Dharma's Karma Kid, Ethan Rom: William Mapother Checks In

Last year, William Mapother was kind enough to answer some questions for me to share with fellow Lost fans. So immediately following "LaFleur," after discovering that Horace and Amy's baby was named Ethan, I contacted him again in the hopes that he would address that reveal. William is such a sweet person and a good sport; he responded quickly and enthusiastically!

So here is my brief follow-up interview with the Other Man we know so well. There are no spoilers (although I broke my own rule and pried/tried).

Jo: When you filmed the scene with Terry O'Quinn for the Season 5 premiere episode ("Because You Left"), did you know the context - i.e. that Locke had traveled back in time? Did you know which episode your scene was for?

WM: I knew which episode it was for; the script revealed that Locke was in a new time, because of the plane.

Jo: Do you think that Ethan would have shot and killed Locke if the time shift hadn't occurred? Personally, I believe that his gun would have jammed because the island wasn't ready for Locke to die...

WM: Once again, you've out-Losted me! I love the gun-jamming idea. They might've fought to a draw and then gone to get a beer. The island's funny that way.

Jo: When did you find out that your character was born on the island to Horace and Amy Goodspeed?

WM: When I saw the episode! :)

Jo: Is it mere coincidence that you'd worked with Doug Hutchison (in Moola), who plays your on-screen Lost dad Horace?

WM: I hope so, or our solar system is functioning like the island (and that's another conversation). I also worked with Doug on The Burrowers, which is out on DVD in April. The official trailer just came out online too!

[Side note: Clancy Brown (Desmond's former Swan bunk mate Kelvin Inman) is also in that film!]

Jo: While I maintain a strictly spoiler-free site, I am wondering if you can at least tell us whether or not you know if you'll be appearing again this season...

WM: Now you know I can't tell you that! :)

Jo: You're currently filming Prison Break. What can you tell us about that, and what other projects do you have on the horizon?

WM: I'm in the last two episodes of Prison Break, which should air mid-to-late April. I also shot an indie about lacrosse (Warrior), and I have a couple of other projects on the horizon. It's all on my blog!

I love that he found out about his character's history at the same time we all did, when "LaFleur" aired! From recurring roles to series regulars, those writers seem to keep the cast on their toes.

I would like to thank William for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer these questions! He is one of the most accessible, polite and genuine actors that I've ever encountered. I am heading to Los Angeles on Friday for Lost Weekend and was hoping to see him there, but alas - he will be out of town.

Here's hoping we learn more about Dharma baby Ethan before the end of Season 5! After all, he doesn't go by his given name (Goodspeed), he may be the only child to have been conceived and born on the island with success, he probably grew up spending time in Jacob's cabin (which daddy Horace built) and he seems to also be the only Dharma/Other to have survived Ben's 1992 Purge...

Revisiting "He's Our You" & Your Comments

For him the architect of all
Unroofed our planet's starlit hall;
Through voids unknown to worlds unseen
His clearer vision rose serene.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, "Benjamin Peirce"

I don't have time to post many photos to accompany this short second round of questions about "He's Our You," but I wanted to share some new thoughts before the next new episode on Wednesday. Thank you so much for your very insightful comments! I really enjoyed reading and responding to them every week.


BEN'S LIST

When Ben found out he had a spinal tumor (2004), he devised a plan to use Michael (with Walt as bait) to trap Jack so that he would perform the surgery to remove it. The four people on the list that he gave Ms. Klugh to give to Michael were Hurley, Jack, Kate and Sawyer...and all four are currently stuck in 1977 with young Ben. Will we find out that his list relates directly to his interaction with them in the 70's? He could have observed the love triangle between Jack, Kate and Sawyer - and remember how easy it was for Ben to manipulate all three once he had them in cages on Hydra Island. He would also figure out rather quickly that Hurley is the odd man out, but a useful messenger.

Nurby - I am so with you regarding the infamous breakfast on the beach between Ben and Kate shortly after she was captured in Season 3. We have yet to find out what was said, but I agree that it is still relevant and significant!

Josh - I used to think that Ben had no idea that Flight 815 would break apart above New Otherton in 2004, but Matthew Abaddon's admission about making sure that Locke was on that flight changed my mind entirely. Locke couldn't have been the only one who was purposefully placed on that fateful plane, and Ben's sarcastic remark about a spinal surgeon dropping from the sky almost convinces me that he knew Jack was coming. And now we know why Sayid was on that flight...

Upon a second viewing of the episode, this particular line of dialogue from Ben to Sayid grabbed my attention because of the double entendre: "You are capable of things that Other men aren't."

Kristiano1, I thought the same thing after watching again - that when older Ben went to Sayid in the Dominican Republic, it certainly seemed like he knew/remembered that Sayid had shot him as a child.

The security camera watching the jail cell would have captured young Ben's release of Sayid...Ben must have disconnected it.

Daddy Linus is a first class a-hole, but what will his reaction be when he finds out that his son was shot?

Ashlie wonders if perhaps Ben is also undead or ageless (like Alpert), and if course correction plays a role. Ben has certainly escaped death on many occasions, from the tumor to the relentless beatings at the hands of the Losties and Keamy, etc. Matt takes it one step further, and I love it - the island is constantly trying to kill Ben but fails to do so.

Geez - I always thought that Widmore was the economist, and not Ben. But Ben has said that he can't kill Widmore, and the economist was on Sayid's hit list, so I'm probably way off.

FARADAY

SisterCinematicallyCorrect - hi and welcome! As for Faraday's whereabouts, I believe he's still there in 1977...just secretly working and living on a different part of the island. We've seen him as Dharma Dan down below where they're building the Orchid, so I am guessing that he disappeared from Jack & co. to proceed with his secret spy time travel work (as outlined in his notebook).

I am actually quite looking forward to when Faraday and Pierre Chang/Dr. Candle join forces to create that video about the future.

ILANA

When she reveals herself to be a bounty hunter of sorts after kicking Sayid's ass (see photo below), she tells him "you're going to answer for what you've done." It sounds like retribution for changing the rules (shooting young Ben), not revenge for killing Avellino on the golf course.

I am starting to think along the same lines as lectric74, who believes that Ilana was more likely to have been hired by Widmore than Ben. Conversely, I also like Geez's idea that if she is working for Ben, perhaps Caesar is working for Widmore.

JACK

Will Janitor Jack work with or meet Deadbeat Dad Linus? There only seem to be a handful of Dharma janitors after all. Seems to me that Sheriff Sawyer assigned the Doc this position not as punishment, but as someone who can monitor Ben's dad (with or without knowing that is his task at hand).

When Juliet is staring out the window at Kate's house, she emerges with Jack. And when Sawyer knocks on Kate's door later that night, it seems like she has company. Are Jack and Kate shacking up again and playing house now too? Note to Freckles: it's not a competition.

OLDHAM

Is he a precursor to Jacob? He lives on the outskirts and also seems to have an aversion to modern technology.

Does Oldham die in Ben's 1992 Purge?

RADZINSKY

I am surprised that Sayid's mention of arrival on the island via plane did not ring a bell with Radzinsky (given that Jin recently demanded that he call all Dharma stations to find out if they'd seen an airplane land on the island).


SAYID

Why does he mention the Dharma stations/hatches in past tense? The Flame and the Swan were blasted and out of service, but not the Pearl.

"THE WAR" vs. "THE INCIDENT"

By now we know that the season finale is called "The Incident," but what of "the war" that Widmore warns Locke about? (thanks to SisterCinematicallyCorrect for reminding me about that!). Do Sayid's actions set off the war between the Losties and the Others? If so, where do the Hostiles and Richard Alpert fit in?

SoFutureGeneration believes that the future may have been changed by one of these events, as evidenced by the abandoned Dharmaville that Sun and Lapidus enter in an unknown era. So will we discover that the future is altered by Sayid shooting Ben, or by the Incident?
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Apologies for the brevity. Feel free to comment on any of the above and I will try to address your thoughts in the next blog or two. More to come after this week's episode!

