Monday, April 20, 2009

S5E13 - Some Like It Hoth

I'm sure that by now, you've all given up on this week's recap, but things have been a bit crazy and I haven't had a lot of "free time", which is (unfortunately) when this blog gets written. I got lucky that this week's episode isn't new, so I've got a little bit of wiggle room. Enough excuses! On with the recap!

A Familiar Face



The above photo is of Bram... the guy in the van who captured Miles and warned him about working for Widmore. And when Miles asked him about which team he's on, he responded, "the one that's gonna win." Is this ANOTHER team? Not Ben? Not Widmore?

...if only he were on the island....



Yep.... he's there. He's with the survivors of Flight 316. And he was with Ilana, asking Frank the infamous "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" (which Bram also asked Miles in the van). He told Miles that if he didn't know the answer, then he wasn't ready to go to the island.

The Shadow of the Statue

So what DOES lie in the shadow of the statue? One of the theories going around online is that the statue is a sort of sun-dial, so TIME is what lies in the shadow of the statue. The thing that I really like about this is that it's a LOST-ish answer, in that it's not really something that physically lies in the shadow of the statue (like sand).

3.2 Million Dollars

Last season, Miles tried extorting Ben for $3.2 Million. We found out in this episode that the reason he wanted 3.2 (and not 3.3 or 3.4, as Ben questioned) is that it was double the amount that Widmore was paying him ($1.6 Million). But is it wrong that I still don't understand why he didn't ask for a little more? Why not tell Ben that Widmore was paying him $2 Million, and ask for an even $4 Mil?

Daddy Dharmacare

As it's been long-suspected, it was revealed this week that Dr. Pierre Chang (previously known as Marvin Candle, Edgar Haliwax, and Mark Wickmund) is the father of Miles. When Miles was a baby, Dr. Chang forced him and his mother to leave the island. Miles was mad at his dad for it, but I think in the end, we'll see that he sent them away to save their lives, as he may have travelled to the future and learned about the purge.

This makes me think that the island brought Miles back in order to course-correct, as he was probably never meant to leave in the first place.

Hurley Strikes Back

...nothing really important here. I just wanted to say how great I think it is that Hurley was trying to write Empire Strikes Back. That's golden!

Hostile Territory

Miles was asked to bring a mysterious package to "Grid 334", which he was quick to identify as hostile territory. When he got there, we found a man who was killed by.... wait for it..... a FILLING being pulled through the top of his head! I'm thinking it's pretty obvious that this is the swan station. It was a nice touch to have death-by-filling, 'cause Desmond made a comment to Jack back in the hatch, saying, "I don't know about you, but every time I walk by that wall, my fillings hurt."

But wait... back up.... the Swan station is in hostile territory? Is this why it was so hidden? Could this have caused the war? Maybe the Others found out about the swan being built in their territory? No... that can't be. Can it? I mean, wasn't the Dharma Initiative (Kelvin) still working in the hatch until 2004? Unless Kelvin was an Other.... TOO MANY QUESTIONS!!!

...Speaking of "too many questions", I wanted to take a minute to say that in a year from now, when we've only got 3 episodes left of the entire series, we'll be wishing that they were introducing more questions instead of being in constant answer-mode. Then again, maybe not. :)

The Return of Daniel Faraday

YES! Faraday is back! I'm so excited to see him again! He's quickly become one of my favorite characters. And I think next week's episode is supposed to be Faraday-centric. I can't wait! Had I known that he was in Ann Arbor this whole time, I would've made the hour drive to see him. Haha!

The important thing here to remember is that Gerald and Karen DeGroot (the founders of the Dharma Initiative) were professors at the University of Michigan (in Ann Arbor). A flashback of his time spent there could offer A LOT of insight into the origins of the Dharma Initiative. I CAN'T WAIT!

My Season 5 Finale Prediction

Previously, I had theorized that season 5 would end with them avoiding the purge, and season 6 would be about how that affected everything.

SCRAP THAT! Time for a new theory!

In this episode, Hurley saw them building the swan station hatch and embossing the infamous numbers into the side. My prediction is that he'll go back and tell everyone about it, and they'll try to stop the swan station from ever being built. And remember, the swan station is the reason that flight 815 crashed on the island. So without the swan station, they never ended up on the island, right? WRONG! My prediction is that season 5 will end with them NOT crashing on the island, but will show how they course-corrected to all end up on the island in some other way.

Maybe (as theorized above) the Swan station is the reason for the purge. So, not building the swan also avoided the purge, and we'll find out that the Dharma Initiative lived on, and ended up recruiting all of the Losties' parents, ensuring that the Losties would be on the island.

I realize it's a stretch, but I had to put it out there just in case it came true.

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The Poll

This week's poll is simple-- What team are Bram and Ilana on?

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As always, please leave me a comment, or e-mail me with your thoughts, speculations, or off-the-wall theories.

