5:13 Some Like It Hoth, 5:14 The Variable, 5:15 Follow the Leader

5:13 Some Like It Hoth


In which Miles hears dead people, and Hurley becomes a screenwriter!

-When Miles gives his fake reading to Mr. Gray he holds his hands with the palms up - the same way the psychic Richard Malkin holds Claire's hands in season 1.

-We know now why Miles asked Ben for 3.2 million dollars - it's double the amount Widmore was paying him. Greedy greedy, Miles.

-The taco shop where Miles grabs some food before being abducted by Bram is named La Vida (Life) Tacos.

-After seeing the finale is seems pretty clear that Bram and Ilana are both on Team Jacob, and are Others.

-It's such a sweet moment when Miles sees his dad reading to him as a baby, and then when Dr. Chang says "Miles, I need you," and Miles says "You do?" Miles does have a soft side after all.

Best lines:

JACK: Her [Kate's] heart was in the right place.

SAWYER: Yeah, well, where was her head?

---

HURLEY: And let's face it. The Ewoks sucked, dude.

5:14 The Variable


The symbol of this whole season could be the one introduced in this episode: the metronome. Measuring the passage of time is obviously a big deal, and Daniel is the expert.

-One thing that kind of bugs me is how everyone within one family will have different last names just to throw us off. Charles Widmore, Eloise Hawking and Daniel Faraday? Why didn't Daniel get his father OR his mother's last name? Did Eloise just make up a name for him?

-Daniel says he tested things on himself first before Theresa, and while he's in bad shape he's not nearly as incapacitated as she is. It makes me wonder if someone intentionally got Theresa out of the way to let Daniel focus on his work. I wouldn't put anything past Eloise or Widmore at this point.

-We find out once and for all that Widmore is the one who planted the fake plane.

-We also find out why Daniel and Charlotte were running memory tests on the Island - Widmore had told Daniel that the Island would heal his mind.

-Sawyer says "yahoos" again! I might start referring to season 5 as "the yahoo season."

-I crack up when Sawyer calls Daniel "H.G. Wells". HAHAHA!

-I still can't believe Penny so readily leaves little Charlie with a nurse in the waiting room. After what just happened to them I wouldn't let that kid out of my sight!

-With the end of this episode we're back to the overarching question: Can free will change destiny?

Best lines:
HURLEY: You guys were in 1954? Like... Fonzie times?

5:15 Follow the Leader


-What does Richard mean when he says he "watched them all die"? Did he see the nuclear bomb going off?

-The scene between Kate and Jack where they discuss whether or not they should change their future is heart wrenching. Interesting that Kate is on Locke's side for this one - believing that they needed to have those experiences, even if they were painful, because there was good in them too.

-HILARIOUS that Hurley gets busted by Dr. Chang for not knowing who the President is, since that's what he was worried about at the beginning of their DI adventure.

-Interesting that fake Locke insists "I am the leader now." Why is it so important that he is the leader? So he can get access to Jacob? Can Jacob only be killed by one of his own?

-Richard explains about Eloise and Widmore to Jack and says "love can be complicated." You're preaching to the choir on that one, Alpert.

-Locke refers to himself in the 3rd person - which makes a lot more sense now that we know that he really is talking about someone else.

-Once again, the writers make Kate be the complication. When she got on that sub all I could think was "Awwww crap!"

-Question: If they were successful in detonating the bomb, in theory everyone on the Island would be killed. So how is Eloise going to be around in the future, and Dr. Chang, Richard, and Widmore too for that matter? That really would change things.

-Mirror image: Another exodus scene, complete with that amazing soundtrack. And even cooler this time with Ben's words resonated in my mind that Locke marched up to Jacob "as if he was Moses."

Best lines:

BEN: This must be quite the out-of-body experience.

LOCKE: Something like that.

----

MILES: Dr. Chang? What are you doing here?

DR. CHANG: I could ask you the same question.

HURLEY: But we asked you first.

Season 6 Promo

Another official promo is out - and I promise it's one of those you'll want to watch more than once. I'm intrigued by all the familiar sequences going backwards, and the hatch countdown counting UP. There's also a brief flash of new footage at 0:15 - check out who that is holding a gun!

How to Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich, LOST Style

My brother e-mailed this to me and I just had to share! (From Titled on tumblr.)


Jack
1. Gather ingredients
2. Point gun at ingredients and shout “HOW DO I MAKE A SANDWICH OUT OF YOU?!?!?”
3. Breathe heavily through your nose as though you were about to hit ingredients
4. Give up and make the sandwich yourself, and eat it bitterly

Kate
1. Make separate sandwiches, one with peanut butter and one with jelly
2. Take a bite of the peanut butter sandwich, declaring it the best
3. Take a bite of the jelly sandwich, declaring it the best
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 ad infinitum
5. Follow peanut butter or jelly sandwich into grave danger

Sawyer
1. Throw the jar of jelly at wall, sneering “I don’t need no sandwich”
2. Call the mascot on the jar of peanut butter lots of clever nicknames
3. Huff and puff and stomp around and grumble a lot
4. When no one’s looking, make perfect, even, symmetrical peanut butter and jelly sandwich and sit in a corner, enjoying every bite

Locke
1. Sit idly by, believing that the ingredients will find a way to make a sandwich out of themselves
2. Lose faith and make the sandwich anyway
3. Realize that you were the instrument by which the ingredients chose to make a sandwich after all
4. Run around the room and grab everyone’s knives, insisting that their sandwiches will do the same in time

Hurley
1. Make sandwich
2. Eat sandwich
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 ad infinitum

Sayid
1. Procure 23 milligrams of uranium-20
2. Set hadron supercollider to eight megajoules
3. Program a sandwich-making macro using Cobol or Visual Basic
4. Act all tough-like

