LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Thoughts on Season 2

Did everyone just forget about being rescued? 

Bernard didn't of course, he tried to build an SOS signal out of rock but was quickly redirected by Rose's reveal in regard to the island's influence on her health. Claire and Aaron seemed to be nicely settled on the beach with a number of fellow survivors to watch out for them; Sun and Jin are preparing for the challenges of parenthood; Eko started to build a church! Jack and Locke, as always, are in different places, but the events of the second season reveal just how wrong they've both been, all along. 

Jack versus Locke versus The Island versus The Others

As Jack is busy doctoring and leading, making decisions for the group, he doesn't often get the chance to actually see the island for what it is (which can't really be defined, anyway), and this is not the case with Locke. Because he's been personally affected in a way that leaves no room for interpretation --- before island: paralyzed, after island: able to walk --- Locke is prepared for the island's mysterious abilities, and seeks them out, even. Of course Locke has never had any interest in being rescued, like Rose, he can appreciate the gift the island has bestowed upon him, but the island doesn't just let him off easy simply because he believes in it, either. Locke is put to the test in this season, being made to earn his gift, earn his knowledge, and his faith in the island. He initially believes that pushing the button inside the hatch was important, but after finding the underground question mark hatch (Pearl Station) he questions everything he's done since landing on the island. 

Locke was invested in the Henry Gale situation, first by colluding with Sayid to interrogate him, then after the lockdown when Henry helped him, and again when Henry claimed the reason he got captured was that he was coming for Locke, "one of the good ones." Whatever Henry's intentions, he seems to be just as invested in Locke, if only for reasons of manipulation or playing him against Jack. After Sayid, Charlie, and Ana Lucia discover the truth about the balloon, it's clear that Henry has been lying about everything, which is further confirmed when Michael kills Ana Lucia and Libby in order to free him. After Jack, Sawyer, Kate, and Hugo are kidnapped, Henry is in charge of it.

Tail Section, Henry's Pretenders, The DI

Early in the season after the thwarted raft launch, Jin meets who he believes to be the others but who are really just survivors from the tail section. Henry's others are revealed to be the group who abducted Claire to the medical station (where Kate found the fake beard and other costumes) and later took Walt off the raft. Why did they take Walt in the first place, and why did they put Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hugo on the list to be taken only to release Hugo from the dock? After Michael asks who they are, Henry replies that they are the "good guys," but Henry's manipulation of Locke, physical assault on Ana Lucia, abduction of children and pack of lies in general seem to indicate the opposite. 

The Dharma Initiative is yet another division of "others," and though Desmond was trained by Inman and not a member himself, he and the orientation videos are the only link we have to this group. The completeness of the Swan Station (kitchen, bathroom, exercise equipment, and food stores) seems an amazing bit of good fortune to just be existing on its own in the middle of the jungle, especially considering the style of the others' clothing and the low quality of the huts where Walt was kept. Henry didn't seem ravenously hungry when they brought him to the hatch and his clothing was traditional for a middle-aged man, confirming as Kate suggested that they were "acting." Why are they taking such trouble to convince the survivors that they live so simply? The discovery of the tail-section at the Arrow station, Claire's stay at the medical station, and the strangeness of Pearl station (notebooks that go no where and a screen showing the man with the eye patch) imply a strong presence throughout the island. 

Magic?

Shannon saw Walt twice after the raft departed; after the others took him, Ms. Klugh asked Michael if Walt had ever appeared somewhere he wasn't supposed to be. Was this phenomenon the island's work or Walt's? During the first season, John Locke took a special interest in Walt, and Michael's relationship with his son though strained at first, became more stable with Locke's help. Brian, Walt's stepfather, claimed there was something "different" about him, but what? If there has always been this special element to Walt, the island seems to have intensified it. It makes sense to assume that the others take all children that come to the island (Rousseau's daughter Alex, Emma and Zach from the tail section, Aaron, in attempting to induce his birth, and now Walt) but did they know about Walt's specialness or was it discovered during the tests they made him do? As far as we know, Walt is the only child that has this magical quality about him. 

Live Together, Die Alone, part 2

Live Together, Die Alone, part 1

Three Minutes

?

Two for the Road

S.O.S.

Dave

Lockdown

The Whole Truth

Maternity Leave

One of Them

The Long Con

Fire + Water

The Hunting Party

The Twenty-Third Psalm

What Kate Did

Collision

The Other 48 Days

Abandoned

. . . and Found

Everybody Hates Hugo

Orientation

Adrift 

Man of Science, Man of Faith 

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 2, Episode 23, Live Together, Die Alone part 1

On-Island Events: Jack, Sawyer, and Sayid swim out to the boat just offshore from their beach. Once aboard gunshots ring out at them from below its galley and they discover Desmond, apparently inebriated, is the shooter. They bring him back to the beach and Desmond explains that he couldn't leave the island. Sayid suggests that he use Desmond's boat to meet Jack and the rest of the group as a surprise attack when they return to the others' camp; Jack agrees. As they make their way through the jungle Kate discovers two others tracking them. A shootout happens and one other is killed. Jack informs the group that Michael has been turned and forces him to confess his betrayal to the group. Michael admits his role everything and apologizes for killing Ana Lucia and Libby. Hugo wants to return but Jack insists they carry on, stating he has a plan.