Until next time!

-drew.

Monday, April 13, 2009

S5E12 - Dead is Dead

My Name is Smokey

Ok... I was willing to look past Young Ben's bullet moving from one side of his chest to the other side last week... but what I cannot forgive is Ben not having a name for the smoke monster. How could you live on the island for decades and not have a name for the giant cloud of smoke that you summon to kill the island's invaders? Surely he must be lying. (Big surprise, right?)

Lil' Alex

One of the semi-big reveals this week was that Ben was the one who stole Alex from Rousseau. Seeing this made me wonder why Rousseau didn't recognize Ben as the guy who stole her baby when she caught him in one of her traps back in season 2. If someone were to steal my son from me, you'd better believe I'd never forget that person's face.

The other part to this reveal was Ben warning Rousseau at the end that, if she ever hears whispers, to run in the other direction. This is officially the first time that anyone (other than Rousseau or the Losties) has spoke of the whispers. And for it to come directly from an Other is big. Does this mean that it has nothing to do with time travel, though? Maybe it really is just one of those creepy things that the Others do.

Timeline?

Continuing with the Ben/Rousseau/Alex storyline, Rousseau crashed on the island in 1988. Ben (and young Ethan)kidnapped Alex in early 1989. But the purge didn't happen until 1992. This means that Ben and Ethan were BOTH a part of the Others before the purge happened. Woah. I really hope we get to spend some serious time with Richard Alpert and his team. There's definitely a lot of stuff to learn here.

Ben's Choice

Ben chose to save Rousseau's life.... but why? And why did Widmore think she should've been killed? Was this just a test to see if Ben was capable of murder? Was it in preparation of the Purge?

They Need Locke

Christian told Sun that if she wanted to find Jin, she needed to wait for John Locke, who would be able to help her. Does this mean that he'll need to turn the wheel again to get them back to 1977? Or will Jacob show Locke a new way to get back to 1977, or bring the Losties back to present time (2008)?

Thank You, LOST Writers

I'd personally like to thank the LOST writing staff for not killing Penny or Desmond. But at the same time, I'd like to curse at them for not showing much of them lately. I'm really in need of a Desmond and Penny fix. Soon, please!

Farewell Caesar

Ben is a kuniving snake... but you have to give him credit for being so damn smart. I totally fell for the trick he was playing on Caesar and Locke. And while I wasn't exactly hating Caesar's character, I was glad to see Ben blast him in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun. It just goes to show how bad-ass Ben is.

Anubis Returns

When we saw the back of the four-toed statue, I was about 80% sure that it was of Anubis. Now, after seeing this episode, I'd say, that's risen to 95%. When Ben made it to the temple, while trying to find the Smoke Monster, he came to a wall that had hieroglyphics on it and an illustration of Anubis kneeling before what appeared to be a smoke monster. Not only does this confirm theories about the statue, but it also suggests that Smokey has been there for a VERY long time. But Smokey's not the only one. I think Richard's been there just as long. That all goes back to my "Richard is from the future" theory.

Smokey's Confessional

When Ben was confronted by the smoke monster, it flashed images of his daughter throughout his life, all leading up to her death (which was Ben's fault). Ultimately, Smokey decided that Ben was forgiven. This reminds me of Eko's death back in season 3. The smoke monster was lurking around him, but then his brother appeared and asked for his apologies for all of the things he'd done. And when Eko said "I apologize for nothing," his brother walked away and soon Smokey burst out of the jungle and killed Eko. I think the smoke monster saw that Ben was truly sorry.

Don't think it ended there though. After smokey disappeared, Alex appeared behind Ben and threw him up against a wall, giving him one final warning. She knows that Ben plans on trying to kill Locke again. But Alex demands that Ben follow Locke. Does this mean that Ben will officially become a follower? Is he a good guy now? If so, I'm anxiously awaiting the episode where Ben tells Locke everything he knows about the island. *fingers crossed*

The fact, though, that Smokey went back into the vent before Alex appeared makes me think that smokey and the "ghosts" are 2 different entities. But I wonder if these ghosts are actually manifestations of Jacob? Or maybe there are 2 monsters (not counting Ben, of course)?

The Shadow of the Statue

While the Flight 316 survivors are cracking open a giant metal crate, Frank emerged from the jungle, and Ilana confronted him with a single question: "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" Of course, Frank had no idea what she was talking about, so she knocked him out with the butt of her rifle. Is this a secret code for something (ala Desmond's Snowman joke)? Or perhaps they really are asking about something next to the four-toed statue? But why ask Frank? Is this another one of Ben's cons, where he is making them think that Frank is an island native?

Well... that's about it for me this week. I apologize for the delayed post. Please leave me a comment or e-mail me with your questions or theories. I'd love to hear them!

Until next time!

-drew.

