***Originally posted 5/14/09***

Last night was all about Jacob, the island’s most intriguing character… so let’s start at the beginning!

In the shadow of the statue in the year 1845, blonde-haired, blue-eyed white-clad Jacob and his dark-haired, dark-shirted nemesis spotted the Black Rock just offshore. This was clearly a nod to the show’s black vs. white theme:

Sidenote: The Others funeral garb is identical to Jacob’s white tunic.

The unnamed nemesis then asks how the ship found the Island and accuses Jacob of having brought it there (which he didn’t deny). The man claims that people brought to the Island always bring destruction, corruption, and “that it always ends the same”. Jacob replies that it only ends once and anything before that is just “progress”. The unknown man tells Jacob he badly wants to kill him and that one day he will find a “loophole” which will allow him to do so.

This scene reminded me of the late-night London confrontation between Widmore and Ben, with Widmore in white and Ben in black, saying something like killing each other was against the rules… Perhaps they are the next-generation Bad Twin power struggle of good vs. evil?

The rules of this game seem to be: They are prohibited from spilling each other’s blood. The loophole? Embody a dead guy to do the dirty work for you.
The Biblical legend of Cain and Abel tells us that Cain’s punishment for slaying his brother was to wander the world for eternity. But Cain remained mortal; indeed, he was kept alive by a mark that warned people away from messing with him lest they wanted to get smited by God. Cain then settled east of Eden, in the mythical ”land of Nod,” or ”land of wanderers.”

It is widely believed that this man in black is based on biblical Jacob’s fraternal twin, Esau. Not only are they actual twins (Bad Twin theme), but when “Esau” later possesses Locke’s body, he creates a Bad Twin version of the same person (Locke).

More about Jacob, Esau, and Benjamin…

The Bible says Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebecca, the grandson of Abraham and Sarah and of Bethuel, and the twin brother of Esau. He had twelve sons and one daughter, the last of whom is named Benjamin. Before the birth of Benjamin, Jacob is renamed “Israel” by an angelic being, the name after which the modern nation of Israel is named. As a result of a severe famine in Canaan, Jacob resettled his whole family in Egypt, in the Land of Goshen, at the time when his son Joseph was viceroy. Jacob died there 17 years later, and Joseph carried Jacob’s remains to the land of Canaan, where he gave them stately burial in the same Cave of Machpelah as were buried Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca and Jacob’s wife Leah.

Jacob and his twin brother, Esau, were born to Isaac and Rebecca after 20 years of marriage. Throughout that time, both Isaac and Rebecca prayed fervently to God for offspring. Rebecca was extremely uncomfortable during her double pregnancy and went to inquire of God why she was suffering so. The Midrash says that whenever she would pass a house of Torah study, Jacob would struggle to come out; whenever she would pass a house of idolatry, Esau would agitate to come out. She received the prophecy that twins were fighting in her womb and would continue to fight all their lives, and after they became two separate nations. The prophecy also said that the older would serve the younger; its statement “one people will be stronger than the other” has been taken to mean that the two nations would never gain power simultaneously: when one fell, the other would rise, and vice versa. Traditionally, Rebecca did not share the prophecy with her husband.

When the time came for Rebecca to give birth, the first to come out emerged red and hairy all over, with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out. Onlookers named the first Esau. The second is named Jacob, meaning “he who follows upon the heels of one”). The boys displayed very different natures as they matured. “Esau became a hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a simple man, a dweller in tents” (Genesis 25:27). Moreover, the attitudes of their parents toward them also differ: “Isaac loved Esau because game was in his mouth, but Rebecca loved Jacob.”

SALE OF THE BIRTHRIGHT:
According to the Talmud, immediately after Abraham died, Jacob prepared a lentil stew as a traditional mourner’s meal for his father, Isaac. The Hebrew Bible states that Esau, returning famished from the fields, begged Jacob to give him some of the stew. (Esau referred to the dish as, “that red, red stuff”, giving rise to his nickname, Edom, meaning “Red”. Jacob offered to give Esau a bowl of stew in exchange for his birthright (the right to be recognized as firstborn), and Esau agrees; the Talmudic dating indicates both men were 15 at the time.

Now did you catch the reference to this lentil stew/birthright story in the show last night? RED fish! In fact, it’s a “red herring” on a “black rock.” (symbolism)

Jacob grills and eats a fish on the beach; this is similar to an action of Jesus following his resurrection in John chapter 21.

DECEPTION OF ISAAC:
Much later, Isaac became blind in his old age and decided to bestow the blessing of the firstborn upon Esau. Uncertain of death, he sent Esau out to the fields to trap and cook a piece of savory game for him, so that he could eat it and bless Esau. Rebecca overheard this conversation and realized prophetically that Isaac’s blessings would go to Jacob, since she was told before the twins’ birth that the older son would serve the younger. She therefore ordered Jacob to bring her two goats from the flock, which she cooked in the way Isaac loved, and had him bring them to his father in place of Esau. When Jacob protested that his father would recognize the deception and curse him as soon as he felt him, since Esau was hairy and Jacob smooth-skinned, Rebecca said that the curse would be on her instead. Before she sent Jacob to his father, she dressed him in Esau’s garments and laid goatskins on his arms and neck to simulate hairy skin. Thus disguised, Jacob entered his father’s room. Surprised to perceive that Esau was back so soon, Isaac asked how it could be that the hunt went so quickly. Jacob responded, “Because the LORD your God arranged it for me”; Rashi (on Genesis 27:21) says Isaac’s suspicions were aroused because Esau never used the personal name of God. Isaac demanded that Jacob come close so he could feel him, but the goatskins felt just like Esau’s hairy skin. Confused, Isaac exclaimed, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau!” (27:22). Still trying to get at the truth, Isaac asked him point-blank, “Are you really my son Esau?” and Jacob answered simply, “I am.”  Isaac proceeded to eat the food and to drink the wine that Jacob gave him, and then he blessed him with the dew of the heavens, the fatness of the earth, and rulership over many nations as well as his own brother. Esau was filled with hatred toward Jacob for taking away both his birthright and his blessing. He vowed to himself to kill Jacob as soon as Isaac dies. When Rebecca heard about his murderous intentions, she ordered Jacob to travel to her brother Laban’s house in Haran, until Esau’s anger subsided.

Jacob and Esau were very deceptive, filling them with hatred towards one another. As predicted before their birth, Esau (the older twin) was made to serve the younger (Jacob), through a series of cons by Jacob and his mother, Rebecca. Esau vowed to kill Jacob, but was unable to do so until their father Isaac passed away 57 years later (he was 180 at death and 123 when he delivered Jacob’s blessing)….

JOURNEY BACK TO CANAAN:
As Jacob neared the land of Canaan, he sent messengers ahead to his brother Esau. They returned with the news that Esau was coming to meet Jacob with an army of 400 men. With great apprehension, Jacob prepared for the worst. He engaged in earnest prayer to God, then sent on before him a tribute of flocks and herds to Esau, “a present to my lord Esau from thy servant Jacob”. Esau’s spirit of revenge, however, was apparently appeased by Jacob’s bounteous gifts of camels, goats and flocks. Their reunion was an emotional one. Esau offered to accompany them on their way back to Israel, but Jacob protested that his children were still young, and suggested eventually catching up with Esau at Mount Seir. According to the Sages, this was a prophetic reference to the End of Days, when Jacob’s descendants will come to Mount Seir, the home of Edom, to deliver judgment against Esau’s descendants for persecuting them throughout the millennia. Jacob actually diverted himself to Succoth and was not recorded as rejoining Esau until, at Machpelah, the two bury their father Isaac, who lived to 180 and was 60 years older than them.

Jacob transported his family and flocks across the ford Jabbok by night, then recrossed back to send over his possessions, being left alone in communion with God. There, a mysterious being appeared, and the two wrestled until daybreak. When the being saw that he did not overpower Jacob, he touched Jacob on the sinew of his thigh, and as a result, Jacob developed a limp. Because of this, “to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket.” Jacob then demanded a blessing, and the being declared that from then on, Jacob would be called Israel (meaning “one that struggled with the divine angel”). Because of the ambiguous and varying terminology, and because he refused to reveal his name, there are varying views as to whether this being was a man, an angel, or God.

Jacob then made a further move while Rachel was pregnant; near Bethlehem, Rachel went into labor and died as she gave birth to her second son, Benjamin (Jacob’s twelfth son). (Sound familiar of Benjamin Linus’ birth, causing the death of his mother??)

THE EGYPT CONNECTION:
Joseph was separated from his father Jacob at the age of 17 when his brothers, who had been jealous of his dreams of kingship over them, sold him to traders heading down to Egypt, then-capital of the slave trade. Jacob was deeply grieved by the loss of his favorite son, and refused to be comforted. Unbeknownst to the family, Joseph was sold as a slave to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s chief butcher. He resisted the advances of his master’s wife for a long time until she accosted him and then accused him of trying to rape her; he was then thrown into prison.

After Joseph had spent twelve years in prison, the Pharaoh of Egypt had two troubling dreams, and his butler recalled having met Joseph, a successful interpreter of dreams, in Pharaoh’s prison. Joseph was called from prison and interpreted the dreams as prophesying seven years each of abundance and famine; Pharaoh was so impressed that he made Joseph viceroy (second in command) over Egypt and the manager of Egypt’s grain stores, due to the prophecy of famine. When the prophesied famine struck throughout the known world, Joseph sold stored grain to men of all nations.

In the first year of famine, Jacob sent ten sons to Egypt, excluding Benjamin, to procure grain for their starving families (Genesis 42:3). Joseph recognized them but did not reveal himself to them; desirous to see his full brother Benjamin, of whom they had spoken, Joseph accused them of being spies, imprisoned Simeon as a hostage, and demanded Benjamin be produced to verify their claims. Jacob was distraught by this news, concluding that Simeon was as lost as Joseph, and refusing to send Benjamin, even in response to a rash vow by Reuben. Benjamin is taken to represent all that is left to Jacob of his favorite wife’s children.

When famine worsened the second year and food stores ran out, Judah pledged his own honor to Jacob that he would protect Benjamin from harm, and Jacob relented and sent the brothers again. On meeting them, Joseph threatened to imprison Benjamin, but Judah offered himself in Benjamin’s place. Interpreters say Joseph had tested his brothers with this threat and recognized that Judah passed the test, by refusing to sell Rachel’s son into slavery as he had done once before. Overcome with emotion, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers and provided for them to move Jacob’s entire family to Egypt. Jacob’s family, including 66 direct descendants, were housed by Joseph in the Egyptian province of Goshen. Jacob’s final 17 years were spent in peace and tranquility in Egypt, with all 12 sons.

The problem with this comparison is that Jacob and Esau ultimately forgave each other. I didn’t get sense that that kind grace and détente are possible for Lost’s Jacob and…whomever. But for now we’ll refer to him as Esau

– – – – –

The Black Rock arrives in 1845, and it is apparently not the first time the island has had outside visitors. I’m betting this is how/when Richard arrives, since he was shown building a model of the Black Rock last week…

The shot then slowly moves up, revealing the statue from the side in its entirety. The statue appears to be that of an Egyptian deity with the head of a crocodile and holding two Ankhs.

