"What's It To You?" 5x03: Jughead

Hey Losties,

This episode was the bomb! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) But I did thoroughly enjoy this one. I was worried about, and kind of expecting, a little let-down after last week's episodes, but luckily my fears were unfounded. More time travel (yes!!!); a cute, er, intriguing new character (and one old one...well, he's old now, but we saw him as a young man tonight, which you could also think of as now, but...is my nose bleeding yet?); secret military island presence (you knew that was inevitable), complete with a corroding H-bomb; an abandoned time-jumper; and we see Charlie, but a Charlie you didn't meet until tonight!

I'm really trying to keep this one down to a sane level of recapping for me, and reading for you, so we'll see how I do. And as you may or may not know, I like to recap on my own first, without looking online for any details, so I hope I do well with the facts, too. (Of course, I'll update you in the coming days with anything I missed or got wrong.)
Let's get to it!

Episode 5x03: Jughead

The episode begins with Desmond running through what looks like a South Pacific island marketplace, based on the wares and the people there. We see a large sign that says something like Mabuhay,


which I thought might be the name of this location. He's shouting for someone named Ephraim Salonga (at least that's what I made of it). He's a doctor, and Des brings him to his and Penny's boat. It turns out that Penny is in labor! With Dr. Salonga's help, Penmond (or is it Denny?) have a brand new baby boy to rock to sleep on the boat.


Next, we seem to flash forward a few years to a time when their son is a toddler. Des is telling him about the island that he once was on...Great Britain, and of course Scotland. (He totally Scooby-Doo'ed me, I admit it!) Penny adds that he forgot to tell their son about how his grandfather tried to kill all of daddy's friends on a different island. Des assures her that this trip to Oxford U. will be in and out. He's going because of what Faraday told him about everyone being in danger, and he has to do this. Nothing cowardly about that.

We then are shown the Remainders tromping through the jungle. Charlotte is still having headaches, and now dizziness and double-vision. (Really, aren't they all kind of having double-vision lately if you think about it...?) They come to the creek, where they agreed to meet Sawyer and the others, but Miles notices a tripwire and explosive charges hidden on the ground.


He tries to warn two "redshirts" (those random background people that never speak), but it's too late -


they get Arzt'ed. Suddenly, as the Remainders that do speak are staying low for dear life, a group of men emerge with bows and arrows, and a woman joins them with a rifle.


They accuse the Remainders of planting the explosives. She asks who their leader is, and Miles totally and immediately sells out Faraday. She aims the barrel of the gun at him and says, "You just couldn't stay away, could you?"

• Who knew Desmond and Penny would have a baby? Not me - I'm spoiler-free. It's also awesome that they named him Charlie (I could hear the awwwww's in the air from my house), but more on that later. I was trying to figure out the timing of it all. They must have done a lot of "reuniting" once Penny found Des and the O6, and had him pretty close to nine months after that. Three years later, he looks to be about three years old. I could be wrong - I'm used to 10 year-olds, not toddlers.
• New Girl, who we learn later is named Ellie, made it sound like she knew who Faraday was with that line at the end of the scene, but it turns out she doesn't. (Well...more on that later.) Instead, she thinks he's with the Army. Unless I'm missing something very big and obvious, I thought that was an odd place to have us think something that they would just deny in the next scene, you know? Yeah, maybe they tricked us (well, me at least), but was the mind game worth it for only five minutes? I'm probably making too big a deal of it. Moving on, then...
  

Despenny's boat is docked in the Thames.


Penny is concerned about Des going to Oxford, but he again assures her that he'll be back by dark, and then they'll be done with all of it. He promises her. Penny then makes him promise that he'll never go back to the island, and he says, "Why in God's name would I want to go back there?" So I'm taking bets now - will they get back to the island this season, or Season 6?

Ellie is taking Faraday, Miles, and Charlotte to her camp. She asking them where the rest of their people are. She says there were 20 of them. (There was probably more to this scene, but that's all I have written in my Pearl Station composition book.)

Locke, Sawyer, and Juliet have the two survivors of Locke's rock and knife attack from last week with their hands behind their heads.


Sawyer says he would love the two men with them, but since they have no rope to tie them up with, he'll have to kill them. Then one of the men says something to the other in a mysterious language. Juliet, though, speaks it, too - it's Latin. She tells the group that one asked the other, "Why aren't they wearing their uniforms?" Sawyer asks why they're speaking Latin, and she says, "They're Others."

Back to Miles, Faraday, and Charlotte. We see Miles doing those creepy jerky head movements he does when he's picking up signals from the dead - he tells Faraday that they just walked over four U.S. soldiers who have been dead under a month, and one of them died of radiation poisoning. In true Faraday character, Daniel asks, "Did any of them mention what year it is?"
They come to the Others camp.


Richard walks out from a tent and says, "I assume you've come back for your bomb."

• It's only now, as I type this recap, that I think I understand who's who. (I never said I was the brightest crayon in the Crayola box...) If the following is painfully obvious to you, then just skip this bullet point. My thinking is that Richard and Co. are the Others (duh). Some of them are wearing Army-issue jumpsuits because they "borrowed" them from the Army soldiers that Richard said he had no choice in killing. For example, the soldier who turns out to be Charles Widmore (can't wait to get to that part!) is wearing one, even though he isn't Army. Richard thinks that our Remainders are U.S. Army, and they're back for the H-bomb that was left hanging around by the real U.S. Army. Got it?
• The Others speak a dead ancient language. Would you expect anything less? Still waiting to see the Temple and the four-toed statue...
• I really like that the writers had the Army on the island. I love hearing about secret military experiments (like the much-denied Philadelphia Experiment, for one, which was supposedly meant to test a cloaking device involving electro-magnetism I believe, but instead they teleported the ship in the experiment with disastrous results), so it's fun to think that the island was one of those experiments.

Desmond arrives at Oxford in some badass sunglasses, and when he asks a woman at an information desk where he can find someone by the name of Faraday, she says there are no Faradays on record.


He leaves but walks around the building a bit, and comes across a physics building.


There is a door with a fumigation seal over it,


but he forces his way in and finds a room full of equipment covered in sheets.


He uncovers a chalk board, papers on the floor, a framed picture of Daniel and a blonde woman,


his purple light machine,


and Eloise's (the rat, not the woman) maze. Suddenly, a man has entered behind him and says that Desmond is not the first one to poke around in there.


He tells Des that all the equipment was left behind by Faraday, who wanted to send rat's brains back in time. Des says that he was told that there was no Faraday at Oxford, and the man says, "after what he did to that poor girl," he wouldn't want anyone to know Daniel worked there, either. Des asks him what girl he's talking about, and all the man says is that he won't be upset that he broke his lock if he tells his mates that all he found was some rubbish left behind by a madman.

Faraday, Miles, and Charlotte are brought into one of the tents and are left on their own. They talk about how the Others must think they're in the military, and Daniel says that it's best if they let the Others keep thinking that. They clam up when Richard comes in, sarcastically asking if he's interrupting. He says that his men tell him that they won't give up where the rest of their squad is, and Daniel stands up to Richard, playing the part of the hardened soldier in his own Faraday way, and basically asking why he should tell Richard. Richard points out that it was (he thinks) Daniel's people who came to their island and fired on them first. Daniel answers back that he doesn't know anything about that, and that the people in his group are scientists here to recover the hydrogen bomb on the island. He tells Richard to let him diffuse it. When Richard asks him how he knows Faraday won't just set it off and wipe out the island, Faraday says, "because I'm in love with the woman sitting next to me," obviously meaning Charlotte, "and I would never do anything to hurt her." Charlotte looks at him with a mix of shock and...something. This seems to convince Richard, and he leaves Faraday with the warning that if he tries to do anything out of line, he will hurt Charlotte.

