Initial Thougths: This Place Is Death
I really wanted a two hour episode tonight. It was so good. This season has been spectacular so far. Can you imagine if we had to put up with re-runs while they are building this momentum? I, for one, am willing to wait the extra time if we don’t have to suffer through re-runs.
1. Opening on Sun’s eyes. We haven’t seen the opening on an eye yet this season.
2. Is Sun planning on kidnapping Aaron? Why would she tell Ji Yeon she met a new friend for her in America unless she was planning on them meeting soon?
3. You can hear the numbers on the walkie talkie that Robert has. I’m wondering if it was Lenny talking… before he left the island.
4. Cute, the (blonde, jerky crew member ) says, “Next you’ll be talking about submarines…”
5. Jin seems moved watching how Robert treats pregnant Danielle. His heart must be breaking knowing that his wife left preggers.
6. Finally, we get to see a little bit of The Temple…. and Smokey lives there! Did you catch the hieroglyphs on the side, just like what was on the counter in the hatch right before it blew up? I wanted to see what was there, darn time shifts. I can’t wait to screencap Smokey this week. And Robert wants to go down the hole to help since they don’t leave anyone behind. Sounds like another hero we know, Jack.
7. Next Jin comes across Danielle and her crew, mostly dead. And Robert wants to kill Danielle! Almost like he was dead and Smokey took over his body. Like Yemi when he meets Eko way back when. I’m not so sure now that it was the time travel sickness that takes over Danielle’s crew. Robert wasn’t acting like he was brain fried, he seemed possessed. Danielle seems to think that he was “infected” when he chased Smokey down the hole.
8. Jin finds Danielle by following the smoke. Remember that Danielle was following the smoke when she kidnapped Claire’s baby and was taking him to the Others? There *has* to be a connection.
9. And why does the Temple need a security system?
10. It was cool to see that Sawyer was so happy to see Jin. Genuine happiness out of Sawyer! Thank goodness someone gets to explain to Jin what is going on.
11. Finally, someone seems confused why Locke would want to bring someone back. Jin doesn’t want Sun back there.
12. Ben tells Sun that he just needs 30 minutes and he can prove Jin is alive. How is Eloise going to prove it to her? I doubt the ring alone will convince her. Why would she just take Ben’s word for it? And if Locke wakes up he’ll tell her that Jin is dead since that was his promise and we know that Locke is a man of his word!
13. Charlotte was talking and acting like Teresa (the woman back in England who’s brain was fried by Daniel first). She was popping in and out of time and different ages. I like that we know that she was there before and why she was so adamant about getting back. But I was really surprised they killed her off. I think we know that Dan must travel back and tell her not to come back. But he’s breaking one of the “rules” by doing this. Love sure has a funny way of making you do crazy things.
14. Seems Charlotte is a fan of the Jeronimo Jackson.
15. Dan says that as far as bringing the O6 back that is where they leave science behind. Meaning? Meaning that they don’t have to bring them back?
16. NO! Sawyer has a nosebleed!
17. Charlotte also knows that the well is by The Orchid station. Maybe when she was a kid she spent some time there.
18. Shouldn’t they have left Dan with some type of protection, like a gun? They’ve seen how the Hostiles can be so they really should have given his something. And where are Rose, Bernard and Vincent?
19. Locke descending down the well was interesting imagery. At first I was thinking of when they were lowering Kate down the hatch but my sister pointed out it was like a birth canal. Maybe also like death… you see the light at the end of the tunnel.
20. Juliet thanks Locke “if whatever you’re attempting to do works.” We have been too trusting of her. She knows stuff. She was an Other. I think we’ll be seeing more of what little miss Juliet knows in the coming epis.
21. If they don’t bury Charlotte will Smokey be able to move her around like the other dead people from the island?
22. I think we see now that whatever they are holding they take with them when they travel. Sawyer is still holding the rope when Locke is going down the well and the time changes.
23. I don’t think Christian is Jacob. I think Jacob somehow embodies him or can take over any dead body that isn’t buried on the island. But he does know about Jack when he tells Locke to tell his son he said hello. Christian/Jacob can’t help Locke up so I assume that’s because he’s not physically there, but not sure yet how that works. Projecting somehow perhaps?
24. Why does Locke have to die to turn the wheel and why is he always hurting his legs? Ben didn’t die when he turned it. And Christian/Jacob seemed pretty perturbed that it wasn’t Locke that turned the wheel. Locke does take shortcuts though, like when he let Sawyer kill his dad for him. But, if Christian/Jacob wanted Locke to turn the wheel, I think somehow Ben knew this but did it himself for another reason. Remember, Ben always has a plan!