And suddenly, with the slightly different camera angle, we find out the statue is Sobek, not Anubis…

For comic nerds!
Sobek is a fictional supervillain published by DC Comics. The Golden Age version of the character was one of several alien Crocodile Men who joined the Monster Society of Evil under Mister Mind. The current Sobek was first believed to be a bioengineered humanoid crocodile, created in Dr. Sivana’s lab. Sobek is found in Dr. Sivana’s residence and befriended by Osiris. He is named Sobek after the Egyptian god. From then on, Sobek puts on a facade of cowardice and timidness (essentially becoming the Black Marvel Family analogue of Mister Tawky Tawny) to fool everyone around him. He convinces Osiris to give up his powers after Osiris had killed Persuader. Once Osiris becomes human, Sobek quickly devours him. Sobek is revealed to be Yurrd the Unknown, one of the Four Horsemen of Apokolips, representing Hunger. Yurrd has been created along with Roggra, Zorrm, and Azraeuz as a group of bioengineered monstrosities sent to attack the Black Marvel Family. Yurrd was the first to be sent out as a sleeper agent until the time looks right to strike. Yurrd is killed by Black Adam. A shot shows Black Adam wearing new boots, which the writers revealed in interviews to be in fact made of Sobek’s flesh.

Egyptian God Sobek:
Sobek, a morally ambiguous dark god who oversees dark waters and preys on sinful souls in the afterlife. (Very Smokey.) Even worse, Set, the Egyptian god of chaos and evil, was a shapeshifter who often morphed into crocodiles and hippos (another candidate for Four Toed’s face) in his clashes with archenemy Horus (aka Horace Goodspeed). A Christ-like figure dwelling within a statue that’s a monument to evil makes for a nifty metaphor for redemption. But it could mean Jacob is the devil. Time will tell.

Wiki:
Sobek was the deification of crocodiles, as crocodiles were deeply feared in the nation so dependent on the Nile River. Egyptians who worked or travelled on the Nile hoped that if they prayed to Sobek, the crocodile god, he would protect them from being attacked by crocodiles. The god Sobek, which was depicted as a crocodile or a man with the head of a crocodile was a powerful and frightening deity; in some Egyptian creation myths, it was Sobek who first came out of the waters of chaos to create the world. As a creator god, he was occasionally linked with the sun god Ra. (“R-A”…Richard Alpert!) Gradually, Sobek also came to symbolize the produce of the Nile and the fertility that it brought to the land; its status thus became more ambiguous. Sometimes the ferocity of a crocodile was seen in a positive light, Sobek in these circumstances was considered the army’s patron, as a representation of strength and power. Sobek’s ambiguous nature led some Egyptians to believe that he was a repairer of evil that had been done, rather than a force for good in itself, for example, going to Duat to restore damage done to the dead as a result of their form of death. In this way, he was seen as a more primal god, eventually becoming regarded as an avatar of the primal god Amun, who at that time was considered the chief god. When his identity finally merged, Amun had become merged himself with Ra to become Amun-Ra, so Sobek, as an avatar of Amun-Ra, was known as Sobek-Ra.

– – – – – – – – –
FLASHBACKS
– – – – – – – – –

Jacob was shown interacting with our characters in every flashback last night… Except Juliet’s, curiously. I’m betting she was merely brought in to help with the fertility issues and not FATED to be there like Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Kwons, Locke, etc. hence no Jacob interaction pre-island.

But when Jacob appeared as an apparent random stranger to our heroes, he sure had a thing for physical contact:

Tapping Kate’s nose (“Promise to never steal again.”):

Additional quick notes on Kate’s: Kate is seen trying to steal the lunch box that she and Tom Brennan buried as a time capsule. In addition, Tom is seen playing with his toy airplane.

Handing Sawyer a new pen (“I’m very sorry about your mother and father, James”… Did Jacob have a hand in orchestrating their death via Anthony Cooper??):

Asking Sayid for directions (“Can you help me? I’m lost.” Hehe…):

Handing Jack an Apollo candy bar (“Maybe all it needed was a little push.”):

Healing Locke with a touch on the shoulder after his fall (“Everything will be fine. I’m sorry this has happened to you.”):

Exiting the cab with Hurley (“Ajira Flight 316…all you have to do is be on that plane.”):

Wishing Sun & Jin well after their wedding (“Cherish the time you have together and never let it go.”):

Each of these close encounters included a conspicuous touch. The touch of his hand on Locke’s shoulder appeared to have brought him back to life, a miraculous outcome for his 8-story fall, courtesy of island magic. His effect on everyone else was not as clear… But we know that Kate and Sawyer’s path leading them to the island has been set for them since they were children.

Jacob seemed to be building loopholes and failsafe devices into each castaway’s life that will allow them to cheat death by Jughead. By physically touching each of them, he marked them in a magical way. And more, I’ll bet you that they will retain all the memories of their past lives. Which means, for example, that Young James Ford will have knowledge of his fate — and can choose to try to change it, if he wishes. This is part of the great gift Jacob has given them: Not only new life, but the capacity to create their own destinies — a destiny which could include, if they wish, to go to the Island of their own free will… And they will.

In Locke’s, Jacob is seen reading “Everything That Rises Must Converge” — a collection of short stories by Flannery O’Connor that was published posthumously in 1965, containing 9 short stories:

• “Everything That Rises Must Converge”
• “Greenleaf”
• “A View of the Woods”
• “The Enduring Chill”
• “The Comforts of Home”
• “The Lame Shall Enter First”
• “Revelation”
• “Parker’s Back”
• “Judgment Day”

In the title story, human weaknesses are exposed and important moral questions are explored through everyday situations. Critics view the story as a prime example of O’Connor’s literary skills and moral views. In the story an arrogant young man takes a fateful bus trip with his bigoted mother. The mother doesn’t like to ride the recently racially integrated bus alone. Their relationship shows tensions when a black mother and son enters the bus. Through irony, the blindness and ignorance of the characters are exposed. The title “Everything That Rises Must Converge” refers to an underlying religious message central to her work: aiming to expose the sinful nature of humanity that often goes unrecognized in the modern, secular world.

”O’Connor…claims that it is her specific goal to offer a glimpse of God’s mystery and, thus, to lead readers — whom she sees as, for the most part, spiritually lost in the modern, secular world — back toward the path of redemption.”

(That could indeed be Jacob-esque, provided he’s good…)

As it happens, Flannery O’Connor’s aforementioned book takes its title — “Everything That Rises Must Converge” — from a phrase coined fellow Catholic provocateur named Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, who concocted a theory of evolution called “Omega Point.” Basically, it’s the idea that there is some kind of transcendent entity or consciousness that is guiding everyone and everything toward greater complexity and enlightenment, until everyone and everything becomes transcendent, too. More simply, it’s Jacob’s view: There is a single end; everything before then is progress. Chardin believed his Omega entity was basically Jesus Christ himself. His phrase, “everything that rises must converge,” is a poetical expression of a key Christian idea known in the Greek apokatastasis. It’s like the opposite of apocalypse, or rather, what comes after apocalypse. Apokatastasis is the idea that in the end, Satan will be defeated and that all of creation will be redeemed and unified under Christ. “Now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself.” (John 12:31-32) Or, again, to use a line from the show: “He who will save us all.” That, my friends, is the answer, translated from Richard Alpert’s Latin, to Ilana’s riddle: “What lies in the shadow of the statue?”

– – – – –

In Juliet’s flashback, Jacob is not present. HOWEVER, we get a Jacob connection with the presence of Juliet’s sister, Rachel… Which also happens to be the name of Jacob’s favorite wife, and the mother of his 12th and favorite son, Benjamin.

– – – – –

In Ilana’s flashback, she is badly wounded and in Russian-speaking hospital. Jacob arrives and apologizes that he couldn’t be there sooner, then asks for her help. I found this scene infinitely intriguing, because it sets up Ilana – who seemed up until now to be a pretty minor character – as someone who has a direct relationship with Jacob himself. She’s his right-hand woman, so to speak (i.e. getting Sayid on the Ajira plane, acting as a marshall). Her connection with the island seems to be similar to Richard’s. Perhaps she’s the non-aging female force of the island’s history, Richard’s counterpart? The name Ilana is of Greek origin, and its meaning is “Trojan”. The poetic name for the ancient city of Troy was “Ilion”.

– – – –
1977
– – – –

When Kate, Sawyer, and Juliet arrive back on the island from the sub, they are greeted by Vincent (!), who has been in the care of Rose and Bernard for the past three years. Rose explains to the trio that she and Bernard are now retired and live a quiet life near the beach, scavenging food and avoiding detection from the Dharma Initiative.

Know what else is near the beach? The caves…where the Adam & Eve skeletons were found! Could Rose & Bernard be Adam & Eve? Jack found a bag with 2 stones near the bodies… One black and one white… Rose & Bernard themselves are black and white… They may have died last night in 1977… Hmm…

In the tunnels, there’s some bomb-dismantling going on led by apparent bomb expert Sayid (who knew! haha…) When Eloise is about to enter the basement to secure the area, Richard knocks her out to prevent her traveling with them to detonate the bomb because she is pregnant. I think this pregnancy is what Charles and Ellie were arguing about over future-Dan’s dead body last week, sidenote. Also, Richard may have just saved Dan’s life by stopping her.

– – – – –

Miles was completely correct when he suggested that Jack’s quantum suicide-bomber act would actually produce the very ”incident” they were trying to subvert — that they would be fulfilling history, not re-making it.

Nevertheless, this brilliant plan winds up getting Sayid shot in the abdomen. Jack and Sawyer get into a fist fight, which is broken up by Juliet, who now agrees with Jack that they must detonate the bomb. When Sawyer asks why she’s changed her mind, she tells him it was the way he looked at Kate, and although they love each other, they are not meant to be together. If they never meet then she will never have to lose him. What a FANTASTIC reason to detonate a bomb, Juliet! I think the island’s way of course-correcting comes into effect by unrealistically wrapping a huge metal chain around Juliet’s midsection which drags her to certain death within the pit. She was not visited by Jacob as a child = she wasn’t meant to be there. She does, however, survive the massive fall. Realizing her mortality, she picks a rock and hits the hydrogen bomb’s thermonuclear core 8 times until it seemingly detonates.

As Jughead KABOOMed! and the screen flooded as white as a clean slate — a reverse-negative of The Sopranos’ infamous cut-to-black series finale — we were left to wonder: Was paradox produced? Did the timeline collapse? If so, to what extent will things be different, if at all? And why didn’t it detonate on impact in the first place? We’re left to wonder if Sayid tried to sabotage Jack’s Jughead plan…

Sidenote: the bomb in the show is named and historically represented by the code name Jughead for Operation Castle nuclear test on Bikini Atoll, which took place March/April 1954. Jughead appears to be a Mark 16 nuclear bomb, which has a design yield of 6-8 megatons. A bomb this big would absolutely disintegrate the tiny island!

