Tuesday, February 09, 2010

6.03 What Kate Does

“We believe he has been... claimed.”
I wasn’t so sure this episode had much going for it in the first part, but by the end it had really picked up steam, and I enjoyed a lot of what happened with it. But I will admit... in a final season where they have SO much to wrap up, I’m a little nervous about an episode that just seemed to raise a billion more questions without answering any of them. And yet... intrigued.

For me the most important line is the one above, spoken by Dogen. “Claimed” suggests that Sayid’s body has been taken over by someone (or something) else. We all assumed last week it was Jacob, and maybe the Temple dwellers assume it’s the Man in Black, and that he’s the bad dude. Watching Sayid hooked up to the electrocution device and seeing him getting stabbed with a hot poker made me think, “Wow... karma’s a bitch.” But they were using these torture instruments diagnostically. How? Could they have been seeing if the thing that Sayid’s body is hosting would jump out? Did they think he’d start talking in tongues? Or was it something more physical and less supernatural than that?

More importantly was Dogen’s comment about the darkness getting to Sayid’s heart and how it would change him utterly and turn him into a dark thing. We saw sweet little Ben Linus get shot by Sayid and taken to the Temple. The next we saw of him he was in Alpert’s tent and Widmore came to see him, and, like Sayid, Ben just looked at him and said, “What happened?” And that’s the last we see of Ben. By the looks of that scene, the Temple hadn’t changed Ben that much. But what if it did... and the darkness just hadn’t gotten to his heart yet? What if a few days later he was already the sociopath that we love to hate? If Sayid really has turned himself into the very same dark entity that Ben Linus is... well then, karma really IS a bitch.

I’ve been saying for a few months now that we should look at that scene on the beach from the end of S5 as if Jacob were the bad guy, and the Man in Black the good. What if Dogen actually knows that, and the “thing” that he’s trying to keep out now that Jacob is gone isn’t actually Smokey at all (despite Aldo thinking that) but the spirit of Jacob himself? Could Jacob be the evil that’s infecting these people?

And what about Claire? Is Aldo right about her being claimed (in which case, did she really die in the house explosion in “The Shape of Things to Come” like many of us wondered at the time?) or is he wrong, and she’s just turned into Claireseau?

That Ultrasound!
So... is this a production error or a suggestion that in the new timeline, Flight 815 actually left a month later? Claire’s ultrasound readout clearly says the date is 10/22/2004, which puts the flight in October, NOT September. (It also says it’s 9:29 in the morning, and considering it’s probably been a few hours of Kate and Claire running around and it’s been broad daylight the entire time... this is probably yet ANOTHER prop error.) So... prop error or hint that even the date is different?

Highlights:
• Arzt: “Hey, I’m walkin’ here, I’M WALKIN’ HERE!” HAHA! Oh, how I love seeing Arzt again. Can we lobby to make him a member of the cast?!
• Miles: “As you can see, Hugo here has assumed the leadership position, so... that’s pretty great.” HAHA! Miles is high-larious in this episode.
• Aldo: “Is this a press conference?” Aldo was a complete dick, but there’s something about that line that made me laugh. It also made me think that Kate’s actually been in a REAL press conference as part of the Oceanic 6.
• Miles: “We’ll be in the food court if you need us.”
• Ethan!! And he’s a Goodspeed the way he was supposed to be, not a Rom! He never became an Other because Amy was probably evacuated right before the island sank.
• Did anyone else absolutely ♥ the adorable ring that Sawyer was going to give to Juliet? I would have loved that ring. From Desmond.
• Claire!!

Answers:
• So much for answers every week!

