Lost Reviews and News

Awesome recap, Mac! I sometimes get distracted during the show, thinking "How is Mac going to make sense of all this?" And you did it in a mere two hours. Seriously, I salute you.

"Ben darts his tongue over his buggy eyeball." That line alone was worth me being extra tired tomorrow.

Vincent was in last week's episode, briefly. I'd have to go back to look for it, but I do remember seeing him.

And may I mention my favorite Benry-ism of the night? With sarcasm dripping from every word and a sly, dismissive head-shake, "Karl. Since you're sleeping with my daughter, I think you can call me Ben."

Now I need more time to process all this. Night, all!

ok...I don't have tivo or DVR so I come here to find out the details.

However, I watched last weeks episode (again) at 8 and it was definitely Patchy's eye at the cabin. That guy has 9 lives.

Kudos to the people who said that "Tell my sister I love her." was an alert to her crew.

Also, did you see Ben and Locke's response when Hurley said they were going the wrong way to the cabin?...ooooo

Glad to have you back Mac, even if it's in abridged form. This episode was outstanding, it answered a lot of the questions concerning episode 1. Couple observations, what the hell is Oceanic 815 doing in the Indian Ocean??? and being showed with a westward track towards Africa or India (???) in the TV graphic. When we know full well it was heading east from Sydney to Los Angeles and crashed somewhere in the Pacific. Wouldn't the friends and family know their loved ones were heading to LAX.

hmm. So maybe the "they" that Abbadon was asking Hurley about are in fact the Boaties, and not the other survivors. If that's that case, then maybe the Oceanic 6 leave the island a lot sooner than I thought, maybe even this half season.

Somehow, the 4 boaties all seem pretty sure that the Oceanic 815 wreckage is fake. Dunno how they would know that, but hopefully we'll find out soon.

Is it just me or has this been the best start to any of the seasons so far? Ben is gonna save everyone at the end of this crazy series! Mark my words...

No, it's not just you, it's like six people. Oh... nevermind, yeah it's just you.

The voice on the submarine footage says they're following the heading "137" from "our guy's map." Wasn't that the same heading Ben gave Michael?

Except that ought to be in a completely different location, since the wreckage was found off Indonesia.

Thanks for the great review Mac!

In answer to your question about Vincent, I think we saw Vincent in Season 3 at least once. I remember him carrying a skeletal arm bone to Hurley. The arm bone I think was what led Hurley to find the VW Bus with Roger Workman (Ben's dad) and the stash of Dharma Beer.

Of course when I say Flight 815, I mean the fake one. Who would have the resources to drop a commercial aircraft down into a three-mile deep ocean trench on the wrong side of Australia. I'm guessing someone with pretty deep pockets and a desire to hide the island. Charles Widmore anyone??? Wouldn't be surprised if the oceanographic survey team was sent there by the same person and/or organization to discover it by "accident"

Clementine & Mac:

We did see Vincent in the last episode when they were choosing teams (team Jack and team Locke) someone walked to Locke's group with Vincent, but it was not clear who it was who was leading Vincent.

Anyone notice any "HO"s in this episode? None leaped out at me on a first viewing.

LOL @ LockeBox!

GRAA, Mac! We're Gonna Need A Bigger Helicopter!

>The skinny dude's name is Dan Faraday. He hails from Essex, Mass. and he's a physicist. He's also a snappy dresser who likes to wear thin black ties and dress shirts while parachuting onto mysterious tropical islands.

Perhaps his real name is Bond, James Bond. He only needs the cummerbund.

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>Unfortunately, Dan is also carrying a loaded gun

More evidence.

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>And this is when we meet Miles Straum.

I first thought he introduced himself as "Maelstrom".

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>CLICK CLICK

>Sayid and Juliet emerge from the brush, clutching rifles.

Wasn't it more like KAPOW! KAPOW!?

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>(why does Karl have a gun?)

He gave the beachies his gun (that Alex gave _him_) in the S-3 finale to help repulse the Others' Sabine women raiding party. Jin used it to shoot (and miss) at the dynamite. I guess, invasion being over, the beachies politely gave it back to him.

o-----------------

>Speaking of Vincent, can anyone recall the last time we saw him? All I can remember is way back at the beginning of season two when Shannon was taking care of him.

S-3-10 "Tricia Tanaka is Dead" Vincent brings Hurley Roger Workman's hand, complete with VW key chain, leading him back to the hippie van.

S-3-14 - "Exposé" Vincent sniffs around the Paolikki "bodies", pulling the blanket off them.

Those are the last two I recall.

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It's not just you, JoeyJohn1978 / 5 thru 11. It's a great start. But could you ease off a little on that post button, please? It just takes a while. Wait for it.

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@Mac: Not to complain, or anything, but could you maybe resume posting the review at Noon? This is keeping me up entirely too late.

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THE NUMBERS ARE BACK!

The helicopter (US registered) has a tail number of N842N.
There's no actual aircraft with this tail number (I checked the FAA registry).

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What's with the difference of directions to the cabin? Does it move around? Is there more than one? Is either Locke or Hurley mistaken? Or was Locke in fact taking them somewhere else?

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Went back to last week and watched the 'lawyer' Abbadon exit from the mental institution after Hurley became excited/upset. There's a quick flash that could be just dark lighting on a very dark man in a dark suit, but I swear there's more than a auggestion of smoke monster gliding out the door.

o-----------------

Covert op? WTH? (Heck)

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Tunesia?

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Inglewood?

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Bahamas?

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I'm beginning to feel like I'm watching the opening scenes of "Close Encounters..."

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The uh the uh the uh that's all folks.

Good luck, and Namaste.

So I guess I was wrong about not having a boat-centric episode. But hey, at least the Lost writers and I both felt the show was lacking decomposing bodies. And, I am happy that Sawyer and Locke finally asked Ben some questions that we are asking. This episode really made me feel that the writers aren't going to give us some supernatural explanation.

I thought this episode was great -- more like a season opener than last week's with more "wow" moments... new characters...the Dharma bear in Tunisia... the plane at the bottom of the ocean, complete with bodies. A couple of other thoughts:

- Who wants to bet that Naomi is not dead yet?

- Ben hasn't been having much luck killing people lately, has he?

(This is my first post-- I started watching lost a year ago on DVD and found your blog, Mac, during season 3. Great work! Now I can finally watch season 4 live!)

Col. Kurtz. I loved that line! ;-)

I can't believe they took their eyes off Ben for a minute.

Where is Richard??

Has anyone seen him?

Is he the "I've got a man on their boat" that Ben is stuttering about?

Seriously... is this guy's name really ABADDON?

That's quite corny.

Abaddon can mean anything from destruction to hell to angel of death.

Oh wait. This guy's name is spelled Abbadon in stead of Abaddon. So I'm probably wrong.

Great episode - great recap! Can't wait to see how it all unfolds...

Wondering what Penny will do after her contact with Charlie. Surely she won't just go back to whatever she was doing before he buzzed in.

Thanks Mac, you're really the best!

I'm writing from Lisboa, Portugal, and I was trying to wait until I see episode 2 but I couldn't resist to read your amazing review.

I'm a big Lost fan (since day one!) that can only rest after reading it.

Resting the body because the mind keeps working and working and working with all these new developments! Ai!...

Best show on Earth! And in The Island too :)

"Hi, nice to meet you ... sorry about that plane crash thing" - reminded me when Charlie met Claire.

Até para a semana!

I think you missed two huge points:

1. We have every reason to believe the "original" pilot -- the missing wedding ring I think is a giveaway that this wreckage was staged.

2. The reason the four non-Naomi freighters were all so shaken by the plane's crash is that they were *all supposed to be on it.*

Q: Could Michael be Ben's mole on the boat?

Great review Mac, as always. My wife and I noticed that of the "Boaties", when each of them heard the news of the discovery of 815, Dan seemed EXTREMLY freaked out, almost to the point of tears, and none of the others did...any thoughts folks?

What about the silver box Jack found in the Jungle that contained the Biohazard bags and respirators?

