TV - LOST joke on Kimmel

THIS is fantastic.  Take three minutes out of your day and enjoy. Read more!

via @DamonLindelof who I assume is trying to keep the Lost finale in perspective:

The 7 Most Soul-Crushing Series Finales in TV History

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TV - The End of Lost: Realistic Expectations

There has been a vast outcry regarding my lack of Lost posts so I'm here to placate the masses  (hi Tony!).  Read on!

A lot of people in the blogosphere are super pissy right now about LOST (and a lot of people are with me – really content with how the finale season is playing out.  But, you know, the naysayers are always the loudest).   They want more answers faster and they want every answer to every mythological nugget that has been presented in the past 6 years, and they want the reveals to be utterly mind-blowing. 

I feel a little sorry for these viewers because they just are not going to be satisfied.  Like I said, I am very content with how this season is progressing.  I feel like we’re on a solid path and that I’m going to be at peace with how this show ends.  What keeps me focused and calm?: Realistic expectations.  Here’s what I think is important when considering the answers to Lost:

The answers are going to be kind of vague:

A lot of the naysayers are going to be left unsatisfied because they don’t appreciate the answers they’re given.  They want every element of every mystery explained, leaving no room for drawing our own viewer conclusions.

Take The Numbers: we’ve learned that each of the candidates for who will take over Jacob’s jobbie have been assigned a number.  The numbers correspond to the degrees on the lighthouse dial that show the candidates’ off-Island homelands (I think).   For me, this is good enough.   Why these particular numbers and how did Jacob come up with them?  Well, I’m curious as to how Jacob found the castaways and decided they warranted touching, but I don’t care why Hugo is #8 and not #23.  For some aspects, you’re going to have to use your imagination.  And thank goodness for that, because it’s those kinds of brain-teasers that keep the show alive after it’s concluded. 

I earnestly believe that people who want more explained for them regarding the mythology of the show are going to have the opportunity to learn more in another medium.  (See the game “The Lost Experience” illustrating how the numbers are linked to “The Valenzetti Equation” and The Dharama Initative.)  There is also “Lost University” (a blue-ray educational experience) and the creators have deemed both of these other forums canon.  And I totally think a post-Lost graphic novel explaining more aspects of the mythology (not the character stories) is a distinct possibility.  But as for hashing out relevant physics theorems, Greek mythology, and Egyptian hieroglyphics decoding- it just isn’t going to happen on network television.

The answers are going to be accessible:

This may seem like a weird statement, considering we’re talking about a show involving time-travel, parallel universes, and smoke monsters.  But what I mean is that whatever this show is about is going to be able to be explained over coffee.  You’re not going to need a calculator or a master’s degree or to have to read a thousand and ten lostpedia entries in order to grasp it all. 

One of my favorite lost bloggers, Entertainment Weekly’s “Doc” Jensen, has totally melted his brain coming up with the most cockamamie theories and I hope he’s having fun because it’s just totally coo-coo-clock rambling.   He dedicated a 10-page column recently to a theory that the Smoke Monster / Man in Black is actually the embodiment of all the souls of the people who have died on the Island – with Juliet and Daniel Faraday’s minds primarily driving his ship.  What?!  I think it’s really obvious that the MIB is a person – a special person – but a person with human motivations.  Look at the history of Richard Alpert: his narrative is full of mythology and fantasy, but it still is a narrative based on emotions, not science fiction.  I know the answers to Lost aren’t going to be simple, or easy to explain to someone who never saw the show, but I honestly believe it’s going to be able to be boiled down to a one-pager.  Does that make sense?  Is it irony that I can’t clearly explain my theory that Lost will be able to be clearly explained?

The answers are going to be “schmoopy”:

In our house, schmoopy means gushy.  Sentimental and fluffy, in a sense.  Maybe a little corny.  Think about all of the talk in “Harry Potter” about how Voldemort could be beaten because he never knew truelove.  Or all of Battlestar Gallactica’s talk about God and the dangers of human decadence.   It’s good stuff, but it’s also a little cornball.   I’m expecting this when it comes to Lost’s conclusion.  At some point I think there’s going to be a speech regarding the importance of love and acceptance, or salvation, or trusting fate – something like that. And I’m glad I’m prepared, because those types of speeches can be a little off-putting when you’re not in the right headspace.

This is a story about characters.  It is not a story about an Island where lots of crazy scientific stuff is happening. I think with each introduction of another wacky element to the Island (electromagnetism, etc…) there were viewers who were more married to the mythology than to the characters, and they are going to have their hearts broken.  These are the people who thought the smoke monster was nanobots.  It’s not nanobots, nerds!  It’s an angry dude! 

Take a look at this paragraph from a previous post I wrote comparing Lost to Stephen King's "The Stand":

I would say the main thing I learned about Lost after reading this book is that Team Darlton share King's sentiment that mythology should only be the background for a story about character-development. "The Stand" ended with a solid understanding that the characters faced their faults and gained peace in their sense-of-self. They were presented with opportunities to receive redemption, and those that embraced them gained comfort. The conclusion did not address any of the questions that arose from the mythological experiences. Why were these people the survivors? Who exactly are Mother Abigail and Randall Flagg? We have a sense at the answers, but much much much is left to interpretation. I fear Lost will end in a similar fashion, but I also think the fan involvement with the show will shape it in such a way that more questions will be answered than would be if King was at the helm.

I like that past-Jenna.  She’s smart. 

So, bottom-line (too late I know) is that if you think Lost is going to end with a man in a white lab-coat conducting a two-hour long Power Point presentation explaining every last exhaustive detail – I truly hope you’re wrong.  It’s going to end, it’s going to be about humanity – not science – and we’re going to be left to our own imaginations when it comes to connecting some of the dots.  Thank goodness for that because I like using my brain, and it’s a way to keep the show alive after it’s all over. 

We can just hope that they conclude the basic, essential story-elements and we’re not left completely on our own to imagine an ending – like The Sopranos.   “Don’t stah- BLACK SCREEN.”  

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Lost- "The Substitue" E4S6

This is my first post about LOST in the sixth and final season. Do not read until after you have seen "The Substitue" (Season 6, Episode 4).

Last night’s LOST was fantastic, especially coming off of the slow-paced “What Kate Does” episode. When the Smokey-Possessed-Locke says, “Come with me and I promise I’ll tell you everything,” I think there were fans everywhere who were exhausted from changing sick baby diapers all day saying YESYESYES MOMMY NEEDS THIS. Oh wait, maybe that was just me.

