6:13 The Last Recruit

The end is near, my friends. Only 5 hours of LOST to go until it's all over, and we're left to debate all the loose ends for the rest of our lives. This was a "setting the stage" episode, putting all the pieces in place for the final game to begin.

Flashsideways Connections

-Sawyer offers an apple to Kate, yet another Garden of Eden reference. I don't think it's pointing towards a literal Garden, just making use of a rich allegory that is familiar to us all. What choices have our Losties made which led to their fall? And what could give them redemption?

-Kate figures out that Sawyer didn't arrest her in the elevator because he didn't want anyone at the police department to know he had gone to Australia, which is exactly what Jay and Jack theorized. Nice!

-I totally called it that the injured Losties would meet up in Jack's hospital! Which is actually kind of disappointing. I like it better when the writers do something completely unexpected.

-Desmond and Claire have appointments on the 15th floor.

-Desmond tells Claire "Contracts are complicated - you could find yourself in a situation that's irreversible." I'm becoming more and more convinced that the flashsideways world is a result of a contract made between the Losties and the Smoke Monster.

 -I never really got attached to Ilana as a character (good thing too considering what happened to her) but it was cool seeing her as Jack and Desmond's lawyer.

-Ilana asks Jack "Do you believe in fate?" It's clear that these characters are destined to be part of each other's lives, plane crash or no.

-Mirror image: Jack sees his own face next to Locke's in the mirror on the operating table. If each character has a "soulmate" (Libby's words) who reminds them of their life on the Island, I think Locke is Jack's. 

Revelations

-It's official - the Christian Shephard Jack saw on the Island was the smoke monster! It's not much of a surprise, but it's nice to have something answered. But as usual, this leads to more questions, because Jack's also seen his father off the Island.  The smoke monster can't leave the Island, so who was that?

Questions

-Sawyer says "We're done going back Kate." Is he right, or are they going to "go back" again when the two timelines come together? With their sideways selves decide to "go back" to make things right?

-Locke tells Jack "You're with me now." Jack is the last recruit. Is Jack going to change like Claire and Sayid have? Is he going to end up being a pawn like Locke was?

-There's no way Sayid actually killed Desmond - so why is he lying to Locke? Is pulling away from Locke's influence rendering him and Claire less zombie-like?  Or even cooler, is their interaction with the other Losties in the sideways influencing them? Is Hurley right that Sayid and Claire can come back from the Dark Side?

-How did Sun recognize Locke? And what is she remembering that made her so afraid of him?

-Who is David's mother? They teased us with it yet again when Jack spoke to her on the phone and never said her name. Oh how they love to tease us!

-I wonder if Locke is telling the whole truth about his ability to appear as other people. We know that the smoke monster isn't actually in Locke's body, because we saw Locke's body lying on the beach and Fake Locke walked right past it. But last night, Fake Locke tells Jack that he needed Locke's body to be on the Island in order to appear as him. And when the smoke monster appeared as Christian Shephard, Christian's body was missing from his coffin. If Smokey is just projecting himself as different people, why does he need their actual bodies to be on the Island?

Moments of Pure Awesomeness

-Jin and Sun are reunited! Finally! (And I'm not even going to rant about the feminist implications of Sun only having a voice because of her husband.)

-Jack jumping off the boat to go back to the Island mirrors Sawyer jumping out of the helicopter in season 4. Except instead of Juliet waiting for him on the beach with a bottle of rum, it's Fake Locke.

-I love how everyone is connecting in the sideways: Jack, Sun, Jin, Locke and Ben at the hospital, and Sawyer, Kate, Sayid and Miles at the police station. Although I still don't know where they're going with this sideways world, it feels like things are coming together and there is a greater purpose. There are a lot of loose ends to tie up, sure, but I have no doubt it's going to resolve in an interesting way.

-Jack having Locke on his operating table and saying "I think I know this guy." I got chills.

-Hurley's mention of Anakin coming back from the dark side cracked me up, along with his greeting to Claire, "Hey, you look....great..." 

-Fake Locke: "John Locke was not a believer Jack. He was a sucker." Is he right? Or will there be redemption for Locke in the end?

Not So Awesome

-There are so many questions to be answered and an unbelievably short amount of time in which to do it. I'm doing my best to let go and just enjoy the ride - I need to have faith like Jack! (Never thought I'd say that before this season...)

