to push the button, a blast of electromagnetics hits the plane, and the timeline (and the plane and occupants) is split. In our timeline, the plane goes down in the ocean and everybody dies. In the island timeline, the plane plotzes down and they survive. So the island is in a different dimension/timeline. And Naomi talked about how there was nothing there then suddenly she saw the island and her helicopter went down. Like the island periodically pokes into our timeline. So they could all be right-- the plane wrecked with everyone dead/the plane landed somewhat safely on the island with everyone more or less alive.

Also, did anyone catch the conversation between Locke and Sawyer when they first go in the Black Rock? Sawyer sees the skeletons and says something like "Friends of yours?", to which Locke tells him they were slave, probably brought to mine the island (which also explains the dynamite). Mine what? What is on the island someone wants to mine?

Great review!

#47. Posted by: Rob at May 3, 2007 1:19 PM

If Locke's dad were so sure they were all dead, then why was he so scared??!!

Re "Namaste" in next week's preview, it's a Sanskrit word meaning, "I bow to the divine within you," and is used in Buddhism as a greeting or goodbye or whatever. Buddhists are never bowing to the Buddha, as an icon, but to themselves, as it's believed that the divine is within, vs. an external god. Anyway, I was trying to ignore this "Dharma" initiative as a non-Buddhist thing but with the Namaste being so prominent, there must be something to this.

Also, re Locke killing his daddy... There are several Buddhist tales of "killing" the things that you get obsessed on, but they don't mean literally KILLING someone or something. So, perhaps these Others are some radical religious extremists/terrorists.

#48. Posted by: JanVon at May 3, 2007 1:23 PM

Am I losing it. Wasn't the Black Rock Rousseau's ship that crashed 16 years ago?
Why would their be slaves on it. Please help am I missing something?

#49. Posted by: Sheila at May 3, 2007 1:24 PM

WWSD-What Was Sayid Digging?

#50. Posted by: PiecesofArzt at May 3, 2007 1:24 PM

@49 Sheila - Rousseau crashed in a plane, not the Black Rock.

#51. Posted by: Guv at May 3, 2007 1:34 PM

If I remember correctly, Rousseau and her science expedition were shipwrecked. The Black Rock predates Rousseau's boat by at least a century.

#52. Posted by: mac at May 3, 2007 1:35 PM

Oh, my bad. I must be getting yellow Eko-brother plane confused with Rousseau's crash. Anyhow...

#53. Posted by: Guv at May 3, 2007 1:37 PM

Forgot to mention...did anyone else pick up on the symbolism at the end of Locke throwing his dead Pop over his shoulder just like Jesus carrying his cross?

Also forgot to say "Thanks Mac"

#54. Posted by: petew at May 3, 2007 1:38 PM

OK, my bad. I must be getting the idea of a plane from the yellow Eko-brother plane, and confusing it with Rousseau's crash. I had associated the boat crash strictly with Desmond. Anyhow...

#55. Posted by: Guv at May 3, 2007 1:38 PM

@49 and @51.

I thought that Rousseau came to the island with a bunch of scientists, on a boat, and that they were shipwrecked there. Understood. Now, Black Rock is way too old (Pirates of the Carribean old) to have been her ship.

Strange that scientists were coming to the island and they all died except for her.

Brings up the whole idea that she WAS an Other, but was outcast, much like Juliet had her branding and was determined to be an outcast.

#56. Posted by: ANTP? at May 3, 2007 1:41 PM

I think the secret Jack and Juliet hold is either that Kate is pregnant, or that Juliet and Jack are cooperating with Ben to once again be given a chance to get off the island. hence Jack is not surprised to here that there is a boat 80miles off the coast because Ben promised to get them both out there is they did his bidding.

#57. Posted by: Chris at May 3, 2007 1:41 PM

Two things.

1. I've only watched this season, but we're getting some serious clues lately that ask us to decide whether the Island is really just an island or not. First, Naomi's claim that they found all the bodies and the island doesn't exist on any maps. Second, Cooper's suggestion the Island is really hell. The realistic suggestion is somebody fabricated the plane/bodies hoax and Cooper was intentionally rear-ended and taken by phony ambulance drivers to the island (which seems possible given that they may also have hit Julia's husband with a bus). The less realistic answer is that they really are dead and the island is hell, limbo, an alternate universe, etc. If it's the former, the others have some serious resources at their disposal and I wonder why they don't get better tents. If it's the latter, how do people keep arriving on the island, unless they are also passing through whatever divides the Island world from the world of the living? These might be old questions, but it seems the writers are giving us serious hints that we should lean one way or the other.

#58. Posted by: Andy at May 3, 2007 1:42 PM

Anyone have a link to previews to next week? I accidentally deleted off my DVR.

#59. Posted by: Jon is FOUND at May 3, 2007 1:42 PM

@ANTP? and others: Check IMDB for cast listings and then find the one that's missing! :(

#60. Posted by: PiecesofArzt at May 3, 2007 1:42 PM

Hi all-
Sorry if someone already mentioned this, but here's my thoughts:

1. Jack/Juliet/Kate: I think the thing they were discussing is whether or not to tell Kate she may be pregnant and therefore kidnapped. I don't know why, maybe because he's just the biggest jerk, but Jack doesn't think they should tell Kate. I don't know if Jack knows about the kidnapping part, but he definitely knows she's at risk for pregnancy and I bet he knows that all men on the island have super sperm, as Juliet told Sun while she did the ultrasound.

2. Locke/Alpert/Ben: Honestly, I think Ben embarrassing Locke in front of the crowd and Alpert conveniently telling Locke everything that would make him take action against his dad was just a ploy by The Others to get Locke to kill his dad just like they wanted him to. I don't trust Alpert (why should we, he hasn't done anything other than Ben's orders since the beginning, at least as far as we've seen) and I would NEVER trust Ben. As Alex said, his specialty is manipulation and making you think his ideas are your own. So I think it was all a set up. Tell everyone Locke's not special, have Alpert give him a pep talk, and then tell Locke the only way to learn more about what the island can do is to bring back a dead father. Notice Ben didn't say that Locke had to kill his dad during their last exchange, only that he should return with his dead dad across his back. This fits in exactly with Alpert telling Locke to get Sawyer to kill dad. If the whole kill your dad thing really was about Locke getting rid of his ties to his past, then wouldn't Ben stress that Locke needs to kill his own father? Having someone else do it is a cop out. For whatever reason they need Locke's dad dead and they knew Locke could never do it or have it done unless he was desperate. Kicking him out of the group and telling him he's not special was the catalyst to get Locke's dad dead. I think because Locke conjured up his dad, he is the only person who can devise Dad's death, therefore Ben and the Others needed Locke to be in charge and part of the execution. Or it's possible they wanted Locke to do it because they don't want the blood on their hands.

#61. Posted by: SuperMe at May 3, 2007 1:43 PM

Whoops, I guess that was only one thing.

#62. Posted by: andy at May 3, 2007 1:44 PM

All the people who say they are the first to post a comment and actually aren't first, are complete losers. It is kind of sad and pathetic.
Moving On
Cooper being the original Sawyer was even more obvious than Jack and Claire being half-brother and sister. It was something that anyone who has watched a few key episodes picked up on. I agree with your hypothesis that Juliet told Jack that she is a mole. Great theory, I just wish I had thought of it

#63. Posted by: Matt at May 3, 2007 1:48 PM

Read this and you'll see the writers lied about the "island" not being Purgatory.

http://tinyurl.com/2p9r7m

In one part of the above article it states "Purgatory was pictured as a place within space and time."

I believe Jules and Jack were deciding if they should tell Kate she was dead and that the only one that can be rescued is Desmond.
Another Bible reference - Sawyer's mother's name was Mary.
Ever notice that when one of the Other's die, they set them out to sea and burn them. To release their spirit from their bodies?
I think the Dharma Initiative is studying Pugatory and helping people make peace with their lives so they can pass to heaven or hell.
Two things about Locke this epi: 1) his father bit his hand - looked like when Jesus had nails through his hands when nailed to the cross. Hand healed by the next day (I think next day). 2) At the end when Locke picked up his dead father and pulled him across his back I immdiately pictured Jesus carrying the cross. Locke is now carrying his cross.
My favorite line from this epi: Sawyer to Locke when he first sees him "so now that you're back from your 'blow up everything that can get us off the island' tour." LOL.
mac - GRAA and my favorite line you wrote was regarding Locke and him taking up camp with the others "Initially he thinks he's poised for an adventure, but as usual, the brochure doesn't live up to the experience." LOL lots of times during your review.
Final summary - Everyone on the plane is dead and in Purgatory. Period.

#64. Posted by: BunnyLover at May 3, 2007 1:49 PM

Does Sayid know that Patchy is 'back from the dead'? I don't think he was with Des, Jin, Hurley and Charlie when Patchy re-emerged. Our friends ARE starting to talk to each other more, so maybe they informed Sayid at the same time they told him about Naomi.

If so........Is it possible that he was digging up one of the grave sites of someone who has passed away? Maybe he's putting 2 and 2 together and was digging to see if 'said-dead' was actually still burried, or not!!

#65. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 3, 2007 1:50 PM

Not sure if someone else mentioned this but...

>>"Don't tell me what I can do, John," Ben says.

it was CAN'T - John's big line.

#66. Posted by: HyperJen at May 3, 2007 1:52 PM

"Sawyer is barefoot, but he endures the pain because the future of Nakatomi Plaza rests in his hands ... wait, wrong story."

Best Line ever!

It's possible that Dadcon1 was kidnapped by Tricksy Dick Alpert. He seemed to have an issue with how Ben was handleing things on the island, and having Obi-Locke get rid of his father, may actually bring him around to dethrown the mayor of Bennsylvania.

Not sure if the timeline is right, but Tricksy was away taking webcam coverage is Juliette's sis, right?

Just a thought.

#67. Posted by: The Other Other at May 3, 2007 1:55 PM

@HyperJen: Nice catch! That certainly changes the line! Fix has been made on that one. Whoops!

#68. Posted by: mac at May 3, 2007 1:56 PM

Consider this: did the great Bendini sell out Jules by manipulating Locke into swiping his dictaphone by 'accidentally' allowing Locke to overhear its contents?

#69. Posted by: Deep Cover at May 3, 2007 1:58 PM

I might be really technical about something, but this is a blog and I see others do it too.

IF Locke is able to heal fast (Legs, the bite from this week) how come the whole episode he had the black eye? Or redish eye? You would think that would heal fast too.

Just a observation.

Oh read post #59

#70. Posted by: Jon is FOUND at May 3, 2007 1:59 PM

@64... Purgatory makes soooo much sense. I tried your link but couldn't get there. Interesting. The writers would have to lie if that was the case, wouldn't they??

Where does Mac fall on this theory?

#71. Posted by: R at May 3, 2007 1:59 PM

Thanks for clearing up the Black Rock/Rousseau's ship confusion I was having. I was momentarily lost(ha-ha)

#72. Posted by: Sheila at May 3, 2007 1:59 PM

One other thing:

I saw the Sawyer/Cooper connection coming a million miles away. I've been waiting for their reunion for a long time. I thought it was pretty obvious, along the lines of Clair/Jack having the same dad.

#73. Posted by: SuperMe at May 3, 2007 2:00 PM

@16-

First time poster, long time reader.

Dan, I think you nailed it on the head with the real time events. I seem to remember an interview with one of the producers that hinted that the real world was going to make a big impact on the Losties toward the end of season 3. Can't find the interview but its out there somewhere. The interviewer pointed out to the producer that the timeframe of the show is still in 2004 and that this was still important. Producer concurred.

Seems to me that the Tsunami is a major cliffhanger waiting to happen which will be a game changer. If not for the actual Island itself, but for everything around it in that part of the world.

Just curious what you all might think of this scenario - Just before the attack on the pregnant ladies, Tsunami hits. Rescue feighter that is anchored offshore gets blown to the Island.

Season 4 - What to do with the Feighter? Criminals Kate and Sawyer and healed Losties Locke and Ruth as well as Ben need/want to stay. Many more want to go. The division on the Island then shuffles to be those that want escape and those that want to stay.

#74. Posted by: rinz at May 3, 2007 2:00 PM

Gosh, I would REALLY hate if this theory had anything to actually do with the show, but the very mention of hell last night makes me think...

What if the "healing properties" of the island is indication of who is on the "good list" and the "bad list"? Because it seems that some people have been healed and have regenerated and others have not...What if those who have healed (Rose, Locke, Naomi, Mikhail, Jin...) have been judged as "good" and gained redemption/entrance into HEAVEN, and those who have not - at least yet (Eko, AL, Libby, Paolikki...) have been judged as "bad" and have been damned to HELL...On the other hand, I can see why Cooper would think he was in hell if he had no recollection between blacking out at the car crash and waking up on the island. After all, the Others/Dharma orchestrated Juliet's ex-husband's death too...

On a different note...why does Ben have to travel with all of his books? Why didn't other Others get to take belongings too?

What is so special about Locke's healing that isn't as special about Rose's? Or Jin's? Or Naomi's? Are they playing Locke? The way they did Juliet? Seems like eyeliner guy has a way of smooth talking just about everyone. Again, on the other hand, maybe there is something more special about Locke if the Others/Dharma did manage to get Cooper on the island...I am sure that was not easy to do

**POSSIBLE SPOILER**

Also, in the flashes of next week's preview...if you can watch it in slow motion, you see what appears to some sort of female apparition...I think it was Juliet or maybe a vision of Locke's Helen...you also see a quick flash of the doctor from the Dharma videos (his name escapes me right now) as other people in the background appear to be setting up Losteria Lane...there is also a weird negative-style flash of Juliet in the gas mask...

WWSD???

#75. Posted by: Vikki at May 3, 2007 2:03 PM

*****SPOILER ALERT*******

Kylie Sanchez aka the female half of Pulikki is listed in the cast for the May 16 episode

#76. Posted by: Sheila at May 3, 2007 2:03 PM

@ #16 Dan - I'm so glad you brought up the tsunami. I mentioned that early last season and wondered when that would play into things. Now that we're officially one day away from it, here is my prediction: The rescue ship 80 miles away will fall victim to the never-before seen wrath of the 2004 tsunami and will either shipwreck entirely or will wash ashore on our favorite mystery island. The writers have been so careful to keep us in the loop as to WHEN things are happening, that they simply can't ignore one of the most devestating days ever on record. Especially when it happened in the PACIFIC (and Indian) OCEANS!!

#45 @ mcd - I think Cooper's total lack of remorse is because in his mind, it was WAY too late for that. He truly believed he was in hell and he was officially SOL.

and #50 What was Sayid digging?
************ POSSIBLE SPOILER **************
Kiele Sanchez is on the list of characters on imdb in 2 weeks. She hasn't been since her demise. Sure, it may be a flashback, but?????

ANOTHER POSSIBLE SPOILER **********

Next week's episode (again from imdb.com) has a character named "young Ben". Is it a Ben flashback episode? How friggin cool would that be? And was he really born on the island? OOOOHHHHH - I can't wait!

#77. Posted by: hookedonlost at May 3, 2007 2:06 PM

@71 - Sorry the link didn't work for you. I tried it and it works fine. Here is the whole link not using tinyurl. Hopefully mac will make an exception and let it be posted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purgatory#Heaven_and_Hell

The entire article is really good.

#78. Posted by: BunnyLover at May 3, 2007 2:08 PM

@#78 see #75.

I'm with you on this.

#79. Posted by: Rinz at May 3, 2007 2:14 PM

Is it just me or was that Echo's jesus stick that Ben asked Locke to hand him in his tent? If so, why didn't Locke recognize it and where did Ben get it? Can someone with Tivo look at this?

The tape recorder of Juliette playing just as Locke goes to Ben's tent and Mr. Eyeliner giving Locke the pep talk were all too convenient for me. Locke is way too emotionally vulnerable and is being completely manipulated by ben. Sawyer killing Locke's dad was part of Ben's plan from the beginning.
And why would Ben leave Locke and move his tent team away when Locke's presence healed his back? Isn't Ben afraid that if Locke was left behind he would stop healing or get worse?

How is Juliette going to get a sample from kate â€” put a palm leaf under her the next time she has to go? Or will this secret Jules and Jack have make Kate comply willingly?

Why, why, why â€” after Kate has been such a bad(butt) the whole seasonâ€” did she run right over to Jack and spill the beans about Tree Girl. What a wuss! Now the "campers" will be mad at her and never trust her again and Jack isn't going to unglue himself from Jules anytime soon so Kate might as well just go room with Rousseu.

#80. Posted by: LuvLost at May 3, 2007 2:15 PM

I couldn't help grinning when Tree Girl mentioned that all of a sudden the island appeared--out of the mist--just like Brigadoon! (which I mentioned in last week's posts).

@47 may be on to a similar theory, but then Heroes and Lost would have suprisingly similar themes with string theory/alternate timelines etc. I don't think that is it.

@48--I guess you are new, Namaste and eastern religions have been covered ad naseum on these posts. Please feel free to review many of the posts from the first 2 seasons regarding.

Black Rock was a much older ship than the science vessel that Rousseau's team was on. Funny she would need so much dynamite though. Wonder what she is up to?

#81. Posted by: boharpe at May 3, 2007 2:16 PM

Questions for anybody:

A little confused...was that ACTUALLY Locke's Dad, or was that Smokey taking on his form?

Are we really supposed to believe that somehow Dharma (or the others, or whoever) was able to cover up a plane crashing onto an island...how can Naomi and Cooper really believe that there were no survivors? How can something so gigantic be "spun" on the news like that?

One more teeny thought: What's the deal with Cindy and those kids? It's like a cult! No wonder John wants in...remember his cult days? His longing for acceptance?

Hey Jiggy-

#82. Posted by: Sillygirl0630 at May 3, 2007 2:17 PM

@ mac: Is it possible to set **potential spoiler** standards? In specifics, can we request people avoid posting actual imdb character listings for upcoming episodes? That is a blatant spoiler that most people would not like to read..in my opinion. It would be ok to say 'see imdb listing for next eps character listing for answers'. Then people can go at their leisure to find out.

Most of the time I have no problem reading the **potential spoilers** since the majority are based on speculation (theories) or production notes/facts (webcast of producers or whatever). These tend to meld with the overall tone of the blog...again, speculation.

Just a thought. Maybe some will agree with the difference between the two.

So....since I already saw it (#78), I'd assume there's a young 'main-evil character' in next weeks ep. After all, in the preview we saw a young Alpert w/ long hair..or was that Aragon?

#83. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 3, 2007 2:18 PM

"Funny she would need so much dynamite though. Wonder what she is up to?"

Just installing the same security system in her new digs as she had in the old.

#84. Posted by: Deep Cover at May 3, 2007 2:19 PM

Did anyone point out yet that they didn't find the PLANE. The saw PICTURES of the plane.

Big difference, and WAY easier to fake.

#85. Posted by: HyperJen at May 3, 2007 2:22 PM

Sorry..meant to refer to #77 in my post

#86. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 3, 2007 2:24 PM

***********SPOILER***********

Not really a spoiler but commenting about a spoiler in post #77.

Will they call him Mini-Ben? HA!!

#87. Posted by: Jon is FOUND at May 3, 2007 2:28 PM

Has anyone been able to slow down the preview for next week's show?? Looks like there are some real hints in the extremely fast preview we saw last night.
Mac-- as always, great review....best part of my week is your review, I always go back and rewatch after reading your review. JH, you are the man.....emmy...emmy....emmy.

#88. Posted by: Donna at May 3, 2007 2:31 PM

I'm pretty sure Rousseau will use the dynamite to blow up Carl for trying to F her daughter!

#89. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 3, 2007 2:32 PM

I haven't read through all the comments today, but has anyone else noticed that once the Losties spend any amount of time with the Others they become masters of manipulation and mind games? It's like it just rubs right on to them at contact!

#90. Posted by: Bada Bing at May 3, 2007 2:34 PM

Mac, great review! "gives him the ol' "rah rah kill your father" speech."
Priceless!

@56, Russeau told the Losties that the rest of her research team got sick on the island, and she killed them all to save herself/put them out of their misery (this was back in the Quarantine hatch days, when we thought the Losties might all die in a few episodes if not vaccinated. Boy were we wrong!)

Okay, so I understand that if the producers answer all the questions, there is no more show. But COME ON! They sure did go out of their way this week to build up the idea that the show is set in Hell/Purgatory/Limbo what have you, despite saying repeatedly in interviews that the Losties are not dead. Granted, if all the world saw was video footage of the wereckage deep at the bottom of the ocean, that's a lot easier to fake than an actual plane with bodies would be.

Juliet and Kate, BFF?

Go SOX!

#91. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 3, 2007 2:34 PM

@Dan/16 The Tsunami was in the Indian Ocean, not the Pacific, so they would have to have been WAY off course for that to come up as a plot line. But yes, we should be due for a Very Losties Christmas!

The Sawyer/Locke exhange in the jungle was full of great lines. I especially liked "you're back from your blow-up-everything-that-could-get-us-off-the-Island tour!"

#92. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 3, 2007 2:38 PM

@81. yes, just found out about this site in October 06 so haven't seen the posts. Also, I don't record the shows or remember that much. HA! Thanks--will look up some of this stuff in previous seasons. I was thinking of the warped Eastern religion views of the Alias characters, too.

#93. Posted by: JanVon at May 3, 2007 2:40 PM

@BunnyLuv... Found it, thanks! We'll have to wait and see. Purgatory makes sense to me. My brother thinks it's like "The Game" movie with Sean Penn. I'm sure that idea has has been floated before...

#94. Posted by: R at May 3, 2007 2:42 PM

A few observations...

There has been several comments by characters regarding the Sat phone being advanced technology. While the Losties are living in Dec 2004, it is probable that Naomi and the rest of the world are living at a little later time (2007?) It will be interesting to see if/how the phone figures into this.

I enjoyed watching Josh Holloway get a chance to stretch his acting a bit and show some depth of character.

***** Here be Spoilers *****

We still haven't seen the Other Others or "Hostiles" - ye of little faith that doubt their existance or believe they are the Others, ye shall be proven wrong : ) Is Rousseau connected with them some how? We've been told that there is a war coming. How will Rousseau figure into this? Is she helping to arm them or is she simply defending herself? Is she a wildcard that will show up at the last minute right when things look hopeless for our Beachies?

***** Here be the End of Spoilers *****

Last night's epi was a good example of why viwers need to be patient with the show. We need to keep in mind that the characters are individuals and have not all been exposed to facts that we have. We see things through each character's eyes. Each character sees tings only from their point of view. We see the larger puzzle pieces and how they might fit. They see only their tiny piece.

It is interesting to watch as characters discover secrets that we, the audience, have been privey to for a while now. James Ford has been changed forever now that he has found Sawyer. He is also begining to discover the healing powers of the island since he now knows about Locke. How will this affect his relationship with Kate, Jack, Locke, Ben ect.?

Last observation... Are the Others now living in "Tentsillvania", "Tentsil Town" or ______ ? Question of the week?

#95. Posted by: bcre8ve at May 3, 2007 2:43 PM

It seems most likely that Cooper was nabbed by the others, simply because he states the last thing he remembers is the smile and the i.v., and then the next, a big important next, thing he sees is the face of his dead son. Not that he was interrogated by the others, or gave them any information, yet, just before we find him on the island, Ben asks Tom to get "the man from Tallahassee". How did they know where he came from? They knew because they went to get him, and no "magic box" did that. I suspect the previous posters are correct in assuming eyeliner alpert did the dirty work, again.

#96. Posted by: Neal at May 3, 2007 2:43 PM

I for one think that Ben is playing Locke and Juliet. He's too smart for his own good and doesn't make dumb mistakes.

A. He let Locke 'overhear' the tape recorder knowing that it would make it's way into camp

B. Jules would have the Losties turn on her

C. Alpert (btw I love Tricky Dick line) is also in on playing Locke.

D. If Sayid was digging up a grave then my money's on Ethan. It didn't look like Paulikki's grave. What would be REALLY gross is if it were Shannon's grave. Yuck.

peace out.

#97. Posted by: EthansGrrl at May 3, 2007 2:48 PM

@96 Neal - If Locke's father was in a car crash at 70 mph and was being hauled off in an ambulance, it would stand to reason that - if he wasn't dead and in "hell/purgatory/whatever" - he would be seriously injured from the accident. He showed no signs of injury other than the beating(s) he received.

Oh, I just used the word "reason." What the heck was I thinking - this is LOST !