Did You Notice?:
• Poor Claire... welcome to the US of A, darlin. She must have been thinking, “Holy CRAP I thought all of those people who warned me about the dangers of America were bananas, but they were RIGHT!!”
• I was totally expecting Claire to jump out of the cab and not be pregnant, but I was so relieved when she was.
• There go all our Thelma and Louise fantasies about Claire and Kate.
• The insanely cold way Kate acted in the car (especially scaring the bejeezus out of Claire) made me think that in this reality, she lacked the heart that always seemed to be her fatal flaw (going to see her mom, wanting that little plane because of Tom). But when she opened the bag and found Claire’s stuff, the look on her face told me that no, this is the same Kate we’ve loved since season 1. Maybe being on the run in this reality just made her a little harder in that scene than she usually is.
• The car mechanic that gets rid of Kate’s cuffs played Rack, the evil magicks dealer to Willow on Buffy. Interestingly, he tells Willow that she tastes like strawberries, which is what Sawyer told Kate she tasted like.
• The killer whale doll! Do you remember that? It’s from “Something Nice Back Home.” As Jack’s going completely ballistic on Kate because of some phone call that he thought might have something to do with Sawyer and he’s about to leave them, just as he says, “You’re not even RELATED to him!” Aaron comes walking out into the kitchen and he’s standing there holding the whale doll. Kate would have bought that for him, and in this reality Claire’s the one who got it for him. (It’s a clear reminder of the black and white theme on the show.)
• This is the first time Jin’s weighed in on the Jack-Kate-Sawyer-Juliet quadrangle, asking Kate point blank what exactly she plans to do when she catches up with Sawyer. I feel kinda bad for Kate... earlier she thought she was “saving” Jack by going to New Otherton, only to find out he’d planned to leave the island with Juliet. Now she’s off to save Sawyer, only to find out that he’d planned to marry Juliet. Looks like Kate’s the Other Woman this time... not Juliet.
• You know how in The Fly the guy steps into the machine with a fly and their DNA get crossed? I think that happened with Sawyer and Jack when they time-jumped together... some of Jack’s Jears rubbed off on the new Emo Sawyer.
• Ethan: “I don’t want to stick you with needles if I don’t have to.” Ha!! I loved that reference to season 1.
• The moment Claire said “Aaron,” there was a moment of recognition with Kate. It’s like that name was something that cut across timelines with her, and she knew how important he was supposed to be to her.
• Emo Sawyer becomes Emo Desmond!! I actually said out loud, “Throw it! Throw it like Desmond!” And then he did... You know, I’ve decided I need to take up deep-sea diving. I figure there’s a freakin’ wealth of engagement rings from romances gone wrong at the bottoms of various bodies of water. I’ll start with the Thames and then go to the island.
• Dogen is playing with a baseball when Jack walked in the room, a reminder of his dad’s comment, “That’s why the Red Sox will never win the World Series.” Which begs the question: in the other timeline, will the Red Sox win the World Series?
• Dogen says to Jack that he needs to remain separate from his people, because it makes it easier when he makes decisions they don’t like. As much as I loathe having to remind anyone of the events of “Stranger in a Strange Land,” this reminded me of the Jack tattoo that “Woman From the Others Who We Never Saw Again and Seemed to Have Been A Mistake At the Time Before the Writers Had Truly Worked Things Out” said meant, “He walks among us, but he is not one of us.”
• Dogen’s name comes from Dōgen Zenji, who was a Zen Buddhist master of one of the three sects of Japanese Buddhism. He lived in the thirteenth century.
• Ethan said the baby moved a lot, but he moves WAY too much for a baby that’s 36 weeks along. First, he shouldn’t be lying on his side like that; at 36 weeks they’re so big they’re either head-down (the way they’re supposed to be) or head up (the way mine was when my ob started screaming for a c-section). It’s not impossible for a baby to be lying like that, but that’s more what you’d see at the 20-week ultrasound, not at the end. But more importantly, on the ultrasound monitor the baby’s head was on the left side of the screen; on the printout, it was on the right. That is one athletic baby. ;)
• The detective who comes into the room is Detective Rasmussen. I did a quick check on that name and it said it’s a Danish name that translates to “Erasmus’s son.” Erasmus was the leader of the German humanist movement, which promoted scholarship of the ancients (now called Humanities). He was a Catholic priest and a brilliant, albeit vain, man. Could this be some indication of Aaron’s possible future?
• Kate’s used the name “Joan Hart” before. I think it was in the flashback where she dyes her blonde hair back to the original brown and then asks the guy at the hotel front desk for any letters to Joan Hart.
• Apparently the “darkness” affects your eyes... despite wandering the jungle for years, Claire has eyeliner on. Gasp!! Has Richard Alpert been infected by the darkness, too?!

The Numbers:
On my first rewatch of the episode, my son woke up crying when there were 42 minutes left. The license plate on the taxicab that Kate steals is 4DQS554. (There are two 4s in that, and D is the 4th letter of the alphabet.) The time of the ultrasound is 9:24:42.

So Many Questions...
• So, last week Lennon and his thugs insisted that Jack HAD to come with them immediately, and he had to come alone. And yet this week that urgency is gone and they’re no longer asking him to come. Why did they need him so badly last week? I assumed Christian was waiting in a back room to talk to him, and yet this week it’s like they no longer care about him.
• Who changes their mind about an adoption and totally DOESN’T TELL THE SURROGATE MOM?! Especially when she was going to take a 16-hour flight to ge to them? I was hoping Kate would pistol-whip that woman.
• In the original timeline that we saw before, many of us speculated that there was no adopting family on the other side, and Richard Malkin simply knew that flight was going to crash and he put Claire on it, forcing her to have to raise Aaron on her own. Does the adopting mom on the other side suggest that Malkin really was telling the truth, or did this change as a result of the different timeline?
• Wouldn’t there have been a more convenient place to hide an engagement ring than under floorboards Sawyer would have to rip up with a crowbar?
• I know this will be completely insane, but did anyone else think Sawyer looked a little paunchy? Or is it just the unflattering sweatshirt that he’s wearing?

Next week:

244 comments:

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Blam said...

