Staying Lost After Lost - Man of Science, Man of Faith

This episode was good, all season openers are.  It wasn't as mind blowing as the first time.  But to me, there were a few things that completely clicked for me.  This was a Jack-centric episode.  They discover what's in the hatch.

Last season I was all about picking up on the little clues that I never saw before.  As well as trying to figure out Locke.  Well, I think that after season 1, I get with Locke now.  He was just a vulnerable guy who needed something to feel special.  I strongly believe that Jacob and MIB both were using him to serve their own purpose in their mouse trap game.  It was tragic.

So, anyway.. Why I brought that up is because for Season 2 I am going to try to figure out the Hatch and how it fits in the big picture for me.  To me, the Hatch was so annoying.  And as of right now I don't understand it.  Now, on to the episode...

Like I said, it was not mind blowing end game stuff here but there were some things.  I think they had the Season 1-2 break to figure some things out.  And the biggest thing was Jack's faith.  We don't see him struggle with it much in Season 1, but it is in our face this episode.  I think the title has everything to do with Jack and nothing to do with Locke.  Jack is a Man of Science when he gets on the island.  But I feel like during the flashback and his ability to see that miracles can happen with Sarah's surgery show that he has the potential to be a Man of Faith.  He's just not there yet.  This type of struggle is in all of us really.  We know where we need to be, we just need something serious, like unsuccessful hydrogen bomb detonation, to get us there.  It's a struggle.

Locke says the Hatch is their destiny.  I kind of believe this.  Only because of Desmond.  He is the one who goes into the light, pulls the cork and ends the game for MIB.  They absolutely needed to go into that hatch and get Desmond.  Boone absolutely needed to die for this.  As pieces of this puzzle that Jacob built everything they did was their destiny.  The first time I watched this, I thought Locke was so weird for saying that.  But now, since it's over - I totally believe it.

I still stand by everything I say about Walt, as the new Jacob, trying to get Shannon off the island by having her killed. He made that promise to her. He knows there is no other way off for her besides dying and flashing sideways. That's how I explain it to myself anyway.

In addition to "See you in another life, brotha" there was a really big clue into the sideways for me.  This was the "Make Your Own Kind of Music."  The lyrics of that song really make me feel like they mean the sideways.  To me, that sideways was them making their own music.  It was their cozy place where they were able to come to terms with themselves for themselves.  I love this story.

Staying Lost After Lost - Exodus

Exodus was a pretty action packed episode.  A lot went down to get things where they needed to be to start Season 2.  We meet the Hatch, we meet the Others, we meet the Smoke Monster, we get more acquainted with Danielle, we see the Black Rock (and who ever thought that we would get the answer to how that ship got in the middle of the jungle?!), Man of Science/Man of Faith starts.  And I think that this is my favorite flashback ever.  I loved seeing how most of them got to the plane - especially Hurley!

The thing I noticed the most in this episode is the way that some of them are starting to change.  Sawyer tells Jack the story about meeting Christian, Sun and Jin find their love, Shannon starts really caring for Sayid.  I really never noticed how much they are letting go of their former selfs.  Not everyone is there yet.  I don't really see this in Jack, Kate, Hurley, Charlie, Sayid... etc.  But it really is beautiful what they are doing with these characters.

I had a thought during this episode that made the whole Walt appearing to Shannon in Season 2 kind of work for me.  I am probably totally wrong and totally off on this but it makes me feel better about it.  So, in this episode when Walt gives Vincent to Shannon, she accepts taking Vincent if Walt gets everyone rescued (or something to that effect).  So, my idea is that maybe Walt with all his Jacob like powers knew that Shannon was never going to get off of the island and the only way to be rescued was to die and flash sideways.  So, he appeared in a Jacob-like fashion to her and got killed her.  I haven't rewatched Abandoned or anything.  But this idea that I had really makes me make sense of this weird scene with Walt.

Something in this episode that didn't make sense to me.  And still kind of don't know - Locke getting pulled underground the smoke?  I have heard some theories about MIB trying to claim Locke as he did with Sayid.  And I like that.  Whatever he was doing I feel it was out of a panic mode.  I feel like MIB knew of the loophole for a while and maybe he saw the Hatch as a threat to that plan in some way.

I also noticed that John Locke was back.  The Man of Faith that I was so excited to see in the pilot episode.  I feel like her was lost a little bit in the middle because the writers/producers didn't exactly know what they were going to do with him.  And I couldn't quite separate him from MIB because Season 6 had him a little tainted in my mind.  But his exchange with Jack about Man of Science/Man of Faith really showed me that Island-loving Locke is here.  And I just hope I can look at him without MIB glasses on this point forward.

Well, Season 1 is over now.  It has been an amazing journey.  I got so much out of this watching Season 1.  It was really nostalgic.  I just really enjoyed watching everything and making the connections that I made.  I want to thank LOSTblog.com for giving me an awesome home everyone that has read about my ideas and listened to me and my friends on the WTAL podcast.  I am really looking forward to Season 2.  Previous watches of the show I could not stand this season so I am interested if The End will change my opinion on this as it did with Kate.  Plus - Eko will be back.  I can't wait!

Staying Lost After Lost - Born to Run

Oh, I am not a fan of this episode.  I took about 7 notes total on this episode.  I normally take about 2-3 pages worth.  In this episode we get a little more character development in Kate.  Jack sees the hatch and Walt is kind of creepy.

Kate is selfish on and off of the island.  I don't really want to rehash every scene.  But the con she pulls to try and get on the raft - she uses Sun, gets Michael sick and tries to steal a dead woman's identity.  And off island - SHE wants to see her mom and this leads to Tom dying.  I was so incredibly mad at her this entire episode.  But I see her problem a bit clearer.

She runs because she is selfish.  Now, I understand that there may be some underlying issue here about where the running stems from - abuse (which I really think that she has the most messed up parent situation of all the Losties), or whatever, but that is something we will never get to see really on screen - it is all speculation.  Kate gets in a bad situation, she runs.  No matter what the consequences are.  That's selfish.  I think that Aaron and Claire helped her overcome this.  She had to put others before herself.  She had to learn to quit running and to just love Aaron enough to go back for his mother.  That is the most beautiful thing about Kate.  Sawyer calling her out on her fugitive status helps her get there.  She has nowhere to run on this island.  She just has to deal with it.

Sayid leads Jack to the hatch this episode, which leads to the Jack and Locke problem to escalate even further.  The whole episode Jack and Locke are going back and forth about discretion.  One doesn't listen to the other about anything.  But again, there challenge of one another is something that they both need.  They feed off of this until the end.  But to me it wasn;t as apparent as it is now.

Another thing that was just weird for me was Walt.  Now at this point Malcolm David Kelley is growing at rapid speeds and they know he is headed on that raft and never coming back.  So why did they have him feel Locke and get all freaked out?  I really have no answers but I like to think that Walt may have felt the hatch and all of that Season 2 drama that comes with it.  I really don't feel like he felt Locke/MIB connection.

This wasn't my favorite episode.  As season 1 comes to a close, I can honestly say I have no idea how I was such a big Kate fan.  I can really see how all for herself she really was.  Her back story disgusts me the most and maybe that's why she is the first one to get a "clean slate" given to her on the island.  But I am happy that she got over that problem through the island with the help of her friends.  Beautiful story.

Staying Lost After Lost - Born to Run

Oh, I am not a fan of this episode. I took about 7 notes total on this episode. I normally take about 2-3 pages worth. In this episode we get a little more character development in Kate. Jack sees the hatch and Walt is kind of creepy.

Kate is selfish on and off of the island. I don't really want to rehash every scene. But the con she pulls to try and get on the raft - she uses Sun, gets Michael sick and tries to steal a dead woman's identity. And off island - SHE wants to see her mom and this leads to Tom dying. I was so incredibly mad at her this entire episode. But I see her problem a bit clearer.

She runs because she is selfish. Now, I understand that there may be some underlying issue here about where the running stems from - abuse (which I really think that she has the most messed up parent situation of all the Losties), or whatever, but that is something we will never get to see really on screen - it is all speculation. Kate gets in a bad situation, she runs. No matter what the consequences are. That's selfish. I think that Aaron and Claire helped her overcome this. She had to put others before herself. She had to learn to quit running and to just love Aaron enough to go back for his mother. That is the most beautiful thing about Kate. Sawyer calling her out on her fugitive status helps her get there. She has nowhere to run on this island. She just has to deal with it.

Sayid leads Jack to the hatch this episode, which leads to the Jack and Locke problem to escalate even further. The whole episode Jack and Locke are going back and forth about discretion. One doesn't listen to the other about anything. But again, there challenge of one another is something that they both need. They feed off of this until the end. But to me it wasn;t as apparent as it is now.

Another thing that was just weird for me was Walt. Now at this point Malcolm David Kelley is growing at rapid speeds and they know he is headed on that raft and never coming back. So why did they have him feel Locke and get all freaked out? I really have no answers but I like to think that Walt may have felt the hatch and all of that Season 2 drama that comes with it. I really don't feel like he felt Locke/MIB connection.

This wasn't my favorite episode. As season 1 comes to a close, I can honestly say I have no idea how I was such a big Kate fan. I can really see how all for herself she really was. Her back story disgusts me the most and maybe that's why she is the first one to get a "clean slate" given to her on the island. But I am happy that she got over that problem through the island with the help of her friends. Beautiful story.

