Happy Holidays!

Our 2007 Holiday Greeting can be found at this link.

http://www.jibjab.com/sendables/view/jJA8bbzGjFfVj9eC2phoziVK

Best wishes this holiday season from all of us here at the Dharma Blog!

-Maggie, Charlie, Kate, Sawyer, and Jack

Lost at the Movies: The Grosscup Edition

Loyal reader and C-walking enthusiast Brad Grosscup has submitted the following:

Dear Dharma Blog:

My name is Brad Grosscup. I went to see Golden Compass on 12/9 at Westglen Theater (Shawnee, KS). Before the movie, there was a Lost clip! This is what happened: a lot of random quick shots (possibly saw a cow). They talked about the people coming to rescue them are there for a different reason?!? Ben did say "If they come everyone will die."

Sincerely,
Brad



Congratulations, Brad! Brad did apologize for the succinctness of this recap, saying, "...that is all I could remember. The minute I saw the first words on the screen (something to the effect of when the plane crashed) my heart began to race. It was pretty cool."

Pretty cool, indeed, G-Cup. Pretty cool, indeed. And let this serve as a warning to all of you. If you show up late to the movie, leave to get snacks or can't hold off on a bathroom break for a few moments, the LOST gods (Locke, Eko, Desmond and Ben... er... but that's a different theory) will smite you by depriving you of sweet, sweet, season 4 teaser goodness.

If you see anything at your local dodecaplex, please let us know.

.namaste.
.charlie

Coming soon to a theater near you...

Namaste and Happy Holidays, Lost fans! Whether you are reading this from the icy tundra of Lincoln, the snowy streets of Washington, DC, or the tropical beaches of Hawaii, we hope you are filled with the holiday spirit.

Your friendly Lost Bloggers are anxiously waiting for December 11, 2007 – the release date of the Lost: Season 3 on DVD. The 991 minutes of pure Lost action and suspense is sure to bring a smile to any Lost fan’s face this holiday season. (But don’t plan on gifting it to Maggie or Charlie – we’ve both preordered at Best Buy.) Maggie is especially looking forward to the featurette The World of the Others: Friends or Foes? on the extras DVD. Charlie plans on curling up with a warm blanket, his fluffy white slippers, and a mug of cocoa to rewatch Through the Looking Glass at least 10 times. If you work with either of us, we’re both going to be stricken with an awful case of the flu after work on December 10…

But enough stalling. We have great news for you. Coming soon to a theater near you…never-before-seen Lost scenes during movie previews! I know what you’re thinking: “Impossible! Simply impossible!” Aye, brutha. It is possible.

During the months of December and January, before movies rated PG, PG-13, R, and X (we all know you went to see Jessie Spano in that X movie back during post-Saved by the Bell days…), you might catch a Lost clip during the previews, formatted like the Lost Mobisodes we’ve been getting every Monday morning for the last few weeks. We aren’t going to see a list of the movies before which the clips will show, which means I’ll be spending a lot of money at the theaters this holiday season.

So the next time you head down to watch Enchanted for the third time (ahem, Charlie?), make sure you get there plenty early to see the prviews and see if you can catch a Lost clip! We want to hear from you when you do…in the following format please:

Dear Dharma Blog:

My name is (your name). I went to see (movie title) on (date) at (theater name). Before the movie, there was a Lost clip! This is what happened: (insert clip summary here).

Sincerely,
(your name)

With our vast and expansive readership spanning across the country, we hope to hear about several clips! How exciting!!

See you at another theater, brutha, (note: lame)
Maggie

LOST: "The Watch"

Here it is, mobisode one: The Watch.

Lost: Missing Pieces "The Watch"
Uploaded by magnifor

Read Maggie's expert analysis below :)

.charlie

The Watch

The Wait:
Finally, a light at the end of the tunnel.

It has been a rough 173 days since the Lost Season 3 finale “Through the Looking Glass” aired.

• 173 days since Charlie reached the Looking Glass Station.

• 173 days since Danielle was reunited with her daughter, Alex.

• 173 days since Jack said “I love you” to Kate.

• 173 days since Sawyer shot Tom point-blank. (“That's for taking the kid off the raft” he said.)

• 173 days since my feelings about the song Good Vibrations were forever changed.

• 173 days since Jack used Naomi’s satellite phone and supposedly reached the freighter just off shore.

• 173 days since we lost Charlie…but not before one final message: NOT PENNY’S BOAT

• 173 days since the craziest scene ever to occur ever in the entire world forever and ever.

The Void:
Like you, I’ve tried to fill the void with shows like The Bachelor (DeAnna has to win if true love exists in this world), Desperate Housewives (How come no one ever told me this show was actually kind of funny?), Private Practice (Come on…it’s Taye Diggs. I’m gonna watch it.), and…yes…the occasional A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila (no comment...and no clip).

The Obsession:
But it hasn’t been the same. My mind has been pacing the proverbial floor, searching for answers to Lost’s biggest mysteries.

• Jacob: real or alive?
• Locke: Man of Faith or Man of Jacob?
• Jack: hotter when clean shaven or with a little scruff?
• Sawyer: shirt on or shirt off?
• Kate: Jack or Sawyer?
• Ben: Friend or Enemy?

Yes, I’ve even gone so low as to read the articles where Lost fan Joe Schmo, while vacationing in Hawaii, took a photo from 2,000 feet away of Daniel Dae Kim wearing a grey suit. The article usually goes something like this:

As evidenced by the suit, there will clearly be a flashback episode where Jin either goes to work, goes to church, goes to court or gets married! OMG, I can’t wait for season 4 to begin!

The Watch:
But nothing fed my curiosity like the announcement of the first Lost Mobisode. I waited patiently for 12:00 midnight to strike. I opened up Safari. I went to my bookmarks (Yes, to save time, I had already bookmarked the page. Insert nerd joke here.). I clicked on Mobisodes. And…and…and it definitely wasn’t posted until like 6:00 AM this morning. (I’ve already submitted a comment on abc.com about this.)

Waiting game aside, what an interesting and concise 2 minute 40 second mobby!

Let’s review:
1. Jack throws rocks into ocean.
2. Christian shows up and gives Jack a watch.
3. Jack puts on the watch.
4. Christian states that his father did not approve of his chosen wife.
5. Christian states he didn’t care and married her anyways.
6. Christian states Jack made the right decision to marry Sarah.
7. Christian tells Jack to treat his children better than Christian treated him.

After watching a “few” times (not admitting the real number), I decided to channel my inner Cher and Turn Back Time to do some research.

Topic One: Looking back at Jack and Sarah’s wedding, where could the rock throwing scene fit in?

I believe the rock throwing took place on either the day of the wedding or the day before the wedding, since Jack mentions that Sarah is inside setting up the flowers with the wedding planner (J-Lo?). As you all remember, Jack and Sarah were married in Season 1, Episode 20 “Do No Harm.” The wedding went something like this:

At the wedding rehearsal, Sarah tells Jack that he is both heroic and highly committed. A short time later, Jack talked with Sarah while playing a duet on a piano in the restaurant of the hotel. During this conversation, Sarah attempted to calm Jack's nerves by downplaying the significance of the wedding vows which they had both promised to write. Later that night, while near the hotel's pool, Jack is joined by Christian, to whom he confided his difficulties writing his vows, as well as his fears that he only married Sarah because he had saved her life two years prior. Christian told Jack of the latter's ability to remain absolutely committed. However, it was Christian's opinion that because of this, Jack is "not good at letting go." At the wedding, Jack, having been unable to write his vows, improvises, telling Sarah of his believe that rather than him having fixed her, she fixed him, and of his resulting unconditional love for her.

In summary (not that this provides some grand window of understanding), the rock throwing either took place before the piano duet on rehearsal day OR before the ceremony on wedding day.

Topic Two: Has Jack’s watch ever come into play on the island? Do we know if he has been wearing it? Is there any significance?

Jack is definitely wearing the watch on Oceanic 815 and still has it on during the first few episodes of Season 1. I did not find a scene where he “checked his watch” or said “Hey, guys, Ugly Betty starts in 5 minutes!” After those initial episodes, I could not find an episode where he is wearing it.

If anyone wants to challenge me on this, challenge away. I’ll admit I did not watch all three seasons over again to answer this question (though I sure thought about it). [Note: It would be awesome if I am forgetting some scene where Jack throws his watch out into the ocean and says “Damn you, Dad! Damn you!” Or something equally awesome.]

Notes, in closing:

1. Next mobby: Monday, November 19. [Note: What an awesome day. Another Lost mobby and the season finale of The Bachelor!] We will get 1 mobby a week for the next 13 weeks, posted on Mondays arond 6:00 AM (CST).
   
2. We now know that Season 4, Episode 1 is called “The Beginning of the End.” Airdate: February 2, 2008. Only 82 days!
3. Evangeline Lilly and Dominic Monaghan have called it quits. I heard she broke up with Lost's Charlie for our Charlie...
   
4. See you right back here next week.
   

Namaste,
Maggie

LOST Returns. So to speak.

Writer's strikes be damned!