Next we see Locke walking with the others and looking at his compass, while Juliet tells the rest of the group that knowing Latin is "Others 101." One of their captives tells them that their friends are either captured or dead because Sawyer blurted out that they were going to all meet at the creek. Sawyer answers back that he's sorry he didn't say it in a secret language. Juliet then starts speaking to one of the men in Latin, asking him to take them to their camp. It's not until she asks them if "Richardo" Alpert is there that one of the men agrees to do so. Then without warning, the other man snaps his neck and runs into the jungle. Locke raises his rifle as if to shoot the runner, but doesn't. Sawyer can't believe it, grabs the gun, and fires off one shot, but he misses and the man gets away. He asks Locke why he didn't shoot, and Locke says, "Because he's one of my people."

• Faraday seems to relish playing the tough guy in this episode. It's funny to see that side of him, especially when he gives Richard attitude.
  
• "Others 101:" an intensive, all-inclusive course that acclaimates you to the island the Others way. Course curriculum includes Latin, martial arts, weaponry (bows and arrows - both generic and flaming, electric paralyzing darts, and more), disguises, trapping intruders in nets, and making delicious hamburgers. Muffin baking will not be covered.
• My note at the commercial break at this point in the show: "It's only 9:30?!"
  

Desmond show up at a house nearby Oxford, we assume. He knocks, and a woman in a red smock or coverall (it also had a patch on it, but I couldn't make out what it said) answers. Des is looking for Teresa Spencer, and the woman at the door is her sister. He says that he knows her because of Daniel Faraday, and she definitely recognizes that name. She says that he should definitely come in, then, and we all get the feeling that what's inside can't be good. Desmond walks into a room to find a girl who appears comatose being spoon-fed by a man. She is hooked up to various medical equipment.


Des asks if she can hear them, and the woman says, "No, Teresa's away right now." Desmond doesn't understand, and the woman says that she comes in and out of consciousness, and sometimes she asks for her dolly, and other times she is talking to her father...who died five years ago. She tells Desmond that Daniel abandoned Teresa in this state, and ran off to the States 10 years ago. She says if it wasn't for Widmore, Charles Widmore, who found Daniel's research and has been supporting them ever since, she wouldn't have the care she has now - God bless Charles Widmore.

Back in the tent, Charlotte tells Daniel that he didn't have to tell that story about him loving her - that he could've come up with another story that would convince them. He says, "I said what I said...because I meant it." Ellie comes in and takes Daniel out of the tent as he gives Charlotte a smile. Once Daniel is outside, Charlotte's face drops and she starts crying. Outside the tent, Richard unties Faraday's hands and says that he's going to tell him the truth: he found 18 soldiers on the island, and in the end was forced to kill them. Daniel asked who forced him to kill them, and Richard says that just like Daniel (he thinks) has been given orders, he has a chain of command that he needs to follow. All of a sudden, the man who escaped from Locke's group runs in, telling Richard what happened. Richard asks him if he doesn't think that they'd follow him right into the camp, and the man says, "They're led by an old man - do you really think he knows this island as well as I do?" Ah, the naivete of youth. In the distance, Locke, Juliet, and Sawyer are watching the camp. Locke asks Juliet about Richard, and she says that "he's always been here," and when he asks her how old Richard is, she says, "Old." She asks Locke why he's interested, and Locke says that Richard was about to tell him how to save us before the bright light came back. Locke begins walking down to the camp to finish his conversation with Richard, to the protest of Juliet. Locke says, "Fair enough - I'll give you a 10-minute head-start." As Locke walks away, Sawyer points out to Juliet that Ellie appears to be playing Cambodian death squad with Faraday by leading him into the jungle at gunpoint, and asks her, "What about you? You wanna stay here in Crazytown, or go rescue the geek?"

As Ellie is walking with her gun at Faraday's back, Faraday keeps looking at her. She calls him on it, and he says, "You look just like...someone I used to know." Ellie says she doesn't believe he and his friends are military. Daniel says that he's their best chance at disarming the bomb, and she counters with, "Okay, then go disarm it." She points her gun toward a tall wood-framed tower with a big, fat H-bomb gently dangling above the ground in the center.


After the commercial, we see Daniel up on the tower inspecting the bomb, which has the name "Jughead" (we have a winner!) stenciled onto it.


He notices some white corrosion along one of its seams,


and immediately climbs back down. He urgently asks her if they have an lead or concrete, because they need to fill the seam with either substance and bury it. She is still resisting him and asking how he knows this, and he finally blurts out that he knows because in 50 years, the island is still here. She has a noticeable reaction to this, cocks her gun, and says, "What did you say?" He tells her how he is from the future and that nothing bad is going to happen with the bomb, that everything on the island is still there 50 years from now. (Or then. Whatever.) Then Sawyer appears behind her with a gun at the ready and tells her to "drop the gun, Blondie!" and Juliet, ever the embodiment of calm, says, "Why don't we all put our guns down?"


In the next scene, we see Desmond storm into Charles Widmore's office.


He says that he knows Widmore has question for him, and he's not answering anything. Instead, he has some questiond for Widmore, and when he gets answers, Widmore will never see him again. "Where is Daniel Faraday's mother?" Desmond says he knows that Widmore has been funding Faraday's research for 10 years, and so he must keep tabs on his relations. Widmore asks Desmond, "Is Penny safe?" Desmond asks him again, "Where's Faraday's mother?" Widmore takes out an address book and says that she's in L.A. He writes the address down and hands it to him. "I imagine she won't be please to see you. She's a very private person," he tells Desmond. Desmond turns to go, but Widmore tells him to wait. "Deliver your message, and then get out of this mess," he tells him. "Don't put Penny in danger." He says that he's getting involved in something that has been going on for many, many years, and that wherever he's been hiding, he needs to go back there.

Back at the Others' camp, Locke comes strolling in yelling for Richard. The man who escaped from Locke's group tells Locke to stop and takes aim at him, but Locke ignores him except to vaguely put his hands up.


Richard comes out and asks who he is. Locke tells Richard his name, and Richard asks if that name is supposed to mean something to him. Then Locke says, "Jacob sent me." That name does mean something to Richard. He tells the man to put his gun down, but the man balks at this idea. Richard grabs the gun and puts it down himself, and says, "I said to put the gun down, Widmore." (Losties everywhere gasp!) Locke, bemused, says, "You're name is Widmore? Charles Widmore?" Young Charles Widmore says, "What's it to you?" Locke says, "Nothing."

After our final commercial break, we see Desmond back on the boat with Penny and young Charlie. Penny asks if he found Daniel's mum, and he says no, she died. Desmond isn't a good liar. When Penny calls him on his lie, he tells her that she's in L.A. But, Desmond says, it's over. He promised her it would be done after his visit to Oxford, and his life now is her and Charlie (which is the first time they call him by name). "I won't leave you again, not for this, not for anything." But Penny knows him too well: "You'll never forget it, Des. So...I guess we're going with you." He seems relieved, but as they embrace, she looks worried and is crying.

At the camp, Locke and Alpert are talking. (I'll admit right now, I didn't write every detail of this scene - let's just say I was mesmerized by how the conversation went, and what it means for what's going on.)


Richard says, "So I gave you this?" referring to the compass. "Why don't I remember?" he asks. Locke tells him it's because it hasn't happened yet. Locke asks Richard to tell him how to get off the island, and Richard counters that that's priveleged information. Locke says that Richard told him that he'd tell him how (in Richard's future, and Locke's past). And besides, he says, I'm your leader. Richard sort of laughs this off, saying that they have a very selective process to choose their leaders. So Locke begins to tell Richard when he was born, and that he should come visit him (!). But then Locke starts to experience a flash, and begs Richard to tell him how to get off the island - too late. Everything has disappeared except for Locke and the other Remainders. Locke is crushed. Faraday runs to Charlotte, who still has her hands tied, and unties her. Miles says, "Yeah, I'm okay too, thanks." As Charlotte looks at Daniel, she begins to looks woozy, her eyes start to roll back, her nose really starts gushing blood, and she collapses.


Daniel is holding her in his arms, totally helpless to do anything.

