LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Episode 24, Exodus part 2

On-island Events: As Sayid prepares the beach group to head to the caves, Charlie asks him for a gun to protect Claire; Sayid refuses. As Hurley marvels at the spectacle of The Black Rock, Rousseau takes her leave of the group. Inside the ship, Jack and Locke discover its background as a slave vessel and Kate finds the dynamite. Arzt explains the dangers inherent in unpacking the dynamite but suddenly explodes in the process.

Shannon becomes emotional as she attempts to bring Boone's things along to the caves; Sayid validates her worries and offers to help. Hurley admits to Kate that he's bad luck and blames himself for Arzt's death. Jack and Locke work together to carefully unpack and transport the dynamite. Rousseau returns to the beach, shouting for Sayid, but in speaking with Claire, stirs up a memory of Claire scratching her in the dark. Charlie returns with Sayid to discover that Rousseau has taken the baby from Claire. Sayid reasons that Rousseau has taken the baby to give to the others who took her own child sixteen years ago; Claire begs Charlie to bring the baby, which she has suddenly named Aaron, back to her.

When the group reaches the caves, Sun asks Shannon if she thinks they're being punished by fate, but Claire is adamant there is no such thing. While resting near the Nigerian plane on the way to the black smoke, Sayid shows Charlie the heroin inside the Virgin Mary statues. As they return to the hatch with the dynamite, Hurley asks John what he thinks is inside the hatch. "Hope," Locke replies.

The Raft: The group sails by the unexplored edge of the island and marvels at its vastness; Sawyer sings Bob Marley's "Redemption Song," which catches Michael's interest. Michael explains the transmitter and radar screen to Walt while Sawyer reads everyone's messages from the bottle. As Michael shows Walt how to sail and Walt asks important questions about his parents' relationship, the raft hits something and the rudder breaks off. Sawyer swims off to retrieve it and Michael discovers Sawyer's gun in his shirt.

Flashbacks: In the airport before the flight, Jin encounters one of Paik's spies who knows he plans to run away with Sun and who threatens him. Charlie rummages about a hotel room searching for heroin, fighting a woman for the last remnants. Michael struggles to connect with his son and calls his mother to ask her to care for Walt when they return to New York. Michael ends the call, exclaiming, "He's not supposed to be mine!"

Greater Meaning: In the middle of all the action (kidnapping, explosions, raft in peril), important ideas are being reiterated concerning the characters. While Exodus part one showed several instances of change as well as stubbornness versus adaptability through current island events compared with flashbacks, this episode seems to expand on the same concepts while adding adding an element of redemption (pinpointed in Jin's case by Sawyer's song on the raft thus providing us with a well-defined theme). Jin had formerly been a criminal under Paik's employ, but has changed significantly both personally and professionally, if fishing skills and the building of the raft are to be considered to be occupational. Charlie has successfully kicked his drug habit and continues to write songs and be musical but he's added the role of caregiver and protector of Claire and Aaron to his duties. Michael's devotion to Walt hasn't changed, he's always loved his son, but the flashbacks take us through the challenges the two have faced while also showing Michael's frustration and desperation in those moments.

Together with Exodus part one, and through all of the previous episodes we've seen, LOST has given us a group of seriously flawed characters, each in need of his or her own unique redemption. The raft group (arguably minus opportunist Sawyer) redeems itself for past ills by working together to seek rescue; Charlie redeems himself through his devotion to Claire. Sawyer is a special character as he is motivated not by redemption but instead vengeance, however the Marley song is significant as it hints he may unconsciously be seeking what he sings about eventually (despite his actions thus far) suggesting he's just not there yet. He could have chosen to sing Skynyrd or Hank Williams just as he could have chosen to solely read rifle or porn magazines on the island, but he didn't. Sawyer is flawed like the others, but with complicated criminal influences (ala Kate, Sayid, and Jin), which is a direct contrast to people like Jack, Locke, Hurley, Sun, and Claire.


Further Questions:

1. Will the raft be okay?
2. Will Sawyer need the gun?
3. Will Charlie and Sayid get Aaron back?
4. Is Rousseau's daughter still on the island?
5. Will the others allow Rousseau to trade Aaron for her daughter?
6. Will the dynamite project work?
7. Will Charlie relapse after seeing the Virgin Mary statues?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, episode 23, Exodus part 1

On-Island Events: Walt sees Rousseau lurking around the camp at the beach and alerts the rest of the survivors. Rousseau shares her history with the group; she had been seven months pregnant when her team came to the island. She delivered a baby girl that was taken a week later by others, whose presence was preceded by a pillar of black smoke. Rousseau insists the others are returning to take everyone, and the choices are to run, hide, or die.

Michael leads the group in preparing the raft for launch but Walt notices black smoke off in the distance.