Desmond
1. Eat sandwich
2. Call the sandwich “brother”
3. Place peanut butter slice over jelly slice
4. Spread jelly on the other slice
5. Spread peanut butter on one slice
6. Take two slices of bread, a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly

Ben
1. Steal someone else’s sandwich
2. Claim you coerced them into making the sandwich for you all along
3. Say you’ll tell them everything if they make you another sandwich
4. Stare at them all creepy-like

Libby
1. Lay out plans for one of the most intricate, fascinating, and delicious sandwiches of all time
2. Just as you start making it, get shot

Danielle
1. Apply peanut butter
2. Disappear for eight months
3. Apply jelly
4. Disappear for eight months
5. Eat sandwich

Claire
1. Mmmmmmm, peanut butter

Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse
1. Make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
2. Have someone take a bite, then tell them it’s a baloney sandwich
3. Make up a whole bunch of other shit, then say you had planned it all along
4. Buy a few yachts

5:10 He's Our You, 5:11 Whatever Happened, Happened, 5:12 Dead Is Dead

5:10 He's Our You

-Juliet is a pretty absentminded cook - she burned those muffins, and now she's about to burn the bacon.

-Phil=SO ANNOYING. I can't wait for those metal bars to shoot through his chest.

-Jack, Kate, etc were convinced they had to go back to the Island to save their friends, but it turned out that their friends were fine. They won't realize until later the real reason they came back.

-Even though we're told young Ben forgets everything that happened to him prior to being healed in the Temple, I still think he knows that Sayid tried to kill him as a child. It makes sense when he says "You're capable of things most men aren't...you're a killer."

-Oldham was a serious letdown. All that buildup about him being a torturer like Sayid, and he just gives people drugs in a sugar cube?

-Mirror image: in season 1, Sayid tortured Sawyer, now Sawyer is (begrudgingly) overseeing the torture of Sayid.

-Young Ben asks Sayid if he will take him to his people (the Others). Sayid lies and says yes, that's why he's there. Little does he know that he's actually telling the truth - by shooting Ben, he makes it necessary for the Others to heal him and make him one of their own.

-Flaming Dharma van! You just KNEW Ben had to be behind that one somehow.

Best lines:

SAWYER: They're gonna kill you. They just took a vote. Even the new mom wants you dead.

5:11 Whatever Happened, Happened


...or, "A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it."

-A possible inconsistency - Cassidy says that Sawyer abandoned her daughter, but what about the money he left her in season 3?

-Oh, Jack, stubborn Jack. He refuses to operate on Ben, thinking that it doesn't matter what he does because whatever happened happened. But by not saving Ben, he allowed him to be healed by the Others, which made Ben into the person we know and love to hate.

-Through their choices, Sayid, Jack, Kate, Juliet, and Sawyer enable Ben's future to happen the way it has always happened. Very interesting to me that all of them had a hand in this.

-Hurley and Miles' discussion of time travel is so funny/brilliant.

-Kate completely redeems herself in my opinion by giving Aaron to his grandmother. But I have to admit that as the mom of a blond little boy, I can't watch that scene. It's just too gut-wrenching.


Best lines:
RICHARD: If I take him, he's not ever gonna be the same again.

KATE: What do you mean by that?

RICHARD: What I mean is that, he'll forget this ever happened, and that...his innocence will be gone. He will always be one of us. You still want me to take him?

5:12 Dead Is Dead


-Richard Alpert saying "He's just a boy" reminds me of the way Widmore is always calling him "boy" in such a condescending way. It makes perfect sense that Widmore has known him since he was a boy.

-This didn't drive home with me the first time, but now it strikes me as one of the most important points of the season: there are TWO Lockes - one walking around with Ben, and one in the box.

-Ben's wig in his flashbacks is SO bad. It kind of looks like Hitler's hair, but not real. So I guess it looks like a Hitler wig.

-Now we know why Rousseau is so freaked out by the whispers - Ben tells her every time she hears them to run the other way.

-Locke tells Ben he was just "hoping for an apology." That seems to be what the smoke monster is hoping for when he judges people (like Mr. Eko.)

-Is it true that Ben has never seen the Island bring someone back from the dead? Is he lying to Sun, or is he lying to Locke?

-Widmore seems SO sure that Ben won't be able to get back to the Island. Is it because of Locke's body (the loophole) that he was able to go back?

-Mirror image: Ben spares Penny because of little Charlie, just like he spared Rousseau because of baby Alex.

-So cool that we now know the answer to "what lies in the shadow of the statue?"

-I love the symbolism of Locke and Ben entering the Temple, descending through levels, lower and lower. It reminds me of Paradise Lost.

-It's so fitting that Ben says "What is about to come out of that jungle is something I can't control" (expecting the monster)...and out walks Locke. But it's true: it is something he can't control.

-It's so interesting that with everything Ben has done, the smoke monster is most concerned about Alex and his relationship with her. This makes me think that maybe this wasn't a judgment after all; maybe showing Ben Alex was simply an attempt to manipulate him so that he would help New Locke.

Best lines:
LOCKE: If all I had to do was die, Ben, they why did you stop me?

BEN: You had critical information that would've died with you. And once you'd given it to me... well, I just didn't have time to talk you back into hanging yourself.

5:7 The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham, 5:8 LaFleur, 5:9 Namaste

5:7 The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham


-First clue that resurrected Locke might have something to do with Jacob/Man in Black: he asks Ilana if they have a passenger LIST.

-When Locke eats the mango Ilana gives him it's another reference to Jesus Christ - when he appeared to his disciples after his resurrection he eats with them to prove that he is really alive and not just a spirit.

-This might be the biggest unanswered question of the entire show: Why these particular people? What makes them so necessary to the Island? And is Locke really special, or has he just been manipulated all along?