I have a [Groucho] Marx & [John] Lennon T-shirt, Marebabe, but my retort came from a line in "American Pie" — a song about as densely coded as Lost.
...
VW: suplamp — 1. a light fixture used at the dinner table 2. casual greeting to that (or any) light fixture

flexible said...

@Sagacious penguin- You know, I agree that there is an element of under appreciation and reading your explanation it even goes to the point that this chaos of a triangle is not just down to Kate. The men were not innocent boys being molested by this freckled fugitive. They played their part in the madness and your point of under appreciation is a testament to that :)

Yes. I agree with your assessment of season 3 in the sense that, sawyer did not really help matters after Kate seemed to have decided to give it a go with him. If you think a man a lout, and he proves himself a lout after you have both shared a moment, its not surprising that you try to go back to the man who you think, is noble and quite frankly, you ought to be with. You see, I have always understood her ping ponging. I understand it all too well but some don't. What can you do?!

The part where I would agree, was the illustration of this "ping ponging" is Catch 22. Kate was not in the "club" anymore with Jack. She was upset about that and then used sex with sawyer to block it out. I didn't like the motivation behind it and I was glad that they had another scene in "the brig" because it just showed these two were in some kind of relationship but as has been obvious from season one, both have too much emotional baggage.

Its such a relief to actually have a constructive and decent and well reasoned discussion about Kate amongst the Lost Online fandom. These sorts of chats I normally have with fans who dont really bother with discussing Lost online. Online, the Kate hate I always put down to lack of understanding and maybe she is too complex a character for some, so its a delight to see someone who, even though I do not agree with all your conclusions, actually understands Kate.

flexible said...

@Sagacious Penguin (contd)

Sawyer is certainly no saint, and his behavuiour in Eggtown is what made her run back to Team Jack. Thats a point so many people fail to see. Kate did not just walk to Othersville, make out with Sawyer, and head back to Jack. I am not sure if I would go with saying she chose Jack in eggtown. I don't think there was any choosing in that episode as such. Sawyer had chosen team Locke, to Kates disappointment, (and they were in some kind of relationship, at this point). So, I think, like you have noted, a lot of sawyers insecurities were verbalised and instead of some folks to judge based on the unfolding story, they judged based on what was coming out of Sawyers mouth. We all know Kate had no fight with Jack in Eggtown before she headed for Othersville. Infact , he encouraged her to go there, but Sawyer throws a tantrum, and the some of the Lost online fandom buys it, because Kate has to be the bad girl who is using both men :)

Oh, don't get me wrong, Juliet was good in season 3. She had a story. After that, she was a triangle prop. Did she have more than one centric in seasons 4 and 5, before she was finally killed off?...and people seem to hate Kate for the reason they suddenly developed a love for Juliet and thats what I find particularly amusing. I think there was potential for there to be a lot more to Juliet than being the girl who liked Jack but let him go because he loved Kate and then being the woman who loved sawyer but let him go because he would always love Kate in a way, she herself wished to be loved. Like you say,the pregnancy issues. Ben. Her sister. There was more that could have been done but triangle fodder was what she became.

I am not sure Kate placed said "torch" on the ground but Kate is a trooper. She is always going to go about her business, regardless of whatever turmoil within. I certainly agree that from Kates POV, she thinks, that's it! However, I dont think thats the audience pov from what we were shown, but I guess we agree to disagree on that :) I am sure Kate has feelings for Jack and she always will. They simply are not the type of feeling she has for sawyer and I think this episode showed that she had finally recognised that. She was not going to fight that distinction anymore and so she did not kiss Jack and she went to find Sawyer so they could "figure it out together". Those are huge words from a character like Kate. For Kate to lie to Jack. To leave Jack. Someone who she is always 3 steps behind normally but this time, she made her choice and went with it. I also don't think Kate has ever chosen Jack in a romantic sense. Kate had no choice but to choose Jack in season 4. Sawyer was not an option. When we use the word "choose" the person has to have options. Kate was not an option for sawyer just like Sawyer was not an option for Kate and as the old adage goes, if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you are with :)

Rebecca T. said...

@Blam: Give some people an ankh and they'll take a Miles

Thank you for just making me choke on my sandwich. I need to go summon someone to perform the heimlech now...

Blam said...

Fred: maybe at some point Lennon will pick up Charlie's guitar and start singing "Across the Universe."
I've been waiting to use that as a blogpost title since before the season began, for both the title itself and the very lyric you mention. "Nothing's gonna change my world": Is it a prayer for serenity, or a lament?
...
VW: lahsh — Richardh's behst feahture?

Blam said...

@Sonshine: FYI: Pierre Chang would not be my first choice.

paleoblues said...

In the scene with the mechanic, after he says "Bathroom's over there....make it quick" and Kate starts to walk away, is that a date on the lower left hand corner of the rear window of that vehicle? It looks something like 5-8-07?

Unknown said...

