I suspect that anyone who was losing faith in LOST after last week’s Kate-centric episode, was born-again with this week’s rockin’ Locke-centric: “The Substitute”. There is a ton to talk about following this episode, but I need to start at the end, because that’s what got me really excited....and I’ll bet you too.

Of course I am talking about the writing on the wall of the cliff-side cave (I’m sure Harry Potter fans loved the nod to the cave in HP the Half-Blood Prince). Not since Locke saw the map on the back of the Swan Station blast door in Season 2’s “Lockdown”, have fans been freeze-framing their DVRs so carefully to decipher some hidden clues. Let’s start with what was pointed out to us by Fake-Locke (Flocke)....the uncrossed-out names:

23 – Shephard (Jack)
8 – Reyes (Hurley)
16 – Jarrah (Sayid)
42 – Kwon (Sun or Jin)
4 – Locke (John)
15 – Ford (Sawyer)

Can't go anywhere without graffiti!

The numbers have been one of the core mysteries of the show since Season 1. Hurley won the lottery with these numbers and they have been omnipresent throughout the series. Now while this doesn’t tell us specifically why these numbers were chosen or why they were assigned to these individuals (and we may never know the answers to these questions), it does tell us that when the numbers were assigned to these Losties, they became significant. It also means that these 6 people are more important than any others....even if their names had once appeared on the wall (and I’ll talk to some of those other names later)....because these numbers had meaning BEFORE the crash of Oceanic 815.

The next very obvious thing that sticks out is that one major character is NOT among the final 6 names: Kate. This is very important because Kate is the only one of the Losties that was touched by Jacob in last season’s finale who does not appear. Not only that, but so far, she has not been identified at all ANYWHERE on the wall (crossed-out or uncrossed-out). Does this mean that Kate was NEVER a “candidate” (more on what being a candidate means later). Clearly, Jacob touched Kate for a reason...but why? Were people brought to the island for reasons other than candidacy? Maybe in Kate’s case she is a facilitator....helping to get candidates to the island (she is one of the reason’s Jack returned to the island and she was the reason Sawyer jumped from the helicopter). Or maybe we just didn’t see the name (but I doubt they wouldn’t show us the name if it was there).

Now let’s get into the areas that weren’t obvious to the casual viewer....LOST-obsessed fans have been scrutinizing the crossed-out names. They come in various flavors (courtesy of the good people at Lostpedia):

Oceanic 815 survivors:
Littleton (Claire...could also be Aaron)
Pace (Charlie)
Rutherford (Shannon)
Mars (Edward....the marshal)
Fernandez (Nikki)
Troup (the guy who was sucked into the engine in the Pilot)
Sullivan (the guy with the rash in Season 1)

Freighter Team:
Faraday (Daniel)
Lewis (Charlotte)
Straume (Miles)

The Others:
Linus (Ben....could also be Roger)
Burke (Juliet)
Pickett (Danny....the guy that used to like beating on Sawyer)
Martin (Karl....Alex’s boyfriend)

The DHARMA Initiative:
Goodspeed (Horace.....could also be Ethan)
Chang (Pierre....Miles’ Dad)

US Army (known only by the uniforms stolen by the 1950’s Others):
Jones
Mattingly
Cunningham

Rousseau’s Team
Brennan
Lacombe

There are also many other crossed-out names that don’t correspond to any known characters.

These names tell us that Jacob has been looking for candidates for a very long time and keeps bringing people to the island until he finds the right one. But it also begs the question: What disqualifies one from being a candidate? Many of these people are dead....so that seems to be one way. At least one has been “claimed”: Claire. At least 2 are alive and well: Miles and Ben. If I had to guess, I would say that the disqualification is based more on your actions than anything else....but murder doesn’t necessarily knock you out (Sayid, Sawyer). In classic LOST fashion, we are presented with answers, but there are always more questions.

Another thing to note is that there may not be any women on the wall. I noted above that Kate was missing. Let’s look at some of the other potential female names:

Littleton – Could be Aaron instead of Claire
Lewis – Charlotte’s father was a member of the DHARMA Initiative
Burke – Don’t know if this is Juliet.....could have been her ex-husband (the one that got hit by a bus) or maybe her father (who was shown briefly in a flashback in last season’s finale)
Rutherford – Shannon’s father was killed in a car accident (the same one that injured Jack’s ex-wife Sarah)....but we don’t know if he ever had any connection to the island.

I tend to think that gender is not a factor, but it is something to keep an eye on....it would also disqualify Sun, if true. Also, I’ve got a gut feel that Sun is more likely to be a candidate than Jin. She seems smarter....or at least more cunning.

One other thing stuck me as very curious. Two very notable names don’t appear: Widmore and Hawking. These two were incredibly prominent island figures. If you need to be male, that would explain Eloise Hawking’s absence. Charles Widmore’s absence could be much more meaningful. Recall that Widmore told Locke in Season 5’s “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham” that “...there's a war coming, John. And if you're not back on the Island when that happens, the wrong side is going to win.” Locke eventually is killed and his body becomes the new vessel for the Man-in-Black/Smoke Monster. It is not too crazy of a stretch to suggest that Widmore is aligned with the MIB and helped facilitate his return (again...another Harry Potter parallel of the servant helping to resurrect the master). If Widmore is on Team Smokey, then he probably can’t be one of Jacob’s candidates.

So, what is a “candidate”? Flocke tells Sawyer that names on the wall are potential candidates to take over Jacob’s position as protector of the island. When Sawyer asks to protect it from what, Flocke replies: “From nothing, James. That's the joke, there is nothing to protect it from, its just a damn island. And it will be perfectly fine without Jacob or you, or any of the other people; whose lives he wasted.” Two things to think about relative to this: First, recall this conversation the Season 4 finale:

LOCKE: If you have to go, then you have to lie about everything...everything that happened since we got to the island it's the only way to protect it.
JACK: It's an island, John. No one needs to protect it.
LOCKE: It's not an island. It's a place where miracles happen. And--and--if you--if you don't believe that, Jack, if you can't believe that, just wait till you see what I'm about to do.

Second, Flocke is clearly lying.....he will do and say ANYTHING to get Sawyer to agree with him. Remember too that Team Ilana have discussed “candidates” (wondering if Frank Lapidus is one). This indicates that they have some awareness of how things work. I kind of look at Team Ilana as the Knights Templar of the island......they are not members of the clergy, but are dedicated to protecting the church.

So what are the options for candidates. According to Flocke, they are as follows:

1) Do nothing and see how this all plays out....and possibly get your name crossed off the list. (Seems like a path to getting Sawyer killed)
2) Accept the job of Jacob’s replacement. (Not Sawyer’s style)
3) Get the hell off this island. (Sawyer has gone to a very dark place after Juliet’s death and this seems like an appealing option).

Sawyer of course chooses option 3. He makes his deal with the devil and has chosen his side in the war: Team Smokey

Just another member of the team.

Earlier in the episode when Sun asked why Flocke took Richard into the jungle, Ilana responded that he was “recruiting”. I really like this choice of a term. Last year, I wrote a blog entry comparing LOST to three other epic mythologies: Stephen King’s “The Stand” (which the show’s creators claim to be a blueprint for LOST), the Star Wars saga, and the Harry Potter novels. In each of these there is a light side (the Boulder Free Zone survivors, the Jedi, and the Order of the Phoenix) and a dark side (the Las Vegas group of survivors, the Empire/Sith, and the Death Eaters). And the leader of the dark side (Randall Flagg, the Emperor, and Voldemort) preys upon the weaknesses of the men and women as a recruiting tool....gathering followers. So too in LOST, the MIB tries to recruit Richard (unsuccessfully) by playing up Jacob withholding information from him. But he does nab Sawyer by appealing to his pain over the loss of a loved one (Juliet). However, before we crucify the MIB as the antichrist....let’s think about Jacob’s recruiting: Jack (touched when in a conflict with his father), Kate (touched after caught stealing), Hurley (touched when he must make a decision on whether or not to return to the island), Sawyer (touched when plotting his revenge for the death of his parents), Sun/Jin (touched after entering into a troubled marriage) and Sayid (touched after his wife is run over by a van). Each side is now gathering their soldiers for the coming war. Face the hard truth now.....some of our heroes are going to line up against each other. The battle lines are being drawn and war is approaching.

Before I completely leave the subject of candidates, one other thing crossed my mind. Locke was an interesting choice for the MIB to utilize for his plot to kill Jacob. Now on the surface, I believe what Flocke says, that this was his way to get access to Jacob. However, I also believed he was eliminating the TOP candidate for Jacob’s position. Clearly, Locke would not hesitate to accept this position. So, the MIB has managed to kill two birds with one stone (pun intended), killing Jacob and eliminating the top seeded candidate to replace him. Now the MIB’s main mission is to eliminate the other 5 remaining candidates.....and remember death is not necessarily a requirement for eliminating a candidate. The scales have been tipped in the MIB’s favor....as exemplified by the Flocke’s “inside joke” removing the white stone from the balance scale. However, the MIB had better not get too cocky.....while Jacob may be gone, it will only take one candidate to accept the position to rebalance the scales. And I think the smart money is on a certain spinal surgeon.

Tipping the scales.

So, one may ask (well, I guess I am still talking about candidates), why doesn’t Flocke just kill the candidates. Well a mysterious blond boy (I’ll get to him in a minute) showed up in the jungle and said, “You know the rules. You can't kill him.” Hmmmm.....we’ve often heard reference to “the rules”. I’m wondering if one of the rules is that you can’t kill a candidate (with maybe a caveat). This could mean that Ben’s adopted (or kidnapped if you prefer) daughter Alex was a candidate....since Ben accused Widmore of breaking the rules. It also means that some people who were attacked by the Smoke Monster were not candidates: Mr. Eko, Montand (French team member whose arm was ripped off), the Oceanic 815 pilot, and Bram. However, I think there may be a caveat to this rule: if the Smoke Monster is attacked by a candidate.....it may kill to defend itself....like it did to Bram. This could also explain why Flocke seemed perfectly content to be shot by Sawyer. One, he knows he can’t be harmed by bullets and, two, it may allow him retaliate and eliminate a candidate (although I think Sawyer may be more useful to the MIB as an ally than a corpse).

