The "Lost" Recap

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2009-03-05T06:34:00.001-08:00

5.7 - The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

2009-03-04T06:24:00.000-08:00

John Locke In Tunisia.

When did Charles Widmore set up this elaborate watch system? Was it after Ben showed up? If Charles knew all along that this was the "exit point," why didn't he catch Ben at the start? Could be because Charles is a big liar ....

Charles Widmore In Real Time.

"I met you when I was 17." And it's only been four days since Charles and Locke first met. How interesting.

Charles proceeds to lay out how his people (aka The Others) protected the island peacefully for more than 30 years. Is this a fabrication? I tend to believe this is some sort of half-truth. I have no doubt that if Charles was a leader, he could have been tricked into leaving by no one other than Ben.

Otherwise, there is a "war" coming that Locke and the other Losties can keep from ending wrongly? The competing interests of Charles and Ben along with their parallel drive to bring everyone back to the island are some of the most interesting plot points revealed in a very long time.

The Old Familiar.

Charles' logic that he can be trusted because he hasn't tried to kill John is right on the money. But it is in conflict with how his troops handled the island folk during their brief encounters.

And we get to see the return of one Matthew Abaddon, and the mystery grows deeper.

John Locke's World Tour.

There is some writing on Hurley's table .... It ends with "rocks," but the rest makes no sense to me.

And don't forget about Helen Norwood.

Murder Most Foul?

There is some debate as to exactly which part of the conversation prompted Ben to take John's life. I would argue that, judging by the finality of Ben's departure, he came to kill Locke regardless of what he said. We'll have a better understanding when we witness the next on-island encounter.

The Hydra Station.

So we are on the other island judging by the Hydra Station logo seen on the file folder.

Brighter images

2009-02-26T08:42:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be experimenting with lighting or brightening images caps of really dark scenes. Let me know if this works or is the wrong approach as we go forward.

Thanks

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5.6 - 316

2009-02-19T10:38:00.000-08:00

Inside The Lamp Post Station.

This whole situation is so similar to the Stephen King concept of ka-tet that it would be wrong not to mention the fantastic Dark Tower series.

No offense to Daniel's math accomplishments, but this cool pendulum concept started with Jean Bernard Leon Foucault. Read all about it ... it's pretty neat.

Bloody Phone Calls.

If for nothing else, you really have to admire Ben's ability to take a beating. It appears to me that these wounds have something to do with Ben's retrieval of the mystery package from 5.2 and/or something to do with Sayid.

Cargo And Cold Storage.

Locke has to play Christian Shephard, down to wearing his shoes, in order to make it back to the island.

Captured?

Sayid is the new Kate, boarding the plane as an apparent prisoner.

Interesting Reading.

Hurley is reading the work of a storyteller who is highly influential to the world of "Lost." Click to learn more about Brian K. Vaughan and his work, "Y - The Last Man."

Take A Flight.

It's interesting to see the pattern of injuries to Ben's face. I have a feeling that they are related to Sayid's apprehension...

If you are interesting in learning more about Ben's book, James Joyce's "Ulysses," click away on the title itself.

Jin's New Job.

Jin works (worked?) for Dharma? What's his task, and how did he know to show up there at that time?

5.5 - This Place Is Death

2009-02-13T09:00:00.000-08:00

Smoking Kills!

Smokey is back! What fun..... An island security system, hiding under a mysterious temple-looking thing.

"Temple" And Glyphs.

These markings look a lot like those on the old hatch timer ....

The Beach O' Death.

Jin stumbles upon the death camp on the beach. Notice the music box Sayid ends up fixing, and the box of explosives matches those from the Black Rock (1.24 "Exodus, Part 2"). Remember: Danielle said it was on the way back from the Black Rock that they started to show signs of infection.

Down In A Hole.

Juliet's remark and the rapid time shift was a good comic-relief element. Most enjoyable.

So this whole course of events leads me closer to believing that Dr. Shephard isn't Jacob. While Christan may be a "face" or "incarnation" of the entity sometimes known as Jacob, his comment about "say hello" to my son leads me to think something else is going on here.

Funny Looks And A Sort Of Reunion.

Ben's look here is pretty funny and may be insightful. I feel as though he is somewhat surprised that Desmond identifies the Hawking lady as Daniel's mother. Or is he just surprised that Desmond is there at all? Either way, it's interesting....

5.4 - The Little Prince

2009-02-07T08:06:00.000-08:00

Spy.

Sun's got herself some handy and capable spies. Are they Mr. Widmore's people?

Hurley Goes To Jail.

Finally: proof that Hurley is crazy. Only an insane person would consider himself "totally safe" in L.A. County lock up.

Hospital Attack.