The Vampire Diaries 101: Your guide to Season 1

Welcome to the world of Mystic Falls, Virginia. Population: vampires, werewolves and witches, oh my! It's a world of love triangles, betrayal and vampire revenge. If you haven't watched a single episode of The Vampire Diaries, here's your chance to get caught up on one of the most popular TV shows on right now.

To begin your Vampire Diaries education, the first thing you need to know is The Vampire Diaries was originally created as a book series by the New York Times #1 best selling author L.J. Smith. There have been six major novels and two companion books written in the series, and the seventh novel, The Return: Midnight, is set to be released in March 2011. But if you have read these novels and not seen the TV show, viewer be warned: it is quite a bit different to the books. Not that the changes have been worse, but I can say that I still Twitter scream from time to time, "That's not what they do in the book!" I have learned, however, that the TV series, now in the middle of its second season,  is just as good as the books, thanks in major part to the genius of writers/producers Kevin Williamson (Dawson's Creek, Scream) and Julie Plec (Kyle XY, Scream). With all this said, let's dig in to the series!

Season 1:

Pilot: We follow the life of Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) and her brother Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) who are trying to get over the death of their parents. They continue to live in the house they grew up in, and their aunt Jenna (Sara Canning) has become their primary guardian. Elena goes back to school to capture the attention of a new student, Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley). All of Elena's friends are abuzz with gossip about the new boy, but it's Elena's ex-boyfriend Matt Donovan (Zach Roerig) and her rival Caroline Forbes (Candice Accola) who are the only ones who don't seem to get that Stefan has paid more interest in Elena than the rest of the school girls. Matt's sister Vicki (Kayla Ewell) is bitten by what everyone thinks to be an animal, however we soon find out that Stefan is a vampire. Stefan does not drink the blood of humans, but rather feeds of forest creatures (poor little squirrels). With this "animal" attack, Stefan realizes that his older, and rather devious vampire brother, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) is back in town.  The two brothers had not seen each other in 15 years.

To make it easier to consume this massive first season, here's a cram session I compiled from Wikipedia.

"The Night of the Comet":

• Mystic Falls celebrates the passing of a comet


• Vicki recuperates in the hospital from her injuries caused by a vampire.


• Stefan tries to use his abilities to erase Vicki's attacker from her memory, but is interrupted by Matt.


• Mr. Tanner tells Jenna tells that she is doing a bad job of taking care of teenagers based on the signs he is seeing in Jeremy.


• Elena and Damon meet for the first time at the Salvatore house.


• Elena and Stefan kiss.


• Damon takes Caroline as his next victim.

"Friday Night Bites":

• Elena invites Stefan and Bonnie to dinner so that they can get to know each other better.


• At school, Tyler Lockwood (Michael Trevino) tries to make a fool out of Stefan by throwing a football at him, but Stefan catches it and passes it back.


• Stefan joins the football team.


• During dinner, Damon and Caroline unexpectedly show up.


• Elena "invites" him into her house.


• Stefan gives Elena a necklace filled with vervain, a plant that weakens vampires, to  protect her from Damon.


• Stefan tries to tell Damon that he still has some humanity left in him.


• Damon attacks and kills Mr. Tanner just to prove him wrong.

"Family Ties":

• Elena and Stefan go to the town's annual Founders' Party, hosted by Tyler's parents.


• Damon tells Elena about the history of the Salvatores after Stefan tries to cut Damon out of his life.


• Damon also retrieves an amber crystal from one of the historical artifacts in the Lockwood Estate.


• Stefan uses Caroline as a vessel to poison Damon.


• When Damon sucks Caroline's blood, he falls ill (dang that vervain!).


• Caroline wakes up, sees the amber crystal and puts it in her purse.


• Stefan locks up a weakened Damon at the Salvatore property.


• The Founders Council, including Mayor Lockwood (Tyler's father), Carol Lockwood (Tyler's mother), Sheriff Forbes (Caroline's mother), and Logan Fell, have come to the conclusion that vampires have returned to Mystic Falls due to the drained bodies, and must retrieve a pocket watch that belongs to the Gilbert family.


• In the end, Vicki goes to Jeremy and they go to the bedroom.

"You're Undead to Me":

• Damon grows weaker


• Jeremy's and Vicki's relationship grows stronger.


• Bonnie discovers more about her powers.


• Logan has dinner in the Gilberts' house which leads to his stealing the pocket watch.


• Elena finds out from a stranger that Stefan eerily resembles somebody named Stefan Salvatore he knew in 1953.


• Elena questions who Stefan really is.


• Damon uses his connection with Caroline to free himself and later feeds on Vicki.

"Lost Girls":

• Stefan tells Elena that in 1864, that he and Damon loved a woman named Katherine, who then turned them into vampires.


• Damon spends the day trapped inside the Salvatore Boarding House with Vicki. They feed off of each other and he changes her into a vampire.


• Stefan discovers  Vicki and attempts to persuade her to die instead of completing the transformation into a vampire by feeding on human blood.


• Logan uses the pocket watch that tracks down vampires and finds Stefan and Vicki in the woods.


• Logan shoots Stefan with a wooden bullet, thinking Stefan was attacking Vicki.


• Damon saves Stefan by attacking Logan.


• Vicki is overcome by the hunger and feeds on Logan, completing her transformation.


• Stefan tells Elena that Vicki has become a vampire, and Elena decides to keep his secrets, but not without ending their relationship.

"Haunted"

• Stefan tries to help Vicki deal with her urge to feed, but is unable to control her.


• Caroline gives Bonnie the amber crystal which Damon took from the Founder's Party.


• At a Halloween party, Vicki attacks Jeremy and Elena, and Stefan stakes her through the heart, killing her.


• Stefan swears Elena to secrecy so she won't tell Matt and Jeremy what really happened to Vicki.


• Elena asks Stefan to use his powers to make sure her brother does not remember what happened. When Stefan tells her he is unsure of it working effectively, Damon volunteers to "take away his suffering."

"162 Candles"

• An old vampire friend of Stefan's arrives in Mystic Falls, the 350-year-old Lexi.


• Lexi makes Elena realize the value of love, and helps her to take the first step towards renewing a relationship with Stefan.


• Jeremy stops doing drugs and putting off homework after Damon alters his memory of Vicki's death. E


• Elena asks Damon if there is anything else that he did to her brother but all Damon says is that he "removed the suffering".


• Damon gives a box of vervain to Sheriff Forbes and she reveals to him all of the vampire hunters in town.


• Damon frames Lexi for the death of a local boy by altering his girlfriend's memory and changing her testimony.


• The police apprehend Lexi. Outside the bar, Damon stakes Lexi and kills her before she can attack the sheriff.


• Stefan takes off and attacks Damon, but stops short of killing him. He spares Damon's life to repay Damon for saving him from Logan.


• While wearing the amber crystal Bonnie has a nightmare and she wakes up in a cemetery.

"History Repeating"

• A new history teacher arrives, Alaric Saltzman, to replace Mr. Tanner.


• Jeremy notices his ring, which resembles one worn by vampires.


• Jeremy introduces his new teacher to Jenna, who then becomes infatuated with Alaric.


• Alaric asks Jenna to invite him into her home, but she refuses after realizing Jeremy is there.


• When Bonnie is having dreams about her ancestor Emily, the girls decide to hold a séance, enabling Emily to possess Bonnie.


• Damon reveals the reason he really came back to Mystic Falls: to resurrect Katherine with the help of the crystal that Katherine gave to Emily on her last day alive.


• Stefan tries to stop Damon, knowing that it'll cause a disaster in Mystic Falls due to the fact that all the vampires held in old Fell's Church were burned to death by the townspeople, and that they would take their revenge on an innocent generation of townspeople.


• On her way to the ruins of old Fell's Church, Damon greets Emily and reminds her about the deal they made a century and a half ago. Damon will protect Emily's line and Emily will protect Katherine. Damon goes for the crystal, and Emily uses her power to throw him up to the branch of a tree. Then Emily performs the ritual to destroy the crystal and thwarts Damon's plan. Emily releases Bonnie from possession. Furious Damon attacks Bonnie, but Stefan saves her by making her drink his blood. Bonnie is frightened of Stefan until Elena reveals everything to her.


• Matt continues to be there for Caroline when she needs it.


• Logan returns into the picture as a vampire instead of a corpse at Elena's house, and he tries to get Jenna to invite him in.

"The Turning Point"

• Jeremy decides to return to his hobby of sketching fantasy creatures that he had stopped upon the death of his parents.


• Logan attacks and kills several people throughout the town.


• Matt and Caroline continue to hang out together. He tells Tyler that he likes hanging out with Caroline.


• Sheriff Forbes tells Damon of a new recent attack, and he discovers Logan doesn't know who turned him.


• Alaric helps with a small dispute among Jeremy, Tyler and Mayor Lockwood.


• Logan kidnaps Caroline after a dispute with the sheriff, but Stefan and Damon save her.


• Logan tells Damon he knows of another way to resurrect Katherine.


• Elena tells Stefan that she loves him and he decides to stay in Mystic Falls.


• Stefan and Elena sleep together. But when Stefan goes to get a drink for Elena, she discovers the photo of Katherine and leaves his house abruptly, leaving her vervain necklace behind with the photo.


