"There's No Place Like Home: Part 1" Video Previews

The Lost three-part season finale starts this Thursday. Get excited. One hour will air Thursday, then the series will take a two week break and return for the final two hours of the season on Thursday, May 29. The three-parter is called "There's No Place Like Home," an obvious reference to The Wizard of Oz. Considering what we saw from last week's "scenes from next week" we can assume that the flash forwards will show the Oceanic 6's return to the mainland, why they are lying about the circumstances in which they left the island, and what exactly happened prior to their departure. It almost feels like three hours of Lost won't be enough to tell that story – there's a lot of ground to cover. ABC has released three preview videos for Thursday's Lost; one two-minite clip, and two 20 second snippets, all three of which you can view below.



While this clip may not seem too important, it speaks to a bigger theme that will permeate the finale. Jack shows his obsession with leaving the island, while Sawyer expresses his displeasure with that idea. Sawyer sees no reason to get off the island. It's probably more about Sawyer's lack of a life to return to than it is his reticence to trust the freighter people, though that certainly plays a part. Kate, as per usual, finds herself somewhere in the middle, which is odd, considering she has more incentive than anyone to remain on the island.

The next clip has no dialogue, and simply shows Sayid return to the beach with the motorized raft from the freighter. He is in a hurry. This is somewhat significant, in that we now know that Sayid indeed makes it back to the island.



This next clip is a bit more mysterious. Ben uses a mirror to send light signals up a hill. I wonder who he's communicating with?

Readers Respond to "The Constant" and "The Other Woman" Questions

It comes as no surprise that my questions about one of the most complicated episodes in Lost's history, "The Constant," met with an abundance of interesting responses from BuddyTV readers. CamaroHeed alone has been batting around enough interesting time travel theories to make my head spin. As for "The Other Woman," our readers were dying to know the origin of the whispers, but also had some ideas on who was really trying to release the gas at the Tempest station.

Read on to see some of the best theories about these two exciting episodes.


First up, CamaroHeed thinks that Daniel Faraday's (Jeremy Davies) rocket experiment helps to explain the 48 hour time difference between the island and the freighter. "If you take the 31 minute time difference from Faraday's experiment times the 94 days the Losties have been on the island, you get 2,914 minutes, or 48.6 hours -- the assumed time difference between the island and the freighter. If this correlation is true (and not coincidence), that means that for every 24 hours that passes on the island, 24 hours and 31 minutes pass on the freighter/real world."

While the time difference is interesting, many readers spent time pondering whether the sickness on the freighter is the same sickness described by Danielle Rousseau. "Personally, I think Rousseau and her team didn't experience the same sickness," lostfreak108 wrote. "It seems that the sickness only occurs when you are traveling to or from the island, and I don't think her team got sick when they crashed, but after they had been on the island for a bit. I also don't think Rousseau's team suffered from an illness - I think she did. Maybe the illness made her kill her team?"

The wonderfully named sugarnuts finds the idea of two island related sicknesses to be unlikely. "I think Rousseau's crew experienced the exact same sickness at the one the hatch is quarantined from," he wrote. "The sickness is 'being unstuck in time.' I think the cause of the illness is the sudden jump in time. The same jump that happens coming to and from the island. There is a way to avoid this and the Others know it, that's why they come to and from the island unaffected. The key is to be unconscious. If your mind is uncomprehending, then it won't notice the sudden change. That's why Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) was given a knock out pill on her first trip to the island."

Another interesting moment in "The Constant" was when we saw Charles Widmore successfully bid for the Black Rock journal. Why would he want such an object? Drewbacca thinks that he may have some sort of connection to Alvar Hanso. "Perhaps Widmore is either a business partner of Alvar's who wants the island's secrets for himself, or he is Alvar trying to get back after the Ben-led Hostiles got rid of his team. Him wanting the BR ledger is either for information or the desire for a family heirloom."

erindreg wonders how the journal made it off the island in the first place. She wrote, "It seems odd to me that the Black Rock journal made it off the island. This would suggest (in a logical world) that the Black Rock crashed there and everyone was rescued, but I don't think this is the case. There's definitely more going on with that. Did the Black Rockies find a way to teleport off the island?"

I'm sure we could easily discuss "The Constant" for the next twenty years, but there were also intriguing questions to be found in "The Other Woman." Like me, Moparlarry doesn't believe that Ben (Michael Emerson) was responsible for releasing the gas in the Tempest station. "I still theorize that Charlotte (Rebecca Mader) and Faraday's mission wasn't to turn off the gas, but set-up the Tempest for a rapid detonation," he wrote. "Why was the place counting down when Juliet arrived? Because they screwed up while rigging the place for a fast meltdown. Since we know that the mission of the SS Widmore is to capture Ben and kill everyone else, a fast release of 'Tempest' gas is the best way. That's why they didn't want Kate (Evangeline Lilly) tagging along."

In my original article, I theorized that the island whispers may be caused by the Others teleporting around the island. However, what if they're actually the sound of trapped souls? "I'm not sure, but my theory is that the whispers may be caused by some dead people who 'live' on the island," titemoi1 wrote. "If no living soul can leave the island by a normal way, maybe the dead souls can't, too."

Another mystery brought up in the episode was who Juliet reminds Ben of. My guess was that she resembles either his mother or his childhood friend Annie, but Ouidybird2 had another idea. "I remember that Juliet once said to Jack (Matthew Fox) that she was assigned to get close to/interrogate him because she looked much like his ex-wife."

This brings up a long-held theory by Lost fans, that perhaps Ben was the man who Jack's wife moved on with after their divorce. While anything is possible in the world of Lost, would a woman ever trade in Matthew Fox for Michael Emerson? That's something I'd have to see to believe.

