Lostpedia Blog

This really is The End

2010-05-24T08:46:00.000-04:00

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend the end
Of our elaborate plans the end
Of everything that stands the end
No safety or surprise the end
I'll never look into your eyes again

And so we are here, the show is over. Without posting any spoilers or reviews, I just thought I should take the time to thank everyone who has contributed to Lost, from the cast and creative crew, down to the extras, catering, and anyone who made the show possible. I also wanted to thank everyone who has visited Lostpedia over the last 4 years, 8 months and 2 days, and made us the number one Lost fansite on the Internet, visited more than any other site. We are incredibly proud of everything that this community has done, both independently, and since we became part of Wikia. Thanks to Wikia too, that have brought stability, strength and features to the site in ways we could've never imagined.

We aren't going anywhere. You'll have us around whenever you need us, and who knows, Damon and Carlton consider the show over, but I'm sure Disney see mileage in the show yet!

The spoiler policy has been retired till there comes such a time where we may need it again.

Lost is over. Long live Lost.

6x15 "Across the Sea" Review

2010-05-15T17:12:00.012-04:00

Finally, we have ANSWERS. But answers, no matter what they are, are going to disappoint some people. And after the airing of "Across the Sea," some Lost fans and critics spoke out in frustration and disappointment in regards to the mysteries explained. There have been some poor reviews and reactions from fans and critics alike. Personally, I think this is one of the best episodes ever; it is a very well-written and well-crafted Lost episode. The mythology of Jacob and MIB is explored and uncovered brilliantly; I think it was interesting to see that they were once brothers who got along, and later became eternal enemies. I think the main thing that disappointed some people with the episode was not the answers, but rather, the demystification of Lost's enigmas. The mystery and enigma that encompasses the show is a cornerstone of the mythology, and when answers are given, the 'mystery' is gone. Mainly, this episode demystified the smoke monster's origins, as well as the origin of the mysterious electromagnetic properties of the island. However, I think it's good to demystify some things; it comes along with getting answers to some of our long sought after questions regarding the mythology. Would it be good if Lost answered every single question and demystified every enigma ever brought up in the show? Not at all. It's good to leave some mystery, and also to answer some questions. This episode did a tremendous job at unraveling some answers as well as revealing the backstory of Jacob and the Man in Black. Everyone is definitely entitled to their opinions, but I personally find the backlash towards this episode to be unwarranted; I thought it was a very well done episode.

So what mysteries were explained? Well, we got the long-awaited backstory of Jacob and the Man in Black (who, still has not been named). It is revealed that they are brothers, brought to the Island by their mother, Claudia, after a mysterious shipwreck nearly two thousand years ago. Immediately after their birth, Claudia was killed by "Mother," a mysterious island inhabitant. Mother goes on to raise Jacob and MIB under her protection and guidance. She seemingly shows favor to MIB. In the Bible, Rebekah loved Jacob, while Isaac loved Esau. "Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob." (Genesis 25:28). It's interesting that, likewise, the Mother shows favor to one of the kids (in this case, MIB, who has often been nicknamed 'Esau' by fans, reflecting the Biblical parallel). We see Jacob and MIB playing a game with each other - which once again brings to mind 'good vs. evil' and the many allusions to this throughout the show.

Jacob and MIB later come across people on the island. As far as we know, these people are some of the earliest inhabitants that have ever been on the island. The children go tell Mother, who says something regarding these men that we have heard before: "They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt. It always ends the same." This exact statement is later re-stated by MIB in "The Incident, Part 1" just prior to Richard's arrival on the Black Rock.

This episode brings back another very interesting question: who is really evil, Jacob or MIB? Well, for the most part throughout this season, we've been led to believe that MIB is really the evil one. He has killed some beloved characters (Eko, Montand, Seth Norris, Bram, etc), massacred many Others in "Sundown," thrown Desmond into a well, and attempted to kill the remaining candidates, Jack, Sawyer, Hugo, Sun/Jin, and Sayid with explosives. Yes, there is much evidence suggesting that he is the evil one. Jacob even explained to his ambassador, Richard, in "Ab Aeterno" that MIB is evil and his goal is to escape the island (cork) in order to spread evil (wine). But in "Across the Sea," Jacob is brought to the heart of the island, the source of light, and drinks wine, promising to be the protector of the source. In doing this, his Mother says that he is like her now. The Mother seems to be inherently evil, and if Jacob is now "like her," is he consequently evil? The MIB separated himself from Mother and Jacob, following an apparition from his real mother, Claudia. So this begs the question: who was ghost Claudia? An island apparition, the smoke monster in human form? Perhaps there was another smoke monster prior to MIB's encounter with the source. I still don't think it's safe to say Jacob is evil and MIB is good - in fact, the contrary seems more likely from what we've seen thus far. However, hopefully we will get more revelations regarding either Jacob and/or MIB in next week's penultimate series episode, "What They Died For."

As adults, Jacob and MIB continue to converse and talk with each other. MIB resides in a village with some inhabitants, and currently works inside a well. He is determined to harness the power of the source of the island, but admitted that he had relentlessly searched the island for the source Mother had brought them to, but was unable to find it. MIB tells Jacob that there are special electromagnetic properties on the island, and that his intent is to find what's across the sea. Mother later goes to say good-bye to MIB, and in doing so slams his head on a wall. When MIB awakes, the entire village is burned and destroyed, and the people are killed. So how did Mother go about doing this? Does she have special powers? Is she the smoke monster? Hopefully these answers will be revealed in the coming weeks.

So who is Mother? Although she was only mentioned once before in "Recon," she is a prominent figure in the Lost mythology. Although for a long time I thought that Jacob and MIB's backstory would reveal the key aspects of the island, now we have this mysterious Mother, who's backstory and history is unknown. Is she the first person to ever be on the island? Is she essentially the Island personified? Questions regarding the Mother are abundant, and I hope that her origins are revealed in the finale.

MIB later goes to find Mother, and stabs her in the back. MIB asked why she didn't want him to leave. She looks at him, and tells MIB that she loves him. Jacob sees this, and brings him to the river, throwing him into the source. The smoke monster comes billowing out, sweeping into the jungle. Jacob sees MIB's body in a tree, and buries him along with Mother - we now know that they are Adam and Eve, who were found by Jack, Kate and Locke back in "House of the Rising Sun." This makes me wonder: could Mother have really been the smoke monster? We've seen Sayid attempt to stab him in the heart, and that didn't work. However, he also didn't follow Dogen's directions, who said to "not let him speak to you." MIB did not let Mother speak, so perhaps this is why she died? However, the Mother being a smoke monster is still a theory with not much evidence.

Overall, I thought this was a tremendous episode - probably one of the top ten of the series. I thought that the backstory of Jacob and MIB was well done, and the storyline was intriguing and mythology-rich. I was glad to get some long-awaited answers: the origin of the smoke monster, backstory of Jacob-MIB, and the origin of 'Adam and Eve'. Another very strong point of the episode was the acting; Titus Welliver delivered an incredible performance as the Man in Black. His acting has been very stellar throughout the show. There is only one more episode before the epic finale of LOST - more answers and revelations are sure to be revealed. Feel free to discuss your thoughts, theories, views, and opinions of "Across the Sea."

Times Talks Live: LOST

2010-05-06T12:20:00.005-04:00

Go behind the scenes of the hit series.
Live in HD at a movie theater near you.

Don't miss this compelling in-depth conversation with the masterminds behind ABC’s “LOST.” Hear executive producer Carlton Cuse and co-creator/executive producer Damon Lindelof reveal the challenges of crafting a finale that satisfies themselves as storytellers, and the show’s legion of fans.

They will be interviewed by New York Times entertainment editor Lorne Manly and the event will be broadcast live via satellite from The TimesCenter in New York for only one night, on Thursday, May 20, at 8 pm ET / 7 pm CT / 6 pm MT and tape delayed at 8 pm PT exclusively to select movie theaters across the U.S. and Canada.

CONTEST

Fans can submit a question in advance for Mr. Cuse or Mr. Lindelof via email to timestalks@nytimes.com. Be sure to include your location (city, state) with your question. Note: only a limited number of questions received will be submitted to the moderator.

A presentation of The New York Times and BY Experience.

*Talent subject to change

Get Free Tickets to See Jorge Garcia Live on Lopez Tonight

2010-05-05T19:52:00.003-04:00

A representative for TBS just contacted me, and they wanted me to inform you guys of a special offer they're offering exclusively to LOST fans.

Jorge Garcia will be on LOPEZ TONIGHT Wed May 12! Gonna be in LA? Get Free Tickets at lopeztonight.com/audience, enter promo code "lostpedia"

With this code, the fans that apply will be contacted by phone or email by my staff. Our goal is to give away 100-200 tickets specifically to his fans and fans of the show.

Lost Weekend Fan Party 2010

2010-04-26T19:37:00.003-04:00

Lost fans from all over the world will be descending on the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Hollywood, CA for the Lost Weekend Fan Party. This event is being held the weekend of May 14-16, 2010. The main event, on Saturday, May 15th, from 7:00 p.m. to midnight, features a charity silent auction and a Chinese auction. Fans will bid on Lost memorabilia donated by the Lost cast, creative team and fans. All proceeds from the auction will benefit the Children's Defense Fund-California, the favorite charity of Lost creator J.J. Abrams. Previous Lost fan parties raised as much as $5000 for the CDF, and were attended by Lost producers, writers, and actors. Lost Weekend is sponsored by Lost Radio and The Fuselage . For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the party website at: www.lost-radio.com/lostweekend

Disclaimer: Lost Weekend Fan Party and The Children's Defense Fund are not affiliated with LOST, ABC, Disney, Touchstone or Bad Robot.

6x09 "Ab Aeterno" Review

2010-03-24T19:39:00.006-04:00

Well, it was one of the most anticipated episodes of all time. There was hype about it everywhere. The Richard-centric episode of Season 6, "Ab Aeterno," would answer many questions and finally reveal the backstory behind Lost's most mysterious and enigmatic characters. "Ab Aeterno" is latin for "since the beginning of time" or "for a very long time." Part of me, though, was afraid that I would be disappointed, due to the enormous level of hype and expectations for this episode. But I wasn't disappointed at all. "Ab Aeterno" is without a doubt the best episode of Season 6, and in my opinion, the best episode ever. Not only was the acting impeccable, but the storyline and backstory for Richard Alpert was one of the most intriguing and captivating storylines in the entire series. "Ab Aeterno" expands on many of the existing themes in the season - including good versus evil and Christianity.

Richard Alpert, the ageless, calm, and at one point seemlingly omniscient Island advisor has been one of the central enigmas of LOST for a very long time. Every since "The Man Behind the Curtain," when we saw Richard appear to not have aged in Ben's flashback, we have wondered what possible connections and history Richard has had. For a long time I had been thinking that Richard has been on the island for many centuries, from ancient times. He has been on the island for a long time, but not ancient times.

In the current time on the island, Ilana, Jack, Hurley, Sun, Miles, and Richard are at the beach camp. Ilana reveals that she is there to protect the remaining candidates (Jack, Hurley, Sun/Jin, etc). She says that Richard will know what to do next. Richard laughs at this, claiming that he has no idea. Richatd has lost his faith (much like Locke at the end of Season 2 and Jack throughout the show) in Jacob, and no longer wants to be the island advisor. He goes off into the jungle.

Then, the episode goes to Richard's flashback. He is riding on a horse through a grassy plain - at first I thought that this was the Island. However, we discover that it is in Tenerife, Canary Islands in 1867. He goes into his house, and for the first time, we see his wife, Isabella, who is sick with a high fever. This is one of the first Christian references in this episode. Later on in the flashback, when Richard is in prison, he is reading the Gospel of Luke, chapter 4. Jesus heals Simon's mother-in-law, who was suffering from a high fever (Luke 4:38-39). Isabella gives Richard her cross necklace. Richard knows she needs medicine, and runs to the doctor in town, who refuses to give medicine since he cannot pay for it. Richard accidentally knocks his head on a table and kills him (much like Desmond did to Kelvin in "Live Together, Die Alone").

Richard is sent to prison for this, sentenced to be hanged. In prison he is reading the Bible in English, and we see him reading chapter 4 in the Gospel of Luke. A priest enters, and asks Richard if he is ready to confess. Richard confesses his sins, but the priest falsely states that murder is an unforgivable sin that can only be forgiven with a life of penance, but isn't possible since he will be hanged tomorrow. But Richard is bought as a slave, and now the property of Magnus Hanso. Magnus Hanso, the great-grandfather of Alvar Hanso (funder of the DHARMA Initiative), was only refereneced once before on LOST. According to the blast door map, Magnus Hanso was buried near the site of the Black Rock. This begs the question, how did either Radzinsky or Kelvin know about the Black Rock (considering Horace's apparent unknowing of it), or more specifically, Magnus Hanso? I have a good feeling this will be one of several unanswered questions on LOST (but they can't answer every question).

We now go the Black Rock, which is in the middle of inclement storm. This, of course, relates to Black Rock Storm, a painting that was bought for auction by Charles Widmore in "The Constant." In the distance, we see the dark sillhouette of the island and the statue - the prisoners believe that the island is guarded by the devil due to the statue's ominous appearance in the night. A large tidal wave drives the ship right into the statue. This was what caused the statue to break - although it seems a little odd that a wooden ship could completely topple such a large statue.

The Black Rock is now stranded in the middle of the jungle. Jonas Whitfield, one of the ship's officers, goes into the brig, where Richard and the other prisoners are located. He begins to kill them, and when Richard asks why, he says it's only a matter of time before they try to kill him. Luckily, we hear the ominous sound we all know too well - the black smoke monster. The officers on deck are all killed, and the monster enters the brig to kill Whitfield. The monster faces Richard, as flashes emit from it (similar to both Juliet in "Left Behind" and Eko in "The 23rd Psalm"). The monster leaves Richard, who is now chained inside the ship. This makes me wonder - why is it, exactly, that the monster decided to keep Richard alive? This is a pivotal question regarding the monster that I hope is answered within the remaining episodes.

With no food or water, Richard is chained in the brig. After awhile, Richard sees a blurry image of Isabella. At first he is wary, and then astonished by her appearance. She tells Richard that they are both dead, and that this is hell. This isn't the first time that this thought has come up in LOST - Anthony Cooper had the same hypothesis inside the Black Rock in "The Brig." We hear the monster again, and Richard tells her to run away. We then hear her scream, as the Monster appears on deck.

Some time later, a man enters. We discover that it is the Man in Black - not Flocke or any of his other forms - but the real Man in Black, first seen in "The Incident." He tells Richard he is a friend, but before he releases him, he makes Richard promise to do anything he asks. Richard agrees. MIB tells Richard that the devil has Isabella, and that they are indeed in hell. MIB says that the only way to escape from hell is to kill the devil. He then tells Richard to go to the statue, and tells him to stab "the devil" (Jacob) before he speaks (the exact same directions given to Sayid from Dogen regarding MIB). Richard goes to the statue, and is punched repeatedly by Jacob. This is definitely not the Jacob we've come to know (i.e. the cool, calm, collected, soft-spoken) - this is an angry, fierce, and violent Jacob! Richard tells him that a man in black sent him, with orders to kill the devil, and that he thinks they are all dead. Jacob repeatedly dunks him into the ocean, until he admits that they are alive. This is very similar to baptism in Christianity. Jesus was baptized in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 3:21-22). Jacob explains to Richard that he brought the Black Rock to the island, and has brought people to the island in the past, but they are all dead. This brings up another question: Jacob brought the Black Rock to the island, and yet the Man in Black killed the entire crew (except for Richard). So can MIB kill anyone whom Jacob brings to the island? Are there any limitations or boundaries? I think it would be very interesting to get another on-island flashback, showing the island/Jacob/MIB in ancient times.

Jacob asks Richard if he wants a job as an ambassodor for him, being an intermediary to the people he brings to the island. Richard says he wants Isabella in return, but Jacob can't do this. He then wants to be absolved of his sins, but Jacob says he cannot do that either. But he can make Richard live forever. Jacob describes the island as a cork, keeping the wine (darkness, evil, malevolence) from leaving. I'm sure this is a very important analogy for what the island is. So what exactly is Jacob? Is it his (or the official island protector's) duty to keep the MIB on the island forever?

Richard goes into the jungle, where he meets the Man in Black, giving him a white rock (inside joke?). The Man in Black says that if Richard ever changes his mind, the offer will still stand. There was a very distinct tree located next to them. This made me think of the Garden of Eden, where Satan tempts Adam and Eve in the appearance of a serpent (much like MIB tempting Richard to come with him). This could also be a reference to the tree of life in Revelation 22:14 -- "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city."

Back in current time, Richard returns to the tree, where he unburies Isabella's cross. He yells out to MIB, wondering if the offer still stands. He discovers that Hurley has been following him. Hurley says that he can see Isabella. Richard at first is unsure, but then addresses her, although he can't see her. This brings up one of the biggest themes of LOST: faith. Richard has faith that she is there even though he can't see her. Richard puts on the cross necklace. Hurley reveals something that Isabella told him: if Richard doesn't stop the Man in Black from leaving the island, they will "all go to hell."

In the final scene, Jacob and MIB share some wine. The Man in Black says that all he wants is to leave. Jacob says that as long as he is alive, that won't happen. MIB vows to kill Jacob. Jacob says someone will replace him - but MIB says he will just kill them too. Jacob leaves, and MIB tries to pull out the cork, but when he is unable to, he smashes the wine glass. This is very symbolic. Could it possibly mean that there is another way for MIB to release his darkness besides leaving the island. The cork represents the island, but what could the glass represent? Many questions to consder...

This was an incredible episode, complete with compelling mythology, incredible themes, Biblical references, rich symbolism, and of course, the amazing backstory of Richard Alpert. I must also say that this was Nestor Carbonell's best acting ever on LOST. Feel free to leave your thoughts, feelings, comments, theories, and questions regarding "Ab Aeterno." There is much to discuss and think about!

6x04 "The Substitute" Review

2010-02-16T22:29:00.008-05:00

Let me start off by saying: WOW. I was blown away by this episode, and it definitely exceeded my expectations. There was definitely a lot of improvement from last week's "What Kate Does." Contrary to last week's episode, which focused on Jack, Kate, Hurley, Dogen, Lennon and the rest of the Temple dwellers, this week's "The Substitute" focused on Flocke, Richard, Ben, Ilana, and Sawyer. I personally find the latter to be the much more interesting/intriguing group currently in the show, so naturally, I was very excited to see new events transpire after the cliffhanger from "LA X, Part 2." After killing Bram and other Jacob's bodyguards, Flocke leaves the statue and knocks Richard unconscious, telling the Others that he is very disappointed in all of them.

In the beginning of "The Substitute," Flocke is seen taking his 'smoke monster' form to travel quickly across the Island. He moves to the Barracks, looking through Sawyer's house, and then leaves to talk to Richard. I thought this scene was amazing, and it was really cool to finally see things in the perspective of the Monster traveling across the Island. We learn that, although Richard was advisor to the Others, and was looked very favorably upon by Jacob, he was still left in the dark with many major issues. He apparently didn't know that Flocke could shapeshift, when he asked "why do you look like John Locke?" This was also a surprise to Flocke, who was seemingly shocked that Jacob had withheld important information from one of his top advisors. Then we see something very surprising -- an apparition of a mysterious kid. Flocke seems very surprised to see this kid, but when Richard turns around he sees nothing. I found this to be very interesting, since I've come to expect that most apparitions on the Island have actually been the Monster -- and now the Monster himself is seeing an apparition. So who is this mysterious kid? I initially thought that it had to be Jacob as a kid. Either way, I though that this apparition had something to do with Jacob. Jacob seems to be the only one who has any power over MIB; even though Jacob is now dead, I really don't think he's "dead" (if you know what I mean). The Man in Black asks Richard to follow him. I found this to be much like Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness. MIB tells Richard that he won't keep him in the dark like Jacob did. Still, Richard refuses to follow MIB. This now begs the question: how well does Richard really know MIB? In "LA X, Part 2" he seemed quite aqare of him and his capabilities after he left he statue, and he also seemed very scared (something that Richard usually isn't). But apparently he didn't know that MIB could change form.

Back at the statue, Ilana collects Jacob's ashes from the fire pit. I'm guessing that those ashes will somehow come in handy in the upcoming episodes. Ilana says that MIB is recruiting. We see MIB enter Sawyer's house. Sawyer doesn't seemed surprised at all to see him, merely exclaiming "I thought you were dead." Sawyer sees that there is no fear at all in Locke, making him come to the conclusion that it really isn't Locke. MIB convinces Sawyer to come with him, saying that he can answer the most important question: "Why are you on this Island?" Saywer is intrigued, and somewhat reluctantly, follows MIB.

In flashbacks, we see Locke arrive home in his van. I must say, when he fell out of his wheelchair and the sprinklers turned on, I just had to laugh. I felt bad so for him, but at the same time it was really funny because nothing ever seems to go right for him -- even Locke starts to laugh when the sprinklers turn on. We then see Helen come outside and help John. Back inside, Locke and Helen discuss the Australia trip that he had just gotten back from. Helen finds "Dr. Jack Shephard's" spinal surgeon card. Helen says it might be destiny that he met him (which I thought was an awesome line).

Locke returns to his good old cubicle at the box company. Then we see a face we hope we would never have seen again: It's Randy Nations. Locke's jerk co-worker from "Deus Ex Machina" he made fun of Locke's desire to go on a walkabout. We also see him in "Everybody Hates Hugo" as Hurley's boss, and in "Tricia Tanaka Is Dead" as Hurley's worker. But in this flash-sideways timeline, Hurley is not only the boss of bosses, he is the owner. He offers Locke his job back, and writes a note for him (this is an awesome scene...I love Hurley!). Back at the office we see Rose Nadler, who reminds us that she has terminal cancer since she never went to the Island.

On the Island, Flocke and Sawyer run into the mysterious kid. And this time, Flocke isn't the only one who sees him; Sawyer can as well. Flocke runs after the kid, and trips. The kid tells MIB that he "can't break the rules," and he "can't kill him". Flocke responds angrily by saying "don't tell me what I can't do!" Mysterious kid shakes his head (possibly in dismay), and then runs off. I found it to be a little odd that Flocke started to act a little like Locke; he seemed to be very vulnerable at that moment. I think the writers intended that, though, to show that MIB isn't the Island's omnipotent entity; he is still vulnerable against Jacob. I think that this mysterious kid could possibly be Jacob, but he says "you can't kill him" -- it semed like he was referring to Jacob since he mentioned breaking the rules. It's possible that he was referring to Locke or Sawyer, but I believe it was Jacob he was referring to. If that is the case and the mysterious kid really is a young Jacob, he should have said "you can't kill me." This leads me to think that this mysterious kid is not Jacob himself, but rather, a relative of Jacob -- perhaps his son or brother.

Richard then emerges from the jungle, pleading to Sawyer that he would come to the Temple with him. Sawyer refuses, saying that at least Locke promised to provide answers for him. Richard said that he wants to kill Sawyer, and everyone else as well. Sawyer decides to stick with MIB, and Richard runs off. If Richard is this terrified of MIB, then he is definitely something we all should be scared of. Sawyer pulls his gun on Flocke, asking "what are you?" MIB says that he's trapped, and he doesn't remember what it was like to be free. He says he knows what it's like to lose someone you care about and to feel pain.

On the beach at the funeral of John Locke, Ben gives a eulogy. I was pleasently surprised to hear Ben say that Locke was a better man than he would ever be. I had to laugh, though, when he said "I'm sorry I murdered you." Frank's reaction to that was hilarious to see.

In flashbacks, the episode title's meaning is revealed: Locke is a substitute teacher. When he enters the teacher's lounge, we hear that telltale ominois voice. Yes, that's right: it's none other than Benjamin Linus. He teaches European history. I found this to be a great scene; Ben really does appear to be a good teacher! (I'd love to see him actually teach in class during a flash-sideways).

Now we get to the best part of the episode. MIB and Sawyer arrive at a cliff, where a ladder resides. They make their descent to a cliffside cave, where there is a balance scale with one white and one black rock. MIB takes the white rock and throws it into the ocean, saying that it was an "inside joke." This makes me wonder: is MIB admitting that he's the evil 'bad guy'? He seemed to recognize that Jacob was good (a.k.a. the light white rock), and he is evil (a.k.a. the dark black rock). I thought the scale was an interesting item that I hope we'll receive more insight to in upcoming episodes. Sawyer and MIB enter into the cliff through a cavern. On the ceilings and walls are numerous names, many with numbers next to them. The Numbers are assigned to various characters we have come to know well: 4-Locke, 8-Reyes, 15-Ford, 16-Jarrah, 23-Shephard, 42-Kwon. As MIB noted, 42 could either be Sun or Jin. Other names seen on the walls with their names crossed off were Domingo, Troupe, Cunningham, Jones, Mattingly, Lapidus, Littleton, and Sullivan. There are various numbers next to these names. I'm assuming that these names on the walls go back centuries, since we see some names from the U.S. Army camp (i.e. Mattingly, Cunningham, Jones) and also 815'ers. I'm guessing some names on there are probably ancient. MIB tells Sawyer that he has three options: 1) to do nothing. Wait around and see what happens. 2) he can take the job of being the Island's protector. But MIB says that the Island doesn't need protecting, saying that it's "just an island." 3) leave the Island and never look back. Sawyer is with Flocke on the third option. At this point, I'm definitely thinking that this is a long con from MIB. the Island really does need protecting, and MIB does not want to leave at all. Sawyer will probably join the dark side with MIB, and who knows, maybe convince Kate and some of the others to join him. I'm thinking that, like Richard warned, MIB will eventually kill Sawyer after he's used him. This really was a fantastic episode, and the best of Season 6 and one of the best episodes ever. Awesome on-island storyline, great new mysteries, and amazing flash-sideways story. Real answers are being revealed, and I can't wait to see what the rest of the season brings us.

6x03 "What Kate Does" review

2010-02-13T22:54:00.003-05:00

Before I begin, let me get one thing off my chest: Like most of you, I did not like this episode. But like any Lost episode, it was still enjoyable and gave us plenty of topics to discuss (even if one of those topics was how much we disliked the episode)

In fact, the backlash to the episode was so great, Damon Lindelof tweeted "For those of you complaining of "filler." Seriously. PLEASE WATCH NCIS: LOS ANGELES. I promise not to hold it against you."

Personally, I believe that most of the negativity about this episode was because of the awesomeness of the episode preceding it, I can't really remember the last time there was such a jump from awesome-to-not-so-awesome in Lost, except for maybe "Flashes Before Your Eyes"
into "Stranger in a Strange Land".

But anyway, let's get into what actually went on in "What Kate Does". We'll begin with the flashsideways timeline, where Kate's escape leads to the (first) reintroduction of Claire. After a totally pointless scene with a mechanic, she goes back to find Claire, who apparently hasn't moved from where she was dropped off. Things get a little bit more interesting here, when Kate and Claire meet the intended adoptive mother.

