Meet Kevin Johnson

Well, Michael as the mole might not have been a surprise to the hardcore fans, but "Meet Kevin Johnson" was a fantastic "missing pieces" type of flashback that answered the much harder question, "what happened to Michael between leaving the island and meeting Sayid and Desmond on the freighter?" Of course we still don't know how they were rescued, but that may just not be significant. Clearly, what happened to Michael after he got back is.

Distraught over what he's done, he confides in Walt, who subsequently wants nothing to do with him. This drives him into a deeper depression, leading to his suicide attempts. These suicide attempts lead to two reunions of sorts: Libby and Tom.

Libby is an interesting case, especially the first time, in the hospital, because it could easily be explained as a guilt induced dream. The fact that he sees and hears her again when he's wide awake on the freighter leads me to believe that even if he was asleep or unconscious in the hospital, the vision was still "sent" by whatever force was at work during the freighter appearance.

But what is that force? Now, I have generally assumed that the apparitions are working for the good of the island, or maybe even manifestations of the island itself, but for the time being, I'm going to assume that not all "apparitions" are on the same side nor from the same source. Libby says, "Don't do it, Michael," when she appears on the freighter. If she is speaking on behalf of the island, that means that the freighties are the good guys, and Ben the bad guy, right?

Ben might be selfish and possessive, but I don't believe he wants any harm to come to the island. It's also very difficult to believe that Widmore wants anything other than to exploit the island. So for whom is "Libby" speaking, and why does that entity not want Michael to set off the bomb?

The question of who is the good guy, Ben or Widmore, has been hotly debated for a while now, and of course TPTB are deliberately keeping us guessing. We now have the two sides explicitly blaming the other for the freckage. Who to believe?

In "Ji Yeon", Captain Gault tells Sayid and Desmond that Ben is responsible for the freckage, and the fact of the 324 dead bodies that were necessary is part of why they want to talk to him.

This doesn't ring true to me, for a couple of reasons. One, Widmore definitely does not strike me as a humanitarian. I doubt he cares about people being killed or dug up. And even if he does, why is it his business to track down the perpetrator?

On the other hand, can Tom be believed? He at least has documents to back up his claim that Widmore is behind the freckage, but a picture of excavated graves proves nothing, and the purchase order for the plane could easily have been faked by people with the Others' resources.

The bottom line is they both have the same motivation: keeping other people from finding the island. However, I am still more likely to believe Ben over Widmore. Ben has demonstrated some sense of morality, whereas Widmore hasn't.

Miles also didn't deny that the orders were to capture Ben and kill everyone else. Even Daniel, the most trustworthy of the freighties, has indicated that rescue of the Losties is not part of the plan. If the 815 survivors are not worthy of saving, or even keeping alive, then why would Widmore care where the bodies on the freckage come from?

I think at this point, Ben is more trustworthy than the freighter folk, excepting Ben's "innocent people", which I'm guessing includes Daniel and Frank. Therefore, for the time being, I'm going with the freckage being planted by Widmore, although the "trustworthiness" of Ben doesn't really disprove that he was behind it. However, we are supposed to know for sure by the end of the season!

This leads me back to Libby. Why does she say, "Don't do it"? Is it possible that her appearance on the freighter is just a guilt induced hallucination? Some people have reported hearing the whispers right before her appearance. I've watched it twice, and I don't think you can really hear whispers, which as far as I'm concerned would prove a relationship to the other apparitions. You do however hear the Mama Cass song that was playing on Michael's car radio when he crashed.

I think it makes more sense that she is an apparition, but I have no idea why she tries to dissuade Michael.

In other news, we finally get confirmation that Tom "Kate, you're not my type" Friendly is the gay character TPTB told us about. Not that important, but definitive answers are hard to come by on this show. ;-)

Also, the Temple is apparently another Dharma station? I guess (and I know I'm not alone) I originally thought the Temple was really a temple, not necessarily used as such by the Others, but maybe by the creators of the four-toed statue. But on the map, the spot is clearly marked with a Dharma logo, although the picture isn't clear enough to make out the station-specific picture, and I haven't seen any enhanced screencaps or anyhting to shed light on that particular detail. Nevertheless, it now seems like the Temple might be a sealed environment, safe from the gas that might have been released from the Tempest.

In the OMG department: They shot Danielle! Is she really dead? Carl, we don't care about so much. He seems nice enough, and we're sorry for Alex, and we'd like to know why he was in room 23 and what happened to him in there, but ultimately, not a central character.

