A 6. évad hivatalos sajtóközleményéből kiderült, hogy a két órás (6×01-6×02 – LA X) premiernek vetítési dátuma 2009. február 2-a. Ezen a napon kezdődik a Lost utolsó évada. Az, hogy ilyen későn kezdődik, valószínűleg azt is jelenti, hogy nem lesz szünet februárban, a téli olimpia miatt sem. A sajtóközleményből hivatalosan az állandó szereplőket is meg tudtuk, bár számunkra nincs benne túl sok újdonság:

• Naveen Andrews -mint- Sayid
• Nestor Carbonell -mint- Richard Alpert
• Emilie de Ravin -mint- Claire
• Michael Emerson -mint- Ben
• Jeff Fahey -mint- Frank Lapidus
• Matthew Fox -mint- Jack
• Jorge Garcia -mint- Hurley
• Josh Holloway -mint- Sawyer
• Daniel Dae Kim -mint- Jin
• Yunjin Kim -mint Sun
• Ken Leung -mint- Miles
• Evangeline Lilly -mint- Kate
• Terry O’Quinn -mint- Locke
• Zuleikha Robinson -mint- Ilana

Sun e Jin: a riquinha e o garçom galã (Crédito: ABC/MARIO PEREZ)

E o Lost Countdown chega ao seu diário número 6: House Of The Rising Sun (estamos falando da música ou da personagem aqui?).

Trocadilhos à parte, temos aqui a chance conhecer os coreanos Sun e Jin, que sempre entraram mudos, falaram coreano, fizeram mímica e depois saíram calados.

O episódio dá uma queda à boa sequência dos episódios anteriores, que misturavam ação, suspense e muito, mas muito mistério.

“House Of The Rising Sun” é um episódio basicamente sobre relacionamentos.

O que aconteceu neste episódio?

Jack e Kate discutem o relacionamento (Crédito: ABC/MARIO PEREZ)

Os relacionamentos do casal Jin e Sun e do grupos dos Losties foi explorado a fundo.

O caso do casal coreado foi analisado por meio de flashbacks. Sim, conhecemos um Jin que era garçom, virou noivo da riquinha Sun, ganhou um emprego na empresa do pai milionário de sua noiva e daí amigos… pra baixo!

A vida do cara ficou um caos e no meio de tudo isso, Sun. A coitada não sabia o que fazer e decidiu deixar o maridão. Mas no último flashback, descobrimos que o amor reina entre os dois.

Já o relacionamento do grupo de sobreviventes não é dos melhores. Isso porque há um racha depois que Jack sugere que todos vão morar na caverna, que encontrou, onde há água potável.

Jack fica com Locke, Charlie, Hurley, Jin e Sun. Na praia, ficam os revoltados Sayid, Sawyer, Kate e Michael.

Será que eles vão fazer as pazes?

Notas do diário #6

Jin, Michael e o relógio de 20 mil dólares (Crédito: ABC/MARIO PEREZ)

- A pancadaria entre Jin e Michael no início desse episódio é eletrizante. Você chega a pensar que Michael vai dessa para uma melhor. Porém, o coreano é contido. E depois disso, o máximo de ação que conseguimos, é ver a patética cena de Charlie, Jack, Locke e Kate fugindo de abelhas, depois que o roqueiro pisou em uma colmeia.

- Locke descobre que Charlie é um viciado. O carequinha além de Rambo da floresta, é consultor de auto-ajuda e joga mais uma de suas frases de impacto. Ao perguntas se Charlie queria seu violão de volta e ouvir dele que “sim, mais do que tudo”, Locke solta: “Para ganhar algo da ilha, você tem que dar alguma coisa para ela”. E assim, Locke fica com as drogas de Charlie.

Ponto forte

Sun para Michael: “The book is on the table” (Crédito: ABC/MARIO PEREZ)

Sun fala inglês??? Yes, sir! Quando a gente acha que Jin vai ficar acorrentado pelo resto da temporada, eis, que Sun se apressa para encontrar Michael e dizer o motivo pelo surto de seu marido: o relógio era do sogrão e protegê-lo seria questão de honra! Atônito, Michael aceita a versão, mas não sem antes dar uma apavorada bruta em Jin.

Ponto fraco

A chatice da personagem mais chata da série (para mim) começa a dar seus sinais de força! Sim, Kate Austen, fica cheia de caras e palavras vazias para dispensar o passeio de Jack pela floresta com destino à caverna de Adão e Eva (sim, lá eles encontram dois cadáveres). Jack aceita e Kate fica sentada na praia com aquela cara de bunda de sempre.