According to the episode's credits, the mother's name is "Lindsey Baskum". For all you anagramaniacs out there, that's an anagram for "Used by Malkins". Of course, the whole Richard Malkin situation is one of confusion and blurred fact. But personally, I believe that he is a real psychic, and only told Eko he was a fraud in "?" to dissuade him from investigating his daughter, who apparently had a very real experience with Eko. But, in "Raised by Another" Claire came to the conclusion that Malkin saw her coming to the Island so she would raise the baby. However, in the sideways timeline he wouldn't have seen her on the Island...so would've he seen that Claire would end up raising him anyway? But then, why would've he sent her away anyway? He knew that she had decided to raise the baby herself. Is there a different reason, perhaps guided by destiny, that Claire had to go to Los Angeles?

Another interesting point of the sideways timeline was the appearance of Ethan Rom. Or uh, Ethan Goodspeed. It seems he's left the Island, and had a relatively good upbringing and is a pretty good guy. He's continued his path as a surgeon, but has avoided the path of being an evil creepy doctor, believing he "would rather not stick her with needles if he didn't have to". A subtle reference to original Ethan's insistence on jabbing Claire's stomachs with the biggest needles on the Island. Another more explicit reference to the original timeline is when Claire already knows Aaron's name, another obvious nod that there is a definite connection between the two timelines. Kate then departs the hospital, because she can't sit still for more than two minutes.

Back in our other timeline, it's much of a sameness. Kate heads off after Sawyer, who has truly become a broken man. Accompanying her are Jin, a redshirt Other named Justin, and not-quite-as-redshirt Aldo, who we havn't seen for fifty episodes. After a conversation about the Monster, Ajira 316, and Wookie prisoner gags, the group comes across a Rousseauesque (I like that word) trap. Unfortunately, it seems Aldo hasn't got any smarter over the past three years, and (along with Justin) is outplayed again by Kate.

Jin and Kate go their separate ways, as Kate looks for Sawyer and Jin looks for that reunion scene we've all been longing for. Of course, he doesn't find it and is instead confronted by a pissed off Aldo and Justin. But even though Jin gets stuck in a bear trap, the two Others still can't get a break as they are shot by the second reappearance of Claire, looking Rousseauesque, but still seeming to have some recognition of Jin.

Some way off, Kate tracks Sawyer down to the Barracks. In perhaps the highlight of the episode, a broken Sawyer tells of his plans to propose to Juliet, strengthened by incredible acting from Josh Holloway. We're only three episodes in, but already there are cries from some fans for an Emmy for Holloway.

At the Temple, Sayid is essentially tortured by Dogen, a process which includes blowing ash over him. Observant fans would've no doubt made a link between this and the ash circles we've previously seen. After a back-to-his-leader-self Jack hears of this, he demands answers, something he usually fails to get results with. He only really learns that Sayid has been "infected", the same word used to describe what happened to Rousseau's team in the 1980s. Dogen gives Jack a pill, and after refusing to give it to Sayid, he ends up just taking it himself, like any doctor would... Dogen then decides to admit it was poison, because Sayid has been "claimed".

Apparently everything Sayid was will be gone once the "infection" reaches his heart. And the same thing happened to Claire. Who Jin is now with. *cue L O S T slam*

But what is The Sickness? Danielle had been warning the Losties about it since Season 1, and after three years on the Island it seems its finally struck. Darlton have described it on the Official Lost Podcast as "making people go crazy". And there definitely seems to be some involvement of the Monster. Rousseau's team had all encountered the Monster, if Christian Shephard is a visage of the Monster, Claire has, and it seems the water of the healing spring has been tainted by Smokey as well.

So what does it do, other than make people crazy? My theory is that the infected become living minions of the Man in Black, giving the entity access to their body and soul before they die.

Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

Image use on the wiki

2010-02-05T08:14:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,
I hope everyone had an enjoyable Tuesday evening (in the US) and that European viewers who will be seeing the season premiere over the next few days will have just as much fun as the North American fans in rediscovering the majesty that is Damon and Carlton with all guns blazing at their keyboards. We've had an amazing influx of editors from around the globe taking part in Lostpedia in the last few days, but I just wanted to speak out about the use of images on the wiki.

Lostpedia uses images under the United States Fair Use Doctrine. Basically this means that the images on Lostpedia within articles should be used in such a way to illustrate the point being made within the text content.

In several articles, we have seen an influx of images that do not do this. They are from the correct show that they are trying to reference, but they aren't necessarily informative images. I will use two images from Sawyer's article to illustrate the issue at hand.

Firstly, we have this image of Sawyer with Locke's father, and the original "Sawyer", Anthony Cooper. The image is entitled: "Sawyer gives Cooper the letter he kept with him most of his life." then links to the article for the episode The Brig from which it came from. It is also in line with the content written within the wiki which tells the story of Cooper's arrival on the Island, the conversation Sawyer finally had with the man who caused the death of his parents and Cooper's death at the hands of Sawyer.

This is an excellent use of images on the wiki. It illustrates the situation, and most importantly, the content in the article. It is a great aid visually to the text content in the page.

Now for the otherside of the issue. We have this image to the right. This is from the episode Eggtown, and was on the article with the subtitle "Sawyer agrees to help Kate release Miles from the boathouse."

Now, I think we can all agree that its a good photo of Josh Holloway as Sawyer, and the image does in fact come from Eggtown, and does come from the scene it is said to have come from. However, there is a problem with it. The image doesn't actually convey any information relevant to the article, even if it is from the correct scene. It says he is agreeing to help Kate to release Miles, but Kate is nowhere to be seen. He is smiling, almost jovial looking and is casually holding his hand on his hip. At no point does it actually help convey the context of the article. It is really a superfluous image.

The vast majority of images on articles are there to aid and benefit the contents on Lostpedia, and they do just that. But we need to make sure, as editors, that the images are used to illustrate the content of our articles, not just illustrate the article and make it more visually palatable for the users.

6x01 "LA X, Parts 1 & 2" Review

2010-02-04T23:48:00.008-05:00

And we're back! Sorry for being a little bit late with this one, but we've only just come down from the huge high of the Season 6 premiere, LA X.

As usual, this premiere began with a mind-blowing scene that sets the path for the rest of the season. As many had predicted, we're seeing an alternate timeline where the Island is underwater, and therefore Oceanic Flight 815 never crashed.

This is hinted at by the title of the episode, with many believing the "X" is a reference to the comic book world, suggesting TPTB are following the trend set by series such as "Earth X". But's what's in this Lostverse X? Or more importantly, what isn't?

As the opening scene revealed, the Island is completely submerged. The barracks and statue, however, are present. This would suggest that the Jughead explosion, or an event around DHARMA time, caused the Island to be destroyed. And this seems to have had some effect on our Losties' lives, who always seemed to have a destiny leading towards it.

Hurley, for example, is "the luckiest man alive", a complete turn-around from his tragic original past. My guess is he won the lottery with completely different numbers, as he would've never met Leonard, who would've never been admitted to Santa Rosa because he never heard the numbers. Different numbers meant no curse, meaning Hurley was lucky as...well, a lottery winner.

This is only one of many opposites shown in the "flash-sideways" as Darlton calls them. The conversation between Locke and Jack hinted the opposite perspectives on science and faith between the two men. Charlie is a depressed, suicidal wreck. Rose remained calm throughout the flight, and Bernard returned from his otherwise-fateful bathroom trip.

As well as these differences, the other highlight of the alternate timeline was the constant reintroduction of familiar faces with Boone, Arzt, Cindy, Frogurt, Edward Mars, Claire, Desmond and probably more I can't remember all reappearing. And in the case of Desmond, disappearing.

Desmond was perhaps the most interesting part of the alternate reality for me, he gave us a suggestion that all was not as it seemed. As well as Jack's feigned recognition of him, and the cut on his neck, Desmond's disappearance from the plane raised many questions. Why was he on the plane at all? Why was he wearing a wedding ring? Where did he disappear to, and why?

Compare this to Juliet, whose message from beyond the grave was simply, "It worked." My theory? As we've seen, Desmond is unique and miraculously special, possibly from his exposure to electromagnetism in the Swan, especially at the fail-safe. Juliet also would've got a whopping amount of electromagnetic goodies when she detonated Jughead, perhaps making her "special" as well. And what does this speciality lead to? Well, to steal an Faranology, imagine time as a record. Anyone can move back and forth on a track, but only the special ones: Juliet, Desmond, and possibly more, can move BETWEEN tracks/timelines. Point out any flaws/praise me in the comments.

Now, let's make this post miraculously special and move between timelines ourselves, to the just-as-exciting original timeline, where our 77er Losties have jumped to as well. As the A-Team try to save Juliet from her entrapment under the Swan wreckage, Jacob appears to Hurley telling him to take Sayid to the Temple. Unfortunately, Juliet doesn't make it, so Kate, Jack, and Hurley head off to the long-awaited Temple, leaving behind Miles and Sawyer.

Miles does his thing, and we receive another sign that some connection exists between the two timelines, not only from the "It worked" message, but also the sound effects of the "listening", with the plane crashing/time flash sound effect used to cross between timelines being heard by Miles.

Meanwhile, the others go to the Temple wall, where Montand, albeit dead, makes a brief cameo. This is only the start of the mythology-fest, with the return of the creepy whispers, the ragged Others, and our first view of the Temple. It continues again with the Egyptian ankh inside the guitar case, and then what seems to be another one of Jacob's many lists. We're not over yet, as we see the (unclear, both literally and figuratively) healing spring. The Temple then jumps from mythology madness to chaos, with Jacob's death announced and Sayid's treatment failing. But, in true Lostian manner, we get a last minute twist where Sayid sits up and asks "What happened?" Good question. Is it really Sayid? Or a reincarnation of Jacob or the Man in Black?

Speaking of the Man in Black, or should I say the Monster (but let's not resort to name calling), we had plenty of excitement statue-side. With one of the most badass reveals ever when Locke disappeared and Smokey came in, and some of Terry O'Quinn's finest acting, the third plot-line of the episode was just as amazing as the other two. We see that the circle of ash outside the cabin, which Bram terribly tried to replicate, was definitely to keep Smokey out (or in?) of the cabin in Season 3, as hinted by the Season 5 finale.

Following this, we had one of the most insightful monologues of the show, as the MiB discusses the tragedy of John Locke, and his dying thought: "I don't understand", one all Lost fans can sympathise with. Smocke followed this up with his own goal, to "go home." Where or when home is my favourite question of the episode, and unless the answer is "Mars", I can't wait to see where Darlton go with it.

The last thing to cover is Richard's "chains". My first thought was definite foreshadowing of a Black Rock backstory, but Lostpedia raised the possibility of metaphorical chains to Jacob. What answer would be cooler? I'd have to say both.

That's all from me, leave your thoughts about the episode and any questions/theories raised above in the comments section.

Season 6 and Entire Series DVD and Blu-Ray

2010-01-29T23:48:00.003-05:00

News is emerging about the release of two exciting new additions to a Lost fan's DVD or Blu-Ray collection.

TVShowsonDVD.com and other sources have revealed some details about the Season 6 DVD, as well as announcing Lost: The Complete Collection, both apparently slated for release on August 24, 2010.

The Season 6 set is going to be 5-disc collection at USD$60 for DVD and USD$80 for Blu-Ray.

The motherload, however, is 36 (Blu-Ray) or 37 (DVD) discs at USD$230 and USD$280 for DVD and Blu-Ray respectively. Not only will it include all 120 or so episodes, but also EVERY previous extra, PLUS an additional two hours of exclusive bonus content.

However, none of this news is official so far, so it all could be subject to change, or not even eventuate.

Follow our articles on the Season 6 set and the Complete Collection set on the Lostpedia wiki for updates as they come.

Warning! Beware of Premiere Spoilers

2010-01-29T18:17:00.005-05:00

For all you Lostpedians who want to go into the sixth season premiere, "LA X," with no idea of the outcome of Juliet's Jughead detonation, I suggest you get off the internet from now until Tuesday. The LOST Sweepstakes prizes shipped today, which included a USB drive with the first five minutes of the season six premiere on them. I can personally say that it is the most spoiler-heavy piece of anything that's hit over the hiatus, so be careful if you don't want to see.

The video has a watermark running diagonally across it, so if you see a video with that watermark, don't watch it unless you want to be spoiled for the first minutes of the premiere.

Just a little note of precaution -- with it being the sixth and final season, we don't want any people being unnecessarily spoiled.

We look forward to delving into LOST with you all once again when the season premiere itself airs in the U.S. on February 2 on ABC.

New Official ABC LOST Video Podcast released

2010-01-27T16:37:00.004-05:00

Intrepid reporter Bob Stencil interviews the cast & creators for the latest scoop on the final season of LOST.

This is a mockumentary style video and doesn't have any spoilers for season 6.

The Onion and Darlton

2010-01-20T06:58:00.001-05:00

Now, I don't know about you, but the majority of Lost fans I know have a good sense of humor and can take jokes quite light heartedly. I hope so, because The Onion have arrived to give us all a gentle slap with this lovely video entitled "Final Season of 'Lost' Promises To Make Fans More Annoying Than Ever", and Damon and Carlton are joining in with the joke (though after some of the reactions from the fans over the years, especially complaining about season scheduling, can you REALLY blame them?)

Its a playful poke at the obsessive nature of Lost fans (and lets be fair, thats the reason this site exists at all) and I had a good laugh at my own expense with this one. The section after Damon and Carlton's interview is absolutely hilarious, I'm still wiping the tears away from my eyes. They certainly seem to know the sense of humour of a Lost fan...

Final Season Of 'Lost' Promises To Make Fans More Annoying Than Ever

New Season - New Look

2010-01-20T05:47:00.007-05:00

We've given the Lostpedia Blog a new face lift.
The original template design, which was put together a few years ago to launch the blog, was only ever meant to have been temporary whilst we came up with something cleaner and prettier to use.

Well, with a conversion of the gorgeous Metamorphosis Themes by WooThemes to Blogger, we finally have something that I think you can agree, is pretty attractive looking!

Nothing from the old blog has changed, and all the original content is in place. It just looks much nicer than it did before. There will be tweaks and changes, but we hope you like this more aesthetically pleasing design.

Also, unfortunately due to the behaviour of some individuals, we've had to enable accounts on the blog again. If you have an OpenID or Google Account, you should be able to comment without any issues. We apologize but unfortunately a few moronic people will always want to spoil the fun of the majority. Most people will already have an OpenID account, as major sites support it, so hopefully the fun won't be ruined by a mindless, immature section of the web.

Lostpedia Chats with the Washington Post

2010-01-19T18:23:00.002-05:00

We're getting closer.

With the premiere of season 6 looming ever closer, Lostpedia is being referred to as the possessor of all of LOST's mythical answers.

Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little. But Lostpedia is indeed beginning to be recognized as one of the major sources and experts on the show. The Brazilian magazine Superinteressante has already interviewed me and a few other Lostpedia administrators on our views for the final season. And now, we'll be chatting with the Washington Post about the sixth and final season.

Paul Kerton (plkrtn) and I will be part of "The LOST Hour" hosted by the Washington post on Wednesday afternoon, at 2 P.M. eastern time. Check out the Washington Post's entry on the discussion, for which you can submit your theories and questions. Hope to see you then!

UPDATE: Kevin Croy, founder of Lostpedia will also be taking part in the chat.

Post 400 : The Promos post

2010-01-18T13:07:00.003-05:00

Well, with 15 days to go to the US airing, and with most countries due to see the final season within 3 days of that airing, the promo clips from around the world are appearing thick and fast. ABC's promos have been criticized by fans as being lacklustre and lazy. Here are a few of them:

Two, well yes, lazy promotional clips indeed. It seems ABC has pretty much given up on those aspects of the show that pulled fans into it in the first place, the intrigue and fascination.

But be thankful for the international broadcasters, who are giving us excellent and exciting promotions for the show. For example, this one from Hot HD in Israel.

Or this superb piece, put to Radiohead's Everything In Its Right Place from Spanish Network Cuatro

In the UK they've had teasers since November! This one by far more interesting than anything ABC has put out so far:

So even if you are being starved of interesting trailers in the United States, your appetite can be whetted by some of the amazing things being produced by the International partners. If only ABC would pay to use them!

This is our 400th post on Lostpedia Blog too. We'll probably get to 500 before the Season 6 is over, so be prepared for a bumpy ride with just 15 days to go!

A 'LOST' Supper

2009-12-31T10:33:00.004-05:00

First of all, I'd like to apologize to the readers of our blog for an inconsistent off-season. We bit off more than we could chew, as the expression goes, and we're very sorry about that. However, rest assured that there won't be any dropping of the ball during season six. We'll be right here for you, with recaps, news, and other fun, non-spoilery information. Thanks for your patience, and here's to a wonderful season 6!

Speaking of season 6: want to see a cool cast promo photo? Over at TV Overmind, there's been a cast photo posted from USA Today that features the main cast of season three in quite an interesting pose (here's a hint: da Vinci's The Last Supper). While there is some distortion from the fact that it's a photograph of a magazine, the awesomeness of the photo still remains. Check it out:

LOST: The Final Season Sweepstakes

2009-12-30T17:56:00.002-05:00

ABC is presenting an opportunity to be among the first to see exclusive footage of the opening of Season 6. 815 winners will receive an exclusive message in a bottle with the opening scene to the final season premiere... days before it premieres. This is a great way for ABC to stimulate excitement for what will be an epic premiere of Season 6. Although, if I was one of the 815 winners, I'm not sure I'd want to read the opening prior to watching it on TV. I think part of the excitement and shock is going to be watching the opening on TV come February, 2nd 2010. Either way, it would be pretty cool to be among the first to get the exclusive opening scene prior to February 2nd. (Click here -- Sweepstakes)

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-19T21:09:00.003-05:00

Well, we are in the midst of the holiday season and fastly approaching the end of 2009. 2010 will soon be here, and with it, the sixth and final season of LOST! We are in the waning days of the last hiatus of LOST, and the sixth and final season is on the horizon which means that Lostpedia will soon be in full throttle, giving you the lastest updates, articles, and news from the Lost universe. I hope that everyone here has a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!!!

Season 5 DVD Sneak Peek

2009-11-26T22:59:00.003-05:00

Hey all!

Capital C, the advertising company of the Season 5 DVD, contacted Lostpedia the other day to announce they're releasing sneak peeks of the DVD up until the beginning of Season 6!

The videos will be posted at this thread on the Lostpedia Forums, where you can also discuss their contents.

Here's the first one, where Darlton and cast members discuss the implications and reasons for Jughead exploding. (Like anything posted on Lostpedia, spoiler-free)

Courtesy of Buena Vista Home Entertainment. ©ABC Studios.

New channel to air Lost in Australia

2009-10-25T09:03:00.002-04:00

Australian Lost fans should presumably see Lost in primetime slots, rather than waiting until late night, in 2010 due to the launch of Seven's new channel.

Channel Seven's long awaited announcement of their second digital free-to-air channel, 7TWO, will feature move many American series across to the new secondary channel.

Seven’s Director of Programming and Production Tim Worner stated, “I am pleased to announce that 7TWO will be the new home for premiere episodes of our international hits including J.J Abrams’ Lost, Ugly Betty, Heroes and 24.”

Lost already has a page on 7TWO's website that promises Season 6 will reveal "the fate of Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) and his fellow survivors ... once and for all."

Season 6 will presumably premiere in Australia late January/early February.

Frame 6 with added pussyfooting

2009-09-24T15:56:00.002-04:00

So again it seems like these posts start with an apology - the Internet is still down, and this little blogger is not impressed having to source a way to get on and talk about Lost stuff. It's a shame that one can't so much blog with the stuff when it comes to an Internet experience. Business should resume next week, and thanks to the commenters so far not busting my chops for the radio silence - loving that we have some understanding folk who'll give benefit of the doubtiness.

So much to get through from these past few. I'm not even going to bother with the news I hear that Dharma Wants You got an Emmy... I never cared what happened at those awards ever since they robbed Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Friends really on a number of occasions. Though obviously very happy for Mr Emerson and his Supporting Actor gong - well deserved is an understatement for that man. But anyway to Frame 6 of our dear poster hunt, and DCPB has all the details on a Blink 182 and Fall Out Boy gig-a-thon that revealed the new URL on one of the guitars - huckfinnwastaken.com

We find a nice sixth poster which at first looks a little lame, but on reading the description about gloss and the rest of the statue only visible in certain light and angles makes our interest peck up. A decent Oceanic 815 or Locke chair edition to the set, or another Hydra cage or DHARMA van??

Frame 6 clues

2009-09-19T08:18:00.004-04:00

Apologies for the lateness, as someone mentioned in comments. This blogger has just moved house yesterday and has no Internet, so you can forgive me for being a little behind (shakes fist!). Anyways, currently using Internet cafe technology, thereby showing immense commitment... but let's get clueing!

DCPB has updated with a... star... a silver star. There are currently many theories, but it's so early days there's little in me that wants to speculate. A silver star could mean a lot of things...

Check back to this post for clue updates.

Update 1 - The star now has a pink cross over it. Still awaiting a sound theory as of yet... perhaps TPTB took on a previous comment of mine that the previous clues were too easy. Either way, I like being able to research online, even when I have as-of-yet no idea of the answer!

Update 2 - Again sorry for a delay in updating. DCPB now has a seat layout, and a guitar. LostARGs have the answer - the pink cross is a hint to Blink 182, while the guitar belongs to a member of Fallout Boy. Both are on at the Superpages.com center in Dallas on Sept 23rd... sounds about right!

Frame 5 On Sale

2009-09-14T11:47:00.003-04:00

The new URL is ithinkthatmanwasyou.com/

The poster features Jack looking at Kate and Sawyer on the Hydra station monitor. Thanks to Brian for the heads up. The Uni bookstore gave out bookmarks with the URL on. Get on over there and order soon to avoid disappointment.

As far as the poster itself goes... it's a grower for me. I loved number 4, and the art on this one at first just doesn't seem to match - but I'm starting to like it the more I look at it. Let us know what you think.

Frame 5 Event Details

2009-09-14T07:44:00.002-04:00

If you read the comments for the last post, you'll know I held off before doing a post cause I wanted all the details together. In future, we're going to just update posts with additional clues as otherwise we just have way too many for one frame. So subscribe to us so you know, or follow us on Twitter for updates.

Anyway, let's recap Frame 5. The first clue was simply an image, quickly found to be the University of Arizona bookstore. Clue 2 appeared not long after showing the words Bear Down. Google this with Arizona and you find it is the official motto of the University. Clue 3 appeared not long ago too, saying "Wildcat Readers, see you on - J. Perkins/R. Morrison". If you check out the Arizona Wildcats football team website, you find these two players are no#9 and no#14 respectively, which links in with the final reveal that the frame will be available on September 14th. DCPB now shows the truth - go to the University of Arizona bookstores on this day between 7:30am and 5:00pm for the new URL. The address is 1209 E. University BLVD, Tuscon, AZ 85721.

Arizona Lost fans, your fanbase needs you!

Clue 5:1

2009-09-11T07:34:00.002-04:00

Thinking we should just code all these hints now Biblical style - so this one is 5:1. DCPB has updated with an image of a bookstore. Quick on the heels of mystery, folk over at DarkUFO quickly recognized it as the University of Arizona bookstore. Sure enough, if you check out the bookstore website then you'll find a corresponding image in the slideshow.

No need for further hints, just like with Crumbs it appears people can get it straightaway. Maybe TPTB should make it that teenie bit harder and code the clues a little - cause let's face it, clue#1 is only being investigated by the hardcore players anyway... the ones after a spoonfeed wait for the third/fourth hint where it explicitly states where to go. So everybody would win.....

Frame #4 Released - Very Nice!

2009-09-08T07:55:00.004-04:00

DCPB updated with an image advising us to go to Crumbs in LA or NYC today to get the new DHARMA URL. It seems a bit short notice this time, but hey we still got the URL. Thanks to Zort70 for letting us know that it's icangetyoupeanutbutter.com

Looking at the frame, it truly is my favorite so far - a beautiful design by Eric Tan that focuses on Jack. The color is great too, and the likenesses are brilliant. It's the first one for me where I can imagine having it on my wall... and I'm very tempted to get it. Hmm.

So maybe I'm biased, but I think this one will sell out fast! It goes on sale around midday PST. Be ready peeps!

**Important Update** - The time has been changed to midday EST!! So don't get caught out, dear Lost fans!!!

Update 2 - Frame 4 sold out in just over an hour after release - looks like my prediction was quite right - definitely the most popular poster so far.

Mysteries Of The Universe Pt 3 Out Now?!

2009-09-07T20:03:00.003-04:00

Apparently so - MOTU Pt 3 has been released on Hulu a day early, and DocArzt has the scoop. There's even a YouTube upload for those of us outside the USA and Canada!

I have to say I'm a little bit disappointed. I was hoping for something a little more in the way of revelations from Mysteries Of The Universe, but we're now past Part 3 and there still doesn't appear to be anything we don't really know already. Damon Lindelof said we'd learn new things about DHARMA when asked at Comic Con... but so far I'm not seeing any OMG worthy moments. What do you guys think?

Another Frame 4 Clue

2009-09-07T19:55:00.003-04:00

It seems like all we post at the moment is minor hints. Anywayz, here's clue 3 for frame 4. With us? Good.

A big thanks to '1st time caller' for the info. The image on DCPB matches an image on crumbs.com - confirming that this is the place where frame 4's URL will be. But at which store? New York? California? Or at all of them?!

13 Black Circles

2009-09-06T16:34:00.002-04:00

DCPB has a new hint for Frame 4. The 13 black circles form a P-like shape, though I like commenter Catie's opinion that the 13th circle shouldn't be there, as though the other 12 are part of something and the 13th messes with it. So where does that get you - a baker's dozen... fitting in with the previous Crumbs bakery theory.

So looks like some fans will be gracing a bakery? Buy me one of those cupcakes, anybody?

Frame 4 clue

2009-09-05T15:49:00.002-04:00

Well the dust has settled from Frame 3, and now it appears we have crumbs for Frame 4. DCPB has updated with a pic of the words "Wall Street / Larchmont" in a sort of normal font with pixels and specks falling off it.

A quick Google search got me the lame theory of the Larchmont Hotel in New York, but a far better idea is on LostARGs where there's a bake shop company called Crumbs that has shops in Larchmont, California and on Wall Street, New York. Clue or not, I'm enjoying looking at the pictures of some buff cupcakes. We'll see how things develop, and keep a look out for more clues.

Frame #3 Online

2009-09-01T19:27:00.003-04:00

This is breaking news (well 10 mins ago), so forgive shortness. It's just to let fans know a URL appeared at the bottom of the screen during Attack of the Show, according to sources, sending us to wewerecaughtinanet.com

There you'll find the third poster, which will be on sale soon. Keep a watch on that site if you want to be among the first to bag the poster!