6:11 Happily Ever After

Last week Damon Lindelof tweeted that "In one week, the conversation is going to change." After watching last night's episode, I see what he meant. Things are really starting to come together and move in a specific direction. Not that I know AT ALL what that direction is, but I can sense the momentum.

Flashsideways Connections

-Desmond's driver is George Minkowski, the communications officer from the freighter in season 4.

-Widmore pours Desmond a glass of MacCutcheon and tells him "Nothing is too good for you" - the exact opposite of what he tells him in the original timeline when he sneers "[You're not] worthy of drinking my whiskey. How could you ever be worthy of my daughter?"

-On the wall in Widmore's office there's a painting of scales with white on one side, black on the other, perfectly balanced. Is this a world where good and evil are balanced?

-Desmond tells Charlie he has a choice: he can exterminate his music career, or come with him to the hotel. Charlie: "That doesn't seem like a choice." Desmond: "There's always a choice, brother." The Desmond we know has always leaned towards destiny over free will.

-Charlie drives the car into the water at the same marina where Ben attacked Desmond last season.

-On the plane Charlie nearly dies and Jack saves him, then later Desmond saves him from the sunken car. On the Island the same thing happens: Jack saves Charlie from being hanged by the Others, and then Desmond saves him multiple times later.

-All of the other characters have had a "mirror moment" in their flashsideways when they seem to be aware of the other world, but Desmond's moment is through a window, because he is the one who can see the most clearly between the two worlds.

-The doctor checking Desmond's eyes mirrors the doctor on the freighter examining him in "The Constant."

-The MRI machine makes the same sounds as the solenoids during Widmore's test.

-The panic button for the MRI mirrors the fail-safe key in the hatch. The technician says "try not to press it, because then we have to start all over again from the beginning." When Desmond turned the key, he found himself starting all over in his relationship with Penny, but unable to change anything.

-In the original timeline Widmore marries Penny's mother, but in this one he marries Eloise.

-Eloise says that what Desmond wants more than anything is Widmore's approval, and in the original timeline, that's exactly right - it's why he goes on the race around the world and ends up on the Island in the first place. But now that he's aware of Penny and Charlie, his motivations are changing.

-Eloise says Desmond is Widmore's "best fix-it man" - and now he's playing the same role on the Island. 

-Penny's last name is Milton (as in John Milton, the author of Paradise Lost.) Does anyone else really want to know what instrument Penny was supposed to play at the ball?

-I thought it was funny that when Daniel saw Charlotte for the first time she was eating a chocolate bar, just like when she was a little kid. Once a chocoholic, always a chocoholic!

-Desmond says he needs the names on the flight manifest because he wants to "show them something." Is he going to show them the same way Charlie showed him? (Hop on the bus everyone, we're going for a little drive into this lake.)

Revelations

-Daniel confirms that it was the detonation of Jughead that caused all these changes, and he suggests that it was the wrong thing to do.

-The test rabbit is named Angstrom, which is a measurement of electromagnetic radiation.

-Eloise says that Charlie telling Desmond about the other world is "a violation." The rules again! Are we ever going to find out what exactly all the rules are, and who created them?

-Being close to death allows the characters to see into the other world. I'm more sure than ever now that we're going to see Juliet invite Sawyer out for coffee.

-It's looking more and more like the relationships between characters are the one thing that transcends time. Who's ready for a Harry Potter ending to the battle? I think I'd actually be OK with that.

Questions

-What did the test prove to Widmore? Does the ability to withstand electromagnetic events mean that Desmond is the one person who can overthrow the smoke monster?

-Who are Desmond's parents? I still think this is a glaring omission that has everything to do with his abilities, especially now that we know that those abilities predate his using the fail-safe key in the hatch. Could he possibly be related to Jacob or the smoke monster?

-What sacrifice is Desmond going to have to make? (Please don't let it be Penny and Charlie!)

-How does Eloise know so much about both timelines? Is Charles Widmore as aware as she seems to be?

-Charlie says "This doesn't matter. None of it matters." Are he and Daniel right that this timeline is less valid than the one we've already seen - that it's not what was supposed to happen?

-Why does Eloise think Desmond isn't ready yet? Ready for what?

Moments of Pure Awesomeness

-As usual, Desmond cleans up nice. Reeeeally nice.

-I loved the montage of Desmond's life with Penny in the MRI machine.  

-The solenoids used to test Desmond looked just like two eyes. 