LOST

Some final thoughts for now:

• So Locke tells Richard to visit him after he is born - wow! I'll have to go back and rewatch that scene when Richard actually does visit Locke as a child to see how the compass fits in to the test he gives young Locke. It's past 1:00am, and there's no way I'm going to get every nuance of what this scene fully means, but I can already tell I'll be thinking about it a lot. I'm wondering, though, how Locke thinks Richard will do this. I know Locke is aware of what Richard can do...but is Richard himself? My next point might explain a little more about what I mean...
• I'm surprised by something, and maybe I'm missing something, but does Alpert really not know about time travel? He seemed totally clueless about the compass and how he gave it to Locke in the future. If he knows about the ability to time travel on the island, would he be so surprised? Is he pretending not to know for some reason? If he isn't aware of this property of the island, is this the event that sets the Others in search of something on the island that allows them to time travel, which then leads to the Orchid? Is Richard truly ageless then, rather than someone who looks the same age because he time travels? If I'm not understanding something, please set me straight.
• We now have three Charlies: Charles Widmore, Charlie Pace, and Charlie Hume. I'm tempted to wonder: is it at all possible that Charlie Hume turns out to be Charles Widmore? (No way - that would mean that Penny's son is her father, which is a) creepy, and 2) impossible, I think - it would be an endless loop, wouldn't it? I don't know, I can't think right now.) Could Charlie Hume be Charlie Pace? Well, Charlie Pace's father was a butcher who looked nothing like Desmond, and his mum didn't look like Penny, so unless he was adopted, I don't see it. But who knows with this show.
• Two more pieces in the Hawking-Is-Faraday's-Mother puzzle (which isn't much of a puzzle at this point) - Faraday's mother is not listed anywhere in Oxford's records (because she's using the name Hawking instead - her maiden name, maybe? An alias?), but she is in L.A. now. As is Ms. Hawking.
• And about Ellie: The blonde hair (which I'm sure will someday turn to a lovely shade of white)? The vaguely British accent? Daniel thinking he's seen her somewhere before...? The name Ellie, short for...Eloise? As in Eloise Hawking? As in Daniel's (theorized) mother??? Would Daniel be "allowed" to meet his mother as a young woman, or is that "against the rules"? Something to think about...

And speaking of thinking, I am incapable of any more of it tonight. So, I hope you enjoyed "Jughead," and I'll post again with more soon.

For now,
Namaste, and Good Luck!

~Matt

"The Lie" Replay - Interesting Info

Okay, before I get into tonight's episode, "Jughead," (which I thought was just as incredible as last week's episodes), I noticed two interesting pieces of information during the replay of "The Lie," which they did with the pop-up commentary at the bottom of the screen. I only watched the last 10 minutes or so because I was trying to re-watch both of last week's episodes and got as far as the beginning of "The Lie," so that's all I saw. Maybe some of you can add anything else you thought was intesting in the comments section of this post. But in the 10 minutes I did see, we were told through the "pop-up" that:

• When they showed Ms. Hawking with Ben in the church, they identified her as "Eloise Hawking." Obviously, another clue that if she isn't Daniel Faraday's mother, he at least knew of her, and thought enough of her to name his lab rat after her. I'm sure in Faraday's bizarre world, that's an honor.
• When they showed Jones and his rifle-toting friends catching Juliet and Sawyer in the jungle, we were told that the uniforms they were wearing resemble those of the U.S. Army in the 1950s. And obviously, now we know why...

On to "Jughead"!

"Nation..."

I was just watching tonight's Colbert Report, and he did one of his regular segments on health which included a picture of a check. The check was meant to be a mock-up of a settlement check from Vioxx or something like that. Anyways, I happened to the look at the name on the check...
Jeremy Bentham!
I don't think we'll ever come up with a screencap of it, but it was funny to see. Someone over there, maybe Steven himself, is apparently a fan!

Edit: I posted this at the Fuselage, and someone else caught it, too, and more - the check number was 4815 and the date was 9/22/04. : )

The Pendulum

Over at sl-LOST.com, they have some info about the pendulum we saw at the end of "The Lie." It's called a Foucault Pendulum, and is used to track the rotation of Earth. They also have a YouTube video of one in action along with their explanation. The video, to be honest, is kind of boring, and that's a science teacher telling you that, but feel free to check it out if you're curious.

Foucault Pendulum article at sl-LOST.com

"Never, Dude!" - 5x02: The Lie

Okay everyone, ready for part two? (Finally! Sorry everyone - two episodes in one week kicked me right in the arse.)
I should say from the start that I intended for this recap to be shorter than the last one, but I don't think I succeeded. Thankfully, you're all huge LOST fans who are desperate for thousands upon thousands of words about the show! Right? And I should also admit that my notes are not as clear and complete as they were for "Because You Left," and I haven't watched them again, so I'll have less to go on.
What I did manage to try this time around is mixing in my own thoughts as I summarize the episode. Since this season is already pretty insane, it might be easier to follow and understand them that way.
Without further adieu...

Episode 5x02: The Lie

The first thing we see to start of the episode is a black screen that reads "Three Years Ago." Someone is getting a couple of beers from a refrigerator. After a close-up shot of the beers (I still haven't found a good shot of what brand they were), we see it Frank Lapidus. We are on the Searcher with the O6, Desmond, and Penny as they discuss what to do when they arrive back in the world. As we saw at the end of Season 4, Jack has accepted Locke's suggestion to lie about everything, and this is what he is proposing, to the acceptance of most of those assembled on the Searcher's decks. Everyone, that is, except for Hurley.
"Dude, they'll find out. I don't wanna lie," Hurley says. Jack replies that it's the only way to protect those they left behind from Charles Widmore. Hurley asks Penny if she can just call her father off, and she says, "There's no calling my father off," meaning he isn't the type to give up. Hurley's convinced that if they all agree to say that the island disappeared, to tell what really happened, they will believe them, and appeals especially to Sayid, to no avail. Seeing that he's fighting a losing battle, he tells Sayid, "You know what, dude? I'll remember this. Someday, when you need my help...you're not getting it."

• A few things here. First, for Jack to go with Locke's idea is unusual, especially for something so pivotal, and is therefore important. These two have been at odds from the beginning, and I'd say that Jack has been unyielding to Locke's ideas to the point of being unreasonable at times. I mean, the guy had a gun to Locke's head and pulled the trigger, for Pete's sake. But here, has the "Man of Science" seen the light of the "Man of Faith"? Maybe Jack saw no other way out.
• There's been some talk about why Hurley is trying to win Sayid's vote in particular. My only thought is that Sayid has never really done anything to make Hurley distrust him. I think while Jack and Kate were off gallivanting around the island and having exciting adventures numerous times on the show without the either of them, and since Sun stuck pretty close to Jin most of the time, Hurley and Sayid had plenty of time to bond on the beach. They were never really considered one of the cool kids among the Losties.
• After all is said and done, no one back in the real world would ever believe their story, as true as it may be. It's preposterous - especially since it would be coming from a former mental patient (which is why he was desperate for the support of the other survivors). This scene really demonstrates Hurley's belief in honesty at all costs, even in the face of disbelief and ridicule, and to the point of being naive, which definitely fits with the Hurley we know and love. And in true LOST fashion, at the end of the episode, irony will ensue...
  

Naturally, the next thing we know, we're watching Hurley driving a tranquilized Sayid, trying desperately to wake him up. As he tries to put Sayid's seatbelt on, he swerves into a trash can, and the next thing he knows, he's being pulled over by LA finest. "No no no," he panics, "what do I do?" The officer walks up to the window, and... guess who?


Ana Lucia! (Death becomes her, by the way, I must say.)
"What were you thinking? You weren't," she says, and then adds, "What if I were real?" thus ending the WTF? factor of the scene - obviously she is a) one of his visions, or b) one of his many visits from 'dead, but there' characters, to paraphrase Charlie. She then goes on to tell him to pull it together - to change his clothes, take Sayid to someone you trust, and do not get arrested. "You have work to do," she tells him. Like we haven't heard that before from the walking, talking dead. And then as an afterthought she tells him, "Oh yeah - Libby says hi." Classic. She walks away, he looks in his rear-view mirror, and not only is she gone, it's obvious she was never there in the first place.

