Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Lost - "Every Man for Himself"

Episode Title: “Every Man for Himself”

Brian's Deeper Meaning Guess: Quite fittingly, this is a Sawyer episode. If anyone on the Island has embodied the spirit of "every man for himself", it's James Ford. Since Season One, Sawyer has always been the one Survivor hoarding supplies, bartering goods for his own advantage, and showing little concern for the well-being of anyone but himself. Although he sometimes will flash hints of heroism and altruism (taking a bullet trying to protect Walt, for example), it seems that just when you think he's coming around and has learned to be a team player, he goes and does something that totally casts him back as the selfish loner (such as stealing all the guns last season).

But this loner behavior isn't limited to his time on the Island. Even in his flashbacks, we've seen a seeming "Sawyer Finds Love" story turn out to be nothing more than a "Long Con". So what gives with this guy? Well, think about his past - he lost both of his parents very violently at an early age, leaving him somewhat all alone in the world. Even worse, he doesn't know exactly who is responsible for the death of his parents - only that his name was "Sawyer", making everyone in the world the potential person who indirectly led to the death of his parents. With that sort of rough start, it's understandable that he doesn't trust anyone but himself, and he's only looking out for himself.

Therefore, with a title like “Every Man for Himself”, you have to wonder if Sawyer, presented with the same offer that Jack received a few weeks back (“Help us and we’ll send you home”), if he wouldn’t jump at the opportunity – leaving Kate and Jack, along with the other Survivors to fend for themselves, he’s on the slow boat back to America.

Or would he?

Being imprisoned with Kate, there’s some quality bonding going on between the two of them. Based on the smooching between the two of them two weeks back, you might think that if Sawyer were to escape his cage, his first plan of action would be to free Kate. I mean, how could he abandon Freckles after all that they’ve been through together? Well, based on the episode title and the history between the two of them, maybe it isn’t so unrealistic.

Think back to the past two seasons, all the twists and turns of the "love triangle" on the Island between Jack, Kate, and Sawyer. Very little of it has made much sense? How realistic is it to have Sawyer, Mr. Loner, Mr. “Every Man for Himself” intertwined in it? Is Kate hot enough to make Sawyer change his ways? Does Sawyer just want to prove that he's better than Jack and win the girl, even though he doesn't want her? It's hard to say.

If you remember last season, Kate seemed to "pick" Sawyer as her dreamboat. She cut his hair, he gave her guns, it was a storybook romance. Yet it seemed to end as soon as it began. Sawyer quickly ruined any potential chance he had with her with his Long Con, duping all the Survivors (including Kate) in stealing the guns from the Hatch. If he really cared getting down and dirty with Freckles, he probably would have resisted the urge to horde the guns… or getting horizontal with Ana-Lucia – but that’s a whole other story.

In fact, when you look back to the history of the love triangle, it's really been all over the board. We've had documented instances of Kate flirting with Jack, Jack flirting with Kate, Sawyer flirting with Kate, Kate flirting with Sawyer, and Jack flirting with Sawyer (oh wait) - but it seems as soon as the slightest bit of romance builds up, it’s quickly dismissed and the characters distance themselves again.

Why do I bring all of this up? Because I'm a sucker for Dawson's Creek style romance? Well yes, but - in an episode titled "Every Man for Himself", it sure does seem that the Others are pretty curious about the relationships between the three of these characters. Remember Ben’s comments to Kate about why she asked about Sawyer before Jack? The satisfaction he showed when Jack stopped incessantly asking “Where are my friends” and actually talked to him? The Others care about these relationships for some reason.

In fact, the preview would lead you to believe that they go so far as to torture Sawyer to force some sort of profession of love out of Kate…



Pretty intense, right?

Are the Others trying to learn about “love”, like some crazy robots that can’t love and thus can’t understand it? Probably not. My bet is that this torture scene / forced love confession is all tied to breaking down our boy Jack. As we’ve documented, up until this point, Jack seems to be the one they care about – Kate and Sawyer seem to be accessories. What would tear him apart more than anything? Seeing his honeybun saying that she loves Sawyer, perhaps? It’s as logical a reason as any I can think of as to why the Others took Sawyer and Kate along (I refuse to believe it’s just to do manual labor). Or perhaps this forced confession is one to see how serious Sawyer is about their offer – would he go along with the Others even if he knew that Kate loved him? It’s all very confusing, and I’m hoping this episode clears some of these questions up.

In past episodes, we’ve seen Sawyer seemingly take the high road and do the right thing, only to have the twist in the end be that he’s still a jerkface working towards his best interests alone. So be on the lookout – no matter what Sawyer does this episode, remember that he’s still living life with the motto of “Every Man for Himself”.

(Note: Or maybe once again the American previews are misleading us, and we should turn to our more trustworthy neighbors to the north for a more accurate episode preview, where the torture scene is more downplayed, and the focus is more on Ben and his offer to Sawyer – probably more representative of what this episode will actually be about…)




TV.com Description: The Others prevent Sawyer and Kate from escaping, leaving Sawyer perplexed by the extent of the measures taken to keep them imprisoned. Jack is asked to use his medical training to save the life of one of the Others. At the beach, Desmond's strange behavior attracts attention. He begins to construct a mysterious device.


