"The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" (Season 5, Episode 7)

Tonight's episode was a tour de force by Terry O'Quinn. Having the episode focus on Locke's journey off the island required the actor to cover a range of emotions from extreme pain to sorrow to ultimately a resignation of all hope. He is my favorite character.

Best Line

• "He's the man who killed me." Locke to Caesar after finding Ben among the injured passengers of Ajira Flight 316.
  

Did You Notice?

• Is Caesar just curious or does he know what he is looking for among the files?
• The Life magazine features an article on the hydrogen bomb. Also, when Caesar flips through the magazine, there is the photo of the Creature from the Black Lagoon carrying a young woman. The actress who played her in the movie also played Juliet's older neighbor lady during the Dharma book club scene in a previous episode.
• Among the documents that Caesar finds are the older Rousseau's map of the island, another map that belonged to Ben, and Daniel Faraday's diagram of the space/time anomaly.
  
• Caesar and Ilana were in the Hydra station where Kate and Sawyer had been held captive. This also means Ajira Flight 316 had crashed on the second island. Or did the plane land? When held captive, Kate and Sawyer were forced to move rocks which Juliet later said was the beginning of a runway. Did Jacob (Locke) anticipate the need for one?
  
• I liked the Jedi-like reveal of Locke as he lowered the Ajira Airlines blanket from his face.
  
• The two outrigger canoes are obviously the ones found earlier by Locke, Sawyer, and the others during one of their time jumps. Ilana said the third outrigger was taken by the pilot and "some woman". Sun? And is this who was shooting at Locke and his group?
• So Charles Widmore was the leader of the island before Ben exiled him.
• The London newspaper Widmore showed Locke was dated January 14, 2005. Since the Oceanic 6 have been back for three years, that makes it 2008 when this scene takes place.
• What could Widmore possibly mean about a war coming and that if Locke is not back on the island then the wrong side wins?
• Locke's fake passport indicates he is Canadian and is 60 years old.
• Jeremy Bentham was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. He was a political radical and is best known for his advocacy of utilitarianism. As requested in his will, his body was preserved and stored in a wooden cabinet, termed his "Auto-icon".
• The concept of Locke being special goes back to Season 1 when his mother sought him out at the hardware store where he was working and told him he was special. Walt was also referred to as this as well.
• I enjoyed seeing Locke and Walt together again.
• I'm thinking it's only a matter of time before Walt's dream of Locke wearing a suit on the beach and being surrounded by people who want to hurt him to come true.
• Interesting that Locke chose not to convince Walt to return to the island.
• Hurley's drawing was of the Sphinx, whose name's origin comes from "to hold tight". Or maybe strangle?
  
• Could the story of Helen's death by brain aneurysm have been fabricated to keep Locke on track?
• Is Abaddon really dead or is there more to this man than meets the eye?
  
• Is the final car that Locke crashes into the Mystery Car of Death? This is the vehicle that has repeatedly appeared in the show over the years (almost backing into Locke, running into Kate and her doctor friend, being crashed into by Hurley in his Camaro).
• I loved the scene in the hospital when Locke reveals he spoke with Jack's dad.
• Locke's extension cord/noose was purchased at Angels Hardware according to the name on the paper bag.
• Ben convincing Locke that he is important and not to kill himself makes Ben's savage attack even more brutal. Why did the mention of Eloise Hawking's name cause such a deadly reaction from Ben?
• Now we know how Ben came into possession of Jin's ring.

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• Ilana points out that there were 3 outrigger canoes.
• The license plate of the pickup truck in Tunisia is 342 6346.
• Locke tells Widmore it has only been 4 days since he last spoke to Richard.
• Widmore says he protected the island for 3 decades.
• The passport shows "Jeremy Bentham's" birthdate as 15 Feb '48.
  
• Locke is told to press 2 3 on the phone to reach Widmore.
• It has been 2 years since Sayid was manipulated by Ben.
• Abaddon tells Locke he is 0-2 as he fails to convince anyone to return to the island.
• Abaddon points out there Locke has had 3 unsuccessful visits.
• Helen's tombstone shows the dates of June 30, 1957 - April 8, 2006.
  

Previews - Next week's episode, "LaFleur" looks like we may see a reunion between those who were left behind and those who have returned.

"316" (Season 5, Episode 6)

Tonight's episode ranks right up there as one of my favorites. It was classic Lost. There were answers to old questions. There were new questions. There were more new questions. It may have been the most satisfying, exciting, interesting hour so far this season.

Best Line

• "We're not going to Guam, are we?" Ajira pilot Frank Lapidus resigned to his fate.
  

Did You Notice?

• In keeping with some of the religious overtones of this episode, the title "316" could also refer to John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
• Yet one more opening that features an extreme close-up of someone's eye. Starting the episode as if we were back when Jack first woke up on the island back in the pilot episode was clever.
• As I correctly guessed back in December when the logo first appeared, the off-island Dharma station is the Lamppost. The reference to C.S. Lewis's "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" is far from coincidental since the lamppost was the object that the four children first encountered when entering the fantasical land of Narnia.
• Could the "clever fellow" to whom Ms. Hawking referred be her son, Daniel Faraday?
• I absolutely loved the fact that Desmond repeatedly crossed the map and each time never once had to avoid the swinging pendulum as if he was in perfect sync with it.
• I can't wait to see the unpredictable result Ms. Hawking warned of by going back to the island with less than everyone.
• So was Ben praying in the church or just practicing his use of the finger pyramid of evil contemplation?
• My co-worker Tony felt Ben's promise to an old friend and the loose end that needed tying up was referring to his threat to Widmore that Penny would pay for Alex's death. Tony's theory is that the bloodied Ben at the marina was the aftermath of him killing Penny and that this will be the reason for Desmond to return to the island - revenge for Penny's death.
• Did the magician's white rabbit signify that we were through the looking glass again?
  