Danielle, on the other hand, has always been kind of mysterious and definitely interesting, and we've always wanted to see her backstory. So far, dead characters have shown up as apparitions, in dreams, or in flashbacks, but none have ever been fleshed out any more than they already were when they died.

And yet, TPTB promised us a Danielle flashback. Were they lying? I suspect she's not really dead. We saw Carl's wound; we didn't see Rousseau's. That doesn't necessarily mean anything, but I have one word for you: Mikhail. How many times did he "die"? And what about Locke and his gunshot? We know the island heals, we also now know that it prevents the death of anyone with "work to do". (Locke, Jack, Michael, and maybe... Danielle?) And plus, we were promised a flashback! She can't be dead!

So anyway, we now enter the five week hiatus, during which we will have a lot to discuss and disseminate. So I'm going to leave it there for now, but as always,

Namaste!

Ji Yeon

Well, another great episode, some more twists, a dose of OMG moments, and of course, more questions.

New to this week's entry in the LOST canon was the mix of one character's (Sun's) flashforward with another's (Jin's) flashback. This seems to be in the pattern of new uses for this device this season (see Confirmed Dead). Observant viewers will have been tipped off first by Jin's ancient looking cell phone (much like Jack's Razr was a clue in "Through the Looking Glass") His behavior on the street certainly pointed to the old Jin, but the proof positive came when he told the nurse, "I've only been married for two months". Even the mention of Mr Paik had me wondering at first if he was off the island, back to working for his father-in-law, and therefore "unredeemed", as Sayid seems to be.

But the point, now that it's established, is what does it mean? There has to be a point, other than just to trick us (although that was cool). My first thought was to reintroduce Mr Paik (I still believe he is significant on roughly the Widmore level). But even that doesn't seem enough. Does it have something to do with why Jin is not among the O6? One would have to believe it does, but I confess, I don't what.

So let's talk about Jin apparently being dead. I say apparently, because, as many of you will have noticed, the date of death on the gravestone is 9/22/2004. (Here's a better close-up.) The date of the crash. In other words, a lie. So why say he died in the crash, when we know he didn't, and does this mean he's alive?

I think the date on the stone certainly is part of the lie that says 8 people survived the crash, 6 of those survived long enough to be rescued. Jin is obviously not among the six, and apparently not among the eight. I am one who assumes at least some who didn't make it off the island are still alive (the "they" in Charlie's "they need you" warning to Hurley). Presumably some or all of them have gravestones with the same date. So do we have any evidence Jin is alive or dead?

Unfortunately, there is some indirect evidence that he is really dead. On LOST, redemption is a strong theme, and it seems that when characters complete their redemption process, they die, like Charlie. While he's the best example of this, the same could be argued for Shannon, and maybe Boone. This could have been the point of the flashback, showing us the old Jin, threatening to rip someones head off for taking his cab, and the new Jin, who forgives his wife's affair, and even takes some responsibility.

It's depressing to think that characters who manage to find redemption are paid in death, and I'm not really sure that that is what's happening. It's just all I have to go on. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happened to all the non O6ers.

On island we had the Jin/Sun/Juliet drama. It probably wouldn't have occurred to me to take the step Juliet did, no matter how much I thought they needed to stay, but I can't argue that it didn't work. Since apparently it didn't ruin Sun and Jin's marriage, I guess it worked out for the best. It was still cold.

Sun's flashforward was notable mostly at the end (save for Expose being on the TV at the beginning). Of course, there was the OMG graveside moment. But most mysterious to me was the almost throw-away line by Hurley when he comes to visit Sun. When informed no one else is coming, he says, "good!" Not in relief, I don't think (some have suggested he is feeling guilty and doesn't want to see Jack). At first I couldn't help feeling he had designs on Sun. That really didn't seem to be it, either, so what was it?

I guess the main other thing to address is the identities of the O6. According TPTB, we were supposed to know by the end of this episode. Jack, Kate, Sayid, Hurley, and now Sun can be counted for sure. But who is the sixth? The only real possibilities, by any stretch, are Aaron, Ben, or Michael. It's obviously not Jin, Juliet, or Desmond.

I assume the O6 are comprised (at least nominally) of people from the manifest. Most of the above don't really fit this, but as I've pointed out before, either Michael or Ben could be using a false name. In fact, we know they both are. Kevin Johnson, however, is almost certainly not taken from an 815 passenger; it wouldn't be a good move for a spy in Michael's particular position. Ben obviously has plenty of identities at hand; why would he risk pretending to be from 815?

