Lost Reviews and News

“See you guys at dinner!” - Best line any season any episode.

So we get to see the anticipated smackdown between Juliet and Charlotte and I must say I am a bit disappointed, we hardly get to see any action at all. Lets hope there is a nice big tub of jello handy for round two.

Any doubt at all that Michael is Ben's "guy" on the boat?

Oh and of course, GRAA, Mac.

Still watching it recorded. Only halfway through. Charles Widmore's boat? No way. And his daughter doesn't know? Are they on opposing teams now?

@mac: Much love, as always. Laughing out loud at the image of Goodwin as a Capri-Sun pack and Ben using Juliet’s measurements as his safe combo.

Who was looking for a catfight on the blog last week? You got your wish. I was so rooting for Juliet to kick Charlotte’s smug freighter a**, but also worried she was going to blow away sweet Dan. That scene gave me character perspective-whiplash! Are they good guys or bad guys? They’re good, no bad, no good, ahhh!

So, are we supposed to believe Ben triggered a countdown to gas the whole island? What an odd storyline. Obviously, anything and everything Ben says is a lie, or else it’s the truth served up to meet his own ends. Could he have arranged an entire bogus rescue for some reason? My instinct is still to suspect Charlotte. Could she be Ben’s “man on the boat”? If Ben says we’ll never believe who it is, then it’s probably Michael. But since the whole Lost community of fans has already guessed Michael, that would be a let-down.

This episode lost me in the turning tides.

Codependent much, Juliet? Jack has a savior complex and Juliet has a thing for men who give the false illusion of rescue. I’m somewhat disappointed in her and not looking forward to more of that dysfunction. Back to Penny and Des, I say!

Random thoughts:

Harper has Kenny Rogers-post facelift eyebrows and a bad ‘tude. Will she turn up again, or was she just a plot device to demonstrate Juliet’s questionable morals and Ben’s supernatural connection to the island?

I guess nothing surprises our Losties anymore. Jack’s “Who was that?” reaction to Harper’s disappearing act and some really LOUD jungle whispers seemed somewhat blasé.

How many more undiscovered stations, hatches, shacks, radio towers, pylons, and villages are there on this island? Oh, wait, we haven’t made it to the temple yet.

But how great is it when Hurley gets one over on Sawyer? Loved the game of horseshoes.

Best line: “It’s very stressful being an Other.”

Best scene: Ben closing out the show with a little jaunt across the New Otherton commons, freshly laundered linens in hand. “See you at dinner!” Ha!

And, finally, Locke wins the award for most gullible patsy ever. Do you think he should get his t-shirts monogrammed with “Ben’s Be-otch”?

Best Mac line: "turn Goodwin's torso into a Capri-Sun packet"

So now we know Ben's weakness. Anyone going to be bright enough to exploit it?

* Ben and Juliet sitting in a tree.
K-I-S-S-I....Oh crap.*

GRAA MAC.

Favorite line: "I taped over the game," when Locke asks Ben why the tape is labeled "Red Sox".

In the scene where Harper appears to Juliet (after the familiar island whispers), it seems she just appeared out of thin air and disappeared just the same. Neither Jack or Juliet saw her run off. She's not dead that we know of. Can she have a connection to Walt abilities-wise, appearing in places where she's not supposed to be?

Great review as always, Mac! Loved your line about Goodwin being turned into a Capri-Sun packet. ; )

I thought the actress who played Harper looks like a cross between Susan Dey & that freaky socialite who's turned her face into...well...it's supposed to be leonine, but let's just say that next to her, Michael Jackson appears pretty normal.

Speaking of Harper, I agree that her line about Juliet looking "just like her" meant that she (Juliet) looks like Annie.

Charlotte is a major B*TCH. And so far I don't think we've seen anything that indicates a need for an anthropologist or archeologist on the island...so do the Freighterous Four have yet another clandestine mission that will use Charlotte's purported skills (like investigating the Black Rock people culture? or the four-toed culture?)? Or is Charlotte there for another reason?

Who would have thought, back in Season 1, that Hurley & Sawyer would become buds?

All Locke needs is an earring in one ear & he'll be a ringer for Mr. Clean.

Very long-time lurker but I could not resist commenting on this excellent episode and one of Mac's funniest ever reviews. Fantastic... seriously.

Only one thing missed... by far one of the best line's EVER in Lost:
After the bug-eyed wonder freaks out "you're mine... TAKE ALL THE TIME YOU NEED."
I swear to you all, I almost peed my pants.
Love the site, g'nite all.

@Clementine "So, are we supposed to believe Ben triggered a countdown to gas the whole island?"

I think Dan and Charlotte were only disabling the station. In doing so a countdown started. I don't think Ben's prepared to gas everyone just yet.

Oh, and also for best line, let's not forget Ben's offhand remark at dinner, "There wasn't a number on this rabbit, was there?" Nobody does offhand snide like ole Bug-Eyes :)

First time poster, long time reader.

It's true that everyone expects Ben's guy on the boat to be Michael, but what about Charlie? Is he really, really dead?

"Ben's evil knows no bounds. What kind of sick bastard would tape over the clinching game of the 2004 World Series?!?"

Definitely.

Liked the episode, did not love it though. Liked the review as always.

@Clementine:

Ben's Beyotch! OMG I almost peed myself.

@MAC

Fantastic as always. LMAO at your "Capri-Sun packet" and "creepy bug love" quips.

Uh-oh - does Juliet have to watch her back for Meg now?

I believe it is Michael on the boat. Even from the promo it says it is someone who is from the past. Michael is the only logical person.

Good episode as usual. Love the reveal of Widmore. Now we know it is him. (After he bought the diary last week I figured it was him) the diary must of had all the secrets of the island.

The flashbacks felt like “high school musical” with the Ben-Juliet-Goodwin-Harper love quadrangle.
Or any episode of “Friends”. Ben came off as Ross, Juliet was Rachel, Harper was Monica, Goodwin was Chandler, Jack was Joey and Kate was Phoebe.
I can hear it now “but we were on a break!”

Best Line / Best Dialogue

Locke brings Ben a meal:

Ben: “Rabbit, John?”

Locke: “We’re running low on chickens”,

Ben: (under his breath) “I hope this one didn’t have a number on it.”

Ben fed Locke a video of Widmore so we now have a better read on Widmore, but, bottomline, is Penny anti-dad as we suspect, or a pro-dad operative? What was the candid camera deal in the warehouse with Widmore? The guy getting whooped kind of looked like 1996 Desmond, from the back. When Widmore looked-up at the candid camera person, why did he seem to recognize them AND why did the camera go immediately to dead?

the last scean may have been one of the funniest things on tv. brilliant...

I was really disappointed with Daniel getting the right code at the last second. That has to have been used, what, 90 billion times in movies & TV shows?

Stuttering Doc

Show Title - The Other Woman.

We all think that Juliet fooling around with married Goodwin is - the other woman. Maybe “the other woman” is the female that Ben is reminded of by Juliet.
I do know that as much as I have wanted someone to empty a clip into Juliet since... forever. Tonight, I wanted to give her a hug, hand her a 9 mil, and we both empty our pistols into Charlotte - together.

I have a wierd feeling... Actually a wierd hope, that it's not Michael on the boat... I think that that takes way part of the surprise... Maybe Lindelof and Cuse will trick us...

Oh and great recap Mac, thanks!

I knew there was no way in hell that Ben was a Red Socks fan!

What about Patchy? He seems to pop up here and there when you least expect him.

GRAA, Mac. Loved the Capri Sun and Tempestt Bledsoe refrerences! I called the Widmore connection weeks ago, since they were looking for Desmond. Yet another question answered. Things are slowly but surely coming into focus.

Just a quick idea about Ben's safe code. Use A=2, B=3, C=4 etc. Then:

3 6 15 = B E N

And the 2 8? A G? Annie G...?

@ 3 LostedIt:

>Still watching it recorded. Only halfway through. Charles Widmore's boat? No way. And his daughter doesn't know? Are they on opposing teams now?

In last week's phone conversation, Penny said to Desmond "I know about the island. I've been researching it..."

Reading Daddy's rare manuscripts, perhaps?

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

@5 Clementine asked:

>How many more undiscovered stations, hatches, shacks, radio towers, pylons, and villages are there on this island? Oh, wait, we haven’t made it to the temple yet.

Or the Orchid.

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

@22 hurling

>I was really disappointed with Daniel getting the right code at the last second. That has to have been used, what, 90 billion times in movies & TV shows?

Obviously the bad guys have never read the much net-circulated "If I Was an Evil Genius", or they would have had the countdown end and the gas go off at 12.

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

I don't think we've got the complete picture of Juliet, even yet. It appears from tonight that she was still a simpering, facially-emoting stalkee right up to the day we met her - day one of the crash in "A Tale of Two Cities". When, then, did she take the martial arts training that allowed her to so easily subdue Kate, and maintain a serene, expressionless visage and calm demeanor in any circumstance, be it threats from Sayid and Sawyer, or the hostility of the whole beach camp? Is she, perhaps, receiving knowledge from the *future*?