“The Substitute” was the fourth episode of this final season (if you count the 2-hour premiere as two episodes). I’ve held off on writing about the show on this blog because, after being presented with a “flash-sideways” parallel universe storytelling device, a slew of new Temple-dwelling characters, and more questions created than answered, I needed to play wait-and-see. I was not too excited about any of the three things I just mentioned, but now I have re-gained my confidence.

For one, it looks like we’re going to be very reliant on Sawyer. He is broken and sad, and an emotional loose cannon. But since he has nothing to lose, he gets to be our guide leading us towards exposition! Follow Smokey and let’s figure out what this whole Island thing is all about… why not? Turns out Smokey’s going to lead us towards a nifty little cave, showing us a scale weighing a black rock vs. a white rock (reminding me of Greg and my favorite Ralph quote from the Simpsons: “the rat is a symbol for obviousness!”) and, oh yea, a whole slew of names matched with numbers. Most (not Kate) of our castaways have been assigned to THE numbers and have so far remained un-scratched. For a whole look at which names are up there look HERE. It’s interesting! Almost every one of the names that are decipherable can be matched to a character previously seen on Lost.

This episode also gave us some insight into Smokey himself. He was a man, he feels like he’s trapped, he’s super old, and he’s haunted by a dirty blonde Other boy. But this episode also underlined a major pre-exisiting question: is Smokey the good guy or the bad guy? And, consequently, is Jacob good or bad? Obviously there are a slew of people who have sided with Jacob (Ilana, Richard, Temple-Dwellers), but that doesn’t mean that what Smokey represents is necessarily “bad” – maybe what he wants is “bad” for the creepy Island that conducts psychological / anthropological tests but is “good” for people who want to live normal lives.

We know that Smokey is saying Jacob tampered with the castaways’ lives when he groped them in their pasts. Is this a clue to the side-ways world? Are we seeing how life would have progressed had our characters never been touched by Jacob? My current theory is yes, that’s exactly what we’re seeing and at some point the castaways who make it to the finale are going to get a choice: live this Island life existence, or be consciously teleported into this non-Island life. In fact, it already seems that those who die on the Island are having their brains switch over to their sideways bodies. Juliet’s dying words about going Dutch on coffee seem like a sure-fire preview to a sideways storyline, and did you see Locke’s corpse SMILING laying dead on the beach when we just finished seeing how happy his side-ways life is leading?

Sideways world is not perfect: Locke’s still is in a wheelchair, Kate is still a fugitive, and Jack still seems to have daddy issues. However, although it may not be perfect, it is better. The characters seem more at peace and less arrogant. John can laugh when he bites it into his lawn, Kate can run towards someone rather than always running away, and Jack can stomach listening to Locke talk about some spirituality.

But I’m not too attached to my theories. They are just little mind-games to help me get through the week. Mostly I’m just enjoying the ride, fine with being proven wrong, and feeling bitter sweet thinking about how few episodes are left.
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Book and TV - The Stand and Lost

Damon and Carlton (Executive Producers and Head Writers for the show) have long cited Stephen King's "The Stand" as their main inspiration source-material for shaping the story-line of Lost. Therefore, I couldn't resist picking up this huge novel in an attempt to gain insight into one of my favorite shows. It also doesn't hurt that this epic-tale has been judged by many respectable sources to be King's magnum opus. So read on for my review of the book, my insights into how it might relate to Lost, and also some excerpts of interviews where Team Darlton discuss "The Stand."



"The Stand" is about a world where a super-flu epidemic strikes, killing almost all of humanity. Those that are inexplicably immune begin to have the same dreams pulling them together. King introduces the reader to a tremendous amount of characters (like Lost) who are all seeking some sort of redemption. Almost every character seems well-rounded and creates interest, also like Lost (although in The Stand, absolutely every character talks like Sawyer so they may grate on you a bit at times). And, many of the characters are similar (e.g. pregnant chick, rocker, stoic leader, even an impressive dog).

The circumstances faced by the characters in this novel and Lost are also comparable. The characters in King's work who have survived experience a mythological "pull" sensation that draws them together to start and shape a society. They all understand that they need some semblance of order and togetherness if they are going to survive, especially considering there is a village of evil Others not too far off in the West. And, not to spoil too much, the beginning of the end is marked by a big-bomb detonation.

So what insights can be gathered comparing these two works? I would say the main thing I learned about Lost after reading this book is that Team Darlton share King's sentiment that mythology should only be the background for a story about character-development. "The Stand" ended with a solid understanding that the characters faced their faults and gained peace in their sense-of-self. They were presented with opportunities to receive redemption, and those that embraced them gained comfort. The conclusion did not address any of the questions that arose from the mythological experiences. Why were these people the survivors? Who exactly are Mother Abigail and Randall Flagg? We have a sense at the answers, but much much much is left to interpretation. I fear Lost will end in a similar fashion, but I also think the fan involvement with the show will shape it in such a way that more questions will be answered than would be if King was at the helm.

As for which work I enjoy more, I am confidently in the camp of Lost, even though the show has yet to conclude and it could still spoil my affections. King's mythology is wrapped up in the same good versus evil debate, but there is never any question as to who is good and who is bad. WIth characters like Jacob, the Man in Black, Christian Shephard's ghost, and Ben (just to name a few!) Lost has not been so quick as to identify who we should be rooting for. There are many more shades of gray and a lot more ambivalence. Also, Lost has so many more elements to its mythology: Dharma, Hanso, Widmore, Time-Travel, and on and on. It's a much more complex-world and I like the complexity.

Anyway below are some excerpts which will allow Carlton and Damon to express their own opinions on how "The Stand" has influenced them:

Here is a snippet of the interview between the writing team and King that was conducted by Entertainment Weekly. The entire interview can be read HERE:

Carlton Cuse: For us, The Stand has been a model. Lost is about a bunch of people stranded on an island. It's compelling, but kind of tiny. But what sustains you are the characters. In The Stand, I was completely gripped by everyone you introduced in that story — how they come together, what their individual stories are, how they face the premise. That was such a good model for Lost.

Lindelof: The first meeting I had with J.J. about Lost, we talked about The Stand, and it kept suggesting ideas throughout the process. The character of Charlie was always going to be a druggie rocker, but when Dominic Monaghan came in to audition we started saying, ''What if he was a one-hit wonder?'' I said, ''Like the guy in The Stand! The guy with just this one song.''