– – – –
2007
– – – – 
Locke assigns Ben the task of killing Jacob and provides motivation by reminding Ben of the all the bad things that have happened to him. Quite the role-reversal! Remember when Ben was trying to manipulate Locke into killing his father to determine if he was “ready” to join the Others? But this wasn’t actually Locke, it was “Esau” coming back 162 years later to exact his revenge on his estranged twin Jacob via a mysterious “loophole”. Ben’s discussion with Jacob about his misfortunes despite his loyalty to Jacob, a higher power, is similar to the story of Job and God in the Book of Job.

At this point, the group stops to take a brief break at the survivor’s old campsite, and they make a big deal of showing Sun finding Charlie’s DriveShaft ring in Aaron’s cradle. Foreshadowing for more Charlie involvement??

The Ilana/Bram/Lapidus group travels to Jacob’s cabin where they find the ring of ash around the cabin disturbed. Ilana enters the cabin and finds it deserted except for a scrap of cloth bearing a picture of the Statue. Ilana tells the others that Jacob hasn’t been to the cabin for a long time and that someone else has been using it. She orders the cabin set on fire, and the group proceeds to the Statue.

I now think I think that Esau (from the first scene) and the smoke monster are one in the same, and that he/it can embody whoever has passed away (Christian, Claire, Locke, and Alex). Ghost Alex is the one, after all, who told Ben to do whatever Locke tells him to do. And in that scene it is implied that Alex is the smoke monster (it scurries away just as she appears)… And if Esau is portrayed in the first scene as the Black side of things, it fits that he is associated with the black smoke, the black dark cabin, the black ash surrounding the cabin, etc. I also think this was Esau’s eye, as seen by Hurley in his accidental encounter of the cabin alone at night:

– – – – –

At the remains of the statue, Locke demands to be led to Jacob, and brings Ben with him against Richard’s wishes. Richard pushes a stone door open, and Ben and Locke enter a chamber in the base of statue. Locke hands Ben a knife, telling him that “things will change” once Jacob is gone.

Things will change, indeed! Jacob has been providing a very different rule of the island than Esau would have liked. Jacob allows outside visitors, he sees their presence as “progress”. He brought the Oceanic bunch, as well as the (implied) Black Rock, among others. Esau seemed to see history — or at least, history on the Island — as an endless cycle of darkness and despair. You also got the sense he was weary of playing whatever role it is he plays in this drama. Jacob, on the other hand, seemed to see history/just Island history as a forward moving saga marked by incremental progress. These castaway dramas he stages on the Island are building upon each other and leading toward something that he desires very, very much. Esau, on the other hand, expressed homicidal contempt for Jacob and his ambitions.

We see the completed tapestry that Jacob had been working on in 1845. Front and center is the Eye of Horus — a reference to both Alpert’s guyliner and Horace’s namesake. What I find AWESOME here is that there are 2 levels of figures shown bowing and worshipping what looks like a representation of the sun god, Ra (shown with rays. Further proof that Richard is Ra, in my opinion!  There’s also a lot of Greek writing at the top… Potential nod to Ilana’s Greek name origin (Ilion)?

Ancient Greek (from Homer’s Odyssey 6:180 and 8:413):
“ΘΕΟΙ ΤΟΣΑ ΔΟΙΕΝ ΟΣΑ ΦΡΕΣΙ ΣΗΣΙ ΜΕΝΟΙΝΑΣ”, which means, “may the gods grant thee all that thy heart desires”
“[ΘΕΟΙ ΔΕ] ΤΟΙ ΟΛΒΙΑ ΔΟΙΕΝ”, which means, “may the gods give you happiness”

Outside, the Ajira group arrives, and Ilana asks for “Ricardos.” Richard identifies himself and Ilana asks, “What lies in the shadow of the statue?” Richard replies in Latin, “Ille qui nos omnes servabit” – “He who will protect/save us all.” (obviously referring to Jacob)… Which got me thinking, is this the “war” Widmore spoke of… Jacob vs. Esau? Jacob has assembled his team: Widmore, Abbadon, Richard, Ilana, Kate, Jack, Sawyer, Sayid, Hurley, Sun, Jin, and possibly Lapidus (a candidate). Locke now plays for the other team, and Jacob’s offhanded remark to Ben has him changing sides as well. Team Esau: Ben and the dead folks (Locke, Claire, Christian, Alex). A battle royale between the living and the dead

Jacob tells Ben that whatever he has been told, he still has a choice. (Fate vs. Free Will) …Ben chooses to kill him anyway. (“Psycho”: This film is referenced as Ben stabs Jacob. Both his hand motions and the music refer to the famous shower scene.) It seemed to me that Jacob willingly submitted himself to death, all but baring his chest and walking his heart right into Ben’s knife. So who was playing whom??

Jacob whispers to Locke, “They’re coming”. (Team Jacob to the rescue??) Alterna-Locke realized immediately that he’d been checkmated. Hence, why he angrily kicked Jacob into the fire.

The camera movement that reveals Locke’s body in the crate is exactly the same as the camera movement used to reveal Locke’s body in the coffin at the end of season 4. The big reveal!

Ironically, the season 5’s secret scene happens to be identical to that of season 4’s scene: the revelation of a deceased man’s identity as John Locke.

More on how season 5 is definitely meant to mirror season 2…

”The Incident” certainly resembled season 2’s finale, the title of which, ”Live Together, Die Alone,” was name-checked by Juliet last night. There was a story line involving castaway treachery (Michael = Alterna-Locke). Both episodes shared the Four Toed Statue as a plot point, although ”The Incident” gave us a better look at what it once looked like back in the day. Both episodes culminated with the destruction of the Hatch, perpetrated in each case by lovelorn characters hoping their sacrifice would somehow save the lives of their friends. And finally, both episodes were about activating ”quibbles”. As in: A plot device, common to fantasy/science fiction, that allows a character to cheat the literal obligations of a promise, contract, or prophecy. Also see: loophole.

– – – – –

Til next season!

salut mes LOSTies,

The end of the year is upon us. For some, that means a delightful break from the monotonies of work or school; a time to gather with loved ones to celebrate what you’re thankful for; a time for a box of DHARMA wine. I propose that while you are gathering/imbibing/sloppily insulting your relatives (in that order) that you ditch the Yule Log and instead sit in front of the warm glow of LOST, basking in its turning-the-sky-purple light.

With twelve consecutive days off myself, I plan on rewatching the following ten(ish) episodes in order, from season 1-5. One could organize these episode thematically as well (on island time; Locke-centric; shirtless Sawyer-centric), however the LOST experience as viewers has lead us on a path from a 2004 plane crash, through flashbacks, flashforwards, DHARMA-time, pre-crash time and so on. As Locke himself would say, “what if everything that happened here, happened for a reason?”

Since Season 1, I have been a big believer in the sequence of cause and effect in LOST. e.g. Claire gets kidnapped –> Locke and Boone find the Hatch–> Boone dies –> Locke finds Des –> eventually, the failsafe key gets turned. Whether you are in the “predestined” or “make your own destiny” camp, there are definitely significant sequences of causes and effects. Weird coincidences throughout the series have proven that the survivors are all connected to each other (even in ways they are not aware of); in that sense, each of the LOSTies is either/or/both a cause and an effect themselves. Without each piece of the puzzle, there would be something important missing.

Who’s behind this giant game of Mousetrap (see Doc Jensen’s column this week for more on that)? Hopefully that final missing piece will come together sometime this season. It seems the further get along in the series, the more our assumptions of who’s controlling the game are proved false. (Rousseau? Nah. Ben? Not so much. Widmore? He wishes. Jacob? Erm, not sure. MIB? Possibly).

So without further ado…

TEN-ISH EPISODES TO REWATCH BEFORE THE SEASON 6 PREMIERE:

• Pilot: Parts I and II – if it all turns out to be a reboot, you’ll want to remember exactly what happened on September 22, 2004.
• Walkabout – DON’T TELL ME WHAT I CAN’T DO.
• Exodus Parts I and II – I still cry when watching the raft scene at the end of Part I (Vincent, my love!). Rousseau takes the baby to the black smoke; “We’re going to have to take the boy.”
• Orientation – Desmond shows Locke and Jack the Swan orientation film featuring Dr. Marvin Candle and his fake arm. “We’re going to have to see that again.”
• One of Them – The Artist Formerly Known as Benry Gale is caught in a net and shot with a crossbow by Rousseau and then tortured by Sayid. Either way, Ben kind of deserved it, non?
• Live Together, Die Alone – Des returns and turns the failsafe key. “I LOVE YOU, PENNAH!”
• The Man Behind the Curtain – THE key Ben episode. Seeing young Ben’s transformation, purge and all, was explosive. Not to mention that little trip to Chateau Jacob.
• Through the Looking Glass – aka “The Flashforward” episode. “We have to go back, Kate. We have to go baaaaaaack!”
• The Constant – Oh, hello, Faraday’s crazy hair from the past!
• There’s No Place Like Home, Part III – the island did WHAT?
• The Incident Parts I and II – Oh, Jacob, WHO ART THOU? Also, “What about you?”

 Honorable Mentions: Heartwarming/Gut wrenching Category: LaFleur; Greatest Hits; Deus Ex Machina followed by Do No Harm; Ji Yeon

Honorable Mentions: Sheer Intensity Category: Lockdown; Two for the Road; He’s Our You; The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham; The Brig

happy re-watching and merry merry!

All episodes complete! 42 agonizing days until the Lost Season 6 premier, and like you I am completely lost.

Now that was one hell of a finale. Lost fans what did you do on your summer vacation? “Um we argued back and forth if the timeline of the show was reset when Juliet blew up the nuke”. I have a very strong opinion on what happened (surprised?) but I’m hoping to hear all your theories since you can now comment without fear of spoiling me. But first the recap:

We see Jacob & an unknown “friend” (being called nemesis in some circles) enjoying a typical 1800s day by the fully erect statue by the beach. There is a boat on the horizon (presumable the Black Rock) and Nemesis asks Jacob why he brought the boat to the island when people always end up fighting and killing each other. Jacob says until the final end everything is progress. Nemesis remarks that  he will someday find a loophole and kill Jacob. Next we see flashbacks of almost every significant Lostie and how Jacob interacted with all of them at some point. Jacob payed for the lunchbox kid-Kate stole, lent Sawyer the pen he used to write the letter to Sawyer, prevented Sayid from being hit by the car that killed Nadia, brought Locke back to life after his father pushed him out that window, congratulated Jin & Sun at their wedding, picked up Hurley outside the police station and convinced him to get on AA Flight 316 and left him a guitar case, and finally visited Boobie-Fett in the hospital and asked her to do him a favor. Interestingly enough, Jacob was not in the flashback where Juliet found out her parents were getting a divorce. Back on the present day island Locke tells Richard to take all The Others to see Jacob and tells Other Ben he has to kill Jacob. Other Ben agrees because Dead SlingShot (Alex) told him to do everything Locke said and because he feels slighted that Jacob never met him in all his years as leader of the Others. We find out Jacob lives at the bottom of the four-toed statue (what lies in the shadow of the statue…the one that can save us…apparently Jacob) and Other Ben and Locke going in for a quality time visit. While Locke and Other Ben are in the statue it it is revealed that Boobie-Fett and her pals were carrying around  real-Locke’s body the whole time, making everyone wonder who is in the statue with Other Ben! Cut to inside the statue, Jacob congratulates fake-Locke on finding a loop hole thus revealing him to be Nemesis. Nemesis’ plan works and Other Ben kills Jacob and for just for giggles, Nemesis kicks Jacob’s body into the fire.

