Sorry for the delay on my Heroes and 24 columns. It's been an INCREDIBLY crazy week so far, and plus I'm putting together a video compilation for my dad's 60th birthday, so that's eating up basically all of my free time. So, unfortunately, there likely won't be a Lost: Revisited column this week either. But since feedback was pretty light anyway, it's not a huge loss. Expect my Monday reviews either late tonight or tomorrow.
Anyway, my friend is participating in a fundraising effort to benefit two charities that provide their help and services to underprivileged groups in India and Nepal. As part of the effort, 64 teams will go on a two week rally through the heart of India right on to Pokhara, Nepal, on a two-stroke, single cylinder, air cooled rickshaw. Here's the link:
He also had to unfortunately put his dog down yesterday (some people will do anything for sympathy votes), so lets commemorate the life of Jiro, who we all lovingly referred to as the unhappiest dog in existence. We love ya' buddy!
During Lana’s (sigh) extended story arc, I complained about the lack of Lois (amongst other atrocities). Then last week we were sans Ms. Lane as well. In this latest episode, however, we had an essential double dosage of the sassy reporter!
While I have criticized this show for repeatedly relying on certain plot devices (amnesia anybody?), I will admit to being a real sucker for the body switching episodes. It’s just a lot of fun seeing the actors playing another actor playing their character (the gold standard, of course, is “Transference”). And, not surprisingly, Erica Durance hit a homerun with this one.
“Three years, no burning busses. You’re all back for one day!”
To be honest, I was a bit surprised we didn’t see more of Jack, Kate, and Hurley attempting to integrate into their new lives in the Dharma Initiative – or, ya’ know, coming to terms with the fact that they’ve TRAVELED THROUGH TIME – but that’s simply not the story they chose to tell this week. And that’s okay, as this episode was about filling the gaps on Sayid’s story.
Click the "Read More" link for the full column.
And while I felt this was a phenomenal episode, I’m not entirely certain that those missing pieces are any less empty, as I’m not completely clear as to why Sayid suddenly stopped trusting Ben. I thought for sure that we’d find out that Sayid discovered that Ben was simply using him, and that the people he was killing wasn’t for the sake of protecting those who were left behind at all (we, of course, know or at least suspect this. But Sayid is not privy to that information). But no, it more seemed like Sayid felt spurned because he ran out of people to kill and didn’t know what to do with the rest of his life.
And, again, Ben didn’t seem the least bit concerned about referring to Locke as “John Locke” and never once mentioned the name “Jeremy Bentham.”
Oh, and by the way, that bounty hunter claims she isn’t a prostitute, yet she’ll demand $120 for her company? Riiiiight. But who do you think she was REALLY working for (even if she’s unaware)? Ben? Widmore? Eloise? It was just too much of a coincidence that they were going to Guam on THAT flight.
Shifting gears to the past, the scene with the drugged out Sayid was a lot of fun (and that “he’s our you” line was great). We rarely see Sayid so…..expressive (and, honestly, borderline flamboyant). Sawyer’s worried and guarded facial expressions throughout were great. I also love how Sayid used the past tense when referring to all of the Dharma stations, yet nobody listening really picked up on it.
In my Revisited column, I wondered what might happen if Sayid and the rest of the Oceanic survivors embraced Ben. If they gave him the love and affection that he lacked from his father, might it prevent him from turning into the monster he’s destined to become? It really seemed like they were going to go in that direction, as Sayid repeatedly showed compassion towards young Ben and his abusive situation (did you catch how Sayid jumped to his aid when his dad grabbed him?)
But, in the end, Sayid committed an act that even I didn’t think he was capable of: He shot and killed a young, “innocent” boy in cold blood. One who was attempting to help him, no less. I have to be honest, while it was a pretty deplorable act – perhaps one that Sayid will never be able to redeem himself from – it was a genuine “holy crap!” moment. That was jaw hit floor type stuff.
Of course, the biggest question that must be asked is what happens to future Ben? Does he vanish? Does he die? Does he continue existing as if nothing happened? This is really the first instance in which something dramatic has happened to a character’s “past,” so it’s quite telling to see what the repercussions are.
I was a bit surprised, by the way, with how nonchalantly Sawyer reacted towards living with a young Ben. Perhaps we’ll see more in future flashback episodes, but I’m curious with how Sawyer interacted with the young Other leader. And how did he first react when he met him? I hope they revisit this story.
The brief scenes with the Oceanic Six were fun enough. I loved how Hurley slipped in that, “they’re living together…you know, like you guys were” line. A) it added to the absolute awkwardness to the scene – as if saying, “Hey, you’re upset about your ex moving in with some girl….as you sit across from your other ex, who you used to live with” – and B) it was a nice way of knocking Kate off her high horse of entitlement, as if telling her, “Yeah, he wasn’t the only one who moved on in three years.” Such a gentleman was Jack, though, to cut Hurley short before he continued obliviously assaulting her with hurtful news.
The main assignment for you guys as I prepare my Revisited column for next week is:
What in the blue hell do you think will happen to future Ben? Does he die? Does he continue living? Does he become stuck in time as the universe attempts to figure out how to mend this paradox of sorts?
Or, another idea: Will the island simply not allow young Ben to die, because he’s already alive in the future? Do you think next week will pick up where the scene left off, only with Ben essentially rising from the dead?
Also, if I’m not mistaken, Ben said that he met Richard four years ago. When they met, Richard was shaggy haired, dirty, and wearing ragged clothing. Yet when Sawyer and his crew arrived in 1974 (three years ago), Richard was well groomed (looking exactly as he did in the 1950’s). My question is simple: What happened to Richard during that brief period? Why did he look so torn and tattered, when every other time we’ve seen him (the 1950’s, 1974, 2004, sometime in the future when he saw Locke in the woods after getting shot by Ethan) he’s appeared to be clean and well kempt? It likely wasn’t for show, because he was rather shocked to see Ben (and, for that matter, it appears that they interacted semi-frequently with Dharma).
And finally, where does Sayid go from here? Do you think Sawyer could forgive him for jeopardizing his comfortable life? Do you think Jin will forgive him for the attack? Do you think everybody else can look past the fact that he murdered a young boy, even though we all know who that boy becomes? Essentially, can he ever rejoin the rest of the group?
As always, shoot me an e-mail or leave your thoughts on the blog!
Before I even get to the reader mail, I’m going to leap right into the deep end with an absolutely awesome observation that went entirely unmissed by the vast majority of the audience (including me), and that’s the subtle, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance by Claire. Or, at least, a blondish, ghostly woman that most people assume is Claire.
In the scene at the barracks, when Christian is explaining to Sun that her husband and friends are in 1977, there is a mysterious gust of wind that quite purposefully opens the cabin door and enters the room. Seconds later, the camera pans over Sun’s shoulder, where you can see a woman with blond/dirty blond/red hair sitting in the corner in the darkness. You can clearly see her turn her head. Here, watch this great YouTube clip, which helpfully lays the scene out for you:
So, what do you think? There’s definitely somebody there, but do you think it’s Claire? Really, who else could it conceivably be?
Anyway, let’s take a look at the e-mail inbox and blog comments, shall we?
I received an e-mail from a new reader named Rafael, who writes:
Hi,
Recently I've been reading your reviews regarding Lost Episodes and truly..., GOT MY ATTENTION....!! Congratulations...!!
In spite of that, I'd like to drop a few lines for you to think about....:
Frank lands the airplane on a visible track. Could that be the one that Sawyer and Kate helped to construct back in 3rd (or 4th) season ?? Jacks name was on the list, but Kate and Hurley's wasn't till Juliet brought the list? How could that be? Maybe something happened in mean while ?
Congratulations on your posts.....
Can't wait till 5x10...!!
I don’t think it’s disputed that the runway the plane landed on is the same as the one Ben had Sawyer and Kate working on. I think the bigger question is whether Ben had it constructed for this specific purpose. Did he have some sort of foresight that he would need that runway to survive a flight back to the island, or did he just think, “you know, a plane is a lot more practical than a submarine, let’s build a runway”? With this show, a cigar is very rarely just a cigar, so at the moment I lean towards the former. And, if that’s the case, one could speculate as to HOW Ben knew he’d require the use of that runway.
Regarding the Dharma list, was there any indication that Hurley wasn’t on it? I don’t recall. However, some have speculated that this was Juliet’s way of making Kate sweat just a little bit. It also very well could have been an oversight, or the result of having to secretly add their names to the list in a short period of time. I’m not sure there’s more than meets the eye in this case.