• Alaric confronts Logan and tells him to leave Jenna alone. Logan tries to attack him, but gets staked and dies.


• Elena is involved in a car crash while trying to avoid a man in the middle of the road, but realizes that the man is more than human. A stranger approaches the car and Elena screams.

"Bloodlines"

• Damon's arrival causes the mysterious stranger to flee, and Damon frees Elena from her overturned car.


• Damon brings Elena with him to Georgia to see Bree, a witch and an old flame of Damon's, hoping she can help open the tomb to free Katherine.


• Bree calls Lee, Lexi's boyfriend (as Lexi was her friend), who wants revenge on Damon.


• Elena saves Damon, and he kills Bree after she tells him to find Emily's spellbook.


• Stefan opens up to Bonnie's grandma in an attempt to help Bonnie come to terms with her new power.


• Jeremy meets Anna, who knows the true past of Mystic Falls.


• When Elena and Damon return, Stefan reveals that he saved Elena from the crash that killed her parents. Stefan also tells Elena that her parents adopted her, but knows nothing more about her parentage. He claims his love to Elena and she forgives him.


• Alaric sits at the Mystic Grill bar and recognizes Damon as the vampire who killed his wife.

"Unpleasantville"

• The vampire that has been stalking Elena knew Katherine and he is killed by the Salvatore brothers.


• Before dying he reveals that the way to get into the tomb lies in Gilbert's journal.


• While Jenna and Alaric are walking home from the party, Alaric tells Jenna that his wife was named Isobel, the same name as Elena's birth mother.


• Anna keeps on trying to get close to Jeremy, because she wants to get her hands on his ancestor's journal.


• At the end of the episode, it is revealed that both Anna and Ben are vampires and appear to be romantically involved with each other.

"Children of the Damned"

• The episode begins with a flashback of Katherine and Damon in 1864. Katherine stops a carriage and attacks and feeds on the people in it. Katherine and Damon kiss.The scene fades to Damon interrupting Elena and Stefan in bed. Damon reminds them he can be trusted then leaves. The scene fades to Damon and Katherine in 1864.


• In flashbacks, Stefan and Damon recall the long-ago actions taken by townspeople, including their father, Giuseppe Salvatore, leading to the devastating events that caused the rift in their relationship.


• In the present, Bonnie’s date with Ben takes a frightening turn when she discovers Ben is a vampire.


• Elena helps Stefan as he and Damon race to find the missing journal that belonged to Elena’s ancestor.


• Stefan learns the reason behind Alaric’s interest in both the journal and the town’s history and that the way into the tomb is in the Grimoire.


• Stefan got a photocopy of the journal that Alaric had made.


• Stefan and Elena go to Giuseppe Salvatore's grave to find Emily's spell book.


• Jeremy's friend Anna is revealed to be the daughter of Pearl, one of the vampires trapped in the tomb beneath the ruins of old Fell's Church.


• Damon takes the journal from her and goes to his father's grave.


• Damon finds Elena and Stefan there after they dig the Grimoire up from his father's grave. Damon takes the book.


• Stefan brings Elena home and goes down stairs to get her some aspirin.


• He learns that Jeremy has Anna over. Stefan recognizes the name and runs upstairs to find Elena gone.

"Fool Me Once"

• Elena wakes to find that she and Bonnie have been kidnapped by Anna and Ben.


• Stefan has been trying to find her and asks Damon for help, but he refuses.


• With help from Grams, Stefan eventually saves Elena and Bonnie.


• Stefan later ends up killing Ben for not obeying his order to leave town.


• Jeremy asks Anna to a party in the woods, unaware that she has her own reasons for wanting to meet him there.


• With the help of Bonnie and Grams, the tomb is opened and Damon realizes that Katherine is not inside.


• Anna enters the tomb to find her mother Pearl and helps her escape by having her feed on Elena's blood.


• Stefan warns Damon that the seal of the tomb has only been temporarily broken, and Elena helps them both escape in order to not be sealed in forever.


• Out of the tomb, Elena sees how upset Damon is and comforts him.


• Damon afterward confronts Anna and Pearl, and learns that a smitten church guard had let Katherine go, and she was never inside the tomb.Anna admits to having seen Katherine in Chicago in 1983, but she was indifferent regarding Damon.


• At home, Bonnie checks on Grams, but finds that she has died from the strain back at the tomb.


• The episode ends with one of the vampires escaping from the tomb.

"A Few Good Men"

• Harper, the vampire who escaped from the tomb, kills a man in the woods and steals his clothes.


• Matt and Caroline are surprised by the sudden reappearance of Matt’s mother Kelly.


• Stefan and Elena are worried about Damon’s new attitude.


• Damon is asked by Sheriff Forbes to take part in a fund-raising bachelor auction and asks the Sheriff for information on Alaric.


• Alaric discovers that his wife Isobel was Elena's biological mother, and was turned into a vampire by Damon at her own request.He confronts Damon, and the confrontation ends when Damon stabs Alaric to death with a stake. However, Alaric comes back to life, saved by a mysterious ring that Isobel gave him.


• Elena is determined to find out everything she can about her birth mother, but encounters warnings -- possibly from Isobel herself -- to stay away. At the end of the episode, it is revealed that Harper will be staying with Anna and Pearl.

"There Goes the Neighborhood"

• Anna pays a visit to Damon, bringing along her mother Pearl, who wants to take control of the town.


• All the vampires in the tomb have been released, and most are staying at an old farmhouse on the outskirts of town.


• Pearl offers to help Damon find Katherine if he helps her out, but the visit turns violent when he turns her down.


• Anna arrives unexpectedly at Jeremy's house. Jeremy cuts his hand to tempt Anna, who then sucks his blood, but is interrupted by Jenna.


• Elena, Stefan, Caroline, and Matt go on an awkward double date to Mystic Grill where Frederick, a now-freed vampire from the tomb, mistakes Elena for Katherine.


• Kelly, Jenna, and Damon have some drinks at the bar, but Jenna leaves when things start heating up between Damon and Kelly.


• Frederick and his girlfriend Bethanne, who blame the Salvatore brothers for their entombment, break into the boarding house and attack Stefan and Damon. Stefan stakes Bethanne, but Frederick escapes and returns to the farmhouse, where Pearl punishes him for leaving the house against her orders.


• Anna sneaks into Jeremy's room and chastises him for cutting himself in front of her, but Jeremy insists that he did it because he wants her to turn him.

"Let the Right One In"

• A great storm approaches Mystic Falls.


• Jeremy keeps trying to convince Anna to turn him, but she refuses.


• While out hunting, Stefan is captured by Frederic and his friends, who intend to torture him before killing him.


• Damon goes to the house, realizing he cannot get in because the owner of the house has been compelled not to invite him in.


• Damon and Elena convince Alaric to work with them to help Stefan.


• Damon won't let Elena to come into the house with them.


• Pearl meets mayor Lockwood in the Mystic Grill.


• Matt is angry with his mother Kelly, but is fearful of pressuring her too much, afraid that she may leave again.


• Alaric enters the vampire house under the pretext of borrowing the phone.


• Damon kills the human living in the house, thus enabling him to enter.


• After her car breaks down in the storm, Caroline discovers the remains of Vicki Donovan. Matt and Kelly are heartbroken by the news.


• Damon and Elena rescue Stefan, but a fight erupts in which Damon and Alaric kill most of the vampires.


• Frederick comes after Elena and Stefan, wounding Stefan badly.Elena has to feed Stefan her blood to revive him. Stefan briefly loses control of himself.


• Anna agrees to turn Jeremy, but she figures out that the real reason he wanted to be turned was to be with Vicki, whom he now knows to be dead.


• Damon discovers that Stefan has lost control of his bloodlust, drinking large amounts of human blood from Damon's stores of IV bags.

"Under Control"

• Stefan struggles to maintain control of his new circumstances, and Elena and Jeremy's uncle, John Gilbert, unexpectedly shows up in Mystic Falls. Stefan exhibits some unusual behavior at the Founder's Day event, and things turn ugly when Damon tries to find out why John Gilbert has returned. Matt and Tyler find themselves in conflict after an incident at the party, and the relationship between Matt and his mom reaches a new low point. Meanwhile, Elena is unable to comfort Jeremy, causing him to take action.

"Miss Mystic Falls"

• At the Founder's Day Gala, Elena and Caroline compete in the "Miss Mystic Falls" contest.


• Bonnie returns to town and Elena is very happy to have her back, but Bonnie still feels alienated from Elena because of her association with the Salvatore brothers.


• At the Miss Mystic Falls contest, Damon tells Elena that Stefan has been drinking human blood again.


• Stefan gets angry when Elena confronts him with this information, and breaks a mirror. To his despair, one of the Miss Mystic Falls contestants sees him do this, so Stefan takes her.


• Anna shows up at the dance, and Jeremy attempts to apologize for using her to become a vampire. Jeremy tells Anna that he knows that the only reason Anna wanted to be friends with him was so she could use his blood to revive her mother. Jeremy says he knows everything. Anna and Jeremy make up and Anna says she would never do anything to hurt him.


• Back at the dance, Damon poses as Elena's escort, since Stefan was not there.


• Later Elena and Damon, with major help from Bonnie, locate and get Stefan under control.


• Meanwhile, John Gilbert tries unsuccessfully to intimidate Damon.