-We heard repeats of lots of key phrases from the past.
Widmore "The Island isn't done with you yet." (originally said by Eloise)
Desmond "There's always a choice." (Jacob)
Eloise "What happened happened." (Daniel)

Not So Awesome

-More bad hair: Claire's horrible wig, Eloise's ginormous bouffant, and Daniel's greasy locks. Hey, if all I can complain about is bad hair, that's a pretty great episode.


What are your thoughts and theories? Do you think this episode has changed the conversation?

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.

4:5 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.

3:17 Catch-22, 3:18 D.O.C., 3:19 The Brig, 3:20 The Man Behind the Curtain

3:17 Catch-22

-Finally, we learn why Desmond calls everyone "brother!"

-The father of the monastery explains that on Mount Moriah, Abraham was tested by God to see if he would sacrifice his son Isaac (who later became Jacob's father), and he says it was a test of faith and patience. By that definition, Desmond's experiences in the hatch could definitely be called an Abrahamic test. When Abraham takes Isaac to the mountain top he is all set to kill him on an altar but at the last minute a ram gets stuck in a bush nearby and God tells him to kill the ram instead. When Desmond takes Charlie to swim down to the Looking Glass, he tries to take his place at the last minute, but Charlie won't let him.

-Desmond's ex-fiancée is named Ruth. In the Bible Ruth is the daughter-in-law of Naomi. We'll see another Naomi soon!

-Does the Father know about the Island? The photo on his desk of Eloise Hawking (which is a horrible Photoshop job!) would suggest that maybe he does. And speaking of Ms. Hawking, she's someone else who sacrificed her son.

-I was having serious Flashforward déjà vu during this one. The way Desmond tries to make his flashes happen or tries to avoid them reminds me so much of that show.

-It strikes me as slightly ridiculous to go on a camping trip when they're ALREADY ALL CAMPING.

-During ghost story time around the campfire, Hurley tells a story about the Chupacabra, which was one of many fan theories about the smoke monster. The writers love to toy with us. No, it's not a dinosaur...no, they're not all dead...no, it's not all in Hurley's mind. And no, it's not the Chupacabra.

-It cracks me up that we can tell Jin's story is about the hook man, even though he's telling it in Korean.

-The most super awesome idea ever is one I read on Nikki Stafford's blog, in one of the comments. What if the man who touched Desmond and led him to become a monk was...Jacob? That just blew your mind, didn't it?

-The title Catch-22 refers to the novel by Joseph Heller, which I wrote several papers on in college (aren't you glad? :D ) It takes place during World War II, and is distinctive for using a non-chronological structure, and for using multiple characters' points of view. "Catch-22" is a rule imposed on the fighter pilots: if you are crazy, you can get out of flying dangerous missions - all you have to do is ask. But if you're sane enough to worry about you're safety, clearly you're not crazy. Therefore no one can get out of flying missions. The expression originated with the book, which I think is pretty cool. In this episode, the catch-22 is that Desmond needs Charlie to find the crashed parachutist (who he believes to be Penny), but if he brings Charlie along, Charlie will be killed and won't be able to help him find the parachutist.

-If I'm remembering correctly, we still don't know why Naomi had information about Desmond with her. Their "primary objective" was to capture Ben. Did Penny somehow get through to Naomi, asking her to find him? This is unlikely though, since when Charlie speaks to her she has no idea who Naomi is. So it must have been Widmore...but what motive would he have in finding Desmond?

Best lines:
SAWYER: Hope I'm not interrupting. You two arguing over who's your favorite Other?

3:18 D.O.C.


-Mikhail is still alive?! The dude has got to be immortal somehow.

-Jin lying that his father is dead seems a bit over the top to me. Is being from a lower class really that shameful still in Korea?

-When Sun goes into his father's office, they are talking about the Hanso Foundation.

-Seeing Sun humbly ask her father for money is SUCH a contrast to the scene where she informs him that she has bought out the company and he will now answer to her.

-Mikhail reports that Naomi said "Thank you for helping me," but what she really said was "I'm not alone" in Portugese.

-Sun is presented with a catch-22: either the baby is Jin's and she will die, and if she is to live, the baby can't be Jin's. Her reaction when she finds out the baby is Jin's is very sweet. I think any mom who has had an ultrasound can relate to that moment when you first see a picture of your baby, it's amazing.

