Cabin Fever

My goodness! How old is Richard Alpert, anyway? So he has been watching Locke all his life. One thing that this tells me is that whoever has been manipulating everyone to be on flight 815 knew that it would crash on the island, and that these people would survive.

Matthew Abaddon, the orderly, was also interested in Locke (he advised Locke to go on a 'Walkabout'). Abaddon appears to work for Widmore, so Alpert and Abaddon are not working together (unless Abaddon is a spy, working for the others). With these guys pestering Locke all his life, it's no wonder he thinks he has some destiny.

We also saw that Locke has had a fascination with knifes since he was a child. I wonder which object he was supposed to recognize as belonging to him.

In the cabin, Christian looked pretty darn real to me. I still wonder whether he is really dead. Of course, if he was alive, how could he convince Claire to leave Aaron in the woods like that? As a ghost, perhaps he is manipulating her supernaturally or something...

Am I going to have to go back and figure out whose side each minor character is on now? Alpert is with Jacob, Abaddon is with Widmore(?), Christian Shephard is with Jacob, Libby is with Widmore, Kelvin Inman is with Widmore (Kelvin is the one who taught Sayid to torture, and Desmond to push the button). This is one big chess game between Jacob and Widmore, and I don't know who to root for.

Something Nice Back Home

Sorry for the late post. I was dealing with family matters this week.

I don't know that I was really too impressed with this episode. We saw Jack together with Kate. We saw Jack's slide into mental and emotional instability. And we saw Jack begin his drug addiction.

The most important thing, in my opinion, in this episode was when Claire saw her father. We have recently been shown that ghosts may be real on this show. Although I don't know why Claire would leave Aaron like that, I think she is ok for now, and that Christian is going to tell her that Jack is her half brother.

When Jack said to Kate that she is not related to Aaron, I think we were meant to think it is ironic, and that Jack doesn't know that he is related. However, I believe that he does know. I think Claire found out from their father, and she told Jack. That would begin to explain why Jack didn't want to see Aaron at first. There was some kind of emotional baggage there.

Now, what is the deal with who raises Aaron? At first, Claire is told that no one but her could raise him. Now that Clair is unable to, we learn that Jack, specifically can not.

The Shape of Things to Come

Well, we now know that Sayid is working for Ben voluntarily, although I’m sure we all agree, he was manipulated into his volunteering.

Ben was somewhat surprised when he awoke in the Sahara, wearing a winter coat. I wonder how he got there.

I wonder about Ben’s comment that the rules have been changed. Why were there rules? What were the rules? Surely there wasn’t a rule against killing. Perhaps personal attacks (killing Ben’s daughter) was supposed to be against the rules. Were the rules formalized? Did Widmore recognize that there were rules? Or was Ben just assuming the rules? In any case, killing Alex definitely resulted in a change in Ben’s attitude. He is definitely more aggressive in the future. Are we supposed to sympathize with him now?

Widmore said to Ben that the island was his, and that Ben took it away from him. I was assuming that the island belonged to Hanso, and that the Widmore connection was a bit more subtle. Perhaps Widmore has a stronger connection to the Hanso foundation than I thought.

Is the body of the ship’s Doctor another example of time travel, or were the people on the ship lying to them when they said the Doctor was fine?

Meet Kevin Johnson

Well, I don't think they have done that before. Only one long flashback in the episode. At first I wasn't sure if it was pre- or post-crash, as Michael was in an accident before.

I am a little unsure about the timing, though. Is one month enough time for all that to happen? This is what I was able to put together:

Ben showed Jack a newspaper from the mainland when they first took him hostage. The date was Nov. 29. Michael had just been given a boat before that. So Michael and Walt left about a day or two before that. Desmond called Penny on Dec. 24. So that makes it about 4 weeks for Michael to get Walt home, feel suicidal, recover from the car crash, get on a boat, get out to the area of the island, and wait while Naomi parachutes onto the island, punctures a lung, and heals from that (OK, she healed fast).

I am not surprised that Mr. Friendly told Michael that Widmore put the decoy plane out there. I still don't know if it was Widmore, or Ben.

Ben sure does like lists, doesn't he?

I hope Danielle is not dead. It seemed that she and Alex were somewhat minor characters, but the way they ended the episode, with Karl and Danielle being shot, and Alex not sure if she is in danger, it looks like she may take on some importance soon.