When Sayid asks Desmond to borrow the boat for a trip northward, Desmond asks if he's headed to see "the hostiles." Desmond refuses to sail Sayid, but Jin has sailing experience and is willing to accompany him. They set out with Sun along the island's coast and are confused when they happen across a four-toed statue of a foot. 

Locke demands that Eko stop pushing the button in the hatch; Eko refuses and pushes Locke out. Later Locke finds Desmond drinking on the beach and shares the contents of the pearl station's orientation video with him. Desmond lures Eko out of the computer room inside the hatch and forces the blast doors down so he and Locke can wait for the countdown to run out. Eko runs to the beach and asks for Charlie's help in getting back into the hatch. 

Flashbacks: A short-haired Desmond receives a collection of possessions, including a Dickens novel (Our Mutual Friend) which he says he'll read just before he dies, at the conclusion of having served time in jail. He is met by a gentleman who presents him with a box full of letters addressed to Penelope Widmore, his daughter. The man attempts to pay Desmond to stay away from Penelope. 

Desmond is in America where he meets Libby, who pays for his coffee and offers up her late husband's boat, The Elizabeth, for Desmond's sailing race around the world. Later, Desmond meets Penelope who asks why he didn't write to her while he was in prison. He shares his plan to win Widmore's race, intending to regain his honor in doing so. Lost in a storm at sea, Desmond falls and is knocked unconscious on the boat. When he awakens, Kelvin Inman, the same man who trained Sayid to be a torturer, is standing before him in a yellow hazardous materials suit in the hatch. Inman shows Desmond the hatch's orientation video and explains the need for him to vaccinate himself.

Greater Meaning: Desmond's flashbacks reference the previously introduced connection with Jack at the stadium but now include connections with Libby and the previously unidentified Kelvin Inman, who was connected directly with Sayid and secondarily with Kate (through Sam Austen). The connections are growing with every new episode, but thus far Desmond is special for having multiple links to survivors. This again seems too important to ignore and must be for a bigger purpose than just coincidence. Obviously Desmond is not just a throwaway character. He's the person with the most knowledge about the hatch and the button, he has a sailboat (although why the boat was unable to carry him away from the island is a mystery and he seems upset about it), and now, he has these connections. We must conclude, like Locke has consistently maintained, there is a reason for this and that ultimately Desmond is important for what lies ahead. The fact that he's entertaining Locke's stop-the-button-pushing idea as a serious one says a lot about what Desmond knows (or suspects) about the island. If they stop pushing the button and nothing happens, they've all been duped, but why? Are the people Claire saw in the medical station the scientists who are conducting the psychological experiments being observed? Are they "pretending" to be scientists just as they are "pretending" to be hillbillies (as Kate stated)? If they stop pushing the button and something happens, it will be clear that Eko's faith was guiding him correctly and that Locke was wrong to doubt himself and his importance on the island. Desmond doesn't seem quite as invested in the right and wrong of it all the way Eko and Locke are, but he is interested and we are heading for a potentially explosive series of events for the season two finale.

The stealing of children from parents remains an ongoing theme in the show's narrative: first Rousseau
(Alex), then Claire (Aaron, by Rousseau then Ethan), and now Michael (Walt). The two young children from the tail section were not with their parents but were also taken. Walt tells Michael the others make him do tests; are they doing experiments on the other children? Alex seems to have joined their cause but chose to free Claire and shows a kindly concern for her, now. This only people able to fully empathize with Michael are Rousseau and Claire as none of the rest of the survivors are parents. Of course everyone continues to look to Jack for answers, but Jack is a doctor, not a father. The reactions of everyone's faces after Michael admits his terrible acts are ones of disgust; they cannot fathom Michael having chosen Walt, his own son, over other community members. This seems significant as Rousseau was unable to reclaim Alex and eventually lost her; Claire was drugged into agreeing to give the others her baby but was saved by Alex, and now Michael, after killing two people and betraying another four, is fighting to get his son back. Will he? 

Further Questions: 

1. What is Jack's plan?

2. What happened to the foot statue?

3. What will happen when the countdown completes and the button isn't pushed? 

4. What is Desmond's role in all this?

5. What happened to Kelvin Inman?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 2, Episode 16, The Whole Truth

On-Island Events: Sun and Jin argue about safety; Jin overreacts and ruins Sun's garden. Later, Bernard and Rose find Sun feeling unwell and Sun eventually asks Sawyer for a pregnancy test. Locke discloses the Henry Gale situation to Ana Lucia, who meets with Henry in the armory. Ana Lucia suggests Henry draw her a map to the balloon where he crashed onto the island. 

