LOST Season 5 DVD Extra: Deleted Scene from "Namaste"

Here is another sneak peek from the LOST Season 5 DVD & Blu-ray, which will be released next week (December 8)!  This is a deleted scene from Namaste featuring Juliet and Miles: 


[video courtesy of Buena Vista Home Entertainment. @ABC Studios]

LOST Season 5 DVD Extra: Behind The Scenes of "The Variable"

Here is another sneak peak at one of the special features on the LOST Season 5 DVD & Blu-ray, which will be released on December 8, 2009. 

In this video (titled "Action Figure Faraday") they go behind the scenes of the shoot-out sequence in The Variable. Jeremy Davies, Eric Lange and Evangeline Lilly share their thoughts about filming that scene for the 100th episode of Lost:

 

[video courtesy of Buena Vista Home Entertainment. @ABC Studios]

Sidenote: I am particularly excited to see this entire feature on the DVD because we were standing there in New Otherton watching them film the shoot-out back in February of this year while on the Lost tour! 

Enjoy!

-Jo

Win a LOST S5 Dharma DVD Set & More: Photo Contest

By now you've probably seen that there are a few other Lost sites offering you the opportunity to win a LOST Season 5 Dharma DVD set (pictured above), courtesy of Buena Vista Home Entertainment. In the interest of friendly competition, I've decided to up the ante in exchange for a flash of YOUR creativity. 

 

In addition to the limited edition S5 Dharma DVD set, the winner of my contest will also receive a GOT LOST? tee (which I purchased after taking the KOS Lost Tour in Oahu earlier this year). The shirt is packaged in a paper KOS Hummer, as above. 

AND, the winner will also receive a limited edition custom LOST iPod Touch Gelaskin cover!


Here are the rules for eligibility:

• You must live in the U.S. or Canada (the DVD set is Region 1)
• You need to be either following me on Twitter or be a friend on Facebook
• One entry per person

(photo courtesy of Buena Vista Home Entertainment. @ABC Studios)

To enter this contest, I only ask one thing in return: recreate and take a photo of a scene from the last 5 seasons of Lost. It is that simple. Be creative and think outside of the [Locke] box. It does not have to be elaborate; it can be a person, place or thing. 


Email your photos to me (jo [at] jopinionated [dot] com), and I will post them a few batches at a time for fellow fans to enjoy. 


The contest is open until Monday, December 7. I will announce the winner that night and ship the winner their DVD, tee and Gelaskin the next day. 


Happy holidays, Namaste and good luck!


-Jo

New LOST Season 5 DVD Extra: The H Bomb; Darlton, Jorge Garcia & Jeremy Davies Discuss Jughead

Here is your second sneak peek at one of the special features on the new LOST Season 5 DVD & Blu-ray, which will be available on December 8, 2009! 

In this brief video ("The H Bomb - Making Up for LOST Time"), Damon, Carlton, Jorge Garcia and Jeremy Davies discuss the implications of Jughead's detonation:

[video courtesy of Buena Vista Home Entertainment. @ABC Studios.]

Happy Thanksgiving!

-Jo

LOST Season 5: Deleted Scene from "Namaste"

Below is the first of several sneak peeks at the special features on the LOST Season 5 DVD and Blu-ray, which will be available on December 8, 2009! 

This is a deleted scene from Namaste, featuring Christian Shephard, Sun and Frank Lapidus:

[video is courtesy of Buena Vista Home Entertainment. @ABC Studios.]

Enjoy!

-Jo

LOST Rewatch Week #22: The Shape of Things to Come, Something Nice Back Home & Cabin Fever

Good afternoon, and welcome to this week's edition of the Lost Rewatch! I decided to tackle these three episodes right now, and then the 2-part S4 finale next week because I will be traveling for the holiday. 


Two of these three episodes are in my all time Top 5 (The Shape of Things to Come and Cabin Fever), primarily because of their significance to the overall mythology. 


So let's don our Dharma parkas and head to the desert together...


Alternate Reality Bites


Something Nice Back Home opens exactly like the very first scene of Lost in the pilot episode, with a close up of Jack's eye. In Something Nice Back Home, there is a brief moment when Juliet is directly above Jack saying "I need you to wake up." It was filmed differently than the rest of that scene, and although this is very far-fetched...it crossed my mind that S6 may start the same way. Depending on WHEN Jack and co. are after the detonation of Jughead, it could be either Kate or Juliet who wakes him up. 