Lost Countdown – Versão Áudio

Tá com preguiça de ler? Então escute eu falando sobre “House Of The Rising Sun”, sexto episódio da 1ª temporada.

Para ouvir o diário #6, clique aqui.

• Hurley (Jorge Garcia), Dogen (Hiroyuki Sanada) és Jacob (Mark Pellegrino) együtt forgattak a templomnál. Hurley-nek elvileg tele volt írva a keze.
• Jin-t (Daniel Dae Kim) ezektől a kalóz-szerű többiektől Claire (Emilie de Ravin) menti meg. Az egyik többit túszul is ejti és elviszi őt Jin-nel együtt a kis bunkeréhez. Mindketten véreznek.
• Itt található egy csomó új kép néhány helyszínről pl. Claire bunkeréről, a parti táborról, Eko templomáról stb…
• Október utolsó napjaiban egy kahala-i templomban forgatott Naveen Andrews (Sayid), John Hawkes (Lennon) és két visszatérő halott szereplő: Anthony Azizi (Omar) és Kevin Durand (Keamy) – a velük forgatott jelenetekről nincsenek részleteink.
• Nemrég egy középiskolában forgattak Waipahu-ban Michael Emerson-nal (Ben). A forgatásról részletek megint nincsenek, viszont Emersonon kívül három másik színész is jelen volt: William Atherton (új karakter), Daniel Roebuck (Dr. Leslie Arzt) és Tania Raymonde (Alex).
• Matthew Fox (Jack) és Jorge Garcia (Hurley) a dzsungel mélyén forgattak a 6. részhez egy “vándorlós” jelenetet. Állítólag egy ideig azt vették fel, ahogy egy rövid útvonalat végigjártak, amíg nem értek el egy kis bunker-szerűséghez. Képek itt.
• Az előző jelenet folytatásában Emilie de Ravin (Claire) is szerepelt, így elég valószínű, hogy Claire bunkerét kereste Jack és Hurley. Valószínűleg ide hozta Claire Jin-t, amikor megmentette a többiektől. Még több kép itt.

First let me say I love Korean music. With much respect I love the artists that create that music even more so.  However, I am very pessimistic when it comes to Korean artists trying to break into the American market. It is not for lack of talent or work ethic, but something totally different that makes me feel this way. What could this be, that makes me believe a succesful crossover is hopeless?? Well… again I remind you that I am not Korean, and that I’ve been listening to K-pop loyally since 1994. All this time I have witnessed the many things wrong and right within crossover situations. These experiences have yet have the social community, that is the usual K-pop demographic, embrace foreign concepts or foreign fans. So… yes, you guessed it this is going to be a Mia gripe blog. I am going to rant and complain and spell out the solutions for everything the Korean music industry does wrong.

1st example- Se7en’s flop… As much as I love music YG style the people at YG Ent. didn’t do their homework. They hired a no experience company to handle Se7ens career here. As much as I liked the guys that were Red Queen Media, a background in retail and video games just wasn’t the skill set needed for such a venture as this. Every Se7en promotional event was dedicated to Korean-American venues and other Asian only outlets.  MTViggy, LA’s LeCirc and NY’s Circle had their Se7en fill but no one else did. They paid to work with names like Fabolous and Three 6 Mafia and look where it got them…. lets face this, it’s not who you pay to work with you that makes a good album. None of the artist or producers that worked on his tracks were seen in public performances with him. More so.. most of his tracks were leaked. Lil’ Kim’s rap on his only single SUCKED. Not to mention half of he production work. Fabolous blew that song ”this is my year” out of his Hollywood candy nose!  This long waited English album isn’t here and we heard pretty much 80% of the songs. His video debut on BET was pretty much a joke. He pretty much came here to refine his English and his alcohol tolerance.

2nd example- So far any event that has a Korean celebrity is held by Koreans for Koreans at heritage festivals, concerts, or Korean nightclubs. It’s the Korean nightclubs that are the worst because they’re filled with attendees that still hold on to a racial exclusive social gathering. Korean-American club venues aren’t that friendly to outsiders. If you dont look, act, or remotely sound Korean American forget about mixing in with the crowd. Korean American clubs for one don’t play a lot of Kpop. They play what is hot in the mainstream… they basically exist because Asians want to go to a place where there aren’t non Asians. Club promoters like it this way so it ain’t gonna change anytime soon. The audience pays for the exclusivity…So if you go prepared to be purposefully pushed, stepped on, have stuff stolen, given the run around or have smoke blown in your face.

3rd – Social and age generation gap. Korean-Americans will tell you Kpop idols are kids stuff and that they outgrow Korean artists after they turn 17.  This is much like the fact not many people over 20 like or listen to High School Musical or the Jonas Brothers.