So, lets return to the enigmatic blond boy. He showed up suddenly in the jungle and could not be seen by Richard (not a candidate), but could be seen by Sawyer (candidate). When he first appeared, his arms were covered in blood (I haven’t got a clue...but it must be important). Two big questions come to mind regarding this kid: 1) Who is he?; and 2) Why does Flocke appear to be afraid of him? As to his identity, two possibilities come to mind (based solely on physical appearance): Aaron and Jacob. And my theory is that Aaron and Jacob are one-in-the-same person. The appearance of a young Jacob could explain what is freaking Flocke out....when Jacob was killed last season, I was reminded of the Obi-Wan Kenobi line: “You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.” Maybe that is what we are beginning to see....or more importantly, this is what the MIB is beginning to see. After Flocke chases the boy into the jungle and he is reminded of the “rules”, Locke screams back, “Don't tell me what I can't do.....don't tell me what I can't do!” I took this to mean that the essence of Locke still remains somewhere underneath the Flocke exterior....and maybe this means he can someday return.

Aaron? Jacob? Both?

Back on the other side of the island, a distraught Ilana was sitting in the statue foot trying to make sense of what happened. Of course, Ben is of little help....sprinkling in lies in his retelling of Jacob’s demise. After Ilana learned that Jacob’s body was burned in the fire, she collected some of the ash. It makes sense that Jacob’s ashes can protect one from the Smoke Monster, but clearly the ash being used by the Others for protection can’t have come from Jacob. I had read one theory that the ash may be from Jacob’s predecessors. I’m not sure that I buy this as Jacob has been in charge of the island for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years. However, it could be possible that the ash comes from the cremated bodies of the Others (or maybe previous candidates). Something to keep an eye on the rest of this season.

Ashes to Ashes

The off-island storyline was pretty interesting too. In this timeline, while Locke is flawed, he is not the beaten, broken man we’ve met in his flashbacks. Note that he still has Helen in his life....who in the flashbacks had left him because of his unhealthy relationship with his father. And speaking of the anti-Ward-Cleaver, Anthony Cooper, maybe in this universe he isn’t so bad....notice that Helen suggests that Locke’s dad be one of the attendees at their quickie wedding in Vegas. It would not surprise me at all to learn that this Locke is a wheelchair for some reason other than being thrown out of a window by his own father.

There were many intriguing occurrences in this stroyline, such as Locke’s interactions with Hugo (offering a second chance) and Rose (talking about acceptance, his paralysis and her cancer....a nice callback to their island discussion about being the two people who understood that the island healed them). These two meetings led to Locke’s ultimate decision to stop trying to do things that he can’t do and start doing things he can. This is a conclusion the old Locke could have never reached....and maybe because he has the love of Helen and his father he can reach it and have his second chance at life. When Locke says there is “no such thing” as miracles, is this a loss of faith or his coming into true understanding that life is what you make it?

Locke end’s up as a substitute teacher. Nice how the titles of these episodes often have duel meanings. Flocke is “The Substitute” on the island. Locke is “The Substitute” off the island. When Locke entered the teacher’s lounge, who did he meet? None other than European History teacher, Benjamin Linus. My initial reaction when seeing this was that this was proof that the Island didn’t sink immediately after the nuke was detonated. After further consideration, “proof” may be too strong of a word. The last we saw Ben in 1977, he was recovering from being healed by the Others and was told that he must return to the DHARMA Initiative. However, it isn’t clear if he was returned to the DI and evacuated on the submarine, before the bomb went off. My intuition says that he remained on the island. In the weeks to come, I think we will learn the how Ben ended up as a history teacher and perhaps the occurrences following the detonation. At the very minimum, Ben is the one character we have seen so far in the universe that will have memory of life on the island.

Lunch buddies?

That is the major analysis for this week. Here are a few miscellaneous notes:

- My favorite line of the week came from Frank: “This is the weirdest damn funeral I’ve ever been to.”
- Very cool to get a Smoke Monster Point-of-View tracking shot....and this should put to an end any doubt (from the few holdouts left) that Flocke and the Smoke Monster are one and the same.
- You have to love that it took Sawyer all of 10 seconds to recognize Flocke as a phoney....while everyone else on the island was completely fooled. It takes a conman to spot a conman.
- Sawyer refers to “Of Mice and Men”, which he also did in the Season 3 episode “Every Man for Himself”.
- Ilana says that Flocke/MIB is stuck this way. So, apparently the only two forms he now can take are Flocke and Smoke Monster.
- You have to love Ben’s speech at Locke’s burial: “John Locke was a...a believer, he was a man of faith, he was.. a much better man than I will ever be. And I'm very sorry I murdered him.”
- Substitute teacher Locke, instructs his class on the human reproductive system. Interesting considering the themes regarding fertility on the island....I take this as a sign that this aspect of the story is yet to come.

So am I ready to end this marathon write-up? Hell Yes!

Lost Season 6 Analysis and Commentary (Episodes 3 - What Kate Does)

Ahhhh....the Kate-centric episode. Nothing sparks more acrimony among Lost-nation, than an episode focused on the world’s cutest fugitive. The backlash is so strong after last night’s episode that fans are throwing out comparisons to “Fire + Water” (Charlie goes crazy and tries to baptize Aaron...worst LOST ever), “Stranger in a Strange Land” (Jack gets a tattoo in Thailand), and “Expose” (Nikki and Paulo get bitten by spiders). While, I am not a fan of the typically slow-moving Kate-centric episodes, I think those comparisons are a little unfair to last nights “What Kate Does”. While it wasn’t an edge-of-your-seat thriller, I think it did give us a number of things to think about.

I'm not bad...I'm just written that way.

Let’s start with the title, “What Kate Does”. This is a callback to the Season 2 episode, “What Kate Did”. In that episode we learned that Kate was on the run from the law, because she blew-up her father. Prior to that point, I think many of us were under the impression that Kate was falsely accused....but in reality, Kate is a murderer (extenuating circumstances or not). This week’s episode looked not at Kate’s past, but rather her present. The answer to “What Kate does”, is she is trying to help save Claire and Aaron. It is why she returned to the island and it is why she is helping Claire in the off-island story. It seems pretty clear to me, that one of the themes of Season 6, will be redemption for our Losties. And Kate’s road to redemption is to reunite mother and child (something she failed to do in her own life with her mother).

While, I can understand why people didn’t like the adventures of Kate and Claire in LA, I think there were a few interesting things to note. Recall, last week, I mentioned that alternate-universe-Jack seemed to have bits of recognition of his other life. This week, I think we are seeing more of the same from Kate. As Kate is escaping the airport in a taxi, she makes eye contact with Jack and gets a strange expression on her face. This could be a recollection of bumping into him on the flight, but it seems more likely that she recognizes him from somewhere she can’t quite place. Later in the episode, when Kate is rummaging through Claire’s bag, she comes across a stuffed killer whale and pauses to look at it. Again, she seems to remember something.....when Kate was playing mother in Season 4, Aaron had a stuffed whale just like this one. Later still, when Claire is in false labor, she yells out, “Is Aaron OK?” Hearing this name, again, seems to register something in Kate. As with Jack, these deja-vu-like moments seem to pass quickly, but I would guess, as we work our way through each of our alternative-universe survivors, they will all have these feelings, drawing them closer to the people they were when the plane crashed. It is too early to draw any conclusions about how the merger of the timelines will happen, but expect increases in these phenomena of having been there before.

Aaron with the whale in season 4

The other interesting thing that occurred in the alternative universe, is we received a deliciously ironic encounter with Ethan. Back in Season 1, Ethan kidnapped Claire on the island, brought her to the Staff DHARMA station, and injected her and in-vitro-Aaron with “medicine”. In this episode, Ethan is the on-call OB/GYN at the hospital treating Claire and says that he doesn’t want to stick her if he doesn’t have to. Note that Ethan introduces himself as Dr. Goodspeed.....he has previously only been referred to as Ethan Rom (this is what he told Hurley, when he was making a list of the survivors in the first season). Goodspeed is in fact his father’s last name (his parents were DHARMA members Horace and Amy) and he was likely evacuated from the island with his mother in 1977, before the detonation at the Swan station. While it doesn’t appear that this version of Ethan has any malicious intent towards Claire, we shouldn’t dismiss this entirely. However, if Ethan grew up off the island, than he probably never became an Other.

Dr. Goodspeed, I presume?

Enough of the alternative universe....back to the island. And for those who didn’t like last night’s episode, the defense enters into evidence, Exhibit A: Dogen (you know....the Japanese temple-dude). From what I have seen so far, he is a really interesting addition to the cast. Let’s take a look at his actions in this episode. Note that when he is informed that Sayid is “alive”, he grabs the pendant he wears around his neck. Now you might think that this is nothing of importance, but he did the same thing last week before touching the ankh in Hurley’s guitar case. I’m not sure what it means, but keep an eye on that pendant. Next, I found his “diagnosing” of Sayid to be curious. First, he blows something across Sayid’s stomach (which I believe to be ash.....more on ash below). Then he hooks up electrodes to his abdomen and shocks him (I am guessing this has a similar effect as the sonic fence). So, I believe he was testing Sayid for things that repel the smoke monster. If you look very carefully, after Sayid is shocked, the wound on his stomach appears to be open (sorry, I couldn’t find a good online image of this). Remember that just prior to this, Jack said Sayid’s wound was almost completely healed. Now, while it is possible that the wound just ripped back open, I think the reversal of the healing may be due to the “infection” moving back from the surface of Sayid’s skin due to the ash and electric shock. When Dogen places the poker on Sayid, I believe he is just cauterizing the open wound. Later, Dogen tries to convince Jack to give a pill to Sayid. It turns out that the pill is poison and Dogen believes the only way to stop the “infection” is to kill the host. All this talk about infection is a callback to Rousseau in Season 1....who killed everyone in her party because she believed them to be “infected”. More on the Rousseau tie-ins later, but clearly there is something to being “infected” or as it is also referred to: “claimed”.

Ohhhhh.....the irony!

