And boom goes the dynamite...

I can’t say I wasn’t a little happy when Ilana bit it, and I think the other Islanders felt the same way.

This episode filled us with a decent amount of information, but still didn’t compare to the Desmond or Richard episodes in recent weeks (in my opinion).

Here are some of my thoughts and theories about “Everybody Loves Hugo”.

SPOILERS AHEAD

First things first, when Hurley was at the ceremony at the Golden State Natural History Museum, who noticed that Pierre Chang was the man at the podium and that he had two working arms?  Also, this is the museum that Charlotte works at and where Daniel Widmore fell in “love at first sight” with her.

I absolutely loved when Libby came to Hurley in the flash sideways.  I was glad she wasn’t Rosalita.  What is it that allowed her to remember The Island and Hurley for that matter?  Why is she voluntarily in the mental hospital?

When Hurley met Desmond in the Mr. Clucks, I thought he (Hurley) was going to start remembering things.  How much does Desmond actually know?  How did he know to have Hurley “follow his gut” with Libby?  Did Libby still give her boat to Desmond in this timeline?

I was shocked as to just how much Libby knew/remembered about The Island and the other timeline.  She remembered the plane crash, the beach, them liking each other, even Hurley in the mental hospital with her.  Their date was just as I thought it would be and I love how everything is slowly falling into place.  Now that they have kissed, Hurley can remember things as well.  What is it that sets it off?  Love? Near death?  Death?  Why was Desmond creeping on their date?

And finally in the flash sideways, what is the deal with Desmond running down wheelchair bound Locke?  To help him remember?  To force him to go to the hospital to see Jack?  Revenge for what how Desmond and Fake Locke interacted on The Island?

I REALLY want to know your theories on this one.

On The Island I don’t think anything huge happened.  Michael came and talked to Hurley, Ilana got blown up, Hurley blew up the Black Rock.  Why?  Why was it Michael?  Why did he tell Hurley that he needed to stop them from destroying the plane?  Was The Island really “done” with Ilana?  If so, like Ben asked, what does that mean for everyone else?  Was Hurley blowing up the boat the right thing to do?  Is he really the new leader and the chosen one?

Side note… I loved that Michael actually apologized to Hurley for Libby’s death.  It made me happy.

Locke was very excited when Sayid showed back up to camp with Desmond.  How come Locke now has a staff/walking stick/spear?  I found this to be very Eko like.  Once Locke untied Desmond, a different small boy appeared in the Jungle.  Both Locke and Desmond saw him, but this time he was slightly older and had darker hair.  Who is this?  Still a young Jacob? Remember when we first saw the little boy, he told Locke “You can’t kill him”.  Maybe the “him” is Desmond and that is why he just pushed Desmond into the well.  What was the significance of the well?  Why did it mess up the compass needle?  What power came from the well? What answers came from the well?  How much does Desmond actually know?  Does he know the outcome and that is why he lets Locke push him?  That is why he is not afraid?  Does Desmond really know that Locke is the Man In Black?

Once Jack’s group joined with Locke’s, things were a little weird.  Does Jack know the truth about Locke?  What has Ben actually told them?  Who is going to be the new leader?  Jack?  Hurley?  Desmond?

SO…MANY…QUESTIONS!

Remember, to enter to win a t-shirt, all you have to do is post a comment between today and next weeks episode and you can win one too.

Only 6 hours of LOST left.

Namaste,

-Andrew

GAH!!!!  Sorry I keep getting behind on writing these.  Next week will be on time and up to date.

Desmond David Hume…what a fantastic character.  From the Monastery to The Royal Scots Regiment to The Island.  What can’t this guy do?

I am going to cover my thoughts about last week’s episode, “The Package” as well as this weeks “Happily Ever After”.

SPOILERS AHEAD

The Package

In the flash sideways, nothing was TOO shocking until the end.  We kind of new about the business meeting he was going to, but now we know it was with Martin Keamy and Omar.  Apparently, no one can be with the boss’s daughter and Jin has to learn that the hard way.  In the Sayid episode from a few weeks ago, Sayid got picked up my Omar in a limo from his brother’s house and taken to a restaurant kitchen.  After gunning down Keamy and Omar, he discovers Jin bound and gagged in the fridge.  In The Package, we learned that Keamy locked him in there before he planned on killing him.  Jin begged for Sayid to free him and Sayid just gave him a box cutter and wished him good luck.  Once freed from his binding, he came into the kitchen to find Sun with Mikhail and holds him at gunpoint.  A struggle ensues and a few shots were fired by Mikhail before Jin got his gun back and shot him through the right eye.  It looks like whatever happens on The Island is going to happen whether that person goes there or not.  If my previous statement holds true, I think Sun is going to die on The Island because one of the stray shots Mikhail fired found its way into Sun’s stomach.  After Jin killed (from what we see) Mikhail, he rushed to Sun to see she was bleeding and as they walked out of the room, Sun admitted to him that she was pregnant.

• Who is the real father of Sun’s Baby in the flash sideways?
• Where did Sun and Jin go next?
• Where did Sayid go after freeing Jin?

On The Island, we saw Widmore’s people attack all of the Locke’s people and take Jin while everyone is unconscious.  When Locke finds out what Widmore did, he goes to Hydra Island himself to confront Widmore and get Jin back.  Once there, Locke delivers one of the best lines of the show.  “A wise man once said that war is coming to this island. I think it just got here.”  I was so excited to officially join Team Locke in the Island war.  I hope this “war” is just that, demolition and destruction of everything.  Locke also tried to go after Sun because he said that he needs all the candidates together to get off of The Island.  Sun wanted nothing to do with him and while running away, she hit her head and could no longer speak English.  Is this a reflection of her not speaking English off of The Island?  Nothing too much happened on The Island other than the war starting, but something interesting happened on the submarine.  When Locke found out about the secret locked room on the sub, he needed to find out what was in it so he sent Sayid to go find out.  As Sayid got to the sub, Widmore’s people were dragging a limp body out of the hatch and when he slumped onto the dock my Sayid, it was revealed to us to be Desmond.  He was the locked secret.

• Why is Sayid unable to feel emotions since he has been “infected”?
• Why is Claire able to feel emotions? Is she really infected?
• Why is Zoe interested in electromagnetic survey maps of the Island?
• Why did Charles Widmore bring Desmond to the Island?
• Why does Locke need all of the candidates to leave with him?
• Why was Kate’s name no longer on the wall?  Why wasn’t her name crossed out on the wheel in the lighthouse?
• Why does he need Claire if she is not a candidate?