• I'm usually very pleased with the casting of actors on the show, but are we really supposed to believe Ray is Jack's granddad and Christian's father? The actor who played Ray is 70. The actor who plays Jack's dad is 59, meaning Ray would have been 11 years old when his son was born. Matthew Fox who plays Jack is 43 so Christian would have been 16 when he became a dad. Talk about time traveling! If I believe the creators of Lost know what they're doing (and I do), then could Granddad Ray really be Jack grown old? Would this explain Ray's need to escape the boredom of the old folks home and seek adventure?
• Where is Aaron? Did Claire mysteriously return to claim her son? The last time she appeared to Kate she warned Kate not to take him back. Is Sun's mother taking care of him along with Ji Yeon? Sun did tell her daughter she had a new playmate for her. Or did Kate break down and give Aaron to Ben, which would explain her reluctance to discuss it.
• We now know why since Season 1 Jack's dad was wearing white tennis shoes with his burial suit.
• Prior to co-worker Tony's theory about Ben, I thought perhaps the wet and bloodied Ben had been in an altercation with Sayid, which resulted in his arrest by the female officer who boarded the plane with him. If Ben instead did kill Penny on her and Desmond's boat at the marina, are we supposed to believe that they sailed from Oxford, England, to Los Angeles, California?
• Was it me or did Locke have more beard stubble than when we first saw him in the coffin at the end of Season 4?
  
• The man who offered Jack his condolences in the ticket line is a new character, Caesar. The woman escorting Sayid is the other new character, Ilana. Let's hope we don't have another Nikki and Paolo on our hands.
  
• Hurley was reading a Spanish version of "Y: The Last Man". The story is about "the only man to survive the mysterious simultaneous death of every male mammal on Earth."
• I wonder if Charlie appeared to Hurley and told him about the flight? Is this also why Hurley had a guitar case with him? Was that Charlie's proxy?
• Did Ben represent Hurley arriving late for the flight? Or was he filling in for Locke as the injured man, his arm in a sling instead of being in a wheelchair?
• Was it coincidence that Frank Lapidus, originally to be Oceanic Flight 815's pilot, was the Ajira Flight 316's pilot?
  
• When Ben told Jack his mother taught him to read, you could presume this was Ben just being flippant since we know his mother died in childbirth or we could wonder if maybe the ghost of Ben's mother reappeared to him throughout his youth, continuing her parental responsibilities.
• Ben is reading Ulysses by James Joyce. The plot and theme center on life as a journey. The framework of the novel is based on Homer's The Odyssey.
• So this time instead of a plane crash, we get a time flash. What did happen to the plane and the other passengers?
  
• When last we saw Jin (as well as Sawyer, Juliet, and Miles), the time was pre-Orchid station and even pre-well being dug. The new condition of the VW bus and Jin's coveralls makes me think this is the 70's when the Dharma Initiative first came to the island. Did Locke's adjustment to the frozen donkey wheel strand Jin and the others in the past with the Others?
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• The events at the Lamppost took place 46 hours earlier than the return to the island.
• The U.S. Army island photo had the date 9/23/54 and the reference Op 264.
• Ms. Hawking told Jack the "window" would only be open for 36 more hours.
  
• The Ajira flight was 316.
• Kate takes 2 sugars in her coffee.
• Jill the butcher needed 5 minutes to get the van ready for Jack to take Locke's body.
• The Ajira flight left from Gate 15.
• Jack was seated in Row 8.
  

Previews - The title of next week's episode, "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham", pretty much sums up what we can expect. We see Locke speaking with new character Ilana as well as Charles Widmore; yet another leg mishap resulting in Locke in a cast; and the return of what I think may be the Mystery Car of Death!

"This Place is Death" (Season 5, Episode 5)

Tonight's episode was a night of revelations and confirmations. Eloise Hawking is in fact Faraday's mother. Charlotte was on the island as a little girl. And the frozen donkey wheel looks to be at the center of all the time flashes.

Best Line

• "He's Korean. I'm from Encino." Miles to Sawyer after being asked to translate what Jin said on the presumption that all Asians understand each other.
  

Did You Notice?

• There was a small, red star near the neckline on the back of Jin's t-shirt.
  
• The blond Frenchman mentioned a submarine when mocking Jin and his comments about the ship and the helicopter. Not too far off.
  
• I guess we can add another book to the Lost library: A Farewell to Arms. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)
  
• The temple where the smoke monster resides was covered with hieroglyphics similar to those where the frozen donkey wheel was and to the final symbols on the Swan station's countdown clock.
• Robert says the smoke monster is a security system for the temple. What is it guarding?
  
• The temple is where Ben told Richard Alpert to take his people after Ben shot Locke in Season 3.
• So the elder Rousseau was telling the truth when she said her team went mad. I guess the trip into the smoke monster's liar is not good for your mental health.
• Since Rousseau asked Jin about disappearing, I guess this means when anyone time jumps, the people remaining see them go and remember it.
  
• A boat at the marina had the name "Illusion" on its bow.
• Why was Charlotte adamant that Sun specifically not return to the island?
  