This is probably a good point to take a little tangent and discuss something I’ve been mulling over the past few days. Last week I mentioned that I had some thoughts on the use of the circle of ash as a means of protection against the smoke monster. I wanted to do a little more research about this before putting anything out on this....I’ve done that now, so here goes. My first reaction when I saw Bram put the circle of ash around him was that this reminded me of how the main character in The Dresden Files novel series (by the way, I highly recommend The Dresden Files....very entertaining) protects himself from demons by drawing a “magic circle” around himself. My understanding is that these circles are “standard” means of protection from demons both urban fantasy literature and traditional occult beliefs. So, this leads me to believe that the smoke monster is some form of demon. Pulling this thread a little further, I did some more research and discovered that prior to Christianity, demons could be considered either good or evil. These types of demons appear in ancient Mesopotamian mythologies, as well Hebrew texts. In the Babylonian myth, “The Epic of Gilgamesh”, a hero on a quest for immortality battles a demon that guards the forest of the Gods. The reason I mention this particular myth is that in the Season 2 episode, “Collision”, Locke is doing a crossword puzzle and writes in the answer “GILGAMESH”. Clearly there is some significance here. In some Old Testament passages, there are references to demons or “angels of destruction”. However, these are not agents of Satan, but rather doing God’s bidding....representatives of God’s wrath. While I don’t think any of these historical archetypes are direct explanations of things occurring on LOST, it had me thinking that perhaps, Jacob and the Man-in-Black are demons (or angels if you prefer)....one representing God’s forgiveness, the other representing His wrath. I’ve speculated before that the island may be an entryway to the afterlife. Maybe Jacob and the MIB are on the island to pass judgment upon souls as they pass to the beyond. If the MIB/smoke monster wants to “go home”, maybe he has grown tired of this position and desires returning to the other side. Prior to Jacob’s “death” there was balance among these opposing light and dark sides of God’s will. Now the MIB stands unchecked. He seems to have little patience for mankind....and if man no longer exists, he has no need to remain on the island (“God help us all”). Now, I’ve sort of extrapolated a long way from the circle of ash, but I think the show is moving away from science fiction themes and into more mystical territories. We’ve seen the ash around Jacob’s cabin, as an attempted personal protection for Bram, and as a line of defense around the Temple. It is clearly a means to keep the smoke monster out (I’m not buying the theories that the smoke monster was once a prisoner in the cabin...and the ash was keeping him in). I’ve read various guesses as to the origin of the ash (the island’s volcano, cremated remains of The Others, etc), but I think what the ash exactly is probably isn’t crucial to the plot. The more important thing is that it works to keep the monster away. I think we will get more clues into the exact nature of the smoke monster as this season progresses. As that happens, I’ll update this theory.

Now, circling back from the above thoughts to this week’s episode, if the Man-in-Black/Smoke Monster is some form of demon, then it is not too illogical of a stretch to assume that “claimed” is a type of demonic possession. Now, one of the other hugely significant things that Dogen says is that Jack’s sister (Claire) has also been claimed. Now, think about the odd behavior Claire exhibited when we last saw her in Season 4....wandering off with her ghost dad (Christian) and hiding in the shadow’s of Jacob’s cabin. The “What Kate Does” defense would now like to enter into evidence Exhibit B: Jungle Claire. In this episode we find Claire wandering through the jungle looking very Rousseau-esque, toting a rifle. It is not a very big stretch to assume that Claire also built the trap that knocks out Justin. If Claire is “infected”, does this also mean that Rousseau was infected. Maybe, but I’d also like to throw out another possibility. Recall if you will that Claire was in a house that was blown up by Keamy and the freighter mercenaries in Season 4. It never sat well with me that she survived this. I’ve speculated previously that perhaps she didn’t survive and she is in fact dead...which is why she left Aaron and went off with Christian. However, given the way Claire seemed to be channeling Rousseau this week, I started to wonder if maybe Claire has been “claimed” by Rousseau’s spirit. Then I remembered that after the Claire-house-blow-up incident, she, Sawyer and Miles walked over the make shift grave Rousseau was buried in. So, I am postulating that maybe the dead on the island can be possessed by the souls of other dead inhabitants. This may explain why The Others burn their dead. The potential implication is that Sayid (and maybe other departed individuals, like Christian), may be “claimed” by someone other than Jacob or the MIB.

I wonder how her French is?

There is one other major item (Exhibit C), I’d like to talk about. When Others Aldo and Justin, are escorting Kate and Jin through the jungle, they debate whether or not Jin is “one of them”. This phrase reminded me of Jacob’s final words after being stabbed: “They’re coming.” I am more convinced than ever that the they/them in question are the core Losties. I am also starting to wonder if there is some type of prophecy associated with the island and the Losties. Remember that LOST likes to draw from traditional mythological archetypes.....not unlike other modern classics like Star Wars and Harry Potter. In fact, I am wondering if the question, “What lies in the shadow of the statue” is part of this prophecy. Remember that Richard’s response to this question was "Ille qui nos omnes servabit", which translates to "He who will save us all." Now the assumption at the time was that the response referred to Jacob. Maybe the “He” is one of the Losties....or “one of them”. Chew on that for a while.

That is the major analysis for this week. Here are a few miscellaneous notes:

- My favorite line of the week came from Miles: “As you can see Hugo, here, has assumed the leadership position....so that is pretty great.”
- Speaking of Miles, note that he (the ghost whisperer) was confused that Sayid didn’t experience white light, singing, or dead relatives. He also appeared very puzzled last week when Sayid was “dead”. All this implies that Sayid was never truly dead.
- Dogen tells Jack that giving the pill to Sayid is his chance to redeem himself....themes of redemption in Season 6.
- Two excellent character moments in this episode: Jack’s defiance of Dogen by swallowing the pill and Sawyer’s realization that people are “meant to be alone”. Self-determination vs. fate always seems to be at the heart of LOST.
- Dogen says to Jack, “I was brought here” and that Jack knows “exactly what I mean”. I hope we get to learn more of the back stories of these characters and how they fit into the island’s plan.

OK.....that is enough for this week. For a “dull” episode it sure had plenty to write about. I’m guessing next week will ratchet up the intensity.

Lost Season 6 Analysis and Commentary (Episodes 1&2 - LA X, Part 1 & 2)

I have to chuckle at the creators of LOST. Before last night's premiere they were talking about how Season 6 was one in which someone who hadn't seen the show before, or who had stopped watching after the first couple of seasons, could jump right in. So what do they do? Give us what might be the most confusing episode in the history of the series (and THAT is saying something). I've dissected every detail of the series through multiple re-watches and I'm still not sure what I just saw! But hey....that's LOST.

I've now watched the premiere 3 times and I think I've got a handle on what is happening.....or I've at least got some theories. Going back to last season, the big question was: What happened when Juliet smacked the bomb? There were two basic theories among the fans. The first was "Whatever Happened, Happened" (or "you can't change the past").....the bomb caused "the incident", and the Losties were always responsible for the ultimate crash of Oceanic 815. The other was that Faraday's plan worked and caused a "Reset"....meaning the crash of Oceanic 815 never occurred. I was always in the Whatever Happened, Happened camp as it is a very pure way of looking at things. However, in "LA X", LOST gave us both scenarios.

Now, if you don't want your brain to explode, stop trying to make a single story out of the two scenarios. When the bomb went off, the story was split into two separate shows....the one we've been watching and a new one where the crash doesn't occur. Now while I believe these stories will eventually converge, intertwine, or relate in some fashion, I don't see that as critical in the near term. For now, just think about them as independent entities.

So, let's start with the "Reset" universe. The most important thing to note is that lives of the Oceanic passengers are NOT identical to those of the ones we've met before in series. Hurley considers himself lucky...not cursed. Shannon did not board the plane. Sayid's passport says he is from Iran, not Iraq. Sun is referred to as Ms. Paik (implying that she and Jin aren't married yet....and maybe she never learned to speak English). And my guess is that over the next few episodes, we will learn that Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke, etc all have had different life experiences. This implies that their lives didn't change when the crash fails to occur, but rather they changed in 1977. However something (fate?) is drawing these 9 people (Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke, Hurley, Jin, Sun, Sayid, and Claire) together (I view all other characters...including Charlie and Desmond...as secondary....for now). Clearly, their interactions will continue.

Last week, I speculated that if we saw an alternate reality, the Losties would have some sense of recognition of their other life. Note, the somewhat confused look on Jack's face in the initial scene...he is remembering something. He also seems to recognize Desmond (I will concede though that Jack met Desmond before the crash of Oceanic 815 as well...but maybe not in this universe)...more on Des below. Additionally, Jack finds blood on his neck. I believe that as the season progresses, our characters will have more of these deja-vu-like moments. It is too early to tell exactly how this will play out, but I would bet that as they begin to understand what they are experiencing, their world will begin to unravel.....leading to something big.

Deja vu?

Moving on....while the sequence going from Jack's window to the island submerged under the ocean was quite cool, let me ask you this: Why would a hydrogen bomb detonation sink the island? Let's suppose for a minute it did....what are the implications? Well, the following people would be dead: Ben Linus, Richard Alpert, Charles Widmore, Eloise Hawking, and maybe Jacob and the Man-in-Black. It also means that Daniel Faraday would never be born. Penny might not be alive either (unclear exactly when she was born). That makes for a lot of plot driving characters not being around. Let's suppose now, that the explosion didn't sink the island....maybe that happened AFTER 1977. If that is true, then many of the antagonists are still alive and may interact with the Losties.

I mentioned Desmond earlier and, as always, he is an interesting case. And right now there are more questions than answers. Why is he on the plane? What was he doing in Australia? Has he met Penny (does she even exist)? Is he even on the plane or is he a figment of Jack's imagination? Remember that Faraday once told Desmond that "the rules don't apply to you". The assumption was that he was talking about time travel....but maybe it also applies to the alternate realities. Desmond has a role to play in both scenarios and my guess is that he will be instrumental in bringing these to realities into a single timeline.

Seen you in another life brotha?

Before we get to the happenings at the airport, I'd like to note a few more things from the flight. So, did you notice that Jack couldn't find his pen when he was trying to open Charlie's airway? Two interesting things about this. First, this is a callback to the series Pilot when Jack asks Boone to find a pen to open Rose's airway. Second, Kate took Jack's pen when she bumped into him at the lavatory (and later uses it to try to get her cuffs off). Nice cameos by fringe characters Dr. Arzt and Frogurt. Boone tells Locke, "If this thing goes down, I'm sticking with you"....which is what happened after the crash of Oceanic 815 and led to his death. The pilot, Capt Norris, heard over the intercom is Matt Parkman from Heroes (he also played the pilot in the series Pilot). When Charlie realizes he is alive he says the line, "terrific".....which he said in the pilot when the smoke monster is first heard in the jungle. He also says that he was "supposed to die".....just like he was supposed to die on the island. Also, the end of the first hour was just fantastic, as the exiting of Oceanic 815 mirrored the boarding sequence from the Season 1 finale, "Exodus" (one of my favorite scenes in Lost).

