LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 3, Episode 3, Further Instructions

On-Island Events

Survivors: 

Locke awakens in the jungle, sees Desmond run by naked, and is nearly struck by Eko's scripture stick as it falls out of a tree. He conveys to Charlie through gestures that he needs to speak to "the island." Locke makes a sweat lodge, ingests some sort of plant material, and induces an altered state in which Boone appears. In the old wheelchair from the crash Boone pushes Locke around an airport, looking for someone who apparently needs Locke's help. At the top of an escalator Locke finds Eko's scripture stick, bloody. Boone, also suddenly bloody says, "Clean it up, John. They've got him. You don't have much time." Locke bursts out of the tent and informs Charlie he is going to save Eko's life. While searching for Eko, Locke and Charlie pick up a blood trail, find the imploded hatch, and a recently killed boar. After running from a polar bear they encounter Hugo on his way back from the dock (last seen in Live Together, Die Alone part 2), who Locke nearly kills with his machete and sends on his way back to the beach. Hugo meets naked Desmond in the jungle, offers him a shirt, and questions the fact that Desmond was not at all harmed in the detonation of the hatch. "You're not gonna like, turn into the hulk or something . . . ?" Later Hugo is confused when Locke makes a speech about going after Jack, Kate, and Sawyer as Desmond referenced this very event when they were in the jungle moments before it actually happened.

Following the polar bear's tracks, Locke finds an old Tonka truck, various bones, and an
injured Eko. The bear attacks but Locke and Charlie carry Eko to safety. Locke passively accepts guilt in being responsible for the hatch implosion and informs Charlie he is following Boone's advice to clean up his mess. Locke apologizes to Eko, acknowledging he should have listened to him; Eko awakens momentarily to encourage Locke to save his people, emphasizing that he is indeed, a hunter.

Flashbacks: Locke picks up a young male hitchhiker in California and gets pulled over by police who find a large sack of guns in the back of his truck. Locke brings his new friend, Eddie, to dinner on a farm site. After staying with Locke on the farm for six weeks Eddie asks Locke for access to a greenhouse neither of them are allowed to enter; Locke laughs at Eddie's assumption that they might be building bombs. It turns out farmers-in-charge Mike and Jan are growing marijuana, Eddie is an undercover police officer, and Locke has ruined the farm operation by inviting Eddie into their midst. When confronted by Locke on a hunting trip in the forest, Eddie admits he was a purposeful target in that his psychological profile suggested he would be "amenable for coercion."

Greater Meaning: Locke wakes up in the jungle in the exact way Jack did after the crash in the first episode, suggesting again that the conflicts and similarities between the characters continue to be meaningful. Despite their frequent disagreements over how best to lead the survivors, Locke and Jack are both considered leaders and are equally important; with Jack being held by the others, Locke is the de facto leader. As such, the issues Locke has been struggling with (losing his faith after finding the pearl station, causing the implosion of the hatch/putting Eko in danger, and everything regarding his father) impact how he sees himself and affect his leadership. 

Repeated references to being a hunter or a farmer are mentioned by Locke (to Eddie, regarding the sweat lodge at the farm), Eddie (stating to Locke he was a farmer not a hunter), and Eko (to Locke, affirming he is a hunter), suggesting that Locke's identity is an important factor in his confidence. The troubling thing isn't just the truth in Locke's statement to Charlie---"bad things happen to people who hang out with me," but that many of the bad things that happen seem to come from Locke's vulnerability in trusting the wrong people (or in the case of Boone's death, the wrong signs from the island). Because of his rocky history with his father, Locke's need to prove himself is similar in importance but different in context to Jack's same need. Emily Locke informed Locke about his father well into his adulthood where it must be assumed that Locke had already formed an identity for himself (whereas Jack's conflicts with his father were present from childhood and thus informed the development of who Jack became); Anthony Cooper took an otherwise functioning adult male and traumatized him, causing Locke to question everything about himself. Locke's need to be a hunter may be about being an alpha, masculine man who could conceivably win favor with the father who rejected him AND it may also come from Locke's anger at said rejection---hunters get to kill, hunters are
dangerous.

Further Questions: 

1. Were there other parts of Locke's vision that are important? (Charlie and Claire---Boone said, "they'll be fine for a while," Sun and Jin---"I think Sayid's got it,"). What was the significance of the airport? 

2. Are Locke and Charlie friends again?

3. How did Desmond know that Locke was going to give the speech about rescuing Jack, Kate, and Sawyer? Was Hugo onto something about becoming The Hulk?

4. Will Eko be okay?

5. How many polar bears are on the island and how did they get there? 

6. Does Locke recover his faith in the island? In himself?

7. Was the pearl station meant to teach Locke a lesson? Is the island communicating with him? The title of the episode is "Further Instructions." FROM WHOM?

8. Did Eko really speak to Locke or was he imagining it? 

9. Was Locke really meant to save Eko? What if the vision meant someone else? Boone saying "They've got him" points more to the others (they = plural, as there was only one bear that we know of)---could this have been in reference to Jack? Boone didn't say anything specifically about Jack not being the one in need of help, only a general "there's nothing you can do for them, not yet," after seeing Sawyer and Kate. Jack was shown going through security and being examined by Ben (as a security agent). 