4th – America SUCKS! Stupid Western media really puts up a wall when it comes to Asians in music. Sure we have actors like Brian Tee, Bobby Lee, James Kyson Lee, Daniel Dae Kim and John Cho on TV but do any of us know that John Cho has a band? Great Korean –American crooners’ like Andrew Choi and David Choi (no relation) get NO airplay while we listen to the annoying blaise voice of John Mayer on the radio for the googleith time. We can have overseas artists like Amy Whinehouse and Corinne Bailey Rae on the debut page at MTV but Asians are not represented anywhere except for the show The Real World.  No, Asian musicians get MTV iggy; a nice little shiny box of their own on the internet… they dont even get a CHANNEL?

5th – Nationalistic issues. Its time that Korean music companies realize that the American music industry is a horse of a different color and work around the obstacles. Stop doing press conferences a year or two before debuts. Don’t buy a billboard in Japan or do morning shows in the Philipines for your artists English debut album. Get them on Good Morning America, get them on the NBC concert morning series. Get their music on the background of shows like Entourage, Real World, Hills, Gossip Girl and more… stop telling Korean Americans about your English debut… they already know, AND stop hiring Korean and Korean Americans to be your management liaisons!

5.5th… to explain my last comment. I am gonna tell you a secret…In general we non Asians are not gonna listen to an Asian person brag about how awesome this new contemporary genre artist from Asia is”.. No matter how “good looking or talente” they may be we will assume you like the artist because YOU ARE ASIAN too. However, if my Black friend tells me about a Korean rapper… or if my white friend tells me this new Dance song from Korea is the shiznit…. Im gonna think twice and try it out because I will assume it was such a good song or skillful artist to break a barrier to get to my friend… that i will try!

• 1-jén a dzsungelben forgattak, ahol régen a Hydra-szigetes jeleneteket forgatták. A templom külseje volt a díszlet. Kép itt és itt. Matthew Fox (Jack), Evangeline Lilly (Kate), John Hawkes (új szereplő – Lennon?), Kimberly Joseph (Cindy), Jorge Garcia (Hurley), Daniel Dae Kim (Jin) és Naveen Andrews (Sayid). Egy hosszú, fekete hajú ázsiai férfi is jelen volt a szereplők között, valószínűleg Hiroyuki Sanada volt az. A főszereplők mind Dharma-ruháikban voltak. Jack-é és Sayid-é csupa vér volt.
• A tengerparton forgattott Yunjin Kim (Sun), Jeff Fahey (Frank), Zuleikha Robinson (Illana) és Michael Emerson (Ben). Illana és Ben Locke holttestét cipelték. Kép itt, itt és itt.
• Múlt hét szombaton két helyszínen is forgattak. Az egyik Locke régi munkahelyén zajlott Terry O’Quinn-nel (Locke) és Billy Ray Gallion-nal (Randy Nations – Locke főnöke). A másik helyszín a Waipahu középiskola volt, ahol rengeteg diáknak öltözött statiszta volt. Egy lány-kosárcsapatot is alkottak. A két jól öltözött színész: Michael Emerson (Ben) és Terry O’Quinn (Locke). Képek itt találhatóak.
• Hurley sárga Hummer-je és Locke doboz-gyáras kocsija állt egymás mellett Locke munkahelye, vagyis Hurley dobozgyára előtt. A jelenet: Locke (Terry O’Quinn) tolószékében kigurul az épületből egy papírral és egyéb irodai eszközökkel teli dobozzal. Amikor a kocsijához és, észreveszi, hogy a Hummer túl közel van parkolva, így nem tud hozzáférni a kocsiajtóhoz. Dühében elkezd kiabálni és szétdobálja a dobozban lévő cuccot. Hurley (Jorge Garcia) odaér a parkolóba, és beszélget a mérges Locke-kal. Előveszi a zsebéből a csekkönyvét, ír egy csekket, majd odaadja Locke-nak. Itt és itt vannak képek.
• Ugyanabban az utcában forgattak, mint a 2. évadban Locke flashbackjében, amikor Nadiával találkozik. Locke (Terry O’Quinn) beszáll a dobozos kocsiba és elvezet Helen (Katey Sagal) házához. A teljes jelenetet nem látták, viszont annyit tudni, hogy elég nagy köztük a konfliktus, és a jelenet úgy végződik, hogy Locke elesik, amivel beindítja a locsolót, és ott fekszik kétségbeesetten a földön.

Daniel Dae Kim, Michael Kelly and John Slattery have joined the cast of The Adjustment Bureau, an MRC project that George Nolfi is writing and directing for Universal Pictures.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nolfi adapted the script from a Philip K. Dick short story, which centers on a congressman (Matt Damon), on the rise in politics, who meets a beautiful ballet dancer (Emily Blunt) only to discover that a strange organization is keeping them apart.

