Answers and Questions

So I decided to take full advantage of what Hulu has to offer and began re-watching all the episodes from Season 1 to see what I missed from my first marathon viewing back in December. 18 episodes later and I was really surprised that I understood everything going on in season 1. When I first watched season 1 I was completely confused, and even after I finished the first couple seasons, I was still lost. Five seasons clearly is the charm because now we’re in the know! That thing in the jungle? It’s really black smoke that is a person trying to kill this dude name Jacob. The Hatch?? Oh let me tell you all about the Dharma Initiative. Why did Ethan kidnap Claire and who are The Others?? Let me introduce you to smoking hott Juliet Burke who’s trying to solve the island’s fertility problems. Granted I still don’t know why Walt always wins at backgammon and why dead birds fly into his house, but when last seen he was certainly old enough to beat AC security, so I’m thinking I should just leave that question alone and take the kid with me to the AC craps table…

After my initial shock about how much has been answered, I was once again shocked by how little I missed from the first viewing. I thought I was going to have a Bruce Willis-Sixth-Sense moment where I was kept saying the LOST equivalent of, “Ahh his wife didn’t acknowledge him!” but no such moment came. I guess we as fans pick apart every detail during the first run so there isn’t much that is missed in the end. Despite my best Lostapedia readings, I was able to gleam a few interesting tidbits and thought I’d share what I missed the first time around:

• Locke’s 1-900 sex operator lady friend was also named Helen. Was this intentional by the writers or did they change the story later on? I’m guessing they changed their mind later on and were able to write around the 1-900 storyline
• In Claire’s first flashback, her baby’s father mentions that her mother has practically disowned her, however, her mother should have been in a coma at that point. Another writer post-re-write??
• When Sayid escaped Frenchy’s (Russo) lair he stole a gun from her and later tried to use it on her but it didn’t fire. Frenchy made a comment that her husband didn’t notice the trigger was broken either. It is cool we got to see that referenced scene in season 5
• I didn’t connect the dots the first time around when Hurley’s accountant told him that he had just gained 51% ownership of “some box making company”. It’s more consistent that Hurley owns that company in both timelines. I still don’t understand how Hurley found out about the numbers in Timeline X since they weren’t broadcasted until 1988. For that matter, who decided to START broadcast the numbers in 1988?? The Dharma Initiative would have been wiped out by then and I don’t see The Others doing that sort of thing. I also don’t understand why Hurley was on that flight since he only went to Australia to earn about the origins of the numbers. In Timeline X he seems much happier.
• Michael is SO much more annoying the second time around. I had to fast forward parts of his flashback because I couldn’t deal with it. I seriously had to watch his death scene in season 4 just to cleanse my pallet. Side note, Hurley owed Walt $83,000 in backgammon loses and you would have thought that he would have paid his debt off during his 3 years off the island. Thumbs down for the writers for missing such a great comedic opportunity. How great would the Locke/Walt scene in Season 5 have been if Walt said the only person he saw was Hurley because he was paying him his backgammon winnings? WAAAAAAAALT

I think my Season 1 partial re-watch just reinforced what we all know about LOST, all our questions will be answered with new questions. In honor of that I would like to finish this entry by listing the top 5 questions I need answered before ever traveling on a flight named Oceanic Flight 815 or AA316:

1. What are the true significance of the numbers?
2. What the hell are Jacob & The Man in Black?
3. What is the mission statement of The Others?
4. What is the island & why does it move through space and time?
5. Why couldn’t Charles Widmore get back to the island if Eloise Hawking had that nifty moving phallic needle determining windows of opportunities for the island?

I know I left out a few such as”Why are Walt & Miles Special” & “Why can’t women bring babies to term on the island anymore”, and YES we all want the Libby storyline tied up, but I can LIVE without those. I however, NEED the above 5 questions explained before LOST ends or I may never sleep well again…

Did I miss any??

Lost Season 4 complete

Completed: 4-13/14 There’s No Place Like Home Part 2. 17 episodes left, 50 days to go. As you know, I don’t know anything that is to come and like the survivors I am completely lost.

Lost really knows how to do season finales and thankfully I don’t have Season 5 yet or else I would have immediately popped it in the DVD. Here’s the recap: Jack & Locke get into an argument because Locke says the island doesn’t want Jack to leave. Jack thinks Locke is insane but Locke tells him he will believe in miracles soon and when he does he needs to lie about everything that’s happened since they landed on the island to protect them from Widmore. Back at the helicopter the commandos walk into a Kate induced Other trap and are all killed. In return for their help, Other Ben tells Sayid & Kate they are free to leave the island. Back on the boat, Dumb-Ass Dad (Michael) uses nitrogen to keep the bomb’s battery frozen until Desmond can disable the bomb. They don’t realize the bomb’s trigger is tied to the leader of the commando’s heart rate and if he dies the bomb will go off. Cut to Locke & Other Ben having a heart to heart about moving the island and passing the leadership-of-The-Others torch. The Commando leader shows up but Other Ben kills him with no regard for the people on the boat (Slingshot revenged). Other Ben then tells Locke to go lead The Others while he moves the island. He then goes to a secret frozen part of the Orchid Station and turns a donkey wheel to move the island. Other Ben had to move the island because the unfortunate consequence for the person moving the island is they can never go back to it. Back at the beach, the physicist is still loading people in the 6 person mini-boat because they don’t know about the bomb. The physicist tries to convince Indiana (Charlotte) to go back with him but she decides to stay after Ghostbuster (Miles) taunts her about leaving so soon after she’s been searching for the island for so long. Cut to the helicopter where Jack, Kate, Sayid, Hurley, Sawyer and Swoop (Frank!) begin to fly back to the boat but have trouble because they didn’t realize it moved closer to the island. To save fuel, Sawyer jumps out of the chopper and swims back to the island which buys the rest of the crew the time they needed to land on the boat when they Hurley finally spots it. Desmond frantically warns them that they must all leave the boat because the bomb is going to explode as soon as the nitrogen runs out. Kate goes to find Jin but Jack pulls her back into the chopper and they leave without Jin. The boat explodes as Daddy Jack tells Michael thanks for his services and while Jin is still on the deck. Next, the passengers on the helicopter watch the island disappear and with nowhere to land, the chopper eventually runs out of fuel and crashes into the water. Desmond, Swoop, Jack, Kate, Sayid, Sun, Hurley & Aaron all end up in the chopper life boat which is picked up by…Penny’s boat! Now that Jack has seen the miracle of the disappearing island he takes Locke’s advice and convinces everyone to lie about the crash and tells Desmond and Penny to go into hiding. Flash forward to the future and we witness Walt visiting Hurley and asking him about his father & Jeremy Bentham, Sayid killing a Widmore spy at the mental hospital and breaking Hurley out (after he checkmates Mr. Eko), Kate having a dream in which Prego (Claire) tells her not to bring him (Aaron I presume) back to the island, Sun meeting Mr. Widmore and telling him they have mutual goals in finding the island, and lastly, Jack going back to the funeral home and looking at Jeremy Bentham aka John Locke’s body (dun dun dun). Other Ben shows up and tells Jack he has some ideas on how that they can go back to the island but all the Ocean 6 must go plus Locke’s body.

