After some fans’ complaints of previous episodes being “filler”, last Tuesday’s episode, “Lighthouse” was anything but. After 5 seasons of questions and inch-by-inch answers, the mysteries surrounding the show and its characters are starting to slowly unravel (slowly being the key word here). Though the promos keep saying “the time for answers is here!” who’s to say that they can’t pose new questions?
A lot of ground was covered in Lighthouse. From character secrets and motivations to action and suspenseful locations and journeys, it was certainly a thought-provoking and entertaining bit of television.
Now that we’ve seen a bit more of her since learning of her declared “infection” it appears and though she might actually be infected (say it ain’t so!). If she’s not infected however, something else is clearly going on inside that innocence-ridden brain of hers. 3 years alone on an island will likely do that to ‘ya, though.
According to Claire, the Others have tortured her as well and taken Aaron (though he’s clearly off-island…or is he?) which was later re-affirmed by her saying that that’s what her dad told her.
Talk about a jam-packed opening. Everyone’s been yearning for Claire’s reappearance, but were they expecting a whole slur of new questions to be stapled to her? Doubt it. Though, what is going on with her? Infection? Delusional bouts of craziness? Who knows? What we do know, however, is:
- Claire believes Aaron was taken by the Temple Others, which is interesting because she left him in the jungle (but maybe it wasn’t her choice as much as Christian’s)
- Speaking of Christian, Claire repeatedly mentions him and says that he was the one who told her about Aaron. Though, where is Christian? Is he actually (somehow and mysteriously) alive? It’s possible that the-entity-formerly-known-as-Locke could’ve taken on the form of him in order to manipulate Claire, but wouldn’t she be a bit suspicious?
- Claire is aware that she’s spent time on the island alone (which is good; the first step is admitting she has a problem)
With that said, I guess we don’t really know a whole lot about Crazy Jungle Claire after all.
In other Island news, Hurley sees Jacob who tells him to go to the Lighthouse and to take Jack with him (otherwise he’d get upset because he wasn’t invited, right?). When Hurley says the key words, “You have what it takes” to convince Jack, he, as well as the audience is reminded that those are the words of Christian Shepard. Seemingly enough to convince Jack, he actually…wait for it…acknowledges seeing dead-Christian after...how many seasons? 4? 5? It's nice that the characters are starting to spill their beans and secrets as well as their reasons for coming to the island.
On the way to the lighthouse, we encounter a previous location…the caves! It was pretty cool to see them for the first time since season one, as well as Adam & Eve, and Shannon’s elusive inhaler (she doesn’t have much use for it now, does she?). Another thing that I’m sure was appreciated by other fans were Hurley’s comments regarding time travel and the skeletons, saying that they could be one of them. I’ve heard that theory before and I’d bet that Hurley’s thoughts are correct: it is someone alive and well on the island. Though we don’t know who Adam & Eve are yet or where they came from, it was still nice to know that the writers are acknowledging their existence and that they haven’t forgotten about them quite yet.
So, it turns out that the title of the episode has a literal meaning: there is actually a lighthouse on the island. Surprised? Why? There’s a ship and polar bears on the island, so why not a lighthouse?
Per Jacob’s instructions, Hurley and Jack mess with the pile of pulleys and levers to reveal rotating mirrors at the top, as well as the names of the Losties scribbled on the dial (corresponding with the numbers in MIB’s cavern). Looking into the mirror, Jack sees his childhood house, though he knows it must be impossible. Enraged at his lack of answers and not seeing Jacob, he smashes the mirrors (there’s the old Jack we know!), leaving Jacob’s orders left unfinished.
With the discovery of the lighthouse mirrors and numbers, combined with Jacob’s orders and mysterious ways, I'm starting to get the impression that he's actually not the "good" guy. He's basically manipulated everyone and eliminated their free will to get them to the island for—what I assume to be—his own needs.
So much is still left unanswered about Jacob and his bizarre instructions and appearances, that is seems almost impossible to resolve all of them before the May series finale. Like the rest of the mysteries, we’ll be fed them bit-by-bit as they start to impact the lives of the characters and current plot situations.
According to Jacob, the purpose of the lighthouse mission was to turn on/activate it so an un-named someone can find the island. That little bit of information leads to so many questions in itself. If Jacob wants this person to come to the island, why can’t he guide them there himself? Also, why does this person need help finding the island? If it's someone worthy to be on the island, finding it should be no problem.
This also brings up the issue of alternate plans for guiding the person to the island, being that Jack smashed the mirrors to pieces. Through Jacob’s calm response and demeanor, it almost seems like Jacob wanted Jack to look into and break the mirrors.
Lastly, it’s revealed that Claire’s “friend” that she talked about is actually Flocke and she’s been talking to him for some time now. How does this all fit into the Lost equation? I have no idea. If Claire is, in fact, infected, than Flocke was probably the thing that caused it.
All in all, a great episode and a lot of interesting points and plot pieces to be pondered to hold everyone over until Tuesday.
The next episode of Lost, “Sundown” aires Tuesday, March 2nd.
Namaste
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Episode 6x05 Lighthouse
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
What Kate Did
After last week’s episode, it seemed hard for the next one to disappoint. Fan reception of last night’s What Kate Does wasn’t as great as one might have hoped and the episode as a whole left something to be desired.
