Brian's One Word Review: Changes.
In some ways the storylines in this episode were fairly predicatable, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable to watch them unfold. It's a testament to the writers that they took the time to setup such awesome storylines that even though I pretty much guessed the direction this episode would go, I was still giddy in watching it unfold. Jack, Kate, and Hurley going through the enormous WTF of joining the Dharma Initiative? Totally awesome and surreal. They could have had twice as many scenes involving them going through the initiation process, and I think we all would have eaten it up and begged for more.
But the big theme of the episode is definitely "change". This week, Jack and Kate found out "you can't go home again". Three years have passed, things have changed. Sawyer is now in charge (and totally badass in being the leader). Jack has been relegated to following his lead, instead of being the defacto leader of the group. It seems like Jack and Kate thought that they could fall back into the same realtionships with Sawyer and Juliet that they had before they left, only to find that they had moved on... and unlike the Oceanic Six - have to some degree been totally happy in doing so on the Island.
In some ways, the return of the Oceanic Six is kinda ruining the party for our Skipping Survivors. Irony.
So what did we learn?
- Caesar and Ilana do not know each other before the crash. I had some previous theories about them being Outcast Others, but they both seem to be clueless about what is going on, and don't seem to know each other. Either they're putting on a great show, or they are simply innocent people caught up in this mess.
- We confirmed that Sun, Locke, Ben, and Frank didn't skip back to 1977 with the rest of the Oceanic Five... but why? It's easy to come up with excuses for why Ben, Locke, or Frank wouldn't have been included - but Sun is basically in the exact same mold as Sayid, Jack, Kate, and Hurley. The only thing I can think of (aside from making a good story about lovers being separated by time) is that she is somehow "changed" or "dirty" from working with Widmore off-Island. I don't have the theory fleshed out yet, but it seems like that's the only thing that separates her from the rest.
- It turns out we do know the baby delivered last episode - it's none other than Ethan Rom! This is the first confirmed non-Ben Dharmite that survived the Purge on the Island. He would have been fairly young at the time, so maybe the Others did spare any Dharma youth in the Purge?
- The good news is that Sun and Frank's Outrigger is at the dock near the Barracks, NOT at the Survivor's Beach - so it doesn't seem like they are likely candidates to get shot by Juliet in the skip earlier this season.
- This episode touched on a question I didn't really think about until now - but what has happened on the Island from 2005-2008? None of our Survivors were there, so you would think that the Others would have just been living drama-free during this timeframe... but clearly not in the Barracks, which appear to now be home to Jacob-Christian, Smokey (!), and haven't been lived in for quite some time.
- It seems like Christian is going to "send" Sun back to 1977 with her friends - or use her to help get our Survivors back to 2008, maybe? The real irony would be if she jumped back to 1977 while Jin jumped forward to 2008... and once again they are separated by 30 years. If I was writing Lost, I would totally go for this story - but then again, I'm cruel.
- FARADAY IS ON THE LAMB. In the past month, I went from theorizing that Faraday would be a bad guy (inadvertently bringing about the end of the world in trying to save Charlotte) to being a good guy (using the Orchid to cause "the Incident" to get our Survivors back to 2008), but with Sawyer's comment this week, I'm back to the FARADAY IS DANGEROUS side of the argument. It'll probably change next week, but for now, I want to know where the hell he is, and what the hell he has been up to.
- Young Ben obviously had some interest in the Others, volunteering to bring Sayid food, hoping to get some information about the Others. He's obviously a disinfranchished youth rebelling against Dharma society - Ben is the original Rebel Dharmite! Teenagers..
- Was that Claire I saw over Sun's shoulder after she was looking at the Dharma Picture from 1977? There was definitely someone else in the cabin with Christian...
Okay - I think that's enough of the highlights for now. Time to focus on watching 24 hours of NCAA basketball over the next two days.
GO DAYTON FLYERS!
67 comments:
Or perhaps Ben has already met with Richard? That would explain why he's interested in a prisoner. Do we know what year he first met with them? I know he was young.
i think Faraday is mentally gone, not physically.
also, maybe Sun didn't go back because Jin was not supposed to have survived the explosion of the freighter (remember how surprised Ben was when he heard the news). maybe she's not supposed to be back at all?
Sun is not back perhaps because she is the baby born to "Dharma video guy". According to the time skipping rules, one cannot be in the same place as a baby and adult. Just a thought...
Brian did you notice that Christian was able to hold the picture?
