Season 3 Recap

Another season over already. Where season 1 was dealing with the bewilderment of being trapped on a desert island and trying to find rescue, and season 2 was learning to live on the island, season 3 was discovering more about the inhabitants of the island, and how to either co-exist with them or separately from them.

Jack came to terms with his divorce from Sarah and then helped Kate and Sawyer get away, but because of what he’d seen on that video, he decided he’d had enough of the island and was going to leave on a sub. He said he was going to come back for her, and then later reassured her that he didn’t want her to come get him because he was worried about her, but he was probably just saying that to help make her feel better. Would he have come back for her? Of course he would have... just look at him in the flashforwards, living with the guilt of leaving everyone ELSE there. If Kate had been left behind, that guilt would have been tenfold.

Kate’s loyalties between Sawyer and Jack were tested a lot this season, and she began using Sawyer near the end of the season because of her jealousy over Jack and Juliet. At the beginning of the season, she’d slept with Sawyer and had abandoned Jack. By the end of the season, Sawyer had really hurt her with his pregnancy comment and Jack was making her feel better.

Sawyer finally killed the other Sawyer, and it leaves him with the realization that his lifetime goal didn’t actually take any of the pain away. I remember thinking he’d probably be a shell of his former self in season 4 because of it, but instead he really begins to take charge in the upcoming episodes as if he’s recognized his life was a bit of a waste and he needs to start over.

Sun and Jin have grown closer this season (more revelations to come, obviously) and Sun is now living with the belief that as long as she stays on the island, she will die before the baby comes to term. Jin doesn’t know any of this, but through their flashbacks we’ve learned even more about both of them this season... including the fact that you just don’t mess with Sun.

Sayid was a bit of a side character in season 3 and will return to prominence in season 4, but he continues to be the voice of reason (I love when Jack is so caught up in his war with the Others that Sayid has to remind him he’s trying to get them RESCUED).

Locke seemed to go completely freakin’ crazy partway through the season, but his little chat with Jacob — and then Walt — at the end of the season has given him a new purpose, and by next season there will be a LOT more to say about John Locke.

But this season was really the season of the Others. Juliet was introduced in the first episode, and through “Not in Portland” and “One of Us” we learned of her background and her desperate need to leave the island. Yet she’s almost as complicated as Ben at times: while we know about Rachel and the slimy Edmund Burke and what a good-hearted person she is, we also know she’s been capable of deception. In “Exposé,” we saw her wearing the raggedy costume the other Others wore and conniving with Ben in the Pearl station. She left tapes for Ben about Sun, and while on the one hand, she reassured Jack she wasn’t really going to turn in the other women, on the other hand, she DID tell him accurate details about “Kwon,” and let them know she was expecting and the details of the pregnancy and fetus. In light of season 5, any banter between her and Sawyer is going to be dissected and takes on an entirely new meaning for us. We’ve all seen her fall down the Swan station shaft and despite not actually seeing her die, it would seem the way the writers are talking about her and the media is writing about her, she’s pretty much dead now. So for me (a huge fan of Juliet, whether she’s good or bad), it’s great to go back and revisit those first few episodes where we got to know her.

Ben is as deliciously evil and wonderful as ever. Season 3 was the real turning point of the show for the series (and specifically, the season finale, where the direction turned to flashforwards). Henry Gale became Ben Linus, the Dharma Initiative boy who grew into the Other man, who believes he is Jacob’s chosen one, and who sees John Locke as a threat. We’ve seen some of the depth of his cunning (there will be much, much more to come; season 3 only skims the surface of what Ben is capable of) but we’ve also seen his flashback, which gives us a tiny, tiny bit of humanity in him. He once had a mother (albeit only for moments), he had a rough childhood, and he overcame a lot to become who he is today. But he’s also a liar who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

I completely forgot to mention this in my recap for the season 3 finale, but how amazing is it to watch Ben telling Jack that the people coming on that freighter aren’t actually coming to rescue them, and instead it’s being led by bad “people” (read: Widmore) who have been trying to find the island... and now know that he’s telling the TRUTH?! It’s one of the best moments to rewatch having seen the events of seasons 4 and 5 and the history between Widmore and Ben. It adds an entirely new depth to that scene with Jack.

And now, on to season 4!! You can pick up a copy of my book here if you haven’t already, but this will be an interesting discussion, because many of you joined me in season 4 and were here for our original chats about these episodes! So it’ll be fun to rewatch them with you. Just a quick note that we’re just doing the first 3 episodes next week, according to our schedule.

And until then, here’s the season 3 blooper reel!! One of my faves. See you next week!

3.22/23 Through the Looking Glass

Follow along! The episode guide for “Through the Looking Glass” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 183-203.

Still, in my opinion, the best of the Lost season finales. It had suspense, death, heroism, fear, revelation, more death, and… the flashforward, which is the biggest game-changer of the series thus far. To be honest, I remember watching the first five minutes and then saying to my husband, “I can’t honestly place when in Jack’s past he would have had that beard. Could this be the future?” And then as soon as I said it, I continued watching it as if it were a flashback, so, luckily, the shock at the end was still a surprise. Rewatching this episode again, I still cried like a baby when Charlie died (good thing I’m doing this rewatch alone…) Honestly, I think that scene’s power is in the mournful violin and the music cutting out all of the actual diegetic sound in the scene. We don’t hear the water, things are in slow motion, and we watch Charlie’s death with just that beautiful piano music playing him out.

Fun things I noticed:
• Oh, that JEARD. As mangy and awful as the day we first saw it.
• Did you notice when the island group is walking across the flats and the big wave washes up, they just slosh through the water rather than dodging it by walking to the right about 5 feet? I don’t know about you, but a trek across the island in sopping wet shoes sounds AWESOME to me.
• Ben to Alex re: his brainwashing of Karl: “I suppose I overreacted.” HA!!
• I know I said this in my book for this episode and for “Beginning of the End,” but I ADORE Jack’s musical taste. What a PERFECT song to play in this scene.
• Again, mentioned in my book, but I love that Rousseau’s first words to her daughter are asking her to help her tie Ben up. Haha!
• You know, I never really liked Naomi. I always found her harsh and unlikable, even when she shows up again in seasons 4 and 5.
• Best ending ever.