LOST Anagrams: Updated

A little over a year ago, I posted a list of anagrams that may or may have been purposefully inserted into Lost episodes. There have been plenty of new possibilities, so here they are (new anagrams listed first, older ones below):

CANTON-RANIER

Reincarnation
[Ben's van for Locke/Bentham coffin transport]

CHARLIE HUME
Cure Him, Heal
[see my crazy Baby Charlie theory for relevance]

HIERONYMUS
Hume's Irony
[Charlie's middle name]

CHRISTIAN
Crash In It
[the coffin; perhaps the reanimation portal for him & Locke]

CLEMENTINE FORD
Conned, Life Term
[parents Sawyer & Cassidy are con artists]

HARPER STANHOPE
An Other Perhaps
[Goodwin's wife, the Others' therapist]

KEVIN JOHNSON
No Knives, John

"ONLY FOOLS ARE ENSLAVED BY TIME AND SPACE"
Bones of Nadlers May Lay Lost In Deep Cave
[quote played backward from Room 23 brainwashing video;
Rose & Bernard Nadler may be Adam & Eve skeletons discovered in Season 1]

RAY SHEPHARD
Hydra Has Rep
Hydra Seraph
[Dharma station on smaller island where Jack was held in empty aquarium; perhaps granddad used to be Dharma]

THERESA SPENCER
Each Represents
[mystery woman from Faraday's past, comatose]

WESTeRFIELd HOTeL
We First To Hell
[anagram from illuminated letters on sign; hotel where Ben killed Locke]

ANTHONY COOPER/ADAM SEWARD
Sawyer, the con man, a poor dad
[Locke's dad, the real Sawyer]

BENJAMIN LINUS
Blame in Jin, Sun

DANIELLE ROUSSEAU
A Real Lie Used On Us

ETHAN ROM
Other Man
The Roman

GARY TROUP
Purgatory

[author of Bad Twin, manuscript found on beach]

HENRY GALE MINNESOTA
See An Other Man Lying

[Ben used the name of deceased hot air balloonist]

HERARAT Aviation
Her a Rat
Earhart
[Juliet's last stop before taking sub to island]

HOFFS/DRAWLAR Funeral Parlor
Flash Forward
[Bentham's temporary storage after death]

MITTELOS BioScience
Lost Time
[Alpert's recruitment front]

MORIAH VINEYARDS
Harmed Visionary
[Desmond's brief monastery home; where he met Penny]

NAOMI DORRIT
Raid Monitor

[Hired by Matthew Abaddon to bring Freighter Four to island]

Obviously the possibilities are endless, and very few anagrams have actually been confirmed. But the fun is in the speculation! I will update this list before Season Six.

LOST Season 5 Finale Date, Time & Title

(photos courtesy of ABC)

Because I've received numerous inquiries about the date, time and title of the Season 5 finale of Lost, I wanted to provide information about all remaining episodes:

April 1: Episode 5.11, "Whatever Happened, Happened"

April 8: Episode 5.12, "Dead is Dead"

April 15: Episode 5.13, "Some Like it Hoth"

April 22: repeat

April 29: Episode 5.14, "The Variable" [the 100th episode!]

May 6: Episode 5.15, "Follow the Leader"

May 13: Episodes 5.16-5.17, "The Incident, Parts 1 & 2" [season finale]

For those of you who are annoyed to see another repeat in the schedule, I will simply say this...they have given us an intense and excellent season thus far. The cast, crew, story and overall production value of this show far exceeds almost every other show on television week after week. Let's be patient. I'm confident that it will be worth the wait. If the last four season finales are any indication, we are in for quite a ride.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to remain spoiler-free, but so far so good. Thank you very much for not posting or emailing me spoilers!

LOST, Episode 5.10 - "He's Our You"

I still can't find the meaning of the face I keep on seeing

Was she real or am I dreaming?
Did the sound of your name TURN A WHEEL, strike a FLAME in me?
The Jackson 5, "Torture"

I'm sure I speak for most of you when I say...wow. Again. Although we knew that the Little Linus/Sayid connection in 70's Dharmaville could potentially put the mini manipulator in danger, I was still quite surprised when Sayid pulled the trigger.

Other than that, I really enjoyed the return of traditional flashbacks and the lack of time shifts in this episode.

AND, we yelled out (to no one in particular) when we saw Sayid first meet Ilana; it was in Nobu Waikiki - we had drinks at that very bar last month, and the bartender told us that Naveen Andrews was recently there filming a scene! For the record, I did not see MacCutcheon. And yes, I looked even though I realize that it is a fictional liquor.

But my head is spinning like a dislodged Geronimo Jackson record, so let's get started with the thoughts and theories...

ANN ARBOR, MI

When I heard Radzinsky talk about calling Ann Arbor, my first thought was that he meant Pierre Chang (Dr. Marvin Candle), because Chang mentions he's from there in the Comic-Con 08 Barracks video. However, I then recalled that the DeGroots founded the Dharma Initiative in 1970 when they were working on their PhD's at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (as mentioned in the Swan orientation film). They are also seen in the Pearl orientation film.

AMY

Still don't trust her. I am starting to believe that she's a spy for Richard Alpert and the Hostiles, that the picnic outside of the sonic fence with her first husband Paul was a set up, and that she knew Sayid wasn't a Hostile even though she pretended to be fearful of him.

ANNIE

Is Ben's childhood girlfriend still living in Dharmaville? If not, where did she go?

BEN

It seems rather obvious that Ben hired Ilana to get Sayid on that Ajira flight, given his first-hand knowledge about Sayid's weakness for hot mysterious women. Also, Ben would have been the only one to know that Sayid killed Avellino, so he chose that particular victim's name for Ilana's bounty hunter cover. I wonder if Ben also hired the Marshall to get Kate onto Flight 815...

Does the island let Ben die? In the future, he gets a spinal tumor - but it's never really been clear whether or not the island protects him.

How will Ben's "death" affect his future relationship with Richard Alpert if young Ben really thought that Sayid was a Hostile? Could it be that Alpert comes to respect, trust and work for Ben after he witnesses him come back to life?

It is interesting to note that no one intervenes to save or help young Ben. Not Alpert, future Locke, Smokey, etc.

Is there any significance to the fact that in the future, Ben is unconscious after being knocked out by Sun's oar, and in the past, Ben is unconscious after being shot by Sayid? I am far too tired to analyze whether it is a purposeful paradox or irrelevant coincidence...

HURLEY

I've always said that I'm more likely to trust a chef who looks like they eat (no offense, Giada De Laurentiis), so I love that Hurley is a Dharma cook.


ILANA

In retrospect, she didn't seem all that concerned about Sayid's whereabouts once the Ajira flight landed on the island and he'd disappeared. If she was indeed hired by Ben, perhaps she was told that might happen (even if Ben didn't give specific details how or why).

Now that she's on the island, what will her role be? Spy for Ben? Or was her purpose served, and will she meet her fate a la Naomi?

KATE

So why did Freckles return? I don't think it was for Sawyer or to update his favor request. I'm assuming it has to do with Aaron. Whomever has him probably made the trade by threatening his life unless she returned to the island.

When Sawyer went to her house, was Jack inside? Is that why she looked behind her and then shut the door to speak with him outside? Did she pull her usual I-can't-have-him-so-I'll-sleep-with-you trick again?

MILES

Donde esta?

If he is Pierre Chang's son, and he is somehow able to communicate that fact to his father (even though Miles would also be there as a baby at the same time)...is that what convinces Chang to believe in the island's abilities, time shifts, etc., and lead him to create the Barracks video? Many of us have assumed that Faraday was the one who informs Chang about the future because we think it's his voice behind the camera, but Miles may have played a role as well.

OLDHAM

Bravo to the casting staff on Lost for choosing William Sanderson to play Oldham. He is the king of creepy awesome, as any Deadwood fans would know from his underrated role as Farnum.

Given the strict rules of "the truce" and the sonic fence, why is Oldham allowed to live on his own on the outskirts of Dharmaville? Clearly he is not afraid of anyone or anything, and although they brush him off as crazy, he holds some power over the Others. Could he be Jacob?

RADZINSKY

Two words: loose cannon.

SAYID

In The Economist, Ben said the following to Sayid: "These people don’t deserve our sympathies. Need I remind you what they did the last time you thought with your heart instead of your gun?" I love that Sayid used his gun this time. (I am obviously so not in favor of shooting a kid; just Ben in general).

What ever happened to Sayid's brother?

Add Sayid to the long list of Losties with daddy issues.