Happily Ever After

Nothing happened in the episode and too much happened in this episode to really write about it.  The main thing…PEOPLE IN THE FLASH SIDEWAYS ARE STARTING TO REMEMBER THE ISLAND!  Everything is starting to come together.  Desmond still seems to be the glue for everyone.  He is starting to have flashes again just like when he was jumping consciousness on The Island.  Charlie triggers a flash to when Desmond saw him drown and write “Not Pennys Boat” on his hand.  Daniel says he’s fallen in love at first site with a red head from a museum (I would assume this to be Charlotte Lewis whom he loved on The Island).  Daniel starts talking about catastrophic events and nuclear bombs and how something from the past might have messed up the future.  When Desmond finally meets Penny, he finds out her last name is Milton and not Widmore and as they shake hands, he blacks out back to The Island where he is “rescued” from Widmore’s people by Sayid.  When Desmond flashes back to Penny, they end up going for coffee in Desmond’s limo, which happens to be driven by George Minkowski.  George asks Desmond is he needs anything more, to which Desmond asks for the Oceanic Flight 815 manifest, saying, “I just need to show them something.”

• Why did Desmond follow Sayid and save him?
• What does Charles Widmore needs Desmond for?
• What sacrifice does Desmond have to make for Charles?
• Why is Desmond so special?  How did/does he survive all the radiation?
• What did Eloise refer to when she was talking about a violation?
• What does Eloise know about the “timeline”?  How does she know about it
• Where Charles and Eloise on The Island? How and why did they leave?
• How and why is Desmond working Charles Widmore?
• Why is Penelope’s last name Milton?
• What happened in Desmond’s past to make him not meet/be with Penny? What about being a Monk and in the military?

Lots of question and lots of answers in the last two weeks.   I will be sending out Nancy’s t-shirt this week.  I will pick two people next week from the commenters to send shirts to.

Remember, to enter, all you have to do is post a comment between today and next weeks episode and you can win one too.

Namaste,

-Andrew

I will do write some thoughts about that one too, but starting this week, I don’t think I am going to do a full summary.  You all watched the episode and know what happened.  We just want to talk about it, not read the script.

Sawyer has been my favorite character since episode one, with John Locke in a close second, but after last night’s episode, someone else has reached that top tier.

SPOILERS AHEAD

So in last week’s episode, Recon, we got some good flash sideways information.  To start though, I was sort of weirded out that the episode didn’t start with a “Previously on LOST”.  I wonder why?

I loved how Sawyer was a cop, but deep down, I REALLY wanted him to be lying to Ava and really just conning her.  When he said “LaFleur” as his code word, I really wasn’t sure if the writers were trying to slip a flash forward into the mix or not.  His relationship with Miles on The Island is so perfect; I couldn’t have chosen someone better to be his partner.  Miles mentions how his father, Dr. Pierre Chang, works at a museum.  Just another person who was on The Island that is no longer.

I was pleasantly surprised when Sawyer’s blind date turned out to be Charlotte Lewis.  I wonder if she was actually looking for a shirt or just digging for dirt on Sawyer and got caught.  Hmmmm.

Charlie’s brother, Liam, was a fantastic cameo seeing as how he hasn’t been on an episode in over two full seasons.

So, we find out that Sawyer really went to Australia to look for Anthony Cooper a.k.a Locke’s father a.k.a. the original Sawyer.  In Locke’s flash sideways, we were under the impression that he was possibly a decent guy that Locke now gets along with and wants at his wedding.  Could Sawyer be mistaken about him?  Maybe he’s looking for the wrong guy?  Why would he be in Sydney?

As for the flash sideways, my last thought was about Kate being caught by Sawyer.  He ran into her at the airport and knew she was a fugitive.  She was in handcuffs and they even put a lookout for her.  He was a cop at the time and yet still let her go.  Why?  Is it still Sawyer’s instinct to let pretty girls go?

As for on The Island, Locke is still rallying the troops to get off of The Island and Sawyer is still his smart-mouthed self.  He interrupts Locke to the point of making him stop and pull Sawyer aside.  He explains finally to Sawyer how he (MIB/Locke) is the Smoke Monster and how he killed everyone.  He then gives Sawyer a job of reconnaissance on Hydra Island.  That is the location of the Hydra Station where Jack, Sawyer, and Kate were held as well as where Lapidus landed the Ajira plane.  That plane had a ROUGH landing and I really do not think that it would ever fly again.  Just a side note though.

Sawyer goes over and once there, he finds a huge pile of dead and decaying bodies.  What killed them?  The Smoke Monster?  Themselves?  Widmore?  Time?  Hopefully we will find that out.  When Zoe ran out of the jungle to Sawyer, I wasn’t fooled at all, and neither was Sawyer.  He tried to pull a fast one on her and hold her at gunpoint, but once he did, her little whistle revealed the rest of her/Widmore’s crew hiding with rifles.

They bring Sawyer onto the sub and pass a locked door.  What could be in it?  Desmond?  Walt?  Aaron?  A Smoke Monster killing machine?  Once on board, Sawyer tells Widmore that he will personally deliver Locke to him so that he can kill him.  Sneaky Sawyer is conning again and goes right back to Locke and tells him the entire plan.  Sawyer likes to get everyone, but he likes to look out for number one.

My final questions:

• Who actually is the Man in Black’s mother?  Maybe he’s just referring to Locke’s mother?  She was slightly nutty just like Fake-Locke said.
• What are the growing pains the Man in Black talked about?
• What is the history between the Man in Black and Widmore? How long has he actually been on The Island and what interactions have they had?

On to this week’s episode, Ab Aeterno.  I, like most people, have been waiting for this episode since we first saw Richard in Season 3.

Richard’s story was fantastic.  Everything from his look, to his life, to him being captured.  Just great.

I loved when the trader from The Black Rock came to buy slaves; he talked about the captain, Magnus Hanso, the great grandfather of Alvar Hanso.  What was the purpose of all of the slaves?  What was their final destination?  Why did Jacob bring them to The Island?

It was cool how we found out that a huge wave is what knocked down the statue (or El Diablo) on The Island.  Just another question finally answered.  This also gives up another time reference as to when the survivors were time traveling.  At one point, they saw the back of the statue fully erect so we know they had to travel back before 1867.

Once on The Island, the Smoke Monster proceeds to kill everyone beside Richard.  How did the Man In Black know not to kill him?  Why Richard?

After his brief meeting with the MIB and Jacob, he is faced with the same decision we are, who does he trust?  The MIB or Jacob?  Since we first met Jacob, I have thought he was the bad guy, the darkness, the devil.  What do you all think?  Who would you follow?

What about their battle?  What is the darkness that the Island is keeping corked?  Are they actually in Hell?  What will REALLY happen if the Man in Black leaves the Island?  Jacob defended himself against Richard in 1867, but not against Ben in 2007.  Why?  And why did the MIB tell Richard to kill Jacob before he even spoke, and Jacob did the same thing with Sayid for the MIB?   What does Jacob have over the MIB to keep him on The Island?

So many answers…so many questions.  What do you all think?  Let me know and let’s make this a good discussion.

