After Lost: A New Direction

Well, we made in back into the country after a month. The final four episodes have been viewed and my first thought is "Wow! What a ride it has been!"

There are plenty of commentaries on the web about what, who, why and when...wait, scratch "when" as there is no when were we are now. HA! So I'm not going to post another follow-up to the series unless you have specific questions to something.

HOWEVER...I am considering continuing this blog under a new name "After Lost". The idea is to play off the term "afterlife", but with the LOST twist to it.

THE CONCEPT

The concept is to continue the LOST story on our own. Every two weeks on a set day (schedules are nice for readers to schedule and expect to read) you could find another "chapter" of the story.

Other posts might be added to as background, discussions, and related topics. The plan is to post items related to the viewers of LOST with the structure coming from my own storyline.

If you are interested, leave a comment. If one person likes the idea then we can kick it off and see where it goes. Maybe it will grow in popularity, or maybe not. Let's find out.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

I will comment on the LOST series as a whole: I loved it. Television needed a show like this and the writers, actors and producers did a great job with it. The bar has been raised fro TV and let's hope more shows like this will be coming soon.

So if you like to "think about it", leave a post with your support and ideas.

Enjoy,
KC

LT351: Fade to Black

Six years of being LOST.

LOST TIDBITS began as a newsletter distributed by email.

After Season 2 someone introduced me to blogs and TIDBITS went on-line.

I've met readers from several countries and several states. I've met readers who shocked me they were into LOST. Readers have met me and were shocked to discover I'm the "KC".

I heard about a group at an insurance company who used to meet at lunch and used my newsletter as their discussion guide!

An email hit my inbox once from a professor at a college asking for permission to use it in some kind of American Media course!

I've made friends who I'll never meet named Ben, Adrian, a series of initials and Anonymous.

My wife and I even planned a vacation around LOST to see locations in Hawaii. I recall a stranger walking up to me there and asking if I was in the Dharma Initiative! I was wearing a Dharma hat and had forgot it was on for a nice little shock!

I've been lucky enough to have stood where Penny and Desmond stood to have that famous photograph taken. I've been to Daniel's college and Mrs. Hawking's church. We've seen the dock and the strange rock formation.

It's been a good run. The book, "Bad Twin", was a decent read. The jigsaw puzzles and games have been great. It is going to be missed.

Now it is time for LOST TIDBITS to fade to black.

It is the ultimate cliffhanger, huh?

Five episodes remaining and I won't even be able to watch the greatest show in TV history wrap up! Fate can be cruel.

As destiny would have it, we will be in place soon where the "stars are upside down" and the television is in a language I can't comprehend. Eventually I'll see the end, but it will well after you do and people will have moved on to some other cultural phenomena by then.

Fate can be fickle.

So with a short time before we leave, college finals and lots of strings to tie-up...LOST TIDBITS has reached its end.

And maybe this is a preview of the show's ending?! HA! But this is life and I promise if ever given the chance to loop through these events again, I will course correct things so TIDITS could wrap up LOST with you. But until I find my constant and for the time being I have to take solace in the fact that everything happens for a reason.

Thank you for the ride. It's been great and I've enjoyed every hour of my life this show has made me think. Hope you have enjoyed LOST TIDBITS. I'll miss it and I'll miss you, the readers. Good bye.

Enjoy,
KC

LT360: First Impression: Happily Every After

Woah.

Cotton candy.

Never have I felt like I got so many answers and then realized I got nothing. Like poof. The more I thought about it the more I realized there were no answers. Like cotton candy.

And I liked it.

Consider the titled, "Happily Ever After". Oh, really? That ending escaped me. Did that mean that starts Desmond on the path towards a happy ending because I didn't see him reach one. One might argue the coffee date was the happy ending, but with Mrs. Hawking around, nothing is going to be happy for Desmond.

PAST TIE-IN'S

Readers of TIDBITS know that I do not like past references and tie-in's for the sake of having them. For example, the 60-year old Scotch. I can do without that.

Or Desmond staring at a sailboat - that was much better as it was referred to implicitly instead of explicitly.

However, some were very good - for example, did you notice at the opening scene where Zoey is saying they gave him some shot. When they showed his arm she applying a bandage and it reminded of the time the Others were drawing blood from everyone they captured. That is a quality tie-in.


HE'S SPECIAL

So Dez is one of the few people on earth who can withstand an enormous pulse of electromagnetic energy. Interesting, but you can't make a living at it. But it allowed Desmond to see enough of the past (or was it the future) to come on board with Widmore's plan to...well, welcome to LOST.


SAYID

This show is a master at cliffhangers as Sayid walks out and invites Desmond for a stroll...and Desmond says YES. How odd.

Remember how Desmond could foresee Charlie's ways of dying? Maybe he can see even more of the future and following Sayid is the way it must be.


DANIEL

Oh, I've missed Daniel Faraday. Nice to see him back and a great explanation to the journal. I was so hoping he had written, "Desmond is my constant!"

So what are we learning? Is it that things we call Deja Vu is really our memory of a past "loop"? And some folks can recall more of the past than others can?


ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

This episode seemed to really focus on love. I hadn't seen that coming. Was the message, "Follow your heart and all will be right"? Why then are so many people working to keep Desmond from his true love?

At one point I was convinced that Desmond had to return to push the button...but this time do not run away. His orders would be something like, "This time keep John Locke away from the computer!" But we didn't really end up there, did we?


MORE QUESTIONS

What is Desmond going to do with the manifest from Flight 815? Who are the "they" he is going to show it to? I figured he wanted to find Charlie's dream girl, Claire, but then that line about "they" threw me off track. Hmmm...

Wonder who Penny's mother is (making her a half-sibling to Daniel-Charles-Eloise)? Wonder if it matters.

What is Widmore's plan for Desmond?

What is Sayid's/Locke's plan for Desmond?

What is Jacob's plan for Desmond?

Can someone tell me where we've seen George, the driver, before? Do you get the feeling he works for Widmore or the "other" side?


GRADE: B+

Perhaps it was the pleasant walk down memory lane with Charlie, Daniel and Penny...but I liked this episode. Again, it made me think until my brain hurt. Simple is not my thing and this show is anything but simple. Can you imagine coming in on Season 6 with a curiosity? Yikes!

Anyway...never have I liked the feeling of getting so much while getting so little. This episode almost convinced me that this show could go on for another season. And for that, I give this episdoe a nice grade. Not great, but very, very strong.

Enjoy,
KC

LT359: First Impressions: The Package

I'M LOST

It is amazing that after ten episodes into the final season that I still don't have a single clue as to the end game. I keep waiting for one single "Ooooooh!" moment that will explain everything from the dreams to the polar bears to the purpose of life. But one moment can't probably explain all those things (unless we are shown this has all been a drug-induced dream of Hurley in the mental ward). So, one then expects to be given little tidbits of understanding as the layers are peeled back.

But once again, we have more layers added then removed.


WHY WIDMORE WANTS JIN

Uh...I have no clue really. Ok he knows that Sun and Jin are partners (married in one timeline and dating in other). So?

Is Widmore aware of the names on the cave ceiling and wants to gather them one by one in order to keep Locke Black from leaving? If so, when his sub scooted up to the island they saw more of the candidates on the beach and didn't bother getting them...which would have been much easier.


IT'S ALL ABOUT TIMING, RIGHT?

Without knowing specifically why Widmore wants just Jin, he does grab him. And he does so when Locke is away from his camp. How did he know that Locke was going to be away?