-And on a related note - why does Locke keep falling for the manipulations of those who tell him he's special?

-Locke's murder scene is so dark and violent. It reminds me very much of the scene where Sawyer kills Anthony Cooper. I recently saw an interview with Quentin Tarantino (who knows a thing or two about filming murder scenes) and he said that in his opinion, strangling is the most violent way possible of killing someone, because it is so hands-on. Based on these scenes, I would have to agree.

-Once again, Locke is set up as a Christ figure in this scene, with Ben kneeling in front of him trying to stop him and Locke with his arms out to the sides.

Best lines:
LOCKE: Why would you help me?

WIDMORE: Because there's a war coming, John. And if you're not back on the Island when that happens, the wrong side is going to win.



5:8 LaFleur


This is such a great character episode. The title (and Sawyer's new assumed name) "LaFleur" is French for "flower" - and in many ways we see Sawyer flourish as head of security for the Dharma Initiative.

-It's hootenanny time! Seriously though, who says that? Even in 1977?

-Another Locke-as-Jesus allusion: Juliet says she thinks he was successful in stopping the time flashes, and Sawyer says "Now we wait for him to come back...as long as it takes."

-Horace's wife is named Amy. I've always wondered if she is the older lady named Amelia we see in the book club in season 3.

-So all you need to get through the sonic fence is EARPLUGS? Super lame.

-Paul's necklace is an ankh, the same Egyptian symbol being held by the four-toed statue. It represents immortality, especially that of the Pharaohs.

-All I can think at the end is NOOOOOOO! Not Kate!!! Although I remain firmly on neutral ground when it comes to the love quadrangle, this episode just about won me over to Juliet's side. Can't Kate and Jack be angsty together and let Juliet and Sawyer be happy?

Best lines:
PHIL: I'm gone ten minutes, and you're having a hootenanny?

5:9 Namaste


Go here to see my original post on this episode. I actually don't have that much to say here that I didn't already say there.

-We hear about lists again - this time for the Dharma inductees - and once again Kate isn't on the list.

-Sawyer tells Phil "We're not savages", a much repeated line on LOST.

-I love the scene where Sawyer sticks to it Jack, mostly because Sawyer is 100% correct. Jack is a reactor.

Best lines:
SAWYER: Easy on the ribs there, Kong.

HURLEY: "Kong." I actually missed that.

Can LOST Fans Get Even MORE Annoying??

A fabulous piece by The Onion, featuring our beloved Damon and Carlton!


Final Season Of 'Lost' Promises To Make Fans More Annoying Than Ever

5:4 The Little Prince, 5:5 This Place is Death 5:6 316

5:4 The Little Prince


See my original post on this episode here.

This is the episode that convinced me that season 5 is the season of character evolution. Nearly every main character makes HUGE changes that we never would have expected them to make. Jack sits back and lets things happen; Sawyer settles down with Juliet as a functioning member of society; Sun turns into a vengeful would-be hitwoman; and Kate finally accepts responsibility for her actions and stops running away from her problems. It's very interesting to watch that evolution take place - in this episode Kate is still hanging on to her new life with Aaron, but we know that will change soon.

-On the Searcher, Kate tells Jack she can't sleep and it's going to take her more than a couple of nights to get used to sleeping in a normal bed. I have to say, I don't think it would take me that long. I am no Kate.

-Kate tells Jack that Claire wanted Aaron to be placed for adoption. In Kate's mind, that justifies her taking Aaron as her own. What Kate doesn't know is that the Island didn't want Aaron to be "raised by another."

-I don't really get why Kate, Jack et al believe that the people they left behind are still alive. If I had seen the Island disappear I would be more inclined to think that they all died.

-Kate to Jack: "I have always been with you"... except when I was with Sawyer?

-It is SO horrible when Jack realizes that Claire's mom doesn't know about Aaron. That scene gives me the same feeling in my stomach as when I realize I've just sent an emotionally charged e-mail to the wrong person.

-It stood out to me that Locke says "I have to make them come back." Kind of a contrast to Jacob, who harps on and on about how it's their choice.

-Maybe I missed it, but do we know who sent the man to attack Sayid in the hospital? Was it Ben?

-When Aaron is born Kate tells Claire "This baby is all of ours." I'm guessing neither one knew that would literally be true.

-Claire is the best screamer on the show. Man can that girl scream!

-I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I love how the van carrying Locke's body says "Canton Rainier" - an anagram for "reincarnation."

-How many times has someone referred to someone else as a "yahoo"? What a weird term.

-Still unanswered: Who was in the other outrigger shooting at them?

-Sawyer tells Juliet "What's done is done." Pretty soon we'll know why he likes that phrase so much.

-Kate lives at 42 Panorama Crest. Maybe I'm superstitious, if I was one of the Oceanic 6 and buying a house in L.A., I'd probably pick one that didn't have one of The Numbers in the address. Just sayin'.

-Newsflash to Island survivors: If something horrible is happening to you, there is a 99.9% chance that it's because of Ben.

-I love young Rousseau, and I'm so glad we finally got to see her story. And I love that the actress who plays her is actually a native French speaker (the older Rousseau is played by a Croatian actress, and you can really tell by her accent.)


Best lines:

JACK: Ben is on our side.

SAYID: The only side he's on is his own.



5:5 This Place is Death


Go here to read my original post on this episode.


-The voice Montand is listening to on the radio (the one repeating the numbers) is definitely Hurley. I can't believe I never noticed that before.

-I am SO glad Nikki Stafford said Sun's conversation with Ji Yeon reminds her of Annyong on Arrested Development. I thought it was just me!

-This episode gives us a better idea of why Rousseau is cucko for Cocoa Puffs. If I had seen my friend dragged down a hole and de-armed by a smoke monster I might start setting booby traps in the jungle too.