#98. Posted by: BunnyLover at May 3, 2007 2:54 PM

Great episode and great recap (as usual) Mac! A few of my thoughts:

1. I thought it was silly of Kate to go tell Jack-ass about Naomi, knowing he was the one person that Sayid absolutely didn't want her to tell. Sadly, I think she just wanted some attention. She should have walked away after he refused to speak w/o Juliette present. Then after Jack-ass proceeded to press her for info, he had the nerve to refuse to tell her whatever his and Juliette's secret was! Hypocrite ... I hope Jack redeems himself soon.

2. I also wonder just what in the world Sayid was digging for in the woods ... I know whatever he was doing, I'm sure that it was important. He's a smart guy.

3. My favorite line was Sawyer: "So now that youâ€™re back from your blow up everything that could get us off the damn island tour ..." ROFLMAO. I also LOLed @ Cooper calling Ben "Bug Eye". Esp. since that's what I'm thinking every time I see Ben.

4. I think that whatever interference is messing with the satellite phone is the same thing that caused problems with the flame and caused the sky to turn purple â€¦ some consequence of the hatch exploding. I also have another theory that may be a little crazy. When Sayid saw the phone, he said he had never seen equipment so sophisticated. While that is completely believable, I was thinking that Sayid appeared to be somewhat a communications expert, and that he probably would have at least heard of that type of phone, even if he had no experience with one. That being said, going along the lines of the theories that there's a wormhole or something and that time passes more slowly on the island than in the outside world, what if the present world Naomi came from is actually some years from when the plane crashed? (As fast as technology changes, it could even be just a couple years). Did we hear Naomi discuss how long ago she heard of the plane crash, or any of the Losties mention to her how long they'd been on the island? If not, this may be the beginning of us finding out if there is truly a time discrepancy with the outside world, and if so, what the difference in time is.

5. I was SO happy that Locke told Sawyer what Ben was planning, and Juliette's role. Not only that, but he gave him proof! Locke's certainly redeeming himself to me, and isn't looking quite as crazy as he had been.

6. Locke's father got exactly what he deserved. That man showed no remorse and had no soul. Good riddance. I hope it brings Sawyer some peace.

7. I'm starting to get the impression that the only Others that really believe in Ben are the newcomers, like Cindy. And maybe Pickett when he was alive. I remember Juliette did say a lot of them wanted change. I actually believed Alpert when he was talking to John.

8. I can't wait to see why Rousseau wanted the dynamite.

9. What's up with the Other's feeling John needed to sacrifice his father, and them gathering around to watch the murder? What kind of people are these, and exactly what do they think they are doing? Looks like we may get some answers to this next week.

10. Damn, Locke has to lug his father's body through the woods, across the jungle, and into the valleys, while tracking his pal Ben and the Others? Now ain't that a bitch? His father was on the hefty side, maybe he should've just killed him before they left LOL.

11. I have fully believe since last week that the plane wreckage was staged by Dharma and/or the Others. I'd assumed they just found pieces of a plane and no bodies. I'm now under the impression that the reason fake wreckage worked is that they only had robots to survey the wreckage, and they don't know who the people in the plane are (or if they are real). My thing is, is it supposed to be believable that the plane would have sunk to the bottom of the ocean intact to begin with? Does anyone know if a plane falling from the sky would break apart upon impact w/ the water?

12."An ill-advised affair with Rousseau"???? ROFL. I love you Mac!

That's it, I'm done running my mouth. I don't know what I'm going to do once the season is over. I'll be going through Lost withdrawal. To quote Hurley Lost is "only like the best show ever"!

#99. Posted by: Jenna at May 3, 2007 2:55 PM

Then again, if it was really purgatory would they be leading us in that direction? Doubt it. I think the writers are reading Macs blog and toying with us!

#100. Posted by: R at May 3, 2007 2:56 PM

I know what Rousseau will use the explosives for > > Everything else Locke didn't blow up!

WWRBU - What Will Rousseau Blow Up

#101. Posted by: BunnyLover at May 3, 2007 2:59 PM

I was wondering if there is some connection between the writters or producers of lost and Deadwood. Seems like 3 of the leading ladies from deadwood have all played parts on lost, Cassidy (Sawyers long con), Rachel (Juliets sister), and Colleen Picket (Shot by Sun). I guess this has nothing to do with this weeks episode, but it has been eating at me.

#102. Posted by: MikeC1976 at May 3, 2007 3:01 PM

It's very doubtful they're in hell or whatever. Alpert has gone back and forth from the island and as far we know Juliet, for example, didn't "die" unless when they drugged her. I can't explain the plane crash, though a setup seems plausible but kidnapping Cooper and making him think he's dead seems easily done. As othes have noted that line "the paramedic smiled at me" I think, reveals the deal. What do you guys think?

#103. Posted by: JR at May 3, 2007 3:03 PM

Im sorry if someone said this, but the whole nomadic game the others are playing is because of Locke. When Locke confronted Ben he told him he was cheating, that he doesn't know the island, and thats why he was still sick. So they packed up and left Otherville to return to there roots. Now what do you know Ben is recovering. I still have to believe there is more to this. I'm still not sold on the purgatory thing either. I would have to think they kidnapped Cooper and what did they do with Juliet? kill her to bring her to the island, how did Richard (assuming) and Ethan travel between the island and the rest of the world or even communicate?

#104. Posted by: J at May 3, 2007 3:04 PM

@Jon/59 go to spoilerslost*blogspot*com
(replace the * with .) to see the trailer, it's the first thing on the page, so you don't have to see the other spoilers if you don't want.

My theory, the very alst scene of the series will find Hurley waking up on the plane, still at the gate in Sydney. He starts screaming about how the plane is gonna crash, gets into a fist fight with Sawyer, and they get escorted off the flight (with several others following spooked by his crash rants). John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" plays in the airport, and as they continue to argue the plane explodes on take off...oh wait...

I thought maybe Richard was trying to feed rebellion against Ben, but it's more likely they were playing "good cop/bad cop" with Locke. For as insightful as he is at times, Locke is still as gullible as ever!

PS On a side note, the site ref'd above pointed out that the file on Sawyer Locke was given, it's in French. Huh?

#105. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 3, 2007 3:05 PM

Something we may have missed here.

The relationship of the Losties and their parents and how the writers have taken great care to weave their status into the backstories.

Locke - Parent now dead. Birth Mom unknown.
Jack - Paternal parent dead. Mom presumed living.
Kate - Step-Paternal parent dead. Mom living.
Sawyer - Both parents dead.
Jin - True parents somewhat unknown. Maternal = Ho, Paternal unknown.
Sun - Paternal = Gangsta.
Charlie - unknown.
Sayid - unknown.
Hurley - Maternal parent presumed living. Uncle dead.
Juliet - Parental status unknown, presumed dead. Sister presumed alive.
Ben - Born on the Island? Wheres the parents?

----------Spoiler---------------------
Rousseau is left over from the Dharma initiative, hence the boat of Scientists, and has been an ally to the Others, but doesn't like to be manipulated by Ben, much like Juliet.

She set up Ben's infiltration into the Losties Camp with the whole caught in the net thing, in return for assistance in finding her daughter. Ben didn't expect the arrow through the shoulder though. Rousseau has now discovered that Alex is living with the Others, and she has been played by Ben. PO'd Rousseau + Dynamite = Bad times ahead for Ben, no matter where the campsite is. This is why the Others now have to move around a bit. Ben knows Rousseau is planning some serious damage for his band of Others. Boom! Who lives? Who dies? Seasons end.

#106. Posted by: Neal Mindflood at May 3, 2007 3:07 PM

@102 MikeC1976 said:

>I was wondering if there is some connection between the writters or producers of lost and Deadwood. ... I guess this has nothing to do with this weeks episode, but it has been eating at me.

I think the only connection is that the abrupt end of "Deadwood" released a bevy of talented actors and actresses back into the free pool, where various productions snapped them up - See for instance Powers Booth's current gig on "24".

#107. Posted by: Cecil Rose at May 3, 2007 3:08 PM

This is a bit of an aside, but it is worth commenting on. Naomi claimed that she was on a search mission, for Desmond. Why in the world would she be looking for anything in the middle of the ocean in the middle of the night? How did the island "appear" to her in the pitch black of mid-ocean?

#108. Posted by: Mehdron at May 3, 2007 3:09 PM

MAC - Awesome Recap to an AWESOME episode.

Last night's ep was so good it started a fight between my girlfriend and me. She kept going on and on and on about how they where all dead and the island was purgatory. I tried to reason with her that it wasn't purgatory. She tried using Cooper's statements as the answers. I explained (and I hope you all agree) that Cooper assumed he was dead because a) the last thing he remembered was a bad car accident b) he saw his son who was confirmed being on flight 815 which crashed with no survivors. Cooper thought he was in hell. @Mac: that would explain why he was so talky with Sawyer. He figured that if he's already dead that confirming the facts can't hurt. He thinks he's already dead and that they can't kill him for what he's done. Woo boy - wrong on both counts there Cooper con man.

IMHO last nights ep was the best this season, or at least in the top 5. Locke is proving to be as shrewd and manipulative as Ben, just without the evil streak.

I'm a huge fan of the show and I've followed it since season one. I saw the connection between Cooper, Sawyer, and Locke coming but I couldn't imagine how they were going to have the characters become aware of their connection. Just goes to show how badass the writers and creators of the show are. It should also provide proof that they've been working from a 'Long Term' outline for the show. Hell, these three character's connections have been brewing since season one.

I'm curious as hell about what secret Jack and Juliet arre sharing. It probably won't come out til the season finale.

Apologies if I rehashed any topics already covered by previous posts - just haven't had the time to read all 96 at the time of this writing.

#109. Posted by: Mr. Grimm at May 3, 2007 3:21 PM

When Flight 815 left Sydney, it would be bearing NE. The pilot said the problem occurred near Fiji, mid-Pacific Ocean, which is consistent with the flight plan.
Naomi says the 815 wreckage was found near Bali.
If true, then flight 815 left Sydney heading NW, in the wrong direction.
The geographic reference points for the crash sites are off by thousands of miles.
Locke does Ben a favor by blowing up the sub, and within a day or so Locke is rewarded by having Cooper transported from Florida to mid-Pacific Ocean? Ben says he doesn't know how Cooper got to the island other than Locke brought him there.
The transportation element can only be viewed as supernatural/teleportation.

#110. Posted by: welh at May 3, 2007 3:22 PM

What about the preview of Roger Workman?

Sawyer showed Kate his letter and he seemed to have pulled it out of his pocket before so maybe he just always keeps it with him. It would be embarrassing to explain if it was found on your pile of porn.

Ben is playing Locke hard. He sent Paolo, Jr. to give him the file with a 'we don't like Ben' sob story. (Were they carrying all the files around with them?) Then he lets Locke see him put the recorder in the top drawer. (Who was carrying a chest of drawers through the jungle?) Then tells him to kill Cooper and carry his body back to where ever. Locke is a follower and always will be. He thinks he is tricking Ben but he is doing exactly what Ben wants.
Ben even lets his plans to invade the beach 'slip' in order for Locke to steal the recorder. I think this is so that he can discredit Juliet because he doesn't trust her to stay on his side.

Could Cooper have been rearended by a Miami Metro bus? It worked for Juliet!

And how come when someone finally asks a question (Sayid questions Naomi's story) she gets all scrunchy? Maybe that's why no one asks any questions!

#111. Posted by: PiecesofArzt at May 3, 2007 3:27 PM

Just to clear up some things - I'm not saying everyone on the island is "dead," just the 815 plane crash losties. Ben's group/Dharma, etc., somehone found this extraordinary place/time and simply had to do research there. Then they find out about the power of the island and have to keep it a secret from the outside world.
Okay, this brings up another question. Can purgatory be multiple places because not everyone that has died on this planet winds up on the island?
So, I've just negated my own therory that the island = purgatory.
I am totally losing my mind...
God I love this show...

#112. Posted by: BunnyLover at May 3, 2007 3:34 PM

My apologies about the spoilers I posted. I certainly never intended to offend. I was just excited and wanted to share with my Lost buddies. :)

#113. Posted by: hookedonlost at May 3, 2007 3:34 PM

So, if this is 'sposed to be purgatory and/or hell, etc....

How is it that Ben was *born* there? That sort of falls outside of the normal understanding of either of those places. And even if, as was suggested, that Ben is himself satan/the devil, it still wouldn't allow for his *birth* into either of those places. (And yea, why would he be lugging around all those books?)

Another line that caught my attention was the interchange between Sawyer and Locke... that was something like "So, were you really crippled?" to which Locke replies "Not anymore..."

Could this be some allusion toward a past-tense/future-tense time-pendulum idea that has been theorized about, especially after Desmond's back-to-the-future flashes? Maybe Sawyer's rmeoval of Cooper from the picture will ensure Locke's opportunity to live with both kidneys, and without free-fall in the future.

#114. Posted by: JMilton at May 3, 2007 3:39 PM

I think the "secret" between Jack and Juliet it probably pretty simple: they know you can't get off the island. The sub was the only way; the sub is gone; the "tree girl" is only giving them false hope.

My two cents...

#115. Posted by: Phil at May 3, 2007 3:39 PM

So, if this is s'posed to be purgatory and/or hell, etc....

Another line that caught my attention was the interchange between Sawyer and Locke... that was something like "So, were you really crippled?" to which Locke replies "Not anymore..."

#116. Posted by: JMilton at May 3, 2007 3:39 PM

Also - if this is hell/purgatory, the producers have done a good job introducing characters to the island. Everyone we've seen come to the island might have died to get there: the plane crash; Rousseau's shipwreck; Desmond's shipwreck; Juliet was "drugged". Am I missing anyone (other than the Others, of course)?

#117. Posted by: Phil at May 3, 2007 3:44 PM

has anyone considered the possibility that Kate might be pregnant? when Julliet was recording her message to Ben on the black tap recorder, she mentioned that "i'll have information on Austin soon"

#118. Posted by: Mz at May 3, 2007 3:58 PM

don't know if this has been said, in the quick flashes of next week there is also a sign that says "Roger: Work Man"

Any thoughts on what that means??

#119. Posted by: Brian at May 3, 2007 3:59 PM

New poster here... Mac, I have enjoyed your blog since the beginning.

I loved the scene when Rousseau nonchalantly walks in on Locke to fetch some dynamite. Lockeâ€™s response is equally nonchalant. Very few things rankle these two characters.

My favorite literary technique is called Chekhov's gun. According to Anton Chekhov "If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there." In other words we will surely see a big olâ€™ explosion before the end of the seasonâ€¦

#120. Posted by: chg7 at May 3, 2007 4:04 PM

"Roger Work Man" was embroidered on someone's shirt...someone refresh our memories, please! Mac?

#121. Posted by: JoePike at May 3, 2007 4:05 PM

From my last week's post:
Pregnant women who die can come to term in hell; women in hell cannot come to term because you cannot "new" life in that realm. Ben's fixation on fertilization where it does not occur naturally is a means of creating Life so he and his true followers can leave Hell (for other evil purposes).
If Ben needed women to experiment on, he could kidnap any number in the real world and bring them to the island. So there has to be a problem with that easy solution: you need to die to be rematerialized on the island. If you are dead, no one would be looking for you. You come to the island in a physicial form so you can feel pain, suffering, memories, loss, ect. The island also gets a "copy" of one's memories as a program towards penance, redemption, or possibly leaving the island (why would anyone know Sawyer killed a man a day before he left Australia? he was not arrested or suspected in the crime; it was only in his memory.)
When someone dies on the island, they leave hell for another portion of the afterlife. My theory is that Ben is seeking a way to create new life to invade the Real World.

#122. Posted by: welh at May 3, 2007 4:06 PM

Okay, power was out last night, had to d/l from a torrent site to watch it. interesting that the wreckage was found off of Bali. That certainly is NW of Sydney and is east of Java. While the tsunami did not have any major effects on Bali, I am sure it was at least noticed there. Is the island near Bali? if so, then the tsunami could play a role in the story line. If they are in the Pacific, not so much. Did the EMP the Portuguese guys found show on a map? If so, any chance we can see where in the world it was? That's all for now. GRAA, mac.

#123. Posted by: onelostdude at May 3, 2007 4:09 PM

Roger Work Man was the dude in the VW bus Hurley found.

Hey, did anyone notice that Claire is pregnant? I mean, are you kidding me w/ some of these dated posts?

#124. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 3, 2007 4:10 PM

I like the tsunami theory - timeline seems correct. I will be disappointed, however, if the freighter lands on the island as a result - the safest place to be in the event of a tsunami is out at sea, on a ship, where the wave just passes underneath. Tsunamis only do damage in shallow water near the beach. So if the island is in the path, it might get hit. Indian vs. pacific ocean issue -- they are close, and we don't really know where the island is.

#125. Posted by: JT at May 3, 2007 4:13 PM

@117 Phil - How about Tree Girl. She may have died during the jump from the helo. Oh, and how about Eko's brother and their plane crash. We saw him "alive" again too.

Another point - all the people that have died on the island resolved (or conceded to) their conflicts before they died. Whether they were "good" or "bad" people. Eko = was sorry for all the people he killed, but did not except the blame so BOOM - squashed by Smokey. Boone = Got over Shannon? (Can't quite remember that one) so BOOM - squashed by plane. Shannon = falls in love - BOOM shot by Ana. Ana = fessed up to killing - BOOM shot by Michael. Libby = can't remember - BOOM shot by Michael. Ethan = doesn't count - he's an Other. Bad Daddy Locke = doesn't care - BOOM killed by Sawyer/Locke. I know this is not complete, but just thought I'd point it out. Thanks... and BOOM!

#126. Posted by: BunnyLover at May 3, 2007 4:13 PM

Anyone notice the "Roger Workman" name tag in the preview for next week. Maybe we'll finally see who Roger was and how he ended up in a car in the middle of the forest.

I agree with it being easier to fake the plane wreckage with it being located in a deep trench. It would be easy to paint a plane with the same markings and sink it conveniently where no one can retrieve anything. Fill it with bodies and they won't be able to tell from a robot camera if they're the real passengers of 815 or not. More and more I'm starting to believe in the coverup theory.

#127. Posted by: Crispy Seaplanes at May 3, 2007 4:17 PM

Locke's test is to see if he will report the impending raid. That is why he was left behind. They want to know if he can be trusted.

#128. Posted by: rich at May 3, 2007 4:24 PM

Nope, not purgatory or hell. Seriously, we know that's not what's going on here.

NOBODY who was really dead has actually come back to life. Patchy was not killed by anyone, and nobody (that we saw) bothered to really make sure he was dead. He went into the sonic fence knowing it wasn't strong enough to kill him, and he faked it. He did not really die- and that's the key folks- he was never dead so didn't come back to life.

Everyone else who has truly died (Dr. Shepard Sr., Ethan, Libby, Ann Lucia, Shannon, Boone, Nikki, Paulo, Artz (the gay character...so obvious!), Eko, Goodwin) are truly dead and will remain so. They will only be seen again in flashbacks. Again, no one walking around on the island is dead, and those who really did die will remain so. Cooper will not be coming back to life and biting John's shoulder anytime soon...

#129. Posted by: JoePike at May 3, 2007 4:24 PM

As others have posted, Cooper thinks he's in hell based on the car crash and seeing what he believes is his dead son.

The Others knew Coop thought the place was hell, and wanted him to continue to think that so he would be remorseless when talking to John (and/or Sawyer). That's why they shut him up when he asked John if he knew where they were. They wouldn't let him finish and slammed the closet door.

As much as I don't want it to be true, I'm in the camp that thinks Locke is being played by Ben and Alpert...manipulated to do exactly what they wanted. Ben wouldn't have been playing Juliet's tape knowing Locke was coming and was going to hear it (and see where it was kept). Ben is trying to create trouble for Juliet in the camp- he knew that Locke would swipe it and get it back to the beach.

So now the fun will be hearing Jack and Juliet try to weasel their way out of the trouble Juliet's tape is going to cause when Sawyer plays it for everyone.

One big reason I'm looking forward to next week's ep is I LOVE it when the full cast interacts with each other. Looks like most of the Lostie's will be seen and heard from.

And Sayid was not digging up someone's grave. Can't wait to see what he was about to find at some point in the future.

#130. Posted by: JoePike at May 3, 2007 4:26 PM

BTW, Great review Mac. You had some excellent lines in there as usual. YATKOALER!

Eko's bro wasn't really walking around...he didn't come back to life. I think we all have agreed that he was Smokey.

And Smokey was NOT Cooper in this ep.

#131. Posted by: JoePike at May 3, 2007 4:32 PM

@Zeppo #39 I was thinking the same thing: Kate mentions communicating off the island with the Satphone and then Jules wants to share the secret. The secret MUST have something to do with the nature of their isolation on the island. I don't think it's about the possibility of Kate being pregnant - not big enough.

@Bunnylover #64 Why do you think Desmond could still be rescued? If it is true that the 815 survivors are really dead and can't be rescued, wouldn't it also be true that Desmond came to the island by dying in the storm during his sailboat rescue?

NOT that I necessarily believe they're all dead. Not sure what is going on...

#132. Posted by: Kristine at May 3, 2007 4:34 PM

My second-to-last note on Sayid digging is....did anyone notice a completely mis-placed looking blade-o-grass (looked more like a reddish twizzler) right where he was digging? It looked so out of place that I starting thinking it may be a breathing tube of sorts...coming from the grave!!!!!

My last note on Sayid is that I hope his digging will be mischevious, but he pro'ly had to take a mean plantain-induced dump!

#133. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 3, 2007 4:39 PM

Anyone else thinking that Sawyer will now drop that name and go by "James"?

And how long will it be before Naomi bellies up to a bowl of Dharma Flakes and muses "Hmmm... that's the same outfit that attempted the Oceanic 815 salvage".

@100:R - I agree that since the writers are leading us in the direction of Purgatory, there will likely be another explanation. But damn... a lot of it seems to fit....

#134. Posted by: Buck41 at May 3, 2007 4:39 PM

FenwayBen- Thanks for the link to the preview for next week. Even though you are a Red Sox fan. Go Yanks!

#135. Posted by: Jon is FOUND at May 3, 2007 4:39 PM

When Sayid was trying out the satphone the display showed the signal originating in California. You can see concentric circles with the center right over CA.
Anyone else see this?

#136. Posted by: Len at May 3, 2007 4:40 PM

Hello! It's been a while. Thanks once again for an engaging and hilarious recap, Mac. My favorite part of the epi was when Sawyer said to Cooper, "Well how 'bout that, my name's Sawyer too." The actor did a fab job...as though his whole wind was just knocked out of him. As to your question, Mac, I did see it coming, and I did put it together long ago that Cooper was the original Sawyer. I don't have as good a memory as you, and I sure don't watch and re-watch (perhaps I should!), so I don't remember what part/s indicated such, but I know it was something he said, perhaps to Locke at one time. I'm really disappointed in Jack. I'd always had a soft spot for him, no matter what a weenie he could be, but his arrogance is wearing thin. Does anyone think it's weird that the Paulikki scenario just...ended? Poor Kate; she doesn't know where she belongs anymore, does she. Although, once she, and everyone, discovers she's pregnant with Sawyer's love child, it will be interesting to see Jack's reaction to her.... Hasta la vista.

#137. Posted by: silkyway at May 3, 2007 4:52 PM

@132 Kristine - I think because Desmond's been in previous contact with Penny (is caught in some sort of time loop) and that's how she knew to look for the "anomaly" to pinpoint a search area.
Quite frankly, I don't know anymore - the more I think about the whole thing the more confused I get...

#138. Posted by: BunnyLover at May 3, 2007 4:54 PM

NOT that I necessarily believe they're all dead. Not sure what is going on...

#139. Posted by: Kristine at May 3, 2007 5:00 PM

Hey Mac! Excellent episode as well as an excellent review. And because you're such an excellent blogger, well, I'm gonna answer YOUR questions!

1st, Season 3 seems to reference a lot of Season 1. So...to me, the Sawyer/Anthony Cooper connection was just as readable as the Jack/Claire connection.

How can the Others possibly have a file on the Losties? Remember Claire's psyhic,Richard Malkin from Season 1 and then again in Season 2 with Mr. Eko? I truly believe that Malkin had a connection with Dharma then continued it with Ben's group. I believe he is the one that develops the files of the Losties. Remember the scene between Eko-the-priest and Malkin? Eko confronts Malkin about his daughters little miracle. Malkins response was "..I gather intellence on people and use it against them.." (or something to that effect). Besides who else but a psyhic would know the Losties deepest undetected secrets?

And the Jack and Juliet (I'm so upset with his whupped-azz) crap...well, do you recall Ben's snotty remark Colleen about a boat? "... and Colleen, I want that boat" Both Jack & Juliet are fully aware that there's a boat on the island (somewhere), the sub is gone, communications is out and there's a big division among the Others. Soo...what's up with Jack? I'm sure he has a plan. And from past experiences, he's not willing to share it with the often enept Losties - atleast not yet. Next week maybe?? lol

I DO LOVE the newly formed friends of Desmond, Charlie, Jin and Hurley. To be honest, if I was stuck on the island, I'd love to hang with them!