TV.com Breakdown: After the episode description last week teased a sex scene we never saw, I’m cautiously approaching the episode preview this week. Be on the lookout for sentences of this preview magically disappearing during the actual episode – maybe appearing later in the season, maybe being saved for “extended episodes” down the road. Who knows – anyways, let’s get breaking down…

Based on the previews above, it looks like Sawyer and Kate make another attempt to escape their oversized Other cages, but are unsuccessful. Sawyer is perplexed by these extreme measures – why would the Others spend so much time and energy watching and guarding he and Kate, when putting these resources towards the manual labor that they are doing there would be far more effective? If they had this army of Others moving rocks, all the rocks would already be moved. This is going to get the wheels turning in Sawyer’s head that there is something bigger going on here, which will make him more curious than ever, and more focused on escaping and figuring out what is going on with these “Others” – which is a good thing because it’s about time someone started asking questions rather than half-heartedly going along with the Others actions (Kate) or just stubbornly ignoring everything they do (Jack). Sawyer’s our man to ask some questions and (hopefully) get some answers.

Elsewhere in Otherland, Jack is asked to put his medical knowledge to good use and help save an Other. Is this Colleen, who was shot by Sun two episodes ago? Someone different? How will Jack react? On the one hand, he’s a doctor, and their Hippocratic oath binds them to help someone in need regardless of who it is. On the other hand, he’s finally got a bit of an upper hand with his captors, and could use this as a bargaining chip to escape / rescue Kate and Sawyer. It’ll be interesting to see the internal conflict on this one. You also wonder, as I mentioned in an earlier post, if Ben somehow knew this was coming, and this was precisely the “favor” he was talking about with Jack two episodes back. This also confirms our suspicion that the Others lack a doctor, which might explain why they kidnapped him in a ridiculously simple sort of way.

They took Jack because he’s a doctor. They took Kate and Sawyer because they could be used as psychological pawns to affect Jack and get him to do what the Others want. The Others are just looking for a family physician to move to Othersville!

Back at our Survivors’ camp, we return (thankfully) to the most intriguing storyline of the season thus far – Desmond. What happened to this guy? Can he read minds? Can he see the future? Did he have a mind-meld with Locke and Eko in the Hatch? No idea. I’m guessing the “strange behavior” that people start to notice is more Desmond referencing things that haven’t happened yet, or possibly using this knowledge to prevent things from happening (accidents, injuries, etc.)

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Also, he’s constructing a mysterious “device”. It’s interesting that they use the term “device”, which seems to describe something that has a purpose – a function. It’s not like when Eko started building his church or Michael built the raft. You wouldn’t describe either of those as “devices”. The term “device” hints at something complicated, mechanical, and built for one reason.

So what could this possibly be? Well, if we assume that Desmond can pseudo see the future, maybe he knows that something is coming or something is about to happen, and he’s getting prepared for it. The device could be a weapon of sorts, but I think the more likely option is that the device ends up being something to help the Survivors get found – a flare gun, a spotlight, something like that – something like that, using the materials available.

Why?

Because Penny’s coming – and Desmond wants to be sure that she finds him. I know we haven’t seen or had any mention of her yet this season, but mark it right now, the big Episode Six cliffhanger will be Penny Widmore showing up on the Island. They can’t let that storyline dangle for much longer without everyone totally forgetting about it, can they?

(…or this could be the Red Herring in the Episode preview, and Desmond won’t be building anything at all.)


Previously on Lost…

There were lots of mixed emotions on the last episode of Lost. Some loved it, some hated it, some were Switzerlandic in their indifference. Let’s discuss…


The Good. I think everyone can agree that Locke’s trippy dream sequence was the highlight of the episode, giving us a glimpse into each character’s current state and place on the Island. Here’s the breakdown…

Claire / Charlie / Aaron – “They’re fine… for a while” – Sounds like the only action for the happy family for a while will be relationship based. Boring. These are two characters sorely in need of a good storyline! Look how happy they all look – that doesn’t make for good TV!

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Sayid / Sun / Jin – “I think Sayid’s got it” – Sounds like the three will survive the long march back to the Survivors’ camp, led by Sayid’s navigation and survival skills.

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Hurley – “Not Hurley” – I like that they show Hurley at a computer, typing in the Numbers. With the destruction of the Hatch, everyone else is through with the Numbers, but they still haunt Hurley and his life.

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Desmond – “Forget it, he’s helping himself” – First, the wording of that is hilarious since Desmond is with three girls (who might be triplets?), but it also strengthens the theme that Desmond is still somewhat separate from the other Survivors. He’s taking care of himself, figuring out what happened to him in the Hatch, and doing his best Jesus impression.

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Kate / Sawyer / Jack / Ben – “There’s nothing you can do for them, not yet” – All kinds of symbolism here. Aside from Kate looking all kinds of hot, which represents the heat of the Island… and that Kate is an attractive female, we have Kate and Sawyer getting all flirty with each other (showing that she “chooses” Sawyer over Jack?), Jack separate from the other two (Every Man for Himself?), and Ben checking Jack through security (acting as the “guard”). Also love that the metal detector makes the same beep as the 108 Numbers. Nice touch!