-Speaking of Montand, after his sexist remark I'm glad he got his arm squeezed off.

-Charlotte says "This place is death," and indeed it is. But for some, it is life. What is it about the Island that makes it kill some people and heal others?

-Ben says that if they knew what he had done to protect them, they would never stop thanking him. Is there something to this, or is he just being manipulative again? Sometimes I wonder if there will be a big twist to show us once and for all that Ben really is the "good guy." It would have to be a pretty damn big twist though considering everything he has done.

-Once again, why couldn't Christian help Locke turn the wheel? I think it has something to do with the way Ben wouldn't let anyone come with him when he turned it. Maybe it has to be a one-person job to have the desired effect. Christ metaphors abound.

-Another theme - Locke's broken leg, which is also a Christ metaphor - it was prophesied of the Messiah that none of his bones would be broken, like a sacrificial lamb, which had to be whole. Another story says that when a sheep wandered, a shepherd would intentionally break its legs, and then carry it until it was healed, ensuring that the sheep would always trust the shepherd and do what he asked. (There is no Biblical or historical evidence that this was ever done, but it does fit in quite nicely to Locke's story.)

Best lines:

BEN: What I’m doing is helping you! And if you had any idea what I’ve had to do to keep you safe – to keep your friends safe – then you’d never stop thanking me! You wanna shoot me, then shoot me – but let’s get on with it! What’s it gonna be?

5:6 316


See my original post on this episode here.

-I love that the Dharma Initiative built the Lamp Post under a church; it speaks to the balance of faith and reason that characters are constantly dancing around on the show.

-Eloise says that Jack needs to give Locke something that belonged to his father. Is this because Locke is going as Christian's proxy, or is it because that object will somehow tie him to the Man in Black?

-Ben's description of the apostle Thomas is just SUCH a perfect metaphor for Jack. LOVE that scene.

-Jack tells Locke's body "Rest in peace." Yeah, not gonna happen.

-Still unanswered: what is in that guitar case?

-Hurley buying out the rest of flight 316 is such a contrast to Ben's answer to what would happen to everyone else on the plane: "Who cares?"

-Ben is reading "Ulysses" by James Joyce, which is a key work in the modernist movement. I don't have time to get into it in too much depth here, but I'll just say that themes of the book include searching for your father, lightness and darkness, and lots and lots of symbolism.

-Ben tells Jack that it's not his fault that Locke is dead, but he neglects to mention how he knows this for sure. So creepy.

Best Lines:

JACK: Is he [Ben] telling the truth?

ELOISE: Probably not.

5:1 Because You Left, 5:2 The Lie, 5:3 Jughead

5:1 Because You Left

Go here to see my original post on this episode.

-Dr. Chang putting a record on first thing in the morning reminds me of Desmond in the hatch at the beginning of season 2, and Juliet in her home at the beginning of season 3. I guess when you don't get TV or radio, music is all you've got.

-The skipping record is a nice foreshadowing of Daniel Faraday's explanation that the Island is skipping through time like a broken record.

-We learn the purpose of the Arrow Station (where the tail section survivors found shelter in season 2) was for defense and intelligence gathering in their ongoing battle against the Others.

-When a construction worker suggests that time travel could allow them to go back and kill Hitler, Dr. Chang insists "Don't be absurd. There are rules, rules that can't be broken." Does this have something to do with the rules Ben has referred to in the past?

-The reference to going back in time to kill Hitler is a common one in time travel theories. One line of thought is that it would be impossible: as we keep hearing during season 5, "what happened happened" and no matter what you do you can't change it. A second line of that is that it IS possible to change the past, but it would be unethical to do so; if it's possible to change what happened in the past (and prevent the Holocaust and World War II), then you must also assume that it's possible for Hitler to change his own course. Preemptively killing him for something he hasn't done yet is therefore unethical. We see this type of scenario play out when Sayid tries to kill young Ben, but the result points to the first conclusion - Sayid is not able to kill Ben, and in fact, it's likely that the whole experience turns Ben into the person we know today.

-Sawyer says he's the "ghost of Christmas Future," a reference to "A Christmas Carol." Some consider this Dickens novel the first book about time travel.

-Ben tells Jack that the last time he saw Locke was on the Island in the Orchid station: BIG FAT LIE. Ben also says "I guess we'll never know" what happened to those left behind. He TOTALLY knows.

-It's pretty convenient that they have a physicist on the Island for the time travel/nuclear bomb season. Kind of like how they conveniently had a doctor on the Island for Season 1, the injury season.

-Commenting on Aaron's cartoon about a train going into a tunnel, Kate says "He goes into that tunnel, he's never coming back out." Like going back to the Island?

-Sawyer says that not everyone is accounted for, they don't know where Locke is. Um, hello, what about Claire?! It was a big disappointment to me that we never found out what was up with Claire. I'm trusting that they're saving something really good for season 6!

-Widmore tells Sun, "You had the audacity to approach me in broad daylight." He also uses the word "audacity" to describe Ben coming to see him in his home in season 4. Apparently he doesn't like audacity. I'm guessing he would not be an Obama fan.

-Hurley and Sayid pick up some food at the Rainbow Drivein - a reference to the fact that they're about to go "over the rainbow" again.

-Tranquilizers can't take Sayid down!

-Somehow I didn't catch before that Miles says it took Widmore 20 years to find the Island the first time.

-Daniel provides our theme for this season: "Whatever happened happened." The big question is, was he right?

-I completely forgot about Ethan shooting Locke, and Richard commenting that "What comes around goes around." So Charlie shooting Ethan was karma. Richard reverses the usual phrase ("What goes around comes around"), probably because in Locke's experience of time, Ethan has already been shot and killed.

-Locke is at the Beechcraft AGAIN. So many big events have happened around that plane!

