The Oceanic Six

Man, that was a rich pile of clues.

The Oceanic Six.

Everyone on this mountaintop is going to die.

Are they still alive?

And Jacob? Freakin' spooky, man. Giving me shivers.

Charlie. Whatever that means.

And Jack, shooting Locke? Genius. Loved that bit.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I went with Locke. I should have stayed with you.

I don't think we did the right thing, dude. I think he wants us back.

We're never going back.

Never say never, dude.

EDIT: Alan Sepinwall says Hurley says, "I don't think we did the right thing, Jack. I think it wants us to come back, and it's going to do everything it can..."

Well, double hmmmm...

UPDATE: The photo of Jacob/Jack's dad comes from the Lost Easter Egg blog, which also offered up this intriguing thought:

"The Smoke Monster - The smoke monster made a big appearance this episode, and I’m going to tell you where to look for it. Ready? Good: It floats out the door of the mental ward. Think you missed it? No way… because the smoke monster this episode was Matthew Abbadon.That whole scene was a total creepfest. From start to finish, you knew the guy was totally OFF. Think back to the episode where Mr. Eko died - think back to his last visions of Yemi. Remember that moment? The moment where Eko realized he wasn’t really looking at his brother? Abbadon had that same look. That same startling, bug-eyed, blood-chilling ‘Yemi-stare’. “Are they still alive?” – he says it with the same toneless inflection as Yemi asking Eko to beg forgiveness. His look is just nuts.If you don’t believe me, watch as he leaves through the door. You never see him exit, you only see a shadow. A shadow that dissipates from left to right, disappearing through the doorway in much the same way the smoke monster moves."

Spooooooky.

SECOND UPDATE: The premiere pulled good ratings, but nothing extraordinary.

"Lost" look-forward

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has a bunch of interesting stuff from the Comic Con convention in San Diego (is Con convention redundant?).

Highlights:

- More flash forwards next season
- Michael's back for the whole season, not as a guest star
- They still have no idea what to do about Nestor Carbonell's character, Richard (Nestor is starring in CBS' "Cane" and CBS isn't keen on letting him do walk-ons at another network). That's probably a bad thing.
- A few vague predictions about storylines - something with Ben, something with Libby, something with Rousseau
- The season finale with the Jack and Kate flash-forward isn't the end of the story.

'nother "Lost" Easter egg

http://losteastereggs.blogspot.com/2007/05/newspaper-through-looking-glass.html

Lots of speculation that the funeral was for a new character, someone we haven't met yet and won't like when we do.

This one was a big, fat kiss for all the zealots with HDTV's and Tivo's. Heck, I think they should have done about a dozen of these in the finale -- newspaper clippings, computer screen shots, reflections in windows, all that stuff. Give the fans something to chew on all summer long.

Last year, "Lost" did "The Lost Experience," which was sort of an interactive mystery set in the Lost universe, but not directly tied to the TV show's plotline. As far as I know, they're not doing anything like that (although with nine months until next season, they certainly have time to change their minds).

More "Lost" thoughts

A lot to chew on in the finale.

I think the flash-forwards are like "Heroes" - playing around with different possible timelines. The other people here think it would be a total cheat if the future shown doesn't come true. The other question is whether the show will switch from flashbacks to flash-forwards in future episodes. That would be a nightmare for plotting, since the flash-forwards could never show what happend on the island until the island timeline caught there.

The consensus here is that Charlie stayed in the flooded room because that was the only way to make Desmond's vision of Claire being saved come true. Of course, Claire getting on the helicopter is certain to prove to be a very bad thing, so Charlie is going to die in vain -- except maybe for his last warning to Desmond. Did he know that? The room was already flooding, I think, so maybe it was too late for him to change his mind.

Hmmm.

I've been thinking about the Looking Glass hatch. Clearly, Ben is trying to cut off communication with the outside world. I think he sent the women down there recently - since the plane crashed. He also manipulated Locke to blow up the submarine and was less than broken up about the Pearl going. What was blocking Rosseau's radio transmissions for the last 17 years remains a tricky question. Clearly, the Others had communication with the outside world and clearly they don't anymore.

I think this all goes back to the boat. Those aren't Penny's people, but they know Des is on the island. Could be Dharma, could be other Others. I think figuring this out is the key to understanding where the story is going now.

Lost finale liveblogging

Ben gets another good line: "I'm going to talk them out of it."

And never leave a dentist to do a criminal's job -- why wasn't Kate doing the shooting?

Walt coming back? Totally badass. (The producers had said Michael and Walt would return in season 4 -- although I suppose this is technically more likely to be a manifestation of the smoke monster than a real Walt sighting. Still badass).