The alternate timeline picks up where it left off in the premiere, with (a very violent) Kate hi-jacking Claire’s taxi. She eventually feels remorse regarding her actions, and finding that Claire was going into labor, drives her to the hospital. While Claire is waiting, a familiar-faced doctor comes in to check on her, Ethan Rom. The parallels between the nice, good-natured Ethan in this “when” with Ethan on the island, kidnapping Claire were great choices by the writers, providing a great mini-twist as well as showing the extreme contrasting nature of both situations.
Ironically, while Claire is having her sonogram, she blurts out of nowhere that she wants to name her baby Aaron. This is an interesting scenario due to the fact that Claire deliberated over baby names on the island for quite some time, while this alt. Claire just blurted it out as if she already knew it, possibly showing that both realities are starting to merge. If so, it would explain other occurrences involving characters recognizing other people and things from their on-island time (i.e. noticing Jack, Charlie “supposed to die, etc.).
Many fans aren’t too keen on Kate-centric episodes, but the Kate-Claire interactions proved to be crucial to the plot off the island and-- I’m sure later in the season—on the island as well. Regardless, the Kate nature of the episode was interesting character-wise, though not in plot advancements.
Back in the Temple, it looks like Sayid is “infected” with something and didn’t pass the Others’ “test”. Though Sayid seems a little off in this episode, he, like Jack said, “isn’t even running a fever.” The way everything is said about the sickness and how everyone reacts, it appears to be the same “infection” that plagued Rousseau’s science team. If we look back to the flash last season to Rousseau’s beach camp, it can be inferred that the sickness has some relation to exposure to the smoke monster. Here’s the weird part though: Sayid never was near the smoke monster, right? He’s been pretty sedentary ever since he was shot last season. It looks like we’ll have to wait until next episode to find out what’s going on though.
In relation to Sayid’s infection, the Others seem to be dodging questions quite seriously. Whether it’s about what’s really going on with Sayid, the Ajira 316 flight, or Rousseau, everything is kept under wraps. Why, though? Because they can? Or do they have a good reason for not sharing their information and giving vague answers about everything? This is the main reason why the episode seems to have failed as a whole. The characters have the same questions we do and they’re not getting answered, just being disregarded. The unnecessary violence of the Others and lack of question answering has gotten many irritated with the Others’ presence as a whole. Until this season, we had a pretty good idea of who they were. Now, they’re back to the ragged clothes and yet another person is claiming to be the “leader”. So how many leaders does that make now? Let’s see: Ben, Richard, Jacob, Locke, Dogan…hmm…four leaders too many?
Though, the episode did have one good thing going for it: for the first time since season 4, Claire showed up on the island in new footage (and actually seen by another character!) But she’s not exactly the innocent-looking Claire we last saw. She looks rather rugged and paranoid kind of like Rousseau when her team was infected. If the excitement is to last by this revelation, Claire’s got some explaining to do about where she’s been and what’s been going on. Maybe a flashback of her disappearance is in store?
Yet, by this unveiling comes another mystery: apparently, Claire was (or is) sick/infected. Clearly, the Temple Others know something about it, so if they choose to start answering some questions, they could have interesting bits of information to share.
From the look of the promo for the next episode, entitled The Substitute, we’re going to get some nice MIB action and island revelations. It’s also going to be interesting to see how everyone else reacts when they realize that “Locke” isn’t Locke anymore. Hopefully the plot next week will be a nice break from the vague nature of the Temple dwelling Others.
Until next time, stay Lost, and Namaste.
The alternate timeline picks up where it left off in the premiere, with (a very violent) Kate hi-jacking Claire’s taxi. She eventually feels remorse regarding her actions, and finding that Claire was going into labor, drives her to the hospital. While Claire is waiting, a familiar-faced doctor comes in to check on her, Ethan Rom. The parallels between the nice, good-natured Ethan in this “when” with Ethan on the island, kidnapping Claire were great choices by the writers, providing a great mini-twist as well as showing the extreme contrasting nature of both situations.
Ironically, while Claire is having her sonogram, she blurts out of nowhere that she wants to name her baby Aaron. This is an interesting scenario due to the fact that Claire deliberated over baby names on the island for quite some time, while this alt. Claire just blurted it out as if she already knew it, possibly showing that both realities are starting to merge. If so, it would explain other occurrences involving characters recognizing other people and things from their on-island time (i.e. noticing Jack, Charlie “supposed to die, etc.).
Many fans aren’t too keen on Kate-centric episodes, but the Kate-Claire interactions proved to be crucial to the plot off the island and-- I’m sure later in the season—on the island as well. Regardless, the Kate nature of the episode was interesting character-wise, though not in plot advancements.
Back in the Temple, it looks like Sayid is “infected” with something and didn’t pass the Others’ “test”. Though Sayid seems a little off in this episode, he, like Jack said, “isn’t even running a fever.” The way everything is said about the sickness and how everyone reacts, it appears to be the same “infection” that plagued Rousseau’s science team. If we look back to the flash last season to Rousseau’s beach camp, it can be inferred that the sickness has some relation to exposure to the smoke monster. Here’s the weird part though: Sayid never was near the smoke monster, right? He’s been pretty sedentary ever since he was shot last season. It looks like we’ll have to wait until next episode to find out what’s going on though.
In relation to Sayid’s infection, the Others seem to be dodging questions quite seriously. Whether it’s about what’s really going on with Sayid, the Ajira 316 flight, or Rousseau, everything is kept under wraps. Why, though? Because they can? Or do they have a good reason for not sharing their information and giving vague answers about everything? This is the main reason why the episode seems to have failed as a whole. The characters have the same questions we do and they’re not getting answered, just being disregarded. The unnecessary violence of the Others and lack of question answering has gotten many irritated with the Others’ presence as a whole. Until this season, we had a pretty good idea of who they were. Now, they’re back to the ragged clothes and yet another person is claiming to be the “leader”. So how many leaders does that make now? Let’s see: Ben, Richard, Jacob, Locke, Dogan…hmm…four leaders too many?