Even though Aaron wasn't on the manifest, it would be realistic to expect him to be born prior to rescue (always depending on what the stated timeline turns out to be, and who his mother is supposed to be), and it seems like he would naturally be included in the survivor count.

Of course, there are just too many holes right now to draw good conclusions about a lot of this stuff, and as far as the O6 goes, I'm basing my belief that Aaron is counted on Cuseloff's statement that we would know by now. If they're messing with us, all bets are off. But for the time being, that's my list and I'm sticking to it!

OK, I think that's all I have for now. Contrary to previous statements, they will be showing Episode 4x08 next week. Then a long wait till Apr 24. But hey, at least we're getting a (mostly) complete season! Yay!

Namaste!

Blog Changes

As you may have noticed, I added a LOST widget from ABC.com. It consists of short video clips of various kinds, including previews, recaps, and vidcasts. Navigation is easy: simply roll over the widget to show skip and play/pause controls. The first clip is the main promo for the upcoming show, the next two clips show important scenes/excerpts from the most recent episode, one the flashback/forward, the other the real time events. A couple more previews, and the most recent Official LOST Vidcast round it out (at least that's the case this week, it's new to me too).

Anyway, the preview is there if you want to see it (if you don't, just be ready to hit the skip forward button), but the recap clips are great for reviewing scenes. If you don't already subscribe to the Official LOST podcast, you might enjoy the vidcasts as well. It also has a nifty little countdown to next episode.

I added a poll, so please vote to tell me whether it's worthwhile or not (feel free to leave comments as well)! Of course, I know there's only about four people who read this, and only half of them watch the show the night it's broadcast, so it will take a while to be meaningful, but humor me! I'm trying to spice this thing up!

Thank you for your time,

Namaste!

The Other Woman, Part 2 (Ben <3's Juliet)

OK, so Ben is obsessed with Juliet. He will go so far as to kill one of his own people. He believes quite emphatically that she's "his". Crazy much?

You know, I always wondered what happened to that little boy we met in "The Man Behind the Curtain". Well I think we saw him in TOW. The way he pursed his lips after growling, "you're mine" was a very childlike end to a lunatic rant. His giddiness when Juliet showed up for dinner was also, um... weird. On the one hand he's this brilliant mastermind, and on the other he's a lonely little boy who never knew his mommy.

Which brings me to my next point (already touched on in the comments for Part 1). When Harper tells Juliet "you look just like her", the "her" has to be his mother. Annie is a possibility, if only because she's the only other person we know Ben has cared about. But Juliet doesn't look just like Annie. In that respect, Mom is a much better candidate.

Plus, we don't know much about Annie, or what happened to her in the Purge, or any lingering feeling he may have had for her. We do know that his dad made him feel guilty about his mom's death (adding on to whatever guilt he would have had anyway), he has a painting of her in his house, an apparition of his dead mother started a chain of events that would lead to the murder of all DI personnel... this is a woman who has influenced his life without ever knowing him.

But it can't just be that Juliet looks like her. Is the fertility thing part of it? Maybe she's not just well suited to deal with the island fertility issue, but maybe on a personal level as a way for Ben to atone for the death of his mother? Or is it more complicated than that?

Maybe the details don't matter so much as what it means for the future. We've already seen Ben kill one man that was standing in his way with regard to Juliet, and Juliet has warned that same fate could befall Jack. (As a side note, she seems very sure Ben will win the coming war. What makes her so sure?)

But I guess the question is, how much will his obsession with Juliet sway his decisions and actions in his plan to save the island? Will an error in judgment have dire consequences? Will he try to kill Jack? I guess we'll find out!

On another note, I have indicated in the past that I believe Ben might be the good guy he claims. The killing of Goodwin would seem to be contradictory to that. No "save the island" justification works for that; that's just cold.

But I think there was a deliberate Biblical parallel here with David and Bathsheba. David was in love with Uriah's wife Bathsheba, so he sent Uriah off to the front lines, where he was killed. David proceeded to marry Bathsheba.

This was a bad thing to do, and David paid with the life of his son, but it was the only bad thing David ever did in the eyes of the Lord. Otherwise he was a great king. I hope this doesn't mean that Alex is on the chopping block, but I do think it means that Ben might still be the good guy, just all too human as well. (And creepy!)