Jack, Locke, and Hurley consider hiding everyone in the hatch and make plans to get dynamite in the jungle to blast it open. In the jungle, Sawyer discloses his experience with Christian Shephard to an emotional Jack and the two part ways. Charlie arranges a bottle for the survivors to write messages to give to the raft crew for when they get rescued as Jack, Kate, Locke, Hurley, and Rousseau head into the jungle for dynamite. Locke notices scratches on Rousseau's arm, which she claims to be from a bush. Rousseau leads the group through the dark territory toward their destination, the black rock, where she explains the rest of her crew was infected. Arzt decides to abandon the mission but is chased back by the island's monster. As it growls, clicks, and knocks over trees, Rousseau, Jack and Kate hide while Locke encourages Hurley to be calm and wait it out. Rousseau suggests the monster is a security system, meant to protect the island; the Black Rock is revealed to be an ancient slave
ship.

As the raft crew makes ready to depart, Walt gives Vincent to Shannon and Sun presents Jin with a book of useful English phrases for the journey. The raft proves to be seaworthy; the survivors cheer and wave goodbye to Michael, Walt, Sawyer, and Jin. The last image to be seen is the pillar of black smoke rising up from the jungle.

Flashbacks detail the survivors' last moments just before boarding Oceanic 815: Michael struggles in parenting Walt in a hotel room; Jack meets a woman named Ana Lucia in a bar. Sawyer is revealed to be an experienced criminal James Ford by Australian police and is banned from ever returning to the country. Kate, in the marshal's custody, attacks him after he taunts her attachment to Tom's toy airplane. In the airport, Sayid leaves his luggage with Shannon, who bickers with Boone and later reports Sayid to a security officer for the sake of being difficult. Sun accidentally spills coffee on Jin while an American couple look on and make rude comments.

Greater Meaning: By providing six different flashback experiences, the episode is broader than any of the previous. Focusing on multiple survivors gives a sense of big events culminating, a large conclusion in the works that will affect each survivor as well as the entire group, but the mystery of two separate narratives is also important. The raft has set sail, exposing its crew to new experiences and new dangers (in such a tiny, confined space, how will the three men who have had multiple conflicts in the past get on with each other? and what about sharks, or storms at sea?), but if Rousseau is to be believed, others are coming to the beach. The title of the episode, Exodus, is significant, but Jack or Locke seem more of a Moses character than Michael or Sawyer, might the title be referring to an into-the-jungle exodus rather than one into the sea on a raft? Are there two exoduses at play here?

Michael and Walt have come a long way since their difficulties in the flashback, so has Shannon. Sawyer, Kate, Jack, Sun, and Jin seem to be wrestling with many of the same issues they'd had before the crash, namely ghosts from their past relationships or crimes, or in Sun and Jin's case, with each other. What does this say about the needs of each of these major players in the narrative? How will the events of either getting rescued or evading attacks from others affect who these survivors are and how they interact with each other? Sawyer and Kate were both previously criminals, and so was Jin. Jack's medical skills have proven useful on the island but is he good at leading? Sun seemed to be marginalized in early episodes but has begun to emerge as more than just a controlling criminal's wife and an interesting character on her own. What part does adaptation play in these characters' successes on the island, and who's had the most trouble with it? Major changes have happened, but not necessarily to everyone in the same measure.

Further Questions:

1. Will the raft succeed in finding rescue?
2. Can Rousseau be trusted?
3. How did The Black Rock wind up in the middle of the jungle?
4. Will they succeed in blasting open the hatch?
5. Are others really coming?
6. Will Jin ever get rid of the handcuff on his wrist?
7. What happened to Ana Lucia?
8. Are there more survivors we haven't met yet?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Episode 22, Born to Run

Events: In flashbacks, Kate colors her hair from blond to brown and receives a letter that makes her cry. She surprises a doctor friend, Tom, and tells him that her mother Diane is dying of cancer. She visits Tom in his home, who arranges for her to see Diane the next day and together they dig up a time capsule. Tom's toy plane is inside, along with a recorded tape from 1989. On the recording, a young Tom predicts the two will be married but a young Kate suggests they run away. When Tom comments, "you always want to run away, Katie," Kate replies, "yeah, and you know why." When Kate visits her mother, Diane reacts fearfully, screaming for help. Kate and Tom leave in Tom's car but Tom is fatally shot by police in pursuit.

On the island, Dr. Arzt encourages Michael to finish the raft and leave the island quickly while Sayid and Locke introduce Jack to the hatch. Kate approaches Michael about getting on the raft, but Michael has promised the open spot to Sawyer. Without warning, Michael becomes violently ill, and Jack discovers someone drugged Michael's water. Michael suspects Sawyer, who in turn exposes Kate's fake passport. Kate admits she was in the marshal's custody and was headed for prison but insists that she didn't poison Michael. Jack confronts Sun and she admits that she attempted to poison
Jin to keep him on the island; later it's revealed that this had been Kate's idea all along. As John Locke encounters Walt at the caves, Walt places his hand on Locke's wrist and implores him not to open it (the hatch).