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The curious part is that it ends with Boone saying “Clean it up John – they’ve got him. You don’t have much time.” To me, “they” doesn’t mean “the polar bear”… it would reference the Others or the Rejects or something like that. Odd. Although the dream was clearly meant to get Locke to save Eko, I wonder if there was more than meets the eye to the Polar Bear attack (such as setup by the Others)? I’m probably reaching there, but anything would be better than it just being a Polar Bear attack, right?


The Bad. How awkward was the introduction of Nikki and Paulo (the ones who were supposed to be having sex in Jack’s tent)? Here are two characters who came out of nowhere and freaked out upon hearing that Jack was captured. Did they even know Jack? Were they all buddies off camera? It just all seemed very out of place.

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If the editors decided to cut the sex scene, where we could get a proper introduction to these characters, they should have also removed them from the scene where Hurley tells everyone about Jack, Kate, and Sawyer. My understanding is that these guys are going to be series regulars, so I hope they get a proper introduction in the next episode or two (like, I don’t know – giving the audience their names and relationship with each other – if any?)


The Ugly. The Polar Bear. Seriously, terrible, terrible CGI. I’m pretty sure Lost is making enough money to pay some computer nerd to do something better than this:

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Heck, they could probably just pay some Lost-obsessed computer nerd with information about what is coming up on the show in return for their services. It looks like a hybrid Polar Bear / Werewolf. Unless that was the point, and Dharma was doing freaky animal experiments, maybe they should have went back to the guy in the Polar Bear suit from last season…





Once again, I’m the bearer of bad news. I’m heading up to Maine for work this week, which explains this lamely short Blog post and the potential for no Instant Reaction post Wednesday night / Thursday morning. Stupid work getting in the way of the more important things in life, like Blogging! But I’ll be back this weekend, and definitely get an update up then. The good news is, after this I’m back in the Delta House for the remaining episodes of Lost before it goes on winter break – so there will be plenty of timely and complete updates.

Until then, happy Lost-ing!

85 comments:

Rebecca said...

I'm looking forward to Wednesday once again. I agree, Locke's dream was the best part of the last episode. I'm looking forward to seeing Kate profess her love for Sawyer. I have been looking forward to another Sawyer episode. He is more then he seems.

erichapman said...

yeah... what about desmond doing that awesome jesus impression? you can't just grow that beard overnight.

and couldn't the title be about desmond? every man for himself... you said yourself he is still an outsider. and he's building a device for himself. maybe a device that only helps him.

and i think we all know how deceitful lost titles can be...

i can't wait to find out.

Anonymous said...

i rewatched last week's episode and found one part a wee bit suspicious... when hurley stumbles upon naked desmond he says to him 'so the hatch just blew your clothes off?' but as i remember, there was no explanation to hurley yet that the hatch had ex(im)ploded. the only info hurley got from charlie & john was that they were hunting a polar bear that had taken eko. continuity error? am i totally wrong?

otherwise, i'm still really curious to see if kate actually confesses her love for sawyer... i'm suspicious and think the preview could be misleading... it would totally be a great twist if her confession was actually a love for jack? eh... i guess we will wait and see.

and yes, they HAVE to get back to penny widmore. that was such a great cliffhanger that they cannot disreagard it much further... she's created a very elaborate system to find him so it can't be long before she physically tries to reach him... i would think.

Anonymous said...

Watching the promo videos, there are two things I don't get:

- Who's the guy shouting "do you love this guy?!" to Kate? That's not Ben's voice, but Ben is the one beating up Sawyer right?

- What does Jack say to Juliet? I can't get it out, something about x-rays?

I'm really excited to see Ben's offer to Sawyer, and what he shows him over the top. I don't really care about Jack/Kate/Sawyer love triangle anymore, kinda got fed up with that.

Thanks in advance! :)

Anonymous said...

I'm also thinking that amf [with regard to Kate saying 'I love you' to Jack as opposed to Saw-bucks]..

And what is with Desmond clothes being blown off anyway? I remember watching 'Live together Die alone' and wondering why Eko was 'magnetised' to the wall(does he have a metal plate somewhere?), I wonder if it really was an electromagnet or some 'controlled' black hole :D

Anyone know the deal with the canadian preview? I thought it was just an effect [but the black parts aren't completely covered, look bottom and top during the vid]. They kinda look like they're covering peoples faces :o

Can't wait for this episode..!!

Anonymous said...

Dood that is a great review

We just posted a preview of the next lost season 3 episode here
http://www.lostreview.com/2006/10/new-video-previews-every-man.cfm

Anonymous said...

Last episode -- Why did Desmond allow himself to be convinced by Locke to not push the buttons when Desmond already experienced the consequences (after his fight with Kelvin)?

I agree that Penny storyline will not be allowed to sit idle much longer...should be fascinating to see how she is integrated into the story on the island.

Of any back-story, I think learning about Libby's may be the most interesting...moreso than Locke's IMO. Why was she in the institution?

Anonymous said...

