Thursday, February 07, 2008

LOST: Season 4 Episode 2 - Confirmed Dead

Welcome back Losties! Isn't it just a wonderful feeling to have LOST back in our lives? A great feeling with a hint of anxiety that in 6 more episodes, we're going to get a line like "I have a man on their boat" and then see LOST pop up on the screen and be told "That's it for season 4 folks!" Yikes....The good news is, we might see the strike ending "unofficially" this Saturday after the results of the negotiations are presented to the union. Meaning...writing can commence! How this affects LOST remains to be seen! But after "Confirmed Dead," I can start to see the producers' concerns about leaving the show up-in-the-air mid season. There will be many unhappy fans! But for a 7 day break? I can handle these types of cliffhangers. So what did I think of the episode? I enjoyed it. It's always tough to integrate new faces into the show. We welcomed Desmond, Ben and Juliet as they were integrated pretty seamlessly. Eko was a bada$$ and that was cool with us! Bernard won us over because it was so shocking that he was Rose's husband (and the guy was Mr. Dewitt on Growing Pains come on!) ANA LUCIA? Yikes, can't we just forget that ever happened without Big Mike calling her Gorgeous in season 4? Anyway...here we are introducing 4 more characters (well 5 if you include Abbaddon) very suddenly. But, I liked how they did it. Instead of giving each one their own episode for a backstory (which I fully anticipated), they put it all into ONE episode, giving each one a flashback scene! WELCOME TO THE NEW ABBREVIATED LOST SEASONS folks! No wasting time! That's not saying there won't be more time dedicated to these folks. No telling yet! And sure, there are some bizarre twists going on now and that may frustrate some fans. But for me? I'm with Jack...let's let this thing play out! It's tough for one lost episode to stand on its own. We need to see the whole picture! I'm giving Episode 2 - "Confirmed Dead" a WOW! seal of approval!



Now, on with the show!



Basically tonight, while learning about the FREIGHTER FOLK, Team Jack and Team Locke slowly run into these 4 new characters. Conflicts ensue, Ben continues his trend of getting beaten to a pulp, love triangles (or rectangles) evolve, and lots of blog poster speculations are confirmed! (we have some smart readers!) Let's dive in and see what we find!


THE FREIGHTER CREW FLASHBACKS


Well Kids, it has been confirmed (just like the title of this episode). Naomi wasn't a TOTAL liar. The world at large definitely thinks Oceanic Flight 815 and all of its passengers are at the bottom of the ocean floor in the Sunda Trench off the coast of Bali. Bodies were identified and a huge cover-up is underway. But who is behind the cover-up? It's starting to sound like Oceanic Airlines themselves are behind it! And of course, as we've been discussing since last season...why the cover-up? Apparently, SOMEONE out there didn't want SOMEONE else to be looking for anyone on this island or perhaps the island itself!




For anyone following the FIND815 online LOST game going on, you'll recognize the name of the ship that was involved in finding 815"Christiane I" I wasn't really following it all that closely. But last week the Oceanic ad during Eli Stone suggested that Flight 815 WAS found. And when you went to http://www.flyoceanicair.com/ they had a News Reel covering the finding of the flight.

The finding of FAKE Flight 815 was tied into our first flashback of the night. Let's MEET THE FREIGHTIES shall we?

Before we begin, it might be important to note that all 4 of these people seem obsessed with the news that Flight 815 was found. The significance of this is still a mystery. It may have just been a way to tie the 4 stories together since it was a current event at the time.



1.) Danny Faraday - Played by the French Translator guy from Saving Private Ryan

  • Flashback took place in Essex Massachusetts
  • We don't learn much of Danny except we do see him crying at the news of Flight 815 being found and he doesn't know why. This may be later explained by the fact that he's a "headcase." After watching this show for 4 years, something tells me there is more to it!

2.) Miles Strum - played by the guy from that episode of the Sopranos with Uncle Junior in the nursing home (in fact, that episode is the very reason he was cast for this role)

  • Flashback takes place in Inglewood, California
  • Listens to the news of Flight 815 on the radio. Can't tell if he's obsessed with it, or if it just happens to be on the radio.
  • Okay, so we find out our buddy Miles is a Ghostbuster (maybe Ghost Whisperer?)? So, looking past the bizarre profession, is this confirming the actual existence of Ghosts in the LOST mythology? Is this hinting that season 4 will begin to uncover the truth around the visions our island folk have been having? (well if it's tied to the smoke monster....we sure didn't get the answer to THAT tonight! more on that later) Well, at this point...all we know is that Miles has a short temper and yep, he talks to ghosts! But I'm convinced, as with anything else in the Lost universe, nothing is as it initially seems. (well then again, Desmond DID see the future! but whatever! It's a crazy island! The DHARMA folks messed with the space time continuum!)
  • I was more interested at the picture on the wall that the camera blatantly focused on for awhile. I thought I was going out of my mind when I thought to myself (isn't that Eko as a child??). Sure enough, our friends at Sledgeweb (whom I've never met or associated with!) seem to have seen the relation too. Perhaps Mrs. Gardner is one of those "Adopt an African Child for 10 cents a day" type of people? All we know is that Mrs. Gardner had a child who was murdered and the GHOST was haunting the house. Well, Eko never actually made his way TO America (he was working on it...but that whole flight 815 thing happened!). So I just have one question to the powers that be.....WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON????? Now granted, it might not be Eko. But come on....they used a look-a-like for a reason, didn't they?
  • Let's see...what else? Well Miles had his own crazy ghost busting machine which seemed to draw out the ghost. But he did talk to GHOST BOY after he turned the machine off too. Just a bizarre little flashback. Not much else to say about it!
  • Except we do get confirmation of SOMETHING else in that room when the "ghost" knocks something over near the big pay day that Miles was looking for. A bunch of cash....and some zip locked drugs.
  • I would also throw out there that maybe this is all Henry Gale (the real Henry Gale) related, but he's from Minnesota. I have a feeling that we'll be getting some Henry Gale information eventually this season! I mean...why WAS there a balloon on this island with henry all buried under it? As confirmed with this episode, BEN has information....and I'm gonna guess as much as our survivors want to kill the guy, he's going to keep dishing it out whenever he needs to get out of a situation! (gotta love Michael Emerson!)

3.) Charlotte Staples Lewis - Or as I like the call her - "Kristen Bell's Replacement" (why did she take that stupid role on Heroes???)

  • Flashback takes place in Medenine, Tunisia
  • Is seen reading a news paper (in French? Tunisian? What language do Tunisians speak anyway? Looks French!) about the discovery of Flight 815. Also indicates that she still can't believe it and has been reading any paper in any language she can find.
  • Well besides the fact that we find out Charlotte is LOST's very own Ross Gellar (aka Anthropologist), she discovers the remains of no...not a Dinosaur, but a Polar Bear in the middle of the desert. With none other than a DHARMA Hydra tag with it. Begin Mind Puzzling Now! So what was a Polar Bear doing in Tunisia? What was a Polar Bear doing on the island? It looked like it was dead for a pretty long time too didnt it? Is this to suggest that the DHARMA folks (as indicated before,Dharma folks messing with time!) sent a Polar Bear back in time several (and I mean lots and lots!) years? And if they did....how did they get it to Tunisia at the same time? The only thing I know is that Tunisia is not TOO far from Nigeria (another locale that is obviously Island related...how did that crazy small plane get to the island??). WHERE on earth is this island? everywhere??? (I am still thinking so!) And why is there an upside down city in the latest LOST logo??? (see bottom of Lost Blog). Surely this island is not underground! Maybe we'll find out from the freighters how they found the island. But I'm guessing not, since Future Jack has no idea how to get back!
  • The other question, did Charlotte finding this Dharma emblem begin her obsession with finding the island? She looked pretty excited to find it, like she'd seen something like it before. Eh...who knows? I'm still with Jack...let's let it play out!

