Episode 321 - You All Everybody, It's Charlie's "Greatest Hits"

A new Dharma hatch! A master plan!! and Bernard and Rose live (and shoot straight)!!! All this, plus Charlie's heroic suicide mission (or is it?), in "Greatest Hits."

Because this week's flashback (the "greatest hits" of Charlie's life) was a character-revealing device more than a crucial story point, I won't give you my usual flashback qua prologue intro. Instead, the sequences will come towards the end of the recap, where it fits best into the story. So now, on with the show...

6 Hours Ago
Alex (cutting up a rabbit, because boy, those rabbits have a rough time in Ben's family) asks Ben when he got back, and where Locke is. Ben angrily gives back her gun. Richard sees him and asks what’s up.

Ben tells him John had "an accident." Ben orders Ryan, the mean-looking Other who stood guard over Sayid at the barracks, to step up the attack, at Jacob's insistsence. Richard points out that Juliet may not have had time to mark the pregnant women's tents, and Ben, clearly losing his legendary cool, tells Ryan's team to take all the women and kill all men who get in the way.

Random Aside #1 - forget Smokey. Forget Tom in his crazy beard. Forget crazed hungry polar bears and tattooed sharks. Far and away the scariest individual we've seen on this island is Ben, his incredible control dropped, his tight grip on the Others slowly slipping away, lashing out with his incredible influence, his wrath unleashed...Man, those bug eyes and the anger at Jacob's revelation to John, still seeping through this week. Powerful stuff...

Alex runs and tells Karl, who has been hiding in a cave (and for whom she was prepping the rabbit) to warn the beach camp. “He’s gonna kill them, Karl. Austin and Ford saved your life. You owe them.” She gives Karl her gun and, when Karl suggests her father would not be pleased, she asks if Ben is really her father.

Real Time
Jack leads most of our characters out to a clearing. This is perhaps the largest gathering of our main characters since Jack, Sawyer, Kate, Hurley and Michael left the beach last season. “Why does everything always have to be such a secret?” asks Charlie. This triggers something in Desmond, but he denies he had one of his flashes when Charlie asks.

Jack tells the group what Juliet told him about the Others' plan, and how Ben wanted her to test the women and help abduct the pregnant ones. Juliet apologizes to Sun. Sayid wants answers. And we get some too. The questions? Where have Jack and Juliet been sneaking off to together, and why was Rousseau rounding up dynamite sticks when Locke saw her outside the brig in the Black Rock. Jack summons Danielle Rousseau and aks her to “show them.” She pulls out two connecting wires, and detonates a tree. Jack explains he is done hiding, so he found help. He tells the group that Juliet will mark the tents, but they will actually contain dynamite, not pregnant women. In a moment nearly as scary for Jack watchers as the order to attack was for Ben lovers, Jack, wide-eyed, says, “we stop hiding, we stop running, we stop living in fear of them. Because when they show up, we’re going to blow them all to hell.”

Back at the beach, Charlie starts to write a list. More on this later... Naomi asks him who they’re going to go to war with. Charlie recognizes Naomi as a fellow Mancunian. She recognizes Charlie from the big deal greatest hits album that released after his death. Charlie is thrilled to learn of his posthumous fame, especially, as Naomi puts it, since he's still alive. But Desmond seems to want Charlie to follow him…

Random Aside #2 - Does anyone here trust Naomi as far as they could throw her? Hey, just how far can you throw her? But seriously, after 90 days, the outside world has had time to find the plane, identify Charlie's body, decide to make a big deal out of DriveShaft, release a greatest hits album, and catch the attention of a search and rescue worker stationed in the South Pacific? Isn't that, I don't know, a little too short a time period? More evidence Naomi is from the future? You decide...

Juliet and Jack gingerly stack dynamite. Danielle works on wiring. Sayid insists he and Jack discuss the sat phone.

Jack, incredibly is too busy to discuss the most likely method of rescue they've seen, but Sayid insists. He says Danielle’s transmission is blocking the sat phone signal. Juliet says it's not just the French loop (and Danielle concurs, since, after all, she had been broadcasting for 16 years but nobody off the island ever seemed to detect it). Juliet says Ben is using an underwater Dharma station, "the Looking Glass," to jam all transmissions off the island.

Claire worries that the Others, baby-hungry as they seem to be, are coming for Aaron. Charlie promises to protect them both. That’s when Des arrives and asks Charlie for a “hand with something.” “So how’s it happen this time?” Charlie asks his personal grim reaper. “What I saw, Charlie, was Claire and her baby get into a helicopter, that lifts off and leaves this island." The kicker? "if you don’t [die], none of it will happen. There won’t be any rescue. I’m sorry brother, but this time? This time you have to die.” Desmond tells Charlie there will be an underwater hatch, a room full of equipment. There’s a blinking light. Charlie flips the switch, the light goes off, then he drowns. Desmond doesn’t know when. Charlie, realizing his death would mean that Claire and Aaron, his surrogate family would live, confirms, “before I drown, I just have to flip the switch.”

Sayid has the plans to the looking glass (boy, he really did pick the best binder in the Flame station library, eh?) Juliet doesn’t know anyone who’s been down there. She says there was an accident, and it’s completely flooded. Sayid sees the cable on the schematic, which he knows so well. It’s possible to swim in and disable the switch, since there is a moon pool underneath big enough for a sub. Sayid volunteers, but then Charlie comes along, and claims he was junior swim champ in Northern England. Jack refuses to indulge this talk, and says now is the time to worry about the Others.

Random Aside #3 - "The Looking Glass?" Did you see the white rabbit logo? What's up with all the bunnies? And for that matter, just how many Dharma stations are there? We heard in the Swan film that there are six stations...but now we've seen 1. the Swan, 2. the Caduceus/ Staff, 3. the Arrow, 4. the Pearl, 5. the Hydra, 6. the Flame, 7. the Barracks, and 8. the White Rabbit. I don't think Dr. Candle was very honest in those videos, eh?

The survivors (if they can be called that, right, Naomi?) get to work wiring the camp to blow up the Others. Bernard shows Rose how to tie knots with the wires…only she shows him better (yes, Virginia, they live!).

Jin asks Sun when she is going to tell him what Juliet said about them on her tape to Ben. He heard their names, and saw everyone look at Sun. Sun tells him about the trip to the ultrasound, but stops short of the “I’m going to die” part when Jin looks overjoyed that she saw their healthy baby.

Karl, with Alex’s boat, paddles furiously, after running through the jungle. Hurley spots him bringing his boat ashore. Sayid tackles Karl, but Sawyer vouches for him. “They’re coming, my people.” Sayid is not impressed, since they already knew the Others are coming tomorrow. “Tomorrow, no! No, they’re coming tonight, they’re coming right now!!!”