Kim (ABC’s Lost) plays a mysterious staffer at the Bureau of Adjustments, and Slattery (Mad Men) is a high-ranking bureau executive. Kelly (Generation Kill) is playing Damon’s best friend and campaign manager.

The movie is set to film this Autumn in New York.

Source: MovieWeb

• Nemrég ismét a Dharma kikötőnél forgattak. Most Josh Holloway (Sawyer) és Evangeline Lilly (Kate) forgattak egy közös jelenetet.
• Itt van rengeteg forgatási kép szeptember 21-éről. William Mapother (Ethan) és Jeff Fahey (Frank) is látható.
• Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond) szerepelni fog a 6. évad premierjében.
• Rob McElhenney (Aldo) jövőhéten repül Hawaii-ra forgatásra.
• Alan Dale (Charles Widmore) is hamarosan Hawaii-on lesz a 6. évad forgatása miatt.
• Jorge Garcia (Hurley) és Daniel Dae Kim (Jin) megerősítették azt, hogy az 5. évad végén felrobbant a bomba.
• A Juliet-et játszó színésznő Elizabeth Mitchell nemrég ért haza Hawaii-ról és még legalább egyszer vissza fog menni forgatni.
• Jorge Garcia még mindig abban bízik, hogy megkapjuk Libby sztoriját, de azt mondta, hogy ne nagyon számítsunk Cynthia Watros visszatérésére.
• “Miután elolvastam a forgatókönyvet, ez volt az első az egész sorozatban, hogy azt mondtam volna: ‘Atyaég, ez elképesztő.’” – Terry O’Quinn (Locke) a 6×01ról.

Már korábban is volt szó arról, hogy a dzsungel belsejében forgattak, ahol véget ért az 5. évad Juliet halálával. Végre kaptunk néhány részletet az ottani forgatásról.

Úgy tűnik, a dolgok rögtön a bomba felrobbanása után folytatódnak, mert a nagy lyuk a földben most úgy néz ki, mint amikor a hattyút felrobbantották. Matthew Fox (Jack), Evangeline Lilly (Kate), Josh Holloway (Sawyer), Ken Leung (Miles), és Daniel Dae Kim (Jin) forgattak. Sawyer nagyon szomorú/ideges Juliet elvesztése miatt, és odarohan az árokhoz, ami tele van mindenféle fémmel az építkezésről. Evangeline Lilly szerint néhány nagyon szomorú jelenetet kellett forgatniuk – ez mondjuk Juliet halála miatt egyértelmű volt. Még egy kis érdekesség, hogy aki figyelte ezeket a jeleneteket olyat is látott, hogy a színészek illetve az ő dublőreik kötelekkel másznak ki az árokból. Lehet, hogy lementek megkeresni Juliet-et?

Bár nem látták őket akkor forgatni, Jorge Garcia (Hurley) és Naveen Andrews (Sayid) is a helyszínen voltak. Sayid Dharma-ruhája még mindig csupa vér volt.

• Megígérték, hogy semmi filler rész nem lesz a 6. évadban, folyamatosan lesznek események.
• Jack mindig is egy kínzott lélek volt, és továbbra is az lesz.
• Az iránytű megtalálása 1902-ben történt.
• Semmit nem terveznek a 6. évad utánra, de elég valószínűnek tartják, hogy a Disney nem hagyja meghalni a Lost-franchiset.
• A 6. évadban nagy szerepet játszik majd a spritualitás.
• Ethan, Cindy és a gyerekek (Emma és Zach) is visszatérnek.
• Sok mindenre kapunk majd választ, de azért számítsunk néhány megválaszolatlan rejtélyre is.
• A következő szerepre keresnek színészeket a 6×04-re: [TINÉDZSER FIÚ] Fehér, 12-14 év körüli, szőkés-barna hajú. Dirty blond hair. Korához képest nagyon bölcs. Heves, erős szemű. Egy szörnyű családi balesettel kellett szembenéznie. Ilyen fiatalon azt a feladatot kapja, hogy valami nagyon fontos dolgot felügyeljen, ami számára nagyon nagy tehert jelent. VISSZATÉRŐ VENDÉGSZEREPLŐ
• Az előző poszt óta még néhány színész, akit láttak Hawaii-on: Ken Leung (Miles), Naveen Andrews (Sayid), Matthew Fox (Jack), Daniel Dae Kim (Jin), Josh Holloway (Sawyer), Daniel Roebuck (Dr. Arzt)

Episodes twenty-two through twenty-four of season 2 and episodes one and two of season 3 of ABC’s hit television show Lost first aired from May 17, 2006 until October 11, 2006.