"Blood Brothers"

• Stefan and Damon reveal pieces of their history to Elena, including the truth about how they were turned into vampires.


• Pearl and Jonathan Gilbert have an an ugly confrontation.


• Damon and Alaric attempt to track down a mysterious invention before Jonathan can find it.


• Jeremy and Anna's relationship continues to grow as Anna enrolls at Jeremy's high school just so they could spend time together. Jeremy attempts to learn as much as possible from her. Soon after, Anna and Jeremy begin making out.


• Jonathan Gilbert kills Pearl by staking her and Anna cries over her dead body.


• When Elena releases him, Stefan goes blood crazy and wants to die but Elena manages to talk him out of it. They return to the house and Stefan seems to be cured of the blood-craze but Damon doesn't seem happy about it.

"Isobel"

• Isobel returns to town and surprises Alaric with her demand that he arrange for her to meet Elena; it appears that she still loves him and that she is not truly happy with her life as a vampire.


• Isobel refuses to answer most of Elena's questions, but states that she is also looking for the mysterious invention that John Gilbert has been seeking.


• Isobel orders Elena to obtain the device from Damon and threatens to kill Elena's loved ones if she refuses.


• We learn that Isobel and John are working for Katherine.


• Isobel tries to intimidate Damon into giving her the device and offers to reveal Katherine's whereabouts in return, but he makes it clear that he will not tolerate her threatening him or the people he cares about, and that he no longer wants anything to do with Katherine.


• Isobel later kidnaps Jeremy in order to force Elena's hand, and Elena begs Damon to give her the device, which he does.


• Bonnie offers to remove the spell from the device, which can supposedly kill vampires; it is later revealed that Bonnie only pretended to deactivate the device, due to her vendetta against vampires.


• Elena gives the device to Isobel, who reveals that she knew Damon would surrender the device to Elena because he's in love with her.


• It is revealed that John is Elena's biological father, and that he and Isobel had dated in high school.


• John plans to use the device to kill all the vampires in Mystic Falls, including Stefan and Damon.


• Isobel, who appears to care for Elena after all, expresses her fear that the Salvatore brothers may eventually turn Elena into a vampire- a life that she doesn't want for Elena- and that getting rid of them is the best thing she and John could do for their daughter.


• Anna appears and tells Jeremy that her mother was killed, and that she knows she should not be there, but she has nowhere else to go. Jeremy hugs her and attempts to comfort her.

"Founder's Day"

• It's Founder's Day, and everyone is preparing for floats and fireworks.


• Anna gives him a vial of her blood and offers him the choice of becoming a vampire.


• Though Damon and Alaric team up to try to stop John Gilbert from utilizing the mysterious device to kill vampires, John sets his plan in motion, leading to a chaotic, destructive, and deadly end to the Founder's Day celebration.


• Caroline is severely injured in a car accident involving Tyler, and it is suggested that Tyler and his father, the mayor, are werewolves.


• John kills Anna and burns many of the tomb vampires alive; Tyler's father dies along with them.


• Stefan realizes that he does love his brother.


• Elena confronts John with the knowledge that he is her father, Stefan having informed her so.


• Bonnie saves Stefan and Damon from John's rampage for Elena's sake but tells Stefan that if Damon kills another innocent person, she will not hesitate to take him down.


• Damon finally realizes that there is some good in him, and that he may actually want to become a better person.


• Jeremy learns of Anna's death; he drinks Anna's blood and overdoses on pain pills, hoping that his emotional pain will ease if he becomes a vampire.


• Damon kisses a person whom he believes to be Elena, who is then invited into Elena's house by Jenna and stabs John Gilbert, who recognizes her as Katherine, pretending to be Elena.


• Major Cliffhanger: the real Elena enters the house and goes toward the kitchen, where Katherine is.

Soon to come: The Vampire Diaries 101: Your Guide to Season 2 (so far)

Staying Lost After Lost -- The Greater Good

This week, everyone is dealing with Boone’s death. Jack and Shannon are taking it the hardest. Both of them are blaming Locke for what happened. We have a Sayid flashback. Jack and Locke’s tension is building, Shannon is letting go of Boone.

When I first sat down to watch this episode, it sort of struck me as odd that they would have a Sayid flashback during all of the Boone stuff that was happening. But at the end, I had if figured out for myself. Shannon. She was going through a lot this episode. She was one of the few who crashed with a family member and now he was gone. He was her brother. And even though she messed with his head a lot, she still loved him. I think Sayid saw a bit of his former roommate in her. She lost a loved one and wanted nothing more than to get revenge with Locke.

This was similar to the former roommate’s story. But unfortunately, Sayid didn’t get to save his roommate from making a big mistake. But he did get to save Shannon from making the big mistake of killing Locke. This helps Sayid kind of get a do over on this type of situation and I think it also assists Shannon in letting go of Boone. Instead of Shannon just killing Locke in an act of rage, she was able to come to some terms with his death before moving on from the island. Like Christian said in the church - “You needed them and they needed you.” This is a really good example of that to me.

The Jack and Locke dynamic really intensifies in this episode. According to Lostpedia, this episode was supposed to be titled “Sides” and I think that is really a very good name for it. This actually starts those two Jack and Locke sides. Foundations of Science vs. Faith have been given to us up to this point, but Boone’s death is a catalyst to Jack vs. Locke. I really do think that Boone’s death served the most purpose on the show. I mentioned some examples in previous posts. I feel like the episode title that they picked, “The Greater Good”, references Boone more than anyone else this episode. He was a sacrifice. He died for the greater good of all of the other Losties. Another example of “You needed them and they needed you.”

Like I have said before, Sayid episodes do nothing for me. They are too violent. I don’t enjoy them at all. This one wasn’t any different for me. Also, I feel it was quite stand alone in comparison to other episodes that fill a lot in for me. If anything, I will say that this episode just showed me how deep and strong the characters bonds are. They are all broken. And they all help each other become fixed. They really do need each other.

Staying Lost After Lost - Do No Harm

To me, this was the most emotional episode of the rewatch so far.  It is a Jack-centric episode.  The flashback showing us his extreme inability to let go.  On the island we have the fundamentals of the show.  They could have picked any other episode to have Claire give birth or have Boone die, but it is interesting that they showed all of it happen in the same episode.  I feel like the exemplifies the light cave: life, death and rebirth.  I seriously haven't cried so much during an episode since The End.

The Life: I have said before, none of these flashbacks are random.  Whether the characters are picking these memories to think about while they going through something on the island or what, they always mean something to they are going through on the island.  In Jack's flashback, he is getting married to Sarah.  Christian gives another one of his "awesome" parent speeches where he tells Jack he "can't let go."  And that really gives us this base to the story of why Jack isn't giving up.  But I don't think that is the entire reason this wedding situation was picked.

I think his marriage was picked because he wasn't really ever able to let go of Sarah.  The Others even knew!  Ben even mentioned that Juliet looked like his ex-wife.  He re-bounded with Achara.  It was more than just Christian's words here.  It was the physical manifestation of those words into Sarah and into Boone.

The Death: Boone was the first major character that we see die.  And it's so sad.  I am under the impression that on island, there are two ways to die.  The first one is completely letting go of what your came to the island with.  And the second is never letting go of it (a la Nikki and Paolo.) I don't think Boone let go of Shannon.  I think that is what made him a "sacrifice."  I think that while he was coming to terms with his death he decided to let go and move on.   Which is why we see him in the flash sideways, genuinely happy for Shannon and Sayid.  When he said "Tell Shannon..." I like to think it was going to pertain his moving on.

Something I found really interesting while Boone was dying.  He tells Jack that he can let go of him. I don't know if it is just coincidence or Boone was flashing sideways somehow here.  Just another one of those things that we will never understand.  Especially since we never got to see Boone wake up in the sideways.

The Rebirth: The most emotional part of the episode for me was Aaron's birth.  What Kate says about Aaron was really beautiful.  "You are not alone in this. We are all here for you. This baby is all of ours."  And it made me think a little bit.. Maybe Aaron is special.  Not in the "ZOMG Aaron is Jacob!!" way, but in the sense that they are all special to each other.  If it wasn't for Aaron, Kate would have never agreed to go back to the island.  The Ajira plan wouldn't have worked and who knows what would have happened.  They are all pieces in a puzzle.  Aaron is just as special and important as Jack is in my opinion.  (And by the way - I totally forgot that Jin was just hanging out at Aaron's birth.  Kind of creepy!)

Again, this episode wasn't too big on the island mystery.  We got a lot of character here.  (It is all about the characters!) But we did get a little nugget.  I said last week that Boone's death serves purpose and I feel like one of those many purposes were fueling the fire to the feud between Jack and Locke.  It was just more mouse trap.

Staying Lost After Lost - Deus Ex Machina

This is by far the best episode that I have rewatched yet.  In this single episode we get everything.  I feel like I understand Locke.  I understand the Hatch.  I understand why Boone was a sacrifice.  I understand MIB and Jacob's game.  Logistics of the television business out of the way, this completely set up the direction Lost was going and end of the story.  And without a hitch (or growing adolescent) - this plan worked out.  (This was also the very first episode that Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse wrote together.)

Let's start the way the episode started:  the Mouse Trap game.