Monday, April 6, 2009

S5E11 - Whatever Happened Happened

Remember Cassidy?

For those that don't remember Cassidy, I think the best way to start off this week's recap is to give you a quick reminder.

She was the recipient of a large settlement, and Sawyer's job was to con her out of it. Try to follow me here-- as a part of that con, he let her find out that he was a con man, where he taught her how to con other people, thus earning her trust and ultimately conning her out of her money. It's what they refer to as a "long con".

During the con, Sawyer fell in love with Cassidy, but ended up finishing the con to save her from his "boss", who threatened to kill her if he didn't. In the end, she turned him over to the police, but was pregnant with his child, a daughter named Clementine.

The Three That Know

In an earlier episode this season, Hurley told his mom the truth about the island. As far as we know, she was the only person that someone from the Oceanic 6 blabbed to. This episode revealed 2 more people that know the truth: Claire's mom and Cassidy. I've got a serious suspicion that there are already more people than we know that know the truth about the island. And it's only a matter of time before their cover is completely blown and the public finds out about the island.

Catch a Falling Star

While Kate was carrying Aaron into Cassidy's house, she was singing "Catch a Falling Star" to him. When Claire was trying to put her baby up for adoption, her only request to the adoptive parents was for them to sing that song to him, as her father (Christian Shephard) sang it to her when she was a kid. Since that was revealed, we've seen/heard that song come up several times.

Jack is Locke

This episode was very important for the Jack storyline. Jack's life revolves around helping people... so why not help young Ben? The most important line for Jack in this episode was "Do you think that maybe the Island wants to fix things itself and we are getting in the way?" Woah. Is Jack a believer of the island? Or is her just being difficult because he's still pissed that Sawyer is the "leader" now?

What The Writers Do Best

The LOST writers are good at A LOT... but what they do best is take a character that we don't like and flip it to make us really sympathetic to them. This week, it was Roger Linus's turn. Is anyone else a Roger Linus fan now?

Kate's Nicknames

Kate had 2 nicknames this episode that deserve recognition. The obvious one is when Sawyer called her "Freckles" again. This is bad news for Juliet. The other nickname is when Clementine (Sawyer's daughter) called her "Auntie Kate". While not important to the overall story, it's important to note that this indicates Kate and Cassidy hung out frequently over the years.

Why Did They Come Back?

We know why Kate came back.... we know why Jack came back... Same for Sayid and Sun. We still have yet to find out why Hurley came back. But that's not what I'm questioning here. I'm wondering why they needed to come back. When Locke turned the wheel, the time skipping stopped, and they were all ok (granted, they were in 1977)... but in the overall scheme of things, they didn't need saving. ...or did they? If you read my post last week, this could tie in with my Rat Theory. The reason that Jack & Co. needed to come back was because they DID, and because they were meant to. Had they not come back, Sayid wouldn't have shot little Ben, and it would've created a paradox.

If that was a confusing statement, don't worry.... The conversations with Miles and Hurley in this episode are EXACTLY how my brain works. I'm constantly battling both sides. So if I'm not making any sense here, forgive me.

...and if that's not confusing enough...... it's about to get a little worse.

Let's try this.

Richard Breaks The Rules

At the end of the episode, Richard took an injured Ben to some sort of building (maybe the temple?), but warned Sawyer and Kate that, by helping Ben, he would "forget this ever happened," continuing with, "His innocence will be gone. He'll always be one of us." Is this just a cop-out to say that this is why he doesn't remember Sayid shooting him? Or is there more to the story here. I have a theory.

Most people are incapable of creating a paradox in time, but Richard can. The reason that Ben won't remember being shot is because Richard can take him back in time and help Ben avoid getting shot in one timeline, and bring him back to his original timeline. I think that there are only 3 people who can do this-- Richard Alpert, Charles Widmore, and Desmond. Charles Widmore "broke the rules" when he had Ben's "daughter" killed. We've also heard Faraday refer to Desmond as being special. I think they're going to rely heavily on Desmond to help them avoid the purge, thus changing the course of the future. I think that's how this season is going to wrap up, leaving us with the inevitable "Now what?" feeling that we end every season with.

Charles and Ellie

After taking Ben, Richard was warned by another one of the Others that he shouldn't do it without talking to Ellie first, and even saying, "...if Charles finds out...". Richard was quick to respond, "I don't answer to them." I think in the episodes to come, we'll get a good feeling for Richard's role (as well as Charles and Ellie's role) with the Others.

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The Poll

We're probably still several weeks away from an answer on this poll, so I'm going to leave it up for an additional week. I want to hear your thoughts on the Purge. For those that don't remember, the Purge happened in 1992, and was when Ben and the Others killed most of the Dharma Initiative. I have a serious feeling that the Purge will be the focus of the last couple episodes of season 5. The big question-- will they be able to avoid it? Vote in the poll and let me know!