Karl thinks he’ll get their trust by outing Juliet as a mole. The camp tells him they already know, but they believe he's sincere about the early assualt. They don’t have enough time to rig the dynamite with remote wiring dynamite, but Sayid suggests shooting out the dynamite from hidden positions. They form a 3-part plan to repel the Others and alert Naomi's ship. A group will go to Rousseau's hijacked transmission tower and shut it down. Charlie, with Desmond's help, will shut down the Looking Glass jamming equipment. And a small group will stay behind to shoot the dynamite when the Others come.

Charlie goes to see Claire, who is worried about his swimming mission. Charlie asks Claire to promise not to worry about him while he’s gone. He takes Aaron back to his crib. Aaron reaches for Charlie’s face. Charlie tells Aaron he loves him. He tells Claire he’ll see her soon. They kiss, a real kiss for the first time, and then smile at each other. Charlie turns and walks off.

Desmond made Charlie a weight belt to help him sink faster. He asks how long Charlie can hold his breath, and Charlie asks what difference it makes.

Bernard demonstrates his ability to shoot. Rose insists on staying, but Jack says no. Sayid insists that he will stay behind, and Jack should lead them to the radio tower. Sayid says, “this afternoon you said you were our leader. It’s time to start acting like one. Lead them to the radio tower, Jack, and then lead us all home.”

Hurley joins Charlie and Desmond at Karl's outrigger. He wants to go along. He feels useless everywhere else, but he’s a good paddler. Charlie says no, because….he’s too big, he won’t fit in the boat (excuses). The wound he inflicts works, Hurley walks off, but Charlie runs after him and hugs him. “Just remember I love you, man,” “Yeah, whatever, I love you, too.”

Jin will be the third shooter. Hurley offers to help with Aaron. When Claire lifts him to leave with the rest of the camp, Charlie’s DriveShaft ring sits in his crib, where Charlie left it for his would-be adopted son.

Desmond finds the cable on the beach. They put it above the outrigger and pull out to sea.
Desmond looks down, and sees the looking glass below. Charlie gives Desmond the list he has been making. That list makes up this episode's Charlie flashbacks. I will let Doc Jensen's review of these 5 moments work for me here. Take it away, Doc...

5. Charlie hears his song ''You All Everybody'' on the radio for the first time It couldn't have come at a better time, too. His band, Driveshaft, was going nowhere. Seriously. Their touring van had busted a wheel during a driving rainstorm. Charlie wanted to quit. The album was tanking, they were only booking loser gigs, they sucked and couldn't face it — and then he heard it, loud and clear on the radio. It was like Island magic on a lame man's legs. Charlie's hope had been rewarded; his optimism restored and hard-wired. (Homework: Compare this moment to Hurley's similarly themed ''Road to Shambala'' broken-Dharma-bus escapade.)

4. Charlie's father teaches him to swim

And with the old ''Trust me, I'll catch you'' bait and switch, no less. Once again on Lost, a father burns his son — but this time, for a good reason. And with the horror story of Ben and his manipulative and mean dad still fresh in our minds, this deceit seemed downright sweet. Lesson learned: Courage.

Random Aside #4 - Want proof that Charlie is doomed? How about that, almost unlike any other character on the island, he had a decent, loving father, who left him with happy memories? Yup, he's gotta go...

3. Charlie's brother gives him the ''DS'' ring for Christmas

We used to think ''DS'' stood for Driveshaft. Nope: It was a family heirloom, passed down through the mother's side and given to the firstborn; it stands for Dexter Stratton. Liam gave it to his little brother as an acknowledgment that Charlie really was the good son of the two — an ironic, happy-ending inversion of the Jacob and Esau story, the older brother willingly surrendering the birthright to the younger. The relationship between Charlie and Liam would ultimately become more complicated, but the fact that Charlie decided to memorialize the memory on his list indicated that bygones were bygones. And in doing so, the ring became imbued with forgiveness and grace, making the precioussssss object a mirror twin to the one Gollum killed for and Frodo sought to destroy (but couldn't) in those aforementioned hobbit books. (Fun fact! Dexter Stratton is a fusion of two names from the 1980s Ricky Schroder sitcom Silver Spoons!)

2. Charlie saves a woman from being mugged and is dubbed a hero In the pouring rain, too — another memory wet with the semiotics of baptism. The timing: Charlie's street-corner minstrel days, first seen in Desmond's time-travel episode. Charlie's song selection: Oasis' ''Wonderwall,'' a tune about an imaginary friend (Dave? Jacob?); its title is a reference to George Harrison's soundtrack to a ''lost'' movie of the same name. The woman whom Charlie saves is also something of a blast from the (Lost) past: It's Nadia, Sayid's Iraqi lady love, last seen in John Locke's ''Daddy made me rip off the Mob'' flashback from last season. The lady sure gets around, doesn't she? But why? Is her presence in these past lives purely coincidental or evidence of a divine (or devious) design that links all the castaways? Questions, I think, for another season to answer....

And finally, Charlie's most favorite moment, No. 1 on his all-time personal hit parade: his first encounter with Claire, on the night they crashed on the Island 'Nuff said.

Thanks, Doc. Your assistance on the flashbacks (albeit not voluntary) was spot-on...

Charlie asks Desmond to give Claire his list, which he says is the 5 best moments of his sorry excuse of a life. His "greatest hits." Memories are all he’s got at this point, the moment before he's been told he is to die. Desmond says he’ll go, that maybe he keeps seeing Charlie die because he’s supposed to take his place. Charlie asks about Penny, but Des asks about Claire. Charlie knocks Desmond out with an oar, makes sure Des is safe on the boat, and that he has the greatest hits list. “You and I both know, you’re not supposed to take my place, brother,” are Charlie's parting words to the world of the living. He takes the weight belt, and dives down. His shoes float up. He swims up into the looking glass…and it’s not flooded! He’s alive!!! He climbs up out of the water, and shouts, “I’m alive!!!!…"...when two gun-toting women charge out from behind a door and hold him at gunpoint!!!”

And that, my fellow Lostophiles, will set the scene for our bang-up 2 hour, game-changing finale, "Through the Looking Glass." Remember, the finale starts an hour earlier next week. Until then, Namaste!

Hiatus Preview - constructing a complete theory

With only 3 hours (2 episodes) to go, the long, long hiatus awaits. Don't worry, Lostophiles. You'll get my recaps to "Greatest Hits" and "Through the Looking Glass" as soon as possible after these last two Season 3 outings air.