4.) Frank Lapidus - Also known as the guy we thought they cast as Jacob. Nope! He's Frank Lapidus...and the producers created this character with Jeff Fahey (the actor) in mind. They even pulled him out of retirement (building orphanages in Afghanistan) to get him to play this role. And well, I like him already!



  • Flashback takes place in Eleuthera, Bahamas
  • We see Frank playing with a toy plane that looks much like an oceanic plane. I didn't bother to get a screenshot of it, but the Sledgeweb crew claimed to have seen the DHARMA logo on it. I didn't.
  • We see more news footage of flight 815 with a phone number: 888-548-0034 - Oceanic Airlines 815 Hotline - Give them a call! Sounds like there could be more info on the way.
  • We see the pilot, (now named Seth Norris) or as you all probably know him as Matt from Heroes and also friend of JJ Abrams (starred in Alias). He has a fancy Mustache in his mugshot on the news.

  • Frank calls up the hotline and gets past the initial screening by saying the guy in the video footage is NOT Seth Norris, a man never seen without his wedding ring. This was enough to get him to some higher authority who tried to convince Frank that it was Seth. This is what made me think Oceanic may be involved in the cover-up too. And then we have to ask how involved is Oceanic in general?
  • The big zinger is that Frank was supposed to be flying 815 that day, not Seth! Oooh he's already the most interesting of our Freighter folks! So the big question is...does he feel guilt for not flying that day? Or, did he WANT to be flying that plane because he knew where it was going? Okay, I may have lied earlier....I want another flashback on this guy! And hell bring in Greg Grunberg again to play Seth! And make him wear that mustache!

5.) Naomi

Okay, I read some critic's early reviews of the episode and one in particular discussed a continuity error that would surely fire up Lost fans. I don't know if this one was it but it's the only one I can think of. We got a Naomi flashback even though Naomi is dead (I mean she's definitely dead right???) This would be the first time this has ever happened. Even when we thought Nikki and Paulo were dead and flashing back....we eventually found out that they were merely paralyzed. So, this was a bit interesting. Of course with Miles doing all of his Ghost talking around her...who knows if her PRESENCE was still around??? I'm not going to get overly critical about it! It's a TV show people!!

So, we get some dirt on Naomi. While she wasn't lying about Flight 815 being found and bodies being in the planes, she was lying about how much she knew. It seems that Matthew Abbaddon (the same gentleman that visited Future Hurley in the Nut House) gave Naomi her orders to bring these 4 crazy freighter folk to the island...they each are coming to serve their individual purpose and Naomi's job is to keep them alive and in order to complete the mission.
  • Of the 4 profiles placed before Naomi, she notes that none of them have military training, field experience. This would make me think that Naomi DOES (or DID).
  • Abbaddon refers to the mission as a High Risk Covert Op in "Unstable Territory" So, they are aware of this island. And they must know where it is. But how and why????
  • And what exactly are these 4 people's purposes? Miles the Ghostbuster (investigate the paranormal activity on the island perhaps?), Charlotte the Anthropologist (is she interested in what has happened at the Hydra station over the years?), Danny the Headcase or Physicist (is he going to investigate the magnetism of the island), and Frank the Drunk (which Abbaddon notes is a good pilot. And really...what is his REAL purpose of being there with our knowledge that he was supposed to fly flight 815?).
  • And what's up with their mission being to find Ben? That must only be step one. Who are these people really? Naomi crashes on the island with a picture of Desmond and Penny but now we find out they're after Ben? Was Naomi's mission different? And where did they get that picture? Was it photocopied from the picture in Penny's bedroom? Perhaps the Freighter crew is funded by Charles Widmore? But then what does HE know about Ben? So many questions!
  • And of course Abbaddon tries to convince Naomi that there were no survivors of Flight 815 and don't ask questions. Naomi responded in a sarcastic way with "I know"....like she had knowledge of the cover-up. So is Abbaddon wondering if the Freighties are still alive when he talks to Hurley....or the Flight 815ers?? or Ben, Juliet, Desmond??? So many ways to go right now! I'm enjoying the ride!


Team Jack

We begin with Jack, Kate and Danny trying to find the rest of Danny's crew. Eventually, suspicions grow and we're joined by Sayid and Juliet. Here's what went down!

