2:13 The Long Con
-I always forget about Sun being attacked. The whole con Sawyer runs on the Island is really weird, mostly because we never really hear about it again. He announces "There's a new sheriff in town," but his position doesn't seem to change that much. It is an interesting parallel though to season 5, where Sawyer is in charge of security for Dharmaville.
-It made me laugh when Sawyer suggested to Cassidy that they should take her money and go "find an island somewhere and sit on a beach drinking mojitos." The Island would probably be a more pleasant place if they all had unlimited mixed drinks.
-We know now that Cassidy was pregnant when Sawyer left her and took all her money. Poor Cassidy. I like the way they've incorporated her into later episodes, rather than having this one be the end of her story.
-Locke makes the connection that he's the one who taught Michael to shoot, which allowed him to run off with a gun. He doesn't realize yet that he essentially taught Michael how to kill Ana Lucia and Libby (although to be fair, everyone else seems to know how to use a gun without much help.)
-Hurley is reading a manuscript called "Bad Twin," which is a tie-in novel and available on Amazon. I'll probably never read it, but I think that kind of detail is cool. Twins are a big deal on LOST, and something I'm planning on blogging about soon, so stay tuned.
-Sayid and Hurley hear a radio broadcast of the Glen Miller Orchestra. Sayid says "It could be coming from anywhere" and Hurley responds "or any time...just kidding, dude." This was one of the first clues that the show was going to take on time travel, and I admit I never thought they actually would do it - I was sure the writers were making a joke about all the crazy fan theories out there. Talk about being wrong!
Best line:
Locke: You want to break seven Virgin Marys, be my guest.
2:14 One of Them
-Sayid's flashbacks are completely overshadowed here by what I think is the highlight of the entire season: the appearance of Henry Gale, who we know (and love to hate!) as Benjamin Linus. It's been said dozens of times before, but it's hard to believe that Michael Emerson was initially slated as a brief guest appearance. He's such an integral part of the show now that I can't imagine it without him.
-It's SO fun watching this episode with the benefit of knowing that Ben IS "one of them."
-Ben introduces himself as Henry Gale. If that name sounds familiar, it's because Henry Gale is Dorothy's uncle in "The Wizard of Oz," a story that also prominently features a hot air balloon. Ben will later also be referred to as "the man behind the curtain," another "Wizard of Oz" character.
-Rousseau isn't so crazy after all: she reveals the essence of Benry right off the bat: "Don't believe a word he says."
-The scene where Rousseau ruthlessly shoots Ben with an arrow reminds me of Sayid ruthlessly shooting young Ben in season 5. Poor Ben.
-Something that seems a bit inconsistent to me - why is Sayid so willing to torture Ben now, when he is so remorseful and repentant after torturing Sawyer in season 1?
-When Sayid introduces himself to Ben, I always get Princess Bride flashbacks: "My name is Sayid Jarrah and I am a torturer...you killed my father...prepare to die!"
-Benry says "I was rich" - a nice little slip of the tongue, since the real Henry Gale is dead.
-Locke says "To Rousseau, we're all Others." This is a huge theme in Sayid's flashbacks, not to mention the whole show: who is the bad guy?
-We hear Sayid questioning Benry: "Who are you? Who are you?" This is the same thing Rousseau asked Sayid in several different languages when she was holding him prisoner.
-One of the biggest questions of this season is: what will happen if the button isn't pushed? And some of the tensest moments come when that question is put to the test. It's so fun when Jack gets that crazy look in his eye and decides not to push it.
Best lines:
JACK: You talked me into pushing that button once, John, but it's yours now. You're the one who won't risk it, you. Me? I don't think anything's going to happen when we get down to zero.
LOCKE: Jack!
JACK: You want to see what's going to happen? Let's just see what's going to happen.
2:15 Maternity Leave
-In this episode we see Claire's flashbacks of her time in the medical hatch with Ethan, who I think rivals Ben in terms of creepiness. So so creepy. Claire is acting weird too, all drugged, which is the same way she was acting in the cabin with Christian in season 4 - I wonder if she was also taken against her will at that time?
-It made me chuckle when Locke gives Henry a copy of The Brothers Karamazov and he asks for something by Stephen King, because we learn in season 3 that Ben hates Stephen King.
-Jack says "We don't have a long term plan for the button, but we keep pushing it." I wonder if that's a writers' inside joke about not having a long term plan for the show?
-Very ironic when Sun exclaims to Claire, "A mother should not leave her child!" because that's exactly what Sun does when she goes back to the Island in season 5.