Five Questions about "The Other Woman"

"The Other Woman" was looked down upon by many Lost fans, possibly because it followed "The Constant," which was one mind-blowing hour of television. Juliet's on-island flashbacks couldn't quite live up to Desmond's time tripping, and the episode also didn't give us much in the way of new mythology. That aside, I was happy to see some gaps in Juliet's past filled in, and any episode that gives Elizabeth Mitchell and Michael Emerson a chance to shine is alright by me.

For an episode that didn't bury us in new mythology, it certainly did raise a lot of questions. Read on to see the five that I'm dying to have answered.

1) What's with the whispers?

This is a question that we've been asking for seasons, but we were once again reminded of the mysterious jungle whispers in "The Other Woman." The whispers can be heard when Harper appears and disappears to Juliet in the jungle, but why?

In this article, my colleague John Kubicek theorizes that the whispers happen when someone is being transported through space and time. It's long been theorized that the Orchid station is being used for teleportation experiments, and this would certainly explain how the Others manage to appear so randomly in the jungle. The whispers may be a kind of residue that happens whenever someone is temporarily unstuck in time. It sounds plausible to me, especially now that Lost is truly delving into the nature of time travel.

2) Will we learn more about Harper?

Sometimes Others appear on Lost and are never seen again, like that Isabel character from "Stranger in a Strange Land" who nobody remembers. Will Harper go the same route, or is there more to her story that we've yet to see?

It feels like there's still so much about Harper we've yet to learn. First up, is she alive or dead? While she may be alive and teleporting as I mentioned above, she could also be a ghost or a manifestation of the smoke monster. I'd also like to know how she managed to contact Ben while he was in captivity, and why she had a Hanso logo on the diploma in her office. I'm not asking for her to have her own flashback episode, but I do think there's more to her character that we may learn in the future.

3) Who planned to release the poisonous gas?

According to Charlotte (Rebecca Mader), Ben was the one attempting to release poisonous gas on to the island. I normally wouldn't question his involvement, but this is one time when blaming Ben seems a bit fishy to me. Considering that he's been in captivity for a while, when would he have found time to go to the Tempest station to set that up? And why would he plan to wipe out everyone on the island while he's still on it? If Ben and all the Others died, who would protect the island from Widmore and his men?

If we can assume that Harper was in contact with Ben, I guess it's possible that she followed his orders and set the gas to release. However, I'm not blaming this one on Ben until I see some solid proof.

4) Who does Juliet remind Ben of?

While Juliet is in therapy with Harper, the therapist tells her that Ben likes her because she looks like someone from his past. Who? It could be his childhood friend Annie, who we saw in "The Man Behind the Curtain," or it could be Ben's mother, who did bear a strong resemblance to Juliet. Are there other possibilities?

5) Who was Charles Widmore assaulting in the video?

In Ben's safe, there was a video showing Widmore beating up a man that Ben claimed was one of the Others. Who could it be? My best guess is that it was Mikhail, who may have lost his eye due to this extreme beating. I may be biased by the fact that I really want Mikhail to make another appearance on the show, but it seems plausible. In reality, we don't have enough information about this mangled Other to do anything but guess.

Next week I'll wrap up this series of questions by revisiting "Ji Yeon" and "Meet Kevin Johnson."

Season 4 May Have One Additional Episode

When the plan for Lost's final three years was initially announced, each season was supposed to have 16 episodes. However, the writers' strike soon came along and derailed this nice little idea. The Lost producers were only able to complete eight episodes before the strike, and after it wrapped up they announced that five additional installments would be produced. While the show's fourth season would be somewhat truncated, the writers would at least have enough time to tie up certain story threads.

It's a lucky day for fans who were bemoaning the shortened schedule, as TV Guide's Michael Ausiello has announced that one more episode may be added to the show's fourth season. If the deal is worked out, that would bring the episode total to 14 for this year.

According to Ausiello, this deal is not yet confirmed, so Lost fans shouldn't do a dance of joy just yet. If ABC does decide to produce an additional episode, it may run into some bothersome scheduling hurdles. Currently, the climax to Lost's fourth season is set to air on May 22 at 10pm, following the finales of Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy. If another installment were to be produced, it's unknown if it would air the following Thursday, on another night altogether, or if it'd possibly be packaged with episode 13 to make for a two-hour extravaganza.

There's also no telling what the new finale would consist of. Would it simply be an extension of episode 13? Would it contain elements that executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse weren't able to fit into the original finale? Would this additional hour be more along the lines of what the producers originally intended, or would they be stretching things out beyond what was planned after the writers' strike?

Like many Lost fans, I'll be crossing my fingers that this extra episode becomes a reality. Hopefully we'll have confirmation on this story within the next day or two.

Five Questions about "The Constant"

Though the return of Lost's fourth season is slowly getting closer, we still have a couple of boring Thursdays ahead of us before April 24. Today it's time to take a look back at one of Lost's most mind-blowing, brain-melting, time-tripping episodes of all time: "The Constant." Most Lost fans agree that this was the most impressive episode of season 4, and a lot of that has to do with the emotional impact of Desmond's (Henry Ian Cusick) story. Looking back on this installment, I was struck with a few questions that are still boggling my mind, such as: Why did Widmore buy the Black Rock journal? Is Daniel Faraday time traveling? And just how do those satellite phones work anyway?


1) Was George Minkowski suffering from "the sickness"?

Way back in season 1, Danielle Rousseau mentioned that she had to kill her fellow crew members due to a sickness that made them go crazy after arriving on the island. As we saw in "The Constant," Minkowski and many other members of the freighter have also been suffering from a sickness, presumably due to their proximity to the island. Are these illnesses one and the same?