  • It seems the chopper had some trouble (later there were claims that it was struck by lightning). It would seem anything that gets close to this island seems to malfunction! Naomi's helicopter, Desmond's Sailboat (goes in circles, he got shipwrecked there), the Black Rock, The nigerian drug plane, oh yeah Oceanic Flight 815 (even though the Hatch releasing the electro-magnetic surge caused it)
  • Danny appears (as mentioned above) to be a nervous headcase. He can't stay focused on one thing at a time, and tries to be very nice to Jack and Kate (even though his first objective on the island was to load his gun and prepare for the worst). Jack noticing the gun starts to become concerned about their new guests.
  • They stumble upon some gear from the Chopper. Okay, so why does this crew have Gas masks? And when we learn that rescue is not their primary objective and eventually learn BEN is. Why do they have gas masks??? Hmmm well some blog commenters are convinced that these people are descendants of Off-Island Dharma folk who want revenge on Ben for the PURGE. Well what's the best revenge than to give him a taste of his own medicine? Remember when he gassed the Dharma folk? This theory would kinda Tie in to Charlotte being pretty interested in seeing that DHARMA logo on the polar bear remains. Still seems like these people were randomly recruited. But there has to be a reason that ties them together! DHARMA may just be it! Let's keep watching!
  • In a separate scene we see Juliet and Sayid begin to question their decision to trust the freighter folk. They decide to grab some guns and go after Jack and Kate. Biggest thing to note here is that Juliet believed Ben.
  • So then the transponder for Miles comes up on the Sat Phone. And we meet that crazy guy! Confirming more Blog posters correct....Naomi's "Tell my sister I love her" WAS indeed code to signal distress. Very smart readers indeed!
  • I liked the irony of Miles giving an example and saying it would be like Jack saying "Tell My Sister I love her" Of course, Jack does have a sister, he just doesn't know it yet!
  • Miles takes control of the situation temporarily with his gun and requests to be taken to Naomi's body (mistakenly thinking Kate killed her). Kate does inform Miles of the truth. Which of course Miles is able to confirm by talking to Naomi's ghost! ummmmmmm what is going on????
  • Jack is able to regain the situation by winking to Kate. No no...actually he took a page out of the OTHERS handbook and claimed that their crew had Miles and Danny surrounded. (ahh remember the days when we thought Tom was Zeke and he was the chief??) Anyways....the best part of this little transaction was Miles saying "How Stupid do you think I am", the calvary coming in (Sayid/Juliet) guns blazin...and Jack giving the best line he's had since "We have to go back!" "I dunno Miles, How stupid are you?" FANNNNTASTIC! HERO JACK is back!
  • Love Rectangle grows a bit here with Juliet and Jack being all flirty and Kate feeling out of the loop. Of course Jack mentioning the wink got Kate to smile a bit. (and of course a little ways away....Sawyer and Ben had words about his decision to leave Kate...we'll discuss that in the TEAM LOCKE section!)
  • Okay...so what about Danny noting that the light is strange on the island? Can anyone clear up what he said here? It sounded like he said it doesn't "scatter" quite right??? What on earth does THAT mean?
  • When Sayid interrogates Danny (much to Miles's disgust)....Danny mentions he's a physicist. Miles also reacts sarcastically to being questioned about not being surprised to see Flight 815 survivors. So, apparently these guys were in the loop about the survivors. If Abbaddon was telling Naomi "THERE WERE NO SURVIVORS" you would think she was supposed to keep info from these 4 people. Did she tell them anyway? Or did they know something already? Or did just MILES know something? Or does Miles just not care?
  • After Locke and crew find Charlotte, they send her transponder back with Vincent (poor Vincent! if only they knew he could talk to Dead Chief Surgeons!)
  • We then meet Frank Lapidus whose satellite phone is busted. He shoots off a flare and is found by Jack and crew. He also saw a Cow (actually probably a bull)...must've been from the Flame station?
  • Lapidus, in talking to Juliet figures out he wasn't on the plane. What was up with him memorizing the manifest? Was it because he is so distraught over not flying flight 815? Or was it because that was an assignment?
  • In any case they called Juliet a native and eventually it is revealed that they want Benjamin Linus and Miles even shows a picture. The biggest thing to note of this picture is that it appears that Ben has traveled off of the island as well. This doesn't look like the island. So what was he doing in his off-island venture?
  • Oh yeah...and Frank was able to land the Chopper!!! And Sayid...who must've downloaded helicopter knowledge into his head MATRIX style, informed everyone that the Helicopter will most certainly fly! Frank indicated to Miles that they would take Naomi's body on the "next run" Do they really intend to rescue everyone after they're done? Or is this all one big lie?



Team Locke

So Locke and his followers are heading to the Barracks. But midway through their journey Locke indicates they need to go to a cabin. They stumble upon a Freighter folk, conflict ensues! Here's what went down!

  • Remember last week when I noted that it appeared Locke didn't see the rain storm coming? Well everything was back to normal this week as he predicted when it would end! I wonder if the island was reacting to its new visitors? It rained the morning after Naomi arrived too. I dunno..probably a stretch. But I'm still perplexed how Locke can figure out the rain patterns!
  • When Locke says he wants to go to a cabin, Hurley mentions that he thought it was the other way to which Locke and Ben look very surprised. So now I'm a bit confused at what happened last week with seeing Locke's eye in the shack. Maybe Locke wasn't involved in that whole scene. But then...how did Locke DISAPPEAR from the Radio Tower? Argggh this show is nuts! The answers will come, I must keep telling myself this!
  • Nickname alert - Sawyer calls Locke Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando's character in Apocalypse Now - a leader who has supposedly gone insane). Glad the nicknames are back!
  • We get our first IN EPISODE confirmation that WALT was supposed to look older! Locke said he got his orders from a taller looking Walt. Eventually Sawyer calls him Taller Ghost Walt. So perhaps this goes along with the whole messing with time thing again? We know the producers told us they would be able to explain Walt aging. We'll just have to stay tuned on how this one evolves!
  • Walt told him to stop Naomi from bringing other people to island. And Locke did what he was told.
  • One more time, Blog Readers and the LOST community in general got Locke's survival from a gunshot pegged correctly as he was shot right through his missing kidney. Thanks Anthony Cooper!!!
  • Locke claims to keep Ben alive because they need his information and he doesn't want to kill him in front of Alex.
  • How about Karl growin a set and pulling a gun out on Mr. Linus? Loved Ben's response "Kaaaaaarl, If you're sleeping with my daughter I insist you call me Ben!"
  • As noted above, Ben gets in Sawyer's head about Kate. Why did Sawyer go with this crew? He's probably absolutely right. Sawyer is a big man on campus on the island. If he went back to the real world, he would never be able to compete with a 1st Class Surgeon in Jack. And the beating of Ben continues!
  • We find Charlotte on the island hanging upside down...landing in the water and generally excited to be there. Enter Locke and crew taking Charlotte captive. Charlotte seems genuinely surprised that the 815ers are alive. But we later learn that she's probably lying. Also when she said that it was amazing that Claire had her baby on the island, was she amazed because it's impossible or because she had a baby on an island? Not clear at this juncture!
  • Here's something not worth noting but I will....it seemed that Claire got over Charlie pretty quickly. Just the night before Hurley and Claire were in mourning...and now they're just going about their "normal" island life. Ahhh such is life on Lost Island!
  • So Ben, so fearful of these freighter folks was able to get himself a gun and shoot Charlotte several times in the chest. Charlotte was very prepared with a bulletproof vest. hmmmmm
  • At this Locke was ready to put an end to Ben unless he started dishing out some answers. I couldn't help but laugh when he said "What is the Monster?" because I knew Ben wouldn't dish out the dirt. Of course, what he did say was "I don't know" and he truly may not. I think we'll be waiting awhile on this one!
  • Naturally, Ben had already figured out his way to stay alive (as Sawyer indicated earlier). He had information on the Freighter Folk and named them all by name even getting into much detail with their current captive Charlotte Staples Lewis born July 2, 1979 in Essex England and naming her parents. (not sure if their names were worth mentioning).
  • Ben noted that they were there for Ben but didn't indicate why. Just stated that they are a BIG BIG THREAT. But how did he know who they were? Because he's got a man on their boat...BOOOOOOOM LOST!
  • Woaaa...okay, so who is the man? First person that popped in my head was Richard (because well, he's on CANE now and they need to find an excuse for him not to be on the show for a bit. But Ben told him to take the people to the temple last we saw him. So maybe not Richard). Is George Mincowski (i'm getting closer with the name each time) Ben's Man? He's the guy on the other end of most Sat Phone calls. Surely it's not Mikhail coming back to life for a 4th or 5th time right? The producers clearly said that he is finally dead! I guess in some weird twist it could be this Abbaddon character? Maybe it's someone we haven't met yet. But regardless....very intriguing and abrupt way to end an episode!

Coffin Watch

Well this may be a failed idea right off the bat. We didn't get any real additional clues to who might be in the coffin. I'm still set on Michael for now. Although all of the comments discussing Kate possibly not being an Oceanic 6er (because she's in hiding for being a fugitive) are definitely interesting....and brings a whole new meaning to "Why would I go to the funeral?" But as the promos indicate, we will learn another member of the Oceanic 6 next week! So, let's just stay tuned here!