Over at the blog, “The Blog of Steel(e)” comments:
I'm thinking Sun may have been on the island before as a baby, based only on the fact that her father's company, Paik Industries, had ties with Widmore Industries, and it's been established that her father and Widmore are friends. Maybe a visiting Paik family and his child were on the island in 1977?
While this may be possible, I think the theory that two people from different time periods cannot be at the same place at the same time was disproved. As we saw earlier this season, Sawyer and Locke traveled back in time to the period that their crew first crashed onto the island, and there wasn’t any sort of temporal prevention there. So while I’m not completely forsaking that possibility, I don’t think it’s THE reason why they didn’t travel back.
Part of me feels like it has to do with the sins they’ve committed since leaving the island, but that seems unlikely considering that Sayid successfully traveled back. Of course, maybe remaining in the present wasn’t a punishment. Instead, perhaps they didn’t travel back in time because their presence was necessary in 2007. Think about it: If Frank had vanished from the plane, it surely would have crashed, killing everybody else on board. In time, we may learn that Sun, Ben, and Locke will play equally as important roles.
Kyle offers the following:
It's possible Danielle just didn't remember Jin either. They weren't together that long, it was at an extremely stressful time, and I don't really recall them interacting tons in the present day. She may have remembered "That Korean guy who we found" but I don't know if she'd remember him so well that decades later she'd be able to point him out.
This is entirely possible, and I think the writers have purposely made it ambiguous. I think it’s been rather deliberate that the only people the Oceanic survivors met in the past are either dead or Others (who are prone to lying). They’ve effectively made it impossible – at this point, anyway – for the viewers to determine if memories of meeting the Oceanic survivors in the past are “new” or not.
Here's a question...why am I supposed to care about Ethan? I don't know, it just seems like he keeps coming up but always in relatively minor ways (oh, he and Juliet had a thing). It's like they really want to keep him in our minds and I don't know why, because as of right now I just don't care about Ethan. He doesn't seem to have any real meaning to the overall background of the show (yeah, he's Horace's son, but so what?), but they just keep mentioning him. Do you think they're going somewhere with it? If present day Ethan wasn't dead that'd be one thing, but he is. So where are they going with this?
I’ve joked about the Ethan thing for a while now. Here’s a guy who appeared in, what, like three episodes before being killed? And since then, he’s appeared every single season in various characters’ flashbacks. He’s neck-in-neck with Christian in that regard. But why? As Kyle asks, what makes him so special? Is he simply the go-to wink-wink guy? Based on the flashbacks we have seen, it doesn’t even appear that Ethan was that high up the Other totem pole. It is rather strange that he’s virtually insignificant, yet constantly alluded to.
However, one of the readers on the EW.com Lost review brought up a fun point: Ethan played a part in recruiting Juliet to the island. Meanwhile, if not for Juliet’s expertise in the past, Ethan likely would never have been born.
Incidently, here's something I'd like to see discussed...it sure looks like somebody changed the future, possibly in relation to the Purge. When the plane is crashing, it's not Danielle's transmission (or, nothing, as that was turned off), it's the Dharma one. And when Sun and Frank show up at "Othertown", it sure doesn't look like the Others took off a few years ago, it looks trashed, like Dharma disappeared awhile ago and nobody ever moved in. Unless the Others seriously left Dharma pictures up on the walls.
Something's definitely going on here. This is not the same "timeline" the Oceanic Six left in the first place. Is this why they had to return? Does the Sawyer/Juliet/Jin/Miles group do something to screw up the timeline, and the Oceanic Six have to correct it? What do you suppose got changed? Is the Purge stopped, or pushed forward so it happens earlier? Love to see some discussion on this.
I read this observation elsewhere as well, and it’s definitely interesting. Indeed, the barracks looked awfully Dharma-ized....almost as if the Others never lived there. This could suggest that, due to intervention from our now Dharma-employed heroes, the purge has been prevented and never occurred and, as such, the Others never came to live in the barracks.
One must also wonder: What exactly happened on that island between 2004/2005 (when the Oceanic Six left) and 2007/2008 (when Flight 316 landed)?
Before I close this up, there are a few miscellaneous observations I have about last week’s episode. In particular, I take issue with the tense confrontation between Sawyer and Jack at the conclusion of the episode. Sawyer noted that Jack used to just react, and that his leadership got a lot of people killed. With all due respect to Sawyer – who I think has a fair point about sitting back and considering a plan re: Sayid instead of just acting impulsively – but his team was a whole lot bigger than just him, Juliet, Jin, and Miles. Remember those 20 somewhat redshirts that were killed when the island was all time loopy? How about when Young Widmore and the Others were able to make an attack because Sawyer yelled out where they were going? And under Sawyer's watch, Rose and Bernard have apparently been missing for three flippin' years! In fact, the only reason ALL of them aren't dead is because of Locke's plan to go to the Orchid station. If they had done what Sawyer wanted – which was what, go to the beach? – they all would have died. Like Charlotte did. So I’m not entirely sure Sawyer is in a position to judge. Along with that, when Jack was the leader, their obstacles were a whole lot scarier than dealing with angry hippies.
And, finally, there's one last idea I would like to discuss. I find it interesting that Sayid is the one who meets past Ben, because it seems like he’s the most hostile towards him in the future (aside from Sun, who's still in 2007). A lot of people (myself included) have wondered if Sayid could or would bring himself to harming the young man to ensure that he's not around later in life to cause the death and misery he’s destined for. If anybody is capable of such a deed, it’s Sayid.
I have a more pleasant solution, though. As we learned from one of the first Ben-centric episodes, he wasn't born a bad person. And there are several moments where it seems like he doesn't even necessarily WANT to be a bad person. He just grew up with a cold, harsh, psychologically damaging, alcoholic father, and he turned to the Others, who made him feel special. But what happens if Jack, Hurley, Sayid, Kate, Sawyer, and the rest embrace Ben while he still has good left in him? What if they essentially give him the compassion and acceptance that he would later get from the Others? That would dramatically alter the future, for sure. If nothing else, it would certainly prevent the purge.
And, as always, here’s the latest installment of Lost! Untangled:
Since this is already late, I'll just post the column on the blog.
I apologize for the extreme delay in posting this column. I had a conflicting engagement to attend to last Thursday, but I set my VCR (remember those?) to record Smallville. Well, I guess I never changed the clock from day light savings, so it recorded Supernatural instead. And the CW website only got around to posting the full episode, like, today (Monday). So here we are.
As it is, despite a fair amount happening this episode, there’s not a whole lot to say. Clark did reveal himself to be a unique sort of superhero, as he attempts to get his female boss drunk in order to get her to spill information. Then he deprives her of oxygen in order to keep his abilities a secret. Looks like Clark is becoming his future self after all.
Click the "Read More" link for the full column.
All kidding aside, I did enjoy the little winks (some not as subtle as others) in regards to Clark officially embracing a dual identity. This included a fun little scene in which Clark quickly changes from his suit and tie to his red/blue blur disguise, and then back again with some mixed results. The conclusion of the episode also saw him actually using a telephone booth (remember those?) to change outfits. Although the cliched question must be asked: What exactly did he do with that other set of clothes?
So Tess finally brought up the fact that she’s (a) running Lex’s company and (b) living in Lex’s mansion despite the fact that she seemingly hates the man. Actually, she comes across as just a bit hypocritical here. I mean, she’s all frowny face about Lex violating her personal space when she’s, let’s go over this again, (a) running Lex’s company and (b) living in Lex’s mansion. Why exactly can’t she rent an apartment? Or buy a house? Actually, considering the fact that she works at the Daily Planet and LuthorCorp – both of which are located in Metropolis – why is she living in Smallville at all? It’s more than a little creepy if you ask me.
I did love how Clark came THIS CLOSE to coming up with a plausible lie, though.
The argument at the conclusion of the episode with Chloe and Jimmy was almost uncomfortable to watch. On the one hand, Jimmy is right. On the other hand, they did a fairly nice job of having Chloe support Jimmy, particularly at the beginning when Davis accused the dosage machine of being faulty. However, was a stun gun really the only alternative to preventing Jimmy from hitting Davis with a pipe? She couldn’t try to, ya’ know, talk him out of it? And checking to make sure he was alive was nice and all, but Jimmy very well could have sustained non-fatal injuries. But why check that? Let’s first go and apologize to the monster man.
By the way, did anybody catch that guy in the suit in the background by the receptionist desk during the hospital argument? He just walked away the second the fight ended. He was totally just staying to see how the scene would play out. C’mon, we’ve all done that before (pretending to be doing something while we’re really just watching two complete strangers argue with each other).