Going forward, I believe the end of Season 3 will leave us in a position to come up with a "complete theory of Lost" that I plan to debut this winter before Season 4 comes out. But I want this to be interactive.

In order to put this theory together, I first need to know all the questions the theory must answer. And this is where you come in.

This Thursday, after Grey's Anatomy, ABC will be airing a special in which Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse will tell us all the questions Lost has already answered. I plan to watch, and I suggest you do, too (since it's very likely we all still think some seemingly vague fact remains to be explained, when in fact it's already been revealed). The special will also preview some of the questions to be answered before the series ends.

But it cannot possibly preview all remaining questions. Before the end of May, I will post a list of all questions I think are currently open and in need of answers. Then I'll throw it out to all of you to send me additional questions. If I think I have answers already, I'll let you know what those answers are. If not, they will get added to the list. I plan to have the "complete" list available by July 4. From that list, I'll put together the master theory, which I'll submit to you all for review. Then we'll spend some time over the next few months honing the theory and, as the remaining three seasons air, we'll see how right we are, and make adjustments as new episodes bring new reveals.

New Theory about Jacob

This summer (or really, for the next 8 months after the finale), I'm going to work on a "Lost Master Theory." After "The Man Behind the Curtain," I've decided to start the theorizing with some conjecture about Jacob. Click on the title of this post for my master thoery of the Ohters' shadowy leader, who needs John Locke's help...

Ep 320 - Getting to Know "The Man Behind the Curtain"

Little Ben (and his first tortured bunny)! The death of Roger Work Man!! Jacob revealed (for a split second)!!! And of course, far more questions than answers in "The Man Behind the Curtain."

As a prologue, last week I noted that too much happened too quickly for me to keep up with my notes, but that I didn't want to rewind for fear of disrupting the viewing experience. This week, it took a couple of rewinds to take everything in, and even then I have some major questions...

Flashback – Ben
Right from the get-go, we learned that Ben's claim to have been born on the island was a lie. His parents, Emily (played by Michael Emerson's real-life wife, Carrie Preston...oedipal, eh?) and Roger (Uncle Rico!) were hiking through a dense forest when she gave birth to Benjamin, almost two months early. Emily, still bleeding, cried out that it hurt, and Roger carried the two of them, through the forrest, up to a road? 32 miles outside of Portland???? As Richard would later tell Juliet, the Others' base is "not exactly in Portland."

A strange couple (Horace and Olivia) pulled over to help. As Emily died on the roadside, her last request was that the baby be called Benjamin.

Some time in the future, young Ben (sporting nerdy round glasses) and Roger arrived on the island via a familiar submarine. They walked along the dock, under a sign that said "Namaste." A bunch of Dharma workers with leis greeted the new arrivals. Among them was Horace Goodspeed, the man from the car on the side of the road when Emily died, now sporting longer hair and wearing an arrow station jumpsuit.

If you have any thoughts on the mythological import of the name "Horace Goodspeed," please, send them my way.

Inside a welcome center, a Marvin Canlde video warned everyone to stay inside the sonic fence, in the barracks. The Dharma mission, said Dr. Candle, is to study the island’s properties for the betterment of mankind. Ben met a young girl, Annie, who gave him an Apollo bar (of which island residents can have as many as they want...)

Thanks to Losteastereggs.blogspot.com for this: the actual text of Dr. Candle's message:

"Welcome to the Island. For your own comfort and safety, we ask that you stay within the confines of your new living quarters. Our barracks are surrounded by a high-frequency sonar fence to protect us from the island's abundant and diverse wildlife. You are now a member of the Dharma initiative. Every morning you will be given a new code which will allow you to cross outside the fences if you so desire. There are properties on this island that exist nowhere else on earth. Our mission is to study these properties for the betterment of mankind and advancement of world peace. Most of you will be working on the mainland. Should you be assigned zoological study..."

Random Aside #1 - From the Lost Experience, we can extrapolate that Dharma was dosing its residents with something through these candy bars. The question is, what? And why?

Random Aside #1.1 - so the code to the fence changed daily? But now it's a subset of the numbers? Did the random assignment of the dangerous numbers cause any of the problems previous island inhabitants faced?

Roger was handed a “work man” outfit. As he believed he had come to Dharma island to better mankind, this really upset him. He could not believe that his assigned role in this utopia was that of janitor.

Random Aside # 2 - I reviewed the Dr. Candle video from the Swan hatch. It appears the community around the barracks may have been the final listed "purpose" for the Dharma Initiative, i.e. an experiment in social utopia. Query: how utopian is it to consign a newcomer to forever being a janitor? And why couldn't Roger then leave? Was Dharma as against departures then as the Others are now?

Ben and Annie went to school under the instruction of Olivia (the other passenger in the car with Horace), where they were learning about volcanoes when a commotion began. Olivia demanded that the class get into position, grabbed a gun, and had Annie lock the door. She said not to worry, it’s just the hostiles, they would be okay.

That night, Ben, with a little bunny (again with the bunnies?), heard Roger and Horace arguing over the natives. Roger demanded more money (he sooo didn't get what Dharma was about!). Ben turned and saw, in the window – his mother? Roger entered and chided Ben for not sleeping. Emily disappeared, leaving Ben to look at her picture by his bedside.

Ben spent part of his next birthday on the familiar barracks swingset with Annie. She gave him carved wooden dolls of them as a gift. Now they would never have to be away from each other. Ben returned home to find Roger passed out on the couch. He took the empty beer can from his dad’s hand, and woke him by removing a shoe. Roger saw Annie’s package, apologized for forgetting Ben’s birthday, and muttered that it was hard to celebrate on the day Ben killed his mom. "Now she’s gone, and I’m stuck here on this island, with you." Uncle Rico, er, Roger passed out, and Ben ran from the house, out to the sonic fence. On the other side he stood his mother. (Does anyone not see dead relatives on this island?) He tried to run to her, but she told him to stop, that it was not time yet. She disappeared into the jungle, leaving Ben behind. Note: Thanks to losteastereggs.blogspot.com for this: In this scene, and the later scene where Ben met Richard, the whispers made their return, and could be heard in the background (no idea what they were saying).

Random Aside #2 - Doc Jensen discussed this in his recap on EW.com today, and after careful consideration, I do indeed like this theory: on the island, it is clear that what goes on in many inhabitants' heads manifests itself physically. This is most apparent in these dead relative encounters (now enjoyed by Jack, Eko, Ben and, in the guise of imaginary friend Dave, Hurley). But what if Ben's dual obsession - the death of his mother in childbirth, and his own self-loathing for having "caused" her death, is somehow the reason women who conceive on the island are killed by their would-be babies before the children can be born? What if, in some way that has yet to be explained, Ben has punished these women for daring to have the family he was denied? If that's the case, somehow I don't think even Ben is aware he has had this effect.