Though, the episode did have one good thing going for it: for the first time since season 4, Claire showed up on the island in new footage (and actually seen by another character!) But she’s not exactly the innocent-looking Claire we last saw. She looks rather rugged and paranoid kind of like Rousseau when her team was infected. If the excitement is to last by this revelation, Claire’s got some explaining to do about where she’s been and what’s been going on. Maybe a flashback of her disappearance is in store?
Yet, by this unveiling comes another mystery: apparently, Claire was (or is) sick/infected. Clearly, the Temple Others know something about it, so if they choose to start answering some questions, they could have interesting bits of information to share.
From the look of the promo for the next episode, entitled The Substitute, we’re going to get some nice MIB action and island revelations. It’s also going to be interesting to see how everyone else reacts when they realize that “Locke” isn’t Locke anymore. Hopefully the plot next week will be a nice break from the vague nature of the Temple dwelling Others.
Until next time, stay Lost, and Namaste.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Season 6 Premiere - LA X Parts 1 & 2
After the near 8-month hiatus since last years season finale, the final season of Lost premiered last Tuesday. The torturous wait concluded with the opening scene of the 2-hour event, curiously showing Jack aboard Oceanic 815, though with somewhat reversed circumstances.
As the dialogue plays out on 815, the view drops below the plane, into the ocean and the viewer begins to see some fairly familiar items: some houses strangely resembling those in Dharmaville, a branded shark, and, surprisingly of all, the four-toed foot statue, fully immersed by the water and covered in seaweed.
It appears as if we're being shown an alternate timeline in which 815 safely lands in Los Angeles, though the island is submerged with the passengers far from it. Though, what exactly caused the alt-timeline? Or was it caused at all? Maybe it always was. If it was a result of the Jughead detonation, than the Losties have certainly, unknown to them, caused a world of trouble. Considering their own wants and desires that led to the bomb going off, it seems like no one thought of any possible repercussions for committing the act. All they thought of was alleviating all the stress caused by their time on the island, and failed to consider anything outside of their own lives that would be affected.
Back on the island in the present, it seems that Faraday was correct in his theory that the bomb worked. However, instead of those of 815 having their island memories erased and lives re-set to be in L.A., an alt-timeline was created instead, where the island is uninhabited and submerged. The irony here is that their desire to have to bomb work was fulfilled, though the circumstances that followed were anything but.
Following up from last season, Jacob seems to actually be dead (hence the appearance to Hurley) though this leads to the ever-popular fan question that ironically Ben Linus shares, "Why didn't he put up a fight?" If Jacob is supposed to be this great and powerful leader, why would he just give in like that and let the MIB run amuck on the island? Does he have something left up his sleeve so he'll get the last laugh? Hmm...
Speaking of the MIB, confirming some fan beliefs, he is actually the smoke monster. Probably the most intriguing mystery of the show since the Pilot is finally solved. Well, to a point at least. The look on Ben's face when he attacks Bram and followers inside the statue pretty much sums up the faces and minds of all the people watching. What's going on here?
While the action goes on inside the statue, Jack & Co. at the destructed Swan site find Juliet still alive at the bottom of the wreck, still enough breath left to mutter, "It worked." It can be inferred that she's referencing Jughead, but you never know for sure.
When a dead Jacob appears to Hurley and insists that he take Sayid to the Temple, viewers are suprised to find that we're actually going to see the Temple (not the perimeter) for the first time after countless mentioning of this somewhat secret place. Inside, we see Cindy, Zach and Emma from 815 for the first time since season 3, showing that they've acclimated to life with the Others and are quite comfortable living there (and not too excited to see Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Sawyer).
Oddly enough, there's a murky pool of water inside the Temple, strangely resembling the water that Ben drains to summon the smoke monster in season 4. Connection? Regardless, it seems to have lost its healing effects, but strangely enough, Sayid is brought back with no recollection of what had happened. I've read some theories that Sayid's body is Jacob's "loophole" to kill the MIB, but I think it's still too early to tell. Possibly an even stronger question: if Sayid is still Sayid, how was he healed if the water is contaminated?
It's safe to assume that many of the answers that viewers seek are rooted deep within the mythological aspects and origins of the island. Being that he's spent centuries on the island, the MIB must certainly possess many of the answers that the characters and viewers alike are searching for. Though, I’m sure those are questions that, if answered, will be thinly spread throughout the course of the entire season (they’ve got to keep us watching, right?).
As if your head wasn't spinning enough, during the last moments of the episode, the MIB knocks out Richard after mentioning, "It’s nice to see you out of those chains." So, was Richard a prisoner of sorts, or was MIB speaking of metaphorical chains? I think the former. I think it fits well that Richard was a prisoner on the Black Rock, and has remained on the island since, alongside Jacob and doing his bidding.
As the dialogue plays out on 815, the view drops below the plane, into the ocean and the viewer begins to see some fairly familiar items: some houses strangely resembling those in Dharmaville, a branded shark, and, surprisingly of all, the four-toed foot statue, fully immersed by the water and covered in seaweed.