A majority of the items that Richard Alpert presents to young Locke as a test are clearly related to Locke's future life on the island. Those, combined with young Locke's drawing of smoke attacking a man, sure seem like blatant examples of an alternate universe.  


[With the exception of the baseball glove, most of the items are obvious: a vial of sand, indicating the beach. a compass, which both Locke and Alpert use during the time shifts. the comic book, a direct link to Walt. a knife, which was Locke's prized weapon from day one. the Book of Laws, which Eko referenced when he told Locke about the Old Testament he found in the Arrow.] 


Crossing Paths

Widmore's man Matthew Abaddon went undercover to see Locke at the rehab facility following his fall, encouraging him to go on the walkabout that landed him on Flight 815.  Later in S5, the two meet again under very different circumstances, when Locke becomes Jeremy Bentham off island. 


Foreshadowing Dialogue


The Shape of Things to Come


Jack: "My gut says we're getting off this island."


Ben: "It's very important that you survive what's about to happen here, John."


Faraday: "WHEN is a kind of relative term."


Hotel clerk: "Is this your first time in Tunisia?"
Ben: "No, but it's been a while."


Ben, to Locke: "There's only one person that can help us now, and that's Jacob. We have to go to him together."


Ben: "Every single one of my people is prepared to die in service to this island."


Ben: "He changed the rules."


Something Nice Back Home


Rose: "Why did he get sick?"
Bernard: "It's just bad luck."
Rose: "The day before we're all supposed to be rescued, the person we count on the most suddenly comes down with a life threatening condition, and you're chalking it up to bad luck?"
Bernard: "What are you saying, that Jack did something to offend the gods? People get sick."
Rose: "Not here. Here they get better." 


Hurley: "We're dead, all of us. All of the Oceanic Six, we're all dead. We never got off that island."
Jack: "That is not true."
Hurley: "It all seems so perfect...just like heaven."
Jack: "Just because I'm happy doesn't mean that this isn't real."
Hurley: "I was happy too, for a while anyway. Then I saw Charlie. Yesterday he told me that you'd be coming by. He wanted me to give you a message. 'You're not supposed to raise him, Jack.' Does that make any sense? Do you think he means Aaron?"
Jack: "Take your meds, Hurley."


Jack: "I want to know who you were with."
Kate: "I was doing something for him."
Jack: "For who?"
Kate: "For Sawyer. I made a promise."
Jack: "He's not here, is he? No, he made his choice. He chose to stay. I'm the one who came back, I'm the one who's here. I'm the one who saved you."
Kate: "I can't have you like this around my son."
Jack: "You're not even related to him!" 


Sawyer: "Where's Claire?"
Miles: "She just walked off into the jungle."
Sawyer: "You let her go alone?"
Miles: "She wasn't alone. She called him Dad."


Cabin Fever


Dr. Ray, regarding the mercenary that Smokey thrashed: "WHAT did this to him?" (note that he did not ask WHO)

Horace Goodspeed: "I've been dead for 12 years. You gotta find me, John. And when you do, you'll find him. "
Locke: "Who?"
Horace: "Jacob. He's been waiting for you a real long time." 


Nurse: "He's amazing, he's the youngest preemie to ever survive in this hospital. He's had infections, pneumonia, you name it. And every time, he knocked them out. He's a fighter, your little John. The other girls say he's a miracle baby."


Hurley, looking into Dharma Death Pit: "What happened the them?"
Lock, motioning to Ben: "He did."


Richard Alpert, to young Locke: "You like backgammon? You seem to have a pretty good sense of the game. I run a school for kids who are extremely special, and I have reason to believe that you might be ONE OF THEM."

Hurley: "So this is where you shot Locke and left him for dead?"

Ben: "Yes, I was standing right where you are when I pulled the trigger. Should have realized at the time that it was pointless, but I really wasn't thinking clearly." 

Ben: "I didn't kill them."
Hurley: "If the Others didn't wipe out the Dharma Initiative..."
Ben: "They did wipe them out, but it wasn't my decision."
Hurley: "Then whose was it?"
Ben: "Their leader's."
Hurley: "But I thought you were their leader."
Ben: "Not always."


Captain Gault: "What is that?"
Keamy: "It's the secondary protocol."
Gault: "What does it say?"
Keamy: "Says where Linus is going."
Gault: "How would Mr. Widmore know that?"
Keamy: "Because he's a very smart man, and if Linus knows that we're going to torch the island, there's only one place that he can go."


