Upon Further Review...

I watched The Life And Death Of Jeremy Bentham again tonight, the second of my ten weekly viewings. Locke's visits really bugged me.

Typically Locke just pisses me off. But in this ep it was the O6 that were being the jerkfaces.

First off, there was just toooooo much forced into one episode. We needed more time on each visit. Especially for Walt and Jack.

Quick breakdown:

Kate - we saw an abbreviated version of her meeting (we didn't see it all) but I find it hard to believe that she was that cold to Locke. She might not want to return because she needs to take care of Aaron (and possibly still loves Jack) but why the need to be an asshole to Locke.

Sayid - same deal... only he has no ties to this world anymore. Sure, he's building homes for people, but he left all those people on the island that he doesn't care about helping them at all?!? Just doesn't make sense.

Hurley - he's gone crazy so he gets a bit of a pass. Although when he thought Locke was dead, I was surprised that he didn't care more that he had died.

Jack - Seems to be in the middle of downward spiral... and still hates Locke, but even then... he didn't even ask how he got there? What happened to the island? And Jack of all people doesn't want to chance to save the people he left behind?!?! (I mean I guess he changes his mind pretty soon after that... he just must not have wanted to give Locke the satisfaction)

Walt - This should have been a much bigger conversation. Walt probably doesn't think it's that weird that he made it off, cuz he did, and others have made it off in the three years... but remember his visit to Hurley in the last season's finale? He said that Bentham visited him? Well Locke never referred to himself as Bentham. He also never told Walt why everyone was lying, which he told Hurley he had. So was this just a big writing error? They don't seem to make them (the writers).

I loved this episode, and Terry O'Quinn was great. I just think it needed some more time.

That's it for now.

Episode Recap: The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

Ben Linus and Charles Widmore are both huge liars.

Let's start with the On-Island (right?) stuff:

It looked to me like they didn't crash too hard. Probably because.... to be fair... Frank Lapidus is a pretty good pilot, aaaaaand it looked like they were on or near a runway of sorts. Quite possibly the quasi-finished runway that Sawyer and Kate were forced to build back when they were prisoners in Season 2. They've also got what looks like the old school Other boats that Kate, Sawyer and Karl all used to escape at some point. Therefore I believe they are on the Hydra island. That would also explain the offices Cesar (more on this dude in a second) appears to rummaging around in. It's part of the Hydra station.. Real quick.... think with all the time travel, someone told the Others they needed a runway so this plane coudl crash safely in the future?

Things of note... I think at least:

- looks like they may have been there for a few days before Locke showed up. They've settled in a bit, treating the wounded, finding the Hydra, Lapidus and a woman (guessing Sun) went off in a boat (why?)... anyway...
- Cesar seems to know something about the situation, but he's not letting on. Also, since Ilyana had Sayid in custody, I'm guessing she's involved too.
- Quick body count (and as much as I hate to do this... I'm gonna use next week's preview just a bit):

-On Island in the future (I think it's the future/present cuz the Runway is done... probably the present... 3 years after they left...) we've got a bunch of random survivors along with, Cesar, Ilyana, Frank Lapidus, and Locke. The previews show Sun with Ben, so I think she's there too... and since Sayid was MIA last week, I'll bet he's in this timeline too. SIDE NOTE: I'm sure they'll head to the main island at some point and then the question will be "who was in the boat shooting at Sawyer and Co. And who did Juliette hit when she shot back?"

- On Island in the past: looks like Jack, Kate and Hurley are in the past with Jin... but it showed conflicting clips of Sawyer in what looked like the same timeline, and then others with Juliette and he dealing with some other gun fight situation.... but I digress, we'll save that for next week.


Off Island stuff:

- Locke lands in the same spot roughly (or hell, maybe exactly) that Ben did in Tunisia. Looks like Widmore is monitoring that point cuz he knows it's the exit. At first, I wondered why he hadn't been monitoring it all along, but my soon to be ex-roommate (don't ask) suggested that those dudes who found Ben last season were probably patrolling the area for Widmore. Good point. And after a dangerous fellow like Ben showed up, Widmore upped the security.