• During the commercial break after this scene, I couldn't help thinking how great it was to see Ana Lucia again. She was one of the most hated characters on the show by some, but we were meant to hate her; that was by design. I never understood how people wanted her off the show, but they got their wish. She was a complex character with a lot of promise, and you need characters that aren't easy to like. But her last line was perfect, and a wink to the fans - what a great job by the writers to come up with that dual-purpose line (relating to the show, as Ana Lucia and Libby were both killed by Michael at the same time, and not for unrelated reasons, to real life, as the actresses who played those two roles were "let go" from LOST at the same time, reportedly because of the fact that they were both arrested in Hawaii for DUI the same night). And great job by Michelle Rodriguez for having the sense of humor to come back for the cameo and actually make reference to the reason she was killed off. No hard feelings, I guess.
• Another instance of someone being "visited" by the dead. Hurley seems to have that market cornered. But we still don't know for certain: are these people dead? Are they in limbo? Is death really just another dimension that is accessed more easily when you come into contact with the island? Are they from the past, or the future, somehow despite the fact that they are dead? Or are they simply visions? I believe they are trying to hint to us that they are not just visions: having Charlie slap Hurley outside Santa Rosa; having Kate be able to touch the black horse from her past on the island; you can't touch a vision, especially when other people are around to see you do it, as is true in both of those examples.
  

Back on the beach, Bernard is trying to start a fire with the classic stick-rubbing maneuver. (You gotta split the wood to let the oxygen in, Bernie! Didn't you ever see Cast Away?) Speaking of criticism, Rose is basically playing the 'you're doing it wrong' role, as is a man in a red shirt named Frogurt ("It's Neil!").


Basically, everyone is agitated. Juliet, I believe, notices that all of the items they had with them traveled with them to this campless past, while Sawyer notices that Frogurt has a shirt and he doesn't, so he takes it. Faraday returns from his visit with Desmond in the Swan, and Sawyer wants to know from "Dr. Wizard" when it (the time jump) will happen again. Miles says he thinks the proper name is "Mr. Wizard." Sawyer tells him to shut up. They're like Bender and Brian in Saturday detention (I hope you all get that...), and I hope these two go at it all season. Faraday tells them that they can't just leave - he has to figure everything out.
Back to Hurley, who is splashing water on Sayid's face, but he's still out. In a panic because he "can't do this alone," Hurley takes money from Sayid's wallet - "I promise to pay you back" - and enters a gas station to buy a new t-shirt, you know, so he doesn't have to walk around with blood on his clothes. He skips the tacky "I Heart My Wirehaired" and settles for an equally-tacky yellow "I Heart My Shih-tzu" shirt. When he goes to pay, apparently to the tune of Cheap Trick's "Dream Police" playing over the radio, so I've heard, the cashier jokes with him about the shirt and then realizes that she knows him from somewhere. Hurley, as he watches the news coverage of the search for him on the TV above and behind her, nervously insists that he just has "one of those faces," but she finally makes the connection - he's the lottery guy. He still insists she's got the wrong guy. Knowing not to press his luck, he throws the money on the counter, tells her to keep the change, runs out, and drives off.
As he drives away, Kate pulls into the same station with Aaron in the back wondering where they're going. She takes out a map of LA, which shows primarily the Hollywood area, and brings up Jack's number on her cell phone, but doesn't call him. Instead, her phone rings, and we hear her talking to an unknown person: "I can't believe it's you...how are you...you're in LA?...I know where that is...a half hour." She finally answers Aaron's question: they're going to see a friend.

• Hurley's lying.
  
• I Heart My Shih-tzu t-shirt = hilarious
• The tacky t-shirts reminded me of Jules and Vincent wearing the bad t-shirts (one of them was a UC-Santa Clara Banana Slugs volleyball shirt, which is the ultimate in randomness) in Pulp Fiction after Vincent shoots Marvin in the face.
  

Back in the motel room, Ben is opening an air vent. He takes out some sort of bag or package and puts it in his packed bag or suitcase. Jack, who has just finished shaving his beard off, is feeling around in his jacket, and Ben knows what he's up to: "Looking for pills? I flushed them down the toilet." Jack unconvincingly says he was about to do that himself. Jack then asks when they're checking out, and Ben says, "I'm checking out. You're going home." I think he throws him a suitcase and tells him that anything he wants to keep, he needs to put in the suitcase, because "you're never coming back." Jack asks where Ben is going, and Ben points out that Locke's body is in the carpet van, and he needs to move it "somewhere safe." Jack says, "Safe? Isn't he dead?" All Ben says in reply is, "See you in six hours."
Back at Hurley's house, Mr. Reyes is making a giant, disgusting sandwich which involves globs of caviar. He settles in as the TV says, in a voice familiar to all LOST fans, "Previously on...Expose." We are not shown any scenes from the show, but we hear the bad dialogue we've come to expect from that show-within-a-show (would you call it a Nikki cameo if you only hear her voice?) There is a knock on the door, and Mr. Reyes opens it to find Hurley with Sayid slung over his shoulders. "Hey dad."

• Ben's non-reply to Jack's "isn't Locke dead?" question has gotten people talking. Obviously, there's a reason why they need Locke with them when the O6 return to the island. We don't know what that reason is, but there must be one. And this only heightens speculation that maybe Locke will rise from the dead; that maybe he isn't quite dead, or isn't dead in the way we understand death. To borrow Locke's own line, "The island is a place where miracles happen." I'm thinking more and more, especially after this episode, that it has something to do with the timeline on the island. Maybe Locke needs to be there to keep the timeline intact; in other words, if he isn't physically there, it will be a "mistake" in time, which could have catastrophic results.
  

After the commercial break, Hurley is carrying Sayid through the house and finally drops him on a couch. Hurley and his father are trying to decide if Sayid is breathing, and Hurley tells his father how Sayid was shot with a dart, and his father asks, "Where? At the zoo?" A logical question. He then wonders what he's doing out of Santa Rosa. Hurley starts to explain the whole mess, but then the phone rings. It's the LAPD at the front gate of the house, and they want in so they can look for Hurley. Hurley begs his father not to tell them he is there, and his father doesn't, on the condition that Hurley tells him the truth. Mr. Reyes thinks they should call a lawyer, considering that Hurley is accused of killing three people, but Hurley says no, and that Sayid will explain. His father also believes they should be taking Sayid to the hospital, but Hurley again says no: "If people know I'm at the hospital, it's like the Godfather - they'll smother me with pillows and make it look like an accident."
Speaking of the hospital, we see Kate and Aaron walking into a hospital - was it St. Sebastian, Jack's hospital? - getting into an elevator, and Kate telling Aaron to press the button for the top floor, #31. (Remember, 3+1=4.) They come to a door with a doorbell on it (in a hospital? I guess I need to start going to nicer hospitals...), and Sun answers.


Next, we see Ben in a butcher shop. He takes ticket #42. When #41 is done, he approaches the counter, and the woman behind the counter, Jill, greets him by name and tells him that they're all out of porterhouse. He isn't interested in steaks, though. He asks her if Gabriel and another person (I didn't catch the name) are in, and she says yes. She asks him if Shepard is in, and he tells her yes."There's something in the van I need you to take care of," he tells her. She asks him if it's what she thinks it is, and he says yes. "You need to keep him safe, because if you don't, everything we're about to do won't matter."
Back on the beach, Bernard finally manages to make fire, only to have it go out again. Everyone is still very testy. Dan is sitting away from all the arguing, near the edge of the water, and Charlotte walks over to him with a papaya. She tells him about a headache she can't shake, and that she was thinking about her mum and somehow can't remember her maiden name. Daniel again tries to look as if this troubling information doesn't bother him and makes excuses about her being under a lot of stress, but Charlotte knows him too well. "Daniel, do you know what's happening to me?" she asks. Then Miles emerges from the jungle, inexplicably, with a boar. "I found it," he says, as if that isn't bizarre at all, and adds that it's only been dead for three hours. When he asks for a knife to start prepping it for dinner, Frogurt chimes in that yeah, they have a knife, right next to the Cuisinart, and begins on a rant about how tired and hungry he is. Mid-rant, he is suddenly struck in the chest with a flaming arrow. We see that the sky is full of them. This scene continues after the commercial break, with the Remainders running for their lives down the coast and into the jungle as scores of flaming arrows just miss them (of course). We suspect we've seen the last of Frogurt.

