LT86: Something Nice Back Home

LITERARY CONNECTIONS

Two weeks back the episode was the same name as a H.G. Wells book, “Shape of Things to Come”. The book was published in 1933 and is not a novel as much as history book of the future as Wells saw it with the world ending in 2106. It contains a few predictions that are very similar to what real-life events came to pass. In summary:

The book is dominated by Wells's belief in a world state as the solution to mankind's problems. Wells successfully predicted the Second World War, although he envisaged it dragging on into the 1960s, being finally ended only by a devastating plague that almost destroys civilisation. Wells then envisages a benevolent dictatorship - 'The Dictatorship of the Air' - arising from the controllers of the world's surviving transportation systems (the only people with global power). This dictatorship promotes science, enforces English as a global lingua franca, and eradicates all religion, setting the world on the route to a peaceful utopia. When the dictatorship finds it necessary to kill political opponents, the condemned persons are given a chance to emulate the ancient philosophers Socrates and Seneca and take a poison tablet in a congenial environment of their choice.


DRINK UP

If you recall when Juliet was recruited she shows up at an airport whose name was an anagram about time. They get her to drink her “travel beverage” which is an odd yellow color that we have seen in many scenes. She passes out and the sub takes her to the island. Well, keen eyes have noticed that when Ben travels to the Sahara Desert he seems to vomit the same color of beverage. Yeah, I know and don’t ask.


EYES WIDE OPEN

You have to love the theme of beginning scenes with the focus on the eye. It seems we had the answer when Desmond was flashed by the Doc on the Freighter…and when Daniel was looking that the light in his college lab…and so on. Something about a light can trigger the flashback and flashfoward. Then it seems a bit strange to keep focusing on it unless we missed some detail.

Speaking of details…when Jack flashes forward to living with Kate and gets up in the morning…shouldn’t he have a scar when his appendectomy was performed? Relax, it was there. This sort of shoots a hole in the theory that Hurley is dreaming this stuff up, since he can’t dream what he doesn’t know. Of course, if the WHOLE thing is a dream then he does know. Doesn’t he? Let’s move on…


WHERE WERE YOU TODAY?

Jack asks, Kate begs a free pass and Jack asks again, “Where were you today?” Something for Sawyer is her reply. Hmmm…me thinks it was something to do with his daughter being the show focuses on family themes. Clementine was her name, I think.

Or to see Cassidy maybe.

Or she is sneaking out to have an affair as hinted in show’s past with Jack and his spouse. Kate and Christian? Creepy.

Or she is doing what another Oceanic 6 is doing, working for Ben.
Which answer would be something that Kate wouldn’t want to share? And why after all this do they still keep secrets? Recall that Jack didn’t tell Kate about visiting Hurley. Trust people, trust.


ARTWORK

Did you notice the artwork on Kate’s refrig?

It matches the artwork from Hurley’s time in the hospital when playing Connect Four with the Lenny who mumbled the numbers all day long.

Does this mean Aaron makes the same artwork as Hurley’s pals? Or does this mean Kate visited Hurley in the hospital?


CONNECTIONS

We have always assumed this, but it was confirmed…Jack is related to Claire and Aaron. And it also means he knows now.


PARTY LINES

I’m at a party this past week and someone enters the room and says, “I see drunk people”. That reminded me of “I see dead people”. That reminded me of Miles.

We know Miles is some sort of Ghost Whisperer, so he was able to “see” Danielle and Karl. He didn’t say he saw Christian Shepherd, but he alluded to it by saying “she wasn’t along, she left with somebody”.

So how about walking Miles around all the grave sites and getting some information from the dead?

The audio Miles heard from the two graves was in reverse. I’ve heard it and it contains the sounds of shots being fired at them with silencers and Danielle clearly says, “We should go.” It appears to be the actual sound clip immediately after Karl dies and we hear Alex – who isn’t buried there. What we learn is that Miles knows their names although they are not spoken, Karl is dead and the audio he hears is backwards. Hmmm…if I only had a audio mirror of sorts!


RAISED BY ANOTHER

In episode past we learn that Claire is not to let anyone but she is to raise Aaron. And now Charlie sends Jack a message via Christian, “You’re not supposed to raise him Jack”. Does this mean Kate isn’t to raise Aaron either? Does this mean Charlie isn’t imaginary after all?

