A ton of good, old-fashioned religion in tonight’s episode, but I’m going to try something new. I’m going to break down the bullets into “tropes” (covering things we’ve seen or heard previously; recurring themes) and “questions”.
I hope it works.
Tropes:
- Numbers
- Biblical references
- Wizard of Oz
- Comics
- UPDATE: Eyes Opening
316 isn’t just a biblical reference, it also includes “16” from the Valenzetti equation, a theorem that Ms. Hawking name-checks.
Jack sits in seat 8C on the Ajira Airways flight. He sat in row 23 on Oceanic 815, so I need to go back and see who sat First Class last time. Shannon maybe?
Lostpedia doesn’t say, so maybe it’s just numerology.
Apart from the obvious John 3:16 reference linked above there’s also Ben’s discussion of Thomas the Apostle with Jack. Read your Wikipedia, but the basics of Ben’s story are legit.
There’s also, obviously, a ton of foreshadowing about life, death and eventual resurrection. The van from last week – Canton-Rainier – and the fact that the previous inhabitant of a coffin now roams the island (Christian) is a pretty good indicator. That and the promos for next week.
The removal of Locke’s old shoes and the placement of Christian’s shoes.
Y: The Last Man, which Hurley is reading before boarding the plane was created by current Lost writer Brian K. Vaughan. That story is about the last man alive on earth who survives a plague that wipes out all the men on the planet.
I had this one in my notes from last night, but Annie’s comment reminded me I’d forgotten to bullet it.
This is like the umpteenth time an episode or segment has begun with someone opening their eyes. It’s at least the second time just for Jack.
I’ll find a good link that list them all.
Questions:
- People playing others’ roles
- What time is it?
- Coordinated Crashing
On the return flight here’s my scorecard:
Sayid (fugitive) as Kate
Hurley (rockstar with guitar) as Charlie
Jack as himself
John Locke as Christian Shephard
Frank Lapidus as our original pilot/Matt from Heroes
Ben might be Locke and Sun might be herself, I’m not sure, but the interconnectedness is creepy/cool.
My questions spawned from this:
Who beat up Ben?
Who caught Sayid and why would they be extraditing him to Guam?
Who informed Hurley of the flight?
Who is the dude who gave his condolences to Jack and who sat across from Hurley?
My initial thought was that Sayid beat up Ben for telling Hurley about the flight but that seems off. Hurley’s reaction to Ben was pretty spooked and Sayid would have killed Ben. Thoughts?
Also, who has the kids?
Is Aaron staying with one of Ben’s people?
Is Ji Yeon with Papa Paik?
No plane crash?
A fully functional VW van?
Jin as the driver?
When are we, again?
If the Dharma Initiative built the Focault’s Pendulum (read the novel too) as Ms. Hawking explains, how and why are people chosen to crash?
Who arranged the passengers of Oceanic 815 and those on Ajira 316?
Big questions, to be sure.
Finally, here are some fun links to pass the time between episodes.
As always, leave a comment, question or concern and one of our representatives will get to you shortly.
Links:
- I hope the return of the polar bears is like this photo
- A Lost bingo game
- A Lost drinking game (courtesy of The Onion)
- Duff Goldman (Ace of Cakes) bakes something special for the 100th episode [via Jorge Garcia’s blog]
Good night!
Until next week!
Tonight also gave us the best line in the series’ history: “We’re not going to Guam, are we?”
Also, gets me to wondering…
* WHEN did they jump to from the plane?
* Are the folks on the boats who shot at Sawyer, Juliet, et al. actually Hurley, Jack, et al?
* Did Kate give Aaron to the lawyer after all?
* If Eloise is Faraday’s mom…then is Widmore his dad?
* Loved the touch of opening on Jack’s eye (homage to S1).
(ps – This is all pure speculation…I do NOT read spoilers!)
AFG
Good call on the eyes opening. I added a new bullet for that. Thanks, Annie.
I think the point about Jack et al shooting at Sawyer et al was made a couple of episodes ago, but I think it’s likely.
No idea on Faraday’s dad, but a good thought.
Kate giving Aaron to the lawyer (an extension of Ben) is interesting.
I also thought that Ben’s comment about his “mother taught me to read” was interesting since we all know that she died in childbirth.