Who was the grandson that was murdered that Jennifer Love Hew..oh wait, sorry, Miles was communicating with at the lady's house?

Also, I have noticed in this episode, that Ben is a master manipulator, trying to get into Karl's head, ruffling Sawyers feathers and somehow staying alive by just managing to give enough information to keep himself useful to Team Locke.

@ Mac~ how did you miss the greatest line in the episode (Sawyer to Ben)"you're wastin' your time... YODA! ha ha ha!

Sorry.. I'm now a dirty double poster...

This show is making my head hurt. Does anyone else feel like that?

By any chance did anyone notice the woman who was with Charlotte at the polar bear site? She bears a striking resemblence of the woman who denied Jack his prescription in the pharmacy in the finale.

Great recap as always Mac.

First off, I come bearing the gift of crow for myself and others to eat. Last week I was SURE that damn eye in the cabin was Locke, but it obviously wasn't. I'm still not sure who it was.

Was anyone else puzzled as to the how the backstory of Dan relates to why he was on Black Rock Down??? The back stories for the other four made a little more sense, but we just see weepy Dan crying at some crash footage. Weird.

I loved the episode, but I'm starting to get a little worried that this is going to turn into the beggining of season 3 where they just pelt us with new things we need answers too, and not reveal much else. It really has me concerned because there is only eight episodes, so if they planned to have a big reveal episode in the middle of the season, we'll have to wait a whole year (at least) for some answers.

When they showed the "pilot" of Oceanic 815, was that actually him. I thought it was a completly different guy from the pilot (no pun intended) episode where he's beaten to death by Smokey? Or was that guy the co-pilot?

Did anyone watch the "Introduction Film for the Orchid" feature on the season 3 DVD? Maybe that explains about Patches nine lives???

I remember reading a while back in an interview with Michael Emmerson that quoted him as saying how thriled he was to be playing the part of Ben, especially isnce it was originally only a guest appearance.

If that is so, then is he not as pivotal as we would think? Or have the prodcuers had some kind of "revelation" since introducing Ben and worked to make him more of a primary character (which he obviously is).

Kinda brings up the whole arguement of "we have a huge, bigger-than-you-can-imagine" plan -vs- "we're winging it as we go along" schools of thought. Hmmm...

Hey, Folks...
I think the new under-sea plane is truely a hoax, the footage clearly shows the cock pit. Now we know in season one the pilot is eatin up by the black smoke monster,it pulled him from the cock-pit which was in a tree,or am i wrong. GREAT RE:cap as usual.

“He mumbles and seems to live in his own little physicist world (at one point he remarks on the weird light patterns on the island).”

I believe this statement will be BIG when we get the answer to where the island is. If you have seen the Disney movie Atlantis you will remember something like this. A team of hand picked experts (Boaters) are assembled to find the lost city of Atlantis. They are in a submarine that is to go into a canyon (where Oceanic 815 is) which leads to a cave that will then get them to Atlantis. When they get there, they find a world under the ocean that has a power source that has a weird light pattern.

@3men: I think the grandson is nobody we've met. It was just a scene meant to show that Miles can talk to the dead. Even dead heroin dealers.

My guess for the respirators is that they expected another gas attack. We've seen that twice from Ben. (The original kill off and leaving Kate behind in the compound.)

I'm with the BANG BANG too.

I thought the Boaties were more like the A-Team, everyone had a specialty. It looks like Mr. T/Naomi (muscle) is out of the picture already.
Hannibal/Miles: in charge
Faceman/Charlotte: Brains
Murdock/Dan: crazy mumbler

I was very disappointed to see the ghost whisperer show up. His 'power' seems genuine to the story and allows all the supernatural possibilities to enter the program.

/JoeyJohn1978 is 6 thru 11!

@mac - "Lockian web" - ONLY The Original Series!

@All you Francophiles: You guys just HAD to jinx tonight's episode by writing in French, didn't you?
Bueno, yo voy ahora. La semana que viene, van a hablar todo el episodo en espanol. O ivrit, yiddish, or ASL. Si no es ingles, debe ser alguna idioma que entiendo.

Great review Mac! I just want to say, I totally called Naomi's, "Tell my sister I love her," message as a code.

I wrote it last week on the message board. It was post 103 on last weeks message board. I am so smart, S.M.R.T....oops I mean A.R.T.

as lost likes to throw hints with the names of the characters...

'faraday' as per wiki:

Michael Faraday, FRS (September 22, 1791 – August 25, 1867) was an English chemist and physicist (or natural philosopher, in the terminology of that time) who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry.
(although dan not michael)

has anyone done an anagram of Miles?

overall good episode and id like to 'think' that the writers give a nod to the fans by directly answering questions that we want to know about.

also - about the bio suits.. similar/same to what desmonds partner/ets was wearing in previous seasons.

well done on recap

c

I just wish someone would give Ben a good punch in the nose.

loved last nights episode, definitely one of those episodes where you wish you could fast forward through the commericals. :)

if anyone had any doubts before, i think it was obvious that the eyeball from last weeks episode wasnt locke's. the eye was brown and locke has blue eyes.

cant wait to find out exactly why ben would command such a secretive and top notch mission. the picture miles had of ben had him in the surroundings of what appeared to be an office environment, so when was the picture taken and what was been doing??

miles is obvioulsy a hot-head and will definitley give the losties hell as they try to unravel the exact nature of the "freighties" mission.

and what's up with george not being able to come to the phone when miles called him, or was it dan that called him??

peace to all,

tiffani

Did everyone else miss the point of the line where Dan says "the light is different DOWN here" or did I hear it wrong? I think it's more evidence that they're not necessarily on the surface.

BTW, speaking of eating crow, I'm on board with the concept that the 815 at the bottom of the ocean is possibly staged and my idea of their existing in two places at the same time is likely wrong. But I still stand by the idea that they likely are not anywhere near where we think they are (North Pole, perhaps? or at least through the North Pole to get to them?) and that they might not even be on the surface or in the same existence as we are.

Great post, Mac. Great episode.

Mac come on man. Those were your two funniest lines???

The funniest line ever throughout the entire series was Sawyers:

"What? And you didn't ask any follow up questions?!?!"

Seriously I had to stop the show and laugh it off for about 6-7 minutes.

anyone notice that the pilot they showed on TV -- Seth Norris -- was Matt the cop who can read minds from Heroes? Wonder if that was an easter egg or just a coincidence.

Did anybody check into the 1-888 number that was shown in the news footage of the dead fake pilot? Is it a real number?

Remember when those big random drops of supply came by air to the island a season or two ago? I wonder if/how that ties into this?!

You are right Mac "Cockroach Quailties for Vincent"..i was thinking the same thing. I swear last year i saw footage of Vincent at Mike Vick's old house... can't get rid of that dog.Maybe they the Losties can write a note attach it to Vincent's collar and throw him in the ocean,he's bound to wash-ashore somewere alive & well.
And last night i could almost hear Hurley say, "dude i left darma bread crumbs leading away from Jacob's cabin,trust me it's that way".

I was wondering if anyone else noticed the picture Miles showed of Ben. He is in what looks like an office computer room in like a suit. I am wondering where they got that picture from if he has been on the island his entire life. I thinking maybe he hasnt been...

What if the “backstories” on the 4 boaters were actually forward flashes? I don’t have DVR to watch the episode over to disprove it so I want to throw it out there and see what people had to say.

Jack makes it clear to Hurley while playing basketball that they are not allowed to revel the “truth” So maybe that holds true to the 4 boaters after they leave the island.

Boater #1 - Dan Faraday was crying when he saw the footage of the plane under water because he knows they are still alive.
Boater #2 – the “would-be pilot” can’t tell how he knows that the pilot shown in the crash under water is not his friend that was flying the plane so he points out the wedding band so it shows that he has a reasonable explination for saying that it is not the pilot.
Boater #3 – she discovers the polar bear in the desert after being on the island and that is why she recognizes the DHARMA logo and doesn’t seemed surprised that the polar bear was in the desert because she knew that a polar bear was found on the island as well (I know this hasn’t been shown, but this theory is under the assumption that the Losties reveal the polar bear incident to her sometime during her stay on the island.