Now that Sawyer's released his pain I hope he's not knocking on deaths door 'cause I hear there's gonna be quite a few by the end of the season.

Loved this episode!

#140. Posted by: amelia at May 3, 2007 5:14 PM

Hello to all & NRA ... Nice Review (Again!) ..., Mac :-).

I was wondering why on earth Ben and The Others need Locke to kill his own dad. Are they afraid of doing the killing themselves (and consequently not leave purgatory for heaven ;) -ghe ghe)? No, I think not. The Others have killed before, with little regrets. I don't see why this would be different now.

The Others have gone out of their way to find Locke's dad and bring him to The Island. What can possibly be gained from the confrontation between Locke and this weasel-man with the same DNA? Do they want to see what the effect of the killing by Locke will be? Do they want to see whether or not The Island will take back the energy it has put into Locke? If the show is about coming to terms with your past, wouldn't it be the most obvious thing for Locke to just kill his dad, and finally stand up to this mean man for once and for all? (mean people suck!)

I think that John Locke tricking Sawyer (James) into killing his dad is more despiccable (sp?) than actually killing his dad himself. It's selfish and egoistic and me thinks Locke will have to pay for this deed. John will have to live with the fact that he is indeed a coward. He faced his demons but didn't stand up to them (again!). He will never be able to show his father what he is made off (tough cookie dough?) and make his way back to the 'real' (off-island) world. Now that his dad is dead, the only way of coming to peace with his past is gone. Maybe this is what the others wanted all along. There is no redemption for John Locke now. He is truly Lost.

Well, I don't know. It's late and I will shut up now.

Greetings from the Netherlands,
r-Yawn.

#141. Posted by: r-Yawn at May 3, 2007 5:14 PM

Sayid is obsessed with that power cable. Maybe he was digging with it having to do with that. Probably way off, but could be it.

#142. Posted by: Jon is FOUND at May 3, 2007 5:20 PM

In response to the posts regarding the preview for next week where you see a quick flash of a "sign that says Roger Work Man". It's not a sign - it's the tag on his cover-alls. Hmmmmm - where have we seen Roger Work Man coveralls before ? ? ? ? Oh -yeah - The dead guy in the minibus in Tricia Tanaka is Dead. He will be featured in next weeks ep.

*******SPOILER ALERT***********

Next weeks ep is Ben-centric. We will see Ben growing up on the island and how Dharma came to be on the island and why. This is general info found on the TV Guide site. Additional spoiler info speculates that Roger Work Man is actually Ben's daddy.

#143. Posted by: Mr. Grimm at May 3, 2007 5:26 PM

The "coward" theme:
Desmond was called a coward several times for failing to commit to relationships;
Sun was going to leave Jin because chickened out like a coward;
Locke being a coward for failing to confront his father;
Jack bumming around in Thailand than dealing with his marital/professional issues;
most of the cast has a "coward" issue.

#144. Posted by: welh at May 3, 2007 5:31 PM

Original Viewer. Long time reader (a fabulous read every Thursday!) A first time poster.

Could Naomi be an Other? Another plant by Benry? Neither Jack, nor Juliet seemed phased by the notion of a Sat. phone or a rescue team...

#145. Posted by: PClovesfrance at May 3, 2007 5:39 PM

When Juliet says "we should tell her" to Jack, and he says "not now" or whatever, what were they talking about?I wonder if they were talking about the raid on the women or is it possible that they know Kate is also pregnant? Seems to me why have a "raid" to catch little pregnant Sun and go home.

#146. Posted by: brandon at May 3, 2007 5:50 PM

First time poster

#83 RedNeckMan - Spoilers are part of the blog and don't hurt anything (just this girl's opinion). I think it's great to know little things like Nikki is to appear again, etc. I mean, what is the harm, ya know? geeze ...

#89RedNeckMan - surely you mean to say for "frisking" her daughter. The alternative is not nice. Let's keep the blog clean.

#147. Posted by: Babygirl at May 3, 2007 5:58 PM

Just a couple of things...

@ Jmilton # 116.

I took Locke's answer to mean that he is no longer crippled by his demented father.

Flashbacks. I've heard so many people complain about the dang flashbacks. My opinion is that after last nights episode, NO ONE would have even cared about Sawyer, Locke or Cooper if they hadn't seen their flashbacks. I totally felt Sawyers life long pain just as I did for Locke in "The Man from Tallahassee". I even shed a few tears. So from now on, he's only known to me as James Ford.

Flight 815 bodies found. I read in Lostpedia that there were 347 people on board. There were maybe a total of 70 Losties and Tallies. I don't recall Naomi mentioning they recovered the bodies.

While Locke was in Ben's tent they were discussing Ben's accelerated recovery and he says to Locke "....i can't wait to show you what the island can do. Unfortunately, you're not ready, John." Locke insists that he is ready but Ben informs him that he needs to let go of his father. Then says "..why do you think you brought him here?" Locke questions him about the magic box of course but Ben corrects him by saying "The box is a metaphor, John." I'm wondering what Ben meant when he said "Why do YOU think you brought him here?"...as though he had nothing to do with it.

#148. Posted by: amelia at May 3, 2007 6:10 PM

@Mr. Grimm - Next weeks ep is Ben-centric. We will see Ben growing up on the island and how Dharma came to be on the island and why. This is general info found on the TV Guide site. Additional spoiler info speculates that Roger Work Man is actually Ben's daddy.

I don't consider this as a "spoiler" and I appreciate that you shared it with everyone. It gives us something to look forwad to.

#149. Posted by: harmony at May 3, 2007 6:10 PM

@ babygirl #147- How can you post that people can say whatever they want on this board and then call someone out on what they say? I enjoy everyone's ideas, comments, speculations, etc. and want everyone to feel free to post as they wish.

#150. Posted by: Kyle at May 3, 2007 6:27 PM

That was a messed up episode! It rocked!

Does this make Locke the star of the sequel - Undercover Other Brother? Or as Desmond would say, "Undercover Other, Brutha..."

Best line in the ep: "So now that you're back from your 'Blow-up-everything-that could-get-us-off-this-island' tour..."

#151. Posted by: Connie at May 3, 2007 6:39 PM

Something to think about:

1. Cooper says he used Anthony Cooper as a name for con jobs. What is his real name?

2. Cooper also said "...I didn't raise no dummies." That's plural.

3. Sun conceived on day 37 and that was after Jin learned she spoke English. He wasn't speaking to her at that time.

4. How did Danielle get out from behind the security fence?

For a spoiler, check out the wall art in Widmore's office when Desmond was asking to marry Penny. It's in this seasons "Flashes Before Your Eyes" and then look at the coming previews that were shown last night.

Hope this spoiler method doesn't offend anyone.

#152. Posted by: peb at May 3, 2007 6:46 PM

@Harmony #149

Thanks ! ! !

#153. Posted by: Mr. Grimm at May 3, 2007 6:47 PM

Re:134
Anyone else thinking that Sawyer will now drop that name and go by "James"?

Yes, I think he'll drop 'Sawyer'. Good call!

And how long will it be before Naomi bellies up to a bowl of Dharma Flakes and muses "Hmmm... that's the same outfit that attempted the Oceanic 815 salvage".

Great theory! Love it.

#154. Posted by: JoePike at May 3, 2007 6:57 PM

WOW, great episode. we're learning... even though we all, everybody knew that Locke's dad was probably Sawyer's target also.

"we're gonna need a bigger boat"

#155. Posted by: thinng at May 3, 2007 7:20 PM

@r-Yawn #141

I totally agree about Locke being a coward. He used to be my favorite character, but his wimping out and tricking Sawyer into doing his dirty work has made me lose respect for him. I just hope that James can find peace now.
Best episode yet!

#156. Posted by: mrs dobalena at May 3, 2007 7:52 PM

Just wondering why Locke doesn't cut off Cooper's head and carry that back instead of the whole rotting corpse? He's gonna trek 10 miles thru the jungle just to have Ben say, "When I said to bring his dead body back, I meant it METAPHORICALLY." Love those "duh" moments.

#157. Posted by: hurling at May 3, 2007 7:53 PM

@ Babygirl/#147: Thanks 'first time poster'. F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F...which of course stands for fondle. I'M DONE!

#158. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 3, 2007 8:00 PM

@ 152

I also thought I heard Cooper say "dummies". So who's the other sibling, it's got to be someone else we already know...

And for Cooper to actually be in hell he would've had to wake up at "Rempart general" right smack in the middle of an "Emergency" rerun.

GRAA Mac

#159. Posted by: Prosecutor67 at May 3, 2007 8:20 PM

Did anyone pick up on Ben's line to Locke: "Don't tell me what I can't do!" I'm sure that's the exact line Locke was screaming in that episode from (I think) season 1 where we first learn he was wheel-chair bound before he came to the island.

Do you think Ben knows about that exhange between Locke and the adventure agent guy, or is this just an easter egg by the writing team?

Cheers,

Matt

#160. Posted by: Matt Crawford at May 3, 2007 8:26 PM

I'd just like to point out something that I don't think I've read so far: when Kate tells Jack that Desmond and co. found a woman coming to rescue Des and that she carried a satellite phone with her, Jack and Juliette immiediately looked at each other with a "they've got a phone!" look.

Now if you remember last episode, Mikhail wanted to get that phone really bad too. I think this means that Jack is *definitely" plotting something with the Others, and that they truely are without proper equipement and outside-world contact.

I can't wait to see how this great season unfolds in the last remaining episodes ;)

#161. Posted by: rgr_moore at May 3, 2007 8:26 PM

Do you think Ben knows about that exhange between Locke and the adventure agent guy, or is this just an easter egg by the writing team?

Cheers,

Matt

#162. Posted by: Matt Crawford at May 3, 2007 8:27 PM

GRAA Mac --- LOL @ return to tents and avoid getting pregnant and LOL @ ill-advised affair with Rousseau.

Ok I gotta say its annoying when I'm on post 126 or so and I read "Has anyone ever thought of....." and the answer is YES..YES we thought of it 4,8,15,16,23,42 and 108 posts ago. If youre gonna post, atleast read a few first.

My fav line in this ep was Cooper to Sawyer in reference to James' Dad, "If he killed himself, Im sure he's down here somewhere. Why dont you take it up with him?"

Im realllly pissed that Sayid and Hurley didnt have the foresight to hire a lookout while playing with the Sat phone.

#163. Posted by: kilorooster at May 3, 2007 8:30 PM

hEY mAC...aS Always you rock!! Us "Canadians" love you all most as much as hockey!!! Jack maybe needs to be killed off. He is so so much an ASS!!I still believe Jack and Jules are on the same page! For anyone who forgets my great call on saying that "Patchy" was still alive, I will mention that Lockes Dad seemed to go down alittle to easy. Maybe he is not dead. Is Locke able to pick up a 220 pound man over his back like that????? Maybe this Island is the Bermuda Triangle. Wikipedia it and there is a strange relationship to Lost. In closing: It still bug me the fact that Naomi would be in a Copter my herself. Where is her partner?? The Copter crashed in the Ocean?? NO one with her?? Seems we will find out that SHE WAS NOT ALONE>>>>>>>>>Creepy indeed!!

#164. Posted by: dantheman at May 3, 2007 8:34 PM

Have not read the posts yet BUT,... why didn't the helicoter jumper chick just speak english when she heard her rescuers speaking english ? sheesh...

"we're gonna need a bigger boat"

#165. Posted by: thinng at May 3, 2007 8:35 PM

I decided to do a little research on Cooper's name as the chacters had so many philosophers' names initially (Locke, Rousseau, Hume, etc).

Wikipedia listed Anthony Cooper: Cooper, born in Dorset, suffered the death of both his parents at a young age...In October 1660, shortly after the Restoration's success, Sir Anthony was on the commission that controversially tried the Regicides (those who had participated in the trial and execution of Charles I). The commission eventually found ten surviving members guilty, and another four were posthumously convicted (their bodies were exhumed and hung publicly). One year later, he was created Baron Ashley, of Wimborne St Giles in the County of Dorset, and appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer...In 1666, he met John Locke. Cooper had come to Oxford seeking treatment for a liver infection. Cooper was impressed with Locke and persuaded him to become part of his retinue. Locke had been looking for a career and in 1667 moved into Shaftesbury's home at Exeter House in London, ostensibly as the household physician. Shaftesbury's liver infection became life-threatening. Locke coordinated the advice of several physicians and was probably instrumental in persuading Shaftesbury to undergo an operation.

Liver, kidney, sure sounds similar. Maybe the island's dead are going to be exhumed and hung posthumously---eew!!!

Also @114, so what if Ben is born on the island? (as Alex, Aaron and perhaps Carl have) A lot has been made of this in several episodes, but Juliet has noted that the important thing is place of conception not birth. I suspect that most of Othersville is not aware of this distinction and therefore continue to hope. I expect that fact to become important in the future and may become part of Juliet's demise.

Sorry for the long post. Haven't had much sleep in the past few days, I'll just browse till next week.

#166. Posted by: boharpe at May 3, 2007 8:45 PM

Yes, I did see the Sawyer/Sawyer loop coming since last Wed. nite.

There was so much comment generated by the "Issac" biblical reference in a past episode, that I wonder why no one gets the parallel even with the reversal--Ben in the role of God (bleah!), etc. Also, doesn't the so-called "black mass" invert everything from the real Christian ceremony--so perhaps Ben is portraying himself as King of evilness. He was incredibly creepy when he stood on the platform by Locke and denounced him.

I am leaning more and more toward the worm-hole/alternative universe theory.

I think crazy French lady is not so crazy--perhaps she knows that the dead or wounded do not stay that way.....UNLESS they are blown to smithereens and thus cannot heal. So she needs the dynamite. (Hope the first to go boom is Nikki.)

Thanks to all of you who keep track of the days. I'd be lost without you.

And thanks MAC because I wouldn't even be watching anymore without your explanations, humor, and reviews. I really depend on you.
Namaste

#167. Posted by: stontilam at May 3, 2007 8:58 PM

Possible theories:

1) The passengers are already dead. Haven't we already decided that this was merely a work to get Penny off the trail for Desmond?

2) Ben as Satan - I really think this one is unlikely.

Matt

#168. Posted by: Matt Crawford at May 3, 2007 9:00 PM

If you go against the actual hell theory, then the smiling EMT certainly was Ethan. He was always so smiley while practicing medicine in the losties and Jules' flashbacks.

This is admittedly in left field, but wouldnt it be wild if a high tide from the tsunami disinters Paulikki(forget Paulo, just Nikki would be fine)

#169. Posted by: kilorooster at May 3, 2007 9:16 PM

One more thing from Canada. I gazed over to the poster on my T.V. wall and came up with a great "tag" line for Lost. It comes the move...Well guess..."In a world where nothing is what it seems, you've got to look beyond THE USUAL SUSPECTS!!!!! YES VERY INTERESTING!!!

#170. Posted by: dantheman at May 3, 2007 9:25 PM

I am curious about Ben's comment re: the "magic box" being a metaphor. It made me wonder if everything happening was simply a metaphor for the ongoing problematic themes of each lostie's life. EX: Charlie's struggles with addiction may simply be a metaphor for a dependent personality, Kate's running from the federal agent may be a metaphor for her fear of facing her problems, etc. I don't pretend to have any specific theories about this, but I have pondered the possibility that either the pre-crash or post-crash life is not "real." I've wondered if the losties' memories of their pre-crash lives were "real" or metaphoric representations of their "obsessions." I have wondered if their lives were truly intertwined, or if the "characters" in these memories were "recycled." I am guessing not, since some have been confirmed to be intertwined, but can't help but shake the feeling that something is not "real-" either past or present. I'm afraid that I know nothing of string theory, so I don't have any thoughts re: parallel universe. I'm listening if anyone would like to elaborate.
Thanks!

#171. Posted by: soveryhooked at May 3, 2007 9:56 PM

Isn't the correct spelling actually Sayyid?

#172. Posted by: Andy at May 3, 2007 10:02 PM

@mac: Thanks for a great read, as always.

Iâ€™m relieved that others are also repulsed by Lockeâ€™s behavior in this episode (r-Yawn/141, mrs dobalena/156). Locke, of all people, should empathize with Sawyerâ€™s feelings of betrayal and despair. To use those feelings to his advantage because he needs Cooper dead, but doesnâ€™t want that mortal sin on his own soul, is despicable. Locke seemed to enjoy his ability to manipulate Sawyer (as he himself has been manipulated time and again). As r-Yawn said, he is truly Lost.

Sawyer, on the other hand, is displaying some newfound emotional maturity in his relationship with Kate. His patience with her surprises me. Kate appears to be using him for sex and to make Jack jealous, while Sawyer appears to have sincere feelings (ironic, considering the nature of his past relationships). Not sure where the writers are going with Kateâ€™s character regression to childish attention-seeking.

And yet another example of our Beloved Self-Absorbed Losties (BSAL shout-out to davidrh from last week): Sawyer has apparently never been told about the Black Rock! Seriously, no one bothered to chat about a 19th century slave galleon docked in the middle of the jungle??!!

@FenwayBen/105: You mentioned the â€œSawyer reportâ€ was in French. The site you referenced has a screencap on their easter-egg page where someone provides a translation under the comments section. Looks like a French police report. Will this incident appear in an upcoming flashback? Very interesting.

And one last comment: Rousseau rocks! Not only is she creepy, vague, intriguing, and bizarre, but she also provides great comic relief! (Donâ€™t mind me; Iâ€™m just stopping by for some dynamite. Iâ€™ll be out of your way in just a minute.)

#173. Posted by: Clementine at May 3, 2007 10:08 PM

Last week I asked the question, what is sayid up to? We hadn't seen him since the "crisis" Juliet solved.
now we know, he's been digging a hole. Or was he burying something? Sayid is a busy guy and doesn't waste his time esp. when he thinks trouble is brewing.

If next week is Dharma flashbacks I wonder if we will see kelvin arrive at the island, in Desmond's flashback he had been there a long time. More hatch action to come!

#174. Posted by: Matt at May 3, 2007 10:14 PM

@â†’ 160. Matt Crawford

"Did anyone pick up on Ben's line to Locke: "Don't tell me what I can't do!" I'm sure that's the exact line Locke was screaming in that episode from (I think) season 1 where we first learn he was wheel-chair bound before he came to the island."

Yes, and the true origination of that line was Locke's physical therapist when he was in rehab after the fall. "Don't tell me what you can't do!"

#175. Posted by: equeyaya at May 3, 2007 10:38 PM

@106-I tried the same parent analysis, but the only consistency I found was the daddy issue and even that didn't hold true 100%. I do think that Kate's mom is presumed dead and both of Hurley's parents are alive(Cheech!)

@115Phil
I'm with you-I think Juliet explained to Jack that there is some sort of electromagnetic field around the island and no phone is going to help. I believe that Juliet may also know that there was fake footage of 815 wreckage and now Jack knows there are no rescue crews looking for them. On that note-does purgatory have an electromagnetic field around it? Not to mention, if Cooper is saying it's hell, why would any faithful Lost viewer believe that? Has anything else ever been just handed to us on a plate like that?

Lastly, does someone need to write "spoiler" just because they are presenting their own theory as truth? Unless one of the writers is posting here I don't think it's necessary (although sometimes I feel like the writers are reading this blog)

#176. Posted by: l.a. at May 3, 2007 11:01 PM

I'm not sure why so many people think the Tsunami needs to be addressed on a TV show-it's not real, that's why it's a TV show. Are you also concerned that not a single character on Desperate Housewives is in Iraq?

#177. Posted by: lost addict at May 3, 2007 11:25 PM

In regards to parents

Jack - Dad, dead; Mom, alive
Claire - Dad, see above; Mom, slightly alive
Kate - step-dad, alive; biological dad, who she thought was her step-dad, dead; mom, alive

GRAA, Mac, I love Thursdays!!!

#178. Posted by: irish76 at May 3, 2007 11:51 PM

Haven't had a chance to read all the comments, but a response to those who think Cooper is only "mostly" dead, or may come back to life: even if he returns, I'm pretty sure Smokey will finish the job.

#179. Posted by: James at May 4, 2007 12:55 AM

A thought about how we may eventually find out about Cooper's journey to the island: I think Richard may have brought him there. We already know he was out and about in the real world after Juliet's arrival (he was the one operating the camera in the park where Juliet's sister was pushing her baby on a swing, if memory serves). Alpert seems to be one of the primary Hanso/Dharma henchmen.

#180. Posted by: James at May 4, 2007 12:59 AM

GRAA - Mac.

PS - Hey there Equeyaya. Fancy seeing you here! :)

#181. Posted by: SilverMoonSparkle at May 4, 2007 1:02 AM

Re: People saying â€œDon't tell me what I can't do.â€

I have been a long-time fan of Macâ€™s reviews and read them faithfully but I never post. I thought it was interesting how many people have mentioned the â€œDonâ€™t tell me what I canâ€™t do comment.â€ I have picked up on this as a recurring theme of sorts in Lost. So far there have been 7 instances of characters making this exact statement or something very similar.

S1E4 â€œWalkaboutâ€ Locke said it at least four times.

S1E19 â€œDeus Ex Machinaâ€ Locke said: â€œNo, don't tell me what I can't do.â€

S1E20 â€œDo No Harmâ€ Jack said (to Michael/Sun): Don't tell me what I can't do.â€

S2E23 â€œExodus-Part 1â€ Mr. Eko said (to Locke): â€œDo not tell me what I canâ€™t doâ€

S3E3 â€œFurther Instructionsâ€ Charlie said (to Locke): â€œYou don't get to tell me what I can't do.â€

S3E13 â€œThe Man from Tallahasseeâ€ The physical therapist said (to Locke): â€œI don't want to hear about what you can't doâ€

S3E19 â€œThe Brigâ€ Ben said (to Locke): â€œDonâ€™t tell me what I canâ€™t do, John.â€

I am sure it has no significance but it is interesting that (with only one exception) the comment was either said by Locke or said to Locke.

Thanks again for the great reviews Mac!

#182. Posted by: Christine at May 4, 2007 1:25 AM

@Jon is FOUND, you must be pretty excited! Won't be long now till the Yankees ask you to fill in the rotation! Maybe they can send some of their pitchers to the Island and get Ben to heal them up? ;)

I'm still dying to know what Cindy's deal is...did she get kidnapped or did she take off on her own in the jungle? Did she need to be convinced to join up with the Others, or was she already one?

Ben's forcing Locke to kill his father as a sign of how badly he wants in the Book Club is right in line with him wanting Jack to WANT to perform surgery on him. And making Juliet CHOSE to stay (or else her sister would die, some choice there!).

And what did ever happen to Libby's/Desmond's boat?!?

#183. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 4, 2007 4:34 AM

182 et al: Clearly, it's time for another acronym: DTMWICD

177/lost addict: I believe the producers mentioned that a real-world event would be addressed on the show; hence, the tsunami obsession.

#184. Posted by: hurling at May 4, 2007 4:52 AM

- I told myself I wasn't going to take a side on the Jacob question, but, after watching The Brig, I think I'll jump into the fray here.

- I think Jacob is a real, tangible, touchable human-being of normal (vice supernatural) abilities. He's not deceased or "of legend". Jacob doesn't have 4 toes, isn't a true prophet, and doesn't have any unique 'healing' abilities.

- Ben is not Jacob. Ben knows Jacob. Jacob is real and Ben is part of his stable of confidants. Ben is not the General, Jacob is. Ben is a Colonel in Jacobs' army, and takes his orders accordingly.

- Jacob is a modern day cult leader like Jim Jones in Guayana, Rev Moon of Korea, Bagwan Rajneesh in Oregon or the plural marriage guy they just busted from Utah. Jacob knows the power and unique qualities the island possesses, how to use what the island offers, but mostly how to manipulate his followers and elevate him to the demagogue status he desires. Ben and a few Others know about the islands magic too. Jacob commands Jacob-oriented religion and devout followership ensues - folks are compelled to "prove themselves" by committing heinous acts they would not otherwise perform. After looking at all of those doe-eyed cultists ogling Locke in camp - I'd say most of them have spent more than a few days in the "brainwash" room on Hydra Island.