I would say yes, as I doubt the writers would introduce two separate sicknesses caused by the island. However, many questions remain about what causes this illness, and why only certain people are affected by it. Could it be a by-product of time travel? Perhaps the people who don't find their constants are the only ones who go crazy, which means that Rousseau would have found hers while the rest of her crew did not. It's one possibility, but there are many others.

2) What's the difference in time on and off the island?

In "The Economist," Faraday (Jeremy Davies) set up his rocket experiment on the island, and the rocket seemed to arrive 31 minutes later than it was supposed to. In "The Constant," Sayid (Naveen Andrews) mentions that they took off in the helicopter at dusk and didn't land on the boat until the afternoon . What is going on here?

According to the calendar on the freighter, the date is Christmas Eve, 2004, which would mark 94 days since the Losties crashed on the island. However, the castaways are experiencing their 96th day, indicating that their perception of time is moving more slowly than actual time. Are the mainland and the island only two days off, or is there more to this mystery that we've yet to discover?

3) How do the phones work?

This is a question that the producers have promised will be answered before the end of the season, but I'm still curious. How do the freighter people have satellite phones that can call through time? How could Penny manage to contact the Looking Glass station if the island is in some kind of time anomaly? I can barely get reception on my cell phone throughout my apartment, so I'm dying to know how any communications manage to get to and from the island.

4) Why did Charles Widmore want the Black Rock diary?

That Widmore fellow is becoming more mysterious than ever as the show goes on, isn't he? In this episode, we saw him purchase the diary from the Black Rock, which we all know as the big ship that's in the middle of the island. It seems obvious that Widmore wanted the diary to help him find the island, but we still don't know why the island is so important to him. If Ben (Michael Emerson) is to be believed, he wants to kill everyone and exploit the island's natural powers, but we all know not to take anything Ben says at face value.

5) Is Daniel Faraday a time traveler?

All signs point to yes. Daniel's noggin was exposed to high amounts of radiation due to his experiments with Eloise, and he did write in his journal, "If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant." He also appears to be suffering from some sort of memory loss, and is playing out scenes that are quite similar to the time tripping novel Slaughterhouse-Five, which I mentioned here. If he's not bouncing through time, then he must be mentally ill or suffering from a brain tumor.

What do you feel is the biggest question remaining from "The Constant"?

An Ode to the 'Lost' Phenomenon

In the beginning, I was not a believer. I remember being inundated with promos, seeing that dude who had cancer on Party of Five wearing a suit on an island and the mousy-hot chick wearing a bra and watching the tide roll in. I remember the big explosions and the roar of the monster. I remember being intrigued by the prospect of a new series from the guy who created Alias. But, all this paled in comparison to the lame concept: people stranded on a desert island. Cast Away had come out a few years earlier and, to my mind, played that concept out. Nonetheless, I watched the first twenty or minutes or so of the Lost pilot from my college apartment (because, really, It's not like I was doing anything else) and then gave up. Beer, or the gym, or video games were calling. It wasn't until a year later that I finally caved and rented the first season DVD. This was not an atypical path to Lost fandom. Like countless others, once those DVDs were in my possession, it was game over. I was hooked.

I bring this up because I just got off the phone with my brother, who is studying abroad in Europe, and he told me that he's been keeping up with this season of Lost. This struck me as amazing for a couple of reasons: 1) The addictive powers of Lost are more intense than any other series, ever. Period. 2) Lost inspires an obsessive need to not fall behind. Those two points may seem similar, but they're not. Let me explain: I'm also a big fan of 24, but have never felt left out, if you will, if I fall behind a week or two. That series is as addictive as anything else (my friends and I called watching 24 on DVD “hitting the ol' crack pipe,” for instance). But, the difference is that discussing 24 isn't very interesting. Besides saying things like, “Yeah, when Jack Bauer bit that guy's neck off, that was awesome,” there's nothing to converse about. Nor can different opinions be formed. This goes for pretty much every one of my other favorite TV shows. Once they're over, they're over, and I can set them aside and look forward to next week. With Lost, falling behind is inexcusable.

I can't tell you how many times I've struck up conversations about the weekly events of Lost with total strangers. Even with my friends, there's always a weekly impromptu discussion about whatever went down on the island. This is all well and good, but I've been trying to grasp its significance. After all, it's only a TV show.

Maybe not, though. To inspire such maniacal fandom out of a normally apathetic television audience is an epic achievement. People who don't like TV like Lost. People who are too busy too watch TV every night actively find time to catch Lost. To me, if I attempt to step back and look at Lost compared to the rest of the television landscape, only one conclusion can be made: there is nothing like it, and there has never been anything like it. Now, I'm not discussing quality, not really. Of course, to acquire such a rapt audience requires the show to be good. And Lost isn't just good, it's great. But it's not, like, The Beatles of TV series or anything – it has its flaws. With Lost, though, its overwhelming uniqueness comes from how it's ingested by the audience. The communal nature of the series, the online fan response, the theories, the Easter Eggs, the philosophy – it's overwhelming in its vastness.

For now, I can only say this: we need to appreciate Lost while its still around. While the replay value of the show is quite high, once its gone we're not likely to see another series like it. If a study abroad student in Prague, who can sometimes be described as “highly unmotivated,” felt the need to keep up with a TV show that he could easily catch up with in the summer, something special is going on. If I, like many of you out there, are already itching for new episodes when it's only been off for a couple of weeks, something special is going on.

Five 'Lost' Characters I Want to See Again

For the most part, Lost has better continuity than nearly any other show. The show is constantly referencing past episodes down to the most minor detail, usually in the form of Easter eggs. Sayid’s love Nadia owned a house inspected by John Locke. Everyone from young Ben Linus to Hurley loves Apollo Bars. And twice now we’ve seen characters watching “Expose” on TV.