10. Is Jack being vetted for something by the others?  

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 24, Live Together, Die Alone part 2

On-Island Events: Charlie brings Eko the hidden dynamite, which Eko brings to the hatch. Eko pleads with Locke to let him into the computer room; Locke refuses and Desmond assures him the blast doors are strong enough to withstand a dynamite blast. Eko eventually lights the fuse but the blast doors do not open. Desmond talks with Locke about his beliefs; Locke tells Desmond about the night he found the hatch in the jungle just after Boone's death. In explaining what he found in the Pearl Station, Locke inadvertently causes Desmond to reevaluate his position on not pushing the button. Desmond looks through the sheets of entered numbers printed out from the Pearl Station and determines that one of his late entries resulting in a "system failure" warning may have also caused Oceanic Flight 815 to crash.

Desmond demands that the button be pushed; Locke seizes the computer and throws it on the floor, ruining it. Desmond opens the blast doors, finds Inman's key and attempts to execute the failsafe procedure as the numbers count down. Desmond tells Locke his pounding outside the hatch after Boone's death saved his life so that Desmond could save Locke's. The numbers count down to zero, the hieroglyphics seen before in red and black flip down, and the metal objects inside the hatch begin flying toward the hatch walls. Eko helps move Charlie out of the hatch but refuses to leave without Locke, who is terrified but admits he was wrong. Desmond, remembering the words of Penelope's letter, flips the key inside the Dharma octagonal
switchpiece marked "System Termination." 

Jack, Hugo, Kate, Sawyer, and Michael see Sayid's smoke signal a few miles inland and begin to argue about where Michael has been leading them but are taken down by tranquilizer darts and transported to a dock near the shore. The bearded man appears with several others; Kate tells him she knows his beard is fake and he removes it. "Henry" pulls up to the dock in a boat, and just as he begins to talk to Michael, a loud buzzing occurs and the sky becomes purple. "Henry" explains Michael can take the boat following a compass bearing of 325 and he will be able to find rescue with his son. He adds that once Michael leaves, he'll never be able to get back to the island. Michael finds Walt inside the boat, the two embrace and depart. Miss Klugh tells Hugo to return to camp and to tell the rest of the survivors they can never come to this area. Hugo asks about his friends; "Henry" announces they are coming home with them. As the others put a cloth bag over Sawyer's face Kate looks worriedly at Jack, who tries to smile back at her. 

Flashbacks: Desmond watches Inman augment the map on the blast door, which he explains was started by a man named Radzinsky. When Desmond asks what became of Radzinsky, Inman shows him a mark on the ceiling, a stain from Radzinsky's suicide. Desmond begs Inman to allow him out of the hatch, stating he's been locked inside for two years, but Inman refuses. Later, Desmond finds Inman drunk, hiding a Dharma Initiative key which he says is a "failsafe," which fits into an octagonal switchpiece. He further explains that pushing the button releases a buildup of electromagnetic energy that has been leaking out of the area under the hatch, which is why someone always needs to be there, "saving the world."

The next day Desmond follows Inman outside back to his sailboat, which Inman has been secretly repairing. The two struggle and Desmond accidentally kills Inman. Desperate and suicidal, Desmond finds a gun and grabs his special Dickens book, Our Mutual Friend (which as explained in Live Together, Die Alone part 1, he has saved to read just before he dies). Inside it is a letter from Penelope; Desmond reads it and cries. Moments later, Locke (who, after fleeing the caves after Boone's accident, is up above pounding on the outer hatch door) surprises Desmond. He then switches on the light that will convince Locke the island has given him a sign.

Greater Meaning: Locke is proven wrong in his thinking that none of his actions had meaning when the hatch begins to dangerously hyper-magnetize. The button indeed needing pushing, but what does its legitimacy say about the Pearl Station and the Dharma Initiative? Of course Locke was right in feeling manipulated (and we saw the field of pneumatic tubes filled with notebooks, for what, exactly?) If their experiments were to spy on whoever was in the hatch tasked with pushing the button, and if they were just going to throw away the notebooks of observations, then it does seem like it was all pointless, unless the Pearl Station itself was the subject of the experiment, NOT the hatch. Would the subjects do as they were told? Was there anything to be learned about the people in the hatch? Was it an elaborate monitoring system in case (as with Kelvin, Desmond, and eventually Locke) the button-pushers decided to mutiny or abandon their posts? Were the duties in the Pearl Station meant for some sort of punishment? Were potential members vetted there? Philosophically, the experiment seems to examine how men respond to their orders, whether or not they question them, and how they deal with unknowns. 