- Ben is the public face of Jacob. Look at the way Ben publicly humilated Locke when Locke wouldn't prove himself in front of Jacobs cult. The cult abandoned Locke - remember how eager they were when they thought Locke was "special" - "the one". It was all a Jacob manipulation to ensure Locke was cast out. Why? Locke is wise to the unique qualities of the island - his paralysis, his bitten hand, dragged by bad smokie to the vent, his face-to-face with good smokie where he "saw into the heart of the island". All this threatens Jacobs' rule. Ben is the man in front of the curtain - Jacob is "The Man Behind The Curtain", pulling all of the strings, rarely if ever seen by his cult, seen as need be by his Colonels, Captains and Lieutenants.

- I don't think Juliet has ever knowingly seen Jacob, but I do think she knows that Jacob is a flesh and blood person, not a diety. She was guest help for the cult fertility issue, but you know how it is with cults, the door only goes one-way. Once you are in the compound, they will never willingly open the door to let you out. That is why Juliet has been in the extreme measure mode lately; the Ben operation, the Danny shooting, her cult trial, deceiving Sun about her D.O.C., and the secret alliance with Jack in beach camp.

- The island does not cure - the doctors cure. The island heals - rapidly and freely. The island may also alter the normal aging process. Jacob, Locke and Ben all know this about the island. All of our doctors (Juliet, Ethan, etc...) know this too (Jack is just learning it though).

- Since Jacob is not the 'face' of the cult, Jacob does not have to spend all of his time on the island. He gets away frequently to manage the business of the island. The business - exploit the capabilities of the island (a place for all to go and heal - for a significant fee of course) - and ultimately for the "Religion of Jacob" to go worldwide as the one true faith. With so much at stake why not just kill the Losties? Reason - Jacob is years away from taking the island public because of little things like; infertility, these nagging little smoke creatures that like to hurt folks (not good for business) - so they need test subjects. Losties, Tailies, special kids, pregnant-types, whatever they can get will fit the bill. Why not just kill Locke? Locke is gullible, he'd be more of an asset than a threat, if they can "bring him into the fold", and he'd make one heck of a poster-child for what the island is capable of.

- So if Ben isn't Jacob, who is? I don't think it is one of the many rich corporate types that hover just out of sight, like one might suspect. The guys hiding in the corporate shadows are after the island themselves, either for profit and/or are in fear of what Jacobs little project may due to their long term bottomline and the global culture. It isn't likely that any of our distingished scientists from decades past are Jacob either, though they may have given rise to the Jacob phenomena.

- Not from the past, not just off camera. How about a Jacob that has been hiding in plain sight the entire time. There is an old-world trick, where a royal would travel or visit foreign courts as a royal underling and the royal underling would pose as the royal. The hidden royal could observe, decide and eventually act without ever having revealed themself or putting themselves in harms' way. Ben is the Colonel, but who wears Jacobs' shoes? One of Bens' Captains or Lieutenants? I cast my vote for Richard Alpert - he is Jacob, he is the puppetmaster behind the curtain and he perfectly fits the criteria outlined above.

- Look at how Alpert comes and goes from the island (recruiting Juliet, kipnapping Cooper). Look at how Alpert is always around when important things are 'apparently' being decided by Ben (get me TMFT). And recently, with "The Brig", Ben threw Locke his best "bad cop" impersonation - kill your father or you are an outcast, while Alpert simply manipulated Locke with his best "good cop" act, getting Sawyer to kill Cooper with - "John - we've never formally met - I don't like Ben either - here is Sawyers' file - read on...". Locke AGAIN has fallen for the long con. Locke said I can't kill, but in effect he did when he conspired for, solicited, and abetted the murder of Cooper, via Sawyer. Jacob(Alpert) and Ben now officially own Locke's soul.

[now read the first 5 paragraphs again, only insert the word Alpert where the word Jacob is]

#185. Posted by: DocH at May 4, 2007 5:17 AM

Oh, I completely agree. Richard Alpert is definitely a lot deeper connected than we think. He might not be Jacob, but he is another powerful figure among the others. He could possibly even be a rebelling leader against Ben, uniting some of the others to go against him, in hope of a more spiritual direction for the island and it's miracles. As it seems right now, a lot of the island's miracles are being used for somewhat "evil" purposes, or at least using evil routes to fulfill it's "purpose". As of right now, whoever is controlling the dharma initiative's strings seems to have their own selfish purposes in mind, (aka using the islands mysticisms to find a way to save his dying pregnant wife on the mainland) (just an example).
It is not out of the realm of possiblity that with a leader like Locke or Alpert, the dharma initiative could truly perform and learn about miracles, as the name originally would suggest.
Let's not forget that Richard Alpert is the birth name of RamDass, who remains one of the bigger spiritual leaders from the 60's. I do not think they chose that name randomly from a hat. With all of the truly spiritual "feel good" moments of the show, the poignant truths that the show portrays, I have to believe that there is a HUGE spiritual underlining to the show that really ties it altogether.
As far as the "Should we tell her?" I think people are taking it a bit far. She is of course talking about Kate being pregnant. It's just kind of wierd how Juliet and Jack are playing the triangle game by telling each other and holding it over Kate.
Very impressed with this blog, so much impressive detail and witty banter.

#186. Posted by: richardalpert at May 4, 2007 6:54 AM

97
I don't believe Sayid knew about the healing powers of the island while he was digging, as Hurley was coming to tell him about treegirl. He would not be digging up someone to prove out the healing powers

#187. Posted by: btly at May 4, 2007 7:54 AM

So why didn't Naomi tell the fellas in English that she wasn't alone? You would think that she might be slightly concerned about her partner, unless of course she is an Other, or working for Dharma.

What if entering 77 sent a final distress signal to Dharma and since they knew the communications were going to be destroyed, they sent a rescue mission for them (Naomi and another). This would explain coming in under the cover of night (she must have known where she was going). She also recognized Patchy, that's why she told him that she wasn't alone, and also the reason she has gone along with our Losties, but has failed to mention that she wasn't alone.

I hope this isn't true. I'd like to think that she is a possible outside-world connection to our Lost boys. I mean, it's not like the others have known about Desmond right? Or were they monitoring him when he was in the Pearl? I don't know!!! I've gone crosseyed.

#188. Posted by: ANTP? at May 4, 2007 7:56 AM

@186

Perfect- dead on with that one. WOW!

Shout out to Jiggy

#189. Posted by: Sillygirl0630 at May 4, 2007 8:01 AM

"Several of the more common fan theories have been discussed and rejected by the show's creators, the most common being that the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 are dead or in purgatory. This was specifically denied by J.J. Abrams and was also proven to be wrong by the second season's finale."

So... I don't quite get "we're all dead" thing... why?

#190. Posted by: InC at May 4, 2007 8:29 AM

Jack and Juliet's Big Secret?
"We're engaged. We've registered at the Black Rock. The reception will be at Boone's Hill. RSVP by Tuesday."

#191. Posted by: welh at May 4, 2007 9:06 AM

#185 DocH
Great post and theories, though I don't agree that Alpert is Jacob. Nor do I agree that Juliet deceived Sun about her d.o.c. Nicely done with the description of the Others as a cult though.

I don't agree that it's so despicable that Locke didn't want to do the killing of Coop himself. It may be as simple as not wanting to stoop to Coop's level by becoming a murderer. To me, it's not cowardice to not want that blood on your hands. And he knew that Sawyer already had a ton of blood on his hands, so what's one more? And maybe after reading the file he knew that this would help Sawyer to purge his demons once and for all.

The EMT couldn't have been smiley Ethan. The 'abduction' of Cooper just happened, and Ethan has been dead for a while. More likely it was Alpert or someone like him.

The secret J & J have isn't that Kate is pregnant. They have no way of knowing that for sure- Juliet hasn't collected a 'sample' from Kate yet. I'm sure it has something to do with communication and the island (as others have said) since Juliet only said "We should tell her" to Jack when Kate brought up the phone. Telling Kate she might be preggo since Sawyer has a gajillion sperm now wouldn't have made any sense in the context of that conversation.

#192. Posted by: JoePike at May 4, 2007 9:23 AM

I think the "we're all dead" thing is a head game.

And hey to you too, silvermoonsparkle! Where the heck have you been? you need to check in, dahlin'.

@185, DocH, those are some great theories and I think you are dead on!

#193. Posted by: equeyaya at May 4, 2007 9:28 AM

What Juliet wants to tell Kate?

that Locke never blew up the submarine and Locke,Julia, and Jack are the only ones who know this and it's important now because they could use the sub to get to the freighter 80 miles away

#194. Posted by: Art at May 4, 2007 9:44 AM

I like your review and I like the people on here who post really thoughful and neat messages but you might want to try to change your format like Lostpedia.com becasue it's much easier to read and more clear...

#195. Posted by: LOSTER at May 4, 2007 9:51 AM

(Again, summoning Billy Joel into the metaphorical magic box...)
We love Mac and his blog juuuust the waaaaaay they aaaaaaaaaare!

#196. Posted by: JoePike at May 4, 2007 9:53 AM

@Loster: Sure. I'll get right on that ;)

#197. Posted by: mac at May 4, 2007 9:54 AM

@195 Loster

It's funny that you posted that..I just sent a note yesterday to the Lostpedia folks asking them if they could change their format to something more similar to the Filmfodder format. :-)

#198. Posted by: petew at May 4, 2007 10:05 AM

@PeteW: I just snarfed my coffee. Hilarious!

#199. Posted by: mac at May 4, 2007 10:08 AM

I gonna say something that is going to make everyone on that Island feel soooooo stupid

Don't they know that in order to use that Sat Phone you have to dial 9 first!

Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!

#200. Posted by: Steve B at May 4, 2007 10:24 AM

@ mac: So funny. Can't believe that wasn't preceeded by 'first time poster'. I think I had a similiar exchange earlier for my dirty dirty letter of F.

#201. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 4, 2007 10:44 AM

A few posters have speculated that Alpert might have abducted Cooper. I doubt that, because Alpert was in the camp and observing when Cooper was chained to the sacrificial tower. Wouldn't Cooper have noticed (and blurted out) if he recognized Alpert?

#202. Posted by: Buck41 at May 4, 2007 10:54 AM

@185 docH:

What if Locke is actually Jacob? Has anybody postulated that thought? Think about Ben's comments to Jules about how Jacob could heal her sister. Could that namce Jacob be sort of a spiritual connotaion, just as one might say Jesus could heal someone? Ben gets better with Jacob/Locke around and he sees that his power-lock hold on his community could be threatened by a new, special, more powerful leader (similar to how the Pharisee Jews claimed to be longing and looking for a Messiah and rejected and denounced Him once he showed up). Alpert claimed or at least was told to claim that Locke was recognized as different and special and could be their new leader. Then, Ben publicly denounces Locke claiming he is not who we thought he was (i.e. he is not who we were expecting). Could Locke be the "Messiah" the Others were waiting for???

#203. Posted by: BELost at May 4, 2007 11:06 AM

Sorry if this has been said, but haven't had time to go thru all the posts.

I wonder why Locke, when he told Sawyer that he "infiltrated" the Others camp, didn't mention the submarine and whether or not he really blew it up. I would think he would tell Sawyer, unless he has his own agenda in mind.

#204. Posted by: Christina at May 4, 2007 11:27 AM

How many days has it been since Katie and Sawyer got it on in the cage? Even the earliest pregnancy test needs at least three weeks before it can give a positive result.

Of course now that Kate and Sawyer have transitioned from 'your about to die" sex to " i'll settle for second best" sex their chances of producing a little Austin Sawyer are growing exponentially.

Favorite line of the night was Locke's comment to "be careful, that's unstable" when talking to Rousseau. Was he talking to her or about her???

#205. Posted by: Maureen at May 4, 2007 11:33 AM

I think I finally have some understanding (can I say that??) as to how Penny could associate Des' location with the 'anamoly detection' by the crew she hired. What if it was not so much that they detected a magnetic anamoly as it was that the anamoly's (the magnetic polarization of the island, keeping it hidden and undetectable) sudden malfunction allowed DES to be detected, because that is who they were looking for.

Let's just assume that either in the boat or in Desmond himself, Penny placed or had placed a GPS tracking device to let her keep tabs on Des' whereabouts. She knew she could know where he was as long as she could pick up the GPS signal. Her team was funded to detect and then recover Des once a signal was discovered. Once it was, they set off on the rescue ship. Naomi noted that the island was undetectable again and only when she got close enough, could she see it. Otherwise the island and more importantly Des could not have been found, since the island was prohibiting all detection and all communication from occuring (Rousseau's tower, Des' GPS unit, the sat phone, etc). Somehow, the Others previously had a way to circumvent this distortion via Patchy's station, but now the island is completely cut off from the outside world.

#206. Posted by: BELost at May 4, 2007 11:38 AM

Re:202 BElost
"Wouldn't Cooper have noticed (and blurted out) if he recognized Alpert?"

Not necessarily...anything can happen and anyone can be there when you're in hell! Plus, he was gagged all the time. Not much opportunity to blurt out anything.

Locke isn't Jacob...it's AARON! He was giving Ben orders in utero, and now is commanding Juliet in person since she's on the beach. It's so obvious!!!
No wait, Sawyer's squished frog was Jacob! No wait, it's so obvious that Jacob is Smokey!

Sorry, had a sarcasm attack. I think it has passed. In all seriousness...Cheech = Jacob ;o)

#207. Posted by: JoePike at May 4, 2007 11:59 AM

Now that was constructive...

#208. Posted by: BELost at May 4, 2007 12:05 PM

Anybody know where Isabelle has been? Last time we saw her she seemed to have importance. It's interesting that as the Others march all over the island that we haven't seen any other key players traveling with them.

Any chance Jacob is a woman? Has it been established that Jacob is a first name, or possibly a last name?

#209. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 4, 2007 12:28 PM

@ ANTP?/188: "So why didn't Naomi tell the fellas in English that she wasn't alone?"
Because she wasn't telling them, she was telling Mikhail because they're on the same team. (In other words, "Shh! The raid's begun, pass it on!")
And speaking of Naomi, she said her last name is Dorrit (or Dorritt/Dorit/Doritt). Where's our anagram expert on this one?

@ Maureen/205: Re: "Austin Sawyer"
Actually, I was hoping IF Kate gets pregnant (IF, IF, IF!) the kid would have Saywer's last name, and his first name would be Rusty. :)

#210. Posted by: Trinity at May 4, 2007 12:32 PM

I'm convinced that Naomi is a member of the others. She spoke portuguese to "Patchy", and he is playing head games with the tailes by telling them that everyone had died in the plane crash and that they found the bodies. She stated that she "was not alone". Why say it in Portuguese when we know she speaks english. When patchy came running he was for sure looking for someone. I know hurly set the flare off but maybe that was Naomis signal. Lastly, I wonder how many search teams send 1 person in a Copter. She has not told anyone to help look for her friend she was with????????

#211. Posted by: dantheman at May 4, 2007 12:38 PM

The woman who said she was searching for Desmond claimed she was returning to the ship when the clouds parted and she saw the island but lost control and crashed. Well when she crashed, can only be a couple of minutes after she saw the island, it was pitch black so how did the clouds part and she see the island? And thoughts?

#212. Posted by: 01lordj at May 4, 2007 12:48 PM

192/Joe Pike "It may be as simple as not wanting to stoop to Coop's level by becoming a murderer. "
That doesn't work at all. In most states, if not all, hiring a contract murderer gets you a first-degree murder conviction. Legally & morally, Locke has directly, intentionally & premeditatedly caused a murder. Even Locke knows that - he just didn't have the guts to use his own hands.
Even if it turns out that Cooper, the horse, etc. are all manifestations of Smokey, hallucinations, ghosts, whatever - Locke intended to murder and caused the action to occur. Guilty.

#213. Posted by: hurling at May 4, 2007 12:52 PM

Of course now that Kate and Sawyer have transitioned from 'you're about to die" sex to " I'll settle for second best" sex . .
â†’ 205. Posted by: Maureen

Good One! Congratuations on capturing the perfect verbage to describe Kate's doe-eyed gaze at Sawyer in the opening scenes . . .

Plus an extra shoutout for being the first to use the word "exponentially"
in this weeks posts!

Education counts! (As does spellcheck.)

(Shout back at Clementine)

#214. Posted by: davidrh at May 4, 2007 1:01 PM

I have noticed that many bloggers state that The Others have killed in the past. Thinking about all the charaters that have died, none come to mind that have been killed by The Others.

Ana Lucia - Shot by Michael
Libby - Shot by Michael
Boone - Fell from cliff in the plane
Shannon - Shot by Ana Lucia
Ed Mars (The Marshal) - Jack
Ethan - Charlie
Goodwin - Ana Lucia
Cooper - James Ford
Mr Eko - Polar Bear/Smoke Monster
Dr Leslie Artz (Science Teacher) - Dynamite
Danny Pickett - Shot by Juliet
Kelvin - Desmond kills him on the rocks
Bea Klugh - Shot by Mikhail

Can someone tell me if an Other killed off a character?

#215. Posted by: Jim at May 4, 2007 1:12 PM

I still say it could very much be as simple as Locke not wanting to stoop to his con-man father's level. Sure he caused a murder, but he didn't do it himself. In his mind, he is still not a murderer.

I think Locke's main motivation was staying in good graces with the island, which Locke considers far more sacred and important than Ben or the Others. He sees the Others as a potential source of knowledge about the island, but feels he is in tune with the island above and beyond Ben and his cohorts.

The legal definition of being guilty of 1st degree murder means nothing on the island. So being an official guilty accompliss to murder doesn't matter to Locke, as he feels the island will 'respect' him more for not actually doing it. And morally, Locke feels no guilt since he knows Coop got what he truly deserved, and is convinced the 'island' will see it that way as well. So in Locke's world, having Sawyer do the deed was the perfect solution.

We can discuss all day how Locke really is guilty of murder- from our viewpoint he is. But not from his own perspective.

#216. Posted by: JoePike at May 4, 2007 1:19 PM

One "Other" has killed a lostie. Ethan killed Charlie but Jack revived him. So I don't if this would count. Goodwin attached Ana Lucia but would he have killed her is anyones guess.

#217. Posted by: micael brooks at May 4, 2007 1:19 PM

@215 Jim Said:

>Can someone tell me if an Other killed off a character?

I believe it was in "The Other 48 Days". The Tailies had begun to suspect that one of their number was an Other, and Anna Lucia decided it was one guy (I forget the name) and had him imprisoned in same the pit that the rafters were later imprisoned in.

Goodwin (The actual Other masquerading as a Tailie) snuck up at night and let the prisoner out of the pit, saying he was afraid Anna Lucia was going to kill him, then when the guy turned his back, Goodwin snapped his neck.

And of course dynamiting the raft was certainly an attempt at murder.

#218. Posted by: Cecil Rose at May 4, 2007 1:23 PM

Juliet and Mikhail are Others. Juliet killed Danny (and got branded for it), and Mikhail killed Bea (at her insistence...so I'm not convinced she's really toast yet).

We can say that it doesn't count when an Other kills another Other (say that 3 times fast) as in the above examples, but they have killed people.

Oh yes, and in Season 1 an Other (Ethan probably) came into the Losties camp from the ocean-side and killed an unknown Lostie character...what was his name? Anyone?

#219. Posted by: JoePike at May 4, 2007 1:27 PM

Can someone tell me if an Other killed off a character?

â†’ 215. Posted by: Jim at May 4, 2007 01:12 PM

Also Ethan said that if Charlie did not bring Clarie to him,he would kill one of them and the next day they found Scott or Steve dead by the water. I believe his neck had been broken.

#220. Posted by: michael at May 4, 2007 1:27 PM

Cecil,

You were right about Goodwin. See below.

He then begins to live among the tail section survivors for the initial days of their stay on the island, claiming to be a former member of the Peace Corps. After Nathan, one of the tail section survivors, is accused of being one of "them" and thrown in a pit-cage, Goodwin kills him and hides the body to throw suspicion off of himself. Later, when he and Ana Lucia are alone, Ana Lucia says that she knows Goodwin is one of the Others because when he came out of the jungle (ten minutes after the plane had crashed into the sea) his clothes were dry. Goodwin reveals that the survivors who have been abducted are "good people." He then tells Ana Lucia that Nathan was not a good person and that he was not on "the list."

And Ethan:

Having lost Claire, Ethan attempts to bring her back in "Homecoming," stating that he will kill someone new each night Claire is not returned. He does so on the first night, killing Scott Jackson on the beach. The next day, Claire offers to use herself as bait, luring Ethan out of the jungle. Locke, Jack, Kate, Sayid Jarrah and James "Sawyer" Ford proceed to run in and tackle him down. Before they are able to extract any answers from him, however, Charlie shoots him six times using a gun that Jack had dropped, killing him instantly. Charlie and Hurley later bury Ethan in "Outlaws".

#221. Posted by: Jim at May 4, 2007 1:34 PM

okay -- someone may have mentioned it but with respect to point 85 (about the difference of finding wreckage and pictures of wreckage), remember in the lagoon a few weeks back (when paulo goes diving) he sees everyone in there seats.. That could be the source of ur pics.

sorry if that is a repeat

#222. Posted by: lost at work at May 4, 2007 1:43 PM

@211: I doubt Naomi came from where she claims to have come from (Helo from an ship 80 miles offshore). I find it difficult to believe that a show that focuses on details would intentionally make so great an error regarding helos. Consider:
1. She wears the outfit of a jet pilot, complete with O2 mask. Helos don't need O2. They fly below 10K ft.
2. She claims to have lost control of the helo (instruments went wacko when she encountered the island), donned her parachute, and jumped from the helo. In the real world, you aren't bailing out of a helo from the pilot's seat unless you already have your parachute on. The helo was clearly heard and therefore easy to reason that it was at a very low altitude. Ergo, not enough time to don a parachute and bail out. Why not enough time to don a parachute? Unlike airplanes that can glide, helos are like beveled bricks. They don't glide when they start to lose control and most helos are inherently unstable to begin with. To fly one, you require three control inputs, collective pitch, rudder pedals, and cyclic control. And, change any one of those inputs and the other two inputs are immediately impacted. Any helo pilot will tell you that the best chance of survival when you have an emergency is to fly the helo through an autorotation.
3. Since helos don't glide well, if you believe she bailed out from a low flying helo over the island, I seriously doubt in the real world that the helo would have crashed as far out to sea as it supposedly did.

Having said that, maybe all the helo details are insignificant, and it really doesn't matter how she arrived on the island. At least not yet . . . Could all be just another con.

re; Cooper's arrival at the island. I guess he got away from that car accident at 70 mph without a scratch???? Or are we assuming the island healed him when arrived? If the accident was staged as a means of kidnapping him and bringing him to the Island then it isn't too far fetched to believe that those kidnapping him would brainwash him inot believing that he and Locke were dead.

#223. Posted by: DJ at May 4, 2007 1:48 PM

@219 - JoePike "Oh yes, and in Season 1 an Other (Ethan probably) came into the Losties camp from the ocean-side and killed an unknown Lostie character...what was his name? Anyone?"

That would be the infamous Steve. Oh, wait, it was Scott. Noooo Steve, yeah it was Steve. (But I think it was really Scott.) Aw heck, lets just make up an ancronym for them. How about SS (Steve Scott).

TGIF.

#224. Posted by: BunnyLover at May 4, 2007 1:59 PM

@JoePike/#216: While I agree w/you that in Locke's mind, he's kept his hands clean for the reasons that you mention, Locke's viewpoint doesn't establish the moral ground. I think that most, if not all, of the Lostaways would react w/the same repugnance that hurling & I, for example, have. Locke has been living in his own little mental world for quite a while now that increasingly has little to do w/the rest of the Lostaways because he's "on his own journey now."

#225. Posted by: AlaÃ¯s_Longthought at May 4, 2007 2:02 PM

TGIF = Toes Grow in Fours?

#226. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 4, 2007 2:04 PM

@224 see 221.

#227. Posted by: Jim at May 4, 2007 2:19 PM

First time poster,
Just some little nuggets for discussion..
Now, I have not read all posts in regards to all episodes, so forgive me if I repeat what others may have stated..
The references to Star Wars are not coincidental..Lucas lifted many ideas from Joseph Campbell.. In his book Myths to Live By, Campbell offers a brief summary of the hero's journey which he says consists of 1) separation, 2)initiation, and 3) return: A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: Fabulous forces are encountered there and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow men. (J. Campbell (1972) Myths to Live By (pp.202-03). Quintessential John Lock.
Also, maybe pushing the button every 108 minutes kept the electromagnetic field around the Island in check, I donâ€™t remember the whole discussion Kelvin and des had about it, but once the sky turned purple all communications have been shut down or jammed by the island.
Also, I think the sub submerged in the water was the only way to get off island, not on a boat,,remember des came back after jack let him go?So maybe jules was put directly into the sub after taking spiked OJ.
thanks!