Maybe Charles planned to go to this island to grab Jin and the plan was wait it out until John left camp no matter how long that took. That sounds like a really poor plan. Someone was bound to step on a twig, make a noise, and expose their presence. Anyway, they got lucky, let's say. John leaves and Jin is grabbed.

But on the sub Charles complains to Zoey that the timing of grabbing Jin is all wrong - they should have waited until he was in the jungle on his own. Agreed. How much easier that would have been without ticking off Locke and Company. What if just one of John's groupies got away? This is what they call a plan???

I guess its hard to get good help these days.


MAN BEHIND THE IRON DOOR

During commercial breaks the wife and I guessed who it was. Aaron was my pick.

Desmond was an obvious choice. Walt seemed viable - the thought was that he is "special" and might be able to combat Smokey.

It was Dez. And Sayid knows. He has a long swim back, but no matter, he doesn't feel anything which Locke points out is good because of what was about to happen. I can only think he meant the long swim! (Boy, I hope I'm joking, but something tells me I'm not!)


THE PYLONS

I'm jumping around on this episode, but didn't you think that Sayid - the communications expert - was sneaking around and working to shut those things off? I was waiting for some humming noise to indicate the power was turned off and Locke would turn into a pillar of smoke and squeeze the snot out of one of Widmore's people. Maybe all of them including Charles.

I was let down. But at least we got a promise of the war is here and one very scary stare down by Locke.


MR. PATCHY

The show is cute on how they keep old story facts around - like Mr. Patchy being shot in the eye. Cute, but not relevant.

What it does serve to do is remind me on how messed up everyone's lives are even in this alternative timeline. Sun is have relations with Jin outside of marriage, Keamy finds out and rats him out (how he knew is another point), so Mr. Paik pays him for the information, to be delivered by daughter and her lover, who can't clear customs (Mr Paik can close bank accounts not in his name, but can't get them through customs?), so they have to detour to a bank with Mr. Patchy as escort, but not before Sayid is abducted only to kill Mr. Patchy, Keamy and Omar.

Eh? It is liking those tribute movies that are based on a 1970's TV show. All the catch-phrases and familar momentos are mentioned, but add little to the plot. By the way, has any TV show gone to movie been done properly? Ok, Star Trek in most cases.


GRADE: C

Do you get the feeling they had really one or two episodes of things to tell us this season, but decided to drag it out over 16 shows?

I dislike the tribute to Season X (like Sun saying she was pregnant after being shot).

I dislike the craziness of Sun being hit on the head...did you notice there was only one tree in that entire field and she looks away at that moment...and losing her ability to speak. What point did that provide or prove? Was it the irony that Sun and Jin arrived with her speaking English and now only Jin can speak it? Plus I hate when the script does things like, "It's usually only temporary." Then why bother with it? I must have missed the objective.

I like Claire being used like a pawn by Locke. He pushes the right buttons and we now have to keep an eye on her when she is around Kate.

This gets an average C because it is LOST...or it would have gotten even a lower grade. Mostly because we didn't get anything new. Richard obviously returned. Hurley had one cute line. Sawyer and Kate continue a relationship they can't have. Everyone wants Sayid in their foxhole. Widmore plays as many games as Ben and Locke. We get it. What we didn't get was anything new - no Revelation...and if this Biblical story is going to wrap up we must get to the Book of Revelation. Don't this writers read? :)


SAVING GRACE

Ok, here are a couple of points this show made me ponder that saved the day.

First, the Oceanic 6. Remember how we couldn't quite figure out who the 6 were? Did it include Desmond or was the sixth person Aaron? Neither we brought to the island like the other 5. I point this out, because it seems now that John Locke's loophole was that if he could return the Oceanic 6 to the island, he could use them to leave.

This makes me think that the Oceanic 6 have a Golden Ticket of some sort - to come and go. This also means no one else does! This also implies that Sun is the Kwon on the cave ceiling and not Jin!

More on this later in the week.

**

Second...the shoes. I got to this because Sawyer asks (finally) a good question, "Why don't you just turn to smoke and go over there?"

SIDENOTE: Why aren't people in Locke's group defecting each and every night? Come on, people! This guy is death! Of course, where would they go?

Ok, back to transportation: Smokey can't travel between islands as Smokey. That's interesting. So how did he kill the remaining passengers of Ajira 316? Do you recall him rowing over, killing, and returning for a day trip? Did he send someone over to do his dirty work? I don't know who it could have been.

So I get this image of John do a lot of paddling in the past few days. It could have been before Widmore arrived even. It reminded me of Locke rowing to the main island with Ben after the Ajria 316 crash. There, they met up with Sun and Frank. So why is Sun so afraid of Locke now? She seemed fine with him before. Maybe I'm forgetting something, but what made her doubt him?

Ok, I'm getting to my second thought: the shoes. When we paddled over with Ben he took of his shiny black Christian shoes. When he got to land, he put them back on. There is something about shoes that Smokey doesn't like - at least over water.

Then I recall the Others walked around the island barefoot.

And how Locke first crashed on the beach from Oceanic Flight 815 and he was shoeless. They were sitting nice and neat next to him, but off his feet.

Then remember that Sawyer has a habit of being barefoot at the wrong time. He has stepped on something maybe two or three times. That has always made my Oddity List because it was so out of normal.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this other than to proclaim, "The shoes are key!" Maybe if you slip those slippers off, Locke can't touch you. Better than even a ring of ash. I said, Maybe!


**

Give me some time to dwell on this and I'll follow-up with these two last observations. The teaser to next week included the word "Death" so I'm already looking forward to it. That's kind of sick, now isn't it? HA!

Enjoy,
KC

LT358: Easter...Islands

EASTER EGGS

That time is about here, but we are referring to the kind found in LOST. I have a site I use for these things and here is the visual:

The write-up for this photo reads, “While in prison, Richard’s Bible was open to a page with this chapter and verse. The page contains a story of Jesus encountering a man possessed by a demon and ordering the demon leave the man’s body without harming him.”

I disagree. The reason you read LOST TIDBITS is because we think differently! Ok, seriously, these guys see the top of the page reads “St Luke 4 37”. But the visual is clearly the upper-right verse, 4:24 which reads, “And he said, Verily I say until you, “No prophet is accepted in his own country.” I sense this was the real Easter egg since that is the quote Ben Linus made while prisoner in the Swan hatch. Doh!


COUNTERFEIT

The Bible warns that the Devil will not be as obvious as black and white. That would be too obvious. The key to misleading someone is to encapsulate your lie in some truth. Right now, I’m thinking “…a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down…” but that’s a whole other issue I’m dealing with!

We get a big dose of counterfeit this past episode. For example, the Man in Black touches Richard while in the bowels of the Black Rock and it appears to awaken Richard. Just like we saw Jacob touches John Locke after his fall. Technically this isn’t a counterfeit, but an exact duplication. The key is that it is hard to tell the two apart. This has lead to many theories about Jacob being the bad guy in reality.

Another example is the phrase used “it’s good to see you out of those chains”. John Black will say the same thing in a few centuries. Ok, it sort of is the same guy talking, but notice as well how it meant something different each time it was stated.

Here is a better example: the Man in Black instructs Richard to kill Jacob “before he can talk”. The only time that was said was when Jacob’s disciple, Dogan, was instructing Sayid.

Have I told you that both actors for Jacob and the Man in Black were in the TV show, “Supernatural”? Jacob plays the devil and MIB plays War – one of the apocalyptic horsemen.


BAPTISM

Jacob is teaching Richard a lesson about the value of life.

