Episode 402 - The Living Were "Confirmed Dead"

Last night, we got introduced to this year's new crop of characters, got a taste of what the outside world thinks it knows about flight 815, and uncovered evidence of DHARMA initiative shenanigans far away from the island. Let's have at it with "Confirmed Dead."

Behind the Scenes

The credited writers on this episode were Brian K. Vaughn (the comic book impressario about whom I beamed last season) and Drew Goddard, the Bad Robot Productions "It" boy who scripted "Cloverfield." As a brief digression, I found Cloverfield to be a big disappointment, sort of a DVD special feature masquerading as a real movie. And where did it lack most? In the script department. But I still liked last night's Lost (despite some of the critiques it has garnered, discussed below), proving that the fault with Cloverfield lies not with the writing but with the attempt to turn a gimmick into a full feature film...

Flashback - The Freighter People

Tonight's flashbacks tied together a number of threads, including the recent alternate reality game, "Find 815." I've discussed Find 815 before, but not so much how it ended. As was made clear last night, at the end of Find 815, our hero, Sam Thomas, and the freighter Christiane I, found the wreckage of flight 815 while trolling the Sunda Trench looking for Black Rock.

The story last night picked up right there, when Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies), who landed on the island at the end of the prior episode, saw the footage of the remote submersibles coming across flight 815 on the news from a living room in Essex Massachusetts. Daniel got very upset by the news that all aboard were now confirmed dead, though he himself seemed unable to figure out why.

Later, we met Miles Strom (Jeff Jensen asks, "maelstrom?"), a ghost-busting con man from the L.A. area played by Ken Leung. When we first saw Miles, he was parking his car in Inglewood, CA, a news report confirming all 324 passengers on flight 815 were dead playing in the background. He was at the home of Mrs. Gardner, who was haunted by the ghost of her drug dealing grandson. For $200, Miles agreed to end the haunting. He used a strange, dustbuster looking device (which may or may not have been for anything but show), but did, it seemed, make contact with the dead. Miles trembled, then began to speak to nobody we could see, demanding to be told where "it" is. A sound behind a cabinet prompted Miles to check behind a vent, where he found a wad of cash and a stash of drugs. He turned off the device, then told the ghost it can go now, that it was at peace. Happy to score the hidden loot, Miles even gave a refund of $100 to Mrs. Gardner on the way out the door.

Still later, in the desert in Madenine, Tunisia, at a secret dig project, we met Charlotte Staple Lewis (more on that that name, later), played by Rebecca Mader. She saw a French language newspaper on the ground reporting that 815 was found, with no known survivors, but for some reason continued to doubt these reports. After bribing her way into the dig, she found a skeleton...of a polar bear...with a DHARMA Initiative Hydra Station leather collar! And the strangest thing about this scene? She didn't seem the least bit surprised by this...

In the fourth flashback, we were introduced to Frank Lapidas (Jeff Fahey), a travel agent in Eleuthera, Bahamas. As Frank let a toy plane sink in a fish tank, he watched yet another report on the recovery of flight 815. According to the news, which depicted the graphic footage of a decomposing body in the pilot's chair, the body was confirmed as the pilot on flight 815 (which, of course, is odd, given that we all know the pilot was killed by the smoke monster and left, broken, in the treetops). The news report continued that recovering bodies would be next to impossible, but it was hoped that confirmation that all 324 passengers were accounted for would provide closure. Frank called the family and friends hotline on the bottom of the screen - 888-548-0034 (try it - it works), and reports that the pilot in the footage is not Seth Norris (Gregg Grunberg from "Heroes," who you'll remember from the aforementioned monster-chomping scene in the pilot episode, no pun intended). Frank knew this because the left hand, clearly visible on the screen, had no wedding ring. And the reason Frank knew that Seth always wore his wedding ring? Frank was supposed to be the pilot of flight 815.

