Lost Thoughts: The Shape of Things to Come

Boy, I'll really hand it to the writers of Lost. Their ability to absolutely take my breath away in every episode in amazing. More than once I gripped the sofa not believing what I was seeing or hearing. But since so much happened tonight, let's hash it out.

Jack and the Case of the Tummy Troubles -
Jack is pretty benign this episode (but isn't he always?), except to pop a few pills (wait, I'm getting a vision of your future Jack!) for a self-diagnosed stomach bug. Well there you have it, a neatly framed plot device for not-tonight's episode.

Better Off Than the Other Doc -
The Boater's doc is having more than tummy trouble right now. Poor guy's had his throat slit and ended up in the ocean, washing ashore for the Losties to find. The only trouble is, the Boaters send word that the doc's fine. I'm getting a whiff of more space-time continuim shenanigans. Or could the Boaters be lying to pacify the Island folk?

GI Joe -
Let's all give a big jungle welcome to Martin Keemey (sp?...oh heck, let's just call him GI Joe)! Joe and his army pals are storming the jungle, and have so far shot down Karl, Danielle Rousseau, and Karl's water bottle. And now they have Alex as a bargaining chip to ferret Ben out of his hole. Do the other on-island Boaters know about GI Joe & company? And is the green beret objective to kill everyone on the island, like Ben says? If that's not their objective, then Claire's house must've done something to really piss them off. Watch out other Losties! He hates these houses! More houses!

Like Fish in a Barrel -

The writers...I mean, jungle commandos....did a nice job of picking off the extraneous crash survivors that had to be explained away. What have we learned from this? If you see someone just out the door getting shot, wait a little bit before running to help them. I swear, if one more body went down I would've thought it was an episode of The Family Guy.

Awesome Use of a Gun in a Piano Bench -

This deserves a badass shout-out. Ben quietly playing a sonata on his piano has a sawed-off shotgun ready to rock in the piano bench...you know, just in case. Now that is wicked crazy laugh-outloud awesome.

Farewell, Alex. I Hardly Mocked You -

In a very brutal and gasp-enducing moment, we see GI Joe personally take out Alex with a single bullet to the back of the head - right in full view of Ben. Even this bloodless "family friendly" execution for network tv is gut wrenching to watch. And nearly as wrenching was seeing some true emotion register on Ben's face besides gratification. Mark this as the point in the series where the game escalates and all the rules have changed - as it appropriately marked by Ben's comments "He changed the rules". Clearly, Ben thought that Papa Widmore wouldn't go after his daughter. Ben thought wrong.

Unleash the Dogs of War -

Apparently the changing of the "rules" between Ben and Papa Widmore entailed Ben not unleashing the Security System Smoke Monster Beastie on any commandos that raid his town. But with poor Alex's lifeless corpse just outside his livingroom window, I think Ben changed his mind. As we learn this episode, the "controls" or "command center" for the Smoke Beastie are hidden in Ben's suit vault, behind the suits, behind the false closet back, behind the foot-thick concrete door.

Ben's Frequent Flyer Miles -

This week's flash forward is brought to you by the date 10/24/2005. That's roughly just after Ben mysteriously awakes in the Sahara Desert, caps a couple of Arab riders, steals their horse, and makes for a Tunisian hotel where he's a "preferred customer". I don't know whose face looked more shocked and intimidated during that whole sequence: My face at seeing Ben ride off on a horse like a General going to war, or the poor Concierge lady at the hotel realizing what kind of "preferred customer" Ben is. So why did Ben wake up in the desert? Who left him there? And why was he wearing a coat/jumper with a "Halliwax" label on it? Is that anything like Haliburton? Because those people scare the shit out of me too!

Where's Huey Lewis & The News When You Need Them? -

Something a little fishy about Ben's Tunisian hotel check-in was his lack of certainty about the date - specifically what year it was. Is there still more time travel hijinx afoot? Ugh.

Unlucky in Love -

While we're on Mr. Ben's Wild Ride across Tunisia, we discover the sad fate of poor Sayid - husband....nay, widower...to his beloved Nadia. Sayid had finally found and married his long lost love in LA, California. Only for her to be killed a VERY short time later. How did she die? Clearly it was at the hands of Papa Widmore, or so Sayid easily believes. Why would Papa Widmore still be going after Sayid and Nadia? To find out what they know about the Island's location?