Well that about sums up my thinking right now on the Ben and Juliet situation. I guess remaining questions from this episode include:

What's up with Ben and Locke's new relationship? I know I wondered why they weren't working together, but now that they are, is Ben playing Locke? Does he still believe in him? Is he still threatened by him?

Was Ben really seconds away from killing everyone on the island if Dan and Charlotte hadn't intervened?

Where are Jacob and Smokey while all this is going on?

And many others that make my brain hurt.

Namaste

The Other Woman, Part 1

Another week, another incredible episode. While it may not have been quite the mind%$#@ that "The Constant" was, it was still jam-packed. As such, I have to give you fair warning: this may be a long one.

The episode was Juliet-centric, but it seemed like it had less to do with her specifically than it did with other more general aspects that her back story helps to explain.

The first big moment came when Harper confronted Juliet in the jungle. This was a very interesting scene for many reasons. First, of course, more whispers! I'm sure the whispers (in general) are a big clue, but there aren't transcripts available yet for last night's epi. I'll post a link as soon as I find some (or anyone else who finds one, feel free to post it here). There are, however, transcripts for past episodes. If you've never checked them out, you can read them here.

Of course, Harper's appearance at all begs many questions, the first being, was she an "apparition"? I immediately assumed she was, due to her appearance being preceded by whispers. Today, however, there were questions online about whether she was really there or not. I'm sticking to my initial feeling that she was, in fact, an apparition.

It is true that apparitions are normally of people who have died, and we know Harper was alive as recently as three months ago. Juliet also didn't seem surprised to see her (as in, "what are you doing here, you're dead"). But we don't have any real evidence that apparitions are always of dead people, and Harper really being there just doesn't ring true for me.

It is true that Jack saw her too, and this is the other reason people have given for her being real. But, as has been pointed out, Sayid saw Walt when he appeared to Shannon, and Sawyer saw Kate's horse, so that would appear to not be an issue.

Rather, it seems to me to be totally unlikely that the real Harper could possibly have known where Juliet would be at that exact moment. I know the Others sometimes seem omniscient and omnipresent, but I'm assuming Harper is with Richard and the (other) Others at the temple. It just doesn't make sense that she would travel all that way to get there just in time to tell Juliet something that she couldn't know.

Which brings me to my next point. The idea that Ben sent her strains credulity as well. Ben, might very well know that the Freighties would be heading to the Tempest, and it's even possible he might have had some contact with the rest of his people, but seriously, he's giving orders from his "cell" about events that he could at best have general knowledge of?

I don't know what to think about the fact that Juliet apparently believes that Ben did send Harper, despite asking how that was possible. Is she lying? Admittedly, her motives and allegiances have not always been clear, and I did wonder again this week when she took off after finding Kate, but I'm still inclined to think she really is with Jack and his faction.

Of course, if Harper is an apparition (which is, after all, what I'm arguing), that changes things. It seems much more likely that Ben could have been told about the trip to the Tempest by the island "forces", and he could have subsequently instructed said forces to tell Juliet, etc.

It's also possible that the "forces" took it upon themselves to manipulate events, or were directed to do so by Jacob. Either way, it seems more plausible to me than if Harper and her explanation of who sent her were real.

In either event, why send someone who would likely harbor ill will toward Juliet? Other than ignorance, I can't think of a reason for the Others to do it. If the island or Jacob sent the message, why appear as Harper? Presumably it could have been anyone. I have to think there's a reason, but I'm sorry to say I don't know what it is.

I guess the biggest thing for me is the whispers. I know many people have associated the whispers directly with the Others, but I never have, and I think Juliet's reaction when she hears them confirms this. She may not have seemed surprised to see Harper, but she sure looked confused and concerned when the whispers started.

For me, this was another confirmation that the whispers and the apparitions are connected. Once again, going to the transcripts, we see in the sonic fence scene from "The Man Behind the Curtain" that the whispers appear to instructing and cuing Ben's "mother".

What exactly are the whispers and apparitions? I still don't know. There is some evidence that people who have died on the island make up some of the chorus of whispers. I don't think that's the whole story, though. Many seem to think it's gospel that the apparitions are manifestations of Smokey. I have never believed this. I think it's much more likely that they're manifestations of whomever is whispering.

We could really get into a discussion of the deeper island mythology here, but I want to rein in and get back to "The Other Woman". Or rather, I think I'll touch on a few general observations, and save the other big topic (Ben and Juliet) for a separate post.