Apparently he's not a ghost/spirit afterall...
how did ben end up back among the survivors from the ajira plane wreck, if sun knocked him out and (presumably) left him on the beach?
and to add onto what justin said... what if richard had already met young ben, and will use young ben to set sayid free to join the hostiles? that would make for some interesting plot developments...
Brian -
I watched the scene again, and it definelty is someone, looks like a girl, but not claire. I hope its not a production error. The only thing I could think of when I watched it again, was the camera angle right before had the door blow open and the awesome backlit smoke/dust getting swirled around by the wind. Very kind of freaky though. I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw it.
I noticed the person in the backround as well, it was definetly a girl with blonde hair, but if it was claire she would have said something or sun would have recognized her... and i cant think that the producers of lost would be that careless to be a production error
I think that Faraday has taken Charlotte and her mother off the island somehow. Maybe he went to her mother and warned her of the danger that Charlotte was in and told her to take her off of the island and never let her come back...which is why Charlotte remembered him as a creepy old guy who told her not to come back, which is why her mother acted like she made up the island, and then she wanted to get back...
Also, WhoDey definitely equals= Steelers suck!!
Here's a snapshot of that part where someone is behind Sun:
http://i44.tinypic.com/23r94yd.jpg
And here's a scaled down version of the scene:
http://pt-br.tinypic.com/player.php?v=2qs9b9l&s=5
Sorry for the three comments in a row, but it's definitely not a production error. The head turning a looking Sun's way it's totally purposed, and creepy btw, in HD you can see some creepy kind of stare.
It's spelled "lam", actually.
As far as the picture goes, I did notice one continuity error. In the picture, Hurley is looking straight ahead, but when they were taking the picture, he turned towards Kate just before the picture was taken, so he should have been looking at her in the picture.
How about Josh Holloway sneaking some UGA gear into the show! Hurley looks great in it!
GO DAWGS!
Geronimo Jackson:
http://www.myspace.com/thedonkeys
:)
In the scene where Christian is talking to Sun, he looks over her right shoulder, as you will see from the posted clip. Seems to be deliberate from the director to illustrate that the actor sees the blond women.
Does Sayid know he's in the past? How or when did he find out?
it's "on the lam" not "on the lamb"
You guys missed my point. I meant that Faraday is quite literally, on a lamb. It's the most logical form of transportation around the jungle - sure footed, soft, and pretty mild mannered.
Don't forget about Jack getting the "Workman" jumpsuit, which, if I recall correctly, is the same jumpsuit that Hurley found in the Dharma van that he fixed in 2004. Odds are that there were multiple janitors on the island, but Lost isn't really a show that just has coincidental things like that.
Greg C, I'm pretty sure that the skeleton in the van was Ben's father, who he gassed and killed. When his dad arrived on the island, they gave him the "Workman" jumpsuit and he (like Jack) asked what it meant. He wasn't thrilled to have come all that way to be a janitor!
Jack = janitor = awesome! I hadn't noticed the blond in the background at the barracks but after looking at the links it is creepy. Claire makes sense, maybe Sun didn't see her??? I think Faraday = Jacob (long, wild hair, knows so much about the island). Baby Ethan! I had heard the theory so I wasn't completely surprised but more surprised that we found out so quickly. Who ended up killing Ethan? My husband thought it was Juliet which would make it odd for her bringing him life then bringing him death...or killing him then bringing him into the world - however the time line works.
Can't wait for next week! I hope there is a Jin/Sun reuniting only so I can see his face when she tells him that she left their daughter behind. He'll either be relieved that she's not on the island or very upset that he'll never get to see her.
Jack being a janitor is indeed awesome, since Sawyer added his name to the list and chose the job for him! It was Sawyer's way of putting Jack in his place and showing him that things have changed. Nice lead-in to his speech at the end.
Charlie killed Ethan.
Ben's dad's name was Roger.
The skeleton in the van said "Roger" "workman".
I just rewatched the clip with Sun and "the blonde" in the back...I may be losing my eyesight but I did not see blonde...To me..it looked like Sun....
Also, I am curious as to why none of the Oceanic 6 are scared of the upcoming purge...According to Faraday you cant change the past so I think the 6 will either join Alpert or somehow skip back to present time...
Juliet put baby Ethan down pretty quickly when she learned who she was holding. ;) I probably would have had the same creeped out response.
BTW, when did Hurley learn about the pit of Dharma bodies? It was smart of him to point on the upcoming purge, sometimes obvious things like this don't seem to bother our Losties.
The blonde behind Sun looks like she is sitting at a desk in front of a computer.
Anyone else think its odd that Pierre Chang is wearing the logo for the Swan hatch in the Dharma welcome video despite the fact that the Swan hatch doesn't seem to have been built yet?