Just some thoughts I had, thought not completely worked out.

For sure - they were future-stories. Surprised to see that anyone thought them to be backstories.

@Jen: I don't think they were flashforwards because we see that Naomi was supposed to gather the team and now she is dead. Abbadon tells her that they each have their specialty and use.
Perhaps George is Abbadon?

One big question is are the Boaties/A-Team looking for Ben or Hunting for him?

What a fascinating crew of people from the freighter. A physicist, a ghostbuster, an anthropologist, a pilot, and...an enforcer? Naomi was probably key to their mission, so odds of success are already looking bad. And just what is their mission? To 'get' Ben Linus? (Dead or alive?) Naomi also had a picture of Desmond--another target?

The only person who might have been looking for Desmond besides Penny would have been her dad Charles Widmore. What's the Widmore-Dharma connection? Was Widmore running the operation on the island before the purge, and is looking for payback from Ben?

Also thought it was interesting that Charlotte the anthropologist has the initials "C. S. Lewis" (Charlotte Staples Lewis!) Any polar bears in Narnia?

Boy, things seem to be really flying along. Two points which interested me. When Charlotte was excavating the Polar Bear skeleton in the desert, was that Sayid's long lost love assisting Charlotte? I couldn't remember, but she did look familiar.

I like the Abbadon character. He's a great creepy mysterious villian type, and now since Ben has lost much of his control and edge (I don't like this new wimpier version) Abbadon has filled that spot well.

My second item of interest was the conversation (was it Naomi and Abbadon) about "what do we do if we run into 815 survivors?" I thought was very interesting too. Really made me wonder why they suspected 815 survivors would be involved in their mission to the island.

As always, enjoyed the review and comments.

Thanks Mac

OK This effing episode is really really threw me off. If Benry has a man on their boat, he obviously knew they were coming, but how, if this all happens like three hours before at the communications tower where Naomi is killed?
Dahrma Polar bears in Tunisia, What's that all about???.
There seems to be some sort of know-it-all way that Benry has that we are totally unaware of. And who the heck is that Abaddon dude? he's really freaky by the way.
Taller Walt/Jacob Ghost??? So does this mean Walt and Micheal are dead?
Each sees Jacob as they see fit to see him, Ben as Jacob, Kate as a horse, Locke as Walt, Jack as his Dad, etc....
This season is getting real good.
Mac loved the post man!

Just to add the phone number does work .. call it !!
1-888-548-0034
I called it and it TOTALLY freaked me out !!!

@ JT 44 - Well, Naomi's was clearly a flashback. what makes you so sure they're flash forwards?

@#9 In missing pieces the Maxwell Groupe, who are the people running the search (for the Black Rock!?!) and stumble upon the wreckage (via the same boat the Christine 1) are a division of Widmore according to there letterhead

@#20 -2 Really nice analysis. I think your right or they new someone on it. What I can't figure out is how and why they were recruted to join this team to find Ben...

How about that polar Bear in Tunesia...Another Dharma testing ground or did it travel through space (and time if Tunesia is where the Island use to be...)

Also, for me, the only people that could logicaly be looking for Ben are DHARMA (and I think they're pissed for the killing of all their people and taking over the island thing...)

Another "weird" moment was when Miles called on the phone and whoever it was he wanted to talk to was "to busy" to come to the phone...WTF IS UP WITH THAT!!!

Covert op, recruted outsiders, Island found, they get the call and Miles has to go through a call screening receptionist!!! I just don't get it. The only reasonable explination would be that there's something even more important going on...

That's all for now

BTW Sawyer called me Huckelberry Pinhead

Faraday - How is everyone missing this?

A Faraday cage or Faraday shield is an enclosure formed by conducting material, or by a mesh of such material. Such an enclosure blocks out external static electrical fields. Faraday cages are named after physicist Michael Faraday, who built one in 1836.

An external static electrical field will cause the electrical charges within the conducting material to redistribute themselves so as to cancel the field's effects in the cage's interior. This effect is used, for example, to protect electronic equipment from lightning strikes and other electrostatic discharges.

To a large degree, Faraday cages also shield the interior from external electromagnetic radiation if the conductor is thick enough and any holes are significantly smaller than the radiation's wavelength. For example, certain test procedures of electronic components or systems that require an environment devoid of electromagnetic interference may be conducted within a so-called screen room. These screen rooms are essentially labs or work areas that are completely enclosed by one or more layers of fine metal mesh or perforated sheet metal. The metal layers are connected to earth ground to dissipate any electric currents generated from the external electromagnetic fields, and thus block a large amount of the electromagnetic interference. This application of Faraday cages is explained under electromagnetic shielding.

I think the person in the coffin is Abaddon – I think he will soon be playing a big role in the series. It’s resonable to assume that some time has passed since Abaddon's visit to Hurley in the psych ward and Jack's visit to the funeral parlor. I think we will soon be learning alot more about him.

I also thought the scenes with the boaters could possibly be forward flashes.

The wreckage in the trench is definitely staged.

My wife thought that the woman with Charlotte at the excavation site looked like the woman Sayid was supposed to interrogate in S1.

Hurley would have been a great cameo on those Bud Light "dude" commercials.

How does Benry have someone on their boat ???? And if he is so worried about the boaters why not have his “man” sabotage the operation before they get to the island ??

Just went back to watch the episode again. Did anyone else notice that Harold Perrineau and Fisher Stevens were listed in the opening credits??? Were they both in the episode somewhere and I just missed it. The series has always shown the names of the people that are on the particular episode outside of the main characters. Does this mean Michael is back for good, and who is Fischer Stevens character and how will he become a major player?

@47 I too thought immediately of CSLewis (or Clive Staples Lewis). The first Narnia book is "the magicians nephew". In it Digory and Polly enter a wooded land of deep pools, which lead them to and from other worlds, including England and the birth of Narnia. Desmond's boat, Oceanic 815 and the Others seem to have reached the island through a portal. Perhaps the Lost island is like this intermediate place, but replace worlds with time. It then becomes a hub from which many time periods can be reached and returned from. Light was seen by Faraday (physicist) as being refracted unusually on the island, indicating there is still magnetic interference. Perhaps somehow Mittelos (who overtook Dharma) have lost their means of determining the unstable location of the island, which could be as a result of the hatch implosion. Otherwise, how do you explain why the rescuers could only get there until after the phone was recalibrated by Naomi. IMO the helicopter rescuers are expendable, and are only there to give Mittelos a constant location reading of this unusual island.

Long time reader, first post. My theory is that the "boaters" have been recruited by or are related to dharma initiative and are working for the leaders of dharma that were off the island during the purge. They are after Ben because he is responsible for the mass killing of their people and the ruin of their presence on the island. When Ben destroyed dharma on the island, a lot of people lost a lot of money, loved ones, and their life's work. There are obviously people associated or leading dharma that did not die in the purge (Widmore), do we think they just gave up on the island?

Just a thought about Miles and why he might have "known" the plane crash victims are not dead... If he can talk to Ghosts, and hires out his talest, perhaps the family members of a victim hired him to talk to the deceased, but he couldn't "find" them, thus knowing that they have not crossed over not the plane of ghostliness. Then again, his talent is not yet that clear... he was able to talk to the ghost of the grandson in his flash-back (or forward, I'm not sold either way yet), but in order to talk to Naomi, he had to be near the body.

Don't take the credits as a listing of as a who's in the episode. Daniel Dae Kim and Yunjin Kim are both listed and I don't remember seeing them the entire episode.

Fisher Stevens is listed as George Minkowski, the boat voice, at IMDB. I guess that ruins my Abaddon/George theory. He's one of those guys you'll proably recognize but not know his name.

The woman with Charlotte is NOT Nadia. I'm telling you that she is the woman in the pharmacy who refused to give Jack his refill.