Given what we've seen of the island's special abilities, one wonders if the Dharma Initiative factored in any policy or procedures for things like the monster (which we haven't heard from in a while), the mysterious healing properties, or any additional unknowns. Finally explained was the "Quarantine" warning on the outer hatch door; Kelvin tried to sell Desmond on it not being safe outside of the hatch but ended up admitting it was a lie when he was caught trying to leave with Desmond's boat. Kelvin and Desmond, though they both performed the same duty, are different. Kelvin stated he willingly left the armed forces to join the Dharma Initiative; Desmond (like the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815) crashed onto the island by accident. When Locke mentions the printed logs of the numbers, Desmond works out that he, by entering the numbers in late, caused the crash by verifying the time and date. Later, as Desmond prepares to kill himself, Locke pounds and shouts outside the hatch and prevents the suicide from happening. Were both men destined to save each other? Locke's importance on the island has thus been connected with his faith and appreciation for nature in contrast to Jack's skepticism and devotion to science, how is Desmond important, and where does he lie on the faith/science spectrum? If unaffiliated with either, is he the link between Locke and Jack?

Further Questions: 

1. What will the others do with Sawyer, Kate, and Jack?

2. What is the reason for the costumes? 

3. Will Michael and Walt make it back home?

4. What is "Henry's" real name? 

5. What will become of the hatch?

6. Will Locke get his faith back now?

7. How did the explosion of the hatch affect the island?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 2, Episode 21, ?

On-Island Events: Ana Lucia comes to Eko in a dream in a bloodied condition and tells Eko he needs to help Locke. Eko goes to the hatch and finds his brother Yemi, who tells him he must make Locke take him to "the question mark." 

Michael bursts out of the hatch and tells Locke, Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Eko a story about being shot by a man who escaped from the armory. As they look around the hatch and find Ana Lucia and Libby's lifeless bodies, Libby suddenly coughs out blood. Eko and Locke set out to track "Henry." Locke confronts Eko in the jungle, accusing him of tracking something other than "Henry;" Eko responds by knocking Locke out. When he awakens, Eko discusses the question mark with Locke and Locke shows Eko the map he made during the lockdown. 

Kate and Sawyer retrieve heroin from Sawyer's tent but run into Hugo, who is looking for Libby. Jack prepares to administer heroin to Libby while Hugo talks with Michael in the hatch about the picnic he had planned. 

Locke and Eko eventually find the cliff where Boone was injured in the falling plane and Locke dreams that Eko, like Boone, falls from the cliff. Locke tells Eko about the dream and Eko climbs to the top of the cliff. Looking down, Eko sees an area on the ground where a large circle has worn away from the grass. The two discover that the ground has been salted, so nothing will grow, and that the area underneath the fallen airplane is hiding another hatch. Inside this hatch is a small room filled with television monitors; when Locke switches them on he sees Jack inside the other hatch. A printed log of the numbers entered and accepted lies next to a pneumatic tube; Locke folds the map he made and thrusts it inside the tube, disgusted. Eko finds a VHS tape labeled "Orientation" with the same octagonal logo from the first hatch for this, the Pearl Station. The same scientist from the other hatch training video appears as Mark Wickmund, and explains the Pearl was created for observation and monitoring of other stations for a secret psychological experiment. Eko asks Locke if he'd like to watch the video a second time; Locke says he's seen enough.

Eko states the button-pushing work is now more important than ever but Locke becomes angry, comparing his life to the useless act of pushing the button. Eko shares the story of Yemi with Locke and insists the work in the hatch has meaning and must continue. 

Hugo talks with Libby and apologizes for forgetting the blankets. Libby awakens, says only, "Michael," and dies. 

Flashbacks: Eko, dressed as a priest, meets with a man who gives him a forged Australian passport needed for a trip to America. Eko's plans are postponed when the church needs to investigate a miracle: a girl who was believed to be drowned came back to life again. Eko tries to meet with the girl but her father insists his wife has made up the story of the drowning. 

The day Eko is scheduled to fly out of Australia on Oceanic flight 815, the girl tracks him down and tells him Yemi thought he was a good priest. She assures him that Yemi has faith in him and that Eko will see his brother again soon. 

Greater Meaning: The question mark in the title refers to the middle section of Locke's map from the blast door that identifies the hidden hatch in the ground but also reflects Locke's confused state over what his role on the island should be. The episode is focused upon Eko and his faith, but Locke is very much a part of it, too. In a way, Locke and Eko switch roles: Locke, who has always had an unwavering faith in the island, is thrown for a loop when he realizes the hatches were created to be psychological experiments by the Dharma Initiative, and Eko, who lived a life of violence before assuming his departed brother's role as a priest, finds faith for the first time after his dreams lead him to the hatch. Locke feels he has been made a fool of; Eko trusts the words and guidance of Yemi, who has come not only to him in dreams but spoke to the girl whose death and alleged resurrection was thought a miracle even before Oceanic 815 crashed onto the island. It's more than a little coincidental that the entrance to the new hatch lay directly beneath the plane that brought Yemi to the island and resulted in the eventual death of Boone, both events that tested the faiths of Eko and Locke.