Ana Lucia privately goes to Sayid to ask for his help; Henry indeed drew a map on the back of the Dostoevsky novel Locke gave to him. The two plus Charlie set out to find the balloon. Sun's pregnancy test is positive; she shares the news with Kate and Jack but does not want to tell Jin. 

Sayid, Ana Lucia, and Charlie find the area illustrated in Henry's map but do not find a balloon. Sawyer congratulates Jin on the beach, calling him, "Daddy-O," but Jin does not understand what he means. Jin returns to Sun's ruined garden and mends it. Sun finds him there, the two discuss their relationship, and Sun reveals she is pregnant. Jin, overjoyed to hear the news, decides the baby is a miracle.

Jack allows Henry out of the armory to eat breakfast; he informs Locke and Jack about the map he drew for Ana Lucia. Henry suggests that were he one of the others, his map would lead to an ambush.

Flashbacks: Sun and Jin struggle with infertility and argue about what to do. Sun meets the man she initially went on a match date with for English lessons behind Jin's back. In meeting with a specialist, Sun and Jin learn that their chances at conception are very slim. Jin does not handle the news well and storms out of the doctor's office. Later, Sun confesses to her English tutor that she plans to leave Jin and move to America. Sun runs into her doctor on the street, who tells her it is Jin, not Sun, that has the fertility problem. 

Greater Meaning: Sun and Jin's relationship has suffered its ups and downs, but this episode shows us they still have a long way to go, despite the good news of Sun's pregnancy. In trying to protect Sun from the others, Jin resumes his earlier methods of harsh words, physical aggression, and general dominance, going so far as to ruin Sun's garden when she resists his demands. We are reminded through flashbacks that Jin's need to control and protect stemmed from his violent work for Mr. Paik, but his actions on the island are differently influenced. Jin, after all, is the only person on the island who is not a fluent English-speaker. Sun is the only one who can understand and communicate with him; Jin's own value relies on his relationship with his wife, much as his status back home was tied to his role within Paik's organization. Jin's ability to catch fish and his physical power are useful skills, but Jin is still marginalized within the group by the language divide. Despite this, his new role as a father elevates him somewhat as a survivor and a man: he may not be able to fully communicate, but he successfully impregnated his wife, something he was not able to do before crashing onto the island. The episode's title and Sun's interactions with her English tutor suggest that we still may not be fully aware of everything, at least, not yet.

Further Questions: 

1. Did Sun have an affair with her tutor and lie about it?

2. Will Rousseau/others come for Sun's baby too?

3. Is the baby Jin's? If so, how did his fertility return?

4. Is Henry Gale conning Locke and Jack?

5. Do Sayid, Ana Lucia, and Charlie find the balloon?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 2, Episode 5, . . . and found

On-Island Events: Sun realizes she's lost her wedding ring and tries to retrace her steps in finding it; she later destroys her garden in frustration. After Kate begins sorting through the messages in the bottle Claire gave to Sun, she finds her ring inside.

The Raft Crew/Tail Section: Michael reassures Jin that he'll be reunited with Sun soon; Ana announces the group will be hiking back to the beach group's camp. Jin impresses Bernard and Ana with his fishing skills while Michael gets to know about the survivors from the tail section; Libby explains the group's "trust issues." As Sawyer learns that the large man who initially snatched them and threw them in the pit is named Mr. Eko, Michael bolts from the group, taking off into the jungle. After Mr. Eko offers to help Jin find Michael, they happen upon a dead body, which Eko identifies as Goodwin. Soon they find Michael's tracks but Eko senses danger; as they hide among bushes a group of dirty, barefoot "others" make their way through the jungle just in front of them, including a child holding a teddy bear. Eventually, Michael emerges from the jungle and demands Jin go back to the others.

Flashbacks: Sun and Jin share flashbacks of before they met during which Sun is set up through a matchmaker and Jin's friend implores him to wear orange in order to meet the woman of his dreams. Jin interviews at a hotel and lands the job despite being belittled for his poverty by his new boss. Jin happens to open the door for Sun and her mother where Sun connects with the man her matchmaker has paired her with but she soon learns this man plans to marry an American woman. When Jin allows a young boy to use the hotel's bathroom against his boss's guidelines, his boss confronts him for it and Jin quits. Later, while crossing a bridge, Jin sees a woman wearing an orange dress, but when he turns around to follow her, he bumps into Sun.