Fantastic episode! It still left us with a ton of questions but it was well-paced, had lots of info, lots of ‘call backs’ for die hard fans and, like Brian said, I actually enjoyed that it was ‘straight forward’. The only thing missing was Locke.
I feel for Kate. She looks so disturbed and unhappy and I think there’s more to it than seeing Sawyer and Juliette shacked up. I want to know what made her come back to the island (I want to think it was Claire-related).
It was really funny to see Jack first get depicted as someone with a low IQ (by Pierre) and then to have Sawyer show him who’s boss. Definitely put Jack in his place.
Oh and how about the preview of next week’s episode with the super literal reference to Jesus with Sayid strung up like JC on the cross?
Also, when the plane was going down and Frank's co-pilot was radioing for help, the radio was picking up the numbers transmission? How could that still be broadcasting in present time?
Jack being assigned as a workman... does that mean he is going to be working side by side with Ben's dad?
The purge is still years away, right? Wasn't Ben an adult when that happened? So they've all got at least several years to figure it out, assuming this child Ben is maybe 12 or so.
I just want to say kudos to Hurley for buying up all those empty seats on the aljira flight so that all those standby passengers couldn't end up on the island. Unless of course they were supposed to end up on the island in which case the island will bring them there anyway...
Did anyone else notice that they made a point of showing one of the aljira survivors on camera for a second or two longer than necessary? Was he supposed to be familiar or was it a way of introducing a new character?
Skeeterbug, I took that whole crash overview scene as a bit of a nod to the original scenes in Lost showing the crash as well as Mrs Hawkings suggestion of recreating everything as nearly as possible. I haven’t looked at the two scenes side by side but I felt like there was a lot of similarities… So showing an extended look of a survivor was just part of that (just a guess)
I liked this episode. But it felt like it did what was needed to move the narrative and not much more. We got a few new pieces of the puzzle though.
The background woman looks more like a redhead than a blonde. My guess is Charlotte.
http://bayimg.com/iaOKoAabG
http://bayimg.com/JaoKcaaBg
http://bayimg.com/jAOkGAABg
Phil (played by Patrick Fischler) seems to be getting suspicious of the newcomers. Conflict on the way?
BTW he was awesome in his brief appearance in mulholland drive. I've never been so scared in my life.
Did anyone recognize the name Ilana said when Ceasar woke her up after the crash?
Also, do you think there was any significance to young Ben giving Sayid a sadwich with no mustard? He said it as if he knew Sayid didn't like mustard.
Brian asks where have the others been from 2004 to 2007. Where indeed. The last we saw, they were heading to THE TEMPLE under Ben's orders. Presumably there have been zero outsiders on the island during that time since everyone else flew or flashed away. Are they just sitting around waiting for Locke to come back or what?
I think you're right about Faraday being dangerous, but not from maliciousness, just from his own misguided attempts to do and be right. If I remember correctly Chang references "The Incident" in one of his instruction videos. We don't know what that is right? Nothing else has ever been mentioned of it?
I think we’ll see why each of the Losties was “brought to the island” and why they were “never supposed to leave.”
Maybe Juliet had to be there in 1977 for Ethan’s birth so Ethan could help recruit her to the Dharma Initiative in 2001.
There has to be a chicken for there to be an egg… or did the egg come first?
VictorC said: Did you notice that Christian was able to hold the picture? Apparently he's not a ghost/spirit after all.
I think: Christian’s body is inhabited by Smokey. Smokey can lift people in the air, drag people on the ground and shake trees. So it’s no prob for Christian to hold a flashlight and lift a picture off a wall. He couldn’t help Locke get up to turn the wheel – not because he was a ghost/spirit – but because Locke had to do it himself.
D-Bone asked: When the plane was going down and Frank's co-pilot was radioing for help, the radio was picking up the numbers transmission. How could that still be broadcasting in present time?
I think: The numbers transmission came through the pinhole through which some of the O6 flashed to the Island circa 1977. The flashes happened when the plane was in flight. When the plane landed, it was 2004.
The barracks where Sun found Christian looked a lot like they did in 1977, not like I thought they would after 20 some years of Others/Hostiles/Island Originals living there. The orientation building still has the signs that were there when Jack and Kate checked in.
Anybody know what jobs Hurley and Kate got?
Dave,
Hurley was Chef, and Kate was Motor Pool with Juliet.
That is true about how it looks very dharma like instead of how it did in season 3 opening.