DVDuesday

2009-08-30T06:48:00.003-04:00

Well done to all the peeps who worked out that AOTS stands for "Attack of the Show" - a TV show on the G4 channel. DCPB has now been updated with a picture of some legs and the word "DVDuesday". If you go to the Attack of the Show website on the hosts page, the legs pic matches a full image of the show's hosts, confirming this is the place to be.

Then all that remains is figuring out DVDuesday, which again according to the site is a segment on the show on Tuesday where they look at the release of new and old DVDs and decide whether to buy, rent or pass. Now passing over the site, there doesn't appear to be anything of importance, the source code is also a bit empty (minus an IP address at the bottom which looked mildly interesting). So it would appear that the best bit is to tune in to Attack of the Show on Tuesday. I checked out their schedule, and the time to watch is Sept 1st 7pm ET/PT, though they repeat the next day at 1am, 7am and 12pm (by then you could be too late poster wise!). After such research, it would be annoying if the poster was merely hidden on their webpage...

Update - DCPB has updated to confirm - tune in 7pm EST 'Attack of the Show' on G4!

Bizarre Barcode

2009-08-28T09:53:00.003-04:00

Well with Frame #2 is already sold out, we now have a cryptic clue for Frame #3 on DCPB. Check out the 2D barcode to the right (aztec code, semacode, QR code - whatever the correct name is!). Definitely the first clue to date in this little experience that requires special technology decoding. But then again all you need is a fancy cellular phone to translate.

LostARGs have it as "A-O-T-S". I have an online ENcoder which got a different pic with those letters, but I guess different ways of encoding still get the same result when decoding (if that made sense?). Let us know if any of you have swish phones what you get through snapping it. In the meantime, what's the significance of AOTS....? Please let it be a pitiful attempt at an anagram of OATS... the notion of a brand promotion of DHARMA cereal just makes me smile.

Locke on Frame #2

2009-08-26T19:29:00.002-04:00

I got my timezones mixed up again, so mucho apologies that this post is rather late - don't shoot me if you wanted a really early issue number for frame 2! Anyway, so a good few Lost fans went to Boston today, and some (only 8 apparently) got hold of a beautiful skateboard, which on the back had the name of a website ThatAndBasketWeaving.com

Go there and you see a very nice Locke-inspired poster. If you want it, snap it up quick!

Other weird things - first DCPB has an odd pic from the skateboard, which just looks like wood grooves but kinda looks like a map. Furthermore, LostARGs have reported that there were other shout-outs to LOST in Boston, including T-shirts for Canton-Rainier Carpet Cleaning (seen in Season 5) and also a poster around for Build Your World (the charity Sayid worked with when Ben found him in S5). Probably just tidbits, but very cool. The map could be more though... might our next frame be overseas (please say it's so!)

The Lost Rewatch - Season 2 Review

2009-08-25T22:35:00.006-04:00

We have completed Season 2 in the LOST Rewatch. The main focus of Season 2 is the Hatch, or the Swan, that was discovered in Season 1. The tail section survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 make a prominent appearance in Season 2. Ana Lucia, Libby, and Eko are amongst the Tailies that become main characters for this season. This is truly a phenomenal season of LOST that is full of shocking plot twists, character development, new mythology, intriguing flashbacks, religious themes, and literary techniques. There is so much to talk about, and so much to think about when it comes to this season. More information is revealed about the Monster, the Others, and the DHARMA Initiative. This season starts off with the best premiere and opener in LOST history, revealing the true nature of the Hatch in the opening scene. The extraordinary finale of Season 2 is full of more intertesting flashbacks, shocking reveals, and ominous mythology. I will be going through all 24 episodes of Season 2 - analyzing, reviewing, recapping, and rehashing the numerous motifs, themes, characters, cliffhangers, and plot twists that have accompanied this amazing season.

Episode 1 - "Man of Science, Man of Faith"

The premiere episode of Season 2 contains the best opener of all-time, and is the best episode of Season 2. This Jack-centric episode is a fabulous way to start LOST's fantastic second season. In the opener, we see an unknown man (Desmond David Hume) enter numbers into a computer. Then, in a shocking reveal, we discover that this is "The Hatch." Season 2 is a season that is full of many themes, motifs, symbolism, and mythology - this episode presents us with a lot of the central mythology to Lost, including the DHARMA Initiative. This episode shows us more of the similarities and differences between Jack Shephard (man of science) and John Locke (man of faith). The science vs. faith theme reaches the pinnacle in "Exodus," and is explored in further detail in this episode. Flashbacks show us that Jack is not a believer in miracles, but his strictly scientific viewpoint comes to a halt when his patient, Sarah, recovers from a near-fatal spinal injury. Relating this episode to Season 5, we see Jack undergo some major change in character from Seasons 3-5. Jack is a firm and adament believer in science, doesn't believe in the supernatual. Once Locke dies in "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham," we see Jack make a major leap of faith (seen prominently in "316"). Christian Shephard delivers one of my all-time favorite quotes in LOST history, telling Jack that "false hope" is still hope. This episode is a masterpiece, and will forever remain one of my favorite LOST episodes ever.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

CHRISTIAN: You might want to try handing out some hope every once in awhile. Even if there's a 99 percent probability that they're utterly, hopelessly screwed, folks are much more inclined to hear that 1 percent chance that things are going to be okay.
JACK: Her spine's crushed. I tell her that everything's going to be okay -- that's false hope, dad.
CHRISTIAN: Maybe. Maybe, but it's still hope.

Episode 2 - "Adrift"

The raft exploding and Walt being kidnapped at the conclusion of "Exodus" is one of the most shocking and pulse-pounding cliffhangers ever. In this episode, Sawyer and Michael stay adrift in the sea, while Jin is missing. Michael blames Sawyer for everything because he prompted him to shoot the flare. This episode really demonstrates the utterly annoying side of Michael; I don't think it was fair for him to blame Sawyer for Walt being kidnapped, and Michael takes his grievances to the extreme when he tells Sawyer to get off his raft. I'm glad to see that Michael makes amends by the end of this episode, and admits that Walt's kidnapping was his fault. This episode concludes with a very creepy cliffhanger: Sawyer and Michael meet Jin who's hands are bounds, and "The Others" emerge from the ridge.

FAVORITE QUOTE:
SAWYER: They found us because they were looking for us, for Walt.
MICHAEL: Don't you ever say his name again, ever.
SAWYER: Oh, what are you gonna do, splash me?

Episode 3 - "Orientation"

This is one of the better episodes from season two. "Orientation" is a very mythological episode, and it gives us a lot of insight on DHARMA, Hanso, and the DeGroots. Much of the mythology that is revealed in this episode is the framework for the mythology that we see in later seasons. Seeing the Swan orientation film for the first time was mind-boggling and overwhelming, and much like Locke, I wanted to watch it again (and again, and again). Flashbacks show us more of Helen and John's relationship, and how Anthony Cooper continues to get in the way of them. This episode only skims the surface in DHARMA; we learn much more about DHARMA in later seasons, especially Season 5, when the survivors time leap to the 1970s when the Initiative was in its heyday.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LOCKE: If it's not real, then what are you doing here, Jack? Why did you come back? Why do you find it so hard to believe?
JACK: Why do you find it so easy?
LOCKE: It's never been easy!

Episode 4 - "Everybody Hates Hugo"

This episode is one of my least favorite Hurley-centrics, but it isn't a bad episode by any means. The flashbacks take place after "Numbers," when Hurley found out that he won the lottery. He quits his job at Mr. Cluck's because of his boss, Randy Nations (ironically, Hurley will later be Randy's boss, and actually own Mr. Cluck's). On the Island, Hurley is in charge of the food. He thinks that everyone will hate him because he will be forced to control the food distributions amongst the survivors. Charlie is angry at Hurley because he can't give him a jar of peanut butter (something that Claire has wanted since Season 1). One of the best scenes of this episode is Hurley's dream; there are two very interesting points in this dream: 1) Jin speaking English, stating that "everything is going to change" and 2) Seeing a clever easter egg of Walt on the side of milk carton, with the words "MISSING" above him.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

CHARLIE: Yeah. Quite simply, John, there are a lot of secrets around here, and I'm tired of being at the bloody kid's table. I got Claire's baby back. I didn't go swanning off to the Black Rock on the bloody A-Team mission, but I would have if someone had asked me. I think I'm entitled to some sodding answers around here.

Episode 5 - "...And Found"

In this episode, Sun loses her wedding ring. She searches for it desperately, and in the process, destroys her garden in anger. Locke approaches her, saying that he used to get angry all the time. He claims that he isn't lost anymore, and says that the only way something lost can be found is if you stop looking for it. Across the Island, Michael goes off looking for Walt (which becomes a common occurence this season). Eko and Jin go looking for him, and leave Ana Lucia, Sawyer, Bernard, Libby, and Cindy. One of the most classic scenes of LOST is in this episode: when Jin and Eko are in the jungle, they see a group of Others pass by. This scene raises a few questions: what was that group of Others doing in the jungle, and where were they going? In flashbacks, Sun meets Jin for the very first time.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LOCKE: I'm not lost anymore.
SUN: How did you do that?
LOCKE: Same way anything lost gets found -- I stopped looking.

Episode 6 - "Abandoned"

This is a great episode, and is extremely underrated. Shannon sees Walt for the second time (the first time was in "Man of Science, Man of Faith") but Sayid doesn't believe her. On the other side of the Island, Eko, Jin and Michael return to the Tailies. The survivors trek towards the middle section survivors' beach camp. Flashbacks show us how Shannon had to struggle when he father Adam was killed. Shannon's stepmother Sabrina abandoned her when she took the money left by Adam, and left none for Shannon. Ana Lucia sheds more light on the "Other" issue when she explains to Michael what happened on the first night of the crash (these events are later seen in "The Other 48 Days"). While the Tailies trek closer towards the beach camp, Cindy ominously disappears. They know that it was the Others that took her, and they keep moving on together. The group hears whispers (the sign that the Others are near) and start to run. At this same instant, Shannon and Sayid see Walt in the jungle. Shannon runs after him, and is shot by Ana Lucia. Sayid comes into the scene, and holds Shannon in his arms as she slowly dies. Ana Lucia looks on in disbelief, astounding at what she had just done: murdered a fellow survivor.

FAVORITE QUOTE:
ANA LUCIA: They came the first night that we got here. They took 3 of us. Nothing happened for 2 weeks, then they came back. They took 9 more. They're smart, and they're animals, and they could be anywhere at any time. Now we're moving through the jungle -- their jungle -- just so you can save your little hick friend over here. And if you think that 1 gun and 1 bullet is going to stop them -- think again. So shut your mouth and keep moving.

Episode 7 - "The Other 48 Days"

This is a very unique and amazing episode. It is the first episode of LOST to have a narrative comprised of completely new characters (until the very last montage, which includes Sawyer, Jin, and Michael). This episode finally gives us the full story of what happened to the tail section survivors during the other 48 days on the Island. After the crash, Ana Lucia Cortez takes on a leadership role. The first night on the Island, the Others attack; they take a few survivors and attempt to take Eko. He kills them, and this act of murder plagues Eko because he vowed to never murder again. The Tailies begin to become suspicious of each other, and Ana Lucia takes things to the extreme when she suspects Nathan of infiltrating the camp. Goodwin, who is the real infiltrator, knows that eventually she may suspect him, so he kills Nathan. Later, Ana confronts Goodwin, saying that she knew he was never in the water after the crash, and was never on the plane. Goodwin attacks her, but Ana overcomes him and kills him. Eko, Ana, Bernard, Cindy, and Libby are the only Tailies that remain, as the rest have been captured or killed. I really enjoyed this episode, and it is really great to see this narrative of the Tailies play out. The Tailies have such a dynamic influence in Season 2, and this episode is a fabulous way to fully introduce them to us.

FAVORITE QUOTE:
ANA LUCIA: You've been waiting 40 days to talk?
EKO: You waited 40 days to cry.

Episode 8 - "Collision"

The first Ana Lucia centric of the season also happens to be one of my least favorite episodes of the season. After Ana shoots Shannon in the jungle, there is a scuffle between Sayid and Eko. Ana ties up Sayid, and goes commando and attempts to take absolute control over the situation. Flashbacks show us that Ana Lucia was a cop (which partly explains her controlling demeanor she has on the island). For a majority of the episode, Ana Lucia is holding Sayid captive at gunpoint. When Eko tells Jack that it is Ana Lucia who is holding Sayid captive, Jack remembers that this is the same person he met in the airport before takeoff. When Ana is talking to Sayid, she says that she is already dead, and that she deserves to die. When she lets Sayid go, he doesn't kill Ana, but says it would be no good to kill her, since they are both already dead.

FAVORITE QUOTE:
SAYID: Almost 40 days ago on this very island I tied a man to a tree and tortured him. I tortured him as I've tortured many men -- men whose voices I still hear in the night. Should you kill me? Maybe you should. Maybe you were meant to.

Episode 9 - "What Kate Did"

This is a great Kate-centric episode, and reveals what it was that Kate did to make her a fugitive. Flashbacks show us that Kate blew up her own father, Wayne, because of the way he treated Diane. At the time, Kate believed that Wayne was her stepfather, but she discovers that Wayne is really her father, and Sam Austen (who she thought was her real father) is not related to her. On the Island, while Sawyer is still recovering from his wound, Kate stays to watch over him. When Sawyer yells "why did you kill me?" at Kate, she leaves the Hatch. Jack and Locke return, pushing the button just in time. Later on, in the Hatch, Locke shows Michael and Eko the Swan Orientation film. Michael notices that there are splices in the film, and Eko abruptly leaves with nothing to say. The Jack-Kate-Sawyer love triangle enters a new degree of complication and complexity in this episode, when Kate kisses Jack in the jungle. She then runs off, with a surprised look on her face. In the Swan, Eko approaches Locke, and tells him a story from the very beginning - he explains that he found a station on the other side of the Island, and presents to John a fragment from the Swan film. Astounded by this, Locke marvels at the amazing coincidence behind this as he is putting the splice back into the film. Eko tells Locke the very iconic LOST quote: don't mistake coincidence for fate. I thoroughly enjoy watching this episode, and is one of the best Kate centrics in LOST. The ending of this episode sets things in motion for the rest of the season; Michael communicates with Walt on the Swan computer. My first thought was that the Others were acting as Walt and sending Michael messages to lure him in, but the producers have confirmed that it is indeed Walt that talked to him. It's interesting to see the timeline from "Expose," when Juliet and Ben are viewing Jack from the Pearl. This happened during the events of "What Kate Did," so it would have made sense if it were the Others trying to contact Michael.

FAVORITE QUOTE:
EKO: Hello. I have something I think you should see. If you don't mind, I will begin at the beginning. Long before Christ the king of Judah was a man named Josiah.
LOCKE: Boy when you say beginning, you mean -- beginning.
EKO: At that time the temple where the people worshiped was in ruin. And so the people worshiped idols, false gods. And so the kingdom was in disarray. Josiah, since he was a good king, sent his secretary to the treasury and said: "We must rebuild the temple. Give all of the gold to the workers so that this will be done." But when the secretary returned, he had no gold. And when Josiah asked why this was, the secretary replied, "We found a book." Do you know this story?
LOCKE: No, I'm afraid I don't.
EKO: What the secretary had found was an ancient book -- the Book of Law. You may know it as the Old Testament. And it was with that ancient book, not with the gold, that Josiah rebuilt the temple. On the other side of the island we found a place much like this, and in this place we found a book. I believe what's inside there will be of great value to you.

Episode 10 - "The 23rd Psalm"

Eko is arguably LOST's most intriguing and enigmatic character, and this episode exemplifies the incredible mystery that surrounds his character. Flashbacks reveal that Eko grew up and was raised in Nigeria. When a militia came to Eko's village, they forced Eko's younger brother Yemi to shoot an old man. Yemi hesitates, and rather than let the militia kill his brother, Eko takes the gun and shoots the innocent man. This bravery impresses the militia, and they take Eko with them. On the Island, Eko discovers that Charlie is in possession of a Virgin Mary statue (the same statues that are seen in flashbacks, and were used to smuggle drugs outside of the country). Charlie and Eko go into thr jungle, towards the drug smugglers' Beechcraft. The Monster appears, and encounters Eko face-to-face. For the first time, we get a very long and full view of the mysterious Monster (that has been heard in the jungle since "Pilot, Part 1"). What is very interesting to me is that the Monster leaves Eko unharmed here. However, this is not the only encounter Eko will have with the Monster. In "The Cost of Living," Eko will encounter the Monster again, but this time, he will be killed. As seen in "Dead Is Dead," the Monster (also known as Cerberus by the DHARMA Initiative) judges people, and can take the form of other people (including Yemi from 305, and Alex from 512). I think that we're going to have to wait until Season 6 before we get the full story of the Monster.

FAVORITE QUOTE:
EKO: Yemi, I understand that you live in a world where righteousness and evil seem very far apart, but that is not the real world. I am your brother and I would never do anything to hurt you, but my friends -- if you do not do what I ask -- they will burn this church to the ground. Is that worth less than the price of your name on a piece of paper? Think of the lives you will save.
YEMI: My signature does not make you a priest, Eko. You could never be a priest.

Episode 11 - "The Hunting Party"

While in the Hatch, Michael knocks Locke out, and gets ahold of guns from the armory. Michael then locks Jack inside the armory with him. Later on, in "Three Minutes," we get to see more of this scene. Michael communicates with Walt again on the Swan computer. Walt says "when they take me out. there's huge rocks with a big HOLE in the middle by the beach. you'll know when you see." Michael then heads north, towards the Others. Jack, Sawyer, and Locke form a hunting party and head out after Michael. Jack excludes Kate, saying that she needs to stay behind and push the button. In flashbacks, we see the downfall of Jack and Sarah's marriage. Jack meets a woman named Gabriella, and she wants him to perform surgery on her dying father Angelo. Christian and Jack both know there is little hope, but Angelo says that he didn't come all this way for Christian, he came for Jack. Jack ends up kissing Gabriella, and later admits this to Sarah. Sarah admits that she has been seeing someone else, and then leaves. On the Island, the hunting party continues to look for Michael. At night, Jack argues with Locke about searching for Michael, and then Tom abruptly appears. He explains that this is their Island, and the only reason the survivors are living is because they let them live. I find this scene very interesting, because it's the first time a large group of Others has talked to the survivors on the Island. This episode correlates very nicely with "Three Minutes," and each episode fills in pieces to the puzzle. "Three Minutes" shows us the story from Michael and the Others' perspective, while this episode focuses on the survivors' perspective.

FAVORITE QUOTE:
TOM: Oooo, 50 days. That's what -- almost 2 whole months, huh? Tell me, you go over a man's house for the first time, do you take off your shoes? Do you put your feet up on his coffee table? Do you walk in the kitchen, eat food that doesn't belong to you? [He looks at Locke.] Open the door to rooms you got no business opening? You know, somebody a whole lot smarter than anybody here once said: "Since the dawn of our species man's been blessed with curiosity." You know the other one about curiosity don't you, Jack? This is not your island. This is our island. And the only reason you're living on it is because we let you live on it.

Episode 12 - "Fire + Water"

Ever since season one, Charlie has been struggling with his heroin addiction. After "The Moth," he burned his heroin stash in the fire. Not long after, in "Exodus," Charlie discovers an entire stash of heroin in the drug smugglers' plane. In this episode we see a lot of dreams and visions from Charlie that contain a variety of imagery, foreshadowing, and symbolism. Locke has a feeling that Charlie is using again, and when he follows Charlie to his stash, he takes it, saying that he hgave Charlie a choice before, but not anymore. After Charlie awakes from one of his dreams, he is holding Aaron precariously near the ocean. Claire and the survivors find him, and Charlie is baffled as to what happened. One of my favorite moments in this episode is when Sawyer tells Hurley to make his move on Libby, calling him three hilarious nicknames in the process (Jabba, Jethro, and Hoss). The climax of the episode comes when Charlie sets a fire near the camp, causing all of the survivors to go to help put it out. Charlie uses this diversion to kidnap Aaron, and take him to the ocean to try and baptize him. After he reluctantly returns Aaron, Locke punches him three times, and the survivors leave him helpless on the shore.

FAVORITE QUOTE:
EKO: Something wrong, Charlie?
CHARLIE: Apart from me losing my mind? No, everything's just peachy.
EKO: Why would you say you are losing your mind?
CHARLIE: How about the fact that I've been sleepwalking? Stealing babies from their cribs? Oh yeah, and then there's the vivid dreams that make me feel like I'm completely awake until, of course, I wake up.
EKO: What are your dreams about?
CHARLIE: Variations on Aaron being in mortal peril -- trapped in a piano, drifting out to sea, there's the flying dove, and Claire and my mum dressed as angels telling me I need to save the baby. [Eko is silent] What?
EKO: Have you ever considered that these dreams mean something?
CHARLIE: Like what?
EKO: What if you do need to save the baby?

Episode 13 - "The Long Con"

We have always known that Sawyer is a con man, but we don't see the full extent of his cons until this episode. We know that Ben Linus is always the man with the plan, but Sawyer can also construct ingenious cons. In flashbacks, Sawyer teaches his girlfriend Cassidy about cons. Eventually, she tells him that her husband has a lot of money, and that there may be a way to get it. Since the crash, Jack and Locke have been the primary leaders of the survivors; they have made many important decisions regarding the Hatch, guns, food supply, etc. Sawyer is fed up with this, so he enlists Charlie to help him perform a long con on the survivors. The benefit for Sawyer is that he will attain all of the guns, and the benefit for Charlie is that he will get to embarrass Locke. The first part of the con is when Charlie goes into the garden and attempts to kidnap Sun. He leaves Sun injured in the jungle, and the survivors immediately suspect it was the Others. Sawyer then talks to Kate, saying how did Sun break free with her hands bound and while unconscious? And why are there tracks when the Others don't leave any? They find a hood hanging from a branch, but Sawyer points out that it's a different hood than the one used on Kate. Sawyer says "it's all in the details, and they're wrong." Because of this, Kate suspects Ana Lucia was behind it. Sawyer approaches Locke, warning him about the survivors coming for the guns. Locke goes out to hide the guns, but is followed by Charlie. Sawyer attains the guns, and becomes the new "sheriff" of the survivors. I think that this is a very clever episode, and a fabulous Sawyer-centric. I love seeing how Sawyer used to con in the past, and it was awesome to see him do a long con on the Island. At this point in the season, Locke and Jack become quite annoying (Jack is constantly trying to be in control, and Locke feels possiveness over the guns) so it was great to see Sawyer take charge.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

SAWYER: That's right, Jack. He's as stupid as you are. You were so busy worrying about each other you never even saw me coming, did you? How about you listen up because I'm only going to say this once. You took my stuff. While I was off trying to get us help -- get us rescued -- you found my stash and you took it, divvied it up -- my shaving cream, my batteries, even my beer. And then something else happened, you decided these two boys here were going to tell you what to do and when to do it. Well, I'm done taking orders. And I don't want my stuff back. The shaving cream don't matter. Batteries don't matter. The only thing that matters now are guns. And if you want one you're going to have to come to me to get it. [He looks at Sayid.] Oh, you want to torture me, don't you? Show everybody how civilized you are. Go ahead, but I'll die before I give them back. And then you'll really be screwed, won't you? New sheriff in town, boys! You all best get used to it.

Episode 14 - "One of Them"

In this episode, Rousseau finds Sayid, and tells him that she captured one of the Others. It still confuses me, because Rousseau had actually seen and met this Other 16 years earlier. Benjamin Linus was the one who kidnapped Alex from Danielle. However, Danielle doesn't tell this to Sayid, but she insists that she knows he is one of them. Perhaps Danielle forgot about Ben? But really, how could you forget about the person who kidnapped your daughter? I don't know. Anyway, Ben Linus claims to be "Henry Gale" from Minnesota, and says he crashed on the Island in a balloon. This is the first lie that we hear Ben say on the show (and we all know that Benjamin Linus is a liar). Benry attempts to escape, but is shot down by Rousseau. Back at the Hatch, Jack treats Ben's wounds, but Locke and Sayid are very wary of their new visitor. One of LOST's recurring themes is Sayid's unrelenting skepticism. When Sayid has a hunch, it's pretty much right 100% of the time. He thought that Henry was one of them, and he was. He thought that Mikhail was one of them, and he was. He thought that Michael had been compromised by the Others, and he was. Do you get what I'm saying? Sayid resorts back to his ways when he was a torturer, and beats Ben bloody. Flashbacks show the full extent of Sayid's torturing career. Back in the Hatch, Jack prevents Locke from pushing the button, and for the first time we see the countdown timer go beyond zero. Red hieroglyphs flip up, but before we see a system failure, Locke enters the numbers and saves the world. I really like this episode, and it's the first episode where we see Benjamin Linus (and little did we know at the time that Ben was the leader of the Others, and would become one of the most prominent characters in Lost).

FAVORITE QUOTE:

SAYID: He is one of them.
JACK: Yeah? Did he tell you that?
SAYID: No.
JACK: Then how do you know?
SAYID: Because I know. He is one of them.
JACK: I think that Rousseau thought that about you once, Sayid. If I'm not mistaken she strapped you down, she shocked you, all because she thought you were one of them.

Episode 15 - "Maternity Leave"

This episode ranks as one of the best of this season. Claire fears that Aaron is sick, and her fears worsen when Rousseau arrives at camp, claiming that he is infected with the sickness (the same sickness we see in "This Place Is Death," when Danielle kills her science team). With the help of Libby, Claire is able to remember part of when she was abducted by Ethan. She enlists Kate to go and help her find this place. Eventually, with the help of Danielle, they find the Staff station. This is the third DHARMA station to be revealed in the show. On-island flashbacks show us what happened after Ethan kidnapped Claire. Here is something that is interesting to me: Tom talks to Ethan, and refers to Jacob as "Him". It has been confirmed by Darlton that "Him" is Jacob. So why would Tom be afraid of what "He" would do? Most of the Others, including Tom, have never even seen Jacob. With the help of Alex and Danielle Rousseau, Claire escapes from the Staff and the Others. Claire finally remembers why she scratched Danielle; it was because she was trying to save her life. This is an incredible episode, and gives us the long-awaited story of what happened to Claire when she was gone for two weeks.

FAVORITE QUOTE:
BEN: Why would I lie? They think I'm one of these others -- other what?
EKO: Please, stop talking, Henry. The first night I spent on this island I was dragged into the jungle by 2 men. They never spoke a word to me, nor I to them. I killed these men -- smashed in their head with a stone, felt their blood on my arms. I need you to know how sorry I am for this. I need you to know that I am back on the righteous path now. And that I regret my actions. I ask you for your forgiveness.
BEN: Why are you telling me this?
EKO: Because I needed to tell someone.