Greater Meaning: While the events in the episode are broad and pretty scattered, the overall theme seems to be Jin's superior moral character and Sun's concern for his well-being. Despite begin shown as a punch-happy control freak in the early episodes of the first season, Jin has shown nothing but bravery and loyalty during the events of the raft and toward Michael and Sawyer. Showing Jin's sympathy for a poor man and his son in the flashbacks suggest that second-season Jin is the true Jin, that he's always been a good man. While Sun doesn't seem to have Rose's level of connection when it comes to the fate of her husband, Sun seems to be rightly concerned about Jin, she just has no way of knowing what the real threat is (she assumes peril by ocean or perhaps sharks, the tail section knows better of course). Beside Ethan, the beach survivors have not seen any "others," but with Eko, Jin got a good look. One has to assume that these others, whoever they are, are able to reach the beach group (as Ethan did with Claire), are still out there, and are still a threat. Whether or not Jin or any of the tail section will still encounter them is a serious concern. Ana Lucia's strict authoritarian manner as leader of the tail section and the frantic way they all carry themselves about the jungle suggests these others are not to be taken lightly.

Further Questions:

1. Will Michael find Walt?
2. Who are the others?
3. Who was Goodwin?
4. Will the two groups of survivors meet?

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 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 13, Hearts and Minds

Stay away from her.

Events: Boone is having a hard time with Shannon and Sayid's budding friendship and expresses discomfort over lying to her about the hunting expeditions (hatch-digging excursions) with John. Through flashbacks we learn that Boone's relationship with Shannon has been put to the test through abuse and money issues, but more importantly, that Boone and Shannon happened to be in Sydney at the same time Sawyer was having his own little run-in with the Australian police. Boone's flashback also shows that the two are step-siblings and that Shannon manipulated Boone into having a fling that she got over but he didn't.

After John decides that Shannon's behavior has too strong a hold over Boone, he knocks him out, ties him up, and smears a botanical paste over his open head wound before leaving him alone in the jungle. Boone awakens to Shannon's screams and sees that she too has been bound. The bellowing black smoke attacks them both, chasing them through the jungle where eventually it seizes Shannon and leaves her to die on near a stream. Boone finds John and accuses him of causing Shannon's death, but John reveals to Boone he hallucinated the whole thing--Shannon is alive and well.

Greater Meaning: While the episode focuses around two of the supporting characters, Boone and Shannon, much effort was spent on John Locke's strategies as a would-be leader. Boone's attention (and devotion) is important to John, who has put the hatch above everything else on the island, even hunting, so John forces a decision on Boone with the help of whatever hallucinogen he smeared on his head. This is similar to what he did with Charlie's heroin addiction; for whatever reason, John Locke has showed a strong, consistent faith that the people he puts in these situations will emerge victorious. Locke's ability to read people seems to be highly developed, and he uses this to his advantage as a leader in a way that Jack does not. Now, on the island, Locke is confident and comfortable with himself where Jack is comfortable only in relation to his medical experience (off-island).

The questions of hunting boar, catching fish, and planting a garden all speak to the group's sustainability and continued survival on the island. It seems now pretty clear that no rescue is coming, so what they do, how they get along, and how they use the island is all the more important, which is something John seems to have embraced from the very beginning. As Jack is reacting, John is planning. Strategizing. The proverbial "hearts and minds" mean more to John than anyone else on the island.

Further Questions: 

1. Is Claire safe?
2. What is inside the hatch?
3. Will Shannon and Sayid hook up?
4. Will Jin and Michael bury the hatchet?
5. Why has Sun been hiding her English from Jin?
6. How did Jin get to be such a good fisherman?
7. Will Boone and John's relationship change?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, episode 8, Confidence Man

Confidence Man

"Hold on!"

Events: Sawyer and Boone have a confrontation over Shannon's missing asthma inhalers. Jack gets involved but Kate intervenes, explaining that she might have better luck as Sawyer says they have "a connection." He doesn't give her the inhalers but when Kate asks about the mysterious letter he's been reading, and insists she believes that he still has human emotions, somewhere, Sawyer invites Kate to read the letter aloud. Written by an angry young boy, it implicates him in a murder/suicide after a con gone wrong,

As Sayid attempts to find out who hit him during the transceiver incident, Locke suggests Sawyer and gives Sayid his hunting knife. After Jack saves Shannon without medication he demands that Sawyer give up the inhalers, which Sawyer refuses to do. Sayid, who has experience with torture, can't get Sawyer to admit where the inhalers are so Kate agrees to kiss him instead but it turns out he knows nothing about them anyway. Convinced that Sawyer is lying, Sayid charges him with Locke's knife and inflicts a serious stab wound on his arm. After Jack treats the wound, Kate confronts Sawyer's self-destructive behavior, asking why he brings such anger and hatred upon himself. Sawyer admits he was the boy who wrote the letter and explains that he ironically became just like the confidence man who ruined his own family (which is illustrated in multiple flashbacks although he neglects to tell Kate that the sight of a young blonde boy seeking his mother's attention was enough to make him walk off a con job).