King: Yeah. ''Baby, Can You Dig Your Man?''

Lindelof: His entire character sort of is constructed around that. The thing about The Stand is that there are all the archetypes, and we embraced the same thing. The strong, silent, heroic type. The nerdy guy. The techie. The pregnant girl. All those characters exist in The Stand, too.

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And here's another little comment Carlton gave Variety:

For both Damon and me Stephen King’s “The Stand” was the most influential model for “Lost.” Because “Lost” is not the tenth carbon copy of a medical, legal or cop show there wasn’t a clear roadmap for how to make it work for 100 episodes by looking at other TV shows. So instead we turned to “The Stand,” a 1,000-page novel with a high-concept idea at the core: most of the world’s inhabitants have been killed by a super flu. What we loved about the book was that what sustains the 1,000 pages is not the mythology of the super flu but the stories of the characters. The mystery of what was happening on this island had to be secondary to the mystery of “who are these people?”
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TV - Lost Season Five

So much for my re-watching experience lasting me until next season begins, as was the original intention.   I have no finished watching the not-too-distant Season Five!  Read on for my musings.

Locke:  Okay so I need to download and question a lot of information regarding Locke.  Mainly my thinking all boils down to is Locke really getting signs from Jacob, or has he always been playing into the hands of the Man in Black?  Is he supposed to lead the Others?  Certainly Locke has always been an easily seduced dude, and perhaps one of these two leaders (or both) have been taking advantage of his gullible nature in order to further their missions.

Is Locke really meant to lead the Others?: Just for funsies, let’s take a gander at the history of how those dudes in Tibet determine the next Dalai Lama: High Lamas go to a holy lake to watch for signs that will lead them to the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.   Once they think they have found the boy, they have him perform a series of tests to affirm the rebirth.  The High Lamas ask the boy to choose from a variety of objects.  If the boy chooses the artifacts that belonged to the previous Dalai Lama, then this is seen as confirmation that the signs have pointed them to the correct reborn leader.

Locke was presented with a baseball glove, a knife, a vial of sand, a “Book of Laws,” a compass, and a comic book entitled “Mystery Tales.”   He picks the vial and the compass, and Richard seems hopeful.  However, then he takes the knife and Richard is angry.  Locke has failed the test.   What was the other object Locke was supposed to pick?  The compass is especially interesting because it is a mobius loop.  If it is the same compass passed between Richard and Locke, then we have seen Richard give Locke the compass in 2007, then Locke gives Richard back the compass in 1954, and then Richard gives Locke the compass BACK in 2007.  So it’s a time-loop conundrum item with no origin, making it pretty special.  

So is Locke supposed to be the leader of the Others (and is the leader of the Others really Jacob’s second in command)?  He fails the test as a child.  However, Richard seems to have changed his mind by the time Locke becomes introduced to the Others in Season Three, saying he’s special. Certainly Locke has some report with the Island, considering it healed his legs and gave him all sorts of visions. The smoke monster lets Locke live on two different occasions.  However, Christian tells Locke that HE was supposed to be the one to move the Donkey Wheel, meaning he was supposed to be kicked off the Island for forever… so: What’s the deal with Locke? 

Another interesting tid-bit:  Locke hears someone say “Help me” in the Jacob cabin.  My current theory is that this was the Man in Black, who was trapped in the cabin somehow (and kept in there through a ring of ash).  And the end of season five we see that the ring of ash has been trampled through, troubling team Ilana, and of course by this time the Man in Black has embodied Zombie Locke.

 

Smoke Monster: Who he is and who he isn’t

With the Smoke Monster holding trial against Ben in Season Five, there are a lot more questions about the nature of this ash cloud. 

Yemi: I’m fairly certain the smoke monster appeared as Yemi.  Notice that Yemi’s body was missing.

Christian: so Christian is also roaming around the Island, and Jack discovered that his dead body was missing from inside the coffin.  Is Christian a smoke monster incarnate as well?

ZombieLocke: A reader of this blog (?!), Dean, questioned if ZombieLocke is the Smoke Monster.  If this is true, then that means the Man in Black is the Smoke Monster.  It would also mean that either Christian is not Smokey, or Smokey can be in more than one place at a time considering Locke is with Ben and Cesar during the same time Christian is with Sun and Lapidus (I think). Delving further, Smokey tells Ben to do whatever ZombieLocke says, leading us to believe that these two could be one in the same.  However, I think it could just as easily go in the direction that Jacob wants the Man in Black to find the loophole because he knows something we don’t (is Jacob the Smoke Monster?). ZombieLocke seemed a bit surprised that Smokey told Ben to follow Locke’s lead. Notice also that Locke’s body has not mysteriously disappeared.  Ilana has it…  In conclusion: I really have no idea what I’m talking about. 

 

Change the future?

Okay so now that we’ve theorized some about Locke, Jacob, the Man in Black, and Smokey, let’s tackle the final scene again.

Throughout my re-watching experience, I’ve also listened to the Official Lost Podcast hosted by the executive producers and head writers Damon and Carlton.   They have said a lot of stuff that makes me feel a bit more comfortable, although still confused, with the whole “Did they change the future” question.

To start, throughout their season three finale and season four podcasts, they often discussed the fact that they were “paradox averse.”  They do not believe in parallel universes or that the future could be changed.  A lot of their discussions about these issues came when fans were asking them if the flash-forwards were definitely what was going to happen in the future, or if they were only one possible vision of a potential future.  

The producers also stand-behind Eliose’s course correction thesis.  If something is meant to happen, it’s going to happen no matter what.  It’s a “What happened, happened” look at the past and the future.  

However, then Faraday comes up with this whole “The Variable” theory that could possibly lead them to believe they *can* change the future.   Damon and Carlton said that a scene that was cut from this episode explained Faraday’s new theory pretty clearly: think of a pebble being thrown into a stream.  Although it creates a little splash, it does not affect the path of the stream. (Desmond catching a pigeon so Charlie wouldn’t was only a pebble in the stream: Charlie still eventually died.) Now picture tossing in a boulder! Suddenly the stream has a huge obstacle, and it will change its course.  Apparently Daniel hypothesizes that doing something super duper major will change the course of the future, like detonating a hydrogen bomb and blowing up the Island.  However, I would have originally thought that Sayid shooting baby Ben would have been a boulder, and if we are going to buy into this theory, than we  have to classify that action as a pebble.