Feline,
-I agree with you about the promo video. It is def. not Ben shouting. To me it sounds like Jack is the one shouting "do you love him." Maybe he is asking Kate if she loves Sawyer and the shouting is not actually taking place during the scene where Sawyer gets beat up.
-You asked what Jack say's to Juliet about x-ray's. He says "Who's x-ray's are those? Who do you want me to save?"
Also, just a little theory I have about the sickness. What if the sickness or the thing that the losties have that the other's don't is about some sort of freedom to choose or about cooperation or something like that. It seems like Charlie's personality changed a lot once he started to take the medicine and became almost a robotic and doing things even if he didn't really want to do them. Maybe that is what the vaccine does that helps save the world is to make everyone do what they are supposed to even if it isn't what they want to do. It looks like they are trying to give it to Sawyer in the Promo when they have him strapped to the table. I'm probably totally off but so far that's all I can come up with. Thoughts anyone??

Anonymous said...

The others have a submarine...thats how they got to the ferry without sayid and jin seeing them

Anonymous said...

I posted my left field ideas about tomorrow night's episode on my blog. I didn't want to waste the space in you comments. Take a look if you want.

Anonymous said...

Brian,

What is it that you do?! I think LOST should pay you to write for them... U Rock Dude!

Anonymous said...

I Don't know but this Thought about the Polar Bear has crossed my Mind: Maybe the Polar Bear wasn't really a Polar Bear and the Bad CGI was intended :-P
I don't know how to explain this, but if i think about smonkey, maybe the appearance is not more than "smoke and mirrors" clouding the real thing. If i did look closely at Eko, there are at least no visible big bitemarks, which i would think of when being dragged through half the jungle and into a cave.
And the whole thing instantly reminded me of the end of Season 1, where Locke was being dragged into this Hole by Smokey...
Any other thoughts on that?
... or has Lost indeed warped my Mind to a point, where i get kind of Star Trek'ish with thoughts about Holographic Projectors :-P

Anonymous said...

HOLY MOLY! I just put two clips on my blog for you to view...incase you can't wait 13 more hours! (Okay 13 where I am now!)

Anonymous said...

THE SUB IS BACK??? WHAT??? Some one correct me here, but does HGI/BEN say "The sub is back. We have a situation"
http://television.aol.com/feature/lost_tv/video-preview-clip-one

PHG said...

Additionally, ABC has set February 7 as a return date for the hit drama "Lost." The first portion of the adventure series' third season is slated to end November 8, with new series "Day Break" schedule to air in "Lost's" 9 p.m. Wednesday slot starting November 15.

When it returns February 7, "Lost" is scheduled to run with all-original episodes through the end of the season.


I'm not gonna lie, Day Break looks like it has potential. But it can't beat Heroes, probably my favourite new show so far.

Anonymous said...

a sub?? it would seem that the sub is Penny's guys...huh?

also, appears that Jack is influencing Sarah in the same way Ben f.....ked with Locke and Jack's authority when he was held capitive in the hatch.

Anonymous said...

i don't think the sub belongs to penny. I think it belongs to the dharma initiative and the so called others are using it...i don't think it has anything to do with penny

Anonymous said...

They used the sub to get the sail boat, that's how they got on board without being seen. So the sub came back with the woman Sun shot, and that's the situation. Ben needs Juliet because apparently she's a doctor herself. That's the one thing she has in common with Jack.

In that case, moving Jack from his cell to wherever they take him doesn't make sense, if Juliet can operate. May be she needs help, I guess it gets messier when you get shot in the belly. And Jack asks about x-rays so he must help her.

Ben and Pickett's Sawyer beating is the long con, Ben says you need to con a con man to win his trust. Why would he need his trust?

Thanks for answering my questions, the unidentified user :)

Anonymous said...

... no need for a sub to get to the boat, the boat was tied to the end of the dock.

However... look at THIS posted on TVGuides Ask Ausiello:

Question: The preview for tonight's Lost was intense. Please tell me Sawyer is going to be OK!— Shannon
Ausiello: Sawyer's not the one you should be worrying about. (Spoiler Alert!) Next week, a major character (as in a series regular) whose name is not Sawyer will join Boone, Shannon, Ana Lucia and Libby in the big island in the sky. And you're not going to believe who it is. I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes.

Anonymous said...

HOLD THE PHONE!
FELINE...Where did you get all that? We have had no indication of Juliet being a doctor. and just for clarification...Ben actually says "You need to con a conman to gain his RESPECT" not trust
I couldn't decide if he says sub or sailboat. I guess sub explains how they got on the boat without Sun and Jin seeing them come down the dock, however they jump on the boat from the dock! I can not view it right this minute, but I am pretty sure I remember feet running on the dock to get onto the boat.
Who in the world is Pickett?
Sawyer gets a stab to the HEART with a syrum of sorts!
I think they take Jack to the medical hatch.
Trixie...who could possibly die? Sawyer can not, Jack no way, Kate...why? Eko, nope for sure. Locke...I don't think so! Des, we know not for sure. Charlie, Claire, OH WAIT! What about Rose? Is the cancer back?

Oh I give up...7 hours and counting!

Anonymous said...

oops, meant Sayid and Jin

Anonymous said...

Locke or Desmond will be killed off I predict.

Anonymous said...

....That was dumb...after all that, all we got was that Ben has a tumor and that Jack, Kate, and Sawyer aren't on the main island....yipee. LOST was, and still is my favorite show...but it's losing me, and fast.

Anonymous said...

Quick thoughts..


The Sub made sense.. it's always the simpel stuff you don't think about.

Note the comments about losing Com since the sky went purple and not being able to get it back up.