Should I now be concerned about the fate of favorite male Lost character of all time? Will the island/Jacob/Alpert avenge Ben's "death" and send Smokey to take care of Sayid? I seriously hope not.

[Side note: if the PTB (powers that be) kill off either Sayid or Juliet (my top 2)...I will be very disappointed. Reminder: please keep your comments spoiler-free; if you've heard anything about the future of any character, please do not share that information here. Thank you in advance!]

WIDMORE

Ben was having Sayid kill all of Widmore's associates. Not because they were a threat to Sayid, any of the other Oceanic 6 or those left on the island...but because Widmore changed the rules when Alex was killed.

PARALLELS

• Ben brought Sayid a book when he was in jail, Locke brought Ben a book when he was being held beneath his New Otherton house.
  

• Sawyer watched as Oldham "tortured" Sayid via hallucinogenic drug while tied up to a tree, Sayid tied up Sawyer to a tree and tortured him in Season 1 to find out where he was hiding Shannon's inhalers.

• Ben set a Dharma van on fire to distract everyone and set Sayid free, Walt set the raft on fire in Season 1 because he didn't want to leave the island. On second thought, the only similarity is fire...

A Separate Reality (Ben's book)

It is about apprenticeship, which clearly ties into Richard Alpert's relationship with Ben. But there is also the use of psychotropic plants, which reminds me of Locke's Season 3 sweat lodge paste and Oldham's truth serum used on Sayid tonight.


THE FUTURE

Faraday has reiterated that they can't change the future; that what happened, happened. Even though he's been a few sandwiches short of a picnic since Big Red's death, I'm still following his train of thought. He has the infamous notebook of secrets after all, from thirty years of time travel back and forth from the island to...a separate reality.

That being said, will Sayid's actions have any impact on Ben's future purge or "the incident?"

NOT ENTIRELY CRAZY THEORIES OF THE NIGHT

1. Just as he did when he saved Ben's life by removing the spinal tumor, Jack will save young Ben's life.

2. Little Linus transforms into Lethal Linus after being shot by Sayid as a kid. His entire purpose and plan are altered by this...incident. Including his lifelong obsession with Juliet.

3. Radzinsky is panicked that Sayid saw the model of the Swan (even though it's unclear whether Sayid even registered what he saw) because it will become or house an island wormhole/exit. We know that whomever turns the Frozen Donkey wheel winds up in Tunisia, but perhaps there is more than one way to (time) travel from the island. Entering the numbers into the computer directly relates to the wormhole and the electromagnetic field above or surrounding the island, which is why Hawking emphasized to Desmond that the most important thing he would do in his life is push those buttons.

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That about does it for the first round of initial thoughts about "He's Our You." I have no doubt that there will be a second round sooner than later, given the magnitude of that last scene and the resulting ramifications for the remainder of the season and series.

I appreciate your patience and eyes. Thank you for reading and sharing; as an Anonymous reader astutely recognized in a recent comment...I love receiving and reading your feeding more than anything. It is why I continue to analyze and discuss Lost with great enthusiasm.

Enjoy the rest of your week, rewatch the episode (or at least "the scene") and stay tuned for more lucid theories soon!

If You Seek Amy: Revisiting "Namaste" & Your Comments

I think 17 comments is a new record for an episode blog, so thank you very much to all who contributed! After reading all of your thoughts about "Namaste" and also watching it for a second time, I thought it deserved another post. Let the analysis begin.

AMY

I don't know any woman who would be chilling out on a hammock only 12 hours or so after giving birth, let alone one on an island who's child was delivered prematurely by a mechanic slash fertility doctor while her husband was sobering up after missing the birth of his son. I'm just saying...

Also, why is it that Amy seems to be the only person in Dharmaville who does not wear a jumpsuit? She wasn't wearing one when Paul got shot during their picnic, but he was. We know she had a job in the processing center...

BEN & JULIET

Aunt J-ha makes a compelling point about Ben's obsession with Juliet; that his infatuation started back in the 70's when he first saw her and developed a crush. I love it, and think that the entire recruitment process to get her to the island (meeting with Alpert via Mittelos, ex husband killed by bus, etc.) was fueled by Ben's lifelong desire to reunite with her. Not to mention the creepy portrait of the woman with the long blond hair in Ben's New Otherton house, and that various people kept telling Juliet that she looked like 'her.'

And yes, I realize that the woman in the painting looks more like Renee Zellweger than Elizabeth Mitchell. ;)

HORACE

Wezeralus - I still believe that Horace did die in Ben's 1992 purge, which was 12 years prior to his 2004 ghost appearance during Locke's dream. And although he did have a nosebleed when he was talking to Locke, I believe it related to his death by gas rather than time travel.

ILANA

I know that many of you will disagree with me here, but when Caesar went to check on Ilana after they landed on the island, it seemed she mumbled the word 'Sarah.' Some might argue that she said 'Jarrah' because Sayid was in her custody before the flash/crash. There have been two women named Sarah on Lost thus far; Jack's ex-wife and Ana Lucia (who was given that alias by Christian Shephard when they went on a drinking binge together in Sydney). It would certainly be fascinating to find out that she has a connection to either...

JACK

When Jack was being processed by Pierre Chang, wouldn't he recognize him as Dr. Candle from the Orientation film that he and Locke watched in the Swan? Wouldn't that bell have gone off in his head after watching Candle in the Barracks video that was playing before he got processed?

JULIET & SAWYER

Perhaps this is wishful thinking, but when Juliet responds to Amy's inquiry about when she and Sawyer might consider having a baby together ("TIMING'S gotta be right"), it made me wonder if she meant era. Of course I would much prefer to find out at the end of the series that she and Sawyer stayed together and had a baby rather that he and Kate...

LAPIDUS

When Ajira flight 316 started to lose power and Lapidus realized what was happening, did he attempt to reprogram the plane to follow Faraday's coordinates? I realize that he didn't have much time, but he certainly had experience attempting to avoid crashing on or near that island when he piloted the freighter helicopter...

PRODUCTION/CONTINUITY ERRORS?

There is great debate whether or not the woman who briefly appears behind Sun as she talks with Christian is a production error or if she is Claire, Charlotte, Annie, etc. In this day and age of HD, and with the intense fan scrutiny, I would be very surprised if it was an error.

1MileToGo made an excellent point about Dr. Marvin Candle as well...he was wearing a Swan lab coat in the Barracks video that played while new Dharma recruits were getting processed, and yet that hatch wasn't built yet. Simple continuity error?


RADZINSKY

1MileToGo noticed that Radzinsky was paranoid about the Hostiles finding out about the Swan. Was it because of what they were planning to build it atop of?

It seems quite significant that Radzinsky says to Sawyer:

"This whole thing is an act, and we either play into it or we don't. We can end this right now."

He may have been referring to Sayid, but that statement is far too relevant given what we've witnessed over the last five seasons; the Others' fake Hostile facial hair & costumes, fake Other village near the water where Walt got to see Michael, Inman's fake hazmat suit purpose, etc. Given that Radzinsky eventually draws the hatch blast door map, perhaps he starts to question his purpose and use on the island...

SAWYER

I know that they haven't had the opportunity to spend much time together yet, but I'm wondering when he'll ask Kate about that favor he whispered before jumping out of the helicopter, and if we'll find out whether it relates to his daughter Clementine.

SMOKEY

lectric74 believes that the Black Smoke Monster was briefly visible when the door opened behind Sun and Lapidus in the deserted Dharmaville rec room, which may indicate that Smokey controls Christian. I'm not sure if it controls him, but Christian may certainly be one of Smokey's many manifestations.

Tyler is wondering if there was something else in the bushes as Sun and Lapidus walked down the dock, and if that entity (separate/different from Smokey) first appeared in the pilot episode of Season 1. I like that possibility, and wonder if it is yet another security system...

SUN

Upon a second viewing of this episode, I noticed the parallels between Sun's second arrival on the island and Rose's initial one. Both were playing with their wedding rings and worried about their husbands right before the planes went down, and both were on the beach staring out at sea afterward...knowing that their spouses were still alive and somewhere on that island.