Back in 1977, Kate, SawFleur & Juliet break out of the sub and go back to stop Jack (they also run into Rose, White Bernard & Vincent who have been living happily ever after for the last 3 years). Juliet changes her mind several times but eventually decides the right thing to do is to help Jack reset the future by blowing up the atom bomb down the chamber of the unbuilt hatch. Sayid who was likely given a fatal gun wound from an earlier gun fight, sets the atom bomb to detonate on impact. Ghostbuster then wisely asks the question: “How do you know blowing up the nuke isn’t the incident??” No one has an answer for him and they decide to blow up the nuke anyway. There is a big gun fight but the Losties win and Jack throws the nuke down the hatch hole but nothing happens. Meanwhile the drill hits the pocket of energy and everything metal begins to be pulled towards the pocket of energy. Juliet gets tangled in a chain and in a heartbreaking moment Sawyer loses her hand and she is pulled down to the bottom of the hatch hole. Juliet wakes up badly injuried at the bottom of the hatch hole and sees the nuke is still intact. Using a rock next to her, she slams the nuke 8 times and it explodes and we get LOST WHITE-screened. End of season. AHHHHH!

I am sure time is reset. It has to be. There is no way the writers would tease us with the possibility of a reset and then not give it to us. Based on the name of the first episode in season 6 plus the fact that everyone and Aaron’s mom is on the season 6 promo cover (welcome back Boone, Sticks, Mr. Eko), I believe 815 is landing in LAX. The question is how do the events of the island converge with the new present? The past 5 seasons can’t all be for nothing, that would be horrible! The writers would have a revolution on their hands! We’d take to the streets, shoot fire arrows at the writers and send the black smoke monster at ABC! It’s possible the nuke was “the incident” all along and somehow that flashes forward all the Losties into the present where life is happy for everyone, but I just don’t see it. Obviously everything would change if 815 lands safely in LAX starting with the passengers not knowing each other. Here are a few other not so obvious changes in history:

• Jacob is alive. If 815 never crashes, Nemesis’ plan can never use Locke. I bet that’ll piss off Nemesis
• What will Desmond do with himself on the island? If the hatch is never built, how does Desmond occupy himself? Does he become an Other or is he killed by The Others? He also won’t meet Faraday in Oxford and who knows what the consequences for that are.
• Ethan is never born. Sawyer saves his mother in the future. Also who knows all the consequences that will occur from the Losties not traveling back in time!
• Other Ben might die from his back tumor. On one hand Jack won’t be on the island to save him (neither will Ethan), but on the other hand if the hatch doesn’t blow up then the electrocal systems on the island will be intact meaning Other Ben can leave the island on the sub Locke will never blow up to see a real doctor
• Desmond will never tell Penny to call him on christmas eve.
• The freighter may never find the island. I think the 815 crash gave Widmore a good guess on the island’ location and without the crash, he might not have been able to find it.

And there are the obvious consequences. The bad: Sawyer is still a conman, Rose, Locke & Faraday will continue to have their physical ailments, Prego (Claire) gives up her baby, Charlie remains an addict, Jin is still a bad person and Michael is alive. But there is some good: all the passengers will survive, Sayid will be reunited with Nadia and Indiana will live because they probably never find the island. Like Sawyer, I was voting for Jack NOT to blow the nuke. Tear.

Now my theory can totally be shot to hell because in someways it doesn’t make sense. IF the Losties never crash on the island then the nuke is probably never contained and it’s certainly never blown up near the hatch which means time can’t be reset!!! Ahh paradox!!! This is and endless loop and can’t be explained and is the best evidence that time will not reset. I wonder how the writers will respond. It’s also worth mentioning that just because the hatch doesn’t rip flight 815 in-half doesn’t mean the plane won’t have electrical problems and crash land on the island just like AA 316. In fact this is the most likely scenario.

With all the other topics going on, I’ve avoided Jacob & Nemesis. I doubt I am alone in thinking that Nemesis IS the black smoke and it can take on the appearance of any dead person on the island. Since it hates humans, black smoke seems to enjoy killing them after judging them (it judged Mr. Eko the same way it judged Other Ben). I also think Jacob & Nemesis are aliens who somehow got punished and are placed on the island which is serving as a prison. Nemesis blames Jacob for the imprisonment and that’s why he wants to kill him. Makes sense to me…

Finally, I need to talk about Juliet & Sawyer. I loved them as a couple and was heartbroken when she let go of Sawyer’s hand. You really felt Sawyer’s pain in that scene. Even before that scene I was pissed at Juliet for giving up on Sawyer just because he looked at Kate. Let it go!! Kate ain’t all that and you’re almost as hott and you’re way more together. Juliet, you disappointed me…

Next up on Finally Lost…I’ll recap season 5 and formally list my Season 6 predictions. I know many of you have been reluctant to comment on the blog for fear of dropping spoilers (thank you for this, and amazingly enough nothing was spoiled!) but I’d like to hear your thoughts and theories on the upcoming series. What’s going to happen??

It is quite possible, nay probable, that one of my best friends and favorite people in the world Alisa (Buddy) literally knows me better than I know myself. She has always been a keen observer of human nature and an excellent reader of situations as well as judge of people and character.

However, subsequently spawn from this skill set she seems to have completely figured me out. While Alisa has always had a pretty good pulse on me, recently I realized just how locked in on me she actually was.

After work yesterday while I drove down US-41 Tamiami Road Alisa intimated that I had not seemed like myself lately and that perhaps there was something bothering me. Since I am usually overtly aware of my feelings I was a little thrown off by this suggestion, however upon further probing I realized there were a few small things that had been troubling me. These annoyances had collectively added up to a slight demeanor change that Alisa had incredibly detected over the phone in a matter of minutes.

As we spoke further I told her about a few things on my mind, which led to her asking more of the right questions in order to get me to fully disclose my emotional state. What was so interesting about this conversation was the fact that I wasn’t even aware that my tone or manner of speech had changed in a way that it conveyed any unhappiness or frustration.

Amazingly she had figured out that there were a few issues under the surface that I was repressing and needed to be coaxed out before I did.

Although, my emotional state is not the only thing that Alisa correctly pitted me on. You see she has been telling me for months that I need to start watching the show “How I Met Your Mother,” but since the show is on Season 5, and she was adamant that I needed to watch from the beginning, I’ve had trouble starting the series.

However, yesterday I finally stumbled onto a site that had all the “How I Met Your Mother” episodes available for free dating back to the original pilot. I figured since my dance card for last night was empty that I would watch a few episodes on my laptop and gain an initial impression of the show.

Now, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that Alisa has suggested television shows to me in the past, and has had so much confidence in the notion that I would enjoy her recommendation that she has bought me the DVDs before I ever viewed the program. I should also note that each time she has done this I have instantly fallen in love with the show.

Therefore, it should have come as no surprise that I was immediately hooked on “How I Met Your Mother,” and after only four episodes was calling her to talk about the show and praise her recommendation.

However, it was only after I had begrudgingly convinced myself to stop watching and go to sleep that I began thinking about how well Alisa knew me. After contemplating this thought for only a few minutes I quickly recognized how often Alisa makes correct assertions about my feelings, tastes and preferences.

This was a welcome realization because I have struggled since losing Barbara with the idea that there was no longer someone who knew me with such a level of intimacy. However, last night, even though she was 1,300 miles away, I felt at ease in knowing that there was still someone in my life who truly knew me better than I knew myself, which to me is one of the most comforting feelings in the world.

Completed: 5-12 Dead Is Dead, 5-13 Some Like it Hoth, 5-14 The Variable, 5-15 Follow the Leader. Only the Lost Season 5 finale left and I’ll be as Lost as the rest of you. Sadly we will have to wait 45 days until the Lost Season 6 premier.

Another 4 episode clip thanks to a northeastern snow storm. Apparently Daniel Faraday’s mother is as cold as the temperature outside because she sent her son to the island to die. The Variable is up there as one of my favorite episodes of the season with LaFleur with it’s great ending, multiple revelations and heartwarming scene with Charlotte. To the recap. We start out with some Other Ben history, where we seem him steal Slingshot (Alex) as a baby and exile one time Other Leader, Charles Widmore from the island. Cut to present day where Other Ben and Locke have made it to barracks and find Swoop (Frank) & Sun there. Sun shows the class of 77 Dharma photo to Other Ben and he actually looks shocked and clueless. Other Ben then calls the smoke monster but when he doesn’t answer, Locke & Other Ben go to its cave. Inside Other Ben is enveloped by the smoke and relives bad memories involving Slingshot. Slingshot then appears to him and tells him to stop trying to kill Locke and listen to whatever he says. Interesting note from that episode: when Swoop returns from camp he is tied up by Boobie Fett & some guy when he can’t answer “What lies in the shadow of the statue?” That same guy pulled Miles into their van and told him to work with them and they would tell him how he got his power and everything he wanted to know about his dad. During the Ghostbuster flashback we see his mother telling him that his father left them and never cared for them before he is recruited by Widmore. Then we get a Mr. Wizard’s Daniel Faraday) flashback. Faraday was told never to play the piano, was pushed to become a brilliant physicist and his experiments turned him and his girlfriend into a vegetable until Mr. Widmore recruits him for the expedition where the island heals him. In 77 Mr. Wizard tells Jack that they can in fact change the future by preventing the incident we’ve heard about with the buried thermonuclear bomb. Jack, Mr. Wizard and Kate go off to find Momma Wizard who it turns out is the Other that Faraday told to burry the bomb in the 50s and is now shacking up with Leader Widmore, Faraday’s father! After an argument with SawFleur and a gun fight with the initiative, the 3 find Peter Pan (Richard) and Mr. Wizard holds a gun to his head demanding to talk to Eloise Hawking. Eloise shows up and kills Faraday. With his dying breath he tells her she is his mother and she knew she was sending him to his death. Big Tear. Jack and Kate then convince her that they too are from the future and can fix her mistake by carrying out Faraday’s plan. They are joined by Richard and go to the tunnels to find the nuke. Before they get there, Kate bails because she doesn’t want to prevent the crash from happening but they are joined by Sayid who is happy to help. Cut to the Dharma initiaive and we see SawFleur & Juliet being tortured by Radzinski for info on Kate & The Others (boy-Ben still hasn’t been found). SawFleur agrees to draw a map to the camp in exchange for him and Juliet allowed access to the departing sub and are eventually joined by a captured Kate on the sub. Cut to Hurley, Miles & Jin who are trying to escape but are found by Dr. Chang. Chang wants to know if Faraday told him the truth about the incident and about Miles being his son. Once they confirm, Chang orders all nonessential personnel onto the sub and Miles sees his father cast off Younger Miles & his mother for their protection. Finally we see Locke, Richard & Other Ben reunited. First Locke tells Richard to fix the bullet wound that the second Locke that is white flashing around is suffering from. Once this is finished, Locke announces to all of The Others that Richard will be taking themto see Jacob but he only confides in Other Ben that he is going to kill Jacob. Lost-blackscreened.

