THE WAIT IS OVER!

Can you believe it? It's been 8 (ha ha) long months, but we made it. In just over 12 hours we will have a new LOST episode to dissect.

Blog Holiday Fun

There's only a few days left until the Season 4 premier. The Find815 ARG has heated things up for the past month. And that has slowed traffic on this and I think most LOST theory blogs. So in preparation for the Season 4 kickoff, I'm taking a few days off from posting here.

I feel confident I'll have plenty of opportunity to post questions I have about the end of Season 3 during our next hiatus which hopefully won't begin until late May. Please settle the strike, please!

In the meantime, if you haven't played along with the Find815 ARG, start at Fly Oceanic Air and proceed to Find815.com and you can catch up on the entire game in a couple of hours in preparation for the start of Season 4. Or if you aren't into games check out the summary on Lostpedia. I think you'll find it worth your while.

Also check out a new blog I'm contributing to The Lost Elders. And don't forget to set your VCRs, DVRs or alarms for the premier of Season 4 -- Thursday January 31st at 9pm Eastern and Pacific, 8 pm Central.

Recording Note!!!!!! On my TV it says the episode is running until 2 past the hour! So be sure and adjust accordingly.

Why Does The Staff Have A Secret Room?













Not only is there a secret room, but it's protected by blast door like we saw in The Swan. Was this a safe room for hiding from Hostiles? Did DI members in fact hide there during the Purge? Is it part of a food drop protocol for The Staff?

And why would the Others use it for dying mothers? So that the other women wouldn't see the horror of it and fail to volunteer?

Dezzed and Confused













Desmond's episodes in Season 3 leave me with a similarly confused look on my face and Catch 22 is no exception. Desmond sees a long drawn out flash of Charlie getting killed by an arrow, then shorter flashes of Hurley and the cable, a beacon, LOSTies including Charlie holding a parachute, someone in a flight suit, the picture of Des and Penny, and Penny herself (for about 1 frame). Now what gives?

Desmond tries to explain it to Hurley as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle with no box. But he's also afraid that changing one of the pictures on the pieces (i.e. saving Charlie) changes the rest of the pieces. But his flashes themselves are contradictory. First Charlie is dead, then he's alive all in the same series of flashes.

Desmond also struggles over the course of the episode with how much he should reveal to Hurley, Charlie and Jin to prevent them from changing things, but it seems to me that once Desmond starts taking positive steps toward enacting the things in his flashes he's already messing things up. Would it not be the case that things have to flow naturally for the puzzle pieces not to change? In fact was it getting the first aid kit from Jack that changed the pieces? Or was it the fact that Desmond was lying repeatedly that constituted some failure in his test and resulted in Naomi, not Penny, arriving on the Island?

I personally don't believe that Penny was ever going to land on the Island no matter what Desmond did or didn't do, but that his last "flash" of talking to Penny was no more than wishful thinking, not a true flash. It should be noted that they find the book with Desmond and Penny's photo before Desmond chooses to save Charlie and that the book is a Brazilian copy of Catch-22. Didn't Desmond wonder why Penny would have a book written in Brazilian Portugese? It also didn't seem to have an "If found, contact Penny" note in the front either.

A big theme in the episode was being tested and being willing to make sacrifices. I'm unsure whether or not Desmond passed the test by letting Charlie live or not. I think he feels he failed it, but I'm not so sure. Seems like sacrificing his own happiness for Charlie is passing rather than failing the test. Was this a case of the universe lying to Desmond in his flashes so that it could be done with course correcting on Charlie and relying incorrectly on Desmond's selfish desires to outweigh the cost of sacrifice?

Who Shrunk Jack's Tent?













This is a clear case of trying to figure out what's canon and what's not. In the S3 deleted scene where Claire finds Nikki and Paolo in flagrante delicto Jack's tent is at least a 2 person wide tent with sides and a front flap for full privacy. Now that Jack's back on the beach, it seems to be a much, much smaller and less private. I guess it shrank from the rain?

Is This The Face of Rousseau's Sickness?













Did the Others somehow implant Rousseau's team perhaps with a plan to create a crisis they could solve as a way to integrate those intruders into Island culture only to lead to the unintended consequence of Rousseau wigging out and killing the team before the Others could get to them? Claire was lucky Rousseau wasn't lurking around the Beach Camp the night Jack returned. After all in the case of infection, "you know what must be done."