Unprompted, Sayid decides to leave the beach camp, disgusted with himself for having committed violence against Sawyer after he vowed never to do so again. He says goodbye to Kate and sets off up the unexplored area of the beach, alone.

"I know who you are and I know what you done."

Greater Meaning: Kate is specifically interesting for Sawyer in two ways: she's a criminal, like him, and she pays attention to him. It's clear that he desires her, having made suggestive comments several times before this, but after his letter is explained, we learn that it was Sawyer's mother who was conned and killed; he is a boy who grew up without a mother. Despite the fact that Sawyer went on to con women, it was the questioning little boy that drove him from the phony investment deal, which along with his obsession over the letter he wrote to the original "Mr. Sawyer" proves Kate was right in thinking he still had humanity. The exterior is of utmost importance for Sawyer, making people think of him a certain way, but Kate is really the only one who gets to learn the truth about him.

Further Questions: 

1. Did Sawyer's boss come after him for the money he left on Jess and David's floor, as he promised he would?

2. Will Jin find out that Sun speaks English?

3. Will Shannon's asthma come up again?

4. Is Jack jealous that Sawyer and Kate made out?

5. Where will Sayid go?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, episode 7, The Moth

The Moth

"Give me my bloody drugs!"

Events: Charlie is in active detox from his heroin addiction; John attempts to distract him with exercise but it turns out he really just needed bait for a wild boar trap. When he asks Locke for the drugs he found inside the Virgin Mary statue back, Locke says he'll return them only after Charlie asks him three times, that giving him a choice in the matter is important. Later as people relocate to the caves, Charlie offers to help and things go poorly. Jack blows him off, ("We don't need you right now.") Charlie brightens when Hurley seems to notice his guitar, but Hurley has no real interest in it, he just needs Charlie to move it. Protesting the way he's being disregarded to Jack in anger, Charlie proclaims, "I'm a bloody rock god!" The force of his voice causes the cave he and Jack are in to collapse; Charlie gets out, Jack is trapped. After getting a group of people together to help Jack, Charlie asks Locke for his drugs a second time. John responds by showing Charlie a moth cocoon and explains in detail how the moth's struggle is difficult but necessary. Charlie ends up saving Jack by climbing into the cave himself and pushing back out. After his third request, John gives Charlie the drugs but Charlie throws the heroin into the fire.

In other events, Sayid, Kate, and Sawyer attempt to triangulate the source of the French woman's distress signal but just as Sayid switches on the transceiver someone clubs him with a stick from behind, knocking him down and thwarting the mission.

"I could help it,"

In flashbacks, Charlie's rock star lifestyle presents several moral challenges, prompting him to quit Drive Shaft after a priest's warning during confession. He admits to brother Liam, the lead singer, that the music is getting lost in the chaos of the band's success and implores that they both walk away if it gets to be too much. Eventually, Liam sings over Charlie's vocals at a concert, openly takes drugs, and misses sound checks. Charlie decides again to leave Drive Shaft but Liam responds with cruelty, driving Charlie to use drugs himself. Just before the crash of Oceanic 815, Charlie visits Liam in Sydney in an attempt to reunite the band but Liam, clean now, refuses. Charlie expresses his anger, blames Liam for his own drug addiction, and walks off.



Greater Meaning: The themes of this episode focus around religion and respect. Charlie has been religious in the past yet he actively experiencing drug addiction. The fact that he was singled out by a boar and before, a polar bear, suggests the monkey-on-the-back metaphor of drug addiction or a physical embodiment of being literally chased by one's demons. John compares Charlie to the boar in discussing the factor of choice that humans employ, not just a blind, animalistic devotion to physical drives (which in many ways, Charlie has lived in his experiences as a rock star). Religion seems to have been an influence in Charlie's life prior to the plane crash and his music career, but on the island, animal instincts, not just in him, become more important than an organized system of social rules and norms. Events on the island seem to have primal, immediate implications that supplant religion.

Early in the episode, Charlie is disrespected multiple times yet still insists that he can be useful. His former "Rock God" status, which earned him respect in the past, doesn't matter on the island; music is nice but actual survival skills are more valuable now. Charlie ends up proving his use in the best possible way----he earns the respect of the two most important people on the island (Jack and Locke) through what can be rightly viewed as sacrificial behavior: putting his own life at risk to save Jack and forgoing his own physical needs for the drugs to rise to Locke's expectations of him.

