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.

My sister is the only person I know whose theories make me even say, “Gosh, Julie, I think you’re reading too much into that.” So it was no wonder she came over last night with Cosmos trying to dull my Lost senses. Apologies if my initial thoughts were off, blame it on my sis.

1. I can’t stop thinking about the podcast I listed to a few weeks ago with Darlton. They were talking about theories and how different they were is Season One just because we didn’t have all of the information that we have now. I think about that a lot when I’m writing and/or thinking about the show because just like in life, I’m basing my ideas on what I know now and what I’ve experienced. It is going to be so interesting in a year or longer to look back and read past ideas. I have to say that in Season One I had very vastly different ideas about what was going on here.
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2. Ben tells Michael that if he follows his coordinates he will find rescue. That makes me think that he had people waiting to take them back to land. That would make sense of how Michael went from a little tugboat all the way back to New York.

3. At first I thought the opening scene where Locke brings in Miles was very odd. They’re all just standing there looking at each other. Then, after listening to Locke’s speech it made me think that it was a very subtle way the writers were talking to us, the viewers. Locke says, “Thank you all for your patience… you deserve to know everything that I do. So, no more secrets.” We are past the Beginning of the End (in more ways then one) so it only seems fair to start answering some questions, don’t you think? And it seems like we have been getting some answers.

4. Dictators usually have a backup plan if they ever get caught. What if Ben was the one who actually gave the orders that if he ever gets caught to kill everyone on the island? Maybe he wants any *witnesses* (so-to-speak) to die if he is caught. Kool-Aid drinkers if you will. If he dies, they all die. Why would Miles defend himself or go against anything Ben says? He’s exactly where he wants to be, according to his own words, and doesn’t seem to give much credit to the Losties so he probably doesn’t really care what they do or don’t think. Miles is working his own agenda.

5. Desmond, sleep with your shoes on!
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6. This map to the temple really sucks. “Yeah, take a left at the mountain tops after you pass over those other mountaintops over to the right.” Seems that Danielle should have circumnavigated this island a few times (remember her map that Sayid stole?) so she probably has a good idea where it is.
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7. I’m thinking that Danielle might know that something is up when Ben wants to send Alex off to the Temple. She has that look on her face here.
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8. Eye opening about 12 minutes into the show this time.
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9. Michael’s tell-tale heart is catching up to him.
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10. Maybe the reason Walt is waking up screaming in the middle of the night is because he’s doing a wee bit of the time traveling. Heck, he saw Locke almost dead laying on top of a pile of skeletons, that would probably freak me out too! Darlton did confirm that Walt can time travel and we saw how Desmond reacted coming and going.

11. Michael is healing really fast for not being on the island. Makes me think that the island has some leftover effect on people after they leave. You can see he still has a cut on his face when he goes to see his mom but he was just in the hospital with a neck brace after hitting a wall at over 60 miles and hour.
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12. Red flowers by momma’s door. Ergh, they’re taunting me now.
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13. That is so not Walt in the window. Nice try. Need better photoshop editors next time or an actor that looks more like him.
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14. Guess we know why Jack couldn’t kill himself. The island isn’t done with him yet. Michael thinks that he’s on the boat to die, but he might have even more work to do after the boat mission is complete. I think that this whole deal with the island keeping people alive goes along with course correction. Michael needed to live in order to put forth a chain of events that were supposed to happen. Again, maybe not on the freighter, but there is something that he needs to be around for. Maybe it has to do with Walt. I can’t believe that we’ve not had a resolution nor will we have one as to what makes Walt so special. I think we’ll be finding out over the next 3 seasons.
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15. Cute. Michael has a gameshow on when he’s about to shoot himself and the category is literature. The answer is Kurt Vonnegut. There has been a lot of chatter online about Slaughterhouse Five and how it applies to Lost.
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16. Guess we also found out why there isn’t an issue identifying the bodies that were found in the fake 815 remains, where the bodies came from, and how in the world you would find a plane to stage that no one would miss.

17. Wow, Ben must have some fat cash to be able to put Mr Friendly up in the penthouse.

18. Good thing Mr Friendly just happened to have a folder laying around with information regarding the fake plane crash. With pictures!
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19. Kevin Johnson is awfully happy in this picture. And I like how the number starts with “HNSO.”
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20. Isn’t it bad luck to change the name of a boat? How strangely obvious that the name was changed.
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21. I found it interesting when Mr Friendly was listing off some of Michael’s friends on the island he listed Sun first. Especially considering they had somewhat of a flirtatious relationship.

22. If Widmore hired this boat to search out the island, wouldn’t he have done extensive research into who was on the boat? My point being, Kevin isn’t Kevin and surely someone on the freighter knew it!

23. When Naomi and Frank are arguing on the ship, she says she has to go first. I guess I had forgotten that there was a second helicopter that Naomi crashed. I wonder if at some point they will find the wreckage. Maybe be able to salvage it?

24. Don’t push the button. The button’s bad.
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25. If Smokey or Jacob are sending the ghost people to the survivors, then wouldn’t blowing up the ship (if it was truly on a mission to kidnap Ben and wipe out the rest of the people) be a good thing? Wouldn’t Jacob want the boat stopped? And if so, then wouldn’t ghost Libby tell Michael to go for it?

26. Cruel.
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27. Ben calling as Walt. Also cruel.

28. Ben gets a lot of use out of that closet. And with Sayid off the island, the other survivors don’t know that it’s there. But I would bet we will see even more uses for Ben’s “magic box.”
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29. Future Sayid must have stolen Desmond’s hairstyle.
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30. I don’t think that the captain looks all that surprised to find out that Kevin isn’t Kevin.
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31. At first I was surprised at Sayid’s decision to rat out Michael to the captain. But then as I watched the show again I see that Sayid had plenty of time to consider what action to take. I would think that even if the freighter crew weren’t there to save the survivors, there is a chance that Sayid could still use the boat to rescue them and he would need the crew to make it happen. Therefore, he doesn’t want the crew dead. Plus he builds trust with the captain by ratting out Michael, especially if the captain already knew about Michael. If I were ever in a plane crash on a crazy island, I would want Sayid there. So far, out of all the survivors he has acted the most pro actively in keeping them safe and saving all of them.

32. What in the world in hanging from Alex’s ear? Prop error?
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33. I think it’s Ben’s people that kill Karl and Danielle. Remember when they were using the poison darts on Kate, Jack, etc? Looks like they are using the darts again only this time to kill.  Also, Ben wants Alex all to himself and he is so ruthless that he would kill her mother, right in front of her. I still hope that Danielle is alive, but I’m not counting on it. I could see her coming back to the compound to warn the others of what has happened.

34. You can see someone off to the left in the grass, but it doesn’t help to figure out who it is.
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I’m still disappointed with the whole Michael returns story line. I *almost* had sympathy for Michael tonight, however. He keeps making really bad choices and getting himself into some very bad situations. Not sure I thought it was a tremendous cliffhanger either.

1. What I want to know is when Michael and Walt found rescue how did they explain who they were and how they got that boat? They obviously didn’t admit to being part of the Oceanic survivors.

2. I would guess that it’s Michael in the coffin, but it almost seems too obvious. On the other hand, it would explain why no one came to the funeral – he was using a fake name. Again, how does Michael get back to the mainland if he doesn’t die on the freighter? Jack would have to know Michael’s pseudonym in order to know it was his obituary which means Michael meets back up with the survivors.