Episode 16 - "The Whole Truth"

This is one of the most underrated episodes ever, and ranks in the top five episodes of Season 2 for me. It is also the best Sun-centric episode of the series so far. In flashbacks, we see that Sun and Jin are having fertility problems, and the doctor says that it is because of Sun. This infuriates Jin, who suspects that Sun knew about this. Later on, the doctor approaches Sun and explains that it is really Jin who is infertile, and that he was afraid to tell the truth because of his position in Paik Industries. On the Island, Locke enlists Ana Lucia to talk to Benry about his balloon. Ana convinces him to draw a map to the balloon, and she leaves with Sayid and Charlie to look for it. She does this without talking to Jack or Locke, since they are too worried about Locke and Jack. On the Island, Sun takes a pregnancy test and discovers that she is pregnant. She is unsure of whether or not the baby is Jin's (and we won't find out until late season three episode "D.O.C."). Sun tells Jin the whole truth about his infertility, and Jin believes that it's a miracle. Th ending of this episode is one of the greatest endings of any Lost episode ever; Ben says that if he were one of them, he would make his map lead the survivors into an ambush, and force a trade, him for them. He then says, "got any milk?"

FAVORITE QUOTE:
BEN: Wow, you guys have some real trust issues, don't you? Guess it makes sense she didn't tell you. I mean, with the two of you fighting all the time. Of course, if I was one of them -- these people that you seem to think are your enemies -- what would I do? Well, there'd be no balloon, so I'd draw a map to a real secluded place like a cave or some underbrush -- good place for a trap -- an ambush. And when your friends got there a bunch of my people would be waiting for them. Then they'd use them to trade for me. I guess it's a good thing I'm not one of them, huh? You guys got any milk?

Episode 17 - Lockdown

There are many surprising twists and amazing scenes in this episode. It is also a Locke-centric, which are typically full of mythology, mystery, and intrigue. Anthony Cooper comes to Locke again in flashbacks, and this time he wants help. Locke feels reluctant at first to help the man who conned him and stole his kidney, but eventually he agrees. When Helen finds out that he returned to help his father, she leaves him, saying that Locke chose him over her. This devastates Locke, who was planning on marrying her. I have a lot of sympathy for Locke, but I really don't understand why he helped Anthony. He could've returned the money to the rightful owners, or kept it for himself, but why give it to the con man who ruined your life? I know Locke did it because he wanted to improve upon their relationship, but I don't think their relationship could ever be improved. On the Island, Sayid, Ana, and Charlie find Gale's balloon. At first this leads us to believe that Ben was telling the truth, but Sayid's unrelenting skepticism comes back, and he digs up the grave, discovering a black man by the name of Henry Gale.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

BEN: Then I'm going to need your word, John. I'm going to need your word that you won't let your people do anything to me.
LOCKE: Well, if you're who you say you are then what are you worried about?
BEN: Things have happened to them -- things that I have nothing to do with. But they've got no one to blame except for me. So I'm going to need your word that you'll protect me, no matter what.
LOCKE: Who are you?
BEN: My name is Henry Gale. I'm from Minnesota. And I crashed on this island just like you.
LOCKE: Alright, you have my word.

Episode 18 - "Dave"

Since Season 1 I had wondered about why Hurley never lost weight - this episode answers that question. He has a secret stash! Unlike Sawyer's stash (which includes medicine, guns, magazines, etc.) Hurley has a stash of food that he's been hiding from the camp. With the help of Libby, Hurley decides to destroy his stash and begin a new life on the island. Just after he does this though, they discover the food pallet that has fallen from the sky. Along with Hurley's temptation for food comes someone named Dave. Dave is Hurley's subconscious, and flashbacks show us that he prompted Hurley to eat when he was in Santa Rosa's. We're led to believe that Dave isn't imaginary for most of the episode, but when Dr. Brooks reveals a photo of Hurley's arm around thin air, he begins to realize that he's making Dave up. In the Hatch, Sayid interrogates Ben, who is now under captivity as an Other. Ben is once again caught in a lie when Sayid asks about Henry Gale; Ben says that Henry was dead in the balloon when he found him, but Sayid pulls out a 20 dollar bill with writing from Henry. Sayid threatens to kill Ben if he doesn't talk to him about the Others, but Ben says that He would kill him if he did. Hurley follows Dave to a cliff. Dave tries to convince Hurley that everything he sees is all made up and imaginary; he says that's why Hurley's lottery numbers are the same numbers in the Hatch, and he says that no girl like Libby would ever like Hurley. Hurley almost listens to Dave, but Libby comes and convinces him that everything they see is real.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

CHARLIE: Locke said some kind of blast doors trapped him in the Hatch. Maybe it was because of this -- so no one would see who dropped it. Any of you guys see a plane last night?
SAWYER: Yeah, I saw it, Tattoo. I just decided not to tell.
SAWYER: Hold on, take it easy. You guys are like locusts. How about a little order here?
CHARLIE: Shouldn't we let someone a little more trustworthy take care of this?
SAWYER: Like you, babynapper?

Episode 19 - "S.O.S."

Rose and Bernard are two of my favorite characters of LOST. Ever since season one, these characters are usually on the sidelines, and rarely are involved in the main plot or storyline. I love seeing there backstory revealed in this episode. Flashbacks show us that Rose had cancer, and Bernard brought her to Australia to see Isaac of Uluru, a faith healer. Rose doesn't expect him to fix her, and she tells Bernard that she has been healed so that he'll stop trying to do something. On the Island, Bernard gathers the survivors in an attempt to make an SOS sign across the beach. Rose is opposed to the idea, much to Bernard's surprise. Rose thinks that if she leaves, her cancer would return. I think that this is a very underrated episode, and is a very emotional on-island and off-island story that deepens our understanding of Rose and Bernard's relationship.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

BERNARD: Okay, 2 months we've been on this island -- 2 months. And already we have a water trough, and we've got a food pantry. And people are taking showers in your hatch. Have you forgotten that we all crashed on this island? It's like none of you want to go home again.
CLAIRE: How can you say that? Of course we want to go home.
BERNARD: Well, then why aren't we doing anything about it?
HURLEY: Dude, we, like, built a raft. But it got blown up.
BERNARD: Okay, so what are we doing now? That pallet of food had a parachute which means a plane dropped it here which means there are other planes that fly over the island. So, we are going to build a sign -- a massive sign along the beach. So that way if a plane flies over or a satellite takes pictures from up there -- we want to make damn sure that they know we're here -- that they know about us.
ROSE: Maybe we should speak to Jack about this first.
BERNARD: Well, do we have to run everything by Jack? I mean, he's not the president. He's a doctor.
ROSE: You're a dentist.

Episode 20 - "Two for the Road"

After being with the Others for several episodes, Michael Dawson has finally returned. We are led to believe that Michael found one of them, followed him to the Others' camp, and then returned to the beach. Little do we know that Michael is really working for the Others now. Ben has been plotting to use Michael in order to capture Jack, Kate, and Sawyer for his master plan. His plan, of course, is to manipulate and exploit Jack's emotions so that he will agree to do the spinal surgery on Ben. Flashbacks in this episode show us the relationship between Ana Lucia and Christian Shephard. Ana agrees to be Christian's bodyguard in Australia. Christian goes to see Lindsey, and wants to see his daughter, Claire Littleton. The most shocking part of this episode is the ending. This is truly the most shocking and unbelieable moments in all of LOST history. Michael shoots Ana Lucia and Libby, and then enters the armory, and shoots himself in the arm. It is now when we finally realize that Michael has been working for the Others, and "Henry Gale" now escapes.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LOCKE: So, it worked?
JACK: What are you talking about, John?
LOCKE: Your deal -- the trade. If they gave us Michael...
JACK: They didn't give us anything.
LOCKE: So, it was just a coincidence that he came wandering out?
JACK: I was shouting; he heard my voice. What, they just let Michael go hoping we would keep up our end of the bargain? You think they're on the honor system?

Episode 21 - "?"

Eko is my favorite character in all of LOST, and this is one of my favorites of all-time. This episode really explores the mythology on a deeper level, and further develops the amazing relationship between Eko and Locke. Eko and Locke's relationship is so dynamic and enigmatic, and it was too short-lived. Both of these characters have a lot of faith, and they are very similar and different in many ways. After having a dream, Eko and Locke head off to find the ?. Locke remembers seeing the ? on the blast door map, but he is losing faith in the Hatch and the Island. Eko is convinced, though, that it is important that he and Locke find this place. Eko and Locke find the drug smugglers' plane, which happened to land right on top of the ? (Pearl station). I find it very interesting that the drug plane and the Pearl station are both in one location; both of these locations are fundamental aspects of Eko's faith in the Island. Inside of the Pearl, the dynamic duo views the Pearl Orientation video, hosted by Mark Wickmund. This video strengthens Eko's faith in the Hatch, saying that their work is now more important than ever. Locke, however, feels like the Hatch was a colossal joke, and that they're slaves if they continue to push the button. These two different faiths in the Hatch becomes a very important theme for the finale.

FAVORITE QUOTE:
LOCKE: What are you doing?
EKO: I'm taking this back with us.
LOCKE: Why?
EKO: Because they may be important.
LOCKE: Important? I'm sorry, weren't you just watching the same thing I was?
EKO: Yes, John. And I believe the work you have been doing is more important now than ever.
LOCKE: What work?
EKO: Pushing the button.
LOCKE: That's not work. That's a joke -- rats in a maze with no cheese.
EKO: It is work, John. We are being tested.
LOCKE: Tested?
EKO: The reason to do it -- push the button -- is not because we are told to do so in a film.
LOCKE: Oh -- well, then what is the reason, Mr. Eko?
EKO: We do it because we believe we are meant to. Isn't that the reason you pushed it, John?
LOCKE: I was never meant to do anything. Every single second of my pathetic little life is as useless as that button! You think it's important? You think it's necessary? It's nothing. It's nothing. It's meaningless. And who are you to tell me that it's not?

Episode 22 - "Three Minutes"

Michael Dawson has a very intricate and unique storyline in LOST. Every since "Exodus," when Walt was taken off the raft, Michael has become intent on finding him. In "The Hunting Party," Michael goes off searching for Walt, but is captured by the Others. The Others make a deal with Michael: he must free "Henry Gale" in order to get his son back. Michael goes to the extreme, murdering two fellow survivors in the process. In this episode, we see the on-island flashbacks that detail Michael's time with the Others. We see parallel events from "The Hunting Party," when Jack, Sawyer, and Locke went searching for Michael. At the Others camp, Michael sees another hatch, and the Others' lifestyle. They live in tents and yurts, eat fish, and have few guns. This is all a facade, though, and when Walt visits Michael, he says that they're pretending. Overall, I really enjoy watching this episode, and feel that it's very underrated.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

SAWYER: Got some good news for you. Captain Arab's in too. Calvary rides at sunrise.
MICHAEL: You told Sayid?
SAWYER: Yeah, I told Sayid.
MICHAEL: You shouldn't have done that!
SAWYER: Oh, well I'm sorry. I just figure if we going to war, we'd want the one guy who's actually been in a war. That a problem?
MICHAEL: No, it's not a problem.

Episode 23 - "Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1"

Part one of the explosive season two finale starts off with the return of Desmond David Hume on his boat, the Elizabeth. In flashbacks, we discover that the Elizabeth was named after Elizabath "Libby" Smith, one of the Flight 815 survivors. I always wonder what it would have been like if Libby had survived; seeing Desmond and her boat that she gave him would've been quite the shock to her. Michael leads Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hugo (the four people on the list he received) towards the Others' camp. During their trek, the Hurley Bird returns. Michael attempts to shoot it, and realizes that his gun was never loaded. He is now suspicious, fearing that his cover has been blown. In the Hatch, Locke and Desmond force a lockdown, keeping Eko outside. Locke is convinced that the button is fake, claiming he has never been more sure about anything in his life. As Sayid, Jin, and Sun are sailing toward's the Others' village, they see the four-toed statue. Little do we know that this statue is an essential part of LOST's mythology, and is the home of Jacob, the leader of the Others. In a flashback, we see that Desmond was dishonorably discharged from the Royal Scots Regiment. He sees Charles Widmore, who pays him money so that he will leave Penelope. The on-island flashbacks in this episode are very interesting, and show us more of Desmond's time on the Island with Kelvin. One day, Desmond finds Kelvin in the Swan basement, holding the key above the fail-safe. Kelvin says that the Incident was a magnetic leak, and the button has to be pushed to discharge the buildup. He says that with a simple turn of the key, all of this goes away.

FAVORITE QUOTE:
LOCKE: That in a minute that computer's going to start beeping, and when it does you're going to let it go. You're going to let it run down to zero, past zero. And you're not going to push the button.
EKO: But I am going to push the button. Why wouldn't I?
LOCKE: Because you don't want to be a slave.
EKO: I am a slave to nothing.
LOCKE: You're a slave to that, just like I was. So I'm going to tell you again—don't push it.
EKO: Do not tell me what I can do.
LOCKE: You cannot push that button. No, it's not real. We're only puppets—puppets on strings. As long as we push it, we'll never be free!
EKO: Well, you're free now, John. Do not come back.

Episode 24 - "Live Together, Die Alone, Part 2"

The season two finale is an incredible episode, and is full of intriguing flashbacks, shocking reveals, incredible acting, and an unforgettable cliffhanger. Sayid comes ashore to the Island, and enters the Others' camp. He finds that no one is there, and that the Hatch opens up into the cliff. On the other side of the Island, Jack forces Michael to admit to his crime to Kate, Sawyer, and Hugo. Michael admits that it was the only way, and that he murdered Ana Lucia and Libby. Jack says that they have to keep moving, or the Others will kill them all. Flashbacks show us that Desmond follows Kelvin outside, discovering that he has been pretending to use his HAZMAT suit to deceive Desmond. This makes me wonder, why would DHARMA provide the Hatch inhabitants with the HAZMAT suits? Was the quarantine designed to keep them in the Hatch? Or was there really a sickness on the Island? Desmond discovers that Kelvin planned on leaving Desmond, and taking the Elizabeth back home. Desmond unintentionally kills Kelvin, and runs back to the Hatch to enter the Numbers. He is late, though, and a system failure is under affect. This causes the crash of Oceanic Flight 815 on Semptember 22nd, 2004. We see this day, Semptember 22nd, from numerous points of view. In "Pilot, Part 1," "The Other 48 Days," and other episodes, we see the 72 survivors of Flight 815 crash on the Island. In "A Tale of Two Cities," we see the Others witness the crash from the Barracks, and Ben commanding Ethan and Goodwin to infiltrate the camps. And in "Live Together, Die Alone," we see Desmond Hume fail to enter the Numbers, causing the electromagnetic failure and resulting in the crash of Flight 815. At first you might suspect that this is all coincidence, but it is much more than that. In "The Incident," we see Jacob touch several of the survivors of Flight 815. Did this touch really alter their destinies? Or does free will still exist? Hopefully, many of these questions will be answered next season. At the end of this episode, we see "Henry" arrive at Pala Ferry as the leader of the Others; Michael leaves the Island, with Walt; Jack, Kate, and Sawyer are prisoners of the Others. In the final scene, we see Henrik and Matthias inside of a listening station. They see that an eletromagnetic analomy has occured, and they contact Penelope Widmore: "I think we found it."

FAVORITE QUOTE:
DESMOND: We need to push the button.
LOCKE: No, we don't!
DESMOND: Do you not hear me, brother? I crashed your bloody plane?
LOCKE: How did you manage to do that?
DESMOND: On that day, those numbers turned to hieroglyphics. And when the last one came down this whole started to shake. And that screen? That screen filled up with System Failure. And I know what they are. 9/22/04—September the 22nd, 2004, the day your planed crashed. It's real! It's all bloody real! Now, push the damn button!
LOCKE: I know what I saw! It's a lie; it's not real! None of it is real!
DESMOND: You don't want to push the button? Then I will.
LOCKE: No!
DESMOND: You killed us. You killed us all.
LOCKE: No. I just saved us all.

I hope you enjoyed my review of LOST Season 2. This has really been a fantastic season. I'd love to here your thoughts, comments, and analysis on Season 2!

Frame #2 In Boston?

2009-08-25T06:41:00.003-04:00

DCPB has updated with new information on Frame #2. We're shown a photo of people queuing in a street and the words "Newbury" and "Weds". Now factor what what people have been saying about that red line from the Frame #1 video, August 26th, and it sounds like our frame will soon be released.

But where is Newbury? Well, some canny folk at LostARGs and DarkUFO have said it's Newbury Street in Boston. What's also rather cool is that there's a travel poster exhibition happening on that very street... could our new frame grace that place? Or will it be in "Johnny's cupcakes", which is apparently what the photo is of - people queuing for that shop when it first opened.

Hopefully we'll get a new clue soon to help us pinpoint an exact location.

Update - Well the prayers have been answered - the site has updated with Johnny Cupcakes 279 Newbury Street at 10am EST on Weds 26th - 'tell them Horace sent you'. There's also a weird pic too of part of a DHARMA logo... I have a feeling visitors might just be given a special DHARMA-esque cupcake... I so wanna be in Boston now!

Seeing red

2009-08-22T12:10:00.002-04:00

DamonCarltonAndAPolarBear.com has been updated with a YouTube vid of the event at Bardot in Hollywood, and at the start has some red text for a very brief moment. Not only is it brief, it's also really small - but seems like a little clue to when the next frame will be released... what can you guys make of it?

Caught On Camera

2009-08-18T15:35:00.001-04:00

Just a quick blog to say that BPM Magazine, who posted some pics of the evening in Hollywood, have since posted a video showing Young Ben talking and giving out the URL to find the Hurley piece. It's all about showing appreciation to the fans!

Ketchup

2009-08-17T05:33:00.004-04:00

Wanted to take a little time to gather up info from the events of last night - apparently it was quite chaotic to find out clues and what not. Anyway, the event was in the nightclub which carried on like an ordinary night by accounts, though had a number of cool Lost touches to it. For instance, the Black Rock artwork was on the wall, there was a mock Swan hatch, a DHARMA logo. Twitter Hollywood Bob gives good coverage, and LostARGs have some good images.

Anyway, who else was there but little Sterling Beaumon, who played young Ben Linus. He announced a new website called actuallyitsketchup.com

Go there and you see a piece of artwork. The first of many - turns out our 'clues' are artworks in commemoration of Lost. 200 of each print will be made available to purchase as a way of giving to the fans. $50 each giving.

Update - BPM magazine have some good pics from yesterday's event. Furthermore, as many of you have said - the art is now on sale so snap it up while you can!

Hidden Frames

2009-08-16T06:37:00.003-04:00

DamonCarltonAndAPolarBear.com has been completely overhauled, now showing 16 picture frames, with the first of Paul, Damon, Carlton and Ronie Midfew (seen from only from behind). Clicking on it, or clicking on 'hub' takes you to your first hint... advertising Banana Split Sundaes - described as 'a house party... in a club!"

It looks like tonight's Sundae will contain some clue, and if you follow the poster to the MySpace page of the event and one of the organizers Steve Aoki, you see that all this stuff is completely real. The only real hint of a clue comes from The Mike B (one of the guests at the evening) on his Twitter page, saying "Special guest dj set from John Locke at Bardot tomorrow... Namaste." Cheers to LOST ARGs for the heads up on that one.

So though the new DCPB website says that the hints will take you to physical locations, or just other websites... it doesn't seem like there's anything on this first clue other than "attend the event" at Bardot, Vine Street, Hollywood - and look out for something special. A bit of a weird ARG start, but nonetheless cool - will anyone be going? There must be some cool and trendy Lost Internet ARG players who also let their hair down in nightclubs. Anyway, enough chat, I'm off to do work for my research project in the library.... oh crud.

Update - Am liking theories that they got the address wrong on the poster on purpose. The actual address I believe is 1735, but the poster says 1715... which apparently is where Judy Garland's Hollywood Walk of Fame star is... a mere gaff??? Quite probably, but as Michael Emerson said "I like the way you're thinking".

Ready To Go

2009-08-15T04:29:00.004-04:00

Paul has updated us again - looks like he had his meeting but can't tell us what exactly went down yet, but the good news is the Saturday night event is still on. It's seems a little surprising that his meeting with Ronie Midfew would be a positive one, and it sounds like he now has some official legal backing from them too.... is Paul Scheer selling out on us? Meh, as long as we see these damn paintings we've been clued to for the past couple of weeks, we really don't care.

Update - Paul is now reporting to have the full backing of Ronie Midfew Arts (also says so on their respective website) and Darlton. However, Paul is holding off painting promotion in the meantime for some unexplained reason... but nevertheless things will begin at midnight tonight PST. Looks like the ARG finally begins in proper....

Clandestine Meetings

2009-08-14T09:17:00.003-04:00

Paul Scheer writes that he got an unexpected guest yesterday: a man dressed in black. The man seems to be Ronie Midfew's muscle, but he doesn't get violent with our hero - just threatening and a scoop of enigmatic. He expresses his disliking of Lost fans (sounds like Alan Dale - hey, another Widmore connection!) and gives Paul a message to meet with Ronie Midfew in person. Here's what the message actually said:

FRIDAY – 4:08PM @ RONIE MIDFEW ARTS GALLERY - XXX XXXX DRIVE, BEVERLY HILLS*

SEE YOU THEN – E. SAU

Note the address has been blanked out for obvious reasons. So the man in black is E. Sau. I wonder what the E stands for? Anyway, tomorrow sounds fun - Sau said no camera or recording devices... but a part of me feels like Paul will come through for us with some big sombrero or cowboy hat a la Homer Simpson. It would indeed be very interesting to hear or see Ronie Midfew, and also understand why THE MAN is specifically targeting our man!! BTW, Paul has said he'll ask Midfew some of our questions, so post them in the comments section on his blog without delay (the meeting will be happening soon!)

Finally, it's interesting that Paul talked about smokie and The Man In Black (i.e. Jacob's nemesis) in a post before then experiencing a visit himself from a man in black. Makes me wonder more about DocArzt's theory that Paul's paintings are prophetic and that's why Midfew are after them... maybe in between punning Paul has the gift of foresight without realizing? A bit out there, but a theory nonetheless.

Update: Duh, forgot Esau was the name people think Jacob's nemesis goes by, though ME said not so much at Comic Con. So this new man in black seems to know Lost well after all.

Reading Between The Lines

2009-08-13T09:02:00.003-04:00

Paul Scheer was again active today - blogging some thoughts on Richard Alpert and also making a cameo on DocArzt's podcast to answer some questions. He mostly reiterates what we know, though clues that his new works on August 15th will be published on a new site. DocArzt comes up with an interesting theory that the paintings might be rattling Ronie Midfew's cage because of their content... they may in fact be inadvertently prophetic paintings of Season 6. A neat theory, and it would give a little verisimilitude to our current tale, explaining why Midfew Arts are gunning for Paul Scheer over copyright specifically and not the legion of other Lost fansites.

Separately, Howey Davenport of TV Overmind sat down with Paul and asked some questions... again nothing solid clue wise, just some snappy one-liners which I nevertheless enjoyed.

It seems though, particularly with the Alpert blog, that Scheer has been given poetic license to blog about what he wants, while also probably issuing real ARG-style clues when necessary. In that sense, I'd picturing him as a Speaker-like figure - i.e. not all his posts are going to be clues we have to analyze... there'll be jokey ones with general chat about Lost too. I'm not complaining and am looking forward to these posts, but think it's important for all his readers to understand this - I've seen people presently analyzing the Alpert blog for clues and leads... and I fear the contagious apophenia that ARGs always bring is inherent to Paul's site. We need to be analytical, but also know when a comedian is just joking around!

More seen of Taweret statue

2009-08-12T22:44:00.002-04:00

In the most recent issue of Lost: The Official Magazine (issue "It's Time for the Beginning of the End"), we got an even better glimpse of the statue of Taweret, which we've only seen from an odd angle.

Well, okay, it's just the side view of the model used for CGI reference, but I think it should be pretty accurate as far as canonicity goes. What do you think? Do you think that it's accurate in its depiction of Taweret? Let us know your thoughts about that statue in the comments section below.

NOTE: The quality of the image on the right is a result of its being scanned. For a more high quality version of the image, pick up a copy of the latest issue of Lost: The Official Magazine, in stores now.

Hold The Phone

2009-08-12T12:04:00.002-04:00

Poor Paul Scheer is facing increased heat from the art world in the run up to his Saturday online LOST velvet artwork exhibition. He writes on his blog a transcript of a telephone conversation he had with Alexandra Miller, assistant to Ronie Midfew of Ronie Midfew Arts. Short of "er... your mom!", Paul goes on the nervous offensive and attacks back with memorable LOST quotes, but Ms. Miller (we assume she's a Ms.) doesn't seem to get the references. Maybe she sees LOST and pop culture as low-brow... It's fun that we've chosen our side implicitly, but hey - we're a fansite too! Cease and desist orders are scary and unnecessarily evil... an attack on one is an attack on all of us. Get that reference, Miller!

Anyway, Scheer apologizes for attacking the wrong Alexandra Miller on Facebook, though complains about the threatening harassment HE has been facing from Midfew. Hey, our hero is but human! He also gives us additional clues to his new velvet paintings appearing on Saturday night, specifically that some could even be glow in the dark!! If I was a dragon (not the Ronie Midfew variety), I'd invest... I predict that he's gonna make mucho dinero from these little beauties.

Lastly, Paul wonders about the meaning of Ronie Midfew's tagline about the 15th being Lost and the 16th being found. Hmm... still no solid good theories yet this end.

The Beard Is Weird

2009-08-11T14:15:00.002-04:00

A strange side-note to this new ARG - what's going on with the weird beard trend? First off, we saw some hierogylphs on the advert for Mysteries Of The Universe, which roughly translated as "Who is the leader?"

Then we saw during the Mysteries Of The Universe Segment 1 video a reference to the original and legendary WAKY radio station, which ran from the 50s to the 70s.

On a tribute website to the original WAKY, there's images about Weird Beard, one of their famed DJs. One of the images shows a pledge card, as part of WB's 'rebellion' promotion for his show, that says "The Weird Beard is my leader". There's also an image of a DJ by the name of John Locke floating around.

Finally, Paul Scheer's blog recently ran a segment entitled "beardo or weirdo", judging the beards on characters on LOST.

So what's going on here? The WAKY site may have been recently updated, but archive.org tells me that those images have been there on that site for YEARS. So the John Locke thing is a mere coincidence, and from their end so is the weird beard thing. So is all this a big coincidence, or is someone TPTB-related using this old time WAKY stuff to just mess with the heads of the die-hard investigators among our community? Or could something important later show up? Seems like this little mystery won't be answered anytime soon though.

Ronie Midfew Arts

2009-08-11T07:43:00.003-04:00

I take back that Paul Scheer has an iron fist under his velvet glove - it looks like THESE guys are the iron fists. Even while writing this, one fears a cease and desist order...

Looks like this plot is deep enough to warrant ARG-status after all, if you consider that poor Paul is facing off against an evil art crew against his publishing of LOST works. Their website promises that the August 15th event will not happen. Most interestingly of all, the name Ronie Midfew Arts can be rearranged to say Widmore Fine Arts!!! We have an alternatey reality linky. All LOST-media eyes are now on Damon, Carlton and a Polarbear - there's a sentence you never thought you'd say.