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

Buying Magnus Hanso's diary doesn't explain how Widmore has so much detailed knowledge of the island - knowing about Ben and the doomsday device hidden away in the Tempest hatch. (Anybody else keep looking around for the giant hamster that supplies the island's power?) So where does Widmore get *his* intelligence from? A man/woman on the inside, perhaps?

While all of us (the hardcore fans who follow Lost online) suspect Michael to be the man on the boat, there are far more fans who follow the show religiously but not as much as us.

Those fans will be absolutely blown away by any appearance of Michael on the boat. Even with Harold Perrineau's name in the credits -- they only know character names, not actors.

Just because we aren't shocked by it doesn't mean most fans won't be. Besides, even if we're not shocked by the reveal, we'll (probably) be shocked when we find out how Michael came to be there, working for Ben.

Just a quick one, after Ben had taken Juliet to see Goodwins rotting corpse, before he ran away away did he not say something along the lines of

"with your mind? Take all the time you need"

Not your 'mine'

Would make slightly more sense, pretty trivial tbh but good review etc... x

GRAA-mac

First time post /long reader

I don't know about u folks but I got the weird feeling that the Logbook of Hanso probably told Charles Widmore all He needed to know of the island and it's original inhabitants. Thats why he sent the ship. They probably had a picture of desmond because she was sent to kill him if they found him or his sail boat there. He knew the island was there and planned him getting lost forever so his daughter would not hook up with him. I live in England but watch it on Sunday nights.
I always get a heads up on the show from u guys.

I must stress , I love this show, but again why don't people just talk to each other???

Conversations this episode that would have probably helped the current situation:

Charlotte/Daniel- "Listen guys, we need to get to a station called the Tempest so we can turn of a gas pipe which might poison us all! Would you mind giving us a hand?"

Ben - "Hey, John, there's this big-wig called Charles Widmore who is trying to get his mitts on the island. Personally I don't like the cut of jib!"

GRAA Mac. Watching the show last night, I kind of commented to my wife (a casual lost watcher in the beginning, but an avid follower now) that Goodwin was sent to the Tailies by Ben in hopes he would be killed. Reference the Bible where King David sends Uriah to the frontlines of battle so he can cover up the fact he got busy with Bathsheba.

Also, ANTP (sorry, had to say it...) when Ben and Juliet get together for a delicious ham and dinner roll meal, when he opens the door, there is a quick glance over his shoulder of a painting of a woman with long blonde hair in a flowing white dress. I watched again on TIVO (God bless TIVO) and paused it at that moment. Maybe that painting is of Annie? Thoughts anyone?

They don't communicate...and they don't sleep! How many days now has Jack been trekking back and forth across the island?!? Juliet says, "if we walk all night, we can make it there by morning."

GRAA Mac - real funny

Michael on the boat as the captain - Uh, No! What would a city dwelling artist know about piloting a freighter. Come on people, get those imaginations working.

I knew Juliet would eventually kick charlottes ass. I now declare Juliete to be mine.

It would make sense that Widmore would want the islands only weapon of mass destruction neutralized. They are just preparing for the invasion. The island must be stabalized before the invasion. It will eventually be the Others against the Newbies in an epic battle to the death. The 815ers will be caught in the middle.

I imagine smocky monster will be on the side of the Others.

Is next week the final show before the break?

***** SPOILERS ***** (from producers podcast)
I think the producers are working at polarizing the group. They talked in a podcast about presenting 2 credible explanations for why the plane is found intact by the end of the season. Perhaps this is the beginning of changing up the good vs bad guys and realigning loyalties. The teams seem to be becoming Ben/Locke vs Widmore/Jack. Crazy! I bet both sides are capable of planting a full scale decoy like 815 and they point fingers at each other. A few questions are... who is above Ben? Widmore's true intentions? Whose side will people fall on? Penny's involvement? Who do we root for anymore?!?

So was I the only one who was totally juked out in Juliet's opening scene with the therapist? I though to myself..."ohhh this is a flashforward and Juliet got off the island." That was a good scene.

It was great that the writers had some comedic fun with Ben's character this week. I really enjoyed that and looks like others did too.

So after digesting this one, my whole world of who's good and who's bad gets jumbled up. Like many, I've always been slightly suspicious about Juliet. We were certainly led to believe that she's one of the good guys after last night, but I still remember last season when Sawyer and Kate were breaking up rocks for the others. Sawyer looked at Juliet and told Kate (us) that she was someone to watch out for.

And Widmore...good or bad? I always pictured them as the bad guys, but now I almost wonder. Are the writers just preparing to blow our minds in the future? Penny and her Father don't seem to be at odds, and Penny clearly seems to have a good heart. Are we being misled?

I will say I am utterly confused by all the speculation of Michael being on the boat. As a character, he was always portrayed as being a guy who just wanted to take his son and get the heck out of there. For the most part, he wanted nothing to do with the survivors or the others. So yes, I will be not only surprised, but maybe disappointed if he is the guy on that boat.

It looks like we'll be getting a backstory about Annie sometime in a future episode too. I think we'll learn alot about Ben at that point.

Thanks Mac!

Great Post Mac, the season just keeps getting better...

I def feel Michael is the connection on the boat..

@3 LostedIt

Penny does know about the boat. Minkowski told Des in last week's episode that she kept calling the boat and he was ordered not to answer. Unless she didn't know who she was calling.

I think the BIG question this EP puts out there, but is not answered is “What did Nathan do to piss Ben off?” He and Goodwin are both sent into the enemy camps and then die. Does Ben know who is for him and who is against him and then send the ones who oppose him to the death?

What, no comment on the return of Tom/Zeke/Mr. Friendly? Guy looks pretty good after being on the receiving end of Sawyer's .45.

BTW - There was a Charles Stanhope who is known for penning about Edmund Burke's Reflections on the French Revolution. So their families been a-fussin and a-feudin for centuries...

Hey MAC - GRAA - Awesome recap brutha ! ! !

Well here I am sitting at work at 8:15 and of course I've got to get my weekly dose of Mac and Recap, better than Mac and Cheese and less filling.

Loved the ep - not as good as The Constant, but it does tie up some past events nicely.

Best Macism: "I doubt he knew Ana Lucia would turn Goodwin's torso into a Capri-Sun packet". Coffee sprayed liberally from my nose and mouth at that one. :-]

If Ben is to be believed then we finally have an answer as to who sent the freighter. It would also answer how Minkowski knew about Desmond and why Naomi had a photo of Desmond and Penny with her. Charles Widmore would have breifed certain people on who Desmond was in the event that they found him on the island. And in Minkowski's case he might have been told about Desmond and Penny as a reason for not answering the blinking light that indicated an incoming call.

This ep was chock full of answers to major and not so major mysteries.

On a side note: Goodwin must have been crazy to shack up with Juliet - Harper is "da Bomb". Then again tall, brunnete, bitchy therapists are definitely my type.

Anywho Mac - Great Recap and I can't wait to see what everyone else has to say about this episode.

P.S. - I definitely think that Michael is Ben's "man" on the boat. Of course a real twist would be if it wound up being a fully grown-up Walt.

@41 MicHael

It's Ethan, not Nathan.

One other thing - as much as Charlotte is a better addition to the cast than Paulikki was I would definitely have done cartwheels in my living room if Juliet had capped her smug, condescending ass. To me, Charlotte is the most dislikable character currently on the show. Her character walks around with this air of superiority over everyone else. She treats the Losties as if they don't deserve answers and that it would be beneath her to even try and explain anything to them.

Man on the boat: How about Too Tall Walt? If time is going fast, he would be grown up by now. I'm still putting money on Nadia, Sayid's girlfriend. He seemed shocked to see the person. Or maybe Richard Eyeliner.

Jungle Harper was Smokey ala Whispering Walt (collect the whole set!) and Eko's brother.

Oceanic #6 will be Sun to save her baby after Juliet tells her about baby death on the island. (see this theory in post #32 of "The Constant")

@Clementine: You also forgot The Starbucks Station with the coffee cup symbol.

@DocH: I think Penny is 'researching' behind Papa Wid's back ala Sun and the English lessons.

-42. What, no comment on the return of Tom/Zeke/Mr. Friendly? Guy looks pretty good after being on the receiving end of Sawyer's .45.
---------------------

Friendly was seen in a flashback. He is still dead otherwise, I would assume.

FABULOUS as always, Mac! Thanks much. Like Mr. grimm, I nearly sprayed coffee all over my desk when I read the Capri Sun line -- perfect!