I sure hope these guys are getting their darts, guns and tranquilizers wholesale.

These Boats Are Bad Luck.

Every time we see some sea vessels like these, Juliet ends up shooting someone. Think back to episode 3.7 - "Not In Portland" ... These boats seem a lot like those used to get away from "the other island."

And there is another neat little extra mystery thrown in here: the airline water bottle. This appears to be a plot element that will figure in an important manner later. Check out this phony Ajira Airline site ... it's creepy and cool all at once.

Either way, it appears that there is another plane of Losties that ends up crashing somewhere nearby. Perhaps they are part of the "fake" Oceanic airliner on the bottom of the ocean?

Lawyers At Your Service.

Man ... these are some full-service lawyers. Custody cases, homicide cases and curbside delivery. I bet the folks at Agostini and Norton charge a whole lot!

The Bloody Nose, And The Bloody Wreckage.

Ok, there's not really anything like blood visible on the wreckage. But maybe if they spend some time sifting through, they'll find Rousseau's music box.

Jin At Sea.

Well ... that was pretty lucky. I guess we're to believe that Jin has spent all this time floating just inside the time-skipping flash zone since the first jump. Of this I'm not yet so convinced.

Confrontation!

This whole exchange is kind of comforting. It shows that Ben's conniving and self-serving ways have not changed. He's out to get his way regardless.

Danielle Rousseau And Company.

If you're like me, you haven't completely forgotten about that wacky Rousseau . . . and yet, you might not fully recall all of her insane storyline.

A quick refresher from episode 1.7 - "Solitary" reminds us of her self-supplied history. She and her fellow science team were out on a ship for three days when instrument failure - coupled with a night storm - smashed them on some rocks. With their hull breached beyond repair, the survivors made for shore to set up "temporary shelter."

Bunkered, solitary and armed, Rousseau tells her captured audience of Sayid that it was two months later that her crew - including significant-other Robert - were infected. In a moment of heightened tension, she relays how she killed them to end their sickness ... she even killed Robert.

"Solitary" is an integral part of the show's overall mythology because it covers such concepts of the "Others," bears, monsters, illness and Sayid's sorted background (here is where we learn, for example, that Sayid believes his Nadia is dead). If you haven't seen it in a long time or never before, go to the ABC site, scroll around the former seasons and take a watch..... right now. Don't delay!

5.3 - Jughead

2009-01-30T11:02:00.000-08:00

The Opening Sequence.

Naming the kid "Charlie" is a nice touch.

Daniel's Oxford Lab.

Even more exemplary symmetry. To refresh your memory about Daniel's lab, go back to watch last season's "The Constant."

Learn Some Latin.

Latin and Richard's name appear to be the language of the original "Others." But is the Latin bit a learning commitment for the project, or some other share character trait?

It's interesting that when Widmore returns to report to Richard, he refers to his fallen cohort as "Cunningham," the name present on his shirt. Could it be that Cunningham was an Army left over and not simply borrowing a left over uniform?

Daniel's Girl?

Could it be that Daniel's research helped this young lady to take a permanent Billy Pilgrim voyage through time? If so, how long passed between this incident and Desmond's initial visit? And did Daniel dart off because the island had been discovered?

Go Camping.

Richard offers this chilling (and quick) story about what happened before. A month ago, 18 members of a an army battalion that refused to leave peacefully were killed. As Richard says, he was "forced" to kill them - all of them.

Did his bunch of mostly youngsters pull it off with flaming arrows, or did we miss another gas attack like the one that killed the Dharma Initiative?

Daniel And The Bomb, Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Island.

Daniel's bomb skills might actually betray a little more of his knowledge of the island than initially meets the eye. He seems to be the only one with an understanding of what's currently taking place, perhaps he knows of a necessity for keeping such a device at the ready for the future.

And interestingly enough, there is a method behind the bomb nickname madness. (link goes to interesting NPR short segment)

Interesting Painting.

The elder Mr. Widmore appears to have retained his painting with a polar bear and the phrase, "namaste." If Wikipedia is to be believed, this a greeting that express one's desire to honor the other person.

Young Widmore: Have Gun, Will Threaten

A very young Charles Widmore stands at the ready to end the life of the "sodding old man" who successfully tracked him back to camp.

Talk, And Then Disappear.

John has this seed-planting meeting with Richard, arranging an interview two years before his birth. Giving the compass back to Richard is icing on the cake.

Perhaps John has come away with a better understanding of what it will take to get off the island for the sake of bringing everyone back.

BONUS! Explosions Taking Out Unknown Losties.

TEST IMAGE

2009-01-29T11:29:00.000-08:00

5.2 - The Lie

2009-01-28T11:50:00.000-08:00

The Opening Sequence.