Anyway, this episode was very informative and definitely a plot mover. We learned more about the freighter crew in a short timeframe, and got more dirt on Naomi and Abbaddon. But like I said...if the show continues at this pace and each episode ends in that fashion, I sure hope that strike is ending soon with positive Lost news! So, as you all know, next week's episode is on Valentine's Day. Because of the night change, this is 2 years in a row that this has occurred! I will be out of town next week and would just ask everyone to please be patient for the blog as it will probably be running a little later on Friday than usual! In the meantime, everyone post your theories to your little hearts' desires! Can we beat 40+ comments this week? I dunno, that was pretty impressive! See you next week, NAMASTE!

Disclaimer: Many thanks again to Sledgeweb (lost.cubit.net) for always having the ability to capture so many wonderful screen stills from the show! If I had the technology to do it myself, you bet I would! But since I don't, it's nice to know someone out there does!

53 comments:

Chris Stedman said...

I don't get the critic about the Naomi flashback either. I think it was ment as a haha that she was there to protect them and she ends up being the first one killed. Besides, I didn't hear anyone complaining about Eathan flashbacks and hes had more dead flashbacks tha when he was alive.

Anonymous said...

Mike told me to post so here goes:
-Who was doing the underwater exploration in the beginning of the episode? They sounded shocked to find a plane so it couldn't have been any Dharma people, right? They would have expected to find it or been looking for it. Is it Penny's people?
-Is Michael Ben's guy on the freighter?

Mike V. said...

Yeah..true on Ethan, except none of the flashbacks were from his perspective I guess. The difference with this is the first time that we see a flashback from someone's perspective who is dead. Notice how when the flashback ended...the camera is focused on Naomi's corpse.

But I agree with you...the information provided was more valuable than the SLIGHT continuity issue. I'm fine with it!

Anonymous said...

Yeah some critics were making a big deal about Naomi having a flash when she is dead. I say it's no big deal.

other critics were all whining that Claire didn't seem to be missing Charlie - again no big deal. Also that Jack is told their rescue was not their primary mission yet Jack waits til much later to get the 411 from Faraday. Whatever !

I never felt that there were any continuity errors nor did I have any issues with the ep.

Anonymous said...

I can't take credit for this idea, but does anyone think it's a possibility that some (not all) of the Freighties' flashes were actually flash forwards? I've gone in circles in my head about this (thinking of a lot of reasons why they are flash BACKS), but here are some of the reasons why I think they could be flash forwards.
1) Miles visits Mrs. Gardner in Inglewood, an area the I would imagine looks very similar to the one where Jack visits the coffin in the finale. Does anyone think that the person in the (small) coffin could be Mrs. Gardner's grandson? We don't know how/if she is connected to the story yet, but I don't think they would show her or focus on the pictures on her wall if she wasn't. So...if the person in the coffin is her grandson, maybe Miles' flash forward took place around the same as Jack's.
2) Charlotte seems excited when she finds the Dharma logo on the polar bear's collar. Maybe she visits the hydra station while she is on the island and remembers it in the future during her flash forward?
3) As Mike mentioned, it seemed like the Freighties were not surprised to find survivors on the island. Maybe at this point in time, the fake plane had not been found, so they didn't think everyone was dead. That's why they were so shocked and didn't want to believe it when the plane and bodies were found in the future.

Anonymous said...

I first thought Michael as the guy on the boat - but what if it is Charlotte ?? That would be fun.

Though - how could Ben have gotten any intel from any one on that boat since radio sigs were being jammed until 2 eps ago ?? how could any one get the data to Ben !?!

Mike - you switched the names Miles and Danny there for awhile. Miles took over and talked to ghost Naomi.

Interesting - but I did not think that Locke was 'surprised' that Hurley knew where the cabin was. To me it was more a look like 'shut up' to Hurley because of Ben. I KNEW Ben would freak when he found out Hurley had been to the cabin ! What I thought was interesting is how they thought Jacob's cabin was in different directions.

I never bothered with the Find815 site - but someone told me that the Christine1, who had the remote cameras that found the fake 815, was searching for the Black Rock accoding to that site.

Question Mike - you state that we realize Charlotte was lying about not knowing survivors were there - what did I miss? I can't recall feleling that she was lying about that last night !

The bulletproof vest can be explained by the fact that Naomi has already warned them that the peeps might not be friendly.

The freighties DID already know that they were 815 survivors - Naomi and the survivors already told them who they were on the sat phones - so why so much talk about them not being surprised ???

A poster on another site was pointing out that Frank seemed to wake up pretty far from the helo to have landed it. I'll have to watch again for that one.

Eko ? I don't know. That would be really out there that the Grandma of some dead kid would have a pic of Eko on her wall as a child.

One last thing - from last weeks ep - I read only today that people were saying that when Abbadon left Hurly there was a wisp of black smoke? I never caught it - did any one else??

Any Hoo - great ep. Of course, more questions than answers - but that's why we keep coming back.

Anonymous said...

That last (long) anonymous was me - didn't meant to make it anon.

Anonymous said...

Hey - could the boy in the wall picture be MICHAEL ??? Or a future Walt ?

Anonymous said...

To Joy:

Loving the idea of flash foward - especially with Miles and Charlotte. But the Flash forward doesn't seem to fit Frank or Danny. Danny doesn't know why he is sad at the finding of the fake 815, and Frank has some sort of epiphany to realize it is fake. Could those happen if these had been flash forwards ??

Anonymous said...

the ep made no sense. they didn't leave enough info to let us have any clue what's going on

Chris Stedman said...

I think they were all flashbacks. Naomi told hurley that the plane crashed with no survivors on the island, and all the flashes happened at the time when the plane was found so they happened befor Naomi crashed on the island.

Anonymous said...

A few ponderings...

I am curious how the freighties were recruited. They are in different corners of the globe with nothing that ties them together and no obvious incentive (yet) to "get Ben". Are they paid? Blackmailed? Brainwashed?

Sure seemed to me like Charlotte (C.S. Lewis) knew exactly what she was looking for and would find in that dig. No anthropologist would take a hammer to a dig site like that.

Re: "Ocean 6" => 6 is not a LOST number, though 15 adds up to 6. 8 is a LOST number. So do you think 6 get off or 8?

Hurley came up with the lame "airplane cabin" excuse. Why? Is he doubting himself? Or was he told to keep it's existense quiet, because he is one of the few with the "power" to see the cabin and Jacob? While I'm thinking about it, are we even certain that Locke is talking about going to Jacob's cabin??? Or just some other cabin?

I'm guessing that whoever sent the freighter knows the trap door to get to the island, in the same way that Juliette got there.

Oceanic might not be involved if Abbadon is part of Dharma, would it?

Lastly...why is the first question from Locke to Ben about the smoke monster? Why is that so important to Locke?

CWill said...

the Find815.com story told of how the Christiane I found flight 815 underwater - the puzzle there is that one of the characters in the side story was connected to an organization called the maxwell group, which we learn is a subsidiary of Widmore Industries (check out the maxwell group's website - no one I have seen has been able to figure out the username or password to log on www.the-maxwell-group.com).