ABC has announced that a series of LOST "mobisodes" (mobile episodes. Sigh. Never underestimate Hollywood's ability to needlessly combine words) will be released on abc.com starting on Monday, November 12th (credit: EW. Click here for article. Thanks to Lincoln A. for passing along).

One two to three-minute episode, each week, comprising a series called "Missing Pieces." I'm not sure I'm even ready for this. Ever since hearing Jack desperately plead, "We've gotta go back, Kate. We weren't supposed to leave!" I've spent my hours like a lonely child whose father "left for the store," eight years ago, constantly reassuring myself that "It'll be back. Lost will be back. It just went to the store for beer. It'll be back."

My daily consolation comes in the form of a Mac widget that features a countdown to LOST's return amidst the visage of a grinning, maniacal, grenade-wielding Mikhail Bukanin.

But now I'm in a tailspin. I don't know what to think. Please, somebody tell me how to contain my excitement. Also, I'm traveling on business next week, so I will be desperately searching rural Minnesota for an internet connection through which to satiate my longing for LOST. If you're familiar with rural Minnesota wi-fi hot spots, please advise.

na-freakin'-maste.
.charlie

LOST Profile: Mikhail Bakunin

Mikahil Bakunin

Age: Unknown

Home: claims to have been born in Kiev, USSR

Status: No idea. Mikhail has survived numerous near-death experiences so far. I think it is safe to assume Mikhail survived the underwater grenade explosion that killed Charlie.

Profession: claims he was a medic in the Soviet Army, and served in the Soviet war in Afghanistan

In Australia: N/A

On Oceanic 815: N/A

Maggie’s Favorite Moment: When we first saw Mikhail on one of the monitoring screens in the Pearl. Sayid had fixed the wires so that the video surveillance feed to the upper-right monitor worked. Mikhail appeared on one of the screens, however after a frightening glimpse of his pirate patch, Mikhail turned off the camera.

The man that won't die, or the man that can't die?

Wikipedia reminds us that, in Par Avion, Mikhail, Sayid, Locke, Kate, and Rousseau find the sonic defense system that protects the Barracks. In order to test its true purpose, Locke pushes Mikhail through the barrier, causing him to foam at the mouth and bleed from the ears, apparently dying from a brain hemorrhage. His last words are "Thank you."

However, Mikhail reappeared in the episode D.O.C., very much alive, at the landing site of the female parachutist. When Mikhail sees Hurley, Charlie, Desmond and Jin have already discovered Naomi, he immediately runs, but is chased and captured. He agrees to inspect and treat the woman's injuries, but only if he is then allowed to go free. They agree, and Mikhail, with Desmond's help, evacuates the woman's punctured lung, and tells them that she will be better in a day or so. When Charlie expresses skepticism at such an optimistic prognosis for such a serious injury, Mikhail cryptically points out that injuries are different on the island.

In The Man Behind the Curtain, Mikhail runs from the jungle, explaining his death by saying the sonic death fence was not set to a lethal level. He tells the rest of the Others of Naomi, and that the Losties probably took her back to their camp. Ben then says that they will deal with the survivors the night after tomorrow, and that in the meantime, at Locke's request, Ben will take Locke to see Jacob. Mikhail questions his orders and insists that they deal with the situation with the survivors immediately. In response, Locke beats Mikhail to the ground. Ben asks the Others to help Mikhail, but they refuse.

Mikhail is sent by Ben to reinforce Greta and Bonnie at the Looking Glass Station in the Season 3 finale, Through the Looking Glass. Ben had told Mikhail that the Looking Glass Station was flooded, and Mikhail was upset that Ben lied. At Ben's request, Mikhail attempts to kill Charlie, Greta and Bonnie, but Desmond surprises him and shoots him with a spear gun in the chest. While Desmond and Charlie focus on shutting off the jamming signal, Mikhail escapes down the moon pool, apparently having survived being shot with the spear gun. Mikhail appears outside the window of the communication room, which he destroys with a hand grenade that he is holding, causing the room to flood and Charlie to die.

So who is this guy?

The producers have told us the Mikhail's story of his life is true -- but just biased. So did he really just answer an ad in the paper? Will we ever see a Mikhail backstory from the glory days of the USSR? I am intrigued by this man, but also believe that he is creepy beyond reason. The "real" Mikahil Bakunin is known as the "father of modern anarchism." We know the Lost producers chose his name for a reason...so where are they going with this character? Your guess is as good as mine.

Remaining Questions about Mikhail:

1. How long has Mikhail been on the island? He told Kate and Sayid he had been there for 11 years...but do we believe him? And how did he arrive?

2. If it came down to loyalty towards Richard or Ben, who would Mikhail pick?

3. What the heck happened to his eye? Does it matter?

4. Does Mikhail have this inability to die because he is on the island? Or is he special for other reasons?

5. With the explosion of the Flame (Mikhail's computer station), what is his role? It appeared that his job before was to monitor all the world's television programs and gather information for Ben...can he still do that?

Richard Alpert: Friend or Foe?

Richard Alpert
Age: You wish you knew! More on that later in this post.
Home: The Island/Somewhere “Not in Portland”
Status: Alive
Profession: Recruiter for Mittleos Bioscience/Island Inhabitant
In Australia: (never)
On Oceanic 815: (never)
Charlie's Favorite Moment: When he informed John Locke about the Sawyer-Anthony Cooper connection. You sneaky bastard!
Friends: Ethan (sorry, bud) and Ben (or so Ben thinks)
Enemies: Ben (Ben just doesn’t know it yet) and anyone who messes with his business.

Wait a Minute. When you rearrange the letters in Mittleos (as in Mittleos Bioscience, Richard's faux employer off the Island) it spells "Lost time"! What else are you not telling me, Richard Alpert?
As the debate rages on over whether The Others are friends or foe, good or evil, it is interesting to look at individual Others and wonder what side they’re on. Minions like Ryan (the leader of the charge on the beach in the season finale who was run over by Hurley’s Magic School Bus) and Tom (the once-bearded Mr. Friendly who happened to get in the way of Sawyer’s bullet of distrust) have (or “had,” as it were) unquestioned loyalty. Tom adhered to Ben’s every word, never questioning the mysterious Jacob and believing in whatever his mission was. Ryan was, seemingly, a soldier following orders. But let’s look at the man who, more than anyone else, seemed pinned to Ben’s side at crucial times: Richard Alpert.

When we were first introduced to Richard, he was a mild-mannered but aggressive recruiter for Mittleos Bioscience, hell-bent on bringing Juliet on board for some wacky head games. Soon, we learned he was something of a mole. He was a member of the Island community, but was dispatched back into “The Real World,” supposedly to bring essential people to the Island. Before he fortified his vitae with his recruiter role, Richard was as primitive as anyone. We learned this when Ben went over the river and through the woods to dead-mother’s house we go (sorry, that was off-color). Ben encountered Richard, a bearded, tattered, primitive, native man who urged Ben to turn around and return to the relative darkness that was his Dharma Initiative life. But Ben persisted, aligned himself with Richard’s people (whoever they were) and ultimately helped plan/carry out The Purge against his own people. Somewhere in that story, Ben’s leadership abilities catapulted him past Richard (and those on his level) to an infallible God-like status. And when we met The Others, Ben was calling the shots and Richard was carrying out orders.

At that point, the character of Richard Alpert seemed calculable. He was a conduit to the outside world and a subordinate to Ben/Jacob. He recruited Juliet like Tom Osborne on a 5-star high school option quarterback. He managed (and very possibly coordinated) the capture and transportation of Anthony Cooper, the “Man From Tallahassee,” who Richard so obediently summoned for Ben in order to manipulate Locke. And all was according to plan.

But then, Locke didn’t kill Cooper when Ben told him to. And Locke went to sit on a hill. And Richard happened upon him with a very important file in his knapsack. He told Locke about the Cooper-Sawyer connection, manipulating Locke into using Sawyer to kill Cooper and slay both of their demons with one stone. Suddenly, Richard was as deviously manipulative as his commander-in-chief. And when he did this to John, he clearly alluded to the struggle for power between Ben and his subjects. After years (presumably) of The Reign of Linus, Richard seemed up to the task of initiating change, and he seemed to be speaking for several people when he did so.

So the question remains with Richard, as it does with all Others (and their tribe in general): which side is he on? He obeys Ben to his face, but why? To earn his trust in anticipation of a potential coup d’ etat? He uses Locke to try to usurp Ben’s power, but why? To supplant Ben with a more vulnerable leader (Locke) whose Island confusion leaves him ripe for the pickin’? Yes, Richard’s treachery blew open the doors of possibility for a character whom we once thought inconsequential.

Here’s what I like about Richard: he’s smart. Really smart. His manipulation of Locke and Ben, his relentless pursuit of Juliet off the island, his tricking her and her sister into believing that he was legit, all good. But his best move: recruiting Ben when Ben was a child. I know, they are going to be (if not already) at odds soon. But when he questioned Ben’s understanding of the term “hostile,” when he made Ben believe that there was a better alternative to his reality – that was ingenious. And you can only assume that he took young Ben Linus under his wing until Ben’s evil had fully blossomed. Despite the current power struggle, Ben served Richard (and Richard’s people’s) purpose: ridding The Island of The Dharma Initiative. Keep your eye on this cat if, for no other reason, his remarkable intelligence.