Is anyone else groaning about Jack and Juliet? I just don't want them together and can't articulate why exactly. perhaps b/c I still think she is a sneaky little minx who can not be trusted. So sorry Mac, I disagree with you on this one. rare, I know. Anywho, happy Friday to all my fellow Lost buddies!

Looong time lurker/First time poster

Mac, this has to be one of your funniest recaps ever...Capri-Sun,that's such (in itallics)a Ben thing to do, Tempestt Bledsoe, Daniel updating his facebook account...amazing. I also have to give props to all my fellow Lost addicts who post such clever comments. My thoughts are completely disjointed right now, so I'm just going to post in bullet point fashion.

-Does anyone else watch this show and think in terms of the blog...I sure do.

-It must be Michael on the boat, and I agree with BJ that the Michael thing may be a shock to other people...not to us. It has to be Michael??

-******Semi-Spoiler*********
-Before this season started, I heard Michael Emerson (Ben) on the radio talking about this season. He said that this was going to be very dark and violent, and that the people who come to the island will make him not look so bad. We haven't really experienced this yet, so I keep wondering when this is going to happen.

********End of Semi-Spoiler*************
-How creepy is Harper?? That is one scary chick.

-How did Ben send Harper that message??? Is there a secret passage way?? Locke would never have let her in to chat with Ben. How did Ben know that creepy Charlotte and kooky Daniel were even going to that station? Am I missing something??

-It was nice to see ol' Tom/Zeek. I must say that I am disappointed that he was killed. He is my favorite Other.

-Ben is NOT to be trusted...no matter what.

-Last thing, I hate to see Locke in such a confused state. He is one of my all time favs, and I will always root for him.

@GatorGal/48 - Nah, Jack's just lonely & he lost Kate to Sawyer. Even if they both got off the island safely, it wouldn't last.

So sorry about the multiple posts!!!! I've never "blogged" before, and I apparently don't know what I'm doing!!

Sorry!!!

@JG: No worries. Happens to the best of us!

Things that amek you go hmmmm......

from The Tempest, by William Shakespeare; Antonio, Act II, scene I:

"We all were sea-swallow'd, though some cast again:
And by that destiny, to perform an act
Whereof what's past is prologue, what to come
In yours and my discharge."

@mac "this Harper "thing" has popped in on Juliet to deliver a supernatural email from Ben."

Ha! I thought the same thing. I half expected to hear her say, "You have mail."

Hello everyone
Mac, you're line about Goodwin and Ana-Lucia has definitely been a success!! Loved it, loved it!! I thought Juliette was a good one since those last episodes of season 3. I didn't like her character much though, but after last night's episode, I'm starting too. It's all really sad for her, with her feelings for Jack and all.

@Three Men and a lbaby (#34): Great the comparison with King David, I think something like that was in Ben's mind.

I didn't see anything like this on the posts before, hope I'm not being redundant: Because of Harper´s reference, I too think it meant Annie. My thoughts are that Annie died after being pregnant with Ben's child, and that's why Ben wants to find a way to stop whatever happens to women who conceive on island.

Third best quote of the episode:

"This rabbit didn't have a number on it, did it?" –Ben

Also, I meant "make" in my post above/#51...brian working faster than fingers this morning!

Great review as always ..

but Charlotte whacks her with a metal rod and the two engage in an epic fight while Danny updates his Facebook profile.

LMAO !!!
That is the funniest line anywhere !!!

@mac "sometime later they stumble upon Kate, who's moaning and groaning and clutching a bloody head wound"

Where's a good scarf when you need one?

Ben's man behind the camcorder .....
Bill Belichick

@bcre8ve: I think I saw the Hurley Bird wearing Cindy's scarf ;)

Did we lose some posts? I'm seeing reply to p[osts that never happened, or with different numbers to the post when i find it.

@Cecil: I've been pruning duplicates. That temporarily screws up the numbering

Someone mentioned 'ANTP' behind Ben and Juliet about a woman in a long flowing dress....Ben's Mom perhaps? Didnt she appear to him in a 'vision' in a white flowing dress?

This show makes my head spin, I could be misremembering..

@45 Stenz...Thanks for clarifying...I knew Zeke was dead and I knew it was a flashback...it was just nice to see Ol' Tom again.

****POSSIBLE SPOILER****

In the previews for next week, they showed what looked like a cute young blond Aussie chick wearing a chain mail corset and jumping into the ocean. Was that Claire? Did I see that right? What could possibly make Claire off herself? Or was she tossed like a bucket of chum?

That freighter's starting to look a little small...they're going to need a bigger boat...specially if another helo comes around...

****END OF POSSIBLE SPOILER****

@ lostsox -->#57:

LMAO - I wish I had thought of that one.

GRAA Mac

I really liked this episode save for the part where Kate is "tracking" Charlotte/Daniel/Juliet and tells Jack 'Juliet went this way, and Charlotte and Daniel came through about 30 minutes before hand'. Is she related to MacGyver??

@41 MicHael It's Ethan, not Nathan.

→ 42. Posted by: marlisa at March 7, 2008 08:49 AM

My bad, I have always gotten those two mixed up. Nathan was the guy Ana put in the pit and then Goodwin killed. Also Hurley called Ethan by the name of Nathan when he was taking the census. It’s like the Scott and Steve thing from season one I got Ethan and Nathan mixed up and can’t keep them separated.

@5/hurling

I had the same observation. We found Ben's emotional attachment/achilles heel.

I predict that instead of taking his wrath out on Jack, Ben will instead take it out on Juliet this time in an "If-I-can't-have-you-no-one-will" sort of way. This would explain why there have been no Juliet flashforwards.

Ben being mean, lieing, shooting Locke, gassing a whole island and killing his father...all of that I can take - but Ben as a giddy school kid playing the hopeless romantic - now that just creeeps me out!

Perhaps I’m making too much of it, but I thought that the biggest reveal of the episode was that Ben is directly connected with the entity/mechanism that causes the freak rain, whispers and magic messengers trick. If he can use it to send a message to Jules, then he either controls it, or is favored by whoever/whatever (Jacob?) does. And being kept prisoner by Locke apparently doesn’t hamper his access to that power, whoever or whatever it might be. Further, the dialogue between Jules and her ex-therapist indicates that Ben manages to be in direct contact with the Others at the Temple, again despite his captivity.

If Charles Manson actually could do all the things he claimed he could do, he’d be Ben.

For the whole hour, I just kept wondering - did Miles still have the grenade in his mouth, and would we be hearing a muffled boom at some point? Something along the lines of "Pieces of Miles"...

Great review Mac - I don't know how you put things together so quickly!

What an episode! This season has been blowing me away! It seems as if the obvious Man on the Boat is Michael- which is exactly why I am going to assume it is not! Could it be Walt? I know he's a kid, but the producers have said weird things about how people grow/age once off the island, right? And a 16 year old could easily work as a crewman on a boat, right? Just a wild thought, I just don't think they'd be so obvious about Michael, but maybe they are, I guess we'll see next week!

I also think Harper's suggestion of Juliet looking "just like her" could be referenceing Annie- but IMHO, Juliet looks a lot like Ben's MOTHER. And as we know, Ben has very serious and scary parental issues. His Mother was taken from him moments after his birth- perhaps that is why he demands Juliet is HIS, and won't let her go?

I loved the twist that Juliet and Goodwin were having an affair, and not just normal lovers as we were led to believe in her previous Flashback. Nothing is ever as it first appears on this show.

Widmore being the bad guy was definitely assumed- congrats to everyone that called that. I'd like to see how they explain Penny's part- they're both looking for the same place, but for different reasons- are they even aware of one another's searches?

I'm interested to learn how the Freighties know so much about the island already- the fact that there was a Power Station that housed horrible killing-gas that they have to render inert... how did they know that?

Glad to have the whispers back- and I assumed that Harper was a Hostile (Jack even made the passing reference to this, which I thought was a hoot) and not someone that Ben 'brought to the island' (like Juliet). This could explain how she is able to appear and dissapear as she did (we've seen Alpert do it, and we know him to be a Hostile). Just a thought.

Anyway, Namaste, until next time!

Ok, so everyone in the world thinks that bens spy is Michael right. I can for sure see that, but is it possible that the real spy is Widmor's daughter Penny?

There once was a girl named Juliet
Whose destiny has now been set
Ben brought her into the fold
Where she shot a man cold
Is that her in LA in the casket?

To the real world she hopes to go back
Like Hurley and Kate and Jack
Her fate is unclear
We'll know in a year
I wonder what you think, Mac?

She's got smarts and skills with a gun
Does she go or will it be Sun
We now know her Romeo
Is our hero, Jack-O
Hope she makes it cuz she's number one

But it looks like her prospects are slim
Unless she can learn how to swim
For Ben is so vile
He'll gas you and smile
Can you please help her, Mister_Grimm?

Pure wishful thinking on my part, but I'd love for the man on the boat to be Mr. Eko.

@71/Scooby-Dude - You rock!