-So we know that the reason time is skipping is that the Island itself is dislodged from time. Why do the Others move along with it? Is there something tying them to the Island that prevents them from sticking in time?

-Richard gives Locke the compass that Locke will take back in time and give to Richard. This kind of circular theme makes my head hurt. It's almost as though the compass itself exists outside of time, and there might be more than one of it going around (like there is more than one Locke in the finale?) The compass exchange also explains part of what was going on in "Cabin Fever" when Richard presents young Locke with several items and tells him to choose the one that was his - maybe he wanted him to pick the compass.

-Another unanswered question: Why did Locke have to die to bring everyone back to the Island? Is it all so that the Man in Black could use his body?

-Another big question: Why don't the rules apply to Desmond? It wouldn't surprise me if Desmond turned out to be the key to saving everyone. Something else that is weird about Desmond: we've never seen anything about his childhood or his parents. It's a glaring omission for such a prominent character, and I'm sure there's a reason we haven't seen it yet.

Best lines:
HURLEY: You want a fry?

SAYID: No, thank you.

HURLEY: You know, maybe if you ate more comfort food you wouldn't have to go around shooting people.
------
FARADAY: Time--it's like a street, all right? We can move forward on that street, we can move in reverse, but we cannot ever create a new street. If we try to do anything different, we will fail every time. Whatever happened, happened.

5:2 The Lie



I really feel for Hurley. He is first and foremost a genuine, honest person. His realization that he will have to lie for the rest of his life is heartbreaking. I wouldn't want to have to do it either. But even with the sadness there are also lots of delightfully funny moments. That's why I love a Hurley episode!

-Frogurt has not one, but two red shirts. He gives one to Sawyer, which I hope doesn't mean anything about the future.

-I love Miles' correction of Sawyer's nickname - "I think it's Mr. Wizard." Ha!

-Hurley in the "I ♥ My Shih-Tzu" t-shirt is a stroke of genius, and I remember hearing on a podcast that it was scripted.

-Ben asks Jill the butcher if Gabriel and Jerry have checked in yet. I wonder if we'll hear those names again.

-Flaming Frogurt makes my heart sing. Every single time.

-I love how Carmen believes Hurley, even though what he's telling her makes no sense to her. What a great mom.

-Watch out or I will hit you with my Hot Pocket!

-Is Hurley right that all this "bad stuff" wouldn't be happening if they had told the truth? Or did they actually prevent worse events from happening?

-We get a glimpse of Ms. Hawking in her underground layer - under a church, of all things - writing mathematical equations on a chalkboard and using a Foucault Pendulum and a seriously outdated computer. I wonder why the Others haven't updated to an iMac?

-Ms. Hawking tells Ben if he can't get everyone back to the Island in time, "God help us all" - the same phrase used by Chang when he was talking about the energy under the Orchid Station.

Best lines:

CARMEN: Why is there a dead Pakistani on my couch?


5:3 Jughead


Here's my original post on "Jughead."

-The scene where the doctor uses forceps on Penny with no anesthesia makes me cringe, and thank my lucky stars that I was numbed up nice and good during Sawyer's delivery. OUCH!

-It stood out to me that when Penny asks Desmond to promise he won't ever go back to the Island he just says "Why would I ever want to go back there?" He doesn't promise.

-A little pet peeve I have is when Juliet calls the Others "the Others." That's the nickname the Losties came up with for them (because of how Rousseau referred to them). But Juliet is an Other. Don't they have a name for themselves?

-Daniel says he would never hurt Charlotte because he loves her, when in the past he hurt Theresa for the sake of his work - and his mother (who says she loves him no matter what) kills him.

-The name Theresa is one we've heard twice before: Boone's maid who fell down the stairs and died, and Ana Lucia's mother.

-Theresa's sister says "Everything here is due to Mr. Widmore, God bless him." The double meaning is that Mr. Widmore was also the cause of Theresa's illness in the first place because he pushed Daniel to do this research.

-I LOVE the scene when Desmond storms into Widmore's office. It's such a contrast to the grovelling he's done before him in the past.

-I am so proud of myself that I guessed that the young soldier on the Island was in fact Charles Widmore - but I notice now that his uniform says his name was Jones. Kind of an obvious misdirection since the only good explanation is that they were trying to fool us.

-Again, when Locke gives Richard the compass it explains why Richard was there when Locke was born, and why he has the compass when he interviews Locke as a little boy. Since Locke is the one who told Richard that he was to be their leader, it might follow that Locke was never supposed to be their leader in the first place. He wasn't special, he just wanted to be. I'm not sure if I believe that, but it kind of makes sense.

Best lines:
ELLIE: I don't believe you, by the way. You may have Richard fooled, you can't really expect me to believe that you, a British woman and a Chinese man are all members of the United States military.
-----
SAWYER: So who taught you Latin?

JULIET: Others 101. Gotta learn Latin--language of the enlightened.

SAWYER: Enlightened, my ass.

4:12 There's No Place Like Home I, 4:13 There's No Place Like Home II and III

4:12 There's No Place Like Home I

Go here to see my previous post about this episode.

-Another Wizard of Oz reference! After trying lots of different tactics (including killing the Wicked Witch of the West), "There's no place like home" is all Dorothy has to say in order to get back to Kansas.

-Does the Oceanic representative who briefs them on the plane know that their story is a cover? Or has she bought the lie too?

-It stood out to me this time that during the press conference Jack mentions that his father's body was lost during the crash.

-It still cracks me up that Hurley's mom threw him an island theme party. "My mom...really doesn't get it dude."

-At Christian's funeral Jack mentions again that he wasn't able to bury his dad.

-I recently listened to a podcast where someone from the Lost prop department talked about designing the C4 pile on the Kahana. Apparently the producers kept saying "Nope, not big enough." I think it's safe to say they had plenty by the end.