Things that have new meaning:
• Now that we know the island wouldn’t let Michael kill himself, does the island cause the car crash, thus preventing Jack from jumping off that bridge? He looks up and utters, “Forgive me” but maybe part of the island’s redemption process is he has to forgive himself, and he can’t die until he does.
• Juliet going back to the beach with Sawyer – and the fun banter between the two of them – seems entirely different post-season 5.
• She mentions the runway that they were building, and that’s the same runway that Ajira 316 will land successfully on, as if the events of season 5 were already being put in place now.
• Now that we’ve seen the events in “Dead Is Dead” where Ben first took Alex and how much he really does care for her, it must have been hard for him to march her along with him and tell her he was turning her over to her “new family.” Do you think he was being sincere about that or was ha planning on doing something else?
• Ben says he took the lives of over 40 people, but in season 5 we see WAY more than 40 people in the DI. Will it have significantly decreased in number by the time the Purge happens?
• Again, I have to emphasize that he says, “Every single living person on this island will die.” There’s some significance to him saying “living person” as if he knows there are some persons on this island not living.
• The machine in the Looking Glass was programmed by a musician. I know I asked this in my book, but in light of season 5, is there any chance that musician was somehow Charlie? Or was it the head songwriter in Geronimo Jackson? Was Charlie the head songwriter in Geronimo Jackson? (Har.)
• Locke telling Jack, “You’re not supposed to do this” takes on much greater significance after seeing season 5, and what Jack then believes he’s REALLY supposed to do.
• Minkowski has a completely different voice, because Fisher Stevens hadn’t been cast in the role yet.
• Jack tells Kate that he’s sick of lying, and at the time when we spend a wild summer trying to put together the pieces of this finale, we all assumed Oceanic had forced them to lie. And now we know it was JACK who concocted the idea of it and forced everyone to do it. Interesting he’s the one who couldn’t sustain it.
• And again, something I talk about at length in my new season 5 book, but Jack’s beard growth is significantly more than it was when he ran into Locke in the hospital bed. And he hadn’t yet started to take plane trips then. Locke dies within a week of having that conversation with Jack, and yet Jack doesn’t see the body in the coffin until now, when his beard has a couple of months’ growth on it, and he’s been taking Friday night flights for a long time. So why didn’t the body decompose? Why is there that time discrepancy?

Another season down!! Time to dust off your Finding Lost Season 4 guides and get ready for the next season next week. And tune in here tomorrow night for my rundown of season 3, and some extra season 3 fun. :)

3.21 Greatest Hits

Follow along! The episode guide for “Greatest Hits” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 175-183.

:::Sniffle::: WAAAAH…. Oh, Chah-lie… I don’t think I can bear to watch the next episode.

Fun things I noticed:
• Good ol’ Season Ender Rose & Bernard. Just like in season 5, they’re MIA for the entire season only to pop up in the end.
• The #3 hit seems strange: one of the happiest memories he has is his brother handing him the family ring because he doesn’t think he’ll live long enough to wear it? Odd.
• “#1The Night I Met You.” :::SOB:::

Things that have new meaning:
• Desmond sees the flash of Claire and the baby getting onto the helicopter, but as we all know now, Claire DIDN’T get onto that helicopter. Was it a false flash? Was the island screwing with Desmond and needed Charlie dead because he was Claire’s protector and it was the only way to get to her and Aaron? Or did something happen to “change the puzzle picture”?
• Look how concerned Richard is when Ben shows up without Locke and says he had an accident; now that we know Richard had been visiting him since he was a baby and already believed he’d been chosen by Jacob, he seems very worried.
• Juliet says there was an accident in the Looking Glass station. Could the accident have anything to do with Jack dropping a bomb?

3.20 The Man Behind the Curtain

Follow along! The episode guide for “The Brig” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 161-169.

(I just finished watching the episode, so I figured I'd just go ahead and post tonight after all!) Aside from the finale, this episode is still THE highlight of season 3 for me. The first Ben flashback is as brilliant and full of shock as the early flashbacks of the main characters in season 1, and watching it again in light of season 5 is even better.

Fun things I noticed:
• At the time this first aired I thought it was funny that Ben’s mother was being played by Michael Emerson’s real-life wife. Now I just find it strange that Arlene from True Blood has somehow made it from Bon Temps to the island… and where did her red hair go? ;)
• Horace’s Dharma wig looks better here than it does in season 5.
• Sun sticks up for Jack in front of everyone, and yet in DOC, she immediately suspects him of foul play when he asks her normal ob/gyn questions about her baby.
• Jack’s comment, “Because I hadn’t decided what to do about it yet” still irks me. Especially since you’d think by now he would understand someone like Sayid is smart, strong, and reliable, and could be a good advisor to discuss it with.
• In my Finding Lost book, I mention that I like Horace and say, “Here’s hoping he’ll make a return engagement in a future Ben flashback.” Heehee!! OR… how about we just take everyone back to where HE is?!

Things that have new meaning:
• Ben says, “I am one of the last that was,” and reiterates that he was born on the island. I suggested in one of my earlier rewatch posts that maybe to Ben, he WAS born on the island through his rebirth at the Temple. Despite coming clean to Locke at the end and admitting he wasn’t, in fact, born on the island, he still says with some conviction that he WAS born on the island, and I keep wondering if this line will take on greater meaning after we’ve season 6, and, presumably, what happened at the Temple.
• We were discussing back in season 2 the possibility of Locke already being the Man in Black – I mentioned in one post that maybe Locke died when he fell out of the window, and when Jacob touched him, he actually put the Man in Black in him at that moment, so when Locke opened his eyes and looked around, bewildered, it wasn’t John Locke anymore, but the Man in Black instead. So when Jacob said, “I’m sorry this happened to you” he wasn’t addressing Locke anymore, but his longtime frenemy. That, of course, was me just throwing out some food for thought (if that turns out to be the case, I think I’d be deeply disappointed because part of the reason I love Lost is because of Locke’s journey). But, for fun, let’s imagine that he IS the Man in Black in this episode… you could see why he insists on being taken to Jacob, and why he beats Mikhail to a pulp. (That said, I don’t think he’s the Man in Black… and will say why below.)
• Horace was present at Ben’s birth; Richard was present shortly after Locke’s. That means Ben was visited by Dharma; Locke was visited by an ancient Other. That makes Locke more authentic already!
• Annie is still one of the biggest unsolved mysteries. I REALLY hope this isn’t a storyline that’s dropped, and instead we find out in season 6 what happened to her. Could her death/disappearance be what contributed to Ben’s coldness?
• I think I asked this at the time, but I wonder if that volcano that Olivia mentions could have some significance later? Was the volcanic eruption important to the story of Jacob or Richard? (And I asked this in the book, but where is Olivia Goodspeed when Sawyer et al are at Dharma? Ben arrives there around the same time Sawyer does, so you’d think Sawyer would have seen her at some point. We all assumed at the time that she was Horace’s wife – is that true? Could she have been his sister?
• Ben’s mom says, “It’s not time yet, Benjamin.” The important word there being “time,” but… time for what? What TIME is correct? Is she a manifestation of Smokey? She doesn’t really follow the protocol of the other visions on the island – Eko saw both Yemi and Ana Lucia, and they both died on the island. Christian’s dead body is also on the island, but we’ve seen him walking about a lot now. Emily died off the island. Perhaps it doesn’t matter where they died, but just that they are dead and mean something to the person seeing them.
• Jacob hates technology, and yet he took a plane off the island to see everyone? Was he really there or was he a vision of some kind?
• Now we know Ben never saw Jacob, and was making that scene up the entire time. In retrospect, it makes sense, since on the one hand his hand is shaking just talking about Jacob, and then he talks back to him like Jacob’s some petulant child, which isn’t exactly reverent. Notice the shock on Ben’s face when he’s thrown backwards, like up to that point he was just assuming this was all smoke and mirrors and the “island being the island” and then he’s shot backwards across the room. D’oh.
• In “The Incident,” the Shadow Seekers come across Jacob’s cabin and look through it, and Ilana declares that Jacob hasn’t been in this cabin for a long time, and “someone else has been using it.” Perhaps we’re to assume she means Christian, but I think she means the Man in Black. I believe the man we see in this scene ever-so-briefly is NOT Jacob, but in fact is the Man in Black. He tells Locke to help him, and he’s been trapped somehow on the island or in that cabin. He pushes Ben away because he sees Ben as some insignificant bug, and it’s Locke he’s after. It’s as if he’s given up on Eko being his possible target, and now he’s decided maybe Locke’s the vulnerable one who could die at some point and he could inhabit his body. And by instilling fear in Ben in this scene, he sets up the series of events that will happen where Ben will kill Locke and bring his body back.
• The Purge was essentially death by nosebleed, just like the time jumps caused nosebleeds in everyone. And notice a few episodes ago, Claire’s nose started bleeding.
• Richard Alpert’s strange hair and dress is the only inconsistency in this episode, and I’m thinking that’s pretty much all it is. The writers already decided he’d be immortal (hence his whole NOT AGING thing) but they didn’t think that maybe his hair would always be just so, and that he’d always be wearing that blue top with the sleeves rolled up. When he strolls into the camp in “LaFleur” in season 5, everyone knows him, and he’s the guy talking to Horace. His hair is short, his shirt is nice, and he’s not wearing rags. So I think the only way to deal with that is just to chalk it up to the writers not having fully fleshed out the complete Alpert idea yet.

