Monday, May 3, 2010

Recap, Weirdness Alerts and Analysis of LOST Episode 6.12 – “Everybody Loves Hugo”






SEASON 6 Recaps

RECAP MENU

Previously on LOST [Recap for 6.11 begins HERE]: Desmond got kidnapped, zapped and wandered off with Sayid.   Flash Desmond picked up Charlie, remembered Penny, chatted with Eloise, Daniel and Minkowski and finally asked Penny out for coffee.

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Begin Episode 6.12

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MUSEUM

A man narrates a slide-show.  Fade-in to a smiling Hurley with a farm behind him.

  • Chang:  In a world of conflict and strife, there is but one fact we can all agree upon. Everybody loves Hugo.


Pictures (synced with VO) show Hurley as a baby (CUTE!).

  • Chang:  Born to humble surroundings, Hugo Reyes has always been a beacon of light for all who cross his path.


at Mr. Cluck’s Chicken, Mr. Cluck Chicken places with the Eiffel Tower, a snow-capped mountain, the pyramids of Giza.

Hurley in a black suit (white shirt) and yellow construction hat shakes hands with a small group of peeps, all in black with hats. A guy in a Mr. Cluck’s Chicken costume looks on.

  • Chang:  Hugo's lifelong love affair with chicken led him to acquire and then expand the Mr. Cluck's chain into a worldwide phenomenon.


Hurley wearing a Humane Society shirt [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!] holding a teeny dog.

  • Chang:  The exponential growth of Hugo's success was startling. But financial success wasn't the end. It was the beginning. Hugo and giving became synonymous.


Hurley poses with 5 kids and Chicken Costume Guy [CCG] in front of Elephant in a zoo habitat [Get it? Habitat!  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA] (That’s the Honolulu Zoo, btw.  They really need to update their elephant habitat!).  Hurley poses with SAME 5 peeps at a ceremonial “cutting of the construction tape.”  The 5 peeps, on with huge scissors, CCG [with the FACE blacked out!], and new guy with his hands in his pockets in front of a playground [Hurley not pictured].

Hurley poses in front of a big building.  Lookit all the RED. A sign reads “BOX” next to him.  Hurley cuts a big red ribbon w/same kids from zoo pic, same 5 peeps and CCG.

  • Chang:  Parks, playgrounds, hospitals, the Mr. Cluck's House for Children... the philanthropy was unparalleled.


Hurley in a “FEED EVERYONE” shirt poses with CCG in front of farm with sign saying, “Mr. Cluck’s EXPERIMENTAL FARM.”  Final Image:  Hurley in a black suit tips his hard hat to the camera.

  • Chang:  Which brings us to this evening and the opening of the Hugo Reyes Paleontology Wing at the Golden State Natural History [Think wrist/neck-wear: black and silver.] Museum. A lasting beacon of culture that bears the name of one of our city's greatest benefactors.


Dr. Pierre Chang at a podium in what looks like a dinner event thingy. Dr. Chang has not aged ONE day since we saw him in “The Incident,” which SUPPOSEDLY took place 30 years prior.

Spotlight on Hurley (red tie, blue suit) at a table with his mom, Carmen (in black and white dress accented with red. Cool red flowers in her hair).  She looks skeptical as she claps along with everyone else.  Hurley smiles and nods thanks as he gets a standing ovation.  Weirdness alert: From what I can tell, Hurley and his mom are the only ones in that room wearing any color.

Besides the fact that Dr. Chang hasn’t aged (not a continuity error folks because that’s NOT possible), his speech and a few of the pictures are pretty interesting.  Why are the same 5 adults and the same 5 children in every picture? What's up with the creepy chicken suit guy?  The "BOX" picture is VERY interesting.  It was implied in the speech that Hurley could be standing next to a hospital.  Do you know of any hospital that looks like this?

For full analysis of the BITCHIN' wordplay tricks Team LOST uses in this speech, please check out:

Amy Smashes Through the Looking Glass: Everybody Loves Wordplay

Museum front door. A dinosaur trophy [Hurley: "How do you know it's not a dinosaur?" Jack: "Because dinosaurs are extinct."]  Hurley and his mom exit with the crowd. Lots of black clothing here with a few touches of red. Red carpet!

  • Hurley: Cool trophy, right? Gotta another one of these things next week. The Human Fund. [VERY important clue.]

  • Carmen:  Trophy, schmophy. You need a woman in your life. Or a man. I'm not picky.

  • Hurley:  Ma!  I’m too busy to meet someone.

  • Carmen:  Your love affair with chicken - HA!  You ARE chicken!

  • Hurley:  I am not!

  • Carmen:  Good.  You have a lunch date tomorrow.  Your Grandpa Tito’s neighbor’s daughter, Rosalita. [Yay! Grandpa Tito’s alive! He keeled over on camera in “Everybody Hates Hugo.” Plus - Miles sets James/Sawyer up on a blind date. I'm still trying to wrap my head around THAT one!]

  • Hurley:  What’s she like?

  • Carmen:  Who cares! Hugo, I want grandchildren before I'm dead.  Don't worry so much!  She’s gonna love you! And if she doesn’t, I'm looking into other options.


Okay, how frickin’ funny is this?  First, I love and have always loved Hurley’s mom.  She’s the only mother on this show that acts like an actual mother!  The fact that Hurley is too CHICKEN to go for the girl is also pretty funny.  Even though everybody loves him, he’s still convinced no woman will.   Check out Carmen’s earrings – teardrop within a teardrop.  Hurley has a silver watch on.

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BEACH GRAVEYARD

Hurley replaces a red flower on Libby’s grave. Weirdness alert: do you see that black smudge on the inside of his arm? At first, I thought it might be a tattoo, but turns out we’ve seen a mark like this before -- when Jacob drops in on James/Sawyer’s parents’ funeral.  After Jacob gives “James” a new pen (wood) to replace the pen that stopped working (silver/metal) and leaves, another guy shows up to take “Jim” to “say goodbye” and makes him promise not to finish the letter.  That guy has a smudge like the one we see on Hurley’s arm front and center on his shirt (it’s just a lot smaller).  Hurley’s shirt is brown – not RED.

  • Hurley:  I wish I could talk to you.  People come and talk to me when they’re gone. It would be nice if you did too.

  • Illana:  I’m off to get dynamite to blow up the plane. We’re leaving when I get back.

  • Hurley:  You’re sure that’s the right move? [Get it? When you're playing a game (like chess) and it's your turn, it's YOUR MOVE. And you HAVE to move, you can't avoid it.]

  • Illana:  It’s the only move we have.

  • Hurley:  You’re the expert.

  • Illana:  Whose grave it this?

  • Hurley:  A girl. Libby. She was murdered on her way to our first date. Sucks right?

  • Illana:  Yeah.

  • Hurley:  What really sucks is I had a decent shot at her!  You know, before this place turned into "Wait For Your Death Island."


Illana leaves.  Hurley looks around as the sound of whispers fades in and whirls all around him. He peers into the jungle. Someone says, “Hey.”  It’s Michael [And Amy goes "AAAAAHHHHHHH!" Didn’t see that one coming! Wow!] Notice how Hurley stays pretty calm when Libby’s murderer shows up at her grave.

  • Hurley:  What are you doing here?

  • Michael : I’m here to stop you from getting everyone killed!


Hurley stares.

  • Michael:  Are you gonna say something?

  • Hurley:  No.

  • Michael: That's not how this works.

  • Hurley:  Why should I trust you?  You suck!

  • Michael: That doesn't matter right now. What matters is you going across that island to blow up that plane. People are gonna die. A lot of people, and it's gonna be your fault.

  • Hurley:  What?!  Why?

  • Michael:  Because people are listening to you now, Hurley. [Who you listen to has been a big subject of debate for our leftover losties.]

  • Hurley:  Whew!  I thought for sure you might say, Because you're gonna sneaky shoot them down in cold blood.

  • Michael:  Ha ha.


Jack calls to Hurley as he approaches.

  • Jack:  Who you talking to?  [Not LISTENING to. Hurley is the talker now.]

  • Hurley:  Um – no one.

  • Jack:  Come on. We’re leaving.


HOLD UP.  Illana says she’s on her way to the Black Rock to get dynamite and that “we’re leaving” when she gets back.  Three seconds later, Jack tells Hurley that “we’re leaving,” as in, we’re leaving NOW.  How on EARTH did Illana get to the Black Rock and back in three seconds?  I don’t care what kind of rationalization or speculation you come up with.  Even if she could fly back and forth, she’d still never make it that quick. [Hint: Michael shows us how at the end of the show when he magically opens the door to where Mock Locke is camped.  If Illana can do this same trick, ILLANA is an OTHER!]

I’ve heard thoughts that maybe Hurley shouldn’t trust Michael because he could be Smokey.  Two problems with that. Illana makes a point of telling us that Smokey/Mock Locke can NO LONGER take the shape of someone else.  (He’s STUCK that way”).  Check out the rows of sticks in the ground all around the graveyard.  When Mock Locke dropped in on Ben (digging his own grave),  he couldn’t cross a row of sticks like the ones we see here.  Michael is standing inside them.  Both these points make a pretty good argument for Hurley to trust Michael.  Plus, Michael is yelling at Hurley the way Ana Lucia yelled at him (when he was driving with an unconscious Sayid and she pulled him over).

Beyond that, it’s important to note that Michael appears only after Hurley THINKS about him and kinda talks about him (if Libby was murdered, her murderer exists too.)

VERY STINKIN’ IMPORTANT that people are “listening” to Hurley now.  Sound helps manipulated our losties: CHANG noise, Whhirrrr noise and the transitional whomp whomp.  We’ve been told how some folks have the ability to manipulate our losties with their voices  The concerns over who to “listen to” send Richard into the jungle and right into his flash (“Maybe we should stop listening to Jacob and start listening to someone else!”)

If “people are listening” to Hurley now, that tells us a LOT.  It means that Hurley, who was acting as Jack’s guide during his “walkabout” in “Lighthouse,” is ready to start leading our losties in the same vein that Jacob leads them.  If people are listening to Hurley, it also means that he is now on equal footing with Mock Locke, whose voice is also considered influential (“By the time he speaks, it will be too late”).