God's speed Paul Scheer, take down those intriguingly titled art elitists! And while we're at it - what does "15 will be lost - the 16th will be found" mean?

Paul Scheer

2009-08-11T07:11:00.002-04:00

On the surface Paul Scheer is a kind fun-loving fan of LOST who appeared at Comic-Con to give Damon and Carlton his eponymous artwork of themselves with a polarbear. In addition, he plugged his website damoncarltonandapolarbear.com - where for the most part he appeared to be posting about various LOST topics (including recently plugging us here at Lostpedia regarding our translation of Rousseau's map). Thus, while I was keeping an eye on this guy and his blogging, I wasn't sure whether there was an immediate need to post about him in a blog.

Until yesterday that is. Apparently our cute comedian with a love of velvet has an iron fist underneath it, and is determined to get us some LOST scoops. After finding out that Damon and Carlton trashed his artwork, Paul infiltrates ABC studios and finds an interesting piece of information in the garbage - the purported title to LOST 6x01 and 6x02. Along the way, he unwittingly bumps into some familiar faces, canonizing the whole thing in one swift motion.

Check out the video below, watch yourself if you don't want to know the possible titles for the Season 6 opener:

So what's the deal with this guy? Well his website is owned by ABC Inc for a start (shh!) This is the first time though we've had an ARG-like experience where there's no hint of a fourth wall apart from who's really making his videos, of course. Taking this together with Lost University and Mysteries Of The Universe, it seems the most prudent thing is to ditch the description ARG altogether this year - everything that's happening now can only be described as plain 'viral marketing'. There is a difference, but only slight, and some would say a lesser meaning. We may not see great revelations other than promotional tidbits from Paul Scheer, but what is clear is that it's time we take this joker a little more seriously.

He apparently begins showcasing his 'other LOST works' on August 15th - keep an eye out!

Mysteries Of The Universe Segment 2

2009-08-05T14:17:00.003-04:00

ABC have released the second part of our "Mysteries of the Universe" videos. Just as a quick recap - we'll be getting five videos about every month up until November from "an 80s TV show that aired on ABC". The show deals in crackpot conspiracy theory, though may hold some interesting truths about the DHARMA Initiative according to Damon Lindelof... It appears that each "segment" is just another part of a single episode of the show on DHARMA. Part 1 gave a brief intro on secret societies, and now part 2 seems to delve more into the mystery surrounding the brand.

Watch the video below, courtesy of ABC (I'm starting to prefer an ABC embed over YouTube, it's only a brief ad beforehand and it supports ARGs getting sponsorship):

EDIT: Scrap that! The embed seems to be awful quality on this occasion:

As with the previous segment, there doesn't necessarily appear to be much we don't know, mostly crackpot conjecture. The references to Phil the Barracks guard and Olivia the schoolteacher are interesting, however. We furthermore learn a little bit more about the DHARMA recruitment process, and it's interesting to see the questions they ask candidates (which, as many of you should remember, are the same questions WE were given when we signed up for the previous DHARMA recruitment project ARG).

Not much in the way of easter eggs as far as I can see, other than some object with the word LOST on it, and the aforementioned shout-out to last year's ARG. We certainly need subsequent segments to reveal facts of more OMG factor, but so far so good... we're slowly getting a better picture of how DHARMA operates.

Backstage at Comic-Con

2009-07-29T08:43:00.003-04:00

ABC has added a few videos of Comic-Con, including interviews with the cast and crew, and a look at some of the auction items that will be selling in 2010 (including the lovely Rousseau map we've been working on).

A quick round-up of the panel (includes a big spoiler for those who didn't watch the panel anyway - beware!):

The auction items available in 2010 (no spoilers):

An interview with Damon and Carlton (same big spoiler included):

Cast comments about Comic-Con (no mention of the spoiler in this one either):

Mapping out

2009-07-28T18:45:00.007-04:00

Well with a little breather between events in the Lost world, I decided to have a look at the old in tray to see if there was anything cool I'd missed from Comic Con. Sure enough, I had overlooked the auction that had been announced a short while ago of Lost props. At Comic Con, there had been a preview of said items, and I noticed one little gem, the full Island map of Rousseau's.

Though Rousseau's map had been seen before, never fully in one view, and never had all the French annotations been completely translated. Luckily for us, famed Lost fan Ryan Ozawa photographed the map and posted it online. Next up, I used some of the annotations we already had from Lostpedian Zholmboc, as well as from our page on the maps. Then, using the help of DarkUFO's chat crew, we carefully went through making amendments and solving lots of stuff that had never been seen before on previous screencaps of the map. A big thanks to Fivebretz, Jamielost, Elize34, Jeetus, KeepingPace, Chalovak, NewP and many others for all the help and eye-squinting at illegible French! Finally, we all came to agreement with our interpretations.

Click below for the full image. Let us know what you think - some areas like the bit about crustaceous crabs, where I saw Alex, and the magnetic north equation are highly subjective, and if anyone can get a better translation of it somehow, use the original image (or inverted) and let us know what you come up with so we can make amendments! For some of you though, this might be the first time you've seen an official drawing of the Lost Island. We hope you enjoy! And, once again, thanks to all the people who without whom this little project wouldn't have been completed.

HAVING A LITTLE TROUBLE WITH THE IMAGE LINKING TO FULL SIZE -- USE THIS DIRECT LINK!

New LOST Season 6 Promo

2009-07-26T14:37:00.005-04:00

A new Lost Season 6 promo poster has been seen at Comic-Con 2009! This poster includes all of the main characters from the show (both dead and alive). In the center is John Locke (or Flocke, Mr. X, Esau, Jacob's nemesis, etc.) with his back facing us. I almost passed out when I saw this promo poster; the excitement for Season 6 is killing me!! All of the main characters appearing on the promo for Season 6 could be seen as major foreshadowing for what we will see this upcoming season. This is an awesome, amazing promo poster, and has gotten me more excited about the upcoming season than ever. Share your thoughts and comments on this new promo!!

HERE IS A MORE HQ VERSION OF THE IMAGE:

Comic Con Promo Videos

2009-07-26T07:47:00.003-04:00

From what I had heard from Comic Con visitors, I believed only fun and jokey videos were aired at the show this year. This was a little disappointing, as there was such a precedent for shocking videos that I thought this year would be no different, especially with it being the final panel for LOST.

However, DocArzt's crew tipped me off to the fact that not only were some videos jokey, but they also had some astonishing aspects to them. Below is the video. Now as I said in my previous post, I don't do spoilers but I don't consider this necessarily a spoiler - as with the Chang videos of previous years I consider it to be ARG-like revelation content. That said, the repurcussions of this video are huger I think than any previous Con video, so in that sense, you could be major league spoiled. Here's the video anyway, and I'll post additional comments underneath in white font so you have to highlight it to read the interpretation. That should suffice, if you don't want to know, don't watch the video and don't highlight the text. Also avoid the comments section, as there might be direct discussion points from readers. You have been warned!

So what can we gleam from these videos? Well it's pretty obvious - it seems to suggest that they have in fact re-written the timeline. Remember how Chang's video last year told us all "they go back in time". Well this year's one says "they actually did it". Hurley's bad luck with the lottery seems very interesting - why would the numbers no longer be cursed, because the Island doesn't exist anymore? And the Oceanic advert - "Since 1979... 30 years with a perfect safety record..." - so no crash on September 22nd then! How will the storyline develop if none of the last five seasons ever happened (bar flashbacks)?! Will destiny rewrite things? Will there be other timelines with Sun and people? Does that make Jacob still alive? Charlie? Shannon? Michael... everyone!

Update - Another video promo is also available, focusing on another character:

Apparently you CAN make a difference!

Comic Con Video NO SPOILERS IN POST

2009-07-26T07:38:00.004-04:00

Apologies for a little radio silence on the Comic Con front here at Lostpedia, guys. We kind of made the exec decision to not post about the bits we heard, cause I think with the most stringent spoiler policy of any Lost site, it just didn't make sense when I know a lot of people out there don't want to know the Season 6 spoilers told.

But here is the full Comic Con 09 video in very nice quality for your viewing pleasure. Full credit is given to DocArzt and the uploader Tostie14. While I won't comment on any of the content involving the Q&A and whatever, I will be doing a separate post on two promotional videos that aired during the session. These I do not consider spoilers, and are similar to the Chang video we saw over the last two years. Thus, they are ARG-like clues in my mind and not in any way spoilery. I'll make it all clear in my next post though and ensure nobody gets spoiled should they consider the ads to be as such.

Finally, I'm not going to ask that comments to this post be regulated to avoid spoilers of what was said. If you don't want to see what others are saying about the video, then just don't click on the comments section.

Lost Mysteries

2009-07-24T14:53:00.004-04:00

And suddenly even more developments occurring before Comic-Con has even started (I warned you this would happen!) - not only do we have Lost University and some mysterious guy up on his Latin, but ABC have also launched http://www.abc.com/lostmysteries

From what we can see here, a series of 80's documentary videos full of crackpot theories will be posted over the coming weeks. The first video just gives a bit of history of secret societies like the Freemasons, but then discusses the DHARMA Initiative briefly. The video description says:

"A project discussed for years in and around conspiracy circles. Once thought to be lost, this explosive documentary series has never been seen before...until now."

Looks like over the weeks there'll be further videos on differing topics, perhaps not just DHARMA. Also checked out DarkUFO's blog, and a user there is reporting there that there was an advert in Entertainment Weekly for KIA that stated the videos would be released: 7/23/09, 8/4/09, 9/8/09, 10/15/09 and 11/16/09. She suggests that all the vids will be on DHARMA, but I'm not so sure having watched the video... perhaps the spread in the magazine sheds more light (if anyone can get a scanned copy of that, that'd be amazing). As a final thought, it seems like KIA is also sponsoring the webpage for the Mysteries show. This has got me mildly excited as it seems like specific sponsorship... not heard of since the days of The Lost Experience. If this is the case, we might be getting an intricate ARG with the availability of funds from sponsorship!

Breaking the Seal

2009-07-24T13:40:00.005-04:00

Just a quick blog post on the new "Lost University" website (see previous entry). One thing that bugged me was the University's seal, which appears on the website in small, and VERY briefly in big on the video. It shows palm trees, what appears to be a book or piece of paper, and a plane over it. Nothing new there. But I liked that there seemed to be a little bit of Latin in the middle, and wondered what the motto for Lost University is. It was time for a little digging... click on the image below for full-size.
Unfortunately, my attempt to get someone to CSI it failed miserably... apparently you CAN'T zoom it, clarify and see what's in the reflection of someone's eye with standard software. Who knew! Anyways, so I had to use old fashion squinting. The easiest to decipher was the second word, which I managed to get the first part of "sod". Using this as a Latin stem, I found only a few possible words, and the only one that fitted in terms of character length was "sodalitas", meaning "an association, comradeship, fellowship". Seems to fit in with the University feel, wouldn't you agree?

The next bit I guessed at was the first word, the start looked like "auc" and the end "as". Breaking it down, I took a guess and I believe the best possibility is "auctoritas", meaning "support, influence, warrant, authority, rights, command". From here, I decided to have a Google, and weirdly found top of the list for "auctoritas sodalitas" a link to facebook.com/Lost to a post by a guy called Derick saying simply "Auctoritas Sodalitas Scientia". Sure enough, "scientia" seemed to match the final word from the seal, meaning "knowing, knowledge, acquiantance, skill". So our Lost University motto is, I think the best translation of it taken together is "authority, fellowship, knowledge".

I wondered whether this random guy on Facebook's LOST page was just a fan as geeky as me, but the comment was posted 15 hours ago, 04:00 GMT, like the time the site went live almost. I don't see the motto posted anywhere else on the web... how could this guy know? Or maybe it is on the Internet someplace.

Update: Derick seems to have also posted on DarkUFO's Facebook page when he posted on the LOST one. After a little PI work, I've come to the conclusion this is a real guy and not part of some ARG conspiracy. How he knew the motto is beyond me, but you can quote me on not thinking that he's our new Rachel Blake. It's an odd thing, but nothing to think more on.

Lost University - New ARG and Blu-Ray supplement

2009-07-23T20:47:00.010-04:00

ABC.com have launched a new website "Lost University" at Comic-Con. Coming soon to Blu-Ray Hi-Def, Lost University seems to be a new ARG and supplementary Blu-Ray disc on the mystery and themes of Lost, allowing you to dig into more information about the show's background.

You can sign up now to get an email closer to when enrolement starts (22nd September 2009 - 5 years to the day since the show first aired, and Flight 815 crashed). The University course seems to be split into two semesters with courses beginning December 8th 2009 (The US launch date of the fifth season Blu-Ray DVDs). The courses include His 101: Writing on the Wall, Art 101 : Seminar - Inspiration and Expression with Jack Bender, Phi 101 : I'm Lost Therefore I Am and Phy 101 : Introductory Physics of Time Travel.

Take a look at the introduction video:

There will be apparently lots of content on the website, which will be further supported by the Blu-Ray box set and iPhone applications to download. You can also buy LU merchandise like hoodies, t-shirts and baseball caps from the ABC website. Visiting the website now will give you a good overview of what to expect from LU when it begins.

It looks like an interesting take on getting further into the background of Lost.

So an ARG and a Blu-Ray disc in the fifth season DVD box-set to accompany it seem to be on the way! Look out for more information coming at Comic-Con, no doubt.

Sign up to get an email reminder when LU opens at www.lostuniversity.org

Comic Con: A LOST History

2009-07-23T08:55:00.003-04:00

Comic Con is drawing ever closer, and comic book uber-nerds from around the globe have begun to pull themselves away from their computer screens in their annual attempt to adapt to natural light for this one event (gotta love Family Guy references). But for us LOST fans, and though we appreciate that we are pretty high on Geekter-scale, knowledge about Comic Con and how it relates to LOST might be lacking, especially for those of you new to any kind of LOST revelation outside of what you see on TV. Therefore, as a warm-up, I'm going to briefly summarize former LOST panels at Comic Con, to give some an idea of what to expect and also get peeps psyched up for this year.

2004-2005
The 2004 LOST panel was its debut at this venue, and mostly consisted of a special airing of part of the pilot episode. In 2005, a panel was also run with a lot of chat to the fans (your basic Comic-Con TV panel).

2006
This year was when LOST really stepped it up both in fan involvement and in the Comic-Con events. Not only was an in-depth Q&A run with fans of the show, but a staged interaction famously occurred with Rachel Blake accusing the writers of having "blood on their hands". This real-world tie in to the alternate reality game, The Lost Experience, was a highlight for many fans - and really established the Comic Con event as hugely important to fans as it could progress the narrative and canon of the show's mythology.

2007
Fans came to the 2007 LOST panel expecting similar events to the previous year: the possibility of huge revelations tying into the show's mythos. They were not disappointed. Not only did Harold Perrineau (Michael) make a surprise appearance in anticipation of his Season 4 return, but a video was shown revealing a new DHARMA station, the Orchid. This was also the first mention of the idea of time travel, with the "teleporting bunnies" being a talking point amongst fans for the rest of the summer.

2008
Similar to 2006, a new viral alternate reality game was circulating, albeit without any real detail as to what it would involve. The Comic Con panel effectively launched this new game, also having a booth at the event where fans could take part in a DHARMA recruitment test. Internet fans poured over the clues as they were leaked online, and the many intricate puzzles and links to classical mythology were investigated in earnest. During the actual panel, a representative from DHARMA reported how poor test applicants at Comic Con had been, and how only a few had been successful in the process. One such candidate, Dan Bronson, covertly recorded the video he was then shown by the DHARMA team. It showed Pierre Chang (then the first reference to his real name), discussing time and apparently having an intricate knowledge of current affairs in the present. Again, time travel was being clued at, and the video directly foreboded the events of Season 5 (though is possibly not the strictest canon, as the cameraman appeared to be Daniel Faraday judging by the voice - now deceased). Not surprisingly, the video was again the talking point right up until Season 5 aired.

2009
Only time will tell, but rest assured the precedent is that the events of Comic Con will encourage spirited debate over the next few months.

Pre-Comic-Con

2009-07-19T15:31:00.004-04:00

It's been a good long while since I graced the stage of the Lostpedia Blog, due to a myriad of reasons but mainly work commitments and the inherent lack of an ARG to force me into finding the time (LOST ARGs having always been "my thing"). But hopefully next week might resolve my issue as we head toward the big summer event in the LOST fan calendar - Comic-Con!!!!

Comic Con has always held a special place in our hearts, and particularly here at the LP Blog where last year's coverage was a huge hit, and really caused a snowball effect that led to the start of some great investigative segments, as well as the fan following that naturally matured in response. Covering the goings on from afar, I remember the excitement and craziness we all felt, and though maybe it can't compare to an episode of LOST... in some ways it CAN because of the complete unknown it entails. There are no spoilers out there cluing us to the possible developments we might see over the course of the hiatus. Likewise, there is no real agenda being pushed by the marketing team or production crew at the panel, other than to simply get the fans pumped about the show. It is an ABC-unadulterated treat just for the fans' pleasure, and there is undeniably something a little magic about that.

Details of what's in store for visitors this year are, of course, a close guarded secret - but here's what details we do know courtesy of the show schedule:

11:00-12:00 Lost: The Final Season Begins, with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse— In appreciation of all the fan support through five seasons of Lost, co-creator/executive producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Carlton Cuse will pay homage to all the fans at their final Comic-Con appearance for Lost. Questions will be answered. Fun will be had. And you won't want to miss the surprises in store for the audience! Hall H

What's great to see is that the message of this year's show is really on the fans, and deservedly so we say. Even though you might think "well duh, it always was", considering this is the last LOST panel EVER, there is a certain something in the air making us feel that this show is going to be an absolute riot for those who love LOST dearly. This summer is also really the last chance for another LOST ARG, and one has to wonder will the writers develop another filler for us, nothing at all, or will they step it up like they did with the Lost Experience? With the theme of this year's panel definitely on giving back to the fans, it seems likely that the surprises in store will indeed be the best yet. What do you think will happen this year surprise wise? Do you think a new summer ARG could be in the offing?

Check back next week for more pre-event posts, and make sure to follow the Blog and the Lostpedia Twitter account during and after Comic Con for all the gossip and revelations coming from San Diego!

The Lost Rewatch: 2x01 "Man of Science, Man of Faith" and 2x02 "Adrift"

2009-07-19T13:10:00.005-04:00

And thus we begin season two, with the introduction of one of my favorite characters ever. After season one's ending with that infamous cliffhanger, season two begins with a bang. With the Hatch now open, Kate and Locke ignore Jack's warnings and venture down the shaft without him.

We meet Desmond under the hatch. Ah, Desmond, the Scotsman who will soon become an integral part to the show. Who could imagine the show without him now?

Sarah's wreck from the flashbacks killed Adam Rutherford. If you look closely, you can see Shannon in the scene.

Jack's key is magnetically attracted to the concrete wall. That's because of the electromagnetism from that particular spot, where DHARMA found it.

I know they are shorter synopses this week, but on to episode two!

The shark that's harassing Michael and Sawyer has somehow escaped the Hydra DHARMA station, where a harness was seen in the tank that Jack was being held prisoner in.

The "Others" that Jin talks about are actually the tail section survivors.

I'm sorry that this blog is so short and uninteresting, but there is not much new content to work with. See you next week on the Lost Rewatch.

The Lost Rewatch: Season 1 Review

2009-07-18T15:58:00.020-04:00

Well we have concluded Season 1 in the LOST Rewatch. Season 1 is unique, original, enigmatic, and the reason that us Lost fans were drawn to this show in the first place. The plot in season one is primarily character-driven, and the mythology is slowly and gradually evolving. I will go through all twenty-four episodes of season one -- rehashing, recaping, reviewing, and analyzing the large variety of episodes consisting of amazing character development, literary techniques, themes, memorable quotes, easter eggs, and mythology from the original season of LOST. I figured it would be good to do an all-encompassing review of the season so that we can look at it as one seamless story. We have a lot to go through, so let's get started.

Episode 1 --- "Pilot, Part 1"

I have rewatched this episode countless times, and every time it astounds me. This episode of LOST is iconic and is the foundation of the entire series. We are introduced to the plethora of characters the comprise this season; Jack, Kate, Charlie, Sun, Jin, Claire, Michael, Walt, Shannon, Boone, and Locke. The opening sequences with Jack running through the wreckage is one of Lost's most classic moments ever. When I watch this from the perspective of having watched the entire series, the most interesting aspect of this episode is hearing Jack retell his heart-wrenching story of saving a patient as a doctor. He recalls the fear of being "so real"; in order to counter this fear, he counts to five. After finally seeing this scene in "The Incident, Part 2," I find it interesting that Jack doesn't mention that it was his father, Christian Shephard, that told him to count to five. Well, I guess we know that all the best cowboys have daddy issues...

FAVORITE QUOTE:

JACK: It's normal.
ROSE: Oh, I know. I've just never been a very good flier. My husband keeps reminding me that planes want to be in the air.
JACK: Well, he sounds like a very smart man.
ROSE: Be sure and tell him that when he gets back from the bathroom.
JACK: Well, I'll keep you company until he does. Don't worry it's going to be over …

Episode 2 --- "Pilot, Part 2"

The pilot episode of LOST continues, and this episode once again skims the surface of Lost's complex and intricate mythology. A polar bear (which we later discover was from the DHARMA Initiative's Hydra Station) attempts to attack the survivors. Also, we get to hear the distress call from Danielle Rousseau (which replaced the endless broadcast of the Numbers, 4 8 15 16 23 42, heard in the static by Leonard from the Mental Institute). The distress call says that something killed Danielle's entire team (later seen five seasons later, in the episode "This Place Is Death").

FAVORITE QUOTE:

SAYID: The iterations. It's a distress call. A plea for help. A mayday. If the count is right … It's been playing over … and over … for sixteen years.
BOONE: Someone else? Was stranded here?
KATE: Maybe they came for them.
SAWYER: If someone came, why is it still playing?
CHARLIE: Guys. Where are we?

Episode 3 --- "Tabula Rasa"

In Season 1, Kate started off as a character shrouded in mystery for the most part. With the revelation that she had been a fugitive (being escorted by Edward Mars), her backstory became even more ambiguous. This is one of my favorite episodes of the season, and is a classic example of a fabulous Lost episode. Let's start off by analyzing the title: Tabula rasa (Latin: blank slate) refers to the belief that individuals are born without built-in mental content and that their knowledge comes from experience and perception. This is part of the philosophy of John Locke (which, of course, is a reference to John Locke from Lost). We find out that Jack doesn't want to know what Kate did, claiming that now they're on the Island, everyone has a blank slate (this sounds a lot like Locke's words to Shannon later on this season: "we all have a new life on this island... maybe it's time you start yours"). This episode concludes with a fantastic montage accompanied by the song "Wash Away," and ends with a very ominous stare of John Locke (foreshadowing the next Locke centric episode).

FAVORITE QUOTE:

JACK: I don't want to know. It doesn't matter, Kate, who we were - what we did before this, before the crash. It doesn't really—3 days ago we all died. We should all be able to start over.

Episode 4 --- "Walkabout"

Locke is one of my favorite character on Lost. He is full of mystery and enigma, and in this episode we finally learn that this island has healed him. We will later find out that the Island has not only healed Locke, but it has healed many others as well (Rose and her cancer, Young Ben and his bullet wound, etc). Aside from this, we also know that the Island has also chosen to not heal, such as Ben and his spinal tumor. My favorite part of this episode is seeing Locke's past (which is completely the opposite of anything I would've guessed). Like Boone stated in "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues," Locke's either a hitman or a taxidermist. We discover, though, that he is neither -- he was a regional collections supervisor for a box company. On top of that, he also has an annoying jerk for a boss, Randy Nations (who, through either coincidence or fate, was Hurley's boss in "Everybody Hates Hugo," and later worked for Hurley in "Tricia Tanaka Is Dead"). Seeing Locke's obsession with Helen, someone he's been conversing with via telephone, was also heart-wrenching (since we now know that Helen left Locke after his relentless obsession to make amends with Anthony Cooper).

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LOCKE: Hey, hey, don't you walk away from me. You don't know who you're dealing with. Don't ever tell me what I can't do, ever. This is destiny. This is destiny. This is my destiny. (yelling) I'm supposed to do this, dammit. Don't tell me what I can't do.

Episode 5 --- "White Rabbit"

This episode opens with one of my favorite scenes of the entire show. Jack saves Boone (who was trying to save another woman), but he fails to save Joanna. This scene shows that Jack had a choice to make; leave Boone and save Joanna, or save Boone and attempt to save Joanna. Throughout this season, Jack has proven that he is a leader - he makes decisions for the camp, and is at the head of every rescue mission and trek across the island. As we saw in the previous episode "Walkabout," Jack is seeing visions of his dad, Christian Shephard, throughout various places on the island. Jack almost falls off of a cliff, but is saved by John Locke (who happened to show up at precisely the right time). This episode really sprouts the beginning of Jack Shephard and John Locke's complex, intricate, and troubled relationship.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LOCKE: I'm an ordinary man, Jack, meat and potatoes, I live in the real world. I'm not a big believer in magic. But this place is different. It's special. The others don't want to talk about it because it scares them. But we all know it. We all feel it. Is your white rabbit a hallucination? Probably. But what if everything that happened here, happened for a reason? What if this person that you're chasing is really here?
JACK: That's impossible.
LOCKE: Even if it is, let's say it's not.
JACK: Then what happens when I catch him?
LOCKE: I don't know. But I've looked into the eye of this island. And what I saw was beautiful.

Episode 6 --- "House of the Rising Sun"

Sun and Jin are completely different characters in season one than where they are now. We see Jin violently attack Michael over a watch, and for the first time, Sun reveals to Michael that she speaks English. Not only does she speak it, but her husband Jin has no idea. In flashbacks, we see that Sun and Jin's relationship is completely different in the past than their relationship on the island -- Jin and Sun actually respected each other. On the island, Jin has proven to be a controlling husband, who commands Sun to do everything. Another one of my favorite parts of this season is seeing the full batch of redshirts again. Since Season 5, the redshirts have gradually been killed off, but in Season 1 we get to see them all once again. I love seeing SBSSG walk in the background, or see Doug and know that he will one day be shot in "The Shape of Things to Come."

FAVORITE QUOTE:

JACK: These caves make too good a shelter just to be used for burial. Adam and Eve, they must have lived here. Their plane crashed, or maybe they were ship-wrecked. They probably found this place and knew they could survive here. Unlimited supply of fresh water, tree canopy keeps the temperature down, shields out the sun, [Kate is looking down, unconvinced], the openings are narrow, easier for protection against predators. We don't need to bring the water to the people. We need to bring the people to the water. I think we could live here.

