Lost Season 6: Episode 3: The Substitute

Wow, The Substitute, what a fine example of an hour of Lost. It will probably end up being one of the top ten episodes, if not the top five.

It quite simply was a Great episode, one of the best, answered a few mysteries, while creating even more, highly entertaining, GIVE JOSH HOLLOWAY AN EMMY ALREADY. This season and the end of last season he has been on top of everything, and has proven what a great actor he is, fleshing his character out so much.

But what most people are talking about is the Wall with the names and numbers on it corresponding to our losties and the numbers we have heard over and over again in the series going all the way back to season one and that very very first episode.

As Lostpedia says:
"When the Man in Black takes Sawyer to the Numbers Cave, he shows him names and numbers written all over the walls and ceiling. He explains that Jacob wrote these names and numbers -- that they represent people he brought to the island, as candidates to replace him. Each candidate's name is paired with a number. ("The Substitute")
When the names and numbers are first shown, most of the names are crossed out, but several are still left:
4 - Locke
8 - Reyes
15 - Ford
16 - Jarrah
23 - Shephard
42 - Kwon

The Man in Black claims that each candidate has three choices:
Stay until you're 'crossed out'.
Take over and become the new 'Jacob'.
Leave.

As he explains this, he crosses out the name and number of Locke"

I dont know yet why Kate wasnt all the wall, but we don't know yet, maybe she was, and she was crossed out for some reason or another i Don't know.

However several of the names could have multiple conotations.

23 Shephard could be Jack, Claire or Aaron, now it has been pointed out that the later two are not technically shephards, but they do come from that line. ex. I may have the last name of my father, but that is only one half of me, there is also my mothers maiden name which is my other half. Make sense?

However it has been pointed out that the Name Littelton was on the wall crossed out with number 313, so that could mean either Claire or Aaron.

Also I dont like that all the names could be male. does the leader have to be male? I hope not. although technically couldnt Shepard also mean Claire, or was Littelton on there as well?? Kwan could be Jin or Sun, but with the way their story lines have been going i would lean towards Jin.

I read something interesting online, MIB has a name, but not even the main actor who played him in the flash back scene knew what it was, I don't think even John Locke knows, its also a name that is important to the series.

The On Island time line was by far the stronger and more interesting with Sawyer and anti Locke going at it. I found it very funny that Sawyer knew right away that anti Locke wasnt the Real Locke. Comes to show that being a con man can be a good thing. Sawyer at this point was at his lowest, but yet he seems to rise above it all, He sees the strange boy which scares anti Locke, and whom Richard can not see....which by the way, I have never seen Richard this scared before, he was Terrefied.

As for the boy we can only postulate who he is, it could be a younger version of Jacob, Aaron or someone else entirely. But how about this: what if he is a manifestation of the island itself. Jacob and anti Locke are two sepreate entities neither we have found out is the actual island. They are mearly leaders on two oppossing sides and forces on the island. We have long postulated that there is something or someone that represents the island. and is the main force of power on it. they stand alone. and thus create the rules for the island, which is why he was chastising anti locke. Its only a theory for now.

Another theory: Ok a co worker of mine, Dave actually came up with this one, i dont know if it is out there yet, so i am giving full credit to him, but i know he doesnt listen to the show. What if the way it will end is that the losties will get to chose which reality they get to live in the "real" reality or the 'alternate reality" but someone has to stay behind on the island to control everything. This way the realitys are connected in some way, the balance is off kilter right now, we saw this through only one stone being on the scale now. This cant stay this way forever. I am adding to this that there will have to be two people to keep the balance, that is if MIB escapes or goes home or whatever he wants. Now my co worker thinks that the person to stay on the island will be Sawyer, and I completly agree with this, Sawyer is alone, he has no one to live for anymore off island, his life in the alt reality from what we saw doesnt seem to be that different if he is still a conman, he may want to stay on the island and be close to Juliet, however he did seem to want to leave the island in this episode, but as he pointed out, each time he has tried it hasnt worked out for him.

I posted this on the Black Rock podcast earlier this week and Robert Renfrow replied with something very intersting:

I really like this, for its symmetry and simplicity. I would say, however, that the island requires TWO volunteer guardians, not one. To me, ideally, it would be one male, the other female, one light, one dark, one of science, one of faith, etc., and finally, for it to be a truly happy ending, both would CHOOSE to Live Together, lest they Die Alone.