The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship -

In Iraq, we catch up with Sayid mauling Ben at Nadia's funeral procession. Nah, it's not that interesting that this is where their alliance is formed, and where Sayid becomes an indentured servant to Ben, International Man of Mystery. What's more interesting is Ben's pep talk right before Sayid signs on the figurative dotted line: "Once you let your grief become anger, it never goes away." Is Ben only speaking of his grief over Alex? Or does he have a much longer, deeper grief he's been growing for many years?

Why Is Papa Still Alive??? -

So Ben breaks into Papa Widmore's hotel room, catches him fast asleep and snookered on McCutcheon's Whiskey. Game over. Papa should've hired a security squad (come to think of it, where is this mass murderer/conspirator/ne'er-do-weller's security force? Even Dr. Evil had the Fembots and Oddjob.) Anyway, back to Ben sneaking into his unprotected room. Why won't he just cap him right then and there? I know it's not very poetic since then he won't feel the pain of losing a child....yada, yada, yada...but then the Island would be safe, right? I'll go get my gun, we can do it together, BOOM!

Penny, Are Your Ears Burning? -

The price of being a rich kid. All the global assassins want to bump you off in retribution for your dad faking a commercial airline crash, hunting for a secret supernatural island, assassinating other daughters, and killing hundreds of innocent people. Poor little rich girl.

I Just Feel Bad For Desmond -

Com'on! It'd be nice for just one sweet adorable in-love couple to make it and find happiness in the normal outside world. We know it can't happen for Alex and Karl. Or Charlie and Claire. Or Sayid and Nadia. Or Sayid and Shannon. Or Kate and Jack. Or Kate and Sawyer. But why did they have to kill my buzz about Desmond and Penn? Damon and Carlton, who hurt you to make you hate love so much? WHO?

Stolen Property -

Just as Ben is announcing the vendetta against Penn, Papa Widmore drops a bombshell for the home audience - he once had control of the island (the Dharma Initiative, maybe?). And the way he sees it, Ben stole it from him. Nah, this doesn't answer anything or give us many more clues. But it's a tiny piece of the puzzle nonetheless.

FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE EPISODE:

"Australia's the key to the whole game." - Hurley says to Sawyer while playing a game of Risk

THINGS YOU MIGHT'VE MISSED:

• When Ben is bluffing to get to Papa Widmore's hotel room, he says he's going to see "Mr. & Mrs. Kendrick in 4E".


• The fence security code Alex punched in - which triggered the invasion alarm to Ben - was 1622. That is also the year of the Jamestown Massacre.


• When Ben encounters the desert riders, he speaks to them in Turkish, Arabic, and English, proving that Ben is multilingual.


• One of the desert riders notes that Ben did not leave a trail in the sand, asking "Where did he come from? Down from the sky?"


• Claire's put on a bit of weight, especially in the face - suggesting this actress might be pregnant. It's always fun to watch them play the game of "hide the belly" through episodes!

Lost Thoughts: "Confirmed Dead"

Last night's episode of Lost was one of those that frustrates even the most die-hard Lostie. It was a giant pile of enigmas with very few answers on top. And worse yet, it really came off as an episode setting up some very exciting action to come later, but didn't offer a whole lot of plot meat for us to sink our teeth into last night. It was all about several character introductions and teasers.

With lots to ponder though, here are my thoughts on the episode:

Flight 815 at the bottom of the Indian Ocean?!-
Naomi alluded to this a couple episodes ago, and now I realize she wasn't a liar-liar-pants-on-fire like I thought. So we find out tonight that sometime between September-December 2004 (since the plane crashed on Sept. 22, 2004), the plane is "accidentally" discovered at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, just off of Bali (why so far west of what should've been the flight path from Sydney to L.A.?). The show makes painstaking efforts to show us all sides of the plane to assure us that no parts could've gone astray and landed elsewhere. We even get to see the dead pilot corpse via camera as it's broadcast on international television (although a little suspicious that any news organization would show that on camera - is this bad writing by Damon and Carlton? Or a hint that something's up?). Very bizarre.