-As usual the medical information Juliet gives Sun is horribly inaccurate, but that's pretty normal for a TV show, so I'll try not to hold it against her.

-I love Desmond's comment to Charlie that "by my count, you've killed more of them than they've killed of you." It's true. So who are the real bad guys?

-Naomi reveals that their plane has already been found, and everyone inside was dead. THUD. All kinds of alternate timeline theories and general mayhem immediately ensue!

3:19 The Brig


-It's hard for me to understand why Locke is unable to kill his father. He has no problem killing Mikhail (although his attempt failed) and later he kills Naomi without flinching. And he seems happy to have Sawyer do the dirty work for him. Maybe this has something to do with "the rules" we've heard so much about from Ben and Widmore.

-The scene where Sawyer kills Anthony Cooper is out of this world. Cooper is pure evil; when he reads Sawyer's letter and says "blah blah blah", then rips the letter in pieces - WOW. I think I would have strangled him too. Cooper says that they're in hell, a nod to another popular fan theory. "A little hot for heaven, isn't it?"

-Again, I wonder how Naomi knows the whole story about Desmond and Penny. Maybe Widmore told her to tell Desmond that Penny sent her in order to gain his trust?

3:20 The Man Behind the Curtain


Although I've been watching since season 1, this is the first LOST episode I ever blogged about. It's fun to look back and see what my initial impressions were and how much has changed since then.

A Ben-centric episode! There is so much history in this one, which is so refreshing compared to the rest of season 3 up to this point. Finally, some answers! "The man behind the curtain" is another reference to "The Wizard of Oz," where the Wizard was actually an illusion, controlled by a man behind a curtain pulling levers and pushing buttons. The question here is who is really secretly controlling things? Is it Ben, or someone else?

-It's official: Ben was not born on the Island, but outside of Portland (where Richard Alpert told Juliet she would be working for Mittleos Bioscience.)

-Ben's mother is named Emily. Emily is also Locke's mother's name.

-When little Ben first speaks to Richard Alpert (who looks very hippie-like) Richard is surprised to hear that Ben was able to see and talk to someone who died off the Island. Is this what told Richard that Ben would be their leader?

-The biggest question left unsolved is Annie. What happened to her? I hope we'll find out this season.

-Jacob's cabin is one of my favorite recurring themes of the entire show. As soon as those peeper frogs start peeping I get chills. Now that we know that Ben has never actually spoken with Jacob, who was in the cabin? And why did he ask Locke for help? I'm betting on the man in black.

3:5 The Cost of Living, 3:6 I Do, 3:7 Not In Portland, 3:8 Flashes Before Your Eyes

3:5 The Cost of Living


-I think it's safe to say that Eko had the worst childhood of anyone else on the Island - and that's saying a lot. Everyone has daddy issues, but kidnapped and forced into being a child soldier probably wins in just about any contest.

-Hurley remarks "Do you guys smell smoke?" - a clue that the smoke monster is going to have a big role in this story. I think it's fun that we usually get a clue about smoke before we see the monster (a smoke alarm beeping, or a sign that says "no smoking.")

-Colleen's funeral has Buddhist overtones to it - everyone is dressed in white - but the way they send her body out to burn on a raft also seems rather Nordic. We've had hints in season 5 that dead bodies left unattended on the Island are not a good idea; maybe this is why they send bodies off the Island.

-Maybe I'm being a bit slow, but I had never realized before that the images Eko sees in flashes while the smoke monster surrounds him are all of people he has killed. Is the SM ultimately just concerned with murder?

-Again, maybe this is obvious, but there is no way Jack saw those x-rays by accident.

-The scene where Juliet is holding the signs on video tape to give Jack her secret message is one of my favorites - realizing that she might not be totally on board with what Ben is doing is a big twist.

-Who else does Juliet resemble? Ben tells Jack that they chose her to question him because she looks like Sarah. But we know that Juliet also looks like someone from Ben's past (Harper says Ben is nice to her because "you look just like her.") Who is it?

Best lines:

EKO: I did not ask for the life that I was given. But it was given, nonetheless. And with it... I did my best.

-------

BEN: I'm telling you this, Jack, because my wonderful plan got shot to sunshine when you saw my damned x-rays and figured out I was dying.

JACK: All of this... you brought me here to operate on you. You... you want me to save your life?

BEN: No, I want you to want to save my life. But we're beyond that now, so... all I can ask is that you think about it. Do you believe in God, Jack?