Hurley riding to the rescue in the Bus... not badass, but cool. Sayid going medieval on the other dude? Back to badass. And Sawyer doing unto Tom? Definitely badass.

There's 13 Others put Under so far, by my count. Jeez, how many are left?

The Charlie finale was stupid. He could have gotten on the other side of the door just as easily. "Heroes-esque" that. Plus, shouldn't he have at least tried to squeeze through the porthole?

I'm glad, though, given all the Others are dead now, that they're prepared to introduce a new set of bad guys.

How could they not see that radio tower from like the entire Island? And is that the most durable electronic equipment ever invented, or what?

And Locke shows up to save the day! Yippee. Or ruin the day, sorta hard to say at this point.

Hey-ho, it's a flash forward. Yippee. Jack's a whiny bastard in the future, too. (and you get a Golden Pass for being in a plane wreck? That's sort of twisted).

So who's in the coffin? Who's Kate have to get back to? Who's Naomi working for? What's Penny's deal? How much better will the show be with Charlie dead?

Not the greatest finale in the world, but the second half of this season was really, really strong. So, I don't think it was enough to grab the casual fan, but the real Losties should be chomping at the bit for next year. Just remember: Next year doesn't start until January, at the earliest.

Lost recap

There are rules on this here island:

1.Ben is lying.

2. Sayid is always right.

3. Don't mess with the Honolulu police.

4. Your father? He sucks.

and, for God's sake Charlie,

#5 - THERE'S ALWAYS SOMEBODY IN THE HATCH!

More Lost

There was a lot to chew on in that episode. After studying the screen captures over on the Lost Easter Egg Blog, I'm convinced the shadowy figure shown was Locke (with a wig, apparently), but there was also a split-second image of an eye, and the eye looks like Desmond to me. Circles within circles, people.

Few other thoughts:
- Mikhail and the Others didn't seem to know anything about the chopper pilot, so her story seems to be true, rather than a ruse.
- I'm betting we don't see Locke again until next season. I think it will be beach action the rest of the way.
- As that implies, I'm also betting Locke is very much alive, despite being shot and lying in a mass grave.
- So what happened to Ben's little girlfriend? She's pretty clearly gone by the time he offs his father. Did he knock her up at some point and thus begin his obsession with fertility studies?
- Why does Dharma continue the food drops?
- Obviously, what's up with Richard not aging and the "Hostiles"? My guess, the Hostiles did a time warp and came back when Ben was older, hence the whole thing about "a lot of patience." Tricks with time are clearly a big part of what's going on on the island.
- Oh, and my prediction is that the ring of material around Jacob's hut is gunpowder. Don't know what that means, but I'm pretty sure.

Help Me

Definitely a "wow" episode of "Lost" last night. We actually got some answers - where Ben came from, how Dharma and the Others are related, and what Jack and Juliet are up to besides making moony eyes at each other. And did anyone else think last night was scary in a "Blair Witch Project" kind of way, but better?

"Help Me" - those were the two words that, as producers had teased, would change Locke's course on the island forever. And if by changing course they meant dying, then OK. But is he really dead, just as I was starting to like him? Or will Jacob/the island save him?

The scene in Jacob's cabin was pretty defining. At the office this morning there was talk of seeing a glimpse of Jacob just after Ben is thrown from the chair and we were forced to go online to check it out. Sure enough, he is there. Check your DVR if you don't believe me.

If the next two episodes are this good, I might be able to extend my loyalty to February '08, which is when the next season is slated to start.

-Posted by Carmen Boles, deputy news editor, for Andy Wineke, who has the day off

UPDATE: Hey! I totally did not have the day off. I worked 12 hours today. Admittedly, 12 hours hanging in the sun in the southeast corner of the state, but it was on the clock.

Lost spoilers?

From Entertainment Weekly's weekly "Lost" obsession: ''Locke will hear two words tonight,'' says Lindelof. ''Those words, and the fact that he hears them, will change his course on the island forever.''

What words? I suggested, "Get bent." Another co-worker said it must be "You're him," or "You're Jacob," implying that Locke is somehow the secret leader of the Others. (Setting aside whether contractions count, there is apparently no new actor listed in tonight's credits, which implies that Jacob is either not real, or someone we already know).

"Lost" - 48 episodes

ABC officially put a time limit on "Lost": 48 more episodes spread over three seasons.

Executive producers Damon Lindelhof and Carlton Cuse have always said the series needed an ending point, and you have to think ABC is being pretty generous in giving them three season to wrap up the thicket of loose threads they've created.

I also think it's smart for ABC to shrink each season to 16 episodes and run them continuously. It makes the show event television.

I still wonder, however, whether "Lost's" ratings will be good enough to merit three more years. This is not a show that strives to bring new viewers up to date. So who's going to want to sign on now, at what it officially half-way through the story?