I do have to ask this, though: Does anybody truly want to see drug addict Jimmy Olsen? The charm of his character is that he’s some sweet, wholesome kid. To such an extent that Clark appears to be mature and grounded. Why hinder him of that main character trait?
I came across this utterly hilarious YouTube video about the Smoke Monster (oh, I'm sorry, I mean Smokey D.) I think you'll learn a valuable lesson about how it's not easy being a smoke monster on an island full of hippies and assholes falling from the sky.
This is definitely worth viewing (and it is most certainly NOT work safe):
I think this great episode of Lost can best be described as “reminiscent.” So many of the lines have alluded to, directly quoted, paraphrased, or mirrored those that were uttered earlier in the series. First you had Sawyer’s “You didn’t tell them,” which mirrored his “You told her?” to Daniel from earlier this season. Even Sun joined in on the fun, with the Ben classic, “I lied,” just moments after hitting the former Other leader with an oar.
The episode was bookended by this method, as the final line was Sayid’s guarded, “it’s nice to meet you Ben.” This reminded me of when he said to Michael, who was under the alias of Kevin Johnson, “it’s nice to meet you Kevin.”
Click the "Read More" link for the full column.
Of course, other stuff happened this episode as well. You had to appreciate the continued ribbing and general competitive nature between Jack and Sawyer. You could tell it was a tough adjustment, right off the bat, for Jack to have to follow Sawyer’s lead. Jack jumped right into the position he was most familiar with – especially within that group – but he was simply out of his element. The highlight of the ribbing had to be when Sawyer told Jack that he handled their work assignments, only for Jack to discover that his records indicate that he’s suitable for janitorial work. Actually, this CAN be tied into my central idea: While their actions started off light hearted, almost tongue in cheek, it quickly became tense and hostile. It was very reminiscent of when Sawyer and Kate had their late night campfire game of “never have I ever” in the first season.
Also, how wonderful was Juliet’s knowing reaction when Amy revealed baby Ethan’s name (major props to my friend Eric, who correctly made that “out there” prediction).
We’ve come to expect it from him, but I love how casual and straight forward Ben can be when he makes certain statements. I particularly enjoyed his coy “how would I know?” in response to Frank asking where Jack and the others went, and his “do you want to come?” offer when he told Sun he was going back to the main island.
Speaking of Sun, she’s really developed a set, hasn’t she? I mean, she sees the Smoke Monster, yet STILL proceeds into the woods in the dead of night? And by the way, Christian is really expanding his social circle, isn’t he? This fun scene also gave us further speculation (key word) that Christian and the Smoke Monster are one in the same (Exhibit B: The smoke alarm going off in Jack’s hospital moments before Jack was visited by his dead father).
Final thought on Sun: Why was she the lone member of the Oceanic Six who didn’t flash to the island? Is it because she wasn’t a proper proxy? One could argue that Jack was himself (or Saywer), Hurley was Charlie, Kate was Claire, and Sayid was Kate. The only problem with that idea is that one could just as easily argue that Ben was Hurley (rushing to catch his flight), yet he didn’t get teleported. Nor did Locke as Christian.
And hey, here’s a thought on Frank: If you recall, Frank was initially supposed to be the pilot on the Oceanic Flight. One must wonder what would have happened differently had he been the pilot after all. Would he have been able to land, possibly saving people who could have proved helpful throughout their unbelievable island hijinx?
I have a specific assignment for everybody for us to revisit in my Revisited column next week: Lost has been, perhaps deliberately, very vague about the “rules” of time travel. As an example, was that photo of Jack, Hurley, and Kate with the 1977 Dharma recruits ALWAYS hanging in that room, or did the photo change sometime in 2008 after the Oceanic Six went back in time, possibly altering the future? This is an extremely important distinction. So far they’ve been able to avoid answering or clarifying this matter. We’ll never know if Rousseau remembers meeting Jin in the 80’s because she’s dead. We also never saw Widmore and Locke together before the time traveling fun, so we can’t safely determine if their meeting in the 1950’s was a “new” memory, or if it always existed. And from this point forward (presumably) every time we see Richard, it’ll be after they’ve time traveled, so there’s no reason why he shouldn’t remember seeing them in the past.
But nevertheless, this is a very important determination. On the one hand, it could mean that the future can be changed, which is a direct conflict to Daniel’s earlier proclamation. However, if Daniel is right and the future can’t be changed – and that, indeed, going back to the late 70’s and existing in that time period has ALWAYS been part of the natural timeline – this means that this entire time Ben has remembered meeting Sayid, Sawyer, Jin, Jack, Kate, and Hurley when he was a child. Yeah, we expect Ben to lie and withhold certain information….but this one would be a whopper.
So what do you think? Fair arguments can be made for either side. For one, Richard visited Locke when he was born, which he seemingly only did because future Locke told him to. Yet, on the other hand, craziness or not, Rousseau never gave any indication whatsoever that she’s ever met Jin.
Oh, and bonus question: Why didn’t Sun (in particular), Frank, and Ben get transported to the 70’s? E-mail me or comment on the blog.
Last week, in my initial Revisited column, I promised that I would offer a second helping if enough readers voted in my two blog polls and offered some thoughts/theories on the identity of the mystery baby. I was really pleased with the turnout, and I’m very appreciative to those who participated. Thank you! So, as promised, here’s the next installment of Lost: Revisited.
Let’s start with the polls, shall we? With Kate, Jack, and Sawyer all back on the island together – after three years of growth and experiences – I wondered which of Kate’s suitors the viewers WANTED her to end up with: Jack, Sawyer, or neither. I was hoping Jack would “win,” but figured it would be close. I was pretty shocked by the result, though. Of the nine people that voted, a whopping eight said they wanted Kate to end up with Jack. The lone exception didn’t want her to end up with either of them. I’m not only surprised by the blow out, but I had always assumed (for whatever reason) that the savvy Internet fans were rooting for Sawyer. I am happy, though, that after five years I’m not the only one still hoping for the original happy ending.
The second question asked viewers who they THOUGHT Kate would end up with (with the same options available). To be honest, I was even MORE surprised by this result, which was once again a blow out. Of the eight voters, six felt that Kate would end up with Jack, and two predicted she wouldn’t end up with either. Of course, it’s entirely possible (and perhaps likely) that people simply couldn’t separate what they want from what they think will happen, but even so, I’m a bit shocked that nobody thinks she’ll end up with Sawyer. I probably want her and Jack to live happily ever after more than anybody, and even I’m not certain that’ll be the end result. I found this poll particularly intriguing.
Along with that, long-time contributor Kyle offers his insight on this matter:
As far as Kate goes, I'm not sure who she'll end up with. From the beginning I always thought it had to be Jack, but then she pretty much did that. Even sleeping with him again, having seen them together off the island, it somehow feels like "been there, done that". That being said I actually liked the Sawyer/Juliet stuff. So I guess I'm reluctantly choosing Kate and Jack for who I want to end up together, more because I like Sawyer and Juliet than anything else. I guess after five seasons I'm kind of soured on the whole Kate love triangle thing. It worked before but right now I'm at a part of the show where I just don't care about that anymore after all this time, I want some more answers and maybe we can get back to the Kate thing after a little time away from it.
I think Kyle effectively sums up how a lot of the “neither” people feel. Earlier I dubbed Jack and Kate as the “original happy ending,” because, as Kyle indicated, the first couple of years it seemed like that HAD to be the relationship that ultimately happened. And while I did love seeing Jack and Kate together during the Oceanic Six years, even then I was worried that this was the writers attempting to appease the people rooting for this relationship. But, ultimately, I just feel like Jack and Kate have a stronger, more substantial bond. There’s an undeniable passion and lust between Kate and Sawyer, but in my eyes, Jack will always be the one she turns to. And honestly, I have trouble imagining Kate and Sawyer getting married and starting a family. Yet it just seemed “right” when it was happening with her and Jack.
Anyway, moving on from this matter. I also asked readers to provide some thoughts and theories on the baby’s identity. Let’s go back to Kyle for a moment, who had this to say:
I just don't know (but good call on Desmond, that's a great idea and I didn't even think of him). I do feel like it'll be someone special, but who, I just don't know. Maybe it is Jacob with the time traveling stuff worked in...we still don't know what the heck is going on with Richard, he clearly has something going on since he doesn't appear to have aged in 50 years, and to be fair the only thing we know about Jacob pre the "present day" (of the whole series that is) is that Richard seemed to recognize the name in the 1950s while he didn't recognize Locke (i.e., he wasn't Richard returned from the present day). Maybe time travel is the culprit there.