#228. Posted by: Jennifer Rybacki at May 4, 2007 2:36 PM

OK, either the writers have no knowlege of geography, or Naomi is lying. The castaways were on a plane from Sydney to LA, the plane diverted towards Fiji after the radio went out (logical enough so far), and yet the "wreckage" was found off of BALI? And nobody in the outside world wondered how the plane got so far off course to begin with? They shouldn't have even been looking for the plane anywhere near Bali, so how could they have found it there? Not possible. If they'd said Fiji, or even Tahiti, I'd have bought it. But not Bali. Too far away in completely the wrong direction.

Of course, a Beechcraft made it all the way from Nigeria to the island, so what's a few thousand miles among friends?

One other thing: Naomi's comments seem to confirm a pet theory of mine, which is that this "island" isn't on Earth. There are no large, uninhabited, uncharted islands in the Pacific. The island is at very least the size of Oahu, and every island of that size was discovered and settled by the Polynesians. Since our island doesn't seem to have an indigenous Polynesian population, doesn't appear on any maps or satellite photographs, and since Desmond's boat simply wound up back where it started when he tried to sail away, this can't be Earth. What and where they are, exactly, remains a mystery.

#229. Posted by: Zeb at May 4, 2007 2:36 PM

hey, I forgot to add..Juliet was being recruited for her work with impregnating male field mice..Maybe Hurley is not fat, just pregnant?

#230. Posted by: jennyrye at May 4, 2007 2:40 PM

Can someone help me with an issue that keeps coming up? Why is it that many on this forum believe it is Smokey that takes on the shapes of all the island people that shouldn't be on the island? It stems from an apparent connection between Yemi's demands for repentance from Eko and Smokey's subsequent killing him by smashing him to Dharma bits, but I just do not think that the two are necessarily the same. From there we had Smokey transforming into everyone that defied common logic -- Jack's dead father, Kate's horse, Hurley's crazy fried, Sayid's cat, etc. And then it was Locke's dad. I am so glad that 'The Brig' seemingly put an end to speculation that Cooper was Smokey in disguise. I have always perceived Smokey as the island security system (aka Cerberus from the black light map) gone amuck, unable to be controlled any longer. Can someone help with this?

Also, any new light on some of the other crazy creatures we've seen in the past? The shark, Hurley's bird???

#231. Posted by: BELost at May 4, 2007 2:51 PM

When Sayid was trying out the satphone the display showed the signal originating in California. You can see concentric circles with the center right over CA. Does this indicate the signal is coming from or going to the area indicated on the display?
Anyone else see this?

#232. Posted by: Len at May 4, 2007 2:53 PM

@226 - RNM - You're too funny dude! Only you would come up with an alternate acronym for the most familiar and common saying on a Friday afternoon. TGIF will never mean the same to me again.

@227 - Jim - I knew you mentioned SS before, I was just trying to be funny with the SS mixup this blog refers to on occasion. Kind of an ongoing joke. You're detailed description in posting 221 was great! You even knew Scott's last name! Much less the fact is was Scott, not Steve. (He'll forever be SS to me now.) Thanks.

#233. Posted by: BunnyLover at May 4, 2007 3:02 PM

I think Sawyer will get back to camp, with the tape, (whether he plays the tape and his reaction towards it or not) I believe that it will be the cause for a huge showdown between Jack and Sawyer. The producers have said the losties will be divided into two camps, one led by Jack and the other by Sawyer...'cos...

Jack is feircely (and scarily) protective of his kidnapper. i despise the pouty, innocent, naive "oh jack" face that Juliet pulls so that dopey Jack comes to her rescue.

*Remember they were gonna build an army?! aye!! that was a good episode....*

This episode bored me. We (i mean the posters and Mac) have totally figured most of the plotlines and stuff ages ago!. Wasn't the Jack/Clare thing figured out like ages ago? Maybe the writers take our ideas?! (Just A Thought - JAT?) lol

It's becoming predictable.

haha what is the island is called Jacob. JAT!

peace out

#234. Posted by: andie at May 4, 2007 3:07 PM

Island not on this Earth? That's a new one. It doesn't appear on any maps or satellite photographs because it is 'hidden'. Some sort of cloaking anamoly or whatever makes it invisible to the outside world. (World = Earth) And who's to say it hasn't been 'invisible' for thousands of years?

(The writers that's who! The island within this show is fictional? I keep forgetting that minor fact...)

#235. Posted by: JoePike at May 4, 2007 3:17 PM

@231 BELost said:

>Can someone help me with an issue that keeps coming up? Why is it that many on this forum believe it is Smokey that takes on the shapes of all the island people that shouldn't be on the island? It stems from an apparent connection between Yemi's demands for repentance from Eko and Smokey's subsequent killing him by smashing him to Dharma bits, but I just do not think that the two are necessarily the same. From there we had Smokey transforming into everyone that defied common logic -- Jack's dead father, Kate's horse, Hurley's crazy fried, Sayid's cat, etc.
===================================
Don't forget that after Eko's confession 'Yemi' said something like "What makes you think I'm your brother?" or "You speak as if I were your brother." Then shortly thereafter 'Yemi" is gone and the smoke monster bashes Eko.

The speculation about the smoke monster began back in season two, iirc, when one of the producers, on aiirc, TheFuselage.com responded to a question about 'why haven't we seen the smoke monster lately?' with a comment that we HAD seen the smoke monster and just didn't realize it - leading to the speculation that the smoke monster could mimic the appearance of other things, which would explain the otherwise inexplicable sightings such as Late's horse - also seen by Sawyer, remember, so probably not a hallucination -, Jack's dad, etc. I don't believe the writers/producers have ever actually confirmed that any of these was so, but
it's a way to keep hoping for a rational, non-supernatural explanation of things that the writers have claimed they would give us. Of course the smoke monster him/itself is the hardest thing to explain, especialy since the writers have nixed the 'nanobot cloud' theory.

#236. Posted by: Cecil Rose at May 4, 2007 3:26 PM

@210

You want the kid's name to be Rusty Ford? Good thing we'd have to get to season 8 to see that one!

#237. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 4, 2007 3:27 PM

@DocH - I marvel at what the human mind can come up with at 5:17 in the morning. Truly, I enjoyed your #185 about as much any I've read. I usually scan the long blogs, but I read every word of this one.

@JoePike #196 - Right on!!!!! Maybe Loster should get loster.

@Maureen #205 - Favorite line of the night was Locke's comment to "be careful, that's unstable" when talking to Rousseau. Was he talking to her or about her???

Funny stuff, Maureen - I didn't give thought to the fact that that he could be talking "about" her. LOL

@dantheman #211 - She spoke portuguese to "Patchy", and he is playing head games with the tailes by telling them that everyone had died in the plane crash and that they found the bodies.

That is a good point. Let's hope we find out this season what the deal is. By the way, is your last name "Musial" and did you play baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals? Stike that - that was Stan the Man.

#219 An other kills another other - good one JoePike!

#238. Posted by: ButchM at May 4, 2007 3:46 PM

@236: Thanks Cecil, I had not heard that it came from the producers. Still I don't know if I buy into the theory that Smokey = hologram people. I guess I need more to go on than our interpretive speculations on what the producers might have meant... But thanks for your reply.

#239. Posted by: BELost at May 4, 2007 3:47 PM

I am going to have to go with BELost regarding smokey...

I REALLY want to be wrong about thinking Smokey can't shape-shift because it irks me every time I read a comment suggesting that Smokey can take the form of, well, anything.

Have we EVER seen Smokey turn into or out of a person? If so, when? And I am not talking about when we saw flashes within the smoke. Did the producers ever confirm that this happened and I just missed it?

#240. Posted by: illogic at May 4, 2007 3:53 PM

Followup to my 236 post: Ben tells Locke that he brought his father to the island just by wishing it to be so, by whatever mechanism for whatever reason. If you buy that the island does have some power to bring certain people to the island, doesn't it seem more likely that the island is bringing these people to itself and those that wish it so, rather than some smoke-monster security system is transforming itself into walking talking people at times and into a raging ravaging havoc-wreaking smokey cloud at other times?

#241. Posted by: BELost at May 4, 2007 3:54 PM

also...how did naomi 'eject' from a helicopter? wouldnt she just get sucked into the blades? ....seriously, i dont know

#242. Posted by: illogic at May 4, 2007 3:58 PM

@241/BeLOST That certainly is a possibility, we only found out about the MMB (Metaphorical Magic Box) this season, and still don't know what it can do, if anything at all. Cooper's description opens the possibility that he was drugged by an IV and brought to the Island the same way Juliet was. The MMB could still just be a con by Ben, or it could be real. Telling Michael a certain heading would get him free from the island could have been true, or a con. We'll see if he comes round the corner in the season finale the way Desmond did!

I thought of Ethan and his creepy grin, too, when Coop said the paramedic smiled at him, but Ethan's whereabouts are pretty much spoken for after the crash.

UNLESS, the MMB is some kind of portal (like, say a Stargate(tm)) that allows people to simultaneously transfer to and from the island. The submarine is just a decoy? Just a thought, nothing to back it up with per se.

One problem is we have no idea how long TCMFKAS (The Con Man Formerly Known As Sawyer) was bound and gagged by the Others...only that it happened sometime after the "wreckage" of flight 815 was found.

But back to topic. Maybe the island does bring people, animals, ghosts to the island that certain people wish for. Or maybe the Others bring the real things and Smokey creates the illusion of the not real. All speculation for now!

#243. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 4, 2007 4:06 PM

Can the "special" people on the island be the one's who don't want to leave it?
Ex., Locke, Walt, Ben, Rose.

#244. Posted by: welh at May 4, 2007 4:13 PM

@240 illogic Said:

>Have we EVER seen Smokey turn into or out of a person? If so, when?

So far as I know, no. The close conjunction of the 'Yemi'/Eko bashing is as close in time as we've ever seen a speculative Smoke Monster figure and an actual appearance of the Smoke Monster. If that *was* the SM in disguise, then we know the SM can mimic speech as well as appearance.

>Did the producers ever confirm that this happened and I just missed it?

Again as far as I know, no. As far as I know, fan speculation, just like the "Locke's Dad = Sawyer's nemesis" speculation was right up until this week.

You may be able to draw some inference from the fact that the producers/writers have NOT said that this speculation was wrong, unlike the nanobot speculation, which they did weigh in on.

#245. Posted by: Cecil Rose at May 4, 2007 4:23 PM

Was I on drugs or did I see Kelvin in the "other" audience watching to see whether Locke would kill his dad? I don't want to start another ANTP but I could have sworn that was him.

#246. Posted by: T at May 4, 2007 4:42 PM

Hey guys -- Big news on the "Lost" front. Looks like season 5 will be the final one.

More here:
http://tinyurl.com/25qsuy

#247. Posted by: mac at May 4, 2007 5:02 PM

Regarding Jack and Juliet's response to Kate spilling the proverbial beans about the sat phone...

I judged their reaction to the info to be one of impending danger. If it were simply that there is no communication off of the island, what would be the need for alarm? Sayid would simply try the phone and communication would fail. I believe that they were instead reacting to the info of Naomi and the fact that she had advanced technology.

Think about it for a minute. Dharma had continued to drop supplies on the island (in spite of the fact that there is no known Dharma presence on the island any longer - we know this but they don't). If Dharma is monitoring the island it would have come from three places that we are aware of: 1) the Swan with the input of the numbers, 2) The flame, and 3) the transmission tower. With the destruciton of the Flame, communication from all three have been either stopped or altered.

Any one - or even two of the three could be easily explained by a hostile uprising and Dharma would be ok with continuing the resupply drops. But once all three are compromised...his should raise a red flag to the outside Dharma observers.

With communication distrupted, Dharma would want to visit the island to investigate. My theory is that Ben knows this and is expecting such a visit. (Thus the sudden exodus from Bensylvania.) Juliet is privey to this knowledge and has shared it with Jack. Hence the alarm when they hear about a visitor dropping from the sky. Dharma is here!

Thats my theory and I'm sticking to it - until next Weds., when I'm completely proven wrong.

#248. Posted by: bcre8ve at May 4, 2007 5:19 PM

I have been a long-time fan of Macâ€™s reviews and read them faithfully but I never post. First of all "Two Thumbs Up" to Mac for a brilliant review. Just one point though (as shown in the movie Existenz) :-

What if after 5 seasons we come to know that this all was a virtual game being tested by some Japanese company before being launched (say some 10 - 15 years in the future). Nobody is dead, its just that some players are out as they have not survived the game. The flashbacks are part of the game as it develops the charchter of the player. The smokie, the polar bears, the four toed aliens (yet to come) are part of the challenges the players will face as the level of game increases. The game evovles itself, so the challenges get harder, and more weirder stuff happens. Given a characters backstory - he/she experiences some wierd stuff related from their past on the island.

Any Comments?

#249. Posted by: Jas at May 4, 2007 5:34 PM

@Jas/249

As much as I loved the movie Existenz, and as often as I have joked about the Final Destination plotline, I'd like to hope that the producers and writers have been inspired but other movies/tv/history/religion, and not doing something totally derivative of a particular source. Unless they come up with something VERY clever, I think most fans would be disappointed if they found out that this is all not real (it's a dream! It's a game! It's the afterlife!).

#250. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 4, 2007 5:56 PM

I will be gutted if LOST turns out to be a piece of imagination or a glitch in the Matrix.

or a bloody dream!

#251. Posted by: andie at May 4, 2007 6:18 PM

I'm not sure if someone has mentioned this or not, I'm only about 3/4 done reading the responses, but don't want to forget this thought.
I don't think that the island is hell/purgatory. Didn't Ben till Eyeliner guy to 'hurry back to the island'? That to me implies that he can come and go, meaning that he has 'yet to pass.' And still, he is on the island. Meaning that either he was a ghost when he was in Miami, or the others have created Frankenstien.

#252. Posted by: lostdob at May 4, 2007 6:23 PM

Not sure if this has been covered, but the recap left out what I thought was one of the most important revelations in the show.

When the flashback begins with Locke seeing his father for the first time, Locke takes off his fathers gag. After being bitten, Locke's father asks Locke if he realizes that they aren't on an island.

Now I realize this is covered when Sawyer and Condad1 are talking, but what is left out is when it is discussed the first time, Locke asks Ben what he's talking about. Ben replies as if he KNOWS, and says we'll get to that later (or something of that matter).

Does anyone else see this as a big insight, or is the viccadin I'm on making me hallucinate?

#253. Posted by: The Other Other at May 4, 2007 6:59 PM

ummm can anyone explain to me how they survived the crash in the first place?!?!?! i know the island has healing powers, but theyre only used on specific people ie locke or rose. HOW?!?!?!?!?!

#254. Posted by: ross at May 4, 2007 9:18 PM

does anyone else think that juliets picture makes her look like heather mills?

#255. Posted by: hayz at May 4, 2007 9:28 PM

does anyone else think that juliets picture makes her look like heather mills?

#256. Posted by: hayz at May 4, 2007 9:29 PM

OK, Iâ€™m a little late getting this in, but I read the comments thru beginning to end everyday, because there is SO MUCH STUFF going by, that it takes some recapitulation to track thoughts.

Thereâ€™s been quite a bit of flurry about how did Naomi see this invisible island at night - or why did the â€œrescue shipâ€ head for a point in the middle of the ocean that everyone knew was empty - etc. etc.

Then somebody popped up with the idea that the island was not on this earth, to which JoePike (Post 235) said:

â€œIsland not on this Earth? That's a new one. It doesn't appear on any maps or satellite photographs because it is 'hidden'. Some sort of cloaking anomaly or whatever makes it invisible to the outside world. (World = Earth) And who's to say it hasn't been 'invisible' for thousands of years? . . . . â€œ

JoePike got a little star-trekie in his thinking there, HOWEVER....

Very early in the blogging, (Post 43), mapache pointed out that:

â€œI read that the latest piece of land ever found by man was discovered in the mid 1970's. A new uncharted piece of land off the coast of Madagascar. Uninhabited by man. Then satellite imaging came . . and we can see everything . . . â€œ

Didnâ€™t scientists just discover 50 new species of frogs in New Guinea just recently? So, there ARE still hidden mysteries all over this world of ours . .

#257. Posted by: davidrh at May 4, 2007 10:21 PM

Great Blog, I dont know what to believe?

I slowed the preview for next week/next 3 weeks frame for frame on Tivo and there are a few interesting items I see.

Under the Namaste sign it shows the/a submarine at the dock. Do they have another one or flashback?

Also, the guy from the Darma briefing tapes is seen standing in front of a fleet of those "greatful dead era" VW vans that Hurley went joy riding in. It looks as though the Darma crew lived in the villages currently occupied by the Others.

I saw a ghostly image of a woman that I do not recognize (maybe Juliets sister)

There is like a jack o lantern looking thing? Fence post maybe with a painting on it? A house and someone wearing a gas mask. Get ready to live!

And lastly eyeliner guy is seen in some bright light with long hair.

This all looks like it leads us to a flashback to the way they were back in the day

#258. Posted by: DJC at May 5, 2007 3:01 AM

The ship out at sea would not even notice the Tsunami passing underneath it. The Tsunami does not form into a wave until it approaches land.

#259. Posted by: Skinner at May 5, 2007 5:30 AM

Way to go â†’ 248 bcre8ve!!! I'm totally with you on this one. We know that there are at least two different factions on the island; the Others and Dharma (and maybe more). It makes so much sense to me that after Locke entered 77 into the computer it alerted Dharma to a problem/emergency. The fact that Mikail came running, looking for whoever fell out of the sky, tells me that he is a) acting alone, or at least not with the Others and b) that he knew someone would be coming--aside from Hurley's flare. Mikail was all alone at the Flame station, the Others regarded him as dangerous (remember Ben approaching the Flame and hoping Mikail wouldn't shoot?). Maybe he is one of the Dharmas who are still on the Island?

In any event, Naomi tells Mikail "I am not alone" thereby confirming that Dharma is coming back because of Locke's alert. The problem is that Naomi also knew about Desmond's past. How would Dharma know about this? And do the Others know as well?

bcre8ve says, "I judged their reaction (Juliet and Jack) to the info to be one of impending danger....With communication distrupted, Dharma would want to visit the island to investigate. My theory is that Ben knows this and is expecting such a visit. (Thus the sudden exodus from Bensylvania.) Juliet is privey to this knowledge and has shared it with Jack. Hence the alarm when they hear about a visitor dropping from the sky. Dharma is here!

Thats my theory and I'm sticking to it" Way to go bcre8ve I'm sticking to it too! I think the "war" is going to be b/t the Others and Dharma and the Losties are going to have to choose sides.

Now, we need to decide, who is more evil? The Others or Dharma? And how does that fit into the information that Jack and Juliet didn't tell Kate? If they know about Dharma coming are they with Dharma and against the Others? Given Juliet's hatred for Ben this might be true. Remember Ben said they were the good guys? Maybe the Others have infiltrated Dharma and got the dossiers on the Losties through Dharma's communication network. If the Dharma link is down then the Others have considerably less power.

My brain hurts. Any feedback extremely welcome.

Randi

#260. Posted by: En Provence at May 5, 2007 7:09 AM

I just thought of something.

We know from The Lost Experience web-based game over the summer that the DHARMA Initiative was involved with something called the Valenzetti Equation. Basically, this is supposed to be a mathematical equation that predicts the end of the world. There are 6 constants in the equation, 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42 (the infamous numbers.) The DHARMA people made it their goal to try and somehow change one of the constants to prevent the end of the world from coming. Their research in biology, zoology, electromagnetism, etc. was basically geared toward this end.

We've been told (by the old lady in Desmond's time-travel/flashback episode) that "The Universe has a way of course-correcting."

My theory is that the research The Others are doing has something to do with this. Imagine this: DHARMA discovered that if a child was conceived and born on this island, that child could do something to change one of the constants (maybe just being born there would be enough) and the end of the world would be prevented. The reason that all the pregnant women (and their babies) die is because the Universe is course-correcting and trying to prevent this from happening. Richard Alpert made a comment to Juliet that she had once created life "where life wasn't supposed to be." I think the Others believe that if they can successfully overpower "fate" or the "course" of the Universe by creating life on the island, they will alter the Valenzetti equation and prevent the end of the world.

#261. Posted by: jay at May 5, 2007 9:41 AM

@260 + 248...En Provence and bcr8tive: I think there is much merit to the theory you have both posed here (especially the explanation as to why Mikhail would come running towards Naomi and the fact that she would know about Desmond if she had Dharma access to his background info...), but how do you explain that the Others seem to rely on Dharma everything to get by....from the use of the hatches, to stocking Losteria Lane, to donning Dharma logo clothing? Can you provide a little more insight into how you think these two groups factioned off? Do you think there were ever one in the same? I am also asking this because of something I saw in the previews for next week when I watched it in slo-mo, but I don't want to reveal that if you think it would be a spoiler...thanks!

#262. Posted by: Vikki at May 5, 2007 9:45 AM

I appreciated The Rousseau-Locke Black Rock exchange a lot.

It was like Lost's version of Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf from Looney Tunes saying good morning to each other.

#263. Posted by: snow at May 5, 2007 9:53 AM

@Vikki

What did you notice in the previews? I'm curious. Just post it with a spoiler warning then people who don't want to read don't have to. I definitely want to though so please post away!

#264. Posted by: Crispy Seaplanes at May 5, 2007 11:07 AM

@252
We never see or hear Richard when Ben is showing Juliet the image of her sister. There is no confirmation that Richard was in Miami or the image of sis was real. Just Ben's statement that it is in real time.
It could have been an edited tape being played to con Juliet.
So far, we have only seen any of the Others "off-island" once.

#265. Posted by: welh at May 5, 2007 12:26 PM

Wow - I am late posting this week, but what an incredible episode!!

I don't think anyone has commented on this yet, but why does that Cindy (the stewardess who is with the Others)wear that scarf around her neck always. It looks artificially fashionable for jungle-wear, no?

#266. Posted by: meg at May 5, 2007 1:57 PM

Hmm....yeah, ive actually been wondering that too. She's been wearing the scarf the whole time, but I don't get it. Its not cold there, and yeah, its super tacky..gosh, i wish she would just ditch it already...but i think you're on to something...once we figure out why she is wearing the scarf, we can start solving the bigger mysteries of the show...you're a genius!

Ok, clearly I'm being sarcastic. But let's stop the stupid, irrevelant posts that have nothing to do with the meaning of the show. Its not just you, others have posted similarly thoughtless conjectures and all it does is waste space and time.

More importantly, I have read on a few other blogs that the season finale will be absolutely mind-blowing and may offer a shocker that no one sees coming...I can't wait!! In addition, it does seem that Lost will come to a close at the End of 2008. I think this is a good thing because finally the producers can start answering questions and restoring our sanity

#267. Posted by: mike at May 5, 2007 2:42 PM

@Mike: The only "stupid, irrelevant" posts are the ones that have absolutely nothing to do with the show. Asking a question about Cindy -- who is emerging as a BIZARRE character -- is perfectly fine as far as I'm concerned. People are also welcome to have a little fun with the show too (lord knows I take my fair share of swipes and snide comments in the reviews). So while I share your appreciation for on-target discussions, I also feel that a tangent here and there is welcome.

#268. Posted by: mac at May 5, 2007 2:48 PM

I'm sorry Mac. You're right. Just been a little tense the last few days and I took it out on the wrong person...this show is driving me stir crazy! I see your point completely and yes, at least this post had the show in mind. I will watch my comments from now on, and I am sorry to Meg if I offended you.

Keep up the great work Mac! Prepare for a hellacious last 3 episodes....

#269. Posted by: mike at May 5, 2007 3:20 PM

@Mike: No worries at all. Thanks for the second post -- that's big of you; most people wouldn't do that, and I appreciate you making the effort. -- mac

#270. Posted by: mac at May 5, 2007 3:26 PM

@hayz - in reply to your posts 255 and 256 - yes and yes, it is remarkable how much she looks like Heather Mills

@meg, #266 - I don't think anyone has commented on this yet, but why does that Cindy (the stewardess who is with the Others)wear that scarf around her neck always.

I think she is hiding the "hickeys" from Ben ;>)

#271. Posted by: ButchM at May 5, 2007 3:45 PM

geez - I wouldn't have brought it up if I didn't think there was an element of mystery to it. Thanks for sticking up for me mac. I do really enjoy this blog.

Sometimes I wish I were as smart as posters like mike who are equipped with the innane ability to determine what's relevant and what isn't.

#272. Posted by: meg at May 5, 2007 3:46 PM

inanne - innate and insane (sorry, my typo that I'm attempting to cover up as wit) :)

#273. Posted by: meg at May 5, 2007 3:53 PM

@ Meg

I don't know if this is "irrelevant" to this blog but it's relevant to your post, I seem to remember Arzt wearing a scarf similar to the one Cindy was wearing.

