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Lost Episode Title: "Outlaws"

Character Involved: Sawyer (Part II - he’s dreamy!)

TV Guide Description: Kate and Sawyer divulge dark secrets to each other while tracking a renegade boar that Sawyer swears is purposely harassing him. Meanwhile, Hurley and Sayid worry that Charlie is losing it after his brush with death, and a shocking, prior connection between Sawyer and Jack is revealed.

Brian's Deeper Meaning Guess: "Outlaws" must refer to Sawyer and Kate, as they are the two "criminals" on the island. Both were outlaws in their past lives, and Sawyer is also the outlaw on the island, hoarding everything he can get his hands on while on the island, effectively ostracizing himself from everyone. It just seems like too simple of an answer for my liking. But I got nothing else.

TV Guide Description Breakdown: It sounds like Kate and Sawyer are going to tell each other their criminal secrets, which will bring the two closer together. They’ve been hinting at the relationship for some time, so it’s about time. Here’s hoping Kate ends up scantily clad for some reason… any reason. Also, on the commercials there’s a clip of Sawyer saying "It’s payback time" and pointing a gun at someone (or something) - smart money is that he’s pointing it at the wild boar that is harassing him. Deep down, Sawyer’s a good guy. There’s no way he’s pointing that gun at Jack or even Sayid.

The shocking, prior connection between Jack and Sawyer? Remember a few episodes ago, during Boone’s flashback when he was in the police station and Sawyer was being dragged away in the background, yelling "I didn’t kill him"? I think that Sawyer is somehow involved in the death of Jack’s father. Not that Sawyer killed him, but that he was there when Jack’s dad died. Maybe Sawyer grifted him? Something to cause more tension between Jack and Sawyer besides their mutual love for Kate? Sounds like a good plotline to me.

Last Week’s Episode Discussion Points:
Last week’s backstory did NOTHING for me. I can sum it up in two points:

1. Charlie was selling copier model C815. 815 being the flight number, the safety deposit box number, the number that’s been associated with EVERYTHING on the show so far. Creepy.

2. It provided a reason why Charlie would shoot Ethan at the end. "You’ll never be able to protect anybody". This was his way of doing that for Claire.

The main problem with the backstory is that the "big reveal" didn’t mean much to us. Also, I didn’t really care to see Charlie fighting his drug habit / stealing since we know that now he has kicked the habit and is a pretty good guy. It’s like the story was almost out of date. Plus, I was really really really hoping we were going to get a flashback of when he was kidnapped by Ethan. Arg!

ETHAN. Great, now he’s dead before we get any answers. Here’s what’s weird - Ethan totally kicked Jack’s a** the first fight, but was totally dominated this time. It was also raining both times they fought. There’s something very surreal about both fights. Also, how do you figure that Claire escaped Ethan? He is obviously stronger than her, and you would think "the Others" would have a close watch on her. The scratches on his face last episode could have come from her, or perhaps he had an encounter with an island beast (polar bear or wild boar) that caused the scratches and gave her a chance to escape. Unfortunately, killing Ethan makes a lot of sense storyline wise, as having him around forces way too many of the island mysteries to be revealed. This way, they still don’t know who or what "the Others" are, or why they wanted Claire so badly.

CLAIRE. Speaking of good plot devices, having Claire lose her memory is a great one. This way, she can slowly remember things about the island and her kidnapping as it becomes convenient for the plot / in critical times. Shouldn’t she be having this baby by now? They’ve been on the island for over a month, and she was at least eight months pregnant when she got on the flight. That baby will be born before the season is up, I guarantee it!

LOCKE. There was something very weird about the scene where Locke got the gun in this episode. For one, there is no reason that Locke should have known how to use a gun. He worked in an office building. Did this talent somehow come to him when he met the monster that gave him his "outdoorsman skills"? He pauses before he grabs the gun, and once he grabs it, he cocks it and smiles. If you remember back to the Walt episode, Locke was talking about visioning things "in your minds eye" when teaching Walt to throw knives. Walt visualizes throwing the knife accurately, and he can do it. What if Locke is also picking up this power? He saw the gun, visualized himself knowing how to use it, and then grabbed it. There just has to be something more to this guy. The "minds eye" theme also works with the number of times his eyes have been black and white / the scratch over his eye that is now disappearing / seeing the future in the Boone episode by preparing the cream for his head. There’s some symbolism here, people!

(Is he working with Ethan? I don’t think so, but his strategy for catching Ethan was somewhat suspicious. Jack wanted to pull everyone in to the caves, but Locke wanted to keep people spread out on the beach and the caves, and Ethan seemingly killed Scott / Steve from the water… Probably nothing, but it stuck out…)

KATE. Where has she been the past few episodes? She’s really taken a back seat. And we still don’t know about the plane. I doubt this week will answer any more questions about it, but I’m hoping something comes out of her conversations with Sawyer.

CHARLIE. Why did Ethan approach him to bring Claire back? Why didn’t he just go get Claire by himself? Obviously Charlie would do anything for Claire, but that doesn’t seem to make much sense. Also, is Charlie’s memory really gone from his encounter with Ethan that he is unable to help anyone with an explanation? Maybe he and Claire will have some conversations about the experience. I just can’t figure out if something caused him to lose his memory, if something erased his memory, of if he is blocking out the bad memories.