Locke: "I'm not you."
Ben: "You're certainly not."


Teen Locke: "Don't tell me what I can't do!"


Ben, to Locke: "I was told a lot of things; that I was chosen, that I was special. Ended up with a tumor on my spine and my daughter's blood all over my hands. Those things had to happen to me. That was my destiny. But you'll understand soon enough that there are consequences to being chosen, because destiny is a fickle bitch."


Abaddon: "Don't give up, anything's possible. You survived falling eight stories out of a building. That's a miracle. Do you believe in miracles?"
Locke: "No."
Abaddon: "You should. I had one happen to me. You need to go on a walkabout. It's a journey of self-discovery. You go into the Australian Outback with nothing more than a knife and your wits. I went on my walkabout convinced I was one thing, but I came back another. I found out what I was made of, who I was. I'm a lot more than just an orderly. When you're ready, you'll listen to what I'm saying. And then when you and me run into each other again, you'll owe me one."


Ben, to Locke: "The island wanted me to get sick and it wanted you to get well. My time is over. It's yours now."

Locke: "Are you Jacob?"
Christian Shephard: "No, but I can speak on his behalf."
Locke: "I'm here because I was chosen to be."
CS: "That's absolutely right."


Locke: "What are you doing here?"
Claire: "I'm fine, I'm with him."
Christian: "The baby's where he's supposed to be, and that's not here."


Locke, to Christian: "How do I save the island?"


Ben: "Did he tell you what we're supposed to do?"
Locke: "He wants us to move the island."


LOST Book Club


When Ben goes to see Widmore in London, he tells the bellman that he's going to see Mr. and Mrs. Kendrick. In Audrey Niffeneger's The Time Traveler's Wife (which, appropriately enough, is a book about a man who travels through time with unpredictable results), the main character seeks advice from a Dr. Kendrick. 


Parallels


In the opening scene of S3, Juliet's house shakes violently in what they thought was an earthquake. It turned out to be Flight 815 breaking apart above them. 


In The Shape of Things to Come, Ben's house shakes violently after Smokey is summoned and it goes after Keamy's team with a vengeance we've never seen before. 


In The Man Behind the Curtain, immediately following Ben's birth, his mother Emily said "call him Benjamin."


In Cabin Fever, immediately following Locke's birth, his mother Emily said "name him John."


Risky Business


Much has been made about the brief board game scene in The Shape of Things to Come, when Sawyer, Locke and Hurley are playing Risk. The question remains...does Hurley's statement that "Australia is the key to the whole game" ring true for the entire series? 

To me, the three most interesting events in Australia have been Hurley's visit to the Toomey household (where he spoke with the widow of the man who first mumbled the numbers), Claire's interaction with the psychic and Rose's conversation with the faith healer. 


The Rules of the Game


I am crossing my fingers that "the rules" are addressed or alluded to again in S6. Ben asserts that Widmore changed the rules, presumably regarding the battle for the island and their lifelong struggle to retain power of it. But I am far more interested in the fact that, according to Faraday, "the rules don't apply" to Desmond because he is "uniquely and miraculously special." 


In addition, in the first episode of S5, Pierre Chang was concerned about drilling close to an energy source beneath the Orchid that would allow them to manipulate time and mentioned that "there are rules that can't be broken."


Significant Moments/Firsts

Ben is in the Sahara desert wearing one of Pierre Chang's winter Dharma parkas (labeled with one of Chang's pseudonyms, Dr. Halliwax). At this point, we have no idea how and when he arrived there. 


It is revealed that Sayid finally found and then married Nadia after rescue, and that she was then murdered via hit & run (by one of Widmore's men, according to Ben). However, I tend to believe that Jacob is the reason why Nadia was killed. 


We see another set of hieroglyphics, on Ben's secret spy lair door. We first saw them on the Swan countdown clock.


Sayid kills a man that Ben said was responsible for Nadia's death, beginning an assassination mission project between the two. 


Ben appears to have the ability to summon Smokey from somewhere behind his secret spy lair door in New Otherton. 


Bernard the dentist knows Morse Code. Then again, he is also quite comfortable with a gun. There is more to the man than basic orthodontia. 


We find out that Jack changed his mind and moved in with Kate, becoming a father figure to Aaron. 

Jack sees Ghost Daddy Christian in his office lobby. 


Kate and Jack get engaged. 


Jin figures out that Charlotte knows how to speak Korean. 