As for the freighter people, we know at least one of them, the helicopter pilot, was supposed to be on flight 815. Is it possible all four were supposed to be on the plane and should have ended up on the island but didn't? That could explain the seeming randomness of them being chosen for the "mission" Abaddon had them go on; it may not fit in every way, but it is a possibility - now they are on the island, and there is no guarantee (probably not even a good chance) that the chopper is going to get them off the island and back to the freighter. As for the man on the freighter, a good guess is Michael. Apparently he is coming back this season, and it would explain where he ended up after he left.

Again, just thoughts.

Anonymous said...

Random thoughts:

The idea of time will be getting messy, it seems.
They were post-crash flashbacks, showing each person being informed of the crash and the discovery of the remains, but it was before they were picked by Abbadon to look for the island. All other flashbacks were pre-crash. Or maybe they were flash sidewayses, if there are such things.

Speaking of Abbadon, if he is a reference to the Angel of the Abyss in Revelations, then are these four the Four Horsemen? Kind of ties in with the religious themes and end-of-the-world scenarios.

Faraday takes note of the light because his namesake, Michael Faraday, was a physicist who established magnetism's affects on rays of light.

It could be Eko in the picture if time travel and/or alternate universes are part of the explanation of this insane storyline.

Polar bear in the desert is only slightly stranger than a polar bear on a tropical island. I'm assuming Dharma sent the bear there as part of its experiments with animals, but notice that the bear couldn't survive in the heat off the island. Things happen on the island that don't carry over to the rest of the world.

Michael and Walt have to be on the freighter. How else would Walt know these people aren't who they say they are. He is on the boat but able to appear in other places, such as in front of John Locke as a "giant."

Tunisia, like Algeria, was controlled by the French for a while, and the language is still used there.

Mike V. said...

Sorry about the typos everyone, but thanks for pointing it out! I'll look to fix that!

As for flash forwards...i have to nix that based on there being information in each flashback about flight 815 being found. This indicates right here that they were flashbacks. It actually clears up WHY they made sure that was in every flashback! (besides maybe them being obsessive)

i like the theory that maybe all 4 of them were SUPPOSED to be on flight 815...therefore things were being course corrected for them to be there! (kinda like the Mrs. Hawking explaining in the desmond time travel episode)

I also like the idea of Michael and Walt being on the freighter. Such a simple idea not sure why I didn't think of it! And THEN a Michael flashback could show what has been happening since he left the island. But why Walt is older? Still not sure!

But the fact that ben told Michael what bearing to head when he left the island..."and you will find rescue" is very interesting!

I had heard Michael would be returning this season and how he returns will be quite interesting!

Thanks again for all the comments..keep it up!

Mike V. said...

horseman - for why Hurley lied....i think he doesn't want people to think he's crazy and seeing things that might not even be there!

And for Locke asking about the Smoke Monster....that is one of the island's biggest mysteries...so it seemed like he wanted to put Ben on the spot for claiming he has vital information. If Ben means what he says...Locke wants him to prove it by answering that HUGE mystery. Plus....Locke looked into the eye of the monster and is intrigued with it. He also is confused why Eko saw something totally different than the bright white light that he saw.

I believe someone else asked why we are sure Charlotte was lying. I may have exaggerated. We never got confirmation, but just looking at her reaction to Ben unloading the information about her. She didn't seem surprised....she was also wearing a bulletproof vest, anticipating some potential gunfire at her presence on the island. I just thought through these things, we could assume she may not be telling the whole truth!

CWill said...

A couple more things just to clarify - Dharma has already been clarified as an effort by the Hanso foundation to prevent the destruction of the world. As far as we are told, the Dharma initiative is based solely on the island. While it is possible the intiative had another location, it was stated that the island where the Dharma stations were located had properties not found anywhere else in the world. For more on what the numbers mean (if you missed it) and details about the Dharma intiatives mission and motives, search YouTube for "Hanso Exposed" and click on the top video. (all of this info came out in the Lost Experience ARG and is considered canon to the Lost story).

All of that to say that the polar bear being in Tunisia represents a mystery much bigger than most believe. How did a polar bear that was apparently intended for experiments on the Island wind up dead with only skeletal remains and a Dharma collar? Oh the mysteries.

Anonymous said...

Loved it when Frank knew juliette was a'native'. LOL. I'm still not trusting her yet and enjoyed that she might be in for some trouble.

Also - when I first saw the cast promo with the city skyline under the losties standing on the island - I took it as a juxtaposition of the life on the island as opposed to all the flash back/forwards that we now have.

Mike V. said...

Oh I totally agree...that is one time-traveling, island hopping polar bear! Totally nuts! I agree with whoever said Charlotte knew what she was looking for too. It really did seem like that from the flashback.

I didn't participate in the LOST experience either, but I did watch the videos when it was over. The producers always have said that you don't HAVE to watch that stuff to fully enjoy the show....but the information was there for LOST nuts that were itching for more (kinda the same with the Missing Pieces and the Find815 game)! I know revealing the mystery behind the numbers in the LOST experience produced some negative feedback!

Thanks christopher for providing the info! I would've looked up the youtube link and provided it here. But I'm kinda lazy! lol

Anonymous said...

Isn't Charlotte wearing a vest sort of expected since Naomi warned them all that she was in danger ? Which is why I keep leaning toward the fact that they were not looking for nor talking about survivors of the crash each time Abadon or frieghties talked about people being alive. It's either that they are looking for the Dharma peeps - hoping some are left, or the others/hostiles that killed the Dharma peeps.

Mike V. said...

interesting from EW's Jeff Jensen. How I didn't catch onto C.S. Lewis is beyond me! lol

" I am utterly convinced Charlotte Staples Lewis has been to the Island before. Maybe it was her giggly delight as she splashed about in the Island's inland waters. True, the would-be freighter savior (or devil) could have been celebrating the mere fact that she had survived her harrowing arrival. But there was something more to her reaction — something that reminded me of another fantastical tale about an enchanted homecoming. The book is Prince Caspian, by C.S. Lewis, the sequel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The story starts with a chapter called ''The Island,'' in which the Pevensie kids return to Narnia via a mysterious island marked by ancient ruins and odd creatures. First thing they do: play in the water. Maybe I'm just fishing again. But if you think I'm wrong, then you owe me a better explanation why Charlotte Staples Lewis has been assigned a name so conspicuously similar to the author's unfurled handle, Clive Staples Lewis. "

Anonymous said...

Another board somewhere is talking about a book by CS Lewis called Great Divorce, how a group are on a trip and wind up somewhere that is hostile for some but not for all, have to confront their demons, etc. Something like that.

I've never heard of it.

Anonymous said...

Wikpedia on Great Divorce

The Great Divorce is a work of fantasy by C.S. Lewis which seeks to allegorically examine the Christian concepts of Purgatory, Heaven and Salvation. It is complementary to Lewis' earlier book The Screwtape Letters which sought to portray to it's readers some of the broader aspects of Hell and Damnation.

Although less renowned than Narnia and the Space Trilogy, it is considered one of his finest works of fiction by many Lewis fans. As with many of Lewis' works, it is of particular appeal to Christians, but people of other belief systems have also found it interesting.

The working title was Who Goes Home? but the name was changed at the publisher's insistence. The title refers to William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. The Great Divorce was first printed as a serial in a religious publication called The Guardian (not connected in any way to the modern British newspaper of the same name) in 1944 and 1945, and soon thereafter in book form.