Many of the survivors have seen things on the island that may or may not have really been there: Jack saw his father Christian, who led him to water; Shannon saw a soaking-wet Walt before anyone knew that the raft had been destroyed; Charlie saw various visions of Aaron in danger; and Hugo saw his imaginary friend Dave, who slapped him and struck him with a slipper. Knowing that the island has the ability to cure maladies such as paralysis and cancer, it's really not a stretch to accept that it may also allow the dead to communicate with the living or its inhabitants to have visions, but are these events motivated, somehow? Does the island have an agenda? If it does, Locke's crisis of faith is significant. We've already seen "Henry" try to manipulate Locke in playing him against Jack, in adding the bit about coming to get him before getting caught Henry seems to have marked Locke for his own, calling him "one of the good ones." Is Locke's goodness tied up in his faith? Is Jack not good because of his absence of faith and devotion to science? How will Eko proceed as the new island faithful? Locke's legs are still not fully healed, which, if we believe that the island takes and gives at will based on Locke being on the right track, seems important. 

Further Questions: 

1. Will Locke get his faith back?

2. Will Eko be in charge of the hatch now?

3. Are there ghosts on the island? 

4. Is the island messing with Locke? 

5. Were Boone's death and the discovery of the new hatch meant to test Locke's faith?

6. What was The Dharma Initiative and why does the scientist use different names in the videos?

7. Is The Dharma Initiative still on the island?

8. Is "Henry" part of The Dharma Initiative?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 2, Episode 17, Lockdown

On-Island Events: Henry Gale continues to try to play Locke against Jack; Locke becomes angry. Later Locke hears static coming through one of the speakers inside the hatch and after a countdown, several blast doors come down, keeping Locke inside the kitchen area of the hatch and away from the computer. Locke manages to wedge a crowbar under one of the blast doors but asks for Henry's help in trying to open the door further. Henry agrees to help but asks for Locke's protection moving forward; Locke gives Henry his word. Locke and Henry manage to prop the door open and Locke attempts to slide under but the door injures him, pinning his legs. 

The computer countdown needs to be reset, so Locke coaches Henry in how to get to the computer and enter the numbers. Henry suffers a fall but eventually makes it into the computer room. The alarm for the countdown begins to sound, worrying Locke, but suddenly a black light switches on, illuminating pink and yellow florescent drawings on the blast door. The drawings appear to be a map with stations surrounding a central question mark. The black lights switch off, the blast doors rise, and after crawling into the computer room, Locke sees that the numbers have been reset. Henry helps Locke to his feet; Locke thanks him for not leaving. 

Jack and Kate follow a flashing light into the jungle, where a parachute of food and supplies have been dropped. Sayid, Ana Lucia, and Charlie return. They all meet at the hatch, where Jack is immediately confrontational with Henry. Sayid explains they found the grave and the balloon as intended but still believing Henry's story to be a lie, they dug up the grave. Inside it was a man's body along with a driver's license of the real Henry Gale. 

Flashbacks: Locke hides a diamond ring from Helen as he prepares for a picnic; Helen reads in a newspaper that Anthony Cooper has died. Locke and Helen attend Cooper's funeral and observe two strangers in the cemetery; Locke whispers to Cooper's coffin, "I forgive you." 

Locke inspects a house for a woman that looks like Sayid's former love Nadia and is surprised to find his supposedly dead father parked down the block, watching him. Locke confronts Cooper about having stolen his kidney; Cooper in unapologetic but offers Locke 200k to get money out of a deposit box for him. Locke gets the cash but runs into the two men from the cemetery again, who suspect Cooper may not be dead. Locke convinces the two men he hasn't interacted with his father; they search his bag and then leave. Locke delivers the money to Cooper but Helen has followed him. In desperation Locke proposes but Helen shakes her head and drives away.

Greater Meaning: The flashback shows us Locke, seemingly happy in his life, getting wrapped up in a situation that ultimately changes his life. We know from previous flashbacks that Locke paid someone to pretend to be Helen during their phone conversations just before his flight on Oceanic 815, so we can safely assume that their relationship indeed ended after this last issue once again involving deception in regard to Anthony Cooper (although this deceit felt more like a money grab than an emotional yearning to connect or punish). 

Similarly, the lockdown thrust Locke into a situation that he couldn't have anticipated or controlled, which directly involved "Henry Gale," who we now know had been manipulating the survivors all along. If Henry Gale is an "other," Locke was the one most fooled by him just as Locke continued to be fooled by his father despite knowing his devious nature. "Henry" saved Locke's legs by putting weights under the descending blast door, and entered the numbers into the computer as instructed, but what if he hadn't? Locke has suffered injury to his legs before on the island, during the time he and Boone sought out the Nigerian airplane, and Boone's death immediately followed (along with the revelation of Desmond's light inside the hatch). Given Locke's unique ability to have full use of his legs since having crashed onto the island, one wonders about the significance of now two such threats to them, now. 

Further Questions: 

1. Who is "Henry Gale?" 

2. Did Helen leave Locke for good?

3. Does Locke ever see his father again?

4. What reason would "Henry" have to turn Locke and Jack against each other?

5. What is the question mark in the center of the island?

6. Who painted the map?

7. Are there more hatches? 

8. What will they do with "Henry" now?

9. Was the woman whose house Locke inspected Nadia?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 2, Episode 11, The Hunting Party

On-Island Events: Jack awakens in the hatch to find Locke knocked out on the floor. Michael, having assaulted Locke, holds Jack at gunpoint and informs him he's going out after Walt, alone. Jack, Locke, Sawyer, and Kate take off on Michael's trail but Jack is adamant that Kate not accompany them. Locke tries to engage Sawyer in a conversation about his alias, stating he discovered his legal name "James Ford," on the airline manifest, but Sawyer refuses to comment on the matter.