I found the episode from the past and can’t tell if it is “he is not to be raised by another” or “he is not to be raise by an Other”. Did Jack become an Other along the way?


WATER MAN

Recall when Jack leaves Aaron’s room after a story that he and Kate stop in the hallway. I know where most of your eyes were as he carried her off, but you should have been looking at the wall:

You have to admit the comparison is pretty close to what Jack would see on the island.

And the book that Jack was reading to Aaron? Alice in Wonderland, of course! Speaking of the Looking Glass – the old British word for mirror. And the name of a Dharma hatch. By the way, when Kate was holding the mirror during surgery, does anyone else think Juliet dismissed her in order to place some implant inside of Jack? That would mean Bernard is in on this, too.


BASEBALL GAME

Remember the story Jack was reading about the Yankees beating the Red Sox? That game description was actually played on August 30, 2007.


CHRISTIAN

This ghost keeps popping up all over the place. You have to love his affinity for white tennis shoes in a suit. Why on earth would Claire leave Aaron and walk off with Christian?

Consider that Claire is the one to raise her child and yet Christian convinces her somehow to leave Aaron behind. To me that means Christian = bad.

Why are Hurley and Jack the only two haunted by dead people as Oceanic 6 members?


X-RAYS

Did you notice the tumor that Jack was studying was the same position as Ben’s? Hmmm…

And don’t overlook the fact that Jack says a name into his recorder before the fire alarm battery begins to beep. The name, “Ryan Laker”. Meaning? You tell me.


QUESTIONS LEFT ON MY MIND

Why did Ben and Jack get sick on Mysterious Island?

Is Claire dead?

Did Jin guarantee a seat on the chopper for Sun and his burial site is just a memorial?

Is Smokey a wimp?


ANSWERS

Recall the door to the Bat Cave that Ben ducked into? Here is the interpretation of the writing on the door:

“to summon time”
“to summon protection”


Enjoy,
KC

LT85: Widmore and Ben Face Off

MEET WHO?

The name on the passport is "Kevin Johnson" and the passport number is 012153 – the same as we saw on one of Ben’s passports in his secret room – the Swiss passport.

The birth date is listed as July 08, 1963.
The expiration date is listed as July 01, 2009.

The nurse in Michael’s hospital room after his attempted suicide with the car is the same nurse that spoke to Michael back in Season 1 and told him the bad penguin joke. Ok, another cold weather reference. And we have another repeat encounter with a very obscure character that Michael obviously forgets her (but clearly remembers his first dream of seeing Libby). Let’s not forget the first time the nurse and Michael met it was after getting hit by a car and now this time a car was the weapon of choice. But that pesky island just won’t the man die!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Not the Willie Nelson song, but the book by Jack Kerouac. The major influence on Kerouac’s semi-auto-biographical work, “On the Road”, is a character named Dean Moriarty – the same name Ben used on this passport we found in his secret room…and used on his travel’s to Sayid’s funeral. The opening paragraph states that "with the coming of Dean Moriarty began the part of my life you could call my life on the road."

Another major character in the book is Sal whose best friend is the city (island anyone?). Kerouac tells us that a “tremendous thing happened" (incident anyone?) and that the meeting of Dean was a meeting between “the holy con-man (several candidates anyone?) with the shining mind (Ben?), and the sorrowful poetic con-man with the dark mind that is Carlo Marx (Locke?)."

The name Dean Moriarty is also the worlds first literally super-villain.

Kerouac wrote another book named, “Dharma Bums”.

HERE’S SMOKEY

So Ben can summon Smokey! Not sure I feel he has complete control over it, but he did stand there like he knew it wouldn’t turn on him. Maybe he can give it some “scent” to follow – yeah, I still think Smokey is somehow related to a dog.

But “control” would be too strong of a word, since we know Smokey went out and killed the pilot of Flight 815 on Day 1 with motivation or direction it seems.

When Smokey came barreling through Othersville, did it remind you a bit of that Coors Lite train a coming? And many swear that either Smokey had a face when it first approaches or it was one of those flashes of memory.

BEN CAVE

Opportunity is sometimes defined as when one door closes, another is opened. Well, then we have lots of opportunities as I’ve never seen such a small room with so many doors! But the one with interest is the one that leads to the Ben Cave.

First, he needs a maid as that place is filthy!

Second, we need someone to interpret those symbols. I’m reminded of the 108 minute clock and those Egyptian symbols.