3. So the sanctuary is the last safe place on the island? I’m thinking it must be a bunker similar to the original button pushing bunker. Remember those thick doors that Michael was checking out?

4. Are we supposed to believe that the people on the boat are the one’s who are coming that Ben is so afraid of? I’m thinking we may see the “Other” Others that have been on the island. They could be the remaining Dharma’s that weren’t killed by Ben. Besides the fact that the men on the boat have machine guns, they don’t seem to be in very good shape (think Minkowski) and the boat is trying to get AWAY from the island but Michael sabotages the engines so they can’t get away. I’m just not convinced that the freighties are the ones coming to kill them all.

5. Michael’s eye opening in the hospital. Interesting it wasn’t at the beginning of the episode this time.

6. Did you catch that nurse Libby was bringing Michael blankets? Just like when she walked into the hatch when Michael shot her. So why is Libby haunting Michael? We’ve seen a lot of hauntings in this show. Charlie, Christian, Ana Lucia, Eko’s brother, Boone, and Dave who technically wasn’t ever alive.

7. So the time frame is that Michael has been gone two months according to his mother. Mr Friendly didn’t have too much more time to live after this episode if my memory is correct.

8. Could they have at least used the original actor for Walt? Seemed too cheesy.

9. Someone needs to read Korean! what was on the back of that watch? I haven’t thought about that watch for awhile. Good thing Jin didn’t make it back without it.

10. The island won’t let Michael die? Is that why Mikael kept living through those crazy accidents that should have killed him? This idea is very strange. If everything on this show has some explanation, how do you explain this outside of pure coincidence? Reminds me of an XFiles episode. I forget how that guy finally died.

11. Michael sure seemed to heal fast after trying to kill himself. He was out running around in no time. Did the island somehow give him the ability? Not like a Heroes power, more like some magnetic *hangover* if you will that allows your cells to heal faster. Or at least for awhile.

12. Mr Friendly tells Michael that he has work to do. Boone told Locke the same thing in his airport magic carpet ride dream and Walt also tells Locke this when he’s laying there dying after Ben shoots him.

13. It wasn’t a secret that Mr Friendly was gay. Remember that when Kate is first in the Others locker room after being kidnapped, he tells her not to worry because she’s not his type. He indulges when he’s not on the island.

14. I still don’t believe that Widmore staged the crash. Mr Friendly knows so very many details about how it was done, seems like maybe he knows just a little *too* much about it. I did appreciate that the reason the bodies weren’t pulled out of the wreckage and identified.

15. No one in Thailand noticed all those bodies missing?

16. Miles could have been talking to the ghost Libby that is following Michael around and that is how he knew it wasn’t really his name.

17. Maybe Michael sees that the effects of the island are killing the freighter crew and that is why he doesn’t want the ship to move away.

18. Is Frank really a good judge of character? He confides that the survivors of 815 might still be out there. Or since he has the manifest memorized does he perhaps know this is Michael somehow?

19. Michael killed Ana Lucia on his own. Wow, makes him seem even worse.

20. Ben wants a list of people on the boat. Makes me wonder if he is the one who orders the list of survivors on the plane. Makes me even think that there could have even been a mole on the plane who had the list before they crashed. Who is good on that boat that they want to save and why would Ben care?

21. Looks like Sayid must like Desmond’s hair this week because he has the same ‘do’ in the future. Yucky.

22. Ben is totally communicating with the Others – how else would they know Alex was coming? Ben is really a very selfish person – wanting Alex all to himself and he’s willing to kill to make that happen. However, it would be a cool twist if this explains where Frank and the other freighter guy went on their *errand.* They went to capture Alex because she is a great bargaining chip to get to Ben.

23.  They can’t kill Danielle!  We haven’t seen enough of her story yet!

24. April 24th. Doesn’t sound like too bad of a wait.

25. I could hear the monster outside of one of the houses in the previews. Looks like old Smokey must find a way around the security perimeter.

26.  Instead of whispers, Michael hears a song right before Libby shows up to tell him not to push the button (remember Walt’s “Push the button, don’t push the button.  The button’s bad?”).  And the Execute button was just like the one in the hatch.

27.  I thought for sure Michael would ask Sayid how Vincent was doing.

Desmond episodes have been so good! I knew we were in for a treat this week.

1. No eye opening this week at the beginning.

2. I found it interesting that Desmond and co. were out in the rain exercising. Rain always seems to be a bad omen.

3. I don’t think that Desmond’s life is being course corrected by finding Daniel in the past. Desmond is exactly on the right path. He has to go AWOL in order to go to prison in order to go on the boating trip around the world in order to make it to the island.

4. Daniel, however, was put back on the correct course by Desmond being there. Desmond said he knew he was there for Daniel, but what was Daniel going to do for him? Daniel kept Desmond on his course. Desmond set Daniel on his correct course (with the numbers for his time travel device).

5. What is messing with their perception of time? The rocket timer showed a 31 minute difference, but the helicopter has been gone a whole day but in reality it’s only about 20 minutes? That could set off a whole new world of speculation about how much time passes and how old Walt is going to be when we see him. Then Sayid points out to Frank that they took off at dusk and landed in the middle of the day. Difference coming and going?

6. Speaking of Walt… kudos to my sister for this one. What if Walt is on the freighter and Desmond and Sayid find him locked up? The only way to save him is to meet with his constant – Michael. Then it could turn out that Michael is also on the freighter, but he is Ben’s “man” on the boat. The one that opened the door to let them out of the medical room. I’m thinking that Michael knows about equipment so maybe he is also the one who cut the wires thinking the freighter people were going to hurt the survivors on the island and/or Ben.

7. The guy on the freighter who first meets the helicopter when it lands doesn’t seem too surprised to find out that Sayid is a flight 815 survivor. But, he asks Frank what the heck he was thinking bringing them to the freighter. Guess that answers the question of whether they were there to save any of them or not.

8. I know I’m skipping ahead, but what if the lady that Desmond meets (last season, the psychic from the jewelry shop) that tells him he can’t go back to Penny because it would mess up the course of events… what if she was actually good? If Desmond would have gone to Penny instead of to the island at that time then he would have not kept his promise not to contact her until 8 years later. Then maybe Penny would have changed her number and he would not have been able to contact her from the freighter. He was on the right course by going on that sailboat to the island.

9. Clean cut Desmond looks really good. Much preferred to dirty, hairy Desmond.

10. Desmond and Minkowski have the sickness! Remember the sickness that Danielle’s group got so she killed them all? And… it appears that the injections/immunizations must somehow either ward off the sickness or somehow counteract it’s effects. Dr Ray was giving it to Minkowski.

11. Omar (freighter guy) says the last port was Figi so they know they are in the Pacific. The news reports, if you recall, were saying they found the plane in the Indian Ocean. I know that whoever planted the fake plane wanted to throw off the scent from the real plane, but I’m just saying that they must have been VERY far off course to not even be close to where the fake plane was found.

12. I’m so glad that Sayid called Jack and let him know that they were OK. It only makes sense that he would do that and it ties up a small loose end (especially when there are so many BIG fish to fry).