Young Ben retunred in the morning to the fence with a couple of bags. He had a code (not the one we know so well!!!) and turned off the fence. From one of the bags, Ben pulled his bunny, which he ran through to verify the fence was "off," and then he followed after it. Gathering his bunny, he ran towards where his mother disappeared. There, he heard strange noises. Calling out to his mother, he ran, into a clearing. He turned and found…Richard Alpert? Looking very hippyish, but the same exact age we've alwasy seen him depicted! Ben asked if Richard is a “hostile,” to which Richard responded by asking if Ben even knew what that word meant.

Random Aside #3 - So the "hostiles" described in the Flame station video predated Ben on the island, and were apparently ageless. They somehow ended up in mortal combat with the Dharma Initiative, but were held at bay by the sonic fence. Who were these "hostiles" before they were "hostiles?" How did Richard become one of them? And why were they so darned hostile?

Richard asked what Ben was doing in the jungle by himself. Ben explained his mother’s death, and how he saw her in the jungle. Richard seemed particularly intrigued when Ben said he spoke with mother, but told Ben that it wasn’t time yet for Ben to come with him. Richard urged Ben to go home, that he would some day get to go with Richard, but for the time being, to be patient...

Years later, an older Ben put on his own Work Man suit. His Annie doll was still around, and he put it in his bag with a forlorn look on his face. He loaded some supplies into the van that Roger was loading up with beer. It’s another birthday, and Roger again forgot. Roger says he just had to run supplies up to the Pearl station, but then they could have some father/ son time. On the mesa, still in the van, with "the Road to Shambala" playing, Roger cracked a Dharma beer. Ben asked if Roger really blamed him for Emily’s death, all the while looking nervously at his watch. Roger promised to remember the following year, to which Ben responded, "I don’t think that’s going to happen, dad. I’ve missed her too. For as long as I could remember, I’ve had to put up with you, and doing that required a tremendous amount of patience." Ben donned a gas mask and opened a gas canister. Roger started bleeding out of his nose and wretching (the mystery of what happened to "Roger Workman" and how his VW bus was abandoned full of beer has now officially been solved). This was the purge of which Mikhaeil spoke. Ben returned to the barracks, where everyone lay on the ground, blood poured out of their faces, all dead.

Horace lay dead on a bench. Ben did not seem the least bit remorseful, but I could not help but wonder - where was Annie? He still clearly clinged to his memory of their friendship (carrying around her doll), but he did not appear to have even looked to see if she was among the fallen, much less to care if she were...From out of the jungle, hillbilly-dressed Others in gas masks arrived. Richard, now with shorter hair, was among them. He asked if Ben wanted them to collect his father's body, but Ben coldly requested he be left out there (for Hurley to find years later, with an assist to Vincent).

The Jungle
Richard enters Ben’s tent, where he looks at a crude wooden doll (the one Annie gave him as a boy). It’s his birthday, and the doll was a present. “You do remember birthdays, don’t you Richard?” Ben asks, perhaps a dig at Mr. Alpert's apparent agelessness. Ben is agitated that his recorder is missing – he thought Richard was returning it to Juliet, but Richard doesn’t have it, so Ben frantically calls to Tom…when Locke shows up, Cooper’s body in a sack on his back, demanding to learn about the island, from the beginning. Richard and Tom are surprised, but Ben, who clearly thought only he was capable of the patricide necessary for induction into the community, is positively stunned.

Ben pours two drinks and hands one to John, who doesn’t take it. Ben denies that he’s the leader, and insists that he answers to Jacob. Locke wants to see Jacob, but Ben says that's impossible - he’s the only one who talks to Jacob, because he was born on the island (yeah right), one of the last who was. The other Others were brought by Ben, so Jacob only talks to him, only sees him. John thinks Ben is “the man behind the curtain – the Wizard of Oz.” He says if Ben were telling the truth, his hand wouldn’t be shaking.

Mikhail comes running, looking for Ben, who thought he was dead. Mikhail he explains, fortunately, the pylons were not set to a lethal level. He sees John, and wonders what the man who "killed" him is doing here. Mikhail reports Naomi’s arrival, and says they can’t wait until the next day (the planned pregnant women abduction) to deal with this. Locke announces that Ben is taking him to see Jacob, which Mikhail and the others find incredible. Ben tries to tell John their excursion will have to wait, so John attacks Mikhail. Ben tries to summon help, but Tom, Richard and the Others don’t lift a finger. Mikhail knocked out, John turns back to Ben and asks when they leave.

At a stream, Ben says John didn’t have to beat Mikhail. Alex arrives and gives John a gun, saying he’ll need it if he’ll see Jacob. As she turns to leave, she wishes Ben a happy birthday (at least his daughter doesn't forget).

Ben assures John that Jacob is very very real, and that he is not going to like it when they show up. That, he says, is why his hand was shaking, because this is not a man you go to see, it’s a man who summons you. “I guess there’s a first time for everything” snaps John, unimpressed. With the Others looking on, the two disembark.

At night, Ben deliverately steps over a line of what appears to be volcanic ash. John tries to check it out, but Ben urges him on.

Random Aside # 4 - Doc Jensen refers to this line of ash as a symbol in many mythologies, including the symbol of a phoenix, dying a fiery death only to be reborn from the ashes. But what I see is grayish-black particles, the kind that might, when activated, form into a sort of intelligent smoke creature...

They come upon a strange structure. Ben says, "we’re here." He urges John to turn off the flashlight, because Jacob feels the same way about technology as John does. Ben lights a lamp. Kudos to Doc Jensen for noting the fourth-wall-breaking nature of Ben's next line; "Once I open this door, there’s no turning back." As the Doc points out, there is a romance to mystery that must die when we achieve certainty. With that spirit many internet posters, myself included, have flinched at the notion that, once we get Lost's answers, they may never be as satisfying as the questions were thought-provoking. So might it be for John Locke. Ben announces himself and Locke to Jacob. He opens the door, and they enter. Ben puts the lntern on a table. Ben refers to an empty chair as Jacob. "You wanted the secrets of the island, well here they are." John is not amused - "You’re crazy – you don’t know anything about the island. Are you putting on a show for me, or do you really think there’s someone there?" Ben's reply is chilling - "I’m sorry you’re too limited to see." John turns to leave. A voice that is not Ben's says “help me.” John turns back around. Ben denies he said anything. John turns on his flashlight, and building starts shaking, like a poltergeist has attacked. Glass breaks, a fire starts and quickly disappears. And, in case you missed it for a brief moment, (11 frames of video) someone is in the chair.