- Widmore says Ben's the bad guy, yadda yadda, he wants to help Locke. I don't think we can trust Ben or Charles, so let's not put too much stock into the spin he puts on this WAR that's coming. Though I do believe, like we theorized here, that Ben DID trick Widmore somehow into moving / leaving the island. I mean he said as much. Unless he's lying. Which he probably is.

- Widmore didn't seem to be on board with the Locke has to die plan like Richard said... interesting. Would have liked to hear Ben's reaction to that news from Richard. Why DID Richard say it to begin with!?!?!

- A few things of note from Locke's visits:

- WAAAAAAAAALT!!!! Not enough screen time. I got chills when they saw each other. They clearly would have had more to say to each other. Not just 30 seconds of convo. That better not be the last we see of Walt. He did say that he was having island dreams though. Locke in a suit and everyone wanting to hurt him.... a sign of things to come? Also... it was neat to see that Locke didn't want to put Walt through anymore suffering... a little out of character, but nice.

- I don't think Helen is dead. I think it was a Widmore trick to leave Locke with nothing left in the real world.

- Ben kills Abadon. Lame. I liked that character. His story makes sense now though. Locke told the Others in the past that he was important, so Widmore kept an eye out for him in the future, sent Abadon to Locke and got him started on his journey.

- Locke tells Jack about Christian on the island!!!! The final nail in Jack's crazy coffin (pun intended). Great scene by both actors. Terry O'Quinn was great all episode. Should get the Emmy again.

- So Ben.... is a dick. He killed Locke. But only after talking him down. It was the mention of Ms. Hawking that sent him over the edge. VEEEEERRRY interesting. So how'd Locke know about her anyway? I can only assume it was in Widmore's file. She must have helped Widmore find the island with the freighter and shiiiiit. She's quite a wild card in this whole thingamajig.

Anyway, that's what I got. Thanks.

Quick Hit...

At work and don't have too much time to explain... but here's a thought I had a while back, and actually have discussed with one of our loyal east coast followers (hopefully she will back me up on this with a comment).

I'll get into some detail maybe later on, but I saw this come up on another site and wanted it here on record that I was thinking about this a ways back...

Jack turns out to be Jacob.

Not sure I believe it... just think about it for awhile.

Episode Recap will be up tonight.

Episode Recap: 316

"Answer" filled episode, and what was quite possibly the most LINEAR episode of Lost... ever (well except for the teaser scene at the beginning).

So there's an off-island Dharma Station built under a Church called the Lamp Post... Eloise Hawking "explains":

- Some genius (doesn't say who) figured out the island was moving in both time and location, and this lamp post station could figure out when it would appear and for how long.
- All they need to do to get back is try and recreate their original trip to the island in a specific spot at a specific time... or as close as they can get it.... which wasn't all that close. She said anything less would cause "unpredictable" results. What a coincidence that there's a flight covering that same area from Ajira!!!! (Neat that bearded, drunken Jack from season finale 3 was right about how to get back... sort of)
- The island moves based on this pocket of energy... well it must be unique cuz the rest of these pockets seem to stay put... I guess that's what makes it so sought after.
- Hawking also mentions that Jack needs to give something to Locke from his father... in order to make it even more like the original crash. Not making a lot of sense to me, but I'll let it slide since A) I'm sure we'll get more details on the whole situation and B) it leads to us knowing why Christian Shepherd was trotting around the island in white tennis shoes.

- PS How'd she get Locke's note?


Could have used a little more Desmond interaction with Miss Hawking. But at least he went off on her a bit.... I guess ultimately he just doesn't care and he wants to get away from this madness. His line "We're all just pieces" to their game... I'll bet he's right on!

Anyone else hoping Jack was gonna bring along his bored Grandpa? And speaking of Jack's family... did he say goodbye to his Mom? Is she still around? I'll bet she's dead. One more reason for Jack to be so depressed.

Everyone seems to make it on the plane (notable exceptions being Aaron, Ji Yeon, Desmond, and WAAAAAAAAALT!!!!)

But seriously... what's their deal....