• The butcher shop scene is very mysterious. Jill knows Ben, but also seems to be in on Ben's plans. She calls Jack by his last name, and was possibly expecting Locke to arrive based on her "is it what I think it is?" comment. And then Ben mentions, "what we're about to do won't matter." Who is she? What does she know? Is she an Other that Ben helped leave the island before our Losties' time, and now she's repaying him by doing sketchy jobs like keeping questionably dead bodies in her meat locker? How big is Ben's network of off-island helpers?
  
• Charlotte's sickness is progressing, and Dan knows it. Despite Dan's efforts, she knows something's up. I think I mentioned this in the "Because You Left" post, but I'm wondering if Dan's time traveling are now going to be centered on setting up a "constant" situation in the past for Charlotte in the present in order to save her. Unless he can discover something on the island that could be her constant... remember, we've been given a clue that she may have been born there.
  

Back in the Reyes household, the police stakeout is on. Mr. Reyes is asking Hurley if he really is crazy, or if he is lying to him. Hurley says he's not crazy, and (I think) he says that he has a really good reason for lying to his father. We then heard a voice from downstairs in the house: "Why is there a dead Pakistani on my couch?" Of course, we know it's Hurley's mother. Hurley tells her Sayid is not dead, but she says, "Well, he's not breathing." This sends Hurley into a panic, but it seems that they have a plan. We then see Mr. Reyes driving out of the garage and he gives the cops a smile as he passes them.
We return to Kate and Sun, who are both sitting in a spacious office in the hospital with a spectacular view of the Hollywood hills. Sun says she's only in LA for a few days - she has some business to attend to. She shows Kate a picture of Ji Yeon with her grandmother in Seoul, and says that it would be nice for her and Aaron to play together some day. After exchanging pleasantries, they get down to business. Kate tells Sun that someone knows they lied - lawyers want her and Aaron's blood (Aaaahhh, blood-sucking lawyers - I get it now!) for a test, and she doesn't know who they represent. Sun believes that they don't want to expose them or else they would have done it already - they want Aaron. This is where things start to get creepy. Sun asks Kate what she would do for Aaron. She says, "You need to take care of them;" yes, she means kill them. An incredulous Kate asks, "What kind of person do you think I am?" "How about someone who blew up her father, robbed a bank..." - oh, sorry, that's what I said. Sun really answers that Kate is "someone who makes hard decisions." Sun begins to remind Kate about what happened to Jin on the freighter and how he's gone. Kate says, "I hope you don't think we..." and Sun tells her that she doesn't blame Kate, that if they didn't do what they did, they probably all would've died. But then, subtly but chillingly, she asks, "So how's Jack?"
Next we see Mr. Reyes talking to Jack in a parking garage. It turns out that he left the house with Sayid's body secretly stashed in the back of his SUV. Jack says he's going to take him to the hospital, but Mr. Reyes says, "No! Hurley said no!" Jack counters that he's the doctor, and he is going to do what is best. Mr. Reyes says okay, but that Jack needs to do something for him: "Stay away from my son. Something tells me you don't have his best interests in mind." Jack then calls Ben and tells him, "You'll never guess who showed up at my door."

• It looks like Mr. Reyes genuinely cares about Hurley, rather than simply living off of his millions like we still might have suspected a little bit (at least I did). He seemed very sincere and protective when he told Jack to stay away from his son.
• Ji Yeon seemed awfully young in that picture. Shouldn't she be about three years old at this point? Is Sun trying to hide something about a more grown-up Ji Yeon? Is this some sort of clue, maybe having to do with time travel? But no matter what, wouldn't Kate realize that this picture is a few years old? So is it a really lazy production error? I doubt they would something so blatant get through - there must be something to that picture.
• From her conversation with Kate, I think Sun has her sights set on Jack. There was just something creepy about how she asked Kate about him. She's telling Widmore she wants Ben dead, she may be trying to get information about Jack; I wonder if she's playing everyone. Is she really working with Widmore? Is she only pretending to while she plots with Ben? Is she going rogue and isn't aligned with anyone but herself? I think she's on someone's side, but I don't think we'll find out who for a little while. I just think, on this show, it's too obvious for her to simply side with Widmore, no strings attached.

After commercials, Hurley is still in hiding at his house with his mother. She asking about Sayid, and Hurley tells her that he's a friend who "does crazy ninja moves and spy stuff, but he's a good guy." Mrs. Reyes reminds him that someone who kills is not a good person. She then insists that he tells her the truth, and he breaks down and proceeds to give the best LOST recap of all time. Compliments of Lostpedia, here's the transcript of this scene:

CARMEN: Tell your mother the truth.

(Hurley breaks down.)

HURLEY: We lied, Ma!

CARMEN: What do you mean you lied?

HURLEY: (Voice cracking) All of us--the Oceanic Six, we lied about what happened after the crash.

CARMEN: And what did happen?

HURLEY: Okay. See, we did crash, but it was on this crazy island. And we waited for rescue, and there wasn't any rescue. And there was a smoke monster, and then there were other people on the island. We called them the Others, and they started attacking us. And we found some hatches, and there was a button you had to push every 108 minutes or... well, I was never really clear on that. But... the Others didn't have anything to do with the hatches. That was the DHARMA Initiative. The Others killed them, and now they're trying to kill us. And then we teamed up with the Others because some worse people were coming on a freighter. Desmond's girlfriend's father sent them to kill us. So we stole their helicopter and we flew it to their freighter, but it blew up. And we couldn't go back to the island because it disappeared, so then we crashed into the ocean, and we floated there for a while until a boat came and picked us up. And by then, there were six of us. That part was true. (Whispers) But the re...

(Hurley's voice breaks. He takes a second to regain composure.)

HURLEY: But the rest of the people... who were on the plane? They're still on that island.

(Carmen puts her hand on her son's wrist.)

CARMEN: I believe you. I don't understand you, but I believe you.

HURLEY: A lot of people died, ma. And now this bad stuff is happening because... well, um... (sighs) we shouldn't have lied. (sighs)

Awesome. Just awesome.

The next scene is Juliet and Sawyer in the jungle at night. Sawyer steps on something, and you'll never guess what he says..."son of a bitch." He tells her that they have to hook up with everyone else at the creek. Then they hear someone else walking, and they hid in some bushes. They see more than one person, and Juliet and Sawyer quietly talk to each other about them when they think the coast is clear, but they should know better. They are suddenly grabbed from behind by two men, and a man with an English accent in a jumpsuit with a "Jones" name patch on says, "What are you doing on our island?"

• Not only does Hurley's father truly care about him, so does his mother. I thought for sure she would placate him after hearing that ludicrous story and run to call the authorities the first chance she got, but that line was perfect: "I believe you. I don't understand you, but I believe you." How relieved must Hurley have been after hearing that?
• Jones and his crew were wearing jumpsuits that were Dharma-esque, but I'm not so sure they are Dharma, or at least the same era of Dharma that we know of. Depending on the time that Juliet and Sawyer have jumped into, I'm thinking that maybe they're "proto-Dharma" - an early form of the DI, before the stations and the symbols. All of the Dharma name patches we have seen in the past have had not only the wearer's name on the patch, but also their job or place in Dharma society. Jones's patch only had his name, and nothing else anywhere on the suit. Of course, they could also be a group separate from Dharma that we don't know of yet, but it's the "our island" that gives them away as likely Dharma, though. More on the Jones boys in a moment...
  