If you were a fan and you've drifted away, I remind you: The show's gotten good again. And now you have some reassurance that you'll see answers to your questions, if you can just wait a few more years.

"Lost" watercooler

What I liked about this one was that it was clearly the writers' "F" with the audience episode.

Before the long-awaited Sawyer-Sawyer Sr. showdown came the "Who the hell are you?" line - clearly just messing with fans who thought they had it all figured out.

Plus, the whole Cooper, "Don't you know where you are?" thing, obviously a shout-out to the many Purgatory theories floating around on the Internet.

As an aside, if Sayid's skepticism of the helicopter pilot was misplaced, does that mean we'll have to amend the "Sayid is always right" rule? Or should we assume she's a plant?

And has Kate supplanted Jack as the thickest head in the Southern Hemisphere?

Finally, what do you think about The Others' political games? Was Richard really trying to bail Locke out, or was that another Ben-engineered diversion? When's Jacob going to show up and straighten these bozos out?

Definitely lost

Mediocre episode... but MONSTER cliffhanger.

Total props for that one - they could have used that to end the season finale.

Of course, as is always the problem with "Lost," all they've done now is raise the stakes for the remaining episodes. Best of luck with that.

Oh, well

Honestly, I'm a little bummed. I had Sanjaya pegged for the final four -- just far enough to make everyone really start to sweat.

And with Phil and Chris sailing through, I'm unsure about what happens next.

But really, wouldn't you prefer to talk about the whole Simon thing at the top of the show? That was weird. It kind of reminded me of the mini-controversy over Daughtry doing the Live version of "I Walk the Line" last season. If you'll remember, nobody credited Live at the time, and then Seacrest had to do this whole non-apology explanation the next week.

The subject matter, of course, was far more serious, but the way "Idol" handled it was just as silly. Loved the multiple camera angles, so we could really, truly see how little attention Simon pays to the show. They studied that crap like the Zapruder film. Fun.

So anybody got a theory what Blake was doing in the bottom three?

And on "Lost"... well, kinda dull. I do like Desmond, but nothing much happened here.

Wednesday roundup - Lost's back!

Excellent "Lost" last night. For all the Hitchcock fans who dug the buried alive episode two weeks ago, I'd argue that this is how you do a twist at the end. Even if you suspected Juliet's betrayal, I don't think anyone expected Carlton Cuse & Company to actually show it to us.

Couple of thoughts:
- Given the goo-goo eyes Juliet was making at Jack after he talked about the submarine blowing up, I'm expecting that she'll end up double-crossing (triple-crossing?) Ben.
- On the same score, if there really isn't any other way off the island, why is she cooperating with Ben? He obviously still has some hold over her. I think there's another way off.
- A few more references to the uber-mysterious Jacob. I think his role or identity might get wrapped into the season cliffhanger.
- Why hasn't anyone figured out that Sayid is ALWAYS right? Whatever he says, they should just do it.
- Loved icy Hurley: "We buried him right over there."

Elsewhere, bye-bye Haley. Like men everywhere, I'm saddened by this development. The betting line is that she'd be wearing lingerie by next week.The lack of support for Chris is kinda interesting.

And the season finale of "Friday Night Lights"... well, I've got a few thoughts on that, so I'll give it its own post in a minute.

Hey, that was a pretty good "Lost"

I actually enjoyed that. Juliet is cool, the Kate flashback was no dumber than any other and, although I saw the Hurley con coming the second he opened his mouth, it was still pretty funny.

It does make me wonder again, why is Jack the leader? He's a total putz. Like any sane person would blame Kate for anything she did. Jack's just a baby and the show is better when he's locked up offscreen.

Dull "Idol," though. We're stuck in the middle phase. It's not that Gina particularly deserved to go -- I thought it was Phil's turn -- she's clearly not going to be there at the end, so it doesn't make much difference what order they go in. I wasn't surprised at all that Sanjaya stuck around. I thought Phil was worse than him, at least entertainment-wise, and I expect he'll be around another two or three weeks (that's conditional on Sanjay ditching the peachfuzz 'stash, naturally).

And "Friday Night Lights" rocked. But you knew that. I hope they wrap things up well next week. The word on the street is the show will get renewed despite its lack of ratings, but those rumors are always wrong. So I'm not getting my hopes up.

UPDATE: Well, despite the fact I liked the episode, let me do a little "Lost" kvetching. Why did Kate trust Juliet for a second after Juliet all the sudden popped up with the key to the handcuffs? And am I to understand that Juliet dragged Kate in the jungle in a misguided attempt to win Kate's sympathy? And, again, why was Jack such a jerk? And is Locke the biggest a-hole on the island? And why were Jack and Sayid out cold for a full DAY after Kate and Juliet woke up?