Episode 7 --- "The Moth"

Charlie Pace (also known as 'Has-Been Popstar', 'Babynapper', and 'Munchkin' by Sawyer) has been struggling in his battle with heroin. In flashbacks, we see more origins of his drug addiction, and how his brother Liam was a catalyst in his heroin addiction. We also see that Charlie was religious for a period of time, and confessed to his priest that he needed to quit Driveshaft to get away from the evil it made him do. After yelling at Jack for thinking that he's "useless," Charlie exclaims that he's a "bloody ROCK god," which ironically causes a cave in. Charlie escapes, but Jack is left inside. After a heroic rescue from Charlie, they escape from the caves with help from a moth. My absolute favorite scene in this episode is the amazing conversation between Locke and Charlie -- Locke explains that he could help the moth escape from its cocoon. but it would be too weak to survive. Struggle is nature's way of strengthening. This quote holds enormous importance in Lost; all of the characters have undergone struggle in their lives -- perhaps it's the island's way of strengthening them.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LOCKE: You see this little hole? This moth's just about to emerge. It's in there right now, struggling. It's digging its way through the thick hide of the cocoon. Now, I could help it, take my knife, gently widen the opening, and the moth would be free. But it would be too weak to survive. The struggle is nature's way of strengthening it. Now this is the second time you've asked me for your drugs back . Ask me again and it's yours.

Episode 8 --- "Confidence Man"

Sawyer has shown to be quite the con man in his past, and he continues to live in the wild on the island. From every angle that we look at Sawyer and his motives, he seems to be completely and innertly selfish. But we see that he has an emotional edge by the way that he ominously stares at the letter he wrote as a kid (with Jacob's pen...). He knows that Mr. Sawyer was the one who killed his parents, and little does Sawyer know that he will later meet Anthony Cooper (the real Sawyer) on the island. I thought it was interesting to see Jack slowly make the transition from civilization to the wild. He didn't want Sawyer to be tortured, but he knew that they didn't have much a choice. Of course, when Sawyer is wounded badly, it gives Jack the opportunity to show off his heroic efforts (like Sawyer said).

FAVORITE QUOTE:

SAWYER: Baby, I am tied to a tree in a jungle of mystery. I just got tortured by a damn spinal surgeon and a gen-u-ine I-raqi. Of course, I'm serious. You're just not seeing the big picture here, Freckles. You really going to let that girl suffocate because you can't bring yourself to give me one little kiss? Hell, it's only first base. Lucky for you I ain't greedy.

Episode 9 --- "Solitary"

This is one of my favorite episodes of the season. We begin to learn more about the French woman, Danielle Rousseau, who tells her horrowing tale of survival on the island alone for sixteen years. She explains that her crew was infected, and she killed them all. It is interesting to compare this episode to "This Place Is Death." I'm quite certain that Danielle has gone crazy over the years, since she told Sayid that she has never seen the Others, but she hears them whisper. We know very well that she saw Ben Linus when they stole Alex from her. Overall, I absolutely love the juxtapostion that occurs in this episode -- on one side of the island we see the light-hearted game of golf happening, but on the other side of the island Sayid is being tortured by Danielle, and we hear her dark tale of survival. In flashbacks we learn the story behind Nadia, Sayid's long lost love, and know that they won't reunite until "There's No Place Like Home, Part 1" and that their story will end tragically when she is hit by a car. In this episode, there is also a lot of irony when Danielle mentions the mysterious Others that she has never seen, and little do we know that Ethan Rom (posing as a survivor) is one of these Others.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

HURLEY: Look, all I'm saying is, if we're stuck here, then just surviving's not going to cut it. We need some kind of relief, you know. We need some way that we can, you know, have fun. That's right, fun. Or else we're just going to go crazy waiting for the next bad thing to happen.

Episode 10 --- "Raised by Another"

One of the most interesting parts of this episode is Claire's dream at the beginning. We see Locke with one dark eye and one light eye; I think that this dream is very significant towards Lost. In flashbacks, we see Richard Malkin, a psychic who apparently "knew" the fate of Flight 815. He wanted Claire to raise the baby; great danger surrounds the baby and only Claire can raise it. I hope that this storyline is revisited in season six, since we know that Kate Austen raised Aaron for a while until giving him to his grandmother, Carole Littleton. Will this have a significant affect on Aaron? Every time I see the title of this episode I always do a play on words: what if it was "Raised by an Other"? It seems like the writers of this episode may have been thinking the same thing.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

CLAIRE: Jack tried to dope me. He thinks I'm making all this up, that none of it really happened.
CHARLIE: Right. So, to prove your sanity you go tromping through the jungle alone. Well done.
CLAIRE: I'm not crazy, Charlie.

Episode 11 --- "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues"

Jack and his dad Christian definitely have a lot of issues, and the origin of these issues is first seen in this episode. We learn that Christian was performing surgury under the influence, and Jack knew this. Christian thinks he has gained his son's trust when he signs a consent form stating the "truth"; but this is very troubling for Jack. Maybe it's his morals, conscience, or something else -- whatever it is, Jack decides to revise his statment, and tells the administration that Christian was under the influence during surgery. This is the climactic pinnacle of their troubled relationship. Christian goes to Australia, where we will later see him meet Sawyer in "Outlaws." On the island, Jack and Kate find Charlie tied to a tree; while trying to resusitate him, Kate tells Jack to stop, knowing that there is no hope. This is very reminiscent of Christian telling Jack to "call it" when when of his patients succombed to their injuries. This is an extremely well crafted episode; the Jack and Christian relationship is one of the best storylines of the entire series. In a suspenseful, fateful, and unforgettable final scene, Locke throws Boone a flashlight, which he drops onto the Hatch. This Hatch will play a very pivotal role in the series as a whole.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

CHRISTIAN: I know I have been hard on you, but that is how you make a soft metal into steel. That is why you are the most gifted young surgeon in this city. And this, this is a career that is all about the greater good. I've had to sacrifice certain aspects of my relationship with you so that hundreds and thousands of patients will live because of your extraordinary skills. I know it's a long, a long time coming. What happened yesterday, I promise you, will never happen again. And after all what I've given -- this is not just about my career, Jack. It's my life.

Episode 12 --- "Whatever the Case May Be"

This is my favorite Kate centric episode of all time. In the past, we see some of Kate's criminal activity, which includes persuading a guy to rob a bank. Kate doesn't want money; she only wants a toy plane (which we now know belongs to Tom Brennan, the man that Kate "killed" from "Born to Run". On the island, the episode begins with an amazing scene at a lagoon on the island; Sawyer and Kate explore the lagoon only to find dead bodies and wreckage from the plane, and also a case. Kate's strong interest in the case is what leads to Sawyer's curiosity of what's inside. What is inside? Guns. Kate knows that guns could be of great value on an island full of hostile natives, especially with what just happened to Claire and Charlie. But that isn't the real reason she wants to get in the case; Kate wants the toy plane that belonged to Tom Brennan. One of my favorite scenes in this episode is when Charlie asks Rose to help him; Rose says that she isn't the one that can help him, and they pray together.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

ROSE: I just do. It's a fine line between denial and faith. It's much better on my side.
CHARLIE: Help me.
ROSE: Baby, I'm not the one that can help you... Heavenly Father, we thank you. We thank you for bringing us together tonight, and we ask that you show Charlie the path...

Episode 13 --- "Hearts and Minds"

Boone's attraction to Shannon is something that he has been unable to let go of, and John Locke knows it. While in the jungle, Locke drugs Boone (which leads to him having a very vivid dream). In this dream, Boone attempts to save Shannon from the Monster, but fails. When Shannon is killed, Boone says that he felt relieved. Overall, this would have to be one of my least favorite episodes of the series. in flashbacks we see that Boone continuously saves Shannon from guys that want to take advantage over her, but Shannon doesn't seem to care and tries to con Boone out of the money. After all of this, Shannon tells Boone that she knows he's in love with her. On the Island, Locke helps Boone get over his love for his sister, and leads him to focus more on the Hatch.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LOCKE: Ludovico Buonarrati, Michelangelo's father. He was a wealthy man. He had no understanding of the divinity in his son, so he beat him. No child of his was going to use his hands for a living. So, Michelangelo learned not to use his hands. Years later a visiting prince came into Michelangelo's studio and found the master staring at a single 18 foot block of marble. Then he knew that the rumors were true -- that Michelangelo had come in everyday for the last four months, stared at the marble, and gone home for his supper. So the prince asked the obvious -- what are you doing? And Michelangelo turned around and looked at him, and whispered, sto lavorando, I'm working. Three years later that block of marble was the statue of David.

Episode 14 --- "Special"

Michael's issues with Locke come to a head in this episode. Since the beginning of the season, Michael has been relentlessly wary about Locke being around Walt. Walt seems to really like Locke, and this leads to Michael being jealous. Flashbacks reveal that Walt really is special; while reading a book about birds in Australia, a bird flies into the window and dies. We will later discover the exact same thing happen on Hydra Island, seen in "Room 23". Walt tries to leave camp but encounters a polar bear. In an heroic effort, Locke and Michael save Walt, which leads them to make amends.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

CHARLIE: Yeah, I know, I'm bloody scum. Just listen to this. "I had that weird dream again, the one with the black rock I can't get away from. I try to leave it but it won't let me."

Episode 15 --- "Homecoming"

Claire has finally returned to camp after nearly a week of absence (what happened to her will be revealed in Season Two's "Maternity Leave"). The A-Team devises a plan to capture Ethan Rom (who has threatened to kill one survivor each day they don't bring Claire back to him). The plan uses Claire as bait. The flashbacks in this episode are less than stellar; Charlie's girlfriend Lucy is very forgettable, and his job selling printers has almost zero merit to his overall story arc. The on-island story in this episode is a pinnacle part of this season; in many ways it is the climax of Season 1. Ethan Rom (or as Charlie called him, the "bad guy") is one of the Others who is trying to kidnap Claire once again; the survivors stop that from happening, and are able to detain Ethan at gunpoint. Charlie decides to be proactive, and shoots Ethan, killing him. For awhile I was very angry at Charlie -- why would you kill someone that could have given valuable information about his motives, whereabouts, and origins? But I suppose his actions are justified; after all, we know that the Others are extremely secretive about their whereabouts (seen later on with Bea Klugh and Mikhail, who would have rather died than taken the survivors to the Barracks). Overall, this is a tremendous episode that comprises some of the best moments of the season.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LOCKE: Jack, I'm not a cold man. I feel for the loss of one of our own, but nothing fundamental is changed. Wherever he is, wherever he comes from, we're on Ethan's turf. He has the advantage. To him we're nothing more than a bunch of scared idiots with sharp sticks.

Episode 16 --- "Outlaws"

The on island story of this episode starts off very interesting; a boar runs off with Sawyer's tent, and when Sawyer chases him into the jungle, he hears whispers. Some of the words in these whispers are audible, and we hear someone say "it'll come back around". These words will be used by Frank Duckett, who James Ford killed (because Hibbs conned him into doing it). My favorite scene in this episode (and one of my favorites from this season) is when Sawyer meets Christian Shephard in a bar in Australia. According to Christian, they call Australia 'down under' because it's as close as you cn get to hell without burning. Christian knows that Sawyer is suffering. He prompts Sawyer into doing whatever it is he has to in order to escape the suffering (which, in this case is killing the "Sawyer" that caused the death of his parents). Christian states that he can escape his suffering if he picked up the phone and called his son. All he had to do was call Jack, tell him what he really feels. But he can't, because he is weak. This is a very significant, emotional, and amazing scene that redefines the troubled relationship between Jack and his father. Later on in "Exodus" Sawyer tells Jack about this conversation they had. In the jungle, Kate and Sawyer discover some secrets about each other while playing 'I Never' that redefine their relationship. It's revealed that Kate was married for awhile (later seen in "I Do"). They also discover that they are both "outlaws." This episode is extremely underrated, and is considered by many fans to be one of the worst episodes of the season. I disagree with this, and think it is a great episode that further propels James' relentless pursuit for "Sawyer".

FAVORITE QUOTE:

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: Don't let the air conditioning fool you, son. You are here, too. You are suffering. But, don't beat yourself up about it. It's fate. Some people are just supposed to suffer. That's why the Red Sox will never win the damn series. I have a son who's about your age. He's not like me, he does what's in his heart. He's a good man, maybe a great one. And right now, he thinks that I hate him. He thinks I feel betrayed by him. But what I really feel is gratitude, and pride because of what he did to me. What he did for me. It took more courage than I have. There's a pay phone over here. I could pick it up and I could call my son. I could tell him about all this. I could tell him that I love him. One simple phone call and I could fix everything.
SAWYER: Why don't you?
CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: Because I am weak.

Episode 17 --- "...In Translation"

Jin-Soo Kwon has had a very hard life on the island thus far in the season. He is the only survivor that speaks no English, and is constantly 'lost in translation'. When the raft is burned by a mysterious arsonist, everyone suspects Jin (who has had a bitter vendetta against Michael since the watch incident). Jin also has burns, which doesn't help his cause. In a climactic confrontation on the beach, Michael publicly beats Jin in front of the entire camp. It is here when Sun reveals that she speaks English (to everyone, including Jin). This leaves her alienated, and her husband refuses to speak to her. In a way, this act has given Sun freedom, and she no longer feels repressed by Jin. In a great final scene, Sun walks on the beach in her bathing suit (something Jin would never have allowed). My favorite scene in this episode is Locke's speech to the camp; it can be seen as a harbinger of what's to come. Like Boone said in "Hearts and Minds," Locke's the only one who has a clue as to what's going on around here.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LOCKE: Okay, it's personal, but why take it out on our best chance of getting off the island? Why would any one of us block an attempt to get home? We're so intent on pointing the finger at one another that we're ignoring the simple undeniable truth that the problem isn't here, it's there. They've attacked us, sabotaged us, abducted us, murdered us. Maybe it's time we stop blaming us and start worrying about them. We're not the only people on this island and we all know it.

Episode 18 --- "Numbers"

This is an iconic episode of Lost; we get to see the Numbers for the first time. The Numbers have been, and always will be, one of the most prominent aspects of the entire show. I absolutely love hearing the ominous and mysterious story behind the Numbers. The Numbers drove Leonard insane after he heard them repeating over and over through radio static. After winning the lottery, Hurley is convinced he's under a curse. This isn't a normal curse though; bad things to happen to Hurley, but rather the people around him. His grandpa Tito died, his new house for his mother caught on fire, a man jumped off a building he was in, a fire killed eight people in a factory he owned in Canada, a meteorite destroyed his kitchen shack, and he crashed on Oceanic Flight 815. I absolutely love the flashbacks in this episode that shed more light on Hurley's very ominous past, and the on island story involving Hurley with Danielle is amazing too.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

HURLEY: What? You don't know? Okay, that thing in the woods, maybe it's a monster, maybe it's a pissed off giraffe, I don't know. The fact that no one is even looking for us, yeah, that's weird, but I just go along with it because I'm along for the ride, good old fun time Hurley. Well guess what? Now, I want some friggin' answers.

Episode 19 --- "Deus Ex Machina"

One of my favorite episodes of all-time ... "Deus Ex Machina" is an absolute masterpiece, and one of the series' best. This is my favorite Locke centric episode ever; the flashbacks in this episode are very emotional. John finally meets his father, Anthony Cooper, only to be ruthelessly conned by him. Cooper pretended to love John, only long enough to steal his kidney. Locke's mother, Emily, helped Anthony with the con. This heartless act makes Locke feel completely lost, and it affects the rest of his life. On the island, Boone and Locke fail to get into the hatch using a trebuchet. In a dream, Locke sees a Beechcraft crash, and also sees a bloody Boone (foreshadowing his impending death). At the beach camp, we see a more light-hearted storyline -- Sawyer has hyperopia, and is in need of glasses. My favorite part of this episode is the ending. Locke feels helpless in both his flashbacks (where Cooper steals his kidney) and on the island (where he is pounding on the hatch, pleading to the island for help). An ominous light turns on, giving both Locke and Desmond Hume hope.

FAVORITE QUOTE:
LOCKE: I've done everything you wanted me to do, so why did you do this to me?

Episode 20 --- "Do No Harm"

After Locke brings Boone back to camp, Jack and the other survivors work vigorously to try to save his life. After many failed attempts to transfuse blood and perform other medical procedures, Boone is slowly succombing to his injuries. At the same time of Boone's death we witness new life, Aaron, being born. Claire finally has her baby, even though she didn't want to be in that situation. In flashbacks, we witness Jack and Sarah's wedding; after watching through Season 5, we know that their relationship will end in tragedy when Sarah leaves Jack for another man. We do witness something rather rare in this episode: Jack and Christian actually have a decent relationship with each other. Usually they're fighting, bickering, and screaming at one another, but in this episode we get to see their relationship probably at its finest.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

KATE: Want to talk about it?
JACK: Talk about what?
KATE: Boone died, Jack.
JACK: He didn't die. He was murdered.
KATE: What? Jack, where are you going?
JACK: To find John Locke.

Episode 21 --- "The Greater Good"

The beach camp is filled with mixed emotions: there is happiness surrounding the birth of baby Aaron, and there is sadness due to Boone's death. Locke shows up to Boone's funeral and gives an explanation for Boone's death; this doesn't appease Jack, however, and he violently attacks Locke. Later on, Locke approaches Shannon, asking for her forgiveness. Rather than be forgiving, Shannon decides it would be better to kill Locke. When Sayid refuses to do this, Shannon takes matters into her own hands. I really don't understand Shannon's actions here; she didn't seem extremely upset over Boone's death (considering she refused to speak at her own brother's funeral). I think she went after Locke simply because she is stubborn and needed to prove that she is capable of doing what she wants to. In flashbacks, we see Sayid infiltrate a group of terrorists, one of which is his long time friend. Sayid agrees to convince Essam to "blow himself up" because it is his only chance to reunite with Nadia. At first glance, his actions may seem selfish; he used his friend to get to his long-lost love. But Sayid never intended for Essam to actually blow himself up. Sayid gave him a chance to run away and escape, but he chose not to.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LOCKE: Storm coming. I should have said no -- the first time he offered to hunt with me I should have said no.
SHANNON: He would have gone anyway.
LOCKE: Yeah, I suppose he would have. I know how confused and angry you must be right now. I can't say I understand what you're going through, but I know what it feels like when you lose family. I hope you can forgive me. I'm sorry.

Episode 22 --- "Born to Run"

The penultimate episode before the epic first season finale is a Kate centric; in flashbacks, we witness the origins of Kate's toy plane, and the tragic story that surrounds it. The toy plane was in a time capsule that Kate and her childhood friend, Tom Brennan, unburried in this episode. Later on, we find that Kate is the one who inadvertantly caused the death of Tom by stealing his car while attempting to escape from the police. This guilt has caused a lot of grief for Kate. As seen in "Whatever the Case May Be", Kate robbed a bank just to retrieve that toy plane. After someone poisons Michael, suspicions arise about who it might be. Hurley spills the beans to Locke that Kate is a fugitive (one of Jack's many secrets he kept from the other survivors). Sawyer and Kate are competing to get their spot on the raft. Kate plans to run off with a new identity as Joanna Miller (a woman who drowned in "White Rabbit"). Sawyer knows this, and tells the rest of the survivors. It still baffles me as to why Sawyer wanted his spot on the raft so badly... like Michael says in "Exodus," either he's a hero, or he wants to die. Sawyer admits that he isn't a hero, but I think that Sawyer was trying to become a hero by being on the raft. He has spent the majority of the first season as the "bad guy" of the survivors, and this is a way he sees as redemption.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

SAWYER: The only chance of running is getting on that raft, ain't it? We get picked up by a ship and they come back to rescue the rest of you all -- there's going to be a nice big asterisk next to your name. Don't worry puddin', your secret's safe with me. But just so you know -- no way in hell you're getting my spot on that raft.

Episode 23 --- "Exodus, Part 1"

This episode is truly spectacular, and a fabulous part one to a mind-blowingly awesome first season finale. At the start of the episode, we see Danielle Rousseau venture into the beach camp for the first time. The survivors gather around her, and she explains what happened to her when the Others took her baby. She claims that she saw black smoke, a few kilometers inland the night when Ben kidnapped Alex. The survivors continue to work on the launching of the raft; the survivors then see the ominous black smoke coming from inland, which signals the coming of the Others. According to Danielle, the survivors have three choices: Run, Hide, or Die. We know that Danielle heard whispers in the jungle, saying that the Others were coming for the boy. Rousseau assumes they mean Aaron, but she is mistaken (as we will soon see, it is Walt that the Others are after). In flashbacks, we see veteran tailie Ana Lucia meet Jack Shephard in a bar prior to the takeoff of Flight 815. This was a way for the writers to introduce Ana, who will become a main character in Season 2. Ana half-jokingly wonders if Jack will switch seats with her in 42F... this always makes me wonder: what if they had actually changed seats? I couldn't imagine that role reversal; Jack at the head of the Tailies, and Ana in charge of the mid-section survivors. Anyways, back to the episode. The survivors show Rousseau the hatch, and she claims that she's never seen anything like it. It always amazes me that after sixteen years on the Island, Danielle has managed to map some major geographical features on her maps and notes (such as the extremely dangerous rivers, Hydra Island, the crater, etc.), but hasn't see any DHARMA Initiative stations? The raft launching scene is one of the best scenes of the entire series; the survivors finally launch the raft with Michael, Walt, Jin and Sawyer on board in hopes that they will find rescue... Little do they know about the catastrophe that will occur out at sea.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

DANIELLE: Our ship went aground on this island 16 years ago. There were 6 of us -- my team, 6. At that time I was already 7 months pregnant. I delivered the infant myself. The baby and I were together for only 1 week when I saw black smoke -- a pillar of black smoke 5 kilometers inland. That night they came, they came and took her -- Alex. They took my baby. And now, they're coming again. They're coming for all of you.
JACK: Who's coming?
DANIELLE: The Others. You have only 3 choices: run, hide, or die.

Episode 24 --- "Exodus, Part 2"

The season one finale is nothing short of incredible. I'll start by discussing one of my favorite scenes of all-time: Hurley's chase through the airport. Bad luck seems to meet Hurley at every corner, and he thinks this is due to the curse from the Numbers. Hurley oversleeps, and hastily rushes to the airport in a hurried attempt to catch Flight 815 before it takes off. This scene always makes me laugh; it's also full of easter eggs: Hurley runs past a team of soccer players with the Numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42 on the back of their jerseys, the number of the gate they enter to get on the plane is 23, and the man that Hurley takes the scooter from in the airport is wearing a "Crazy Eight's" hat. At the Black Rock, Arzt attempts to takeover the situation with the dynamite. This, of course, ends with him explosing in front of them all. Hurley blames this on himself and the Numbers. On the journey back to camp in the Dark Territory, the survivors encounter the Monster again. This is our first real glimpse at the Monster and what it is: a column of black smoke. Locke is almost pulled into a Cerberus Vent, but he is saved by Jack. Locke wanted Jack to let go, thinking that the Island was testing him. I'm guessing, though, that if Jack did let him go, he would have become "infected," just like Danielle's science expedition. Back at the beach camp, Danielle encounters Aaron and Claire. Rousseau heard whispers in the jungle, and the whispers were saying that they were coming for the child. Danielle suspects that the Others are coming for Aaron, so she kidnaps Aaron in hope of making a trade: Aaron for Alex. Danielle heads off toward the pillar of smoke, where she intends to find the Others. Charlie and Sayid aren't far behind her.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LOCKE: That's why you and I don't see eye-to-eye sometimes, Jack -- because you're a man of science.
JACK: Yeah, and what does that make you?
LOCKE: Me, well, I'm a man of faith. Do you really think all this is an accident -- that we, a group of strangers survived, many of us with just superficial injuries? Do you think we crashed on this place by coincidence -- especially, this place? We were brought here for a purpose, for a reason, all of us. Each one of us was brought here for a reason.
JACK: Brought here? And who brought us here, John?
LOCKE: The Island. The Island brought us here. This is no ordinary place, you've seen that, I know you have. But the Island chose you, too, Jack. It's destiny.

I hope you all enjoyed this all-encompassing review and analysis of Lost's incredible first season. This season is full of some amazing themes, incredible scenes, awesome quotes, interesting mythology, and suspenseful cliffhangers. It's always fun to go back and rewatch these episodes. I'd love to here your thoughts on the first season too!

The Lost Rewatch: 1x24 "Exodus, Part 2"

2009-07-18T13:33:00.002-04:00

And here comes the end of season one. It's a two hour epic, and that's why it took me just a little bit longer to get it done than it would normally. Regardless, let's get started. In "Exodus, Part 2," with the dynamite retrieved, the team faces the task of bringing the volatile substance back across the Island to the Hatch. Meanwhile, Charlie and Sayid set off to rescue Aaron after Danielle kidnaps the child from Claire.

Hurley tells Arzt that "it's all in [his] head." Hurley will soon be thinking that it's all in his own head after receiving a visit from his imaginary friend Dave.

Locke mentions his love of games. This is a theme that's never been fully explored. Perhaps the entire games motif is actually a reference to Jacob and his nemesis, who are playing games with the survivors?

We see the Hurleybird, a giant flying creature that appears to call out Hurley's name. It's really creepy, but we don't know where it's from or why it's calling Hurley's name.

Locke stands still thinking that the monster won't attack him, but from the fear in his eyes when he actually see the monster, we can tell that this black smoke is not what he saw in "Walkabout."

The monster tries to drag Locke into a hole -- does this hole lead to the tunnels under the Temple wall? Was it trying to possess him like it did Montand and the others? And, if the monster is Mr. X like I think he is, is he trying to possess Locke now instead of waiting until he's dead?

Locke almost being pulled into the hole is reminiscent of the scene in "The Incident" with Juliet being dragged down the hole. Juliet pleads with Sawyer to let her go, like Locke does with Jack. The difference is, Jack doesn't let go.

Jin gives Michael a watch, which he'll later pawn off in order to get a gun that he can't even use to kill himself.

It appears that fate is trying to keep Hurley from boarding the plane, as opposed to fate making it possible for the other passengers to board. Does the Island not want Hurley?

Locke tells Jack that he believes in destiny, he just doesn't know it yet. And how true this is...by the end of season five, Jack is spouting out that he's working as an agent of destiny.

Danielle says that she heard the Others coming for the boy. And strangely enough, she was right. This means that the whispers are caused by the Others, but how, if most of the Others are at the barracks or Hydra Island?

And then we meet Tom, the Other who leads the mission of taking Walt off the raft. Sawyer will later shoot him for this, killing him.

And then the hatch is opened...it's a long ladder, leading down into something that the audience can't see. But we all know what's down there now: a bunch of '70s electronics and an angry bloody Scotsman.

And that does it for "Exodus, Part 2." Look for the blog for the next episode, "Man of Science, Man of Faith," soon. You can discuss this episode in this forum thread, read others' posts about it at the rewatch hub, and edit the episode's article.

