Lost

[King Mark 3,631]

Maybe we'll find out what the hatch was supposed to do in the first place

Also who pushed the button in between when the Dharma was wiped out and Desmond (and that other guy he was with)? Were the Others aware their island could be wiped out if whoever was in the hatch forgot to press the button?

[Datameister 2,042]

Maybe we'll find out what the hatch was supposed to do in the first place

I'd imagine we'll be told before too long. And I'm looking forward to that!

Also who pushed the button in between when the Dharma was wiped out and Desmond (and that other guy he was with)?

The "other guy" was Kelvin Joe Inman, his predecessor. Stuart Radzinsky - the same Radzinsky who sent the body bag to Pierre in this episode - was his partner in the hatch until, according to Kelvin, he blew his brains out, leaving Kelvin there alone until Desmond showed up. I don't know when Radzinsky started pushing the button, but Kelvin apparently got to the Island in 1991 or 1992, not long at all before the Purge. I'm assuming he didn't end up at any other stations, since DHARMA was wiped out before he'd been there too long, which means he was pushing that button (with help some of the time) for...like, 12 years. Man.

Were the Others aware their island could be wiped out if whoever was in the hatch forgot to press the button?

That's a really good question. If they did know, I would imagine Ben (aka Henry Gale) would have asked John about the button when the hatch went into lockdown, secretly knowing it would need to be pushed, and needing Locke to tell him to do it so he wouldn't suspect anything. Also, Ben later messed with Locke's head by telling him he never pushed the button, which led Locke to stop pushing it, which easily could have destroyed the world if not for Desmond. Then again, the producers didn't have as much figured out back then, so all that could be somehow explained away. But based on what we currently know, I'm gonna hazard a guess that the Others did not know about button and perhaps didn't even know about the Swan in the first place.

[crocodile 8,006]

Not the best episode around. But at least it starts to clear several things up (who's behind the staged plane crash and such). The title and all SW references are priceless.

Karol

[Jay 37,351]

Aaaaaah. For some reason, when watching the episode I didn't pick up what the empty graves and invoice for an old plane where all about.

Of COURSE it has to do with the fake Flight 815 found in the ocean! D'oi (smacks forehead)

It doesn't prove that Widmore was behind it though; In fact, since the information was being delivered to Widmore, it seems to indicate that Widmore was trying to find out who did it. I know previously Widmore said Ben probably did it, and Ben said Widmore probably did it...

... do we think now that this new group (the "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" group) is behind it?

[Ollie 1,059]

Last season made it seem as though Widmore was responsible for the phony crash site, but after last night's episode one can only wonder.

Widmore has come across as a more pleasant fellow this season. Of course it doesn't prove anything but based on what we've seen, perhaps he is true in his words.

I still wonder if his attitude toward Desmond as not being suitable for Penny had more meaning behind it.

[Jay 37,351]

Well, since the guest cast for the next 2 episodes indicates that

we'll be seeing both younger and current Charles Widmore and young Eloise Hawking, I assume we'll be learning a lot more about them real soon

I couldn't be more excited about the next new episode, it looks awesome!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Last season made it seem as though Widmore was responsible for the phony crash site, but after last night's episode one can only wonder.

If you're sending an invoice to someone about a plane, I'm pretty sure that person knows about it. Widmore did it, it was his boat after all, that black guy Ben killed was with Widmore, he hired Naomi. Not that hard to put together. This was just a little piece to fill in the gap.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

After last week's amazing Ben-isode, last night's was predictably lighter and less consequential. But I enjoyed learning more about Miles, and finding out that a lot of people were right about his relationship to Pierre Chang. It gave Ken Leung a wider emotional pallette to work with too, which was nice. It's exciting to see things develop in an apparent "Golden Age" of the Dharma Initiative as they build stations left and right, and I'm glad Faraday's back in the picture. Also, we got a little insight into Miles' seemingly random demand of $3.2 million from Ben last season. Can't wait to see how the new group of players (Bram, Illana, etc.) fits into things.

[Datameister 2,042]

There's something vaguely cult-like about Ilana and Bram's group. It's more'n a little creepy. I'm looking forward to learning more about them, and I hope the payoff is better than it was with the freighter people, who really didn't interest me all that much. (Although Keamy developed into a pretty good bad guy.)

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

Yeah...their apparent trademark question ("What lies in the shadow of the statue") is both creepy and enticing, especially after that bone-chilling shot of the hieroglyphics last week. Love it!