Plot Synopsis

After surviving on a mysterious Island for over a month after a plane crash, the search for rescue has taken a back seat. When the survivors discover an underground bunker built by an organization named The Dharma Initiative, the era of exploration and discovery begins. As it becomes increasingly clearer that there are other inhabitants on the Island, thoughts turn to defense rather than only survival.

Initial Reaction

Week 13 of my Lost Rewatch finds me at the end of season 2 and the beginning of season 3, reviewing the episodes “Three Minutes”, “Live Together, Die Alone”, “A Tale of Two Cities”, and “The Glass Ballerina”. The season 2 finale was amazing. I mean, we finally got to see what happens when the button isn’t pressed, and it is indeed catastrophic. I also felt season 3 started off pretty strong as well. When I watched the show as it aired, I got a bit frustrated during this first run of episodes in season 3, but subsequent viewings have led me to like the episodes more.

In-Depth Discussion

In “Three Minutes,” we get an on-Island flashback of Michael, and see what happened to him during the time he was away hunting for Walt. He was allowed to see Walt for three minutes, and was told to go back to the survivors’ camp and bring back Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley. In the present, Michael goes about trying to get only those people to come with him to get Walt, but Sayid gets informed about the situation and decides to help as well. He tells Jack he suspects Michael has been “compromised,” and they should plan to expect a trap. A funeral is held for Ana Lucia and Libby, but it comes to a surprising end when a sailboat is spotted offshore.

In “Live Together, Die Alone,” we see some flashbacks of Desmond for the first time. We see him getting out of a military prison and being dishonorably discharged. He gets in the car with Charles Widmore, who attempts to bribe him to stay away from his daughter forever. Later, Desmond decides to join a sailboat race around the world to prove to Charles that he is man enough to marry his daughter. He receives the sailboat to use in the race from none other than Libby, but ends up crashing on the Island. Kelvin rescues him and brings him into the hatch, and teaches him all about the setup and the button. He shows Desmond about the “failsafe key” as well. Eventually, Desmond snuck out to follow Kelvin to discover that he had repaired the sailboat and was planning on leaving. After an altercation, Kelvin ended up dead, and Desmond almost missed pressing the button. On the Island, Desmond is the one in the sailboat. Sayid decides to use it in order to set a trap for the Others and Michael, while Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley go with Michael to hunt for Walt. Sun and Jin join Sayid in the sailboat, because they know how to operate it. Meanwhile, John has completely lost faith and decides to get Desmond to help him force Eko not to press the button. Desmond initiates a lock-down, keeping Eko out of the computer room. Meanwhile, everyone finds out about Michael’s betrayal when Jack tells them, but they keep going as part of the plan. At the hatch, Eko rigs some dynamite to try to blow open the blast doors to no avail, almost getting himself and Charlie killed. Sayid finally reaches the Others’ camp only to find it abandoned, with a fake Dharma hatch door. Team Jack finds the exit point for the pneumatic tubes of the Pearl, emptying into an open field. They see Sayid’s signal fire, and realize Michael is leading them to a different location. They are assaulted and captured by the Others. In the hatch, John gives the printouts from the Pearl to Desmond, who begins pouring over the pages. He discovers that the time he missed pressing the button corresponded exactly with the moment flight 815 crashed on the Island, confirming for him that the button is real. John actually breaks the computer to prevent the button from being pressed, but Desmond rushes underground and turns the fail-safe key. Meanwhile, everyone is captive on the docks, and Ben makes the deal with Michael to leave the Island. Finally, we see a scientific outpost somewhere in the arctic, and two people call Penny Widmore, telling her that they believe they have “found it.”

In “A Tale of Two Cities,” we get a fantastic season-opening scene in which we are first introduced to Juliet Burke, the melancholy Other, who is hosting a book club meeting when it gets interrupted by a loud crash, none other than Flight 815 itself. In the flashback, we see Jack obsessing over Sarah after their break-up, trying to find out who she is going out with now. He ends up clashing with his father yet again. On the Island, Jack, Kate, and Sawyer find themselves in captivity in the strange Dharma station named the Hydra, some sort of zoological research center. Jack is held in a sort of shark tank, while Sawyer is kept in a bear cage. Kate is treated to breakfast as Ben explains that the next two weeks would be “very unpleasant”. Juliet spends her time talking to Jack, trying to build up a level of trust with him. Sawyer spends his time figuring out how to get “fish biscuits” from the animal feeder in his cage. He meets another captive named Karl, who briefly escapes only to be caught again. Jack makes a break-out attempt when Juliet brings him food, but is surprised when he opens the outside door and finds that they are actually somewhat underwater, and the place becomes flooded. He is knocked unconscious and brought back to his prison. Kate is brought to a neighboring cage near Sawyer. When Jack comes to, Juliet is waiting, and reveals that they have extensive files on the survivors. Jack shares a moment with Juliet briefly as she assures him his ex wife Sarah is happy now. As Juliet leaves the room, Ben congratulates her on her progress with Jack.