This is good news for our losties because Hurley is special.  He has abilities that Jacob doesn’t have.  He can talk to the dead. Jacob hasn’t been able to talk to anyone else besides MIB, Mock Locke and Ben (and only then right before he stabs him).  Mock Locke has not be able to shake off his duality.  Even in his current state, he yells at Creepy Blonde Kid, “Don’t tell me what I can’t do!” We've heard this line from John Locke several times and from Jack at least once that I can remember.

Hurley, however, has been the same Hurley from the pilot.  His confidence has grown, but his personality hasn’t radically changed like everyone else’s, and he is the same guy in his flashes that he is on the island.  Hugo Reyes and Hurley are SYNONYMOUS. These two identities are identical and interchangeable (which is why they coexist both on island and in his flashes).  This distinguishes him from EVERY OTHER LOSTIE who all have two or more identities to deal with [Sawyer/Jim LaFleur/James Ford; Ben/Dr. Linus/Benjamin Linus, etc.].  This will be really freakin’ important when we finally lay down exactly what’s happening on the island.

This is why, from now until the finale you can take it as fact:  Amy totally trusts Hurley.  So if Hurley believes Michael,  I'll assume we all believe Michael, too.

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MEXICAN RESTAURANT

Hurley polishes off a bowl of tortilla chips. He sits alone across from an unused place setting.

  • Waiter:  More chips while you keep “waiting?”

  • Hurley:  She’s just running late.

  • Waiter:  Uh-hunh.

  • Woman: Hugo?


Hurley looks up to see Libby standing there [and Amy goes "AAAAHHHHHHHHH! II"].  Hurley jumps up and pulls out the chair for her.

  • Hurley:  Nice to meet you. I wasn’t expecting someone like you – you’re so – pretty. [Amy’s heart melts. Will somebody just LOVE Hurley for cryin' out loud?!] Please have a seat (mumbles) <and fall in love with me>.

  • Libby: I’m sorry?

  • Hurley:  Nothing. Uh, you don’t look like a Rosalita.

  • Libby: Oh good, cuz my name’s Libby.  I saw you from across the room.

  • Hurley:  How’d you know my name? (mumbles) <you think I’m awesome>.

  • Libby:  What?

  • Hurley:  Nothing.

  • Libby:  You’re gonna think I’m crazy.

  • Hurley:  No I won’t! (mumbles) <don’t be crazy>.


Libby reaches out and takes both his hands in hers. [Hand touching magic works on the island. Not so much in this newly minted flash world.]

  • Libby:  Do you believe two people can be connected? Like soulmates?  [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]

  • Hurley:  As a matter of fact, YES I DO! Why do you ask? <be my soulmate >

  • Libby:  You don’t remember me, do you?

  • Hurley:  Not yet! But I promise I'll remember you eventually if you stick around!


Dr. Brooks appears outta nowhere.

  • Dr. Brooks:  What are you doing, Elizabeth? Are you bothering this man?

  • Libby:  No, Dr. Brooks! No – uh, he’s an old friend. [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]

  • Hurley:  Dr.? <go away>



  • Dr. Brooks: Let’s go – I'm sorry, sir.  She just wandered off.

  • Hugo:  Wandered off from where? <go away>

  • Libby:  Wait – Everything I said, Hugo, I meant it.

  • Dr. Brooks: (leads Libby off)  Forgive us.  (to Hurley) You'll have to do a better if you want to message me subliminally! I'm a professional!


Hurley follows them outside.  He sees Dr. Brooks helping Libby into a white van marked “Santa Rose Mental Hospital.”  Hurley’s face falls.

  • Hugo:  Figures.


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LOST BEACH CAMP

Illana returns.

  • Richard:  We’re set?

  • Illana:  I got four sticks.  Enough to destroy the cockpit and all the instruments. [Wordplay: Instruments make SOUNDS. Instruments are tools. (surgical instruments, instruments of our destruction). Peeps can be instruments too, if they are instrumental (pivotal). You're on your own with "cockpit."]


She opens her bag.  Four sticks of dynamite completely encrusted with leached nitro-glycerin. [This is when Amy said: Well, nice knowin’ ya, Illana.]

  • Richard:  That should do it.

  • Illana:  We gotta get to Hydra Island before nightfall.

  • Hurley:  You think that’s really such a good idea?  Blowing up the plane?

  • Illana:  That thing won’t be able to leave the island.


She starts shoving water bottles into the bag ON TOP OF THE UNSTABLE DYNAMITE.

  • Hurley:  Neither will we!  We’ll be stuck here with that thing, and it’ll be mad at us. That's stupid!

  • Illana:  Jacob said Richard would know what to do. Richard says destroy the plane.

  • Hurley:  Jacob never said anything to me about it.  What if Richard’s wrong?

  • Illana: Hugo, I'm looking out for your best interests! All of you! Nothing is more important than this! That thing is evil! And God help us if it ever leaves this island! Because if it—


KABOOOM!!!  Illana is BLOWN away! Everyone falls to the ground.  [and Amy just hangs it up because this episode ROCKS!!  See how much more fun it is to avoid spoilers and be surprised?] Illana's demise tells me three things. 1) Richard IS wrong,  2) Illana was "done" on the island and 3) "that thing" may not be evil.

Our losties no longer need her protection. We already know this  because Mock Locke has no intention of harming any 'candidates.'  He knows he needs them and their cooperation in order to leave the island.  Illana can "go" now. Her job is complete IN THIS WORLD, so she moves on to the NEXT ONE ("The Last Recruit") JUST LIKE ARZT!

Since we already know that Illana's an Other (from her magical location hopping), this tells me that whoever's working the plan is WATCHING events very carefully.  "The Island" has to know exactly what's happening in order to time interference so well.  What does that say about its previous interferences?

FYI: I could be wrong, but I'm going on record:  This whole "candidate to replace Jacob" situation is total bunk. NO ONE is supposed to replace Jacob because he is working the plan to shut down the island and MOVE the Others and most of the losties over to the new world.  [Don't panic.] A candidate can be a candidate for a number of other things besides a job:  a clinical trial, a new and/or experimental treatment, an advanced degree, etc.  This candidate business is NOT what it seems. But you knew that because this is LOST! Nothing is what it seems!

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JUNGLE CAMP

Mock Locke whittles a long stick. [Remind you of Mr. Eko's staff?  Eko carved Bible verse references on his staff.  One of his verses led John Locke to The Flame Station. Interesting.]

  • James/Sawyer: That gonna be a spear?

  • Mock Locke: Dunno, James. When the time is right, it'll tell me.

  • James/Sawyer: You talk to wood now? [Hurley talks to "air." Miles talks to earth. The Others use fire to facilitate talking (I still can't totally figure out how it works). When more than one lostie to sees an Other, it's usually raining (Walt, Harper). The association of specific elements with specific peeps/groups is more than clear.]

  • Kate:  Sawyer – [Ah HA! NOT James anymore. Not since James told cop Miles about Cooper.]

  • Mock Locke:  Is there something I can do for you two?

  • Sawyer:  Yeah! You can get off your wood-carving, do-nothing ass and rescue Jin!

  • Mock Locke:  There’s a difference between doing nothing and waiting.  We’re waiting.

  • Kate:  What are we waiting for?

  • Mock Locke: You were only able to come back to this island because you all did it together. If we're gonna get on that plane and leave, it has to happen the same way. We're waiting for your friends to get here, Kate. Hugo... Sun... Jack. That's the only way we're ever getting off this... Godforsaken rock.

  • Kate:  Well, I don’t see that happening.

  • Mock Locke:  Let’s hope you’re wrong.


Did you see what just happened? This exchange is a LOT like Ben's chat with a shaving Junkie Jack. When Ben tells him Kate has to join the we-have-to-go-back parade, Jack says, "I don't see that happening." Then Ben says, "That's the spirit," which is probably on of the funniest lines on LOST EVER! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Mock Locke's waiting for Hurley, Sun and Jack to arrive? Hurley hasn't come up with that plan yet.  When he finally does, Hurley tells Jack he came up with it on his own - not Jacob or Michael.  AND he has no idea where Mock Locke is until Michael show him.  Since we are now trusting Hurley's leadership, and Mock Locke ALREADY KNOWS that they're coming, and he ALREADY knows all he has to do is wait for it to happen, it's logical to think that Mock Locke is 1) following the same plan Jacob is and 2) may not know it.  I'm not saying he's faking. I mean, if he's just pretending to be a bad guy, he's doing a pretty good job of it.  I'm still thinking Jacob and Co. are manipulating him more than he thinks they are.  I think he's in for a rude awakening in the end. [Keep in mind: Jacob's ace in the hole is Mock Locke's belief that Kate's participation is optional. ]

NOTE: The LAST time our little crew tried to leave the island by air, it didn't work! They ended up in the WATER and then Penny picked them up ("Penny's Boat!" At last!).  It was almost this exact crew: Kate, Jack, Sun, Hurley - but NOT Sawyer or Jin.  And once they got to L.A. they all went bonkers.  Jack says he felt "cut off" when he left last time, and it was a bad thing.  Maybe "you're not supposed to do this" means "you're doing it wrong" or "you're not supposed to do this yet." Could be. We'll have to keep an eye on that one.

I'm still committed to the idea that the "plane" everyone wants him to stay off of is not the physical one on Hydra Island. [Always watch the WORDPLAY.] Just for the record,  I'm also convinced that JIN is the "candidate" and that Sun only made it off the island last time because she was pregnant.

Okay - back to business.

Sayid returns.

  • Sawyer: Where have you been?

  • Sayid: None of your beeswax, blondie! (to Mock Locke) Can I speak to you in private?

  • Mock Locke:  Absolutely.


They walk through the jungle.

  • Mock Locke:  How’d it go? Did Widmore’s peeps see you?

  • Sayid:  Yeah, but it doesn’t matter.  I got what I came for.

  • Mock Locke:  You found what they were hiding in the submarine?

  • Sayid:  I most certainly did.


He pulls greenery aside and reveals Desmond, cool as a cucumber, tied to a tree.

Weirdness alert: Notice how Desmond's face is no longer bashed up.  He magically healed overnight? Doubtful.  I don't remember Mock Locke telling Sayid to go fetch, do you? He told Sawyer he just wanted to know what Widmore was hiding.  Even here, he's surprised that Sayid came back with anything.  Another question - why was Widmore hiding him?  Why was it so important that nobody know he'd brought Desmond to the island?