We learn that Sawyer chose to stay on the island, and that he asked a favor of Kate once she was rescued. 

Keamy's gun jams, indicating that the island was not quite ready for Michael to die. He has work to do, after all....

Locke has a vision featuring deceased Dharma member Horace Goodspeed. Horace was building what would become Jacob's cabin.


Richard Alpert appears off island at the hospital when Locke is born, and then two more times throughout Locke's life before the island.

Keamy kills Dr. Ray and Captain Gault.


The Time Warp


It is fascinating to think about the fact that Ben had no idea that Jacob was also off island during and/or around the same time as him. For instance, Sayid was in Iraq burying his wife Nadia, and Jacob was actually with them days before when she died.

Another fact to consider...Alpert was present at Locke's birth, and Jacob was present at what was supposed to be Locke's death (after being pushed out of the window). 


Locke was born on May 30, 1956. I loved re-watching Cabin Fever because we learned in S5 that Locke himself instructed Richard Alpert (on the island in 1954) to be there for his birth two years later. What I want to know is who asked Alpert to attempt to recruit Locke to the island when he was a young boy and again when he was in high school...


The Visual & The Visceral


There is a Geronimo Jackson poster in teen Locke's locker. 

Later in life, Locke befriends undercover cop Eddie, who is donning a Geronimo Jackson tee. 


What's In a Name

I'm almost sure that there is not a connection here, but an interesting coincidence occurred to me while re-watching this batch of episodes. The freighter doctor was named Ray, as is Jack's grandfather. 

If I were to venture a guess, Ray Shephard was also a doctor. Then again, the one-armed farmer who turned Kate in was also named Ray. It just seems odd to give three different characters the same exact name. 


When Smokey Sings


After Ben summoned Smokey to attack Keamy's men, it appeared with far more urgency and anger than we've seen before. It was as if Smokey knew how much of a threat that they posed to the island, and went after them with more power and a sense of purpose. 

In S5 we learn that Ben does indeed unleash Smokey from below New Otherton, but is he able to somehow control and adjust the force depending on the target?

In Something Nice Back Home, Jack's father Christian appears again and speaks to him as Jack is fixing the SMOKE detector. A sign that Smokey manifests itself into important figures in people's lives even off island? 


Alex

I mentioned this in my initial analysis of The Shape of Things to Come, but Alex's death was particularly cruel and horrific; the last words she heard before being shot were from her father, who said that she was a pawn that meant nothing to him. 


Ben


We've certainly seen signs that Ben is delusional, and Jacob's "what ABOUT you?" was a crushing blow to Ben's years of service to him and the island in the S5 finale. So when Ben told Locke that he too was told that he was chosen and special, was that all in his head? I seriously doubt that Alpert said as much over the years, and it was not as if Jacob or Alpert were off island recruiting Ben from birth like they were Locke. 

Ben's miscalculation with Keamy and his reaction to Alex's subsequent murder still stand out to me as Michael Emerson's finest work on Lost. 


Ben & Widmore

The following dialogue from The Shape of Things to Come is, in my opinion, the second most significant conversation from all five seasons. The first is the brief chat that Jacob and the MysteryMan had in the opening scene of the S5 finale. Both of these conversations are similar, as both sets of men loathe one another and are fighting for power of the island...


Widmore: "Have you come to kill me?"
Ben: "We both know I can't do that."
Widmore: "Then why are you here?"
Ben: "I'm here because you murdered my daughter."
Widmore: "We both know very well I didn't murder her at all. You did."
Ben: "No, that's not true."
Widmore: "Yes, it is. You have the audacity to pretend that you're the victim? I know who you are, boy. What you are. I know that everything you have, you took from me. So, why are you here?"
Ben: "I'm here to tell you that I'm going to kill your daughter. And once she's gone, once she's dead, then you'll understand how I feel. And you'll wish you hadn't changed the rules."
Widmore: "You'll never find her. That island's mine. It always was, it will be again. "
Ben: "But you'll never find it."
Widmore: "Then I suppose the hunt is on for both of us."
Ben: "I suppose it is."

Here is another puzzling piece of the overall island mystery to dissect...Abaddon worked for Widmore, and he wound up being the reason that Locke was on Flight 815. Alpert had tried for years to recruit Locke to the island, with no success. But Widmore's man put the walkabout idea in Locke's head, which eventually led him to the island and his destiny.  Cut to S5 and the conversations between Widmore and Locke in The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham: 


Locke: "I have to bring them back."
Widmore: "I'm going to do everything in my power to help you do that."
Locke: "Why would you help me?"
Widmore: "Because there's a war coming, and if you're not back on the island when that happens, the wrong side is going to win."