• Was Charlotte referring to Ben when, in her time-tripping state, she mentioned "marrying an American"?
• Charlotte also spoke of Geronimo Jackson, the band whose album Charlie and Hurley found in the hatch in Season 2. Could young Charlotte have been in that same Dharma station and listened to that exact record?
• Charlotte's life-long search for the island explains her joy in the Season 4 flashback at finding the polar bear skeleton with the Dharma collar in Tunisia.
• So at some point Faraday the "crazy man" travels back to young Charlotte's time on the island to warn her.
  
• Do you wonder if Locke regrets regaining the use of his legs since being on the island? The hatch door has crushed them. Ethan shot him in one leg. And now, he's got a bone protruding out of the other.
• If Jacob is a version of Locke (which I believe), could he be using a simulation of Christian Sheppard so as not to reveal himself? Is this also why Christian couldn't help Locke stand or reset the wheel?
• Christian informs Locke that "everyone" who left must return to the island. May not be so easy with Kate and Sayid refusing to have anything to do with this idea.
• The viewers all know that Christian is Jack's dad but obviously Locke has no clue.
  
• Did you get the impression that Ben didn't know that Eloise Hawking was Faraday's mother?
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• The numbers 4,8,15,16,23,42 could be heard over the French team's receiver. Some folks on-line believe the voice to be that of Hurley.
• Rousseau said her team set sail on November 15.
  

Previews - On next week's "316", it looks like we may be in for some more revelations, this time about the island, as Eloise Hawking follows through on her declaration "Let's get started."

"The Little Prince" (Season 5, Episode 4)

Tonight's episode shares its title with a novel by Antoine de Saint Exupery, who was not only a French author but also an aviator. In July 1944, he flew out of an airbase to collect intelligence on German troop movements and was never seen again. He and his plane mysteriously disappeared. His story of "The Little Prince" concerns the title character, an alien boy stranded in the Sahara Desert who misses his life on his home asteroid. He also travels to six other asteroids and encounters one person on each one (The Oceanic 6?). It is also a story of love and loneliness, sadness and solitude.

Best Line

• "Hurray. Everything's back to normal." My favorite of Miles many sarcastic comments.
  

Did You Notice?

• So it was Kate's idea to raise Aaron as her son.
• Kate's statement to Jack, "I've always been with you", was very powerful.
  
• Is life like a box of chocolates when there's a gun hidden in the bottom?
• The last name of the female doctor who speaks to Jack is Ariza. I Googled the name and the most hits refer to Trevor Ariza, a small forward for the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team. Maybe the writers are fans?
• Are the tranquilizer gun-wielding assassins who keep attacking Sayid on Widmore's payroll?
  
• I loved the moments when the current characters on the island witnessed moments from the past - Locke and the light at the hatch, Sawyer seeing Kate deliver Aaron.
• I now have no doubt that Miles is the baby that Candle/Wickmund/Halliwax/Chang was holding in this season's opening. This would explain his susceptibility to the time travel illness. He's been on the island for more than just the past two weeks.
• The water bottle is from Ajira Airlines, whose website I mentioned in past entries. Is this perhaps how the Oceanic 6 get back to the island?
• Could the occupants of the other outrigger be the Oceanic 6? Or even Locke, Sawyer, and the rest having jumped from the future to this moment to try and stop themselves from corrupting the time line?
• As soon as I saw Claire's mother in the "previously on", I was certain she was lawyer Norton's client, trying to get custody of Ben. I was fooled.
• Was it coincidence that Locke and his group were in the midst of a downpour while a storm moved in on Jack and Kate in Los Angeles?
  
• The name on Ben's carpet cleaning van read Canton-Rainier, which is an anagram of reincarnation. Appropriate since this was the vehicle where Locke's body was originally kept before being put on ice at the butcher shop.
• The container amidst the beach wreckage read "BESIXDOUZE". Douze is French for the number 12. In other words, B612, which was also the name of the Little Prince's asteroid home.
  
• As soon as Locke saw the container with the French writing and they cut to the raft of people, I knew we were seeing Rousseau's team when they first got shipwrecked. I was not, however, expecting the floating body to be Jin! Anyone wondering how Jin could have survived the freighter's explosion, remember that the island will not let you die until it's ready to let you die.
• The inflatable raft that held Rousseau's team was the same octagonal shape as the Dharma logos.
  
• Rough translation of Rousseau's team's conversation on the raft:

"I have said we would follow (untranslatable) of those damned numbers."
"It's not my fault, Robert. Breman was to keep the sonar."
"But I did, Montand. I have (untranslatable)."
"The instruments have no function."
"A man at sea!"
"What? I thought that was all!"
"Correct! It is not us. Who is it?"

• The elder Rousseau had previously explained that her team went mad and she had to kill them. Could their madness be the result of the current time shifts?
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• Kate said it would take more than 2 nights for her to get used to a normal bed.
  
• Kate suggested she tell everyone she was 6 months pregnant when she was arrested.
• Sawyer points out that Charlotte has been out of 10 minutes.
• Jack notes that Sawyer was unconscious for 42 hours and had the equivalent of 3 doses of horse tranquilizers in his system.
  
• Kate's home address is 42 Panorama Crest.
• Ben says to meet at Slip 23 at the marina.
• Miles says he's came to the island 2 weeks ago.
  
• Juliet says Claire gave birth 2 months ago.
• One of Rousseau's team on the beach has a device announcing "4, 8, 15, 16".
  