The whole time travel mechanism sure makes it difficult – but fun – trying to figure out who this baby is. I think it’s important to remember that Locke effectively created his own destiny due to his actions when he went back in time. Maybe if this baby is Jacob, something similar happened. Incidentally, the only two main cast members who know about Jacob are Locke and Ben, and it APPEARS that they’re in the present day. This makes it difficult for a Locke-esque event to occur, where present day characters feed information to a special person, who then goes back in time to ensure that his future self fulfills that prophecy. Did that make sense?
Also from my blog, Bob had this to say:
The baby on the island could be any one and the idea of Daniels Mother isn't out, it wouldn't be the first time in Lost someone has changed their name. After all if the child is someone important then when / where is Amy with child during the purge?
Before i start ranting, just a quicky... I thought Dr. Chang ran Dharma on the island?
Also to pick up on your point of it being 1977, is it? Remember the returning group crashed on the island in 2008 / 2009 the second time around, without a white time jump, and their new co-castaways, which all them seem to have forgotten would appear to be in another time as well. Maybe this is some sort of Dr. Manhattan thing (all time co-existing at the same point, dpeending on your perspective). The baby being Desmond would be interesting, but if as has been said before Widmore sent Desmond to the island to get him away from Penny, was this just coincedence? (although I don't think the true relationship between Widmore and Dharma has been revealed yet, I don't think he is simply an other who has been exiled, and also the time frame of being exiled to the real world by Ben, making a fortune and marrying having penny doesn't fit, especially with some of his comments to Locke about the time differences.)
Richard actually becomes more interesting when you think about some of theings said by him. He appears to be the leader of the Others yet says they select their leaders at an early age - so has he ever truly been their leader or simply a loyal acolyte of Jacob?
Anyway now I've ranted - the baby... not a clue to be honest, a twist on it being Daniel or Desmond would be too obvious,or rather too straight forward for this show. We've seen another new baby this series as well, Chang's baby, so it could be a case of who are these. SO far everyone at some point has something extra to draw them to the island.
Enough random thoughts...
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Amy and Ellie are not one in the same. Amy certainly doesn’t appear to be 20-somewhat years older than Ellie, and the two don’t appear to share any physical characteristics. And plus there’s the whole accent thing. So I don’t think the baby is Daniel. I will also note that I do believe that Jack, Kate, and Hurley are in 1977 along with Sawyer, Jin, and the rest of the Left Behinders. Not sure about Sun, Ben, Locke, and the rest, though.
I am interested in seeing how Dr. Chang and a young Ben fit into this current Dharma story-arc, though. Wouldn’t it be strange if Ben grew up with a young Jacob? Might this possibly explain why/how Ben is able to communicate with him, but nobody else is?
I’m not familiar with the specifics regarding the Dharma hierarchy, but I’m pretty sure that Horace is the head honcho. I have a feeling that Dr. Chang, if anything, simply leads a particular sector of the Initiative (similar to how Sawyer leads the Security force).
Also on the topic of the baby, our good friend Andy provides his insight:
I wanted to weigh in on who Amy's baby might be. I like the idea of Ethan, but all the evidence is making me lean toward Jacob, what with Horace being responsible for building Jacob's cabin and all. Maybe a young Jacob accidentally gets exposed to whatever force is underneath The Orchid. This could enable him to exist in all time periods, but only in his disembodied form.
Another thing to possibly consider. Juliet delivered Amy's baby via cesarean section. We just got introduced to a new character named Caesar. Coincidence?
This show very rarely works with coincidences, especially when it comes to names (I’m still trying to figure out what the meaning is behind having a Daniel, Dan, and Danielle on the show simultaneously), so that’s an excellent point about Caesar. It does seem odd that the show would suddenly introduce us to a new crop of characters, just as we’re starting to wind down and focus on the major issues revolving around the familiar characters. And they have seemingly gone out of their way to introduce us to Caesar in particular.
Nevertheless, if I were a betting man, I think I’d have to lean towards Jacob as well. I could just imagine a young Ben – and perhaps adult Ben – manipulating an infant Jacob to ensure that he never loses control of the island.
Anyway, I want to once again thank everybody who participated. Enjoy the new episode this week!
Does anybody remember the episode of The Simpsons where Homer becomes Bart’s peewee football coach, and to show that he’s a loving, supportive father, he puts his son in all the best positions and refuses to recognize that he can do any wrong? Well that’s basically how President Taylor is acting right now with her daughter. While watching the show, almost on a weekly basis, my dad turns to me and jokingly says, “That’s why we can’t have a woman President.” He’s kidding, of course, but can you possibly imagine David Palmer – hell, even WAYNE Palmer – agreeing to make an idiotic statement in a highly important national address so that he doesn’t hurt his child’s feelings? Yeah, didn’t think so.
Over at The Steel Cage, former (and increasingly bitter) WWE writer Seth Mates went on yet another anti WWE-tirade regarding the tragic and untimely death of past WWE performer Andrew "Test" Martin.
I really cannot stand these ridiculous arguments. First off, why is WWE responsible for Test's actions? The man worked for the company from 1998 to 2004, and then again from 2006 to 2007. That's seven years -- a relatively short career, all things considered.
On top of that, what more could WWE have done? He was suspended for failing a drug test during his 2006-2007 return, and was eventually released as a result of his drug use. More than a year after being fired from the company, WWE paid for him to go to rehab after they heard he was going through some personal issues. Following his successful completion of the program, WWE kept regular tabs on him. Let me remind you that this is all without him even working for the company.
Following Eddie Guerrero's death in 2004, Test went on numerous rants about how many Superstars are dropping dead due to drug use. So he's clearly well aware of the dangers of drug abuse. And on what grounds is WWE's Wellness Policy "bogus"? Because some guy who hasn't worked for the company in two years (who was -- and this apparently needs to be repeated -- FIRED FOR VIOLATING THIS VERY POLICY) died?
And how about the fact that several top name stars have been suspended because of this program? That includes Jeff Hardy, who was in the midst of a super push and was forced to miss WrestleMania as a result. There's also William Regal, who had just won the King of the Ring, and Mr. Kennedy, who was supposed to be announced as Mr. McMahon's illegitimate son. Hell, Rob Van Damm was the ECW AND WWE Champion, and he was suspended as well. Along with that, former World Champions Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, Edge, and Booker T had been suspended.
But the policy's bogus, right? And, as Seth Mates ignorantly (idiotically/bitterly?) states, the WWE "has blood on their hands"? Give me a break. Mates himself states that Test cared more about being famous than being great. This wasn't a case of WWE having a "big men" fetish. Test was vain, plain and simple. HE wanted to look great.
This is a legitimate tragedy, to be sure. This man left behind a family and friends that cared deeply for him. But he was fully aware of what he was doing to his body. Test is not a victim. He's just a tragic story.
There are a number of topics that have been brought up on some of the blogs I visit regularly, and I thought I would just hijack them altogether and make them a topic of discussion on my blog.
I mentioned in one of my posts yesterday my discovery years ago of the "WrestleMania Curse." Basically it goes like this: If a wrestler dies prematurely, there’s a strong likelihood that his opponent at a WrestleMania did as well. Of course, this is much less a curse than it is a sad testament to the unusually high mortality rate of pro wrestlers. But when I first noticed back around 1991, back before wrestlers began dying at the pace they began to a few years later, it was a bit eerie - to say the least.
This is one of the more ridiculous statements made regarding the perception that wrestling deaths are far more significant in numbers than any other form of sports or entertainment. This is perhaps not the most appropriate time for this rant, given the recent news that Test has passed away. But I'm raging on nonetheless!
If you glance at the original WrestleMania card, six competitors have passed away: Special Delivery Jones, who passed away at the ripe age of 63, Andre the Giant -- who, for all intents and purposes, likely outlived his predicted life expectancy at the still-young age of 46 -- Big John Studd, who died of liver cancer at 47, Junkyard Dog, who perished in a car accident. And then there's Classy Freddie Blassie and Fabulous Moolah, who survived to see 85 and 84, respectively.
Notice that none of those names has anything to do with drugs? And since I was counting people who appeared at ringside, that's six out of 30 competitors.
My biggest qualm with this "TOO MANY WRESTLERS ARE DYING YOUNG!" argument is that, when these stupid lists are released, they have absolutely no filter whatsoever. They tout names like Owen Hart, when he died in a freak accident that could have happened to any entertainment-related industry (just take a look at Brandon Lee).