Does anyone rember who Faraday talks to over the phone (the guy asks if he's on speaker) ?

On the same basis that they listed Fisher Stevens for George's voice, Michael could of only been "heard" in this epi...

New Theory Alert: Miles isn't a ghost whisperer. He just did that at the woman's house to create appearances. He can see the past like Desmond can see the future. But he has to be near the scene which is why he demanded to go to Naomi's body.

Wouldn't it be cool if Ben's informant on the boat is Annie, Ben's childhood friend. They never showed her being killed in the purge or have any indication that she didn't come over to otherhood with Ben.

Did anyone else think Locke looked happy when he realized Hurley may have seen Jacob? It was in stark contrast to the look of panic that Ben had on his face.

The voice of George is clearly Fisher Stevens, of Short Circuit fame, who I can't wait to see; it's not Abbadon. I do like the idea that Abbadon might be the smoke monster, but it doesn't seem too likely that'll actually be the case.

I think the significance of the polar bear in Tunisia may relate to Atlantis. That area is one that was previously investigated by some as the mythical island's location. Why the skeleton - which would seem to be from our island - would be buried in the sand on the opposite side of the planet is a mystery though. Does this mean that the island actually is Atlantis, and that it moves?

I loved Sawyer's "And you didn't ask any follow up questions?!" line!!!

It is confusing that Naomi's initial story was that they were looking for Desmond but now we find out that Ben is their target. How are those two stories going to overlap?

What an episode! An y'all thought we were crazy last week for talkin' French...

@JT and I think it was Jen...one way to see if the Boaters backstories were FF or FB would be to pause the frame on the newspaper Charlotte picks up in Tunesia...perhaps the date is on it?

I almost fell off the couch when Locke and Sawyer began talking about "taller ghost Walt"...what a way to address a question many of us have been asking in this forum since the second season...I loved Sawyer's line "Who are we to argue with "Taller Ghost Walt?!"

@ Three Man and a Baby #21 We also saw Charlotte reading the newspaper in Tunisia about the Oceanic crash/no survivors. Her companion says "How many languages do you need to read it in to believe it?" And she responds, "How many languages are there?" Obviously, she's invested somehow in the flight and doesn't believe they're all dead.

My thought about why they're after Ben: Retaliation for his killing of all the Dharma scientists. Ben told Locke when he took him to see the mass grave that 'not long ago' he killed them all. I'd figure, not long before the crash, so if they've been on the island 90-ish days and he killed off the others not long before that, the Boaties could just now be getting to the island. Especially if the island only became findable when the station w/ the magnetic problem blew up. I think the 'lawyer' Abaddon works for Dharma.

Just some initial thoughts...

Did anyone else think that the "man on their boat" that Ben claims to have is Jacob?

Okay - MAJOR issue with the Oceanic 815 at the bottom of the sea thing. The footage showed a complete plane, all intact, with a pilot. WE know that the plane BROKE IN HALF and fell into different areas of the water/land, and that the pilot is dead (eaten). I am convinced that the footage is completely staged to give the families and friends of 815 passengers some closure and make the airline not look bad for stopping any search for survivors. Besides, the location of the footage is too near any other islands and civilization - there would be passing boats and planes seen from the island if they were actually that close to other land. Anyone with me?

Right before the ghost whisper tells the crew that it's not naomi, it's just meat... he's on the phone with a chic... doesnt she sound quite like naoimi?

The name of the woman who picks up the phone when Miles calls is Regina...

Re: 55

Fisher Stevens is Minkowski, I think Harold Perrineau is just listed in every episode from now on because he is going to be a series regular again. There clearly is someone else on the freighter other than Minkowski who has some authority, although I don't see how Michael could be in charge of much of anything, unless it was in a Ripley-like (Aliens) advisory role. On to other points, I think the Oceanic 6 will be off the island by episode 8, which may or may not be the last episode of the season, depending on the writer's strike. I'm guessing episodes 9-16 are their attempts to get back there.

One more thing...I went back and watched the missing pieces clip where Ben and Jack are playing chess. It's in this scene that Ben tells Jack that the island won't let him leave if the island doesn't want him to and that if he does get off the island, Jack will one day want to return. At the time there was no reason to believe that what Ben was saying was anything less than a Benry manipulation move, but, according to this season's FFs, it does indeed want to/have to go back...

This led me to think about Miles' picture of Ben...didn't it look sort of out of place for what we know to be Ben's surroundings and environment here on the island? It looked to me like the picture wasn't taken at Club Others. What if the picture shows Ben working in some capacity OFF the island and his own warning was true for himself...that he felt like he had to go back too? And now the Boaters are after him for some reason because of what he did off the island? If Ben showed up on the island as a child and then we met him later in life, who's to say this couldn't have happened?

# 72 - I posted the same thing at post 42 and was wondering if anyone else thought the same thing. I think there was a period when in Ben's adult life he was off the island. He looked like he was working in some kind of office.

consider this..an airplane impacting the water at a couple hundred miles per hour but somehow comes to rest intact with a pilot sitting peacefully at the controls. The remote cameras show a debris field indicative of a slow gliding descent to the bottom. Any safety or accident investigator would recognize this immediately. Is this lazy production or are we supposed to recognize this as an obvious fake

The woman with Charlotte is NOT Nadia. I'm telling you that she is the woman in the pharmacy who refused to give Jack his refill.
→ 60. Posted by: marlisa at February 8, 2008 10:41 AM

I checked the screen caps of the pharmacy woman and the ones of Charlotte's friend and they are NOT the same person. Charlotte's friend looks like she is from India and has a mole on her left upper lip. The pharmacy woman has lighter skin color and no mole. They do look similar but not the same person.

Wow! What an episode. I watched the underwater plane in slow motion and couldn't find anything. I also froze on the picture that the boaties had on Ben and it kind of looked like he was going through customs at the air port. I don't know.

Also, it is starting to seem like there is a time travel aspect to the show. What were they saying about how long the polar bear had been there?

I also rewatched the scene with Hurley and the scary guy and I just think it is a shadow (slowed it down on PVR).

I was set that they were flash forwards until Abaddon had the meeting with Nadia. If they are taking the time travel route, it would explain why they were so upset.

I am starting to wonder how much they plan on explaining by the end of the series, and what they are going to let go, ie the numbers.

Oh ya, I tried watching the numbers in the video of them discovering the plane, but didn't find anything.

db

When Miles gets to the old lady's house he says the fee is now $200 because her grandson was muredered. Then when he is about to leave... he apparently looks at the pictures on the wall and gives her a refund. Could this be in anyway relevant?

about ben.

dont think that is off island, i think it is on island, but perhaps at a place that we have not seen yet. We always find a room or two every season.

love the comments

c

Benry's man on the boat could also be Michael, he let him and Walt live, but in exchange he has to do Benry this tiny little favour.... hmmmmm

I think he gave her a refund because he stole all the drug money he found, and felt bad for her. I don't think that there is a connection with the kid.

I think the eye from the cabin belonged to Desmond.

I think mapache might be on to something about Michael being Ben's "man on the boat"...

Great Recap Mac.

Glad you're back ! ! ! ! !

Great Review Mac. Thank You

I had a few thoughts about last nights episode.

1. I think that Ben is in a wheel chair in the photo. Is he not? We still do not know the whole story behind that.

@#21 Lex
2. Yes, I too believe that we will find out that the 4 Boaters were all meant to be on flight 815.

3. Michael is so on the boat. How else were they going to reintroduce him to the show?

4. Do we know if Sayid knows how to fly a Helicopter? Think that the 6 leave with out any of the 4 boaters. With them already discussing weight issues how does Hurley end up as a choice.

5. I think the 6 will spend half the season on the boat.

Can't remember everything else at the moment.

Happy Friday all.

I can’t remember if it was on season 1 or 2 DVD's, there was a deleted scene with the Pilot and Claire. He is trying to make her feel better about flying. He made a comment but his wedding ring, something like he was not trying to hit on her because he was married. Anyone remember this? This would tie in with what Frank is saying about his ring habit.