While following Michael's trail into the jungle, the men hear gunshots ring out. Against Locke's advice, Jack pursues the sound. As darkness falls and the men discuss their next options, an unfamiliar voice calls Jack out by name. When the man emerges from the jungle, Sawyer recognizes him as the bearded man who took Walt off the raft. The man lectures Jack, Sawyer, and Locke about their disrespectful curiosity toward his home, stating, "This is not your island. This is our island. And the only reason you're living on it is because we let you live on it." When Jack refuses to treat peacefully with the bearded man, the man orders his people to show their presence by lighting up a ring of torches around the group. The bearded man demands the group's weapons, Jack again refuses. In response, the bearded man reveals a bound and gagged Kate, who his people have captured as she followed the men (against Jack's wishes). The men surrender their weapons and return to the beach. 

Kate attempts to make peace with Jack but he remains aloof and standoffish. He later meets Ana Lucia on the beach and asks her advice about training an army.

Flashbacks: As Jack reviews a patient's spinal x-rays with Christian, the patient's daughter suggests Jack might be able to perform a miracle in fixing her father. Jack agrees to try. Later, Jack and Sarah have a polite conversation about Jack's schedule. Sarah reveals she took a pregnancy test that was negative. Jack's surgical patient dies; Jack comforts the patient's daughter, Gabriella. 

Later, Jack returns home and admits what happened to Sarah but expresses a desire to fix their relationship. Sarah announces she's been cheating on Jack and that she's leaving him. "You will always need something to fix," she says in parting.

Greater Meaning: Locke's inability to sway Jack toward a more rational line of thinking early in the episode sets up an ongoing examination of the problems with Jack's leadership: his feelings of responsibility toward the survivors cloud his judgement and often result in stubborn, misguided decisions. As shown in the flashback (and going on what we know about Jack's actions with Sarah and later Boone), Jack won't back down from these challenges or seeks them out, even. Michael left the beach in search of Walt, why can't Jack let it lie? As a father whose son has been taken from him, Michael is not only well within his rights (there are no island laws, are there?) but within rationality itself to try to recover his abducted son. Does Jack feel the same sense of urgency in recovering Walt? Of course not. Michael's his father. Michael wants his son back.

Is Jack's problem with Michael leaving one of control (I'm in charge and I didn't authorize you to leave!) or more of a personal guilt trip (I allowed you and Walt to leave on the raft way back when and shouldn't have therefore I was unable to keep Walt safe and it's my fault he was taken)? Jack has already shown many times just how seriously he takes his position as leader (Boone, Charlie, Claire, Ana Lucia); the philosophy at work in his actions truly seems to value not only the group, but each individual person within it. This is at odds with a utilitarian approach (do what's best for the greatest number of people within the group) which would be fitting for anyone in a leadership position, island or not. Jack doesn't seem to have any awareness at all about why he does what he does, shown in his refusal to consider Locke's point of view in allowing Michael to do as he pleases without intervention. Overall we see a drive in Jack, a near obsession, in saving or in fixing, which seems to be leading the survivors into a dangerous situation with the bearded man and his people. What if they don't want to be in an army? What if they just want to chill on the beach and stay out of trouble? 

Further Questions: 

1. Will Jack trespass the line in the jungle and start a war with "the others?"

2. Who are "the others?" Where do they live?

3. Why did they take Walt?

4. Is Michael safe?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 2, Episode 2, Adrift

The Raft: In the aftermath of Walt being taken, Sawyer lifts Michael onto some of the raft's floating remnants while Jin remains unaccounted for. Michael shouts for Walt and argues with Sawyer, whom he blames for their predicament. Sawyer's gunshot wound is bleeding and attracts sharks, which charge the raft. Sawyer removes the bullet but passes out. Sawyer discusses the idea that the men who took Walt were the others Rousseau earlier referenced.

Sawyer attempts to retrieve the pontoon section of the raft; a shark returns, which Michael shoots. Eventually Michael breaks down weeping, admitting to Sawyer he believes Walt's abduction was his fault. As the two men float on the current they realize they've been brought back to the island. Once they reach its shore, they find Jin running out of the jungle. He shouts their names and then, looking behind them repeats "others." When they turn around, several people with weapons are approaching them.

On the Island: Through several replays of the events leading up to Jack's experiences with Desmond, we see John and Kate enter the hatch. Desmond seems happy to see John but soon realizes John is not who he thinks he is. Locke ties Kate up at Desmond's demand and throws her in an enclosed room within the hatch, but Kate easily wiggles free. Kate discovers the room she's in is filled with food and supplies; she helps herself to a candy bar and then escapes through a vent.

John explains the plane crash to Desmond, who is concerned about sickness among the survivors. After a computer beeps out, Desmond forces John to enter the familiar numbers 4 8 15 16 23 42 into an ancient-looking system. After he does this, a box with a series of numbers counting down flips itself to 108. Soon Desmond hears Jack calling for Kate and Locke, which leads to the interaction and recognition of each other at gunpoint.