Don't bother looking for Jekyll Island Red Ale on your store shelves. It's a fake made for the program.

Back From The Dead?

A visit from the now-dead Ana Lucia Cortez gets Hurley back on track and moving away from capture. She even throws in a little message - "Libby says 'hi.'" To me, this whole interaction might just be Hurley's great imagination - his own mechanism to deal with stress and odd situations.

Immediately after this interaction, Hurley heads for shopping in a tourist-friendly gas station. Interestingly, Cheap Trick's "Dream Police" is playing in the background ... a tune about voices and visions inside someone's own head.

Wonderful Symmetry.

Remember Nikki and Paulo and the terrible tv show, "Expose"? Man that was a great, spin-tingling episode that brought out the Twilight Zone in the "Lost" writing crew. And seeing it briefly in this episode adds to the symmetry.

Off-Island Others Revealed.

Here we see Ben visiting his favorite butcher shop, but he's not looking for select cuts. He's putting his ol' buddy John Locke (aka Jeremy Bentham) into storage.

And here we apparently get to see an off-island Other. We're already known they could travel to and from the mainland, but here we see out first clandestine interaction. Pretty interesting.

(Nearly) Captured Or Killed!

Before Locke comes to their rescue, Sawyer's new friend Juliet was about to be known as Lefty. Good thing for her that John has such a good throwing aim.

But if you'll look at those that got the jump on them, they don't appear to be dressed or armed in a manner we've seen before. Those don't look like modern weapons or Dharma suits......

Technology In Secret.

Here's a look at the technology employed in the search (tracking) of the island.

The Hooded Lady.

Could this be Ms. (Mrs.?) Hawking, the woman who sold Desmond a ring? Is she also Daniel Faraday's mother? I guess only time will tell.

Apparently she's using some interesting technology to try and find the island. Or maybe she's tracking its hops and skips.

BONUS! Ben's Hidden Luggage.

So, just what's inside that box? It obviously is something that needs to remain hidden, but is it really fragile? Maybe it's very appearance is disturbing.

5.1 - Because You Left

2009-01-26T08:42:00.000-08:00

The Opening Sequence.

There is so much going on here, it isn't even funny ....

First I note the importance of the woman walking past Dr. Chang as he enters the recording "studio." As if his child wasn't enough, this seemingly pregnant woman would indicate that people were giving birth on the island at this time. Perhaps whatever changed all that had to do with The Orchid Station....

Second, Daniel is there at the foundation of The Orchid Station. This to me is an obvious flash-forward shown out of sequence. I wouldn't be at all surprise if we don't see that situation entered fully until the very end of this season.

And as a side, the record playing at the beginning could be a time marker for our benefit. The tune was easily recognizable as "Shotgun Willie" from Willie Nelson's 1973 album of the same name. But could he be playing the record for the benefit of a young Miles Straume?

The Orchid Station.

This series shows The Orchid Station under construction and after during the time of Locke and Ben's conversation. I wonder what happened to the structure to age or damage it so.... (link goes to vid of Dr. Chang/Candle/Hallowax/Wickmund and orientation film outtakes)

Skipping And Jumping.

These are interesting images that show the now-arrived John Locke with his "Others" flunkies as well as the Losties in their "new" pre-camp surroundings.

Run Kate ... And Take The Kid With You.

What does it take to make Kate run away? Apparently a visit from the law firm Agostini and Norton. Are these goons that Sun and/or Mr. Widmore have put in play?

Symmetry: It Comes From Good Writing.

Seeing Locke duck Yemi's plane ... that mysterious vehicle that brought so much personal tragedy ... man, it about gave me the goosebumps.

It's interesting to think that in that instant, John and the not-yet-dead Ethan Rom were apparently near equal distances from the plane's final landing space.

Fast Food . . . On The Run.

For some reason, Hurley cannot wait to consume more "comfort food." Perhaps this place was simply on the way, but one is left wondering why he didn't hit another Mr. Clucks.

Locke's Bloody Compass.

"It points north, John." How humorously our Mr. Richard Alpert knows 1) where John is, 2) when John is and 3) that John has been shot. Nothing short of miraculous, right?

Could this be the same compass that Richard presented to an adolescent John?

Desmond With Gun.

Daniel's repeated banging finally rouses Desmond, who appears to be following the protocols we've already witnessed.

But Daniel begins to plant a memory, pleading for the lives of those on the island. Desmond is told that he is unique, special and somehow exempt from "the rules" of time travel and the space-time continuum.

Interestingly, Desmond wakes up with the memory appearing as a dream. This is a real-time or concurrent impression made from Daniel in his "when" and Desmond in his. (See Stephen King's "Dark Tower" for more about the "when" concept)