Wow what an ending. After all the speculating and it’s Locke in the coffin! All the wondering of how those particular 6 ended up getting saved and it’s only because they happened to be in the helicopter. In addition Desmond & Swoop got saved but they had to go into hiding. Jin was seconds away from surviving (I”m still holding out hope) and it was all Jack’s fault if he is indeed dead. Other Ben won for now because killed all of Widmore’s commandos and has hidden the location of the island from him again. And now I think we know why Other Ben wouldn’t let anyone leave the island…he was afraid of giving away it’s location. It’s why he never helped the survivors get off.  He never really had to worry about them getting off in the first place because there is only one heading that would allow you to leave the island and what are the odds the survivors would have found it. For the same reason Penny must have been circling around the island looking for Desmond but couldn’t break into the island’s event horizon.

While a few things were answered, there are still so many questions. What the hell is the island? I’m starting to think the aliens theory should be back on the table. Why are people whose dead bodies are on the island allowed to walk around? (Daddy Jack, Mr. Eko, Charlie, Yemi, etc.) Why did Claire tell Kate not to bring him back when Charlie and Daddy Jack are saying you have to go back. Why is Other Ben helping the O6 get back to the island? What bad things happened to the people on the island since the O6 left it (probably to find Penny)? What happened to the physicist’s mini-boat since he was between the island and big boat when the island disappeared. Is Indiana that little girl who befriended Other Ben on the island when they were young? What does Widmore want to do with the island? And of course the classics: what are the numbers, the black smoke and why do pregnant women on the island die? There are only 2 seasons left and still so many more questions to go…

Finally, I still haven’t given up on Jin. May be he survived the explosion and got rescued by the physicist’s mini-boat and got to another safe island somewhere. I know I’m still in the denial stage of grieving but I really want him to pull through. Sun must agree with me or why else would she want to get back to the island. I’m also very happy for Desmond & Penny. I hope they have good times together but judging by the lives of the other O6, I’m thinking tha won’t be the case. Sorry about all the venting but I’ve underestimated how difficult this exercise is yourself. I know it’s frustrating for you out there as well because all you can do is smile and try to not give anything away when I vent or tell you my latest theories. Well just 17 more episodes and we will be on the same page!

Next up on Finally Lost, I’ll give my season 5 predictions and score the ones from season 4 and then I can finally begin season 5!

There’s no place like home

Completed: 4-11 Cabin Fever, 4-12 There’s No Place Like Home Part 1. 19 episodes left, 51 days to go. As you know, I don’t know anything that is to come and like the survivors I am completely lost.

I’m very sad that I’m 19 episodes away from having to go back and watch Lost like a normal person. The show is  fantastic but I would have been infuriated by the lack of answers. I’ve never seen a show that would leave you hanging for seasons at a time. And there are still so many questions, here’s to hoping Season 5 provides more answers. Before I think about season 5 I need to watch the season 4 finale and before even that, I need to give you the recap of the 2 episodes I did watch.

Recap: We get a Locke flashback and learn he was 2 months premature and the Ageless Richard was present both for his birth and at his foster home to question Locke about which objects were already his. Locke chose the dirt, a compass & a knife which obviously meant he wasn’t special enough and Peter Pan (Richard) leaves in a bad mood. We then watch Locke get locked in a locker, and later we see him getting advice from  PT therapist poser, Lt. Daniels, (Matt?) who tells him he should take his crippled ass on a walk-about and then thank him for the advice the next time they meet. Back on the island, Locke has a dream to get a map from a dead Dharma guy to find Jacob’s cabin, but when he get’s to the cabin he finds Daddy Jack (Christian!) and Prego (Claire) instead of Jacob. Daddy Jack gives Locke instructions to move the island and Other Ben & Hurley accompany him to the Orchid where this simple task can be completed. Other Ben then gives himself up to the commando unit, which is patrolling the Orchid, so Locke can sneak past them and move the island. Back on the beach, Swoop (the nice helicopter pilot) drops a sat phone trail for Jack & Kate to follow but when they run into Sawyer, Ghostbuster (Miles) and Aaron, Kate goes back to the beach with Aaron and Sawyer & Jack go for the chopper. Once Sawyer & Jack free Swoop they discover the commandos are going after Other Ben at the Orchid and they decide to follow because Leader Sawyer won’t leave Hurley to die. Back on the beach Sayid arrives with a mini-boat that fits exactly 6 and the physicist begins to use it to transport the survivors back to the boat (which is now a huge bomb). Sayid of course goes with Kate to track down Sayer & Jack but are captured by Peter Pan and The Others. Flash forward to the Oceanic 6 media day. Hurley’s family, Mama Jack, Shady Korean Parents and even Nadia are there to greet the 6 but no is there for Kate. We are then treated to a Hurley birthday party  (too bad his car’s odometer was stuck on the numbers) and to a Sun & Daddy moment where she tells him that she is using her considerable Oceanic settlement to take over his company. Oh yea and Prego’s mom apparently pulled out of the coma and decided to go to Daddy Jack’s long delayed funeral and tell Jack that Prego was his half sister.