[Datameister 2,042]

Indeed. So, let's see...they tried to get Miles to join them, instead of Widmore, and they had no qualms about harming Frank, who also worked for Widmore at one point, so it's of course safe to say they don't work for Widmore. But they didn't pay any attention to Ben on the plane or on the beach, which would seem to suggest that they don't work for him, either...and they don't exactly look Egyptian...

[Ollie 1,059]

Last season made it seem as though Widmore was responsible for the phony crash site, but after last night's episode one can only wonder.

If you're sending an invoice to someone about a plane, I'm pretty sure that person knows about it. Widmore did it, it was his boat after all, that black guy Ben killed was with Widmore, he hired Naomi. Not that hard to put together. This was just a little piece to fill in the gap.

Or perhaps he was doing some investigative work for Widmore and found out someone was planning to fake the crash site and was killed for it.

[Jay 37,351]

Indeed. So, let's see...they tried to get Miles to join them, instead of Widmore, and they had no qualms about harming Frank, who also worked for Widmore at one point, so it's of course safe to say they don't work for Widmore. But they didn't pay any attention to Ben on the plane or on the beach, which would seem to suggest that they don't work for him, either...and they don't exactly look Egyptian...

Well Ben and Widmore have mentioned they are going to have to team up against a third party, haven't they? Isn't that what the whole "a war is coming" thing is about?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

But they didn't pay any attention to Ben on the plane or on the beach, which would seem to suggest that they don't work for him, either...and they don't exactly look Egyptian...

Well they all played helpless survivors until a certain point. It's not like they were going start taking orders from Ben right then and there. Ben always has a plan, mind you. It seems he didn't know what was in the crate, but who knows?

Well Ben and Widmore have mentioned they are going to have to team up against a third party, haven't they? Isn't that what the whole "a war is coming" thing is about?

I interpreted the whole war as between Ben's side and Widmore's side. Don't remember a third party being mentioned.

[Datameister 2,042]

Yeah, a third party was never mentioned. Widmore and Ben have always seemed to be at war with each other, not with some third faction.

[Morlock 11]

Rather weak episode, as much as I like Miles. Too season one-ish for this point in the show. Daddy-issues, how original. Nothing particularly interesting or surprising, aside from the shock of seeing Naomi again. Both the ending and what Hurley was writing was a bit too obvious, though I did love Hurley's analysis at the end. Weakest episode since the premiere, IMO (though I seem to be alone in not liking the opening episodes).

[Red 75]

Gotta love Hurley.

Honestly one of my favorite characters.

The business with the "Statue" people questioning Miles leads me to believe that they will be a big part of the war that Widmore told Locke about. It seems that it will be between Widmore and those people, how the islanders (castaways and Others) fit in I don't know.

It's great to finally see Faraday again, apparently he must have been doing some kind of research in the outside world during the past three years.

I enjoyed this episode's basic, more personal if not hugely important feel. It was very season one-ish, but I don't think that's a bad thing at all. Without that balancing element of character study the show could easily become a plain history lesson about the island.

[Datameister 2,042]

Yeah, as much as I absolutely love the way the show has picked up the pace, I suppose it's good to take a breather from time to time. I just wish we could get an episode with a happy-ish, non-cliffhangerized ending for once! I LOVE cliffhangers, but I do occasionally miss the sitting-on-the-beach-at-night-and-smiling-with-strangers-who've-become-friends endings from S1 and, to a lesser degree, S2 and S3. Every time we see peaceful shots of the Barracks at night near the end of an episode, I start to get hopeful that it's actually going to happen again.

[Jay 37,351]

How is Daniel coming out of the sub a cliffhanger?

[Red 75]

Yeah, as much as I absolutely love the way the show has picked up the pace, I suppose it's good to take a breather from time to time. I just wish we could get an episode with a happy-ish, non-cliffhangerized ending for once! I LOVE cliffhangers, but I do occasionally miss the sitting-on-the-beach-at-night-and-smiling-with-strangers-who've-become-friends endings from S1 and, to a lesser degree, S2 and S3. Every time we see peaceful shots of the Barracks at night near the end of an episode, I start to get hopeful that it's actually going to happen again.

There's not a whole lot of room for that right now methinks, but yes it would be nice.

[Datameister 2,042]

Okay, things like that aren't exactly cliffhangers, Jason, but they do end the episode on a note of tension or confusion or apprehension. Compare that to the end of "White Rabbit," for instance.

And red rabbit, while I understand where you're coming from, I think it'd be totally possible. Remember, the sort of scene I'm talking about usually takes thirty seconds at most. All you have to do is save the final tense moment for the beginning of the next episode and instead allow the ending to just be...peaceful. Calm before the storm. And I really would not want this to happen for every episode; it was WAY overkill before. But just to have one episode end that way this season would be kinda cool. =)

[Red 75]

Yeah I would to see that happen as well, but somehow I doubt it will.