13. For any CSI fans, it was funny to see Ecklie as Dr. Ray. He was such a jerk in CSI.

14. Lots of *the* numbers in this episode. 2.342, house #423, lot 2342 on the Black Rock journal, 8 years before Desmond calls Penny… I know that there were more.

15. I wonder how many times Daniel has been to the island. It totally explains why Daniel was crying when he was watching the news report but couldn’t remember why. His brain was fried from the trips to the island. Also explains his bad memory.

16. Daniel says that you can’t change the future. But you can change the past? How does that work? And apparently time travel involves the conscience and not the body as evidenced by Eloise. But, Daniel sends Eloise forward in time to learn the maze and she comes back to run the maze. What is the point of traveling in time if it doesn’t change anything, but it does appear to change or correct things. Desmond kept trying to save Charlie because he was having visions of his death, but fate wanted what it wanted and eventually had it’s way with him. Maybe that is what Daniel meant.

17. The incoming calls from Penny to the freighter… how did she get THAT number? I’m wondering if it had something to do with the guys she had stationed in the arctic. If somehow they were trying to contact freighters in the area they thought may be near the island but it was on behalf of Penny. And why were they under strict orders not to answer?

18. Here is my theory….. Mr Widmore (Penny’s dad) is not a bad guy. We thought he was, but I started thinking otherwise when I saw that he left the water on in the bathroom. Who does that? What if he needed the Black Rock boat log to find the island. He knows that Desmond is there. He didn’t stop him because he knows that Desmond has to go there for whatever reason fate has sent him (in the end because of him the Losties are saved perhaps). Anyway, he tells Desmond in the bathroom that he is not the one that hates him (implying it’s Penny, because she is obviously hurt and mad). Then he gives Desmond her address. Not her phone number, her address. I think that Widmore knows that Desmond has to go to Penny to get the number because of the future event on the freighter (with the Christmas Eve call). It has to happen this way. He is helping Desmond to stay on course. You following me here?

19. I also think that Hanso found the island through that journal and that is why they didn’t want anyone else to see it.

20. Dang it! Why did they have to kill of Minkowski? Fisher Stevens is awesome and I was very much looking forward to seeing him in the show.

21. Poor Sayid. Running around a freighter with these two nuts that weave in and out of consciousness.

22. Penny has a red door. Bad! Hopefully it means nothing.

23. It looks like future Penny is wearing a wedding ring.

24. I was getting all teary eyed when Desmond called Penny. Such an awesome scene! Still the best show on tv bar none.

25. Sayid gets the phone working and lets Desmond call his love. He could have called for help, but decides this call is more important. I am happy that he did, but I worry that when Ben told Sayid (in the future flash) to remember the last time he thought with his heart before his head what happened… I’m hoping that this call doesn’t lead to very bad things.

26. Penny says she has been looking for the past three years for Desmond, but he has been gone for eight. I’m guessing we will see what happened three years ago that prompted her to look for him. And she says that she was *researching* the island and then when Charlie called she knew he was alive & she wasn’t crazy. She will find them, but will it involve the Oceanic Six?

27. Desmond is Daniel’s constant. I’ve got to go back now and watch Daniel’s reaction when he first meets Desmond. I don’t remember it being significant but maybe Daniel forgot him and that is why he wrote it down. But, I also think we saw the journal to show that Desmond traveling “back” in time was real.

28. Next week looks really good too! Jack asks Juliet what she knows but Juliet is the one with a gun to Charlotte telling her to make Daniel stop whatever he is doing. I also heard a siren much like the one that was in the hatch.

29. Thanks for not making fun of my prior theory of Ben being able to time travel. I guess this week proves to me that I was right. He must have to go back in time, though, to get the money that Miles wants. The island is probably Ben’s constant and that is why he wanted to make sure to protect it. But when was he exposed to radiation? My sister thinks that he could have gone through radiation treatment for his back at some point.

The Looking Glass was the portal to another world. I think this is figurative, like the magic box on the island. *WE* the viewers got to step through the looking glass to see the future. Those crazy writers!

1. We have a major answer this episode. Yes, they are rescued.

2. Now the major new question… who was the newspaper article about? My knee jerk reaction was Michael. But there are so many other really good possibilities:

A) Sawyer. No one likes him. No one liked him before. Why would anyone come to his funeral? Maybe the Sawyer we saw on the island is the Sawyer that went home. Bitter. Pushes Kate away. Why would she go to the funeral? Maybe the *him* that is at home waiting is her baby. Sawyer is the dad so Jack thinks she would go, but Sawyer pushed and Kate didn’t come back.

B) Juliet. Did she have any friends at home? Being the dedicated scientist that she was I would assume that she didn’t get out much. Maybe her sister was dead. Lots of things could have broken Jack and Juliet up back on land (like his incessant need to ride on airplanes) and he feels remorse for abandoning Juliet. He handles the relationship much like he did with his wife. Maybe Juliet killed herself. Why would Kate go to her funeral?

C) Locke. Maybe Jack forces a rescue even though Locke wants to stay. Locke jumps out of a window (this time not making it out alive) and Jack feels guilty for *saving* him from the island only for Locke die.

D) Same for Ben. He wanted to stay on the island but Jack thinks he knows what they need and forces Ben to go back to land.

E) Bernard. They are rescued. Rose’s cancer comes back and she dies. He kills himself with grief.

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On the plane:

3. Whoever it is would have to make such an impact on an already depressed Jack that he decides he doesn’t want to live anymore by jumping off the bridge. Could it be that only Kate and Jack got off of the island (and whoever is in the coffin) and that is why Jack is so distraught?

4. Bernard is not Rambo. He’s a blabbermouth! However…. do the writers want us mad at Bernard so we will forgive them for keeping he and Rose off the show for so long? Does the tactic of telling all to prevent your highjacker from killing someone ever work anyway? And will Rose go Rambo on Bernard when she finds out he ratted them out?
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5. We are getting things in threes again.
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6. Naomi sure healed quickly.

7. I still think that Juliet is evil. How can she not know about the “people” who are trying to get on the island (per Ben)? Of course she gently walks away when Naomi shows Jack how to use the phone. She wants these people to come and destroy the Others. She is po’d especially at Ben. So she lets the Losties in on the Others plan so they end up killing many of the Others (maybe she’s hoping for Ben) and she lets Jack contact the boat.
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8. So what does it mean when Bonnie says about Charlie, “He’s one of them.” Them who? The hostiles? Mikhail shoots before from his house thinking they are hostiles. Or, could she think that Charlie is one of these boat people that Ben is so afraid of? She doesn’t have information on the Losties, seemingly, like the other Others do and from the other info we learn, it seems that these two girls are out of the loop on what is happening above the surface. And where do they sleep? It just looks like two rooms.
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9. Ben’s journal. This is the best picture I could make. Not very high res I guess.
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10. Bonnie is breaking radio silence? Hm, what else is Ben not telling his people?