THE SWAN HATCH

lectric74 noted that the energy beneath the Swan is electromagnetic in nature, rather than nuclear. Even though it would then seem that Jughead was not buried under there, Faraday's instructions to his mom (young Ellie) about the bomb in 1954 seemed very significant:

"Do you people have any access to lead or concrete? There's a crack in the casing. It needs to be filled with lead. You need to take it off this platform carefully and bury it. You do what I say, you bury it, it won't go off. Bury it, and everything will be fine."

Because the very mention of concrete brings to mind the sealed off sections of the Swan that Sayid and Jack explored in Season 1:

"The last time I heard of concrete being poured over everything in this way was Chernobyl."

Chernobyl was a NUCLEAR power plant. When that disastrous accident occurred, massive quantities of radioactivity was released. To me, that will be "the incident" on Lost that we have yet to see.

WHAT HAPPENED, HAPPENED?

1MileToGo thinks that it's possible that the Others never moved into Dharmaville; that the Losties in 1977 may have changed what happens in 2007. I like that idea, but I am not exactly sure WHEN Sun and Lapidus were.

Anonymous 3 is thinking that perhaps the "purge" and "the incident" never happen; that by changing events in the past, the Losties somehow prevent catastrophic events in the future. He/she reminds us about Locke's constant talk about destiny on the island, and that it's possible that none of the 'bad' things happen down the road because of what we're seeing now.

YOUNGER VERSIONS OF SELVES

Anonymous 1 was the first person to point out the possibility that Ben, Sun and Lapidus were not stuck in 1977 with the other Losties because they were already there as younger versions of themselves. To which I say, bravo! We've already seen young Ben with Sayid, and given Mr. Paik's wealth and mystery history...it seems entirely plausible that he worked with Dharma in the 70's and young Sun spent some time on the island with the family. Side note: perhaps young Sun taught young Charlotte how to speak Korean. As for Lapidus, since we know relatively nothing about him, that door is wide open as well.

If one cannot cross paths with themselves in earlier eras, then Miles is NOT Pierre Chang's child (thanks to Kalionan for questioning that!) because he's currently stuck in 1977. However, we do know that the baby is a boy, so it can't be Sun.
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Kris - I will totally create a lengthy list of lingering questions after the end of Season 5! As for Michael, yes - I believe he is long gone (and not only has the actor moved on to another series, he burned bridges by making controversial comments about Lost killing off many African-American characters). As for the whereabouts of flight attendant Cindy and the tail section kids, that is one of my longest running frustrations with regard to loose ends on the show.

Thanks again for your comments - keep them coming! Obviously most of what I write about is pure speculation, and I'm often wrong, so you keep me on my toes.

See you later this week!

LOST, Episode 5.09 - "Namaste"

Riding on a thought to see where it's from,
Gliding through a memory of a time yet to come.
The Beastie Boys, "Namaste"

Through five seasons, I never truly considered that the title of the show is about us rather than them. Tonight was the first time that I actually said "I'm lost" out loud. It happened when Sun and Lapidus arrived on the main island, and that they were in a different era than Jin, Sawyer, etc. Even though they were on the same plane as Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sayid. It only took me 91 or so episodes to realize that Abrams and Lindelof knew exactly what they were creating and how it would affect us.

I digress. Let's dig in to "Namaste" and see if I land on a runway or below a waterfall...

THE FLAME STATION

At what point does Mikhail arrive and run that communications hub? When Radzinsky moves into the Swan?

NEW RECRUITS

So if Sheriff Sawyer embedded Hurley, Jack and Kate as the fresh-off-the-sub recruits, what did he do with the real ones who arrived?

Why was there going to be six months before the next batch of recruits were going to arrive? What happened to every two weeks?

The two recruits that 'dropped out' - did they do so before getting on the sub from wherever it left?

PARALLELS

• Frank's Ajira 316 co-pilot was impaled by a tree. Flight 815 pilot Seth Norris was killed atop one.

• Juliet was checking the Dharma submarine manifest while holding baby Ethan in 1977. In 2004, Hurley discovered that Ethan was not on the Flight 815 manifest, resulting his death shortly thereafter.
  

• When young Ben first meets Sayid, Sayid is being prisoner in Dharmaville. When Sayid first meets older Ben, Ben is being held prisoner in the Swan Hatch.

THE RUNWAY

Juliet said that the Others were building one...but that was in 2004 or 2005. Assuming that Ajira 316 'landed' in 2007 or beyond, when was the runway finished, and by whom?

Of course someone knew that a plane would be landing there in the future. Ben is the logical guess. Or Widmore.

THE SWAN HATCH

Radzinsky was building the model for it, which was featured in the very first Orientation film that Desmond had in the Swan (featuring Dr. Marvin Candle; it was dated 1980 - see still above). Remember that Radzinsky was the one who sliced out certain sections of that very film, and that Eko found the remainder of it in the Bible (in the Arrow hatch). That Orientation film references 'the incident,' which obviously takes place at some point between 1977 and 1980. [side note: Because this is a spoiler-free blog, if you've heard anything about this, please do not share/spoil in the Comments section. Thank you!]

So if someone did indeed bury Jughead and cover it with cement (as instructed by Faraday), did Radzinsky and Dharma build the Swan over it?

BEN

By 1977, young Ben had already met up with a Hostile-clothed Richard Alpert in the jungle. He asked to join them, and Alpert told him he had to be very patient. So was Ben inquiring if Sayid was a Hostile because he wants to help him?

Does Ben recognize Sayid when they meet again in 2004?

CAESAR & ILANA

I was surprised to learn that they don't know one another. But if they're the next Jack and Kate, shoot me now.

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD

In addition to being...lost, that was my favorite WTF moment of the episode. I was pleasantly surprised that both Sun and Lapidus were able to not only see but hear him. So is he merely a visible mouthpiece for Jacob?

The only other time we heard 'the whispers' followed by a Christian appearance was when he told Michael he "can go now" on the freighter right before it blew up.

It seems that era was shortly after Ben's 1992 Dharma purge but before he transformed Dharmaville into New Otherton. Have we seen Christian on the island before the 2004 crash of Flight 815, when his body arrived there in the coffin? This is a significant appearance and piece of the puzzle...

ETHAN

So much for the awesome theory that Horace and Amy's baby was going to be Jacob (sorry Josh!).

If I had to guess, Ethan will be the only baby to be conceived and born on the island because he was two weeks premature, and arrived before 'the incident' (which I think is the cause of the island's infertility issue).

Ethan is the only Dharma-era person to survive Ben's purge in 1992. So where was he when Ben killed daddy Horace and the rest of their people? Did Ben spare him? Given that Ben dispatches Ethan to the beach to infiltrate the fuselage survivors from Flight 815 in the future...he didn't value Ethan very much. Or care that he was the only kid to be born under special circumstances.

Daddy Horace was building (what would become Jacob's) cabin for he and mommy Amy as a little getaway from Dharmaville. So we can assume that son Ethan spent a good deal of time there. But Jacob must not have placed too much value on Ethan or his circumstances either, given that the island let Ethan die when Charlie shot him.

Why did he call himself Ethan Rom and not Goodspeed? Well, they do love to use anagrams on this show, and that name lends itself to several relevant options?

• OTHER MAN
  
• ERA, MONTH
• THE ROMAN (hmm...perhaps he and Caesar have a connection)
  

Now that we know Juliet delivered Ethan, it is interesting to look back at their relationship. He stalked her in Miami while recruiting her to Mittleos Bioscience with Alpert (when he told her "knew of her work;" I have to wonder if he was talking about himself) and then drugged her for the sub journey to the island. He fixed her plumbing in New Otherton. He worked with her lover Goodwin at The Tempest. He pretended to be a fertility doctor with Claire.

FARADAY

We last saw him freaking out over seeing a young Charlotte, knowing that he'd turn into an evil man who'd frighten and warn her. So does he leave because of that, even though "what happened, happened?"

What year was it when Faraday was under the Orchid as Pierre Chang and the Dharma workers discovered the Frozen Donkey Wheel? Was it during the three years that he was there with Sawyer and Juliet?

KATE

Besides being her usual vague and twitchy self, Kate seems to have lost her anger and edge since arriving back on the island. I actually hope that she's pregnant with Jack's child. Leave my Juliet alone, Freckles.

MILES

IF he is Pierre Chang's son...do they cross paths during that era? Given that Faraday thought his own young mother (Ellie) looked familiar in 1954, I doubt that Miles would recognize Chang as his father. Unless that is why Miles is "exactly where I want to be" when he first arrives on the island; that he went on the Freighter Four mission in the first place to discover his roots.