It appears as if we're being shown an alternate timeline in which 815 safely lands in Los Angeles, though the island is submerged with the passengers far from it. Though, what exactly caused the alt-timeline? Or was it caused at all? Maybe it always was. If it was a result of the Jughead detonation, than the Losties have certainly, unknown to them, caused a world of trouble. Considering their own wants and desires that led to the bomb going off, it seems like no one thought of any possible repercussions for committing the act. All they thought of was alleviating all the stress caused by their time on the island, and failed to consider anything outside of their own lives that would be affected.
Back on the island in the present, it seems that Faraday was correct in his theory that the bomb worked. However, instead of those of 815 having their island memories erased and lives re-set to be in L.A., an alt-timeline was created instead, where the island is uninhabited and submerged. The irony here is that their desire to have to bomb work was fulfilled, though the circumstances that followed were anything but.
Following up from last season, Jacob seems to actually be dead (hence the appearance to Hurley) though this leads to the ever-popular fan question that ironically Ben Linus shares, "Why didn't he put up a fight?" If Jacob is supposed to be this great and powerful leader, why would he just give in like that and let the MIB run amuck on the island? Does he have something left up his sleeve so he'll get the last laugh? Hmm...
Speaking of the MIB, confirming some fan beliefs, he is actually the smoke monster. Probably the most intriguing mystery of the show since the Pilot is finally solved. Well, to a point at least. The look on Ben's face when he attacks Bram and followers inside the statue pretty much sums up the faces and minds of all the people watching. What's going on here?
While the action goes on inside the statue, Jack & Co. at the destructed Swan site find Juliet still alive at the bottom of the wreck, still enough breath left to mutter, "It worked." It can be inferred that she's referencing Jughead, but you never know for sure.
When a dead Jacob appears to Hurley and insists that he take Sayid to the Temple, viewers are suprised to find that we're actually going to see the Temple (not the perimeter) for the first time after countless mentioning of this somewhat secret place. Inside, we see Cindy, Zach and Emma from 815 for the first time since season 3, showing that they've acclimated to life with the Others and are quite comfortable living there (and not too excited to see Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Sawyer).
Oddly enough, there's a murky pool of water inside the Temple, strangely resembling the water that Ben drains to summon the smoke monster in season 4. Connection? Regardless, it seems to have lost its healing effects, but strangely enough, Sayid is brought back with no recollection of what had happened. I've read some theories that Sayid's body is Jacob's "loophole" to kill the MIB, but I think it's still too early to tell. Possibly an even stronger question: if Sayid is still Sayid, how was he healed if the water is contaminated?
It's safe to assume that many of the answers that viewers seek are rooted deep within the mythological aspects and origins of the island. Being that he's spent centuries on the island, the MIB must certainly possess many of the answers that the characters and viewers alike are searching for. Though, I’m sure those are questions that, if answered, will be thinly spread throughout the course of the entire season (they’ve got to keep us watching, right?).
As if your head wasn't spinning enough, during the last moments of the episode, the MIB knocks out Richard after mentioning, "It’s nice to see you out of those chains." So, was Richard a prisoner of sorts, or was MIB speaking of metaphorical chains? I think the former. I think it fits well that Richard was a prisoner on the Black Rock, and has remained on the island since, alongside Jacob and doing his bidding.
Lastly, MIB remarks that he is disappointed in “all of you”, pointing to those in the area of the statue. Who is he referring to exactly? The Others? People in general? Seems like we can add another mind-boggling question to the ever-growing list.
Concluding the premiere, the alternate timeline proves to be interesting as well as risky. Hopefully Damon and Carlton are able to realistically pull everything together in the end in a satisfying way. Seeing old faces again was satisfying enough, but I think I speak for the majority of the fan community when I say that everyone is looking for some scenes of old regulars on the island in real-time. *cough, cough* Claire (Hopefully she’s not only back for the alt-timeline).
With the amount of ground covered and questions answered and posed, Tuesday’s episode is sure to be interesting, to say the least.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Dr. Chang Video: "The Incident"
Months ago (probably before season 5 started) a sneak peak at LOST season 5 was released at the 2008 Comic-Con. It shows Dr. Chang being videoed by someone--who you'll come to recognize shortly--while he talks about future events and how they must be stopped.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo6Q7gzUjI8
Watch the video before reading below.
I had watched this video when it was first released but now having seen (12? 13?) season 5 episodes and watching the video again, it really makes you wonder and gives a lot of insight as to what the remaining episodes as well as the season finale holds.
As you may have guessed, the speaker/videographer is Daniel Faraday. Now knowing what we know about season 5, we can probably infer that this video was taken/is going to be taped while the Lostaways are on the 1977 island in the season 5 finale entitled 'The Incident'. The 'Incident' has been referenced numerous times throughout the series so I think it's going to be a great end to the season.
Wait! I'm LOST! What does this mean?
Well, The Incident that I'm guessing that this is referenced to is the incident in the Swan Station that 'Dr. Marvin Candle' talks about in the Swan Orientation Film. Apparently, the incident had to do with the build up of electromagnetic energy that caused the 'incident' which resulted in the DI making the Swan protocol where the numbers have to be entered every 108 minutes.
This incident likely occurred before 1980 (the production date of the film) when the Lostaways returned to the 1977 island time.
Obviously, after 108 minutes, the build up was enough to cause a great catastrophe in the Swan station. However, it is unknown what caused this incident to occur or what damaged it caused to the Swan station or those in and around it. Hopefully when this is shown to the audience, we'll get to see the creation/purpose of the Blast Door Map that is shown during the Lockdown in the Swan station.