"That's not Seth Norris"-
So one of our many "flashbackees" tonight is Frank Lapidus, who reveals he was supposed to be the pilot of Flight 815, but was replaced by pilot Seth Norris at the last minute. What did he do to get pulled from that flight? Lucky bastard. And yes, it was Seth Norris that we "saw" get pulled from the cockpit by the monster in the "Pilot" episode - the same actor plays the doomed pilot in the first episode as is pictured on Frank's tv.

Anyway, Frankie is watching as the "wreckage of Flight 815" is explored via underwater cameras on tv. After seeing a close-up of the pilot corpse, he calls a hotline number for family members of Flight 815 victims to report that the corpse on television can't be Seth Norris: Seth Norris wears a wedding ring, and Frank is POSITIVE that's not him. This observation plays into a long-running show theory - could the plane wreckage be a fake, doctored up by organizations unknown? It's looking that way - especially since Damon and Carlton have hinted in the past that the show's secret is not connected with purgatory. And in order for that wreckage in the ocean to be real, all of our Losties would have to be dead spirits of some kind. Speaking of which...

Enter the Angry Ghostbuster-
Miles Straume is his name and being a moody little ghost-whispering prick is his game. He's another one of our flashbackees tonight, and we see him back in 2004 (just after the plane wreckage is discovered) busting ghosts for cash with the help of a Dustbuster-like device. Apparently our angry little friend can talk to and hear/understand dead spirits. Won't that come in handy? No seriously, I'm asking. Will it? Because if you know, I wanna know. And what is the deal with that Dustbuster? Does Miles even believe it does anything? Or is he conning people with it? (conning, of course, being a central theme of this show)

A Polar Bear With No Sense of Direction-
Well it looks like one of our friendly Dharma polar bears took a wrong turn past the Hydra Station and ended up in Tunisia. That's where another flashbackee, Charlotte Staples Lewis, goes to investigate a polar bear skeleton with a handy-dandy Dharma Hydra Station collar attached to it. Now, she has to bribe her way in to this "dig" site, which begs the questions: Which came first, the archaeological dig or the polar bear remains? Why is someone trying to keep a dig for polar bear remains "closed" (as we are notified by a local Tunisian)? Obviously Charlotte's little assistant didn't know what they were looking for since she's well-trained enough to mistake the polar bear bones for a dinosaur. But it seems Charlotte is pleased to find the Dharma collar. Is that what she was at the site to find? Who sent Charlotte to find Mr. Bear? Thank goodness she ditched her ditsy assistant before heading to the island!

All Shook Up-
Our final new flashbackee doesn't have much to him. He's a squirrelly little fella named Daniel Faraday who is emotionally crushed when the remains of Flight 815 were found in 2004. Why so heartbroken? His wife clearly doesn't understand his emotion. This is the second case we've seen in recent episodes of someone showing a mysterious amount of grief over someone(s) they are not friends or family with (remember Jack mourning the mystery coffin right after his performance on the bridge?). Hmmmm....

I Love it When a Plan Comes Together-
So Naomi plotted with Matthew Abbadon (who I like to call Mr. Suit, because all of these new characters' names just sound too made up for words) to send a crack team of "experts" on to the island for a covert operation, eh? And guess who's on the team? The ghostbuster, squirrelly guy, bone digger, and Frank the pessimistic pilot! You just have to wonder, why these guys? Naomi as a tactical expert, the Oceanic pilot, and the physicist make a marginal amount of sense...but why a ghostbuster? Or a bone digger? And almost equally puzzling, why don't they expect to find any living 815ers? Do they know in advance that the plane crashed on the island? In that case maybe they doubt anyone survived. I wonder....(to quote Brenda Lee)

They're On a Mission from God-
From what we know right now, apparently they're going in to get our friend, Ben. It's pretty flattering that Ben is so wanted that someone would assemble an entire covert operation just to get him. Why do they want him so much? How did they get that picture of Ben and where was it taken? And what do they intend to do with him? Whatever it is, I'm guessing that it ain't pretty.

But even more quizzical - Why did Naomi have the Desmond & Penny picture when she landed?, How did she get it?, and Why did she say she was looking for Desmond??? Plus when she landed, why tell the Losties all about outsiders finding Flight 815 with no survivors? She seemed so surprised and forthcoming. Why?