In “The Glass Ballerina,” we get flashbacks of Sun and Jin, and find out that Sun has a bit of a dark side as well. It is revealed that she indeed had an affair with Jae Le, her English teacher, and her father found out about it. In response, he sends Jin to “deliver a message” to him. Jin refuses to kill him, but tells him to leave Korea instead. Jae Le, thinking Jin has found out about the affair, decides to kill himself by jumping out of the window. On the Island, Sayid, Sun, and Jin continue to monitor the signal fire, waiting for Jack to meet up with them. The Others follow the smoke, however, and find out about their sailboat. Ben sends a team to take the boat away from them. Meanwhile, Kate and Sawyer are forced to do manual labor, clearing rocks out of an area. Kate meets Alex, who is hiding in a bush, and she asks Kate about Karl. Meanwhile, Sayid decides to set a trap for The Others, lighting a signal fire to alert them to their location in order to try to get information  about Jack and the others’ whereabouts. They all arm themselves and prepare for an ambush. At the construction site, Sawyer defies the Others and kisses Kate, which leads to a big fist fight. He says he did it to test their strength. Ben goes to visit Jack, and says that he will let him leave the Island in return for a favor he will ask in the near future, proving he has contact with the outside world by showing him a video tape of the Red Sox winning the World Series. Back at the boat, the Others sneak on board and steal it, but Sun shoots one of them, Colleen, in the stomach before she is able to escape.

Casual Observations

• In Michael’s conversation with the Others, some very interesting questions are asked about Walt, including “has he ever appeared somewhere he was not supposed to be?” This further solidifies Walt’s “special” status, and explains why the Others are interested in him.
• In “Three Minutes,” we get introduced to some new “Others”, including Pickett and Ms. Klugh.
• Desmond has an interesting theory that the Island is in a “snow globe”. It’s also a pretty accurate statement, as we find out in seasons 4 and 5 that there is basically a sphere of electromagnetic energy surrounding the Island, and it prevents travel to and from the Island except on specific bearings.
• The infamous four-toed statue makes its first appearance in “Live Together, Die Alone.” We get next to no information about this thing until well into season 5.
• Kelvin, the man who trained Desmond in the ways of the Dharma Initiative, was the same man who taught Sayid how to torture.
• Kelvin mentions Radzinsky to Desmond, saying he was the one who figured out how to fake a lockdown and started the blast door map. We actually meed Radzinsky in season 5, and it turns out he is kind of a jerk.
• The opening scene of “A Tale of Two Cities” pretty much blew me away. The Others were always built up to be this primitive culture with ragged clothes and tents, and here we discover a suburb in the middle of the jungle with book club meetings. Not to mention seeing the plane crash from an outside perspective. Just awesome.
• In “A Tale of Two Cities,” Tom tells Kate she is “not his type.” This one throw-away line was paid off much later in season 4 as we find out Tom is gay. It’s cool to me how even insignificant lines like this are thought through way in advance on this show.
• While Jack is in the room alone, the intercom starts going off, and we clearly hear Christian Shephard’s voice say “let it go, Jack.” This is one of many cases of whispers mysteriously channelling the voices of the dead.
• In “The Glass Ballerina,” Sawyer and Kate are forced to help the Others with some sort of construction project, clearing rocks out of an area. At the time, I was completely confused as to what they were doing. It isn’t until a long time from now that we get an answer. Juliet jokes with Sawyer, telling him they were building a runway… “for the aliens.” In season 5, this finally pays off as Ajira Flight 316 is brought down safely by Lapidus, conveniently landing on this area. Damon and Carlton later revealed that the runway’s construction was ordered by Jacob.

Episodes fifteen through eighteen of season 2 of ABC’s hit television show Lost first aired from March 1, 2006 until April 5, 2006.

Plot Synopsis

After surviving on a mysterious Island for over a month after a plane crash, the search for rescue has taken a back seat. When the survivors discover an underground bunker built by an organization named The Dharma Initiative, the era of exploration and discovery begins. As it becomes increasingly clearer that there are other inhabitants on the Island, thoughts turn to defense rather than only survival.