With this video combined with the knowledge of season's mysteries and occurances, we can infer that this video is, in fact, referencing the 'incident' in the Swan station that we have yet to see and will likely be shown in the season 5 finale.
Just some food for though to hold us over until the new episode next week.
Namaste
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo6Q7gzUjI8
Watch the video before reading below.
I had watched this video when it was first released but now having seen (12? 13?) season 5 episodes and watching the video again, it really makes you wonder and gives a lot of insight as to what the remaining episodes as well as the season finale holds.
As you may have guessed, the speaker/videographer is Daniel Faraday. Now knowing what we know about season 5, we can probably infer that this video was taken/is going to be taped while the Lostaways are on the 1977 island in the season 5 finale entitled 'The Incident'. The 'Incident' has been referenced numerous times throughout the series so I think it's going to be a great end to the season.
Wait! I'm LOST! What does this mean?
Well, The Incident that I'm guessing that this is referenced to is the incident in the Swan Station that 'Dr. Marvin Candle' talks about in the Swan Orientation Film. Apparently, the incident had to do with the build up of electromagnetic energy that caused the 'incident' which resulted in the DI making the Swan protocol where the numbers have to be entered every 108 minutes.
This incident likely occurred before 1980 (the production date of the film) when the Lostaways returned to the 1977 island time.
Obviously, after 108 minutes, the build up was enough to cause a great catastrophe in the Swan station. However, it is unknown what caused this incident to occur or what damaged it caused to the Swan station or those in and around it. Hopefully when this is shown to the audience, we'll get to see the creation/purpose of the Blast Door Map that is shown during the Lockdown in the Swan station.
With this video combined with the knowledge of season's mysteries and occurances, we can infer that this video is, in fact, referencing the 'incident' in the Swan station that we have yet to see and will likely be shown in the season 5 finale.
Just some food for though to hold us over until the new episode next week.
Namaste
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Some Like It Hoth
So, apparently Miles can talk to dead people.
Though I mainly thought that nothing too too big was revealed in this episode, it did give some much needed insight to Miles' past and family. I for one thought (episodes ago) that Miles could be the child of Dr. Chang/Candle and it was confirmed. Being that I previously pondered that thought, the reveal wasn't too exciting for me. However, I did enjoy learning why Miles asked 3.2 million dollars from Ben.
Now that baby Miles was in the same time as adult Miles, wouldn't that kind of be against the rules of something? If Miles went into Dr. Chang/Candle's house, could he have held baby Miles? I'm pretty sure Faraday would disapprove of that. Hey! Speaking of Faraday, where was he for half a dozen episodes? Just hanging out in the Dharma submarine? Yeah, cool. I'd do the same thing if I were time traveling.
Really though, where was he and did he leave the island? I'm betting that the writers are saving Faraday's explorations and knowledge of the the island for an upcoming episode. Hopefully, they'll dedicate a nice chunk of time to it too.
Maybe it was just me but I thought Hurley writing 'The Empire Strikes Back' was utterly hilarious! Such a typical Hurley thing to do. Besides, the show needs some lightening up to deviate from the time-traveling-everyone's-going-to-die feel.
So...what really lies in the shadow of the statue? Jacob? The smoke monster? Vincent?! Maybe there's no real answer at all. Oh well, maybe once Rose and Bernard emerge from where ever they're hiding, they can shed some light on that being that they've been lazy the entire season!
I also thought that it was cool that we got to see the Dharma people etching the numbers into the Swan hatch. That's something that I never thought and it was a nice suprise. I'm still wondering why they were on the hatch though. What's the purpose?
During the middle of the episode, we see the corpse that Miles delievered be taken to the Orchid station. Hmmm...Orchid station, time travel, electromagnetism? Why would Dr. Chang/Candle want the body brought there? Not sure, but I definitely saw some Egyptian information on the board that Jack was erasing. Jeeze, these references sure are persistant.
All these questions and more (yeah, that's you Rose and Bernard!) will have to wait awhile longer because a new episode doesn't air for two weeks. Instead we get a clip show about the Oceanic 6. Now I love the O6 and everything but do we need an entire hour dedicated to their 'story'? I'm pretty sure that's what season 4 was for. Until next time...
Namaste
Though I mainly thought that nothing too too big was revealed in this episode, it did give some much needed insight to Miles' past and family. I for one thought (episodes ago) that Miles could be the child of Dr. Chang/Candle and it was confirmed. Being that I previously pondered that thought, the reveal wasn't too exciting for me. However, I did enjoy learning why Miles asked 3.2 million dollars from Ben.
Now that baby Miles was in the same time as adult Miles, wouldn't that kind of be against the rules of something? If Miles went into Dr. Chang/Candle's house, could he have held baby Miles? I'm pretty sure Faraday would disapprove of that. Hey! Speaking of Faraday, where was he for half a dozen episodes? Just hanging out in the Dharma submarine? Yeah, cool. I'd do the same thing if I were time traveling.
Really though, where was he and did he leave the island? I'm betting that the writers are saving Faraday's explorations and knowledge of the the island for an upcoming episode. Hopefully, they'll dedicate a nice chunk of time to it too.
Maybe it was just me but I thought Hurley writing 'The Empire Strikes Back' was utterly hilarious! Such a typical Hurley thing to do. Besides, the show needs some lightening up to deviate from the time-traveling-everyone's-going-to-die feel.
So...what really lies in the shadow of the statue? Jacob? The smoke monster? Vincent?! Maybe there's no real answer at all. Oh well, maybe once Rose and Bernard emerge from where ever they're hiding, they can shed some light on that being that they've been lazy the entire season!
