"The Cost of Living" (Season 3, Episode 5)

Maybe it's because there is only one more episode before the three month hiatus, but I really enjoyed that episode! How appropriate was it that this show aired the night after Halloween? Especially with all the supernatural elements, a scary monster, and even a machete-wielding mad man. And the Hawaiian curse strikes again. No, not the one casued by Greg Brady's tiki necklace, but the one where if you're an actor on "Lost" and get pulled over by the Hawaiian police, then expect your character to die soon after. Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros + drunk driving = Ana Lucia and Libby shot dead. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje + driving without a license = Eko losing against Smokey in the rumble in the jungle.

Best Line: Locke telling Sayid what Eko's last words were. "We're next." (Chills!)

Did You Notice?

• The funeral ceremony for Colleen was very cult-like. What was with the Others (and Jack) all wearing matching loungewear? The song that played over the loudspeaker was Brenda Lee's "I Wonder".
• When Eko first lifted himself up off the jungle floor and right before the murdered men appeared to him, did you catch the smoke monster flit through the background? A hint of things to come.
• Locke told Desmond "Do not mistake coincidence for fate", which was what Eko said to Locke when they first met.
• The woman selling the Virgin Mary statues who was shot had been one of the "scenes" in the smoke monster when Eko first encountered it last season.
• I liked that Ben pointed out that Juliet resembled Jack's ex-wife Sarah. I noticed the similarity when she was first introduced.
• We found out that when Locke came face to face with the monster in Season 1, he saw a bright light and it was beautiful. Very similar to descriptions given by people who have near death experiences.
• Yemi's corpse disappeared from the plane wreakage just as Jack's dad's corpse had disappeared from his casket.
• I really don't like Paulo and Nicky. Smoke monster? If you're taking requests . . .
• Who is Patch? He had on a Dharma jumpsuit. What will he do now that he's expecting them?
• Should Jack believe Juliet and her cue card video? Or is this just one more mind game?
• Now we know why Eko was building a church on the island. It was the one he owed his brother.
• As was pointed out to me some months ago by one of my loyal readers, the smoke monster may be able to manifest into various forms. I think Yemi's appearance confirms this. Also, if you think about the other manifestations (Jack's dad, Sawyer's wild boar, Kate's horse), they all shared a dark appearance (black suit, black coats on the boar and horse, and Yemi's priest's outfit) not unlike the smoke monster itself. Also, is it possible that there is a good smoke monster (Locke's) and a bad smoke monster (the one that killed the pilot and now Eko)?
  

The Numbers - 4 8 15 16 23 42 (and sometimes 108 and DEFINITELY 2 and 6)

• Ben said the crash of Oceanic Flight 815 was 2 days after he learned he had a tumor.
• The vaccine shipments usually came every 6 months.
• The Pearl Station had 6 monitors, one for each of the 6 Dharma Initiative stations.
  

Previews

"The best episode of the year"? We'll see. It is a Kate flashback show. Rumor has it we may see her husband. She had told Sawyer in Season 1 that she was once married. Rousseau's daughter, Alex, makes a reappearance. Kate and Sawyer get all hot and bothered. And Jack dons his surgical scrubs to operate on Ben.