3.19 The Brig

Follow along! The episode guide for “The Brig” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 152-158.

This episode saddens me to no end – Holloway gives his best performance to that point in the series, and the pain experienced by Sawyer and O’Quinn cuts through both of them. I remember when this episode aired, and being so baffled by the fact that a plane had been found, and Cooper was saying they were all in Hell – could he be right? Were they really all dead and ended up in Hell? It was a great ep that had many people scratching their heads and forums lighting up afterwards.

Fun things I noticed:
• I still get the biggest kick out of “Rousseau.” “Locke.” Hearing those two names in juxtaposition is great.
• Cooper’s “blahblahblahblah” is the most painful “etcetera” I’ve ever seen. Wow.
• Sawyer strangles Cooper the way Leia killed Jabba the Hutt… and Cooper looks about the same by the end of it.

Things that have new meaning:
• I could be wrong about this, but Sawyer is still barefoot by the beginning of season 5, and I'm wondering if it all started with this episode. Poor guy will never have another pair of shoes… he’ll have to go to 1977 to get those. ;)
• Ben tells Locke they’re going to an old place, and it appears to be the same clearing where Alpert had his people in 1954, when Locke first approached him to tell him he was the chosen one in “Jughead.” Cindy tells Locke that everyone’s staring because they’ve all been waiting for him… since when? 1954? How much do they know?
• Naomi’s helicopter story doesn’t mesh with what we later see – that the freighter only holds one chopper on deck. If her helicopter went down, then where did the second one magically appear from? When the Kahana leaves the dock in Fiji and Michael is on board, there’s only one helicopter on the freighter.
• Ben hands Locke a knife and tells him to stab his father, and Locke doesn’t do it. Not-Locke hands Ben a knife and tells him to stab Jacob, and Ben does it.
• Ben says, “It’s time” right before trying to get Locke to stab his father, but it appears that “time” is the very element that can temper someone’s anger and feelings for revenge. Ben stabs Jacob because he’s so freshly angry that Locke has usurped him; he kills his father because his father has been right there nattering at him for years. Locke, on the other hand, has been out of Cooper’s clutches for years, and has been given a second chance at walking on the island, so his anger isn’t as fresh, and therefore he can’t bring himself to do it. Had Ben handed Locke the knife a week after he’d been thrown out the window, things would have been very different.
• “John Locke. My dead son.” CREEPY! He will be dead, and then he’ll be resurrected, just like Cooper believes he’s been resurrected on the island already.
• Watching Alpert give Locke the file on Sawyer is completely different now that we know what Alpert’s role in all of this is. He’s the “advisor” to the leader, and the one who gets orders from Jacob to give to the leader. But it’s also different knowing that Alpert’s been watching Locke since before Locke was born, and truly believes he’s the leader and will travel back in time to tell him that. SO much in this episode is different now in retrospect.
• Locke telling Sawyer that his future girlfriend is a mole is yet another one of those awkward moments in light of the Suliet pairing.

3.18 D.O.C.

Follow along! The episode guide for “D.O.C.” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 144-151.

Loved this flashback, and despite the NUMEROUS nitpicks I have for Juliet’s knowledge of fertility and pregnancy (see the book), I love the scene of Juliet and Sun bonding over the ultrasound. Too bad it’s about to be thrown to the dogs when Juliet betrays Sun to Jin.

Fun things I noticed:
• I still think it’s unfair of Sun to immediately suspect Jack after everything he’s done for her and everyone else. It’s always irked me that she immediately went, “Gasp! He wants to know how my pregnancy is going… he MUST be working with Ben.”
• JINJA!!!! Oh how I love Jin’s new ninja moves. I wish we could see those on EVERY show. Why has that talent been so incredibly underused on an island where we need more Jinjas?
• I heart Jin’s dad so much. It’s such a sad irony that he’s probably the best and most loving father on the show, yet A) he might not even be Jin’s biological dad, and B) his son is ashamed of him.
• I loved the little gesture of Jin’s father wiping his hand on his shirt before deigning to touch Sun’s face, as if that simple contact would have somehow sullied her. It made me love him even more.
• Sorry… I just have to say it. Juliet’s line, “When did you last have sex with your husband” is one of the most RIDICULOUS things a fertility doctor could have said. If Sun lumbered into Juliet’s office at 8 months pregnant, and she asked that question, what would it have to do with anything? “Well, Jin and I had sex last week.” “Well, then. Your baby is exactly 7 days old. Congratulations!” Huh? Does Juliet think that women clamp on some sort of chastity belt at the moment of conception and never have sex again until the baby comes?