Locke:  "Well, you start with all these parts off the board. And then, one by one, you build the trap - shoe, bucket, tub - piece by piece it all comes together. And then you wait 'til your opponent lands here on the old cheese wheel. And then if you set it up just right, you spring the trap..."

This little dialogue Locke has with this kid while he's working at the toy store is perhaps some of the most explanatory dialogue that we will ever hear.  It explains this episode and it explains the entire show.  Let me just start with how it explains the episode:

Locke was led to the Hatch.  Yes, it was part of his destiny.  And it has nothing to do with MIB.  In my opinion, the Mouse Trap in the episode was built by Jacob.  Jacob manipulates just as much as MIB does and this episode he needs Locke to get to that Hatch and make sure Desmond turns that light on.  That is the only thing that needs to happen here.  Locke's attempts at opening the hatch need to fail.  He needs to start losing faith.  His legs need to stop working.  He needs the vision.  He needs Boone to go into the plane.  Boone needs to get hurt.  Locke needs to go to the Hatch at that exact moment and bang on that window so Desmond doesn't kill himself.

The title of this episode is Deus Ex Machina, which in Latin means God out of the machine.  To me, they are clearly referring to Desmond.  Desmond is the fail-safe for making sure the island doesn't self-implode when Locke fails to push the button and he is also the one who goes down to the light cave and ends everything with Jacob and MIB by pulling that cork.  He's important.  He's needed.  And Locke is the only one on that island that is going to be able to conned into the Mouse Trap.  I have said before that these flashbacks are never random.  Locke was being conned by his father in the flashback and he was being conned on the island.  In this episode and the entire series.

The entire series is a giant Mouse Trap to end the game.  Everything Jacob and MIB do to position the candidates where they need to go is a part of a giant, ancient mouse trap game.  Jacob's touching, MIB's interference, the Oceanic 6, the time travel, the Ajira flight.  It was all apart of the mouse trap that we finally get to see end.

So, what do I think about Locke now?  I still think he was quite influenced by MIB, especially early on.  But more importantly, I think he is just very easily influenced.  He wants to be accepted.  He wants to be whole.  And anyone can take advantage of that.  His parents who gave him up for adoption even knew that!  So, no matter what is influencing Locke at the time, he will take it as long as he's made to feel special.  So yeah, I get him now.  He is half sucker (like MIB said) and half believer (like Jack said).  We should all know by now that nothing is ever pure black and white on this show.

Staying Lost After Lost - Numbers

Hurley episodes are always great.  They are hilarious and also dark at the same time.  I don't know how Lost does it.  But Hurley is one of the amazing things about the show.  Up until now. Hugo "Hurley" Reyes has been comedic relief.  We don't know much about him.  This episode opens us up to him and what brings him to the island.  We also get out first glance at those pesky numbers.

I am going to go ahead and get this out of the way.  Locke is creepy in this episode.  How did he know it was Claire's birthday?  And why does he decide to make a cradle for her?  Locke is just getting more and more ambiguous as the episodes continue.  And this whole  scenario is just weird.   This episode is the beginning of Locke acting like Claire's creepy uncle.  And I don't know if MIB wanted Claire to start trusting Locke (for reasons I still haven't figured out) or if Locke was just being a nice guy.  I just don't get him.

This episode begins some heavy mythology with the numbers.  Before I was watching Lost, I heard them discussing the numbers on the radio.  They were taking calls from fans of the show asking them what they thought of the numbers.  Many people thought they were coordinates of where the island was.  And so when I first watched the show, I thought that could be what they were.  I thought transmission of the numbers and them being etched on the hatch was a way for them to almost keep track of where the island was.  I never, ever thought that the numbers were going to correlate to people.

It makes sense though.  In line with the show and the ARG they had explaining that the numbers are from an equation that predicts the end of humanity, it makes sense to me if MIB was really going to leave the island and destroy the world.  These numbers were the core values of this equation and if the numbers are attached to these people that are the last ones left to stop the world from MIB.  It kind of makes sense to me.  I don't know if they had all of that planned out but it is pretty cool to think about.

I think that Hurley using these numbers opened something up for them to all get to the island.  I tend to think that Hurley, as the leader of the island went back in time (before Jacob time even) and manipulated things to get these people, including himself, there.  And I think these numbers are part of this.  They aren't cursed, but they are the thing that Hurley is holding onto.  Like Sawyer and his letter and Kate and her toy airplane.

My favorite scene in this episode was the trek into the jungle by Hurley, Jack, Sayid and Charlie to go see Rousseau.  It was so old fashioned Lost.  This episode was so great in so many ways.  The way they portrayed Hurley in the dark and light.  It was just completely awesome.

Staying Lost After Lost - ...In Translation

We are Jin-centric this week, which means we are love-centric!  This episode has no mysterious island stuff.  It is all character driven.  Which I absolutely love!  We get to see the raft - how nostalgic!  Sun reveals her English skills.  And there was a ton of Shannon and Sayid!  I really enjoyed watching the episode again.

Just coming off of Sawyer and his epic character change, we have a Jin flashback.  I think that Jin is also one of my top character changes as well.  He was such an ass to Sun!  We see it big in the beginning of the episode and we see it in earlier episodes too.  And I think he is an ass because he hates what he has to do to have her.  He is filled with resentment from it.  And since she really has no idea what exactly her father is making him do, she becomes resentful as well.  It just all boils down to lack of communication.  I wanted to tell them to stop that because they don't have much time together.  This whole episode.  Jacob tries when he visits them at their wedding.  Their story is just really tragic.

This episode was a lot about Sun also.  She has to reveal that she can speak English, one of her biggest secrets ever, in order to save her husband.  That must have been hard for her.  But at the same time very liberating. Now she is able to interact with the other survivors.  And she was also able to tell Jin, in English, that she was going to leave him.  I took this as a way of her admitting that to him without him knowing it.  A way for her to get it out so that she could move on from that point.

Speaking of...there was a lot of moving on and new life references in this episode.  Boone tells Sayid that Shannon likes older men, gets what she wants from them and then " she moves on."  Locke tells Shannon that everyone gets a fresh start on this island.  On the first watch, I really never noticed how much this idea is put forth.  This is really the basis of the show.  I think that they use Shannon/Sayid as a good example of this.  Shannon starts letting go of this immature older man takes care of me idea.  Not to make Boone angry, but to honestly become a new and better person.  Sayid helps her with this.  That's why I love this relationship so much.  I know most people hate it.  But to me it is just beautiful.

I cannot figure out how Locke knew that Walt burned the raft.  And I can't figure out how Walt burned the raft.  The only answer I have that makes myself feel good about this stuff is what I read from Carrie.  Carrie was bookclub for the month of September at the WRLB Lost Bookclub down at lostblog.com.  I was the bookclub leader that month.  It is the story of a girl with telekinesis power (and the awesome ability to set things on fire using her mind - I wish I had this power).  I think Walt and Locke are special.  And that they have this power already.  The island makes is stronger.  This is how Locke knows what people are thinking.  This is how Walt burns the raft.  Reading these Lost books really enhances my rewatch of the show.

Like I say, some episodes don't have much mysterious content.  They are just nostalgic to watch and get a little bit extra out of now that everything is over.  I really enjoyed this one.

Staying Lost After Lost - Outlaws

Ok, this episode had way too much Kate and Sawyer bonding this episode for my taste.  Hopefully, I can make it through this recap without vomiting.  Anyway, enough about me.  This episode was about Sawyer.  We get to see a little bit of what shapes this man into the cold and callous guy we see on this island and track boar along the way.

I really feel like don't have a lot to say about this episode.  Earlier episodes are going to be like that unfortunately.  And this episode didn't give me much resolve either.  It kind of left me with more questions.  The whispers are mostly what confuses me.

I'm going to come right out and say my unpopular idea.  That boar was MIB.  We have seen the MIB be a boar and harass Richard.  I think that is what he is doing here with Sawyer.  Messing with him, harassing him, making him want to kill the boar and exemplify to Jacob that people have no progression.  Since Saywer did not shoot the boar it shows that he is changing.  Little by little we see Sawyer progress into a really good guy.

The whispers.  I checked over at Lostpedia (whisper transcripts) and found out what they were saying in this episode and it really creeped me out.  They are observing Sawyer and what he is doing.  We know what the whispers are now that everything is over.  But this episode really makes me question who the whispers are.  We hear the voice of the man Sawyer killed.  So is he on the island as a dead whisper?  Or was it just MIB egging him on?  Is Jacob and MIB's mother a whisper?  Or was that some type of pre-smoke monster manifestation?  Just a lot of questions that hit me with that answer of the whispers being the dead ones that can't move on.  And I don't know if I am going to be able to fully resolve this for myself because the answer is so odd.

Locke's story that he tells also really freaks me out.  How did he know what Sawyer was going through?  See, this is why I really think that Locke is some what influenced by the MIB.   Maybe MIB just inherently knows (after thousands of years of practice) what bothers the people who come to the island.  He knows how to make it always end the same.

There are some more dead parents in this episode.  Sawyer's parents obviously are dead thanks to Locke's father.  I am beginning to think that this is almost a requirement.  (I'd like to call this Lost Axiom #2 - since it seems as though I skipped over that number!)  Perhaps having at least one dead parent gives Jacob and MIB the leverage they need to get to to the island and do what they need to do.  I am not letting Jacob off the hook here.  I remember how he gave little James the pen to write that letter to real Sawyer.  I really think that our Sawyer would have been able to let go a little sooner had he not written that letter.