What's Kate's deal?
- She dumped Aaron off somewhere, and Jack can't ask? Ooooooook. She better have gave him to Claire's Mom.
- What turned her into a super-depressed nympho? "We're on the same plane... doesn't mean were together" Ice cold Kate. Think she's keeping her options open just in case she runs into Sawyer again? Nice work Kate. WHORE!!!

What's Hurley's deal?
- How'd he get out of prison?
-Who convinced him to go along with the plan? (I'll bet it was Walt!!!! Somehow...)
- He knows the deal cuz he bought all the tickets, and Ben didn't seem to know how he got there, so what gives?
- The guitar? Trying to replicate Charlie? (or Charlie would make sense, and he asked him to bring the guitar!!!!) Pretty weak effort.
- Did he say goodbye to his folks?

What's Sun's deal?
- She bailed on her kid?

What's Sayid's deal?
- Seemed clear by his reactions that he didn't know the plan... how'd they get him?
- Who's the chick who got him?

What's Ben's deal?
- WHO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF HIM?!?!?
- He did however have the best line of the night: "Who cares?" (in response to Jack's question about what would happen to the other people on the plane) Probably the first time he was ever honest all series.

What's the other dude's deal?
- Seriously. Our dialog cut out.... what did Jack and he say to each other? If anyone actually reads these please answer me.


So there's a island time flipping type flash.... and boom Hurley, Kate and Jack are back on the island (won't get into the preview stuff about the rest of them). Seems to hint that there wasn't a crash this time... wonder how that's gonna be explained. Doesn't appear that everyone made it. Like Hawking said... "Unpredictable"


Then Jin shows up in full Dharma gear. BOOM! Well I think this helps my quick theory that Locke stopped the time jumping when he put the wheel back in place... and it looks like at least Jin was stopped in Dharma time and he's got a job. Would also expect to see at least Faraday back there too, so he can get to work in the Orchid and warn Charlotte.

Tons happened.... great ep.... a little vague, ok really vague at points, but I thought it was great.

Anything I missed? Thoughts?

Episode Recap: This Place is Death

Update: (Nobody's voting so I stopped the survey)

This might have been the best episode of the season... right?

Off-Island stuff:

- So the O6 isn't a real big happy family. In fact they all split except for Jack and Sun who go with Ben to prove Jin is alive.

- Ben says he's been protecting them, but I'm guessing that's just because their immediate interests coincide.

- They get to the church to meet Faraday's Mom (by the way, it's pretty clear that Ben had NO IDEA that she was Faraday's Mom... interesting) . Ben convinces Sun to come along with the ring (he got it earlier in the ep) for the exact opposite reasons of the ring's original intentions. Ben is a shit.

- Desmundo shows up and they all go in to meet Faraday's Mom, Eloise Hawking. Can't wait to see her and Desmond interact.

- More on the Hawking/Ben relationship at the end.

On-Island:

- Basically through the eyes of Jin, we got almost all of Rousseau's back story confirmed. She said Montand lost an arm... he did. She said the smoke monster was a security system... well Robert told her it was (how did he come to that conclusion?!? Seems correct, but how?). She said the team went crazy... looks like they did, Robert loved Danielle (and in-womb Alex) but he was ready to kill her. Real question is what is the true cause of the sickness? Was it the Monster? Locke didn't get sick? It must be something in the "catacombs" of that temple type place Smokey hangs out in. Think it has anything to do with the Temple that Ben mentioned before. I dunno... just spit ballin'. (Sidenote: enjoyed the drawing in the sand the Robert used to communicate with Jin. Sometimes they make it too easy for Jin to understand things.)

-Sort of neat-o that Jin is the one responsible for Rousseau not getting "sick". Wouldn't let her go down into the cave. Of course he's also indirectly responsible for her miserable life. She'd probably be better off dead in the past.

- Still would like to see how Danielle and her crew weren't discovered by the D.I. and how Danielle survived the purge. Also the Alex abduction scene would be good.

- Great Jin and Sawyer reunion.

- So Charlotte's dead. I actually like this character, and was a little bummed. At least, unlike other characters (Libby) we got her full story basically before she croaked. The only part I was a little confused by was her Korean freak out and then calling "this place is death". How'd she know?