It reminded me a lot of the practice of baptism. The religious themes are loud and clear. Some denominations require baptism to reach Heaven while others view it as a symbolic gesture. Either way it represents the burial and resurrection of Christ. Now is a good time to remind you of the Biblical character with this reference: John the Baptist.


BLACK ROCK CRASHING

A few minor details to note:

The painting in the auction house is of the Black Rock during a storm.

Last week we see the Black Rock lifted high on a wave to explain how it got so far inland…and how the statue broke.

But in the season opener we have Jacob and Man in Black on the beach and they see a ship at sea. We assumed it was the Black Rock, but maybe not!

At the auction they said the last voyage was 1845, but last show it was 1867 when Richard was in prison. That was the year dynamite was invented so I think we have a correction being offered. Or it could have left Portsmouth, England in 1845 and take 22 years to get to the island? Maybe.


CANARY ISLANDS TRIVIA

Richard lived on the Canary Island of Tenerife. This island is known for its pyramids which some believe prove a connection between the Egyptians and the Mayans.

Canary Islands gets its name from Canaan – the land of the Israelites. It literally means “those who worship dogs”. Did someone say Vincent? Cerberus? And of course the Egyptians had gods in the form of dogs like Anubis.

The people of the Canary Islands claim to have seen a vanishing eighth island in their chain of islands. Did someone say “8”? A mysterious island that disappears? Hmmm….

These islands was also the location of a famous plane crash in 1977 – the year of the Incident on LOST.

**

Ok, that’s it for now. Oh wait, did anyone else think of the movie “Ghost” when watching Richard reunite with his wife? I was waiting for Isabella to jump into Hurley’s body and then Richard would have to kiss Hurley. Oh yuck!

Until next time…


Enjoy,
KC

LT357: A Conversation With Mike

MIKE WRITES

A reader of LOST TIDBITS emailed me with this analysis that I thought would be good to share.

**

I had high expectations to this episode since it was Richard’s first and probably only centric-episode and I’m pleased to say I wasn’t disappointed. It was also nice not to see any flash-sideways story lines during this episode since they have been kind of boring and in the end they will probably be a) a “What If?” storyline/alternate universe that shows what happens to these people if they didn’t crash or b) the true ending of the series if all the flash-sideways parts are put together.

Hopefully the writers/producers throw us a screwball and go in a completely different direction to throw everyone off. Anyway, that’s 7 weeks away and there will be plenty of discussion on that later. On to “Ab Aeterno”.

Likes:
This was probably one of the best episodes this season. I won’t say it’s the best one in the series and I’m holding off of putting it in my top 5 or 10 of all time (yet) but this episode did answer a lot of questions for us which makes it very important (though the answers may be very minor and some of them were assumed already but after tonight they are officially answered). Some of the questions that were answered:
“How was the statue damage?”
“How did the Black Rock end up in the middle of the island?”
“What was the history of the Black Rock?”
“Who is Richard and what’s his deal exactly (aging, purpose, etc)?”

I could probably nit-pick and find more but Richard has a long past with the island and his story hasn’t been told until now so any sort of information about his past is bound to answer some questions.

Though it wasn’t a direct answer, we did get a lot more information about the island and also the battle between Jacob and MIB here. It is explained that the island is between our world and hell/an evil universe/purgatory/etc and that Jacob and the MIB intentions are to prove each other wrong that humans can be corrupted because it is in their nature. Yes, this has been discussed on message boards and it’s what we have been assuming for awhile but now it’s said on the show so it can be official (this is just like if Flocke was the black smoke monster situation that started last year). Jacob’s metaphor of the bottle of wine was another good and important scene. We will probably get more of an explanation of the island and Jacob/MIB but so far this episode has told us the most.

Though he has been on the fence for me over the last couple of seasons, I think Richard has joined the ranks of my favorite Lost characters. Locke, Daniel Faraday, Desmond, and Mr Ecko will greet you sir.

Dislikes:

I was hoping that Richard was even older and from the Egyptian times of the island. Though over the last couple of seasons there have been hints of him tied to the Black Rock thus squashing my hopes. I just want to see an Egyptian episode sometime!

Overall:

The acting, camera work, and story of this episode were great and it all fit nicely together. Also, bravo to Nestor Carbonell who knocked it out of the park this week. Hopefully the writers/producers can keep the momentum of this episode and the rest of the season will be just as great. Next week is a Jin/Sun centric-episode and they haven’t had a good one in a long time so here’s hoping they can end their last one on a high note.

Speaking of centric episodes, there’s 8 more episodes left (I’m counting the series finale as 1) so who do we all have left to cover.

(Minor Spoilers below):
Official:

Sun and Jin (next week)
Hurley (2 weeks away. Come on, his name is in the title.)

Probable:
Desmond (if we ever see him again. I’m kind of mad they are limiting his character this season. Maybe it’s because of the lawsuit last year.)
MIB (Jacob got one last year, so it’s only fitting that MIB gets one and I would almost put money on it that it will be the final episode.)
Frank (Maybe, it’s a long shot. Do we really need to know anything about his back story?)
Claire (They will need to explain why she walked off in the night and her being alone for 3 years)Ilana (Probably but I don’t really care about the character and her back story)

Grade: A-

MY RESPONSE

I think I've found my ghostwriter when we travel in a few weeks! Ok, down to business...

NO SIDEWAYS

If we take the name of the episode, then the events shown to us could all be pre-Earth. That's right, pre-Creation. I'm beginning to wonder that instead of looking for an end game on LOST, that we should consider all this as the pre-game!

The concept is that all the homage paid to the multiple religions and cultures and people is simply a way of saying that many people were given the chance that Adam was given...and all failed. Or something along those lines.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Yes, we did get answers. Consider this however: what if the answers we already presumed correctly were merely the writers giving us what we predescribed on message boards and blogs? In other words, this answers don't matter!

For example, the LOST community had pretty much guessed Richard was a passenger aboard the Black Rock ship. So, the writers confirmed it.

So I am focusing more on the surprise answers that are mandatory to finishing this story.

HISTORY OF THE BLACK ROCK

Since you brought it up...did you know that the owner of the ship was Magnus Hanso? That's a relative of Alvar Hanso - the guy who financed the Dharma Initiative as first told to us in the Swan Hatch Orientation film.

I do not know if Magnus was the ship's captain but in this episode we hear someone call out, "The captain is dead" when Smokey attacked them.

The ship's first mate - whoever that might be! - kept a log and this was somehow taken off the island and winds up in an auction house some 150 years later. It is at the auction that Charles Widmore buys the first mate's log book. I'm guessing this helped him find his way back via submarine.

This name dropping is to show us that the writers had this whole plot planned out well in advance. It also tells me that the Hanso's and Widmore's are connected. So now is a good time to remind everyone that another partner in this trinity (HA) is Mr. Paik - Sun's daddy!

WHAT IS THIS PLACE?

Charlie first asked this question and this week's episode provided some clues.

In Fundamentalist circles there is a pre-Heaven and a pre-Hell. I like to think of them as holding cells, but that probably is from my ornery side. They are officially called "Hades" and "Abraham's Bosom". When the Messiah returns a second time, the souls are moved from here to their final places: Hell and Heaven.

Catholics have a single holding cell called Purgatory (which is an acronym for Gary Troup, author of LOST-linked book, "Bad Twin"). Everyone goes here to pay penance as the old priest mentioned to Richard in his jail cell.