After the commercials, Jack is with Sayid in the hospital. He is trying to figure out what to do. He has a pulse. He injects him with something and then checks him again, and utters a Sawyer-like "son of a bitch." Interesting... He shines a pen light in Sayid's eyes, and suddenly Sayid jumps up and starts choking Jack until he realizes who it is. After asking where he is, Sayid asks where Hurley is, and Jack tells him he's at home. Sayid worriedly asks, "Does anyone else know he's there?"
Cut to Hurley in the kitchen, cooking up a Hot Pocket. As he takes it out, he suddenly hears Ben say hello, and he throws the Hot Pocket at him in shock. All of America LOL's. Ben puts on his caring face and starts working his magic on Hurley: "I know you're in trouble. I can help. The police didn't see me come in - I can get you out." Hurley resists and rightly accuses him of playing his mind games, but Ben continues to tell him that the others have come around because "we all want the same thing - to go back to the island. Come with us - this will all be over and you won't have to lie again. Please, let me help you." We see Hurley thinking it over. His answer? "Never, dude!" He runs out straight to the cops and yells out, "Okay, I killed them! All four of them, or three, whatever. Just get me out of here!" And then we see him turn towards Ben and give him a sly, satisfied smile, which has been the moment of the season for me.
Next we're back with Sawyer and Juliet. I missed taking notes on most of this scene, but basically, Jones is hardcore. He tells them not to speak unless spoken to, and he threatens to cut Juliet's hand off just on principle. They go back and forth until Jones and company start getting rocks and knives thrown at them from the jungle. Locke emerges and says, "James, Juliet...nice to see you."


The final scene of the episode begins with a hooded person in some sort of dark room. Inside is a Dharma station-type computer, a pendulum, a chalkboard, and a spiral staircase. This person is writing and erasing some sort of computations on the chalkboard, and then runs over to the computer to enter in data.


The screen flashes up a world map and across the center, it reads "Event Window Determined."


Meanwhile, we see that the pendulum has been tracing out a starburst pattern on what seems to be a world map. The figure then runs up the staircase into a room lit by candles, and then we see a large crucifix. It is apparently a chapel or church. Ben is there. The figure speaks - it is a woman. She takes her hood off and we see gray hair in a braided bun. She tells Ben that he needs to get moving - he only has 70 hours. Ben protests that he needs more time - "I lost Reyes," but she says that his needs are meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

She is Ms. Hawking, the course-correcter from "Flashes Before Your Eyes."
Ben asks what happens if he can't get them all back in time.

She replies, "Then God help us all."

LOST

• Let me start with the most significant discussion about this scene that I've been hearing and reading about in several different places: is Ms. Hawking Daniel's mother? We see them both writing feverishly on a chalk board. Like Daniel, she seems to be involved in time-related studies, since she knows that Ben only has 70 hours to get the O6 back to the island. And Daniel told Desmond to find his mother at Oxford, so it's possible that she is working on the same work he is. Is Dan on a mission for her? Is time travel the family business? Is he like her, a sort of "time cop" who makes sure everyone stays on the right path? This opens up an entire realm of possibilities for what both of their purposes are.
  
• Could this church be our first off-island Dharma station? The specific rare type of Apple computer that Hawking is using is the most obvious connection to the stations on the island, as is the weird research she is doing, which seems to involve certain focused places in the world and calculations about time.
  
• Bookends - "God help us all" was spoken at the beginning of "Because You Left," and here it's spoken at the end of "The Lie." I can only guess that whatever is being detected in this place is somehow related to the mysterious substance under the Orchid.
• The writers seem to be setting up a Sawyer-Juliet relationship. It's obvious, but worth mentioning.

So there you have it - "The Lie."

One more final thought that I've heard a lot of discussion about this week: why doesn't Richard move through time when Locke does? I guess the best theory on that would be that he must be an island native - not an Other, not a Losty, but an original inhabitant of the island. I'll even still call him a Hostile, though I've heard some interesting theories about who the Hostiles really are (hint: the Losties! Think about it...). Maybe someone who "belongs" to the island is not affected by the time shifts, and maybe Richard is one of them.
I am still struggling to fully understand how time travel works on the show, but I think we're meant to struggle with it at this point. I don't think we've been given all the information needed to get it completely, but we will get it eventually.

We have another episode coming up! Episode 5x03 is called "Jughead," and I hope it doesn't refer to the character Jughead from the Archie comics that I read as a kid, 'cause that guy was a jerk. Anyway, I haven't heard a thing about it, and I'm keeping it that way.

I'd love to hear some comments from all of you, just so I know you're reading (hint, hint). I hope you're enjoying the blog so far!

Until then, as Snoop Dogg once said, "just chill...'til the next episode." Well said, sir.

Namaste, and Good Luck!

5x01: Because You Left: When Am I?

First of all, it goes without saying how exhilarating it was to finally see not one, but two new episodes of LOST. I was extremely excited, but once the show began, it was like I was just absorbing everything. I think when I watch them again, I'll be able to just sit and enjoy.

And what episodes they were! There's no way I'm going to wrap my brain around these two
tonight, though I am starting to. But they gave us a lot of answers, I think - a lot. So let me get to my summaries, some brief thoughts, and everyone's favorite, screencaps. And rest assured - I will be posting more in the coming days as I find more online and give everything they threw at us more thought.

Some initial thoughts as I sip my hot chocolate: it was awesome to see Ana-Lucia again. And Hurley's grin at Ben - that was the best moment of this early season so far!

Now, on to the notes (would you believe 12 Pearl Station notebook pages worth? It looks just like Faraday's notebook!) I think what I'm going to do is post my summary and brief reactions to the first of the two episodes tonight, and follow up with the second one tomorrow or over the weekend. I'm finding that I'd like to comment as I summarize, but I need to see these episodes again to be able to say anything remotely intelligent about them. So, enjoy Episode 5x01: Because You Left, and please comment afterwards.

5x01: Because You Left



An alarm clock that read 8:14. Then, of course, flipped over to 8:15, and that's when the alarm went off. A couple in bed. I knew it had to be Pierre Chang (aka Marvin Candle, aka Edgar Halliwax, aka Mark Wickmund) because of the crying baby in the background, a la the video that was released this summer when he revealed his real name. (The fact that he was Asian may also have tipped me off...). The scene was very reminiscent of Desmond's introduction in the hatch in the Season 2 premiere, and I thought the record player clinched it as taking place in the Swan, which got me thinking that he and his wife lived there before Desmond, and Kelvin, and Radzinsky, but nope - he was in one of New Otherton's classic yellow houses, which is revealed when he walks outside to some sort of makeshift studio to make the Station 2 Arrow orientation film, which we have never seen or heard of before. Another strange aspect of this is that the other orientation films were made in their respective stations, yet this one for the Arrow is not being filmed in the Arrow. Why not? From what we saw of the Arrow in Season 2, it was just a dark, empty room, or even a cave for that matter.

Oh yes, the record player - that plays a symbolic role later in the episode, but in the moment, it was playing a Willie Nelson song called "Shotgun Willie" for the purposes of soothing a crying baby (Miles, anyone...?). I guess the giant giraffe stuffed animal in his room wasn't doing the trick. The record skipped and repeated the lyrics, "If you can't make a record..."

Back to the orientation film. Dr. Chang (he is referred to as "doctor" by a key grip or best boy or some film set gofer that walks by) introduces himself as Marvin Candle once the camera starts rolling, and goes on to describe the Arrow Station's primary purpose as a place to learn defensive strategies against and to gather intelligence on the hostiles. He is interrupted, though, by a frantic man who tells him that there are problems at the Orchid.


Chang goes to the Orchid, which turns out to be a huge metal and glass building - a greenhouse, presumably, but much larger - not at all what we expected to see based on what's left of it when our Losties find it. Inside and down the elevator, he finds a man on the ground bleeding profusely from the nose (his left nostril, maybe, but it's hard to tell) while he is told how they were cutting though the rock and their drill melted, and the guy on the ground grabbed his head and started freaking out.


They did some sort of sonar mapping and saw an open chamber 20 meters behind the rock. We see the sonar printout and can clearly see the partial shape of what looks like a ship's wheel - the frozen donkey wheel. Chang tells the man that in the chamber is almost limitless energy, which will allow them to manipulate time. The man says, "What, we're going to go back and kill Hitler?" and Chang admonishes him - of course not, he says, there are rules that can't be broken, and if they drill any further and release that energy, "God help us all." As Chang leaves, he bumps into another man in an Orchid hardhat, who apologizes to him.
It's Faraday!