-I wouldn't have recognized the anthuriums either.


Best lines:

CARMEN: Jesus Christ is not a weapon.

4:13 There's No Place Like Home II and III


Go here to see my previous post about this episode.

-The writers did an amazing job with keeping us guessing - since we knew at this point who the Oceanic 6 were, the big mystery was how those particular people get off the Island when for the majority of the finale they aren't in the same places.

-I had forgotten that Locke is the one who tells Jack that he has to lie. Of course, Jack resists, but eventually realizes Locke is right. That doesn't happen very much.

-Poor baby Aaron has never had a real item of clothing. Which is kind of odd if you think about it; I don't think I've ever been on a flight without ANY babies on it.

-The Orchid station video cuts off right at the most interesting part. Of course it does.

-Dr. Edgar Halliwax says not to put anything metal into the vault. So it's basically a giant microwave, huh?

-Sayid kills Sawyer's stalker at Santa Rosa at 8:15.

-It totally bugs me that Jin stayed down below deck with Michael for as long as he did. Dude, your PREGNANT WIFE is on the boat!

-In the future Jack is so angry with Kate for doing a favor for Sawyer, yelling at her "He made his choice, he chose to stay. I'm the one who saved you!" Which is a really douchey thing to say since Sawyer jumped out of the helicopter and stayed behind, saving not just Kate, but ALL of them.

-I hearby predict that Ben will die in season 6. I don't know why, I just have a hunch.

-Is Ben lying when he tells Locke that whoever moves the Island can never come back? Or does he really believe this is true?

-When Ben tells Locke "I'm sorry I made your life so miserable," there seems to be more to this apology than just the present circumstances. Did he have more involvement in Locke's pre-Island life than we're currently aware of? Or is he actually talking about murdering him in the future?

-I really hope we learn more about the Others and how they got to the Island in the first place.

-There is a White Rabbit on Aaron's bedroom door, a replica of an illustration from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". I don't remember it being there in previous episodes.

-Ben climbing down into the hole behind the vault (where white rabbits were used to experiment with time travel) I can't help but think of the phrase "going down the rabbit hole."

-Jack is the most stubborn S.O.B. in history. He SEES the Island disappear - right in front of his face - and he still won't believe it happened.

-I sort of wonder why the Oceanic 6 are so worried about protecting the ones they left behind. They saw the Island disappear, so why do they even think they are still alive?

-Also, since the Island moved it's kind of funny that they bother sailing 3,000 miles away to Membata to begin their cover-up story. For all they know, they're actually closer to the Island there than they were at their start point.

-Ben's vampire-like appearance behind Jack in the funeral parlor made me jump even though I knew it was coming. Uber creepy. And I NEVER would have guessed that Locke was the one in the coffin.

Best lines:

LOCKE: I want you to reconsider leaving the island, Jack. I would like you to stay.

JACK: You'd like me to stay?

LOCKE: Yeah, that's right.

JACK: (Chuckles) You threw a knife into the back of an unarmed woman. You led half of our people across the island and got most of them killed.

LOCKE: Well, Jack, you put a gun to my head and you pulled the trigger. I was hoping we could let bygones be bygones.

--------

LOCKE: It's not an island. It's a place where miracles happen. And--and--if you--if you don't believe that, Jack, if you can't believe that, just wait till you see what I'm about to do.

JACK: There's no such thing as miracles.

LOCKE: Well...we'll just have to see which one of us is right.

Less Than a Month Now!

...unless the White House decides to schedule the State of the Union address on February 2. In which case thousands of LOST fans' heads will explode with all the fury of the Swan hatch, the Flame station, and Jughead combined.

4:5 The Constant, 4:6 The Other Woman, 4:7 Ji Yeon, 4:8 Meet Kevin Johnson

4:5 The Constant

I know I'm not alone when I say this is one of my all time favorite episodes. I almost wanted to stop watching the show completely after this one because it was so flawless. And even though it contributes a lot to the overall story arc, it's amazing as a self-contained story as well. In season 3's "Flashes Before Your Eyes" Desmond's consciousness travels from his present (on the Island) to his past (in London with Penny.) This time, past Desmond comes to the future, utterly confused and in danger of dying.

-Daniel and Charlotte's memory test makes a lot of sense now - it explains why Daniel doesn't remember meeting Desmond in his past.

-Clean-shaven Desmond is soooooo yummy.

-I missed a lot this first time I watched this episode because it jumps back and forth so quickly and I was so wrapped up in the story. Watching it again I could tell as soon as Penny answered the phone that present-day Desmond is back. It's a subtle change, but very cool.

-Penny and Desmond talking on the phone is the first time ever a scene on TV actually made me cry.

Best lines:
SGT: You were having a dream, were you? And what were you dreaming about, that it took you so sodding long to get to your mark?

DESMOND: I was in a helicopter, sir. And there was a storm, sir. And I don't remember the rest, sir.

SGT: Well, at least it was a bloody military dream.

--------

DANIEL: Hey, hey, hey, c'mon. Maybe we should just, just tell them.

JACK: Tell us what?

CHARLOTTE: Dan, let's not confuse anyone.

JULIET: Well, Daniel, maybe if you talk real slow, we'll be able to follow.

4:6 The Other Woman

Compared to "The Constant" this one was a let-down. I suppose it was inevitable. But I did enjoy getting more insight into Juliet. The title has a double meaning: Juliet was the "other woman" when she had the affair with Goodwin, and she's one of the Others.

-I like the opening scene fake-out where we initially think Juliet is one of the Oceanic Six, but then find out it's actually a flashback to her arrival on the Island.

-Still unanswered: Who does Juliet look "just like"? Ben's mother? Annie? Or Juliet herself, from 1977?