Why is Daddy Jack speaking for Jacob now? Is it because his dead body is somewhere on the island and it gave him cool island powers? Why does Prego look like she and Daddy Jack just smoked a pound of the best shit magic island had to offer? Daddy Jack tells Locke that Aaron is where he is supposed to be, but then Dead Charlie tells Jack (via Hurley) he isn’t supposed to be raising the baby. Will these dead people make up their minds? I’m also miffed about how Peter Pan identified Locke as special as a preemie and what was up with that time traveling test. I suppose it’s too much to ask that Locke recognize Peter Pan. At least moving the island makes a lot of sense! Now we know why Mr. Widmore can’t find the island if he was once on it. It’s also explains why Jack can’t get back. The fact that the mini boat fits 6 makes sense why only 6 Losties could be rescued but other than Sun, why those 6? Why couldn’t Jin go? Does that mean he really does die…

I think the path forward is this: the 6 leave the island for whatever reason and the others stay behind to live forever on magic island. The island is moved so the O6 can’t find their way back but Other Ben leaves the island (Locke takes over as leader of the Others) to take revenge on Charles Widmore, thus recruiting Sayid. Apparently magic island wants to O6 back for some reason and by the end of season 5 they decide to follow Other Ben back. Season 5 will teach us more about magic island and Sawyer will be the leader of the Losties.

Next up on Finally Lost…the bomb on the boat forces everyone to abandon it which is why only 6 can escape the island and the physicist, Swoop and all of the commandos will die. Please please please don’t let Jin die. I also don’t know why Desmond would go back and stay on the island…

p.s. we learned that the 3 the O6 claimed that died on the fake island were Boone, Libby & Charlie, I thought they had mentioned only 2 in the previous flash forward. I also wonder why they picked those three…

Ji Yeon and my broken heart

Completed: 4-6 The Other Woman, 4-7 Ji Yeon. 24 episodes left, 53 days to go. As you know, I don’t know anything that is to come and like the survivors I am completely lost.

I didn’t have the heart to watch another episode after Ji Yeon. Before Jin’s death, I think there was some big surprise having to do with Dumb-Ass Dad (Michael) returning as Other Ben’s spy on the boat. It didn’t matter, Jin died. Has there been one character that has done more of an about-face than Jin? Charlie turned things around in 1 episode but Jin’s turnaround has been slower, steadier, more believable as a result, we’ve invested more into him. He started as a very unlikeable character, representing everything our culture hates:  a criminal misogamist who yells at his wife for displaying independence and too much skin AND he didn’t even speak english! Then we learned the sacrifices Jin made for Sun, we learned he was once a good man and he became that man again. As his english improved so did our affection for him. It was with a heavy heart that I predicted his death, and now on to the recap…

The Ice Princess’ psychiatrist (and Other Goodwin’s wifey) appears out of thin air to let her know that Indiana (Charlotte) and Doc Brown (Daniel) are going to release gas on the entire island. Oh yea p.s. Other Ben is exactly where he wants to be (even when he’s not on screen, he’s cool). With little-to-no questions asked, Jack follows the Ice Princess but gets ditched when he stops to help Kate, who was knocked out when she saw Doc Brown’s gas masks. The Ice Princess beats Jack & Kate to the island gas factory and is persuaded by Indiana to let The Doc finish disabling the gas so Other Ben can’t gas anyone else (like he did to those poor Dharma saps). The episode ends with the Ice Princess feeling sorry for herself because her love affair with Goodwin made Other Ben send him as an infiltrator because as Other Ben notes to the Ice Princess, “You’re Mine!” Did I mention that Other Ben reveals to Locke that Charles Widmore is the man financing the boat and seeking Other Ben?? (grieving check) Back on Widmore’s boat we learn from “The Captain” that someone (probably Other Ben) has spent a lot of resources to plant the real oceanic flight 815 black box at a fake plane crash site with 324 (NUMBERS backwards) dead bodies and Daddy Chuck (C Widmore) wants to find out why. A note from Other Ben’s spy says “The Captain” is not to be trusted and Sayid & Desmond tend to agree when the capt. lets some chick tie herself up with chains and jump into the water without trying to help her. Afterwards The Captain shows them to their poop-stained quarters and they realize Dumb-Ass Dad (DAD) is both the janitor & spy (dun dun dun). Back on the island (deep breath) Sun & Jin decide to go to Camp Locke but the Ice Princess Ben-whammies them into staying by telling Jin that Sun slept with another man and thought her baby might be that man’s instead of Jin’s (now he know why his father-in-law wanted him to throw that hotel owner’s son out of a window!) Jin goes off fishing with White Bernard who imparts some serious karma wisdom on him and Sun is convinced by the Ice Princess to stay at Camp Jack and try to get off the island. Meanwhile in the shows first flashback/flashforward we are meant to think that both Jin & Sun got off the island but alas it is revealed that Jin is dead and Sun has a healthy baby girl by herself in Korea 😦 Fantastic writing…