Initial Reaction

Week 11 of my Lost Rewatch finds me reviewing the episodes “Maternity Leave,” “The Whole Truth,” “Lockdown,” and “Dave.” This was a pretty great block of episodes. We finally get to learn what happened to Claire back in season 1 when she disappeared between the episodes “Raised By Another” and “Special.” We learn more about the mysterious “Henry Gale” and get some very intriguing dramatic scenes in the hatch. We see the infamous “blast door map” in the Swan, which has been intensely studied by fans on the internet for the last few years. To cap it off, we get a nice Hurley episode in which they tease us to think everything might in fact be going on in Hurley’s mind. Pretty great way to play with the audience.

In-Depth Discussion

In “Maternity Leave,” Aaron is starting to feel ill, and Claire gets a visit from Russeau, who warns that the baby may be infected with a sickness. Claire approaches Libby, who claimed to be a clinical psychologist, to help her remember what happened to her and the baby.  Here, we get a series of flashbacks as Claire slowly remembers her time on the Island after she was kidnapped. We see Ethan performing various blood tests on her and the child as Claire is kept sedated with some sort of hallucinogenic drug. The tests were performed in a yet-undiscovered Dharma bunker with medical equipment. One day, a teenage girl we now know as Alex Russeau helped Claire escape, saying they were going to “cut the baby out of her,” and Danielle found her in the jungle and brought her the rest of the way back to her camp.  In the present, Claire and Kate decide to search for this Dharma hatch. Along the way, they find Russeau, who accompanies them. They find the “Staff” hatch, but it is empty except for a few costume props, including a fake beard (presumably used by Tom during his theatrics to scare the survivors). Meanwhile, Jack and Locke continue to try to keep their prisoner a secret. Mr. Eko figures it out, and asks Jack if he can speak privately with him. When he does, he apologizes for slaying the two Others in self defense on the first night after the crash, and cuts off the two strands of his beard he has been growing as a reminder of them. After all of this, “Henry” pushes Locke, asking why Jack is calling all of the shots. Locke is clearly affected by the words, and throws things across the room.

In “The Whole Truth,” we get a Jin and Sun flashback in which we see they are having trouble conceiving a child. They go to a fertility specialist and Sun finds out that Jin is sterile, but decides to keep it a secret from him. At the same time, Sun is taking English lessons from Jae Lee, the man she was put together with during the matchmaking in an earlier episode. It is unclear, but it appears she was having an affair with him as well, while planning to leave Jin and go to America. On the Island, Jin is feeling protective again after Sun’s recent attack in the garden, causing them to get in another fight. Later, Sun is feeling sick, and decides to go to Sawyer to ask for a pregnancy test. It turns out to be positive, but she knows Jin is sterile. Eventually she confides everything in him, and he accepts it as a miracle, apologizing to her for the recent fight. Meanwhile, Locke asks Ana Lucia to interrogate “Henry,” using her experience with the Others and as a cop to help her. In their conversation, “Henry” tells her the story about the balloon crash, and draws her a map to the site and his wife’s grave. She takes Sayid and Charlie with her. Back at the hatch, Jack and Locke find out that Ana, Sayid, and Charlie are gone. In a brilliant conversation with “Henry,” he ponders what he would do if he WERE one of “them.” He speculates that he would draw a map to an ambush, and use them as hostages to bargain for his own release. He finishes with, “It’s a good thing I’m not one of them.”

In “Lockdown,” we get a Locke flashback, and see his father fake his own death to get away from some people he cheated. Locke helps him recover the money, and in doing so he loses his relationship with Helen. On the Island, Jack plays against Sawyer in poker for all of the medical supplies and wins. In the hatch, “Henry” continues to play mind games with Locke, and a mysterious alarm condition causes all the blast doors to slam shut. Locke is able to get a large bar under one of the doors before it shuts completely, and enlists “Henry’s” help to attempt to get it open before the button needs to be pressed. Eventually, his leg is caught under the door, so he asks “Henry” to crawl through the ducts to press the button. While he is gone, a black light reveals a hidden map of the Dharma stations on the Island. Near the hatch, Jack and Kate find a “food drop” that had parachuted in while the blast doors were locked down. Meanwhile, Sayid, Ana Lucia, and Charlie find the balloon, but come back with the surprising news that they dug up the grave, and found the real Henry Gale buried with a picture ID. The prisoner is indeed an “Other.”