Ben is flung at a wall, and Jack flees. Ben shouts, "you had your fun, Jacob." Eventually, he rejoins John outside. Locke asks what that was, and Ben replies, tersely, "that was Jacob."

In the morning, Ben asks what Jacob said to John. John denies Jacob said anything, insisting it was Ben. He wants to expose Ben as a fraud. Ben admits there some untruths, like the fact that he wasn’t born on the island. (Yeah, Doc Jensen said this, too, but I swear I independently thought this up - in light of the end of the episode, doesn't Ben's lie seem to have the Ben Kenobi type underlying justification, that "a great many of the truths we cling to depend greatly upon our points of view?") He decides to show John where he did come from.

Ben shows John the mass grave where the Dharma bodies are buried. He says they came seeking harmony, but they couldn’t even coexist with the island’s original inhabitants. "When it became clear that one side had to be purged, I did what I had to do. I did what I had to to make sure I didn’t end up in that ditch, which makes me considerably smarter than you, John." Without warning, Ben shoots John (where his kidney used to be), who falls in the hole. He says he shot John, because John heard Jacob. Ben asks John what Jacob said. John tells him, Jacob said "help me." “We’ll I certainly hope he helps you, John.”


Random Aside #5 - What kind of justification is that? Because you heard Jacob? But as we examine Ben and John, and the parallels between them, some things begin to coalesce. Remember, Richard first told Ben that he could join the "hostiles" after Ben revealed he spoke with his dead mother. In the future, Ben would become the Others' leader, as he apparently was the only one who could perceive Jacob. For whatever reason, the Others accepted this, even as they could not see a man in that chair any more than John could at first. Yes, Ben believed he had overcome his lowly, miserable parentage, killed his own father, and in the process had become sufficiently special in his connection to this island to be the one who could see and hear Jacob. Then along comes John Locke, a man who could out-heal Ben, who could similarly kill his own father to prove his worth, and who, it appeared the Others would chose over Ben. And when this newcomer could suddenly do the one thing that made Ben more special than anyone else, i.e. hear Jacob? He became a threat to Ben. Query how the Others will react when Ben returns alone.

Also, I don't think John is dead (remember the ol' healing ability? and that missing kidney?) but I also don't think we'll learn that fact until a couple of episodes into the next season.

The Beach
Sawyer, in the jungle, has returned. He summons Sayid, who wonders what happened to him. He gives Sayid Juliet's tape recorder.

Sayid and Sawyer look for Juliet. Kate says she left with Jack as soon as Kate told them about Naomi. Sayid is not happy Kate did this, and demands that Sawyer play the tape for Kate.

Sayid presents Naomi to the camp and tells of his suspicions about Jack. Sun stands up for Jack and Juliet, until Sawyer plays the tape (Jin apparently understood that the tape was talking about him, but not that it said he was sterile). Jack and Juliet arrive, and Jack demands to know where the tape came from.

Juliet tells Sawyer to turn over the tape and press play. It’s Ben saying three teams are coming for Sun, and if Kate or anyone else is pregnant, mark their tents, and they’ll take them too. Juliet told Jack what Ben was forcing her to do the night of the ultrasound. Jack claims he didn't reveal the situation to the rest of the beach crew because he hadn’t decided what to do yet. “I think we’ve got some catching up to do.”

Afterthoughts

In the immortal words of Keanu Reeves, "whoah!" It's been no secret that Lost has some ties to Steven King (an avowed fan and buddy to the producers), but how Steven King was that Jacob's hut sequence? And Jacob's sudden appearance? Boo-scary!

A few questions posed by the episode (and I'd love to hear your thoughts):

1. Why doesn't Richard age?
2. What happened to Annie?
3. Who are the Hostiles?
4. What is Jacob?
5. What is the endgame Ben thinks his patience will reward him with?
6. What was that sandy/ ashy stuff?
7. Was the purge what Dr. Candle referred to as "the incident" in the Swan video?
8. If the purge was the end of the Dharma Initiative, how did Kelvin get to the island?
9. Why was the code young Ben used to open the fence not the subset of "the numbers" Juliet would use years later?
10. Just why is John Locke so special, he can hear Jacob?

Well folks, this was a long one, and a long time coming. Hope you enjoyed it!

Responding to Comments

I've gotten some great comments to my recap of the "the Brig", and I wanted to respond to them here:

Zach said...
not sure about the future angle...afterall when Naomi was talking to them she remembered the crash pretty quickly, as if it happened a few months ago. If she was really from the future or something she probably would have guessed it so quickly

Zach, I tend to agree that it would be unlikely for a visitor from the future to remember a random plane crash from years before. But in Naomi's case, let's recall: 1) she claims to work for a search and rescue company, which arguably means her memory for such events would be sharper than the yours or mine; and 2) with Mrs. Hawking, we've already been introduced to at least one time-hopping character in the outside world who seems to have a vested interest in certain people and things happening "as they should" on the island. As Mrs. Hawking is linked to Brother Campbell (photo on his desk), who is linked to Penny Widmore (he introduced her to Desmond), who hired Naomi, and as this group seems to have some heightened degree of knowledge of the island, there may yet be something there...

Carl said...
One thing I thought of after reading your post was the similarity between Juliet soliciting Jack to kill Ben - and his subsequent refusal - and Ben/Richard’s demand that Locke kill Cooper - and his semi-refusal... Anyway, perhaps Jack fully passed “the test” by not killing Ben when he easily could, and was carefully and directly asked to. It will be interesting to see if Locke passed the similar test. He was well on his way by refusing to sacrifice Cooper in front of everyone at the ruins, but alas, he caved and found a way to have his father killed. I wonder if returning with his father in a bag will ultimately lead to Locke’s dismissal from the Others, rather than his ascension.

This is an excellent point! I also see the ever-present comparisons between Locke and Jack and between Locke and Eko. Think about last season's "faith in the hatch" in which Locke gleefully jumped at the idea of being "special" by pushing that button, and just as quickly let his pseudo-faith disappear once he saw the Pearl video (whereas Eko's reinvigorated faith turned out to be "correct.") Here, both Jack and Locke have been given what may be a test - kill someone who is totally vulnerable. Jack refused, and was accepted into Othersville; Locke found a loophole to get "in" with Ben's crew, but it remains to be seen if he will be equally accepted.

I tend to agree with Hurley, Desmond, Charlie, et al that Jack might now be an Other based on his time spent with them. Running around playing football isn’t really the behavior one would engage in after being locked up, forced to perform emergency spinal surgery, then given a liar’s word that he would be free to leave. There’s more there, and I think we’ll probably get a Jack flashback like we did for Locke, where we get to see what else happened during those 10 days Jack was a prisoner.