I feel like James Ford went through the biggest and most amazing change on this island.  He went from being the asshole that stole everything to a really loving man living in the 70's with Juliet.  Even in the final moments on the island he was teaming up and helping everyone.  I don't think Season 1 Sawyer would so easily do that.  He was just a kid when everything happened.  He really never could get past it.  I think killing Anthony Cooper helped him let go.  It's morbid, but he needed it so that he could let go of his Sawyer character that he created in himself.  When it was over, he was James Ford again.  There was no mention of Sawyer in the Sideways, he let go.  The way they presented his character and his change was just brilliant.

This episode wasn't all bad.  I did really like going through the episode and seeing Sawyer's story again now that we know how he was resolved.  Take the whisper mystery out of this episode and it is  just a story about a little boy that never got over his parents' deaths.  He doesn't seem so asshole-ish in the episode.  We see him being sociable with Kate.  He gives the gun back to Jack and almost has a moment with him about Christian.  The episode just shows us that he can be a good guy and he can show us that there is progress.

Like I said, this episode didn't really have much content as far as the end goes.  It didn't leave me feeling huge amounts of resolve.  It actually confused me further on the whispers.  It wasn't amazing.  And wasn't into the Kate and Sawyer bonding.  But I did enjoy the episode for the Sawyer story.

Staying Lost After Lost - Homecoming

Wow!  This was a great episode.  I totally don't remember it being as awesome as it was.  There was mystery, there was action and  there was character development. Really good episode all around.  It was a Charlie-centric episode that gave us a little bit of insight into why he does the things he does in this episode.  Claire is back with amnesia.  We see Ethan briefly, but it won't be the last of him for us.

The basic crazy mysteries that in the episode have been resolved.  We know where Claire was.  We know what they do to her.  We know who Ethan was.  We know where he came from.  And even though this episode was jammed with action stemming from those mysteries, I was able to sit back and watch this episode for the characters.  And no matter what mysteries they presented in the story, when you strip those out it becomes a story about people learning from their past.

These flashbacks are never random.  And Charlie's flashback is quite relevant to what is going on.  He wants whatever happened in that flash to be a lesson learned.  He wants to take care of Claire.  He wants to be respectable.  And even though what he did was shocking, I think he accomplished it.  Sure - killing Ethan was shocking.  But in everybody's eyes at that moment, he kind of protected them.

The Claire and Charlie moments were just amazing.  And again, minus the mystery fluff - I could really see their relationship growing.  His thing is taking care of/saving a woman.  Similar to Jack's fixing problem.  He does take care of Claire the whole time he is on the island.  When he leaves is when she goes missing and eventually turns into the Claire we see in Season 6.  If he would have lived, would she have stayed on the island and turned into that?  I don't think she would have.

His death was completely avoidable.  But I think that the moment he decided to sacrifice his own life for Claire's is when he was able to let go and move on.  It wasn't about Charlie saving someone because he wanted to.  He was doing that entirely for Claire and Aaron and not to satisfy his flaw.

Whether they knew they were going to have MIB be what we know it as or not, they knew that John Locke was going to be the bad guy.  And, for me, I like to color it as Locke has been influenced by MIB.  I don't know how.  I have no evidence for it.  And I could be wrong.  I will believe this until I find some evidence that proves me wrong.  He said something really interesting to Jack while they were planning what to do with Ethan:

"...What if he delivered his threat so that we would gather like sheep to the slaughter in a confined space where they can roll in and take us all in one fell swoop."

Hm, does that sound familiar?  I am pretty sure that "Smocke" tried to do that to the candidates in the sub.  Now, I know that they weren't planning that whole sub scene, but it was really interesting that they had Locke say these lines. Why not Jack or Sayid?  Just really interesting to me.

I want to spend a minute on Ethan.   He died this episode but we don't stop seeing him.  He is in every season but Season 4.  He is creepy and intriguing.  I have so many questions about him.  The one I answered for myself this week pertains to Claire.  Why was he so obsessed with Claire?  I don't really think he was telling the truth in the Missing Pieces mobisode when he said he lost a wife in childbirth (Others are liars).  I think it pertains more to himself being born on the island.  I think that he feels attachment to Claire and the baby because of this.  To me, that is where the obsession comes from.

This was a good episode because I wasn't confused while watching.  It was a character story when all of that madness was plucked away.  And I think they kind of show that to us when Charlie kills Ethan.  Charlie said he shot him because he knew they would never get answers from him.  And Lost is not about answers.  It's about the survivors.

Staying Lost After Lost - Special

I am going to preface this by saying that this episode really makes me mad that this story was on TV.  Had it been a book, they could present whatever story they wanted and wouldn't have to worry about Malcolm David Kelley growing. (And by the way, I would have been FINE with a 20 year old looking 13 year old on the island.  Stranger things have happened there!)  Since they totally sent Walt's story on a boat, it makes me feel that this episode was slightly pointless.  They were going to do something awesome with him and I'm sad we never got to see it.  Was the epilogue really the long-story-short of it?  I know we will never really know but, it is so much fun to theorize.  Even though it also makes me mad.  Haha.

This episode opens us with Michael looking for Walt, as usual.  Michael finds him.  He was with Locke, opening up his mind.  This to me is more important than throwing the knives.  We see Walt manipulate his environment several times before this.  A good example is Michael telling him that he will look for Vincent when the rain stops.  And then, the rain stops.  We also see it a little bit here in the flashback with Walt's mother and the bird.  Locke tells Walt to see it in "your mind's eye."  And when he does that the knife goes into the tree.  How does this happen and how does Locke know he is "different", as he says to Michael?

I have an idea about this.  So, it is my opinion, based on the epilogue, that Walt returns to the island and is groomed to be the new protector.  Thus, allowing Hurley to eventually move on.  I am talking maybe several hundred of years later.  Walt has these weird and unique powers because of his status as protector.  It was obvious Jacob had powers.   He can control the magic box (on and off the island) because he could always control the magic box.  He can appear places he shouldn't because he always could.  He can appear on the island as a child at different times, similar to Jacob.  Walt wasn't at the church because he has never died.  Maybe time and space doesn't affect Walt because of this.  I'm probably entirely wrong, but it makes me feel better about Walt and this story line with this in mind.

So, now that I have gotten my explanation of how Walt isn't entirely pointless to me, I want to get a few of the awesome things that did happen in this episode discussed.  It was a Walt/Michael-centric story but the central themes that are always there were there.  The messed up parent situations were there.  Letting go is always there.  There is a little bit more letting go in this episode.  Last week I should have called that Lost Axiom #6.  There is too much letting go in this show for it to go unnoticed.

Here we have Michael let go, unwillingly, of baby Walt to Walt's mother.  And then Michael lets go of Walt a little bit more after the polar bear incident.  But he never really can let go of Walt entirely.  Maybe that is what is keeping him on the island as a whisper and not really the Libby/Ana Lucia stuff.  Maybe Walt will go back to the island to help Michael with letting go.  And then we have Boone, graduate of Lockepaste University, now free of Shannon's manipulation.  The best part of letting go is being able to ignore that thing that gave you so much trouble and feel good about doing it.  I was really proud of Boone here.  Totally awesome moment.

I kind of want to get back to what Locke said - "using your mind's eye."  Walt says he saw the knife go into the tree "like it was real."  Strange things happen on this island based on people's memories.  This is true and real.  From Walt's knife throwing to Richard's Isabella appearing to Hurley.  And after watching this episode, now that the show is entirely over, I kind of want to focus a little bit on why this is going on.  The first few episodes I thought that it was just MIB playing tricks on them.  But maybe it isn't that at all, maybe it is the island giving them something "special", allowing them to experience things to let go and move on.  Almost like the island is a third force in this light v. dark game.  I don't know if my ideas on this are changing or not, I just need more evidence.

The more I get through these episodes, the more I am starting to feel disconnected to the end of the series.  Not that this is a bad thing, but I think that we are starting to head into their uncharted TV land territory.  The part that had no real plans.  I think that it will stick to the central themes of the story, but I think that most really apparent Season 6 reflections will kind of fade out at this point.  But that is ok.  This show was filled with a lot of mystery and now that it is over, I can't wait to see how much of it will connect.  I came into this with no theory to prove.  My ideas that I have about a certain thing may change as it goes on.  I'm watching it with new eyes now.  I just want Lost to make sense to me.

Staying Lost After Lost - Hearts and Minds

A Boone-centric episode this week.  And minus the incest, I really enjoyed the episode.  It laid a lot of clues down and gave us some more bonding with the characters.  Locke is extra creepy this episode, but not creepier than the sibling sex.

The more I watch these episodes, the more I see Hurley doing leader/taking care of people type role.  This episode he asks Boone about the boar hunting.  One may think that Hurley is asking because he is the fat hungry guy, but that isn't really how he asks.  He asks almost authoritative, like he wants food for the people.  He has a lot of these leading moments.  And a lot of moments where Jack depends on him.  They try to show him as the light hearted character, but he is really quite serious.