In “Dave,” we see a flashback of Hurley at the mental hospital. We find out he has an imaginary friend named Dave who tells him to eat unhealthy food. Finally, we discover that Libby was in the same hospital as Hurley for an unknown reason. On the Island, Libby and Hurley are out exercising, and he decides to show her his secret food stash. They destroy it together, but soon find out about the Dharma food drop that came from the sky. Hurley begins to panic, and starts seeing his “friend” Dave walking around. Hurley starts losing it, and begins doubting his sanity and the reality of his situation. Dave tells him the entire ordeal he has been through is all in his head, and he must kill himself to escape it all. Libby consoles him and talks him out of it, assuring him that everything will be OK. Meanwhile in the hatch, they all confront “Henry” and demand information. He says he can’t say anything because of what “he” would do (we later discover he means Jacob). He tells Locke that he didn’t press the button, he just saw some hieroglyphs and a lot of noise happened, but nothing else, and that the Swan station was a “joke.” Again, he knows the exact words to say to push John’s buttons.

Casual Observations

• “Maternity Leave” is an interesting episode in that it is the first episode of Lost to have flashbacks that take place entirely on the Island. “The Other 48 Days” also took place entirely on the Island, but those events were seen first hand, and aren’t considered a true “character-centric flashback” in the sense that “Maternity Leave” is.
• The mobile in the crib in Claire’s flashback was playing “Catch a Falling Star,” a song that is strongly tied with the Shephard family. Christian told Claire he used to sing it to her as a child, and Jack said he remembered a similar memory.
• Tom mentioned a “list” to Ethan in Claire’s flashback, and also mentioned a mysterious “him,” which could refer to either Ben or Jacob.
• I’m still confused by all of the implications of “Maternity Leave.” If we assume the “sickness” is the time sickness that caused some of our Losties to get nosebleeds, this all would make more sense. Russeau seems to think the “sickness” is synonymous with the “doppelganger” effects of the smoke monster. It’s all very confusing, especially since Claire has now completely vanished from the earth. Hopefully this whole mess will be clear by the end of Season 6.
• The pregnancy test Sun uses in “The Whole Truth” is made by a company called “Widmore Labs.” It seems Charles Widmore made his fortune by dabbling in a bit of everything, from construction to scientific research to other ventures, including the crashed balloon they find in the jungle, which clearly has the “Widmore Labs” logo on its side.
• I love the little “fake-out” Charlie does when giving the gun to Sayid. For one second, he made it appear he was giving it to Ana Lucia.
• “The Whole Truth” still wins in my opinion for the best closing line for an episode. The simple phrase, “You guys got any milk?” has never sounded so ominous and scary. I love Ben Linus so much.
• The woman Locke is doing home repairs for in his flashback is Nadia, Sayid’s tragic love interest.
• Kate had a nice comment when Jack and Sawyer were messing with each other during the poker game. She said, “Should I go get a ruler?” Pretty funny.
• Once again, Locke sustains a leg injury in “Lockdown.” If I were him, I’d start wearing protective gear.
• The Dharma food drop is pretty mysterious. It seems the blast doors lock down when a food drop is scheduled to arrive, but the thing is the Dharma Initiative no longer exists, so where is the food coming from? I suspect it has something to do with time travel. Like, they found a way to infinitely duplicate this food and drop from the sky on a schedule.
• We see Eko continue to build his church in “Dave,” and he enlists Charlie’s help.
• The “Libby in the mental institution” thing was a set up for a later episode that would never come. Unfortunately, she didn’t want to be on the show anymore, so they killed her character. Later, Damon and Carlton came out and said she was in the hospital for awhile after her husband died, and she got out before the scene in which she gives the boat to Desmond in the season 2 finale.
• Hurley’s epic battle with Sawyer was one of the funniest things ever.
• I always wondered if Hurley seeing “Dave” has any connection with his ability to see dead people like Charlie later in the series. My instinct is “yes.” I think Dave was one of the people who died in Hurley’s accident (the deck collapse).

Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof revealed some interesting tidbits about the upcoming sixth and final season of the smash hit series.

- Elizabeth Mitchell (aka Juliet Burke) and Jeremy Davies (aka Daniel Faraday) will be back on Lost next year, along with several other characters who haven’t been seen since the first season.

- The final season will in some ways resemble the first. “[In the first season the characters] were running around the jungle, things felt intense and surprising and the emotional discovery about the characters”, said executive producer Carlton Cuse. “We have a way that we’re going to be able to do that in the final season too.”

- Fans shouldn’t think that any sort of narrative reboot will invalidate everything that’s already happened, “because that would be a real big cheat”, said Jorge Garcia, who plays Hugo on the show and made a surprise appearance during the panel along with cast members Michael Emerson, Nestor Carbonell and Josh Holloway.

- The show will employ a new narrative device that’s unique to the final season. “The time travel season is over, the flash forward season is over”, Lindelof said. “We’re going to do something different.”

- The lingering mysterious about the show’s story will be resolved: “Everything that matters we’re gonna answer,” assured Lindelof.

The final season of Lost starts in early 2010.