Last weeks shirt was never claimed by Erin so I selected Nancy to win for this week.  Her shirt will be shipped out soon.  Remember, to enter, all you have to do is post a comment between today and next weeks episode and you can win one too.

Namaste,

-Andrew

If it is the latter, I will be thrilled.  Sawyer has been my favorite character since season one and I even have a dog names after him.

Here are some questions from last week:

1. How did Charles Widmore get back to The Island and why?
2. Why is the MIB heading to Hydra Island?
3. How did Alex end up living in Los Angeles?
4. What happened to her mom?
5. Why and when did Roger and Ben leave The Island?

I hope we find these answers out soon.  Let me know what you think is gonna happen tonight or any other questions you have thought of yourselves.  Since I am still on vacation, my next post probably will not be until tomorrow afternoon or even thursday morning.  And I also will not be able to mail out last week’s shirt winner until then either.  The winner is Erin and I will email her to get her information for the shirt.  So far, all of the shirts have turned out really really awesome and I hope to have a gallery up of all of them soon.  Remember, to enter, all you have to do is post a comment between today and next weeks episode and you can win one too.

Namaste,

-Andrew

I am a freak of a LOST fan and actually booked Jack’s seat on my flight down here.

I know it wasn’t a transpacific flight, but I am still glad I reached my destination.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

The episode starts with Ben in his European History class talking about an island.  It sounds like he is talking about The Island, but instead, he is talking about Elba and Napoleon.  At the end of his class, he is told by the principal that he will be on detention duty for the entire week and that is prior commitments will have to be put on hold (a.k.a. his history club).

We then see Ben in the school’s teachers lounge talking with Arzt about how important it is to be good teachers and both Arzt, and “the substitute”, John Locke, comment on how they think Ben should be the new principal since it seems as though he cares way more about the school and its student body than the current principal.

Ben returns home and we see him having to take care of his sickly father, Roger Linus.  While changing his father’s oxygen tank and eating dinner, Ben talks to him about his much he feels under appreciated at his job even though he has his doctorate.  His dad told him that he wanted a better life for the family and that is why he ever even signed them up for the DHARMA Initiative and moved them to The Island when he was a kid. Roger questions what their lives would be like if they had stayed there.  During dinner, the doorbell rings, and standing outside is one of Ben’s students, Alex Rousseau, who really needed Ben’s help during History club and still wanted to know if Ben could tutor her for the test coming up.

The next day while helping Alex in the library, Ben quizzes her on the East India Trading Company.  She talks to Ben about his she is very worried about doing well on this test so that she can keep her grades up and succeed, given her mother’s sacrifices.  Ben tells her that he knows how bright she really is and that she shouldn’t worry about her future at all.  He then offers to write her a letter of recommendation for her college applications, but Alex tells him that she is waiting on one from the principal, but mentions something about him being a pervert.  Ben asks for more information about the accusation, and once he promises not to tell anyone, Alex confesses to him that the principal and the nurse were having “relations” on school grounds.

Ben comes to Arzt the next day and asks him about how to access other emails within the school.  Arzt won’t give up any information until he knows what it is for, and finally Ben tells him about the affair.  Arzt agrees to help (knowing Ben is after the principal position) and says he will only do it for better lab equipment and a better parking spot.

After getting the information needed, Ben goes the the principal and tried to blackmail him saying that he has months of emails between him and the nurse and he would go to the board and his wife with them unless he resigned and suggested Ben be his replacement.  The principal counters by showing Ben the request from Alex for her letter of recommendation. He tells Ben that if he goes along with his threat, he would assure that Alex’s future is ruined.

Alex comes to the principals office to thank  him for the fantastic letter of recommendation he gave her, but finds Ben alone in his office.  Ben assures her that he had nothing to do with the letter. The principal has found someone else to cover for detention and Ben now has the History Club back.  They both leave his office and Ben is confronted by a disappointed Arzt.  Though it is not new lab equipment, Ben offers him his parking spot.

Back on The Island, Jack and Hurley are making their way to the Temple (although Hurley knows that this is against Jacob’s wishes).  Richard soon appears and offers to lead them to the Temple.  Hurley doesn’t really trust Richard since they have never met, but Jack is willing to follow.  Instead of taking them to the Temple, Richard leads them to the Black Rock.  He apologizes for lying to them, but informs them that everyone at the Temple is dead, but it is possible that some of their friends had made it out alive.  Hurley told Richard that Jacob had warned him about going to the Temple because it was unsafe and this surprised Richard.  He then tells them not to believe anything that Jacob says.  He then strangely tells Jack and Hurley that he has come to the ship for one reason, to die.

Once in the ship, Richard tells Jack that this is the first time coming to the ship in quite some time. Richard goes right to a box of dynamite sticks and fuse wire, and Hurley tells him what happened to Arzt and how it is unsafe and unstable. Richard tells them that he knows this and that he (like Michael) couldn’t kill himself even if he wanted to, and that’s why Jack and Hurley have to do it for him.

Richard wants Jack to light the dynamite for him and since the fuse is long enough, for Jack and Hurley to escape.  Richard explains that when Jacob touched him, he thought it was a gift , but it turned out to be a curse.  Richard devoted his entire, ageless life to Jacob who insisted that he had a plan and that everything was happening for a reason and that EVENTUALLY, when the time was right, he would fill Richard in on the secrets.  Once Richard found out that Jacob was killed, he believes that his entire life, that was lived for Jacob, had no purpose.  Jack, without hesitation, lights the fuse and sits down with Richard.  Scared Hurley decides to leave the area, but Jack stays composed and says he has to talk to Richard.

Jack is confident that neither of them are going to die and stays despite Richard’s asking of him to leave with Hurley.  Jack tells Richard about them visiting the Lighthouse and him learning about the “looking glass” mirror.  Jack knows that Jacob brought him to the island for a reason, and that was not to die there with Richard.  Richard shows his that the fuse is almost down, but Jack stays strong and insists that all will be fine.  As the fuse burns to the last inch close to the dynamite, it goes out.

After leaving the Temple, Ben come back to the group of Ilana, Sun, Frank, and Miles.  He tells them that they should head to the beach.  Miles asks Ben a few questions about the Smoke Monster killing everyone at the Temple.  Ilana, already suspicious of Ben, asks if that is how everyone died at the Statue as well.  Ben stumbles over his words, and Ilana pulls out her bag of Jacob’s ashes and ask Miles how he really died.  Miles tells them all that it was Ben who killed Jacob, not Fake Locke.  This instantly upsets Ilana because of how close her and Jacob were.