And finally… I don’t like to delve too far into “Island Phenomena/Theory,” but let’s talk about the aging issue. The only difference between the Richard that encountered Ben in the forest (some 25 years, give or take, before the crash of Oceanic 815) and the Richard that tied up The Man From Tallahassee was a beard. It didn’t seem to most that he had aged at all, and most of us would assume that it wasn’t just laziness on the part of the LOST makeup department. Is this part of the “secret” that The Island is protecting? Is there a fountain of youth? Or is Richard just the Island’s version of Dave Coulier (TV’s Uncle Joey on Full House, a mostly meaningless but endlessly entertaining supporting character)? Questions to ponder, and questions we may not be able to examine too closely until we know just what this Island is capable of. But if something about this place can cure cancer and shattered leg bones, is it too much to imagine that it can’t act as a spiritual Botox for its inhabitants?

Remaining Questions about Richard Alpert:
1. What (or more importantly, who) is in his best interest? What master does he serve, if any?
2. What does he see in John Locke that is so superior to Ben Linus? Both men are blinded by their mystical connection to The Island, so why is Richard so eager for change?
3. Why can’t Richard age? Or was it just a mistake in costuming? Again, my theory leans toward the spiritual Botox side.
4. What does Richard know that Ben doesn’t? In the same way that Ben relied on Mikhail for outside information, he must’ve relied on Richard for some outside connections. Were those connections with anyone we knew (i.e. The Widmore Coporation, Paik Industries, whoever staged the plane crash)? I await your theories on that loaded question.


To end, the quote that first raised eyebrows on today's character-in-question:
“Well actually, we’re not quite in Portland.”
-Richard Alpert


.charlie.

LOST Profile: Bernard and Rose Nadler

Rose (Henderson) Nadler
Age: 50s
Home: Bronx, NY, USA
Status: Alive
Profession: Unknown
In Australia: on honeymoon with Bernard
On Oceanic 815: to return home
Maggie’s Favorite Moment: Season 3 finale when Rose said to Jack "If you say Live together, die alone, I'll punch you." Hahaha
Friends: Everyone
Enemies: No one

Bernard Nadler
Age: 56-57 (He told Jack "I was a bachelor for 56 years before I met Rose.")
Home: Buffalo, NY, USA
Status: Alive
Profession: Dentist
In Australia:on honeymoon with Rose
On Oceanic 815: to return home
Maggie’s Favorite Moment: The Rose/Bernard reunion in Season 2 was very moving!
Friends: Everyone
Enemies: No one

Rose and Bernard: Everyone’s Island Parents

From the beginning of Lost, Rose and Bernard Nadler has captured the attention of almost every Lost fan. The first shot we saw of Rose...calmly staring out into the ocean...was touching, but also very intriguing. Who was this woman, and why did she not seem to be completely freaked out by that plane crash she was just in? As Season 1 progressed and she shared her faith and hope with Jack, the picture of a possibly senile woman began to emerge – did she really think her husband was still alive?

Of course, we all came to love Rose and the maternal role she played for our survivors who were slowly slipping into Lord of the Flies mode. When Rose and Bernard were reunited, well...let’s just say there was probably not a dry eye in the house. Bernard had his fair share of drama following the tail crash – like when the children were kidnapped and many of the survivors were killed. It is very important to point out, however, that Bernard is the only surviving member of the tail section who has not been kidnapped or killed.

Here we stand, on the brink of Season 4. Bernard and Rose are still pillars of strength for our survivors, bringing them back down to earth when things get tense. But there are still many questions about Rose and Bernard. I will outline a few, but there are many more.

Remaining Questions about the Nadlers:

1. Little is known about Rose's early life before the crash. However, a deleted Season 2 scene indicated that she had a daughter who passed away (read: Maggie is a nerd). If this is true (which is hard to say, since we can’t confirm the "truth" of a deleted scene), who is her daughter and how did she die?

2. Is Rose special – or as Ben puts it "important," like Locke – because she has apparently been healed by the island?

3. How did Rose "know" that the tail section people were alive?

4. When Rose leaves the island, will her cancer return?

5. Where and how did "Rambo Bernard" learn to shoot so well?

6. Is there a reason why Bernard is the only tail section survivor not captured or killed?

Waiting patiently for Season 4,

-Maggie

(Annc) New look, same amount of crazy.

Greetings visitors, and welcome to The Dharma Blog. Yes, The Dharma Blog. It's the same old blog but we've updated the look and feel of it.

Here's what we've done:
Easy on the Eyes. After fielding numerous complaints regarding a general lack of readability (due to the "white text on a black background" design), we've changed things up. Hopefully this will make things easier on the eyes. My esteemed co-worker Staci never fails to remind me that, while she enjoys reading the blog, it "bugs her eyes out." Fear the blog no more, Staci, your eyes are safe.

Flip-side. All the archived content and "extras" used to be on the right-hand side of the blog. Now they're on the left. I assume most of you already figured that out.

Bios. On the left-hand side are bios of me and Maggie. Click on either (or both!) of our names and you can read all about how we arrived at this level of obsession.


Hopefully the new look is okay with everyone. If it's not, well we'll change it back then. Comment below and let us know what you think. And, as always, any suggestions are greatly appreciated and will be adhered to blindly. We're nothing if not total pacifists to public opinion.

LOST is over. Now what?
We're working on that. The Dharma Blog will not rest, and we'll explain what that means later this week. Stay tuned!


LOST is over. I guess it's time to start dating again,
Charlie.

(Rev) Two steps forward, two steps back

Last night’s episode blew my mind. Two hours of major fake-outs, numerous dead bodies, the hope of rescue, heroes around every turn…and the most touching loss so far. We were promised a game-changing episode.

This episode delivered…and also undermined so many assumptions we’ve had about Lost for the last three years.

I’m a Lost addict. I’ll be the first to admit it. No need to have an intervention where my friends and family sit me down and say, in low voices, “Maggie, you have a problem”. It’s true. I stay up hours past when I should be sleeping to think about what will happen next on the island. I sit in front of my computer for hours on end, reading blogs and summaries; testing my Lost knowledge against the oh-so-wise Lostpedia; casting the show with people in my own life (I’m always Kate, of course); theorizing about the next character-connection we’re going to find; and trying to figure out what the heck that smoke is. Recently, I’ve thought about changing all my passwords to 4-8-15-16-23-42. I’ve wondered about taking a few vacation days to fly out into the Pacific Ocean and find the island myself.

Last night reaffirmed for me that I am in love with "Lost" in a big way. No other show has the power to put me in such a profound, almost philosophical state of wondering. (Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman couldn’t hold a candle to Lost…neither can The Bachelor.) I literally feel what the Losties feel – out to sea and unable to figure out what's happening in “real time,” but obsessed with learning the truth. While we all agree that the season began slowly last fall, "Lost" found its groove and has been on a roll since it returned in February.

Although Lost won’t return until February, the finale convinced me to wait that long for more answers to the new bevy of questions that unfolded in the best two hours of television. As we look back on last night’s finale, I won’t try to answer all the questions…we have plenty of time to do that. What I would like to do is touch on some of the big plot and character arcs that were introduced…and theorize about a few possible explanations.

Locke
I think we can all agree that Locke was going to kill himself. He couldn’t move his legs. His “idol” (Ben, not Jordin Sparks) had just shot him in the stomach. He was lost in every sense of the word…so overwhelmed that he didn’t want to try any more. At the end of his rope…and, in his mind, at the end of his life. As he cocked the gun towards his own body, he heard a voice. A voice we “kinda sorta” recognized…ah, yes. Teenager Walt had returned to woo his friend out of the Dharma ditch. “You have work to do” he said to Locke. What did Walt represent for Locke? It was almost a new found hope…a new found encouragement to keep discovering mysteries and answers. And with that, we can assume that his legs returned and he climbed out of the Dharma body ditch.

What does all of this mean for Locke? After the encounter with the mysterious Jacob (and subsequent attempted murder by Ben), Locke had literally hit rock bottom…or should I say “body bottom.” (Gosh, what a horrible joke.) Walt’s appearance switched his frame of mind. The Locke Attack is back (yes, that is a reference to Saved By the Bell). Locke isn’t done yet. What is interesting is that even though Ben tried to kill him, Locke returned to our Losties to essentially “help” Ben keep everyone here. So has Locke decided to “let bygones be bygones” (“Oh, Ben…I forgive you for trying to kill me. You were just having a rough day.”) It certainly appears that way…as confusing as that is. I don’t know about you, but I tend to hold grudges against people who try to kill me.

Next season:
Locke Attack is going to continue to play a key role in unfolding the island’s mysteries. I think he is going to stay on the Ben Team and continue to try to keep our Losties here….make them stay put. The last time we saw Locke Attack last night was a shot of him wandering back into the jungle. Where was he going? Who knows! He’s not trying to find Ben (we’ve got him tied to a tree). Perhaps he is heading back to find Richard.