I'm two days late and two dollars short....Fabulous (100s) of comments as usual!! Just last week did I read my first LOST blog other than NIkki's (I need my own alternate reality to squeeze in more time for reading) and I have to say that overall the quality of comments here far exceeds that of the couple others I read! But the writers did a terrific job! Thanks to BATCABBAGE for mentioning Ack Attack - I checked it out - freakin hilarious!!

Loved Jack telling the guards to step aside and they did! And for just a sec Jack himself even looked surprised that they did!

What exactly and to whom was Dogen writing on that dinosaur of a typewriter?

Maybe we saw another example of super-human island strength - how did Claire get all those coconuts up in that tree?

@DUKE - I agree, Sayid didn't seem like Sayid being tortured - he didn't seem to protest enough - but I guess he was wiped out from being shot and dying and resurrecting and all.

@PALEOBLUES - Great thought about Aaron being a handful as prophecy! And NIKKI, you're on to something about Aaron ultimately ending up with Aaron. He's got to come into play soon!!

@VIRGINIA KATZ - 'clate' - Love it! It's diverse - not that there's anything wrong with that!

@ANONYMOUS - I agree - I am dying to know why the Others are so brutal to the Losties.

@BOWLHED - I, too, so love the idea that the alt reality is actually the new and final reality that will be influenced and made better by the memory of island events!

What else was in Sawyer's shoebox? It was awfully big to be just for a ring ( that he bought at Island Jewels?). Maybe he saved some of the naughty mags he confiscated from 815? @JS and someone before (sorry) - That perfectly explains to me why the box was under the floorboards - thanks!

I wonder if Jacob touched Claire and we've yet to see that flashback. Did Jacob's touch instill some kind of 'darkness' seed (since Jacob has to be the dark one!) that begins to grow when the person dies, as did Claire during Keamy's attack and Sayid?

Lovelovelove Artz!! I see here that it's a line from Midnight Cowboy but 'I'm walkin here' also sounds like something George Castanza would say! Maybe we'll see more of him in the airport with the other characters - maybe he'll Hurley for another Mr. Cluck's rendition!

Happy Anniversary, MAREBABE!

I really thought Kate and Jack were going to kiss when she was leaving to look for Sawyer and I thought it was weird at the time that she said 'Goodbye' and not 'See ya', 'We'll be back asap', something less final. But now I understand why - she was hoping to catch up to Sawyer and play house with him while she helped him forget Juliet and he helped her search for Claire. There's no way that relationship has died yet!

@HUMANEBEAN - 'undercooked' was the perfect word to describe the ep!

@JOSHUA and others before and after- 'I have to say, I've just about had it with the Others' mysterious, arrogant condescension routine at this point'.
Amen, bro.

_armaLa_y said...

Using my RN (nurse) thinking & my LOST fan thinking, here's my theory on Claire. Claire got her bell rung (as Sawyer put it) when the house in the barracks she was living in got blown up. She seems ok, but she's really not OK. Her brain was hurt in a major way. Maybe a slow brain hemorrhage was the problem. This explains why she can function for awhile. However this hemorrhage slowly continues. Claire looks like she falls asleep by the campfire, but she's really losing consciousness. She's in the process of passing away overnight. This explains why Claire left Aaron. The hemorrhage in her brain meant her mental function was slowly going south. It also explains her following Christian...Christian MIGHT be a fallen relative she sees in a vision b/f she passes away OR Christian might be smokey infecting her b/c she's passing away. We also know Miles has a sixth sense when it comes to those passing away...& he is the one that sees her follow Christian.

(one of by laptop keys is broken, but I wrote something on this blog b/f - my URL is the song from 1977 orientation...see it? LOL)

Anonymous said...

Brava, Nikki, this is the best recap for this episode I've seen yet. I never thought of Kate as being "the other woman", but that's an interesting parallel.

And I have to give Sagacious_Penguin a "bravo", as well. That's a spot-on Kate analysis. And I appreciate that you recognize that Sawyer and Jack also made mistakes. Too many people make them out to be saints when they're anything but. (not to say I don't love them anyway)

I look forward to more s6 reviews!

Anonymous said...

"Its always fascinating when Lost fans complain about unrealistic things."

Actually, what kills me? Every (literally every) season a fair number of fans are excited but uncertain about the premiere and then disappointed with the second season and start going as far as saying they are giving up and the writers clearly don't know what they are doing and a host of other complaints. Every season. And in my own circle, it is the same people...every season. It's like at the start of every premiere, Jughead blows up in their heads and they forgot that they ended up thrilled with the last season...and they just cannot give the show the benefit of the doubt.

Nikki-as far as the "We have to talk to Jack!" last week and this week being "Jack who?" I guess I assumed they desperately needed to speak to him when they though Sayid had died. Once he turned out to be alive, they no longer needed to sit down with Jack.

Lockab said...

Sayid wasn't tortured.