Greater Meaning:We see that Diane clearly has a problem with her daughter, so who wrote the letter? There was money inside it as well, was this from Kate's father, whoever he might be? When Kate said the toy airplane belonged to the man she killed, she obviously meant Tom, but technically, Kate didn't kill him. Kate's life is messy and has a lot of conflicting stuff going on. There's a case being made for Kate's untrustworthiness---can she be trusted? The previous episodes have shown her to be skilled in the outdoors, brave, and empathetic toward the other survivors, aligning her with Jack and Locke's variety of leadership, but her past is shady and she seems evasive, even standoffish, right down to her core, which is very much like Sawyer.

Further Questions:

1. Will they ever open the hatch?
2. Does Kate ever reconcile with her mother?
3. How many crimes has Kate committed?
4. Will they launch the raft on time?
5. What did Tom mean about Kate not ever wanting to go home?
6. Why does Walt not want Locke to open the hatch, does he know something about it?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Episode 21, The Greater Good.

"I know when I'm being lied to,"

Events: Sayid tries to help Shannon in her grief over Boone's death but she is despondent. Jack, still sleep-deprived and enraged, looks for Locke in the jungle but returns to the beach for Boone's funeral. During the funeral, Locke returns, his clothes still stained with blood, and admits that the accident that caused Boone's death was his fault. Jack confronts and then attacks Locke but then collapses from exhaustion. In order to force Jack to rest, Kate puts crushed sleeping pills into his juice. While Jack is asleep, Sayid convinces Locke to bring him to the crashed airplane and Shannon steals the key to the gun case. While at the crashed plane site, Locke admits to Sayid he was the one who destroyed the radio when they first attempted to triangulate Rousseau's distress signal. While Locke honestly answers all of Sayid's questions, he falters when Sayid brings up the hatch, and Sayid catches it.

In flashbacks, Sayid remembers his friend, Essam Tazia, and the role the two of them played in an attempted terrorist attack in Sydney. Sayid was coerced into taking part by American and British intelligence officers after they promised to reunite him with his lost love, Nadia. Essam confesses that he doesn't want to go through with the attack and Sayid tries to convince the intelligence agents that Essam's superiors are the ones they should be targeting, but to no avail. Just before they are about to leave with explosives, Sayid tells Essam the truth; Essam dies moments later by suicide.

When Sayid realizes what Shannon has planned, he races with Jack and Kate to stop her from shooting Locke in the jungle. Shannon believes that Locke intentionally murdered Boone largely due to Jack's accusations, and attempts to kill him. Sayid tackles her; the bullet injures Locke but is not fatal. After everything calms down, Sayid demands that Locke bring him to the hatch.

Greater Meaning: Sayid's experiences manipulating Essam in order to reach Nadia seem to have made him cautious. He is not willing to simply eliminate Locke outright to please Shannon in her grief, but he does use his skills as an interrogator to attempt to learn the truth about what happened. Locke is honest about what happened, and although Sayid still doesn't trust Locke completely, he accepts that Boone's death was indeed an accident. Knowing it will damage his relationship with Shannon, Sayid does not kill Locke (as she requested) and attempts to stop her from killing him, basing his actions upon the greater good of the survivors and absolute terms of right and wrong (Locke committed no crime, so it would be wrong to kill him simply because Shannon requested it despite Sayid's feelings for her).

The greater good is also in question concerning Jack's actions in both this and the previous episode ("Do No Harm"). Jack was forced (directly by Boone and indirectly by Sun, Michael, and Hurley) to consider what was best for the entire group when his actions to save Boone became dangerous and reckless; he did not decide on his own to take the entire group's best interests into account. Sayid, a former soldier from a war-torn country, considers and applies this in a way a doctor should (but Jack does not). As Shannon attempted to kill Locke, she looked to Jack for validation, saying "You told me he was a liar!" Jack does not contradict her, and after Locke is shot, does not treat him or even check on him; he glares at him and walks away. Jack refuses to consider how his actions directly affect the group and doesn't seem to take any responsibility for any role he may have played in putting Shannon's attack on Locke into motion. Jack's focus always seems to be on the immediate, the personal, and the here-and-now, making him a unique but somewhat immature leader. Christian's previous words describing Jack, "You're just not good at letting go," ring true again and again with each situation both on and off the island, and seem to be important in understanding Jack's personal challenges and strengths. Why can't he let go?

Further Questions:
1. Will Shannon forgive Sayid?
2. Will Locke and Jack patch things up?
3. Is Nadia still in California?
4. Will Jack develop better awareness in his leadership?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Episode 20, Do No Harm

Events: As Jack tries to triage Boone in the caves, the survivors scramble to assist where they can. Jack ends up donating his own blood to Boone and becomes exhausted from the effort. While this is happening, Claire goes into labor in the jungle with Kate.