So my conclusions?  Although I think that setting off the bomb is going to mess things up for a couple of episodes at the start of season six, it’s not going to be big enough to stop the Island from course-correcting and getting all of the original fuselage castaways back together (memories intact) at the same time on the Island to face the big reveal of what it all means together.   I believe the writers will stick to their guns and avoid alternate universes where the fuselage gang doesn’t remember their Seasons 1 – 5 experiences.  

What I can’t develop is a theory for how those scenes where Jacob touched our various castaways at points in their past are going to play-out. Are they going to be relevant for where or when and in what mental state the characters “wake-up” after the bomb detonation?  Part of what makes those moments so interesting is that for some of the characters, they are touched before having crashed on the Island, but for others, it is after they have returned as part of the Oceanic Six.

Trivia:

If you made it this far, then you deserve a nice little trivia tid-bit.  Did you know that the aforementioned head writers come up with clever codenames for the whopper scenes in the finales?

- Season One’s scene where Walt was kidnapped was called “The Bagel” for no logical reason. 

- Season Two’s scene where those dudes call Penny to tell her they “found it” was called “The Challah” only because they wanted to continue the trend of naming these scenes after Jewish breads.

- Season Three’s scene where Jack yells at Kate that they “have to go back,” which was a flash-forward, was called “The Rattlesnake in the Mailbox” because Carlton was telling Damon about how spooky and surprising it would be to find such a thing and they both thought it set the appropriate mood.

- Season Four’s scene where it is revealed that Locke was actually the body in the casket was called “The Frozen Donkey Wheel” as a way to deter spoiler sites (for there was a leaked image of Ben turning a frozen donkey wheel, which is an earlier scene).

- Season Five’s scene where Juliet detonates that son-of-a-bitch of a bomb was called “The Fork in the Toaster.”   This name was actually chosen by a fan in a “name the finale scene” contest held by the podcast.  There have been rumors that the final scene was actually supposed to be the one where Ben kicks Jacob into the fire, but I think the name fits and the finale works better with the Juliet ending. 

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TV - Lost Season Four

So Season Four is all about getting off the Island and the freighter folk. We meet Daniel Faraday, Charlotte, Miles (my favorite of the new crew), Frank Lapidus and a whole slew of meanies out to get Ben Linus. Instead of flashbacks, we have flash-forwards where we learn about the lives of the Oceanic Six off of the Island. Although this Season was cut short by the writers’ strike, it actually seems the longest, placing itself as my second least favorite year of Lost. Read on for a discussion of some interesting ideas presented in this season.

Good v. Evil

A major element to Season Four is the debate over who is good and who is evil. This is a key theme to the entire series, but it’s especially highlighted in this year. Are the freighter folk really out to kill everyone on the Island?  Is Charles Widmore the bad guy, or is Ben the bad guy?  Is it good to get off the island or is it bad to get off the Island is sort of an extension of this.

Regarding the intentions of Widmore, naturally his hired-hand Evil Keamy didn’t hesitate to do a “shock and awe” on New Otherton in his attempt to get Ben. Was it Charles Widmore’s plan to kill everyone on the Island after apprehending Ben?  I’m not sure.

Certainly the science team was looking out for the livelihood of the castaways in an attempt to gain trust and because they are not bad people. Daniel and Charlotte made the journey to the Tempest to render the evil poison gases inert in order to prevent Ben from gassing the non-Temple folks on the Island.  Was Ben really going to gas the Island? I believe Ben was willing to sacrifice the lives of the castaways in order to kill the freighter folk, knowing his Others were safe in the Temple.  So Charles and Ben were both willing to kill those who interfered with their objectives (capturing Ben / not getting captured).  Thus we’re sort stuck in a stale-mate in the debate of who is good and who is bad.  

This brings us to the War these two characters discuss.  We are unsure of who represents what side.  They both have been leaders of the Others with the assistance of Richard Alpert, and thus they both have theoretically been serving Jacob.  But is that the case?  I think it’s possible that Widmore could represent the Man in Black somehow. 

Another reason to think that Ben represents Jacob and Widmore is on the side of the Man in Black is their discussion in Charles' penthouse suite.  Ben charges Widmore with changing the rules by killing his daughter.  Widmore questions if Ben is there to kill him.  Ben says “You know I can’t do that” leading me to believe that there are larger Island forces governing their behavior.  Remember in Season Five how the Man in Black wanted to kill Jacob, but knew that he’d need to find a loop-hole in order to do so?  Interesting parallel!

However, we still don’t know which of the leaders (Jacob or the Man in Black) is evil, therefore learning that Ben and Widmore are indeed working for these guys doesn’t solve the mystery for who should really be wearing white and black.  I’d put my money on Ben and Jacob somehow being on the side of goodness.  If nothing else, Widmore’s henchman Abbadon (whose name is a reference to Satan or the anti-Christ) certainly looks evil…

Tunisia:

Maybe you’re wondering what the deal is with Tunisia being the exit for the Island.  It may interest you to know that Tunisia is the anti-podal point of some empty South Pacific ocean spot not too far from Australia.  Do the characters travel through the center of the Earth when they turn the frozen donkey wheel?  Very Jules Verne!

Aaron:

What’s the deal with Aaron?  Claire was told by the psychic that no one should raise the baby but her.  If we are to believe the psychic, why should Aaron not be raised by anyone else? Was the psychic foreseeing that Claire would run away with Christian leaving Aaron behind, and that this would be bad news for Claire and the Island?  Or was he reacting to Aaron being adopted by Kate (essentially) because they got off the Island, and this is the negative experience the psychic was picking-up?  Or could it be something truly about Aaron being raised by other parents?  We’ll have to leave this to Season Six.

Best Moment:

Sawyer jumping out of the helicopter.  I know that this scene has a possible underlying element that Sawyer wasn’t in fact being heroic, but rather being a coward unwilling to take the risk of pursuing a future with Kate.  I don’t care.  Those folk want to get on the freighter, and he allows that to happen.  Also, he is embracing the thinking Kate should have adopted: nothing but trouble awaits Sawyer on the mainland, why bother?  He is rewarded with three blissful years as a respected head of security and boyfriend to Juliet.  <>

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TV - Lost Season Three

In my continued (and surprisingly fast-moving) quest to re-watch all of Lost, I have finished Season Three. This was by-far my favorite season of the five, and that’s saying something considering how much I love this show. Read on for my musings.