Did the little ghostbuster lose his special powers when he traveled back in time? Seems to me his skills would have come in handy if he was communicating with the dead during those three years...

RADZINSKY

We know that eventually, he moves into the Swan with Kelvin Inman. He is the one who created the infamous hatch blast door map. Inman later told Desmond that Radzinsky killed himself in the Swan. Will we see these events unfold?

SAWYER

Loved that he schooled Jack upon his return. Looks like Jack is going to have to adjust to the new sheriff in town.

SUN

Why was she the only one of the Oceanic 6 to remain on the plane when it landed; why were Hurley, Jack, Kate and Sayid all 'placed' on the main island after the flash?

When she and Lapidus were walking from the outrigger into Dharmaville, what was that movement in the bushes? If it was Smokey, he wouldn't have merely lingered there. They wouldn't just write that in unless it is significant later...

Sun throttling Ben over the head with the oar was my second favorite Power Sun moment ever; the first was her bitch slap of Juliet after she told Jin about Sun's affair.

RANDOM NOTE

In the Season 3 episode called "Enter 77," Locke was playing chess on Mikhail's computer in The Flame when Pierre Chang popped up (as Dr. Marvin Candle) in a video, asking him to press 77 if there was a "hostile incursion." The only reason this struck me is that we're now witnessing The Flame...in 1977.


CRAZY THEORY OF THE WEEK

I know I'm tired, but I could have sworn that Claire appeared very briefly behind Sun as she was talking to Christian Shephard about Jin's whereabouts. Because I believe that Claire passed away, it makes sense that she and daddy would be spirits in the material world, together. And there was an odd bit of smoke there as well, which could have been a very quiet Smokey (before his rage issues manifested).

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Apologies for the short post this evening. I'm sure that when I have more time and after a second viewing, I will have far more to analyze and discuss. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and read. Please leave your thoughts and theories as Comments, and enjoy the rest of your week!

LOST Episode Recaps

I just wanted to let you know that if you're interested in weekly episode recaps of Lost, I am now writing "Lost Askew" posts over on TVOvermind. That is my outlet for infusing sarcasm (channeling Sawyer) and poking a bit of fun at our favorite dramatic series, because I tend to focus on more serious (channeling Jack) theorizing here every week.

Because it is a new feature, I have only covered "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" and "LaFleur" thus far. But keep visiting after each new episode for a recap, and peruse the site for great coverage of other shows as well!

Josh's JACOB Theory

One of my blog readers, fellow Lost fan Josh, sent me this very interesting theory about Jacob today. With his permission, I am posting it below! You'll see that I have responded to a few of his points as well.

So analyze & comment away! I only ask that you do so in the same respectful, constructive manner that you do for my theories if and when you disagree. ;)

In 1974, Paul was killed by two of the Others, but we do not know what they were going to do with his wife Amy. They put a bag on her head, which made me think that they didn't want her to know where they were going to take her, not that they were going to kill her.

I believe that Amy is Jacob's mother. They mention how all pregnant women were taken back to the mainland to give birth; taken off the island because as we already know, women were unable to birth babies conceived on the island.

So whether Amy was captured by the Others or saved by Sawyer & crew, she was still going to become pregnant and give birth to a baby boy ON THE ISLAND, TWO WEEKS PREMATURE (don't forget that both Ben and Locke were born prematurely as well).

Her baby, JACOB, was the only known child to have been conceived and born on the island, making him very special. In 1974, mom Amy was captured by the Others, which may explain why Jacob becomes their leader. But Sawyer & crew intervened, so Jacob may be raised as part of the Dharma Initiative, which would then change the outcome of the PURGE or the WAR that is coming (as mentioned by Charles Widmore).

I believe that when Jacob was older, he became the first person on the island to go into the well/Orchid and travel back in time. This would explain how, in 1954, Richard Alpert recognized the name Jacob when Locke told him that "Jacob sent me." If Jacob were a time-traveler that had contacted Richard for reasons still unknown, that would explain why Locke mentioned Jacob to Richard in 1954. Only Richard seemed affected; young Widmore and Ellie did not even flinch, as if the name had no meaning. This is probably because time-traveling Jacob only spoke to Richard about what he must do to preserve the island's future.

JACOB'S CABIN

Jacob is in the cabin because he is the son of Horace (who built the cabin). Horace brought his son to the secret cabin as a young boy, which explains the entire connection!

The cabin is always moving and cannot be seen by just anyone, because it no longer exists. Jacob has passed away but remains a very powerful spirit on the island; he is held prisoner in that cabin by the ash that surrounds it. I have read so many books and seen so many movies where spirits are kept in or out by some sort of ash or brick dust. Jacob, having passed/died but still being an active spirit, has the ability to toss objects in the cabin and reanimate dead bodies on the island, such as Christian Shephard (whose body has been missing from his coffin since Season 1) and Eko's brother Yemi (who died on the island in the small plane crash).

Jacob himself can only be heard in the cabin by the people who are aware of his existence. Locke, not really believing in Jacob, heard the “help me” faintly. Ben was concerned that Locke heard Jacob and wanted to know what he had said (because he is keeping Jacob trapped there). Ben must keep Jacob contained within that ash/dust because he is so powerful, but also still needs to consult with him regarding the welfare of the island, which was Jacob’s original intent.

[Jo: we've yet to witness anyone but Locke hear Jacob speak; if he has communicated with Ben or Alpert, we've never been in on it]

Jacob is trapped in that circle of dust; he lives in a manifestation of the secret cabin he used to visit with his father as a boy. The same reason he can only be heard by the people who are aware of his existence is the same reason only certain people can see the cabin, like Locke, Ben, and Hurley for some unknown reason.

When Charlotte died, Faraday mentioned how her body moved on with the island and that they were stuck in place (living in normal time but in 1974). This would explain how the cabin was always moving before the donkey wheel was turned. Locke, who was looking for the cabin, was stuck in place (living in normal time - 24hr days, 365 days a year) but the cabin was always moving because it is exactly like the dead Charlotte (a spirit of the island moving along with it).

CLAIRE

This theory would also lead me to assume that Claire is dead, which in my opinion is the only reason she left Aaron behind and acted like she could care less about anything when spotted by Locke in the cabin. As another spirit of the island (like Christian and Yemi), Claire is being reanimated by Jacob as well,. Claire being dead and an active spirit (not nearly as powerful as Jacob) would explain why she doesn't seem concerned about Aaron. But in Kate’s dream, she is visited by Claire’s spirit, who is very concerned for the well being on her son.

CHARLIE

Charlie reappeared at the mental institution, that could have been Hurley’s schizophrenia. Jacob can use these bodies to talk with people, but can’t actually interact himself. That would also explain why, when Locke asks Christian to help him up (he has a compound fracture in his leg), he says “NO.”

[Jo: I would say that Hurley may have a mental illness or is just 'special,' but he does not necessarily suffer from schizophrenia. But I do love the idea that the deceased are being used as mouthpieces for Jacob, delivering messages to the Losties on and off the island!]

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I would like to thank Josh for sharing his detailed theory with us, and encourage all of you to do the same! Not everyone has a blog or likes to explore Lost thoughts with people via message board/forum, so feel free to email me and I'd be happy to post for all to ponder!

Video Interviews w/Darlton, Ben, Jack & Kate!

My friend Jace (author of the stellar television news & reviews site Televisionary) recently had the opportunity to interview Damon, Carlton, Michael Emerson, Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly for Sky1!

* MINOR SPOILER ALERT; watch at your own risk.

Live LOST Chat on Wednesday Night!

Although there is not a new episode airing tomorrow night, please join me for a live (text) chat with Ryan McGee and his very cool team from Zap2It's Guide to Lost at 5:30pm PST! Click on the live chat link above to log in and participate or simply read along tomorrow evening.

We will be answering your questions and discussing your comments, as well as analyzing what we've seen in Season 5 thus far and offering up our crazy theories about what's to come.

So join the conversation and get your Wednesday night Lost fix in a different medium!

Revisiting "LaFleur" & Your Comments

I just re-watched the episode, and I totally appreciated all of your feedback from the last post. Here are thoughts and responses to some of your comments, as well as new questions that arose from a second viewing...