Flashbacks show Jack preparing to marry Sarah, a woman who had formerly been his surgical patient, with some trepidations he discusses with Christian the night before the wedding. When Jack suggests that he asked Sarah to marry him simply because he saved her, Christian assures him that commitment is what makes him tick, he agrees that Jack is not good at letting go. Unable to write any of his own vows for the wedding, Jack counters Sarah's vows with what seems to be a heartfelt, honest explanation: "I didn't fix you, you fixed me."

On the island, Jack considers amputating Boone's leg but allows Boone to talk him out of it. As Boone breathes his last breaths, Kate assists Claire in delivering a healthy baby boy. Later, after giving Shannon the news about Boone's death, Jack tells Kate that Boone was murdered by John Locke and vows to find him.

Greater Meaning: As Jack has more or less been appointed leader of the survivors, it's concerning how he puts his own health at risk in order to save Boone. Jack's flashbacks seem at first to be simply backstory to his marriage (which he's already disclosed has ended) but as he continues caring for Boone and stubbornly trying to save him despite knowing his medical situation is hopeless, the flashbacks suggest Jack married Sarah because he continued to feel responsible for her and couldn't let go, just as he feels as Boone's doctor.

Putting this situation into philosophical terms, we'd expect a leader to operate as a utilitarian, basing decisions on what benefits the greatest number of people. This would also make sense for a doctor on a deserted island (saving or rationing medicine for the living, quarantining the sick to keep illness from spreading, delegating triage, etc.), and Jack does this to a point. Where his actions get ethically blurry are in refusing to let go, as he's done with both Sarah and Boone, he is in fact, doing harm. Jack believes in his ability to save others, to fix them, but seems unable to give up. This makes Jack a very unique doctor, and suggests he'd sacrifice pretty much anything for a patient's care--a very noble character trait but one that could also bring about exploitation and division moving forward. While it's true that Boone's death was facilitated by John's actions, John Locke did not murder Boone. Jack is so concerned about having based medical treatment on a mistake and blaming Locke that he doesn't take the time to consider what making such an accusation toward another of the island's most important people might do in the long run. Locke was reckless but not murderous; despite the suspicious way Locke behaved by leaving Boone in the caves, Jack is still starting a big issue before he has all the facts.

Hurley did not factor in as a major player in this episode but worth mentioning is the fact that as the entire beach is celebrating Claire and the new baby, it's Hurley who draws Jack's attention to Shannon as she returns with Sayid. Hurley's empathy continues to be a major presence among the survivors.



Further Questions:

1. What will Claire name her son?
2. How will Shannon cope with losing Boone?
3. Will Shannon's relationship with Sayid change?
4. What has Locke been doing all this time?
5. What eventually ended Jack and Sarah's marriage?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Episode 19, Deus ex Machina

Events: Beginning with a flashback, the episode shows toy store associate John Locke (thinner and with dark hair) explaining the game "Mouse Trap" to a young customer and then quickly transitions to Locke and Boone on the island preparing a trebuchet to open the hatch. The trebuchet fails, Locke becomes upset, and Boone notices that a piece of metal has lodged into Locke's leg.


More flashbacks show the history between John and his birth parents, Emily Locke and Anthony Cooper. John purchases information on the two from a private investigator who cautions "this stuff isn't always meant to be," and "it probably won't have a happy ending." John seeks out Cooper, who is revealed to be in kidney failure and the two forge what John believes to be a father-son relationship which ends in John donating one of his kidneys. Cooper is not interested in keeping John in his life and cuts off all contact with him after the operation.

On the island, John fears his paralysis is returning but stubbornly insists on trying to open the hatch. He dreams of a small aircraft, Boone covered in blood reciting "Teresa falls up the stairs, Teresa falls down the stairs", Emily Locke pointing in the direction the aircraft flew, and of himself once again in a wheelchair. The next day he wakes Boone and they set out into the jungle to find the airplane, which has indeed crashed onto the island and is hanging off the side of a cliff. Boone climbs up to investigate while John waits on the ground below, unable to participate as both of his legs have failed. Boone discovers statues filled with heroin inside the plane and attempts to communicate through the plane's radio but the plane pitches off the cliff, seriously injuring Boone. John somehow musters the strength to carry Boone back to the cave but vanishes when Jack tries to get the details of the injuries. After returning to the hatch, beating upon it, and shouting out, "Why did you do this to me?" John
sees a light shine out from inside the hatch's
window.

We're the survivors of Oceanic Flight
815! 