Things that have new meaning:
• In “The Incident,” we see Sun wearing a strapless white beaded wedding dress. In “House of the Rising Sun,” she’s wearing a high-collared silk wedding dress. In this episode, the wedding notice has Sun wearing a traditional Korean robe. Why would she have opted for such a traditional robe in the photo when in the other two episodes we haven’t seen her wear anything even close to it at the wedding?
• Compare this scene to the one that’s going to come later. In this one, Sun hesitates at the bottom of the staircase, then tentatively walks up, interrupts her father confidently talking to his associates, and she walks in and timidly asks him for money. While she subtly threatens him, it’s clear that Paik is holding all the cards and he’ll make Jin pay for her request. Now, think of the same scene in “There’s No Place Like Home.” A pregnant Sun walks confidently up those stairs, interrupts her father as he’s yelling at his associates and looks completely flustered about something (someone has bought a controlling interest in his company and he doesn’t know who or how) and then announces HE will respect HER and he ruined her husband’s life and now she controls his company and there’s nothing he can do about it. On the one hand, it’s sad to see how sad she is in this scene and you know she’s probably not getting the pleasure out of this that she should, but on the other, it’s WICKED to see Paik brought down like that.
• The scene of her telling Jin’s mother not to push her or she’ll make her fake death a reality is AWESOME, and ranks right up there in the kick-ass Sun moments alongside Sun clocking Ben in the head with an oar.
• Could Mikhail be the Man in Black? What if he really died at the sonic fence and somehow the Man in Black inhabited him? That’s why he could seem to have come back to life just like Locke did. It would also explain his oddness to Charlie, taunting him and leering at him and saying, “what?” when Charlie’s talking to him… it’s like he KNOWS he’s going to kill him.
• Desmond keeping his word with Mikhail will ultimately lead to Charlie’s death.

3.17 Catch-22

Follow along! The episode guide for “Catch-22” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 135-140.

First, I think it’s important to pause for a moment and take in the image of Desmond with his shirt unbuttoned. Mmmmmm…. OK, where was I? Oh right… taking in Desmond with his shirt unbuttoned…

Fun things I noticed:
• Just to jump shows for a second, it was interesting to me when Desmond says if he tells them one piece of the puzzle, they’ll change the picture on the box. It reminded me of Flashforward – they’ve all seen their puzzle piece from the future, and while some people are trying to change the picture on the box, others are doing their damnedest to keep that picture EXACTLY the same.
• I can never get enough of the guys whistling as they walk along the beach, and the ghost stories. Notice in both cases it’s boys being boys, and yet Desmond doesn’t participate in either one.
• Och! More bad accents!
• How did Charlie’s guitar not smash when he fell backward onto it?
• Have you ever noticed that Desmond says “Pen-neh” the same way Bill the Vampire says “Sook-eh”?

Things that have new meaning:
• The line “Someone’s coming” is now a harbinger for the entirety of season 4. It’s amazing how pivotal this episode was, and how much it drives the rest of the series.
• Again, as in season 1, it’s crazy to see Jack just ignoring Kate, knowing that later he’ll be willing to drop a freakin’ BOMB to get her back.
• Sawyer says to Jack and Juliet, “You two arguing over who’s your favourite Other?” It immediately reminded me of when he walks up to Locke and Juliet in “Jughead” and says, “I hate to bust up this ‘I’m an Other, you’re an Other reunion, but…’”
• We still haven’t gotten an answer as to why Brother Whatsit had a picture of Eloise on his desk. Or why Naomi was carrying Desmond’s pic, for that matter.

3.16 One of Us

Follow along! The episode guide for “One of Us” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 124-130.

Another great Juliet flashback (I know she has her share of detractors, but with the exception of Season 4’s “The Other Woman,” I’ve never seen a Juliet flashback I didn’t like). And I just need to give some extra props to Robin Wiegert, who plays her sister Rachel. I LOVE HER. Deadwood fans out there will remember her as Calamity Jane, a role she played superbly.

Fun things I noticed:
• So… I started writing up something that I thought was an inconsistency in the show, and while I was writing it I realized, no, it wasn’t actually an inconsistency at all, but another example of how perfectly written this show often is. So I’m going to keep it in just to show you what I realized. Juliet says that Ethan was administering the injections and was going to give the serum to Claire that way, but then Hurley found out he wasn’t on the manifest and so Ethan had to improvise, and that’s what changed his plans. But back in season 1, when Hurley runs into the caves to say Ethan wasn’t on the manifest, Ethan was already out in the woods kidnapping Claire and Charlie. He wasn’t improvising because he’d been caught, because he had no idea he’d been caught. BUT… as I was typing that part, I realized that he caught on when Hurley was asking him all of the questions to create his own manifest that he was probably going to find the REAL manifest, and so that’s when he improvised. Hurley didn’t have the real manifest at that point, but Ethan’s a really smart guy and would have figured it was only a matter of time before Hurley would find it.
• If Juliet didn’t have a serum by September 22, how did she have one 10 days later? What part of her story is true? Was Ethan really injecting Claire with a serum, or was he putting the implant in her that Ben could later activate?
• That scene of Juliet looking at Rachel pushing Julian on the swing makes me cry every time.

Things that have new meaning:
• Sawyer confronting Juliet and her reminding him what a convict he really is. WOW how far they’ve come. It’s so weird seeing Juliet in these earlier episodes and comparing them to the woman she would later become.
• This was that episode that made many a fan gasp at the end of it, where we suddenly didn’t know if she could be trusted (and many fans still feel that way, thinking she has her own agenda and is basically a sinister individual). But her flashbacks showing the relationship with her sister are what make me refuse to think of her as evil. Yes, she was probably acting as a double agent, but isn’t everyone pretty much looking to help themselves at this point?

3.15 Left Behind

Follow along! The episode guide for “Left Behind” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 116-123.

This is one of my favourite of the Kate flashbacks. So much of the past came together in this one, from Cassidy’s relationship to Sawyer (and her reaction to her pregnancy) to Kate’s relationship with her mother (who makes Roger Workman look WARM).

Fun things I noticed:
• There’s still no explanation for why the Others have superhuman strength.
• Cassidy isn’t exactly taking care of the baby, since she appears to be having a hard drink in the bar with Kate.
• Is Cassidy wearing the same green coat that Kate’s wearing when she goes to see Tom in “Born to Run”?
• There’s another insinuation that Kate and the marshal had some sort of relationship beyond fugitive and cop when Cassidy says, “I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but he is REALLY angry.”
• You know, my husband watched this ep with me this time around and even he couldn’t stand Diane. The old battle axe couldn’t even offer her daughter a hug. UGH.

Things that have new meaning:
• I couldn’t help but think of the friendship Cassidy and Kate strike up after Kate gets off the island throughout this episode. In both instances it’s Kate coming to Cassidy for advice and Cassidy is sometimes blunt, but gets the point across. And yet at her core, Cassidy is in pain. I also thought of Cassidy opening the door and saying, “Oh my GOD, I’ve been telling everyone, ‘I KNOW that woman!’” And I thought if anyone in the law ever heard her saying that, they’d wonder WHEN exactly Cassidy knew “that woman” and had she been helping her stay underground?

3.14 Exposé

Follow along! The episode guide for “Exposé” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 106-113.

Oh, you ALL know I’ve been waiting the entire rewatch to post on this episode! But first, let’s stop and look at one of the best images on Lost… ever.