Boy I Wish Sayid Had Gotten A Crack At Questioning Juliet!













What a great episode One of Us is! Elizabeth Mitchell does a fantastic job of going from "mousy" Juliet to "kick ass out-bluff Sawyer and Sayid" Juliet and on to "totally play that dumb sap Jack" Juliet. But man oh man I wish Sayid had a chance to ask her at least a few questions. I want answers! And some bamboo under her fingernails wouldn't bother me either.

Kate, Juliet and Smokey













So what is up with Smokey and the ladies? Did they do something to trigger his presence as they trekked back to Othersville? You can hear a CV (Cerberus Vent) open during that first encounter. Did Ben or Jacob send Smokey out to bolster Juliet's con on Kate that they are in it together? Or can Ben's group really not control Smokey?













The second time around, is Smokey coming for Juliet or for Kate? And can he see through mud?

Third, Third, Third Post of the Day

It's a holiday and only 10 days until LOST. Life is good.

Here at my blog I've got two new posts below. Heading into the home stretch of Season 3 my questions are pretty tongue in cheek or downright shallow. The back part of Season 3 did a great job of answering questions. They didn't leave me with a lot of material. And get this straight; this is not a complaint.

But I'm also here to let you know about a new blog I'm posting on. It's called The LOST Elders. It was started by Cool Freeze of the Icebox blog. And plans are that a number of us LOST bloggers will contribute to it over the course of Season 4. So come check it out.

Will Clementine Grow Up To Blow Up Sawyer?













Is this bit of dialogue foreshadowing of Sawyer's possible post-Island future?

Cassidy: What makes a girl that went to Sunday School scared of the cops?
Kate: A few months ago I killed my stepfather and I escaped from the marshal who arrested me for it.
Cassidy: Why?
Kate: Because he was a bad guy.
. . .
Kate: What, you want to help me?
Cassidy: Absolutely.
Kate: Why?
Cassidy: I fell in love with the wrong guy. And then I gave him my life savings. He conned me, and embarrassed me. He was a bad guy.

On a more serious note, I wonder if Cassidy will see Kate's "rescue" from the Island and contact her? That could lead to some interesting girl talk.

Best Con Ever!













Hurley's banishment scam is my favorite con in the history of LOST. Hurley is the man!

Did Locke Make a Case for Jack? For Sayid?













I don't want to go home, Kate. I want you to know I made a strong case for you. I told them you are a good person. Reliable. Smart. Honest. And then they told me who you were and what you had done. Let's just say forgiveness isn't one of their strong suits. -- John Locke, Episode 3.15, Left Behind

So Locke thought Kate had communion with the Island? Or did he just have needs as Sawyer once suggested? But the real thing I want to know is what they told him about Jack. How is Jack not a good person? I still haven't seen anything other than poor judgment in his pre-Island flashbacks; no murder of fathers for example. And what about Sayid? Well hopefully we'll find out soon about Basra and know along with Juliet the full scope of Sayid's unforgivable crimes.

What Was Plan A?

As we head into the hiatus homestretch OM IT'S ONLY 2 WEEEKS! there will probably be days I have multiple posts in my effort to blog my way through Seasons 1-3. So if you aren't subscribed to the feed, you may want to check and make sure you haven't missed a post. Now with no more further ado, What Was Plan A?

Watching the commentary to Expose I heard something interesting. During the scene with Juliet, Ben and Paolo in the Pearl the writers say that we get to see the way Ben's mind works when he explains to Juliet that he can convince Jack to operate on him:

Same way I get anybody to do anything. I find out what he's emotionally invested in...and I exploit it.

Further Ben rejects the notion of grabbing Shephard, Austen and Ford as The Others call them and says that they need to come to them, and that Michael is how that will happen. The writers go on to say that the timing of this is concurrent with Ep. 2.09, What Kate Did. I guess this explains in part why The Others didn't take Jack, Kate and Sawyer at the line in Episode 2.10, The Hunting Party because it violates Ben's notion of them coming to him.

But the writers also go on to point out that this is before Ben's Henry Gale ruse. After Ben gets caught as we've seen both on the show and in the Missing Moments other Others, namely Klugh and Juliet have to implement a Plan B. Plan B required Michael to bring Austen, Shephard and Ford as Ben still needed the surgery, but also required freeing Ben as well.