11. This is not a gun that she’s carrying. It almost looks like one of the immunization guns. What would they be intending to inject them with?
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12. Would they really have been able to ignite the dynamite with a bullet? Check out this article, which also answered my question about the grenade under water.
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13. This really has nothing to do with anything, I just thought it was a cool shot. I guess it does bring back the question… what was up with the smoke signals that Danielle was sending to the Others when she kidnapped Aaron? Wasn’t Claire a little freaked back on the beach when Danielle was standing there staring at her baby? Have the Others lost interest in Aaron now and just want the pregnant mothers? And how about this, if the ship is only 80 kilometers off of the shore (about 50 miles by my math) would they be able to see this smoke? Instead of a huge SOS sign or a carrier pigeon, how about keep HUGE fires going and send out smoke for help?
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14. I’m wondering in the flash forwards how far in the future this is. Sara asks Jack if he has been drinking “again.” I don’t recall Jack being a drunk in the flash backs. His dad was. Jack called out his dad for the drinking. So that means the heavy drinking started after the rescue. That means that Sara has had other contact with Jack since the rescue and my guess would be that the drinking caused some sort of problem already in the relationship. That would also explain why it is *inappropriate* for her to give him a ride home. See kids what drinking will do to your life.

15. I also wonder if we have a starting point for flash forwards and over the next several seasons they will work their way backwards to the day of rescue. Then the flashbacks will continue to work forward and in the finale, the flashbacks, flash forwards and the current events will all meet in the middle.

16. Yes, Sara is very pregnant and very married. Reminds me of the movie Cast Away and when Tom Hanks comes back his love has moved on with her life. How do you find your place in a world that has moved on without you? Talk about L-O-S-T. Seems that Jack is more lost in his life now than before the crash.
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17. “If you say Live Together Die Alone I’m going to punch you in the face.” Hilarious! Why did they put her character on ice for so long?!
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18. Oh Dominic, you so deserve an Emmy for this episode alone. “So if this station floods, what happens to you?” “I die.”
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19. The Others are going to the temple as planned. Can’t wait to see this place. Remember this lady? Maybe she’s there too.
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20. It’s odd that Sawyer has been so shut down considering he found his *redemption* by killing the real Sawyer. But I guess it must not have been the redemption that he was really seeking. Has the guilt of this past caught up with him? He is still hanging on to that anger but why?

21. There is speculation that the woman from the crash *could be* Juliet’s sister. But you just can’t tell from these shots and the little boy would be so much older from when Ben showed him to Juliet back on the island that you really can’t tell from that either.
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22. The new Chief of Surgery is not the same person as Locke’s physical therapist. Two different actors.
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23. Dr. Hammil says that Jack is a hero, twice over. Twice meaning bringing everyone home and then saving the lady from the crash or twice meaning two people in the car? I vote from the crash to the … crash.

24. You can tell by this look that Sawyer really does care about Kate. Of course he doesn’t want her to go, she is pregnant! He cares! But he sure does have a funny way of showing it.
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25. Of course Juliet has to go with Sawyer. She needs to make sure the job is finished. Plus she knows that she still has trust to earn with the Losties. The comment about the UFO seemed like a shout out to us if you ask me. I remember back in season one after they showed the outer space page in Walt’s comic there was talk that the Losties were actually out in space. That is a pretty interesting theory that still is out there.

26. Desmond said before that by his count the Losties had killed more of them then the Other had killed of them (in which Charlie responded that they started it). This is true, the Losties have killed more. But by my count Ben sure is giving a lot of orders to kill people – Jin, Bernard, Sayid, Charlie, Greta, Bonnie – and he’ll probably want Juliet dead at this point. He’s the Charles Manson of the island! He doesn’t want his hands dirty. The only person that Ben has killed, that we’ve seen, is his father and he justifies that as for the island.

27. Why would Greta and Bonnie be on *assignment* in Canada? Recruiters perhaps?

28. Ben let Alex come because he is delivering her to her new family. Ouch. Then he says he kept Karl away because he didn’t want her to get pregnant. *That* actually makes sense, only I don’t think that as a parent I would be using such drastic measures, but I guess you can never say never. hee hee!

29. Alex asks the best question to date, why won’t Ben just let them leave the island. He says he can’t. Why? If the island is as well protected from the outside world how would anyone ever find it again? Who would believe them anyway if they told about this mysterious island with it’s black smoke monster and Others that do crazy experiments? Why not let a few go, the *bad* ones? Why not let the men go and keep the women? Is he keeping them there as hostages purely because he is afraid that they will tell, or is there more going on that we don’t know about yet?
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30. A popular shot.

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31. Whispers again and then whoa! Walt! I’m glad Walt showed up but I’m thinking it solidifies that Jacob, the black smoke and the whispers are all working together. I don’t think that Walt is really there but it is just a manifestation of him. Jacob needs Locke. Whoever is whispering is connected to Jacob. The black smoke can somehow bring forth these visions. I’ve read that Michael and Walt will be back next season too.
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****** SECOND HOUR AND PART TWO IS BELOW!! *********

Whew, if I put it all in one post I wasn’t sure anyone, including myself, could get through it all. I had to backdate this one so it would post second. By the way, I will continue to blog throughout the summer with news bites and information that I find out there. Keep stopping by friends! GG

1. Whoa, Jack loves Kate? This poor woman, these men sure do have a p-poor way of showing it.
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2. I really need to get a better resolution of these. Here is another shot of the newspaper clipping:

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3. This one is better and you can make out words! The very top and the 2nd line both say “Los Angeles.” The next line says “Man Found…(can’t see the rest, it’s crumpled)” next line in heading says “Downtown…” I guess we can rule out Juliet. The first line of text starts out “The body of…” the next line at the end reads “shortly after 4″ next line last words are “of Grand.” Next paragraph first line ends with “at The” next line ends in “loft” and then you can make out a few words but not much. Now we’re getting somewhere! I’ve looked at every single frame of this scene and this was the best shot that I could get.

4. I thought that perhaps the name of the funeral parlor would offer up a clue to the identity of the dead man, but I could not come up with anything. Sawyer is the closest.
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5. The director asks, “Friend or Family” and Jack responds that he is neither. I’m still leaning towards Sawyer.

6. Danielle doesn’t want to leave the island but will she change her mind now that she has Alex? I wonder who else will want to stay? Rose because of her cancer? Locke.

7. So now they throw in the Christian Shephard curve ball. I think that Jack forged the prescription and I think he is so drugged up that he tells them to get his dad from “upstairs.” I don’t think he’s in this future. He is dead. Plus when the pharmacist says she’s going to call his office Jack respond that he’s out of town right now. Then why tell the hospital to get him from upstairs? Why would his dad even write the prescription for him? It doesn’t make sense.

8. Why would the people on Naomi’s boat kill every single living person on the island? Is the island quarantined and there is some sort of sickness there? Is that why Ben can’t let them leave? That they would spread whatever it is?

9. I’m not going to condone violence, but boy, some people just need a good butt kicking.
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10. How convenient, the code was programmed by a musician. But “Good Vibrations” was an ironic song.
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11. Is it just me or are Kate and Danielle looking a lot alike these days?

12. Now Hurley is a killer, too. This episode has turned many of the Losties into killers. Jack seems to remain one of the few left that haven’t killed anyone…. yet. But I have to say I was cheering as I am sure many of you were that Hurley didn’t go off and find Dave in a depression but instead found a way to help.
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13. I was still hoping for a Mr. Friendly flashback but I guess that can’t happen unless Tom has Mikhail’s magical healing powers. I’m torn deciding if Sawyer was right or wrong killing him. But I got a chuckle when Hurley said that he had surrendered and Sawyer said he didn’t believe him.