Sun starts asking Ilana about how long they will be at the beach camp because she wants to go find Jin.  Ilana tells Sun that she also wants to find Jin since both of their last names are Kwon.  She doesn’t know whether she is supposed to protect Sun, Jin, or both of them.  This confuses Sun  and she asks for some explanation.  Ilana tells her that they are candidates to replace Jacob.  She says that once his replacement is chosen, they will find out just what that means. Sun asks how many candidates there are, and Ilana tells her that there are only six left.

Ben and Frank have a brief discussion about how Frank was supposed to be the pilot on Oceanic Flight 815, but he overslept and missed the plane.  Ben tells him that it doesn’t matter what happened, The Island still got him in the end.  Ilana comes to Ben at gunpoint and demands he comes with her.  She soon ties him to a tree and forces him to start digging his own grave.  While digging, Locke appears to him and asks why he is digging.  After a short explanation, Locke tells him that his restraints are now broken and he can escape.  Locke tells him that he planted a rifle 200 yards into the jungle and if he runs now, he can get to it and turn the tables on Ilana.  Just as Ilana turns to look at Ben digging, their eyes meet and Ben takes of running.  Ilana gives chase, but Ben reaches the gun and holds Ilana at gunpoint.  She wants to know why he doesn’t kill her, and this gets him started on how he watched his daughter, Alex, get killed right in front of him.  They share in a moment of grief and sorrow and Ben eventually lowers his rifle.  He asks Ilana to allow him to leave and join Locke’s group since he is the only one who wants him around.  Ilana assures him that he will be more than welcomed back and Ben decides to follow her back to the beach.

Once back to the beach, Jack, Hurley, and Richard come from around a bend to join up with the others, who now total eight.  As this is unfolding, a submarine periscope, undetected by the group on the beach, comes from below the surface and travels alongside the shore.  The periscope can see the entire group on the beach.  An officer on the sub reports that there are people on the beach and awaits further instruction.  Charles Widmore, examining his laptop, tells the watch officer to proceed as planned.

Here are some of my thoughts and sightings:

• This was the first mention that the Island exists in the Flash sideways
• I love that Ben was now changing his dad’s oxygen tank and he killed him on the Island by taking his oxygen away
• In the principals office was a large photo of the island
• During Ben’s tutoring, he shows Alex a photo of the Black Rock
• How did Alex come to be living in Los Angeles?
• When and why did Roger and Ben leave the Island?
• How did Charles Widmore find his way back to the Island and why?
• What is at the Hydra Island?

Again, sorry this was so late and I promise to have another one soon.  Because this was a week late, I will just be giving away two shirts next week from those who comment.

Let me know what you all thought about last weeks episode and I hope to hear from you all again after this weeks.

Namaste,

-Andrew

Mmmmmm...108 baseball stitches

It looks as though things in the alternate timeline are starting to carry over to the Island/present REAL time.  I wonder who else will “crossover”.

SPOILERS AHEAD AFTER THE JUMP

Sayid episodes always tend to be good and this one did not disappoint.  It started out with Sayid in his pre-crash life.  He arrives at Nadia’s house and is greeted by a smiling Nadia and her children.  Are they Sayid’s kids? Nope, they belong to his brother, Omer.  We first learned about Omer in a Sayid episode from last season “He’s Our You”.  He was just a child and NOT married to Nadia.  There is a lot of visual tension between the two brothers, especially when the kids discover the photo of Nadia is Sayid’s bag.

Sayid is woken up by Omer telling him about his financial problems and how he borrowed money from a loan shark for his store.  He paid all the money back, but says they will not leave him alone.  He asks Sayid to help him “get rid” of the problem because he knows of Sayid’s past, but he refuses to help, saying that he is sorry but he is “not that man anymore”.

The next morning after putting the kids on the school bus, Nadia comes running for Sayid telling him about how Omer had an accident.  Once at the hospital, Nadia and Sayid pass an on the clock Jack in the hallway.  After seeing a beat up Omer, Sayid tells Nadia that he needs to go (and basically take care of this situation) to which Nadia begs him not to, and for him to return home and wait for the kids.  When Nadia arrives home, Nadia asked him why he pushed her away towards Omer to which Sayid explains how he has been spending all of this time feeling guilty for what he has done in the past and how he never deserved Nadia.

When Sayid is leaving Omer and Nadia’s home the next day, a black SUV pulls up. Omar gets out of the vehicle and asks Sayid if he is going to pick up the kids.  Another man gets out of the SUV as well and asks Sayid to get in.  When Sayid hesitates, the man tells Sayid that he will go get the children and this makes Sayid comply.  Sayid is brought to a kitchen where an unknown man is cooking at the stove top.  The man at the stove offers Sayid eggs which he says he can prepare fried, scrambled, or even poached.  The man turns to eat his eggs at the table with Sayid and before the man sits to enjoy his eggs, he introduces himself as Martin Keamy.  He obviously knows Sayid and his brother and asks how Omer is since happened to hear the news of his mugging.

Martin proceeds to tell Sayid about Omer borrowing money and Sayid says he knows all about it, and that Omer has already paid him back in full.  Sayid asks Martin if he put his brother in the hospital and Martin says no.  Sayid quickly grabs Omar and his gun and uses him as a riot shield.  Sayid, like normal, ends up killing everyone, even a sorrowful Martin who is now begging for his life.

Noises from down the hall catch Sayid’s ear and it leads him to a walk-in freezer.  Inside is a gagged and bound Jin who says something in Korean. When asked who he is Jin says, “No English”.

Back on the Island, Sayid barges into Dogen’s chambers while Dogen is calmly reading a book. Sayid demands info about why he was tortured and tested with “that” machine.  Dogen tells him that for every man there is a scale and on one side of the scale there is good and on the other side evil. He explains that the machine can tell how the scale is balanced.  It looks as though Sayid’s scale tipped “the wrong way”.  Dogen said that he tried to poison Sayid because he thinks it would be best for everyone if Sayid were dead.   Dogen attacks Sayid and an epic battle ensues virtually destroying the room. Dogen, being the Samurai that he is, has considerably better fighting skills than Sayid.  Just as he is about to stab Sayid in the throat, he is distracted by his baseball which has fallen to the floor and takes a moment to reflect.  While holding back, Dogen tells Sayid to leave and never return.  Dogen immediately retrieved the baseball off of the floor.

The MIB tells Claire that she has to go into The Temple to give Dogen a message because he cant do it himself.  The MIB says he is only going to hurt those inside who don’t listen.

Sayid was still under the impression that those in The Temple saved him and then Miles lets the cat out of the bag.  As Sayid is getting ready to leave the Temple, Miles asks what he is doing. Sayid explains that he has been banished and how hes just glad that the people here saved him.  Miles quickly corrects him, making sure that he know that he was dead, for several hours at that.  Miles tells him that no one at the Temple “brought him back”.