Dogen put on a show for claimed-Sayid to make him think he was being tortured. The hot poker probably wasn't very hot and the electrical gizmo not really juiced up. Since Sayid isn't really Sayid anymore, but some sort of ghost/zombie/whatever, he doesn't feel pain. He was tricked into pretending to feel pain and therefore failed the test.

Lennon wasn't lying when he said he wasn't tortured.

Marebabe said...

@Lockab: Very interesting idea. I actually like it a lot, except for the glowing tip of the red-hot poker. Did we get to see it touch his skin and cause a burn? Or was our view strategically blocked? I'll hafta look at that again! I do remember thinking, when Sayid was reunited with Jack and Hurley, that he didn't lift up his shirt and say, "Look what they did to me!"

Marebabe said...

@Lockab: Well, I’ve watched the torture scene again, and there’s a problem with your theory. For a split second, we got to see red-hot metal touch skin. And then a couple seconds later, we saw the smoke curling upward as Sayid’s tummy was French-fried. Conveniently, my husband does blacksmithing as a hobby, and he’s still up, so I could ask him his opinion on the red-hot poker. Unfortunately, he has first-hand knowledge of the damage red-hot metal can do. He once accidentally brushed against a glowing piece he was working on, and got an instantaneous, though very small, 3rd-degree burn. A tiny bit of his precious hide just turned to ash and fell away. He said that metal hot enough to glow red is somewhere between 1100-2200 degrees Fahrenheit. I’m actually disappointed to learn this, as it relates to the torture scene with Sayid. As I’ve said, I really like your theory. I think that if the only torture device used were the electricity, you’d be on very solid ground. But the flesh-burning thing does create a problem. Any more thoughts on the subject?

Marebabe said...

One more thing. Can anyone see a burn on Sayid's abdomen as he's being helped up off the table following his torture/testing? Not having HD-TV, I just accept that there are lots of subtle things that I'll miss. But now I really, really wonder if there's a visible burn. The light was sort of dim in that moment, and I couldn't see one. Anyone with HD?

Cousin Brandon said...

Nicely done, Nik. Two things that struck me as awfully funny in your blog:

1. I ALSO thought Sawyer was looking, well, overly-stout. Weird.

2. In my recap, it just so happens that I not only included a Thelma and Louise reference, but even a picture:

http://cousinbrandon.wordpress.com/2010/02/10/lost-%e2%80%93-season-6-episode-2-%e2%80%9cwhat-kate-does%e2%80%9d/

Great work!
CB

Anonymous said...

Why the baseball....... A baseball has 108 double stitches, 4+8+15+16+23+42=108.

frecklesnpt said...

Regarding Flexible's comments "Its always fascinating when Lost fans complain about unrealistic things. For example-Claire getting into a cab with Kate or Kate going in a hospital with a gun. We are watching a show, where a man becomes smoke and kills people. Where a woman is strangeld by chains and falls down a pit and blows a hydrogen bomb in her face but still lives to mumble about coffee before she kicks the bucket.....and people are angry that, there were no metal detectors in a hospital or Claire hitched a ride with a woman who came back to give her her bag etc? Come on!"
My friend CBP68 and I talk about Lost all the time. One time we were talking re: Grey's Anatomy and agreed how ridiculous the show was when Izzy talked to her dead fiancee, had brain surgery, and could talk and be coherent an hour or so later, died and came back to life. We thought that was so unbelievable, but in the next sentence we agreed that Lost is totally believable. We did laugh at ourselves. My husband says there are only 2 people in the world who watch Lost, me and CBP68.

Just curious to hear from all you bloggers as to who is Team Sawyer, and who is Team Jack. I'm Team Sawyer (since day 1). From the blogging, I believe a lot of you are Team Sayid. I like the tummy, too.

frecklesnpt said...

Regarding Flexible's comments "Its always fascinating when Lost fans complain about unrealistic things. For example-Claire getting into a cab with Kate or Kate going in a hospital with a gun. We are watching a show, where a man becomes smoke and kills people. Where a woman is strangeld by chains and falls down a pit and blows a hydrogen bomb in her face but still lives to mumble about coffee before she kicks the bucket.....and people are angry that, there were no metal detectors in a hospital or Claire hitched a ride with a woman who came back to give her her bag etc? Come on!"
My friend CBP68 and I talk about Lost all the time. One time we were talking re: Grey's Anatomy and agreed how ridiculous the show was when Izzy talked to her dead fiancee, had brain surgery, and could talk and be coherent an hour or so later, died and came back to life. We thought that was so unbelievable, but in the next sentence we agreed that Lost is totally believable. We did laugh at ourselves. My husband says there are only 2 people in the world who watch Lost, me and CBP68.

Just curious to hear from all you bloggers as to who is Team Sawyer, and who is Team Jack. I'm Team Sawyer (since day 1). From the blogging, I believe a lot of you are Team Sayid. I like the tummy, too.