Now I didn’t mean to bury the lead but yes, I was SOOO confused with Jin’s flashback and Sun’s forward flash. I kept coming up with crazy theories on how one of the 7 oceanic survivors were hidden. Or may be the baby didn’t count as 1?? So well done. While Sun was in the delivery room, she kept saying she was waiting for Jin, Jin kept getting phone calls from the hospital and wanted to buy a panda for a baby! Sun & Jin were the perfect people to use this trick on because they have had simultaneous flashbacks before, arg! And then the great Hurley shows up (of course he does) and it all makes sense…Except…the grave has a death-date of 9-22 which is the date of the plane crash!!!! Wooooo! Jin stayed on the island for some reason and isn’t dead…at least I think. I don’t know why he couldn’t leave the island but it makes perfect sense why he would have let Sun go without him. That has to be right! Take my check off the board for now because that’s new my theory and I’m sticking to it (otherwise I’d be really depressed)…

There are no words to describe how manipulative Other Ben is. I believe Goodwin’s wifey when she says Other Ben is exactly where he wants to be, just like it’s no shock that he knew Indiana and the Doc were going after the gas. Hell he may have even wanted them to succeed, who knows with him. One thing I know about Other Ben is that he doesn’t let people go; that’s why I shouldn’t have been as shocked as I was when DAD showed back up under Other Ben’s employee. So how did DAD end up getting Ben-Whammied? Too many theories come to mind, but maybe he and Walt got kidnapped by the boat and now he’s bidding his time till he can escape. In fact I wouldn’t put it past Other Ben to have sent him right on a course that got him kidnapped…

Next up on Finally Lost…I get to see 3-8 which many people rave about. Well 3-7 sure lived up to the hype.

p.s. Hurley to Sawyer: “Sawyer, I challenge you to a game a horseshoes, a game of hooorsehoes”…Take me to another island…

Flash Forward

Completed: 3-21 Greatest Hits, 3-22/3-23 Through the Looking Glass.  31 episodes left, 57 days to go. As you know, I don’t know anything about the show that is to come. I use to think they got off the island but I think the flash forward I just saw got me off the hook of that spoiler.

Flash Forward!?! Now there’s a wrinkle. Recap: Desmond sees a flash forward of Charlie turning off a blinking light and then drowning. At Slingshot’s (Alex) request, Carl goes to the beach to warn the survivors that The Others moved up their previously scheduled kidnapping appointment a day early. The survivors break into 3 teams: Charlie (dead ppl get more respect) & Desmond go off to knock out the jamming signal at the underwater hatch, Sayid, Jin & White Bernard stay at Camp Survivors to shoot the dynamite planted in the fake identified tents, and Jack leads the rest of the survivors to disable Frenchy’s (Danielle) S.O.S signal at the radio tower which is also jamming the satellite phone. You know what happens next…the dynamite boys kill 7 of the 10 Others before being captured. Not to worry because Hurley saves the day with Other Ben’s father’s truck and between the truck, Sayid’s legs and Sawyer’s gun they kill the 3 Others (including Tom, check!). At the underwater hatch Charlie gets captured by Others guarding the hatch but is rescued by Desmond. Charlie uses previously un-exhibited manipulation skills to find out there is a jamming code and to convince one of the dying guards to give him the code. Charlie disables the jammer and talks to Penny but sees Left Eye (Mikhail) pulling a grenade in an attempt kill him and Desmond. As Desmond rushes to talk to Penny (who now knows Desmond is alive), Charlie closes the watertight door and with his last bit of life lets Desmond know the ship 80 miles off shore is not Penny’s (very sad check). At the radio tower the survivors rejoice when they learn Sayid, Jin & White Bernard are OK and Other Ben attempts one last time to convince Jack not to phone home because Bi-ling (Naomi) is from a group trying to destroy the island and claims her crew will kill the survivors. Locke shows up and kills Bi-ling with his knife throwing skills (after a “hey you damn cripple get up and walk” speech from a mid-puberty-voiced Walt) and implores Jack not to phone the ship. Jack doesn’t listen and phones the ship and help is coming at last! Time for the series to end except…Jack’s flashback was really a flashforward and he’s using his Oceanic gold pass in hopes of crash landing back on magic island. Future Jack tells future Kate that he made a mistake and they have to go back. Clearly Future Jack is having rescue remorse…

I really beat up on Charlie a lot in this blog. I called him boring, the hobbit and I even dreaded his flashbacks. I’m feeling really guilty because Charlie redeemed himself in the end. I thought the “5 best things of my life” flashback was one of the most powerful flashbacks to date (connection: Charlie saves Nadia from a mugger in an alley). Charlie showed up as a hero when it counted most and it was hilarious to watch him toy with his 2 Others guards because he knew the future and the future said he was going to turn off the yellow light. The only good thing that can come of all this is that Penny knows Desmond is alive and maybe she can now rescue the survivors. Left Eye killing Charlie was quite poetic since Desmond let him go free when Charlie wanted to kill him. Charlie, you grew on me and you will be miss. Long live Drive Shaft…

All 3 of my favorite characters got to kill some Others together: Sawyer, Sayid & Hurley. Poor Hurley, no one wanted to pick him in gym class but he showed everyone the why the fat kid shouldn’t sit on the bench. Despite the fact that I liked Tom, I LOVED when Sawyer killed him in cold blood for taken Walt. Guess that thing between them is finally finished. Back at the radio tower, I only have one thought…Other Ben could you PLEASE just explain things. Maybe if you did then Jack wouldn’t have phoned the ship filled with new bad guys. Or if you didn’t pretend-kill Jack’s friends! Arrrg. Maybe Jack was really Other-Ben-whammied because Other Ben really wanted Jack to phone the ship (unlikely). Either way the Others future isn’t so bright since most of their best warriors died (save Left Eye) and the survivors captured their guns. Throw in the fact that Other Ben’s leadership was already shaky and you have the makings for a revolution. Maybe Locke will take over now to help combat the new threat. Well at least Slingshot got to meet her mom, I’ve been waiting for that for like 3 seasons…