[Datameister 2,042]

Me too. ::shrug:: Oh well...still my favorite show, bar none!

[Datameister 2,042]

Now for some reactions as I re-watch the episode.

* The music in the first scene is kinda cute, but the very subtle pulses of Miles' theme add a certain level of tension. I like.

* Miles not taking care of the tape is...kinda lame. I dunno. He should have come up with some way to take care of it.

* I don't know how, but the first time I watched this episode, I developed the misconception that the dead body Miles was transporting was a Hostile, not a DHARMA worker. That would have been a little more sinister. Very interesting about the way he died...had to have been electromagnetism, of course, which has been associated with the Swan station on this show in the past...

* "Horace" didn't leave enough space between his lines while he was on the phone. No way Dr. Chang would have had time to respond. Boooo.

* "Well...here we go."

* Roger Linus is a real basket case. They're doing a good job of making his death not seem all that tragic. Same goes for Radzinsky, too...

* Dude. Hurley is awesome.

* The veeerrrrrrrry slow portamento between the first two string chords of Hurley's theme as he discovers the body - yeah, that's awesome, too. Nice to get a little variety there.

* I always get a kick out of the jungle sound effects, because I actually have a lot of them on my computer. Some of the exact same tracks are used in Adventureland (the Indiana Jones queue, specifically) at Disneyland, and those sounds (bird calls and so forth) can be found on this unofficial album.

* Naomi! Whoa! She totally caught me off guard the first time. I mean, her voice sounded familiar, but they showed her face before I had time to figure it out. Which was nice!

* "You're just jealous my power is better than yours." I also get a kick out of Miles regularly insulting Hurley. And Hurley acting as a matchmaker of sorts.

* Again...so awesome seeing the hatch. That scene was handled perfectly. My only annoyance was that it didn't look deep enough. That shaft that Kate and Locke and Jack went down was pretty deep. But there's only so much they could do, I'm sure.

* I just had a thought about Bram and Ilana and company. I'll spoilerize my speculation just in case anyone doesn't want to read it...it seems like a pretty solid theory.

What if...they're some remnant of the DHARMA Initiative? I wouldn't have thought of this if Bram hadn't mentioned Miles' father. How else would they know? And it makes sense that they wouldn't want Ben OR Widmore to gain control of the Island...they want it for themselves! And "what lies in the shadow of the statue" is an awful lot like "what did one snowman say to the other"...and it'd work pretty well as far as plot goes to spend a lot of time this season with the DI in the past only to have them show up in the present, too!

* Hurley's ESB synopses? Priceless. I love both of 'em. So Hurley. And so inaccurate! And Miles' delivery was awesome.

* The exchange between Jack and Sawyer was interesting. Kinda nice, actually. Jack just gave him the information, didn't try to control anything, got a thank you from Sawyer, and left. Nice to not have reason to be annoyed with Jack.

* Aaaannd...it starts to unravel. The Losties can't have too much longer left in 1977...things are really starting to come undone.

* "Miles, I need you." "You do?" Awwww.

* Dan's back! Sane and everything! Can't wait to find out what happened to him...and without any knowledge of the episode titles or synopses, I'm gonna hazard a guess that we'll find out at least part of it in the next episode, unless the next one focuses all on the folks in 2008.

Again, not my favorite episode of the season, but not bad at all.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

How is Daniel coming out of the sub a cliffhanger?

Shows that he's been off the island for 3 years. Last time we saw him he was a manic depressive looking at a baby Charlotte.

While I understand where you're coming from, I think it'd be totally possible. Remember, the sort of scene I'm talking about usually takes thirty seconds at most. All you have to do is save the final tense moment for the beginning of the next episode and instead allow the ending to just be...peaceful. Calm before the storm. And I really would not want this to happen for every episode; it was WAY overkill before. But just to have one episode end that way this season would be kinda cool. =)

The series finale will probably end like that.

[Datameister 2,042]

Well, we don't know that he's been off the Island for three years. It hasn't been more than three (unless time travel was involved, in which case it could have felt like more for Dan). Could have been one year or two years or whatever.

I dunno if the series is gonna end on a calm note or on a cliffhanger-ish thing that completely changes all the rules of the game. I'd imagine it's going to be one of the two, and I'd imagine there will be some unresolved tension no matter what. But I would like to think that they won't leave us with too many major questions.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

They said they're not gonna end the series with 10 seconds of black. They then joked that they would end it with 20 seconds of black

I doubt it'll end with a cliffhanger that changes the whole way you watch the series. In some happy universe Jack and Kate get married and all is well.