One more episode and I will be as lost as you! I thought that after 5 seasons I would have so many more answers but I’ll take what I can get. First things first, how are SawFleur, Juliet & Kate going to get back on the island for the finale? It looks like they are well on their way home on that sub and we know the sub reaches shore because Miles & his mother make it there. If the rest of the Losties flash forward to the correct time, will they? And speaking of flashing forward, what the hell is Jack doing? It’s an interesting philosophical question. Would you completely change the last 3 years of your life including never meeting someone you love, to save 300 people you don’t really know? Kate wouldn’t but Jack and Sayid would. I understand why Sayid would because Nadia would be alive  but what difference does it make for Jack? He’s miserable either way. P.S. I hate Jack. I know Sawyer & Kate sure don’t want to change things because Kate beat Johnny law and Sawyer has become a great person and found a great love. Desmond might be pissed that he’s back stuck on the island and his child isn’t born. Dammit Jack, don’t you ever think? And speaking of Penny, we find out she & Desmond are OK (whew!) It’s very interesting that Other Ben wouldn’t kill her once her saw little Charlie. When Other Ben and Charles Widmore are on screen together you get the sense that Other Ben is so much more of a better person than Charles (killing little Alex, I’m looking at you) which is saying something since Other Ben is a mass murder and pathological liar.

And we have some new mysteries:

• We have the Widmore camp & the Other Ben camp. Where does the shadow of the statue camp fall in? I figured Boobie Fett was more than just a bounty hunter but who is this third side and what IS in the shadow of the statue? Speaking of the statue, it was really cool when we got to see the whole thing in the past, I wonder when it got knocked down. May be the 3rd team are the old skool Egyptian people that put all they hieroglyphics on the temple
• If dead is dead then Locke isn’t alive and is more like Christian Shepard. I assume Christian is Jacob and Jacob can take on any form he wants to and is somehow appointed island guarder. Maybe the black smoke monster is just one his best defense systems. Not sure what the whispers are but Other Ben is because he told Frenchy (Danielle) that if she wants to stay alive she should avoid them
• We never found out if Daniel changed the future! He said he was never going to talk to Charlotte but he did. However we never found out if he told her to not come back or else it would mean her death. If he doesn’t say it then we know he can change the future
• Sawyer telling Juliet that they will invest is Microsoft and bet on the 78 cowboys was genius. I’m sorry they have to leave their great life and now I’m rooting for them to live happily ever after. Sadly Juliet is a candidate to die in the finale because a few people have to. It’s time for Miles to die as well
• It was hilarious that Hurley was re-writing Empire Trikes Back and he got to see the numbers put on the hatch.

Next up on Finally Lost…Season 5 finale. I heard the last minute is a mind fuck. Will we finally learn who’s been pulling the strings? Maybe it’s Locke, or Mama Wizard. The safe money is on Other Ben…

Completed: 5-8 LaFleur, 5-9 Namaste, 5-10 He’s Our You, 5-11 Whatever Happened, Happened. 6 episodes left to go, & 45 days till the Lost Season 6 premier. As you know, I don’t know anything that is to come and like the survivors I am completely lost.

WOW. My mind is still buzzing from these 4 episodes. I was trying to only watch 2 at a time but how the hell was I supposed to stop when this changes EVERYTHING. Cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria!! Recap: Sawyer, Juliet, Ghostbuster (Miles), Mr. Wizard (Daniel) & Jin are left in the 70s after Locke fixes the ice wheel. They kill a couple Others that were about to execute a Dharma lady (Ethan’s Mom!) and Sawyer goes all Bill Clinton and keeps the Dharma/Others truce alive by telling Peter Pan (Richard) that he is from the future and not a part of Dharma. The 5 then decide to live among the Dharma initiative until Locke brings the O6 back. The O6 of course don’t come back for 3 years and by that time Sawyer is known as LaFleur, the trusted head of security and live-in boyfriend of Juliet, who is playing a mechanic. A fully english speaking Jin finds the O3 (Jack, Kate & Hurley) and LaFleur comes up with a plan to have them work among the initiative. The plan gets more complicated when Sayid appears near a station where Radzinski (remember Dez & Army guy talked about him??) is designing the Swan. SawFleur takes him prisoner and offers him a way to live among the initiative as an Other defector but Sayid declines and is given LSD-truth-serum which makes him tells the initiative he is from the future and has been on the island before. We also get a good old fashion flashback and find out that after killing enough people, Other Ben terminated Sayid as hitman extraordinaire only to re-recruit him to spring Hurley free. After Sayid left the O6 arguing at the dock, he was seduced at captured by some hott bounty hunter (Boobie-Fett) who was hired by the family of the guy he killed on the golf course and uses AA Flight 316 to get him to said justice-seeking family. Now while in Dharma Jail, Sayid was getting frequent food visits from boy-Ben, who kept asking Sayid to take him to The Others. Sayid, now convince he was put back on the island to kill Other Ben as a boy,  uses this affection to break out of prison, shoot boy-Ben and escape. Even though they know who he will become, Kate, SawFleur & Juliet all try to convince Jack to save boy-Ben but Jack refuses. Juliet then covers for Kate & SawFleur as they bring him to the only people on the island that can help boy-Ben…The Others. On the way there we find out Kate & Cassidy (Sawyer’s baby’s mama) become close friends and Cassidy knows everything about the island. We also see Kate tell Prego’s (Claire) Mom the truth about everything and Kate leaves Aaron with her to go back to the island to find Prego. Once SawFleur & Kate find Peter Pan, he agrees to help boy-Ben but warns them that he will lose his innocence and will now always be an Other. Finally, back at the crash site, Sun goes off with Other Ben to find a boat to get back to the main island to find Jin. After Swoop (Frank) finds them, Sun knocks out Other Ben and the two paddle to the main island. Other Ben however, wakes up in a hospital bed with a headache and a very much alive John Locke standing over him. Locke welcomes him “to the living” and we are LOST-black screened.

As I said before this changes everything. Before I comment on things I have to comment about whether or not the future can be changed. If Miles & Mr. Wizard are correct and what happened, happened, then Other Ben could never have killed Sawyer, Kate or Jack while they were imprisoned by The Others. Time wouldn’t let him. If you CAN change the future then he was no doubt going out of his way to make sure they didn’t die (assuming he at least remembered Sawyer, Juliet & Miles). For the sake of this entry I’ll assume you can’t change the future. This must mean the island wanted the O6 back so badly because it HAD to happen for the events that already took place to again take place (damn time travel is hard to write about). It’s a serious mind fuck to think that Richard (and to some extent Other Ben) knew all about the Losties before Oceanic Flight 815 even crashed on the island. It also starts to explain the connections between the Losties. They were predestined to meet and be on that flight together because it had already happened before it happened. It’s amazing to think that these people had no idea how much they were steeped in the Dharma history when they first found the hatch and the other stations. They no doubt even caused the incident! (Full disclosure, I noticed the last episode is called The Incident). It’s going to take a complete series re-watch to really digest all the implications of this.

I need to compare the Dharma Losties’ 3 years with the off-island Losties’ 3 years. The Dharma Losties had a much better time of it and are much more likable than their off-island counterparts. SawFleur is the man! I didn’t think I could like Sawyer more than already I did but watching him finally become the leader he was always supposed to be was very cool. As I previously posted, I was already liking Juliet more and more, (I even dropped the Ice Princess nickname) and I love them as a couple. Kate on the other hand is damaged goods and keeps too many secrets; there’s no reason for SawFleur to worry about her. Even Miles is pretty cool now. As with any scene that involves Hurley, the time discussion scene was hilarious. A note on when they questioned why Other Ben recognize didn’t recognize Sayid when he tortured him in the hatch. At first I thought they were pretty stupid not to assume Other Ben was simply pretending not to recognize him, but we learn from Pan that boy-Ben won’t remember anything about getting shot. And then there’s Jack. I hate Jack. Hate. I loved when SawFleur gave him the business on how Jack never thought as a leader and how SawFleur is a man of thought. It’s an interesting inditement on doctors but I would imagine a conman would have to be much more of a strategic thinker than a surgeon. SawFleur however, could not stop Jack from making his usual enormous mistake. By not operating on boy-Ben, Jack created Other Ben. It’s Jack’s fault that boy-Ben was healed by The Others and he lost his innocence (whatever the hell that means). And lastly, I love how Juliet tore into Jack by telling him what I’ve been saying all along…they didn’t need saving! You only went back because you got conned by Other Ben & Locke.

Next up on Finally Lost…maybe Locke will slap around Other Ben. I’d also like to know why Sun was the only of the O6 to not white flash back in time.

p.s. While Ben lied about being born on the island, ironically Ethan had lived on the island his whole life. If mothers could once bear children on the island, then what changed? Maybe the gas? And why didn’t Other Ben give this data point to Juliet since she was trying to solve this problem??

p.s. 2 Did Rose & White Bernard die? Are we just supposed to assume everyone on 815 died? That’s kinda sad and I wished they would have gotten a screen death to confirm

Completed: 5-6 316, 5-7 The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham. Just 10 episodes left, & 46 days till the Lost Season 6 premier. As you know, I don’t know anything that is to come and like the survivors I am completely lost.

I’m getting ready to hit the panic button because I’m only 10 episodes away from joining you in Lost realtime and I don’t have nearly enough answers. I fear for the season 5 cliff hanger. First the recap: Jack, Other Ben, Desmond & Sun go to the secret Dharma station in the church with Mother Time (Eloise Hawking) and she explains to them how there are pockets of strange EM all over the world. Apparently people have been searching for magic island for a long time until someone figured out how to predict where the island would be next (the island is always moving which is one of the reasons the Losties were never found). Mother Time has calculated that they are now in a 70 hour window and Indian flight 316 is going to be flying through the area where the island will be. If the O6 can recreate as many of the 815 conditions as possible then the island might decide to bring them back. This apparently includes Jack putting Daddy Jack’s shoes on Locke’s dead feet. This news makes Desmond peace out but Other Ben, Jack and Sun decide to take the flight, along with Kate who decided at the last minute to ditch her adopted son, Aaron, for this adventure (plus banging Jack for good measure). When we get on the plane, Sayid (arrested) & Hurley are magically on board and Swoop (Frank) is coincidentally (not!) the pilot. After Jack reads Locke’s suicide note the plane begins to shake but the O6 are white flashed off the plane. Hurley, Jack & Kate are together at Sawyer & Kate’s love pool where they run into Jin. Then we get Locke’s story. Locke wakes up in Tunisia, the island’s exit point and home to where Other Ben jacked those locals up with his stick. The injured Locke is cared for by Mr. Widmore and is told there is a war coming and he has to get the O6 back on the island. Lt. Daniels (Matt) is assigned as his driver and one by one Locke fails to recruit the O6 for a encore viewing of magic island. While visiting Locke’s old gf’s grave (Helen) Lt. Daniels is shot and Locke via a car accident checks into Jack’s hospital. Locke tries to pull out all the stops on Jack and tells him that Daddy Jack is walking around on the island and says, “Hi”.  Once that fails Locke decides to kill himself but is rescued by Other Ben. And when I say rescued I really me he gets Mother Time’s name out of Locke and then strangles him and makes it look like a suicide!! Cut to Locke alive and well on the island (presumably on Other Island) and explains to some newbies that he’s been on the island before and was killed. Locke is then taken to Other Ben and we are LOST black-screened.