JACK: Do you?

BEN: Two days after I found out I had a fatal tumor on my spine, a spinal surgeon fell out of the sky. And if that's not proof of God, I don't know what is.


3:6 I Do



-The song "Slowly" is such a cool choice for Kate's flashback. Lostpedia points out that it's one of only two times a song has played on the soundtrack that the characters are not listening to (the other is "I Shall Not Walk Alone" during season 1.)

-Ben's plan to get Jack's cooperation is impeccable: get Kate to convince him, and if that doesn't work, convince Jack that Kate doesn't care about him, so he will give up all hope and agree to do the surgery just to get away from her. He knows that Jack wouldn't leave without Kate otherwise. So twisted, and so brilliant.

-Jack's behavior when he learns about Kate and Sawyer is very different than the way he reacted to his wife's betrayal. With Sarah he hounded her for explanations, contested the divorce, and just would not let it go. With Kate, he just wants to leave, and vows to come back and rescue her. Maybe he is growing after all.

-Locke notices that Eko's scripture stick says "Lift up your eyes and look north." Underneath that it says John 3:05, which refers to this verse: "Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.'"

-Kate's captivity on Hydra island is a nice parallel to her feelings of being stuck in her marriage with Kevin in her flashbacks. It's those kinds of connections that make Lost so amazing.

-Whose voice told Jack to try the door? It kind of sounds like Alex to me.

-There must be some force on the Island that makes it possible for men to grow beards, but makes it impossible for women to grow armpit or leg hair. Even Rousseau is clean and smooth, and she's French for crying out loud!

-Ben says "See you on the other side" as he goes under for surgery, which is the same thing Anthony Cooper says to Locke before his kidney transplant.

-Kate's pregnancy scare is one of several we see on the show - Sarah has one right before she and Jack split up, and Kate has another one in season 4.

-A lot of drugging goes on too. Kate drugs Kevin, Sun drugs Michael, Kate (again) drugs Jack. That's another topic I'll be writing about soon.

-We hear the first mention of Jacob, from Pickett, who says "Shephard wasn't even on Jacob's list." Little did we know how important Jacob would be!

-Speaking of Skaters, they finally got their wish when Kate and Sawyer have some alone time in Sawyer's cage. Or at least they think it's alone time.


Best lines:

KATE: Taco night? I don't do taco night!

-------

JACK: You needed to be in surgery yesterday.

BEN: Alright, then. Whatever you need, it's yours. I'm ready.

JACK: I think you misunderstood me. I didn't say I was gonna do it. I just wanted you to understand how you're gonna die.

...

BEN: Well, Jack. I'm very disappointed in your decision.

JACK: Well, Ben. At least you won't have to be disappointed for very long.

3:7 Not In Portland



-Yay, Juliet's first episode! I didn't like Juliet at first, but seeing her back story provides so much insight into her motivations, and makes her a much more sympathetic character. Now she's one of my favorites.

-What is it with showing needles being stabbed into tummies on this show? Ouch! I'm so glad when I did IVF that the needles (at least the ones that went into my belly) were MUCH smaller than the one Juliet sticks Rachel with.

-Speaking of Rachel, I'm sure her name is not an accident. The Biblical Rachel was the second wife of Jacob. He fell in love with her first but was tricked into marrying her sister Leah. Rachel was infertile, and Jacob still loved her more than Leah, which in those times was a big deal, since a woman's worth was determined entirely by her ability to produce male children. Rachel eventually conceives twice (her first son was Joseph, of the coat of many colors story) and dies while giving birth to Benjamin.

-We get our first look at Room 23, the room where they threatened to put Walt if he didn't behave. So creepy and cultish.

-Once again, we see a character behave completely different on Island and off Island. Juliet is so calculating and hardened on the Island - she does what needs to be done without flinching, like when she shoots Danny and doesn't even blink - but in her flashback she is so vulnerable and afraid, hiding from her ex-husband and letting him control her life. She seems much stronger on the Island, but at the same time, we know she is being held against her will and controlled by Ben.

-I'm intrigued by the CT scan Richard Alpert shows Juliet. She says they appear to be the womb of an elderly woman, and he tells her the woman is actually 26. What on the Island would cause this? So far we've seen many women die during pregnancy, but early menopause wouldn't cause this - it would cause a complete inability to conceive. We also know that the Island makes men super fertile. What is behind all of this? I hope we'll find out.