I replied:
I agree, with your idea, i would love for it to be one male and one female, but a little worried that the writers tend to like males in power positions alot more. plus Jacob and MIB are obviously male.

Finally Locke in the alternate reality. A broken man, but one who has Love. he also is engaged to Helen and seems to have a relationship with is father, this can be seen in the fact that he has a photo of the two of them on his desk at work, also he has invited his father to the wedding. Which brings up two questions: why is he in a wheel chair? and does he still have his kidney?

B/c if my father stole my kidney or threw me out a window i would not still be friends with him.

The title refers to first off the names on the wall substituting and taking over the positions of Jacob and Anti Locke, but it also refers to John Lockes' new job in the alt world, and it is one he is well suited for, and one which I absolutly love, however he comes into contact with Benjamin Linus who is a European History Teacher at the school. Which brings up another big question. How is he still alive???

When we last saw him in the 1970's time line he was getting healed by Richard, we next see him in the others camp and he has been changed. We never see him return to the barracks. If the bomb went off and sunk the island, he would have been on it. thus Ben would be dead in the alternate time line...but he isnt? why? Was he returned to the barracks and we didnt know about it during the incident? Were some of the others able to escape the sinking island? Did the Island sink right away.

So many questions so little time, with only a limited number of episodes left will they all get answered?

Lost Season 6: Episode 2: What Kate Does

Kate Hate

Kate seems to be a much reviled character among the community, but i honestly like her. I first started liking her when we learned she was from Iowa, but I like her for many more reasons than that.

She has many good qualities, but shes also a conflicted character. Now I know that she has been wish washy character through the series, but I see that as the writers not sure what to do with her from season to season.

She is at her best as a leader, and a caring person. Not someone who is playing back up, or doesn't do what shes told, How many times have we heard people say: "Kate stay here" she doest, and it turns out badly, too many times I have to admit.

However people remember, she is a flawed character its in her nature, and if you hate her for killing her father, consider the circumstances, he was beating up her mother. She was trying to save her mother. All in all I might have done the same thing.

This episode focussed on Kate in the "Real Timeline" and the "Sideways time line." In the real time line Kate is going after Sawyer to get him back, something she is often asked to do, which by the way why is it that they others have not learned how to track on the island? Anyways, we come back again to the fact that Kate is on the Island to look for Claire, whom she had a deep bond with on the Island, and cared for and acted as mother for Claire's son Aaron. In sideways timeline we see Kate caring for Claire again as she is rejected by potential adoptive parents and goes into premature labor, Kate is there again, which brings up the question

Are Kate and Claire's destinies entertwined?

The more I think about it, and the more I watch, the more I am convinced that their destinies are intertwined. No matter which time line they are in, they need and rely one another. And Aaron seems to be a big part of that.

In the beginning of the show it was hinted many times that Aaron was "Special" but how? we haven't seen any special qualities in him yet. And we don't know yet how his destiny will lie with the island. The only truly special person on the island so far seems to have been Walt, and hes back in NYC the real timeline, and we dont know where he is in the sideways time line. For now we will just have to wait and see

Also in this episode we got the mention of the Infection. In my book the Infection = the sickness? Roussau says the her friends are infected, but how would Sayid ever get the chance to be infected? He never came into contact with smoky that we know of. After all Smoky is in the image of John Locke right now. The only think that comes to my mind is that something happened to Sayid when the bomb went off, after all he was the only injured person who has made it through that flash to get to the actual time line in 2007. since Juliet died.

The cure for this illness or infection seems to be worse, after all it is a poison pill, i for one do not want to get this illness.

The Japaneese dude says that Claire got this illness as well, i agree with this statement because of her in the cabin, she was not acting like herself, but unlike others i did not think she was dead. instead she turns up looking very Roussau like and did not look sick at all, just maybe a little crazy because she was living in the jungle all alone like Danielle was for so long.

The Dr. Goodspeed instead of Rom, b/c he left the island as a baby in the sub, so this supports my theory that he changed his name b/c he hated he was from the dharma times in the original time line.

Finally the best line of the episode: "Your not a zombie right?" - hurley, lol, the producers have said this would be the zombie season. And we all groaned thinking it would be. God bless the character of Hurley, he always seems to say what the audience is thinking, but with this season i have a feeling he is going to get more important as time goes on.