Claire arrives inside and tells Dogen that the MIB wants to talk to him.  Dogen refuses and says that as soon as he steps out of the safety of the Temple, the MIB will kill him.  Claire suggests he sends someone that the MIB won’t kill.  Dogen tells Lennon to have Claire thrown “into the pit” and to bring Jack and Hurley to him.  Lennon informs Dogen that they can’t be found so he turns to Sayid and asks him to come with him.

In Dogen’s room, He gets a box which he dusts off and opens, revealing a fantastic dagger.  He explains that Claire is a confused girl “under the influence of an angry man, that man has been trapped for years but that now that Jacob is gone he is free and that he will not stop until he has destroyed every living thing on the Island”.  He gives Sayid the dagger and asks him to go kill the said angry man.  Dogen tells him that the MIB will appear as someone dead that he knows.  Sayid must stab him in the chest before he speaks otherwise it will be too late.  Dogen tells Sayid that he should do this to prove that he is still good.

Sayid runs into Kate in the jungle in passing as she is heading back to the Temple.  Miles tells her that Claire is now back and Kate demands to see her.

Obviously, we know Sayid is about to run into Locke.  As Locke appears, he starts to greet Sayid.  Mid sentence, Sayid stabs him deep in the chest as instructed (though he did let Locke speak).  Locke removes the dagger which reveals just a tear in his shirt, no blood.   When Sayid asks “What are you?” Locke flips it on him and asks what “they” told him.  Locke tells Sayid that he couldn’t be killed by a dagger and that Dogen wanted him (the MIB) to kill Sayid.  Sayid now realizes that Dogen has had someone else try to kill him before. The MIB ask Sayid to go back and deliver a message and hooks Sayid into the “dark side” by offering him the possibility of being back with Nadia, though she died in the short time Sayid was off of the Island.

Once Sayid returns to the temple, he announces the MIB’s message to everyone.  Jacob is dead and if the people in the Temple want to live and leave the Island with the MIB should join him before sundown and be saved, or stay and die.

Next came the first meeting of Kate and Claire.  Lennon leads Kate to the pit where Claire is being held.  Claire is at the bottom of the pit singing to herself.  Kate greets Claire who takes a while to recognise Kate.  Kate finally tells Claire that she took Aaron from the Island to save him and that she only came back to rescue Claire.  A furious Claire creepily responds that Kate is the one who needs to be rescued.  After her two minutes, Kate is taken away by Lennon and Claire calls out “He’s coming Kate, he’s coming and you can’t stop him”.

Many of the Temple dwellers leave the temple to Lennon’s dismay.  Lennon insures them that the MIB is lying and that it is still safe.

Sayid returns to confront Dogen.  While Dogen is contemplating and examining the baseball, Sayid asks him why he didn’t take the opportunity to kill him with his own hands instead of asking others to do it for him.  Dogen starts talking to Sayid about how we was a banker and had a son who loved baseball.  His son was killed in a car crash and following the crash, Jacob appeared to him and said he could save his son, but the only way to do so would be if Dogen would come to the Island and work and never see the boy again.  Dogen asks Sayid whether the man outside offered a similar bargain, which, obviously, he did.  Dogen says “It is sundown, will you choose to stay or go”?  Sayid replies that he would like to stay and as he finishes, he attacks Dogen and drowns him in the pool just as Dogen did to him a few days prior.  Lennon rushes in after hearing the commotion and tells Sayid that Dogen was the only thing keeping the MIB out.  Sayid obviously doesn’t care and slits Lennon’s throat with the dagger and throws his body into the water.  The Smoke Monster almost INSTANTLY invades the Temple killing all of those in its path and wreaking havoc.

Kate goes to Claire as Miles tries to hide and find a way out.  Kate jumps into the pit, hanging from a rope ladder, as she watches the Smoke Monster rush over the top of them.

While hiding, Miles is soon joined by Ilana, Frank, Sun, and Ben.  Ilana leads group through a passage while Ben goes to find Sayid.  Ben finds Sayid sitting by the pool and tells him that they can still escape.  Sayid say that there isn’t time for him.  At this time, we again see Ben very scared.  He quickly leaves the pool area and heads back to the group.  Ilana finally finds the passageway seconds before the Smoke Monster comes barreling down the hallway.

Sayid and Claire head into the destroyed courtyard, carefully stepping over all of the dead bodies of the Temple dwellers.  Kate follows behind them, taking a rifle from one of the dead bodies as she goes.  Sayid and Claire join the Man in Black who is standing just outside the Temple.  Behind him are about fifteen Others who have “switched sides”.  The MIB welcomes Sayid and Claire with a happy gaze.  He turns to Kate, looks her in the face for a few moments, then he turns and leads his group away.

Theories/Questions

• Is someone still coming to the Island? And if so, who?
• Why was Jin locked in the freezer?
• Why was Dogen so special that he could keep the MIB out?
• Where did Ben actually go after leaving Sayid?
• Did Locke throwing the white rock off of the scale throw the rest of the “scales” on the Island off?  Will someone replace that white rock?
• Who ACTUALLY is good?  The MIB?  Jacob?

If you have any more, post them here and let me know what you thought.

Last weeks shirt has been shipped out to Nicky and this weeks winner is Andy.  I will contact him and get the shirt out ASAP.  Remember, to enter, all you have to do is post a comment between today and next weeks episode and you can win one too.

Namaste,

-Andrew

Good or bad, he is still one of my favorite characters.

So I thought “The Lighthouse” was a fantastic episode.  Not as overall informative as last week’s “The Substitute”, but still pretty good.   Jack episodes normally bore me just as much as Kate’s, but last night started Jack back on the up-slope with me.

Here is a “brief” recap with a focus on some of the smaller details I saw.  After, I will get to my new thoughts and theories.

SPOILERS AHEAD AFTER THE JUMP

So we find out yet another character’s (now three total)  pre-crash life if different in the alternate timeline.  Hurley still won the lottery, he now has all the luck in the world and everything is good, Locke seems to have a good relationship with his father making us think about how he got put in the wheelchair, and now we find out that Jack has a son and no appendix (he got it removed when he was seven).

Jack’s newly revealed son’s name is David…David Shephard.  My first thought was the story of David and Goliath.  David, the Shepherd’s son, was brave enough to fight the giant.  I’m not sure what “giant” he is going to have to fight on LOST, but the writers don’t typically throw those things in there for no reason.

Jack picked David up from school, late of course, and to Jack’s dismay, his son was upset with him.  It looks as though Jack is now divorced and splits time with David’s undisclosed mother.  If anyone caught it, David was reading “The Annotated Alice” which just adds to the literary references that LOST has given us.

Jack has to then go help his mother look through his fathers office for his last will and testament.  While looking, his frustrated mother stops to pour a drink of MacCutcheon Whiskey, which we have seen many times before, for herself and Jack.  Jack turns down the drink offer to which his mother replies, “Good for you.”  His mom eventually finds the will and asks Jack if his father ever mentioned a Claire Littleton.