The Great Divorce is speculative fiction frankly presented as an allegory and the specific details of the fantasy do not tally with the beliefs of any known Church nor did Lewis regard it as other than an imaginative attempt at depicting realities which can otherwise not be expressed at all.

In the introduction, Lewis frankly disavows any claim to actual knowledge of the reality embodied by such theological concepts as Heaven or Hell, and says that even were he to have such knowledge - which he denies - it would, in his opinion, be inexpressible in ordinary human language.

Nonetheless he asserts that even tentative maps of Heaven and Hell, based merely on what may be inferable by human reasoning about Revelation, may prove useful to the believer; and it is with that understanding that he writes.

Mike V. said...

Something interesting to consider with Danny (can't take credit...just recalled from a post somewhere else)

If you recall from the Ana Lucia flashbacks, her ex's name was Danny, who was supposedly the father of Ana Lucia's unborn child (which was killed when she was shot). Perhaps Danny is on the island looking for her?

Or it could just be a naming coincidence! Danny doesn't seem like Ana Lucia's type! Of course, if Michael is on the ship and tells what he did to Ana Lucia as an order from Ben....this could be some incentive for Danny to want to get to the island!

Woa....crazy stuff! Of course this totally defeats my objective of removing Ana Lucia from our collective memories! lol

Anonymous said...

I think Michael is the man on the boat and the person in the coffin.

Anonymous said...

The producers are sooooo careful about what they put out there for us. They made a BIG announcement that Michael would be back - which is making me think that Mike is not the 'guy' on the boat. Feels like the producers would want that person to really surprise us, that if that were Mike then they would not have leaked that Mike would be back.

Since we know that Michael will be back, and we know that we will find out who are the Oceanic 6 I'm leaning towards the thought that we see Mike in flash forwards.

But I'be been wrong before. LOL

Anonymous said...

Mike, regarding Locke and the smoke monster, it seemed to me like Locke asked about it because it is an obstacle to him for something we don't know about, more than just a "Oh, if you're so smart, then answer this..." He seemed desperate to me.

Mike V. said...

Yeah...I agree. Locke has seemed pretty desperate for answers. I agree that the monster is one thing that really baffles him (and everyone else on the island). But I also think that since Ben was saying he didn't know...that Locke pretty much deemed him useless (either if he wasn't going to answer the question or if he really didn't know).

I dunno I'm just rambling...and it's not really going to solve anything in the long run!

One thing I did want to apologize is me calling Mr. Faraday by DANNY. Actually, he was never once referred to as Danny in the episode. It was Dan or Daniel. Oops! So that may change a few theories i posted like that Ana Lucia tie-in (maybe). I guess I was so used to Pickett being called Danny or something.

Anyway...from here on out...I'll call him Dan or Faraday!


ugh....i'm burned out! I think I need to stop thinking about this episode for a day or a week or so! lol

Anonymous said...

Hey, how about this for a far fetched theory--maybe its the Oceanic 'Sicks' and not the number 6. Stranger things have happened....

Anonymous said...

Another great episode leaving us more questions than answers. Among the questions I now have are these:

1) When Miles went to the ladies' house, didn't it seem that the picture of the boy (young Eko perhaps), was seen two different times in two different frames? Strange!

2) When Miles found the money, it didn't look like American cash to me. I could be wrong. Maybe Nigerian?

3) When we first see Charlotte, she was hanging upside down. If she dove out of the helicopter around the same time as Danny, then that would have been at nighttime. How long can a person be upside down and NOT be disoriented?

4) This may be a coincidence, maybe not. We know Danny is from Essex, Massachusetts. But didn't Ben say that Charlotte was born in another Essex? Essex England? Hmmmm... What's the significance of Essex, if any?

5) We have heard that Frank state that Seth Norris always wore his wedding ring. Does anybody remember if he had it on in Season 1? Also, we know that Seth was pretty much mauled by the monster in Season 1. So why the coverup? Who's behind it? And who benefits the most from disclosing a fake crash site?

Mike V. said...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23116598/

Post-Strike info from Damon Lindeloff (Exec Producer on LOST)

"Getting ‘Lost’
Damon Lindelof is eager for some answers. An executive producer of ABC’s mystery serial “Lost,” he should learn this week what his show’s future holds as it closes out its fourth season.

“Lost” has been back on the air just two weeks. But the strike meant a planned 16-episode shooting schedule was halted after just eight episodes were shot. Fans braced themselves for no more this season.

“But we very much want to come back and do as many episodes as possible,” said Lindelof, who then listed a few issues that first need to be settled.

“How many episodes can best serve our story? And what are the production realities?” He noted that the shooting facility in Hawaii, 2,500 miles from his Los Angeles office, had been shuttered since Thanksgiving. The crew has dispersed, the huge cast has scattered.

The first new post-strike episode of “Lost” could possibly be ready for broadcast the week after episode eight appears, he said. There likely would be three or four more after that.

Could there be even more?

“I’d be surprised if the network wanted to air episodes deep into the summer,” he said. But if all the pieces fell into place, “Lost” fans would be blessed: “I don’t see why we couldn’t deliver all eight remaining episodes.”

That kind of zeal should warm viewers’ hearts. Lindelof and the rest of TV’s creative community seem delighted to be back.

Almost as delighted as we are."

Anonymous said...

I don't see why the nets would be so loathe to air new eps in summer. they have complained for years that cable gets such great ratings during summer (Closer, Burn Notice, Shield, etc) so you would think that they would leap at this chance to get their slice of the pie.

Anonymous said...

Lots of theories arounf time travel coming into play. Big theory that Miles does not talk to ghosts but time travels to get his information. He would have gone back in time to ask Naomi what happened. Similar to the time shifting that we have seen with Desmond.

Mike V. said...

Well the big problem with the summer is all the vacations that start popping up and just the way the whole ratings system is currently set up with Sweeps periods in November, February and May. They want their BIG SHOWS airing their BIG EPISODES in the BIG MONTHS to get BIG DOLLARS from BIG ADVERTISERS. Unfortunately, none of the summer months make the cut there! So LOST is a prime real estate that they don't want to use in the months when their target audience isn't there to digest the commercials. Granted...I don't watch the commercials anyway! But that's not the point! And maybe one day...when the majority of TV is digested from online sources (for which the writer's have been striking for)....then the whole landscape of Television will have to change to address this!

As for Miles time traveling...as unrealistic as that might sound...I actually like it better than him talking to ghosts! lol Granted...Hurley talked to Charlie, but we're still not sure what was going on there. That could be interesting if Miles is FLASHING BACKWARDS kinda like Desmond is FLASHING FORWARD. but it doesn't explain why Miles was talking to the murdered BOY like he was there and saying "you can leave now" unless he actually THINKS he can talk to ghosts when that's not actually the case. IN any case...it's very bizarre the way it has currently been presented to us! Then again...so is Desmond having flashes forward! But I was willing to accept that because Dezzy sold it to me! lol

Mike V. said...