I have recently discovered Jorge Garcia who plays Hurly's blog and podcast, its some great fun reading, some stuff about lost but not all, and the podcast is great b/c they go through the entire script

Find it at: http://dispatchesfromtheisland.blogspot.com/

Until next time This is Lost Lindsey, staying Lost

Lost: Season 6: Episode 1: LAX

Wow what an episode is all i can say for this one. At the end of last season, we had no idea what to expect. I certainly wasn't expecting two timelines.

But after thinking about it, two timelines makes some sense. A hydrogen bomb went off, either a. destroying the island, or B. mixing in with that energy around it and sending the losties back to the future where they belong.

I loved the idea of two divergent story lines, because it wasnt a total reset, which i was totally against, but the bomb didnt solve everyones problems either. It created more problems of its own, and more possibilities for story telling.

We can now explore new story's and characters in ways we never thought possible...at least for the rest of this season.

So what comes next?

For me, it has to be that the only way to fix things is to some how bring the two time lines together...i dont know how...maybe another bomb?

We know that some of our questions won't be answered, but most will. You would think that the question of these two timelines will have to be solved somehow.

Over all, i thought it a fabulous episode, well written, well acted, with some pretty amazing sound affects, that had not only myself, but other people thinking there was actually something wrong with our hearing.

I loved that we got an actual good bye scene between Sawyer and Juliet before she goes off to fight the aliens in V...ok im kidding. But really, Juliet in death tells miles that "it worked." the only explanation to this is that she must have flashed to the other time line, i.e. Desmond in flashes before your eyes. it seems like a very similar explanation, and a very similar situation.

I can not wait till Tuesday, it promises to be a very interesting episode, it is called, What Kate Does, till next time.

New Promo

So a new promo came out recently, and while i normally hate spoilers, i dont consider promos to be spoilers, after all it was released by damon and carlton, so they must be ok with it right?

In this promo there was a split second of new footage, more of a photo really, its blurry, but pause it and you get CLAIRE!! we knew the character would be back this season, but it is surprising to see this image because claire looks very Danielle like, or even 1950s/1970's Eloise to some point. She is holding a gun, hair up in disaray, and looking very islandy. we cant tell who shes pointing a gun at nor what time period we are in though certainly it is post 2004. after the time jumping perhaps.

Why am i so happy about this photo? Because it lets us know that my favorite character is alright, with out telling us what happend to her or what is going on with her now. Claire does not look dead.

We had an interesting discussion on last nights podcast of the Black Rock on the issue of spoilers. Do you want to be spoiled, were you ever spoiled and regretted it. I have been spoiled many times on Lost, most notably i knew what the opening for season five would be. Since then i have tried to stay away from spoilers as much as possible.

I dont consider episode titles to be spoilers after all they are released by the producers, and some times can be very misleading, for example: Eggtown, still have no clue why that was the title. And what were you suppossed to get from the episode titled ?

As for Promos, those are not spoilers, for the same reason titles arnt, they hide clues and hints, last season we got alot of hints as to the lamp post, even though no one could figure out what it was until we got to the episode.

This season however all the promos for Lost have been previously seen footage. The producers have put a ban on all new footage, which is why it was surprising when i learned that there was a split second of new footage. but remember if the producers release it, its ok to see it.

6 days till lost

Jacob

I was reading the paper the other day when I cam upon an article on Baby Names, and in the top 10 consistently for the past few years has been Jacob, and this year it is the top male baby name.

Now baby names are on odd thing they come and go in fashion and there are always the names that seem ti stick around no matter what like mike, mary, frank, and kate. those names have been around and stuck around for a long time. names like Emma, Violet, and Cooper come and go.

Names sometimes come up in TV shows like Emma did in Friends and suddenly they pop up in a sudden burst in popularity. So i got to thinking reading this article that maybe Lost contributed to the name population with the introduction of the name Jacob.

Now Jacob is a fairly popular name throughout the ages, its a biblical name so its been around a very long time. there is nothing special about the name, nothing unusual, though i do know it can also be a last name as well, I had a friend whose last name was Jacobs.

This isnt so unusual as my own name can be both a boys and a girls name oddly enough....yes i do know a guy Lindsey.

But the question remains did Lost influence our culture in Baby Names? We know that it has influenced the style of television around and the Oceanic symbol has popped up in other shows such as Flash Forward, and it is rumoured that the upcoming plane crash on Wysteria Lane on Desperate Housewives will be a Oceanic plane.