I detailed that scene just to point out, first of all, how cool it was, but also to demonstrate just how much we were told in such a short amount of time. We were told, finally, about the Arrow; a little more about Pierre Chang's story (he's an awfully pissy guy, ain't he?); the origins of the Orchid; that the frozen donkey wheel was somehow already in the energy chamber, which seems to be sealed in solid rock; the fact that "there are rules that can't be broken," which seems like a theme that we will come back to again and again; that Daniel Faraday was a member of Dharma or at least infiltrating Dharma; and we were shown a symbol of what's happening with time travel on the island. That's an awful lot, and we haven't even seen the creepy LOST letters moving towards us yet!

Next, we are shown Hoffs/Drawler funeral home, where Jack is looking at Locke in the coffin, and looking pained. Ben comes in with a gurney so that he and Jack can put Locke in a van out back. Then they need to pick up Hugo. Naturally. C'mon, Ben doesn't waste any time. Jack asks how they got there, how did all of this happen, and Ben tells him (drum roll please), "because you left."


The scene moves to Ben and Jack in a motel room. Ben is telling Jack that they need to get everyone back: Hurley, Sun, Sayid, Kate, and Aaron. Jack notes that Hugo is in a mental institution, and Ben astutely points out "then he should be the easiest to convince to come." They talk about the last time Ben saw Locke, at the Orchid, and Ben asks what Locke said to "make him a believer;" Jack says that everyone they left behind would die if they didn't come back. Ben asks if Locke told Jack what happened when they left, and Jack says no.

Three Years Earlier...


It's a replay of when Ben turned the wheel and moved the island. (Didn't we just watch the recap show?) But then we see Locke in the rain, saying, "What the...," and calling out, "Richard? Anyone?" We also see Faraday in the boat with the random background folk, looking around and saying, "We must have been inside the radius." And we see Juliet and Sawyer on the beach. Sawyer asks where the freighter went - it was coughing black smoke on the horizon, and now nothing? Suddenly Bernard comes running out of the jungle, yelling for Rose, and then Rose runs from the church, she says, out of the jungle to Bernard. Sawyer is telling them to calm down and to go back to the camp. Bernard tells him, "there is no camp." The kitchen is gone, all the tents, food, water, "everything but us." Faraday joins the conversation to say that the camp isn't gone, and that they have no time (interesting comment...) and need to find a landmark. Juliet suggests the hatch, and Faraday says that's perfect, but they should get there before it happens again. Before what happens again? "Your camp isn't gone - it hasn't been built yet." Cut to title screen.

~~~
Commercial break comments: I. LOVE. IT. So the island traveled back. But can Dan do
something to change it? What do they need a landmark for? Is it like a constant?
~~~


Next we see an older, talking Aaron watching cartoons while Kate is in the kitchen. The doorbell rings, and it's two lawyers from the firm of Agostini and Norton. They are required to get a blood sample from her and Aaron "to determine your relationship to the child." They are not at liberty to divulge the identity of their client. If Kate doesn't cooperate with them, they will have to return with the sheriff (not a marshall, eh?), and Kate says 'try me' and shuts the door. She immediately begins packing, and when Aaron asks where they're going, she says they're going on vacation. Baby.

Now Sawyer, Juliet, Faraday, Miles, and Charlotte (I'll call them The Remainders from this point on) are walking in the jungle. Juliet asks Sawyer why he jumped out of the helicopter, and he says they had to save gas. Faraday matter-of-factly tells them that they really have to pick up the pace. Sawyer gets angry, and then tells Dan to give him his shirt. Dan is incredulous (and resistant, and I suspect it's not just because he's uncomfortable being topless...there's something he must be hiding under his shirt...) and says that there are more important things to do than to take his shirt. Sawyer tells Faraday to explain himself, and Faraday, not having any tact whatsoever, tells Sawyer that if he can't explain it to quantum physicists, how could he explain - and before he finishes that sentence, Sawyer slaps him in the face. I guess Sawyer felt he was too delicate for a punch. I believe it's at this point, as Charlotte comes to Dan's defense, that Sawyer calls her "Ginger." One of many nicknames we will hear from Sawyer this night.

Dan begins to explain in layman's terms what is happening to the island. He says the island is like a record on a turntable that is skipping. Whatever Ben did at the Orchid, it must have dislodged them. "From what?" Sawyer (I think) asks. "From time." Dan asks if everyone on the island is accounted for, and Sawyer and Juliet look at each other - Locke.


This leads us into Locke climbing up some steep terrain, apparently to see what he can see. In the distance, we hear a whirring sound that is getting louder. It's Yemi's yellow drug plane, which swoops down low to the ground over Locke, North By Northwest style. We see black smoke coming from one of its engines, and it crashes into the side of a nearby valley. As Locke begins to trek toward it, he notices something in the grass. It's a Virgin Mary statue, which of course we recognize as a heroin-filled part of the cargo from Yemi's plane. Time passes and he reaches the plane. It is still creaking and smoking, and a propeller is still turning. He calls up to it to see if anyone is inside, but gets no response. He begins to climb up the banyan tree roots that are cascading down the side of the cliff, just like Boone did in Season 1 before falling to his eventual doom. Suddenly, shots ring out from the jungle below. He gets shot in the leg and falls to the ground. He hears someone running toward him, and a man emerges from the jungle. It is Ethan Rom with a rifle, yelling, "Who are you?"


~~~
Commercial break comments: Do brains breathe? Because mine needs to take a breath. How far back have they gone? Knowing what he knows now in the present day (2005, I think), why does Locke need them to come back? What happens?
~~~

We return to find Locke in Ethan's sights. Ethan is asking Locke how many others were on board, referring to the drug plane, I assume. Locke says he didn't come from that plane. Ethan says, "Wrong answer," and is about to plug him when Locke tells him, "I know you - you're Ethan." Ethan pauses in surprise. But then Locke, maybe not firmly grasping exactly what has happened, continues to tell Ethan that "Ben Linus appointed me as your leader." This earns a derisive smile from Ethan, who tells him that that's the most ridiculous thing he's heard in his life and takes aim again, but then the white light returns, and suddenly it's night again, and Locke is alone. We see that the Remainders have also returned to the night time. Someone asks Faraday what happened this time, and he says, "We're either in the past...or the future."



In the next scene, we see Sun in an airport with a cell phone to her ear. She goes to the ticket window to buy a ticket for a flight to Los Angeles. When she hands her passport to the woman at the counter, she scans it in, sees Sun's information on the computer, and tells Sun that there is a problem and that she needs to wait there. Sun is then taken to a back room, which she is locked into. As Sun pounds on the door for them to let her out, there is a voice behind her - Charles Widmore. He's a little cranky about her having the audacity to approach him in broad daylight in front of his business associates, and that she disrespected him. "I will be respected, Sun." Then he asks her what common interests she was referring to when they first met, and she says "to kill Benjamin Linus."

Back in the motel, the news is on, and they are reporting on a shooting at Santa Rosa, and they are naming Hurley as the escaped suspect. Ben says it looks like they have a change of plans.


Meanwhile, Sayid has taken Hurley to the Rainbow Drive-In for a burger and fries. He tells Sayid that "if you had more comfort food, you wouldn't have to go around shooting people." They walk up to Sayid's safe house - an upstairs apartment. They are talking about what Sayid has been doing, and he basically says 'you don't want to know.' He tells Hurley that he's been working for Ben, and Hurley asks, "he's on our side now?" Sayid tells him, "if you ever have the misfortune of running into Benjamin Linus again, whatever he tells you, just do the opposite." Sayid then notices that a piece of Scotch tape he has placed at the top of his door has been broken; someone is inside. Fighting and shooting ensue. One henchman ends up flattened on the pavement below, another meets the business end of all of the forks and knives in Sayid's open diswasher, Sayid ends up with a tranquilizer dart stuck in his neck, and Hurley ends up picking up a gun and being cell-photographed with it by witnesses on the pavement below, who then run away. As he says, "Dude...dude...oh man," he picks up Sayid on his shoulders, says "this was supposed to be a safehouse - we never should've left that island!" and carries him to a van.