Libby: Ghost, or Michael's guilt? Miles knew Kevin wasn't Michael's real name. Did a ghost tell him? Did I miss any subtle clues?

Ji Yeon

Wow! I didn't see that comming. Both flash-backs and flash-forwards in the same episode, those devious devils.

Did anyone notice the year on Jin's headstone? 2004. It's Dec. 24, 2004 on the island now. So Jin only has a week to live. Provided, that is, that he really is buried there. Maybe he is still on the island, and the world thinks he is dead. But then, Hurley and Sun were talking like he is dead, so...

Andy, about an hour after I read your theory that Michael was the informant on the boat, I saw a picture of him on the boat, with Sayid and Desmond, so I wasn't completely supprized about that.

So it seems that Ben is behind the fake 815 discovery. That makes sense. Since he wouldn't want the island found, the discovery of the plane would stop any continued search for it. Still, blaming Ben would be convenient, and Widmore isn't really trustworthy either, is he?

Did I miss anything?

Some "behind the scenes" stuff... I read something a while ago about this episode. After filming all the Jin & Sun footage, the film was ruined on transport to LA, and so it all had to be re-shot.

TV Guides "Lost" Article

There is a good article in this weeks TV Guide about Lost. One quote from the article is "Not since Year 1 has ABC's Emmy-winning dram been this consistently thrilling." There is also news about the post-writers strike episodes. "The producers' first order of business was to condense what were supposed to be the season's final eight episodes into what Lindelof calls a 'lean, mean' five. Those installments begin airing April 24". As the 8th episode is schedualed to air March 20, it looks like there will be a month break in our Lost viewing.

Anne, the first part of the article is safe to read, but there are spoiler in the interview portion, so beware.

The Other Woman

Well, I knew immediately when seeing the title that this was about Juliet. However, I thought it referred to Jack/Juliet/Kate. Interesting sidestory which shows us why certain things were done when the plane crashed.

Ben certainly knows how to push Locke's buttons "has the revolution started yet?"...It hadn't, but with Ben out it might.

I still want to know if Claire died or if Kate took Aaron.

Finally, my theory about Ben's source on the boat...Michael.

The Constant

Wow! This one reminded me of Slaughterhouse Five, or the final episode of Star Trek, the Next Generation. I'm not sure how this fits in to my theory (see my post, Some notes from Season 3) that Desmond will change things in the Looking Glass, but I feel I am on the right track.

Note that the the pilot had to follow special a heading to get back to the ship. Ben also gave Michael a specific heading to get away from the island. Was the heading that he gave Michael the correct heading, or did he give him a false heading. I think he probably gave him a good heading, because if he didn't want Michael and Walt to get away from the island, he wouldn't have needed to give them directions at all. They would never have gotten away from the island on their own.

I like how Desmond finally talks with Penny. She is still searching for him. This is setting up some later developement in a future episode, when Pennys people will possibly show up on the island (maybe next season?).

I wonder about Daniels note in his notebook, "If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant."

Eggtown

Sorry it took so long to update this. We are really close to releasing our new web site, and I have been working overtime lately.

I got an email from Andy. Some of his comments about this episode were:

One of my big questions was answered last week and another HUGE one was created (how did Kate end up free and why is Aaron off the island when Claire isn't?)

I am puzzled about who could be the remaining Oceanic 6. We know that Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Sayid are the first four. They can't be counting Aaron...can they? I think we're gonna find out Sawyer got off...but that leaves one more. I suppose they could make it be Jin and Sun and leave Sawyer on the island.

Yes, is was nice to have the question about Kate's freedom answered. Aside from that, I can't say that I was much interested in the flashforwards until we learned about Aaron (I must say that I guessed that it was Aaron about 5 seconds before she said his name). Does that mean that Claire dies? And why does Jack not want to see him? Does he feel guilty about Claire's death?

The big question now is the identity of the last two. I am not sure they are counting Aaron, but I don't think we can exclude him. So there are one or two left. If it is one, It may be Sawyer. If two, I am hoping for Sun and Jin. I think Desmond may be getting off the island as well, but since he was not on Oceanic 815, he wouldn't be one of the "6".

We also know now that Ben eventually gets away from Locke, so we may be seeing him pulling of some coup soon.