If my guess about these events being pre-time (Latin: Ab Aeterno), then we are actually talking about a pre-Heaven. I'm not sure we are ever given an official name for this place in the Bible but it is where the angels existed with God including one angel named Lucifer.

Earlier I have been suggesting the LOST story is moving towards End Times like in Revelation. But now I'm more convinced this is Pre Time and the angel, Lucifer, leaves Paradise and takes 1/3rd of the angels with him.

SPOILERS

TIDBITS normally doesn't do spoilers, but these are well publicized and not very revealing, so I included them. But now these comments:

Desmond - did you know that his name is listed in the credits of every episode so far in Season 6 and yet we saw him only briefly on the plane? I'll bet you a boot at the Hessen Haus that Desmond is who is locked behind that door on the sub. Father-in-laws can be such a pain!

While thinking about Desmond...remember Mrs. Hawking said that if Desmond didn't keep pushing that button the world would end and "God helps us all"? She was right. Desmond was keeping the cork in the bottle, just like the Dharma Group was doing before him.

Ilana - I feel that she is more important than you are giving her credit for. For example, how did she get her faced messed up? It seemed she was in some Third World hospital and how about her being someone different when those wraps come off!?! Her relationship with Jacob doesn't appear to be as old as Richard, but there have been mentions about "mothers" and "fathers" where these two are concerned.

**

Well, thanks for writing and I hope I gave you something to think about in response.


NEXT ON TIDBITS

Be checking back for more TIDBITS this week when we can discuss things like:

- In Sawyer's episode all the clocks seen in every scene were set to the same time!
- While the sideways flash appears to be parallel, I can prove they are not 2007-08!
- Aaron is not a good son!
- The MIB and Jacob are not the Devil and Christ!
- Why the Survivors are not dead as Richard claims!


If you enjoyed this post, let me know by clicking one of the ads. It let's me know you are reading, you like it, and I get compensated a few pennies for the effort. A win-win for everyone - unlike on the Island of Misfits.


Enjoy,
KC

LT356: Ab Aeterno - First Impressions

THE SUNDAY SERMON

I feel like I just sat through a Sunday service. To be fair, the story of LOST does not require a religion. It is the story of good versus evil. But then that concept always leads one back to gods - one good and one evil.

Let's break down this sermon a little bit...


THE GOOD GUYS: JACOB

Many feel that God speaks in riddles, half-explanations and makes impossible requests. On the surface, His instructions can seem almost contradictory. Say hello to Jacob. While Jacob may not be THE God, he is a manifestation of him.

Consider the motives behind Jacob's actions. He tells Richard that he brought him and others to the island in order to show the Man in Black that people will choose good. And yet, time and time (since the Adam and Eve skeletons in the cave?) each person fall short of the required faith.

Before we elevate Jacob to deity, let's remind ourselves that his power is limited. He can not return Isabella to Richard. He can not absolve Richard of his sins. But he can grant immortality. It looks like we will have to see a few more episodes in order to figure out all the rules of this game - much like every member of a congregation has to do!

One more observation: Jacob is rarely there when he is needed. Again, a common complaint of God's followers. Interesting.


THE PENDULUM KEEPS SWINGING

Every since Boone died and Aaron was born in the same instance we have witnessed a foreshadowing of the concept of a pendulum. The dictionary defines a pendulum as "a body suspended from a fixed support so that it swings freely back and forth under the influence of gravity, commonly used to measure time".

On this island the force of influence is good and evil. Or one might argue it is one's own nature. Decisions...consequences.

As Ben turns back to good, Richard turns to evil. Tick-tock, tick-tock.


THE BAD GUY: MAN IN BLACK

I enjoyed the re-quotes such as "I see you are in chains." His words are clever, full of half-truths, and full of undisclosed conditions.

And we learn his role is to kill Jacob.

The wine analogy was very helpful. The evil is kept bottled up and the island is the lid. Now I can't quite rationalize how some of it seeps out in the form of black smoke, but the concept is understood. If the cork comes off we could be unleashing the forces of Hell upon the Earth. This is very similar to the concept of the Bible's devil being kept at bay in the bottomless pit.

There must be days when the Man in Black (and Satan) wake up and just wants to wipe humanity off the face of the planet. But there are rules like Job. It seems to me that Richard was protected by some force and this is why he did not die while below deck in the Black Rock.


OTHER NOTES

We are going to have a number of topics to discuss this week such as:

* The Black Rock crushing the statue
* The priest compromising his position for a few silver coins
* Magnus Hanso
* Rules we can construct such as to escape from hell one must kill the devil
* Hurley, dude
* Rules like Jacob must invite you inside - so was Ben invited?
* Who controls Jacob and the Man in Black


GRADE: BACKSLIDING

I give this episode a B+.

The show was nearly an entire flashback for Richard...and long overdue. I appreciated the story of love which required sacrifice, but how that commitment can blind one to rage and end in tragedy. It is a very thin line we walk along and that was depicted very well.

Ab Aeterno means "before time" and in religious circles it is used to described events "outside of time" such as Creation happening before time began (well, as we know it). These almost seem to suggest events prior to mankind...the events that lead right up to Adam and Eve.

It wouldn't surprise me if the two beings on the island agree to a challenge. A challenge where the two sides agree that the next person's decision - to serve good or to serve evil - will determine the fate of mankind. That would have to be Adam and Eve and we know how that turns out. So it seems Desmond was, after all, indeed, saving the world. He was putting off that final challenge. He was keeping mankind afloat for another cycle in order to finally find one person who would choose good and we could avoid the sinful nature we find ourselves plagued with today.

If the opening scene of Season 6 is any indicator (along with the history of mankind), then it appears hope does not float. It sinks to the bottom of the ocean along with the island. In this story, truth wins and the truth hurts. Because unlike the movies, the good guys do not win.

Very strong episode, but now I am ever so depressed.


Enjoy,
KC

LT355: Recon - First Impressions

Reconnaissance: A French word meaning "recognition"; a military term meaning preliminary survey to gain or collect information

So here is my own reconnaissance of each character:

SAWYER

Without Oceanic Flight 815 going down the life Sawyer would have led was to be a cop with Miles as his partner. On one particular job the code word "LaFleur" seemed to pop into somebody's head and they used it. Of course, with Oceanic crashing, it seems to have been a good alias for Sawyer to use as he moved up to Head of Security for the Dharma Initiative along with partner, Miles. This scene was a good sign the writing was returning to its elevated levels.

Pre-crash Sawyer went to Australia to kill the man he thought was Cooper/Sawyer. In this second timeline he goes there to perform recon. His obsession is the same, but his life's work is vastly different. The key is to remember that at the core, Sawyer remains the same.


CHARLOTTE

Very strange role for her in this episode. When she went searching through his dresser drawer it was all wrong. Why was she curious? She had to realize that for one of the few times in this guy's life she got him to speak the truth...so why doubt him? No one said she had to throw herself at him.

That left me convinced it was her reconnaissance work - someone hired her. Was it Miles? I'm guessing so. And so after that, Charlotte was going to be done with him anyway. Yet, I didn't buy it. I know it says 2010 on my calendar but what friend asks another to sleep with a guy so you can find out more about my partner? And what friend says, "Sure, what's the harm?" Yeah, right.


KATE

I think Kate's life is in danger. John Black knows she hasn't sold her soul to him yet. And I think he realizes he isn't likely to get it - she's too independent.

If she could wish one person dead, it would be Jack. "Thanks so much for bringing us back here, buddy boy!" Even I hate Jack for doing it...so far.