Other Ben might be the best liar in fiction. How cold was it that he saved Locke’s life only to kill him once he got his info. Other Ben also got to pick up the Jin story which he will eventually use to Ben-Whammy Sun to go back to the island. I’m also starting to think that he killed Nadia so Sayid could go back. While these episodes didn’t answer any questions, they did exposed how much Other Ben lies. Here are some:

• Once you turn the wheel you can never go back to the island.  FALSE!
• He told Sun he didn’t know why Jin wanted her to think she was dead. FALSER!!
• He told Jack he didn’t know Locke committed suicide and didn’t know he left Jack a suicide note. FALSEST!!!

Why is Other Ben lying so much? May be while growing up on the island manipulation-pursuit was the only game they had and old habits die hard. Why is Other Ben so obsessed with getting the O6 back on the island? If Locke fixed the wheel then the Losties on the island won’t be time jumping and they should be safe. Something that really doesn’t make sense is why did Other Ben have to move the island to hide it from Widmore if the island already moves on its own? I’m really afraid that the writers don’t have a plan and have painted themselves into corners and just made mistakes. Before I started watching this series I was told no one is safe and anyone can die but they just brought back 2 main characters and haven’t showed the ability to kill any of the mains. Can you tell I’m feeling frustrated

With all this Other Ben lying business I almost buried the lead! Penny’s in trouble huh ? Other Ben has the best lines…”Oh, I made a promise to an old friend of mine–just a loose end that needs tying”. Ahhh Desmond! He’s going to follow you to your boat to try to kill Penny! Cut to Other Ben on a pay phone (they still have those?) talking to Jack with lots of blood on his face. I’m not going to speculate, I’m not speculate…

Finally I feel like I’ve been asking too many questions lately and haven’t done enough predictions:

• I think Jack was white flashed to the island the first time around which is why he woke up in the jungle and not in the plane wreck
• Ghostbuster (Miles) is the son of our favorite orientation movie star/scientist. Shortly after we learn this for sure he will die
• Penny dies and Desmond desperately tries to return to the island to kill Other Ben. That was hard to write…

Next on Finally Lost…I get to watch this LaFleur episode everyone keeps raving about. Hopefully it’ll make me not as frustrated with the writers!!

p.s. Kate just ditch Aaron like it was nothing?? And Jack doesn’t care about his own half-nephew?? That’s a little cold…

Completed: 5-4 The Little Prince, 5-5 This Place is Death. 12 episodes left, 47 days to go. As you know, I don’t know anything that is to come and like the survivors I am completely lost.

Jin is alive!! I feel like John Malkovich from Rounders…Check Check Check. While I rejoice over Jin’s survival I definitely question this show’s ability to kill main characters. Now let’s see if Locke pulls a Houdini. Before I sound too ungrateful for the resurrection of Jin let me recap: Locke decides that the only way to stop the white time flashes is to go back to the Orchid. On the way there the Losties discover a dragon boat with a water bottle from an Indian Airline. The Losties steal the boat to shortcut to the Orchid but are followed and shot at presumably by the unknown Indian Airline Survivors until a white flash saves them. Flash to 1989 where the French crew lands on the island and finds Jin clinging to a piece of the blown up freighter. Jin attempts to take the group to the radio tower but they are attacked by the black smoke which kills 2 of their crew and somehow infects everyone else but Frenchy because Jin stopped her from going down in the temple. Jin white flashes forward in time and sees Frenchy kill her husband before he white flashes again and runs into the Losties. The white flashes are increasing by the minute and all the Losties are in danger of death by nosebleed. Indiana (Charlotte) gets so sick she has to stay behind, however, before she dies she reveals to Mr. Wizard (Daniel) that she grew up on the island and has been trying to find it ever since she left. She also tells him that a man told her that she must leave the island and should never return again or else she would die. That man was Mr. Wizard (dun dun dun). Back at the Orchid, Jin tells Locke to tell Sun he is dead and gives him his wedding ring as proof. Locke goes down to the ice wheel and meets Daddy Jack who berates him for letting Other Ben turn the wheel but then tells him how to stabilize the wheel which will presumable stop the white flashes and get Locke off the island.

And speaking of off the island, cut to Sayid killing another assassin who happens to have Kate’s address in his pocket. Jack goes off to help Kate who is stalking the lawyer demanding she take a blood test to prove she is Aaron’s mom. They follow her to Prego’s (Claire) mom’s room but that ends up being a too good to believe coincidence. We then see the lawyer meet up with Other Ben telling him how he’s going to get Hurley off and eventually all of the O6 (minus jailbird Hurley) meet up when it is revealed that Sun was following Other Ben with Aaron in tow. Sun is about to kill Other Ben when he tells her Jin is alive and everyone must go back to the island. This makes Sayid, Kate & Aaron bail but Other Ben convinces Sun and Jack to follow him somewhere for more Jin details. Cut to the church of the shady time lady and Desmond shows up because shady time lady is really Mr. Wizard’s mom and the women who told Dezmond who told him he can’t change time (dun dun dun 2). We are then cliff-hung when shady time lady says, “Well 4 ain’t a bad start.”

I like how the show has stopped using single character-centric flashbacks and flash forwards to progress the story. The technique of using the white flash to show what happened to the French team was a very cool no-flashback way of filling us in on events we have been wondering about since season 1. We got a partial answer as to why the whole French team, except Frenchy (Danielle), was infected by the mysterious illness but none of the Losties nor the Others were. I don’t know if the temple or the black smoke is the cause of the sickness but if it turns out to be the black smoke I might have to reinvestigate Mr. Eko sanity because of the time the black smoke completely enveloped him and let him go. Hopefully we’ll also learn why that happened and why later the black smoke decided to do take-backs and kill him instead.

We also got answers as to why the Losties were white flashing all over the place. It’s very unlike Other Ben to do a shoddy job but he really messed up by leaving the ice wheel off its axis. Someone clearly needs to re-watch the moving the island Dharma orientation video. I also love how Daddy Jack tells Locke to say hi to his son but doesn’t tell Locke who his son is. Hopefully Locke will figure it out and some of these connections will FINALLY be known. On that note has Kate figured out that Sawyer’s baby’s mama is her old pal yet? I hope so. Now on the topic of white flashes, Mr. Wizard says the white flash should affect people who have had the most island exposure first, which reveals that Indiana and the Ghostbuster (Miles) have been on the island before. Indiana tells us a little about her past and I’m still wondering if she’s that girl who once befriended Other Ben. Either way I imagine her mom or dad will turn out to be someone we know. You also gotta believe that the Ghostbuster got his talent while hanging out on everyone’s favorite dead-people-walking-around island

Now onto the subject of Jin and time travel. Jin, I missed you and welcome back! I would love to re-watch the earlier episodes to see if Frenchy and Jin have any scenes together. Continuing with Jin, it was very noble of him to try and convince Sun, via Locke, to not come back to the island. Unfortunately for Jin, he doesn’t realize that 3 years have passed for Sun and she’s no longer pregnant. If Sun does go back to the island, is she going to have to leave Ji Yeon? That’s pretty harsh considering Other Ben says they are going back for good. And just how will the O6 get back to the island? And do Desmond and Swoop (Frank) have to go back too? Is the new Indian Plane wreckage collateral damage from the O6’s return? I any case I think we saw our Losties white flash into the future. Now that the ice wheel is fixed I wonder if the Losties will flash-catchup to the rest of the world or if they will get have to live out those 3 years and we’ll just get 3 years worth of flashback story. Another option is that no time will pass for the Losties and they’ll just have to deal with the fact that 3 years have passed for the O6 (this is what I think will happen).

Finally, how many times can Other Ben lie in a series?? He told Locke that the dire consequence for the person who turns the ice wheel can’t go back to the island but clearly he and Locke’s dead body have every intention on going back. I also can’t believe that Desmond is just going to leave Penny and Charlie. Dez, don’t let Penny near Other Ben! Arg…

Next on Finally Lost…let’s find out what shady time lady is all about…

p.s. I know I haven’t talked about her much but the Ice Princess (Juliet) has really grown on me and redeemed herself. It’s a shame that both men she is attracted to love Kate.

This is easily one of my favourite shows on korean TV. And its prolly also the silliest ever but I love it! And now its back with its 5th season and the hosts this time around are MBLAQ with Jung Juri and Shin Bongsun and both of em are pretty wack haha, I predict crazy things to come…

About the show

TV: MBC Every1

Time: Wednesdays @ 6PM (korean time)

Hosts: MBLAQ & Shin Bongsun and Jung Juri (two very famous korean comedians)

Every week there will be different guests coming to the show and the hosts have to ’show their skills‘. I still don’t know how it will work this season. In season 3 it was a survival game so each week one member got voted off, but since MBLAQ only has 5 members and not 7 as 2PM has I’m guessing this is not the case for this season. So I guess we just have to watch and see how things will roll this time around. I have already heard that potential guests on the show are girl groups T-ara and 4minute and boy group Beast. Should be fun, fun, fun…

So from what I have managed to decipher so far the theme for this season is ‘bad guy’ LOL. So I’m guessing the boys will compete over who is most the bad ass? Yeah, who knows, gotta keep watchin to find out more I guess…

(all pictures from MBC Every1 Homepage or as tagged)

MBC Every1 Idol Show Season 5

Preview 1 (sinAQSubs @ YT) ENG SUBBED

Preview 2 (sinAQSubs @ YT) ENG SUBBED

Episode 1 091216 Guests: None, introductions

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 [HQ] (abmshows @ YT)

CUT (<—click) Joon & Mir playing word game (abmshows @ YT)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 (mellogreenleaf @ YT) ENG SUBBED

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 (abmsubs @ YT) ENG SUBBED

Episode 2 091223 Guests: Secret

PREVIEW (abmshows @ YT)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Episode 3 091230

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Episode 4 100106

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Episode 5 100113

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

OFFICIAL HOMEPAGE (<–click)

Where you can find clips, pictures and previews (use Explorer, Korean sites hates Mozilla)

SUBBING:

Melodygreenleaf @ YT has decided to sub Idol Show wit MBLAQ!! Awesome! An she has already subbed part 1. Check out her channel at YT for more subbed goodies!!

