4 X 09: The Shape of Things To Come
If things to come are in the shape of the crazy-assed black smoke I think I’d be running! That had to be the coolest thing to date. A friend of mine at work (you know who you are) said that the show is becoming too sci-fi and not based enough in reality. So I had to point out to her that even so-called reality shows aren’t really a portrayal of reality. But now I’m ranting. For any and all naysayers out there who thought Lost couldn’t sustain the premise for 6 seasons, you should watch this epi as it was just that excellent. And, for any parent who has ever lost a child, I think that the rage they would feel is accurately portrayed by the black smoke.
See my initial thoughts for more…
1. Why did they have to kill Danielle? We never got to see her flashback. If anything, she’ll probably reappear is some form (along with Alex) like we’ve seen other dead bodies come along in this show. Better get them buried.
2. I don’t think that we are seeing a precursor to Jack’s later pill habit. I think he’s taking antibiotics because he has appendicitis. Bernard is going to do the surgery. It’s probably going to end up being very anticlimactic.
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3. Scott - good call on Vincent Price. Never would have thought of it, but I could see one of the writer’s paying an homage. I wonder if we’ll ever get the Vincent flashback we’ve been promised. Could shed a whole bunch ‘o light on what’s been going on. (see the comments after my last post)
4. The dead doctor. We know he was killed - but why and by whom? We know that back on the boat he’s still alive - which negates the idea that time travels faster off the island. We know that Dan has been lying - if he lies about this what else has he been lying about?
5. Here are some screen shots of the game board from Sawyer, Hurley and Locke’s game.
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6. Where ever (whenever) Ben is traveling from, he’s got a nasty cut on his arm. I’m feeling like we’ll see that story in a future episode.
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7. I don’t think we can possibly know exactly what this device is yet but my guess is that it is directly connected to the time travel and probably how Ben can do it physically as well as with his mind. On a side note, isn’t Michael Emmerson freaking amazing in this part?
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8. It was Christmas Eve when Sayid made it to the boat. When Ben comes to the hotel it’s October 24th 2005. Not much time has passed. They must leave the island very soon.
9. I can’t believe the way that they killed Alex. I was expecting Richard to come along and stop them. Totally shocked by that one.
10. I actually felt sorry for Ben here.
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11. Ben and Widmore as constants - another piece of evidence is that these bad guys that are coming to get Ben refuse to kill him. Also, Ben keeps saying that once they have him there is nothing stopping them from killing everyone on the island. In other words, Ben must live even once they capture him. You cannot kill of your constant.
12. I’m still not convinced that Widmore had anything to do with Nadia being killed. I don’t see any reason he would have to do that. However, I can see many reasons why Ben would.
13. When Claire comes out from laying down she says that she is a bit wobbly, but she’ll live. Then Miles says, “I wouldn’t be too sure about that.” Beyond the crazy situation they are in, Miles knows more about what’s going to happen. Why on earth are they trusting that guy?
14. Now *this* is the stuff nightmares are made of! How bad was the black smoke this time? It’s almost like it’s been energized by Ben’s anger. Like he somehow transferred those feelings into the smoke.
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15. Looks like Widmore is a fan of the abstract art that keeps showing up (the mural, Claire’s boyfriend’s art).
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16. Dang it, I did see that it’s Desmond’s scotch. And Widmore is drinking it because the nightmares started. Well, that should be an interesting story that we get to see.
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17. So Ben stole everything he has from Widmore? This makes me think that Widmore was one of the founders of the Dharma people that Ben killed off. I could definitely see why Widmore would want to gas Ben’s people when that is exactly what Ben did to his.
April 28th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
GG ~ #7, that “device” Ben had was an ASP baton. See here: http://www.batondefense.com/ASPAI.html
I don’t think Ben and Widmore are constants. I think its something else, more likely that the island simply wont let them die due to course correction.
April 28th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
I am surprised by reading all the usual posts that no one has mentioned Hurley’s line while playing risk: “Australia is the answer to everything.”
April 29th, 2008 at 5:01 am
Nate; The baton makes sense but is kind of a buzz kill.
DB: I did mention the line in my initial post on this epi. I think it’s probably more of a tongue in cheek comment the writers threw in.
April 29th, 2008 at 11:47 am
for some reason i always imagine that the wood doll Ben got as a birthday gift is his constant. i don’t know why, maybe the way he is looking at it when he is in his tent… i don’t know… i just want to be right about something and i was hoping he would pull it out of his bag in Tunisia
April 29th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
# 7 - co-sign nate it’s a baton he used it to beat Sawyer when he had him locked up, I don’t think thats how he teleports, not completely ruling it out but I doubt it, it’s just a handy weapon
# 9 and 10 - I too was completely shocked I think the writers set us up, they have kept showing us that Ben is always a step ahead and has everything planned so when Ben said I have this under control Alex I believed him and figured he would have something planned I guess he just didn’t think they would of changed the
” rules ” and yeah I never thought I would feel that bad for Ben
# 11 - I love the they are constants theory and it makes really the only sense why they don’t just kill each other, but with Desmond wasn’t it absolutely crucial he made contact with his constant so he didn’t overload and have an anurism (sp?) so then wouldn’t Ben and Widmore have to have much more contact with each other ? Maybe we find out they do or maybe it’s just a whole in the writers story but cause I agree it’s the only/best explanation
# 16 - the Scotch was actually Widmore’s, before Desmond went to the island or on his trip around the world, he asked Widmore if he could marry Penny and Widmore told him he wasn’t even good enough to drink his scotch let alone marry his daughter. thats why Desmond has such a fondness for that scotch
April 30th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
#15 — Pretty sure that’s a Japanese landscape painting. Mt. Fuji in the background, tree in the left foreground, and a Japanese style bridge in the center area. I think I’ve seen the painting before but couldn’t find it. Now that would have been cool to be able to post. Here’s a link to another painting with Fuji and a similar tree (for comparison to the tree).
http://www.theartofjapan.com/ArtDetail.asp?Size=med&Inv=0205415
April 30th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
@ Scott about # 15 - She is talking about the mural to the right of the door not the painting in the hallway, I can’t say for sure that it’s Claire’s boyfriends but I do semi recognize it and I can’t think of where else or why else I would
May 1st, 2008 at 8:06 am
What about the bruise on Ben’s face? It’s gone when he returns from the “closet.” He was gone long enough for it to heal…
May 1st, 2008 at 1:59 pm
tyrone - oops! got it. my monitor was a bit on the dark side. didn’t even see it in the picture. well, the other one is still mt. fuji. so… umm… yeah. :-]
May 1st, 2008 at 5:30 pm
How come no one else (but me) thinks the Doc is dead? I got the impression that whoever was talking to Faraday was lying. I at least thought that this would be considered, but so far… no.