Lisa(until further notice) said...

Ok...this just occurred to me as I rewatch 6.01/6.02 and 6.03 for a third time each. Is it possible that Jacob sensed the "darkness/sickness/infection," whatever we want to call it, growing in Sayid, and he knew that Dogen in the temple could stop it? Is this the reason why he told Hurley to take him to the temple to begin with? Little did Jacob know that Jack would interfere...by not giving him the pill...OR DID HE?

Anyway...one more point. If Sayid was to take the poison, would it just kill the sickness inside of him, or would it kill kill him? As in gone, goodbye, no more tummy. Is this like when Jack refused to help young Ben and then he became the Ben we've come to know and loathe/love? Every episode raises more and more questions.

Unknown said...

Just rewatched and am wondering why Dogen wears a kind of wrist brace on his left hand? Not important to the story, just wondering!

And I wonder why was Kate in the 'authorized personnel only' antechamber in Claire's room anyway. Was she hiding and if so she came out mighty soon after the police left.

And why did Claire give Kate the credit card (that I'm guessing was from the adoptive parents to pay for baby stuff)? Did Kate tell her she spent all her cash paying off the handcuff remover guy? That whole interaction just doesn't make any sense, to me anyhow!

paleoblues said...

@TiaSabita: I was wondering about the money situation myself. When Kate returns to the bus stop and returns Calire's purse she says "Relax, I didn't take your money". So where did she get the $200 for the mechanic? A captured fugitive wouldn't be allowed to carry that kind of money and she didn't lift the Marshall's wallet. Also, she wouldn't be allowed to use the credit card because she's not an authorized user.

Anyway, what I was going to tell you is that your comment that "I'm walkin' here" sounds like something George Costanza would have said is stuck in my head. I can hear him saying that or maybe a similar line using a different verb. Now, it's driving me nuts . I'll let you know when (if) I figure it out.

Sagacious Penguin said...

Verification Word: PSHFUNN

Pshfunn: Command word, meaning "Pssssh. Stop worrying and have fun."

And, yes, I commented just because I liked my verification word. Sue me.

crazyinlost said...

Hermione-welcome to the (crazy wing) fold!

crazyinlost said...

@Batcabbage-I too was thinking of Cpt. Sisko when I saw Ghengis Otherton playing with the baseball. (I loved his explanation to the "prophets" about linear time being like baseball). Then I wondered if he was even in Japan long enough to appreciate the game! Just how old is he? Is he another RA?

crazyinlost said...

@Tanyam-I like your thinking. We still don't know the mystery behind the whispers, and 'them' being related to the infection makes great sense to me! It would explain why multiple people seem to be infected at the same time.

@paleoblues-I saw a hole in Sayid's shirt. When they are outside at the beginning of the ep, and he looks down at his abs, you can see a very small hole, nothing dramatic. And with Jin and the bear trap (where'd they get THAT on the island?), I was wondering why he was hurting at all, since it closed around his boots, so he shouldn't have even felt it.
@Duke/Nikki-yes, Sayid was acting whimpy when he was being tortured, but as I recall, he acted the same way when Rousseau tortured him and when the husband of the lady he had tortured was gonna torture him, so I guess he can dish it out, but he can't take it!

Karolyn said...

@paleoblues There was a Seinfeld episode that mirrored Midnight Cowboy, but if I remember correctly, It was with Jerry and Kramer. And the last scene had them sitting on a bus...just like in the movie. But that's all I can recall though.

paleoblues said...

@Karolyn: Thanks. The episode you are referring to is in Seinfeld S6 "The Mom & Pop Store" in which George buys an '89 LeBaron convertible believing it once belonged to Jon Voight. Hilarity ensues with many references to Midnight Cowboy and, yes, ending with Jerry and Kramer on a bus (ala Ratso and Joe Buck) going to retrieve Jerry's shoes. Seems like an opportune episode in which to insert that line, but it's not there.

The line was also used in "Back To The Future Part 2" when Marty McFly, Jr steps out into the street.

I'm still looking. Thanks again.

Verf: unisoh .... what someone who dislikes quilting bees attends

paleoblues said...

@crazyinlost: Yes, I see the hole. Nice to know there's someone else like me who actually goes back and looks at an episode before making a response.

Check this out: When Sayid actually gets shot (which you can see in the "Previously on Lost" intro to "LA X") he clearly (in close up, no less) gets hit on his RIGHT side, then clutches his LEFT side (where we see the scar and hole in his shirt) as he falls.

Verf: exoggl ... checking out your ex-wife

Marebabe said...

I’ve had an idea slow-cooking in the crockpot of my brain, and I think it’s about done. Time to serve it up!

Ethan Rom, who was born on the Island, grew up and became a medical doctor. Since there was no Lost University School of Medicine on the Island, he had to board the submarine, travel to civilization somewhere and get all educated for several years, and come back.