25. Ben actually looks surprised when Desmond shows up and says he’s looking for Dan’s mom. I don’t think he knew! Or, he never thought anyone would else would figure that piece out.
26. I don’t think Eloise is really OK with just the two of the O6 there. She probably will send her other people to help round them up.
27. Wouldn’t Desmond just be absolutely freaked out seeing Elosie? He HAS to remember that she’s the one that sent him to the island and taught him about course correction.
28. I saw Jack jumping in the water in next week’s epi so we know at least he is there.
February 12th, 2009 at 3:51 am
*23 – I don’t know what to think about Christian possibly being Jacob. Locke never actually said “Jacob”, so who knows.
*24 – I don’t think Locke dies from turning the wheel. Didn’t they say in another episode that he was killed? The obituary say that he hung himself, but someone said that whoever killed him made it look like a suicide.
*25 – I got the impression that Ben didn’t know that Eloise was Dan’s mom.
*27 – Desmond has got to say something next week, there’s no way he’s forgotten who she is.
*28 – I didn’t see Jack jumping in the water, I’ll have to go back and watch next week’s scenes again.
*Is anyone else wondering if they can/have to take back Sun’s baby? And what about Penny and her son? I hope they can go too. And what about Walt?
*Also, isn’t Teresa the name of Boone’s babysitter? “Teresa goes up the stairs, Teresa goes down the stairs”? If that is the right name, what if it’s the same girl?
February 12th, 2009 at 6:35 am
I think when Sawyer killed Locke’s father, it not only freed Locke of his past, but it also freed Sawyer. Sawyer has been becoming more and more emotional since then.
I guess going down into that hole is what changed all of Danielle’s team. She’s the only one who didn’t go down thanks to Jin being there.
I hope we get to learn more about Charlette, I feel so sorry for Dan losing her so soon after professing his love for her. He’s the crazy man who scared her when she was a child on the island telling her she’d die if she ever returned. We do know Dan was there when they were building the Orchid station. That well must have been there before the station was built. The rope looks new and must have been added to allow people to go down it. They must have gone back in time before the well was there. It was funny to see Sawyer still holding the rope. I wonder what would happen if they were holding someone’s hand when they shifted, would that person be pulled with them.
I agree, I don’t think Locke dies when he turns the wheel. Richard told Locke he’d have to die to convince the O6. I think Locke’s suicide is a suicide.
I lost my trust of the dead guys when Yemi got Echo killed and Echo said, “You’re not my brother.” Remember what Jacob said to Locke in the cabin, “Help me.” Something is definitely going on. Ben didn’t hear it, so it makes me wonder if Ben has been out of touch for Jacob for a while. I think Richard suspects it. But back to Locke, when he goes back to the cabin, instead of Jacob, there’s Christian saying he can speak for Jacob. Is Jacob being subdued or imprisoned by other forces? It reminds me of way back in season one when Locke is showing Walt how to play backgammon and says, “There are two sides – one dark and one light.” They’ve placed many important clues in random and unseemingly unimportant comments throughout this show, like Hurley’s comment to Sayid when they fixed up that radio and Sayid says the signal could be coming from anywhere and Hurley adds, “Or any time.”
I can’t wait to see what Desmond says to Eloise, I do think he will recognize her. That was such a big event in his life.
I was wondering how they would get back to the island in less than 70 hours, but it seems that device Eloise shows them tracks windows to the island. Must mean folds in space with openings that they can pass through to get directly to the island. I’ll bet there’s one right there since she’s set up shop at that church.
Gillian – good catch on Teresa being Boone’s babysitter.
I wonder if everyone has some connection to the island in some way. Either has been there before or their parents have or connected in other ways. Remember, Sun’s father plays golf with Mr. Widmore, i’m sure there’s more to that. Maybe the island calls back the souls of those who belong to it.
February 12th, 2009 at 6:41 am
Oh, one more thing. On 11 – don’t forget that to the guys on the island, it’s only been a few days since the freighter blew up. To Jin, Sun is still pregnant and he knows if she’s on the island, she’ll die before she has the baby.
Poor Desmond, will he be dragged into going back to the island and lose Penny again. He told Sayid he’d never set foot on that island ever again and he told Penny he’d never leave her. Saying things like that on this show seems to make the exact opposite come true.