Third, when we speak of odd TV everyone should include David Lynch of Twin Peaks fame. Remember this image from that show’s conclusion? Yeah, I happened to be watching that series on DVD:

ODDS AND ENDS

Ben speaks Turkish and Arabic when trying to communicate with the two horsemen in the desert. The two horsemen speak to each other and one says, “He has no trail.” The other one answers, “Where did he come from? Down from the sky?”

Recall that in the future (I think) Jack will not be able to get drugs without a prescription and of course he can’t write his own. On the island, it’s “Mother’s Little Helper” anytime he wants it.So, was it really an antibiotic? Sharp eyes say YES. It reads Amoxicillin on the label and anyone with kids and ear aches know this stuff.

We learn the Keamy’s full name is Martin Christopher Keamy. In Mayan astrology the word pronounced the same as Keamy stands for death.

Check out the real-life organization named Blackwater Worldwide which is a private security firm. Look for their company logo and see if it reminds you of anything!

OVERDRESSED

Could it start any stranger with Ben over-dressed for desert travel?

Notice the name, Halliwax. Yeah, the same name used by Dr. Marvin Candle in the Orchid video released during the summer at Comic Con. Everyone caught the fact that the same scientist is in all the videos but uses a different name each time (not to mention his arm is sometimes missing). The flame trend in the name has been noticed as well: candle, wax and um…can’t recall the third so just go with me on that.

We can then draw a few conclusions: Dr. Candle had a parka which indicates cold weather location. Ben now has Dr. Candle’s jacket. So, Dr. Candle is cold. HA!

And peek close at the Dharma logo – we have a new one!

As for the smoking jacket, we have the strong idea that Ben can jump time, but perhaps not control it as well as he would like.

And before I leave this subject…did you notice that Ben landed in the Sahara with an injured arm? Yeah, same one Candle/Halliwax loses in future videos. He is him?

DOCTOR MY WORLD

When the doctor washes up on shore we have Bernard calling out…funny how only Jack and Kate first respond. (NOTE: We also find only the main characters slip into Ben’s house…it would be nice to see a Mary or a Steve get a few scenes of bewilderment.).

Anyway, the Morse code says the Doc is fine. Maybe we have two doctors and one is cut-throat (pun intended) and the other is fine on board the freighter. And when did we start requiring dentists know Morse code? Good stuff.

Here is how two doctors might work: someone cuts his throat and throws him overboard. His body floats, but not at that right heading so it time travels itself on shore. So the Doc is alive on board and someone is going to slit his throat in the future? Lost yet?

DID YOU MISS THIS?

Indeed Ben has been to Tunisia before as he is a preferred guest at the hotel. This is the same place where Charlotte examines the polar bear and finds a Dharma collar on the skeleton. Did Ben bring a pet with him on one of his teleportation trips?

Did you pick up the piece Ben was playing on the piano? It was Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Prelude in C-Sharp Minor.” Its significance is that among its various titles are “The Burning of Moscow” and “The Day of Judgment.” But you have got to love a guy who keeps a weapon in his piano bench. Is this the same piano Jack was playing?

To be fair to the writers who planned three quick deaths even with Sawyer hollering “Get back inside”, these actors HAVE been on previous episodes. Yes, in the background, but two attended Nikki and Paulo’s funeral among other scenes. So, at least they weren’t complete unknowns.

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY

Some wonder why I love this show as much as I do…well, for starters, they keep referring to things I enjoy like this:

The game is called Risk and is about world domination. Notice how Hurley whines about Australia being the key to victory in this game (many would actually debate that Australia is key to getting at least second place in the game, but that debate is for another day).

CALLING YOUR BLUFF

Out of all the action in the last episode, I think this mind game that ended in tragedy was the most interesting. Of course, I’m dying to find out the REAL relationship with Ben and Alex/Danielle. Yikes, did I just saying “dying”?

The only hope for fans of Alex is that in some Star Wars – Obi Wan kind of way, she will actually make the “force” grow stronger by her death. And as for Keamy…well, I wouldn’t want to be in his boots when Ben catches up to him.

I’ll leave this edition of Lost Tidbits with a prediction for you to mull over: Penny is on the freighter.