So I doubt that the writers have completely forgotten about some of the minor characters who have played a role in several episodes. We all have our favorites, characters we obsessively would love to see again (much the same way I constantly pine for more Rose and Bernard). I have combed my knowledge of Lost and come up with a solid list of five characters I would love to see at least once more, in any way, shape or form.

Scott and/or Steve

In what can only be described as a brilliant ode to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Scott and Steve are two of the most fascinating redshirts ever to be on TV. In the first season one of them died. Scott was eulogized, but technically, Christian Bowman, the actor who played Steve, portrayed the corpse they buried. To date, Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof have yet to present any clear indication as to who’s really who and who’s really dead, but that’s kind of the whole point.

Perhaps Nikki and Paulo stole their thunder, because undoubtedly a Scott and Steve flashback episode would play out very similarly to “Expose.” However, I’m still curious, as I’m sure many of you are, about who these two are or were.


Kelvin Inman

During the Gulf War, Kelvin trained Sayid to torture people. Somehow he later ended up working for the DHARMA Initiative pushing the button in the Swan station every 108 minutes. While it would be nice to discover more about how Kelvin came to be on the island, and who his mysterious partner Radzinsky was, that’s not the main reason I’d like to see more of him.

The plain and simple truth is that Kelvin was played by Clancy Brown, one of the most awesomely intimidating actors ever. Heck, just looking at that picture of him gives me the willies. Everything he does and everything he says is full of menace, and it’s just such a joy to watch him that I’d love for some more Kelvin, even if it didn’t provide any answers.


Cindy Chandler

With Alex heading to the Temple, I suspect we will actually be seeing Cindy again. The Oceanic Flight 815 flight attendant mysteriously vanished as the Tailies made their way to join the rest of the survivors and resurfaced when Jack, Kate and Sawyer were taken by the Others. She somehow became one of them, and joined them on Ben’s pilgrimage. How did Cindy become one of the Others? While she’s a relatively minor character, I suspect an episode featuring her would answer a whole lot of questions.


Sarah

Julie Bowen is amazing. Breaking out as Carol Vessey on Ed, she’s been a reliable, charming, girl-next-door love interest ever since. But more importantly, she seems vital to Jack’s emotional stability. We know she’s still around in the future, pregnant, which raises one big question: who’s the daddy? That has the potential to be a huge pay-off, and I can’t wait to see her again.


Libby

Technically we just saw her in “Meet Kevin Johnson,” but I don’t accept that. She was (I assume) just a ghost, a manifestation of Michael’s guilt over murdering her. What we do know about Libby is that she gave Desmond her boat and she was in Hurley’s mental institution. As the only series regular never to have a flashback episode, viewers probably have more questions about her than any other character. The Lost producers have promised that Libby’s story will be told, and I just keep hoping they weren’t lying to us.

Five Questions about "The Economist"

Not only was the third episode of Lost's fourth season a great showcase for Sayid, but it also played out like a Hitchcock film crossed with an hour of Alias. We got the chance to see Sayid trotting the globe as a suave undercover agent, but the big twist at the end was that he was taking orders from Ben. What drove the former Iraqi soldier to start working for one of his worst enemies? It's a big question, and one that we probably won't get an answer to in the five remaining installments of the current season.

Looking back on the episode, we've managed to come up with five burning questions about "The Economist." Read on for crazy theories involving such topics as teleportation and Billy Dee Williams.



1) What did "RG" stand for on Naomi's bracelet?

Poor, dead Naomi. Her bracelet was inscribed with the message "N, I'll always be with you. RG," but who is this RG person? Many people think these initials belong to Regina, who, shortly after finding out about Naomi's death, wrapped herself in chains and jumped into the ocean. This seems like the most probable explanation to me, though we've yet to learn Regina's last name.

2) Why does Jacob's cabin mysteriously disappear?

There are many strange mysteries on Lost that, even if I don't know the answers to them, I can at least imagine some possible explanations for. Jacob may be a ghost or unstuck in time. That makes sense. Theories of quantum entanglement may explain how the island can control Michael's (Harold Perrineau) actions from thousands of miles away. Polar bears may be able to teleport to Tunisia. Of course, why not?

However, the one thing I cannot even begin to figure out is how, and why, Jacob's cabin keeps bouncing all around the island. Does it only appear when it wants to be found by people like Hurley (Jorge Garcia) and Ben? Is it just an island manifestation? Any help with this one would be appreciated.

3) How is Ben leaving the island?

Sayid found oodles of passports in Ben's (Michael Emerson) secret hideaway in this episode, and in "Meet Kevin Johnson" we learned that Mr. Friendly also took jaunts to the mainland. The question is, how do they do it? Perhaps they were using the submarine that Locke (Terry O'Quinn) blew sky high, or maybe there's another way. I seem to be in love with ideas of teleportation lately, so maybe it's possible that the Others have access to such a device. From what we've seen in the Orchid station orientation video, it's not completely far-fetched.

Actually, after thinking about it, the submarine is more likely. Not everything has to have some outlandish scientific explanation.

4) Who is the economist?

I was rewatching the fantastic Nikki and Paulo opus, "Exposé," last week, and I still think that the events involving the Cobra must have some deeper meaning. If you're a little rusty on the episode, there's a moment in the show within a show where it's revealed that good guy Mr. LaShade, played by Billy Dee Williams, was really the evil, mysterious Cobra for four seasons. According to Hurley, this reveal was a shocking twist for Exposé fans.

This clever moment has to be a meta reference to something that will actually happen on Lost, possibly at the end of this fourth season. Before "The Economist," I figured that it might be the identity of Jacob that was the big, shocking reveal. However, maybe the shocker will be the man Elsa was working for in Sayid's flash forward. We may think it's Charles Widmore, but what if it's actually one of the good guys plotting against his former friends? Anything is possible.

5) Why is Sayid working for Ben?