The island was not a surprise.. like the sub, it's a "duh" moment. They gave you hints about "they'll find US" and the whole Pala Ferry thing.

We know their reason for Jack now... what's their reason for Sawyer?

Pickett is an a**...

The next two weeks look awesome.. I really like the clip from the (the pearl?) with the guy with the eye patch! Do we finally see the BAD guys on the island?

I'm not sure Eko dies, but it sure looks like he gets a quick recovery. can't think of another regular that dies, it HAS to be the last person we suspect.

It could be ANYONE but Sawyer... I don't suspect it would be anyone like Rose, Bernard, Sun or Jin...

Eko is obvious as it's his flashback... Locke still hasn't had the paralysys resolved. Kate has a flashback in episode 6... How about jack?

I would suppose it would either be Jack, Sayid, Ecko, Charlie, Claire, French Lady, Benry, Friendly, Hurley

I'm interested in seeing the Canadian promo, they're always more interesting to me... not as well put together production wise, but they usually have more relevent clips.

Anonymous said...

wait until we discover the REAL bad guys over the next two weeks

Anonymous said...

Good episode, but they're stumbling into some continuity problems.

You keep the "cages" and the test subjects on a separate piece of land so they can't get too far... O.K.

But why have all these elderly people and kids living in the center of the main island when you know Danielle (and whoever the eyepatch dude is) is walking around looking for people to shoot with a bow?

Things are getting interesting, but they need to keep it coherent.

Anonymous said...

AAAARRRRRRrrrrrr!!

There be PIRATES on the island matey!

PHG said...

Two theories on the other Island. One, they have been on the main island all along, they just brought Sawyer to "Alcatraz." Two, the main camp lives on the main island, but the science shit goes on on Alcatraz.

So we were right, Desmond CAN see the future. And at least Hurley isn't the only one that saw it.

Anonymous said...

it's a shame that Mr. Eko is going to be killed off...i'm assuming this because well he has a flashback coming up and its either him or kate and kate is too hottt to kill so Mr. Eko is gonna bite the dust...it's a shame, i would have loved to see Mr. Eko really beat the crap out of the others especially Pickett...

Anonymous said...

If they are held captured on this other island...how did Jack, et al get there when The Others captured them? Did they sedate them with the blow darts...put them on their boat or sub....and take them there while unconscious?

On another matter, did we get indication that Desmond always could see the future or just post-explosion of the Hatch? He appears to be very Jesusesque as of late. I bet they'll end up killing him off....what a shame.

Anonymous said...

Nice one this time!

There are two islands. The question of what the ferry was for (as mentioned in the introduction-video) is answered.

Jack: needed to treat the tumor in the "40-years-old man"

Kate and Sawyer: are probably not needed for physical labour...the others just try to break their resistance (which the others are afraid of, since Kate & Sawyer have REAL criminal record while the others lived a wisteria-lane-life). That also explains why the others are so interested in the personal relationships between them.

Desmond: IS able to foresee future events

Pickett: unpredictable element.

Anonymous said...

Couple of questions,

So if the island *healed* Locke so he could walk and *healed* Rose's cancer, then why does it seem, if that IS Ben's x-ray that Jack inquired about, could Ben have a tumour on his spine? Another set-up? The reason Jack is there?

Also, did I hear correctly that Julie told Jack during the surgery to save the woman who was shot, that she was either an ob-gyn? Then I thought about it. Where are the children?

Where did the children who were kidnapped from the tailies go? Do the *others* even have children? You would think that if they had been there that long (didn't Ben say he grew up there?) that there would be at least some children in that compound in the 1st episode of Season III. The only youngish people there are Rouseau's daughter (forget her name) and perhaps her boyfriend, the young man who was in the cage before Kate.

Anonymous said...

To me, this episode was worst of the new season. It's the first one I would describe as "disapointing".

Comments on some posts:

Juliette said Fetility Doctor.. not OB/GYN.

I think there is an "aging" issue... which is why we don't see kids. Only argument against that is that Alex appears the right age considering how long she's been on the island.

The two island issue causes some troubles with the whole opening scene of season 3.... if the "hydra" is on the island, their houses MUST be on the mainland. There is no room for a crater and all that stuff on an island a little larger than alcatraz... but if the town is on the mainland, are they commuting to this fascility daily? Things are starting to not add up. The whole stab the needed into the chest thing and pacemaker deal was stupid. It may be the worst idea I've seen in this series.

The separate island deal was anti-climatic.. I was holding my breath, waiting for a foot statue, or something astounding, and I get "another island".

Truley, this is the most disapointing episode I've seen in a while... but I think it's all a setup for two great episodes... I can't wait.

Anonymous said...

hey Claire - i think Juliet said she is a fertility doctor. That may answer questions related to "where are the babies and/or kids?" Juliet's main purpose may be to overcome some sort of problem on the Island in getting and staying pregnant.

Anonymous said...

I think the pacemaker idea in Sawyers chest was brilliant! Better yet, Ben threatening him to put one in Kate was equally brilliant. I found this angle to be original writting and put Sawyer in a totally humbling position with NO way out. I assumed it was a bluff, based on the clip from the trailer about "conning a con to gain respect".