I wonder what it means to "be an Other?" Is Cindy one now? Don't we need a better definition of what an Other "is"? Hopefully, that will be provided by tonight's Ben-Centric episode, "The Man Behind the Curtain."

As for Jack's on-island flashback, I do hope that's what the finale will bring. Two hours of Jack flashback is not something I relish after his last lame, tattoo-affixing outing.

Anyway, folks, thanks for the comments. Can't wait to see tonight's outing!

Open Letter to Doc Jensen

Lostophiles -

This morning I sent an email to Jeff Jensen at EW.com responding to a "should Lost go sci-fi" debate touched upon in his weekly column (for a look at the column in question, click on the title of this post). Below is the text of that email. Should the good Doc respond, I will gladly share his insights with you, and I would love to get your thoughts on this topic, as well.

Doc, I can't understate how much of a fan I have been of your Lost columns (and your many other TV-show articles) at EW.

Today, you ran an email from "Tim," discussing his firm wish that Lost not delve too deep into Sci-Fi in answering its myriad mysteries.

As a fairly loyal science fiction fan, I want to further Tim's point, while also clarifying the issue a little.

First of all, science fiction, per se, is not evil, and has produced some of the finest pop culture we have. But it's possible to do sci-fi right, and it's possible for it to go horribly wrong. At its best (think: Battlestar Galactica), science fiction tweaks the rules of reality ever so slightly to let relatable characters and only slightly distorted versions of realistic, everyday plots shine through. At its worst, science fiction creates sui generis deus ex machina conclusions to what had previously been brilliantly tense concepts (think: any episode of Star Trek: the Next Generation that ended with Geordie LaForge reversing the polarity of something by flushing the positron emissions created by the warp drive through the phaser banks...man, I'm already bored by the allusion).

It is in these moments where only the Steven Hawkings of the world can fully understand the quick and dirty save-the-day or explain-the-mystery device that sci-fi gets its bad name. As aspirational and culture-altering as the simple and relatable notion of "faith in the force" was for fans of the original Star Wars trilogy, the pseudo-scientific explanation of "he has lots of midichlorians" doomed the prequel trilogy to endless eye rolls so big, Admiral Akbar would be hospitalized by the skull-crushing pain.

Similarly, the dramatic downturn in quality in countless X-men comic story lines that occurs when some nebulously-defined psychic threat appears only diminishes the brilliant notion of super-powered mutants as a lens through which to view prejudice and bigotry (and don't get me started on alien encounter plots in otherwise Earthly superhero stories).

The point is, Doc, that for all the brilliance of Lost's set-up (and, now that we've hit the 60% point, there can be only so much more setup), sci-fi-ruining concepts such as "wormholes" and "psychic residues" will most likely result in a letdown. Such a quantum leap in believability would be absurd in light of the realistic portrayal of even the supernatural Smokey on the show. Please, Doc, pass this on to your buddies, Damon and Carlton: don't let Lost devolve from "The Matrix" into "The Matrix Revolutions" with concepts so high-falutin', they distract from the brilliant narrative.

Dan H.
Lost Lover at Law
http://lostlovinglawyer.blogspot.com

The Powers that Be on Lost's Roadmap

Yesterday's post was based on ABC's announcment of Lost's end date (2010). Clicking on the title of this post will take you to Jeff Jensen's interview with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, Lost's show runners, about why the 3x16 setup for the final 3 seasons of Lost is exactly what they wanted, why the new structure will benefit the show both creatively and financially, and the extent to which (but not the method in which) this season's finale will turn Lost on its head for the final 48 installments.

2010 - the end of Lost

Variety reports that ABC and Lost's producers have agreed that Lost will end in 2010 (three years from now). However, to keep the show from stalling over the course of the next three years, each of the next three seasons will be only 16 episodes long (essentially, this season, minus the 6-episode mini-season from the Fall). Thus, the same number of episodes that aired in seasons 1 and 2 (combined) will aire in seasons 4-6. Click the title of this post for Variety's full article.

I like this solution - it keeps the show about exactly as long as the producers first envisioned (5 normal-length seasons, spread out over 6 years) but extends its run long enough into the future that ABC won't have to feel it has compromised itself financially. Here's hoping with the end in sight (at the length originally envisioned) that the Powers that Be really ramp up the action and make things happen!

Episode 319 - Revenge in "The Brig"

Manipulation! Humiliation!! (and, best of all, sweet) Vindication!!! All this and more in "The Brig!"

First Things First - The Gushing
Let me start by saying, to me, "The Brig" was the single most tightly-plotted episode in Lost's 3-year history. It comes as no surprise that the episode was scripted by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the "captains of the ship" of Lost. Even the quasi-flashback, of John Locke's 8 days alone in Othersville, was teeming with important plot points (and, as it did not feel so much like a flashback as it did a non-linear story, this recap will do away with my usual past tense flashback/ present tense "real time" style and instead shoot for a deconstructed linear narrative...)

Othersville
Aside from a cameo appearance in "Left Behind," in which Locke, mysteriously sporting a bandage on his hand, bid farewell to Kate moments before she was gassed, we last left the most lost of our Lost souls perplexedly staring at his own personal demon, Anthony Cooper, AKA "Dad." In "The Brig," we bridged that gap.

Ben assures Locke that it wasn't the Others that brought Cooper to that boiler room, it was John, himself. Ignoring Ben's warning, John removes Cooper's gag, and is promptly bitten hard on the hand (aha! the bandage explained!) Cooper taunts his son, "don't you know John? Don't you know where we are?" as if Cooper himself has the big answers. But the exchange ends when Tom closes the door, leaving Cooper inside.

Ben invites John to join the Others on their exodus to "an old place, actually." He lets John know that Kate is a few buildings away, and suggests John go to say good-bye (the lead in to the aforementioned cameo of a few weeks back).

Random Query 1: When Locke saw Kate, he had apparently read her "file" and learned about her patricide. But when did that happen, as the file-peaks we saw this week were only after they abandoned Othersville. Also, why just say good-bye to Kate? Why not Jack or Sayid? Although, all things considered, I'm not sure any amount of handcuffing could have prevented Jack from killing Locke after the whole exploding submarine thing...

The Old Place
Over the next 5 days, the Others have left the barracks and are setting up a little Lord-of-the-Rings-style tent village near some particularly odd-looking ruins (more on this later). John helps Cindy pitch a tent. She stares in awe, and says they've been waiting for him...