-There are some inconsistencies in this episode that drive me crazy. For example, Rousseau says that her team was infected, and that now Aaron has the same infection. But we found out in season 5 that her team was changed after having contact with the smoke monster, which made them "not themselves" - not really physically sick. So why does Rousseau think Aaron has the same thing?
-Another inconsistency - in season 3 Juliet explains to Sun that pregnant mothers on the Island die only when the babies are conceived on the Island - she tells Sun she'll be fine if her baby was conceived before their arrival. So then, why are they treating Claire? Aaron was obviously conceived off the Island, so Claire should be OK. So why are they treating her, and threatening to cut Aaron out of her?
-Yet another inconsistency, and then I promise I'll stop nitpicking (for a few minutes at least!) Eko confesses to Ben that he killed several of the Others, that he regrets what he did, and that he feels great remorse. This is quite different than the Eko we'll see not too far into the future who refuses to apologize for his actions when confronted with the smoke monster's judgment.
-Tom tells Ethan he was supposed to "make a list and then bring her in." It's the first time we hear about the all-important Lists.
-Juliet later uses Claire as a way to ingratiate herself with the Losties, apparently because Claire has an implant they put inside of her during her stay in the medical hatch. Had Ben planned out that far in advance for Juliet to infiltrate the group?
-Ben/Henry's manipulation of Locke is so genius; if there's anything we know about Locke it's that he longs for greatness and always feels that he comes up short. Benry goes for the jugular!
-Kate finds the costumes (complete with fake beards) and we start to realize that the image we have of the Others as a rag-tag jungle people aren't quite accurate. So well done.
-Ethan firmly tells Claire "You have a choice." This seems to be Jacob's theme: those who come to the Island do so by their own free will. Is this really the case though?
-Once again, Kate is the one helping Claire. Foreshadowing for the fact that she will take Claire's place as Aaron's mother?
-It's especially touching when Claire tells baby Aaron that it's just the two of them, and they have to take care of each other now that we know that Claire isn't the one who ends up raising him.
Best lines:
KATE: I need a gun. And you don't get to ask why.
SAWYER: Well, Thelma, seeing as I got all the guns, I do get to ask why.
KATE: No, you don't.
SAWYER: Yes, I do -- watch. Why?
2:16 The Whole Truth
-Remember when Jack had a hairy chest? It was a simpler time.
-It cracks me up every single time when we see Sawyer reading "Are You There God? It's Me Margaret." Classic!
-Here comes one of my personal pet peeves (which most other people won't care about). Jin and Sun's fertility doctor tells Sun her fallopian tubes are blocked and simply says there's nothing that can be done. In my extensive experience with fertility doctors, they never, ever say that nothing can be done, ESPECIALLY to a couple that could clearly afford some advanced reproductive technology. Whether their true issue is blocked tubes or low sperm count, they are both young and therefore ideal candidates for IVF. It just bugs me when that doesn't get mentioned. End of rant.
-It's a bit disingenuous of Charlie to throw it in Ana Lucia's face that the last time she had a gun she killed someone - because HE DID THE SAME THING.
-Ben's map to the balloon cracks me up, because in a real life scenario it looks like it would be completely unhelpful. It's basically just a squiggly line. Sayid looks at it and says "This is at least a day's walk" - oh really Sayid? Because it's to scale and you could tell from the key? OK, I'll stop mocking now.
-Ben quotes from The Brothers Karamazov: "Men reject their prophets and slay them, but they love their martyrs and honor those whom they have slain." Ben will eventually kill the Island's prophet, Jacob.
-Kate asks a good question: who flies with a pregnancy test?
-Sun could probably sue her doctor for malpractice if she got pregnant with Jae's baby after the doctor told her she was infertile. But maybe that only happens in the U.S.
-Sun and Jin share such a sweet moment together...which is slightly less sweet when you've seen the rest of the season and know that she's lying through her teeth about never having been with another man.
-I was seriously shocked when they found the balloon - I was convinced Henry was lying. And he was, just in a much more clever way than I expected. Very cool writing.
Best lines:
GALE: "Men reject their prophets and slay them, but they love their martyrs and honor those whom they have slain." [to Jack] So what's the difference between a martyr and a prophet?
JACK: Either way, it sounds like you end up dead.
GALE: That's the spirit.
And of course...
GALE: Wow, you guys have some real trust issues, don't you? Guess it makes sense she didn't tell you. I mean, with the two of you fighting all the time. Of course, if I was one of them -- these people that you seem to think are your enemies -- what would I do? Well, there'd be no balloon, so I'd draw a map to a real secluded place like a cave or some underbrush -- good place for a trap -- an ambush. And when your friends got there a bunch of my people would be waiting for them. Then they'd use them to trade for me. I guess it's a good thing I'm not one of them, huh? You guys got any milk?
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