BTW, speaking about respect....why does Ben need Sawyer's "respect"? This is clearly leading somewhere. I'd bet the next two episodes will be riveting.

Anonymous said...

original idea? Yes... possible? Yes...
But it's not realistic given the circumstances.
A needed through the sternum? Is that how you put in a pacemaker? Crazy.

Anonymous said...

Agree.. Sawyer and Kate are not there for physical labor.. that is to break them down.... they're also trying to bring out the relationship.

Also... Ben said that Picket couldn't "have him yet". This would imply that he COULD have his after he's done with his purpose.

Anonymous said...

During the scene they were (pretending) to put the pacemaker in Sawyer, they referred to a movie. Which movie??

Also, the name of the sub is the Galaga. Any significance to this?

Finally, do we think Sawyer had Juliette pegged when he told Kate that she'd shoot her in a heartbeat? I think Sawyer is very intuitive....hard to picture her killing someone in cold blood.

Anonymous said...

Lots of crazy comments above mine. This episode certain brought out the loonies. Maybe it's the Halloween effect.

1) I just love the fact that several people think this was a poor episode yet think the next two will be great. Talk about great writing - being able to create a TV show that people dislike and yet will tune in for future episodes? Genius!

2) Re: the pace maker. The needle into the sternum was not to implant the pacemaker. It was most likely to inject a drug direct into the heart to induce unconsciousness so that they could perform the surgery. If you look at James' scar, it is far removed from his sternum, implying some form of key hole surgery (of course, all in the name of the con).

3) I think it's highly likely that Jack, James and Kate were drugged before being taken to "Alcatraz", which is why they didn't know they were on a seperate island. It also explains why the others are not scared of being found by any other groups.

4) The island is "around twice the size of Alcatraz." Alcatraz, according to Wikipedia, is 76,316 square meters (0.0763 km², 0.0295 square mile, or 18.86 acres) - making our island around 40 acres.

5) My big question is to why Pickett chose to ask that question to Kate? Sure, he's upset his spouse has died, and blames James, as being one of the Losties (just as Goodwin was blamed for the capture of some of the tailies, etc, etc). But, why ask Kate if he loves him? Some kind of projection of his own love for his spouse? Or leading us to a bigger issue outside Pickett's scope?

Anonymous said...

....if only 40 acres,not very big at all. If this is the case, hard to imagine in the nearly 3 months the Lostees have been stranded, and have explored the island, why nobody saw the presence of the "alkatraz" island nearby.Somewhat implausible and needs some explanation at some point.

Anonymous said...

Trixie - thanks for that info about a potential major character kicking the bucket.... but I'm curious, do you think there's anything to the fact that Ausiello said a character "not named Sawyer" would die? Technically, Sawyer's not named Sawyer, he's James Ford. So is he really excluded from the pool or is everyone fair game to be the island's next sacrifice?

Anonymous said...

Galaga is a video game from the 80s.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
During the scene they were (pretending) to put the pacemaker in Sawyer, they referred to a movie. Which movie??


First movie that popped into my head was Pulp Fiction

Anonymous said...

"The needle into the sternum .. was most likely to inject a drug direct into the heart to induce unconsciousness so that they could perform the surgery."

That's crazy! As someone else said, I've only heard of that in Pulp Fiction, and yes, that was the reference. I think if was to scare him...

But that is NOT what they do to sedate people for a pacemaker operation. They've shown before that they can sedate people, and they have plenty of meds. Just plain stupid...

Anonymous said...

Stef, I think you may be reading too deep, but probably because you didn't see the whole quote. The fill article starts by saying that "sawyer" isn't one one you should be worried about.

Anon... 40 acres IS small. That's a square that's about 1320 feet per side, or .25 miles. or .06 square miles.

For comparison(other than alcatraz) the Pentagon in Washington DC/Arlington, Va ... just the building, occupies 29 acres, and the entire complex is 583 accres. Acatraz is actually 18 acres.

You wouldn't run very far before you found out... so why bother chasing them unless you just to break them/make them obedient.. keeping them contained is on thing, but in cages.. that in the case of Kate have no roof... well, there is a point somewhere... they're certainly not making friends.

Anonymous said...

Again, if the main island that the Lostees inhabit is only 40 or so acres...by now, wouldn't they have discovered the existence of the 'alkatraz' island off the shore? Seems very implausible for them NOT to have in all the exploring they have done.

Anonymous said...

that is only the size of the little island (~40 acres) not the size of the main one. The main island has been shown to be quite large with CFL's map and the walks that last multiple days to get around, as well as the partial sailboat adventure.

The whole point of showing Sawyer they were on a seperate rock is to show how hard it would be to actually escape. Because even if he is outside of the cage he would have a long swim ahead, and don't forget about the darhma shark that he saw after the raft incedent.

It's easy to forget about little things that have happened over the first 2 seasons. But all the weird stuff seems to be what keeps the losties from exploring when they don't seem to have to. (Thinking back to the debate they had over moving to the caves or staying on the beach to be spotted for rescue) One could assume some still hope for the rescue even though it isn't explicitly shown in the episode.

On an other note I allready dislike Paulo and think he needs to go. He was quite rude to Des for no real reason yet to be shown.

(gekco)

Anonymous said...

the island sawyer and ben were on is the one that is 40 acres not the main island

the preview makes it look like eko is hurt so maybe he is the one killed, especially since it is his flashback

Anonymous said...