AMY & HORACE'S BABY BOY

SheilaLocke was the first of many to point out that logistically, Amy and Horace's baby boy could not have been Karl. Very true; I will blame the late hour of that post on my guess.

Doug thinks that perhaps their son could be Ethan Rom. Good call...that is far more plausible!

AMY & PAUL

If there was a Truce in place between Dharma and the Hostiles, why were they having a picnic seemingly outside of the safety zone and sonic fence? Were they being set up or tested, and if so, by whom?

WHY was Paul wearing the Ankh necklace? By the way, I think I'll start referring to him as Paul Ankh-a.

EGYPT

BrenKeller pointed out that in addition to Hurley's painting, the ankh necklace, the 4 toed statue and the hieroglyphics...Richard Alpert may be an immortal pharaoh. I like that idea, and Maven added that ancient Egyptians did use eyeliner (created from stones & minerals; to protect from the sun). Ashlie - it's true, I did some research too!

Barry also reminded me that there were hieroglyphics down in the Swan hatch too, on the countdown clock.

HORACE

What was he trying to do with the dynamite? He wasn't throwing it at the sonic fence...

At that time (in that era), who did he report to? The same person who determined if someone was 'Dharma material?'

HOSTILES

Why DID they murder Dharma Paul? Were they really going to shoot Amy as well, or just kidnap her? Doug aptly inquired what would have happened to her had Juliet and Sawyer not intervened, and whether or not they are indeed course correcting events.

Jin took a walkie off of the dead Hostile. Had we seen them using that kind of technology before? That they were using them at all makes me think that Alpert wasn't working with/for Jacob, given his dislike of modern communication.

JULIET

I really like Doug's theory that Ben's crush on/obsession with Juliet began when he was a kid on the island; he met her while she was there for the three plus years integrated into Dharma.

As I watched the episode for a second time, I realized that Kate NEVER had Sawyer's back; her relationship with him was completely self-serving. I really hope that we're not forced to watch Kate manipulate Sawyer's emotions and life again on the island, because Juliet has both his back and his heart...and I hope we don't have to see hers break.

OLIVIA (Horace's other wife)

Doug believes that Olivia was killed shortly after the Purge that we witnessed Ben oversee in "The Man Behind the Curtain" and that her death may have caused the Truce...but why wouldn't she have been killed in the Purge along with Horace?

Both Anonymous and Rlowene think that Olivia was Horace's first wife (before Amy). Although I am openly confused by the timeline, I tend to agree.

POLAR BEARS

Barry - it is just my assumption that the polar bears were used as experiments to turn the Frozen Donkey Wheel, primarily because of Charlotte's discovery of a Dharma polar bear collar at the island exit point of Tunisia.

RICHARD ALPERT

Nurby and Ashlie want to know why people other than Alpert are leading the island, and what his relationship with Jacob is. Me too.

If he buried Jughead (as Faraday instructed in the past), did he do so under the Swan?

ROSE & BERNARD

Rlowene asks a question which I think all of us are wondering...where the hell are Rose, Bernard, Vincent the dog and the remaining 815ers while Sawyer and co. are playing house with Dharma? In that same unknown location where Flight Attendant Cindy and tail section kids Zach & Emma have been?

SAWYER

How DID he know about the history of the Black Rock ship?

Three years ago, Sawyer looked at and approached Kate with lust and caution. He looks at Juliet with admiration and love. It's true - I am unable to conceal my hopes for the new couple.

After they reunite, how long until Sawyer asks Kate if she followed through with that favor he whispered to her on the helicopter before jumping out? Of course I'm hoping that it was about his daughter Clementine and we get to see his baby mama Cassidy again before the series ends...

SONIC FENCE

Presumably, it was created to keep the Black Smoke Monster out (because it is ineffectual on the Hostiles). So why does it seem that Smokey is unleashed from WITHIN the Barracks and safety of the sonic fence (from the secret chamber in Ben's future Dharma house)?

Earplugs. Really? That's all it takes to avoid being rendered unconscious by high-frequency sound waves? You'd think that the Others, Dharma and Losties would have figured out at some point during their time on the island that Smokey is averse to said sounds and attempted to create and implement similar sound-based deterrents.

STATUE

Doug thinks that perhaps Locke's last turn of the Frozen Donkey Wheel will result in an earthquake that topples the 4 Toed Statue. That is a logical possibility, and one that we might see in an upcoming episode. Although I still believe that the dormant volcano is someone involved...
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I may watch "LaFleur" yet again before Wednesday, if time permits. Thank you again for all of your comments and feedback on Facebook and Twitter!

Even though there is not a new episode of Lost this week, on Wednesday evening I will be participating in a live Lost chat on Zap2It with the awesome Ryan McGee (and possibly a podcast with DocArzt as well this week); stay tuned for details!

Flower Power: LOST, Episode 5.08 - "LaFleur"

Say you'll come back when you can.

WHENEVER your airplane happens to land.
Maybe I'll be back here too.
It all depends on what's with you.
Grateful Dead, "Cosmic Charlie"

I'm not even going to pretend that I truly followed the time line and shifts in this episode. I'll do my best to analyze and question the proper eras; at this hour, mistakes are likely so I appreciate your patience in advance!

So let's get started...

DHARMA LOGOS

Jerry and Phil were wearing the same jumpsuits as Jin and Sawyer. It appears that the star symbol denotes Dharma Security.

And I am thrilled that they showed Dharma mechanic shop as well, because when we were on the Lost Tour a few weeks ago...we saw that Motor Pool logo (wrench) and a scene being filmed there! Of course as a spoiler-free blog, I cannot divulge further details until that episode (14) airs.


EGYPT

In last week's blog, I posed the following:

"Is Hurley's drawing of Egypt going to come into play? Geographically...Egypt and Tunisia are only separated by one country (Libya). Could it be that Egypt is another island exit portal? And could the ancient 4 toed statue be related?"

I believe the answer is yes - Egypt is now integral to the overall arc:

• Dharma Paul (Amy's first husband) was wearing an Ankh necklace, which is an Egyptian hieroglyphic for eternal life (Alpert anyone?) and fertility (ding ding)
  
• There are hieroglyphics down below the Orchid near the FDW and on Ben's secret spy room door in New Otherton
• The infamous four-toed statue may very well be an important Egyptian god or creature (and an Ankh appears to be in the right hand)
  

FERTILITY

Amy successfully gave birth, as both mother and child lived. Did she conceive the child off-island, as Claire had? Is that why they survived?

Or...if 'the incident' had an affect on pregnant women, does Amy's birth signify that it hasn't happened yet?

And you just KNOW that they specifically didn't tell us the name of Amy and Horace's son. It has to be someone we already know. My guess is that it is Alex's boyfriend, Karl.

FROZEN DONKEY WHEEL

I assume this will occur in Season 6, but...who will be the one to next turn the FDW after the Oceanic 6/Ajira Five are all reunited with Sawyer & co. back in that era, returning them to real time?

POLAR BEARS

At that earlier point in time on the island, there were still polar bears around (presumably being housed in the cages over on the smaller Hydra island). So were the Dharma security guys aware of the animals because they were being brought over to the main island as guinea pigs to turn the FDW (thus the polar bear skeleton w/the Dharma collar in the exit point in Tunisia)? Or is it as simple as them viewing the bears in the Hydra station on the Dharma monitors?


THE SUB

Why is one sub docked there, and yet the other is being used every two weeks? Is it inoperable at that point?

Ethan and Alpert drugged Juliet for the rough journey to the island via sub. Is that really how they transported pregnant women too? Or was that a rouse so that she simply wouldn't know how long the trip was and what the route was?

SURGEONS

I love how Ethan Rom and Juliet worked as a plumber and mechanic (respectively) when they weren't acting in their true capacities as doctors on the island. In addition to Latin, were all of the Others required to take Auto Shop 101, etc.? Oh, and Marksmanship 202 of course.


TIME SHIFTS

It struck me when Miles commented that the last flash (after Locke turned the Frozen Donkey Wheel) felt more like an earthquake than those during the previous time shifts. Could it be that the turn of that wheel causes the island's previously dormant volcano to erupt at some point during this era, resulting in 'the incident?'

CHARLES WIDMORE & ELOISE HAWKING

Should we assume that they've left the island at this point?