Now the flashforward. Just when I’m think I’m getting out…My biggest question is can the future change or is that future set in stone? Based on Desmond’s flashbacks one would think the future is set but the future seems too grim to definitely happen. Jack seems like the last person to want to get involved with all the island mumbo-jumbo so something big must have happened for him to want to go back. Who was in the coffin? The most obvious guess is Sawyer since he has no one and Kate would certainly care, but I suppose it could also be Locke. And who is Kate going back to and how did she get out of her legal troubles? I love that the survivors got gold passes, and I would think they are famous now. I think this flashforward really sets a new tone for season 4 and it will be much different than the previous seasons. Before I started season 3, I was told that season 1 was about the survivors, season 2 was about the hatch and then I was asked what I thought season 3 would be about. I guessed The Others and I think I was right. My guess is that Season 4 is going to be about the people not on the island but who are pulling the strings. We’ll see…

Next on Finally Lost…I’ll review the poll (last chance to vote), tally my abysmal prediction record and make my season 4 predictions.

That’s what it says but that’s not what it means

Completed: 3.8 Flashes Before Your Eyes, 3-9 Stranger in a Strange Land, 3-10 Tricia Tanaka is Dead, 3-11 Enter 77.  43 episodes left, 60 days to go. As you know I don’t know anything about this series except that I’ve seen previews that suggest that the survivors get off the island at some point.

When I’m ready to blog I usually go on lostapedia and look up the last episode I’ve seen because it’s a spoiler free way of getting pictures. Sadly this time I read that episode 60 (Enter 77) is the midpoint for the series since the writers decided on doing 120 episodes. Tear. I on the other hand am much more than halfway through the watchable episodes and there is still so much I don’t understand. Well it looks like I was wrong again. If Patch Adams (russian dude with eye patch) is to be trusted then The Others are NOT Dharma people. In fact it sounds like The Others were on the island before the Dharma people and for good measure they killed the Dharma folks in a magic island civil war. Leave it to Sayid to always ask the right questions and always figure out things like Patch Adams isn’t alone. Sayid learns that the wires go underground throughout the island and connect to a sub that gives a beacon so Dharma can find the island. Some sense emerges from confusion. I’m shocked that Patch Adams gave up this information freely, especially since he killed his partner in order to keep Sayid from using one partner’s pain as a way of getting the other partner to talk. One more Other down…

Before I get too ahead of myself I need to talk about Desmond’s flashback. A friend told me that Desmond’s flashbacks were always the best and I think he’s right. We sorta learn what happened to Dez when the hatch blew and I was wrong again! He didn’t travel to the future, he went back in time where the ghost of engagement rings past told him he couldn’t change the future because the universe always course corrects. I don’t know what it is about Penelope but I totally heart her. My new rooting interest is for Dez and Penny to end up so happy together by the end of the show. I already hated Daddy Widmore after he stopped Dez’s letter from reaching Penny and now I would like to introduce him to the black smoke thing for telling Dez he couldn’t marry his daughter  (I also wanted to shake Dez for not telling Penny he wrote her when he saw her before he ran into Jack). We also learned in this flashback that the picture Dez has been carrying around all this time of him & Penny was in front of a screen & occurred moments before they broke up, which I thought was a good twist. Oh yea and we learn that Dez can seen future flashes and keeps saving Charlie. Ahh why didn’t I think of Charlie! Of course Charlie is going to die, he’s not a top 5 character but he’s important enough to have a meaningful death. Sorry Charlie, the universe is going to course correct your ass off the island.

This just in, after 2.5 seasons of mainly crying, Jack Shepard got a little interesting. Banging a hott Thai chick and getting her to give you tattoos will do that for ya. I hope Pad Thai comes back for another episode, especially if it involves a beach scene. I don’t know why the locals were so upset about Jack getting a tattoo but I hope we learn more. It’s worth noting that Jack only had half of his current tattoo finished when he got his ass beat so I’m holding out hope for more info. “He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us.” That’s what it says but that’s not what it means. Stick that up your ass Other Sheriff!

If you follow this blog then you know I have a huge Sawyer man crush. Mostly because of his perfect man scruff but also because we both loving giving nicknames (apologies to all Lockheed Martin newbies I’ve nicknamed). That being said an episode where Sawyer sits around drinking beer while Hurley (another one of my favorites) tries to get a car running has to be one of my favorite episodes. I think Sawyer set a nickname record this episode, and the beer only helped. Every time these 2 are on screen together I’m laughing, which made their pingpong match in the following episode another rare treat. Sawyer should know better than to challenge a nerdy guy in pingpong. No nicknames for a week?? That’ll make the show almost unwatchable!

Next up on Finally Lost…Sayid, Kate, Locke & Frenchy find The Others neverland ranch and I think it’s all over for the Hobbit…

p.s. After season 2 was all numberlific, where did all the numbers go??

An Uncomfortable Stay at Others Island

Completed: 3-1 A Tale of Two Cities, 3-2 The Glass Ballerina, 3-3 Further Instruction, 3-4 Every Man For Himself. 50 episodes left, 64 days to go. As you know I don’t know anything about this series except that I’ve seen previews that suggest the survivors gets off the island at some point.

Great now there’s 2 islands! Recap: Jack, Sawyer & Kate wake up to find themselves separated and captives of The Others. Jack is kept in an underwater prison by himself while Kate & Sawyer are forced to work the chain gang. At sea Sayid, Sun & Jin set a trap for The Others but it goes wrong and Desmond’s boat is taken and Sun kills Colleen. Back at camp Locke and the hobbit (Charlie) rescue Mr. Eko from a polar bear and Desmond gains the ability to see the future. Locke inspires the survivors by telling them they are going to rescue Jack, Sawyer and Kate.