The Lost Rewatch: 1x23 "Exodus, Part 1"

2009-07-15T22:19:00.004-04:00

We're closing in on season one. It's really flown by quickly, but we've learned quite a lot from looking back on the freshman season of our favorite show. We're now at the season one finale, so let's take a look at "Exodus, Part 1." As the raft prepares to launch, complications arise when Danielle arrives at the beach, warning the survivors that "the Others are coming," prompting them to look for ways to hide...which means that they'll have to open the hatch. Flashbacks tell the stories of several characters immediately before they left Australia on the fateful flight.

Walt flings open some curtains to look out on Sydney. We'll see a similar shot again in "Not in Portland," when Juliet opens the windows to reveal that she's in Miami. While I'm not suggesting that there's any plot relevance at all, it's interesting to see that much of the same style that existed in season one still existed two seasons later.

When Michael is dragging Walt back down the hallway to the room, a guy steps out of the room to make sure everything's all right. That's either Steve or Scott, as played by Christian Bowman (who played the member of the duo who was killed by Ethan).

Danielle mentions that black smoke heralded the arrival of the Others, though we did not see that happen when Ben and Ethan stole Alex. Of course, Danielle is most likely fabricating this story in order give the survivors a tangible threat, because we know that the Others aren't actually coming for the on-Island survivors. It'll be two years before the Others actually come.

Locke speculates that there might be another entrance to the hatch. He's right -- buried in the leaves just a few feet away is a door that would make it so much easier to enter the hatch.

In Jack's flashback, we meet Ana-Lucia. While she seems harmless now, we all know that on the Island she became one of the least-liked characters of season two, which, as Damon and Carlton recently revealed, was why they killed her off.

Ana-Lucia was in Australia because she had been a bodyguard to Christian Shephard. She asks Jack about his dad when she meets him, but remains perfectly oblivious to the fact that the person she knew as "Tom" was actually who she was talking about.

Jack says he's not a drinker. Oh, how the Island will change him, with the help of a little visit from Jeremy Bentham. He'll soon be quite the drinker.

Michael and Jin are very, very comparable to Han Solo and Chewbacca from Star Wars. Neither can understand the other, but the manage to communicate and work together really well, better than they could with anyone else. Star Wars has had a confirmed influence on Lost as well, especially in the episode "Some Like It Hoth," in which Hurley tried to rewrite The Empire Strikes Back before it was originally conceived.

In one of the best moments of the series, Sawyer tells Jack that he met Christian in the bar, and that Christian had forgiven Jack. It's one of the rare moments on the show in which someone actually reveals the connections between two characters. After the survivors leave the Island, it becomes more common, but it's still a great moment in the first season.

Walt gives Vincent to Shannon, telling him that he will protect her. However, it's actually Vincent and (an apparation of) Walt that lead Shannon to her death.

Even though we've seen the Black Rock on the horizon during the conversation between Jacob and his nemesis in "The Incident," we still don't know how exactly the ship ended up so many miles inland.

The raft launches, and we are once again reminded of the smoke on the horizon as a sign that the Others are coming, but the real Others will go for the raft, not the survivors on the Island.

And that does it for "Exodus, Part 1." Look for the blog for the next episode, "Exodus, Part 2," soon. You can discuss this episode in this forum thread, read others' posts about it at the rewatch hub, and edit the episode's article.

The Lost Rewatch: 1x22 "Born to Run"

2009-07-12T23:28:00.000-04:00

We're edging closer to wonderful, wonderful season two, but first we have to go through episode 1x22, "Born to Run," another Kate-centric episode. I'm not particularly fond of Kate-centrics (or Kate herself, for that matter), but regardless, I'm sure this episode has a few interesting moments that are worth discussing. With news that the raft must leave at once to avoid changing winds, Kate decides that she needs to be one of the passengers, attempting to steal Sawyer's spot. Meanwhile, suspicion abounds after Michael's drinking water is tampered with. Flashbacks in this episode focus on Kate reuniting with Tom after learning about her mother having cancer.

Before we get started, it's worth noting that this episode is known as "Time Capsule" in Japan.

Charlie mentions to Kate that record sales for Drive Shaft will have spiked when he "died," and when he "comes back alive" they will increase even more (much like record sales of Michael Jackson albums have increased recently). He's right -- Naomi will later tell him that Drive Shaft released a "Greatest Hits" album in honor of Charlie, increasing the band's popularity and fanbase.

Enter Leslie Arzt, the world's most annoying teacher, who also happens to be one of the most memorable characters on the show, thanks in part to his not-so-glorious death in "Exodus, Part 2." Arzt is complaining that they need to launch the raft as soon as possible, but later tells Michael that he made up the story about the monsoon in order to provoke the raft to launch sooner. ("Tropical Depression")

We meet Tom Brennan, a younger version of whom we saw shoplifting with Kate in "The Incident." They dig up a time capsule in a New Kids on the Block lunchbox, which is what Jacob paid for when Kate was caught trying to steal it.

Walt, through touching Locke, knows about the hatch. Probably Walt's telepathy at work, but it another power to add to the list of Walt's abilities.

Kate's mom cries for help, just like she promised to do in "Left Behind."

And that does it for "Born to Run." Next week we'll finish of season one and begin season two! Look for the blog for the next episode, "Exodus, Part 1," soon. You can discuss this episode in this forum thread, read others' posts about it at the rewatch hub, and edit the episode's article.

The Lost Rewatch: 1x21 "The Greater Good"

2009-07-11T03:01:00.004-04:00

Moving on to episode 21, "The Greater Good," we come closer to ending season one. With news of Boone's death sweeping the camp, Shannon decides to take the law into her own hands and go after Locke, whom she blames for the tragedy. Flashbacks in this episode focus on Sayid's time in Australia and what he was doing there.

Sayid is so desperate to find Nadia that he becomes a mole in a terrorist cell. It's sad now, to think that he spent so many years of his life striving to find a woman that he would have a very short time with before she was taken from him again - this time permanently.

Charlie gives the baby the name turnip-head as a substitute until Claire decides on a real name. Charlie will keep calling him that, even after Claire names the baby Aaron. It's a nice genesis to a recurring theme on the show.

Charlie tells Claire that no one will take the baby, though soon Rousseau will do just that. Charlie will also take the baby himself during season two, though his visions and nightmares are more guilty than he is.

Locke reveals that he destroyed the transciever, though he hides his true motives. But, like I've said before, he'll destroy plenty of more things in order to stay on the Island.

Charlie, while singing "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" to Aaron, accidentally botches the lyrics, saying the rain "drowned" the spider out. This odd little scene was actually very neat foreshadowing to "Through the Looking Glass," when Charlie himself drowned. Coincidence or careful planning on the part of the writers? Let me know what you think.

Walt asks Michael what would happen if a shark attacked, which Michael brushes off. However, after Walt is taken from the raft, a shark from the Hydra does indeed attack.

It's another short episode, I know, but this episode mainly serves the purpose of showing repercussions of Boone's death, and not of much else. Look for the blog for the next episode, "Born to Run," soon. You can discuss this episode in this forum thread, read others' posts about it at the rewatch hub, and edit the episode's article.

The Lost Rewatch: 1x20 "Do No Harm"

2009-07-08T19:05:00.004-04:00

We've struck episode twenty of Lost. It's the first of three episodes this week, which will include "The Greater Good" and "Born to Run" in addition to this episode. In this episode, as Boone's condition worsens, Jack struggles to try to save his life. Elsewhere, Claire enters labor, but without Jack, Charlie and Kate are forced into a role they had not prepared themselves for. Flashbacks in this episode take place around the events of Jack's wedding with the soon to be Sarah Shephard. The majority of this episode revolves around Jack trying to keep Boone from dying, and thus story content isn't as rich as it could be, especially in relation to later episodes.

Jack's friend Marc shops for tuxedos with Jack. We've seen Marc before, being beaten up by Meathead in "White Rabbit."

It's interesting to note that as they are looking for Shannon, the scene switches to the wedding reception where Sarah gets up to speak. Sarah tells of her car accident, which actually killed Shannon's father, Adam Rutherford.

Jack and the other survivors develop a plan to chop off Boone's leg using the door of a cargo container, which would have made Boone yet another one of the many amputees we've seen on the show. Perhaps Boone's refusal of the amputation means that he remained whole, perhaps spiritually. It's all metaphorical, of course.

Boone tells Jack that he's "letting him off the hook," a line that Rose told Jack earlier. Ironically enough, Rose and Boone made their first appearances on the show together.

Aaron is born as Boone dies, a perfect juxtaposition of life and death. As one character fades out, another comes alive. I have a feeling that Aaron will become more important as the show moves on, even though at present he's living with his grandmother, Carole Littleton.

The moment of Aaron's birth was actually witnessed by Sawyer during the time flashes. It's great to watch that episode and realize that Sawyer is standing just off camera, watching the birth happen.

We then see the seeds of hatred toward Locke really start to sew in Jack. Jack thinks that Locke murdered Boone, though he will later forget about this and focus on the more important aspects of their personalities, their beliefs in science and their beliefs in faith. However, Jack will eventually come to see it Locke's way, but by the time he does this fully, Locke will have already been killed.

And that does it for the episode. It's not the most content-rich episode, but it certainly is a milestone, providing us with the first death of a main character. Look for the blog for the next episode, "The Greater Good," soon. You can discuss this episode in this forum thread, read others' posts about it at the rewatch hub, and edit the episode's article.

Brian K. Vaughan leaves Lost

2009-07-07T21:27:00.002-04:00

Brian K. Vaughan, a writer of some of season four and five's more memorable episodes, has left the show. The writer, known for his work in the comic world (such as his series Y: The Last Man) was confirmed to have left the show "for greener pastures" by Damon Lindelof during a recent Q&A session.

Vaughan first joined the show in late season three, writing "Catch-22." The next season, however, he returned for many more appearances, writing "Confirmed Dead," "Meet Kevin Johnson," and fan favorite "The Shape of Things to Come." Most recently, Vaughan wrote three episodes of season five: "The Little Prince," "Namaste," and "Dead Is Dead."

I suspect that Vaughan left to pursue writing a film or television adaptation of his graphic novel, Y: The Last Man (a Spanish version of which Hurley carried with him aboard Flight 316). He has stated that he prefers to write his own creations like Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina because he doesn't think he's the best at using his "voice" with company-owned characters. Whatever the reason, Vaughan was a great member of the writing staff, and we wish him well in whatever he pursues.

The Lost Rewatch: 1x19 "Deus Ex Machina"

2009-07-05T21:54:00.003-04:00

We've hit episode 1x19, "Deus Ex Machina." It's the last episode of the week, marking the end of our first three-episode week of the rewatch. After a mysterious dream, Locke sets out with Boone to find a crashed Beechcraft, in the hope it will lead him further on his quest to open the hatch. Meanwhile, at the beach, Sawyer begins to suffer from severe headaches. Flashbacks in this episode concentrate on Locke's first meeting with his biological mother and father.

Okay, I have to start with an analysis of the mousetrap discussion that Locke has with the kid at the beginning of the episode. "Well, you start with all these parts off the board. And then, one by one, you build the trap - shoe, bucket, tub - piece by piece it all comes together. And then you wait 'til your opponent lands here on the old cheese wheel. And then if you set it up just right, you spring the trap." Does this not eerily remind you of the way that Jacob's nemesis meticulously plotted out a way to kill Jacob, eventually changing his appearance to be like that of Locke, in order to kill Jacob, or "spring the trap?" It's very interesting.

Emily tells Locke that he was immaculately conceived. While this is obviously a lie in order to get Locke to seek out his real father, it's rather interesting to look back at Locke's birth, which we saw in "Cabin Fever." Emily was forced into premature labor when she was hit by a car after running from her mother, who did not want her going out with a man who was almost twice her age (presumably Cooper, Locke's father). She was then put into premature labor and delivered the baby, giving him a name but eventually giving him up to a foster home.

In Locke's vision, he sees a bloodied Boone. Bloody Boone has popped up again in another vision he had, in the sweat lodge. Though Boone appeared to be normal at first, after Locke climbed an escalator who found a bloodied Boone.

In another part of his vision, Locke sees the Beechcraft crash, an event he will later actually witness during the time flashes in "Because You Left."

Cooper pours Locke some Scotch. He later pours Locke another kind of alcoholic drink, some MacCutcheon whiskey (the kind that Widmore likes) before pushing him out of a window. While Cooper's actions in this episode aren't quite as drastic, pouring a drink for himself and his son is a dead giveaway that this character is up to no good.

Sawyer mentions that his uncle died of a brain tumor. There's a very good chance that he's referring to his uncle Doug, the uncle who took him in after the deaths of his parents. You'd know uncle Doug from his conversation with Sawyer in the flashbacks of "The Incident," during which he begged Sawyer not to continue writing that fateful letter.

Locke pulls a rosary from a branch and hands it to Boone. He then pulls down the body of a Nigerian priest, who is known by fans as "Goldie." Locke's not so sure that Goldie's a priest, and he's right on the money: Goldie, like all the Beechcraft's passengers (save one) is a drug dealer who actually saved Mr. Eko's life when he shoved him out of the plane in a selfish act.

Sawyer has a sexually transmitted disease. This fact has fallen by the wayside, but he's been quite the spreader, potentially giving it to Ana-Lucia, Kate, and Juliet.

The Island seems to be taking away Locke's ability to walk, perhaps as he strays further and further away from his purpose (opening the hatch). He's lost the ability to walk several times while on (and off) the Island. Is his ability to walk contingent on himself following his purpose?

Boone throws Locke the Virgin Mary statues filled with heroin, which will be a big hallmark in Charlie's redemption story on the Island.

This is the first time we hear the voice of Bernard, during his conversation with Boone over the radio while in the Arrow station. The voice says "We're the survivors of Flight 815," though some believed it said "There were no survivors of Flight 815," which would have tied in nicely with season four had the communication been with someone on the outside.

The plane then falls to the ground, mortally injuring Boone. Tom, the Other, will later move the plane to cover the hatch leading to the Pearl, though it will be uncovered by Locke and Eko several days later.

Locke pounds on the hatch door, unwittingly giving hope to a suicidal Desmond, who turns on the light. This event was later seen from afar by Locke and Sawyer. Locke will, in retrospect, say that he needed the pain of this event to get to where he was.

And that's it for the episode. Look for the blog for the next episode, "Do No Harm," soon. You can discuss this episode in this forum thread, read others' posts about it at the rewatch hub, and edit the episode's article.

The Lost Rewatch: 1x18 "Numbers"

2009-07-04T00:52:00.002-04:00

On we go to episode 1x18, "Numbers," the first Hurley-centric outing we've had. When Hurley sees the Numbers on Rousseau's maps and notes, he remembers them from his past, prompting him to head into the jungle after the French woman. Elsewhere, Locke asks for Claire's help in building something. Flashbacks in this episode feature Hurley's quest for the source of the cursed "Numbers" after winning the lottery with the numbers in question.

Hurley, in his misunderstanding of Jin, wonders if Jin is referring to making snowballs. Hurley does seem to love the snow, as referenced from his painting of an igloo during his time in the mental institute. And even though thinking about snowballs on a tropical island may seem pointless, it's ironic that we later find out about the frozen donkey wheel chamber.

Michael is taking extra care to make sure that his raft isn't destroyed, but he'll later get on a much bigger boat with the intention of destroying it, and will eventually die when the boat explodes (though not by his doing).

Then we get the first glimpse of Carmen Reyes -- Hurley's mother -- and one of my favorite characters on the show. Her overprotectiveness of her son is alternatively funny or endearing. She's a wonderful character, and will appear in at least one episode each season.

As I stated in my recap for "Outlaws," the lottery woman, Mary Jo, was seen romancing Sawyer and is played by Brittany Perrineau, the real-life wife of Harold Perrineau. The lottery official conversing with Mary Jo is voiced by Carlton Cuse.

And there are the numbers, popping up all together for the first time on the show. They're a tantalizing mystery, part of the Valenzetti equation, and have popped up all over the show, as easter eggs, in and on the hatch, in plane numbers, and many other places. However, I fear that the only real relevance that the numbers have will lie with their scientific meaning for DHARMA and the Swan. The way they pop up to Hurley as almost a "curse" will probably be one of the mysteries of the show that's never explained, and really, I'm okay with that. However, one recent event with the numbers remains unanswered. In "This Place is Death," there is a voice repeating these numbers over and over again over the radio that Rousseau's team is listening to. The voice sounds distinctly like Hurley's. I feel certain that this is the transmission that Sam Toomey and Leonard heard while at the listening post (as mentioned later in the episode), especially since both the crash of the Besixdouze and Sam's hearing of the numbers both happened around 1988. Since Hurley got the numbers from Leonard, in a way this would form a predestination paradox, as Hurley would technically be responsible for everything that happened, if it is indeed him on the radio.

Leonard tells Hurley that he's "opened the box." While Hurley obviously hasn't opened a literal box, metaphorical boxes have popped up several times on the show, most notably with Ben's "magic box" which he described to Locke. The box Lenny is referring to is probably something like Pandora's Box, an object from Greek mythology given from Zeus to the woman Pandora, with the instructions not to open it. However, out of curiosity, Pandora opened it regardless. When she did, all of the evils, ills, diseases, and burdensome labor that mankind had not known previously, escaped from the jar, but it is said, that at the very bottom of her box, there lay hope.

Martha Toomey has a prothsthetic limb, a theme that's already been explored with the character of Ray Mullen, and will later be explored with Pierre Chang.

Claire says that John should have a show where he fixes houses for people. Locke actually did used to work as a repairman, owning his own home inspection company, "Welcome Home." He inspected Nadia's house while working as an inspector.

Danielle mentions that the radio tower is near the Black Rock, but from the events of "Through the Looking Glass," this is obviously not true. She also mentions that her team went up to the radio tower before the sickness, which is most likely not true, since the team seemed to be affected by the sickness after climbing under the Temple wall to rescue Montand.

Locke builds Claire a cradle, which she will use to keep Aaron until she leaves the beach camp in "Through the Looking Glass." The overturned cradle is later found by Sun in "The Incident."

The numbers are etched onto the side of the hatch at the end of this episode, though when we see them being placed on the hatch in "Some Like It Hoth," they are hammered into the metal instead, producing a completely different look.

And that's it for the episode. Look for the blog for the next episode, "Deus Ex Machina," soon. You can discuss this episode in this forum thread, read others' posts about it at the rewatch hub, and edit the episode's article.

The Lost Rewatch: 1x17 "...In Translation"

2009-07-01T00:43:00.004-04:00

Last week's blog recieved quite a few poor reviews. It was a busy week for me last week, and I had very little time to write the recaps, but I suppose that since I made the commitment, I should put the rewatch first and foremost in my list of priorities. So without further apologies and excuses, I present to you the rewatch recap for episode 1x17, "...In Translation." An arsonist torches Michael's raft, and when Michael sees that Jin has burnt hands, the conflict between them escalates. Meanwhile, Boone begins to interfere in the growing relationship between Shannon and Sayid. Flashbacks in this episode are of Jin's point-of-view of the same events focused on in "House of the Rising Sun".

Mr. Paik convinces Jin to work for him. This event occurred because Jin's mother, a former prostitute, bribed Sun into giving her $100,000, which Sun took from her father. Her father, in turn, would make Jin pay back the debt by working for him. In this same conversation, Jin claims that his father is dead, though in reality his father is a fisherman, as we find out later in the episode. Jin has convinced Sun that his father is dead as well, though she actually knows that his father is alive, having visited him during the events of "D.O.C."

Jin is suspicious of an affair between Michael and Sun. He seems to sense that Sun has been unfaithful to him (as she was with Jae Lee), but she assures him that she has no relationship with Michael, even though they would have kissed had Vincent not interrupted (this is from the mobisode "Buried Secrets"). Jin goes and lets off steam at the golf course, a place where, nine days later, he will have a complete temper-tantrum about his lonliness on the Island in front of Michael and Hurley after he misses a putt. This can be seen in another mobisode, "Jin Has a Temper-Tantrum on the Golf Course."

Michael mentions the Flat Iron Building in New York. While this isn't really relevant to Lost, many of you have probably seen this building before, even if you've never been to New York: it's the location of the Daily Bugle offices in the Spider-Man film series, a notable comic-book adaptation which has featured Daniel Dae Kim

Kate asks Sun why she's letting Jin treat her so badly, and Sun replies that it's because she loves Jin. I immediately think forward to Kate's crime, when she killed her father because he was abusive to his wife (and her mother), Diane. However, once her mother found out what she did, she turned Kate in to the authorities. Why? Because she loved Wayne. Not an exact correlation, but the situations are very, very similar.

Here's an oldie but a goodie - when Jin goes to visit Byung Han, his daughter is watching the news on TV. And guess which lucky lottery winner is the star of the show?

Locke says that "everyone gets a new life on this Island." After Ajira 316 crashes, he'll be getting an even newer life -- but not as himself.

The irony in the flashbacks is blatant when compared to the events on the Island -- in flashbacks, Jin is trying to hide a secret from Sun, but on the Island, he is angry at Sun for keeping secrets from him. You can also find parallels between both the flashback Jin and the on-Island Sun's wishes to start over.

Locke says that none of the survivors would hinder an attempt to leave the Island, even though he had earlier sabotaged Sayid's transceiver, and would later blow up the Flame and the submarine in order to do just that. In another twist of irony, he'll end up dying off-Island.

Locke mentions that his dad is not cool to Walt, the full extent of which we won't realize until "The Brig," although gradually we'll find out more and more about his destructive lifestyle as a con man, the ramifications of which were shown at the beginning of the last episode, "Outlaws." Locke's next flashback, in which we'll learn more about his father, will pop up later this week, as episode 1x19, "Deus Ex Machina."

The episode ends with Hurley's CD player dying, a lead-in to the next episode's Hurley flashback, "Numbers."

And that's it for the episode. Look for the blog for the next episode, "Numbers," soon. You can discuss this episode in this forum thread, read others' posts about it at the rewatch hub, and edit the episode's article.

Season 6 will have 18 hours

2009-06-30T18:59:00.002-04:00

It's been confirmed: the sixth and final season of Lost will have one more hour than the fifth season did. However, like the fifth season, there will be sixteen episodes, meaning that the premiere of the sixth season will be two hours long, making it the only two hour non-finale episode of the series.

This information was released by actor Matthew Fox, and later confirmed by representatives at ABC. Much thanks to DarkUfo for announcing this.

As I'm sure all of you are, I'm glad that we have one more hour to sort out the many intricate mysteries still remaining on Lost, as well as to further develop and resolve the fates of the many characters the show revolves around.

What would you like to see answered in this extra hour?

The Lost Rewatch: 1x13 - 1x16

2009-06-27T14:01:00.004-04:00

Because this week's episodes were so lacking in usable content, I felt it was only right to just use one blog for all four episodes, to be economical with both time and space. This blog will be a short one, even despite four episodes being covered, but things will definitely start to work more and more from season two onwards. So let's get started with this week's episodes!

1x13 "Hearts and Minds"

Locke makes Boone some "wacky paste" which makes him hallucinate. Locke has imbibed similar wacky paste himself, while in the sweat lodge in "Further Instructions." During his hallucination, he also saw Boone.

1x14 "Special"

Michael is once again looking for "his boy." This is just another entry in the ever-continuing pattern of Michael losing his son.
Locke mentions "the mind's eye." That seems very prevalent to the recurring theme of eyes on the show. Walt's visualization of stabbing the tree with his knife actually works. As someone commented on one of my previous rewatch blogs, perhaps Walt's imagination affects the reality around him.
Michael tells Walt that they are "taking control of their destiny." Destiny also becomes a recurring motif in Lost, especially when you look at the tagline for Ajira Airways (and also the tagline for season five as a whole): "Destiny calls."
Locke and Boone find Claire coming out of the jungle at night, similarly to how Michael will later be found after he returns from being with the Others at the end of season two.

1x15 "Homecoming"

After Claire's return, Jack says that he doesn't know if Claire's memory of her time with Ethan will ever return. It will, however, in the season two episode "Maternity Leave," which will air exactly one season away from this episode.
About the guns, Jack says "I hand them out, someone hears something out in the jungle and gets scared, the chances of us shooting each other are much higher than of us shooting him." This will prove to be true with Ana Lucia, who will shoot Shannon in the jungle when mistaking her for an Other.
Charlie shoots and kills Ethan, ending quite a full life, especially since he was the only baby we've seen to be delivered on the Island (besides Aaron). Check out the Ethan article to read up on all that Ethan's done on (and off) the Island.

1x16 "Outlaws"

We witness the murder of Mary Ford and Mr. Ford's suicide, which were both caused by the father of John Locke, Anthony Cooper (who at the time was using the alias Tom Sawyer). Their collective funeral will later be attended by Jacob.
It's interesting to note that the child who played Sawyer in this episode, Gordon Hardie, did not portray Sawyer in the flashback from "The Incident," presumably because Hardie had aged considerably. Instead, the young Sawyer at the funeral was portrayed by Keegan Boos.
Sawyer romances Mary Jo, who we'll later see call out the winning lottery numbers for Hurley. Mary Jo is played by Brittany Perrineau, wife of Harold Perrineau, who plays Michael.
Kate drinks when Sawyer says that he's never been married, referencing her marriage to policeman Kevin Callis, which ended abruptly when she left him to continue running.

The Lost Rewatch: 1x12 "Whatever the Case May Be"

2009-06-22T10:59:00.005-04:00

I know I've bled over a little bit into week four, but we're virtually right back on track. Here are my thoughts on episode twelve of the series and season one, entitled "Whatever the Case May Be." In the episode, when Kate and Sawyer find a case on a dead passenger, Kate begins to act erratically, using whatever means necessary to get it away from Sawyer. At the beach, Sayid and Shannon begin to get close. Flashbacks in this episode center around Kate's involvement in a bank robbery in New Mexico.

Sawyer and Kate find a waterfall on the Island. This is the same waterfall that Paulo found the diamonds in, which he hid from Nikki, and also the waterfall that Kate and Hurley landed in after being transported off Ajira Flight 316.

Kate finds the Halliburton suitcase under the seats of some dead passengers. This case will be the source of so much conflict on the Island, due to the fact that it contains guns and a toy airplane.

We start to see a blossoming relationship between Sayid and Shannon, which has its false starts but leads to both of them having trust in the the other.

Kate pulls out a topy airplane from the Halliburton Case. It belonged to her childhood friend Tom Brennan. He was seen playing with it outside a general store before Kate entered and attempted to steal a lunchbox, and they eventually buried it in a time capsule, for them to open up years later, shortly before Tom was killed by the police. So Kate is telling the truth when she says that the airplane belonged to both the man she loved and the man she killed, though she was only indirectly responsible for Brennan's death.

And that's it for the episode. I know that it's a really short blog, but the episode has no real weight to the following story (save for the guns). The next episode, "Hearts and Minds," has a bit more usable content, so expect a longer blog for it. You can discuss the episode in this forum thread, read others' posts about it at the rewatch hub, and edit the episode's article.