On that vein, I really like the prospect of Locke and Richard teaming up for the ’08 Others Presidential Election. I think Locke would be on the top of the ticket and Richard would be VP. I’m not sure if the Others will want to elect Ben, the Independent Candidate. His approval rating has really gone down as of late.

Charlie and Desmond
And with last night, Charlie headed to that great bingo game in the sky. A great ending for a really great character. As many people have pointed out, the series pilot introduced us to the background of three characters: Kate, Jack and our Charlie. It is a loss for him to leave, but his arc was truly completed when Desmond’s premonition was fulfilled. Blinking yellow light. Flip the switch. Unjam the communication blocker. Jack & Co. can make a call. Everyone is rescued. Charlie took one for the team...the biggest act of heroism in the whole episode, nay, the whole series up to this point. I shed a single tear as he put his hand on the window with the message “Not Penny’s Boat”…then watched as his body floated backwards. Good bye, Charlie Pace.

Before he drowned, though, Charlie accepted an incoming transition from the beautiful Penny Widmore. Thanks to the quick thinking of Charlie, Penny now knows that 1) there survivors of Oceanic 815; 2) has-been Charlie Pace survived the plane crash; and 3) her soulmate Desmond is alive and well. What a powerful 30 seconds! Crazy Mikhail had to ruin it all with the old grenade-through-the-window trick, but as I’ve pointed out, that was “supposed to happen.” Penny claimed to not know about Naomi…whoahhh. Plot twist! An interesting one, too.

What a wonderful tie in to include “Good Vibrations” as the passcode…and to note that it was programmed by a “musician.” Charlie felt a purpose…felt a calling. It was quite moving.

Next season:
Penny is going to keep searching for her Desmond. Does her transmission with Charlie indicate that she can locate the island? I think so…maybe. And since Penny had no idea who Naomi was, we have a lot to discover about her. How did she have a picture of Des and Penny? Our records show that there are three versions of the Penny/Des photo (which has come to have more and more significance as the season progresses): Penny (on her night stand), Des (in his pocket), and Naomi (in her book). Did Naomi get it from, say, Penny’s father Charles Widmore? This is my new running theory…

Jack
Jack’s apparent backstory (drinking and drugging himself into a stupor) turned out to be flash forward -- flashes into his future life. And in that future, Jack, Kate, a mysterious somebody with whom Kate lives, and another mysterious somebody who just died, appear to have been rescued from the island. Suicidal with remorse for having left the island, Jack takes a plane flight every Friday night across the Pacific Ocean in hopes that one will crash and return him to the island. Oh, and he uses his Golden Pass from Oceanic Air for this purpose…

As many have already pointed out, Jack's future misery casts a shadow backward: knowing that “rescue” isn’t the greatest thing ever darkens our perception of Jack's optimistic struggles to get everyone off the island. It completely reverses the tone of the show. Will we continue to want our Losties to escape from the island next season…or will we reconsider Locke/Ben’s belief that they need to stay put?

Jack’s flash forward also showed that Sarah (the ex) was pregnant with someone else’s child. How painful when Sarah admitted to Jack that she was “still his emergency contact” at work. Whew. That was a tear jerker. Jack doesn’t have anyone else in his life. What happened to Jack’s Mother? What about his doctor friends from before the crash? It looks like Jack is all alone.

Oxycodone:
Oxycodone is used in treatment of moderate to severe chronic pain. Was Jack in severe chronic pain in this episode? No, I think he was turning to Oxycodone for to take him away from all the “pain” of his life. After all, we did see Jack almost commit suicide on the bridge. As wikipedia points out, Oxycodone has similar effects to morphine and heroin, and appeals to the same abuse community. So…Charlie’s heroin addiction lives on through Jack? Interesting…

Thoughts about Christian Shepherd:
Jack-of-the-island arrived on the island because he was coming home from Australia with the body of his deceased father. Christian Shepherd is dead…so why does Jack-of-the-future keep talking about his father (he wrote me this prescription…go see who is more intoxicated, etc.)? While watching the episode, I thought it was because Jack-of-the-future was so drugged by the oxycodone that he was “pretending” like his father was alive. However, after the fact, I’m beginning to wonder…is Christian Shepherd really alive in Jack-of-the-future’s life?? If Jack-of-the-island’s dad was dead when he arrived on the island, can he be alive in the future? He can't, right??

Man, I've got a headache.

Jack’s Beard:
Some disagree with me, but I thought his beard was kinda fake looking.

So…who was in that casket?
Such a terrible thought…to die and have literally no one show up for your funeral and/or viewing. Sends chills up the spine. So who was that? Who has “no one” in their life to come to a funeral? We know that the death was announced in the paper…it appeared to be a short article. But even the TiVo couldn’t pick up what the article said. There are three possible people in my mind who could have been in that coffin: Locke, Sawyer or Ben. Or, it could be someone that we don’t know yet…some character we have yet to meet. But if it is one of our current Losties, my money is on one of these three guys. We must take Kate’s comment very seriously when Jack showed her the article: “Why would I have gone?” she said with a glare…a hint of exasperation in her voice. Surely she wouldn’t say that about Sawyer, right? So is it Locke or Ben? Well, Kate has some anxiety about both of these guys: they both happened to try to keep them on the island. For now, I’m going to predict it is Ben…don’t ask why. I just picked one of them.

And about Kate’s comment (“he’ll notice I am gone”)…is it Sawyer? Or is it…maybe…her son??

Next season (and beyond):
Jack and Kate apparently get off the island. As I pointed out earlier, Jack’s rescue does not lead him to fields of flowers, bunnies and butterflies. Instead, getting off the island plunges Jack into a deep, dark despair. He says to Kate “We weren’t supposed to leave” and “We have to go back to the island.” He appears to feel like there is “unfinished business”….so what is it? What did he not do? At this point, I can’t even go there. I can’t even guess what it is. Heck, I have seven months to come up with theories.

For now, let’s just all sit back and drop our jaws. What an excellently-acted (not a word) episode, Matthew Fox. Bravo, you. Bravo. Standing ovation. Brilliant performance. Best performance by an actor in a drama. My vote is for Matthew Fox. Ding ding ding. Wooooo!

Ben
Beaten to a pulp, tied to a tree. Ben didn’t fair too well last night….and I loved it. Ben was betrayed multiple times during the episode…by people he thought he “controlled,” no less, which made him quite angry.

Juliet:
Juliet told the Others’ kidnapping plan to the Losties. Instead of capturing three possibly-pregnant women (note: who is the third? There were three tents marked, right? Kate, Sun and ___ ? Ideas?), Ben lost ten men. Quite a blow for his creepy compound. Ben thought Juliet was his mole. Turns out she was kissing the doctor. Ben lost.

Alex:
Alex told Karl the kidnapping plan, who subsequently filled in some of the details for the Losties. Ben’s “daughter” (anyone else notice that Alex called him Ben, not Dad???) turned on him. His response? He puts her up for adoption and introduces her to her real mother, Danielle. What a moment that was…when Danielle and Alex “met” each other for the first time. So powerful. And Ben’s stock just went straight into the ground when you saw how overwhelmed and touched Alex was at the meeting. Ben lost.

Jack:
Ben told Richard that he was going to the radio tower to convince Jack to not make the call off the island. During the scene, Ben seemed quite certain that he could manipulate the situation to “win.” That is, he was certain he could convince Jack to not do it…to just stay put. In the end, though, Jack last through three fake shootings of his friends (I knew they were alive…I just knew it) and a near murder by Locke to make the call. Ben lost.

Next season:
Physically, Ben can’t escape from his captivity by our guys. I also don’t know if any of his people “want” to save him. The only guy I could maybe, sorta see coming for him is Mikhail….and that rests on whether or not Mikhail survived the grenade explosion (I just don’t think he is dead, as crazy as that sounds.) Outside of Mikhail, perhaps Locked would do it. However, it is clear there is dissension in the ranks. People aren’t too pleased with Ben (Richard said “A lot of people are questioning you right now”). If Locke is going to reunite with Richard, I could see them just forgetting about Ben.

In addition, I am wondering what Ben’s purpose is from now on. What does he have left to do? This all rests on who the heck answered the phone call that Jack made. Whoever it was…I don’t know if they are necessarily “good guys.” While Jack’s plan might work, there have to repercussions.

Was the man on the other end of the phone maybe a Dharma guy? Someone who has realized that the Dharma people are gone….that another group has taken over? Maybe they are trying to figure out what is going on? Do they think Jack and our guys are “Others”? Will Ben lie and say that they are part of his team? Or that Ben, himself, is the victim? That he, himself, crashed on the island? Or is the guy on the phone someone connected to Charles Widmore???

So much to wonder about.

Naomi
At the start of the episode, I did not believe her…I didn’t believe anything she said. In the end, she was killed by John Locke and may have jeopardized our Losties since they made a call with her phone. So…is Naomi a good guy or bad guy? Did Naomi “know” she would be killed? Not necessarily a vision a la Desmond, but perhaps she knew that someone would not want the island to be found. She told Jack how to use the phone to set our guys up…she knew we would use the phone and her people would find the island location.