4 Episodes into season 3 and I’m as confused as ever. Here’s what I know: There is a 2nd island and The Others are living a relatively normal life there until they witness Oceanic Flight 815 rip in half above the island (total mistake by the writers since the plane should have been unseeable at 32,000 ft). Other Ben (since my name is Ben, I feel weird calling him just Ben) assigns an infiltrator to each side of the island and tells them to bring back a list in 4 (NUMBER) days. Apparently visitors drop by magic island so much that there is protocol for this sort of event. Jack is kept in solitude and Other Ben and the Ice Princess (Juliet) try to make nice with him by giving him info on his wife and updating him on current events such as Christopher Reeves dying (was that in 2004?) and the Red Sox winning the world series. BRILLIANT! That scene goes up there with Locke’s wheelchair and Desmond showing up in the hatch as my favorite moments in the series. Meanwhile, Other Ben gives Kate a dress and a nice breakfast and tells her that the next 2 weeks are going to be hard. Why only 2 weeks?? Can’t you people explain anything?? Sawyer on the other hand is left in a cage and after several breakout attempts is told by The Others that they have installed a pacemaker into his body that will kill him if his heart races to0 fast (yes that includes “being caught in a net with Freckles”). Later on Other Ben reveals to Sawyer that the pacemaker was a trick but notes that Sawyer only complied when they threatened Kate and makes an observation about his feelings for Kate. Oh yea and Other Ben reveals they are on a different island!! Did no one notice that there was an Other Island? One with electricity, plumbing, running water and Other Happiness??

Lots of questions on The Others: Why do they stay on the island? How are they getting such good intel on the survivors? Why did they kidnap Jack, Sawyer and Kate? Instead of infiltrating the survivors why not call them a cab and get them rescued?? My best guesses: They don’t want to leave the island because they are continuing what they believe is noble Dharma work. They didn’t help the survivors because they are afraid their rescue would attract too much attention to magic island and they kidnapped Jack so he can perform spinal surgery on Other Ben’s tumor! Sawyer & Kate are chips to make sure Jack does what The Others want. That theory isn’t great because if they have contact with the outside world then why wouldn’t they just bring a surgeon in? Arg!

Back on the boat. Sayid is the man! Of COURSE he figures out The 3 amigo’s have been captured and comes up with a great plan to get them back: kidnap 2 (hurting one will keep the other in line), kill the rest and hostage swap for Jack and company. This brilliant plan hits the skids when it turns out The Others are only interested in the boat which Sun is currently on for safety reasons (woops). You know how the old story goes: girl meets Other, Other makes sudden move, girl shoots Other. As a side note it turns out Sun WAS sleeping with Hotel owner bald guy (name?) and Jin’s boys can’t swim. Could Sun’s baby not be Jin’s?? Oh Sun what were you thinking? I’m also starting to think that Sun’s dad maybe involved with Mr.Widmore. He’s too powerful and too corrupt so he has to be involved right?

Finally, Locke builds a sweat lodge and sees Boone who tells him to rescue Mr. Eko from a Polar Bear. Locke succeeds using the old fire and hairspray-can trick and now all is forgiven between the two. Locke also rallies the troops and makes a speech about how he’s going to rescue Jack & company. This is old news because Desmond already saw this in the future along with the lightening that was going to hit Prego’s shelter. Wait a minute…Desmond saw the future?? What happened to him when he turned that key and how did he survive the explosion?? Maybe he was transported temporarily a few hours into the future and then came back naked? This show HATES giving answers. All I know is I can’t wait for Desmond’s next flashback…

Next up on Finally Lost…Locke goes on a scouting mission to find The Other’s secret island. He’s going to feel right at home when he finds out they grow a lot of hash out there.

p.s. This is the last day to vote on the poll for the reader’s poll. Only 12 votes so far! I’m taking suggestions for the next poll…

Lost Season 2 complete

Completed: 2-20 Two For the Road, 2-21 ?, 2-22 Three Minutes, 2-23 Live Together, Die Alone. 54 episodes left, 65 days to go. As you know I don’t know anything about this series except that I’ve seen previews that suggest the survivors gets off the island at some point.

Season 2 is now in the books and what an ending. Recap: Dumb-ass Dad is compromised and kills 5-0 (Ana Lucia) & Libby before shooting himself and letting Henry get away. Mr. Eko has a dream about his brother telling him he needs to talk to Locke and they soon find the Big Brother of hatches underneath the Nigerian plane crash site. Sayid realizes Dumb-ass Dad’s (DAD from now on) ruse and makes a plan with Jack to pull a rope-a-dope on The Others and Michael but the plan goes wrong when Jack, Sawyer, Kate & Hurley are kidnapped. Back at the hatch Desmond shows Locke how to simulate a lockdown and locks out Mr. Eko so he can let the countdown hit 000. Desmond realizes at the last minute that this is a bad idea and uses the failsafe key to the hatch.

Where to begin?? Let’s pour out a little airplane-sized liquor for Ana Lucia & Libby. I never liked Ana but she was starting to grow on me after she decided to “getting caught in a net” with Sawyer in order to steal his gun. Libby’s death was much more tragic and Hurley’s grief was summed up when he told her, “I’m sorry I forgot the blankets”. Tear. I’m very surprised they killed Libby without resolving the fact that her and Hurley were in the same institution and without resolving the fact that she gave Desmond his sailboat! I’m not going to spend much time on DAD but it’s safe to say that I hate him and hope he drowns to death several times. AND PLEASE STOP YELLING! While we’re on the subject of characters I don’t like, how about the hobbit (Charlie) stealing all the vaccine and giving it to Prego and Devil Baby (Aaron) just so he can try and “get caught in a net” with her.