-Richard tells Juliet she's "special" - something we've also heard him say to Locke. What exactly does it mean?

-Tania Raymonde is so great as Alex, but I always have flashbacks to Malcolm in the Middle when I see her. So funny.

-I love the scene where Jack has Kate tell him the story he told her the first time they met. It's so well done by both actors. It's scenes like this that make it impossible for me to decide whether I'm a Jater or a Skater.

-Ed getting hit by the bus = pure awesomeness. Every. Time.

-When Juliet tells Jack that Ben promised her she could go home, it's the first time that Jack realizes that he and Juliet are on the same side.


Best lines:

JULIET: Can my sister come?

ALPERT: Won't work. We're pretty remote. She wouldn't have access to the treatment that she needs.

JULIET: But, it's Portland. There's plenty of clinics and...

ALPERT: Well, actually we're not quite in Portland.


3:8 Flashes Before Your Eyes


-In some ways, this is the episode that changed it all. It's the first use of time travel as a plot device - although Desmond's experience is more mental than physical.

-There has got to be a reason we've never seen Desmond's father (or his mother, come to think of it.) Since parental issues are such a big deal on the show, our lack of knowledge about Desmond's childhood is a glaring omission. All we know is that Desmond helped his mother take care of his brothers because his father wasn't around, but we don't know why. I'd be willing to bet that we'll find out more in season 6.

-When Desmond sees Charlie busking on the street, he's singing "Wonderwall" : "Maybe you're gonna be the one that saves me." And as we know, Desmond IS the one that saves Charlie, several times. (And it's the first song I learned to play on the guitar, I'm sure that's the real reason the writers used it.)

-Desmond's interactions with Charles Widmore have so much more meaning now that we know more about Widmore's history with the Island. It makes me wonder if Widmore knew that Desmond would play an important role, or if he's really just acting out of pure spite.

-Eloise Hawking is one of the coolest characters of all time. Just brilliant.

-We get yet another Wizard of Oz reference - the man wearing red shoes is crushed under a collapsing building and only his shoes are sticking out, just like the Wicked Witch who is crushed by Dorothy's house.

-Ms. Hawking introduces us to the concept of the universe "course correcting." I have a feeling this is going to play a big role in the final season - can the Losties change things through free will or are they at the mercy of the universe/fate?

-Ms. Hawking says that Desmond has to go to the Island or "all of us are dead." Does she mean pushing the button was really saving the world? Or does Desmond have something else to do that we haven't seen yet?

-The only bad thing about this episode is that we find out Charlie is going to die. Waaah!

Best lines:

MS. HAWKING: You don't buy the ring, Desmond.

DESMOND: How do you know my name?

MS. HAWKING: Well, I know your name as well as I know that you that don't ask Penny to marry you. In fact, you break her heart. Well, breaking her heart is, of course, what drives you in a few short years from now to enter that sailing race -- to prove her father wrong -- which brings you to the island where you spend the next 3 years of your life entering numbers into the computer until you are forced to turn that failsafe key. And if you don't do those things, Desmond David Hume, every single one of us is dead. So give me that sodding ring.

--------

MS. HAWKING: That man over there is wearing red shoes.

DESMOND: So, what then?

MS. HAWKING: Just thought it was a bold fashion choice worth noting.

2: 21 ?, 2:22 Three Minutes, 2:23 Live Together, Die Alone

2:21 ?



-Once again, Eko is the Island's prophet, having crazy dreams. Now that we have a better idea of the forces at work on the Island, I wonder which one is giving him these dreams? Jacob? The man in black?

-Lending credence to the idea that the Island (or some force on it) is giving Eko the dreams: Eko did not know yet that Ana Lucia had been shot, but he saw it in his dream.

-As a priest, Eko says "To receive God's forgiveness you must be penitent." This is significant because later on, a very impenitant Eko will confront the smoke monster and be killed for his unwillingness to admit to his wrongdoings.

-Locke investigates the death of Charlotte Malkin, who apparently came back to life the next day - this foreshadows many other characters who seem to have come back from the dead. Also, Libby appears to be dead, and then suddenly starts breathing and coughing up blood. Death and resurrection are big themes on LOST...even bigger after season 5, where we see Locke die and come back to life twice (once after falling from the building his father pushed him out of, and once after Ben murders him.)

-The tape of Charlotte Malkin's autopsy is absolutely chilling. I don't blame the coroner for never wanting to hear it again.