One thing I liked was the use of the word "hostile" by Jack and Claire. Kind of a nice self-reference for the show, as well as a nod to the way the Losties are becoming like the Others.

Also, we got confirmation (as if it were needed) that Widmore sent the freighter (unless Ben is lying, which I don't think he is). The video shows Wid beating/killing one of Ben's men, then he looks directly at the camera, reinforcing the idea that Ben has been meddling in Wid's plans off-island, and this is why Wid wants to capture him. Apparently, he also knows how the Purge was conducted.

One of the most odd things was Ben telling Locke that his people don't want him. Of course, we know Ben. He is a manipulator, and as such, when it suits those purposes, a liar. So do we believe him?

It is, of course, at odds with the idea that he sent the real Harper to Juliet, but I've already said I don't believe it was the real Harper.

I don't trust it, at this point, but I really don't know. It's a very interesting statement, nonetheless.

We get another station! Namely, the Tempest, which is apparently the power source for the island, as well as a mass murdering machine, and presumably the instrument used in the Purge. The Tempest, of course, is a play by Shakespeare about a sorcerer stranded on an island.

And finally, it is becoming increasingly clear that Michael is Ben's man on the boat. "A face you thought you'd never see again"? Come on! I didn't watch next week's preview, but I have a feeling if I had I would be even more sure.

Whew, that was, as I said, a jam-packed episode. But the Ben and Juliet situation has to be explored, and I will do so soon.

Till then, thanks for sticking around to the end, and

Namaste!

The Constant, Part 2: Desmond and LOST

I mentioned at the end of the last post that "The Constant" put to rest any lingering questions about the dominance of Penny/Desmond among LOST romances. But this leads to the question of Desmond's role in the grand scheme of things. Is he more important than any old Lostie?

I wouldn't want to suggest that characters like Jack, Kate, Sayid, Locke, Hurley and, yes, Aaron are not fundamentally important to the story. One thing we've been beaten over the head with is the idea of connections: Connections between characters, between characters and the island, and between past and present. Also, the idea of destiny has definitely had a presence ("We're (not) supposed to do this!") I think the characters mentioned above, as well as others possibly, are integral to LOST, but I think the possibility of a special role for Desmond needs to be explored.

First off, the aforementioned love story between Penny and Desmond. I don't think LOST is the type of show that would have a romantic angle just for the sake of having it; I think the relationship between Penny and Desmond, as well as the JKS love triangle, are important elements of the overall story. As I said, the phone call scene at the end of "The Constant" left no doubt as to the importance of Pen-Des love, not only the way it was shot, edited, and scored, but because it enabled Des to escape the fate of Minkowski. I think a reunion between the two of them will be of great importance, not only to each other, but to the... well, whatever it is that needs to happen for our Losties to find their redemption.

Thinking of Penny leads to thinking about daddy Widmore. We've all long assumed that Charles Widmore had more of a role to play than thwarting his daughter's love life, and we got definite confirmation of that this week. But the exchange between Des and Charles seemed decidedly different than the one in "Flashes Before Your Eyes". In that episode, Charles was incredibly insulting to Desmond. ("One drop of my precious MacCutcheon's Scotch is worth more than your whole, miserable life." I'm paraphrasing, but...)

But it seemed to me that Charles was much warmer to Des in "The Constant". Not only was he willing to talk to Des (although he did make him watch him pee), but he gave him Penny's address. One could conclude that he assumed Des would be humiliated, and acted with no benevolence in the matter, but it still strikes me as odd how willing he was to give that information to Desmond.

Then there was the water. Who leaves the water running after washing, and walks out of the room? Again, one could guess that he simply wanted to degrade Desmond, treating him like a bathroom attendant, but that seems unlikely, since this is LOST. The fact is, Des had another "unstuck" moment directly after this. Did the running water precipitate his mental travel to 2004? And if it did, was Charles Widmore aware that would be the result?

What I'm getting at is, we know Charles is involved with/has interests in the island. How much else does he know? Does he know Desmond's role in pushing the button in the Swan and whatever else his destiny holds? And does he have any interest in "nudging" Desmond in the right direction?

It could be argued that his treatment of Des in FBYE was intended not to keep Des away from Penny, but to keep him away from her now, so that he would feel compelled to enter Charles' boat race, and wind up on the island. His different treatment in "The Constant" could have been motivated by a knowledge of what was happening to Desmond and the belief that he needed to talk to Penny at this particular time.