MELLOGREENLEAF (<—-click)

MBLAQ SUBBING CHANNELS @ YOUTUBE:

I’m guessing these subbing teams will sub the Idol Show episodes as soon as they can.

ABMSUBS

SINAQSUBS

MBLAQ IDOL SHOW RAW UPLOADERS:

ABMSHOWS

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Join MBLAQ ATTACK Forum:

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Here you can download the episodes and much more!

And check AbsoluteMBLAQ wordpress blog out!

ABSOLUTEMBLAQ

Completed: 5-1 Because You Left, 5-2 The Lie, 5-3, Jughead. 14 episodes left, 48 days to go. As you know, I don’t know anything that is to come and like the survivors I am completely lost.

Welcome back Lost! After 3 episodes of the new season I got more answers then I have questions which is a first. Let’s start with the recap: The season starts with our favorite Dharma asian orientation star being pulled away from filming to look at the frozen wheel in the Orchid station. On the way there we are intrigued because he passes Mr. Wizard (Daniel the physicist…Sawyer gave him this great nickname and I’m sticking to it). Next we see the Losties on the beach and they are miffed why their camp disappeared after the white flash of light appeared. According to Mr. Wizard (who stayed with the island because his boat was in the radius..check!) the Losties on the island are moving back and forth through time every time the white light shows up and they don’t know when it will show up next or when it will stop. Fearing he will need a constant, Mr. Wizard knocks on the hatch where Desmond is still a resident of (they flashed to 2001ish) and tells him to find his mother at Oxford and then flashes to the 1950s with the rest of the Losties. Once in the 1950s the Losties are attacked by Dharma folks who mistaken them for The Others and then attacked by The Others who mistaken them for Dharma folks. Sawyer and the Ice Princess (Juliet) try to escape but are captured by The Others. Locke shows up and rescues them but not before he got shot by Ethan in 2001ish and not before receiving medical attention, a compass and advice (you must bring the O6 back to the island by being dead) from Peter Pan (Richard) in present. As part of the rescue effort Locke captures 2 of The Others, one of whom turns out to be Charles Widmore. Widmore kills his partner before he can give Locke any info, but Locke lets Widmore go so he can follow him back to Peter Pan and The Others. Locke then goes to Peter Pan and gives him the compass that present-day Peter Pan gave him to prove his time travel story. Unfortunately, before Locke can find out how to get off the island from Pan, he white flashes off to another time. During the same time in the 50s, Mr. Wizard, who was also captured by The Others, was using his physicist skills to show The Others how to stop a leaking Hydrogen Bomb that the American’s were trying to detonate on the island. He tells The Others that burying the bomb will work because in 50 years the island is still standing and then he white flashes with Locke and the rest of the Losties.

Off the island we watch the O6 decide to lie about their entire experience to the world despite Hurley’s concerns. Flash to the future and Other Ben explains to Jack, in front of Locke’s coffin, that they must get all of the O6 back on the island as soon as possible. Jack laments at how hard that will be but Other Ben tells him to suck it up, makes him shave his ugly beard and flushes his pills down the toilet. Meanwhile Sayid kills one of Widmore’s guards at the Santa Rosa Mental Home and tells Hurley he is being watch and needs to go to a safe place. After checkmating Mr. Eko in their game of chess, Hurley and Sayid go to the not-so-safe house where Sayid increases his body count but takes a knockout dart in the neck. After a visit with his Dad, Hurley calls Jack so he can fix up Sayid but Hurley stays at his house where Other Ben shows up to recruit him. Instead of following Other Ben, Hurley gives himself up to the police outside his house who think he is responsible for Sayid’s kill count. Cut to Kate being visited by lawyers who want her to take a DNA test to prove she’s related to Aaron. Cut to Desmond who wakes up with a new memory of Mr. Wizard telling him to find his mother. Desmond tries to find Mr Wizard’s mom but only finds some cracked-out patient Mr. Wizard screwed up and whose bills are being paid for by…Mr. Widmore! Dez goes to Widmore to get Mama Mr. Wizard’s address but coldly doesn’t answer one question to a concerned dad who hasn’t heard from his daughter in 3 years (nor has he met his grandchild Charlie!) Cut to Other Ben talking to the lady from to some lady in a church. After doing some crazy equations Shady Time Lady informs Other Ben that they have 70 hours to get all of the O6 back to the island or it will be the end of the world…dun dun dun.

First the things that make sense. We know why Peter Pan was at Locke’s birth and why he asked him which objects were already his! This means Pan knew all about Locke since the 50s so who knows how that affected his decisions since. It also looks like I was right about Widmore being on the island before. I still think I’m right that the island was moved to hide it from him which is why he had such a hard time finding it again. I wonder who turned the ice wheel of banishment last time? Penny & Desmond got to live happily ever after for 3 years and have a son named Charlie. Would she be named after Charles Widmore who kept them apart, or the Charlie Pace that brought them together? I’ll go with Pace. And finally I totally agree with Hurley, lying made no sense!! How are you protecting the Losties from Mr. Widmore when he already knows the truth?? Stupid Jack.

Now the things I don’t understand. Why are only the Losties moving through time? Why isn’t everyone that was on the island at the time of the white light quantum leaping?? Mr. Wizard says you can’t change time but didn’t he change time when he talked to Desmond? Isn’t that why Dez woke up with that new memory? Jack asked Other Ben if Locke was really dead, might he be alive? Maybe Locke took something that makes it seem like you’re dead, but he’ll eventually wake back up (why do I keep trying to find back doors for all the dead main characters?) What is Sun’s end goal? Is it just revenge on Jack and Other Ben? It might be hard to convince her to go back to the island if she’s just after revenge. Why does Hurley keep seeing dead magic islanders? The scene where he was playing chess with Mr. Eko was classic! And finally…if the O6 do get back to the island it might be weird that 3 years has passed for them but only a few days/weeks have passed for the left behind Losties. And speaking of the left behind Losties, between the Robin Hood Fire Arrows and the ambush at the creek, are there any Losties still alive?? Not a good start to Sawyer’s term as leader of the Losties…

Next up on Finally Lost…If there is one man who can get the O6 to magic island in 70 hours, it’s Other Ben…

p.s. Is it just me or are there way too many things going on? That was a record long recap! I know some people like the recaps because it helps them remember things but are they getting too long?

How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 11 – The Last Cigarette Ever

The gang tries to kick the smoking habit. Meanwhile, Robin deals with her new co-anchor at Channel 1, who’s clearly given up on the job.

Donwload Links:

how.i.met.your.mother.s05e11.hdtv.xvid-fqm.avi

or

how.i.met.your.mother.s05e11.hdtv.xvid-fqm.avi

moursika

“Last Cigarette Ever”

December 14th, 2009

There are many shows that, in later seasons, like to do a bit of revisionist history in order to create new storylines. The Office keeps introducing new traditions even though the documentary camera crew should have logically spotted them years earlier (an observation I saw on Twitter last week, although I forget who made it), which is a necessary stretch but one that has no easy “out” for the show.

However, How I Met Your Mother has an easy excuse: because the show takes the form of Future Ted telling stories to his kids, there are logically parts of these characters’ pasts that he wouldn’t tell them out of fear of revealing too much about his past. Accordingly, it makes perfect sense that Ted wouldn’t reveal to his kids that he and the gang are occasional recreational smokers, and that he would wait this long into the series’ narrative to tell a story about how everyone’s smoking habits came together.

The problem with episodes like “Last Cigarette Ever” is that the show needs to either be in a natural place for this story to concur or construct a story that justifies the sudden introduction. And while it isn’t perfect for every character, the show finds enough of a heart in Robin’s journey and enough of a future-forward conclusion to make the story a charming chapter in a larger story as opposed to a single episode of a television series.

Of the people with reasons to smoke, it makes sense that it would be Robin who is at the heart of this narrative. She’s always been considered a bit of a slob, she’s currently working a dead end, dead of the morning job, and she’s currently single, so the reasons for her not to smoke are non-existent (ignoring the whole “disgusting habit” thing, which as a non-smoker is sort of paramount but let’s go with it). And so the episode works best when it focuses on Robin, the “initial” smoker who unearths this behaviour, because she has reason to need the release of a cigarette to get her through the day (or, the night, if we’re being specific).

And while Marshall’s old boss reappearing wasn’t a terrible storyline (noting the social situations in which smoking becomes desirable), and Lily taking on the voice of Harvey Fierstein was a simple gag that didn’t feel overplayed, and having Ted and Barney join in helped bring the storyline together in the end, it really lived or died on Robin’s conversation with Don Frank. Don is someone who has accepted that he’s going to be in these dead end jobs, and has embraced the job if not the concept of wearing pants. And Robin resents him because she’s actually trying, because she’s doing everything she can to make the show legitimate and discovering that the process is futile (not entirely like announcing that this is your “last cigarette ever”). And when Robin realizes that she has friends watching, and that they are rooting for her, she resists heading down Don’s path, refusing to accept defeat.

Of course, like with the constant attempts to quit smoking, it’s never that simple: HIMYM may be an inherently romantic show, but it doesn’t depict a consistently romantic universe, so Robin’s determination isn’t going to suddenly turn her little cable morning show into the ergonomic network news Don speaks of, just the same as that sunrise “Last Cigarette Ever” wasn’t actually the last cigarette that all of them would have. However, HIMYM’s charm is that even if the stories it tells all fall apart before reaching that romantic moment, there is always the sense that some day Ted is going to find the mother, and that some day Robin is going to find her path in life, and that some day Barney might become a real human being (although all signs to that having to be in our imaginations considering the show’s resistance to altering the character).

And so rather than standing alone as a single story, the ending purposefully connects this event to other events in their lives, informing us that Don and Robin will be dating in three months’ time, and that Marshall and Lily will be having a baby boy at some time in the future, and that Ted will quit smoking two weeks after he meets the Mother. And while it may seem like a simple gesture, throwing out indeterminate dates in the future reminds us that this is part of a larger story, and that even if we never specifically focus on this element of the series again it will still in some way be a part of their lives. The episode did not make any huge revelations about the identity of the Mother or anything else, but it was a nice reminder that even in small episodes like this one we are seeing the groundwork for a romantic future that we may never entirely get to see.

The half-hour didn’t provide anything substantial, and some of the jokes (like the McRib runner) felt flat, but as far as “filler” goes I thought it fit in nicely with the show’s overall tone and message.