Next season:
So assuming Naomi’s boat people show up, what is going to happen? WHO KNOWS. Are they here to find the people on the island or the island itself? If it is the people, is it a certain “person”? If it is the island, do they know there are people on the island? (Random questions: Is Naomi some crazy horticulturist trying to find an extinct plant? A zoologist trying to find island-living polar bears?) If Naomi really does work for a company that finds people (like she claimed), will they come pick up Desmond, then take off? Maybe Penny didn’t send Naomi (I believe Penny when she said “Who is Naomi??”)…maybe Charles Widmore sent Naomi in order to get Desmond out of Penny’s life once and for all.

Again, so much to wonder about.

Maggie S. and Charlie S.
At the start of 2007, Charlie and I started to write this blog. It is now May 24, 2007…and we are without a new episode of Lost and without meaning in our lives. It is going to be tough for the first few weeks. For those of you that see us both on a regular basis, a hug or a pat on the back would be most appreciated. Although neither of us will turn to oxycodone for relief from the pain, there is a good chance we’ll both start eating a lot of Sour Patch Kids and drinking a lot of Diet Dr. Pepper. If you see us dampening the pain with either of these, offer us a water and an apple.

Next season:
Stay tuned for continuous updates from us during the next several months. Although we don’t know if there will be a multimedia internet “game” like last year, we will definitely find things to blog about during this interim.

Good bye:
Although Boyz II Men “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” is playing in my head (it has been for 16 years…haha, just kidding. I don’t like that song.), I’ll close with an old Lost blessing that I was once told by my Great Grandpa Kelvin (again, I’m kidding…Great Grandpa’s name was Oakley):

May the jammer rise to allow your transmission.
May the polar bears always be far, far away from you.
May the Others not gas you to death.
May all your pregnant women friends be safe.
And may Damon and Carlton and JJ hold your questions in their forefront of their minds as they write the next season.

-Maggie

(Prev) All's Well That Ends Well

LOST: “Through The Looking Glass” – A Jack Episode.
Tonight. 9/8c.

Two hours of bliss. To be followed immediately by eight months of silence. Indeed, this is a bittersweet day for all LOST fans. Like a recovering heroin addict on a plane bound to L.A., we are about to enjoy the thrill and rush of our high, to be followed by a slow, painful, sweat-filled eight-month withdrawal. Personally, I wish that I, like Charlie Pace, had someone like John Locke to ease me off my addiction…

John: I’m going to let you ask me for the Season 3 DVDs three times Charlie (me, not Charlie Pace). On the third time, I’ll give them to you.
Charlie (me, in a pithy British accent): Okay. Can we be best friends?
John: No, Charlie.
Charlie: Okay then, can I have the DVDs?
John: No, Charlie. That’s once.

(2 minutes later)

Charlie: What about now?
John: That’s two (says John, with a menacing look and head shake that say “NO” much louder than words ever could).
Charlie: Not cool. What about the best friends thing?
John: Still a no.

(30 seconds later)

Charlie: Okay, come on. Gimme the DVDs.
John: Here you go, Charlie. (John says this, expecting me to make like Charlie Pace and cast my addiction into the fire).
Charlie: Do you have a DVD player I could borrow (he says, dancing excitedly)? Also, where’s Nikki? We have a date. She’s what!?!?

And… scene.

Let’s talk about tonight. But first, read here about the Top 10 moments of Season 3 (it's a nice refresher course. Thanks to Maggie for the link). All done? Okay, then. Before we get to deep into it, let's clear something up. Before someone hurriedly approaches me tomorrow morning with a "Bet you never saw that coming!" comment, let me just say, "You're right." There WILL be a moment with as much shock factor as the "Penny and the Arctic Rangers" scene last year. Could I even begin to predict that? No. Not in all my infinite wisdom could I foresee the things that will happen tonight. But let's explore anyway.


Trust Issues
Get ready to blur the lines of black/white, good/evil and right/wrong tonight. The mounting war between our castaways and The Others is the physical manifestation of the mounting philosophical allegory of good and evil that has been building since early in the series (remember the dream where Locke had one white eye and one black eye?).

Quite simply, it comes down to this: who do you trust? And be careful, the natural hesitation is to blurt out “Juliet!” “Ben!” or Naomi!” quicker than that kid who always knew the answer before you did in elementary school (for me, her name was Stacie Corliss. I will never forgive her for her treacherous one-upsmanship). But to guess these names would be to play right into the writers’ hands. They want you to distrust Juliet and Ben. And they have cast a shadow of doubt over Naomi as of late. But, as I always say, this is LOST. Nothing is as easy as it seems, and this is no exception.

Let’s talk about Jack. Ever since his return, I have half-heartedly conformed to the castaways’ distrust of their once-infallible leader. Yes, I think something happened to him when he was at Camp I-Wanna-Be-An-Other (“Think I-Wanna-Be-An-Other, Speak I-Wanna-Be-An-Other, Live I-Wanna-Be-An-Other, Ug!” name that classic Nickelodeon TV show), though I’m not sure how significant it was. I just have trouble believing that Jack’s desire to escape would trump his “onus of heroism,” that little voice inside him that seems to guide him to abandon his usual modus operandi to serve the interests of the greater good. But here’s a big fat branch in the spokes of the bicycle of logic: the writers have hinted that Jack’s back story will reveal something about him that we currently have no idea about. This sounds like it’s not a “What do Jack’s tattoos mean?” kind of mystery, but rather a “Holy shit. Seriously?” kind of mystery. Maybe there’s a sinister side to the good doc. Maybe he has previously abandoned the greater good for his own interests. And maybe, just maybe, he’s screwed someone over before. If the back story does reveal that he’s stabbed a back, then sit back and brace yourself for an island mutiny of epic proportions.

Let’s talk about Ben. Oh Ben. Poor Ben. Poor, poor Ben. Hated by daddy, lauded by hostiles, challenged by Locke and now left without an ounce of respect from his fellow Others. It’s fourth down, fourth quarter, tie ball game for Bug Eyes. He, more than anyone else, needs to prove his leadership prowess in order to maintain/re-establish his preeminence on the Island. But how? His people are somewhat against him. The survivors are very against him. And his oneness with the Island is in question. He needs a miracle to get through this one. But this is Ben we’re talking about. When has he ever not had a plan to dig himself out? That’s what I thought. I know it’s not considered going out on a limb to call Ben “devious,” but I’ll go somewhat out on a limb to say this: Ben has a plan, it’s gonna be big, it’s gonna be evil, and it’s gonna get somebody (or somebodies) killed.


One last prediction on the issue of trust: Ben should watch his back. The Others do not presented as united a front as the survivors, and with Tom, Richard and the rest of the camp second-guessing Captain Linus, the possibility for treason is huge. Where do I think that treason will come from: daughter dearest, Alex. I think we tend to forget that Alex is Rousseau’s daughter, and that Rousseau can tear some shit up. Their mother and child reunion (cue one of the best Paul Simon songs ever, actually I’m listening to it right now) is bound to happen soon, and when it does expect an emotional scene followed by a joint mission of redemption. Who against? How about the man who kidnapped Alex and brainwashed her for 20 years to believe she was his daughter? Yep, I bet they’ll get that guy. At least, that’s what I think happened to Alex. But who knows. Maybe Ben and Rousseau knocked the boots (yes, “knock the boots” is a link. Click it and watch the whole thing. I swear, it’s the best thing you could do today) back in the 80s. You know? Maybe Ben turned on the Hall & Oates, fixed his Flock of Seagulls hair and then they… ewww.



You’re Gonna Die, Charlie? (Emphasis on the question mark)
We’ve thoroughly exhausted the issue of Charlie’s impending death, but let’s take a different perspective: that of Desmond’s. Did he really not see Hotty McPistol and Cutie O’Gun-toter in his little vision (by the way… they’re my new favorite characters. “Ladies, please. Put down the guns. Can’t we just talk?”)? These two NRA spokesmodels are credited as “Bonnie” and “Greta” in the cast list this week (my apologies to all of you “One of those chicks is Ben’s childhood friend, Annie!” theorists). But Desmond claimed Charlie would simply accomplish his mission before drowning nobly. He didn’t mention Bonnie and Greta. So did he not see them? Did he see them, but for some reason not want to forewarn Charlie of their presence (Not that I could blame him. I know if I would’ve known that two mega-babes would’ve been waiting in The Looking Glass for me, I would’ve done something really awkward upon surfacing. Like, I don’t know, knocking over an entire dessert tray at Grisanti’s before 9th Grade Promotion. Not that I did that. Let’s move on.)?

See, unlike earlier Desmonitions (Desmond premonitions), the audience was not treated to the actual “flashes” before Desmond’s eyes. We did not get to see any snippets of his vision, which we usually do. Is there a reason we were kept in the dark this time? Does Desmond know something that he’s not telling Charlie Pace/Stephan? I don’t have a good feeling about this, though I have no reason to suspect Desmond of deviance (save his desire to reunite with Penny).