Everyone talking about Des seeing the future. Think about your science classes and what the effects of a great amount of gravity could cause.

Anonymous said...

Great post, as always. Some things have been nothering me:
1) one of the others said in 'every man' that their external comm links haven't been working since 'the sky turned purple'. Seems like Desmond turning the fail safe has caused problems for the Others. Do they even know what happened? Do they know about the magnetic field?
2. Who was Kelvin? Was he stranded on the island and trained by an other to push the button? I guess he wasn't an Other, or he wouldn't have created a map they couldn't see via surveillance, and successfully hidden the boat. The Others didn't know anything about the boat. Are they even monitoring the hatches from their island?

Anonymous said...

1) one of the others said in 'every man' that their external comm links haven't been working since 'the sky turned purple'. Seems like Desmond turning the fail safe has caused problems for the Others. Do they even know what happened? Do they know about the magnetic field?

CAN YOU RECALL WHAT SCENE IN THE EPISODE THIS WAS SAID? I THINK I MISSED THIS DIALOGUE. THNKS!

Anonymous said...

I posted the size comparison post.. and yes, obviously it's the alcatraz island that's 40 acres. I thought that was obvious.

Anonymous said...

The scene with the discussion of the sky turning purple and the comm links being down was as Sawyer was coming to... just before they jabbed him with the needle. It's also where they mentioned the sub.

Anonymous said...

I agree.. I do NOT like Des.. from what i've seen.

Anonymous said...

I missed that dialogue about sky turning purple, etc.....goes to show how paying attention to ALL details are essential to get the full enjoyment from watching LOST.

Anonymous said...

was the map of the island provided by Desmond (from Kelvin) OR was it given to them by the CFL? I can't recall.

Anonymous said...

Two points:

One, "the movie" they referenced when injecting Sawyer made me think it was another orientation video or some other Dharma-production, not a current movie from the real world.

Two, did anyone else see a look of surprise/shock on Juliette's face when Jack told her about the tumor in the x-ray? I thought she looked like she was shocked and was also thinking "that b@stard" because Ben had selfish motives for bringing Jack to Otherland.

Anonymous said...

The only Map I know of was from the CFL, and it was a sideview, as if made from offshore. Strange.

Also... the guy with the eyepatch. Who is it? The owner of the glass eye? The episode preview for episode 6: "I DO" has Locke finding a hiddem message.. it's my bet that the guy in the video with the glass eye is NOT live, but a recorded message... and yes, he's the owner of the Glass Eye, and likely the same person who cut the clip from the orientation video. For some reason, he must have wanted people to try to use the computer for communication.

Go figure.

Anonymous said...

Can we cut out the anonymous posting?

Anonymous said...

sorry for my anonymous posting, i don't have a blog of my own, and don't feel the need to remember yet another login, even though I come here often. But I do sign in my sigy.

(gekco)

Anonymous said...

Anon posters,

When posting your comment, under "Choose an identity" pick the "other" radio button and the only field you need is your name. No logins or anything to remember.

PHG said...

I don't think they did anything about Kate escaping because they didn't want to blow their cover. Sawyer hasn't figured out that they are being listened too. I bet they also wanted to see if they broke Sawyer. If Kate really did run then they would go after her and catch her.

Anonymous said...

At the time of Kate's escapade, they were all concerned about their fallen comrade - it's possible they were not watching at that particular moment in time.

Secondly, given the survival intellect James has shown to date, it would follow that he now knows they are listening as they turned off the electricity when Ben went to speak with him. Why else would they know to shut it off?

Anonymous said...

Girl in pic. with des. as airline attendent is the woman in the Long Con!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I have so many things to share, but I will do most of them on my own blog...for now I did feel the need to address a few points....

First, Sawyer KNOWS he is being watched, Benry says not to mention any of that to Kate when he sends him back to the cage.

Secondly, "It's been two days since the sky went purple, we're blind and our comm's are down..." I believe this is what Zeke/Tom was saying when Sawyer was coming to. I found it soooo very interesting no one really mentioned any of it until the end of the list of comments.

Third, as soon as I saw the second island I felt we had seen it already...OH YEAH! CFL's maps of the side view of an island...I have that somewhere. Maybe I will post on my blog.

Keep up the chatter, it is all we can do until Sir Brian returns! Man, you are missed!!!!

Anonymous said...

That was the best episode of the season so far. It's interesting how far the others will go to "trick" people, and how they don't seem to flinch at their own getting killed. Picket was obviously worked up about it but Ben seems as focused as ever.

Hopefully there is a good explanation as to why they are going to such lengths to Kate and Sawyer in captivity. It seems like the reason they have Jack is to operate on Ben's tumor... although again, I have to wonder why they couldn't get someone else to do it if they can leave the island when they want to.

Anonymous said...

I find it interesting the extremes that people feel towards episodes. Here is a guy who LOVED this episode... and I found it the worst of the season.. not BAD.. but the weakest in a while.
I respect that.. Personally, I thought Futher Instructions was the best of the season... minus the poor intro of the new characters. Others thought it was a major disapointment. Go figure.

Anonymous said...