Sometime in the future, Sayid (Naveen Andrews) is working as a hired gun for Ben, knocking people off in order to protect his friends. All we know is that something terrible happened when Sayid followed his heart. Somebody likely ended up dead due to a mistake that he made, and Ben is using Sayid's guilt to his advantage.

My guess is that the economist and his gang are knocking off the Losties in an attempt to keep the Oceanic conspiracy alive. I don't believe that Sayid would ever work for Ben unless his friends were truly in danger, so somebody must be after the castaways. As always, my theories could be completely incorrect, but being proven wrong is all part of the Lost experience.

Readers Respond to "The Beginning of the End" and "Confirmed Dead" Questions

Last week, we took a look back at the first two episodes of Lost's fourth season, "The Beginning of the End" and "Confirmed Dead," and posed some of the burning questions that remain from those installments. I was surprised by how many mysteries were still unanswered from those early episodes, but I guess Lost loves to keep our brains spinning. After thinking about the questions I brought up, BuddyTV readers had their own theories about the mysterious happenings on the island. Read on for some of the best responses, and get ready to have your mind blown all over again.

Starting with "The Beginning of the End," one of my big questions was why Hurley (Jorge Garcia) lied about knowing Ana-Lucia. buddysbunny agreed that it was the most important query of all, stating, "Yes, I think the biggest question is -THE LIE. Because that lie is keeping them from leading a new life or getting on with a new life. Every time they lie it brings the truth and what happen back."

fizban8535 thinks the reason for the lie is rather simple, in that telling the truth would raise far too many questions. "Hurley lied about Ana-Lucia because it is easier than explaining the truth that she was shot to death by Michael (who goes by another name now, so that would make it harder to verify) to help Ben (Michael Emerson) escape," he wrote. "Do you know how many more questions that will raise? Same exact reason why Jack lied on the stand about only eight people originally surviving the crash."

Another thing that wasn't answered in the episode is when Hurley's flash forward took place. Just how long after leaving the island did he start seeing dead people? 80sPro thinks she has it figured out. "Say Aaron is around 2 1/2 - that would be two years from the point they're at now," she writes. "Good call on the suit - yes Jack sees Hurley the same day [of Kate's trial]. 7 months from leaving the Island Hurley is fine, a year and a half later he isn't. Another year after that, Jack isn't too. After someone dies that Jack (Matthew Fox) says 'sorry' to, after Jack tries to get meds using Daddy's scrips. I say it is three years later when they firmly decide they have to go back. And about the eye. Any theories floating around that it is an older Hurley?"

The owner of that eyeball may remain a mystery for a while longer. The next episode, "Confirmed Dead," gave us one of the most mind blowing events of all when they introduced a polar bear in the middle of the desert. erindreg wrote, "I think the reason the polar bear was found in Tunisia is because of Dharma testing. They placed the polar bear in an unlikely region so that they could easily tell if their tele-transport experiment worked."

Speaking of teleportation, CamaroHeed had some similar thoughts regarding the polar bear. "A related theory goes back to the rabbit cloning/teleportation/time travel Dharma video," he said. "Rabbit #15 (at least I think it was #15) was being held by Mister Candle (or whatever his names are) and then the same rabbit appears behind him on the shelf. Either it has been cloned or has arrived from another point in time. From his reaction, it sounds like it arrived from another point in time. Forget about the time travel for a moment, the main point here is that it appeared out of thin air. If that is possible, they can 'place' a polar bear wherever. Why it was placed there, I don't know. Maybe it was random, or a mistake, or maybe it was on purpose."

So many strange events happen on Lost that it can be tough to know when to stop asking questions. In my article, I posited that the rain in the jungle stops so abruptly due to all of the time wonkiness on the island. As inalehk put it, "Why do people make a big deal about the rain on the island starting and stopping so abruptly? It's the jungle, that's what happens."

Maybe there are some questions on Lost that are a lot easier to answer than we think.

What to Do with the Non-Oceanic 6 on 'Lost'

The character-centric episode structure of Lost is both a blessing and a curse. In the first two seasons, it was a brilliant way to slowly reveal secrets and connections among the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. Fans and even the writers of Lost quickly realized this was getting stale, giving us sub-par, filler episodes like John Locke’s misadventures on a commune or Jack’s Thailand tattoo.

Surely the flash forward shift helped alleviate some of the problems, but how will the writers deal with characters who don’t make it off the island? For the first part of season 4, they’ve carefully avoided seriously addressing that issue. Of the first eight episodes, four featured flash forwards, two filled in details of how people came (or came back) to the island, one played with the conception of time, and the final one simply featured flashbacks on the island.

Thus far, there has not been a single episode in the old tradition of featuring a stand-alone story arc that takes place in the past off the island. Not coincidentally, Sawyer, Locke and Claire, the three series regulars who are not members of the Oceanic 6, have yet to get their flashback episodes.

I bring this up because, heading into the final five episodes of the season, the writers are in trouble if they want to keep up the tradition of giving each series regular a featured episode. Thus far, almost every series regular has had an episode devoted to him, her or them at least once in every season they were a regular (the sole exception being Libby in season 2). Nikki and Paulo had one. Ben had one. Even Mr. Eko had one in season 3.

Following this logic, it should already be set in stone who these final five episodes will focus on. Locke, Sawyer, Claire, Jack and Ben are the only series regulars not yet featured in their own episodes. Yes, Jack popped up for Kate and Hurley, and Ben showed up in Sayid’s episode, but none have had their own time to shine.

Will the writers spread the wealth and allow these other characters to be the stars in the post-strike episodes? Recent spoilers provide some clues and for more on that, read up on Post-Strike Lost Spoilers for Season 4. However, this article and the views expressed are in no way influenced by those spoilers.