Enjoy,
KC

LT84: Welcome Back - New Episode

This Thursday, LOST returns with a new episode entitled, "The Shape of Things to Come". Right now, I'm thinking Smokey. Check your local times since I heard the show could be moving around time slots.

Here's some things to get us back on LOST time:

WHY IS AARON WITH KATE?

Consider that Claire leave the island for reasons unknown and to give Aaron a chance at life, she asks one of the Oceanic 6 to care for the baby. Now remember that Michael and Walt seem to have to hide their identities and this could be the case of Aaron. It would be difficult to hide a blond child with a Korean O6 (Sun), or Hispanic O6 (Hurley), or Iraqi O6 (Sayid). This leaves Kate and Jack as clear options and for whatever reason Jack has, he doesn't want anything to do with his nephew.

ABC ANNOUNCES LOSTSCAPE

It's info, behind the scene clips, sneak peeks, contest and more...check it out here: http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=lostscape

THE DAY IN THE LIFE

You know life isn't so bad. I got this job which isn't found just anywhere. For starters, it's on an island in the tropics. Great living quarters, good food and sunshine. My work here is pretty routine - I write computer programs for the finance department. But the pay is great, I save most of it, and it feels like it is some sort of Peace Corps thing.

Then one day this plane flies over head and breaks apart directly over our island. But that's not the strange thing. The stranger thing was how our leader just flipped out. Freaked. One minute he is this confident, if not a bit demanding, leader and the next he's halting all of our project work. Instead of building that runway, we now guard prisoners. Instead of researching chemical gas deployment, we now release chemical gas deployment. We lose our great houses and running water for a group of caves among some old ruins called the "temple".

Life isn't so great.

THE ODD STUFF

Speaking of gas...could it be the cause of some of the strange happenings on Mysterious Island?

One could imagine they have a variety of gases to choose from and some might be causing Kate's horse to appear. Of course, it did seem to have form and mass...but you get my drift.

Or maybe it is what they drink.

QUESTIONS I'VE BEEN PONDERING

* Is Alex pregnant?

* Is Ben and Widmore on the same team?

* Could the blindfold man be Tom's partner?

Enjoy,
KC

LT83: Back in Time

WHO IS BEHIND THE FAKE CRASH SITE?

There are only two choices presented for the answer to this question: Ben or Widmore.

The evidence presented by Tom to Michael in the hotel room seems to indicate Widmore. Everyone on board the Freighter thinks that Widmore owns the operation. The captain is even carrying around the black box of the fake crash.

But this is precisely why I have my doubts. Could Tom really have gathered that information that quickly? He had two months since the original September 2004 crash, so let’s leave it as “POSSIBLE”.

Then consider why the captain has the black box. If Widmore staged the fake crash site, then why would he not have removed the black box prior to sinking it? And why would Widmore’s captain be proud of owning a relic that Widmore placed there?

And notice how Ben didn’t ultimately have Michael/Kevin blow up the freighter. Is Ben being honorable in sparing the ship or does he think enough of his transports (think submarine) have been lost already?

Of course Widmore may be doing as Ben suggested and attempting to divert attention away from the island. It does seem both Ben and Widmore would want this, however.

And there is sense in sinking and recovering your own plane in order to keep adventurers from trying to find a wreckage site. This would support Widmore behind the fake.

However, if you were Widmore and Oceanic 815 crashed, how would you explain your discovery of the wreck at the bottom of the ocean if Flight 815 suddenly showed up somewhere else? Widmore likely didn’t know WHERE Flight 815 went down and it was big risk to stage a fake for him. On the other hand, Ben knew all details and it does make sense he could risk a staged crash site because he KNEW where the real plane was: hidden on Mysterious Island.

I’m going with Ben is behind the fake crash site. Final answer.


MILES AND COMPANY

Who are you people? Yeah, the Freighter crew all act like they are after Ben Linus, but I’m not convinced.

This mystery will be resolved when we learn if the Captain already knows Kevin is Michael. Or if Michael knows what the Captain already knows. Odds are they are on the same “Team Linus”.

Which brings me to how Miles knew Michael’s identify was a fake. This then brings back the time looping concept where Miles is just better at holding on to details than Michael obvious is. But apart from time jumping, Miles could know because he’s spoken to Ben.

Orange?