No wait, it’s beat out by one more:



HAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Oops, didja get a little sand in your eye, Niks? Oh, this episode is delicious. This was one of those episodes for the diehards, full of in-jokes and acting as one giant, vicious mea culpa on behalf of the writers. The more casual fans (i.e. those out there who didn’t understand our hatred of these two idiots nor did they care) mostly hated this episode, and I’ve had people email me saying it was the low point of season 3. For me… THE comic high point. While I don’t have much new to say that I didn’t RELISH saying already in my book, here are a few thoughts.

Fun things I noticed:
• Nikki and Paulo DIE!!!
• Nikki looks at Shannon and Boone and says, “Promise me we’ll never end up like them.” And then… they both end up like them. DEAD.
• Some of the past dead characters return in this one to remind us of their deaths, and that Paulo and Nikki will soon ALSO BE DEAD.
• In case you DIDN’T already think Nikki and Paulo were complete d-bags, this episode shows how much they knew and how much they COULD have helped everyone else, but were so caught up in their own greed they never bothered.
• The bodies at the bottom of the lagoon were in the same state of decomposition as they’d been when Sawyer dived down there months earlier. Does water preserve bodies?

Things that have new meaning:
• Not much has new meaning, other than two seasons later, I still LOOOOVE this episode!!

Now, for me, this episode is just missing one thing: reaction shots from some other people. First Kate got the good news:



Then Juliet:



Then the reality of what had happened finally set in and Sawyer got the joke:



This is Hurley recounting the story on Conan after he'd been rescued from the island:



And Jack hearing about it:



(No really, Jack is laughing REALLY hard in that shot.)


And it wasn't just the island folks! Here's Buffy's reaction:



And Giles's:



And finally... Tom Cruise:



OK, calm down, Tom. Even *I* didn't think it was that funny...

But enough reveling in their deaths. NO! Wait!! More reveling! It’s time for Hitler to weigh in and tell us what HE thinks of Nikki and Paulo. Enjoy!

3.13 The Man from Tallahassee

Follow along! The episode guide for “The Man From Tallahassee” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 101-106.

Locke might have gone off the deep end in season 3, but in this episode, the one where we finally see how Locke ended up in a wheelchair, I just can’t find enough synonyms for “amazing” to describe Terry O’Quinn’s performance. His reaction when he is placed in the wheelchair for the first time leaves me gutted every time I see it.

Fun things I noticed:
• I love that moment in the beginning where Jack looks like the traitor (and the fact that Locke, of all people, is the only one willing to give him the benefit of the doubt).
• “I’m from Ontario.” Must be evil!! Of course, if they’re in Tustin, then he could mean Ontario, California (trust me, when you’re from Ontario, Canada you rarely say “Ontario” and just say “Canada” or “Toronto” if you’re in a city that’s recognized internationally). Ethan was also from Ontario, interestingly.
• Jack coming in to talk to Kate is similar to Juliet coming in to talk to Jack.
• Alex seems socially awkward, just like Karl always did, which is fitting. I mean, they were never allowed to watch TV (Karl’s never heard of the Brady Bunch) and there weren’t very many other people their age, so what precedent would they have had for what social behaviour is? I’ve always thought this was a very subtle but meaningful touch about their characters.
• Ooh, that Locke and Ben scene is ELECTRIC when they’re both one-upping each other about the island. LOVE IT.
• That perspective of Locke peering down the hole foreshadows that this will explode (because of Locke) just like the hatch did.
• I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that extra-gooey squish when Locke lands before. Ick. It reminds me of something I read years ago that was talking about how they get that juicy noise in a low-budget horror film (or in live theatre) when someone’s hand is cut off – the actor pulls their wrist up into the shirt and holds a bunch of celery, and the fake hand is attached to the end of the celery. The other actor cuts the bunch of celery and CRUNCH, you get that satisfying and disgusting sound.

Things that have new meaning:
• Someone asked last week what the flower was that Hurley put on Libby’s grave, and I pointed out that it’s the same flower that’s in the “garden” where Yemi confronts Eko right before Eko dies, and that it signifies death for me because of it. And here, again, the flower is in the flower shop where Locke confronts his father. We know Cooper will end up dead, and Locke will soon be paralyzed, so maybe the flower really does symbolize something bad on the show.
• Locke’s “You got anything to eat” to Ben echoes Henry Gale’s line, “You guys got any milk?” from season 2. Both have just said something to unnerve the other person, and then rub it in their face by delivering a flippant line right after.
• That look between Locke and Jack is priceless. I couldn’t help but think of Jack holding a gun to Locke’s head at the beginning of season 4 and pulling the trigger.
• This ranks as one of the all-time best endings of Lost. And the way he said, “Dad?” immediately brings to mind the ending of the S2 episode where Michael is on the computer, and the final word of the episode is “Dad?” from Walt.

3.12 Par Avion

Follow along! The episode guide for “Par Avion” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 96-100.

Locke continues to be crazy, Mikhail dies another day, we realize once and for all that Claire has a half-brother on the island, and the main storyline seems completely ass-backwards.

Fun things I noticed:
• I still think Claire looks awesome as a Goth.
• Notice Locke’s first reaction to discovering there’s a sub on the island, like he’s already planning to do away with it.
• AGAIN, where Mikhail begged for death in the previous ep, he thanks Locke for hurling him into the sonic fence in this one.
• I might be missing something, but why don’t they chuck their backpacks and guns through the fence rather than carrying them on their backs? The sonic fence would only affect their heads, but not inanimate objects in their packs. Would it?
• I really dislike the plot about the birds. It makes NO SENSE. Why would Desmond be preventing Claire from catching a bird early on if he had this vision of Charlie being bashed on the rocks?? Why wouldn’t he WANT her to catch it, thus preventing Charlie from heading out to the rocks to catch one of them? Desmond’s actions make absolutely no sense.
• And here’s why I hate the ending where they tie the piece of paper to the bird: A) first, that bird never would have sat still long enough for Des to catch it, especially with them both yelling behind him; B) that note is the longest, most rambling, crazy-ass note in the world, and I’m screaming GET TO THE POINT! (ME. The person who would try to fit a thousand-word essay on a post-it, *I* thought it was long.) C) the moment that bird lands in water – and it will – that note will be mush.
• I love the look on Kate’s face when Jack’s playing football. HAHA!!

Things that have new meaning:
• The birds at the beginning flew out of the trees the same way they flew out of Charlie’s dream in “Fire + Water” when he dreamed he saw Claire and his mother on the beach.
• The scene in the jungle with Mikhail and Co. is the key to this episode for us now. He says the three of them are not on the list that’s been made by the “magnificent man,” yet they were all touched by Jacob. Is he lying? Is he purposely misleading them?
• Mikhail says he has a fleeting memory of John being a paraplegic, but how would he have known him as such? Did he do off-island work? What memory would he have had? Is he some weird incarnation of the Man in Black or Jacob?
• It’s hard to believe this is the first time we saw the sonic fence!!
• I actually referred to the woman in “Two for the Road” as Claire’s mom, forgetting that Christian goes to see Aunt Lindsey in that scene, because Claire’s mom was obviously still in the coma at that time.