Previews - On next week's "This Place is Death", will Kate be convinced to return to the island? Will Sun shoot Ben? What is Locke doing descending into what looks like a well?

"Jughead" (Season 5, Episode 3)

Have I mentioned that I love this show? I love it even more when one of my theories turns out to be true (more on that below). Plus, tonight's episode let me theorize about another character's identity (more on that below, too).

Best Line

• "Wanna stay here in Crazytown or help me rescue the geek?" Sawyer to Juliet.
  

Did You Notice?

• The opening scene where Penny gives birth takes place in the municipality of Mabuhay in the Philippines. "Mabuhay"is also a word used to exclaim long life.
  
• Desmond was shouting "Efren Salonga", the name of the doctor.
  
• I loved Desmond talking to his son about "the very special island" only to be referring to Great Britain. And his description of Scotland sounded familiar: "Mountains, glens, monsters, deep lochs" As in Locke?
• Is Charlotte's condition what Faraday experienced with Theresa Spencer? Is this way he is so concerned for her?
  
• New Theory Alert! The blond girl on the island is referred to by Richard as Ellie. In the rerun of last week's episode at 8 p.m. last night, the enhanced information noted that the white-haired woman in the final scene (who I believe is Faraday's mother) was "Eloise Hawking". Eloise was also the name of the rat Faraday sent through the maze in the episode "The Constant". Ellie could be a nickname for Eloise. In other words, Faraday was held at gunpoint by a younger version of his mother. He did say "You look so much like someone I use to know." If it was 1954 and Ellie was in her twenties and now it's 2007, fifty years later, then that would make her the right age to be Eloise Hawking.
• So U.S. soldiers had been to the island at some point in its past? Seems like a lot of people know about this hard-to-find island.
• The camp and its layout of tents was reminiscent of the village of New Otherton.
• Who were the people that the Oxford janitor said had been poking around Faraday's old lab?
  
• The name tag of the other soldier captured by Locke read "Cunningham".
• Did Locke not shoot "Jones" as he ran away because he realized he was one of his people or because of the ramifications of what killing Charles Widmore might have caused to future events?
• Abigail Spencer's vest indicated she worked at QuikMart, a convenience store in England (not to be confused with Kwik-E-Mart, which is a convenience store in Springfield).
  
• Theresa Spencer is apparently suffering the same debilitating time jumps that Minkowski did on the freighter.
• According to Juliet, Richard Alpert "has always been here" and as to how old he is? "Old."
• Does the "Jughead" bomb end up getting buried under the Swan hatch? Remember from Season 1 that something big was encased in a lot of concrete there.
• Widmore's office had a painting of a snarling polar bear.
  
• Allow me a moment while I pat myself on the back for correctly figuring out last week that "Jones" was actually a younger Charles Widmore. So if Ellie is Faraday's mother than they have know each other for 50 years, which would explain why the older Widmore knows she is in Los Angeles.
• Is Penny in jeopardy going to L.A. with Desmond since Ben is there and had sworn to her father that he would kill her in retaliation of Alex being shot by Keamy?
  
• It was a nice, subtle revelation that Desmond and Penny named their son Charlie after the man who sacrificed himself so they could one day be together.
• I loved the conversation between Locke and Richard as Locke desperately tried to convince an amused Richard of the truth to his seemingly outrageous statements.
• Locke telling Richard when and where he would be born explains why Richard was in the maternity ward when Locke was born. And Locke showing Richard the compass ties back to Richard visiting a young Locke in the foster home, hoping he would select the compass from a group of objects. They do chose their leaders at a very early age, according to Richard.
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• Penny said that Desmond only remembered 2 days ago that he was supposed to find Faraday's mother.
• Ellie said there were 5 people waiting at the creek.
• Miles sensed 4 U.S. soldiers buried; 3 who were shot.
• Faraday guessed that it could be as soon as 5 minutes until the next flash.
• Abigail Spencer notes that her sister Theresa once thought she was 3 years old.
  
• The father of the Spencer sisters died 5 years ago.
• Locke told Sawyer he would give him a 10 minute head start.
• Widmore had been funding Faraday's research for 10 years.
• Widmore said he hadn't seen his daughter for 3 years.
  
• Locke told Richard he would be born in 2 years.
  

Previews - Next week's "The Little Prince" appears to have Ben trying to convince Kate to join him and Jack. Also, Locke seems to be witnessing the moment from his past when he couldn't break into the hatch and the shaft of light burst up into the night sky.

"Because You Left" & "The Lie" (Season 5, Episodes 1 & 2)

"When am I?" Locke's question to Richard Alpert was one I found myself asking repeatedly during last night's double-helping of time traveling goodness that was the Season 5 premiere. From the scenes of Candle/Wickmund/Halliwax/Chang's domestic bliss that opened the first hour (not unlike Season 2's premiere that featured Desmond's day in the life in the hatch) to the reappearance of dear(ly departed) friends - Ethan Rom, Ana Lucia - to the action-packed moments (Death by dishwasher! Hot Pocket attack! Beach barbecue with shish ka-Neil), Lost was back in a big way!

Best Lines

• "You know maybe if you ate more comfort food, you wouldn't have to go around shooting people." Hurley's advice to Sayid.
• "I need a cool code name." Hurley referencing Locke's use of the alias of Jeremy Bentham.
• Locke: "What is it?" Richard: "It's a compass." Locke: "What does it do?" Richard: "It points north, John."
• "Oh yeah, Libby says hi." Ana-Lucia bringing greetings from the afterlife to Hurley.
• "Why is there a dead Pakastani on my couch?" Hurley's mother discovering an unconscious Sayid in her house.
  