-When Ben shows Juliet Goodwin's body it seems to be in a different location than when Ana Lucia killed him.

-Juliet hears the whispers right before Harper appears in the jungle. I like the idea that the whispers are the sounds of the Others traveling through time and space; that could explain how suddenly Harper appeared. As Juliet enters the Tempest station we hear them again, saying "Juliet."

-The whole subplot of Daniel and Charlotte trying to shut down The Tempest is suspenseful in the moment, but it doesn't make a lot of sense in a larger context. If it was so crucial to shut it down, why didn't they try to do so earlier?

Best lines:

JACK: You people had therapists?

JULIET: It's very stressful being an Other, Jack.

-----

BEN: I always have a plan.

4:7 Ji Yeon

I usually enjoy "gotcha!" moments on LOST, but I felt a bit manipulated by this one. The use of flashbacks and flashforwards in the same episode felt too contrived. But maybe it's just me.

-I've mentioned this before, but I always wonder where these characters are going to the bathroom when they're being held in a room for days at a time. Gross.

-Once again, we get some great navigational instructions from Kate: "Go in a straight line for about a day and a half." Sounds easy!

-Like "Through the Looking Glass", this episode had several clues that Jin's flashes were in the past, not the future. The store clerk tells Jin that it's the Year of the Dragon, which was the year 2000. Jin's cell phone is an older model. And when Sun enters the hospital they recognize her as one of the Oceanic 6, but no one recognizes Jin.

-Kind of a big inconsistency: Bernard says they went with Jack because Locke was a murderer. But what about Jack pulling the trigger against Locke's head? Attempted murder is A-OK? And what about Bernard and Rose not wanting to get rescued?

-I still cringe when Juliet tells Jin that Sun had an affair. Oh NO SHE DIDN'T!

-The birth scene drives me batty, as almost all TV birth scenes do. They couldn't consult a real doctor (or even just ANY woman who has actually given birth) to get it right?

-The scene where Sun and Hurley visit Jin's grave is so heart-wrenching, even when I know that he's alive and OK.

-The man on the boat is Michael! All I can say is: I called it! :D

Best lines:

SUN: Why would Juliet lie about that?

KATE: Force of habit?

4:8 Meet Kevin Johnson


Finally, we get to see what happened to Michael when he left the Island! We waited a long time for this, and it's just as dark as many guessed. You've gotta love it when a character attempts suicide 5 times within 42 minutes.

-Mama Cass' "It's Getting Better" is THE perfect choice for Michael's suicide attempt, because it is the exact opposite of what he is feeling in the moment. Just brilliant.

-I don't know why, but it's hilarious to me the way the captain says "In the meantime, everybody JUST HOLD ON!" Then he says "Johnson!" and I really lose it. My brain is 13 years old.

-Michael's off-Island existence is so depressing and guilt-ridden. But in a way, I'm glad - had he gone skipping off into the sunset it would have been much worse. Michael proves once and for all that if the Island's not done with you, it doesn't matter where you go.

-One thing about Michael hasn't changed : he still loves to say "he's my son!"

-Why on earth did Michael tell Walt what he did? Talk about your all-time bad parenting choices.

-It cracks me up that Tom asks Michael for the time right after he's pawned Jin's watch. HAHA! That Tom has a great sense of irony.

-The game show that's on in Michael's apartment references Kurt Vonnegut, the author of Slaughterhouse-Five. It's one of my favorite books I read in college and deals with a World War II soldier named Billy Pilgrim who becomes "unstuck in time." He experiences past, present and future events in a nonlinear way.

-Who else would love to see the inside of the Black Rock ledger?

-Minkowski is a pretty nice guy when he's not going crazy from time travel sickness.

-The code Michael enters into the bomb is 71776 - July 1776 was the date of the start of the American Revolution.

-Ben says that Widmore is evil because he kills innocent people. Um, hello Ben? What was the Purge? The way Ben manipulates Michael throughout the episode is so despicable.

-Rousseau, noooooooo! I really thought she would miraculously be alive (let's face it, it's happened before on this show) but it was not to be. So sad.

Best lines:

JOHN: Yeah. Miles offered his loyalty in exchange for the money. But as I haven't seen a bank on the island, I didn't think it worth mentioning.

[Miles chuckles]

SAWYER: Somethin' funny?

MILES: Linus will find a way to get it.

SAWYER: And how will he do that?

MILES: He wants to survive. And considering a week ago you had a gun to his head, and tonight he's eating pound cake... I'd say he's a guy who gets what he wants.

4:1 The Beginning of the End, 4:2 Confirmed Dead, 4:3 The Economist, 4:4 Eggtown

4:1 The Beginning of the End


Go here to see my original post on this one.

-The entirety of Jack's psychological well-being can be measured by his beard. We know he's still doing OK (even though he has started drinking) at the start of this episode because he's still beardless.

-The big reveal of this premiere was Hurley yelling "I'm one of the Oceanic Six!" How many nerdy discussions were inspired by that sentence? (I know I contributed to at least a few!)

-When Hurley is being questioned at the police station the officer asks him "You want to know a funny coincidence?" and then tells Hurley about his connection to Ana Lucia. I'm thinking after being on the Island Of Funny Coincidences for 4 months you'd be kind of sick of hearing about them.

-"No Smoking" is painted on the wall of the holding room Hurley is in, predicting that something related to the smoke monster is about to happen, and sure enough, Hurley has a vision of Charlie. On Charlie's hand instead of "Not Penny's Boat" it says "They Need You."

-Again, it's obvious in retrospect that Ben knows the freighter is not there to rescue them, but at the time it was a huge mystery. And it's not our fault - when has Ben ever actually told the truth?

-I can't figure out why Kate is so excited to be rescued; doesn't she realize she's going to jail? Maybe she's decided prison is better than the Island. For that matter, why does Rose seem so happy about it? She's already said she will never leave the Island.