There are a lot of reasons for why Season Three is my favorite. For one, there are so many answers given to previously established mysteries. We learn how Locke’s legs became paralyzed, we learn about Jack’s tattoos, we learn a whole lot about what’s going on with the Others, and we certainly gain a better understanding of the Smoke Monster (hint: I don’t think it’s nanobots!).

Smoke Monter
When the Smoke Monster encountered Eko in Season Two, it flashed images of his life-story. It would appear in Season Three that Smokey has used this information in order to learn what form it should take to best get Eko’s attention. When Eko sees Yemi, the “ghost” says “You talk to me as if I was your brother,” and the executive producers confirmed in their podcast that this was an incarnation of the Smoke Monster.

So we learn that Smokey can take the form of people (and horsies!) and that it probably does so for a set purpose (to lead the characters towards an enlightenment experience?). Since Eko gets beaten to death by the Monster after refusing to apologize for the crimes that haunt him, I think it’s safe to assume that Smokey, at least in part, is on the Island to lead the castaways to redemption.

Shipper Friendly
Another awesome part about Season Three is that it is incredibly shipper friendly. Kate and Sawyer get-in-on while Jack watches, Jack and Juliet start their relationship, Claire and Charlie kiss, we learn that Ben had a mad crush on Juliet, and Jack tells Kate he loves her. It’s also really interesting to watch any of the scenes between Sawyer and Juliet, knowing what happens in Season Five. I could even be convinced that Juliet knew what would happen between her and Sawyer in future-1977 should some wacky story-telling lead us in that direction.

The Others
One of the joys about re-watching Season Three was that this time around I could really like Ben and Juliet. Well, with Ben it’s more of a love-to-hate type reaction. Learning about his history on the Island in “The Man Behind the Curtain” was crazy-fun and also exciting because I know there’s a chunk of history missing there that I hope will be revealed in Season Six. What happened to Anne? What happened between his first encounter with Richard and the Purge? I bet we’ll get some answers.

Speaking of Richard, we learn a significant amount about him in Season Three, but not nearly enough. (BTW: How does he get the Man from Tallahassee without the aid of the submarine and so freaking fast?) I think one of the ways that the writers will reveal much of the Island mythology next year is through a Richard flash-back episode and that would be AMAZING.

And we also hear a lot more about the Super-Mega Other: Jacob. Was he really the one in the cabin telling John to help him? Or was that the Man in Black? We know now that Ben couldn’t really see or hear anything in the cabin, so has Ben ever really gotten directions from Jacob? The list with the names of Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley was said to be from Jacob in Season Two, but in Season Three we see Juliet and Ben discussing who to put on the list in the Pearl Station… so Ben’s actual relationship with Jacob is still a bit of mystery.

Expose:

One of the weirdest episodes in all of Lost history is "Expose."  How bizarre to have a complete filler episode on a series that had for two and a half years prior been relying on a reveal-some, question-some pace.  I remember being completely baffled and frustrated when watching this episode live because it was essentially a waste of a week for someone who wanted answers.  This time around I enjoyed the episode because for one, I think getting buried alive is crazy compelling. For another, it really illustrated how the creators and writers listen to the fans.  They heard that the fan community wanted to learn more about the whole slew of other castaways (called the "socks" by the writers), so they introduced Nikki and Paulo.  Then they heard the tremendous backlash against these idiots, so they took an episode to get their story-line out of the way and kill 'em off.  I love that they respect their fans and were able to react to the response in a timely manner. 

Finale:
Season three is made all the better by it’s awesome finale. Whether or not you knew right away that those were flash-forwards (like co-blogger Metta did), it’s still a cool change of pace! The mysteries were a lot less frustrating when you knew that the characters would be reaching a certain destination at some point, it was just a matter of how they got to that point and where they would go from there.

Repeated Lines:
We have to indoctrinate Charlie in the “Don’t tell me what I can’t do” crew. We also have a new repeated line when Locke quotes Eko saying “don’t confuse coincidence for fate.”

Questions:
Of course there are still many questions. One of which is why can’t a nice show like Lost afford good wigs? Some of the hairdos in the flash-backs were beyond laughable.

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TV - Lost Season Two

I've finished re-watching Season Two of Lost. Read more for my analysis, favorite moments, some trivia, and questions that I still have about this season.  

Season Two is not one of my favorite seasons.  I guess I won't be sure where to place it until after I've re-watched the first five, but I'm going to guess it'll be either my second or absolute least favorite.  The success of Lost rides in it's ability to keep viewer's engaged in the Island's mysteries and in the characters emotional journeys. Season Two focused a bit too much on the Mystery of the Hatch and the character bickering was tiresome.  Not only were Locke and Jack constantly feuding, but Charlie drifts dangerously close to unlikable.  

New Characters
Although I somewhat resented the time it took to get to know the slew of new characters presented this season, almost all of them are welcome additions, like Desmond, Mr. Eko, Libby, and "Henry Gale." One is a triumphant annoyance: Ana Lucia. in true Lost style, Ana was presented in such a way that the audience was supposed to have a strong (negative) reaction to her, that would then be questioned once her back-story was revealed. However, learning Ana's story that she had been shot in the abdomen, resulting in the loss of her pregnancy, really didn't do much in reducing my hatred of her.  The massive backlash against Ana was so powerful that the writers made a last minute decision to kill Libby off as well as Ana in "Two for the Road" in order to create the necessary emotional-blow. 

Repeated Lines:

Add Mr. Eko to the "Don't tell me what I can't do!" club!

Favorite Moments:

- The Rose and Bernard reunion, of course! It was great knowing that Rose's gut was right all along and that her husband was, in fact, alive.  It's also great for the 'shippers out there (hello: me!) to have a stable relationship to enjoy.

- The Orientation film: what a creepy, weird scene!  I love a great big WTF moment on Lost, and this true introduction to the Dharma Initiative is one of my favorites. 

- In the episode "The Hunting Party," we get a nice chat from a bearded Tom.  This is another one of those truly game-changing moments in Lost: there's no denying from here on out that our castaways are not alone on the Island.  And that "Light them up!" shout, revealing that our castaways are surrounded by Others with torches is a truly exciting, nerve-wracking scene. 

- Knowing who "Henry Gale" really is makes watching the episodes with him trapped in the ammo room so much more enjoyable.  My favorite scene of his is watching him react to Eko's redemption speech in "Maternity Leave," complete with his slack jawed reception of Eko's beard trimmings.  Although Ben prides himself on always sticking to a plan, he lets a genuine "oh shit - this be crazy" face slip-out. 