The issue of respect applies to many other character dynamics in this episode, too. While Jack and Hurley's disrespect of Charlie brings about serious consequences, Kate's disrespect of Sawyer does the same. In her dismissive treatment of Sawyer, Kate brings forth equally cruel and defensive reactions from him. Jin appears to consider Sun's comfort in relaxing his attitude on her wardrobe, moving toward respect, and Walt sees his own father, someone still somewhat unfamiliar to him, assert his skills and take charge, moving toward respect, and Locke, in the end, respects Charlie's decision to ask for the drugs a third time, although he had no foreknowledge that Charlie would destroy them.

Further Questions: 

1. Sayid insists their survival was extremely unlikely, so why did it happen? How?

2. Who hit Sayid, and why?

3. Jack admits to Charlie when speaking of confession that he's "no saint, either." What sins has Jack committed?

4. Will Charlie stay sober?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, episode 6, House of the Rising Sun

House of the Rising Sun

Events: At the beach, there is an incident between Jin and Michael; Jin attacks, unprovoked, first punching his face repeatedly and then nearly drowning him as Walt looks on, horrified. Sayid and Sawyer break up the fight and handcuff Jin to a piece of plane wreckage, but as Jin and Sun don't speak English, no one can determine what happened between the two men or why. Jin seems defiant and even unstable after being restrained, but through Sun's flashbacks we see that he was once a gentle, tender man, and a very devoted partner.

Meanwhile, Jack, Kate, Locke, and Charlie head for the caves to get water; Charlie upsets a beehive while trying to get himself a fix of heroin. After runnning from the bees, Jack and Kate stumble upon two skeletons inside the caves, one with two rocks in his pocket, one is light, one is dark. Jack takes the rocks and hides them from Locke, who christens the remains, "our very own Adam and Eve."

Later, when Charlie tries again to sneak away for a fix, Locke stops him and takes the stash but helps him find his lost guitar. When Jack starts to relocate people from the beach to the caves, Sayid, Sawyer, and Kate stay behind.

After exhaustive efforts to find out why Jin attacked Michael, Sun approaches Michael near the jungle and speaks to him in perfect English. Through further flashbacks it is revealed that Jin worked for Sun's father, the work he did was all-consuming and violent, and that she had planned to leave him the day they boarded the flight in Sydney, but ultimately didn't. Sun explains to Michael that Jin attacked him because he was wearing a watch that had belonged to her father, which Michael had innocently picked up on the beach. When Michael scoffs, she says, pleadingly, "You don't know my father."

Greater Meaning: Toward the end of the episode, when Kate inexplicably refuses to move from the beach to the caves, Jack is confused and frustrated. He asks, "How did you get this way?" And while certainly not without his own complexities, Jack (and his question) makes an important point at this stage of the show, and not just regarding Kate. Many of the survivors have issues, problems, and this episode does a great job of uncovering them without seeming overwhelming. It would be easy to just completely write Jin off as a violent, reactionary man if we didn't see that he had once been quite the opposite. Michael might seem like an uninvolved, impatient father and Walt a defiant, annoying child had we not been shown little bits of their histories. And Sun could indeed have been marginalized as a stereotype, a wet rag of a wife, but the writers make sure to show us that she really wasn't. As the episode opens, Sun looks from group to group, understanding every word being spoken but unable to react or participate because of her secret. Whatever happened in her marriage during her husband's employ with her father was significant enough for her to learn English, privately, and to want to leave Jin; what happened between them? How did any of them "get this way?"

Did Old Man Shephard send the beehive, too?

On a different note, those skeletons in the caves? Clear evidence that not only were there other people there before the crash survivors (in the place where Jack's father's clinking ice led Jack to find water) but that there is some connection, even if it's merely aesthetic, to Locke's backgammon explanation from the pilot episode or by association, any game where two opponents face each other. Already there seems to be a division forming on the island and a fair amount of hostility between camps and decisions: Sayid, Kate, and Sawyer on the beach, Jack, The Kwons, and Hurley in the caves. Is this how civilizations form? The beach group still hopes to be rescued while the cave group is "digging in," or as Sayid said, "admitting defeat." Live together, die alone? Not quite there yet.

Further Questions:

1. Who were "Adam and Eve?"

2. What were the black and white rocks about?

3. What does Sun's father do?

4. How did Jin get blood all over him?

5. How does Locke know so much about nature?

6. What are Kate's trust issues?

7. Will Locke choose the beach or the caves?

Why "The Candidate" was well-written.

There once was a young man that I sort of was acquainted with who prided himself on knowing EVERYTHING. I'm kind of a know-it-all sometimes, so me saying this means basically that this dude was insufferable. He would argue really minute points, lecture people, make smart ass comments on peoples' semantics and grammar mistakes, etc. I hadn't thought about him in a very long time, but last night, as I was combing the LOST boards and forums, there were several people (stuff-shirts?) who were ANGRY about last night's episode. As in, they thought it was bad, or horrible, even, saying:

it was too predictable.
there wasn't anything personal/all action
only the Asian characters died
it moved too fast
it moved too slow
it was boring
it wasn't believable
it pales in comparison to the time travel events
etc.