#274. Posted by: Sky at May 5, 2007 3:53 PM

â€œWe should tell her.â€
â€œNot yet.â€

What are they talking about? The raid on the pregnant women? The impending Other/Lostaways war? The explanation of the communications blackout? What the island REALLY is? Everyone from Flight 815 is dead? No, nothing so mundane. This is LOST. They are talking about something so off the beaten track, so unexpected, and so paradigm shifting that it will blow our minds.

Hereâ€™s my theory: There are no new ideas. (Remember the movie, The Player?) We are going to find out that LOST is not what it seems, but it is by no means a â€œgame.â€ It is a fictionalization of a super-reality TV program. Think Survivor, meets American Idol, meets Lord of the Flies, meets â€œBig Brotherâ€ (as in the Orwellian concept, not the reality TV show). What is the evidence that leads me to this conclusion? Consider the following:

1. Jack pre- and post-Juliet: This is the BIG tell. Think of Jack in Season I, Season II and most of the way thru this Season. Heâ€™s been our reluctant leader, our doctor in residence, our chief organizer, and basically our hero. Now, ever since the iconic football-tossing moment in Par Avion what has Jack done that is leaderly, doctorish, managerial, or even reluctantly heroic? Nothing. All he has done is mull around adrift in Julietâ€™s orbit with a strange sort of detached contentedness, seemingly losing all his direction. Why? Because while he spent his waning days w/the Others they let him in on the gig. I guess they had to after he almost euthanized Ben.

2. The Premise: Dharma is the production company. Hanso is the talent scout. The Lostaways and the Tailies are the â€œcontestantsâ€ who were assembled from a list of everyone entering Australia on a foreign passport over a two week period during pre-production. Dossiers were created on everyone (an unwitting cast of tens of thousands perhaps). Oceanic Flight 815 was set up to gather roughly 200 of these souls together in the same place at the same time; none of which have any close ties (read: living relatives) back in the world. The crash was faked (just like the moon landing, eh?). Knock-out gas was piped thru the oxygen masks. The group was split in two, deposited on opposite ends of an elaborate tropical Hollywood back-lot and clandestine filming to see â€œwhat happens nextâ€ ensued. The Other Camp (Bennsylvania, Losteria Lane, whatever) is where the footage is downloaded from banana plant cams, edited, and assembled into episodes for network broadcast. Individual character back-stories are created digitally, based on extensive background research in the dossiers to add more interest amongst the viewing populace and to illuminate the six degrees of separation between each and every character. Then things get interesting. The â€œhatchâ€ is reveled. The â€œnumbers gameâ€ begins. And filming the reaction amongst our contestants continues. (Itâ€™s like that 70s teen novel, House of Stairs by William Sleator where the five orphans are kidnapped and deposited in a mysterious building containing nothing but stairs that seemingly go on for ever in non-ending monotony save a blinking food machine that slowly begins conditioning behavior and recording interpersonal reactions to fear, uncertainty, confrontation, competition, and whatnot.) Then, to make things ever more interesting, the producers introduce clandestine â€œcastâ€ members to the mix in addition to individual unwitting contestants that are deposited on the â€œislandâ€ under different (false) pretenses. The challenge is figure out who is reading from the Dharma script and who is reacting to the contrived circumstances? How to explain the various deaths? Well, this is bound to happen when safety measures are over-ridden. Which is the BIG draw of this type of â€œrealityâ€ TV program . . . and a huge selling point for the international audiences . . . and an ethical hurdle (though only slightly higher than marooning Paris Hilton with an Amish family or plotting to deposit overweight British kids with an Aboriginal tribe in the Australian outback). Which is why the production company is based in some country with a much more relaxed moral code. Now, our contestants are given a wide variety of foils (e.g., wild polar bears, smoke monsters, confrontations with the Others, etc.) against which to react and the viewing public is eating it up. Week by week they â€œvoteâ€ on who gets the next â€œstory lineâ€ or who gets to â€œescapeâ€ the island. AND just to make things REALLY interesting, there are â€œoutsidersâ€ who are really overlooked kinfolk of the contestants that are trying to bust in and â€œrescueâ€ the contestants. Talk about a REAL reality program!!!

3. Juliet: A mole, a double agent, or a triple threat? So, is Juliet a â€œcontestantâ€ part of the â€œcastâ€ or an â€œunwitting individual?â€ Is she working for Ben? Pretending to work for Ben, but has switched over to the contestantsâ€™ side? Or pretending to be working for the contestants while pretending to work for Ben but really working for herself? Are Juliet and Jack working together? Or does Juliet just want Jack to think that she is working with him? Ooooh, the intrigue.

4. The Mysterious Healing Properties of the â€œIsland:â€ Injuries, diseases, misfortunes etc., are contrived. Sufferers are medicated to make their conditions seem more life-threatening than they really are. Lockeâ€™s paralysis? What if it was just a psychosomatic manifestation of deep depression he fell into after the whole kidney theft situation?

Wrap your mind around this concept and you can almost explain away anything and everything thatâ€™s happened on this show. And, all the unresolved questions just make one want to tune in week after week to see if their own personal theories are justified, overruled, or being brought to fruition. So, whatâ€™s next for the future of the series? Does Jack void his confidentially agreement with the producers and spill the beans to the contestants in hopes of igniting an overthrow? Is the whole â€œreality TV premiseâ€ a ruse and the situation is really just a GIANT psychology experiment? See, even solving the mystery produces more questions. How fun.

#275. Posted by: desertrat at May 5, 2007 4:11 PM

Sorry to post this here but it appears as if everyone has deserted the ACRONYM post by RNM, which is truly good reading.

I loved MIF (meg is first). Great humor there, girl!

I also like Trinity's EKO - erroneously killed off.

Let's not forget:
IWAE - It was an escalator
BMOI - Big man on island
WMHAS - We might have a sub
WHAS - We have a sub
HBOs - Hillbilly others (not sure who came up with this one but it's good)
TTWN - The test was negative
WTLTMG - What's the latest tally, Mr. Grimm?

All of them are great, but I have to go with mif - especially after all the crap she took for asking if she was the first to post. LMAO when I saw that, Meg :)> ;>) :)

#276. Posted by: ButchM at May 5, 2007 4:13 PM

@desertrat - as Arte Johnson on Laugh-In would say, "Verrrrryyyyy intalesting." That is, if any of you can remember Laugh-In.

#277. Posted by: harmony at May 5, 2007 4:30 PM

@ButchM - What acronym list? I like the ones you listed - are there more?

#278. Posted by: ettaquette at May 5, 2007 4:32 PM

Hey, 2 thoughts, both I suppose are:

***** POTENTIAL SPOILERS *****

1) On Boats:
Back to all the questions on where the Black Rock came from -- We learned last summer in the Lost Experience Game that it was a slave ship whose captain was actually Alvar Hanso's grandfather. Were they bringing slaves to the island on purpose, to mine (or build hatches)? Or did the ship crash here en route to somewhere else (as so many ships do) and thus Hanso's family came to learn of the island's existence (whether the grandfather made it back to tell them, or they went looking for him). And along the line of ships and boats - will we ever come across Rousseau's old boat? Mr. Paik (Sun's dad, no?) also built a ship for the Hanso foundation (another Lost Experience revelation) -- will this come into play? The design plans for the ship showed hatch doors with "Quarrartine" (or however it's spelled) written on them.. Quite reminescent of the hatch. Part of me wonders if the island IS the boat and it's a really BIG boat.. It would explain why the island is so hard to find (it keeps moving). But, I think the boat is more recent, so I'm probably way off track there.

2) On Next Week:
The title of next week's episode is "The Man Behind the Curtain" - a complete allusion to the movie Wizard of Oz. I think the whole show is going to be a mini-remake of that show. Locke is going to be looking for his courage after he couldn't kill his dad (aka the Lion), perhaps Sawyer/Ford will be the one in search of a brain since he just got conned into killing (the Scarecrow), and Kate could be the one in need of a heart (well, she is hitting it with one guy to get back at another) -- (the TinMan), and Jack is definately little Dorothy, who only wants to go home. Maybe Vincent/Toto will show up, and join the 4 as they link arms and skip down the yellow brick road in search of the Emerald (tent) city and the Wizard/Man Behind the Curtain -- Ben. All after Jack reveals what he wasn't ready to tell Kate and the others -- that Juliet let him in on Ben's excursion to the beach, and he's waiting until the right moment, so he can rope the Losties anger into Jack's Army, take 2 and go pay a visit. I personally can't wait to hear Jack's rendition of "Lions and Tigers and Polar Bears -- oh MY!"

#279. Posted by: seakkay at May 5, 2007 4:56 PM

@185/ re: who's jacob. i read thru this several times and it makes some pretty good sense. using the criteria, couldn't jacob be (perhaps) mr friendly - tom himself. he always seems to be there, hidden in plain sight. sure we dont see him off the island at all, but he is always around in many key scenes, in the box with cooper, stopping lostis patrol at the pearl hatch, stealing walt from the raft, tossing jack a football & sorta bonding with every lostie he comes in contact with... i'm just saying, jacob hidden in plain sight could be a few peeps other than alpert & tom (maybe a female too).

#280. Posted by: SnappyPappy at May 5, 2007 5:08 PM

279, cont...

A funny addition to my theory is that the wizard arrived on a hot air balloon, and Ben pretended to... Or, maaaaybe the two people who came were his dad and pregnant mom, and he really *did* arrive on a hot air balloon. The last episode, he'll try to take Jack home in it, but Jack will miss it and have to click his shoes together, instead. (I'm sure somewhere in the luggage is a pair of shiny red pumps.)

I'd like to think that Juliet is the Wicked Witch of the West (and Kate just has to throw water on her to release Jack from his oogling spell), but the witch of the west doesn't have anything to do with the emerald city, so Jules could be Glenda - who, coincidentally rules the Munchkins, and Juliet is a fertility doctor who works in a group who takes children. Innnnteresting......

#281. Posted by: seakay at May 5, 2007 5:10 PM

@#275 - Deserat...my goodness, that is QUITE a theory you have there. I don't know if I am on board with it 100%, but I give you props for taking the time to write that one out!

@#264 - Crispy Seaplanes...about what I saw in the previews...please, if you don't want to know, skip this everyone...

***POSSIBLE SPOLIER FOR NEXT WEEK***
In the slo-mo version of next week's previews there is a very quick flash of what looks like another piece of the Dharma video puzzle showing...very briefly, you see Dr. Candle in the left side of the shot addressing the audience and in the background what looks like Dharma workers (maybe one of them is Work Man???) unloading crates with the Dharma symbols on them in front of the houses on Losteria Lane...

Hope this helps, CS!

#282. Posted by: Vikki at May 5, 2007 5:11 PM

okay. it definitely is NOT purgatory. if it was purgatory then doesnt it accept EVERYONE who died on Earth!? Obviously Dharma or some other group planned the plane crash because all of these people are crucial to the success of the initiative. And Carly or w/e her name is (the airplane stuartess) was in on the crash as well since she's all for the Other's motives. Now all we need to figure out is WHY they were chosen to be on the island. So again, purgatory! OUT of the picture! please stop discussing it since it definitely is not an option. :D

#283. Posted by: Ross at May 5, 2007 6:14 PM

I'm new, am I supposed to announce that? I am amazed at the discussions here, you are very insightful and entertaining. //

I wonder if Sayid is digging for tunnels or other hatches based on the maps he found in the Flame. Could the sound of hitting something be a new hatch door?

#284. Posted by: hey boo at May 5, 2007 6:23 PM

@Desertrat/275: Your show sounds great! I want to watch it (oh, wait, I already do). But where can I cast my vote for eviction? Please tell me thereâ€™s a toll-free number?

I like your description of Jackâ€™s new personality. â€œAll he has done is mull around adrift in Julietâ€™s orbit with a strange sort of detached contentednessâ€¦â€ And may I add, he is even more condescending than usual. So what special knowledge does he have? I like the idea that itâ€™s something game-changing, not something we already know like the communications failure or the fertility experiments. But Jack and Locke are always most dangerous when they think they know best, so this could get ugly.

#285. Posted by: Clementine at May 5, 2007 7:46 PM

One thing that's always bothered me is the fact that the Black Rock seems to be nowhere near water.

This and the god-like statue relics have me wondering if the island couldn't be some sort of an Atlantis which is slowly but surely making it's way back to the surface and the Black Rock would just have got caught on a part of it (like a reef) way back when.

As for Desertrat's theory, I do remember reading somewhere that the original idea for Lost was to create a show which would be a cross between Survivor and the movie Castaway...but still,

Say it ain't so!!!

#286. Posted by: Prosecutor67 at May 5, 2007 8:07 PM

@ButchM - You are awesome - I've always got your back too :) I can take lots of @#$%, that's my job! (I won't mention what that job actually is or you'll figure out my identity..:)

I do think Cindy is freaky. I'm watching the episode again as I type...there are way too many freaky things, and the way they focus the camera throws us off (or focuses us...)

Ben has developed into my favorite character - which really freaks me out! Analyze that one..:) I am looking forward to the next episode.

Have a bowl of Crispy Seaplanes and a glass of Kaluha and relax (not sure if I remembered the spellings correctly - but I think you know who I am talking to.

#287. Posted by: meg at May 5, 2007 10:00 PM

@megâ†’ 266 - For me, Cindy's scarf makes her look more vapid. And didn't the older book club woman have a scarf also? I'm just not into such accessories myself. But mostly, it reminds me of an old campfire story we used to tell. In brief, a girl has a red ribbon around her neck her entire life. Won't ever tell anyone what it's for, including her husband who's known her since they were kids. When she's about to die, she tells him he can now remove the ribbon. And.....her head falls off!

#288. Posted by: hurling at May 5, 2007 10:06 PM

I just rewatched the episode. Yes, Cindy is wearing this long scarf wrapped very loosely several times around the neck. However, MANY of the woman have the same kind of "adornment". In the tent building scene, almost ALL the women have the neck scarf.

As Locke walks away from being unable to kill his Dad, he passes several women - all have scarves, some are wrapped and some hang freely around the neck.

Perhaps it is some kind of "uniform" adornment worn by the "Other Women".

#289. Posted by: davidrh at May 5, 2007 10:32 PM

@davidrh/ 289 - And Juliet doesn't wear one, marking her further as an outsider. She never really fit in/got brainwashed. She's tolerated and kept there because they need her skills. Why is it that they can't turn her? Would it reduce her medical abilities? Did they have the same problem with Jack? Is that why J&J have their little bond - it's genuinely more than sex?

#290. Posted by: hurling at May 5, 2007 10:41 PM

I have even another bizarre theory. If the Bali 815 crash is true, we're left with two options: either the Bali crash or the island crash is staged. I say the latter. What if Desmond really shot down the Bali plane, and the front(pilot) and tail sections are from the Bali plane, while the Lostie wreckage is staged? Are any of the tail survivors still on the show?

#291. Posted by: Loz at May 5, 2007 11:14 PM

@267 mike said:

>In addition, it does seem that Lost will come to a close at the End of 2008. I think this is a good thing because finally the producers can start answering questions and restoring our sanity.

Agreed it's a good thing, but make that 2009. We're currently watching the third season. The fourth season will start in Jan 2008 and run continuously. Then the fifth season, unless they change their format again, will start in Jan 2009 and end in May 2009.

Maybe the Other women wear scarves to hide the fact that their heads are now on different bodies.

#292. Posted by: Cecil Rose at May 5, 2007 11:57 PM

******Possible Spoilers (or not)

Would you actually think the producers would be dumb enough to hint at the island being some sort of otherwordly purgatory/hell if that was to be the case? Lost, like any other decent series ever since the days of the cult and legendary among obscure tv series fanatics UK show Sapphire and Steel, thrives on surprise and coincidence. The end would be so anticlimactic if the purgatory idea was to be hinted at this point. I take it more as a producers nod to all the Lost addicts theories to have surfaced so far. Like they have mentioned time and again, there are no extraterrestrial hobo theories behind what's going on...

Two of our beloved Losties wrecking crew will bid us farewell this season. One is obvious. The other (no pun intended) will be revealed in the end. One will find himself in a position of power, this will be a first for the suffering Losties so far. And one who was thought to be a friend, will turn out to be a foe. A foe who can speak in other tongues besides english (take your pick) :)

Namaste!

#293. Posted by: Lofindel at May 6, 2007 12:14 AM

Maybe Cindy is wearing a scarf to hide the vampire bite marks...Maybe Kieffer can take a break from 24 to bring the Others to the boardwalk in Santa Cruz...

(For referrence, this post was MUCH less useful than Meg's)

#294. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 6, 2007 1:39 AM

damn you, poster 288! i totally wanted to tell that story, but i can add a detail. In my recollection of the story, the woman doesnt tell her husband to remove the scarf while on her deathbed, but rather he removes it will she is sleeping. curiousity is a bitch. In the end, though, her head does fall off. so it goes.

Perhaps this can serve as a cautionary tale to those who would theorize obssesively over the show. Sometimes it is truly better not to know.

#295. Posted by: markthefish at May 6, 2007 4:21 AM

Also, am I the only one who is sick of Jack? The guy is kind of an ass, and I actually hope he gets killed off. Anybody with me on this?

#296. Posted by: markthefish at May 6, 2007 4:24 AM

@markthefish - I'm with you on that. jack is annoying. Especially when he refused to let Juliet leave when Kate wanted to talk to him privately. That was strange.

The banter about the scarf almost made me spit out my cereal! lol I remember that story - one of my favorite spooky stories when I was young. I was actually thinking that maybe she was hiding the fact that she was strangled, or hanged, or something of that nature. Killed and then brought back like some of the others.

#297. Posted by: meg at May 6, 2007 7:53 AM

@ Meg/266, it's funny but, although when I read your post about the scarf, I thought it was a small thing, I also thought "but WOW, that could be a really subtle clue." - that maybe they did something to her, like injected her in the neck or branded her there (I have no idea why the neck though), and she's covering it until it heals or something. Yes, she could just be a fashion victim, but wouldn't it be funny if your post that was seen as irrelevant by some turned out to be a something major?

@hey boo/284, I think you may be on the money about Sayid's digging having something to do with the maps he took from the flame! Great idea!

#298. Posted by: Jenna at May 6, 2007 9:15 AM

@Jenna - That's what I'm hoping for now. Then mike would have to buy me season 3 of LOST on dvd.

#299. Posted by: meg at May 6, 2007 9:26 AM

@markthefish & @meg /295, 297 - Do I get to call "FIRST!" then? HIF!

#300. Posted by: hurling at May 6, 2007 10:04 AM

anyone who is "hurling" SHOULD be first!

#301. Posted by: meg at May 6, 2007 10:38 AM

You have a deal Meg. If the scarf has any significance to the show, I will personally send you a copy of Season 3 Lost on DVD...I really think we are obsessing a little to much about this...

@ 291 Loz....I've actually been thinking the same thing over the past few weeks, ever since Naomi "dropped by" (out of the sky) to "hang out" (on the tree)" with the Losties. I'm starting to think there is something really fishy going on with the whole plane crash thing, and that, perhaps, the Losties plane crash really was set up. Not only is the real world getting a story that the plane crashed in Bali and that everyone died, but how did Ben know there would be survivors? Remember, he tells Ethan and Friendly (i think) to "Hurry, there may actually be survivors" Who would honestly believe there would be survivors when a plane of that size splits in half? That leads me to think that Ben may have had something to do with the plane coming down....

Furthermore, he tells Juliet "I guess I'm out of the book club, then." after his directions to Ethan and Friendly. To me, this line shows that Ben was doing something counter-intuitive to Juliet and the rest of the others and this is when Evil Ben shows his alterior motives

Perhaps the electromagnetic thing was not the real cause of the plane crash???

#302. Posted by: mike at May 6, 2007 12:41 PM

Whoops..I guess its Jenna who has the deal, seeing as she brought it up

#303. Posted by: mike at May 6, 2007 12:46 PM

LOL @ Meg & Mike. Good deal. I definitely think it's Meg's deal though, since she noticed the scarf. :-)

#304. Posted by: Jenna at May 6, 2007 12:57 PM

I think Mike should by EVERYONE a copy of season 3 of Lost if the scarf has any significance. :)

Seriously though, I do think the plane went on purpose, and maybe even that Ben knew it would. Claire was put on this specific flight by Isaac (I think that was his name) and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the othr Lostaways were as well...I doubt EVERYTHING we've seen has all been coincidence, but we have 2 seasons before all that will be revealed. Or not.

#305. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 6, 2007 1:56 PM

How did Cooper know that Locke was on the oceanic flight anyway??

As soon as Ben and the others saw the plane crashing on the Island, they contacted the people of the Dharma initiative so they could stage a plane with bodies in order to stop any rescue actions.
The things going on on the island must stay secret for the rest of the world.
Obviously the losties are not dead, the rest of the world has to think they are dead so they stop looking and never discover the island and it's experiments.The island is not 'hell' .

anyway, the makers of Lost can go as far as they want with this and i hope that they have a clue themselves of what they are doing.
Lost319 was a great episode.
Grtz
Jan from Belgium

#306. Posted by: jan at May 6, 2007 2:45 PM

How did Cooper know that Locke was on the oceanic flight anyway??

anyway, the makers of Lost can go as far as they want with this and i hope that they have a clue themselves of what they are doing.
Lost319 was a great episode.
Grtz
Jan from Belgium

#307. Posted by: jan at May 6, 2007 2:46 PM

How did Cooper know that Locke was on the oceanic flight anyway??

anyway, the makers of Lost can go as far as they want with this and i hope that they have a clue themselves of what they are doing.
Lost319 was a great episode.
Grtz
Jan from Belgium

#308. Posted by: jan at May 6, 2007 2:46 PM

I may be totally wrong on this but I immeadiately after Jack and Juliet admited they had a secret about Kate, I thought it had to be that Kate is pregnant. Didn't Juliet say into the tape recorder in episode D.O.C that she would get a blood sample from Kate? And doesn't the island make men's sperm counts something like 5 times greater? With numbers like that, Kate being pregnant after her hook up with Sawer is almost a guarentee.

#309. Posted by: Scott at May 6, 2007 3:13 PM

@ jan/#306: I don't think Cooper did know that Locke was on Flight 815 or the island...he thought Locke had died after flying out of his (Cooper's) eighth-story window. Although that's just an impression I have & I certainly could be wrong.

@ Scott/#309: Wouldn't it be interesting if Jack & Juliet's secret was that Juliet was pregnant? (Obviously it wouldn't be by Jack; Goodwin looks like the prime candidate from what we've seen.) Perhaps Juliet wants to make nice w/Kate & tell her about her pregnancy & relationship w/Goodwin to make Kate feel better, & Jack wants to continue behaving like a ninth-grader & punish Kate for boinking Sawyer, & so he wants it to continue to look like he & Juliet are an item.

#310. Posted by: AlaÃ¯s_Longthought at May 6, 2007 3:54 PM

#311. Posted by: AlaÃ¯s_Longthought at May 6, 2007 3:55 PM

I think I have a big theory. After reading the last posts, it suddenly came to me. I think Dharma and the Others are mortal enemies. Here's my idea:

Dharma was living and working peacefully on the Island doing their thing with their polar bear experiments, observation/psychological experiments, and what have you. At some point a revolt happened, maybe it was the human subjects or maybe it was just some disgruntled Work-Man Dharma-ites but eventually they seized power and became the Others. They killed most of the Dharma people and took over all the stations and the Barracks. The regular Dharma-ites fled and went into hiding.

Here's where things get interesting. After the Others seized power, I think Dharma arranged for all of the Losties to crash on the island. I think they faked the Bali crash and set up the real flight 815 to crash on the Island. Why, you might ask? I believe they hand-picked all of the Losties to fight against the Others to help them win a war and start a new Dharma-opia.

Think about it, in the opener for Season 3 we're led to believe that the Others weren't expecting the plane to crash. Later, Ben confirms that by telling Jack that "a surgeon fell out of the sky" as if by chance. We can even say that Kelvin lured Desmond out onto the rocks (he certainly knew Desmond was following him) so that the button wouldn't be pushed in time, thereby causing the plane that Dharma had diverted to crash over the Island.

I think the pilot was definitely in on the plot, and if you watch the first season the pilot does seem to be acting weird. Then he conveniently gets eaten by a monster.

I think Michail was communicating with Dharma secretly even after the purple sky incident. When Locke blows up communications Dharma sends Naomi who tells Michail that she is not alone, alerting him to the pending war. Or maybe Dharma sent Naomi because Locke entered 77?

The Losties are unwitting pawns of Dharma. The question is are the Dharma-ites the bad guys? Or is it the Others?