I can't wait to see what Ben was up to when Danielle caught him. You'd have to assume it was important given how close Ben came to dying either by Sayid's hand or someone else's. I also wish we'd gotten to see Ben's Plan A for manipulating Jack, both in terms of getting him to the Others and the two week "you want to operate on me" plan that was also foiled. Oh well. Despite all the intervening circumstances the universe course corrected and Ben got healed.

I also wonder if in hindsight Ben doesn't wish that on September 23, 2004 he'd taken the large boat the Others used to leave Falcatraz, loaded all the 815ers on it and pointed them to heading 325. A completely different show I know, but given the losses he and his people have sustained after 815 crashed, he might have been better off.

If We Got All of Season 4 Would We Learn The Identity of The Cobra?













If you had followed the show Expose in Season 4 you would have learned Mr. LaShade played by Billy Dee Williams was discovered by Corvette to be The Cobra just before he killed her. Hurley tells everyone and no one in particular that:

Dude, the Cobra's this big bad guy. His identity's been shrouded in mystery for 4 seasons.

LOST has played for 3 seasons with this entire concept of who's good and who's bad. So far no true "big bad guy" has emerged other than arguably Ben. So if we were to get all of Season 4 would we like Expose fans (though not the characters in the show) discover the true identity of LOST's own Cobra?

Will The Diamonds Ever Matter?













This post could be subtitled "Will Nikki and Paolo Ever Matter," but I'm pretty sure the answer to that is no. The diamonds on the other hand have their own value. There's been some speculation that they could relate to the current ARG though recent revelations make that less likely. I doubt that even Sawyer will bother to collect them before anyone tries to leave the Island. Despite the fact that it is at times quite amusing, all in all an episode and its props best put behind us.

Why Is Locke Wet?













This has fueled endless speculation on the Interwebs. Why is John Locke who went inside the submarine with his backpack of C4 now wet? Where did he plant those charges? Did he press the "Submerge" button as Ben suggested before setting the charges? And where is the backpack? The axe? The mini-Jesus stick? And is it really the case that the submarine can no longer be used to leave the Island?

How Is Jacob Magnificent?















In Par Avion Mikhail tries to explain to Kate, Sayid, Locke and Rousseau why he would not want to leave the Island and/or why he would want to return to the Island. He starts out:

The man who brought me here...who brought all of my people here... he's a magnificent man.

I assume he's talking about Jacob because he tells Kate she is not on the list right before he starts talking about this man. Of course, this being LOST, Kate then cuts him off, but not before Mikhail makes it clear that this magnificent man is NOT Ben. So what has Jacob done to earn this reverence? Juliet seems in awe of him as well in One of Them. This is a question I hope we learn more about sooner rather than later. I think it could clear up a lot of questions I have about the Others.

Sis and Bro -- When Will They Learn?


















Rumor has it that Jack and Claire will learn they are half-siblings. Do you think it will be on Island via Juilet or Ben or off Island say via Aunt Lindsey?

Why Hadn't The Others Disabled Enter 77?













So you beat a cheating computer and you get "I'm a scientist, not an actor" DI guy giving you a sequence of numbers to enter to get a certain desired effect. Why didn't the Others disable this mechanism? Surely Patchy or Ben or some other Hostile was able to beat the computer because Locke's just not that smart. Did they maintain it for the food drops? Locke doesn't enter that sequence of numbers.

It's interesting that this protocol was put in place after DI determined there were Hostiles on the Island. I wonder when that was. And if they were worried about an incursion why was there no apparent defenses for the station such as it's own sonic fence perimeter or even camouflage?













And what were the papers in Patchy's office? Research from the Internet? A cover story? I'm afraid we may never find out. It seems pretty minor in the scheme of things. Oh well.

Frustration Point













This is one of the things that really bugged me about Season 3 and especially the first half of Season 3 -- why after Locke's big speech about finding our friends did he not go look for Jack, Kate and Sawyer? Later he says he wasn't motivated, but damn John, what changed? Episodes 3-5 you were motivated, but a night on the beach listening to Charlie and Desmond sing soccer songs kills it?