CLAIRE

Can't really talk Kate without talking Claire. First, she is impressing me more and more as an actress. This role is challenging and she is doing a nice job with it. Her appearance really freaks me out. I almost believe Locke when he tells Kate she is crazy. But something tells me not to fall for her act.

Chills went down my spine when she held Kate's hand. Minutes later she is trying to kill her. Then after a chat with John, she's all hugs. She's either Sybil-like or John is using her to soften up Kate.

How exactly is Kate going to sleep at night?


SAYID

Again, fine acting job. He is done for - he is sick. But he has enough humanity left in him to respond to Kate's question of is he alright with a pleading, "No." But not enough humanity to do anything but sit on a log and watch Kate nearly die.

These characters are creeping me out!


ZOEY

Am I the only one who thought she looked like Tina Fey? It didn't take a rocket science to figure out she was lying. So why exactly did she drag the bodies to the pile? Knowing either side of her deceit it makes little sense to do that.


JOHN BLACK

A preacher told me once that the Devil can't help but lie. His followers have the same problem. Imagine being the Devil and you send out your troops for a little recon and when the report back you know they are lying? Would you always then expect the opposite of what you were told? It must a very confusing life when everyone around you is lying. This is where the Bible says, "a house divided against itself can not stand." Many wrongly assume this is a warning about division within a church, but it actually a verse of encouragement for we now know that eventually Satan's house will fall because it can't help but be divided by its very nature.

This is a perfect foundation for Season 6 - who can trust who?

I appreciated John's directness. I am the smoke monster. Ok then. For this reason alone, I believe Sawyer's life is in mortal danger.

**

There is another concern with the script. Smokey apparently can make it to the Hydra Island. He went there and killed the remaining passengers of Ajira Fligh 316. So why couldn't he do his own recon? Widmore's people may not have arrived yet, but now that they are there, go have a look. The only reason I can fathom is that John was testing Sawyer's loyalty - which he stated as much. Yet, the Devil has to know that his followers are bound to lies, so does he really know that Sawyer was lying? Wonderful paradox. But is it enough to explain why Smokey didn't just drift over there himself? Hmmm...

**

Have you noticed how Smokey can use John's memory of his past life? Smokey didn't have a crazy mother...John did. Smokey doesn't shout, "Don't tell me what I can't do", but John did. And yet we know it is still Smokey in that body because of his twisted psychological play on Claire. I wasn't as bothered by him manipulating Claire half as much as how he seemed to enjoy sharing his evil doings with Kate. "Sure, I gave her something to hate."

And this to John's ability to spin any event into his own style of rationalization and you've got yourself an Emmy! Can they share it with Ben? In the replay before this episode I watch the final 5 minutes. When they showed Jack noticing Ben with his shoulders drooped...well, what great body language.


JOHN'S FOLLOWERS

By choosing to leave the Temple they have converted. Yet, Cindy asks, "What happened to the others at the Temple?" The children are theoretically unable to make a choice. Why do I sense that Kate and Sawyer are not the only ones in this group still riding the fence? Or is it possible to changed sides and this is what Cindy is contemplating? If so, I fear her life is in danger.

Speaking of the kids, did you see the boy is still dragging that teddy bear around?


WIDMORE

I honestly can't figure this guy out. He is in fear of John Black evidenced by those nifty temporary sonar pillars. But is that who he really wants dead? Or is Widmore trying to prove his candidancy for Island Caretaker?


GRADE

B+

The show got back into the groove that left my head spinning during each commerical break. I was so confused I thought I saw Charlie, Juliet, and Penny in the commercials!

We got new questions, but they weren't as frustrating as before...more like new mysteries like what's behind the locked door?

The play on past flashbacks, current sideways flashes and island events is becoming an art form for the writers. There were no obvious "made up rules".

But the show misses the "A" because:

* Sawyer can't operate a submarine any easier than fly a jumbo jet
* Claire might really be insane and I just don't like that
* The followers of John should be commiting suicide one by one at this point after realizing what they did...except for a few who really are infected by now like Sayid
* I didn't like John's walks to the beach for a chat with everyone

The + was for the great lines in this show:

* Take me to your leader
* Yeah, I think you are that stupid (that's a reused line if you remember - Jack said it last time)
* Because of that I had growing pains
* Aaron has a crazy mother too
* The Little House on the Prairie tribute where Michael Langdon also is known for playing an angel on "Highway to Heaven"

All in all, it was a strong episode. It made my head spin like the good old days. The eye-rolling on my part was limited. And the acting was above average.



Enjoy,
KC

LT354: Catching Up on Things

THINGS I BET YOU DON’T KNOW…YET

Principal Reynold’s name was written on the ceiling in the cave.

The book Ben finds while rummaging through old tent’s is “The Chosen” and is about two boys in a story that combines science, religion and a father-son relationship.

Miles’ “listened” to the dead two times in the last episode. First, when holding the bag of Jacob’s ashes. The second, when listening to Nikki and Paulo talk about their diamonds because at the time of their burial Miles wasn’t on the island yet!

Widmore accepted John “The Devil” Black’s offer of anything he wanted and Widmore wants the island…bad. And on cue, here he is returning the exact same way he was sent off. Mark my words, when Widmore comes ashore he will share some secret handshake with John Black, wink, then turn around and finally kill Ben. Of course, Widmore could just be there to offer a ride off the island.

One side note about the submarine…the crewmember said something like, “There’s people out there.” Widmore quickly encouraged them to continue on. Why is that line important? Drats…there are still things we don’t know…yet.


IS IT MAGIC?

How did Miles dig up the diamonds without anyone noticing? Even if he did manage before Ben was shackled or after his escape, how did no one notice the graves were disturbed?

Think we will see Dogan alive again? If my magic meter is working properly (yeah, it looks like a Dustbuster!), then the stuff Jacob poured into the water at the beginning of the “Lighthouse” episode might save his, well, his neck.


RELIGION VERSUS SCIENCE

Way back when…I mean WAY back when, the producers promised us fringe science. Even the most liberal interpretation of those words will allow a lot of crazy things including reanimation. But when John Black points a finger and the shackles fall off Ben’s ankle, um…is that sort of like bending spoons? Is that even fringe science or hocus pocus?

But then any religious person will tell you that followers have Christ have it within them to move a mountain (or island?). Perhaps religion is merely unexplained science. If that becomes our new definition of “fringe science”, then anything goes with supernatural deities like Jacob and the Man in Black.

If we open our minds to these possibilities, then let me suggest that if the Man in Black can occupy John’s body, then Jacob may have the same ability. Further, one of the characters might have Jacob in him right now! I vote for Sayid who is merely getting close enough to John Black to extract his revenge for the Bible says, “Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord.”

Now this brings up a nasty little big of having Jacob within Sayid: that Sayid Jacob killed Dogan. Some might say that this is not behavior becoming a good deity. However, if the course of the universe is set and what has happened will happen, then Dogan’s death was inevitable and Jacob is merely keeping the sequence of events in place…while enduring himself to John Black.


ISLAND CARETAKER

We’ve moved from The List to The Candidates. Ilana explains that there are six candidates remaining and the job of the candidate will be to take over Jacob’s job of protecting the island.

By the way, did you hear that some country (I think Australia actually) hired a real-life caretaker of some island? True story. I regret not applying for the job.

Let’s review the previous caretaker’s duties:

Task 1: Pick an assistant
We know Jacob is on the island with the Man in Black when the Black Rock appears on the horizon. If Jacob is the caretaker, I’m not sure what job position is held by the Man in Black. Around this time, Jacob’s tasks include giving Richard immortality and he hires Richard as his “executive assistant”.