One, "the movie" they referenced when injecting Sawyer made me think it was another orientation video or some other Dharma-production, not a current movie from the real world.


NO MAN...THE MOVIE THEY REFERRED TO WAS PULP FICTION. ANOTHER TIDBIT TO SHOW THESE GUYS ARE SOMEWHAT PLUGGED INTO THE OUTSIDE WORLD AND POP CULTURE.

Anonymous said...

It was Pulp Fiction.
People have a tendancy to overthink on certain items on the show, and for good reason.

Anonymous said...

right...Pulp Fiction. But on a related note, what does the dialogue tell us during this scene? (Zeek said since the sky turned purple their comms or communications are out) and seems agitated or anoyed with Ben. What does that scene mean - little chatter here was focused on this tiny scene.

Anonymous said...

My biggest beef with LOST is the upkeep of the losties looks. I could see it while the "hatch" existed, but Sawyer always has the same 3 day razor stubble, everyone is just too well kept. I would imagine smelly people, torn clothes, messed up hair and beards. I'm sure that the Dharma Razors probably help with this, but I still can't figure out the perpetual razor stubble... even in the others cages.

Anonymous said...

Don't know if this has been mentioned or not, and i'm not reaading through 70-odd posts to find out either...

Polar bear. Crappy CG - yes, totally. Intentional? Could the polar bear we saw actually not be a real bear somehow? Perhaps Smokey, or some kind of manifestation in a "Sphere" vein (either watch the movie or read the book if you don't get the reference there). I feel like I'm stretching here, but to me it seems stupid to use a crappy, unrealistic CG bear when the (bear suit/animatronic - not sure which) bear in the first season looked a hundred times more convincing...

Anonymous said...

the unrealistic appearance of the Lostees, I find, is acceptable and does not get in the way of our viewing pleasure! what's funny though is how the writters go out of their way to put Kate into situations that compromise her body (ie; several shower scenes, swimming in underwear, fancy dress, etc) to pander to guys.

Anonymous said...

"But on a related note, what does the dialogue tell us during this scene? (Zeek said since the sky turned purple their comms or communications are out) and seems agitated or anoyed with Ben. What does that scene mean - little chatter here was focused on this tiny scene."

EMP man - elctromagnetic pulse - when the hatch went off, it blew out the communications (but somehow not the other electrics - guess the transmitter was closer to the survivors island than the rest of the electric gubbins)

Anonymous said...

EMP man - elctromagnetic pulse - when the hatch went off, it blew out the communications (but somehow not the other electrics - guess the transmitter was closer to the survivors island than the rest of the electric gubbins)

Understood. However, what does the exact dialogue tell us about the Others? It seems that Zeek was clueless as to what cause the "sky to turn purple". If he (or they) were aware of the consequences of failing to push the buttons on time, he may have expressed himself differently.

Anonymous said...

Someone check the others camp... I think they have Brian.

Anonymous said...

AOL TV has a few photos from wednesdays episode, no spoiler, but you do get to see WHO is going to the Pearl hatch.

http://television.aol.com/feature/lost_tv/photo_galleries

Brian said...

I'm alive! Post coming tonight, no worries :)

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to say that I did address what I thought the comment by Tom/Zeke meant on my blog. Not that I expected you to read it, but I was thinking the same thing you did. WHY IS NO ONE CHATTING ABOUT THIS? He actually says We are blind and comms went down. I am thinking he means seeing what is happening on the other island. They can see what is happening on the 'alcatraz' island just fine.

So my guess is either they have spied on the survivors ALL this time or they mean the hatch cameras. Also, perhaps they can produce the whispers we heard last season each time the 'others' were around.

All this makes me think of sick experiemnts in the name of science...someone say HANSO FOUNDATION?

By the way, I think you are right about checking the other's camp...BRIAN HAS BEEN NABBED!!!!

Check a cage or two. Perhaps the shark tank...or maybe he's the guy with the eye patch? NO ONE MENTIONED THIS EITHER!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

brian? hello??? next episode is tomorrow night... i need your preview!!!

Anonymous said...

BRIAN, WHERE ARE YOU MAN? WE NEED YA!!! :(

Anonymous said...

Blind usually refered to Radar... though it could be visual monitoring. It could also be used to describe going into a situation without research or recon.

I think they've lost their communication with the other "others", and that their monitoring stations are down. (speaking of which, I always wondered in season 1 how they got the radar on the boat.. but I digress)

I don't think they're doing much observations of the others by camera. Shoot, if they were, they would have known about the boat.. at the very least.

Anonymous said...

That is something that has bothered me. How did they not know about the boat? Supposedly they are monitoring the hatches, so no one ever wondered where Desmond came from and how he got there? They never heard any conversations in reference to the boat?

Anonymous said...

I didn't watch the previews for "Every Man For HIMself" so I didn't know about the whole con thing. My instant reaction to the pacemaker con was that I would rather be dead than trapped like that. I would immediately try to push my pulse over 140 and get it over with; call their bluff or die trying...

Also, how does Sawyer know that he wasn't conned about Clementine???

And didn't anyone else think that maybe the "The Rock X 2" island (RX2) is CLOAKED from the main island? The LOST writers do seem to be fans of Star Trek...

Anonymous said...

I'm fiending for your weekly post.....I'm suffering severe withdrawals.