14. I don’t care how against all odds it is that Penny is transmitting right at that moment, I loved this scene. It reminded me of when Boone first found the radio on the plane and how much hope that there was at that moment. Now, for the bad side… I think that if Penny had not come across that television Charlie would be alive. I believe that once Desmond saw Penny and then Charlie saw the grenade, Charlie knew that Desmond would die in that room trying to talk to her. *That* is why Charlie shut himself in.
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15. I can’t stand it that Mikhail is the Energizer Bunny of death. I have a feeling that just like Sawyer and Tom, Desmond will have Charlie’s revenge on this guy. Desmond let him go once but I doubt that that will be happening again. And the next time he won’t be able to regenerate another life and crawl away. Plus, he took Desmond’s chance to talk to Penny away. Double Wammy.
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16. I couldn’t put any shots of Charlie drowning in here. It almost physically pained me to watch that scene. But, he was the hero twice over for one, unjamming the signal and two, for getting the message to Desmond that it is not Penny’s boat. Maybe Ben was telling some truth….. finally.
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17. Charlie is definitively dead. Here is an interview with Damon that solidifies it and has some other interesting info. Darn it all. If you can, there is also a video on the side of the article with Dom. UGH! I hate that this character is gone!

18. How apropos to have Karl watching over Ben while he’s tied to the tree.
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19. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Locke here. First he kills Naomi without a blink of his eye. Then he can’t shoot Jack. He just tells him he’s not supposed to do it and then walks away? HUH? I’m hoping that next season this will make more sense.
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20. This scene with Jack on the phone reminded me of when the raft met up with the tug boat at the end of season one. Remember Mr. Friendly? “Well, isn’t that something?” Then the proceeded to take the boy. Makowski (or whatever his name was) can sure find them! But will they end up with another Mr-Friendly-stealing-the-kid-and-shooting-the -survivors situation? Guess we have to wait SEVEN AGONIZING MONTHS to find out!  Is it Penny’s Dad who sent the boat?  That would explain why Naomi had the picture.
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21. Why is Kate so excited about being rescued (outside of the being tortured by the Others thing)? Won’t she be arrested as soon as they get back?

22. Future Kate looks great! She doesn’t look like Danielle anymore!
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23. I think that this future Jack can be changed. I don’t think it has to be this was and that is why we are seeing this. Maybe we are supposed to have more empathy for Ben and whatever is going to happen with these *bad* people. Jack is so hell bent on getting them saved and I’m fearful that something really, really bad is going to happen in order for that to happen. Should be interesting to see and I can’t wait for next season! From where we started with the first three episodes I would have never guessed that this season was going to end up being so good. Redemption!
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Have a nice summer and Namaste! Gitsie Girl will still be around so stop by and say hello.

The looking glass. I kept thinking to myself, the mirror was the “looking glass” in Alice in Wonderland but it was also the portal to the other world. “Through the Looking Glass” is also the sequel to AIW and here is some of the major themes, according to Wikipedia, “In it, there are many mirror themes, including opposites, time running backwards, and so on.” Then, I watched the special on Thursday, “Answers,” and despite the fact I don’t think we really got but a few resolutes to hot questions (like, NO they are not in purgatory people! Give it up!), they did say, regarding Charlie’s question “Guys, where are we?” that they are in a time space continuum. So I think it’s a pretty sure bet that we will find that something about time is not quite right here. It could explain why people heal so fast (time speeds up) or why babies die (time going too fast for the fetus to develop) or why Richard doesn’t age (time going slow). My theory isn’t fully formulated yet but I’m interested to hear yours. Oh yeah, and next weeks episode is titled “Through The Looking Glass.”

1. Juliet says that she’s been leaving tapes for Ben. Duh, and they just stand there like “OK, thanks for the honesty!” WTF is up with these people? I would be wanting to know what the heck she was saying on those tapes. Who is pregnant (considering the women DIE during pregnancy)? How is she getting her *samples?* Man, it’s like a bunch of 5 year olds that just start to ask the right questions then you can distract them with the pretty butterfly going past.

2. When exactly did Jack hook up with Danielle? We never did find out how she got out of the Other’s compound. And what were they thinking by a) wasting all that dynamite blowing up a tree and b) making such a HUGE commotion which would surely attract some unwanted attention? “Hey Ben, did you just hear something?” “Yeah, the losties are just playing with explosives. No big deal.”
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3. Radio was on channel 23. One of our numbers.
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4. Check out the license plate. I read it “You’re Too Old.” Symbolic for what’s to come for our Charlie?
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5. Is it just me or does Liam look like the devil? (and yes, I have seen the devil so there!)
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6. Charlie was making his “list” before Desmond told him of the most recent death flashforward. Charlie is writing his own greatest hits.
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7. What plane wreckage is Jack referring to when he tells Danielle that he will have some of the people strip it for wire? I remember in season one they had to move down the beach away from the wreckage because the water was going to wash away the fuselage. Plus, they burned it because of the bodies inside. Did they pull some of it away from the water? Sawyer has a piece of it that he has his tent in but it’s nothing significant. I keep seeing them walk by with pieces of the plane with wires sticking out. Yeah, almost as believable as Ken and Barbie being there the whole time, too.

8. I know that Ben shows up back at his camp in a rage and wants to go to the camp *now* rather than the next night but what if he and Juliet were planning this all along? Think about it. She is the *good* guy and tells Jack what is going on. Finding out that they are coming “early” Jack rounds all of the WOMEN up and treks them out into the open (see the scene from next week) where who of all people do the come across? Ben! Conveniently. Or it could also be Jack that is working with Ben – he doesn’t stay behind to fight, he doesn’t argue with Sayid when Sayid tells him to be the leader and go, and then he rounds them up making it look like he is trying to save them. Jack told Danielle and Rose that they couldn’t stay behind when they suggested it but when Sayid said he was Jack didn’t put up any fight. And who stays behind? Conveniently, their best shooters! Who will protect the women from being captured? There wasn’t enough time to rig all the dynamite so the casualites for the Others is going to be less. This reeks of set up to me.
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9. Hey look, they have hair extensions on the island, too. Which station are these kept at?
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10. We know there are three seasons left on the show so how can Claire and Aaron get saved? I’m thinking this… who are you going to put in the rescue vessel first? Women and children. Claire and Aaron. They are saved thanks to heroic Charlie pushing the button. But the signal that they receive to find them is only a blip in time. Charlie dies, the switch goes back on, the helicopter can’t find it’s way back and no one else is rescued at this time. Desmond swims back to the surface (yeah, you can see him in the underwater hatch next week) at some point in the season to let the survivors know what happened. Now you have a whole new dimension to the show. They can get help but have to fight the underwater Others. Juliet is once again (who is shocked?) a liar because it’s not flooded. Lots of story lines could happen here. Getting Claire and Aaron off of the island makes sense because *aw shucks* the most innocent are saved. Now the Others can really hack them up on tv!