Did You Notice?

• The song on the record Dr. Chang plays is Willie Nelson's "Shotgun Willie". The album was released in 1973. The skipping record is a nice precursor to how Faraday will later explain the time shifting they're experiencing.
• Could the Chang's baby be Miles?
• Is it me or did the sonar picture of the frozen donkey wheel look like the Statue of Liberty? To quote Charlton Heston in Planet of the Apes: "You maniacs! You blew it up!"
• The worker suffers a nosebleed as did Horace Goodspeed when he appeared to Locke and as does Charlotte.
• Chang's comment about exposing the power under the Orchid station, "God help us all", is the same comment made by Mrs. Hawking to Ben at the end of the second episode. I didn't catch this until I re-watched the episodes.
• Are we to presume that one of the time shifts will send Faraday back to Chang's time and that was why he was there?
• Locke is in a rain storm after the first time shift. Locke and rain seem to have an affinity on the island.
• The annoying character of Neil Frogurt was first shown in one of the on-line web episodes, in which he warned Hurley that if Hurley didn't make a move on Libby than he would.
• When Rose comes out of the jungle, she tells Bernard she was at "the church", presumably the one Eko and Charlie built.
• The men who come to Kate's house asking to do blood tests are from the law firm of Agostini & Norton. Lodovico Agostini was an Italian composer, singer, priest, and scholar of the late Renaissance. Agostini was fond of musical enigmas, puzzles, surprise and double-entendre and bizarre chromatic progressions. Dan Norton happens to be the name of a comic book artist whose credits include work on an upcoming feature film Science Ninja Team Gatachaman. Apparently it's based on an anime series about young heroes who battle bad robots and evil science conspiracies that seek to control and exploit the Earth's natural resources.
• Sawyer refers to Charlotte as "Ginger", a reference to Gilligan's Island's redhead.
• Since the characters are apparently moving through time, could they in fact be the source of the ghostly whispers heard throughout the past seasons?
• Mr. Eko's brother Yemi's plane filled with drug-stuffed Virgin Mary statues is believed to have crashed on the island in the 1990's. If you remember, this is the same plane where we first heard over the radio of the tail section survivors and where Boone met his doom when the plane fell out of the tree.
• What was originally bringing Sun to Los Angeles? Did she always plan on visiting with Kate or was her impromptu meeting with Charles Widmore the reason?
• Miles mentions that it took Widmore about 20 years to find the island the first time.
• Faraday's explanation of time being like a street and only being able to go forward or backward is similar to Mrs. Hawking's comment to Desmond in the jewelry store about life course-correcting itself when something changes.
• The compass Richard Alpert gives Locke is the same one Richard showed young Locke last season along with other items as a test, including the knife that Locke ultimately chose, resulting in Richard leaving him at his foster home.
• I loved that Sawyer remembered that the hatch has a back door - something Locke would have liked to have known in Season 1 when he spent every waking moment trying to get into the hatch.
  
• Is Charlotte's nosebleed, headaches, and memory loss the result of her having been on the island before? I still believe she may be Ben's childhood friend, Annie.
• Could Faraday's mother be the mysterious Mrs. Hawking from Desmond's jewelry shop and currently tracking global changes in the catacombs beneath a church? They both seem to have an interest in time travel.
• When Hurley buys the "I Heart Shih Tzus" t-shirt at the convenience store, Cheap Trick's song "Dream Police" is playing, specifically the lyric "They're Waiting for You".
• What is Ben's mysterious, wrapped package that he had hidden in the motel's heating duct?
• Hurley's dad is watching the TV show "Expose", which starred the infamous Nikki, who ended up being buried alive with Paulo on the island.
• Did you realize Ben took Locke's body to Jill the butcher so she could put him in the meat locker and keep him fresh? And who is Jill and Gabriel helping Ben back in civilization? Displaced Others?
• Could the British soldier with the name patch of Jones who attacks Sawyer and Juliet actually be a younger version of Charles Widmore when he had first found the island?
• When I first saw Mrs. Hawking doing her calculations, I thought she was in Oxford, England. But when she comes upstairs to the church and Ben is there, I have to believe this is somewhere in Los Angeles. Ben mentions that just that night, he lost Hugo. I find it hard to believe that he could have made it to England that fast. He was also wearing the same clothes as he had on at Hurley's house.
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• Chang's alarm clock radio is set for 8:15.
• Chang is trying to film the orientation video for Station 2.
• The drilling at the Orchid station is at 3 meters from the margin when 6 drill bits melt and there are 5 holes drilled into the rock.
• The time frame between the Oceanic 6 leaving the island and their current time is 3 years.
• Juliet tells Faraday that there is a Dharma station 15 minutes from the beach.
• When Sun is at the airport, the PA announces Flight 23 to Paris is boarding at Gate 15.
• Hurley spent 2 years at the Santa Rosa Hospital before Sayid took him away.
• Sayid spent 2 years killing for Ben.
• Sawyer points out that Faraday had been gone for 2 hours since they left the hatch.
• According to Kate's phone, Jack's number is 323-555-0156.
• Ben tells Jack he will pick him up in 6 hours.
• Sayid killed 3 men (one at Santa Rosa and two at the safe house) although Hurley confesses to the murders.
• Ben's ticket at the butcher shop is 342.
• Charlotte brings back 2 fruits for her and Faraday.
• Miles points out that the boar has only been dead for 3 hours.
• The oxygen tank gauge at Jack's hospital include the numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 15.
  