Benefits: Housing
The Caretaker is given a cabin fully stocked with painting supplies, jars of weird stuff (is that what is poured in the water pool?), and a table and chairs. Who could want more? If you do, then you also get a beach house in the base of an old statue.

Task 2: Recruit a replacement
Jacob must spend his time getting a candidate to replace him before he dies.

Benefits: Vacation
The Caretaker is given some vacation time off the island.

Now who wouldn’t want this job?

Speaking of candidates, Ilana mentions six people remain (out of 108 applicants). Jack, Hurley, Sawyer, a Kwon, and…well, I think she said Frank was a candidate at one time. I think Sayid is off the list in her mind since she knows what he did in the Temple. That leaves one more spot: Kate? Evidence indicated she is not. Ben? Please! How about Vincent? Hey, don’t forget the dog!

Before you scoff at the idea of Vincent being the chosen one, remember that Douglas Adams – he who said “42” was the answer to life, the universe and everything – told us that mice were actually running our planet.

So the partial list of candidates is reunited together and what a motley crew it is: Ben, Richard, Miles, Lapidus, Ilana, Hurley, Sun and Jack? Who saw this grouping in Season 1?


READER RESPONSES

Let’s get to the Inbox…

TALK ABOUT JULIET:

There is some banter about the alternative timeline was not established by the bomb going off (Michael writes). A few posters rebut this by pointing out that Juliet mumbled, “It worked”, and that seems to be a clear reference to the bomb.

KC’S THOUGHTS:

First, I’d like to point out that Juliet said those words while in Sawyer’s arms after it did NOT go off. Let’s face it, had the bomb gone off, Sawyer would have needed a pooper scooper to hold Juliet and not his two strong arms! How could she have thought “it worked” if Sawyer is sitting there right next to her?

I really do feel that the bomb did not go off, but that a flash of light transported the group to another spot along the timeline(s). It seems to be the only way all events we have witnessed could have transpired. Juliet’s reference wasn’t then to the bomb exploding but that she saved her buddies.

As for when the alternate reality begins (or is determined), I’m with Michael…there is still a point ahead in Jack’s life on the island that determines the sequence of events we see. It means they go these other route living with the deals they’ve made, but altered from what we have seen previously. It will mean Jack sacrifices his job as new Caretaker and that Jacob will be re-established as the Caretaker in 2004 like we found him. Only to do this all over again! Loop, dude, loop.

**

WELL-THOUGHT-OUT THEORY

Adrian writes about his theory. Well, he points us to a link to read about his theory. Check it out at; http://lost-looking-glass.blogspot.com/2010/03/seeing-red-and-ponderings-on-life.html

KC'S THOUGHTS: Post me some of the points if I fail to get over these anytime soon. Hey, I’m a busy guy! HA!

**

CORRECTIONS

I’m corrected that Dogan’s son didn’t die in the auto accident. Good catch, JC. Wait, JC? Those initials remind me of someone…

**

I HATE INTERRUPTIONS

Beany agrees that worthless interruptions to the regular schedule LOST time are bothersome. Worthless like those Cyclones who can’t win a game if their life depended on it. Or those Presidential news conferences. Priorities, people!

Oh, and nice to have a fellow Iowan reading TIDBITS. Go Hawkeyes!

**

DOUBTING THOMAS

An anonymous writer and Ben echoes my sentiments about the writers losing their consistency and setting us up for utter disappointment.

KC'S THOUGHTS: I think I posted something above if this was Season 2 or 3, I would have quit watching.

But then Thomas touched the wounds in Jesus’ hands and repented for every having doubted. I think St. Peter even denied Christ three times. So hey, even the disciples struggled, but faith carried them through. So hang in there…if you do, I will.



**

Hope you liked this post. If you did, say thanks by clicking on one of the ads on the right hand side when you finish reading LOST TIDBITS.

Enjoy,
KC

LT353: Dr. Linus - First Impressions

THERE'S A LADY WHO'S SURE

Ilana stepped front and center this week. While always a strong personality, it was moments with Sun and Ben that cemented her place as leader. She probably has the most faith of anyone. She's one of those glass half-full people who thinks everything that glitters is gold.

I enjoyed her revelations of being touched by Jacob and looking up to him as a father. And in the end her faith won the day as she not only forgave Ben's selfish act of murder, but also seemed to truly forget. A rare quality for sure.

But tell me...did the thought cross your mind that the moment Ben accepted her offer that Smokey was going to appear and swallow him up?


'CAUSE YOU KNOW SOMETIMES WORDS HAVE TWO MEANINGS

The writers were playing the double meaning to the hilt...a little too much in my mind. They would leave the alternative reality with Arzt commenting that Ben was quite the killer. Then flip back to the island to Mr. Killer himself.

But it was the play on meanings that made this episode enjoyable. The moral debate of blackmail a professor or save the educational dreams of a student was interesting.


AND MY SPIRIT IS CRYING FOR LEAVING

As the show flip-flopped between the alternative timeline and the island events, Ben was flip-flopping as well. He was thinking, "Should I stay or should I go?"

When offered the job of island Caretaker he clearly accepted the tempting offer. However, this island is about redemption and while helping Sun with the tarp is a small gesture it seems as if Ben is on the road to recovery. And just in time with that sinister submarine coming in fast.


IN MY THOUGHTS I HAVE SEEN RINGS OF SMOKE THROUGH THE TREES...

...and the voices of those who stand looking.

Man, is LOST just a retelling of Stairway to Heaven? We still need some answers to the Whispers. Who exactly is standing around and watching? Is this some assembly of Olympian gods watching the mortals struggle with free will?


AND A NEW DAY WILL DAWN FOR THOSE WHO STAND LONG

This episode was about renewed faith. The band of beach bums reunited not only with lost friends (Jack, Sun and Richard) but with their core values. Ben was the centerpiece, but every character on that beach was beginning to entertain hope and to solidify which side of the fence they were going to stand on.

I enjoyed Frank's revelation of over-sleeping as to why he missed piloting Oceanic Flight 815. However, the writers should be cautioned not to just throw out willy-nilly explanations. Hopefully they will weave the answers into the entire show's storyline. For example, having shown Frank as a heavy sleeper prior to this explanation would have been nice...and shown the answers were thought out and not simply manufactured on the fly.


IF THERE'S A BUSTLE IN YOUR HEDGEROW, DON'T BE ALARMED NOW

Pretend you are Ben. Shackled. And the wind and noise of Smokey appears. That noise is the jungle is John and yet only Ben heard and saw him - or so it seems.

Locke is as devilish as they come. It was clever to to suggest he went back to the statue to look for Ben. It was wily to offer Ben the job. It was deceiving to suggest his salvation would be found on the Hydra Island.

In the end, Ben was very alarmed at that prospect but only because someone accepted him. Had Ilana not extended that fig leaf, Ben would be paddling to his damnation.


YES, THERE ARE TWO PATHS YOU CAN GO BY...

...but there's still time to change the road you're on.

That's not the most evangelical Bible message we've ever heard, but the show is suggesting that one can change their path, their destiny.

However, the transformation has been nothing short of miraculous for Jack. Here he was sitting next to a stick of dynamite knowing (ok, believing) his life was protected. But wasn't it just a few island hours ago he was smashing the very mirror he offered as proof of Jacob's purpose to Richard?

And that is my main criticsm of this season and this episode. About a third of the Temple folks flip sides on a dime. Jack goes from ticked off Jacob is voyeur and then the next minute he seems to be some kind of disciple.