Locke: "You've been watching them?"
Widmore: "I'm deeply invested in the future of the island. I can't imagine what they think of me, having listened to Benjamin's lies."
Locke: "How do I know that you're not the one who's lying?"
Widmore: "I haven't tried to kill you. Can you say the same for him? I needed Linus removed, so it can be your time."
Locke: "What makes you think I'm so special?"
Widmore: "Because you are."


Claire & Aaron


There are two sides regarding the current status of Claire; those who think she's alive and well, hanging with Daddy Shephard on the island, and those of us who believe that she actually died when her New Otherton house blew up. 

After Sawyer brought Claire into Ben's house, Claire said that "I'm a bit wobbly, but I'll live." Miles responded with "I wouldn't be too sure about that." Taking into consideration that Miles is a ghost whisperer and that he actually saw Christian Shephard when he appeared to them at the camp fire, I'm sticking by my assertion that she passed away. 

In my opinion, Christian showed up to escort his daughter to the other side. I can think of no other reason why she would agree to leave her baby in a tree and chill out in a cabin with her dead father. 

My further case in point: The day before Daddy appears and Claire leaves with him, Sawyer asks how her head is. She says that she has a headache but adds that "at least I'm not seeing things anymore." Shortly thereafter, Miles is staring at her from afar - more than likely he is keenly aware of her pending death. 

I still have no doubt that Aaron is very integral to the island and perhaps even one of the keys to the entire story. Not only did the psychic warn Claire that she had to raise Aaron herself, Ghost Charlie sent Jack a message that he wasn't supposed to raise Aaron. 


Emily Locke

Again, I must bring up the question about who was behind the wheel of this particular 'accident' because it is worthy of debate whether or not Jacob was responsible. He may not have been driving, but perhaps the island needed Locke to be born prematurely, so the wheels were literally put into motion. 


Sawyer


To me, Sawyer begins to transform into Fleur during these episodes. He becomes very protective of Claire and Aaron, and really takes on a new leadership role with those who made the wrong decision to go with Locke rather than Jack. 
---


That wraps up this edition of my Lost Rewatch analysis. Stay tuned next weekend for thoughts about the S4 finale. If you have any comments or theories about this batch of episodes, post away!


Enjoy the week, safe travels and have a fantastic holiday!


-Jo

What About You? A LOST Contest Teaser

Ten weeks to go, how will we survive?
Waiting since May, devoted Losties deprived.


You know I love contests, and giving items away.

I have a huge new prize; who wants to play?

Follow me on Twitter, become my Facebook friend.

Either one may be essential to win in the end...

Stay tuned for details, I'll post them in a few days.

This is by far the best of my giveaways.

LOST Season 6 Premiere: February 2, 2010 at 9pm!

According to Michael Auseillo, Season 6 of LOST will debut on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 9pm. ABC will air a recap episode at 8pm, followed by the 2-hour premiere.

(thanks to DocArzt for this image)

Note that LOST will now air on Tuesday nights at 9pm.

We are just over two months away from the last season. Are you ready??

LOST Rewatch Week #21: The Constant, The Other Woman, Ji Yeon & Meet Kevin Johnson

Welcome to this week's edition of the Lost Rewatch! 


Without question, The Constant is a fan favorite and arguably both one of the best episodes of Lost and one of finest hours in television history. It is the perfect companion to my personal favorite, Flashes Before Your Eyes. Combined, these two Desmond episodes are absolutely essential to the overall series and have truly paved the road to S6.


So let's strap ourselves in for the ride and hope there are no side effects...


Alternate Reality Bites


Although I tend to think that this is a prop discrepancy rather than a hint of an alternate reality or timeline, it sticks out nonetheless. When we get our first glimpse of Michael in the hospital after he attempts suicide in his car, the patient in the bed next to him has a breathing tube IN his nose. Cut to a close-up of Michael after he sees Ghost Libby, and the patient next to him now has a breathing mask OVER his nose and mouth. The only possible scenario is that they somehow wanted to show us the time when Michael was in the hospital after getting hit by a car (S1, Special). 