11. Charlie has expressed several times that he cannot swim. I thought for sure that his dad wasn’t going to catch him, but he did and the moment made his “Greatest Hits” list. Then he says later that he was Junior Swim Champ in Northern England and can hold his breath for four minutes. He was either lying or something happens later to make him afraid of the water. And, does this mean we will see Charlie back next season so we can resolve his story line, so he can find his redemption? Ah, this is killing me! I saw an interview with him on Jay Leno from last week and Dominic is asked if he will be back and he just smiled and said something ambiguous. I want Charlie AND Desmond back. I don’t want either to die for the switch.

12. Pictures of the Looking Glass map:

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13. Check out the rabbit on the logo for this station:
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14. In “The Answers” they showed a clip of Locke being drug by “the monster” down into a hole. A rabbit hole perhaps? Goes with the theme. And why haven’t they come across more of these holes? Surely if there are holes out in the jungle the size of this one there have to be more and people surely would have come across them.

15. I wonder what other secrets Sayid has in this book where he had the Looking Glass map? And why is he trusting Jack so easily now?

16. Hm, maybe ABC is listening. We wanted you-know-who to go bye-bye and they did. We wanted Rose and Bernard back and here they are! And Rose went to the Beauty Salon hatch where Claire has been. Now give us a Mr. Friendly backstory next year!
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17. Ironically, Alex is cutting up a white rabbit.
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18. Rabbits are also a sign for fertility. Maybe they are used in fertility experiments on the island. But Alex likes them for lunch.

19. Alex has daddy issues. It’s cute that she’s hiding Karl out in the woods. But I was thinking, what if some guy was dating my daughter that I didn’t like? Would I cage him? Put him in a sensory *overload* chamber? Anything to keep him away from my daughter? No, of course not. I don’t have the space for a chamber like that in my house!

20. Dexter Stratton – Couldn’t find any real significance of this name. No anagrams that stuck out either. Maybe it’s just background with no more significance than that. Buggers!

21. Lord of the Rings fans – did Charlie’s character ever get the ring? I’ve never seen the movies so I don’t even know the significance of the ring. But I found the passing of the ring from Charlie (who was in the movie) to Aaron must have some meaning, if only tongue in cheek.

22. What happened? Charlie went from Rock God to playing Oasis on the street? Did we miss a huge chunk of time here?

23. Nadia.
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24. What if Jack has the *sickness?* He looks terrible. He seems to be unstable. Danielle never did fully explain what the sickness was, only that her mates got it and she had to kill them. Will Jack’s fate be the same?
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25. Check out the far left of the screen. You can see the camera person’s foot in the sand and part of the camera. Oopsies!
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26. Same scene. Very sad. Hurley wants to go and Charlie has to make something up because he doesn’t want his friend there when he dies. Guess it’s hard to come up with something kind to say when you know you are about to die.

27. I don’t understand why Sawyer wasn’t the third shooter. He was pretty dead on killing that polar bear way back when so they know he can shoot. They know that he’s not above killing also. Must have other plans for him. I am also shocked that Sun agreed to let Jin stay. Didn’t she tell him once that she lost him but would never lose him again? Now they are separating the pregnant couple. I smell something fishy!

29. This lost Lost scene worked for me. It was simply done. There weren’t lots of our favorite characters running around the scene in an effort to get us to believe it. It was just Charlie and Claire and at that moment, that is probably how he felt. Applause, applause to ABC for K.I.S.S. (keeping it simple stupid!).”
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30. Remember Joanna, the drowning woman from season one? Could they have drug her under the water and brought her here, or have been drug under by these women? They want women for their experiments so it makes sense why.
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31. Why did Juliet lie about the hatch being flooded? Wouldn’t they have been more apt to go to the hatch (if they Others wanted them) if they thought it was functional?

32. I am thinking since they can jam the signal from here that this is another communication station (we see Mikhail down here in next week’s preview also). So could this station have crashed Naomi’s helicopter? After “The Answers” we can’t blame them here for the crash of 815 because they said decidedly so that Desmond caused the plane to crash.

33. Remember how the hatch (Desmond’s) had tunnels that had recently been filled with concrete (sorry, I don’t have a screenshot right now for this)? Juliet said that there was an incident. Does the Looking Glass lead to the other hatches, but when the incident happened they had to close off the tunnels?

34. “I’m alive, I’m alive.” Oh crap, maybe I’m not going to be for long! Poor Charlie!
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35. New characters. Guess we’ll find out how long they’ll be staying this week. They don’t seem amused to see someone new in their hatch.
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36. So in the previews for this week it looks like Desmond will be joining Charlie and a surprise visitor arrives (Mikhail). Looks like the 3 shooters are going to be captured (which is odd because Ben told Ryan to kill the men). And surprise, surprise, Ben finds Jack and ALL THE WOMEN wandering in an open field. Who will be the snake in the mailbox? Should be very exciting and TWO HOURS friends!

Let’s get right to it…

1. Yes, there *is* a man in the chair. I’m sure the man looks like Jesus on purpose, but herrrrreeeeeee’s JACOB!
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2. I still think that my theory about Ben can fit into the fact that there is someone there. Ben is obviously special, why else would the Others follow him? Did Ben trap Jacob as a threat to the Others of what his powers are? But if you watch this scene, Ben says, “You’ve had your fun,” then is supposedly pushed by Jacob. Flash to this guy sitting there calmly. Again, I don’t think that the book Carrie was put in the show by accident, I think it’s a clue. Ben is moving all this stuff around the room with his mind to make it look like Jacob has gone mad. Why? To scare Locke from coming back there of course! Jacob asks Locke to help him. Maybe Ben can’t actually hear Jacob. Maybe he brought Locke there to see if he could, knowing the *connection* that Locke has with the island. Now that Ben knows that Locke can hear Jacob he must get rid of him or Jacob really could tell him all the secrets of the island! Ben is also jealous of this power (just like the wheelchair).

3. So how to you explain some guy who can go in and out of vision or become invisible? Everything can supposedly be explained, right? Is is something to do with the magnetic force of the island, the same force that kills fetuses and heals the wounded?

4. Is Jacob trapped in the hut by some type of magic or compound? Locke sees a barrier around the cabin and picks it up to examine it. Have you ever poured red pepper to keep out the ants? Maybe it keeps Jacob in or someone else out.
Ben steps over carefully

5. My Scott mentioned the whispers in the jungle. What if there are other Others who are trapped in some type of bodiless form and that is who is making the whispers. Maybe for some reason Jacob is the special one and that is why Ben has trapped him. Maybe the *whisper* Others want to know if they can trust the survivors or if they will help them. Maybe who ever is whispering is meant to stay out of the hut because they could help Jacob.

6. Maybe Ben wanted Walt because he thought he could talk to Jacob.

7. Why no technology in the hut? I’m thinking that Jacob could derive some energy from the electricity. Again, I think it all ties into the electromagnetic force on this island. Is it Jacob that goes crazy when Locke turns on the flashlight or is it Ben scaring Locke out of there before Jacob can extract some of the energy?

8. So Ben was born in Portland. Or “Not in Portland” as the prior episode was titled. Irony? Or does Ben hate Portland because of his past and that is why they lie and say they are taking them there (Juliet, namely).
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9. It’s time for Tom to get a flashback episode.
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10. So are we supposed to be seeing parallels between Locke & Ben and the Locke & Boone relationships? Except the roles are reversed. Boone had to let go of Shannon to be free. Locke killed his dad. Boone went with Locke to find out his secrets. Helped him on his vision quest. It’s a much more twisted relationship, but I can see some similarities.