I also thought that it was cool that we got to see the Dharma people etching the numbers into the Swan hatch. That's something that I never thought and it was a nice suprise. I'm still wondering why they were on the hatch though. What's the purpose?
During the middle of the episode, we see the corpse that Miles delievered be taken to the Orchid station. Hmmm...Orchid station, time travel, electromagnetism? Why would Dr. Chang/Candle want the body brought there? Not sure, but I definitely saw some Egyptian information on the board that Jack was erasing. Jeeze, these references sure are persistant.
All these questions and more (yeah, that's you Rose and Bernard!) will have to wait awhile longer because a new episode doesn't air for two weeks. Instead we get a clip show about the Oceanic 6. Now I love the O6 and everything but do we need an entire hour dedicated to their 'story'? I'm pretty sure that's what season 4 was for. Until next time...
Namaste
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Dead Is Dead
Wow. Just wow. I know I've said this before about episodes this season, but Dead Is Dead is definitely one of my favorites! I thought it would be a great episode and it was. This is because of two main things: we got tons of answers (good ones too!) with no filler, and more questions were posed which gives me more to talk about.
Okay, I'm going to try and go in chronological order with my comments/discussion but we'll see how that works out.
So first, in a continuation from last weeks episode, young Ben is seen recovering from his gunshot injury/temple recovery. Ben seems to not remember what had happened either in the Temple or the shooting which makes me wonder what happened in the Temple that made him forget his experience as well as lose his innocence?
Around 1989, Ben enters Rousseau's little hut in an effort to kill her, as ordered by the Others. However, Ben notices she has a baby (Alex) which makes him have a change of heart and let Rousseau live, yet taking Alex with him back to the Others, showing that Ben did not lie about stealing Alex in season 4. Upon leaving, he warns Rousseau about the whispers and that if she hears them, she should "run the other way", showing that Ben and the Others knew about the whispers. Maybe they didn't know their origin but they definitely knew enough to know that they were bad. Though, why would the Others want to get rid of Rousseau, did they fear her or just want her out of their way? Also, if we assume that Widmore was the leader of the Others at this time (and in so, had a connection with Jacob) why would Ben refuse to kill Rousseau if it was "the will of Jacob"?
We later find out that about 10 years later, Widmore was exiled for "breaking the rules". Specifically for regularly leaving the island and having a family off the island (a "daughter with an outsider"…Penny). Widmore tells Ben that he will have to one day choose between Alex and the island, much like Widmore chose family over the island...for now, anyway. This scene gives the audience great insight to the relationship between Ben and Widmore over time and how Ben is slowly taking over Widmore's power. As with all other Ben/Widmore scenes, we have to wonder who are really the "good guys"? Ben...or Widmore?
Flash to 2008: Ben arrives at Desmond's boat and calls Widmore telling him that he's about to kill Penny in revenge for killing Alex. As he proceeds to go towards Penny, he pulls out his gun and goes on to tell her that he's going to kill her because her father killed his daughter. As he prepares to shoot Penny, Ben sees Charlie coming out of the boat which makes him have a change of heart about killing Penny, being that he would take away her child much like Widmore did to Ben.
Desmond then gives Ben a piece of his mind (and fist!), throwing Ben into the water. Overall, this scene gave us some much needed information and closure about Ben's bloody face and arm while boarding Ajira 316. I for one (as well as other viewers), were a little concerned about Penny being that we hadn't seen her for awhile.
Now on the Hydra Island, Ben reveals to Locke that he came back to the Island to be judged and that he needs to get to the main island to do so. Refusing to let Ben and Locke travel to the island, Caesar attempts to draw his gun, however Ben has it and shoots him in the chest (go Ben! It needed to be done). They leave the Hydra Island and arrive at the dock on the main island, noticing the outrigger used by Sun and Lapidus. Inside Ben's old house, Locke and Ben see Sun and Lapidus. Oddly enough, they say that Christian told them to follow John Locke. Earlier, Christian had told them that if they wanted to see their friends, they had "a long journey ahead of them". I'm still wondering, what is that long journey? Also, how would Christian know about it as well as Sun needing to follow Locke? Something's up here being that Locke is acting so calm and peaceful. Since being "revived" he seems to know the answers to everything...even more than Ben, to a point.
Later, we finally get to see what's behind Ben's secret door. After waiting since season 4 to find out, I was a little disappointed with the whole draining water thing. I was expecting something more mechanical and explained being that Ben was covered with soot rather than sewage water. Hopefully, the water draining has more to be explained.
Apparently not listening to Ben anymore, the smoke monster does not appear when summoned which makes Ben, Locke, and Sun travel to the Temple to go to the monster instead of it coming to them. As Ben goes into the Temple, the sounds of the monster are heard as he notices hieroglyphics. Soon after, the smoke monster rises out of a small stone grate inside the chamber. It starts to surround him and shows him images of Alex, Wdmore, etc. from his past, much like previous encounters with some of the other characters in past seasons. After awhile, Alex appears when the smoke monster vanishes (my belief is that "Alex" in this case was a from of the smoke monster used to get inside Ben's head) and makes Ben promise that he will follow Locke's leadership, or she will "destroy" him. The phrase about "destroying" Ben made me think that "Alex" was the monster because I doubt that Alex/Alex's ghost would say "destroy"...it's just a very smoke monster-like word. Ben later reunites with Locke and informs him that the monster "let him live".