3.11 Enter 77

Follow along! The episode guide for “Enter 77” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 89-96.

This is the episode where Locke officially went batshit and many fans wondered what the hell was going on. His behavior could be summed up in many ways – mainly in that the guy’s been through a life-altering experience, where he was 100% convinced that he was right about something, only to be proven wrong, and he’s lost faith in himself, the island, and everyone around him. He believes in Eko’s stick, but Sayid mentions over and over again how completely stupid that is. But all of that said, his actions still come off as suspect in this episode and the next, and he withdraws into himself more than he ever had before. As we’ve seen in the rewatch, even when he’s a loner, he’s still very much a part of the group, but in this season Locke really begins to separate himself from everyone else. Not too much to say about this one again…

Fun things I noticed:
• We know Sayid is lying the moment he says he’d never torture a woman, because we’d seen him torture Nadia.

Things that have new meaning:
• Locke’s bearing north – 305 – is the same as the one Daniel gave Lapidus to get to the freighter.
• Is it possible Mikhail is immortal like Alpert? He asks Sayid to shoot him, as if dying is a blessing (would that back up my theory about Eko being given mercy by Smokey by killing him?) Does he know that he’ll come back to life somehow? Do you get Special Island Brownie points every time you’re killed on it and come back?
• Bea asks Mikhail to kill her, as if she, too, is looking forward to it. Is there some sort of resurrection ship floating nearby?!

3.10 Tricia Tanaka Is Dead

Follow along! The episode guide for “Tricia Tanaka Is Dead” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 85-89.

I realize this isn’t a strong episode of Lost because the flashback doesn’t really teach us much about Hurley that we don’t already know, aside from his Daddy issue. But that said, it’s HILARIOUS and I’d forgotten how good the writing was. There are so many fabulous highlights. I can’t choose a favourite (I list many of them in my book, but I’d forgotten to mention the part where Sawyer jumps with a start and says, “Why is there a HEAD back here?!” Or where Hurley’s mom says she has needs and he covers his ears and yells, “NO NO NO NO NO!” Hahahahahaha). What bothers me about it is Hurley seems to have a breakthrough, and realizes he’s not cursed and Charlie’s not cursed, and that they make their own luck. And then… in seasons 4 and 5 he goes back to referring to the curse again, as if this episode never happened. That irked me… but maybe it’s because Charlie died. Realizing Charlie couldn’t cheat death perhaps made Hugo think that he was cursed after all.

Fun things I noticed:
• Great. When this episode first aired I had Shambala in my head for weeks. And… it’s there again.
• I love that Cheech is attempting to look like he’s in his mid-30s at the beginning of the ep. Fail.
• Kate refers to Sawyer as James when she’s trying to appeal to him or when she thinks they’re getting closer, and she calls him Sawyer when she creates distance and is pissed at him.

Things that have new meaning:
• Now that we know who Roger was, and how he died, it doesn’t exactly make us more sympathetic to Skeletor, but it definitely makes us watch the scene a little differently.
• At the end of the episode, Jin, Sawyer, Charlie, and Hurley are in the van. One of them is now dead, and the others have since driven in the Dharma van in 1977.

3.09 Stranger in a Strange Land

Follow along! The episode guide for “Stranger in a Strange Land” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 75-81.

Probably my least favourite episode of Lost. And looking back on it a couple of seasons later, the entire episode isn’t a loss, really… there are some funny moments. But this flashback is utterly useless, and hell, the tribunal on the island seems to come from out of nowhere. At this point in time, the tattoo stuff was junk, Isabel is a one-off, they went nowhere with the plot, or Juliet’s mark, or Jack being separated from the rest of the group, or ANYTHING. As such, I don’t have much to say about it. That said, maybe at the end of season 6 they’ll do something with all of this and I’ll be referring to this episode as the harbinger of what’s to come. But regardless, I will never like Bai Ling. Nothing can change my mind on THAT point.

Fun things I noticed:
• There were so many things that seem to have been thrown into this episode just to confuse us, and a couple of seasons later they’re still not clear. Karl says they were giving the kids a better life. Does he know that or is he just going by Ben? (And since when did he ever listen to Ben?) Achara and the tattoo is a big, WHA?! a few years later.
• Jack is acting unlike himself. He always asks questions, yet he lets Cindy walk away without firing a ton of questions at her. He is known for not letting things go, and yet he pushes the button twice and then walks away. You’d think, like Sawyer, he would have pushed that thing until he’d been electrocuted, but instead he gives up really easily. Maybe he really does think he’s going to die.

Things that have new meaning:
• When Cindy says they’re there to watch, she utters one of the most talked-about lines to this day on the show. What does she mean? Is this yet another psychological experiment where some of the kidnapped watch other kidnapped and see how long it takes for them to break down? Are they sitting in the tribunal and watching Juliet? Why doesn’t she offer any more explanation? Of course, this scene is just one more moment of confusion that’s not explained, and hasn’t been to this day. Here’s hoping it is before the end of the series.

3.08 Flashes Before Your Eyes

Follow along! The episode guide for “Flashes Before Your Eyes” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 60-67.

I think you already know the reason why I loved this episode. I remember before this one aired Damon made some comment that they would be doing a flashback like nothing we’d ever seen, and he worried that if people were on the fence about leaving Lost (season 3 was the great “fickle fan” exodus from the show), this might push them over the edge. But for me, it was awesome. First, there’s the naked Desmond part. Then topless Desmond. Helpless Desmond. Angry Desmond…. OK, seriously now. Rewatching this one is fascinating because this was the first episode to seriously suggest that time travel might play a role on the show. Fans were divided about what really happened – did Des time travel, or did he have an out-of-body experience that flashed before his eyes? Now, in light of The Constant, it would appear he consciousness-traveled in a way, but in a different way than he would later.