They also include pretty much any individual who has ever donned a pair of trunks. Who cares if they only wrestled in the independents? Who cares if they wrestled exclusively in Japan or Mexico? Can you imagine if they did a list of actors that have died, and included everybody that has ever appeared in an off-off-Broadway show? I'm really yet to see a legitimate list that excludes suicides, freak accidents, and natural causes.
Moving on.... Over at Scott's Blog of Doom, posted on March 6th, 2009 (titled "WM Q's"):
Scott, With wrestlemania just around the corner I have a couple questions for you: 1. What was the best wrestlemania opening promo package/video? 2. Who had the best wrestlmania entrance? 3. Which wrestlemania stage/set was the best? 4. Which Ray Mysterio costume was the best?
To be honest, I was a little surprised Scott didn't offer more insight into this question, because I think it's a real interesting one.
For the best opening videos, I've always been partial to WrestleMania XX (featuring the "Where it all begins....again" theme) and WrestleMania X-Seven (with the Freddie Blassie narration).
Surprisingly, none of the older WrestleMania sets really spring to mind. I, of course, recall the togas from WrestleMania IX and the sliding "X" doors from WrestleMania X. But the most memorable, for whatever reason, is WrestleMania 21's "Hollywood" theme/set. So I'll go with that.
For best entrance, I think I'd either have to go with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII, or one of the Undertaker's many overly elaborate ensembles.
Regarding Rey Mysterio's costumes, his Flash one always sticks out for me, so I'm going to have to go with that one. I do hope he goes for a Watchmen motif this year, although a Joker-themed one would be pretty bad ass as well.
And, finally, also from Scott's Blog of Doom, posted on March 5th (titled "THE STATUE~!"):
This was of course Sawyer’s episode all the way and he knocked it out of the park, going back into grift mode but doing so for the power of good instead of evil. loved him using bits of the show, like the Black Rock, to construct his cover story,and loved that he knew exactly what Richard Alpert needed to hear. He’s truly turned into the leader that Jack never could be.
My contention is with the last sentence, claiming that Sawyer turned into the leader that Jack could never be. In my opinion, that's simply not true, and not an entirely fair comparison to begin with. Sawyer had the luxury of becoming a leader after several months of acclimation to his surroundings, with a group of people who he had grown to know and trust. Oh, not to mention that their biggest concern was the fact that they were time traveling....and he's got a TIME TRAVELING EXPERT right there by his side.
Jack, on the other hand, was thrust into a leadership role when people were most frightened and vulnerable. They had just survived a plane crash and people that they love and care for are possibly dead or missing. They have no idea if they're going to be rescued, they don't know what they're going to eat, and there's apparently some sort of monster living in the jungle. I honestly don't think this group of people would have survived if not for Jack. Thinking of a few good lies and nabbing them jobs with the Dharma Initiative does not automatically make you a great leader.
Let’s make a deal, shall we? Don’t let Lois miss another episode of Smallville and never, ever allow Lana to return. How about we never even MENTION Lana again? Don’t get me wrong. The way they concluded the Clark/Lana saga was atrocious. But since they clearly don’t know how to do it appropriately, I just don’t feel like they deserve another chance. I can (eventually) get over how they ended it, but at this point I just want us to move on and continue with the phenomenal Clark/Lois build up. Mmkay?
My Smallville column should be posted on PrimeTimePulse by tomorrow morning. I'll provide that link once it's available. And by the way, that "memories" title is pretty appropriate, given the events of that episode.
But no, I actually wanted to briefly discuss ANOTHER Thursday night staple: ER. For the first time in, what, over a decade, we had classic characters like Doug Ross, Carol Hathaway, Peter Benton, and Carter in one episode.
Last January, I criticized ER for falling into a lazy writer's trap. It seems like many writers are incapable of making happy characters interesting. As a result, you rarely ever see characters get a happy ending until they're written off of the show entirely. I find this to be a cop-out, and really unfair to the audience that becomes emotionally invested in the character's happiness. I mean, we were there for all the drama, depression, and miscellaneous crap, but we only get a fleeting glimpse of the happy moments?
What's even worse is when a character gets that less-than-ideal, but better than nothing happy ending before getting written off, and then makes a guest appearance where we discover the character's life went to the crapper (like with Jeanie last year). This episode was the antithesis of this. We learned that Peter and Cleo are still together. Reese is apparently a happy and well adjusted teenager. Peter has also grown significantly as a doctor and a man. Likewise, Carol seems to have achieved great success, as has Doug. And the two are still living happily ever after. Carter seems like the exception, except his misery is part of an ongoing story arc that remains true to his character. That's not lazy writing, in my opinion.
I also LOVED the coincidental connections, many of which went undiscovered by the characters. The hospital that Carter was sent to ended up being the one that Benton works at. The kidney that he received came from the facility where Carol and Ross work, and was delivered by Sam, who was there for an unrelated transplant.
And while I loved the way this went unnoticed by practically everybody involved (which is true to life), I'm glad that the one reunion they did give us was Peter and Carter. These two are so fantastic together. I just loved the brief, pained expression on Carter's face when Peter unknowingly asked him if he has any children. I also enjoyed how Carol walked into the room immediately after -- and therefore missing -- when Sam mentioned "County" to Nela.
As expected, there wasn’t much feedback from last week’s episode of Lost. That’s cool – it wasn’t really a theory-heavy episode. Of course, there is one thing on everybody’s mind: Which character will be revealed as the baby that was born on the island?
Over on my blog, Kyle has echoed this very sentiment:
I read an interview with the actress who played Amy responding to a question about whether the baby was "someone special" by saying that yes, the baby was someone special, but we don't find out who in the first episode.
Any thoughts on who it could be? My initial crazy theory was Jacob since we saw Horace with the cabin building plans, and Jacob has always struck me a little bit as someone or something that didn't quite grow up (the poltergiest stuff almost seemed like a temper tantrum). But someone pointed out that Alpert reacted to Jacob's name when dropped by Locke back in the 50s, so that's probably out.
Click the "Read More" link for the full column.
Jacob seems like a distinct possibility. While the math doesn’t add up, the whole time traveling aspect could clear that up. Consider two particularly interesting points: As alluded to by Kyle, Horace was the person who built Jacob’s cabin. Secondly, as far as we know, this baby is the only person to be conceived and born on the island. Sawyer theorizes that perhaps the incident that kills impregnated women hasn’t occurred yet, but that’s pure speculation. After all, there must be some reason why they perform the births on the mainland. So, this distinction alone certainly makes the child “special.”
Two other interesting possibilities: One is Ethan. Perhaps no other “Other” has so consistently appeared in character flashbacks. What’s his story? But if that’s the case, how does he become an Other? And why would Ben spare his life?
Second prospect is Desmond. As far as I can remember, we don’t really know anything about his parents. Along with that, Daniel has made it clear that Desmond is unique and that the rules don’t apply to him. And he seems strangely drawn to the island more than virtually any other character.
We have another week before there’s a new episode of Lost, so I have two homework assignments for you. Provided that enough people participate, I’ll do an ADDITIONAL Revisited column next week before the new episode. If not, well, I guess I’ll just report the results in the regular Lost column.
The first assignment: Who do you think the baby is? I’m not really looking for responses like “I THINK IT’S JACK HOW KEWLZ WOULD THAT BE?!?!!?” No, I want some thought out ideas. This baby just HAS to be somebody special. And they went to such lengths to avoid revealing his name. What we do know: It’s a boy and he was born in 1977. Like I mentioned before, the whole time traveling thing could offer us some leeway in the age department. We can safely assume he was conceived on the island, and we know he had a successful birth.
Other considerations: We’ve seen Ben’s birth and we’ve seen Locke’s birth, so it’s not either of them. They’ve also made it a point of revealing Daniel’s mother, and it’s not Amy, so it isn’t him either.
Sound off people. E-mail me or comment on the blog.
Speaking of the blog, I will also be posting TWO polls. Another talked about topic of discussion was the whole Sawyer/Juliet/Jack/Kate thing. Since the beginning of the series, everybody has been debating: Who will Kate end up with? When she returned to the island, she was giving Sawyer the gooey eyes. Yet she had just slept with Jack the night earlier. And for that matter, pretty much every time Kate and Sawyer had an island romp, it was immediately after she got jealous because Jack was paying attention to somebody else (honestly: Twisted woman).