Favorite Episode:

It was hard for me to pick a favorite episode from this season.  Although many episodes contained great moments, the episode as a whole was often tainted by endless Ana Lucia hating, or Locke vs. Jack grumblings (which were important for defining these characters, but a bit exhausting). 

I'm going to go ahead and pick "What Kate Did."  Here was an episode with a nice answer to a mystery, as well as some relationshippy goodness, and some more mystery with the appearance of Kate's black horse and Michael IMing "Walt" on the computer.     

I have to say, I'm sticking to my guns about my theories regarding Kate/Jack/and Sawyer.  In this episode Kate attacks Jack for his goodness and is mad knowing that she'll "never be good" like him.  She also addresses the fact that Sawyer reminds her of the ugliest parts of her - the fact that she can have murder in her heart because step-dad was actually dad-dad.  But the fact that Sawyer represents who she really is and Jack is what she "just ain't" is a pretty good predictor in my book about with whom Kate'd have the most successful relationship.  Take that sentence structure and basic grammar!

Trivia:

Creator and Executive Producer Damon Lindelof confirmed the Hatch's hieroglyphics mean "Underworld" in Egyptian.

A glass eye was found by the Tailies along with the bible and the radio.  Did you know the world's "first glass eye" was supposedly found in a tomb containing a backgammon game? (See Season One)

We hear Mama Cass's "Make Your Own Kind of Music" a lot in Season Two.  While vacationing at the Virgin Islands, Mama Cass was hit on the head by a falling copper pipe and claimed that after the incident her vocal range had increased by three notes.

The Dharma Initiative logo incorporates the "ba gua" Chinese symbol, which represents eight interrelated concepts such as wind, water, mountain, and earth. 

Questions:

The Smoke Monster: In Season One it ate the Pilot immediately.  Then it showed Locke a brilliant white light.  Then in this season it shows Eko flashes from his past.  Certainly the monster behaves differently based on with whom it's interacting.   What drives the Monster's behavior? 

Libby: Libby was shown in the same mental institution as Hurley.  What's the deal there, especially considering she said she was a psychologist?  

Walt: We hear from Ms. Klugh some interesting hints at Walt's talents (teleportation?), and we've gotten the idea that he can kill birds when he's angry and throw a mean knife.  Certainly he has some special abilities that I'd love to have explained. 

The Pearl Station: What was the experiment being monitored?  Was it watching people push the button over in the Hatch? Or was it watching them take their shots?  Or was the experiment, like Desmond hinted, the other way around and the monitors were actually the test-subjects? 

That's more than enough on that.  Hope you took something away of value to help you with your own Lost theorizing!

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TV - Lost - Four-Toed Statue

An ABC Episode Recap of the Lost finale clarified the identity of the Four-Toed Statue. Click "Read More" for my analysis on the significance of her identity in relation to Jacob and Lost as a whole.

The statue is a representation of Taweret! Let's begin our discussion with her name. Taweret means "(one) who is great," which links up nicely with the answer to "What lies in the shadow of the statue?:" "The one who will save us all." Certainly Taweret signifies what we already knew: Jacob is a big-freaking deal.

Although my research on this is a bit murky (but props to me for looking beyond Wikipedia), it seems that Taweret was married to Apep, the Egyptian deity associated with evil. Taweret could then be seen as a counter-point to evilness and was often considered the "Restrainer of Evil". Is Jacob really good and counter-balancing the evilness of The Man in Black (or the other way around)? Let's not get carried away. Because Apep could only come out at night, Taweret was seen as responsible for all evil acts that occurred during the day. In fact, Taweret was considered a demon! Her likeness was composed of multiple man-killing animals, most notably the hippopotamus, lioness, and crocodile.

Perhaps the most intriguing link between Taweret and the mythology of Lost is that she was seen as the protector of pregnancy and childbirth. Pregnant women wore amulets of her likeness around their necks to be protected from any evilness jeopardizing the safe delivery of their babies. Obviously, we know there are some major fertility issues on the Island amongst the Others. However, Claire was able to give birth to Aaron, and Sun was miraculously impregnated by Jin (who was supposedly infertile) while residing on the Island.

Digging deeper, almost every character on Lost has major Mommy issues. Ben's mother died during child-birth. Jack decided to turn on his father when he realized the woman Christian killed while performing surgery drunk was pregnant. Ana Lucia cracked after getting shot in the abdomen, losing her pregnancy. The list could go on.

So now we ask, when did the damage to the statue occur, leaving nothing but the calf and foot, and when did the fertility issues amongst the Others arise? Certainly there could be a connection there.

What else do you know about Taweret that could be seen as relevant to Lost? And isn't this fun?!

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TV - Lost - Season 5 finale

Looking back at the questions I posed before watching the finale... none of them were answered.  Of course not!  That's what Season 6 is for!  

HUGE QUESTION #1 Revisited: Can they change the past?  

We still don't know!  My theory is that Miles was right: their attempt to stop the Incident by blowing-up Jughead actually WAS the Incident.  When Juliet ignited the bomb, there will be a flash and all of those who were transported to 1977 will pop up in 2007 somewhere on the Island and that will conclude the time-traveling.  Doc Jensen (Entertainment Weekly's major LOST columnist) has a completely different theory.  He says that Juliet's bomb blast stopped the Incident from occurring.  Doc Jensen thinks a lot of crazy things. 

For now we must address new questions!:

Who's that dude talking-up Jacob?

We met Jacob!  He likes to make tapestries and eat fish!  He has an enemy.  To me, this no-name guy oozed Smoke-monster (and Doc sort of thought so, too: neat!).  

Here's a part of their obtuse exchange:

No-Name Guy: they come, fight, they destroy, they corrupt.  It always ends the same. 

Jaco: It only ends once.  Anything that happens before that, it's just progress. 

So I'm sort of getting the feeling that Jacob keeps bringing people to this Island with the hope that their interaction with the Island will eventually evolve to a desired end.

But is Jacob good or evil? We're not sure yet who the good guy and who the bad guy is in that beach conversation.  Jacob sure seemed nice, and he was wearing white where No-Name was wearing black.  However, if I was going to bet money I'd say that Jacob is probably more malevolent than benevolent.  And yes, I do think they have to be polar. 