Then again, previews for this week show Desmond going after Charlie in The Looking Glass. So something must drive him to swim down there – and whatever that is will be pretty interesting. My guess is that Desmond is, once again, on a collision course with his own destiny. Something in that hatch, something with those girls, something with Charlie represents some aberration of his past, some demon he hasn’t yet slain. Personally, I find any Desmond-struggles-with-himself storyline fascinating, so I look forward to this. That is, unless…

Could Desmond die? God, I hope not. I want to believe that he, like Locke, is too central to this story to kill off yet. But if he’s walking right into the same death trap he sent Charlie to, he could be in trouble. Then again, this is the man who weathered the hatch implosion and lived to tell about it (and by “it”, I mean “the future”).

And finally, where does this whole Charlie-Desmond-Looking Glass-Total Babes storyline fit into the World War III storyline? The title of tonight’s episode is the name of the station, so you would have to believe that there would some literal significance (though, as I’ll discuss later, the figurative significance of this title is probably much greater) with the happenings of The Looking Glass hatch.

Alright then, now that I’ve talked painted myself into a corner with that topic, let’s move on. Shall we? We shall. Let’s. Very good then. Here we go. Take a deep breath, we’re about to get crazy on this biatch.


Through The Looking Glass, Down the Rabbit Hole, Second Literary Reference on the Left
Those could be the Mapquest directions (though Google Maps is the best. True dat. Double true.) to the conclusion of this episode and season. The “Looking Glass” symbolism is Tolkienesque in terms of its complexity. I’m not even going to attempt to delve too far into it here, as there is too much from the books that could possibly fit into tonight’s episode. I would be merely taking stabs in the dark, and that would be a waste of everybody’s time. But alas, there are some things we should touch upon.

The Looking Glass.
In the “Alice” books (and this is going off distant memories/recent Wikipedia readings), The Looking Glass refers to the other side of a mirror, which is home to a fantasy world that, when explored, reveals greater common maxims about the world as a whole. Alice wonders about life on the other side of the mirror while looking at herself in it.

Interesting. The theme of pseudo-Socratic self-examination, in which one must question himself in order to understand and make peace with himself, has played itself out many times in LOST. Characters on the show, after thorough self-examination (which you might literally do by looking in a MIRROR), have been able to make peace with themselves and face their troubled pasts. At that point, they are exposed to the expanse of reality via their reality on The Island. Could this all be an elaborate metaphor about how, through thorough self-examination, a larger picture begins to develop. Ponder that one.

The Rabbit Hole.
Like The Looking Glass, the concept of a Rabbit Hole represents a sort of “point of no return.” Once one ventures down a “rabbit hole,” they are mired in a world of uncertainty and mystery; a world that, unless one is equipped to handle, can be terrifyingly real and revealing. Our characters went down something of a rabbit hole on the day Oceanic 815 crashed. They were unwittingly hurled down that rabbit hole, and have since been forced to make due with their lot in life. But maybe their not being simply forced to “make due.” Maybe, as many have speculated, The Island represents a large-scale rabbit hole in which participants are subjected to a bare-bones reality. Look at the primal nature of The Others, the naturalistic environment and the journey of discovery of fundamental truths. There’s nothing sexy about the Island, it’s merely a stripped down alternate reality that causes people to see the world and themselves for what they really are.

So what do the Looking Glass and Rabbit Hole metaphors mean for tonight's episode? Ha! I wouldn't touch that with a 10-foot pole. Let's just let that story play out.


Five Alive (Actually more like Five Dead!)
Uber-nerds like myself (and Maggie) who hang on the every word of the hallowed LOST production/writing team know that the creators have forecasted the deaths of up to five characters by season’s end. In the last several weeks, the only significant death was that of Anthony Cooper’s (Locke’s papa).

Let’s look at the odds of characters dying, since apparently I’m obsessed with gambling (not really, mom).

• Charlie Pace. 2:1. Charlie is the odds on favorite to bite the dust – even a casual viewer would know that.
• Bernard. 5:1. Bernard’s got a gun. Bernard’s not a bad ass. Other people (who are bad asses) are coming. With guns. It doesn’t look too good for Bernie.
• Jin. 10:1. Don’t adjust your screens, that says Jin at 10:1. Think about it: is he really that important? His death would be sad, but not earth-shattering – sounds like a good person for the writers to off. And he'll be on the front lines of the battle, so look out.
• Juliet. 25:1. No real reason for saying this, other than the fact that there are a lot of people out to get her. Personally I would miss her.
  
• Desmond. 50:1. No way, he’s too important.
• John Locke. 70:1. (see reasoning on “Desmond”)
• Someone that we’d never imagine. 1:1. Be honest, you know someone will die tonight as we all, in unison, utter the words, “How can they do that?!?!”

There’s not much more I can say on this one, other than to remind you all that if Charlie dies, I’m going to be a wreck for a while. Just puttin’ that out there.


In Closing
And I really do mean “In Closing,” this time (at least until next January). I always qualify the speculations of this blog with the warning that the best way to watch this show is to not ask questions. Just sit back, suspend your notions of possibility and let the creators of this show tell you a good story.

The words of the great singer/songwriter Martin Sexton come to mind:

Oh, it's in the journey that we see there's no destination (no path off the Island, just a path to discovery)
It's in the journey that we find our true love (insert your Grey’s Anatomy-esque analysis of the Kate-Jack-Sawyer love triangle here)
It's in the journey that we learn we can’t do it alone, can’t do it alone (Live Together, Die Alone)
Still gotta dig deep down inside and lose my pride (Still listening, doctor Shepherd?)

Martin Sexton. In The Journey.

That’s what it’s all about. Don’t worry yourself silly about the details of this show, it’ll only drive you mad. Just enjoy the journey.


The Haiku

The show hibernates
Actors go on vacation
But the blog lives on


It’s been a pleasure serving you this season, and I can’t wait for Season 4. And don’t fret, the blog will be alive and well in the meantime (details on that will come later). Until then, enjoy tonight's story.

Namaste.
Charlie.

(Rev) When I get where I'm going

One of my favorite albums these days is Time Well Wasted by my man Brad Paisley (yes, the Brad Paisley who is married to Annie from Father of the Bride).

Perhaps you've heard this song, which was going through my head last night as we watched Charlie finish his life here on Earth (then again, we don't know if he is really on Earth...this island could be on another planet, things are so messed up.)


When I get where I'm going
on the far side of the sky.
The first thing that I'm gonna do
Is spread my wings and fly.

I'm gonna land beside a lion,
and run my fingers through his mane.
Or I might find out what it's like
To ride a drop of rain

Yeah, when I get where I'm going,
there'll be only happy tears.
I will shed the sins and struggles,
I have carried all these years.
And I'll leave my heart wide open,
I will love and have no fear.

Yeah when I get where I'm going,
Don't cry for me down here.


This post is in tribute to Charlie, who I think is on his way out (more on that later) (sorry, Charlie) (my character died, too, you know) (Shannon's real name is Maggie Grace) (then again, I was really happy when Shannon died because she was annoying).


The Looking Glass


The sequel to Alice in Wonderland was entitled Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. Instead of being based on a card game like the original Alice, it's theme is a chess game. Yes, a chess game. Sound familiar? And the symbol for the Looking Glass station was the dharma hexagon with a white rabbit symbol. Hmm...white rabbits. Let's think here: the rabbit in Alice in wonderland? Ben's pet white rabbit from his childhood? Emily the Rabbit, the rabbit that my family adopted during the winters from Lincoln's Folsom Children's Zoo? Yes, yes, and yes.


Oh, I'm loooooving the Looking Glass station.


So Charlie knocks out Desmond (had to happen...) to dive into the ocean towards Looking Glass. After finding Titanic, he swims up to the Moon Dock (awesomeness) and joyful exclaims "I'm alive! I'm alive!" On Lost, most scenes that have some sort of jubiliation over surviving a threatening situation are followed by another threat to their life. In this scene, it happened to be two pink Power Rangers around the lap pool -- pointing guns at him and looking mighty brainwashed. (Question: Was one of these girls Annie from Ben's childhood???)


So let me get this straight. Juliet knew the Looking Glass existed, but she was told by Ben that the hatch was flooded from "an accident." So if she thought it was flooded, then she never saw people go in or out of that station, right? So who are these two Power Rangers? Was Juliet lying to us when she said the station was flooded, or was Ben lying to Juliet when he said the station was flooded?

I know I'm not supposed to trust Juliet, but I am going to have assume Ben is lying...because he is just a flat out liar. He lies and I think he looks like a creepy rabbit. (red beat-y eyes, pointy nose, general creepiness, etc.)


So what is going to happen to Charlie? Well, the previews show he is going to be tied to a chair and beat up. Tough luck, Charlie. Tough luck. I hate to say it, but I think that Charlie is going to die next week. He's going to flip the switch by the yellow flashing light, then die. My friend John stated this morning that he thinks Desmond's vision of Charlie drowning will occur after the Looking Glass is blown up....much like when Mikhail's station and the Pearl were blown up. Perhaps all of the stations have an emergency "blow up" quality...that if worse comes to worse, Ben & Co. can flip the switch and explode everything. I think that makes a whole lot of sense.