@27/Posted by: Cecil Rose

Being that the Tempest station is the power plant on the island, I too was disappointed that we didn't get a peek at the giant hamsters that Ben had referred to in "The Man from Tallahassee."

If anyone's interested check IMDB.COM
for updates on Harold Perrineau's acting credits for upcoming Lost episodes.

The end of "The Constant" had a hand grenade, and "The Other Woman" ended on a scene with horse shoes. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. This was the first thing I thought of when I saw what Sawyer and Hurley were playing.

@67/Deep Cover Speaking of the "freak rain"...

Others have commented on how it always starts when the group splits up so I have been watching for it to see if it plays out. Last night was the most obvious example that I can recall. Just as the group started to split up the rain came hard and heavy.

A piece of this mysterious puzzle was repeated. After Juliet receives the message from Ben (through Harper), Kate is told 'Ben is exactly where he wants to be.'

Again, we have seen this before, but not much has been revealed regarding how far Ben's control reaches, or how he executes that control.

I find it weird that after three months or so on the island and roaming around, the Losties never once stumbled on this "new" station.

good morning to all:

ben's line at the end was definitely the best line and funny as hell. the fact that he was practically skipping to his bungalow with fresh sheets and pillow cases with a smile on his face was priceless.

i have to argree with poster #35, i'm not sure who to root for anymore. i have grown very fond of our losties and want everyone to get what they want, be it leave, stay or whatever.

ben is PURE evil but at the same time i dont want widmore to find the island and exploit it, hence my deliema(did i spell that right?)of who to root for.

ahhh mr grimm...., i to think walt will be the manchild on the boat. :) i agree 100% with you about charlotte, kick her condescending ass and demand to know why the hell is she really here. :)

peace&love to all

@8/Alaïs_Longthought "..a need for an anthropologist or archaeologist on the island."

From digonsite.com:
"Technically, an anthropologist studies all aspects of humanity - physical (or biological), cultural, and archaeological. The archaeologist has a narrower field, and studies the past by recovering and analyzing artifacts and evidence of material culture."

It is interesting that Charlotte is an anthropologist and not just an archaeologist. Since anthropologists are experts in culture (and often cross culture) could it be that part of her reason for being a freighter tot is to reach out to the island natives? Or maybe she's just Jonesin' (as in Indiana) for an artifact that Widmore is interested in.

Long time reader first time poster.

This episode really confused me...more than Constant. The intentions of the Boaties is more cloudy then ever. Are you telling me they were sent to go to the Tempest to render a gas inert. In doing so there is a high risk that gas will be released and kill everyone. This is sounds like a ridiculous mission and poor design on the machine.

Also, someone mentioned this. Why didn't Charollete and Faraday just tell Jack what they were going to do. And also Kate; Char claims she "had to" hit her over the head. Why? Just tell her what they're doing.

They have full gas masks and suits on just in case they fail. So they are willing to risk everyone's life on the island now just to render something inert so that Ben can one day NOT use it to kill everyone. Completely illogical. Why not make a better plan to kill Ben?

What I think is really going on is that they intended to kill everyone on the island as Widmore's orders. Recall the conversation with Char and Faraday where Faraday says, "What if I can't do it?" This could either mean what if he fails and ends up killing everyone. Or it could mean what if he can't garner the courage to kill everyone.

So when Juliet comes and takes off their masks they don't want to set the thing off anymore. So they change their plan and deactivate the machine (not rendering it inert) so that they can later kill everyone.

I also think Ben is on the good guys, and Juliet was referenced to look like Ben's mom.

LOST VAGUEST ODDS
Based on known facts, hints from the producers, speculation by bloggers, and my own theories, these are the current betting odds :
----------------------
Ben's Man on the freighter :
----------------------
Michael: 1-1
Charlotte: 3-1
Walt: 4-1
Richard Alpert : 7-1
Annie : 7-1
Mikhail : 8-1
Lapidus: 10-1
Mintkowski: 12-1
Farraday : 15-1
Cindy : 20-1
Miles: 20-1
Jacob: 25-1

-------------------
Person in Coffin
-------------------
Michael : 3-2
Walt : 3-1
New Character : 6-1
Ben : 10-1
Empty: 20-1

--------------
Oceanic 6
--------------
Aaron 3-2
Sun 3-2
Jin 2-1
Michael 7-1
Cindy 8-1
Desmond 10-1
Walt 10-1
Ben 25-1
Someone else 40-1
------------------

Wow, I didn’t see that cat fight coming on at all. I was hoping that Juliet would have pulled a Mike Tyson on Charlotte and bit her ear off. I was watching the fight waiting for Daniel to walk around the fight arena with a big card saying Round 1 but the whole Hazardous Materials Suit threw me off.

Benified Bugged-Eyed Ben's smooth moves on Juliet were priceless. I was so waiting for him to say that he was going to play his sweet Neil Diamond record for Juliet. I could just hear it in the back ground "Love on the rocks, Ain't no surprise
Pour me a drink
And I'll tell you some lies."

I really don't understand how Ben sent got his message to the therapist to give to Juliet. We're assuming he is truly locked up in his basement under Locke's guard, but there must be something more going on there.

I hate the Jack-Juliet relationship. Goodwin died 3 months ago and shes already in love with Jack? So stupid. It feels forced and I hate it. The only relationships on the show that make any sense and feel even remotely real are Penny-Desmond, Sun-Jin, and Claire-Charlie. I hate stupid, unrealistic, forced-for-TV-viewing love stories.

The man Widmore is beating up on Ben's secret security tape is 1996 Desmond from the Constant.

Ben taped over the 2004 Red Sox championship game that was showed to Jack.

The inference is that Ben went back into time to 1996 to record Widmore to create a file on him. The only way to "back track" time is to follow a time traveler like Desmond, either tapping into Desmond's "flashes" or recording his memories (which would have been from a first person perspective and not the angle of the camera taping the scene) or physically returning to that point and time to make copies of what was occurring in real time.

Is there any recreational sport that Hurley can't play? He's out played Sawyer in horseshoes and ping pong. He outplayed everyone in the golf invitational and he beat Jack in HORSE. The man is a recreational monster!

Great episode. I loved the # on the rabbit line. Also,did anybody catch the comment Zeke made to Juliette after leaving Harper? Something like in no time she'll have you crying about your Daddy. I thought that was interesting considering the comments about the Losties all having daddy issues.

GRAA Mac!

God I loved that Rabbit line! I was saying the same thing to my wife as Locke was gutting it.

This episode did a wonderful job in making me question who I really want to root for. As evil and back-handed as Ben is, his reasons for protecting the island somehow made sense to me. And how can you not love the mans cynicism?

This episode also showed me how much I hate Charlotte. Why couldn't Juliet just "Capri'd" her during their mud wrestling match?

With the introduction as Widmore being the main person out to get Ben, does this mean we can assume that he was Elsa's boss?

havent read yet..im sure someone mentioned it...but im sure the person the skrink was refering to when she said to juliette "you look just like her" was annie bens childhood friend

@michael H (#39)

That is a good point about Ethan's wrong to Ben. We see how vindictive and calculating he can be

Great review Mac (as usual!)

Speaking of Ethan, I wonder has William 'Ethan Rom' Mapother set a television record for "Most Appearances by a Deceased Character"?

The person Juliet looks like is Ben's mother.

We're all assuming that Ben somehow "sent" a message through the creepy therapist. What if this is not the case? What if there is a THIRD agenda being played out here, to set Ben up and get him out? It's not like anyone would believe he did NOT do it, right? The whispering and her vanishing act was just too unusual.

And how is it Jules has not killed Ben, for what he did to Goodwin? I suppose Ben has the threat of harming her sister.

I think the death of Goodwin is the event that hardened Juliet. Where she learned her fighting skills, who knows.

Anagrams for "Harper Stanhope":

"The Horn Appears" - Ben's horn (as get on the horn and call Juliet) appears

"Perhaps Eat Horn" - How did Harper disappear so quickly? Perhaps Smokey Eat Horn.

"Preheat Orphans" - reference to flight eight-fiftweeners Emma and Zack?

"Notepaper Harsh" - Those notes she was taking on Juliet could not have been nice.

"An Other Perhaps" - Is she an Other or a native? (cue spooky music - DUN, DUN, DUN!)

"She Appear North" - North *is* the direction of the freighter...

"Rat Hero Happens" - Eloise!

"Hare Rot Happens" - Reference to Ben's dinner?

"Perhaps Not Hare" - Another reference to Ben's dinner. Anyone seen Vincent lately?