Greater Meaning: There is a case being made for Locke not opening the hatch. The fact that it seems impossible to do so is only part of it, but the bigger and more personal worry is how Locke's own body is responding to his stubbornness. After the trebuchet fails, Locke is stabbed in his right leg by metal debris. The closer Locke and Boone get to the plane (which Locke assumes will hold some secret or tool to aid in the opening of the hatch), the worse Locke's condition gets with not just one but both legs affected. As the island seems to have healed Locke's paralysis it stands to reason that the island could also stop doing so as well, but why? The flashbacks show Locke refusing to listen to reason in regard to his parents (the investigator all but spelled it out for him) the same way Locke is refusing to be influenced by the systematic breakdown of his body as he insists they seek out the aircraft. As his interactions with Emily Locke led to heartbreak, his following of the airplane led to physical demise in both himself and Boone (which was foreshadowed in his dream of Emily pointing, Boone covered in blood, and his own position back in the wheelchair).

I've done everything you asked! 

Locke wants to believe he's doing the right thing, he has faith in what he's seeing, but he isn't interpreting things correctly and he's ignoring hard, logical facts. If the island cured him, why is it suddenly taking it all back? Locke has proven himself to be an able leader, skilled hunter, and quite intuitive when it comes to the island itself; what if the island is taking his legs away from him because he's simply on the wrong track? Why did he have the vision of the plane or Boone's experiences with his nanny falling down the stairs and how would he have known about either one of those two completely unrelated events? If something on the island planted these events into Locke's unconscious mind, why is another force on the island trying to keep him away from the very events these visions set in motion? Are there two forces at play in Locke's head or is he simply cracking up? Are all of the survivors subject to this kind of influence or only Locke? The title "Deus ex Machina" suggests the hand of God coming in to save everyone in the end with an unexpected resolution, but it remains to be seen what (if anything) was resolved or saved.

Further Questions: 

1. How did Locke become injured and require a wheelchair?
2. Did Locke and Anthony Cooper ever reconcile?
3. Did Emily Locke become part of Locke's life?
4. Are Locke's visions working against him?
5. Will Boone survive?
6. What is in the hatch, and will it ever be opened?
7. Who were the men dressed as priests?
8. Who was speaking on the radio to Boone?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory: Episode 18, Numbers

Events: Under the guise of procuring batteries for a signal for the raft, Hurley treks into the jungle to search for Rousseau against Jack and Sayid's protests. After flashbacks show Hurley winning a huge jackpot using the numbers 4 8 15 16 23 42 (which were also written in Rousseau's notes) and several instances of bad luck afterward, it becomes clear that Hurley isn't just seeking batteries, he's more concerned about speaking to Rousseau about the numbers. Sayid, Jack, and Charlie reluctantly follow. After avoiding several traps, a rickety bridge, and Rousseau's own gunshots, Hurley learns that the numbers had been a curse for her as well. He hugs Rousseau in gratitude and returns to the group with the battery they needed.

Greater Meaning: As with the island monster, the numbers are not defined in any concrete way. Are they a real threat or just some sort of misunderstanding that only applies to Hurley? Rousseau agreeing that the numbers are cursed validates it all somewhat, but several others have been "involved" with these numbers: Sam Toomey (and his wife), Hurley's friend Leonard, and whoever it was on the island who recited them for the radio transmission and carved them on the side of the hatch in the jungle. When Sam Toomey and Leonard were stationed in the South Pacific, they heard the numbers over a radio transmission; might it have been the same transmission Rousseau and her team heard, given they were also in the South Pacific?

Similar to what's been shown in the last few episodes, "Numbers," seems to be concentrating less on explaining things and more on paving the way for more mystery both in the here-and-now island events and how the characters' pasts are shaping those events. How coincidental that Sawyer and Christian Shephard had met before, that the lottery numbers should appear several times on the island the survivors crashed onto, and that Hurley should have such confidence in dealing with Rousseau and the island itself. Is it all destiny, as we've heard Locke speak about or just happenstance? Hurley somehow ends up running directly toward Rousseau as she's actively shooting at him in the jungle, gets what he needs and is allowed to carry on his way back. Despite sarcastically referring to himself as "good old fun-time Hurley," he is proving to be quite empathetic, motivated, and skilled in island
diplomacy.

Further Questions: 

1. Where did Rousseau go after talking with Hurley?
2. Are the numbers really cursed?
3. Where did the number come from?
4. Is there someone else on the island who knows about the numbers?
5. Will Rousseau become friendly with the survivors now?
6. Does Hurley have special knowledge on the island like Locke?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Episode 17 . . . In Translation

Events: Brought about by a disagreement over Sun's choice in swimwear, Jin alarms the survivors with his possessive behavior over his wife. Michael attempts to intervene on Sun's behalf, but is slapped by Sun. Later, Sun apologizes to Michael for her actions and tries to convince Kate that she's doing the right thing, that Jin wasn't always so controlling.