Side bar: Naomi. Do we believe her? Did Penny really send her? I doubt her more and more everyday. She seems content. She is not trying to take Desmond back to the ship that is 80 miles off shore. She is just "living" on the island with our guys. Why?? Wouldn't she be adament that they pack up and leave? Swim? Row? Anything? She seems to content to be who she says she is. We know she is feeling better (she is walking around, joking around, etc.). I just don't buy it. Call me doubting Thomas, I don't care. It just can't be that easy...that simple...that plain. Where is her boat? Why aren't they trying to find her? What theeeeee heck is her deal?

Question: Locke -- Dead or Alive?


I was disappointed that Locke didn't make an appearance last night. This leads me back to a question we had last week: is Locke dead or alive? Here are the two scenarios, fleshed out:

Locke is dead.
Like I said last week, if Locke is dead, then the whole Jacob-in-the-hut story line is going to have to be discovered again by our survivors. Locke's death would make that entire story pointless...you can't expose the idea of Jacob and then kill Locke. You just can't. I don't think Locke is dead. I think...


Locke is alive.
Locke has to be alive...not necessarily because of the island's healing powers, but just because of Locke's awesomeness powers. Someone is going to come upon him and help him out of the body pit. I've been thinking it would be Alex or Karl, but now that they are involve in that whole pregnant-kidnapping story, it must be someone else. Ideas? Well, let's just say Person X will help Locke out of the whole and he will live. Now what?

We need to figure out what Locke's motivation will be after his heart-wrenching Bentrayal (ben+betrayal...awesome). Locke used to view Ben as a step towards answering the island's greatest mysteries. Will that change now, after Ben tried to kill him? Yes, I think it will. Although he still has an obsession with what this island is, I don't think he will turn to Ben for these answers anymore. That being said, who will he work with? My money is on Richard. Locke still wants to stay on this island and will do anything to keep "rescue" from coming. If you remember last time someone tried to communicate with the radio tower, you'll remember that Locke admitted he was the one who knocked out Sayid when he was using the transceiver...yeah, that whole scene was crazy! I think it is going to happen again. I think Locke is going to come upon the radio tower and Jack & Co...and try to hinder their efforts to use the iPhone.


The Greatest Hits

Charlie writes down his own personal "greatest hits" for Desmond to give to Claire following Charlie's death. In this episode, all five greatest hits come full circle:

5. Hearing "You All Everybody" on the radio for the first time.

• Naomi reveals that, following the "death of Charlie" on Oceanic 815, Drive Shaft released a Greatest Hits album in his honor.

4. Showing his father that he knows how to swim.

• Charlie swims to the Looking Glass.
  

3. When Liam gave him the DS ring. It initally did not stand for Drive Shaft; instead, it represents initials of an ancestor.

• Charlie left the DS ring in Aaron's crib. Recall, Liam initally gave it to Charlie because he didn't trust himself and thought Charlie would be the one to succeed. Specifically, Liam said "give this ring to your kid." (anyone else wipe a tear away when Charlie said "I love you, Aaron" right before he left? sigh...)

2. When Nadia told Charlie that he was a hero after he rescued her from a mugger in the alley. (Welcome back, torture survivor Nadia! How is the new home treating you??)

• Charlie is the hero for our group -- he goes to the Looking Glass to save them all.

1. Meeting Claire for the first time following the crash.

• Seeing Claire for the last time before she and Aaron head off to the radio tower with Jack. I don't know about you, but I think they are setting Hurley up to be Claire's new best friend...I loved it when he offered to help her with Aaron and her things. And, since Hurley lost his GF Libby, he'll be a nice companion for Claire who is almost certain to lose her BF Charlie.

Where do we go from here?

As you all saw, tonight at 10/9C is a Lost clips show, hosted by Damon and Carlton (the producer, not the Fresh Prince guy). MAN! This week is like the last week of high school...when you get to do all of these cool things and not really have to work at all. Like, last night was Lost. Tonight is Lost. And then next Wednesday is a two hour Lost! Score! Senior Week!

Okay, nevermind.

But really, what a way to end it all. My predictions about what will happen next week:

1. Locke will live and somehow meet up with our guys at the radio tower.

2. Sayid, Jin and Bernard will all live. If they were going to die, they would have made more of an effort to "close" their character's stories.

3. Some of the 10 Others who are coming to the beach are going to die. We don't know anyone who is coming in that crew, though, so I don't know if their deaths will be that big of a deal.

4. Charlie will flip the switch and Jack & Co. will get a signal off the island to someone (Penny, maybe?)

5. Desmond will wake up on the boat (the explosion might wake him up?) and dive down to the station to try to save Charlie, but will be too late. Charlie will die.

My questions about what will happen next week:

1. So if they're not going to live on the beach or in the caves or in a hatch, where are our Survivors going to live?? Are they going to back to the beach? Isn't that kind of, oh, I don't know, dangerous?

2. The preview shows Jack saying "I love you" to someone, presumably Kate. I mean...whoah. He does love her, but what happens to make him tell her that?

3. Penny is listed in the cast list for next week...how will she tie into the episode??

4. Where is psycho Mikhail these days? Until I know, I will continue to be scared. (By the way, someone named Mikhail is coming into the office next week to meet with my boss. I'll be honest...I'm kind of freaking out about it. I mean, what if it is really Mikhail from Lost????)

5. In the words of Le Ann Rimes, circa '99:


How do I get through one [Wednesday] without [Lost]

If I had to live without you [until January 2008]

What kind of life [will] that be

Oh I, I need you in my [TiVo]

Need you to [watch]

You're my world, my heart, my soul

If you ever leave [for eight months]

[J.J.] you would take away everything good in my life

And tell me now

How do I live without [Lost]

I want to know

How do I breathe without [Lost]

If [Lost] ever [goes away for eight months]

How do I ever, ever survive

How do I

How do I

Oh, how do I live?

(Prev) You're Gonna Die, Charlie.

LOST: “Greatest Hits” - A Charlie Episode.
Tonight. 10/9c.

Tonight's episode is called Greatest Hits. Did you know Smashmouth has a Greatest Hits album? Seriously. Are you freakin’ kiddin me? Smashmouth. Greatest Hits. That assumes that (a) they have had songs that didn’t totally suck and (b) there were enough of them to constitute a whole album. I hate Smashmouth so much. In fact, as any close friend of mine knows, they are on what I not-so-affectionately refer to as my “Six Bullet List,” a morbid term that refers to the six bands/musical artists I would not hesitate to use a bullet on. Here, in reverse order (from sixth-most hated to all-time most hated) is the rest of that list.

6. Smashmouth
5. The B-52s
4. Shaggy
3. Sean Paul
2. Lenny Kravitz
1. Sheryl Crow

Make no mistake, Sheryl Crow. I straight up hate you.

Okay, now that you know that important tidbit of information about yours truly, it’s time to discuss this week’s episode. Here we go…


Charlie’s “FATE”
Fate. On LOST, the concept is heavily-tilled ground. We’ve examined it closely in the stories of Locke, Desmond and even Eko. It’s also a prevalent, over-arching, guiding principle of the story of LOST. Most recently, we have seen Desmond deal with fate very directly. His visions of the future have left him pondering his role, and specifically whether or not his efforts to alter his present have consequences on his future. One of Desmond’s primary recurring premonitions: the untimely death of young Charlie Pace (one of my favorite characters, by the way. I mean come on, we have the same name!).

For weeks we have dwelled on Charlie’s fate. Ever since Desmond handed down his death sentence in “Flashes Before Your Eyes” (one of the best episodes of this season, I might add), we have cringed at every perilous situation Charlie has encountered. Yes, the death of DriveShaft's (click on DriveShaft there, they have a MySpace page - very weird) bassist seems inevitable, right? Right? Not so fast.

Let me begin by saying that if I were a betting man, I’d put some money down on Charlie’s demise going down tonight. It’s been predicted in the plot, tonight is Charlie’s back story (a classic indicator of death) and you have to believe that there’s only so long one can outrun fate. But when have LOST writers ever allowed a plot element as grave as a main character’s death to unfold so predictably? Deaths on this show (Nikki and Paulo’s excluded) usually take us by surprise, and seem to post a big Dead End sign square in the middle of logical storylines (ain’t that right, Libby?). So there’s a “student of LOST history” side of me that has trouble believing they would kill off Charlie when so many people expect it to happen. Then again, it would be very much in the writers’ character to kill off a character the second people begin second-guessing their predictable death.