This episode certainly reveals a lot. I have friends who thought it was kindda eh, but to me it was very revealing. I have always suspected that Locke was stupid enough to fall for Ben's mind games. Ben killed his own father for effs sake, he CANNOT be trusted with anything he does or says, he is willing to kill his Other followers to get into Juliette's pants. Ben is pure and magnificent evil. So of course he would do anything or say anything to earn that tool Locke's trust. I was very surprised to learn that Penny's daddy was the man behind the boat, in one of this seasons episodes, when Sayid is sent out to kill a lot of men on Ben's list, then who are all these dudes he's offing? Widmore's associates, his club members, his homeys, who? It is obvious that everyone is thinking that Micheal is Ben's main dude on the boat but the writers know that we know that they know, so i think they will provide someone else.
Was that Claire jumping off the freighter on next weeks episode???
Mac, thanks dude you Rock!

I don't believe hearing that Michael is Ben's man on the boat would be news that Locke would have to 'sit down' to hear.
I propose . . .ready?? . . . Boone.
Locke was close to him AND thought he was dead. He would definitely have to sit down to hear that.
(this theory is as plausible as much of the other happenings on Lost!)
I just have to wonder why the writers thought it necessary to have Locke be the one to ask that question. Why, really, would he care?

also with all the wacky time issues with the island..perhaps BEN is bens man on the boat

I thought I heard mac rolling over in his blog when Ben said he had recorded over the Red Sox game.

ok, long time lurker i guess you would say, but need to tell you all - you are getting under my skin! (Not that that's a bad thing)
I found myself thinking about meg more than once while watching the show, wondering what she thought of ben's cute little 'glance back at juliet dance' while taking out the ham, and if jealousy was clouding the wine glass, and that is just not right! is it?
thanks to you all for giving me something to do besides work on fridays....

@102/lost in VT

Thanks to meg and ilovebenjaminlinusandeveryoneelseontheplanetxxx, the writers read mac's blog last week and have responded with, "They want more Ben face time? I'll give 'em more Ben face time!"

I wonder what can we get on next week's show?

Hi, first time poster. I've been watching since the first episode and haven't missed one yet. Great blog MAC and I, along with everyone else just loved the Capri Sun comment!! Anyway, I was just wondering!! Could it possibly be Juliet in the coffin? It might explain why Jack was so upset/conflicted??? and also explain why Kate asked "why would I want to go to the funeral" as if he were nuts to think she'd want to. There's never been too much love lost between those two!!
I was also wondering when the heck we were going to hear what happened to Miles?? Will Claire go behind Locke's back and go talk to him? Or will Locke realize she's right about trying a different approach? Can't wait 'til next week to find out who Ben's man on the boat is.. they've led us to believe that Sayid and Desmond meet the captain which is also supposed to be a surprise.. is the Captain and Ben's man one and the same or are there two suprises in store?

@103 bcre8ve

I keep hoping for a cameo of Cindy, her scarf or both sometime soon. If they could show them in a fax room, that'd be a tremendous bonus! :-)

Hi, first time poster. I've been watching since the first episode and haven't missed one yet. Great blog MAC and I, along with everyone else just loved the Capri Sun comment!! Anyway, I was just wondering!! Could it possibly be Juliet in the coffin? It might explain why Jack was so upset/conflicted??? and also explain why Kate asked "why would I want to go to the funeral" as if he were nuts to think she'd want to. There's never been too much love lost between those two!!
I was also wondering when the heck we were going to hear what happened to Miles?? Will Claire go behind Locke's back and go talk to him? Or will Locke realize she's right about trying a different approach? Can't wait 'til next week to find out who Ben's man on the boat is.. they've led us to believe that Sayid and Desmond meet the captain which is also supposed to be a surprise.. is the Captain and Ben's man one and the same or are there two suprises in store?

@102/104

Is Nan Nuts?

Oh, and one other thing that bothered me and I hope the rest of the crowd.

So, this station The Tempest. Amazing place, biggest station yet, filled with electrical gear and tanks of nerve gas, and yet there is nobody *guarding* this place? What the heck is up with that?

Opinions? Maybe it used to be Mikhail's job to keep his one eye on it... ;)

@jaybee #68: I hope not. I don't need the competition!

@lostsox #57: Classic!

@Stevo #70: It can't be Penny. She's been calling the ship (per Minkowski) and Desmond called her from the ship.

First of all, I have to say that Mac's recap was better than this episode. I can't explain, but it left me feeling kinda empty. It certainly wasn't nosebleed material.

-31 Rabbit #15 (great name): I wonder, too, why don't these people just talk to each other????

Best-delivered line IMHO: After Charlotte hits Kate, Daniel looks at her quizzically, and she says: "Wha???"

We haven't heard from ILBLXX yet today. I'm guessing she's crushed after Ben telling Juliette "You're mine". Hang in there, girlie.

I anxiously await all of the other sublime posts that are sure to come.

I doubt the captain and Ben's "man" are the same person. That would mean that Ben's man infiltrated the freighter before they even came to the island. (I suppose it's possible though). I wouldn't be shocked if Regina is the captain.

As far as Ben's Man on the Boat. BMOB. I'm having a hard time believing it to be Michael (or at least present time Michael).

How long has it been since Michael left from Pala Ferry? 30 days? Lostpedia has him leaving on Day 67. We're on Day 97. Is that enough time to infiltrate the freighter? And why would the freighters trust Michael?

With time-travelling conciousness though, I wouldn't be surprised if it is future Michael jumping in to present Michael's mind to do Ben's dirty work. And Walt is his constant. We already know he "cares deeply" about Walt.

Do we know how long the freighter has been here? Based on the X'd off calendar in the Communications room it appears they have been there since at least Oct 1. (Not long after the flight crashed).

But, how does that coincide with the timeline that the wreckage was found near the Sundra Trench? That would mean the fake wreckage was found within a week of the crash, so that Abbadon's crew could get put together to find the island. I think they've been looking for this island longer than we know. Widmore bought the log in 1996 for pete's sake!

I'm guessing that the freighter has been there for a while - and only recently did Naomi & team arrive. Abbadon only shows her the 5 of them. He doesn't mention any other of the crew.

My other thought is future Sayid is Ben's man on the boat. That would make you sit down! We know Sayid is already on the boat, and we know that future sayid works for Ben, and we know time travelling consciousness is possible, so illogically I jump to the conclusion that time-travelling Sayid is BMOB.

Is Nan Nuts?
→ 105. Posted by: Cecil Rose at March 7, 2008 11:17 AM

:) Oops.. sorry.. double post. It looked like it hadn't gone through so I posted again and figured Nuts was a better name since I totally am!! I hope that's what you're referring to and not my crazy idea that it might be Juliet in the coffin!!

Harper Stanhope is an anagram for Pharaoh Serpent.

If you read the Tempest & Exodus in the bible you will read about the Pharaoh and the serpent.

The Pharaoh Serpent of Harper Stanhope is related to ehyptian myth about the shipwrecked sailer.

The Shipwrecked Sailor
------------------------------
When Pharaoh Amen-em-het ruled Egypt in about the year 2000 BC he brought peace and prosperity to a country that had been torn by civil war and rebellion for nearly two hundred years. During his reign adventurers and traders went on many expeditions to the south - either up the Nile through Nubia and even as far as Ethiopia, or along the Red Sea and out into the Indian Ocean to the mysterious land of Punt, whence they brought back jewels and spices and other treasures.

The Royal Court, whether, it was in residence at Thebes or Memphis, was thronged with ships' captains and the leaders of expeditions, each with a tale to tell - and each anxious to win a commission from Pharaoh to command some royal venture on the strength of his past achievements.

One day such a wanderer stopped the Grand Vizier in the palace courtyard at Thebes, and said to him, 'My lord, harken to me a while. I come with costly gifts for Pharaoh, nor shall his counselors such as yourself be forgotten. Listen, and I will tell you of such adventures as have not been told: Pharaoh himself - life, health, strength be to him! - will reward you for bringing to his presence a man with such adventures to tell. I have been to a magic island in the sea far to the south - far beyond Nubia, to the south even of Ethiopia. I beg of you to tell Pharaoh that I am here and would tell my tale to him.'

The Grand Vizier was accustomed to such appeals, and he looked doubtfully at the wanderer and said, 'It seems to me that you speak foolishly and have only vain things to tell. Many men such as you think that a tall story will win them a commission from Pharaoh - but when they tell their tale they condemn themselves out of their own mouths. If what you have to tell is one of these, be sure that I shall have you thrown out of the palace. But if it is of sufficient interest, I may bring you before Pharaoh. Therefore speak on at your own risk, or else remain silent and trouble me no more.'

'I have such a tale to tell,' answered the wanderer, 'that I will risk your anger with an easy mind. When you have heard it, you will beg me to come before Pharaoh and tell it to him - even to the good god Pharaoh Amen-em-het who rules the world. Listen, then:

'I was on my way to the mines of Pharaoh in a great ship rowed by a hundred and fifty sailors who had seen heaven and earth and whose hearts were stronger than lions. We rowed and sailed for many days down the Red Sea and out into the ocean beyond.