One thing that was sort of an "answer" about Lost is that at least some of characters were hand-picked to come to the Island (perhaps that's open for interpretation, still).  However you look at it, Jacob reaches out and touches Kate, Sawyer, Jack, Hurley, Sayid, Locke, Sun and Jin at some point in their histories.  (Yay!  Muppet Babies!) How many of the LOST characters did Jacob touch back on the mainland, when, and why?  Will we find out next season that Jacob had touched Charlie and the rest of our original cast at some point (it'd be great if they could bring in as many characters from the first season as possible next year!). Interestingly, he touches Hurley and Sayid at points in their lives after they had spent time on the Island.  Also note that, although we were treated to a flash-back of Muppet Baby Juliet, Jacob is not featured in that scene.   Jacob also contacts Ilana at some point in her life, and they appear to have a pre-established relationship.  

Another interesting side-note about Jacob's visits: he often apologizes for the bad things happening to his future Island residents (see Saywer and Locke).

Speaking of Ilana, although we still don't know the deal about the Ajira gang and their candidate-recruitment program, we do know one thing:  Who lies in the shadow of the statue?: He Who Will Save Us All (in Latin).  

We also discovered in this episode that resurrected Locke (who seemed a bit off after dying, can't we agree?) isn't Locke at all!  He's No-Name!  Now this is where my theory that No-Name is Smokey (or vis-versa) is a bit sticky because No-Name seemed ignorant of what went down between Smokey and Ben in the Temple.  Hmm... 

No-Name/Locke and Ben go to visit Jacob in his four-toed statue hangout and Ben goes ahead and stabs Jacob.  Before No-Name kicks Jacob into the fire-pit, Jacob warns "they're coming." Who's coming? Does he mean the Ajira gang or the 1977 crew or perhaps some third group? 

There's more to discuss (Kate/Jack/Sawyer/Juliet romance issues, for one), but that's all I have in me for now.   I will be watching and blogging about Seasons 1 - 5 of Lost over the summer looking for further insight into this wonderful mess of a show.  Join me! 

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TV - Lost

I've been meaning to post more about Lost, recently.  Obviously, I'm sticking to my baby excuse, but there's also the major issue that Lost is so darn confusing right now, it's hard to start a post! 

Leading into tonight's finale, I thought I'd attempt to jot down a few ideas... 

HUGE QUESTION #1: Can the characters change the past?  

Early-on in Season Five, Faraday said "Whatever Happened, Happened."  Then, later, he said something along the lines of having not-accounted for the variables of *people* and that, hey, maybe we can change the past.  He then continued to concoct a plot where they would blow-up Jughead, thus preventing the hatch from being built, thus preventing the sky from turning purple and tacking down Oceanic flight 815.  Sadly, Faraday died.  However, Jack really likes the idea of having never encountered the Island, and wants to do future versions of Jack a solid and detonate Jughead himself.  

A big part of this question is another question: Did Sayid change history by shooting Ben?  We're lead to assume that at age 11 Ben is shot by Sayid.  Shortly after he is taken to Richard Alpert and undergoes an experience that makes him *different* and erases his memory.  Therefore, Ben's history was NOT changed by Sayid: that always happened.  However, did Ben's mind get erased?  Or is it part of Ben's tricky nature that he has always remembered Sayid, Juliet, Sawyer, Jack, Kate, etc... when he encounters them again in the 2004 post-crash era?  So let's go ahead and label this issue MEDIUM QUESTION #1: Does Ben remember getting shot by Sayid? (This question encapsulating the issues of whether or not Sayid changed history, and if Ben's mind was truly erased, and how Ben's mind was erased if in fact it was erased.) 

HUGE QUESTION #2: Is the Island all about redemption? 

Whereas HUGE QUESTION #1 is more Season-Five specific, #2 is more meta, questioning the big-picture purpose of the Island.   Is the Island a deity-like omniscient force?  Probably.  Is it good or evil?  Does it want to deliver it's inhabitants from evil?  Which inhabitants and why? Let's mull this over and attempt tackle this theory over the summer.  Perhaps after re-watching the first five seasons... 

But I will tie in this MEDIUM QUESTION #2: Do all of the leaders of the Others (Widmore, Ben, and Locke) turn evil?  If so, why?  When Ben was leader of the Others, did he resist redemption at some point?  Was the infertility of his followers some sort of punishment for resisting salvation Island-style?  SMALL QUESTION #1: Why can't the Others have babies, and when did this problem arise? We saw this season that Dharma folk could have babies, and of course Claire was able to have a baby on the Island... so why not Ben's Others?  

HUGE QUESTION #3: What "war" is coming? Earlier this season Widmore warned Locke that a war was coming, and Locke should attempt to fight on the correct side.  What is this war?  Is it between Widmore and Ben, like I originally guessed?  What sides to Widmore and Ben represent and what are their differing theologies?  Is the War between Jacob and some other force (some have conjectured that Jacob is anti-Island, and that that's why Locke is now determined to kill Jacob)?  Is the war between those who want to change history (Jack and team Jughead Incident) and those who find that undesirable (like Kate - who appreciates the experiences she underwent on the Island), and if so - how does Locke become a part of this battle when it's taking place in 1977 and he's in 2007? 

MEDIUM QUESTION #3: Who is Richard Alpert? Was he part of the crew of the Blackrock in the 1800s?  Was he a crew member or a slave?  Is he somehow Egyptian? Perhaps in the same sense that the Four-Toed Statue seems Egyptian and there are hieroglyphs everywhere? How come he never ages? How come he bows down to the leader of the Others? What is his relationship with Jacob? 

SMALL QUESTION #2: What is the point of the Ajira flight? It brought the O6, Locke, and Ben back to the Island, but what about these other "What Lies in the Shadow of the Statue" folk? 

I'll end with this little note: someone once called the flash back episodes where you see our characters in their childhood years "Muppet Baby" episodes: hilarious! 

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TV: Lost - Charlotte Age Screw-Up

You've got to feel bad for the writers of Lost.  They have an awful lot of information to keep track and a whole bunch of plot elements to tie together by the end of next season!  

Inevitably, there are going to be screw-ups in continuity, and here's the latest example:  Charlotte's age.  In one episode, Ben listed-off all of Charlotte's personal information including her birthdate: July 2, 1979, meaning she'd be 28 in Lost time.  However, in a more recent episode, we see a young Charlotte running around in 1974, tricky! 

Horrendously, the executive producers blamed the screw-up on the actress who plays Charlotte, saying that she didn't want to market herself as a 37-year-old, and in the confusion of meeting her demands, the scrip continuity got messed-up.  