February 12th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Wow Gary thats so true about what Jin thinks. I didn’t even think of that. Maybe that’s what Charlotte meant when she said that. But then again when Charlotte said that my first thought was Jin and Sun’s daughter. Not to bring her back to the island. I don’t know it’s so hard to tell with the time flashing where or when her mind was. I liked that we got to see what exactly it was that made Danielle’s crew go crazy. It was also nice, in a weird way, to see that she killed them. I don’t remember if she said that she did or not. I’ll have to look.
February 12th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Okay so i went back and looked and Danielle did admit to killing them. But didn’t say anything about the smoke monster. She just refers the “the Others”
February 12th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Hey Ashley – when Danielle captures Sayid way back when and they hear something outside, she says something like, let’s hope it’s just one of the bears. Sayid says, do you think it’s the monster? Then she replies back, there’s no such things as monsters. But I thought it was good that we find out that she wasn’t just crazy like they all thought. She did have a reason to shoot them. Even her own love tried to kill her.
February 12th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Here’s a thought. That island is starting to NOT seem like such a nice place. What if the Others aren’t trying to protect the island, but trying to protect the outside world from the island?
February 12th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
This was one of my favorite episodes, but I seem to be saying that a lot lately. I posted some thoughts on my blog about this, but I think Christian is the smoke monster (evil) and Jacob is good and lost or trapped. Christian wanted Locke to turn the wheel, because he wanted Locke to leave, not Ben. Locke is supposed to save them all.
I’m surprised Daniel is going to go back and talk to Charlotte and break the RULES!
Why do you think the smoke monster clicks? Is it mechanical?
Love your posts!
February 12th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
My opinion: possibly the best episode ever. Top 5 for sure.
I’m glad we got smoke monster answers (sort of). I commented on the last post about hoping that they dig into that a little bit.
That bit with the well was something else. And the temple.
I am SO excited for next week, and to see why Eloise said that those few would have to do. Why didn’t she just say straight up, “no. It has to be all of them.” I mean, we all know it does. So I wanna know what they’re gonna try with just Jack, Sun, Ben, and Des.
February 12th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
I agree this was one of the best episodes. I kept stting there thinking “wow. lost is back”. There wasn’t a bunch of drama and love stuff. Except for Farraday and Charlotte, they are great. I wonder if Charlotte will be back as a ghost. Farraday is by himself now so who knows what he might see.
February 12th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
yehhh, defo one of best eps, found myself going “wow” all the way thru! all quality comments too. But i was wonderin, why was lockes name when he got back to the real world jeremy bentham, and when jack read the obituaries how did he know that jeremy bentham was locke? just an unanswered question thats annoyin thas all! any comments? im guessin that the time change that happened when locke was goin down the well was to take them to a year after jack and that got off the island. cos thats when jack read the obituary, when on a plane with a big bushy beard :>
February 12th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
I remember seeing Jin watch Sun have her baby. How could he see her but still be on the island. Does anyone remember that one?
February 12th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
colin: Hey, if you remember when Ben and Jack are in the funeral home, Jack tells Ben that locke came to see him a couple months earlier. I’m assuming Locke told Jack what name he was going as then.
JIMMY: That was a flashback for Jin if you’re talking about that one where he buys the panda. He was delivering the panda as a gift for Mr. Paik to some bigwig from China. If you remember when he’s leaving a nurse says something like, you’re leaving so soon and Jin replies, it wasn’t my baby, I’ve only been married a few months. For Sun in that episode, they were showing a flashforward. Then Hurley and her go to Jin’s grave.
I can’t wait for next week to see what Desmond says to Eloise. I wish we could have seen more of that temple the smoke monster hides in.
February 13th, 2009 at 2:56 am
I noticed something that was interesting in the preview for next week. If you advance the preview frame-by-frame there is a very clear still shot of a famous painting. The painting is “The Incredulity of Saint Thomas” by Caravaggio. The painting depicts St Thomas, the apostle who doubts the Resurrection of Christ and demands proof that it actually happened. In the preview, you first see a portion of the painting on the wall. Then, the full painting covers the screen for a brief moment. Perhaps this particular painting was placed in the scene for a specific reason.
February 13th, 2009 at 4:05 am
#23. I have always thought that how the islanders dispose of the dead is significant. I think the others figured out that Jacob can use any body buried on the island as a shelter for his soul. If I recall, jack was forced by Ben to attend a funeral for an other and instead of burial they floated the body on the water and then caught it on fire. Has to be significant somehow.
Great blog! I look forward to reading it every week!