Jack returns home with dinner and finds that David is gone.  He calls him repeatedly and decides to drive to David’s mom’s house though she is out of town.  He checks David’s bedroom and finds it empty as well, but discovers Chopin sheet music and a message about his audition at The Williams Conservatory.  Jack drives to the Conservatory and there is a “Welcome All Candidates” sign in the entryway which I loved.  Jack got quite emotional watching his son play the piano and then proceeded to meet the alternate Dogen whose son was also auditioning.  Dogen told Jack that David has a gift and that he doesn’t think children should be placed under so much pressure.

After the audition, David told Jack that he made his mom promise not to tell Jack that he was still playing because Jack always made such a big deal about it.  David never wanted his dad to see him fail and that’s also why he kept it a secret.  Jack told him that he loved him and that he was so proud of him and that in his eyes, David could never fail.

The best part of the episode was the main story line of Hurley taking Jack to the Lighthouse.  At the beginning, Jacob once again appears to Hurley and gives him a task and very detailed instructions as per what to do with Jack.  He doesn’t have paper so obviously he writes them on his arm.  Hurley tries to do the aforementioned task by himself and is discovered by Dogen.  Jacob appears to help him and tells Hurley to tell Dogen that he is a candidate.  Once he does that, Dogen says something to him in Japanese (from what I have researched, its something to the effect of “you’re lucky you are chosen or else I would cut your head off”) and then leaves.  Jacob then reiterates how he must do this with Jack and that Hurley could get him to come.

Once on their way, Jack and Hurley stumble upon their old cave dwellings and find Shannon’s inhaler. Inside the cave, Hurley finds the Adam and Eve bodies and wonders if they were fellow 815 survivors who have been sent back in time.

They venture out of the cave and through the jungle like “old times” and finally reach the lighthouse.  Jack wonders how, during all their time on the Island, they never found this place.  Jack asks where Jacob is to which Hurley replies, “He’s not here yet”.  They climb to the top of the lighthouse and find a wheel surrounding a fire bowl.  Over the wheel are mirrors to reflect the firelight.  Hurley, reading his arm,  says that they have to turn the wheel 108 degrees.  He begins to turn the wheel and asks Jack to tell him when it reaches that number.  On the wheel are what I assume degree numbers, and at every number is a name, just like in the cave where Locke and Sawyer were.  Most of the names are crossed out minus the few we saw uncrossed out in the cave.  At the 108 mark is the name “Wallace”.  I also noticed that though we didn’t see Kate’s name in the cave, her name WAS on the wheel, NOT CROSSED OFF, at number 51. Very, very interesting. As the wheel is turning, images start appearing in the mirror.  First it looked like some Asian style buildings, maybe the scene of Sun and Jin’s wedding.  Then it changed to a church, which could be the location of the funeral for young Sawyers parents.  And finally, Jack’s childhood home showed up.  Jack now realizes that Jacob has been watching him, watching ALL OF THEM.  He demands to talk to Jacob, and then in a furious rage, smashes all of the surrounding mirrors.

I’m about as done with Claire’s story as I am with Kate’s.  Claire is now basically the reincarnation of Rousseau.  She saves Jin from her bear trap and brings him to her camp.  She also returns with Justin and ties him up, demanding to be told where they are keeping her son.  Jin is curious as to whether Claire has been living in the jungle alone the entire time.  She says that she hasn’t been by herself, she has been with a friend.  She stitches up Jin’s leg and proceeds to threaten Justin with an ax if he doesn’t start talking.  Claire eventually has enough with not getting anything from him and winds up with the ax.  Jin interrupts her and says that Kate took Aaron off of the Island and has been raising him for three years.  Claire still buries the ax deep in Justin’s chest, killing him on the spot.

Jin soon tells Claire that he lied with the hope of saving Justin’s life and that he had actually seen Aaron at the temple with the Others.  Jin assures her that she will need him to get back there.  Claire says that this is a good thing, “because if Kate had really taken Aaron she would have to kill her”.

Fake Locke walks into her encampment.  Jin asks whether that is John but Claire says “this is not John, this is my friend”.

A few questions and theories:

• As soon as I saw Jack’s son, I immediately started questioning who the mother was.  I first thought Sarah.  Then I thought maybe it was Kate, or even Juliet.  But then I remembered someone else from Jack’s past.  A woman named Gabriela came to mind.  Jack attempted to save her dad’s life but did not succeed.  In consoling her, they ended up kissing.  I started to research her and her last name is Busoni.  Ferruccio Busoni was a famous pianist/composer.  David Shephard looks like he is a nothing short of a piano prodigy.  Coincidence?
• Are there only a finite number of candidates, 360 as in degrees on a compass?
• Once you have crossed out all 360 names, then what?
• Can a new candidate replace a crossed out one?
• Whats up with everyone’s apparent desire to bury dead people on the island IMMEDIATELY?  Amy in 1974 when Sawyer killed 2 of the Others, for example.   Even when Keamy & Team killed Rousseau, Alex, & Karl, they buried them right afterwards (which seemed very odd they’d take time to do that) – perhaps being buried protects against Smokey claiming your body?

That was a lot.  Great episode though.  let me know what you think about the episode or my theories.

Last weeks shirt has been shipped out and this weeks winner is Nicky.  I will contact her and get the shirt out ASAP.  Remember, to enter, all you have to do is post a comment between today and next weeks episode and you can win one too.

Namaste,

-Andrew

A lighthouse is simply a beacon.  It’s a tower with a light that gives warning of shallow water to passing ships.

But have we seen a lighthouse on the island?  Is it hiding somewhere just like the Hidden Temple was?

If you haven’t seen the promo for tonight’s episode, here is it

• The voice over says “someone is coming to the island” as it shows an ax followed by Jin.  Is the person coming for Jin? Who could it be?
• We now for sure see that Claire is back.  Is she really sick like Dogen said?  Or has she just turned feral like Rousseau? Where has she been/what has she done for the last 3 years?
• Are Jack and Hurley at “the lighthouse”?  What is up with the mirror he is smashing? It looks like he finds the list from inside the Ankh with his name on it and is a little upset over it.
• Do they revisit the “Adam and Eve” cave or are those new decayed bodies?
• Why is Locke always smiling?

I hope that we get some of these answers tonight.  Lets see if this episode lives up to last weeks.

The first two t-shirts in the weekly giveaway turned out awesome.  Jeff received his and Matt’s will be going out tomorrow.  I will ALSO pick the winner from week 3 tomorrow.  Remember, to enter, all you have to do is post a comment between today and next weeks episode and you can win one too.

Let me know what your questions and thoughts are about tonight episode.