Fun things I noticed:
• Wow, Des. That’s one serious tan you’ve got there. I can just see Henry Ian Cusick getting this script and spending the next 10 days on a tanning bed knowing he’d be shirtless.
• For some reason I was feeling rather creative the week this one aired, and wrote up two fake deleted scenes for it. The first one, where Claire talks to Desmond, is here, and the second, where Charlie and Hurley are in Sawyer's tent, is here.
• I mentioned this in my S3 book, but I still have no idea why Charlie calls Desmond a coward, other than the fact he’s SERIOUSLY pissed that Desmond was the guy to save his girlfriend.
• While Charlie’s rendition is as painful as Liam Gallagher’s live version of “Wonderwall,” I love that he sings, “Maybe you’re gonna be the one that saves me” as Des is walking over to him. Or, in light of the S3 finale… maybe not.
• It still drives me NUTS that the word “honor” is misspelled on the Scottish poster. Any good member of the Commonwealth knows the proper spelling is “Honour.” ;)

Things that have new meaning:
• I might have mentioned this before, but Desmond says he took care of his three younger brothers (whom I would LOVE to meet… hint hint) “after my father…” and then he’s cut off. After his father what? We’re to assume he was going to say “died” but what if it was something else? Disappeared? Time traveled? Was his name Jacob? Will he turn out to be important or no?
• So why does Eloise (who in the picture above appears to be singing the Twilight Zone theme, "Doo doo do do"... hehe) appear to Desmond here? I suggested in my S5 book that maybe she had Daniel’s journal after Dan died (by her hand) and then for his entire life she was able to anticipate what would happen next. In that case, she could have made Des go to the island so he’d be there to get her son’s message when Dan time traveled and banged on the hatch door, and he’d be there as her son’s constant (and for all we know, SHE scrawled that note in the journal about how Desmond Hume would be his constant). Is that how she knows to be there at that time? Or did Widmore call her?
• Eloise tells Desmond that if he doesn’t get that very tanned ass back to the island, “every single one of US is dead,” and she puts an emphasis on the word “us.” Who does she mean? Every person in the world? All of the Others? The time travelers? The islanders?
• So at the time, I never looked beyond Desmond’s nakedness as anything but… glorious. But now we need to step back and wonder if it means anything. Why is Desmond naked? Is it a sign that he really left the island physically? Could it be a signal of a rebirth?

3.07 Not in Portland

Follow along! The episode guide for “Not In Portland” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 54-60.

I loved this episode the first time I saw it, because it was seeing a new character’s flashback, something we hadn’t done in a long time. I think it made Juliet a very sympathetic character for me, even though it didn’t work on everyone. And come on… watching Edmund Burke get hit by that bus NEVER gets old.

Fun things I noticed:
• In making the connection between Burke and Ben, we see that Juliet moved from one controlling tyrant to another.
• Alpert’s eyeliner was perfect from the beginning.
• How much do I love that she makes a throwaway suggestion and Alpert makes it happen? Who WOULDN’T want to work for that company? “Yeah, I had this boss who was a horrible Nazi bitch when I was in high school and worked in a grocery store bakery, and I’d love for her to fall into a fire.” As Bart Simpson would say, “Coooool.” (The above statement about the boss may or may not be true.)
• Did anyone else ever think Karl was a bit of a schmuck? I could never see what Alex saw in him.
• So… Jack always comes off as a bit of a lousy surgeon. We’ve seen him open a woman’s dural sac, then he’s always popping and slicing arteries. Pfft… as if one miracle could overlook the other stuff. ;)
• Rachel uses the same pregnancy test as Kate.

Things that have new meaning:
• That ultrasound of the woman’s womb is still a big unanswered question, and one many Lost fans (including myself) keep coming back to in later seasons. Is it a womb of a woman who’s time-traveled? Why is the island rapidly aging women’s wombs but not the rest of them? I’m assuming the source of the failure to bring a baby to term on the island is in these ultrasound pictures, but it’s not clear yet what they are. (Or… it really is a womb of a woman in her 70s and Alpert is just putting one over on Juliet.)
• One of the messages in Room 23 is “Everything Changes,” which could be a suggestion that everything WILL change. Maybe when Jack drops the bomb? When they go back in time? Or is it a purposely untrue statement?
• We all wondered if Sawyer had any memory of Juliet holding a gun to Kate and how that might have made the beginning of their relationship a little… awkward… but maybe he also remembered her saving his life here. Could one cancel out the other?

3.06 I Do

Follow along! The episode guide for “I Do” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 48-51.

I’ve always loved this episode. At the time, this episode aired and was the last Lost ep for 3 months, the final installment of the 6-episode “appetizer” that would precede the main course, starting the following February. So that end cliffhanger? It was a WHOPPER at the time. (As bad as Juliet banging a hydrogen bomb and the screen going white? NO.)

Fun things I noticed:
• I ♥ Nathan Fillion.
• “At least you won’t have to be disappointed for very long.” Still one of the best Jack lines EVER.
• You know, I’d love to find out where the women of the island got their underarm wax jobs before getting on the plane, because they’re impeccable and lasting FOREVER. Maybe Oceanic was offering free underarm electrolysis with every Sydney to L.A. flight purchased?
• I love Ben’s cunning. Jack says, “I need to get the hell off this island!” and Ben says, “Done.” Because Jack doesn’t know he’s not on the same island. Sure, Jack, we’ll get you off this island and… put you on this one. Oh? You wanted to be rescued? You didn’t say Simon Says…
• Pickett is the first person to mention Jacob by name. It’s interesting that it’s such a throwaway line that becomes SO monumental later.
• Juliet’s staring at Jack during the surgery like she knows what he’s doing.

Things that have new meaning:
• Kate usually has Patsy Cline music, and in this one it opens with that divine Ann Margret song, “Slowly.” Is there some significance to Kate always having these songs by strong-willed female singers from the 1950s and 1960s? Or is it just super-cool?
• I think it’s really sad we never saw Kevin again. I would have loved to have seen him in the flashforward reuniting with her, either to tell her he still loved her, or to end it and let her know how much she’d hurt him. I know it would have been really gratuitous (and for all the Skaters and Jaters, it would have just been annoying) but any excuse to get Nathan Fillion back on here…
• When Ben closes his eyes before going under, it seems bigger somehow, like he’s preparing for his death. He’s so sure of himself and confident in every other scene, but not here. I realize he’s putting his fate in the hands of Jack, but this is the same guy who’s tempted fate at every turn and never seemed scared.
• When Kate’s yelling at Sawyer, “Don’t you let go!” I couldn’t help but think of him holding Juliet’s hand and telling her not to let go. It’s almost like Kate was warning him of something that would happen 3 years later.

3.05 The Cost of Living

Follow along! The episode guide for “The Cost of Living” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 39-46.

I loved this episode when it first aired, and I love it even more now, in light of season 5. WOW, what an important episode to look back on! I can’t help but see it with the Man in Black in mind, and the scene of Ben being judged in “Dead Is Dead.” The speech that Eko gives to Yemi is one of my favourite of the entire series. It’s beautifully written and wonderfully executed:
“I ask for no forgiveness, Father. For I have not sinned. I have only done what I needed to do to survive. A small boy once asked me if I was a bad man. If I could answer him now, I would tell him that... when I was a young boy, I killed a man to save my brother's life. I am not sorry for this. I am proud of this! I did not ask for the life that I was given. But it was given, nonetheless. And with it . . . I did my best.”
It’s scenes like that I have to point to when people say television will turn your mind to mush. Writing like that is, simply, stunning.