Aside # 1 - I think, when Lost is over and done with, this episode will be one of the ones that turns out to have so many clues in it, we missed them all. But Frank's flashback provided what I think was a huge clue. Ever since Naomi first revealed that flight 815 was found with no survivors, we questioned how this could be possible? The first possibility was that she lied, but since Anthony Cooper seemed to agree with her when he saw Locke and assumed he was already dead, that was never too likely. The second was that somehow, the plane duplicated itself (and its contents), a possibility hinted at by this summer's reveal of the orientation film from the as-yet-unseen Orchid Station of the DHARMA Initiative. The jury's still out on this one. But the final possibility, which previously seemed really unlikely, was that the found wreckage was a hoax, perhaps to get the world to stop looking for the missing plane. I thought that idea lacked a connection to the story at the time, as Lost may be big on mysteries but has not been too big on conspiracies. Yet, here we are, with evidence that the one person on board the plane positively identified on TV is not who the media said he was. When you throw in the Find 815 story, in which the last man on Earth still looking for flight 815 was directed by shady, mysterious emails to the very spot where the wreckage was "found," and all of a sudden, the consipracy theory has some legs. And it has even more in light of the fifth and final flashback sequence...

Finally, we flashed back on Naomi at the moment her team was assigned...by Matthew Abaddon?! It seems, not that surprisingly, that Abaddon was not a lawyer for Oceanic Airlines as he would go on to tell Hurley in last week's flash-forward. Naomi was not pleased about shepherding an archaelogist, a physicist, a ghostbuster, and a drunk pilot for a mission "like this" - which we would later learn was a mission to find and snatch Ben - since none of them had military training. Naomi and Abaddon argued over whether she and her team,would find survivors of flight 815. Abaddon, insisting she would not, as though repeating a media buzz word, told her that every member of the team was selected for a specific purpose, and that everything relies on you getting the team in, getting them out, and preventing them from getting killed.

Aside #2 - Doc Jensen noted this scene can be criticized because flashbacks on Lost are supposed to be linked to the island-bound story through a main character, but here, the only character who had been to the island was Naomi, who is now currently deceased. Personally, I don't care too much about this supposed lack of Lost purity. Frankly, if the remaining 46 episodes turned out to be nothing but Dr. Marvin Candle lecturing on what the heck we've been watching, and what it all means, that would be fine, just tell the story!

Aside #3 - pause for big breath - this last flashback also created the most head-scratching moment thus far in the young season. So let me get this straight...Naomi believed that going on this mission to an island, to capture Ben, who was not on flight 815, might bring her in contact with survivors of flight 815? Yet Abaddon insisted to Naomi, who was clearly in "the know" about this, that finding these survivors would be impossible. Perhaps Abaddon really believed this (the way G.W. Bush seemed to really believe he'd find WMDs in Iraq), especially since, in the future, when the Oceanic Six are already back home, he would inquire of Hurley if "they were still alive." But that's not the only head scratcher. Let's just assume something about flight 815 going down made Abaddon and Naomi decide to go to that island for Ben. So then why did she show up claiming to have been sent to rescue Desmond? Why even connect Desmond to the island where the 815ers, or for that matter, Ben, would be found? And how does this synch up with Penny having a direct video conference link to the Looking Glass station, and her denial that she owned the freighter from which Naomi and co. arrived on the island? Yup, many questions need answering...

That's it for the flashbacks. They left me with this question - why would a cultural anthropologist, a socially awkward physicist, a ghost whisperer, and a drunk ex-pilot make up Abaddon's hand-picked team?

Island Time
We began this week's island time action rewinding the ending of last episode by a few minutes, and coming at it from a different perspective. We see the helicopter, and Daniel getting pushed out when the flight gets bumpy. His parachute opens, but he still hits hard. Regaining his wits, he cocks then hides a gun, and meets Jack and Kate. He introduces himself, and says he's there to rescue them. He also says there were four people on the chopper, including him, and he had no idea how many got out before it went down. Kate gives Daniel Naomi's phone. He calls George Minkowski, who lost contact with the chopper. George demands to go off speaker. Daniel walks a few steps away. Kate reminds Jack that Naomi covered for them, so they'll be fine, except Jack spots Daniel's gun. Daniel explains his GPS transponder, and asks where the rest of Jack's people are. Most of them, Jack reports, are on the beach. Daniel catches the phraseology and asks, "most of them?"