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LOST BEACH CAMP

Hurley finds a book and a purple bag among Illana’s things.  He peeks inside the bag, closes it and keeps it.  (We assume it's the bag of Jacob’s ashes). Richard empties a back pack.  [Geez! These guys are a buncha litterbugs!]

  • Richard:  Let’s go. We blow up that plane or Illana died for nothing. [Not true!]

  • Jack:  Maybe she died to tells us to stay the hell away from dynamite.

  • Richard:  Meh.

  • Jack: I promised Sun I’d get her off this island.

  • Richard:  Too bad. Blame me.

  • Hurley: Uh, I think Richard’s right.

  • Jack:  Huh?

  • Hurley:  Trust me, Jack.

  • Jack:  Okay.

  • Richard:  Good. Let’s get moving.


Ah, there it is. We now know Richard is officially out of the loop - if he was ever IN the loop to begin with!  NOTICE that Isabella's NECKLACE is nowhere to be seen! That tells me something pretty darn interesting about Richard's flash! Are you ready?  RICHARD is a game piece.  He's not an Other, and he's not a lostie. He's most definitely not an 19th Century shipwrecked slave.  He is nothing more than a tool, and he's being used to work the plan. That's why he "jumps" whenever the island changes channel ("skips through time"). He is part of the island, just like the trees, rocks and beaches. If he were actually connected to the island, he'd know that Illana's death already meant something.  It meant the island "let her die." It meant she was no longer necessary.  It meant that things are going according to plan.  Richard can't see that.

[Don't panic.]

Remember how Richard wanted to kill himself at the Black Rock, yet somehow that entire scene became Jack's pivotal leap of faith moment that polished off his transformation in "The Lighthouse?"  Can you think of any other way he could have had that (controlled) leap of faith moment with the dynamite?

Richard's ENTIRE flash in "Ab Aeterno" is fabricated. It didn't happen in the past.  It's NOT a memory.  For us, though, that's nothing new.  What's special about Richard's flash is that HURLEY is doing the fabricating.  HURLEY creates this journey for Richard as a TEST RUN - not for Richard. For HURLEY.  Michael tells him that "People are listening to you now."  Ask yourself this:  why now?  They weren't listening to him before. I think "Ab Aeterno" is why now.  He's passed the test.  He practiced on Richard because Richard wouldn't be harmed if Hurley couldn't do it right.

Yep! That means that the Jacob and MIB we see in Ab Aeterno are not what we think they are. Cool, right?

You have doubts? Then tell me this: Why isn't Richard wearing Isabella's necklace anymore? Why hasn't he noticed it's missing? Why isn't he upset about it?

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MR. CLUCK’S CHICKEN

A sullen Hurley at the counter.

  • Chicken Stooge: Wow! Mr. Rey—

  • Hurley:  Shut up. Gimme chicken.


A pile of chicken bones.  Hurley gives up on the last wing (NOTICE you never actually SEE him eat anything).  Desmond, in line at the counter, puzzles at him.  He joins Hurley. [Man. Desmond looks good. Let's call him Metro Desmond.]

  • Metro Desmond:  I’m sorry -- I think you were on Oceanic flight 815? About a week ago – from Sydney? [Logic applies because they met in the airport. He never saw Hurley on the plane.]

  • Hurley: Yeah.

  • Metro Desmond: I was on that plane. I thought I’d seen you before. May I sit with you?

  • Hurley: Be my guest. [Desmond just got PERMISSION to interact with Hurley.]

  • Metro Desmond:  Binge eater by trade?

  • Hurley:  Depressive episode.

  • Metro Desmond:  Girl related?

  • Hurley:  Oh, yeah.  She’s totally awesome and totally crazy.  She said she knew me before, and that can’t be right.

  • Metro Desmond:  All women are a little bit crazy. And what if she somehow did know you before?

  • Hurley:  I’d’ve remembered.  She was hot!

  • Metro Desmond: Did you believe her? When she said she knew you before?

  • Hurley:  Yeah.  Kinda.

  • Metro Desmond:  Well there you go.  Go with your gut – er – don’t shut her down without all the facts. Find out where she might’ve known you from before.  You never know what can happen.

  • Counter Chica:  42! Order 42!

  • Metro Desmond:  Ah! That’s me brutha. Well, it was nice bumping into you.


Again we see the numbers. Interesting that, in this case, 42 is Metro Desmond's number in line. As he waits. To be called UP to the counter. Do you see it yet?  This speech smacks of the one Desmond laid on Jack at the stadium when he told him to consider the impossible (that he had actually fixed Sarah).  Interesting that Metro Desmond tells Hurley to investigate and follow his instincts.  He tells Jack the OPPOSITE - DON'T trust your instincts.

Notice how these two interactions with Desmond show how different THIS flash world is from previous flash worlds.  Sarah was heeled regardless of Jack's belief or even his participation.  Her recovery was decided by SOMEONE ELSE (call it fate if you're feeling dizzy).  Hurley must go after his memories with Libby.  And as long as he makes the effort, no one can stop him.  If he had not visited Libby at Santa Rosa's and asked her out, he wouldn't have gotten his island memories back.  Self determination, autonomy, following your 'instincts' -- these things are normal in this flash world.  That makes this world VERY special and VERY different from the flashbacks and flashforwards.

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JUNGLE

Mock Locke stares at Desmond (who is very drone-like).

  • Mock Locke:  Hey there.

  • Desmond:  Hey.

  • Mock Locke:  Sorry about the restraints. [Get it? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]  Didn’t wantcha to run.

  • Desmond:  No where to run to. [ba-by. No where to hide. Aaaaahhhh]

  • Mock Locke:  (cuts ropes)  Excellent.  Let’s talk. [Uh-oh]

  • Desmond:  Okay.

  • Mock Locke:  Why did Widmore bring you back here? [What else does Mock Locke not know about Widmore's activities?]

  • Desmond:  Dunno. He kidnapped me. [This would be a total and complete lie.]

  • Sayid:  And had him under armed guard. [Watch your wordplay - Under armed guard can also mean being in protective custody.]

  • Desmond:  He threw me into a wood shack and blasted me with a massive amount of electromagnetism.

  • Mock Locke:  Well, that’s not very nice!  Um, did he tell you what he was blasting you with?

  • Desmond:  No.

  • Mock Locke:  Then how did you know?

  • Desmond:  Experience. [Watch yer WORDPLAY. Could mean he's been zapped, could mean he's DONE the zapping.]

  • Mock Locke: Do you know who I am?

  • Desmond:  Sure, silly! You’re John Locke.

  • Mock Locke:  Hm. We’ll meet you later Sayid.  Desmond and me, we need to take a walk.


Sayid leaves. Mock Locke pulls Desmond to his feet.

  • Mock Locke:  There’s something I’d like to show you.


Talk, walk, something I'd like to show you? I've never heard anyone use all three in a row before.  Originally, I called this Desmond "Drone Desmond" because of how eager he was to get started on Widmore's plan and how easily he followed Sayid.  He seemed really he'd just follow anyone.  He obviously has zero free will.  He never fights back or mentions anything he wants to do.  He just waits for someone else to engage him and then he responds.  Weird.  He seems to lie about not knowing why Widmore kidnapped him, but I smell fish.  It's entirely possible that he doesn't know.  This discussion veers WAY off this recap, so I'll stop right now! [Behold my self control!]

I will say: notice how this Desmond knows what's happened TO Desmond before but not WHY or HOW Desmond feels about it.

_____________________________________________________________

JUNGLE

Our leftover losties trek single file.

  • Ben:  Makes ya think, huh.

  • Jack: What’s that?

  • Ben:  Illana blown to smithereens.  Wherever she is, I bet she’s pissed.

  • Jack:  What do you mean?

  • Ben:  Hand picked by Jacob, trained her whole life and now she’s hamburger.

  • Jack:  More like crispy pulled pork, actually.

  • Ben:  The island was done with her. I wonder what’s gonna happen when the island’s done with us.

  • Jack: (mutters) Whaddya mean ‘us,’ cheetoe –


Ben is as clueless as Richard.  He is not aware of the ultimate plan - probably never has been.

They arrive at the Black Rock.

  • Richard:  Okay, I’m going in –

  • Jack: Where’s Hurley?


Hurley comes at them at a dead run.

  • Hurley:  Run! Run!  RUN!


The Black Rock explodes with a huge BANG and bursts into flames.  They are all knocked down by the blast.

  • Richard:  What the hell were you thinking?!

  • Jack:  Calm down, Frances Brown!

  • Richard:  Great! We’re dead! We’re all dead!

  • Jack: (mutters) Again with the we --

  • Miles:  Warnings are just good manners, you know.

  • Hurley: I did say “RUN.”

  • Miles: Who told you to do that?

  • Hurley:  Michael.  [Wordplay alert: Michael told him to tell the others to run because he was standing lookout and saw they had arrived and were headed into the ship. He didn't tell Hurley to blow up the Black Rock.] He’s one of the dead peeps that comes back and yells at me.  He said I had to stop you guys from blowing up the plane, so I blew up the dynamite supply. [Actually, he said if you attempted to blow up the plane, people would die.]

  • Miles:  That happens a lot? Dead people yelling at you? And you just listen to whatever they say?

  • Hurley:  Dead people are more reliable than alive people. [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]


So how did Hurley beat everyone to the Black Rock with time to spare without anyone noticing? Answer: He got to the Black Rock the same way that Illana did. The only difference is that he needed Michael to do it.

If Hurley says it, then I believe it.  Michael is reliable.  The reason I think that line is so funny is that we can't be certain who's dead and who's alive or even what "dead" means!  My question is why are alive people less reliable than dead people? My best guess is that once you are dead, your mind can't be manipulated the way it can when you are alive.  You're done. You are permanently set. You are FIXED.

_____________________________________________________________

NUTHOUSE MANAGER’S OFFICE

Close up of LARGE photo of a tropical island [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!].  It hangs on the wall behind Hurley and Dr. Brooks, who chat over his desk. [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry! I'm still laughing about the picture!]

  • Hurley: I’d like to see Libby.

  • Dr. Brooks: I misjudged her condition. She has issues with reality, so I’m thinkin’ no.

  • Hurley:  I’ll give you $100K.

  • Dr. Brooks:  You’ll need a visitor’s badge.