- So Faraday tried to warn Charlotte? (more in a bit) Why would he try to do that if he knew he couldn't change the future? Maybe something develops here that we don't know about yet.


- When they reach the Orchid, I get a little confused on the time line... but here goes my best shot with a little guessing on future/past events thrown in... Charlotte told Locke to look for the well. So that means the well existed during the Dharma days. But we also know they were trying to drill into that area too (season premier, opening scene). I'm thinking Dharma built the well to gain access to that room, and then built the rest of the Orchid station around it.

- Also, I'm guessing when Locke jammed the wheel back into place (more in a sec), it'll stop them from jumping, but they'll be stuck back in the Dharma days. This will give Faraday time to both warn Charlotte, and be involved in the opening scene of the season. How this plays into the Oceanic 6 return is still a little foggy.

- So Locke falls into the wheel room... and runs into Christian Shepherd. Pretty great stuff in this scene. Turns out Locke WAS supposed to be the one to turn the wheel. The island doesn't want John as much as he thinks it does. But he got a little help there from Ben the liar. Christian calls Ben out on that too. Can't wait to see if Locke figures out that Christian is Jack's dad when he goes to recruit Jack. That would certainly help convince Jack to come back!!!

GOOD STUFF!

One last thing (ha) that I'm trying to figure out...

Widmore was financing Faraday's research, and knows all about his mother, Ms. Hawking (who I still say was the cute little blond in Jughead). But Hawking is working with Ben.... how does that all work? They all just using each other to get back to the island at all costs? Maybe Hawking helped Widmore get the freighter there, but then saw what he did, and now switched to help Ben? Dunno.

Anyway, any other thoughts people?

Episode Recap / The Little Prince

Update: We rated this episode a 7.75 after eliminating any outliers.

A somewhat Kate focused episode... and it was GOOD!

Off Island:

- It was Kate's idea to keep Aaron. Makes sense, since it's the weakest part of the lie. good work Kate.
- Sun's got someone spying on the Oceanic 6. I'm sure, NO, positive it's got to do with her Widmore dealings. And from the looks of the end of the episode... she'll be the toughest Oceanic 6 to come on board. (I also thinking Widmore is playing Sun. Cuz as pissed as she is about Jin, I don't think she wants her friends dead... and I'm assuming all these assassins are sent by Widmore. Anyway, dicey relationship).
- So the dude was Ben's lawyer going after the baby... nice little reminder that Ben is a conniving scumbag. He's a bad guy and should be treated as such.
- That's about it for off island stuff... except for Humpty Dumpty Hurley in jail. He looked like a dooder.

On-Island:

- Faraday thinks time spent on the island would have an effect on when you get your nose bleeds, loose your grip on reality, and die. Charlotte first. Looks like she was right, and she did grow up on the island... or born there... or whatever. Miles was next. He's Candle's kid from the opening scene of the season. No proof, but c'mon... Finally Juliette, and we know she spent some serious time there. Something to keep an eye on.
- Ajira Airways. They have a website that was involved in some mini online game again this summer. Not a lot has come from it. But there were hints they would show up. What connection does it have with the island? And who were the people who crashed the camp? I'm guessing new Widmore people. AND... guessing it's from the future. Brings up an interesting point though... could they see the Oceanic 6 in the future on the island if they make it back!?!?! I guess not since it's supposed to fix the time warping or whatever... ugh. Sorry. Anyway, that was the biggest question of the ep for me. As for the biggest revelation....
- Jin. Alive. Good news. Even better news? A hot little preggers Danielle Rousseau and her team are the ones that find him!!!!! They better not flash right away, or if they do? Keep flashing back! She's got a storyline that needs to be filled out. And for what we;e seen so far.. her story checks out. The two people in her team we had heard of (Robert and Montand) have been accounted for already and there boat sank. So maybe she wasn't as looney as we thought. Or I though.


Ok... don't like to focus on the previews too much... but it looks like Ben and the O6 are all in one place, and on the island Locke is climbing down some weird hole... are we close to reuniting the groups? Could happen sooner than I originally thought.

Anyway, that's what I got.

Forgive me if my responses times lag a bit. I will do my best.