Carlton Cuse

All right, on to 316. First of all, I was very happy to see Jack wake up on the island in that all-too-familiar way. I was worried that the story arc of the O6 getting back on the island would last for the entire fifth season. Wow, there's a lot that happened in that 46 hours. In this episode, we just see what Jack went through. Every other member obviously went through a good deal - Ben all bloody, Kate tormented, Sayid arrested, Sun and Hurley changing their minds - so we'll obviously get more insight into that two day period. I'm curious how that will play out - now that they're back on the island and in a different time, it will take that much more intrigue to get us invested in their stories in the boring ol' real world. But they utilized an interesting technique - get them back on the island, then later use their individual back stories to complement another narrative.

God bless Eloise Hawking for being rather upfront about the DHARMA strategies and the Lamp Post station. No doubt there will be tons of screen grabs of every inch of that place. I liked the DHARMA plan to guess where the island is going instead of where it currently is, similar to quantum theory. Science mixing with faith and chance, themes we've seen throughout the show. We also see this as Jack, the man of reason, gives up his calculated decisions and does things Locke's way - having a little faith, no matter how crazy it might seem to him. He may buy into it now, though he will probably go back to being the level-headed counterpart to Locke's way of thinking soon enough - though on a much different playing field, given that he'll have to accept time-travel and all. I guess Sawyer has accepted it and still wants definite answers.

Plus, their method of getting back on the island was very satisfying - get on a plane and cross your fingers. I was worried there would be another donkey wheel in LA that needed pushing, or all that was needed was to push the pendulum, and they're off! It's all very much left to chance - even the ancient wheel which will get you off the island, but who knows where or when.

Questions this episode raises:
What was Ben doing that got him so bloody? And couldn't he wash his face before getting on the airplane? Why isn't the island done with Desmond? When will he go back? What will Penny think?
A few questions all at once, but that's the nature of the beast. Ben states "Oh, I made a promise to an old friend of mine--just a loose end that needs tying up". Most likely, he is referring to his promise to Widmore to kill Penny, as payback for Keamy killing Alex right in front of him. Ben had just seen Desmond at the Lamp Post. Ben called Jack from a marina and Des/Pen hideout on a boat. He obviously caught a snag in his plans because he was bloody and had to call Jack to pick up Locke (note: Ben doesn't know about Hawking's additional instructions - and didn't that just irritate him, not knowing :). He looked content on the plane, so it's up in the air if he actually succeeded in his goal.
   If Ben did kill Penny, that gives Desmond plenty of motive to get back on the island. Lindelof and Cuse are known for being gutsy about which characters they off, though I can't imagine Penny being gone forever - Des and Penny are the main through romantic story of the show (and how then will they end up as Adam and Eve!) I could see Ben kidnapping instead of killing. If he kidnaps Charlie, then Des and Penny will come to him. And/or if he kidnaps Penny, he has leverage over Widmore.
   Regardless, it's all set up for Desmond to team with Widmore, a dangerous combination. We see how Desmond has animosity towards Eloise Hawking, so he won't join that team. Desmond dislikes Widmore, but remember his conditions for getting on the island - sailing around the world to impress Widmore. Those will be his conditions that he has to recreate to return to the island.

What was Kate doing that she's so ashamed of? And what happened to Aaron?
So we know Kate has to do something for Sawyer. Kate could want to go back to the island for Sawyer, though that doesn't explain how she jumped all over Jack. Kate has seen a vision of Claire in a dream; Claire told her never to bring Aaron back to the island. Claire could have come to her again with a new message. If Kate gave Aaron to Claire's mom Carole, that would make a little more sense plot-wise why Carole was in LA (besides a 3 minute diversion in The Little Prince). It could be that Kate somehow gave up Aaron for whatever she had to do for Sawyer, though that would be some sacrifice.
   One idea to throw out there: Kate's pregnant. Either her night with Jack made it so, or she found out that night (and possibly got further instructions from Claire). If she is, she could help take the place of Claire on flight 316 - though why anybody would want to go to the island to give birth is beyond me.

What was Sayid doing that got him arrested?
Sayid could be an interesting case, since it does look like he's being taken against his will, unlike all the other characters. That should make for some good drama once he's back on the island. It's hard to imagine Sayid actually getting caught, but looks like it happened. Perhaps Ben "turned" on him and had him arrested, somehow arranging the flight through Guam. we can't even be sure the woman transporting him is an actual policewoman too. This action supports a lot of Ben's motives, seemingly against the characters but actually in their best interests. He knows Sayid needs to return to the island for his own good, and will go about it any way he can.