11. Gruesome!
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12. Looks like they were also administering immunizations *way back when.* However, anyone know when these types of injection gadgets came about? Seems pretty high tech for the time.
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13. Here is a link to an article that speculates Annie is Kate.

14. This is the nurse that I thought could be a young Mrs. Klugh.
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15. So they pylons weren’t set to a lethal level. I’m telling you, this guy is going to save Locke. He is the last Dharma survivor and he knows what Ben and the Others did to his people. I mean the guy still wears his old work suit because of his loyalty. He’s probably been biding his time until he got his revenge for his people. Much like Ben had to be patient to get what he wanted.
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16. So yes, I think that there were a few Dharma survivors in the various hatches. I think that they came back or were invaded and found out what had happened. So let’s assume that they have a choice, join them or reverse roles and *they* have to go live in the jungle like the hostiles. Some join, like Mikhail, some go into the jungle and become the *other* Others that we are yet to meet. Remember the bare feet walking through the jungle that Jin and Eko saw? Those that stayed probably all died off except Mikhail and I would guess that he hasn’t been very happy with this arrangement. It seems when Locke beats the tar out of him there is no love loss with the Others either.

17. I can’t wait to see Alex and Danielle together. They like to just show up and then disappear don’t they? I assume that she got this gun from when Kate & Co. were at the compound?
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18. Back when Ben was a kid, what must the hostiles be doing when they invade the camp? It looks like they are about to get a volcanic eruption, but no, it’s *just the hostiles.* Do they come from underground? The whole room is shaking which makes us think that there is about to be an eruption, since they are taking about the volcano. Later Ben’s dad says that there is a huge explosion then the siren and a shoot out. Remember what we see right before smokey appears? The huge explosion from underground.

19. Jack and Juliet take off right after they find out about Naomi. “Lucy, you have some ’splaining to do!”

20. I was just watching the episode back and Ben is telling Locke that Jacob is going to be very angry that they are coming to see him. He is totally conning Locke. Reverse psychology. He wants Locke to go. He wants to know if Locke will hear him. Such a con. “This is not a man you go and see. This is a man who summons you.”

21. I almost felt sorry for Ben. His dad was such a jerk. Then I thought, I bet this kid would fit the profile of a school shooter. Yeah, then he grew up and killed his dad and his community. So I guess I was right.

22. There are whispers for sure when Ben gets upset and runs out of the house and comes upon the sonic fence. Then his mom appears. But they so want Ben, these original hostiles. But it isn’t time. Were they thinking they would wait until he was older, but Ben changes that plan for them when he gets out of the fence. They have to know, however, that he would follow his mom out of there. They must have known that he was special.

23. When Jack walks up and hears Juliet’s tape why is he so angry? Why is he waiting until a day and a half before the invasion to talk to the survivors? Why is it Jack’s decision how to handle them? Why wouldn’t he empower the whole camp to get ready, especially Sayid, an ex soldier? There is still more going on. Then the stupid show doesn’t go back to them this episode. My only true complaint this week.

24. Ben hates bunnies.
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25. More whispers when Ben runs out of the fence and into the jungle.

26. Harry Potter? (lol)
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27. The painting in Jacob’s cabin looks like the Shaggy DA. But, since he’s probably never seen that movie, we can assume it’s something else. It is hard to make out much in the picture but see what you think:
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28. Screencaps of stuff in Jacob’s cabin:

See the hand in the upper right corner throwing the jar?

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29. They show this eye in the middle of the Jacob freak out scene. I don’t think it’s Locke’s or Ben’s. Jacob?
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30. They sure do like beer on this island.
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31. Remember in season one that Jin wanted his watch back so badly from Michael and Michael told him it didn’t matter because it didn’t work there anyway? Why does everyone wear watches and how does Ben’s keep perfect time?
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32. Horace is was a mathematician.
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33. What is Linderman doing on the island?
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34. It looks like this guy has a bullet hole in his head and on his jacket.
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35. Mikhail will help John. See last post.

36. What do they need a gemologist for? Maybe they are mining? I’ve been saying this for awhile. They have tunnels underground and dynamite.
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Screencap from Thetailsecion.com

“I’m on my own journey now.”

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1. Hey John, since you’ve been on the island, when were you not on *your own* journey?

2. Cool camera shot. Oooo. It’s hell! NOT!
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3. If you can, go back and listen to the background noise in this scene. It sounds just like the *cricket* sound that you hear when the black smoke is swirling about. I didn’t see anything but it makes me wonder what they know about it since they can just traipse around the island with no worries yet the Losties keep seeming to have big issues with it. It’s a security system, but for what? SOMEONE ASK DANIELLE! Geesh, these people!
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4. Hm, it’s not the first time they’ve gone into a camp and stolen the pregnant women? Or it’s not the first time they’ve taken people for their experiments?

5. Killing Locke’s dad seems to be more of a redemption for Sawyer than it does for Locke. He couldn’t do it so he enlisted Sawyer (which, duh, the Others knew. They gave him the red folder didn’t they?). I am impressed, however, that they knew this guy was the real Sawyer. Which brings me to another question. Once someone finds their redemption, they are killed off the show. *Fingers crossed* that is not the fate for Saywer. (Think Ana Lucia, Boone, Eko). So anyway, this killing didn’t release Locke from anything besides the burden of doing it himself. This was Saywer’s redemption song.

6. Next question. Did they really kill Cooper dead, dead? Remember that Mikhail was down but apparently not out and he came back. I wondered when I saw him laying there if the same thing could happen and then would Sawyer believe this hell thing?

7. “Remind me not to rescue you Sayid.” Uh, hello? You can tell little miss attitude hasn’t been around very long. Don’t make me hate you already lady and have to photoshop your death until the writers imagine a slow and painful death for you too. I think it will be down to Sayid and Locke anyway as far as who gets them rescued (of course, Locke wouldn’t go but I could see him saving them.).
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8. OK. Naomi was on a search and rescue mission following coordinates to the middle of the ocean. It wounds believable. What is it that Sayid didn’t like? Per the map below, Bali is close enough that this sounds reasonable to find the plane there. Sure, they were off course but at least this looks reasonable. Notice all of the islands here.
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9. I think that there is definitely an element of jealously between Ben and Locke. Each is running their own game but Ben was probably for the most part unchallenged until Locke came along. Ben would know Locke’s history, just like they know all of their backstories. So he would know that Locke isn’t a killer. Which on an aside, I’m convinced Locke never killed that cop out in the woods. But do the Others like to watch murder? Is this like their gang initiation? Cindy told Jack when he was in the cage that they were also there to watch. Sickos.

10. Good thing they got to use this expensive set again!
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11. So they brought the slaves there to mine the island huh? As a reminder, GG has been saying for at least two seasons now that they are mining. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see some underground tunnel exploration next season.

12. Oh boy, never trust a woman in love not to tell the man she’s in love with a secret! Especially if you know the man and he’s an evil guy from the Other side who you suspect is up to no good. Never.

13. They have really made Kate’s character into a ditz which is horribly disappointing. Uh, did Jack or Juliet look surprised that there is a woman in camp from a ship nearby that might save them? No, they didn’t and so why didn’t Kate notice? She was just upset that he didn’t seem to care that the boys didn’t trust him. Hmpf. Then Juliet wants to tell Kate something and he says no. WTF Kate?! Pull you head out of that swollen up love sick heart and get a clue here!