But you can’t kill a Charlie Pace with a mere accident. Or a gun shot. Or a Smokey encounter. Okay, maybe a Smokey encounter. But the “Charlie fan” in me wants to believe that Charlie will go out with a bang, of sorts. We have watched the progression of a character whose experiences span that spectrum of misdeed and redemption that so poignantly characterizes LOST. Remember Charlie’s initial modus operandi? It was rescue. Pure rescue. Then he seemed to settle into an acceptance mindset, even going so far as to write the word “Fate” on his fingers, as if he were putting his life in the hands of a higher presence. Later, he changed the “F” to an “L”, seemingly reverting back to his playfully realistic pre-Island self. But look at this story arc. A guy who only ever wanted to make music and please his family was led down a path into drug addiction, unfathomable stardom and, ultimately, abandonment by his family and loved ones and the disintegration of his beloved band. When the plane crashed, he was huddled over the toilet, desperately gathering the remnants of his heroin addiction in an attempt to escape his own tragic “fate”, or “lot in life” as it were. Then the plane crashed, he battled with his addiction, he lost his guitar, he fell for a girl who wanted nothing to do with his vice and he was left living out an existence with no light at the end of the tunnel. For Charlie, that light was escape: not just from the island, but also from the depths of his own sorry state. For Charlie, that light symbolized redemption; it symbolized reconciliation with his brother, Liam, and an end to his drug-riddled lifestyle. Charlie’s home was his family and his music. And all he ever really wanted was to go home. The light at the end of the tunnel dimmed, that is until John Locke made his move. He helped Charlie overcome his addiction (eventually), and in the process reunited Charlie with his guitar, giving the lad a much-needed reminder of what his life could be (and had been). After taming his personal demons and reconnect with Claire, earning back both her trust and his sanity. And he has Locke to thank for a lot of that – interestingly enough, John was able to step in and be the father/older brother figure that Charlie needed, despite John’s own family issues. Once Locke stepped in, the light at the end of thee tunnel reappeared for Charlie.

So take that into consideration and ask yourself: can they really kill Charlie? As heartbreaking as it may seem, the answer is, “Yes. They really could.” But they can’t do it without one last hurrah. Charlie knows he is doomed, and as his trust in Desmond grows, so does his obligation to destiny. That mounting obligation could very well lead him to one last dance: a sacrifice to the Island, a sacrifice of himself, and the last act of a man on a mission of redemption. Yes, this is probably Charlie Pace’s last night. But hopefully (for Charlie, fans of Charlie and those who sympathize with his plight), he will die in an effort to save the people he now calls family (Papa Locke, Wifey Claire, Son Aaron, Brother Hurley, Uncle Jack and Crazy Uncle Desmond). Charlie must die only in an effort to protect the Survivors. And whatever that translates into on the Island tonight is going to be a very intense, very authentic moment.


Battle Plans
Military success is contingent on frontline soldiers being able to respect those in charge (hear me, W?). No, this blog did not just transform into a left-wing rant factory. Rather, I’d like to take some time to examine the “escalating sectarian and regional tensions” on The Island.

Let’s see. We have two sides that misunderstand (and underestimate) each other. They both feel they have a right to a certain plot of land. They both have strong leaders who have personal beef with each other (Ben and Jack). They both believe that their current situation is a make-or-break survival scenario. In short, trouble’s a brewin’ down at the ole’ well. In the same way that the assassination of Arch Duke Francis Ferdinand served as the catalyst to World War One, the pseudo-treachery of Juliet could initiate a domino effect of Island warfare. Think about it. The Others trust Juliet, they believe she’s on their side. The Survivors don’t trust her and believe she’s still aligned with The Others. Both sides are wrong. Juliet is more than willing to betray The Others if it will increase her chance of escape – especially because to do so would help her feel redeemed for the way she was treated by them. And The Survivors, I believe, must overcome their distrust of Juliet and realize that she is angry enough at The Others to be a tremendous ally. Whatever side realizes Juliet’s true intentions first is going to have a huge leg up on the competition.

Enter Jack. The former Golden Boy of the Survivors, whose approval rating was at times higher than Charlie Pace after a bender. But the Survivors’ distrust of The Others is so strong that Jack’s Othersville vacation has rendered him untrustworthy and suspicious. And he certainly didn’t help his cause by canoodling (did I just say ‘canoodling”? Dear God.) with Juliet, whom the Survivors’ don’t trust as far as they can throw (which isn’t very far, because Juliet knows karate. And you just can’t throw a black belt too far without them turning around, mid-air, and delivering a devastating scissor kick to the head). Since his return to the beach, Jack’s leadership has been, at best, laissez-faire. He seems detached from his fellow castaways and content to confide in Juliet. It has gone so far that the Survivors did not trust him with the discovery of Naomi (the parachutist), a finding that he would’ve been the first to hear about if this were an earlier season. But it seems as if he’s on the cusp of redemption. His revelation last week that he knew of the plot against the Survivors – and was merely biding his time and weighing his options – could restore faith among some of Jack’s more loyal supporters. And with their support, more stalwart opponents like Sayid , Sawyer and Kate could soon follow.

On The Other side, Ben is experiencing a similar level of disapproval among his own people. His obsession with the fertility problem seems to have blinded him to bigger problems on the Island, and that has ruffled the feathers of a few in his tribe. Richard was so upset with Ben that he gave Locke the key to upending him: Sawyer’s story. Once Locke was in possession of that, it was easy to make sure Cooper would be killed, and thus Locke would have the leverage he needed to challenge Ben’s authority and learn some vital secrets. Now Locke and Ben seem to be competing in a World’s Creepiest and Most Spiritually Connected to the Island contest (by the way, the score after two rounds of that contest is 1-1. Locke gets 1 for hearing (and seeing?) Jacob, Ben gets one for shooting Locke. Locke’s theme song is now, “Shot through the heart. And you’re to blame. You give creepy island fantasy lands a bad name.”) And now, Ben is being questioned by his people in terms of his leadership, knowledge, connection to the Island and foresight. Burn. He better do something to earn their trust/respect/fear soon, or they won’t stand a chance – maybe that’s why he shot Locke.



And with that “State of the Island” speech in mind, we turn our attention to the matter at hand: War of the Worlds, Island Edition. The Others are coming, apparently with the mission of “rescuing” the pregnant women. The Survivors are waiting, apparently with the intention of “protecting” the pregnant women in the interest of sparing them the fate of (what I like to call) the Worst OBGYN Clinic Ever. As the loving brother of a pregnant woman (Hi, Karen!), I understand the protective instinct of the Survivors. They don’t know what’s best for the doomed Island pregos (yeah, that’s a medical term), but they seem to believe that The Others aren’t it. And who can blame them? A 100% mortality rate? Not exactly the kind of people you want to trust without a second (and third, fourth, fifth and sixth) opinion.

But the question becomes: how do the Survivors protect The Others? The Others are paramilitary killing machines – just ask The Dharma Initiative. The Survivors are merely a random group of people. Then again, the Survivors have Sayid, who can throw you up in the air and kill you five times before you hit the ground. (“My name is Sayid Jarrah, and I am a torturer.” Oh yes, my friends, it’s throw-down time.)


Outsiders?
As we near the end of this season, I am really interested in what has happened to a few characters that have been (either accidentally or purposely) marginalized. There are some people we haven’t seen in a while, and I wonder if they will factor back into the show soon. Here, with minimal inside knowledge, are the odds on a few characters returning to get some face time (either on the Island or in a flashback).

• Michael 50:1. Come on! Did they make it home? Are they helping with rescue? How many times did Michael look proudly at his son before staring off at the horizon on the trip home? That was, like, his favorite move.
• Walt 45:1. Okay, if Walt comes back I’m gonna lose my mind. He was always one of my favorites, and I felt we were cheated out of his story a little bit. There’s a lot that was left unexplained about his time with The Others, and damn it, I want to know.
• Penny 12:1. For all of our sakes, especially mine, let’s hope Penny comes back. If not to the Island, then maybe they show her conducting the Desmond search. Maybe she has to conduct it from Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha and while there she falls for a dashing young ad man from Lincoln, whose name she pronounces in that cheeky Scottish accent. Yep. I think those odds just increased.
• Rose and Bernard 5:1. Where are these two?! Was there any reason they were written out of the rest of this season, other than the Bernard’s general awkwardness? I mean shit, Rose’s cancer was cured by the Island, where is she?

I can’t do odds on dead people (it’s a rule… that I just made up because I didn’t want to do any more odds), but that doesn’t mean it’s not a distinct possibility. We’ve seen deceased castaways appear in dream sequences, flashbacks and hallucinations throughout this show, so don’t rule it out – especially with the finale coming up.

Let’s look at our departed brothers and sisters, with my probable reaction to their return in quotes after each name:

• Boone (“Eh”)
• Shannon (“Where’s the mute button?”)
• Ana Lucia (“Seriously?”)
• Libby (“Cool! Explain what the hell was up with you in that mental hospital with Hurley!”)
• Eko (“Oh hell to the hell to the hell to the hell yeah.”).

I don’t know if any of the living or dead (or soon to be dead?) characters will appear in the show anytime soon, but bringing someone back from the dead is always a good curveball. And it’s that special time of the year where the writers start pulling out things that make you realize that this whole time, you’ve only been looking at a very small piece of the picture. Watch closely.

Greatest Hits: A Haiku.
Goodbye, Dear Charlie.
If you see Jerry Falwell
You’re in a bad place.



Only two weeks left, time to finish strong. Enjoy tonight’s episode!
Charlie.