Namaste,

-Andrew

Finally…another episode that made me say WOW.  After last week’s “What Kate Does”, I honestly had my doubts as to where this season was headed.  I was pretty impressed by this episode, and it definitely exceeded my expectations.  As much as the new “Temple Dweller” story line is interesting, I’m bored with Kate.  Focusing on Anti-Jacob, Sawyer, Richard, Ben, and Ilana was just what we needed.

SPOILERS AHEAD AFTER THE JUMP

I know that we left this episode with questions, but I’m pretty sure this was the most information we have received from a single episode in six seasons.

I REALLY liked the opening with us seeing through the eyes of the Smoke Monster as it traveled over the Island.  After searching through Other-ville and stopping outside of Sawyers music filled house, it manifests itself back in fake Locke and goes to talk to Richard.  We find out that although Richard seemed to be a commanding force with the Others, and the link between Jacob and the Island, he really was kept in the dark about a lot of things.  He did not seem to know anything about Anti-Jacob/the Man In Black.  Locke was quite shocked at how much Richard did not know seeing as how he was at Jacob’s right hand.  Typically, it is the MIB that is appearing to other people, but all of a sudden, the tables have turned.  A young boy appears and only Locke can see him.

• Is the little boy a reborn Jacob (like a phoenix reborn from the fire)?
• Is he Jacob’s son?
• Could it be a slightly older Aaron?

The MIB asks Richard to follow him and he would show him the truth and answer anything he wanted to know.  He promises Richard that he won’t keep him uninformed like Jacob did.  Richard wanted nothing to do with him and refused to go with him.  In the first episode of the season, Richard seemed to know the MIB and vice versa, but how?  The Black Rock maybe?

The scene cuts back to the Statue with Ilana and Ben inside.  Ben tells her what occurred inside and she wanted to know what happened to Jacob after he was pushed into the fire.  It looked as though all that was left of him was ash, which means he burned up REALLY fast.  She pulled out a small pouch and proceeded to fill it with his remains, which I am guessing will be used against the MIB later.  She starts talking to Ben about how the MIB is recruiting for something.

Again, the scene changes to Locke entering Sawyer’s house with the soundtrack of Iggy & the Stooges,  Search and Destroy blaring from the record player.  We find Sawyer hammered drunk in slightly dirty boxers on the floor of his bedroom.  Sawyer doesn’t seemed surprised at all when Locke entered the room and just says to him, “I thought you were dead.”  Sawyer asks him who he really is because the real Locke was scared and he didn’t see that in the man in front of him.  Unlike Richard, drunk Sawyer is more easily manipulated and is persuaded to follow him simply by Locke saying he can answer the question, “Why are you on this Island?”  After Sawyer puts some pants on, they start into the jungle and once again, come across the mysterious boy, only this time, Sawyer can see him as well.  Locke breaks into a run after the kid, and trips.  Every time he falls, I can’t help but to think that his legs won’t work again when he tries to get up.  The kid tells Locke that he “can’t break the rules,” and he “can’t kill him”.  Who is “him”?  Sawyer? Richard? Jacob?  Fake Locke slips slightly into the mindset of real Locke and yells back,  “don’t tell me what I can’t do!”  The boy shakes his head at him and runs away.

Once Locke and Sawyer are separated, a frantic Richard (which is a very different way we see him than normal) jumps out of the jungle and asks that Sawyer follows him to The Temple where it is safe.  Sawyer says that he would rather stick with Locke and get answers.  Richard assures him that Locke only wants to kill him as well as everyone else on the Island.  Richard knows that Locke is coming back and disappears back into the brush.  If Richard seems to be scared of the MIB, then I feel like we all should be slightly concerned.  I think Sawyer is starting to doubt at this point and pulls his gun on Locke, asking “what are you?”  MIB says that he’s “trapped, and [he doesn't] remember what it was like to be free.”  Just more manipulation on his part.  Maybe this is just the MIB pulling a “Long-Con” on Sawyer.

In a small scene back on the beach, Sun thinks that they should bury the real body of John Locke before traveling to The Temple.  They take him to the on-island “graveyard”.  Ben feels it fitting to give the eulogy.  It felt good to hear Ben say good things about Locke although I did laugh hard when he said “I’m sorry I murdered you.”  Frank’s reaction was priceless.

Here is the best part of the episode.  The MIB and Sawyer arrive at a rather high cliff with a ladder, maybe “Jacob’s Ladder”, leading over the edge.  After some close calls and falls, they make their descent to a cave in the rockface.  Inside there is a balance scale with one white and one black stone.  The MIB takes the white rock and hucks it out into the ocean, saying that it was an “inside joke.”  Locke leads Sawyer into the cave with torch in hand. The ceilings and walls are covered in carvings of numerous names, many with numbers next to them.  The names and number that are highlighted to us are as follows:

• 4-Locke
• 8-Reyes
• 15-Ford
• 16-Jarrah
• 23-Shephard
• 42-Kwon (unsure of which but I think it is Sun)

Obviously, the corresponding numbers are the same ones that we have known since season 1.  Many other names are also present in the cave, some of which are other fellow Islanders, Others, etc…  A noticeable name that we do not see is Austen.  They all are candidates to be a replacement and those who are crossed off are no longer in the running.  The MIB proceeds to cross off Locke’s name as he is explaining things to Sawyer.

The MIB tells Sawyer that he now has three options:

1. He can do nothing and just wait around and see what happens.
2. He can take the job of being the Island’s protector.  The MIB says that the Island doesn’t need protecting, saying that it’s “just an island.”
3. He can leave the Island and never look back.

Sawyer obviously is all about the third option and this is how this week ends.

As for the alternate reality timeline, Locke gets home after his return flight to LA and as he is exiting his lift van, he humiliatingly (but hysterically) falls off of his chair onto the grass just as the sprinkler system turn on.  Helen runs out of the house to help him, engagement ring on hand.  Once inside, Helen finds Jack’s business card and says that she thinks that maybe its fate that brought a spinal surgeon to John.  Locke and Helen discuss the wedding and she suggests that maybe they should invite her parents and his father and just have a shotgun wedding.

• So Locke and his dad get along in this world?  If that is the case, how did he get paralyzed?

The following day, Locke heads back to his cubical at the box company where he is confronted by his fantastic boss.  Locke admits that his trip to Australia on the company’s dime wasn’t for work and he immediately gets fired.  After cleaning out his desk and heading to the parking lot, he runs into Hurley who just so happens to own the company (as well as Mr. Clucks).  He offers Locke his job back, to which Locke declines.  Hurley gives Locke the number to his temp agency.  Once Locke visits the agency for a new job, he is greeted by the psychic who Hurley’s dad paid off to tell him the numbers weren’t cursed.  After asking to see her supervisor, he is interviewed by Rose Nadler, who reminds us that she has terminal cancer (since she never went to the Island). Locke gets placed into substitute teacher position.  He enters the teacher’s lounge, and we suddenly hear that telltale voice of  none other than Benjamin Linus.  He teaches European history.