Why did Hurley have a change of heart?
Hurley had a guitar with him, that wasn't just to pass the time once he's back on the island - Hurley was way too serious at the airport to concern himself with that. The guitar case symbolizes Charlie Pace. The case may even have been Charlie's (his guitar is still on the island). Charlie must have reappeared to Hurley and convinced him somehow to return to the island. Given that Charlie was close to Aaron and Claire, I'm guessing his unfinished business that Hurley must help with has to do with protecting them.

Same with Sun.
Sun's motivation is to see Jin. That will be a nice reunion, though Jin was reluctant to have her come back. Hopefully after Locke moved the wheel, the flashing stopped and it's a safer environment. Though how will they then get back to Ji Yeon Kwon? And will she now be that much more of a resolute action hero after vengeful few years off the island?

What happened to the airplane?
My guess is the plane went back on course, only with seven fewer passengers - Jack, Sayid, Hurley, Kate, Ben, Sun, and Caesar. Caesar's well-wishes to Jack and presence on the plane make him look like we haven't seen the last of him. Plus, he's a recognizable actor who, oddly enough, was in Vantage Point with Matthew Fox. Actually, Frank Lapidis would make it 8. He was supposed to be the pilot for O815, so flight 316 came together even better than expected. Maybe for the time being, he's filling in for Aaron just as Locke is filling in for Christian Shephard.

Any significance to the number 316?
Well there's John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." And looks like John will be coming back to life, so that's something. There's also 78, the number of empty seats on the plane. Some theorize that this marks a continuation of the Valenzetti Equation. Just as 108 (the sum of all original numbers) was so significant before, now it's 316. So we could have 4 8 15 16 23 42 78 130 = 316. We just don't know what 130 is yet.

More on the Lamp Post station?
Not much yet, but I found one interesting thing. Horace Goodspeed, a mathematician for DHARMA. A source is needed on this, but it's hard not to notice this line: on the DVD commentary track for "The Man Behind the Curtain" Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse describe Horace and his companion Olivia as factoring significantly in the future "game plan" for Lost.

Next week! Any theories on Jeremy Bentham and Locke's return?
Well we'll find out soon enough, but the for all those who think Jacob is actually Locke, all the pieces are in place. Christian Shephard came to the island in a coffin, and now we see him as a spirit on the island who speaks for Jacob, seemingly with the ability to be anywhere on the island that Jacob needs him. So once Locke comes back in a coffin, it's possible that the same will happen to him, only taking on the more important role that he was always meant to hold. His suicide will then be the ultimate sacrifice in the belief of his fate, and Ben is there to help him. Did you see in the teaser what looked like Ben prostrated before Locke?

Why didn't anybody carpool to the airport?
Skipping around in time so much, they aren't aware there's a recession going on :) Though they did get a nice settlement from Oceanic, so I guess they don't have to worry. Still, given how nervous Jack and Ben were about getting everyone together, they seemed pretty content letting everyone get there on their own terms. Seems like Jack is starting to have a little faith already. This was confirmed in that nice sequence at the airport - going through the motions of claiming himself as the caretaker to Locke's coffin, slowly seeing everyone arrive at the airport, getting confident the hare-brained scheme might actually work.

A few misc. notes:

• Nice Lost joke with the disappearing rabbit magic show, a reference to this great teaser for season 4.
• We only see Jack, Hurley and Kate's return to the island. We still need to see Sun, Hurley and Ben (and any other characters they choose to introduce to us). It could be that they've flashed to different times, though we have yet to see the characters react to the flashes differently, besides the nosebleeds.
• Remember Christian's quip to Locke about Ben, something like "When's the last time listening to him did you any good?" It's possible that Christian is more closely tied to the needs of the island, and the island sees Ben as a misfit - possibly a Renfield character that isn't always appropriate, but in the end supports the island, so it lets Ben continue his sometimes shady actions.
• We haven't seen what happened to what happened to those on the island after Locke turned the wheel again. We see Jin in DHARMA time. I'm hoping after the wheel was turned, those left on the island go to DHARMA time and stay there. This would further turn the story in on itself, and delve more deeply into DHARMA and the electromagnetism. Also, maybe all O6 had to get back to the island because they were already there in the past. They're destined to be on the island because they were already there.

Note: Agree? Disagree? More to add? Brain fried? Feel free to add a comment!

Note: As stated in previous entries, this article is written with the understanding that you have seen the episode. Therefore, no summary and spoilers abound. Warning: reading the following may cause nosebleeds.

Wow, plenty to cover, this season's momentum has been incredible. Can you imagine what would happen if we ever went back to the slow pacing of Stranger in a Strange Land? At the time it was definitely a slowdown, but compared to these, it was a complete stand-still.