If Ellie is Penny's mom, assuming she wasn't exiled like Charles...did she get pregnant on the island and take the sub back to have the baby safely? At that previous point in time was the sub even available to them or in operation to and from the island?

CHARLOTTE

Will we meet her parents? Is their identity significant?

Was she born on the island, or brought there when her parents were recruited by Dharma?

When Ben states her life's facts out loud after she first parachuted onto the island, his information about her age was either inaccurate or purposefully misleading. He said she was born in 1979 but I believe that we were viewing 1974 or so in tonight's episode, and young Red was two or three years old at that point...

We now know that Jin has been in Dharmaville for three years - is that how Charlotte learns to speak Korean? Does he bond with her as a child and teach her the language?

Will we see the point in time when Faraday becomes the 'evil man' that warns her never to return to the island or she'll die?

What is the significance of her deceased body moving through time? Is that why other bodies are buried (like Alpert's men tonight and Karl & Rousseau in the future)?

HORACE GOODSPEED

Was Horace the temporary leader between the Widmore and Ben eras?

When does he build Jacob's cabin?

Was he lying when he said he'd never heard of the Black Rock ship? Where else would he have gotten the dynamite? Was he the one who wired The Flame station with the C-4 (that Locke eventually used to detonate both that station and the sub)?

What happened to Olivia Goodspeed; was she his second wife? She was with him when they 'discovered' Ben immediately after Emily Linus gave birth outside of Portland, and Olivia was also Ben's school teacher on the island (she was teaching the class about the island's volcano; see photo above).

He is wearing an Arrow station Dharma logo jumpsuit. In Season 2, the tail section folks from flight 815 found the following items in the abandoned Arrow: a glass eye, a Bible containing missing sections of the Orientation film that Desmond had in the Swan hatch and a walkie-talkie. So...do any of those belong to Horace? Can we assume that the glass eye belongs to Mikhail?

In last season's "Cabin Fever" episode, Horace spoke to Locke in a dream. He told him that in order to find Jacob, Locke would have to find Horace first. We then see Locke find a map in the pocket of deceased Horace's jumpsuit. However, that message could hold greater meaning now...I have a feeling that when Locke appears during this older era and runs into Horace, he'll finally discover how to find and communicate with Jacob.

JACOB

Was he a hostile or Dharma, or does his existence on the island date back to the days of the Black Rock shipwreck?

Did he play a role in the truce between Richard's hostiles and the Dharma folk? Does he have/take a side at that point?

JULIET

The sub was available to shuttle pregnant Dharma women back and forth from the island every two weeks. And we know that the sub was still functional a few decades later, because that is how Juliet arrived on the island. So did Ben make the decision to cut off that service to pregnant women, or just to lure/recruit Juliet?

Knowing that the sub could have transported women back to the real world to safely deliver their children...it is seeming more likely that Ben chose one life (Juliet's) over the lives of many women and their babies. We knew he had a serious/psycho crush ("you're mine, Juliet!"), but there has to be more to it than ever imagined. Even though I can't work out the logistics in my head right now (and the time shifts have allowed me to cross my suspension bridge of disbelief), Juliet may very well turn out to be his childhood girlfriend Annie.

You all know by now how I feel about Juliet. All I have to say about the new love triangle is, damn it Kate, run! (sorry Skaters, but I'm all for my girl finally getting some...love; even with your beloved Sawyer). And no, I don't think she was ever in love with Goodwin. And yes, I realize that Freckles is going to ruin everything for Dr. J. Sigh.

I love how Kate flat out refused to stay on the island for a minute longer when he asked her to, even though she had an established (albeit untraditional) relationship with Sawyer...and it took one conversation to convince Juliet to stay for two more weeks.

MIKHAIL

He'd lied about being an original member of the Dharma Initiative, but he was stationed at The Flame under Ben's leadership and era. They mention The Flame in tonight's episode, so I expected Patchy to show up on screen at any moment. I suppose he hadn't arrived on the island yet.


MILES

Does Miles use his ability to communicate with the dead during his 3 years in Dharmaville to gather information from the deceased?

IF he is Pierre Chang's (Dr. Marvin Candle) son, do they cross paths during those three years? And if they do, it would be doubtful that either would recognize one another...


RICHARD ALPERT

He appeared to be wearing the same modern clothes during the Horace Dharma era that he was donning during the soldier Widmore era. Yet when he encountered young Ben after he first arrived on the island, he was wearing the dirty Hostile attire. Was/is it an act for just him, or are the other Hostiles simply following suit? {pun only slightly intended}

Is immunity to the sonic fence a characteristic of being ageless?

Does Richard accept Paul's deceased body instead of punishing Sawyer for killing 2 of his men because Paul is a sacrifice that the island demanded? Will he offer or bring him to Jacob?

By the way, I LOVE the writers for Sawyer's shout out to and about our favorite Guyliner, Richard Alpert/Nestor Carbonell ("our buddy out there with the eyeliner").

SAWYER

Fulfilling his own prophecy:

New sheriff in town, boys! You all best get used to it.
James Ford (Episode 2.13, "The Long Con")

Just as Jack instructed the Oceanic 6 to lie to protect themselves off island, Sawyer is doing the same on-island for the Marooned 5 (Faraday, Jin, Juliet, Miles & Sawyer).

DID YOU NOTICE...

Dharma girl Rosie was wearing a Geronimo Jackson tee.

The Dharma security guys were probably named in homage to the Grateful Dead: Phil (Lesh) and Jerry (Garcia). My brother was a Deadhead in high school; I would have missed that otherwise.

NOT SO CRAZY THEORIES OF THE WEEK

1) Kate is expecting. In addition to being distraught about handing over Aaron to an unknown entity before returing to the island via Ajira 316, Kate was visibly upset because:

• She was unsure exactly HOW she'd return to the island; a crash could harm the baby.
• She was dreading a reunion with Sawyer because she is pregnant with Jack's child.
• During that infuriatingly vague breakfast with Ben on the beach back in Season 3, when she was handcuffed after being taken hostage along with Jack and Saywer...Ben told her she was about about to have a very difficult two weeks. My theory is that he also informed her that it was her destiny to provide/bring a third Shephard heir to the island. In typical Kate fashion, she rebelled by sleeping w/Sawyer at that time. And off island, once she learned she was pregnant with Jack's baby, she finally agreed to return to the island. Begrudgingly, she decided to stop fighting her fate.
  

2) Horace was present immediately following Ben's birth (he and Olivia 'happened upon' Roger and Emily Linus right after she gave birth to Ben in a forest outside of Portland), just as Alpert was present immediately following Locke's birth. Neither were coincidence.

Horace was the person assigned to recruiting Ben to the island (via his father). Ben was supposed to lead the island in the future. The island/Jacob/Richard believed that Ben was special, as they did Locke (and probably Widmore). That is why hostile Alpert told young Ben at their first encounter in the jungle that he had to be patient. Years later we saw Ben overseeing the Purge and exterminating the Dharma folk. He continues to hold a leadership position, at least with or over Alpert. The question remains...do Ben and Widmore cross paths on the island, and is that the 'war' that Widmore warns Locke about?
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After re-reading that last paragraph, I realized that it's time to shut down for the night. Please excuse any ramblings or inconsistencies. Hopefully I will do a follow-up post to this one on the weekend. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and read this particular; I appreciate it more than you'll ever know.

I would love to hear your comments; have a nice weekend!

Charlie Hume: A Theory

Take this with a grain of salt. It's a theory that I can't get out of my head. And I know it has probably already been tossed around. But here is my version/vision, and I actually hope that I'm wrong. If it weren't for the introduction of time travel elements, I wouldn't have even considered this vaguely possible.

I believe Charlie Hume is in fact Charlie Pace.

And here is why...

When Desmond recently showed up at Hawking's church/underground lair, he inadvertently created a direct path from Ben to Penny. Ben promised to avenge his own daughter's death by killing Charles Widmore's daughter (Penny).

As the Oceanic 5 (minus Aaron) were preparing to return to the island via Ajira flight 316, Ben called Jack because he was 'sidetracked' after he'd visited an 'old friend' to tie up a 'loose end.' Penny was that loose end. Ben was bloodied and calling from a marina, where Desmond and Penny's boat was docked while in LA. Desmond tried to stop him, but Penny was killed and Desmond was injured in the process. Ben then took off on the flight. Desmond will try to find a way to return to the island in order to kill Ben. Leaving baby Charlie behind in Los Angeles...