Captain Jack Will Get You By Tonight-
When the A-Team parachutes down to the island after flying through an "electrical storm", Kate and Jack collect Daniel and Miles, who then hold them at gunpoint (why does this always happen to Kate?) until Miles can shakedown dead Naomi for the scoop on how she died...and until badass Sayid and Juliet show up with some artillery to rescue Jack and Kate (rock on, Sayid!). When they also go to collect Frank, too, we start to FINALLY get to the good stuff. A.) they have a working chopper. Hooray! B.) Frankie-boy was smart enough to memorize the passenger manifest and quickly realizes Juliet is a "native". Cool. The shizz is gonna go down. Oh, and has anyone else thought that Miles reminds them a lot of Booger from "Revenge of the Nerds"? Seriously, pay attention next time and you'll see what I mean.

A few mysteries remain about the A-Team: Why did they bail with a quarantine-marked box full of gas masks? Another purge, anyone? Plus there's the whole "Minkowski" thing. Who the crap is Minkowski? And why won't he take an important radio transmission from the island? What could be happening on that freighter that is so much more important? Me thinks we'll find out in a future episode!

Locke's Wild Ride-
We join Locke leading his cult of Lockettes (and Ben on a leash) around the island trying to avoid the "rescuers". So naturally they stumble right into sweet-as-sugar Charlotte who's just parachuted in and has a sack full of lies to tell them. Chiefly she won't reveal where the chopper was trying to land (presumably because she doesn't want them finding it in case the chopper's ok). Why does she sound so deceptive and unsure when naming the number of people on the chopper? One thing's for sure. She's a good little liar.

Hurley's Cabin of Fun-
When they found Charlotte, the Lockettes were actually on their way to Jacob's cabin for guidance. Except that Hurley hastily corrects Locke at one point to note that the cabin is "back that way". This causes some very shocked and knowing expressions pass between Locke and Ben. You know they're wondering: Did Hurley really see Jacob's cabin? Why did he see it over in the opposite direction that Locke is familiar with? Did Jacob summon Hurley? Why? Naturally Hurley backpedals and covers up his verbal slip. But it's out there. And now both Ben and Locke know there's something special about Hurley. It just got INTERESTING!

It's All About Ben-
So....it turns out Sawyer was right: Ben-on-a-leash was just waiting for his moment to act out. So he shot Char right in the bulletproof vest. The interesting part is what ensues. At seeing all of this unfold, Locke realized two things:

1. The group wasn't going to tolerate Ben any longer.

2. He needed answers fast about what this woman was up to that she needed a bulletproof vest to parachute on to an island.

So he put on a show for the Lockettes. He acted like he was going to kill Ben, when both he AND Ben know that he's not a killer (when he took the gun he said "I'll clean up my own mess" - the SAME wording Ben used in describing Locke's failed responsibility to kill his father). He was just making a scene so it looks like he's taking action and getting answers. If he wanted Ben dead, he wouldn't have taken the gun away from Sawyer, his favorite assassin. It was all a bluff.

Now, does Ben really not know what the smoke monster is? (I clenched so tight when Locke asked!) And who is this mystery person that Ben is in cahoots with on the boat?


Things You Might've Missed:

• FOR A GOOD TIME, CALL 1-888-548-0034 (the Oceanic Airlines hotline). Go on, give it a try!


• Charlotte Staples Lewis is obviously an homage to Clive Staples Lewis - better known as C.S. Lewis, author of "The Chronicles of Narnia".


• Twitchy physicist Danny Faraday is probably named after famous physicist Michael Faraday who specialized in magnetism studies and light ray effects (did you notice that Danny mentions the odd light ray effects in the jungle??)


• The choppers numbers were: N842M - note the "numbers" present! This serial number would make it an American chopper.
• If you're adding up the days on the island, this episode takes place on Day 94 - Christmas Eve, 1994!
• The band Dirt Spigot emerges again! In the bedroom Miles worked in, there was a Dirt Spigot poster. We heard of this band previously during Charlie's "Everybutties" commercial shoot. The director says he wanted Dirt Spigot for the ad instead of Driveshaft.

photo cred