[Datameister 2,042]

I thought I recalled that the ending was supposed to be rather significantly weird. Maybe I dreamed that memory or something.

Actually, I honestly cannot think of what I would want the last shot to be. Seriously...nothing seems right in my head. But I'm sure they're going to come up with something that makes me grin.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Yeah I have no idea how it's gonna end, but I'm sure I'll love it. All I remember of them talking about the end was that they thought it was cool.

[Datameister 2,042]

I have no doubt it will be. Feels nice to really trust someone else's creative product before you experience it...some of the other stuff I'm a fan of has been a little less reliable of late, but Lost consistently makes me glad that I gave the show enough second chances for me to get hooked.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

Weakest episode since the premiere, IMO (though I seem to be alone in not liking the opening episodes).

I agree that the two opening episodes were among the worst (or more like "least great") of the season.

* I don't know how, but the first time I watched this episode, I developed the misconception that the dead body Miles was transporting was a Hostile, not a DHARMA worker. That would have been a little more sinister. Very interesting about the way he died...had to have been electromagnetism, of course, which has been associated with the Swan station on this show in the past...

I had this thought too - it made me remember the way the key around Jack's neck rose toward the magnetic wall when he entered the hatch for the first time. That could be a force strong enough to rip a filling out of someone's mouth through his forehead...

And I'm with you on missing the occasional "happy ending"....one of my favorites is in Season 1, where the background song abruptly cuts off because of Hurley's CD player dying, leading to a dismayed "Son of a bitch!"

[Datameister 2,042]

I agree that the two opening episodes were among the worst (or more like "least great") of the season.

I liked 'em because they were, in many ways, a big improvement over the majority of season 4 for me. But I think the season has gotten even better since then.

I had this thought too - it made me remember the way the key around Jack's neck rose toward the magnetic wall when he entered the hatch for the first time. That could be a force strong enough to rip a filling out of someone's mouth through his forehead...

Yeah, the whole Swan station was built around an electromagnetic anomaly. That's why everything metal started flying around when the hatch got ready to implode. And also - I didn't catch this the first time around - Horace said something to Pierre on the phone about thinking it was the electromagnetism. The question is...where was "Alvarez" when this happened? If they were in Hostile territory, he wasn't at the Swan under construction. He was somewhere else. And I'm sure we're going to find out before TOO long...nothing happens on this show without a reason anymore.

And I'm with you on missing the occasional "happy ending"....one of my favorites is in Season 1, where the background song abruptly cuts off because of Hurley's CD player dying, leading to a dismayed "Son of a bitch!"

That was SUCH a great moment. I had the pleasure of watching that episode again with my sister, who'd never seen it, last year. She'd been watching all of season 1 in order, and when she got to this episode and Hurley started listening to his music again, she whined at me, "Wouldn't his batteries run out?" And then...yep, they did. It was a great moment.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I didn't like the first two episodes of the season very much.

As for the dead Dharma guy, I'm pretty sure it happened where they were mining somewhere. Remember in the premiere, they were digging around the donkey wheel, and Pierre told them to stop because everything was getting unstable... or something like that. I recall all their tools were breaking due to the electromagnetism.

And Daniel was there, so I'm sure we're gonna catch up to that moment very soon.

[Datameister 2,042]

As for the dead Dharma guy, I'm pretty sure it happened where they were mining somewhere. Remember in the premiere, they were digging around the donkey wheel, and Pierre told them to stop because everything was getting unstable... or something like that. I recall all their tools were breaking due to the electromagnetism.

Not electromagnetism - "negatively charged exotic matter." They're different. Ain't no electromagnetism ever gonna send you back through time.

[Jay 37,351]

Why is everyone mentioning being surprised to see Naomi in the episode? Did you not notice the actress's name in the opening credits?

[Datameister 2,042]

I try to avoid looking at the opening credits. Usually I just don't think about them, but sometimes I have to consciously force myself to keep my eyes focused on the action onscreen. They can spoil a lot...or nothing at all, but I prefer not to take the risk. See, I wouldn't have been surprised at all to see Naomi if I'd been watching the credits, and I wouldn't have enjoyed that scene as much!

EDIT: And after quasi-accidentally stumbling on the next episode title,

I feel very glad to know we'll be finding out more about Faraday, as I surmised. At least, that's what I assume "The Variable" will entail. The only other person it could really involve would be Desmond...maybe it'll deal with both of them. I dunno. But I'm looking forward to finding out more. Now I just have to wait two weeks!