  • Hurley:  You want your subliminal message with cheese,  Jerky?

  • Dr. Brooks: Yes. That'd be nice.


Oh, that picture makes me so happy!  Remember Penny's comment about how with lots of money you can find anyone?  Hurley uses his money here, but not to find someone who's missing or gone.  Like Penny did.

_____________________________________________________________

NUTHOUSE REC ROOM

Chalkboard: check out the bassinet with the butterfly! Peeps play Connect Four [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]. Hurley waits at a table.  Libby enters.

  • Libby:  You remembered?

  • Hurley:  No, but I’d like to know more about this whole, “I knew you before” thing.

  • Libby:  It won’t make any sense.

  • Hurley:  Try me.

  • Libby:  One of your commercials came on TV, and the moment I saw you, it was like I was hit over the head. [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]  All these memories came washing back.  Memories of my life.  Only it was another life. [My OTHER life. Get it?  Not previous life or past life or ALTERNATE life.]

  • Hurley: What kind of memories?

  • Libby: There was a plane crash, an island, and you were there.  [Ah - notice how Libby does NOT remember any of the stuff between when the plane crashes and when Hurley's there. The scary stuff isn't handy.]  We knew each other. We liked each other.  And when I got here, I remember being here before, but I have a memory of you being here too. [WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP – did you see what just happened? HOLY CRAP!  She just remembered being in HURLEY'S FLASHBACK.]

  • Hurley: This is the first time I’ve ever been in a mental hospital.

  • Libby:  I can’t get you outta my brain! [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]  I only said something because if you remembered too –

  • Hurley:  I’m sorry.  I wish I could, but I can’t.

  • Libby:  That’s okay.  I’m crazy.

  • Hurley:  Crazy’s a relative term. Can your kind of crazy get a day pass outta here?

  • Libby:  Sure. I checked in here voluntarily. [Like Hurley did.]

  • Hurley:  Think maybe you’d want to maybe go do something?  With me?

  • Libby:  Like a date?

  • Hurley:  Yeah.

  • Libby:  I’d like that.


What's up with Libby's eyes? They are VERY green, and Libby's eyes have never been green. Also, her right eye is all funky lookin. [Is it wrong to SO VERY MUCH want Hurley to be happy?]

_____________________________________________________________

JUNGLE

Mock Locke leads Desmond through the jungle.

  • Mock Locke:  You pushed the button how long?

  • Desmond: Three years.

  • Mock Locke:  And you’re back for more? I’d say this island has it in for you.

  • Desmond:  Nothing special about me. This island has it in for all of us.

  • Mock Locke:  Yes it does.


Mock Locke notices something he doesn’t want to see.  Desmond turns.  Creepy Blonde Kid [CBK] (except now he looks older/taller and his hair is dark) stares at them from the trees.

  • Mock Locke:  Just ignore him.

  • Desmond: Do you know that boy?

  • Mock Locke:  I said ignore him!


CBK shoots a smug grin and leaves.

Anybody got any ideas? Because besides the fact that CBK really bothers Mock Locke, I got no idea what he's all about!

Mock Locke is wondering why ending up back on the island isn't bothering Desmond so much. He's right. It's weird.  In fact, Desmond is happy-go-lucky to the point where I'm wondering if he can feel anything at all (like Sayid).  Interesting that he specifically mentions that he's nothing special.  We know for a fact that's absolutely wrong.  Desmond is the key to every mystery on the island!  Now I'm wondering if Mock Locke has any real memory of Desmond and the hatch besides a list of facts.  Remember, the hatch was a really, really big deal, a turning point for John Locke.  This entire exchange between the two of them is just weird.

If you "have it in" for someone, you "want to cause trouble for someone because you dislike them" or you "hold a grudge" against them. If someone has it in for you, they are hunting or targeting you, it's a personal vendetta and when they find you, you will not be happy.  You will be victimized by them, usually according to some kind of sick master plan that destroys and demoralizes you -- kinda like your own personal hell.  After they've got you, they'll feel REALLY good about watching you suffer (I had a boss like that once).  Bummer.

_____________________________________________________________

THE LARGE CAMPFIRE FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE BLACK ROCK

Richard gathers his things.

  • Jack: NOW where are you going?

  • Richard:  Ben, are there still illegal goodies that blow up stuff at the barracks?

  • Ben:  Yeah.

  • Richard: (to Jack) We’re going to the barracks.

  • Jack:  Hang on –

  • Richard:  No time for chit-chat, Dr. Shephard, unless you know what we need to do.

  • Hurley:  I know what we need to do.

  • Richard:  And?

  • Hurley:  We need to go talk to Locke.

  • Ben:  Are you trying to get us all killed?!

  • Miles:  Uh, that thing doesn't want to talk.

  • Hurley:  It’s not my idea. (points at nothing) He told me.

  • Richard:  Who?

  • Hurley:  Jacob.

  • Richard:  Uh – hunh. Prove it.

  • Hurley:  I don’t have to prove anything to you Richard.  Either you come with me or you keep trying to blow stuff up. Your call.

  • Richard: You’re lying. Jacob never tells anyone what to do. I'm going to make this simple. If that thing leaves the island, that's it. I-it's over.

  • Miles: What’s over?

  • Richard:  Everything. I’m going to destroy the plane.  Who’s with me?


Ben and Miles join him. Richard looks at Jack.

  • Jack:  If Jacob says we go talk to Locke, we go talk to Locke.  I’m with Hugo.

  • Hurley:  Really?


Jack nods.

  • Richard:  Fine. Don’t get in our way.

  • Jack:  All right, Hurley. Let’s go talk to Locke.


I really liked this scene because 1) it served its purpose by splitting the group into losties and Others and 2) Hurley takes the reins.  Oh, didn't I mention this already?  Miles is an OTHER.  Just like Charlotte.  (Of course I'm totally serious!) Notice two things:  Hurley gives Richard the CHOICE to believe him.  He doesn't try to talk him into it or threaten him (like Mock Locke tends to do when he offers a choice).  Hurley has already proven himself in "Ab Aeterno." He's a newly minted leader/guider on equal footing with Mock Locke.  Jack's backing him up is a big deal, btw.

Richard is WRONG, again! Jacob never orders anyone to do anything, sure, but he told Hurley to go back to the island when he gave him the guitar case, how to save Sayid, how to get Jack out of the temple AND how to get Jack to WANT to leave the temple.  Jacob never tells anyone what to do? Maybe in the old world order, but everything's different since Jacob's death.  Richard is also completely unaware that Hurley has graduated to "leader."

Given how Richard is nothing more than a tool the island uses to get things done, my best guess is that he IS supposed to try to "destroy the plane," but not for the reason he thinks he is.  Separating the Others away from our losties needs to be done in order for future events to play out.  Remember: Everything depends on the plan - the strategy - used by all the players.  It seems pretty clear that, for some reason, Ben, Miles and Richard need to be somewhere else. Fifty bucks says the barracks, aka Dharmaville/New Otherton, will not be as handy as they think.

I'm still on board with the idea that Mock Locke leaving the island will 1) shut it down and 2) not be a bad thing.  I think the problem here, and why Michael intercedes is that the TIMING for shutting down the island is critical.  Shut it down too early, everyone trapped there will die (and our losties will die with them).  Think back to the very beginning of the episode (and check out the wordplay in Dr. Chang's speech about Hurley HERE).  Somehow, with Hurley's help, these two sides have struck a compromise.  They are creating a "new world." (remember Darlton's comments:  Order v. Chaos is the primary struggle here) They are dismantling the OLD way of doing things and starting over with a NEW WORLD.

If there are people trapped by the island like Michael says, and if the people off island (in the flash worlds) will "simply cease to be" if the island is shut down, the only way to successfully shut down the island without killing/erasing everyone is to 1) create a new place that can exist independently from the island (as if the island were underwater or some other useful metaphor like that) and 2) transfer everyone into the new place BEFORE the island shuts down. TRANSFERENCE -- Get it?

That's why it's pretty darn important to keep in mind that NONE of this takes place in a PHYSICAL world.  AND Get this: the only way to shut down the island for good is to CUT OFF ITS POWER SUPPLY in a way that can't be reversed. Who's "only interested in power"?  Um - Widmore! Who was worried about losing his power?  BEN.

TA - DA! You have now been told exactly what (TF) Amy thinks is going on on LOST.  Congratulations!

_____________________________________________________________

JUNGLE

NIGHT. Hurley leads our leftover losties single file. Sun writes a note and shows it to Frank.

  • Sun:  Did we make a mistake?

  • Frank:  Probably.

  • Hurley: (to Jack) What do you think we should say to Locke?

  • Jack:  Something tells me he’ll do all the talking.

  • Hurley:  Or he could kill us all.

  • Jack:  That too.

  • Hurley:   I didn’t see Jacob back there.  I just said it so everyone would listen to me.

  • Jack:  I know.

  • Hurley:  Then why did you come with me?

  • Jack:  Ever since Juliet died – ever since I got her killed, all I've wanted was to fix it. But I can't. I can't ever fix it. You've no idea how hard it is for me to sit back and listen to other people tell me what I should do...but I think maybe that's the point...maybe I'm supposed to let go.

  • Hurley:  Unless you’re letting go gets us killed! It was MY idea to go talk to Locke!

  • Jack:  You told me to trust you.  This is me trusting you.

  • Hurley: It’s a good thing you do, dude, cuz I have no idea where I’m going.


I LOVE Jack's little speech here.  The fact that it's KILLING him to follow and not lead struck a Season 1 cord with me.  This is the Jack I've been waiting for! Jack is back on track!  Only nudity stands between him and perfection!

The fact that he knew Hurley was lying and still backed him up is also pretty significant.  His taking responsibility for Juliet's death is a nice touch as well. That being said, what in the hell is he talking about? Since he "got her killed," which is up for debate, what exactly has he been doing to fix it? Um, nothing! After Juliet died, he took Sayid to the temple. Then he did the Dogen/pill/Hurley/lighthouse thing. Then he pow-wowed with Richard. He went to the beach, made a promise to Sun and now he's here.  Where in there has Jack been trying to fix anything except himself?

Maybe he "got her killed," maybe not.  When she went over the side and down the (rabbit) hole, he was out cold.  Plus, and I'm going on record here, when Juliet fell in the hole, the release of energy was over.  I'm fairly certain that what happened after was voluntary.  Juliet LET GO of Sawyer's hand.