Random Aside #1: the first time we saw the long-missing Cindy, when she came to gawk at Jack in a cage like she nervously expected an event to transpire, was kind of cool and a little creepy. Now Cindy seems like a cult initiate who's been told her messiah is the guy pitching her tent. What is her deal? What has happened to her in the time since the Others snatched her and the other tailies? Is it similar to whatever strange secret Jack is keeping (which we'll get to in a bit)?

Tom summons John to Ben's tent. John overhears Ben listening to the tape recording Juliet left behind last week, and then Ben tells him that the Others plan to infiltrate the beach in 3 days to take the pregnant Losties.

Random Aside #2: In light of what would transpire later, I really believe that poor shlubby John Locke just got his arse manipulated again by Ben...

Ben stands up with the help of a cane, and thanks John for somehow making that possible with his presence. He says he cannot wait to show John what the island can do, but John is still not ready, because of the hold his father still has over him. Don't worry, the "magic box" was a metaphor, but newbies only get to join the Others with a public gesture of free will, of commitment - in Locke's case, killing Cooper, who has been tied to a pillar that looks to be the remnants of same ancient temple. Could this be related to the mysterious 4-toed statue?

Random Aside #2.1: If you really want to manipulate John Locke, make him feel like his life suddenly has all-powerful meaning, i.e., put him on the path of his own personal myth. The poor guy doesn't stand a chance with Ben, does he?

At night, Ben wakes John and tells him it's time to kill Cooper. At first, the three men are alone at the pillar, but soon the entire Others camp has gathered to watch (tailies included). Whoever this group is, it's bone-chilling the way they eagerly await the spectacle of an execution (though, don't get me wrong, in the tropical jungle setting, I can't well argue that Mr. Cooper deserves anything different). Cooper taunts again - "you expect him to kill me?" He laughs at John and says, "you really haven't figured it out yet, have you?"

Ben tries more direct manipulation - "as long as he's still breathing, you'll be that same sad man who was kicked off his walkabout tour, because you couldn't walk." John looks like he might actually do it, but relents. Cooper's further taunts are silenced when Ben clocks him over the head with his cane. A disappointed-looking Ben apologizes to the crowd - John Locke is not who they thought he was (oh, snap!). He marches John through the crowd, past Richard, Cindy and the kids.

The next morning, John's hand has healed. He is joined on his perch, a bluff overlooking the tent city, by Richard. Richard says Ben meant to embarrass him, so the whole camp would see him fail. Locke could only heal if he were "special," and that kind of specialness is a threat to Ben's hold over his people. Richard says Ben has been distracting the Others with "trivialities" like their fertility problem.

Random Aside #3: Does every Other have an insurrection brewing? There was Juliet's plot to have Jack kill Ben, and now Richard's grousing over Ben's poor leadership. On the other hand, could either or both of Juliet and Richard been in cahoots with Ben, using his image as a bogey-man to manipulate first Jack, then John?

Nonetheless, John will not become whatever it is he must become until Cooper is killed, and if he can't do it, he needs to find someone else who will. Richard hands him the Others' file on...James Ford!!!!

Random Self-Congratulation!!!! I knew it! I freakin' knew it! I believe I first made the Sawyer-Cooper connection in the first season, when we first met Mr. Cooper. Those of you who read my email recaps during Season 2 should recall I got even more sure last year. And anyone who's been reading this blog during Season 3 should know I was practically dancing cartwheels when this big reveal happened last night. The downside of being right about my only long-lasting theory of Lost is that I now have no clue where we're heading! Yikes!!! Of course, this continues to beg the question - just how did all these connected individuals end up on the same plane???

The Others pack up their camp. Ben says they're moving on, but John is being left behind with Cooper, who is his mess to clean up. The Others, he says, will leave a trail John can follow, but he should not bother to come unless he has Cooper's body on his back.

Random Aside # 4: A couple of weeks ago, "Catch-22" heavily featured the tail of Abraham and Isaac. I can't help but wonder if that was meant to prepare for us for the funhouse version of that story in this episode. Here, it is the son asked to kill the father in order to prove his worthiness for some great spiritual boon. Then, when the moment of truth comes, it is not a substitute sacrifice that prevents the unspeakable act, but rather a substitute sacrificer. Since it is still so difficult to determine what the island/ Others/ both want out of Locke, I wonder whether he passed his personal test, or failed miserably...

Thus ends the most effective "flashback" on Lost since the shocker when we learned Locke was wheelchair bound in the first season...

Realtime - John and James
Boy, you really want to root for Kate and Sawyer, but she sure makes it difficult! After they "do the deed" again, she euphemistically states she can't sleep away from her own tent. When James offers to move back with her, she clarifies she can't sleep with him. She sweetly rejects the offer for an escort and he goes out, barefoot, to pee. He passes Hurley and Jin standing guardedly at the entrance of another tent, but they poorly mask that they're hiding something (more on this later) and James moves along. He unzips, and is greated by Locke, who shines his flashlight in Sawyer's eyes.

Locke claims he didn't join the Others, he infiltrated them, and now he has snuck into Ben's tent, kidnapped Other Grand Poobah number 1, and wants James to kill him. Sawyer denies he could kill anyone, and Locke pointedly asks about the man he killed the night before he boarded the plane (which he says he read about in the Others' file). Locke asks Sawyer not to tell anyone he was there, and turns to leave. Sawyer, still barefoot, follows.

Sawyer asks about what's in his file. Locke tells him his parents' murder-suicide is covered, though not the reason for it. Also in the file is James's criminal record, which, Locke surmizes, must be why he uses the alias "Sawyer." James gets agitated, jumps John and holds him at knifepoint and demands to know, why him? John sheepishly admits he can't kill "Ben" himself. Sawyer reiterates that he won't kill anybody, but John says he'll change his mind when he hears what the captive has to say. James, exposed, explains that the Australia murder was a mistake, that he did not mean to kill that man, but when John asks who he did mean to kill, James changes the subject.

John leads James to the Black Rock, which James had not seen before. He says Ben is inside, in the brig. John muses "they" tried to have the slaves transported in the ship mine the island. James reiterates that they won’t kill him, and John opens the door to the brig. James enters, and John locks him in. James pulls the hood off, and it’s not Ben, it’s Cooper! (No surprise to us, eh?)

James tries to escape but John ignroes his screams. Rousseau enters while James is still trapped inside. She wants dynamite. She hears James’s screams, but takes the dynamite and turns to leave. End foreshadowing, eh?

Cooper tells James about his background with Locke. He says he was driving in Talahassee, and was run off the road. He blacked out, waking up in the hatch with John looking at him. Cooper corroborates Naomi's story (see below), i.e. that the plane crashed into the Pacific. He reveals his theory - they must be in hell (after all, how else do you explain waking up from an accident to see, standing before you, your crippled son, who died in a plane crash? James asks his name. Cooper lists them off, and one was Tom Sawyer! "Well, how about that? Sawyer’s my name too!"