COME. ON. Just come right the hell on.

This isn't an opinion matter, either. This is basic fact, the episode was well done. Anyone wants a piece of me, I'll argue it to the death. If I have to break it down scene by scene, event by event and EXPLAIN why it was good, how each of the elements that went into making it contribute to it BEING good, then so be it. Following is a hit list, ARE YOU EFFS READY TO GET YOUR GEEK ON? This may be the biggest media rant that ever was.


1. "if you give me a shot, Mr. Locke, I think that I can fix you." Jack wants to fix the physically (and later we find out mentally) broken John Locke. Earlier in the season Jack told Hurley that he went back to the island because he was broken and that he was stupid enough to believe that "this place" (the island) could fix him. Perhaps the island DOES fix Jack, so perhaps Jack WILL fix John.

2. John Locke is genuinely happy with Helen, and Jack notices this. Even if Locke doesn't ever walk again, he is obviously in love. This is important lesson to be learned in life. Also, every time Helen comes on I have to just celebrate the fact that FRICKING PEGGY BUNDY is on LOST!!

3. The music while Jack is on the beach: Acoustic guitar reminiscent of a western leading into The Hydra cages: very Hitchcock, very Twilight Zone suspense. REVEL IN IT; it's always been good like this.

4. "Because I'm the one with the gun." "NOT ANYMORE, DOUGH BOY." Sawyer snatches the gun and wratches it. Widmore explaining who's on the list is very much something else I've seen, maybe a horror, maybe The Twilight Zone. It's escaping me now, but I've heard that chilling British voice explaining something unpleasant before. "FORD is on it, as is REYES and The KWONS." Where the hell is that from?

5. Bernard seems to know things, almost seems to be waiting for Jack to show up! He remembers things, smiles as if to encourage Jack to draw conclusions and make connections. "Maybe you're onto something here." So obviously this is a hint that Bernard and Rose are still a part of all this, has Desmond visited them, do they remember for some other reason? Where's Rose? Is her cancer gone? The only information Bernard gives to Jack is ANTHONY COOPER's name. Obviously Jack needed to meet him, see what has happened, understand why John doesn't want the surgery, and then go from there.

6. Back in the cages Sawyer tells Kate her name was crossed out. WHY IS IT CROSSED OUT? She is obviously still alive; Locke was crossed out presumably when he died, but what is the reason for Kate not being a candidate? (knocked up?) This is a big one. Why is she even there?

7. John won't get the surgery just like Jack wouldn't listen to him about not leaving the island and then having to come back. The Daddy issues return.

8. John Locke (the smoke monster) walks through bullets. What a bad ass. I like the Marcellus Wallace briefcase-quality the bomb on the plane was given, this mysterious item that is obviously important. Also, he took the watch BEFORE he found it, obviously he knew it was there. Did he reevaluate the plane as a death device or was this his plan all along? He explains about "a nice, confined space we have no chance of getting out of" and then puts the C4 in a backpack, just like the real John Locke put the other C4 in his backpack when they left the Flame Station.

9. "I don't trust that thing one bit." That THING! Do you suppose by the end of all this Sawyer will have a new nickname for the Smoke Monster?

10. These items: Apollo bar. Music box playing "Catch a Falling Star," Jack and Claire in the mirror. Obviously we've seen Apollo bars before. The song was always about Aaron. The box, left to Claire by Christian is maybe supposed to ensure that brother and sister are together, a part of each others' lives? Aaron really needs someone to read "Alice in Wonderland" to him. This prompts Jack to invite Claire to stay with him, confirming maybe, that they will continue to have a relationship? Jack neglected his first wife, Sarah, in favor of fixing people at work. Christian may have fallen into the trap of neglecting people too? Maybe this is all to teach Jack to be able to see the forest for the trees? Good lesson for all of us.

11. "You think you two can get our backs?" "ABSOLUTELY." Juliet said this to Sawyer not once but two times when he asked her the same thing. Jack shows loyalty to John Locke by telling Smokey Locke "JOHN LOCKE TOLD ME TO STAY." Jack showing loyalty to Locke is awesome, ADMIT IT.

12. At the sub, the gunfire does not start until Locke has been pushed into the water and there is a completely clear shot at Kate. WHO SET THAT UP? Widmore, Locke, WHO? More about this. What is her role in all of this? Again, why is she even there? There are a lot of open, loose ends with her, grounds for tons more discussion, which face it, LOST fans obsess over, so good, right?