February 13th, 2009 at 5:14 am
great great great, and it only gets better. here’s my thoughts if any of you may want to read.
when ben turned the wheel he was facing down and fell to the ground. locke is standing upright so might he be transfered back and be in the coffin UPRIGHT and alive. also we are told they have 70 hours. maybe that is not for them to get back? but for them to be there for when locke arrives, and only then can he convince them on how to get back once he has opened a portal?
or is the 70 hours up when charlotte dies as i think tmrs hawkins is her mother that would be in her interest to get them back in time to save her daughter?
i also think ben looks warry when he see’s desmond because he now knows penny must be there? and he has a gun? or does he think charles widmore is there? either way his mind is working overtime.
also find it a little strange that noone went back and seen the dead arm by the smoke monster? not even a wild boar has eaten it.
ben should be on the island soon as he takes alex from her mother not long after she is born and she is 7 months already
my mind is a little mashed running away with ideas. love to hear what anyone else thinks.
Phil
February 13th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
What about richard. how old is he and does anyone have any thoughts about him? is he an egyptian? what about the 4 toed statue on the beach? the temple had egyptian writing on it.
how long is the season going to last. i look forward to it every week
February 13th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
JIMMY: Hey, I’m glad you mentioned Richard. I’ve been thinking about him and you mentioned him maybe being Egyptian. His name is Richard Alpert, giving him the intitials, RA. Ra is the sun god in Egyptian mythology, symbolized by a hieroglypic in the shape of an eye. If I remember, one of the symbols on the hatch clock was an eye and there’s several on the temple old smokey went into. Anyhow, just a thought.
February 13th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
and what exactly is old smokey? remember when ben let him out after his daughter was killed. does ben have control over him. is jacks dad really dead or is he alive becasue they are back in time onthe island?
February 13th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Oh, good point!
When Locke falls down the well, and then they go back in time, obviously they went quite a ways back in time (when Christian Shepherd was still alive), so how does that figure in to Jacob taking the form of Christian’s body? Maybe the guy who talked to Locke down by the wheel was NOT Jacob, but actually just Christian, since he would have still be alive at that point in time. I don’t know why that would be the case, but it is certainly possible.
February 13th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I am still confused by old smokey and richard.
February 13th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Has anyone considered why Dan isn’t aging either? He was there in the very early Dharma days… and doesn’t look much (if any) older now. From what Charlotte said, Dan told her (as a little girl) not to come back to the island or she was going to die.
If we look at Dan’s initials (just like R’ichard A’lbert’s), DF could be “Degrees of Freedom”. In statistics, the phrase ‘degrees of freedom’ is used to describe the number of values in the final calculation of a statistic that are free to vary (from Wikipedia).
Reduce the ‘degrees of freedom’ to reduce the possible calculated outcomes.
Also of note… a ‘R.A.’ Fisher is know to reference “Degrees of Freedom” in his work. He was born in London, an associate of Horace Darwin, graduated from Cambridge (The Faraday Institute is a research institute at St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge), and he died in Australia.
February 14th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Could be that Ben kills Locke to prevent him from honoring his promise to Jin & telling Sun that he is dead. Ben needs her to believe that Jin is alive on the Island so that she will return. He cannot allow Locke to speak to her.
February 15th, 2009 at 8:58 am
[...] Click here to my initial thoughts. [...]
February 15th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
no guys I have seen a sneek peek how Bentham dies, Jeremy Bentham dies from a boomb.
He was working for FBI,…
February 16th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
It seems like Richard is involved with everything. What is the relationship between Richard and jacob? Every time Jacob’s name is mentioned in front of Richard he raises one of his eyebrows as if he is concerned.
February 16th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
How did you see a sneak peek of how he died? Did you see the first X-Files movie? Locke played an FBI agent who went into a buidling to defuse a bomb but instead he watched it until it blew up?
February 16th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Yeah I have a hard time believing anyone besides those closely involved has seen how Locke dies, or how anything happens, for that matter.
That’s one of the reasons this show is so incredible. They’ve done an EXCELLENT job of hiding the answers from us. And I love it!
April 20th, 2009 at 4:22 am
20-20 hindsight… “25. Ben actually looks surprised when Desmond shows up and says he’s looking for Dan’s mom. I don’t think he knew! Or, he never thought anyone would else would figure that piece out.”
And… Ben knowing Desi was with Penny – who he wants to kill. The look on Ben’s face might just have been, “sh*t*, how lucky this is!”