According to the US Government Jacob has been the top baby name since 1999, so maybe we can say that Lost has started this trend, but they possibly added on to this trend. The more a name pops up the more it becomes embedded in someones mind.

So has Lost influenced baby names: specifically when it comes to Jacob? Perhaps not dirrectly but it has kept the name in the national conciesness.

Have any comments, please post them.

Where would we be without Lost?

Where would we be without Lost?

today is Lost's fifth Birthday?

more importantly where would I be with out lost? I don't even remember where I was when it first premiered because I didn't watch it until into the middle of the second season.

If there was no Lost, I would not be podcasting, would not be blogging about Lost, and would not own every season of Lost that there is so far.

I would not be halfway in love with Sawyer....shirtless coming out of the ocean...but onto other things.

Without Lost many of us would not have met other Lost fans, would not have known the Genius that is JJ Abrams, Lindeloff and Cuse.

We have discovered so many actors and writers in this show, but we have also discovered many different pieces of mythology. after all how many of you have known the Goddess Tarawet with out this show?

Or other Egyptian mythology for that matter?

Lost is not only a TV Show, it also redefined what TV was, with out Lost we would not have shows like Fringe, Flash Forward, or even the concept of a show where you have to pay attention to the narative, that is interactive.

With out Lost, alot of lives would be different, that is why Lost matters.

Rewatch Season 3 episodes 3-6

A fairly good week this week, starting with further instructions we see a very similar opening to the series premier but instead of vincent we get Locke seeing a naked Desmond...sigh...

as well there is a great one sided conversation between Charlie and Locke that goes from very funny to very weird. We next get Boone, my favorite male character on the show. He looks hot for a dead guy – however the question pops up is he a manifestation of Jacob, or not Jacob, smoky or another manifestation of the island – dream sequence/message from the island = whichever one it is it is one of the best scenes ever.

Locke says Bad things happen to the people who hang around me – that’s an understatement

This episode also brings the start of Desmond's flashes, but also unfortunatly the beginning of Nikki and Paulo.

The next Episode is: Every Man for Himself, which is a very entertaining episode, I love the surgery scene between jack and Juliet, it shows their connection, and that at the basic part of themselves they are both doctors. A good solid episode, builds a lot of character bonding and growth.

However it too brings up some questions, Juliet says she isn’t used to death – but she has actually seen a lot of death on the island.

This episode advances characters but not the plot or story line that much, making it fairly uneven as an episode all together, though we do get to see the mainfestations of Desmonds new powers, and our discovery that there are actually two islands

Both Ben and Sawyer love to read and quote books, but for very different reasons

So does this episode matter that much to the ongoing story line, Does it matter much looking with season 5 eyes? I’m not sure, so I’m open for debate.

The next episode is Episode 5: The Cost of Living with another great Jack vs. Ben scene, and then we get the question of Why did the Island decide to kill Eko now, when it had plenty of chance before hand?

This Eko flashback is not as interesting a flashback as Eko’s other’s – really do not like it, it only shows him as an angry, vengeful man, and does not show his good side like his other flashes showed, I don’t think Eko ever got his redemption

I do love the interplay between jack and Juliet over lunch, it shows the characters coming to more of a natural relationship – the surgery really brings them together in the previous episode.
The truth as to why they are there is finally revealed

Love the video scene with Juliet, its so conflicting from what shes saying to what shes really saying.

Who would beat whom in a fight: Eko or Martin Keamy?

Who is Yemi in this scene: the smoke monster, Jacob or Not Jacob?

Next up: I Do

I LOVE NATHAN FILLION!!!!

I actually do love this flashback, it really shows that Kate tried to have a normal life even though she was on the run, and that she was happy for a while – something we don’t see much in her flashbacks,Very emotional well played scene between jack and kate separated by only a pane of glass. Hot cage sex, young ones avert your eyes…sawyer naked!!!

I like Sawyer and Kate together at this moment, but in the long run they do not belong together. Because lets face it, sawyer belongs with Juliet, he just doesn’t know it yet. And jack at this point has way too many issues going on in his brain to deal with.

“Taco Night…I don’t do Taco Night” – great line

Why did Ben get a tumor?

I hated this cliffie when it first happened. – now I don’t mind it that much, since its only a block break

I know most males do not like this episode because it is about Kate. But this is a very solid, and good episode with lots of good flashback and on island material, there isnt a single weak point in this episode as far as Im concered, dont agree with me, feel free to comment.