Then there is the new hatch. So it appears there are 6 hatches on the island and 1 of those hatches is a spy hatch. We are led to believe whatever is happening in the other hatches are just psychological experiments. Locke believes this is true while Mr. Eko believes the real work is being done in the non Big Brother hatch. I agreed with Locke and like Locke was I proven wrong. Before we get to the timer, there is so much ground to cover on Desmond. Desmond goes to prison and writes his gf Penny but her dad makes sure his letters aren’t delivered. When Desmond gets out of jail the father offers him money to leave his daughter alone. Desmond declines the money, gets a free boat from Libby and enter’s Penny’s father’s race around the world and ends up on the island to become the next button pusher with the army guy Sayid was working with in Iraq. PREDICTION: Penny’s dad is SO pulling the strings here! He’s not the CEO but I think he’s one level below the big bad. Back at the hatch, Desmond uses Locke’s printout to discover that HE caused Oceanic Flight 815 to crash because the crash took place when Desmond let the countdown go past 000!! The electromagnetic thing on the island must have ripped apart the plane! Still no explanation on how everyone survived but I believe it’s coming.

Now back to Jack, Sawyer, Kate & Hurley. I think Kate had it right when she said that The Others are only pretending to be feet baring and living worse than the plane survivors. I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole village DAD saw was just to trick people into underestimating The Others. It seems really important to The Others that they tell people they are good and keep their word because Henry (like Ethan before him) kept making that point. I also find it interesting that he told DAD that he must drive the boat on a specific course in order to be rescued. Somehow this island must be cloaked from the rest of the world and The Others know how to get off of it. This must be why Desmond couldn’t escape the island in his boat. Luckily for Desmond and the survivors, Penny seems to know a little about this stuff and is trying to find the EM disturbance. Help maybe coming. Meanwhile Hurley is let go so he can give a warning to the rest of the survivors and we are left to ponder what will happen to Jack, Sawyer & Kate (or at least I am since you already know).

So much happened in these 5 episodes and I wasn’t able to note them all so I wanted to bullet a few things I thought were important:
–  It’s interesting that The Others wanted Michael’s blood. I think Walt has some genetic gift/immunity they want/need which is why they kidnapped him in the first place
– Henry seems to be the local leader of The Others, too bad the survivors didn’t know what they had captured
– In Mr. Eko’s flashback we learn that Prego’s psychic is a fraud and was paid 16K (NUMBER) dollars by a couple in LA to mislead her into given the couple her baby. Knowing this show, the couple will probably turn out to be important
– What is up with the statue with 4 toes that Sayid saw. Reminded me of the Colossus
– It appears there are 6 hatches on the island but that isn’t a magic number. Maybe there is one hatch to rule them all plus the ?-mark in the middle which would make 8.

And finally the end of a season means I need to come up with new Season 3 predictions (some of which I’ve already said):
–  After being wrong about aliens I’m going to say the island is a gov project that utilize the strange but natural EM properties.
– The EM properties give the island the power to heal, the cloaking ability and I think some time travel ability
– Mr. Eko will die in season 3. Someone has to die and he seems the right combination of main character but not too main.
–  Penny will show up on the island before the end of Season 3
– Michael won’t abandon the survivors and will return to the island (but I hope him and Walt are eaten by sharks)

Next up on Finally Lost…Season 3!!

Vaccines, spontaneous healing, and imaginary friends…

Completed: 2-15, Maternity Leave, 2-16 The Whole Truth, 2-17, Lockdown, 2-18 Dave, 2-19 S.O.S. 59 episodes left, 65 days to go.As you know I don’t know anything about this series except for I’ve seen previews that suggest the survivors gets off the island at some point. Recap: Prego (Claire) goes searching for the vaccine when devil baby (Aaron) gets sick and begins to remember what happened to her while she was kidnapped; Henry gives 5-0 (Ana) and Sayid a map to his ballon but they discover he killed and took on the owner’s identity; Henry tells Locke he didn’t enter the code in the computer; food drops out of the sky; we learn that Hurley had an imaginary friend; and Rose and White Bernard have an argument about making an S.O.S sign.

Just when I stopped wondering what happened to Prego when she was captured, they pull me right back in…we got answers! So in addition to being an impersonator and tracker, Ethan is also a part-time doctor. A drugged up and giddy Prego decides The Others really have her baby’s best interest in mind and she decides to leave devil baby with them so it can continue to receive the already sparse vaccine. I’ve ignored the island sickness plot so far because like on every other plot point, I’m clueless. The existence of a vaccine suggests there IS something about magic island that gets you sick and The Others have a protection against it. If we accept that as fact then The Others must not want new recruit devil baby sick, however, they unfortunately decide that Prego isn’t worth the secret stash and plan to kill her. Prego then gets good-drugged by Frenchy’s daughter and is left out in the woods to escape. Prego, still drugged up, tries to screw up the rescue attempt but Frenchy the mom shows up and knocks her out (giving Prego amnesia) and completes the mother-daughter rescue. Why haven’t The Others come after devil baby since? Maybe they decided Walt was the better quarry. If there is a sickness on the island then why haven’t any of the survivors gotten sick yet? Maybe you can only contract the sickness at a certain location on the island, and let’s face it, the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 have not exactly been great magic island explorers (Locke being the exception).