Finally, we see llana on the Hydra Island ask Frank, "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" Being as confused as the audience, Frank could not answer and llana knocks him out. Now, I for one have believed that llana knows way more than she lets on to. Especially with this whole little riddle thing she has going on now. If the statue that she's talking about is in fact the four-toed foot statue, that definitely proves she knows alot...maybe too much. On the other hand, if this statue is just a metaphor...well, I have no idea.
Okay, so with such an episode packed with answers and questions, let's finish with some questions:
1. What is the smoke monster's relation to the Temple?
2. Why does the Monster demand that Ben follow John Locke?
3. How does Locke know where the Monster is?
4. Is the smoke monster’s temple the same temple that Ben ordered the Others to in season 4?
5. How did Christian know Locke would come?
6. What is the meaning of Ilana's question to Frank?
7. How far back does the island go to Egypt (notice more Egyptian references/hieroglyphics in the Temple)?
Of course, there are tons more tiny questions throughout this episode, but these are some of the major ones that could possibly be of great importance in future episodes.
Though only 4 main characters had speaking roles in this episode, it was nice to get to see some Ben/Locke interaction after not seeing either of them for a couple episodes. Once everyone is reunited, it's going to be interesting to see how the writers keep everyone's storylines together with equal time devoted to each one.
In the end, Dead Is Dead was one of my favorite episodes so far. If next weeks episode is going to be half is good, it has alot of live up to.
Namaste
Okay, I'm going to try and go in chronological order with my comments/discussion but we'll see how that works out.
So first, in a continuation from last weeks episode, young Ben is seen recovering from his gunshot injury/temple recovery. Ben seems to not remember what had happened either in the Temple or the shooting which makes me wonder what happened in the Temple that made him forget his experience as well as lose his innocence?
Around 1989, Ben enters Rousseau's little hut in an effort to kill her, as ordered by the Others. However, Ben notices she has a baby (Alex) which makes him have a change of heart and let Rousseau live, yet taking Alex with him back to the Others, showing that Ben did not lie about stealing Alex in season 4. Upon leaving, he warns Rousseau about the whispers and that if she hears them, she should "run the other way", showing that Ben and the Others knew about the whispers. Maybe they didn't know their origin but they definitely knew enough to know that they were bad. Though, why would the Others want to get rid of Rousseau, did they fear her or just want her out of their way? Also, if we assume that Widmore was the leader of the Others at this time (and in so, had a connection with Jacob) why would Ben refuse to kill Rousseau if it was "the will of Jacob"?
We later find out that about 10 years later, Widmore was exiled for "breaking the rules". Specifically for regularly leaving the island and having a family off the island (a "daughter with an outsider"…Penny). Widmore tells Ben that he will have to one day choose between Alex and the island, much like Widmore chose family over the island...for now, anyway. This scene gives the audience great insight to the relationship between Ben and Widmore over time and how Ben is slowly taking over Widmore's power. As with all other Ben/Widmore scenes, we have to wonder who are really the "good guys"? Ben...or Widmore?
Flash to 2008: Ben arrives at Desmond's boat and calls Widmore telling him that he's about to kill Penny in revenge for killing Alex. As he proceeds to go towards Penny, he pulls out his gun and goes on to tell her that he's going to kill her because her father killed his daughter. As he prepares to shoot Penny, Ben sees Charlie coming out of the boat which makes him have a change of heart about killing Penny, being that he would take away her child much like Widmore did to Ben.
Desmond then gives Ben a piece of his mind (and fist!), throwing Ben into the water. Overall, this scene gave us some much needed information and closure about Ben's bloody face and arm while boarding Ajira 316. I for one (as well as other viewers), were a little concerned about Penny being that we hadn't seen her for awhile.
Now on the Hydra Island, Ben reveals to Locke that he came back to the Island to be judged and that he needs to get to the main island to do so. Refusing to let Ben and Locke travel to the island, Caesar attempts to draw his gun, however Ben has it and shoots him in the chest (go Ben! It needed to be done). They leave the Hydra Island and arrive at the dock on the main island, noticing the outrigger used by Sun and Lapidus. Inside Ben's old house, Locke and Ben see Sun and Lapidus. Oddly enough, they say that Christian told them to follow John Locke. Earlier, Christian had told them that if they wanted to see their friends, they had "a long journey ahead of them". I'm still wondering, what is that long journey? Also, how would Christian know about it as well as Sun needing to follow Locke? Something's up here being that Locke is acting so calm and peaceful. Since being "revived" he seems to know the answers to everything...even more than Ben, to a point.
Later, we finally get to see what's behind Ben's secret door. After waiting since season 4 to find out, I was a little disappointed with the whole draining water thing. I was expecting something more mechanical and explained being that Ben was covered with soot rather than sewage water. Hopefully, the water draining has more to be explained.
Apparently not listening to Ben anymore, the smoke monster does not appear when summoned which makes Ben, Locke, and Sun travel to the Temple to go to the monster instead of it coming to them. As Ben goes into the Temple, the sounds of the monster are heard as he notices hieroglyphics. Soon after, the smoke monster rises out of a small stone grate inside the chamber. It starts to surround him and shows him images of Alex, Wdmore, etc. from his past, much like previous encounters with some of the other characters in past seasons. After awhile, Alex appears when the smoke monster vanishes (my belief is that "Alex" in this case was a from of the smoke monster used to get inside Ben's head) and makes Ben promise that he will follow Locke's leadership, or she will "destroy" him. The phrase about "destroying" Ben made me think that "Alex" was the monster because I doubt that Alex/Alex's ghost would say "destroy"...it's just a very smoke monster-like word. Ben later reunites with Locke and informs him that the monster "let him live".
