I’m actually waiting for Jenn to get home late from work again. It’s 10:16 PM and I haven’t even turned on the TV yet.

That said, chew on some of these links while I wait, then watch, then blog the Season 4 Finale of Lost, There’s No Place Like Home, Part 2.

More later

UPDATE:

Ok, so it’s later now. Just a tad after midnight and we’ve just finished watching. God Bless TiVo!

Here are my thoughts, highly condensed, since the arguing will be more fun tomorrow anyhow.

  • Jeremy Bentham/John Locke

    • After more than a year of speculation (Season 3 ended back in May of 2007) we now know that John Locke was the man in flash-forward casket and that his “name” was Jeremy Bentham.

    Unseen, but discussed, were his meetings w/ the Oceanic Six concerning their return to the island.

    I’m intrigued by a few things.

    Why Ben can’t ever return to the Island?
    Who moved the island previously?
    I had previously posited Ben, since the timing would have been right - 15 years - of his overthrow of The Dharma Initiative using The Other.

    Jenn suggested Widmore which is tantalizing, but maybe it was Jakob. Or Christian.

    How Locke ended up off the island and dead?
    Was he not as careful as Ben?
    Was he killed off-island by Widmore?
    Who is the new leader? Sawyer? Charlotte? Miles?
    What did he tell Walt?
    Why would that lead Walt back to Hurley?
    Is Walt’s life in danger now?
    Does Ben mean to bring Walt back as well when he tells Jack “everyone” must return, even dead Locke?
    Will Aaron or Walt assume Locke’s Dalai Lama-like position as leader?
    Why did Hurley lie about Michael being alive to Walt?
    Is Christian *really* a ghost? Is that why/how he appeared to Michael?
    And what do we make of ghostly Claire in Kate’s dream?

  • Penny & Desmond

    • Is Ben still actively trying to kill Penny?
    Are they still together?
    Will Des & Jack meet in another life, brutha?
    Where are they hiding?
    Are they working against Charles Widmore/with Ben?
    Nice touches on the Portuguese crew (Season 2 finale reference) and the boat name: Searcher

  • Sun’s role

    • I think I mentioned this during last episode’s blog post, but we really hadn’t seen many substantive Sun flash-forwards until part one of There’s No Place Like Home. Sure, we knew she gave birth and that Jin didn’t come home, but that’s about it.

    Now we have a situation where Sun is speaking with the enemy - Widmore - and letting him know that others made it off the island too.

    Does she mean Desmond and Lapidus only or is positing (or does she know) about Daniel Faraday and the 5 or 6 redshirts?

    I think there’s strong evidence to suggest she wants to ruin as many lives as possible to get her husband back, but I also think she’s sly enough to be luring Widmore into Ben’s trap, especially if Locke/Bentham had met w/ her.

    By the way, Jenn and I thought Jeremy Bentham was the kookiest fake name he could have used. Leave it to Locke to be cheesier at the subterfuge thing than Ben.

  • Octagon Global Recruiting

    • Another ARG tie-in and a sly reference to some sort of Comic-Con presence. I signed up for the email updates. Wishing I could be in San Diego come July.

I’m done with the list (for tonight anyway). Here are more questions:

Who is Charlotte’s father?
Has she really been on the island before?
How much does Miles know?
Who is the leader of The Others in Locke’s absence?
Where is Lapidus?
Where is Faraday?
Do the Oceanic Six (plus dead Locke & Walt) return to the island?
What is the ultimate end-game?
How will the narrative be structured for the next two seasons?
What happens on the island that is Jack’s fault?

Nice touches:

  • Sawyer telling his secret wishes to Kate, so she can do them in the future
  • Older Walt timeline off-island (3 years) synching up w/ real-world, TV timeline
  • “Is this the magic box?” - Locke “No!” - Ben

    • What the Hell is, then?

  • Orchid video making it to TV

    • Viral sensation version is longer

  • “If you lie half as well as you lie to yourself, they’ll believe you” - Locke to Jack
  • “See you in another life, brother” - Jack to Desmond

    • Hope this is true

  • “I hope we never see each other again” - Jack to Lapidus

    • Hope this isn’t true

  • “Good command decisions get compromised by bad emotional responses” - Ben

    • His (and Locke’s) tragic flaw, beautifully articulated. Ben had *all* the really excellent lines tonight

I could go on but we’re pushing 1 AM. Leave multiple comments. Blog yourself and trackback.

Let’s continue this conversation for a while before we stop.

LOST!

LATE UPDATE:

Runes (like those in the secret room within a secret room @ the Dharma barracks), a big wheel and Ben’s coat & injury!

I want to an update to that flash-forward timeline video now!