A Case of the.... Lost - Episode 5-4

Is it me, or was that “Previously on Lost” bit unusually thorough?

As an admitted Jack/Kate fan, I really enjoyed the opening sequence. These two were kept apart for much of the third season, and since then their one-on-one scenes have been sparse, so it’s sometimes hard to remember that, for the first year or so, these two shared practically every scene together. I thought her reassurance that she’s also been at his side was very sweet, as well. Perhaps best of all, it was great learning about the circumstances that surrounded Kate’s decision to pretend Aaron is her own (and how appropriate that we would later see a flashback of her delivering Aaron).

I loved the look on her face when she watched Jack get out of the car, and saw the (beardless) man she had fallen for. In fact, the looks she gave him throughout the episode were so genuine and real looking. Bravo. And speaking of looks, her piercing expression upon seeing Ben was absolutely priceless.

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By the way, while I truly do hope that Kate ends up with Jack, I have to admit that I was deeply moved by Sawyer’s speechless reaction to seeing past-Kate in the woods. Incidentally, I find it interesting that he repeatedly dodged telling Locke who he saw, despite his pestering, yet spilled the beans to Juliet without any provocation.

However, that scene does pooh-pooh on the theory that the collective group of Oceanic survivors cannot see themselves from a different time period (as in, 2008 Jack wouldn’t be able to see 2004 Locke). This perhaps squashes the theory that the whispers in the jungle are people from another time.

By the way, I did love how Locke recognized what time period they were in when they saw that mysterious beam of light. If you recall, after Boone’s accident, a distraught Locke began banging on the top of the hatch, begging the island for some sort of sign. Moments later, that beam of light shot up (alright, I typed all of that out before Locke spelled it out for us). Although I do find it interesting that Locke’s immediate reaction was to avoid their past selves, instead of, say, attempting to warn them to not leave the island.

I resisted the idea that Miles might be the baby from the premiere (Dr. Candle’s son), but it looks like that might be the case after all. Daniel hypothesized that there might be a correlation between the temporal displacement and the length of time spent on the island. When Miles pointed out that he’s only been on the island a matter of weeks, while the Oceanic crew have been on for months, Daniel (who was on the island for an undisclosed amount of time during Dr. Candle’s tenure) asked if he’s sure. Could this be confirmation that the baby was, in fact, Miles?

How surreal was it to see Jack spend the entire episode arguing that Ben is on their side? May how things have changed in a matter of a few years. I mean, Ben spent all of last season bloodied and bruised because of the beating Jack gave him the previous finale. It almost felt like I was watching Heroes, with the viewer constantly wondering who is on whose side (not that that’s a bad thing).

Last week I sung the praises of Alpert. This week I’m going to bestow that honor upon Dan the Lawyer (opposed to Daniel the Scientist – are they running out of names???). He’s an intriguing character. In addition to harassing Kate about Aaron, he’s also Ben and Mrs. Littleton’s lawyer. This guy really gets around. Honestly, the Oceanic crash did wonders for business, I guess. Speaking of Dan (most popular name ever?), one of my long-time readers by that name correctly predicted that Ben was responsible for the Kate/Aaron DNA (anagram for Dan) demand. Although he was wrong about Jack being involved.

We saw our first glimpse of that Indian airline that kept flashing during the previews to the new season. Who were those people on the island? Why were they shooting at Locke, Sawyer, and the others? When will we see them again? Any predictions?

Speaking of predictions, it looks like one of mine came true, just a week too late, as we saw the arrival of Danielle (female version of Dan) and her science group. Oh, and was their discovery of Jin not the happiest moment in television history?

Speaking of Jin, I found one of the comments during the preview for next week interesting. Ben noted that Jin was alive and that he can prove it. This makes me wonder if Ben is capable of communicating with those on the island. Or did he just receive evidence from Locke?

As always, I’m interested in hearing about your thoughts and theories. Feel free to visit my blog or send me an e-mail! It really helps make my Lost: Revisited column more interesting. Some possible topics of conversation: Who were the people on the Indian airline? How does Ben know Jin is alive? What’s the deal with Dan the Lawyer? Was Miles the baby we saw in the premiere?