Enjoy Ange! It's Post #108.

Happy Halloween too. Anyone dressing like their favorite
LOST character? I'd be willing to slap some mud on my face
and be the random log-carrying blonde in the background.

Will We Ever Meet The Bad Twin?













Still waiting for the Bad Twin payoff. I'm glad I got
it from the library instead of buying. Will there ever be an
actual set of twins on LOST (other than the seabilly boat)?
I'm still hoping Libby will turn out to be a twin. Maybe Kate
is pregnant with twins.

Of course, all the twin stuff could be written off as we all
have our own bad twin inside of us. The whole time I read the
book I kept thinking of Jack and Sawyer and Sawyer's statement
way back in Episode 1.7, The Moth that "The difference
between [Sawyer and Jack] ain't that big, sweetheart." And here
at the end of Season 3 we could see some of that with
the BBQ-providing, baby-complimenting Sawyer who went back to
the beach and the so myopic, especially when it comes to Juliet,
he's dangerous to the group, Jack.

Worst Lie Ever?














You stepped on my foot getting on the plane. What a
dumb lie. So how did you end up in the tail section
you lying liar Libby? Fortunately for her she had
that all but topless thing going for her to distract
Hurley. I can't wait to see what else we might learn
this season about Libby No Last Name. Like her last
name.

What Is Up With Charlie's Freaky Dream?




















Charlie's dream or actually dreams in Fire + Water are
very similar to Claire's dream just before Ethan took her,
Locke's dream that led to Boone's death and Eko's dream that
led to the discovery of The Pearl. So any ideas what led
to these dreams? Was Aaron really in danger? And if he was
who was warning Charlie about it? The Island? Jacob? Heroin
withdrawl? And was baptism the answer or a misreading of the
message?

The Gunslinger in The Waste Lands told Eddie, a
character very much like Charlie, that "Dreams are powerful."
So in this case, true or false?

Who Was Sarah Seeing?













I know we'll probably never get this answer and I'm pretty
sure it's because amazingly for the LOST-iverse, the person
she's seeing has had no crosses with any of Flight 815's
passengers. This is one of those things I was really hoping
would be important because it was a cross, but the real
significance was that Jack had to let it go. So much for all
the fun theories about who Sarah's mystery man was.

Post-Game Analysis of Tom's Speech













Oooo, 50 days. That's what, almost 2 whole months, huh?
Tell me, you go over a man's house for the first time, do
you take off your shoes? Do you put your feet up on his
coffee table? Do you walk in the kitchen, eat food that
doesn't belong to you? Open the door to rooms you got no
business opening? You know, somebody a whole lot smarter than
anybody here once said Since the dawn of our species man's been
blessed with curiosity. You know the other one about curiosity
don't you, Jack? This is not your island. This is our island.
And the only reason you're living on it is because we let you
live on it.

This little speech of Tom's raises so many questions for me.
First, why does Tom quote Alvar Hanso if he was involved in
the Purge or came to the Island post-Purge? Why do the Others
care that the LOSTies are in The Swan? Why do the Others let
them live on their Island if they aren't going to live peacably
with them?

Also, why did they want Walt? What makes Walt a very special
boy?

And why the old gun? All the guns in the Swan are modern as
we can see from what Locke, Jack and Sawyer lay down. Where
did this old one come from and why use it now?

And one question about Jack -- why don't you ask relevant and
meaningful questions or let Beard-o answer Locke's about knowing
their names? This scene always frustrates the stew out of me
when I watch how Jack acts.

Do They All Have Hidey Holes?













I'm betting Claire has a stash of makeup and hair care
products that explains her ethereal Season 2 appearance.
In Season 3 it seemed to begin to run low. What else
do you think might be stashed in the jungle?

How Did A Nigerian Drug Plane End
Up On A South Pacific Island?

A Catholic Relief plane takes off in Nigeria on the Western Coast
of Africa













and crashes on an island that should be in the Pacific Ocean
somewhere east of Fiji if the pilot is to be believed.













How does this happen? And when?

Gold Tooth parachuted out of the plane.













This would imply that he was alive when the plane began to crash,
and note it did not run out of fuel because Eko uses fuel from the
fuel line to burn the plane.

Locke tells Boone the corpses could have been there 2 years or 10
judging from the clothing. It's hard to say from Eko's flashbacks
how much time passed from Nigeria to Flight 815, but at least
enough time passed for him to get from Nigeria to England and then
to Australia.

So, magic box effect? Did the Island know 2 or more years before
September 2004 that Eko would land on it? Or Charlie? Or Boone?
Or Locke? Ben and Juliet don't seem surprised by its presence in
Expose, but they could be used to things appearing
on the Island and take such "strange" things for granted.