Some of the comments from the gallery as were watching last night:
Maybe Charlie told Hurley to get on the plane. At the very least, whoever told him doesn’t have to be alive.
If Kate is pregnant (with Jack’s child?) on the flight, she may be the proxy Claire.
I doubt that the woman escorting Sayid is doing so in an official, legal capacity — or, at least, I doubt that their final destination is Guam.
Great call on that Wizard of Oz reference, I totally didn’t see it that way, but it’s marvelous.
It seems pretty clear at this point, doesn’t it, that the skeletons in the cave from S1 are probably time travelers. Jack and [Kate? Juliet?] seem like obvious candidates. I’m also quite curious just how much time Jin and Sawyer and Faraday, et al, spend among the Dharma Initiative in the Back When.
Will, brilliant call on Charlie advising Hurley of the plane and a good thought about Kate having Jack’s baby/being proxy-Claire.
I think your points on Sayid, Adam & Eve and the time traveling Dharma-ites are all spot-on.
Thanks for the comment.
I want to add that I’ve just read the smartest comment on the internet regarding Ben/Desmond. I’ll leave a link and blockquote the whole thing:
Go get smarter @ TV Squad: http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/02/19/lost-316/
Great catch on the Wizard of Oz shoe thing – I totally missed that reference (maybe b/c I don’t like that movie?).
Christie, that’s actually really creepy, isn’t it?
Is he lying just because he’s a habitual liar or is he telling us a clue about his time travels?
I love Ben’s character!
http://www.ajiraairways.com/home
As soon as I saw Ben all bloody on the phone by the marina I immediately though of his promise to Widmore. Penny’s on a boat at a marina somewhere in LA, that was the loose end he had to tie up. I hope its not true…
Great commentary, all! One thing I forgot to put in my post…the extra/background guy who had lines last night at the check-in counter (who we also saw on the plane):
I’m thinking he somehow has to make it on the island. The writers NEVER give extras lines unless they’re eventually going to kill them. Since we didn’t see him die last night, I’m gonna guess that means he survives and plays some role (before, of course, he ultimately dies).
Anne, that guy with the lines was technically a guest star, not an extra. Not only was he given lines, but he wasn’t shot like an extra is — he got close-ups. (Plus, especially on LOST, it doesn’t matter who’s an extra and who’s not — just ask Shannon and Boone about who gets killed on this show.)
That man in line behind Jack was played by actor Saïd Taghmoui who, like Zuleikha Robinson (playing the woman escorting the character of Sayid), has been cast for a number of episodes this season (and possibly into next season). He’s quite good in, among other movies, the Don Cheadle film Traitor. She, meanwhile, stood out in the second season of Rome as Titus Pullo’s second wife. They were both in Hidalgo.
So good call — you’ll definitely be seeing more of both.
Will said: “That man in line behind Jack was played by actor Saïd Taghmoui who, like Zuleikha Robinson (playing the woman escorting the character of Sayid), has been cast for a number of episodes this season (and possibly into next season).”
DUDE!!! NO!!! That’s a spoiler! Casting news and number of eps are spoilery…please, please note that in your future posts. After spending 5 years as an editor of an entertainment, I’m desperately attempting to stay spoiler-free.
🙂
Cheers,
AFG
Ack! Sorry, Anne!
It didn’t occur to me at all that that would be spoilery — when I see actors of that level I just sort of intuitively file them as sure to be cast for more than three minutes of screen time.
If it’s consolation, with LOST, that sort of information doesn’t really spoil much as far as story. I mean, we’ve seen Ethan Rom more since he died, right? Just because they’ll be in a few eps doesn’t mean we know anything about HOW.
Someday I’ll write a book about all the different definitions and boundaries of what constitutes spoilerhood.
In the meantime… sorry.
Lost: The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham…
I’ll get this out of the way early: if you don’t want a casting spoiler, don’t click and if you don’t want a programming/scheduling spoiler, don’t click.
Now, where were we? Dead then Reborn Locke? Sounds good!
No big deal…
I don’t got too in depth in Lost but love the show.
Theory on Ben being beat up: He was at a marina and was beat up and wet. Is it possible that Desmond sailed there and Ben took a chance at killing Penny like he promised to Widmore? Only Desmond beat him up..
Not sure but a thought. In actuality, Desmond and Penny most likely flew to LA.