The exchange that follows is one of the most powerful scenes in Lost history:

James -
You ever been to Jasper, Alabama?

Cooper-

Don’t tell me I’m your daddy.

James -

No. You killed my daddy.

James hands over the letter he’s held onto these many years, the letter to Mr. Sawyer. This was the moment he waited his whole life for, the moment that, to bring it about, he let himself become the thing he hated most - another "Sawyer." Up to this moment, the "new" James Ford, the one in love with Kate, inspired by Hurley to be a leader in the camp, may have let Cooper live, and not taken his revenge for what Cooper did to the Ford family. But then, when James orders Cooper to finish the letter, Cooper loses interest and tears it up. Yup, his final act was to make light of the pain he caused that innocent 6-year-old boy all those years ago (what fantastic acting by Josh Holloway, eh?)...

"You want to go to hell?" James screams, as he strangles Cooper with his chain.

Random Aside #5: Now, in a standard myth, this exchange would have been what Joseph

Campbell called the "belly of the beast" (think Luke Skywalker's conflict with the faux Darth Vader in the cave in Empire Strikes Back), the journet to the underworld that a hero needs before he can return and complete his quest. But in Lost, where a character is as good as dead once he or she overcomes his or her past? I suspect we can now add the name James Ford to the top of the list of next character to die...

John nods. Thank you.

James throws up. John sends him back, with the truth about Juliet and says the Others are coming for the pregnant women in 3 days. John’s not coming back – he’s on his own journey now. John gives James the tape recorder, as proof that Juliet is a mole. James asks if it was true, that John was crippled? "Not anymore." He packs up, and hauls off with Cooper’s body, to follow Ben’s trail.

The Beach
In the morning, Charlie rounds up some food. Jack asks when Charlie got back, and what he was up to. Jack says he wants to go camping next time. Charlie, clearly uncomfortable but nonetheless silent about his new secret, brings the supplies to the tent where Hurley, Jin and Desmond stand guard. He wants to tell Jack about Naomi. Desmond asks if Jack can be trusted after spending 10 days alone with the Others, and coming back with Juliet. He wonders aloud if these guys trust Jack, and nobody speaks up. They will instead find someone they do trust…

Hurley approaches Sayid, who is digging a hole. Sayid supports the decision not to tell Jack. He goes in to where Naomi is recuperating. She formally introduces herself (I told you her name is Naomi Doritt). She tells Sayid that Flight 815 crashed into a trench 4 miles deep off the coast of Bali. They sent down camera drones, which saw all the bodies!!! She took off from a freighter 80 nautical miles away, a search and rescue vessel. Her company was hired by Penny Widmore, whom she's never met, to find Desmond. She was given only coordinates, and thought she was going to open ocean. She bailed out of her chopper when her gauges faulted shortl after she spotted land. Sayid distrusts the story, but she shows him her sat phone. “remind not to rescue you, Sayid.”

Sayid works on the phone, but he’s never seen equipment this sophisticated.

Random Aside #6: Never seen equipment this sophisticated? He was a military communications expert who only disappeared 3 months ago! Perhaps the futuristic look of the satphone was not a random prop error. Mark my words, this and the dynamite run by Rousseau will turn to be far more than the minor exchanges they appeared to be at first blush.

Hurley asks about the other part, about their all having died. Sayid responds, one thing at a time. They turn on the phone, but it has nothing but eerie static, and Sayid can’t find a channel. Kate happens upon them, and Sayid wants her to keep it quiet (He of course is thinking about Jack).

Kate tells Jack she needs to talk to him, in private (i.e. vamoose Juliet). Jack insists Juliet can stay, so Kate presses on with what she had to say. She tells him the story of Naomi. Jack ignores her “they don’t trust you” part, and instead focuses on how she planned to alert her boat. While Kate can't believe Jack doesn't care that Hurley, Charlie, Sayid don't trust him, Juliet suggests to Jack, "we should tell her." Jack, aparently in on whatever this secret is, says, "no, not yet."

So what secret to Jack and Juliet have together (promos suggest they'll reveal it to the whole camp next week). What makes John so "special?" Why does it matter to Ben (and Richard) that John kill Cooper? Why do Cindy and the rest of the assembled crowd seem to want this to happen, as well? What's with those ruins? Where did the Others go?

All I can tell you, loyal Lostophiles, is that next week will be the long awaited history of the Others and their interactions with the Dharma Initiative, told through the flashback vantage point of Benjamin Linus! Be here next week for "The Man Behind the Curtain."

Exceptional Podcast Details

In the podcast recapping "D.O.C." and previewing "The Brig," the Powers that Be, Damon and Carlton, gave some good tidbits I thought I'd share with you. If you are spoiler-averse, you may want to skip this post, but I don't think any of this is truly a "spoiler."

First - the mysterious parachutist's full name will be revealed as "Naomi Doritt." Anyone who can come with a hidden meaning or anagram for that name, come forth and let me know.

They also tackled the two biggest questions from "D.O.C."

1. What's up with Naomi's "no survivors" reveal at the end of the episode?

First of all, they reiterated: our characters are not in purgatory. They said this leaves few possibilities:

1. Naomi’s lying. After all, why trust the delirious ramblings of a random stranger?
   
2. The conspiracy theory – somebody put the wreckage in a place where it could be found(who could do that? they ask)
   
3. (That’s all they would say at this point; see my recap, the prior post below, for my opinions).
   
   

2. The second big mystery: Mikhail – why (and how) is he not dead? Again, there are two main possibilities:

1. The fence was not turned up too high.
2. He died, and was brought back to life.
   
   

Damon and Carlton say that Mikhail will throw us a hint in a week or two.

They went on to tease this week's episode, "The Brig," and moving forward. Things to watch for:

• What happened to John between the time he saw Anthony Cooper tied up, and the time he talked to Kate, with a bandaged hand, and said he was leaving with the Others?
• Why and how was Cooper in a room on the island? He will tell us.
• They referred to the idea that the island is “outside the space-time continuum” as a “tutti-fruity” theory.
• We will nothing in Lost (sci-fi-wise) that you would not read in a Michael Crichton novel (which leaves open aliens, talking gorillas, dinosaurs, AI nanotech, the ability to warp reality, and time travel to the middle ages).
• Claire's psychic's predictions and Walt’s abilities will come back in the future (no idea when this will happen).
• The Others' obsession with children will turn out to have more behind it than their inability to bear children.
• The Others are interested in children with “special abilities” (e.g. Walt)

I'm looking forward to the rest of the season!