Flashbacks: Michael meets with an attorney to fight Susan's demand that he relinquish parental rights of Walt. Susan implores Michael to let go of Walt, explaining the life she'll provide him in Italy will be in everyone's best interests. Michael agrees and brings Walt a stuffed polar bear as they say goodbye.

Greater Meaning: Continuously throughout the episode Sawyer contradicts his earlier statement to Michael, "I ain't no hero." First, he saves Michael from drowning, hauls him onto part of the raft and performs mouth-to-mouth. Next, he (painfully) removes the bullet from his own shoulder when it won't stop bleeding and draws the sharks. Last, he swims off to the pontoon/bamboo portion of the ruined raft and brings it back for Michael to share when the other remnants begin to unravel. Sawyer may not desire the status, but he has indeed acted heroically during his time out on the raft.

Michael's anger, guilt, and acceptance of responsibility for Walt's kidnapping is intensified through the flashback scenes where Susan and her cold-hearted lawyer toy with him over his inadequacy as a father. Other than Claire, no one else on the island has experienced parenthood, thus it seems fitting that Michael feels alienated and full of rage at what happened, given his upsetting prior experiences anticipating Walt then losing him, repeatedly. When the two men, not exactly bros but reconciled (for the moment), reunite with Jin and attempt to free him from his restraints, the overall feeling is one of strength and group loyalty---Michael, Sawyer, and Jin may have had their differences in the past, but against these new others, they're a team.


Further Questions:

1. Will Michael find Walt?
2. Who are the others?
3. What will happen to Kate?
4. How did all that food get to the island?
5. What is Desmond doing in the hatch?
6. What were the numbers all about?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 2, episode 1, Man of Science, Man of Faith

Introduction: After a blinking green cursor on an older computer flashes several times, an unidentifiable man types something onto the keyboard, chooses a record from a collection on a shelf, and begins exercising to the sounds of Mama Cass. Suddenly a loud thud causes the record's needle to scratch and dust to fall from the ceiling. The man immediately rushes to don a jumpsuit and arm himself. As he adjusts mirrors to reflect different locations within his environment, one mirror shows faraway lights surrounded by darkness, which are revealed to be Jack and Locke's torches looking down from the opening of the hatch from above. The man, whoever he is, lives in the hatch.

On-Island Events: At the blasted entry of the hatch, John and Locke disagree about how to proceed: Jack wants to wait to act, pointing out the danger getting people down the steep grade into the hatch; Locke wants to descend, immediately. Kate finds the blasted metal door which has been marked, "QUARANTINE."

As the rest of the group waits for Jack and Lock's return, Shannon asks for Sayid's help in finding Vincent. In the jungle, Shannon hears whispering and suddenly sees a soaking-wet Walt, who holds a finger to his lips and then whispers gibberish.

As Locke tries to recruit Kate's help in going immediately into the hatch, Hurley explains his fear of the numbers to Jack but get no support. Trying to unite the group, scared and still waiting at the caves, Jack reassures them that all will be well and they will wait until sunrise to explore the hatch. Locke gathers supplies and contradicts Jack by immediately going back to the hatch; Kate follows. Locke lowers Kate into the opening downward into the hatch but Kate is pulled down abruptly. When Jack shows up, both Locke and Kate are gone and he follows. He calls for Kate and Locke while examining the dark halls, a colorful painted mural on a concrete wall built around the number 108, and room of computer equipment covered by an arching eagle's nest-type enclosure. John Locke prevents Jack from touching the computer but is soon held at gunpoint by a man Jack eventually recognizes as Desmond, the man he met during his "tour de stade" after Sarah's surgery in Los Angeles.

Flashbacks: A motor vehicle accident brings two significantly injured people into the emergency room at Jack's hospital. Both cases are critical, one an older man, Adam Rutherford, and the other a younger woman who pleads that she be able to dance at her wedding. Jack chooses to treat the woman first and successfully stabilizes her but the other patient dies across the room. The young woman is Sarah, and the accident has left her with a broken back. Jack is skeptical about her chances in surgery, but decides in the end that he will fix her and tells her so. He does not believe the surgery was successful, and to process his failure, Jack drives to an empty stadium to run laps up and downs its steps. He stumbles and hurts himself but another runner, Desmond Hume, aids him and the two chat. When Jack returns to give Sarah the news that she will remain paralyzed, Sarah tells him she can wiggle her toes. Jack and Sarah cry together as they realize the surgery worked.

Greater Meaning: Jack's refusal to believe in miracles is at the heart of this episode, aptly titled in ongoing comparison of Jack and Locke. The two events that speak to miracles or faith are Jack's fixing of Sarah despite scientific odds and the reunification of Jack and Desmond in the hatch at the episode's conclusion. Whenever something remarkable has happened on the island or in flashbacks, Jack reasons out a scientific explanation for it or ignores the problem (as with the smoke monster). When Jack meets Desmond at the stadium, he refuses to consider Desmond's question, "What if you did fix her?" Oddly enough, this is exactly what happened; does Desmond have a sense of never-ending optimism he likes to share with strangers or was there something more in his question?