#312. Posted by: En Provence at May 6, 2007 4:59 PM

@01lordj/212 "The woman who said she was searching for Desmond claimed she was returning to the ship when the clouds parted and she saw the island but lost control and crashed. Well when she crashed, can only be a couple of minutes after she saw the island, it was pitch black so how did the clouds part and she see the island? And thoughts?"

It has been hinted that island time is out of sync with real world time. For instance, it is 2004 on the island but later (2007?) in the real world.

If the island is out of sync timewise by years, it would not be a stretch for it to be out of sync by hours as well. It might have been noon when Naomi was looking fo the island but as she entered the Island Time Zone (ITZ) it was 9pm and dark.

Just a theory that could explain it.

#313. Posted by: bcre8ve at May 6, 2007 5:38 PM

@Jim/215

Other posters have addressed your list but I haven't seen this one that you missed:

Colleen shot by Sun

#314. Posted by: bcre8ve at May 6, 2007 5:45 PM

@Vikki/262 "...how do you explain that the Others seem to rely on Dharma everything to get by....from the use of the hatches, to stocking Losteria Lane, to donning Dharma logo clothing? Can you provide a little more insight into how you think these two groups factioned off?"

En Provence/312 touched on this but I will add my theory here as well...

Dharma controlled the island and was busy doing their experiments. They were working with people that were "special" - Walt and Locke like.

It did not take long for the experimentees to realize that

1) They were superior to their observers

and/or

2) They did not have to live as human experiments

and rebel against them (a common literary theme.)

Jacob was probably the rebellion leader and thus still commands respect and maintains ledership.

The rebels have been able to maintain the illusion of a Dharma controlled island to those off island Dharmites. Thus Dharma continues to resupply the island.

#315. Posted by: bcre8ve at May 6, 2007 6:01 PM

jan/306 - Sometimes when there is a plane crash, they list all the names of the passengers in the newpapers. Cooper could've seen the list.

@Scott/309 - Takes 2 people to make a baby. How do we know Kate's ovulation schedule, if she ovulates properly at all, and if she's not affected by the limited diet? Sperm counts are higher, she said nothing about female fertility. Juliet said "sample," not "blood sample." It's not exactly easy to take blood from someone without them noticing. And unless they've each dug their own latrine, she can't easily get a urine sample either. As I said before, it's not at all likely that J&J would know before Kate. All Juliet wanted to tell her is that if she becomes pregnant, her life is in danger. Makes you wonder if Juliet is using contraceptives.

#316. Posted by: hurling at May 6, 2007 7:03 PM

@203 When Locke first met his mom, she told him he was an "immaculate conception".
Also, didn't Rousseau refuse to go to the Black Rock when she first showed the Losties where to get the dynamite? If I remember correctly, she led them so far and refused to go any farther? Was this a fake or did something happen to change her mind?

#317. Posted by: littlelostlamb at May 6, 2007 7:05 PM

Something I've been pondering....does anyone think the Jack is gonna die/be killed at the end of the season?

We keep hearing that someone may die off and Jack would be as good of a bet as any....he has basically turned his back against the losties, he has seemingly joined the Others, and he is not the apple of Kate's eye anymore...

So I wonder if the producers are purposely doing this to his character so that the audience will not be as bummed when he leaves...Not to mention Matthew Fox has started his movie career and probably has more opportunities lined up...Just a thought

And if this happens, I can't say I'd be too bummed up.....Juliet will be single again...God is that devious, calculated smirk of hers sexy!

#318. Posted by: mike at May 6, 2007 7:53 PM

@318/ I don't think Jack will bite it at the end of S3, but I do think it will be someone we know (and most like). LOST can only afford to lose one of a few 'core' characters from season one (Charlie/Claire/Danielle).
Juliets' I'm so innocent (vamp) smile has been referred to as a "Mona Lisa" smile by some.

#319. Posted by: Other 218 at May 6, 2007 8:12 PM

@302/Mike

In addition, when 815 crashed Ben revealed to Juliet the recent video of Juliet's sister. Could this video not have been delivered by a recent flight or submarine which included the kidnapped Losties (the staged 815 survivors.)

Here's another thought:
We have pondered for years now why all the Losties are such losers with respect to their families. Well, if you didn't want family searching for kidnapped people, who would you choose to kidnap? Name one Lost survivor whose father would care about them being kidnapped.

Finally, if you were the very evil director of Widmore, which of the two choices would you prefer to bring in large group of kidnapped people:

1.) Set up a fake Bali crash so that it is a major hoax, at the risk of being discovered in a major illegal enterprise.
2.) Create a real 815 plane crash, and risk no discovery save by escaped kidnapped survivors themselves.

#320. Posted by: Loz at May 6, 2007 8:29 PM

Re: Jackâ€™s & Julietâ€™s secret

I have read all the comments, and I havenâ€™t seen these ideas discussed yet. Sorry if it is pretty far fetched.

My first thought:

Kate says: â€œShe had a phone radio thing. Sayid's trying to get it to work.â€ When Juliet says â€œWe should tell her. Perhaps the â€œsecretâ€ has to do with Sayid.

Kate was there when John blew up the Flame and had heard Mikail say that communications with the outside world were not working since the purple-sky incident. So I doubt that is what Jack & Juliet were hiding. Also Kate knows about what happens to pregnant women on the island, and she would certainly know (based on her recent â€œencountersâ€ with Sawyer) that pregnancy is always a possibility. So I doubt that is what J & J are hiding.

That leads me to think that possibly her mentioning that Sayid is working with the satellite phone was what triggered Juliet to say â€œwe should tell her.â€ Is is possibly something that Juliet knows about Sayid from the file the Others have on him? Is it something that happened while Sayid was tied to the swing-set in Bennsylvania that we have not yet seen? Maybe something Sayid said or did during his captivity? Could the Others have â€œturnedâ€ Sayid? Does Juliet know this and she told Jack?

My second thought:

Perhaps based on the fact that Kate clearly is the only one of the Losties who still trusts Jack enough to confide in him, Juliet thinks they should reciprocate by confiding in Kate whatever secret it is that they have. Meaning that the secret is self has nothing to do with Kate, but since Kate trusts Jack, maybe Juliet thinks that Kate should be let in on their secret. Now if Juliet is really double-crossing the Losties, this would work to her advantage to have more than just Jack under her influence. Whereas if she is really working with the Losties and double-crossing Ben, it would still be to her advantage to have another ally. So either way, confiding in Kate would be good for Juliet.

So what is the secret? Well I got to thinking about the speculation from the episode â€œMan from Tallahasseeâ€ that Locke did not really blow up the sub. Maybe Juliet (who were standing on the dock when the Sub â€œexplodedâ€) realized that the sub really didnâ€™t explode and that it was another one of Benâ€™s tricks. At first I thought this couldnâ€™t be right based on Jackâ€™s comments to Juliet in â€œOne of Usâ€ when he said â€œYou were there. You were standing right next to me when that submarine exploded. In that moment I saw it in your eyes. You want to get off this island more than anything else in the world. Makes you one of us.â€

Maybe Juliet later told Jack that the sub did not explode, it was a trick. Maybe that is why Jack trusts Juliet so much. That is their secret and now that they know there is a rescue vessel 80 miles off shore, they have a way to reach it.

Just my thoughts, thanks for your patience with this long post!

#321. Posted by: Christine at May 6, 2007 11:36 PM

@310/311
Sawyer specicically askws that question (paraphrasing here) "Locke died becauyse you threw him out a window?" Copper "No, that paralyzed him, he died on Oceanic Fligfht 815"

@306/7/8
I thoguht the same thing, but as whacky as it sounds, this is a possibility: I know when I flew from the US to Aus on Qantas, they had me list an emergency contact in case the plane crashed. Maybe Locke listed dear old dad, cause he was a wimp and still wanted Daddy's approval, or maybe Cooper was hoping to run cons against families of those who died on the flight and came across Locke's name. There's a bunch of other possibilities, but it is not out of reason to think he would know Locke was on that flight once it crashed.

@321, I am still not conviced the sub EVER leaves the dock, I think drugged people are brought to the island and put on the sub so they THINK the sub brought them there. Just MHO.

@312 We can assume MOST of the Others were not expecting a plane crash. But Ben may or may not have been taken by surprise, he was certainly calm under pressure in "A Tale of Two Cities". I am not convinced yet that Ben/Jacob/Richard Alpert did not create the crash...but maybe your theory is right and it was Dharma instead

#322. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 7, 2007 5:40 AM

@310/311
Sawyer specicically asks that question (paraphrasing here) "Locke died because you threw him out a window?" Copper "No, that paralyzed him, he died on Oceanic Flight 815"

@306/7/8
I thought the same thing, but as whacky as it sounds, this is a possibility: I know when I flew from the US to Aus on Qantas, they had me list an emergency contact in case the plane crashed. Maybe Locke listed dear old dad, cause he was a wimp and still wanted Daddy's approval, or maybe Cooper was hoping to run cons against families of those who died on the flight and came across Locke's name. There's a bunch of other possibilities, but it is not out of reason to think he would know Locke was on that flight once it crashed.

@321, I am still not conviced the sub EVER leaves the dock, I think drugged people are brought to the island and put on the sub so they THINK the sub brought them there. Just IMHO.

#323. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 7, 2007 5:42 AM

@321

I really do think that the submarine was blown up, along with the purple sky incident, this causes that there is no rescue or communication with the real world possible.Mostlikely this is what jack and julliet hide for now for Kate: Sayid can repare the satellite phone as good as he can, it won't be of any use....(no rescue possible via this way)But on the other hand: why not telling Kate this, just to keep her morale up?... (the secret could be something else to : Julliet confessed to Jack that she is a mole and confessed the Other's plans with the losties.Or Kate is indeed pregnant and will die like sun)
If Julliet confessed she's was mole there is going to be another conflict-situation between Jack and the other Losties,when Sawyer returns with the tape.Jack will pick julliet's side again

I think that some error in the island's protection (caused by the purple sky incident) permitted Naomi to crash there.I don't think she has anything to do with the other's and that she is really send by Desmond's girl. I think that you can get ON the island (only at specific places with low protection) by accident, but that you can't get OFF it, for now anyway.

I think this is going to be a red line from now on:systematicly discovering what is protecting the island from the real world, and destroying it so every one can get rescued....

Some basic questions are still unanswered:

What happened to Michael and his son?Are they really escaped?

How did the initiative manage to get all the losties on the same plane, while only random events caused the losties' departure from sydney?

How the heck do the Other's know everything from the losties:they have rapports, notes ,... from every losties' life.
(probably once the others had the passenger list, they communicated with Dharma in the real world asking for all the rapports?.....but then all the losties had to be observed from birth on to know all that stuff)

My list of questions is endless now i'm thinkin' about it.
Anyway, since a couple of episodes there has become some speed in the story and i like it.
Love to read your comments.

grtz
Jan from Belgium
(ps: sorry if there are some writing errors)

#324. Posted by: jan at May 7, 2007 6:40 AM

#312...

This would make sense but what do you make of Ben and Mahkail working together right after the crash? Ben walked up and said don't shoot and then wen Juliet and him were inside Mahkail was alreading working on the info for passangers on the plane? I don't know it seems like he ws comfotable with Ben there, and also Beas wasn't she an other too? Who knows though, she could be alive as well.

#325. Posted by: lostforever at May 7, 2007 9:41 AM

@FenwayBen/322 "I am still not conviced the sub EVER leaves the dock"

In "The Glass Ballerina," Colleen was told to take the "Galaga" (AKA the sub) to capture Desmond's sailboat. Since they arrived at the boat (Sun shot Colleen there), I assume that they did indeed take the sub. This is the only possible proof that I can find that the sub is actually a functioning craft.

#326. Posted by: bcre8ve at May 7, 2007 9:57 AM

@278/Ettaquette - you asked ButchM -
What acronym list? I like the ones you listed - are there more?

There'a another title called "LOST: Acronyms, Naomi & Camping...Oh My!" that Red...Neck...Man started on the side questions of the week blog. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll post the link. It's under the other reviews by mac but instead of episode name it's what I typed above.

Hope this helps.

#327. Posted by: BunnyLover at May 7, 2007 10:22 AM

Oh, I just noticed you can also scroll down to the bottom of this page and see the link.
duh...

#328. Posted by: BunnyLover at May 7, 2007 10:24 AM

Maybe Naomi's helmet had some night vision capabilities, and that's how she was able to see the island in the darkness when the clouds parted?

I still think the context of the conversation between J, J, & K indicates that what J&J didn't tell Kate had nothing to do with pregnancy. Juliet only told Jack that "we should tell her" after Kate mentioned Sayid and the phone. So their secret definitely has something to do with island communication or another means that J&J are planning on using to try to leave.

I'm in the camp that doesn't believe that Ben or the Others knew the plane was going to crash. Nor did any of them do something to cause it. They were all surprised.

And it wasn't Flight 815 that was staged...it had to be the Bali plane miles under the ocean.

Sounds like I'm in the minority now, but I hope Jack survives for the run of the series. His ever changing character and loyalties help make the show interesting to watch.

The 'numbers' seem to be taking a backseat in the mythology of the show this season... They're such a big part of Hurley's backstory that I hope they get back to them soon. And EXPLAIN their siginficance to our satisfaction. Is that even possible?

#329. Posted by: JoePike at May 7, 2007 11:03 AM

@329 I am afraid of the same thing. They "explained" the numbers in The Lost Experience but that didn't really do it for me. I won't be satisfied until HURLEY gets to learn the meaning of the numbers.

#330. Posted by: jay at May 7, 2007 11:15 AM

Weren't the numbers being broadcast from the radio tower?

#331. Posted by: Sky at May 7, 2007 11:33 AM

â†’ 331. Posted by: Sky at May 7, 2007 11:33 AM

Yes, the numbers were being broadcast from a radio towers on the island. Rousseau found the tower and changed it to her distress call. The losties heard the distress call using Sayie's radio they got from the pilot. Hurley got the number from is friend in the mental hospital and his friend heard the number while working at a listening post in the pacific while in the navy.

#332. Posted by: michael at May 7, 2007 12:54 PM

Interesting to think about the tower again. I know some people have complained that the Losties have made no further attempt to find the radio tower to send a distress signal. However, Rousseau changed it to her distress call and that obviously was not effective in reaching potential rescuers. Why try it again?

Also that seems to answer to me the question of whether Rousseau is in league with the others. Why would she send such a distress call if she was one of them?

I think the numbers will definitely come into play again someday. We just need to be patient. Looks like we'll get some big answers this week!

I too am of the opinion that Jack and Juliet know the sub isn't gone and that they have means to get off the island. I've had that feeling for awhile now. I think that's what they're keeping from Kate.

And to Jan from Belgium--don't sweat any writing errors. Most of us on this blog don't write so good too!

#333. Posted by: Crispy Seaplanes at May 7, 2007 1:24 PM

Okay, here is a far out theory.....
What if flight 815 never crashed? There were two fake cash sites set up. One in Bali and one on the island. The pass angers were gassed, put to sleep, and then woke up at the crash scene. The real plane is still at the island airport. we have seen the crash take place, from Ben's view, in 'A Tale of Two Cities" along with in air scenes of the breakup...but it is an idea. One I am sure is wrong, but I wanted to get it out there.

#334. Posted by: onelostdude at May 7, 2007 1:33 PM

Okay, this really doesn't contribute anything at all to the blog, but Jasper, Alabama -- home to a young James Ford, aka Sawyer Jr. -- is only about 30 min from where I grew up in NW Alabama. Its a smallish community of @15k people, historically this is coal country in AL, and I suppose it still has a large part to play in the area. I wonder if James' dad was a strip miner? BTW, the wikipedia link for Jasper has already been updated with a reference to young James. Cool...

#335. Posted by: BELost at May 7, 2007 2:32 PM

Cool that next week's episoden title is yet another reference to The Wizard of Oz. The writers don't miss a trick.

#336. Posted by: amanda S. at May 7, 2007 2:39 PM

@315/ becr8tive et al:

I have had similar type notions related to the Dharma v. Others scenario. I would however lend a twist, in that I believe the test subjects were native to the island, as descendants of the Black Rock and were the constructors of the 4 toed statue and other articles of antiquity on the island. My primary support for this comes from Ben (I realize how dangerous this is to base my argument on a self-affirmed LIAR), who was born on the island.

My problems with this have been the continued Dharma food drops (I understand what you and others stated related to this); it bothers me that Dharma / Hanso would just turn the researchers loose on the island to work on the equation with no periodic updates or evaluations of the research and just trust that when the universe changes (by changing the equation), then they would know that Dharma was successful.

Also, my other problem is with Jules and Mittelos. Who is Mittelos and if they are connected with Hanso / Dharma, wouldn't Alpert and Rom know that the captives are now running the asylum -- err, experimental station? Why would they still be recruiting for the island if the island was "off task"? If the captives are indeed now running the experiments Dharma initiated, how did they get $ etc for doing the off-island activities like recruiting, kidnapping, personal dossier research, etc.

The only explanation this train of thought has IMHO is that once the captive Others took over the experiment, Hanso recognized their potential to succeed exceeded the former scientists' and Hanso agreed to continue to fund the initiative in the hopes of science finding the answer.

How baby birthing and cancer cures and spinal regeneration figure into the research for the Val Eq are beyond me...

#337. Posted by: BELost at May 7, 2007 3:20 PM

In my opinion, I believe the Others are still part of Dharma. I truly hope we get a clearer picture of this on Wed. episode.

#338. Posted by: Crispy Seaplanes at May 7, 2007 4:01 PM

Since Juliet and Kate both know that women who conceive on the island are doomed to die, why was Juliet having sex with Goodwin and why is Kate having sex with Sawyer?

#339. Posted by: Mel at May 7, 2007 4:14 PM

@ Mel/#339: Who on this earth (or wherever) can explain the horny-ness of women? Not me! I gots no clue!

note: Next weeks Lost Question will not be 'Explain the pheromones of the female gender'.

#340. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 7, 2007 4:34 PM

@340/Red...Neck...Man.
RNM I hear you but I'm surprised that this issue is treated so casually. I guess it's like the failure of the characters to ask probing questions, it suits the plot.

#341. Posted by: Mel at May 7, 2007 6:41 PM

I would guess that Kate's sex is because Kate is not a rational person.

Juliet's sex probably was accompanied by birth control.

#342. Posted by: snow at May 7, 2007 7:49 PM

@ 337 + a half dozen more observers wrote:
- I have had similar type notions related to the Dharma v. Others scenario....
- My problems with this have been the continued Dharma food drops....
---------
My spin - FOOD DROPS: Maybe (just) the food that is being delivered to Losties, Others, etc... is tainted. Look at the symptoms - infertility, friskiness, anger/rage to violence, paranoia, etc... just maybe the free lunch has been tampered with to induce the state of unrest in our "test subjects".

#343. Posted by: Other 218 at May 8, 2007 12:17 AM

#339
Maybe it's just me or the fact I've been married 8 years, but in my experience, real life women are not quite as insatiable as their Lost counterparts. If only things truly were that way...

#344. Posted by: Crispy Seaplanes at May 8, 2007 9:23 AM

Female hormones aside... I think we may be missing the point. The ends of Kate's behavior is not sex. Sex is the means. The ends are

1) Payback Jack
2) An attempt to satisfy her personal intamacy issues in a non-commital way
3) Take care of her rebound feelings

I am still not convinced that Kate would have chosen Jack if Juliet had not shown up. Kate is after the forbidden fruit. She can't commit to anything/one and since Jack is no longer an option, it is safe for her to want him. She is comfortable with Sawyer for now due to the fact that they both have an understanding that she is using him.

#345. Posted by: bcre8ve at May 8, 2007 9:45 AM

I have been trying to figure out how Flight 815 loses radio contact near Fiji but then winds up crashed off the coast of Bali.

Flight 815 could not have started in the wrong direction to crash off Bali because it would have been picked up on radar over populated areas immediately and the pilots would have been informed of the error.
So if Flight 815 was on course until Fiji, how could the plane have crashed in Bali?

Fiji is at 180 degrees (long). Bali is at 115 degrees (long). The earth rotates at 15 degrees per hour.
If the plane stopped in mid air (suspended animation) for 4.3 hours, it would then be over the Bali coordinates. Upon awaking, and crashing, the pilot would still think he was over Fiji/Pacific instead of Bali coast.

One of the Lost mythology is the concept of Time.
How does one selectively "stop" Time?

#346. Posted by: welh at May 8, 2007 11:01 AM

***** SPOILERS *****

Check out this interview with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse where they discuss the last three episodes of the the season.

http://tinyurl.com/2akx3p

Some veeeerrrry innnteresting comments.

Enjoy!

#347. Posted by: BunnyLover at May 8, 2007 11:20 AM

Hey i just stumbled across this wacky peice of information, in the next episode there are a few new characters introduced, if u go on IMDB it tells you whos who - and this character called Emily is played by Carrie Preston who is Michael Emmerson's real life actress wife.

fascinating.

#348. Posted by: Andie at May 8, 2007 12:39 PM

welh--

Interesting observation about stopping time as an explanation for ending up in Bali. I like it

#349. Posted by: Crispy Seaplanes at May 8, 2007 12:40 PM

@346/welh,

"...If the plane stopped in mid air (suspended animation) for 4.3 hours..."

In the context of the show, I have no problem with stopping time, but if time stops, wouldn't the Earth stop revolving as well? If just the plane-time stopped, wouldn't the controllers have spied something amiss...like a jet hovering over the ocean? Even if the jet disappeared off radar and appeared to crash in the ocean, I believe that the controllers would have noticed its rapid descent.

I really like the theory, but I think there's a hole large enough to fly a 777 through it.

#350. Posted by: ransomjackson at May 8, 2007 1:05 PM

I like the time warping theories and all, but I just don't buy them. Desmond met not only Jack, but Libby in the real world, approximatley three years ago. If the Others manipulate time, or time is different on the island than the "real" world, then wouldn't someone have noticed that Des and Jack had aged differently? Or Russeau for that matter!

I think it's more likely a) Naomi is lying, b) Nami gets her tropical islands confused (especially after a near death experience), c) whoever staged the "wreckage" announced it was off Bali to keep people FAR away from the real island.

I could be wrong, there could be a whacked out theory the producers spring on us, but until there's some kind of proof of it in the show, Occum's Razor still applies...

#351. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 8, 2007 1:33 PM

A flight from Sydney to LA (19 plus hours) is only in 'radar' contact with controllers maybe only a total of 5 hours. Depending on the route, they should only be picked up by a few(Aust,NZeal,Fiji,US-Hawaii,US-SoCal).
The rest of the time they use a prmitive long-range radio to report their position. A flight missing a report may raise an eyebrow initially, but with radio failures and such, SAR efforts don't begin in earnest until the flight goes overdue. First step is a 'ramp search' all along the flight path. In this case they'd call all the airfields on the Pacific Coast of Central/South America, all of the island nation states in the Pacifc, call the Navy (ours and others) to check their radar tracks from vessels, etc.... it may be almost a full day before rescue could get a target area to begin a grid search.

#352. Posted by: SnappyPappy at May 8, 2007 1:41 PM

My theory is that Rousseau and Ben hooked up at one time and had Alex. Why else would Alex call Ben Dad? I alos think that Rousseau will be going after Ben and the Others because she has been banished by the others.

#353. Posted by: bhelton at May 8, 2007 2:07 PM

@ bhelton/#353: Hate to break it to ya, but Rousseau was preggers when she crashed on the island w/ her team. 'The Others' kidnapped her baby, Alex, after she gave birth. We assume Ben chose to raise her as his own daughter, due to the fact that she was born on the island (slight signaficance).

Ben and Rousseau have not bumped uglies!!

#354. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 8, 2007 2:25 PM

Alex calls Ben 'Dad' because she was abducted from crazy Danielle by the Others as an infant. She doesn't remember anything but being with Ben. She may not even know she was 'adopted', never having any reason to doubt that Ben is her real pop.

Danielle was preggo before she got to the island (and conceived off the island- that's why she's still alive).

#355. Posted by: JoePike at May 8, 2007 2:25 PM

Kudos RNM! You beat me to the punch.

Two fantastic similar answers to that post. We said the same thing but approached it from different angles. Between us, never has something been so comprehensively addressed...

#356. Posted by: JoePike at May 8, 2007 2:31 PM

@ JoePike: That's hilarious. When I saw our posts I was gonna type 'I beat you to the punch'. Are you my Bad Twin? We'll just roll w/ great minds think alike.

Only difference now is...Alex DOES know she was adopted (or at least has some doubt) thanks to Sayid's jungle-gym adventure!