On the ground things get even more interesting. We got to see bad-ass-Kate kick the marshal's butt before escaping the airport. Interesting that in the getaway taxi there is non-other than Claire....Aaron's mom and pseudo-mom riding off together..... the new Thelma and Louise? I like that Sawyer gave Kate a little cover on her escape. I'm also curious to find out what Jin had all that money for. But the scene I really like is the one with Jack and Locke in the lost baggage office. The dialogue between these two is so great. I love when Locke says, "How could they know where he (Christian) is? They didn't lose your father...they just lost his body." If there was ever any question that Christian Shephard is crucial to the story, put it to rest now. He will prove pivotal in both stories. However, the line that will end up defining the "reset" story is when Jack says, "Nothing is irreversible." Damn....he may not know it yet, but he isn't just talking about Locke's spine. He could be talking about the crash...the bomb....even the island being on the bottom of the ocean. Remember that line. It is important.

OK....back to the island story. Let’s start with the bomb and Juliet. Initially, I was pissed to see Juliet alive. How could she be alive? A nuke detonated 6 inches from her face! However, I’ll suspend disbelief and just be thankful that she did indeed die. My reason for wanting Juliet dead had nothing to do with whether or not I liked or disliked her (but honestly I was never a huge Juliet fan). Rather, I feel her death was critical to the Sawyer story arc. In Season 6, he needs to be a ball of southern-fried rage. And Juliet’s death pushed him there. When he says, “I ain’t followin’ nobody, Kate” it is an indicator that he will be marching to his own drum from here on out. An angry loner...who will ultimately find redemption (and if I had to guess it will be to save Jack.....remember Sawyer once said in season 2, “....you're about the closest thing I've got to a friend, Doc.”)

That is one pissed off redneck!

While Sawyer’s rage is growing, Hurley encounters Jacob. Of course only Hurley can see him, because he is now dead. He tells Hurley, “I was killed by an old friend, who tired of my company” (there were more great lines in this episode than any other I can remember). He then explains that the only way to save Sayid is to take him to the Temple and bring the guitar case with him. However, in order to get to the temple, the Losties needed to journey through the wall surrounding it. This was an interesting little trek as it took us past the body of Montand (Rousseau’s team’s smoke monster victim) sans arm and the hole Ben fell down when he encountered the smoke monster. It was also interesting that Kate heard whispers. It isn’t clear if these were The Whispers (that have been heard in the jungle) or just the Others coming to snatch her.

The Temple itself has been alluded to since Season 3 and finally, we got to see it. I’m sure there is more to the Temple than we saw this week, but we were introduced to The Spring. So this appears to be the source of the island’s healing powers. This must be where young Ben was taken after Sayid shot him. Two things struck me about the Spring. First, is that if it is indeed a spring then it’s source must be below it. We’ve already see that there are “pockets of energy” below the surface and now these healing waters come for below. Something is clearly going on deep underground. The second thing was that the Others state that the water is no longer clear. This seems to affect the healing capabilities. What could have contaminated the water? Maybe it was the detonation of the bomb (a sign that the events in one universe can affect another....but I’m violating my own mandate to keep the stories separate....so I’ll move on) or maybe it is due to Jacob’s death (is his blood running in the water...looks reddish) or maybe it is connected to the smoke monster (remember the muddy water Ben stuck his arm in to summon the smoke monster last season?). Sayid dies in the Spring but he is ultimately resurrected. The question is: Is this really Sayid? Could it be Jacob? Or maybe Christian? Or maybe some other entity? This will be very interesting.

Everybody in the pool!

The other really great thing that was revealed at the temple was the contents of Hurley’s guitar case. He’s been carrying that thing around since midway through last season and now we learn it contained a big wooden ankh...the Egyptian symbol for eternal life (remember last season DHARMA Amy removed an ankh necklace from her dead husband’s neck). But it wasn’t just an ankh...inside the ankh was a note from Jacob. Interesting that Jacob has been passing notes to the Others for years.....was this his method for delivery? Recall that Jacob gave the guitar case, with the ankh and its note, to Hurley before they ever returned to the island, so he must have foreseen what was coming. This make me think that despite the Man-in-Black’s plotting, Jacob has always been in control.

Guitar hero?

Speaking of the MIB, let’s get to his piece of the story. Well, we finally received confirmation that the Fake Locke/MIB is indeed the smoke monster (“I’m sorry you had to see me like that”....classic). And you have to love the way he came out of the closet....taking out Bram and his lackeys with no trouble. Then in a conversation with Ben, the MIB say that he wants to "go home”. Where is home for him? One guess might be Hell (but maybe not...see below). Also note that both Bram and the Others use a ring of ash to keep out the smoke monster (the same ash that was around "Jacob's cabin"). I'll see what I can dig up for next week on the ash.

Now where things really got interesting was when the MIB emerged from the four toed statue. He approached Richard and said, “its good to see you out of those chains”. This indicated to me that Richard was either taken to the island on the Black Rock slaving ship or he may have been a slave in the Egyptian era. I’m guessing though that it is the Black Rock (remember that Richard was once building a ship inside a bottle that looked like the Black Rock). After knocking Richard out and throwing him over his shoulder, MIB turns to the Others and says, “I am very disappointed in all of you.” This was an epic line. I am still on the fence as to whether or not the MIB is truly “bad”. I still think it is possible that Jacob is the “bad guy” and the MIB is the “good one”. Why would the MIB be “disappointed” in the actions of the Others? I'm not sure....but I think I like it.

I could keep on writing, but I think I’ve written enough for now. Before I conclude, I want to give some major props to Terry O’Quinn, the actor who portrays John Locke. He is really an amazing actor. When you juxtapose his performances as Locke interacting with Jack in the airport with the MIB chastising the Others, it is hard to believe it is the same guy. That is a testament to his acting skills. I see another Emmy in his future.

Scary....

OK...that’s a wrap. LOST has come through once again with a spellbinding and mind-bending episode. I expect that Season 6 is really going to be something special. See you next week.

Lost Analysis and Commentary (Episode 16 - The Incident, Part 1 & 2)

Holy Smoke Monsters, Batman....what a season finale! From a quick glace around the internet, it appear that the vast majority absolutely loved how Lost closed out the season. However, a few people hated it. I can somewhat understand, as the show took us in some radically unexpected directions this week, but if it didn't shock and surprise us, then it wouldn't be Lost.

For me, my head is absolutely spinning trying to comprehend what we saw. As such, this is likely to be my longest blog entry as I try to work through what I think this all means. So fasten your seat belts, bring your tray tables to the upright and locked position, and leave your sanity at the Sydney airport....the Island awaits.

It would be impossible to discuss this episode starting anywhere other than the opening scene. I expected we would see Jacob this episode, but I was floored to meet him in the first few minutes. Obviously my "Jack is Jacob" theory has been H-bombed....then again, I think everyone's Jacob theories are shot. Now I'll get to the statue and the boat later, but let's first focus on the conversation between Jacob and the other man on the beach. It seems apparent that Jacob has been bringing people to the island for a long time and according to his "friend", the results are always the same..."they come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt". Jacob and this other man appear to disagree on this...so much so, that the other man says he will find a loophole and kill Jacob. This is clearly significant, as is Jacob's comment that, "it only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress." There is much to chew on here, so let's break things down a little.

Jacob and his "friend"

First, let's talk about who/what these two men are. If one man is Jacob, there has been suggestion on the internet that the other man is Esau. In the bible, Jacob and Esau are the twin sons of Issac and grandsons of Abraham. It is written in at least two bible passages that God loved Jacob, but hated his brother Esau. Ironically, Jacob used deception to receive Esau's birthright to become spiritual leader of the family, leading to protracted animosity and conflict, including Esau's vow to kill Jacob. With that said, I don't believe the men on Lost are literally the brothers Jacob and Esau. However, the parallels are indisputable, and may provide clues as to where things are heading. Jacob and Esau, become the leaders of Israel and Edom, respectively. In the Book of Obadiah (Hebrew Bible and Old Testament), Edom is destroyed with no survivors at the "end of days". So, if you believe in the Jacob/Esau allegory, Jacob's side will win the coming war.

More importantly though, I think we are seeing the definition of the "black and white" conflict that has been alluded to in the series. Several weeks back, I wrote a non-episode specific entry on good and evil using Stephen King's "The Stand", Star Wars, and Harry Potter as similar archetype stories. Jacob and "Esau" are representative of the two sides...as Locke explained Backgammon to Walt in Season 1, "Two players. Two sides. One is light - one is dark." I believe we've now met the players, the real question is which one is "the good guy"? Maybe we got a clue in the opening scene where Jacob was wearing a white shirt and "Esau" was wearing a black shirt, but I caution everyone that looks can be deceiving.

Locke explains "light" and "dark" in Season 1

That is a good lead in to the person that appears to be John Locke. So who guessed Locke's body was in the crate? Put your hand down! Last week, I said that Locke's new-found knowledge/communication with the island didn't feel right and that something weird was going on. I guess I was right, but damn, I didn't see that one coming. It was so much like "The Sixth Sense" where you smack yourself on the head and say, "of course that wasn't really Locke...it was there all along." So here are a few thoughts/questions on this:

1) Why was "Esau" off the island (or was he off the island)? I get the sense that "Esau" is somehow connected to Widmore. Remember it was Widmore that was insistent that Locke return to the island. Maybe Widmore believes "Esau" taking over the island will enable him to return.
2) What was the "loophole" "Esau" found in order to take over Locke's body and kill Jacob? I haven't the foggiest clue on this one, but clearly he couldn't be the one to do it (so the killer is "Mr. Linus with the knife, in the foot chamber").
3) Why does "Esau" appear to be omniscient? I've got a theory that "Esau" is the Smoke Monster (or aligned with the Smoke Monster)....and the Smoke Monster is Death or an agent of Death. See my comments below regarding the statue that relate to this.
4) I opened my commentary on the episode "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" with a brief review of the tragic life of John Locke. After this week it is clear that John was just a pawn in a bigger chess match. It is even sadder to look back on last week's episode and realize that "Esau" was really the one having Richard tell Locke that he must die to return to the island. Poor Locke...always the victim.