I didn't get to watch the replay of Jughead with extra comments, did anyone see that? Anything crucial get mentioned in the pops? I also missed "Lost Unraveled", but I heard that was nothing more than a recap of life off the island. I ended up watching the ep early in the morning hoping to get an all in one experience:

• A fresh first viewing
• Immediately following, having 10 worth of feedback already available to me on the internet
• Enough time to spare to write this all up.
• Note: the plan almost didn't work when I couldn't get to bed and almost caved.

The plan worked pretty well, though one unforseen side effect is that the sun, no matter how much I closed my blinds to block it out, seeped through took a little away from my otherwise preferred pitch black viewing conditions. I had to up my tv's brightness from Standard to Vivid. I'm scheduled to get HD this Friday, though I still haven't received the receiver which, for whatever reason, is being shipped separately from the installation scheduled for that AM. It's pretty exciting though, I heard a lot of the nighttime Lost scenes are much clearer with HD. During this ep, I had to rewind to make sure the man washed up on the beach was actually Jin.

The Island Flashes. Weren't the flashes supposed to take longer and longer? These seemed to be pretty rapid fire. I've been keeping track of where they end up in these flashes. I'm curious if there's any path or pattern they're following, or if they just end up at crucial Island moment's for the writer's convenience. In this one, there was:

• 11/1/2004, seen in Do No Harm. Boon dying, Aaron being born, Locke at his worst (he "needed the pain"). This made me happy, I'm still hoping the flashes fold the show in on itself a bit and refocus on specific events from the first season or two.
• After the O6 left. They see evidence of other people there from Ajira airlines. Then they get shot at. We'll probably find out this season who those folks are; currently everyone's guessing they're the O6 returning.
• 1988, with Rousseau's team. Yaay! Ever since Rousseau got offed last season, I was hoping to see more of her, even a Rousseau-centric flashback. Looks like we'll get the full story of the entire French crew now. Hopefully the flashes lay low for a while, I want to see more. (More on the doomed French crew later)

Pretty random flashes. Also, there's a lot of talk about what inanimate objects jump with them and don't; something to keep in the back of your mind, but we'll gloss over that for now.

My take on moving the island. Moving the island is like having a party while your parents are out of town. You can do it, but you better get everything back exactly to how it was or there will be consequences. Also, while you're doing it, the place takes on a whole new form than what it's usually like. In this case, Ben moved it, but he's in charge of putting it back. Ms. Hawking telling him the parents will be coming back in 70 hours. Now, just who are those parents....

Rousseau's team. Some good dramatic irony, we know all but Rousseau is toast, and that she'll have to watch her crew go crazy and have Alex taken away by the Others. Coming up, we'll see Montand lose his arm (which Carlton and Cuse joke about frequently).
• It was pretty cool them looking for the numbers transmission. So they all go ape as a result of the island. I'm not sure if that means nosebleeds or something completely different. I wouldn't think nosebleeds because they're not jumping around in time, they just arrived at the island. Maybe it's a result of extended exposure to Jin from the future. If it is a nosebleed situation, something must be special about Rousseau. Either she has a Constant present (Alex? the music box she showed Sayid?), or just being pregnant makes her special enough.
• Mira Furlan asked to be written off the show which makes sense of the new younger Rousseau. I think too, that the difference between young and old Rousseau shows just how much she went through these 16 years, and how different her plight is than unaging Halpert.
• No, I don't know French, though those that do said the French redshirts weren't saying anything of consequence.

Jin's return. As I've said before, if you don't actually see someone die, they're probably not dead. And even if it seems like someone's dead, they may not be. Given that and the fact that Daniel Dae Kim's name was still in the credits, it was only a matter of time til we see him again. Still... what a way to come back! Found washed up by Rousseau's crew! A few questions this raises:

• Wait, wasn't he on the ship that was outside the radius of the island? It did appear that way. Perhaps he got thrown inside the radius by the explosion? Or is there a more intricate explanation? This will need to be addressed.
• From the preview for next week, we see Ben telling Sun that Jin is still alive. There are two ways this could happen: a) when the Others meet Danielle, they meet Jin too. Ben remembers his face. b) when Locke goes off the island and talks to Ben, he mentions it. (b) makes much more sense.

Kate-centric episode. The shows this season haven't focused on one character as much as Lost's traditional one-character flashbacks. Still, even though this episode was fast-paced, it did a good job of focusing on Kate's life and her relationship with several different characters.

• Kate and Jack. In the first scene, we see Jack controlling Kate, agreeing to keep the secret about Aaron only if Kate agree's with Jack about maintaining The Lie. Three years later, he appears helpful to her, but ultimately for his own gain - to bring her to Ben.
• Kate and Aaron. Through the flash format, we see a) Kate assist Claire in Aaron's delivery on the island, b) Kate insist that she keep Aaron on the boat off the island c) Kate struggle to keep him in LA d) Action movie Sun kidnapping Aaron.
• Kate and Sawyer. We see Kate saying that Sawyer is "not dead, but gone". Most of this relationship we see from Sawyer's POV - asking Locke how he'll convince Kate to come back, seeing Kate with Claire only to have her taken away once again, this time by a flash. "What's done is done".