Then there’s Los Angeles doctor Ethan Goodspeed. We know nothing about his life prior to the day he met Claire and Kate in the hospital. All we know about him is that he seems like a real nice guy, has a lovely bedside manner, and is a ringer for Ethan Rom. He even sounds just like him! ;)

I have one basic question about Dr. Goodspeed, and maybe someone out there who understands the whole alternate/parallel universe thing better than I do can help me out. Was he born on a mysterious Island, a child of the Dharma Initiative, who left to go to medical school, only to discover that he preferred life in a big metropolitan city, so he just decided to stay? (That scenario reminds me of what sometimes happens with young Amish people. They venture away from the farm and their small community, only to discover that they prefer modern culture.)

OR, were his parents somehow never recruited by Dharma and therefore never went to the Island? So it’s possible he has lived in LA all his life.

The same question applies to all our Losties, but somehow the shock of meeting Ethan Goodspeed (and the simple fact that he has a different last name) clarified it somewhat, so that I can articulate the question. Are we seeing a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT reality for our characters, or are we seeing a branching-off that happened in their lives, as a result of a choice they made somewhere along the way? Like going left instead of right, or saying yes instead of no, or missing a train instead of catching a train? My grasp of these concepts is pretty weak. Seriously, I can BARELY articulate the question. I’m amused now to recall Damon and Carlton saying that Lost fans are SUPPOSED to be confused at this early stage of the final season. So I guess I’m right on track! :)

Fred said...

@ODM: LOST writers do this a lot. They set something up and then give it to us once again. The first time there is one explanation, but the second time we see it a totally different explanation applies. Claire reappears from her time with Ethan. She has no memory of the other Losties, does not know who Charlie, Jack or anyone is. We attribute it to amnesia. Desmond leaves the island on a helicopter, and suddenly he doesn't know who Sayid or anyone is. Amnesia? Nope, mind time-travel.

Or Sarah is in a terrible accident and the diagnosis is she'll never be able to walk again. Jack operates, goes for a run, meets Desmond who tells him to believe in miracles. Sarah walks. Do we believe it's miracles or Jack just got lucky--likely the latter. Locke is paralyzed, lands on an island and walks. This is a miracle, given to him by the island. In fact, Locke not noticing the wooden sliver nor feeling pain from the brand indicates he really is paralyzed. But on the island, whatever the force underlies the island, makes him walk.

We don't know enough yet to determine what Dogen's test really is. And in a world of tests (think Richard's test of Locke), we're never quite sure what they are looking for. Recall, Rousseau shocked Sayid in Season 1. Was that a test, or just her torturing Sayid to get information from him?

Fred said...

Okay, now we are in the final season, and three of eighteen shows have been run. So who the heck are Adam and Eve. Their bodies are supposed to have been deposited 40 years ago. But we're in 2007, so time is running out to answer this question.

I can speculate that Adam may be Faraday (had Charlotte remained she would have been a good candidate for Eve). Is Eve and alternate Juliet from 1977? Merely speculation at this point, but I am hoping we'll get some sort of answer.

Also since Bernard and Rose time travelled with Sawyer et al., did the same thing happen to Claire? Or being with Christian (also MiB) was she somehow out of the loop?

paleoblues said...

Who/what are the shape-shifting entities who are at odds with each other? One has taken the shape of an unknown “Man in Black”, Smokey, several other “dead” on the island and now John Locke. Another has taken the shape of a man known to us as Jacob, and now that that “shape” has been destroyed, we assume he will take the shape of another.

So, on the beach the discussion was not between MIB and Jacob, but two entities taking the shape of a man dressed in black and a man called Jacob. Who/what these entities are remains a mystery.

Perhaps they are not two (or more) separate entities at all, but manifestations of interacting/conflicting parts of a singular entity's “mental” state. Maybe it’s not a question of good vs evil, but the representation of the possibility of a dark side and a good side in every individual.

Does this bring to mind an image of Goofy with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other?

paleoblues said...

Further musings on a Sunday morning.

I was reading how Anubis fed the demon Ammit the souls of those judged to be more wicked than good, resulting the the "true" death of an individual, ie dead is dead.

Jacob: Want some fish?
MIB: Thank you, I just ate.

Verf: spigesi .... what kind of pasta is this?

paleoblues said...

MIB goes on to say:

"And desserts on that there ship."

Or:

"My ship's about to come in."

Joan Crawford said...

@Paleoblues- I was reading how Anubis fed the demon Ammit the souls of those judged to be more wicked than good, resulting the the "true" death of an individual, ie dead is dead.

Jacob: Want some fish?
MIB: Thank you, I just ate.


This is an interesting idea! You know they obsess over every line of dialog and wouldn't just throw in "I already ate" for the hell of it.

paleoblues said...

@Joan Crawford: As Nikki points out in FL S5, to judge someone Anubis places their heart opposite a feather on the Scales of Justice (aka the Judging of the Heart). What a way to celebrate Valentines Day!