The Lost Rewatch: 1x11 "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues"

2009-06-21T11:24:00.003-04:00

This long-titled episode is the eleventh of the series and season one, and definitely the first really action-packed episode since the Pilot. In the episode, with the revelation that Ethan was never on the plane, the survivors rush to find the missing Claire and Charlie, whom they realize have been taken. Leading the way is Jack, who feels guilty after never believing Claire's claims that she was in danger. Flashbacks in this episode concentrate on Jack's decision to stand up to his father and fight for what is right. So let's get started!

The survivors realize that Claire and Charlie have been "taken" by Ethan. However, what they don't know yet is that the Others only want Claire, and that Charlie will just be an expendable pawn. It's unknown why the generally friendly (according to flashbacks) Ethan has gone so bad, but my guess is that it's some psychological need to prove himself to Ben, who coldly left Ethan out of the kidnapping of Alex all those years ago.

Boone volunteers to go with Locke. This is the beginning of a master-apprentice relationship that will eventually end with Boone's death.

Sawyer asks "Who the hell is Ethan?" showing that he neither knows nor cares for many of the other survivors. He'll repeat this line when referring to Nikki and Paulo weeks later.

Boone tells Locke the etymology of redshirts, a term that will be used by fandom to describe expendables like Frogurt, Doug, and Arzt for years to come.

Walt shows his abilities while playing a game of backgammon with Hurley. His abilities certainly seem unconsciously telekinetic, more emotional than deliberate.

Walt tells Hurley that Hurley owes him $20,000, and Hurley tells Walt he'll get it. This statement seemed silly the first time around, but seven episodes later, when we discovered that Hurley was the lotto winner, it made perfect sense.

In flashbacks, Jack rats out his father's alcoholism to the hospital board, causing his father to lose his license. Christian will then travel to Australia, where he'll meet Sawyer, and tell Sawyer that he believes Jack did the right thing.

Ethan hangs Charlie, and Jack resuscitates him, although barely. This is an instance (in a very long line of instances) that Charlie has brushed with death, leading fate to course-correct until Charlie actually does die.

And then there's that wonderful moment that is perhaps the best moment of the first season: Locke and Boone find the hatch. It's submerged in the ground, covered by canopy and foliage. It's the first hint we've gotten of the DHARMA Initiative, even though DHARMA has long abandoned it, their pet project, after the massive purge. Desmond is underneath them in the hatch, carrying out the same routine that he has been for the past three years. Though it won't even be opened until the end of this season, this hatch is almost literally the tip of a completely new iceberg that will be the main focus of the rest of the show. Too bad Locke and Boone don't realize that there's a door nearby.

And that's it for episode 1x11, "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues." You can discuss the episode in this forum thread, read others' posts about it at the rewatch hub, and edit the episode's article.

The Lost Rewatch: 1x10 "Raised By Another"

2009-06-20T12:44:00.003-04:00

Since the new format has taken off really well, I'll be continuing with this format for the rest of the rewatch. Today for the rewatch, we'll be taking a look at the tenth episode of the series and the season, "Raised By Another," the first Claire centric episode. Though it's not as relevant to the show now as "Solitary" was, there's still plenty to discuss. So let's get started, shall we?

The episode opens up with Claire's dream, which includes Locke with black and white eyes. It's quite an interesting visual, though some people have taken it to mean a little more than I think it does, indicating that it hints that Locke will be possessed by Jacob's nemesis, something I think isn't really true. What do you think?

Claire's boyfriend in her flashbacks, Thomas, is played by Keir O'Donnell. I interviewed Keir last year, and you can read that interview here.

Claire says that her mom would disown her for being pregnant. However, we know that at that point, Carole Littleton was catatonic in the hospital after suffering a severe car crash with Claire at the wheel. Whether or not this is a continuity error is debatable; it could always be argue that Claire's way of coping with grief is pretending that her mother is still conscious and part of her life.

Thomas mentions his paintings, which are similar to the mural in the hatch. That's because they're both done by Jack Bender, a director on Lost.

Then we've got Richard Malkin, the fortune teller who we'll later see as part of Eko's flashback in the episode "?." He was also slated to appear in "The Brig" as a character held captive with Anthony Cooper, but that idea was scrapped in the early writing process.

Thomas tells Claire that she has "Daddy abandonment crap," a reference Christian Shephard's abandonment of her, as we saw in "Par Avion." However, Claire is no longer abandoned by her daddy, as we last saw her in Jacob's cabin with Christian himself (or someone who appeared to be Christian).

Ethan tells Hurley his last name is Rom. How he came to get the surname Rom is completely unknown, as it most likely should be Goodspeed. Either Amy's last name is Rom, or he's using that as a surname just to screw with the survivors, because "Ethan Rom" is an anagram for "Other man."

Why does Malkin want Claire to get on the plane? Is he paid off by Widmore, or by someone who knows she's going to the Island? Did Jacob tell him to do it, since Jacob seems so interested in getting people to the Island?

And that's it for episode 1x10, "Raised By Another." You can discuss the episode in this forum thread, read others' posts about it at the rewatch hub, and edit the episode's article.

LP Caption Contest #5

2009-06-19T01:15:00.002-04:00

This time, we have an image of Bram and Ilana from "The Incident, Parts 1 & 2." This screencap was taken when Bram realizes that Frank's been eavesdropping on the conversation between him and Ilana.

The Lost Rewatch: 1x09 "Solitary"

2009-06-18T19:05:00.002-04:00

The new format went over incredibly well, according to the first few comments, so I'm going ahead and finally getting started on this week's batch of episodes, beginning with the ever-juicy "Solitary," an episode which is just so much better now that we've seen "This Place Is Death." The episode concerns Sayid going into the jungle and meeting Rousseau, while flashbacks tell of Sayid's time in the Republican Guard and his being forced to torture Nadia, with whom he has fallen in love. Well, let's get started.

Sayid finds a cable on the ground leading from the ocean to the jungle. What the cable's purpose is (or where it leads) isn't revealed at this point, but we later find out that it runs from the Looking Glass station underwater to an unknown point on the Island, and serves as an anchor for the station. However, Mikhail has described cables from the Flame to other DHARMA stations, so the cable may serve as a communications wire as well.

Sayid is captured by one of Danielle Rousseau's many traps. Other traps include a spiky ball that swings like a pendulum, a crossbow rigged to a string, and giant nets that have caught Jack, Kate, and Ben.

Danielle asks Sayid where Alex is. Alex is with the Others, and considers Benjamin Linus her father. She'll later be killed by Martin Keamy at the Barracks.

We meet Ethan for the first time in this episode. It's rather fitting, introducing Danielle and Ethan in the same episode, because we'll later find out that Ethan aided Ben in the kidnapping of Danielle's daughter, Alex.

Sayid fixes Rousseau's msuic box. The music box was broken by Ben during the kidnapping of Alex, as he knocked it over, also alerting her to his presence.

There are several disrepancies between Danielle's story and what really happened. She claims that the rest of her team helped her dig out the temporary shelter, but we saw before that they were still living on the beach when she killed Robert, Brennan, and Lacombe, and was still on the beach as late as when Alex was kidnapped. She also mentions that they were "coming from the Black Rock," which they were not doing at all. They were trekking through the jungle after leaving the beach.

Rousseau says that the Others were the carriers. This is the first mention of "the Others" on the show, and she's referring to Ben, whom she believed was a carrier when he kidnapped Alex. However, immediately after that, she claims to have seen no Others on the Island, which is not true due to the event I just referenced. She later claims that there's "no such thing as monsters," even though she clearly saw ole Smokey rip off Montand's arm.

In flashbacks, Sayid helps Nadia escape the Rublican Guard. He'll spend the next years of his life trying to find her, eventually succeeding after his escape from the Island. Shortly afterward, she will be killed by Ishmael Bakir, leading Sayid to begin working for Ben. Why was Nadia killed? Jacob was there when she died as well, and he apparently had something to do with it, keeping Sayid out of harm's way while leaving Nadia to walk out into the street. Which begs the question: who really killed Nadia?

Sayid tries to shoot Danielle, but discovers that the firing pin of her rifle has been removed. Danielle says that Robert made the same mistake when she killed him. This part of her story is true -- she shot him in the head after he tried to shoot her with a pinless rifle.

Danielle mentions the sickness. Is the sickness caused by the monster? Most likely. Everyone who went into the hole under the Temple wall was "infected," and apparently all wished to kill Rousseau. If the monster is indeed Jacob's nemesis like I believe he is, then this simply takes his anti-human agenda to the next level. "It all ends the same way," he claims.

Sayid hears the whispers for the first time while walking in the jungle. The whispers are one of the oldest mysteries that we've never really gotten an answer to, and we haven't even gotten the slightest clue as to what they are, really. I really hope that they're covered in the sixth season, because they're so intriguing.

And that's it for episode 1x09, "Solitary." You can discuss the episode in this forum thread, read others' posts about it at the rewatch hub, and edit the episode's article.

The Lost Rewatch: 1x08 "Confidence Man"

2009-06-18T17:56:00.004-04:00

I've gotten my share of criticism over the past few days regarding these recaps, which people say are starting to be more and more like just synopses. And while I can agree with that, I would just like everyone to understand that not every episode has content that can be drawn to plot a conjecture for the sixth season. Some episodes are only important in their context, and will hold no further meaning. I've been attempting to link to future episodes with these rewatch posts, but sometimes it's a little hard. So bear with me; the really juicy bits will be coming in season two with the deepening mythology of the show.

I'm going to be trying a different method of recapping with this episode's blog, so tell me what you think and if you like this way better.

Sawyer is reading Watership Down in the first season (or rather, his book is with his things). Watership Down, though it still made mention on the show, was almost a much bigger part of the show through the character of Boone. The character was almost named Boone Anthony Markham V, and would have been referred to on the show as "Five," an almost exact reference to one of the rabbits in Watership Down named Fiver, who has dreams that can tell the future. This is an even bigger coincidence (or lack of one) when we find out that Watership Down was originally Boone's book.

We see Sawyer's past as a con-man, a profession he received from Locke's father, Anthony Cooper, who led to the death of Sawyer's parents. Sawyer's inability to let go (as shown in the flashback from "The Incident, Parts 1 & 2" when he is told to stop writing the letter but later continues anyway) is almost certainly what contributed to his becoming a con man, and following in the steps of the man he hated most. At least he'll finally get to kill Cooper on the Island in "The Brig."

Kate says she sees humanity in Sawyer. Her hatred of him right now is very interesting to watch, because by the time season three rolls around, that dynamic will be the complete opposite of what it is at this point. Soon after that, Kate reads Sawyer's letter, which we saw him write in "The Incident, Parts 1 & 2." Most of it was actually written with Jacob's pen. Does this mean that Jacob wanted Sawyer to continue down his spiral of self-destruction? He obviously had some form of foresight in visiting him in the first place, so the question remains: why?

Locke tries to blame Sawyer for knocking Sayid out and destroying the transceiver, and his lie is very well orchestrated, even though we'll find out later that he really did it. Why? For the same reason he blew up the flame, the sub, and tried to kill Naomi. His connection with the Island is very powerful.

Jessica's husband David mentions a "loophole" while negotiating business with Sawyer in the flashback. While I'm not suggesting that there's any connection--that'd be stupid--it was quite a bit shocking to hear that word so soon in the show, but to not know that it would have such relevance.

Charlie asks Hurley if he's hoarding food. Though he's offended now, in a few weeks, when the pantry of the hatch is opened, he'll be hoarding food, fitting right into his stereotype.

Sayid's torturous past is revealed through his torture of Sawyer. And who did he learn the skill of torturing from? None other than Kelvin Joe Inman, who lived on the Island for years before the plane crash, and died on the very same day 815 split up in midair.

Sayid leaves the beach after the torture of Sawyer. He'll find Danielle Rousseau next episode. But we'll leave that for then.

And that's it for episode 1x08, "Confidence Man." You can discuss the episode in this forum thread, read others' posts about it at the rewatch hub, and edit the episode's article.

The Lost Rewatch: 1x07 "The Moth"

2009-06-17T14:11:00.003-04:00

Because we're so pressed for time, I'm posting the review for "The Moth" right away. Don't be surprised if I post more today -- I've still got five more to go after this one.

"The Moth" is the seventh episode of season one, as well as the seventh episode of the series as a whole. It shows us the past of Charlie Pace, the rock star, who is also undergoing detox on the Island with the help of Locke.

Kate and Jack continue to bicker about the caves, but Kate says that she wants to go through with Sayid's plan to triangulate a signal to call for help, a plan that is destined to fail for two reasons: Locke, and the Looking Glass.

In a flashback, Charlie confesses his sins to a priest, and vows to quit the band. However, as soon as he leaves the confession booth, he meets Liam, his brother, who tells him that the band has signed a records deal.

Locke tells Charlie that he can ask for the drugs three times, and after the third time Locke will return the drugs to Charlie. Charlie asks him why, but Locke says that it's to give Charlie a choice.

Later, Charlie, who has been told he's in the way, finally tells his frustrations to Jack, but the cave collapses, trapping Jack inside. Charlie and Michael go to the beach for help, and get Steve and Scott (who they famously mix up) to help.

Meanwhile, in a flashback, Charlie confronts Liam, who has broken another promise once again. Back on the Island, Charlie goes to find Locke to help, and Locke tells Charlie the moth parable. Charlie asks for his drugs the second time, and Locke says he has one more chance. Charlie returns to the caves, and volunteers to go inside and rescue Jack. A flashback shows him being yelled at by his brother, eventually turning to his brother's drugs. Charlie reaches Jack in the cave, but the tunnel collapses behind him. Charlie tells Jack "I'm here to rescue you," a line that will be repeated (once again to Jack) by Daniel Faraday.

Charlie, seeing a moth in the cave, finds a way out through a hole in the roof. He's a hero this time, and even Hurley says "Dude, you rock" (another hint at the beginning of a beautiful friendship).

Meanwhile, Sayid is able to triangulate the signal, but is knocked unconscious by an unseen person (Locke) before he is able to do anything. His tranciever is destroyed.

Later, Charlie goes and meets Locke, asking for his drugs a third time. Locke, disappointed, gives them to Charlie, who promptly tosses them into the fire. Locke is proud. Charlie looks up, and once again sees a moth, closing out the episode.

And that's it for episode 1x07, "The Moth." You can discuss the episode in this forum thread, read others' posts about it at the rewatch hub, and edit the episode's article.

The Lost Rewatch: 1x06 "House of the Rising Sun"

2009-06-17T12:18:00.004-04:00

Now moving on to the sixth episode of the series, this is the first Sun/Jin centric episode we've had, and it opens up quite the can of worms.

The episode opens up with Sun observing Kate and Jack discussing Jack's tattoos, which he claims are personal. The tattoos in fact came from Achara in "Stranger in a Strange Land" (one of my least favorite episodes), and they mean "he walks among us, but is not one of us," according to the Others' sheriff, Isabel.

As Jack, Kate, and Charlie head off to the caves to get water, Sun has a flashback to her clandestine affair with Jin, a waiter. Jin is much more romantic then than he is on the Island, as a result of working for Sun's father. Sun refuses to elope with Jin because her father will not allow it, but Jin insists that he'll convince Mr. Paik.

Back on the Island, Jin assaults Michael. While this attack seems unprovoked, it's actually because Michael is wearing the watch that belonged to Jin. It's a sad twist, but after Michael escapes the Island, he will pawn the watch off for a gun to kill himself with, but that gun will ultimately not work. Ultimately, Sayid and Sawyer work to break up Jin and Michael, handcuffing Jin to the fuselage.

Meanwhile, at the caves, Charlie sneaks off to take some drugs when he is suddenly confronted by Locke, who tells him not to move. While Locke does not say anything about the drugs now, they will be the focus of next week's episode. Charlie's standing on a beehive, Locke says.

Back at the beach, Michael tells Sayid that in America, Koreans don't like blacks. This is slightly humorous, because Harold Perrineau will continue accusing people of racism even after he leaves the show. Sun tries to tell them that it's the watch, but they think she's talking about the handcuffs.

In a flashback, Jin goes to work for Sun's father, allowing them to be married.

Meanwhile, as Kate flees the bees, she sees a skeleton. It's Adam and/or Eve (who I think are Rose and Bernard). They have black and white stones on their bodies (another reference to the black and white of Rose and Bernard). Charlie makes a funny joke that Kate's shirt was full of C's, not bees, something that Kate doesn't seem to appreciate. Jack notices that one of the skeletons is female, and Locke dubs them "Adam and Eve."

In a flashback, Jin gives Sun a dog (which he actually recieved from Byung Han in exchange for not hurting him).

While Locke volunteers to search the fuselage at the caves with Charlie to "get to know him a little better," Jack realizes that the caves would be a good place to live. Locke stays with Charlie, and tells him that he's heard of Drive Shaft, and has both their albums. Locke tells Charlie that he'll see his guitar again, but Charlie is doubtful.

In a flashback, Sun prepares to leave Jin at the airport. Back on the Island, she reveals to Michael that she can speak English, though it's a secret from her husband because of his temper. The secret will be revealed to Jin by the episode "...In Translation," and we'll find out that Sun was right for not telling him.

Meanwhile, at the caves, Locke offers to help Charlie detox, telling him that he knows a lot about pain (after all, he was thrown from a window). Locke says that he'll help Charlie find his guitar if Charlie will give him the drugs. Charlie agrees, and Locke points up to show the guitar stuck in the canopy.

Michael confronts Jin, setting him free but giving him back the watch and telling him to stay away. In a flashback, Jin shows his more tender side to Sun by holding up a flower, convincing her not to leave him.

At the end of the episode, the group at the caves and the group at the beach both talk peacefully. It's not the last time that the survivors will split into factions, however.

As the episode ends, Charlie plays his guitar, slowly beginning his detox from the heroin.

And that's it for episode 1x06, "House of the Rising Sun." You can discuss the episode in this forum thread, read others' posts about it at the rewatch hub, and edit the episode's article.

Seasons 1 & 2 released on Blu-Ray

2009-06-16T13:47:00.002-04:00

The day has finally come: seasons one and two are finally available in the high definition of Blu-ray disc. All four seasons are now available (in the United States) in Blu-Ray, and now the collections can finally be completed.

This release is also just in time for The Lost Rewatch, so that you can rewatch along in high-quality style. Maybe you'll catch something you missed the second time around.

For more information on the Blu-Ray release, see my earlier blog post.

LP Caption Contest #4

2009-06-15T22:19:00.001-04:00

By the request of Luke, here's the image from an earlier blog post of mine for a caption contest. Enjoy.If anyone's curious, the image is from "Eggtown."

The Lost Rewatch: 1x05 "White Rabbit"

2009-06-15T12:25:00.003-04:00

Sorry that we're a week behind, but hopefully we'll be fully caught up by the end of this week, with eight new mini-posts that recap episodes five through twelve. This is the first one, for "White Rabbit," the first episode that shows us a glimpse into Jack's pre-Oceanic past.

We open with a scene from Jack's childhood, in which he and Marc Silverman are getting beaten up. Jack is given lenience if he'll just stay down, but he shows his need to fix things by trying to help Marc, which ends up resulting in his knockout. We'll see Marc again in season two as best man in Jack's wedding to Sarah. Jack comes out of his flashback to hear Charlie screaming at him, who tells him that Joanna's drowning in the ocean. Charlie ssays that he would go but he "can't swim." We now know that he can swim rather well, and that this is just another expression of his cowardice at this very dark point of his life.

Jack pulls Boone out of the ocean, but realizes that Boone was trying to save another woman who was drowning, Joanna Miller, another example of Boone's poor lifeguarding skills. Jack tries to save Joanna, but it's too late. She's drowned. After the Lost intertitle, Kate reveals that Joanna wasn't supposed to be on the flight, just like everyone else. Jack tells Kate he regrets his actions, and then he sees Christian standing in the surf. Now, who is this apparition of Christian? If you've read my earlier deconstructing blog, you'll know that I believe that this is "the monster," which is the same entity as Jacob's nemesis. To me, it just makes sense.

Kate thinks that Jack is overexhausted, but he refuses to rest. Sun watches Michael as he impatiently deals with Walt's questions, but she is interrupted by Jin, who stresses that they don't need anyone else. By three years later, in the DHARMA Initiative, however, he believes in team effort, speaking flawless English and working with Sawyer and Miles. Speaking of Sawyer, during his following confrontation with Shannon, he's reading Watership Down, the first literary reference we've had on the show. Saawyer will show his love of reading throughout the rest of the show, but it's fun to see it beginning now. But we also know that the book he's reading will cause him quite a lot of trouble with a certain Iraqi.

Hurley tells Jack that he looks "tired, brother." The nickname "brother" will later be used by a certain Scotsman, but without the last two letters. Hurley also tells Jack that they have a limited supply of water. Jack refuses to make a decision, something that he'll later come to regret when Boone steals the water. Jack walks out of his tent, and we get a wooshless flashback to his childhood. Christian berates him for trying to fix everything. Back on the Island, Jack follows his apparition of Christian, asking him "Dad?" when he sees his face, much like Locke will ask in "The Man From Tallahassee" when he finds Anthony Cooper being held captive by the Others. In a flashback, Margo Shephard tells Jack to go after his father, who has gone to Australia. Jack is unwilling to, but she forcefully tells him to go, after "what he did" (the events of the flashback in "A Tale of Two Cities").

After the water is stolen, Locke goes off into the jungle to find freshwater. He knows where to look, he says. Jack looks for his father in the jungle, meanwhile, but flashbacks to Australia, where he's looking for his father. Christian was in Australia to try and see his daughter, Claire. Christian is missing from his hotel room. But after the flashback, Jack finds him once again on the Island. Chasing after him, Jack nearly falls into a very deep ravine, grabbing onto a root at the last minute. He's then saved by Locke, but can only laugh hysterically. Charlie brings Claire some water, and stays by her side, cracking jokes and making her more comfortable. Hurley finds out that Sun has water, and Sayid asks her where she got the water. Kate insists Sun doesn't understand, but the ever persistent and intuitive Sayid insists that she does understand. And he's right, she does understand. Jin intervenes, and eventually tells them that Sawyer gave them the water. Sayid tells them to wait, so that Sawyer would lead them to their stash. However, he doesn't have the water, but he gives her the marshal's badge.

Locke tells Jack he must be a leader, and also cites his believe in destiny. Locke tells him that he's looked into the eye of the Island, and what he saw was beautiful. There was another reference to eyes. He was presumably talking about his experience with the monster, or the "bright light" that he saw. In a flashback, Jack goes to a morgue and finds the dead body of his father. Back on the Island, he sees Christian again, but this time he is led to the caves, where there is plenty of fresh water. There's a baby doll in the water, from an apparently shipment of them that fell outo of the plane. There's bits of the fuselage there at the caves as well. He finds his father's coffin there, but it's empty. A flashback shows him arguing with a ticket agent at the airport about the coffin. The disappearance of the bodyis distinctly different from what happened to Locke in season five, however. In season five, the body was left behind and a doppelganger tooks its place. It appears this time that Christian's body itself has been possessed.

Boone is revealed to have stolen the water, but Jack returns, giving his famous "live together, die alone" speech. Sun and Jin are shown to be growing closer once again. Jack tells Kate that his father died in Sydney, and that's the end of the episode.

You can discuss "White Rabbit" in this forum thread. You can find others' reviews of this episode at the Lostpedia hub. Look for my recap of "House of the Rising Sun" soon.

Rewatch blog update

2009-06-14T15:35:00.003-04:00

Sorry that we haven't had any rewatch updates to the blog this week. It's been a crazy week for me, and I just haven't had a chance to watch the four episodes. But don't worry -- next week, I will have eight mini-blogs to catch-up, with one for each episode. By the end of next week, we'll be all caught up.

I can't promise that such delays won't happen again, but I hope we'll be able to avoid them for a while.

Thanks for sticking around, guys!

Lost: Messages From The Island

2009-06-10T17:53:00.002-04:00

I started reading Lost: The Official Magazine at around the same time I began watching Lost. The first issue I bought was the "Season 3 Is Here" issue, the seventh issued. I've bought as many issues of the magazine as I could since then, but have not been able to get back issues of the magazine, and therefore have not yet read the first six issues of the magazine. I'm sure that's the case with many of you as well.

So imagine my happiness when I found out that Titan Books was coming out with a compilation book of their best articles, mainly from the ones I missed! The book, titled Lost: Messages From The Island, is slated to be released June 30 by Titan Books (the sister company of Titan Magazines, who publish the Lost magazine.

I received my advance review copy of the book today, and I must say that it quickly took away any want I had for back issues of the Lost magazine. It's a paperback, and in its 176 glossy pages, the magazine encompasses everything I love about Lost magazine, and everything I was afraid I had missed. It's a truly stunning collection of behind-the-scenes images and interviews that has just as much value as any special features on the DVD.

The full-sized book starts with an introduction from show creators Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, thanking the creators of Lost magazine for helping to compile "this engaging and entertaining slice of Lost history." Ending with the salutation "Peace, love, and Namaste" (a phrase sure to live on in the Lost fandom), the letter adds an official weight to the magazine. It's the first of its kind since the season one guide The Lost Chronicles, and it's oh-so-much better.

The book then lapses into presenting its best from the magazine, and starts right off with content from the first issue, "Cast Away," which includes a neat section with passenger cards for many of the mean characters (at the time of the issue), and an interview with Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly, which is actually really informative for a cast interview. Other sections from issue one include interviews with the VFX team, Dominic Monaghan and Emilie de Ravin, and Damon Lindelof. They're all great interviews, as are the rest of the interviews in the book. Almost every main actor from the first two seasons in interviewed in-depth in the book,

However, the real gems in the book are wonderful interviews with the production and post-production crew of Lost, like set designer Ron Yates, who discussed the conception of the raft, along with great concept art that shows just how deeply sets like that are thought out. There's another section of concept art that shows the wreckage of flight 815 as it was originally planned, in which the tail section landed on the beach with the rest of the plane (an idea that we know was later scrapped in favor of the tail section crashing on the opposite side of the Island). Another piece of concept art shows the tunnel leading into the Swan station, another intricately thought-out set design.

There's a nice storyboard of a scene from "Man of Science, Man of Faith," in which Kate gets lowered into the hatch that is quite interesting, especially when placed side-by-side to screen captures from the actual episode.

Still photos from both the episode and behind the scenes by Mario Perez dot each page, and give us a deeper glimpse into the world of Lost, as does the rest of the book. Though only season two is covered, the book is a worthwhile read, especially for those who were (like me) unlucky enough to get the first six issues of the magazine.

Paul Terry teases that another "Best of" collection may be coming in the future, and I must say, I cannot wait for it to come. If it's anything like this one, it'll be a definite keepsake. But I'm getting ahead of myself -- I'll still be poring over this book for months to come!

Lost: Messages From The Island will hit shelves on June 30. You can pre-order it from Amazon now. It's worth every cent.

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