Previews - Next week's "Jughead" will feature Locke trying to determine who the military-like force is on the island while Desmond searches for Faraday's mother. A rerun of "The Lie" will air at 8 p.m. ET before this new episode premieres at 9 p.m. ET.

Coming Soon. . .

. . .My first blog entry for Season 5! Just have to re-watch both episodes and do my usual research, then I hope to have it posted by this evening. Stay tuned!

3 More Hours! 3 More Hours! 3 More Hours!

I can't believe eight months have passed since the finale and the new episodes start tonight. It's as if I've jumped ahead in time! See you back here on Thursday night!

The Countdown Clock is at 27 Hours to Go

If a little over a day is too long to wait, check out these four quick video clips from tomorrow's episodes at E!'s website:
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b79762_lost_get_four_sneak_peeks_of_tomorrows.html

Look for my thoughts on tomorrow's double-episode premiere on Thursday night. I'll need some time to compile my notes and re-watch the shows. Plus, I still have my day job!

51 Hours and Counting!

As I write this, there are mere days before the new episodes of Lost premiere. In honor of that, I have to post a quote from Saturday Night Live this past weekend. During Weekend Update, Seth Meyers referenced the rescue of the downed plane in the Hudson River by saying "The New York water taxi service did in 30 minutes what the writers of Lost haven't been able to do in five seasons." Classic!

Also, here is my first official theory of the new season. The writers have said that Mrs. Hawking, the older woman from the clock shop a couple of seasons ago, will play a big part in the overall story. Also, I have seen a quick scene in the upcoming episodes where it appears that Penny is in a hospital bed holding a newborn baby. If that baby turns out to be a girl, I predict that she will grow up to be Mrs. Hawking, the daughter of Penny and Desmond. Since time travel is playing a big part in this new season, who knows? Only time will tell.

10 Days to Go!

As I write this, there is only a week and a half before the new season premieres on Wednesday, January 21. This Wednesday, January 14, ABC is re-airing the three-hour Season 4 finale at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, for anyone who needs to be reminded where things were left eight months ago.

Less Than 4 Weeks and Counting

January 2009 is finally here and with it comes the fifth season premiere of "Lost". If you can't wait the little over three weeks until it airs, check out this article from TV Guide on the first two episodes. WARNING: There are what some may consider spoilers.

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Review-Lost-Season-1001219.aspx

5 Weeks and Counting

With just over a month until the premiere, tvguide.com reports that actor Jorge Garcia (Hurley) says the return to the Island does not go successfully when they try to travel together and each person may need to use a separate route back. Also, check out the link below for a sneak peek of Jack and Ben discussing the return to the Island and why it's so important they go back.

http://vids.eonline.com/services/link/bcpid1396519019/

6 Weeks and Counting!

As I write this, there are only six weeks from tomorrow before "Lost" returns for its fifth and penultimate season. I remember when last season ended and I thought we have to wait eight months to find out what happens next?! And, now it's almost upon us. I'm anxious to find out how the Oceanic Six plan on getting back to the Island (remember Ben's cryptic words to Jack as they stood over Locke's body in the casket?). And where did the Island go? (Or did it stay still and everything and everyone else moved?) Season Four was released on DVD today so you can guess how I'm going to be spending my Christmas vacation.

As one of 147,000 close friends of show producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, I have been getting e-mails with sneak peaks of the new season. The latest is shown below: a glimpse of a new Dharma station logo. At first, I thought it was a light house, but I believe it's actually more of a lamppost. I was reminded of the lamppost where Lucy meets Mr. Tumnus in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" written by C. S. Lewis (not to be confused with the Island's Charlotte S. Lewis).

Check Out This New Trailer with Subliminal Image

As I mourn the demise of "Pushing Daisies" and "Eli Stone" and anxiously await this Sunday's "24: Redemption" prequel movie, I count the days to the premiere of "Lost": just under nine weeks remain. While waiting, check out this article and watch the new video/trailer:

http://www.tvguide.com/News/New-Lost-Trailer-1000062.aspx

Does Oceanic Airlines have some new competition in Ajira Airlines whose logo appears briefly twice in this video? Or will this be how the Oceanic Six return to the Island? Destiny calls.

Mark Your Calendar!

It's official: ABC has confirmed that Season Five will premiere on Wednesday, January 21, 2009. At 8 p.m., there will be a recap of the first four seasons (in case you've forgotten what's happened so far!), then at 9 p.m., "Because You Left" will air followed by "The Lie" at 10 p.m. The series will then continue on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. The early episodes are titled as followed: "Jughead", "The Little Prince", "The Place is Death", and the intriguingly titled "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham".

Our First Look at Season 5!

I just got an early Christmas present. Check it out. The first promo for Season 5 of "Lost" including new footage. And yes, I did get goosebumps!

http://vids.eonline.com/services/link/bcpid1396519019/bctid1877535133

Four Months to Go; Two New Cast Members

Actress Zuleikha Robinson will play the role of Illeana, a European femme fatale who's both smart and incredibly dangerous.










Actor Saïd Taghmaoui will play the role of Caesar, a mystery man.

Two Months Down, Six to Go!