Watch that scene again, and really pick it over.  Sawyer is yelling at her NOT to go, NOT to leave him. Juliet says goodbye ("I love you so much!") and lets go.  I think that, like Charlie and Michael and Desmond AND Jack's Incident Posse, she had to CHOOSE to sacrifice herself.  Remember, she wakes up bashed and bloodied, she LISTENS, then she crawls over to the bomb and smacks it.  Now consider that the bomb never went off. [There's absolutely ZERO evidence that the bomb went off, btw.]

When Juliet, through Miles, tells Sawyer that "it worked," she's not talking about the bomb OR the future.  We know the bomb DIDN'T work.  We know the flash world is a parallel world -- not a future one.  She's talking about her passing the sacrifice test.  She's proven herself, and now she's okay on the other side. That is, she's NOT trapped by the island! This also means chances of a flash world skate hookup are about zero. Sorry.

PREDICTION TIME!  We're gonna see Juliet again in the flash world, and she is gonna be happy as a lark to see James again.

Whispers echo from the woods around them.  Frank and Jack raise their rifles.

  • Hurley:  It’s cool. I know what these things are. Wait here.


He enters the jungle with his torch held high.

  • Hurley:  Hey, you around? Michael?


Michael emerges from the dark.

  • Hurley:  You’re stuck on the island, aren’t you?

  • Michael: (nods) Because of what I did.

  • Hurley: And...there're others out here like you, aren't there? That's what the whispers are?

  • Michael:  Yeah, we’re the ones who can’t move on. [Because the Others are DEAD!]

  • Hurley:  Do you know where Locke is?


SHAZAAAM!  Out of the darkness, with a wave of his hand, DING! Michael points to a campfire down the way.

  • Michael:  There

  • Hurley: Is there anything I can do to – help you?

  • Michael:  Don’t get yourself killed.

  • Hurley:  Okay.

  • Michael:  And Hurley – if you ever do see Libby again, tell her I’m very sorry.

  • Hurley:  I’ll be sure and do that dude.


[Let me just break off here and say I was profoundly disturbed at the negative reaction to how the whispers were revealed.  Profoundly disturbed doesn't cover it, actually.  It downright chapped my ass!  LOST fans say they are irked about Season 6 because they want explicit answers to mysteries of the show that go all the way back to Season 1.  However, when that happens, like it does here with the whispers, are they happy?  NO. They complain about it!  What's that about?!  I'd like to propose a few possible reason for this negative reaction, one of which I can help them out with.]

If you HATED (and I mean HATE hate here) the way the whispers mystery was resolved in this scene, could be coupla reasons for your pain.  1) You were wrong about the whispers. 2) You weren't sure about the whispers, but you were not surprised what they turned out to be. 3) The whispers reveal debunked your primary theory about LOST. 4) You thought the whispers answer would answer more questions. 5) You've yet to dig out the HUGE reveals in this scene.

If you are 1) or 3), welcome to the club! Being wrong about LOST makes you just like everybody else! (I include myself in this club. I've got no idea if I'm right either!)  If you are 2) or 4), then you are in luck because I'm all set to help you with 5).  If that interests you, then you'll need to go to where I spell out the whispers reveal in detail:

Amy Smashes Through the Looking Glass: Whisper This! (Coming Soon to a blog near you!)

The other reveal here is how Michael magically shows Hurley the way. THIS is how the Others have been appearing and disappearing.  This is how they can snatch you out of thin air. They are able to "jump" from one place on the island to another, AND they can take you with them.  This is exactly what Michael has done!  This is how Illana got to and from the Black Rock so quickly!  Let that one soak in because it's really handy when we break down exactly what the island is.  I'll give you a hint:  MOSAIC.

Michael's apology to Libby is revealing as well.  Michael is trapped with the Others, but Libby ISN'T.  He doesn't have access to her/can't communicate with her.  She's in the flash world now.  Up till this point, DYING has been the ONLY way to get off the island and stay in the flash world.  However, HOW and WHERE you die matter.  Did you knowingly sacrifice yourself? Were you murdered as an innocent? Did you commit SUICIDE? Did the smoke monster bash your body to mush? What happens if you're eaten by a polar bear? I think it makes a difference if you died in the hatch, too.  I think that's why Juliet was supposed to die there.  It protected her somehow.

My question is this: If Christian told Michael he could "go" after he sacrificed himself on the freighter so everyone else could get away, then why did he "go" to "hell"?  Was that sacrifice not enough to overcome what he did to Libby? Is that why he saw her moments before Christian appeared?

Finally, I really like how Hurley made a point of forgiving Michael and letting Libby's murder go.  Wonder why he did that? Hm?

_____________________________________________________________

BEACH

Hurley unpacks a picnic lunch.  Libby stares out at the ocean.

  • Hurley:  Something wrong?

  • Libby:  Not wrong, just – off. [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]

  • Hurley:  You’ve been here before?

  • Libby:  No. This just all feels familiar.  Like a date we never had.  Geez! I sound like a nutbag! Why do you even want to be with me?

  • Hurley:  Why do you want to be with me?

  • Libby:  Cuz I like you.

  • Hurley:  OR because you’re delusional.


Libby kisses him.  A series of flashes of Libby on the island ending with Libby kissing Hurley.  Hurley is stunned.

  • Libby:  What’s wrong?

  • Hurley:  I think I’m remembering stuff.

  • Libby:  You mean I’m not crazy?

  • Hurley:  No, I don’t think you are – (to himself) unless your kind of crazy’s catching.


Metro Desmond stakes them them out in his silver car.  He drives away.

Weirdness alert: Metro Desmond watching them bothers me.  Was he watching to make sure Hurley ended up with Libby? Or that Libby kissed him? Or that Hurley remembered her on the island?  Either way, Metro Desmond is obviously on a schedule and working a plan.  Question is WHO'S plan?

Think of how many (MANY) times our losties have recognized people, places and events without actually knowing why.  Libby says she feels 'OFF' - maybe that's why our losties always look perturbed when this happens.  It's an unnatural feeling that bothers them - everyone except Metro Desmond. (Remember how concerned Jack was when he thought he recognized Married Desmond on the plane? - Man! I can't keep track off all these Desmonds!)

Notice how Hurley get's HIS memories. If these were Libby's memories, he wouldn't see Libby, he'd see himself.  Here's the $64 million question: Did kissing Libby transfer Hurley's memories to him OR did it ACTIVATE those memories?  I'm guessing transfer (like Charlie did to Desmond), because if the object of the plan is to transfer the Others et al. to a safe "new world," then transferring memories would be the only way to do it.  Because you ARE you memories! [And the dead horse says, "OW!"]

_____________________________________________________________

JUNGLE

NIGHT. Mock Locke leads Desmond to an old, open stone well. [Well of souls! Get it? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]

  • Locke:  Here we go.

  • Desmond:  What is it?

  • Locke:  It’s a well. A very old, (tosses torch) but not very deep well.  Peeps who did this dug it by hand. God knows how long it took ‘em.

  • Desmond:  That’s a lot of work just for some water. [Really Desmond? Cuz if you don't work for the water you won't have any and then you'll do something called DIE!]

  • Mock Locke: They were looking for answers, not water. A long time ago places like the one we're standing at right now made compass needles spin. And the people holding the compasses needed to know why, so they dug.

  • Desmond: Did they find what they were looking for? [We've heard this sentiment before!]

  • Mock Locke: No, they didn't. The reason I wanted you to see this, Desmond, is because Charles Widmore is not interested in answers, he's only interested in power. And he brought you back to the Island so that you could help him find what he's looking for. After all, this isn't the only well.

  • Desmond: And that's the reason you wanted me to see this?

  • Mock Locke: Why aren't you afraid?

  • Desmond: Excuse me?

  • Mock Locke: You're out here, middle of the jungle, with me (and I make it my business to be pretty darn scary). Not a person on Earth even knows you're here. [Did you see what just happened?] Why aren't you afraid?

  • Desmond: What is the point in being afraid?


Mock Locke smiles.  His face turns to stone. He pushes Desmond headfirst into the well.

  • Desmond:  AHHHHHHHH!

  • Mock Locke:  (shouts down the well) How's that fear coming?  Anything yet?


Oh, man! This scene gets me jazzed! Mock Locke just explained the history of the island!

What's that you say?  You need to know more? Excellent! I'm happy to oblige!

But not here.  Sorry.  Don't panic! I'm on a roll this week! [See Amy post. Post, Amy, post!]

Check out how irked Mock Locke is by Desmond's lack of fear.  FEAR is a HUGE theme on the island, is it not?  Wanna know why?  Fear is an instinctive/primal emotion that indicates you are AWARE of potential harm.  That is you recognize that you might be harmed or die (or get eaten) and your fear inspires you to "fight" or flee to avoid said death or harm.  There's only two reasons Desmond wouldn't see any point in being afraid of Mock Locke: 1) he's not aware he can die OR 2) he knows he CAN'T die.  Interesting.  However, how much you wanna bet he felt some fear after Mock Locke tossed him down that well?  Fear is one of the ways the island "wakes you up."

How Mock Locke uses fear and possible reasons why in:  Amy Smashes the Looking Glass: FEAR & Identity

_____________________________________________________________

JUNGLE CAMP

Mock Locke returns.

  • Sayid: How’s our friend?

  • Mock Locke: You don’t have to worry about him anymore. [Sayid was worried? I smell a BIG wordplay trick!]

  • Sawyer:  Where you been?!

  • Mock Locke:  I went for a walk, James.

  • Sayid:  (to Sawyer) Possessive much?


Hurley steps outta the jungle.

  • Sawyer:  Sonuvabitch! [Notice that he is the ONLY one who says this now.]

  • Hurley:  Hey.

  • Mock Locke:  Hello, Hugo.

  • Hurley:  I don’t know who you are or what you want, but we have to talk to you.

  • Mock Locke:  We? [Why does he sound so surprised at 'we?']

  • Hurley:  I got my peeps, but I don’t want anybody to get hurt or killed.  So I’ll need your word you’re not gonna – do anything. That hurts or kills them. Or me.


Mock Locke hands over his big knife.

  • Mock Locke:  You have my word.

  • Hurley:  Okay guys! Come on out!