Does anyone else think the person behind Sun might be Smokey manifesting as a person? When the door blows open, we see smoke outside, which could be Smokey, and it looks like it might blow inside. We've been told before that some of the sightings of characters we've had before were actually Smokey, so it's possible.
oh, and am i the only one who's really glad to see frank written back into the show? he's such an interesting character with his dry sense of humor and crazy hair.
but i have to say, i do miss the hawaiian shirt.
A few thoughts:
- Jack actually seemed relieved that "Jim" is now in control. He might feel a little sad about not calling the shots, but remember that Jack never wanted the responsibility of leadership.
- I like how Radzinski is trigger-happy and neurotic. Helps explain why he ends up shooting himself.
- I like Frank too!
When Sawyer didn't tell Juliet about the return of Jack, Kate and Hurley, I figured it was because he felt kinda guilty for still having feelings for Kate. I wonder now if maybe he also suspected Juliet still might have feelings for Jack. Her guilt hadn't occurred to be before. I also wonder if she'll come to realize that Jack's sort of a dweeb.
Also, did Ben know to build the runway because he knew about the Ajira 316 flight, or was he just building it because he figured it might come in handy some day?
But the only time we saw a lamb on the island was when it was tied up as a treat for Smokey!
Wait... that was Jurassic Park. And a goat.
Close enough.
Anyway, after looking at all these snapshots that are being so helpfully provided by other commenters, I would agree that it does look like someone sitting at a computer. But under the circumstances I really don't think that it means anything. Then again, I was wrong about Jin... maybe I should start listening to the crazy theories more. :P
Sun didn't go back because she was SUPPOSED to leave.. the only one to do so. If she had not left, she would have died on the island.
Or maybe I answered my own question: She was supposed to die in her third trimester so she was never supposed to 'skip'???
Also... where the #@$# are Bernard, Rose, and the rest of the other non lead charcters. Maybe... just maybe, these people joined the OTHERS. After the final skip. Maybe the people on Jacobs list were the plane crash were the people who did not skip! Either to join the others in the past, or to join Dharma in the past?
I don't know.. as good of theory as any.. right?
Also, I think the idea that sawyers comment was a reference to his mental time travel. The problem is, Desmond is NOT on the island or 1977 to be his constant! Also, if des returns, would he be in the present or 1977. I'm guessing that he may return to 1977 as he is needed to be faradays constant. When they jump forward in time.. if that's what happens, he'll kill future ben, but not past ben.
Also creepy to know that Ben has always known Sayid.. in particular, as it's obvious he's going to hurt young ben. Wow..
Could Sayid actually be the one that ends the 'truce'.
I love the way the characters are developing. Did anyone else sense a throwback to Rose when Sun was standing on the beach holding Jin's ring? And Sawyer finally putting Jack in his place - awesome, it's about time they had an intelligent leader. Finally, Ben being the one who guards the imprisoned Sayid is a perfect circle from Ben's time in the hatch. Or is it the other way around?
Anyone notice that Ben took his arm out of the sling last night? I couldn't tell if it was because he knew he'd need to use that arm, if he'd been faking the injury, or if the return to the island had healed him. Any thoughts?
he definitely was evaluating his arm; checking for healing?
Maybe Bernard and Rose become the leaders of the others. Rose certainly has more sense than Locke would have.
Of course Bernard and Rose ARE the Adam&Eve skeletons and I THOUGHT they died together there of "time travel sickness", but since they had each other as constants, probably not.
They probably died of some other reason and layed or were placed there together.
Sun kicks ass! Her knocking Ben out with the paddle was well deserved. Although didn't Ilana tell Locke that "the pilot and some woman" took the canoe in the "middle of the night"?
I think Sun didn't skip because maybe she is like an anchor to the current time. I don't know just a thought.
lost and back again said...
I think we’ll see why each of the Losties was “brought to the island” and why they were “never supposed to leave.”
-- Great point! The Others must know this because of what will happen (soon back in the 70's) and if they had left permanently all hell would have broken due to some paradox. Paradox's are bad, Very bad. But then if what happens, happens (yuddayuddayudda) then really how is a paradox (or fractured time) even possible? I am morbidly curious to see what happens to those bunny's.
- I thought about the whole relationship now between Sayid and Ben. While Sayid tortures Ben in the Swan, does he actually remember Sayid imposing as a Hostile during his youth in the DI. And then puts Sayid through hell when Sayid works for Ben off the island.
- Right Victor! I think Christien is like John. Not a ghost but a resurrectee. Holy Lazareth cocktails Batman! And I'm having a real tough time seeing Claire or anybody for that matter in the background shot.