Back in Black...Rock


We learn that the Black Rock originally set sail from England in 1845 before it became "lost at sea." It is safe to assume that Jacob brought the ship to the island (given that the ship is out in the distance during the conversation between he and MysteryMan on the beach in the S5 finale), which is an indication that their feud dates back centuries. 

Widmore knew that the Black Rock was on the island because he himself had been there (he was not exiled from the island until the early 1990's), so he bid on and won the only artifact recovered from the ship. One guess is that he wanted that journal from the ship's first mate because it might have contained clues as to the island's possible whereabouts. Another possibility is that Richard Alpert was the first mate. After all, in the S5 finale, Alpert addressed his agelessness, admitting that "I'm this way because of Jacob."


Crossing Paths


A dubbed version of Nikki's show Expose was on in Sun's hotel room in Ji Yeon. 


Foreshadowing Dialogue


The Constant


Desmond: "I've never had a dream so vivid; it was like I was actually there."


Faraday: "Your perception of how long your friends have been gone, it's not necessarily how long they've actually been gone. As long as Frank flew on the bearings I gave him...if he stayed on it, it will be fine."
Jack: "And what if he didn't?"
Faraday: "Then there might be side effects."


Faraday: "Your friend Desmond - has he recently been exposed to high levels of radiation or electromagnetism? We don't know why, but going to and coming from the island...some people can get a little confused."


Jack: "Why does he think he's in 1996?"
Faraday: "It's unpredictable, a random effect. Sometimes it takes place for only a couple of hours, sometimes it's years.


Faraday: "If the numbers you gave me are correct, what this will do is unstick Eloise in time...just like you."
Desmond: "So you sent her to the future?"
Faraday: "No, her consciousness - her mind."

Faraday, to Desmond: "Each time your consciousness jumps, it gets harder to jump back."


Faraday: "I think Eloise's brain short-circuited. The jumps between the present and the future, she couldn't tell which was which. She had no anchor, something familiar in both times. All this...see, this is variables, it's random, it's chaotic. Every equation needs stability, something known. It's called a constant." 

Des: "I'm on a boat, I've been on an island. Penny, is that really you?"
Penny: "Yes, it's me!"
Des: "You believe me? You still care about me?"
Penny: "I've been looking for you for the past three years. I know about the island. I've been researching, and then when I spoke to your friend Charlie...that's when I knew you were still alive."
Des: "I love you, Penny. I've always loved you."
Penny: "I love you too."
Des: "I don't know where I am."
Penny: "I'll find you, Des."
Des: "I promise..."
Penny: "No matter what..."
Des: "...I'll come back to you."
Penny: "...I won't give up."


The Other Woman


Juliet: "I'm only going to be here for six months."
Ben: "Right, of course. But we want you to feel at home."


Harper Stanhope: "Ben is exactly where he wants to be."


Jack: "You people had therapists?"
Juliet: "It's very stressful being an Other."


Juliet, about Ben: "He's been good to me."
Harper: "Of course he has; you look just like her."


Ben, to Locke: "I always have a plan."


Goodwin, to Juliet: "You're worried about Ben? What's Ben going to do?"

Ben: "This is Charles Widmore. This is the man whose boat is parked offshore. This is the man that's been trying to find the island. Charles Widmore wants to exploit this island, and he'll do everything in his power to possess it."


Juliet: "They're children. Do they really belong here?"
Ben: "They're on the list. Who are we to question who's on the list and who's not?"


Juliet: "You knew this would happen, you wanted him to die. Why?"
Ben: "You're asking me why, after everything I did to get you here, after everything I've done to keep you here...how can you possibly not understand that you're mine!"


Juliet: "These people came here to wage war against Ben, and Ben's going to win."


Ji Yeon


Desmond: "This is Charles Widmore's boat?"
Captain Gault: "That's right, you know him."

Bernard, to Jin: "It's all about karma. You make bad choices, bad things happen to you. We must be the good guys." 

Gault: "Some of my crew has been dealing with what might be best described as a heightened case of cabin fever. I think it's got something to do with the close proximity to the island."


Gault: "This black box comes from Oceanic flight 815. A salvage vessel recovered it from the bottom of the ocean. It took a considerable amount of Mr. Widmore's resources to procure it. It was found with the wreckage of the plane, along with all 324 dead passengers. That's not the complete story, as you are well aware, Mr. Jarrah...given the fact that you are standing here breathing. The wreckage was obviously staged. Now can you imagine what kind of resources and manpower go into pulling off a feat of that magnitude? Faking the recovery of a plane crash, putting 324 families through a grieving process based on a lie. But what's even more disturbing - where exactly does one come across 324 dead bodies? And that is just one of the reasons we want Benjamin Linus."