Seeing Desmond again in the hatch is hinted at through use of the word "Brother," and Desmond's non-American accent, but verified when Desmond smirks at Jack over the top of Locke's shoulder as he holds the gun at him. That Jack met Desmond on the day a miracle occurred (Sarah's triumph over paralysis) and a second time after the crash of Oceanic 815 in very place they've been trying to enter seems at the very least unlikely and at the most, another miracle.

Is the hatch a miracle? Jack saw it as a place to shelter from danger, a very practical idea, whereas John seemed more concerned with simply getting inside and learning of its mystery. Once Locke made the decision to go in, Jack followed, feeling responsible for Locke and Kate's safety (not out of his own curiosity). Desmond seems to be the wild card who will determine whether or not Jack or Locke get to realize their intentions inside the hatch, should they survive their confrontation.

Further Questions:

1. What caused the key on Jack's necklace to levitate in the hatch tunnel?
2. What is the significance of the number 108?
3. Is Desmond an other?
4. What happened to Kate?
5. What happened to Jack and Sarah's marriage?
6. Did Desmond sail around the world as he intended?
7. How did Desmond get to the island, and how long has he been there?

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 Finale: Lightsaber battle

I just needed this in my life today, and my kids request it every time LOST is mentioned, which is to say, often. Enjoy.

Happy Friday!

As I told my chiropractor that I'd spend less time in front of a computer, I'm just in and out today. But in honor of spinal professionals everywhere, please enjoy this clip from LOST's third and fourth seasons. I think the signs were definitely there far before the island's big money shot (if you will), but it confirmed beyond any reason of a doubt that the basis of this show tilted toward faith, not science.

Clip is courtesy of Drxkillm0re.

Here it is: LOST

I'm not really going to recap the episode, many others will do that, I'm sure. I'll say that I liked it, loved it, even, and leave it at that. I am actually really surprised at all the negative reactions, but I suppose that's neither here nor there. Instead I'll just do what I normally do and talk about me, me me.

I wouldn't have even watched this show had it not been for my brother. Back in 2005, he told me he had just seen a show that he really thought I'd like, a show that was very much like The Twilight Zone. When he told me it was LOST, I really was doubtful. So many people I knew were watching and professing their love and admiration for it, but no one I felt that was on my wavelength, media-wise. I hated television, especially network programs, I detested chick flicks and had nothing but contempt for mainstream media. But Charlie and I used to watch the old Twilight Zones back when they were on at ten on channel nine; it was one of the rare things I remember about living out at the farm (this was from about 1981 to 1986). And once we moved to town, Charlie, Erica, and I would watch Talky Tina, Marsha the Mannequin, and Gunther Lutze at Dachau with all the passion and fervor most snotty punks reserved for "Saved by the Bell." Part of what I treasure about The Twilight Zone was the connection it holds to my brother and my father (who died when I was 20) and part of it was the writing and storytelling of Rod Serling, Charles Beaumont, and Richard Matheson. Most girls don't read these guys. Yeah, well, most girls haven't seen Dirty Harry, either.

Every season of LOST brought a different spin on themes and elements Rod Serling gave to his show; LOST became almost like a treasure hunt, looking for little nuances here and there, a stage setting (Jack behind the bars in Hydra Island ala Roddy McDowell), a random plot twist (Nicki and Paulo, buried alive with the diamonds), or a literary reference ("Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce). Themes of struggle, isolation, betrayal, good and evil. For me, this was one, big, six-year-long Valentine to everything I loved and remembered about my own experiences watching television as a child. There are a million nods to a million other things that I've enjoyed over the years inside this show, and as someone who loves stories and writing, I am impressed. Very impressed.

If you've lost a parent, you might feel the same way I do about the ending; if you've lived your life in the shadow of someone else or struggled to gain someone's approval (and failed), it will probably strike a deeper chord. All I wanted this entire show, was for Christian and Jack to reconcile, and for there to be hope.

I got everything I wanted.

Kate?

DENIED.

DENIED.

DENIED.

DENIED.

REDEEMED?

John Locke hearts Dharma Coffee Sleeves.

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.

The Life and Times of Richard Alpert

HAPPY RICHARD ALPERT DAY, EVERYONE!

Tonight, at long last, we get something we've been waiting YEARS for! How exciting! I want to know everything about Richaardus, EVERYTHING!

A few items, just for the hell of it.

1. What is it about the island that makes people want to destroy it? Did the armed forces bring JUGHEAD to the island, and if so, for what purpose? How is it that it was never detonated (before Juliet)? How would anyone be able to find the island and then get a nuke onto it? Was that the work of The Smokey Man? (It's an island, it doesn't need protecting.) I think he was telling a big lie with that one.

Is the island the only place that can **contain** The Smokey Man? Is that why he wants to leave it and then have it destroyed? If this really is like The Howling Man, then he can only be contained by the staff of truth, maybe the island is a bigger, more special staff, that can contain the devil, and that's why he wants to go? He can't leave as long as his opposing figure (Jacob) is keeping him there, but now that Jacob is gone, he's free to bolt?

The Island is under water during the beginning of the flash sideways. If LOST=Howling Man, someone let the Devil out, and if the island (staff of truth) is underwater, the only thing that could contain him is gone, leaving him free to unleash his evil all over the world.