Even Richard seems to be flapping in the wind. And while some might point out this show offered the most answers to date, I could argue not one was a surprise. The writers had best take care or we could be changing the road we are on!


TO BE A ROCK AND NOT TO ROLL

The message was clear: hold your ground. Stick to your guns. Don't waver. And one day you will have that stairway to heaven.

As we enter the final stanzas of this composition I'm hoping the characters begin to heed this advice and make some commitments. Or will they be tempted to compromise and become just a bit tainted with manuevers like getting out of monitoring detention?


GRADES

C+

It improved from last week. But the real knocks are:

* The answers revealed were already known (think Widmore returning)
* We know the good versus evil theme and we know the good guys always win
* There was feeling of filler like a long guitar solo between versus two and three

So this episode gets an average. The + is for the points listed above and the fact I really, really like Led Zeppelin. Let's just hope the show doesn't come crashing down like the Hindenburg.


Enjoy,
KC

LT352: Contemplations of a LOST Addict

CAN YOU GUESS MY NAME?

It is obvious that LOST is wrestling with the eternal theme of good versus evil. While we have been offered a name for the good side (or have we?), the evil side goes by many pseudonyms such as my John Black, Flocke, and Man in Black.

That got me thinking about the Rolling Stones tune and the many names that the Bible uses for the Devil, Abbadon, Satan, Beelzebub, etc. How clever for the writers to continue this similarity with the Bible by offering multiple names for our evil island persona.

If next episode we hear the character ask, “Can you guess my name?” I’m going to point out that the next step in the Bible prophecy is a major and final war. Now why does that sound familiar?

MAKING DEALS WITH THE DEVIL

“James, what if told you that you could have anything you want?”

I think James would answer, “I want Juliet to be alive.”

So he gets his wish. And we know these things (sort of) because we have been shown this outcome with James. It is the part we call sideways flash or the alternative timeline. My guess is James got EXACTLY what he asked for: Juliet is alive. Only she married Jack and had a son named David. Be careful what you ask for.

Hurley will then ask to be lucky and he is.

Kate probably asks to be free…but forgot about the “on the run” part.

Claire just wants her baby back and presto! She has the baby, but is alone, about to deliver on someone’s front lawn and is only sure about one thing…his name.

Jack wishes only to not be like he father. And he isn’t a drinker or probably not a cheater or as John Locke will find out if Helen gets him to call eventually (big IF)…he probably isn’t half the doctor his father was.

You can’t always get want you want. But if try sometimes you might find, you get what you need.

THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS

Did you notice Claire was singing her song, “Catch a Falling Star”? The same song her dad use to sing and that Kate would sing one day to Aaron.

That symbol on the wall that opens the secret passage way means “Protection”.

Sundown, the last episode title, was leading people to think it was Sun-centric. The name and the fact that the order of featured characters was the same this season as in Season 1. But the trick was on us as this was Sayid-centric and another pattern we thought we discovered was wrong.

**

Enjoy,
KC

LT351: Sundown - First Impressions

OFF THE RIM

Flipped on the television at the scheduled time only to find a basketball game had bumped LOST from its time slot. ARGH!

Further punished because the game went into overtime. DOUBLE ARGH!

So this episode, Sundown, created a mood for me that was similar to the fans at the game who sat and watched shot after shot clank off the rim - foul. I don't even care for the 70's song that shares this show's title! But finally, it came on and we settled in for another brain massage.


OVER THE TOP

It has been explained to me that some people watch movies and shows merely to be entertained. But I like movies and shows that make me think. For examples we can consider Die Hard versus The Matrix.

Last night's show was more Die Hard and a bit over the top for me.

The fight scene with Dogan and Sayid was "cool", but what purpose did it serve? Was there really an intention from Dogan to kill Sayid?

Will the LOST producers have to apologize for stereotyping Asians as martial arts experts? Seriously, where did this bank middle manager, family man attending piano recitals, suffering from a loss of a child guy pick up martial arts? If we wanted to be picky one might wonder why an interrogator from Iraq learned such excellent hand-to-hand combat? Yes, it was nice eye candy, but provided little after the initial sugar buzz wore off.

**

In similar fashion the raid of Smokey on the Temple was cool. But it was over the top and I'm left wondering what purpose it served to show that much CGI graphics on a show that promised from the start to only use plausible scientific theories as its basis. Hmmm....


FOCUS THE SPOTLIGHT

On the mental side of the equation I did like the spotlight being focuse on the concept of free will versus predestination. Most will agree with me that when a supernatural being is pushing events a certain way, us mere humans lose a lot of ou free will.

We learned Jacob probably allowed or did kill Dogan's son in order to force him into a deal with the angel.

Then half of the Temple Dwellers, and Sayid were "forced" into a deal with the devil.

As Rush sang:

All the world's indeed a stage
And we are merely players
Performers and portrayers
Each another's audience
Outside the gilded cage.

So true with LOST last night.


REDEFINE GOOD

This week LOST took the word "good" and completely redefined it. It seems "good" is evidenced by your willingness to kill evil. Oh really?

Now maybe that wasn't the new definition as Sayid was put to the test with that knife, but it was protrayed that way. I'm reminded of John being asked to kill his father, Cooper...again, as a test of his goodness since daddy was an evil man. Really?

Most people would agree that killing is allowed in war and self-defense (even though these compromises really make you gut check your core values). But stabbing even before one speaks? Seems a little situational ethics to me.


GRADE

C-

Maybe I've over analyzed this episode. And I'm way too far into this story to back off now. But if this was aired in Season 2 or 3, I might have been watching Biggest Loser last night instead of LOST.

It just served as a reminder as to why this God and Devil stuff that humanity has chained itself too over the centuries makes me mad. We have all had a time when we raise our fist to the air and said, "Why God?!" This episode reminded of those times when we learned a good god offered a Pet-Cemetary-like resurrection of a child in exchange for a life of penance. And then the same deal is extended to Sayid it seems.

So my displeasure is probably more due to my deeply-rooted guilt complex than anything else!

Well, that and the fact that once again LOST left me with more questions than answers like:

* What's up with that line of ash that John Black can't cross?
* Why was John able to cross it eventually?
* Why is Claire so messed up?
* Whose really dead and whose not?
* Why a special knife to kill John?
* Why is Claire mad that Kate cared for Aaron?
* Why is Kate alive after giving Claire a chance to kill her if she is so upset about Aaron?
* Why can't Smokey sense Kate was in the pit?
* Why can't Smokey go through walls?
* Why didn't someone else kill Kate since she joined Locke without making a choice?
* Why didn't Sayid kill Ben?
* Why is Jin in the storage locker?
* What is the full meaning behind the "scales of good and evil"?
* Why did the Others so quickly abandon their cause?
* Why did the death of Dogan allow Smokey access into the Temple?
* What isn't Miles noticing who is the living dead with his gift?
* Where is God through all of this?
* Why was it too late if John spoke first?
* What is Sawyer doing with his time in the cave?
* Is Hurley complaining about being hungry?
* What is the significance of sundown?

Be sure to check back on TIDBITS for some proposed answers. And hopefully we won't have to wait for the final buzzer to sound before getting some getting some answers.


**

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Enjoy,
KC

LT350: Strangers, Blondes, and Offspring

NUMBER 108

Wallace can have the meaning of “stranger”.

Henry Gale has the meaning “ruling stranger”.