The flashbacks show this to be true; Jin was a kind and tender husband, very much in love with Sun. In order to win Sun's hand in marriage, Jin agreed to work for her father, Mr. Paik, as an enforcer in the negative and violent aspects of his business. Jin is not initially violent in nature, but the episode suggests that he became so over time in order to please Mr. Paik and to provide Sun the luxurious lifestyle she expected. Eventually Jin seeks the advice of his father, a poor fisherman, who tells him to escape with Sun to America and to cut ties with Mr. Paik in order to save the marriage.

With everyone already suspicious of Jin because of his interactions with both Sun and Michael, Jin is blamed with the raft is set on fire. Sawyer assaults Jin and brings him to the beach where everyone begins shouting at him. Sun stops Michael from assaulting Jin by screaming in English. John Locke tries to shift the aggression off of Jin onto the others on the island and later reveals that Walt was the one who burned the raft. Jin leaves Sun in the caves and shows up the next morning with harvest bamboo for Michael's second raft.

Greater Meaning: Until now there had not been very many opportunities to empathize with Jin.
We'd seen controlling behavior before and a violent overreaction with Michael over Mr. Paik's watch, which were negative situations, and a few happy moments in Sun's flashbacks of the early days of their engagement and marriage. Seeing Jin bend to Paik's will and become violent does spark empathy for his struggle, as does his apology to his own father for his shame and the on-island scene of the beach confrontation. Jin is innocent of the crime of which he's being accused, but cannot understand what anyone is yelling at him or defend himself. Sun's ability to speak English was another major blow in a long line of major blows, and for better or for worse, he decides to help Michael, someone who he'd had nothing but trouble with until then to presumably see his own way off the island. As we saw in House of the Rising Sun, Sun had been prepared to leave Jin just before the Oceanic flight took off and crashed, and here, with Jin's father, it's shown that Jin was also troubled over the relationship. There seems to be a great deal yet unsaid about the goings-on of the Kwon's marriage, Sun's English, and Jin's secrets of his own. Jin and his father were shown to be caring and interacted easily with one another. Although his actions in the recent past have been unpleasant, it's as if we're being told not to give up on Jin just yet.

Worth noting is the fact that Hurley twice shows his empathy toward Jin, first when he tries to invite Jin to play golf, and second, when Michael charges Jin on the beach Hurley (with Jack) tries to keep the peace. Sawyer instigates aggression while John Locke reasons out Jin's innocence and blames the island's "others." How does Locke know what he knows? He's wrong about who burned the raft (he later discusses this with Walt) but knew enough to convince the group that it wasn't Jin. Walt and Locke both admit they like it on the island, and we've seen insight into Locke's particular reasoning for this. Locke's knowledge of the island and his concern over the "others" seem to suggest Locke may be in this for more than the short-term, raft or no raft.

Further Questions:

1. Did something major happen between Jin and Mr. Paik?
2. Why did Sun learn English and hide it from Jin?
3. Are there bigger reasons for Walt's wanting to stay on the island?
4. Was Locke just deflecting blame away from Walt or is he really worried about others on the island?
5. Will Jin and Sun reconcile?
6. Did Mr. Paik ever find out about Jin's father?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Episode 16, Outlaws

Events: After a boar repeatedly harasses Sawyer, he and Kate trek into the jungle on a quest to find it. They learn much about each other during a game of "I Never," notably that they'd both killed someone, both have baggage from having done so, and that neither of them really fit in with the rest of the group. In flashbacks, Sawyer relives the violent death of his parents as well as the misleading con that led him to Australia. In his obsession to punish the man he felt was responsible for his parents' deaths and whose letter he'd been carrying around his entire life, Sawyer kills an American shrimp truck cook, proven in his final moments to be the wrong guy. Finally, in a bizarre turn of events, Sawyer is revealed to have met Christian Shephard in an Australian bar, which Sawyer later discovers while talking to Jack after the failed boar expedition.

Greater Meaning: The episode is centered around Sawyer in terms of flashbacks and major reveals, but the events on-island depend on Sawyer's connection with Kate (and is named "Outlaws," plural). Important also are the past and present connections between other characters, and this episode seems to delight in pointing them out: Kate is connected to Sawyer through both secret events and their own personal perceptions; Kate defends her decision to approach Sawyer to retrieve the gun Jack lent out saying, "I speak his language." Charlie is connected to both Locke and Sayid through unpleasant events, his detoxification from heroin and his ambivalence over having killed Ethan, which Sayid attempts to discuss with him. In addition to his connection with Kate, Sawyer is somewhat surprisingly also connected to Jack through his interactions with Christian at the bar, and as the knower of how Christian truly felt about the falling-out he had with his son. One gets the impression that these connections, both on and off the island, are becoming just as important as the threat of the island monster or the existence of others in the group's midst. These three puzzles (supernatural villain, the human threat, and the interrelationships between the survivors), together with the continued idea of rescue/escape from the island make for several further questions and possibilities moving forward.