This is the most important time of these people's lives so it is only natural that they begin to form the bonds that they need in the sideways.  There were a lot of bonds made here.  Kate finds out about Sun being able to speak English.  Jin gives Hurley a fish.  And there is also a whole lot of Boone and Locke bonding even though they aren't together on screen.  And, I found it kind of funny that "Previously on Lost" had pretty much all Boone and Locke togetherness scenes.  Not a lot of Shannon and Boone, which is what you would think this episode was about, right?

Poor Boone.  He gets conned on and off island.  But to me it wasn't entirely about Boone and Shannon and their incest love.  It was about MIB using Locke to manipulate Boone.  I have a theory on why.  I don't think it had to do with helping Boone with his sister fetish.  And I don't think it had much to do with "don't tell anyone about the hatch" either. I think it had to do with Boone getting to the point of letting Shannon go so that he could die.  Boone was a candidate(#226) and MIB doesn't like the candidates to live.  I think a lot of the stuff MIB does has to do with Locke needing to get into the minds of the candidates, find their weakness aka what they need to let go of, and exploit it to the point of their death.  He successfully does this with Boone.

Letting go is hard.  I think it is one of the hardest things a person can do.  Most of these survivors have issues stemming from things they need to let go of.  Boone has his.  He wants something he shouldn't want.  He has probably thought about her and that moment for a long time, even though he shouldn't.  And once he gets to be with her, he hits rock bottom.  In order for Locke's paste to work Boone has to have this moment with Shannon.  Getting the answer is the only way you can experience relief.  It is creepy that they did this, but at the same time I think he needed it so that he could let her go.  He needed this even more so than the vision.  I think he may be the first one we see let something go.  And he is also the first one of them we see that dies.  Locke can say that this is "vital to your survival on the island" but I think that letting go is the way you die on the island.  And MIB is happy when the candidates die.

To me, this episode laid down the biggest theme to Lost ever.  Letting go.  And when I watched it before Lost ended, I never really saw how big that theme was so early on.  There was a ton of other little things you could theorize about but that letting go stuff really stood out the most to me.

Staying Lost After Lost - Whatever the Case May Be

This episode was not very mysterious.  It was all character development and relationship building.  We got to see a little deeper into Kate.  They start chiseling the Jack/Kate/Sawyer love triangle.   Sayid and Shannon connect (Yaaaasss!), but not without a creepy perv stare from Boone.   Charlie reaches out to Rose.  And I may have cried at this part.

Kate really pissed me off this episode.  She is a criminal in the flashback and on the island the manipulates Jack really bad.  What is so hard about telling Jack that there are some personal effects in there?  He would have gotten them for her without all the lies, I'm sure of it.  (He just love the way she lies!)  I understand her though.  She was on the island, all alone.  And she wanted that one thing that reminded her of Tom.  The man she loved and wasn't able to be with.  Who she was ultimately responsible for killing.  That's tough.  When she broke down in front of Jack, I felt it.

For me, a big part of Season 1 as been about these things that they all have.  Jack- Coffin, Locke- Knives, Sawyer -Letter, Sayid- Picture of Nadia,  and now Kate has this toy airplane.  It ties them to what brought them to the island and what they need to let go of.  I think I'm going to let this be Lost Axiom #5.

Another big and awesome connection that was made was Sayid and Shannon.  Sayid asks Shannon to help him with the translating the maps he took from Rousseau.  She gets kind of emotional with him and they have a little moment.  Totally loved every bit of it.  The end scene when she sings La Mer is gorgeous.  (Except for incest Boone, which they are setting up for next episode.)  La Mer is a very interesting song that they choose.  The English translation of the song is "Beyond the Sea."  Which reminds me a lot of Across the Sea , the title of the Jacob-centric episode.

The magic box is something that exists on the island.  It does.  And I think here with Charlie, one of his magic box wishes is to die.  He failed at saving Claire from the Others and he feels he was meant to die.  A lot of people felt that he was meant to die in the tail section where his seat was, but I don't really think that.  I think he is punishing himself for not saving Claire.  Many times after this we see him avoid death and the only way he agrees to it is when Desmond says he would be saving Claire.  Which, in a long, long way he does end up doing.

We are going to have awesome eye opening episodes like White Rabbit that reveal so much and then we are going to have these character development episodes that are well, kind of dry.  The reason this episode sucked for me is because I feel there weren't that many connects to the end.  And I know this is going to happen.

Staying Lost After Lost - All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues

This is one of my favorite episodes of Lost.  We get a little better look into Jack's issues with his father.  Charlie and Claire get kidnapped by a Super Other.  Sawyer gets the Island's news from a 6 year old and Locke begins his bond with Boone.  This episode just totally opens up the story.  And even though it was really fast paced, I didn't make too many connections.  But the ones I did make are awesome!

Obviously, this isn't the first time we are watching Lost.  So, we can kind of sit back and see that pretty much all of the characters have daddy issues.  I'm just going to call this Lost Axiom #4 - Everybody has daddy issues.  (I must thank my friend again for that awesome phrase "Lost Axiom") I could do a psycho analysis on Jack and his daddy, but to me, it is so obvious.  They all have daddy issues.  From Locke and Kate to Walt and Sun.  Even Ben has them.  It's a requirement of the island.

I am going to analyze Jack and his guilt just a little bit.  His guilt of not believing Claire drives him this episode to look for her.  His flashback is all about the guilt of the patient dying due to his father's drunk mistakes in the operation.  Jack was fine with letting the drunk operation slide until he hears that the patient was pregnant.  That really changes everything for him.  I just think this is kind of funny since he is on island dealing with pregnant Claire and then the turning point for him in his flashback is that the patient was pregnant. It really makes me feel like these flashbacks are not random.  They are really feeling something on island that pertains to their flashback. And on island, Jack seems like he confuses Ethan with his father when he says "..not again."  I don't know if this means that when Jack was knocked out by Ethan he was having the flashback at that point or that Jack was just knocked out so hard that he was just that confused.  The Others are really good fighters.

I have been trying to figure out how MIB has been controlling Locke.  I think that this episode gives us the answer.   Locke is saying that he is going with his gut.  MIB has the ability to impersonate people, maybe he can also give people feelings and lead them where he wants them.  I am still under the impression that Locke met with "Jacob's brother" at some point (especially after last week) but I also think that Locke's gut feeling that leads him to the hatch is kind of MIB'd doing.  I am really sad that I can't see Locke under any other light but MIB's light.  I thought it was going to be so awesome to see Island Loving Locke, but I do not think he is there yet.  He is just being conned by MIB right now.

I had a light bulb go off in my head during the scene with Charlie and Jack at the end of the episode.  Charlie is near death, hanging in a tree.  Jack and Kate cut him down.  Jack beats on Charlie's chest for a while until he comes to (and also in a similar way he beats on the woman's chest in the flashback).  It reminded me of Season 6 when Charlie nearly dies on the plane and Jack saves him.  I kind of believe that these two things are the same event.  They are so similar.  It could be that Charlie comes to this point in the flash sideways.  When Charlie says "...I was supposed to die," to Jack, maybe he was referring to this time in Season 1.  Maybe Charlie felt that he was meant to die at that point.  Charlie spends the rest of his time on island averting death until The Looking Glass.

I made a few other little connections in this episode.  The scene with Sawyer and Sayid made me feel like even though Sawyer was angry about Sayid torturing him, he kept his signal fire going because they have a special connection with each other since they are candidates.  Boone's talk of red shirts with Locke makes me feel like they were foreshadowing his death - just little things.  It dropped huge clues into the Others, infertility, Walt's specialness, Hurley's unluckiness, the Hatch.  A huge leap into the future with this episode.

I think it is really funny that the biggest connections I make come from characters that the story isn't primarily focused on.  To me, Lost is a very character driven story with mystery in the background .  This episode was amazing.

Staying Lost After Lost - Raised by Another

Lost is very good at leading you from one episode to the next.  So, it is only natural that they set up this Claire-centric episode by focusing on Danielle in Solitary.  Ha ha ha.  Claire visits a psychic this episode.  She shares more than just peanut butter with Charlie.  And after some nightmares, gets in an argument with Jack.  Stupid older brothers!  Since Claire feels like she was actually attacked, this prompts Hurley to once again take care of people.

I see the dream that Claire has in the opening scene more of a vision from the island.  They all seem to have them.   I feel like this just another manipulation by MIB.    Her “friend” Locke is there in the dream.  “He was your responsibility but you gave him away, Claire. Everyone pays the price now.” He is using Claire’s relationship with Aaron to try and get her to do what he wants her to.  MIB is pretty successful with her.  But I still haven’t figured out what he needed her for.  She was a candidate, but was crossed off.  So why not just kill her?   For a while I thought MIB was going to use her to manipulate Jack, but that didn’t really happen.

I know that the psychic told Eko in Season 2 that he is a fraud, but I believe that he really saw something in this episode when he was doing Claire's reading.  I think that he can see flashes, similar to Desmond.  I believe that the blurry he saw was actually what happened to her when she went a little crazy from losing Aaron and being alone on the island with MIB as her only friend.  I think the psychic manipulates her here by saying that she must raise Aaron or else he will be in danger.  But in fact, she is the one in danger.  The way to get a parent to do something for their own good is to let them know their child is in danger.  I also think that the psychic may have seen a flash of Kate and Jack raising Aaron in LA.  I do not think Aaron was special either.  I just think that was a very good tool the writers used for throwing us off from thinking there was something wrong with Claire.  It worked.  Claire was always going to be Clairousseau.  As you can see, they had that planned.  And again, I drew some nice conclusions for myself.