14. Possibilites of what Juliet is going to tell Kate: That the boat out on the water is actually there to drop off supplies but that she and Jack made another pact with Ben that they would be able to get on that ship.

15. Danielle is there for dynamite. She is working on getting her kid back.

16. Richard is one sneaky SOB. Conveniently he has Sawyer’s file. He tells Locke that they are getting sick of Ben and his limited view of the island’s power. Telling Locke that his dad has to go so he can fulfill his purpose. John needs to be a little more skeptical about these people.
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17. Naomi says the clouds opened and she saw land. Really? At night, in a helicopter, and cloudy to boot.

18. Where did Juliet get the makeup?
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19. If Desmond’s button pushing is what took the plane down, then what took Naomi’s helicopter down? I don’t think that it was the button alone that caused the crash.

Resulting from its specific use in the book, the phrase “Catch-22″ is common idiomatic usage meaning “a no-win situation” or “a double bind” of any type.

1. Why does Desmond keep seeing visions of Charlie’s death? I mean, you could have visions of Locke catching boars, Sawyer reading, Jack making deals with the Others, but Desmond keeps seeing Charlie die. I would hate that. Visions of the future and all it is is the same person dying crazy deaths. And is Desmond somehow altering the future by saving Charlie? Or, could Desmond be having some crazy deja vu (they say that Catch *22* is like deja vu with the repeating number)? Maybe Desmond is seeing these visions because he is supposed to save Charlie. Maybe Charlie is going to save them all (probably through a series of misadventures with Hurley.

2. So far, the three psychics that we have seen have either been fakes or debunked. Claire’s psychic changed his mind about the baby (bought out by Dharma?). Hurley’s *seer* was bought off by his dad to make something up. Then Desmond’s psychic may have had some ability, but was using it to get Desmond to the island. So why would we believe that Desmond has any true ability given what we have seen the writers must think of psychics?

3. NOT that I want to discuss the love triangle, quadrangle, whatever… but I almost felt sorry for Sawyer. I think they’ve given this guy feelings for Kate! And truth be told I would rather see Kate be with Sawyer at this point. I think this guy knows his place on the island and is not afraid to stand up for it either. But when it comes down to it, he will leave the island in a second, would Kate?

4. Desmond believes that the only way the person who is coming can make it there is if the sequence of events as he sees them in flashes happens exactly. But… when we see the parachute being lifted to catch the person in the tree, Charlie is one of the people holding it. This is after the arrow *incident.* It doesn’t make sense because Charlie would have been dead by the time they found the parachute. Maybe Desmond doesn’t have as much control over these visions. Or, again, maybe he is supposed to save Charlie.
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5. Why did Jin have to come on the trip?

6. Did the others back on the beach hear the helicopter and see the beacon flashing, too?

7. Here’s a question. How could a helicopter make it to the island if it was very far away from land? Does anyone know how far a helicopter can go with a tank of gas? I wouldn’t think very far. I would guess that if the island was far, far away they would have had to have taken something bigger for the trip.

8. Here is another question, why did the helicopter crash? We are supposed to believe that the plane crashed because Desmond let the numbers go a wee bit too long, but there is no number pushing now. Maybe they have something in place in the sky much like the sonic fence around their village.

9. On a production note … Desmond is clean shaven with short hair in his flashbacks but is scraggly with a beard and long hair on the island. This means that either the writers knew way ahead of time his backstory and filmed all his scenes or this guy is wearing a wig.
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10. When did Charlie visit the Pearl to get a notebook? All the books that had been shot out I would have assumed were full. This one, if he was writing music in it, had to have been somewhat empty. A peace offering from Locke?
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11. By the way, I went back and watched “Dave” when Sayid reads the note on the $20 bill from the real Henry Gale. The note was written to “Jennifer” not Naomi (the new girl). I was suspicious at first that these two were related (him in a balloon) but it doesn’t appear to be so.

12. Moriah Vineyard 1995. From Wikipedia (regarding the name Moriah): …Classsical Rabbinical Literature theorized that the name was a …reference to the Temple, suggesting translations like the teaching-place…. the place of fear … Targum Pseudo-Jonathan interprets the name as land of worship, while the Samaritan Targum regards it as being land of vision.
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13. Desmond also says that Moriah was the mountain where Abraham was asked to kill Isaac. But God spared Isaac and this was Abraham’s test. Sound like anyone we know (Desmond saving Charlie?). Does he underestimate the value of sacrifice? He saves Charlie knowing it could alter the outcome of Penny’s arrival on the island? I knew that Desmond would not and will not let Charlie die if he can help it.

14. I still can’t make out what this is, but it is a very large tattoo or marking. Is there a Dharma symbol at the forearm area? Has Jack been branded as One of Them?
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15. Predictable. Kate will end up pregnant. Then she’ll need Juliet to help save her life. It happens at conception, remember?

16. The end of the show, as told by Desmond, “With enough money and determination you can find anyone.” Of course there will have to be twists. Maybe Locke’s obsessive button pushing will have something to do with it. “Push the button, don’t push the button. The button’s bad.” Maybe we haven’t seen the “bad” button yet.

17. I could be crazy here, but if you look at the top of the screen in this shot I swear it looks like a black cloud. I just noticed it when I was looking at screencaps. I don’t have the highest quality but there appears to be something there. It could explain why the helicopter crashes.
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18. Lots of religious symbolism in this one. Per Widipedia, the book of Ruth is about redemption. Fitting.
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19. OK, this line was just too good not to mention (though Sawyer had some good ones again. So did Hurley).
“So where’d you get the table?” “What, you don’t recognize it? It fell out of the purple haze when the hatch went blamo. If we don’t play every 108 minutes the island will explode.” I think Sawyer was just looking for someone he could beat. Jack beat him at cards and Hurley beat him at ping pong. The man’s got pride! Until he hears about Kate, of course.

20. Love the doll. Couldn’t be Danielle’s, as Charlie pointed out, or there would be a massive rock flying at his head right now. Oh, just wait Charlie! I think this solidifies that Penny was not the original pilot of the helicopter. Somehow I don’t think that kitschy is her style.
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21. Portuguese writing. The guys in the Antarctic hut working for Penny were Portuguese. I think this along with the picture pretty much solidify that Naomi was sent by Penny. Oh yeah, and she knows Desmond right off.
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22. Dude, give the phone to Sayid and quit messing around! Geesh, when will they get some sense!
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23. Just to back up for a minute. Can you imagine if you were really stranded here, the horrors you have been through and to hear that helicopter? The joy that would overtake you would be unreal.

24. I guess Bernard made an indirect appearance. The so-called mix tape apparently belongs to Bernard. Yeah, maybe they will finally be back!

25. Did you hear that the monastary only bottled 108 cases of wine this year? They haven’t been throwing the numbers in as much lately.

26. Oh boy. I didn’t want to believe it but I think that the monk fired Desmond because of Dharma or whoever also put the psychic lady up to talking him out of marrying Penny. Why else would her picture be on the monk’s desk? There is a pretty clear shot of this picture, too, so we were meant to see it. Ironically Penny is there the day that Desmond is fired, too.
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