-Locke dreams that he is Eko, foreshadowing Eko taking Locke's place pushing the button.

-Mr. Malkin says "Everyday I meet people looking for a miracle, desperate to find one. But there are none to be had. Not in this world, anyway." Does he know that miracles happen on the Island?

-What does Locke mean when he says that "Boone was a sacrifice that the Island demanded"? If he is right, what was the payoff for that sacrifice?

-Michael hanging around to watch Libby die is almost worse than the actual act of shooting her. It makes him seem truly sinister and calculating.

-Viewing the Pearl Orientation video is a seminal moment for Locke - he wants to believe so badly, but he feels betrayed and so he completely gives up.

-I am convinced that the true experiment was on the people in the Pearl, not the people in the Swan. Ahh, Dharma Initiative, so crafty.

-It's possible that Ben used the Pearl station to observe the Losties in the Swan hatch.


2:22 Three Minutes



-I feel so bad for Michael. He does some deplorable things, but you can just see the desperation in his eyes. He truly feels that he has no other choice, and he will pay for the ensuing guilt with his life.

-Ms. Klugh is one of the weirdest characters ever. Uber creepy.

-Again, we hear about a "list" and "good people." The four people on Michael's list are Sawyer, Kate, Jack, and Hurley, and as we know, they later let Hurley go. So I'm guessing that particular list was not a "good people" list. More like a "we can use you towards our own selfish purposes" list. Ben is definitely behind this one, not Jacob.

-I LOVE Nikki Stafford's idea that Walt asks Michael about Vincent first because he is able to project himself onto Vincent as he roams around the Island.

Best lines:

JACK: We were caught in a net.

SAWYER: What the hell is that supposed to mean?

JACK: It means we got caught in a net.

SAWYER: Is that what they're calling it these days?

2:23 Live Together, Die Alone



-A Desmond episode! Desmond episodes are my favorites, and here we finally get his back story, including his ill-fated love for Penny. I love every minute of it.

-I love Desmond's line "We're in a bloody snow globe!" A nice nod to all the snow globe theories out there (although I personally hope the whole series won't be explained with one of those.)

-Eko really has become Locke, and he proves it by saying "Do not tell me what I can't do."

-I love Libby's part in Desmond's story, and I will ignore any implications that her generosity implies that she is an Other (sticking my fingers in my ears and singing "LA LA LA!")

-Libby's husband's death explains why she was in Hurley's psych ward.

-The Hurley bird! Talk about random.

-We get our first glimpse of the four-toed statue! At the time it seemed like a passing oddity; little did we know how important it would become in Island mythology.

-If Michael says "He's my son" one more time, I'll blow him up myself.

-Michael still refers to the other Losties as "my friends." Really, Michael??

-Whenever I watch the scenes of Desmond and Kelvin in the hatch it reminds me of my life as a Mormon missionary. There are some big similarities - you spend all your time with one partner, who you did not choose; the work you do is repetitive, every day the same; you have strict rules to follow, and are forbidden to leave a certain area; and you never know if the work you're doing is having any positive effect, and it's only through faith or fear that you keep doing it anyway.

-I love Heroic Jack when he picks Kate up and tries to run away from the ambush. It's such a contrast to what he later becomes, resigned and angry.

-It's such a profound moment when Desmond realizes that pushing the button DID have an effect, and it's so gripping to watch - all season we've been wondering what would happen if they don't push it. This is my personal favorite moment of season 2.

-I love seeing Desmond stand up and sing "Don't Stop Believing" to Locke, it's so inspiring. Oh wait, I might be mixing this episode up with one I saw on "Glee." Sorry.

-At least Locke can admit it when he's spectacularly wrong - you could learn a few things from him, Jack!

-Once again, Ben tells Michael "We're the good guys." And again, we're left wondering - if they're the good guys, what in the world do the bad guys do?

-The big question for me - when Desmond turned the key, did the Island move? And was it that motion that enabled Widmore to find it and send the freighter?

Best lines:

LOCKE: No, it's not real. We're only puppets—puppets on strings. As long as we push it, we'll never be free.

-------later------

LOCKE: ....I was wrong.



LOCKE: So what did one snowman say to other snowman?

DESMOND: Smells like carrots.



PENELOPE: Hello.

MAN #1: Ms. Widmore?

PENELOPE: Yes.

MAN #1: It's us. I think we found it.