One poll will ask: Who do you THINK Kate will end up with? From a story telling standpoint, who do you think the writers will ultimately decide upon. It doesn’t matter which relationship you like more, or which character is your favorite. I am merely wondering who you think she’ll end up with, if you were a betting person.
The next poll, as you can probably predict, asks who you WANT Kate to end up with. In a perfect world, who would you have her live happily ever after with. Which relationship do you think is stronger? Which do you prefer?
Visit my blog to vote. And please, only vote once (we want an honest perspective).
Like I said, if enough people send me their thoughts on the mystery baby and vote in the polls, I’ll write another Revisited column before the next new episode. So get to it people!
And, of course, enjoy the latest installment of Lost! Untangled:
WWE Raw: Another stellar edition of Raw, with the true highlight being the absolutely incredible opening promo with Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. This may not be particularly surprising, but this match is the absolute attraction of this year's event. I really am looking more forward to this match than any other. And that includes both World title matches.
I loved everything about the promo. I thought it was great how Shawn Michaels knew that Undertaker was standing behind him, and remained steadfast and confident despite 'Taker's attempts at intimidation. I also like how they're not attempting to make Undertaker the underdog, despite the fact that his streak is on the line. Unlike years past, they're openly admitting that Undertaker has the advantage here, and the burden is on Shawn Michaels. Best of all, they've managed to allow both men to remain faces and respect each other, without hindering the intensity of their feud. An absolute homerun. Watch it below:
Speaking of the World title match, does anybody else find it odd that John Cena -- the company's top star -- is being placed in such a throwaway match? Yes, it's for the World Championship, but it's taking a HUGE backseat to Triple H/Randy Orton. And with the Big Show now involved, the match just seems significantly less special.
And how's this for making your titles look prestigious? One title match is centered on the challenger attacking the champion's wife, while the other match is focused on the wife of the champion cheating on him with one of the challengers.
Come to think of it, that's actually quite fitting considering that 20 years ago, the WrestleMania main event was also about the champion and challenger fighting over a woman.
And, of course, there's the Koko B. Ware thing. I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and say that this is a pretty ridiculous Hall of Fame induction. Koko was a glorified jobber. I actually can't think of a single one-on-one match that he's won against an actual name wrestler. Making matters worse is that the guy inducting him -- the Honky Tonk Man -- is completely deserving of a Hall of Fame spot. What's going on here?
I really don't get to go to the movies as often as I'd like to, but with a new season approaching and summer just a few months away, there are a whole lot films on the way that caught my eye. Here are the top ten movies that I'm looking most forward to.
Click the "Read More" link for the list.
10. Land of the Lost (6/5/09)
I'm not dying to see this movie, and it'll probably be a "wait for it on DVD" situation. But I needed ten movies, and this was the only other film I could think of. Will Farrell does look pretty funny in it, though. Can't be any worse than Bewitched.
View the trailer:
9. Terminator Salvation (5/21/09)
To be honest, I was never a huge Terminator guy. And since I have never seen the series -- although I hear it is very good -- the only character I really felt any sense of attachment to was Arnold's. And he's not in the film. That being said, it does look really cool, and I do enjoy Christian Bale's work. I think it'll be very enjoyable, but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to see it.
As a side note, I heard the Director of Photography on the film was just fantastic. A real pro.
View the trailer:
8. The Last House on the Left (6/13/09)
I'm a horror movie/thriller buff, so this is the type of movie that might catch my interest. But the thing that intrigues me the most is the apparent role reversal. For those who are unfamiliar, basically this group of criminals leave this teenaged girl for dead, and coincidentally end up finding refuge at her family's home. However, it turns out that the girl survived, and she alerts her family that the people staying with them are the ones who did this to her. From there, the family begins to systematically terrorize and eliminate this group of murderers. Sounds like a fun movie that doesn't strictly adhere to the typical storytelling formula of victimizing the innocent family.
View the trailer:
7. Bruno (7/10/09)
I never really watched this particular character, but I found Borat utterly hilarious. That's enough of a reason for me to look forward to this flick.
6. I Love You, Man (6/20/09)
With all due respect to Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill, I actually consider Paul Rudd and Jason Segel the most hilarious of the Apatow crew. Although this movie seems to be experiencing that odd "changing the story in TV ads" syndrome. The previews used to indicate that the movie was about Paul Rudd's character not having any close male friends, and unable to find a suitable best man as a result. He then goes on a crusade to meet that one true friend, and comes across Jason Segel's character. The two go through a courting process leading up to Rudd popping the big question. Now -- out of no where -- the ads suggest that the movie is about Rudd asking Segel to be his best man, and his soon-to-be-wife disapproving of his decision (after a series of hilarious comedy of errors). Personally, I find the first plot funnier (and, as such, that's the trailer you're getting).
View the trailer:
5. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (6/24/09)
I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed with the first Transformers film. I saw the movie to watch kick ass robots, not Shia LaBeouf. And I would think most of the target audience would agree. And I think this did a disservice to the movie, as the climatic battle was between the robots, and the "lives" that were lost belonged to the robots as well (the "Fallen" that the title alludes to, I presume). Anyway, overall I felt myself not feeling any sense of emotional investment or attachment to any of the robots. While the visual effects were still awesome, the emotional aspect was lacking. And I think the climax of the film really suffered as a result. I do hope that the sequel focuses more on the actual robots.
View the trailer:
4. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (5/1/09)
While X-3 killed a bit of my excitement over the X-Men franchise (although I thought the other two films were phenomenal), the previews for this Origins tale looks pretty bad ass. It's a bit disheartening that they've completely reinvented their version of the Sabretooth character with a new actor altogether, but I suppose that's a necessary evil for the story they want to tell. And hey, we get to see GAMBIT! Finally!
View the trailer:
3. Star Trek (5/8/09)
I've always been a Trek fan (don't try to rope me into a "trekkie" vs. "trekker" argument here), so I probably would have seen it no matter what. The fact that one of the minds behind Lost is icing on the cake. The very impressive and almost eerily-appropriate cast leads me to believe that this movie isn't purely hype, either. With the huge CGI strides that have been made since the last original Star Trek flick, I'm very curious to see what sort of technological advancements we'll be seeing. I also appreciate that while they've made subtle, welcome improvements to the original uniforms, they've managed to stay loyal to the basic design. And I hope that's the model the movie, as a whole, follows: Staying true to the original, just with a lot of improvements that are now avaiable through the magic of time.
View the trailer:
2. Watchmen (3/6/09)
Yeah, yeah, I know it's already out, but I haven't seen it yet, and it's one of the only two genuine "must see" movies on this list. I have absolutely no familiarity whatsoever with the Watchmen graphic novel, but amazing visual effects and intriguing premise caught my eye. And I absolutely love the line: "The world will look up and shout, 'save us!' and I'll whisper, 'no.'" Such beautiful contempt.
As a side note, I absolutely hate the phrase "visionary director." Isn't that a bit redundant? I mean, doesn't one need to have a vision in order to be a director? That's like calling somebody a "wordy writer."
View the trailer:
1. GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra (8/7/09)
I mean, c'mon, was there any doubt here? Following stellar adaptations like Spider-Man, X-Men, the Dark Knight, and most recently Watchmen, popular comic books and cartoons are now treated with a great deal of respect and sincerity when it comes to making them into movies. So I've got pretty high hopes. It helps that the trailer kicks ass, as well. Not to mention that the Baroness looks pretty damn hot.
I am admittedly skeptical about two things, though: A silver maskless Destro, and the kid from 30 Rock from the Sun playing Cobra Commander (really?) I understand that this movie is supposed to explain the formation of Cobra and the GI Joes, but I think it's fair to say that most people who go to this movie want to see the characters they've grown up watching, in the form that they're familiar with.
So for the second year in a row, I decided to attend the St. Patrick's Day celebration (10 days early) in Hoboken. And, thankfully, this year I avoided any drunken verbal altercations. I'm not sure the same can be said about the others in my group.
I will say this, though: There are a whole lot of drunk jackasses that deserve a nice ass whoppin'. Typically drunk people are only annoying when you're sober. So when you're a drunk person annoying other drunk people, you must be something special. I took the train home, and while waiting in the train station, there was one idiot who kept yelling "WHOO!" at the top of his lungs. Yeah, that was fun. Then once we boarded the train, there was one d-bag who was calling everybody and everything a "bitch." What a class act.
Stumbling around and knocking stuff over is one thing. But when alcohol turns you into a complete asshole, maybe you should lay off the booze.