The questions remains: how can the writers make Sawyer, Locke or Claire-centric episodes interesting when the story is now all about the future? Here’s where I propose an idea of pure genius: give them flash forwards too. Thus far, we’ve seen several flash forwards taking place in the real world. Just imagine the structural madness of telling flash forwards that take place on the island. These new flash forwards can show us what will happen on the island once the Oceanic 6 leave.

The problem, you may suggest, is what happens when the real-time action on the island catches up with these on-island flash forwards? Simple. After the Oceanic 6 leave the island (probably at the end of this season), the story should immediately skip forward to when Jack and whoever else returns, several years later. It would be like the end of the second season of Battletstar Galactica, only cooler. Then they could switch back to flashbacks to tell the rest of what happened in the absence of the Oceanic 6.

Perhaps this is all crazy, but I’m offering a very real solution to a very real problem we’re about to face. After such great, forward-looking episodes, do we really want to see Sawyer con another person in the past? Do we need to see how John Locke got a job at the box factory? The answer is no, but the solution cannot simply be to ignore these characters for the rest of the series, dropping them into background status. By introducing flash forwards, the Lost writers accidentally made flashbacks even more useless and boring. We’re done seeing what has happened, now we want to know what will happen

Lost: Appearances Can Be Deceiving

Monday, March 17, 2008

I've heard from many people who broke down in tears upon learning of Jin's death at the end of last week's Lost episode, "Ji Yeon." I should point out that these weepers weren't people who cry over every touching Maxwell House commercial they see on television, but mostly folks who never shed a tear in front of the tube. Considering that I'm someone who proudly admits to occasionally crying over touching TV shows, I was surprised that I was barely moved by the last few minutes of "Ji Yeon." I thought the episode was fantastic, and I'm often touched by any story involving Sun and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim), but I didn't get emotional due to one simple fact: I didn't believe for a moment that Jin was actually dead.

It's become apparent over the past seven episodes that the flash forwards in Lost's fourth season are littered with lies. Jack (Matthew Fox) lied on the witness stand at Kate's trial, Hurley (Jorge Garcia) lied about knowing Ana-Lucia, and Sayid (Naveen Andrews) built a post-island career on deception. The Oceanic Six are obviously covering something monumentally important, and they're going out of their way on a daily basis to keep the illusion of their story alive. They want the world to believe that only six of them survived their time on the island, and they're willing to perjure themselves to do it if they have to.

We may not know why they're lying, but I think it's safe to say that even a show as daring as Lost isn't going to kill all but six cast members before the end of the series. I'm positive that the remaining castaways are still stuck on that pesky island. I can't say why they were left behind or why the Oceanic Six are lying about it, but I know that Claire (Emilie de Ravin), Jin, and everyone else we love is still there. They're still waiting and hoping for rescue, which is why Jack feels so ridiculously guilty and has a great need to go back to the island.

Why would Claire ever allow herself to be separated from her baby? Why would Jin stay behind while Sun (Yunjin Kim) left without him? I don't know. However, I do know that both characters would gladly stay behind if it meant their loved ones could escape the island. I think that by the end of the season, the Losties will be forced to make some tough decisions as to who will leave and who will stay. Difficult choices will be made, and both Claire and Jin will give up being close to their families in order to give them better futures.

For those wondering why Sun would break down at Jin's grave if she knew he was alive, let's remember that the Oceanic Six are celebrities in the future. Sun would have to go to his grave to keep up appearances with the press. Not only that, but she may see his grave as a tangible reminder of her husband and the deceitful choice they made that tore them apart.

I really wish I could have shed a tear or two over Jin's "demise," but this is Lost we're talking about here. We can't believe anything until we've seen it with our own eyes, and even then there's still room for doubt.

Preview of 'Lost' Episode 4.7, "Ji Yeon"

Last week's episode of Lost, "The Other Woman," seemed to split the fanbase right down the middle. Some people loved it for taking time out from the mythology to focus on filling in the blanks in Juliet's past, and others thought it was boring and pointless. Tomorrow night's episode, entitled "Ji Yeon," looks to be getting back to the action on the freighter. ABC has also promised that we'll discover the final members of the Oceanic Six and learn the identity of Ben's (Michael Emerson) man on the freighter. It should be an action packed episode filled with answers and revelations, which is usually when Lost is at its best.

To prepare for this Thursday's installment, we have some promo pictures and an exciting clip from "Ji Yeon."

ABC's official description of the episode reads, "Juliet is forced to reveal some startling news to Jin when Sun threatens to move to Locke's camp. Meanwhile, Sayid (Naveen Andrews) and Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) begin to get an idea of the freighter crew's mission when they meet the ship's Captain."

I'm guessing that the news Juliet breaks to Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) is the fact that Sun will die if she gives birth on the island. I'm also intrigued by the notion of finding out what the freighter crew is up to. However, the mystery I really want cleared up is whether or not Aaron is considered one of the Oceanic Six. And if he's not, why? This is a question that my friends have been talking about for weeks, and I look forward to finally having it cleared up by the end of Thursday's episode.

The first photo gives us a glimpse of the man who may be the captain of the freighter.



Here we see that Doctor Ray will be returning. He's the man who tried to calm Desmond down in "The Constant."



This clip from the episode shows Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) and Sun (Yunjin Kim) having a bit of a confrontation:



"Ji Yeon" airs this Thursday at 9pm on ABC.

Who is Ben's Man on the Boat?

One of the big questions that will be answered on Thursday's episode of Lost is who Ben's man on the freighter is. Readers have been theorizing about the identity of the freighter man for weeks, and while most of us think we have it all figured out, is it possible that Lost is planning to blow our minds with a giant surprise? It certainly wouldn't be the first time the show has subverted our expectations and made our jaws drop.