-Mr. Abaddon = uber creepy. It is fun to watch his scene knowing so much more about him now, especially the fact that he is the one who puts the idea in Locke's head to go on a walkabout, which brought him to the Island.

-Hurley hears whispers in the jungle as Jacob's cabin appears. Those pesky whispers - I hope we'll find out what causes them. I wonder why Hurley is able to find the cabin so easily, and why the cabin seems to follow him.

-Right before Hurley flees the cabin we see a close-up of an eye.

I think we all assumed it was Jacob's. But now it's fairly certain that Jacob was not the one in the cabin at all. Ilana says it was being used by someone else. And Jacob has blue eyes. Was it Esau/the man in black? I don't know, to me it kind of looks like Mikhail, but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

-Charlie tells Hurley "I am dead, but I'm also here." Is he referring to alternate timelines?

-It still shocks me when Jack holds that gun to Locke's head and pulls the trigger. WOW.

-There's another "No Smoking" sign in the basketball court where Jack pays Hurley a visit. It seems like poor Hurley is being haunted by Smokey constantly, which would explain his constant visions of dead people - and as Jacob explains in season 5, it makes him special.

4:2 Confirmed Dead

It was so fun getting to know the freighter crew all over again. THIS is how you introduce new characters!

-We still don't know who Daniel's caretaker is, and I'm guessing there's a reason we don't see her face. I have no idea what that reason is, but there you go.

-When Miles comes down the staircase the photos on the wall have all changed since he went up. It could be a production error, but I don't think so since the camera hovers on that wall for a couple of seconds. It has to be intentional. Is this evidence of alternate timelines already showing up?

-After seeing season 5, it's clear that Miles got his gift of communicating with the dead because he was born on the Island.

-If they had left Naomi's body on the Island, unburied, would she have been taken over instead of Locke?

4:3 The Economist


Enter Sayid, international man of mystery! He's such a ladykiller. Literally. (Ba-dum, ching!)

-Naomi's bracelet is signed "R.G." Does anyone think we'll ever find out who R.G. is?

-It drives me CRAZY when Sawyer orders an "expresso." It's "eSpresso" Mr. International!!!

-I've said it before, but why was Naomi looking for Desmond? Why would Widmore want to find him?

-Daniel's experiment is the first concrete evidence that time is different on the Island. Thank you, science.

-Ben's fake ID in his secret room says that his name is Dean Moriarty. He got the name from one of the protagonists of Jack Kerouac's On The Road.

-Sayid says of Ben "The day I start trusting him is the day I will have sold my soul." A very chilling line, since we know that Sayid does end up working for Ben.

-The first clue that Sayid is working for Ben was when he said he was working from a list. I didn't pick up on that the first time, but now it seems obvious.

-Ben's voice is way too easy to identify, even when they try to disguise it. Which is part of what makes Michael Emerson so awesome.

-Still unanswered: Who are the "them" Ben is sending Sayid after? Are they all Team Widmore?

Best lines:

SAYID: The last time you encountered him [Locke] you put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. That's not good diplomacy.

4:4 Eggtown


-I love the way Locke chops the melon in half. You can tell he's never watched the Food Network.

-Locke gives Ben a copy of Philip K. Dick's Valis and tells him "You might catch something you missed the second time around." (Very appropriate for a LOST rewatch!)

-When Locke throws his plate at the "concrete" wall outside of where Ben is being held, the wall bounces. Oops!

-Kate's judge is named Arthur Galzethron, which I was sure was an anagram of some sort, but I haven't been able to come up with anything good. On a forum someone said it's "Learn through Artz" - but that guy was an idiot.

-Jack is a REALLY good liar.

-Kate's lawyer, Shawn Doyle, will always be the Big Love guy to me. Although he was also on the movie Frequency, which I saw ages ago and don't really remember. Apparently it has some parallels to LOST, including time travel, and Shawn Doyle's character is named Jack Shepard.

-I crack up a little bit when Kate tells Sawyer she wants to break Ben out of his cell, because of the way she says it: "I wanna bust him out." It sounds very hillbilly.

-Miles asks Ben for 3.2 million dollars, which we now know is double the amount Widmore was paying him to be on the freighter. And 16 and 32 are both Numbers.

-Claire seems to have completely forgotten about Charlie already. I know she can't mope around forever, but one episode or two would have been nice!

-As Kate enters the court house a bearded man yells something unintelligible at her. It turns out if you play the audio backwards he is yelling "We hate you!"

-I remember getting on the forums and dissecting the coffee mug Kate drinks out of on the porch, which has some writing on the bottom. After all our careful research we found out the truth - it was a mug from Walmart. So I guess the moral of the story is that even the Dharma Initiative can't resist their super low prices.

-I don't understand why Kate is so against her mother seeing Aaron (other than the fact that her mom is just a huge d-bag.) Is she afraid her mom will realize that Aaron isn't really Kate's?

-Kate's pregnancy scare kind of bugs me. Sawyer says "What would we do with a baby?" and Kate's mad at him for not wanting to have a baby with her, but they don't even mention that it would be a bad thing because IT WOULD KILL HER to have a baby on the Island. The whole subplot is misdirection, leading us to think Kate's child is Sawyer's, but I didn't find it very convincing.

-I love love love the ending of this episode. Watching it the first time, just before Kate picks Aaron up and says his name I gasped out loud "No way, is that Aaron?!" That little boy looks JUST like Claire too. Excellent casting.

Best lines:

LOCKE: You may think this is a democracy, Kate, because of the way Jack ran things, but this is not a democracy.

KATE: Well, I guess that makes it a dictatorship.

LOCKE: If I was a dictator, I would just shoot you, and go about my day. Dinner's at six if you're hungry.