Sun: "I thought I had lost you."
Jin: "You will never lose me."


Meet Kevin Johnson


Ben: "Once they have me, their orders are to kill everyone else on this island."


Claire, about Ben: "So he's one of us now?"


Sayid: "Why are you on this boat?"
Michael: "I'm here to die."


Miles, about Ben: "He wants to survive. He's a guy who gets what he wants." 


Ben, to Alex: "These people are coming, they know who I am. They're here to capture me. They'll kill anybody who gets in their way. If they knew who you were, that you were my daughter, they would use you to get to me." 


Tom, to Michael: "You can't kill yourself; the island won't let you. No matter how bad you want to, no matter how many different ways you try...it won't happen. You've got more work to do."


Tom: "That's not your plane, it's a phony. A man named Widmore put it down there and he staged the whole wreck because he doesn't want anyone else finding where the real plane ended up...except for him." 


Miles, to Michael: "Your name isn't Kevin. Don't worry, 80% of the people on this boat are lying about something."


Frank Lapidus, to Michael: "What would you say if I told you that the plane they found in that trench wasn't Oceanic 815? I signed up for this trip because the owner of this boat believes me - Charles Widmore. He believes that 815 is still out there somewhere." 


Ben, to Michael: "There are people on your boat who are innocent. They have no idea that the man they work for is a monster, a killer without conscience or a greater purpose. I had to show you the difference between him and me. When I'm at war, I'll do what I need to do to win, but I will not kill innocent people."


Ben, to Michael: "What wouldn't a man do for his son? Consider yourself one of the good guys."


Alex: "I don't like taking orders from my dad...but I know he doesn't want me to get hurt."


LOST Book Club


Before she jumped to her death from the freighter, Regina was reading The Survivors of the Chancellor by Jules Verne. This book chronicles the last voyage of a British ship, as told through the eyes of someone aboard. 


Black Rock and first mate journal, anyone?


Significant Moments/Firsts


We meet Keamy and his team of mercenaries on the freighter. 


Minkowski confirms that Penny has been calling the freighter looking for Desmond. Presumably, they were ordered by their boss (Penny's father) Charles Widmore to not answer those calls. 


We are introduced to the Others' shrink and Goodwin's wife, Harper Stanhope.

We discover that Juliet had an affair with Goodwin before he died.


We find out for the first time that Ben does indeed know who Charles Widmore is. 

We are introduced to a new station, The Tempest.


We learn that Sun is one of the Oceanic Six, as is her daughter Ji Yeon...but Jin was not rescued.

Jin finds out from Juliet that Sun was unfaithful to him before they crashed on the island. Sun thanks Juliet by delivering the slap heard 'round the island. 

It is revealed that Michael is Ben's man on the boat. His alias is Kevin Johnson.

We see Walt off island for the first time.

We are led to believe that Jin died, but the date on his tombstone was the date of the crash...so his actual circumstances are unknown and part of the Oceanic Six lie. 


It turns out that Ben's Other henchman Tom is gay.

We see Tom in New York. So far the only Others to be seen off island are Tom, Ben and Richard Alpert. 


Tom confirms that Widmore is responsible for the fake 815 wreckage and bodies. 

Jack and Juliet share another kiss. More sweet than passionate, it would be their last.


The Temple of Doom

Ben reveals that the Temple is a sanctuary, and "the last safe place on this island" for only the Others. In addition to housing and protecting the remaining Others and children, all of the island's healing powers may originate or emanate from the Temple. The last time we saw Young Ben in the late 1970's, Richard Alpert was carrying him into the Temple with a potentially fatal gunshot wound. 


The Visual & The Visceral

When Ghost Libby appears to Michael in the hospital, she is carrying a stack of blankets. Michael shot and killed her on the island as she was holding a stack of blankets. 

When Ghost Libby then appeared to Michael on the freighter before he died, she is wearing the exact same green t-shirt that she was wearing when he murdered her.

Pending danger alert! When Michael first joins the freighter in Fiji, Miles is eating an orange. As I've mentioned before, oranges have come to signify death on screen. Cue the Godfather theme...

Michael presses the Execute button the bomb in the engine room, thinking he would blow up the freighter. Desmond, Locke and Eko all continued to press the Execute button at one point on the Swan hatch computer, thinking that they were saving the world from blowing up. 