In my latest Lost: Revisited column (thanks to Josh for posting on my behalf), I excused the apparent “botched” timeline between Locke’s departure from the island and his death by suggesting that several weeks may have passed between his suicide and his interaction with Jack at the hospital. After rewatching the conclusion of last week’s episode, I’m a little reluctant to make that excuse, since all of the cuts and scratches from the car accident still looked pretty fresh. I’m pretty certain that those wounds would have healed, at least somewhat, in a month’s time.
Enough about last week. Onto this week.
Click the "Read More" link for the full column.
The flirtatious interaction between Sawyer and Juliet over the first twenty minutes of the episode is the perfect illustration for why this relationship should continue to flourish instead of resorting back to the tired Jack/Kate/Sawyer love triangle. Why not allow this budding romance to develop, while allowing Jack and Kate to resolve their issues so that they can end up together? I’m an admitted rooter of Jack and Kate (obvious much?) but I truly feel that these two need to end up together. I don’t deny that Kate feels a certain amount of sexual passion with Sawyer, but I feel like that’s lust. I have trouble imagining her saying to Sawyer, “I love you.” I can completely envision her saying that to Jack. And when Jack proposed to her and she said “yes,” it seemed right. To me, that scene would seem unnatural if it were shared with Sawyer.
And actually, during much of that period, they reminded me of a hardened version of early Jack and Kate. You had the reluctant leader forced into making difficult decisions, and the woman by his side who promised to always have his back. It’s just that these two were more….bad ass-y. Their “give me two weeks” talk was phenomenal, as well.
So, by episode’s end, we did learn that these two kids do indeed end up together. In fact, Sawyer even confesses that he barely remembers what Kate looks like, and that he’s “absolutely” over her. Yet at the conclusion of the episode, when Jin reported that the Jack, Kate, and Hurley had returned, Sawyer kept mum. And he was staring directly at Kate as the episode closed.
Honestly, I do hope that they continue with Sawyer and Juliet, because I think they have tremendous chemistry. Along with that, heroic-island Jack is the Jack that Kate originally fell in love with. I think the show owes it to the viewers to have them shack up together in that surrounding.
Anyway, there were some other interesting tidbits within this episode.
I absolutely loved how Sawyer used all he had learned about the island to construct this brilliant lie about how they arrived in the first place. I especially love that he brought up the Black Rock. Awesome. His interaction with Richard was great as well. Interesting that Dharma refers to the Others as “hostiles,” yet they have a truce with each other. And I have to wonder: When does Alpert go from a well groomed guy wearing a button down shirt to shaggy haired with tattered, dirty clothes?
We also learned that whatever happened that causes pregnant women to die hasn’t transpired yet. Great news for Kate if she is indeed preggers.
Anyway, I’m sure that if there’s one thing people will dislike bout this episode, it’s the possibility that they’ve made Sawyer too “soft.” I personally don’t mind a little character development, so I’m willing to see where this goes. Along with that, I’m not convinced we saw enough to make a solid judgment.
Oh, and who didn’t get wide-eyed when they saw the fully erected statue at the beginning of the episode. I suspect it’s possible that the final “flash,” which felt like an earthquake, may have been responsible for the statue crumbling in the first place. I have to admit, though, when Miles indicated that they had arrived someplace “a long time ago,” I got a little nervous that we’d see a dinosaur or something.
Anyway, this episode was more about letting us know what happened with the Left Behinders over the past three years, so I don’t have any “topics of conversation” questions prepared like I have for the past couple of weeks. But I do encourage everybody to send me their thoughts and theories. I’ve been very fortunate to receive a lot of feedback for the past few episodes, which have made my Revisited columns a lot easier and more interesting. So, keep ‘em coming!
A few people pointed out a huge thing I had missed (nobody’s perfect), which is that Flight 316 didn’t land on THE island, it landed on the smaller island that houses the Hydra station. Here are some comments regarding that:
We didn't see a plane because they were on the main "We crashed flight 815 over this island" island. The island that Caesar, Locke, Ilana, Ben, Lapidus (maybe Sun?) were on was Hydra Island, which we know because Caesar was rummaging through the Hydra station from Season 3. They must have taken those canoes from Hydra Island over to the "main" island at some point, and that's when they encountered future-traveling Sawyer, Locke, Juliet, etc.
And, courtesy of Andy…
I'm going to write a more thorough e-mail a little later, but I wanted to at least mention one thing first. Flight 316 didn't crash on the Island... it crashed on Hydra Island. Specifically, it landed on the airstrip that Kate and Sawyer were working on back at the beginning of season 3. Cesar was rooting around in Ben's office in the Hydra station (shown in a season 3 deleted scene) when he found those maps. Lapidus and (presumably) Sun took one of the canoes — the same kind used by Kate and Sawyer when they left Hydra Island, and the same kind that the Losties found on the beach shortly before they were ambushed by the people shooting at them. So yes, I believe the people shooting at them were the 316ers, especially b/c an Ajira Airlines water bottle was found in one of the canoes by Sawyer. That said, it looks like the 316ers (with the exception of those who "flashed" out of the plane) aren't traveling through time, and are in fact in the present. When the Losties came upon those canoes and got attacked, they had flashed ahead to their future, which is actually the present. I think I just made my brain bleed
I am a bit ashamed for having missed something so “obvious” (relatively speaking), but sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees. I often find myself so occupied with identifying the “Easter eggs” that I miss the softballs they lob at us.
Click the "Read More" link for the full column.
I think Andy is right on with his assessment of the Flight 316ers, though. For Sawyer and them, their “present” is 2005, I believe. For Jack, the Oceanic Six, and the 316 survivors, the “present” is 2008. So when Sawyer, Juliet, and the freighter folk were getting shot at, they probably “flashed” to 2008, which is ahead of their time, but actually the “real” present-day.
Wow, that really does make your brain bleed.
Another interesting tidbit: Some people may have noticed that there was a runway near the plane. If you recall, while Sawyer and Kate were being held captive by the Others, they were forced to do some grueling manual labor. Juliet would later reveal to Sawyer that they were working on a runway. This seems to suggest that Ben somehow knew that a plane would be landing there. How did he know?
Over at my blog, Kyle writes:
#1, I totally agree on the Bentham thing, I was thinking the exact same thing.
I believe this refers to the fact that Locke rarely referred to himself as Bentham, and actually never even told the Oceanic Six to refer to him as such. However, I think it’s worth noting that, at Locke’s memorial service, Jack indicates that Locke visited him a month before his death (I had forgotten this). That seems to suggest that a lengthy amount of time passed between the events of the episode and what happened during the climax, when Ben killed Locke. This show has never felt the need to hold the viewers’ hands when it comes to clarifying a timeline, but I have to admit that this seemed like some messy editing work. Consider that Ben implies that Jack just bought his first ticket to Australia, yet when Jack sees Kate at the airport (just days after Locke’s death), he tells her he’s been traveling every weekend.
In a lot of ways, I felt like this was the antithesis of “Meet Kevin Johnson.” That episode seemed like it had an unrealistic amount of story to tell in a short timeline (didn’t Michael recover from a severe car accident in, like, a month?), while this episode had trouble filling the gaps of a longer timeline.
#2, not sure if that confirms they were the ones doing the shooting, but it does seem likely to me that Sawyer and crew time jumped to a spot after this crash. Although, like you said, there didn't seem to be a plane...but the boats were there anyway.
#3, I'd have to guess the "woman" is Sun. Sayid's location is a big question mark too though.
#4, I kind of assumed that the plane crash people were in the present day, and that's why the plane and everything is there. Jack, Hurley, and Kate (at least) seemingly got picked up by one of the time flashes to the point where they disappeared right off the plane before it even crashed. So I figured the rest of them just crashed on the present day island. But then again I really don't know how the whole thing works yet, so maybe they can't actually crash on the present day island because the island itself is jumping through time too? But then the Others should be as well...well, that's time travel for ya.
I touched upon the whole Flight 316 crew above, but it is interesting that the Others are nowhere to be seen. We know they haven’t vanished, since Alpert has appeared numerous times. Very odd.
#5, I was also thinking it was interesting that Locke wasn't paralyzed. That means the island actually healed his back as opposed to just temporarily allowing him to walk.
This is certainly an interesting distinction.
#6, I'm fairly certain that Eloise Hawking is Ellie, the Other that Daniel and crew met. Remember that Daniel told her they were from the future...I'd bet that gave her an interest in it, which she passed on to her son.