I pretty much have no idea what just happened....Taller Ghost Walt is pretty much GOLD!!

I'll have to rewatch to even be able to post....later ya'll....keep it up...good stuff!

Ok, can we please, please, PLEASE stop with the "they're all dead, way-station between worlds" theory crap.

The plane in the Indian ocean is a fake!!!!!!

The underwater 815 is clearly staged, and the pilot shown on TV is clearly not the pilot who was actually on the island!! How can anyone who claims to be a fan of the show not be able to figure this out????

A couple of points no one has mentioned:

in answer to the question: "How many of there are you?" to the Freighter Four, both Dan and Charlotte answer exactly the same way: "Four, including myself." (forgive me if that isn't the exact text, but they did say the same line). I thought it interesting that they would have the exact same line--which seems to indicate coaching by someone--and why? Was there a 5th we know nothing about? Lost doesn't do that without reason, we know.

Although I am not really on the side of the flashforwards theory for the last episode, I do find it interesting that we don't have a DATE for the finding of the plane. Anyone see one? I checked out the screen cap of the Tunisian paper, but you can't see a date, and none of the broadcasts we saw seemed to have a date. Is that beacause the date would be in the past or the future as concerns our crew?

If your head doesn't hurt after this one (in a good way), there's something wrong with you! Mac, you just keep getting better. And so do all the other regular contributors here. I think we need to move from WGNABB to WNMC (We need more cowbell). Seriously, have we ever seen a cow on the island before???

Also, there is no way that the Boaters off-island scenes were flash-forwards.

They were flashbacks, exposition to give the viewer a little background into who these people are, and in most cases, there skill sets.

This is made abundantly clear by the scene where Lt. Daniels has the meeting with a still-living Naomi about leading the four on a mission to the island.

Something I don't think anyone brought up this week or last...how is Team Locke even getting to the barracks? They're on another island and there has been no mention of a boat unless they're using the boat that the raiding party used to come over and try to steal the women. I'm not even sure how many of them know that there are 2 islands.

@ 90 markthefish: I completely agree that Noami's was obviously a flashback. However, since everyone's flash forward/back was shown in different segments then it could be possible that while Naomi's is a flashback doesn't necessarily mean that the other boaters flashes are as well. This show jumps so far back and forth that we are never really certain which came first.

@ 88 Noelle: good catch on the line "four, including myself" I thought the exact same thing. As I was watching it I thought it was odd that they both responded like that. Definately seems like a staged response.

@ browncoat fairy/#91: FYI - the barracks are on the same island as the losties....the hydra station (where Jack, Kate & Sawyer were held) is on the other island.

Great episode!

I think that the Others saying "we're the good guys" might actually prove to be true. What if Ben is using his evil ways to save everyone?

I'm also in the time shift/portal theory. It would explain how Ben could have so much information (going to future) at his fingertips.

Does this Paulikki will rise from the grave??? yikes.

Just an FYI - I just finished watching the movie "Rescue Dawn" and I swear that one of the main characters is the same guy that plays Dan. The characters are the same - whacko, wild hand movements, muttering and mumbling, etc.

Strange.....

Anyone else see the movie?

@ browncoat-

The Barracks are on the main island. The wouldn't need a boat at all.

I think that the flashes were backward, simply because Naomi tells them at the end of last season that they have already found Oceanic 815 and there were no survivors.

POST 95 LEN ... yes, it is the same actor ... he was also in saving private ryan

The guns, the bullet proof vest, and the gas mask/hazmat suits from the helicopter --- very simple conclusion: the Boaters were aware of Ben's Purge because they were Dharma members killed by Ben. And Ben knows that when you kill someone in the afterlife, they don't die; they come back for revenge.

Dan's name is Jeremey Davies and he also played Charles Manson in Helter Skelter. I was a bit worried when I found out he was going to be on Lost, but he seems to be doing a great job. He has weird, eccentric, ....weird down to a science.

I believe that Patchy had some farm animals including a cow.

@72 Vikki said:

>I went back and watched the missing pieces clip where Ben and Jack are playing chess.

It's in this scene that Ben tells Jack that the island won't let him leave if the island doesn't want him to and that if he does get off the island, Jack will one day want to return. At the time there was no reason to believe that what Ben was saying was anything less than a Benry manipulation move, but, according to this season's FFs, it does indeed want to/have to go back...

Well, and last season's finale, of course.

o---------

@89 lovelost said:

>Seriously, have we ever seen a cow on the island before???

3-11 - Enter 77 - A cowbell clanging leads Sayid to a cow, and the cow leads him to the flame station.

o---------

@90 markthefish said:

>This is made abundantly clear by the scene where Lt. Daniels has the meeting with a still-living Naomi about leading the four on a mission to the island.

I believe it's Captain Daniels (actially "Colonel" Daniels in Baltimore's militaristic police rank structure) now.

o---------

@91 browncoat fairy said:

>Something I don't think anyone brought up this week or last...how is Team Locke even getting to the barracks? They're on another island and there has been no mention of a boat unless they're using the boat that the raiding party used to come over and try to steal the women. I'm not even sure how many of them know that there are 2 islands.

A. I believe they've all heard that now.

B. The barracks is on the main island, and is not the cage facility where Kate, Jack, and Sawyer spent the first half of majority of S-3, which was indeed on "Alcatraz" island. The barracks is the residential facility, on the main island as seen in the S-3 opener, and to which the "save JacK" party walked in "Enter 77" / "The man from Talahassee" last season.

Bonus - From the S-3 DVD's: The Hydra facility / cage set was an abandoned amusement park that was used just about as-is for for the dramatic events of season 3. Only the "bear cages" had to be added. Only negative factor was the facilty was overrun with feral chickens, which could interfere with some dramatic scenes...

(Pickett) "DO YOU WANT TO LIVE! WHY DON'I I JUST SHOOT YOU RIGHT NOW!"

(off set) "COCK-A-DOODLE DOOOOOO!"

(director) "Cut!. Chase the damned chickens away! OK. Action."

o---------

Namaste, and Good Luck!

Miles visited the nice lady to communicate with her dead relative - a young man. This is Miles' flashback....so could it be that the young dead man was aboard 815? Did Miles learn from the young man about the crash? Do we have a name, and if so, is the name on the flight manifest?

Just pondering......

I apologize if someone else already mentioned this.....but another blogger pointed out Charlotte S. Lewis (C.S. Lewis) - I thought that was pretty cool.

If Ben killed all the Dharma folks during the purge where did the Others come from? Who are these people, the ones that were in league with Alpert. And how did they get on the island? Could it be that they are survivors of another similar 'accident' years before? And will our 815'ers become the 'new' "Others".

Ohhh, the pain!

I forgot to mention above, the Darma colar that was found on the dead polar bear had a symbol. It was a Hydra right? Does this mean that there are multiple Hydra stations (bases) in different area's or that one of the Hydra bears made it to the dig site. How long did they say the bones had been there for? They had a conversation but I didn't catch it.

Long time reader, first time poster.

Just a random thought...Last night's episode marked the 93rd day on the island. Want to bet the six fly off into the sunset of the 108th day?

I think Faraday should be called CHARLIE-LITE.

I think Fake flight 815 should be called Flight 518...

The guy on the radio phone - maybe Ben's Other on the ship?

Umm, I don't think they would ever show ongoing footage of dead bodies in a wreckage on TV...

Abbadon - is that an ancient dinosaur that loves ABBA? Will we have a new character named FERNANDO? Mamma Mia! Here I go again! :D

i bet ben is person in the coffin in through the looking glass. even though he couldnt be apart of the oceanic 6 since he wasnt on the plane.

108

In last week's ep, Sawyer called Kate by her first name when he went over to Team Locke. I don't recall him ever calling her by her proper name. Always "Freckles" and what not.

Has anyone seen the silhouette of the city in the ocean in the LOST commercial promos? My wife thinks they could be on Atlantis.