Elsewhere, we find team Locke under cover while John basks in the rain. He tells Hurley, who has Vincent with him that the storm is about to pass, and, sure enough, it does. Sawyer wants to know why they're heading East if the barracks are South. Locke says they have to go to a cabin, but Hurley blurts that the cabin is in a different direction. Catching himself, he tries to cover, saying he meant the cabin of the plane, but Ben gives a look indicating his understanding that Hurley has seen the disappearing hotel Jacob. John tells the still-skeptical Sawyer that he got his orders - to go to the cabin and to kill Naomi - from Walt (only taller).

On the beach, Juliet answers Sayid's question about why Ben insisted the people on the boat meant them all harm by saying either it was a lie meant to scare them away from rescue, or the actual truth (in other words, three years as an Other gave her no clear insight into the mind of Ben Linus). She changes the subject, and asks how many guns they have left.

Jack, Kate and Daniel find a box from the chopper. It contains gas masks. Jack, getting suspicous, asks Daniel about the gun. He says it's a precaution. When Jack asks, "against what?" Daniel "Ok, see, umm, rescuing you and your people? Can't really say it's our primary objective." Then what is, inquires Jack? Saved by the bell, Daniel gets the signal from Miles' transponder.

Aside #4 - Michael Aussielo of TV Guide points out the ridiculousness of how long it takes Jack to follow up on his unanswered question. Seriously, Jack, why are you the least inquisitive person in the world? As a hero, you're a zero. Ask a question (or a follow-up) every now and again, not just because your audience needs you to find answers, but because a "man of science" such as Jack should want to get a better understanding about what's happening in the world around him, particularly where those goings-on seem to affect his personal safety.

We get back to Locke, still getting the third degree from Sawyer. Locke confirms what we astute lostophiles suspected at the end of last season - the lack of a kidney (previously conned away by Anthony Cooper) saved John when Ben shot him through and through the very spot where the kidney should have been - that, and Walt.

Over by the rocks where Kelvin Inman died moments before Desmond accidentally brought down flight 815, a man is down, with his cute still attached. Jack climbs down, followed by Kate and Daniel. It's Miles, who awakens and points a gun at Jack. He sees Kate move for Daniel's gun, and demands to know where Naomi is - "the woman you killed, where is she?" Miles chastises Daniel for being too trusing, confirming that Naomi used the code - "tell my sister I love her." Kate, guns pointed at her, again rats out Locke. Miles swears he would know what happened if he saw the body (you know, because he's a ghost whisperer).

Back by team Locke, Ben tries to talk to Alex. Karl tells him to keep his mouth shut. Sawyer interrupts. Ben asks him why he left Kate behind and says Sawyer doesn't stand a chance now. Back in the real world, taunts Ben, a low-life scumbag couldn't compete with a surgeon like Jack. This prompts Sawyer to administer the next in Ben's seemingly endless string of beatings. Locke pulls them apart and says they're keeping Ben alive because of his superior knowledge of the island. Hurley, who saw Sawyer execute Tom in cold blood, gives Sawyer a stern look and subtly shakes his head. "Only a matter of time before he gets us, Johnny," snorts Sawyer, "and I bet he already figured out how he's going to do it. So you walk him."

Kate leads Jack and the boat guys to Naomi's body. As Miles concentrates, trying to get a reading, Daniel, a physicist, notices something about the light not scattering quite right in the jungle. Miles accepts that they didn't kill Naomi, but as another signal gets detected on the phone, he refuses to put down his gun. Jack says he should, since some of his friends are hiding with guns pointed at Miles and Daniel. Miles does not believe it until a shot hits a tree next to his head. It's Sayid and Juliet to the rescue! Miles and Daniel are disarmed...

...then Justin Timberlake goes flying towards a teenaged girl drinking Pepsi...

(sorry - that was a pretty cool Superbowl ad getting rerun during Lost).