Finally, we see llana on the Hydra Island ask Frank, "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" Being as confused as the audience, Frank could not answer and llana knocks him out. Now, I for one have believed that llana knows way more than she lets on to. Especially with this whole little riddle thing she has going on now. If the statue that she's talking about is in fact the four-toed foot statue, that definitely proves she knows alot...maybe too much. On the other hand, if this statue is just a metaphor...well, I have no idea.
Okay, so with such an episode packed with answers and questions, let's finish with some questions:
1. What is the smoke monster's relation to the Temple?
2. Why does the Monster demand that Ben follow John Locke?
3. How does Locke know where the Monster is?
4. Is the smoke monster’s temple the same temple that Ben ordered the Others to in season 4?
5. How did Christian know Locke would come?
6. What is the meaning of Ilana's question to Frank?
7. How far back does the island go to Egypt (notice more Egyptian references/hieroglyphics in the Temple)?
Of course, there are tons more tiny questions throughout this episode, but these are some of the major ones that could possibly be of great importance in future episodes.
Though only 4 main characters had speaking roles in this episode, it was nice to get to see some Ben/Locke interaction after not seeing either of them for a couple episodes. Once everyone is reunited, it's going to be interesting to see how the writers keep everyone's storylines together with equal time devoted to each one.
In the end, Dead Is Dead was one of my favorite episodes so far. If next weeks episode is going to be half is good, it has alot of live up to.
Namaste
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Whatever Happened Happened
Last night's episode is definitely one of my favorites of the season. Not only were more questions posed, but more were answered as well. Overall, I thought "Whatever Happened Happened" was a very interesting 45 minutes (darn you commericals!). I'm a big Kate fan so naturally I really liked that it was a Kate-centric episode.
Now that we're getting closer to the end of season 5, it's getting interesting to find out everyone's motives to come back to the island. Now that we know Sayid came back to kill Ben, we can also add that Kate came back to find Claire and that Ben came back to be judged (according to the preview after the show). I thought that Kate's motive for coming back to the island was for Claire was a great way to kind of re-focus the attention of the audience back to Claire, being that she's been absent from the show for quite some time now.
Kate starting to unravel the O6's lie was very interesting indeed. And of all people to spill the truth to--Cassidy? Very cool bringing her back into the storyline. Speaking of Cassidy, we now know what Sawyer whispered in Kate's ear in the season 4 finale. Though many people speculated what it might have been, it's nice to get some closure on what he actaully told her. Now everything from the "off island" flash-forwards are starting to come together--that's something that I really appreciate.
So on the island (as of now) young Ben isn't dead. Richard taking him to the smoke monster "temple" was definitely a suprising twist to everything! I wasn't expecting that for sure. Actually, I was expecting Richard to take him to Jacob. But hey, that's a whole different story. Now it makes us wonder: why would taking Ben to the smoke monster heal him, yet corrupt his innocence in the process?
When Kate approched the sonic weapon fence in Hostile-land, it made me wonder about the truce between the Hostiles and the Dharma Initiative. Especially considering we have no clue how long the Hostiles have been on the island in the first place. Also, who's idea was it to put up the fence and why--who or what were they trying to keep out?
The last scene of the episode where Locke is watching Ben was amazing as well. The look on Ben's face was priceless. Almost as if he had no idea that the island would revive Locke. Hopefully we'll get to see some more Ben/Locke interaction in the near future.
Judging by the preview, next week's episode is going to be packed with smoke monster goodness and some good answers as well. If it is at all like last night's episode, it's bound to be fantastic.
Namaste
Now that we're getting closer to the end of season 5, it's getting interesting to find out everyone's motives to come back to the island. Now that we know Sayid came back to kill Ben, we can also add that Kate came back to find Claire and that Ben came back to be judged (according to the preview after the show). I thought that Kate's motive for coming back to the island was for Claire was a great way to kind of re-focus the attention of the audience back to Claire, being that she's been absent from the show for quite some time now.
Kate starting to unravel the O6's lie was very interesting indeed. And of all people to spill the truth to--Cassidy? Very cool bringing her back into the storyline. Speaking of Cassidy, we now know what Sawyer whispered in Kate's ear in the season 4 finale. Though many people speculated what it might have been, it's nice to get some closure on what he actaully told her. Now everything from the "off island" flash-forwards are starting to come together--that's something that I really appreciate.
So on the island (as of now) young Ben isn't dead. Richard taking him to the smoke monster "temple" was definitely a suprising twist to everything! I wasn't expecting that for sure. Actually, I was expecting Richard to take him to Jacob. But hey, that's a whole different story. Now it makes us wonder: why would taking Ben to the smoke monster heal him, yet corrupt his innocence in the process?
When Kate approched the sonic weapon fence in Hostile-land, it made me wonder about the truce between the Hostiles and the Dharma Initiative. Especially considering we have no clue how long the Hostiles have been on the island in the first place. Also, who's idea was it to put up the fence and why--who or what were they trying to keep out?
The last scene of the episode where Locke is watching Ben was amazing as well. The look on Ben's face was priceless. Almost as if he had no idea that the island would revive Locke. Hopefully we'll get to see some more Ben/Locke interaction in the near future.
Judging by the preview, next week's episode is going to be packed with smoke monster goodness and some good answers as well. If it is at all like last night's episode, it's bound to be fantastic.
Namaste
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