Further Questions:
1. What were the whispers in the jungle, and why have only Sayid and Sawyer heart them?
2. Is Sawyer's name really James?
3. Is Charlie hiding PTSD?
4. Who did Kate kill?
5. What happened to the real Sawyer?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, episode 12, Whatever the Case May Be

What's inside, Freckles?

Events: On the island, Kate and Sawyer find a hidden waterfall and underneath it, the bodies of several passengers of Flight 815. Under one of the airline seats is a metal case, which Kate asks Sawyer to help her retrieve. When they are unable to open it, Kate blows off the suitcase, pretending she has no interest in it any longer but Sawyer knows she's bluffing. In flashbacks we see that Kate was involved in a bank robbery, where she used a hot-headed love interest to get inside the bank's vault in order to obtain . . . the very contents that are locked in the case. After trying on two separate occasions to get the case out of Sawyer's hands and failing, Kate recruits Jack's help yet does not disclose why she wants the case, claiming interest in the guns and ammunition that are locked inside, instead. Like Sawyer, Jack sees through Kate's ruse, and becomes disgusted when she repeatedly refuses to tell him the truth about what's in the case, which ends up being a small toy airplane.

Charlie continues to worry about Claire and blame himself, but Rose, who has also lost someone on the island, encourages him to have faith. After being deemed, "useless," by Boone, Shannon attempts to translate Rousseau's markings in French on the documents Sayid took from her hideaway.

Greater Meaning: Kate and Sawyer's swim in the waterfall suggests an escape from the rest of the island, or could even have some Garden of Eden connotations, but nothing evil happens, they just find more dead people and the hidden case. Sawyer doesn't care exactly about the contents of the case, but rather the contents' significance to Kate and furthermore, her desire to lay her hands on them. Jack shares this interest but only because he wants the truth from Kate, and in this way, Sawyer and Jack's mutual desire of Kate seems to be equally strong but for opposite reasons. Sawyer wants the case to prove Kate's badness (to match his own therefore proving them equally matched) while Jack wants the case (or Kate's honesty about it) to prove her virtue. Jack already knows Kate is flawed, criminal even, after the business with the marshal became known, but he holds her to higher moral standards nonetheless, like Sawyer, on equal footing with himself. In the end Kate provides both men with what they're seeking---the toy plane belonged to a man she "killed," which she admitted honestly to Jack, who didn't believe her. Who this man is, how he died, and why all have yet
to be revealed.

It belonged to the man I killed!

In addition to Kate's obsession over the toy plane, two other mysteries continue to build throughout the episode: Sayid's attempts with Shannon to decipher Rousseau's papers and John and Boone's daily digs in the jungle under the guise of looking for Claire. Where will these mysteries lead? Both relate directly to the island, itself, but what do they mean?

Further Questions:

1. Is Claire safe (again!)?
2. Is Rose's husband alive, and if so, why is Rose so certain?
3. Who did Kate kill?
4. What is the significance of the toy plane?
5. Is Rousseau crazy?
6. Is Kate dangerous?

A revisit to season 1

1. Locke gave Sayid his compass after he and Boone found the hatch, apparently thinking he didn't need it any more. Sayid discovers that it doesn't actually point north, Jack confirms this. Did Richard Alpert have this thing in the future? Was there something more to the compass at all? I read a theory tonight about how in season 2, once Mr. Eko arrives, there is a lot of business about looking up and going north. . . and how the island has to keep corralling Locke back in line to keep him on the right track, which is apparently to The Others (in a northward direction).

Jack's Daddy Issues

So what gives with Dr. Christian Shephard being so instrumental on the island? First he leads Jack to water but then it's revealed that the casket was empty? My question is, did the ticket agent at the airport totally pull a fast one and simply board the casket (after all, Jack insisted that THE COFFIN had to be on the plane and said really nothing regarding the corpse of his father that technically should have been inside THAT) without the body, did the body somehow fly out in all the chaos during the crash or has Dr. S just randomly taken to walking around the island in all his deadness, body and all?

What link does Christian have with the island that makes him important enough to be the new Jacob in season 4, telling Locke to MOVE THE ISLAND?!?!?!? They better explain this.

Lost Diaries: Episode 23 and 24

Exodus parts 1 and 2

"The French woman—Danielle Rousseau (guest star Mira Furlan)—shocks the survivors by showing up to the camp with a dire warning about "the Others" who are on the island, and the black smoke that precedes them. Meanwhile, Michael and Jin ready the raft for sailing. In flashbacks, we see the survivors final moments before they boarded their fateful flight."

read here

"The castaways on the raft run into unexpected trouble. Meanwhile, the remaining islanders attempt to blow open the hatch. Flashbacks continue to show the survivors' final moments before boarding their fateful flight."

read here

YES! Jack and Sawyer's Goodbye? I can't believe it. What is the fire burning business on the other side of the island? Sayid has keen insight into Rousseau's actions. Poor Claire. I don't think she can take much more of all this. What a wonderful show.