The Watch Men

Add this to the tall stack of lingering Lost questions...will we ever find out who the intended recipients were of the two watches from Mr. Paik that Jin was supposed to deliver? One was for someone in Australia, the other in Los Angeles. 


Captain Gault

Gault knew who Desmond was, and that Des knew Charles Widmore. Widmore financed Gault's freighter, but why also inform him about a non flight 815 person of interest? This confirms that Widmore knew for a fact that Desmond was on the island. In her brief phone call with Des, Penny said that she'd been looking for him and knew about the island. So did Widmore finally discover its whereabouts from his own daughter's search? 


Desmond

When he travels back in time to 1996, Faraday instructs him to say "I know about Eloise." Although Des did not find out the name of the mysterious woman who predicted his future in Flashes Before Your Eyes, we all know that it was Eloise Hawking...Faraday's mother. So yes, Desmond, you really do know about Eloise. 


Harper Stanhope

When she appeared in the rain to Juliet and Jack to tell give them instructions from Ben about Faraday and Charlotte, I am now wondering if Richard Alpert sent her (either on his own or as instructed by Jacob). Ben was being held in New Otherton by Locke, so it was not an order from him directly...


Sun


Nurses at the hospital referred to Sun as one of the Oceanic Six. So Kate, Jack, Hurley and now Sun have all been recognized as Oceanic Six when out in public. I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but it still puzzles me how someone as distinguished looking as Sayid (at least in that group of 6) roamed the world without so much as a side glance from anyone. 


Tom

We know that Tom was off island to recruit Michael for the freighter, and that one of his travel indulgences was a man named Arturo. It seems to me that Arturo may have been the man in the video that Ben shows Locke; the man that Widmore beats up on camera. Perhaps Tom was the one taping it from above. 


Charles Widmore


Widmore was on the island when Ben took Alex from Rousseau and raised her as his own, so Ben had to know that Keamy and co. were looking for her as bait.  And yet he sent her out into the jungle. That she was not immediately shot and killed along with Karl and Rousseau leads me to believe that they had a photo of her. 

How is it that 324 graves are robbed in Thailand, and no one makes the connection that 324 bodies were discovered shortly thereafter at the bottom of the ocean in what is allegedly flight 815?

Widmore provided Captain Gault with a fake black box, told him it was from flight 815 and that Ben was responsible for the fake 815 wreckage and bodies. The lengths that Widmore went to in order to get to Ben after all of these years was remarkable. That kind of time and effort rivals the lengths that MysteryMan went to in order to finally get to Jacob, as NotLocke.... 


The Keys to Season 6


While I continue to ponder how the detonation of Jughead at the end of S5 will affect everyone, there are a few statements from the following essential mythology episodes that stick out in my mind:


Flashes Before Your Eyes (S3)
Eloise Hawking: "The universe, unfortunately, has a way of course correcting. That man was supposed to die; that was his path, just as it is your path to go to the island. You don't do it because you choose to, Desmond...you do it because you're supposed to."


The Constant (S4)
Desmond asks Faraday in 1996 if their meeting was changing the future. Faraday's response is "You can't change the future."


The Variable (S5)
Faraday, to Jack: "This entire chain of events, it's going to start happening this afternoon. But we can change that. I studied relativistic physics my whole life. One thing emerged over and over - can't change the past. Whatever happened, happened. But then I finally realized that I had been spending so much time focused on the constants...I forgot about the variables. We're the variables. We think, we reason, we make choices. We have free will, we can change our destiny. I think I can negate that energy under the Swan. I think I can destroy it. If I can, then that hatch will never be built and your plane will land, just like it's supposed to, in Los Angeles. "


According to Faraday in The Constant, when someone's consciousness is sent into the future, they require an anchor, something familiar that they care about, in order to survive and return to the present safely. What I find fascinating is that Jack & co. were physically transported back in time in S5 (versus just their consciousnesses), and that after Jughead...it remains to be seen if they actually return in physical form to the future. 


---
Due to the Writers Strike, there are only 13 episodes in Season 4. I am now tackling four episodes per week for the Rewatch in order to complete all five seasons by January 20, 2010. I have pre-ordered S5 on DVD, and even though the busy holiday season is upon us, I am going to do my best to stay on track. So I thank you for your patience! The finish line is fast approaching. 


Thank you for reading along. Please feel free to leave a comment to address any of the above or to pose your own questions and theories!


Until next week...
-Jo