The O6 showdown. Looks like if Dan Norton can get Hugo "Oh Yeah his last name is Reyes" Reyes out of prison, the O6 will be reunited, though completely at ends with each other. There's a lot of different relationships/loyalties working against each other, interesting to see how they play out. Sayid/Ben, Jack/Ben, Jack/Kate, Sayid/Hurley. And in other corner there's Sun and her gun.
• Boy, the action moves fast off the island. We know how LA works, but we don't know how the island works. Either a) the writer's understand this and pick up the pace so we can get back to the mysterious island, or b) the island's action takes longer to explain. Or both.
• Also interesting is Ben's quick cut to Kate "He's not your son." art of his harshness is on account of him losing Alex - he has to tell himself she wasn't really his daughter to cope with it. An ongoing theme with the show is that Ben isn't naturally cruel, his cruelty has developed from the harsh conditions of the island.
• How will Hurley react if he gets released? He seems desparate enough that he could go on a crime spree just to end up right back in prison.

The nosebleeds (aka "really bad jet lag"). First of all, I'm glad they're happening to more people than just Charlotte. It's gonna be a while til these guys even have a chance to get saved, and we know bad things happen as a result of the O6 leaving the island. It's not often we see a show/movie showing a group of people slowly suffer because of the squalor they're all going through. (Can anyone think of examples of this?)
• So first there was Charlotte, then Miles, then Juliet. Any pattern? Daniel says it might have something to do with being used to the island. I'm currently thinking it has to do with each of their Constants: as they jump in time, they're somehow further away from their own Constants. Note that each of these three first suffered from their nosebleeds in different flashes... though as far as plotting goes, it might be a little laborious to go through and discover each character's Constant.
• Another hint that Miles might be Marvin Candle's son: When Miles states he's never been on the island, Daniel asks "Are you sure?"
• After Daniel keeps asking Charlotte if she's okay, she says he doesn't need to "baby" her. Another question for the backburner: What is their relationship after all?

Claire's mom, Carole. Within minutes, we think Carole wants custody of Aaron, that she knows The Lie, and then find out she doesn't know anything and is just getting her check. There has to be more, right? On a mission by Christian Shephard? Or does LA somehow eventually attract every secondary character?

Locke's voyage to the Orchid. Typical Locke to base an entire adventure based solely on a feeling he has. Is it Fate? Is it just that there's nothing better to do? Is there a difference? Also if he turns the donkey wheel, there's a whole new set of effects to the people still on the island - who knows how the needle on the record will behave.
• We know Locke gets off the island and becomes Jeremy Bentham, so it looks like turning the wheel is how he'll do it. Now I did get some advanced info on what S05E06 will be titled. Some people consider this type of information a spoiler and some don't. If you'd like to know, hover over this, okay?

The numbers They're everywhere! Kate lives at 42 Panorama, Marina 23, Sayid's been unconscious for 42 hours. Of course, they have to put numbers in these places, so why not put The Numbers. Still, I like the repetition. It shows that even now, three years later, they can't escape the island, it's part of their universe.

Where's Widmore in all this? The henchman that tried to tranq Sayid - all signs point to him being employed by Widmore instead of Ben. So why would Widmore want to tranq him instead of offing him? He could want him alive just in case, or he could be trying to get them all back on the island on his own terms. Does Ms. Hawking give a prize to whoever can get the O6 back on the island first? Interesting, too, the relationship between Widmore and Hawking, given that they're both tied to Faraday.
• Maybe he's tranq'ing them because he knows about the Michael effect - sometimes these Island folk just refuse to die on the mainland. He doesn't want to risk any oddity of trying to kill them (the gun exploding, what have you), so he hedges his bets and sticks to kidnapping.

The Little Prince. One of my favorite childhood stories. Plenty of parallels I don't want to address here - I'm distributing my spoilers one story at a time. I might write a separate entry, but for now, check out Doc Jensen's breakdown of the Little Prince themes. Also, as always, there's lostpedia.

Misc. thoughts

• Lostpedia noted an odd movie reference: "Dan Norton's license plate is 4PCI382. This is the same as the plate worn by Ironhide in this 2007 film [Transformers]."
• AV Club commenter Chrissy did a great job with this anagram: Sayid and Ben are in a van "Canton-Rainier". Jumble that and it becomes: Reincarnation. Cool!

More later.