Before we leave the opening scene completely, we were now able to get a better look at the statue. I have previously been on the record as stating the statue is Anubis, Egyptian guide to the Underworld. Well, I was wrong (although, I think Anubis will be a factor in the story). It appears that the statue is more likely a representation of Taweret, Egyptian deity of protection in pregnancy and childbirth. This provides an interesting juxtaposition of Taweret (birth) and Anubis/Cerberus (death). If my above conjecture that "Esau" is the Smoke Monster (death) is correct and Jacob lives at the statue (birth), then perhaps we are again seeing the dark-light connections. Remember too that fertility (or lack there of) has been a long running theme on the show....Juliet was brought to the island because of women dying in pregnancy. This is clearly significant.

The statue

Taweret

Speaking of the statue, remember that Ilana and Bram have posed the question to various characters: "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" Well, this week Richard finally had an answer: "Ille qui nos omnes servabit", which translates to, "He who will protect/save us all." Jacob is literally in the shadow of the statue, so he is the savior (at least from one point of view).

At this point, we don't really know what Jacob's motivations are, but let's talk about what we do know and this was mostly revealed during the flashbacks. It is interesting that at key moments in each of characters lives, he appears and touches them (touched by the hand of God?)...but is he helping them, saving them, recruiting them, or something more sinister? Let's look at each of these:
- He enable Kate to get away with a crime. Does this change her moral center, allowing her to execute her father, participate in a bank robbery, and flee the police/federal agents?
- He provides young James a pen to finish writing his revenge letter to "Mr. Sawyer", a letter that will haunt him until he ultimately kills the man responsible for his parent's deaths.
- He wishes Sun and Jin well at their wedding and to never let go of what they have together....in perfect Korean. Remember that Charlotte also spoke Korean (coincidence...maybe...maybe not)
- He appears to bring Locke back from the dead after he is pushed from a 5-story window. The giver of life?
- He stops Sayid from crossing the street at the moment Nadia is hit by a car and killed. The bringer of death?
- He gives Jack a candy bar that was stuck in the vending machine and says, "just needed a little push". This happens just after Jack experiences his first surgical challenge (as he recounted to Kate in the Season 1 pilot) and argues with his father about it. Hmmm....remember that Christian still plays some part in all this.
- He shares a cab with Hurley and suggests that his ability to speak with the dead is a blessing and not a curse. He then is the one to advise Hurley to get on Ajira 316. Finally, he renounces ownership of the guitar case in the cab, which Hurley brings to the island. What the hell is in that case? Interestingly, Hurley is the only one of the original Oceanic 815 survivors to receive a straight encounter with Jacob in the real world.
- He also has an encounter with a heavily bandaged Ilana in which he asks for her help. She already knows who he is and agrees. Note that Jacob does not touch her.

There was one other flashback...Juliet's. However, this one did not involve Jacob. Keep that in mind later when I discuss Juliet.

Let's continue on the Jacob analysis, because there is another item that deserves attention. I think some of the minority fan disappointment is that the Jacob that appears in this episode, seems incongruous with the Jacob we've "seen" in the cabin. To date, "cabin Jacob" has appeared as a mysterious bearded man in a rocking chair, a disembodied voice saying "help me", a maniacal eye, a technology averse spirit, and even Christian Shepherd (claiming to speak for Jacob). What I am wondering is if "cabin Jacob" is really Jacob after all. Remember that the cabin had a circle of ash around it. Maybe that circle had something to do with keeping something or someone in. Maybe "Esau"? That would blow the Smoke Monster theory....but it certainly is possible. If the ash circle was recently broken, then maybe that is why "Esau" has come on the scene. Two things to think about:

1) Why did Ilana and Bram go there first if that wasn't where Jacob could be found? Since Jacob could move on-off the island, it seems unlikely he would be trapped in the cabin. And Ilana and Bram were disturbed by the broken ring of ash. If Jacob did live in the cabin, was the ring of ash protecting him there?
2) What is the significance of the cloth picture of the statue on the wall? They also knew that someone else has been using the cabin....Christian? "Esau"? Or, maybe Ilana and Bram aren't really on Jacob's side after all. I know we had the flashback scene with Ilana in the hospital, but maybe she was in the injured condition BECAUSE of Jacob. I know this is flimsy, but just store it away in the back of your head as this plays out.

I don't have any great answers here, but I don't think the producers suddenly changed their mind on the depiction of Jacob. Whatever was in the cabin before, is not the Jacob we've seen this week.

Jacob as seen by Locke in Season 3

Jacob as seen by Hurley in Season 4

Burning down the house

Earlier I referred to Locke as a pawn. Well, I think it is clear that he wasn't the only chess piece in play. Benjamin Linus has been massively manipulated by the Jacob and "Esau". He has given everything he has to the island and yet he was never given an audience with Jacob....yet "Locke" has. I was reminded of this exchange from "The Godfather Part II":

Fredo Corleone: I'm your older brother, Mike, and I was stepped over!
Michael Corleone: That's the way Pop wanted it.
Fredo Corleone: It ain't the way I wanted it! I can handle things! I'm smart! Not like everybody says... like dumb... I'm smart and I want respect!

When Ben asks Jacob, "What about me?" Jacob responds, "What about you?", I can take this one of three ways:

1) Jacob has never respected Ben and never viewed him as a leader.
2) A man of faith doesn't need to be shown God to believe.
3) Jacob was challenging Ben to make this his defining moment.

I think it might be the last of these....but where do Ben's motivations lie. He has been manipulated by "Locke/Esau" and "Alex/Smoke Monster" into believing he must kill Jacob (further evidence that "Esau" and the Smoke Monster are one-in-the-same or at least aligned). But maybe...just maybe...Jacob wants Ben to kill him. Remember that Jesus needed to die in order save man...just as Obi-Wan Kenobi or Harry Potter needed to die in order to win the struggle between good and evil. "If you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." Maybe Ben is fulfilling his destiny and his duty to the island. As "Esau"/Locke says, "things will change once he is gone." I think he is right.

Fredo Linus?

That brings us to Jacob's last words...."They're coming." So, the obvious question is who? You could make an argument that he means his Ilana-led team...but I don't think so. I believe it has to be the Oceanic survivors from 1977. So let's go back to the groovy seventies to talk about what happened there.

Starting underground, Jack and Sayid remove the warhead from the bomb and get ready to transport it to the Swan. Richard sledgehammers a doorway into Dharmaville via Horace's basement, but coldcocks Eloise, and tells Jack and Sayid they are on their own. A very cool shootout transpires, Sayid is shot, but a daring escape is made thanks to Hurley, Jin, and Miles. Meanwhile underwater, Kate convinces Juliet, who convinces Sawyer that they need to blow this popsicle stand and row back to the island. They run into Rose, Bernard and Vincent, who don't want anything to do with any hair-brained schemes and are perfectly content to let whatever happens, happen.

Shootout at the barracks

OK, so that brings us to the showdown between the bomb squad and the love triangle (or square or whatever polygon you choose). Sawyer and Jack "take it outside". At first they are civil and Jack reveals his real reason for wanting to blow up the island (Kate), but it eventually degenerates and we finally get to see the rumble that we've all be waiting to see. I loved that it was brutal and they really went after each other...5 seasons of anger and resentment spilling out. Ultimately, Juliet stops Sawyer from beating Jack to death and convinces him that they need to help Jack. Last stop for Jack is convincing Kate, which he does and then it is on to mission impossible....blow up the Swan.

The gunfight at the Swan was great. Here are a few things to note:
- Phil got a nice steel bar through the chest...that's what he gets for hitting a girl.
- Dr. Chang turns a gun on Radzinski.
- Chang's arm is crushed....remember that in some of the DHARMA videos Chang has a prosthetic arm.
- Radzinski escapes the scene.
- Miles leads Chang away from the scene.

Now, let’s talk about Juliet. First and foremost, lets note that Juliet was wearing a red shirt. Star Trek fans know that anyone who beams down to a planet with a red shirt, ain’t coming back. In fact, the Lost creators are well aware of this phenomenon and often refer to some of the background characters as “red shirts”, because they are expendable. So, when she was struggling to hold on to Sawyer, you just knew she was going to be pulled down. I’d also like to refer to the above section on flashbacks that hers was the only one not to feature Jacob. I think this was another indication that she was going to die. Ultimately, she did let go and fell. But, what’s this...she’s still alive? Trust me, this was ONLY so that she could detonate the bomb.

So, let me give you my thoughts on what happened. I think the bomb was detonated and vaporized Juliet. But above the surface, it only released the electromagnetic anomaly and will send Jack, Sawyer, Kate, Sayid, Hurley and Jin back to the future. So, when Jacob, says “They’re coming.” This is to whom he is referring. The bomb did not destroy the island, nor did it kill anyone above the surface. Radzinski will finish the Swan station as a containment project and Dr. Chang will continue making orientation videos. And Miles, will help his pops with time travel experiments in the Orchid station.

Here are a few more interesting thing:

- Bram asks Ilana if she thinks Frank Lapidus is a “candidate”? For what, student body president? I’m guessing they want him on their team.

- The tapestry in the chamber under the statue (the one Jacob wove) has greek writing on I that translates to: “may the gods grant thee all that thy heart desires”....which comes from Homer’s “The Odyssey”

Jacob’s tapestry

- The ship seen in the distance at the beginning of the show is likely the Black Rock (I’m starting to think maybe this really is where Richard came from). So how did the Black Rock end up in the middle of the island? Also, it appears the statue was still standing in the 1800s, when the Black Rock arrived. Although, perhaps the Black Rock didn’t come to the island at the right bearing and was transported to an earlier time in history. So if Richard came from the Black Rock, he may have been on the island longer than 150 years.

- When Kate is caught stealing, she takes a New Kids on the Block lunchbox. No self-respecting criminal steals a NKOTB lunchbox.

- How about Radzinski’s line: “If Edison was only concerned about the consequences we’d all be sitting in the dark. I came to this island Pierre to change the world and that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.” How prophetic he might turn out to be.

- Richard tells us that Jacob is responsible for his not aging.