'The captain and the steersman swore that they knew the signs of the weather and that the wind would not be strong but would waft us gently on our way. Nevertheless before long a tempest arose suddenly and drove us towards the land. As we drew near the shore the waves were eight cubits in height and they broke over the ship and dashed it upon the rocks. I seized a piece of wood and flung myself into the sea just as the ship ran aground: a moment later it was smashed to pieces and every man perished.

'But a great wave raised the board to which I clung high over the sharp rocks and cast me far up the shore, on level sand, and I was able to crawl into the shelter of the trees out of reach of the cruel, angry sea.

'When day dawned the tempest passed away and the warm sun shone out. I rose up to see where I was, giving thanks to the gods for my delivery when all the rest had perished. I was on an island with no other human being to be a companion to me. But such an island as no man has seen! The broad leaves of the thicket where I lay formed a roof over my head to shield me from the burning midday sun. When I grew hungry and looked about for food, I found all ready for me within easy reach: figs and grapes, all manner of good herbs, berries and grain, melons of all kinds, fishes and birds for the taking.

'At first I satisfied my hunger on the fruits around me. And on the third day I dug a pit and kindled a fire in it on which I made first of all a burnt offering to the gods, and then cooked meat and fish for myself.

'As I sat there comfortably after an excellent meal I suddenly heard a noise like thunder. Nearly beside myself with terror, I flung myself on the ground, thinking that it was some great tidal wave come to engulf the island: for the trees were lashing as if at the breath of the tempest and the earth shook beneath me.

"Moving towards me I saw a serpent thirty cubits long with a beard of more than two cubits."
'But no wave came, and at last I cautiously raised my head and looked about me. Never shall I forget the horror of that moment. Moving towards me I saw a serpent thirty cubits long with a beard of more than two cubits. Its body was covered with golden scales and the scales round its eyes shaded off into blue as pure as lapis lazuli.

'The serpent coiled up its whole length in front of where I lay with my face on the ground, reared its head high above me, and said: "What has brought you, what has brought you here, little one? Say, what has brought you to my island? If you do not tell me at once I will show you what it is to be- burnt with fire, what is it to be burnt utterly to nothing and become a thing invisible. Speak quickly, I am waiting to hear what I have not heard before, some new thing!"

'Then the serpent took me in his huge jaws and carried me away to his cave, and put me down there without hurting me. Yes, though he had held me in his sharp teeth he had not bitten me at all; I was still whole.

'Then he said again, "What has, brought you, what has brought you here, little one? Say what has brought you to this island in the midst of the sea with the waves breaking on all sides of it?"

'At this I managed to speak, crouching before him and bowing my face to the ground as if before Pharaoh himself.

'"I sailed by command of Amen-em-het, Pharaoh of Egypt, in a great ship one hundred and fifty cubits in length to bring treasure from the mines of the south. But a great tempest broke upon us and dashed the ship upon the rocks so that all who sailed in her perished except for myself. As for me, I seized a piece of wood and was lifted on it over the rocks and cast upon this island by a mighty wave, and I have been here for three days. So behold me, your suppliant, brought hither by a wave of the sea."

'Then the serpent said to me, "Fear not, fear not, little one, nor let your face show sadness. Since you have come to my island in this way, when all your companions perished, it is because some god has preserved and sent you. For surely Amon-Re has set you thus upon this island of the blessed where nothing is lacking, which is filled with all good things. And now I will tell you of the future: here in this isle shall you remain while one month adds itself to another until four months have passed. Then a ship shall come, a ship of Egypt, and it shall carry you home in safety, and at length you shall die in your own city and be laid to rest in the tomb which you have prepared.

'"And now I will tell you of this island. For it is pleasant to hear strange things after fear has been taken away from you - and you will indeed have a tale to tell when you return home and kneel before Pharaoh, your lord and master. Know then that I dwell here with my brethren and my children about me; we are seventy-five serpents in all, children and kindred. And but one stranger has ever come amongst us: a lovely girl who appeared strangely and on whom the fire of heaven fell and who was turned into ashes. As for you, I do not think that heaven holds any thunderbolts for one who has lived through such dangers. It is revealed to me that, if you dwell here in patience, you shall return in the fullness of time and hold your wife and children in your arms once more."

"...if what you have said to me happens indeed, I shall come before Pharaoh and tell him about you, and speak to him of your greatness."
'Then I bowed before him, thanking him for his words of comfort, and said, "All that I have told you is true, and if what you have said to me happens indeed, I shall come before Pharaoh and tell him about you, and speak to him of your greatness. And I will bring as offerings to you sacred oils and perfumes, and such incense as is offered to the gods in their temples. Moreover I shall tell him of all the wonders of this isle, and I shall sacrifice asses to you, and Pharaoh shall send out a ship filled with the riches of Egypt as presents to your majesty."

'The king serpent laughed at my words, saying, "Truly you are not rich in perfumes - for here in this island I have more than in all the land of Punt. Only the sacred oil which you promise me is scarce here - yet you will never bring it, for when you are gone this island will vanish away and you shall never more see it. Yet doubtless the gods will reveal it in time to come to some other wanderer."

'So I dwelt happily in that enchanted island, and the four months seemed all too short. When they drew to a close I saw a ship sailing over the smooth sea towards me, and I climbed into a high tree to see better what manner of men sailed in it.

And when I perceived that they were men of Egypt, I hastened to the home of the serpent king and told him. But he knew already more than I did myself, and said to me, "Farewell, brave wanderer. Return in safety to your home and may my blessing go with you."

'Then I bowed before him and thanked him, and he gave me gifts of precious perfumes - of cassia and sweet woods, of kohl and cypress, of incense, of ivory and of other precious things. And when I had set these upon the ship and the sailors would have landed, the island seemed to move away from them, floating on the sea. Then night fell suddenly, and when the moon shone out there was no island in sight but only the open waves.

'So we sailed north and in the second month we came to Egypt, and I have made haste to cross the desert from the sea to Thebes. Therefore, I pray you, lead me before Pharaoh, for I long to tell him of my adventures and lay at his feet the gifts of the King of the Serpents, and beg that he will make me commander of a royal ship to sail once more into the ocean that washes the shores of Punt.'

When the wanderer's tale was ended, the Grand Vizier laughed heartily, crying, 'Whether or not I believe your adventures, you have told a tale such as delights the heart of Pharaoh - life, health, strength be to him! Therefore come with me at once, and be sure of a rich reward: to you who tell the tale, and to me who brings before him the teller of the tale.'

So the wanderer passed into the presence of the good god Pharaoh Amen-em-het, and Pharaoh delighted in the story of the shipwrecked sailor so much that his chief scribe Ameni-amen-aa was set to write it down upon a roll of papyrus where it may be read to this very day.

@102/104

I thought we know that the person in the coffin was a man - so unless that is Juilet's big secret, its not her in the coffin.

(am i wrong?)

I thought it was interesting about Juliette questioning Ben about keeping the kids from the plane and Ben replying they were "on the list".
Still don't understand how Widmore knows about Ben (I get the Desmond connection).

Read this paragraph about the serpent and how in the fourth month a ship will come to rescue them and take them home so they can die there.

----

'Then the serpent said to me, "Fear not, fear not, little one, nor let your face show sadness. Since you have come to my island in this way, when all your companions perished, it is because some god has preserved and sent you. For surely Amon-Re has set you thus upon this island of the blessed where nothing is lacking, which is filled with all good things. And now I will tell you of the future: here in this isle shall you remain while one month adds itself to another until four months have passed. Then a ship shall come, a ship of Egypt, and it shall carry you home in safety, and at length you shall die in your own city and be laid to rest in the tomb which you have prepared.

@Cecil Rose: Ethan is nowhere near the dead owner from "Andy Richter Controls the Universe".

@TheDuf #106: I think the Others are stretched a little thin with all the killing by the Beachies. Besides I think Ben sent them to the Alcatraz Island before wandering off by himself.

First of all: Lost in Baltimore, Alaïs_Longthought, Cecil Rose ... thank you ...

@bcre8ve/95:
More Harper S. anagrams:

"hanso prep earth" (hmm ...)
"perhaps a hornet" (not just an other)

"phones her apart" &
"rare phone paths" (Des/Pen call ref?)

"porn spa heather" (her "professional" name?)

Harper Stanhope = An Other Perhaps

Great Review Mac, Thanks!

Anyone think Harper looked like the young Annie? She did not resemble Juliet at all.

I don't think Locke would be so very surprised at Michael being Ben's man on the boat, but it does make sense.

Help me or you'll never see your son again.

They all know he would do anything to get his son safe and they heard that they had been duoble crossed at the dock when Michael left.

I think Sayid would really blow their socks off. Want to Nadia again?

Question. Does the unstuck in time syndrome only happen when you leave the island? Did Minkowski and Mate actually get to the island? I think they said no. So why were they effected. And are we to assume that Prof. Dan's quirkiness is island effect, because he seemed to relax when he found his constant? So he has been there befor?