Frank and Sun emerge from the jungle.  Sun looks around eagerly, then looks disappointed.  The Jungle Camp peeps stare at them.  Jack emerges.  Sawyer does a double take of Kate.  Jack and Kate trade smiles. [Welp, Jaters. I hope that's all you needed -- cuz that's all you GIT!  BOOOOOO!! SSsssssst!]

  • Mock Locke:  Hello, Jack.


Jack stares in horror at Mock Locke, who keeps going with the creepy smile.

Don't you love this new Hurley?  I do.  Notice that Mock Locke give his word.  That might be significant because he gave his word to Hurley, but if these are the peeps he needs to get home, he's not gonna hurt them.  Maybe Frank, but still.  This "promise" isn't very promising.

Jaters can still hold out hope! Sawyer's behavior here is a reaction to something he senses - a strong emotional attachment.  We learn this when he has the SAME reaction when Sun and Jin reunite in "The Last Recruit," and this time, he doesn't look at Kate.  When Jack and Kate see each other, he reacts the same way.

[Those of you interested in the undershow should know he chides Jack for this later.  When Jack gets back from his Mock Locke chat, he mentions it to her.  Something like, "It gets stronger every time."  That's because Jack and Kate are together on the outside, but they can't show it.  Here's something you'll like:  Jack is UNDER COVER.  When he ends up "with" Mock Locke in "The Last Recruit," it's where he SUPPOSED to be.  He's the spy.  I wouldn't be surprised if Kate had some kind of directive as well.]

Isn't Season 6 fun?

_____________________________________________________________

DR. LINUS’ SCHOOL

Metro Desmond stakes out the school parking lot. He spots John Locke struggling to roll uphill.  Dr. Linus appears at the window and knocks.

  • Dr. Linus:  Hello there.

  • Metro Desmond:  Hello.

  • Dr. Linus:  You’ve been parked her and staring at the kids just long enough to make me wonder if you're a priest.

  • Metro Desmond:  No-no.  I’ve just moved into the neighborhood.  I’m looking for a school for my son.

  • Dr. Linus:  What’s your son’s name?

  • Metro Desmond:  (to quick) Charlie.

  • Dr. Linus:  Well it’s a wonderful school –


Metro Desmond notices Locke has finally rolled up to the parking lot.  He readies to leave.

  • Metro Desmond:  Thank you for the information. Nice talking to you.


He drives to the parking lot.  Once John reaches the middle of the road, Metro Desmond guns it. Locke throws up his arm before Metro Desmond mows him down.  John smashes his head on the windshield, flies over the car and rolls to a stop [And Amy goes "AAAAHHHHHHHH! III"].  Metro Desmond keeps driving.  Dr. Linus comes running.  John is trembling, blinking and bleeding.  Dr. Linus rolls him to his back.

  • Dr. Linus:  Call 911!  Mr. Locke? Oh my God. We’re gonna get you to the hospital, Mr. Locke. Can you hear me?


More on this in the next episode, but man! That was cold blooded!  [Did anyone see John's primal fear before that car hit?]

_____________________________________________________________
END Episode 6.12

_____________________________________________________________

HOLY CRAP!

NEXT UP: "The Last Recruit"

SEASON 6 Recaps

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Amy Smashes Through the Looking Glass: FEAR & Identity

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO RESIST TABULA RASA

In my last post on Memory and Identity, I brought up the T.V. show Dollhouse.  It's a little sci-fi/Joss Whedon show that ended its two year run January 2010.  The show was about an uber-company (Rossum) that develops advanced medical research/technology to empty and reprogram the human brain.  Memories can be scanned, stored, manipulated and uploaded into someone whose mind has been wiped clean and prepped for upload (called a 'doll').   Rossum runs an exclusive business with this tech: they create custom ordered personalities, upload them into dolls and then rent them out to customers for a LOT of money.   Once returned to the Dollhouse, the dolls (or actives) have a "treatment" where everything is erased back to zero.

The dolls are men and women who have voluntarily signed contracts (5 years) to allow their bodies to be used this way (usually for shady reasons like escaping the law or a traumatic emotional experience like LOSING A CHILD).  When their contract's up, their entire dollhouse experience is erased, their identity is restored (uploaded) and they walk out the door with a lot of cash and none of those pesky problems they walked in with.

While they are in a "doll state," referred by the Dollhouse's boss as "Tabula Rasa," they are basically like really submissive children.  They don't act like children, but their emotional state is child-like.  Raise your hand if you know why.  Anyone?  That's right!  Because your emotional maturity is dependent on your experience more than anything else. No experience, no emotional maturity. No complex thoughts either.  (It probably helped that they were kept on a constant cocktail of really cool drugs to keep them happy.)

Yeah. It was dumb. It tried not to be a sex slave show, but let's face facts. Why else would really rich people rent hot men and women programmed to authentically want to do whatever they say?  The show's premise did, however, raise some very interesting philosophical questions that pertain to our discussion of LOST.

Those questions center around the main character, Caroline, who checks into the Dollhouse in the pilot. Her memory (her GHOST) is scanned and stored. Then her ghost is erased where there's no "Caroline" left in her brain, but her brain and body are still functioning just fine (doll-state).  The Dollhouse assigns names to each "active" from the military radio alphabet, which replaces every letter with a word beginning with that letter.  Caroline's body without Caroline's ghost in it is called Echo.

(Yeah. I said Echo.  Other names on that military alphabet list?  Michael and JULIET.  Interested yet?)

The philosophical question: Is Echo a person? Is she alive? As long as she keeps to her doll-like state and keeps getting erased back to zero, this question doesn't seem to apply.  She isn't sentient as Echo.  Echo isn't a ghost.  She's a substitute.

Meet Alpha.  He was originally recruited from a prison for the criminally insane.  Turns out, that's not a good idea cuz broken brains don't really doll-state all that well.  He has a "composite event" accident where 48 different imprints (manufactured ghosts) are uploaded into his brain all at once.  He is "people."  He goes crazy and breaks out, but not before he falls in psycho love with Echo.

Alpha decides he needs to WAKE Echo UP.  He arranges for her to be rented by a pal who takes her camping and bow-hunting.  Just when things are going fine, he tells her she's got 10 minutes to run because he's hunting her.   During the chase she is 1) drugged 2) knocked unconscious and 3) scared out of her WITS.  In the final confrontation, before she kills this dirt-bag, she starts to flash. She starts to remember being other people. All of those imprints weren't really erased from her mind after all.  Lucky for her, a few of her previous imprints have some excellent firearms, hand-to-hand combat and first aid skills.  As she faces a new situation and the need for a skill pops up, she can access the skill without changing into someone else.  Get it? Memories of the skills are buried in her brain, and she can only access them when she needs them.  After, they go back into storage.

[This, by the way, is the ENTIRE PREMISE of a little show called CHUCK. Maybe you've heard of it?]

After returning to the Dollhouse, her brain is wiped as usual, but this time, it doesn't take.  Echo has become sentient.  Echo has become her own ghost.  So basically Alpha has engineered an experience for Echo that drives her to primal fear -- the fear of death -- and experiencing primal fear "wakes her up" from being a drone (if you fear death, it's because you want to stay alive).  After this experience, Echo is 'real.'  Echo is a ghost.

So here's the question:  Which ghost does the physical body belong to?  Caroline or Echo?

Should Echo be erased just because she was artificially created?  [Erasing her, by the way, is essentially killing her.  She would "simply cease to exist."]  She certainly wouldn't be alive any longer.  So if Caroline's ghost is put back into her body, what happens to Echo's ghost?  Can they co-exist separately in the same body?  Which one gets to be 'real?'

This would be VERY close to existential questions explored in Ghost in the Shell and Bladerunner, both covered HERE.

Interesting, right?


ANYTHING YOU FEAR CAN AND WILL BE USED AGAINST YOU ON THE ISLAND


I think we can all agree that before Desmond has this car crash experience with Charlie, he doesn't remember anything about the island or Penny.  He notes Claire's baby might be a boy at the airport, but he doesn't recognize her like Jack recognizes him in the plane (the Claire business is a classic Darlton trick!  That's not even Claire!).  Even if you are convinced that somehow Desmond had an inkling of events on the island early on, he still doesn't remember anything about PENNY until he sees Charlie's hand pressed against the window after the crash.  At that point that same hand on the window at the hatch ("Not Penny's Boat") flashes before his eyes (get it?).


Remember way back in"316" Mrs. Hawking tells Jack, Desmond, Sun and Ben that they have to duplicate the circumstances of their first flight as much as possible in order to get back to the island on the Ajira flight?  Well, Charlie underwater with his hand pressed to the window after the car crash is an excellent duplication of Charlie underwater with his hand pressed to the glass before he died when The Looking Glass control room flooded (thanks to Mikhail's hand grenade).

That moment, btw, when Desmond and Penny hear each other just before Charlie closes the door is the LAST TIME DESMOND interacts with Penny on the ISLAND.  Not a coincidence that the image Desmond sees (Charlie's "Not Penny's Boat" hand) connects to the last time he saw her face (on the radio view screen) and heard her voice on the ISLAND.  Later in the MRI, he hears Penny call his name -- that's the last words he heard her say before Charlie closed the door.  [Think about that - we'll come back to it later.]

Let's take the time to examine the sequence of events leading up to Desmond's first flash.

Desmond Remembers Image From The Island.

  1. Given a warning/choice (By Flash Charlie - Let me show you or get out of the car).

  2. Primal fear aka "Fight or Flight" response (car goes into the water)

  3. Knocked unconscious (Desmond wakes up under water)

  4. Visual trigger (Charlie's hand at the window)

  5. Flash/vision (of "Not Penny's Boat" hand)

  6. Result:  Starts to look for Penny.


Oh, my lovely LOST readers! Are you ready? Watch this!