2. What is up with the Statue and what is up with the loss of fertility? How did that statue get reduced to just a foot? Does that symbolize The Smokey Man having more power over what happens on the island than Jacob? (Bad is more powerful than good, by the time Jack and Locke get there?) They COULD have successful reproduction before, what changed that? Wikipedia says that the Sobek Statue symbolized The River, Warfare, and Fertility. Sobek = God of Creation, often paired with Ra, God of Sun. Sobek was also said to be a repairer of evil. If the statue got hashed, chances are good that 1. the evil cannot get repaired and 2. the evil did it.

More later, I have a feast to prepare and some heavy black kohl to apply.

Three Things.

1. That last episode (The Substitute?) was pretty much **the** perfect episode. In it you get Richard Alpert, who was bloodied and beaten but still smokin' HOT, Lapidus, being all, well, Lapidus (I half-expected him to mutter something like, "this fucking place. . ." when Ben went off about being sorry for murdering John), Smokey Man TELLING US INFORMATION (even if it's all lies, I don't care), and the real John Locke together with his Peggy Bundy Helen. WHAT COULD BE BETTER? I had a great time.

2. Alana and Richard KNOW things. Alana knows to gather the ashes and save them for future use? Also that Smokey Man cannot change his face again. How does she know these things? What experience does she bring to all of this? She was all bitched up in a hospital when Jacob came to her (vulnerable) and he spoke Latin to her. . . and she knew Richard as "Riccardes." Richard knows that Smokey Man is trying to pull one over on Sawyer and that he originally wanted Richard on his side. Well, WHO DOESN'T? But Richard obviously knows more about this business. And what of the chains Smokey referred to last week? I want more. Much, much more.

3. Obviously whatever they did to the hatch in 1977 had a major impact on everyone's life from that point on, as the alternate (true?) reality is very different for many of them.
a. The Plane does NOT crash.
b. Charlie Pace is taken away in cuffs.
c. Jin and Sun are screwed in customs.
d. Hugo is the luckiest man alive.
e. Boone leaves Shannon to her own devices.
f. Kate meets Claire and lends her emotional support.
g. Jack meets John and offers him help.

h. Locke is still with Helen, which means they met, obviously, but the same way? In a support group for angry people? So does this mean that he still got conned out of his kidney by the old man but then later forgave him? Because Helen mentioned what seemed to be a relationship when she suggested eloping and getting Locke's dad. . . ? Where's that crazy red head that was his mother? Swoozie Kurtz? Mothers don't do well on this show. I'd like to see that change by the end, please.

Randy Nations is allowed to remain a dick, it seems. DON'T FUCK WITH JOHN LOCKE! Randy, I hope a meteor falls on you.
I am in absolute heaven with this goddamned show.

The Non-Utilitarian Dr. Shephard

The Jack vs. Sawyer bit is getting more solidified in my head. I used to really hate Jack but I seem to be coming around to his camp, slowly.

"He walks among them but He is not one of them."

Jack always came off as a crappy leader because his choices seemed to always be crappy. Obviously he's not a stupid man, but so much of the time I wondered why he always seemed to be betting on the wrong horse or putting his eggs in the wrong basket. I think he got the shaft all the time because of something his father told him in one of the earlier seasons during the flashback when Jack tried to save his friend from getting beat up. . . "YOU DON'T HAVE WHAT IT TAKES." and later, "YOU HAVE TO LET IT GO, JACK."

He doesn't, and he can't.

Back in a intro to ethics class, there were two major opponents in our text, Immanuel Kant (treat people as ends and not as means to an end) and the Utilitarians. The Utilitarians wanted their leaders to do what was best for the greatest number of people. This would involve something like sacrificing a child in order to save a village (you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs). The followers of Kant didn't go for it and wanted each person to be treated equally and equally valued. Many of the parents in the class were with Kant and not the Utilitarians. Jack seems unable or unwilling to act as a Utilitarian, even though he was technically a leader of people, as a doctor off island, and on the island with the survivors. Locke seemed a little more comfortable using a Utilitarian approach ("Boone was a sacrifice the island demanded," "This is not a democracy, Claire." etc.)

I find it interesting that Jack puts his own safety on the line (for Sayid) by almost swallowing that ash-pill, and the guy takes great care to get it out of him. Also, that those guards in front of the Apothocary office just willingly let him in when he demanded they stand aside. Why do they listen to him, and why do they need him to get Sayid to do anything? And where is Old Man Shephard during all of this?

When Hurley asks Sayid if he's a zombie, Sayid's eyes FLUTTER rapidly; it's weird. Sayid, a professional INTERROGATOR, has a little fidgety tic all of a sudden? My guess is then, YES, HE'S A ZOMBIE.

Claire = Rousseau (nouveau?) No more baby-stealing. Is Kate pregnant? There was too much pregnancy-sticking and allusions to Kate as a non-mother/mother/potential mother for me to let this drop.

If I could ask JJ one question right now, I'd ask him if the Twilight Zone has any bearing on how this will all end, and if yes, I would immediately put my money on SHADOW PLAY.