Based on nothing but my own crackpot theories, I have three completely spoiler-free ideas of who Ben's "man" might be. In fact, what if the person on the boat isn't a man at all? That idea may not be as crazy as you think.

Michael

Let's admit it: we all think Michael is the one on the boat. Harold Perrineau's name has been in the opening credits all season, we know he's coming back, and the only sensible way to get him back to the island would be on the freighter. We don't know what kind of deal he made with Ben (Michael Emerson) to escape the island, but it could have involved becoming a mole of some sort.

While this idea makes perfect sense, I'm against it because it feels far too obvious. I won't be upset if Michael is the man, but I'll be confused as to why the writers teased something so obvious for so long. Even if you watched the series years down the road on DVD, Harold Perrineau's return to the credits coupled with the knowledge of a mole would still make it obvious. I think the Lost writers may be up to something a little trickier.

Walt

Now here is a possibility that would be extremely interesting. While referring to Walt as a "man" may be a bit of a stretch even after a growth spurt, it would definitely be a bigger surprise if he were the mole. Maybe both Walt and Michael are on the freighter, but Walt is the one actually communicating with Ben and feeding him information. We know Walt can appear on the island and possibly communicate telepathically, so it seems as though it'd be a lot easier for him to chat with Ben than it would be for Michael. Maybe he's doing something against his father's wishes.

A Woman

If there's one thing I learned from the first season of Alias, it's that someone referred to as "The Man" can most certainly be a woman. Could another show produced by J.J. Abrams be attempting to pull the same trick?

I'll admit, if the mole is a woman I truly have no idea who it could be. My best guess in different circumstances would be Libby, but since she's pretty dead it seems rather unlikely. Penny is also out of the question since Desmond just chatted with her on the phone recently. How about Jack's (Matthew Fox) ex-wife? Juliet's (Elizabeth Mitchell) sister? A clone of Sun (Yunjin Kim)? Sayid's (Naveen Andrews) long lost Nadia? I have no clue, but I'm keeping my mind open for any possibility.

Thankfully we only have to wait two more days before we'll discover the secret identity of the man (or woman) on the boat. I'm putting my money down on Walt being the mole. Who do you think it could be?

Lost: What Wll Happen on Thursday?

Monday, March 10, 2008

This week's episode of Lost promises to be an exciting one. The previews promised we're going to learn who Ben's man on the freighter is (probably Michael) and who the final two members of the Oceanic 6 are. Originally the post-strike plan was to let this serve as the last new episode, then take a five week break before returning with the second half of the season, beginning with episode eight, which was actually filmed before the strike. However, those plans changed and now the eighth episode will air next week, March 20, followed by a five week break, after which time the final five episodes of the season will continue Thursdays at 10pm, following the new episodes of Grey's Anatomy.

WARNING: This article contains possible spoilers about this week's episode.

Various spoiler sources are reporting that there is going to be a major death on this week's episode. According to TV Guide's Michael Ausiello, the character who dies will be an original Oceanic 815 passenger. Since season 1, Lost has continually proved to be the most unpredictable show on TV and a big part of this has been the writers intestinal fortitude when it comes to character deaths. Lost is not afraid to kill off beloved characters. Going in to Thursday's episode, there are a few contenders poised for an untimely demise. The Ausiello spoiler, if true, tells us it won't be Juliet, or any of the four freighter people now on the island. We can also rule out known members of the Oceanic 6, who include Hurley, Jack, Kate and Sayid. Who, then, is left?


Sawyer

This would certainly be shocking, but Sawyer is too important to Lost to be killed off unexpectedly, especially in an episode where Sawyer isn't featured. I worry that Sawyer's character may not have a lot of story juice left going forward, but he should be safe for awhile.

Locke

The same thing with Sawyer, except that Locke has a lot of story left to tell. He and Ben's relationship is integral to the series, and won't be ending any time soon.

Claire

Now, I think Claire is going to die at some point, given the fact that Kate will eventually end up taking care of Aaron back on the mainland. But, I don't expect her death to take place until the end of this season when the Oceanic 6 get off the island. For one, Kate and Claire are in different areas of the island going into Thursday's episode and I don't see a realistic scenario in which Claire gets killed. Yet.

Jin

It's probably going to be either Sun or Jin who dies on Thursday. I've got a bit of a crazy theory, so hear me out. The episode is titled “Ji Yeon” which is said to be the name of Jin and Sun's as-yet unborn daughter. It has been said that the Oceanic 6 will be fully revealed during Thursday's episode, and since the episode will feature Jin and Sun, it's likely that it will be a flash forward showing that Jin and Sun are the final two members of the Oceanic 6, probably living in Korea with their child. So, where does the death come in?

Sun

Lost is always trying to change things up and surprise the viewers. What if Sun died in the flash forward, as a result of island after-effects? Or, what if she is sick of lying, gets ready to tell the truth, and one of the secret-keepers takes her out?

That's my bold prediction: Sun will die in her flash forward.

Lost: Episode 4.6 "The Other Woman" Live Thoughts

Previously on Lost: Desmond and Sayid (Naveen Andrews) finally arrived at the freighter, but we didn't get to know the freighter people very well because Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) was busy bouncing around time. It turns out that Daniel might be a time tripper as well. Back on the island, Locke still has Ben and Miles locked up in the barracks while most of the other castaways are packing their bags and preparing to go home.

Tonight's episode focuses on Juliet, who may be willing to go to great lengths to stop Daniel and Charlotte from completing their mission. Can "The Other Woman" possibly live up to the mind boggling events of last week's installment? Read on and find out.
The hour kicks off with Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) meeting with a therapist named Harper about the difficulties she's having dealing with fame. No, she's not one of the Oceanic Six. This is a flashback to shortly after Juliet arrived on the island, and the "fame" she's dealing with is being a much in demand doctor. She leaves the therapist's office and meets Ben for the first time. He shows her the fancy house she'll be living in, but she insists that it's too much since she'll only be on the island for six months.