Fun things I noticed:
• Sorry… I have to say it (come on, hating N&P was one of my favourite things to do in the first half of season 3… bear with me). But I wanted to point out something nice you can do on the rewatch. Here’s how I like to watch parts of this episode:
Nikki: I’ll go.
Locke: Great!
Paulo: What?
Locke: Anyone else want to come, meet us at the tree line in 10 minutes. Bring water.
Paulo: alkjdfkanldfhalkjflkajdflaf
Nikki: a;lskdjijaijwlkfjkdjlseijdlkjlakjdfoaj
Desmond: Would you mind if I asked you a question, brother?
Me: Ah… the beauty of fastforward.
• Again, I HATE HATE HATE that scene in the Pearl when Nikki – NIKKI, FOR GOD’S SAKES – is the freakin’ brain trust who figures out that all of the screens must be looking into different hatches. Just go back and watch it again (I know I mentioned it in my S3 book, but I just can’t let it go), please, please go watch it again. When Terry O’Quinn delivers the line, “Well, I’m suddenly feeling very stupid” he does it SO flatly, with absolutely no emotion. He says it in a way he’s never delivered another line on the show before or since, as if he doesn’t believe for one second that somehow Nitwit Nikki would figure out something that he and Sayid – SAYID, FOR GOD’S SAKES – would have missed. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that set as O’Quinn pulled the writers aside:
O’Quinn: OK, let me just get this straight. You want that annoying little twit to figure out the key to the Pearl really quickly; quicker than anyone on this show has ever figured out anything in any of the hatches. You don’t want to, you know, give the line to me? Hell, give it to Naveen, I don’t care, just don’t give it to HER.
Writer: Sorry, man, we think it might endear the audience to her if we have her first bite Hurley’s head off – nothing says love like chewing out the fan favourite – and then show up all of the other beloved characters by figuring out something they couldn’t. So, yeah, we’re gonna leave it with her.
O’Quinn: Fine, whatever. But if it keeps up, do me a favour and either bury Locke alive, or them. Your choice.



Things that have new meaning:
• I’ve always loved the line, “Anyone smell smoke?” because you immediately think of Smokey before you see the fire. But then, if it happens because of the Yemi image, then technically it could have very well have been Smokey (if we’re all correct in our assumptions that the visions are connected to Smokey, which I’m sure we are).
• Let’s look at the scene at the end in light of “Dead Is Dead.” Eko refuses to confess, and the island appears to turn against him. But he’d sold his soul to save good people. Ben, on the other hand, repents, says he’s worry, that he was wrong, and the island appears to spare him. Yet everything he’s done has been for himself (he says it’s for the island) and he’s never seemed to care about a soul other than Alex. So… what does Eko’s death mean? Did the island kill him in a fury because he refused to repent? Or… was his death meant to be merciful? In refusing to repent, in recognizing who he is, what life he was given, and how he chose to use it to save others, does it kill him in order to save him, in a sense? And, consequently, does that mean the island spared Ben to use him further, and therefore granted him no merciful death and forced him to do the terrible thing he did afterward? Is it possible that death is forgiveness?
• Now, let’s think of it in light of the Man in Black. Could Yemi be Smokey/Man in Black looking for Eko to be the body for him to inhabit? If he’d answered the question differently, would he have been the person that the Man in Black would have used to complete his mission to find and kill Jacob? Eko makes his speech, Yemi disappears, and Smokey appears and obliterates him. His final words to Locke were, presumably, “You’re next.” Locke translates the “you” to be plural, as in “you are all next,” and he looks up and says, “He said, ‘We’re next.’” But I’ve always taken this scene to be Locke misunderstanding Eko, who meant the singular “You,” as in “You, John, not the others, YOU.” Is it possible that by this he meant, I was tested and seen as inferior, or too strong for the Man in Black to inhabit, and now you’re next. He will hunt you down, through Ben, and he will take over your body and will become you, because he couldn’t do it to me. Could that be the link between John and Eko? Eko stood strong right to the end. John was easily influenced, and was looking for salvation and meaning. He’s the easier one to twist into position, and Eko wouldn’t do what he was supposed to.
• That final vision. It gets me every time; the first time I was weeping like a baby, and every time since I actually well up in anticipation of it and the tears are rolling by the time we get to it. When I first saw it, I thought it was a lovely vision, that Eko was dying with the memory of him and his brother returning home after a soccer game. But now I watch it with a possible second explanation – what if, going along with what I said earlier, this vision wasn’t him remembering a moment of a time before the militia rolled into town, but instead was the island creating a different life for him, and giving him new memories? (Bear with me on this.) Could the island have actually changed the timeline, and now none of that happened? That wouldn’t explain how he made it to the island… but seeing season 5, I must admit it flickered across my mind that the island could possibly be changing time completely and altering his reality.
Eko is throwing a soccer ball into the air. When the militia forced him to shoot the elderly man, they broke up the kids’ soccer game. His entire life changed in that moment, as did Yemi’s, who spent his life as a priest doing penance for himself and for Eko. Did the island create it for him as a memory that didn’t happen? (Think of Wesley dying in Illyria’s arms on Angel and telling her to lie to him and be Fred…) Perhaps in that final instant, Eko lost all traces of memory of the militia ever coming, and instead the boys finished their soccer game and went home happily to get dinner. Now THAT would be a beautiful lie.

3.04 Every Man For Himself

Follow along! The episode guide for “Every Man For Himself” is in Finding Lost — Season 3, pp. 31-35.

Dear Writers: Why did you EVER think we were going to like Nikki and Paulo when you made them so horribly, annoyingly dickish? Darlton later said, “Well, I guess the fans just weren’t up to seeing new characters being brought up from the background.” Oh really? We love scenes with Widmore, Eloise, Richard Alpert. Hell, you introduced an entire freighter of new people in season 4 and we went for it. No, it had NOTHING to do with them being background characters, it’s that you made them SO immensely unlikable. And now I’m wasting even more of my time talking about them. (If you want to see more of my rants on these two d-bags, check out my Season 3 book…) ANYWAY. Back to the cages we go with this episode, and this is where we first discover that they’re on two separate islands. Again, I don’t have a lot to say about this episode that I didn't say in my book already…


Fun things I noticed:
• Wow, Paulo. SO giving of you to let Desmond have your golf club so he can die with it in the jungle. You are SUCH a douche.
• Sawyer spouts his mantra, “Every man for himself” and Kate repeats Jack’s, “Live together die alone.”

Things that have new meaning:
• The Others are masters of psychological manipulation, as we see in this episode. The question is, did they learn it from the DI, or did the DI learn it from them?
• Juliet looking scared to perform the surgery is the same face she has when Sawyer runs out to her in LaFleur and tells her to try to deliver Amy’s baby. No wonder she was so scared… not only did every woman lose her baby when she was the fertility expert, but she lost Colleen, too. I’d forgotten about Juliet trying to save her like that.
• I love Sawyer and Ben quoting Of Mice and Men to each other as some sort of game of cat and mouse. And when we see Sawyer reading the book in prison, we realize that he’s not reading heady literature on the beach because it happens to be the only stuff he could find in the suitcases; he’s always read this stuff.