Boone's Save My Sister Shenanigans


  1. Given a choice (by Locke - "Are you SURE you want to tell your sister about the hatch?")

  2. Knocked unconscious (whacked in the head by Locke)

  3. Primal Fear (Locke throws knife)

  4. Audio trigger (hears Shannon screaming)

  5. Flash/Vision (Shannon's Death)

  6. Result:  Lets go of his obsession with Shannon.


Claire Names Aaron (on-island)

  1. Given a choice (whether or not to let Danielle hold the baby)

  2. Knocked unconscious (we assume by Danielle)

  3. Primal fear (baby is gone)

  4. Audio trigger (Charlie promises to get Aaron back)

  5. Result: Finally names Aaron


Are you seeing it?  Isn't this fun?  Okay, just one more:

Ben Cons Sawyer

  1. Given a choice (to submit or stop fighting  back)

  2. Knocked unconscious (Ben whacks him w/his badass stick)

  3. Primal Fear (freaks on operating table; worried about pacemaker killing him)

  4. Visual Trigger (Ben shows him they are on different island)

  5. Result:  Sawyer gives up.


Whoa.  That pattern (or a variation of it) we see is a pattern of manipulation used on our losties to "change their minds" Kinda like Richard does at the end of "Ab Aeterno" -"I changed my mind! I changed my mind!" Question is: WHY?

[Watch your wordplay - Richard's MIND is changing - his identity, his 'ghost.'  That's why, regardless of what Ricardo experiences, "Ab Aeterno" is not Richard's backstory.  The backstory stuff is just filler.  It's the system tying up all the loose ends AND this is a training run for HURLEY, who is generating this flash (like Jacob and Mock Locke can do).  This is Richard's FLASH, it's artificial and it's engineered by Hurley to see if he can do it.  Before the flash, Richard's  an unknown. He's blank.  After the flash, he's a man mourning the death of his wife.  By "Everybody Loves Hugo," he's blank again - NO NECKLACE.]

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMEMBER


I think there's more than enough evidence in Season 6 to prove that our losties are being manipulated to take certain steps down a particular path by two or more outside parties in order to get something done (or prevent that something from being accomplished).  [My personal theory is that "they" are shutting down the island and helping all the peeps who are trapped by it.]  And clearly Mock Locke is 1) working a plan toward and endgame and 2) changing/influencing our losties.

If Mock Locke is using primal fear as a catalyst to change or influence our losties, the question is: change them from what? Is he waking them up? Is he brainwashing them (like Clairuso)?  If he IS waking them up, then why were they asleep?  And how does he recognize them as asleep?

All interesting questions.

We return, yet again, to Desmond.  In "Everybody Loves Hugo," why is Mock Locke so surprised at Desmond's lack of fear?  When Desmond says, "What's the point of being afraid?"  Mock Locke get's IRKED. Quick!  He dumps the smiling Desmond head first down the well.  Desmond's "AAAAHHHHHHHH!" as he falls tells me he might be feeling a little  fear now.  Is that why Mock Locke tells Sayid "You don't have to worry about him anymore"?

Let's think of other losties who have nearly fallen to their death (and were definitely afraid).

  • Jack tumbles off a cliff chasing Christian's ghost. Mock Locke hauls him up and chats with him about chasing the white rabbit.

  • Sawyer tumbles off a cliff on the way to Graffiti cave with Mock Locke, who then shows him names and numbers, followed by his own : James Ford.

  • Kate nearly falls out of a tree picking mangoes. Then she sees the black horse for the first time.

  • Kate nearly falls out of a tree after the incident.

  • Kate nearly falls into the hole at the temple before the smoke monster breeze by overhead.

  • John Locke falls to the ground when his father pushes him out the window.


So you tell me.

Can you think of any losties that were shocked by car accidents?

Any losties you can think of terrified enough to press a button every 108 minutes for three years to prevent the end of the world?

Yunh-hunh.  I'm with you!

FREE Downloadable #LOST Bingo Cards!

http://shop.ianleino.com/product/lost-bingo-cards-free 

BingoCards-A-DYT 

 

Thanks flashsideways on Tumblr.

@Loster21's Tweets O' the Day from May 1-2, 2010

Happy #LOST Eve, LOST fans, I hope you each had a great weekend!  I had a great time doing some LOST-related things, including watching the LOST tweets go by!  Someone else was also having a great LOST day on Saturday:

Kristen Maynard 1Yummy_Mummy - Peyton's happily playing with toys by herself and I'm being a lazy mommy having a #Lost marathon Saturday... 10:07 AM May 1st

While LOST production continued to work away:

WTAL #20 "THE CANDIDATE" Prehash Podcast 2Night!!

Hey LOSTblog Fans!

Tonight we another Prehash Podcast! We will be going over any information we have about this week’s upcoming episode and we will be giving our theories about what we think is going to happen both this week as well as weeks to come.

If you would like to be one of our participating chatters this week DM LOSTblog_WTAL on Twitter or e-mail us at podcast@LOSTblog.com . We will also be having a live chat room for listeners to participate in at http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=76142&cmd=tc .

We will be starting promptly at 9:30 EST and will be going for roughly 45 Min. So join in as “WE TALK ABOUT LOST”!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Amy Smashes Through The Looking Glass: Everybody Loves Wordplay

WORDPLAY EXTRAVAGANZA - DR. CHANG'S SPEECH HONORING HUGO

I've said it once, I'll say it again: Wordplay is EVERYTHING on LOST.  If events on LOST are bringing you down, go back and reconsider what you've HEARD.  Scratch that paint off, folks!  There's GOLD underneath!

Team LOST has dropped lots of words before, but I can't think of any other time where they've dropped SO many SO quickly.  Since this speech (taken from the first minute of "Everybody Loves Hugo" is about Hugo/Hurley, let's assume we'll be finding out more information about him and his role in the story.

Dr. Chang's Groovy Slide Show Speech

Fade-in to a smiling Hurley with a farm behind him.

  • Chang:  In a world of conflict and strife, there is but one fact we can all agree upon. Everybody loves Hugo.


Pictures (synced with V.O.) show Hurley as a baby (CUTE!).

  • Chang:  Born to humble surroundings, Hugo Reyes has always been a beacon of light for all who cross his path.


at Mr. Cluck’s Chicken, Mr. Cluck Chicken places with the Eiffel Tower, a snow-capped mountain, the pyramids of Giza.

Hurley in a black suit (white shirt) and yellow construction hat shakes hands with a small group of peeps, all in black with hats. A guy in a Mr. Cluck’s Chicken costume looks on.

  • Chang:  Hugo's lifelong love affair with chicken led him to acquire and then expand the Mr. Cluck's chain into a worldwide phenomenon.


Hurley wearing a Humane Society shirt [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!] holding a teeny dog.

  • Chang:  The exponential growth of Hugo's success was startling. But financial success wasn't the end. It was the beginning. Hugo and giving became synonymous.


Hurley poses with 5 kids and Chicken Costume Guy [CCG] in front of Elephant in a zoo habitat [Get it? Habitat! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]  (That’s the Honolulu Zoo, btw .  They really need to update their elephant habitat!)  Hurley poses with SAME 5 peeps at a ceremonial “cutting of the construction tape.”  The 5 peeps, on with huge scissors, CCG [with the FACE blacked out!], and new guy with his hands in his pockets in front of a playground [Hurley not pictured].

Hurley poses in front of a big building.  Lookit all the RED. A sign reads “BOX” next to him.  Hurley cuts a big red ribbon w/same kids from zoo pic, same 5 peeps and CCG.

  • Chang:  Parks, playgrounds, hospitals, the Mr. Cluck's House for Children... the philanthropy was unparalleled.


Hurley in a “FEED EVERYONE” shirt poses with CCG in front of farm with sign saying, “Mr. Cluck’s EXPERIMENTAL FARM.”  Final Image:  Hurley in a black suit tips his hard hat to the camera.

  • Chang:  Which brings us to this evening and the opening of the Hugo Reyes Paleontology Wing at the Golden State Natural History [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!] Museum. A lasting beacon of culture that bears the name of one of our city's greatest benefactors.


Dr. Pierre Chang at a podium in what looks like a dinner event thingy. Dr. Chang has not aged ONE day since we saw him in “The Incident,” which SUPPOSEDLY took place 30 years prior.

Spotlight on Hurley (red tie, blue suit) at a table with his mom, Carmen (in black and white dress accented with red. Cool red flowers in her hair).  She looks skeptical as she claps along with everyone else.  Hurley smiles and nods thanks as he gets a standing ovation.

Wordplay: It's Not Just For Crossword Puzzles

Let's take a closer look at the words (SPECIFICALLY chosen by the writers of LOST) used to describe Hugo/Hurley.

  1. We all agree upon: This is interesting. What we've always seen on LOST are the two sides/worlds in opposition.  The flash world and the island world.  The Others and our losties [remember: "A Tale of Two Cities?"] This tells me that Hugo is accepted in both worlds AND by the TWO different groups of peeps that occupy these two worlds (HUMANS and the OTHERS).  This is good news!  If everyone can agree, maybe they can unite or cooperate and save themselves in the coming "war."

  2. Humble surroundings, startling exponential success: Hurley wasn’t a CHOSEN one or preordained or “special” like John Locke’s been told over and over again.  What I mean is, Hurley has never been marked for “destiny.” He’s been in on-the-job-training.  By the end of this episode, we see that Hurley is coming up with a plan, and our  losties are trusting, following and listening to him.

  3. Financial success not the end. It was the beginning: This one is tricky.  I think that the task at hand, the thing that our  have to do to make everything okay in the end might be a start up of a "new world" order, almost like starting from scratch.

  4. Beacon of light: Like a lighthouse, maybe?  Lighthouses are FIXED MARKS in the DARKNESS that guide you home or help you avoid shipwreck.  Jacob’s lighthouse is the endpoint of Jack’s journey of enlightenment. A BEACON is continuous signal in a fixed location used by travelers to orient themselves.  If you are LOST at sea, for example, a beacon is pretty handy.  A beacon can also be a tool for "gathering" peeps together.  It beckons them ("Come into the light!").  It draws them in.  The Looking Glass station was basically a beacon that allowed the submarine to return to the island.  A beacon is also something you can use to help others people find YOU.   I'm thinkin' Hurley’s job is to be the beacon, to illuminate the safest path home.

  5. Cross:  Think "cross-over"  as in, cross over to the other side or cross over between TV shows.  When one fictional TV world intersects with another, it's called a crossover. Intersect is another good word to think about.  The island is some kind of intersection between these two worlds.  I think this is what needs to happen on LOST in order for the good guys to "win."  These two sides, these two worlds have to blend somehow.  [Also: Double-cross, cross to bear, cross=angry]

  6. House for Children:   Children are an issue on the island, but I"m puzzled by this.  If you can't have children/offspring, you die out -- plain and simple. To house someone is to give them shelter, usually at your own expense.