Whatever happened to bring this plane to the Island, it seems
to be qualitatively different from Cooper's appearance. We know
from Cooper himself that he did not arrive on Island until after
Flight 815 crashed. So any ideas?

Unbelievable! In honor of this being my 100th post
about LOST -- I admit it; I'm obsessed -- I'm taking
this opportunity to revisit IGN's Top 50 Lost Loose Ends.

For anyone who complains that LOST never gives us any
answers, a quick rundown of this list demonstrates the
falsity of that notion. For example, we now know who
the eye patch guy is, how to get to Falcatraz, what the
carving on Eko's stick was supposed to tell John, where
the cable on the beach went, where the radio tower is and
what it looks like, who Christian's daughter is, what
happened to the at least one person from The Pearl, that
Ben was lying when he said he'd always lived on The Island,
and how Locke ended up in the wheelchair.

But that still leaves a lot. #1 on my list is Ben's Others'
Master Plan and how their actions so far have contributed
to or distracted from that plan. Of course, about 10 of the
things on IGN's list could be combined into this such
as "What Hides the Island," and "Why do the Others Want The
Children" and "Aaron." I want to know what these
people are up to. Why can't Ben let anyone leave? What's
with this good and bad people distinction? What is the goal?
Explain it to me Ben! Pleeeaaasseee!

Of course, the end of Season 3 produced even more burning
questions both for the short-term, who's on the frieghter and
can it get to and from the Island, and long-term like what 815
survivors got off the Island and under what circumstances.

The good news is its less than 2 months until the Season 3 DVDs
hit your local retailer. I've already resolved to have all my
Christmas preparations done by December 10th so that I can
watch every little bit of the Season 3 DVDs starting at about
8:15 am on December 11th. Then after Christmas we'll only have
about 6 weeks until Season 4 starts. See, that's no so far away.

So until then keep the comments coming. I love to read them.
And thanks for checking out the ravings of this obsessed fan.

Coincidence or Fate?













Locke's going on about the odds two plane crash survivors
would find two parts of a film that had been seperated
and would bring them back together. And Mr. Eko replies:

Don't mistake coincidence for fate.

So Eko thinks this is fate, right? Not mere
coincidence. Strange for the man of fate, John Locke, to
be the mere man of coincidence in this instance. Eko is
so friggin' enigmatic I have a hard time understanding him.

And here's another question about this new piece of film.
In the excised portion of film our man who's both a doctor
and plays one on film, if not TV, says:

The isolation that attends the duties associated with
Station 3 may tempt you to try and utilize the computer
for communication with the outside world. This is strictly
forbidden. Attempting to use the computer in this manner
will compromise the integrity of the project and worse,
could lead to another incident.

So did contacting the outside world lead to the first incident?
Is Jack's contact with the outside world going to lead to
a new incident? Or like the quarantine warning is this just
Dharma smoke?

One final question for you IT types. Would it really be
possible for the Others in one of the other stations to
unlock the Swan computer's keyboard allowing Michael to
have his little chat?

Even Good Dads Lead To Daddy Issues













This one is strange to me. What on earth had Kate, a straight
A student with no prior arrests and just a couple of speeding
tickets done that the man who raised her as his child knew
she had murder in her heart? I guess its related to some
behavior he witnessed when he and young Kate were in the woods.
But still. If all Wayne had done was drink, waste her mom's
money and occasionally beat Diane up, why did Kate kill the
producer of half her DNA?

Unlike Locke's wheelchair story, What Kate Did has never set
well with me as an explanation for why Kate is the way she is.

Smokey?

I just watched What Kate Did and I'm more confused than
ever when it comes to this Island and what's going on. Is
this horse seen by Kate alone at the beginning of the episode
when she hasn't had any sleep and has been worried about
Sawyer Smokey?














How about "Why did you kill me?" Wayne-channeling Sawyer?
Something happened to lead to Sawyer being on the ground.
Just crazy Kate or more?














And what about the black horse seen by both Kate and Sawyer
and actually touched by Kate? By the way, I think it neighed
backwards. Just kidding.













In all, okay more, seriousness, Smokey has had past run-ins
with Kate both in The Pilot and in the S1 finale. So is this
horse the smoke monster in the form of a horse or is it one
of the Others' horses on the loose? Is it the same horse that
appeared in the flashback setting Kate free to run from the
Marshal? Or is it just a similar horse like Sayid's cat in S3?
Finally, if the horse in the flashback permitted Kate to run
why does she now interpret its appearance as permission to
stop running?

There have been recent discussions regarding Mrs. Hawking's
time rules and Damon Lindelof's statement that they apply.
I wish we had someone to elaborate on the rules of Smokey.

Who Stamped Quarrantine on The
Arrow Hatch Door and Why?














Why would the Arrow Hatch need to be stamped "Quarrantine"
on the inside? Everything we've learned about the Arrow
so far, including the fact that there may be multiple Arrows
around the Island suggests that they are mere storage
facilities. There are no beds, not even any desks or
computers to suggest that people manned the Arrow full time.

So who would that warning be directed to? Why warn
at all since during DI's time everyone seemed to move about
the Island relatively freely? And there's been no
indication that the Arrow was ever used by DI or the
Others post-Purge as evidenced by the lack of supplies such
as food for the Tailies.

My best guess is that this is in fact an error. At this
point in the series not all the details of how the Stations
worked had been decided and since the Swan had quarrantine
signs the set designers gave the Arrow one has well. Still
it stood out to me so I thought I'd point it out to you.

Or it could be Radzinsky's handiwork. He likes to paint
after all.

Was Goodwin A Better Other Than Ethan?















Prior to rewatching The Other 48 Days I thought
that Goodwin was an exemplary infiltrator Other and Ethan
was a screw up. Now I think that was an overly rosy view
of what Goodwin accomplished.

Ben tasked both Goodwin and Ethan with these instructions:

You're a passenger. You're in shock. Come up with an
adequate story if they ask. Stay quiet if they don't.
Listen, learn, and don't get involved. I want lists in 3 days.

Neither Goodwin nor Ethan were good at the "don't get involved"
part. In fact Goodwin's ultimate undoing was in large part
the way he called attention to himself due to Bernard's plight.
Goodwin was the only one who could make fire. He quickly became
a sort of second in command behind Ana, not exactly
an uninvolved role.

But Goodwin did seem to accomplish his mission. The Others
took 12 of the 23 Tailies, 13 if you count Cindy. The people
on the list had been identified (by Jacob?) as "good" and
removed. Goodwin stated pretty clearly if you weren't on the
list, you weren't good. So then why did he stick around?

I think the Others ultimate undoing is their hubris. Hubris,
per Wikipedia, is an exaggerated self pride or self-confidence
(overbearing pride), often resulting in fatal retribution.

The Tailies killed 4 Others with rocks and sticks. How did
they accomplish this? The Others failed to take precautions
because they viewed themselves as superior. The Others have
guns and tasers, but did they use them to subdue Eko, Ana or
the rest of the Tailies in order to take the "good" ones? No
they did not. They thought their stealth and speed would be
enough and it cost them 3 lives.

Goodwin's mission was accomplished, but did he leave the field?
No, he thought he was smart enough that he could change
Ana or at least the list maker's mind, and in the end he paid
with his life.

The Others' hubris, their repeated assertions that they are the
good guys, that they get it and no one else does, that the taken
people are better off with them coupled with their unwillingness
to explain arises over and over. And now there are very few of
them left. Will they finally be humbled, or will their pride
destroy all of them?

So Now That We're Flashing
In All Directions, Will We Get
A Family Flash?
























Heading into Season 4 I wonder if we'll ever get
the story of what happened at LAX when Flight 815 didn't
land. It was Hurley's mom's birthday. Ana Lucia's mom
was going to be reunited with her missing daughter.
Zach and Emma's mom was meeting them. Jack's mom was
going to bury her husband.

After watching The Other 48 Days, I hope this story
will be episode 4.1. The Pilot gave us the crash from the
point of view of our main LOSTies. The Other 48 Days,
Episode 2.7, showed the crash for the Tailies. (I now wish it
had been Episode 2.1 though that would have created a huge
outcry.) Episode 3.1 gave us the crash for The Others, so I
think 4.1 giving us the crash from the point of view of the
families would be cool.

Who's Your Favorite Character?

As I've been re-watching Season 1 and Season 2, I've also
been re-listening to old podcasts. On the now defunct
Transmission podcast a listener asked Ryan and Jen about
their favorite character and it got me thinking. Who is
your favorite character and has it changed over the course
of the three seasons?

For me it's definitely changed season to season. In Season 1
Locke was my favorite. Like Charlie I thought their only
hope was Locke. By the end of Season 2 Jack was my favorite.
We were heading into what seemed to be a kicking butt and
taking names phase and at least until he was captured by
The Others, late Season 2 Jack was large and in charge. Now
post-Season 3 I'd say my favorite character is Ben. I know
it's wrong for my favorite to be the evil genius with the
bug eyes, but when Ben's on screen, you just can't look away.
Okay, so I was yelling for Jack to kill Ben during
Through the Looking Glass, but that was because I
thought he'd killed Sayid, Jin and Bernard. But it was a
psych out, so Ben remains my current favorite character.
What about you?

Why Shannon?













Why does Walt communicate with Shannon? It wasn't like
they were close before he left on the raft. He was much
closer to Locke and to Hurley than to Shannon. Is it
really Vincent he's trying to communicate with? And why
is it that Walt's communications which seem to be warnings
actually have the opposite effect leading Shannon first
into danger and finally to her death?

Whatever Happened To The Love Shack?














Sayid is a regular Bob the Builder. This photo does
not do justice to the quality construction that was
the love shack Sayid built for Shannon. Wouldn't you
think that Nikki and Paolo would have dumped Arzt's
spider central for these palatial digs?

Cindy Theories













Following up yesterday's post, it's time for your theories
about Cindy. I think its very clear from Abandoned
that Cindy is fearful of the people who've taken the rest
of the Tailies. Here's her dialogue:

Cindy: Ana, it's got to be over an hour. Shouldn't we
start moving again?
Cindy: Yeah, but what if they come?
Cindy: What?
Cindy: How many were there?
Cindy: Shhhh.
Cindy: Ana's right, maybe we should just push on.

Other than "What?" all of those lines indicate she
doesn't want the Others to find them and she's willing
to sacrifice Sawyer for herself.

But by the time we see her in Season 3 (I will avoid the
name of that dread episode) Cindy is "one of them."
I know, I know it's complicated. So what happened
with Cindy?

I'm assuming her name wasn't on the list that Ana
will recover in the next episode or they would have
mentioned it. So why take her a mile from the Fusies
beach when the only other people they've taken from
that camp were Claire and Charlie?

My guess is that once they got Zach and Emma they
figured out they needed Cindy much like they figured
out they needed Michael after leaving him to be
eaten by sharks. Oh how my ideas about the mighty
Others have changed from the silent, all-powerful people
to those who have to keep changing the plan because
they hadn't given it enough forethought.

Who Are These People And Why Are
They Walking Barefoot and
Barelegged Through the Jungle?















Is this part of Ben's group engaged in their stagecraft?
Surely the kids that Eko knows are not part of this group
in spite of the teddy bear. Wouldn't he try to retake
them? Clearly Walt isn't with them or Jin would have
done something. Are these people on their way to the
fake Yurt Village? The Pala Ferry dock? Why leave
Othersville at all?

I hope these are in fact Other Others, but I fear they
are not. This behavior seems out of character from the
Others we meet in Season 3. Chalk this up as another
question for Capcom's Encyclopedia Lostica.

Why Didn't The Others Come For
Goodwin's Body?














Put this in one of my biggest mystery files. In
Season 3 we see the elaborate Viking funeral pyre
combined with the white clothes of New Orleans combined
with the musical stylings of Brenda Lee to send Colleen
off to her great reward. I'm guessing that was all for
Jack's benefit since the Others have shown no regard for
the rest of their fallen comrades.

Nothing for Ethan who at least was buried by Hurley and
Charlie. Nothing for Goodwin who's left to rot with flies
swarming his bloody carcass. Nothing for Pickett except
Juliet's trial. And of course we have the Dharma body
pit and Roger's corpse in his VW van.

Do the Others have a theology of death, is that theology
individualized (though you think Pickett's would mirror
Colleen's), or are they the reprobates with no
respect for life or death that they've always seemed to be?
This treatment reminds me of Jack's decision that the
bodies of those who did not survive Flight 815 had to be
burned in the fuselage. They didn't have the time or
ability to sort out people's Gods, religions or preferences.
But surely that's not the case with the Others who've lived
in community for at least three years. Chalk this up as
another one of those arghh! those Others drive me
crazy things.

Who Was Jae's American Girlfriend?
















Jae wants to look like he's dating Sun to get his family
off his back, but actually he met an American woman while
he was at Harvard and in 6 months (which would be
approximately 4 1/2 years before the plane crash) he is
going to marry her. Do you think we'll ever find out who
this mystery woman is? I've heard Kate, but her "I Never"
game participation seems to rule out her being at Harvard.
My best guess would be Penny, but she's not American. An
unimportant and unsolved LOST mystery or something else?

Was Libby Scared of the Others or
Something Else?















Libby and Michael are foraging in the jungle and Libby
remarks that Michael and his friends were scared when they
were in Ana Lucia's pit. She says:

I don't think I've ever seen someone so scared in my
life. And I know about scared.

Is this merely a reference to the past 40+ days on the
Island or to something else? Any non-spoiled ideas?