@PreacherOnun
OR
@ #20

Can't you go to ABC.com in Portugal and watch the episodes online???

Did I miss a key question that people would be asking as they watched the news broadcast?

The fake Oceanic 815 was not found to be off course - it was headed in the wrong direction! That kind of course deviation had to begin after takeoff not just drift 1,000 miles off course somewhere on the way to LA.

Did anyone catch if this was even addressed? With all the press coverage that would be a question that would be repeating over and over.

REQUEST OF THE DAY FOR MAC:

mac...is there anyway we can see it fit to call Frank Lapidus 'The Lawnmower Man' from now on? That would be so dope.

@ GatorGal

The producers might not tell the actor that the role will be bigger so they don't know or give anything away about the show. These types of shows do this all the time. M Night Shyamalan for example does this all the time with his scripts. Just a thought.

@RNM: I considered a "Lawnmower Man" reference in the review, but since Jeff Fahey looks so much different than he did in the film I doubted anyone would get it. Shows you what I know ;)

BTW -- I once sat through the director's cut of that movie. The friggin' thing was three-plus hours of crappy animation.

@#107 Connie:
Umm, I don't think they would ever show ongoing footage of dead bodies in a wreckage on TV...

I totally agree. BIG clue to us that this is not real.

I think there is far more to Daniel Faraday than we are giving credit for. It's always those sneaky little sniveling ones that cause the biggest problems. (remember Henry Gale???) I for one am looking forward to the mind game competition between Benry and Daniel. Bring it on!!

Also, Frank mentioned making more than one run to bring Naomi back. Is that just a ploy to get the Losties off, or will there be multiple runs?

I'm looking forward to seeing what anagrams everyone comes up with for Miles Straum and Frank Lapidus. I liked the comment about Miles Straum sounding like Maelstrom - it would certainly fit!!

Maybe the grandson that Miles is in the room with is the drug dealer for Charlie???????

... my nickname is TWEEDLEDEE...

If the discovery of flight 815 is a staged cover-up, which it is appearing to be...then the Oceanic 6 don't
necessarily have to have been on the original flight. Could be a native or someone brought by sub...like Juliet.
Just requires lying about having been on 815.
This brings up a BIGGER question! As we saw, flight 815 was found(staged)...all passengers DEAD. So what is the explanation to the public about The Oceanic 6? Where did they come from?
Remember Ben has been off the island before. He was born in Oregon & brought by sub. The picture shown last night appears to be a bank or airport line.
Does Sayid know how to fly? Jack does!
In Season 1 he mentioned having taken some flying lessons....and they didn't take.
some thoughts!

Why wasn't there a Dharmashark nibbling on Char when she plunged in? Oh, it was freshwater so i guess it would'va been a Dharmagator or Dharmadile. Would have preferred that plot.

Loved "Kaaaarll", have replayed that line so many times already. Classic.

(Apolgies if mentioned already, haven't read everyone yet)it seems the find815.com story is a bit relavant. anyone agree. Which is brilliant/typical LOST, we all think to look east of Australia and they are actually West.

@95: Yeah, I thought so, too. He's also the guy from Saving Private Ryan -- the guy who can speak german and is too afraid to fight.

@CR/#13: "I'm beginning to feel like I'm watching the opening scenes of "Close Encounters..."

OMG, great minds think alike! I actually started singing the "ah ya yeh...ah ya" tune when that Tunisia scene was playing. (Ask trexl if you don't believe me cuz he was there, too.)

About Michael being the man on the boat, I don't think he's Ben's "plant." I'm sure he's on there because of the way Ben told him he would find "rescue" in the S2 finale. But, I think one of Ben's men was already on there, which is how Ben knew the exact compass bearing Michael needed to follow.

A great moment last night that no one's mentioned so far (and I read through all the posts so I know) is how the writers faked us out by having Miles follow Charlotte's GPS signal through the jungle, only to come upon it and realize it had been tied to Vincent. Very crafty! Point, Team Locke!

Man in the boat? Thats dirty.

@Trin - sorry but i thought it was obvious the gps was on/in something else. It's done in a bunch of movies. I thought a boar, but vincent works.

It is possible that Michael is on the boat but not Ben's 'mole'. It could be that he got picked up by them when escaping with Walt, and is either working with them on the boat or being held hostage. I couldn't see him still working with Ben after everything that happened.

After rewatching this episode, I believe that Charlotte is Ben's "man on the boat." Here's why:

- She seemed to recognize the Dharma logo on the polar bear collar. Perhaps she was sent out "into the world" to check results of some island experiment.

- She seemed to know where to dig (by the head) and appeared to know what she was digging for. Hence, some previous knowledge of Dharma and their activities.

- She does not seemed fazed by Ben being dragged around on a leash. At all.

- Yes, Ben shoots her. But only where he knows she won't be truly hurt (in the Kevlar vest). He does not shoot her in the head or disable her by shooting her in the legs. This could be a move on Ben's part to remove suspicion from Charlotte and "hide" the fact that she is, in fact, his mole.

-- Ben says he has a "man on the boat." Charlotte is a woman, hence further removing suspicion from her.

- Finally, Charlotte did seem elated to be on the island and in the water. She was smiling and practically giddy. Looked very much like "I did it! Glad to be back" as opposed to "I'm scared to death/where's my team?"

Whatcha think?

@Trin/#123

I agree with CC about the gps being on something else. It was a typical fake out in a movie/TV show. I thought boar too but wasn't shocked when it was Vincent.

i didn't understand what the ghost wisperer had to do with anything relating to 815. piolt check, dan (didn't get it, but he was emotional) check, charlott check, but that guy i didn't get.

@110: Sawyer calls Kate by her name in the season finale last year. She even questions him about what his problem is, since he actually called her Kate.

One of the best lines of the show last night was between Kate and Jack.

Kate: "You could of warned me you know."
Jack: "I did. I gave you the "wink"!"

127 Gator gal

You are soo right! She is his mole and she has been on that island before! I thought it was weird how she was enjoying herself too much in the water! brilliant!

I'm probably being picky, but... did anyone else notice that the monitor in the pic of Ben isn't plugged in to anything? Perhaps it's from his short-lived career as an IT tech? Probably specialized in Linux. Or the recovery of Lost files.

PS Does anyone else use the numbers as their wireless key?

PS Does anyone else use the numbers as their wireless key?

→ 132. Posted by: Danny at February 8, 2008 05:05 PM

Oh man!! you shouldn't done that, you've opened the Box man, you got to get away from them numbers!!!

Along with several other posters, I enjoyed the C.S. Lewis allusion. Charlotte even has the same middle name as Clive Staples Lewis. I'm not sure if it will turn out to be significant, but this is a series that has spent a great deal of time contemplating the relationship between faith and reason, and C.S. Lewsis was one of the preeminent writers on the relationship between faith and reason in the 20th century.

@71
Fortunate timing for Lost fans as it appears from recent news releases that a deal may have been stuck early in February with the WGA. If work resumes within a week, we could see new episodes of sitcoms and dramas within two months.

@127. Posted by: GatorGal
"After rewatching this episode, I believe that Charlotte is Ben's "man on the boat."

I think you're right, and I'd take that a step further, with help from another poster, perhaps she is Ben's childhood friend?

She did seem very "happy" to be there, and she did seem to not be phased at all by the polar bear and knew exactly what she was looking for.

I'd also like that put out there that I think Michael/Walt could an alternative "man on the boat". Ben said that Walt was very special, perhaps he is able to communicate with Ben from the boat somehow with his special-ness.

Also, is this perhaps the same freighter that Ben told Michael they would run into on the heading he gave them? Ben already knew the freighter was out there, and exactly where to find it.