THE METAL HATCH. I love how there are huge storylines on this show that go untouched for weeks at a time. First Claire disappearing and now this. More on this in the upcoming episode listing below. But it’s allegedly "the key to the whole thrust of the story of the island."

VINCENT. Yes, the dog. There is something up with this dog. I almost think maybe the dog has the powers, not Walt. The dog was there when the bird flew into the window in Walt’s flashback. Whenever the dog disappears, the monster appears. The dog was way creepy watching people from the forest in the first few episodes. And what keeps causing him to run away and come back and opportune times? I read a rumor that an upcoming episode might be a Vincent flashback, which would be fantastic. Okay, maybe I’m just going crazy at this point…

DEATH. Okay, the producers of the show have said "It would be crazy to think that all 14 main characters get through the first season without dying." So at least one of them is going to die before the year is up. But who? Would they have the chutzpah to kill of a Jack or Kate? (They better not kill of Kate). I could see Sawyer having a heroic death to redeem himself a bit, or Claire dying giving birth to a baby, or Shannon dying to create tension between Sayid and Boone. The only character I see as safe is Locke, just because he seems to be the one who is going to pull everything going on on the island together at some point.

CFL. She’s due to be back any episode now. Now that Ethan is killed off, she’s the only "outsider’ on the island who can give them information. Also, it’s quite possible that she was the one who attacked Ethan to free Claire, perhaps feeling some connection to Claire after she lost her baby. Do you think she was abducted and had her baby stolen as well? It’s a possibility…

COMING ATTRACTIONS. We’ve almost got episode titles for every episode left for the season! Here’s what’s on tap:

17 - "… in Translation" - Jin’s Flashback - I think we find out that Jin either speaks English, or that he finds out that Sun speaks English and beats her. But that doesn’t make good TV, so I’ll go with the former. Plus, remember when Hurley was talking to him, and he seemed to smile when Hurley said "Dude, your wife is hot."?

18 - "Numbers" - Hurley’s Flashback - Allegedly, Hurley achieves "the number one dream of most Americans, but it ends badly". It’s got to be that he wins the lottery, but the money doesn’t bring happiness. Makes sense with the "Numbers" title. Other things I’ve heard about this episode - "What happened to Hurley in his life before the island is DIRECTLY tied to everyone on the island and the mysterious hatch on the island." As well as "there will be a string of numbers shown in this episode that are very significant." Let me guess… 815?

19 - "Deus ex Machina" - Locke’s Flashback II - okay, literary nerds out there, you know what the title means. "God from Machine". A term used to describe when something swoops in and saves characters who are otherwise doomed in a story. Somewhat of a cop-out if you ask me, like the whole "It was all a dream" ending used at the end of Super Mario Bros. II or "Who Shot JR?" on Dallas. I can’t think of how that would tie to the show, since there is no resolution coming midway through the season. Maybe it needs to be taken more literally - they find some machine that serves a god-like purpose? Is it referring to how Locke got a "second life" on the island by being able to walk / be a skilled hunter and leader?

20 - "Do No Harm" - Jack Episode III - Three? Greedy! The "Do No Harm" reference has to be related to the whole "Doctor" thing, and perhaps Jack does some bad stuff on the island, like killing someone? That would be intriguing…

21 - "Sides" - Sayid Episode II - Sides? As in choosing sides? As in good vs. evil? The theme I’ve been hinting at all year? I think so! The best part is, after this episode, there are still THREE MORE LEFT...

(Word on the street is that the season finale will be a flashback to before the flight takes off on its fateful voyage.)

WHERE ARE WE GOING? So what’s the "State of the Union" on Lost at this point? Well, I still think we’re heading to a good vs. evil showdown on the island. Locke will be their leader, and he’s recruiting people to his side / way of thinking. I think we’ll also find out that all the people were specifically chosen to be on that flight, and to end up on that island. How? Not sure yet. But nothing on this show is coincidence. There’s a master plan at play here. I think the Hurley story is going to be huge, and the hatch will reveal some big secrets about the island. I think the Locke episode will also shift us into the denouement of the season, with the survivors going through the rationale of "we need to fight", then "what side will you be on?", followed by "let’s do it." I’m excited.

My apologies for the lack of Emailage last week. It was a struggle to even watch Lost, to be honest with you, so you know I was nearly dead. Hopefully this brings you up to speed and renews your excitement about the show.

PS - The DVDs of the first season are due out this September, complete with alternate scenes, additional scenes, and creator commentaries. Retail price of $39.99. A steal!

The Delta House has been cleaned, sterilized, and disinfected for all those who want to re-join the Wednesday tradition of Lost watching! Come one, come all! Watch in horror as Brian and Brian dissect TV much farther than anyone ever intended. Stare in amazement as two TVs sit side by side in the same room! See a life sized cutout of the President, George W. Bush. Fun for the whole family!

Okay, there’s my pitch. I know how this goes. I’ll see Annette, KB, Sully, and maybe Tom or J Cal here. That’s okay - I didn’t want you to come over anyways...