- Speaking of Richard, he has an interesting exchange with Jack where he asks him about Locke. Richard says that when he visited Locke off the island “he never seemed particularly special”. Jack advises Richard not to give up on Locke. This may be part of how Richard is duped into bringing “Esau”/Locke to Jacob.

- We saw some vintage Sawyer when he shoots the radio in the sub and quips, “You ain’t home.”

- I know a lot of people didn’t like the characters flip-flopping on whether or not they should stop Jack, but upon a second viewing, it is clear that Juliet’s change of heart is influenced by her visit with Rose and Bernard. You can see it on her face that dying with Sawyer is better than living apart...and this was clearly in her all along from her flashback. And Kate is in love with whomever is within 10 feet...so you can’t be surprised by her.

- The book Jacob is reading on the bench as Locke falls from the building is Flannery O’Connor’s “Everything That Rise’s Must Converge”. It is a collection of short stories, in which human weaknesses are exposed and important moral questions are explored through everyday situations.

- So great that they showed Sun finding Charlie’s “DS” ring in Aaron’s cradle. I thought this is one of those things that would be forgotten. I have to believe this is important.

Charlie’s ring

- Sayid’s last line is a great one....”Nothing can save me.” Sayid is without question the most tortured soul on the island (ironic for the torturer) and believes he is being punished for his sins. I believe he will live to die another day.

- Ben makes reference to “Esau”/Locke being marched to Jacob like Moses. While I don’t think this is a clue, it is kind of an interesting characterization.

- The episode ends with the screen exploding to white and then “LOST” appears in black on the screen. This is the exact opposite of every other episode. So, was this just for effect or was it symbolic that everything is going to be different. We’ll see.

Inverted Title Screen

So where do I think we are going next season? As I mentioned above, I think all of our Oceanic 815 survivors will return to 2008. And I think if we look at the blueprint provided by “The Stand”, I think we can surmise that we will leave science fiction behind and move more into a journey of mysticism and morality. The battle lines will be drawn between good and evil. This is the war that will play out and result in the some form of The End of Days. In the words of Ms. Hawking, “God help us all.”

Lost Analysis and Commentary (Episode 15 - Follow the Leader)

Some episodes are character based. Some episodes are action oriented. Some episodes are mysterious. Some episodes are funny. And every once in a while, we get an episode that finds the perfect balance between all of these.....this week was one of those episodes.

If you didn't love this week's episode, then you might as well stop watching. "Follow the Leader" was probably the best episode of the season, and can easily be mentioned in the same breath as some of the all-time great episodes. As I start to formulate my thoughts for this week's write-up, I'm not sure I really know what is going on. And that is one reason this show is great....a dork like me can study every minute detail and then still come away questioning the direction of the show.

While I would stop short of saying this was a Richard-centric episode, the ageless wonder had more screen time than in any other episode. But, oddly, while Richard was present and integral to the story (post-Daniel discussions with Jack/Kate, guiding a group through the tunnels to Jughead, and late night adventures with Ben, Locke and Locke), he wasn't the focal point. Then again, Richard isn't a leader....as Ben explains, "He's a kind of... advisor. And he has had that job for a very, very long time." This isn't the first time we've heard that Richard has been around for a long time, but what does that mean? Previously, I've speculated that Alpert is from the time of the statue (presumably Ancient Egyptian era), and that the internet theory about his initials R.A. indicate he is the Egyptian god Ra may be correct. But then this week there was a curious little scene where Richard is building a ship in a bottle. Seems like an odd thing to do. When you take a look at the ship in the bottle and compare it to the painting of the Black Rock from last year's episode, "The Constant", I think you can make a reasonable case that the ship in the bottle is the Black Rock (yes....I note the additional mast in the model). So, this raises a question....is Richard a former crew member of the Black Rock? This would mean that Richard arrived on the island in (or about) 1845. While this is indeed a long time, I'm still inclined to believe that Richard predates the Black Rock's arrival. Puzzling, none the less.

Richard with the Black Rock?

Portrait of the Black Rock from "The Constant"

The Black Rock on the island

Now let's turn to Mr. Locke. The scene where he had Richard treat his gunshot wound at the Beechcraft plane was fantastic. I was reminded of the scene in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" where future-Ted reminds past-Ted to wind his watch and says "That conversation made more sense this time." For both Locke and me, the wisdom of Ted rings true. However, I share Ben's confused amazement as to how Locke knew when and where to be. According to Locke, "the island told him". I find this as disquieting as Ben does. Since his death and resurrection, I've been operating under the assumption that Locke is "special" and not the same as the other island apparitions (like Christian Shepherd). Now I'm not so sure. Is he really alive? Or maybe just some form of undead? The additional knowledge and/or communication with the island just doesn't feel right. Something weird is going on.

No way. Yes way.

This brings me to the final scene. I was somewhat surprised to see that scene tacked on after the bomb scene. It seemed out of context...a morning march along the beach to some of the signature Lost music. Then John drops the real bomb....he wants to kill Jacob. Again, this is causing me to question some of my previous theories....namely that Jack is Jacob. I'm wondering if maybe Locke is Jacob and the he is on his way to be imprisoned in the cabin. Since time seems to be a variable on Lost, it could be possible that Locke/Jacob are in the cabin at all times regardless of when he enters it. Recall our first encounter with Jacob, where he says to Locke "Help me"....maybe that was really a message to himself. I think this is a little too far out there...even for Lost, but this whole Locke/Jacob thing has me thrown for a loop. I think it is possible, however, that in next week's finale, we may learn the identity of Jacob (how about that for a season ending cliffhanger....Jacob revealed to be Jack or Locke or Hurley or Bernard or Vincent).

Next is the Jack vs Kate debate. It was interesting to see Kate challenge Jack's newfound faith in his ability to change the future. Where Jack argues that they can put things back the way they are supposed to be, Kate believe he is nutty as Locke. Jack's confidence in his convictions again makes me waiver on my belief that the past can't be changed. But Kate's line, "I'm going back to find the rest of our people, because if I can't stop you, then maybe they can", makes me think that somehow the course of history will remain unchanged. Jack may try, but whatever happened, happened....at least I think so. Throw on top of all this, Richard's line, "I watched them all die", and I have no clue how this is all going to play out.

But with all the doubt this episode has cast on my theories I'm sticking to them:
- Richard is of ancient Egyptian origin
- Locke is "special"
- Jack is Jacob
- Whatever happened, happened

Now for stuff that isn’t quite as epic as the above, but interesting:

1) I am not much of a Juliet fan, but even I had to feel a little bad for her. There she was ready to take off for a new life of betting on Super Bowl winners and buying Microsoft stock with her beloved James, when who should come down the sub hatch, but her arch nemesis....Freckles. The look on Juliet’s face when Kate was handcuffed next to her was just priceless...I couldn’t help but chuckle at that.
2) Be honest...when Sawyer let Juliet get on the sub first, didn’t you think he was going to close the hatch and send her off the island without him? Maybe he really does love her. However, if I have to bet on one character dying next week, Juliet is it.
3) Speaking of Sawyer and Juliet, who didn’t see Phil hitting Juliet coming? I knew that guy was an ass from the first time we saw him. And also in that scene, Radzinski took his dickiness to a whole new level. Who the hell does this guy think he is that he can just assume control? Alexander Haig?
4) Submarine CGI effects were not so good. Looked pretty fake.
5) The funniest moment of the episode was Dr. Chang interrogating Hurley....and watching him crack. Even funnier was that when Hurley first arrived in 1977 and expressed concern about joining DHARMA, he asked Sawyer, “What if they start asking us questions we can't answer, like, uh, who's president in 1977?” To which Sawyer replied, “It's not a damn game show, Hugo.” Well, this week’s episode, it was Hugo Reyes come on down, you’re the next contestant on The Time is Right. That exchange with Chang was great stuff.
6) Great to see Sayid make his return....nice way to make an entrance too. The show just isn’t the same without him. Let’s hope he survives to the bitter end (although he’d be a perfect candidate to go out in a blaze of glory).

I am Sayid Jarrah....and I am a torturer

7) That not too subtle rub of Eloise’s tummy was a pretty clear indication that Eloise was preggers with Daniel at the time of his shooting.
8) Speaking of the shooting, I like that Eloise was quick to believe that Daniel was her son....it would have been annoying to drag that out. I hope we get to see what happens to cause her to leave the island to better understand what drove her to send the Oceanic survivors back via Ajira 316.
9) Very cool when Richard/Jack/Eloise/Sayid had to swim into the tunnels.
10) What is the deal with The Others on the beach? They just sit around like lemmings waiting for someone to tell them what to do....seems kinda weird...oh thanks John, we never thought to find Jacob....let’s go.

Keg party at Jacob's!

11) And lastly, you had to love Richard saying to Ben, “I'm starting to think John Locke is gonna be trouble.” To which Ben replies, “Why do you think I tried to kill him?” Reminded me of Jack’s line from the season 1 finale, when he says to Kate, “...if we survive this, if we survive tonight....we're going to have a Locke problem.”

We head into next weeks two-hour finale with a lot of momentum. And you know that the finales never disappoint....every season ender has some shocking and/or huge event that changes the course of the series:

Season 1 – Walt’s abduction and the opening of the hatch
Season 2 – The capture of Jack, Kate and Sawyer
Season 3 – The death of Charlie and the flashforward
Season 4 – The moving of the island and Locke in the coffin

Something big is coming and I’m guessing there will be a game-changing surprise in the mix. Either way, next Wednesday can’t get here fast enough!

Lost Analysis and Commentary (Episode 14 – The Variable)

WARNING – Heavy Time/Space analysis ahead.

Last season, Lost gave us an episode entitled “The Constant”....a mind-bending Desmond-centric episode that gave us a glimpse at Lost time travel. So, it stands to reason that this week’s episode, “The Variable” should be a counterpoint to “The Constant”.

In “The Constant”, Desmond needed to find someone who was anchored in both the past and the present....Penny was his constant. So if one is not traveling through time, they are a constant. Daniel assumes in this episode that the time travelers are variables. They are the ones that can change the equation.

The real question is: Is Daniel correct? My response is “Not yet”.