- To bad none of the survivors looked at the photos on the wall to see themselves in a DI picture while they were living in Othersville.
Hmmm? Radinsky designs the Swan (or is at least a part of its design). Probably ends up being one of the first to work in it (perhaps due to Lafleur getting him as far away as possible). The incident happens, (and according to wiki "Kelvin joined the DHARMA Initiative sometime between 1991 and December of 1992. It is likely that he joined in 1991, since the Purge took place in 1992") the purge happens, the Swan loses contact with anyone from DI. He evently dicides to get all tonsil happy with a shotgun.
Ok ok ok fine the baby was Ethan, I think I've been wrong about every Hugo prediction I've tried to make. LOL - Man I love this show.
Hobbes: Well unless the Lost writers later add some factor that makes young Ben forget then I think that the older Ben should remember Sayid from the 70's.
That points to an interesting possibility for the old is-Ben-good-or-evil-question. Ben has clearly done some bad acts. For that to fit in with him as good in the end would require, I had thought, some future goal of great value and urgency that outweighs the harm Ben does to get there. Like him aiming to save the entire planet in 2008 or later. But now I'm thinking that there could be backward looking stuff that explains the harm done. Maybe some of the main characters intentionally or, more likely, inadvertently harms Ben greatly in the 70's. Like causing Annie's death. The harm Ben does later, harm that seemed uncalled for, could then actually be retribution! If retribution can make anyone good is questionable of course but it would at least be another way to put Ben's actions into context.
Am I the only one that thinks Daniel might be with the others? After all, mom is potentially there (and what about dad?). From a literary perspective, Daniel hanging out with the others would give us a nice framework to see what the others have been up to Circa 74-77. If Rose and Bernard are also with the others, that would kind of balance it out, particularly if Sayid winds up joining them later. Hmmm....
Maybe Daniel had to leave because he was getting ready to be born to his parents on the Island. It has to be wrong to see yourself being born, right?
Gratz to Dayton!
Is it possible Ben did remember Sayid and Sayid caused the truce to end which is why Ben left Sayid off of the list to try and prevent him from making the jump back in time and causing the truce to end. Maybe Ben has some guilt over being the cause of the Purge and without the truce being broken for good figures he would not have caused it or killed his father.
Also, goooo Dayton Fly-ers! I've had that in my head since Friday whenever a four syllable word comes up. Goooo Four Toed Sta-tue!
Two points (not sure if they've already been raised):
(1) I'm dubious of the "whatever happened happened" mantra. Why did present-day "New Otherton" look like the Others had never lived there? It looked like a run-down Dharmaville, which is not what it looked like in Seasons 3 and 4 of the show.
(2) I'm pretty sure young Ben gave Sayid a gun at the end of this episode. But we'll see...
I just want to put out there that I think there was more to Jack's assignment to the janitorial staff. Sawyer picked that deliberately and I'm guessing it was more than some kind of put-down. Maybe Jack will have access to certain rooms or will be in a position to overhear things. Not to mention working with Ben's father.
Also, do we know for sure that the opening scene of the season where Faraday is in the Dharma suit at the Orchid station was during the 74-77 period? Maybe he is in the 80's by himself at that point, away from our survivors.
last thought for me... if Ben & his dad are currently part of Dharma, wouldn't Sawyer & Juliet have been freaking out a bit during their 3 years in the 70's. MAybe we'll see a little flashback of their 3 years?
As Watt & Vedder said, "the kids of today should defend themselves against the 70's."
I'm confused about something. Are Jack, Sayid, Hurley and Kate in the 70s at the same time as Sun, Frank and Ben are in the present time?
Wonder if one of 815 time skippers got one of the island originals pregnant? Because they weren't supposed to be there it caused all sorts of problems with the whole whatever happened happened thing.
@BloodyGamebreak: New Otherton looks ruined in the present because the freighter people ruined it. Remember a missile hitting one of the houses that Claire was in? One of my friends forgot about this incident as well.
The whatever happened, happened philosophy will hold. Desmond is exempt from some of the rules for some reason (I suppose the show will say it's because of the Swan's failsafe), so perhaps he will show up soon to change various things.
Brian where is our analysis?? I've checked four times today already! I guess I could get some work done...
@Jamie Tatum: I wasn't referring to the fact that the buildings looked like they had been ruined, but to the fact that old Dharma signs and photos were still up whereas they were not up when the Others were living there.
Thanks to the NCAA Tournament, I'm definitely behind on the "Namaste" analysis and "He's Our You" preview... but will do my best to at least get something up before Wednesday!
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