I know there are still some die-hard Lost and Founders out there checking my blog on a regular basis during the hiatus so as a reward for your loyalty, here's some Season Five scoop from show creators Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof at the San Diego Comic-Con (the big comic book/movie/TV convention which was held last weekend in California):

• Jin and Locke will be still be on the show in some form.
• We will see Richard Alpert bare-footed (but with how many toes?).
• Stories are going to be told in a new and exciting way. When the season starts, viewers are not going to know when or where they are.

And finally, my nephew David's friend Becky was nice enough to share the following photos from the Dharma Initiative Recruitment Booth and Lost panel discussion at Comic-Con:

"There's No Place Like Home" Part 2 (Season 4, Episode 13)

Will there ever be another series like "Lost"? A series that consistently entertains and surprises the viewer week after week. Where it's not-so-great episodes are better than most shows' best? A show that made me create a blog dedicated to it and for you fine readers to check out each and every week? I think not. We are really spoiled. At least we have two more years to look forward.

Before We Get to the Finale:

• If you didn't watch the rerun at 8 p.m. ET, then you didn't see the "extra footage". This occurred during the Oceanic Airlines press conference. Added in was Jack explaining that the three "survivors" who didn't make it back were Boone Carlyle, a woman named Libby, and Charlie Pace. Also a reporter asked Sayid if he was aware of what was happening in Iraq and if he was going back, to which he answered no. Also, Jack was asked about his plans and he said he wanted to have a service for his father.
• During the last commercial break of the last hour, did you catch the ad for Octagon Global Recruiting? This fake commercial offered anyone interested in "unpaid positions" to visit their website, http://www.octagonglobalrecruiting.com/ , which I of course did. It plays a video of the same ad then explains they are part of the Dharma Initiative (hence the octagon in the name - same shape as their logos). You can also submit your e-mail address (which I alsoe did) for a representative to contact you regarding an event in San Diego in late July. Coincidentally, this is also the location and date of Comic Con, one of the largest comic book/movie/TV conventions where the producers and cast of "Lost" have frequently been guests. No response yet, but I'll keep you posted.
• Finally, you may have seen where "Good Morning, America" was going to show alternate endings to last night's show. I DVRed it this morning and watched it tonight. Alternate ending #1 had Sawyer in the coffin. Alternate ending #2 had Desmond in the coffin. I'm happy they went with Locke.
  

Although not a jaw-dropping finale like last year, I feel this was a very satisfying close to another excellent season. Old questions were answered, new questions were raised (what else is new?). Exciting actions sequences balanced with emotional moments made for a full two hours. (What would they have cut out if ABC hadn't given them the extra hour?)

Best Line

• "If you mean time-traveling bunnies, then yes." Ben responding to Locke's questioning of what the Orchid Station experiments involved.
  

Did You Notice?

• I thought the "previously on 'Lost'" recap had the perfect scenes to set up the finale, especially last season's final scene continuing as this season's first scene.
• The man in the coffin has a name: Jeremy Bentham. Interestingly enough, this was a real person. He was an English philosopher and social reformer in the 1800's. Ahead of his time, he argued for equal rights for woman, separation of church and state, and the end of slavery. When he died, the real Bentham's will stipulated that his body be preserved and stored in a wooden cabinet, which he called his "auto-icon". This is not unlike Locke's Bentham whose body was stored in a wooden box, which we call a "coffin". Another interesting point is that the real John Locke was also a British philosopher, whose works later influenced other philosophers such as David Hume (Desmond Hume?) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Danielle Rousseau?).
  
• Was it foretelling that Sawyer referred to Jack as "Sundance" since later Sawyer would leap from the helicopter not unlike Butch and Sundance did off a cliff at the end of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"?
• Since the ghostly whispers occurred right before the Others attacked the mercenaries, are they the origin of them or some other, unrevealed island party?
• The fight between Keamy and Sayid was amazingly choreographed and brilliantly edited. You really believed these were two military men fighting for their lives.
• Walt (or Walt Chamberlain as I believe he should now be called) hardly even looks like the same kid from the island. Hurley summed it up nicely when he said "Getting big, dude."
• So Locke was the one who suggested the Oceanic Six should lie to protect the island. And sure enough, that's just what they did.
• I loved that Locke couldn't find the elevator because he didn't know what anthuriums looked like!
• The quick scene between Miles (a.k.a. Shorty) and Rose was priceless.
• I now believe stronger than ever that Charlotte is really Ben's childhood friend on the island, Annie. That she wanted to get back and was trying to find where she was born just confirms it for me.
• Locke's question to Ben about the "magic box" refers back to the episode where Ben had explained to Locke how he got Locke's father to the island.
• As pointed out in a previous blog entry, Edgar Halliwax is also Marvin Candle and Mark Wickmund, all presenters in the Dharma Initiative orientation films.
• The Casimir effect to which Halliwax refers is an actual term in physics. In simple terms, the Casimir effect can be understood by the idea that the presence of conducting metals and dielectrics alter the vacuum expectation value of the energy of the second quantized electromagnetic field. Yeah, right. Don't even get me started on negatively charged exotic matter.
  