I'm totally cool with this!

http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Exclusive-Ilosti-Boss/800033076


"Make no mistake, out of all the shows whose fate has been left dangling in the wind by the just-concluded writers' strike, the one we're most concerned about is Lost. Good thing, then, that the sixth fifth fourth third second first call Lost executive producer Carlton Cuse made after meeting with ABC execs this evening to finalize the new plan for Season 4 was to, yep, you guessed it, Variety Hollywood Reporter Entertainment Weekly Golf Digest Mac Addict me!

Welcome back!
Carlton Cuse: It's good to be back. It'll be even better tomorrow when the writers all start rolling in and we start getting to work... pending the vote, of course.

What came out of your meeting with ABC today?
Cuse: Damon [Lindelof] and I are going to try to make five more episodes before the end of May, which is ambitious. But we've found ourselves in a situation where we had eight episodes of story planned, and we're going to try to fit that into five hours of the show. Even though it's going to be very hard to execute, we felt like any less would be doing a disservice to the story we had planned. We really want to give the fans the best possible experience and ending... to Season 4.

Any chance that the first of the five episodes will air the week after that last pre-strike episode — thus eliminating any scheduling gap?
Cuse: No, there's probably going to be four weeks between the airing of the first batch of episodes and our new episodes.

What will happen to the three "lost" episodes? Will they roll over into next season's 16, or will they vanish forever?
Cuse: Damon and I remain committed to producing the 40 additional hours of the show that we promised. We haven't figured out exactly when we'll put those other three on, but we're not eliminating them from the show. You will get those three episodes downstream.

I know it's early, but have you decided what will have to get cut from this season's arc in order to accelerate things? Are we going to lose some flashbacks and/or flash-forwards?
Cuse: All those conversations will take place tomorrow when we actually start talking about story.

Is it possible that some guest actors you were planning to use before the strike may no longer be available now? Like, for example, Andrea Roth?
Cuse: Yeah, there are a lot of issues that have to get sorted out. We're also in the middle of pilot season.... We're kind of figuring out what has happened to all of our actors who have gone on to do other things. Literally, there are cobwebs on the couches in the writers' room. Call me in a couple of days and I should have more answers for you.

OK, last question: Have you come up with a code word for this season's top-secret cliff-hanger?
Cuse: [Laughs] Not yet. That's a very good point. We'll have to get on that. If you have any ideas, Mike, let us know.

(BTW, I was joking in my intro. I'm pretty sure I was Carlton's first. Wait, that came out wrong.... )
"

Mike V. said...

Might be 6 episodes now..and a permanent 10 o'clock timeslot on Thursdays when they resume the post strike episodes. Great for LOST...bad for BLOGGING MIKE! lol

http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Exclusive-Lost-Finds/800033151

"The writers' strike may end up being the best thing that ever happened to Lost.

ABC is said to be finalizing a post-strike spring schedule that not only hands Lost its best available time slot, but promises to further strengthen the network's stronghold on Thursday night.

According to multiple sources, ABC plans on airing this season's final five* Lost episodes on Thursdays at 10 pm/ET beginning in late April, where it will follow all-new episodes of Grey's freakin' Anatomy! Throw in fresh installments of Ugly Betty at 8 pm and you've got yourself the most formidable one-two-three punch since the early days of CBS' Survivor/CSI/Without a Trace smashup. Creatively speaking, I'd go so far as to say this rivals NBC's storied Must-See-TV juggernaut back in the '90s.

And I haven't even gotten to the best part.

The best part is that I'm hearing that ABC is strongly considering keeping this dream lineup intact this fall... and beyond.

I don't know about you, but this almost makes up for ABC's mishandling of [insert any number of show titles here].

* This just in: I'm now hearing that Lost's final arc may consist of six episodes, not five. No, Team Darlton isn't making an extra episode this season. Rather, the final installment of the current run (aka Episode 8) will likely be held to kick off the final batch of five. According to my spies, Episode 7 makes for a better, more logical, break. Discuss....
"

Anonymous said...

Mike,
At least it won't be on teh same night as Idol so you don't have 2 blog on the same night!

Anonymous said...

This is MJ - is there a reason that the 'Nickname' feature is gone ?

You are right of course about the summer eps - just hated to think that if they could make a full season that they would not due to the timing. But ... that no longer appears to be an issue.

Another great interview with Jorge Garcia - link below.

http://www.tvguide.com/news/080214-01

Mike V. said...

Very true on the Idol thing. lol I was more concerend about watching Earl, 30 Rock, Office, Scrubs, Grey's Anatomy, Smallville and LOST all on the same night...and STILL have time to write a blog!

but once you narrow down the priorities...it's just Office, Scrubs and LOST for me! Just lots of TIVO weekends in my future! lol

MJ...I think the Name/URL option is the "nickname" field. Looks like there are just tons of new ways to identify yourself in the comments section.

I am excited that they're going to fit this season into a condensed episode schedule. But I'm also glad we're not losing the 3 episodes they're not producing. That just means we'll definitely get 3 2 hour finales for these 3 remaining seasons which I'm sure they were planning anyway! And I guess they'll just work that extra episode into one of these seasons. I'd say probably season 6but what do I know??

Read the Jorge interview this morning. Good times!

Mike V. said...

To Board Reader. Sorry about that (as alluded to on the idol blog). Like you said, I can't get to everything. Unfortunately, this blogging is a hobby and my full-time job tends to get in the way. Now if anyone out there is willing to give me a salary to producer these bad boy blogs...I'm listening! lol

Here's my comments back:

1) I did notice that we saw the picture twice in 2 different frames. Don’t know the significance of this!

2) Didn’t notice the money thing. I noticed Charlotte hand a wad of cash to the guy in Tunisia though….same wad?? That’s probably reaching. I’ll be watching the episode again tonight so I’ll try to pay attention to the cash thing.

3) Yeah…I have no idea what was going on with the night turning into day. My only guess is that it had to be close to dawn when the chopper was going down. Because even Dan, Jack and Kate were into daytime quite quickly too. Probably an inconsistency they’re just asking us to accept!

4) Interesting on the Essex stuff….you might be onto something! I’ve got nothing! lol

5) I haven’t checked the pilot episode recently to see if Seth had on a wedding ring. I’m sure the LOST brains are detail oriented like that so it probably is there. But I really can’t picture it right now. I’m surprised no one has checked it yet! Lol As for the cover-up…I’m just as intrigued as you are!

boardreader said...

Hey thanks for the response Mike. Better late than never, right? LOL

I actually went back and pulled out season one and did confirm that Seth was wearing his wedding ring. Obviously, there is a big coverup going on OR the little theory regarding time-travel is somewhat relevant. Or of course I could just be blowing wind. LOL

Looking forward to tonight's episode and your blog as well Mike.

Anonymous said...

I was thinking the "night / day" chopper thing was the infamous continuity error we heard about...

Anonymous said...

Hey, Can someone help me as I either don't know or can't remember. What has hapened to the fake beard guy and the dark haired guy (who helped Ben kill his Dad and hasn't aged since Ben was a kid!?)
Also do you think Sayid is one of the 6 - could the man he killed have been looking at him weird/scared as he knew he wasn't? Ben was off the island - WTF?!?! I'm only wondering as I don't think Sayid would work for Ben - why would he? So many questions....!

David said...

Anyone who listened to the Podcast (or who didn't actually) - The Polar Bear from "Confirmed Dead" - Damon said for people to look at the Orchid Training Video on the 'net to understand it a bit more(we will come across it soon)...Clones?