I am a long time reader and obsessed with the show and usually find all my ideas already posted but. I know someone else mentioned that they think Jacob is on the frieghter, this could be, because how else would Ben get "Jacob's List" of who has been naughty or who has been nice??. the people on the boat must know everything about the Losties to be ready if they make contact. Also i think Ben sent micheal and walt in the direction of the freighter on purpose because he doesnt want anyone leaving the island and he told his "mole" not to let them get away. George Minkowski must have something to do with the mole because why couldnt he get to the damn phone when his buddy miles wanted to chat. and one last thing is that the last time we saw Richard Alpert he was told by Ben to lead the others to "The Temple"????? another station or a freaky Indiana Jones temple of doom? and we saw Hurley walking with Vincent in S3 when they were hiking to the radio tower.
Best line of the entire show was Ben to Jack "Jack with your permission id like to go with Locke"

Thanks Mac your posts are as good as ever

I found this quote from the current Time magazine from the Bishop of Durham interesting:

"Our culture is very interested in life after death, but the New Testament is much more interested in what I've called the life after life after death — in the ultimate resurrection into the new heavens and the new Earth. Jesus' resurrection marks the beginning of a restoration that he will complete upon his return. Part of this will be the resurrection of all the dead, who will "awake," be embodied and participate in the renewal. John Polkinghorne, a physicist and a priest, has put it this way: "God will download our software onto his hardware until the time he gives us new hardware to run the software again for ourselves." That gets to two things nicely: that the period after death is a period when we are in God's presence but not active in our own bodies, and also that the more important transformation will be when we are again embodied and administering Christ's kingdom."

The interesting concept of life after life after death fits the Lost profile, especially when two of the new characters are a physicist and a spiritual medium.

4-2 (73) Confirmed Dead

Strangers with motives
Somewhat suspect... trust or not?
Ben the objective?

WOW! Absolutley WOW!

First of all, thanks for a great and funny review, Mac.

B, no, 2, is this the first time we've ever seen a flashback of a person who is already dead? I know it was a "team" flashback, but Naomi's part of it occurred after the rigor had already set it.

Next, I wonder how much of "Point 2" was planned since last spring, or in response to fans? The wreckage in the trench thing has obviously been a part of the plan for a while, since Naomi mentioned it to Charlie last season, but the parts about Walt being taller and the bullet going through the kidney, was that a response to fan comments or part of the plan the whole time?

Finally, I am glad that the show is not wasting time with Paulikis and such, but immediately delving deeper into the mystery. The questions I was left with were:
- How much does Charlotte know about Dharma polar bears?
-Are any of the other "boaties" friends or family of the Oceanic crew/passengers? Or maybe of the Dharma initiative?
-Are they Dharma related, is that why they want Ben? If not, what did Ben do to them?
-Did Miles learn to speak with the dead from a Dharma experiment?
-And most importantly, when Abbadon asked Hurley alst week if they were still alive, did he mean the Others? The other passengers? Or di he mean the Boaties?!?

Somehow I wouldn't be surprised if Sayid gets the chopper going with 5 other Oceanic crash survivors on board and the Boaties are left behind...

Two big clues?

1) Bag of heroin: Miles does his ghostbuster routine in SoCal and he finds a bag of heroin behind the wall that the "spirit" leads him to (along with cash). You say heroin on LOST and I think of Charlie (user) and Eko (supplier). How does Miles, or the house he was in, fit into the equation, if there is one?

2) Big wad of cash: Along with the heroin was a big wad of cash. Makes sense if someone was dealing drugs. But, we also seem a similar wad of money in the hands of Charlotte. She used it to bribe her way into the Tunisia desert dig site and get carte blanche.

Are the two connected, or relevant?

Is it just me or did the pictures on the dead grandson that Miles went to the house of look just like young Eko? Now I know that doesn't make any sense at all but I thought the resemblance was striking and was hoping to get some others to take another look and confirm or deny...

I noticed Locke told Sawyer that TGW (taller ghost Walt) told him he had to kill Naomi. Unless I am remembering incorrectly, didn't Walt tell Locke that he "had work to do"? I don't remember TGW mentioning Naomi...What the heck is Locke up to? Why lie? why not just explain that his objective is to stay on the island and he saw her as a threat?

→ 144. Posted by: Vikki --- Why lie? why not just explain that his objective is to stay on the island and he saw her as a threat?

Because he is a "man of faith". People of faith don't explain, when they have faith that they are true-correct-righteous in what they are doing.

Mac, first of all, i want you to know that i LOVE the way you write.

Anywaay... Mac, you mentioned that you think the eye could have been Locke's eye... in the second comment by "charlieis_is_not_dead" or something like that, he/she said that it was "definitely patchy's eye" as in mikhail's eye.

I think we have established that Mikhail and Locke's eyes resemble each other quite well from when they first show Locke in the ditch in "through the looking glass".

When i first saw that, i thought it was mikhail waking up... but when they zoomed out, we found out it was actually in fact Locke in the ditch.

just thought i would add that. =D

I think you guys are on to something with the heroin...with so many different drugs out there, this kid could have easily been a crack dealer and Charlie could have been addicted to meth.

Also, does anyone think Ben's attire in that photo is extremely outdated? Is this a hint for us?

Last observation-Miles' ghost whispering...is this what we hear all the time on the island?

Sorry, i read that over and i felt like it made no sense.

I was talking about the eye in the cabin that scared away Hurley in the first episode of the season.

Mac said he thought that may have been Locke's eye in his review for the first episode of the season.

"Charlieis_not_dead" said that it was "definitely patchy's eye" (as in Mikhail's eye).

I think it could easily be Locke's as well because Mikhail and Locke's eyes resemble each other almost completely.

I guess we will find out...

Sorry if i caused any confusion with my terrible english.

Mac, i sure do admire you.

btw, I LOVE BENJAMIN LINUS <3

Great first two episodes. Really glad that the show is back - that was a long wait.

Couple of theories the wife and I were tossing around (and sorry if these are repeats) -

I think the folks on the ship were sent on a goose chase for the Black Rock by the Others. The Boaties were told where to look for the sunken ship right where the Others deposited the plane wreckage. Boaties find the plane, tell everyone that they found the crashed plane, and the rest of the world stops looking for the crash site. Just what the Others want in order to keep their location secret (the longer the search for the crash, the greater chance the island is found).

Also, I think the Others moved the plane wreckage to the water by whatever was making all that crashing noise and knocking over trees in the early episodes. What looked and sounded like a monster was some sort of mechanical thing they had hidden.

Can hardly wait for next week.

Hello All – just finished reading a whole bunch of theories out there in Internet land and thought I’d list them here. You’ve already touched on most of them, but a few may be new.

•Charlotte has been to the island before. She seemed happy to return
•C.S. Lewis references
•Maelstrom = Miles Strom
•Charlotte is Ben’s “man on the boat”
•Michael is Ben’s “man on the boat”
•Charlotte is the daughter of Annie (Ben’s little girlfriend)
•If Naomi is dead, why is she having flashbacks
•Abbadon used Frank the helicopter pilot as a crafty way to “find” the island. Frank was supposed to be on Flight 815, so the island wanted him there.
•The polar bear boneyard was the result of a successful Dharma time-space-travel experiment.
•Losties have become the Others. A “crazy” bunch of gun-wielding, paranoid kidnappers with hidden agendas.
•Box with bio-hazard bags and respirators indicates the Boaties know how Ben wiped out the Dharmites, and are coming prepared.
•When Abbadon asked Hurley, “Are they still there?” he was referring to the Boaties. The Oceanic Six take the helicopter and leave the Boaties behind.
•Boatie characters correspond to the Fantastic Four
•Picture of the boy at grandma’s house looks like Eko.
•More “cowbell” :)

@Christine #10: Thanks for the answer about Vincent’s appearance last week.

@equeyaya #19: “Wondering what Penny will do after her contact with Charlie. Surely she won't just go back to whatever she was doing before he buzzed in.” Maybe she’s writing a letter to Santa. All she wants for Christmas is her man – back from the North Pole :)

@One of the Six #51: “Covert op, recruited outsiders, Island found, they get the call and Miles has to go through a call screening receptionist!!!” Even funnier if he was connected to an automated answering system: “For English, press one. Para Espanol, oprima numero dos. For mortal danger, please press the pound key and leave your name, rank and serial number. We will make every effort to respond to your call promptly. Namaste, and have a great day.”