Charles Widmore took baby Charlie when Desmond went after Ben (likely with Widmore's support and resources, now that they share a common enemy). Figuring that Desmond would never return, Charles took baby Charlie with him back to England. And even though baby Charlie was his only heir (that we know of), he put him up for adoption because a man of his age and in his position of power was not about to raise a small child on his own.

Simon and Megan Pace already had one son, Liam. But they were unable to have another, and looked to adopt. Simon was a butcher, and an associate of Charles Widmore (in the same capacity as Jill, the butcher in Los Angeles for Ben; storing bodies when necessary). Widmore arranged for the Pace family to adopt baby Charlie, and they raised him in Manchester, England.

When he was a young boy, Megan Pace referred to her son as 'special.' Daniel Faraday, whose research was being funded by Charles Widmore, told Desmond that he was 'uniquely and miraculously special." Like father, like son.

As for Desmond being Charlie's real father, consider their brief time together on the island. It seemed his main goal was to save Charlie's life...until it was out of his hands and the island had plans for Charlie's destiny.

• He used a golf club as a lightning rod to take the hit instead of Charlie's tent
• He rescued Claire in the ocean because he knew Charlie would have drowned trying to do so
• He saved a migrating bird for Claire because he knew Charlie would have died trying to do so
• He prevented Charlie from getting shot with one of Rousseau's arrow traps in the jungle

However, Desmond's vision of Claire getting rescued due to Charlie drowning in the Looking Glass changed everything. Although Desmond intended to swim down to the station instead, Charlie knocked him out to follow his destiny.

In the end, Charlie wound up briefly communicating with his mother Penny (unbeknownst to him) before sacrificing himself so that Desmond could warn the remaining survivors about the freighter and Claire would be rescued.

It is also fascinating that during Desmond's first flash back in time (right before he first met Ms. Hawking), he encountered Charlie outside of Widmore's office. Fate trumps coincidence in this instance.

In a Season 3 flashback, we saw Simon teaching young Charlie how to swim (and yes, I remember him claiming not to know how in S1, but that was because he was a drugged out wuss who didn't want to rescue the woman in the ocean at the time). I believe Charlie was destined to swim down to the Looking Glass to save his biological father and their friends on the island.

It is also not a coincidence that Jill worked at a butcher shop in Los Angeles that shares a name with Charlie's adoptive father (who happened to be a butcher). She works for Ben, but let's be honest...at this point it is still unclear whether or not Ben and Widmore used to work together or still are.

In addition, Charlie Pace's middle name (Hieronmyus) is an anagram for Hume's Irony. And Scottish philosopher David Hume was strongly influenced by another philosopher...John Locke.

So I suppose that in the pilot episode, Charlie Pace should have said, "guys, WHEN am I?" rather than "where are we?" If dad is uniquely special, it should follow that his son is also immune to the rules and effects of time...

Am I delusional; is at least some of this feasible?

As I Lay Dying: Revisiting "The Life & Death of Jeremy Bentham" and Your Comments

It is as though the space between us were time: an irrevocable quality. It is as though time, no longer running straight before us in a diminishing line, now runs parallel between us like a looping string, the distance between the doubling accretion of the thread and not the interval between.

William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying

Round two.

I watched "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" again, taking notes of course. I also wanted to address many (but not all) of your great comments from last week's post. If I had more time, I would love to respond to all of you individually!

IMAGINARY/REAL/SPACE TIME MAP

Caesar found the map in the Hydra island office; in fact, he seemed to be looking for it. Are we all on board with Faraday as the author/creator of said map? IS there a correlation between that and the infamous Swan hatch door map? Are those on the island affected by time shifts depending upon WHERE they are located between the hatches at the time?

AARON

The lack of concern for his whereabouts is a tad disconcerting. Jack was more concerned with returning to the island and a roll in the hay with Kate than the well-being of his own nephew. Abaddon, Ben, Hawking and even Widmore were insistent that EVERYONE who had left the island had to go back, and yet none have inquired about Aaron. Seems beyond odd.

BEN

Ben must have known that Locke had to 'die' in order to serve as a proxy for Christian Shephard on the Ajira flight back to the island - that is why he killed him. I assumed that he also had to know that the island wasn't done with Locke, that upon returning...Locke would reanimate. Then why say that he'd miss him if it was only temporary? Ben has left Locke for dead before...

Who is Ben's off island man, the one who was watching the O6 for him?

BENTHAM/LOCKE

He'd never been to the smaller Hydra island, but he was staring out at the main island so he knew where he needed to be.

In a previous episode, the 2 outrigger canoes were shown to be back on the main island (before Sawyer and co. took off one one of them). So does Locke lead some of the new Ajira folk from the Hydra island over to the main island via outrigger at some point?

Upon a second viewing, it really struck me that Jack, Kate and Sayid were quite mean to Locke...

• Jack: "Have you ever stopped to think that these delusions that you're special aren't real? That maybe there's nothing important about you at all? Maybe you're just a lonely old man who crashed on an island."
• Kate: "I think about how desperate you were to stay on that island. And then I realized...it was all because you didn't love anybody."
• Sayid: "Why do you really need to go back? Is it just because you have nowhere else to go?"

They better be careful....Locke is the Island's boy, and destiny can be a fickle bitch.

CAESAR & ILANA

Assuming that Walt's dreams about Locke are about to become a reality, were these two on the flight to keep an eye on or harm Locke after returning to the island? Were they hired by Widmore or Ben?

CHARLES WIDMORE

Ashlie inquired why Widmore didn't try to get back to the island himself via an event window/flight like the Losties, and if there are consequences if he chose to return. She's also wondering if Ellie (young Eloise Hawking) was exiled as well, or wants to go back.

My guess is that Widmore has tried to return many times with no success. He certainly has the resources, but that he was exiled must be related to his inability to go back. As for Hawking, I agree with Ashlie that perhaps she feels it is her destiny to guide the others back rather than returning herself. Or it could be that her son Daniel Faraday is her eyes and ears on the island, and she serves their mission better by being at home base. I'm also convinced that she has an integral connection to Widmore that has not been revealed.

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD

Did Ben know that Christian was a living ghost after the crash, that he spoke on behalf of Jacob? Did the two ever meet?

Nurby notes that possibility that Ben's story about Thomas the Apostle may have been about Jack's inability to believe that his father is alive, and not about his disbelief in Locke and his message.

FRANK LAPIDUS

Doug (aka 1MileToGo) found it interesting that Frank took the flight manifest and wonders who else was on the Ajira flight...Widmore? Walt? Ms. Hawking?

My response is - great question! I hope that all of them were.

HYDRA ISLAND

In Season 3, when Sawyer and Juliet were put to work after being taken by Ben and the Others, Juliet said that they were helping to build a runway. It seems that even back then, Ben knew exactly what was going to happen.

RICHARD ALPERT

When he told Locke that he had to die in order to bring back and save his friends, he had to know that Locke's death would only be a temporary means to do so; that the island wasn't done with him...right?

ROXANNE

Many of you asked who she is. We haven't met her yet, but Ilana mentioned her name as one of the passengers from flight 316.

I am interested to find out if she's working with Caesar and Ilana on some unknown mission, given that she was "scouting" the beach for them after the crash.

SAYID

Who were the people that Ben was having him assassinate for two years? Were they associates of Widmore's?

WALT

When he visited Hurley at Santa Rosa after Locke died, he questioned why everyone was calling him Jeremy Bentham. But from what we saw during their brief encounter, Locke didn't tell Walt about his pseudonym. So did Locke visit Walt again? If not, how did Walt find out?

And I agree with all of you that he not only needs to go back...he has (without knowing it) and will.
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Thank you again for your comments - I love the feedback and discussion. As a reminder, if you are not comfortable leaving your theories and thoughts using your name, feel free to email them to me and I will post them anonymously for you.

Oh, and if you're at all interested in hearing me ramble on about Lost (as opposed to just reading my usual stream of consciousness), click here to listen to my guest appearance on the Sci-Fi Party Line podcast.

Have a nice week! See you late Wednesday night, if not sooner...