I don’t think there’s any chance that Eloise Hawking ISN’T Ellie. It is interesting, though, that Christian (as a conduit for Jacob) dropped her name. Yet he seems to have disdain for Ben, and his order to move the island was seemingly a method to get away from the freighter folks, who were on Widmore’s payroll. How did she manage to leave the island unscathed?
#7, finally, I don't get the Oceanic Six having to return either. Like you said, the wheel was causing the flashes. I can see Ben lying about that so he can get back to the island by recreating the original circumstances as best as possible, but Christian says they needed to come back too. And why not Walt? I can somewhat accept Aaron since he wasn't born when the plane crashed, but the Six (or, I suppose, Five plus Ben and Undead Locke) weren't enough to recreate all the circumstances anyway. Say Sayid never showed up...would it have made a huge difference? They didn't have proxies for everyone anyway. And hell, why did they need Locke's corpse anyway? I can accept the idea that Ben only begged Locke to not kill himself because he needed to pump him for information (about Widmore and Eloise perhaps, Ben killed him as soon as Locke named Eloise) before he died, but even if Ben is the "good guy" (or, as you put it, lesser of two evils), I'm having a hard time believing he actually wants Locke to go back and lead the Others. So why not get a different corpse? Or did it have to be Locke specifically that acted as the proxy, and if so, why?
For the moment, I’m going to keep my hands clean from the whole “proxy” thing. What I do find interesting is that we KNOW that Jack, Kate, and Hurley “flashed” to the past, yet it’s been confirmed or suggested that Locke, Sayid, Sun, Frank, and Ben did not. Why? What makes the three of them so special?
I don’t know, but there is one thing about them that I find interesting. Of the Oceanic Six, as far as we know, they’re the only three that have seen ghosts/apparitions. Jack was visited by his father, Kate saw Claire, and Hurley has communicated with Charlie, Ana Lucia, and a host of other dearly departed friends. To the best of our knowledge, Sayid and Sun haven’t experienced such visions. Again, that doesn’t answer why they’re special, but it does possibly tell us what sets them apart.
Kyle then adds…
It was Charles Widmore who arranged for Locke to crash on the island.
Which implies a lot of things. First he must have known where the island was at that time to arrange for Locke to be on the flight. He must have had a good idea it would crash (because of our time traveling heroes perhaps? Even if he remembered Locke talking to Richard, that really shouldnt have meant much to him until now, when Locke reappeared in the present day). He must have some idea that Locke is needed for something.
Does this also lend itself to the idea that Charles might be the "lesser of two evils" over Ben? Both are claiming they want Locke to lead the Others, but Charles actually arranged for Locke to end up on the island, and gave him the files for the Oceanic Six, while Ben has screwed Locke over time after time after time. On the other hand, Ben did bring Locke's body onto the plane with him. And the fact is he could have had Locke move the island in the first place...unless he knew events would unfold the way they have and knew that the wheel would be knocked off its axis, moving the island himself doesnt seem to fit in with the idea of Ben simply trying to get rid of Locke so he can go back to running things.
One thing I can't remember though...did Widmore order anything as it pertained to any survivors of 815? I know he sent the freighter people essentially to get rid of Ben, but I can't remember if he wanted Keemy to get rid of any survivors or if he just went crazy on his own. Widmore's actions there might go a long way toward figuring out his overall motivations, because I'm having a hard time remembering Widmore actually doing anything bad besides being a crappy father and threatening Ben. I mean, it seems like most of the bad we've heard about concerning him came from Ben, who is about the least trustworthy person ever.
It is interesting that Widmore claims to not know where the island is, yet played such a large part (through Abaddon) to have Locke on the flight that crashed onto it. Does Widmore know more than he’s letting on? Or is Abaddon privy to information that his boss isn’t?
An interesting point is made regarding how Widmore’s encounter with Locke when he was 17 shouldn’t have been significant. In a lot of ways, this is true. It reminds me of how people are constantly saying, “Shouldn’t Locke remember meeting Alpert when he was little?” Why should he? I certainly don’t remember one-time interactions with people when I was a virtual infant. So, why does this memory register so deeply with Widmore?
I also like the argument about how Widmore – arguably twice – played a role in bringing Locke to the island. Yet Ben has attempted to kill Locke countless times.
My recollection of Widmore’s orders regarding the island was essentially to “burn it down” by killing everybody there.
Another interesting tidbit to consider: In the “real world” Widmore is exceptionally wealthy and powerful. And when Ben spied Locke in New York City, he was decked out in a nice suit. I find it intriguing that these two former Other leaders can integrate themselves into a normal society and go on to live such luxurious lifestyles. How did they achieve their riches?
Now, onto some other matters.
This comes from regular contributor Dan:
Jack would have known what Locke was going by because of his hospital chart. As far as why they need to return to the island, it could have something to do with either winning the war and protecting the island or rescuing everyone who was left behind. Locke had to be the one to turn the wheel, and getting everyone to come with him was the only way to get back. Did Richard say it had anything to do with stopping the time jumps?
The hospital chart would explain how Jack would know that Locke is going by Jeremy Bentham, but I still have issue with this. First off, why wouldn’t Jack ask Locke why he’s going by that name? Secondly, unless Jack was the one working on Locke (in which case, I think it would have been a lot more fun for us to see Jack’s reaction to Locke being brought into the emergency room from the ambulance), how would he know that Locke was even in the hospital in the first place?
I have come to realize that the reasons why the Oceanic Six must return haven’t been revealed to us yet. It just never seemed clear to me why Locke felt they needed to be brought back.
Here are a few comments that appeared on the EW website that I found particularly interesting: I couldn't help but notice the Ben/Widmore parallels last night. Both had been leaders of the Others. Both turned the wheel and left the island. Both had people shadowing the O6 to "keep them safe". Both wanted the O6 back on the island. Both claim to have a great interest in the future of the island. Both seem to be very wealthy. Both have/had a daughter. Maybe that's what Ben meant when he said Widmore changed the rules. He took away one of their similarities, so Ben has to even things up.
There is a fun little arms race between these two characters, with one constantly one-upping the other as they attempt to get vengeance on what the other had taken. When you consider Ben’s comment that Widmore “changed the rules” and the fact that he had the foresight to create a runway makes me wonder how much he knows about the future.
Regarding Helen’s death:
The death date was April 8 or 4-8 as in two of the Numbers.
It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about the Numbers, huh? I’m not sure if it’s significant in any way, but the most interesting thing I found about that scene was how Locke seemed to believe, in his subtle manner, that if he had stayed – or if he had returned earlier – he could have saved her. An interesting hypothesis considering that she died of a brain aneurism (and not something “preventable” like murder or a car crash).
Things I think: I think The war is the Ben War where he kills everyone. They went back in time during Darma. I think Widmore needs locke there to change things. I also think Ben is not to go back but found out about Eloise Hawkings from Locke in the the 3 years worked his way into her confidence The line that the future can not be changed is wrong. They are using Locke and the 6 to minipulate history.
I think this is an interesting take on the whole “who’s the lesser of two evils?” debate. It’s certainly very interesting that the Oceanic Survivors have essentially stationed themselves during a period where the seeds are set for a young Ben to take control of the island. Perhaps the “war” is referring to Ben’s purge, and Widmore is attempting to manipulate events to prevent that from happening.
Many are making assumptions here that I don't see evidence for. If you find some, please let me know. A. We are assuming Ben knew (when he killed Locke) that he would need to bring his body back to the island. B. We are assuming Ben knows that bringing dead Locke back to the island means Locke will be alive again. C. We are assuming Ben knew that Locke had to die.
This is an excellent, excellent, EXCELLENT point. I was one of the many people who said “why would Ben bring back Locke when he knows he’ll be resurrected?” Well, how do we know he knows that Locke will be resurrected? Is there any indication that he’s even aware that Christian is a ghost on the island and acting as Jacob’s voice? I don’t believe there is, and as such, there’s no reason to believe that he could predict that the same thing would happen to Locke.
Further, I also think it’s worth noting that Ben likely had no reason to believe he’d need Locke’s dead body when he killed him in the first place.
By the way, I can't help but laugh about how every time we're introduced to a new adult, male, black character, everybody jumps up and claims that it's Walt all grown up. It's happening with Abaddon, and it happened when we first met Eko.
Enjoy the new episode tonight.
Also, enjoy the latest installment of Lost! Untangled:
Matt Basilo is a television correspondent who has been writing for InsidePulse.com since April 2005. He's also a ghost writer for a major consultant firm, with articles published in several reputable financial magazines. Matt currently resides in New Jersey.
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