Cultural Observations

• The shots of the kids threw me for a loop for some reason: they’re clearly not brand new, as David Henrie looks significantly different now than he did then, but either we haven’t seen them for a very long time (I vaguely remember the “What?”) or they’re from a separate session, as I don’t remember those outfits. It’s weird that something which is usually so static becomes so important, but we’re all waiting to see if we ever get a glimpse of whether they filmed some sort of “It’s the Mother!” reaction that paranoia sets in.
• Intriguing that last week that teenage Marshall was Segel dressed down, whereas this week it was some extremely puny kid. It helps make the joke easier, making it so they don’t need to pull a special effects budget to have Marshall punching himself, but it made for a strange bit of flashback discontinuity between back-to-back episodes.
• I wasn’t sure whether I would warm to Don Frank, as while Ben Koldyke is fine in the role it isn’t really anything special. However, I liked the character’s angle on his profession, and I think it could be an interesting relationship for Robin in the long run…even if I’m still bitter about Robin/Barney.
• And yes, ladies: Barney Stinson is ALWAYS pre-coital.
• My brother raised an important question: will we ever see the characters smoke again? And, if we don’t, does it matter? I don’t really know the answer to that one.

And, with a slight change to our anticipated schedule, owing largely to an excellent visit to the pub and two jugs of a fabulous a cocktail named Cherry Fizz, I bring you, rather than a serious discourse upon ethical considerations in LOST, my thoughts from the first 9 episodes of Season 5 and a few musings on commentary and deleted scenes!

Download! What Katy Said – Episode the Seventh

As always you can find my old podcasts at MediaFire and accounts as to what’s contained within are at the start of this podcast and on the appropriate entry in this blog! Those of you interested in my comparison between LOST and the original TV series The Prisoner, might I direct you to Episode 5 !

Thanks as always for your thoughts and encouragement, and should you wish to send me any ideas, questions, comments, all the details are in the Contact Me! link on the sidebar. Namaste!

Season 5 is out now on DVD and Blu-ray.

Jim Beaver : Shooting a great scene today. Long. Touching. Heartbreaking. Difficult. Thankful for it. Supernatural. Ep. 14

@GrooveGoddess Thanks, bumble-snuggy. It’s a romantic scene, but don’t worry, it’s just for the show. Don’t worry!

This episode is called “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid.”

Atleast as far as shooting order, they’ve flipped 14 & 15. What order they air, I don’t know.

Long, difficult, weepy day. Another one in a few hours. I love my job.

—-
StormCloud : So are your weepy scenes with Sam or Dean or both or neither?

Jim’s answer : Yes

Just finished two days of filming the two most difficult, saddest scenes I have ever shot. Thank goodness tomorrow we can relax and just kill monsters.

I’m counting down the days now.

The blooper reel for the fifth season of LOST is now online. The DVD/Blu-ray set for Season 5 was released this week. I don’t typically watch the bloopers on the DVDs I buy but I think I should because these had me laughing out loud. I didn’t really even care for Charlotte until now…

via /Film

“The Window”

December 7th, 2009

There are moments where it feels as if Robin Scherbatsky exists entirely to be ignorant to the various long-standing mythologies that exist in How I Met Your Mother’s universe. Inevitably, when something new to us is introduced, Robin is the one asking “what’s that?” And such we enter “The Window,” as we discover (through Robin) that Ted Mosby has been on a nine-year journey to bag a college pal and yet has been foiled every time.

The way the show is able to use Robin to justify its exposition, almost always told through a casual conversation at McLaren’s or in Ted and Robin’s apartment, is part of why these stories are able to move so smoothly. In just moments, the stage has been set for what is yet another potential love story waiting to happen, fate and destiny fighting against reality. And by nicely balancing some more emotional beats for Josh Radner’s Ted with some broader comedy as the rest of the gang tries to keep the window from closing, the episode manages to entertain while also providing the sort of heartwarming conclusion (albeit with a twist) that HIMYM is so great at.

There’s been some complaints that there hasn’t been a lot of Ted stories this year, so it’s fitting that “The Window” is all about Ted Mosby without actually involving Ted Mosby to the degree that would have made the episode less engaging (since, no matter where you stand on the character, too much Ted is never good for the show). When we learn that he’s had a crush living in New York for nine years that he’s always wanted to ask out but never had the opportunity, it’s a good excuse for the character to ask himself whether he’s ready to be one of her long-term boyfriends. The character has reached this point in the past, considering when a long-term relationship is something he really wants, and since Stella he’s been resistant to these sorts of opportunities. And yet, with a single phone call he acted reflexively, getting to Maggie Wilkes before every other suitor thanks to tipping off her elderly neighbour.

And what happens with Ted then it what makes the episode work: by having Ted forced to head into his class, it allows the character to investigate his feelings without having to test whether he and Maggie would actually make a good couple (since, after all, he has no evidence of this beyond her reputation as the ultimate girl next door. As such, his class (who seems to genuinely like the guy, which in turn makes them his favourite people on the planet) become a therapy group, and he’s able to talk through his relationship troubles with a group of people who aren’t able to say “Dude, remember what happened with Robin?” or “But what about Stella?” or anything else. It doesn’t change the fact that Ted has been here before, but it was a different audience for his concerns and represents a strong creative decision.

It also allows that could have been an overly serious episode to still fall strongly on the side of comedy. As Lily and Marshall, Robin and then Barney are made responsible for Maggie staying unattached for the remainder of the evening, each of them forced to peel off for one reason or another created by the plot of the episode, the show is able to play with some fun combinations and allow some characters to have moments of their own and others to just play outright comedy. I think Barney’s characterization was probably the leakiest (boom boom yeah) of the bunch, if only because Barney didn’t actually get to do much with the overalls and the final realization that Barney is willing to have sex with the elderly neighbour just felt like the show going too far for me personally.

But I thought Cobie Smulders had almost too much fun in the episode, to the point where I kind of feel like they broke up Robin and Barney so that they could have Robin back in scenarios like this one. There’s some episodes where Robin seems pulled back from Barney’s comedy, but there was a fun dynamic here as Robin just started running off Farmer jokes, and then transitioned into throwing herself at Maggie’s co-worker (Jamie Kaler playing it straight compared to his My Boys character) with every ounce of her sexuality. There was a point last season where Robin became a comic tour de force (especially when Lily was missing, leaving the female comedy entirely up to her), and this was the first episode where some part of me (a very small one, I swear) was actually glad that she was single to be able to play her own absurd role in the charade.

And while I usually dislike random Lily and Marshall plots, I thought that Jason Segel sold the hell out of the letter from his 15-year old self (and the Mad Libs/Overalls that came before it) and its effect on him. As with Ted, he’s had the same sort of mid-life crisis before, but I thought the flashback sequence (with the rat tail, and the overalls, and the “Informer”) was just inspired enough to carry the episode over, and the return of older Marshall (this time time-travelling back to December 8th in order to send Marshall some hot wings as a sign of the existence of time travel) was paradox opening but immensely fun in the process. No, there’s nothing particularly fantastic about Marshall trying and failing to dunk a basketball in trying to live up to his life’s expectations, but it sort of captured the same sort of life’s consideration Ted was going through, and Vanilla Thunder really is an awesome nickname.

As things got to the end of the episode, with Barney in control and the co-worked back in the game, things got to the point where these mythology stories always do in figuring out how it’s all going to go wrong. We know that Maggie isn’t the mother because it would be too convenient, and because there’s no indication of JoAnna Garcia sticking around for more than one episode (such is the world we live in that we know this for certain). And yet, despite Barney’s presence offering the opportunity for the show to use his womanizing ways to in some way tarnish or ruin Maggie for everyone, the show goes in a completely different route. Instead of sabotaging her, the show further cements the role of destiny in the universe by having her own boy next door from her childhood in her apartment, rekindling a long lost love that is what Ted calls “the second greatest love story I’ve ever heard.” And you realize that “The Window” closed not because destiny doesn’t exist, but rather because there are other people like Ted out there who are sitting around waiting for their Mother to come along.

And set to Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks” (in case you were wondering “What was the song at end of The Window?”), that montage allows this particular reference to fate to prove outside of Ted’s grasp without undermining his purpose. Ted didn’t fail so much as he learned a lesson, and while this isn’t an entirely new development it was nicely condensed into a single episode (as opposed to turning into Stella, who even with my appreciation of Sarah Chalke in general went on far too long to make a largely similar point). It’s as if “Ten Sessions” had been the end of Stella’s journey, simply revitalizing Ted’s belief that there is a reason fate exists, and there’s a reason he’s still out there searching for “the one” (and a reason that we are still following the producers on this wild goose chase to find the mother).

I laughed, the cockles of my heart were warmed, and I got to revisit the wonder that is early 1990s unintelligible white rap – I’ll take it.

Cultural Observations

• Loved the small moment where Ted is chasing through the streets cursing Barney, and a woman responds with “Me too!” from somewhere on the street.
• I haven’t seen Se7en (I know, I know), but Smulders so sold that “What’s in the box?!” joke at the opening as both a) kind of terrible and b) kind of awesome that I didn’t need to “get it” to “get it.”
• As far as the Robin/Barney complaints of past weeks go, I thought it was better here, although I don’t like Robin’s “I can’t believe I dated that guy” attitude. Barney wasn’t a complete and total womanizer here, and it appears (in an interview with the L.A. Times, which has minor plot spoilers) that they’re going to consider the ramifications more carefully eventually…although a reunion seems out of the question.
• I now want to know who Robin’s “Mike Chaps” is – Barney’s random chick doesn’t warrant investigation, but Mike Chaps totally does. His last name is Chaps!
• JoAnna Garcia was charming and pretty as ever as Maggie, but Jaime Weinman is right that it’s very tough to properly cast someone who is supposed to be completely irresistible: beauty is subjective, after all. However, I thought show was smart to avoid showing too much of Maggie’s early years in college so as to not have to be put on trial for whether she was charming enough to warrant the obsession, thus leaving it to our imaginations and our ability to accept Ted’s romanticism.
• Now, excuse me while I Make Adjustments [and] Go Get It Energized!

I haven’t started season 5 yet but check back soon

New DVD’s that will be added to our shelves on Tuesday December 8th.

• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Also Available in Blu-Ray)
• Julie & Julia (Also Available in Blu-Ray)
• Public Enemies (Also Available in Blu-Ray)
• Knut & Friends (Also Available in Blu-Ray)
• Fox and the Child
• Carriers
• The Cove
• The Dog Who Saved Christmas
• Shrink Rap
• The Skeptic
• Taking Chances
• Tom and Thomas
• Lost: Season 5
• Rescue Me: Season 5, Volume 2

For more information on these movies such as ratings, synopsis, reviews, and video trailers click on the movie title above. This will open the NewThisWeek.ca website.

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While this episode of Real Housewives of Orange County didn’t have as much drama as others (although, next week looks like a keeper!), the OC Housewives wigged out with Bunko, hired a “youthologist” to mediate family tensions and found out their son is choosing to go to jail rather than serve community service (l-a-m-e). But throughout the episode, hottie Housewife Alexis Bellino wore the Black Bloom Flower Ring from Stella & Dot. She paired it with her 7 carat diamond initial necklace that she got from her hubby while sitting on the water, eating shrimp cocktail. See, who says you can’t mix high and low? The ring is just $44 and also comes in Ivory. [Season 5, Episode 4 from Thursday, December 3, 2009 on Bravo Television]