Ben used the nickname Henry Gale which is sort of double play on words. We know that Ben wasn’t recruited as much as he volunteered for service. And if one wants to point out that Ben’s participation started when he was a child and healed at the Temple then even more we can point out that he wasn’t selected. Both time he was delivered by someone – his father to Dharma Docks and by Kate and Sawyer to Richard.

Yes, he is/was the ruler, but he was a stranger in that he was outside the normal group. I’m thinking Stranger in Strange Land especially since Heinlein has been referenced before.

So who then is the “outsider” coming now? I think this disqualifies Widmore. Could it be the young boy? I’m leaning that the boy being a young Jacob. Oh, here’s an idea: what if Smokey works only to keep the balance? Now that John Black is getting established, maybe Smokey now manifests who Jacob wants. Hmmm…

Ok, back to Stranger. The best candidate for this role seems to someone who was not really invited in, but stumbled onto the island. Or maybe I should say he crashed onto the island (just like the real Henry Gale did). Or maybe I could just say, “Welcome back Desmond!”


BLACK ROCK THOUGHTS

One of the earliest mysteries was how in the world it got so far inland? Some suggested a major storm and that is plausible. But wouldn’t it be easier if the Black Rock ship sunk and drifted down to settled on a sunken island!?!


THE BLONDE BOY

Jacob is a leading contender for this new character. But let’s not forget that Aaron has blonde hair and way back when it seemed he was going to have an important role.

Also consider how much that a) Claire doesn’t want him to return to the island evidence by her showing up in Aaron’s bedroom to say as much to Kate and b) how much Claire wants Aaron back in her arms. I don’t think we saw all that transpire in recent episodes without it coming full circle for the Shepherd family.


CRAZY THEORY OF THE WEEK

Imagine that Christian ends up being the Man in Black. We’ve seen Jacob travelling the globe, why not the Man in Black?

Now here’s the crazy part: Christian as the Man in Black had children: Jack, Claire and now a grandchild, Aaron.

Evidence #1: He has definitely been pushing Jack in the direction he wanted his son to go.

Evidence #2: The sort-official Missing Pieces has it all starting with Christian telling Vincent that his son has work to do.

Evidence #3: When Christian met Sawyer in that Australian bar he dipped his finger in the drink and tasted it…just like John Black did!

Evidence #4: When Christian was on the island he was very dead, but in that manifestation he said, “We need to bring the family back together.”

This then suggests that the big battle is over Jack. John Black already has Claire under his influence. And he is Christian already (according to this theory). Jack is the last piece of this game for John to get. Well, there is one more and that fits nicely into the stranger coming back…Aaron.

It would be a clincher if Aaron’s last name (or middle name?) was Wallace. Perhaps Claire’s mother remarried a Mr. Wallace along the way.

Hey, I entitled this section, “Crazy Theory”, for a reason!

Oh, one more related point: the Bible does have a verse that has preplexed scholars for years. It says, "That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose...There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown."

So, it isn't completely out of question for the Man in Black to be of some "alien" nature and also have fathered children. Yeah, weird. To be fair, some scholars have noted that a certain people used to call themselves "sons of God" so maybe this is just a reference to those people integrating into another tribe of people. Who called themselves "sons of God"? Why the Egyptians, of course! And there is little debate that whoever these "sons of God" where, their offspring were a unique lot of folk being giants and all.

Isn't LOST great? It makes you think.

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Hope you liked this post. If you did, say thanks by clicking on one of the ads on the right hand side when you finish reading LOST TIDBITS.

Enjoy,
KC

LT349: I Think We're Going to Need to Watch That Again

LOOK AGAIN

I mentioned that my hope was to see whose name was found at position 108 on the dial in the lighthouse. Here it is:

Wallace? Don’t miss “Friendly” at 109. If Jack had not freaked out he would have seen into the life of Wallace. Wonder what he would have seen?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Is that 08 or 108? I can't quite tell but it deserved to be pointed out.

There is a Rousseau at position 20. That could mean Danielle or her husband or even Alex. Austen is found at position 51 and she is not crossed off like the others are. Linus is at 117 and is crossed-off, so either he is disqualified or dead.

Most circular things have 360 degrees so we can assume that Jacob has been peeking in at 360 people.

I noticed that Jack’s name is written slightly different than the rest. And the house he saw is not where he went to visit his mother. Maybe 23 stands for Christian?

Could all the flashbacks we’ve seen be the things that Jacob saw in the mirror? It might explain why at times a person seemed to be on the good list and then not on the list. Think Ana Lucia and a few others who were hoped to be good. Maybe they were waiting for Jacob to take another peek into his mirror and see. When we (and Jacob) saw Ana Lucia shoot the attacker in cold blood, maybe that doomed her.

Michael is an excellent example of this as he waffles between idiot and caring father.

CHEERS

Jack’s mother has a little helper but Jack doesn’t seem to be a drinker. Too bad, because he could have asked for a glass of MacCutcheon scotch. This is the choice of drink for Widmore, Cooper and maybe Jack’s father. This feeds into the theory that Dharma (or whatever name we can put on this “group”) is everywhere.

PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM

Jack’s son, David, is practicing some Chopin.


You can see the song title. It is the same piece that young Danielle was playing at the piano when his mother gave him the talk about spending his time a little more productively.

And it was clear, but should be mentioned in case someone missed it…but Jack said he read “The Annotated Alice” to his son when he was little. Now David is reading it for school.

SILLY RABBIT

Did you notice Jack found the key to the front door stored under a rabbit? The writers just can’t seem to let these themes go.

A very similar rabbit was hiding a key that Miles found when he let himself into the apartment as a child.

CUT ME, MICK

Sorry, a little Rocky flashback of my own. Anyway, the appendix scar is very interesting. I put this in the same category as the bleeding on the neck that Jack noticed in the airplane bathroom. How can he have these and not remember them? It seems as if EVERYONE – including mother – is pushing Jack down his path of destiny.

TIME TO PICK TEAMS

It appears that the teams are beginning to take shape. Hurley and Jack on Team Jacob. Sawyer and Claire on Team Locke.

Do you wonder if Jacob wasn’t forming a team from all of the Oceanic 6? It seems possible that by bringing them back to the island, this was their choice. On the other hand, John Black (my name for Smokey Locke) is trying to get his team to leave the island.

Something made me wonder if Jacob and Blackie haven’t been fighting for years in some place. Dad gets tired of their constant fighting and says, “Look, you two go to this island and when one of you wins, you can return home. Until then, you two stay there and fight all you want.”

STAR WARS RETURNS

Hurley used a little Jedi Knight trick on Dogan with that, “I’m a candidate and I can do whatever I want. YOU go back to the courtyard.” Nice one.

Now let’s consider what this implies. First, Dogan knows that Hurley and the rest of the candidates doesn’t know. Well, not until Jacob informs him. But when Hurley learns of his elevated status, Dogan backs down. What if only one becomes the Protector…will Dogan look up Hurley and slap him around for being bossy? HA!

WHO IS COMING BACK?

The question of the week is “Who is coming back?”

The early results show Widmore in the lead. Aaron is close behind. Daniel is mentioned as a possible…shall I say, candidate? Desmond should be included since we have seen him only as “ghost rider” on the plane.

I’m almost 108% sure it is Charles Widmore.




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Hope you liked this post. If you did, say thanks by clicking on one of the ads on the right hand side when you finish reading LOST TIDBITS.

Be sure to check out the comments in the past few postings. I have to moderate them so they show up a tad late, but they are worth reading. Or wait until I can address them in a posting.

Enjoy,
KC