Here are more of my thoughts and questions about the episode:

• There could be many meanings of “substitute”. Perhaps Kate is the substitute in the event that one of the candidates dies.  For example, if Sayid ends up dead, Kate would take his place. Or maybe Kate for Sawyer in the Oceanic Six or even Aaron for Locke.
• We now know why The Temple Dwellers let Jin and Kate go look for Sawyer, because they are not candidates (if the Kwon in the cave is Sun).
• If the mysterious boy is Jacob, maybe he can only appear to candidates.  Thats why Hurley could see him Jacob in episode one but Jin couldn’t see him and the same with Richard.
• I think the list from the Ankh contains the candidates with their numbers.  This would explain why Lennon said if Sayid dies, they were done for.

This episode was incredible and I can not wait to hear what you all think.  Please post your thoughts/ideas/theories before next weeks episode.

The winner of week two’s t-shirt give-a-way is Matt.  I will be sending his shirt out asap. Remember, to enter, all you have to do is post a comment between today and next weeks episode and you can win one too.

Namaste,

-Andrew

Not too much happened in last nights episode.  Well, not much to the extent that we didn’t get any more answers.  Almost all of the promos have been promising answers…when will they deliver?

He is a tough dude.

SPOILERS AHEAD AFTER THE JUMP

So there were three basic paths in this episode:

• Pre-crash 2004
• On-Island 2007 at the Temple
• On-Island 2007 search party

On the pre-crash path, Kate is shown “stealing” a cab that BY CHANCE has pregnant Claire in it.  Kate scares the driver away with her stolen gun and then proceeds to kick Claire out just a few blocks later.  A sucker of a mechanic removed her handcuffs for $200, and that is when she discovered all of the baby stuff in Claire’s luggage.  After what seems to be a self mental guilt trip, she returns to pick up Claire and take her to her destination, the house of the family who is supposed to be adopting her child.  Upon arrival at said families house, the soon-to-be new mom regretfully informs Claire that she can no longer adopt her child.  OF COURSE, Claire instantly goes into labor and Kate has to rush her to the hospital.  A nurse brings her to her room and in walks the resident obstetrician, Dr. Goodspeed, a.k.a. Ethan Rom.  Claire panics and cries out, “Is Aaron okay?”  Dr. Goodspeed assures her with an ultrasound that the baby is okay.  He offers to deliver Claire’s baby on the spot and tells her that he would have to stick her with large needles and it would probably be painful.  She says she not ready and he leaves.  After a small interrogation by two police officers, Claire covers for Kate since she helped her out.  She offers Kate her credit card, Kate tells her that she thinks Claire should keep the baby, and then they part ways.

1. Do we know the mechanic from anywhere else?
2. Why is Ethan now going by his birth name, Ethan Goodspeed, instead of his on-island name, Ethan Rom?
3. I guess that, like Daniel Faraday said, you can not change the future and what we saw happen to Claire on the island had to occur to her off the island regardless of the crash.
4. I think Claire gave her the credit card to keep some tabs on her.
5. I think Kate will somehow end up with Aaron.

At the temple, Jack informs Dogen that Sayid is in fact alive.  Sawyer gets angry that someone with such a dark past like Sayid gets a second chance at life, while Juliet did not.  At gunpoint, Sawyer tells everyone that he is leaving and tells Kate specifically not to follow him.  Kate insists that she can bring him back and Jin volunteers to assist her.  Dogen and Lennon take Sayid to a Princess Bride style Pit of Despair and is attached to a torturing device.  After being electrocuted and burned with a hot poker, Lennon removes him from the machine and tells him that he has passed the test.  After escorting Sayid out of the room, Lennon correctly guesses he has just lied on behalf of Dogen.  Sayid tells Jack that they tortured him for no apparent reason so of course, Jack now wants answers.  He enters the room with Lennon and Dogen and demands an explanation.  Dogen tells him that Sayid is infected and needs to take medicine that he, himself, has created.  Dogen asks Jack to give the pill to him since he is trusted by Sayid.  After telling Sayid about the pill, Jack tells him that he will not let him take the pill since as a doctor, he does not know what is in it.  Jack goes back to Dogen and tells him that he did not give Sayid the medicine.  Jack again demands an explanation as to what the medicine is to which Dogen asks Jack just to trust him.  Jack says that he can not even trust him self and swallows the pill himself.  Dogen tackles him and proceeds to basically beat the pill back out of his mouth.  After retrieving the pill, Dogen admits to it being poison.  A confused Jack asks why they would want to poison Sayid.  Dogen tell him that a “darkness” has taken over him and then if and when it reaches his heart, he will be lost.  Still confused, Jack asks how he knows this.  Dogen tells Jack that it happened to his sister.

1. Who is Dogen? What does he wear around his neck? What was he typing? Why does he have a baseball that he spins like House?
2. Why did he really find out by “testing” Sayid?
3. How does Dogen know about Jack’s sister?
4. I have a fantastic theory about Sayid being tortured.  The smoke monster can only “infect” dead things, i.e. Yemi, Christian, Locke.  When Dogen submerged Sayid, he had every intention to kill him.  His revival came about when the smoke monster entered his body.  Dogen knew this.  After he strapped Sayid to the table, he blew ash, the thing that the smoke monster CAN NOT pass through, over Sayid’s chest.  By electrocuting Sayid, it wasn’t to hurt him, but maybe more to “scare” the monster out of him.  Since he was covered in ash, the monster couldn’t escape, thus leaving Sayid in excruciating pain.

Once the “search party” left for Sawyer, Kate and Jin are bombarding Aldo and Justin with question about themselves and the Island.  They stumble upon one of Rousseau’s old traps and Kate pushes one of them onto to set it off so that her and Jin can escape.  Kate seems to know exactly where Sawyer goes and starts on his trail.  It takes her to the house he lived in with Juliet.  She finds him ripping up floor boards to recover a small box.  He leaves the house and heads to a small dock.  From the box, he pulls out an engagement ring to which he tells Kate about wanting to propose to Juliet.  Kate tells Sawyer that if they leave now, they could make it back to the Temple by nightfall.  On his way back to the Temple, Jin gets attacked by Aldo and Justin and just as Aldo is about to kill him, they (Aldo and Justin) get gunned down by an unknown shooter.  Jin turned around and was stunned to see that the shooter was a disheveled looking Claire.

1. Where has Claire been?
2. Is she infected?

I have a lot more questions after this episode and no more answers.  Let me know what you all think.  Leave me comments with thoughts, ideas, theories, or complaints.

The winner of week one’s t-shirt give-a-way was Jeff.  As soon as he receives his shirt, I hope to have a picture so I can post it.  Remember, to enter, all you have to do is post a comment between today and next weeks episode and you can win one too.

My brain needs a break.

Namaste,

-Andrew