Prior to this week, Daniel’s mantra had been, “Whatever happened, happened.” Now, suddenly, he believes he can change the future (which for the losties is their past). Let’s take a look at Daniel’s actions and results:

1) He tells Pierre Chang that there will be an accident at the Swan station. Dr. Chang doesn’t believe him and proceeds with Swan development....still moving toward an accident.
2) He tells Dr. Chang that Miles is his son. When Miles denies this, Chang blows Daniel off. What this probably did is ensure Miles and his mom (as well as Charlotte) are sent off the island before the accident...as they always have been.
3) Daniel tries to save Charlotte by telling her to leave, and thus ensuring she follows the same path. (By the way how cool was it that Charlotte says to Daniel “I’m not allowed to have chocolate before dinner”?....the exact phrase she says with her dying breath.)
4) He goes to find his mother on the island and she shoots him, fulfilling the “sacrifice” she referred to when talking with Widmore. (more on this below)

Regardless of Faraday’s contention that he is a variable, every action that he takes ensures that history remains unchanged...he is a constant.

"I'm from the future"

So, clearly Daniel was wrong....or maybe not. I’m going to tread carefully here as, to date, I have been firmly in the whatever-happened-happened camp. If Daniel was wrong about the time travelers being variables, then what was the purpose of telling Jack that if they can set off the Jughead bomb, Oceanic 815 will land safely in Los Angeles?

One answer is that Jack is the variable that can change the equation and erase everything that has happened. Let me be clear that I don’t buy this for one second, because it would set off a time paradox. If they blow up the island, the crash will never occur, but then Jack won’t be able to go back to 1977 to set off the bomb, so everything resets and the crash DOES happen. There would be an endless loop of bomb/no-crash and no-bomb/crash. Can’t and won’t happen.

Another answer is that Jack is the variable and changes something, but history course corrects and island survives. I think this is possible. I could come up with a million wild theories on this, but I’d rather not speculate too much and just leave it open as a possibility.

Yet another possibility (and the one that I subscribe to) is that Jack BELIEVES he is the variable, tries to change the course of history and ultimately ensures whatever happened, happened.

"You're a variable Jack"

I haven’t wandered around the blogosphere yet, but I’ve got a nagging feeling that I’m missing something....and it might be something big.

Let’s move on to my nominees for Mother and Father of the Year....Eloise Hawking and Charles Widmore. We’ve known that Eloise was Dan’s mom, but this is the first week that we’ve received confirmation on the Widmore paternity. I don’t think that should be too much of a shock for anyone as they were both on the island from the 50s through the 70s. I thought I had mentioned Widmore was likely to be Faraday’s dad in a previous post, but I couldn’t find it (guess I don’t get credit). Both of them have been pulling their son’s strings his entire life. What I find interesting though is that while Charles and Eloise don’t seem to be working together on the outside, they appear to be pushing Daniel in the same direction....learning about time travel and returning to the island. This tells me that Daniel’s death is important. It is a critical event that must happen. This is why you could see the pain on Eloise’s face when she encourages Daniel to return to the island and the anger when she slaps Charles and refers to her “sacrifice”. Sacrifice is an interesting word to use, because it implies that she is giving up Daniel’s life for something of greater value.

"How bout a little snog for old time sake, Eloise"

I think if you couple this idea of sacrifice and her insistence for the Oceanic 5 to return on the Ajira 316 flight, it points again to Jack taking some important action related to the island. Jack may be the variable, but Hawking and Widmore are trying to ensure he is a constant.

Let’s go on to the final scene. One of the things I love about Lost is how they can deliver such shocking surprises and then leave you asking yourself “How did I not see that coming?” I always love when Richard is in the mix. For a split second I thought Daniel was going to shoot Richard and we would see how immortal he really is. Then BANG...Daniel is shot and I got that sick feeling that I knew who was the shooter....then, indeed, Ellie is revealed. The pain on Daniel’s face (emotional and physical) is heartbreaking as this exchange occurs:

FARADAY: You knew. You always knew. You knew this was gonna happen. You sent me here anyway.

ELOISE: Who are you?

FARADAY: I... I'm your son.

Epic.

"Don't shot me in the eyeliner"

Here are a few misc observations:

1) Gotta love young Daniel’s line: “I can make time.” Maybe some foreshadowing if Daniel survives (but I don’t think he will)?
2) Speaking of good lines how about Hurley: “You guys were in 1954? Like... Fonzie times?” and Sawyer: “Welcome to the meeting, Twitchy. Good to see you again. Pound cake's in the kitchen. Help yourself to the punch.”
3) It was good to see the meeting at the LaFluer residence....this is the first time ALL the 1977 Losties are in the same place together.
4) Ms. Hawking gives Daniel the journal that he keeps his time travel notes in.
5) Did you notice the “Wired” magazine Widmore moves to sit on Daniel’s couch? On the cover it refers to “Time Travel” and “The Impossible Gets Real”.
6) Radzinski is a complete tool. It was great though to see him in a shootout with Jack, Kate, and Daniel. Over the last 2 episodes it looks like Jack is finally growing a pair again (I guess the island can heal that too).
7) Hurley was carrying his guitar case again when getting ready to leave the DHARMA Barracks. We have yet to get Hurley’s back story for boarding Ajira 316. Its gotta be coming soon.
8) Desmond’s survival is important to both Widmore and Hawking. As was said previously, “The island isn’t done with you yet.” What I can’t figure out is what will bring him back there.

As we head to the final 2 weeks (this includes the two-hour finale) of the season, I think I share Ms. Hawking’s sentiments: “For the first time in a long time, I don't know what's going to happen next.”

Lost Analysis and Commentary (Episode 13 - Some Like It Hoth)

Well, this week's episode, was somewhat of a letdown coming off last week's epic Linus-palooza. If you listen to closely, you can hear the uber-geek population screaming "Filler episode!" While I didn't love "Some Like It Hoth", it was one of those episodes that if you look carefully enough you can pull out just enough nuggets to make it worth while.

Let me start by going on the record that I now only care that two characters survive for the end of the series....I am holding out hope for a spinoff series entitled: "The Hurley and Miles Supernatural Comedy Hour". When you get lines like:

"Why don't we carpool? It'll help with global warming, which hasn't happened yet, so maybe we can prevent it..."

and

"You're just jealous my powers are better than yours."

and

"That douche is my dad."

...it is pure gold.

My new favorite couple

But lets get into the specifics of the episode. We finally got to see a full Miles-flashback episode....and I for one was glad. We got a little bit of a better sense of what Miles is all about. The major thing here is that Miles is indeed Pierre Chang's (aka Marvin Candle's) kid. But those of you who remember back to my first blog entry already knew that was the assumption I was under since we first saw Pierre's baby in the opening scene from season 5. We also learned that his ability to talk to dead people has been both a curse and a blessing to him since childhood. I also enjoyed seeing Miles' first encounter with Naomi Dorrit. What is significant about this meeting is that Miles gets out of the corpse information about Widmore, open graves, and an old airplane. This clearly dispels an internet theory that Widmore didn't fake the Oceanic 815 wreckage, the plane at the bottom of the ocean was the real 815, and it arrived there due to someone mucking with the past. So that is one theory we can toss in the trashcan.

Naomi makes a return appearance

Now, lets move to what I believe to be the most significant thing in this episode. In one of Miles' flashbacks, he is abducted in a van. The guy riding shotgun introduces himself as Bram. Please note that this is the same guy that was Ilana's sidekick on the island working on that massive crate I mentioned last week. Bram tells him that he doesn't want to get on Widmore's boat and then asks, "Do you know what lies in the shadow of the statue?" This is the same thing Ilana asked Lapidus last week. Bram also said that if Miles joined them, "all those things you've spent your life trying to find out? You'll know. You'll know who you are, Miles--why it is you have a gift, and most of all, you'll know about your father." If Bram and Ilana aren't working for Widmore and they don't appear to be working for Ben, then who the hell are these two? I'm going to guess that they are a third faction. Actually, I am starting to believe that the Widmore and Ben battle is really just an internal power struggle and the "war" Widmore spoke about a few weeks back will be with this new group. However, I don't think this new faction is really new (I don't believe that an entirely new organization is being introduced this late in the series)....I'm going to hazard a guess that they are representatives of the DHARMA Initiative....or whatever is left of it. And given Bram's comments above, I also believe that Pierre Chang is alive and perhaps leading this new group. So, do you still think this was a throw away episode?

Miles meets Bram

That covers the main stuff, but here are a few short hits on other things I found interesting:

1) Miles' mom appears to have been dying of cancer. Could it be due to exposure to radiation on the island (remember that nuclear bomb from the episode "Jughead" that is likely to end up under concrete in the Swan Station)?

2) Sawyer's...I mean LaFeur's island paradise is starting to come apart at the seams, between Juliet's lame excuse to Roger about Ben being missing, Kate being a sap around Roger, and LaFleur taking one of his security guards captive. This thing should come to a head in the next episode.

3) Did you notice the stuff on Egypt on the chalkboard in the DHARMA classroom? Nothing really revealed, but it underscores that Egyptian stuff is significant.

4) When Pierre Chang says, "I wasn't aware of any circles", that was kind of a cool reference to him not realizing he is sitting next to his son in a time loop.

5) Great to see Hurley watch the numbers being stamped on the hatch. I am starting to believe that the numbers are less mystical, and more just caught in a time loop with Hurley.....I don't have time to explain this one tonight, but I'll try to expand on this in a future post.

6) With all the making up with your daddy stuff Hurley was talking about, was one of the "improvements" he was going to write into "The Empire Strikes Back" a reconciliation of Luke and Vader? Would it go something like this:

Darth Vader: Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.
Luke: He told me enough! He told me you killed him!
Darth Vader: No. I am your father.
Luke: No. No. That's not true. That's impossible!
Darth Vader: Search your feelings, you know it to be true!
Luke: No! No!
Darth Vader: Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son.
Luke: OK....but can I borrow the tie-fighter tonight.

7) A threat to Kate finally seemed to momentarily awaken the old Jack. Let's see if this continues.

Jack is back....sort of

8) When Miles and Chang are heading to the sub to get Daniel, Chang says they are getting a scientist from Ann Arbor. Since this is the home of the DHARMA Initiative HQ, it is likely Daniel has been hobnobbing with Gerald and Karen DeGroot.....from orientation film fame.

9) Another popular internet theory is that Ben, Sun, and Locke couldn't go back to 1977, because there was already a younger version of them there (with the only real example being little Ben). Since we saw Miles and baby-Miles in the same scene, I think it is safe to assume that this is another theory that can be safely trashed (two in one episode).