Was it the case that Locke was waiting for backup to follow his message from the Island? Like he waited for Kate to enter the Hatch, was he waiting for her to go traipsing towards 305? Locke clearly isn't looking for Jack. In retrospect I'm amazed he didn't wait until Jack was on the sub to blow it up. Instead Locke was on his prevent anyone from leaving the Island tour, but why wait to embark upon it in the first place?

Others' Justice?













Stranger in a Strange Land bothers me on so many levels, but the main problem I have with it is how inconsistent The Others' justice system and leadership structure seems to be in this episode. Why would they have a trial without Ben? Why wouldn't The Sheriff have questioned Ben? Why wouldn't Juliet had said to Isabel, "I was following Ben's orders." Why was Juliet present when Isabel questioned Jack?

Was Isabel acting outside her authority? Was she the Vice President stepping in during Ben's incapacitation or was she pulling an Al Haig? I'm still not a 100% convinced that the trial was real and not just a continuation of the Jack con.













And what the heck have they done to Cindy and The Children of the Corn? Room 23? Do they have a Room 23 equivalent back in Othersville?

If I hear "it's complicated" or some similar phrase again from these people, I, like Jack, am liable to lose it.

Did Karl Kill Somebody?














Karl is convinced that next time Ben catches him, he'll kill him. Alex thought before finding Karl in Room 23 that Ben had in fact killed him. So in The Others eye for an eye justice system does this mean Karl killed someone?

Maybe he went off the reservation with Ethan and killed Steve, no Scott. (I know it's Scott; it's alphabetical.) Is this why Karl deserves to die? And what about Sawyer and Kate? The Others know about their crimes, so do they feel entitled to execute judgment on them?

And who is Karl? It seems since he doesn't know about The Brady Bunch that he grew up on the Island. The cheesy constellation naming suggests that as well. Here's my theory -- Karl is Annie's son.

Is It Better To Be A Great Man or a Good One?













This question should resonate for a lot of our LOSTies. Answering it is what has kept Desmond from Penny. When he goes to see her dad Mr. Widmore talks about the great man Admiral MacCutcheon and how Desmond will never be one. But Penny tells Desmond the reason she loves him is he is a good man. Why, oh why can we not be satisfied with being merely good? Instead Desmond chooses to do the only great thing he will ever do according to Mrs. Hawking and leaves Penny to push the button.

Is this in fact what Jacob is looking for? People who can settle for merely being good not great? Is this why Jack isn't on his list because Jack wants to be a great man as he's been marked by Achara? Penny seems to correctly assess in her father that greatness precludes goodness. Is this true for the rest of them as well?

Or is it the case that the Island isn't big enough for more than one great man? Maybe that's why you have to be "good" to be on Jacob (or is it really Ben's?) list.

Time Travel Questions













I rewatched Flashes Before Your Eyes and I'm more confused than ever. So I'm putting out the call for you readers to explain to me what is going on with Desmond and time travel which Damon has said actually occurred.

Now obviously Desmond's 2004 body didn't travel back to his late 90's London apartment as evidenced by his beard in 2004













and his non-beard in the 90s.













Instead it seems to be the case that the consciousness of Desmond in the 90s "remembers" so to speak things he has done in the future, at least up to and including turning the failsafe key. Right? He also makes several references to things in the future or the present happening before. So is there a time loop? If so, where does it start and stop? Obviously it extends beyond turning the key if what we watched in Season 3 is to be believed. Are there even multiple loops? Loops that run from head injury to head injury since it seemed that's what started and ended Desmond's London loop? Will Desmond time travel again because Charlie whacked him with the oar?

As you can tell, I'm very confused when it comes to time travel and Desmond and that's without even beginning the whole course correcting conundrum. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

As a sidenote, maybe the next time Desmond flashes back to England, he'll visit this site.

But For This













Would Ben Have Left The Island To Get Surgery?

In Not in Portland Jack asks Tom why Ben didn't go have surgery if they can leave the Island? Tom starts to answer "Since the sky turned purple," and I assume he was going to say that since Desmond turned the key they had lost the ability to get back because the sonar buoy was no longer working. But I figure Ben is the one responsible for that with Greta and Bonnie in The Looking Glass.

So if two days after he was diagnosed with a spinal tumor a spinal surgeon hadn't fallen out of the sky, would he have sought treatment in the real world (like Canada maybe?) Or was he just screwed? I'm choosing screwed.