Also, Remeber Dan's notebook? Anyone think the page before the constant note on the right hand side looks like the drawing on the crah door? lines conecting cicles in a 3 dimensional pyramid shape?

Was it just me or did the scene outside the chemical place look alot like Return of the Jedi? I kept expecting an Ewok to come wobbling around the corner. At the very least a Wookie.

I did not like the Tempest element; it was another contrived, forced television melodrama formula.

Charlotte and Dan are on a team trying to find Ben. They don't go to find Ben, they go to the Tempest.
They go to the station with gas masks to "disarm" it so Ben won't use it; but Ben is captured and can't control the stations or release gas that could kill himself. You don't need gas masks to disarm a station; you wear them if you are intent on releasing the gas. Once confronted, Dan claims to working on making the toxic gas inert. (I don't believe the science here; I believe one uses an antidote to neutralize the effects of the gas after it is released).

It is also not plausible that Faraday would know how to control this station unless he had been there before (but the map infers that he had not been there before arriving on the island) or trained by someone who had been there before (all the Dharma personnel were killed off by Ben in the Purge)

It was a strained premise to try to convince us the freighter crew was friendly-then evil-now back to friendly to the 815ers.

you know what would be awesome?
if this happens...

Captain reavealed to be a young 20 something man.

sayid and desmond look at him...
he says i came to rescue you, friends...

sayid asks who are you?

man says sayid ... its me... walt...

and then the title LOST flashes in...

now that would be mind blowing but then again i am writing about it...

what also would be crazy is if penny is working for her dad and end up killing desmond... that would be funny though i hope it doesnt happen cuz des and pen (denny!) are the best thing about lost

-112 and 115
Alex, Alex, Alex...keep it in the short grass. #112 was totally unnecessary for this forum, while your #115 post was to the point and a great reference.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought of the King David connection with Goodwin and Ben.

Here's my problem with the chemical bomb (or whatever you want to call it)- why would Ben want to set it off in the first place? Wouldn't killing everybody on the island be... uh... a little counterproductive?

And the "shut the bomb off just in time" thing makes me wonder if it was some kind of sham mission all along. Like the frieghter people need to go to any great lengths to get the Losties to hate Ben more.

And why did a bunch of utopian hippies like Dharma have a nerve gas factory to begin with?

Lastly, Juliette is so hot it makes my glands hurt.

"...Tempestt Bledsoe's electric personality" Lollers!!

Not really a spoiler but just a guess for what may happen....
Claire feeling unappreciated like any stay at home mum, leaves Aaron with a trusted babysitter (Hurley) and goes off to talk to Miles. Bad idea..She dies when the grenade is detonated as she tries to help him.....
Hurley feeling despondent and angry at Locke takes Aaron back to Jack and Kate who smuggle him off Island..
Claire mentioned last week that Aaron was born on this Island and can sleep through anything..
This is pure speculation, considering I am 0 for 40 on previous posts...
Also, best line had to be after Charlotte knocks Kate out, she looks at Dan and says, "what?". Great delivery...
Again, with Ben's list and references to people's Files...It is like Ben is St. Peter at the pearly gates..

Oh, And if the frieghter had the incoming call from Penny, how come the underwater hatch had the same incoming call? Is it on a party line with Widmores boat? very interesting.

i don't think that the therapist was really there when she appeared to juliet. she appeared with the whispers and the rain (always signs that bad things are about to happen!) and disappeared too quickly.

i think it was really jacob/smokey or whatever it is that takes the form of jack's father, eko's brother, hurley's friend dave, etc.

speaking of hurley's friend dave

I'm rewatching the season finale of season 2 and noticed something

Libby was married to someone named David (she told that to Desmond when she gave her the boat for him to use to sail around the world and get to the island) who died a month earlier

We also saw Libby in the same mental hospital as Hurley

Hurley was haunted by a person in the mental instituation named "Dave", who also appeared on the island

I don't think it is coincidence.

It's a shame they let Libby go. That was an interesting back story that I would have liked to see developed

also someone pointed out last week that penny had a wedding or engagment ring on. i also saw in the season 2 finale that penny's father said that penny had moved on and got married.

and i still think that michael is ben's man on the boat!

First time poster, long time lurker. I love these recaps and the comments because this show always creates more questions than answers.

Going back several episodes to when Jack beat Ben to a pulp en route to the radio tower with his posse, Ben made an emphatic point that the people on the freighter are not coming to rescue them and that allowing it to happen would mean that every LIVING thing on the island would die. This may very well have been pointed out already, but I sensed that there was clearly emphasis on the word "living" and thought that it could be meant to imply that there were those among the Losties/Others that were essentially either not of this world, or not living. Backtracking to the "history is going to repeat itself" comments Ben made to Locke, I cant help but wonder if the threat of a gas leak only poses a threat to the living island inhabitants (cant kill whats already dead, eh?).
And that somehow the appearances of these "visions" (Walt, Harper, Jack's Dad..etc etc) substantiates that there is a mix of 'alive and well' with 'really most sincerely dead' upon our favorite island.

Great job MAC

@68
OMG!!!

I forgot all about poor Miles!

LOL

@Berkyo/119
"Also, Remeber Dan's notebook? Anyone think the page before the constant note on the right hand side looks like the drawing on the crah door? lines conecting cicles in a 3 dimensional pyramid shape?"

As I recall, this was a light cone diagram showing the "time travel" course through warped space.

@welh #121:

I think the point of the Tempest in the story was two-fold.

1st it showed how Ben was able to gas everyone involved in the Dharma Initiative back in the ep "The Man Behind the Curtain". I'd always wondered how the barracks were gassed but there were no canisters lying around in evidence.

2nd it shows that the Freighter folks are determined to take control of the island. They have to assume that Ben wouldn't be the only one with the ability to release the gas. Even if he's captured they have to assume that he would have a 2nd in command that would have the means to release the gas in the event of an incursion.

It makes sense to have a scientist render the gas inert, he would be familiar with chemicals and their composition. The easiest way to do that is to alter the mixture of chemicals. The chemical mixture would still be dangerous but only as a liquid and wouldn't be poisonous as a gas, I think. They would be wearing the protective suits in the event that there was a leak during the process.

I still don't understand why they didn't just tell the Losties what they needed to do, but I'm sure they think they have a good reason.

Just my interpretation of events.

Wasn't Jack able to see Harper, so she wasn't an apparition of Juliette's?

I also think Juliette is supposed to look like Ben's mom. The girl who played Annie in the flashback had straight dark hair. While I myself am not a "true blonde" either later in life, I still think they would have gotten a blonde child to play Annie if they wanted us to make the Annie/Juliette similarity connection.

So has this solidified that Aaron is one of the O6 (I personally don't think he is):
Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Aaron and Sun?

My favorite Mac-line: "Jules is a compasionate doctor with homewrecker tendencies", I said "good one Mac" out loud at work.

@36 deep cover:
;) Me too! i was started thinking Juliette sneaked in as an Oceanic 6 when she started talking about being a celebrity. but only for a minute!

@67, petew:

i had similar thought about Ben's ability to communicate, you might be on to something here. as Harper said, Ben is exactly where he wants to be. but still manages to communicate, manipulate and control the situation.

I have theory that Ben has mastered the art of time-traveling at least on a limited scale. He is able to manipulate situations because he has seen how things will turn out to be.

I think gasing the entire island was part of Ben's plan. May be thats the reason why others are send to the temple, some underground facility where they can bunker down while gas wears off. In the second season, Kelvin was shown using a gas mask and suit, may be still weary of the first gas attack!

i would place my money on Michael being the 'man on the boat'!

@LostedIt #3 - I totally buy that Charles and Penny are at cross-purposes. She loves Desmond, always did. Daddy hates him. So if she wants to find the love of her life, she has to cross her father. Also, Daddy Widmore's the bad guy only if you believe Ben is the good guy.

@Cecil Rose #27 - My guess is Juliet received martial-arts training on the island. The Others all seemed to have had some military-esque training/skills (sneaking around the island, setting false traps, etc.)

@Sarah C #69 and others - I think the Freighties have been to the island before. They sure seemed to know their way around, and that would explain how Faraday knows Juliet when she confronts him in the gas mask.

@Fowleball #76 - Great catch about horseshoes and hand grenades.

@Matt S #82 - Great point, the whole episode would make a lot more sense if the Freighties *were* out to gas the island but changed their plans when Juliet got their masks off.

@jaybee/68
@Berkyo/129

Wow, yeah I forgot all about him as well! I wonder how long it would be possible to hold a grenade like that? You gotta figure there'd be drool dripping all over the place eventually, making it slippery and even more uncomfortable. At some point, I imagine the jaw would start to cramp up too. If Locke left him there for any significant period of time, it would actually be very risky to even go back and try to remove the grenade from his mouth. Very curious to see how this gets resolved.