That's all I've got. Next week is a clip show, so I probably won't post.

Lost Analysis and Commentary (Episode 12 - Dead is Dead)

Wow! I had high expectations for this week's Ben-centric episode and boy, did Lost come through! Probably the best episode of the season.

Again, this week I don't have a ton of time to write this, so let me get right into it.

The jury has reached the verdict and Benjamin Linus is found GUILTY....guilty of being the best friggin' character on TV. Anytime Ben is given an opportunity to stretch his legs, he shows us why he is The Man.

Let's start with his mission to kill Danielle Rousseau. Ben and Ethan (note that he is already an Other at a young age....I think I need to re-visit my initial instincts that his mom Amy is an Other spy) are sent to eliminate the French madwoman. However, when Ben enters her camp, he notices baby Alex and can't close the deal.....but decides on a little baby-napping instead. Gotta love Ben cradling the baby and firing a round into the sand to silence the French infection rantings. Here as in many other moments we see the dichotomy sundae of Ben....a scoop of ruthless bastard with compassion sprinkles.

So then Ben carries little Alex back to the Others camp, where Charles Widmore lets him know how displeased he is that Ben didn't kill both mother and child. So Ben calls CW's bluff and says, if Jacob wants it done, you do it. Charles retreats out of check, but its clear the chess match goes on between the two. Eventually, Ben has Charles exiled. There's got to be a lot more to the Ben and Chuck saga, but at the very least we at least know that Ben is responsible for Widmore's banishment from the island and he didn't leave via the frozen donkey wheel (as that has been a popular internet theory).

OK, so now let's skip ahead to the present. I could spend all night blogging about the Ben/Locke dialogue...it is always great when those to share the screen...but let me focus on what I think is important and that is that clearly their roles have been reversed. Locke is now the self-assured master of the island and Ben is the one who seems confused and surprised. However, some things about Ben don't change....like being a two-faced liar. So which of these statements is true?

- Ben believed Locke would be resurrected if he was returned to the island.
- He had no idea Locke would be resurrected and it scares the hell out of him (dead is dead).

He is lying to someone. And speaking of lies, how about Ben lying to Caesar that maybe Locke was already on the island. Not that the lie matters now, as Ben shockingly filled Caesar with a shotgun blast (raise your hand if you saw that coming....put your hand down you little Ben wanna be)...."consider that my apology."

So off Ben and Locke go the main island (home sweet home) in search of the monster. But first a little spookiness in Ben's old house that turns out to be just Sun and Lapidus (nice job Frank leaving Sun with a murderer and a zombie). I was totally psyched that we got to see the inside of the secret room where Ben summons the smoke monster. I always imagined the summoning device to be computer based, but I think it is so much cooler that it was a primitive system of draining some muddy water. But alas smokey doesn't show. So after Locke emerges from the jungle (what the hell was he doing out there? Maybe chatting with his old buddy Christian?), he leads them off to find the monster at the Temple.

Calling the Monster

OK, let's talk Temple for a few minutes. Number one, I am really amped up that what we have seen so far only turned out to be the wall surrounding the Temple (as Ben says the actual Temple is a half mile inside the wall). This means that the Temple remains a locale that we are likely to see at some point (I am guessing next season). Number two, it is really cool that Locke takes Ben down the same hole in which Montand got his arm ripped off (how is the island telling Locke where to go?). Number three, is the hieroglyph depicting Anubis and the smoke monster.

Cerberus and Anubis

Now, if you recall a few weeks back when we got a glimpse of the statue I guessed that it was Anubis....Egyptian god that protects souls on their journey to the Underworld. I am not 100% convinced that the statue is Anubis, but Anubis is clearly significant. In that same posting, I talked about Radzinski referring to the smoke monster as Cerberus, the watchdog of Hades in Greek mythology. Now we have a hieroglyph that links these two. So, I believe my theory that the island is a gateway to the Underworld is looking a lot stronger.

(By the way, it has been speculated a lot on the internet that Richard Alpert is the Egyptian sun god, Ra (Richard Alpert...RA). I think this is a strong possibility, but I'm not sure how that ties in to the Underworld piece)

So, anyway, back to the main story....Ben falls down, gets up and meets Smokey. And, as he mentioned earlier by Ben, the monster does indeed judge Ben for being responsible for Alex's death. I'm not sure exactly what to make of this, but here are a couple of ideas: 1) maybe Ben's sin was saving Alex in the first place and he was supposed to kill her; 2) maybe when you stand before God to be judged, you are actually the one to decide your fate. Then things get even crazier when Alex shows up. She accuses Ben of planning to kill Locke again and demands that he promise to follow Locke's every command....to which he agrees. So, here is my question: Does the smoke monster conjure the dead or just take the form of the dead? I like the idea that these are indeed the dead we are seeing acting of their own volition for the good of the island...but we shall see.

Ben's Judgement

When Ben emerges from his encounter with the Smokey and Alex he looks completely defeated and seems almost disappointed that the monster didn't kill him. I think this is because he has been given a worse fate....subservience to John Locke.

That covers the man story, but here are a few other observations that I found interesting.

1) There is MUCH MORE to Ilana than was originally revealed. First of all, she is moving a crate with "necessary supplies". That is a hell of a big crate for water bottles and airline peanuts. Second, she later asks Frank, "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" There can be no doubt, she is talking about THE statue....so how does she know about it? My guess is she was sent by Widmore. If so, was this a secret code to identify Others? Or maybe there is indeed something literally in the shadow of the statue. Can't wait to find out.

More than meets the eye

2) As I guessed previously, Ben went to the docks to kill Penny and was stopped by Desmond. Ben would have succeeded, but again his soft spot for a mother/child caused him to hesitate. My guess is that Ben's longing for his own mother is at the heart of these lapses in ruthlessness. Here is an interesting note though....Desmond could not have been in too much of a hurry to find Eloise Hawking. He took a SAILBOAT from London to Los Angeles. "Everyone on the island is counting on us, I'd better hop in my boat and I'll be in LA in 2 months tops."

3) Locke has "some ideas" how to get to 1977. So where did these ideas come from? Is he thinking Frozen Donkey Wheel? Is the island communicating with him? Were these thoughts implanted in him when he was dead?

4) Ben's Dharma house is built on top of the smoke monster summoning hole. So, who built the house (it was there before Ben)? Someone in the DHARMA Initiative must have known about the chamber. I'm thinking maybe Pierre Chang (aka Dr. Marvin Candle). Would be nice to find this out before the end of the season.

That's all I've got for now. Until next week....

Lost Analysis and Commentary (Episode 11 – Whatever Happened Happened)

As mentioned last week, I’m in an intensive training this week, so I need to write this up in 1 hour (it usually takes several). So bear with any shortcomings from previous weeks.

So, in the interest of time, let me do some quick hits before I get into the big stuff:

- Hurley and Miles discussing time travel, had to be the greatest, most self-referential thing I have ever seen on a TV show. That dialogue could have been lifted directly from the internet discussion forums. The “Back to the Future” reference was classic. For what its worth, I am solidly with Miles....whatever happened.....ALWAYS happened.

Battle of the time geniuses

- Interesting to see Roger Linus (Ben’s dad) with actual feelings for Ben. Gives just a bit (a very small bit) of sympathy for him when Ben later kills him in “the purge”.

- Nice fakeout in the grocery store, with the woman walking away with Aaron having hair like Claire. I would have preferred Kate losing Aaron to giving him to his grandmother....but whatever....I never really cared that much about that story anyway.

- The Cassidy/Clementine storyline was uneventful, but I guess it was somewhat obligatory to close out (I hope) the Sawyer-baby story.

- Interesting that we now know that Kate went back to find Claire....and not for Sawyer.

- Sawyer calls Kate “Freckles” for the first time since she returned...and then promptly dumps her. Personally, I don’t get Sawyer and Juliet (I still think there is something dark yet to be revealed about Juliet), but whatever. I’m all about theories....not shipping (that is internet speak for interest in character romantic relationships).

- Based on the comment of an Other to Richard, both Charles Widmore and Ellie (whom I have previously affirmed to be Mrs. Hawking) are still on the island in 1977 (interesting....)

- It was a very convenient continuity error that last week, Ben was shot in the dead center of his heart (left side of the chest) and this week the would is on his right side....what is this a silent movie serial?!?!?!?

So far so good...got that done in 15 minutes.

Now, I what to talk about 2 things. First Jack. Then Ben.

This week, the internet theories have been running wild with speculation that Jack would operate on Ben and save him. Seemed reasonable, but I love that Jack refused to do in. In the past, Jack (the Man of Science) would have jumped into action without a second thought. The new Jack (the Man of Faith) lets the island decide if it is necessary to save Ben.

Think about this....if Jack did save Ben, would he have grown up wishing to join the hostiles? The only hostile, he ever met (besides Richard) shot him in the jungle....wouldn’t that push Ben away from a life with them? Now, due to the actions of Kate (‘bout time she actually did something this season) and Sawyer (upon the urging of Juliet....hmmmmmm), Ben will be “saved” by the Others. Now I don’t think it really matters, because Jack NEVER saved Ben.....it was always Richard (I’m right there with you Miles).

But now....did Richard really save Ben? Before taking him, he warned Kate and Sawyer, that he would “never be the same again”. What on Earth does that mean? Well, lets think about where Richard took Ben. He brought him into the Temple....the same place where the smoke monster ripped off Montand’s arm and Rousseau’s crew were “infected”. I’ve previously hypothesized in previous editions that the island may be a gateway to the Underworld, and the smoke monster is Cerberus, the guardian of the Underworld. I’ve also speculated that the four-toed statue is Anubis, the Egyptian god that guides souls to Underworld. Perhaps, Richard is Anubis. And maybe his face is what we will see if we ever get a look at the front of the statue.

Gate to the Underworld?

I think another point that reinforces this is just after we see Richard bring Ben into the Temple, the scene switched to a waking Ben finding Locke sitting over him. Locke says, “Hello Ben. Welcome back to the land of the living.” I think that is about a big of clue as we could be given as to what is really going on.

Welcome back to the Land of the Living

I don’t have time to write much more. Next week’s episode (a Ben-centric, called “Dead is Dead”) looks absolutely EPIC! Can’t wait.