In the flashback the previous week, Miles was using his ghost whisperer skills to get money hidden by a dead man. Now in this episode, he is extorting Ben for 3.2 million dollars. I wonder what he needs the money for?

The Economist

Some interesting developments in this episode. I don't know what they all mean, though...

What was the significance of the bracelet Sayid took from Naomi?

Interesting experiment with the projectile, and a 30 minute time delay. Anne, it look's like you are on to something with the mixed up time flow around the island. Probably ties in to the fossilized polar bear in the desert. And Desmonds' flashes, too?

What's the deal with Jacob's moving cabin? It moved once before, too. When Hurley was running away from it, and then it was in front of him. I noticed that Locke seemed to have a renewed confidence since his encounter with Walt. But when the cabin was not where he expected it to be, that confidence was shaken, and it showed. Ben piked up on it, too. I'm sure he will exploit it later.

Random thought. The people on the boat are not with Penny's people. I assume they are enemies. The boat people are also enemies of the "Others". Does that mean that Penny is on Ben's side? Or are there three, or more, separate groups.

What is it that Ben has on Sayid, to make him kill for him? I assume that he is holding some people hostage? And did Sayid go back to the island when he got shot, or did Ben leave the island? Something that I figured Ben would never do. And what about Nadia?

Sorry Beck. I haven't got a theory to tie all these questions up yet.

Confirmed Dead

I must admit, I am a little confused about tonights revelations. From the flashbacks, we know that the new-comers had their suspisions about the fate of flight 815. But Oceanic 815 was not the reason for their mission. And yet they stumble across the survivors while on their unrelated mission? I was out of the room at the time that Naomi was discussing the team members, so I may have missed something there. Did they say why those people where chosen for the mission? Was it because of their convictions of the 815 crash?

An interesting side note. That polar bear skeleton they found in the dessert, with the collar from Dharma on it. How old was that skeleton? It seems time travel might not be such a stretch on this show. Oh yah, and ghosts are real, too, since Miles was talking to them. So maybe that's what Jacob it?

Interesting that Ben didn't know what the monster was. Did he even know that there was one? He didn't seem to know what Locke was talking about (although he is an expert liar).

The Beginning of the End (Season Premier)

Hurley said "I'm one of the Oceanic 6". So six of them get off the island. Jack, Kate, Hurley, and 3 others. So the question is, is everyone else dead, or still stranded on the island? If they are still alive, why don't the 6 tell anyone about them?

I was doing some thinking about the last episode. The question about why Jack was so shaken up about the death of someone who was neither friend nor family. I was thinking that perhaps it was someone who Jack believed wasn't supposed to die for some reason. Of course, we now know that Jack and Hurley (and presumably the other 4 as well) are keeping silent about something, and they are feeling guilty. So perhaps the person who died killed himself because of the guilt, and that amplified Jack's guilt.

So if everyone else is dead, what does Hurley need to do to help them? Tell their stories? Go back for them?

Notice that Hurley said about "It" wanting them to go back. I wonder what odd things happen to them after they are rescued. Odder than the things that he would hallucinate, considering that he knows that he hallucinates. I assume that "It" is the island.

I still think it is possible that at the end of the season, after seeing all the problems that result from it, Desmond will flash back to the beginning, and stop Charley from turning off the jamming signal.

Oh, yeah. And why wasn't Kate still wanted by the police. Did she get a pardon for being a survivor?

Any thoughts?

(Later...) I just had another thought (yes, Andy, it did hurt). There was a cover-up about the crash, presumably by Oceanic. They claimed they found the remains of flight 815 on the bottom of the ocean. Perhaps the six were convinced to go along with the cover-up, and not tell the whole story. Which could mean that the rest of the survivors are still on the island, waiting to be rescued.

Season 4 begins Jan. 31

This season, Lost will be on Thurs. instead of Wed., so plan your weeks accordingly. The trailer looks fantastic. (watch out Anne, the trailer may have spoilers)


The producers of Lost decided to split the last 48 episodes into three seasons of 16 episodes, instead of two seasons of 24 episodes. The reason for this was so they could air each season uninterrupted. However, because of the writers strike, they currently only have 8 episodes of season 4 so far. So it looks like the season will be interruped after all. The question is, will season 4 have a break between the first 8 episodes and the last 8, or will season 4 be 8 episodes?