In other words, is Widmore like Mrs Hawking, helping Desmond stay on his fated path? Mrs Hawking tells Des that the most important thing he will ever do is push that button, which furthers the case for Desmond being of central importance. Who else has had this kind of cosmic influence on their life prior to the island? (I guess "prior" needs to be qualified; it's not clear whether these interractions only happened in the "flashes", or what... more time travel headaches.)

The only problem with this, for me, is that I have been operating under the assumption that Ben really is a "good guy", like he says, and that the freighter really does represent a threat. If Charles is acting in Desmond's interest, if he is involved with, or at least would agree with Mrs Hawking, than can he really be the bad guy? I guess it wouldn't be LOST if it were easy to figure out.

But on to my final point, which is that Desmond-centric episodes have always been very revealing. In "Live Together, Die Alone" we learn a lot about the hatch, in Catch-22 we learn about the Bali "freckage", and of course, FYBE and "The Constant". Full of WTFs, all.

All in all, I'd say the evidence is compelling that Desmond is going to be enormously important in resolving the central conflict of LOST (whatever that may be).

The Constant, Part 1

Seriously, are they trying to kill our brains?

This episode was fantastic, one of the best of the series and definitely the best of the season. There was so much to absorb, it's hard to know where to begin, but I guess the time travel element is as good as any.

Time, time/space relationships, and time travel have all been hinted at throughout the series. More concrete occurrences include Desmond's experience in "Flashes Before Your Eyes". None of it has made a lot of sense until now, but I told you Daniel would deliver the science goods!

We know Damon and Carlton are averse to paradox; now we know how they avoid it. No bodily time travel, just consciousness. D & C confirmed this week that Desmond's mind was travelling forward from 1996 to 2004. Apparently, your mind can only be in one "time" at a time. Desmond's body collapsed in both years when he shifted. The question is, how did he become "unstuck" in time?

Daniel asks if Des has been exposed to high levels of radiation or electromagnetism. (In typical LOST fashion, nobody is there to say, "Why yes, he was at the center of the implosion of this thing we called the hatch, which apparently controlled the electromagnetic anomaly on this island. Would you happen to know anything about that, sir?" But I digress.) Does this exposure explain why it only happened to Desmond on the heli? Did Frank deviate from his proscribed course at all, and if so, what effect did that have?

I'd say the hatch implosion clearly had something to do with it, especially given the events of FBYE. Daniel does refer to "side effects" from not staying on the bearing, but it's not clear to me if that had an effect.

Another clue is Minkowski and Brandon's experience. Were they exposed to high levels of radiation? We don't know. All we know is they tried to see the island, and things didn't work out. What does leaving and coming to the island do? Will this happen to Locke if he leaves, since he was close to the hatch when it blew?

Daniel, though, provides some deep thought when we see his journal entry, apparently a reminder to himself that Desmond is his constant, the familiar thing or person from both times that stabilizes you. We know Daniel has some problems; he has a caretaker, Naomi calls him a head case, he worked with radiation with no head protection, he can't remember three cards... is he travelling time as well? If he isn't, why would he need a constant? Does this explain the crying without knowing why?

I don't believe he's been time traveling long, because he wouldn't have his constant until he got to the island, and he would be dead. Has he been TTing since his arrival? We haven't seen any evidence of that (blackouts, eg), but that doesn't mean it hasn't been happening.

The question is, when did he know Desmond would become his constant? He clearly had no reason to believe he would be going to the island in 1996. After his memory problems started, he presumably didn't remember Desmond. When did he make that journal entry, and why?

One final point on this subject, before I try and let it sink in some more, there is still the possibility of bodily time travel, resulting in paradox. The evidence for this of course comes from the Orchid video, which if you haven't seen it (I'm talking to you non-hardcore fans out there), you simply must. The Casimir effect is involved in that video, and has been strongly hinted by TPTB to be the reason behind the Dharma bear in North Africa.

There is much more to say, which I will do in comments and future posts, but I want to close with this. The Desmond and Penny love story proved to be the LOST love story (as I think we all knew it would). The phone call at the end of the episode was so powerfully directed, wonderfully acted, and beautifully scored, it has to be one of my favorite scenes. Jaters and Skaters seem kind of silly now.

Well, I hope I didn't ramble too much. Now it's time to hash this out!