• I think when "Lost" finally ends, a detective show featuring Sawyer and Frank Lapidus has potential.
• I really believe the writers missed a great opportunity for Hurley to say something comedic with the whole issue of the helicopter having too much weight on board. "I knew I shouldn't have eaten all those crackers."
• I have to believe Sawyer asked Kate to check on his daughter, Clementine, right before he jumped. The same request that would later lead Jack not to trust her.
• Sayid's mention of Bentham's supposed suicide confirms what could be gleaned from the newspaper obituary that Jack had in last season's finale. Close inspection of a still frame showed that it read Jeremy Bentham of New York hanged himself in his downtown Los Angeles loft.
• Does Sayid really not intend to take Hurley back to the island but instead to someplace safe? If he's still working for Ben, I would think not.
• So Hurley was playing chess with Mr. Eko? He's been visited by Charlie. I guess anything is possible.
• The whispers could be heard prior to the freighter's destruction.
• When Christian Shephard told Michael "you can go now", my initial thought was that he was going to transport him to safety. However, everyone I spoke with today felt he was telling Michael he was no longer needed and it was time for him to die. An interview with the actor at www.tvguide.com pretty much confirms this. He's done. Gone. Off the show. Much to the actor's surprise, in fact. Unless this is the producers' way of preventing another leak like when it was found out that Michael was returning this season. We'll see. I might just be right after all.
• The actress who plays Sun did a tremendous job of portraying the anguish and helplessness of losing Jin. Hard to believe this same character was not so long ago ready to flee to America to escape him. The island does have a miraculous effect on people.
• As for Jin, I guess it's still possible that he survived the explosion.
• I'm still not sure if I know who Sun holds responsible for Jin's apparent death. She blames her father and one other. I believed it could be Jack for leaving him behind, then I thought for sure it was Charles Widmore since it was his boat, but then I thought maybe Ben when Sun seemingly made overtures to Widmore to team up.
• So Charles Widmore and Sun's father, Mr. Paik, are old golfing buddies. Coincidence?
• My new monthly skeleton theory is that the Adam and Eve skeletons found in the cave in Season 1 are Sawyer and Juliet.
• It is obvious Ben was handing over the mantle of island caretaker to Locke, although begrudgingly so. I can't help but wonder if Ben was the Others' second choice from the start and it should have been Locke all along. If only he hadn't chosen the knife when Richard Alpert came to see him in his foster home.
  
• The ice cavern had hieroglyphics on the pillar where the lantern was similar to what was inside the secret room in Ben's closet.
• The show's producers always give a code name to the season finale. This year it was "Frozen Donkey Wheel". Who would have guessed that's exactly what it would have been?
• Ben's departure from the island sent him almost one year into the future as we saw in the earlier episode when he landed in the Tunisian desert with Halliwax's parka on, his torn sleeve and bleeding arm, and a puff of cold air breath as he landed.
• The purple sky and high-pitched sound were identical to Season 2's finale when Desmond was prevented from entering the numbers in the hatch. My co-worker Scott has a theory that the number entering was linked to the frozen donkey wheel and maintained the balance of the island's machinery.
• So what happened to Faraday and his raft of survivors when the island vanished? Were they carried along to wherever or whenever it went? Will we see him finally come ashore alone, gnawing on a leg bone? The others were all extras after all.
  
• Apparently, the island was looking out for baby Aaron when the helicopter crashed. Either that or his turnip head acts as a flotation device.
• The late night caller on Kate's phone when played backwards says "The island needs you . . . You have to go back before it's too late." Spooky, but if this was just a nightmare, then not so much. Same goes for creepy Claire and her dire warning not to take Aaron back.
• It was so wonderful to see Desmond and Penny reunited at last. It's not every girl that has her own tracking station. Probably got it for her birthday.
  
• I loved Jack using Desmond's signature line "I'll see you in another life, brother".
• Okay, this bothered me. During the Oceanic Six press conference, we saw an enlarged
• photo of the survivors bringing their raft ashore at the tiny fishing village with the locals helping them. Last night, we saw this event actually happen. Who took the picture?
• The song playing in Jack's truck as he approached the funeral home was "Gouge Away" by The Pixies. Unlike other musicians featured on the show, they have not died in a plane crash. Yet.
• Did Ben look younger and healthier to anyone else? Or was it just the fact that no one has been beating him up lately?
  
• We got the answer of who's in the coffin: Locke a.k.a. Jeremy Bentham. But now new questions arise: Why did Locke leave the island? According to what he told Jack, bad things happened after Jack left. Was it the survivors' unwillingness to return that led to his suicide? But I thought the island prevented suicides as it did with both Michael and Jack? Was it really suicide as Sayid questioned? If not, then who killed him?
  
• As soon as I saw Locke in the coffin, I immediately was reminded of Jack's dad. Does this mean if they get him back to the island, Locke will be up and about again? Alive and well?
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• Kate said Jack called her for 2 days straight to convince her to go back to the island.
• Kate also said she spend the last 3 years trying to forgot the horrible things that happened on that last day.
• Desmond had 6 months of explosive ordnance disposal training in the army.
• Faraday told Charlotte and Miles that he was leaving in 10 minutes.
• The Orchid was Station 6 of 6 Dharma Initiative locations.
  
• The time traveling bunny had a 15 on it.
• The time was 8:15 when Sayid killed the man in the car.
• Sayid told Hurley that Jeremy Bentham had died 2 days ago.
• Lapidus estimated there was 4 to 5 minutes of fuel remaining in the helicopter.
• Michael said there was 5 minutes worth of liquid nitrogen left in the tank.
• Ben said Richard and the Others would be waiting for Locke 2 miles east of the Orchid.
  

And so, my fellow Lost and Founders, another season has come to a close. I wish I had my own frozen donkey wheel so I could move ahead 8 months for the premiere of the second-to-the-last season and see what these "few ideas" Ben has for getting them all back to the island and if "all of them" includes Walt Chamberlain and Desmond and Kenny Rogers, I mean Frank. Until then, Namaste.