Here are the things I wrote when I originally finshed the first season, back in May. I thought they'd be, you know, relevant:


this is out of order from the lost diaries but i had to do it.

we finished it yesterday. it's like 24 now, where i keep thinking about it all the time and obsessing.
these are the thoughts i had after the end.....

hurley gets a lot of good one-liners (sarcasm)....like a security system that eats people?

wtf are the moving shadows/clicking noises? SERIOUSLY?

locke is okay with being pulled into the black hole? jack and kate threw TNT into the hole; the island is gonna be pissed.....

a "Locke problem?" if we live through this? science vs. faith. surgeon vs. freaky marlon brando guy?

funny how shannon seemed so random and insignificant at the beginning. now she gets to bone with sayid and hear the whispers! that's big!

sawyer and jack's goodbye is probably my favorite moment of the whole show. LOVE THEM BOTH. LOTS.

WALT. brian the step dad didn't want to raise him/said THINGS HAPPEN with him? what kind of "special" is this kid? he also said not to open the hatch. he TOLD locke this and he opened it anyway. you'd think that Locke would be able to sense if what walt was telling him was important....

where is beatrix kiddo on this island? don't let ANYONE mess with the pregnant chick OR her baby. what could be worse? sayid understands. do not try to understand her, she's a woman who's lost her child (rousseau). crazy old french bat. i'm sure this happens frequently in iraq; the losing of children.


WHAT IS WITH THE DELIVERANCE DUDES IN THE BOAT?!?!?!?!?!?!!? seriously! people have a way of being a bit too loose with their kids on this show. GRIP THEM TIGHTLY. do not let others remove them from your clutches. CHRIST. i have 3 kids and i am already mentally working out how i could cling onto them in the event of kidnapping island hillbillies or random tsunamis: zizzy on back, bubby in front helping me hold beebins. bite attackers with sharp teeth if need be. kick and flail like ruth stupes running away from the abortion house.


my theory on this is that it is an isolation booth that everyone is hooked up to, separately. the gvt is doing experiments on them, OR ALIENS. what makes me think this are the polar bears. and the random boats and planes. AND the hatch.
i made matt get season 2 last night. i am sooooooo excited.

Lost Diaries: Episode 21

The Greater Good

"After another funeral, tempers rise as the survivors' suspicions of each other grow, and an unlikely survivor vows revenge. The events that landed Sayid on Flight 815 play out as he engages Locke in a psychological game of cat and mouse to uncover the truth about the mishap that claimed Boone's life."

read here

Blah. Again with this Boone business. Can't say I'll miss him. Can't say I'm even the least bit annoyed with Locke for letting him into that plane; someone had to do it, right? Sometimes Jack just needs to let it drop. Sayid is great.

thoughts on LOST season 1.

this is out of order from the lost diaries but i had to do it.

we finished it yesterday. it's like 24 now, where i keep thinking about it all the time and obsessing.
these are the thoughts i had after the end.....

hurley gets a lot of good one-liners (sarcasm)....like a security system that eats people?

wtf are the moving shadows/clicking noises? SERIOUSLY?

locke is okay with being pulled into the black hole? jack and kate threw TNT into the hole; the island is gonna be pissed.....

a "Locke problem?" if we live through this? science vs. faith. surgeon vs. freaky marlon brando guy?

funny how shannon seemed so random and insignificant at the beginning. now she gets to bone with sayid and hear the whispers! that's big!

sawyer and jack's goodbye is probably my favorite moment of the whole show. LOVE THEM BOTH. LOTS.

WALT. brian the step dad didn't want to raise him/said THINGS HAPPEN with him? what kind of "special" is this kid? he also said not to open the hatch. he TOLD locke this and he opened it anyway. you'd think that Locke would be able to sense if what walt was telling him was important....

where is beatrix kiddo on this island? don't let ANYONE mess with the pregnant chick OR her baby. what could be worse? sayid understands. do not try to understand her, she's a woman who's lost her child (rousseau). crazy old french bat. i'm sure this happens frequently in iraq; the losing of children.


WHAT IS WITH THE DELIVERANCE DUDES IN THE BOAT?!?!?!?!?!?!!? seriously! people have a wa of being a bit too loose with their kids on this show. GRIP THEM TIGHTLY. do not let others remove them from your clutches. CHRIST. i have 3 kids and i am already mentally working out how i could cling onto them in the event of kidnapping island hillbillies or random tsunamis: zizzy on back, bubby in front helping me hold beebins. bite attackers with sharp teeth if need be. kick and flail like ruth stupes running away from the abortion house.


my theory on this is that it is an isolation booth that everyone is hooked up to, separately. the gvt is doing experiments on them, OR ALIENS. what makes me think this are the polar bears. and the random boats and planes. AND the hatch.
i made matt get season 2 last night. i am sooooooo excited.