The actress Rebecca Madar fired back on Facebook that this was untrue and she was being blamed for a writing mistake.  The producers eventually came clean that this was all just a boo-boo and it had been wrong of them to make Madar a scape-goat. 

So the conclusion is, despite what Ben said, Charlotte was actually probably born on the Island in the year 1971.   They could probably let this issue go un-addressed in the show, but it'll be interesting to see if they come up with some excuse in a future episode.  

In another potential screw-up, the fans are all aflutter that there might have been an Easter Egg in the last episode, Namaste, for those who watched Lost on an HD television.  Was there a ghost in Jacob's cabin... or was it just a production staff member caught in a shot?  Take a look for yourself...   It doesn't look like Claire to me, and it also looks like a graphic-tee, which doesn't seem fitting.  I'm going to say this was another boo-boo. 

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TV: Lost - Helpful Radzinsky Reminder

In the episode "Namaste" we are introduced to a character we've only heard of before: Radzinsky.  In case you've forgotten, here's a some background on Radzinsky...

Radzinsky lived in the Hatch (aka "The Swan") with Kelvin Inman and did the duties of pressing the button every 108 minutes.   While working at the Swan, Kevin and Radzinsky created a map of the Island on the back of the "blast-door" that would come down during "lockdown" incidents.  Kevin and Radzinsky learned to fake these incidents so that they could work on the map.  Kevin says that Radzinsky had a photographic memory that aided in keeping an accurate representation of the Island on the door. 

Radzinsky also edited the Swan Orientation film, for unknown reasons.  What information did he leave out and why?

Kevin and Radzinsky were the only members of the DHARMA Initiative who were not killed in the Purge (of those who did not defect to the Hostiles).  

Kevin says that Radzinksy killed himself with a shotgun, leaving a blood-stain on the ceiling of the Hatch. 

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TV: Death Surrounds Us! Part 2

There have been updates on the major deaths that are to take place in Big Love and Lost. 

For Big Love, it's been confirmed that it is a male character.  Now I am putting all of my money on it being Roman.  

For Lost, there will be two deaths: one major, and one major-ish.  In this article, Desmond's picture was featured...  We shall see! I'm thinking the major-ish death could be his beloved Penny. 

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TV: Death Surrounds Us!

I've already mentioned the rumor that a major-character is going to die in the season finale of Big Love.  After last week's episode I'm getting more and more nervous/excited that it'll be Nikki.  I'm nervous because I love her character, and the actress who plays her.  But I'm excited because that would be a major plot-twist and the show could go in some really interesting directions with the family taking such a major hit.  

The more realistic possibility is that Roman will die, and probably by the hands of either Joey or Wanda.   Last week's episode certainly hinted that Alby is definitely close to taking the throne. 

My good friends think it will be Ben!  Super intriguing, and that would definitely come out of left-field. 

In other death news, it's recently been leaked that a "major" character from Lost will die before season's end.  They say it will be a real death, not like Locke has died.  They also say it's a much-beloved character.   We know for sure it's not Kate... so who could it be?  I'm going to have to think about this one for a while... 

Maybe Juliet? 

Maybe Sayid?

Couldn't be Hurley, because he's the only comedic character right now... or could it? 

If it's Sawyer I will lose my cool and cry forever. 

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TV: Lost - Helpful Timeline

I watch Lost religiously, but haven't blogged about it yet.  Part of it is because there are already a billion blogs out there about Lost and a lot of what I have to say is just re-capping what EW's Doc Jensen has taught me or brought to my attention.   

However, recently I'm longing for more information sorting out the big picture of Lost or bringing me some more background to characters or ideas that pop-up.   So I've done some research to help me out and maybe help you, too!   Here is a timeline to help us sort through who has been on the island when. 

Before 1954, we're not sure what's been going on on the island... However, we can assume that "The Hostiles" led by Richard Alpert have been around for a while.  **Perhaps they are the ones who have built the four-toed statue?** They are considered the "native inhabitants" of the Island.   We will refer to these natives as "The Hostiles" until after the Purge, when they become "The Others."

1954: The United States Army arrives on the island to test-detonate a hydrogen bomb. The Hostiles, led by Richard Alpert, kill 18 of their soldiers.  Charles Widmore is one of the Hostiles. 

1950s – 1980s: Charles Widmore becomes the leader of the Hostiles. We know that he ruled for 30 years, and was then exiled due to the scheming of Ben. We also know that he has been searching for the Island for 20 years by 2005.

1970: The Dharma Initiative is created. Benjamin Linus and his Dad join. Daniel Faraday is working for them

1988: Rousseau and company have crashed on the island. They were part of a "Science Expedition" traveling from Tahiti. They picked up a transmission of a voice repeating the numbers and the team decided to change their course and investigate the source of the broadcast.

1992: “The Purge” occurs. The Hostiles launch a toxic gas attack on the Dharma Initiative. It is unknown whether or not Ben masterminded the Purge.  Now the Hostiles have become the Others.

2001: Desmond arrives on the Island.  Also in this year, Juliet arrives on the Island. 

Sometime around 2001, the drug smugglers’ plane crashes onto the island. It contained Yemi (Eko’s brother) and Goldie, as well as many Virgin Mary statues filled with heroin that they were smuggling out of Nigeria.

2003: Henry Gale crashes onto the island from a hot air balloon, attempting to cross the Pacific Ocean.

September 22 2004: Oceanic Flight 815 crashes onto the Island.

December 15, 2004: Naomi parachutes on the Island from the frieghter (the Kahana).

December 21, 2004: Daniel Faraday, Frank, Miles, and Charlotte all land on the Island from the Frieghter crew

December 24 2004: Sayid, Desmond, and Frank arrive on the frieghter

December 26, 2004: The weapon-toting mean guys from the freighter (the mercenaries) arrive on the Island. They are led by Keamy.

December 30, 2004: Desmond, Jack, Kate, Aaron, Sayid, Hurley, Sun and Frank are all on a helicopter headed to the frieghter. It crashes into the ocean. They are saved by Peny's lifeboat, the Searcher.

January 7, 2005: The Oceanic 6 Arrive on the shores of Sumba.

Juanary 13, 2005: The Oceanic 6 are taken to Honolulu and conduct a press conference.

“Early 2008” : Ajira Airways Flight 316 crashes and lands the passengers (including John Locke, Ben, Jack, Hurley, Kate, Frank and newcomers Ilana and Caesar) Where are Sun and Sayid? Not sure, yet.

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