13. "Nothin' personal," Lapidus to the guard on the sub. Sawyer and always "HOSS" to people! (a southern, colloquial term for 'partner') Bag switcheroo. It was a tense moment, Jack was obviously preoccupied with the mission at hand, I don't buy TOO PREDICTABLE. After all, most of these events are really just recast replays of things that have already happened on the show, so even if it was an easy out for the plot, it gels with everything else that has gone on until this point. Jack switched Kate's bag when they carried the dynamite back from The Black Rock, so in a way, he had it coming. (All the little things you do will end up coming back to you. . .)The way they have switched events, characters, and even LINES in this show is brilliant, and it's obviously taken a lot of work and geekery. GIVE PROPS.

14. The realization that Jack has is HUGE. Three years ago he never would have entertained the idea that The Devil even existed. Now he's explaining principals of faith to everyone else, with CONFIDENCE, even! I love Jack. "I think he can't leave the island unless we're all dead. What if he can't kill us because--he's not allowed to? HE CAN'T KILL US!"

15. Sayid's sacrifice? People can come back from the dark side, ANAKIN SKYWALKER!!! He gets his redemption. This was alluded to in a tasteful way and then carried out in a tasteful way. Say what you want about a cliche suicide bomber ending, this fit Sayid's character just as Michael's end fit him.

16. I will accept that maybe Lapidus survived. I won't get militant about it, but it's definitely a possibility. (please God, let it be ding-dongs.) If I get substantial proof next week you can be sure I'll have a black dress on and be playing the funeral march on the piano, but I'm holding off for the time being. Lapidus as a character was very well done and always good for laughs. If he's really gone, I'm very much going to miss him.

17. The flooded sub is like the flooded Looking Glass station and the countdown to death in the Swan station, blinking lights, struggle, etc. Jin and Jack KNOW that Jin and Sun are not going to make it. Jack tries to give Jin the oxygen and Jin won't take it. If you haven't cried by now, YOU NEVER WILL. These characters, people we have spent SIX YEARS with, are almost as real as anyone else can be, it was extremely difficult seeing this. Say what you want about Titanic, it was sad. Piano instrumentals and still shots of the flooded sub ending with the breaking apart of the hands? I would say it was the most emotional moment on the show to date, up there with Juliet biting it and Sawyer telling Jack about Christian wanting to call him on the pay phone.

18. Orderly wheels John down the hall just like Matthew Abaddon did after the push out the window. Abaddon then gives John a suggestion that influences him to go on his walkabout. Does this have any bearing on the discussion Jack has with him? John has guilt over his father's injuries just as Jack has guilt over his own father's death and later, Juliet's.

19. "What makes you think letting go is so easy?" "It's not, in fact, I don't really know how to do it myself."
"Why is it so easy for you to believe?" "It's never been easy." (season 2, outside the hatch).

20. Hugo sobbing on the beach? Again, if this didn't move you, chances are you could pour a quart of boiling water down your throat and piss ice cubes.

I WISH YOU BELIEVED ME. This was amazing. Acknowledge it.

Floored.

Wow. I don't know WHAT fricking end is up after that episode, which I thought was amazing, btw. We're getting close to the end now, and I'll say that I still think Jack and John are going to have to duke it out (DID YOU LOVE SMOKEY LOCKE'S "HELLO JACK!" AS MUCH AS I DID?), and while Jack might get the most press out of being the show's savior, I'm not entirely discounting Hugo. He's good, pure, and honest, and he's remained that way all along. He would see the good in people, were he required to somehow prove it, right?

Jack is the fixer. He can't NOT be the fixer! He wants to fix things. Matt thinks Sawyer and Kate are going to die. I think Kate's knocked up. Poor Illana, gone the way of Ernst. Just for the record though (and NOT in the flash-sideways), Sawyer has Clementine waiting for him "back home," Jin and Sun have their daughter. Kate has no one anymore, unless you count her old bitch-face rabbit mother who sold out her own daughter. Aaron = with the Grandmama. Jack has nothing but his mother. Hurley has nothing but his religious mother and Cheech. Ben and Lapidus probably don't even care.

Ding, dong, bell, Desmond's in the well. . . that was unpleasant. I hope he's okay.

My brain hurts. Here are some images.

LOST Diaries: episode 6

House of the Rising Sun

"Walt and the others are shocked when Michael is brutally beaten, but only the non-English-speaking Jin and Sun know the truth behind the attack. Meanwhile Kate, Jack, Sawyer and Sayid argue about where the survivors should camp -- on the beach, where they're more likely to be seen, or in a remote inland valley where fresh water abounds; and Locke discovers Charlie's secret."
read here

Not bad. I wondered what the crap the story was going to be with those two. I really have to wonder about someone, even a fictional character who will beat someone in front of their child......this will have a direct link to the bit I'm eventually going to write about THE BRAVE ONE.....later. The business between Jack and Kate is already feeling very much like a marriage. Does she have a total attitude with him because he wanted to move the tribe into the cave instead of having some relations with her? Very much seemed that way. I am very much enjoying finding out about all these randoms.