  7. Hugo and giving became synonymous:   This seems pretty straightforward. HOWEVER, LOST is NEVER straightforward!  I looked up a few synonyms for the word "giving," and besides "charitable," it also means: "deliver, hand, pass, put into the hands of; hand over, make over, deliver over, pass over, turn over," as in "I'm giving this to you" (Thesaurus.com).  If Hugo and giving are synonymous, it could mean he'll be the turning point for the merge that's coming: the merge that will avoid 1) destruction and 2) war.  I think Hurley is the peacemaker here.

  8. Synonymous:   Another VERY interesting word!  When two words are synonymous they LOOK and SOUND completely DIFFERENT, but they have the SAME MEANING, and they are INTERCHANGEABLE.  It’s another allusion to Hurley on the island and the flash world.  He's Hurley/Hugo on the island and Hugo in the flash. If Hurley shows up too (via memories), it shouldn't be a problem. These two guys are the same.  [Think of Hurley as T-shirts and Hugo as business suits]

  9. Unparalleled:  THIS is my favorite word drop!  We’ve seen at least two of everyone (even Desmond as of “Happily Ever After”).  Hurley, however, is Unparalleled – THIS flash Hurley and island Hurley are the SAME Hurley.  I’ve noted in the past that Hurley is the only character who’s exactly the same guy the entire show.  His situations have changed, he’s grown some confidence and taken more and more of a leadership role, but this is still HURLEY whether you call him HUGO or not.  That is really frickin’ important because it means that Hurley’s is The Guy. He’s supposed to be the leader/guider now because he’s got all the abilities and now, under Jacob’s guidance, he’s got the skills.  It’s time for Hurley to take his place and start doing his job. [Of everyone else on the island, Desmond is the only other one of our losties who's the same person in his flashes and on island -- UNTIL he gets zapped!]

  10. Path: This one is pretty obvious.  You'll need to be on the right path to get where you want go. The path to "enlightenment," path to freedom, path to the other side.

  11. Surroundings: Good synonym for this word is ENVIRONMENT.  When we go into a more in depth explanation of what the island and the flashes actually are, this will make more sense.  For now, tuck "environment" in your brain's back pocket. To surround something is to contain it. Seen any containers lately? Like a wine bottle maybe? If you've got someone surrounded, it means they can't 1) leave, 2) win, or  3) continue fighting without being annihilated.  You've got the drop on them.  You have CHECK-MATED them.  It's time for them to decide: Do they want to die or surrender?

  12. Love affair:  Love, love, love.  The great love affairs here have been more than obvious.  Feeling LOVE is what triggers Charlie and Daniel in "Happily Ever After."

  13. Experimental: I don't have a doubt that research experiments (that were probably abandoned in an unethical, inhumane manner for financial reasons) have something to do with how this world was created and what's wrong with it now.  [In the undershow, Mock Locke is actually quite angry about this and rants at Ben after Jacob dies.]

  14. Farm: Remember how Eko told John Locke he was a Hunter?  In Locke's flash, he had to choose between being a hunter and being a farmer.  I'm still on the fence about this one. [Also: Funny Farm = The Nuthouse]

  15. Feed Everyone:  This is other one of those tricky wordplay words.  Keep everyone from going hungry? Sure.  But a feed can also be a signal or information feed. If you are being fed by someone else, you are receiving supplies that keep you alive and allow you to thrive and grow.  Feeding everyone means no one is cut off.  EVERYONE is on the GUEST LIST for DINNER.

  16. Culture:  When Darlton described the primary conflict on LOST in a recent interview with Wired Magazine, they agreed that it's "chaos versus order," and it's been "there all along."  Science v. faith has obviously led ourlosties down the path, but Order v. Chaos trumps Science v. Faith. Both science and faith are based on universal rules or principles.  Order and  Chaos AREN'T.  Just like Good v. Bad and Light  v. Dark, Order AND Chaos are both in the eye of the beholder. I think what we've seen on LOST is the group struggling to end the old world order battling the group or individuals struggling to maintain it.  Given the clues we have here, there's a large combined faction that seems to be cool with working something out.  [Culture is also in the eye of the beholder.  Culture can also mean "our way of life." A culture of something is the observed (often accelerated) growth in a controlled, artificial environment (like bacteria).]

  17. Humble:  This is not a positive word.  When you humble someone, you take them down a notch.  You devalue them, usually because they think they are more or as important than you are and you disagree. You"put them in their place." [WHERE THEY BELONG - Get it? Jacob tells Ricardo that the "darkness" is contained where it belongs.] If Hugo came from humble origins, it's likely he's from the "wrong side of the tracks."

  18. Acquire and expand: Remember "Manifest Destiny?" It's the philosophy that YOUR culture/society has the right and the edict to explore, exploit or pillage anywhere you damn well please. It was also the coin phrase Jefferson used to convince Americans not to freak when he bought everything from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean  FROM NAPOLEON [Louisiana Purchase].  "It is our destiny to be in charge of everything available within the given limits" ["Sea to shining sea"].  Given that LOST has hammered the idea of Destiny with a capital D AND that Desmond wants Oceanic 815's manifest to "show them something," I think it's not much of a jump to think acquiring and expanding might be the primary issue of the war. This is a territorial war - NOT a war between good and evil. ["The universe is expanding."]

  19. Worldwide: This makes me think of worldwide web. Hm. Remember we are looking at two TYPES of worlds: the island world and the flash world. Here's the kicker: NEITHER is a complete, contained, mutually exclusive unit unto itself.  Whatever's about to change, it will affect everything. ["Everything's going to change"]

  20. Phenomenon: This word means, "An observable fact or event," or  A PERSON, THING OR OCCURENCE  YOU CAN PROVE IS REAL TO SOMEONE ELSE (Holy CRAP that's cool!).  It's "an object or aspect known through the senses rather than by thought or intuition" which means, if I can see it, you can see it too.  We can agree that it exists. (For example: You can't see the movie in my head. This is good news if you are Matthew Fox).  The more common use of phenomenon is to designate an observable fact or event that as rare, significant, unusual, or abnormal. "That girl's a phenom!" means she is an aberration, but usually in a good way, kinda like a child prodigy (at playing piano, maybe?).  LOST is considered a phenomenon because the show has broken all the rules and still been successful (i.e. made BIG BUCKS).

  21. Bears: Polar bears! HA! Remember, Hurley's comic book had polar bears on the attack! To bear something is also to carry it OR to tolerate it.  Ever heard the phrase, "It was more than I could bear"? We have the right to "bear arms." We also have the right to bear the responsibility for what we do with our "arms" while we are bearing them.  To bear witness is to "provide evidence for" or "to testify in a court of law."  I've also used it heard like this:  "You all can bear witness (because y' all were watching and listening) - he confessed with his own mouth to me!" That means you guys can VERIFY I'm telling the truth because you were there when my story happened.

  22. Name: Wordplay with names is really rampant this season. Illana calls everyone (but Richard and Jacob) by their LAST names. When Desmond gets zapped, he ends up in a flash where peeps have the same first names, but different last names.  Interesting. [Hurley/Hugo - two names that refer to ONE guy.]

  23. Our city: In "A Tale of Two Cities," we learned that the Others have set up a nice, cushy little neighborhood where Dharmaville used to be.  By that time, our losties had set up camp on the beach and at the caves.  Two sides: yours and mind.  We could be looking at a merger here.  Instead of one side triumphing over another, we could see the two sides cancel each other out (like James/Sawyer says: Let them fight it out. I'm outta here.).  This might be a good thing in the end, because then their war won't hinder the merger process (the creation of a new world).

  24. Benefactor: Turns out, I love this word.  If you are a helper, donor (includes donations of organs, tissue, or your entire bod to medical science), sponsor, provider, rescuer, liberator, bondsman (yeah - even the sleazy guy who puts up your bond money for you), accommodator, savior, deliverer, improver, (one who makes or facilitates improvement - one who FIXES or UPDATES - Get it?)  humanitarian, Good Samaritan or fairy godmother, you are a benefactor.   You can give a little or a lot.  You can give money, cheese or roof tiles. It doesn't matter.  You can be anonymous or print your logo on everything.  If you are providing any type or level help for someone else, you are a benefactor.  Given every other hint in Chang's speech, it's pretty clear - Hugo is SIGNIFICANTLY contributing in a POSITIVE way for a group or groups to DO SOMETHING.

  25. Paleontology: Today, USGS paleontologists are using the knowledge they gain in their study of fossils to answer important questions such as: (1) what was the world like in the past, (2) what were the forces that made the world change, and (3) how could these forces impact the world in our lifetime and that of future generations (USGS) .  You can't study fossils unless you look at the EARTH.  It's all about the geology.


WOW! And that’s only from the first few seconds of this episode!  FYI: If all this wordplay business still doesn’t bounce with you, consider this:  Besides the visuals and soundtrack, the only other way Team LOST has to give us hints and clues about the mysteries as they tell us this story (on the show itself)  is through the script.  Why would the visuals and soundtrack be stacked high with many layers of meaning and clues, but not the script?

Wordplay is everything on LOST. Learn it. Live it. Love it. (Trust me.)

Party on, LOST Fans!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

@Loster21's Tweets O' the Day from April 30, 2010

Good morning (for me) all, how is your weekend looking?  Mine will be fun, but a bit busy today with Real Life.  Fortunately I have found a way to make it LOST-themed.   I’ll try to tweet some pictures later on.  Because of that, though, I’m going to get this post up early today.  I hope you enjoy the tweets as much as I did!

As was mentioned in yesterday’s post, April 30 was Associate Producer Noreen O’Toole’s birthday, and some of her coworkers tweeted it:

mike schaub mike_schaub - Happy Birthday to my friend @NoreenOT . Thanks for everything, Noreen. #chuckihadadoubleburgah 12:15 AM Apr 30th

Josie Kavadoy JOvsZ - Happy Birthday! @NoreenOT I'm having @johnnycupcakes send us one these http://bit.ly/cWFH95 be sure to bring your goggles to work today about 22 hours ago

David Eisenberg davidAKAice - Happy Birthday to @NoreenOT! about 19 hours ago

It was a big month for LOST birthdays; not only Noreen, but Damon, Rebecca Mader, William Mapother, and Jorge Garcia, whose birthday was Wednesday: