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

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"

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"

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"

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

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"

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"

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"

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.