(Sorry to people who haven't seen the Video if I have spoiled it a bit..)

Anonymous said...

Naomi's flashback, after she was dead, was not the first time this happened. After Libby was shot -- and very dead -- she appeared in a flashback with Desmond. This was the scene in a coffee shop when she gave him a sailboat that belonged to her dead husband.

Mike, you are doing great with this blog, and it must be a lot to try to keep up with all the past events and correct sequences.

Mike V. said...

thanks anonymous! Actually that's not what I meant with naomi. The flashback was from her point of view. When we see libby it's a flashback from desmonds point of view. Therefore naomi's was the first flashback we had from someones point of view that was dead.

We also saw Boone is shannons flashback after he died too! Same as libby. Totally different from the point I was trying to make!

Funny thing is. I posted this blog entry last February and I still remembered what I was posting! Lol

Thanks for reading!

LostFamily said...

Wow,this Season 4 is really veering into wild directions. Watching this now (while Season 6 is just about to end and not trying to hear spoilers is also pretty wild). The blog is great though and very informative. Hadn't read where producers confirmed Mikhail was actually really dead- keep expecting him to pop up. Also, Desmond's sailboat should be very much intact and I'm expecting it to make an appearance also. But, I am of the belief at this point that the Freighties HAVE to be connected to DHARMA if they are looking for Ben and that they know about the Purge. Maybe the Fab Four they've brought are/were supposed to be part of DHARMA but never made it to the island since the signals got jammed. They all seem to have a reason to want to get to the island.

Love the C.S. Lewis connection and the thought that Charlotte has been there before and is returning. Also, the statement Ben made to Michael to head in that particular direction and you'll find rescue - has to be connected to the freighter doesn't it - I mean how many other boat are circling the island (well, I guess several!)

So many theories - that's what makes this show awesome! Thanks for the great blog - it's become a must-read after watching each episode now!

Mike V. said...

@LOST Family - You're plowing right head with the show! I guess you see now that the blog finally started catching on at this point and there's some great commentary! Wait until you keep moving, it gets out of control! lol

I'm glad you're finding the blog so useful and informative. And it's great to hear your theories and they were the same things we were speculating back then too! I'm not gonna say what's wrong or right though....keep enjoying the show! I'm sad and excited to watch it all end tonight! :-( :-)

Miles Balzard said...

Frank Lapidus is one of those instantly likable characters and became my initial favorite of the "freighters," though Charlotte is quite interesting as well and Daniel…well we need more info on Daniel, but he seems like a good guy with a quirky personality. We can actually use more quirky, less hard-boiled personalities (like Hurley) on this show. Besides Hurley, we haven't really had one since Shannon. But it's obvious that Daniel and Shannon are on opposite ends of the intellectual scale. Danny appears to be one of those "boy geniuses out of his element" characters, and they are usually likable.

I thought the show did a really good job of introducing these characters, and doing it one at a time was a wise move.

I also really liked the Naomi flashback and it didn't bother me in the least that she was already dead. Her flashback was an adept way to summarize the group's mission (get Ben) and their bizarre "action team." Anyone that would whine for more than two seconds about this either doesn't understand the show or is too deeply invested in "their" version of the show. I'm more apt to buy into criticism that Claire wasn't despondent enough after Charlie's death, but even that is quibbling.

It certainly was awesome when Sayid and Juliet came out of the jungle armed with guns pointed at Miles, helping Jack turn the table on the doofus. It was too funny watching Miles thinking he's a bad ass and having no idea what he's up against. Sayid could break his neck with no hands!

One of the commenters (MJ) said he thought Michael would be Ben's spy on the boat. BINGO! I hadn't thought of it, but when I read it I was 99% sure he/she was right, because all the puzzle pieces fit together.

Oh yes, the polar bear in Tunisia with the Dharma collar. This whole wild animal thing is intriguing, and we know one of the Dharma labs was set up just for zoological research. I feel like the polar bears on the island are much stronger and more vicious than ordinary polar bears (which is why I used the plural "monsters" several comments back, Mike). All these rabbits with numbers on their back mean something big, and I think we'll eventually learn what those researchers were up to…and maybe that will help explain the smoke monster.

Overall, the episode hummed along and set up future shenanigans very nicely.

Mike, I'm slowing down with my binge-watching. Part of it is just having other stuff I literally have to do, but a bigger part is pausing to read your recaps and all the comments! Doing that is definitely part of the joy of going through each episode, but it does take time. By the time you start getting 200 comments instead of 50-80, I will probably begin skimming the comments a little more. But for now, it's really cool to see what other people beside you (the original "Lostie") think of the show.

And so far, I haven't shaken my head at the craziness of the speculation and theories of the commenters, though some of the details they get hung up on are surprising (not that I haven't done the same!). And some of their theories are fascinating! Most of the commenters seem pretty sharp and some of them clearly share the same passion for the show as you. So I'm proud to join them! But I'm sure you'll tell me I ain't seen nothin' yet!

Mike V. said...

So Miles, I was wondering how you'd react when we met a character named MILES on the show! lol

But, agreed...Lapidus is fantastic the minute we meet him and that doesn't end there.

Yeah...the flashbacks in one episode were great for the Freighter 4. There were original plans to give them individual backstories in season 4, but the writer's strike screwed that up...so we accelerated to the finale once the strike was over. It all worked out in the end!

As for MJ's comments (still a regular commenter these days) on Michael being on the boat....definitely a good thought! I should say...that during that previous summer, his involvement in season 4 was announced. So, we were already theorizing on HOW he'd come back into the story. There's a chance that if they didn't ruin that for us...it may have been a bigger reveal when he DID come on the screen. But, I won't confirm if that theory is right or wrong. lol

Definitely cool that you're slowing down the binge-watch. You gave me time to catch up! :-) But yes, the majority of the conversations we had were very good discussions. But there were times when it got a little nuts (and I'm not innocent there either! lol) Just wait at what's ahead. Your head might start spinning eventually. lol So yes...you aint' seen nothin' yet!

See you in the next episode!

Simon Sandiford said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Simon Sandiford said...

Sorry, deleted the 1st version of the post as I forgot to set notify to yes :)

Take 2...
Less than 2 hours to 2021 and just finished Episode 2 of S4... Or should I say about 90 mins ago I watched it as I've been reading the blog and comments since then.

I didn't get over excited with the setup for the way this season has started... The show no longer is anything about finding ways to survive and finding way to communicate / get off the island. Now it is the bigger and more complex multi-layered drama about the island backstory. The flashforwards or new people aren't yet holding my interest as it almost like getting into a new show. However i do want to know what happens, so I'll let you know when I'm back to 100% invested in it! Looking forward to any wow moments round the corner!

Mike V. said...

I promise you. The best episode of television ever is right around the corner. You’ll know when you get there. Lol I really enjoyed s4. It was the tv writers strike season. So only eps 1-8 were finished before the strike. Then all tv went on hiatus. Once it ended abc and lost agreed to wrap up the season in 6 hours or something like that. So things move pretty quickly from 9-14. But I enjoyed the flash forwards. They do some fun stuff with them.