Speaking of things they always had planned, I noticed something different in the scene when Sayid gets back to the caves.  They had Locke placed there perfectly overhearing Sayid tell them they they are not alone on this island.  Locke gets a look of being found out when he hears the news Sayid has brought him.  Locke hasn't had much time on screen since The Moth, but when we do see him, he is acting very, very, very MIB in Season 6.  I think at this point MIB has quite a hold on Locke and this makes Locke feel accepted and happy.  We will never know what went on between those two, but the way Locke's face gets in this scene makes me feel like he did meet with MIB as Jacob's brother.

I loved Hurley in this episode.  He believes Claire and he wants to take care of people by starting a census.  They really do a good job of showing how caring he really is.  It makes me very interested in what he does as the new man in charge.  I was not a fan of Jack this episode.  He did not believe Claire.  Their argument in the caves really gave me a sibling feeling between them.

Even though this seems like a simple Claire-centric episode, it begins some really key mysteries.  We kind of start to get the idea that something is up with pregnancy on the island here.  At the end, we see Ethan coming after Claire and this begins the relationship with the Others.  Since pregnancy and infertility issues is one of the big mysteries on Lost, it is kind of interesting that they introduce it here in this episode with pregnant Claire being attacked by the only person we see as (probably) being conceived and born on island.  (This became awesome discussion on the We Talk About Lost Podcast for this episode!)

The episode title was very misleading.  Everyone thought it had so much to do with Aaron and nothing to do with Claire.  I wonder how many more of these tricks we are going to see throughout the rewatch.  Aaron does wind up being Raised by Another for a little while and Claire does have to go through the blurriness.  But without the blurriness, she may have not kept her baby, she would never know she had a brother, and she most certainly would have never met her soul mate Charlie.  I think that everything turns out fine in the end.  We will never get to know what happens to everyone who got on the plane, but I would like to think they get a happily ever after.  And I hope to think that Claire gets reunited with her son and they live a happy life.

Staying Lost After Lost - Solitary

Sayid episodes are never my favorite.  He is just too violent.  But I am happy that they balanced the torture out with the Island Open in this episode.  These episodes just usually never do anything for me.  But I did notice that we got a lot of heavy island history in this episode.  I never noticed how many things they throw at us here.

Isn't it funny how all of the survivors have something that brings us into their past?  Jack had the coffin, Kate had the Marshall, Locke had his wheelchair, Charlie had his drugs,  Sawyer had his letter and Sayid had his picture of Nadia.  I am sure that the rest of them have something as well.  I just think that it is kind of interesting that they all come to the island with this piece of something that keeps them connected to their flaw.

It seems that Sayid's flaw is his inability to stop himself from killing and torturing.  But I think it more so has to do with Nadia.  The flashback was so focused on her.  Think about it, all of the episodes thus far show us how the survivors are broken.  I haven't exactly come up with why is has to do with Nadia.  Possibly he is stuck on this experience with her.  Maybe he had never shot someone in cold blood like he did with his superior officer and that's what kind of broke him.  Letting her go is one thing (I would try and do it too!), but killing someone for someone else is another thing.  Maybe he just feels like he has to love her since he did what he did.  But to me it seems like he just did that to cover himself.  Not really for her.  Also, he never once said to Danielle in this episode that Nadia was the woman he loved (Team Shannon).

It was interesting to come back to Rousseau and compare her to Claire how she was in Season 6.  They had a bit in common with their babies being taken and no one with them on the island.  And I am more inclined to feel like this is a product of the island rather than a product of being Solitary. "Mother" also acted a little bit like this too.  It seems like the island has to have this broken mother figure on the island.  Possibly it has to do with the statue of Tawaret being crushed or maybe with the fertility issue on the island.  I know that the fertility issues will never be solved, but for me this makes a nice connection.

The sickness is something I will never understand.  I suppose we are supposed to believe that members of Danielle's crew were "claimed" by MIB in the same way that Sayid was.  So does this mean that Ben was also sick?  And Dogen said that Claire was sick which would mean that since she acted exactly like Danielle, then Danielle would actually be sick.  So, if Danielle was actually sick, does that mean her crew members weren't?  See, it really confuses me.  The only thing that I did get to make sense out of it was that I found it really ironic that Danielle tells Sayid to watch out for his friend's getting sick, but he is the one who actually gets sick.  Haha.

Hurley is awesome.  Building a golf course is a great idea.  They were really stressed out and board waiting for something to happen.  A perfect example of Hurley taking care of people.  Hurley would be a great leader.  I can't wait for the DVD to come out so that we can see the epilogue of him being the island's protector.  It is going to be awesome!

The one thing I really noticed in this episode is that Season 1 is really a lot like Season 6.  From the sickness and the whispers, to Danielle/Claire comparisons, there was just a lot there.  I'm sorry I keep comparing the two.  I don't know if it is because Season 6 is so fresh in my mind or what.  But I really think I am going to go through the whole show and see how it brings everything right to Season 6.  The entire path leading to the end.

Staying Lost After Lost - Confidence Man

It's Lord of the Flies time in this episode of Lost.  We get a little dirty in this one thanks to Sawyer.  Nothing extremely creepy happens (unless you want to count Sawyer's hair in the flashback), but we get a taste of the characters here more.  Especially Sawyer and Sayid.  We get to see a bit of their flaws and what draws them to the island.  Oh, and Kate kisses Sawyer.  Vomit.

A lot is going on in the caves!  Sayid has a bump on his head.  He thinks Sawyer knocked him out. (Thanks to Locke! --More on that later)  Shannon can't breathe.  Everyone thinks that Sawyer has her medicine.  Let's blame Sawyer.

Why do they blame him?  Because he turned into Sawyer, the confidence man who played his parents and he wants to be hated because of that.  I think that this is very obvious when you watch this the first time.  But now that we know the ending we can kind of say that Jacob brought him to the island.  Encouraging him to write the letter and hold on to that pain of losing his parents.  This leads him to the island.  I am all totally for Jacob and the island, but to me it makes it seem like the provocation of the letter set him on the path to the island.  He was flawed from this point on.  I haven't watched these episodes since Jacob's touch and I'm interested to see how it impacted their lives and their path to the island.  We all know MIB does a lot of manipulation, but I think that Jacob does his share also.

Sayid the torturer.  Has there been a season where he doesn't kill/torture?  Sayid can't ever stop the torture and killing because it is native to him.  Just like Kate will always run and Charlie will always play music.  They all do both things on the island and in the flash sideways.  It is in his character.  It is comfortable for him.  No matter how much he hates doing it, he will go back to it.  This is his flaw and after the temple stuff, I really don't think he ever got completely over his flaw.  He redeemed himself a bit by taking the bomb and killing himself so that Jack could finish the job, but he never was able to fully get beyond his killing issues.

"They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt; it always ends the same..."  Locke was setting Sayid up for the next level of this theory.  "They fight."  Locke has one scene in this whole episode and he does two things that MIB does in Season 6:  sharpen wood and give Sayid a knife that makes him want to kill.  MIB is able to feed off of and build on the Losties flaws.  He sees them as a weakness.  We see him do it over and over.  He did it last episode in The Moth with Charlie.  He does it here with Sayid by giving him a knife and turning him into a torture/kill machine.  To me, MIB wants to accomplish 2 things with Sayid.  He wants to prove the theory of "They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt; it always ends the same..." and he wants Sayid to kill Sawyer, taking one of his candidates out of the running for a replacement Jacob.

I really feel like the Shannon and Sayid connection was starting during this episode.  If you watch closely, Sayid looks at her and connects with her here.  Through all of my times rewatching, I never caught this until now.  They were island soul mates and writers were aiming for this the whole time.  I am one of the ones who already totally agree with this.  I do not think that Nadia should have been a part of the flash sideways love connections.  I know I am against a lot of people on this.  Love between two people is something that people on the outside of it will never understand.  The viewers can't say "Nadia was his true love!!!"  because they don't know how Sayid feels.  Kate and Claire had a moment in the flash sideways.  I don't think that it means they left the island and became lesbian lovers.  I think they loved each other and the love grew from the time they spent on the island.  The most important part of their lives.  The same thing is true for Sayid and Shannon.  I also think that this is another reason Sayid went all Republican Guard on Sawyer.  He needed get his love's inhaler's back.

And while I am on the subject of love.  I suppose I have to talk about Kate and Sawyer's kiss.  I am a complete Jater, but I can't deny Kate and Sawyer's connection.  His number was 15 and her number was 51.  So I guess you could say that they have a  "reflection connection".  They are drawn to each other.  They open up to each other.  She will always love Jack, but she can't stop herself from him.  I blame the numbers.

It was interesting to see what Kate said about Sawyer's letter.  She read it over, and over, and over, and over until she found a big fat clue on the envelope that made her figure everything out.  It reminded me of us, the re-watchers.  We are going to be doing the same thing until we get that giant clue that solves it all for us.  Lost is something that you can't explain for others.  You just have to figure it out for yourself.  I don't think anyone's answer is wrong.  I love discussing Lost with other people.  I am so happy to be doing this re-watch with LOSTblog.com to share my ideas.  And I am happy that all of you are reading, also!