#357. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 8, 2007 2:53 PM

Or at least she'll know very soon that she was adopted. Once her crazy-mama blows everything around her up and 're-abducts' her... Then she and Alex can live happily ever after. (!?!)

#358. Posted by: JoePike at May 8, 2007 2:58 PM

Wouldn't it be great if the season finale did lead up to a killer battle between the Losties and the Others....then right in the middle the entire battle-field explodes!, killing tons of people...all courtesy of our friendly neighborhood kook, Rousseau!

#359. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 8, 2007 3:21 PM

Ok this is something that keeps on bothering me. If Mahkail and Kelvin are part of the Others not the leftover Darhma, Why on earth would they not make their fellow Others take shifts at their stations. Why should Kelvin have been the only one pushing the button if he could have had help, and why would Mahkail choose to stay isolated and compile data for Ben when he too could take shifts and live inside the walls of Bensilvania. It seems as if some of the Others have to work alot harder then the other ones do.

#360. Posted by: Dakota at May 8, 2007 3:56 PM

@meg #287

Ahhhhh, meg o my heart ...

After rewatching the episode, Cindy's scarf clearly looks out of place. As Davidrh points out, other women also wore scarfs. Maybe they were prepping for a mass date with Benry.

Or as Cecil Rose says in #292 - Maybe the Other women wear scarves to hide the fact that their heads are now on different bodies.

@hurling #288 great story. LMAO

Hey meg, after all the scarf banter, it's hard to believe that someone actually criticized you for your original comment.

@jan from Belgium - do you eat Brussel sprouts?

@littlelostlamb - the immaculate conception, wasn't that Franco Harris?
;>)

HIS (hurling is second)

#361. Posted by: ButchM at May 8, 2007 4:02 PM

@ ButchM/#361: LOL at HIS. That was a solid laugh that I needed. Excellently done!

#362. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 8, 2007 4:07 PM

@bunnylover - thanks for the directions to the Acronyms. They were fantastic!

#363. Posted by: ettaquette at May 8, 2007 4:19 PM

BITCHES
Bcre8ve Is Third Cuz He's Excruciatingly Slow

Oops, sorry for the French

#364. Posted by: bcre8ve at May 8, 2007 5:15 PM

I wasn't apologizing for my language above (364), I just feel sorry for the French.

But I will apologise now.

#365. Posted by: bcre8ve at May 8, 2007 5:19 PM

@ 349/350:
I don't know what the writers are going to do with the Time/Location problem that keeps resurfacing on the show.
Now, if Naomi is a liar, and the writers wanted to project that with a Big Lie that the plane crashed in Bali (so far off course to be unbelievable), then again the Losties (with the possible exception of Sayid) never challenged her on the crash location. This follows a pattern of merely accepting any bizarre statement, document or event as being true. Is the "non-reaction" or lack of common sense of the Losties are experiencing the real clue to their situation? Drugged? Brainwashed? Lobotomized?

#366. Posted by: welh at May 8, 2007 5:54 PM

@ButchM - Will you marry me? (Sorry, the kids are sick and I've had a bit of wine and I DO remember you are a grandpa!)

I am excited for tomorrow night's episode, but I probably won't get a chance to post until Friday. I'm hoping that a time warp story will hold true, yet I think it's not going to be it.

Any news on Rose and Bernard? Are they not goint to be in one of the final episodes??

#367. Posted by: meg at May 8, 2007 7:49 PM

Here's something weird... Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't ALL the people on the island long-term black / African descent? The African slaves on the Black Rock, Henry Gale's ID showed him being black, and the plane with Eko's brother and friends... Odd. And they're all long dead. I guess that was a bad sign for Eko?? It probably has no significance, but then... you never know with this show.

@ Amanda/336 - Finally, I'm glad someone else saw the Wizard of Oz connection with tomorrow's episode! Henry Gale (which is also the name of Dorothy's uncle) flew in on a hot air balloon -- I'm willing to bet his wife was with him and pregnant -- thus, Ben/the Man Behind the Curtain. In fact, way up at 279 / 281, I wrote out my theory that the whole episode will be Oz-centric.

@339 ("why are Kate and Juliet having sex?") - Of ALL the people living on that island, the most likely to possess birth control just *happen* to be: Sawyer, and the Others (aka Goodwin). And they're the ones getting it on with Kate and Juliet. Hopefully, those 2 are connected.

@360/Datota: Good point on Kelvin and Mikhail. I thought Kelvin was secretly part of the others.. maybe they were taking shifts, until Des arrived and then Kelvin had to stay to maintain the act? But since we saw him in the military (via Sayid's flashback), he probably WAS telling the truth about joining up with Dharma. Oh well.

#368. Posted by: seakay at May 9, 2007 2:07 AM

@ Seakey 368:

Actually, I think your first point has a lot of significance. One of the themes of the show is black vs. white (you can go to lostpedia.com to read more about it). I don't think its a coincidence that all the black people who have arrived on the island have died....whether its a racial thing or something else I'm not sure. There was a key scene in an early episode where Locke is playing Othello (a game with only black and white pieces) with Walt and I wish I kinda remembered what they were talking about

I did not think about all the past island visitors being black before you brought it up...also this may relate to why Michael and Walt were the only two passengers allowed to "go home". The fact that they were the only two black people out of the losties (minus Rose and Bernard) to get the opportunity to leave the island (whether they did or not is left to be seen) seems far to obvious to be ignored...well done, seakey!

#369. Posted by: mike at May 9, 2007 2:25 AM

@368 Seakay:

Um, lots of people have mentioned the Wizard of Oz just in the past couple weeks alone...

As for the race issue, I'd be interested in seeing if there is more to it than just coincidence. Was poor Bea the only Other who was a minority?

@367 Meg:

*******************SPOILER************

Okay, there is no Rose/Bernard centric episode in the last few this season, but they are supposed to be featured in the Charlie centric "Greatest Hits" next week. Maybe they play a role in his death or near death (assuming there is a new Desmonition of course...)

#370. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 9, 2007 3:04 AM

@ Mike 369 - Thanks for the link! Bernard is actually white, but you're right - Michael and Walt (who were conviently released) weren't the only 2 black Losties -- Eko was also. And the island killed him... HMM.. And then there's Rose...

@ FenwayBen 370 - Sorry! I'm pretty new to this blog, and while I read through all the comments on THIS blog, I haven't caught up with all the previous weeks. I didn't realize it was such old news. =(

anyone --
Is there news on whether more of Libby's backstory will be filled in this season at all? If they're holding off on that, I wonder if it's ultra-significant. And also, where can I find the list of which episodes are based on who? I'm curious if there's a Hurley-centric one anytime soon - there's so few of those, I'm guessing his story is key to unlocking some answers. I wouldn't be surprised if the final episode in 2010 is based on him.

#371. Posted by: seakay at May 9, 2007 8:01 AM

Hey MIF - Yes, it's true. Rose and Bernard aren't in tonight's ep, but will be in next week's. And they're supposed to have 'a really great storyline' even though it's not an R&B-centric episode.

My prediction:
Juliet will double-cross the Others and be on Jack's side, only to double-double cross Jack since in the end she's been on Ben's side all along. You know, since he's still promised her she can leave.

But then again, I was adamant that Patchy was DEAD and last season that Ben was NOT a head honcho within the Others, so what the hell do I know?

#372. Posted by: JoePike at May 9, 2007 9:03 AM

Theory's on what's going to happen kept me awake most of the night. What if young Ben and Dharma/deGroots is not a flashback, but alternate timeline? I don't like the idea because this would preclude plausable explanations of the whole show. (to me anyhow)

#373. Posted by: mtncbn at May 9, 2007 9:18 AM

This just reported from the execs at ABC:

"Starting with the 2007-08 season, ABC will begin airing the 48 remaining original episodes of the hit drama "Lost," it was announced today by Stephen McPherson, president, ABC Entertainment. The episodes will air uninterrupted over three seasons (16 episodes each season), with the series concluding in 2009-10 with a highly anticipated and shocking finale."

#374. Posted by: GatorGal at May 9, 2007 9:51 AM

@374- That is old news.

#375. Posted by: Jon is FOUND at May 9, 2007 10:00 AM

@374-

But most appreciated.

@Jon is FOUND

Not everyone may have heard it yet

#376. Posted by: bcre8ve at May 9, 2007 10:40 AM

@GatorGal - thanks! That gives us three more to look forward too.

@JoePike - I am certainly looking forward to that story line, as well as tonight's. I wonder if they are going to explian the absense (I never could spell that word) somehow? I KNOW it's going to be a shocker! (mif)

#377. Posted by: meg at May 9, 2007 10:52 AM

#352

Sydney to LA is around 13 hrs....

I can't wait to see Rose/ Bernard...it has been weird they have not been around for sooooo long...It makes me wonder why the others are so interested in Locke who can now walk but not Rose who beat termianl cancer?

#378. Posted by: lostforever at May 9, 2007 11:10 AM

I think the Others have taken Locke because his cure is a bit more obvious, for example if you knew someone had cancer you can't look at them on day a determine that they have been cured' and thats the same case for Jin.

#379. Posted by: Sky at May 9, 2007 11:15 AM

I think the theory that Jack and Juliet have a plan to get rescued can be supported by Jack and Kate's interaction on the beach at the close of this episode.

Kate is upset with Jack (obviously) and hits him with what she thinks is a bombshell, "No one trusts you Jack." He doesn't seem too concerned about his apparent promotion to Benedict Arnold status but rather redirects the conversation to the "how" of Naomi's communication with her ship.

Having a plan and truly believing that the Losties are about to be rescued (via either his/Juliet's plan or Naomi's boat) would explain his "there's-something-bigger-than-my-getting-voted-island-prom-king-going-on-here" attitude.

#380. Posted by: bcre8ve at May 9, 2007 11:31 AM

Last week when Naomi looked up at Patchy (who, if you remember, was wearing a Dharma jumpsuit) and told him (in a language that the Losties did not understand) that she was not alone, was it:

1) So that he would rescue her accomplice because she is a part of Dharma

2) To threaten him because she is an enemy of Dharma

3) A neutral statement made by a semi-concious woman that had just crashed on an uncharted island and was concerned about her companion

4) Something else...

#381. Posted by: bcre8ve at May 9, 2007 11:56 AM

@339 ("why are Kate and Juliet having sex?")

Did I miss something? ;>)

#382. Posted by: Len at May 9, 2007 12:08 PM

Posted as a reference on #368:

@339 ("why are Kate and Juliet having sex?")

Did I miss something? ;>)

#383. Posted by: Len at May 9, 2007 12:18 PM

@369 Mike, I think they were playing Go an Asian board game with separate black pieces and white pieces. The games is where a piece or block of pieces is captured and removed if it is tightly surrounded by stones of the opposing color. The objective is to control a larger territory than the opponent's.

The pieces in Othello have two sides, one white and one black. They are to be flipped over when in a row. The point of the game is similar to Go and to make as many pieces the same color to control a majority of the board.

But it is an interesting thought, maybe the characters are really pawns in a board game where it is all about the territory.

@379 The reason that the Others are so fascinated with Locke is because they didn't know the Island had the ability to cure paralysis. Curing cancer and sterility were old news.

I forgot who posted this, but Kelvin and Mikhail are both ex-military who have seen and done horrible things. Perhaps they were on the island as a form of rehabilitation, exile, repentance. I always thought that was the case with Kelvin, but it could explain Mikhail as well.

#384. Posted by: boharpe at May 9, 2007 12:28 PM

....As Locke and Walt were playing Halo 3....

Come on guys!...it was Backgammon that Locke taught Walt how to play...explaining that the pieces are light and dark.

#385. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 9, 2007 12:54 PM

Just to settle the controversy, it was actually backgammon that Locke and The Boy Wonder were playing...and if I remember correctly, TBW kicked Locke's ass...

From lostpedia.com "Locke told Walt that Backgammon is "two players. Two sides. One is light, one is dark." ("Pilot, Part 2")"

Could this quote symbolize something greater? That maybe this is all about the essence of good vs. evil, heaven vs. hell? who knows??? Can't wait for tonight's episode....here's to hoping that we will finally get more answers than we do new questions!!

Best to all,
Mike a.k.a the initiator of "Scarf-Gate"

#386. Posted by: mike at May 9, 2007 1:25 PM

@Mike/386: "Scarf-Gate" -- Now *that's* funny ;)

#387. Posted by: mac at May 9, 2007 1:27 PM

@360, 368 I'm not convinced Kelvin was an Other. Sure he was conning Desmond with the whole biohazard suit routine (has that ever been explained?) but he was repairing Des's sailboat and the Others apparently did not know about the boat or the repairs. If Kelvin was originally an Other he was likely being punished as I think I read on this Board, so he was keeping the boat secret so he could attempt his own escape, but if he was an Other he would/should have known escape not possible. Ben seemed genuinely surprised to hear there was a boat and immediately told Colleen to capture it. If he knew about the boat before (a loyal Other would have told him about it) he would made arrangements to get it earlier.

#388. Posted by: leegull at May 9, 2007 1:35 PM

@371/Seakay No worries!

As for your question, as far as I know they have not released a schedule of who is being featured in the episodes past the season finale. I doubt they've written most of the scripts yet, and sometimes characters end up leaving or sticking around longer than expected. They did say we would learn more about Libby, but who knows what season that'll pop up in! (Seriously, who knows? Start talking!)

*****************SPOILER***********

The remainder of this season feature Ben (tonight), Charlie (next week), and Jack (finale).

#389. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 9, 2007 2:20 PM

The question is...who will Scarf-Gate take down???...

@337 - Belost and 338 - Crispy Seaplanes and everyone else out there on the Dharma/Others theory...I am in the camp that Dharma and Others are still the same. I just don't see how Dharma would still be invested in the island if everyone of the inhabitants is really part of a rebellion that manages to pull the wool over Dharma's eyes. I am not saying the other camp's theory is "wrong"...who the hell knows what's "wrong" and "right" on this show (isn't that why we all come back to this forum week after week???)...but I am just not following the theory that Dharma and the Others are separate factions. My brain can't compute...we shall see tonight I guess! Good luck to all us theorists, then, right???

ANTP???

See y'all tomorrow!

#390. Posted by: Vikki at May 9, 2007 2:20 PM

JACOB is a computer..........as in HAL.

Now all I have to do is figure out what J.A.C.O.B. stands for.

#391. Posted by: Len at May 9, 2007 2:22 PM

Just Another Computer On the Beach?

#392. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 9, 2007 2:25 PM

JACOB = Jacob As Cindy Outfitted (with) Bandanas?

#393. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 9, 2007 2:42 PM

J Jack
A Abandons
C Castaways
O On
B Beach

#394. Posted by: Dakota at May 9, 2007 2:46 PM

I hope mini Ben is just as intriguing as big Ben.
Think he will have Daddy issues like the rest of our friends on the island?
Was he born a leader or is he self proclaimed?
Looking forward to learning more about the Island tonight.

#395. Posted by: Dakota at May 9, 2007 2:56 PM

Hey guys -- thought you might be interested to know that we just broke the record for most posts on a thread. The previous high was 392 on "The Cost of Living."

Nicely done!

#396. Posted by: mac at May 9, 2007 3:01 PM

Congratulations on # 396 Mac, but since there are a few double posts I thought I'd send another one over to keep the numbers legit.

#397. Posted by: Usually Lurkin' at May 9, 2007 3:11 PM

Can anyone remember an episode in which Locke has fought hand to hand with anyone?

He did knock Sayid unconsious in order to destroy the radio equipment and he did beat Charlie. Other than that, it seems to me that he has always backed down or had someone else do his work for him. I don't think that we've seen him in a toe to toe, stand up knock down fight.

Am I forgetting something?

#398. Posted by: bcre8ve at May 9, 2007 3:13 PM

Congrats to all on the record. With all the theories, with all the anticipation, with all the new posters and with all the excitement of the upcoming season finale...well, that record may be re-written again.

#399. Posted by: JT at May 9, 2007 3:13 PM

Any chance we'll see 'Young Ben' KILL Jacob in secret, thus assuming the leadership role, but telling his minions that Jacob is alive and well and has given Ben the authority..but he has actually usurped the power?

Maybe that's why Ben uses the 'threat of Jacob' to the Others. He can hold that over their heads because they believe that Jacob is still in charge with Ben as his right hand man.

#400. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 9, 2007 3:19 PM

@bcre8ve/398 Don't remember any physical confrontations from Locke...on the 'island' or in any backstories...he's just not the type!

However, he will hammer you when your not looking, as you referenced, and when he saved Ana from Ben.

#401. Posted by: JT at May 9, 2007 3:19 PM

Congrats on the record, mac!

Sharpen your pencils, it looks like tonight's ep might give you writer's cramp, if the previews and net buzz are any indication.

I think there may be a couple of mine still waiting approval, if you want to lift the total a little higher.

#402. Posted by: Cecil Rose at May 9, 2007 3:28 PM

Congrats on the record, Mac. I attribute it to Scarfgate. Here's hoping Meg will keep noticing the little stuff we all ignore. I wouldn't have even thought about scarfs without her!

#403. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 9, 2007 3:28 PM

I need some reminding people, i do apologise but,

Remember when Ben captured by Rousseau? Well, what was he doing there?! If we are to believe that Rousseau genuinely captured him, WHAT on earth was he doing there?!

Was this explained?

#404. Posted by: Andie at May 9, 2007 3:42 PM

@Andie/404 "Remember when Ben captured by Rousseau? Well, what was he doing there?!"

According to Henry Ben "the Lair" Linus Gale, he was on his way to get Locke. It's possible that he was after Jack but I don't think we know for sure. It is very possible that the whole thing was a set up.

It is interesting that according to the producers, he wasn't supposed to be the leader of the Others. He was originally intended to be captured for 3 epis and then escape.

Michael Emmerson was so convincing as an actor and did such a good job, that they kept him on.

#405. Posted by: bcre8ve at May 9, 2007 3:54 PM

thank you for clearing that up dude, so now the storyline with Locke and Ben has continued... thats interesting. i wonder where it would have went if Ben was only in three episodes.

#406. Posted by: Andie at May 9, 2007 4:08 PM

Congratulations on the record mac! I was thinking about that when I logged on and saw over 400 posts. Wow, and I've logged on every day and read every single one. (Boring job huh...) Anyways, wanted to put my 2 cents in on the "who is Jacob" theory. I've read a lot on other sites (no offense mac) and not that this is a spoiler, just my theory, I think Jacob may very well be ole Smokie. Why you may ask? Well, the creators have been very illusive in answering any questions about "who" Jacob is. There's no new actor name listed in the credits for tonight. Also, there's a interesting preview posted elsewhere (if you want to know where, let me know) that is a coversation between Locke and Ben and Ben acknowledges that ****possible spoiler***** he is the only one of the Others that knows Jacob. Locke says "oh, well that's convenient" and Ben tells him he will take him to Jacob. Okay, so if Jacob is a person/actor and he's supposed to be in tonight's epi, and he's not listed as a guest star - put 2 and 2 together = Smokie... IMHO.
JACOB - Just A Cloud Of Black

hummmm????

#407. Posted by: BunnyLover at May 9, 2007 4:33 PM

@348

Andie, you had mentioned a new character coming up by the name of Emily, played by Michael Emerson's wife. Here's another Wizard of Oz reference. Auntie Em (Emily).

#408. Posted by: marlisa at May 9, 2007 4:34 PM

@BunnyLover

I've been thinking the same thing about ole smokey, but if there's a reveal that big I'd be shocked if it happened tonight! Either way I am stoked for the episode!

#409. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 9, 2007 4:40 PM

When Locke approached Sawyer and Sawyer declined going with him, Locke told him not to tell anyone he had been there. Then he ends up giving Sawyer the tape and tells him to warn the camp. Does that mean he had no intention of warning the camp if Cooper was not killed?

#410. Posted by: peb at May 9, 2007 5:00 PM

@ 410 peb

I bet he would have gone back to the camp and asked Sayid next if Sawyer had said no. Although he would have had to use a different con, but I don't think it's an issue, there was no way Sawyer was NOT gonna go. And no way Locke was gonna leave without his dead daddy on his back!

#411. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 9, 2007 5:23 PM

RNM, #362 - Thank you, thank you

#412. Posted by: ButchM at May 9, 2007 6:12 PM

MIF - Meg is first
BIL - ButchM is last (but WHO will know)?

#413. Posted by: ButchM at May 9, 2007 6:29 PM

*************spoiler***************

From Doc Jenson over at ew.com:

''Locke will hear two words tonight,'' says Lindelof. ''Those words, and the fact that he hears them, will change his course on the island forever.''

**********end spoiler**************

Uh-oh. Now the race is on for last place.

CIL - Clem is last

#414. Posted by: Clementine at May 9, 2007 6:38 PM

************SPOILERS?**************

Also, the producers have again said our castaways are not dead. And they added that they are not clones, either.

FIL FenwayBen is Last (I am 6 timezones behind...)

#415. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 9, 2007 7:03 PM

I say no chance that Smokey is Jacob. That would be quite lame.

P.S. - I know the two words Locke hears......"RNMIL Booooooooyyy!"

RNMIL is of course = Red...Neck...Man is Last!!!!!

#416. Posted by: Red...Neck...Man at May 9, 2007 8:24 PM

Oh...My...God...
Tonights Epi just ended. If you haven't seen it STOP READING NOW!!!!
******** TOTAL SPOILER ********

I said it, I'm not sure if I was right, but Jacob appears to be a unseen being? Perhaps Smokie when he's pissed? OMG - I totally yelled the "f" word at the final moments tonight when Ben Locke.
Un-f-n-b-leave-a-bull...
I'm at a loss.
I am lost.
First time posting from home.
Totally stunned.
Bye until tomorrow when we've all had time to digest what just happened.
Oh, and looks like Ben is a BunnyLover too...
BLIL

#417. Posted by: BunnyLover at May 9, 2007 11:18 PM

What I typed above didn't come out right because I used the left and right arrow marks to indicate "insert favorite f word here" Put that between Ben Locke and it will make sense. (Not the episode however...)
Goodnight.

#418. Posted by: BunnyLover at May 9, 2007 11:21 PM

BunnyLover, no fair posting about a different episode and calling last!

#419. Posted by: FenwayBen at May 10, 2007 6:30 AM

Okay BunnyLover - I haven't seen the episode yet but I did read your spoiler. I think I'm going to go home "sick" and watch it (I WANT TO). Man, I am psyched up now - this is going to be a long day!!

#420. Posted by: meg at May 10, 2007 8:14 AM

Gawd. Can't wait to read Mac's spin on this!

#421. Posted by: equeyaya at May 10, 2007 9:05 AM

@ FenwayBen
Sorry dude... Couldn't help but post last night. I'll try not to do that again but I mean Gaaawwd, I was just so stoked.
No more posting till mac's review is out. And Meg - it's worth going home sick, cause you WILL be sick at the end.

BLISL

#422. Posted by: BunnyLover at May 10, 2007 9:38 AM

You know an episode's stunning when people can't wait to post and have to start posting on last week's show to let out their feelings.

I agree, it was a shocker. I'll hold substantive comment until mac posts.

Oh, and CRIL.

#423. Posted by: Cecil Rose at May 10, 2007 11:20 AM

Like I said ..... bil (ButchM is last)

#424. Posted by: ButchM at May 10, 2007 3:49 PM

Butch WAS last

#425. Posted by: Luvlost at May 11, 2007 6:10 PM

Butch IS last

#426. Posted by: ButchM at May 13, 2007 2:50 PM

Was. );>p)

#427. Posted by: Cecil Rose at May 18, 2007 5:16 PM

I have visited your site 573-times

#428. Posted by: Visitor285 at August 2, 2007 9:39 PM

3-19 - The Brig

Locke's dad issues solved
And Sawyer's con-man issues
Hope they feel better.

#429. Posted by: Cecil Rose at January 25, 2008 2:34 AM

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#430. Posted by: johnmazarr at March 21, 2008 8:39 AM

COMMENT WARNINGS

If your post contains spoilers -- or even hints at spoilers -- add ***** SPOILERS ***** to the top of your comment.

Your post will NOT immediately show up if you post any URLs. Because of ongoing spam issues, I need to manually approve comments that include links. This sucks, but it's the only solution at this time.

Super-long URLs screw up the page. If you post one of these, people will get very angry at you and really, no one wants that. The solution is easy. Go to www.tinyurl.com and create a mini URL.

Do not post under multiple identities and then have inane conversations with yourself. This kind of nonsense will get you banned from the blog.

Do not post in ALL CAPS FOR YOUR ENTIRE POST. In netiquette, all caps suggests you're screaming. In etiquette, it's lame. All-caps posts will be deleted.

Please scan through previous posts to see if someone has already addressed your theory or comment.

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