@PiecesofArzt #62: “New Theory Alert: Miles isn't a ghost whisperer. He just did that at the woman's house to create appearances. He can see the past like Desmond can see the future. But he has to be near the scene which is why he demanded to go to Naomi's body.” I like that theory, but then why did he say “You can go now”?

@JT #100: “I believe that Patchy had some farm animals including a cow.” EE-I-EE-I-O

@Fart #109: “108” I agree completely.

@FenwayBen #140: “but the parts about Walt being taller and the bullet going through the kidney, was that a response to fan comments or part of the plan the whole time?” Oh, I thought the same thing! And I hope it’s Damon’s little shout-out to the fans.

I also thought the Boatie off-island scenes were flash-forwards. Until Naomi and the grim reaper showed up. So, now I’m not sure. Faraday could have been crying at the underwater crash footage because he has some relationship with a person on 815 that we don’t know about yet (flashback) or because he’s having PTSD about his island adventure and those left behind (flashforward). I like either scenario.

Isn’t body armor rather heavy? How did Char stay buoyant?

So many great and quotable lines in this episode! But you guys are just as funny as those darn striking writers – “Black Rock Down” (The Other Other) and TGW (Vikki) being two of my favorites. I love a good acronym!

@lost at work #33. The only anagram I could think of Miles would be "slime"

Lapidus (aka Frank Lapidus) is a UK based organization that is "dedicated to developing the potential and actual benefits of creative words all in our own ways through creative writing workshops, storytelling, poetry sessions or in hospitals, health centres, mental health organisations or community settings" - seems to fit the literary profile for character names.

@150 Mr. Cube:

>The only anagram I could think of Miles would be "slime"

What about "smile"?

Did anyone notice when Namoni was being carried to the helicopter, her eyes were open (she was "dead"), right as they cut away, it appeared her eyes closed.

In Grandma's house, were those pictures of tall Walt?

@Clementine: I think he is a(nother) con man who uses his 'ghosting power' to rip off gullible people. After he turns off the dustbuster. He has to say something reassuring in case the grandmother has come upstairs to see what's going on. Remember she looked suspicious when he asked for more money and even though Miles told her to stay downstairs, human nature is going to want to investigate what is going on.

Another theory in my head: The Black Rock was on the ocean floor and somehow the island has risen bringing it up and above the water. That would explain why it is in the middle of the island. Maybe the Boaties were looking for sunken treasure and ran across the island.

There have been many questions about when the underwater 815 was found and if they were back or forward flashes...

The find518.com game offers some clues. I realize this is extraneous material beyond the show, but it is an intriguing side story. For those who haven't seen it yet, it is the story of Sam, an Oceanic employee who lost his fiancée Sonia on 815. He gets some cryptic messages which cause him to join a salvage mission to find the sunken Black Rock. The wreckage of 815 is found during the salvage mission. The time line is:

1. Not long after the crash on Sept 22, Oceanic calls off the search. I'm guessing this is no more than a couple weeks. At this point Sam says it would have been 2 months until their anniversary.

2. He joins the salvage ship. The day they find the 815 wreckage is the day before their anniversary.

3. There are also references to Christmas coming at different points in the story, although it is not clear if it had past yet or not when they make the find.

This would probably place the date of the discovery and the news reports around early to mid December… before the boaties show up

I think these were back flashes.

Another interesting point from that story line... someone knew where the wreckage was and gave Sam the coordinates.

→ 149. Posted by: Clementine
... just finished reading a whole bunch of theories...

•Charlotte has been to the island before. She seemed happy to return.

•Maelstrom = Miles Strom

•Abbadon used Frank the helicopter pilot as a crafty way to “find” the island.

•More “cowbell” :)

------------
my reply --

- Charlotte did seem to regress to a childlike state once she realized where she was when she revived. With her resume, as recited by Ben, she has to be mid-30's, he is mid-40s(+) or so, she would have been a toddler on the island (if she was there) during the purge. Her familiarity with the Hydra logo on the polar bear may also mean familiarity with the island.

- Miles Strom by some reports - Miles Straume on MOST other web sites -INCLUDING ABC.COM. I don't have an anagram for Miles Straume yet.

- I don't think Frank was part of the A-Team to find the island. Naomi was first, and her crew/pilots ate it when their helo slammed into the ocean, after she bailed. Frank is second string or a bench warmer.

- Every single episode ---
"Needs more cowbell."

If Ben has secret human resources to plant one of "his own people" on the freighter, maybe the Others aren't as dead as it seemed!

Just a though. I foresee Others freeing Ben and restoring his almighty power at some point!

... Others are heading for The Temple... where are the ***kids***?

if time travel/warp ... could C.S. Lewis be a grown up Oceanic 815 survivor? a la the "T" in TGW?

and i also noticed that Ben looked rather 70's stylish in that photo. *shudders*

namaste & 42

If you take a gander at the first few seconds of the episode you see Smokey escape from the satellite phone. At a pretty convenient time to :)

http://tinyurl.com/39jkh7

I love lost, and this is my first time blogging. I think the "man on the boat" is Micheal because he says to Locke that he shouldn't kill him because he has information. If Charlotte was his spy, would he really tell all her information to people who are holding him hostage. Naomi is not really dead because when they were carrying her on the stretcher, they showed her face for a while as if to say to remember her. I can't wait until next thursday to see what happens.

Late to the party as usual...mif! Remember when Ben said something to Sawyer about how he had no chance because Jack was a distinguished surgeon and that Sawyer was nothing but a low-life con man? Earlier, someone made reference to how they all become something they loathe upon leaving the island. Perhaps Sawyer becomes someone distinguished and admired?? Maybe Kates's husband, and an admired person in the community. Just an idea. More coming later after my rewatch.

Perhaps Kate gets back, accused of her crime (killing her step-father) she gives them the story that he was abusing her and that's why she ran. As a 'big' celebrity, no one contradicts her story and she gets off. She rolls her new found fame into another semi-celebrity marriage. So when Jack comes stumbling into her life she has no desire to return to the island.

I'm all for the campaign of "Michael/Walt 08" for the man on the boat election, but it doesn't make much sense when you think about it. Michael's sole purpose in season two was to get Walt back and get him home. Why would he stay if he had the opportunity to leave? I realize that he may never have had the chance, but would this mean we would see another scenario of Walt being held captive again? And the award for Worst Parent of the Year goes to...

It also doesn't make much sense to be Good/Evil Charlotte (yet to be determined) since...ya know...Ben shot her and all.

On the whole eye subject real quick, I believe this episode establishes that it was NOT Locke in the window of Uncle Jake's Cabin. If it was, why would he look so surprised when Hurley let it slip that he spends his summers up there?

It also occurred to me recently that if Charlie is dead, is Hurley or anyone else going to carry on with the construction of the Church of the Jesus Stick?

I also have a feeling the Black Rock Down team is not long for this world, be it real or not. Every time the show introduces new characters, they feel the need to "clean house" by the end of the season. The writers stated as much in a few of the interviews I've seen. At least there's always flashbacks guys.

For some reason when I saw Miles, I immediately thought of Michael J. Fox's character from "The Frighteners". I even went and watched the movie again and still some, albeit slight, similarities.

My new theory I'm running with as far as why Black Rock Down is looking for Ben: Long ago Ben left the island to pursue a career as a Steward aboard Oceanic flights, and never paid in his union dues.

ok, i have an idea for a new game amung us losties.

we can all make bets on what will happen in the next episode, throughout the season, and throughoutt rhe seires. we all do it anyways, just this time well be playing for points.

wouldnt that be fun??

*****Spolier Alert*** (well, not really)

Believe me, I have invested a ton of wasted time reading each and every comment, every online theory out there after each and every episode, I've played every online game and found every hidden clue... I've paused, rewound, fastforwarded, slowmotioned, hundreds of s