The rest of the episodes I watched were great character drivers but didn’t move the main plot forward much. Before we learn that devious Henry was impersonating someone he killed, he tries to fulfill Locke’s request of putting the numbers into the computer. After Henry is discovered as a fraud, he tells Locke that he didn’t enter the numbers into the computer after-all which shakes Locke to the core. Is this true? Henry had less than a minute (the last-minute alarm sound had started) to get through the vent and enter the numbers so I don’t think he did. Do The Others already know about the computer? I think they do. And what was that crazy octagonal (NUMBER) design on Star Wars blast door? I paused my DVD and stared at it for a while and I think it’s a design of all the Dharma facilities out there. Maybe when combined they form…a time machine! I told you I’d use that theory. I’m also thinking that time travels differently on the island and when/if the survivors get off they will find that a lot more time has passed in the real world than on the island. Maybe this contributed to how Locke and Rose got healed. Time will tell…

Now on to the character front. We find out Hurley went crazy because he broke a dock and killed 23 (NUMBER) people and now sees Charlotte’s husband from Sex and the City in Beautiful Mind style (Was it obvious to everyone he wasn’t there). Hurley is told by his imaginary friend to jump off the cliff so he can wake up because it’s pretty ridiculous that the numbers he heard in the loony bin contributed to him winning $130M, that they shouldn’t have survived the plane crash and no pretty girl is going to be interested in him. Tear. Because of all the strange things that have happened to Hurley he is the perfect character for the “this island is all in your dreams” plot line. Once Libby saves Hurley from himself we find out SHE was in the hospital with Hurley. AHH! Why won’t these people talk to each other about their pasts!!

Can’t forget about Sun and Rose! Turns out Sun is pregnant (don’t worry, everyone is keeping their current nicknames) and learned english from suave hotel owner. We also learn that Jin’s boys can’t swim but like everything else on this island he is magically healed and he was able to knock Sun up. And speaking of healed, Rose claims she healed for real for real this time despite lying to White Bernard after he took her to some great healer in Australia. It’s great that Rose seems to be the only person that knows Locke was in a wheelchair on the plane and they share a common bond of being healed. Thinking that Rose will only be healed on the island (because time flows differently there?), White Bernard and Rose decide to stay and play Gilligan no matter what happens. It will be interesting to see if they actually stay when/if the survivors are rescued.

Next up on Finally Lost…The return of the dumb-ass dad! Forgot to mention that Jack wanted to prisoner-swap Henry for Walt but found Michael instead!

p.s. I almost peed myself in the one scene when Sawyer used every nickname he had for Hurley…Stay Puff, Jaba, Pillsbury, Rerun…

Sawyer’s got a gun (well really all of them)…

Completed: 2-11 The Hunting Party, 2-12 Fire + Water, 2-13 The Long Con, 2-14 One of Them. 64 episodes left, 66 days to go. As you know I don’t know anything about this series except for I believe the survivors gets off the island at some point. Recap: Jack, Locke & Sawyer go after Michael but turn back once The Others hold Kate hostage. Charlie goes crazy and thinks he needs to baptize Aaron, Sawyer cons everyone out of the gun stock and Danielle leads Sayid to someone she claims is an Other.

I believe I’ve severely underestimated Jack’s role in all of this. All the connections seem to go through him. He’s had the most flashbacks by far and he is connected to everyone. He seems to be pivotal. The miracle he performed on his wife prompted new hotty Gabriella and her French father to seek his new found deity skills. There is something very familiar about the French dad but I can’t put my finger on it. The drawback on catching up now is I can’t google certain things for fear of running into spoilers. Then there are The Others. Zeeke (the leader) made an interesting statement about the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 being guests on their island but never answered questions such as why do you want Walt (I think for his luck power), why do you stay on the island and why have you let tribe prime (main survivors) live but put the hurtpiece on the tailgater? The best theory I have is that The Others think a war with tribe prime would have been too costly while the tailgaters were weak.

I think I finally found an episode I didn’t like in Fire + Water. I am completely bored by Charlie and was not interested in his flashback at all. I got it, you were a junky with a crappy brother and now you’re seeing visions on the island, yawn. The Long Con on the other-hand was BRILLIANT. Sawyer should have been a general with his mind for strategy. He cons a woman by letting her think she’s become his partner. Back on magic island he’s long-conning Locke and Jack out of the guns and medicine. I can only imagine the chaos the tribe is in for with Sawyer in charge of the guns. Jack & Locke really need to get on the same team. If they could put aside their differences they would be a much stronger leadership group. I think the man of faith and the man of science are destined to play a game of chicken all season 2  with the computer and the armor lock as their metaphorical cars. At least we almost found out what happens when the clock goes to 000! The numbers looked like they were turning into Dharma slot machine jackpot. Maybe Hurley will let it go to 000 and add more money into his already bloated bank account. In the connections file did anyone else notice that Sawyer was being served by Kate’s mom in the diner? The more obvious connection was GI Dad (Kate’s dad) was working with Sayid in Iraq. Interesting….

Finally we get to Frenchy and her new captive. Would it kill Frenchy to answer a goddamn question?? I think Sayid is wasting his time on hot air ballon guy and needs to torture Frenchy’s ah French ass instead. If I were Sayid I think the conversation would go more like…So Frenchy where ya been? Heard anything about The Others? Do you know what the hell that black smoke was and why it didn’t kill Mr. Eko when he stood still? Me? I’m doing OK, 5-0 (Ana) killed my superficial girlfriend but at least Hurley gave me white Bernard’s receiver so I’ve been trying to boost that signal lately. Strangest thing though, I got music from the 50’s and Hurley made a time traveling comment….Cut back to me. Time Traveling! Why didn’t I think of that?? Now there’s a theory. I don’t know what the theory is but maybe there’s some time traveling going on. Give me a few more episodes and I’ll come up with something…

Next up on Finally Lost…Hot Air Balloon guy rebuilds his balloon and uses his ruby slippers to get off the island. For the record my prediction with him is he’s going to convince the survivors that he’s a regular nice guy for a while but he’s DEFINITELY another Other infiltrator.