Elsewhere, Charlotte (the signal detected by Miles) awakens hanging upside-down from a chute, suspended several meters above a stream. She releases the cute and falls into the water. She surfaces, and appears to be not just happy to have survived the fall, but, Jeff Jensen observes, happy as though she returned somewhere comfortable she had been before.

Aside #5 - Jensen posits that the name, Charlotte Staples Lewis, is meant to invoke C.S. Lewis, author of the Chronicles of Narnia series. Jensen further notes that in Prince Caspian (which will be released this summer as a major motion picture), the Pevensie children, who readers met as the protagonists of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, returned to Narnia with much the same expression that Charlotte sports here. Given her strange familiarity with far-from-the-pole polar bears and DHARMA logos, there may well be something to this theory...

Back with team Jack, Sayid inquires why Miles and Daniel are not surprised to see survivors of flight 815, since Naomi said they were supposed to be dead. Miles deadpans, ''Oh my God! You guys were on Oceanic 815! Wow! That better?''

Charlotte, surrounded by team Locke, asks how many 815ers are alive. Hurley is suspicious, but starts to give the details, until Locke stops him. She's further amazed by Aaron being born on the island (I'm telling you, she knows stuff). Locke asks what happened to the chopper. She says she doesn't know. John tells her she's coming with them, and that they don't want to be found.

Sayid sees Charlotte's signal is moving fast on the phone, and Jack takes off after it, with the rest of his group in tow. According to the phone, Charlotte is right there...but it's Vincent, with her transponder tied to him. Jack knows what this means - Locke's got her.

Finally, we find Frank, a little banged up, climbing a ridge. At the top he finds...a cow? With a bell? He pulls out his phone, but it's smashed. He has a flare, which he shoots off.

Back on the team Locke march, Ben gets a hold of a gun and shoots Charlotte twice when after she spots Frank's flare...but she's okay - she's wearing a vest?! Seems like an unlikely precaution, eh?

Jack's crew finds Frank. Frank says he put the chopper down safe and sound...and, sure enough, there it is. Jack, Sayid and Kate give incredible looks of relief.

Later, they carry Naomi's body down to the chopper, but Miles points out, correctly, that right now Naomi is just "meat" and they can't add her weight to the low-on-fuel helicopter. Sayid confirms the chopper is flight-ready. Jack agrees to give the phone to Miles in exchange for what they're doing there. Miles shows Jack a picture of...Ben! But it seems like a Ben from years ago. Miles calls the freighter and gets someone named Regina. He then asks for Minkowski, but George can't come to the phone...Frank knows that Juliet was not on the plane, since he thoroughly memorized the manifest after it went down. Franks seems intrigued by finding a "native."

Meanwhile, Locke, believing Sawyer may have been right in the first place, is about to kill Ben. He tells his people to leave the area if they don't want to see this. Ben tempts John to release him in exchange for answers. Locke calls his bluff, demanding to know what the black smoke is. Ben says he doesn't know (and, to me, Ben sells this one - but his lack of knowledge about Smokey is a topic for another day). About to get shot, Ben spurts out that he knows the woman they found is Charlotte Staples Lewis, and rattles off her whole biography, and the names of her team. Ben knows what they're doing here. "I know what they want," he tells Sawyer. "Me, James, they want me." He says he knows this because...he has a man on their boat!

So who is this man? It could be Minkowski, who was strangely unavailable when his people called. Or, some have opined, it could be Charlotte herself. The theory here is that Ben shot her knowing full well she would have a vest on, so that he could convince Locke's group that he and Charlotte are at odds with each other. This brings back to mind my theory that when Ben shot Locke, he knew it was in a spot that would not hurt John...

In any case, that's it this week. As I mentioned before, the obvious clues and mysteries revealed in "Confirmed Dead" may turn out to be eclipsed by the little moments many of us probably missed. This was the most densely-packed hour of Lost in a very long time. So, while Jack's failure to ask questions continues to annoy me, I'm pretty happy.

Next week, in "The Economist," the promos promise, another member of the Oceanic Six will be revealed.