@132/Rudy

The O6 have not been confirmed...that's next week.

I agree with everyone who says Locke is stupid and a tool. Is there anyone other than Locke who is gullible enough to believe something said by the man who shot you and left you for dead in a ditch - when was it, just a few days ago in island time? Early on Locke had some nice qualities but now he seems beyond redemption. He is mean and a coward too. Plus he is sooooo easily conned, and Ben the master conman knows this weakness and is playing John like the proverbial violin.

As for weakness I like the comments that we finally learned about Ben's big weakness (Juliet who could remind him of Annie or his mother). Interesting that in spite of all his yet unexplained superhuman powers, what Ben really wants is the love of one good (blonde) woman. I wonder who among the losties or boaties is smart enough to use this info to get try to get to Ben. Not likely they will be successful.

@107-PiecesofArzt "It can't be Penny. She's been calling the ship (per Minkowski) and Desmond called her from the ship." But all she had to do was activate the call forward feature on her London phone. Thus all her incoming calls (including the big I Love You call from Des) are forwarded to her cell phone - in her pocket on the ship. I really don't like to think she could be in cahoots with Daddy, but on Lost anything is possible and anyone can be lying. We like to think that Minkowski and Penny are credible and sincere but we have no reason to believe them.

Best line - Did this rabbit have a number on it?!

Best line on this blog - I doubt he knew Ana would turn Goodwin's torso into a Capri Sun packet! ROFLMAO!

I was wondering myself if Harper appearance to Juliet was "Live or it Memorex?"

And what's with Jack kissing Juliet after he recently declared his love for Kate?

Simple sequence of alphanumeric changes the combination to J-O-B.

And does anyone question how Faraday/Jack Nicholson wannabe can type so fast with his Springville Nuclear Plant Issue gloves on? That's the Lost mystery of the hour!

Short memory? When Des calls, Penny is spending a comfy evening with her Christmas tree!

First time poster, been lurking for a few weeks. Couldn’t hold back any longer, big torrent gushing out! I love everyone’s posts—I get so much insight.

Mac, GRAA & I was LMAO at your comments:

“Ben's eyes bulge like they've never bulged before.”

“…and he's pulled every string he's got to get her the best Other condo and the best Other linens and the best Other baked hams so that she'll reciprocate his creepy bug love.”
“Ben = World's Most Determined Stalker.”

“…because Ben will ultimately get his revenge by summoning the sneering ghost of Ana-Lucia so she can shish-kabob Jack's heart with a Dharma meat thermometer.”

OMG, you’re killin’ me.

@ fowleball:
Brilliant for getting the horseshoes/grenade connection!

@Glen:
I agree about Michael: he’s NOT qualified to crew on a freighter. Hmmm…Starving artist…no Navy flashbacks ala sexy (rowr!) Des…. I SOOOOO hope it’s not Michael on das Boot. For one, he’s a bad actor – he’s not just a facial emoter ala Jules, he’s more like a screaming emoter

OF COURSE it’s been Widmore behind the freighter! How else would Penny have the ship’s phone number? Who else could afford the operation? Who else would have the Des pic? And he’s got the BlackLog, peeps!

Def in the Charlotte and Hope hater club! I soooo hope Smokey plays some tree pong with them bitches! On the fence about Jules. Don’t like her “homewrecking tendencies,” (not just Hope, but also Kate/Jack!), but I like that she’s smart and sneaky and ruthless yet STILL dependent on Ben for some strange reason.

Is it just me? Totally got the creeping scud when Jack kissed Juliette. Ugh. And if he prefers J over K, then why is he so puppydog-eyed for K in the flash forwards?

Though I love the evil BenBug, Locke really needs to cap his ass. Ben has his number. One minute Locke’s a total stud, throwing knives, forcing Miles to chew grenade, scampering around while shot through his kidneyless torso, the next he’s having hissy fits over some minor provocation by Ben and succumbing to obvious manipulation. Ben always has multiple aces up his sleeve! I think we all agree on how colossally stupid it is to let Ben push your buttons, let alone let him have any semblance of freedom…

Anyways, mucho thanks, mac, and posting gods!

@138/Connie And does anyone question how Faraday/Jack Nicholson wannabe can type so fast with his Springville Nuclear Plant Issue gloves on? That's the Lost mystery of the hour!

Well, we have not seen that backstory yet. And that's where the sci-fi connections help. It seem that in one of Faraday's (not yet exposed) time travels, he meets up with LCDR Data who teaches Dan how to type at hyperspeed!

-135 ealgumby et al re: Miles and the grenade. When Claire was asking Locke if she could talk to Miles, didn't Locke say that he's been taking food to Miles?

I'm still on the fence about Locke. He just may be smarter than we think, playing the fool the way Ben (Henry Gale) did.

WGNABB just to hold all the people speculated to be Ben's man on the boat!

When did the purge of Drama happen? Did it happen before or after Danielle Rousseau came to the island? I believe it happen before because she would have died when the gas was released. The way Dan and Charlotte made it seem if the gas was released it would kill everyone on the island.

Wow--what an ep!
Seems like we're infally getting more answers than questions in this one.

Good to have the whispers back and mention of the lists. Indications that these things have not been forgotten and will be explained eventually.

Not surprised Widmore is behind freighter. Ben doesn't know how Widmore knows about the Island. I'm thinking Widmore was part of Dharma at some point which is how he learned there was an island and that Hanso had the log book that would give him more info.
My only question about Widmore is why he is doing his own dirty work in the video? Doubt it was 95 Des he was beating up. Didn't look like him to me.

I felt a little ashamed letting myself get snookered by the Juliet scene in the beginning. My brain started protesting that she wouldn't be one of the OCEANIC 6 since she wasn't on the plane then they went and said "fooled you sucka! Juliet's flashing back not forward!"

I'm thinking capri Sun was mac's best line yet. Unbelievable how he does it every week!

I don't think man on the boat would be Michael. Love the suggestion that it's Walt. Locke had some relationship with him and saw the tall ghost walt by the mass grave. It would make sense that Lock might have to sit down to hear news of a fully grown Walt on the freighter.
Also toyed with the idea of Sayid from the future since we already know he ends up working for Ben, but someone had to go and steal that theory before I could post it.
I'm thinking the fact that Locke would have to sit down means that its someone Locke is very familiar with and that that person was previously thought to be dead. Someone mentioned Boone. that could be interesting. I'm thinking something even more flooring like --
Locke's father!

The idea of Ben himself being da man on da boat is also fun. It would explain how he could communicate with the others while locked in Locke's basement.

Again Locke killing things and bloodying his hands. At least he wasn't choking the chicken this time! BunnyLover--condolences on yet another sacrificed rabbit on this show!

Glad we're back to theorizing about th relationships of good to bad guys, how all the characters are connected, etc...
The science stuff is interesting as to where the island is and why its hard to be found. Ultimately I feel like that aspect of things is mostly a MacGuffin. Pretty meaningless and only there to bring all these diverse characters together in an interesting way. I'm thinking the way Ben relates to Widmore and how Widmore found out about the island and what the group on the plane have to do with everything will in the end be far more important than the details of where the island is and why its difficult to get there. The fact that its a place that's hard to find is the only important part of that to me.

That's all for now. Sorry for the long post but after reading all these posts I just get so many thoughts and things I want to comment on! Can't think of any other show that makes me keep guessing like this.

@139. Thanks for the reminder JT! Totally forgot Penny standing in front of the Christmas tree in her flat last week. I'm glad we can count her as being one of the good guys/gals.

@Scooby Dude: “Also, Daddy Widmore's the bad guy only if you believe Ben is the good guy.”

Lost never just has bad guys and good guys. Everyone’s questionable!

@aj: “…others are send to the temple, some underground facility where they can bunker down while gas wears off…Kelvin was shown using a gas mask and suit, may be still weary of the first gas attack!”

Great idea! I seem to recall Desmond in the second season running around in a suit with a mask, too.

p.s. check out the Sawyer nickname engine on the ABC site!

Oh what did my poor Ethan do???? Maybe fixing Juliette's pipes was a bad move.

I got the impression that Jack was playing Juliet a little bit. He just professed his love for Kate (which I still don't get) and then kisses J like that? He's either a creep or a player. He's trying to keep her on his side.

Something about the Widmore reveal struck me a little hokey. They're showing him beating up an Other so it couldn't have been Des, right?

I'm in the Annie dies giving birth camp. For some reason Ben feels entitled to have Alex and Juliet. Was he made a deal that fell through? I just don't get Ben being the sappy in-love type. He's too methodical. But then again, Goodwin isn't looking too healthy right now...

Poor Locke....I want him to snap out of it SO badly... Be-och indeed!

Also...what is the significance of all of the intertwined back stories? There were so many theories back in Seasons 1 & 2 as to what brought the LOSTies to the isla