In present time, Jack is freaking out because Charlotte and Daniel have disappeared into the jungle with some stuff that doesn't belong to them. The gang spreads out into the jungle after them. Juliet immediately starts hearing whispers as the rain pours down. Suddenly Harper appears out of nowhere and says, "Hello Juliet. Long time, no see."

The woman tells Juliet that she's arrived with a message from Ben. She says that Daniel and Charlotte are off to The Tempest station to release some gas on the island. If they release it, everyone on the island will die. Jack (Matthew Fox) interrupts and asks who the woman is, but she swiftly disappears while he's distracted by more jungle whispers.

Flashback time. Juliet meets Goodwin for the first time by treating a chemical burn on his arm. He happens to be married to the therapist Harper, who Juliet accidentally calls a mean and spiteful person. Goodwin tells her to come to him if she ever needs to talk about the trouble she's having with the pregnant women dying on the island.

According to Juliet, The Tempest is an electrical station that powers the island. Juliet tells Jack that she needs his help, but she neglects to tell him about the plan that Charlotte and Daniel are supposedly concocting. The next morning the two freighter folks are in the jungle. Dan asks what happens if he can't go through with the plan, but Charlotte assures him he can handle it. Before they can move on, Kate (Evangeline Lilly) interrupts them and Charlotte whips out her pistol.

Kate informs the duo that Locke is holding Miles, but she ensures that he's just fine. Charlotte feeds her some story about how they're looking for packs that they threw from the chopper, but Kate doesn't buy it. When she decides to investigate Dan's bag, Charlotte pistol whips her and knocks her out.

In the land of flashbacks, Ben (Michael Emerson) is eyeing Juliet with creepy, lovestruck eyes while she looks into a microscope. Goodwin stops by to give Juliet a sandwich, which immediately queues up Michael Giacchino's strings and indicates that Ben doesn't like this guy talking to his crush. Later in therapy, Harper mentions to Juliet that Ben is fond of her because she reminds him of someone else. She also knows that Juliet is sleeping with her husband. She wants Juliet to stop the affair so Ben won't get hurt. I have no clue what she's talking about, but I'm sure we'll find out.

Is it just me, or has Claire (Emilie de Ravin) shown a remarkable lack of grief over Charlie's death? She tells Locke that she wants to talk to Miles to try to get some info out of him. In the basement, Ben is still reading Valis while John brings him some tasty rabbit for dinner. Ben, who is of course being very Ben-like, is trying to get into Locke's head about his leadership abilities. He tells John that they have a common enemy: the man that the freighter folks work for. Ben says that if John lets him out he'll tell him everything, but that's the same old song we've heard a thousand times before.

Juliet is enjoying a lovely picnic with Goodwin on the beach. He hates that they have to be so private about their relationship, but Juliet advises him not to tell his wife. She says that Ben wouldn't like the news because he has a crush on her. We then cut to the moment when the plane crashes and Ben sends Goodwin to infiltrate the Tailies. Did he do that because he suspected Juliet was sleeping with someone? Devious!

Jack and Juliet find Kate knocked out in the jungle. She tells Jack what happened and also lets him know about the gas masks while Juliet disappears to grab some water. However, "grabbing water" is really a code for vanishing into the jungle. In the barracks, Locke (Terry O'Quinn) is ready to make a deal with Ben. Ben proves he's not just blowing smoke again by showing John a safe in one of the walls. Inside the safe is a videotape containing footage of Charles Widmore. Ben tells Locke that Widmore is the man who sent the freighter. He's searching for the island, but Ben doesn't know why. He just knows that Widmore wants to exploit the island and all the people on it, therefore he must be John's greatest enemy. He gives Locke a file on Widmore and also promises to tell him who the man on the boat is.

Of course, just as he's about to blurt out that news the show cuts to commercial. Argh!

While Jack and Kate track Juliet through the jungle, Kate explains that she stayed with John to find out if the freighter folk knew about her past. Meanwhile, Juliet has arrived at The Tempest. She flashbacks to a dinner with an overly perky Ben, which is one of the weirdest sights I've seen on this show. He's smiling and cooking and generally much happier than he's ever appeared to be. She's concerned that they've kidnapped children from the Tailies, but Ben insists that they're on the list and the list cannot be questioned. Juliet is also concerned that Goodwin is still undercover, but Ben assures her that his assignment will be over soon.

Inside The Tempest, Daniel is in a hazmat suit and frantically typing into a computer while a warning alarm goes off. He insists that he's trying to render the gas inert and not release it. That would be more believable if Charlotte didn't come up behind Juliet and whack her with a crowbar. A giant fight breaks out, and after the fight Charlotte insists that they're trying to stop the gas so Ben can't use it against them. Daniel does his thing and ensures that the gas won't be released.

Back in the past, Juliet is telling Ben that a spinal surgeon has landed on the island. Ben thanks her by taking her to see Goodwin's dead, impaled body, and she's understandably devastated. It looks like Ben had a man killed just because he had a little crush. He then tells Juliet that she belongs to him because he brought her to the island. Creep-tastic!

Jack and Kate arrive at The Tempest. Juliet explains that Charlotte and Daniel were only trying to help. She's also figured out that Ben gave her the message because he wanted Juliet to kill the two of them. His plan nearly worked, and she's afraid it will work at some point because Ben is completely crazy and obsessed with her. He's not going to give up until he wins.

In the barracks, Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and Hurley (Jorge Garcia) are playing horseshoes while Ben walks by jauntily with his laundry. He says he'll see them at dinner. For once, Lost ends with a chuckle instead of a jaw dropping revelation. Next week we get to find out who the final member of the Oceanic Six is!