We go back to the Remainders walking through the jungle on their way to the remains of the Swan. Charlotte asks if Charles Widmore is looking for them, and Miles says that it took Widmore 20 years to find them the first time, "so I'll start holding my breath now." They come upon the destroyed Swan hatch. Dan seems to be the only one that knows why they're there, and Sawyer decides to walk back to the camp, but Dan stops him, telling him that he can't change anything. He gives his second Time Travel for Dummies explanation - that time is like a string. You can move forward and backward along the string, but you can't make a new string. Ever. Sawyer is getting more frustrated, and asks him, "How do you know about this, Danny Boy?" Faraday takes out his notebook and tells him how he has been studying this his whole adult life. Sawyer asks if they can't stop it, who can? Dan gives one of his now-classic, 'I, um, know, but I'm, uh, not going to, um, tell you...?' looks.

We then see Locke on the ground, and in pain. Despite the time jump, he still has a bullet in his leg. Now the drug plane is upside-down and on the ground, just as the Losties left it, on top of the Pearl hatch, and it looks noticeably more weathered. Locke drags himself inside the plane, possibly considers how helpful the contents of the Mary statues could be, but instead rips a hanging seatbelt from the plane and wraps it around his injured leg like a tourniquet. Suddenly he sees a torch in the jungle, and as it comes around to him, we see that it's Richard. "Hey John," he greets him, smiling. Locke asks him what is happening, and Richard says that he's bleeding to death from the bullet wound, and takes out a first aid kit. Locke asks Richard how he knew he had a bullet in his leg, and he says that Locke told him, but Locke correctly points out that he didn't. "Well...you will," he replies.
When Locke tells him he was shot by Ethan, Richard says, "what goes around comes around." Locke then asks the big question: "When am I?" Richard tells him that it's all relative. As Richard takes the bullet out, he tries explaining things to Locke because he doesn't have much time before Locke goes again. Locke is confused by this, but Richard warns him to listen carefully. He gives him directions about what needs to happen, and that the next time that Locke sees Richard, Richard won't recognize him. "The only way to save the island is to get your people back here," he tells him, and gives him a compass. "You have to convince them." Locke asks how he can do that. Richard replies, "You're going to have to die, John." Just then, the bright light comes back, and it's daylight again. The drug plane is back up on the cliff, still smoking.

~~~
Commercial break comments:
I'm really beginning to wonder - was Locke from the future during the entire show, from the start of Season 1? Did he have a leg injury when 815 crashed? He was on the plane, but... Something to think about.
~~~

The Remainders are still at the blown apart hatch. Miles asks what this place was, and Juliet explains the button-pushing thing. Miles says, "Really?" Then as the white light begins again, Sawyer says, "Son of a..." and when it's over and they are back in the daylight, he finishes, "...bitch." Classic. Everything is changed - the crater where the hatch was is now flat ground. Juliet quickly gets on the ground and digs until she finds the window of the hatch, just the way it used to be before the Losties discovered it. She says, "I guess you haven't found it yet." Sawyer begins to walk away - he wants to go to the back door of the Swan. He reasons that he survived the island once already eating boar meat and drinking coconuts, and the Swan has food, clothing, and beer. Again, Dan insists that he doesn't go, saying "it's no use." Sawyer finds the door and starts pounding on it, yelling, "It's the ghost of Christmas future!" Dan is still telling him to stop - "If it didn't happen, then it can't happen!" Sawyer, on the verge of cracking, turns around and tells Dan, "Everyone I care about just blew up on your damn boat - I know what I can't change." Juliet sees how upset Sawyer has gotten and tries to calm the situation down by suggesting they all go back to the beach. "It's been a long day." And how. They begin heading in that direction when Faraday notices Charlotte bleeding from her left nostril.
Uh oh.


Dan is worried - he seems to know what this means, just as we do - but he tries his best to play it cool. He tells her that he needs to go get his pack, but she should go on toward the beach. Once she leaves, he runs to his bag, takes out his notebook, flips through, and thinks for a moment. He then bolts to the Swan back door himself and starts pounding on it. The door suddenly opens, and a man in a yellow hazmat comes out pointing a rifle at Dan. It's Desmond. Desmond asks, "Are you him?" Dan doesn't know what to say - him? "My replacement?" Dan tells him no. Desmond asks if he knows Daniel, and Dan says, uh, yes.


Now I'll be honest, I didn't catch everything that was said in this scene, but Dan told Desmond that he is uniquely special and that "the rules don't apply to you." He then tells him something he has to do if a helicopter comes, says his name is Daniel Faraday, and that when he gets off the island, he needs to go find Dan's mother in Oxford - her name is...and then the bright light comes again.
Desmond is in bed next to Penny. It's present day (2005). He sits up in a panic. "I was on the island," he tells her. She tells him it was just a dream - he's been off the island for three years. "It's not just a dream," he says, "it was a memory." He gets out of bed and runs up a staircase, and we see that they are on a sailboat off the coast of a Mediterranean-looking city. As he starts unwinding the sail, Penny asks him where he's going. He tells her they're leaving for Oxford.

LOST

My first reaction as the episode ended: this was just one episode? All of this? There's still another entire hour? Am I ready for another hour?
But on to more thoughtful reactions. First, I'm a huge fan of the time travel aspects of the show. I know not everyone is, so I apologize in advance if I rattle on about what I think is going on with that part of the show. But I'm not brave enough to even pretend to fully understand it, so let me share a few non-time travel things.

• Is Pierre Chang's baby Miles? The timing seems to match up, if we saw the Changs in the late 1970's/early 1980's, as I think we do based on the dates of the orientation films we've seen, and if we assume Miles is in his 30's. His name, Miles Straum, always seemed blatantly fake; Miles Straum = maelstrom, a Scandanavian (?) word meaning "storm." Is that his alias, or his "stage name"? Is he really a Chang? Is his time on the island as a baby the reason he has the special abilities that he does? Was he born on the island?
• Is the Swan a constant for the Remainders? Is this why Daniel took them there? And if Miles had been on the island as a baby and had some experience with the Swan, Charlotte would be the only one who has no connection to the Swan that we know of, so that might be why she's the only one who is getting the nosebleed. Then again, it's been hinted that she was born on the island - maybe she was never exposed to the Swan?
• Speaking of Charlotte's nosebleed - Dan had been insisting to Sawyer that there is no way to change the past or the future, ever. He said it over and over. He told Sawyer that pounding on the Swan's doors would be pointless. It wouldn't change anything. But once Dan saw Charlotte's nose start bleeding, and it seems that he knows that's a bad sign for time travelers, his first act was to do exactly what Sawyer was trying to do and try to contact Desmond in the Swan. I got the impression that everything he told Desmond to do, he was doing to try to save Charlotte. Maybe I'm wrong, but there seemed to be some similar behaviors there; two men who are desperate to save people they love, even if they believe it's impossible. I really like this possibility on the show.
• Sun - we see more in the second episode, but even here - what is she up to? I'm squarely on the fence with her - is she Team Widmore, or Team Linus? She is totally up for grabs right now. I'm guessing she's going to turn out to be some sort of double agent. Or, is she thinking of Jin so much, is she thinking of the horrible things he did to be able to be with her, and feeling that she needs to either a.) exact revenge for his death, no matter who gets in her way, or b.) do anything to get back to the island because she believes that Jin is really alive there, no matter who gets in her way? Did Locke come to her and tell her Jin was still alive?
• Ben asks Jack what Locke said "to make him a believer" in the plan to return to the island. As we all know, Jack is not a believer. I just thought that was an interesting choice of words on Ben's part.
• Finally, we hear the phrase "God help us all" in this episode. We also hear it as the last words of the second episode. I'm thinking that the writers (and the characters, in turn) are hinting at just how massively important it is for the O6 to return - not just for themselves, not for the island, but for much, much more...
  

As more thought and discussion takes place in the coming days, I will post again with more discoveries. But until then...

Namaste, and Good Luck!