Hope you enjoy yours.

The Shout said...

One more question that demands an answer:

How are Dogan & Co so sure Claire is 'infected'? Did they do the electrodes on the nipples test on her?

Flashback please!

M9 EGO said...

With so many comments and theories it is difficult to keep up ! I wanted to make a comment which probably refers to the LA X episodes more than this weeks but I’ll
go for it anyway. With regards to the two timelines my thoughts are that Juliet DID
set off the bomb and the process of the bomb exploding caused a ‘time jump’. The island sank in 1977 and therefore the Oceanic Mob never crashed , and therefore we
see the new 2004 timeline. This timeline appears different as it would due to the butterfly effect . I am also presuming that because the 1997 Losites jumped to the Ajira timeline this must be the latest version of the island i.e the present BUT this does not make it 2007. Who’s to say the Ajira flight took off in 2007 but didn’t land in 2027 or even 2077 etc ?

Now to contradict myself I also have the theory that the 2004 timeline we are seeing is the result of the ‘Ajira (possible 2007) ’ timeline playing out, not just a result of the Oceanic 815 not crashing.

Can anyone tell me this makes sense or I am mad ?!

lefty said...

"They said the time for questions is over, Kate! THEY SAID THE TIME FOR QUESTIONS IS OVER!" --Jack, after watching the last episode

Blam said...


@Fred: Rose and Bernard are back in 1977 unless Jacob or the Island (or whatever brought the main characters forward) wanted them in 2007.

@paleoblues: Yep, that "I just ate" line gets creepier every time I think about it.

@Marebabe: We don't know for sure, but until we see otherwise I presume that the explosion of the Jughead core mixed with the Island's electromagnetic lode either created an alternate timeline from that moment in 1977 forward and/or blasted through to an already extant parallel timeline exactly sidewards at that moment in 1977, sinking the Island in that other universe instead of the familiar one (thanks to manipulation by Jacob). So for Ethan to show up in the 2004 of that timeline, he would have to have been off the Island (in both timelines, which until that point would've been identical) when the explosion occurred. Goodspeed was his real family name.

VW: hobbi — The avocation of a Tolkein enthusiast.

The Rush Blog said...

Season 4 Kate stuck with Sawyer until his anti-baby/family/responsibility remarks in 4.04 (Eggtown). She was then back with Jack at the beach until the rescue. They tried to make things work between them off-island, but his suspiciousness and her worry of not being able to live up to his ruthless ideals (the reason she didn't say anything about Cassidy) drove them apart - helped with a dash of Island-influenced anxiety.



It's amazing at how many people don't want to consider what really drove Jack and Kate apart off-island. The moment Hurley told Jack that he wasn't meant to raise Aaron, the doctor knew that his life with Kate and Aaron was nothing but an ILLUSION. It was false, and it was based upon a lie. At first, Jack couldn't take it. And seeing an image of his dad only reminded him of the island and drove in the message that he was living a life of illusion.

What is remarkable is that so many fans wanted to solely blame Jack's daddy issues and personality on the breakup. They didn't want to accept the idea that Jack and Kate's life with Aaron was a false one, based upon lies. Not even Kate wanted to face this. That's why she became angry with Jack, because his anger, boozing and comment about Aaron were destroying the illusions she had been building, ever since she proposed the idea of pretending to be Aaron's mother.

However, even Kate came to realize that her life was a lie. Which is why she was willing to return to the island and find Claire. When Jack made it clear in the S5 finale that he wanted to drop Jughead in order to erase the events of the island and meeting Kate, the latter, once again, ran to Sawyer for comfort. Only the latter was too busy mourning Juliet. And would continue to do so for years to come.

RosieP said...

I see that I need to clear a few matters.

" The killer whale doll! Do you remember that? It’s from “Something Nice Back Home.” As Jack’s going completely ballistic on Kate because of some phone call that he thought might have something to do with Sawyer and he’s about to leave them, just as he says, “You’re not even RELATED to him!” Aaron comes walking out into the kitchen and he’s standing there holding the whale doll. Kate would have bought that for him, and in this reality Claire’s the one who got it for him. (It’s a clear reminder of the black and white theme on the show.) "

The phone call had EVERYTHING to do with Sawyer. Kate even admitted that it did. If you don't believe, watch "Something Nice Back Home" again.


"Seeing Sawyer's emotion on the dock, I realized how much the character has grown. The old Sawyer would never let himself be that vunerable."

The old Sawyer will eventually return . . . somewhat. He didn't grow that much.

Anonymous said...

By the looks of that scene, the Temple hadn’t changed Ben that much. But what if it did... and the darkness just hadn’t gotten to his heart yet?


C'mon! Really? It sounds as if you're trying to blame external forces for Ben's moral compass. Come to think of it, I believe Cuse and Lindelof tried the same thing in Season 5.

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