FRANK’S MISSION

Recall that Frank said he had to run a mission. I think someone even suggested that where did he have to fly to other than the island? We know he has passed through the barrier two times minimum, and yet off he goes again. One would think he is aware of the risk and still takes it, even when it seems to be against his character’s nature. Almost as if he is being forced to fly the mission…by Ben. But this belongs in the first section of who owns the Freighter.

Have you thought about who shot Karl and Danielle? Could this have been Frank’s mission? If not him, he could have taken a sniper with him. Again, this strongly suggests that Ben is pushing all the buttons.

If the threesome were fleeing to the Temple and were close enough, it could be the Others who moved there. Perhaps the trigger man was Richard Alpert.

FYI – on the film a person can be made out in the grass, but the lacks of details of that person have kept us from identifying who.

KEEP CHECKING BACK

You can expect a Lost Tidbits posting each week. But you can also expect MORE than one per week at times, so check back often and be sure to review the history of posts on the right-hand side to ensure you didn't miss one.

Enjoy,
KC

LT82: Caught Up

With over 100 Lost Tidbits written, we were thrilled to recover 80 of them and re-post them on this blog. Hope you enjoyed it.

We will now post all future Lost Tidbits here on this blog so be sure to check back often...and spread the word.

Enjoy,
KC

LT81: Down Time (March 16, 2008)

Previously published on March 16, 2008...


MEMORY LANE and FUTURE DREAMS

We have a break of about a month coming up soon and what better way to spend it then re-reading old editions of Lost Tidbits? Now you can by checking out my new blog at: http://losttidbits.blogspot.com/

I’m in the process of entering the blogs in chronological order with a goal of entering a couple every single day. So check back often and peruse through the old issues…it is fun reading some of those predictions like when we wondered if Claire would be the mole.

The goal is to get caught up before LOST returns in about five weeks. After that your LOST TIDBITS will only come to you online at the blog. Unlike Jacob it was time to embrace newer technology and this should now make it easier to spread the word of the Lost Tidbits blog to more viewers you like to ponder.

BABY TALK – JI YEON

Again, a TV show left me with me with my mouth open wide. Jin was dead? Or was he alive and working for Mr. Paik? This show just never stops making my brain work and when was the last time we could say that about TV…ok, 7th Heaven was pretty good. I joke.

WHAT’S UP WITH JIN?

I’m being told that Jin was in chronological order but a flashback and Sun was in chronological order but a flash forward…making Sun the one who gets off the island.

Did you catch any clues early that this was a Jin flashback?

Clue: Old school cell phone

Clue: Year of the Dragon was last in 2000, and it was less likely it could be the next time which is 2012. Of course, this assumes you know the Chinese calendar by memory.

My Oceanic 6 list is Kate, Jack, Hurley, Sayid, Sun and…does Aaron count? Does Michael count? Walt?

PANDA

Another animal?

Black and white?

Last one remaining of some significance? It is the national treasure of China, the country Jin’s boss, Mr. Paik, wished to do business with.

Year of the Dragon was 8 years ago and not for another four years.

FRANK’S MISSION

Where do you suppose he had to go with helicopter?

TILL DEATH DO US PART

Grave of Jin – why did Hurley say “good” to no one is coming?

How did Jin’s body get there?

The dates are a lie!

LOST LITERATURE

The book Regina was reading upside down is called “The Survivors of the Chancellor”. It’s about a story of a ship’s crew who goes insane at sea.

By the way, when she went overboard and few shipmates paused to look over…including Michael.

WHAT’S IN A NAME

In this case, Captain Gault (or Galt), we have the namesake of a fictional character who chartered boats for hire in each book of a series. In most case, Captain Gault is smuggling something. Or we have another reference to Ayn Rand’s book, “Atlas Shrugged”, where the hero is John Galt.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

I don’t like the new doctor Sun had…I don’t trust him. What did they shoot her up with? Something tells me…

Aren’t people in the future wondering how Sun got pregnant? Besides Jin being sterile…if he died the day of the crash, who got Sun pregnant?

Lima beans? How cruel.

Where is Naomi’s body? They made such a fuss about returning it and now it’s gone and forgotten.

THE BLACK BOX

I’m curious as to why Widmore would let the captain of a freighter carry around the Oceanic 815 flight recorder. Is it the “real” flight recorder or the one from the fake plane? If real, how in the world did he get it? Will we hear it?

Will it work? As soon as we hear Sayid say, “Give me a minute”, then soon after it will work!

Enjoy,
KC