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Good stuff this week. No huge developments, but the plot did advance and things are starting to unravel. Also, some nice backstory on Miles. Good to see, although the daddy issues theme may be getting a bit too overdone. Oh well.

They said they're not gonna end the series with 10 seconds of black.

A reference to the final scene of The Sopranos. In this scene,

Tony and his family meet in a diner for drinks. The scene is stretched by what seems mundane details, but the final episodes make a point of how death can sneak up on you (this is actually mentioned verbatim by one of the characters at one point) and every detail becomes a thing of tension. Tony's daughter re-parking her car is one of those examples. We last see her walking towards the door of the diner and the very last shot of the series is Tony looking up at camera at the sound of the door opening. There is a cut to black and after 10 seconds the credits roll. A million things could have made him look up, but either his daughter just entered or a member from a rival family just came in and blew him away. We'll never know for sure.

Remember in the premiere, they were digging around the donkey wheel, and Pierre told them to stop because everything was getting unstable... or something like that. I recall all their tools were breaking due to the electromagnetism.

Yes, but that was at The Orchid. Their drills melted as they tried to get through the rock towards the donkey wheel. I don't think it has to do with the electromagnetism as we've seen it in The Swan.

[Morlock 11]

I've never looked in the opening credits. Why spoil it? It'd be like seeing a trailer right before seeing the movie itself.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Oh, I have a theory for once:

Pierre Chang told his wife and son to leave the Island because Daniel told him about the Purge (as seen in the

Comicon video) and he wanted to protect them.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Remember in the premiere, they were digging around the donkey wheel, and Pierre told them to stop because everything was getting unstable... or something like that. I recall all their tools were breaking due to the electromagnetism.

Yes, but that was at The Orchid. Their drills melted as they tried to get through the rock towards the donkey wheel. I don't think it has to do with the electromagnetism as we've seen it in The Swan.

Yeah I forgot that the thing at the donkey wheel wasn't electromagnetism.

Oh, I have a theory for once:

Pierre Chang told his wife and son to leave the Island because Daniel told him about the Purge (as seen in the

Comicon video) and he wanted to protect them.

That's not a theory, that video blatantly shows that! It actually also kinda helps support Datameister's theory about Dharma.

[Datameister 2,042]

Koray...conclusions you reach as a result of spoilers are also spoilers...

[Jay 37,351]

How is the comiccon video a spoiler???

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Because it reveals information about what is going to happen by the end of the season.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Technically, it's not, since it's an official Lost publication and has already been out there for everyone to see since Comicon. I just put it in black (after an edit) as a courtesy.

I think we may not even see what I mentioned. I think it's obvious enough from watching this episode that Chang didn't just "kick [his wife and son] out" for no damn reason. We know Sayid has mentioned they are all going to die (although no-one believed him). At first I thought Miles might inform Chang of the Purge at some point, but then I remembered the Comicon video in which we actually saw Chang relaying information from an off-camera Faraday.

So maybe it's not so much a spoiler as me putting some pieces together and allowing others to do the same on their own.

Oh well.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I don't remember Sayid saying they're all gonna die. He also slipped my mind, wonder where he ran off to. I do remember Eko saying they (as in Locke and everyone else) are next after he got killed by the smoke. What was that about? Probably a mistake from the writers just to keep the tension up.

[Marian Schedenig 8,192]

Good stuff this week. No huge developments, but the plot did advance and things are starting to unravel.

Agreed. The overall situation hasn't changed much *yet*, but this episode gave a wonderful feeling that everything is beginning to go awfully wrong. I still say this season is consistently awesome.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

I don't remember Sayid saying they're all gonna die.

He did. He told the DHARMA folks when he was drugged in He's Our You.

[TownerFan 4,983]

Official Artwork and soundclips for the Season 4 OST.

[Datameister 2,042]

So "Lost Away - Or Is It?" is the wonderful series of big statements of Sayid's theme from "The Economist." That's deeply gratifying! I hoped that'd be on there. "Maternity Hell" is from "Ji Yeon"...tense/exciting stuff during the flashback/forwards..."There's No Place Like Home" is the big statement of the O6 theme when they land..."Keamy Away From Him" is from the season finale, with Kate and Ben running from Keamy and the big fight with Sayid culminating in Keamy's "death"...and "Bobbing for Freighters" is indeed the action track I was hoping for! Love it! Can't wait to have this CD in my possession!

I don't care for the back cover art, though.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I don't remember Sayid saying they're all gonna die.

He did. He told the DHARMA folks when he was drugged in He's Our You.

Ah, that's right. He was referring to The Purge.